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Asian Salmon Burgers with Wasabi Mayonnaise

May 15, 2013 by 13 Comments

Asian Salmon Burger with Wasabi Mayo | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Disclosure: This is part of my continuing series as a member of the Kraft Tastemakers team. All recipes, opinions and wasabi are my own.

My tastebuds are controlled by the weather. When it’s cool, chilly or downright cold, I want hearty, stick-to-your-ribs fare.  When things start warming up, though, my body says, “Don’t weigh me down!”

It’s getting toasty out there, folks, so it’s time to lighten things up a bit. Fish is a perfect way to accomplish that deliciously. It’s satisfying, protein-packed, fast, and simple. It’s a wonderful solution for the on-the-go family in the summer.

Salmon is a crowd-pleasing fish choice under most circumstances, but when it’s turned into a burger, it can convert even the most entrenched fish-haters.

A food processor makes fast work of breaking down the fish. Admittedly, when you’ve pulsed the fish into a chunky puree, it looks like you might be going down the wrong road, but stick with it because it’s so darned good when it’s all said and done!

When it comes to serving these beautifully moist salmon burgers with a hint of ginger, you have a couple of options. The kids like them on toasted whole wheat hamburger rolls with just a smear of Wasabi Mayonnaise. The grown-ups in our house like them wrapped in a tender lettuce leaf with a dollop of Wasabi Mayonnaise, some Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad, and some Asian Pickled Carrots.

Asian Salmon Burger with Wasabi Mayo | www.foodiewithfamily.com

The lettuce leaf makes a fabulous lower-calorie and lower-carbohydrate substitute for a bun. (Ya know, for the second and third burgers you eat. If you’re like me, that is…)

Either way, they are fabulous.

Serve these up on Memorial Day for a surefire hit! How will you eat them?

Visit Kraft Recipes for more Memorial Day friendly sandwich recipes!

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Asian Salmon Burgers with Wasabi Mayonnaise

Rating: 51

Asian Salmon Burgers with Wasabi Mayonnaise

Crunchy, flavourful, Asian Salmon Burgers with a hint of ginger and scallion in them are as easy to make as they are delicious. Topped with a dollop of Wasabi Mayonnaise that can be as mild or as wake-you-up as you wish, and served on a toasted bun or lettuce leaf (for an even more waist-line friendly option) these are a surefire crowd pleaser and a wonderful addition to your Memorial Day fare.

Ingredients

    For the Salmon Burgers:
  • 2 pounds salmon fillets, skin and bones removed carefully.
  • 1 3/4 cups panko breadcrumbs, preferably whole wheat, plus more if needed
  • 1 bunch green onions, washed
  • ¼ cup Kraft mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon pickling liquid from a jar of pickled ginger (Gari)
  • Oil (canola, peanut, or vegetable) for pan frying
    • For the Wasabi Mayonnaise:
  • 1/2 cup Kraft mayonnaise
  • 1-3 tablespoons wasabi paste, according to taste
    • Optional Ingredients for Serving:
  • Whole wheat buns, toasted ~or~ tender lettuce leaves (like butter or red leaf lettuce)
  • Asian Pickled Carrots
  • Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad
  • Pickled ginger

Instructions

To Prepare the Burgers:

Cut the salmon into 2-inch chunks and put into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until the fish is broken down into chunky puree. It should still have pebble sized pieces (about ¼-inch) in it.

Scrape this into a bowl.

Cut the root end from the green onions, slice in half lengthwise, turn them 90° and slice them very thinly. Put this into the bowl with the salmon, ½ cup of the panko bread crumbs, mayonnaise, and pickled ginger liquid. Mix until uniform.

Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Divide the salmon mixture into 8 mounds and form those mounds into patties that are ¾-inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1-8 hours before cooking.

Pour the remaining panko bread crumbs onto a plate. Gently lift and place each salmon patty on the bread crumbs, press down lightly to help the panko stick, flip the patties over and repeat.

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. When it is very hot, add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and swirl it to coat.

Ease the panko crusted patties into the pan. A 12-inch pan should hold 4 patties at a time and still give you room to manoeuver the spatula when it comes time to flip them. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the first side is deep golden brown. Carefully flip the patties using a wide spatula. Be cautious because the oil will want to splatter. Fry the second side for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown and firm around the outer edges. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate or platter. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and repeat until fried all of the salmon burgers.

To Prepare the Wasabi Mayonnaise:

Put the mayonnaise in a small bowl and use a fork or small whisk to stir in the wasabi paste, starting with 1 tablespoon. Taste the mayonnaise and adjust with more wasabi if you want a stronger flavour.

To Serve the Salmon Burgers:

If you’re watching how much bread you eat, serve the Salmon Burgers on a tender lettuce leaf topped with a dollop of the Wasabi Mayonnaise and any other optional toppings you’d like. If you want to eat it burger style, put a patty on top of a toasted whole wheat bun, spread some wasabi mayonnaise over the burger and top as desired.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/05/15/asian-salmon-burgers-with-wasabi-mayonnaise/

Disclosure: This is part of my continuing series as a member of the Kraft Tastemakers team. All recipes, opinions and wasabi are my own.

Filed Under: Happy Healthy and Wise, Main Dish, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

Baked Garlic Pita Chips and Fattoush (Crumbled Pita Chip Salad) | Make Ahead Mondays

May 13, 2013 by 12 Comments

Baked Garlic Pita Chips and Fattoush | www.foodiewithfamily.com

In the post below, I provide an affiliate link to Sumac -which can be hard to find for purchase- from Amazon.com. I receive pennies on the dollar for purchases made on Amazon if you click on the link. You can definitely gather your own sumac, dry it, and grind it, but sumac isn’t in season right now and we want salad!

