Burgers for Every Meal - Gourmet Leftovers

Quinoa Burger with Fried Egg 

Dreamed about that burger all night? Have it again with your breakfast.

INGREDIENTS (serves one person):

Leftover quinoa burger from last night
Leftover creamy feta
Spinach
I egg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

1: BURGER

Re-heat in the microwave for a minute and a half. Place on top of a dollop of the creamy feta on the plate.

2: EGG

I consider making a fried egg over-easy an art form. Many try and many fail. You really have to know the perfect timing and precision to make these. The first couple of times you'll probably fail, but scrambled eggs aren't that bad either! The tricky part is not to break the yolk by paying close attention and working the egg like it is a bomb about to explode with any false move. Beware.

Now that you're terrified, we'll just jump right in! Melt butter on a small skillet. Crack egg into the pan and let it sit to cook. As tempting as it is, don't poke the yolk! With a wide spatula, carefully bring in the egg white surrounding the yolk to create a circular shape. Once the egg white is completely white and starting to bubble, see if you can lift the egg on all sides with your spatula. Now, go in on the side, spatula in one hand, and a wooden spoon (or the backside of your fork) on the other and carefully slide your egg onto the spatula. In a quick and low movement, flip the egg back onto the pan and let it cook on that side for a few minutes. Flip it again to check the yolk and plop it on top of your burger. The egg white should look white with specs of brown and it you poke the yoke, it will empty a river of yellow goodness on top of your burger. Yum.

3: SERVE

I used the spinach from the night before to add more greens to my plate. and added a little more creamy feta on top. Season with salt and pepper and you are good to go. Enjoy!

Burgers For Everyone

Quinoa Burger with Creamy Feta & Sweet Potato Fries

Arguably better than the real deal, this is a great recipe for all of you gluten-free and vegetarian weirdos, and also for those who identity with neither. 

INGREDIENTS (serves five people):

4 sweet potatoes
1/2 a lemon
1tsp sugar
1 cup of plain quinoa
3 cloves of garlic
5 baby carrots or 1 medium carrot
1 ear of corn
1/2 a green bell pepper
1 can of drained black beans
1 cup of bread crumbs or panko
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of cayenne
1 tsp of thyme
Olive oil
1/4 a bushel of fresh spinach
1/2 a red onion
3 oz of cream cheese
8 oz of feta cheese crumbled
White wine

1: SWEET POTATOES

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Wash potatoes and proceed to cut them into fry-shaped pieces. Make them a little long because they will shrink with the heat. Throw fries into a glass bowl with three tablespoons of olive oil, and season with sugar, salt, and pepper. The secret here is sugar. Many people forget this addition, but sugar is important for the savory and sweet taste of sweet potato fries - what really sets them apart from regular McDonalds' fries. Lastly, squeeze in half a lemon and place fries on a large baking dish to cook for forty minutes. 

At the twenty minute mark, stir the fries around to flip them around and cook on all sides. If you reach the forty minute mark and your fries are still soggy, put the oven on broil and let it burn like Usher for five more minutes. Pull out and serve with the rest of your meal.

2: QUINOA

Pronounced as keen-wah, this wonder grain is a godsend for all gluten free-ers and health advocates of the world. Quinoa is high in protein and fiber and is very versatile for different menu options. By making it into burgers, quinoa gives you a great substitution for meat, cutting the calories from grease and any ill feelings from farm animals. 

Prepare quinoa as described on its box. It takes about 15 minutes, so be sure to do this before all else (except for the sweet potatoes).

3: VEGETABLES

Wash all vegetables thoroughly. Dice carrots and green bell pepper so they are as small as possible. Shave corn off of the cob. Place all veggies in a glass bowl. 

On medium to high heat, sauté minced cloves of garlic with two tablespoons of olive oil. Make sure the garlic is minced as small as possible before sautéing it. Once the garlic starts to turn brown and your house is filled with yummy smells, add your veggies and stir them around so they cook on all of their tiny sides.

In the now empty glass bowl, pour in your drained black beans and mash them with a fork. Once they are mushy, add them to your sauté and mix them well with your veggies. Season with salt and pepper.

