Monday Menu ~ Stuffed Burgers & Peach Pie

I've been a bit on the "too busy" side lately. Busyness drives me nuts. And sometimes "too busy" is more of an attitude and habit than a reality. Some unfortunate times it is a reality. It's been a bit of both for me lately, and I'm screeching it to a halt as much as I can. The rest I'll just deal with. One of my symptoms of "too busy" is becoming indecisive. I think it's my brain trying to force itself to go into a pause mode. I also get very random, which is why I've just rambled an entire paragraph without even addressing a recipe. But it does relate, I promise. How? I couldn't decide which recipe to post today, and since I've been a general slacker at this over the summer, I decided to just do two! I have no picture of the burgers, because that's tomorrow night's dinner. And I really dislike a recipe without a picture...so the peach pie picture will have to do. It's round, like the burger. So put on your imagination and create a great mental picture of this super yummy burger!

Feta Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Burgers

(this is adapted from a Food Network burger cook off a couple years ago)

3/4 cup mayonnaise

8-10 basil leaves, chopped

6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup drained & chopped sun-dried tomatoes (oil packed)

2 pounds ground sirloin

2 medium eggs, slightly beaten

1 TBSP Tabasco pepper sauce

2 TBSP dried Italian seasoning (crushed)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

1/2cup freshly grated Parmesan

12 sandwich-sized focaccia bread squares, about 1/2-inch thick, or 6 ciabatta rolls

romaine lettuce

red onion

In a small bowl, mix together mayo and basil. Set aside. In another small bowl, combine the feta and tomatoes. Divide mixture into 6 equal portions, forming balls. In a large bowl, combine ground sirloin with eggs, Tabasco, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic, bread crumbs, and Parmesan. With hands or a large spoon, gently combine all ingredients; do not over mix. Form mixture into 12 patties. On 6 of the patties, place a feta/tomato ball, pressing down lightly. Place remaining patties on top, press and seal edges to totally enclose filling, forming 6 total patties.

Brush a preheated grill rack with vegetable oil. Place patties on grill and cook over medium-hot heat for 4 minutes. Flip and cook for another 4 minutes, or until cooked through.

During last few minutes of grilling, place focaccia or sliced ciabatta rolls onto the grill to lightly toast.

Spread basil mayo over rolls, top with burgers, romaine lettuce and red onion rings and roll top. Yum, yum. Can't wait for dinner tomorrow...

Streusel-Topped Peach Pie

1 egg white

1 unbaked pie shell (9-inches)

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces

6 cups sliced, peeled fresh peaches

Beat egg white until foamy; brush over the bottom and sides of the pastry. In a small bowl, combine the flour and sugars; cut in butter until mixture looks like fine bread crumbs. Sprinkle 2/3 of the mixture over the bottom of the crust; top with peaches. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top. Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes, or until filling is bubbly and the peaches are tender. This is really good with vanilla ice cream. It's especially good after the kids have gone to bed and you don't have to share any...Enjoy!

Oh, Happy Day...

After spending the majority of my day washing cars with Beth's cheer squad...on a chilly day...I am now happily wrapped in my fuzzy blanket with a warm cup of coffee...and this is my view:




My big kitty asleep across my legs, and the Seahawks on tv! Oh, happy day!

Monday Menu ~ Potato Pouches

You are in for a big treat if you make these cute potato pouches! They are fun to make, and so yummy. A bit like an unlayered au gratin potato. Terrible picture...I took this in a rush so I could dive into it. But if I could attach a sound byte instead of a picture, you'd totally get the idea. Lots of "mmm", "wow"...from everyone in the family! And this would be a fun one for the kids to make in a little assembly line...

Potato Pouches

Medium-ish baking potatoes (1 for each person)
Diced sweet onion (about 3 TBSP-ish per potato)
salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Heavy cream (about 1-2 TBSP per potato)
Butter (about 1 TBSP per potato. be generous. it melts in and you'll never know it's there!)
Grated cheese (I used Colby-Jack; about 1/4 cup-ish per potato)
Foil sheets (about 10X10 each)

Cut potatoes in to nice-sized chunks, about what you would do for potato salad, and put one potato per foil sheet. Top with onion. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Put a splash of cream on the top, then drop the butter on. Sprinkle with cheese. Wrap up the packets tightly. Place on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake at 375 for about 40 minutes. Keep them wrapped up tight and they will keep well for people to eat as they trickle in from...music lessons or cheer practice or work or wherever "they" might be at dinner time!

Friday Flashback ~ Brenna's Shoes

This is just a sweet and simple flashback...back to summer of 1999. The little miss was 19 months old, and sporting herself a pretty fancy look! I LOVE the combination of fancy shoes and diapers...throw in some morning bed head, "jewels", pudgy toddler belly and knock-knees and it's just about as perfect as it can get. She was feeling oh-so-pretty. And this picture just makes me smile!

