Friday, February 25, 2011

Turkey Burgers with Creamy Feta Dressing

Remember the time I professed my love for feta cheese? It grew to a new level when I made these burgers with this sauce. The burgers are turkey because I'm not a huge beef fan. I honestly don't think you'll miss the beef even if you prefer it over ground turkey. The sauce is on the tangy side, you may want to work the lemon juice in a little at a time depending on how tangy you like it. If you are a beginner cook and you want to knock the socks off people who think you don't know what you're doing, start with these. They are so easy to throw together. They're simple, but have a different taste than your standard burger. People will be wow'd. I don't care if wow'd isn't grammatically correct, they'll be WOW'D!



Recipe yields 6-8 burgers depending on size you make them
Burgers:
6-8 hamburger buns
1 lb ground turkey breast
1 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, finely minced or hand grated
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 large egg white
2 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp sage

Dressing:
1 cup feta cheese
1 cup Greek yogurt
2 garlic cloves, finely minced or hand grated
1 tsp lemon zest
1-2 tbsp lemon juice (to taste)
1/8 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Using a food processor, combine feta, yogurt, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, cumin, salt and pepper until smooth and combined.

In a large mixing bowl, combine turkey, feta, onion, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg whites, panko, salt, pepper, thyme, cumin and sage. Form into burger patties, making the middle a little thinner so when they cook, the middle doesn't puff up unevenly.

Cook on grill or griddle for 4-5 minutes per side, until cooked throughout.

*Just a warning, turkey burgers usually stick more than a regular burger would, so for best results, use a non-stick griddle with lots of cooking spray or olive oil*

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Sponge Cake

So, I'm usually the type to create my own recipes but when it comes to baking, it's a little harder to just throw stuff together. This recipe I adapted a little from a Glorious Sponge Cake recipe I found on allrecipes.com. I had oranges, so I decided to substitute that for the lemon flavor this recipe had. I also cut the recipe in half because I just wanted a one layer 9 inch sponge cake for a tiramisu, which I will post the recipe for that soon.

3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp Orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp Orange extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp Orange zest
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 inch round cake pan with butter and flour. Separate eggs, and beat yolks until thickened. Add sugar until incorporated. Add orange juice, vanilla extract, Orange extract and almond extract. Add flour and baking powder.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Add in Orange zest, cream of tartar and salt.

Gently fold egg white mixture to flour mixture.

Pour in prepared pan and bake 40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Varies on oven.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Yet another picture...

I wanted to share with you guys that I shot my first gun last night! I actually shot three... I was pretty bad, you can tell by my target and the lack of hits that I'm a democrat, haha. It was my good friend Kerry's birthday so my friend Kristin arranged this awesome outing for all of us! We went in by groups, so this was a collage I made of our first group. So fun! This next pic is a picture Nalani took of everyone who came. :)

Friday, February 18, 2011

Another awesome picture...

I just discovered the collage creator on Picasa. Last night, Jon and I took the dogs up to the beach by Turtle Bay. I made this cute collage of our epic pictures :)

Philly Cheese Steaks

So, I totally wasn't one of those bloggers posting a V-Day themed recipe. My apologies. Next year, I promise to be more festive :)

Most years on Valentine's Day, at least since I've learned to cook, I make Jon a yummy meal as part of my gift. This year I was going to do Beef Wellington and Red Velvet Cupcakes. Well, Jon declared that it was his year to cook for me! I was a little apprehensive because, well, do we remember the cookie incident? I shut my mouth, though, and sat my arse down on our epic new recliner and watched him put my Stuffed Chicken and Alfredo Sauce recipe together. We had a small setback, which was that we had no cream cheese. With a little coaching, he was able to make it work anyways. The meal came out delicious, and I was so proud of him for taking the initiative to do this for me. It does go to show that ANYONE can cook, because if you met us two pathetic cooks four years ago, you wouldn't have expected us to pull off hamburger helper. Here's a picture of the delicious meal:


And here's some pictures of our gifts to each other. If you notice, no flowers. I told Jon a long time ago not to waste money on roses for me. I'm just not that type of girl. I prefer chocolate. This year, I got Godiva chocolate, which is, in my opinion, the best there is. He also got me a Pandora charm to add to my bracelet, its the cute red and pink heart glass bead. ADORABLE! I got him some kettle corn popcorn, chocolate, root beer freeze pops and a shutterfly photo book.




Moving on to the deliciousness of this Philly Cheese Steak recipe... Since Jon had cooked a delicious meal for me, I decided I would make him an epic lunch on my day off. We had lived in South Jersey for six months when Jon was in school for Commercial Diving. Our favorite part of living in South Jersey, was the short ride to Philly. Philly is the most amazing city and their cheese steaks are every bit as delicious as everyone makes them out to be. If you are ever traveling through that area, stop and get Geno's, I preferred them over Pat's. When you order a cheese steak, there's a method to how you order it. Rumor is that if you don't order it correctly, you get sent to the back of the line. Luckily, we had a few friends down there to show us the way. I always ordered mine "Whiz, without". This meant my cheese selection was Cheese Whiz, and "without" meant no onions. This was in 2005, before I discovered my love for onions. Jon always ordered his American, without. I decided when making our at home version, I would make an American cheese sauce, a compromise between American and Whiz. This recipe yields enough for 4 cheese steaks. You will have leftover cheese sauce, and you will not be mad at me for it. This cheese sauce is a staple in my family for pasta dinners or to eat like soup, haha. Just kidding about the last part, but it's seriously killer on pasta.


