Mediterranean Turkey Burgers

Turkey Burgers

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs Ground Turkey (93/7)

4 white mushrooms (medium)

1 portabella mushroom (medium)

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

¼ purple onion (1/4 cup chopped)

1 garlic glove

2 slices whole grain bread (I prefer the organic sprouted protein bread from trader joe’s)

Salt and pepper (sprinkle in for flavor)

Instructions:

• In a food processor or chopper blend the following together until chopped small:
• Mushrooms, parsley, onion, garlic
• Heat a skillet/pan on medium heat and add olive oil once the pan is heated.  Add the chopped mix to the pan and sauté until the mix is cooked through (about 8 mins).   Place the mix into medium mixing bowl and set aside.
• Either hand dice or use a food processor to grind the two slices of bread.  Pulse or chop until the bread resembles large bread crumbs.   Add the bread to the mixing bowl.
• Add the ground turkey to the mixing bowl.
• Add 1 egg to the mixing bowl. 
• Mix all ingredients together in the mixing bowl.  The mixture will be moist enough that you can probably mix with a fork. 
• Coat your hands with olive oil and form meat into patties.  
• Cook the patties on a grill until cooked through or on a pan using olive oil.  If you use a grill, spray with non-stick spray or olive oil to prevent sticking.

Goat Cheese Spread

Ingredients:

(1/2 cup) Plain soft goat cheese (like chevre)

(1/2 cup) Greek yogurt

½ - 1 tsp of dried dill

Lemon wedge

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Mix all of the listed ingredients together in a bowl until you have a smooth spread.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Squeeze in at least one lemon wedge and taste.  You can reduce the goat cheese or greek yogurt depending on whether you like a strong goat cheese flavor or not. 

*Serve the burgers on warm whole wheat pita bread spread with the goat cheese mixture. 

BBQ Brisket in the Crockpot

I served bbq brisket on slider rolls with a side of the full of fat mac n' cheese.  It was a very filling football Sunday!

Adapted recipe from All Recipes: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/busy-day-barbeque-brisket/

I made these changes and would recommend them to others:

Dry Rub:  I did not use cayenne pepper because our bbq sauce had a little kick and some people don't like so much spice. I also don't have onion powder, so we didn't use this.  I sliced up one whole onion and laid this on the bottom of the crockpot.  The onion caramelized in the sauce and fit right in!

Worcestshire Sauce:  I did not use this because there is enough flavor and salt in the bbq sauce that we bought pre-made.  I don't think it's needed at all.

Liquid Smoke:  I did not use this and it was not needed with the smoky bbq sauce.

Tips:

Remove the meat from the crockpot when it's done cooking and pull it apart using two forks.  You may need to slice it up first.  Using a small measuring cup/spoon, scoop out the top fat layer of the sauce.  Another way to do this is to put the gravy in a container and put it in the fridge.  The fat will harden on the top and you can easily scrape it off and toss it.  You will mix the gravy back in with the shredded meat, and keep the crockpot on low or warm to serve it to your guests.

I'll definitely try making another brisket in the crockpot!  It was well worth the minimal amount of effort : )

Full of Fat Mac N Cheese

I am going to steal Sarah Beatty's term and call this the "Full of Fat Mac N Cheese" recipe.  It may be full of fat, but it's great comfort food for a big dinner or football party. 

I followed Barefoot Contessa's Recipe: 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mac-and-cheese-recipe2/index.html

Changes: 

Milk:  I used skim milk instead of whole. 

Cheese: I used 2 cups of gouda, 2 cups cheddar and 2 cups of gruyere.  

Comments: 

I thought this was a delicious and filling comfort food. I wouldn't recommend it as a weekly side dish, but it was great for a football party! My only comment is that the recipe says the milk will be "smooth and thicker" when mixed in with the flour/butter mixture.  It doesn't ever really look "thick."  It appears to be a lot of milk, but once you mix in the cheese and pasta, it reduces.  Then when you bake it, all the milk absorbs and you are left with a creamy mac n' cheese.

Low Fat Apple Muffins

I recently made these apple muffins with a few changes.  I think it's a great recipe to try that's lower in fat.  I changed the sugar and added in some honey.  Details coming soon!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/apple-muffins-recipe/index.html

I'm finally updating this post!

The changes I made which were well worth it.

Applesauce - I peeled and cut up old apples and simmered them on low until I had a sauce.  I liked have the small apple chunks in the muffins.

Sugar - I reduced the sugar by 1/2.  I used 1/2 honey and 1/2 organic light brown sugar.

Buttermilk - I did not have any so I used 3/4 cup of plain fat free greek yogurt.

Enjoy!

