Cuban Burger

This idea was based on a quick click on the food network website. I saw a picture of Bobby Flay's Miami Burger, read the recipe and thought yum, i'm creating my own version of that. Feel free to adapt this burger to your liking.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef, I use 80/20
4 hamburger buns
12 thin slices honey ham
8 slices swiss cheese
8 dill pickle slices
salt, pepper and granulated garlic

Make It:
Divide ground beef into 4 equal size patties. Season patties with salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Place patties in refrigerator for 10 minutes, I think they cook better if they are cold. Heat a large iron skillet over high heat, for 2 minutes. Turn down to medium high heat and place patties in pan. Allow each pattie to cook 3 minutes per side. Meanwhile turn broiler on high. Place hamburger buns on cookie sheet, and place under broiler for 2 minutes. Remove patties from pan on a plate. Build burgers by placing a slice of cheese on bottom bun, then pattie, then 3 slices ham, then 2 pickle slices, then 2nd piece of cheese and top with bun. Wrap burger in foil and place back in hot skillet. Use a heavy skillet to press burger, 2 minutes per side. Unwrap and enjoy!

Menu for February 1st - February 7th

What an exciting week its superbowl weekend so i'm off to the beach with the kids for a few days. So I was looking at Food Networks website last week and they have a ton of recipes that look really good. It is all the superbowl and Miami inspired stuff. I saw a picture of this burger that looked so good, so I added to this weeks menu, it's a Bobby Flay recipe. Since we purchased 1/2 a cow with my parents I have a ton of red meat, so I thought hmm whats something new you can do with round steak, spicy swiss steak that will work. Monterey chicken casserole is based on Chili's Monterey Chicken. In my AHO box this week we got some new stuff, brussel sprouts and a broccoflower. My husband says the broccoflower doesn't look edible, but I think it is, it just looks really strange. Also this week I will be posting 2 appetizer recipes for gameday. Also if your thinking hey blueberries are not in season, no they are not i'm using frozen. Everybody enjoy the game, and enjoy everyday!

Monday- Cuban Burger, potato chips, oranges
Tuesday- Spicy Swiss Steak, brown rice, green salad
Wednesday- Monterey Chicken Casserole, mashed potatoes, cauliflower
Thursday- Beef Enchilada Stack, Smothered Brussel Sprouts
Friday- Cheesy Ham Potato Broccoflower Soup, bread
Saturday- Headed to Beach
Sunday- Superbowl! Go Saints!

Dessert of the Week: Crumb Topped Blueberry Pie

Supreme Pizza Pasta

Before I started this blog I had an idea to make pizza pasta. I figured the whole house likes pizza and pasta so why not put the 2 together. It came out delicious. So when planning this weeks menu I thought I would make it again, but based on a supreme pizza this time.

Ingredients:
2 hot italian sausage, casings removed
8 to 10 slices of pepperoni
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 jar pasta sauce, warmed
5 mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1 13oz. package whole wheat penne noodles, cooked
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
Feel free to add in any toppings you like on your supreme pizza

Make It:
Preheat oven to 375. Heat a small saute pan over medium heat, add italian sausage. Stir and break up with a spoon, cook until browned. Remove from pan, spray pan with pam and add bell pepper. Cook and stir until just barely softened, about 2 minutes, remove from pan. Spray pan with pam and add onion, cook and stir until barely softened, about 2 minutes, remove from pan. Spray pan again with pam and add mushrooms, cook and stir for a 1 minute, remove from pan. Put pepperoni in pan and cook for about 2 minutes, remove to a paper towel to drain some of the oil. Mix bell pepper, sausage, onion and mushroom together. Lightly spray a tall casserole dish with pam. Add 1/2 the noodles to the dish, ladle on enough sauce to cover pasta, and stir so noodles are coated. Layer on 1/2 the bell pepper combination, 1/2 the pepperoni, another ladle of sauce and smooth to cover. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese onto sauce. Repeat these 6 steps again and put in the oven for 20 minutes until top layer of cheese is completely melted. Let sit outside the oven for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Sloppy Joe's

Well my first time making sloppy joe's was a hit. The sauce came out perfect, no need to tweak or try again. The family enjoyed these so much they will be appearing on the menu more. They are very easy to make, and not costly, most  of the ingredients I already had on hand.

