Tuesday, May 12, 2009

One of the easiest recipes I've made


Italian Beef Dippers
Pillsbury Kids Cookbook Copyright 2005

1 can (18.5 ounces) ready-to-serve French onion soup
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
3/4 pound thinly sliced Italian- or garlic-seasoned cooked roast beef I used one labeled 'French Dip seasoned'
6 crusty French rolls (each 3 to 4 inches long)
6 slices ( 3/4 ounce each) provolone cheese

Pour the soup into a saucepan. Measure out the Italian seasoning. Toss it in the saucepan. Mix the soup and the seasoning.

Heat the soup over medium heat until it is hot. Stir every once in a while. Add the slices of beef to the soup. Continue to heat for 4 to 6 minutes, until soup and beef are heated all the way through. Stir every once in a while so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan

Use a serrated knife to cut the French rolls in half sideways on the cutting board. Use a slotted spoon to remove the slices of beef from the soup. Put the beef on the bottom halves of the rolls. If you like onions, put a few onions from the soup on the beef.

Cut each slice of cheese into two pieces. Put two pieces of cheese on top of the beef on each sandwich. Cover the beef and cheese with the top halves of the rolls.

Scoop out 1/3 cup soup and put it in one of the custard cups. Put the same amount of soup in each of the other custard cups. (If there's any soup left over, divide it into the cups.) Serve the sandwiches with the warm soup for dipping.

Makes 6 servings.

Approximate values per serving: 280 calories, 10 g fat, 47 mg cholesterol, 20 g protein, 28 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 1,410 mg sodium, 32 percent calories from fat.

______________________

I have several children's cookbooks but I tend to pass over them when looking for recipes. They're actually a good source of quick and easy recipes so I don't know why I've been ignoring them.

This recipe wasn't particularly inexpensive (I bought $6 worth of meat plus soup, buns and cheese) or healthy (due to the sodium) but it was ridiculously fast and easy. You can't make a hot sandwich much faster than this. It was tasty too - bread, meat, cheese, and a salty delicious broth to dip it all in? All good. All-in-all I'd say that in a pinch, paired with a salad, this is probably a tinsy bit healthier and a little bit less expensive than eating out.

This particular kid's cookbook is a bit heavy on the processed foods. That does make for supereasy recipes but not the least expensive or healthiest. I think if you're depending on a child or young teen to cook dinner, it's not a bad place to start. I've got some better ones that I hope to be cooking from soon.

Question of the Day: At what age did you start cooking? I honestly don't remember exactly but I was young when I started cooking dinner. My older sisters used to pass the chore along to me (well, at least one of them did). I enjoyed it. I'm sure I baked and tried a few other things before I worked up to making dinner. I used to put a lot of thought into cooking. I only had a few PBS cooking shows and a meager selection of cookbooks to inspire me. Who knows what would have happened if I grew up with the Food Network.

7 comments:

Sheila said...

I baked lots of cookies when I was little--for Blue Birds and Camp Fire Girls but the first meal I ever cooked on my own--no grown ups home--was fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy and corn. Too bad the chicken was really a hen and was so tough no one could eat it--although my dad did. I had no idea there were different "types" of chickens that had to be cooked differently! I was so glad for the way my dad treated the meal and me--I could have been totally turned off cooking then if he had been upset or angry about it and with 8 kids and 2 adults in the house, we didn't have food to waste. I was 11 when I made that meal--I think it was a long time before I tried that again. Sheila

Cate O'Malley said...

Love French Dip sandwiches - interesting twist to use the soup for the sauce. As far as when I started cooking, Jell-O was the first thing I made in my parents' house growing up, and I failed miserably at it the first few times I made it. Thankfully things have changed since then. :)

Annie Jones said...

I remember getting an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas when I was 8. Before the week was over, I had moved on to full-size cake mixes in the full-size oven. I can't remember the first time I made an entire meal. I do remember grilling chicken when I was so young I had to have my dad help light the charcoal.

BTW, I bought my granddaughter Disney's Magic Kitchen cookbook that I'm saving until December. I can't wait for Christmas! ;)

Jennifer said...

My mom likes to cook (and bake) so I grew up making cookies from her "Cooky Book" from an early age, maybe 5 or 6? My daughter really likes to cook, and my son used to, before he became a teenager and started to prefer video games to everything else!

Heather said...

I had the Junior Cook Book - Better Homes and Gardens maybe? - and I remember making parfaits that had pudding and toffee bars in them. Still sounds good! I was probably 9 or 10 when I started getting interested in cooking. I know I had a few Girl Scout cooking badges!

Selba said...

A good idea to make the sauce for the sandwich.

Anonymous said...

I think I was about 13 when I started cooking. Didn't do a large variety but I loved to make cakes. All homemade from scratch - cake and icing. I always made the cakes that we would take to church functions. My specialty was spice cake with (I think it was called) white mountain frosting.

Jan