Quick Pasta Fagioli

Ingredients:
Pancetta (about 1.5 cups diced)**
2 Celery diced
2 Carrots diced
1 medium onion diced
1 clove garlic diced
1.5 32 oz containers of organic low sodium chicken broth (low sodium is important because pancetta is salty). You could also use 1 32 oz of chicken broth and a 16 oz chicken broth.
1 cup chopped, peeled tomatoes or canned peeled tomatoes
1 can rinsed canellini beans
3/4 cup of small pasta (tiny elbow or ditalini)
1 sprig Rosemary
1 spring Thyme
1 Bay Leaf
Black Pepper to taste

Instructions:
In a soup pot...Turn the heat on to medium and allow the pot to start to heat.  After the pan is warm, add the pancetta.  Allow the pancetta to sautee for at least 4 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.  Add the diced onion, celery, carrots and garlic, and stir.  Allow the vegetables to cook for at least 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  While the vegetables are cooking, take a for and roughly mash about 1/2 of the cannellini beans - this adds a nice thickness to the soup.  Add the beans (mashed and not mashed) and stir. Add the tomatoes and stir.  Add the broth and stir.  Drop in the seasonings (if you have a sachet then put in sachet, otherwise, just drop in). Cover the soup and lower the temperature so the soup is simmering, stirring occasionally   Allow the soup to cook for about 10 minutes, until the flavors are combined and the vegetables are cooked through.  Stir and then increase the heat to medium and cover so the soup comes to a boil.  Add the pasta to the pot and cover.  Keep the heat at medium and simmering.  The pasta should be entirely cooked in about 8 minutes.  Turn the heat off and stir the soup.  Remove the sachet or bay leaf and herb sprigs.  Serve with cheese sprinkled on top or fresh bread with melted cheese.

**If you prefer, you could use diced ham or a fresh ham bone.  You would still allow this to cook first with the vegetables and follow the same recipe.

Award Winning Dip

I made this tip for a super bowl party in the Fall and went home with 1st prize - I beat out buffalo chicken dip! It's a refreshing dip and will over well at summer parties.

Tips: I used an extra avocado and a little more spicy pepper when making this dip on my own. Additional salt may be added to taste.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001141983

Easy App! Asparagus & Gruyere Tart

Jim has made this twice, the second time better than the first. It's a simple recipe from Martha Stewart that makes a great lunch side or an appetizer for guests.

Tips:

• You can definitely use a little bit less cheese than indicated in the recipe.
• We bought the Pillsbury pizza dough in the tube and it has worked fabulously.
• Lastly, we added turkey bacon crumbles to our latest tart and well…bacon makes everything better!

http://www.marthastewart.com/318340/asparagus-gruyere-tart

Scones - First Attempt

My first attempt at scones turned out well! I took Alton Brown's recipe and added semi-sweet chocolate chips to the recipe. I love a chocolate chip scone with some dark coffee in the morning! I was informed that buttermilk helps the scones get puffy and this recipe uses cream. I plan to try another scone recipe with buttermilk next time.

Tips:

- I used 1/2 and 1/2 instead of cream and it worked just as well.

- Cut the butter into cubes (make sure it's cold, but soft).

- Mix the butter and shortening in with your fingers unless you have a dough setting on a food processor.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/scones-recipe/reviews/index.html

Kale & Bacon!

Everything is better with bacon!

This recipe is delish. If you don't like red pepper flakes then I'd cut the measurement to 1/2 of what this recipe requests. If you aren't trying to count your calories, then I'd also add another strip of bacon! We topped with a spoon of sour cream because that is what we had in our fridge.

Check it out, it's easy to make:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=50400000109639

Banana Nut Muffins

I altered a recipe from Joy of Cooking for the reduced fat Banana muffins. So these probably fall between reduced fat and full fat :). If you want the truly reduced fat, check out the Joy of Cooking cookbook, Banana Muffins II.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour (i used whole wheat because it adds more flavor)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 pinch nutmeg

1/8 tsp cinnamon - few pinches

1/4 tsp vanilla

3 ripe bananas - mashed

2 tablespns vegetable oil

1 large egg

1/3 cup applesauce (all natural/no added sugar)

1/3 cup crushed walnuts - optional

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Whisk together wet ingredients into large bowl:

Egg, banana, oil, vanilla, applesauce

Whisk together all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add 1/2 the dry ingredients at a time and mix together. Batter will be lumpy and sticky. Add walnuts and mix in. Don't try to make the batter smooth - it's expected to be lumpy. Just work all the dry ingredients through.

Spray your muffin pan with non-stick spray, or grease with vegetable oil/butter to keep your muffin from sticking to the pan. I prefer to use the muffin pan that makes extra large muffins, so it makes 6 instead of 12 muffins. Either is fine. Bake the muffins for approximately 30 minutes - your toothpick will come out clean if you stick it through the muffin. I found the large muffin sizes took exactly 30 minutes to bake and they came out great.

