Burger Night [Caprese Burger]

Caprese Burger

• 1.25 lb. Ground Beef (feeds 4)
• Salt & Pepper
• Fresh mozzarella
• 2 tomatoes
• 12 Basil leaves
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Green Onions (optional)
• 4 Buns

Preheat grill. Slice tomatoes and marinate in balsamic vinegar. (This can be done a couple of hours ahead of time if you like.) Season ground beef with salt & pepper. Grill burgers until nearly done and then add sliced mozzarella on top. Toast buns and assemble burgers, adding tomatoes, basil leaves, green onions, and some extra balsamic (also a small amount of mayo is an option). Eat up!

Crock Pot Ribs

With baseball practice, church, and miscellaneous events, life is busy these days. So any time I can throw something in the crock pot and not have to worry about it too much is a win. I've made these ribs from Mmm... is for Mommy a couple times, and tonight I'm making them again. Aaron and the kids are big ribs fans, and they all loved these. They're easy, and they have a nice glaze/crust on the outside and they're fall-right-off-the-bone tender.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• S&P to taste (about 1 tsp each is what I used)
• 2 lbs pork baby back ribs (leave the membrane on the ribs to help hold them together)
• 1 cup barbecue sauce

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, mix together paprika, brown sugar, cayenne and S&P.  Rub this mixture all over both sides of your ribs well.  Arrange ribs in the slow cooker by standing them up against the wall of the stoneware pot, thicker side down and meaty side against the pot. Pour barbecue sauce over the ribs, cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low (I did 7 hours and they were perfect).

Once the initial slow cooking is done, very carefully (as they are tennnnderrrrr) remove the ribs to a baking pan which you have lined with foil and put a rack on, bone side up and set aside. Skim any fat that has risen to the top and strain all of the remaining juices from the slow cooker through a mesh strainer into a small saucepan. Bring to boil and allow to simmer and reduce by about a third, approximately 15 minutes.  Put your oven’s broiler on to preheat and make sure that there is an oven rack about 10 inches below the broiler element.  Once the broiler is preheated, brush the ribs with sauce and broil for 3 or 4 minutes. Take them out and very carefully flip them over, brush with sauce and broil again, meat side up, for approximately 9 minutes, taking them out once or twice to baste with more sauce. Serve any remaining sauce on the side with the ribs.

Salsa Verde Burgers

In our house, Aaron is the king of burgers. He makes such amazing hamburgers. He makes all kinds, and they are all delicious. So you can imagine the anxiety I felt when I had planned on burgers for dinner one night, and then he didn't have enough time to grill them for me. I pulled up a recipe that I'd pinned on Pinterest from SkinnyTaste, and decided to make burgers myself. I was terrified.

I was completely shocked and flattered, however, when Aaron raved and asked if I would make more, and said it was one of his favorite burgers he'd ever had. What?! This man takes his burgers very seriously, so it was a huge honor coming from his mouth.

And now, for the recipe!

Salsa Verde Burgers 
Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• pinch kosher salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 (93% lean) beef patties, 4.75 oz each
• 1/2 cup salsa verde, homemade or store bought
• 4 slices Sargento reduced fat pepper jack cheese
• 4 (100 calorie) whole wheat potato buns
• 1/4 cup shredded red cabbage (or lettuce)
• 4 ounces sliced avocado (from 1 medium haas)

Directions: 

Heat a skillet or grill over high heat. When hot, spray with oil and add the patties. Season with salt and pepper and cook a few minutes on each side, to your desired liking. Add the cheese and cover; cook to melt, about 30 seconds.

Servings: 4 • Size: 1 burger with the works • Old Points: 8 • Weight Watcher Points+: 10 pt
Calories: 407 • Fat: 17.5 g • Carb: 25 g • Fiber: 8 g • Protein: 42 g • Sugar: 7 g
Sodium: 445 mg  • Cholest: 87 mg 

Pork Carnitas Tacos

This pork carnitas from 100 Days of Real Food is delicious and (even better) easy! Aaron also discovered (and highly recommends) that the leftover pork makes delicious nachos the next day!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 to 2 ½ lbs pork shoulder or Boston butt roast, cut into 5 or 6 small pieces
• 3 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 onion, cut into 6 or 8 chunks
• 3 garlic cloves, whole
• 1 recipe tomatillo salsa
• Corn tortillas
• 2 avocados, sliced
• Fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix together oregano, pepper, salt, and cumin and rub on outside of pork pieces in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Throw onion and garlic on top of pork.
3. Slow cook on low for 6 – 8 hours or until meat is falling apart.
4. When finished discard the onion and garlic. Drain meat and shred with a fork.
5. Serve warm with tortillas, tomatillo salsa, avocados and cilantro.

