Grilled Pizza

So, Nikki was kind enough to let me use her grill since she is now in Kansas & my grill died last season. Emma & I decided to have grilled pizza's for dinner. We picked up all the toppings while shopping for her a dress this afternoon. When we came in, I began my search for the crust.

Well, I found one that turned out to be super awesome! It didn't hurt that 13,710 people have saved the recipe on All Recipes and 242 of them rated/reviewed it giving it 4.5 stars. I was the 243rd one to leave a 5 star rating!This RECIPE does have the dough go through 2 rise cycles with the yeast, but I think it was well worth the weight. I didn't brush the grill with oil & we chose our own toppings, but otherwise I followed it. This will be a do over and over again recipe. Next time, though I will have a table set up beside the grill with all my toppings so Emma don't have to make a hundred trips back and forth in the house.

Emma's Veggie Pizza

Michael's Bacon, Tomato & Ranch Pizza

Gracie's Pizza

Mande's Veggie Pizza

Dinners from the Past Week

Ginger Beef Stir Fry

Stir-Fried Chicken & RiceNoodles Easter Picnic Shoulder with Pineapple & Cherries Pineapple Casserole Emma's First Cake Design Red Velvet Cake

Simple Marinara Sauce & Wild Mushroom Pasta

Last night, it was cold and I wanted a bowl of spaghetti, but not just any spaghetti. I wanted a good bowl of pasta that would fill me up, but not make me fill like I had drown in a vat of grease.

I had recently stumbled upon a really simple marinara recipe last week and then remembered that I had first read about it in a Nicholas Sparks novel, True Believer. All you need is an onion, some butter & a can of San Marzano tomatoes. Then I saw a picture of this awesome pasta, telephone cord pasta also called Fusilli lunghi (available at Trader Joe's) and thought it was worth a try, but alas the Commissary didn't carry any. So, I settled for some Buitoni Wild Mushroom Agnolotti, which was superb and if you head over to their website you can get a dollar off any of their refrigerated pasta or sauces. For a side of protein, I used a very delicious & vegetarian-friendly Italian "sausage". Mmmm, the Smart Sausage by Lightlife was so good with the pasta & sauce. I also served up some 3 Cheese Texas Toast alongside the pasta.

Simple Marinara Sauce
Taste and adjust with more salt if needed.

One 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes (San Marzano, if you can find), tomatoes roughly chopped with their juices
5 tablespoons salted butter
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and halved

Heat a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add all of the ingredients and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low to keep a steady simmer. Cook for 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally. Discard the onion or secretly enjoy. Serve over cooked pasta.

Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I did. It's even better the next day! :D

Easy Dinner Night

So the menu for this evening was salmon patties, homemade mac n' cheese and deviled eggs. When I purchased the salmon, I picked up a can instead of vacuum pack. I remembered why I spent the extra $ now on the vacuum pack - it's because of taking the time to pull out all the "skin" and big bones!

The mac n' cheese was a touch cheesier than I intended but it was still yummy. The deviled eggs turned out well since I have learned how to cook the eggs properly.

Yummy Desserts

Anybody who knows me knows that my favorite part of the meal is the end because we get that yummy, sweet tasting dessert. So deciding on a dessert for company the other night I went with two choices, Pecan Pie, the traditional southern dessert and Lemon Meringue, which is my favorite. There is nothing like my cousin and I fighting over a lemon pie at a family dinner..lol. So while rummaging through my many cookbooks I came across these two recipes in my Martha Stewart cookbook. I am not a big fan of Martha, but I love her recipes. I did buy the crust out of the freezer section, but the rest is from scratch. The pecan was the easiest to make, took 15 minutes tops to prep and 45 in the oven and it turned out beautifully if I do say so myself. The lemon was a little longer because of course you use fresh lemons and you cook the filling, so not out of a can. I think the meringue turned out wonderful. It was my first time making meringue so I thought I did a good job. Hope you enjoy.

Veal Parmesan

Tonight I made Joey's favorite meal, Veal Parmesan. This use to be one of my favorite meals growing up and I am happy to share it with my family as well. Veal itself isn't that expense if you watch the dates on the meat and pick it up the day before it runs out since that is the day that the meat department will mark it down. I just freeze it so I don't waste my money. Jamey said that the meal tonight was better than what we could get in a restaurant. That made me feel so good!

I made a Simple Marinara for it yesterday so I didn't have to much work for the meal tonight. The Simple Marinara can have browned ground beef, ground pork, or Italian sausage added to it to make it into a meat sauce just to have over your favorite pasta.

