Mexican Turkey Burgers

I thought these burgers were yummy! However none of my kids were excited about them. Grayson was the only one who got over the looks of them and tried them, and he hated to admit it, but he liked them too.

20 ounce extra-lean ground turkey breast
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 diced red bell pepper
1/3 cup diced fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon Mexican or fajita seasoning
1/4 cup low-fat Mexican blend cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
6 buns or sandwich thins
6 tablespoons salsa
1 1/2 medium avocados, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced
6 tablespoons fat-free Greek style yogurt

In a large mixing bowl, combine the turkey, cilantro, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, seasoning, cheese and garlic. Divide into 6 patties.

Grill the burgers for 3 minutes on each side, or until the inside is no longer pink. Serve on whole grain buns or sandwich thins topped with salsa, avocado, and yogurt.

We enjoyed this yesterday after church. It's been a mild enough winter to bring out the grill on more than one occasion this winter.  I let the steak marinate for about 5 hours.  It was perfect!

From Taste of Home's The Busy Family Cookbook

Teriyaki Sirloin Steak

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground mustard
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 to 1-1/2 pounds beef top sirloin steak (3/4 inch thick)

Directions

• In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first six ingredients; add the steak. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
• Drain and discard marinade. Grill steak, covered, over medium heat for 5-8 minutes on each side or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a meat thermometer should read 145°; medium, 160°; well-done, 170°). Yield: 4-6 servings.

Spiral Stromboli

This made a quick and delicious dinner!

Spiral Stromboli
from Taste of Home's The Busy Family Cookbook

1 tube (11 oz.) refrigerated crusty French loaf (I made my own French bread dough from the recipe here)
3/4 to 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
3/4 to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 pound each thinly sliced deli salami (I used Genoa) and ham (I used Black Forest)
1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers or 1 jar (2 oz.) pimientos, drained (I left this out because I didn't want to hear any whining at dinner)
1 T. butter, melted
2-3 T. shredded Parmesan cheese (I used grated from the green bottle)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Unroll the dough and pat into a 14"x12" rectangle.  Sprinkle with cheeses to within 1/2" of edges; top with meat and red peppers.  Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; seal seam and tuck ends under.

Place seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet (I used a parchment paper).  Brush with butter; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.  Slice with a serrated knife.  Yield:  4 servings.

French Bread

This is the recipe we got from the American Falls 4th Ward Cookbook.  The only adjustment we've made is to decrease the amount of yeast (it originally called for 2 tablespoons of yeast).

French Bread

6 to 6 ½ cups flour

1 ½ tablespoons dry yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

2 ½ cups water

½ cup oil

1 tablespoon salt

In mixing bowl combine 3 cups flour, sugar and yeast.  Add warm water and oil.  Stir together to cake batter stage.  Add salt annzd 3 cups more flour, one at a time, until well mixed.  If dough is too sticky, add a little more flour up to ½ cup.  Knead about 6 minutes. 

Cover and let rise at 10 minute intervals, stirring down 5 times.  Divide in half and form into loaves. 

Let rise 30 minutes (45 minutes if the house is cool).  Bake at 400° for 30 minutes.

Bread bowls:  Add the extra ½ cup flour so the dough is stiff.  Use 6 ounces for large bowls (makes 8) and 4 ounces for smaller bowls (makes 12).  Form into balls, and place on greased cookie sheets.  Let rise and bake at 400° for 20 minutes.

French Dip Rolls:  Use 2 ounces of dough and shape into an oblong shape; let rest 10 minutes, then pat down.  Let rise and bake at 400° for 16 minutes.  Makes 22 rolls

Colorful Chicken Croissants

This is what we're having for dinner tonight (if there's any left after all my nibbles).  As you can see from my additions and deletions, this recipe is very flexible and always delicious!  By the way, sometime you should ask Bryant to say "croissants" or "crepes" in his French accent (he's taking French 2 this year).  It sounds so gourmet when he says it!

Colorful Chicken Croissants
from Taste of Home's The Busy Family Cookbook
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup golden raisins (I used red grapes)
1/4 cup dried cranberries (I used a can of mandarin oranges, each orange broken in half or thirds)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 T. chopped red onion (I used green)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt, optional
2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast (I used a discounted day-old rotisserie chicken; our deli sells them the next day if they're not sold the first day)
4 croissants, split (I used Rhodes rolls)

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients and salt if desired.  Stir in the chicken.  Spoon about 1/2 cup into each croissant.  Yield:  4 servings

Lemon Cream Cake

Reminds me a bit of Olive Garden's. Any cake mix will do, but just make sure you adjust the water, vegetable oil and eggs to the brand of cake mix you are using. Also a read that someone made it with fresh lemons and used the juice of 3 lemons instead of just 3 tablespoons lemon juice and they liked it better, so that is the way I made it too, but here's the original recipe.

