The hamburger's healthy, delicious cousin...the turkey burger!

So, today is Flag Day, and what is more American than a hamburger? Sometimes we can feel a little guilty after finishing a big, greasy burger with all the fixings though. I found a healthier alternative for your burger craving. My friends, behold the turkey burger! Scott really enjoys turkey burgers, so instead of opting for the pre-made Jennie-O! kind, I suggested that we make our own. I searched FoodNetwork.com to see if any recipes stood out at me, and Sandra Lee's Cajun Turkey Burger caught my eye! The burger/fry combo reminded me of the first meal Scott and I ever made together, so I had to give it a try. You can check out her original recipe via the link, but here is what Scott and I used. 

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup green peppers
• 1/4 cup real bacon pieces
• 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 hamburger rolls
• Lettuce, tomato, onion (optional)

For the sauce:

• creamy parmesan dressing (we didn't have ranch)
• hot sauce

In a small bowl, prepare the sauce by mixing a few spoonfuls of the creamy parmesan dressing and a few dashes of hot sauce. I think we may have added a sprinkling of paprika too. 

For the burger, mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Separate mixture into four patties. In a

large skillet, on medium-high heat, sear the burgers on both sides. Put a lid on the pan to finish cooking the burger. The steam will help cook the inside. Toast the burger buns, spread some sauce on the buns, and top with whatever you like. The burgers were really good, but Scott and I both agreed that next time, we would saute the onions and peppers before adding them to the meat mixture. 

What's your favorite kind of burger? Do you prefer a certain kind of meat; lamb, beef, pork, turkey? 

Chicken Noodle Soup...with a soda on the side.

Last night's dinner was a far cry from the average typical Thursday. Scott was feeling under the weather and there was absolutely nothing to cook in his house, so I opted for rice and bacon. Let's just say the full affect of adulthood hit me in the face last night. 

Today I decided to make chicken noodle soup, because everyone who has ever been ill has craved it. Scott was at work, so hopefully he will have a nice surprise waiting for him when he arrives home. 

I've never made chicken noodle soup before, so I needed a little guidance. I went to Google, and found a really simple recipe from Tyler Florence, one of my favs on The Food Network. Here is his recipe. The only area my recipe strays from his is in the spice department. Be prepared for a lot of prep work, but it's totally worth it. Here is what you'll need:  

• olive oil
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2" slices
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2" slices 
• 2 quarts chicken stock (or broth...I don't know the difference)
• 8 oz dried wide egg noodles
• 4 chicken cutlets, cooked and diced into 1" cubes
• sage to taste
• wine and garlic spice to taste
• s & p to taste
• chopped parsley for garnish 

Start by seasoning the chicken with salt and pepper. Cover the bottom of a large soup pot with olive oil, heat to medium heat, and place the chicken in. Cook the chicken through until there is no pink. Then, set the chicken aside on a separate plate. 

Next, add the onions, garlic, carrots, and celery to the pan. Cook down for 5-10 minutes, until the vegetables are transparent but not brown. Add all your spices now. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Add the egg noodles to the pot and boil for 5 minutes. Simmer for another 5, or until the noodles are tender, and add the chicken pieces back in. Simmer, uncovered, for a few more minutes. Garnish the soup with chopped parsley. Tyler Florence says the soup should take 20 minutes to cook, but it took me between 20 and 30 minutes. Definitely worth all the preparation!

What's your favorite soup to have when you are feeling under the weather? 

Fend for yourself night

I would just like to start out by saying that I am blogging from my new $800 HP laptop that I purchased all by my damn self! I am so pleased with my purchase, and I can finally blog from the comforts of my own room; more specifically, my bed. Now, my entries will be more frequent, because this is so much more convenient. 

Anyway, for those of you who don't know, I still live at home. This is relevant, because I usually do all of my cooking when I am at Scott's house. Tonight, I was at my parent's house, and neither of them were going to be home until late, so it was up to me to make the evening meal. I took out pork chops earlier today, and had been thinking all day about how I was going to cook them...and then it hit me! 

Yesterday, I was watching Rachel Ray on the Food Network, and she was making this delicious    chicken dish. I didn't have all the ingredients in the house, but I figured I could modify the recipe a little bit, and make it my own. Surely pork would work instead of chicken; and surely I could substitute chicken broth for wine. So, here is how I made tonight's dinner (keep in mind, tonight I cooked for a family of four, so the measurements are larger) :

• 2 pkgs of thinly sliced, boneless pork chops
• 1 small can of chicken broth
• 1 cup flour (seasoned with salt, pepper, Italian seasonings...w/e you have in the house, really)
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced

1. In a medium sized bowl, season the flour with the spices, and dredge the pork chops in the flour. Shake off any excess flour. 

Not the most appetizing picture, but it was delicious!

2. In a large sauce pan, heat some vegetable oil to medium high heat. You can cook the pork chops all the way through, or just a little under. When all the chops are done, take them out of the pan, and set them aside.

