Burrito Bowls

Burrito Bowls are my new favorite dinner!  It is so simple and adaptable to what your tastes and what you have on hand.  It is great way to use  up leftover meat, rice and greens.  If you add some fresh pico de gallo and some avocado--you are set for a family pleasing dinner.  Sometimes we add cheese quesidillas on the side.  My little boys love those!  This is one of those super easy dinners that you can throw together fast and it still tastes fantastic.  I have been so busy the last few weeks, with fall baseball (we have 6 games a week with 3 of my boys playing) and house projects I have gong on.   I haven't been taking a lot of time to post.  So sorry!  I will do better once my garage is cleaned out:)  I know it is called Spring Cleaning, but I am doing it this fall and it feels so good!

I am so happy that it is fall, aren't you?  The chill in the air and changing leaves puts a smile on my face!  We just had our annual kick of October party at my house.  I look forward to it every year!  I love this time of year, don't you?!

Happy October friends:)

Burrito Bowls

Author: Melanie

Ingredients

• Meat of Choice: pork, chicken, or beef


• Rice


• Lettuce


• Pico de Gallo ( dice fresh tomatoes, cilantro, white onion, jalenpeno, lime juice, salt and pepper)


• Avocado Diced or made into Guacamole


• Shredded Cheese


• Buttermilk dressing (add some cilantro, squeeze of lime and diced jarred jalapenos for a fun twist),


• Black olives, sliced

Instructions

1. Layer in a bowl:Meat of choice: Shredded pork ( this one is great); Chicken (leftover grilled, roasted, baked or rotisserie) ;Ground beef (cooked with taco seasoning is great)


2. Layer in bowel: Rice, Lettuce, Pico de Gallo ( dice fresh tomatoes, cilantro, white onion, jalenpeno, lime juice, salt and pepper) , Avocado Diced or made into Guacamole, Shredded Cheese, Buttermilk dressing (add some cilantro, squeeze of lime and diced jarred jalapenos for a fun twist), black olives, sliced

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Enjoy!!

 

 

Brined Roast Turkey

My brother in law TJ introduced me to this fabulous recipe  probably 8-9 years ago when we were in Arizona for Thanksgiving.  I had never had a brined turkey before and I could not believe the difference it made!  It was the most flavorful and moist turkey I had ever eaten!  Yesterday for Sunday dinner  I used the same method for a turkey breast instead of a whole turkey and it turned out as wonderful as ever.  This is my favorite way to prepare turkey.  Next time I make it I will get some better pictures, but believe me...it really is delicious!

Brined Roast Turkey
submitted by Melanie~The Sisters Cafe

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
**or a 7-8 pound turkey breast  (just half the brine)

For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon chicken or vegetable stock

1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water

 Canola oil

Directions
2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

The night before you'd like to servethe turkey:
Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.  Dry it really well--this is an important step to a good roasted turkey!

Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes(about 15 minutes for a breast). Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Recipe Source: My brother in law TJ based off an Alton Brown Recipe

Thanksgiving Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Turkey Day!
This recipe is courtesy of Brian Flannagan, of a friend of ours here in Michigan.  It is phenomenal. I will never try a different turkey recipe for our Thanksgiving Dinner again. This is deliciously flavorful and moist. We love it!

Thanksgiving Turkey

Author: Erin

Ingredients

• 6 cloves garlic


• 1 pkg fresh rosemary (sold for $2 at my grocery store)


• 1 ½ T. salt


• 1 ½ -2 tsp pepper


• ¼ c. olive oil (about)

Instructions

1. Thaw turkey according to package directions. Use any brand of turkey.


2. Create a rub by combining pressed garlic, ripped leaves from rosemary sprigs, salt, pepper, and just enough oil to create a paste that is not too runny. There should be about 1/2 cup of the rub.


