Turkey Burgers with Orange Mustard Glaze

Turkey Burgers with Orange Mustard Glaze

I have a horrible attention span. When I was younger it was much better. As I've gotten older it seems to have gone downhill. It's particularly bad with regards to books and television. I have a bad habit of watching part of a season of a tv show and then stopping. Since my husband and I rarely watch live television I am able to look up the ending to most of the past seasons of shows that I catch up on online. I tend to do the same with books. I will read 3/4 of a book and then skim the rest. Part of the problem is that I have very high expectations. I will read pretty much any book, but I get bored with bad writing very easily. Honestly, there have been only a handful of books, television shows and movies within the last 10 years that have been able to hold my attention for long. I'm not sure if it has to do with me getting older or plots getting worse. Either way my attention seems to be going rapidly downhill. Luckily cooking still holds my interest for hours at a time. That's part of the reason that I love it, it changes every time I make a recipe. Today I tried a new recipe for Turkey Burgers with Orange Mustard Glaze from the Food Network Magazine.

Marble Arch Huntington, WV

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 6 servings. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. First I did not make 6 - 1/2 pound burgers. That is a lot of meat and my two kids are in finicky eating stages currently. Instead I made 4 burgers and they were about 1/3 pound each. For the grilling I used my indoor electric grill, I am still waiting for my husband to fix our outdoor electric grill. I made my own hamburger buns and used heirloom tomatoes for topping. The only type of paprika I had in my cupboard was smoked paprika, so that is what I used.

Marble Arch Huntington, WV

The glaze for these burgers was delicious. It was a perfect combination of sweet and spicy. If you like your food on the mild side I would suggest seeding the jalapenos. You could also decrease or leave out the chili powder. My kids chose to eat their burgers with the pickles on the burgers instead of the glaze. It was a nice way to make the recipe kid friendly.

For the recipe go to Turkey Burgers with Orange Mustard Glaze.

Turkey Burgers with Orange Mustard Glaze

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A simple turkey burger recipe with orange jalapeno mustard glaze. A nice combination of sweet and spicy, plus lower in fat than beef burgers.

Preparation Time: 0h, 25m

Total Time: 0h, 40m

Yield: Serves 6

Recipe for Sweet and Hot Baked Beans

Sweet and Hot Baked Beans

My family loves beans. Three times a day my husband eats some type of beans as part of his meals. He is great about eating an array of beans every week and has lost over 30 pounds due to his good eating habits. My son and I try to eat beans at lunch every day, he loves black beans with feta and could eat them every day if given the chance. Since we live in West Virginia we also eat a ton of pinto beans, we love them. Given that beans are such a large part of our weekly diet I try to come up with new recipes and bean dishes so we don't get bored. Last week I tried a new recipe from the April/May 2013 issue of Taste of Home magazine for Sweet and Hot Baked Beans.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 5 hours and 20 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 12 servings. I didn't make too many changes to the original recipe. For the beans I used cannellini beans since they were the type available. I allowed the beans to cook for 6 hours on low and used sweet onions for the onions called for in the recipe.

These beans turned out really well. They were a nice combination of sweet and spicy and made enough for three separate meals for my family of 4. My husband and I enjoyed the recipe the most since the spice from the jalapenos was a little more geared towards adults. However, my youngest decided to eat the beans over rice the next day and loved them. The only complaint I heard in my house was that my husband would have preferred if the onions were sauteed and caramelized before being added to the crock-pot.

For the recipe go to Sweet and Hot Baked Beans.

Nacho Burgers with Homemade Hamburger Buns

Nacho Burgers with Homemade Hamburger Buns

Burgers. The word can mean a whole paragraph to a lot of people. Growing-up my dad was very lacking in the cooking department, so much so that he was able to ruin boxed macaroni and cheese on multiple occasions. However, he completely redeemed himself when in came to the grill. Not just any grill, it had to be charcoal and it had to be done just so. I'm not exaggerating, there was a whole art. The hamburgers that my dad made on the grill where a treat and one of my favorite foods growing-up. I didn't think I would ever meet another man so much in love with his grill and grilling. Then I met my husband. Over the years I have heard rant after rant after rant about the superiority of a charcoal grill and how great hamburgers can be when done right. In the summer we still grill a lot, but in the winter I have moved our grilling indoors. I agree with my husband and dad that the taste isn't as great, but my feet stay warm and the burgers are still delicious even when done on my indoor open faced electric grill. In the summer we will go back to the giant grill and side smoker, but in the meantime we will enjoy our chicken and beef inside. This week I tried a new recipe for Nacho Burgers from the March 2013 issue of Food and Wine magazine.

