Ingredients (serves 8, and is easily doubled or tripled)

• 3 pounds ground beef
• 1 tablespoon Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups diced cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup blue cheese
• 1/2 cup finely diced white onion
• 8 hamburger buns
• toppings of your choiceSeason beef with seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Form into 16 thin patties. Combine tomatoes, cheese and onions. Place a small scoop in the center of each of 8 patties, and flatten out. Top with remaining patties, and crimp edges . Grill to desired doneness, being careful when turning. Serve on buns with toppings of your choice.

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  Blue Cheese Stuffed Burger

Filed under: Category Beef, Recipes | Tags: 4th of July Barbecue,4th of July Recipes,blue cheese burgers,Fourth of July Recipes,memorial day recipes,stuffed burgers by No Comments »

Ingredients

• 4 fish fillets (tilapia, halibut, roughy, salmon work great)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons melted butter
• 4 teaspoons honey
• 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup crushed pecans

Marinate fish fillets in oil and lemon juice for at least one half hour in refrigerator. Combine mustard, honey and butter. Stir until glaze forms. Place fish in baking dish. Cover with half of glaze, and then pecans. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes, basting once during, and once at the end with remaining glaze.

Filed under: Category Recipes, Seafood | Tags: fish recipe,honey glaze for fish,pecan-crusted fish by No Comments »

Tired of the same old mayonnaise-laden potato salad? Follow this recipe for a leaner, lighter-tasting salad with all the flavor and more.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons chicken or vegetable broth granules
• juice of 4 lemons
• 3 tablespoons white vingar
• 1/4 cup diced green onions
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 3 tablespoons mustard (your choice of spicy or straight)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3 hard boiled eggs, diced
• 1 table spoon fresh dill and/or parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Place potatoes in a large stock pot. Over with water and add broth granules. Boil until tender. Remove from heat, drain and rinse with cold water. Immediately cover potatoes with lemon juice, and vinegar. Stir to coat, and let cool completely. Add remaining ingredients and stir to coat. Refrigerate before serving.

Filed under: Category Light Cooking, Recipes, Salads & Sides, Vegetarian | Tags: lite potato salad,potato salad,potato salad recipe by 1 Comment »

Garbage Salad is a general description of a salad that has a plethora of ingredients that are not vegetables… thus making the salad not the healthiest option… though it can be oh so good!

My Father’s Day Garbage Salad included the following ingredients, served over one half a head of chopped lettuce.

• 1 cup garlic and butter croutons
• 1 package crumbled blue cheese
• 6 slices firmly cooked bacon, chopped
• 1 can marinated artichoke hearts, drained
• 1/3 cup sliced black olives
• Ranch DressingFor a healthier option, I could have substituted one half a diced avocado for the bacon, one half a cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced, for the croutons and used light dressing.

Filed under: Category Recipes, Salads & Sides | Tags: artichoke recipes,blue cheese salad,Father's Day Recipes,garbage salad,salad recipe by No Comments »

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/4 onion, diced
• 1 pound thick pasta noodles (mostacchioli, rotini, elbows, etc.)
• 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
• 1/2 package frozen, thawed spinach, or 2 cups fresh spinach
• 2 tablespoons sour cream (optional)
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 4 oz. Parmesan cheese

Boil pasta until al dente. Meanwhile, brown ground beef with onion. Drain fat. In a 9 x 13″ dish, pour one half of tomato sauce. Top with noodles, and stir in beef, spinach, sour cream and cheese. Top with remaining sauce, and gently stir in water. Top with Parmesan cheese, and bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes or until bubbly. If desired, you can substitute broccoli for the spinach, and add mushrooms, and/or other vegetables of your choice.

Filed under: Category 70 Meals, One Trip to the Store, Beef, Pasta, Recipes | Tags: baked pasta recipe,easy weeknight meal,ground beef recipe,Pasta,pasta recipe by No Comments »

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, diced
• 4 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup lettuce, finely shredded
• 1 cup rice, uncooked

Directions

Cook chicken in 1 Tbsp. oil in hot skillet, stirring constantly until lightly browned. Set chicken aside in bowl and add to it 1 Tbsp. soy sauce. Stir.

Add remainder of oil and rice to skillet. Reduce heat to medium. Stir frequently until golden brown. Add chicken with soy sauce and broth. Simmer, covered, for 25 minutes until rice is tender.

Stir in onion, green pepper and remaining soy sauce. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat until liquid is absorbed.

Push rice mixture to side of skillet and add eggs. Stir eggs until they are almost set, then add lettuce and continue stirring for another minute. Blend with rice.

Filed under: Category 70 Meals, One Trip to the Store, Chicken, Recipes | Tags: best fried rice,chicken fried rice,homemade chinese food by 2 Comments »

Ingredients 

Photo courtesy of Chicago Parent

• 2 chicken breasts, cubed (cooked or raw)
• 6 slices of bread, or equivalent, cubed
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup cheddar/jack or mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 diced fresh tomato or 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• Optional: 1 can mushrooms

Directions

Line bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 buttered baking dish with bread. Top with chopped chicken.

In a small frying pan, melt 2 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add to baking dish.

Top with cheese and tomatoes. In a large bowl, combine milk, eggs, salt and pepper. Mix until well blended. Pour over chicken.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes if using raw chicken, 40, if chicken is cookedq.

Filed under: Category 70 Meals, One Trip to the Store, Chicken, Recipes | Tags: chicken strata,easy recipe with leftover bread,strata recipe by 1 Comment »