Chips & Salsa Burgers

Combining one of my favorite appetizers - chips and salsa - with a burger? Yes, please! The recipe sounded just weird enough that I knew I had to try it out. And I'm glad I did! There are very few ingredients in this recipe, but it was surprisingly flavorful. The salsa kept the meat moist and the chips added a nice little crunch. This is probably in my top three favorite burger recipes. Really simple, really good!

Chips & Salsa Burger

adapted from Sargento (I originally saw the recipe on another blog - unfortunately I can't remember which one! My apologies to the original blogger!)

1 lb ground beef

1/3 cup salsa (I used a cilantro salsa)

1/3 cup tortilla chips, crushed

1/3 c shredded Mexican cheese blend

1 t chili powder

1/2 t onion powder

1/4 t garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

4 hamburger buns, split open and toasted

Suggested toppings: extra cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced avocado, sliced tomato, pickled jalapenos, crushed tortilla chips, an extra dollop of salsa

In a large bowl, combine beef, salsa, chips, cheese, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Shape into 4 patties.

Grill patties on a medium-hot grill. Grill 5 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink in the center. Serve on hamburger buns with desired toppings.

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The Ultimate Berry Trifle

{it would look much prettier if I could have found my trifle dish!}

I had the opportunity to see Tyler Florence do a cooking demonstration at a Wine and Food Festival a few years ago and he's been one of my favorite chefs ever since. This is a recipe I've had my eye on for quite awhile. Since berries are in season and we were serving a fairly light and healthy dinner, Jennie and I decided to make this for our dessert. What sets this recipe apart from other ordinary berry trifles is that it has lemon curd in it, whose flavor goes wonderfully with the berries. And you know I'm a sucker for anything citrus (I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, aren't i?!?)! It was a delicious dessert - everyone had seconds and Andrew and I couldn't wait to eat the leftovers the following day.

Like the Summer Rolls, this recipe can be made ahead of time, which makes it great for entertaining. And since it makes use of store-bought pound cake and lemon curd, it's pretty quick to put together too.

The Ultimate Berry Trifle

recipe from Tyler Florence's Tyler's Ultimate cookbook

for the berries

1 pint blueberries

1 pint strawberries, hulled and cut into thick slices

1 pint raspberries

1/4 c sugar

1 1/2 t cornstarch

Juice on 1 lemon

for the lemon cream

1 c heavy cream

1 T sugar

1/2 t vanilla extract

1 c lemon curd

1 pound cake, sliced 1/2-inch thick

Combine the berries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook just until the berries begin to break down and give up their juices, about 3 minutes. Take the berries off the heat and let cool; the mixture should thicken up as it cools.

In a clean bowl, whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla to soft peaks. Put the lemon curd into a second bowl and stir in a little of the whipped cream to loosen it. Then fold in the rest of the cream.

To assemble the trifle, spoon a layer of the lemon cream into a large glass bowl. Add a layer of pound cake, breaking the slices into pieces to fit. Then soak the cake with a layer of berries and their juices. Keep going to make 3 or 4 layers, depending on the size of the bowl, finishing with a layer of lemon cream. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Summer Rolls with Two Dipping Sauces

{the magnificent summer rolls}

{the duo of dipping sauces - sesame-soy & spicy peanut}

Jennie is one of my oldest and best friends and she and I share a love of cooking. Every couple of months we get together and make a fun dinner for our husbands. This time we settled on a light Asian dinner of Summer Rolls and Hot and Sour Soup. With this Texas heat we didn't want anything too heavy, plus we wanted to make sure we had plenty of room for our dessert, a wonderful berry trifle.

The Hot and Sour Soup recipe we made was just okay for me, so I don't think I'll post that recipe. But the summer rolls were amazing! And so simple that I can't believe I've never made them before. We went with shrimp, vermicelli noodles and a mixture of vegetables as our filling but you can easily switch things up with equally delicious results, I'm sure. The dipping sauces were fantastic with the summer rolls too. As a true condiment/sauce lover, I thought it was really fun to have more than one sauce with the rolls.

While this recipe is not difficult, it is a little time-consuming to chop the veggies, prepare the noodles and wrap the rolls but I found the recipe to be well worth it. The secrets to successfully wrapping the rolls are to not over stuff them with the filling and to tightly wrap them so that they stick together well. As I often write on here, if I can do it so can you!

Because the entire recipe can be made ahead of time, these would be perfect to make when you're having a party!

Summer Rolls with Two Dipping Sauces

a Baking and Eggs original

For the Sesame-Soy Sauce

3 T low-sodium soy sauce

2 T sesame oil

1/2 lime, juiced

1 t sesame seeds, toasted

1/2 t chile garlic sauce

For the Spicy Peanut Sauce

1 t vegetable oil

1 shallot, minced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 t red pepper flakes (or more if you like it spicier)

3 T chicken broth

1 1/2 T creamy peanut butter

1 1/2 T hoisin sauce

1/2 t brown sugar

chopped peanuts, for garnish (optional)

For the Summer Rolls

1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and very thinly sliced

1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced into strips

1/2 pkg matchstick carrots

6 green onions, thinly sliced lengthwise and cut into 3-inch pieces

1/2 pkg Asian vermicelli noodles, cooked and cooled

1 bunch mint, leaves only

1 bunch Thai basil, leaves only

1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves only

1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled, cooked and cooled (to save time, I purchased it already cooked from the butcher)

1/2 pkg of summer roll wrappers

To make the Sesame-Soy Sauce: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk to mix well. You can make this ahead of time - store it in the refrigerator and whisk again just before serving.