Gluten Free Version of Nacho Burgers

This recipe has 7 ingredients in the salsa, 8 in the cheese sauce and 7 ingredients for the actual burgers. It takes 35 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make a few changes to the recipe. First as I try to always do I ground my own beef. It really takes very little time to grind your own meat either in a food processor or like with the attachment I use on my mixer. The texture is phenomenal and the quality is significantly superior. Instead of using store bought buns I made my hamburger buns from scratch. They are easy to make and are great for sandwiches. Since I eat gluten free I substituted brown rice flour for the all-purpose in the cheese sauce. When making the sauce add a little bit of milk at a time in order for the sauce to thicken correctly. If you add the milk all at once it will be too thin. I substituted non-fat milk for the milk in recipe since it is the only milk we keep in the house. I cooked the burgers on my indoor electric open faced grill. The cooking time was slightly longer, especially since I make sure that my burgers temp correctly since my kids are eating them.

Food and Wine magazine claim that these are the best burgers ever. Hmm. I did think that the toppings were delicious, the cheese sauce was nice and the salsa was great both on the burger and with the chips as a side. However, it would be a stretch to say it is the best burger I've ever had. The actual patty is just plain beef, no fillings, no nothing. I think that the recipe could be improved by adding more to the patty itself, such as cayenne, garlic powder, ancho something that keeps the flavor but also adds a little bit of moisture. It would be nice if the cheese sauce was in the burger instead of on top, incorporating the cheese or adding more to the burger itself would take this burger from being okay to being great.

For the recipe go to Nacho Burgers.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken

Today was organization day for my cupboards. I try to keep my kitchen as clean as I can and bleach multiples times a day. However, my pantry cupboards go through phases. I will be great about keeping them clean during the summer in order that I have room for fruits and veggies that I have canned. By winter they have turned into chaos. One of the reasons always seems to be that when I come home from the grocery store I am so tired of dealing with lines, coupons you name it that I just don't have the effort to organize everything before putting it away. So everything gets stuffed into the cupboard and I have to search to find what I need when I'm cooking. Today I spent three hours cleaning and organizing everything in my pantry. I discovered that I had a number of ingredients that I had forgotten that I purchased which will be great to go into next weeks menu plan. This week I have been making a number of dishes using items from the freezer which I cleaned out last week. Earlier in the week I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken from the October 2012 issue of Family Circle magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 5 minutes of prep, 6 hours of cooking on high and makes 12 servings. Since I eat gluten free I did make a number of changes. First instead of serving the pulled chicken in buns as a sandwich I served it over brown rice. I have tried a number of gluten free bun brands and they have failed to impress me, I would rather just eat my meals over rice or quinoa. Instead of using brown sugar I used local grown honey. For sweetening I prefer using honey since it is natural and using local honey is supposed to help with allergies (whether it actually does I don't know, but it is worth a shot). Instead of using boneless skinless thighs, I used bone-in thighs which I took the skin off of and removed the bones before pulling the chicken. I prefer keeping the bone in thighs since it gives the finished meat a better flavor. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two kids ate their servings on hamburger buns and loved it. I liked that it worked well over brown rice, which turned out to be a nice gluten free option. My husband thought that the meat became a little dry after sitting in the fridge, so it is best enjoyed the same night or make sure to add additional liquid when re-heating. The dryness could also be avoided by using all thighs instead of breasts and thighs since breast meat is much lower in fat and doesn't have as much moisture.

For the recipe go to BBQ Pulled Chicken. (registration required)

Stewed Beans

As I have talked about before we eat a lot of beans in our house. I love that beans can be used in so many different ways and that they are a great source of protein. It doesn't hurt that they are also inexpensive and make for numerous leftovers. When I first met my husband he had really only eaten pinto and black beans. Pinto beans are very popular in West Virginia and almost any home cook has a recipe. Having grown-up in Seattle I had never really made anything other than chickpeas and kidney beans in vegetarian chili. Luckily after we got married I learned that there are a vast array of beans that can be used in so many different recipes. One of my favorite ways to prepare beans is stewed, it is easy and delicious. Last week I tried a new recipe for Stewed Beans from issue Number 152 of Saveur magazine, which looked like a great vegetarian meal option.

