Avocado Egg Salad

A couple of weeks ago I realized that I had a lot of eggs in the fridge.  I decided to hard-boil some since I knew that during the week my husband would take some with him to work for breakfast.  I decided to make myself some egg salad for lunch with a few of them.  I remember seeing a post somewhere in blog land using avocado in egg salad.  So I searched allrecipes and found this one.  I thought that this was really flavorful with the addition of the red onion and sweet pickles.  It was a nice change from the traditional egg salad that I normally make.  Note that the ingredient amounts are kind of odd because I ended up halving the original recipe.  This made enough for me to have lunch for two days.

Avocado Egg Salad
Recipe from allrecipes.com - courtesy of ANGELAANDJAKERS

Ingredients:
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
1 avocados - peeled, pitted, and cubed
1/4 cup minced red onion
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped sweet pickles
1-1/2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Mash the eggs with a fork in a mixing bowl to break up. Add the avocado, onion, pickle, mustard, and mayonnaise. Gently smash the ingredients together until blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.


My Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Black Bean Turkey Burgers with Avocado Ranch Sauce

Every now and then, my almost seven year old daughter asks if she can help me cook dinner.  She ended up helping me make these burgers.  Almost every night I make a new recipe and I'm not always sure how it will turn out.  Once these were cooking in the pan, my mouth started watering and I knew that these were going to be great!  My prediction was confirmed when my daughter took a bite of her burger and said these were the best burgers she's had.  I only give the kids half a burger each but she asked for seconds and requested a burger to take with her for lunch the next day.  Definitely a winner of a meal!  Another plus is that this recipe makes 8 burgers, so we had plenty of leftovers for lunches for us all.  Although this burger is really flavorful in itself I thought that the sauce added another layer of deliciousness.  My picture does not do this burger justice!

Black Bean Turkey Burgers with Avocado Ranch Sauce
recipe from I Thee Cook, adapted from Paula Deen

Yield:  8 burgers


Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/4 pounds ground turkey
1/2 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained, and lightly mashed
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Avocado Ranch Sauce (recipe below)

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, beans, tortilla chips, chile powder, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder. Use your hands to form the mixture into 8 equal sized patties. Cook the patties until no longer pink in the middle, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve on buns with avocado ranch sauce and some lettuce.

Avocado Ranch Sauce

Ingredients
2 ripe avocados
1 cup Ranch dressing
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:
Cut avocados in half; scoop pulp into a food processor or blender.

Add 1 cup Ranch dressing and remaining ingredients to food processor. Process until avocado mixture is smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

This recipe is shared at:
Tasty Tuesdays @ 33 Shades of Green
Back For Seconds Social Link Party @ Back for Seconds
Time to Sparkle @ The Recipe Critic

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Although it's officially spring, the weather here in New York still feels like winter.  Cold enough that a casserole for dinner sounded good.  My kids have gotten used to me asking, "How would you rate tonight's dinner?" that my daughter often volunteers her rating before I even ask.  Another dinner that I made this past week (my Secret Recipe Club recipe which will be revealed April 8) was first rated 10 thumbs up!  But once my daughter tasted this she edited her previous rating.  "That one gets down a little to maybe 8 1/2 or 9 and this dinner gets 10 stars!"  This has all the flavors and components of Chicken Cordon Blue in a one dish meal.  This was a dinner that we all enjoyed....even my picky eater of a son!  A couple of days after I made this my dad came over to watch the kids so my husband and I could go out to dinner with my brother.  I had some of this leftover that I told him he could eat for dinner.  He enjoyed this so much that he's been asking me for the recipe.  A reminder to myself to read through a recipe in its entirety either the night before or earlier in the day.  If you don't pre-make some of this, it can take over 2+ hours.  I had some Tyson already cooked grilled chicken breasts in the freezer which I thawed in the microwave and then marinated while I finished prepping this.  So, it didn't get the hour of marinating time but it saved me about 30 minutes of chicken cooking time.  Plus, the chicken had a grilled/smoky flavor that added a nice touch to the dish.  I also bought the already diced cooked ham which saved chopping time.  With a pint of heavy cream this is not a "light" dish but it is really tasty!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
recipe adapted from I Thee Cook

Ingredients:

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cooked and chopped
1 cup Honey Dijon Salad Dressing
1/2 Pound diced ham
1 pound large pasta shells

Cheese Sauce:
1 pint heavy cream
1 tsp prepared Dijon mustard
3/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt, and then to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
8oz Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
8oz Swiss Cheese, shredded
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions:
Place chicken in a zip lock bag with honey dijon dressing and marinate for an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in a baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes.

