Bake Me More

I am always leery about serving a “new food” when company comes, but after all of the reviews, I knew I would be safe with this one. I adapted my recipe just slightly from the original recipe at Annie’s Eats (who got it from Elly Says Opa!) using the Bon Appetite recipe for the same dish. Note that my recipe is doubled.

I said all that to say this is an awesome recipe. Easy and easily adapted to your taste. Dessert too was new to us (see next post). It also was really, really good. I had the company fooled into thinking I slaved over this one, but later revealed the truth. Try it, you’ll like it, I promise. My kids kept moaning about how good dessert was.

Chicken Parmesan Burgers

Adapted from this and this

• 2 lbs ground chicken
• 3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper
• 1 tsp fresh basil, chopped
• 2 tbsp pasta sauce
• 8 french bread rolls (or hamburger buns)
• Zesty Italian salad dressing
• Additional pasta sauce
• Mozzarella Cheese, sliced (6 – 8) or shredded
• Saute’d mushrooms (optional)

Prep:

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, bread crumbs, Parmesan, seasonings and 2 tbsp pasta sauce. Mix well until thoroughly combined. Form into 8 patties (though mine made 9). Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Pre-heat broiler. Broil the burgers for 4 – 6 minutes then flip and broil 4 – 6 mor minutes until cooked through (160 degrees). Remove and top each burger with pasta sauce and cheese. Return to broiler until cheese is melted.

For the buns, brush Italian dressing and toast under broiler until golden. Place burger on bun and serve with additional cheese, sauce and mushrooms if desired.

Notes about the recipe:

1. I was concerned about not having the “breading” that goes along with traditional chicken parmesan, however the bread crumbs mixed in with the chicken forms a breading-like texture when broiled. The bread crumbs were already seasoned too, so that added to the wonderful flavor
2. I used a jarred Pasta sauce – Classico Traditional Sweet Basil and Tomato
3. I used bakery fresh french bread rolls that were the same size as the traditional hamburger bun
4. From the Bon Appetit recipe was the idea to add some sauce into the chicken mixture. It was good because there were chunks of tomato intermingled in the burgers.
5. The salad dressing brushed on the buns was epic. Ok, exagerrating slightly, but rather than butter slathered all over the buns, they toasted up nicely and had an Italian flare. I used Kraft Light Zesty Italian

Photo Source (Betty Crocker)

I don’t often post about entrée’s here, however I thought this one was worth sharing. For all the health food critics out there, this is not a health food, so I’ll just leave it at that. I do normally strive to provide healthy, nourishing meals to my family, and this one was, as long as you don’t look at the processed side of it!

For dinner tonight I stepped out and tried something a little different. I have always wanted to prepare fish taco’s. I had some Mrs. Paul’s Crunchy Fish Sticks (better than some, still not the most nutritious choice), some 6″ tortillas and some broccoli slaw. I did a little research and found a fish taco recipe at Betty Crocker.com. I made my own version, but used the recipe as my base.

I think this kicker was the slaw. It was quick, easy and very tasty. The original recipe called for cabbage slaw, but I almost always substitute broccoli slaw instead. Here’s what it used:

Mexican Slaw for Fish Tacos

• 1 package broccoli slaw
• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
• 2 – 3 tablespoons milk (skim)
• 1/2 package prepared taco seasoning

Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to prepare tacos. *Add milk to desired consistency (mine appeared a little dry).

Truthfully, the list of ingredients aren’t half bad. For the rest of meal, I baked the fish sticks and to prepare the tacos, I warmed the tortillas in an ungreased skillet on medium for about 30 seconds, then folded the sides together to make more of a burrito look.

The tacos went over so well I didn’t even have time to take a photo. The picture above came from the Betty Crocker web site. I definitely will make these again, but will get a picture before they are devoured!

Everyone is about “easy”, especially when it comes to feeding thier family. Tonights dinner was no exception. I was tired and would have been happy making PB&J sandwiches. I was able to get motivated however, and prepared this easy meal that went over quite well.

I recently saw a recipe at on myrecipes for BLT wraps, printed it, and added it to my dinner list. The next day, I came across the same recipe at recipegirl.com. An omen? Probably not, but her “lightened recipe” was more enticing to me, and it will become a regular in our house. This is a simple 5 ingredient recipe that can easily be adapted to include just about any ingredient.