Iiiiiiiiiiit’s salad time! And crouton time! I have a two-fer for you on this glorious (rainy here) Make Ahead Monday.

How much do you love salad this time of year? Maybe I should rephrase that. How much do I love salad this time of year? I’m nutty nuts over it.

I’m a definite crouton girl, too, so today is extra fun for me. I guess I should call today a three-fer because the garlic pita chips recipe I’m sharing does double duty all by itself. It serves as some world-class croutons, to be sure, but it’s also PERFECT for dipping into the summer standard hummus or whatever dunkable goodies you like best.

Do you love pita chips, too? I’m a little bonkers over them personally. They’re in the Bagel Chip category for the guys and me. I hear people crunching and munching on them from the moment the pan comes out of the oven until I hear hands swishing around for whatever leftover crumbs are rattling around at the bottom of the jar.

Baked Garlic Pita Chips | www.foodiewithfamily.com

When I get a fresh batch of pita chips out of the oven, my first order of business is to set aside enough to make a massive batch of Fattoush. Fattoush -for those of you who aren’t lucky enough to live where there is great Lebanese food available- is my favourite summer salad by a mile and a half. Crisp Romaine lettuce is the base for this mega-refreshing herbed salad with a garlicky lemon, sumac, and oil dressing.

Sumac for Fattoush | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Now… A word or two on sumac. No: it’s not the poisonous kind. Poisonous sumac* you want to avoid, clearly, but edible sumac grows widely (and wildly) in many parts of the United States and is not only perfectly harmless, but is also perfectly tasty. There are three varieties -smooth, staghorn and dwarf- that are safe to eat. One identifying characteristic that they share is the bright red or brown hairy clusters of fruit that are about peppercorn sized and in an arrangement like upside-down clusters of grapes. You can gather them before a rainstorm (which washes away the lovely sour, citrus-like flavour), dry them, and grind them for your own FREE sumac, or you can do like I did this time and buy a bag of sumac from Amazon.com. Given that it won’t the the right season for gathering sumac for a couple of months, and we need salad THIS VERY DAY, I’d say buy the sumac.

*For a while last week, I thought I might be allergic to sumac and it made me very sad indeed. As it turns out, I was allergic to a gin & tonic I had made with a new brand of gin. This made me very happy indeed because frankly? I could care less about that gin & tonic.

Why bother? Well, I suppose you could skip it if you’re feeling REALLY cheap or doubtful, but your salad won’t be the same. I promise you this. Sumac delivers a punch of citrus that’s like lemon on steroids. That’s part of what makes this salad such a powerhouse of summer refreshment. Everyone who has had a proper Fattoush is nodding their heads in agreement right now. They’re also quietly wondering when I’ll bring up the herbs. Give me a minute, I have to address the subject of properly preparing your garlic for the dressing first.

How to prepare fresh garlic for salad dressing:

There’s a trick to coaxing the best flavour from garlic for a dressing and turning it into a paste that will distribute itself evenly and it doesn’t involve a garlic press. In fact, a garlic press can’t even dream of doing this nifty procedure. Simply put, you peel and roughly chop your garlic cloves then scrape them into a pile and sprinkle a teaspoon of coarse kosher salt over them. Then you alternate squashing or smearing the pile with the broad side of your knife and chopping it. Every so often, you stop, scrape it back together and repeat. Are we ‘why bothering’ again? I can explain! The salt helps break the garlic down and soften it into a paste instead of the stringy little bits of garlic that come through a garlic press. This paste can be whisked or shaken into the dressing for a smooth finish instead of chunky or string-like bits of garlic showing up when you least expect them. If texture isn’t a concern, think about how wonderfully and evenly the garlic paste will infuse your dressing! Believe me, once you’ve tried dressing made with garlic prepared this way, you won’t want to go back!

How to smash garlic for salad dressing. | www.foodiewithfamily.com

This gorgeous garlic goes into a jar with all of your other dressing ingredients, is tightly lidded and then shaken. Done! You now have enough dressing for three gigantic salads or numerous smaller salads and it stores wonderfully for up to two weeks. Does that make this recipe a four-fer instead of the three-fer we were up to?

Fattoush dressing | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Back to the herbs! Whatever you do, don’t skip the herbs here. Mint and parsley are CRUCIAL to the overall flavour. If you haven’t had the salad yet, you might scratch your head a bit at me, but I wouldn’t steer you wrong. It doesn’t scream MINT or PARSLEY but I guarantee you that if you leave them out, the salad will fall flat.

And while I’d usually rather lose a tooth to crunchy croutons than let them sit and soften in the salad dressing, that’s part of the charm of Fattoush. The crunchy pita chips sit in the dressing and start absorbing the good stuff. If you’ve done a good job of dressing your salad -in other words, not drowning it in dressing- the chips will not become soggy, but will just become a little less jarring to bite. My favourite stage of pita chip softening is about one hour into the salad being dressed but I also love it as much as five hours after dressing. That makes this a fabulous salad to take on a picnic or for a packed lunch.

Please make yourself some Baked Garlic Pita Chips and try this Fattoush. It will rock your summer salad world!

Baked Garlic Pita Chips | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Are you a crouton lover? Do you like ‘em dead crisp or a little soaky?

Fattoush (Crumbled Pita Chip Salad) | www.foodiewithfamily.com

 

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Baked Garlic Pita Chips and Fattoush (Crumbled Pita Chip Salad) | Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Three recipes for the price of one! Fabulously crunchy Baked Garlic Pita Chips, super citrusy Fattoush Dressing, and wondrously herbal and lemony Fattoush (Crumbled Pita Chip Salad.) This trifecta of deliciousness will bring you refreshment and happiness through the hot summer months.

