One more week to go!

And if you're anything like I am right now, things are hectic!!  Even though I'm done all my shopping, it seems like there is always one more thing to add to the to-do list and to the list of stuff I still need to buy.  It's like a never ending list.

So, I am trying extra hard to keep it homemade around here but we have been eating out more than usual just because time is at such a premium.  I know it's not an excuse but some days...well, I'll just leave it at that!

I did however manage to find a day to make a special meal for the hubby last week.  Homemade mushroom soup that he loved along side wild rice patties.  To start off the meal, I made a mixed greens salad topped with a little bit of goat cheese and roasted golden beets.  Delicious!!  I even made a special dessert..."oreo" truffles.  Of course, I didn't use oreos and substituted organic chocolate sandwich cookies.  A great end to a great meal.

[caption id="attachment_1376" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Started by rehydrating some dried mushrooms[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1377" align="aligncenter" width="800"] And this was after simmering all of it together...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1378" align="aligncenter" width="800"] And I had to taste test it. Twice.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1379" align="aligncenter" width="513"] What's inside the truffle?[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1380" align="aligncenter" width="800"] What a tasty sight![/caption]

This was all done without recipes, just sort of whipping things together as I went along but I did try and keep track for all of you as best I could.

The mushroom soup came together by adding the broth from the mushrooms to a roux made of of butter and flour and then I added in some vegetable broth too so the mushroom wasn't completely overpowering.  I let it simmer about 5 minutes and whisked it smooth and added salt a bit of thyme.  Then I added the mushrooms and let it simmer about 5 minutes more.

I crushed the sandwich cookies and mixed them with a bit of softened cream cheese and rolled it into balls and froze them.  I then dipped them into melted dark chocolate and put them back in the freezer to harden.  Easy dessert, but looks much harder.

So, this is my proof that I'm still out there...cooking as well as running.  I still haven't hit the 1000 mark but I'm getting there....

Have a great week everyone!

 

Herbed Goat Cheese Burger on a Homemade Bun

Over the summer, I met one of my best friends, Lisa, at a wonderful little restaurant called Soup'R Natural.  We live a distance from each other, and it's always  a challenge to find somewhere in the middle.  It was a fantastic meal...and we both ordered the same thing, a turkey burger slider accented with goat cheese and basil.  It was completely amazing!  So, this was how the inspiration for this meal began.  How funny is it that when I mentioned this was on the menu for dinner on my Facebook page, Lisa was the one to ask for the recipe.  We're too alike!

Looks good enough to eat as is :)

First, I put about 8 oz of goat cheese into a small bowl and crumbled it up a bit with a fork.  I added about 1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley leaves,  about a tablespoon each of chives, thyme, mint and then just a taste of chopped garlic.  I didn't want that to be the star but I wanted to have that rich flavor hinted at.  So I tossed all of that together, salted with a few pinches of sea salt and then started to form little patties.  I wanted to create the center for the burger and then freeze it so it would thaw as the burger cooked and not just melt and ooze completely out.  Voila!

Lots of lovely goat cheese patties..I'll admit it, I sampled one!

I popped the tray in the freezer and gave them a few hours to harden up before making dinner.  Once frozen, I formed a 1/4 lb turkey burger around each one and put on the grill.  I salted and peppered each burger but that was all the seasoning I added besides the goat cheese.  Freezing the goat cheese patty worked so well!  The burgers were moist and juicy, but not cheese drenched and that mouthful of the herbed goat cheese was amazing!  It could only have been better if Lisa had been there to sample them with me.

Yum!

And just so you can see the inside of the burger...

I also made a burger bun to showcase these cheesy beauties...and my Z did not disappoint when it came to making the dough! I took this recipe right from the manual.

Ingredients list:

7/8 cup of water

1 large egg, beaten

3 1/4 cup bread flour

4 T sugar

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 t active dry yeast

Only change made to the recipe was that I omitted 3 T dry milk.  I never use that in my breads and I think they're great.

I put all of that in the bread maker on dough cycle.  When it finished, I separated it into 18 portions and rolled each into a ball, flattening them a bit, and covering with plastic wrap and a towel to rise the the second rise.

I added sesame seeds to 1/2 of the batch for a hamburger bun feel.

Then I baked them at 325 for about 20 minutes, watching for overbrowning.  Once they were out, I brushed the tops with melted butter and the hubby and I had to split one while they were warm just to taste test them.  :)  They passed the test.  We could hardly wait til dinner time.

I did use store bought onion rings in our meal.  Alexia onion rings are the best we've found without deep frying them ourselves.  But I did make the dipping sauce, and even taught the girl how!  Super easy...about 1/4 cup ketchup, 1/8 cup mayo, 1/8 cup horseradish and then a few shakes of Hot Shot black and red pepper blend, about a tablespoon of italian seasoning and then some paprika.  Easy and a great onion ring dip!

Have a wonderful day everyone!