Don't forget about your sweet potatoes! You should flip them now.

4: MAKE PATTIES

Once your quinoa is ready, pour it all into a large glass bowl. Next, add your sautéed veggies. Beat two eggs and stir those into your mixture. This will make the food stick together and make your patty thicker. Last but not least, add a cup of breadcrumbs. When I made this, we didn't have any breadcrumbs, so I used a cup of Jiffy corn bread mix and it worked fine. Any kind of cornmeal or panko works well, too. 

Make sure your concoction is stirred well and season with salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne. The cumin and cayenne will give it more flavor and a little kick. Stir again and finally, grab handfuls of your mix and place on cookie sheets in their hopeful burger form. You should have about ten patties. Freeze these for about twenty minutes.

5: CREAMY FETA

Doesn't it sound amazing? Mix feta crumbles and cream cheese into a food processor - or if you're like me and college-poor, a blender. I added white wine to the mix to help it blend. It also makes the taste a little richer and serves as a great reason to pop open that bottle of wine on a week night. Make sure to pour yourself a glass as well. Season this mix with salt, pepper, and thyme. Once it is blended, pour it into a small glass bowl for serving. 

6: BURGER TIME

Heat four tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Take your patties out of the freezer and plop three of them at a time onto the skillet. We're going to fry them a little on here. The trick here is to keep them in burger form, try to maintain the form by letting them cook for longer on the bottom. Wait for the patties to darken on the bottom, so they are almost black. Once they look like this, flip them individually with a wide spatula. Once they are cooked on both sides, it is easier to flip them around. If you think they are ready, spare one for tasting and get the feel for about how long they take to cook. I cooked mine so they looked a little burnt on both sides to make sure they cooked all the way through. This makes them look like true burgers, too. 

7: SERVE

Your burgers are ready! I made an assembly line of patties, creamy feta, buns, red onions, and spinach. These are great without buns, too, maybe better. As you may have noticed, I'm a huge fan of mushrooms, so I sautéed some to top my burger. You can do that or add tomato if you want.

Your fries should be ready as well. Try them with ketchup on the side and your meal is complete. Enjoy!

Summer Sangria

Summer Sangria

We all know of my love for wine. Here's a Sautter original, carefully crafted by my father and passed down to me through every glass poured. 

INGREDIENTS (serves six glasses):

1 bottle of sweet red wine, preferably Merlot
1/2 a red apple 
1/2 an orange
1 cup of orange juice
1 cup of orange seltzer water
3 cups of ice
1/2 cup of Cointreau

1: PREPARE FRUIT

Slice orange so you get perfect circle cuts of orange zest to top in your sangria. Cut apple as you normally would for apple slices. Only use the halves of these fruits per pitcher. They take up a ton of space that you would certainly rather fill with alcohol.

2: ICE

3: WINE

Pour it up, pour it up (in a fancy pitcher).

4: ALL ORANGE EVERYTHING

To dilute the bitterness of the red wine, we add orange flavored everything. Add orange seltzer water for carbonation - which can also be done with Fanta if you're on a budget and no one else is watching you make it. Next, orange juice, for more fruit flavor and a nice color. Then last but certainly not least, Cointreau, a French orange liqueur (triple sec) that will sneak up on you in this mix and is sure to make any dinner party or pool day a little more exciting.

4: STIR AND GET DRUNK

Basically.

Balsamic Feast

Balsamic Pork Loin With Caprese Salad

I hope you're hungry for this one. There is nothing better than finding a guilt-free recipe that will actually fill you up! I've tried countless no-carb plates that leave me looking at the fridge hours later until now. Behold. 

INGREDIENTS (serves three people):

3 boneless pork loins
6 leaves of fresh basil (2 tsp)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/4 a bushel of fresh spinach
Gourmet mozzarella cheese
1/2 a bushel of asparagus
Sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 Roma Tomatoes

1: MARINATE PORK

Put oven on 450 degrees. In a glass dish, pour in balsamic vinegar and olive oil with salt, pepper, and basil. Splash a little red wine in there for extra flavor. It wouldn't be a Twenty-Somthing recipe unless there was a little wine, right? Place the pork in the dish and soak on both sides. The marinade should come up half way to the pork loins, so they're wading, but not completely submerged. 