To make the Spicy Peanut Sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat, add oil. When oil is hot, add shallot, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until shallot is translucent but not browned, about 3 minutes. Lower heat to medium-low. Add chicken broth, peanut butter, hoisin sauce and brown sugar. Stir until peanut butter is melted and sauce is combined. Cool slightly and serve warm. You can make this sauce ahead too - cool sauce, store in refrigerator and microwave the sauce for 20 seconds. Just before serving, garnish with chopped peanuts, if using.

To make the Summer Rolls: Place one wrapper in a large bowl of warm water. Let soak about 5-10 seconds, or until the wrapper loses its hardness and becomes pliable. Place wrapper on work surface. Add 3 shrimp in a straight line in the middle of the wrapper. Over shrimp, place 2 tablespoons of noodles. Top with 2 slices of cucumber, 2 slices of bell pepper, 1 tablespoon of carrots, 3 slices green onions, 3-4 mint leaves, 5-6 cilantro leaves and 2-3 basil leaves. Fold bottom of the wrapper tightly over the filling, stopping at the halfway point. Fold the ends in and then continue rolling. Transfer roll, seam side down, onto a serving platter. The rolls will stick together so place them slightly apart from one another. Cover with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve, or up to 8 hours.

Makes about 15 rolls

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Meal Plan - July 3rd thru July 9th

How has another week flown by already?!? With this being a holiday weekend, I haven't finished my meal planning for the week so I'll just do it on the fly. A couple of the dishes I'm planning to make are cook-out/BBQ type foods so I guess I'm feeling inspired by the 4th of July! If you don't already have your holiday meal planned, maybe some of these will sound good to you.

Dinners:

Chips & Salsa Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries

Austin Mac N Cheese Suiza, Avocado & Tomato Salad

BBQ Babyback Ribs, Potato Salad, Baked Beans

Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps, Stir-Fried Veggies & Brown Rice

Beer Battered Coconut Shrimp, Black Beans and Rice

Breakfast/Lunch/Snack/Dessert:

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

Mud Hens

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Citrus-Glazed Pound Cake

I've made no secret of my love of anything citrus, so this recipe was right up my alley. I made this on Monday and it was gone by Wednesday! My husband has quite a sweet tooth and in his words, "this cake is killer!" I really think I only ate two pieces and he finished off the rest. And my hips and thighs thank him for it!

Citrus-Glazed Pound Cake

recipe adapted from Everyday Food Magazine

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), sifted, plus more for pan

1 c granulated sugar

1 t vanilla extract

1 orange, juiced and zested, divided

2 lemons, juiced and zested, divided

1/2 t coarse salt

Confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan with with non stick spray, or lightly butter and flour it. In a large bowl, using an electric mixture, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until very light and fluffy, 7 minutes. Scrape down sides and beat 1 additional minute. Add vanilla, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon orange zest, and 1 tablespoon orange juice. Gradually add eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, add salt, then gradually add flour, beating well to combine.

Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake until toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 65 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing from pan.

Make the glaze by stirring together remaining lemon zest, lemon juice, orange zest, orange juice and enough confectioners' sugar to create a fairly stiff, smooth glaze. Pour glaze over cake while the cake is still warm.

* As you can tell from my picture, I didn't bake my cake in a loaf pan because mine seems to have gone missing. Mine was fully baked in a much shorter time, about 30 minutes.

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Chocolate Dipped and Toffee Topped Sugar Cookies

The name pretty much sums it up. This is absolutely the easiest recipe ever and it always pleases people. I've been making this since I was in high school and I often include it in dessert buffets because of it's simplicity. While easy, these cookies look beautiful and taste delicious! Everyone needs a few recipes like this in your recipe box!

Chocolate Dipped and Toffee Topped Sugar Cookies

a Baking and Eggs original

1 (16.5-oz) refrigerated sugar cookie dough

4-5 oz melting chocolate

2/3 c toffee chips

Bake sugar cookies according to package directions. Let cool.

Melt chocolate according to package directions. Dip each cookie halfway into the chocolate and sprinkle generously with toffee bits. Place cookies on wax paper to allow for the chocolate to cool and harden.

Serve and enjoy!

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Kielbasa with Pierogies and Caramelized Onions

I made this recipe on Saturday night and I really liked it. A lot. I think I might even make it again for dinner tonight! It struck me as a new take on a meat and potatoes kind of dinner. The original recipe (from the Food Network Magazine) calls for everything to be cooked on the grill, but in my neck of the woods, it's been over a 100 degrees everyday - except for a few days last week when we had a "cold front" come in and the temperature only got up to 97 - so I really didn't feel like standing in the heat to man the grill. I changed the recipe up just a little and cooked everything in one large saute pan. Easy peasy and it was delish!

In case you've never had a pierogie before, they are Polish dumplings that are traditionally stuffed with a potato filling. They can usually be found in the frozen food section of your grocery store near the potatoes/french fries.

Kielbasa with Pierogies and Caramelized Onions

adapted from the Food Network Magazine

3 T olive oil, divided

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 pkg potato and cheese pierogies

1 lb kielbasa sausage, sliced

2 T apple cider vinegar

2 T coarse or whole grain mustard

Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

In a large saucepan, heat 2 T olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, stirring occasionally, until they turn a golden color, about 15-20 minutes. Spread pierogies on top of onions in a single layer. Lower heat to medium, cover pan and let cook another 5 minutes, stirring every other minute. Add sausage slices and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until pierogies and sausage are cooked through and starting to turn golden brown.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together vinegar, mustard and remaining 1 T olive oil.

Add dressing to pan with the sausages, pierogies and onions and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper, if needed. Place on a serving platter and garnish with parsley.

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