This recipe has 17 ingredients. It takes 2 hours of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 10-12 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I did adjust some of the cooking times on the recipe. I cooked the onion mixture for a full twenty minutes to ensure that the onions fully caramelized before adding the spices. Additionally, my total cooking time was 1/2 hour longer than suggested. I tasted the beans as the recipe was written and I felt that the chickpeas needed a longer cooking time so I put them back on the stove for an additional 30 minutes. Finally, this recipe will need a lot of salt added once it is completed. The flavor is delicious, but it definitely needs salt to bring out the flavors fully. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

While this recipe takes a bit of planning and cooking time the results were worth the time spent. The beans were very flavorful and my whole family, including my two boys enjoyed them. My husband added hot sauce to his serving and it really did make the beans taste even better. I would suggest this addition if you like spicier foods as it really did bring out the taste of the beans. Overall a great vegan recipe full of protein and makes enough for multiple meals. 

For the recipe go to Stewed Beans.

Gluten Free Confetti Cornbread

Baking is one of my favorite past times. Even when everything else in my life is in chaos, baking is my outlet. I have talked before about how I deal with my stress by going into the kitchen and baking or cooking something for my family. It seems the older that I get the more that this trait seems to be appearing. My kids are both at stages where they fight all the time. Literally today it really did seem that the entire day they were fighting. I would love to say that I am one of those perfect mothers that never seems to be phased by their children's behavior. I'm not. When my kids get into these moods, I deal with the situation, give time-outs etc. and then turn to the kitchen and I bake. My kids have even begun to realize how mad I am based on the type of thing that I'm baking. Cookies means that I will only be angry for a little while. However, if mommy starts making a complicated pie or new recipe than they had better let me breath for a while. The hardest thing since going gluten free has been to re-adjust all my baking to no longer using wheat flour as a base. I have had a number of misses, but slowly I have become more confident in my gluten free baking skills. Recently, I tried a new recipe for Confetti Cornbread from All You magazine, which looked like a perfect baking recipe to make gluten free.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 35 minutes of baking, 25 minutes of prep and makes 24 pieces. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. Obviously since I made this recipe gluten free I made some significant changes. First instead of using all-purpose wheat flour I used a combination of brown rice and sorghum flours. I am happy to report that my local super store now has a large selection of gluten free flours and I am very thankful that even in my city I am able to find everything without having to pay a ton. I decided to keep part of the seeds from the jalapeno and add them to the cornbread. The extra bit of spice helped to enhance the flavor. In order to prevent my cornbread from burning I tented the pan the last 10 minutes of cooking. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I have tried a lot of gluten free recipes in the last couple of months. Some have turned out spectacular. Other recipes have had to literally be thrown in the trash. This recipe modified well to being gluten free. Since there was fat from the butter and 3 eggs the cornbread didn't end up dry. I would recommend adding a small amount of milk to the batter if it is too dry due to the gluten free flour. A lot of recipes require additional liquid when being converted to gluten free.

For the recipe go to Gluten Free Confetti Cornbread.

Gluten Free Cheddar Chive Corn Muffins

This has been a long day. I started cooking and baking yesterday and finally sat down this evening. Everything turned out great thankfully and I even had time to do a a craft with my two kids. Index cards, glitter and ribbon can make great place cards and my kids had a blast helping me make them. I am also happy to report that my first gluten free Thanksgiving went off without hitch. My gluten free pie crust was wonderful and the coffee cake muffins I made for breakfast were delicious. I went non-traditional and made Cornish game hens instead of turkey and my two boys devoured them. They were definitely a hit. Now that I have made Thanksgiving gluten free I am much more confident with my gluten free baking skills and I feel so relaxed. It was  great Thanksgiving. Gluten free baking can be hit or miss. Sometimes things turn out great and other times they are a disaster. Recently I tried a new recipe for Cheddar-Chive Corn Muffins from the December issue of Food and Wine which I made into a gluten free breakfast for my family.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 12 muffins. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I chose to use red pepper jelly since that was the variety available at the store I shopped at. Instead of the 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour I used a gluten free all-purpose flour that uses coconut flour. I also used muffin liners since gluten free muffins tend to fall apart easier than those with gluten. Finally, I ended up with 15 muffins instead of the 12 stated by the recipe. I followed the remainder of the recipe.

