I found this recipe for wrap bread at the King Arthur Flour website, and it is KILLER. I’ve made it over and over again and I just can’t get enough.

It’s actually gotten to be a bit of an obsession of mine to find recipes to stuff inside the bread. It even works like a gordita from Taco Bell. Seriously. This is some good stuff people!

You must make some. And, when you are done, you can make these easy Greek Burgers to go inside. Because these burgers and the wrap bread are like Peas and Carrots. Or like pb & j. Or maybe like . . . well never mind. They taste good. Together. When they are done call me, and I’ll be right over to share.

xo-AP

Greek Burgers

1 pound ground turkey or lamb
3 tablespoons dehydrated or fresh onion
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Greek dip and sliced tomatoes (recipe for dip below)

Mix all ingredients for the dip and refrigerate for one hour or until ready to serve.

In a large bowl mix the onion, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper.

Add the turkey or lamb and mix well. I used my hands and I survived it. I didn’t even wear gloves, which is sort of a big deal for me.

Divide into 4 equal portions and shape into patties.

Spray grill with cooking spray and cook over medium heat until no longer pink.

Serve in warm wrap bread or pitas with greek dip and sliced tomatoes.

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I’ve mentioned before that I have a tendency to be slow I am in the kitchen. I actually come from a really long line of very slow people. When I was kid it drove me NUTS that my Mom was so slow. She’d come in and wake me at the crack of noon and say “Hey! You wanna go to the mall today?”

Me, being a glutton for punishment would say “Sure!” and instead of rolling back over and falling asleep for another hour, I would heed my Mom’s request of “O.k.! Come on then, get up, lazy bones!”

And so I’d get up, shower, get dressed, do my makeup, re-do my hair, make my bed, re-do my makeup, read a couple of books, start feeling a kind of hungry and finally I’d say “You ’bout ready, Mom?”

“Almost!”

Two hours later . . . we’d hit the mall.

Drove. Me. Nuts.

So, I vowed, as an adult that I would never be that slow. And, honestly, in the morning I’m not. I can leave the house in a measly 45 minutes – and not in my pajamas. I don’t do public in pajamas.

But, in the kitchen, I get distracted. And I’m a bit of a perfectionist and before you know it, dinner time has came and went and I’m still chop, chop, chopping. Or mix, mix, mixing. This is all fine and dandy when you’re dorking around in the kitchen. When you don’t have 4 other people waiting (starving) to eat. But, I did have other people waiting on me.

Was it worth the wait? Maybe. Still, I recognized it’s reasonable to make and eat dinner in less than 4 hours. And I realized then, I was doing what I swore I would never do. What every woman swears she will never do.

I was turning into my Mom.

So, I got serious. I had to stop this process immediately. I love my Mom. I think she might be my best friend in the whole world.  But, I can not, will not, am not going to be SLOW. I pulled out the big guns. I bought a OAMC (once a month cooking) book and started collecting tips on how to increase my speed.

It has helped immensely. I don’t really do the once a month cooking, but they have some of the best ideas when it comes to being fast at dinner.

I’m going to share one of the best tips I’ve ever received from OAMC and a recipe that lets you use today’s tips.

Buying ground meat in bulk (on sale) is something most folks have done at one time or another. But, what I used to do was stick the huge package in my freezer or fridge and figured I’d portion it into smaller packages later. Of course, 2 weeks later I was chipping at a frozen giant meat block trying to get just enough burger off for some tacos. You know what I mean?

So, here’s what I learned.

Come home from the grocery and immediately dump the meat into a big pan. This is about 6 pounds of ground beef I got on sale for $.99 a pound – what a deal!!

Pop the pan into the oven at 350F.

Set the timer for 30 minutes.

Unload the rest of the groceries. Have a nice cold beverage, or a cup of tea.

photo credit: pretty-hate-machine
When the time goes off, pull the pan out of the oven, stir and break up the meat. Put it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes if it still looks pink.

Nest your Colander inside a bigger bowl and dump the meat inside. Drain well, and remove the colander.

Rinse the meat under cool water.

Package the ground meat in zippered freezer bags. A pound is about 2 cups of cooked meat. Label and date the bags and put them in the freezer.

Precooked meat (without a frying pan!) just waiting for dinner time. All you have to do is defrost it (in the fridge or the microwave) and add it to your dinner. And most of this is done while you unload groceries!