Ingredients

    For the Baked Garlic Pita Chips:
  • 6 pita breads
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
    • For the Fattoush Dressing:
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
  • the juice of 2 large lemons, about 1/2 a cup
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground sumac
    • For the Fattoush (Crumbled Pita Chip Salad):
  • 2 cups Baked Garlic Pita Chips
  • 1 large heart of Romaine lettuce
  • 2 tomatoes, seeded and cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 English (seedless) cucumber, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1/2 of a sweet or Vidalia onion, peeled and thinly sliced in half moons
  • 1/2 cup lightly packed fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped (or 2 tablespoons dried mint)
  • 1/4 to 1/3 of a batch of Fattoush Dressing

Instructions

To Make the Baked Garlic Pita Chips:

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Cut the pitas into 1-inch thick strips. Lay the cut pitas in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush the cut pita with the olive oil. Sprinkle evenly with the garlic powder and salt. Place the pan in the oven and bake , stirring every 15 minutes, until crisp all the way through and deep golden brown. Begin checking the pita crisps for doneness at about 45 minutes. Mine usually take an hour. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight jar at room temperature for up to two weeks.

To Prepare the Dressing:

Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Sprinkle the salt over the garlic and use the broad side of your knife alternately to squash the garlic and chop the garlic until a thick paste forms. Add that to a pint sized mason jar. Add the remaining dressing ingredients to the jar, screw the lid tightly in place, and shake hard. Refrigerate until ready to dress your salad.

To Prepare the Salad:

At least 10 minutes, but up to 6 hours* before serving, remove the core end of the Romaine heart. Slice the heart in half lengthwise, then turn 90° and chop across those slices to create bite-sized pieces of Romaine lettuce. Add that to a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining salad ingredients to the mixing bowl. Shake the salad dressing very firmly, pour about 1/3 of it over the contents of the mixing bowl and use your clean hands to toss to cover everything evenly. Let stand anywhere from 10 minutes to 6 hours before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

Notes

**As the salad sits, the pita crisps will begin to soften. At 10 minutes, they are still very crunchy. The longer it sits, the softer they get. My favourite point to eat fattoush is when it has been sitting for about 1 hour.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/05/13/baked-garlic-pita-chips-and-fattoush-crumbled-pita-chip-salad-make-ahead-mondays/

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Happy Healthy and Wise, Rebecca, Recipes, Salads, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes (Not made with strawberry flavoured gelatin!)

May 10, 2013 by 13 Comments

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes | www.foodiewithfamily.com

I find Mother’s Day a surprisingly difficult subject about which to write. I’ve started and stopped this post at least five different ways. I’m a mother (of five boys, thankyouverymuch) and I’m a daughter, and we’re talking about Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes, so what’s the problem?

The problem is that there as many views on Mother’s Day as there are mothers in the world. Besides that, there is a whole group of folks who think Mother’s Day is a made up ploy to sell more greeting cards. How do you hit the right note for everyone? Short answer: you can’t.

I can’t speak for motherhood as a whole, because I’m just one member of the club, so I’ll just tell you what this holiday (made up or not) set aside to honour moms means to me.

It means…

  • …my kids trying REALLY hard to get along. They try so hard, that sometimes they have to yell at their brothers who forgot to try really hard for a minute or two and were caught sitting on the couch.
  • …tepid herbal tea in bed delivered by a small boy child “who made it himself” with a look of adoration on his face. (My husband usually follows this up with a secret cup of strong black tea. Good man.)
  • …my husband and sons exhort each other to “WORK HARDER FOR MOM!” while attempting to clean the house with military enthusiasm.
  • …offers of fishing complete with promises to bait my hooks for me.
  • …the opportunity to get the first turn at ‘Halo’ first today, even though I’ve never played it before.
  • …baby carrot and dry cereal snacks arranged artfully on plates.
  • …handmade cards with silly drawings on them and a couple of discreet hearts.
  • …the remote control is shoved reverentially into my hands after dinner with an encouraging, “Go ahead! You pick what we watch.”

I feel loved every day of the year by my husband and sons, but watching their efforts to make me feel extra special on Mother’s Day is especially touching. Does it end up being a spa day for me? Oh gosh no, but I figure my imperfect efforts at mothering and their imperfect efforts at showing their appreciation are pretty much the perfect match. This motherhood thing is crazy good.

After many requests for strawberry cake that DIDN’T use strawberry gelatin for pinkness and flavour, I finally got down to business and knocked it out of the park. The solution is thawing frozen strawberries and pressing them through a sieve to release the juices. This strawberry juice is reduced in a pan to make it stronger and then added to a standard white cake recipe. (White cake so no yellow yolks interfere with the gentle pinkness imparted by the strawberry concentrate!) Don’t pitch those strawberry solids that were left in the sieve, though! Whip those into the frosting! Granted, you won’t have a perfectly smooth frosting, but how can you go wrong with little bits of strawberry laced through your frosting? That all sounds good already, right? I didn’t leave it alone, though… I opted to make these cupcakes Strawberry Lemonade by adding lemon extract to both the cake batter AND the frosting. The result was a tender, mildly strawberry and mildly lemon cake with rich strawberry lemon frosting studded with tiny pieces of  REAL strawberry.

Strawberries for Strawberry Lemonade cupcakes | www.foodiewithfamily.com

It’s not WHIZZBANG strawberry like a cake mix would give you, but then a cake mix rarely tastes like real strawberries and lemonade as these cupcakes do.

Before I drop this most wonderful cupcake recipe in your lap, I want to offer a little prayer for all the mothers out there this weekend.

