Spicy Turkey Burgers

These turkey burgers have become one of Grant's favorite foods very quickly.  He requests them every week, as a matter of fact. 

Can't really complain, I like them too, and the kids all eat them with great enthusiasm.  Especially Corban.

I do leave out the crushed red pepper in the kids' burgers, after they complained of the heat the first time. 

I'm sure they're great on the grill, but I'm not particularly good at grilling and have no pressing desire to learn at this point in my life - and most week-nights, I don't want to bother Grant with firing it up when he gets home exhausted from work - so these just get cooked in a skillet on my stovetop.  

Grant and Corban prefer them with pepperjack cheese - the girls and I opt for cheddar.  Whatever floats your boat!

Recipe: (from Tammy's Recipes)

1 lb. ground turkey (I usually use 1-1/4 lbs or more and increase the seasonings accordingly)

2 T. water (I use 1/8 c. for 1-1/2 lbs meat)

1/2 t. salt

1 t. pepper

2 T. dried minced onions

1/2 t. dried minced garlic (or 1 fresh garlic clove, minced)

1 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 t. paprika

Combine all ingredients well and allow to sit for a few minutes or refrigerate overnight.

Preheat skillet on medium-high heat.

Form meat into patties of desired size (I make smaller ones for the kids, a medium one for me and a large one for Grant).

Place in hot skillet and cook on each side for 3-6 minutes (depending on thickness), just until done. 

Alternatively, grill according to grill instructions if desired. 

*The water makes the patties slightly tricky to form, but the burgers are moist and tender every time.

 

S'mores Brownies

I made these brownies for a friend who had a baby recently and kept a few to sample at home. 

I am by no reach of the imagination a brownie snob.....I love a mix just as much as anyone. 

However.

Brownies from scratch are just......just.......oh, I don't know, wonderful!  And you can't have too many brownie recipes.

This one, I have to say, is divine.  I think the base recipe without the marshmallows and graham crackers may just be the tastiest brownies I've ever eaten. 

To be quite honest, I couldn't really taste the graham crackers in there. Maybe I crushed them up too fine, maybe I didn't add quite enough, I don't know....but they just kinda disappeared.  And the marshmallows, while I loved the added flavor and stickiness, they didn't flatten out quite as I expected, so I'm recommending cutting your marshmallows in half to spread them further over the brownies. 

And my husband, while he loves roasted marshmallows and s'mores, does not approve of marshmallows in other desserts and he was not fond of these. 

The children, for the record, thought they were from heaven. 

My friend's family thought very highly of them as well. 

Recipe: (from Sugar Cooking)

1-1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. salt

2 T. cocoa powder

11 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 c. butter, cut into 1-inch cubes (2 sticks or 8 oz)

1 t. instant coffee granules

1-1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. light brown sugar

5 large eggs

2 t. vanilla extract

1 c. coarsely crushed graham crackers

15 large marshmallows (cut in half if preferred)

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease a 13 x 9" pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.
In a large microwavable bowl, heat the butter, instant coffee, and chocolate at 30 sec. intervals until melted and stir until smooth. (Or you can mess with the whole double boiler thing....I didn't want to take the time).
Stir the sugar and brown sugar into the chocolate.  Add eggs, one at a time, stirring after each. Add vanilla.
Don't over beat the batter or the brownies will become cakey.
Sprinkle the flour mixture in and fold in gently with a spatula.
Mix in graham crackers.
Spread into your prepared pan.  Dot with marshmallows.
Bake for 30- 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Marshmallows will be browned and puffy, but will deflate a little as cooling.
Cool for 20 minutes, then cut with a sharp knife, cleaning the knife with hot water if it gets too sticky and messy.

This post is linked to Picnic Recipes: a 4-Moms Link-up

"J" is for Jar of Jellybeans

We know a family in which both parents and all four children have names beginning with "J", so it just seemed  fitting that they would be the recipients of our service project this week.

We tossed around the ideas of giving them Jam and Juice, but ended up deciding that a Jar of Jellybeans would be a fun gift.  Not to mention easy....no baking required!
Although Annika had a bit of a hard time with the thought of parting with the Jellybeans prior to our visit, we had a delightful time playing and delivering the treat.  

To see the rest of our Alphabet Service Projects, click here!

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Sauce

I was looking recently on foodgawker for anything and everything and a chicken enchilada recipe caught my eye.  I already have one chicken enchilada recipe that we love....but it uses more of a creamy sauce, so this one is definitely different.  I liked the sound of it, but it called for canned enchilada sauce, which I refuse to buy.  Every brand I've found has objectionable ingredients like MSG or partially hydrogenated oils.   So I went on a hunt for another recipe that included homemade enchilada sauce with ingredients my kids can pronounce.  

Found one that sounded good, combined the recipes together, and ouila, here we are. 

