Sammich Saturday: Cabo Beach Burger

 



After one of the longest, short weeks of my life, I am very excited to see Saturday again. And I'm even more excited to share this delicious burger with you! I knew when I first saw it on Pinterest, that it was a burger after my own heart. I made only a few minor changes to the beef to flavor it up some, and when it was all said and done...it was one of the best burgers I have had in a very long time. Maybe next time I'll add a few jalapenos to it. Yesss...that sounds divine.

I hope that you are having a wonderful first Saturday of June, and if you are planning or attending any summer kick-off parties, you should definitely consider adding this burger to the menu. You won't be sorry.

 

Cabo Beach Burger

Adapted from: Kraft Recipes

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp chopped garlic
• 4 slices bacon
• 4 Slices Pepper Jack Cheese
• 4 burger buns
• 1/4 cup Chipotle Flavored Reduced Fat Mayonnaise
• 1 avocado, cut into 12 slices
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation 

1. Combine beef, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and garlic in a medium bowl. Shape the beef mixture iinto 4 patties, and set aside while grill heats.
2. Heat your grill, grill pan, or skillet to medium-high heat. Add the patties and cook 4 to 6 minutes on each side or to your desired doneness.
3. Meanwhile, cook bacon as directed on package and drain on paper towels. 
4. Place cheese on top of patties about a minute before removing from heat, to allow it to melt a bit. 
5. Toast your buns if you like, spread mayo on bottom bun. Place a patty on the bottom bun and top with a avocado slices, 1 slice of bacon broken in half, cilantro, and the top bun.

Recipe Swap: Chicken Pesto Pasta

It's June 1st!!! And Recipe Swap Friday! Woot woot! It's so nice, twice a month to have a meal decided for me, and all I have to do is assign it a night in the kitchen. Almost makes me wish that someone could tell me what to make every night.

Almost, I said.

I love looking for new recipes too much to relinquish control to someone else.

For this round of the Swap, Sarah chose Noodles for the theme. Any recipe that included noodles. Uh, YUM! I don't have a huge aresenal of pasta recipes on here, so I welcome the addition. And the recipe I got from Ashley was, once again, a hit! Chicken, cute little pasta, pesto and CRAISINS!! I'm crazy for Craisins. For real y'all. The pesto sauce was creamy and the sweetness from the Craisins was just perfect! I had it for lunch and dinner! And let's be honest...lunch again. It was super good. Thanks Ashley for another great recipe. If you haven't had the chance to read Ashley's blog, Cheese Curd in Paradise, you should stop by...she has a lot of great stuff!

And don't forget to check Sarah's blog next week for the round-up of all the great Noodle Swap recipes!

Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad

Source: Cheese Curd in Paradise

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup diced celery
• 3 Tbsp sliced green onions
• 3/4 cup craisins
• 2 oz pine nuts
• 12 oz short pasta (I used farfalle) 
• 4 Tbsp prepared pesto
• 1 cup reduced fat mayo (or miracle whip)
• 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt

 

Preparation

1. Cook and drain your pasta according to package the directions.
2. While pasta is cooking, season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the chicken about 3 minutes per side, until no longer pink in the center. Remove from the heat and allow the chicken to cool.
3. While the chicken is cooling combine the celery, onion, craisins, and pine nuts in a small bowl, and set aside. In another bowl  combine the mayo, sour cream, salt, pepper, and pesto.
4. When the chicken has cooled, chop or shred into bite size pieces. Combine the chicken, celery mixture, and pesto mixture together, until fully incorporated, then add the pasta.  
5. Can be served immediately, or refrigerated and served cold.

Berrylicious Smoothie

I think the thermometer may have tipped 100 degrees yesterday in Central Texas, and while a nice frosty adult beverage is always nice to cool off with, not everyone loves to indulge quite so much. I'm not sure who these people are, but I'm quite sure they're out there. My pregnant friends, for example. So, I wanted to experiment with some non-alcoholic drinks to share for the summer heat.

Most smoothie recipes that I've come across involve a banana, but I don't really like bananas. I know, I know. So, I decided to make one with no banana, and see if I could get the same good texture. I think I did pretty stinkin' good...it was berrylicious, thick, and creamy. Perfect smoothie texture!

Berrylicious Smoothie

A Sweet Beginnings' Original

Ingredients

Makes 2 (6 oz) servings

• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup strawberry greek yogurt
• 1/2-3/4 cup orange juice

Preparation

1. Put berries and 1/2 cup orange juice in a blender and mix utnil smooth.
2. Add yogurt and additional orange juice, if needed, and blend until smooth. 
3. Divide into two 6 oz glasses and enjoy!

Crispy Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders

Halfway through another week. The last week of May, in fact. Why is it that time seems to go by much more quickly, the older we get? Some days I'm glad, other days I can't believe how much time has passed. But with time, comes experience, and with experience comes knowledge. Or so I hear, anyway. :)

There are few things better than chicken tenders, in my opinion, and when I ran across this recipe for a Weight Watchers version of honey mustard chicken, I was overjoyed! I love chicken tenders. And usually, I like dipping my chicken in honey, or honey mustard, so the fact that these were dipped in honey mustard before they were baked makes them all the more appealing. I have a box of corn flakes sitting in my pantry from a previous recipe I made, so I was glad to have another use for them. Crispy, healthier chicken tenders with a tangy sauce...yes, please and thank you!

Crispy Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders
Source: Weight Watchers

Ingredients

• Cooking Spray
• 2/3 cup Light Honey Mustard Dressing
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1 scallion, finely diced
• 1 1/2 cup cornflakes
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken (breasts or tenders)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and top with a baking rack. Spray the rack with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
2. In a small bowl, combine honey mustard dressing, salt, pepper, dill and scallions. Reserve 1/3 cup in a separate bowl for dipping.
3. Place cornflakes in a plastic bag and pound or or crush with your hands to create the crumbs.
4. Dip the chicken pieces into dressing mixture and then into the cornflake crumbs. Place each of the pieces onto the prepared rack and bake for approximately 15 minutes, until lightly browned and no longer pink in the center.
5. Use reserved dressing mixture to dip the chicken in, or to drizzle on top of the chicken.

Taco Tuesday: Crockpot Cheddar Beer Chicken Tacos

Hello Tuesday. I can't say that I'm glad to see you, as that means the long weekend is over, and it's back to the office for me. But at least we are on day closer to Friday, and another weekend! I've been doing really well with portion control lately, which has resulted in some weight loss, and a smaller appetite.

I was worried that the weekend would cause a setback in my weight loss journey, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that despite what I was eating, I still managed to succeed with my portion control. Go me! I usually have a hard time with tacos. As in, I want to eat 3 or 4 at a time. However, with these tacos, despite how delicious they were, I was able to eat 2 and feel full! That is definitely an achievement.

The flavors were fanstasic...the refried beans, spiced chicken, and cool sour cream and avocado to offset the spices. Roll all that up in a tortilla, and you have one heavenly taco! And, I used my crockpot for the first time in ages. I usually can't do that because I'm gone too long during the day to just leave it. So, instead, I put it on after work one day so that it was finished before I went to bed....and then I didn't have to cook the next night, just re-heat! Ah, I love it when I think ahead!

Crockpot Cheddar Beer Chicken Tacos

Slightly Adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup beer
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 small can refried beans
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 3/4 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese 
• flour tortillas
• sour cream
• avocado
• cilantro
• hot sauce

Preparation

1. Mix chili powder, cumin, garlic, onion, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk the beer into the seasoning mixture, until well combined.
2. Put the chicken in the crockpot and pour the beer mixture over it. Cook for 7-8 hours on low, or 4 hours on high.
3. About 30 minutes before the chicken is done, place the refried beans in a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 teaspoon of cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder. Stir over medium heat until warmed through.  
4. Shred the chicken with two forks, or pour contents of the crockpot into a stand mixer to shred. There will still be some liquid in the crockpot, keep that with the chicken when you shred it. Cook for an additional 15 minutes in the crockpot and then turn it off.  Add the cheese and stir to combine, then remove to another bowl.
5. Warm tortillas, spread refried beans down the center and top with chicken, sour cream, avocado, cilantro, hot sauce and shredded cheese.

Margherita Pita Pizza

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!! I want to send out a big THANK YOU to all of the service men and women who have served our country. Many people know this weekend to be a big barbecue-fest, and a way to welcome the summer season in, but hopefully while we all celebrate with our loved ones, we don't forget the reason that we have this holiday. Many men and women, and their families, have made the ultimate sacrafice to maintain our freedom and the way of life we all love.

I wanted to make something festive to celebrate, but I had a friend in from out of town and we went back home to see friends and family, therefore I was not cooking any this weekend. Instead I have this delicious oven-baked pita pizza to share with you! In case today is your day of rest, after a busy weekend of parties and barbecues, you can stay in the comfort of your own air-conditioned home and cook up a delicious pita pizza for yourself, or several for your family! In case you haven't noticed, I've been on a little bit of a tomato, basil, and mozzarella kick the past couple of weeks.  You know why that is? Because it's frickin' delicious, that's why!! And it gives me an excuse to use balsamic vinegar. It's a sickness, I'm aware.

I enjoyed the long weekend, and spending time with family and friends that I don't get to see nearly enough, but all that catching up sure does wear me out!! Today is about relaxing, remembering our troops, and getting ready for the rest of the week, back to reality. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, filled with love and laughter, and today - rest!

Margherita Pita Pizza

Source: Pampered Chef - It's Good For You

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 4 flat pita rounds (no pockets)
• 2 roma tomatoes, sliced
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 2 Tbsp snipped fresh basil leaves

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil, and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine the oil, Italian seasoning, vinegar, and garlic and mix well.
3. Place the pita rounds on the baking sheet, and brush the top with the oil and spice mixture. Then, top the pita with a few 4-5 tomato slices and mozzarella.
4. Bake the pizzas for 10-12 minutes, until cheese is melted and edges are browned.
5. Remove from the oven and sprinkle each pizza with basil strips. Cut into fours and eat warm!

Sammich Saturday: Turkey Bacon Swiss

Happy Memorial Day weekend!! I hope you all are enjoying this holiday weekend with friends and family, and taking advantage of the weather before the summer heat really takes hold. I am spending time with some friends and family back home that I don't see nearly enough, and I couldn't be happier! For this sammich, I did something very simple, but very good! Turkey, with some swiss cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato! And, of course, avocado!!

It was quick to throw together, and super tasty! If you need a quick throw-together sandwich to get you through this weekend, in between barbecues or whatnot, this is the one for you!!

Turkey Bacon Swiss

Ingredients

• 4 slices of bread
• 10 extra thin slices turkey
• 2 slices Swiss cheese
• 4 slices of bacon
• 2 lettuce leaves
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 1 small avocado, sliced
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Preparation

1. Cook the bacon over medium heat until browned and slightly crispy, turning once, 5-7 minutes. Remove to papertowls to drain grease and after cooling, break each piece in two, leaving you with 8 pieces.
2. Put 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard onto the bottom slices of bread.
3. Top with 5 slices of turkey, 1 slice of Swiss cheese, 4 pieces of bacon, tomato slices, avocado, lettuce leaf, and top slice of bread. Cut sammich in half and enjoy!!