April 30, 2009
What's For Dinner?
Tonight we're having take out for dinner! It's been a very busy week and I wanted a break so Jamison is picking up food on the way home from a local restaurant.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 5:01 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Double Split Pea and Ham Soup
Many people like to add a ham bone to their Split Pea soup, so when I had some ham left over from Easter I thought it would be interesting to add some chopped ham to the soup to see how it would fare. Overall the addition of the ham gave the soup a nice flavor pop. Alexis loved this! This is not the same as the actual ham bone, but it gives you a nice flavor without as much of a fuss.
What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 ribs of celery, chopped
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 - 15 ounce package of green split peas
1/2 - 15 ounce package of yellow split peas
1 quart of broth (Note: You can use what ever type of broth you like, I used chicken.)
1 quart of water
2 cups of ham, chopped
In a large pot over medium heat sauté onion, carrots and celery in a little olive oil with a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper until onions are tender. Add split peas and ham then cook for 1 to 2 minutes to toast the peas a bit.
Add broth and water then bring to a quick boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook covered for 20-30 minutes or until peas are tender and soup thickens. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
Note: Leeks would be a good addition to this, as would chopped mushrooms. You could also leave out the ham entirely.
Posted by Dianne at 12:58 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 29, 2009
What's For Dinner?
Hey everyone, busy day here, but what else is new? No recipe today, but then again you probably already figured that out! ;oP
I have some ground chicken thawing and I'm going to play around with a ground chicken Sloppy Joe. Jamison will have a regular burger and Alexis will most likely want left over soup. I'm also going to make some oven fries.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 1:17 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 28, 2009
What's For Dinner?
Alexis wants some soup so I'm making some turkey broth as I type this. She and I will most likely have Turkey Noodle Soup. I'm not sure what Jamison is having yet.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 1:54 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
White Chocolate Drizzle Cookies
Alexis had been bugging me to make some cookies for a while and I finally gave in. She wanted a white chocolate chip cookie and I decided to take it to another level by drizzling it with some chocolate. These were really good, and Alexis really liked them too. Jamison taught a class at work last week so I sent them in to work with him so I wouldn't eat too many! ;oP
This recipe takes a basic white chocolate chip cookie and makes it pop! The blend of the two chocolates together give it a fabulous overall flavor, while the traditional cookie base is comforting at the same time. These are just perfect to make for yourself or to share!
What You'll Need For The Cookies:
2 sticks of butter, softened
1 cup of organic cane sugar
1 cup of natural brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of sea salt
3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 - 11 ounce bag of white chocolate chips
In a large bowl cream together butter, sugars and eggs until smooth. Add baking soda and salt and stir until mixed. Slowly add flour a little at a time and stir until dough forms. Stir in white chocolate chips and refrigerate dough for at least 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Scoop dough out with a tablespoon measuring spoon and place roughly 2 inches apart on a baking sheet that has been lined with a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper. Bake for 8-10 minutes until slightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely before drizzling with chocolate. (See below.)
Makes 4-5 dozen cookies depending on how big your scoops are.
Notes: I think it would be delicious to add some citrus to the cookie dough. Either lemon or key lime would be fabulous, or even orange!
What You'll Need For The Drizzle:
1 -12 ounce package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup of half and half
2 tablespoons of butter
In the microwave at half power melt chocolate with half and half and butter at 10 second intervals, stirring between each, until chocolate is smooth.
Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cooled cookies and let it harden and then serve.
Notes: You could use milk chocolate or unsweetened chocolate if you prefer, but if you go the unsweetened route you'll have to sweeten it yourself.
Posted by Dianne at 7:47 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
April 27, 2009
What's For Dinner?
Tonight we're having an early dinner before Jamison goes to class. We are having center cut pork chops. Jamison will have some roasted potatoes with his. Alexis and I are going to use some corn on the cob we have left over and make some corn salad to go with ours.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:28 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Better Bites: Ten Minute Tomato Soup
First up for those of you who were not around this weekend, let me direct you to the post where I introduced my new blog daughter...Teri from Make a Whisk! Be sure and stop by and say hello!
This weekend flew by for us! I'm always amazed at how fast the weekends actually go, especially as of late! There were play dates to be had, an art class for Miss G, errands to be run, chores to be done, church, and so on and on. I didn't get half of what I hoped to get done, done, but I accomplished some stuff I hadn't thought I would get to this weekend either, so that's always good too.
Now let's talk some quick, delicious, yet healthy tomato soup!
Healthy food doesn't have to take an inordinate amount of time, nor does it have to taste like cardboard. Healthy recipes can be whipped up in no time and you don't have to worry about losing taste either. This soup is the prime example. If you like tomato soup you can have a fabulous version in about ten minutes....How great is that?
What You'll Need:
2 - 15 ounce cans of tomato sauce
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of dried basil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
In a medium sized pot add tomato sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, basil, a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper and stir to mix. Bring to a quick boil and then simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve.
Makes roughly 4 servings.
Notes: This truly is a whip it up fast kind of soup. It goes perfectly by itself or even better pair it with a grilled cheese on whole grain sandwich!
Posted by Dianne at 11:04 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 25, 2009
Adopt A Blogger 3: Meet My New Blog Daughter, Teri From Make A Whisk!
I had so much fun during the last round of "Adopt a Blogger" with my blog twins Nella and Ingrid that I decided I would sign up for Round Three! This time around I've been paired with Teri from Make a Whisk!
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that if you've jumped into the food blogging universe that you are passionate about food, and that's good! When you create a blog it should be about something you are passionate about, because if you set out to write about something you aren't really into then it's going to get old in a hurry! If you've found your passion then all the other chips will fall into place!