The pepper jelly/cream cheese spread in this recipe was delicious. I served the leftover jelly with crackers and it made a great spread. The muffins turned out well, they rose effectively and were not dry like a lot of gluten free recipes can be. The cheese made the muffins savory and slightly sweet, with the pepper jelly making a great compliment.

For the recipe go to Cheddar Chive Corn Muffins.

Gluten Free Jalapeno and Cheddar Cornbread

I really love bread and baked goods. As far back as I can remember I have wanted donuts over potato chips, bread over Cheetos. My mother on the hand had a rather large potato chip and popcorn obsession. She could take or leave bread, but anything salty she would go to town on. When I had my doctor confirm my fears that gluten was the reason I was having a vast array of problems I had my food life flash before me. No more bread or baked goods, I was devastated. However, I then got determined. There was no reason I couldn't still eat the foods I love with a few changes. So I set about re-working recipes to be gluten free. I have been lucky that I have had far more successes than failures. Next week is Thanksgiving and then Christmas will be here before you know it. I am a little nervous about dealing with being gluten free during the holidays. I have a major sweet tooth and I know that almost all the food will be things I can't have. So I have been making all my favorites at home modified. Last week I made pumpkin bread and muffins and they were delicious. Next week I am going to attempt a gluten free pumpkin pie. One of my favorite baked goods is cornbread. Cornbread with butter and honey is so good! Last month I tried a new recipe for Gluten Free Jalapeno and Cheddar Cornbread from the November issue of the Food Network Magazine, which looked easy and flavorful.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes a total of 1 hour, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 6 to 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and I made no ingredient modifications. I found a great gluten free flour that uses coconut flour. It is perfect for gluten free baked goods, my two boys can't tell that they are eating gluten free. I have a horrible time with cast-iron skillets. Growing up in the Northwest I never owned one until I moved to West Virginia. The first year my husband and I were married my mother-in-law gave me a cast iron skillet. I washed it and it rusted. That was a lesson I learned quickly. I also decided that I am horrible about keeping cast iron seasoned. So I rarely use cast-iron skillets, I just can't seem to get the hang of them. For this recipe I made muffins instead. The recipe made a total of 12 muffins, which I cooked at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Make sure not to overly stir the batter. Stir just until combined, it will make your cornbread rise more effectively. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

For gluten free cornbread this turned out pretty well. I would suggest a few changes though. First, I would not seed the jalapenos. The cornbread needed more flavor and keeping the seeds would definitely provide this. Second, I would add more fat into the batter. I always use bacon grease melted into the bottom of the pan or muffin tin. This method would definitely help this recipe. Most cornbread recipes have at least 1/4 cup of butter, so the fat in this recipe needs to be increased. Finally, instead of cheddar cheese I would use Monterey Jack. The cheddar cheese just ends up tasting a little on the bland side. With these changes I think this recipe could be a great gluten free option.

For the recipe go to Gluten Free Jalapeno and Cheddar Cornbread.

Barbecue-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple Salad

My family loves pork. I'm pretty sure my husband could be a perfect vegetarian, as long as he could eat pork. I think that he needs to invent a term for this, maybe porcinatarian. He would be a perfect poster child for this movement. Given my family's love of everything pork related I have learned to make a large number of pork recipes. Some have turned out great, like any type of pork taco, others such as a curried pork tenderloin recipe I tried last year where pretty horrible. Bacon is always a popular option. If I mention a dish includes bacon my family will come running to the table. There is one other food that my two boys in particular absolutely love, sweet peppers. My oldest has been known to eat an entire red pepper like an apples, he loves them. Recently, as I was looking through the May issue of Woman's Day magazine I came across a recipe for Barbecue-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple Salad, which looked delicious and low in fat.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes a total of 30 minutes, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of these ingredients and I made no ingredient modifications. I did run out of ancho chili powder, so I used a combination of ancho and chipotle chili powder. Since I was making this recipe for my children, I made two different salsas. In one I used jalapeno and in the other I did not. I do this with a lot of recipes, make a slight modification for the part of the servings for my kids. That way we are still all eating the same dish, just with a milder version for the younger tastebuds. My tenderloin took exactly 18 minutes to cook and then 5 minutes of rest. I let my salsa sit in the fridge for an hour. I would definitely recommend letting the salsa sit in the fridge and chill, it enhances the flavor. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I was really impressed with this recipe. The combination of sweet and spicy was delicious and even my two boys loved the pineapple salad. I like how the pork is simply seasoned, without a needless amount of extra spices. I would suggest that if you don't like a lot of spice reducing the amount of chili powder. Since my family tried to eat low-fat dinners most of the week, I really like that this recipe only has 8 grams of fat and 37 grams of protein. Overall, a very easy and nutritious dinner recipe.

