Turkey Burgers

Turkey burgers – you don’t like them because they are dry and lack flavor.  Well, these will change your mind about them.

These have wonderful flavor and are moist as well.  Serve on a bun with sliced tomato and pickle and a smear of mayo.  Yum.  I had to take my son to kids choir and my husband and two daughters had the four leftover burgers for dinner and they liked them even better the second day. (They were fully cooked the day before and just warmed up in the microwave)  These also freeze well.  I like to cook my onions, because I do not like the taste of raw onion.  I used a sweet Walla Walla Onion this time, but any onion will do the job.  Red onions would also be very nice in this burger.  I feel the onions add moisture to the burger once they are cooked.  The egg you could use egg whites, but I think they hold together better with yolk.  Substitute fresh parsley for the dried if you have it on hand.  I think basil would also be very nice in this burger.  I hope you enjoy.

Juicy Turkey Burgers

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 lbs ground turkey (mix of white and dark meat)
• 1/4 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 1/2 tsp McCormick Grill Mates (Montreal Steak) seasoning
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 2 large eggs
• 10-12 large burger buns, toasted

Instructions:

Heat a small skillet over medium high heat and cook the onions in olive oil until they are tender, about 3-5 minutes.  Add minced garlic and cook for one more minute.  Allow to cool a bit.

In the meantime, combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, parsley, seasonings, and Worcestershire and soy sauce.  Add the cooled onion mixture and stir to combine.  Beat the two eggs and add to the meat mixture.  Stir to combine everything together.  Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 tsp olive oil.  Shape the meat into 10-12 patties. Cook over medium high heat for about 5 minutes each side, or until they are no longer pink in the center.  Top with cheese if desired, but they are quite delicious just with mayonnaise and tomatoes.  I served them on toasted burger buns.

Printable Recipe

Slow Cooked Baby Back Ribs

My house is filled with the aroma of baby back ribs.. it has been driving my family crazy since 3 pm still hours from dinner time.  I made these little beauties and served them with baked potato and fresh green beans.

Becky’s Slow Cooked Baby Back Ribs

Serves 6

• 2 slabs of baby back ribs (quality ones!)
• kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper and garlic flakes
• Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory and Brown Sugar BBQ sauce

Preparation:

Cut the baby back ribs into sections.  I cut them with 2-4 bones that way the ones with smaller appetites had smaller pieces to choose from.  I seasoned the meaty part with a sprinkling of kosher salt.  I have a pepper mill that has pepper and garlic in it.  I seasoned the ribs with a few grinds of the mill.  I packed 3-4 sections in a long strip of foil and wrapped the foil around the ribs and placed them on a cookie sheet.  Repeat with remaining rib sections.  I had three packages of foil wrapped ribs next to each other one one cookie sheet.

Bake in a 350 F preheated oven.  After one hour reduce the heat to 275 and continue baking for 2 more hours.  I turned the heat up to 350 again so I could bake my potatoes at the same time and baked them for 1 1/2 hours until the potatoes were cooked through. (See below how I prepare my baked potatoes)

I removed the finished potatoes to a serving platter and allowed them to cool a bit.  I opened the packets of ribs, but left the ribs in the foil.  I poured some barbecue sauce on them.   I set the oven to broil (high heat) and placed the rack about 6 inches from the elements.  I broiled the ribs for about 10 minutes.  Now they were ready!

My husband really liked this preparation of the ribs.  I like to throw them in the crock pot, but they do tend to get a little soggy in that method of preparation.  I have to agree with him (the smell of the ribs would be just as strong in a crock pot).

Baked Potatoes

Serves 5

• 5 baked potatoes, scrubbed and left damp

Sprinkle the potatoes with kosher salt and wrap in foil.  Bake for 1 1/2 hours at 350 or 1 hour at 400.

Serve with butter, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and bacon bits if desired.