When I adopted Nella and Ingrid last go around I talked about good pictures in terms of a food blog and instead of trying to recreate that I'm going to quote myself below because my sentiments have not changed. So here it goes:
In my mind one of the most important aspects of a food blog is pictures, and not just pictures alone, good pictures. Granted every picture you take may not be fabulous, but you need to put a lot of thought into what you are shooting and how it looks, but don't worry this doesn't have to take a lot of time. Once you get used to it it will become second nature and you can take a fabulous photo in mere seconds! (And in fact the pictures on both of your sites look great, so you can skip down to the next thing if you're already a camera aficionado.) They say that people eat with their eyes and I think that is true to an extent (food has to actually taste good too) but something that doesn't look that appetizing isn't going to make someone want to try it! A good camera is essential and picking up a few photography tips is a must as well!
When I first started Dianne's Dishes in January of 2007 I used a Canon D20 SLR. Unfortunately in June of this year she decided to give up the ghost and went to the big camera heaven in the sky and I have to admit I was devastated, utterly and completely just flattened. I think it was safe to say I was way too attached to my camera, but when you use one as much as I do, they sort of become part of you. All of that to say that I highly recommend a digital SLR if you can swing one, but if not don't sweat that either (see below).
After my Canon died I started playing around with my old Sony Mavica CD400 and cursing it often! While it would take some fabulous pictures here and there, it just didn't have the range that I wanted. So as I wait for the camera fairy to come bless me with a brand new camera I've been using my Canon PowerShot SD750 Digitial Elph exclusively.
The key to good food pictures, whether you're using a SLR or a point and shoot, is good light and no flash! If you can take the food outside into natural light, that's fabulous! If it's rainy and dreary, turn on the lights and turn off the flash! If the pictures look a little blurry with no flash then get a tripod. (I got one at Target for $20 a couple of years ago and it attaches to every camera I have including my video camera!) Also think about how you are staging your food...What's around it? What's behind it? How it looks is key. Currently, when using my point and shoot, I turn the flash off, put it on the macro setting and also set it up for foliage...I don't know why but the foliage setting works fabulously for food pictures! (I'm still anxiously awaiting the camera fairy however!)
I think you'll find that the food blogging community as a whole is a very open, very encouraging group! There is a little bit of everything and everything in between! You can find a niche where you fit in very nicely depending on what you are interested in. Food bloggers as a general rule are also open to questions and comments for the most part too, so if you see something you like tell them! If you have a question then ask. We're all in this together!
For my regular readers, I'll be adding Teri's blog to my blog roll, but for now take the link above and stop by and say hello to Teri and welcome her to the family so to speak! And Teri please feel free to e-mail anytime at diannesdishes at gmail dot com with any questions or anything. Drop me a comment here so I'll have your e-mail address as well. Also thanks to Kristen at Dine and Dish for giving this idea life. It's so much fun!
I hope you all are having a fabulous weekend. It's busy, busy, busy here! See you Monday! Have a great one!
Posted by Dianne at 7:23 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 24, 2009
Friday Link Love
Alexis and I have a busy day ahead. Katherine and the boys are coming over so the kids can run all over the side of the mountain, before it goes from cold (earlier this week) to nice today to hot as Hades this weekend! I hope they run and run and run and did I mention run? And then tire themselves out! ;oP I had meant to write this up last night, but well we talked about what my day was like yesterday and it just didn't happen and I'm writing it up this morning!
Anyway, let's jump right in shall we?
Did you know that Amazon has a food blog? Well they do and they shared two recipes for lemon pasta dishes, one from Mario Batali for Fettuccini Al Limone, and the other from the Moosewood Cafe for Creamy Lemon Pasta! All I can say is yum! You can see them both here.
Alexis loves the movie Ratatouille . Ever since I saw the movie I've wanted to make the dish, but it's one of those things I keep forgetting. Anyone else have that problem? Forgetting and then going on to something else. Oh wait!...I'm doing it again! ;oP Anyway Vegalicious posted a Garlic Baguette with Ratatouille that brought the idea back to the forefront! Alexis has been wanting to try eggplant, so maybe we'll make some Ratatouille!
Half Baked shared a Rustic Apple Tart that looks right up my alley! I adore things with apple!
I love King Aruther Flour Company and I love to see what they are baking up in their test kitchen! How about some Fudgies? Yes please, with some milk!
When I finally get to make my maiden voyage to Ireland (and trust me I'm going to one day soon!) one of my first stops is going to be Murphy's Ice Cream in either Killarny or Dingle or both! Until I do make it over there however I read several Irish food blogs including Kieran Murphy's Ice Cream Ireland. Who is Kieran Murphy? Sean and Kieran Murphy are the brothers who started Murphy's Ice Cream and recently on Ice Cream Ireland he shared Dark Chocolate Ice Cream! I think I like most anything Dark Chocolate, and most definitely ice cream!
Coleen's Recipes shares a pasta salad that uses Homemade Ranch Dressing, and not homemade in opening the packet and making it with buttermilk, sour cream and mayo, homemade as in made from scratch! I can't wait to try that!
Fruit Tart shared an adaptation of American Black Forest Cake. Chocolate and cherries...You can't go wrong there!
If you've know me for very long, or read Dianne's Dishes over time, you know I'm a HUGE fan of cheesecake! Culinary in the Desert Country shared a Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake that looks to die for!
Over at Del Sister's Kitchen they blogged about Zebrobrownies that look fabulous! I'll take some of those!
I go through stages with bananas....Sometimes I can't get enough of them, then others I can go months without touching one! Right now I'd be in the loving them stage. When I saw the TriniGourmet's “Set the House on Fire” Banana Cream Pie I had to convince myself not to lick my screen! ;oP Yum!
What caught your eye this week?
Now if you'll excuse me I'm going downstairs to make a tomato salad for lunch and get ready for my youngest nephew's delicious hair. I mean seriously...He's just too cute. I wish I could show you a picture, but I won't. Oh well. You'll just have to take my word for it! ;oP Just picture a fuzzy little head with hair sticking up all over it as if it you had rubbed a balloon all over his head. It just points up and refuses to lie down and it's just adorable!
