Recipes: Entree – Page 2 – The Burgeoning Gourmet

June 6, 2013

Juicy Turkey Burger w/Better than Fries side

I did this for the competition a while back. I hate turkey, no matter how it’s cooked. I just don’t like the flavor of it and I only eat it once a year. But these came out so well, that I am making them more again this summer, minus the ginger snaps.

Juicy Turkey Burger

Ingredients:

3 lbs. ground turkey

1 small yellow onion, diced

¼ cup of ginger snap crumbs (or substitute bread crumbs)

1 tsp. thyme

2 tsp. Meat Magic (combination of spices by Chef Paul Prudhomme)

2 eggs

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced

In a bowl, toss in the ground turkey, thyme, Meat Magic, salt, pepper, and eggs. Using a rolling pin, I took the ginger snap cookies and ground them down to bread crumb consistency.

Toss into the bowl. Dice up the onion and garlic then sauté it in the olive oil. While this is sautéing, you can start work on the potatoes. Let the onions and garlic cool a bit, until you can touch the oil without hurting yourself.

Put all of it, oil included into the meat mixture. The added oil will help keep the turkey juicy! Mix well and make patties as thick/thin as you like.

Cook as you desire. It’s apparently summer here for the day, so I’ll be grilling! These turned out so good, and the ginger snap gave it a really nice flavor. I swear, I never would have thought it was turkey!!!

Better Than Fries Side

Ingredients:

Russet potato

Olive oil

Sea Salt

Pepper

Butter

Wash and dry your potato(s). Carefully slice down, not going all the way through. After slicing, wash them again, fanning out the slices a bit. Place on a non-stick baking sheet. Melt down butter and drizzle over the potatoes and then drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with pepper and sea salt. Feel free to sprinkle rosemary or other herbs you like on your potatoes!

Bake at 425 for roughly 40-60 minutes, depending on how big of a potato you picked out! About 20 minutes in or so, I pulled them out to drizzle a bit more oil on them. This makes the skin nice and crispy. You can just pull the slices out when it’s done.

Also, add cheese in the final 5 minutes for even more tasty goodness!!

Oh, and here you go – me when I cook. Yes, those are headphones – I need the music to drown out any noise from the ever irritating roommate and allows me to focus.

April 24, 2013

Thank you & More!

First, many thanks to my friends that voted for me. I did not move on to the next round, but that just means one less thing on my plate. 🙂

However, I’m still going to make something with the ingredients given for the dessert round – to be posted at a later date.

Last night, I made a recipe that can be found on Hungry Girl. We saw this on one of her episodes and thought it sounded good.

BBQ Mango Tilapia!

We eat quite a bit of tilapia and other fish in our house, so anything new to do with it is always appealing. I wasn’t too sure about adding mango to fish, but what the hell, right? Nothing tried, nothing gained!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup canned tomato sauce
2 tbsp. (1 oz.) mango nectar
2 tbsp. ketchup
2 tsp. brown sugar (loosely packed)
2 tsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. molasses
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup diced tomatoes
1/4 cup diced mango
Two 4.5-oz. fillets raw tilapia
1 tbsp. chopped cilantro

Now, I omitted the cilantro because I honestly don’t care for it much, especially if used as just a garnish (which is what happens here.)

In a medium bowl, combine tomato sauce, mango nectar, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, molasses, and garlic powder. Whisk thoroughly, and then stir in diced tomatoes and mango. This is your marinade.

Place fish and marinade in a container and toss to coat. I would recommend using a good sized ziploc bag – it works well and makes sure that the fish is well coated. Let it marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat on the stove. Add fish and marinade. Once marinade begins to simmer, cover and cook until the fish is tender and cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Plate the tilapia and top with any excess marinade from the skillet. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!

I will say that it was just a touch more tomato-y than I care for, so I’m going to adjust this for next time. But the mango worked beautifully with this! I will add that a serving of this is only 197 calories!!!

February 22, 2013

Chicken Taco Soup

A friend sent me this recipe a few years back when I was looking for a simple crock pot recipe that I could throw together in the morning and have it ready for dinner once I got home from work. While it calls for a lot of canned stuff, it’s a fairly cheap recipe to do. Depending on where you get your ingredients, this whole meal (which will feed approximately 6-8) cost me $12, including the chicken. Not too shabby.

Feel free to eliminate the chicken and it becomes a tasty vegetarian dish!

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
3 boneless chicken breasts (boneless is easier)
2 cans black beans
2 cans corn
2 cans diced tomatoes with chiles
2 cans beans (kidney, pink, pick one)
1 packet taco seasoning (or make your own)
1 bottle of beer (your choice of type)
salt/pepper to taste
shredded cheddar cheese/sour cream/tortilla chips for finishing

(not pictured, chicken and seasonings)

I drain and rinse all the beans and corn. This is your choice, but I would recommend at least rinsing the beans. Toss all the beans, corn, diced tomatoes beer, onions and taco seasoning in the crock pot. Mix it up. Take the chicken breasts and lay on the top. I put a dash of salt (there is plenty of sodium in the beans) and more than a dash of pepper on top.

Put the lid on, turn it on to low heat and allow to cook for roughly 5 hours. If you do this before work, no worries. I’ve yet to ever over cook the chicken. Take the breasts out and shred them. They’ll be tender and I use two forks to pull them all apart.

Place the shredded chicken back into the crock pot and stir. Allow to cook for either 2 hours on low heat, or 1 hour on high. Be nice to your cat-dog and let them lick the chopping board. My Diva (a cat that thinks she’s a dog was more than happy to help.)

Tasty!!!

Serve with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, and crushed tortilla chips on top. Or don’t. I prefer mine with just some cheese.

You can make this spicier by adding jalapeños (I can’t due to the Man), extra spicy taco seasoning, or anything really – it’s an incredibly flexible recipe. And while really more a “chili” than soup, you can add more liquid (an extra bottle of beer and more diced tomatoes.)

January 6, 2013

Shrimp Fra Diablo

I first had this dish more than 20 years ago, in a restaurant that no longer exists in Sandy Springs, Georgia. My thought, at the time, was – shrimp and pasta? Sounds kinda gross. (Hey, I was maybe 19 at the time and had no exposure to good food!) But it was TEH AWESOME! At the time, I had asked the chef for the recipe and of course, was thoroughly denied.

Well, time has passed and having better tools in which to actually cook food and be kind of creative, I remembered that dish and wanted to see if I could make it. Now, it really isn’t that hard, though the recipe I used was definitely … lacking. Note: this is really the first time I’ve ever had to peel and de-vein raw shrimp. Interesting, albeit kinda gross experience. I’m over it though. 🙂

What I used (because it’s what I had):

Bag of raw shrimp – roughly 30 of them – shelled and de-veined
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Olive oil
Garlic
Onion
Pasta (your choice of what kind really)
Basil
Oregano
Diced tomatoes (I used 2 cans)
Dry vermouth or dry white wine

Make the pasta per however way you like to make it. I won’t get into the debate of using salt or not in the water.

Toss your shelled and de-veined shrimp with about a teaspoon of salt and I used a tablespoon of red pepper flakes. I like spice, but if you prefer it not so spicy, use less.

Heat a bit of olive oil in skillet. Cook the shrimp for a few minutes on each side. You can tell they’re cooked when they get all nice and pinky colored. 🙂

Set the shrimp aside and re-use the skillet to cook down the onion. I used a small yellow onion, diced up. Cook until translucent and soft. Add in a couple of cloves of garlic, minced. And when I say a couple, really I mean a lot more. There is no such thing as enough garlic for me and in this recipe, I needed more than I put in. If you are using the stuff you get in the jar – I’d figure at least a tablespoon … or more, if you are anything like me.

Cook it down a bit, then add some dry white wine or dry vermouth. I used just enough to cover the bottom of the skillet. Cook this down until almost all of it is gone.

At this point, add the diced tomatoes. Cook this down … about 10 minutes or so.

Add the shrimp back into the skillet, add about a teaspoon of basil and oregano. Stir up and let cook for a few minutes. Test the seasoning, so it’s to your liking.

Serve over the pasta.

Now, when I had this dish, it definitely had more of a marinara sauce to it than this dish does. I’m going to adjust this a bit for next time, including making it spicier … well, for me anyway. The Man isn’t a fan of the spicy food as I am.

