Time for Tex Mex Burgers

Well BBQ time is upon us in full force! With the thermometer rising, it’s a perfect time for me to share my take on a ‘healthified’ Tex Mex Burger.

Here’s what I do. Take some lean ground beef, add in some Tex Mex  seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and form patties, cut some colourful peppers into strips now you are ready for the grill.

Now get your BBQ Chef (Brent) to grill the burgers and peppers while you prepare the sides- homemade oven fries and a fresh vegetable salad and there you have it! A wonderfully yummy, colourful and nutritious meal. We added salsa to our burgers to go with our Mexican theme and they were delicious!  You could add some guacamole and jalapeno- which the BBQ Chef did!

Amazing Adventure- Rattlesnake Point and Soupy Sunday Finish

Today I want to share how awesome my Sunday was. It was actually much more than our hiking adventure and delicious soup. It started with a great power workout in the morning, followed by a delicious brunch with my parents. Love them so!  Then the 'serious' stuff started.

Before my daughter and I left for our hike, I put all the ingredients for this incredibly delicious Stuffed Pepper soup in my crockpot and ran to the hills. (recipe at bottom).

My daughter wanted to go for a hike to a place she'd never been...in the snow... in winter, Sigh!

So I say, 'anything to support my daughter's healthy living efforts', and we headed off to Milton to Rattlesnake Point. I remember this place way back in high school when my friend Janice and I would hike through the hills with our headbands, lip smackers and leg warmers... this time though, my daughter and I had the right equipment and spirit.



See, there was lots of snow, but it was patted down and fairly easy to hike on.

Look below this incredible selfie (LOL), we are up high on the mountain (ok, escarpment).

We read that this park was established in 1964 and the proof is carved into the rock.

Look at the gorgeous Melanie just looking out over the escarpment. The sun was amazing with just a little wind blowing. I captured the essence of her joy and excitement at trying something new and exploring the world around her. I LOVE this picture!

Interesting wooden tee pees.

Looking over the escarpment...

... and looking up at the cliffs, we saw some people climbing with their mountain climbing gear- just like my brother used to do.  I am so grateful for my beautiful daughter. I would not have gone out again after a big, sweaty gym workout in the morning, but she pushed me to try something new and it was amazing!

And now the Soupy Sunday part of this post.

Crockpot cooking is the best! After our hike, we came home and our dinner was ready!

I love sharing my Soupy Sunday recipes with you - especially when it's so effortless and really delicious. 

Here's the recipe.

Stuffed Pepper Soup (adapted from www.recipesthatcrock.com/slow-cooker-stuffed-pepper-soup/)

INGREDIENTS

1lb lean ground beef

1 diced onion

1 diced clove garlic

28 oz can diced tomatoes with juice  

2 chopped green peppers

1 chopped red pepper

4 cups low-sodium beef broth

½ T dried basil

½ T dried oregano

½ t paprika

½ t dried chili flakes

Salt and Pepper

2 cups cooked rice

INSTRUCTIONS

Brown beef with onion and garlic in a skillet over medium heat. Drain fat from beef and place in crockpot. Add all the rest of the ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Meanwhile cook some rice. When ready to serve, put some cooked rice at the bottom of the bowl and spoon soup over.

Honeymoon in Niagara- Celebrating 14 Years of Togetherness!

My sweet dear husband surprised me last week.  I do love surprises, moreover, I love when someone plans a totally decadent weekend away without me lifting a 'planning' finger! And I love that my husband would do all this for me.... because he loves me! So let me take you on a tour of the sights and tasty treats we enjoyed!

We stayed at a wonderful hotel with an amazing few of the Falls, both American and Canadian Falls, 39 flights up in the 'Junior Presidential Suite'. Amazing!

Here's Brent with the fancy fireplace.

Me, standing in the bathroom with the giant Jaccuzi tub with a giant window that looks into the room and out over the falls... yeah, WILD, I know!

Comfy bed and fluffy pillows, and super model... extra bonus! LOL

Now here's the part Brent was excited about... among other things, of course! Trying out this famous Brazilian Steakhouse. I must admit, I was intrigued too! Well it was quite an event- go with an empty stomach!!!! So you arrive at your table and they explain that if you want the waiters- known as Gauchos- to give you some meat, you place your Green coaster out- green means go! And if you are still eating or thinking about it or just plain full, you flip it to the Red side of the coaster.... STOP. As in, STOP, I can't bear another morsel of food.