I'm off! Have a fabulous Friday everyone! TGIF!
Update: 10:08 PM: My sister and I discussed it and decided we'd show you Grant's hair...We just won't show you his face! ;oP
Seriously though is that an adorable 'do or what??
Posted by Dianne at 8:58 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 23, 2009
What's For Dinner on a "Circus Day"?
The day has just gotten away from me! Today is what I like to call a "Circus Day"! What's a "Circus Day" you ask? Well I'm glad you asked that question! I'll tell you! ;oP
A circus day is one of those days where everything is just upside down crazy. And because of the upside down craziness your child(ren) bounce off the walls due to the upheaval. So if the circus were to come calling and tell you they were looking for hyper children whose specialty was bouncing off the walls, then well, you'd know just where to lead them! ;oP
As you can see I haven't had time to get a recipe up today, though I had hoped to! So much for good intentions, but you know what they say about those! Tomorrow should bring Link Love though! I'm going to try and sit down tonight and get that together.
I'm also going to try and get entries lined up this weekend for next week, though it's going to be a busy weekend for us. Lex's new art class starts on Saturday morning, I've got to finish up lesson planning for next week, general weekend cleaning, laundry, planting some stuff, not to mention church on Sunday and various other odds and ends that have to be done before Monday comes around. Do you remember when weekends used to be slow and relaxing? Oh I miss those days! ;oP
Tonight we're going to have something chicken related. I have a few boneless, skinless chicken breasts thawed, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them yet. Alexis and I will most likely have some tomatoes and cucumber along with whatever else I end up making.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:21 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 22, 2009
What's For Dinner?
Tonight I'm going to take some left over steamed shrimp from the other night and make a spicy rice/bean/shrimp dish. Jamison will have a sandwich before he journeys off to class.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Earth Day 2009: The Little Things Matter!
For those of you who don't know, though I'm sure most of you do, today is Earth Day! So now we're going to look at things you can do to show some love to this fantabulous home planet of ours! Some of you might not know it, but I have a degree in Environmental Management. Tomorrow we'll get back to food (or more specifically a recipe), but today I thought it would be fun to talk about things you can do to green up your plate!
One way to be more green when it comes to our food is by eating locally! Local Harvest has a fabulous site set up where you can find Farmer's Markets/CSAs in your area. Do some research about the area you live in and see what is produced nearby. For instance my milk comes from here. Do you know where your milk comes from and what goes into getting it from their door to yours?
As the season is rapidly approaching another great thing to do is grown your own! One great website to check out is Kitchen Gardeners International. They even encouraged the White House to eat the view! So let's talk a little about growing your own...
Even if you have limited space you can still grow your own greens, herbs, tomatoes, etc. You can make a small garden plot, or you can even plant everything in containers! Seeds of Change has some great information in terms of most types of gardens, not to mention some great organic seeds/earth friendly products to get you started! If you're interested in container gardening Gardener's Supply Company has some really great things for gardening in small places.
And what's a garden without a little compost? You would be amazed at what you can actually put into a compost pile! And don't worry...It's not just a stinky trash pile. If it stinks that can mean either it's too wet or to dry in most cases. There are natural things you can do to ensure that your compost pile stays odor free and then you've got a big pile of natural, organic nourishment just waiting for your plants/garden!
How can you make your everyday food a little greener? Cook for yourself! The more processed something is, the more resources it has taken to get it into that form, not to mention all the packaging that the product comes buried in. Cooking from scratch isn't that much harder than opening a box of something, and in some cases it's even easier! On top of that it tastes better AND it's better for you!
Another way to know what you're eating and make things a little greener is to can your own food! You can take the bounty you reap from planting your own and can what you can't eat immediately. You can even freeze things too!
So there are a few ideas to get you started on your path to green food. Oh and don't forget to take your own bags with you when you go to the store! Also buy organic whenever you can and remember with organic, the smaller the company the better it is and if it's local AND organic even better! And last but not least Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
To find out more about Earth Day check out the Earth Day website!
Tomorrow we'll get back to recipes! Today go forth and be green! (Or in other words have a wonderful day! ;oP)
Posted by Dianne at 10:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 21, 2009
What's For Dinner?
Tonight we're heaving steak tips, plain for Jamison, and with onions, peppers and mushrooms for me and Lex. I'll also make some roasted asparagus for Lex and me. I'm going to make some baked potatoes too.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 3:25 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Yeast Rolls a la Dianne
I don't make yeast rolls that often anymore. Before Jamison's Celiac discovery I made them for him once a week or so. Now that he can't have gluten I rarely make them because he can't have them, though he really would love to dive right in! So now I only make them on special occasions.
When Jamison's parents were here over the Easter weekend I made a batch to go with Easter dinner. These turned out great! And did I mention how easy these are? Your mixer does all the work other than shaping them into individual yeast rolls. That is always a good thing!
So if you like yeast rolls and don't want to go to a lot of trouble, look no further...These are the yeast rolls for you!
What You'll Need:
2 cups of warm water
1 tablespoon of yeast
2 sticks of butter, softened
2 eggs
1/3 cup of organic cane sugar
1 teaspoon of sea salt
4-6 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
2 tablespoons of butter
Mix yeast and warm water. Set aside for bout 5 minutes until yeast/water is foamy.
In the bowl of your mixer cream together butter, eggs, sugar and sea salt. Add water and 1 1/2 cups of flour. Mix on low until incorporated and then turn the mixer on medium and mix for 2 minutes.
At the end of two minutes slowly add flour with the mixer on low until dough ball forms and is no longer sticky. You may need all the remaining flour or just some of it. As always it depends on relative humidity and such. Once the dough ball has formed (and again isn't sticky) turn your mixer back to medium and mix for 4 minutes. This is your "kneading" stage. You're letting your stand mixer do the work for you!
