Burgers, Bean and Corn Salad, Key Lime Pie

Hi, this is Jacki posting from Nika’s computer since I am here visiting.  It was a tough decision for me but I narrowed my choices down to three recipes. I know we usually do two at a time but these three made a yummy sounding meal.  I hope you enjoy them.

Pg 176 – Mesquite Burgers with Grilled Onions & Provolone

Cooking spray
1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef
1 1/2 tsps mesquite seasoning
1 large yellow onion, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 to 6 ounces sliced provolone cheese
4 Kaiser rolls or large hamburger buns

1. Coat an outdoor grill or stovetop grill pan with cooking spray and preheat over medium-high heat.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the beef and mesquite seasoning, then shape into 4 burgers, each about 1 inch thick.  Add the burgers to the hot pan and cook for 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium doneness.

3. Meanwhile, season both sides of the onion rounds with salt and pepper.  Place the rounds in the pan next to the burgers and cook until golden brown and slightly soft, 3-5 minutes per side.  Place the onions on top of the burgers, top with the cheese, and cook for 1 minute, until the cheese melts.  Serve immediately on the rolls.

Black Bean & Corn Salad   pg. 271

One 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
One 14-ounce can corn kernels, drained
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 Tblsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tblsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt and cayenne to taste

In a large bowl, combine the beans, corn, bell pepper, cilantro, lime juice, and cumin, tossing to mix.  Season with salt and cayenne.

 

Pg 288 – Frozen Key Lime Pie

One 8-ounce container nondairy whipped topping, thawed slightly
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
One 9-inch prepared graham cracker pie crust
finely grated lime zest for sprinkling

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whipped topping, condensed milk, and lime juice until smooth.  Spoon the mixture into the graham cracker crust and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula.

2. Set in the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.  Sprinkle the lime zest over the top before serving.

Heidi's Chili'

We had the chili last night for dinner. I followed the recipe pretty closely except I used white cooking wine instead of the red as that was all that I had. I put the hamburger in and let it cook with the rest of the ingredients. I don't know that I will do it that way again as I usually like to drain and rinse my hamburger. Everyone seemed to like it except for Connor and it was too spicy for him.
Kenton's chili before he added tortilla chips and shredded cheese.
Mine ready for consumption...

Leslee’s Chili

I fixed the chili tonight and it turned out great although it wasn’t my best cooking effort.  First of all I forgot to put it in the slow cooker earlier in the day so I just opted for the stove top method.  Second, I didn’t really look to see if I had all the ingredients before I started.  Everything turned out just fine though.  I didn’t have stewed tomatoes with chilies so I just used some plain canned tomatoes and also added a little spicy salsa for some heat.   I only had one can of black beans so I just used that instead of two cans of bean.  Other than that I followed the recipe and it cooked up nicely.  Sean said he would like to have it over rice so that is just what we did.  I love chili and rice but usually just use the can kind.  This tasted nice and healthy and was a filling dinner.  I should have made some kind of veggie or fruit to go with it but I haven’t restocked the kitchen from my trip.  Sean and I both enjoyed this, but Summer was only interested in the rice.  A good choice for this cold winter we are having!

Jacki’s review of Anita’s Chili

I am proud to announce we BOTH liked this chili!  Rich said as hard as it was for him to admit it, he did like this dish.  He felt it had just the right ratio of beans and meat and the flavor was good too. It isn’t a real tomatoey chili so that is probably another reason he liked it.  I followed the recipe pretty much as directed but made a few minor changes.  I didn’t brown the meat  - just put it in uncooked.  I substituted chicken broth for the red wine because I had some opened that I needed to use up.  I didn’t add the cinnamon because it just didn’t sound good to me in chili.  I added a little onion powder too. Oh, and I used 2 cans of red beans instead of 1 can of black beans and 1 can of red beans.  It was really easy to prepare, especially since I didn’t brown the meat first.  I served it with some cornbread.  I had intentions of making a fruit salad to go with it but for some reason that didn’t happen.  Good, easy recipe- I recommend it.

