Sweet Love and Ginger

Jessica

Camp Breakfast Burritos & Fire Roasted Onions

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The long holiday weekend was a much needed break for me, despite only being a short distance from home, just that little time away from it all was amazing.

The actual holiday of July 4th was rather busy, with 5k’s to be ran, parades to attend, massive food commas to induce, innocent bystanders to splash and of course fireworks to watch, the rest of the weekend was restful and restorative.

I didn’t get to work in the hiking I had hoped, but my body needed some rest after all the festivities so a few days camping in the Adirondacks was a nice trade off. I think the excitement of the weekend had Brody all tuckered out anyway, a hike might not have been so fun for him. He’s been doing nothing but sleeping for two days now.

I don’t have much to share in the way of pictures from the whole weekend; I was too busy enjoying myself. But I do have a few camping recipes that I’m excited to share.

Breakfast Burritos

 

½ lb breakfast sausage

6-8 eggs

¼ cup milk

4 large tortillas

16 oz shredded cheddar cheese

 

In a large skillet cook the sausage thoroughly, and drain,
set aside. In a small bowl whisk together eggs and milk, then pour mixture into
a preheated pan to cook for roughly 5 minutes, stirring often.  Lay tortillas flat and evenly distribute the
sausage eggs and cheese. Roll tortillas into burrito form and then wrap in tin
foil. Place over fire for 3-4 minutes until all ingredients are warmed, and
cheese is melted. (Make ahead up to 2 days in advance)

 

Now I can’t take all the credit for this one. I got the idea
from this post, and it was so awesome I had to share! My recipe is obviously alot simplier, but we liked it alot. There is also a video
that helps showcase this awesome camping recipe, plus i’m kind of obsessed with the blog.

Fire Roasted French Onions

 

4 medium Onions

1 packet brown gravy

3-4 tbs of water
Peal all four onions, leaving the root in place (this keeps
the onion together while roasting), and cut them into quarters. Place onions in
a large piece of tin foil. Open the brown gravy packet and add water, using the
packet to stir it all up. Pout this mixture over the top of the onions. Using
the tinfoil wrap the onion, gravy mixture up and place over the hot coals of a
fire, roast for 20-25 minutes, turning several times, until the onions have
become caramelized. Serve warm.

 

As if you don’t get enough French Onion Recipes from me? I
love this one, because it is easy, light weight, with little waste, and great
for a back packing trip, plus onions don’t need to be refrigerated!

 

 

Herby Burger with Lemon Aioli

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My Garden is coming along despite the presence of a pesky
rabbit that seems to be in love with my kale, chard and kohlrabi. Those little
babies didn’t stand a chance. He doesn’t seem interested in my beans or
radishes though thank goodness, they acted as a barrier for the rest of the
garden.
Radishes are coming in hot, and Chuck is eating them as fast
as they are coming. Which is fine by me, not being a huge fan and all, he can
have them. He loves them just plain as a snack; I think he is crazy.
The lettuce is growing by leaps and bounds with all the
rain, so lately we have been having LOTS of fresh salads.
Unfortunately I started some late seasonal herbs, in pots on
the deck, but I think the mix of scorching sun most days and violent, drowning
storms in the evenings did them in, most of them started to come up and died
shortly thereafter. It’s ok though because I am learning a lot.
There is something so satisfying about stepping out of your
back door taking a few snippets of lettuce, or herbs and making a meal out of
them. Not only are you seeing the fruition of your own hard work, but you get
to experience each step of how your food gets to the table.
This particular meal began as just a lazy summer meal of
burgers that I dressed up with herbs, sprouts, lemon aioli and a side salad all
from the garden.

 
Herbed Burger

1.5 lb lean ground beef

1 tbsp chopped tarragon

1 tbsp chopped basil

1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

In a large bowl combine all ingredients with dampened hands.
Once well mixed divide meat mixture into four equal pieces, and form patties. Place
patties on a preheated and greased grill and cook over high heat for roughly 5
minutes a side. Serve warm on grilled buns with your choice of toppings.
Lemon Aioli

½ cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients in a small bowl, and mix to combine.

Asian Glazed Chicken Legs & Carrot Ginger Dressing

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Right now I am basking in the wonder that is the great
Adirondacks in upstate NY, completely void of technology. This post I have had
ready and waiting in the wings for a while, and so it is posting on auto pilot
while I am away enjoying the awesomely long 4th of July weekend. I
hope you  like it!
These quick and easy Asian Glazed Chicken Legs are an
awesome new twist for tossing chicken on the grill, and this zingy Asian style
dressing over a salad is the perfect pairing for a quick and simple summer
meal.
Asian Glazed Chicken Legs

¼ cup honey

1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp fresh grated ginger root

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 chicken legs

In a large bowl stir together honey, soy sauce, ginger, and
garlic. Place chicken in the bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour (can be
left over night). Once marinated place chicken on a preheated grill over medium
high heat for 20-30 minutes, rotating every 5-10 minutes, until well done.
While the chicken is cooking pour the remaining marinade into a sauce pan and
simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes until it thickens. Use this liquid to
baste the chicken once it’s done. Serve warm.
The dressing may look complicated because you have to cook
down the carrot, but leftover grilled, or roasted carrots work as well, and you
can always make the dressing a few days ahead, and use it as a dip, or on
additional salads throughout the week.
Carrot Ginger Dressing

¼ cup carrots, cooked

1 tbsp minced ginger

1 small garlic clove

1 tbsp minced onion

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tsp low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp oil

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.
Serve chilled.

