Burgers

Burgers are probably one of my most favorite main dishes EVER. I plan on making my feta cheese burgers for labor day this weekend. Hopefully I'll remember to snap a picture.....

Stuffed Feta Burgers
1 lb ground beef, (best with 80/20)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup Feta cheese, crumbed (or fresh goat's cheese)
Grilled or fried onion rings (sweet onions work best)
ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, etc
Hamburger buns

Sprinkle the salt & pepper and the worcestershire sauce over the ground beef. Form the ground beef into roughly 3 ounce patties. An ice cream scoop works well for this. Flatten the patties and in half the patties make an indentation in the middle. Equally divide the cheese among half the patties. Use the other half of patties to cover and seal the edges with your fingers. Refridgerate for 15 minutes. Grill untill desired doneness.

Makes 4.

If you prefer veggie burgers, here is a recipe for a bean burger that can be used with the above recipe:

1 cup dried Anasazi beans
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more as needed
1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup carrots, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg or egg substitute (a real egg works best for this)

What to do with a bunch of fresh cherry tomatos....

3 cheese w/ Roasted tomatoes deep dish pizza

1/4 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup tomato sauce
3 fresh sweet basil leaves, roughly chopped
Roasted Tomatoes (see below)
Prepared Pizza Dough (see below)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the prepared pizza dough in a cast iron pan (or pie pan w/ 1-2" depth). Spread the dough to all sides and allow to rest in a warm place for 15 minutes, the dough will rise slightly. Lightly punch the middle of the dough. Spread the middle with the tomato sauce and layer with the roasted tomatoes and cheeses. Top with the sweet basil. Place
pan in the oven and cook until sides are golden brown, approx. 15 minutes.

Roasted Tomatoes

Cherry or Roma Tomatoes
Olive Oil
Whole garlic cloves, unpeeled
Thyme, Oregano, Basil, etc spices
Salt & Pepper

Half the tomatoes and arrange on a cooking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. Use 3+ garlic cloves (to taste) and arrange throughout the cookie sheet. Drizzle the olive oil all over the tomatoes and garlic. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the spices, and salt & pepper to taste. Place in an oven and roast for 2-3 hours at 225F. Tomatoes should be shriveled and leathery but not blackened.

Basic Pizza Dough
1/4 ounce (2 1/4 tsp) active yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tbsp honey
3-3 1/2 cups flour (i use a multi grain mix)

Let the yeast, water, and honey proof for 10 minutes. Mix into the flours. Knead until elastic. Cover with a damp towel and place in a non drafty area. Allow to double in size. Use as thin crust or deep dish pizza crust.

not so boring boiled potatoes

I made this attempting to use as many ingredients in my kitchen as I had without having to run to the store. So this is kinda a hodge-podge and super easy.

Not so Boring Boiled Potatoes
16 ounces Beef Broth, or French Onion Soup
2-3 medium sized russet potatoes, cubed
2 medium sized yellow onion, quartered - skip if using french onion soup
2 garlic cloves, whole
1 medium carrot, sliced thickly

Pour the beef broth into a large stock pot and add all ingredients. Boil the potatoes until fork tender. Add more broth if needed to cover all ingriedents.

Berry Smoothie

I like to eat smoothies, a lot of them. Something nice about eating a meal entirely blended.

Berry Smoothie

3 tbsp almonds

2 tbsp wheat germ

1 cup oj (frozen works best)

1/4 cup blueberries (frozen)

1 cup strawberry or blueberry yogurt

1/4 cup strawberrys (frozen)

1/4 cup raspberries (frozen)

*if not using frozen fruits, use fresh in combination with ice cubes

Grind the almonds and wheat germ into a smooth powder. Add to the blender the wheat germ, almonds, oj, blueberries, and blueberrie yogurt. Blend until well incorporated. Add the remainder ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Favorite Side Dish

I love potatoes; all 160+ varieties of potatoes. Potatoes are the ultimate food, originally from the Andes Mountain region in Peru. The Spanish recognized its value in that it has long term storage and can grown in many areas and has good nutritional value.

Lemon-Pepper Red Potatoes

6-8 red potatoes, quartered
1 tbsp butter, sweeter tasting butter is best
1 tbsp lemon-pepper seasoning
1/4 cup feta cheese

Boil 1 quart of water and add quartered potatoes. Cook until fork tender. Drain and return to pan. Add 1 tbsp of butter, 1 tbsp lemon-pepper, and 1/4 cup of feta cheese. Stir to combine. Cheese should melt slightly and the butter should melt completly. Serve and enjoy! The sweeter butter complements the tangy taste from the lemon-pepper. I don't add any salt to this dish because there is plenty of salt in the lemon-pepper and feta cheese. Adding addtional salt would make it taste like salt. If you have non-salt lemon-pepper seasoning then add 1/4-1/2 tsp of salt to the water as the potatoes boil.

Vegan Pancakes

I've been making these pancakes for years. I started making them in college when I didn't have eggs or milk one day, didn't want to go out to the store and still wanted pancakes. It uses a 12 grain flour mix which is also home made and that recipe follows the pancakes. Most recently I was forced to show my older brother how to make vegan pancakes and used this version.

Vegan 12-Grain Pancakes
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup 12-grain flour mx (you can find great mixes from Trader Joes and other places, but they are usually less then 10 grains)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cornstartch
1 tbsp safflower oil (or other veggie based oil)
1 cup soy, rice, oat, or barley milk
1 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

Stir together the lemon juice and "milk" to make a faux buttermilk. Let stand while...
In a seperate bowl, whisk all the dry ingreidents together.
Add the oil and the faux buttermilk. Mix together, batter should still be lumpy. Add additional water if needed.
Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1/4-1/3 cup of batter to the skillet. When bubbles form on the top, flip over.

12-Grain Flour Mix
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup corn flour or cornmeal
1/2 cup rolled oats,
1/2 cup barely flakes or flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup white or brown rice flour.
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup amaranth flour
1/2 cup quinoa four
1/2 cup rye flour
*1/2 cup almond meal (optional: its cheapest tobuy blanched and slivered almonds and grind in a coffee grinder)

Whisk all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container. Store in a cool, dry location. If you add almond meal, store in the rerigerator or freezer. Makes 6 cups.

Blueberry Poppy Seed Waffles

Nothing better then waffles on a Sunday morning for breakfast.

Blueberry Poppy Seed Waffles
Ingredients:
1/3 cup white flour
1/3 cup whole wheat
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup millet flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup barley flakes
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer (or 2 eggs)
1 1/3 cup milk
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp safflower oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp poppy seed
1 1/4 cup dried blueberries

Directions:
1. Mix Ener-G Egg replacer according to package directions and set aside.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to blend thoroughly.
3. In a separate bowl mix all the wet ingredients. Stir to combine.
4. Add egg replacer and wet ingredients into dry and mix to combine completely. Fold in dried blueberries.
5. Laddle 1/4-1/2 cup of batter into waffle pan according to your waffle pan.
Makes: 10 Belgian waffles or 12 regular waffles