The Quickest Chili Ever

1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 pound precooked ground turkey or beef – thawed
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 14.5 oz cans petite diced tomatoes
1 16 oz can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup beer or chicken broth
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large dutch oven until tender. Add garlic and cook one minute longer.

Add thawed and pre-cooked meat, chili powder, cumin and tomato paste and stir until well combined. Cook two minutes.*

Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer at least 15 minutes. Garnish with sour cream and cheese, if desired.

*A note. If you find yourself without any precooked meat you can add add uncooked ground turkey (ground beef will make the chili greasy). Just brown the turkey for 8 minutes, or until no longer pink, before proceeding to the next step.Similar Posts:

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Happy Mother’s Day!  In honor of Mother’s Day I’ll be blogging a recipe my Mom inspired!  I’ve mentioned before that I grew up with a (wonderful) Mom who really didn’t do a lot of cooking.  Honestly, I could count on one hand the number of special dishes that my Mom made while I was a kid.  We did eat out a lot, and she was great at opening cans and boxes and the like, but we didn’t have a lot of “home-cooking,” per se.  Not to worry, though, my Mom was really great at other stuff that didn’t include cooking.  Still there are a couple of things I do remember my Mom making.  Today’s recipe is inspired by the hamburgers my Mom made when I was growing up.

When my Mom made these she called them “Surprise Burgers” and she stuffed mushrooms and cheese in the center.  Dad and I both would scarf them down. Obviously, I loved mushrooms even when I was kid. I’ve also seen them referred to as “inside out burgers” in a similar recipe.  Personally, I just call them burgers and put whatever suits me on that day in the middle.

It’s not rocket science, really.  Hamburgers are pretty basic, but what makes them miraculous is when you add the goodies on top.  Now, with this version of a burger, you just put a small amount of whatever you want on top of the burger inside the burger before you cook it.  Cool!

When my Mom made burgers they often swelled up in the middle when she cooked them, and I’ve found that the method you use to put these together actually does matter.  Shaping these properly will help prevent “golf-ball” shaped burgers.  And, Mom?  I’m sorry Dad and I teased you about your hamburgers being golf-ball burgers.  I was such a little shit.  Don’t worry, I’m getting all that sass back in triplicate now.

Also key to this recipe, remember that you can’t put too much stuff in the middle.  Now, I know, you’re thinking “The more the better!  I love bleu cheese, I want to have it oozing out and I don’t really mind a giant sized burger, it will be so goooood when I bite into all that heavenly flavor.”  But.  A little goes a long way for flavor, and you can always pile more of the goodies on top if you feel like there just isn’t quite enough.  The problem with putting too much in the middle is two-fold.  First, it becomes difficult to cook the burgers evenly because they are too fat in the center, or just not a uniform size and shape.  Secondly, they tend to pop open and everything will fall out.  Popping open sort of defeats the entire purpose of an inside-out burger, wouldn’t you agree?  So.  Right.  Just put a little bit of the yummy stuff inside.

And, a random thought . . . here where I live now, in Michigan, people often call either ground beef or hamburgers (the sandwich) “hamburg”. Isn’t that funny? I mean, I thought it was funny. I don’t know why I thought I’d mention that. I guess it’s just one of those things that makes me go “hmm” . . . well, anyhow.

So, here are some of the ideas for the centers of your surprise burgers:

Bleu cheese, or another type of crumbled or shredded cheese
Pickle Relish
Chopped Mushrooms
Crumbled Bacon
Sauteed Onions
Chopped or Roasted Garlic
Bell Peppers
Diced Tomatoes

O.k., I could go on with this endlessly. As you can see, the possibilities are limitless.

Here’s how these work:

Surprise Stuffed Inside Out Burgers

1 1/2 pound ground beef, turkey, or venison (or a blend)
1/4 to 1/2 cup crumbled bacon (if desired)
1/2 to 3/4 cup of assorted “insides”, (such as cheese and veggies) chopped, crumbled, or diced fine
Small butter or cottage cheese tub lid
Parchment or Wax Paper
6 Hamburger Buns and Hamburger toppings

I start out by placing my crumbled bacon directly in the ground meat. I like bacon in or on my burger, and mixing it in with the ground meat allows me to put more stuff in the middle.  Bonus!

Mix ground meat and crumbled bacon (to taste) until the bacon is evenly distributed.

