College Monte Cristo

I always find myself throwing away the heels to my bread, which is ridiculously wasteful. The way I think of it, I probably waste about a loaf or two every year, simply because I don't eat the heels. But, I mean, it's not my fault the heel is so gross. So what is a girl supposed to do? Well, now I've got an answer. This solution stems very, very loosely from a recipe by Closet Cooking. And, all of my ingredients were purchased on sale, which is always a plus. The ham, for example, was on sale for $5 a pound at the deli department, where I was able to request a thicker cut than standard deli meat. I should specify that this recipe doesn't need to be made with the heels of bread, but rather can be. But, I mean, you have 2 heels that you're going to throw away anyway, why not use them?

Ingredients:

1 egg

A splash of milk (1/8 of a cup to 1/4 cup)

2 heels of bread (I used sourdough bread)

1 slice of thick cut ham (or a serving of thin sliced ham)

1 1/2 pieces of Colby Jack cheese

1 Tablespoon of butter

Recipe:

Prepare sandwich with 2 heels of bread, a slice and a half of cheese, and ham.

Whisk together the egg and milk in a bowl wide enough for a piece of bread.

Warm a frying pan over medium heat with 1 Tablespoon of butter.

As the frying pan heats, dip the sandwich in the egg-milk mix. Then flip it over and dip the other side, much like with french toast.

Next, grill the sandwich, much like a grilled cheese sandwich. The sandwich is ready when both sides of the bread are slightly crispy, and the cheese has melted. Remove from the heat and cut in half.

With the left over egg-milk mixture, you might combine with salt, pepper, or other seasoning and make milky scrambled eggs as a side dish. 

This sandwich is delicious and uses a lot of ingredients that you already have in your in your kitchen. I think this will be my new way of using up the heels of bread. Try it. It just might be yours too!

Seafood Alfredo

I found a GREAT deal the other day: a mix of fresh seafood for only $1.50! The mix contained squid, cuttlefish tentacle, shrimped, mussels, and, unfortunately, imitation crab. I eventually just took out the imitation crab. I had no idea it was possible to get so much seafood for so cheap. It was enough for about 3 or 4 servings. I would highly recommend purchasing a seafood mix like this, but making sure it has very little imitation crab (so that you can throw it away without guilt).

Ingredients:

1 Mix of Seafood (I picked mine up at the Safeway meat and seafood department)

1 jar of Alfredo sauce

About 1/3 of a box of noodles (I prefer shell noodles with this sort of dish)

1-2 Tablespoons of butter

Recipe:

First, cook your seafood in a frying pan with butter, over a medium low heat. Look at how tasty it is.

As you heat your seafood, boil the water for your pasta. If all is timed well, the you should be adding your noodles to the water at the same time as you begin mixing together your sauce.

Once the seafood is cooked, strain the butter and combine with a jar of Alfredo sauce. Then heat over a medium heat, stirring often. You may add garlic salt, Italian seasoning, or any other flavor you might desire.

When the noodles are tender, strain them. Then serve and enjoy.

This was a delicious way to begin the semester. I made this once, then took the leftovers and stretched it out over a couple of very busy days. It could be better improved by adding a second jar of sauce (I prefer to combine 1 jar of light Alfredo sauce with 1 jar of regular Alfredo). There was definitely enough seafood to double the sauce.

I am very much looking forward to another great semester full of terrific food and fantastic courses. Of course, I'm sure in a couple weeks when I'm taking exams and writing papers, I'll have a completely different opinion of this semester. Until then, though, I am thrilled to be back.