Un-stuffed Mushroom Burger

We have somewhat of a burger obsession around here.  As soon as it gets to be prime grilling weather, we make up new burgers often.  This recipe is a spin-off of Pioneer Woman's Brie-Stuffed Mushroom's, which by the way, could change your life.

Please don't think we're obese because all we eat is homemade cheeseburgers, pasta, and pizza.  I do make healthy, waist-conscious food almost every day....I just blog the outlandish, amazing-tasting, fat-laden food more often apparently. 

Un-Stuffed Mushroom Burger
inspired by Pioneer Woman

1 lb ground beef
4 cloves garlic, grated or minced
1/4 onion, grated or minced
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
plenty of salt & pepper
2-3 Tb. butter
8 oz sliced mushrooms (or more)
salt & pepper
wedge of brie
4-bakery rolls
butter for buns

In a bowl combine beef, garlic, onion, parsley, salt & pepper.  Make four even patties and heat the grill.  While the grill is heating, melt the 2-3 Tb. butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add in the mushrooms and saute them, lowering heat if necessary.  Continue cooking the mushrooms until they are soft and cooked to your liking, then season with salt & pepper.  Cook the burgers on the grill, topping with plenty of brie and letting it melt before removing from the grill.  Butter the buns and quickly toast them on the grill.  Serve the burgers on the buttered, toasted buns topped with plenty of mushrooms.

Black Bean & Quinoa Bowls

This recipe is vegan. (GASP!) I almost put that in the title, but I knew some people wouldn't even look at the recipe because of that, so I didn't.  I'm finding that with my youngest son's food allergies (beef, pork, cow's milk, strawberries, oats and peanuts), combined with the foods I'm not giving him temporarily (wheat, eggs, soy, tree nuts) vegan recipes are making life easier.  Cooking vegetarian and vegan actually makes cooking easier because the prep work goes so fast without having to cook meat, grate cheese, etc.  I need more vegan recipes!

Several months ago my mom challenged us to eat animal products less frequently, so I started cooking vegetarian a couple times a week and I realized we didn't really miss the meat on those nights.  AND it's much less expensive to skip the meat.  While we have no intention of ever giving up cheeseburgers and going vegetarian/vegan completely, it is not a big deal for us to do without it sometimes. 

I recently posted another quinoa recipe and someone commented with an idea that made me try this for dinner tonight and we liked it!  I loved that this entire meal was ready in the time it takes to cook quinoa.  I made a quick guacamole to put on top but simply chopping an avocado for the top would be perfect if you want to make it even simpler.

Black Bean & Quinoa Bowls

serves a family of 5 or 3-4 very hungry adults

1 c. dried quinoa, cooked with 2 c. water according to directions

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 10-oz can Rotel, mostly drained

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. granulated garlic

salt & pepper to taste

2 large avocados

2 Tb. thick salsa

generous dash of granulated garlic

salt & pepper to taste

2 Tb onion, minced

Tabasco to taste

3 green onions, chopped

lime wedges

While the quinoa is cooking mix together black beans, rotel, chili powder, cumin, 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic, salt & pepper.  Cook in a small pot over medium heat until hot or microwave 3-5 minutes until hot.  In a small bowl mash the avacado with a fork and stir in salsa, garlic, salt & pepper, onion and tabasco.  Taste and adjust seasoning as you like. (Or, simply chop the avacado and set aside.) To assemble the bowls, layer some quinoa at the bottom of a bowl, top with a generous amount of black bean mixture, a dollop of guacamole or chopped avacado, sprinkle on some green onions and serve with lime wedges.

French Onion Burger

I pulled this recipe out of a Rachael Ray magazine a long time ago and thought it looked just amazing.  Then I put it in the pile with the others and forgot about it.  When I was spring cleaning the cabinet I came across this and had to make it right away!

We loved this burger.  It is very flavorful, salty, gooey...it's just great.  It's kind of a "Friday night" kind of meal, a little rough on the calorie count but I'll make it again and again.  I made just a couple changes.  I recommend not salting the onions until it's all finished because the beef consomme is quite salty.

French Onion Burger

adapted from Rachael Ray

2 Tb. butter

4 onions, thinly sliced

1 bay leaf

pepper

pinch of thyme

1 can beef consomme

1 1/2 c. sour cream

2 lbs. ground beef

2-3 Tb. worcestershire sauce

salt & pepper

1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 c. grated onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

swiss cheese for topping

kettle chips for topping

fresh bakery buns

To make French Onion topping: Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and bay leaf, pepper and thyme. Cook until deep caramel and soft, about 35 minutes.  Lower the heat if the onions are browning to quickly.  Pour in the beef consomme and scrape the bottom of the pan, cook until the liquid is almost all absorved.  Remove from heat and discard the bay leaf, let the onions cool.  Stir in the sour cream and set aside.

