A grilled chicken Caesar salad is one of life’s finest meals, in my opinion. But today we take it a step by putting it on a fresh ciabatta bun. This Grilled Chicken Caesar Sandwich was simple, with only five ingredients, yet the flavor is over the top delicious! Sometimes in the summer, I’ll make a big Grilled Chicken Caesar Sandwich, and that’s all we’ll have for dinner. It’s filling enough by itself.

To make it, you’ll need to start with a ciabatta loaf. I think I got this one at Walmart, or it might have been my local grocery store’s bakery. I don’t really remember. But they aren’t hard to find. Slice it in half so that you have a flat top and bottom.

You’ll also need a bottle of Caesar salad dressing, a handful of arugula or romaine lettuce, a few tablespoons of good parmesan cheese, and a couple of grilled chicken breasts. I brush mine with olive oil and salt and pepper it well. Then I throw it on the grill for about 20 minutes or until cooked through. When done, remove from heat and cut into slices.

Now you’re ready to assemble your Grilled Chicken Caesar Sandwich.

I place the chicken on the bottom. The arugula or romaine goes on next, followed by a generous coating of Caesar dressing. Top it off with the parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Cut into sections and enjoy!

[yumprint-recipe id=’38’]

Another day, another cookbook to tell you about. Many of you have eaten at one of the many locations of Tupelo Honey Cafe, so you will recognize some of the recipes in their newest cookbook, Tupelo Honey Cafe: New Southern Flavors from the Blue Ridge Mountains. With the flagship restaurant in Asheville, NC, and several other restaurants around the mountain south, Tupelo Honey Cafe serves up a new twist on classic “hillbilly” (their word, not mine) fare. As with every culture, the common foods tell the story of the people. The mountain foods of the Appalachian people are rich in vegetables, which tells the story of the peoples’ earthiness and connection to the land. Chef Brian Sonoskus have made these stories come to life with the dishes he serves in his Tupelo Honey Cafe locations.

While I’ve never been privileged enough to eat at Tupelo Honey Cafe, it’s definitely on my list if I ever find myself in the same town as one. In the meantime, I will pore over their newest cookbook sent to me by Andrews McMeel Publishing. I could tell you all about how good the recipes look, but I though a picture would be worth a thousand words.

Don’t you know a cookbook is good when you mark almost every recipe so you can try it out? Here’s my list of recipes I want to try right away:

• Technicolor-Rama Asian Slaw with cabbage and jicama and Granny Smith apples(!!!)
• Pimiento Cheese with a Kick – It has whole grain and Dijon mustard, cumin, and cherry peppers 🙂
• Roast Beef Po’ Boy with Cherry Pepper Aioli
• Dressed Up For COmpany Onion Casserole. It has heavy cream and Gruyere. Oh, dear.
• Rib Eye Steak and Mushroom Pot Pie with Sweet Potato Biscuit Crust. Why wouldn’t you?
• Acorn Squash Stuffed with Bacon Bread Pudding
• Cornmeal-Fried Black-Eyed Peas
• Cheesy Grits Souffle
• Country Ham and Pimiento Cheese Biscuits
• Southern Pretzels with Pimiento Cheese Fondu. Because SOUTHERN CHEESE FONDU. And homemade pretzels.
• Shrimp Cakes with Roasted Garlic Aioli
• Red Onion Marmelade
• Flat-Out Fantastic Flat Iron Steak Au Poivre

I can’t wait to get started cooking my way through this cookbook!! It’s definitely one that will inspire you to gather your family around the table. Would one of you like a copy? I’ll give you three ways to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post letting me know which of the above dishes you’d like to try.
2. Follow @TheHillHangout on Twitter and send me a tweet about which dish you’d like to try.
3. Follow The Hill Hangout on Facebook and leave us a comment at this post.

I’ll announce the winner on Friday.

If you don’t win a copy, please feel free to order one from my Amazon affiliate link.

As you might imagine from a food blogger, cookbooks are an obsession of mine. Anytime we travel, I love to find and thumb through a cookbook from the region because I believe a culture’s food is one of the best expressions of who its people are. And there is nothing better than a cookbook full of recipes you’d really make, but which are all new dishes to your family. Solid gold! The fine folks at Andrews McMeel Publishing sent me a copy of Stir My Soul by Roxie Kelley to review and give away. I’m happy to report that Stir My Soul is FULL of recipes that I’m sure will become regular favorites around our house.

