Avocado Ranch Sandwich

This sandwich is a great little meal all of it's own.

You will need?
1 ripe avocado
1/4 cup lighthouse ranch dressing (found in the refridgerated produce section)
Morning Star bacon strips
bread of your choice
lettuce
sliced deli style turkey breast

I like to use Lighthouse homestyle ranch, just has a nice flavor. I'm generally not a ranch person but this goes nicely as a spread. Definately have a really ripe avocado.

After peeling and pitting the avocado fork it in a dish until fairly smooth, or to the texture of your liking, I like a little chunk.
Add about 1/4 cup of the ranch and mix until well blended.

I use Morning Star fake bacon for this. You can use real bacon, I just happen to like the taste of this faux better :)

While the bacon is cooking I toast some Cottage bread. I prefer a dark rye but this is what I happened to have on hand, it works.

Just brown the fake bacon, if you over cook it, it turns into something similar to construction paper, and tasted about the same.

When the toast is ready, spread avocado ranch mix on both slices.

Add bacon and lettuce. I also added some mesquite deli turkey. I was out of tomato (I really need to get to the market).

And the finished product! Served with some leftover crab salad (recipe for another day).

Swiss Steak

This is one of my favorite recipes that my grandfather would request.

You will need:
1-1 1/2 lb tenderized steak
3/4 cup ketchup
1 pint heavy whipping cream
2 tabplespoons white sugar

Tenderized steak I bought at the market in St. Paul, labled Kosher although it totally defeats the purpose since this recipe calls for it to be cooked in cream :P

I cut the steak pieces in half as I like to serve them in smaller portions. I brown the meat on both sides, the center still pink.

Once it's browned I take it out of the pan and set aside while I prepare the gravy mixture.

The gravy sauce is simple. About 3/4 cup of ketchup, 2/3 pint of heavy whipping cream, and about 2 tablespoons of white sugar.

Cook on medium heat while stirring continually until mixute is well blended and starts to bubble.

Add the steak pieces and cover with sauce.

Cover and let cook on low flame, stirring every couple minutes to prevent sticking to the pan.

While the steak and sauce start to cook. I start my potatoes.
And corn. Although I have sweet corn, I like to add a couple heaping tablespoons of sugar to the water to give it a little extra sweetness.

While everything is heating up I slice up some white onion into thin slices.

I use the onion for a simple side relish that goes great with the meal. Sliced onion covered with white balsamic vinegar and about 2 tablespoons of white sugar.

Let sit until ready to serve. Some people like to soak the onion in water for about half an hour before pouring on the vinegar and sugar to take the bite out of the onion, but I like the bite so I skip that step.

Once the potatoes are soft I cut up about 4 tablespoons of butter and add the remaining 1/3 pint of cream.

And here we are. BON APPETIT!