My sophomore year at Virginia Tech, I visited the poster sale before classes started to find some things to decorate my new dorm room. I came across a “101 Places to See before You Die” poster and it caught my eye. I’ve always had a touch of wanderlust, and this poster inspired some new travel dreams. But one thing always irked me about that poster – the 101st place on the list was “the moon”! Well sorry, but no! So I decided to make my own version of the poster, including many of my own bucket list items. I ended up with a two-poster set, including locations like Bora Bora, Mount Fuji, Singapore and Prague.
My personal bucket list posters
When I graduated in 2015, I was fortunate enough to travel with my parents through Europe and check off a whopping 12 items from my list! I’ve since hit a few more, including a trip to see my favorite show on Broadway (Phantom of the Opera!) And I’ve just returned from another trip which allowed me to check off three more items from my list – plus a few things I didn’t even know existed!
Seattle is a great city – it’s huge but approachable. I think we walked most of downtown within a few hours. We visited the Space Needle and the Chihuly Gardens (check off the list!) and even made a day trip to Portland (a three hour drive) so that I could get some VooDoo Donuts (another check!).
The Chihuly Gardens were absolutely fabulous.
Serious shout out to my friend Will for being my travel buddy, and for holding my hand at takeoff because I hate flying so much!
Sarit and Will and I posing with the Hokie flag
Another shout out to Sarit, who so kindly let us crash her house for 5 days while we rampaged around the city. Not to mention letting us borrow her car for our trips to see the Boeing factory and Snoqualmie Falls. I brought her some of these cookies as a thank-you gift, but I still owe her bigtime!
another item off my bucket list!
All in all, I had a fantastic time in a new city and got to check three things off my bucket list. I also got to see one of my first Virginia Tech friends happily married to his best friend. Even though a pretty terrible cold had set in mightily by the day of the ceremony, I loved the reception and their beautiful rainbow cupcakes! Not to mention the delicious Korean/Hawaiian fusion dinner – someone remind me to try making Spam sliders soon!
these rainbow cupcakes melted my heart! Congrats Ben and Ross!
So now that I’m home, and still down and out with the remnants of that cold, I’ve finally got some free time to write up a few blog recipes that I’ve been planning out for a while. And what better place to start than with these easy and delicious roast beef sliders?
I found this recipe a short time ago and it has quickly become one of my most requested dishes. I brought some leftovers to my coworkers and they essentially begged for the recipe. Then two of them made it for dinner that same night! So take my word for it, these are a must-try dinner!
To make these sliders, all you need is 12 King’s Hawaiian Slider rolls, 1 pound of roast beef, one package of sliced provolone cheese, and a small container of French’s fried onions.
Mise En Place!
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and nonstick spray.
Without pulling the rolls apart, use a knife to cut them in half. I’ve found that using a long, serrated bread knife works best for this. Move the top half of rolls to the side, and place the bottom half on the baking sheet.
Don’t separate the rolls before slicing them in half.
Place half the provolone over the bottom half of the rolls, making sure to cover the edges. Next layer all of the roast beef, followed by the fried onions. Place the other half of the cheese on top and cap off the sliders with the top half of the rolls.
Step 1: Provolone
Step 2: Roast Beef
Step 3: Fried Onions
Step 4: More cheese
Step 5: ta-da!
Now mix together the sauce for seasoning. First, microwave 1 stick of butter in 15 second intervals until mostly melted. Stirring will help to melt any small pieces that are left over. Mix in the Worcestershire sauce, Au Jus seasoning, sesame seeds, garlic salt, and onion powder. Stir well to ensure there are no dry lumps left in the mixture.
Use a basting brush to slather about half of the sauce onto the sliders, making sure to touch all the crevices!
coat the rolls well, don’t be shy!
Bake the sliders for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and cover with the remaining sauce. Place back in the oven for 5-10 more minutes, then remove and enjoy while hot!
Enjoy!
- 1 package (12 rolls) King’s Hawaiian Sliders
- 12 slices provolone cheese
- 1 pound roast beef (I prefer Kroger Private Selection or Boar’s Head)
- 2.8 oz French’s fried onions
- 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp Au Jus seasoning mix
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
- ¾ tsp garlic salt
- ½ tsp onion powder
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray.
- Without separating the rolls, cut them in half using a long, serrated bread knife. Place the top half aside and place the bottom half on the baking tray.
- Top the open faced rolls with 6 slices of the provolone, followed by all the roast beef and all the fried onions. Top with the remaining cheese, and place the top half of rolls onto the sliders. Press down slightly.
- In a small bowl, melt butter in microwave in 15 second intervals. Add the Au Jus mix, Worcestershire, sesame seeds, garlic salt and onion powder. Mix well to combine.
- Slather half the sauce over top of the rolls, and bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven, coat with remaining sauce, and return to oven for 5-10 minutes. Once finished, remove from oven, slice rolls and enjoy while hot!
