Recipe Review from 5/14/2018

An uneventful week all around, so I'll hop right into recipe review!

The Meal Plan from the previous week:
Sat (L)  leftover tostadas    (S)  NE Smokehouse in Cloquet
Sun (B) Sausage Taquitos    (L) burgers   (S)  Mini pizzas
Mon  (yoga) leftover burgers
Tues - leftover pizzas
Wed - Grilled Vegetable salad with Tortellini
Thurs (yoga) leftovers
Fri  Leftovers

Lunches - fruit and hummus sandwiches

Egg and Sausage Breakfast Taquitos (Special Cuisine Recipe blog via Pinterest) gluten free
Moved a bit away from my usual lunch and supper recipes and tried something different this weekend - a breakfast wrap.  Yeah, yeah, it seems kinda silly to need a recipe for something as ridiculously simple as this, but I'm a recipe kinda gal and sometimes I just don't want to think about ratios.

The idea behind these is you can make them ahead and freeze for later.  I thought this might be worth a try, though I would either have to bring to work and microwave or thaw in the oven at home (I don't have microwave).  So we'll see how that works, if they get eaten or if they end up languishing a bit.

Now I will add, fresh out of the oven with some salsa on top, these were quite tasty.  I ended up with 10 taquitos, which if you are looking to feed a group would be easy to make and have sitting out.   If you have any vegetarians in the group, skip the sausage and add extra eggs.  Recommended!

I made 10 taquitos.

7 oz box Jones Dairy Farm sausage links  (I used a 16oz pkg locally sourced breakfast sausage)
5  large eggs  (ha!  I used closer to 10 eggs; 5 just wasn't enough)
salt and pepper
1 1/2  cups shredded cheese , cheddar, pepper jack or Monterey jack
1 cup baby spinach , chopped (optional)  I used cilantro
10  white corn tortillas , or use 6'' flour tortillas

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Add the frozen sausage links to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, turning occasionally, until warmed through.
3. Remove to a plate, leaving a little bit of the sausage grease in the pan.
4. Crack eggs into a bowl and add a splash of water or milk. Whisk well with a fork and then add to the pan.
5. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes, tossing and scrambling as they cook. (If using spinach, add it to the pan about 2 minutes before the eggs are done cooking.) Remove from heat.
6. Warm the tortillas inside of a damp paper towel for 10-15 seconds in the microwave.
7. Divide the scrambled eggs among the tortillas and top with shredded cheese.
8. Place a sausage link on top. Roll up and place, seam side down, on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper.
9. Spray lightly with cooking spray and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with salsa for dipping.

Recipe Notes
To Freeze: Prepare and bake the taquitos as directed. Allow to cool completely and then place in a freezer ziplock bag. When ready to eat, microwave them until warm.

Grilled Beef-Mushroom Burgers (Ckgn Lght June 2018)  gluten free
A bit of a departure for me, making beef burgers, but the recipe intrigued me so I thought what the heck?  I also thought about subbing buffalo for the burger, but it was nearly twice as much in price so I opted to go with grass-fed beef instead.

These were pretty tasty - if you are not a mushroom fan, or know someone who is not a mushroom fan, they won't even notice the 'shrooms.  I liked how these weren't on a bun, which I am finding are just filler (for me).  The taziki sauce had a bit of zing by the second day, so either cut back on the garlic or skip for those little or sensitive tastebuds. 

Made four burgers - two meals for two of us with a side.

4 ounces sliced button mushrooms

photo from cookinglight.com

1 pound 90% lean ground sirloin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/3 cup chopped cucumber
1/4 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons minced roasted garlic (about 4 large cloves)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
8 large butter lettuce leaves
4 heirloom tomato slices  (I used a red bell pepper, cut into rings, because I had some on hand)
4 red onion slices

Preheat grill or a grill pan to medium-high (about 450°F). Place mushrooms in a food processor, and process until minced, about 1 minute.

Combine mushrooms, ground sirloin, oil, pepper, and 3/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl; gently shape into 4 (4-inch) patties, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Stir together cucumber, yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, and remaining 3/8 teaspoon salt in a small bowl; set aside.

Place burgers on grill grate, and grill, uncovered, to desired degree of doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium.

Place 2 lettuce leaves on each plate; top each with a burger patty, tomato slice, red onion slice, and 1 heaping tablespoon yogurt mixture.


Mini Pizzas (Ckng Lght, June 2018) lots o' options
This recipe caught my eye for it's simplicity.  There are lots of variations on this floating around, and, because it's "pizza", you can do what ever you want for toppings and crusts.  I used a lavash bread I bought at the co-op for the crust and combined it with co-op pizza sauce and shredded cheese mix (which I purchase to make a regular homemade pizza).   Toppings were red pepper, pepperoni and mushroom.   Then I tossed the pizzas on the grill - which worked only so-so.  I  was concerned about the crust burning and ended up finishing under the broiler. 

So, base recipe below.  I greatly modified.  This is a good way to use up leftovers. 

4 whole-wheat pita rounds

1 (4-oz.) link sweet Italian turkey sausage, casing removed
1/2 cup lower-sodium marinara sauce
4 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
1 large plum tomato, thinly sliced
1 (2 1/4-oz.) can sliced black olives, drained

Preheat broiler to high with oven rack in top position.

 

Place pitas on a baking sheet. Broil until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Remove baking sheet from oven; turn pitas over. Do not turn off oven.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add sausage, and cook, stirring to crumble, until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes.

Spread 2 tablespoons marinara over each pita. Top evenly with cheese, sausage, tomato, and olives. Broil until cheese melts and browns in spots, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately.