Hilary's Eat Well "World's Best" Veggie Burger

I'm on day 3 of 30 of the 30-Day Bikini Body Meal Plan and on today's menu was a ham and egg microwave breakfast (effin' terrible!) that tasted like rubber and also a veggie burger that was a success!

Sunday morning I planned ahead by mapping out of my meals for the week and made my grocery list before going to Whole Foods. A veggie burger... hmmm... I have never made/bought a veggie burger and had no idea what to expect. I took to the Internet to find some direction and came across a blog, Yum Veggie Burger, and scrolled through until I saw a post about a veggie burger made from a frozen patty. This sounded like an easier approach then making my own veggie patty or not being in control of the calorie count by ordering one out.

I followed the inspiration from the blog and pan fried the patty then dressed it up with sauteed garlic spinach, roasted red pepper, and a black pepper mayo.

This is a filling burger without giving you an overstuffed feeling. The patty fries up nicely getting a crispy coating and it is absolutely tasty. As far as the "world's best" veggie burger... well it's the best I've ever had. Ha!

Hamburger Steak with Onions and Egg

I came across this recipe for Hamburger Steak with Onions and Egg while reading through this Secret Recipe Club entries. This recipe came from the blog, Stuff I Make My Husband. I had all of the ingredients on hand and was beyond giddy to give this "recipe" a try.

This is great for breakfast or dinner. I guess I should throw lunch into the mix since that is when I had this. While Itty Bitty napped I made a single serving and enjoyed a quiet sit down lunch.

A seasoned hamburger patty is topped with caramelized onion and an over easy egg. I choose to add some heat with a couple splashes of hot sauce. Yummy!

Hamburger Steak with Onions and Egg

Stuff I Make My Husband

Makes 1 Serving

Stars of the Show:

• 4 oz lean ground beef hamburger patty seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1 egg
• onion - I used red onion since that is what I had on hand. Thinly slice the amount you prefer.

And Action:

Cook the hamburger patties to desired level of doneness in a skillet. Set aside and cover with foil to keep warm.

Cook the onions in the remaining juices. Add a little butter or oil if necessary. Set aside.

Cook the egg in the same pan until cooked but yolk is still runny.

Top each hamburger steak with onions and the egg. Serve with hot sauce if desired.

I have linked this to:

Chicken with Onions

I've been trying to scale back on the grocery budget. It's been successful the past two months with Mr. Sideline Chef working out on the road. When he's not home I don't have to worry about putting together a "meat and potatoes with a side of veggies" kinda meal. I normally will just grab this or that and call it good. That also means that the fridge and pantry haven't been as well stocked as normal when he's around.

I came across a recipe for Chicken with Onions and after a quick look in the fridge and pantry I realized I had everything I needed. That was a shocker since it almost looks as if there is nothing available to eat in the house.

Chicken and thinly sliced onions are marinated in spices and lime juice for a couple of hours, browned in a Dutch oven, and then finish baking in the oven. The Chicken and Onions are then served over rice. I did make a few changes to the recipe. Rather than using fresh onions since I didn't have any on hand I used up some onion powder that was pushing it's limit for freshness. I also chose not to finish baking these in the oven. Instead I sauteed them in the olive oil until they were fully cooked. The temperature in my house was not compromised because of that wise decision and I stayed nice and cool.

The flavor of the chicken is stellar. It has a slightly tangy bite with some heat from the red pepper flakes. Serving the Chicken and Onions over rice helps cut the heat a bit. I think the marinade would be great with pork as well. This is a repeat worthy meal.

Chicken With Onions

MyRecipes.com and Cooking Light, January 1996

Makes 8 Servings (Serving size = 1 chicken breast half, 1/2 cup rice, and 1/2 cup onion mixture)

Stars of the Show:

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 8 cups thinly sliced onion (about 4 large) - I used onion powder.
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided - I used spicy garlic olive oil from Sotto Voce.
• 4 cups cooked long-grain rice (cooked without salt or fat) - I used brown rice.

And Action:

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large heavy-duty, zip-top plastic bag; add chicken. Seal bag, and shake until chicken is well coated. Marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning bag occasionally. Remove chicken and onion from marinade, discarding marinade. Set aside.

