Ingredient: salt

Savory Herb/Apple-Bacon Burgers

Today I have tried to incorporate another favorite ‘recipe’, this one is derived from the taste of my mother’s turkey/chicken stuffing. Most homemakers of her time did not have the luxury of opening their kitchen ‘spice drawer’ with all its many little bottles. Something I remember well, was this brown bag my mother always kept in the bottom of one of her kitchen cupboards. When I looked inside, what I found was some dried, prickly plant that had a wonderful smell. To this day, I’m not sure what it was, but every time she made stuffing she would crumble some of it into her mixture. For years, I have tried to recreate that exact taste in my own bread stuffing. The Savory Herb & Apple-Zucchini Bacon Burger   filling seems to have captured that ‘taste of a memory’ fairly close I think. The mixture seems to work well in anyone of the three meats used in the ‘Basic Meat Patty’  recipe from the previous blog in my ‘Stuffed Burger Series’.

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 Savory Herb & Apple-Zucchini Bacon Burgers
With the addition of three more items added to the original savory herb stuffing recipe, you have one more tasty 'stuffed' burger to try.
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Servings
Ingredients
Savory Herb Stuffing
Apple-Zucchini Bacon Stuffing
Servings
Ingredients
Savory Herb Stuffing
Apple-Zucchini Bacon Stuffing
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Savory Herb Stuffing
  1. Boil potato in salted water. Drain & mash; set aside. Saute onion, celery, garlic, mushrooms & seasoning in margarine. Remove from heat. Combine with fine bread crumbs, mashed potato & chicken broth.
  2. This stuffing will be enough for 8 burgers so you will need to double the 'Basic Meat Patty' recipe, using the meat of your choice. Divide stuffing mixture into 8 and place in the center of 8 meat patties. Flatten filling slightly, then place remaining 8 patties on top. Seal edges well.
  3. Place burgers on a greased piece of foil & place on a preheated barbecue grill over medium heat. Close lid & grill. Halfway through cooking time, turn & place a slice of cheese on each burger. Finish cooking, remove from grill & serve on slightly grilled buns. Lettuce & tomato slices with a little mustard all add to the nice flavor of this combo.
Apple-Zucchini Bacon Stuffing
  1. Using the SAVORY HERB STUFFING recipe, OMIT the MASHED POTATO. Instead, add the apple & zucchini; saute with the veg/seasoning mixture. Combine all with crisply fried bacon & chicken broth.
  2. Complete following steps 2 & 3 from above recipe.

Stuffed Burgers

RESHAPING THE BASIC BURGER

It’s only mid May and the enticing smell of the neighborhood barbecues drifts through the air. Spring has felt more like summer due to the high temperatures we are having.

Burgers have long been a summer barbecue staple so why not put a new spin on it. My first thought goes to using the same spice combination for a variety of ground meats such as beef, chicken/turkey, or pork. Next make a filling that would taste great in whatever meat you feel like serving or better still use a variety.

Over the last couple of weeks I did some recipe development  on seven different ideas to simplify  making  ‘Stuffed Burgers’.   In my next few blogs I would like to share these recipes with you.  Here is the list:   > Moroccan            >  Apple-Zucchini Bacon            > Savory-Herb                               > Seafood/Avocado &  Spinach/Cheese Portobello Mushroom Burgers                                                  > Mushroom-Cheese Stuffed Ground Salmon    > Garden Grain Burgers    

The focus of my blog is very often on the ‘Taste of a Memory’  so I decided to start my stuffed burger series with a memory from Morocco.

In 2014, my husband Brion and I enjoyed a holiday travelling Spain, Morocco, and Portugal. I had never really paid to much attention to the interesting flavor of the Moroccan spices before that trip. Since then I have made numerous dishes that included them as we have come to really enjoy that flavor.

Key Moroccan spices include aniseed, black pepper, cayenne, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, ginger, paprika, parsley, saffron and turmeric.      

