Another Fast and Fresh Burger!  These yummy and healthy burgers have mango, jalapeño and red bell peppers running all through the burger than a bit more spooned on top!

 

Make one bowl of fresh fruit salsa and incorporate some into the burger itself and serve the rest as topping. This comes together so fast and is full of flavor!

I don’t use any fancy gadgets.  I simply remove the skin and chop the salmon into a fine mince.

 

I use Steelhead Salmon that I buy from Costco.  It has super color…look at all that perfect pink salmon!   You can use whatever salmon you like, even frozen that has been thawed will work.

We love bunless burgers around here!  The less buns I have, the happier I am.  Right now, after a very fun filled last couple months, I have more buns than I need.  Ho hum, me and my weight…always struggling.  Let’s just say I have a lot of ‘before’ pictures available but could really use a few ‘after’. Why is fun so fattening?  A friend of mine was telling me about this great diet, what’s it called again?…oh!  I remember…Moderation!  What a concept!  LOL!

I used fresh mango, poblano pepper and red bell pepper for my salsa.  All mixed up with a big squeeze of lime.  Super simple but the flavors are amazing together.  The sweet of the mango and the little kick from the poblano make the salmon go boom!

Grill these beauties indoor or out.  Be careful not to overcook.  3-4 minutes on each side then check for doneness.  Remember not to touch the burger until a sear has formed and it releases from your grill easily. If you have to force it, it’s not ready.   Burgers are very sensitive, you have to be patient.

This recipe is based on my Tropical Chicken Burgers!  A great alternative if you prefer chicken over seafood.

You can see all my Easy Fast and Fresh burgers HERE!

I love this grill pan!

Including these Grilled Salmon Burgers with Avocado Salsa!

To Healthy Fast and Fresh Burgers all year long!  Indoor or out!

Clink!

Kathi

 

Greek Salmon Kabobs with Oven Baked Lemon Rice!  Did  you say ‘oven baked rice’?…oh yes, I did!  And once you make your rice this way you will never go back to the old stove top method!

While your kabobs are kabobbing, the rice is baking up in the oven!  It’s all done at the same time and you look like the cooking rock star that you are!

The ingredients for the kabobs and the rice are super simple…of course!  Simple.  Healthy. Fresh.  Thats how we roll around here.  You probably have most of the ingredients in your cupboard already.

Start with a thick chunk of salmon.  The thicker the better so you can get nice square pieces to thread on the skewer.  Save the flatter tail piece to make a couple Salmon Burgers.  Brilliant!

The salmon gets a quick marinade of lemon juice, garlic and olive oil.  Let that hang while you get the rice ready.  NOTE: Do not marinade more than 60 minutes before grilling or you will ceviche the salmon with the acid of the lemon.

Next pour your uncooked rice, onions, garlic and lemon zest into a small casserole dish.  8 x 8 works great.  Microwave the broth and lemon juice for 3 minutes and pour over the uncooked rice…are you getting excited?  Because this is just so clever!  Cover with foil, pop it in the oven for 35 minutes and you have perfect fluffy rice every time.   Yay!  I love my job!

You can use this oven method for brown rice and quinoa as well.  See my post :   HOW TO OVEN BAKE RICE AND QUINOA.

Slice your lemons real thin.  Thread them here and there between the chunks of marinated salmon.

I have a fear of grills.  (also plumbing but thats a story for another time…your welcome). All that popping and crackling when you turn the gas burners on makes me a jumpy cook!  But I took one for the team and grilled these up with no help from Mr. Spatula!  I am terribly proud of myself for conquering yet another fear.  Next week…maybe I’ll unclog a sink or something.  Ya never know!

Grill the kabobs on medium high heat.  DO NOT TOUCH THEM for at least 4-5 minutes.  Once the sear is developed they will release from the grill and not stick.  Salmon is tender and you have to treat it with loving care.    (a little spray stick on the grill doesn’t hurt either).  But as a general rule when grilling, don’t touch until the grill marks are developed and sticking shouldn’t be a problem.

I just turn these once.  Don’t try to grill all four  sides, too much touchy touchy and the salmon could get crumbly.  4-5 minutes on each side should do it depending on the size of your salmon pieces.

I served this with store bought tzatziki sauce but didn’t include it in the photo because I was still in trauma mode over grilling these bad boys….

More salmon please!  You can see all my salmon recipes HERE and below are a few of my faves!

Honey Glazed Salmon with Orange and Ginger.  Cooked in foil for easy clean up!

