More Ramblings.....

Well, we're down to less than 2 weeks until the "BIG DAY". In my world, this is equivalent to the wedding of Charles and Diana and I'm so excited!
"P", "B", Grace and I put together the floral part of the centerpieces this week - the colors are absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to put the entire tablescape together. Pam made a "test" cookies and creme cake; "J" did "E"'s hair for her bridal photos - everybody has been so very, very helpful and kind. We are blessed!
I have to admit that with spring break and being a little under the weather, I haven't tried a new recipe, so I decided to post one that we made this week that is definitely a family favorite: turkey burgers.
Okay, stop right there - before you say, "oh gross" and click out of my blog forever let me just tell you that there was a time when I had the exact same sentiments. I didn't even like the Costco prepackaged turkey burgers and to be honest, I'm a little surprised that I ever went out on a limb and made these. But I did and they are a definite family favorite. In fact, if you've got people in your family who are "turkey burger skeptics" I wouldn't even tell them this is turkey. Give it a try! I really don't think you'll be disappointed.

Spicy Grilled Turkey Burger with Coleslaw Recipe

Ingredients

Turkey burgers:

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (white meat, dark meat, or a mixture)
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 to 3 teaspoons of hot chile sauce such as Tabasco sauce (amount depends on how spicy you like your foods), or Tabasco Chipotle sauce
2 green onions, minced, white and green parts
4 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or more to taste
4 hamburger buns, lightly toasted
Sweet pickle slices
1 tomato, cored and sliced


Coleslaw
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup loosely packed arugula, watercress, or just another cup of shredded cabbage
10 basil leaves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method
1 Prepare your grill (either charcoal or gas) for direct high heat. Or right before cooking, heat a griddle or large cast iron frying pan on the stovetop.

2 Combine the turkey, bread crumbs, mayonnaise, chives, green onions, Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, basil, salt and pepper in a large bowl and work the mixture with your hands to just mix. Do not over mix or the burgers will be tough. Form the mixture into 4 1-inch thick patties.
3 Season both sides of the patties w
ith salt and pepper. Grill them for 5-7 minutes on each side, until the internal temperature of the patties reach 170°F on a meat thermometer. Turkey burgers should be cooked through, not rare. Toward the end of the cooking, put the buns on the grill to toast for about a minute. Remove the burgers from the grill to a platter, cover and let rest for 5 minutes.

4 Assemble the coleslaw. Whisk the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar, red pepper flakes together in a small bowl. Add to the cabbage, arugula, and basil in a larger bowl right before serving.

5 Assemble the burgers by placing each burger on a bottom bun, and stacking a tomato slice, some pickles, and a bit of coleslaw on top, and then topping with the top bun.

Makes 4 large burgers. Sometimes I make the coleslaw and sometimes I don't. They work with or without! Enjoy....

Ode To My Dryer

Today is your last day in my house....
For many years you were wonderful and dependable and I knew I could always go to you for warmth and comfort.
But then something happened - you began to rebel. Maybe you entered "appliance teen years".
You completely quit drying, you scorched many a piece of clothing (I still owe "S" a new white shirt) and wrinkled everything!
I put up with it until I could take it no more, so now I say "farewell".
I have high hopes that your replacement will be low-maintenance, high-yield and warm and snuggy like you used to be.
Thanks for all the good years. Hasta la vista, baby!!

My Cooking Dilema....

Okay, so this week I made two things that were both big hits - my dilema was which one to post! I decided to post the easiest one first(although if you know the way I cook, nothing is really very difficult) and save the second in case one week everything I make turns out gross. The receipe is meant as an appetizer and I made it one night when I knew dinner was going to be late. We ate it ALL and ended up counting it as dinner since we were good and full when we finished. Here's my recipe for the week:

Black and White Bean Dip
1 can of black beans-drained
1 can of white beans-drained
1 can of shoepeg corn-drained..okay I didn't have shoepeg corn and I had never even heard of it, so I just used regular corn and it was fine
1 7oz can of Herdez salsa verde
2 cups of shredded Colby Jack cheese
4-6 chopped roma tomatoes
garlic salt to taste
Avocado-optional

Preheat oven to 400. Put everything (except for the avocado) in a bowl and mix together. Spray a shallow baking dish with nonstick spray before spooning in the bean mixture. Sprinkle a little cheese on top and pop into the oven. Bake for 10-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and it is all warm and bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle with diced avocado and serve with tortilla chips---YUM!!

Spring Break In LA....