In order to whet your appetite, let me share a few dishes Roxie serves up in Stir My Soul. I didn’t get far into the book (page 2, in fact) until I came upon Spinach Artichoke Nachos. Um, yes, please! A couple of pages over is a recipe for her daughter Brooke’s Sweet Potato Hummus. We eat a TON of hummus at our house, so I’m always looking for a new twist on it. Since we love sweet potatoes, this one will be a big hit! Potato skins are a traditional appetizer in our area, but Roxie makes her Classic Potato Skins with prosciutto and mozzarella. Since our are typically made with bacon and cheddar, I look forward to trying her recipe. Her Castle Wings are a fried chicken wing served with your choice of Kahlua & Coffee Sauce or Raspberry-Tequila Sauce. What?!? I’m all over those!

But appetizers aren’t all Roxie shares. The main dishes in Stir My Soul are equally as mouth-watering. She shares a recipe for Parmesan Pork Loin, complete with carrots and potatoes, which would be a perfect Sunday lunch dish. Jack’s Gumbo is the real deal! It’s a chicken and sausage gumbo made with a roux (the ONLY way to make REAL gumbo in my humble opinion.) Her Chipotle Barbecue Chicken Club Sandwiches will be on my menu soon. And she has several authentic pasta dishes including Stuffed Shells, Baked Ziti, and Fettuccine with Asiago and Parmesan Cheeses.

When I look through a cookbook, I always check to see whether the side dishes are any good, because I feel like a good side dish can accompany most any entree. Roxie’s Asian Rice is something I’d serve with grilled chicken, shrimp, or pork tenderloin. It has lots of veggies, so it’s a starch and veggie in one dish. Her Roasted Mushrooms would be perfect with a juice grilled steak. Her Spinach Baked Potatoes would be delicious (and again, the only side needed) for roast. And her Kelsey’s Asiago AuGratin Potatoes would pair nicely with ham. Her Spiced Marinated Tomatoes would be delicious at this time of year, since tomatoes are in season.

In addition to lots of delicious looking breads and muffins, Stir My Soul also features a large dessert section. The first one I’m trying is the Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake. But her Cheese Filles Chocolate Bundt Cake will be a close second. Her Apple Turnovers are made with spiced apples and puff pastry. Her selection of cookies look divine! They include Peanut Butter Dreams, Salted Chocolate Cookies, Lush Lemon Bars, and Turtle Shortbread Bars.

Stir My Soul can be ordered directly from Andrews McMeel here, you can find it at Barnes and Noble, or you can order from my Amazon affiliate link here..

The generous folks at Andrews MCMeel have sent me a copy to give away to a reader. I’ll give you three ways to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post. One comment per person, please.
2. Follow The Hill Hangout on Facebook, and leave us a comment on the Facebook post linked here.
3. Follow @TheHillHangout on Twitter, and tweet us a comment about Stir My Soul. 

Good luck, dear readers! I’ll announce the winner next Friday at noon.

** Andrews McMeel Publishing sent me a copy of this cookbook for review purposes. As always, opinions about it are entirely my own. Also, as always, I only review and give away books I think my readers really will enjoy.

I told you guys I was proclaiming this the Summer of Pizza. We have had it a LOT lately, and every time I try to mix it up a little. Fig butter and prosciutto are ingredients I don’t use all that often, so I was intrigued by the combination. The sweetness of the fig butter is quite a nice complement to the smoky saltiness of the prosciutto, and they worked great together in Fig and Prosciutto Pizza.

For Fig and Prosciutto Pizza, you either need a store-bought pizza crust or you can make your own like this one on LifeInGrace. You will also need a jar of fig butter or fig preserves. I used fig butter I found at Trader Joe’s, and I can highly recommend it. However, if you are like me and don’t live anywhere near a Trader Joe’s, just pick up a jar of fig preserves from your local grocery. It’ll do. You’ll also need a handful of arugula and some high quality fresh parmesan.

Roll out the pizza dough to the size you want. Cover with a thin coat of fig butter.

Pile on the prosciutto. I use 6-7 slices.

Bake on 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or so. Keep a close check on it so the crust doesn’t burn.

