{A Burtch Fridge Staple}

If I am going to eat healthy and make better food choices during the week, I have to prepare.  Those days that I am forced to wing it, I head straight for the Ramen or Spaghetti O's.  That's no good, so these days, I am making meals that I can stick in the fridge and eat off for several days.  This is one of my favorites and it's pretty much a staple in my fridge.  When I was working in Florida, I would watch food Network during my lunch break.  I didn't cook at all at the time, so I think I was just amping myself up to take a chance and just do it!  One day, Bobby Flay made THIS meal and I fell in love!  I left work and immediately went to the store and bought everything I needed to make it for dinner.  It's super easy and really versatile.  I love it because I can get the boys to eat the same thing Kevin and I are eating, which is rare.  There something about the crisp veggies and warm pasta that make for a great combo.  I have been making a modified version to keep around for lunch during the week.  I am amping up the veggies and cutting out meat whenever possible, so it's a little different from Bobby's recipe, but yummy all the same.  Enjoy!

Photo Courtesy of Angel Kisses Photography, Inc.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound orzo, cooked al dente as directed on the package
• 1 large cucumber, seeded, quartered lengthwise, and sliced
• 1 tomato diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper diced
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, plus extra for garnish
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar 
• 3 tablespoons Dijon Mustard 
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 pound feta cheese, crumbled

Directions: Combine cooked orzo, cucumber, bell pepper, tomato and chickpeas in a large bowl. Place dill, vinegar, and mustard in a blender and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil and blend until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the vinaigrette over the orzo mixture and stir well to combine. Top each serving with feta.

{Cheeseburger Pie}

Kevin was away last for a couple of days for interviews, so I took the opportunity to make a few kid-friendly meals.  Here is one of the new favorites....Cheeseburger Pie!  This is a Pinterest Find, but I didn't actually pin it, just wrote the directions down. Now the link is lost in the never ending abyss of recipes.  I would LOVE to give credit where credit is due, so if you have seen this, please let me know!!!

Ingredients:
1 Prepared Pie Shell (We used Kroger Brand and it worked okay.  Now sure if the trouble was the brand or just me!)
1 lb of Lean Ground Beef or Ground Turkey Breast  (We used Ground Turkey)
1 Medium Onion Chopped
2 Garlic Cloves Chopped
1/2 Cup of Flour
2 tbsp of Pickle Juice (We used sweet bread and butter pickles, but next time I think I'll use Tony Packo's Sweet Hot Pickles & Peppers...the BEST!)
3 Slices of Pickles Finely Chopped
2 tbsp of Yellow Mustard
1 tbsp of Spicy Mustard
2 tbsp of Ketchup
1 tbsp of Steak Sauce
2 Cups of Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

- Bake pie shell as directed on the package

- Drop the oven temp to 350 degrees once the shell is cooked

- Cook onions and garlic in a small amount of oil until tender, then remove from the pan

- Cook ground beef/turkey, adding any seasonings you typically use when grilling hamburgers. Grain grease.

- In a large bowl, add onion mixture to the ground beef.  After it has cooled a bit, also add flour, pickle juice, pickles, mustard, ketchup, steak sauce and 1 cup of cheese. Mix up and add to the pie shell

- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

- Remove from over and sprinkle the remaining cup of cheese on the top and return to the over for an additional 10 minutes.  Then, it's ready to serve!  Super easy and really yummy!

{Chicken Soup For The..........}

You Can Find The Photo and Original Recipe HERE.

Personally, I think CFA's chicken noodle soup has magical powers.  There is just something about it...especially when you're sick.  It instantly makes me feel warm and cozy and BETTER!  I have never found a recipe that could replicate that wonderful goodness, until now.  While it's not the original, I think I like it just as much.  I found the recipe on allrecipe.com, and spruced it up Burtch style, and I think it turned out great!  Here's what we did:

Ingredients:
4 cups of chopped chicken
1 cup of chopped celery
1/2 cup of chopped carrots
1/2 cup of chopped onions
1/2 cup of frozen peas
1/4 cup of butter
9 cubes of chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon of dried marjoram
3/4 teaspoon of black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon of dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
12 cups of water
12 ounces of egg noodles

Directions:
1) Brown chicken and chop
2) In a large stock pot, saute the onions, celery and carrots in the butter
3) Add chicken, water, bouillon cubes, and all spices. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for 1.5 hours.  Stir occasionally.
4) Add frozen peas and noodles.  Cover and simmer for 10-15 more minutes.

Then you're ready to eat up!  Enjoy!