 

 

 

 

Take two

Apple strudel take two.. that’s right. I made a few errors in forming my apple strudel and wanted to see if I could do it right.. I did.  I made changes to the strudel dough to make a larger quantity making it easier to work with.  I used Rick Rogers’ recipe as a guide and made a 1 1/2 recipe for the dough.  This pulls out to a much larger surface, but is still workable and not too big to handle.

Becky’s Strudel Dough

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cups water
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 3/4 tsp apple cider vinegar

Preparation:

Place the flour and salt in the bottom of the mixing bowl of your Kitchen Aid mixer (if you have one: you could also mix by hand).  Use the paddle attachment to mix the ingredients at this point.  Combine the liquids in a glass measuring cup.  Slowly add the liquids to the flour and salt with the mixer on low.  You may need to add more water – I actually added a little flour as it was sticking to the bottom of the bowl a bit (not very much though less than 1 Tablespoon).  Scrape the dough into a ball and  switch to the dough hook attachment.  Continue kneading the dough at medium low to make a soft ball.

Transfer the dough to a un-floured pastry board.  Knead by hand and occasionally pick it up and slam it down hard on your board from time to time, this will get the gluten activated and make the dough pliable.  Remember you will be stretching it into a very thin layer of dough, much like a filo dough.  Pour about 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil into the palm of your hand and gently rub the top of the dough with the oil.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes even better 1 1/2 hours or more!

Wash your hands (wear a t-shirt) and wash your forearms all the way to your elbows and take off any jewelry or watches that could snag and damage the dough as you pull it.

Use a table, kitchen island or card table for the next step.  Cover your work space with a clean table cloth (if the table cloth has a pattern it is actually an aid you should be able to see the pattern of the cloth through the dough and you can see where the dough still needs stretching)  and sprinkle it with flour and rub the flour around to cover the work space. This time I did not roll the dough out with a rolling pin.  I picked the dough up and stretched it a bit much like you would a pizza dough, rotating it to stretch it in a circle. Once it was too big to handle I placed it on the floured surface and proceeded as I did the day before.

I found that pulling the dough was easiest when using the back of my hand to pull and stretch the dough.  My hands would be toward the center of the dough and my arms had dough draped over them — I pulled from the center going out, walking around the kitchen island to work on different parts of the dough.  In the end I had an almost 2 foot by 3 1/2 foot dough pulled – I imagine it could have and should have been pulled out more, but it was my first time and this was my first strudel. The edges will be thicker than the inside and that part gets cut away..  kitchen shears make this process very easy.  Once the edges are trimmed away it is ready to be filled.  Choose your filling.  This time I am making apple strudel, so I will use apples, rum soaked raisins, tossed with cinnamon sugar, but other fillings can also be used.

For filling see previous post to complete the strudel.  Even though I made the amounts larger for the dough the filling stays the same.

Here are the pictures of my “Take Two”.  As you can see the dough still had holes, but less of them and the strudel was prettier in the end.   I served it with the same vanilla sauce as in the previous entry.

I will keep the changes I made to the strudel dough.  It worked out nicely.

Apfelstrudel – Apple Strudel

The Austrian part of me has been wanting to make Apple Strudel for some time now.  My husband, who is of German heritage, returned from a recent business trip to Munich just before Christmas.  He raved about the Apfelstrudel (German for Apple Strudel) that he enjoyed there.  He was in San Diego on a speaking engagement and I wanted to surprise him upon his return home with homemade Apfelstrudel.  One of the reasons this was a secret mission was that if it failed miserably he would not be disappointed.

When I was in college, I was invited to a friends house to make Apple strudel from scratch.  She and I pulled the dough into a flaky layer that you could read through.  I walked away feeling intimidated by the task.  I have several German and Austrian cookbooks that address how to make an apple strudel, but it scared me.  I finally found a book that spelled it out beautifully.  The book was written by Rick Rodgers, who has authored or co-authored about 20 books and is a culinary instructor.  Armed with his “hand holding” I finally got up the gumption to make one. The book I used is Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafes of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.  The book is out of print now, but you can still find copies through Amazon.  I do highly recommend this book.