When the crust is turning golden and the prosciutto is beginning to brown, pull it out of the oven. Top with a handful of fresh arugula and top with shaved parmesan. Enjoy your Fig and Prosciutto Pizza!

[yumprint-recipe id=’37’]

I have deemed this summer the Summer of Pizza. We have tried homemade pizza in the past, and always came up a little short. I’ve determined that the fail was in the crust. I have tried pre-made and refrigerated crusts, but nothing suited our fancy. I finally worked up the nerve to try my hand at homemade dough, and lo and behold it’s not that hard. I used Edies’s recipe found here. I used it one night last week to make BBQ Chicken Pizza, and it was perfect.

Honestly, I think I could eat a BBQ Chicken Pizza from California Pizza Kitchen every day of the week and not get tired of it. But since that would be out of my budget, I instead learned how to make them at home. My recipe isn’t an exact replica of theirs, but it IS a delicious pizza that I enjoy making at home.

You’ll need:

1/2 batch of pizza dough (or double the recipe and make 2 pizzas)
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (This can be any variety you like. I prefer a sweet sauce like Costa’s or Sweet Baby Ray’s.)
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
1-2 grilled or roasted chicken breasts, sliced
6-8 cilantro sprigs
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Make pizza dough according to directions. Allow dough to rise, divide dough in half, turn onto floured surface, and knead a few times. Roll out dough to desired thickness. Transfer to round baking sheet or pizza stone which has been sprinkled with the cornmeal.

Spread BBQ sauce over dough. Add thinly sliced red onion and cilantro. Add chicken. Top with mozzarella cheese.

Bake on 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden.

[yumprint-recipe id=’36’]

I’m a sucker for a good chicken enchilada. It’s my usual order when we eat out at any of our favorite Tex-Mex restaurants. Enchiladas Suizas are my first choice, as I love the combination of white meat chicken, tart salsa verde, creamy sour cream, and melted monterey jack cheese. It’s cousin, Enchiladas Verdes, is similar, but does not use the sour cream in the sauce. Let’s be honest, I won’t turn down either! But I do think I prefer the addition of the sour cream, as it tones down the tartness of the salsa verde and gives the sauce a nice, creamy texture. However, this is not a dish I wanted to make at home without a REALLY good recipe, as I knew it would be a disappointment after eating the delicious restaurant version. The following passed the test and got rave reviews from the family. They have asked that I make it again soon, and that is always a sure sign that it’s a good recipe.

Enchiladas Suizas is a chicken dish, and you can use most any kind of chicken you want. I grilled a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (actually, I used some that were leftover from dinner the night before). You could also use a store-bought rotisserie chicken or bake a few breasts in the oven with some olive oil, salt, and pepper.

For the sauce you’ll need:

1 jar salsa verde (I used Pace Garlic & Lime Verde) or you can make your own
1/2 cup sour cream

Mix together in a bowl and set aside.

For the filling you’ll need:

3 grilled chicken breasts, chopped or shredded
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 can green chiles
1/2 cup salsa verde/sour cream mixture
8-10 soft tortillas
8 oz block Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Mix together the chicken, onion, bell pepper, and can of green chiles. Add 1/2 cup of the sour cream/salsa mixture. Mix well to incorporate all ingredients. Spoon about 1/4 cup into tortilla shells.

Roll up tortillas and place in sprayed baking dish, like good little soldiers all in a row.

Sprinkle top of enchiladas with grated monterey jack cheese. Pour rest of sour cream/salsa mixture over top.

Bake on 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly golden. Serve right away.

If you make Enchiladas Suizas for your family, they will rise up and call you “sagrada”

[yumprint-recipe id=’35’]Linking up with Home Stories AtoZ.

My husband is the sweetest, dearest man, and he NEVER wants anything for himself. I know that anything I buy for him for Father’s Day, he will most likely end up taking back. He is just not a gift guy. What he values more than anything else is a day off spent with the family. And he won’t ever turn down a little good food either! So when Ragú contacted me to come up with a Father’s Day brunch that was a twist on their Sausage and Peppers by blending it with a traditional brunch dish, I knew exactly the kind of recipe my guy would love – a Sausage and Peppers Omelet! I know this hearty dish will pass my husband’s approval, and I bet it will go over well at your house, too.