2: TOP PORK WITH VEGGIES

Wash vegetables thoroughly. Chop asparagus into fourths so you have 1-2" bite size pieces. Chop mushrooms into fourths. Throw them both on top of the pork and try to coat them in the marinade as well. 

Place the dish into the oven and set a time for 18 minutes at 450 degrees. At nine minutes, pull out the dish and flip the pork to heat and marinade evenly.

3: WINE TIME

Pour yourself a glass of that Cabernet Sauvignon. It will pair well with the pork later. 

4: PREPARE CAPRESE

While you're waiting for the pork to cook, prepare your salad. First, wash and remove stems from spinach. Next, wash and chop roma tomatoes into thin slices. Slice mozzarella into thin slices as well, and halve them so they match the size of the tomato slices. Set up your spinach, cheese, and tomatoes on the plate so the spinach is their bed and the tomatoes and mozzarella are against each other in a long, sushi-like, conga line. 

For the dressing: in a small bowl, mix one teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and one tablespoon of olive oil with a dash of pepper and basil. Drizzle* this mixture on top of your Caprese conga line and bask in its beautiful glory. I always feel fancy eating Caprese, so try to make look as it should - as the salad of gods. 

*Drizzle, do NOT drench! You don't want to feel gross and bloated from too much salt afterwards.

5: THAT'S IT!

Pull out your pork from the oven and place it on your beautiful Caprese plate. Wasn't that easy? Enjoy!

Stay Fresh (and Local)

Shrimp Fettuccine With a Basil Cream Sauce

I never liked shrimp until I learned how to sauté the little things. Enjoy some fresh local shrimp and basil leaves with this recipe and even the shrimp haters will be in line for seconds. 

INGREDIENTS (serves four):

1 pint of half and half
6 leaves of fresh basil (1 tsp)
1 tsp of crushed rosemary
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4 cloves of minced garlic
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 cup of water
4 tbsp of flour
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 lb of fresh shrimp
Box of fettuccine noodles

1: PREPARE SHRIMP

Peel shrimp then wash. The trick is to start at the feet and then peel the whole shell off. If there is a dark black line up the back of your shrimp, them it must be "de-veined." This is the shrimp's digestive track which can contain sand, mud, and of course, shrimp shit. Ew. To remove the vein, cut along the black line and pull the vein out with your fingers or a skewer if you are really grossed out by what I just told you. Do this under cold water to help the vein come out of the shrimp. Alas, shit-free shrimp! 

Note: If you are reading this from Charleston or another seaside town, BUY LOCAL! Especially Charleston. You know those big beautiful shrimp boats on Shem Creek? They're not doing their job so you can be ignorant and buy expensive Gulf of Mexico shrimp at Harris Teeter. Do your duty and please buy local!

2: BOIL WATER

3: WINE TIME

A white wine like Pinot Grigio pairs well with this.

4: SAUCE

Start your sauce with a tablespoon of olive oil and your minced garlic. If you're doing the minced garlic from a jar, use no more than enough to cover your thumb's fingernail. Otherwise, dice four cloves. Sauté the garlic in a medium sauce pan on high for a few minutes until the garlic turns brown, and then add your cream. Once that starts to boil, mix in the 1/4 cup of olive oil and water. Get your liquid back to a boil, and on medium heat, add flour and cheese. Whisk to get rid of lumps. Splash a little of your wine in there if you're feelin' risky.

Chop your fresh basil leaves into the smallest pieces you can manage and add them to your sauce with your other seasonings - rosemary, salt, and pepper. Smell that? Yea, that's called heaven.

Stir this around until it is all smooth and creamy. It should be thick from the cream and flour, but if you want it thicker, add more flour. If you want it thinner, add water. I always find myself messing up the proper balance of thick or thin so this is where you might improvise. Stir occasionally and set on low-medium heat.

5: COOK NOODLES

Place noodles in boiling water. Set an alarm for their cook time and add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pot. 