For the recipe go to Barbecue-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin.

Chicken-Peanut Stir-Fry

Stir-Fry is one of my favorite dishes to prepare. Growing up in Seattle I was lucky to be surrounded by numerous restaurants and an entire international district full of delicious food. Best of all were all the ethnic grocery stores that were literally everywhere. I never had problems finding any ingredients and was fortunate to have friends moms teach me to make dishes that were far from my comfort zone. These were the foundations for my love of cooking. I tried just about every type of recipe that I had someone that could teach me to prepare and would spend hours looking through the various groceries stores for ingredients that I had never heard of. Some ingredients I loved and some not as much. An example is gooey duck, I have tried it more than once and still can't get a taste for it. One of my friends from back home though insists that it can be delicious. When I moved to West Virgina I was in for a shock. There was one international market in my area and a small Lebanese market. A couple of years ago the international market closed so I am down to one store to discover hard to find ingredients. I have also discovered how generous my friends and family are back home. Numerous times I have received care packages filled with ingredients not available in my area. I have also successfully converted my in-laws to branch past the food that they were used to eating and discover how great new foods can be. I was pleased to discover that the June issue of the Food Network Magazine had a recipe for Chicken-Peanut Stir-Fry, which looked delicious and easy to prepare.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 25 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had to go to multiple grocery stores to find all the ingredients. Nappa cabbage can be hit or miss to find in my area and I picked a week when it was sparse. Luckily I was able to find it at the third store I tried. I had no problems finding any of the other ingredients. Instead of basmati rice I used the jasmine rice I already had in my cupboard. My chicken took longer to cook than the time suggested by the recipe. I think that I might have cut my chicken slightly larger than suggested and hence why it took longer to cook. Finally, the bunch of scallions that I bought was very big so instead of using the whole bunch I used four scallions in total. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys loved this recipe and ate their whole servings. I love that the recipe has 35 grams of protein per serving and is lower in sodium than most stir-fry recipes. Since the soy sauce and peanuts were salted I found that I didn't have to add additional salt, which was a pleasant change of pace. This recipe states that it makes 4 servings and it makes exactly that amount. There was just enough for my family to eat for one meal with no leftovers. If you are serving more than four people or want leftovers I would suggest doubling the recipe. Overall an easy Stir-fry recipe that even people that have never made stir-fry before would be comfortable preparing.

For the recipe go to Chicken-Peanut Stir-Fry.

Slow Cooker Lamb and Cilantro Curry

With the weather turning warmer my house starts to turn into a sauna. We live in a great old brick house, the only problem is that it traps heat in the winter and loses heat in the winter. It's not horrible until I turn on the oven for hours at a time, then it is rather unpleasant. The high humidity doesn't help the situation either, so in the middle of summer I turn to my crockpot. I'm not a fall/winter crockpot user. I actually find that I use my slow-cooker the most in the hot summer months, it does wonders for keeping my kitchen cool when the heat rises. Since I make crockpot recipes so frequently throughout the year, I am always looking for new interesting recipes and I was happy when the march issue of Family Circle magazine had a recipe for Slow Cooker Lamb and Cilantro Curry.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 25 minutes of prep and 8 hours on low in the crockpot and makes 6 servings. Due to my forgetfulness (thanks to my kids :) I actually ending up buying pork, instead of lamb. I definitely think I need more sleep...So needless to say I made a major modification to this recipe and used pork shoulder. I always braise my meat before placing it into the slow-cooker. This recipe doesn't have that step, but I highly recommend it. Braising helps to seals in the flavor and moisture in meat and makes all the difference for keeping meat moist. Instead of pulling off the leaves of the cilantro (which is time consuming) I chopped the tops off and placed them in the blender. Finally I used a fresh lemon for the 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. One large lemon makes about 3 tablespoons of juice. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