Ingredients:
6 plain ole hamburger buns
1 pound ground beef
1 white onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon bottled chopped garlic
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 can tomato paste
1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Make It:
Heat a large pot over medium high heat, add meat to pot. Brown breaking with a spoon. When meat is completely browned add onion and bell pepper to pot. Stirring often cook until onion and pepper are tender, about 5 minutes. Drain off extra grease in pot. Add garlic, cook another minute. Add tomato paste, ketchup, chili powder, cumin, brown sugar and water to the pot, stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat slightly. Allow to cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often. Take each hamburger bun and open, place on a cookie sheet, open side up. Turn broiler on low. Place buns under broiler, cook until barely toasted but not brown, should take a minute maybe two. Remove buns form broiler. PLace on plate and scoop a good amount of sauce onto bottom part of bun, place top on and push down just a little. Repeat with all. Enjoy!

Stir Fry Sauce

This will work for any stir fry.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon hoison sauce
2 tablespoons bottled minced garlic
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Make It:
Whisk all ingredients together, and add to any stir fry. Enjoy!

Hula Stir Fry

When Kili came to me last week and told me she wanted to cook dinner, I was thrilled. I told her to go through her cookbooks and pick a recipe and I would add it to the menu. After going through all her cookbooks she found a recipe in the Better Homes and Garden Junior Cookbook that she wanted to make. A stir fry with noodles and pineapple in it. I thought it looked like something she could make and something everybody would enjoy. I changed it quite a bit, the original recipe called for frozen veggies and bottled stir fry sauce. I have way to many fresh veggies in this house so thats what I used. Then I created a kid friendly stir fry sauce, and we were ready to go. Here it is, maybe a little bitty in your house would like to try making it.

Ingredients:
2 packages ramen noodles, broken up in a bowl, discard seasoning mix
1 cup stir fry sauce
2 cups blanched veggies, use whatever you have, I used broccoli, carrots and snap peas
1 cup canned pineapple chunks with juice
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced thin
1/4 of a yellow onion, sliced
1/2 cup beef broth
pam or 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Make It:
Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat, add pam or vegetable oil. Once hot add chicken and stir fry for 6 minutes. Add vegetables and onion and another spray of pam or vegetable oil and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add noodles, pineapple, stir fry sauce and beef broth. Stir to combine. Cover and let cook for 2 minutes, uncover and stir. Recover and cook another 2 minutes. Uncover and stir, breaking up noodles if needed. Serve and Enjoy!

Texas Chicken Hash

This is one of the recipe ideas on saw on Diners, Drive In's & Dives. A lady in Texas created this fantastic dish and prepared it on the show. Well if you have ever watched the show they don't give measurements and move quite fast. I had to stop and rewind 3 time just to get the amount of info that I did. I then took the basics from hers and did it my way. I can't not believe how good it turned out. Mike stated after dinner that I could put it on the menu every week! The seasoning on the chicken is delicious, I think i'm going to use it as the base for creating a homemade taco seasoning. We had some hash leftover so the next morning I made burritos out of it, that we ate for breakfast. They were super yummy too. This recipe is a little time consuming, so either prep ahead or make it on the weekend.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon passilla powder
1 tablespoon new mexico chile powder
1 1/2  tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon chile de arbol
2 teaspoons cumin

This is the seasoning for the chicken, mix together in a bowl and save any extra for next time.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 bell pepper, 3/4 chopped into big chunks, 1/4 finely diced
1 jalapeno, diced
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese
7 tablespoons butter, divided
2 russet potatoes, chopped
8 corn tortillas
vegetable oil, for frying tortillas
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons flour

Make It:
Preheat oven to 350. Put chicken in a casserole dish and cover with seasoning, really put a lot on both sides, cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool a little, and chop up.
In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter, add potatoes to pan. Stir and brown potatoes for 5 minutes, add 1 more tablespoon butter. Stir and brown for about 15 minutes or until potatoes have a good crust on them and are tender. Add 1 tablespoon butter to potatoes, and add onions and peppers to pan, stir. Allow to cook for 5 minutes, until peppers and onions are tender. Add 1 tablespoon butter and add chicken, stir to combine, make sure it is well combined because you want all the seasoning on the chicken to get on everything else. Heat the vegetable oil in a small skillet over high heat. Fry each one of the tortillas, one side at a time, like a tostada, until crispy but still soft. Drain on a paper towel. Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons butter, allow to melt. Once melted add diced bell pepper and jalapeno. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 2 tablespoons flour and stir to combine, cook for a minute. Whisk in milk, allow to come to a simmer, stirring often. Let simmer and thicken for a couple minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese, one cup at a time. Stir until cheese is melted and combined. To serve put 2 tortillas on plate spoon a good amount of hash over them and ladle on the cheese sauce. Enjoy!