While chicken is baking cook pasta according to package directions drain and set aside.

To prepare the cheese sauce add the heavy cream to a sauce pan and heat over medium low heat, whisk in the flour and add the rest of the ingredients in the order they are written. Continue cooking and stirring frequently until sauce is thickened and cheese is melted. Pour cheese sauce over pasta stir to coat. Add chicken and ham.  Mix into pasta.

Grease a 9 x 12 casserole dish and pour pasta mixture into dish. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top and bake for 25-35 minutes.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

This post is shared at:
Melt in Your Mouth Monday Recipe Blog Hop @ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
Recipe Sharing Monday @ Jam Hands
Making the World Cuter Monday @ Making the World Cuter
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping it Simple

Pork Chops with Maple Sauce

Almost every day I try making a new recipe.  As I was debating whether to purchase a dirt-cheap subscription to allrecipes magazine I looked at my collection of cookbooks and recipes torn out of magazines that I already get (not to mention the tons bookmarked from blogs to try!) and decided that I have enough recipes that I haven't made yet to last me for years!  On a side note, with the staggering amount of recipes out there, we both concluded, how can people say, "I always make the same thing!"????!!!!  Which made my husband also point out that the recipes in the magazine are already free on the website and do I really need another magazine??  I don't have enough time to read the tons I already get!  So in the end I decided not to order the magazine. 

I have to say that when I menu plan, I always keep in mind whether I think my son will eat it.  My daughter is really good about trying everything and eating enough to get a treat.  My 4 1/2 year old son is really picky though.  I knew that these pork chops were a winning dish when he told me how much he liked them and then finished all of his dinner.  I made these awhile ago, and it's hard to remember, but I think he even ate the onions! Caramelizing the onions is the lengthiest part of making this recipe, but well worth it! This was a dinner that we all enjoyed!

Pork Chops with Maple Sauce
recipe from For the Love of Cooking

Ingredients:
3 tsp olive oil (divided)
1/2 sweet yellow onion, sliced
4 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup of diced yellow onion
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup of water
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tbsp flour, to thicken

Directions:
To make caramelized onions: Place 2 teaspoons of olive oil into a large oven proof Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and cook, stirring often, for 20-30 minutes, or until caramelized and golden brown. Season with sea salt, to taste.  If the skillet gets dry, add a tablespoon of water or two. Remove from the Dutch oven and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper.  Add the pork chops to the HOT pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown then flip; cook for 1-2 minutes then remove from the Dutch oven to a plate. Cover with a tin foil tent.
Add the butter and the last teaspoon of oil to the Dutch oven and add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes or until tender and golden brown; add the chili powder; cook stirring constantly for 1 minutes. Add the vinegar, maple syrup, water, Worcestershire sauce, and sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste. Stir well then add the pork chops back into the Dutch oven uncovered and place into the oven. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until the pork is cooked through. Remove from the oven.

Place the pork on a serving plate with a tin foil tent and let the meat rest for 5 minutes. If you prefer a thicker sauce, heat the sauce over medium high heat then whisk in the flour until well combined and thick. Drizzle the sauce over the pork chops then serve with the caramelized onions on the side.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Apple Brown Sugar Coffe Cake

Recently a friend came over to visit with her seven month old baby son.  She offered to stop at a local restaurant and pick up sandwiches for lunch and I made dessert for us.  I decided to make this coffe cake that I had bookmarked for awhile since I knew that there would be leftovers which would make a great breakfast treat.  This cake was nice and moist and I liked the addition of apples.  Like Edesia's my glaze didn't really glaze the cake, but ended up soaking into the cake.  When it hardened on the top it ended up giving the cake a little crunch which I actually enjoyed.  Luckily, I don't make sweets very often, because this recipe does use lots of sugar, with the cake, crumble, and glaze....but my friend and I (and the family!) both thought it was worth it!