3. Starting with the turkey breast at the cavity opening, loosen the raw skin away from the meat by pushing your fingers under the raw turkey skin and breaking it away. Continue working the skin away from the meat until both sides of the breast area, as well as the top of the thighs are separated. With a tablespoon or two of the rub in your palm, massage the rub over a section of the turkey (under the skin). Repeat until all the meat has been seasoned with the rub. Use a little of the same rub to season the walls of the turkey cavity as well. (You may still bake stuffing inside the turkey if you plan to.)


4. Place turkey on the rack in a roaster pan, breast side up, uncovered, on the lowest rack of the oven.  Cook at 425° for 1 hour. (It also works without a rack in your roaster, but the rack keeps it from sticking and from stewing in the juices.)


5. After one hour, lower the temperature to 325°.  Cover loosely with tinfoil (crimp tinfoil around edges loosely), and roast for another 1 – 1 ½ hours. Check after 1 hour.  The turkey is ‘officially’ cooked when the meat thermometer (pushed into the breast meat at the thickest spot) reaches 170°. Some people think the meat texture, though juicy and flavorful, seems undercooked at 170°, so if you like your turkey cooked a little more, wait another 15 to 30 minutes and check again. Remove from the oven when the internal temperature of the turkey breast is 175°.  Cover with tinfoil for 30 minutes before carving.


6. Plan on about 2 ½ to 3 ¼ hours to roast the turkey.

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Freezer Meals

Freezer Meals
Submitted by Erin ~ www.thesisterscafe.com
(to print this post (without pictures), click here.)


A few friends have asked me about the meals that I made and put in the freezer in preparation for when I had my baby a couple months ago. I decided to post about how I stocked up my freezer with meals. This might be handy for anyone who has a big event coming up and won't have time to cook, or if you have family coming in town and don't want to use up time preparing meals, or if you prefer not to have to cook every day.

What I did is I made a meal plan of the following recipes below; every day I planned on serving one of these meals for our family dinner. When I went to the grocery store I bought double of the ingredients. Then, while I was making dinner each evening, I made double the amount and saved the extra for a freezer meal. So for the enchiladas, one day I made four 8x8 pans of it (it usually makes 2 8x8 pans or just one 9x13) and then I served one for dinner and froze the other three. This way, I was making dinner at the same time as preparing freezer meals, with only a nominal increase in time and mess. I did that with all these meals.

For the pans that I was putting in the freezer, I used square disposable foil pans (I purchased them at the grocery store). If you want to pay a little more, you can buy disposable pans that come with lids, making it easier to stack them in the freezer when they are still fresh and unfrozen. To save freezer space and money, I decided to forgo the lids and just put a few layers of foil on top my meals, and froze them solid before stacking them on top of each other. I also printed out labels and instructions and taped them to the top of the foil.

By the way, I don't ever thaw out freezer meals before placing them in the oven to bake. I know some people do, but for me, using a frozen meal for dinner is a last minute decision, so I don't have time to thaw it out. I just bake them until they are hot in the middle, and it always works out great!

Okay, here are the recipes:

Lasagna - this freezer meal takes about 1 1/2 hours to bake, if it goes from freezer to oven. I usually check it just after one hour; if it is still frozen in the middle, I bake it for another half hour. At that point, if it is still slightly cold in the middle, I'll bake it for a little while longer, etc.
Chicken & Spinach Stuffed Shells - This recipe already makes 2 9x13 pans, so I don't double this one - I just make four 8x8 pans, serve one for dinner and freeze three for later. I taped these instructions to the outside of the pans: Chicken & Spinach Stuffed Shells (March 2010) •Take directly out of freezer and put in 350° oven (doesn’t necessarily have to be preheated), leaving one layer of foil on top. •Bake ~50 minutes; check to be sure middle is hot. •Take off foil and sprinkle with ½ c. shredded mozzarella and bake an additional 5-10 minutes. •Serve with a green salad, breadsticks, and frozen veggies.

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage - This recipe makes 2 8x8 pans. Put the frozen pan into the oven, turn it to 400 degrees and bake for about 45 minutes or until browned and hot throughout.

