Buffalo Turkey Burgers

This was GOOD, boy oh boy this was GOOD!

I saw this recipe on one of my favorite websites www.skinnytaste.com and I knew I had to make it!

I love love love buffalo wings, but always feel guilty eating them.

This is a guilt free way to eat them along with a large amount of blue cheese (homemade might I add).

I paired these Buffalo turkey burgers with some sweet potato fries, which are a huge hit in this house.

All in all this meal was a knock out, you must try it.  They are even good leftover, however the slaw does not last long in the fridge, 2 days MAX.

Recipe here.

This was before we bought our new grill for memorial day weekend, so I used my grill pan, which worked pretty darn well if I do say so myself. 

Blue cheese broccoli slaw, super simple and DELICIOUS!

YUM YUM YUM!

ENJOY!

Logan Rating: *****

Grilled Fish Sandwich

Mouth watering yet?

Mine is...

Both of these recipes come from the new cookbook that I've (not officially) added to this challenge. 

I've been cooking out of it quite a bit lately, but I have yet to add it to the count, because I feel like if I do, this challenge may never end.

But would that be such a bad thing?  I'm not so sure...

Anyway, I guess I will continue to ponder that, while I also continue to cook delicious things out of it.

Like this beautifully light and delicious fish sandwich with a mustard potato salad.

Really while I love a battered fish sandwich (and all things fried) as much as any other Minnesotan, 

I do think this grilled fish sandwich is just as good, if not better.

Partially because you don't feel guilty about eating it for hours after you finish, but also because it is flavorful and paired with a delicious slaw that gives it even more dimension.

I paired it with a potato salad, because I just knew Logan would love this mustard based (German) version.

And boy was I right, this meal was a hit in general, and I think you should try it. 

In fact it would be a pretty great Memorial Day meal, 

that is if the weather where you are allows you to grill...ours does not, darn spring time in MT.

Nonetheless...

Happy Memorial Day 

and 

HAPPY GRILLING!

Grilled Fish Sandwich with Cabbage Slaw

4 cups shredded green cabbage

S&P

1 celery stalk, thinly sliced

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

3 T mayo

1 T red-wine vinegar

1/4 tsp caraway seed (I actually used celery seed)

Vegetable oil, for grilling

4 striped bass, fillets or other firm-fleshed fish such as tilapia or flounder (4-6oz each)

8 thick slices sandwich bread, such as brioche or country style white (I used a 7 grain wheat)

Heat grill to medium high.  (I used an indoor grill pan, because our weather SUCKS). In a bowl, toss cabbage with 2 tsp salt, let stand 20 min, then press between layers of paper towels to remove excess liquid. 

In a clean bowl, toss cabbage with celery, onion, mayo, vinegar and caraway seed, season with pepper.

Clean and lightly oil hot grates.  Pat fish dry, season with salt and pepper, and brush with oil.  

Grill fish until opaque around the edges and underside releases easily from grill, 2-4 min.  Using a thin metal spatula, flip fish and cook until opaque throughout, 1-5 min. Transfer to a plate.

Grill bread until lightly toasted, 5-10 seconds per side.

Assemble sandwiches with fish and cabbage slaw. 

Potatoes Vinaigrette

1 1/2 lbs new potatoes, scrubbed 

S&P

1/4 cup white-wine vinegar

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T whole-grain mustard

3 T olive oil 

1 celery stalk, thinly sliced crosswise, plus 1/2 cup celery leaves

Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil, and add salt.  Reduce to a simmer and cook until just tender, 12-14 min.  Drain; set aside to cool slightly. 

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine vinegar and both mustards; season with S&P.

When potatoes are cool enough to handle, quarter and toss with mustard-vinegar mixture.

Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours or up to overnight.  Add oil and celery stalk leaves to potatoes; toss and serve.

Serves 4.

LOGAN RATING: ****

Curried spinach and tofu

This, ladies and gents, is tofu and guess who ate it...???

No not the dog, because it was so nasty we put it in her dish...

LOGAN!

Logan ate this tofu dish.

