Rachael Ray Recipes

I've neglected you for a few days, but fear not, I have lots of new recipes for you! You're getting the lazy versions though, because my arms are sore from painting our master bedroom. So just click on the links and check out the recipes from the Rachael Ray magazine.

Corn Cakes with Peppers and Onions (I added a little bacon to the corn cakes, but these were still a huge flop. Kids hated them, but I wasn't really surprised. They look pretty, though!)
Jalapeno, Avocado and Bacon Burgers (I used goat cheese instead of queso fresco, and got lazy with the avocado/onion salad so I just put avocado slices. These were really good, although there was way too much of the cheese topping.)Grilled Creamed Corn (I made a half-batch and used some of it to make Chipotle-Corn Turkey Burgers, and I'll use the rest of it to make Corn Fritters with Grilled Tomatoes. I actually hate creamed corn with a passion, but this stuff was really good! And the burgers were fabulous!)

Update: Here are the Corn Fritters I made. Very yummy, although I didn't have any grilled tomatoes =( to go on top. That would have been delicious!

Classic Beef Burgers with Big Burger Sauce

I got these recipe from the new Epicure spring/summer flyer and from their monthly newsletter. They were great - just like what you'd get at Burger King, but not nearly as terrible for you!

CLASSIC BEEF BURGERS

1 egg

2 tbsp. water

1 tbsp. Beef & Steak Rub

1 tbsp. 3 Onion Dip Mix

sea salt

2 tsp. prepared mustard

1/4 c. crushed crackers (or breadcrumbs)

1 lb. ground beef

Combine ingredients and form into 4-6 patties. Grill on the bbq for 5 minutes per side.

BIG BURGER SAUCE (this recipe made a fairly small batch, since I only needed it for 2-3 burgers, but the original recipe makes 3 times as much)

1 tbsp. vinegar (I used White Balsamic)

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp. Italian Dressing Mix

2 tbsp. mayonnaise

1 tsp. relish (I used Relish Mustard that Epicure sold last year)

1 tsp. ketchup

1 tsp. 3 Onion Dip Mix

Whisk together ingredients and let stand for 20 minutes.

A Margarita Meal

If you've followed my blog for a while, you'll know that I like to try alot of Rachael Ray's recipes. I don't watch alot of cooking shows, but whenever I happen to catch hers, the recipes are generally easy to follow and use ingredients that I have handy in the house. I'm not intimidated by her recipes... she's not a professional chef, just someone like me who loves to cook, and was lucky enough to turn her hobby into a wildly-successful career!

So last week on her show, she made Tequila Lime Chicken and Grilled Romaine Hearts with Caesar-cado Dressing. I have made Tequila Lime Chicken before (click here for my Pollo Loco recipe that is my attempt at copying Applebee's Fiesta Chicken.) This recipe is much simpler... and probably alot healthier (no spicy mayo sauce or grated cheese on top, just chicken marinated in booze - yum!) I made a couple adjustments, based on what ingredients I did/didn't have in the house, and the whole dish was awesome.

TEQUILA LIME CHICKEN (from Rachael Ray)
4 chicken breasts
1/2 c. tequila
juice of 4 limes
1/4 c. olive oil
salt & pepper
Cuban seasoning or Fajita seasoning

Lay the chicken in a shallow dish and pour the tequila, lime juice, and oil over top. Let it marinate for 30 minutes or more. Shake off excess marinade and season chicken with salt & pepper before grilling.

CHIMI-CHOP (from Rachael Ray)
1/2 c. cilantro
1/4 c. mint
1/2 red onion
2 jalapenos, seeded
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/3 c. olive oil

Finely chop the cilantro, mint, red onion, and jalapenos. Stir together with vinegar and oil. Serve overtop of the grilled chicken.

CAESAR-CADO DRESSING (from Rachael Ray)
1 avocado
juice of 2 lemons
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp. Chipotle powder
1/4 c. olive oil

Combine everything in a blender. Serve over romaine hearts that have been cut in half, washed & patted dry, sprayed with cooking spray (on the cut portion) and grilled on a bbq for 2 minutes.
For a beverage, I adapted the recipe for Camp Juice to make it a slushy margarita:

BEERGARITAS
1 c. tequila
1 can limeade
2 cans water (use the empty limeade can)
2 cans beer

Pour into a container and freeze overnight. Let it thaw slightly before serving.