Chicken Enchiladas - I haven't posted my favorite regular chicken enchiladas yet, which is what I used when I made my freezer meals, but I'm sure either of these enchilada recipes will work perfectly:

Brittany's Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Black Bean Enchiladas

I taped these instructions to the outside of the pans:

Chicken Enchiladas (2/19/10) •Take directly out of freezer and put in 350° oven (doesn’t necessarily have to be preheated), leaving one layer of foil on top. •Bake 30-40 minutes, until middle is hot. •Take off foil and sprinkle with ½ c. shredded cheese (monterrey jack / cheddar) and bake an additional 5 minutes. •Serve with a green salad, spanish rice, and frozen veggies.

Beef Enchiladas - This makes about 15 enchiladas. When I make dinner I take five out of the bag and place them in a 8x8 pan. Then I pour half a can of red enchilada sauce over them and bake. (See the instructions.)

The BEST dinner of all to freeze are hamburger patties. The problem with the above meals is you have to decide 1 to 1 1/2 hours before dinnertime that you will not have time or energy to make dinner, and then put the frozen meal in the oven right then. My problem is some days I'm too busy to think of dinner until dinnertime when we are all hungry. At that point, even if I had a million dinners in the freezer, none of them will help me. So hamburger patties are AWESOME. You just layer the raw patties between squares of plastic wrap, and then put the stack in a freezer ziploc bag. When I need dinner ASAP, I take out a stack of five, defrost them for two minutes in the microwave, and then put them on the indoor electric grill (like a george foreman) while I slice tomatoes and cheese and defrost and toast the buns. Then we have a wonderful, fulfilling dinner in 10 minutes. My favorite recipes are these two, and I just buy bakery hamburger buns and freeze them too (placed in freezer ziplocs). Like I said, these burgers are my favorite 'freezer meal' because they can go from freezer to dinner table in 10 minutes.

Southwestern Turkey Burgers

Teriyaki Burgers

And More...

For a quick on-the-go snack, I like to have a large tupperware in the freezer full of muffins. This is also convenient for when my kids are hungry for lunch and I have a darling crying baby to attend to. :) Almost any muffin recipe will freeze well. We have posted oodles of muffin recipes on this site - I love muffins! Some of my favorites are these Cape Cod Muffins, as well as South Beach Muffins and Apple Muffins.

I also bake bread, slice it, and put it in freezer ziploc bags. When I need a few slices of bread, I take them out, defrost them for a few seconds and viola.

Another quick type of frozen meal is to use homemade frozen pizza crusts. My favorite pizza crust (found here) recipe makes enough for two pizza crusts. I only need to make one pizza for my family, so sometimes I will roll out the extra crust and bake it (devoid of toppings) for about 10 or 12 minutes, until it is firm and only mostly cooked, but not browned. I let it cool and then wrap it up in seran wrap and tin foil and place it in the freezer. When I need a quick dinner, I preheat the oven, pull out the frozen crust, put toppings on it, and then place it in the oven. I bake it as usual, about 20 minutes. It has a thinner and crunchier aspect than fresh, but I like it for a change, and the convenience can't be beat! Try this Ham & Veggie Pizza recipe on a frozen crust.

I'm sure there are more recipes on this site that work great as freezer meals as well, but these are the ones I usually use. (If any of my sisters want to add more ideas, please do! :) )

I hope this post is helpful for a few of you!

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage

Oh, this dish is yummy. My sister-in-law, Melanie G., (from 'Mel's Kitchen Cafe' ) posted this on her blog about a year ago. (Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food.) The sausage in it is delicious, and we love the combo with tomatoes and spinach. Jed and I especially like how the noodles and mozzarella along the top get a little crunchy while cooking. Mmmm...

I usually freeze half of this for a later dinner. Although it's not as good frozen then cooked as it is served fresh, it's still a delicious dinner when I'm in a pinch, and the convenience of having a pan in the freezer is wonderful! I have only ever tried it with fresh spinach; I would highly encourage using fresh spinach rather than frozen. Frozen just isn't nearly the same; it has a different flavor and texture, and I don't think it would be nearly as good.