Ingredients assembled

The finished product.

Loving the cumin in Oregon

Ok, we had this meal on Thursday night and everyone loved it, definitely a summer meal.

We grilled the meat since it was the easiest for us. I used Trader Joes carne assada and it was so, so good with the roasted corn and tomatoes, I really liked the cumin flavor.
For the cobbler we used the famous Marrionberry and no surprise it was delicious, like most of you I used twice the amount of fruit, Alexandro had lots of fun making the dessert.

Leon still thinks that the best meal was the pork with the rhubarb sauce but "this one is way up there".

Christopher made a delicious arugula salad with green olives, buffalo mozzarella and artichoke hearts. We also had some sauté broccoli and cuscus cooked in chicken broth, hummmmmm………it was a perfect complement to the meal

Peach Cobbler

Friday night I made a Peach Cobbler. I decided to use bisquick instead since that sounds pretty yummy and previous posters mentioned it might be good. I heated the frozen peaches in 1 1/2 cup of sugar and added a little water. I made the bisquick mix with 2 cups of bisquick and about 1/2 cup of sugar with enough milk to make it almost like a cake batter. Then, I spooned the batter onto the bottom of the pan and put the fruit and sugar mixture on the top and then sprinkled the top with even more sugar! No wonder it was so tastey with all that sugar! :) I cooked it at 350 for about 35 minutes until the top was browned. Let it cool for a little while and then served it with vanilla ice cream. Kenton and I both had 2nd helpings and we both decided that we probably shouldn't have eaten the 2nd one. Ashley really liked it too; but Connor was pretty full from dinner and didn't want any dessert... boy did he miss out!
My 2nd helping :)

Leslee and Kelly's Cooking

I am down in Arizona visiting Kelly and the rest of the family.  We tired out these two recipes on Tuesday night but I have been a little slow posting about them.  Kelly made the London Broil herself and I did the cobler.  She rumbed the meat in the cumin and a peppery rub and cooked it on the George Forman.  To keep the juices from running out she made the grill level.  This cooked it perfectly and tender.  In the oven she roasted the corn and tomatoes along with some sweet peppers and squash.  We served the meal with rice cooked in beef broth and garlic. It was very tasty and I think everyone enjoyed it.  It was an easy meal and reminded me of something we would eat in the summertime!

It was so bright and colorful, very healthy too!

Even the little girls scarfed it up (Summer and cousin Abby).  It was a little spicy and peppery with the rub so next time we might not use quite so much.  Poor little summy had pepper flakes all over her tongue by the end but that didn't slow her down!

I did not take a picture of the cobbler but it didn't turn out too pretty.  I put a lot more berries on this time and used a different baking mix.  It took quite a while to cook and ended up getting a little musy, or maybe the berries just took over.  We ate it over some vanilla icecream and it was very good, despite the appearances!

Two great recipe choices, thanks Audrey!

Audrey's London Broil and Fruit Cobbler

My family really liked both of these recipe's. I started out marinating the meat in Italian Dressing. I started that in the morning and flipped it during the day. I followed the recipe, except I used campari tomatoes since that is what I usually buy, instead of cherry or grape and they were somewhat mushy after cooking. I can see why it would be better to use the cherry or grape tomatoes. The meat was a big hit as usual and Doug and I liked the cumin seasoned corn, but Brett and Brock would have rather had plain corn. I also served steamed potatoes with butter and sour cream.

The Cobbler was a big hit with everyone. I used frozen blackberries and raspberries and used twice the amount of fruit than what was called for. Doug wants me to use even more fruit the next time, so I guess that I will cook this recipe again. I had to cook the cobbler for an hour, which was probably due to the extra fruit. I served vanilla ice cream with the cobbler and that really tasted good. Both of these recipes will be used again. Hope that everyone else enjoyed them as much as we did.

