Deep Dish Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe

One food that I don't think I'll ever get enough of is pizza.  How can you not love pizza.  It's protein, carbs, dairy, and veggies (kind of), all melted together to make a glorious slab of happiness.

Also being a fan of bacon cheeseburgers, I was very excited to see Shelby's Bacon Cheeseburger pizza and knew it would not be long until I'd be whipping this up.

It meets every expectation of deliciousness, and is quick and fun to make.  I think my favorite part is the whole wheat flour in the crust.  It adds a sweet and soft element to the pizza that I just loved.

Deep Dish Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe
By Grumpy's Honeybunch

Ingredients

For the crust:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1-3//4 cups white flour
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 packet rapid rise yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
Cornmeal to coat the bottom of pan

For the sauce:
3 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

For the toppings:
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 large left over hamburger, cooked (I just browned and crumbled 1/2 lb ground beef)
4 slices bacon, cooked until crispy and broken into pieces
Lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion to garnish, if desired

Directions

To make the crust, combine the whole wheat pastry flour and 3/4 cup of white flour with the salt, sugar, and yeast.  Pour the warm water and tablespoon of olive oil over flour mixture and stir to combine.  Mix in remaining 1 cup flour.  Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, adding more flour as needed.  Spray a mixing bowl (I usually use the one I mixed the dough in - I just wash it out first) with cooking spray.  Place dough in bowl and then turn over. Cover with a towel and let rise approximately 45 minutes or until dough doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Punch down dough and let rest for 10 minutes.  While dough is resting, make sauce.  Mix together in a small bowl the ketchup, mustard, worchestershire sauce and mayonnaise.

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.  I use a glass pan, I like how the crust turns out crispy in this dish.  Sprinkle with cornmeal.  Place dough in pan and press the dough out, making sure to have the dough go up the sides of the pan to create the dish effect.

Spread sauce over top of dough.  Layer toppings as follows:  Sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, spread broken up hamburger over top of cheese, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and then lastly top with cheddar cheese.

Bake in oven approximately 20 minutes or until crust is browned and topping begins to brown lightly. Remove from oven and top with bacon pieces.  Garnish with lettuce, tomato, onion and more bacon if desired.

Guacamole Taco Burgers

I have a confession to make.

I'm done with the summer. Done. I need cooler weather, homework for the kids, and soup on my stovetop. Right now, more than anything, I need my routine back.

As much as I love the summer, sometimes there really can be too much of a good thing.  After almost three straight months of playing, swimming, packing, flying, moving, beaching, eating (a lot), and road tripping, I'm EXHAUSTED!  I love you summer, but it's time to slow down.

 Fortunately, just because summer is coming to an end, doesn't mean that we have to hibernate in the kitchen.  There is still plenty of time to enjoy fresh summer food and outdoor grilling.  And while you still have time, might I recommend these killer burgers. Reeni, who has an amazing blog at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice (seriously, I pin almost everything she posts), came up with these, and they are as delicious as they sound. A taco flavored burger, topped with cheese and guacamole, nestled in a homemade cornbread foccacia bun. Gooey, cheesy, heaven.

So when it does finally cool down and you're wishing you had your summer back, throw these on the grill. The bright flavors will satiate your summer appetite, for an evening at least.

I'll direct you to Reeni's page for the recipe because her pictures and descriptions do this burger way more justice. Enjoy!

Ratatouille Sloppy Joes

It is a GORGEOUS day here in Philly today. A perfect 70 degrees, no wind, and not a cloud in sight. What is it about weather like that that gives life an entirely new, hopeful perspective. I smile more, laugh more, there's a bounce in my step, you get something back that you don't even realize you've missed. It's pretty great.




And while I would never think of a Sloppy Joe and a summer food, it is easily transformed into one when it's packed full of garden vegetables like bell peppers, zucchini and eggplant. My kids, who were mostly resistant to all the clean eating we were doing, happy gobbled this up, which was a win for all of us.

Ratatouille Sloppy Joes
Best of Clean Eating 2

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 lb extra lean ground beef or bison (I actually used ground turkey)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
2 teaspoons chile powder
3/4 teaspoons mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 sweet bell pepper, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 small eggplant, diced
1 1/2 cups preferred marinara (I choose one with low sugar content)
1 tablespoon Sucanat or raw honey (I omitted)
sea salt with fresh ground pepper to taste
8 thin whole grain sandwhich buns, toasted

Directions

Heat a large nonstick saute pan on medium-high. Add oil, beef, garlic and onion and cook for 5-8 minutes, breaking up meat with a spoon while cooking, until no liquid remains and beef is browned. Add chile powder, mustard and cayenne, stir well and continue to cook for 1 more minute. Pour beef mixture into a bowl and set aside.

Return pan to heat and add bell pepper, zucchini and eggplant, stir and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add beef mixture back to pan, stir well and reduce heat to medium. Cook for an additional 10-12 minutes, stirring often, or until all vegetables are tender adn cooked throughout.