A Classic

Dinner tonight was a classic that has grace dinner tables across the country for many years. We had Meatloaf and Roasted Veggies. Super yummy! I am having a meatloaf sandwich tomorrow for lunch.

Flirting with Kale Chips....

I’ve recently been flirting with going Vegetarian again. I picked up a book (The Kind Diet) at the library on post and read about adapting a plant-based diet (the book was on going Vegan; no meat or dairy products) and its benefits. So, I’ve been meat free for 4 days. I’m opting for the lacto-ovo version of Vegetarianism again. (For those of you who read my personal blog, I went Vegetarian last year for about a month.) Maybe I’ll try vegan as well, later on down the road, but I’m excited and I feel great. In the last 4 days I’ve lost some weight and hope that by going on a plant-based diet instills healthy habits in my eating régime. I’m not completely ready to go dairy free; I’m enjoying Mushroom soup and a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch or a Portabella Gardenburger with jalapeno cheese for dinner too much right now. I also received my Everyday Food magazine in the mail this week and inside was a neat Chili-Sauce Kale Chip recipe. I couldn’t find the exact recipe online, so I typed it up along with my modifications. I didn’t have the Sriracha sauce (the one with the rooster on it) so I subbed my favorite hot sauce instead, Frank’s Red Hot. Let me tell you, these chips are a no brainier and delicious. The kale ran me 99 cent a bunch and salt, EVOO and hot sauce are staples in my house. So with minimal effort, these awesome chips were ready in no time. I also ran across a kale chip article and hope that it gives you food for thought too. :D

Red Hot Kale Chips

2 bunches of curly kale, stems removed, leaves torn into 2 inch pieces

2 Tablespoons EVOO

5 teaspoons Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

Coarse Sea Salt

Preheat the oven to 300*F. Wash kale and run through a salad spinner. Lay on baking sheets. In a bowl mix together olive oil & hot sauce, then drizzle over the kale, season with salt. Using your hands, toss to coat and bake until kale is crisp and beginning to brown (about 30 minutes) tossing kale every 10 minutes. Let cool and enjoy. (Keep in a zip top bag or air-tight container on the counter for up to 3 days).

Making it Up as I Go Along

So, for dinner tonight we had Chicken Penne Pasta. I wanted something else to have with it - just because. So I looked around the kitchen and saw a partical loaf of Italian bread and a red pepper. So, I came up with this: Onion & Red Pepper Crustini!

Braised Short Ribs & Twice Baked Potatoes

So the other day while watching Food Network, Paula Deen & her hubby Michael Grubber were making some braised short ribs. I watched, I learned, I adapted & we made them. My Michael made them with me. I did more directing than cooking on the short ribs. The cost for the short ribs weren't too bad. I just happen to get some that were marked down @ Food Lion the other day & put them in the freezer. Here is my recipe for Braised Short Ribs.

This is Michael searing the short ribs.

Placing the seared meat into the Crockpot.
Michael's first time deglazing a pan.
Finished Braised Short Ribs.
These are my Twice Baked Potatoes that went along with the meat for dinner. I didn't take a picture of the corn on the cob only cause it was just your normal corn on the cob.

Yum.

Yum. I don't think I need to say much more.

March 21st - Mom's French Beef Salad & Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Icing

March 24th - Mom's French Onion Soup

March 26th - Sausage Bread & Divine Mint Brownie Wedges (with ice cream!)

April 1st - Pinwheels

April 3rd - Aunt Linda's Monkey Bread for breakfast

April 9th - Michael's breakfast - grilled bacon & cheddar on sourdough with a fried egg & milk,

Then for dinner tonight - my first pie crust - it was so flaky! The recipe is from Joy of Cooking, page 859

Bacon, Onion & Swiss Quiche - I based this off of a Quiche Lorraine but added caramelized onions and swiss cheese to the bacon that is already in QL. Joey had 3 slices of this for dinner and would have eaten more if there were more available!

Update on Going Green-ish...Saving Money

Just a quick note for you on price per load on the laundry & dishwashing detergents. I ran to the store this morning and picked up 4 more bars of Fels-Naptha for a larger batch of detergent. I ended up using 6 bars of soap, 1 whole box of Super Washing Soda and almost 3/4 of a box of borax. I spent roughly $6 on the six bars of soap, $3.89 for the borax & $2.78 which came out to $12.45, let's just say $13 for math purposes. It filled up my large cracker jar (16 cups) & a small 2 cup container. 18 cups of this stuff is able to wash 144 loads of laundry using 2 tablespoons per load. Cost per load - 9 cent per load! (for me, your cost might vary slightly) & the cost per load for the homemade dishwashing detergent, only 11 cent. I ended up buying $3.00 worth of Lemonade flavored Kool-Aid for the dishwashing powder. I did 16 packets of Kool-Aid to 2 cups each borax and baking soda and one cup kosher salt. Now, I know that it's a bit more effort to make these than run out and buy a commercial brand of the same stuff, but this makes sense (dollars & cents).