Morocco is like a tree whose roots lie in Africa but whose leaves breath in European air. This is a metaphor that has been used to describe a country that is profoundly traditional and strongly drawn to the modern. It is this double-sided, seemingly contradictory disposition that gives Morocco its cultural richness. The country is slightly larger in area than California. Unlike most other African countries, it produces all the food it needs to feed its people. Located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the country is rich in fish and seafood. Beef is not plentiful, so meals are usually built around lamb or poultry. Another Moroccan staple is couscous, made from fine grains of a wheat product called semolina. It is served many different ways with vegetables, meat or seafood.

In today’s  Moroccan Burgers, I used beef and turkey patties, stuffing them with a spicy fruit filling. Strange as it seems, Brion and I found mustard   to be a great condiment to use on them.  In keeping with the Moroccan theme, couscous makes a nice side dish however you choose to prepare it. Your comments are most welcome.                                       

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 Stuffed Burgers
I used the same spice combination in the basic meat patty recipe for whatever meat I chose to use ( beef, chicken/turkey, pork), to keep it simple. These meat patties were then used to prepare the SAVORY-HERB, APPLE-ZUCCHINI BACON, & MOROCCAN burgers.
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Servings
Ingredients
Basic Meat Patties
Moroccan Spicy Fruit Filling
Easy Couscous Side Dish
Servings
Ingredients
Basic Meat Patties
Moroccan Spicy Fruit Filling
Easy Couscous Side Dish
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Basic Meat Patties
  1. Place ground meat in a large bowl & combine with spices. Mix well. Shape into 8 - 1/4" thick patties. Place equal amounts of prepared filling in center of each of 4 patties. Top with remaining 4 patties & press gently to seal, enclosing filling completely.
  2. Place burgers in a greased foil disposable pan. Preheat barbecue grill to a medium heat, place pan on grates & close lid. Turn burgers once during cooking time, (do not overcook as the meat is only 1/4" thick on each side).
  3. Serve on a Ciabatta bun (or hamburger bun of your choice).
Moroccan Spicy Fruit Filling
  1. Combine dates, apricots, raisins, apple & orange juice in a small bowl. Season with spices. Mix well; set aside to let marinate for a few hours. Divide between 4 burger patties & complete as above.
Couscous Side Dish
  1. Heat 1/2 tsp olive oil in small saucepan. Add next 4 ingredients. Cook & stir until green onion is softened. Add honey. Heat & stir until onion is coated.
  2. Add broth. Bring to a boil. Add couscous & 1 tsp olive oil. Stir. Cover. Remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes without lifting the lid. Fluff with fork; stirring in remaining ingredients adding a bit of butter if it seems to solid. Makes about 2 3/4 cups.
Recipe Notes
  • I found it really made this whole burger idea easy if I made 908 grams (2lbs) of each of the 3 types of ground meat into patties. Portion the meat with a scoop into 56 grams (2 oz.) balls, flatten & place in a plastic container, layered singly between a non-stick waxed paper to freeze.
  • When it comes time to use, take out the number of patties you require for the meal. Prepare the filling of choice, stuff & cook. What could be easier than that for a quick & easy great tasting meal! 

Picnic ‘Oven’ Fried Chicken

In my opinion, no one could ever surpass my mother’s cooking. I think the only thing she ever made that I didn’t like was Cream of Wheat cereal, which really doesn’t count. Although we raised chickens, pigs and cattle, the meal we ate the most was always chicken. The reason being, whatever brought the most money when sold was raised for the family income. No matter how many times my mother served chicken it was always amazingly good.

I especially remember those Sundays when our family, along with some family friends, would drive up into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where we would just enjoy the peacefulness and great scenery. Mom would make her glorious fried chicken & potato salad. Without even realizing it, we were enjoying an experience that was truly a ‘piece of heaven’.

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 Picnic Fried Chicken
Marinating the chicken overnight gives it a fantastic taste as well as making it extra tender.
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45-55 minutes
Passive Time 3 hrs or overnight
Servings
Ingredients
Marinade
Chicken
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45-55 minutes
Passive Time 3 hrs or overnight
Servings
Ingredients
Marinade
Chicken
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. In a small container, whisk together marinade ingredients. Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag, turn to coat & refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
  2. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Remove chicken from marinade; shake off any excess & discard. Transfer chicken to prepared baking sheet.
  3. Bake, uncovered for 45-55 minutes or until no longer pink inside when tested.

