Low-Fat Turkey Cheeseburger Macaroni

Here's a recipe that's obviously inspired by a commercially boxed mix.  Only difference is that you control the amount of salt & spices, and if you use fat-free cheese slices and milk, you'll get a relatively healthier version (low-fat) than the processed mix.  So here's my take on an ordinary, everyday family dinner, Low-Fat Turkey Cheeseburger Macaroni.

(Oh, and I should point out that even though I use turkey meat for this recipe, adding the beef flavor packets really gives it a rich, beefy flavor, and you almost can't tell you're using turkey instead of beef here.)

Enjoy!  :)

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Ingredients:
1½ C elbow macaroni
1 lb ground turkey (93/7 = 93% fat-free)
2 packets Swanson Beef Flavor Packets
1 package (about 16 slices) fat-free sharp cheddar cheese
¾ C skim or 1% milk
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt (optional)
2-3 Tbsp canola oil, or as much as necessary to keep the turkey from sticking to your pan

Directions:
Boil the elbow macaroni in 6-8 cups of water, according to package directions for al dente. Drain, set aside, and cover to retain as much heat as possible.

In a large, deep skillet, brown the turkey over canola oil on medium-high to high heat.  Add spices (garlic and onion powders, pepper and salt). When there is no longer any pink visible, add beef flavor packets.  Stir well so that all the turkey gets coated in the beef flavor.

Turn heat down to medium.  Add cooked macaroni, then milk.  Stir vigorously for 3-4 minutes so that milk warms up.  Add cheese slices, spread out over pan, 3-4 at a time, stirring them into the macaroni/turkey mix.  Let each set melt a little before adding the next set of slices.  When all the cheese has been folded & melted it, dish is ready to serve.

Makes 10-12 servings.

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GBAdams
01/21/2012

Holiday 2011 Baking Stats

So...just for kicks I decided to see if I could sum up the "toll" of this past holiday season.  As my family and a few close friends know, I was a baking fiend starting from about November through New Year's.  Some of my family still won't find out for sure until Friday. (Hehehe...)  But in case some of you were curious as to just *how* busy this unemployed Project Manager was over the holiday, here is the estimate of my baking stats:

Different types of cookies made:	6
Total batches of all those cookie types:	27
Number of banana bread loaves made:	15
Overall number of sticks of butter used:	53
Number of eggs used:	68
Amount of vanilla used:	24 oz
Cups of sugar:	40
Total Cups of flour (est in pounds):	76 (30lbs)

...and this doesn't even count the other things that kept me busy, like cards & presents.  Needless to say, I'm a bit tired now.  LOL.  But!  Maybe my family & friends are right - a catering business or bakery really is in my future.  Hmmm....  ;)

One more thing -- Special thanks goes to my very understanding and exhausted hubby and my little man (Alex), for putting up with all my baking, cooking, and dishwashing, in order to make all those cookies and banana breads. Without my hubby watching over our little stinker most of the time over the holidays, I would not have had the ability to do all of that.  Thank you!! <3

Basic Shortbread (Icebox) Cookies

So this holiday season, I went looking for something different to do for baked goodies.  Banana and pumpkin breads, as well as my usual cookie batches of Chocolate Chip, Chocolate White Chip and Ma's Styrofoams, would still be made, but I was looking to change things up a bit.  I found this basic shortbread recipe in an old cookbook I had sitting for years in my kitchen bookshelf.  They are also known as "icebox" or "refrigerator" cookies because the dough is chilled (in this case frozen) so that it's easier to slice up individual cookies.  Now that I've made dozens of batches of these, I quickly discovered that I reeeeeeeaaaallly like making them. They're neater than any other cookie I've ever made because once the dough is made and rolled up in plastic, there's no scooping, rolling out & cutting, etc.  You just slice, garnish and bake.  Done.  I *LOVE* that!

So here's the basic recipe I found.  There's no variation needed for high altitude (thank goodness!) but if you vary it by flavor additive, then you'll need to adjust accordingly.  See below for links to the variations I did.

(On a related note/idea...needing a standalone yolk for this cookie dough means you're left with a standalone egg white.  If you make 2 batches of these cookies, of any variation, then you can easily save those whites to make Ma's Styrofoam Cookies.  It's perfect, because then nothing's wasted!)