6: SHRIMP

Deep breaths. Don't worry, seafood has the common misconception of appearing complex to cook when actually it is the easiest to prepare - perfect for lazy and/or amateur cooks (win).

Start your sauté with a little bit of olive oil and garlic, just like before, but now in a non-stick pan. Once it has browned, add two more tablespoons of olive oil and put the shrimp on the skillet. Literally flip these bad boys until they are pink on both sides and they are ready. Try to cut through one to be sure they're pink all the way through and not that weird see-through shrimpy texture. Throw these into your sauce and stir. 

7: DRAIN PASTA AND SERVE

You're done! Enjoy!

Also, I would love to know if you have tried my recipes out or if you have any suggestions on more recipes! Let me know, I always love to try new, complex dishes to make them easier for the average twenty-something!

Betta Bruschetta

Bruschetta

Perfect as an appetizer paired with red wine and cheese, this bruschetta will leave your guests begging for more. I made these for a very fabulous group of my mom's friends and we couldn't get enough of it (may or may not have eaten a whole baguette).

INGREDIENTS (serves ten):

1 baguette
1 large tomato 
1 tsp of crushed rosemary
5 large fresh basil leaves 
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 stalk of green onion
Shaved or shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 of a lemon or 2 tbsp of lemon juice

1: PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 300 DEGREES

2: CUT BAGUETTE INTO PIECES

You'll need a nice, fresh baguette with the size depending on your party. First, cut into pieces based the amount of guests you have plus one. Next, cut those in half in the middle with your hand on top of the bread and your knife slicing the middle of the bread underneath. Watch for sliced fingertips (I learned tonight that this is common) and cut equal portions. Next, slice these long pieces in half diagonally, so you are left with numerous pointy pieces of bread (triangles). Cutting the bread like this makes the outcome more user-friendly and less messy on your face when the tomatoes seem to abandon ship on the first bite. 

Regarding the size of your baguette, and the number of individual pieces of bread cut, plan for each person to have about two to three pieces each. I made enough small pieces for about three each and we only had a couple remaining - only to be finished off after the main course later.

3: WINE TIME

Red wine and sangria was our drink of choice tonight. 

4: CHOP TOMATOES AND ONIONS

Tomatoes: After washing, cut out the core of the tomato. Get all the squishy, runny guts out of there and cut the tomato into four flanks pressed onto the cutting board flat. For each flank, cut vertically multiple skinny strips, then horizontally more skinny strips, making perfect, tiny squares of tomato. Put into a medium bowl.

Green onion stalk: Start at the dense, white bottom of the stalk, where the roots usually are. Chop (with tiny spaces in between) up the stalk until you hit the green of the onion and you feel the shoot becoming empty. You are left with teeny tiny little onion circles. Throw them in the bowl as well. 

5: OIL (FIRST ROUND)

Pour oil and balsamic vinegar into a separate, small bowl. 

6: PREPARE BREAD

Place your small, triangular pieces of bread onto a cookie sheet with foil. Distribute them evenly. Brush the oil and vinegar onto each piece of bread. Coat those suckers and use the whole bowl of oil. 

Now, cover the pieces with your parmesan - shredded or shaved. I suggest shaved because it is flakey and will stay put on these wobbly pieces of bread. 

Place the bread in the oven and bake them at 300 degrees for about five minutes. Keep an eye on them - as long as the cheese is fully melted, they are ready for the topping.

7: OIL AGAIN AND MIX IT UP

Repeat the oil process again with another round of oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Now add basil and rosemary. For the basil, I cut the leaves only vertically, leaving them in skinny strips. 

Make sure to crush the rosemary before you apply. I accidentally left mine long at first and had to remove much of them later after feeling like I was eating fishbones upon my first test bite. Add the mix to your tomatoes and onions and top it off with a little lemon zest. Taste to test - the whole mixture should taste close to Caprese minus the mozzarella. 

8: TOP AND SERVE

Once your bread is ready, top each piece with the mixture in your bowl of deliciousness - tomatoes and all! Now serve them to your anxiously awaiting guest and enjoy!

Wining and Dining (for the broke and hungry)

Tuna Pasta with White Wine Sauce

Use this recipe to impress your friend during a girls night, or if you're at the end of the month on your funds and canned tuna, whine, and pasta is all you have. It's funny how it can work for both - the secret is in the preparation.

