Zeus Burgers (2012- Week 26)

Week 26 Ingredient of the Week: Pine Nuts

With the summer season winding down, we wanted to get good use of our grill before the snow starts flying.  I found this Greek-inspired recipe in the Taste of Home Grill It! magazine.  As a bonus, the recipe includes pine nuts which I've never cooked with before, so it's this week's featured ingredient. We couldn't really taste the nuts or feta much, but we did get that spinach flavor from the burger.  Grilling kept the burger juicy and the sauce complemented the burger well.

Zeus Burgers

Ingredients:
1 pound ~90% lean ground beef
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon pine nuts, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepepr
4-6 hamburger buns, split
Sauce:
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
To make sauce, in a small bowl, combine all the ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate until serving.

In a large bowl, combine the spinach, cheese, lemon juice, pine nuts, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Crumble beef over mixture and mix well.  Shape into four to six patties.  (I made six smaller burgers and put them on small kaiser rolls)

Grill, covered, over medium heat for 5-7 minutes on each side until done.   Toast buns on grill for a minute to lightly brown and serve burgers on buns with reserved sauce.

Kickin' BBQ Chicken

Jeremy and I wanted to grill something for dinner, so I decided on chicken.   I was going to get drumsticks or something easy like that, but no, I went ahead and bought a WHOLE chicken.  How hard could it be to cut up, right?  My first attempt at butchering a chicken was a bit comical.  I had no idea what I was doing.  I did alright getting off the wings and legs, but then I was starting to go a little "angry birds" on the poor chicken, so Jeremy stepped in and helped separate the front and back so that we could grill the breast meat too.  It didn't work so I ended up just cutting the breast meat off the bone and grilling boneless breasts and reducing the cooking time for those.

This recipe was really good.  I liked the flavor of the BBQ Sauce.  It was pretty sweet and definitely not as spicy as I thought it was going to be, but that's alright with me.  Jeremy commented, "You know you can BUY barbeque sauce, right?" to which I rolled my eyes. What would be the fun in that?!

P.S.  The pasta salad was just a Suddenly Pasta Box Mix , but I added spinach, tomatoes, and matchstick carrots to it.  

Kickin' BBQ Chicken

Adapted from Taste Of Home Grill It! Magazine
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Broiler/Fryer Whole Chicken, cut up
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:
In a large saucepan, combine everything (except chicken) to make marinade.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat for 30-40 minutes, turning several times.  Baste chicken with the marinade, turning and grilling 10 minutes longer or until juices run clear.

Grilled Greek Pork Chops, Blueberry Salad, and Cheesy Biscuits

I think I gave up on my "new ingredient" challenge for awhile.   I really want to start making recipes from the large collection of cookbooks I've amassed.  If it includes a new ingredient, great.  If not, oh well.

It was a beautiful night for grilling.  The Greek Pork Chops were delicious.  The pork was juicy and the marinade seasoning was perfection.  I have no idea what makes them Greek pork chops, but that's what the magazine called them.

The vinaigrette on the salad was good.  It got a little thick after sitting awhile, but I read that I can add more olive oil or fruit juice to thin it out.

I've made the cheesy garlic biscuits before.  They remind me of the ones at Red Lobster. Mmmm. 

Greek Pork Chops

From Taste of Home Grill It! Magazine

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
4 boneless pork loin chops (~3/4" thick)

Directions:
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first nine ingredients; add the pork.  Seal the bag and turn to coat.  Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Drain and discard marinade.  Grill pork, covered, over medium heat for 4-5 minutes each side or until a thermometer reads 145º.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

*****

Berry Salad with Homemade Blueberry Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 teaspoon onion

2 tablespoons good vinegar (I used balsamic)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil (may need extra)

Directions:

In a blender or food processor, whiz the berries, garlic, onion, vinegar, and sugar until berries are liquified.  Add olive oil until you reach the desired consistency (After 2 tablespoons of olive oil, if you need more oil, you can substitute fruit juice for a thinner dressing).  Run through a mesh sieve, and drizzle over salad greens with fresh berries, caramelized onions, roasted pecan bits.

