Tag: Recipe of the Week

Pizzadillas

Pizzadillas

by Engineered Mama ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I have to give credit where credit is due on this one… thanks, Mom!  This recipe is quick, easy, and pleases even the pickiest of eaters.  As long as you have tortillas and cheese in the house, I guarantee you have any other ingredients you will need to make this easy recipe.

Ingredients

  • Flour tortillas (I like the large burrito size)
  • Shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Pizza toppings.  Here are some of our favorites
    • turkey pepperoni (makes for a less greasy and easier to eat pizzadilla, but traditional pepperoni works just fine, too!)
    • diced ham
    • shredded or diced chicken
    • mushrooms
    • black olives
    • fresh spinach
    • diced bell pepper
    • diced onion

Directions

  1. Heat a large skillet on medium heat and spray non-stick spray in the skillet evenly.
  2. Add toppings such as cheese, meat, and vegetables to half of a tortilla and fold over.
  3. Heat the pizzadilla with toppings inside in skillet until partially melted and lightly browned on the bottom.
  4. Flip pizzadilla and brown other side.
  5. Cut into even triangles using pizza cutter or knife.
  6. Serve with pizza sauce or pasta sauce of choice.

The best part of this recipe is that you can use anything you have on hand.  Picky eaters?  No problem!  They can have whatever their hearts desire in their pizzadilla!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

by Engineered Mama ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

This is the easiest soup you can make in the Crock Pot. Hands. Down.  I’m really not sure where I got the original recipe for this one, but I’ve adapted it slightly over time to make it even easier… if that’s possible.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb chicken breasts
  • 1 diced onion
  • 1 can red kidney beans, drained
  • 1 can black beans, drained
  • 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
  • 2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes (I prefer cilantro lime for extra flavor, but original is great, too!)
  • 2 cans chicken broth
  • 1 pack taco seasoning
  • fresh or dried cilantro

For Serving

  • shredded cheese of choice (I use Mexican blend or cheddar)
  • sour cream
  • tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips

Directions

  1. Mix all ingredients in crock pot.  Add chicken breasts to top of mixture.
  2. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 2-4 hours until chicken is thoroughly cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
  3. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips.

To make life REALLY easy on a busy weekday, here are my tips:

  • Use frozen chicken breast-they cook great in this soup from frozen!
  • Use frozen diced onion instead of chopping a fresh onion.  This is my favorite substitute in a lot of meals-it cuts back on so much time and cleanup.
  • Use dried cilantro instead of chopping fresh.  I hardly ever keep fresh cilantro on hand anymore and this saves on grocery shopping and chopping!

Hope you enjoy this easy, hearty meal as much as our family does!

Greek Turkey Burgers with Greek Salad and Tzatziki Sauce

Greek Turkey Burgers with Greek Salad and Tzatziki Sauce

by Engineered Mama ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
GreekTurkeyBurger
Photo Credit: Fit Mom Angela D

These turkey burgers are a great, lean, flavorful dinner.  The only problem with this one is it takes A LOT of prep, so I only make it when I have a lot of time to prepare for all of the chopping, shredding, and mixing.  If you like this one, check out other healthy options at Fit Mom Angela D!

Tasty Greek Burgers

Burger Ingredients

3/4 cup grated zucchini, squeezed

1 1/2 lbs 93% lean ground turkey

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup red onion, minced

1 T oregano

3/4 tsp sea salt

3/4 tsp black pepper

1/3 cup Feta cheese, crumbled

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Greek Salad Ingredients

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup cucumber, grated and peeled

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dill

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Tzatziki Ingredients

1 cucumber, peeled & diced

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1/4 red onion, sliced (or diced depending on how you like it!)

1/3 cup Kalamata olives

1 tsp oregano

Sea salt to taste

1 T Feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

Burger Directions

  1. After grating the zucchini, squeeze the moisture out with paper towels
  2. In large bowl, combine all of the Turkey Burger ingredients and mix well.
  3. Divide into 6 equal patties.
  4. Cook burgers on medium heat, about 5 minutes per side or until no longer pink in the middle.

Greek Salad Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
  2. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tzatziki Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
  2. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
  3. Serve over a bed of Greek salad and top with Tzatziki.

Recipe Review

I’m always a fan of anything “Greek”… pasta, pizza, if it has feta or olives, I’m in!  File this recipe under “only-make-if-you-have-a-lot-of time”, but absolutely delicious!  It’s light, but filling, and has a great mix of healthy vegetables and dairy with the addition of feta.  The Tzatziki sauce is delicious and can be paired with a lot of other options.  This one is a winner for me!

Salmon Patties

Salmon Patties

by Engineered Mama ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Salmon-Patties-Croquettes-Recipe-Salmon-Cakes-Dinner-Idea-for-Lent-by-Five-Heart-Home_700pxCollage
Photo Credit: FIVEheartHOME
Growing up my grandmother and mother made salmon patties and they were always a favorite of mine (yes… my grandmother was from the south… where the best food comes from!).  Every time I ask my mom for the recipe I get “Oh!  It’s easy… you use breadcrumbs, salt…” and about there I tune out because I know I’ll never, ever remember all of that.  It always amazed me that my mother and grandmother hardly ever used recipes.  They just instinctively knew how to cook.  Since I doubt I’ll ever get my mother to write me an ACTUAL recipe, I searched the interwebs for what I thought to be a “decent-looking” recipe, so here it is!  I had success with it (meaning my husband loved it and even our toddler ate more than a bite, which I would call a win), even though they were a little crumbly.  If you like this one, take a look at a few more recipes at FIVEheartHOME.

Salmon Patties

Ingredients

  • 2 (7.5 oz) cans canned salmon (Alaskan wild-caught and boneless/skinless), drained
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs, divided
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 3 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 Tbsp. freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 3/4 tsp. garlic salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • a few dashes hot pepper sauce (such as Tobasco)
  • 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. butter

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, mix together drained salmon, eggs, 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, garlic salt, pepper (to taste), and hot pepper sauce (to taste).
  2. Divide the mixture into four equal balls and form into 3/4-inch thick patties.  Place patties on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  3. Place remaining 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs in a shallow dish and press both sides of each salmon patty into breadcrumbs.
  4. Heat a large saute pan over medium to medium-high heat.  Add olive oil and butter to pan; once melted, swirl pan to coat.  Add the salmon patties and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden brown.  Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and serve warm with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Recipe Review

This is a great upgrade to a normal salmon patty recipe and it has a lot of flavor.  I never use hot sauce in my recipe because I feel there is already enough flavor and hot sauce would ruin an otherwise good thing this recipe already has going on.

The only drawback I can see to this recipe is… it’s so good there isn’t enough of it to go around!  It makes four decent-sized patties, but I always cook to feed a small army because, well, I’m a fan of leftovers.  If you’re cooking for several people I would definitely double the recipe.  To me, this isn’t a drawback, it’s a sign that this recipe is SO good that you always need more!