INGREDIENTS (serves two):

2 cans of tuna drained

4 ounces of spaghetti or linguini pasta

1/4 medium onion diced

1/4 cup white wine

2 tbsp olive oil

Pinch of chili pepper flakes
1 tbsp of capers
1 tsp of parsley
1 tsp of black pepper
1 tsp of salt
1/2 tbsp of basil leaves

1: PREPARE TUNA

We want the tuna to be soft and not dry and chewy from the can, so you're going to need to soak the tuna in olive oil before you cook it. Let it marinate while you prepare everything else.

2: BOIL WATER

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Pretty simple stuff. 

3: WINE TIME

Pour yourself a glass of white wine, you deserve it.

4: COOK PASTA

Put in pasta of your choice. It's always easier to set a timer for pasta instead of waiting for it to become "al dente." Whole wheat noodles take a little longer, so my whole wheat spaghetti took about 10 minutes. 

5: THE GOOD STUFF

Here comes the fun part. Chop your onion into small squares. Heat olive oil on a large sauté pan. Throw in onions and chili pepper flakes and stir around on medium-high heat until onions are translucent. 

Now, mix in your canned tuna, capers, and salt. Add the wine, take a sip from the bottle for yourself, and bring the pan to a simmer. Turn to low heat and if the mixture dries out, add a little more wine.

(If you're too poor for capers, add peas! They don't add a lot of taste, but they serve as a budget friendly substitute. Unfortunately I was TPFC in this round so I'm sorry if you were fooled but the picture is actually peas. Trust me though, capers are SO much better with this.)

5: MIX IT UP

Once the pasta is ready, drain it then add it to the pan with the other ingredients. Mix it all together with a splash of olive oil. Add parsley, salt, and pepper and serve to your hungry and probably drunk guest.

And that's what we call ballin on a budget, people. 

Pasta Party of Seven

Tomato Basil Penne

This recipe is great for group dinners and is super easy to make because it's all in one giant pot. Calories don't count if it's a dinner party right?

INGREDIENTS (serves seven):

2 cups of chicken broth

1 1/2 jars of tomato pasta sauce
1 cup of water
1 1/2 boxes of penne noodles (yes, boxes, because you might not have leftovers)

1/2 large onion diced (yellow or white)

4 garlic cloves diced

1/2 tbsp of crushed red pepper seasoning
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of salt
1/2 tbsp of basil leaves
2 tbsp olive oil

1: THROW IT IN THE POT

Put all of the ingredients that I just mentioned into a (very) large pot in that order. 

This dish was inspired by a few one-pot recipes I stumbled upon this week. I decided to make it more 20 Something friendly with regular pasta sauce instead of being pretentious with "sliced tomatoes." Mostly I did this because tomatoes are the worst to chop up, and  this sauce makes the recipe so easy your boyfriend could probably make it - assuming they all cook like mine (horribly).

2: STIR AND SIP

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. I turned on the stove as I chopped and threw things in, and eventually at the end of all the ingredients, it started to boil. If you want a specific time try 12-15 minutes. 

Reduce heat to medium-low and cover for 12 minutes, stirring at five minute intervals. This is a good time to open up that bottle of wine. By the time the buzzer finally dings you should have magically soft noodles.

Serve with parmesan and enjoy!

(Didn't I tell you it would be easy?) 

Eat Your Heart Out

Steamed Artichokes

Too full from lunch or too stressed from finals week to eat? Grab some of these ugly flower things and enjoy them steamed.

INGREDIENTS (one artichoke per person):

1 tpsn sea salt

Artichokes

Lemon halved

1: BOIL WATER

Do you have a steamer? Good. If you don't have a steamer, you can do it too, I promise. Either way, you need to boil some water first. Put in some lemon juice and salt for taste. 

2: ARTICHOKE PREPARATION

Wash your artys thoroughly. Pick off the hard leaves that are poking out. Cut the stem so the arty can sit upright on its own. Now cut 1/3 off the top of the entire artichoke. This should give you a nice view into the inside of it. Trim the outer leaves that you missed while cutting, so all leaves do not end on a point. Rub a slice of the lemon on these edges to prevent discoloration from steaming. 