:)

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Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature
1 C super-fine (baker's) sugar
½ tsp salt
1 lg egg yolk
1 lg whole egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 ½ C flour
Decorative sugar (optional)

Directions:
Cream butter, sugar and salt at high speed. Add yolk, beat another minute, add whole egg, beat again another minute.  Add vanilla, beat again.  Add flour, beat on low until dough has been mixed thoroughly and starts to cling to the paddle.

Remove, divide in half.  Roll half the dough into a log, about 1½ in diameter, repeat with remaining dough.

Wrap each log in plastic and place in freezer.  Freeze for at least 1 hour or until firm. (Can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.)  When logs are firm, take out 10-15 minutes ahead of time to thaw a little while oven heats up.  Preheat oven to 325°F. Slice dough into ½- to ¾-in thick pieces and place slices onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. If desired, sprinkle a little decorative sugar on top.  Bake for 19-20 minutes; do not overbake to the point where the edges start to brown or else cookies will end up hard and tough.

For variations on this basic cookie recipe, see Lemon Shortbread, Almond Shortbread, and Chocolate Shortbread versions.

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Here is the recipe for Lemon Shortbread Cookies...

(Based on the Basic Shortbread Recipe I found.)

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Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature
1 C super-fine (baker's) sugar
½ tsp salt
1-2 whole lemons, depending on size
1 lg egg yolk
1 lg whole egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 ¾ C flour
Decorative sugar (optional)

Directions:
Take lemon and using a zester or small-holed grater, zest lemon peel. (Be careful to only obtain the colored part of the peel, do not go into the white part of the lemon's skin.) Peel should yield about 2 tsps of zest.  (If your grater does not yield that much, you may need to zest a second lemon in order to make up the difference.)

Cut lemon in half, and using a strainer to catch the seeds, squeeze lemon halves for the juice.  Should yield about 2-3 tablespoons.  Cream butter, sugar, salt, and zest at high speed. Add yolk, beat another minute, add whole egg, beat again another minute.  Add vanilla and lemon juice, beat again.  Add flour, beat on low until dough has been mixed thoroughly and starts to cling to the paddle.  Remove, divide in half.  Roll half the dough into a log, about 1½ in diameter, repeat with remaining dough.  Wrap each log in plastic and place in freezer.  Freeze for at least 1 hour or until firm. (Can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.)

When logs are firm, take out 10-15 minutes ahead of time to thaw a little while oven heats up.  Preheat oven to 325°F. Slice dough into ½- to ¾-in thick pieces and place slices onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.

If desired, sprinkle a little yellow decorative sugar on top.

Bake for 19-20 minutes; do not overbake to the point where the edges start to brown or else cookies will end up hard and tough.

Yields approximately 40-50 cookies, depending on thickness of slices.

For other variations on the basic cookie recipe, see also the Chocolate Shortbread and Almond Shortbread versions.


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GBAdams
12/17/2011

Almond Shortbread Cookies

Here is my recipe for Almond Shortbread Cookies.  I started with the recipe for Lemon Shortbread, and then modified it for almonds...

(Based on the Basic Shortbread Recipe I found.)

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Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature
1 C super-fine (baker's) sugar
½ tsp salt
1 lg egg yolk
1 lg whole egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp almond extract
2 ½ C flour
Sliced almonds for garnish

Directions:
Cream butter, sugar and salt at high speed. Add yolk, beat another minute, add whole egg, beat again another minute.  Add vanilla and almond extract; beat again.  Add flour, beat on low until dough has been mixed thoroughly and starts to cling to the paddle.  Remove, divide in half.  Roll half the dough into a log, about 1½ in diameter, repeat with remaining dough.  Wrap each log in plastic and place in freezer.  Freeze for at least 1 hour or until firm. (Can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.)

When logs are firm, take out 10-15 minutes ahead of time to thaw a little while oven heats up.  Preheat oven to 325°F. Slice dough into ½- to ¾-in thick pieces and place slices onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Press a sliced almond on top of each cookie for garnish, if desired.

Bake for 19-20 minutes; do not overbake to the point where the edges start to brown or else cookies will end up hard and tough.

Yields approximately 40-50 cookies, depending on thickness of slices.

For other variations on the basic cookie recipe, see also the Lemon Shortbread and Chocolate Shortbread versions.

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GBAdams
12/20/2011

Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Here are Chocolate Shortbread Cookies...