Recipes for week of Dec. 14th

Anita's Slow Cooker Chili - pgs. 166-167

1 1/4 ground beef
1/4 cup dry red wine (did not use)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 glove garlic minced
One 15 oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
One 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
One 14 oz. can Mexican style stewed tomatoes with jalapeno chile peppers & spices (undrained)
6 tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese

Must Have Sides & Toppings
Sour Cream
Diced onion
Diced tomato
Diced avocado
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Warmed tortillas with honey and butter

Combibe all ingredients except for the sides and topping in a medium to large slow cooker and mix well. (Can brown hamburger first in frying pan) Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or on LOW for 6 hours. Serve with sides and toppings.

I used this recipe for our Family Home Evening group and it was WELL recieved by all. I felt the chili recipe was not as "juicy" as I like it so I added some seasoned spaghetti sauce I had frozen or you could add some tomato sauce or tomato juice if you would like. The "must have sides" are a great addition to the chili as are the warmed tortillas. Also served was a lettuce salad and chips and Queso along with a tasty dessert. The salad and dessert were furnished by the other two couples we share Family Home Evening with. This dish can also be made on the stovetop as one is using canned beans, etc. But, the slow cooker method worked out very well, expecially on the cold snowy day we experienced. One could also use fresh fruit instead of a salad. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as WE ALL did.

Jacki’s Review of Steak and Cobbler

A couple of nights ago I prepared both of the recipes and thought they were  delicious.  Instead of a London broil I used a flat iron steak again and it was as tasty and tender as we could have wanted.  I was going to try and remember to marinate it as Ingrid and some others of you do but I forgot.  It tasted delicious anyway.  I am a “food mixer” when I eat so I really enjoyed having the roasted corn and tomatoes on top.  They made a good combination and a lovely presentation on the plate.  It was so easy to prepare.  The cobbler was more fruit and less cobbler than when I usually make a cobbler but I really liked it.  It was definitely very blueberryish.  The cobbler part was a thin layer.  It took longer to cook than the recipe stated – probably about 50 minutes before I was satisfied with the browning.  It still looked like it wasn’t done under the brown but I took it out of the oven and let it sit for a bit before serving and it was definitely done.  I served it with vanilla ice cream and we both liked it.  Two more recipes that I really enjoyed preparing and eating!
Steak ingredients assembled.

Flat Iron Steak sizzling on the grill pan.

Plated.

Blueberry cobbler before going into oven.  The blueberries were supposed to sink into the batter part but that didn’t happen with mine until it had been cooking in the oven a bit.

Oh, so delicious!

One Delicious Dessert

Last night my grandparents came over for dinner and since my Grandma (NaDee) is in our cooking group I figured it would be fun to try the Blueberry Cobbler for dessert.  I made a few substitutions that may have changed the flavor a bit.  The first thing I did was replace the flour with a Gluten Free Pancake Mix.  This mix is a little sweet and makes the tastiest pancakes and so I decided it would be great in this recipe. 

Here were it’s ingredients…

Since in contained a leavening agent I omitted the baking powder.  I mixed up the batter according to directions and poured it into a 9x9 pan.  I know it called for a bigger pan but it didn’t seem like was enough batter to fill one up, maybe it would have worked.  I topped it off with some frozen blackberries mixed with a bit of sugar.  It took quite a while to cook, probably close to an hour.  This may have been due to the smaller pan or the higher altitude, as suggested by my Grandma.  We served it warm with some vanilla ice-cream and it was absolutely delicious!! It reminded me of a blueberry muffin, even with the blackberries.  It was nice and sweet and had a little sugary crunch on the edges.  Everyone really liked it and went back for more! I would definitely make this again! I do wonder how it will turn out made with flour so I look forward to your reports! I am going to go down to Arizona today to visit Sean’s family so hopefully we can try out the London Broil and maybe make this again!!