Using clean hands, make twelve 2 ounce balls of hamburger.  I use scales to make my hamburger balls exactly even, but you can eyeball it by dividing into twelve equal portions, if you don’t have scales.  But, if you’re a bit of a control freak like me, feel free to use the scales.

Place one hamburger ball on a piece of parchment (or wax) paper and flatten it slightly with your palm.  Place another piece of parchment paper over the meat and place the plastic lid over the top of the paper.  Push down on the lid with the palm of your hand.  Squish the meat out to the edges of the lid and try not to let it seep out the sides.

Carefully peel the paper off the hamburger.

Place 1 1/2 tablespoons to 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of the burger.

Place another hamburger ball over the top of the filling, replace the lid, and push down again.

Use your hand to gently “meld” the sides of the two patties together.

Cook these in a pan or on the grill.  I like to make these on my electric grill, because it does not require turning the burgers.  If you do not use an electric grill, cook these until half done, flip them over and let them finish.  Do not repeatedly flip, flip, flip because they will fall apart.

Serve on buns with your favorite condiments.

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On Easter this year we had turkey and ham. Lucky us! Of course, this is way too much food for 7 adults and 4 picky kids, but that didn’t stop me from roasting an 18 pound bird. Can you say “leftovers?” Well, that’s not such a bad thing, I suppose.

As soon as we started cleaning up, I plopped the turkey carcass in a huge pot of boiling water and I added a pared carrot, some onions (with skins), celery, thyme, and peppercorns. I let that cook for several hours and made one heck of a stock. I cannot tell you how much better this tastes than anything you’ll buy at the store. It’s a little work, and you gotta have a big ol’ stock pot, and someplace to store the stock when you’re done… but if you have the option you really need to make some. No need for me to tell you how to do it, since these directions are very well done.

Since I have all this stock and leftover turkey to use up, I decided to dig out an old recipe I have titled “Chicken and Noodles.” Now, these noodles remind me a lot of dumplings, but they are cut like noodles – and call them whatever you want, they are beyond tasty. These are a little work, maybe a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10, but completely worth the effort.

There are a lot of pictures here, so as you won’t be intimidated by the dough; mixing it, rolling it out, flipping it, and cutting it. I promise you can do it!!

If you don’t have a pastry board or a large cutting board, you can use your kitchen counter. Just make sure it’s super clean and sprinkle flour directly on the counter. You also can make these without a rolling pin. A large cup or glass works; again, just sprinkle it with flour.

If you mix up the dough and it’s not sticky and is super easy to roll out – and you’re thinking “Cool! I didn’t even need to add that much flour to roll this out!” that’s great, but you need to add extra flour anyhow. Sprinkle the flour on like it tells you to in the directions. The flour is what thickens the stock, so you need at least an extra half of a cup added through sprinkling it over the dough or turkey.

Chicken and Noodles

14 cups chicken or turkey stock (that works out to about eight 14.5 ounce cans of stock)
1 1/2 pounds of shredded chicken or turkey
6 egg whites
1 egg yolk
3-4 cups flour, divided
3 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup milk

In a large stock pot bring stock to a boil.

While stock is coming to a boil, mix 3 cups of flour, egg whites, egg yolk, salt, and milk.

Add flour (if needed) until you get firm ball.

Place dough ball on a floured pastry board. Flatten the ball and flip the circle over. Flour the dough, flatten, and flip it over again. Keep flipping dough until it is fairly thin. When the dough has been flipped several times you can roll out the dough with a rolling pin until you have the thickness you desire (I recommend 1/8-inch).

Generously sprinkle the dough with flour and roll it up like a newspaper roll.

Cut the roll, in strips, to thickness desired (I like about 1/4 inch).

Unroll the strips, and cut them into shorter pieces, if desired.

Place the noodles in a bowl and add another sprinkle of flour. Try to use at least a total of 1/2 cup of flour when rolling out the noodles.

Carefully add noodles to the boiling stock and stir gently to seperate the noodles.  (Yes, I did say to be careful because I burnt the you-know-what out of my fingers doing this).

Add the shredded meat and stir to mix.  If you need to add a little more flour you can sprinkle over the meat, like I have done here.

Return to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and stir often.  Season with salt and black pepper. 

See my new baby sized pepper grinder?  I thought it was so cool looking, I just had to have it.  Turns out, baby sized pepper grinders look great, but don’t work great.  Well, at least I was able to warn you.  I guess that’s the silver lining, right?