Herb and Feta Crusted Salmon! – See the rave reviews on this easy to make recipe!

To easy, simple, fresh dinners!

Clink!

Kathi

 

FROSE’ – The hottest cool drink of the summer!

There are some days I really love my job. and today is one of those days!  It’s just starting to heat up in Seattle (although very very slowly.  Did I mention slowly?), and I have had my eye on this drink since February.  That’s a long time to wait for a frozen cocktail my friends.

I love how simple this is.  Frozen strawberries, wine, ice and touch of orange liquer if you have it hanging around.

This drink is as good as the wine you make it with.  When I was young…that was just last year BTW.  The Rose’s available where not so good. Very sweet.  Todays Rose’s are drier and full of flavor with beautiful colors!  If you like your cocktails on the sweeter side, add a tablespoon of sugar at a time until you get your best taste!  Taste, taste and taste some more….isn’t cooking fun?   hiccup.

I used my favorite gadget, a Nutri Bullet Blender.  I think they should sponsor a post for all the free advertising I give them :).  Nutri Bullet People, callll mmmeeee!   I love this gadget and I am not a gadget girl.   It’s small, easy to clean (I hate doing dishes which is why I don’t own more gadgets) and it packs a punch.

 

I will definitely be making this again.  I think I’ll try some other fruit like watermelon or grapefruit.  Any frozen fruit for the most part would work.

Two cups frozen strawberries to one bottle of wine.  A handful or two of ice, whiz it up and done!

I added a shot of orange liquor and I was wishing I had some Limoncello or Orangecello left over from my last batch.  Motivation to make more!

I served these up with my Tropical Chicken Burgers and it was a perfect summertime fun meal!

 

I’ll try them next time with my Grilled Salmon Burgers!

 

 

To summertime and wine slushies!

Clink!

Kathi

I’ve got your sweet tooth covered today!  Ooey gooey buttery Glazed Orange Bars!     I first posted these as Orange Brownies back in 2012, but old recipes don’t die.  They just get butta!

This recipe was way over due for a make over.  I didn’t change the recipe, but upgraded the pictures. Some of the old pics on this blog are something! And I don’t mean that in a good way.  Big hugs to you guys for sticking with me over the years!

Originally a Paula Deen recipe.  At least thats where I found it years ago, but someone told me it was a Pillsbury Bake Off winner.  Maybe Paula stole it?  Bad Paula!

When I make these, it’s usually to bring to a party or get together.  They are too good to have hanging around! And I just pick, pick, pick at them.  Never have an entire piece of course! Just 25 tastes.  But the good news is there is a fresh orange in it…healthy right?  Lets hear it for vitamin C!

To get started, mix up your simple batter of butter, sugar, flour and a few other ingredients.   Pour into a 9 x 13 pan.  The only specialty ingredient you need is orange extract.  It makes a big difference in the flavor of the cake.

After you remove these from the oven and your house smells like heaven,  poke a few holes in the cake with a fork.

While the cake is still warm, mix up your super simple glaze and pour over the warm cake!

Let cool and slice!  You won’t believe the fabulous flavor !  Ya, it’s sweet, ya it’s got some fat to it..but people are gonna love you when you bake these!

Another great fruit bar recipe is my Blueberry Pie Bars.  Again, simple, simple, simple with big flavor!  Just the way we like things around here!

To Dessert!

Clink!

Kathi

Wedge Salads are back!  They disappeared for a few years but like everything old…it becomes new again!  Somebody tell my body that pa-leeese!

I first saw this platter at a party in Palm Springs.  And let me tell ya, Palm Springs knows how to party!  I am lucky my BFF lives there.  She has a beautiful home and wonderful fun friends! We were invited to her neighbors house, Karen, for dinner.   And this beautiful salad was prepared by another friend, Anita.  What a cool idea for a party salad!  And super easy to throw together!

When choosing your lettuce, go for lightweight heads.  The lighter the weight, the less dense yellow lettuce you will have in the center.  I used two small heads of iceberg in the photo.  Simply quartered it.

Your toppings are chopped bacon, eggs and crumbled blue cheese.  I cut everything in large chunks.  I used a store bought blue cheese dressing, because, well, ya know…lazy cook :).  And with so many great brands out there, why not!  Go for one in the cooler section of the produce department for super fresh flavors.  I used Lighthouse brand.

I dressed it all up before I served then put some additional dressing in the center.  Pretty easy!  And the good news is it stands up better than a tossed salad.  The iceberg stays crisp for hours…even in the Palm Springs heat!

This recipe is for 8 but you can adjust it to suit whatever number you need.

