Turkey Burger

"Sam's club" meat section also contains 93% lean ground turkey 5 lbs for around 11.00$ it was cheaper before the gas prices began the rise.  I do not find any ground turkey in my local grocery stores for less than 2.50$ a pound with any consistency and that is the 80% lean stuff.  I promise if someone steps up to the plate and I can stop driving 30 minutes to Sam's club i will tell you who, what, & where.

I have always hated ground turkey and really only prepare it with thick flavorful sauces.  Spaghetti, Curries, and Cajun rice dishes.  Sometimes i will do meatballs in a chicken or Asian sauce with the meatballs containing lots of seasoning.  Basically low fat turkey is about as bland as it gets.  Thus, the problem of using turkey with burgers meat loafs.  The items you make with beef where the beef is the only flavor and makes the dish.  Finally. Ground turkey is very sticky and hard to make patties so i decided to add some instant oatmeal to thicken it up and this led me to my Turkey burger recipe:

preheat grill HOT

1/3 cup prepared beefy oatmeal  recipe at the end
1    tblspn paprika
1/2 tblspn ground cumin
1/2 tblspn ground coriander
1 lb ground turkey

mix all together form 4 patties give a little freeze
remove patties from freezer
place on hottest part of grill until grill marks form
Flip wait for grill marks again (not more than five minutes)
slide patties to finish on indirect heat reaching 160 degrees

prepare burgers with
tomato, lettuce, onion, burger sauce (recipe on blog)

Eat till your heart is content

beefy oatmeal:
1/3 cup instant oatmeal
2/3 cup water
2/3 tspn bouillon

boil water with bouillon in it add oatmeal prepare according to box

Burger Sauce

Now i am a firm believer that no red blooded burger needs any sort of a sauce!  In my opinion the only thing you should do to a burger is add salt and pepper to some ground chuck and grill it. however in this anti beef world burger sauce for the no fat turkey burger makes sense!  This is my burger sauce recipe:

1 tblspn   Mayo
1 tblspn   Miracle whip
1 tblspn   sweet relish
2 tspns     ketchup
1 tspn      mustard
1/2 tspn   soy sauce

just mix and serve, it tastes great

Red Rub

Cookbooks from "joy" to "weber" seem to have magical spice rubs for every piece of meat you could possibly put on a grill.  In the past I used to seek out new and exciting rubs to try.  however, when cleaning out my spice cabinet i realized the mass amount of waste/expense of trying all these rubs and my basic spice pantry is pretty thorough.  All of this information led me to try my own rubs and see if i could create something the family would like and not brake the bank.  "spice classics" offer decently price seasonings that allow you to buy numerous bottles for the price of just one small spice jar of other brands.  Also, I have lived my life with Lawrys season salt and have it around at all times this is how i used it with some "spice classics" to create my "red rub" I use on grilled pork.

1 tblspn  Lwry's season salt
1 tblspn  chili powder
1 tblspn  paprika

(add cayenne pepper if you want it really spicy, depending on the cayenne, it may not take much)

mix and apply over entire pork loin sear and then cook on indirect till reaches your desired inside temp.
I have now tried this with a beef chuck roast and it was not nearly as good as it was on Pork. 

Pasta & pan sauce

"Bon Appetit" magazine recently did an article about ultimate Pasta.  The recipe they used was very versatile and I tried one with my ingredients of pork chops & asparagus. (garden fresh, Woo Hoo!)  My tip is when it comes to the Pasta water and sauce making Less is More.  I work evenings and eat an hour or so before the Mrs so my battle is always Dry vs Wet and finding a long lasting middle ground!
"Happy Mothers Day" I am off to work!

Hormonal Meat

I have one huge problem with "Organic Food" movement and the people who worship at this alter,  #IGNORANCE! Labeling information provided by the USDA:(http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Meat_and_Poultry_Labeling_Terms.pdf)
If you learn something new please feel free to research the USDA website before spending 7$ a pound on pork or chicken because it is hormone free. WHY? because all pork and Chicken is "HORMONE FREE".  If i can teach you one thing...."READ" labels etc.

"The Schwartz"

 

This recipe needs a little family history lesson. Paul Frederick Schwartz my wife's grandfather searched his European heritage for a recipe that would be quick, easy, delicious and feed all his grand kids when they were at his Browns lake cottage. This is the "perfect Easter brunch recipe" because of quick prep time, The size of the thing on the table, it serves like pizza and add syrup to eat just like pancakes. People the recipe for the worlds largest pancake hence forth to be known as "The Schwartz" is...

Oven proof Skillet "size is important"
you will need:
flour
milk
eggs
butter
tspn malt powder/syrup (can be omitted)


10" cast iron or a 12" skillet (holds 2-3 qts water)
1/4 cup butter / 3 eggs / 3/4 cup flour & milk

12" or 14" cast iron skillet (holds 3-4 qts water)
1/3 cup butter / 4 eggs / 1 cup flour & milk

To prepare:
preheat oven to 425
dissolve malt in milk
in a mixing bowl beat eggs
beat milk mixture into eggs
add butter to skillet place in preheated 425 oven
beat flour into milk egg mixture
watch closely to see when butter is melted
add flour/egg/milk mixture to pan and place back in oven
bake for 20 - 25 minutes until brown and bubbly
remove and cut like pie and or pizza pie serve with pancake fixins