*Dressing is 40 calories/tablespoon (using 2 tablespoons olive oil)

*****

Easy Garlic-Cheese Biscuits

From Betty Crocker's New Cookbook

Ingredients:

2 cups Bisquick baking mix

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)

1/4 cup stick butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Combine baking mix, milk, and cheese to make a soft dough, beating vigorously for 30 seconds with a spoon.  Drop dough by 10-12 spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 450º for ~8 minutes until golden brown.    Mix butter and garlic powder; brush onto warm biscuits.  Serve warm.

Grilled Swordfish (2012 - Week 25)

Week 25 Featured Ingredient: Swordfish

I saw a recipe for Swordfish in a Grilling magazine and decided to make it this week's featured ingredient.  We chose a very simple marinade and recipe, but the swordfish steaks tasted great.  They were moist and flaky and really good.  We both enjoyed them.  I also made grilled vegetable kabobs marinated in Italian dressing, and I really liked the flavor the grill gave the veggies, but Jeremy wasn't a fan.  He thought the concept of veggies on a stick was "weird."  I think it's weird that I liked the veggies and he didn't.  Very odd indeed. 


Grilled Swordfish

8oz swordfish steaks
teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:  
Marinate swordfish in teriyaki sauce for at least 10 minutes.  Grill steaks over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side, basting frequently with melted butter, until fish flakes easily with fork.  Season with garlic powder and serve.

Basic Banana Bread

I had some over-ripe bananas that I forgot to eat, so I made my favorite Banana Bread recipe.  This is straight out of the Betty Crocker Cookbook, but it's a reliable recipe and works every time.   I didn't have buttermilk on hand, so I combined lowfat milk with a little lemon juice and let it sit awhile.

Basic Banana Bread

from Betty Crocker's New Cookbook


Ingredients:
1&1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup stick butter, softened
2 large eggs
1&1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3-4 medium)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2&1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts, if desired

Directions:
Mix sugar and butter in a large bowl.  Stir in eggs until well blended.  Add bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla, and beat until smooth.  Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt until just blended.  Stir in the nuts.  Pour into two greased 8" loaf pans or one 9" loaf pan.

With oven rack in low position at 350º, bake 8" loaves 1 hour, or bake 9" loaf 1 hour, 15 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 5 minutes and remove from pan(s).  Cool completely before slicing.  Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

Picnic Pleasers: Fruit Salad and Deviled Eggs

This isn't part of my recipe challenge, but I made a couple food items for a family cookout and thought I'd share the very easy recipes.  The fruit salad was especially good.

Fruit Salad

Ingredients:
1 (29 oz) can peach slices in lite syrup, undrained
1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks in juice, undrained
1 small box vanilla fat free instant pudding mix (dry)
1 pound strawberries, stemmed and quartered
1/2 pint blueberries
1/2 bunch grapes (any color)
2-3 sliced bananas or other fruit(optional)

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the pudding mix and half of the pineapple and peach juices.  Mix until pudding is dissolved.  Discard the remaining juice. Add the fruit to the bowl and stir to combine until the fruit is coated with the pudding mixture.  Chill before serving.  Makes enough for a large crowd (12-15 servings).

********

Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled

3 tablespoons light Miracle Whip

1/2 teaspoon dry ground mustard

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

paprika to sprinkle

Directions:

Cut eggs lengthwise in half.  Slip out yolks and mash with fork.  Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper.  Fill whites with yolk mixture.  Sprinkle with paprika.  Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Braunschweiger Melt (2012 - Week 24)

Week 24 Featured Ingredient: Braunschweiger

This was disgusting.  I'm not a fan of Braunschweiger, but I give myself points for being brave enough to try it.  Jeremy didn't want to try this recipe, so I just made one sandwich. I had two bites and that was enough.  I don't recommend it, but here is the recipe.   It was kind of a "cheat" recipe for this week anyway because there wasn't much cooking involved.  I just wanted to try an unusual ingredient and this fit.   :P


Open-Faced Braunschweiger Melt

Ingredients:
1 half of an english muffin
1/2" slice braunschweiger liver sausage, from the tube
1 slice tomato
1 slice Velveeta cheese
1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Directions:
Toast the english muffin.  Spread mayo on the muffin.  Top with braunschweiger, tomato, and cheese.  Put on a baking sheet and broil in oven until cheese gets bubbly (3-5 minutes).  Don't enjoy.