I wasn't sure how the kids would react, since usually the girls have loud, negative opinions about spicy things, but everyone loved them.  Even the second night....no complaints, empty plates.  Rarely happens around here.

Grant and I loved them too.....so these will definitely find a place in our favorites list.  

Don't leave out the fresh cilantro....it is so delicious with these enchiladas.    

Note: I had extra sauce leftover, about 3/4 c. worth.  I've been using it to spice up bean and cheese quesadillas for lunch - delicious!  

Recipe: 

Enchilada Sauce: (from The Review Lady)
2 T. olive oil
1 T. flour
1/4 c. chili powder
2 c. chicken broth
10 oz. tomato paste
1 t. oregano
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. salt

Chicken Enchiladas (adapted from A Sweet Pea Chef)
2 c. enchilada sauce 
kosher salt
pepper
1-1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken pieces (I used breasts but thighs would be great)
2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese (or cheddar if desired)
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish if desired
12 (6-in) flour or corn tortillas
cooking spray


Begin by making the sauce. In a large saucepan or skillet, heat 2 T. oil and then add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon.  Cook for 1 minute.  Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds.  Add 2 cups broth, tomato paste, oregano, cumin and salt.  Stir to combine.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium/low.
Cut chicken breasts into halves or fourths.  Season with kosher salt and pepper.
Add the raw chicken breasts  to sauce, submerging as much as possible.  Let simmer in sauce until done (about 15-20 minutes).  Remove chicken from sauce and shred with 2 forks.
In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken, about a cup of sauce, 1 cup of cheese, and 1/2 c. cilantro.  Mix well.
Warm tortillas to make wrapping easier if desired.  I use flour tortillas and they were fine, but corn ones may break easier if not warmed.
Preheat oven to 400°.  Grease a 13 x 9" pan.
Spoon about 1/4-1/3 c. chicken into each tortilla and roll up. Place in pan seam side down- I fit about 9 in there and saved the rest of the chicken for the next night.
Spray with non-stick spray or mist with olive oil, sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt if desired and bake for 8-10 minutes.   Remove from oven, spread extra sauce on top, cover with foil, and bake another 10-15 minutes.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese and return, uncovered, to oven for 3-4 minutes, until cheese is melted.
Garnish with additional cilantro, if desired.

Swimming Pool Cake

Corban's 7th birthday party was held at an indoor pool, so I felt it fitting to make his cake a swimming pool.  I did the colors on the lane markers and flags just like the real pool. Nothing too fancy here....

Plain chocolate 11 x 15" chocolate sheet cake, frozen first, then frosted with white buttercream for a crumb coat, chilled again, then frosted again.  Tinted blue buttercream for the piping and a little bit tinted black (add cocoa powder and black food coloring to get it black easier) for the lines in the swim lanes.

The main challenge of this cake was the water effect.

I researched online on how to do it.....and the general conclusion is that piping gel is the best medium for such a task. The first recipe I tried called for 2 packages of unflavored gelatin, dissolved in 2 T. of water, heated, then mixed with 2 cups of corn syrup and heated again.

Sounded easy enough.

I had a whole box of Knox unflavored gelatin in my pantry.  It had actually been given to me by a friend who was moving and didn't need it....oh, say about 8 years ago.

Gulp.

I don't use unflavored gelatin much.  Okay, ever.


I searched the box thoroughly for an expiration date.....couldn't find one.  But seriously....does gelatin ever go bad?  I've never heard of such a thing.

I proceeded to make the recipe exactly as directed.  The gelatin never quite dissolved all the way, but I thought it would work itself out.  Ha.

Well, here's what I ended up with.

Ever seen the 80's John Cusack movie "Better Off Dead"?  I wouldn't recommend it really, very goofy, but there's a scene in there where the spacey mom serves up this goop for dessert that ends up crawling off his plate.....well, let's just say that my piping gel was pretty much like that.  Ugh.

So I had to try again.  I found another recipe on Cake Central that didn't include gelatin and gave it a shot.

Recipe:
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1 T. cornstarch
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. water

In a small saucepan, whisk together sugar and cornstarch.  Add lemon juice slowly, followed by water.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.  Allow to boil for a minute or two, then remove from heat.  Add food coloring as desired.

It worked perfectly. 

As I was adding the coloring.....

All nice and watery looking. 

It set up pretty much like jello in the fridge overnight, so before putting it on the cake, I had to warm it and stir a lot to get it more spreadable.  I ended up making another batch because I was knew the first batch wasn't enough...turned out perfectly.  I just mixed the fresh, hot batch into the one from the night before and stirred them together well.  

Then I just spooned it carefully over the cake, spreading it gently.  It was surprisingly easy to do.  After that, I just piped the lane markers with white and blue buttercream.  

