Sliders

I heard of this from my friend Kim and then found a copy-cat recipe online for White Castle Sliders and came up with something that works great for our family.  As with all of my recipes, it's not an exact science so go with the flow.

Sliders
2 lbs ground beef, go ahead and use some with some fat
seasoning salt or just salt, or cajun seasoning, whatever you have
cheddar, sliced
dried onions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Sprinkle enough dried onion to cover the bottom of a glass 9x13 baking dish.
3. Press the ground beef evenly into the dish over the dried onion.
4. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and carefully pour any excess fat/liquid off.
6. Cover the top with cheese and put back into the oven for a couple minutes until cheese is melted.
7. Enjoy! 
 
You can cut to whatever size - this works for regular sized hamburgers, small rolls, sliders, etc.  Top with a pickle, tomato, or again whatever you like on your burgers. 

We really like this method because I can make hamburgers for everyone and don't have to stand over the stove.  I can go play with the boys for a bit while this cooks.

Turkey Breakfast Sausage Patties

Found a recipe online and adapted to suit our household.

Turkey Breakfast Sausage Patties

2 lbs ground turkey (not super lean, you want a little fat)
2 tsp each - fennel seed, dried thyme, black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 scant tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp each - chipotle powder, cloves, nutmeg, allspice


I like to put this in my KitchenAid and mix the hell out of it so I don't have to touch the meat.  If that's not an option, get in there with your hands and mix like crazy.  Let set overnight if you planned that far ahead.  Otherwise, let set as long as you can.

Heat oil up in a pan to med-high.  Use an ice cream scoop to measure out a blob and form into a patty in your hand.  Fill the pan (you'll have to do multiple batches likely) but don't have the patties touch each other.  Cook until brown on the first side, turn over and brown on the other side.  I usually have to turn the heat down a bit at this point.  Cook until just done through.

Note: If it's the height of summer and you have too much zucchini laying around add about a cup or so shredded zucchini to the meat when you mix in the spices.

Balsamic kale salad

Adaptation of a recipe I found online - can't remember now which one though.

Balsamic Kale Salad

Salad
2 bunches kale
1/4 c feta
6 oz fresh bluebierries
1/4 c sliced almonds

Dressing
1/2 c grapeseed or olive oil
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
2 T maple syrup
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Remove center ribs of the kale.  Cut or tear kale into small bite sized pieces.  Mix in other ingredients.

Mix dressing ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously. 

Pour desired amount of dressing over salad and toss to coat.

Soft Breakfast "Cake"

I adapted a recipe that the Sweet Pea Blogger calls No Corn Cornbread.  I suppose it's yellow but otherwise I didn't find it anything like cornbread.  However, it was tasty and works quite well in place of a scone in the morning with a lot healthier things going on for me :)  It definitely needs to cool a bit to reduce the crumbliness but otherwise I enjoyed it!

Soft Breakfast "Cake"
Dry ingredients
1 c coconut flour
1/3 c + 2 T tapioca flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt


Wet ingredients
3 eggs, separated
1/4 c honey
2 T grapeseed oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 c applesauce
1/2 c dairy-free milk (I used cashew milk)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a round baking dish (I used a cake round) (or an 8x8 baking dish).

2. Mix together dry ingredients.

3. Separate the egg whites into a separate bowl.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients.

4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry. 

5. Whip the egg whites until frothy and gently fold into the batter.

6. Pour into the prepared pan and gently spread out.  Cook for 20-30 minutes.  It will still be fairly soft when done. 

7.  Remove from oven and let cool.  It will be a bit crumbly but gets better especially after you refrigerate it.  Good by itself or good with a little bit of fruit preserves on top.

Note: I liked the round pan because it allowed me to cut into wedges and that's probably why I thought it resembled scones :)

Basil-Cauliflower Soup

Again, having homemade broth makes everything better!  This also tastes great with a spoonful of rice in the center.

Basil-Cauliflower Soup

1 T oil
1 c chopped onions
3 c broth (can be vegetable if you want vegetarian)
3 c chopped cauliflower florets
1/2 c diced, potatoes
1/2 c packed fresh basil
1/2 can coconut cream
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil over medium heat and add onions, cooking until softened.  Add broth, cauliflower, and potatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.  Remove from heat.  Place in blender (I have a Vitamix so I can do it all at once, if you don't you may need to do half at a time) with basil and coconut cream, and process until smooth.  Return to pot and stir in the salt and pepper. 