Tuesday we grabbed our dear friend, Grace, for a girl's day in LA at the Fashion District. When you have Grace along, everything is more fun and boy, can that girl bargain! We should all be bowing down to her, because she can get somebody to go "low, low, low" and all the time have the sweetest smile on her face.
We started in the Flower District and hit the gold mine for wedding flowers. I hope it looks as amazing in real life as it does in my head!
We headed for the Fashion District (aka "girl's heaven") where "P" and "B" found purses, dresses, shirts and makeup galore. Grace and I didn't do too badly either! It was even more fun than it sounds! When "S" and "E" make their way down this direction in May, it would be a fun way to spend a day.
What a great way to start spring break!!

Sandra Lee Wanna-Be

When I got married, I knew how to cook one thing: Chicken Enchiladas; unfortunately, we were SO poor that I only made them about twice a year. Early in my marriage, I set a goal that I would become a GREAT cook - I'm still not great, but I do have a good recipe or two up my sleeve and I LOVE trying new recipes. When my four muskateers were little, it was harder to be a creative cook but I still tried new recipes. This year I set a goal to make one new thing a week and if it ends up being something good, I'm going to post the recipe on my blog.
As I mentioned, I began my life as a cook learning to make Chicken Enchiladas - it was a basic recipe using sour cream, chilies, cream of chicken soup and chicken. I recently made "Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas" and they were so good that I'll probably never go back to my old hum-drum recipe. They got raves from the whole family and have become an instant favorite. So this week, my recipe to share is Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas. Enjoy!
Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas
6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used 3 small chicken breasts)
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream (to lighten them up, I have substituted sour cream with good results)

Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (I tossed mine together in a ziploc bag in the morning and let it sit in the refrigerator all day). Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

Happy Sweet 16 to "P"

Well, our own version of March madness has come to an end - the last of our 3 March birthdays was celebrated this weekend and it was a big one. "P" had her 16th birthday and the irony that she went on her first real group date on her birthday was not lost on any of us.
The birthday celebration began on Friday when she got a very sassy new hairstyle thanks to our own amazing personal stylist, Coryne! Saturday morning we opened presents and I'm pretty sure her birthday wish came true. In the afternoon, she and her BFF "R" headed down to the beach where they met up with a group of great kids from the area and spent the day enjoying the California sunshine. You'd think that would have been enough of a celebration, but by the evening they were ready to get their groove thing on and boogie the night away so they went to the Stake Dance where the DJ gave her a "Happy Birthday" greeting over the intercom. It sounds like her sixteenth year is off to a great start!
I have to finish by listing 16 of my favorite things about her:
16. She loves to watch The Gilmore Girls every day
15. Her enthusiasm is catching
14. She adores her big brothers and misses them to death
13. She is a GREAT teenager: when she was about 12, she started coming into my room every night and say "Just making sure that you and I are okay"
12. She has an amazing voice we all love to hear her sing
11. She is an extremely loyal friend
10. She has always been kind to her little sister
9. She works harder than almost anybody I know to achieve her goals
8. She is one of the kindest people I know
7. She isn't afraid to laugh at herself
6. She borrows my makeup and usually asks me afterward
5. She heard the Taylor Swift song ("The Best Day") and said it reminded her of us
4. She can't wait for "E and S" to get married
3. She goes through my clothes and tells me what is still in fashion
2. She has the cutest laugh
1. She knows that she's a daughter of God and that great things are in store for her

HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY, SWEET GIRL!!!!

Happy Birthday, Big Man...

I remember holding my beautiful second son for the first time; like my other babies, he was born with a covering of light brown fuzzy hair and in his case, it eventually turned the lightest color of blonde that made him almost look bald. I can't believe that he's going to be 20 this week!
I have found myself thinking about this milestone in his life and realizing that he'll be celebrating it may miles away with people that I don't even know but people that he loves; as strange as this may sound, I know he's exactly where he's supposed to be.
Here are just a few things that have brought a smile to my face as I've thought about his 20 years of life:
*When he was little, he couldn't say his "l's" and I remember him saying, "I want to sit on your yap and watch the Yion King."
*He drinks all his milk in one gulp - no matter how big the glass - because he doesn't really like it
*He always used to touch the back of my hair - and I never thought I'd miss that...but I was wrong
*He used to stand at my bedroom door and then run a take a leap onto my bed
*When he was about little, Mark and "S" started calling him "Rappa". When he was about 11, he decided he was going to open a Mexican Restaurant and feature a "Rappa-rito"
*He came home from middle school one day and told us he was trying out for the basketball team - he played basketball every season for the next 7 years
*He did his homework everyday without being asked
*He used to sit at the counter in his boxers...and got "caught" time and time again by his sister's friends who just opened the door and walked in
*When it came to sports, he has a lot of natural ability and isn't afraid to try anything - including skim boarding at the beach - and then came home with no skin on his knees
*He was a determined toddler, but the easiest teenager in the world
*When he was 4, he cried because he couldn't play on the soccer team with "S"

Have a great 20th Birthday, Big Man...we couldn't love you more!