To make the burgers: Heat the grill.  In a large bowl combine beef, worcestershire, salt, pepper, parsley, onion and garlic.  Combine all ingredients and form into 6 patties.  Cook the burgers until almost done to your preference, top with swiss cheese.  Remove from grill when the cheese is melted.  Place the burgers on a bun and top with a generous amount of onion mixture and a handfull of chips.  Serve immediately.

Mango Quinoa Salad

My entire family loves this salad and I've adapted it a few times, finally coming up with the perfect recipe for us and perfectly acccomodates my Weight Watchers points allotment.  It isn't over-dressed just a small bit of olive oil and red wine vinegar.  The best part is this is naturally allergen-friendly.  You could easily adapt the veggies and fruit for what you have.  I think fresh pineapple or peaches would be good.  I've used red or green onions and many colors of bell pepper based on what I had.

Try this salad with meat off the grill this summer for an oven-free meal.  (We had some wild-caught Alaskan salmon...yum!)

Mango Quinoa Salad

recipe inspired from Our Best Bites

2 c. cooked quinoa (any color)

2 small mangoes, or 1 large, diced small

1 c. cucumber, diced (I peel conventional cucumbers, but not English cucumbers)

1/4 c. red or green onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped (any color)

1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
3 Tb. red wine vinegar
2 Tb. olive oil
3 Tb. fresh lime juice
salt & pepper to taste
dash of sugar or honey

Cook the quinoa and let cool.  In a large bowl mix together quinoa, mango, cucumber, onion, bell pepper and cilantro.  To make the dressing mix together vinegar, oil, lime juice, salt & pepper and sweetener.  Pour the dressing over the salad and serve immediately or refrigerate until you're ready to eat.

Even Better 7-layer Dip

I've always loved 7-layer dip.  But it's a real bummer when the good stuff is all scraped off and all that is left is the hard canned-refried beans that break your chip when you attempt a scoop.  That's been my experience at least.

This recipe solves that "problem" and I'm happy to say it was a giant hit at a Super Bowl party.

If you need to make this gluten free, skip the taco mix and add in some granulated garlic, salt, cumin and chili powder in place of it.

This makes a LOT so if you are making it for a smaller group of people, half it.

Even Better 7-layer Dip

1 28-oz can refried beans or 3 c. homemade
3/4c. - 1 c. salsa
1 1/2 c. sour cream
4 oz cream cheese, softened (half a block)
2 Tb taco seasoning OR 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2-1tsp granulated garlic, 1/4 tsp salt
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. red onion, minced
2 large tomatoes or 3 small, seeded and minced
2-3 avocados, chopped (my taste-testers preferred more avacado)
1 small can chopped black olives, drained or 1/2 can whole black olives, chopped
1/2 c. cilantro, chopped

Mix together refried beans and salsa to your desired consistency.  Less salsa for thicker beans, more for thinner.  Spread the bean/salsa mixture on a large platter (or a cookie sheet if you don't have a big platter).  Rinse out the bean bowl and mix together sour cream, cream cheese and taco seasoning.  Spread the sour cream mixture over the beans.  Then sprinkle the rest of the ingredients in layers over the top of the sour cream. Serve immediately with tortilla chips or refrigerate until you're ready to eat it.

Goat Cheese Mac

I found this recipe and it looked yummy and then I forgot about it until recently....when we started my younger son on an elimination diet to try to get his intestines healthy and determine what foods are causing the upset.  So, for the next 4-6 weeks he can't have wheat/gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, nuts or fish.  This pretty much eliminates my current recipe repertoire.  Then...I was going through my Pinterest recipes board and found it.  It was an "aha moment" for me.

I will say, if you don't care for goat cheese you probably won't like this.  I do think that a cream cheese/parmesan mix could work for this if you wanted to try this.  The thing I love most about this dish is it is so very simple, and comes together very quickly.  It does take time to roast the tomatoes but you can certainly sub some sundried tomatoes instead.  Unfortunately I ignored the "cover your plants it's going to freeze" warning and my basil plant died so I used dried...next time fresh basil for sure!

Goat Cheese Mac

recipe adapted from Nummy Kitchen

2 lbs roma tomatoes or cherry tomatoes

1 lb short-cut pasta (brown rice or quinoa pasta for GF)

3/4-1 c. pasta water reserved

2 Tb. olive oil

1/2 c. fresh basil, chopped or 2 tsp dried basil

salt & pepper to taste

6-8 oz goat cheese, crumbled (I used more like 8 oz)

Ahead of time, preheat the oven to 250, quarter the tomatoes if using roma and layer them on a baking sheet.  Roast for 2-3 hours, until they're dried on the edges but still moist in the middle.  Remove from the oven and let the tomatoes cool, chop them up and set aside until you're ready foor them.  Boil the pasta according to directions, before draining reserve some cooking water.  Add to the hot pasta: water, olive oil, basil, salt, pepper and goat cheese.  Stir until the cheese is melted and it's all combined.  Add more cooking water if needed. Stir in tomatoes and serve immediately.