Now here we are back to today, and the (bigger) little miss is sporting a new kind of shoe: a running shoe! She has decided to run with me in the next 5K, just 2 weeks away! She's pumping out the miles on the treadmill, and this picture makes me smile too:

Ten years older, but still the oh-so-pretty, strong & tender girl that I love so much! Go Brenna, go!!

Costco...How Do I Love Thee??

Let me count the ways...

This raspberry chipotle sauce is oh-so-fabulous! You can pour some over a softened block of cream cheese and serve with crackers, you can pour it over some chicken or pork...I have a recipe to share soon with that...it is sweet and spicy. Love it.



And this spinach/mozzarella ravioli is a yummy treat for when you don't want to really cook but want to put out a meal. It comes with this cheese packet that you toss in with some olive oil after it cooks. Add in some chopped tomatoes...mmm. We also had a spinach salad with this...we called it our Popeye meal.

And here is some kind of yummy salsa. I've heard mixed reviews on this from hard-core salsa eaters who are offended by the thought of adding fruit to a perfectly good salsa. But I love it. And this is my blog. And I'm counting the ways I love Costco. And I love Costco for introducing me to this yummy salsa.

And hello guacamole! I love that I can keep these little packets in the freezer and defrost some guacamole whenever I feel so moved. There's no weird stuff added to this, it's the real deal. And it's a good deal too...more affordable than buying the "15 avocados" that the package advertises is inside of this yumminess.

And am I the only one who did not know about these yummy pita chips?? They are so good with the above guacamole and salsa, or some hummus. I'm munching on some as I type this, in fact. They are even good just, well, simply naked.

And, of course, I save the best for last...

Hello, my love. I would keep up my Costco membership if only to keep up my supply of the 72 oz. bag of Nestle chocolate chips. I do love this bag of chips. I love the sound of the crinkling bag when I hold it. I love the smell of a newly opened bag. I love the smell of an empty bag. My kids will tell you that I take this seriously. When a bag is emptied, I make whoever is close by come smell the bag. And a little whiff won't do. You gotta really get your nose in there and take a big, deep inhale. "No, really smell it," is a phrase I use during the training period. But now they all know. They really know how to enjoy the aroma of 72 oz. of semi-sweet goodness. I like to think that is one area I have excelled as a parent.

Just a day I needed to think about some goodness, and not where my mind wants to go. So, how about you? What do you love at Costco??

I Did It!!

I am so glad this day is over. I signed up to run my first public 5K...I was nervous all week with our hot weather, and especially nervous last night and today. I had a crazy amount of butterflies in my tummy. Jack had great advice about those butterflies...he told me just to make them fly in formation and I'd be in great shape. Well, those butterflies flapped their little wings at a frantic pace and helped me finish in 27:04...the fastest I've ever run this distance on my treadmill. And it was hot. Did I mention it was hot?? My feet were hot from the pavement. My throat was burning. But I did it! I even took 2nd in my age group! My goal was to run one of these before I turn 40...and I accomplished that with a few weeks to spare! Everyone has said once I do one I'll be addicted to it and be looking for more races...I don't know about that. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. A 6:00 in the evening race in 90 degrees was enough for awhile. Here's the proof in pictures...

Me and Jack just before the start. See the gal over my shoulder in the little-bitty black running outfit? She finished in 16:44. Crazy. She was doing sprints to warm up before the race. Me? I was trying to avoid even one unnecessary step so as not to waste any energy I would need. Perhaps her method works a bit better. Go figure.

And we're off.

A few of my favorite sights? My hubby's face, my children's faces, cookies right out of the oven, and a big blue sign with large white letters: FINISH. And at the moment this picture was taken, not necessarily in that order.

Getting my official number recorded. One thought? Water!!

And here comes Jack, who took 2 minutes off his best time! In the heat! Woo-hoo Jack!

A post race cheers!

And lucky duck Jack won a pair of Aasics running shoes!! Way to go!!

And, yeah, in the time it's taken me to post these pictures...I'll do it again. I'm glad I did it. I think I'd like to see what I can do when it's not too hot. Cuz have I mentioned it was hot??

Friday Flashback ~ Climbing the Walls!

Come on back to February of 2006...Sometimes kids are "climbing the walls" figuratively, and sometimes, well, they are literally climbing the walls. It was quite the experience to hear all the giggling and turn the corner to see this...

Brenna was 8 and Beth was 5. These pictures are so reflective of their personalities. Brenna, though older, is so cautious...notice how she only went half-way up the wall. And Beth, the daring one with no fear, went up until her head hit the ceiling, disappointed that was as high as she could go. These two know how to make an adventure out of anything...keeps me on my toes and brings a lot of giggles to this house!