FOOD!

I know you've all been waiting for a FOOD update! Well, here we go!

Wednesday night I made Asian Burgers. I foolishly did not photograph them, but I do have an artist's representation of their deliciosity.

Hahaha. Gotta love Paint!

I'll try to break it down. Unfortunately, when I make up a recipe, I don't really measure things. Haha.

1 lb leanest ground beef

1 tsp EVOO

1ish tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp powdered ginger

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp Sucanat (needed some sweetness!)

Mix the aforementioned ingredients thoroughly and form into 4 evenly distributed patties.

While grilling burgers, saute some mushrooms with low sodium soy sauce and red wine vinegar. When burgers are almost done, top with mushrooms and a slice of cheese (I used pepper jack because it's what we had). Let the cheese melt a bit. Yum.

Place assembled burgers on Arnold's Sandwich Thins (stole this idea from Whitney) and enjoy with your fave preperation of oven fries! I choose these lovelies (no picture, just recipe). I <3 me some parmesan oven fries!

Last night we had... what to call this dish... well, maybe you can leave me a name for it as a comment... I'm drawing a blank. I will warn you that there is a lot of multitasking in this recipe!

8 oz (when dry) cooked whole wheat penne pasta

1 package Jennie-O's hot italian sausage

Grape Tomatoes (3/4-1 cup)

Spinach (maybe 2 cups? I think I did 2-3 handfulls)

2 tbsp butter (or marg)

2 tbsp whole wheat flour

1.5 cups skim milk

2 cloves garlic

Dried herbs of choice

1 tbsp EVOO

Remove casing from sausage and cut into bite sized pieces. Cook in cast iron skillet until browned on both sides.

Heat EVOO and one clove sliced garlic in another skillet. Remove garlic and add tomatoes. Break town tomatoes, smashing them as they get hot. add to cooked sausage. Turn heat off sausage pan and add the spinach, letting it wilt when mixed into sausage/tomato mixture.

Meanwhile, make a white sauce by melting butter in a small sauce pan. Add flour and whisk to make a roux, then add the milk, whisking to combine. Add finely chopped garlic and a couple of pinches of dried herbs. I used Italian Herbs. When the sauce has thickened, combine the pasta, sausage mixture, and sauce in a large serving bowl. I added all the sauce, which was not necessary, but at the end, I drained the extra sauce out to use in a recipe later this week. You can also just add as much as you'd like (about half the recipe is enough) and save the rest if you want it to be more versatile for a later recipe.

It was.... DELICIOUS. SO SO SO good. I have leftovers that I am about to consume. I know that my "recipe writing skills" for these recipes kind of stink, but oh well. The food is good, so if you want to make it, you'll have to put up with it! :-)

If you wish to name the recipe, the key ingredients would be: Penne, a white garlic herb sauce, hot turkey sausage, tomatoes and spinach. Maybe I'll think of something!