May you have the vision to enjoy every stage of motherhood.

May you have the chance to unwind, appreciate your blessings, and may a famished rabbit hop by to help you eat all of your baby carrot appetizers.

May the coffee or tea you are served in bed be as strong as the love and admiration your family has for you.

May the hands that offer you a cupcake be covered with honest dirt and not something worse.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Happy Mother’s Day, friends.

XO Rebecca

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Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes (Not made with strawberry flavoured gelatin!)

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes (Not made with strawberry flavoured gelatin!)

These light and fluffy Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes use only real strawberries (no flavoured gelatin mixes!) to provide the pretty soft pinkness and delicate strawberry flavour they deliver. The strawberry lemon buttercream topping them is studded with real strawberries, too!

Ingredients

    For the Cupcakes:
  • 1 pound frozen strawberries, microwaved just long enough to get them thawed and juicy
  • 16 tablespoons (2 sticks or 8 ounces, by weight) butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 3/4 cup (12 1/4 ounces by weight) granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon extract
  • 5 large egg whites
  • 2 3/4 cups 11 ounces, by weight) cake flour (you can substitute all-purpose flour, if necessary)
  • up to one cup whole milk
    • For the Strawberry Lemon Frosting:
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces by weight) butter, softened to room temperature
  • 4 cups (1 pound, by weight) powdered sugar
  • The strawberry solids left from the cupcake recipe, mashed thoroughly with a potato masher or pastry blender
  • up to 6 tablespoons of whole milk
  • 2 teaspoons lemon extract
    • Optional:
  • Fresh strawberries for garnish

Instructions

To Make the Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes:

Put a fine-mesh sieve over a heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour in the strawberries, and press the strawberries to release as much juice as you can. Put the saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Stirring frequently, reduce the strawberry juices until you have about 1/3 to 1/2 of a cup and it is darkened and thick. Pour those into a liquid measuring cup and add enough whole milk to bring the level to 1 cup. Use a fork or small whisk to combine the two until even. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a batter paddle, or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, baking powder, sugar, salt and lemon extract until light and fluffy. Add one egg white at a time to the butter mixture and beat well after every addition, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Add 1/3 of the flour to the butter mixture. Mix until evenly combined, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add 1/3 of the strawberry milk and mix until even. Repeat this process until you reach the final addition of strawberry milk, which should be stirred in by hand to prevent overmixing.

Prepare 24 cupcake liners (either free-standing on a pan or in cupcake/muffin tins). Scoop batter into the cupcake liners until each is about 2/3 full. Tap the pan on the counter once or twice to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Carefully turn the finished cupcakes out onto a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.

To Prepare the Strawberry Lemon Frosting and Frost the Cupcakes:

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a mixing bowl with a handheld electric mixer) beat the butter on high until it is light and fluffy. Gradually add in the powdered sugar until incorporated. Then, with the mixer on high, beat in the strawberry solids, lemon extract, and the milk -1 tablespoon at a time- until the buttercream is light and fluffy. Use an offset spatula to smear the buttercream on the cupcakes or load it into a pastry bag with a big tip to pipe on the frosting.

If desired, garnish finished cupcakes with whole or sliced fresh strawberries.

Store leftover cupcakes covered lightly in the refrigerator.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/05/10/strawberry-lemonade-cupcakes-not-made-with-strawberry-flavoured-gelatin/

Filed Under: Cakes, Desserts, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , ,

Spinach and Feta Grilled Turkey Burgers

April 24, 2013 by 28 Comments

Spinach Feta Turkey Burger | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Turkey burgers usually suffer from an identity crisis. They’re shaped like a burger, they’re made from ground meat, they’re served on buns, but -good golly- they are usually shoe leather dry and sorrowfully bland. The dry bit  is because we all like our stomachs where they are in the shape they’re already in and in order to keep them there, one must cook turkey to the requisite safe temperature (165°F in the thickest part, thankyouverymuch). This means it’s gonna take a while.

Because of this, turkey burgers need to have added moisture be it in the form of water, broth, egg, blahblahblah. When this happens, they’re unfortunately prone to falling apart which means that most people don’t want to bother grilling them because it’s a serious pain in the tuckus to avoid the fally apparty* nature of the juiced up ground meat.

*Don’t even give me grief for that. Can you think of a better way to describe it?

To add more body back into the burger, lots of folks add bread crumbs in as a binder which puts us back at the point we were trying to avoid: dry burgers.

HOWEVAH, there’s a solution. Not only does the solution taste great, but it also adds veggies to your burgers which ups the healthy quotient of the sandwich. Win/win, right?

How to Keep Your Turkey Burgers Moist:

Here’s how it’s done; we very gently wilt spinach in hot olive oil that is flush with roasted garlic. Are you happy yet? Roasted garlic always makes me happy! The roasted garlic is another flavour boost for the poor flavour-deficient turkey bird. Notice I said gently. You don’t want to cook the spinach down to mush… You’re going to stop at the point where the spinach has gone from a big old pile like this:

Sweating spinach for Spinach Feta Turkey Burger | www.foodiewithfamily.com

…to a little old pile like this. Please notice that the spinach isn’t mush and still has some body.

Spinach with garlic for Spinach Feta Turkey Burger | www.foodiewithfamily.com

At this point, you gently load the spinach into a colander over a plate and let it drain WITHOUT squishing, squeezing or otherwise molesting the spinach. Because we’re letting the spinach take some of its naturally abundant liquid with it, the spinach stores the liquid until the meat heats up on the grill and releases it INSIDE the burger. That way we don’t have sloppy, wet, fally aparty (Yes, I said it again.), sorry turkey burgers.