Add marinara sauce, 2 tablespoons water and honey to pan, stirring until meat and vegetables are coated. Cook until sauce is hot an dbubbling. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, sandwich 3/4 cup beef mixture between each bun.

Per Serving: 232 cal, 5g fat, 30g carbs, 5g fiber, 10g sugar, 18g protein

Country-Fried Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Wow, what a week! We just started Phase II of Jamie Eason's LiveFit Program, which involves a lot of lifting, a lot of cardio, and a few less calories. Needless to say, Aubrey and I are SORE. Luckily, it's also been a lot of fun. I got to do lifts I've never done before (barbell step ups, holy cow!), and I had more energy this week then I've had in a long time.

If you're familiar with Jamie Eason, you know that she's very big on Clean Eating. It's exactly what it sounds like. We eat clean, lean and as unprocessed as possible. Lots of lean meats, veggies and whole grains. We keep sugars to a bare minimum and temporarily have said goodbye to cheese, fatty meats, and junk food in general. It was a shock to my system at first, my stomach didn't know what to do without being consistently lined with fat and sugar, but I'm learning to love it. The benefits far outweigh the candy and Cheetos that I miss on occasion. I sleep better, my skin and hair seem healthier, and I haven't been sick in a long time. I'm still a firm believer in moderation and I don't think having a cookie or slice of pizza is the end of the world, but I definitely want to keep eating as clean as possible long after I'm done with this program.

Since our day to day eating is fairly basic, my husband and I decided that Sunday we would make an extra effort for a really nice dinner. This is what we had tonight and we loved it so much that I'm skipping a bunch of stuff to share it with you now. London Broil, pounded and breaded in a flavorful whole grain breading and cooked to a medium-rare. It was delicious, but the mushroom gravy was the best part, and made such a great topping to the steak and potatoes.

I made mashed potatoes by boiling red and sweet potatoes. Drain and mash with a splash of skim milk and a spoonful of greek yogurt which is tangy and makes a great substitute for sour cream. I can't even tell a difference. I highly recommend this dish, give it a try!

Country Fried Steak with Mushroom Gravy
Adapted from The Best of Clean Eating, by Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients

10 ounces sliced white or cremini mushrooms
1 lb lean round steak, trimmed of fat and cut into 4 equal pieces
sea salt and black ground pepper to taste
3 tablespoons whole wheat flour, divided
2 large egg whites
3 slices whole-wheat toast (Ezekial bread), cut into 2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
3 teaspoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced
1 cup low sodium beef broth
1/2 cup skim milk

Directions

Using a meat mallet, rolling pin or bottom of a heavy skillet, pound steaks to quarter-inch thickness. Season both sides of steaks with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Place two tablespoons of flour in a shallow dish. Place egg whites in a separate shallow dish. In a food processor, combine toast, onion, oregano, thyme and garlic powder. Process until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Transfer crumbs to a third shallow dish.

Add steaks to dish with flour and turn to coat both sides. Shake off excess flour and transfer steaks to egg whites. turn to coat both sides and transfer steaks to bread crumb mixture. Again, turn to coat both sides.

Heat two teaspoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steaks and cook two to three minutes per side, until brown on the outside and pink on the inside. Remove from skillet and cover in foil.

Prepare gravy. Heat remaining oil in same skillet. Add sliced mushrooms and garlic and cook for about five minutes, or until liquid is released. Add beef broth and bring to a simmer. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and remaining tablespoon of flour. Add milk mixture to mushrooms and simmer three to five minutes, until mixture thickens. Spoon gravy over steaks just before serving.

Serves 4: 313cal, 9g fat, 27g carb, 5g fiber, 35g prot, 302mg sod

Philly Cheese Steak Pasta

Thank you for all the kind words concerning my daughter! She appreciated them too!


Our very first meal here in Philly was, of course, the Philly Cheese Steak. But when you live in Philly, they're not called Philly Cheese Steak, they're just called "steaks." You learn these things. And when you go to the famous Pat's or Geno's, there's a very specific way of ordering them. You can't use a lot of words, and you can't hesitate. You use the term "wit" if you want onions, specify what kind of cheese you want, and you get the heck out of the way, otherwise their is going to be trouble. It's a very serious business.

I LOVE our city's sandwich, especially with bacon, ohmygosh, drippy, greasy goodness. But as you can imagine, when you eat one, it's there to stay, usually right in my thighs, so I don't eat them often.

Instead, it's fun to find substitutes like this, still delicious, still cheesy and flavorful, but a lot nicer to my hips.

Philly Cheese Steak Pasta
Adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients

3 cups uncooked dumpling or wide egg noodles
1 lb beef boneless sirloin steak, about 3/4 inch thick
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 medium onions, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
14 oz can beef broth
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup fat free half and half
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350. Spray 11x7 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain noodles as directed on package.

