Chicago-Style Italian Beef Sandwiches

Yummy.

3 cups water
3 beef buillon cubes
1 t. each of:  salt, pepper, oregano, basil, parsley onion powder, garlic powder
1 bay leaf
1 or 2 pkgs of Italian salad dressing seasoning (The recipe says one, reviewers say two, I had one and a half on hand so I did that ;)

Boil all together and pour over beef roast (3-5lbs) in crockpot.  Cook on low 8-10 hours.  Shred and leave meat in juices for another hour.

Optional: (but not so optional in my opinion)
Slice and add red and green peppers and onions to crockpot during last hour, but remove for serving to top sandwiches.  Mushrooms would also be fabulous.   

Serve on Kaiser rolls topped with melted provolone cheese, cooked peppers & onions, and peppecini's.

You can remove some of the juices, but as they say in Chicago "The wetter the better!"  Mmmmmm, Mmmmm.

Basic Chicken Salad

So I know that everyone has chicken salad recipes that they like....my favorite is the one that Becky makes...I don't think that recipe is on here. We should get it on here.
I had a lunch/playdate with a friend and her kids today and was trying to think of something easy and yummy for lunch. Amy suggested chicken salad on flat bread pitas. It was delicious, and it was a nice change on the pita bread. The recipe that Amy gave me was from allrecipes.com. It is the Basic Chicken Salad. To be honest, I have never made chicken salad. I am not sure why. I guess I usually just wait for someone to make it for me. This recipe was really easy, but I am assuming that they are all really easy because this tasted just like most that I have had. I left out the fruit and nuts for lunch (we ate the leftovers for dinner and I added grapes and stuff then.) I also added onion and garlic powder.
Anyway, easy and delicious.

Basic Chicken Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken meat
• 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds
• 1 stalk celery, chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Place almonds in a frying pan. Toast over medium-high heat, shaking frequently. Watch carefully, as they burn easily.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise, lemon juice, and pepper. Toss with chicken, almonds, and celery.

Chicken Panini Sandwiches

(Sorry this is a picture of a half eaten sandwich. If anyone else ever remembers to take a better one please replace this.)

shredded chicken breasts
sautéed chopped onion--as much as you want
2-3 T pesto sauce--I use about this much for 2 chicken breasts, adjust it according to your own taste
diced tomatoes--add them right before you smash your sandwiches
cheese
bread--I use French bread but cut it hoagie style in about 4in pieces.
Then when you smash it in the George Forman it stays crustyDip in oil and balsamic vinegar as you eat. Sometimes I add other things to this if I have them on hand, like red peppers or artichoke hearts.