BLT Wraps

from RecipeGirl

• 1 cup light mayonnaise
• ½ cup dried tomatoes in oil, drained well & chopped
• Eight (10-inch) flour tortillas
• 1 large head iceberg lettuce, chopped (I only used about half)
• 16 bacon slices, cooked & crumbled
• salt and pepper, to taste

Combine mayonnaise & tomatoes in a small bowl. Spread evenly over 1 side of each tortilla, leaving a ½ inch border. Sprinkle lettuce & bacon evenly over tortillas; sprinkle with salt & pepper. Roll up tortillas tightly; cut in half diagonally, and secure each half with a pick.

Yield: 16 half-sandwich wraps

Source: Adapted from Southern Living

To go with the wraps, I use a 3 ingredient soup that was also a hit with the family. Even better, my teenage daughter, who has a great dislike for carrots, had no idea they were even in the soup. (That is until she reads this post!) This is a Kraft / Velveeta recipe that is quick and tasty, and gets a serving of vegetables in one bowl. The only thing I added was some bacon that was extra from the wraps and 1 tablespoon of corn starch to thicken the soup. Next time I will use 2 bags of vegetables.

 Velvety Vegetable Cheese Soup

from Kraft Food and Family Magazine

 Ingredients: 

• 1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrot blend
• 2 cans (14 oz. each) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
• ¾ lb.(12 oz.) VELVEETA (2% Milk) Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut up

Directions:

Place vegetables and broth in large saucepan; cover. Bring to boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 min. or until vegetables are tender.

Mash vegetables with potato masher to desired consistency. (I used an immersion blender). Stir in Velveeta; cook 5 min. or until cheese is melted and soup is heated through, stirring frequently. Note: If you want a simple soup recipe, this is it, or, it is a great base for any fabulous soup. Try adding potatoes, corn, other vegetable…the possibilities are endless!

Per serving: 1 Cup – Reduced fat version (From Kraft’s website)

Calories  170, Total fat  6 g, Cholesterol  40 mg, Sodium  1170 mg, Carbohydrate  10 g, Dietary fiber  2 g, Sugars  6 g, Protein  15 g

Looking for a quick, easy and healthy “one dish” meal? Foil packs are always a great way to serve a satisfying dish and the filling options are endless. Tonight, I chose to serve a fish and shrimp meal with rice and vegetables. Combining all of the ingredients into one pack make the need for added oils, butter and salt unnecessary. Even better, it makes for a quick clean up. I use a heavy duty foil, though there are ready made foil packs, if you want to spend the extra money.  Nutritionally, each pack comes out to right at 400 calories.

For the seasoning, I found this wonderful new seafood seasoning made by Weber. The first time I used this seasoning, my teenage daughter said that her fish was “fabulous”. From a teenager, I would say that is the ultimate compliment.

Foil Pack Shrimp, Fish, Rice and Veggies

 Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked instant rice
• 1 3/4 cups broth
• 2 – 3 tilapia fillets (about 16 ounces)
• 1 pound jumbo shrimp
• 1 pound bag of frozen vegetables (I used a broccoli, onion, pepper…mix)
• Weber Mango Lime Seafood Seasoning (to taste)
• 1 medium lemon cut into 1/4 inch slices
• Heavy duty foil, Cooking Spray, Butter

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Spray 5 (18 x 12″) sheets of foil with cooking spray.

Combine the broth and rice in a medium bowl. Let stand about 5 minutes to absorb broth. (This will help the rice to cook completely). Separate tilapia into 5 pieces and place one in the center of each foil piece. Season fish to taste. Spoon rice around each fillet, then top with equal amounts of shrimp.  Divide vegetables among each foil pack and place about 1 tsp of butter in each foil pack (if desired). Fold foil over so the edges meet, seal edges then fold again. Allow some space for ventilation but ensure an airtight closure.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and the fish is white and flakes easily. Place foil packs on plates, serve and enjoy!

We are home from camp this week, which means I have the opportunity to prepare dinner for the family. We were heading out to the mall, so I decided on slow cooking a pork roast. It’s a good thing I chose this cooking method, as we totally lost track of time. At 5:30 we were still shopping and we normally eat dinner at 5. This meal was ready when we arrived home. It is always a family favorite.

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