3 eggs
1/4 orange bell pepper, diced
1/4 onion, diced
1 link sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
2 slices fresh mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce (Yes, I really use this brand because it has a delicious taste our whole family loves.)
several fresh basil leaves

There is not a dish in this world that isn’t made better by using fresh ingredients, and our Sausage and Peppers Omelet is no exception. If you’ve never used fresh herbs, by all means plant a few in your back yard. Basil, cilantro, rosemary, dill, and parsley are especially easy to grow. And if you’ve never used fresh mozzarella, here’s what you’re looking for:

Start by browning and crumbling sweet Italian sausage in skillet over medium heat. When cooked thoroughly, remove to paper towel to drain. Reserve just a little of the grease in the pan.

Saute diced onions and peppers in skillet with a little of the sausage grease. Salt and pepper well. When veggies are just beginning to soften, add sausage back to pan. Mix it together well.

Scramble eggs in a bowl and pour over top of sausage mixture. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Allow to cook for around 4-5 minutes or until eggs are no longer runny. Fold in half and put on plate.

Place mozzarella slices on top of omelet. Drizzle Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce over dish. Finish with basil on top. Serve right away.

Does the Dad in your home deserve something special this Father’s Day? Make him feel as special as he is by serving him some delicious food that took a little extra love to prepare. If your family loves Italian like we do, visit Facebook.com/RaguSauce for more easy and delicious Authentic Italian recipe ideas.

What are serving this Father’s Day? Any Father’s Day traditions you keep?

[yumprint-recipe id=’34’] 

Let’s face it – one of the reasons we don’t eat as much salad as we need to is because of all the chopping, slicing, and dicing. While it’s a simple dish, salad can be time-consuming to prepare. Wedge salads can come in handy on those nights when you need a quick, healthy salad, but don’t have time to do a lot of preparations. This BLT Wedge Salad is a family favorite, and I bet it will become part of your regular rotation, too.

To make a BLT Wedge Salad, you don’t need a whole lot. I bet you’ll have most of these items in your fridge or spice cabinet.You’ll need:

1 head iceberg lettuce
1 pound bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
10 grape tomatoes, quartered (You can use any kind of tomato you like. We happen to like grape tomatoes best when it’s not tomato season. But if they are in season, use whatever looks red and juicy.)

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

To make a BLT Wedge Salad, remove the outside wilted leaves from the head of lettuce and cut out the core. Rinse and drain the head of lettuce as best you can without pulling it apart. Cut it into quarters or eighths and place pieces on a platter.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayo, buttermilk, and spices. You can adjust the garlic powder as you like. We like it really garlic-y so we use the full teaspoon. But be warned that since garlic is the main flavor of this dressing, if you cut out too much, your dressing will be bland. Pour dressing over lettuce wedges.

Sprinkle the chopped bacon and tomatoes over the top of the salad wedges. Serve immediately.

BLT Wedge Salad is a great way to enjoy more salad without spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Hope your family loves it.

[yumprint-recipe id=’33’]

It’s a common idea in the home building industry that in order to do any job well, one must have the proper tools. After all, it’s hard to make a straight cut with a dull blade. But this idea crosses over into many areas of life, including the kitchen. After 20+ years of running a kitchen, I have come across at least 10 kitchen essentials, items I have come to depend on throughout the years.

1. The KitchenAid Stand Mixer — At first I was a little uncertain I needed a mixer this powerful and heavy-duty, but after owning this mixer for several years, I can honestly say that I would be lost without it. I probably use it three or four times each week. I use it for cakes and cupcakes, sausage balls, meatloaf, whipping cream, and anything else that needs mixed or whipped. Because this mixer sits on my counter, I almost never pull out a hand mixer.

2. A good set of knives like these from J.A. Henckels. I happen to be a big fan of the Santoku knife, but use whichever shape fits your hand best. Just get a good set and keep them sharp. A good, sharp knife makes cutting and chopping SO much easier and quicker. Knives don’t necessarily have to be expensive, but they do cut best if they are sharp and fit your hand well.

3. I have tried a lot of cookware, and many are good, but nothing beats Le Creuset. It is made of cast iron, so it cooks like an iron skillet, but the enamel coating makes it easy as pie to clean up. I have three pieces including this dutch oven, a brasier, and a skillet. These are lifetime pieces, so I really believe they are worth the investment.