This was a really simple meal to make, even though it sounds like it would be complicated. Throw your chicken in a bag with some marinade; grill it. Slice your lettuce in half; grill it. Throw your salad dressing ingredients in the blender; blend it. Throw your beergarita ingredients in the freezer; freeze it. The hardest part is probably the Chimi-Chop, which is just chopped herbs & veggies - not really rocket science!

The caesar dressing is amazing (although I think I'd take it easy on the lemon and garlic next time... it was a little strong!) and the Chimi-Chop was delicious on the chicken (I had my doubts when I first made it... it didn't smell fabulous, but it tasted great.) The beergaritas were perfect.... in fact, I think I'm going to have another one right now! Good night!

Amazing Summer Mushroom Burgers

Today was another beautiful summer day (except that it's not really summer anymore, since my kids started back to school today! Thanks Mother Nature for two months of crap.) Anyway, since today was so nice, it was the perfect day to use the barbeque and jazz up one of my all-time favourite recipes, Portobello Mushroom Burgers with Asparagus & Prosciutto Goat Cheese. It's a mouthful to say, and it's a mouthful to eat.... these burgers are full of flavour, and very filling.

My original recipe was delicious (sorry, had to toot my own horn there, cuz honestly they are amazing), but in case you haven't noticed, I've been using peaches in alot of my recipes lately and I figured this would be another good opportunity to use them. I also have 3 packages of Boursin cheese left in the fridge, since my hubby didn't hear me the other day when I told him I bought 2 because they were on sale, and he picked up 2 more the same day! So instead of using goat cheese, I used Boursin.

These burgers literally take you 15 minutes to make, and they are absolutely perfect for a day like today!

AMAZING SUMMER MUSHROOM BURGERS
4 portobello mushrooms, washed and stems removed
red wine
olive oil
12 asparagus stalks, washed, trimmed, and drizzled with olive oil (and salt & pepper if you like)
4 slices of prosciutto, chopped
1 peach, diced
1 pkg. Boursin cheese (I used the Garlic & Fine Herbs flavour)

4 hamburger buns

4 tomato slices

Lay the mushrooms in a shallow dish and pour a generous splash of red wine and olive oil over each one. Let them soak while you prepare the asparagus (I spear the asparagus onto a skewer before grilling it on the barbeque.) Mix the prosciutto and peach into the cheese. Grill mushrooms for 5 minutes per side, brushing with excess wine/oil mixture a couple of times. Grill asparagus at the same time, but only for about 5 minutes. Lay buns on the top rack of your barbeque to toast while the mushrooms finish cooking. (The mushrooms are quite juicy, so a toasted bun will help prevent your hamburger from becoming a soggy mess when you try to eat it.) To assemble, put a mushroom on a bun, top it with 1/4 of the cheese mixture, and then lay three asparagus stalks and a slice of tomato on top.

I think this is quite possibly my favourite meal. It's got so many flavours going on, and it totally fills you up even though it feels like a relatively light meal. Not to mention it makes you sound like a culinary goddess when you tell people you just grilled up some portobello mushrooms soaked in red wine and topped with grilled asparagus and a mixture of boursin, prosciutto, and fresh peaches!!

Life is good!

Life is good. It's the weekend, it's beautiful outside, friends are coming over for supper, and I got a great recipe in my inbox this week. (You should really sign up for the Canadian Living Dinner Club e-newsletter, and any others that interest you. You can find the link here).

The recipe is for Barbequed Peach Pork Chops, and I'm making a double batch and using Epicure's Sweet & Spicy Mustard (that is now out of stock - boo!) I wanted to use mint instead of basil, but the little stem of mint that I planted in my garden a couple weeks ago just won't cut it, and Superstore was all out (or at least I couldn't find any under the wilted bunches of cilantro and parsley... ewww Superstore, get your fresh herbs in order please and thank you!) I never use fresh basil, but I was pleasantly surprised by the smell of it. I think this recipe will turn out just fine! (Yes, I experiment with bacon and chocolate chips, but I've never used fresh basil!)

I'm making a salad to go with it - I'm not following a recipe, just tossing together a bag of mixed greens, some strawberries and peaches, tomatoes, red onion, and probably some of the leftover basil and the little bit of mint I have in my garden. I'll mix up some olive oil, lemon juice, sugar, and maybe some white balsamic vinegar and salt & pepper for the dressing.
I've got some garden beans to cook up as well, and I'll put some slices of potatoes and mushrooms in tinfoil on the barbeque. For an appetizer, I've got a baguette and 3 different cheeses (smoked gouda, boursin, and goat cheese with blueberry and cinnamon). I think that'll feed us!

