cook-eat-write

Okay, that's not super out of the ordinary since I typically go every Sunday, but today I had a mission! I was in the mood to cook something new and yummy, and so I needed the appropriate supplies. Today's meal was Southwestern Bacon Cheeseburgers and Tex-Mex Mashed Potatoes. Sooooo original for me, right? Okay maybe I do a lot of potatoes, but THEY ARE DELICIOUS SO STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT.

Okay, anyway. The potatoes! They were really frikkin' good! They were a cool twist on a standard favorite. The burger was great too, juicy and flavorful.

Tex-Mex Potatoes: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/tex-mex-mashed-potatoes-recipe/index.html

Burgers: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1926,147164-235200,00.html

Ease of Preparation: 1.5 Burgers / 1.5 Potatoes

Taste: 3 Burgers / 3.5 Potatoes

Feeds: 5 Burgers / 10 Potatoes

This meal is a cool way to incorporate southwestern/mexican food flavor into a typically very american dish. In order to turn the regular burgers from the linked recipe into super awesome southwestern burgers I topped them with Monteray Jack cheese, bacon and my delicious guacamole. I put some mayo with taco seasoning on The Parents' burgers but not mine since I have a strong distaste for mayo.

Overall very good. I think these burgers were about 500 calories total (which is pretty damn good for a bacon cheeseburger if I do say so myself).

The mashed potatoes were quite good as well. Just a little bit of crunch from the veggies in them, and very creamy and flavorful. 

Suggestions / Changes

Other than my southwestern additions to the burgers that I mentioned above, I did made several other changes - particularly to the potatoes. Instead of milk I used about 3/4 cup sour cream in the mixing of them. I find this yields a creamier mashed potato. Also, I mixed in about 1.5 teaspoons of Mexican seasoning (the kind you use to make taco meat). That gave them some really great Mexican food flavor and color. I didn't add any salt because the Mexican flavoring added enough on its own.

As for the burgers, the only change that I made to that recipe was that after 15 mins of cooking time I put the cheese on top of the burgers, then I let them cook for the last 5 mins. Nice and melty!

More pics of the yummy!

Awwwwwwwwww Yeaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

Recipes property of: Food Network (http://www.foodnetwork.com) and Anonymous of cooks.com (http://www.cooks.com)

What does Blair do when she is home alone and the kitchen is fully stocked? She cooks!

When I was doing the family grocery shopping today I bought some wanton wrappers on a whim. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with them, but I figured I could come up with something pretty easily some night. Little did I know, that night would be tonight!

I was initially supposed to make Teriyaki Chicken and Garlic Noodles tonight, but those plans were canceled when my parents were invited out to dinner. So I decided to experiment! We had a lot of leftover cheese slices from last weekend’s father’s day sliders, and some ground turkey in the freezer that I had picked up last week but didn’t have any plans for. I was thinking I wanted to try something pot sticker inspired, but baked instead of fried to keep it healthy!

These glorious little guys were the result:

Ease of preparation: 3
Taste: 2
Feeds: 5-6

I ended up getting adventurous and making three variations on these. I made meat and cheese, bean and cheese, and meat and bean and cheese. They were all quite good, but my favorites were just meat and just bean. I think the best way to eat these is with a serving of salsa and sour cream to dip them in!

I would say that these are an interesting twist on mexican food night, and definitely worth a try! Kids would probably love them because they’re little enough to be fun, and they are WAY less messy than most other mexican food varieties! Plus if you do bean and cheese only these are a tasty vegetarian meal!

Baked Mexican Ravioli

Ingredients:
One package of wanton wrappers (typically found in the produce section)
1lb ground meat (beef or turkey, dealers choice!)
1 can refried beans (optional)
1 packet taco seasoning
8 cheddar cheese sandwich slices
salsa and sour cream, to garnish

Directions (see accompanying images below):
1. Pre-heat oven to 350, line a baking tray with tinfoil and lightly grease
2. Cook meat through, drain excess fat. Add taco seasoning and cook to seasoning’s specifications
3. Slice cheese into 6-7 triangles
4. Lay out wanton wrappers, top with cheese then a small spoonful meat/beans
5. Wet edges of wanton wrapper, press closed
6. Place on baking tray, repeat until tray is full
7. Bake for 5 minutes, turn raviolis over and bake 5 more minutes
8. Eat with salsa and sour cream! 

Helpful pictures!