New Recipes for week of December 7th

I chose 5-Ingredient London Broil with Cumin-Roasted Tomatoes & Corn, along with Anita's Blueberry Cobbler. I decided to go with a Beef recipe, since that is what my family prefers and they also like cobblers. We will see how they like them. I chose a main dish and a dessert, but there are a lot of side dishes that haven't been done yet, so you might want to try one of them. Robin suggested several, so it will be interesting to see what everyone fixes to go with the London Broil and Cobbler.

5-Ingredient London Broil with Cumin-Roasted Tomatoes and Corn (pg197)

Total Time: 30-32 minutes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Active cooking time: 10-12 minutes
Resting time: 10 minutes
Serves 4

Cooking Spray
4 cups halved cherry or grape tomatoes
1 cup frozen white corn, thawed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons ground cumin
One 1 1/4- pound London Broil

1. Preheat the oven to 400'F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Coat a stovetop grill pan or griddle with cooking spray and preheat over medium-high heat.



2. Arrange the tomatoes and corn on the prepared sheet and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the cumin, then roast the tomatoes and corn until golden brown, about 15 minutes.



3. Meanwhile, season both sides of the London Broil with salt and pepper. Add the steak to the hot pan and cook for 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium doneness. Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.



4. Arrange the steak slices on a warm serving platter, top with the tomato-corn mixture, and serve.

She also mentions that you can use flank, skirt or hanger steak for this recipe in place of the London Broil.

Anita's Blueberry Cobbler (pg 298)

Total Time: 50-65 minutes

Prep time: 15-20 minutes

Walk-away time: 35-45 minutes

Cooking Spray

One 16-ounce bag (2 cups) frozen blueberries (keep frozen until ready to use)

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350'F. Coat a 9x12-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine the blueberries and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Toss to combine and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup sugar, the flour, and the baking powder.
4. In a large bowl, beat the butter and milk together until smooth. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then scatter the blueberries over the batter, letting them sink in, without mixing. Bake until the top is golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Robin mentions that you can have it your way; instead of blueberries, try frozen raspberries, fresh or frozen blackberries or strawberries (or a combination), or frozen sliced peaches. She also says that it is fantastic with vanilla ice cream.

Audrey's Turkey Tetrazzini with Broccoli and Parmesan-Crusted Rolls

I really liked both recipes as they were very simple and good tasting. Thanks for choosing them. I as usual followed the recipes closely, but after cooking it, would make a few changes. The only change I made at the time was swapping broccoli for the peas, as some in our family don't like peas. I like them myself and think that they are the better choice, but the broccoli tasted good also. I also used leftover cooked turkey and would change that because it was a honey baked turkey breast, so it was a little sweet, but it still tasted good. I'm with Ingrid on not eating much meat and think that it would have tasted real good with out it. I think that it would make a very nice side dish also. I know that some of you felt that it didn't have enough sauce and that it was runny. I didn't have any problem with that, but I did cook it like the recipe called for if your meat wasn't already cooked. I also added a bit more sour cream, so maybe those two things helped with it not being runny.

For the rolls, I used a roll of refrigerated french bread dough and then followed the recipe. They were so simple and easy to make. Everyone like them a lot. Next time I will make more. In all, I would fix these recipes again. Good job!

Oregon No Turkey Tetrazzini with Green peas

We made this dish on Monday night and since my boys are pasta lovers it was an easy to please dish.















We don’t eat a lot of meat here at home and we were also tired of Turkey so vegetarian was the way to go.
I did not have sour cream so I used boursin cheese (with Garlic) which I always use on cooked pasta; it is so delicious and creamy…. I used 1 cup white wine and 1 cup chicken broth and also used some cream fresh. We added multigrain farfalle pasta since we didn’t have any egg noodles. I also used 24 Oz of mushrooms and my fresh herbs from my herb garden, so, so good…..We added fresh spinach at the end.

Alexandro had a great time helping me out!!!!

To serve it, we sprinkled parmesan cheese on top (I had pecorino Romano on mine)

We had a nice green salad with olives and marinated artichoke and that was plenty since this is a very rich dish I opt for no bread!!