I actually have a history with this recipe. We go way back. Or, actually, we go 8 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days back. You see, when I was just about 9 months pregnant with my baby, I decided to make this for dinner one night. (The pic on the right was from this night.) I was being a lazy-bones that week when it came to making dinner, and so I hadn't been expending that much energy in the kitchen for a few days leading up to this. Anyway, after preparing this I felt wiped out, like I had just made this gourmet dinner and had been on my feet for hours. In fact, I was totally physically exhausted from the effort, and it didn't get better after I'd eaten. Oh no, it got worse. I started to feel kind of weird, and do you know what?! Making this meal actually put me into labor! Here's the funny part - From this experience I got it into my head that this was a really labor-intensive meal. Then I made it again a few months later. Nope. It's actually extremely easy. It makes me wonder - Was I really that much of a slug when I was pregnant that I thought making this was such a huge undertaking? Hmmm...

 

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage
submitted by Erin

 

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium red onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (28-oz) whole tomatoes with juice, lightly crushed with hands (or crushed tomatoes)

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ cup heavy cream

1 pound rigatoni

10 oz baby spinach--I double the spinach and use 2 9-oz bags fresh (or 2 10-oz bricks frozen)

12 oz smoked chicken (or Jennie-O turkey) sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced

¼ inch thick

6 ounces fontina (or mozzarella) cheese, 4 oz cut into ½ -inch cubes and 2 oz coarsely grated

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic. Cook for another minute.Stir in tomatoes and oregano; cook until tomatoes are falling apart, 10 to 15 minutes. Add cream; cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°. Cook pasta in the boiling water until al dente, according to package instructions. Add spinach, and cook just until wilted. Drain, and return contents to pot.

Add tomato sauce, sausage, and cubed fontina to pot; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Divide evenly between two shallow 1 1/2-quart baking dishes. Top with grated fontina and Parmesan. Bake until browned and edges are crisp, 20 to 30 minutes.

If you freeze half in a 9x9 pan, you can put it straight from the freezer into a 400° oven for about 45 minutes, or until browned and hot throughout.

Red Beans and Rice

This recipe is bursting with flavor. Eric and I love the spicy kick it has! It is also a very forgiving recipe...once you get used to it, you can add or subtract ingredients that sound good or you have on hand. For instance, I used half an orange pepper, a red onion, and added a pound of chunked ham to it this time - it was delicious. The way it is written here it is spicy, but not too spicy for my 10 month old to enjoy! Add more cayenne pepper and cajun seasoning if you like things even hotter! Also, there are several ways to make it. I'll explain the stove top version with dry beans first. The crockpot version with canned beans is my favorite though because it is so quick and easy. Regardless of the way you cook it, it always turns out fabulous!

Red Beans and Rice

submitted by Brittany

1 1/2 c red beans

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 pkg Polska Kielbasa

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1 Tb butter

2 dashes Tabasco sauce

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp dry mustard

1 Tb Worchestershire sauce

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp Cajun spice

Soak beans in 4 cups hot water and 1 Tb salt; cover and let stand for 6 hours to soften. Then drain beans and add 3 1/2 cups fresh water and tomato sauce. Cut sausage into pieces and saute with butter. Add chopped onion, garlic, and green pepper until tender; add to beans. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve over hot rice. (To thicken last 15 minutes, mix 1 part flour to 3 parts cold water. Stir into mixture until desired thickness.)

*Now the way I usually do it is in the crockpot with canned beans...here it is:

In place of the dry beans, use 3 cans of red beans. (Drain most of the liquid off the beans) Also, you may substitue 1/2 tsp garlic salt for the garlic clove. Place all ingredients (minus butter)directly into the crockpot - no need to saute veggies with sausage. Add 3/4 c water. Cook on low for 3-5 hours. I serve it with brown rice in an attempt to be healthy. Sometimes I buy the lowfat Polska Kielbasa too...of course it is not nearly as good!