Coat an ovenproof Dutch oven with cooking spray; add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, and place over medium-high heat until hot. Add 4 chicken breast halves to Dutch oven; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from Dutch oven; set aside, and keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and 4 chicken breast halves.

Remove Dutch oven from heat; add marinated onion slices. Return chicken breasts to Dutch oven, nestling them into onion slices. Bake, uncovered, at 450° for 20 minutes. Remove chicken from Dutch oven; stir onion slices, scraping bottom of Dutch oven to loosen browned bits. Return chicken to Dutch oven; reduce oven temperature to 375°, and bake 15 additional minutes.

Spoon rice evenly onto individual serving plates, and top evenly with chicken and onion mixture.

Nutritional Information Per Serving:

Calories: 303
Calories from fat: 10%
Fat: 3.5g
Saturated fat: 0.6g
Monounsaturated fat: 0.0g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.0g
Protein: 29.8g
Carbohydrate: 36.9g
Fiber: 2.7g
Cholesterol: 66mg
Iron: 2mg
Sodium: 371mg
Calcium: 53mg

Ricotta Smothered Mushroom "Burgers" with Sweet Onion-Olive Topping, Prosciutto, and Arugula

There's a large portobello mushroom cap hiding under all that ricotta cheese!

That recipe title is a mouthful and so is this mushroom burger. There are so many flavor players in this burger that it's hard to even put into words. On a toasted kaiser roll is a portobello mushroom cap that is marinated in balsamic vinegar and olive oil then roasted in the oven and then smothered with a ricotta cheese and pesto topping. The sweet onion-olive topping is red onions and kalamata olives in a tomato paste. You'd think that would be where someone would stop adding to this burger but not Rachael Ray! Layered on top of the ricotta smothered portobello mushroom cap is two slices of prosciutto and then a handful of arugula.

Heads up: Don't mash the burger down in hopes of "thinning" it out to fit your mouth around this. The ricotta will ooze out of the sides. In fact, Mr. Sideline Chef and I agree that half the amount of ricotta topping could be made since so much of it ends up on your plate instead. Double the sweet onion-olive topping instead, you'll thank me later for that suggestion. If you're looking for a "Meatless Monday" meal you could even leave out the prosciutto but it does add another layer of flavor. The peppery arugula is a must! So much flavor play going on sandwiched between one kaiser roll.

This is one hefty burger and made a meal all on it's own. Adding a salad as a side dish would have been overkill seeing as how I almost had to be rolled to the couch after eating this.

For a quick and easy meal give this mushroom burger a try!

Ricotta Smothered Mushroom "Burgers" with Sweet Onion-Olive Topping, Prosciutto, and Arugula

Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners

Makes 4 Servings



Stars of the Show:

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• salt and black pepper
• 4 portobello mushroom caps
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 rounded tbsp tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese - I used fat free ricotta cheese.
• 3 tbsp store bought pesto sauce - I laughed at the fact that she wants you to use store bought pesto sauce. If you make it yourself I promise I won't call you out for it. I used a basil with nuts pesto.
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
• 4 crusty Kaiser rolls, split in half, and toasted
• 8 slices prosciutto di Parma (optional)
• 1 small bunch arugula, washed and trimmed of any thick stems

And Action:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large Ziploc bag combine the balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add the portobello mushroom caps. Zip the bag completely and then shake the bag to coat the mushrooms. Arrange the mushrooms on a baking sheet gill side up. Roast the mushrooms for 12 minutes or until tender and cooked through. While the mushrooms are roasting prepare the caramelized onion topping.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the sliced red onions, garlic, tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Cook the onions, stirring frequently for about 8 minutes, or until nice and brown. While the onions are caramelizing prepare the ricotta cheese topping for the mushrooms.

In a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese and pesto well. Once the mushrooms are done roasting for 12 minutes remove them from the oven and divide the ricotta mixture evenly among the 4 mushroom caps onto the gill side. Return to the oven for about another minute just to heat the cheese.

Add the chicken stock and chopped olives to the onions. Turn the heat to high and continue to cook until the stock has reduced almost completely.

Arrange one cheese topped mushroom on the bottom of each split roll. Top the cheese with some of the caramelized onions. Top that with two slices of prosciutto and some arugula. Place the top of the roll on, roll up your sleeves, brace yourself with elbows on the table, lean over your plate, and enjoy!