Apple Brown Sugar Coffee Cake
recipe from Edesia's Notebook, originally from Emeril Lagasse

Yield:  24 servings

Ingredients:

For the Cake:
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1½ cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
2 cups peeled, cored, and chopped apples

For the Crumble Topping:
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup flour
½ tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp butter, softened

For the Brown Sugar Glaze:
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 9x13” glass baking dish with baking spray.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Fold in the apples. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges.

To make the topping, in a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown and set, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

To make the glaze, in a bowl, combine the sugar, vanilla, and water and mix until smooth. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let harden slightly. Serve warm.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

This post is shared at:
Foodtastic Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Tasty Thursdays @ The Mandatory Mooch
Showcase Your Talent Thursday @ What's Cooking, Love?

Eating the Alphabet Challenge: Tony's Breakfast Couscous

It's time once again for the Eating the Alphabet Challenge hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  Each month we are given a set of letters and are challenged to make a dish using a fruit, vegetable, grain, or legume that begins with one of the letters.  This month's letters were C and D.  Last year I made this Roasted Cauliflower Risotto.  I thought that I'd try for "D" this year but then I found this couscous recipe that looked good, so I ended up making it instead.  The original recipe called for nonfat dry milk but provided substitutions so you could use fat-free milk instead.  Unfortunately, I cannot have dairy in the morning on an empty stomach.  I wouldn't call myself lactose intolerant, but feel the symptoms only if I have dairy in the morning on an empty stomach.  So I used soymilk in this recipe.  I also eliminated the walnuts that the original recipe called for.  I'm not a huge nut fan and walnuts are probably one of my least favorites.  I think pecans might be tasty in this though.  I made this over the weekend and it ended up being more like brunch for me by the time I got up and made it!  I was pleasantly surprised when my son, who is a pretty picky eater, tried this and liked it!  Normally he doesn't eat couscous when I make it.  But the cinnamon, brown sugar, cranberries, and raisins sweetened this up, and he likes sweet! He ended up having this for lunch with a cheese stick and a yogurt!  This was super easy to prepare and can be adapted to any ingredients that you want to add/take out.  This was a breakfast dish that I can see myself making again.  If you're interested in joining the Eating the Alphabet Challenge click here!

Tony's Breakfast Couscous
recipe adapted from Cooking Light, May 2006

Ingredients:
1/4 cup water
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup uncooked couscous
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Bring water and milk to a boil in a small saucepan; stir in remaining ingredients. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 10 minutes. (Mixture will thicken as it cools.)

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Spicy Eggplant and Tofu Stir Fry

My sister is a vegetarian.  She was up visiting  from Maryland with her family several weeks ago.  My husband and I had planned an asian inspired dinner including spicy rice and pork tacos.  I wanted to have something for my sister to eat, besides side dishes, and knew when I found this recipe that it was what I was going to make.  Ashlee at Veggie by Season, where I found this recipe, was inspired by P.F. Chang's Chicken and Eggplant when she created this dish.  I've only eaten at P.F. Chang's a couple of times and have never tried that dish, so I have nothing to compare it to.  However, this recipe was really easy to make and had great flavor!  Everyone (including the non-vegetarians) enjoyed this.  Since my husband and I love tofu, this is definitely a dish that I'd make again for us....the kids, not so much!

Spicy Eggplant and Tofu Stir Fry
recipe slightly adapted from Veggie By Season

Ingredients:
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 large eggplant, slightly peeled and diced in 1" chunks (about 2 lbs.)
Kosher salt
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. vegetable stock
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. sherry
1 tbsp. sriracha
1 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
4 scallions, white and green parts, trimmed and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 block of firm tofu, pressed and cut into 1-inch cubes

Directions:
Heat a pan over medium heat.  Add sesame oil and eggplant, season with salt and stir fry for 5 minutes, until caramelized and slightly softened.

In a small bowl whisk together the soy sauce, vegetable stock, sherry, sriracha, sugar, pepper, scallion, garlic and cornstarch. Pour over eggplant and turn heat to low.

Mix eggplant with sauce, bring to a low simmer. Gently stir in tofu, combining with eggplant and sauce.

Simmer mixture for another 5-8 minutes, until eggplant is tender.

If mixture gets too dry, add another splash of vegetable stock or soy sauce (in equal parts).

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!