Simmer for an hour, or longer if desired.  Stock will thicken as it cooks.  I like to serve mine over mashed potatoes!  Now, quit licking your screen and go make your own!

Without the pictures:

Chicken and Noodles

14 cups chicken or turkey stock  (that works out to about eight 14.5 ounce cans of stock)
1 1/2 pounds of shredded chicken or turkey
6  egg whites
1  egg yolk
3-4 cups flour, divided
3 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup milk

In a large stock pot bring stock to a boil.
While stock is coming to a boil, mix 3 cups of flour, egg whites, egg yolk, salt, and milk. 
Add flour (if needed) until you get firm ball.
Place dough ball on a floured pastry board. Flatten the ball flip the circle over.  Flour the dough, flatten, and flip it over again.  Keep flipping dough until it is fairly thin.  When the dough has been flipped several times you can roll out the dough with a rolling pin until you have the thickness you desire (I recommend 1/8-inch).
Generously sprinkle the dough with flour and roll it up like a newspaper roll.
Cut the roll, in strips, to thickness desired (I like about 1/4 inch).
Unroll the strips, and cut them into shorter pieces, if desired.
Place the noodles in a bowl and add another sprinkle of flour.  Try to use at least a total of 1/2 cup of flour when rolling out the noodles.
Carefully add noodles to the boiling stock and stir gently to seperate the noodles.
Add the shredded meat and stir to mix.
Return to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and stir often.  Season with salt and pepper.
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Today is another snow day here, which means that I really shouldn’t be sitting here right now chatting with you all.  But, the girls are down the hall (after I told them like 8 times I needed them to go play down the hall for a bit and turn off the t.v.).  So, I have a precious little time to tell you about what I made yesterday.

Low Fat Turkey Ravioli in Mushroom Sauce

Remember how I said I was getting back to cooking light?  Well, finally, I did.  It was really hard to believe that these were made from lean turkey and clocked in at about 350 calories and around 8 grams of fat in a serving.   Hubby was ecstatic!

There was a recipe in my January/February edition of Everyday Food that caught my eye called “goat-cheese “ravioli” with parsley sauce”.  I started to turn the page without a second thought because a) Hubby doesn’t like cheese.  I know, how can you not like cheese? AND b) I’ve made ravioli from scratch and am very happy with the recipe I use.  But then, I wondered why is the “ravioli” in quotes like that?  And I saw it – they were using wonton wrappers for the pasta.  I know now that this isn’t that new of an idea, but it was new to me (at that moment) and, quite frankly, I got a little excited about the project.  Later that day, I noticed on the back of the wonton wrapper package (that was in the fridge just waiting for something I hadn’t yet decided) a ravioli recipe!  And THEN, that night Alton Brown was talking about wontons on his show.  Well, it was like it was a trifecta – obviously it was meant to be. 

I will say this, these ravioli aren’t as good as homemade pasta.  But, they are good, and they are way better than the frozen variety they sell in the grocery.  Plus, you can put anything you want inside – which meant I could use them for my cooking light resolution.

I got a little frustrated because I couldn’t find any suitable italian turkey sausage at the market.  So I did what anyone who is faced such a dilema must do; I made my own.  I decided on a mushroom sauce, but I think these would be fantastic with maranara sauce, too.  Well, enough already . . . here’s the recipe.

Low Fat Turkey Ravioli in Mushroom Sauce

Turkey Sausage Filling
16-20 oz. of lean ground turkey
1 1/2 teaspoons salt 
3 1/2 teaspoons paprika 
2/3 teaspoon garlic powder 
1/2  teaspoon fennel seeds 
1 teaspoon pepper 
1/2  teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup parmesean cheese, grated or finely chopped
1 egg

32 Wonton Wrappers

Mushroom Sauce
1  onion, sliced 
1 lb mushrooms, chopped 
2 tablespoons olive oil 
3 cloves garlic, crushed 
2 tablespoons flour 
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock 
1/2 cup white wine 
3 tablespoons italian parsley, coarsly chopped
1 teaspoon basil 
1/2 – 1 tsp of salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix all sausage ingredients together until well incorportaed.

Keep extra wonton wrappers covered with a damp paper towel while you are working.

Working with two or three wrappers at a time, fill each wonton wrapper with 1 tsp of sausage filling. 

Use a fingertip, dipped in plain water, to trace around three edges of the wrapper.  Fold the wrapper in half, using your fingers to remove as much air as possible and pressing the wrapper together to seal firmly.

