Find out what BBQ sauce and hamburgers have in common!

Here I sit, eating Dreamland BBQ, thinking about none other than, hamburgers! Yes, you read correctly. I tried an experiment (apple doesn't far from the tree, does it Hume family?!) just the other day. I was in my freezer/crockpot meal prepping frenzy, and bought a ton of ground beef at Sam's Club. I decided to make burgers that weekend with some of the meat. I usually leave all of the grilling (including prep work) to Reece,  but this time, I decided to do the prep. Taking after my crafty mother, I pulled what I had out of the fridge and pantry, including BBQ sauce. Below I will list some of the ingredients I used to make this delectable concoction.

Grilled Hamburgers
-lean ground beef (about 1 lb)
-BBQ sauce - anything you have - my favorites include Pete Warner's famous sauce; or Stubb's
-minced garlic or garlic powder
-onion powder
-salt and pepper
-cumin (no, it's not a Mexican burger!)
-chili powder

Directions:
Dump meat in bowl. Add a good amount (ya like that, huh?!) of BBQ sauce and a couple shakes of everything else! Use all of these ingredients or only a few. The BBQ Sauce is really what made these burgers tasty. Oh, and I bought the buns from the Publix bakery which I think was also key! Just ask my biggest food critic :-)

                                                                  Disclaimer: Sadly, I forgot to take a photo. 
                                                                                       I borrowed this one from the internet.
                                            

Easy Lunch - Black Bean Quesadilla

I am still on this 'hummus wrap' kick so that's what I am having for lunch today....however, my good friend Whitney Delaney shared a wonderful alternative to my wraps: Black Bean Quesadilla. Who doesn't love easy Mexican food?! Since I don't have a stove top at work, this is a "make-the-night-before and wrap in foil" kind of meal. You could always change up the filling with whatever you like.

While I would love to claim this photo, I didn't take it! I borrowed it :)

• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, preferably pepper Jack
• 1/2 cup prepared fresh salsa, divided
• 4 8-inch whole-wheat tortillas
• 2 teaspoons canola oil, divided
• 1 ripe avocado, diced

PREPARATION

1. Combine beans, cheese and 1/4 cup salsa in a medium bowl. Place tortillas on a work surface. Spread 1/2 cup filling on half of each tortilla. Fold tortillas in half, pressing gently to flatten.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 2 quesadillas and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes total. Transfer to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and quesadillas. Serve the quesadillas with avocado and the remaining salsa.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/black_bean_quesadillas.html

Freezer Cooking (Recipe 2) - Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

We are going to have another freezer to crock pot meal this evening. I will go ahead and share the recipe since it is so simple I already have it in my brain!

*Tip: For any freezer meal, you can double the recipe if you are feeding a larger family or just want more to have on hand.  One of these recipes will usually yield 4-5 servings. 

Buffalo Shredded Chicken Sandwiches

1/2 bottle buffalo wing sauce (*Variation: try using your favorite bbq sauce in lieu of wing sauce)

1/2 packet ranch seasoning mix

4-6 chicken breasts

Dump everything in a freezer bag. When ready, thaw, then cook low 6-7 hours or high 4-5 hours. Shred the chicken with a fork. Serve on a hoagie or sandwich bun with sweet potato chips. 

I added just a tiny bit of ranch dressing (that's what the white blob is!). I have uncovered another quick, delicious dish. I will say, go light on the wing sauce. I might have put a whole bottle instead of 1/2!! Better luck next time - the main thing is that the flavor is great and it was so so easy to make. 

Hummus Wrap = healthier choice for lunch

Since I have been a "grown up," I have struggled with what to take to work for lunch. I am sure you are saying, "that's easy...take a sandwich or a salad." Problem is, I'm burnt out on sandwiches from childhood (sorry Mom...I appreciate the fact that you packed my lunch each day, but I have had my fill on homemade sandwiches for life!!) And salads...well I will spare you the details, but I recently had a bad experience with a store bought salad that ironically, I had at work :(

I started doing some Google searches on "healthy lunches" and came across a healthy, yet filling choice. I had to share with you because I just savored every single bite of it and feel satisfied knowing that it was somewhat healthy :0)

Today 's Hummus Wrap
wheat tortilla (or pita bread)
hummus
turkey
spinach leaves
feta cheese crumbles
sauteed green bell peppers and red onion (left over from our pizza last night!)

Spread hummus over tortilla and layer toppings. Serve with fresh fruit. 

Hummus Wrap

Yum Yum!

Homemade Pizza Pie!

Two posts in one day! Wow, I am on a roll...don't get used to it though ;-/ I happen to have the day off from work so that is where all this time has come from!

