Cheesy Spinach Burgers

7 Feb

I first got this recipe from a cookbook from my mother-in-law, Favorite Brand Name Recipes.  The original recipe calls for a pouch of Lipton onion soup mix.  I don’t normally have Lipton onion soup mix on hand, and I always seem to forget it, so I improvise.  The ground beef, spinach and cheese are the same, I just out other things in place of the soup mix.  And I think the results are fantastic.  Tonight, I made this on my outdoor grill (have to keep using it to get my money’s worth out of it, right?), but I have made these on the George Foreman indoor grill and they are great as well.

Cheesy Spinach Burgers
Based on recipe here

What you need:

2 lbs lean ground beef
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 cup diced onion, optional (or less, depending on your level of taste)
1 cup shredded cheese, I used cheddar or Mexican blend usually, but mozzarella would work too

How to make it:

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients.  Form into 8 patties.  Cook as desired, until no longer pink.

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Coleslaw

7 Feb

 

I had 2 heads of cabbage in my fridge, waiting for me to make something with them.  I had originally thought of making Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with them, but my husband said he wouldn’t eat them.  So, since I was thinking of making the fish and Oven Baked Potato Chips, I thought Coleslaw would be a nice addition.  I doubled the recipe below, so we have a lot of coleslaw.  The picture above is just a small part of all we have.  But it’s going fast since it turned out so yummy!  I didn’t cut mine very fine, I was too lazy to pull out the food processor to finely chop it, so I left it in larger pieces.

 

Coleslaw
Based on recipe here

What you need:

1 head cabbage, shredded
3 medium carrots, shredded (or in may case, 1 large carrot from Bountiful Baskets)
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup sugar

How to make it:

In a large bowl, combine cabbage and carrots.  In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients.  Mix well and pour over cabbage and carrots; toss to coat evenly.  Serve.

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Oven Baked Potato Chips

7 Feb

 

Yummy, yummy, yummy!  These turned out pretty well.  Some were a little overdone, some were a little underdone, but overall they turned out well.  I used the russet potatoes that I got from Bountiful Baskets this week to make them, and used my mandolin slicer to get them nice and thin.  I had gotten some Beer Battered Alaska Cod from Schwan’s, so decided it be best served with some chips and cole slaw, since I had cabbage to use (post coming on the cole slaw!).

 

Oven Baked Potato Chips
Based on recipe here

What you need:

2.5 pounds potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
Olive oil (I used about 1/4 cup)
Seasoned salt (I used 2 tsp, probably could have used more)

How to make it:

Soak sliced potatoes in a bowl of water for 20 minutes.  Drain and dry potatoes on paper towels.

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Place potatoes in a large bowl.  Pour in olive oil and seasoned salt, toss to coat evenly.

Line 2 baking sheets with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Lay potatoes on baking sheets in a single layer.

Bake both baking sheets of potatoes in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes, then rotate the pans top to bottom.  Bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until potatoes are browned and crispy.  Allow to cool and serve.

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Weekly Meal Plan: 2/5/2012 – 2/11/12

6 Feb

This week is still a work in process as far as a meal plan.  I’ve been busy with some other commitments, so I haven’t been able to really sit down and plan.  Here is what I have so far:

Sunday: Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken for pizza and sandwiches
Monday: Schwan’s Beer Battered Alaska Cod, Oven Baked Potato Chips, Cole Slaw (see picture below, it was yummy!)

Tuesday: Cheesy Spinach Burgers, Crash Hot Potatoes
Wednesday: Eat out with a friend
Thursday: Lemon Herb Chicken, Asparagus, Guacamole Turkey and Roast Beef Wraps
Friday: ???, Spinach Lasagna Rollups
Saturday: Pizza, Grilled Steak, Oven Baked Potato Chips, Grilled Asparagus

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Baked Tortilla Chips

5 Feb

 

One of the extras this week from Bountiful Baskets was a bag of pre-cut, ready to bake tortilla chips.  Since I knew that I definitely wanted to get the guacamole veggie pack that was also an extra, I was going to need some chips to go with it.  I have gotten this as an extra before, as well as the tortillas that have been offered, all of which I have been happy with.  And I was very happy with these, very pretty colors, perfect to go with the teams in the Super Bowl today.  These chips were very easy to make, and you could make them with any corn tortillas.  Just cut the tortilla to the size chips that you want.  Then, lightly spray a baking sheet with oil, lay out the chips in a single layer, lightly spray the tops with oil, then sprinkle with some salt (I use sea salt, but salt can be omitted).  Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F.  Start checking them at 5 minutes, and bake until you get your desired crispness.  I cooked 2 baking sheets full at a time, 18 chips on each baking sheet.  Mine took about 15 minutes to fully cook, but my oven takes longer to cook most things.