3. In a deep bottom sauce pan, heat more vegetable oil to medium high heat. Throw the onions in first, and sweat them down a little bit before adding the garlic. (Here's a helpful hint: if you throw the garlic in first, it's more likely to burn. The onions will act as a buffer.) Next, throw all the vegetables in. Season them, and cook them down until they are softened. 

4. Add about 3-4 tablespoons of the seasoned flour to the vegetable mixture, and combine it thoroughly. Add in the chicken broth, and stir.

5. Throw the chops back in to the mixture; cook for a few more minutes and you're all done!

This would be great over mashed potatoes or over white or brown rice, but I just had it as is, and made some sides to go along with it. My entire family loved it, and my dad even called me Betty Crocker! I think all hope has been restored to my family that I will eventually be able to feed my future husband and children some day. Tonight was a proud moment for me. 

Stuffed Peppers...Just like Momma used to make!

This recipe is one of my favorites, because Scott and I were totally spontaneous and did not, I repeat, DID NOT use a recipe. I come from an Italian background, and growing up, my mother made stuffed peppers from time to time. The recipe was always in my family, so I admit, I was a little scared when Scott asked me if we could make them on our own. I didn't want to disgrace this Italian tradition, and I was thoroughly convinced that they would not come out as delicious as my mother's. So, I did some research on Food Network's website, and away I went!

Scott and I made totally different peppers, but the experience was very interactive, creative and fun. For the life of me, I can't remember what he put in his peppers, but I will do my best to recollect my thoughts from several Thursdays back for what I put in mine. (It was probably a silly idea to not write down the recipe.) Scott went the Asian route on his peppers, but I stuck to my Italian roots, and here is what you will need:

• 2 green bell peppers
• 1/2 package of ground turkey
• 1 small can of tomato sauce
• 1 zucchini, chopped 
• 1/4 cup of shitake mushrooms
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• a couple dashes of worcestershire sauce
• a handful of mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup rice
• s/p to taste

1. Boil the rice according to the package.

2. In a large saucepan, on medium high heat, cook meat until there is no pink left. Add in all the vegetables, the tomato sauce, seasoning and cheese. Cook until the vegetables have softened. Add in rice when it's finished.

3. While you are cooking the mixture, cut the tops off the peppers and take out all the insides. Boil the peppers for two minutes so they soften slightly. 

4. Take the peppers out of the water with tongs. Pour the meat and vegetable mixture into each pepper, but be careful handling the peppers, because they will be hot. 

5. Sprinkle some more mozzarella cheese over each pepper and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. If you have any left over sauce, save it for another occasion, or baste it over the peppers. 

I was really surprised as to how well these peppers came out...and not to mention, quite proud! My mom puts ground beef in her recipe, but I gave turkey a shot. What do you stuff your peppers with? Do you have a traditional recipe that has been passed down in your family?

Chicken Enchiladas, Anyone? Olé!

Scott and I both love Mexican food, but to novice chefs, there is only so much that we know how to make. We've done tacos, we've done fajitas, and we've done burritos. So, when we wanted to cook Mexican two weeks ago, we hit a brick wall. This time around, I did not go to Pinterest. I had an epic eureka moment of my own, and suggested chicken enchiladas. Since, I've never made enchiladas, I decided to look at some of the recipes on the Food Network, but I never actually replicated one. I took some of the ideas and ran with a thought of my own. I am pleased to say that this recipe is Food Network inspired, but Christine Nanio crafted. 

There are only a few ingredients to this recipe, so it'll be easy on your wallet.

• 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 1 pkg mushrooms
• 1/2 of a green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 of a red onion, chopped
• 4 tortilla rounds
• 1 pkg Mexican blend cheese (or whatever you may have in your house)
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• 1/2 jar of mild salsa
• sour cream (for topping) 

Start off by shredding the entire rotisserie chicken into a bowl. It'll be tedious and messy, but totally worth it. Combine the chicken, the onion, the pepper, the mushrooms, and the salsa in a large saucepan on medium high heat. Cook down the mixture for a few minutes so all the vegetables have a chance to soften. Season with salt, pepper and I also use Italian seasoning. That stuff is my go-to seasoning for everything! I love Mrs. Dash! 

Once the mixture has reduced a bit, you can fill each tortilla shell with a little bit of the mixture, a dollop of sour cream, some cheese, some hot sauce if you're adventurous, and roll it all up nice and tight. Place the enchiladas in a baking dish and cover with the enchilada sauce and the rest of the cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Here is our final product! 

It looks a little sloppy, and the refried beans look a tad bit scary, but I promise you, this is definitely a recipe worth trying! I wouldn't write about anything that wasn't delicious. And next time, someone please remind me to take pictures during my cooking process. I suck at that. 

What's your favorite Mexican dish? 

Date Night Dinner for Two: Chicken Cordon Bleu

The days I'm not on Pinterest surfing through dinner recipes, I look to the Food Network for inspiration. Since my Typical Thursday journey, I have adopted a few fancy, yet inexpensive go-to dinner recipes, and Chicken Cordon Bleu is definitely one of them. Tyler Florence of the Food Network, hits it out of the park with his version.