I did want to share what we had for dinner tonight, homemade pizza! Reece claims that 'my' pizza beats the restaurant kind! What a compliment?! He is my husband though :)

What you will need:
Ingredients:
pizza dough
toppings of your choice
1 bag shredded mozarella cheese
olive oil or something similar (optional)
minced garlic (optional)
pizza sauce
spices (oregano, etc)

Tools:
pizza stone (or pizza pan)
rolling pin
wax paper (or pizza peel)
yellow corn meal

The dough: I have never made a pizza with any other dough than the Publix kind! You can find it by the bakery counter, usually in a small refrigerator. It comes in a round ball wrapped in a plastic bag. I usually take the dough out of the fridge in the morning if we are going to eat it that night. Let the dough rise all day. (you can see it in the pic - behind the cheese).

Preheat oven to 500 degrees (yes hot). Then start prepping your ingredients...tonight I chose to sautee a green bell pepper and red onion (because I had nothing better to do!) in some grapeseed oil.

sliced bell pepper in strips

slice onion in strips (I make slits in the onion,
not cutting all the way to the end)

I almost always used a cast iron pan!

Then I started assembling my pizza. I am fancy and have a pizza peel now (thank you Laura Hume for my Christmas present!) It isn't necessary, but it's fun to play with ;0) I ALWAYS dust my surface (whether its wax paper on the counter or pizza peel) with YELLOW CORN MEAL. It really makes for a crispier crust (that secret comes from my brother, David!) and helps the dough not stick to the surface. Then I use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to form the pizza crust. I lightly (like 3 tsp.) brush olive oil or grapeseed oil over the dough followed by minced garlic and maybe 3-4 Tablespoons pizza sauce (a little goes a long way in my opinion). Here is when you can sprinkle any additional spices like oregano over the sauce.  Now throw all of your ingredients on top. Tonight we had pepperoni, spinach leaves (on my side), sauteed red onion and green bell pepper.

Next, add shredded mozarella cheese to cover all of the ingredients. Don't freak out, because you might use nearly a whole bag!

Tricky part: Transfer pizza to PRE-HEATED pizza STONE (I think the stone and heating it up makes a difference). Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. I usually broil it for the last minute or so to get a nice crisp to the top.

YUMMM!!

Freezer Cooking (Recipe 1) - Terriyaki Chicken

While this is my first attempt at maintaining a blog, I have always had the itch to share my secrets in one place...And have my friends share theirs!
The first few entries are all about freezer-to-crock pot cooking, also known as "dump cooking." I cannot take credit for the idea, since I owe it all to my most current obsession, Pinterest.

I recently got married (well in April 2012 - I think it still counts as "recently") and was having a hard time managing work, exercise, and cooking for 2 (one of which is surprisingly p-i-c-k-y and its not me!) all in the same evening. Several of my friends offered suggestions for recipes and even a meal planning guide (which was a great idea, thanks Kate!) I continued doing research when I came across these crockpot recipes that are the ultimate time-saver.

The basic idea of "dump cooking" is you take a few hours to prep as many meals as possible (cut up all your veggies, meat, etc)...then dump all the ingredients for one meal in to a freezer bag (including meat, in most cases) and voila! When you are ready, you thaw your meal, then throw it in the crockpot and let it do the busy work.

A few tips:
-I buy the meat in bulk at Sam's Club...or when there's a good sale at the grocery store. I usually buy the canned foods at Walmart where they are normally cheaper and my produce usually always comes from Publix (just a pet-peeve!)
-I use latex gloves when handling the meat and stinky onions....a trick I learned from my cooking teacher, Mom :-) I don't have to touch the raw meat, nor does the scent of onions linger on my hands for days after!
-Use a pitcher to hold your freezer bag as you 'dump' all of your ingredients in the bag. So easy and clean.

I have tested a few recipes and have had mostly success. The first I will share is very simple. Are you ready for the directions?!

Terriyaki Chicken

Ingredients:
bag of carrots (frozen or from the produce section)
red onion (chopped in large chunks)
1 green bell pepper (chopped)
pineapple chunks with juice (canned works)
garlic (~2 tsp minced)
1 cup terriyaki sauce
~4 chicken breast chicken breasts (of course rinsed off)

Directions: Dump everything in to the freezer bag. On bag, write "add 1/4 c terriyaki sauce to crock pot. Cook low 6-7 hours". Serve over rice. (See I told you it was simple!)

Now for the pictures. The following is a sort of timeline showing how I spent my 2 - 2 1/2 hours prepping for ALL of my meals. 

Step 1: Label all bags with name of meal, crock pot instructions

Step 2: Cut up all veggies

Step 3: Chicken from Sam's cut up (because the pieces are usually pretty big)

Step 4: Using pitcher to hold bag, start fill bag with ingredients, including chicken

Step 5: This is what you will end up with

Step 6: Throw everything in the freezer!

Step 7: Clean up! You might end up with a sink like this, but I promise it's worth it - and hey, all of this can be recycled :) 

 Happy cooking!!