Now I'm off to finish the book I'm reading in my beautiful backyard on this gorgeous summer day! Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend! Update: This meal was fabulous! We had a lovely meal on the patio, and our guests brought a delicious cake that had rhubarb, blueberries, and sour cherries baked in the bottom of it. What an awesome Saturday!

Update again: For lunch the next day I put some leftover pork (thinly sliced) and leftover salad in a tortilla. Yum!!!

Is today done yet?

I'm not exactly sure why, but today kinda sucked. My kids were annoying, I was probably annoying, and my husband still isn't home from work yet. But I do have two new recipes for you, both of which were pretty good.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet, cuz I'll likely need to go yell at my kids in about 3 minutes.

Yesterday's meal:

TANDOORI CHICKEN
chicken breasts
plain yogurt
grated ginger & garlic (optional)
Tandoori Seasoning

Mix everything together in a ziploc bag and marinade overnight in the fridge. Barbeque over medium heat and serve with rice. (I served it with naan made on the bbq, but it was a little too thin and therefore a little too dry. I think I'm going back to store-bought naan.)

Today's meal (recipe courtesy of my friend Deanne):

SAUSAGE & COUSCOUS
1 lb. ground sausage
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 c. bell pepper slices
1 c. couscous
1 1/4 c. water
1 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. Vegetable Bouillon Base

Form meat into small meatballs and cook in a large skillet with olive oil and garlic. Add bell peppers and cover until cooked (draining as necessary). In a small pot, bring water, butter, and bouillon base to a boil. Pour in couscous, remove from heat, and cover for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve with meatball mixture.

The kids ate hot dogs on a piece of bread with some corn. And that's the kinda day it's been. I'm going to soak in a hot tub for the next 3 hours. See you tomorrow!

It feels good to cook again!

We finally moved into our new house, after a summer of stress and worry and packing, and a week where we technically had no home (thank God for good friends!) Now all the boxes are unpacked (yes, my husband is neurotic about unpacking immediately), new furniture arrived today, and my dad & stepmom bought us a new barbeque yesterday. Life is GOOD!

While I was in Quebec on holidays, I stumbled upon the Kraft "What's Cooking?" magazine and found this recipe I was dying to try out. It obviously wasn't going to be a hit at my in-laws' house, so I was saving it for a special occasion, like the maiden voyage of my new barbeque. It was worth the wait.

PEACH, BACON & CHICKEN SKEWERS

3 fresh peaces, sliced into big pieces

8 thick slices of bacon

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

Kraft Brown Sugar Barbeque Sauce

Take a strip of bacon and pierce it on one end with a skewer. Slide on a piece of chicken, then fold the bacon over and pierce it again. Repeat this with alternating pieces of peach and chicken, adding a second piece of bacon when the first one runs out. (I did this instead of wrapping the chicken pieces in bacon, like the Kraft recipe suggests. I thought it would look prettier and be quicker to assemble. The bacon just zigzags back and forth around the chicken and peaches.) Brush liberally with barbeque sauce, then grill for 10 minutes per side.

(Doesn't look like much when it's cooked, but trust me, it was tasty!)

My hubby and I thought this was delicious, but I need to work on my barbequing technique, because my son screamed and cried at the sight/taste of the "black stuff". Okay, so they were a little crispy around the edges, but I was trying to help my husband assemble the wall mount for the television while these babies were cooking on the grill, so they may have been ignored for a few minutes. Otherwise, they were awesome.

I'm a guest blogger!

Last week I was contacted by Brittany at Mushrooms.ca and asked to write a guest blog for their website. Today they are featuring my recipe for Portobello Mushroom Burgers with Asparagus & Prosciutto Goat Cheese. These were delicious - I can't wait to make them again this summer!

Rhubarb & Saskatoon Creations

I'm using up stuff from our freezer before we move, and last night I thawed out a bunch of rhubarb and saskatoons. I had a leftover square of puff pastry so I thought I would roll it out, put the fruit in the middle, sprinkle with sugar, and fold up the edges like a pie shell.
Bake it at 400 F for 20 minutes until crust is golden. (Another great idea would be to cut your puff pastry into smaller squares, and make little popovers.)
So now that dessert is made, what shall I do with the leftover rhubarb and saskatoons?

