Kentucky Hot Brown

August 2, 2021August 1, 2021 RefreshHer2 Comments

Oh, how I have loved having all the fresh tomatoes this summer! There are a few things I crave when I know a fresh tomato is in the house; one is a BLT on sour dough bread. I took care of that craving a couple weeks ago. Another yummy dish is a Kentucky Hot Brown. If you’ve never had one, think of it as a BLT with turkey slices and cheese sauce added. It is heavenly! As you can imagine, however, it is a little on the fattening side.

~Enter Cooking Light…

They have a lightened up version of this yummy Kentucky favorite, and it’s just as good as the more fattening version. Okay, even if you don’t have fresh tomatoes lying around, go buy a tomato somewhere and make this for supper! I had roasted a turkey breast a couple weeks ago and stored slices in the freezer marked, “Turkey Breast slices for Hot Browns.” So, this recipe was in the back of my head for a few weeks!

Sauce:

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard

Remaining ingredients:
12 (1-ounce) slices white bread, toasted
3 cups shredded cooked turkey (about 6 ounces)
12 (1/4-inch-thick) slices tomato
5 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Preheat broiler.
To prepare sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour, salt, paprika, and pepper. Cook the mixture 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook 3 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add cheddar, Worcestershire, and mustard; stir with a whisk until smooth. Keep warm.
Arrange toast on a large baking sheet. Arrange turkey evenly over toast. Drizzle sauce evenly over turkey; top each toast slice with 1 tomato slice. Sprinkle evenly with bacon and Parmesan. Broil for 7 minutes or until thoroughly heated and lightly browned. Serve immediately.

If you need a couple recipe suggestions for fresh tomatoes, here’s a recipe using Cherry Tomatoes. This ravioli is so delicious! Of course you can’t beat a good ol’ Tomato Sandwich on white bread, spread with mayo and Cheddar cheese slice!
What is your favorite way to eat fresh tomatoes?

dinner in 30 minutes · Main entree

Transform Any Meat With This Sauce!

August 31, 2020August 29, 2020 RefreshHer7 Comments

My husband LOVES sauces on his entrees’! However, because we’re trying to cut back on calories and watch our diets, adding a sauce seemed out of the question.

But I was Wrong!!

I found the easiest, tastiest sauce that was delicious on our pork chops (which can be dry without something!).
This sauce would also be fantastic on chicken or salmon! Instead of heavy cream, it is made with chicken broth and reduced-fat sour cream, making it much lighter!

Here’s the simple list of ingredients and recipe:

Mustard Sauce

1/4 stp salt
1/4 tsp eppper,
1 tsp oil
1/3 Cup fat-free chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 Tbl water
1 Tbl, coarse grain mustard
1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 Tbl. chives, chopped, optional

Sprinkle meat with salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add meat and cook until browned and cooked through. Transfer to plate to keep warm.
Add broth and shallots to skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring often and scraping browned bits from bottom of skillet, until shallots are tender, about 3 minutes.
Remove skillet from heat; stir in water, mustard, sour cream and remaining 1/8 tsp pepper. Spoon mustard sauce over meat; garnish with chives, if desired.

You need to add this recipe to your files when you want to dress up a plain piece of meat into something really special!

What extra something do you wish you could enjoy more frequently with your dinner?

With love from my country kitchen,

dinner in 30 minutes · Fast meal · Sandwich

Bumping Up the Hot Dog to a Whole New Level!

August 10, 2020August 8, 2020 RefreshHer10 Comments

“What are some of your favorite things to purchase at Sam’s Club?” I asked a friend.

“I love their chicken sausages! They make such a great supper meal!”

So upon her recommendation, I purchased some and they were good, but just “meh.” But then I realized that they would be fantastic on a bun in the place of a regular hot dog. After searching, I found this recipe for adding a sweet and savory pineapple relish on top of that sausage, and it bumped it up to be the tastiest “Hot Dog” ever!

One great thing about these sausages (you can get them at any grocery store, not just Sam’s) is that most are already cooked, so you’re basically warming them up. We chose to throw them on the grill to add that smokey flavor. Good idea! Then, I also sprayed the buns with cooking spray and warmed them on the grill before placing that hot chicken sausage inside and topping it with the delicious relish. Oh my! What a yummy meal and also so much healthier than the pork version.

Chicken Sausages with Pineapple Salsa
Keep in mind you can leave out any ingredient you don’t love!

4 chicken sausages (or vegetarian sausage)
1 cup pineapple
1/2 cup red pepper, diced
1/2 jalapeno, diced
1/8 cup onion, diced
1/8 cup cilantro, diced
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 lime, juice

Instructions:

Stir together the pineapple, red pepper, jalapeno, onion, cilantro, cumin, salt, pepper, and lime juice.2

Grill the sausages according to package directions, about 6-8 minutes for pre-cooked chicken sausages.

Spray buns with cooking spray and place sprayed side down on grill. Cook until lightly browned and warm.

