Veggie Burger

I've grown to love veggie burgers over the past several years. It all stemmed from my college anatomy class. I won't go into any details (this is a food blog, after all), but let's just say that it turned me away from eating red meat for the better part of 5 years. My sweet mom would make a separate pot of vegetable/beef soup, spaghetti sauce, and other beef meals just for me. I'm sure she's glad those days are over (I know my husband is glad those days are over).

Even though we eat beef burgers quite a bit, I still enjoy eating a good hearty veggie burger. I'm so lucky to have a husband that's willing to try new things... even if it means trying a veggie burger. To my surprise, he actually loved eating this. He even said that he would be happy eating this on a weekly basis, and I agree. I think the only change I will make next time is to add a chopped jalapeno. We have some growing in our garden, and I'm kicking myself now because I didn't think to add this.
Serve with baked onion rings, baked french fries, or potato chips.

Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients:
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
3 Tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 red or orange bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely diced.
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
1 shallot, minced

Directions:
Place a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Combine the panko with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and mix with a fork to blend. Add the mixture to the skillet and toast the panko, stirring frequently, until light golden brown. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Place 2 1/2 cups of the beans in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher or a fork until mostly smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, 1 tablespoon of the oil, cumin, salt and cayenne. Whisk to blend. Add the egg mixture, toasted panko, the remaining 1/2 cup beans, bell pepper, cilantro and shallot to the bowl with the mashed beans. Stir together until evenly combined.

Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions. Lightly pack into 1-inch thick patties.
At this point the patties can be covered tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before cooking.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Carefully lay half of the patties in the skillet and cook 4-5 minutes on each side. Transfer the cooked burgers to a plate, tent with foil, and repeat with the remaining oil and bean patties. Serve warm.

Source: Annie's Eats

Corn and Jalapeno Nachos

This is another recipe from the recipe swap that I participate in. The theme this week was "tailgating foods." Nachos are the ultimate tailgating food, in my opinion, so I wasn't surprised when I got this in my inbox. 

One of the great things about this recipe is that each chip already has the filling inside. Even the chips on the bottom of the plate have just as much filling as the ones on the top. This isn't always the case with many nacho recipes; usually the chips on the bottom get shafted.

Feel free to cut the recipe in half. Also, make sure you serve them immediately. They tend to loose thier "crunch" if they sit too long.


Corn and Jalapeno Nachos

Ingredients:
1 bag Tostitos Scoops
1 jar sliced jalapenos
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1 (8-ounce) container plain Greek yogurt (may sub with sour cream)
1 can sweet corn (drained)
1 bag shredded cheese (Mexican blend)
Sliced olives and cilantro, for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees-F.

Mix together the cream cheese, Greek yogurt and corn until smooth. Add about 1 cup of shredded cheese to the mixture, and stir until combined.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and fill sheet with Tostitos (scoop side up).
Place 1 jalapeno in the bottom of each scoop.  Fill each scoop about 3/4 of the way up with the cheese/yogurt mixture.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top each scoop with a little of the shredded cheese and bake for another 5 minutes, or until shredded cheese is melted.

Garnish with sliced olives and cilantro.

Source: barely adapted from The Wannabe Cook

Skinny Vanilla Iced Cappuccino

I absolutely love coffee. I can hardly function if I don't have my morning cup. I would love to enjoy my morning cup while relaxing, but the reality is that I usually grab it in a to-go cup and drink it on my way to work. The down-side to drinking it on the way to work is that summers are so hot in south Alabama, and hot coffee makes it almost impossible to cool off (even with my AC going full speed). 

Then I thought, "Why not make iced coffee?!?"  That way I could be caffeinated and cool off at the same time. This recipe is very versatile. I used vanilla flavoring in this batch, but you could play with flavors according to the season. I can't wait to try a pumpkin version when the pumpkin creamer comes out. Oh, and peppermint around Christmas time... get creative!


Skinny Vanilla Iced Cappuccino

Ingredients:
5 cups strongly brewed (or double brewed) coffee
14-ounce can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
2 cups fat-free half-and-half
3 teaspoons vanilla extract or flavoring

Directions:
Brew 1 pot of strongly (or double)-brewed coffee. Bring to room temperature.

Measure 5 cups of cooled coffee into a pitcher. You can use any leftover coffee to make coffee-ice cubes.

Add sweetened condensed milk, half-and-half, and vanilla to coffee in pitcher. Mix well and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Source: barely adapted from baby food scoops

Chocolate Chip Fudge Cookies

I'm always looking for an excuse to bake cookies. They are so versatile and easy to transport, and everyone loves cookies, right? If you're a chocoholic like myself, you will really enjoy these cookies. I recently took a batch of these to work, and everyone went crazy over them. Of course, I had to give them a taste test before giving them away. They were one of the most chocolate-y, ooey-gooey cookies I've ever put in my mouth, and I had a hard time keeping my fingers out of them. I ended up switching out my self-control for a pair of stretchy pants and a tummy ache. This is why I can't bake for myself; I don't know when to say "STOP."


