Sour Cream Turkey "Steak" Patties

Mr. P gave this recipe two thumbs up!! It was so good, he even went for seconds. This is another Lion House recipe, and I'm starting to believe they know what they are talking about! When I first read the recipe, I thought that they would become turkey burgers, not steaks. I'm sure that if that's your desire, just divide them into smaller portions. The ONLY thing I would do differently is next time I will add an egg. The meat turned out really crumbly and difficult to handle (what's my deal with crumbly meat?), and the egg would help to solidify the steak patties. Otherwise, it has really great flavor and tastes super good. Enjoy!

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Sour Cream Turkey Patties
(Courtesy of Lion House Recipes)

1 lb. ground turkey
1 c. soft bread crumbs, divided
3 tbsp. light sour cream
1/3 c. skim milk
¼ tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. butter or margarine

Combine turkey, ½ c. bread crumbs, sour cream, milk, pepper, and nutmeg. Divide mixture into fourths and mold each portion into a flat patty. Spread remaining ½ cup bread crumbs on a plate; carefully dip patties in crumbs, covering on both sides. Place a cooking rack in a shallow baking dish; set patties on rack and let stand uncovered in refrigerator for 20 minutes. Spray a large frying pan with nonstick cooking spray. Melt butter or margarine in pan over medium heat. Add patties and brown 5 minutes on each side. Makes 4 servings.

Lion House Meat Loaf

This is my first experience making meat loaf. I never really liked it as a kid. The whole idea of baked meat just grossed me out. I recently found out that Mr. P loves meat loaf. Who knew? In my quest to become the best wife I can, I started my search for a meat loaf recipe. I found one in a Lion House cook book that we received as a wedding gift. I knew that if it came from Lion House, I had to try it. The sauce called for tomato soup instead of ketchup, and that made all the difference for me. The "loaf" part of the recipe didn't turn out so well, I'm not sure where I went wrong with that. It turned out to be a big crumbly mess, but in the end.. it turned out all right. I highly recommend this recipe. Delish!

Lion House Meat Loaf (Courtesy of Lion House Recipes)

½ c. chopped onions
1 can (10-1/2 oz) tomato soup
¼ c. water
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 dash pepper
2 lbs. extra-lean ground beef
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Make sauce: Spray a frying pan with nonstick cooking spray and preheat briefly on the stove. Add onions and saute until tender. Stir in tomaot soup, water, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper; simmer a few minutes to blend flavors.

Make meat loaf: Mix ground beef, salt, eggs, and half the sauce until well blended. Mold into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1.5 hours. Remove from oven and allow to stand for about 10 min. Serve with remaining sauce. Makes 10 servings.

Tried and True

The Hubby is off in the morning for a weekend long drill. He gets to spend time with his army buddies, shooting the "big" guns. Besides the nasty cold spot we're experiencing, he's looking forward to it. I think. I decided to make him a treat to take with him to the field. These aren't his favorite, but I knew it was something I could whip up in less than ten minutes, minus baking time.

Chocolate chip cookies.. so easy, so simple. These are the first cookies I ever learned how to make. This is the first recipe I ever memorized. These plain ol', regular-joe-schmoe chocolate chip cookies are my FAVORITE treat to eat. Hands down, of all time. Poor Hubby.. he has a lifetime of chocolate chip cookies to look forward too. ;-)

I debated about whether or not to share the recipe, as everyone has their own favorites and I'm sure yours is the best. If you're still on the hunt for the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe ever, e-mail me and I'll send you mine. I promise you won't regret it!

So I'm going to go pour myself a tall glass of milk, sit in my favorite spot on the couch in my comfy pants and indulge myself. I've earned it!

Zesty Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

I tried a new dish for dinner tonight, and it was excellent! This is another recipe to add to your budget friendly/quick dinner recipe collection.

I found this recipe in a cook book that I already had. I have a TON of cookbooks that I have received over the years that were just patiently waiting to be perused. So if you are at a loss of what to make for whatever the occasion might be, go through the cookbooks you already have. You never know, you might find something that catches your fancy.


Zesty Roasted Chicken and Potatoes
Courtesy of Betty Crocker's Fix-It-Fast Family Favorites

6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 lb. small red potatoes, cut in quarters
1/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Chopped fresh chives, if desired.

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease jelly roll pan, 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1 inch.
2. Place chicken and potatoes in pan. Mix remaining ingredients except chives; brush over chicken and potatoes.
3. Bake uncovered 30 to 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender and juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Sprinkle with chives.

Twilight Party

I am a Twilight addict (I just wanted to get that out of the way). This past weekend my Mom and I threw a Twilight party for the DVD release. Mostly we just wanted to have an excuse to bake some yummy treats and share them with our friends!

MINT OREO TRUFFLES
Courtesy of Culinary Wannabe
Makes appx 4 dozen

1 package of Cool Mint flavored Double Stuffed Oreos
-use 22 whole cookies
-use 10 cookies with cream centers discarded
8 oz. package cream cheese, at room temp
chocolate bark or candy coating

1. Place all cookies in a food processor and pulse to a fine crumb. You could also put them in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
2. Stir together crushec cookies and cream cheese. I found it easier to get in there with my hands like you are making meat loaf.
3. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on wax paper lined baking sheet.
4. Place balls into the fridge or feezer to slightly harden.
5. Melt candies accoriding to instructions.
6. Dip chilled balls into melted candies, then place back on wax paper to dry. (You might need to stick balls back in fridge for a few minutes to keep them chilled, which will make them easier to work with).
7. Once candy coating has hardened, you can drizzel or decoarte with a constrasting color.
8. Keep refridgerated.

The 1-inch balls, mixed with cream cheese on a wax paper lined baking sheet.