Creamy Tortellini Salad

This is another one of Our Best Bites' recipes.  You really can't go wrong with them.

I made this as a side dish with chicken sandwiches at a get-together recently and it was a hit.  This would be a great picnic item for the summer or add some chicken and make it a meal.  I will say that I would toss the dressing on at the last minute because the tortellini soaks it up and I like it saucy.

I used dried tortellini because I'm frugal and it's cheaper but fresh would be just fantastic.

Creamy Tortellini Salad
adapted from Our Best Bites

14 oz dried tortellini or 20 oz fresh, cooked according to package directions
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped OR 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cucumber, seeded and sliced
1 c. black olives, halved

Mix all salad ingredients together in a large bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
3 Tb. white onion, coarsely chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp honey
2 Tb coarse grain or Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
fresh black pepper
1 c. canola oil

Add all ingredients except oil into the blender and mix well.  While the blender is running slowly (very slowly) stream in the oil until everything is  mixed.  Refrigerate the dressing until you're ready to serve the salad.  Before serving toss the salad with the dressing.

Caprese Chicken

I feel like it's often I make something and we think its our new favorite...but really, this is one of our new favorites. So take that for what it's worth.

This is super fast and simple to put together. We had  rotini with pesto on the side and everyone loved it. I used fresh mozzarella but a sprinkling of shredded cheese or a slice would be just fine.







Caprese Chicken
4 chicken breasts
1 c. balsamic vinaigrette
2 cloves garlic
1 large tomato or 2 small, sliced
fresh basil leaves
4-8 slices mozzarella cheese
balsamic vinegar or balsamic reduction

Pour the balsamic vinaigrette in a ziploc bag and add in the garlic. Marinate the chicken breasts in there for a few hours or even all day. Cook the chicken on a heated grill until cooked through, at the last minute top with tomatoes, basil and cheese and wait until the cheese melts. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar or a balsamic reduction. Enjoy!

Veggie Enchilada Bake

We're trying to eat more veggies.  This recipe is a direct reflection of that.  I threw it all together in my "Magic Pot" from Pampered Chef and microwaved it for 15 minutes and wah-lah...we all loved it.  You too can make this in the microwave, or if you don't have a magic pot, use a baking dish and bake it in the oven.

I had a bunch of collard greens sitting around and I chopped them up and put them in but spinach would be just great so use a bunch of greens of your choice.

Veggie Enchilada Bake

8 corn tortillas, cut in quarters
1 tsp olive or vegetable oil
1 poblano pepper, chopped
1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 bunch greens, chopped
1 c. frozen corn kernels, defrosted
1 can black beans, drained
1 heaping Tb. adobo sauce, from a can of chipotle in adobo (or 1 tsp. chipotle chili powder)
2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
1 10-oz can green enchilada sauce (check for gluten if you're GF)

Preheat the oven to 350 (if you're using the oven.)  Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add in 1 tsp. oil.  Saute the peppers, onion, tomatoes, garlic, and greens 5-7 minutes, or until they are soft.  Stir in black beans, corn and adobo sauce and season with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat.  Pour some enchilada sauce on the bottom of your deep covered baker or an 8x8 or 9x9 pan.  Layer half the tortillas, half the veggie mixture, half the cheese.  Then the rest of the tortillas, enchilada sauce, veggies and top with the cheese.  Bake 20 minutes (or microwave 15).  Once you remove from the oven, let stand 10 minutes before serving.

1/6th is 7 Weight Watchers PointsPlus

Greek Inspired Stuffed Peppers

I ended up with numerous small green bell peppers and they just seemed perfect for stuffing. So, I came up with this recipe and we all really liked it. I would prefer using colored bell peppers so if you have those available that would probably be even better.

I bought a case of tomatoes that I needed to use up so I used fresh tomatoes in this recipe, but a can of chopped tomatoes would be an easy substitution if you have one of those around. Also, I used a can of black beans, but if you prefer, rice would be a good addition.







Greek Inspired Stuffed Peppers
6 small bell peppers, any color (or 4 large peppers)
1 lb chicken or turkey sausage
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 can black beans, drained OR 2 c. cooked rice
1 box frozen, chopped spinach thawed and squeezed dry
4 oz. feta, crumbled

Rinse the peppers, cut off the tops and remove the ribs and seeds, then set aside. In a large skillet cook the sausage and drain off the fat. Add in the onion and jalapeno and cook over medium until they begin to soften. Next add the garlic and tomatoes and cook a few more minutes, once the tomatoes start to soften and break down crumble in the spinach and stir in the black beans and feta. Stuff the peppers and place them in a baking dish. Bake 25-35 minutes, or until peppers are fork-tender.