Going Green-ish...Saving Money

Warning - this isn't a food post, but I'm talking money saving "recipes" for day-to-day items and going green in the process. Using baking soda, borax, washing soda, kosher salt, vinegar and a few bars of laundry soap, you'll be saving some green by going greener.
This morning I had to make a list of all the things to pick up at the store while out in town. My husband asked me to add Drain-o to the list. Thinking that there must be some "homemade" concoction to use in lieu of an $7.00 bottle of Drain-o, I did what any smart person would do. I googled it. Staring right in front of me were THREE ingredients that we always have on hand: baking soda, vinegar and water. First let's do the math, one small box of baking soda is maybe 58 cent & a small bottle of vinegar is less than a dollar & water is free-ish. So for less than $2.00, you have homemade Drain-o. Amazing. Worked like a charm in our drain too.

Drain De-Clogger Recipe

1/2 cup baking soda

1 cup vinegar

1 gallon boiling water

Carefully siphon all the baking soda down the drain. Pour in 1/2 of the vinegar, covering the hole so the fizz is forced down, not up (omit this for toilets, please!). Add the second half of the vinegar, following the same procedure. Allow to sit for 15 minutes or so, and then flush with an entire gallon of boiling water.

About 2 years ago, in an effort to save money I began making my own laundry detergent, fabric softener & dishwashing powder. After buying a box of Tide last week for nearly $19.00, I decided to go back to the homemade versions. Here is my stain fighting team: Baking Soda, White Vinegar, Zote soap, Fels-Naptha, Borax, Super Washing Soda and some orange essential oil. I use a bar of Fels-Naptha or Colgate Octagon soap with a small amount of water as a stain remover along with an old toothbrush. I keep it all in an old mayo container. This is better than Shout or any other stain remover. It got black tattoo ink out of my white bedsheets combined with a bit of hairspray.

Powdered Laundry Detergent

1 cup grated Fels Naptha Soap (Zote or Colgate Octagon Soap)

1/2 cup washing soda

1/2 cup 20 mule team borax

Mix and store in airtight container or bag. For light or small loads, use 1 tablespoon. For normal loads, use 2 tablespoons. For heavy loads, use 3 tablespoons. Cost per load .15.

To make a large batch - grate 6 bars of Fels Naptha Soap and then add 3 cups of Washing Soda and 3 cups of 20 Mule Team Borax. Mix well and store in covered container.

TIP: The above recipes will NOT make suds in your washer so don't be alarmed. Fels Naptha Soap is a pure soap and typically makes little or no suds in the water. This makes it perfect for use in the new HE washers as well as traditional washers. You will also notice the need to either reduce your laundry softener or in most cases you can even eliminate the use of softener completely .

I had only 2 bars of Fels Naptha on hand this afternoon when I made my detergent. 2 bars equals almost 3 cups of finely grated/chopped soap. I run my soap through my food processor, grating it the first time and then chopping it the second time to get a fine crumble. In my batch I used 3 cups of soap to 2 cups each Borax & Washing Soda, then stirred it up and placed it in a glass cracker jar I picked up at the store. For the scoop, use a coffee scoop which is exactly 2 tablespoons.

The fabric softener is almost a science project, think volcano. Please use a bucket when making for safety purposes. Baking soda, vinegar, water & essential oils. (Wait, isn't this what's used for the homemade Drain-o too?)

Homemade Fabric Softener

"A good homemade recipe. I use a clean extra used vinegar bottle. If you try this tell me what you think. Makes about a gallon."

Ingredients

• 1 cup baking soda
  
• 6 cups distilled white vinegar
• 8 cups water
• 10 -15 drops orange essential oils (optional) or 10 -15 drops lemon essential oils (optional) or 10 -15 drops essential oils, of choice (optional)

Directions

1. You will need a one gallon container.
2. First add the baking soda to the plastic container.
3. Next add 1 cup of water to start with.
4. Slowly add the vinegar to the bottle as the vinegar and baking soda will start to fizz.
5. Then add the rest of the water swirling around & cover venting the top a few times.
6. Last add the essential oil.
7. Add 1 cup in your final rinse cycle for each load but give the bottle a good shake to stir up the essential oil if using. *I just use my downy ball & fill it up to the line as usually do with store bought softener.
   