Spiced Chicken Stuffed Potato Loaf

In the early 1950’s, my father was able to purchase another piece of land about 4 miles from our home place. Between the two farms it became the equivalent of a ‘section’. Before this time, the cattle had to be moved to a community pasture in the foothills where they would have enough grass to graze on over the summer. At that time to transport them, you had no choice but to herd them down the road allowance for approximately 20-30 miles on foot. To say the least it was a long grueling event for both the cattle and family members.

The ‘other farm’, as we referred to it, had originally been a slaughter house for the town meat market. It consisted of one large building, corals and a few other buildings. There was a slough on the land which dad had converted to a ‘dug out’ where the cattle could go and drink freely. The land was used for grain crops where in turn the cattle could be pastured on.

One of my fondest memories about the other farm was our picnic lunches. In the summer when dad would be working on the land, instead of my mother just packing a lunch for him that he could take in the morning, she would fix a wonderful ‘picnic lunch’. At about 11:30 in the morning, mom would pack up the lunch she had prepared, complete with plates, silverware, a tablecloth, etc., and we would drive to the ‘other farm’. There was just the right amount of space between two grain buildings to set up a make-shift table and stools. We would put the table cloth down and spread out our little picnic ‘feast’. Dad would be so surprised and we would all enjoy our lunch immensely. Mom always knew how to make the most simple things fun for us.

Lunch was always different from the your usual lunch box meal and my mother never seemed to be short on tasty ideas. I think you will enjoy trying this Spiced Chicken Stuffed Potato Loaf  the next time you you have a crowd to feed.

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 Spiced Chicken Stuffed Potato Loaf
A hearty chicken 'sandwich' rolled up and baked in a potato bread.
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1hr 35 mins
Passive Time 5 1/4 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
Marinade
Filling
Potato Bread Dough
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1hr 35 mins
Passive Time 5 1/4 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
Marinade
Filling
Potato Bread Dough
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. Butterfly chicken breasts & carefully pound to flatten. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine marinade ingredients; add chicken breast. Seal bag & turn to coat; refrigerate for 4 hours, turning occasionally. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a 9" baking dish with foil. Place chicken on foil & bake about 45 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove from oven, cool & chop.
  2. Cut broccoli into small florets & microwave for 1 minute. Boil potato, mash & cool. Fry bacon, drain & crumble. Chop chives.
  3. In a small bowl, combine yeast with lukewarm water; whisk until yeast is dissolved. Let stand about 3 minutes until foamy. Add butter, salt, sour cream & potato; mix well. Add bacon & chives; mix until just combined. Stir in flour, one cup at a time. When dough is completely blended, turn onto a lightly floured surface (using some of the remaining 1/4 cup flour). Knead dough about 10 minutes, until smooth & elastic. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap & let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Remove risen dough from bowl, turn onto lightly floured surface; roll dough to about a 12" X 15" rectangle. Place a large piece of parchment on a sheet pan. Roll dough onto a rolling pin then unroll onto parchment paper. Place 1/2 of the cheese down the center of dough, top with chicken, broccoli & remaining cheese. Fold short ends in about 1". Using parchment, fold one side over filling, overlapping with opposite side. Cover with plastic; allow to rise for 15 minutes while preheating oven to 375 F. Brush with egg wash. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.
Recipe Notes
  • If you prefer less dough to filling ratio; make half of the dough into 'potato pan rolls' for another time.
  • If you would like to serve with a quick 'sauce', combine a can of cream of mushroom soup with 1/2 can of milk.
  • To simplify the process, use purchased frozen bread dough or pizza crust.
  • Potato dough recipe adapted from girlversusdough.com

Oatmeal Spice Cake with Broiled Topping

In about 1956, Baker’s Angel Flake Coconut (General Mills) came up with the idea of ‘cut-up cakes’. My mother always had a love for cake decorating and this idea just added a whole new dimension. The company printed a little booklet with a year’s worth of cut-up cake directions.

The cakes were popular because no special tools or pans were needed. Cakes were baked from your own recipe or from cake mixes, usually in either a 13 x 9″ pan or two 8 or 9″ layers. After the cake was cooled, you followed a pattern given in the recipe booklet and cut the cake as directed with a knife, then put the pieces together to form the desired shape. The cake pieces were then covered with frosting, making it appear as one solid cake.