Marking #10 off of my "Stir the Pot" page. 5 down 19 more to go!

For a chance to win Tru-Kid Cool Conditioner, Silly Shampoo, and Bubbly Body Wash check out Smart Girl Reviews and tell her the Pretend Chef sent you!

Caramelized Onion Potato Spread

Tuna sandwiches and salads can become so monotonous for lunches. I needed something to shake up my lunch rotation. While searching my favorite recipe website, MyRecipes, I found this recipe for Caramelized Onion and Potato Spread. The nutritional stats for the spread made me do a double take. 45 calories for 3 tablespoons of the spread? Whoa! That is incredible! After reviewing the nutritional stats I figured I would stick with my tuna sandwich and instead have this as a snack with some low fat crackers.

If you recall my first attempt at caramelizing onions didn't turn out so well. They instead burned to a crisp. I still ate them to avoid hurting my own pride. I was a bit nervous to try it again. After the onions started to turn translucent I turned the heat on the stove down and let them turn to a golden brown color instead of black. Job well done. Hope has been restored.

Reminds me of when my mom would make hot dogs for us for dinners and she'd make caramelized onions to put on hers.

This spread has a base of Yukon gold potatoes mashed with navy beans and the caramelized onions blended in. Balsamic vinegar lends another layer of flavor that pairs well with the onions and potatoes. Yogurt and sour cream are then stirred into the mix and then the spread is seasoned with salt and pepper. The original recipe states to let this chill in the fridge for one hour before serving. Pssh... I thought this was fantastic on it's own while it was still warm. Not wanting to blow it by eating this by the spoonful I followed through and demonstrated extreme willpower and brought myself to put it in the fridge.

After it's chill out time I grabbed for my box of crackers and grabbed out the proper portion size, 5, and scooped myself 3 tablespoons worth of the Caramelized Onion Potato Spread. My snack ran me 115 calories. So satisfying and filling. I'll be looking forward to snack time tomorrow.

I also have set out to complete a sort of "bucket list" if you will but for things I want to cook before I turn 24 in June. I call it "Stir the Pot" because that only seems more fitting since this is after all a food blog. Number three on my list was to find a spread for our Game Days that could compare to the Smoked Salmon Cardamom Spread. These two spreads are on two different sides of the flavor spectrum that I couldn't compare one to the other. Mission accomplished. This spread will be fantastic for our next Game Day which will be Super Bowl. If you haven't heard our beloved Steelers are going to the Super Bowl and they're headed close to us in Dallas! Mr. Sideline Chef has already made arrangements for us to go up to Dallas for the weekend and bar hop. (((Hines Ward))) How about the two of us smiling over a cup of cocoa after the game?

Caramelized Onion Potato Spread

MyRecipes.com and Cooking Light, December 2007

Makes 22 Servings (Serving size = 3 tbsp spread)



Stars of the Show:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 3 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
• 1 lb peeled baking potato, cut into 1-inch cubes - I used Yukon gold potatoes.
• 3/4 cup canned navy beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup plain fat free yogurt
• 2 tbsp fat free sour cream

And Action:

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions to the skillet and saute for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for 45 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently.

Place the potatoes in a medium pot covered with water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 12 minutes or until very tender. Drain and cool for 5 minutes. Combine the potatoes and beans in a large bowl (I just put them into the pot I used to boil the potatoes) and mash. Add onion, vinegar, salt, and pepper stirring well. Add yogurt and sour cream and stir until blended. Chill at least 1 hour before serving with crackers, baguette slices, or breadsticks.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 45 (10% from fat)
Fat: 0.5g (sat 0.1g,mono 0.3g,poly 0.1g)
Protein: 1.5g
Carbohydrate: 9.1g
Fiber: 1.1g
Cholesterol: 0.0mg
Iron: 0.4mg
Sodium: 87mg
Calcium: 23mg

Before you set out to make this spread how about visiting Smart Girl Reviews and enter for a chance to win some Cowgirl Chocolates. Drool worthy! Who doesn't love a chance to win free products? What are you still doing here. Head over to Smart Girl Reviews and tell her the Pretend Chef sent you! Thank you in advance!