3: STEAMING

Steamer: place the artys on the basket on their sides and cover for 30 minutes. If you have a sweet grandmother like me, you have a hand-me-down gigantic steamer and can fit all of them in there.

No steamer: use a large pot with boiling water and place the artichokes directly in there. It doesn't matter what angle they sit, they will float with the water. If you have a small lid, you should place them directly over the artys to keep them submerged while boiling. If not, cover it normally. Let them cook at a high simmer on stove until they are tender, or for about 30 minutes. 

4: SERVE AND DIP

After thirty minutes, they should be finished. If you've never eaten an artichoke from the bushel directly, you must know to bite the bottom of the leaf - that's where the "meat" is. The deeper you go into the bushel, the more "meat." Also, scrape your teeth on the leaf above the meaty part, that has a lot of good stuff on it too. Basically it feels like you're eating a big juicy leaf - which you are - but damn, it is good with some sauce. My dad likes to dip them in ranch. You can also melt some butter or olive oil and put a little seasoning in it (like bread dipping oil) for a nice, thin sauce if you want to feel a little classier than Hidden Valley. 

The heart is the best part. It is located at the base of the bushel. Sometimes you get jipped and get a bushel with only hair, but most times underneath that hairy looking stuff is a big juicy heart - wait, am I talking about men or artichokes? Anyways, cut that heart (ouch) into fourths and eat the whole damn thing. 

Enjoy!

Dinner For Roommates

Pesto Chicken and Baked Vegetables

Senior year is winding down and options for "roomie nights" are getting slim as we all begin to go our separate ways in less than a month. One's moving to Atlanta, one's staying here, one's moving to Spain (casual), and I'm not really sure what I'm doing. The only comfort we can have in parting ways is sharing a few more meals together, so I decided to bake us a little dinner to cherish our last weeks as roommates. *tear*

INGREDIENTS (serves four):

2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp pepper (I should just make these two a given)

1/2 tbsp of Cavender's greek seasoning

8 slim chicken breast tenders

2 tbsp pesto

2 tbsp olive oil

2 zucchini

1 squash

2 sweet potatoes

1/2 yellow onion

Mushrooms

1 tbsp lemon zest or 1/4 of a lemon

PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 375 DEGREES

1: VEGGIES

Wash all vegetables. Chop squash, zucchini, and sweet potatoes into cubes and put in a large glass baking dish. Mix in olive oil, seasoning, salt, and pepper. Make sure they are evenly distributed in the dish and the sweet potatoes are touching the glass. These suckers take forever to cook, hence the roughly 40 minute wait time. While you're waiting, make sure to turn everything in the dish so they don't all burn on one side.

2: WINE?

Always optional, never unnecessary. Unfortunately we all had work to do tonight *more tears*

3: CHICKEN

Slice into each piece of chicken in a cut down the middle, not penetrating the other side of the breast. Place in dish and brush on oil. Make sure to get under the chicken with the oil so they don't stick to the pan. If you don't have a brush, you should obviously buy one, but if you spent money on your wine instead, you can "brush" on the oil with your (washed) hands. See why the brush is important? Now, brush/rub pesto on the chicken, making sure to cover it with specks of basil. Not completely, but not bare of specs. Pesto freckles only. Get pesto into the crevices of where you cut into your chicken breasts. Squirt the lemon on it and throw it into the oven for thirty minutes.

4: SAUTE OTHER VEGGIES

In my opinion, it can't possibly be a full meal unless sautéed vegetables are involved. Cut onions and mushrooms into reasonably small pieces. I like to remove the stem, then cut an X on top of mushrooms because it's fun and usually the perfect size. Sauté with oil and salt until browned and squishy, then throw them into the oven on top of the chicken to keep them warm and give them a little of the pesto taste. These don't take long, so leave about ten minutes left on your chicken when you start them. 

5: CHEESE AND SERVE!

Shake some parmesan cheese on the chicken before you serve and voila - an easy (mostly) baked meal for four.

Enjoy!