I knew two things going in:  The dough had to be thin and my first attempt would not be perfect.  I was right, but it sure was yummy no matter.  I did succeed in pulling the dough into a thin flaky crust, but I also succeeded in putting a lot of holes in it.  I baked the poor strudel too long in the end and it started to caramelize more than I wanted, but it was still yummy.  Not burnt, but just a few minutes past that golden I was going for.  Don’t let the intimidation of the task stop you like it did me for so many years!  It is so worth the process and really not THAT difficult.  Use a good quality unbleached flour.  I love King Arthur’s unbleached all purpose flour and buy it exclusively now for all my baking.  You do need room to pull the dough and preferably a space you can walk around.  I used my island in the kitchen, but a table, even a card table, will be large enough.  I was surprised to find vinegar in the list of ingredients for the strudel dough, but it is such a small amount you do not taste it at all.  I am sure it serves some purpose…I love that this version uses a Kitchen Aid mixer to make it.  Many strudel recipes are made by hand. This made it more fool proof for me.

Strudel Dough

Makes 1 strudel that serves 5-6

Adapted from Rick Rogers Kaffeehaus pages 78-79

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups unbleached all purpose flour (King Arthur’s brand is wonderful)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 7 Tbsp water, plus more if needed
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
• 1/2 tsp cider vinegar (I used Apple cider vinegar)

Preparation:

Place the flour and salt in the bottom of the mixing bowl of your Kitchen Aid mixer (if you have one: you could also mix by hand).  Use the paddle attachment to mix the ingredients at this point.  Combine the liquids in a glass measuring cup.  Slowly add the liquids to the flour and salt with the mixer on low.  You may need to add more water – I actually added a little flour as it was sticking to the bottom of the bowl a bit (not very much though less than 1 Tablespoon).  Scrape the dough into a ball and  switch to the dough hook attachment.  Continue kneading the dough at medium low to make a soft ball.

Transfer the dough to a un-floured pastry board.  Knead by hand and occasionally pick it up and slam it down hard on your board from time to time, this will get the gluten activated and make the dough pliable.  Remember you will be stretching it into a very thin layer of dough, much like a filo dough.  Pour about 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil into the palm of your hand and gently rub the top of the dough with the oil.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes even better 1 1/2 hours or more!  I think mine rested for 3 or even 4 hours while I picked up kids from school, carted them to the doctor, returned home with dinner, ate dinner, made phone calls, helped with homework… Yes, it was still okay.. I was tired, but the dough was fine!

Use a table, kitchen island or card table for the next step.  Cover your work space with a clean table cloth (if the table cloth has a pattern it is actually an aid you should be able to see the pattern of the cloth through the dough and you can see where the dough still needs stretching)  and sprinkle it with flour and rub the flour around to cover the work space.  Roll the dough out with a well floured rolling pin (sprinkle with flour between as well, or the dough will begin to stick to the rolling pin- don’t ask me how I know.. I just do!).  Roll it out as thinly as you can and then the fun begins.

Wash your hands (wear a t-shirt) and wash your forearms all the way to your elbows.  You will be using these surfaces to stretch it out as well.. thank goodness for the invention of gravity, that helps in this process as well! 🙂  Take off any jewelry or watches that could snag and damage the dough as you pull it. I found that pulling the dough was easiest when using the back of my hand to pull and stretch the dough.  My hands would be toward the center of the dough and my arms had dough draped over them — I pulled from the center going out, walking around the kitchen island to work on different parts of the dough.  In the end I had an almost 2 foot by 3 1/2 foot dough pulled – I imagine it could have and should have been pulled out more, but it was my first time and this was my first strudel. The edges will be thicker than the inside and that part gets cut away.. I used a knife, in hind sight I should have used my kitchen shears that are used only for food — NEXT time!  (My husband likes the sound of that I am sure).  Once the edges are trimmed away it is ready to be filled.  Choose your filling.  This time I am making apple strudel, so I will use apples, but other fillings can also be used.

