Asian-Inspired Turkey Sliders

This recipe is super-easy and super-yummy! I know I say that about a lot of recipes, but trust me - I always mean it! If a recipe is too much work, or if it's not that good, I don't put it on the blog!

I've been trying to cook healthier food lately after finding out that Jeff has borderline-high cholesterol. Unfortunately, the healthy cooking seems to have no effect on Jeff, yet it results in unintended weight loss for me (a fact that has me worried about the almost-too-big strapless bridesmaid dress I have to wear in June and has my mother worried that I'm not eating at all). But I digress... back to the recipe!

I hear ground turkey is much better for you than ground beef (especially when you buy the super-lean kind), so I thought this would be a good recipe to try. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy and delicious they were!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey (I used the super-lean kind)
1 green onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger
3 tbsp soy sauce (I used the low-sodium kind)
Sister Schubert's frozen yeast rolls (or whatever else you'd like to use as buns)
Lettuce (optional - I didn't want to buy a whole head of lettuce just for this! Haha)
Cheese (optional - I put mozzarella on mine, Jeff put some shredded Mexican blend on his)

Directions:
1. Cook rolls according to package directions.
2. Mix turkey, onion, garlic, and ginger in a large bowl. Add in the soy sauce and mix well (don't overmix or the meat will be tough!).
3. Heat up a grill or grill pan on medium heat. Form patties out of the turkey mixture (I used a 1/4 cup measurer to make sure they ended up the same size so they'd all cook at the same speed and look the same. I made 9 1/4-cup patties).
4. Put patties on the grill. Turn them over two times until cooked through. Depending on how thick your patties are, they should take 4-5 minutes to cook fully.
5. Cut rolls in half, add patties, cheese, and lettuce. Enjoy! (I cut the patties in half before putting them on the rolls just because I really like bread and the patties were a bit bigger than the rolls. Haha!).

The original recipe called for a wasabi mayo sauce (1/4 cup mayo and 1-2 tsp wasabi powder). We didn't use it, but go for it if it sounds good to you!

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

I'm gonna go ahead and apologize in advance to anyone who doesn't have an ice cream maker, because you're probably going to crave some homemade ice cream after this post! I've had cute little red ice cream maker since Christmas (thanks Mom and Dad!), and I finally got the courage to take it down from the top of my fridge (where it lives happily next to my red KitchenAid mixer and my red KitchenAid blender) and try it out.

I decided to go with a recipe from The Fresh Fridge - strawberry cheesecake ice cream! Doesn't that sound delightfully springtimeish? It was DEE-licious. And also really easy to make with the help of my trusty red ice cream maker! To be completely honest, Jeff actually made it while I sat on a barstool and supervised worked on law school stuff (hence the lack of "in progress" photos). I had the ingredients all ready to go, but it was a busy law school day and Jeff wasn't really doing anything. When I threw out the words "strawberry cheesecake ice cream," he was pretty quick to walk over to the kitchen. :o)

Here's the recipe (adapted from that link up there):

Ingredients:
3/4 lb. strawberries (this is about a 1-pound container w/ all the green parts cut out)
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 c sugar
1 c milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 c heavy cream (I hear you can use half and half instead to make it healthier, but it won't be as creamy!)
Crumbled graham crackers (optional, use as a topping)

Directions:
1. Chop up the strawberries in a food processor or blender (a little pre-chopping into chunks will help). Then pour in sugar, milk, lemon juice, and cream. Pulse a few times until blended.
2. Add in cream cheese in 1 inch cubes. Pulse until well-blended. Note: at this point the mixture may smell JUST LIKE egg salad. Weirdest thing ever. This prompted us to make weird faces and check our milk for signs of spoilage. But the smell went away and it turned out awesome, so don't worry!
3. Add the mixture to your electric ice cream maker and follow your ice cream maker's instructions. The consistency should come out kind of like custard.
4. Spoon into an airtight container and chill in the freezer for at least one hour before eating.
5. Garnish with crumbled graham crackers, and enjoy!

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage

This is one of those really, really great recipes that works for just about any occasion. Need a reasonably quick dinner idea? Bringing food to a family who just had a baby or is going through a rough time?  Having the in-laws over for dinner? Want to cook something ahead of time and stick it in the freezer for later? For all of those situations, this is a perfect recipe! And it tastes great too!

Yummm!

Recipe adapted from here. Makes a really full 9x13 pan!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
1 14.5oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 c heavy cream (or half & half if you want a healthier, not as creamy version)
1 pound penne pasta (or, you can be like me and use whatever you have lying around - for the photos in this post I used a combo of leftover cavatappi and rigatoni!)
9oz bag fresh baby spinach
12 oz precooked chicken sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick (feel free to get the fancy chicken sausages - andouille or spinach & feta or Italian style or mushroom! The possibilities are endless!)
8 oz shredded mozzarella
1/4 c grated Parmesan

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook until translucent (about 3 minutes). Add garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in tomatoes, oregano, and basil. Simmer for 8-10 minutes.
3. Add cream to the skillet and cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and/or pepper to taste.
4. Preheat oven to 400. Cook pasta in the big pot according to package directions. Don't overcook! Add spinach to the pot right at the end and cook until wilted. Drain, and return to pot.
5. Add tomato sauce mixture, sausage, and half of mozzarella to the pot. Toss to coat.
6. Scoop pasta into a lightly greased 9x13 pan (or two 8x8s). Top with the rest of the mozzarella and the parmesan.
7. Bake 20-30 minutes, or until cheese is browned and the edges are a bit crisp.