PS leave the oven light on the shapes and transformations it goes through can be quite interesting for the kids to look at.
aka "dutch baby"

Meatloaf, Worlds Greatest

Meatloaf can be quick & easy or pain in the butt gourmet. Everyone has had it and it is such a comfort food that people will even create vegetarian versions..This is my Oh Yeah Meatloaf recipe:

TIP: Have your own meatloaf recipe and looking for a little change? Make just 1/3rd of your glaze and mix it into your loaf, omitting the glaze otherwise or NOT!
1lb ground beef
1lb grountttd pork
1/3 cup chili sauce (or ketchup)
2 tblspns brown sugar
1 tblspn cider vinegar
1 medium onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
2 large eggs
1/2 tspn thyme (or 1/2 tspn of oregano, basil) when out of thyme
1 tspn salt
1 tspn ground black pepper
2 tspns dijon mustard
2 tspns worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon tabassco (i double if no kids eating)
1 small container plain yogurt
1 cup quick oatmeal

preheat oven to 425 degrees

combine all ingredients into large mixing bowl and mix until all incorporated
place meat mixture in 4x9 pan 4" deep
cover with tin foil bake for 45 minutes
remove tin foil switch oven to low broil and brown the top for 15 minutes or until a thermometer reaches 160 (center top) you can broil on high for five minutes if already at 160 when you remove meatloaf from oven.
let sit 10-15 minutes and serve

I know you will love it my family always does!
JAD's to be world famous Oh Yeah! Meatloaf Recipe
meat loaf loaves

#worldsgreatest
Worlds Greatest Meatloaf

The Cheeky Cuban

I ate a Cuban sub last week at quiznos it was good but I thought i might try something different...

My Cheeky Cuban sandwich recipe:
(makes 2 sandwiches)

1 tblspn dijon mustard
1 tblspn mayonaise
1 6oz pkg brie cheese
12 bread and butter pickle slices
1/4 lb honey turkey
1/4 lb honey ham
1 tblspn butter
1 tblspn olive oil
4 slices beefsteak rye bread

mix mustard and mayo together spread 1/2 on one slice of bread (Set aside)
place other slice of bread down on work surface
apply 1/2 of brie cheese 1/8" thick should almost cover all
add 6 of the B&B pckl slices
then 1/8 lb ham & turkey
cover with slice of rye that u set aside mustard mix side down
(repeat to make second sandwich)
heat non stick skillet on High add all olive oil (or use panini maker)
spread 1/2 butter on top of both sandwiches place them butter side down
place 4-5 plates on top of sandwiches turn heat to low cook for 5 minutes
remove plates spread rest of butter to top of sandwiches and flip
turn the heat to medium and cover sandwiches with plates & cook 3 minutes

cut in half and enjoy my "Cheeky Cuban"

Dirty burner grate & drip pan?

My wife found replacement drip pans online for our stove the other day because i am a mess in the kitchen and they are filthy. When she showed me the price i needed to look and see if I can find an alternative first. I read about every miracle cleaner that would do the trick (many I have tried before)until one post suggested placing the burner grates & drip pans in the oven during self clean mode. Holy Cow! they are SPOTLESS the grates and drop pans are totally clean and all i had to do was stink up the house for 3 hours. I believe it works so well that I would borrow a self cleaning oven before I ever try and scrub, soak, scrub those things clean ever again. This may not be authorized according to the oven manufacturer but as good as it looks i cant complain.

Red beans & Rice

My red beans and rice recipe

1 lb bag small red beans (soaked overnight or quick soaked on bag)
extra pork chops or bones, chicken pieces, or ham hocks some all or none
2 tblspns olive oil
2 tblspns butter
1 small green pepper
1 large onion
2-3 stalks celery (match Green pepper amount
*2 tblpsns minced garlic (if you're not using mash bean recipe)
8 cups water
1 tspn bouillon veg or chicken
2 bay leafs
1 tspn oregano
1 tspn cumin
1 tspn coriander
2 shakes Cinnamon
1 tspn black pepper
1 tblspn garlic salt
1 tBLspn paprika
1/4 - 1 tspn red pepper flakes the more U add spicer it is
1-1/2 cups (measured dry basmati rice) prepared white rice

MASHED BEANS RECIPE (variation of RICK BAYLESS recipe) this part is up to U
2 tblspns olive oil
2 tblspns butter
1 can red beans/kidney beans
3 cloves garlic minced

soften grn peppers, onions, celery in 2 tblspns ea butter & olive oil
add all seasonings (but bay leaves & bouillon) continue to cook for a minute or so no burning
add H2O, bay leaves, bouillon & meat bring to a boil and simmer till meat drops from bone
(U can add more bouillon but U will need to decrease Garlic salt)
remove bones/meat to cool in fridge so U can pull and add it later
add beans to pot and slow simmer until beans are tender edible after 1.5 hours but I like to simmer for 3-4 hours when a few beans begin to split.
Add meat to pot it's ready to serve over rice now but i like to thicken with

Mashed red beans:
Drain can of beans and rinse then dry
melt butter in olive oil in a small skillet
add garlic cook slowly in butter till browning just begins
add beans turn off burner mash then add to 5qt pot of red beans
This is when I serve to family

You can find a great recipe for bean enchiladas in an earlier blog post which is great for your leftover red beans.