Chocolate Chip Fudge Cookies
makes about 24 large cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder (optional)
1 pound (16-ounces) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1 3/4 cups granulated white sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:
Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the sugar and eggs until pale yellow and thick, about 5 minutes. (When you slowly raise the beaters, the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.) Beat in the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla extract. Fold in the dry ingredients to the chocolate batter and mix only until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the batter until firm, about 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F (177-degrees C) and place rack in center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto prepared cookie sheets, spacing evenly. With moist fingers, press batter to form 3 1/2- to 4-inch rounds. Bake cookies 10-15 minutes or until the tops of the cookies become dry and cracked, but are still shiny. Do not over-bake.

Remove from the oven and place baking pan on a wire rack to cool. When cookies are firm, remove from baking pan and let completely cool on rack.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days.

Source: Divine Baking

Make-Ahead Smoothies

I love drinking smoothies, but sometimes it can be time consuming cutting up the fruit and measuring out the yogurt. There are several brands at the grocery store that offer bags of frozen fruit and yogurt. All you have to do is add milk or juice. These work great except for the fact that they charge an arm and a leg for each bag (1-2 servings, depending on how big of a glass you like).

I found this idea on another blog, and it was one of those "Gah, why didn't I think of that" kind of moments. I played around with the ratio of fruit to yogurt until I found one that I liked. The bags I made make a large glass, so feel free to cut it in half to make a smaller serving. I'll probably do that next time.

You can use whatever kind of yogurt you like. I used strawberry because that's what was on sale, but feel free to use plain or any other flavor you like. Greek yogurt would also work well and adds more protein. Freeze the yogurt in an ice tray to make cubes of frozen yogurt.

You can also play around with the fruit. Freeze strawberries and slices of bananas to make a strawberry-banana smoothie. Make mixed berry smoothies, which is what I did here, by using a mixture of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. You can use fresh seasonal fruit or whatever you can find in the frozen section of your grocery store. Get creative!

Make-Ahead Smoothies

Ingredients
(for each freezer bag):
1 cup fruit, frozen
4 cubes yogurt, frozen (approx 1 TBSP each)

Directions:
Freeze yogurt in an ice tray to yield approximately 1 tablespoon cubes of yogurt.
Add 1 cup fruit and 4 yogurt cubes into freezer bags, and freeze until ready to use.
Pour the contents of freezer bag into the blender and add about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups milk or juice. Puree until smooth.
Makes about 2 servings

Source: The Tidy Nest

Red Snapper with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

I love red snapper season because my husband always comes home with some yummy fish right out of the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately the season is short, but that doesn't stop us from stocking up fillets in the freezer. Red snapper is a very mild white flaky fish, so feel free to substitute your favorite white flaky fish in this recipe.

One of my favorite ways to dress up mild fish is with a tasty sauce. This is probably one of my favorite sauce recipes (and my man agrees) that I've tried, and I'll definitely be making it again. It's creamy, and the sun-dried tomatoes add a nice acidic and fruity flavor. Serve on top of freshly steamed asparagus or your favorite vegetables. It would also be good on top or mashed potatoes or polenta (or anything else to sop up the yummy sauce).


Red Snapper with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
makes 4 servings


Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 red snapper fillets
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup clam juice
1/2 cup white wine
3 Tablespoons chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup whipping cream

Directions:
Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 9x13-inch baking dish in a 425-degree F oven.

Season the fillets with salt and pepper; drizzle with the lemon juice. Place in the prepared baking dish.

Bake the fillets for 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until the fish flakes easily. Arrange the fillets on warm plates.

Saute the green onions in 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan until tender. Add the clam juice and white wine; mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat slightly.

Cook until the sauce is reduced to 1/2 cup, stirring frequently. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and cream. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, reduce heat.

Cook until the sauce is reduced to 3/4 cup, stirring frequently. Pour over the fillets.

Source: True Grits: Tall Tales and Recipes from the New South

Fudgy Gluten Free Brownies

Let me start off by saying that these brownies are da bomb! My mom told me about the recipe several months ago, and I honestly turned my nose up when I heard what was in them.  What? Chickpeas? You have to be kidding me.... I'm not making those! Well, then my curiosity got the best of me. I had to try them. So I made them.

I threw away the first batch since I forgot to add the vanilla to the batter. I also did not like the cinnamon that was in the original recipe. However, my second time was a charm. I remembered to add the vanilla, and I substituted Starbucks Via for the cinnamon.

The result:
These brownies are the fudgiest brownies I've ever put in my mouth, and I can't stop eating them. They are better when they've had a chance to sit overnight. The flavors get a chance to meld together. The extra protein from the chickpeas doesn't hurt either.... it makes me feel less guilty when eating one.


