Eggroll Skillet

A fellow homeschooling mom, Debra Pearson, graciously allowed me to post this crisp and flavorful recipe that she created which has become a regular in my family's meal rotation.   The recipe calls for a ground pork and ground shrimp combination, but I most often just use 1 to 1 1/2 lb. ground pork or ground turkey alone.  

Serves 6  (My ginormous wok makes the amount appear small in the photo.)

Ingredients

1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. shrimp, peeled & de-veined
1 small green cabbage, shredded finely
1 large carrot, julienned
1 stalk celery, finely chopped on the bias
1-inch of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
3 or 4 green onions, chopped
Coconut oil
Coconut aminos or Bragg's Liquid Aminos or Tamari
Toasted sesame oil
S&P

In a food processor, pulse the shrimp until they are of similar consistency to the ground pork. Combine the meats in a bowl until well mixed. Preheat a large skillet to med.-high and add 1 to 2 Tbsp oil. Fry the meat mixture until no longer pink, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. Remove the meat to drain, wipe out the skillet, and add another Tbsp oil. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté for a minute. Add the remaining veggies and stir fry them until glossy but not limp. Return the meat to the skillet and heat through. Season with about 2 Tbsp  aminos or tamari, and a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, drizzle with toasted sesame oil, and serve.  

My youngest, though not a picky eater, has developed an aversion to coconut aminos.  The rest of us add the aminos to our individual servings, and he eats his with rice vinegar instead.

Pesto Turkey Burgers

 Disclaimer:  I am not a food photographer.  After making dinner for my family of six, I'm more interested in eating than lighting and staging.  However, I recently started using Pinterest as a virtual recipe box, and a picture is necessary for a pin.

A recipe for basil-zucchini turkey patties served as my inspiration, but I thought that the addition of zucchini spread the pesto flavors too thin.

Ingredients

1 cup packed fresh basil

1/4 cup packed fresh parsley

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tsp. minced garlic

olive oil to drizzle

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 - 1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey 

In a food processor, pulse all the ingredients except the turkey with enough olive oil (sometimes I use some water as well) to form a coarse paste.

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the pesto into the turkey by hand and form the meat into small to medium-sized burgers. I layer the patties on a plate, separating the layers with waxed paper.

Grill the burgers, or fry them in a nonstick skillet, approximately 3 minutes per side. 

Double the recipe if serving more than six.

Leon Salad

 

 Serves 6 as main dish salad

Ingredients:

3 heads romaine hearts, chopped, rinsed & dried

3/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1 pkg. cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 c. garbanzo beans

1 c. black olives, sliced

1-2 pkg. salami (I use kitchen shears to cut the layered meat in strips and then into squares.)

Optional: mozzarella cubes  

fresh lemon juice, olive oil & black pepper to taste

Toss the salad ingredients in a large bowl and drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil to taste with black pepper if desired. 

I often make an individual serving of this salad for lunch, just eyeballing the amounts.

Dig My New Shades?

We Love Our Thirteen Year Old!

Beautiful Scenery & a Squeaky Wheel

While my parents were here, we headed to Heritage Square, thinking that the kids would enjoy some of the amusement rides as an early celebration of Evan's birthday. When we arrived, we found the rides still and quiet. We told an employee that the website had listed weekday hours for the rides. He told us that we were mistaken, but I insisted to him that the website had mislead us.

We browsed in a gift shop for a bit and had old-fashioned portraits taken of the kids together. As we waited for the pictures to be ready, the amusement park employee found James, conceding that the website information was incorrect, and giving him two free all-day passes for unlimited rides to use when the rides were indeed open. Sometimes it pays to "complain".

My dad proposed that we drive to Mount Evans. The road to the top is not open until Memorial Day, but we enjoyed the scenery at Echo Lake. Since Logan had fallen asleep in the van, my mom volunteered to sit with him (also because the altitude was affecting her) while we roamed around a bit.












On the way home, we stopped in Idaho Springs to eat supper at Beau Jo's which makes gluten free pizzas!!! I ordered a gluten free Yukon, asking that they substitute black olives for the artichoke hearts. When the pizza arrived, they had indeed included black olives but had substituted mushrooms for the Canadian bacon!!! Mushrooms are not my favorite to put it mildly. My mom's pizza order was incorrect as well. Though I didn't want to point out a mistake again, I told the server. He resubmitted the GF order and was very apologetic that I had to wait, though it didn't bother me. Pizza is a rare treat for me. We received a discount on our bill due to the mistakes.

While the family waited for the pizza, James took the kids to see a train engine and this water wheel outside...




On the way home, my dad asked to see the view from Lookout Mountain. (James and I were married on Lookout Mountain at the Boettcher Mansion.)