We're having chicken for supper, so I googled "rhubarb saskatoon chicken" and found this recipe for chutney. I figured it couldn't hurt to try, so I decreased the recipe and adapted it to my own tastes.

RHUBARB SASKATOON CHUTNEY
1/2 c. saskatoons
1/2 c. rhubarb, chopped
3 tbsp. raspberry vinegar
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. onion, diced
1/8 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. ginger
dash of salt
dash of chili pepper flakes

Bring to a simmer for 20 minutes, then drizzle over chicken or beef.It's actually pretty good! Now for the final product: grill your chicken, spread some chutney on top, and toss on some diced avocado.I'm telling you, it's DELICIOUS! The teeny bit of heat in the chutney is perfect with the sweet and tangy flavours. I'm so impressed with this - it totally could have bombed (and of course, if I had served it to the kids, it would have been disastrous!) But they enjoyed their grilled chicken with corn on the cob, and everyone was happy.

Greek Steak Salad

I just tossed this together for lunch today with some leftovers from the fridge.... super simple, even though it sounds a little fancy.

GREEK STEAK SALAD
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. White Balsamic Vinegar (or regular Balsamic vinegar)
1/2 tsp. Greek Dressing Mix

lettuce

tomato slices

leftover steak, thinly sliced

goat cheese, crumbled

Combine first three ingredients and arrange the remaining ingredients on a plate. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

It doesn't look like anything fabulous in the picture, but it was very tasty and very quick to make. Perfect for lunch on a summer day!

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Epicure sends out a weekly meal plan, and this week's looked pretty darn good. I was especially tempted by the Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Tzaziki, so I whipped up a half-batch for me and the hubby (because I knew the kids would revolt if I fed them a mushroom burger) and it was delicious! A little messy to eat, but a small price to pay for something so yummy.

GRILLED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS WITH TZAZIKI
2 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. water
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 portobello mushrooms, washed and stems removed
1 small container plain yogurt (approx. 1/2 c.)
1/4 c. cucumber, grated
1 1/2 tsp. Tzaziki Dip Mix
sea salt, to taste
2 hamburger buns
lettuce and tomato

Combine first 5 ingredients and pour over mushrooms. Let them sit for at least an hour, then grill on the barbeque for 5 minutes per side, brushing with extra marinade frequently. Grill hamburger buns and place mushrooms on top with Tzaziki sauce (yogurt, cucumber, Tzaziki Dip Mix and sea salt combined), lettuce, and tomato.
Make sure you have a napkin handy, and dig in!!

Hummus Chicken.... I think

I have 3 chicken breasts thawing out, and no idea what I'm going to make tonight. I'm leaning towards Hummus Chicken (same idea as this porkchop recipe) although I also have the ingredients to make my version of Applebee's Tequila Lime Chicken. If our house doesn't sell soon, I might need the tequila, so I think I'll go with the hummus recipe.

Usually when I make this chicken, I top it with diced tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese. It's so good. However, my feta smelled funky the other day, so I threw it out and haven't bought any more. I'm going to try some goat cheese instead. I just bought it the other day, so it shouldn't smell funky. (I also discovered I don't have any tomatoes, so I'm tossing some Craisins on instead.)

This recipe is so simple:

HUMMUS-RUBBED CHICKEN
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp. Hummus Dip Mix
chicken breasts
feta or goat cheese, crumbled
tomatoes, diced (or Craisins... honestly, it was good!)

Rehydrate the Hummus Dip Mix with olive oil and lemon juice to form a thick paste (double the amount if you need more paste). Spread over chicken and grill on barbeque. Serve with cheese and tomatoes on top.

I think I prefer feta and tomatoes, although goat cheese and Craisins were pretty darn good!

Barbeque Birthday Extravaganza!

Sorry I've neglected the blog this week. We had leftovers on Tuesday, a school barbeque on Wednesday, last night was a gong show, and tonight we had grilled chicken folded in naan bread with some frozen peas and carrots. Not many blog-worthy recipes there!

Tomorrow we're having my birthday party - everyone's bringing their own meat to grill, and I've made up a few salads. I think I'm going to grill some burgers and eat them with smoked gouda cheese, avocado slices (or maybe I'll make guacamole), and some chipotle caesar dressing.