Most of the designs usually incorporated coconut into the decoration. It looked great and of course we loved it. This was the forerunner to the baking industry developing ‘character’ cake pans in shapes of anything imaginable.

Although this old fashioned oatmeal cake came from that time period, it was not used for one of these cut-up cakes. I just thought it would be nice to include it in this blog since it had that wonderful tasting broiled topping made with the well known ‘Angel Flake‘ coconut. This cake was so good but one minute too long under that broiler could destroy it!

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 Oatmeal Spice Cake with Broiled Topping
A dense, moist, classic oatmeal cake that has stood the test of time.
Votes: 2
Rating: 4.5
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 38 minutes
Passive Time 10 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
cake
Frosting
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 38 minutes
Passive Time 10 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
cake
Frosting
Votes: 2
Rating: 4.5
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Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, pour boiling water over oatmeal & margarine; let stand for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 9" baking dish. In a large bowl, beat eggs with sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla & oat mixture, blend well. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg & cinnamon. Combine flour mixture to creamed mixture, blending carefully. Pour into prepared baking pan; bake 35 minutes or until tests done. Cool for 10 minutes. Do not remove from pan. For Frosting: Combine all ingredients. Spread evenly over cake. Broil until frosting becomes bubbly. WATCH CAREFULLY! Let cake cool enough for the topping to be absorbed into the cake.

German Poppy Seed Coffee Cake

Today, March 28, was the birth date of my Mother. She passed away in 1978 at the age of sixty. Although 38 years have passed, it seems like it was only yesterday. She was truly an ‘Angel on Earth’, never to be forgotten by her family or by the people who’s lives she touched.

I have so many memories of her wonderful cooking and baking. In her honor today I decided to post a German Poppy Seed Coffee Cake.

Poppy seed has long been a popular ingredient in German and Austrian baked goods. Once again, as in the case of Easter bread, there are a great variety of versions. What always seemed to stick in my memory was that my mother’s poppy seed filling was never dry. It was almost as if the poppy seeds were in a vanilla pudding. If my memory serves me correct, she made it like a jelly roll.

Today I’m trying to re-create that ‘pudding filling’ and use it in a Bundt cake.

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 German Poppy Seed Coffee Cake
A tender sour cream coffee cake with a custard-like poppy seed filling.
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45-50 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
FILLING
CAKE
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45-50 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
FILLING
CAKE
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
FILLING
  1. In a saucepan, over medium heat, combine pudding powder, sugar, poppy seed & lemon zest with cold milk, stirring constantly until it begins to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes; remove from heat.
CAKE
  1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan. Using a hand held mixer on medium speed, beat sugar, margarine & eggs, scraping bowl occasionally, for 2 minutes. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt & walnuts. Fold into wet ingredients alternately with sour cream. Spread half of the cake batter in Bundt pan, pushing it slightly up the sides of pan. Spoon poppy/pudding mixture over cake batter. Gently spread remaining cake batter on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until tests done. Remove from oven, place a wire cooling rack over pan. Invert & remove pan. Serve with a dollop of Greek French Vanilla yogurt if desired or dust with icing sugar.

Easter Bread

With Easter right around the corner I couldn’t pass up the chance to once again try to create ‘the taste of a memory’.

It seems that every country as well as anyone who enjoys to make bread has their own version of ‘Easter Bread’. My mother’s Easter bread was baked in coffee cans, a beautiful yellow color and slightly sweet. As the saying goes, it was ‘to die for’. Somehow my sister and I can’t remember it having fruit or special flavorings but it was almost ‘cake like’ in taste and texture.

With my Easter ‘braid’, I’ve tried to capture that same texture as well as making some additions of citrus peel and flavorings. Not quite as memorable as my mother’s but a good second. Hopefully you will enjoy trying it.

Have a wonderful Easter!

