Bison Burgers Baby!

Expanding my food horizons has always been somewhat fun for me. For instance, the first time I ever had venison, it was ground venison that came from a road kill deer AND we had it in tacos on Christmas night. See? A fun story.

And so when guests were coming up to visit on a very cold, February winter day, I figured grilling burgers would be the best cure for the winter blah's. And not just any burgers, bison burgers.

I had passed the package so much in the store that I was really dying to try them. Ground Bison is better for you than ground beef and personally, I think it tastes better. Thinking perhaps our guests would not be as adventurous as us, I also got some ground beef.

Below are the patties I made up.

And here is the finished product....

Ground Bison (or Ground Beef - I did both)

Worcestershire Sauce

Montreal Steak Seasoning

Shredded Cheese

Kaiser Bun

Lettuce

Balsamic Onions (see recipe below)

I mixed the steak seasoning and Worcestershire sauce in with the package of bison (or beef) and then made a couple patties. I added cheese to the last few patties I made just for some variety.

Grilled those puppies up and WAA LAA!

Balsamic Onions

Balsamic Vinegar

Vidalia Onion

Slice onions, drizzle balsamic vinegar over and grill.

I did a little research prior, making sure I cooked the meat to the suggested temperature. Ground Bison will defiantly make it on my menu again!

Veggie Cottage Cheese

The last thing I ever thought I would eat is cottage cheese. I can’t say I had ever had it, but I knew I didn’t want it. Really is there anything remotely appetizing about it? The name? No. The look? No. However, in an effort to eat healthier I was advised to try it, by several people. So I did. And you know what? It wasn’t half bad. My first foray into the world of cottage cheese, was a prepackaged 100 calorie pack of cottage cheese with an apple cinnamon topping to which I added some almonds. I survived!

As word got out about my cottage cheese adventure, I got a lot of suggestions on how to eat it and what to mix it with. One in particular caught my attention, and so I tried a little variation on it.

Veggie Cottage Cheese

1 cup Cottage Cheese
1 carrot – diced
1 orange bell pepper – diced
1 scallion stalk chopped
Black pepper

Mix everything together.

It’s THAT easy and its beyond tasty! I had some on a slice of whole grain toast. Hello? I just met the healthy version of veggie cream cheese. WOOHOOO!!!!

A BIG thank you to my favorite Shorty as she was the one that shared the original recipe idea with me. I can’t say I’ve jumped feet first into the world of cottage cheese, but so far so good. I guess 2011 will be the year of things I didn’t ever think I would do.

2011 – Things I never thought I would do
-Run
-Eat Cottage Cheese

Spring Fever

The temps have gone above 40, to almost 60 today and that has me dreaming of spring and summer. Don't get me wrong, I like cold weather more than hot, but what I am looking forward to the most....

farm fresh vegetables!

and all the mouth watering dishes that come with farm fresh vegetables...

Or even better, taking a bite out of a fresh picked tomato that is still warmed from the sun. YUM!

And best of all... grilled eggplant parm :).

I wish....

That when I got home tonight, this I would be throwing on my lobster bib, breaking out the crackers...

And cooking up this guy...

A girl can dream and remember how fabulous that gift from the sea tasted. Sigh.

Cupcakes: Palm Beach Style!

While shopping on my Christmas trip to Florida, post-Christmas I stumbled upon this little gem of a cupcake bakery. Sugar Chef is located at City Place in West Palm Beach, FL.

I only got a half dozen as we were flying out the next morning, and sadly only was able to taste one flavor, but it was something chocolately and heavenly.
The packaging was cute and tempting. The cupcake itself was DELICIOUS! Definitely one of the better bakery cupcakes I have had.

I'm sure my family enjoyed finding these in the fridge as my plan was halfway back to the frozen tundra of NJ.

If you happen to be in the area, or maybe not even in the area, you should fit this place into your schedule. I plan to go back next time I am in town! (and I will make sure I get more than 1/2 of a cupcake).