So far, the ones that I have made, have disappeared in less than 10 minutes.  I haven’t had time to bake all of them, so I went ahead and put some in bags to go in the freezer for another time.  We’ll be enjoying these for a while!

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Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken

5 Feb

A while back, I saw a pin on Pinterest of a shredded buffalo chicken sandwich, and the chicken had been cooked in the slow cooker.  A friend had recently made it too, so I know it was something to try out.  It also reminded me of a Buffalo Chicken Pizza that I haven’t made in a while.  I also had a loaf of ciabatta bread in my freezer still, so it was a tough choice to make pizza or to make sandwiches.  So, I made both!

 

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken
Based on recipe here

What you need:

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 1 – 1.5 lbs)
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup hot sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot Sauce)
2 Tbsp butter

How to make it:

Place chicken and onions in slow cooker.  Pour in hot sauce.  Cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Remove chicken and shred.  Return shredded chicken to the slow cooker.  Stir in 2 Tbsp butter.  Cook on low for another 30 minutes to 1 hour.    Serve on pizza or sandwiches (see below).

 

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

What you need:

1 12-16″ pizza crust, either pre-made, a pouch mix, or your favorite recipe for pizza crust
1/2 cup ranch or blue cheese dressing
1 cup shredded buffalo chicken (either as made above or 1 cup cooked chicken mixed with 1/4 cup hot sauce)
1 Tbsp greens from top of green onion
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

How to make it:

Spread ranch dressing on pizza crust.  Next, spread chicken, then green onion tops, then cheese.  Bake according to the directions for your pizza crust, in general, 425 F for 10-15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

What you need:

Shredded buffalo chicken (from recipe at top)
Bread of your choice (I used ciabatta bread from Bountiful Baskets)
Cheese of your choice (I used swiss)
Ranch or blue cheese dressing
Other sandwich toppings, like lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onion, green peppers (I used just lettuce)

How to make it:

Lightly toast the bread.  On the bottom half, place the amount of chicken that you want.  Add ranch or blue cheese dressing, cheese, and sandwich toppings.

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Easy Crescent Taco Bake

4 Feb

 

I had ZERO motivation for dinner tonight.  I had fully intended to make Cabbage Rolls today, but after prepping all of my Bountiful Baskets veggies, I was worn out.  So, I had crescent rolls that needed to be used and thought some kind of taco pie sounded good.  I found this on the Pillsbury website, and it was quick and easy to make for dinner, plus tasted good.

 

Easy Crescent Taco Bake
Based on recipe here

What you need:

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
1 lb lean ground beef
2 Tbsp taco seasoning
1 cup salsa
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
Other toppings, if desired, such as shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Grease a 9″ deep dish pie plate.  Separate crescent roll dough into the 8 triangles.  Press into the pie dish, covering bottom and sides.

In a medium-sized skillet, brown ground beef.  Drain any excess grease.  Stir in the taco seasoning and the salsa.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Pour into the pie dish.  Cover top with the shredded cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

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Bountiful Baskets – 2/4/2012

4 Feb

Man, I got a workout volunteering today!  I was helping out with the extras at sign out, and with 25 lb bags of carrots, 35+lb boxes of apples, 12 lb buckets of honey, and gallons of olive oil, it was a lot of lifting.  Now, I’m exhausted, but still trying to get everything prepped and put away.  The veggie baskets were packed this week, a little light on fruit, but I’m ok with that.  I love the veggies and can come up with a lot more to cook with veggies anyway.

This week, I got the conventional basket for $15, the guacamole veggie pack for $8.50, and the tortilla chip pack for $4.50, so after the $1.50 handling fee, I paid $29.50 for this week.  Here is what I got:

Russet potatoes, radishes, tomatoes, Romaine lettuce, red bell peppers, asparagus, celery, broccoli, pineapple, yellow onions, apples, Asian pears, and strawberries.  In the front, right, is a plantain and vanilla beans.  These were in the Tropical Pack that was available as an extra that a friend of mine got, but she didn’t think she’d use, so she passed them on to me.  She also gave me her radish bunch, which will get eaten fast in this house!