If you're planning to freeze it, stop BEFORE BAKING and cover with a double layer of foil. To cook after freezing: thaw in the fridge for 1-2 days, then bake at 400 for 75 minutes.

Enjoy!

Applesauce Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

I've had half a jar of applesauce in the fridge for forever, and I finally decided to use it to make these!

I was taking photos at like 11pm... my apologies for the awful photos!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients (Muffins):
2 cups flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups applesauce (mine was cinnamon applesauce)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Ingredients (Frosting):
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350. Line 18 muffin cups with liners, or grease the pans (I'd recommend greasing the pans... muffins have a tendency to get stuck to liners).
2) Sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together into a medium bowl. Set aside.
3) Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together 1 stick butter, 1 cup white sugar, and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Mix for about 3 minutes, or until smooth.
4) Mix in eggs, one at a time.
5) On low speed, add in the applesauce, and then the flour mixture.
6) Stir in nuts by hand.
7) Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full.
8) Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
9) For the frosting - Using an electric mixer, mix the frosting ingredients on medium speed until smooth. Spread on the cooled muffins.

Makes about 18 muffins.
Store muffins in the fridge in airtight containers.

They're pretty good w/o the frosting as well.

But so moist and delicious with the frosting!

Bacon Cheddar Chive Muffins

We just got back to Houston last night after five lovely days in Washington D.C. and Williamsburg, Virginia! It was so, so nice to take a little trip, and we had a blast, but now I'm utterly exhausted! Haha.

The last few days of blog posts have actually been pre-scheduled... I'm not quite dedicated enough to blog while on vacation! :o) I answered some of your questions about the wedding newspaper announcement in the comments section on that post, so feel free to take another look if you had a question for me!

I have so much to tell y'all about the trip, but it's going to have to wait until I have a few spare seconds to get all the photos uploaded and such! While I'm catching up on life, laundry, and law school for the next couple days, I thought I'd share some more yummy recipes...

This one is for bacon cheddar chive muffins, and they're so delicious! Before we left for DC I was eating a couple every morning for breakfast, and then eating a few later in the day just because I'd been thinking about them all day. Hehe.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
6 slices of bacon (or if you're like me, 8 slices or so with all the fatty bits picked off)
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tbsp white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
4 tsp dried chives (or 8 tsp chopped fresh chives)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c milk
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400.
2) Cook the bacon in a skillet. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
3) Lightly grease a 12-muffin pan (If you use paper liners, and they end up a little stuck to the muffins, so I'd recommend going without liners).
4) Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, cheese, chives, crumbled bacon).
5) Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl (egg, milk, soup, vegetable oil).
6) Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture just until moistened (don't overmix!). Spoon batter into the prepared muffni pan.
7) Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Dry Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

Batter!

All ready for the oven!

Ta-da!

Yummm! :)

Margarita Mac and Cheese

Ever since we ate at the Jus' Mac restaurant, I've been itching to try some grown-up mac n' cheese of my own. I love margarita pizza, so I figured margarita mac and cheese must be good too. I was right!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
8 oz macaroni or similar pasta (I used rotini)
Salt
Pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil (plus extra for garnishing before serving!)
2-3 cups mozzarella cheese
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp flour
2 cups milk

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375. Cook macaroni as directed on the package. While macaroni is cooking, prepare the sauce.
2) Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes, or until garlic is fragrant.
3) Whisk in flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring until the mixture is smooth and bubbly.
4) Remove from heat and stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Let boil for one minute. Stir and set aside.
5) Drain pasta and mix it with the drained tomatoes. Place half in the bottom of an ungreased 2.5 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with about 1/2 tsp salt, about 1/8 tsp pepper, half the basil, and half the cheese.
6) Add the other half of the pasta-tomato mixture. Sprinkle with another 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper, plus the rest of the basil and cheese.
7) Pour the sauce over the macaroni.
8) Bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 more minutes.
9) Add fresh basil on top before serving.

Enjoy!

Crock-Pot Spinach Lasagna

This recipe is almost too easy. It's kind of amazing how easy it is. I mean... you just dump a bunch of ingredients in the crock pot, and in a few hours it magically turns into lasagna. Ah-mazing. Plus, it only takes a few hours so I can stick it in the Crock-Pot when I get home from law school and have it ready for a late dinner!

Recipe adapted from Real Simple magazine.

Ingredients:
2 10-oz packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup ricotta
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
3 cups marinara sauce
6 uncooked whole wheat lasagna noodles (NOT the no-boil kind)
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella

Directions:
1) Mix together the spinach, ricotta, and 1/2 cup of the parmesan.
2) In a second bowl, mix the marinara sauce with 1/2 cup water.
3) Spread 3/4 cup of the marinara mixture in the bottom of a slow-cooker. Top with 2 noodles (breaking them to fit), 3/4 cup of the marinara mixture, half the spinach mixture, and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella. Repeat.
4) Finish off with the remaining noodles, then the remaining marinara mixture, then the remaining cheeses (mozzarella and parmesan).
5) Cover and cook on high until the noodles are tender, about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

Marinara Mixture

Spinach Mixture

I left mine in for a little too long (4ish hours), so it ended up a little crispy on the edges, but it was still delicious! Plus, my crazy husband actually enjoys crispy over-cooked cheese on Italian dishes. Weird, right?

Yum!