Let it cool like this until it’s room temperature. Right here? I usually pop it in the refrigerator overnight in a covered container. You could carry on with the burgers immediately, but I like my spinach cold before I mix it into the burger meat. Whether you cool it or proceed toute de suite, the next step is the same: chop the spinach roughly. We’re not talking itty bitty spinach morsels here, we’re talking about just breaking it up so you can distribute it through the meat a little more evenly.

Mix the chopped spinach into the meat with the crumbled feta, some black pepper, and a bit of salt. Oh hey! That feta brings moisture and flavour to the party, too!

Mixture for Spinach Feta Turkey Burger | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Divide into four or six even balls and form into burgers.

How to Keep your Turkey Burgers from Falling Apart on the Grill:

Ready to grill Spinach Feta Turkey Burger | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Okay, here’s one of my never-skip-steps for turkey burgers. After forming the patties, I put them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and pop them in the freezer while I’m preheating the grill. I don’t heat that grill ahead of time, because that little rest in the freezer (unlike beef, which you’d want to cook closer to room temp) helps hold them together in their initial slap onto the grill. This in turn gives the meat a chance to firm up under heat before you go messing with it and flipping it over. Don’t just take my word for it, though; give it a try.

Now I’m about to tell you something that you’d better not ignore. When you gently ease those patties onto the heated and oiled grill you want to be sure you’re putting each one exactly where you want it to stay for six minutes, because you are not even to THINK about moving those until the six minute mark. This is your truest hope of keeping the burgers intact. After six minutes, the meat will have cooked enough to hold together when you flip it. And once you flip it? DON’T TOUCH THAT GRILL for at least eight minutes (unless it’s to lower the heat because you got hungry and antsy and upped the temperature too much.) Turkey needs a little more finessing on the grill than beef, there’s no getting around it, but it tastes so good when it’s done right.

And let me tell you these smell insanely good while they’re grilling. How good do they smell?

Spinach Feta Turkey Burger | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Let’s just say my turkey burgers bring all the chickens to the yard.

XO Rebecca

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Spinach and Feta Grilled Turkey Burgers

Spinach and Feta Grilled Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

  • 1 bag baby spinach (6 ounces)
  • 4 cloves roasted garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
  • 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 4-6 hamburger buns (I like whole wheat here.)
  • extra olive oil for oiling the grates and brushing the buns before toasting.
    • Optional Garnish:
  • mixed greens
  • mayonnaise
  • Dijon mustard
  • Roasted Garlic Whipped Feta

Instructions

Pour the teaspoon of olive oil in a heavy skillet with a tight fitting lid over high heat. When it is shimmery and hot add the roasted garlic to the pan and stir for about 10 seconds or until it's fragrant. Add the spinach all at once and flip it a couple of times with tongs. Turn the heat off, add the lid and let sit for 2 minutes. Remove the lid, flip a couple more times, add the lid and leave for 1 more minute. Use the tongs to gently transfer the spinach and garlic to a colander on a plate. Let it rest until room-temperature. Either chill in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or proceed to the next step.

Roughly chop the wilted spinach and garlic so you can more easily mix it through the ground turkey. Add it to a mixing bowl with the turkey, feta, salt, and pepper. Gently but thoroughly mix everything together until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed. Form into 4 to 6 burger patties that are at least 3/4 of an inch thick. Place the formed patties onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and let it rest in the freezer while you preheat your grill.

Preheat your grill to medium-high. Soak a wadded paper towel generously with olive oil and use tongs to rub it over the clean grill grates, heavily oiling them. Ease the burger patties onto the grill and do not move them for 6 minutes, leaving the cover of the grill open. After 6 minutes, flip the burgers just once and let them continue to cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the burgers release from the grill and the interior temperature of the thickest part of the burgers reaches 165°F. Transfer the burgers to a clean plate.

Brush each of the insides of the buns with olive oil and toast them directly on the grill just until they have grill marks. Use tongs or a spatula to transfer the buns to a clean plate or baking sheet.

Serve each burger on a bun topped as desired.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/24/spinach-and-feta-grilled-turkey-burgers/

 

 

Filed Under: Chicken and other Poultry, Happy Healthy and Wise, Main Dish, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , ,

Garlic Bagel Chips | Make Ahead Mondays

April 22, 2013 by 12 Comments

Garlic Bagel Chips | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Garlic Bagel Chips rock my Casbah. I’m pretty sure just about everyone out there has tried them at one time or another, but it should come as no surprise that the homemade variety -fresh and crisp and hot- from your own oven is THAT much better. That they’re ridiculously simple to make is icing on the cake …Or cream cheese on the bagel, if you will.

There are really only two tricks you need to keep in mind when making your own bagel chips.

  • Do not eat the bagels you intend to turn into chips. Don’t laugh. I really need this reminder.

  • Take your time slicing the bagels. Ultimately, the direction you cut the bagel doesn’t matter as much as getting the slices uniformly thin (as much as is possible) and generally the same size.

Garlic Bagel Chips | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Here’s the beauty of making them yourself.

Homemade Bagel Chips are crispy without being rock hard. You can salt them as much (yes, please!) or as little as you’d like. You can completely control how much of what kind of bagel you like best; for instance, I a-d-o-r-e dark bagels. I love pumpernickel, rye, and whole wheat. If I can control myself around the fresh bagels, I like to have a higher concentration of those dark bagels for chips than any others. If I can’t (and you can tell from the picture above that I suffered a huge lapse in self-control) then I have more white bagel chips. If you have topped and/or seedy bagels, they work beautifully here. Toss any toppings that fell off of the bagels during slicing into the bowl when you add the salt and they should re-stick by virtue of the oil coating on the bagel slices.