Minus the thyme leaves, Scott and I stick to this recipe step by step. It's absolutely fool proof and absolutely delicious. All you need is:

• 4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
• 4 slices of thin prosciutto
• 1/2 lb Gruyere cheese, grated (you can use any type of Swiss cheese)
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs 
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 eggs, beaten
• olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap. Use a mallet, a rolling pin, the back side of a pan, anything you have handy in the kitchen that can pound the chicken down to a 1/4 inch thickness. Scott has a surfboard shaped, wooden carving board that I use to pound out the chicken. If you're having a bad day, I suggest you be in charge of this step...It's a great stress reliever! 

Remove the plastic wrap from the chicken. Place a piece of the prosciutto down on each chicken breast. Then, sprinkle with some of the Gruyere cheese. Roll up the chickens like a jelly roll. Be sure to not over stuff the chicken so all the contents stay in side, and be sure to roll everything up tight so it stays intact. 

Season the flour with salt, pepper, garlic, melted butter, and thyme (if you choose to use it). Lightly coat the chicken in flour, dip into the egg wash, then into the panko bread crumbs. Be gentle with the chickens during this step so they don't unravel. 

Place the chicken roulades into a greased baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes. When the chicken is done, it will come out crispy, and bubbly, and delicious. If you're trying to impress a mate with a fancy date night dinner, pull out this recipe! I guarantee that it will score you brownie points! Do you have a go-to date night recipe that you would like to share?

Freestyle Friday

One of my favorite shows on Food Network, and quite possibly one of my favorite shows of all time, is Chopped. If you're not familiar with the show, there are four contestants and each have a basket filled with secret ingredients. They are required to make an appetizer, entree and dessert course, and each round someone gets eliminated. It's super suspenseful and super entertaining and I just can't get enough of it. If you are just as excited as I am now, you can watch Chopped every Tuesday night at 10 PM on the Food Network! ( I should be their spokesperson). 

Elise's Shepard's Pie

Anyway, Tuesday night, Scott and I got to have a Chopped of our own...at least I felt that way. Being two college students on a limited budget, with a limited pantry, we put our heads together and came up with a pretty delicious end result. Our "secret" ingredients that night were instant mashed potatoes, ground sausage, a frozen bag of veggies, and croutons. With those ingredients we came up with one delicious Shepard's pie! 

Shepard's pie is usually a layer of meat and vegetables and a layer of creamy mashed potatoes, but I was assigned the position of sous chef Tuesday evening, so the creation of our dinner was up to Scott. I was assigned crust duty. Here is an easy Shepard's pie recipe you can follow, but basically, if you have the four ingredients I mentioned earlier, you're good to go! 

Here are the five simple steps Scott and I stuck to:

• Heat the ground meat and vegetables through to a golden brown.
• Prepare instant mashed potatoes according to package. 
• Spoon everything into a greased baking dish (you don't need pretty layers).
• Crush and season croutons, and sprinkle on top of mixture.
• Bake for about 10-15 min on 350. (We cut the time in half because everything was basically cooked already)

Me and Scott's Shepard pie

Shepard's pie and Garlic bread

My helpful tip to you, don't drink and make a crouton crumble at the same time! If you're like me, you'll absentmindedly add salt, garlic salt, and bacon bits to the mixture because you're too preoccupied with the way your Shocktop Raspberry Wheat beer tastes. SODIUM OVERLOAD!

Do you have any spur of the moment, out of the box recipes that you're proud of? Do you have any "Chopped" moments?

The Perfect Rainy Day Meal

So, I'm normally not the biggest fan of Melissa d'Arabian, from the Food Network, but yesterday she made a meal that had my mouth watering. Now, I'm determined to duplicate it myself! I can't guarantee that this meal will be on tomorrow's agenda, but I do guarantee that I will be making it in the near future and documenting the process. She described it as the best cold, winter meal, but since south Florida isn't graced with the joy of winter, I think it will be perfect for a great rainy day in. We're supposedly in the peak of rainy season anyway. 

Enough of my ranting, though; let's talk about the actual recipes at hand. On her show 10 Dollar Dinners, yesterday, Melissa whipped up a tantalizing Croque Madame and Roasted Tomato Soup. Basically, a Croque Madame is just a glorified grilled cheese and ham sandwich with a fried egg on top. The French always know how to make things fancy. Seriously, this recipe seems so easy a caveman can do it! There is no fuss, no muss with making a bechamel sauce, and there is no need to use a panini press either. So, friends, here are Melissa's recipes for her succulent Croque Madame and delicious Roasted Tomato Soup

http://bit.ly/KFP85C

http://bit.ly/J4zTAt

The best part about this meal is that if you don't like eggs, you can omit that too, and then you have a Croque Monsieur! Also, tomato soup is probably one of my favorite soups, so saying that I was excited to watch Melissa make it was an understatement! 

My only critique is that Melissa's tomato soup looked a little opaque instead of the bright, vibrant red shown in the picture. If you all have any tips or tricks to solve this problem please comment and let me know! 

Do you have your own tomato soup recipes that you would like to share? I'd love to hear them!