Lastly, the my trusty homemade dishwashing detergent recipe that I've used in the past, calls for citric acid, borax, kosher salt, baking soda & essential oil. I spent a good portion of my day searching for the citric acid and settled for a pack of lemonade Kool-aid. (Use one packet as a once a month dishwasher cleaner.) Then I got home and googled some alternative recipes for the dishwashing detergent. Then I got hit with an alternative to the citric acid-Ball's Fresh Fruit. (How many times did I see jars of this while I was out today? Hmm, about 4.) Anyway, go down the canning aisle at the store or baking aisle and it'll be there. Here's the recipe I'll be using now:

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

~1Cup Borax

~1 Cup Baking Soda or Super Washing soda.

~1/2 Cup Kosher Salt

~1/2 Cup Citric Acid (Fresh Fruit in the canning aisle) or 15 packets of unsweetened Lemonade flavored Kool-Aid

Put all ingredients into a container with a tight fitting lid, and shake up! Use about 1 tablespoon per load.

*DON'T SKIP THIS STEP- Pour some white vinegar into the "rinse aid" compartment of your dishwasher. This will help to keep your dishes...especially plastic...from having a "cloudy" look.

Hope you'll try these money saving recipes and go greener in the process.

I've been busy in the kitchen...

All last week we enjoyed Spring Break. Chris was out of school & Clay was off work and when we were home, I was in the kitchen taking pictures of all my food creations. We didn't plan our weekly menu, we just flew by the seat of our pants with meals. We went fishing and to the zoo in Manhattan. I got a new cameraand justifiably a hobby besides cooking. I made biscuits, a Asparagus & Goat Cheese quiche, some Choconut Pumpkin cookies, a broccoli salad, homemade orange rolls, Clay grilled the trout we caught and lots of other yummy stuff. The biscuits were a delicious recipe from King Arthur Flour. They were a bit time consuming but nonetheless exactly what I've been wanting along with a slice of country ham. The Choconut Pumpkin cookies were an experimental cookie that I found on another blog "Eating Bender" under the Lazy Chef tab and turned out awesome. I followed the recipe loosely, but used a whole can of pumpkin, 1/2 bag of chocolate chips, some coconut flakes, an egg, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tbsp of butter, some vanilla extract, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 cup of brown sugar and a cup of quick oats and these melt in your mouth cookies were gone as soon as I got them out of the 350*oven. I baked them for about 17 minutes until set. They stayed moist and fluffy too! My Asparagus & Goat Cheese quiche is a staple in my Meatless Monday regime. Super simple to toss together and ready in less than an hour. This week I'm slowly getting back into our routine and finding some new recipes that may become our new favorites.

Fixing Duck

Mande and Nikki are more of the chefs/bakers than I will ever be. However, I have learned how to make a pretty good Zydeco gumbo. And tonight was the VERY first time I made the gumbo with out aid of my trusty recipe. Gumbo is one of those winter rarities I fix simply because it is so expensive to make. A big pot, if you don't have the majority of the ingredients at home, will cost about $50 to make. Thankfully, that pot of goodness will last a good long while. Whatever is not eaten is usually stored in several quart containers and frozen for later.

I kind of haphazardly came about the gumbo idea as I was wandering around the kitchen tonight trying to find something for dinner, much less just eat. I was in one of those moods where I wasn't really sure what would be good. While looking through the freezers, the fridges, the canned goods, I realized I had just about everything for gumbo. All that I was missing was a can of Rotel and kielbasa sausage. But I had everything else. I was so excited but a little worried. I'd never made gumbo without my trusty recipe. I was honestly really worried that it would taste horrible. I browned my chicken, started the rue, got the garlic, peeled some shrimp and poured the beer. Before I knew it, I was chugging along making one of like the five things I know how to make. By the time I was almost finished up making that pot of Cajun cuisine, I thought to myself, "Maybe we do have some sausage somewhere in the freezer." So back to the freezer I went. Moved the edamame to the side, moved a pint of Cherry Garcia out of the way and BAM! There it was. I could have sworn I heard angels singing. I went back over to check on my bubbling brew and then proceeded to thaw and fry up the sausage. My pot was about overflowing of all the ingredients so I had to remove a good bit of it to accommodate the added sausage. I added the sausage, stirred the gumbo around and let it simmer for another 10 mins.