Once the dough is kneaded shape into a ball and place in a very large glass bowl that has been lined with butter:
The best way to handle the butter is just to take the two tablespoons and squish it between your fingers and rub it all over the bowl.
Place the dough in a warm place and let rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size:
(Note: This picture above is actually about halfway through the rise. It will get a bit bigger than this.)
Once the dough is risen, punch it down and break off pieces about the size of a golf ball and shape into rounds:
Let rise in a warm place for about an hour. They should roughly double in size again.
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Makes about 2 dozen rolls.
Notes: You could use white whole wheat flour if you liked. I haven't actually tried that with this recipe, but it should work fine.
Posted by Dianne at 12:46 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 20, 2009
What's For Dinner?
Jamison went in to work today (it's weird not having him in the house!) and is actually leaving from there to go straight to class so it's just Miss G and me this evening. I'm not sure what we're having for dinner yet. I asked Lex what she might like and her answer was "Cookies!" Nice try kid! ;oP
Hopefully we'll come up with something soon.
What are you having?
Update: 6:14 PM: I ended up making a five minute tomato soup. I had a grilled cheese sandwich to go along with the soup and Lex had a turkey sandwich.
Posted by Dianne at 3:39 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Cheesy Caramelized Onion Quesadillas
No Better Bites today...We'll be back to that next Monday!
Let's move on to something else for today...Shall we?
Quesadillas are very fun to play around with. You can go really simple, or really out there, and either way you've got a quick, easy appetizer or even full course depending on how you want to play it and the fabulous part is you can make several different combinations, for several different people all at once. How cool is that?
Today let's look at a version that takes two different cheeses and caramelized onions to a whole new level!
What You'll Need:
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
1 large sweet onion, cut into strips
Sea salt
2 ounces of peppered goat cheese, crumbled (Note: If you can't find the peppered variety just add a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper.)
2 ounce of Dubliner Cheese, shredded fine (Note: If you can't find Dubliner you can use Parmesan.)
Extra virgin olive oil
2 tortillas (Note: You can use flour or whole grain. It's up to you.)
Preheat oven to 450 F.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and butter and stir until butter is melted. Add onion and lower the temperature to medium/low. Sauté the onion, stirring often, until caramelized. (Note: The secret to fabulous caramelized onions is low and slow!)
While onions are caramelized heat another large skillet or griddle over medium high heat until hot. Brush the pan/griddle with olive oil and cook each tortilla until browned. (Note: This takes about 20-30 seconds per side.) Set aside.
Once your onions are caramelized it's time to start assembling the quesadillas!
Lay on of the tortillas on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet. Top the tortilla with the caramelized onions:
Next add the peppered goat cheese and shredded Dubliner cheese:
Next add the other tortilla on top and place in the oven for 3-5 minutes to melt the cheese. Remove from oven and let stand for 2-3 minutes and then cut into wedges.
Serve plain or with a little sour cream
Notes: I think some cooked apple would be a fabulous addition to this!
Posted by Dianne at 1:46 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 17, 2009
Link Love Friday
Let's jump right in today shall we?
The Cycling Cook posted an amazing Jamaican Jerk Chicken! I must admit I've never actually tried Jerk Chicken, but I've always wanted to and this one look amazing!
Coffee and Vanilla shared some gorgeous Traditional Polish Easter Eggs Dyed in Onion Shells!
Cooking With Amy had some amazing Passover Sweet Potato Gnocchi to help celebrate.
What Geeks Eat presented an Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake and claimed it wasn't pretty, but it looks good to me! ;o)
How about some Banana Bundt Cake? Big City, Little Kitchen has one that looks fabulous!
Words to Eat by had a Hail Mary Pasta that looks right up my alley!
What caught your eye this week?
Posted by Dianne at 8:56 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 16, 2009
What's For Dinner?
I had hoped to find time to get together an entry for the Caramelized Goat Cheese Quesadillas I made the other day, but the day is just getting away from me! I will however do a quick "What's For Dinner?" and then I'll hopefully be back to recipes on Monday for Better Bites!
Tonight Alexis and I are having steamed shrimp, roasted asparagus, roasted brussels sprouts and brown rice. Jamison is having a steak and brown rice.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:10 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 15, 2009
Today Let's Focus On Something Rather Than Food
Sometimes the Universe just doesn't make sense to me. On the one hand you have amazing, fantastical things that happen that boggle the mind and warm the heart, on the other you have terrible, heartbreaking, incomprehensible occurrences that fail to make sense no matter how long you think about them and in most cases you don't want to think about them at all.
Over the past few years I've made an acquaintance with Shana, the authoress of Gorillabuns. We exchange e-mails occasionally and though we have never met, she totally strikes me as someone I could sit down and have dinner, share a drink, have fun and laugh the night away with. She's witty, snarky, comes off as a fiercely loyal friend, not to mention an enormously loving mother.
I have to admit I got behind on my blog reading this past weekend, as I often do these days, and I hadn't been by to her blog since late last week. I actually sent her an e-mail mid week last week and then got busy with Jamison's parents being here and Easter and I wasn't on the computer much over the weekend. There just never seem to be enough hours in the day, as you well know in your own lives.
I missed her post asking for prayers for her son Thalon. When I finally got around to catching up yesterday I had planned to answer the e-mail she sent back to me on Thursday, but I decided to go through my RSS feed first, and that's when I found not only the post that I linked to before, but the one following it two days later that said that almost four month old Thalon had passed away. At that moment my heart shattered for Shana and I haven't stopped thinking about her and her family since then.
When things like this happen it just doesn't make sense. As a parent we hope to never have to experience that pain, but when someone does, whether we have met them or not, we automatically feel devastated for the person who is going down the path that none of us want to go down. In fact it's a road we wish that no one had to travel!
