Summer is busy! Especially for those of us with children that we're trying to keep occupied. As always, though, food is on my mind. I'm really enjoying all the fresh things out there now. If Summer were a taste, I think it would be that of a ripe juicy peach or nectarine. It just doesn't get better than that IMO.
Even with all the fresh produce available right now, Summertime is sometimes a trap of eating junk food as well. At least for me and my family it is. I've found that with our summertime activities and with our lack of properly planning the day out, we frequently run into a situation where it's dinnertime and we're either A). just getting home and there's nothing to eat; B). Out and about with just a small window of time to grab something to eat; or C). Still full from a late lunch and need to eat something that would qualify as dinner. The fast food visits are more frequent, as well as calls to the pizza delivery, and my personal "oh shoot, it's dinnertime" favorite...cereal and eggs. Yep, Summertime is not the most healthy for my family. Judging from the past, I tend to gain weight during the months of July-Oct. I think that's probably the opposite of most people. I can do o.k. through the holidays, but it's the warm months, and then especially the transition from Summer to Fall that have me cramming all the bad stuff in.
My friend Kim is really good at always having decent things on hand or in the freezer ready for her family. One of my favorite recipes of hers is for her turkey burgers. I like a good burger every now and then, but the guilt associated with a good burger often has me turning them down. These burgers are less guilt ridden, and in my opinion, every bit as tasty. When I made them this week, I used about 2 1/2 pounds of meat, which yielded about 16 burgers. I make mine somewhat small and some I made really small for the boys. I froze most of them so we'd have the burger option waiting for us in the freezer on busy days. So, without further ado, here's the recipe I got from my friend Kim:
Turkey Burgers
Equal parts ground turkey breast and regular ground turkey
1 egg for every pound of meat
1 cup dry breadcrumbs ( I make my own: equal parts whole wheat panko breadcrumbs and wheat germ)
fresh garlic
Spice blend (such as Spike, etc.)
Optional (but really good!): 1/2 cup. shredded monterrey jack cheese
Mix the turkey with the egg well. Start adding breadcrumbs by 1/4 cup intervals. You may not need a whole cup of breadcrumbs. You don't want the mixture too dry, but you do want it to be easy to work with. Once the breadcrumbs are thoroughly mix in, add the other ingredients. You may need to use your hands to really mix well. Form into desired size patties. At this point, I pour this following marinade over the patties and let them marinade for at least 8 and up to 24 hours.
Marinade for burgers:
10 ounces reduced sodium soy sauce
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 1/2 TBS. Worcestershire
1/2 heaping teaspoon mustard
1/2 heaping teaspoon ginger (dry)
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
2 TBSP brown sugar
After they marinated I grilled the ones we had for dinner, and then individually wrapped the others in waxed paper, put them all in a ziploc bag and froze the them. Much better for you than Bubba burgers!
They go great on a whole wheat bun. Thomas makes some cute little "bagel buns" that are a great size for the burgers and they come in whole wheat. I usually toast those on the grill for a minute just before serving. Kim serves hers on a crusty roll and they're wonderful!
Some ideas on sides? How about sweet potato fries? There's some pretty good panko breaded onion rings in the freezer section. And one more idea for a side:
Asian Cole Slaw:
1 pkg. Chicken Ramen Noodle
1 Pkg. cabbage slaw w/ carrots
2 red apples, peeled and chopped
sliced green onions
1/2 cup almonds.
Dressing:
2 TBS. Cider vinegar
3 TBS Water
1 TBS vegetable oil,
1/4 cup sugar,
1 minced garlic clove
ramen noodle seasoning.
Mix slaw ingredients together, mix dressing together and toss with slaw.
That's a great side dish for the summertime! Easy to take places and perfect for a cookout.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Meals on Wheels
The title clues you in to what's been going on in my kitchen this week. Let me back up and say last week, in the span of one week, I threw 3 different parties. I've been pooped out. That's a lot of work! I knew this week would be easier, but I did bring two meals to two different friends. One moved and one had a baby. I really do enjoy cooking for people, especially when it's needed, like after a birth or a move. It's always fun making dinner and having friends over, but there's something more sacrificial when you do it in advance and bring it to their doorstep. It gives me a chance to pray for the people that will be eating it, asking God to make the food a blessing to them.
So, for my friend that moved, I made her my sneaky chicken fingers with green beans, creamed potatoes, cornbread, creamed corn, and a peach cobbler. Typical southern meal, and I knew that this particular family would like it.
But, what I made for my friend with the new baby is the recipe I'm about to give you. It's amazing! I whipped it up in the late morning and It was SO hard not to eat it all right then and there.
I got the recipe from my friend, Judith, who got it from our friend Deborah, who got it from the AJC (I think) who got it from a restaurant. So...it's been in a lot of hands. I made extra so we'd have enough to feed my family tonight as well. I will warn you, though, it's not one for dieters! It's high in fat, but trust me, there will be a party going on in your mouth! I've made my own tweaks to it and this is what it is. I call it:
Sausage and Granny Smith Apple Penne
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
2-3 chopped shallots
2 Granny Smith Apples, cored, peeled and chunked (or diced)
1/4 cup White Wine
3 cups heavy cream (or may use 2 cups cream and 1 cup light cream or half and half)
1 pound cooked penne pasta
grated nutmeg (around 1/4 to 1/2 tsp)
pinch of cinnamon
fresh basil
Parmigiano or reggiano cheese, grated
Remove any casings on the sausage and brown it well in a large pan. Once browned, drain and remove sausage from pan and onto a plate lined with paper towels. Saute shallots and apples in the pan. You may add a couple of tablespoons of butter for flavor at this point. Once they are softened, add the wine to deglaze the pan. Then add the cream. Return sausage to pan and simmer until reduced by 1/2 or 1/3. Toss with cooked pasta, grated nutmeg, pinch of cinnamon, torn fresh basil leaves and grated cheeses.
Like I said, it's amazing. Fattening, but amazing. It would be a great meal to have on Christmas Eve. Or June 5th. Or any day of the year for that matter.
So, for my friend that moved, I made her my sneaky chicken fingers with green beans, creamed potatoes, cornbread, creamed corn, and a peach cobbler. Typical southern meal, and I knew that this particular family would like it.
But, what I made for my friend with the new baby is the recipe I'm about to give you. It's amazing! I whipped it up in the late morning and It was SO hard not to eat it all right then and there.
I got the recipe from my friend, Judith, who got it from our friend Deborah, who got it from the AJC (I think) who got it from a restaurant. So...it's been in a lot of hands. I made extra so we'd have enough to feed my family tonight as well. I will warn you, though, it's not one for dieters! It's high in fat, but trust me, there will be a party going on in your mouth! I've made my own tweaks to it and this is what it is. I call it:
Sausage and Granny Smith Apple Penne
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
2-3 chopped shallots
2 Granny Smith Apples, cored, peeled and chunked (or diced)
1/4 cup White Wine
3 cups heavy cream (or may use 2 cups cream and 1 cup light cream or half and half)
1 pound cooked penne pasta
grated nutmeg (around 1/4 to 1/2 tsp)
pinch of cinnamon
fresh basil
Parmigiano or reggiano cheese, grated
Remove any casings on the sausage and brown it well in a large pan. Once browned, drain and remove sausage from pan and onto a plate lined with paper towels. Saute shallots and apples in the pan. You may add a couple of tablespoons of butter for flavor at this point. Once they are softened, add the wine to deglaze the pan. Then add the cream. Return sausage to pan and simmer until reduced by 1/2 or 1/3. Toss with cooked pasta, grated nutmeg, pinch of cinnamon, torn fresh basil leaves and grated cheeses.
Like I said, it's amazing. Fattening, but amazing. It would be a great meal to have on Christmas Eve. Or June 5th. Or any day of the year for that matter.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Birthday cakes
Here's a fun post for you. I've been making my kids birthday cakes for the past year. I started it last year when I made Ethan's cake instead of ordering one from Publix, our usual. I have this cookbook of fun kid's recipes and he had picked out a spaceship cake that we made together. 
It turned out pretty cute. And of course, there was Wyatt's catipillar cake.
A surprisingly simple cake to make.
This year, Ethan wanted a Star Wars Indiana Jones Lego cake. What was I supposed to do with that? Well, I found a pretty cool website that has some super homemade cake ideas and came across an idea for a lego cake. Here's how mine turned out.
In theory it was pretty simple, but it was work. I used two cake mixes (chocolate and butter cake) and poured the batter into two loaf pans and one sheet cake (rectangle). I did this a couple of days before the party and just froze the cakes themselves so they would be easier to assemble and frost the day before the party. The day of assembly, I trimmed the rectangles to make them look more "blocky". I frosted each one a different color, stacked them how I wanted them, and used large marshmallows cut in half for the lego prongs. I used Duncan Heinz cake mixes and so many people raved about how good it was. I think freezing them a couple of days enhances the flavor a bit, too. As far as the frosting goes, I used just a couple of tubs of the buttercream frosting. The fun part was Ethan got to be creative and pick out exactly which legos he wanted to go on the cake and he built some small spaceships as cake decorations. I think this part made him feel very important and he took it quite seriously. This cake was probably the most work of the three I've done in the past, but it was a labor of love.