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 Easter Bread
The pairing of anise with citrus gives this bread such a pleasant flavor.
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Passive Time 3 1/2 hours
Servings
loaves
Ingredients
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Passive Time 3 1/2 hours
Servings
loaves
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, warm water in microwave to lukewarm. Whisk in yeast & sugar; let stand about 10 minutes. With an electric mixer, beat together 3/4 cup sugar, eggs, oil, anise extract, lemon zest, lemon extract, salt & anise seed. Combine egg mixture, melted butter & milk with yeast mixture. In another bowl, combine 4 cups flour with mixed peel & add 1 cup at a time to wet mixture. Stir well after each addition. Turn dough out onto a floured surface & knead until smooth & elastic, about 5-6 minutes, adding remaining 1/2 cup flour if necessary. Coat a large bowl with oil. Place dough in bowl & turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap & set in a warm place to rise until it doubles in bulk. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Gently punch down dough & divide in half. Divide each portion into 3 ropes. Braid ropes to form loaves & let rise until doubled in size. If you prefer, you can brush with a little bit of beaten egg white. Preheat oven to 325 F. Bake until golden, about 40 minutes. If you choose to ice braids, cool completely before doing so.

Orange Bread French Toast with Strawberry Compote

When I was 2 and my older sister was 6, my parents made a move to a farming community in southern Alberta. The farm my parents were able to purchase had been neglected for many years and took strong commitment and perseverance to renew the land and dwellings. The morning after we arrived, we had our first snow storm, which caught us without any coal. Fortunately my father was able to get some for our winter use. Soon after, Dad made a trip back to our old homestead. He drove the tractor pulling the combine all the way to our new farm with only one stopover in a city half way in between, a distance
of 231 km (144 miles).

One of my mother’s brother’s had gone ahead driving a grain truck loaded with what furniture and possessions my folks were trying to move. Along the way, being the truck was not covered, the metal lid flew off Mom’s flour storage container. Another traveler came upon it lying at the side of the road and stopped and hung it on a fence post. When my father making his long journey on the tractor came by and recognized the lid, picked it up and brought it the rest of the way home.

In the spring, my folks had to burn weeds and brush from 8-10′ (2-3 m) high in order to find a suitable area to plant a vegetable garden. ‘Mixed’ farming was truly a necessity as success was totally dependent on ‘Mother Nature’ when it came to grain crops.

Cattle, pigs and chickens all came into the equation, meaning my parents never had any part of the year that could be a bit more relaxed. As a teenager, I never realized what a special privilege growing up as a farmer’s daughter really was. Coming home on the school bus and having to do ‘chores’ seemed so boring as opposed to being able to spend after school hours with your friends. As I look back on those times now, it all comes clear as to how treasured and valuable those life lessons were.

My parents farmed until 1974 when they retired. They have since both passed away leaving my three sisters, one brother and I with many treasured memories.

I remember my mother making this orange bread loaf. I thought it was so unique because it used the fresh orange zest. The flavor was so distinct along with the bread being wonderfully moist. This recipe was one that has remained with me over the years, long after I had left my parents home. One year, on a holiday in Hawaii the restaurant we were at was serving orange loaf made into french toast complimented with a strawberry compote. I brought the idea home with me and used it numerous times over the years in my food service career. This year my husband and I enjoyed it on Valentines Day, but I’m sure you will find it great anytime.

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 Orange Bread French Toast with Strawberry Compote
Flavorful orange bread loaf with strawberry compote topping.
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 60 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Orange Bread Loaf
French Toast
Strawberry Compote
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 60 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Orange Bread Loaf
French Toast
Strawberry Compote
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Orange Bread
  1. Peel oranges thinly and finely chop rind (zest). Boil with sugar and water for 10 minutes; cool Add egg and margarine Combine flour, salt, and baking powder Add flour mixture alternately with milk Pour into buttered 8 x 4 x 3 inch loaf pan Bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes or until bread tests done.
French Toast
  1. In a shallow bowl, beat eggs; whisk in the milk, salt and spices. Soak the slices of orange bread for 30 seconds on each side. Cook on hot greased griddle until golden brown on both sides and cooked through.
Strawberry Compote
  1. Rinse, hull and slice strawberries. Zest and juice lemon. In a small saucepan, whisk together sugar, water and corn starch. Add strawberries, mixing gently while bringing to a simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cool slightly. Serve with French toast. Top with French Vanilla Yogurt if desired.