Trim the long edges of wrapper, if you wish.

Place ravioli on a parchment covered (or lightly greased) cookie sheet. 

Keep ravioli covered with a damp towel and refrigerate until ready to cook.  You can also place the cookie sheet in the freezer (without the towel).  Once the ravioli are frozen you can move them to a plastic bag to store for later use.

Heat oil in a large pan over med-high heat(I used my wok).

Add onion, mushrooms, and garlic.

Add broth, wine basil, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Stir in flour and mix well.

Bring the mixture to a boil, gently add the ravioli (so they will not break open), and cook until tender – about 10 to 15 minutes.

Oh, one other little thing.  Last week I made macaroni and cheese, and due to a camera problem I didn’t get the picture up.  I have added the picture now and just wanted to let you know that you can check it out in the original post.Similar Posts:

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We’ve lived in Michigan for darn near 10 years now and frankly, I still don’t think I like it much.  Take today, for instance, we had this pesky little thing they like to call a “snow day”.  Now, I grew up in Indianapolis, and while the weather there isn’t great in the winter, it is milder than it is here.  It also ends sooner, as in a month or so before we’re done having cruddy winter-time, my family in Indy is enjoying the crocuses and gearing up for cookouts and spring break.

When I was a kid, just like every other kid on the face of the earth, I loved snow days.  We had them in Indy, sure.  We just didn’t have so darn many of them.  And, as you all know, I’m hard at work on my first cookbook, with a deadline quickly approaching.  I have a short week anyhow, since the kids don’t have school on Friday (thanks to a teacher’s professional day).  Today’s snow day really cut into some important work time.  Apparently, now that I’m not a kid any longer, snow day translates into a “Angie Pangie doesn’t get any work done today-day”.

It’s not that my kids want to hang out with me and enjoy my company that’s keeping me from getting any work done.  I could deal with that – you know, play some Monopoly, work on a jigsaw puzzle, have a tickle fight on the couch . . . nope, since they’re a bit older now, they’re busy doing their own thing.  They’re quite entertained planting themselves in front of Hannah Montana, the computer, the Playstation, or maybe just arguing about which Webkinz is cutest.  If I suggest a tickle fight, I get a “MO-OM, I’m trying to sort my Pokemon cards here!  You just knocked my Turtwig into my Blastoise!  KNOCK IT OFF, MOM!”  And so, you see how it goes.

Today, I got a grand total of one recipe written, researched two recipes, and reconciled about one week’s worth of business expenses.  That’s it.

On the other hand, I did get to cook a hot lunch for my kids (stir-fried ginger and garlic pork with tamari and white rice) which was quickly replaced by a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a handful of wheat thins.  Don’t worry, I enjoyed it immensely, even if they didn’t.  Oh, and the highlight of the day – I got to load and unload the dishwasher TWO times, not just once.

I suppose I’ll just have to work extra hard and long on my cookbook tomorrow.  At least the girls all got a much needed break from school.  They were all feeling the mid-January slump.  Still, by the time dinner time rolled around I was tired, frustrated, and too hungry.  I wanted to avoid the lunch-time PB&J incident again and decided on an old standby; spaghetti and meatballs.  I made a huge batch of meatballs last month and still had most of them in the freezer.  It took me a grand total of 15 minutes to put dinner on the table tonight.  The next time ground beef or turkey is on sale you might consider putting a batch of these together.  They perk plain spaghetti sauce right up, and if you need to used jarred sauce – no one will even notice.  Oh, and these make fantastic meatball subs!

Typically, I make about 5 pounds at a time.

Italian Style Meatballs

1  lb ground beef, turkey, venison, pork, or any combination of these
1  egg
1/4  cup milk
1/2  cup italian or plain breadcrumbs
1/2  teaspoon salt
1  teaspoon dried oregano
1  tablespoon fresh parsley, or 1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2  teaspoon garlic powder
1/2  teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4  cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl by hand for best results.

Roll meatballs to golf ball size – about 1 1/2 inches.

You can prepare these two ways:

Drop raw meatballs into large pot of sauce and simmer for about 3 hours.  Stir infrequently and gently so that you don’t break them into pieces.

OR
Bake meatballs in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes.  To avoid having your meatballs sit in a puddle of grease; place a cooling rack across the top of a sheet pan with one inch sides and place meatballs on top of the rack.  They can be close together, but not touching.

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