March 11, 2012

Meatloaf, Twice-Baked Potato Casserole, w/Red Pepper Corn

I find meatloaf one of those comforting foods. Something my mom made every week that wasn’t half bad. It reminds me of home and the glorious, stupid about the real world days of childhood. There are literally hundreds of recipes for meatloaf, and my own recipe box has about 5. The recipe for the twice-baked casserole is new and I have suggestions to make it better. No pictures with this one since my phone ate them all … including the really nice one of the drink I had. 🙂

Here is the one of the five of my meatloaves. *smiles*

Ingredients for Meatloaf:

1-1/2lbs ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped finely
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Mix everything together in a bowl. Personally, I use my hands (clean!) And enjoy the labor of mixing it that way. Free form on a pan or use a loaf pan – personal preference there. Be sure to press down while forming to get rid of any air you may have trapped.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or so.

Ingredients for Casserole:

1-1/2lbs red potatoes (roughly 6 medium sized), cubed
1/4 tsp salt
1lb bacon, cooked and c rumbled
3 cups sour cream
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 green onions, sliced

Divide ingredients in half, except green onions. In a greased 13 x 9 pan, layer potatoes, salt, pepper, sour cream, bacon, then cheese. Repeat with second half. Done! Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle green onion on top of servings.

Now, the above recipe is a new one for me and quite frankly, it lacked a lot. My recommendations (which I’m going to try next time) is add minced garlic and a bit of butter for each layer.

This corn recipe is so simple – corn, a diced red pepper, salt and pepper to taste, a quarter stick of butter (or substitute.) How much butter depends on how much corn you are using. I used frozen corn – roughly 16oz worth. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

That’s it! While its all cooking, fix yourself a nice drink. Can’t hurt. 🙂

January 12, 2012

Chicken à la Jenn, with red potatoes and sautéed veggies

Now, this main chicken dish originally started as a recipe my Mother use to make and that I loved as a kid. I adapted it a bit, as my Mother made rather bland food because that’s how my Dad liked it. My Dad also liked things cooked to dryness, so it was years until I realized that meats and chicken taste better when moist. Yeah, my Mom wasn’t the best cooking teacher.

Oh, and is said often enough elsewhere – read everything before you start. In this particular dinner, I cooked the potatoes and the chicken at the same time. I do my best to time things so that it all comes together at the same time.

Chicken à la Jenn

Ingredients:

Chicken – use what you like, I prefer boneless breasts
Salt
Pepper
Butter – I used half a stick
1 can of Cream of Chicken soup
Milk
Mushrooms – sliced

Again, amounts depend on what you like and how much you want to cook. I used five chicken breasts for dinner, so you have some reference.

Preheat oven to 350°. In a baking dish, lay out chicken that has been cleaned – wash off and trim fat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (as much as you like.) Cut butter into pats so that you have one on each breast.

Slice up mushrooms and toss on top of chicken. In a seperate bowl, mix can of soup with milk – I use the soup can to measure the milk, so half a can of milk. Once mixed well, pour on top of chicken. That’s it – throw into the oven for roughly 30 minutes – depending on the chicken you use and how well your oven works. When serving, make sure you add a bit of the sauce from the pan over the chicken along with the mushrooms.

Roasted Red Potatoes

Ingredients:

Red potatoes – diced (I leave the skin on)
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Green onions – diced
Rosemary
Garlic – minced
Olive oil
Cooking spray (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large enough bowl, toss the potatoes with some oil, salt, pepper, paprika, rosemary, and garlic so that all the potatoes are covered. They’ll probably look reddish due to the paprika, which is what you want.

On a baking sheet, spread out all the potatoes. If need be, spray the sheet first so that they don’t stick. I use a non-stick, so it isn’t necessary. If there is extra oil/seasonings in your bowl, pour that over the potatoes as well. Make sure they are in a single layer, so they cook more evenly. Sprinkle green onions over top. Place pan in oven for approx. 30 minutes. Time here really does depend on the size of the diced potatoes – the smaller they are, the faster they’ll cook. Keep an eye on them.

Sauteed Squash, Zucchini, and Red Peppers

Ingredients:

Yellow squash – sliced
Zucchini – slices
Red pepper – julienned
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Sesame oil

While the potatoes and chicken are cooking, you can prep your veggies. They only take about 10 minutes to sauté, depending on the size of your slices. In a large sauté pan or wok, heat up your olive oil. Toss the veggies in, dust with salt and pepper, and sauté until the veggies soften up a bit. You want to keep them semi-firm but cooked through. In the last few minutes (3-4) of cooking, sprinkle enough sesame oil over to cover all the veggies and toss.

That’s it! It really is very simple and tasty. The Man loved it, as did I. And I even remembered to take a picture of the final dish … before I ate it all.