What's Cookin': Better than Beef Turkey Burgers

I discovered this recipe for Turkey Burgers about 2 years ago when I was trying to find alternative to red meat. I've always liked Turkey Burgers, but the ones I made at home always came out so... bland! The first time I made these burgers was for a bbq that we were having at our house. I made both beef and turkey, but the turkey were gobbled up almost immediately, putting the beef patties to shame! That is when I dubbed them the "Better than Beef" Turkey Burgers!

Ingredients

1.25lb of Ground Turkey

3/4 Cup Bread Crumbs

1 egg

1/4 cup of fresh Cilantro, diced

1 red onion, diced

1 tablespoon of Soy Sauce

1 dash of Worceshire Sauce

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

1 teaspoon of ground Mustard

1 teaspoon of ground ginger

1 teaspoon of black ground pepper

Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients....

Form into patties...

And cook! I cook mine on the George Forman grill, but you can broil, grill, or cook in a frying pan! Be sure to cook thoroughly to a warm 160 degrees farenheit! You can't eat these babies raw!

Sooo good! They're definitely a favorite in my house, even my 3 year old scarfs down these Better than Beef Turkey Burgers!!

Enjoy!!

Baked Teriyaki Chicken - What's Cookin'

This recipe was absolutely DELICIOUS and soooo easy! Make it tomorrow!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon cold water

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

6 chicken thighs ( could also use chicken breasts)

In a saucepan, I combined the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, black pepper, white and brown sugar, ground ginger, cold water and cornstarch. I mixed it well with a spoon and heated it until it got nice and thick.

Here's the homemade teriyaki sauce all mixed up:

Here's the teriyaki sauce with some heat:

Next, I poured the sauce over the chicken, making sure to cover every inch!

I placed the dish uncovered in a 400 degree oven and bake for approximately 35 minutes.

Here's what came out of the oven:

I served with rice and broccoli and it was fabulous! It was a little sweet, but I'm sure you can add less sugar if you don't like a really sweet teriyaki. I would also line the pan with foil because that sauce was a pain to scrub off the sides of my Pyrex dish! Try it, then let me know how it turns out!

Roasted Chicken and Veggies - What's Cookin'

For Sunday night dinners, I'm always itching for some good ole' comfort food and I'm on a major Sweet Potato kick right now, so I picked up a chicken roaster and some sweet potatoes and worked some What's Cookin' magic!

Ingredients:

1 Whole Chicken

4 Sweet Potatoes

1 Onion

3-5 Stalks on Celery

1lb of Baby Carrots

Salt

Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Roasted Garlic and Herb Seasoning

First things first, you got to get choppin'! Chop up all the Veggies, you can chop them as big or as small as you want! Next, slather your bird with some extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle on the roasted garlic and herb seasoning (as much or little as you like) on the inside and out. Arrange the chicken and veggies in the roasting pan like so...

be sure to season the veggies with a little salt and pepper and stick it in the oven!

I baked in a 400 degrees oven for about an hour. I used a meat thermometer to ensure the chicken was cooked. Poultry should be 165 degrees farenheit. Then, I pulled out the bird and let him rest for about 5 minutes. Here he is ready for eatin':

Here are the delicious veggies:

Vincent, my three year old, LOVED this dish! I believe he got 3rds which is saying a lot as we all know how picky our little ones can be! He was even sneaking some off my husband's plate. I really enjoyed the sweet potatoes, they came out moist and tender and really complimented the chicken! This meal was also a one pot wonder and oh so easy so I could focus on more important things like... laundry my new iPhone 4s.

Egg Foo Yong - What's Cookin'

This week I tried my hand at an Egg Foo Yong recipe that my friend posted on her blog. Egg Foo Yong is something I always order when we get Chinese, so I knew I had to try it!

Here's what you need:

Patty Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 can of Chop Suey
4 green onions
2 tablespoons of oil ( I used extra virgin olive oil, but the original recipe calls for canola oil)

In a bowl, crack and beat 4 eggs - I also added garlic powder and black pepper...

Chop up 4 green onions...

And add them to the eggs along with the can of drained chop suey. It should look like this:

Heat up about a tablespoon of oil in a skillet and ladel the egg mixture into the skillet.