Kung Pao Chicken Tacos

INGREDIENTS
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
3 T. low sodium soy sauce, divided
1/4 c. plus 1 1/2 t. cornstarch, divided
1/4 t. kosher salt
2 T. canola oil, divided
1 1/2 T. honey
1 T. sesame oil
2 t. rice vinegar
1 t. red curry paste
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 T. coarsely chopped honey roasted peanuts
1-2 stalks of celery, diagonally sliced
8 corn tortillas
1/3 c. green onions, sliced
1/2 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
4 lime wedges

DIRECTIONS

1. Place chicken in a large zip top plastic bag. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce to bag; seal. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Place 1/4 cup cornstarch in dish, and toss chicken to thoroughly coat. Shake off excess corn starch.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add half of coated chicken; saute for 6 minutes or until done, turning to brown. Remove chicken from pan; drain on paper towels. Repeat the procedure with remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil and remaining chicken.
3. Combine remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, honey, and next 3 ingredients (through curry paste) in a microwave safe bowl, stiring with a whisk until smooth. Microwave on high for 30 seconds or until slightly thick, stirring twice. Stir in garlic. Combine soy sauce mixture, chicken, and peanuts; toss to coat chicken.
4. Warm/toast tortillas, then serve with chicken mixture and garnishing with celery, green onion, red bell pepper, and lime.

Suggested side: Asian Chopped Salad

Serves 4.
Calories 418 | Fat 19.1 g | Protein 25.2 g

Lemon Cream Pie

Yesterday we had family over for the 4th of July. It was an incredibly fun day that was complete with good food, lots of laughter, and of course, fireworks. I needed something to make for dessert and went to my stack of recipes I'd cut out and been waiting to try. I found this one from Real Simple magazine and it just looked like the perfect summer dessert!

INGREDIENTS
9 oz. ginger snaps
6 T. unsalted butter, melted
2 T. granulated sugar
1 t. kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 T. finely grated lemon zest, plus more for serving, plus ½ c. lemon juice
1 c. heavy cream
2 T. confectioners sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350. In a food processor, process the gingersnaps until fine crumbs form. Add the butter, granulated sugar, and ½ teaspoon of the salt and pulse until moistened. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate, using a straight sided dry measuring cup to help. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the edges are dry and set, 16-18 minutes. (Note: the bottom will still appear moist and soft but will become firmer as it cools; this is a crunchy cookie crust, not a soft, graham cracker style one.) Let cool.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, condensed milk, lemon zest and jice, and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Pour the mixture into the crust and bake until set in the center, 18-20 minutes. Let cool and then refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
3. Using an electric mixer, whip the cream and confectioners’ sugar on medium until soft peaks form, 2-3 minutes. Spread on the pie, sprinkle with the additional zest, and serve immediately.

NOTE: This pie can be baked up to 2 days in advance; refrigerate, covered. Top with the whipped cream and lemon zest just before serving.

Bacon Wrapped Jalepenos

We've got tons of jalepenos growing in our garden at the moment. Every few days I'm picking handfuls of them. (And that's just off of one plant!) I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them until the other day, and then I realized, of course! I mean is there really anything else to do with a jalepeno besides stuff it with cream cheese and wrap it in bacon?

INGREDIENTS

• Jalepenos
• Cream cheese (I use the reduced fat whipped)
• Green onions, chopped small
• Bacon, strips cut in half

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Halve jalepenos and discard the seeds. (Also, do not touch your eyes, nose, face, or any other important part of your body until you have thoroughly washed your hands. A word to the wise.)
3. In small bowl, combine cream cheese with green onions to suit your taste.
4. Spoon cream cheese mixture into the jalepeno halves.
5. Cut bacon strips in half and use one strip to wrap each jalepeno.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until bacon is crispy. (I can't remember how long I cooked them. Will try to update next time I make these and am paying attention more closely.)
7. Go sit in a corner and eat the whole tray before anyone else finds out what you've done!