Make more than you think you need.

Believe you me, you’re going to have a heckuva time keeping your hands off of these things when they’re warm from the oven. Be kind to yourself and make a double batch to compensate for what you’re going to inevitably consume while they’re still hot. Why do you want so many around? Here’s a list just to get you started: croutons on salads or soups, topped with a schmear of cream cheese and a little smoked salmon as an appetizer, in place of crackers with a cheese tray, or served plain or with dip as a snack. I’m sure there’s more, but isn’t that enough, really?

 

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Garlic Bagel Chips | Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Garlic Bagel Chips | Make Ahead Mondays

No one in my house can keep their hands out of the jar of garlic bagel chips. These perfectly crispy, salty, garlicky bagel crisps are an addictive snack! Eat them plain, with dip or topped with a little schmear of cream cheese and a little smoked salmon for a second-to-none appetizer.

Ingredients

  • 6 savoury bagels, any variety (I like a mixture of pumpernickel and white bagels, most often of the everything sort.)
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 250°F.

Slice the bagels thinly -no thicker than 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch. How you slice them doesn't matter as much as how uniform they are. Take the time to make the slices as close to each other in size as you can. Put the bagel slices in a deep mixing bowl.

In a small liquid measuring cup, use a fork or small whisk to combine the olive oil and granulated garlic or garlic powder. Drizzle this over the bagel slices and use your hands to toss until the oil is evenly distributed. Scatter the salt over the top and toss again to evenly distribute it.

Divide the bagel slices between two pans, trying to keep them in a single layer. Bake for 45 minutes, rotating the pans ever 15 minutes, or until crisp but not hard. Remove the pans from the oven and let the chips cool completely on the pans before transferring to a jar or other container with a tight fitting lid.

These store very well at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 10 days.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/22/garlic-bagel-chips-make-ahead-mondays/

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Piña Colada Smoothies | Vegan and Dairy Free

April 17, 2013 by 18 Comments

Piña Colada Smoothies | www.foodiewithfamily.com

 

Piña Colada Smoothies are my new go-to smoothie. They’re kind of fabulous.

You know how I’ve told you I was a picky eater when I was a kid? I was a total texture-phobe and I was dead picky about flavour combinations. My mom now says, “Hey, we just didn’t know you were gourmet.” My mom is the Queen of the Euphemism.

I must’ve been a righteous pain in the rear to feed.

The reason I’m confessing this (again) is that pineapple and coconut were both on my no-fly list. I didn’t like pineapple because of the stringy texture. I didn’t like coconut because the sum exposure I had to coconut in Northern Michigan in the 70s and 80s was the über-sweetened stuff in the middle of Mounds candy bars or in a macaroon. Both grossed me out, so piña coladas were a serious no go.

Fast forward to now and my insatiable desire to eat both of those ingredients. (Okay, I still dislike sweetened coconut flakes, but honestly, can you blame me?) I love the fruity, tangy, acidic pineapple AND its texture. I can’t get enough coconut milk -which I’m pretty sure is an ingredient given to humanity by the grace of God-, fresh coconut or unsweetened coconut flakes.

And piña coladas? Well, until recently they were still on my no-fly list because -frankly- I don’t really like alcoholic smoothies, which is what I always viewed piña coladas as being. Pardon me while I go bang my head against the wall for a moment, would ya?

THUD THUD THUD

Howzabout just omitting the hooch, dingbat?

The result of leaving out the high octane stuff was a creamy, dreamy, coconutty, silken pineapple, thick concoction that pretty much makes my eyes roll back into my head. Let me let you in on a little something… There is ZERO added sugar and there doesn’t need to be because the frozen bananas do double duty. They thicken the mixture to milkshake consistency and they sweeten it to boot. Oh and HEY! If you happen to be vegan or cutting back on dairy OR allergic to anything dairy, this is still kosher for you (small ‘k’ kosher because I make no claim to understand kosher law!)

It’s warming up out there, friends. You need this in your lives this summer.

Piña Colada Smoothies | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Double Bonus: If you have leftover smoothie (HA. Like that would happen here unless I plan for it.) you can freeze it in ice pop molds for some wicked good popsicles. You are welcome. Mwah.

XO

Rebecca

 

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Piña Colada Smoothies | Vegan and Dairy Free

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Piña Colada Smoothies | Vegan and Dairy Free

These super creamy, indulgent tasting, family friendly pineapple and coconut Piña Colada Smoothies will transport you to the tropics in a matter of minutes. Using only 3 easy-to-find and healthy ingredients just boosts the appeal of this naturally vegan, dairy-free treat!

If you've got a hankering to make this a true piña colada, you can stir in a shot of rum before serving.

Ingredients

  • 1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple in juice
  • 1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk
  • 3 bananas, peeled and frozen
    • Optional Garnish:
  • A slice of pineapple
  • a dusting of shredded coconut

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high until smooth. Divide between glasses and serve immediately!

Leftovers can be frozen in ice pop form.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/17/pina-colada-smoothies-vegan-and-dairy-free/

Filed Under: Beverages, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Ancient Grains Cranberry Dark Chocolate Granola| Make Ahead Mondays

April 15, 2013 by 9 Comments

Ancient Grains Cranberry Dark Chocolate Granola | www.foodiewithfamily.com

I am more than just a wee bit obsessed with granola.

I eat it on yogurt with fruit almost every day. On the days when I don’t have it on yogurt, I have it, um, on my hands. As in, I eat it by the handful. I especially adore clumpy clusters of granola. While I’ve been making my own granola for years, I recently discovered KIND Cranberry Dark Chocolate Clusters and I couldn’t get enough.