Printable Recipe

Apple Strudel Filling:

Makes 1 strudel that serves 5-6

adapted from Rick Rogers Kaffeehaus page 80

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp raisins
• 2 Tbsp golden rum
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (I increased the amount from the original)
• 1 stick butter, melted (divided use)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
• prepared strudel dough
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts- I like pecans better)
• 2 lbs tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4″ slices (I used 4 Granny Smith apples)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice (to toss the apples in to prevent them from browning)

Preparation:

Mix the raisins with the rum and allow them to soak up the rum. I did this before pulling the dough to give it time to absorb all the goodness. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in another bowl and set aside.

In a small pan, heat 3 Tbsp of the butter and add the bread crumbs to the pan.  Toast the bread crumbs in the butter over medium high heat for 3 or 4 minutes or until they are nice and golden brown.  Spread the bread crumbs out on a large plate to allow them to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Line a large baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Melt the remaining 5 Tbsp of butter in a small dish.  I used the microwave for this it took about 45 seconds on high, but watch it carefully.  Use a soft pastry brush (a bristle one may be too rough- use a feather one if you have one.. I don’t have one I used my hands after the butter had cooled some.  Remember to reserve some butter to brush the top of the strudel just before baking.  Sprinkle the dough  with the toasted bread crumbs.  Spread the nuts in a 6 inch strip along the long side of the strip, but stop about 3 inches from the short ends of the dough. (I actually made an error here and spread the apples across the whole strudel rather than having one 6 inch strip and then rolling it but NEXT time I will get that right!) You will use the ends to fold over the filling before rolling the strudel up.

Toss the sliced apples in the lemon juice to prevent browning and combine with the raisins.  Add the sugar and cinnamon and mix to combine.  Spread the apple mixture over nuts.  Fold the short end of the pastry dough (the 3 inches) I found the table cloth to be an aid in this next part- using it for leverage to roll the strudel.  I used the end with the holes as the inside of the strudel, as you roll it it adds layers (if you did it correctly) and those imperfections will be hidden.

Lift the strudel onto your prepared baking sheet.  If you did it correctly the strudel will probably not break. (I did it wrong, so mine did, but it won’t next time! I will read the recipe 4 times instead of 2 times next time! Learn from my mistake will you? lol)  Brush the top of the strudel with the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter, leaving any solids in the bowl.

Bake in the preheated 400 F oven for about 30 minutes.  When it is golden brown remove the strudel from the oven.  I should have removed mine at about 25 minutes it got a little browner than I wanted and the juices that escaped actually caramelized more than desired.  Allow to cool at least 30 minutes before slicing with a serrated knife.  Serve with whipped cream or the vanilla sauce – more like a vanilla custard (Recipe follows).

Printable Recipe

Vanilla Sauce

adapted from Rick Rodgers Kaffeehaus page 18

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 1/2 cup milk, divided use
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (the increased the amount I used after tasting it)

Preparation:

Pour 1/2 cup milk in a Pyrex measuring cup. Sprinkle the cornstarch over the milk and whisk it.  Add the egg yolks and sugar and whisk well to combine.

In a small sauce pan, bring remaining 2 cups of milk to a simmer over low heat.  Slowly pour the egg and sugar mixture into the simmering milk whisking constantly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently with the whisk, over low heat just until the mixture comes to a boil.  At this point whisk in the vanilla extract.  Pour the custard through a fine sieve into your serving dish.  Serve warm (If you make this sauce ahead of time, reheat it in a glass bowl over hot water over the burner.)  Pour the vanilla sauce over a slice of apple strudel.  Enjoy.

Printable Recipe

This first attempt though it was not perfect, still had my husband who usually has good table manners licking the plate after he finished the strudel.  I think it must have turned out well enough!  My children loved it as well.  They especially liked the vanilla sauce that was with it.  Yes, it was time consuming to make, but I think it will only get better as I practice making strudel, so my family can look forward  to my making Apfelstrudel again soon.