I know I have, and many of you probably have too, woken up in the middle of the night with the burning desire to go check on your child(ren). We sneak quietly into their rooms and merely watch them sleep to reassure ourselves that they are indeed ok. Were they not, well our minds just can't wrap around that possibility, and it's a nightmare that many of us have. The reality that any of us, children included, can go tomorrow, in a few hours, or even in the next second, is easy to forget, but it doesn't make it any less real, nor does it make is any less heartbreaking when it actually occurs.
So no matter what you believe send Shana and her family some good thoughts and/or prayers. Shana and her husband Rich have lost a son...Celia and Moira have lost a little brother. Their family has collectively had their life turned upside down and their hearts crushed in a way that none of them could have imagined. A little positive energy their way can go a long way, though it will never erase what has happened totally.
Another way to help out, if you're so inclined, is to contribute to the fund that Shana's friend has set up to help out the family. Think about making a contribution if you can. Even a dollar or two will help the family pay for unexpected expenses that are sure to pop up, and in this economy we all know how tight things can be. If you want to contribute push the button below.
So as I said before. No food today. I simply wanted to show my meager support for the Gorillabuns family. My heart goes out to Shana, Rich, Moira and Celia. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Posted by Dianne at 12:39 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 14, 2009
What's For Dinner?
Tonight Jamison is having left over lasagna and Alexis and I taking the left over ham and making split pea and ham soup.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 3:04 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
What's Easter Without An Easter Bunny Cake?
This is another one from childhood. My mom used to make Easter Bunny cakes with my sister and me when we were children. It's so much fun I decided to do it with Alexis this year!
Alexis wanted a chocolate cake. Normally I think it would be fun to do this with a carrot cake since it's Easter and all, but chocolate it was! She also was adamant that there had to be some "M's" on the cake too! Not hard either! As you can see it turned out great and was delicious to boot!
This cake is really simple and a lot of fun! You could do this process with any shape...Turkey, reindeer, Santa, heart, pumpkin etc! The possibilities are endless!
What You'll Need:
3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 - 8 ounce container of cocoa
2 teaspoons of sea salt
1 heaping tablespoon of baking powder
1 1/2 cups of organic cane sugar
1/2 cup of safflower oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 1/2 cups of buttermilk
4 eggs
Icing or frosting
Candy for decoration
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Spray 2 - 11 inch round pans with non-stick spray and set aside.
In a large bowl stir together flour, cocoa, sea salt, baking powder and sugar until mixed. Add oil, vanilla, buttermilk and eggs and stir until batter is completely incorporated. Pour batter evenly into the two prepared pans.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until cake sticks done. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Using a serrated knife cut a bot tie shape out of the middle of one of the cake rounds:
As you can see above the cut outs become the ears. Place bow tie on the bottom of the other cake round and the "ears" at the top.
Once your shape is in place frost the cake:
You can use whatever type of frosting or icing you like. I used Wilton's classic minus the butter, but you could use cream cheese frosting instead if you liked.
Now it's time to decorate!
Use M&M's, jelly beans, licorice, etc. Whatever you want to decorate with is fine! Decorate his bow tie, his ears and put on a happy face! Once you're decorated then serve!
Notes: Traditionally this kind of cake has coconut on it for the "fur". Alexis didn't want coconut so we omitted it, but you can cover the cake in coconut if you prefer.
Posted by Dianne at 11:03 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
April 13, 2009
What's For Dinner?
Tonight I'm trying out a Shepard's type pie with some of the Easter leftovers. Unfortunately that won't be up Jamison, nor Lex's alley, so they are having left overs in their base form.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 5:00 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Better Bites: Carrot and Cucumber Salad
All this Easter stuff this past week made me think of carrots, because you know the Easter Bunny, he loves him some carrots! He gobbled up the one we left out for him Saturday night! ;oP
Many of you probably remember (and possibly even like) that old timey carrot salad that is mayonnaise based, with shredded carrots, raisins, and possibly sometimes some sort of nut depending on who made the dish. I was never a fan. It looked pretty to me, but taste wise it just wasn't up my alley.
So I started thinking of other ways you could make a carrot type salad, without using mayonnaise or raisins and I started playing around with ideas using an oil/vinegar base instead. I also wanted to add something else in to compliment the carrots instead of raisins and finally decided cucumber would be just perfect with the carrots and vinaigrette.
Then I had the base of the salad, but I wanted to add in some sort of herb and even use something you might not necessarily immediately think of when you think of brown rice vinegar.
My first thought was rosemary, but I decided that was a bit too powerful. Ah rosemary...I LOVE rosemary! But for this dish it just wasn't what I had in mind.
I thought briefly of basil, but put that aside as well. I'll readily admit I'm not a huge fan of basil. I think it is a nice compliment and I like it in things, but I don't like it that much as the main flavor component. It's just a bit to strong for me.
I finally decided to go with dried thyme and I was extremely pleased with the result! The thyme brings out just the right flavors overall and blends well with the overall dish.
Try it...I think you will be pleased too!
What You'll Need:
4-6 large carrots, shredded
1 English cucumber, cut into fourths and chopped
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of brown rice vinegar
1-2 teaspoons of dried thyme
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
In a large glass bowl toss together carrots and cucumbers. Set aside.
In a small glass bowl stir together olive oil, vinegar, thyme, a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper until completely mixed. (Note: I like to do this with a fork.)
Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables and toss to mix. Serve immediately or chill for up to an hour before serving.
Notes: You could add some chopped parsley to the mix if you liked.
Posted by Dianne at 10:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 10, 2009
Friday Link Love (With Easter Links Too!)
First up I want to share a few of my Easter links for last year and the year before in case anyone is looking for some ideas for this weekend! Then we'll get on to some link love around the blogosphere!
Like Peeps? Check out my version of Easter Marshmallows!
Have some left over ham you want to play around with? Why not make a Cheesy Ham Bake?
In the mood for cookies? How about some Easter sugar cookies?