Let the patty cook for a couple of minutes and then flip it over.

Green Pea Sauce Ingredients:
1 boullion cube
1/2 cup of peas
1-1/2 tablespoons of lower sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
2 cups of water

Place the ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer until the sauce thickens.



Like my friend, I was apprehensive about pouring the sauce over the patty instead of putting it on the side, but I took her word for it and I'm glad I did because it was tasty!!! I wasn't a big fan of the chop suey mix, I think next time I'll get a can of the bean sprouts and add some vidala onion along with the green onion. You can also add your meat of choice - chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp!

Here's the finished product:

This recipe was quick, easy, and good! Try it and let me know how it goes!

Suggestions for the next challenge? Email me!

Adobo Chicken - What's Cookin'

So, this week... I cheated! It's a recipe I have done before, but a.) it's not a regular weekly meal and b.) everyone keeps asking me for this recipe... so here it is: Adobo Chicken!

Here's what you need:

Ingredients:

8 Chicken thighs (you can also use chicken breast, or even pork - I prefer something with bone so the meat does dry out)

1 - 2/3 cups of Soy Sauce (I used lower sodium)

2 cups of water

1 green pepper

1onion

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon of black pepper

1 tablespoon of garlic powder

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

This recipe is super easy! Combine all of your ingredients in a large pot (or crockpot) bring to a boil and then

let the liquid boil down for about an hour.

Before I started cooking, I let the chicken marinate for a couple of hours in the mixture. Here it is:

appetizing right?

After letting it marinate, I added the chopped onion and pepper and let the cooking begin!

Here's Vincent's plate:

Since this is a Filipino dish, I paired it with white rice:

Sooo good! My hubby loves when I make this dish since it's a taste of home! Enjoy!

Suggestions? Pictures? Contact me!

Lasagna Rolls - What's Cookin'

This week I wanted to try my hand at something Italian! I found the  the lasagna roll concept and thought I'd give it a shot!

Ingredients:

1lb Ground beef/italian sausage/meatless
9-12 strips of lasagna
15oz of part skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1 tablespoon or oregano
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
2 cups of mozzarella cheese
1 Cute little helper

 1 Hungry toddler and a curious pooch

First, I got a large pot of water boiling and placed about 10 strips of lasagna in the water. Once cooked, I strained the pasta and put it off to the side. I also browned the ground beef  and added it to the spaghetti sauce (obviously, you can skip this step if you would like a vegetarian option.) Once the sauce was together, I filled the bottowm of a large casserole dish with a layer of sauce.

Next, I made the filling by mixing together the ricotta cheese, milk, egg, parmesan cheese, oregano, and garlic powder. Here's the filling:

Then, I layed the pasta out, patted it with a paper towel and spread about two tablespoons of the filling onto the pasta.

I rolled up the pasta and placed it into the casserole dish.

I poured the rest of the spaghetti sauce over the pasta, covered with mozzarella cheese and placed it into a 375 degrees F oven for 30 minutes.

Here's what came out of the oven.... looks soooo good!

Served up with some garlic toast:

This recipe was both easy and delicious! I meant to roll up some fresh spinach into the pasta, but failed to remember that at the store, so you should definetly try it with spinach. I also wanted to use whole grain pasta, but the store did not have whole grain lasagna in stock!

Comments, suggestions? I'd love to hear them!

Herb Stuffed Chicken - What's Cookin'

After the past two weeks with my somewhat complicated recipes, I was excited to find a nice and simple recipe for this week. Especially since I had been feeling under the weather for most of the week, had an insane work week, and am overall just feeling behind in all aspects of my life - don't you love when that happens? So, here it is - Herb Stuffed Chicken - delicious!

Here's what you need:

Ingredients:

1 pkg of boneless chicken breast

1 cup of feta cheese

1 cup of finely chopped Canadian Bacon

1 tablespoon of Rosemary

Salt

Black pepper

Garlic powder

In a bowl, i mixed together the feta cheese, the canadian bacon, rosemary, pepper, and garlic. I just sprinkled in a little garlic and black papper for a little kick, but you can use as little or as much as you want.