Quick, Easy Clean: Crock Pot Chicken Broth

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Homemade chicken broth is the best kind of broth, that’s for
sure. It is so versatile that I use it nearly every day, but with a full time
job, and a social life finding time to spend hours simmering a pot of broth on
the stove is not always possible.

To be honest I feel silly for not having thought of this
before. There have been numerous time when my heart broke to have to throw out
an entire chicken carcass; it’s just a complete waste. But now I have the
perfect solution; the crock pot.

I usually roast my chicken in a crock pot anyway, for the
same reasons I don’t always make broth (my busy life), so why not make the
broth in a crock pot?

On this particular occasion I had roasted an entire chicken
for the sole reason to supply Chuck with lunch meat. When I see whole chicken
for sale for less than a dollar, you can bet that always buy one sometimes 2 or
3. You cannot beat that price for a couple dinners and/or a week’s worth of
lunches.

Roasting a chicken in a crock pot is pretty easy, I just rub
it and stuff it with whatever spices are on my mind at the time with (usually 2
tsp salt, 2 tsp pepper, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp curry, and stuffed ½ an
onion and a couple cloves of garlic), line the pot with tinfoil, as shown
below, and put it on low for 8 hours. Once it’s done its edible, but I like the
crispy skin and carmelization that you get from roasting, so I use the tin foil
to transfer the chicken over to a roasting pan and pop it in the oven at 425
for 20-30 minutes, until the skin is golden and crispy.

Now since I was just planning on using it for lunches I used
the tin foil to transfer it to a cutting board where I could break it down more
easily. Everything that isn’t going into sandwiches or salads goes back into
the crockpot, along with some other things of course; the recipe is below for
all of that.

Finding time to make old recipes, and homemade food work in
this busy modern life is truly a wonderful blessing that makes my heart happy.

Crock Pot Chicken Broth

1 leftover chicken Carcass (or bones), meat removed

1 onion chopped (leave the peel on)

1 rib of celery

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1 sprig fresh parsley

1 sprig of fresh thyme

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 bay leaves

Place all ingredients in the crock pot and cover with water
(leaving at least ½” at the top). Place the crock pot on low for 8-10 hours;
Once cooked pass the stock through a fine sieve to remove the leftover herbs,
bones and pieces. At this point you may simmer on the stovetop for 30 minutes
to an hour to further reduce, or use as is. It can remain refrigerated for
roughly 5 days, or frozen for later use.

Random Side note: DO NOT leave the butter Dish next to the
crock pot while it is doing its thing. I have done this at least 3 times
recently, and it never ends well.

Dinner & Lunch for 1: Healthier Twice Baked Potato & Grilled Cheese

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So I’m pretty much a genius, just saying.

I found this recipe in Clean Eating Magazine recently and
was very interested in it. I mean who doesn’t love twice backed potatoes, and
cheese, and bacon? I added & changed a few things, but it turned out
wonderfully!

Loaded Spinach & Egg Baked Potatoes

1 large Yukon gold potato

1 tsp oil

½ cup spinach

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 tbsp chopped onion

2 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 egg

1-2 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese

½ tbsp chives, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. With a fork stick a few
holes into the potato at various angles. Place in the microwave and using 45
second intervals cook until it begins to soften, 1-2 minutes. Meanwhile in a
small skillet sauté spinach, garlic, onion, and half of the bacon in oil, until
the spinach becomes wilted, and remove from heat. Once the potatoes are cooked,
cut an oval out of the top and use a spoon to scoop out the insides, leaving
about ¼ to ½ inch around the edge, and discard. Place the spinach mixture
inside the potato and carefully crack an egg into the potato, and top with cheese
and bacon. Place the potato into the oven and back for 15-20 minutes, or until
desired doneness of egg. Once cooked top with chives and serve with sour cream,
or salsa.

Now once I made this delectable little concoction I was at a
huge loss as to what to do with the leftover cooked potato insides. I thought
of mashed potatoes, potato pancakes, and soup, you know all the usual things.

That’s when it hit me.

It was like a ton of bricks.

 Loaded Potato Grilled
Cheese!

I saw a recipe several weeks ago from one of my new favorite
blogs B.S. in the kitchen for Perrogie Grilled Cheese, and well let’s be
honest if Bob & Carlene can do it than there is no reason I can’t do it too. And I did,
for lunch the next day, in between attempting to organize at least one more
room in this house.

Loaded Potato Grilled Cheese

2 slices of bread

1 small pat of butter

¼ cup traditional mashed potatoes

¼ cup cheddar cheese

1 slice of bacon cooked & Crumbled

1 tbsp chopped chives

Spread the mashed potato on one slice of bread. Top with
chives, bacon, and cheese, and the additional piece of bread. Butter both
pieces of bread and place in a preheated skillet over medium heat. Cook until
the outside is toasted and the cheese is melted. Serve warm.

And there you have 1 potato, 1 person and two meals for the single person.