The dressing goes along with my $5000 Salad, which I'm also making tomorrow. (I'm simplifying it though... dressing, romaine lettuce, diced avocado, and smoked gouda).

I also made a potato salad, adapting a recipe from Epicure's 10th Anniversary Cookbook, and a bean salad that I got from my friend Jon's mom. I hate most bean salads, except this recipe. My mom tries to copy it, but she puts canned green beans in it, which totally ruins the whole thing in my opinion! It's such a pretty, colourful salad, and it makes a huge batch so it's perfect for potlucks. (But seriously, canned green beans smell and taste funny, and they are so dull in colour compared to the rest of the ingredients. Trust me, leave them out!)

POTATO SALAD
6 c. diced potatoes, boiled
4 green onions, sliced
5 radishes, sliced
1 1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 1/2 tsp. Lemon Dilly Dip Mix
6 hard-boiled eggs, diced

JON'S MOM'S BEAN SALAD
1 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 can corn, rinsed & drained
1/4 c. red onion, diced (I used a green onion today instead)
1 red pepper, diced
1 c. celery, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp. fresh basil or oregano, chopped
1 tbsp. fresh mint, chopped (optional)
1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
salt & pepper, to taste
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. dry mustard (whisked into vinegar)
hot sauce, to taste (I used a pinch of chili pepper flakes today)
For both of these recipes, just throw everything into a bowl and toss it all together. Pretty simple!

I'm also going to make some pseudo-sushi rolls:

PSEUDO-SUSHI ROLLS
tortillas
cream cheese (seasoned with Lemon Dilly Dip Mix)
smoked salmon
cucumber, sliced lengthwise into thin strips
avocado, sliced

Spread tortillas with cream cheese. At the bottom edge, lay salmon, cucumber, and avocado on top of each other in a row. Wrap up tortilla and cut into slices. I don't have any pictures at the moment, but if I remember I'll take some tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday to me!

Yes, it's my birthday today. And what a beautiful day for a birthday. The sun is shining, the kids are playing outside, the steaks are barbequing, and the shrimp skewers are waiting for their turn on the grill. I couldn't ask for much more than that!

Tonight's menu is pretty standard for a day like today.... t-bone steaks with barbeque sauce on them, potatoes and onions with some salt and butter cooked in a tinfoil package, and then something a little fancier:

MEXICAN SHRIMP SKEWERS

24 raw shrimp (peeled & deveined)

8 asparagus stalks, trimmed and cut into thirds

1/2 onion, cut into chunks

Marinade:

1 tbsp. olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. lime juice

2 tsp. Tequila

1/2 tsp. chili pepper flakes

1 tbsp. cilantro, chopped

Combine marinade ingredients and pour over shrimp. Skewer shrimp, asparagus, and onion on bamboo skewers and grill for a couple minutes on each side.

The shrimp skewers had two slight problems: two much garlic, and the onions didn't cook long enough. So next time, less garlic, no onions (maybe mushrooms would be good instead.)

My husband is upstairs making me a cake right now! For those of you who know him, you'll understand how shocking this is. It appears to be an ice cream sandwich cake, layered with Cool Whip and butterscotch sundae topping. Now that's what I call a birthday cake!!!

Smoky Apple Bacon Burgers

Well, we made it through the long weekend without any snow! Thank goodness! It's still a little chilly out there, but I decided to barbeque tonight anyway. Here's how we finished off the May long weekend:

SMOKY APPLE BACON BURGERS
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1-2 tbsp. Smoky Ranch Dip Mix

4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped

1 leek, finely chopped, cooked with the bacon

1 apple, peeled and diced

smoked Gouda cheese, sliced

toppings (I used lettuce, tomato, and avocado)

Mix together beef, egg, Smoky Ranch Dip Mix, bacon, leek, and apple. (I made my apple pieces a little too big, so the burgers didn't hold together that well, so next time I'd either use less apple, smaller pieces, or just put the apple slices on top with the other veggies at the end.) Form into 4-5 patties and grill on the barbeque. Assemble each burger on a bun with cheese and veggie toppings.

These were awesome! The smoky cheese, sweet apple, and salty bacon were a perfect match. I'll definitely try these out again sometime. Any way to get some extra fruit (and bacon) in a meal is always a good idea!