You can see all my salad recipes HERE.  But here are a couple of my faves!

Spinach and Avocado Salad with Blueberries.  Such a great summer salad!

Or Fresh Corn Salad with Avocado – no cooking required!  Serve the corn fresh off the cob for a fabulous crunchy salad!

To Fresh and Easy Entertaining!

Clink!

Kathi

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Fresh Chili Lime  Chicken Burgers!  Topped with an easy avocado salsa…another bunless wonder!

I like my burgers bun free…buns I got, don’t need no more!  Butt…yuck yuck, if you got room for buns,  these would be great tucked into any kind of bread, be it a traditional hamburger bun, pita or foccacia…oh, foccacia would be good!

We are slow to summer here in Seattle…yawning, old story.  But soon, any day, really…the sun will shine and grills will be igniting all over the Pacific Northwest.  I am ready!  But in the mean time, I used my handy dandy indoor grill pan!  I use this for all my burgers because…well, because it’s too damn wet 90 percent of the time to go outside around here!

These come together in a flash.  Just a quick chop of a red and green pepper. I used an anaheim pepper but a mild green bell pepper or a spicy jalapeño would work!  Just depends on how much heat you like.  A quick mix of chili powder, cumin and salt and a big squeeze of lime give it a fresh flavor.  p.s.  Who doesn’t like a photo of raw meat right?

The avocado salsa is really just guacamole,  but I can’t spell guacamole without looking it up five times so I went with salsa :).  It’s simply a mashed avo with a splash of lime and a pinch of the seasoning you already made for the burgers.  Pudgy fingers work best…you can extract much more lime juice.  But at least they aren’t painted navy blue and chipped!  Have you ever seen those food photos where the hand model’s nails are all crappy?   I’d rather be pudgy finger girl than chipped nail polish girl…just sayin.

Simply sear these babies up.  Careful not to overcook.  Chicken is going to cook faster than beef.  I buy the ground chicken that is 95/5.  Super easy to find these days.  If you go with ‘chicken breast’ meat.  It’s gonna be dry.  No way around it.  I have yet to cook with white meat only ground chicken or turkey and have anything yummy.  But you can try it and save a few grams of fat and a handful of calories but no complaining about a dry burger!

If you follow this blog you know I have a plethora of burger recipes and you can find those HERE.

Here are a few of my favorites that I cook over and over:

and…

To bunless wonder burgers!

Clink!

Kathi

 

Love me some Tex Mex flavors!  Black beans, peppers, corn and of course our good friend avocado!  All tossed up with a quick and easy Chili Tomato Vinaigrette!

I used cavatappi pasta because I think they are cute   I wanted wagon wheel pasta but couldn’t find them.  Was there another shift in the universe that I missed.  No wagon wheel shaped pasta anymore?  What is the world coming too?

The vinaigrette is super simple!  Fresh tomato, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and a pinch of cumin and chili powder.  I whirl it all up in my little blender.  Its the only electric gadget (beside my Kitchen Aid) that I use all the time.  A food processor  would work, as would an immersion blender (my second favorite gadget).   It only takes about 3-4 minutes to make, and is well worth the extra few minutes.  Gets a nice little kick from the chili powder for added Yee Haw!

You could add grilled chicken or shrimp to make it a whole meal and this makes a big batch so you can feed that hungry lunchbox.

I love corn, and I think fresh would be best, but I used thawed frozen. Some days ya just don’t have time to get to the store.   If you use fresh, don’t cook it.  Just take it off the cob and leave it all crunchy and stuff.

I tossed in a poblano pepper which, to be honest, was a little spicy for this girl.  Usually I can eat those things raw but sometimes, you get a hottie.  An anaheim or bell would be a good sub if you have kiddo’s munching on this.

One of my favorite corn salads is this Corn and Avocado Salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette!  The vinaigrette keeps the avocado green and the honey adds just enough sweetness to the corn.

And either of these salads would go really well with these Easy Salmon Burgers with Avocado Salsa!

You can see all my salads HERE!

It’s sunny in Seattle!

Clink!

Kathi

I love Pesto! It adds such a big flavor to everything it touches.  It used to be so hard to find, you had to go to go to a specialty store for it. Now it is everywhere!  Every Tom, Dick and Trader Joes carries it.  Some brands are better than others.  I like the Costco brand the best so far.  Working my way through them all…yum.

