Grunge Gourmet

Julia and her adventure in French cooking reminded me of a group of women in the Peterborough area who get together once a month for a gourmet meal club. They make these mouth watering meals complete with soup, salad, wines and desserts (in addition to the entree of course). The meal is celebrated together and then critiqued and rated. I was once allowed to look at the binder of recipe's completed to date and they were extravagent but awesome. I wonder how many of those women in the gourmet meal club went on to reproduce those meals days after? How many of them, or us for that matter, have some of the ingredients on hand to 'whip up' gourmet meals? I'm certain that I don't. It was after having had a similar conversation with my cousin that she told me about an opposite meal club that she was a part of called the 'Grunge Gourmet'.
The group was started for busy, fast-paced women who were looking for practical meals with short preparation times that their families will eat. Much like our group, the hostess makes the meal for the entire group and does all of the clean up as well. The attire is very casual - track and/or pyjama pants are encouraged. Much like other meal clubs, they produced a cook book of their favourite recipe's over the years and didn't just keep it to themselves, they had it published by a small publisher in Brockville Ontario. The group, and their story, was such a success that they were featured in the U.S. Publication of Women's World magazine a couple of years ago. Since I have an 'in' with one of the club members I was able to get my hands on their cookbook quite easily. So I thought I'd share a recipe (or two) from their book with you this week.
I came across this one and think that it sounds quite interesting. I'm hoping someone will try it and report back.

Aunt Sharon's Hawaiian Sandwich

1/2 hamburger bun
Peanut butter
1 can sliced pineapple
sliced cheddar cheese

Spread peanut butter on 1/2 of hamburger bun. Top with a slice of pineapple followed by a slice of cheese. Pop under broiler until cheese melts.

- As I said... sounds quite interesting.....

This one sounded a little better....

Taco Round

1 package of taco seasoning
2.5 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 package of ground beef
1 package of jumbo crescent rolls
1 container sour cream
1 jar of salsa
Shredded lettuce

Cook ground beef in frying pan. Strain off fat. In a bowl mix cooked ground beef, taco seasoning and cheese. On a pizza stone or baking pan, unfold the triangles of the crescent rolls. Separate them and arrange them on the stone to form a 4-point star with an open circle in the middle. Be sure that the triangles overlap slightly. Scoop the beef and cheese mixture onto the inner circle of the crescent rolls to form a ring of meat. Fold the four points back towards the middle and secure. Follow the instructions on the crescent rolls to bake. Cut and serve with sour cream, salsa and lettuce.