(Based on the Basic Shortbread Recipe I found.)

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Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature
1 C super-fine (baker's) sugar
1 tsp salt
1 lg egg yolk
1 lg whole egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp water
2 ½ C flour
½ C unsweetened cocoa powder
Decorative sugar

Directions:
Combine flour with cocoa powder and mix thoroughly; set aside. Cream butter, sugar and salt at high speed. Add yolk, beat another minute, add whole egg, beat again another minute.  Add vanilla and water and beat again.  Add flour mixture, beat on low until dough has been mixed thoroughly and starts to cling to the paddle.  Remove, divide in half.  Roll half the dough into a log, about 1½ in diameter, repeat with remaining dough.  Wrap each log in plastic and place in freezer.  Freeze for at least 1 hour or until firm. (Can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.)

When logs are firm, take out 10-15 minutes ahead of time to thaw a little while oven heats up.  Preheat oven to 325°F. Slice dough into ½- to ¾-in thick pieces and place slices onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. If desired, sprinkle a little decorative sugar on top.

Bake for 20-21 minutes; do not overbake to the point where the edges start to brown or else cookies will end up hard and tough.

Yields approximately 40-50 cookies, depending on thickness of slices.

For other variations on the basic cookie recipe, see also the Lemon Shortbread and Almond Shortbread versions.

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GBAdams
12/27/2011

Challah Bread Pudding

Disclaimer: I am not Jewish. Though I have many, many Jewish friends and pledged a mostly Jewish sorority in college, I am a Catholic-raised Filipino girl.  Which means I grew up knowing next to nothing about their culture & traditions.  Having said that, I have always held in great respect the Jewish culture, including the foods, even if I wasn't familiar with them.  This year I decided to change my perspective by diving in and trying my hand at making some of the traditional foods...or at least, making dishes out of some of the traditional foods.  This is one of them.  About a month after I first made this pudding, I attempted potato latkes...it took the 2nd try before they were worth mentioning.  ;)  I've been told my next project should be to learn how to make bagels.  ;)

I've always loved egg breads, and of course, when thinking about making a bread pudding, the quintessential egg bread -challah- should always be considered.  You can, of course, make this bread pudding with regular bread such as French or Italian, but I like how the pre-pudding shininess of egg breads still comes through even after they're made into dessert. I've seen bread puddings made many different ways, but since neither my husband nor I prefer raisins in our bread puddings, my recipe has them listed as optional.  If you prefer yours with raisins, add them in during the whisking of the eggs & milk step.  Also, if you prefer your brown sugar sauce to be differently -ahem- sauced, you can substitute whiskey or bourbon for the amaretto in the sauce recipe.  :)

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Ingredients:
Pudding -
1 loaf Challah bread
6 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1 C sugar
4 C milk, warmed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp vanilla
2 Tbsp amaretto liqueur
4 Tbsp butter, melted
½ cup raisins (optional)

Brown Sugar Sauce -
8 Tbsp butter (1 stick)
1½ C brown sugar, packed
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
½ C water
2 Tbsp amaretto liqueur (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.  Make sure rack is set in the middle of the oven as much as possible.  Cut up challah bread into rough cubes, about 1x1"; does not have to be exact, but uniformity is the key.  Place cubed bread into 9x13" glass pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together warmed milk (should not be super-hot, but should be warmer than room temp) with egg yolks, eggs, sugar, salt and spices.  Add vanilla and amaretto. Gradually add melted butter.

Pour mixture over cubed bread, making sure that each cube is moistened.  If you miss some when pouring from the bowl, you can go back and submerge them using a spoon.  Make sure there are NO dry cubes, every piece should be soaked and softened with the liquid.

Place in oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is no longer liquid-y in appearance. (May take as  long as an hour, depending on your oven.)

While pudding is baking, create the brown sugar sauce.  Combine ingredients into a small saucepan set to medium-high to high heat. Stir vigorously to keep brown sugar from burning.  Once sauce comes to a rolling, foaming boil, remove from heat or turn down to lowest setting.  Cover and set aside.

When pudding is done, cool for at least 15 minutes.  Cut and divide into square pieces.  Pour sauce over individual bread pudding portions immediately before serving.  Can also be served a la mode (with a scoop of vanilla ice cream), but I find that to be just a *little* too rich for my taste.  ;)

Makes 12-18 servings.

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GBAdams
11/10/2011