Mexican Chili-Cheese Burgers

Ole!

If this burger could talk that's what it would say.

But it can't.  Because I cooked it up all Mexican style for Cinco de Mayo and you know something?  I have no regrets.  It was good.  Not just good, I mean REALLY good.  Like, "why didn't I ever think of this before?" good.

For more Cinco de Mayo recipes, click here!

Mexican Chili-Cheese Burgers
Yield: 4 servings

---

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground round
• 1/2 cup shredded 4-cheese Mexican cheese 
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeño pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Cooking spray
• 4 (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns
• 4 leaves romaine lettuce
• 8 (1/4-inch-thick) slices tomato
• Guacamole

  Instructions:

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl; stir well. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping into 1/2-inch-thick patties.
2. Prepare grill. Place patties on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 6 minutes on each side or until done.
3. Spread 1 tablespoon of guacamole over top half of each bun, and set aside. Place patties on bottom halves of buns; top each with lettuce, tomato, (if desired), and top half of bun.

Recipe by Dee at Deelicious Sweets

I like my ground meat to be well done.

Not this well done though

I'm sorry.  I apologize but I had to do it.

Wasabi Chicken Salad

Do you know what frustrates me the most?  I'm going throughout my day thinking of all kinds of creative things to post about but when I finally sit down to actually write up a blog post my mind goes blank.  Does this happen to you?  Maybe it's because I have so much to share that I don't even know where to start.  Sometimes I can sit down and just start typing and it all comes together.  Sometimes I  sit down and just stare at the pictures I posted and the only thing I can think to add is the recipe.  This just won't do.  I realize that you all visit my blog to be inspired.  To laugh at my hilarity.  Is that even a word?  Hilarity.  That's a funny word.  Especially if you sit there and say it over and over again.  Hilarity, hilarity, hilarity, hilarity, hilarity.  Maybe it just looks funny.  HILARITY.  HILARITY.

Hmmm, maybe this isn't one of those posts to feel inspired by.

Do you know what inspired me for this recipe?  Wasabi.  I don't know about you but I'm a freak for Wasabi.  I'm always looking for ways to add it to my recipes.  This night in particular I had a stroke of geniusness.  Why not add wasabi to some chicken salad?   I had 2 huge grilled chicken breast leftover and some roasted red peppers that needed to be used up. 

Let's find out what Dee came up with!

Wasabi Chicken Salad
Yield: 4 servings

---

Ingredients:

• 2 large grilled chicken breasts or 4 small ones - you could also use rotisserie chicken
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup Veganaise or mayonnaise depending on how wet you like your chicken salad
• 1 roasted red pepper, roughly chopped
• 4 teaspoons wasabi powder
• 1 - 2 teaspoons Sriracha chili sauce or more depending on how hot you like it
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• about 6 grapes, chopped
• ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Shred chicken breasts with a fork.  Add remaining ingredients and mix it up.
2. Place on a bun and eat.

Cooks Note:  Feel free to get creative here.  That's the fun thing about chicken salad.  You can add or omit anything you like to fit your taste.  Red onions would be fabulous in this dish if that's your thing.  Omit the red peppers or the grapes.  Add almonds or walnuts.  Go crazy!

Recipe by Dee at Deelicious Sweets

Let's have a little discussion for a moment.

During our Vegan Venture we discovered Veganaise.  It's one of the items that has stuck around for the long haul.  We have discovered that it's so much better than mayonnaise in flavor.  Have you tried Veganaise?  Do you like it better than mayonnaise?

Not Yo Mama's Grilled Cheese

Hubby asks me "why wasn't my sandwich cut into a wedge?"  Me, "Because honey, yours wasn't the model"

I just love starting my recipe's off with "Not Yo Mama's...."  Cracks me up every time.  I'm easily entertained.  Did you see the conversation I had between me and self the other day?  It doesn't take much!

So, the other day it was getting pretty late and I hadn't made lunch yet and realized that I needed to stop blog stalking and make us some lunch.  The boy's (hubby and son) have been so addicted to Starcraft lately that I need to sometimes go down there and remind them to use the bathroom.  Not really, but seriously, they could go all day without eating.  Not that I have let them....yet....