Cake• 1 18.25-ounce Betty Crocker white cake mix
• 1 1/4 Cups water
• 1/3 Cup vegetable oil
• 3 egg whites

Lemon Cream Filling• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 Cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 Cup heavy whipping cream

Vanilla Crumb Topping
• 1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 Cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 Cup cold butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Garnish –powdered sugar

1. Make white cake following the directions on the box. Pour batter into a greased 10-inch cake pan or spring form pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Allow cake to cool completely when it comes out of the oven.

2. Make lemon cream filling by mixing cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in lemon juice.

3. Whip cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until it forms stiff peaks. Combine cream cheese mixture with whipped cream. Stir by hand until blended.

4. Make crumb topping by combining flour and powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Add butter and dribble in the vanilla extract. Use your hands to mix cold butter into flour and sugar. Break butter into smaller and smaller pieces as you incorporate it into the dry ingredients. Be sure not to press the mixture together. You want to end up with a very crumbly consistency with pieces no bigger than a pea. (If you have trouble making small crumbs, pop the bowl into your fridge for a few minutes) Chill this crumb topping until you are ready to use it.

5. When the cake is cool, slice it in half through the middle and remove the top. Spread all but 1/2 Cup of the lemon cream mixture onto the bottom half of the cake, then carefully replace the top half of the cake.

6. Spread the remaining 1/2 Cup of cream filling over the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the crumb topping on top of the cake and press it onto the sides all the way around the cake.

7. Now chill the cake for at least 3 hours before you serve it. When you are ready to dig in, slice the cake into 12 slices. Serve each slice topped with powdered sugar tapped through a strainer. Serves 12

Garlic-Herb Sandwich Spread

I think I got this one off of Our Best Bites, too. It was delicious on the panini sandwiches.

1 1/2 cups mayo
1 large clove garlic
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
zest from 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary
1/2 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 tablespoon basil

Place mayo in a small food processor. Finely mince garlic, or press, and add to mayo. Add lemon zest then juice. Chop all herbs ad add to mayo mixture.

Smoked Turkey and Artichoke Panini

We had these sandwiches last night and they were yummy...ok I had this sandwich and everyone else wimped out and took off all the good toppings and just had turkey cheese sandwiches.

One loaf rustic sourdough bread
One jar marinated artichoke hearts
Garlic-Herb Sandwich Spread
Smoked deli turkey
Swiss cheese
Tomato, sliced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
(I also think roasted red peppers would be yummy, but I didn't have any)

Make a sandwich and the outside bread with olive oil and cook like a grilled cheese sandwich or cook in a panini press.

Citrus Pomegranate Quinoa Salad

This recipe is from Our Best Bites. I thought it was delicious!

Ingredients:

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/2 medium red onion, minced
1/4 cup fresh minced cilantro or parsley
1 cup pomegranate arils
1 can garbanzo beans or great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water or chicken (or vegetable) broth
1-2 avocados, cut into small cubes (depending on how much you love avocado and how big the avocados are)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 medium orange)
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 medium juicy lemon)
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1/2 medium juicy lime)
2-3 teaspoons sugar, honey, agave, or Splenda (just add it to taste)
2 tablespoons pure olive oil
1/2 heaping teaspoon kosher salt
A few cracks of freshly ground black pepper
1 clove minced garlic

Instructions:

Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.

Combine diced cucumber, minced onion, chopped cilantro, pomegranate seeds, and drained and rinsed beans in a large salad bowl. Toss with quinoa. Drizzle the dressing over the mixture and toss to combine, then chill until ready to serve. Before serving, add diced avocado and eat immediately. Makes 6-8 main dish servings and 10-12 side dish servings.

Tomato Basil Soup

2 stalks celery

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup butter, cubed and divided

2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes

1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 (8 oz) package low fat cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons light agave nectar

Salt and pepper

In a food processor, add celery, onion and garlic, pulse on high 10-15 seconds until puréed. Pour purée into large saucepan. Set aside, but do not rinse food processor.

Add half the butter to vegetables. Sauté over medium heat, about 10 minutes, until fragrant. Add tomatoes, broth and half the chopped basil, bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cover pot, reduce heat to medium/low, allow to simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cut cream cheese into1/2" cubes and place in food processor along with 1 cup of the hot soup. Process on high until cream cheese is dissolved, about 1 minute. Add cream cheese mixture, agave nectar and remaining basil and butter to hot soup, stir until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Martha Stewart's Cream Cheese Brownies

These are delicious!  I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 9x13 pan.  I wish I wouldn't have, though, because yesterday I ate 4 large pieces and then felt sick.  Click on the picture and it should link you to Martha's website and the recipe.