When my Mom lived in Seattle,  we made pesto every year.    We would go to the Pike Place Market in September, when basil was almost out of season and only a buck a bunch.  We made buckets of the stuff. It’s one of my favorite cooking memories.  I think Mom and I are both buying it these days.  It was a ton of work that included bottles of olive oil, pine nuts and parm, but the house smelled like heaven!  You can see that recipe here.

When cooking these, I used a grill pan in the kitchen.  But your outdoor grill would work great as well.  (These are a wonky shape because I used a ciabatta roll…you can certainly round them out a bit to fit your buns.  The wonky shape fits mine:).  Showing only two burgers but this recipe makes four…I had lunch in between shots!

The sauce is plain greek yogurt and a couple tablespoons of pesto.  It is my favorite condiment!  I slather it on everything…makes me feel all healthy and stuff.

I used a mix of ground white and dark meat.  95% lean.   You can use ground breast meat only…but it will  be dry.  You will need a cup of mayo to lube it up!     Same thing goes for ground turkey breast. Dry.  And nothing will make it better but a little fat.  My suggestion is to stick with the 95 percent lean ground chicken.

Sometimes ground chicken can be a little on the wet side.  You may have to add about 1/3 cup bread crumbs.  I included this in the recipe as optional.  If you find your patties are not coming together then add some crumbs.

I topped with a little tomato, arugula and a slice of swiss.  Spinach would be a great sub for the arugula.  I served this open faced but bun or no bun, it’s still got a ton of flavor!

I love healthy burgers,  you can see all of my recipes HERE!

My two favorites are  Greek Chicken Burgers…

And these super easy to make Salmon Burgers with Avocado Salsa!

To fast, fresh burgers!

Clink!

Kathi

Who doesn’t love a really good Caesar Salad?!  It’s one of our faves.  But the dressing can be a hassle.  Raw egg.  A can of oily anchovies.  Short shelf life.  Sure, there is the store bought stuff, but it lacks the fresh flavor of homemade, not to mention pricy and fattening.  But here I am to save your Caesar day!  No egg, no oily can of fish, low calorie, big flavored dressing!

I posted this recipe years ago, and it is still a family favorite.  It was time for a recipe up-do! It’s the same recipe, I just increased the yield.  More is better!

Why is this a skinny recipe?  Only 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 52 calories a serving.  Can I get a whoo hoo!

So lets talk about anchovies.  I know you think you don’t like them…but if you like Caesar dressing than you like anchovies.  Anchovy flavor is what made you fall in love with the dressing in the first place!  If  you leave out the anchovies,  it will still be good, but it will not be Caesar.  It will be Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette.

Cooking with anchovies can be really easy, by using the paste instead of the tin of oily fish.   It’s in a tube.   You can find it right by the canned anchovy.  I use Napolean  brand but I am sure any will do.   It has a long shelf life and you will be sure to have it on hand for many many batches of this tasty dressing. Trust me, you are going to make this a lot!

I use a blender to mix this up but a wire whisk will work just as good.  Just mince your garlic very fine if hand whisking.   I have a Magic Bullet Blender .   I am not big on gadgets, I don’t even own a full size food processor, but I love this blender!  It’s small, powerful, and super easy to clean.

The dijon is a natural emulsifier and holds this yummy concoction together.  It won’t separate…not even after sitting in your fridge for a few days.

This will keep in your refrigerator for about a week.  Like me, it gets better as it ages :).

 

You may also like this Chipotle Caesar Salad with Spicy Croutons!

or this Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing!

To healthy but flavorful salads!

Clink!

Kathi

Heaven on a stick!  Creamy, cold and absolutely fabulous!  Not kidding, these are one of the best things I have made…like in all time!  Not that I am a food drama queen or anything :).   I am making these for everyone I love!  Transportation might be a problem, but I’ll work that out later.  Check your mailbox my darlings…fudgesicles are in the mail!

As good as these are, they are a food photographers nightmare.  It took me two batches to get it right.  Oh the things I do for you guys!  I thought I’d go all dark and moody with the first shot, which is totally not my style.  And with my limited skills, I couldn’t pull it off.  Melty yummy mess!

For the second batch I got a clue and put then in an ice bucket.  Brilliant no?  When they started to get a little soft I dipped the top into more dark chocolate pieces…..yay!

I love this Popsicle Maker!    It makes 10 popsicles.  And at only 150 calories a pop, (using 2% milk), you can have two!

To fudge pops and the people I love!

Clink!

Kathi

More dark chocolate?    Try this Incredibly Easy Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart!  Lorna Doones for the crust and a 2 ingredient filling you make in the microwave.  I know!  Crazy stupid easy!