Mediterranean Burgers

So, a lot of my recent recipes have come from a little cookbook made by Cooking Light that I got from the library. It's their Healthy Heart Eat Smart Guide. It's all about being calorie conscious, knowing your fats, decreasing sodium, and going for whole grains. What I love though, is that these recipes are doing all those things without compromising flavor. Furthermore, Zack and I have felt so good about what we've been eating!

As promised, I found a creative way to use up the ground beef that was leftover from our Beef and Beer Chili. I used it to replace the ground turkey that was called for in this recipe. I think ground turkey would have been just as great, but hey, I'm all about using leftover ingredients. Just combine panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), crumbled feta cheese, minced red onion, pesto, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, ground beef, and minced garlic.

I don't really have much experience making burger patties, and I don't really know what went wrong, but the ingredients sort of started falling apart once they hit the pan. Maybe they would have been saved if Zack was home, but I was on my own, so it turned into a crumbled mixture. After freaking out for a second, I took a taste and realized it was all good. Whatever. I had improvised (sort of). And it tasted amazing.

I was excited to make these "mediterranean burgers" because Zack and I are totally into a good gyro. There is this place down the street from us that is to die for. They are legit, man. Their meat is so perfectly combined and delicious. Spicy and rich. And their tzatziki is so tangy and fresh. I think I'm a long way from making a gyro as amazing as theirs (okay, I'll probably never make one as good as theirs), but I'm excited for a version that we can perfect at home.

I think we could have gone for a little more spice (as was also recommended by Zack), but these were pretty good. The occasion bite of feta just pops, and the pesto/breadcrumb combination is really tasty. It provides for great texture (even if you just have meat crumbles versus actual patties). We used Trader Joe's tzatziki, which was really creamy and good too. Yum.

Cocoa Fudge Cookies

Yum. That's all.

Thin cookies with crisp edges and chewy centers. They're so easy; you don't even need to get out the mixer. Just mix all the ingredients right in a saucepan! They're a pure cocoa delight; Zack called them a "hot chocolate cookie," which I think describes them well. Almost like a brownie, but so dainty and thin.

These would be perfect cookies for ice cream sandwiches (so that may be in the future), and I'm also contemplating substituting peppermint extract for vanilla extract to give these a thin mint quality.

If you want a recipe, again, feel free to comment on the post and ask. I'm happy to share. These are definitely worth sharing. Cheers.

Beef and Beer Chili with Jack Quesadillas

Here's a warm, fit-for-fall meal as promised. And this was really tasty. And easy! This soup doesn't have to be simmering for hours; it was ready in a matter of 30 minutes.

Just saute up some red onion, red bell pepper, extra-lean ground beef, and minced garlic. Stir in chili powder, cumin, sugar, and kosher salt. Then add dried oregano along with red kidney beans, diced tomatoes, beef broth, and a 12-ounce bottle of beer. Towards the end of cooking, stirring in some cornmeal helps thicken the chili a bit and a squeeze of lime adds to and brings out the flavors.

I went ahead and served this with some quesadilla wedges. A nice multi-grain tortilla adds even more heartiness. Just monterey jack cheese, and some chopped green onion and cilantro.

I could not believe how not heavy this meal was. I mean, beef and beer?! But this Cooking Light recipe is actually low in fat and high in fiber. And the flavor is great. It's a little spicy and the flavor of the beer really does come out. I used Sierra Nevada pale ale. Also, I've learned to keep recipes like this low in salt by using low-sodium broth and no-salt-added diced tomatoes. I also like to rinse canned beans as I drain them before adding to anything. It gives you more control in monitoring your salt content.

Well, I have some ground beef leftover. Prepare yourself for an interesting post (meal post (not to be confused with the cookie post that is also coming)). Dinner tonight will definitely be creative. I guess ground beef could make for several not so unusual meal options, but why would I do that? :)

Pumpkin Carrot Cake

Now that it's fall, all I want to do is find pumpkin and gingerbread recipes. I have a bookmarked list that goes on for too long. So here's pumpkin carrot cake. I didn't even know there was such a thing, but the internet reveals and confirms all things you weren't aware of. And thanks to Zack, for coming up with such an idea.

The best idea ever. Pumpkin carrot. Quite possibly one of the most delicious flavor combinations. They're both orange. Why wouldn't they go well together? And quite fitting for the Oregon State win versus Washington State this weekend (go Beavers). This cake also has an amazing cream cheese frosting with orange juice and zest. And it's better to frost a cake when it's completely cooled by the way. I know firsthand how excited you can get, but wait. It's for the best.