Place sausage in buns and top with Pineapple relish.

If you’re hungry for a delicious summer meal, I encourage you to jump on the Chicken sausage bandwagon and give them a try inside a toasty bun and smothered with this relish! You’ll be saying,

Move over, hot dog, you’ve got some stiff competition!!

Two questions:
Have you ever tried chicken sausages?

What’s your favorite thing to buy at Sam’s or Costco?

With love from my country kitchen,

dinner in 30 minutes · Fast meal · Fish

Tandoori Grilled Shrimp

July 5, 2020July 6, 2020 RefreshHer2 Comments

It amazes me how cheaply, yet how well we can eat at home. A dinner of a pound of shrimp would be pretty high at a restaurant. Last week I made Tandoori Grilled Shrimp Skewers for under $10. We got four FULL skewers and two meals out of it, and was it ever scrumptious!! Also, as I always say, fish is a super fast meal. Because these were grilled, my kitchen didn’t even get heated up. Is that enough positives to make you want to try them for yourself?

This marinade is a lighter version and only needs 15 minutes to coat the shrimp and make it so flavorful. Grilling the shrimp only takes 2-3 minutes in each side. Dinner is ready in under 30 minutes!

Tandoori Grilled Shrimp Skewers

1/3 cup(s) , or plain non fat Greek yogurt
kosher salt, 1 1/2 tsp
fresh lemon juice, 1 1/2 tsp
olive oil, 1 1/2 tsp
curry powder, 1 tsp
ground cumin, 1 tsp
ground coriander, 1 tsp
granulated garlic,1 tsp
ground ginger, 1/2 tsp
uncooked shrimp, 1 pound(s) , large, peeled and deveined
cooking spray, 1 spray(s)
cilantro, 2 Tbsp , fresh, chopped

Combine yogurt, salt, lemon juice, oil, curry powder, cumin, coriander, garlic and ginger in a large bowl; add shrimp and toss to coat. Marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature or covered, up to 2 hours in refrigerator.
Divide shrimp among 4 metal or wooden skewers (if using wooden skewers, make sure to soak them for 20 minutes before use).
Off heat, coat a grill or grill pan with cooking spray. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Grill skewers until shrimp are cooked through (opaque) and slightly firm, flipping once, about 2 to 4 minutes per side. Serve garnished with cilantro.

The next time you think you should just go out for dinner, think about something this fast, this delicious, and this cost-effective instead. You get choice seating, a view of HOME and a satisfied appetite! I can’t wait to make these again!!

With love from my country kitchen,

dinner in 30 minutes · Fish · Mexican Food · Side dish · Tacos

A New Twist On Taco Tuesday

June 29, 2020June 29, 2020 RefreshHer7 Comments

If you grimace at the thought of Fish Tacos, it’s probably because you’ve never had a really tasty one! We are HUGE taco fans in any shape or fashion, so I am always willing to try a new recipe for our favorite fare because they come together in under 30 minutes, they’re healthy when broiled, and they’re so yummy!

I recently came across a new recipe for Fish Tacos in my favorite source – a Cooking Light Magazine. If you’ve been with me for any length of time, you know I adore their recipes. They did not disappoint! This has become my new favorite Fish taco recipe! Their recipe has a little kick added, which I have found the fish really needs in order to be exceptional. Don’t worry if you don’t have all the seasonings, just wing it and enjoy! I’ll share my substitutions and omissions in the following recipe.

Smoky Tilapia Tacos

Ingredients

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika –I used regular paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander – I left this out
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
2 pounds tilapia fillets – I used frozen Polluck
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro – I’m not a huge fan, so I omitted this
2 teaspoons canned chopped green chilies
1 diced peeled avocado
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas – I used my homemade flour tortillas
Cooking spray
6 lime wedges

How to Make It

Preheat broiler to high.

Combine first 4 ingredients and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Brush fillets with oil, and sprinkle with spice mixture. Place fillets on a baking sheet. Broil 6 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Combine remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, cilantro, chilies, and avocado in a bowl; lightly mash with a fork.

Heat tortillas on a grill pan coated with cooking spray 20 seconds on each side or until lightly charred. Divide avocado mixture and fish among tortillas. Serve with lime wedges.

To accompany the tacos, Cooking Light suggested a recipe for Pinto beans which are canned, and are cooked very similarly to the way I share here. Then they are topped with the best cream! I added this cream to the tacos, too, which gave them such a full flavor! These take only Minutes to put together!

My husband declared he’d rather I never fix refried Beans again, and only serve these with Mexican food. I heartily agree! I bet you will, too!

Simmered Pinto Beans with Chipotle Sour Cream

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup unsalted chicken stock
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can unsalted pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons minced chipotle chiles, canned in adobo sauce

How to Make It

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add onion, bell pepper, cumin, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add stock, salt, black pepper, and beans; simmer 7 minutes. Stir in juice and parsley.

Combine remaining ingredients; serve with beans.