4. Bamboo Cutting Boards – We use a cutting board multiple times each day. As a cook who makes a ton of dishes from scratch, I am constantly chopping and slicing. As a blogger, I like my cutting boards to be pretty for photos. I have been through a dozen or more cutting boards trying to find one that covers both of my bases. I finally settled on these bamboo boards. They clean up easily and are very durable.

5. Pizza Stone – We’ve been making lots and lots of homemade pizzas lately, and every time we make them I wish for more pizza stones. The one we have has been with us since we got married 15 years ago. It has aged well, and I love the patina it has developed over the years. By far, my favorite way to cook pizza is on a stone. However, I would love to know if any of you have ever used a cast iron pizza pan. That might be next on my list.

6. Glass Canisters – I’m not a big fan of cluttering up my kitchen countertops because I like wide open spaces to work on. However, I do like utilitarian “decorations.” I have five glass canisters that sit out on my countertops. They are filled with sugar, flour, grits, cornmeal, and coffee. I absolutely adore they way they look, and they provide me with very easy access to the staples I use multiple times every day. When I get to the bottom of the jar, I throw them in the dishwasher for easy clean-up. They are simple, but I feel like they make my kitchen homey.

7. Interestingly enough, we don’t eat a lot of ice cream, and I never use a melon baller to scoop melon. However, I use a Ice Cream Scoop and Melon Baller almost every day. In addition to scooping the occasional bowl of ice cream, the ice cream scoop is the perfect size to fill muffin pans full of muffin or cupcake batter. The melon baller makes the perfect scoop for cookie dough, meat balls, or sausage balls. If you have these in your drawer, I promise you will find more uses for them than you ever thought possible.

8. Though I’ve listed a lot of must-haves in this post, I truly don’t know how I’d make it without my Kitchen Shears. It really grosses me out for my regular scissors to come in contact with any type of food, so I keep three pairs of kitchen shears on hand. I use the for simple things like opening cereal bags and for ickier jobs like cutting fat off of chicken. I’ve even been known to use them for cutting pizza when I couldn’t locate a pizza cutter.

9. Tervis Tumblers – Listen, nobody is more surprised than me at the fact that I’m including plastic cups on this list. However, if you’ve ever used Tervis Tumblers, you know that they deserve a spot. They keep your drink insulated, and they don’t sweat. That means no water rings on your furniture or countertops. We basically fill one in the morning and use it all day. You can purchase lids and straws, which we also love.

10. Cookbooks – Every cook has her own favorites, and my preferences have developed over time. As my cooking style has established itself, my penchant for cookbooks has changed. However, I do have a few favorites that I go back to again and again because I know they won’t let me down.

My current favorites include The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier, A Southern Palate, An Italian Palate, 400 Best Sandwich Recipes: From Classics and Burgers to Wraps and Condiments, and anything on LifeInGrace.

I hope that these items will help you serve your family better by making life simpler in the kitchen. Y’all let me know in the comments what you’d add to the list. What are your must-haves?

PS: Those are all Amazon affiliate links. I’ll make a few cents if you purchase any of them. Thanks for keeping The Hill Hangout afloat.

Legend has it that Arnold Palmer, the famed golfer, drinks this half tea half lemonade concoction at home. In 1960, while playing the US Open, he ordered the combo at the bar at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, and that’s how it became known as the Arnold Palmer. Sweet tea is a staple in the south, and most southern cooks will recognize that the recipe is really nothing more than a pitcher of tea, with a little more sugar than usual and some lemon juice. Simple enough.

You can use whatever brand of tea you like best. I happen to be a Lipton girl, as I think it produces the most clear tea. You’ll need about four family-size tea bags, two cups of sugar, a gallon of boiling water, and the juice of five lemons. Pour the sugar into a pitcher, add the boiling water, and stir until all sugar is melted into the water. Add in the tea bags, and let it steep for about 10 minutes. Remove tea bags and add lemon juice. Stir and serve over ice. One note: I like to strain the lemon juice, as it gets seeds and pulp into it. If you like more pulp, feel free to strain or not strain as you choose.

We have been drinking the bottom out of the bottom of our Arnold Palmer pitchers lately. The girls and Jonathan can’t seem to get enough. What about your gang? Do they take their sweet tea straight up or with a twist of lemon?

[yumprint-recipe id=’32’]