2. Meanwhile, remove fat from beef. Cut beef into 3/4 inch pieces. Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook beef and pepper in skillet 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown. Stir in onions and bell pepper. Cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon into baking dish.

3. In medium bowl, beat broth and flour with wire whisk until smooth. Add to skillet; heat to boiling. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens; remove from heat. Stir in half and half and mustard. Spoon over beef mixture. Stir in cooked noodles.

4. Cover and bake 40 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered about 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly.

Serves 6: 1 1/3 cups

Per Serving: 260 cal, 5g fat, 2g fiber, 24g prot, 30g carb

Our Philadelphia Family!

Portobello Mushrooms and Sirloin Strips over Spinach Pasta

Life definitely has a sense of humor. My last post I complained about my awful day, which, let's face it, involved a wet bathroom floor and a whiny son. Two days later we ended up in the ER with our daughter who had insane stomach pains. We were admitted, a million tests were done, and nothing could explain why she was in so much pain. The pain lasted for days and was incredibly stressful. Thankfully she's better, back to school and happy as ever. I'll tell you one thing though...

It made my last "bad day" post look like a walk in the park. It was a good lesson to learn, I'll be a lot slower to whine about the everyday inconveniences, that's for sure!

On to the food...

I have this big red cookbook that doesn't have a single picture in it. Being the five year old that I am, I've never used it. If there's not a big pretty picture next to a recipe, how can it possibly be good?

Turns out, it can.

This was a really fun recipe because of how different it was. Tangy sauteed steak and portobello mushrooms over a bed of spinach fettuccine. It was packed with great flavor and very filling. The whole family slurped it up.

Portobello Mushrooms and Sirloin Strips over Spinach Pasta
Adapted from The New American Heart Association Cookbook

Ingredients

12 oz boneless sirloin steak
1/2 cup red wine
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
6 medium cloves minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 tablespoons dried oregano, crumbled
12 oz portobello mushrooms, sliced
8 oz dried spinach fettuccine

Directions

Trim all fat off steak, slice into strips.

Combine wine, soy sauce, Worcestershire, garlic, olive oil and oregano in a large plastic bag. Add mushrooms and beef to marinade. Seal and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, turning often.

Prepare pasta according to directions.

Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for one minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer half the beef mixture to the skillet. Cook for 4 minutes, or until the meat is no longer pink, stirring frequently. Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside. Cook the remaining beef mixture.

Return the reserved beef mixture with any juices to the skillet. Increase the heat to high. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat.

To serve, spoon the pasta onto plate. Spoon the beef mixture and sauce over the pasta.

Serves 4

Per Serving: 381 cal, 29g prot, 47g carb, 4g fiber, 7.5g fat

Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis

Isn't it funny how your tastes change as you get older? When I was younger, the worst words ever uttered from my mom were "we're having meat loaf for dinner." NOOOOOOOO! And the food wars began.

Now I think meat loaf is great, I've made several different kinds, and I make them often. I think that's what I like so much about it, it's so versatile!

The first thing I thought after I made these was how fun they would be for entertaining. I love the idea of everyone getting their own little meat loaf, it feels so welcoming and personalized. Plus, you can't go wrong with a meat loaf that is gushing with cheesy pockets, and full of great flavor. Give these a try, you'll love them!

Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis
Cooking Light January 2011

Ingredients

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (about 1 ounce)
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup ketchup, divided
3 ounces white cheddar cheese, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425�.

2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs; cook 3 minutes or until toasted, stirring frequently.

3. While breadcrumbs cook, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic; saut� 3 minutes. Combine onion mixture, breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup ketchup, and remaining ingredients. Shape into 6 (4 x 2-inch) loaves on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; spread 2 teaspoons ketchup over each. Bake at 425� for 25 minutes or until done.

Serves 6

Per Serving: 256 cal, 11g fat, 28g prot, 11g carb, 0.9g fiber

Have your tastes changed? What kinds of things do you like more/less now that you're older?

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

I would tell you that the mushroom party is over and this will conclude my mushroom posts, but that would be lying, and I love you all too much to do that to you.



A few days ago, Shelby from Grumpy's Honey Bunch wrote about how she's been inspired by other bloggers. Well, Shelby had inspired me with this Salisbury Steak from Cooking Light's December edition. I've eaten quite a few salisbury steaks in my day, but when I say Salisbury steak, what I mean are those gelatinous disks that come in low calorie frozen meals, usually served with a side of mac and cheese and an antacid. Turns out the homemade version is much better, who knew! And it's low calorie to boot.

This is one of those meals that yielded no leftovers because it's so dang good. The flavors are so rich and full of the familiar comforts of home. My kids snarfed it down, which guarantees that it will be made again!



Check it out here. Thanks Shelby!