Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Lita's Mix-It-Up Hamburgers

Tired of regular hamburgers from fast food restaurants? I know I am! Try this hamburger recipe that I did this afternoon for lunch. Instead of just frying/grilling them, add some spice to them!

3-4 burger patties
3-4 potato hamburger buns
3-4 slices of Colby Jack Cheese or Pepper Jack Cheese

Spices (measurements vary on how many hamburgers you're making):
1 teaspoon of Chili Powder
2 teaspoons of black pepper
2 pinches of parsley
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper (optional)

Condiments:
Spicy Brown Mustard
Mayo
Ketchup or BBQ sauce

Before cooking hamburgers, combine all spices in a small mug. Gently rub them into the hamburger patties.* Cook until burgers are medium well or well done then place on buns with cheese on the bottom half. Personal preference but I prefer my hamburgers well done otherwise I get sick, however, I know some people like their meat still mooing. Hope you enjoy this new and simple recipe!


*Tip* If you're making the patties from scratch then I recommend you combine the meat and spices in a bowl then making the patties.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Facebook Page Reminder!

Hello everyone! For those of you who use Facebook, please feel free to "like" my page at https://www.facebook.com/CookingWithLitaB! As of right now I only have 33 likes so be sure to like my page and share with friends! For those who use Twitter more than Facebook be sure to start following me to get updates on new recipes at https://twitter.com/lita_benson!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Almond Cookies!

Here's another sweet recipe for everyone that I hope you'll enjoy! This is another recipe that I adapted from an old cookbook that my mom gave.

3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cups of sugar
1 cup of olive oil or shortening
1 egg
1 teaspoon of almond extract
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Almonds, halved (optional for decorating)

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. In a smaller bowl combine all wet ingredients then fold them into the dry mix. Mix should be dough-like. Once the dough is made, roll dough into little balls and place them onto a baking pan that is covered with parchment paper. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.


Monday, July 9, 2012

Chocolate Chip-Banana Pancakes

Hello everyone! Here's breakfast recipe for you :) I know, I know. I haven't done a breakfast recipe in a while but here's one I think you'll enjoy.


2 cups of pancake mix
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
4 tbsp olive oil or margarine
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of chocolate chips
1 banana, roughly chopped


Spray a iron frying pan or griddle and preheat over medium heat. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine mix, sugar, olive oil, and milk. Once well blended add in chips and banana chunks. Once all ingredients are combined, slowly pour out a small portion of the mix into the pan. Flip as often as needed until lightly browned and cooked all the way through. Be sure to respray in between cooking each pancake. Enjoy!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Chocolate Chip Macadamia Cookies

This is a recipe that I adapted slightly. My mom gave me a bunch of old cook books before I moved out and this recipe is from the "St. Bartholomew's Anniversary Cookbook." St. Bartholomew the Apostle Church is located in Norwich, New York and has been around since 1919. The cookbook I have is from 1994 and was celebrating the church's 75th anniversary. Just think, in another seven years the church will be 100 years old! Very cool :)

The original recipe called for butter flavored Crisco but decided to substitute it with olive oil, a much healthier option, and I didn't use salt. Also when I first made this recipe I only had baking powder instead of baking soda. I didn't notice much of a difference but feel free to try it both ways. Oh, and instead of walnuts I used macadamia nuts....I swear that's the last change.

2 1/4 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tap. salt (optional)
1 cup of olive oil
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. of vanilla
1 (12 oz) bag of chocolate chips
1 cup of macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350. Blend olive oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. Add brown sugar and blend well. Gradually add flour and mix until smooth. Add chocolate and nuts. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 6 dozen, depending on the size of the cookies you have.