4 sub rolls, lightly toasted, if desired
1 lb flank steak, chopped into small slices
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp butter

Marinade:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tbsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Cheese Sauce:
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup milk
8 oz American cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp salt

In a medium mixing bowl, combine marinade ingredients. Toss steak in marinade to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes- 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce. Melt butter on medium heat on stove top. Whisk flour in until there are no clumps. Add in milk. Allow to heat for 1-2 minutes and then reduce heat to low-medium. Add cheese in a couple slices at a time and allow to melt. Add in Parmesan cheese and salt. Stir until thickened. Spread cheese sauce on toasted sub rolls.

In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil and butter on medium-high heat. Add in marinated meat. Season with more salt and pepper. Allow to cook through, about 5-6 minutes until browned. Place steak on sub rolls, add desired condiments and enjoy!

Note: you will have some yummy juices and butter left in your skillet from cooking the steak. Use these to make a gravy or even just as a dipping sauce. Wouldn't want you to waste it :)

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Citrus Loaf Cake

So I am totally obsessed with Starbuck's Lemon Loaf Cake. It is friggin delicious. I had limes, lemons and oranges and decided to re-create the loaf cake using all the citrusy goodness.


2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp orange extract
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp lime zest

Glaze:
2 tbsp orange juice
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp orange extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour loaf pan. In large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla extract, almond extract, orange extract, orange juice, yogurt and zest of lemon, orange and lime. Add flour mixture, in two separate batches, to wet mixture until fully incorporated. Pour into loaf pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

While loaf is baking, combine juice, powdered sugar and orange extract until smooth. Add more juice if necessary to get desired consistency. Pour glaze over loaf when it comes out of the oven. Slice and enjoy!

Just an awesome picture...

Just had to share this picture with everyone because its so darn awesome.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Alfredo Sauce

One of my favorite meals in the entire world is pasta with alfredo sauce. It is so delicious. I usually go lazy and do canned alfredo sauce. However, I had a bunch of parmesan cheese left over from the pizza night so I decided I would encourage Jon to follow my recipe and whip up a quick, easy and delicious alfredo sauce for our pasta. He did so well, it was so yummy!
1 stick butter
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 cup milk
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter on stovetop. Add in cream cheese and whisk until smooth. Add garlic, milk, parmesan, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Serve over cooked pasta and enjoy!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Tumblr!

Follow me on Tumblr! It's my new favorite social networking site :)

100th Post! NFL Pro Bowl 2011

Guys, I made it to 100 blog posts! I'm really excited for that. For this post, I'm going to share some pictures from NFL Pro Bowl 2011 which I was lucky enough to get to go to on Sunday the 30th. I bought Jon, myself, my parents and my sister tickets for it as a Christmas gift. We had such a great time! The only part I didn't enjoy was the AFC being demolished, haha.

About to leave for Pro Bowl!

Beantown represent!

Parrots at a time like this?

Take 15!

Twice Baked Potatoes and Steak Kebabs

Papa and Krissy with the delicious food!

Wine in his water bottle. Staying hydrated is clearly a priority.

We made it to the top!

Right before Kris Allen sang!


Jonny and I in the stands <3
Kris, Me and Jon
Papa and Mama!

Grilled Ahi Steak with Soy Butter Glaze

This has to be one of the classiest recipes I've put up. As you all probably now by now, I'm a pretty simple cook. I just do all the foods I grew up with and some recipes I've learned from the Food Network, specifically Rachael Ray and Paula Deen.

I used to be an anti-fish type person. Since it was deemed healthy, I deemed it untasty. When I moved to Hawaii, I got introduced to Grilled Ahi at Lei Lei's. They do it all fancy with a wasabi cream sauce and a ginger soy butter. It is delicious. Now, I've clearly started to broaden my horizon to enjoying healthy foods so I have the grilled ahi to thank for that.

I started to learn that it is actually really quick and easy to make at home. I figured today would be a good day to share this recipe. I usually just have it by itself as a quick lunch, but it'd be great served with rice for dinner too.

Grilled Ahi Steak
2 8 oz ahi steaks
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup teriyaki
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 cloves finely minced or hand grated garlic

Soy Butter Glaze
1/2 stick butter (I always use salted)
1 clove finely minced or hand grated garlic
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar

Combine soy sauce, teriyaki, ginger and garlic in a medium mixing bowl. Place steaks in marinade and marinade for 30 minutes. *Fish is very delicate to the soy sauce, so don't over-marinate* Cook on griddle or grill for about 4-5 minutes per side until fish is cooked as desired. We like it medium rare in our house. While fish is cooking, melt butter on stovetop. Add in garlic and ginger and cook on low heat. Remove from heat and add in honey, soy sauce and brown sugar. Serve with rice or vegetables and pour glaze over top.

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