Salisbury Steak & Balsamic Roasted Cauliflower

Happy Hump Day! :) I suppose it is happy because there's no RAIN! Soooooo sick of the rain. 


I don't have a lot more to say today, so I'll just post the recipes! I'm sorry, I don't have any completed pictures of the salisbury steaks. Shame shame, I know. 


SALISBURY STEAK
2 lbs lean ground beef
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup crushed pork rinds (or crackers would work)
1 egg
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp Worcestershire
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 lb fresh sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced onion
1 cup beef broth
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire
1 tsp beef bouillion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp tomato paste (or ketchup)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp heavy cream


In a large bowl, mix the first 9 ingredients. Shape into 6 patties. IN a large skillet, brown the patties on both sides and place in a large casserole dish. 


Add some oil to the skillet and saute mushrooms and onions until tender. 

In a small bowl mix together the broth, bouillon, garlic, tomato paste, 1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire, 1/2 tsp salt and water. Pour over the mushrooms and cook until hot and bubbly. Pour the mushrooms and liquid over the patties. Bake, uncovered, at 300 degrees for 1 hour. 


So very tasty! I hope you try them! And the next side dish is MY FAVORITE! So tasty and simple!

Simply start by breaking up a head of cauliflower into florets. Toss them with a Tbsp or 2 of olive oil and some salt & pepper. 


Roast in a 450 degree oven about 15 minutes, or until florets start to brown. 


Remove from oven and toss with 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Roast for another 5 minutes or so, until florets are browned and tender. 

Doesn't look fabulous, but it is! :) Enjoy!

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter Everybody! I hope you have a fantastic day celebrating our Savior's resurrection! And I hope you have some good food too! I made this carrot cake for Easter dinner, and thought I'd share the link where I got it. I've made this 3 times now, and it's SOOO delicious! I do double the cream cheese frosting... because who doesn't like a lot??

I am no artist, but I like the carrot. :) Not bad for my clumsy self. :) Haha.

GET RECIPE HERE 

 

Oops! And Cashew Chicken

Yep... that's a small avulsion of my thumb. Avulsion=  The forcible tearing away of a body part by trauma or surgery. Mine was not from surgery. It was from CLEANING THE BATHROOM!!! :) I was holding the toothbrush holder (which also holds Aaron's razor) when it slipped, and caught my finger! Check out the chunk of skin the razor got!

Too much info? I'm a nurse. Just a drop in the bucket for me. :) Haha, don't leave, ok? I have a good recipe.

Please don't mind my bitten off nail. :) But check out the size of that chunk!!

IT HURTS!! It's ok now that I got it bandaged up, but gosh it took a good 30 minutes of pressure and elevation before that sucker slowed bleeding enough to bandage it-- and every time I moved the paper towel, etc it HURT!!

Ok, now for the food. I'm glad this didn't happen while cooking! That chunk of skin would have gotten lost in all the chicken! :) Haha, sorry... I'll stop. 

CASHEW CHICKEN

Oooo don't that look good!!

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb chicken breast, chopped into bite-size pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips (or green, it was all I had!)
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
3-4 green onions, thinly sliced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup cashews (I would go for whole/halves, you want the big pieces of crunch in here)
2 Tbsp cornstarch
6 Tbsp chicken broth
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper
Rice, for serving

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cashews, and cook until fragrant. Meanwhile mix together chicken broth, hoisin suace, vinegar, soy sauce and cornstarch. Set aside.

2. Add chicken to the skillet and cook until no longer pink.

3. Add veggies & sauce mixture. Notice I threw in a little broccoli too. I just had a little left in the fridge, and needed to use it up, so I just tossed it in! Stir it up good and heat everything through and cook until veggies are cooked to your liking. I like a little crisp, not too crisp, and definately not mushy. Cook 'em however you like.

Would you believe I just got done cleaning the microwave? And then I failed to read the instructions on this single-serve rice bowl. You were supposed to peel back the plastic top. It is not a steam top. :) Oops.

Well, that's that. Looks pretty good, huh? Tastes pretty good too! You really have no excuse to visit Chinese Buffet. I've given you General Tso's Chicken, Asparagus & Shrimp Stir-fry, and now Cashew Chicken. And they're all delicious.

Don't worry, I went to the Chinese Buffet 2 weeks in a row a few weeks ago. You still gotta have it. I know.

Hey I am curious. I've been watching the "pageview ticker" go up and up with all you nice folks viewing my blog. But I'm curious if you've tried any recipes and what you thought? If you have a second would you leave a comment here or on my facebook with what recipe you tried? Don't worry, if you haven't made anything I won't stop writing. I like sharing even if you don't use the recipes. :)

Greek Turkey Burgers & Sweet Potato Fries

Here's another recipe taken from my cookbook, an oldie but a goody! GREEK TURKEY BURGERS. Scared? You should not be. They are delicious, tasty, and unique. 