This recipe is very easy to prepare. Even with my large modification to the meat the end result turned out well. The pork worked well with the flavors of the curry. I would recommend adding more curry powder if you are a fan of a strong curry taste. This dish only has 1 teaspoon of curry powder, which leaves a mild curry flavor, for bolder flavor I would suggest adding up a tablespoon of your favorite curry powder. Overall, a very easy crockpot recipe that made enough for multiple meals.

For the recipe go to Slow Cooker Lamb and Cilantro Curry.

Food and Wine Nacho Burgers

Burgers are a popular food in my house. Not plain tasteless burgers, but burgers that are thick and juicy and full of toppings. Turkey, chicken, beef, veggie, you name it, my family will devour it with zealous. In the summer I make burgers approximately once a week, but in the fall and winter I scale back my burger making. It has been months since I've tried a new burger recipe and I figured it was about time to try a new one. The January 2012 issue of Food and Wine Magazine had a recipe for Nacho Burgers that looked full of flavor and perfect for a cold weather burger recipe.

This recipe has 6 ingredients in the salsa, 7 ingredients in the cheese sauce and 7 ingredients in the burgers. The  recipe takes 35 minutes of total time and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients with the exception of the blue corn chips which I didn't notice I needed before preparing the recipe. One thing that the recipe neglects to mention is to add the milk gradually to the flour and butter in the cheese sauce. If the milk is added all at once the cheese sauce won't thicken properly. I found that my sauce took a little longer than five minutes to fully thicken and another 5-10 minutes of cooling. I chose to grill my burgers on an indoor grill since it is winter and honestly I find it much easier. Additionally I made my burgers smaller since half of them were for my kids. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These burgers turned out delicious. The burger recipe is your basic burger recipe, it is the sauce and salsa that make this dish so yummy. The cheese sauce is the best part of the recipe and was very popular with my three-year-old. It also re-heated well the next day with leftovers, and even worked with the veggie burgers I had in the freezer. A great fall/winter burger recipe with delicious toppings.

For the recipe go to Nacho Burgers.

Woman's Day Beef Soft Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

Since my oldest started kindergarten this year, I seem to have less and less time to spend on meal preps. I always thought that as soon as one of my sons was in school, my days would get much easier. Boy was I wrong! My oldest gets home from school at 3 and my house turns into utter chaos as I try to get dinner on the table by the time my husband comes home from work at around 4. Since my husband starts work at 7 we eat a lot earlier than most households. I have tried switching out dinner time later, which just led to both my boys and husband eating way too many snacks and skipping dinner. One of the best solutions I have found is making a slow cooker meal at least once a week. This way I have one day where I don't have to run around trying to finish things up and have time to spend on homework etc. The November issue of Woman's Day magazine had a recipe for Beef Soft Tacos with Pineapple Salsa, which looked like a great combination of citrus and beef and a great way to save time on dinner prep. 

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 8-10 hours of cook and prep, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did have to make a major modification to the ingredients due to lack of availability at my local grocery store. I have never seen flank steak, so I chose to substitute flat iron steak instead. Honestly, that is one of my husband's favorite cuts of beef, so he was very happy with the change. Additionally, I always braise my meat before I place it in the crockpot. The flavor and juices are locked in and it really does make a difference in the resulting taste. I always use my crockpot on low. There is nothing wrong with using your crockpot on high, I just find that I like the flavor of meat more when it has been on a lower temp for a longer amount of time. I chose to add the ancho chili powder, since it is now readily available in my area and I love the flavor. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written. 

As with most taco recipes, this dish was well received by my family. I loved the pineapple salsa, it gave the beef a great flavor. The flat iron steak was a delicious substitution and turned out tender and moist. I chose to seed the jalapeno since I was cooking for kids, but the recipe would well with the seeds left in as well. Overall, a very easy crockpot recipe, perfect for a busy weeknight meal. 

For the recipe go to Beef Soft Tacos with Pineapple Salsa.