It turned out pretty cute. And of course, there was Wyatt's catipillar cake.
A surprisingly simple cake to make.This year, Ethan wanted a Star Wars Indiana Jones Lego cake. What was I supposed to do with that? Well, I found a pretty cool website that has some super homemade cake ideas and came across an idea for a lego cake. Here's how mine turned out.
In theory it was pretty simple, but it was work. I used two cake mixes (chocolate and butter cake) and poured the batter into two loaf pans and one sheet cake (rectangle). I did this a couple of days before the party and just froze the cakes themselves so they would be easier to assemble and frost the day before the party. The day of assembly, I trimmed the rectangles to make them look more "blocky". I frosted each one a different color, stacked them how I wanted them, and used large marshmallows cut in half for the lego prongs. I used Duncan Heinz cake mixes and so many people raved about how good it was. I think freezing them a couple of days enhances the flavor a bit, too. As far as the frosting goes, I used just a couple of tubs of the buttercream frosting. The fun part was Ethan got to be creative and pick out exactly which legos he wanted to go on the cake and he built some small spaceships as cake decorations. I think this part made him feel very important and he took it quite seriously. This cake was probably the most work of the three I've done in the past, but it was a labor of love.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
New food blog
I've mentioned my Irish friend Judith before on both my blogs. She's an amazing cook. And I seriously mean amazing. She's been in the process of writing a cookbook that fuses Irish cooking with Southern cooking, and she's been writing this book for a couple of years now. The focus is on fresh, whole foods and she's got great stories of her upbringing in her lovely Ireland. The book is near completion and you should be on the lookout for it sometime early next year.
In the meantime, she's started a food blog and she's posting some of her delicious recipes. Check it out, get in your kitchen, and start cooking!
In addition to her blog, she's also got a website called The Ulster Kitchen, for all things Irish.
In the meantime, she's started a food blog and she's posting some of her delicious recipes. Check it out, get in your kitchen, and start cooking!
In addition to her blog, she's also got a website called The Ulster Kitchen, for all things Irish.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Cheesy Chicken and Rice soup
My mother in law came over yesterday for lunch. This is what I made: cheesy chicken and rice soup.
Jen made this for me after I had Wyatt. It's a recipe from CL that I had overlooked at the time, but she zeroed in on it and I loved it. I had a craving for it over the weekend and got the ingredients so I could indulge.
My twist on it: I use precooked brown rice from TJ's instead of the wild rice it calls for. I also used a couple of glugs of white wine, red potatoes, doubled the amount of garlic, and added a little celery. I used half cheddar cheese and half processed cheese ( I just couldn't use the amount of processed cheese it calls for). The end result is sooooo good. It's similar to a baked potato soup. In fact, if you add a few slices of precooked bacon and chopped green onion, it would be a good version of baked potato soup. And who doesn't like baked potato soup? In fact, when I was pregnant with Ethan and couldn't stomach anything except fruit loops and cocoa puffs, I distinctly recall sending David out to Atlanta Bread Co, for a cup of this soup. And I guarantee that my version has lass fat and preservatives than theirs.
Warning...it makes a lot, so make it when you want to feed more than just yourself. I'm not too sure if it would freeze well since it is dairy, so I sent the mother-in-law home with some. And I had it for dinner and am eating it for lunch as I type. Enjoy.
Jen made this for me after I had Wyatt. It's a recipe from CL that I had overlooked at the time, but she zeroed in on it and I loved it. I had a craving for it over the weekend and got the ingredients so I could indulge.
My twist on it: I use precooked brown rice from TJ's instead of the wild rice it calls for. I also used a couple of glugs of white wine, red potatoes, doubled the amount of garlic, and added a little celery. I used half cheddar cheese and half processed cheese ( I just couldn't use the amount of processed cheese it calls for). The end result is sooooo good. It's similar to a baked potato soup. In fact, if you add a few slices of precooked bacon and chopped green onion, it would be a good version of baked potato soup. And who doesn't like baked potato soup? In fact, when I was pregnant with Ethan and couldn't stomach anything except fruit loops and cocoa puffs, I distinctly recall sending David out to Atlanta Bread Co, for a cup of this soup. And I guarantee that my version has lass fat and preservatives than theirs.