Wish I had gotten some pictures of the inside of this cake for the blog's sake. But hey, I'm sorry. There was just no time. Once you slice a piece of this, you're just trying to find the fastest way to get some in your mouth. You just want the instant gratification of rich, cinnamon-and-spice-everything-nice flavor. No time for pictures. No time.

Sesame Brown Rice Salad with Shredded Chicken and Peanuts

Yes, it's been awhile. But I've got a great recipe to share in this post. This dish has great flavor. The sesame oil, canola oil, and fresh lime juice dressing is really delicious. It has Chinese chicken salad written all over it. If you want something light and healthy, this is a good choice. I also think it would be really great for lunch.

Just cook your rice, add shredded cooked chicken, shredded carrot, green onion, dry-roasted peanuts, and cilantro. Then drizzle the oil mixture over the rice mixture.

Grain salads are perfect for making ahead of time, but I learned that the grains will absorb the dressing too much as they sit. To counteract this, you can adjust the seasoning just before serving by adding some fresh citrus juice, a pinch of salt, and some fresh ground black pepper. Serve at room temperature.

You may have noticed that we're backing off the pasta a little. I love pasta. So much. But I've got to learn how to cook some other things too, yeah? Keep your eye out for some more fresh and healthy, and also some warm and comforting fit-for-fall meals. I am loving fall here in Washington. We have had some gorgeous weather. Cold, crisp air and sunny skies, wind and swirling leaves, a little rain here and there. Pumpkin, anyone?

Cooking with Friends: Spinach-Artichoke Stuffed Shells and Red Velvet Cake

Last night, Zack and I got together with friends for dinner. I think it may turn into a regular thing, which would be cool, because they have a really nice kitchen (and we happen to like them too). And they have a dinner table. Which is also good for having people over to eat. Sitting on the floor Asian-style around our coffee table would probably only be fun for so long.

So Zack and I made a trip to Central Market for groceries, I made a red velvet cake, and we took a box of ingredients over to our friends' to cook stuffed shells together. The cake was actually adapted from Ina Garten's Red Velvet Cupcakes recipe. We thought a cake would be more dinner party-like in comparison to cupcakes. And boy, was it party-like. There's something about red velvet. Why is it that a few drops of red food coloring just make a cake like nothing else? So smooth. So moist. And this cream cheese frosting just tops it off perfectly. I'll definitely make this recipe again. Cupcakes or cake.

About the spinach-artichoke stuffed shells. Let's just say, cooking in someone else's kitchen is a little high stress, because you just don't know where anything is. And then your pan of olive oil gets super hot because you can't seem to chop things fast enough, so then your garlic almost gets burned. Eventually, you're just shouting out orders because that's the only way anything is going to get done in a timely fashion. Yep, I make a great guest. Ha ha. No, it was really fun. Everyone helped out and we made these greatest tasting stuffed shells. They were really good. If you like spinach-artichoke dip, you'll like this filling. Ricotta, lemon zest, thyme...so delicious. And all laying in an amazing marinara sauce. San Marzano tomatoes all the way, baby. If you haven't tried San Marzano tomatoes, you have not lived. Definitely the best canned tomatoes, and they make the best sauce. Some fresh basil, and boom, you've got a great sauce.

It was a really fun night. So here's to great food, and great people. And thanks to Naomi and Jim for being the first people (besides Zack) to partake in my still-kind-of-amateur cooking.

Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies

So this recipe must be good. Because it survived the absence of a sort of crucial ingredient. Who puts brown sugar in cookies anyways? Apparently, I don't. When the cookies weren't really browning the way cookies usually do, I looked over my ingredient list, and sure enough, I had forgotten the brown sugar. You can't blame me. I mean, it was hidden at the top of the second column...apart from granulated sugar.

When these little miracles came out of the oven, I had to try one. To make sure I hadn't completely wasted a solid amount of baking ingredients. After the third cookie (they were little, okay?), I realized they couldn't be half bad. I mean, I kept eating more as if that would help me determine if they were good or not. But I couldn't be sure until Zack came home and tried one. Sure enough, he thought they were great!

If these were good without brown sugar, I can't wait to make them with it. These drop cookies are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Does it get better than that?

Grilled Pork Sliders with Honey BBQ Sauce and Herbed Sweet Potato Fries

If you want meat or a solid, filling dinner that doesn't make you feel "stuffed" and "heavy," this is it. Grilled pork sliders with the always delicious sweet potato fries. Low-fat, high-fiber. Did you know that sweet potatoes are single handedly the most nutrient-rich item in the produce section? Thanks, to Rachael Ray for that fun fact. Think about that next time you're at the grocery store.