Taste of Home Easy Ropa Vieja Stew

This is my favorite time of year. I love when the weather turns colder, the leaves fall and I pull out my crockpot. With two busy boys my life times to be chaotic at the best of times, and especially around dinner. I love how my crockpot can help me make delicious meals that I can prep, put in the slowcooker and the rest is done for me. Crockpot cooking is especially helpful during the cooler months, when a hot home cooked meal provides welcome relief from the cold weather outdoors. During the fall and winter months I normally use my slowcooker about once or twice a week. I've tried just about every type of crockpot meal and I was surprised when I saw a recipe for Easy Ropa Vieja Stew in the November issue of Taste of Home magazine, which looked different than any slowcooker recipe I had tried before.

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It makes 8 servings and takes approximately 25 minutes of prep and 6 hours of cooking. All the ingredients were easy to find at my local grocery store and I didn't have to make any modifications. Be very careful when de-seeding the habanero pepper, it is very hot and will burn your eyes if the oils makes contact with them. I served the finished stew with rice, but it would also be delicious served alone. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written, with no modifications.

I was very pleased with the taste of this finished stew. My whole family enjoyed this recipe, even my two young sons. It made more than enough for leftovers, and it re-heated well the next day for my husbands lunch. A great, easy crockpot recipe perfect for the cooler months ahead.

For the recipe go to Easy Ropa Vieja Stew.

Everday Food Corn and Zucchini Orzo Salad

Pasta is a stable in my household. I never have to worry about having too many leftovers that won't get eaten if a dish includes any type of pasta, someone in my house will eat it. My love of pasta goes back to my childhood. Growing up my family didn't have a lot of money, so pasta was a common meal. Luckily my mother was a very good cook and almost every meal she made was delicious. I especially loved pasta and she invented a recipe for Asian noodles, that to this day is one of the best dishes I have ever tasted. My two boys have inherited my love of all things pasta and literally cheer when they realize a pasta dish is for dinner. Recently, the September issue of Everyday Food magazine had a recipe for Corn and Zucchini Orzo Salad, which looked delicious and a great way to use pasta as a side dish.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. I makes 6 servings and takes a total of 35 minutes, all of which is active cooking time. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. Make sure to add lots of salt to the pasta water when cooking the orzo or the dish will be very under-salted. Even with the pasta water being adequately salted, I still had to add a decent amount of salt to bring out the full flavor of the zucchini and fresh corn. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

If your trying to feed a crowd this is a great recipe. The recipe states that this makes 6 servings, but they would be 6 very large servings. I would say that this salad could easily serve 12 or more people. This dish was light and delicious the day it was made, but was even better tasting after it had sat in the fridge overnight and soaked up all the flavors from the dressing. I didn't feel that the taste of the jalapeno was very apparent. I would suggest either adding another seeded jalapeno, or if you enjoy spicy dishes, keeping the seeds in for extra flavor. Overall, a light vegetable and pasta salad, that makes enough leftovers for another meal. 

For the recipe go to Corn and Zucchini Orzo Salad.

Everyday Food Classic Roasted Salsa

My two boys are huge tomato fans. They have been known to take tomatoes out of the fridge and eat them like apples. My husband and I love tomatoes as part of recipes, but aren't big fans of the fruit/vegetable raw. The compromise that I have been able to find that pleases everyone is salsa. I make salsa at least once every couple of weeks and it has become a stable in my household. A recent issue of Everyday Food magazine had a recipe for Classic Roasted Salsa, which looked simple and a perfect way to use tomatoes.

The majority of the work for this recipe is done in the broiler. My kitchen broiler is still broken, so I used my toaster oven. It took me 20 minutes to adequately blister the vegetables, instead of the 8 minutes suggested by the recipe. The remainder of the prep work is done in the food processor. My garlic cloves were on the large side, so my salsa had more garlic than if I had used smaller cloves. I made no other modificiations to the recipe.

This salsa has a nice clean taste. The recipe is on the spicy side, if you want to cut down on the heat the jalapenos could be seeded after roasting. My husband appreciated the spiciness and preferred that the jalapenos were unseeded. This is a great, simple salsa recipe that would be great for a party or a homemade snack.

For the recipe go to Everyday Food Classic Roasted Salsa.