Todd's "Five for Flamin'" Burgers

So, your favorite hockey team is out of town, but they are on TV tonight! A couple of questions probably come to mind. What drinks or EANABs (pronounced ee'nab, Equally Attractive Non-Alcholic Beverage) should I get for the game? And, what should I make for dinner when the action starts? It's cold outside so something warm would be great. Todd's "Five for Flamin'" Burgers will cure the hunger pangs and set the proper mood!

Ingredients
1 lb. 80% lean ground beef
1 egg
4 oz. sharp cheddar, cut into small cubes
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. thick, smoked bacon, sliced into 1/2 strips
2 jalapenos, sliced
1/4 cup chipotle mayo (recipe follows)
1 Tomato, sliced
Lettuce
4 kaiser rolls

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, place the ground beef, egg, cheddar, onion, garlic, bacon and jalapenos. With your hands, thoroughly combine all ingredients. While the mixture stands, make the chipotle mayo and cover a large plate or platter with wax paper. Form the burger mixture into 4 patties. Cook the burgers outdoors on a grill or indoors using the stove top and a grill pan to medium (since this recipe uses raw bacon, make sure it gets cooked!). Once done, set aside on a platter and briefly toast the kaiser rolls. Assemble each burger topping with a tablespoon of the chipotle mayo, tomato slice and a leaf of lettuce. Serve with some curly fries and enjoy!

Here are a couple pictures I took during preparation:



The ingredients sans the egg.

Five for Flamin' Burger patties

Chipotle Mayo

Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise
2 chipotles in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon adobo sauce
1/2 lime, juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Add all the ingredients to a food processor or blender and puree. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Todd's Healthy Lasagna

If it tastes great, it's probably pretty bad bad for you. Unfortunately, this seems to be an indisputable rule of the culinary world. However, things that are good for you don't necessarily have to taste like crap. So, I wondered to myself when I was hungry for lasagna, is there a way to make it that won't instantly clog one's arteries? I found a recipe on FoodNetwork.com that seemed to have some potential. I didn't have to make too many changes to it other than modifying amounts of some of the spices and the amount of turkey sausage. Turned out pretty darn good!

Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients

1 28 oz. can whole San Marzano Tomatoes, hand crushed
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, plus 2 whole sprigs
3 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 16 oz. container 1 percent low-fat cottage cheese
1 15 oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 lb. lean sweet Italian-style turkey sausage, casings removed
1 medium onion, finely chopped onion
12 sheets traditional wavy lasagna noodles
1 1/2 cups part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small pot bring the tomatoes, wine, whole basil sprigs, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, to taste, to a simmer; cook until slightly thickened, 10 minutes; set aside.

2. Meanwhile, puree the cottage cheese in the bowl of a food processor until smooth. add the ricotta, spinach, 1/4 cup chopped basil, scallions, nutmeg, and salt and pepper and pulse until just combined; set aside.

3. Coat a large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray set over medium heat. Cook the sausage and onion, breaking it up with a wooden spoon into small pieces, until the meat is browned and the onion tender, 10 minutes.

4. Assemble the lasagna: Mist a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with 3 noodles, half the ricotta mixture, half the sausage and 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers with sauce, noodles, remaining ricotta and sausage and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until the noodles are tender and the sauce is bubbling around the edges of the pan, 1 hour.

5. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and continue to bake until melted, 10 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup basil. Serve.

Comes out to about 400 calories per serving.

Todd's "Five for Flamin'" Jambalaya

I'm a big fan of Cajun food and a good jambalaya is always a great meal. Over the last month or so, I've been researching jambalaya recipes and put together one of my own. I have been making and tweaking this recipe for the last four weeks straight and am very happy with how it tastes now, so I'm going to share it. It's "Five for Flamin'" due to how much cayenne pepper I add, which is around 2 teapsoons (I think, LOL), so it comes out quite spicy hot. However, the cayenne is added at the end, so one can only add as much as they wish. This recipe is actually surprising easy to make and doesn't take much time. It makes 8 hearty servings. Schwing!

Ingredients

24 medium to large shrimp, peeled, deveined, cut into thirds

8 ounces boneless chicken breast, diced

12 ounces andouille sausage links, sliced in half lengthwise and then cut into half moons

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 large green bell pepper, chopped,

4 stalks celery, chopped

4 tablespoons garlic, chopped

2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes (with jalapeno if available)

6 bay leaves

6 cups low sodium chicken stock

4 tablespoons Cajun seasoning

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

two teaspoons hot sauce

1 3/4 cups long grain rice

ground cayenne pepper

salt

black pepper

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine the shrimp, chicken and Cajun seasoning working in the seasoning well. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the celery and allow to sweat for 5 minutes. Add bell pepper and onion and cook 5 more minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Let cook for 1 minute while stirring to mix well. Stir in rice and then slowly add the chicken broth. Reduce heat to medium and cook until rice absorbs the liquid and becomes tender, stirring occasionally but careful not to over stir, about 15 minutes. When rice is just tender add shrimp and chicken mixture and andouilli sausage. Cook until meat is done, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper. Serve immediately and enjoy!