These barbecue pork sandwiches really are easy. The marinade is simply barbecue sauce (obviously), and a little dark rum and honey. Boil, cooking until reduced for about 2 minutes. Take your pork tenderloin, grill, turn, baste with sauce, repeat again, and cook until a thermometer reads about 165-170 degrees depending on how pink (or not pink) you like it. Toast some nice whole wheat buns and build your slider. Drizzle some more of that yummy sauce over it too. Man, it's good. Make sure you have really good pork and buns for this number. You know how it is...chefs are always saying to use high quality ingredients particularly when there are few of them, so just do it. You won't be sorry.

Sweet potato fries. These are good. Anyone who knows me well, know I love sweet potato fries. I'll take one over a regular one any day. They're sweet for goodness sake. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. And have you seen that color? So vibrant. Must mean it's good for you, right? I cut mine nice and skinny (versus fat, steak-like fries) this time. Coat in olive oil, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Ah yeah. You'll be smelling these in no time. Cheers.

Double Dark Chocolate Biscotti

This is one of the dessert recipes from Power Foods. (A lot of my recipes are from this cookbook, so I've provided the book link from Amazon this time.) Dark chocolate, walnuts, and hazelnuts (my addition) make an incredible biscotti. Well, if you like twice-baked cakes. They're kind of strange. Are they crunchy cake? Are they a hard cookie? Are they a weird sort of cake-like cracker? You get the point. But hey, I'm all about trying new, weird things. So I chose this recipe yesterday morning. Not quite sure if Zack was as thrilled, but I thought these were really delicious.

You basically mix all ingredients into a very stiff dough. Then with moistened hands, you form the dough into two "logs." I know. How appetizing. But then you bake the logs (as if baked logs are any better) until the tops are set, let cool, cut into diagonal slices, then bake again until crisp. These really are good. The dark chocolate is bold and rich. And I love the chunks of chocolate and toasted nuts inside. A great biscotti for a light dessert or a welcome companion for your afternoon coffee. Cheers.

Chicken Cutlets with Tomatoes and Green Bean Succcotash

Monday and Tuesday nights are a little tricky. Zack doesn't get off work until 8:00 p.m. so dinner is kind of always up in the air. Do we eat leftovers from lunch while Zack is still at work? Or, uhhh...cereal? Do we eat late (even though we know that eating after 8:00 p.m. is not really the greatest thing health wise)?

My solution is a light, easy meal that can be ready right when Zack gets home. (Doesn't that sound like a line out of a women's magazine? Yikes.) Okay, well you can't blame me for being a perfect wife right now because I don't exactly have a permanent job. Plus, I feel compelled to make it up to Zack, since he's the only one bringing in money at this point. And I spend it on groceries. And kitchen equipment.

Anyways. We've discovered the giant bag of frozen chicken breasts at Cost-co. We always have vegetables on hand from our vegetable delivery, and now we always have chicken. An easy meal is made. Last night it was chicken cutlets with some diced tomatoes (which were from my dad's garden I might add...thanks Dad) and a succotash.

The chicken isn't any more difficult that butterflying the breasts in half, seasoning with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, throwing in a skillet with some canola oil, and cooking over medium high under nicely browned. Pretty simple? Take out the chicken, and warm up your diced tomatoes in the same pan. The tomato juice just starts flowing and the flavor is incredible enhanced. It makes the chicken.

I discovered "succotash" at a restaurant recently. It's a food consisting primarily of corn and lima beans (or other shell beans). My dream. For those of you who don't know, I'm obsessed with corn. I really don't know why...how special is it really? Apparently, special enough. I have to refrain from making recipes that contain corn on a regular basis. Otherwise, it's all we would eat. Corn chowder, corn salsa, cornbread, grilled corn, corn with pasta...I have even had corn on pizza. Although, at this moment I can't recall where that was. Maybe in a dream...? So. I had corn, but no lima beans, so this is sort of a succotash variation. Green beans, carrots, peas, corn, onion, garlic, and thyme. All sauteed in vegetable stock, but the green beans and carrots need to be steamed first. Really, this was delicious. Onion and garlic make anything better, and the vegetable stock gives really good flavor.

A successful weeknight meal indeed. Here's to hoping I still have time to cook once I get a permanent job. Because I really like to eat. And I really like to cook.

Oreo Crumb Cupcakes

So, I kind of love cupcakes. They're enticing. They're the perfect size. For whatever reason, cupcake shops just lure me in. Thus, when I discovered that a girl I went to high school with had an incredible cupcake blog, I was hooked. Her recipes are always good, and they're really creative. If you haven't checked out Your Cup of Cake, you really should. Seriously. These Oreo Crumb Cupcakes are all Lizzy Early. Pure genius. Pure delight.

I love cupcakes. I love cupcakes. I love cupcakes. 