Do you realize how annoying it can be when hubby crawls into bed with his iPad and Day[9] is droning on and on about the most recent professional Starcraft match?  The guy is relatively cute for a nerd.  That is, until he lifts up his arm and he's wearing a short sleeve shirt and you catch a glimpse of his extremely hairy armpit.  Talk about a gross out harmony between me and my daughter of a big "EWWWW!" as we run upstairs as fast as our little feet can carry us away from the TV.  Or the time's he finishes up with his dinner right as he goes online and he picks his tooth and the crumb fall on his lip and he nonchalantly licks it off.  Can I get another "EWWWW!"?  Yeah, so my hubby comes to bed with his iPad and Day[9] essentially comes to bed with us.  I don't even remember my point to this story.  I am so grossed out now.  But this grilled cheese was good!

Not Yo Mama's Grilled Cheese
Yield: 1 sandwich

---

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of Texas Toast
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 link of Bobak's jalepeno and cheddar sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
• Butter
• Pickles for serving

Instructions:

1. Heat a skillet on medium heat, melt a Tbsp. of butter in skillet.
2. Spread butter on Texas toast.  Lay bread butter side down on on hot skillet and layer with sausage slices and spread your cheese in an even layer on top of sausage.  Put the other piece of bread on top butter side up.
3. Brown both sides of sandwich for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown on both sides.  Serve with pickles!

"Chili" Cheese Brats

In my recent attempt to pantry/freezer forage I came up with this little spicy gem of a recipe.  The first night I served this on garlic cheese bread.  The next day I used the left-overs and served it on top of some brats.  Since I made this recipe up I didn't have a name for it so I came up with "Chili" Cheese Brats. I had to put the "chili" in quotes because it's not technically a chili it's more of a taco spiced ground beef.  I was so proud to use up so many ingredients for this dish.  But, then my high comes down when I have to go and spend hundreds at the grocery store. At least I have room in my freezer now!  I also just got a new Costco membership so look out!

"Chili" Cheese Brats

2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion
2 T taco seasoning
1 T chopped jalapenos
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 can black beans
1 jar of salsa - whatever suits your fancy
2 cups of cheddar cheese

In a skillet over medium heat, brown your hamburger and onions and drain. Put back into your skillet.

Add the remaining ingredients and heat through.

Grill or prepare your brats in whatever way you wish.

Place your brat in the hot dog bun and top with the "Chili" Cheese mix.

Be prepared, this makes a lot!  If you wish, you could reduce the ground beef to 1 pound.  I wanted to get two meals out of this though.

~ Enjoy!

Bacon Lettuce Tomato Turkey Sundried Tomato Corn Wrap - BLTTSTCW

Whew! What a title, huh?  I found this recipe in the new Eating Well magazine and in my attempt to use up some of my left-overs I changed it up quite a bit.  Don't worry, I'll let you know what I added in case you want to make it as the magazine calls for but if you decide to make it my way, well, it's awesome! Not to brag or anything but I think my changes took this recipe over the top and probably took it from "Eating Well" to not so much.  You win some you lose some! Okay, so you're saying "get on with it, Dee! Let's see this fabulous recipe that you spun up".  Okay okay! Geez people, patience is a virtue!

Bacon Lettuce Tomato Turkey Wrap

by Deelicious Sweets

Keywords: sandwich entree

6014936

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen (thawed)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato
• 1/4 cup chopped soft sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 Tbsp. red-wine vinegar or cider vinegar - I used red
• 8 thin slices low-sodium deli turkey (about 8 ounces)
• 4 8-inch whole-wheat tortillas
• 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 4 bacon slices
• goat cheese

Instructions

Combine corn, tomato, sun-dried tomatoes, oil and vinegar in a medium bowl.

Divide turkey and bacon among tortillas. Top with equal portions of the corn salad, goat cheese and lettuce. Roll up. Serve the wraps cut in half, if desired.

Powered by Recipage

---

Servings: 1 

Calories:  336

Total Fat:  15.5 g

Cholesterol:  37.3 mg.