Chai Tea Cookies (2012 - Week 23)

Week 23 Featured Ingredient: Chai Tea

Yes, tea as a food ingredient.  Why not?!  It was a work week for me so I needed to pick something fast and easy.  We're having a bake sale at work to raise money for our Relay for Life team, so I figured I might as well bake something.  I had no idea what chai tea tasted like, or whether cookies made with tea would be any good, but I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the tea pouch and smelled the contents.  I really liked the aroma of the spices.  After cooking, the cookies looked like a peanut butter cookie, but tasted somewhat like a gingersnap cookie.  I liked them.

Chai Tea Cookies
Taken from allrecipes.com
Makes ~4 dozen small cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup Chai Tea Latte Mix (~6 packets)
1&1/3 cups white sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 TBSP baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup white sugar for decoration

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and chai tea mix until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; blend into the creamed mixture until all of the dry has been absorbed.  Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400ºF.  Roll the cookie dough into walnut-sized balls and roll in sugar.  Place the cookies onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart and flatten slightly using a fork.  Bake for ~8-10 minutes until the edges begin to brown.  Cool on wire rack.

Blueberry-Almond Muffin Cookies

I had some extra blueberries in my refrigerator, and I thought about making muffins, but I really felt like cookies.  So that's what I made.  This was an interesting recipe.  The cookies were pretty good, kind of like eating just the top of a blueberry muffin.  I liked the almond flavor. But if you really want a muffin, I'd suggest this Blueberry Muffin recipe instead.  It's really good: Best Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry-Almond Muffin Cookies

Recipe taken from Giada De Laurentiis, Food Network
Makes ~30 small cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/4 to 1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons lemon zest, about 1 lemon
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1 cup blueberries

Directions:

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using a hand mixer. Add egg and beat to incorporate. Add milk, almond extract, and lemon zest.

In another medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the almonds, then the blueberries. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Spoon mix onto cookie sheets. Bake at 375ºF until golden brown around the edges, about 15 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.

Grilled Pluot Salad & Dino Egg Crumble (2012 - Week 22)

Week 22 Featured Ingredient: Dinosaur Eggs (Pluots)

 I went to the grocery store intending to make a Thai Star Fruit Tropical Salad, but the store didn't have any Star Fruit in stock.  What they DID have were 5 or 6 different varieties of a fruit they were calling Dinosaur Eggs.  HUH?!  I had never seen them before, but they looked a lot like a plum.  Turns out they are a hybrid fruit--a pluot, a cross between a plum and an apricot.  Different varieties were different colors, ranging from yellowish to deep purple.  They had samples available, so I tried a slice --or two or three (yum!), and promptly put a couple different varieties in my cart.

Now, Jeremy and I just bought a grill-- and when I say "just", I mean Jeremy was taking it out of its box and putting it together while I was at the grocery store discovering dinosaur eggs.  (I am SOOO excited about all the new grilling options that have now opened up for me...!!)   So, I decided I wanted to GRILL everything for our meal.. including the pluots... why not?!  I found a cool salad recipe online, and it was pretty delicious.  I really liked the dressing.   And then I came up with my own quick pluot crumble recipe for dessert because I had accidentally grilled too many pluots.  Yum again.

Grilled Pluot Salad
Taken from Pig of the Month BBQ Website

Ingredients:
4 pluots, halved and pitted
olive oil for brushing
6oz bag of baby spinach
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
shallot, sliced (optional)
Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:
Brush halved pluots with olive oil.  Place cut side down on grill.  Grill over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes.  Let cool and cut into wedges.   For the dressing, whisk all ingredients together.  Toss spinach with dressing (you may have a lot of leftover dressing).  Transfer salad to plates and top with pluot wedges and walnuts.

Anne's Quick Dino Egg Crumble

Ingredients:
pluots, pitted and sliced
panko bread crumbs
walnuts
cinnamon
sugar
ice cream or whipped topping (optional)


Directions:
Place pluot slices in a ramekin.  Combine other ingredients and sprinkle a little bit over pluots.  Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes.  Serve with ice cream or fat free whipped topping if desired.