Month: August 2019

Pizza Burgers

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For sentimental reasons I decided to try this recipe.  A good friend, who sadly is no longer with us, used to make this recipe for pizza burgers and they were a big hit with her family.  Almost every time her grandson came to visit she would make them.  Her boyfriend used to help her.   He’s wanted to replicate her recipe so I made them for him the other night.  If you’re a food snob you might stop reading as soon as you see the ingredients.  For sure my husband is a food snob.  He made up his mind he wouldn’t like them even before he tasted them.  And to tell the truth, I didn’t want to like them either.  But I did.  It is beyond amazing to me that this combination of ingredients tastes JUST LIKE PIZZA.  It reminds me a little of the lady in the grocery line who saw my Christmas baking partner buying the ingredients for our chocolate fudge.   She said her mother made the best fudge (according to her) using Velvetta cheese.  I have no sentimental reason to try that recipe so that will probably never happen!  But it exists out there on the internet if anyone is interested.  Proceed to pizza burgers.  The recipe is not complicated at all and comes together quickly.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 can SPAM

1 block longhorn cheese (I used 8 oz of Colby jack)

1 half jar original Ragu spaghetti sauce

onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano to taste

Preheat your oven to 425.

In a heavy skillet over medium high heat brown the ground beef.

While the meat is browning shred the cheese and the SPAM.

Once the meat is browned put the meat in a mesh colander to drain off excess grease. Return the ground beef to the skillet over low heat.  Season to taste with onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano.  Add the SPAM and cheese and stir until everything is incorporated and the cheese is melted.

Stir in about half of the 24 oz jar of Ragu spaghetti sauce just until the meat mixture is moistened.  You don’t want it quite as juicy as a sloppy Joe.  Remove from the heat.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  (I used a pizza pan because these are, after all, pizza burgers)!!  Put hamburger buns on the baking sheet and spoon prepared meat mixture on the buns.  There should be enough for 8-12 sandwiches.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes.  You can serve them open faced or with a topper.  Your call.  Keep an open mind and enjoy!

I only made up 4 sandwiches on slider buns for sampling purposes and gave the rest of the pizza burger filling to our friend.

NOTE:  While not difficult, I think the SPAM would be a little easier to grate if it had been in the freezer for a tad bit before grating.  My friend’s recipe called for a “block” of longhorn cheese.  Not having any idea how much was in a “block” or being able to find cheese labeled “longhorn” I used 8 oz of Colbyjack.  I did not add any salt.  It has been a really really long time since I’ve had SPAM but I was sure that would add enough salt to the recipe.

To kick this up a bit you could add a couple slices of pepperoni or perhaps a little slice of mozzarella cheese to each burger before baking.   But before you modify, please taste!

 

 

Chocolate Mayonnaise Sheet Cake

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A year ago on April 19th I lost a very special friend, Debra, to cancer.  There was a celebration of life for family and friends  followed by a luncheon.  I made the chocolate mayonnaise sheet cake she loved and decorated it with the monkeys I had bought to use on her birthday cake.  She loved all animals but monkeys were a favorite of hers and always made her smile.  Whenever I saw cute monkey memes I would share them with her and I once gifted her a hideous pink sock monkey that I made.  She adored it.  My first and last attempt at sock monkeys.  Debbie had the gift of gab.  She loved to come down and sit and visit and have a cup of tea or a cup of coffee with a little rum chata in it.  And she had a sweet tooth.  She loved chocolate.  So if there was a cake or cookies or brownies she was a happy girl.  And if there were no baked goods, there was always a dish full of chocolate candy and that’s where she’d head.  I’ll always think of her when I make this cake.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups hot, strong coffee

1 cup cocoa

3 cups AP flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat your oven to 350.

Whisk together the hot coffee and cocoa and let stand for 20 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, soda, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl combine the sugar and eggs.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.  Beat in the mayonnaise and vanilla.

Alternate flour mixture and coffee/cocoa mixture beating after each addition and beginning and ending with flour.

Pour the batter into a lightly greased and floured sheet pan.  Bake for 22-25 minutes.  Allow the cake to cool completely before icing.

To make this cake easier to serve to a crowd I cut the cake, used cupcake lines to separate individual pieces, and then iced each piece.  I made a peanut butter icing but you can use any flavor icing you like.

This post is for you my beautiful friend.  I miss talking to you and enjoying a cup of coffee or tea with you at my kitchen island.  I hope there is a lot of chocolate in heaven.  And monkeys.  A lot of monkeys.

Roasted Nuts

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Nuts.  A healthy and filling snack.  Nuts are a great source of fiber, protein, and healthy fats as well as a number of vitamins and minerals.  Almonds are the highest in calcium of all nuts and and studies have shown that they can reduce the “bad” LDL cholesterol which is particularly harmful to heart health.  Pecans and walnuts have also been shown to lower bad cholesterol levels and contain compounds that act as antioxidants.  Walnuts, one of my favorites, may help to reduce inflammation which can contribute to many chronic diseases.  A study of college students found that eating walnuts increased cognition, suggesting they may have beneficial effects on the brain.  Walnuts are supposed to be the top nut for brain health.  That’s probably why I like them so much!  I’ve always been told that fish was brain food.  But maybe it’s really nuts!

Considering all of the health benefits, snacking on a handful of nuts each day, unless, of course, you have an allergy to tree nuts, is a good thing.  Eating nuts that are covered in chocolate might, however, cancel out the health benefits.  And while raw nuts are probably best, nuts that have been roasted with a little sea salt are ever so much better tasting.  My friend Jane gave me this quick and simple recipe for roasting nuts.  They are excellent!

Ingredients:

5 cups of raw nuts – I used pecans and almonds

1 1/2 T HOT water

1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

2 T olive oil

Preheat your oven to 375.

Measure out your nuts into a large metal bowl.

Whisk together the 1 1/2 tsp of salt and the HOT water together until the salt is dissolved.

Using a spatula or wooden spoon pour the salt water over the nuts and stir well.

Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper and spread the nuts out in a single layer.

Bake for 8 minutes.  Remove from the oven, stir, and bake for an additional 8 minutes.  Depending on your oven temperature you may want to bake them for a couple more minutes.  You can sample a couple after 15-16 minutes remembering that once they cool they will crisp up a little more.  After baking return the hot nuts to the bowl and stir in the 2 T of olive oil and additional sea salt to taste.  Spread the nuts back out on the parchment covered pan and allow them to cool completely.  Once cooled store them in an airtight container.

ENJOY

NOTE:  I used raw almonds and pecans but any kind of raw nut would be good.

These nuts were so good I decided that some other flavor profiles might work as well.  I did a second batch adding 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla to the 2 T of olive oil and sprinkling 1 T of cinnamon and 2 T of superfine sugar on the hot nuts.   I could have added even a little more vanilla and cinnamon.

If you like things kicked up a bit, 1/2 to 1 tsp of cayenne pepper added to the sea salt at the end may be another good choice.

If you don’t have superfine salt or sugar on hand you can use a coffee grinder or mini food processor to accomplish a fine grind.

As with any recipe, you’re only limited by your imagination.