All the flavours of the pantry rolled into one meal

Tonight's meal was a hodge-podge of culinary influences. The main course was hot dogs. (I opted not to include a recipe and picture of those.) But I did include recipes and pictures of the beverage, appetizer, and dessert. I hope you enjoy!

SUMMER BERRY MOJITO
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tsp. Summer Berry Fruit Dip Mix (or white sugar)
fresh mint leaves
1 oz. rum
Raspberry Ginger ale

Rim a glass with Mojito Rim Trimmer. Mix together lime juice and Summer Berry in the bottom of the glass. Add mint and crush it with the back of a spoon. Stir in rum and ginger ale.
CHIPOTLE & ROSEMARY SWEET POTATO FRIES WITH CURRY GARLIC MAYO
1 sweet potato, cut into french fry-size pieces
olive oil
Chipotle Chili Powder
fresh rosemary
garlic mayonnaise (or just add some crushed garlic to regular mayo)
Curry Dip Mix

Arrange sweet potato on a tinfoil-lined baking sheet. (I used a frying pan that can go on the barbeque.) Drizzle with olive oil, chipotle powder, and pieces of rosemary. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, or put on the barbeque for about 20 minutes. Combine mayo with Curry Dip Mix and serve with fries.

CHOCOLATE MINT SOUFFLÉ (from this website; I've included the full recipe, but I only made a half-batch because I have a 4.5" springform pan)
6 oz. butter
1/2 c. (gently packed) fresh chocolate mint or peppermint leaves
12 oz. semi-sweet bakers chocolate
6 large eggs
6 tbsp. sugar

Grease a 9" spring form pan with butter and then coat with flour, shaking off excess. Wrap pan in tinfoil and set it in another baking dish.
Melt butter in saucepan along with mint leaves. Let the mint steep in the butter for about half and hour. Squeeze mint leaves and pour butter into a mixing bowl. Add chocolate to the saucepan and hold over a larger saucepan filled partially with boiling water to create a double-boiler. Stir chocolate until it melts, then pour into the mint butter.
Beat eggs and sugar for 10 minutes. (They should be very fluffy.) Slowly stir them into the chocolate mixture and mix well. Pour batter into spring form pan and fill the outer baking dish with water so that it comes up about 1/2" on the spring form pan. Bake at 350 F for approx. 30 minutes. Cake will be gooey when you stick a knife in it. It should read about 160 F on a thermometer.
Let cake cool, then slide a knife around the edge of the pan and release the spring. Slide a knife under the bottom of the cake and slide it onto a plate. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

What a beautiful day!

It was beautiful out today. I spent part of the afternoon doing an Epicure presentation outside on a deck with a nice glass of lemonade. Then I met up with my lovely family and some friends at the park. We decided to have a barbeque at our house, so we stopped at the store to pick up some hotdogs and other essentials.

Apparently we weren't the only ones with this bright idea. There were no hot dog buns left, so check out our fancy meal:

Rather than admit that we had hot dogs on mini dinner rolls, we decided to call them something like "barbequed beef sausages served with Sweet & Spicy Mustard and a thick tomato sauce, nestled in a petit pain". Also known as, a hot dog with mustard, ketchup, and a teeny tiny bun. No matter what you call it, nothing wraps up a weekend like a sunny day with family, friends, and petit pain.

Spinach Salad Burgers

Tonight I took a few main ingredients (spinach, bacon, mushrooms, onions, wine) and created two recipes that will hopefully go well together. Here's how the logic played out in my head:

1. We have a freezer full of beef, so let's make burgers tonight.
2. I'm still in love with the supper from last night, so let's use more bacon tonight.
3. We have mozzarella cheese in our fridge from the pizza we made last week, so let's put that on top of the burgers with some mushrooms.
4. We better eat a salad as a side dish, to make up for the beef/bacon/cheese burger we will be consuming.
5. Spinach salad is very yummy with warm bacon dressing.
6. The kids won't eat salad.
7. I betcha I could hide spinach in their burgers.