Just to be clear, the piping gel tastes fine, but it is definitely lemon tasting, so it was a bit weird with chocolate.  Most of the adults scraped it off.  The kids seemed to love it.  I think it would taste good with a yellow or lemon cake.  Texture is still kind of strange, can't get around that. 

Altogether, Corban was delighted with his cake and even the lifeguards at the pool seemed pretty impressed.  

Picture before adding the backstroke flags.

Corban with his cake and two buddies' elbows.  

This recipe is linked to the Ultimate Recipe Swap: Birthday Cakes

Happy Birthday to Corban!

Corban David,

Today you are 7. 

Gone are the endless nursing sessions in the middle of the night, the reckless swinging in your Johnny-jump-up, the rolling across the whole room, the combat crawling, and the stuffing of every speck found on the floor into your mouth.

Today you are 7. 

Gone is your infatuation with construction vehicles, the sheer excitement of seeing a forklift or backhoe on the side of the road and your two favorite toys, "Giant" (a toy frontloader) and "Little" (the smaller excavator). Gone is your love of all things Thomas the Train Engine, your love of Pup Pup and playing your "Guitar" dog before we got you your own toy guitar. 

Today you are 7. 

Gone is your struggle to learn to read, your fear of putting your head under water, your zooming around the block on a tricycle with a Bob the Builder hard hat barely balancing on your head, your singing of wonderful and sometimes crazy made-up songs.

Today you are 7! 

You fill our lives with excitement and joy every day.  You love to wrestle, with both your dad and any other boy or man we know.  You climb every tree you can, you read 200 page chapter books in just a few days, you swim laps with perfect form (and even dive beautifully!), you design and build amazing lego creations, you compliment me profusely on my cooking (and out-eat your dad sometimes!), you pop wheelies on your scooter, practically fly on your bike, play soccer and soon basketball, are learning piano, love camping like nobody's business, catch your marshmallows on fire on purpose, chase your sisters around the house, delight your baby sister with your games, and complain about why spelling is really necessary.  You're over 55 inches tall!
And did I mention you beat me soundly in most Wii games? 

And most importantly of all, you love Jesus. You ask amazingly insightful questions during Bible time and have a precious desire to know more of God. 

Today you are 7. 

Your dad and I love you more than you imagine.  We are so blessed to have you as our son. 

Stop growing up so fast! 

And Happy Birthday!

"I" is for Ice Cream Sandwiches

(Sorry this post is late - I've been crazy busy the past few days and didn't get around to finishing it)

Ice cream seemed an obvious choice for our "I" week last week.....but we decided to take it a step further and make Ice-cream sandwiches instead. Yum!  Our recipient of the week was one of Corban's best friends, Isaiah. (and we gave some to the rest of his family, too.....cause we're nice like that). 

I considered going with chocolate chip cookies or even something a little more unique, like snickerdoodle cookies with cinnamon ice cream, but eventually settled on a simple chocolate cookie with (gasp!) storebought ice cream to imitate the treats my kids love from a box...in a slightly healthier version. 

I just used a round biscuit cutter for my cookies - but you could use any shape of cookie cutter you want.  I did find that several of the sandwiches did leak ice-cream a bit while freezing back up, so they pretty much ended up a huge mess....but certainly an edible mess that we didn't mind a bit. 

Recipe: (from Annie's Eats) - makes 10-12 sandwiches, depending on how big you cut them

4 T. unsalted butter, room temp.

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1 half-gallon vanilla ice-cream (or your desired flavor)

In a mixer, combine the butter, oil, and brown sugar.  Beat on medium speed until combined. Blend in the eggs one at a time, and the vanilla extract until smooth.  In a separate bowl, sift the cocoa powder and combine with the flour, baking powder, and salt; whisk to blend.  With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix just until incorporated and a soft dough forms.

Gather the dough into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hour.  Dough will still be soft!

Line a 13 x 9" pan with plastic wrap.  Allow ice-cream to soften until somewhat spreadable - spread evenly in the lined pan.  (harder than it sounds).  Return pan to freezer until cookies are ready to assemble into sandwiches.

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to about 1/4-inch thick.  Use a cookie cutter to cut out as many pieces as you can, transferring the cut outs to the prepared baking sheet.  Gather and re-roll the dough scraps as needed.  If desired, use a wooden skewer to make a dotted pattern on the cookies.  Bake 8-10 minutes (8 was perfect for me).  Let cool on the baking sheet a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Remove ice cream from freezer.  Use the plastic wrap to pull the ice cream out of the pan.  Use the same cookie cutter to cut pieces of ice cream to put between two cookies. Return sandwiches to freezer immediately.  Some of the ice cream will not be perfectly shaped because you'll have to use leftover scraps.  Just smush them together and make it work! :) 

Wrap the sandwiches individually as desired.  Keep frozen until ready to serve.

Annika with Isaiah

To see the rest of our Alphabet Service Projects, click here.