I was hooked on the super crispy, crunchy, just-sweet-enough combo that was studded with tiny little chopped dried cranberries and had little morsels of chocolate adhered to the crunchy bits. My word… who wouldn’t be, I ask you?

I’m not the only one in my family with a thaaaaang for granola, though. Every single one of my guys can plough through it at such a pace that it’s a wonder they ever get more than a few steps away from a toilet.

Oh gosh. That was probably really unappetizing of me to say that. Apologies. It’s what comes of living with six males.

The point is this… my dainty little bags of KIND clusters were disappearing at an alarming rate. I had to do something. I had to make my own.

Thankfully, granola making isn’t rocket science and today’s recipe was not only a fairly simple one to nail down the way I wanted it, but it’s a ridiculously easy recipe to repeat.

In short, you stir stuff together.

Now, there’s a little trick to getting the clumps but it’s not taxing; you firmly press the sticky wet mixture together with a stiff spatula in the form of a rectangle (“Wonder Twin powers activate! Form of… A RECTANGLE! Form of… A SPATULA!”) When you remove the granola to give it a stir, you restrain yourself and -instead- flip the mixture over with the spatula, then press it together again and bake. Then, when the baking is finished, you sprinkle with the chocolate (CHOCOLATE GRANOLA!) and press the little ruby-hued bits of dried cranberry into the whole lot and let it cool before you mess with it again. Ta da! Giant slab-o-granola just waiting to be broken into clumpy bits. What a happy, happy thing to load into jars!

This has an enthusiastic stamp of approval from every single member of my household, INCLUDING the no-fruit duo who -for whatever reason- do not seem to mind tiny minced bits of dried cranberries but would rather stage a dramatic hunger strike than eat a WHOLE dried cranberry. Whatever. If it ain’t broke…

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Ancient Grains Cranberry Dark Chocolate Granola| Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Ancient Grains Cranberry Dark Chocolate Granola| Make Ahead Mondays

This isn't just any old homemade granola, this is power food! Protein packed by virtue of it's amazing medley of quinoa, millet, amaranth, and rice, this sweet, crunchy Ancient Grains Cranberry Dark Chocolate Granola takes the cake for nutrition AND taste, too. It bakes up nice and clumpy, too, making it an ideal healthy out-of-hand snack! It tastes almost exactly like KIND Cranberry Dark Chocolate Clusters.

Ingredients

  • 8 cups whole rolled oats
  • 1 cup puffed brown rice or white rice cereal
  • 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (red or white)
  • 1/2 cup uncooked millet
  • 1/2 cup uncooked amaranth
  • 1/4 cup untoasted white sesame seeds
  • 1 3/4 cups brown rice syrup, honey, light agave syrup, Lyle's Golden Syrup, light corn syrup, maple syrup, molasses or a combination thereof. (*See Notes)
  • 1/2 cup almond butter (or your preferred nut butter: peanut, sunflower, cashew, etc...)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla paste or real vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries, chopped into small bits
  • 1 1/2 cups finely chopped dark chocolate or miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two rimmed half-sheet pans with silpats or parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl toss together the oats, puffed rice cereal, quinoa, millet, amaranth, and sesame seeds with your hands. In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk together whichever combination of sweet syrup/honey you're using, the almond or other nut butter, the salt and the vanilla paste or extract until smooth. Pour this over the oat mixture and stir until everything is evenly coated. Divide the mixture between the two lined pans and press it into a rectangle with the back of a spoon or spatula.

Place the pans in the oven, immediately lower the temperature of the oven to 225°F, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and use a spatula to flip the mixture over in sections. It may fall apart as you do this, but do your best to flip it all over and make sure the stuff from the edges is now toward the center. Press it back together with the spatula and return to the oven for another 30 minutes. The mixture should be very sticky. To test whether it has been cooked enough, pull a pinch from the center and let it come to room temperature. If it is crispy, it has baked enough. If it is still sticky, it may require as much as another 30 minutes of baking. If you need to return it to the oven, repeat the flipping it over in sections and pressing it back together before returning the pans to bake longer.

When the granola is done toasting, remove the pans from the oven and sprinkle the chopped chocolate evenly between the two pans. Use your hands to break up the chopped cranberries and sprinkle those evenly over the two pans as well. After the cranberries are added, use the palms of your hands to press the cranberries into the mixture. Let it cool completely on the pans and then break up into a mixing bowl before storing in jars or other containers with tight fitting lids.

The granola is good for up to a month when stored at room temperature in an airtight container.

Notes

*While you can use any combination of these liquid sweeteners to make your granola, I do recommend using at least half brown rice syrup, honey, or corn syrup for their super sticky qualities. You can make up the rest with maple syrup, agave syrup or Lyle's Golden Syrup, or add up to 1/4 cup of molasses. Any more molasses tends to be a bit too bitter.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/15/ancient-grains-cranberry-dark-chocolate-granola-make-ahead-mondays/

Filed Under: Breakfast Foods, Happy Healthy and Wise, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Pulled Pork Walking Tacos {giveaway closed}

April 10, 2013 by 355 Comments

Walking Tacos | www.foodiewithfamily.com

First, I need to get something out of the way. Isn’t my boy adorable? Look at those eyes. That face. That smile. This boy melts my heart. Now, let’s talk about what he’s holding in his hands that’s causing that smile.

It’s that GO GO GO GO time of year.  Everything from buds on trees to school schedules is running at breakneck speed toward an explosion of greenery and excitement. Snow has melted here and whether it stays that way remains to be seen, we ARE in New York State after all. The kids, however, are busy puddle jumping, creek stomping, tree climbing, and biking like it’s their job. I suppose it is.

