Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Organic turkey burgers and gravy

Turkey burgers and baked mashed potatoes smothered in gravy I found some organic ground turkey at publix yesterday!  It was humanely raised, no antibiotics, no growth hormones...very nice!  My kids loved these burgers, even the baby ate them, and Eva isn't a huge meat eater. I added some extra seasoning to them and the gravy came out very flavorful.  Turkey burger gravy usually doesn't taste as good as gravy from beef or pork because of the lack of fat but with the right seasoning it really worked well! I promised the kids mashed potatoes but I didn't want to peel the potatoes so I baked them in the oven first, scooped out the insides and then mashed them.  I was so surprised that Eva loved these!  She usually doesn't like mashed potatoes but she ate seconds, maybe it was because of the gravy.  I've been experimenting with this recipe and I found out that the bread crumbs make a big difference.  I've been buying soy-free regular bread crumbs which work really well for breading chicken and fish but not for meatballs and turkey burgers.  This time I used panko bread crumbs instead and oh, they tasted so much better!!  I love testing recipes, especially when they come out well!
On to my next cooking adventure!
Until next time,
Libby

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Homemade Organic Pizza for dinner!

Organic Cheese Pizza  My Kids love cheese pizza...and now that I have learned how to make pizza from scratch using organic ingredients, pizza night comes with much less guilt!  Take-out pizza is loaded with fat and more fat, and this is much less fattening than take-out.  Have you ever read the ingredients on a box of frozen pizza? The ingredient list is full of chemicals, oils, and things that shouldn't qualify as food. This dough only has 4 ingredients and that's real cheese on that pie!  For the amount of money it costs to get good pizza (not Dominos, I said good pizza!) for a family of six, we could have homemade pizza 2-3 times a week!  Since I already have flour and yeast stocked all I have to buy is cheese, veggies, and meat, that's about 10 bucks for 4 pizzas.
Last night I also made pizza turnovers...

Pizza Turnover This one has organic tomato sauce, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and pepperoni.
I'm from NJ and the pizzerias up there make turnovers and panzarottis like this.  They are so good and I can't get them here in the South.

Pizza Turnover This one was very cheesy!!  This has pepperoni and mushrooms.  When I need a taste of home, I love to make these!  It has taken a lot of practice to get them to cook right!  I burned my mouth eating this one hot out of the oven.
This recipe is going into my cookbook, so sorry everyone but you'll have to buy the book for this one!  I worked hard to get the recipe just right!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

My Kids Love Chicken Nuggets!

Homemade Organic Chicken Nuggets

I make these about once a week or once every other week.  I use organic chicken and soy-free bread crumbs from Whole Foods.  We use different kinds of dipping sauces and they taste so good!  These are so much better than McDonald's chicken nuggets.  These come from happy chickens without hormones or antibiotics.  I've been working hard this week writing the proposal for my cookbook.  I never realized that so much goes into getting published and the process is really exciting to me.  I'll be querying agents starting next week, so wish me luck or pray for me!

I ran my first race!!

Here is a picture of me right before the race. I don't like taking pictures but I feel I need to have proof that I was actually there.
Me before the race

The race was to raise money for organizations around Jacksonville that offer counseling and options for pregnant women.

Run For Their Lives 5K


I am part of The Malinka Project and we have been training since June and we intend on running in one race a month to help raise money and awareness for causes in the City of Jacksonville. Our next race will be the Race For The Cure in October.  In November we will be running in the Be Her Freedom Run, which is a 5 mile race to benefit the A21 Campaign, an organization that fights human trafficking in Greece and Eastern Europe.
Running is my new passion!  I'm so excited about getting fit and healthy!!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Recipe of the Week: Organic Sausage and Broccoli Stir-Fry

Sausage, noodles, and broccoli

1 package of organic sausage chopped into bite-size pieces, keilbasa, smoked sausage, andouille, chorizo, italian, etc.
1/2 small package fresh organic button mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
1/2 package of organic egg noodles, regular or whole wheat
2 tablespoons organic unsalted butter
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 package of frozen organic broccoli or 1 bunch of chopped fresh organic broccoli
1 clove minced garlic
black pepper
Organic Parmesan Cheese

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet, medium heat.  Place the sausage in the pan and cook it until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms, stir and cook until the mushrooms soften and the sausage is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes.  While the mushrooms and sausage are cooking, fill a large pot with water and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and bring to a boil.  Cook the noodles in the boiling water for the length it says on the package, approximately 7 minutes.  Drain the noodles, place in the skillet once the sausage and mushrooms are fully cooked and add the butter.  Turn the heat to low or turn it off completely but let the skillet stay on the burner so the butter melts.  Add the pepper to taste.  While you boil and cook the noodles, fill a smaller pot with water and bring to a boil.  Once the water boils add the broccoli for 1 minute and then drain.  Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick skilllet and add the minced garlic.  Cook the garlic for 30 seconds and then add the broccoli and stir-fry the broccoli.  Cook the broccoli to your liking, firm or soft and serve it with the noodles, sausage, and mushrooms.  Serve with parmesan cheese(optional).
Serves 4.