Catch Up--Elise's Turkey Burgers

I'm glad I finally made these!

Here's what I did differently:

• added two extra grated carrots
• added an extra tsp. of thyme (this was by accident, but turned out to be a delicious mistake)
• grilled onions with the patties

We served them on regular buns with grilled onions, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and cucumbers. I'm not a big beef person, so for me these were a great change from the regular ground beef burger. And especially in the heat of summer (when meat just feels too heavy to eat), these are lighter than regular burgers. If you haven't made these yet, go make them!

Elise's Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

These were delicious! And super easy to make. I didn't use a whole cup of chocolate chips--just a half a cup. That turned out to be plenty for me. Then I used a half a cup of pecans as well. I thought it was perfect! And instead of the espresso powder, I used cinnamon. I couldn't really taste the cinnamon that much so next time I'll put a tad more. They made 14 muffins for me, but maybe I didn't quite fill each muffin cup enough. (I always get scared that they are going to overflow and make a mess of my oven. I HATE cleaning my oven.)

I ate three of these yesterday (whoops) because they were so good. Violet ate two whole muffins by herself so they were quite a hit with her as well. I will definitely be making these again!

Cheesy Squash Pasta

(Sorry this post is late. I just got back from Utah today.)

This is my slightly modified version of a recipe from Deceptively Delicious. Not only is it a great way to sneak in some veggies for your kids, the butternut squash flavor is awesome.

2 cups Bow Tie pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 cup milk

1 cup butternut squash puree*

1 chopped red bell pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

4 ounces cream cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. paprika

1/8 tsp. pepper

*Butternut squash puree: take a whole butternut squash, slice it in half, and bake it face down on a cookie sheet (juice is going to run out, so don't use a cookie sheet without sides). Bake at 350 for an hour or until tender. Scoop out flesh from squash and place in blender. Pulverize until smooth.

-Cook the pasta according to directions.
-While the pasta is cooking, coat a large suacepan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the oil, then the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture resembles a thick paste but has not browned (1 - 2 minutes).
-Add the milk and cook, stirring every now and then, until the mixture begins to thicken (3 - 4 minutes). Add the vegetable puree, the chopped pepper, cheddar, cream cheese, and seasonings. Stir until smooth.
-Stir in the pasta and serve warm.

Q: When did you start baking / cooking?
A: I've been baking & cooking since I was young, but my family had pretty limited variety in their meals. Plus, we always did everything the hard way--everything from scratch. Grind your own flour, make your own butter, grow your own food, milk your own milk, etc. Plus when you're cooking for 12+ people, things are never easy. Needless to say, cooking was always quite the endeavor. I didn't really enjoy it because it was such a chore. Now that I'm married and only cooking for 3, I like trying out new recipes and new foods. I pretty much don't ever use an actual cook book, just allrecipes.com. (But sometimes Deceptively Delicious, of course.)

Q: What is your favorite kitchen tool?
A: My Bosch and my garlic press. I also really like my ice cream scooper, but I don't think that counts.

Q: Do you have a favorite spice? If so, what is it?
A: Crushed red pepper. And fresh garlic.

Q: What is your favorite book?
A: Hmmm. I guess I'll say The Hobbit today.

Q: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
A: Right now I want to go to Greece. It looks so pretty in all the movies.

Q: If you had to change your first name right now, what would you change it to?
A: When I was young I always wanted to change it to Alyse instead of Elise, because that way people wouldn't always say "Elsie" when reading my name off something. (It made me wonder just how many people out there are dyslexic. Seriously.) Now I like Elise better because it is French, and therefore cooler :). I guess if I HAD to change, I would just change it to Lise, because that's what most my friends and all my family call me anyway.

Q: Where do you currently live?
A: Chicago

Q: Where are you from?
A: Born in Houston, then moved to Saudi Arabia for seven years, a couple short spurts in Washington and Idaho, and finally to Orem, UT.

Q: If you could eat one thing for every meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: Cafe Rio Chicken Salad.

Elise's S'more Nut Bars

I'm finally posting!

I halved this recipe because Dan and I can never finish a whole 9x13 pan of dessert before it goes the way of all the earth.

The crust was DELICIOUS! (Mine didn't have puddles of butter on the top, Danielle, but I didn't grease my pan at all. I figured the crust had plenty of butter already.) I was a bit unsure on the baking time since I was using an 8x8 pan, but I baked it for 16 minutes and it turned out beautifully soft but still held together.

(After it had been in the oven for 1 minute I realized I had forgotten the brown sugar, so I whipped the pan out of the oven, dumped the crust back in the bowl, and added the sugar. Luckily it wasn't too late!)

The chocolate I used was Baker's German Sweet Chocolate--48% cacao. My bars still turned out super chocolatey--a little too much for me, but they are still excellent as long as taken in small doses. I am not a big fan of marshmallows, so I melted them into the cream instead of just folding them into the chocolate mixture. I think I could have added a couple more and maybe it would have toned down the chocolate a bit. Were these supposed to be firm? Mine were pretty soft and squishy even after they chilled, so I didn't want to give any to Violet (she'd make a mess all over her face and hands with something like this). Maybe they are firmer now that they've been refrigerated overnight. I'll have to check.

Instead of peanuts, I used pecans. Yummy!