Finally! It was finished. But worry crept over me even more. Let's just say if something looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, one would think it's a duck and not a platypus. Thankfully, I was eating duck. It was so good! It had been several months since I had last had it and what I had fixed tonight without my recipe was just as delish!!

Dinner with the Parents

So, my Mom called me this afternoon wanting to know if we wanted to come over for dinner. Of course, I said Yes! I don't think we have turned down dinner with them ever.

Grilling was the choice of cooking the salmon steaks, Citrus Shrimp and Londron Broil. Dad was the "Grillmaster" for dinner to night and it all turned out wonderful!

We kept the side dishes pretty simple. First was the Lemon-Basil Bow Ties that we have enjoyed on several occasions and some Pesto Pasta. The Lemon Basil Pasta, has been modified to be just whatever pasta shape we choose as well as more basil and lemon. The Pesto Pasta is just rotini noodles and store bought pesto. Both are very quick and very simple. The original recipe we used was from Food Network but I can't find their link for it, but the one above is what we have based our version off of. Unfortunately, because the amounts of lemon, garlic, basil and parmesan can vary each time it is made, it is short of impossible for me to get a "correct" recipe on here.

Mom said that she was going to pick up some strawberries on the way home and was going to get those little dessert cups for them to go in. Well, I told her not to get the dessert cups, that I would bring something to eat with the strawberries instead. I used the recipe for Basic Angel Food Cake on page 692 of The New All Purpose Joy of Cooking but instead of making a cake, I made cupcakes! I also added some lemon zest to the recipe. They were extremely good. The strawberries were just sliced and sprinkled with sugar and topped with some whipped cream. I think that making these cupcakes has turned me off of those dessert cups from now on!

Thanks Mom for the invite to dinner!!!

The Joy of Cooking

I have been fighting one of my weaknesses all week – buying a new cookbook. I have been fighting back really good with the help of a trip to the library this morning before I came into work. I picked up what I thought was the ORIGINAL Joy of Cooking, but when I looked closer it was The All New All Purpose Joy of Cooking. Which I really didn’t mind, it was just that I had no idea it has had several revisions done and this cookbook was copyrighted in 1997.
Several things caught my eye as I have flipped through the book so far. First off is the proper way to set a table. Guess what my kids are going to learn!!!! (insert evil mom laugh here). Next was in the recipe for sauces. I have learned, from page 46, that cheese sauce – like I make for our broccoli with cheese sauce has a proper name: Sauce Mornay. Never knew that. Also, page 127 informs me that fried eggs, really aren’t fried, they’re sautéed eggs! Never knew that either!
Looking at some of these recipes makes me happy that I don’t have to have much processed foods to prepare a dish. I am looking forward to making the Tomato Ketchup found on page 69 – that is as soon as I get ahold of 14 pounds of tomatoes! I am thinking that I may need to plant some since I want to try the Fresh Tomato Soup on page 97. After looking at the Red Onion Dip on page 145 I think we will have some of the Root Chips on page 144. I have barely made it 1/8 of the way through this cookbook and have a lot of ideas for next month’s menu. Right now, I am thinking of having Hors D’oeuvres for dinner one evening – as a meal. We’ll see what happens!
Oh, if any of our readers have a copy of Joy of Cooking (any verison) or any other cookbook they do not care for any longer, please let me know & I will be glad to take it off your hands!

Chicken and Goat Cheese Pizza

Tonight's dinner wasn't on the menu nor have I ever made it. I had completely forgot that Clay was spending the night in the field "playing Army men" as Chris (my oldest) calls it. I really wanted Clay to be here to try the Salmon Rosti, so I made a new dish with leftover goat cheese from Monday's souffle. The idea for dinner was inspired by an article in the April edition of Cooking Light magazine and a pizza I had in Salisbury, NC at "The Salty Caper" Woodfire pizza & bar. Now, I would love a Red Sin Cider to go with this pizza tonight, a concoction of Cheerwine & Original Sin Cider. (Heaven in a glass with a slice of Greek pizza) But, I'll make do with a MGD that some poor soul left in my fridge Saturday evening. My pizza starts with a simple Pillsbury Crescent Creations or regular crescent rolls with the seams pushed together & baked for 5-7 minutes at 375*. Then I topped it with some Hunt's Fire Roasted tomatoes with garlic (drained), roughly chopped Baby Bella mushrooms, green onions, olives & some grilled chicken breast. Then I topped that with the leftover goat cheese & threw it in the oven for 25 minutes. I enjoyed a quick & delicious dinner that my kids enjoyed as well. :D

Cheesy Baked Ziti

Tonight we had Cheesy Baked Ziti with some Italian bread topped with of course, my Whipped Garlic Spread. I just modified several recipes from AllRecipes.com to come up with my version.