Fudgy Gluten Free Brownies


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
4 large eggs
3/4 cup Turbinado or Sucanat sugar (I used Turbinado)
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons Starbucks Via
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Spray a 9 x 9-inch pan with baking spray. Place chocolate chips in a double boiler and melt until smooth.

Combine beans and eggs in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients to food processor until thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the baking pan and sprinkle extra chocolate chips over the top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean. Cool in pan. These are best if they've had time to sit overnight (if you can wait).
Yield: 16 squares

Source: Naturally Tasty author Gilda Mulero, Chef and Cooking Instructor

Strawberry Vanilla Bean Jam

I made this jam for the first time this spring when the strawberries were fresh off the vine. My mom is not a huge fan of jam, but she fell in love with this recipe. I've given a few jars away, and everyone has either asked for the recipe or for another jar. I couldn't taste the vanilla very much in the first batch I made, so I increased the amount in the second and third batches and used vanilla bean paste instead of the bean (much easier).

If you're new to canning, this website has very good step-by-step directions. Canning seems intimidating, but it's really an easy thing to do. Just make sure and have all of your supplies organized, and you'll do great. Also, be careful not to burn yourself when taking the jars out and placing them back into the boiling water. Otherwise, you will wind up with a nasty burn. Trust me; I've learned the hard way.

This jam is best made with fresh juicy strawberries right off the vine, but the store bought ones will work. The store bought ones don't squish as well as the vine ripened ones, so you may have to pulse them a couple of times in the food processor (but not too much... you want some chunks of strawberries).

Strawberry Vanilla Bean Jam

Ingredients:
6 cups crushed/mashed ripe strawberries (about 6 pints whole)
4 cups sugar, divided
3 vanilla beans or 3 Tablespoons vanilla bean paste
1 box powdered pectin
8 half-pint canning jars

Directions:
Wash your jars and lids in hot soapy water. Heat a large pot of boiling water (this will be to boil the jars. You'll need about 2 inches of water above the tops of the jars, so make sure your pot is big).

Mash your strawberries; you can make it as chunky or as smooth as you like, but preferably not pureed. Add the mashed strawberries to a large saucepan.

In a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar and the contents of the box of pectin; add to the mashed strawberries in the saucepan. Add the contents of the vanilla bean (or vanilla bean paste) and stir well.

Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add the remaining sugar quickly and return to a full rolling boil for precisely 1 minute stirring all the while. Remove from heat and skim off any foam that has formed.

Ladle into your jars, filling to about 1/8-inch from the top. Wipe off any spillage around the rim and cover tightly with the two piece lids. **Note: If you don't want to process and fully can your jam, at this point you can just refrigerate it.

Carefully place your jars into the large pot of boiling water (being sure to have them resting on something so that they aren't sitting on the bottom of the pot). Make sure the water covers the top of the jars by at least 1-inch. Cover and let process for about 10 minutes.

Remove the jars from the water and let cool to room temperature, at least overnight.

Source: Delectable Deliciousness (originally adapted from the Sure Jell pectin recipe insert)

Buffalo Chicken Rolls

Football season has come again, and that means tailgating time! These buffalo chicken rolls are the perfect tailgating finger food to serve at your next football party. They are hot-hot-hot, so make sure you have some blue cheese or ranch dressing to dip them into. Otherwise, your mouth will be on fire. You can make these as mild or spicy as you want. Just adjust how much sauce you put on the chicken.

My husband makes the best hot wing sauce, so I let him whip up his recipe while I shredded the chicken. I did find that I needed more than 1 cup of shredded chicken. I used 2 cups, which made around 13 rolls. I just used a rotisserie chicken, but you could boil chicken breasts and/or thighs and then shred them. Next time I make these, I'll put a little less blue cheese inside the rolls. A little bit goes a long way, especially if you're also using a blue cheese dipping sauce.

Buffalo Chicken Rolls
makes about 12-13 rolls

Ingredients:
5 Tablespoons butter
3/4 cup Crystal Hot Sauce
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups chicken, shredded
1 cup (4-ounces) crumbled blue cheese (I'll use a little less next time)
1 cup broccoli slaw or cole slaw (dry)
12-13 egg roll wrappers
Small bowl of water
Blue cheese dressing or Ranch dressing for serving

Directions:
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the hot sauce and garlic powder. Stir until combined. Pour the desired amount into the bowl with the shredded chicken, depending on your spice preference. Mix until chicken is moist with the sauce.

Preheat oven to 400-degrees F. Lay egg roll wrappers on a clean work surface. Begin by placing one tablespoon of the broccoli slaw on the diagonal of the bottom right corner of one of the wrappers. Next, place 2 tablespoons of shredded spicy chicken evenly on top of the slaw. Spoon 1 tablespoon (or less) of the blue cheese crumbles over the chicken. Do not overfill.