My strudel dough had holes in it, but it still worked (and I spread the filling across the whole dough, and not along the long edge like instructed-this is your opportunity to learn from my mistakes.)

Strudel before baking – it had some tears, but it was still a beautiful thing:

Here is the baked strudel.  You will see that the juices caramelized almost to the point of burning, but the dough itself was golden brown.  I should have removed it at 25 minutes rather than going  to 30.  Do watch carefully towards the end.

Mini-Bacon Meatballs

Mini-Bacon Meatballs — I know that brings you visions of Heaven right?  Well, almost! 🙂 These are used in the Meatball Soup that I posted (link)  My husband thought these are a shining star!  Yes, I agree they are quite good!  I doubled the recipe but wished that I had quadrupled it.  The meatballs are Tablespoon size scoops that cook quickly and are easy to make.  A little prep work of course is necessary, but well worth it.  I actually wish I had made the meatballs a little smaller for the soup, but this would be a nice size for Spaghetti and Meatballs, or Sweet and Sour Meatballs, or Meatballs in a sauce for a Superbowl party… let your imagination go wild.  These are very versatile.

Mini-Bacon Meatballs

Cuisine at Home April 2010 issue page 48 (28-1″ meatballs)

• 2 strips of bacon, diced
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb ground beef (sirloin)
• 1/4 cup dry plain bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 tsp paprika (I used smoked paprika)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt (larger grain than table salt)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 400F and spray your broiling pan with non stick cooking spray.

Cook bacon over medium high heat until it begins to crisp.  Remove the bacon to paper towels to allow to drain.  Remove all but 1 Tbsp bacon fat from the pan.  Cook the onion in the bacon fat over medium heat until it is softened, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for an additional minute.

Combine the cooked bacon and onion-garlic mixture (I allowed it to cool some first) with the beef, bread crumbs, chopped parsley, paprika, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Mix together with a wooded spoon until well combined.  Add the beaten egg once the mixture seems evenly mixed.

Form the meat mixture into 1 inch balls (I found a 1 Tbsp measurement to be perfect) roll in your hands to make them round.  Place the meatballs on the prepared broiling pan.  Bake at 400F for 10 minutes.  Check meatballs and cook longer if needed.  I found 10 minutes was the right amount of time, but if your meatballs are larger they may take another few minutes.

Printable Recipe

Meatball Soup

The April 2010 Issue of Cuisine at Home had a series of recipes that caught my eye: Mini-Bacon Meatballs (which are used in this soup- Separate entry to follow with Meatball recipe)  The name of the soup is actually Albondigas Soup, but I won’t do it justice pronouncing it properly, so for this purpose it is Meatball Soup.  My husband at first thought it was an interesting (not always a good thing) soup, but it grew on him as he ate it.  The flavors are really good in this soup.  The only change was that I used Chicken broth instead of beef – only because I grabbed the wrong box of broth and I did not add any water but used chicken broth instead for extra flavor I also increased the liquid from 4 cups to 5-6 because my family is larger than 4 servings.

It is a quick soup to put together once you have your prep work done -30 minutes.  We will make it again.

Albondigas Soup (Meatball Soup)

adapted from Cuisine at Home April 2010 Issue page 49

Serves 4 (7 cups)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup diced onion
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 5-6 cups beef broth (chicken will work in a pinch- can also use 2 cups of water)
• 2 (6 inch) corn tortillas
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved (divided use)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 2 cups (8 oz package) sliced white mushrooms
• 1 recipe Mini-bacon Meatballs, thawed
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• juice of one lime
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• sour cream (optional)

Preparation:

Cook chopped onion in olive oil over medium high heat for about 5 minutes until softened.  Add garlic and chili powder and stir and cook for another minute.  Add broth (and water if using) tortillas and 1/2 cup grape tomatoes. Simmer soup for 5 minutes.  Use a blender to blend the soup and return it to the soup pot. (I used my hand immersion blender – it truly is my favorite kitchen tool)  Skim off any tomato skins that float to the top of the soup.