What's Easter without the Perfect Easter Egg?
Or how about a chocolate egg??
Easter Bunny cupcakes are always a hit!
Or what about some deviled eggs or egg salad to use up those Easter eggs!
Now let's get down to some things that caught my eye around the web this week!
Maris from In Good Taste shared a Spinach & Artichoke Fritatta that looked fabulous!
The Feast Within posted her Mom’s Macaroni Salad that literally had me drooling at my screen!
Two Peas and Their Pod took Monkey Bread and made it into muffins!
Hugging the Coast has some ideas for Easter.
Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen has another idea for deviled eggs...How does Shrimp and Wasabi (or Dijon) Deviled Eggs sound?
Want to make your own Twix bars? Head on over to My Baking Adventures and Megan will show you how!
Gluten A Go Go teaches you how to make your own gluten free bean flours!
What caught your eye this week?
Posted by Dianne at 10:38 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
April 9, 2009
What's For Dinner? Easter Edition!
So I know Easter isn't until Sunday, but I thought it would be fun to share what we plan on having for Easter dinner since Jamison's parents will be here tomorrow and I most likely won't be online that much since we'll be having fun!
We are going to have our feast Saturday afternoon/evening. We are having ham, a turkey breast, mashed potatoes, carrots with dill, peas, deviled eggs, rolls (both regular and gluten free for Jamison) and salad.
For dessert I'm making a coconut pie for Jamison's dad and whoever else wants to share, gluten free chocolate chip cookies for Jamison and Alexis wants to make a chocolate Easter Bunny cake!
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:24 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Mexican Casserole
If you've been a reader of Dianne's Dishes for any amount of time you've heard me mentioned my love of Mexican food. The flavors are just fabulous! And while this casserole isn't Mexican in the true sense of authentic Mexican cuisine, the flavors lend themselves to that theme.
This casserole is an adaptation of one from childhood. It's one of the few times you'll see a canned cream of anything soup on this blog. Of course I've tweaked it over the years, because we are talking about me after all, but it is still comforting in in familiarness.
This is also the perfect make ahead dish and leftovers are even better than first helpings! It's just perfect for a week night meal or even a pot luck dinner. After all variety is the spice of life and in this case you can make it as spicy or as mild as you like!
What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds of ground turkey (Note: You can use ground chicken or ground beef if you prefer. Or if you want a no meat option try some textured soy or vegetable protein.)
1 large onion, chopped
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 - 3.8 ounce cans of sliced olives drained
2 - 4 ounce cans of green Chile peppers, drained (Note: You can use jalapeños if you prefer.)
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (Note: You can use one cream of mushroom and one cream of celery, or two cream of celery, etc.)
1 - 16 ounce bottle of taco sauce, with 1/3 a cup set aside (Note: You can use hot, medium or mild.)
Shredded cheddar
Shredded Monterrey Jack
Corn tortillas
In a large skillet or stock pot sauté onions with ground turkey, a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper in a little extra virgin olive oil until onions and tender and turkey is cooked through:
Once the turkey and onions are cooked remove from heat and stir in olives and peppers:
Next stir in taco sauce (minus the 1/3 a cup set aside) and cream of mushroom soups:
Now it's time to assemble everything!
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Spray a 13 X 9 inch dish with non-stick spray or brush it with olive oil. Place a layer of corn tortillas on the bottom of the dish:
Next add half of the turkey mixture and spread it out over the top of the tortillas:
After the filling you will add a layer of shredded cheese:
Then repeat...Layer of tortillas, the rest of the turkey filling, another layer of cheese and then top with a layer of tortillas. Top this layer with the set aside taco sauce and spread it out to cover the entire surface:
And finally top this layer with a generous amount of cheese:
Bake for 25-25 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly browned around the edges:
Remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes: You can garnish this any way you like, or even just eat it plain. I like to serve it with sour cream and/or guacamole.
Posted by Dianne at 8:36 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 8, 2009
What's For Dinner?
It's class night again for Jamison! Alexis and I are going to play around with some quesadillas. I'm going to make a caramelized onion and peppered goat cheese version for me and Alexis and I will make a pizza themed version for her.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:17 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Chocolate Sheet Cake
Chocolate Sheet Cake is one of those classic recipes that is made a bazillion different ways. Alexis was very impressed with this one, except she decided it should be called "Chocolate Pie Cake" instead! I didn't see the pie tie in, but hey, why stifle her creativity! ;oP
Chocolate Sheet Cake is a quick recipe that comes together in a flash, yet gives you a nice dessert that is just perfect for dinner guests or even to take and share. This cake is simplicity at its best and sometimes simplicity is just what you need!
What You'll Need for the Cake:
2 cups of organic cane sugar
2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/3 cup of cocoa
1 cup of butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 1/2 cups of buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large glass bowl stir together sugar, flour, baking soda, sea salt and cocoa until completely mixed. Add melted butter, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and stir until completely incorporated.
Once the batter is mixed spread it out on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray:
Bake for 25-20 minutes until cake sticks done. Cover with icing as soon as it comes out of the oven. (See below.)
Notes: The original way that my mom made this called for a teaspoon of cinnamon. I'm not a fan of chocolate and cinnamon together, but if that sounds good to you then add it in with the dry ingredients.
What You'll Need for the Icing:
1 stick of butter, cut into chunks
4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (Note: You can use milk or bittersweet if you prefer.)
1/2 cup of heaving whipping cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 cups of powdered sugar
Five to ten minutes before the cake is done making the icing.
Cut butter into chunks and roughly chop your chocolate:
Add butter, chocolate and whipping cream to a pot over medium heat and melt, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Once melted bring mixture to a quick boil, stirring frequently, to ensure it doesn't burn. As soon as it boils remove it from the heat.
Add vanilla and stir to incorporate and then slowly add sugar and stir until completely mixed. Pour mixture over baked sheet cake that has just been removed from the oven. Spread out gently to cover the entire cake.