Granted I also made chicken for him, but he still ate tofu, I almost fainted.

This was the first recipe that I made out of the new cookbook...

And I must say, so far, I'm impressed!

One thing that I LOVE about this book is that each recipe has a calorie count.

While some of you may be like my husband and you don't need to know how many calories you are consuming, I am not.  I am going to be a bridesmaid in August and I need to get moving!

So this book, which has delicious low cal foods, is my savior!

This particular recipe has 294 calories per serving and it accomplishes that by swapping high cal coconut milk for reduced fat sour cream.  And I must stay it was still a hit!  Success!

ENJOY!

Curried Spinach and Tofu

2 T vegetable oil, such as safflower

1 med onion, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

S&P

1 T curry powder

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 packages (10oz) frozen chopped spinach (do not thaw)

1 1/2 cups water

3/4 cup reduced fat sour cream

2 packages (12.5 oz each) extra firm silken tofu, drained and cut into 1/2 in cubes

Cooked rice, preferably basmati, for serving (optional)

Heat oil in a large skillet over med-high.  Add onion and garlic, and season with S&P.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to brown, 5-7 minutes.  Add curry powder and ginger; cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add spinach and the water; bring to a boil, breaking up spinach with a spoon.  

Reduce heat to med; simmer, stirring occasionally, until almost all liquid has evaporated, 10-12 min.

Stir in sour cream and tofu; cook just to heat through, 3-5 min (do not boil).  

Serve with rice, if desired. 

Serves 4.

I served this with these very popular rolls, which were incredibly easy to make.

I got the recipe from this wonderful lady's cookbook.

Buy some frozen unrisen rolls at the store.

Follow the instructions on the bag, but before putting them in the oven to cook brush them with olive oil or butter and sprinkle them with fresh chopped rosemary and sea salt.

You will be an extremely popular person, I promise!

Here they are after spending about 4 hours rising!

Right before going into the oven! YUM!

All 9 of these were devoured by 3 of us...so good!

Logan Rating: ****

Best Dip EVER

You are looking at what is quite possibly my absolute favorite thing to eat with a chip. 

This bean salsa/dip/salad...call it what you will, it is fantastic and that is all that matters.

I can promise you that if you make this, it will be a hit.

I got the recipe from my mother and I honestly have no clue where she got it from.

It is so addicting and so delicously fresh that you will not be able to stop eating it.

These "fritos" or corn chips, are what we have found to be the most yummy with this dip.

You could also use any other chip you desire...but I'm telling you, Fritos+bean salsa=crack (as in ridiculously addicting, you may need rehab after trying just once kind of crack).

That was not very PC, and for that I apologize.

But really, after you taste this, you'll get it.

ENJOY!

1 can each of pinto beans, black beans, black eyed peas and northern beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can of corn

1 green and 1 red pepper finely chopped

1 medium onion finely chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

salt and pepper

Dressing: 

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup veg. oil (I used safflower)

Combine dressing ingredients in a sauce pan, bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved.  Remove from heat and cool completely.  Then toss the dressing with all other ingredients. 

Voila...AMAZING!

Tomato Crisp

Above you are looking at a tomato crisp.  

I messed up, however, and when I was mixing the bread crumb mixture I blended it instead of pulsing it.

Therefor creating bread crumbs instead of a crisp mixture.  OOOOPS.

It was still pretty tasty.

Next time I would quarter the tomatoes, only because we are not HUGE tomato people in this house and whole tomatoes with not much else was a little much for us. 

I would say if you are person that grabs a tomato and eats it like an apple, you would like this dish.

If you are a person that picks around tomatoes in a salad, you will probably not like this dish.

The large fuzzy blob in the background is a easy roasted chicken. 

And to illustrate the ease of this dish, I decided to let Logan cook it.

He did a fantastic job.

So now he can add this chicken to his repertoire of recipes, which previously consisted of noodles, sandwiches, "mac n cheese" and cheese quesadillas. 

:)

ENJOY!

Easy Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry

2 T butter at room temp

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425.  Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen twine (tuck the wings under the chicken, if desired, for a neater presentation).  Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet.  