Add remaining grape tomatoes, corn, mushrooms, and meatballs.  Simmer over medium heat for another 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, cilantro and lime juice.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with extra cilantro, and sour cream if desired.

 

Printable Recipe

Sweet and Spicy Macadamia Chicken

A long time friend recently posted on Facebook that she had made a Sweet and Spicy Cashew Chicken for dinner.  I and several others begged her for the recipe and she sent it to me.   Now she does not say what she is having but says it is yummy.  I think she is tired of sending her friends her best recipes.  I am glad however that she shared this one with me, because it was an instant favorite.  I made a few changes – changed the nut to Macadamia from Cashew (only because I had them on hand) and added baby bok choy because they sounded like they would be a nice addition to this recipe- It was.  My daughters thought it would also taste good with Shrimp and I agree it would, but it would need less cooking time.  I would start cooking the shrimp with the garlic and when they are pink remove them from the wok, cook the other ingredients and then add them back in once the sauce comes to a boil.

She shared with me the original source of the recipe and you can find it here.  Thank you Doris! This recipe is a keeper.

Sweet and Spicy Macadamia Chicken

adapted from Best of Bridge Sweet and Spicy Cashew Chicken

Book Reference – The Best of the Best – Vol. 1 (Page: 200), Grand Slam (Page: 148)

Serves 6

Ingredients:
Sauce

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 4 tsp. soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 3-4 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Stir Fry Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes (shrimp would be really nice in this dish as well)
• 1/4 cup oil (peanut oil if no one has a peanut allergy)
• 2-3 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 2 red peppers, cut in strips (I used one red and one yellow)
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced into matchsticks (they could be coins, but my family likes softer carrots)
• 2 cups snow peas
• 3 baby bok choy, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups cashews
• sprinkling of sesame seeds, toasted

Instructions:
Combine all the sauce ingredients and set aside for later use.

In a bowl, combine cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add chicken cubes and toss to coat.

Heat wok or frying pan to highest heat. Add oil (I used Peanut oil). Heat to hot, not smoking. Add chicken, ginger, garlic and onion. Stir until chicken is opaque (about 1 minute). Add peppers and carrots. Stir 2-3 minutes. Add snow peas, bok choy and sauce. Cook until sauce comes to a boil. Add cashews and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately over hot cooked rice.

Serves 6.

Printable Recipe

 

Egg Omlette Sandwich

This morning I was in the mood for a breakfast sandwich.  I made a two egg omlette, seasoned it with salt and filled with deli sliced Black Forest Ham and grated Cheddar cheese.  After folding it in half I put it on a toasted French Roll.  It was a delicious and filling breakfast.

Becky’s Egg Omlette Breakfast Sandwich

Serves 1

• 2 eggs, beaten
• salt, to taste
• 3 slices of deli sliced Black Forest Ham
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1 French Roll, toasted

Preparation:

Preheat a non stick pan over medium heat and spray with Pam Cooking spray.

Beat the eggs and pour into the heated pan.  Season with salt, top with ham and shredded cheese.  Cook for 1 minute.  Fold the egg over the filling and heat for 30 minutes.  Turn the omlette over and cook for another 30 minutes to melt the cheese.  Fold the omlette in half again (making a triangle) and gently remove with a spatula to your toasted French Roll.  Place the top over the egg omlette.  Enjoy.

Printable Recipe

French Fries

French fries come in the frozen section of the grocery store right?  You put them in the oven and bake them, .. at least that has been the case for me, if I even make them at all.  In an attempt to find something really cheap to make so I can blog about it, I tried the recipe that is in America’s Test Kitchen TV Cookbook (2001-2010) LINK.  They recently showed on their program a method of frying french fries that starts with the potatoes in cold peanut oil.  I was skeptical, that they fries would become really soggy. I have to say it was not a perfect first attempt, but they were yummy in the end.  It took longer for my fries to get crisp than they said it would, and I had some stick to the bottom that did not want to budge, but it’s okay — they stayed at the bottom when I went to scoop them out with my spider and did not affect that lot.  I did have to cook them longer than the recipe said, but they were good in the end.. so be patient if they don’t seem crisp to you.  I drained the fries on a baking pan lined with paper towels, sprinkled the hot fries with salt for the family and garlic powder with some parsley for hubby and I because we LOVE garlic!

