Turkey wraps

I hate to waste food and sometimes don't necessarily want to eat the lefties in my fridge.  Two nights ago I made turkey burgers and garlic fries.  Well, the fries were gone and I wasn't in the mood for a burger again, so today I made turkey wraps instead.  

To make them, all you need is some already cooked burgers or you can season the ground turkey meat however you like and make them from scratch.  To make my burgers from scratch, I chop one small onion, 1/2 green pepper, 5 cloves of garlic and a handful of fresh flat parsley.  I mix the veggies with the ground turkey and add salt and pepper and some worchestire sauce and let it marinate for about an hour.  Then I put them on the grill.

Anyway, back to the already cooked burgers. I heat up my cast iron skillet and add enough oil to coat the pan.  Once its hot enough, I throw in the burgers and chop them up in the skillet and heat the meat.  Once the food is hot, I turn off the flame and separate the meat into individual portions in the skillet and add 1/2 slice of cheese (I used pepperjack) or you could have it sans cheese, and I cover the skillet.

Meanwhile, I turn on a different flame on the stove ( I don't really know if you can do this with an electric stovetop) and I place my tortilla on it and flip it after about 20-30 seconds to warm it up.

I then place my tortilla on my plate, I add sliced tomatoes, raw spinach, avocado slices and finally, the ground turkey.  I also like to add some ketchup and voila, you've got another yummy meal!

This is how they turned out.

Shrimp and Okra...oh yeah!

Last weekend we took a stroll over to the farmer's market and I get super excited when I saw these okra.  We purchased a crate for $3 and here is the recipe for what I did with them:

Okra and Shrimp Creole

1 lb. Okra, sliced
1 lb. wild Shrimp
1 15oz. tomato sauce
1 15oz. diced tomatoes with green chiles
1/2 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, add1 tbsp olive oil, heat over a medium flame.  Add onions and green peppers and saute until onions are translucent.  Add garlic and stir until tender.  Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, stir.  Add chili powder, cayenne and thyme.  Add okra and simmer for  15-20 min.  Meanwhile, fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil.  Once boiling add shrimp and cook until shrimp begin turning pink.  Watch closely, they cook quickly.  Once they have began to turn color, remove them from pot and add them to the okra.  Turn temperature down to a low flame and allow stew to simmer and flavors to meld.  Make sure not to overcook though.  Once done, add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over steamed rice.
 Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake

Its strawberry season and right now they are the juiciest they'll be all year.  But its very short, so hurry and get some.  Last weekend I made this little treat and my family loved it!  Here is the yummy recipe I got out of Real Simple magazine.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake
Serves 8| Hands-On Time: 1hr 00m| Total Time: 1hr 30m

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt or fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 quarts strawberries, hulled and quartered (about 6 cups)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 pint strawberry ice cream
• Serves 8| Hands-On Time: 1hr 00m| Total Time: 1hr 30m

  Directions

  1. Heat oven to 400° F. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ¼ cup of the sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and lemon zest. Blend with a pastry blender or your fingers until crumbly. Add the milk and stir until just combined (do not overmix).
  2. Drop 8 large mounds of the dough (about ½ cup each) 1 inch apart on a baking sheet. Brush with 2 tablespoons of the heavy cream and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Bake, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  3. Meanwhile, in another large bowl, toss the strawberries with the vanilla, lemon juice, and the remaining ¼ cup of sugar. Let sit, tossing occasionally, for at least 30 minutes.
  4. Beat the remaining 1½ cups of heavy cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Split the biscuits. Top each bottom with strawberries and juices, ice cream, whipped cream, and a biscuit top.
  5. By Sue Li May 2013

Got Milk?!

Just like last time, I plan on breastfeeding for a year.  However, I noticed that my milk supply appeared to be decreasing.  I still have 6 months to go and was desperate for a fix.  So I got to surfing the web and came upon this recipe for lactation cookies.  If you are like me, you are probably wondering what in the world lactation cookies are?  Basically, they are oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with flaxseed and brewers yeast which help to boost milk production.  The author lists a bunch of variations to the original recipe, but I just kept it simple and they were great.  I definitely have noticed an increase and will continue to make these.

ENJOY!