Rub the chicken all over with the butter; season with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Roast until an instant read thermometer registers 160 when inserted in the thickest part of a thigh (making sure its not touching a bone), 45-50 min.  Serve or let cool before refrigerating up to 3 days, covered.  

Cherry Tomato Crisp

2 slices white sandwich bread (I used wheat)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 T fresh parsley leaves

1 T olive oil

1 garlic clove, chopped

salt and pepper

1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes (about 5 cups)

Preheat oven to 400.  In a food processor, combine the bread, Parmesan, parsley, olive oil, and garlic; season with S&P.  PULSE!!!! until bread is very coarsely chopped, 4-6 times.

(way too pulverized..dangit)

In an baking dish, arrange the cherry tomatoes in a single layer; sprinkle with the crumb mixture. 

 

Bake until the crust is browned and the tomatoes are tender, 20-25 min. 

Serves 4. 

Logan Rating: **

Nicoise Salad

I had never heard of this fancy French salad until a couple years ago when my Uncle Dug made it for my mom and myself. I was suspicious, because lets face it, I'm not the fanciest of people.

But after the first bite I was pleasantly surprised, it is light, bright, and fresh.

I was totally impressed.  I never thought I could make something so pretty and fancy.

Now, probably 3 years later, I did it. 

I made my first Nicoise salad, thanks to this blog forcing me out of my comfort zone. 

And although it would not be authentic according to the french, as they used NO cooked vegetables, I think it was a home run.  

If I can do it, you can too...just TRY!

ENJOY!

Salmon Nicoise Salad

Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

12 oz (4-5) red new potatoes

8oz green beans, trimmed

2 skinless salmon fillets (each about 8oz)

2 heads Boston lettuce

4 plum tomatoes

3 large eggs, hard-cooked

1 medium red onion

1 jar or tin anchovy fillets, drained (optional)

1/4 cup kalamata olives

Dijon Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Dijon Vinaigrette

2 T fresh lemon juice

1 T Dijon mustard

S&P

1/4 cup olive oil

In a medium bowl, whisk the juice, mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, and a pinch of pepper until combined.

Whisking constantly, add the olive oil in a steady stream; whisk until thickened and creamy. (Alternately shake all ingredients in a small jar). 

In a 5 qt pot, bring 1/2 in of water to boil; add salt and the potatoes.  Cover; cook, turning occasionally, until tender, 14-16 min. 

With a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to a bowl.  Set aside to cool. 

Add the green beans to the pot of boiling water.  Cover; cook turning occasionally until tender, 4-6 min.  Remove with a slotted spoon.  Rinse under cool water, and set aside.

Fill a deep skillet with 1/4 in water.  Season the salmon on both sides with S&P; place in the skillet.  

Bring the water to a gentle simmer; cover, and cook until the salmon is opaque throughout, 10-12 min.  Transfer to a plate; flake with a fork and let cool.

While the salmon is cooking, tear lettuce into pieces, 

quarter the potatoes and tomatoes, peel and quarter the eggs and thinly slice the onion.

On a large platter (or 4 serving plates), arrange the lettuce, salmon, green beans, potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, onion, anchovies (if using) and olives.  Serve with the vinaigrette.

Foolproof Hard-Cooked Eggs

Place 4 eggs in a saucepan and add enough water to cover them by 1 inch.  Bring the water to a simmer over high heat.  Remove from the heat and cover and let stand for 12 min. 

Drain and rinse under cold running water.  

Logan Rating: ***

Mothers Day Breakfast

Happy Mothers Day to all of you wonderful Mothers out there.

I made myself a Mothers Day breakfast, even though Logan says my babies (Rylie the dog and Olive the cat) don't count as real babies.

Nonetheless I rewarded myself with a souffle pancake breakfast.

I saw these crazy looking things on the food network and I just had to try them.

I got the recipe here.  

It was fairly easy, but it is definitely a weekend morning breakfast.

If my mom were here I would have made her one too...make one for the special ladies in your life!  

ENJOY