{Ham Sams with Poppy Seed Dressing}

When I was a teenager, we had something at church called 'Prayer Breakfast'. Every Wednesday morning, before school, our youth group would go to church for a short devotional time. After devotions we would eat breakfast together. The ladies in the church took turn preparing it from week to week. We'd have everything from donuts and muffins, to sausage biscuits and gravy, to eggs, to pancakes and bacon  to everything in between.

My favorite thing though? A sweet lady named Ruth made totally delicious ham sandwiches. I knew if I saw Ruth in the church kitchen, it was going to be a good day!

They'd come out to us in foil. We'd unwrap them and breathe in the heavenly (ha, see what I did there? church? heavenly? yeah.) aroma. As a tiny teenage girl I could easy put away more than is totally proper. No shame, they are that good!


Recently my mom made them for a ladies group meeting. When I found out, I pestered her endlessly until she gave me the recipe. I'm a good daughter. I'm not really sure I ever outgrew my "pesty" stage. Finally, she gave it to me. Oh happy day!

I've mentioned in the past that Bean is quite the picky eater. When I made these up for the blog, I didn't figure he'd like them. Well, I was right, he didn't like them. He's obsessed with them! He even begged me to make him two slider sized after school yesterday. Here's the best thing about this recipe, it's SO EASY. He can make it himself.

As I mentioned, you can make these in slider sized. Or mini subs like I did for this post. Or regular sized. Or full sized subs. Any size will do, just make a lot!

For the sliders I made him, I simply sliced King's Hawaiian Rolls and made the sandwiches.

I've never known a name for these. We've just always called them Ruth's sandwiches. Bean has dubbed them Amazingly Delicious Ham Sams though. I'll stick with Ham Sams.

I can't say as I know the source of this recipe, only that Ruth made them a good 25 years ago. Delicious then. Delicious now. They have this almost honey mustard flavor to them. Here's the rub though, there's no honey in this mustard at all! Magic.


I'm pretty sure these are ingredients I'll need to have on hand full time now. Bean cannot get enough of these!

Good thing they are easy!


These are great for get togethers & parties too.

Tina


Ham Sams
with a mustard onion poppy seed dressing
makes 8  (3 1/2"-4" buns)
(or less depending on how much meat you like on your sandwiches)


1 lb ham, sliced or chipped (chipping is very thin slices, almost shredded. I use chipped for my sandwiches)
1/2 lb Swiss cheese, sliced
1/4 pound butter, melted
2 Tablespoons dried onion flakes (or fresh diced onion)
3 Tablespoons mustard
1 Tablespoons poppy seeds
Buns


Melt butter. Add in mustard and stir until mixed. Add onion and poppy seed. Stir.
Assemble sandwich with ham and a slice of swiss cheese.
Spread dressing onto the outside of the bun tops.

You can also spread it on the inside of the buns too, though you may need to mix up a bit more.

Wrap in foil and bake at 325 F for 15-20 minutes.

{Caramel Apple Cake}

I think you all should know that today is Hermione Jean Granger's birthday, BUT, I promised not to talk about Harry Potter for a while, so, I did NOT just tell you that. (However, I WILL tell you that Darla has some aweeeeeesome cuppies made for our favorite smartypant's birthday. Oh, and there are also these that I made for her a while back!).

Anyway...

I've been following the production of what promises to be an amazing movie (no, not the new Potter universe film). The movie is called The Fault in Our Stars and is based on the best selling book of the same title by John Green. If you didn't already know, I'm a Nerdfighter and rabid fan of John Green. For reference, or to figure out what the heck a Nerdfighter is, see my post here.

Finally watching one of John's movies head to the screen (Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns were all optioned by movie companies, but never made) is pretty exciting. John has been on set and keeps posting videos and photos. It's all so much fun to see come to life.

The Fault in Our Stars has been by far John's most successful book (although they have all been on the best sellers list. In fact, early this year, they were all on the best seller list at the same time). Many celebs have read TFiOS, it's been in magazines, and John's even been on the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

So, it's pretty popular. It's also going to be an AMAZING movie and I can't wait. I wasn't too excited about the actress cast as Hazel Grace, but, meh, I'm giving her a chance. She WAS nominated for a Golden Globe, so I guess the bad acting on the "teen" show was due to poor writing!

I'm totally over here in my corner having a hipster moment. You know, I liked John Green before it was cool, I read TFiOS before it was the big time. Yeah, I'm cool like that.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!! (I know, I know, I just lost my cool points yelling like a fool).

What does this have to do with the cake I made?

Exactly....nothing.

However, read the book. You'll need cake after. I promise.

This cake is a wonderful fall recipe. It's sweet but spicy, moist and covered in a delicious streusel. It's great for dessert or for breakfast. 

  Drizzle with a bit of caramel topping to make it even more delicious.

Then... eat up! 

 Hello, my lovely Fall treat. I've missed you and your friends so.

 

Le yum.

And as they say in my hometown, don't forget to be awesome,
Tina

If you haven’t already,  you can ‘like’ my Facebook page here, and follow me on twitter here, and you can follow me on instagram here.


Caramel Apple Cake 
recipe by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

Cake:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping

Topping:

1/4 cup butter, cold
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Grease a 9x9 baking pan and set aside

For Cake:
Beat together melted butter, egg, and brown sugar until fluffy. Add in caramel topping. After incorporated mix in dry ingredients. Finally, fold in apples. Pour into prepared pan.

For Topping:
In a mixing bowl, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles peas. Sprinkle over prepared cake.

Bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow to cool, drizzle with caramel ice cream topping, if desired.