Busy days and activity filled evenings are the standing order. Sometimes you just gotta meet the challenge with a walking taco.

Right about now, there’s a big part of the Central U.S. saying, “You betcha!” and quite a few other folks scratching their heads. A Walking Taco, as I have known it, is a snack sized bag of Fritos (!) or Doritos (?) that is sliced open down the side and piled high with taco toppings.

Yes, you must slice it down the side instead of popping it open in the usual way. Observe my hand model with the filthy-playing-outside-all-day nails.

Walking Tacos | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Why do it this way? Well, it’s for fittin’ in all the stuff, of course. Just look at this spread.

Walking Tacos | www.foodiewithfamily.com

 

This standard of high school football, baseball, softball, and soccer games, wrestling matches, and community fundraisers is popular both for its ease of preparation and for the lack of additional serviceware needed for it. The chip bag forms the bowl, you pile in all the toppings that you possibly can and a plastic spoon or fork is all you really need to deliver the goods where they’re intended to go.

Since by this point you probably know I’m more than a little fixated on pulled pork (see examples here, here, here, and here) and I’ve waxed on and on about making a ridiculously inexpensive huge amount of pulled pork to keep in the freezer (examples here and here) I’ll spare you that harangue this time around. I’m going to go ahead and assume you have a stash in your freezer or have plans to make some soon. If you don’t, I’m pretty sure you’re aware you can make it easily ~or~ you have a source for purchasing pre-made pulled pork. Any which way you shred that pork shoulder, a Pulled Pork Walking Taco is sure to make your entire crew gleeful.

Heck. It makes ME gleeful. You know how I feel about Fritos.

Can a meal get easier than this? Well, sure… if you call someone to deliver it, but even with the bagged chips, I’m thinking you’re still ahead when you make this at home. With a little creative insulated packaging, you could even take this on a day excursion or a trip to the park for a fast dinner.

What’s your favourite fast meal? Have you indulged in Walking Tacos?

XO

Rebecca

P.S. Here’s a free pro Walking Tacos tip; after you open your bag of chips, but before you start piling in the goodies, slightly crush the chips. This helps them to mix into whatever you add in the bag a little more easily.

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Pulled Pork Walking Tacos

Rating: 51

Pulled Pork Walking Tacos

This is a Midwestern and Central US classic gussied up a bit; Fritos or Doritos in a snack-sized bag topped with Pulled Pork, sour cream, salsa, fresh cilantro, avocado cubes and whatever else your heart desires. These fun, portable meals please kids of all ages and make clean-up beyond snappy!

Ingredients

    For Each Walking Taco:
  • 1 snack sized bag of Fritos or Doritos
  • 1/3 cup fully cooked pulled pork, reheated You can use this recipe, or this recipe, or use purchased pulled pork.
    • Optional Toppings:
  • Shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Fresh cilantro leaves
  • sour cream or Greek yogurt
  • salsa
  • chopped tomatoes
  • chopped black olives
  • chopped avocados
  • guacamole
  • barbecue sauce
  • hot sauce

Instructions

Slice the bag of chips open along the side rather than the top. Slightly crush the bag to break up the chips a little bit. Pile the pulled pork in and add as many toppings as you'd like. Pop a fork in there and eat immediately!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/10/pulled-pork-walking-tacos-giveaway-le-creuset-anthropologie-and-more/

Giveaway Closed: Congratulations to Jennifer (comment beginning: “Other than fresh bread…”)! Check your email for information on your prize package!

P.P.S. About a month ago, I was invited to take part in a Kitchen Conversations webinar discussing trends in food that was put on by Land O’Lakes. Given my past work with Land O’Lakes, I was thrilled to say yes.

KC_Logo

The webinar featured top bloggers Ree Drummond a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman, Julie Deily of The Little Kitchen, Sommer Collier of A Spicy Perspective, Maria of Two Peas and Their Pod, and Brenda Score of A Farmgirl Dabbles. I have to tell you that each of these women is a wizard with butter and nobody does butter better than Land O’Lakes. You should most definitely click on over to their sites and look at the drool-inducing butter-centric recipes they created for the Kitchen Conversations push. I’m just going to say “Butter Chicken Sliders“, “Beef Bahn Mi“, “Meatball Tortilla Soup“, “Garlic Rosemary Parmesan Popcorn“and “Curried Cauliflower with Israeli Couscous and Grains“. Are you drooling yet? I was so hungry by the time our Kitchen Conversation was done. Don’t go until you’ve entered the giveaway, though… Wait ’til you see what Land O’Lakes has in store for you!

As a thank you for a stimulating discussion on what foods are on the rise in popularity this year, Land O’Lakes sent me a gift package to review and will send an identical package to one of you, my readers. Wanna see what’s in it? Of course you do!

Giveaway_KC

The giveaway includes:

-one BEAUTIFUL and seriously serious Le Creuset enamelware sauté and frying pan.

-THREE gorgeous kitchen items from Anthropologie

-one full-value coupon for any Land O Lakes® Butter Half Sticks

-one full-value coupon for Sauté Express® Sauté Starter which includes butter, olive oil and herbs or spices.

How to Enter:

This doesn’t get much easier. Just leave a comment here on the blog telling me what your absolute all-time favourite dish is that’s made with butter! That’s it! The winner will be announced on this post on Friday, April 12, 2013. Good luck everyone!

Disclosure: Land O’Lakes sent me a gift package as a thank you for participating in the webinar and is sponsoring the giveaway of an identical gift package to one Foodie with Family reader. This contest is only open to U.S. Residents. Sorry, international friends! All opinions remain my own.

Butter_ProductImage

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, kid food, Party Food, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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