STEP 3

STEP 4

STEP 5

STEP 6

STEP 7

yummy yummy yummy!

This recipe, too, is an amalgam of several different ones I came across in my search for a tasty chili recipe. That’s something that I do a lot. I decide what it is I want to cook, then I search the internet for good recipes, then I pick out different aspects of each recipe that I like and I blend them all together into something that is more suited to my own tastes. Then again, isn’t that how a lot of new dishes come into existence, more or less?

La la la google images. I do this because even a fake picture is more interesting than no picture:

Ease of preparation: 1.5
Taste: 3
Feeds: ~6-8

This is great on cold days, just as you would expect from a good chili. It’s very hearty and will definitely fill you up. For a healthier option I suggest using ground turkey instead of beef. Alternatively, you could also add some extra beans and leave the meat out altogether for vegetarian chili!

Crock Pot Chili

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef (or turkey)
1 cup onion, chopped
1 can chili beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
10 oz crushed canned tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup celery, chopped
1 package chili seasoning (or use your own seasoning blend!)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Brown meat with garlic and onions
2. Put all ingredients into crock pot, cook on low for about 8 hours, high for about 4 hours 

This was one of my Superbowl Party recipes this year. I did a big spread of finger foods and wanted something pizzaish to include in the bunch. These were pretty good, but not awesome. They are super cute, and don’t get me wrong, they’re tasty, but the dough is missing …something. Not quite sure what yet, that will take some experimentation, but something.

Recipe!

Ease of preparation: 1.5
Taste: 0.5
Feeds: 5-6 

Definitely a good snack item, and from what I hear they are very popular with the kiddies. They’re a fun twist on something that’s already delicious, so how could they be bad?

Changes / Suggestions

I heard about, found, and used some itty bitty mini-pepperonis. They didn’t need to be sliced up at all so that was really convenient, and they looked so cute! Also to make these healthier you could use turkey pepperoni. I always think that tastes the same.

Recipe and photo property of: Noble Pig (noblepig.com)

So it came to pass that I was craving hamburgers. The problem was, I typically scoff at burgers that aren’t cooked on a grill, and I myself am not fortunate enough to yet possess one of those bad boys. That being said, when I stumbled upon this recipe (and yes I do mean stumbled… stumbleupon.com) it looked too good to be true and I knew I had to give it a try. Absolutely the best decision I made that week.

Recipe:

Ease of Preparation: 2
Taste: 3.5
Feeds: 5-6 

Ohmigosh. These are SO GOOD! I followed the recipe exactly on this one, down to the pickles on top, and they were delicious. I was eating the leftovers of these for the next day or two and L O V I N G  I T. Definitely hit the spot on my burger craving. 

Changes / Suggestions

Make sure you blot the grease off of these as the directions indicate… wouldn’t want to clog the arteries! Also, it’s important to use the 80/20 ground chuck so the meat stays solid and doesn’t break apart.

Recipe and photo property of: Big Red Kitchen (www.bigredkitchen.com)

Everyone’s family has a meatloaf recipe, and unless you are a Crazy Person or a vegetarian (gasp!) you probably love it. I used to be this way. I was excited whenever I learned that my mom or dad was cooking meatloaf for dinner. Even better than that were leftover meatloaf sandwiches.

Then I found this recipe:

Suddenly Mom and Dad’s meatloaf wasn’t so glorious anymore.

Ease of preparation: 2.5
Taste: 4
Feeds: 5-6 

No lie, best meatloaf I have ever tried (and I have tried quite a few). Now, to be fair, I have never made this with the egg inside. I’m sure that is just as delicious, but as of yet I have not been quite that adventurous. The secret to a great meatloaf is adding in enough different flavors that it doesn’t just taste like straight, boring meat. This recipe certainly achieves that.

Changes / Suggestions

I don’t use the hard boiled eggs on the inside. I’m sure that’s tasty too, but this is perfect without them.

Sometimes I make this without the bacon. That is also quite good. I find that if I am cooking it with the bacon wrapped up inside I have to bake it maybe 15 minutes longer to get the inside completely cooked.

The broiler pan they create/use is unnecessary. I just use a standard baking dish.

As a side note, the recipe link also includes a recipe for mashed potatoes. Those are good too (but not the best that I’ve had, hehe)!

Recipe property of: Crepes of Wrath (www.crepesofwrath.net)

Meatloaf and my Twice Baked Potatoes