Sherried Onion Soup

OMG this was amazing!!!  Didn't hurt that I made it with homemade chicken broth that was amazing as well :)

Sherried Onion Soup

2 T butter or oil
4 c chopped onions
6 c broth (can be vegetable broth if you don't eat meat)
1/4 c apple cider (or red wine if you have it)
3 T sherry
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

In big pot, melt the butter and add the onions.  Cook, stirring, until onions are very soft.  Stir in rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 50 minutes or longer.  It gets better with time!

Puerto Rican Savory Beef

I have a Latino cookbook with a recipe for Savory Plantain and Beef Casserole.  I didn't want to make the full casserole and needed to make a few adjustments...like there are no raisins in this house since I don't like them so I used craisins.  Turned out very good.  Jill and I put it over roasted Brussels sprouts.

Puerto Rican Savory Beef

2  T oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 lb ground beef
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
2 T craisins
2 T capers
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 T sherry
1 T oregono


Warm the oil over medium heat.  Saute the onion until soft; stir in garlic and cook a bit longer.  Add ground beef, salt, and pepper.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the meat is browned.  Still in the rest of the ingredients, lower the heat, and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Asian Turkey Meatballs

I made these up ahead on a Sunday and tossed them in the oven to reheat on a Tuesday.  Dad was up here and we both agreed it was pretty tasty.  It was a bit salty so I'm cutting back the amount of tamari from the original recipe.  We both liked it though and it reheated well.  I made rice and some green beans sauteed in bacon grease to go with it.

Asian Turkey Meatballs

Meatballs:
1 pound ground turkey
1 egg
1/4 cup coconut flour
1-2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
Few cracks of pepper

Sauce:
1/3 cup tamari
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup apple juice (original called for orange juice, use what you have...it's the "sweet" balance to the salty tamari)
1-2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 heaping teaspoon arrowroot powder + 1 teaspoon cold water (mixed together)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl add turkey, egg, coconut flour, garlic, ground ginger, salt and pepper and mix to combine completely. Divide into 16 meatballs and place them in an 8x8 inch pyrex. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine tamari, water, juice, garlic & ground ginger. Bring to a boil and add the arrowroot and water mixture. Whisk vigorously to keep from clumping! Pour sauce over the meatballs evenly and bake for 18-20 minutes.  

To reheat, I put it in a covered dish at 300 for 20-30 minutes while I cooked the rice and veggies.

Date Sweetened BBQ Sauce

Not a huge fan of most bbq sauces and I don't use a lot so being able to make it when I need it is super helpful.  I made this one last night and used about half the batch to cook country style pork ribs.  Boys loved it and Jill and I thought it was pretty tasty as well.  Decided I wanted to keep track of it for future reference.  I used to use the one out of the Joy of Cooking but misplaced it.  I did add a bit of chipotle Tabasco and a shot of lemon juice because I remembered that from the Joy of Cooking one.  May find it again and compare the two at some point.

Date Sweetened BBQ Sauce

Date Sweetened BBQ Sauce

1 (14.5 oz) can tomato sauce (no oil or sugar added) (I didn't have this so I used two 8 oz cans and it was fine)
9 deglet dates
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

couple splashes of chipotle Tabsco sauce
about a teaspoon or so of lemon juice

Place all of the BBQ sauce ingredients in a medium pot over medium high heat. Bring to a simmer stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.

Yeast Free Almond Flour Bread

 It is struggle city to find "bread" that doesn't have grains in it and doesn't taste like crap.  This recipe from whatgreatgrandmaate.com was a hit.  I used almond milk instead of the coconut milk that they used.  I may try doubling the recipe next time and see if it will make a bit thicker loaf.  I'm thinking it's going to work for sandwiches!!!!

Yeast Free Almond Flour Bread

• 2 cups almond meal
• 1 cup tapioca flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup dairy-free milk
• ½ cup water
• 1 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar

1. Line an 8-inch loaf pan with parchment paper
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together almond flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk, water, and apple cider vinegar until they are mixed well.
4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir together well.
5. Pour the mixed batter into the lined loaf pan.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F while you let the dough sit for 10-15 minutes.
7. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
8. Let cool for 30 minutes, then take out the bread by pulling on the parchment paper flaps.