This great dish is enough to serve 12 people nice portions or my family of 5 with plenty of leftovers. This freezes well also. With dinners like this, I look forward to my lunch the next day at work!

Meatless Mondays and Budget Shopping....

So much for the 5 day stretch of nice warm weather, because we woke up this morning to a blanket of snow covering the ground. However, the great part about when it snows here in Kansas, your day goes on as planned after the roads are plowed, of course. Clay went out to the field as planned to "play Army", Chris went to school and Ayden & I did our normal Monday ritual of grocery shopping for the week. We've started our weekly budget for groceries ($75), since we finally have our staple items (flour, sugar, spices, etc.) stocked in our cabinets and pantry. After shoveling the drive way, I started off with Ayden in tow towards the Commissary on post. Normally, I buy all of our meat, cheese, and canned items here. I haven't enjoyed their selection of produce this winter, but surprisingly it looked good today with the exception of tomatoes & bananas (which I needed.) So, I managed to get all of our items for this week's meals for a total of....wait for it....$44.80. You must think we're eating gruel, but we're not. We're eating pretty good this week. By eliminating 75% of processed foods out of our diets and shopping the perimeter of the store (produce, dairy & fresh meats) for the majority of our food, we're coming out on top budget wise. Granted, if I were still in NC and shopping at the Food Lion in downtown Tyro, I would have spent close to double and paid tax. On this week's menu we have lots of new recipes (marked with an *) to try out & I'm also implementing "Meatless Mondays", having fish 2 nights a week, cutting our portion sizes back to a reasonable serving size, less carbohydrates and more fruits & veggies.

Rummage Family Menu for the Week:

Sunday-Buffalo Mac 'n' Cheese & salad
(There is a ton of cheese in this, I end up splitting this recipe in 2 dishes and freezing the extra dish for another meal down the road.)
*Meatless Monday- Broccoli & Goat Cheese Souffle & salad
*Tuesday- Slow-Simmered Meat Sauce & noodles, salad and garlic bread
*Wednesday-Salmon Rosti & roasted green beans
Thursday-Black Bean Burgers (below) with Beautiful burger buns, chips & pickles
Friday- Grilled Chicken Salad
*Saturday- Broiled Whole Salmon Fillet & Crispy Topped Brussels Sprouts & Cauliflower Gratin

Homemade Quick Black Bean Burgers
Serve on a bun with a combination of hot sauce-spiked ketchup, spinach leaves, tomato slice, a slice of Monterey Jack cheese, avocado slices, Chipotle mayo or onion. Yield: 4 patties (serving size: 1 patty)
1 (2-ounce) hamburger bun, torn into pieces or 1 cup breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 (15.25-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

1. Place bun in a food processor; process 4 times or until crumbs measure about 1 cup. Transfer to a bowl.

2. Combine 1 tablespoon oil, garlic, and beans in processor; pulse 8 times or until beans make a thick paste. Scrape bean mixture into bowl with breadcrumbs. Stir in rind and remaining ingredients. With moistened hands, divide bean mixture into 4 equal portions (about 1/3 cup mixture per portion), shaping each into a 3-inch patty.

3. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties to pan; reduce heat to medium, and cook 4 minutes or until bottom edges are browned. Carefully turn patties over; cook 3 minutes or until bottom edges are done.

Marie & Lorraine Came to Dinner Tonight!

Actually it was Marie's Blue Cheese Dressing and Quiche Lorraine that we dined on this evening for dinner. The menu was JC's Quiche Lorraine, from Vol.1, page 147 and a salad. The quiche was light and fluffy with the cream and eggs. Michael is now calling this "Egg Pie" for the fact he thinks it taste like a scrambled egg with bacon in it. Joey asked for the addition of cheese to it.I don't purchase Marie's Blue Cheese Dressing a lot because it is $2.99 a jar, so it was a "splurge" item for the grocery list this week. My kids love the stuff as much as I do, but they know it doesn't come home that often.
The salad was just iceberg lettuce, tomato, carrot, cheddar cheese, red onion, diced ham and some bacon that I didn't use for the quiche. I sprinkled some Salad Supreme Seasoning then tossed it all together.