Ultimate Sriracha Burger

This recipe comes from "The Sriracha Cookbook", which has some amazingly HOT recipes. Perfect for you spice lovers out there. I am pretty sure I made my neighbors jealous when grilling these awesome burgers! :)

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef (80/20)
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs Sriracha
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
6 slices bacon
1 sweet onion
blue cheese dressing
6 kaiser or sesame seed buns
6 thick slices swiss cheese
1 large tomato, sliced
romaine or curly green lettuce

Form ground beef into six patties. Combine soy sauce, Sriracha and black pepper. Generously brush on both sides of burgers and set aside.

In a medium frying pan over medium heat, cook the bacon. Slice the onion thin and once the bacon is done, cook the onion in the bacon fat over medium-low heat until they carmelize, 20-25 min.

Grill burgers and lightly toast the buns. Top with a slice of swiss cheese.

To assemble, spread some blue cheese dressing on buns, top with bacon, cooked onions, tomato and lettuce. This was delicious served with sweet potato waffle fries.

"Farfalle Piccanti" (Spicy Butterflies)

This is one of my favorite recipes from my "Ciao Italia" cookbook by Mary Ann Esposito. She has a family story for each of the recipes, commenting than in an Italian family, love is expressed through kisses, kudos, and in the kitchen!! <3

Ingredients:

2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes ( I used one tsp and it was spicy!)
1 cup diced prosciutto ( approx 1/4 pound)
one- 28 ounce can plum tomatoes
1/3 cup fresh basil
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano ( or 1 Tbs of fresh oregano)
Ground black pepper to season
1 cup frozen peas
one pound bowtie pasta (farfalle)
grated pecorino romano cheese

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and saute until soft. Add the garlic and crush red pepper. (saute until soft, but do not let the garlic brown) Add the prosciutto and saute until it renders its fat.

Add the plum tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the basil, oregano and black pepper. Stir well and simmer, covered over medium heat for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain well. Add the peas to the sauce and cook for 5 more minutes.

My saucepan is large enough to add all the pasta directly into the sauce. This dish is best if the pasta is tossed with the sauce before serving.

Top with grated pecorino romano cheese and serve with a crusty Italian bread. Enjoy!!

Chicken Fried Rice

Who doesn't love fried rice?!? This recipe has been perfected, thanks to my hubby! We cook the rice early in the day and chill it so it "fries" better.

3 cups uncooked rice ( cook in 1 1/2 cups water and then refrigerate)
1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken ( great way to use leftover chicken or any meat)
1 cup diced sweet onion
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup diced raw carrots
3 eggs, scrambled
2 T chicken stock
1 T soy sauce
1 T dry sherry
spicy garlic
canola oil

Heat skillet on high and add canola. Saute onion,carrots, peas,and chicken, then egg. Mix chicken stock, soy sauce and sherry together in a bowl, then add to rice. Continue to toss rice until it is fried. Looks delish, right?!?

Sweet and Sour Pork Stir Fry

Got a craving for a tasty stir fry? This was put together by creating a recipe with ingredients we love!

2 lbs boneless pork (or pork chops) sliced in strips
Season with:
1/2 tsp spicy garlic
1 T soy sauce

Dice and set aside the following ingredients:
2 red peppers sliced
1 sweet onion sliced
1 large bunch broccoli, use tops only
20 oz can pineapple chunks
canola oil/few drops of sesame oil

Sweet and sour sauce:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 T hoison sauce
1 1/2 T dry sherry
1 1/2 ketchup
1 1/2 T brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp corn starch

Using a hot skillet, cook meat with seasonings, then remove from pan. Next cook all ingredients listed with the veggies. Return meat to skillet and add the sweet and sour sauce. This was really authentic!

Chicken with Kielbasa

This recipe can be made in either a  crock pot or skillet. It is a very tasty combination of two meats and is perfect over rice. Very easy to make!

Ingredients:

2 TBS olive oil
1 pkg kielbasa (usually around 12 oz) sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
6 pieces boneless chicken (adjust to number of servings you want)
1 onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2- 1 cup frozen peas

NOTE: If you want to cook rice in the crock pot with meat, the ratio is 2 cups rice and 3 1/2 cup water. I prefer to do mine separately.

Saute onion, garlic, red pepper and carrots until tender. Then over medium heat, brown sausage on both sides.  Add chicken to skillet and brown. This will simmer nicely in a skillet. Add the peas 5 minutes before serving. ( or you can brown the meats and add everything to a crock pot if desired)

Pretty over rice!

Week 17~ Chicken Cordon Bleu

I had been making cordon bleu the same way for a long time. I found this recipe and loved it! The fresh mushrooms really make the sauce delicious. You could also make this ahead of time, and then bake it when you are ready. This is really good!!
The best advice I can give is make sure the chicken is thin so you can easily roll it and be sure to use toothpicks to hold them together.

4 boneless chicken breasts
8 slices deli ham
8 slices swiss cheese
1 cup flour
2 eggs/ 2 TBS water
1-2 TBS oil for sauteing

Cut the chicken breasts in half so you have 8 thin pieces. In the center of each breast, place 1 piece of ham and  one piece of swiss cheese. Roll up each chicken and secure with two toothpicks.
Beat the eggs/water in a bowl and spread the flour with a little black pepper on a plate. First coat the chicken lightly with flour, then dip in egg wash and then dredge in flour again.
Heat skillet on medium-high. Add oil and saute the chicken rolls until golden brown. Place these in a casserole.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For the sauce you will need:

2 TBS butter
10 ounces of fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup chopped onion
one-10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
milk for thinning
3 TBS Sherry

Heat skillet again saute mushrooms and onion in the butter/ Stir in soup and heat until bubbly. Add milk to desired consistency. Stir in Sherry.

Pour sauce over chicken and bake for 30-35 minutes. Serve over rice or pasta.

Week 17~ Lemon Pork Chops

Here's an easy, versatile recipe that I actually took from a crockpot cookbook. Decided it could also be made on the stovetop. Brown pork chops and place all ingredients in the crock, or follow my stove top version below.

Ingredients:
1 TBS vegetable oil
4 boneless pork chops
1-  8 oz can tomato sauce
1 onion, quartered and sliced
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 TBS lemon-pepper seasoning
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1 lemon, quartered


Heat oil in a skillet and saute the onion and pepper; remove from pan. Brown the pork chops on both sides. In a separate bowl, mix tomato sauce, lemon-pepper, worcestershire sauce and the juice from lemon quarters.

Return pepper and onion to skillet and top with sauce mixture. Simmer on low, approx 30 min. This was very good over rice!