Garlic Baked Shrimp

Tonight, I tried making a new recipe I found on LaaLoosh. I typically don't like shrimp, but this one caught my eye (it looked similar to one of my favorite restaurant dishes, Shrimp Paesano) and I decided to give it a go. Well, this dish passed the family test with flying colors! Aaron is still talking about it several hours later, and is asking if we can have it tomorrow too.

Ingredients

• 1lb fresh, raw shrimp, deveined, peeled and tails removed
• 2 tbsp light butter, melted
• Juice from ½ a lemon
• 2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped (optional)
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup Special K cereal, crushed
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine shrimp, lemon juice, garlic, paprika and salt & pepper. Pour into a small baking dish.
3. In another bowl, combine Special K, butter, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and parsley until it reaches a course, mealy consistency – just enough to evenly blend the ingredients.
4. Sprinkle Special K mixture over shrimp. Transfer to oven and bake until shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 10-12 minutes.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 10 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

PER SERVING: 180 calories; 5g fat; 7g carbohydrates; 24g protein; 0g fiber

SERVE WITH: Angel Hair Pasta, Steamed Vegetables

Chicken Lime Tacos

Chicken tacos are one of my new favorite foods, and they're healthy (especially if you swap the sour cream for salsa). And letting the crock pot do most of the cooking, well... you know I love that! (Recipe from Taste of Home)

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup chunky salsa
• 12 whole wheat flour tortillas (6 inches), warmed
• Sour cream, shredded cheese, and shredded lettuce, optional

Directions

• Place the chicken in a 3-qt. slow cooker. Combine lime juice and chili powder; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender.
• Remove chicken; cool slightly. Shred meat with two forks and return to the slow cooker; heat through. Stir in corn and salsa.
• Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve in tortillas with sour cream, cheese and lettuce if desired.

Asian Pork Loin Dinner

Sometimes I just don't feel like cooking a whole meal from scratch, so I'm always looking for easy to prep items that can be ready in a short amount of time BUT ARE STILL HEALTHY. We all know how hard this can be, so I thought I'd share one of my favorites.

Ingredients
Artisan Fresh Sweet Thai Style Chili Pork Loin Filet
Taylor Farms Asian Chopped Salad
Crock Pot Coconut Rice

Directions

1. A couple hours before dinner, begin the coconut rice in the crock pot.
2. Cook Pork Loin. Option 1: Grill it. Option 2: Sear in cast iron skillet on all sides and then finish cooking in the oven.
3. While pork is cooking, cut bag of salad open. Dump salad in a bowl.
4. Serve.

Easy Salmon

Natalie (my beautiful sister-in-law) shared this simple and oh-so-simple salmon recipe with me, and we all loved it! (Did I mention before that I usually don't like fish?) We will be having this again and again!

Ingredients

1 lb. salmon filet

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Lemon slices

Directions

Heat oven to 350. Brush salmon filet with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place lemon slices on top of filet and bake 25-30 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Tilapia with Cilantro Butter

• I've never been a fan of fish or seafood of any kind. However, as we've begun to try and eat healthier, I keep hearing about all the benefits of eating fish... So I set out in search of a few good fish recipes that the kids and I might be able to swallow. This recipe from Cooking Light was one of the first recipes I tried and we've had it several times already! It's actually good!
• Ingredients
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
• Cooking spray
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Directions
• Combine first 3 ingredients; sprinkle over both sides of fish. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Coat both sides of fish with cooking spray; place in pan. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Place fish on a serving platter; squeeze lemon quarters over fish.
  Place butter and remaining ingredients in a small bowl; stir until well blended. Serve with fish.
  Calories: 194, Fat: 6.9g, Protien: 30.5 g
  Serve with: couscous, steamed broccoli

Corn and Black Bean Salad

Ingredients
1 can of black beans (drained)
1 can of corn (drained)
1 can of mild rotel
1/2 cup grape tomatoes (sliced)
1  lime (squeezed)
chopped cilantro (to taste)
Sliced Jalapenos in their Juice (optional)
Salt (to taste)
Garlic powder (to taste)

Directions Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, and voila! You're done! Keeps well (and becomes more flavorful) for several days. Tastes great with tortilla chips or on it's own!