The recipe works this way: you use Yukon Gold Potatoes — mine were on the small side, so they were not very long, but they were good: crisp on the outside and soft and velvety in the inside.  The recipe in the cookbook calls for 1/4 cup strained bacon fat in the oil to give it extra flavor, but I didn’t use any because for once I didn’t have any on hand!  Shocker, I know!  Cut the edges of the potato to give it a flat side on all four sides (and extra balance when you slice them) and slice them first in 1/4 slices and then 1/4 inch sticks.

Easier French Fries

adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes (about 6 medium), scrubbed, dried, sides squared off and cut lengthwise in 1/4″ slices and then 1/4 inch sticks
• 6 cubs peanut oil
• Salt
• Garlic powder, optional

Preparation:

Place the sliced potato batons and the peanut oil in a heavy duty dutch oven (I like to use my 6 1/2 quart Le Creuset- an enameled cast iron skillet).

Bring the oil and french fries to a full boil over high heat.  Once the oil is boiling set the timer for 15 minutes.  Do NOT disturb the fries those 15 minutes- keep the temperature at high during the boiling, but do monitor to make sure it does not spill out!

After 15 minutes use a long pair of tongs to gently stir the bottom of the pot to loosen any that get stuck to the bottom (I still had a few that did not want to un-stick, but it turned out okay)

Continue cooking over high heat for 10 minutes or longer, stirring occasionally with tongs, until they are golden brown and crisp.  Remove them with a slotted spoon or a spider if you have one (a metal net like looking thing).  Drain the french fries on a paper towel lined baking sheet.  Immediately, sprinkle with salt and garlic powder if desired. Serve with Ketchup or a dipping sauce.

Enjoy

Printable Recipe

 

Black Bean and Sausage Burritos

Here is a recipe for Black Bean and Sausage Burritos that my husband is especially fond of.  I found it initially in a Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook Great Cooking for Two and have changed it up a little to personalize it for our family.  It is easy to assemble, but takes a little preparation.

Black Bean and Sausage Burritos

adapted from Great Cooking for 2 Cookbook

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

• 12 oz Italian Sweet Sausage, skins removed and crumbled
• 3/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup Green or Red Pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup Ricotta Cheese
• 1  3/4 cups Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded (divided use), or cheddar cheese if desired
• 4 oz can diced green chilies, drained
• 8-10 (medium) Flour Tortillas
• 1 (15 oz) can Black Beans, rinsed and drained (you may need more if you are making 10 burritos)
• 1/2 cup mild or medium salsa

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Wrap the flour tortillas in foil.

For the filling: n a large skillet, cook the Italian sausage, onion, green or red pepper until the sausage is browned and the onion is tender.  Drain the excess fat.  Add the chopped garlic and cook for an additional minute or so.  Stir in the ricotta cheese,  3/4 cups of the pepper Jack cheese (or cheddar), and drained green chilies.  Stir until combined and set aside.

When the oven has come to temperature, heat the flour tortillas for 10-15 minutes to soften them.

Use a fork to mash the black beans in a separate bowl.  Stir in the salsa.

Unwrap the heated tortillas and spread about 2 Tbsp of the black beans down the center of each tortilla within 2 inches of the edge. Spoon 1/2 cup of the sausage cheese filling on top of the bean paste.  Sprinkle with about 2-3 Tbsp of cheese over the filling.  Fold the ends of the tortilla over the filling and then the sides.  Either skewer them with toothpicks, or wrap them in foil to secure the burrito.  Place in a baking dish. Bake the burritos at 350 F for 15-25 minutes or until hot.  Remove toothpicks/foil.  Serve with salsa and Spanish Rice.  Serving Size: 2 Burritos.

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