So you can start with the 70 item salad bar, but don't fill up- they tell you. They are right! But hey, I couldn't resist the hard boiled quail egg... so cute, right?

Okay, then the meat insanity begins! This Gaucho is carving some delicious beef. I believe it was top sirloin steak. It was so delicious, such a treat, having someone bring you whatever you wanted. Oh we did indulge, as in, 'couldn't eat a thin wafer mint' from Monty Python!

But check this out. It's grilled pineapple! It was my favourite... I tasted a piece of  pineapple heaven that night! Those Pineapple-Carving Gauchos had my number. I went a little extreme and enjoyed almost 3/4 of a pineapple.  So unique and sweet, pineapple with brown sugar and cinnamon, grilled and all caramelized to perfection. I truly felt LOVE that night. Thank you Brent for a wonderful food adventure... and I can't wait to embarque on many more adventures with you!

The Flank Steak Experiment- Happy Father's Day

I don't know about you, but my man loves his MEAT! So when I had to think up of the best dinner to prepare for him.... it had to be beef. Now, I have heard so much about preparing flank steak from my friend Bobby Flay on the Food Network. But when it came to finding the perfect recipe, I didn't really like any of his, instead I went on a wild Internet recipe search for the best recipe.... and this is what I found.

Here's the delicious way you start marinating the meat days in advance. This recipe comes from a blogger who swears that this is the best family recipe that his mom makes.... so you know, I had to try it for sure.

BBQ Flank Steak

(http://www.vanillagarlic.com/2006/12/best-ever-bbq-flank-steak.html)

What You'll Need...

3 lbs of good quality flank steak

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons of honey

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon of powdered ginger (freshly grated could work too I suppose)

3/4 cup of salad oil

1 cup of chopped green onions

What You'll Do...

1) Combine the ingredients into a marinade. Marinate steak in a wide, shallow dish for 2-4 days, piercing with a fork and turning in the morning and at night. Keep covered with plastic wrap.

2) BBQ steak for 7 minutes on each side.

3) Slice diagonally in thin slices.

Here's the beef, just resting after the BBQ - yes I did BBQ it myself and make grill marks too. This was after all a day 'off' for Brent. What the recipe doesn't mention, but Bobby Flay always talks about, is that you need to let the meat rest for about 5 minutes so that the juices go back inside the meat and the meat get all juicy and succulent.

I told you, juicy and succulent! Maybe a little to rare for my family, 8 minutes per side would have been perfect. But that meant the leftovers were great and reheated to perfection. Look at me cutting on the bias and all.

For my dear husband I also made baked potatoes and Caesar salad- his favs! Wait until next time to see the decadent - but lighter- lemon desert- his other fav!

Here he is with his big Daddy presents. What was inside you ask???? 

Everything to do with MEAT! This mini 'sliders' burger maker - good for winter time grilling. And the other bag was a hamburger patty maker - like the one my mom used in the 80's. Retro eh!

Five Spice Ginger Beef

This was a real delicious Asian inspired meal. We just love sweet and savory dishes at our house. This did not disappoint. 

Five Spice Ginger Beef  (http://rockrecipes.blogspot.ca/2011/05/five-spice-ginger-beef.html)

 Serves 4

Start with:

2 thick cut strip loin steaks, well trimmed and thinly sliced.

In a very hot wok, heat 3 tbsp peanut oil

Season the steak strips with salt and pepper and quickly stir fry for only a minute or two. Be careful not to overcook the beef at this stage ; a minute or two is really long enough. Remove beef from the wok and set aside.

Add another couple of tablespoons of peanut oil to the wok and quickly sauté

4 cloves minced garlic

Add to the wok:

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce

3 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp Chinese five spice powder

4 tbsp molasses

1 tsp crushed chili paste

4 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

3 tsp toasted sesame oil

Simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes or until it thickens to the consistency of a glaze. Toss the beef back into the sauce along with one chopped red bell pepper and cook only enough to heat through, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately over rice or Chinese noodles and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Nutritional Information per serving with half cup of basmati rice:

562 calories, 75g carbs, 15g fat, 31g protein, 4g fibre, 16g sugar