So I made up these two recipes:

SPINACH SALAD WITH WARM BACON DRESSING
3 c. baby spinach leaves
1 tomato, chopped
1 c. mushrooms, sliced
4 thick slices of bacon
1/4 c. red onion, diced
1/4 c. white wine (I was going to use red, but this was all we had. After I poured it in, I thought beer would probably have been better. Or you could be less-of-a-lush and use apple juice.)
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tbsp. honey or sugar

Toss together spinach, tomato, and mushrooms. Cook bacon in a skillet and then crumble it over the salad. Drain almost all of the bacon fat from the skillet, lower the heat, and add onions. Cook for a couple minutes, stirring constantly so they don't stick to the bottom, and then pour in wine and deglaze the pan. Combine cornstarch with vinegar and dry mustard until smooth and add to the skillet. Bring to a gentle boil and let it thicken slightly. Stir in honey or sugar and mix well before pouring over salad. SPINACH AND BACON MOZZA MUSHROOM BURGERS
1 lb. ground beef
4 thick slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 c. baby spinach leaves, chopped
1 egg
1 tbsp. Beef & Steak Seasoning
mozzarella cheese
sautéed mushrooms and red onions (I added 1/4 c. white wine while they were cooking. Use whatever you used in the salad dressing.)
4 hamburger buns

Combine the beef, cooked bacon, spinach, egg, and seasoning. Form into 4 patties and cook in a skillet or on the barbeque. Top with sautéed mushrooms and onions and mozzarella cheese.
The kids didn't complain about the "green things" in their burger, and everything tasted awesome. Although it saddens me, I used up the last of the bacon tonight, so there will be no more bacon meals this week. My arteries are thankful, though my tastebuds weep.

Chocolatey Sugary Goodness

The other day I saw a recipe for Mocha-zazz BBQ Rub on Cre8tive Kitchen. She uses pork tenderloin (which would be delicious) but I have a quarter of a cow in my freezer, so I googled "mocha beef rub" and found a recipe for Grilled Cocoa-Mocha Steak. The two recipes were fairly similar, so I just simplified the measurements and combined the ingredients to come up with my own version:

MOCHA STEAK RUB
2 tsp. each of the following:
cocoa
coffee
smoked paprika (I would have used a little bit of chipotle powder if I had it)
dry mustard
cilantro
garlic
ginger
brown sugar
dash of salt

Rub onto 2 steaks. Let it sit overnight in the fridge, then barbeque the way you like it.

SWEET VEGGIES
3 small potatoes
1 sweet potato
3 carrots
1 onion
1 handful brown sugar
butter

Cut up veggies into bite-sized pieces and lay on a piece of buttered tinfoil. Sprinkle with brown sugar and seal with another piece of buttered tinfoil. Cook on the barbeque for about 2o minutes.
CHOCOLATE BANANA TRIFLE
2 c. white cake, crumbled
2 c. whipping cream, whipped
2 bananas, sliced
4 tbsp. cocoa
4 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla

To make chocolate pudding, combine cocoa, sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan, and slowly whisk in milk. Bring to a gentle boil until thickened, then remove from heat and stir in vanilla. (Or use the package from the store, which is what I would normally do if I had a box in the house.)
In a large bowl, put layers of cake, pudding, bananas, and whipped cream. Repeat layers, and put in the fridge until ready to serve.This meal was a total success. The mocha rub wasn't too mocha-y, and hopefully it won't keep the kids up all night. The veggies were delicious. The trifle made good use of the cupcakes I ruined in my Gourmet Bowl Maker. And I only caused a medium-sized fire when trying to barbeque the steaks. Yay for Kathy!

BWBB Bacon Burgers

I saw this on Rachael Ray's show the other day, and since we have lots of leftover beer from the party last night, I figured it was worth a shot.

BACON-WRAPPED BEER-BRAISED BACON BURGERS from Rachael Ray, with minor adjustments by Kathy
1 lb. lean ground beef
4 bacon slices, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt, to taste
Beef & Steak Seasoning, to taste
8 bacon slices
1/2 c. beer
cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, etc.

Sauce:
1/3 c. ketchup
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. Smoked Chili Rub or Chipotle Chili Powder

Sauté chopped bacon in olive oil for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add onion and cook for another 2 minutes. Scoop out the bacon and onion with a slotted spoon and add to ground beef, along with Worcestershire sauce and seasonings. Form into 4 patties and wrap two slices of bacon around each one. Cook in skillet with bacon drippings for 6-8 minutes per side. Pour 1/2 c. beer into the pan during the last few minutes of cooking, letting it reduce and thicken in the pan. Serve on buns with your favourite burger toppings and sauce.These were awesome! They took longer to cook than Rachael Ray said, and I think next time I'd make 5 patties instead of 4 because I couldn't even finish mine. But they were delicious!