Let cake cool and then serve.
Notes: If you want you can add a cup of chopped nuts to the icing.
Posted by Dianne at 12:43 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 7, 2009
What's For Dinner?
I put a pot roast with potatoes, carrots and onions in the slower cooker this morning.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 1:01 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Garden Update One 2009: It's Spring! So Now It's Time To Start Gardening!
It's that time of year again...Time to start having garden updates! This year I'm going to do things a little bit differently. I will update about my garden every week or so. I'm planning on doing container gardening this year exclusively, but you might be surprised by some of the things I end up planting!
As I plant I'll fill you in on what's going on and my garden entry will be my entry for the day. It's fun for me to be able to see what I've planted, what worked, what didn't, how things are progressing, etc. I know many of you enjoy it too because you e-mailed me last summer after I stopped updating about progress when my garden got out of control due to some unforeseen stuff that popped up in our life and I didn't want to show you my big bunch of weeds! ;oP
So let's get start today shall we?
As I mentioned above this year I am going the container route. This weekend I got two containers of spinach, one container of snow peas, one container of shell peas and some herbs planted. I also moved most of my pots outdoors to either the patio or the front porch.
First off let me show you the planters I like, and also tell you what kind of potting material I like to use.
As you can see above I like to use rectangular planters for the most part, especially for spinach and peas. These are also great for petunias too, but we're not quite to petunia season yet! These guys are great because they can fit over the rail of a porch or a deck. Unfortunately our front porch rails are slightly raised in the middle so I can't use them in that capacity right now, but they look great sitting on the ground too as you'll see in a bit.
To start out with I like to use a good organic potting mix. I also like to combine some compost in if its available. In a few weeks if needed I'll add some all natural fertilizer. You don't always need to add it though. You just need to keep an eye on things.
Last year I mentioned that I make up an organic pest control solution and several of you asked me about it, but I forgot to share. Well better late than never I guess! ;oP
Here's my mix/method:
Grab a big stock pot. Fill it up with garlic and hot peppers (I normally use cayenne peppers that I've grown and dried the year before and saved). Cover it with water, bring to a quick boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and let cook for 30 minutes to an hour. Remove from heat, let cool completey and strain the liquid before putting it into spray bottles. Use to spray directly on your plants. It works great! If you don't want to make your own though you can always check out hot pepper wax too.
Another good pest solution is marigolds and garlic. You can plant marigolds and a clove of garlic here and there to help ward of pests too! Marigolds work particularly well with tomatoes and herbs. I like to plant garlic with my flowers and herbs too!
I always plant several planters with herbs. You can NEVER have too many herbs in my opinion! Saturday at My Organic Market I picked up a basil plant and some potted chives. I decided to add them into my planter that already had peppermint sprouting again from last year!
Now the trick is keeping Alexis out of it long enough for it to grow! I've already caught her twice munching on the basil! She is SO my child! ;oP This is the first of several herb pots that will come together over the next few weeks.
For now I have the spinach, herbs and peas pushed up against the house since it is still getting a bit cool at night to keep them somewhat sheltered:
The two metal pots on the windows are herbs and strawberries. We planted them a month or so ago as one of Lex's science experiments. I decided it was time to move them outside as well!
In a few weeks I'll pull the planters out to the front of the porch.
I also plan to do some experimenting with hanging/upside down plantings this year! That will come in a few weeks once it warms up enough to start planting vegetables! So stay tuned!
Now let's oh and ah over some spring things! They may not be edible, but humor me! ;oP
You may or may not know that my favorite flower is the daffodil. The house we live in now actually has two varieties growing!
First there is a pale whitish petal with a yellow center:
And there is also a yellow on yellow variety:
We also have several varieties of crocuses including some that are purple:
And some that are white:
There were a few more colors too such as a yellowy orange, but they were past their prime so I didn't bother with pictures. There are tulips sprouting too, but they haven't bloomed yet.
Finally after I finished puttering around planting and exploring it was time to sit on the front porch swing and enjoy the view:
Isn't it amazing? I can't wait to see what it looks like once the trees actually have leaves!
So that's where I stand now on the gardening front. Who out there is gardening this year? What are you planting? How are you planting? Tell me! I just love this stuff!
Posted by Dianne at 9:06 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 6, 2009
What's For Dinner?
Jamison is on his way to class. Alexis and I are going simple and having turkey sandwiches, with chips and salsa.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 5:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Better Bites: Spicy Asparagus
Asparagus is one of my all time favorite vegetables. Nine times out of ten if you take a peek in to my fridge you'll find a bunch of asparagus sitting there ready to be devoured! It's a constant for me.
The first time I had asparagus was actually when I was pregnant with Alexis. Jamison had to go on a business trip to Islandia, NY and I tagged along. We stayed in this really great hotel and given I was miserable 99.9% of the time that I was pregnant, unless I was in a swimming pool, we ordered room service for dinner several of the nights that we were there. They had an amazing roasted vegetable mix that included asparagus and I fell in love right then and there!
Most of the time when I make asparagus I make it by simply by drizzling it with some extra virgin olive oil, sprinkling it with some sea salt and black pepper and baking it for about 10 minutes at 425 F. But sometimes I like to play around with this very versatile vegetable! Another way I like to make it is with a little chopped garlic and tomatoes as a pasta topper. This version came about because I was in the mood for something a little spciy and what's better for spicy than a little wasabi?
The best part, aside from being delicious, is how quickly this dish comes together! In no time you'll have an amazing, healthy side dish with a kick...How fabulous is that?
What You'll Need:
1 large bunch of asparagus (Note: This is about 20-30 spears.)
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of wasabi powder
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat a large skillet over medium heat until hot.
While skillet is heating trim asparagus and have it ready to go in the pan. Set aside.
In a bowl whisk together olive oil, wasabi powder, a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper until completely incorporated. Set aside.