To fold: Fold the bottom right corner over the stuffing mixture so that it covers it completely, with the tip of the corner now pointing to the center of the egg roll wrapper. Fold in the bottom left corner, followed by the right, so that you now have formed an envelope. Roll the wrap upward one time, leaving the top left corner open. Wet your index finger in the small bowl of water and press to moisten the top left corner. Now fold that down on top of the filled roll, sealing it like you would an envelope.

Repeat with remaining rolls.

Place the rolls on a wire rack set on top of a cookie sheet (or just on a greased cookie sheet) coated with nonstick cooking spray. Spritz each roll evenly with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown. Turn the rolls over, and bake for an additional 7 minutes to crisp the other side.

Source: barely adapted from Can You Stay for Dinner

S'mores Cupcakes

Last weekend I traveled to my hometown to visit family and friends and and to celebrate birthdays. I had my 3rd annual 29th birthday, and another friend of mine (Alison) had her 2nd annual 29th birthday (do the math). Alison's favorite cupcake flavor is S'mores, so I was itching to make these. I made the cupcake portion before traveling, but I had to make the marshmallow frosting the day of, since it doesn't hold up well overnight. It didn't take long to make, so that was fine. My 5 year old nephew (pictured below) was in awe when I was toasting these with my kitchen torch. He said, "It smells like roasted marshmallows in here." Precious!

I was really pleased with the flavor of these cupcakes. I highly recommend eating these with a fork. The graham cracker crusts on the bottom and top are very crumbly, which makes it even more like eating the "real thing." The chocolate cake was so moist, and it's surely going to be my go-to recipe from now on. I got the recipe from Paula (originally from the book, Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri), and she was so helpful in answering all my questions about making these cupcakes.

I added grated Hershey's bars right after the crusts came out of the oven. Once the crusts cooled, I added the chocolate cake batter and then topped with more of the graham cracker and grated Hershey's mixture before placing in the oven.

S'mores Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes


Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Bottom and Topping
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
5 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 ounces grated Hershey's bar, divided into two (1-ounce) portions

Chocolate Cake Batter
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup boiling water
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
Graham cracker topping remainder (see above)

Marshmallow Frosting
2 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
6 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish
Hershey Bar squares
Graham Crackers


Directions:

Graham Cracker Bottom
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. (If you only have one muffin pan, simply cook half of the graham cracker and cupcake mixture and then repeat.) In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter; mix well with a fork. Drop a heaping 1 Tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down to line the bottom. (Set the rest of the crumbs aside and mix half (1-ounce) of the grated Hershey Bar with them.) Bake until golden and lightly fragrant, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the other half of the grated Hershey's Bar on top of the warm crusts and let cool.


Chocolate Cake Batter and Topping
Set rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350-degrees F (if it's not already at this temp).
Stir the sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Put the chopped chocolate in a large mixing bowl, and pour the boiling water over it. Let stand for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in the butter, then the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition until smooth. Whisk in the vanilla and sour cream.
Whisk in the flour and sugar mixture in 3 separate additions, whisking until smooth after each.

Divide the batter equally among the cupcake liners. Top with the remainder of the graham cracker/chocolate mixture, and spread evenly on top. Bake the cupcakes until they are well risen and feel firm when pressed in the center with a fingertip (or when a toothpick entered into the center comes out clean), about 20 minutes.

Cool in the pans on racks for 5 minutes, then transfer the cupcakes to racks and cool completely before frosting.


Marshmallow Frosting
In a large heatproof bowl (or the metal bowl of your electric mixer), combine the egg whites, sugar, water, corn syrup, cream of tartar and salt.

Set the bowl over (but not touching) simmering water in a saucepan and heat mixture, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is very warm to the touch (about 160-degrees F), about 3 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the saucepan. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-high speed, about 2 minutes.

In a small bowl, microwave 1 cup mini marshmallows 30 seconds to 1 minute, until puffed, and starting to melt.

Add marshmallows to mixture in electric mixer, reduce speed to low and add vanilla. Continue beating (on low) until the marshmallows are melted and frosting is completely smooth (about 3-4 minutes). Use frosting right away.


Assembly
Frost cooled chocolate cupcakes with Marshmallow frosting. If desired, use a kitchen torch to brown the frosting. Top frosted cupcakes with a piece of Hershey's chocolate and a piece of graham cracker.


Sources:
Chocolate Cupcake: Dishing the Divine (originally from Modern Baker, by Nick Malgieri)
Marshmallow Frosting:  Authentic Suburban Gourmet (originally from Cucpakes by Shelly Kaldunski)
Assembly Idea and Graham Cracker Topping Idea: Wonderful Joy Ahead