Carribean Style Burgers

I was inspired to share this recipe inspired by Brenda180 from YouTube.
She hails from New York City by way of Trinidad.
I have been making these burgers for two months. My family cannot get enough of them. I do not think we will ever go back to regular burgers.

I have used ground turkey for the meat as well as ground chicken. They both taste great.

I did not have the Trinidad Congo Pepper, so I substituted Jalepeno Pepper once and Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Pepper other times. If you use the Jamaican pepper, please be sure to use rubber gloves with flocked backing. I made the mistake of NOT using them the first time and the capsaicin made my hands throb all the way to the bone for hours. You can neutralize the heat on hands by pouring lime or lemon juice on them and then washing well with soapy water. I also used lemon juice to neutralize the heat on my cutting board. Please be careful not to touch your eyes.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground meat (chicken, turkey or beef)
1 cup Old Fashioned Oats (you can omit this if you like. I used it to stretch the recipe for a family of five)
1 egg
2 packets of Sazon (if you do not want to use this, you can substitute 1 tsp Lawry's Season Salt)
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
5 chopped garlic cloves
1 Jalepeno or Scotch Bonnet Pepper, chopped.
1/2 Bell Pepper chopped
1/4 Onion Chopped.
Fresh Thyme to taste (you may substitute dried herbs if you do not have fresh)
Fresh Oregano to taste

Dress/Garnish
Whole Wheat Kaiser Rolls
Mayo
Ketchup
Mustard (I used Spicy, but you can use Honey Mustard or whatever kind you like)
Lettuce
Tomato

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, mix ground meat, seasonings, herbs and chopped veggies.
2. Add Old Fashioned Oats and egg.
3. Form into patties.
4. Cook burgers for 4 minutes until brown on each side.
5. Add water and steam for 4 additional minutes.
6. When water evaporates, the burgers are done.

Please enjoy Brenda's Video

Mushroom Barley Soup

Barley is a long chain carbohydrate. It has a low gycemic index. I have a love for mushrooms. These are what piqued my interest in this recipe. There's nothing like a hearty hot soup to warm your insides on a cold day. We enjoyed this soup! The hubby said it was missing just one thing, "MEAT". Maybe I will try preparing it with a few beef stew cubes in the future. I felt like this had too much barley. The next time I prepare this I will probably reduce the amount of barley in half.

INGREDIENTS

3 tbsp olive oil
1 rounded tsp chopped garlic
1 yellow onion chopped
2 carrots diced
2 ribs celery diced
1/2 pound white button mushrooms diced or sliced, whichever you prefer

64 ounces of hot broth (divided)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp sea salt (optional)
1 cup of pearlized barley
1 tsp White Wine Vinegar

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in heavy bottomed stock pan.
2. Add garlic, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook until tender.
3. Add mushrooms.
4. Add herbs and seasonings and White Wine Vinegar.
5. In a separate pot heat half of the broth until boiling. Once it has boiled, pour over softened veggies.
6. Rinse sort and rinse barley. Add to stock pan.
7. Simmer on low for 2 hours.
8. The barley will have swollen and softened. As a result you may not have very much stock left.
9. Add remaining half of hot broth to the stockpot and stir.
10. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired.

Enjoy

Refreshing Asian Salad

Humble Beginnings









INGREDIENTS

3 Romaine Lettuce Hearts (I only used one)
1 Red Onion (thinly sliced into rings)
1 Navel Orange Halved and segmented (or 2 drained cans of Mandarin Oranges)
5 Radishes (thinly sliced)
*optional
- 1 tsp Toasted Sesame Seeds
- 1 cup of Chow Mein Noodles
- Chopped Grilled Chicken

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash all produce.
2. Slice the Romaine Hearts
3. Add Sliced Red Onion
4. Add Sliced Radishes
5. Add Oranges
6. Toss
7. Add Toasted Sesame Seeds and Chow Mein Noodles just before serving.
Add Asian Dressing. Click
HERE for recipe
(This will not keep for a long period, as the dressing will break down the noodles)

Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

I am excited to share this recipe for blueberry muffins with you.
It is easier than you may think to make these from scratch.
The cost of just one fresh bakery muffin is about the same as it is to make a dozen at home. Provided of course, you score with some low priced blueberries like I did this week. $1.49/pint Ka-CHING! I recommend refrigerating or freezing the leftover muffins.



Sift together dry ingredients into a large bowl.



Sea Salt and Baking Powder












Mix dry ingredients further with whisk.


Add oil, beaten eggs, rice milk, and water.











Mix well.












Gently fold in the blueberries.




I used 2 scoops for each muffin liner. Results = 12 Muffins.









INGREDIENTS

1 cup Fresh Blueberries (sorted and washed)
1 1/4 cup Unbleached Flour (reserve 1 tbsp)
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup Corn Meal
1 cup Sugar (reserve 1 tbsp)
1/4 cup oil (canola)
2 Eggs well beaten
1/2 cup rice milk
1/2 cup Water

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.

2. Sort and wash blueberries. Set Aside
3. Separate 1 tbsp of flour and 1 tbsp of sugar in a container with a lid.
Set aside.
4. Sift together remaining flour, salt, baking powder, cornmeal, and sugar into a large bowl.
5. Add oil, beaten eggs, rice milk and water. Mix well.
6. Place blueberries into container of flour and sugar mixture. Add lid. Shake, covering berries. This will prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.
7. Shake berries & any residual flour/sugar mixture into the batter. Gently fold the berries into the batter.
8. Using a large stainless steel scoop, add batter to cupcake liners.
9. Place muffin tin in center of oven. Bake for 17 minutes (I used convection setting), or until center is done.
10. Cool Muffins on a cooling rack. Serve warm with hot butter (I used best life buttery spread YUM!)

Enjoy!

Perfect Pumpkin Muffins/Pumpkin Bread

Lightly spiced & perfectly sweet! This could totally be made into Pumpkin Bread.
I prefer to make muffins because they do not take as long to cook. (1hr vs 20 mins)
I ALWAYS double the recipe. No point in wasting 1/2 a can of pumpkin. The recipe below is good for 1 loaf of Pumpkin Bread, or 24 Pumpkin Muffins.

Batter in Loaf Pan



Loaf with Crumb Topping





Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 cup chopped nuts

(optional)
shake a little cinnamon sugar on each muffin before baking. The result will be a sweet flaky crust.

using a pastry blender, combine 1/3 cup shortening & 1/3 cup of sugar & flour. 1/2 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, & allspice. add this crumb topping to the center of each muffin.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together the flour, salt, sugar & baking soda. Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, water & spices together. Combine wit the dry ingredients. Do not over work the mixture, or it will be tough. Stir in the nuts.
Pour into well buttered muffin tins. I used pan ease. Bake 20 minutes. Turn out the muffins to a cooling rack.

Canned Pumpkin

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Wet Ingredients PLUS Spices



Dry Ingredients



Add Dry to Wet Ingredients



Flour Coated Coarsely Chopped Walnuts (optional)



Gently Add Coated Nuts



Scoop Batter Into Well Greased Muffin Tins



Sprinkle with Cinnamon Sugar



Oven Ready Muffins



Hot From the Oven