Brush the bottom of the hot skillet with a little of the wasabi/oil mixture. Place the asparagus into the pan and drizzle the rest of the wasabi/oil mixture over the top of the asparagus. Cook asparagus, turning often, until slightly tender (about 3-5 minutes). Remove from heat and serve immediately.
Notes: You could do this in the oven too at 425 F for about 10-15 minutes or until tender.
Posted by Dianne at 9:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 3, 2009
Friday Link Love
Let's jump right in today shall we?
Alice Q. Foodie makes a mouth watering Homemade Caesar Salad!
Taste and Tell serves up a Sweet "No Sesame" Chicken that looks right up my alley!
One of my blog daughters Nella made her husband's favorite Oatmeal Sugar Cookies...I think Alexis would love those!
Ruth from Ruth's Kitchen Experiments made a Rainbow Cake for Taste and Create that looks like a lot of fun!
Cooking for Seven has a fabulous looking Devil's Food Cake!
Dine and Dish had a Broccoli and Chicken Noodle Soup that makes me want to pull out my stockpot and start cooking!
I have to admit I can take it or leave it, but I think it's really neat that Cook & Eat has a DIY Nutella to share!
Bittersweet shares a Matzah Toffee that looks amazing!
And finally Anne's Food shared a Creamy Bacon Pesto Pasta that I'm going to have to try!
What caught your eye this week?
Posted by Dianne at 1:32 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 2, 2009
What's For Dinner?
Alexis requested pork chops so we're having smoked pork chops, mashed potatoes, peas and cooked apples.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 4:12 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Nachos
As I've mentioned before I have an affinity for Mexican food. It's one of those things I could most likely eat for every meal from now until the end of time and still not get tired of the cuisine! Jamison and Alexis are that way with Pasta, my choice is Mexican! (And possibly sushi, but that's a tale for another time! ;oP)
As a result of this adoration I like to play around with Mexican inspired "meals" or even just snacks/appetizers. One of the really fun things to play around with (other than quesadillas, which I like to play around with too) are nachos! You can do so many things and have a familiar, yet slightly different dish, each time you make them. You can do an all veggie version, or use various ground meats, or even use textured vegetable or soy protein. The possibilities are endless and delicious!
Today's version utilized ground beef, along with some veggies and Mexican type spices to make a hearty nacho combination that could easily be a meal. The flavors meld perfectly and the result is a spicy, yet fresh, all while being a satisfying sort of dish. It's just perfect for a quick weeknight meal or even a weekend snack or appetizer. What's not to like about that?
What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 pound of lean ground beef
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of ground chipolte chile powder
1/4-1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (Note: More if you like it spicy, less if you don't.)
1/2 cup of water
Tortilla chips
Refried beans
Shredded cheddar
Sour cream
In a large skillet over medium heat cook onions, bell peppers and ground beef in a little extra virgin olive oil with a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper until veggies are tender and beef is cooked through.
Next add spices and water and bring to a quick boil. Let water evaporate and seasonings will thicken slightly. Once this has happened you are ready to assemble your nachos!
Place a single layer of chips on a plate. Top with refried beans, meat mixture, cheddar and then sour cream. Serve immediately.
Notes: You can top this anyway you like. Sometimes I use guacamole, sometimes I like to add salsa, etc. You could also use a blend of cheeses or leave out cheddar all together and use Monterrey Jack instead.
Posted by Dianne at 11:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 1, 2009
What's For Dinner?
Jamison has class this evening so it's just me and Miss G for dinner. I'm going to make a Mexican type casserole playing around with a recipe from childhood.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 3:25 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Chicken Pizza Burgers
Each aspect of this "recipe" is a recipe in and of itself. You've had two days of previews of what was coming without actually knowing it! Today we're going to take the recipes from the previous two days (Tomato Sauce and Sandwich Buns) and combine them with a Chicken Burger to make Chicken Pizza Burgers!
For a while now I've had a growing aversion to ground beef. I still eat it and use it in recipes from time to time, but actually handling it sort of makes me ill. Recently I finally got around to trying ground chicken and I was very pleased with it as an alternative to ground beef! Mushrooms are great as a meat substitute too, but sometimes I just want something with a little more bite. I decided to try a chicken burger, but also thought it needed to be kicked up a notch so this is the end result!
I also thought it would be fun playing around with a baked burger to see how it would turn out and I must say I think the process worked great! It kept a lot of the juiciness within the burger instead of letting it drip out in the process of grilling or pan frying. I want to experiment with this method with other types of burgers in the future.
But for now sit back, relax and let's make some Chicken Pizza Burgers!
What You'll Need:
1 pound of ground chicken
1 cup chopped red onion
1 - 6 ounce jar of mushrooms, drained
1 cup of bread crumbs
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
Extra virgin olive oil
Tomato Sauce (Note: You can use ready made pizza sauce if you want.)
Sandwich Buns (Note: You can purchase buns if you want.)
Pizza cheeses (Note: I used Mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano and Asiago.)
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Dump ingredients into a glass bowl and work together with your hands until all ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is moist and sticks together. (Note: The ground chicken I got was pretty moist. If you have trouble getting it to come together because there isn't enough moisture you can always add 1 beaten egg. I don't think you'll need it though.)
Form into 6-8 patties and place in a baking dish that has been brushed with olive oil:
Bake for 1 hour to ensure they are done through. Remove from the oven and start your assembly.
First you'll place your cooked chicken burger on a bun:
Next you want to top the burger with some tomato sauce:
Then you want to top with your favorite Pizza cheese(s):
After that you'll put the bun on top and eat!
Notes: Obviously this is a fork and knife kind of burger, unless you really want to get messy. You could also do this method with any type of ground meat...beef, turkey, pork, etc. I actually ate one of the patties in this form and froze the rest of them for later.
Posted by Dianne at 11:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
