Sliders

Perfect for football season!  Sliders are so versatile and can please just about anyone.  Be creative with your toppings!  I keep my seasonings simple when I'm making burgers just because I like to simply enhance the flavor of the beef.  I like to pan fry sliders in lieu of grilling them because they are so small and tend to fall apart on the grill since I don't add anything to bind them together.  Also, use the King's Hawaiian Rolls!  They are just so incredibly soft and delicious :)




Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef (I normally use 80/20 for burgers, but for these I used 93/7)
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 T Dijon mustard**
1 t thyme**
1-2 Roma tomatoes
1 avocado
Sliced cheddar (or your favorite sliced cheese)
King's Hawaiian Rolls
Mayo, mustard, ketchup
**optional

(other suggested toppings:  Romaine lettuce, goat cheese, & roasted red peppers, blue cheese & bacon)

Method:
Heat medium skillet over medium high head.  Meanwhile, mix ground beef, garlic salt, pepper, Dijon mustard and thyme together in medium bowl.  Form patties about 2 inches in diameter and about 1/2 high.  This should make 8-9 patties.  Add 4 patties to skillet and cook for one minute on each side forming a nice brown crust.  Lower the heat to low and cover.  Cook 2 minutes one side, flip, cook 90 seconds on the other side, add cheese, recover and cook for another 30 seconds until cheese is melted.  These burgers will be medium well, so adjust cooking time according to your taste.  Slice Hawaiian rolls in half, add burgers, top with tomato, avocado, and condiments of your choosing.

SERVE WITH:  Sweet potato fries (this week I served with Ora Ida crinkles,) but if you'd like to make your own, this is a good, easy recipe:  Baked Sweet Potato Fries by Paula Deen

Happy Cooking!

Grilled Chicken & Pesto Farfalle

This recipe was shared with me by my friend, Amy Ratliff! This pasta is as delicious as it looks!!!  I started by salting and peppering the chicken and cooking the noodles in the morning. I had angel hair noodles on hand, so that's what I used instead of the farfalle. Once the noodles were cooked, I drained them and ran them under cool water.  Then, I stored them in a Ziploc container with 1 T of olive oil so that they wouldn't stick and refrigerated them.  While I was finishing this up tonight, I realized that I could've also gone ahead and chopped the tomatoes and basil and added them in with the noodles to save a few minutes on the back end.  Tonight, I started the grill and cooked the chicken while I made the sauce.  To get the sauce to thicken to a consistency I liked, I turned the heat to medium high and let it cook a little longer than was suggested.  Be sure to stir the sauce frequently as the recipe states, especially after you add the cheese.  This would be a great thing to make if you had grilled chicken left over, and would come together really quickly.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 tsp salt, divided
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
Cooking spray
20 oz uncooked farefalle (bow tie pasta)
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk, divided
2 T all-purpose flour
1 (3.5 oz) jar pesto
3/4 cup half n half
2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
4 cups halved grape tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil.

Method:
From Cooking Light found on My Recipes website, HERE.

SERVE WITH:  I served this by itself, and it was very satisfying all on its own.

Happy Cooking!

Kappa Muffin Casserole aka Sausage, Egg, Cheese & Biscuit Breakfast Casserole

This is a variation on the Kappa muffins recipe that I use all the time. My mother-in-law, Susan Lawson gave me the recipe, and this evolved from there! I wanted to make something easy to pull out in the mornings for the kids before school. I am not the hugest breakfast fan, so I have a hard time being creative with breakfast especially during the week. I wanted to make something filling, packed with protein, and easy to feed my children in the mornings. I also didn't have a ton of time this afternoon to prep, and while the Kappa muffins are really quick and easy, this was even quicker and easier. I'll serve this with some fruit on the side this week and hope that this casserole will help with getting us all back into the swing of a routine this week.

Ingredients:
1 12oz can Pillsbury Grands Jr. biscuits
1 lb ground pork or turkey sausage
8 eggs
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded swiss cheese (can substitute mozzarella or monterey jack if you have on hand)




Method:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brown sausage, drain, and set aside. Spray 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Break biscuits apart and further separate them in half like you would after they were baked (lengthwise). Spread biscuits along bottom of dish. Sprinkle cooked sausage over biscuits. Whisk together eggs and cheeses. Pour egg mixture over top of the sausage/biscuits. Bake for 35 minutes or until eggs are set and toothpick comes out clean.

Happy Cooking!

White Chicken Chili

This comes together really quickly.  I put the chicken in the crockpot while we were at church this morning and it was ready three hours later. I then moved it to a stockpot and followed the remaining directions. All three of my children consistently eat it, and my husband and I love it too.  I have a habit of calling my food different things for my children so that they'll be more likely to eat it.  This I call "chicken nachos" and add a few more chips!!


Recipe from The Perfect Setting, Aiken, SC

Ingredients:
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp cumin seed (I couldn't find this so I used ground coriander)

Cooking Spray or 1 T olive oil  

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, trimmed of all excess fat 

1 clove garlic, finely chopped  

1 cup chopped onion 

2 ( 9 ounce) frozen white shoepeg corn 

2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chilies, undrained 

1 teaspoon ground cumin  

2 -3 tablespoons lime juice2 

(14 ounce) cans great northern beans, undrained  

Monterey Jack cheese and tortilla chips for serving

Method:
In a 5-qt stockpot, combine 2 1/2 cups water with the lemon pepper, 1 tsp cumin seed, and olive oil.  Bring to a boil.  Add the chicken breast halves and return to a low boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is fork tender and the juices are clear.  Remove the chicken from the broth and cut into bite-size pieces, then return it to the broth.  Add the garlic, onion, corn, green chiles, 1 tsp ground cumin, and lime juice to the broth.  Bring to a boil.  Add Great Northern beans to the broth.  Simmer until thoroughly heated.  To serve, crush a few tortilla chips into the bottom of soup bowls, ladle soup over chips, and sprinkle cheese on top.

Happy Cooking!

Christmastini

A Christmas treat!
Happy New Year and Happy Cooking!

Ingredients:
1oz vanilla vodka
1/2 oz chambord
1 oz cranberry juice
Fresh cranberries to garnish

Method:Pour all ingredients into shaker with several cubes of ice. Pour into martini glass and enjoy! I made this for my husband's company Christmas party that we hosted at our home, and these were such a hit. Perfect for Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, or pretty much any time. These are also good to make in larger batches and pour straight from a pitcher.