Next, I made a horizontal slice in the chicken breast, much like slicing a roll open.

I spooned in about 2 tablespoons of the filling and held the "sandwich" together with toothpicks. To finish it off, I coated the outside with a mixture of salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.

I placed the chicken in a casserole dish and put it in a 375 degrees F oven for about 30 minutes. This is what came out of the oven:

I paired the chicken with broccoli and rigatoni in a cream sauce.

Overall, this was a tasty, easy, and fast dish to put together. My family really enjoyed this meal! Vincent was scarfing down the chicken!

Do you have recipe suggestions? Leave a Comment!

{Diet} Dr. Pepper Meatballs - What's Cookin'

First of all, let me give credit where credit is due: I got this recipe from allrecipes.com and it is called Lyndsie's Dr. Pepper Meatballs. I went ahead and doubled the recipe so we could have leftovers for lunches, and used Diet Dr. Pepper instead of regular just because I am a fan :)

This recipe took a little longer than my family would like to wait for dinner, but if you are super organized the meatballs can be prepared the night before and then refridgerated. Or, you could utilize your crock pot and throw the meatballs and the sauce in the morning and cook on low all day.

Ingredients

2.75lbs of Ground Turkey

2 eggs

2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

2 packages of  ranch dressing mix

1 onion, minced

2 green pepper, minced

2 cans of Diet Dr. Pepper

2 cups of Ketchup

1 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes

2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

Here's what you need:

Oops...Forgot the ranch seasoning...

The first step I tackled was chopping up the onion and green peppers. I like to get all of the prep work done and the recipe called for 2 minced green peppers and 1 minced onion. Easy right? I thought I'd just pull out my handy dandy Bullet and mince those bad boys, but instead I got green baby food with giant chunks.

So by hand it was - which added more time to the overall process...

Ahhh - much better!

 After all that chopping, I needed a nice glass of Diet Dr. Pepper!

In a large bowl, I combined 2.75lbs of ground turkey, two handfuls of the chopped green pepper, two handfuls of the onion, the two packets of ranch seasoning, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 2 eggs, and 2.5 cups of bread crumbs (you could probably get away with just 2 cups if you like a firmer meatball). I also sprinkled in some black pepper and garlic powder. 

Then, using my hands (remember to remove any jewelry), I combined all of the ingredients together until it looked like this:  

Still using my hands, I formed the meat into large (approx. 2inch) balls and placed them into a 9x13 casserole dish that I had greased with extra virgin olive oil so the meatballs wouldn't stick.

I placed the meatballs in a 375F oven and moved on to the fun part, the sauce! In a large pot ( I used a pot because I thought I would have to heat up the sauce, but you don't, so a large bowl would work as well), I put in the rest of the onion and green pepper, 2 cups of ketchup (I will use tomato sauce next time I do this recipe - I think the ketchup is too sweet), 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, the whole can of diced tomatoes (the recipe called for 2 cups, but it turned out fine), a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of black pepper and garlic, and the finishing touch - 24oz of Diet Dr. Pepper.

This is what the concoction looked like after I added the Diet Dr. Pepper:

And after I mixed all of the ingredients together:

After about 15-20 minutes, I pulled the meatballs out of the oven.

And then, I added the sauce:

I covered the dish with foil and placed it in the oven for about 45 minutes. Then, I removed the foil and baked it an additional 15 minutes uncovered. Look what came out of the oven:

I let the meatballs rest for another 10-15 minutes and paired with some white rice and seasonal vegetables. 

Overall, the dish was tasty - it was a little sweet which I was not expecting so I think that caught me off-guard. I actually enjoyed it much more the next day when I brought it to work to share with a few of my favorite coworkers. For lunch, I left out the rice which made the meatballs taste better. When I do this recipe again, I will pair with brown rice. I think that texture and taste of brown rice will counter the sweetness of the sauce a little better than the white rice.

So, in conclusion, if your looking for an adventure, like a little sweetness, and have about 2 hours to prepare a meal - try making these {Diet} Dr. Pepper Meatballs!

If you try this recipe or have done it in the past, please comment and feel free to email me pictures! I'm planning to blog the pictures you send in to me in the near future!