Enjoy!

Instructions:

Ginger Spice Cookies - Delish

I decided to finally try something other than chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin this year for my holiday cookie exchange - ginger spice cookies! These were delicious. I found the recipe in epicurious.com, but I altered it as mentioned below: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Ginger-Spice-Cookies-103156. The alterations were by default of what I had in my cabinet, but it worked out!

Changes:

- I tripled the recipe and only used 2.5 tablespoons of ginger. I recommend trying 1 tablespoon per batch.

- I had regular organic molasses and used it - it turned out just fine and delicious.

- I ran my candied ginger through the food processor for an easy chop. It totaled 1 cup for 3 batches. I recommend 1/2 cup per batch.

I think pairing down the strong ginger flavors actually worked out well for a more universal cookie that still definitely qualifies as a ginger chew cookie.

Tips:

* If you prefer "snaps" over chews, just make the cookies a little smaller and they will make the perfect bite size snap!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

What are the best chocolate chip cookies? For me, the dependable recipe is the Toll House bag chocolate chip recipe! It's been reliable and delicious, making delicious and soft chocolate chip cookies. Buy the Toll House semi-sweet chocolate chips and cut the recipe out of the back of the bag. If you take them out right when they are golden on the edges and let the cookies sit on the sheet for another minute, then they come out soft and chewy in the center.

Recipe: http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18476/Original-NESTL%C3%89-TOLL-HOUSE-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies/detail.aspx

Tips:

*Use the light colored cookie sheets. The dark ones tend to over-brown the edges. (http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=16794139&RN=870&)

*Use unsalted butter. The recipe doesn't mention this, but you are adding salt per the recipe so you should bake with unsalted butter.

Has anyone made the Nordstrom chocolate chip cookie recipe?! I might check it out next year!

Easy Bruschetta Recipe

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 7 med-large vine tomatoes Diced (OR use 4 vine and 4 roma tomatoes)

Garlic – 1 medium clove (crushed)

Onion – ½ large purple onion diced

Olive Oil – extra virgin olive oil – 3 tablespoons

White Wine Balsamic Vinegar – 2 tablespoons (add additional to taste)

Regular Balsamic Vinegar – ½ -1 tablespoon

Fresh Basil chopped – 1 – 1.5 tablespoons chopped (I prefer this chopped in the food processor. Using fresh basil is essential)

Salt (to taste – probably at least ¼ tsp)

Pepper (just a little for taste)

How To:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, let sit for an hour and serve!

I like to make the bruschetta at least an hour before serving and then leave it out so it’s room temperature. Serve w/ toasted sliced baguette. If you add too much salt, just add an additional diced tomato. Roma tomatoes produce less juice, so if you would like less liquid, then use 1/2 roma and 1/2 vine tomatoes in the mixture.

Homemade Hummus

I was gifted an immersion blender for xmas from my big sister. I've started to venture into dip making and hope to get more into shakes in the near future. This my latest favorite hummus dip!

Plain White Bean Hummus

1 can cannellini beans (drained & rinsed)

1 clove fresh garlic

1-2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Juice from 1/2 lemon

salt to taste

dash of red pepper flakes (optional)

dash of rosemary (optional)

Using an immersion blender or a food processor, add the beans and garlic to be mixed. Then add 1/2 of the olive oil and the lemon. Add the salt and continue to add olive oil as you mix. You may need to stop and make sure the garlic has not gotten stuck to the blade.

Flavor up the hummus and add the following:

(You will not want rosemary or red pepper flakes with this add in)

1 teaspoon tahini (optional)

1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives (taste your recipe & increase as needed)

Try roasted red pepper hummus by adding the roasted red pepper puree to your hummus.

Tips:

* We are using cannellini beans because they create a creamier dip. Garbanzo beans are delicious, but create a grainy hummus.

* Add any flavors you like best to spice up the plain hummus.

* Spread this hummus on crostinis & sprinkle with kalamata olives & goat cheese for an appetizer.

Random Recipe: Pear Stuffed w/ Gorgonzola

I had some family over the other night and decided to try out a little experimental appetizer with them. It's quick and easy and involves cheese. I made a pear stuffed with gorgonzola. I found that I need a higher ratio of gorgonzola to pear - tasters agreed.

Ingredients: 1 pear & gorgonzola cheese (yummy)

Simple How To: Cut the top and bottom off the pear. Core the pear (minimum quarter size diameter if you can). Squeeze lemon juice in the cored area and cut edges to prevent the pear from browning. Stuff w/ gorgonzola to the brim & wrap in serran wrap. Leave in the fridge until you are ready to slice into rounds.