The Whirlwind of June & Recipes

Since Memorial Day we've had two birthdays, a week of graduation festivities and a cousin's wedding. It's been a whirlwind of activity. I'm not sure how I feel about having an 18 year old who's heading off to college in the fall. The time has flown by since he and his brother were toddlers running around the house. We're planning a July open house for him, and I think that's when it will really hit home for me. I thought today I would share some recipes I used during the last couple of weeks.

Graduation Day Menu
My son picked a menu for the dinner we had before graduation which was at 7 p.m. My parents and my husband's parents plus his girlfriend joined us, and we ate outside. There were 10 of us for dinner.

Ground Chuck for burgers
Seasoning Salt, pepper to season
Two 12 ounce packages of bacon, cooked and drained
Cheese slices
Tomato, Vidalia Onion-- both sliced
Ketchup, Mustard and Mayonnaise
Hamburger Buns
Hotdogs plus Buns
Two bags of chips
1 pound coleslaw
2 pounds potato salad
1 large watermelon

We never buy bacon, especially for burgers, at our house so that was a big treat for the kids. My 17 year old fried that up while my husband grilled the burgers. I sliced the vegetables and set the table. Everyone had a chance to visit before the graduation and helped me clean up when it was time to start getting ready for graduation.

Summer Birthday Menu
The next day was my son's 18th birthday. Yes, the day after graduation and his Senior All Night Party. He asked for steak sandwiches with provolone cheese, French fries and an ice cream cake. It's nice to know that just because he turned 18 doesn't mean he's too grown up for cake:) We only had two extra people for dinner since everyone was so tired from the graduation festivities.

Steak Sandwiches

3 pounds of steak sizzlers or sandwich steak like Steak-umm
1 green pepper. sliced thin
1 sweet onion, sliced thin
mushrooms (fresh or canned), sliced
Submarine sandwich buns
1 pound Provolone cheese
seasoning salt
Creole seasoning (Tony Chachere's)

I lay the steak flat on a heated griddle pan, season on one side with the seasoning salt and the other side with the Creole seasoning. I flip the steak and only cook until it's no longer pink. Don't over cook. While these are cooking, I also saute the green pepper and onions in one pan with a tiny bit of oil. In another pan I saute the onions. How many you use depends on how many people like them- 1/2 pound to a pound.

When everything is cooked it's time to assemble the sandwiches. Halve a piece of Provolone, place the two pieces on the bun lengthwise. Place one or two pieces of steak on each bun, on top of the cheese, then top this with onion, green pepper and onion. Serve immediately, or you could wrap in foil until they are all assembled. You can also lay it all out on the table and let everyone assemble their own.

~Brenda