This is one of the first things I made for Aaron after we were married, on one of our first nights in Kansas. He was traveling back and forth to the Academy, and usually stopped home for about 4 hours at night, enough time to eat together and enjoy a few hours before he'd leave again. :) I still remember our faces after we tried a bite of these... the face you make when your eyes roll back into your head... because we loved them! 

I, of course, quickly made too many of these burgers... and they became ordinary, plain, and not exciting any more. Well, it's been a good year or 2 since I made them. We almost had the same 1st reaction again! THEY ARE SOOO GOOD! :)

I still can't remember what led me to make these in the first place. We were just married, I had my plain NW Iowa casserole taste... but I ran across the recipe for these and thought... "sure, why not." Ground turkey, cucumbers, feta cheese, pita pockets???? Words I'd never heard of before! But ooooh do they fit together. These flavors are so bold, and they really do a wonder on your taste buds. Try them, won't you? 

Let me help you get started. This is my favorite pita bread. Joseph's Flax Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Pita Bread. You can find it in Wal-Mart by the deli counter. They have some astoundingly good nutrition facts. One pita bread only has 60 calories I believe? Nuts. I like it. So start with these. 

BURGERS-
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 Tbsp milk
1 egg white
1/2 packet Italian dressing mix (save the rest for salsa)

Mix it all up, form 4 nice big patties. Cook on grill or George Foreman. I usually opt for the George Foreman. Then I don't hear the "uuuuggghhhh not again! Why do you always make me grill!!!" from Aaron. :) They turn out well on George Foreman. Nice and juicy.

SALSA-
1 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup chopped cucumber
1/4 cup chopped black olives
1/2 packet Italian dressing mix
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp olive oil

Mix it all up, and chill for at least 15 minutes in fridge. 

Then build your burger... pita, burger, salsa, feta cheese. 

Please serve your burgers with these guys. SWEET POTATO FRIES. You must try these! This was the first time we tried these, and Aaron says "I think these are my new favorite thing EVER!" Haha. They were crunchy on the outside, a little sweet on the inside. Sprinkled with Lawry's and dipped in ketchup... am I making you drool yet??? They're becoming more and more popular, as evidenced by Ore-Ida now selling them! :) Pick up a bag next time you're strolling down the frozen potato isle.

Banana Bread

Hi there! Sunday evening... the most relaxing usually for me. Hope you had a refreshing Sunday as well! 

I hope you haven't given up on this post by seeing "Banana Bread"... I know everyone has their own recipe and own style, so you may be hesitant to change your recipe! :) But, this recipe is labeled "low fat" and really, I can't notice that in the flavor. Tastes like banana bread to me! :)  

Pretend you didn't see all that butter, ok?  Great.

Low Fat Banana Bread
2 eggs
2/3 cup white sugar
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup applesauce or plain/vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup skim milk
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup chopped nuts

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a bread pan with non-stick spray, and lightly dust with flour.

- In a large bowl, beat eggs & sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in bananas, applesauce, milk, oil and vanilla.

- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture, mixing until just blended. Fold in nuts. Pour batter into prepared pan.

- My "non- low- fat- secret" is to sprinkle the top with brown sugar and cinnamon to give it a sweet and crunchy touch.

- Bake about 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. I covered the loaf with aluminum foil about halfway through to prevent extreme browning/burning. 

Ooooohhh yeah. You see that brown sugar crust on top. You want it! :) 

 

Turkey, Bacon & Guacamole Sandwich

Hola! Just popping in to share an easy lunch with you! We really don't have anything else going on to share about right now. :) Thanks for all the support on the last post! Means a lot to us! 

 

Turkey, Bacon, and Guacamole Sandwich

You will need-

- Thin Buns (have you seen these at the store yet? Love em!)

- Turkey bacon (I really like the turkey bacon flavor for this sandwich better than regular bacon. But you decide for you)

- Sliced deli turkey

- Swiss cheese slices

- Guacamole

 

This sandwich has quite the flavors all packed together! We love the combination, and can't get enough of them right now!

The hardest part about the whole sandwich is making the guacamole. We choose not to cheat and buy pre-made stuff. Pre-made guac is really no guac at all. Do me a favor and splurge for the homemade stuff! :)

I have no defined recipe for the guacamole, it's really a flavor thing. You make it according to your flavor. But the main ingredients are--

Avocados

Tomatoes

Garlic

Red Onion

Cilantro

Jalapenos

Salt & Pepper

I suggest starting by mashing up a couple avocados in a bowl. Then throw in some garlic, red onion, cilantro, jalapenos and s & p. Then when you have it all combined and flavored according to your tastes, add the tomatoes. Otherwise, if you add the tomatoes too soon they'll just get trampled and mushed in there! :) 

Then build your sandwich!