Very good dish and very easy to make.

Jacki’s review of Turkey Tetrazzini and Parmesan Rolls

I made these two recipes on Monday night and thought they were both good.  I followed the recipe pretty much as directed for the Tetrazzini but only used 1 1/2 cups of broth because 2 cups seemed like quite a bit when I was pouring it in.   The sauce still seemed on the thin side.  I guess I could have let it cook down longer.  I also used cooked turkey to use up some of my leftovers.  I didn’t use any Thyme since I didn’t have any and I only used 3/4 tsp of the Oregano. I am not a real herby type of person.  I also used twice as many mushrooms as called for because I had some to use up and I really like cooked mushrooms. Maybe the extra mushrooms oozed extra liquid into the sauce making in thinner.   Ok, so now I realize I didn’t follow the recipe as directed!  I thought it had a really good flavor but it didn’t look as appetizing as it could have.  It was a little runny and the noodles didn’t really seem to soak up the sauce very well.  I was actually thinking it would be good with rice because it would soak up some of the sauce.  I made fresh bread dough for the rolls and put parmesan on some of them.  They were really good and complimented the Tetrazzini quite well.    I enjoyed the meal but when I asked Rich how he liked it I just got “the look”, but he did eat it all.  Excellent way to use up the leftover turkey.

Sorry, not sure why these pics on posting sideways.  Pic of the rolls before baking and of the final meal.  

 

Turkey Dish

 

I made the turkey dish tonight with several substitutions.  First of all,  I some meat from a rotisserie chicken from costco.  I like to buy one and use it for dinner that night, and then the leftover meat usually serves us for one more dish, plus chicken soup which I make out of the chicken.  Can’t beat that for $5.   I did not have thyme so I omitted it.  I also did not use all of the sour, only 1 cup of reduced fat, I though 1.5 cups seemed like a bit much.  My mom had said that it seemed like there was a lot of broth so I added a little at a time but ended up using a little more than called for.  I cooked the garlic and some onion powder (didn’t have onions, we have been out of town for awhile), added the mushrooms, then added the broth and let it reduce down for a little while to concentrate the flavor and so there wouldn’t be so much.  Then I added the chicken to heat it since it was already cooked and then the peas, took it off the burner, and added the sour cream with some parmesan on top.    It was really good and we all liked it.  Sterling said it reminded him of some sort of      Utah-ish casserole which is right up his alley.  I made homemade egg noodles from a family recipe and that made them nice and tender.    We will have this again I am sure. 

Making the noodles

Sterling’s plate, he did have more salad than that he just decided to get rid of that first.

 

Max really liked it

 

Leslee’s Turkey Tetrazzini and Brown Sugar Pineapple

The Turkey Tetrazzini was an excellent choice for this week and used up all our extra turkey nicely.  I started out by using a gluten-free rice noodle instead of of the egg noodle.  They aren’t quite as light as egg noodles.  I followed the recipe but omitted the mushrooms. Since my turkey was already cooked I didn’t cook it in the pan as long as suggested.  I thought 2 cups of broth sounded like a lot so I didn’t add quite that much.  Instead of green peas I added some frozen chopped broccoli.  After I added in the noodles I added some sliced olives and sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese on top since we were out of parmesan cheese. It was a little liquidy and I am not sure if it is something I did or if that is just how it turns out.  Both Sean and I really liked it and I enjoyed probably a little too much:) I would suggest cutting down on the spices as they are very dominate in this dish.  If you family isn’t big fans of herbs then I would maybe just do a little dash of each.  Very tasty and an excellent choice!

A little later in the evening I made the Brown Sugar-Glazed Pineapple for dessert from a few weeks ago.  I used can pineapple rings and just sprinkled everything everything on top.  It took a lot longer to cook and I probably could have cooked it even longer.  I served it over vanilla ice-cream and it was quite delicious! Both Sean and I enjoyed it!