Sodium:  901.7 mg.

Protein:  21.4 g.

---

Guest Posting

Hello there! If you're looking for me today I am guest posting over at Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts.

Here's a sample of what's going on over there!

Not Yo Mama's Sloppy Joe

I haven't been to the grocery store in a couple of weeks.  I know, right!  I just haven't wanted to go.  What have I been doing for dinner, you ask.  Freezer diving!  I went freezer diving the other night and came up with ground beef and Cole's garlic bread.  What to do, what to do?  I went foodie blog diving!  I stumbled across Jessica over at The Learning Curve.  She had a fanfreakintabulous looking sloppy joe recipe and I just so happened to have most of the ingredients she asked for.  I did a little compromising with the ingredients I didn't have but it came out fanfreakintabulous!

Slow-Cooker Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

I absolutely love my slow-cooker.  I love how on a busy day that I can whip up something quickly in the morning, stick it in the slow-cooker and let it do it's thing.  That's not all I love about it.  I love the aroma it puts throughout my house.  I love coming home from a long day out and I know that dinner is ready without much preparation.  

What I don't like is I don't very often come across a recipe that I would want to make again.  For example, last summer my family and I went to Tennessee with my brother and his family.  I had found a slow-cooker recipe for buffalo chicken sandwiches.  I thought, how perfect, we can go boating all day and come home with dinner ready.  The recipe was just okay though, I wasn't much impressed.  So, my search continued for a yummy slow-cooker spicy buffalo chicken sandwich recipe.  

Now my search has ended!

Slow-Cooker Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
Yield: 8 servings

---

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 package frozen seasoning blend - onion, celery, peppers, etc.
•  3 garlic cloves
• 1 can (28-ounce) diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup Franks hot wing sauce
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 8 hamburger buns

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add chicken thighs, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring once, until meat is golden brown, 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a slow cooker, leaving as much oil behind as possible. Repeat with chicken breasts.
2. To skillet, seasoning blend and garlic and cook over medium, stirring constantly, until onion is translucent, 6 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to slow cooker.
3. To slow cooker, add diced tomatoes, hot-wing sauce, Worcestershire, mustard, and honey; stir to combine. Cover and cook on high until chicken is very tender, 4 hours.
4. Shred chicken and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve on buns.

Cooks Note:  I added a little bit of Ranch dressing to my sandwich.   Blue cheese would be awesome!

Adapted from: Everyday Food but changed quite a bit to suit what I had on hand

---

Servings: 1 Sandwich

Calories:  358

Total Fat:  10 g

Cholesterol:   101 mg.

Sodium:  35 mg.

Protein:  35 g.

---

I served this alongside coleslaw.  To keep with the quick preparation theme I had going here, I purchased a bag of coleslaw in the produce section and added Marie's Coleslaw Dressing  and cracked black pepper.  Super yummy, super quick!

Now, I think I need a Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie :)

~ Enjoy!

Mmmm - Grilled cheese

I know it's been a while since I have posted. I've been quite busy with Spring cleaning and working out at the Gym. Anyway, just last week I had a hankering for a Grilled Cheese at lunch. I also had a hankering for Sun-dried tomatoes and Pesto. So, I got creative and put a little something together, it goes like this:

St. Patty's left overs - Open Faced "Reuben" Sandwich

With St. Patrick's Day over, what do we do with that left-over corned beef? Here's what I did:

Open faced "Reuben" Sandwich

Ingredients:

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
Left over corned beef or 12 ounces deli sliced corned beef, chopped
3 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 (16 ounce) can sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
1 (8 ounce) package cooked egg noodles
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup cubed rye bread

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast until dry. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, mix together the soup, milk, onion, corned beef, and mustard. Set aside.
Spread sauerkraut evenly in the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread noodles over sauerkraut. Spoon soup mixture over noodles, and sprinkle with cheese. In a small bowl, mix melted butter with rye bread, and sprinkle mixture over cheese. Your dish will be very full.

Cover, and bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes. Remove cover, and bake an additional 10 minutes.
Use your left over rye bread and slice it, put it on your plate and spoon your "Reuben" on top for an open faced sandwich.