New York Style Reubens

My Dad is a New Yorker by birth and youth, and still yearns for a hard roll sandwich or a slice of pizza off of a road side cart every now and then.  He made this meal for me on my last visit and said I could use it for the blog if I paid appropriate homage to the heritage of the piece.

Ingredients:
1/4 pound sliced pastrami
1 16 oz can/jar sour kraut
Swiss Cheese, sliced
Brown Deli mustard (as desired)
Rye Bread

Directions:
1. Layer 6 slices pastrami, 1/2-3/4 cup sour kraut and swiss cheese as desired on top of eachother on a baking sheet.  Heat in broiler or toaster oven until cheeze is melted and pastrami is warmed.
2. Toast 1 slice rye bread.  Add mustard.
3. Place heated pastrami/kraut/cheese layers on rye bread.

The directions yield one sandwich.  Repeat/multiply for as many sandwiches as people served (these are filling).  Serve with greens on side.

Time to table:
10-15 minutes.

Lemon Pepper Green Beans

These are a great option to have on the side of any meal.  They make me feel healthy when I've prepared an otherwise unhealthy meal.  The original recipe I found online called for lemon zest, shalots and pepper.  For those of us who don't keep that many fresh ingredients on us at all times, I made a fast and easy version with lemon pepper and I use it all the more regularly for that reason. 

Ingredients:
1/2 Tbs butter/margarine
a 4-inch diameter grip of fresh French Style Green Beans ("garden beans")
2 tsp lemon pepper (more or less to taste)

Directions:
1. On low heat, melt butter in skillet.
2. Add green beans to skillet, stirring to coat them with the melted butter.
3. Pour in lemon pepper while mixing, evenly coating beans with the spice.
4. Cover on low heat for 3-5 minutes. 
5. Remove from heat and serve when beans are bright green in color and still firm.

Servings: 3-4

Cook time:
5-10 minutes (if you include the preparing of the beans--snipping off dead ends)

Easy Soft Tacos

This was the lucky result of a bunch of free ingredients left over from a lunch at work.  Took me 10 minutes to make with the right ingredients.

Ingredients:
1 bag salad
1 16-oz can refried beans
1/3 cup cheese (grated)
1 package small flour tortillas
Salsa, as desired
Sour Cream, as desired
Ranch Dressing, as desired
Guacamole, as desired

Directions:
1. Open can of re-fried beans, microwave them for 1 1/2 minutes on high in a microwave safe dish.
2. Smear sour cream, guacamole, and refried beans on tortillas as desired.
3.  Top with cheese and salsa
4. Open bag salad, add a handful of lettuce to the top of each soft taco.  Mix the rest with Ranch Dressing and serve on the side.

Serves:
5-7 adults (If you're me, 4)

Time to Table: 10 minutes.