Warning...it makes a lot, so make it when you want to feed more than just yourself. I'm not too sure if it would freeze well since it is dairy, so I sent the mother-in-law home with some. And I had it for dinner and am eating it for lunch as I type. Enjoy.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Freak?
I've felt for some time now that I may be perceived as a bit of a nutrition freak. I realize with my posted articles of interest regarding diet sodas and plastics that I may be over the top for some. Compared to my extended family of good ole southerners, I guess I am a bit of a freak. I DO buy mostly horomone free meats, nitrate/nitrite free bacon, organic produce, and I try to avoid anything with enriched flour as the first ingredient. Other items I try to avoid...partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. I almost solely use brown rice, not white. Avoid white bread like the plague. While those are all things I do in practice, let me assure you, my pantry is full of things you wouldn't find in a true "freaks" pantry. Fruit Loops cereal straws, fruit gummies (no real fruit contained...sorry), chips, crackers, candy, etc.
While you won't ever see me drinking a diet soda (sorry, no bending on this rule), I will buy it for parties at my house.
And knowing all the hoopla regarding plastics contacting our food, have I gone "plastic-free" in my kitchen? Nope. My kids still drink and eat off of plastic. I did, however, recently throw out most of my plastic food storage containers and replaced them with glass pyrex dishes, and I like it much better. So much easier to clean.
It's all about trying to make better choices, educating yourself, and allowing yourself freedom at times.
And speaking of freedom, I'm really craving a big turtle sundae from Brusters today. I think my boys need some time out with mom.
Peace out.
While you won't ever see me drinking a diet soda (sorry, no bending on this rule), I will buy it for parties at my house.
And knowing all the hoopla regarding plastics contacting our food, have I gone "plastic-free" in my kitchen? Nope. My kids still drink and eat off of plastic. I did, however, recently throw out most of my plastic food storage containers and replaced them with glass pyrex dishes, and I like it much better. So much easier to clean.
It's all about trying to make better choices, educating yourself, and allowing yourself freedom at times.
And speaking of freedom, I'm really craving a big turtle sundae from Brusters today. I think my boys need some time out with mom.
Peace out.
Monday, April 14, 2008
I'm back...
I'm getting back into the swing of things here. We've had company with us since Wednesday and they just left this morning. Our sweet friends from Tampa spent their Spring Break with us and it was great having them. A lot of eating was done by all, though, so I'm trying to get back to a more "normal" routine. I did alright, though. I managed to run on the treadmill twice and walk my neighborhood once, so I kept with my 3 times a week workout. I just loaded up on sweets and white breads. We did have a nice dinner out a Zuma, where I actually consumed a good amount of sushi. We finished off the evening at Cafe Intermezzo where I had the best chocolate and coconut cake ever. Not surprisingly, the scale this morning was not nice. I've got to get back down to my comfort weight.
I've got a good start to the week...just finished an hour workout and a 20 minute sauna session. I'm hydrated and feeling good.
For dinner last night we had a little dinner party for our freinds and another couple. I tried a recipe from CL that I've had for a long time but never made and it was great! It's Chicken Supreme. You marinate it all night, so once you're ready to make it, it doesn't take long at all. Just bread it and throw it in the oven. The recipe calls for margarine, but since I think margarine is a four letter word, I used butter. I also used my own homemade bread crumbs that I use for everything (a mixture of equal parts whole wheat breadcrumbs, wheat germ, and ground almonds). I also threw in some Italian Seasonings in the crumbs. There you go...easy and good. Maybe next time I'll throw in some parmesan cheese to the crumbs as well. We also had roasted red potatoes with olive oil and seasonings, and a nice green salad with blue cheese and cranberries. A nice meal if I do say so myself.
I've got a good start to the week...just finished an hour workout and a 20 minute sauna session. I'm hydrated and feeling good.
For dinner last night we had a little dinner party for our freinds and another couple. I tried a recipe from CL that I've had for a long time but never made and it was great! It's Chicken Supreme. You marinate it all night, so once you're ready to make it, it doesn't take long at all. Just bread it and throw it in the oven. The recipe calls for margarine, but since I think margarine is a four letter word, I used butter. I also used my own homemade bread crumbs that I use for everything (a mixture of equal parts whole wheat breadcrumbs, wheat germ, and ground almonds). I also threw in some Italian Seasonings in the crumbs. There you go...easy and good. Maybe next time I'll throw in some parmesan cheese to the crumbs as well. We also had roasted red potatoes with olive oil and seasonings, and a nice green salad with blue cheese and cranberries. A nice meal if I do say so myself.
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