Philadelphia Style Cheese Steak

     Every once in a while I attempt to make a Philadelphia Cheese Steak sandwich. It will never come close to Pat's or Gino's in Philadelphia but it's a good alternative. The key is to use real steak, not the flaked and pressed sandwich steaks they sell in the freezer. There is one company that does have frozen steak sliced paper thin. Landis, and it's in the freezer section of the meat dept. A traditional cheese steak has cheese wiz on it. Yes cheese wiz! I prefer cheddar cheese, but you can use any cheese you want. I also like to top mine with fried onions and mushrooms. But be creative! Make a pizza steak with mozzarella cheese and sauce, or fajita steak with monterey jack cheese, fried peppers and onions and guacamole.

     First, I put a drizzle of olive oil in a hot frying pan. I saute a sliced onion, when they are almost done, I add 3 or 4 sliced mushrooms. When they are light brown and tender, remove the onion mixture from the pan and keep warm.

 Put the steaks into the frying pan. While they are cooking, pull the steaks apart, into small pieces. When the steak is done divide it into portions. Put the cheese on top to melt.

 Put the onion mixture on a steak roll, and top with the steak and cheese. You can also put your cheesesteak on a whole wheat wrap, which is the way I prefer it. I served it with cole slaw and a slice of tomato on the side. Enjoy!!

                                   

  

Turkey Burgers Florentine

I put together this recipe from a turkey burger I buy at Wegmans Supermarket. It's one of my favorite grocery stores, but the closest one is 15 miles from my house. So I don't get there that often. They sell Turkey Florentine burgers made fresh in the meat dept. and I love them on the grill. So I decided to try to remember what is in the burgers so I can make them myself. I think I came pretty close with this recipe, and they are really delicious. So here it is...

1.3 lb (20oz) package of ground turkey

2 tbls bread crumbs

1/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup chopped onion

4 sun-dried tomatoes (fresh is best but jarred is ok if fresh isn't available)

5 baby spinach leaves, sliced thin and cut in half

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Splash of olive oil

Add all the ingredients in one bowl and mix together. Form into patties and grill on medium to medium high heat for 6 minutes on each side. Serve on a roll or a wrap with lettuce and tomato slice. Add you're favorite side salad and some multigrain chips. Makes 6 burgers.

These burgers were juicy and filled with flavor. My family loved them. You can also change it up if you want, replacing the sun-dried tomatoes and spinach, with roasted red peppers and fresh basil. Add a little tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese on top and you have Turkey Parmesan. Enjoy!

Fruit and Yogurt Smoothies

Nothing sounds better to me for breakfast on a really hot day is a Fruit and Yogurt Smoothie. And I make them from scratch, with all fresh and healthy ingredients. Its quick and easy and you can change it up how ever you want. I use fresh Strawberries and Bananas, but you can also use fresh mangos with orange segments, or blueberries with raspberries, whatever's in season. Here's my ingredients.

For the Smoothie you will need:

1 carton of vanilla carb control yogurt (or what ever brand you use)

4 large strawberries

1/2 banana

Approximately 1/4 cup of non fat milk

a splash of orange juice

fill an 12-16 oz cup with ice. Add a little more if you want a thicker smoothie.

Truvia to taste 

Put all the ingredients except the sweetener in the blender. Turn the blender on almost high for about 1 min. When you're done, taste it to see if it needs to be sweeter. Sometimes the fruit isn't very sweet. Add enough sweetener to your liking and blend again for a couple of seconds. Pour it into a large glass, add a strawberry garnish and straw. 

This drink is so frosty and refreshing, and perfect on a really hot day like today when its over 80 degees at 9am. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Chick Pea Salad

What I like about cooking is that you can use someones recipe and change it up a bit to make it your own. My daughter did just that. She actually got this recipe from Glamour Magazine and put her own touch to it, and I also added my touch to it too. It's a great dish to serve in this hot weather and It's easy to make and it's healthy.

1 can of chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 ripe avocado roughly chopped
1 large tomato chopped
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp tabasco sauce
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp chopped chives
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
6-8 lettuce leaves (bibb or red leaf)

Just add everything to the bowl and mix. It tastes good wrapped in the lettuce leaves or its great by itself. Now here's the twist. My daughter adds 1 can of black beans rinsed and drained, and I like to add a little garlic powder, and reduce the tabasco sauce to a few shakes. Also, I use fresh chopped tomatoes packaged from the produce dept. just to save a little time.