I used Ghiradelli white chocolate bark. Can be found in baking aisle of any grocery store. The more sophisticated bakers order the bark online from Wilton.

The truffles dipped in melted white chocolate bark. Kind of messy. A tip I picked up from Bakerella is to cut around the bottom of the truffle to get rid of the excess candy.

The finished mint oreo truffle. To get the drizzle, I melted red frosting (I just bouth the already prepared in a bag kind) that I microwaved in a sandwich bag for about a minute. Looks kind of like blood, right? Blood.. vampires. Makes sense.

BROWN SUGAR "BITES"

Courtesy of Mom (not sure where she got the recipe from)

1 lb. of bacon

1 package Lil' Smokies

3/4 c. brown sugar

toothpicks

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Cut bacon into three sections. Roll around Lil' Smokies, stab with toothpick to secure.
3. Sprinkle 3/4 cup of brown sugar over all. Bake for 30 minutes.

We couldn't have a whole party full of sweets, so we decided to do a play-on-word with "bites". You know, "bites"...vampires. Aren't we clever.

Rolling the bacon around the Lil' Smokies.

Still rolling.

The finished product. In the words of Rachel Ray, Yum-O!!

RED VELVET CUPCAKE "BITES"

Red Velvet Cake Mix (plus relevant ingredients to put cake together)
Mini cupcake baking tins

Paper cupcake holders

Make and bake according to package directions. Since the cupcakes were "bite" size, I started the timer at 10 minutes and worked my way up from there. I think in the end it took 12 min. for the cupcakes to bake completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup melted butter

1 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

1 lb. box powdered sugar

1. Combine butter, cream cheese and vanilla, mixing well.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.
3. Spread on cooled cake.
   
   

The freshly frosted mini cupcake "bites".

Displayed in all their glory. I've discovered that when you are throwing a party where lots of women are going to be there, making things bite sized is the key. Woman are more likely to put more food on their plate when they are smaller. Why is that? I don't know. But it works. So if you want your food to be gone, make things bite sized. Just a suggestion.

We had a TON of fun, enjoyed watching the movie and definitely enjoyed eating the yummy food. I didn't get any pictures of it, but we also served a mean blood red punch and mushroom ravioli. I love parties!

This Evening's Dining Pleasure... Or Not

Let's face it... we're poor. Being in the "Starving Student" stage is rough for the gourmet taste buds. That said, I've been focusing on finding budget friendly recipes. I look at the ingredients: how easily I can get them, how expensive they are, the amount of ingredients... that sort of thing. I also look for the amount of time involved in making whatever dish it may be. I work full time and the LAST thing I want to do at the end of the day is come home and make a big production. By that time I'm starving and grumpy and The Hubby is starving and not so grumpy.

The first time I was introduced to Lobster Bisque was eating out at Ruth's Chris with my wonderful in-laws. I am now going to put a plug in for Ruth's Chris, the BEST steakhouse out there. So delicious! Anyway, back to the bisque. The Hubby has been asking me to find a recipe for this for awhile, and I finally tried it out. Would I say it's Ruth's Chris quality? Uh, no. But it was sorta tasty in it's own way. I followed the recipe exactly and here it is:

Lobster Bisque (Adapted from this website)

1 Cup Chicken Broth
2 Medium Slices Onion
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb. cooked and cubed lobster meat
1/2 tsp worcstershire sauce
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper

1. In a small frying pan place 1/4 c. chicken broth and the onion. Cook over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes.

2. In a medium size pot over medium heat melt the butter. Slowly whisk in flour. Whisk until a creamy mixture is created.

3. Gradually poor in broth, whisking constantly. Whisk in milk, salt, onion, lobster meat, Worcestershire sauce and cayenne pepper. Heat until soup is almost boiling. Do not boil the soup as the milk will curdle when boiled.


Tips and Tricks:

• I used frozen shrimp that was already prepped instead of the lobster meat. Way cheaper than lobster plus I didn't have to do any of the work to prepare it.
• Use the spices liberally. This batch had a kick to it and it saved the dinner.
• Next time I make it, I think I'll use half/half or heavy cream to make it, well, creamier. Just the regular milk made it too watery.
• I also think next time I am going to put some celery in it. Doesn't seem like a lot, but basically we had milk, spice and shrimp for dinner. Warmed up. Yum.

DESSERT

I promised The Hubby that I wouldn't make treats for awhile. We're both trying to be healthier and lose a little bit of weight. Well, that promise only lasted three whole days. I've been craving these for awhile, so I decided to satisfy my craving. Better now than later, right? Another cookie recipe, I know. Eventually I'll branch out and try new things! These cookies have many names. Rollo cookies, caramel filled cookies, chocolate surprise cookies and I'm sure many more. Rollos in a chocolate cookie, what's better than that?

All mixed up. The Hubby gave me a Kitchen-Aid mixer for my birthday last year. Best gift ever!

"One for me, one for the bowl!" My super great helper unwrapping the rolo's.

The finished product, cooling.

The gooey, yummy caramel surprise.

Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine

2 1/2 cups flour

2/4 unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

48 Rolo chewy caramels in milk chocolate, unwrapped

Heat oven to 375. In small bowl, combine flour, cocoa and baking soda; blend well. In large bowl, beat 1 cup sugar, brown sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well. Add flour mixture; blend well. For each cookie, with floured hands, shape about 1 tbsp dough around 1 caramel candy, covering completely. Bake at 375 for 7-10 minutes.

Chocolate Blizzard Cookies

Chocolate Blizzard Cookies

1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2-1/2 cups flour
1 cup large semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, chopped

Beat butter, sugar, and baking soda for 30 seconds. Beat in cooled chocolate, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in flour. Add chips and nuts. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until tops look dry. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute before moving to wire racks to cool. Makes 3-1/2 dozen.

Happy Baking!