In the upper left is the Tortilla Chip pack, they are very pretty!  These I will bake in the oven.  The rest is the Guacamole Veggie Pack, tons of cilantro, green onions, limes, lemons, jalapenos, yellow onions, garlic, and of course, avocados!  So excited to make Guacamole!

 

Note: The type and amount of food may vary from another basket because of geographic location and because of variances in how the ends of produce cases are distributed after everything has been distributed evenly.  I also volunteered this week and got 1 extra item for volunteering.

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Crash Hot Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus

3 Feb

 

This dinner was definitely not in the Weekly Meal Plan, but it certainly came together perfectly to use some of the potatoes and asparagus I had gotten from Bountiful Baskets this week.  I had seen these potatoes on Pinterest a while back, but apparently hadn’t pinned it, so I had to search again and luckily found it.  I luckily had fresh rosemary from the Italian veggie themed pack still to use for the potatoes.  I then decided I should make either steak or chicken on the grill since I am trying to get good use out of my new grill.  I decided it would be a good idea to grill the asparagus too, just to avoid another dirty pan and again, utilize the grill.  It all turned out delicious and got rave reviews from the whole family.

 

Crash Hot Potatoes
Based on recipes here and here

What you need:

12 small potatoes, mine were red
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Malt vinegar

How to make it:

Wash potatoes thoroughly.  Add to a large pot and add enough water to just cover potatoes.  Bring water to a boil and cook potatoes until just tender, about 20 minutes.  Drain.

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Grease a baking sheet thoroughly with oil.  Lay out the 12 potatoes.  Slightly mash each potato with a potato masher, turn potato masher 90 degrees and slightly mash each potato again.  Brush each potato with olive oil, then sprinkle on salt, pepper, and fresh rosemary.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and splash each potato with malt vinegar.

 

Grilled Asparagus
Based on recipe here

What you need:

1 lb asparagus, trimmed
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Balsamic vinegar

How to make it:

Place asparagus on skewers.  Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Grill on high heat for a few minutes, or until desired tenderness.

Remove from grill and splash with balsamic vinegar.

 

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Lemon Chicken and Vegetables over Rice

1 Feb

Looks a lot like the Orange Chicken from last week doesn’t it?  That’s because that sauce is the same, except for the Orange Chicken uses a can of frozen orange juice concentrate and this Lemon Chicken uses a can of frozen lemonade concentrate.   I did not use the slow cooker to cook the chicken this time, I just cooked it on the stove top in my wok.  This was fantastic, I think I might prefer it a little more than the Orange Chicken, but both are very good.  Tonight, the stir fry veggies were carrots, bok choy, green onion, asparagus, water chestnuts and snow peas, all from Bountiful Baskets from this past weekend.  And I really meant to add in some grated ginger, but I forgot, so maybe next time!

 

Lemon Chicken and Vegetables over Rice
Based on recipes here

What you need:

Lemon Sauce: (I made this twice, once for the chicken, once for the vegetables)
– 3/4 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed (this is 1/2 can)
– 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
– 1 Tbsp soy sauce
– 1 Tbsp ketchup
– 2 Tbsp brown sugar (use 3 Tbsp sugar if you want it to be sweeter)
– 1/2 tsp sesame oil

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/4 cup flour
Vegetable oil
Vegetables to stir fry (I used carrots, water chestnuts, green onion, bok choy stems and leaves, snow peas, and asparagus)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
Cooked rice

How to make it:

Dredge chicken in flour.  Heat some vegetable oil in a wok, and cook chicken until no longer pink.

Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for the lemon sauce in a bowl.  Pour over chicken in the wok and stir.  Cook on medium heat for 15 – 20 minutes to allow sauce to thicken and chicken to absorb the sauce.

Once sauce has thickened, add veggies that take longer to cook (in my case, the carrots, asparagus, water chestnuts, and bok choy stems), let them cook for a few minutes, then add the veggies that take shorter to cook (in my case, green onions, snow peas and bok choy leaves).

Meanwhile, again, combine all ingredients for the lemon sauce and the 1 Tbsp cornstarch in a bowl.  Once veggies are all tender, pour in the second batch of lemon sauce and stir to coat evenly.  Cook for a few more minutes to allow sauce to thicken.  Serve over the cooked rice.

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