Very Green Broccoli Soup

Due to a series of unexpected events, Zack and I received our vegetable box two weeks in a row (instead of the usual every other week delivery). What was the result? More vegetables than we knew what to do with. So I got the grand idea of making a vegetable-heavy soup, and that it was. Essentially, this recipe was super easy because all I really did was cook the vegetables (broccoli, turnips, onion, and kale) with fresh thyme, chicken stock, and lemon zest. Then, I pureed the mixture. At the end, I stirred in a little half and half to make the soup a bit creamier.

If anything, this vegetable soup was a great way to have a nutrient-rich meal. It's smooth and creamy, but the tiny, individual broccoli florets keep hold, making the dish really attractive with both dark and light greens. If blended soup is your thing, this is a keeper.

Banana Crunch Muffins

Okay. After all my muffin research, I have come to the conclusion that Ina Garten's Banana Crunch Muffins are the best muffins ever. They are. Hands down. There's no question about it. And Zack agrees.

They are definitely a dessert muffin, but they are large and hearty. They're sweet; the flavor of the banana is so bold and the coconut contributes enough. There's mashed bananas, diced bananas, and banana chips in these. When I saw the recipe and that it called for nuts, granola, and banana chips, I knew that I wanted to use Bear Naked banana nut granola. I know you can find it at Trader Joe's. And it has all those things in it. Plus more: pure deliciousness. I think it made these muffins.

But the greatest thing about these is the crunch, not to mention the rich flavor. Sprinkle some of that granola on the muffins before you bake, and it will toast right up. I'll be making these again. And again. And again. Banana crunch muffins forever.

Red Chard, Potato, and White Bean Ragout

Ragout. A French main-dish stew cooked for a long time over low heat. Low heat. I'll remember that next time I'm trying to keep a ragout at a simmer. Apparently, letting the heat elevate too quickly can turn some of your ingredients (a.k.a. potatoes and beans) into mush. So yesterday, my ragout really turned into a sort of chowder. But, it was actually delicious! Maybe it's okay for some ragout contents to get a little soft, because in turn, you end up with a very thick and luxurious broth.

How did I find this recipe? I googled "red chard recipes." And I found: Red Chard, Potato, and White Bean Ragout from The New York Times online. Recipes for Health. Perfect. And a perfect way to use my red chard. Heck, I'm even going to throw my romanesco into that. I don't know about you, but I had never heard of romanesco in my life until it showed up in our vegetable box. So I googled it (like I do most things) and voila! Roman cauliflower. That'll do.

Romanesco.

All in all, this recipe was really good. It asks you to basically make your own broth with bay leaf, fresh thyme, and a Parmesan rind. You leave that simmering in water and the beans for an hour before adding anything else. Red chard (stems and leaves), onion, garlic, Yukon gold potatoes, and more thyme (plus, romanesco if you're fancy). It was so hearty. And even though it did fall apart a little, it was still tasty. The red chard is slightly bitter, but it's balanced out by the smooth potatoes, beans, a wonderful herb content. I think the Parmesan rind added a sort of creaminess to the stew also.

Delicious, comforting, and perfect with some fresh Trader Joe's wheat sourdough bread. Ahh, it's fall.

Red Chile-Citrus Marinated Chicken and Tomatillo Guacamole

Tomatillos? What am I supposed to do with those? Apparently, the options consist mainly of guacamole and salsa. Fine by me. Zack and I are big fans of fresh Mexican, and I've had a lot of fun making fresh and healthy burritos, tostadas, and tacos since we got married. That's the way I like my Mexican. Fresh. I don't go for the mushy, melted, refried bean-covered soup on a plate. I know, I know. Maybe I haven't experimented enough with authentic Mexican (I'm sure there's good stuff out there), and don't worry, I'm not going to stop. Let's just say, it's not my favorite. Hence, fresh mission-style Mexican.

If you haven't added tomatillos to your usual guacamole recipe, than you should. Bright, green, and they blend beautifully after being husked, rinsed, and boiled for 5 minutes. This guacamole also contains a little onion, jalapeno, fresh lime juice, cilantro, and of course...avocados. Blend it all up and there you go. Oh, and don't lean in too close when you go to smell your guacamole. Eyes. Will. Burn. (Jalapeno and onion, anyone?)

The chicken marinade is all things citrus: fresh orange, lemon, and lime juice; plus, some olive oil and spices. I marinated the chicken for about an hour in the refrigerator. I've found that citrus is really a great option for Mexican. The intense squeezing fruit after fruit by hand can be a little intense, but it really gives you bold flavor.

Well, that's all for now. Keeping it fresh and simple. Keep an eye out for a red chard, potato, and white bean ragout showing up here soon. I may even throw in some more interesting vegetables, like romanesco (Roman what?)...more on that later. :)