Banh Mi Inspired Burger

4 Comments

A Banh mi is a popular Vietnamese sandwich that has inspired many creations and has become familiar in most parts of the world. It’s a crusty French roll filled often filled with pork, chicken, fresh crunchy vegetables, herbs and a little spice. Basically a massive amount of flavour packed into an amazing sandwich and if you try one you immediately understand why so many people love them.

20140512-200419.jpg

I thought the idea would translate into an amazing burger and these have quickly become a favourite in my house. The flavours all combine so wonderfully; crunchy pickled vegetables on top of a soy, ginger and garlic flavoured patty then a spicy mayo to tie it all together.

I have made these for friends and family and each person has declared it one of their favourite burgers ever. In fact, if I ever have my dream come true and own a little restaurant/shack this will most definitely be on the menu

This post has been updated with new photos and some editing to my initial writing (I spelled Sriracha wrong…). The recipe has not changed 🙂

Burgers

350  grams ground pork (1 package)
350 grams ground chicken thigh (1 package)
1/8 cup finely sliced green onion
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 thumb of ginger finely diced
2 tbsp soya sauce
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper

In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients, folding them together by hand, then form into patties. In a non stick pan over medium low heat brown one side about 5 minutes. Flip the burger and cover the pan with a lid. Continue to cook another 5-7 minutes or until the burger is cooked through.

20140512-200354.jpg

20140512-200359.jpg

Pickles

1 cup water
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup thinly sliced radishes
1 cup thinly sliced cucumber
1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1/4 cup roughly chopped  basil (I like mint in here too)

Heat the water, vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan until the the sugar and salt dissolve. Pour over the cucumber, carrots and radishes and allow them to sit for at least an hour before using. Just prior to serving pour off the pickling liquid and mix the pickled vegetables with the cilantro and mint.

20140512-200348.jpg

Spicy Mayo

2 tbs mayo 
2Tbsp plain yogurt
a healthy squeeze of sriracha 
1/4 tsp salt

Mix all three ingredients together in a small bowl. I have used Sambal because it’s what I had in my fridge but it’s pretty potent so it needs to be used fairly sparingly

20140512-200413.jpg

Smear the bun with the spicy mayo, then top the burger with the pickles and enjoy!!

20140512-200406.jpg

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this or any of my other posts. Also come and check out my Facebook page MyWeeklyDish for nightly meal inspiration

 

I hope you love this inspired burger as much as I do 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Meal Plan – Feeling Springy

Leave a comment

I love Spring on the Island. People believe it rains here all the time but really it is a gorgeous time of year. I start itching to get outside and suddenly have more than enough energy for everything. Especially projects, I started some seedlings with the little guy for our mini garden and I’m working on my herb planters for the front deck. The next projects are our community garden plot that we are trying out this year and repainting an old picnic table in the backyard. Now I just need the rain to clear a little more (okay it does rain here a fair amount) so that we can tackle it all.

My other favourite thing is the growing anticipation I feel for all the lovely produce I know is soon to come. I get just giddy thinking about all the yumminess that we are going to enjoy. I think it’s my most inspired time of the year for new recipes and ideas so I’m sure I will have tonnes to share.

Hubby is away three weeks this time so I’m still going with the extra easy theme for meals. I also decided to switch things up this week. Since I started this blog I shared the menu I was planning on making for the week. Mostly this worked but if I had new recipes I was tweaking it made it hard to get them up in time so I was often having to add extra meals and in short was creating more work for myself. This week I am going to share last weeks meal plan. This way I have all the recipes done and ready and I can include what we had for breakfast and lunches as well. I think overall this will work out a lot better.

Monday

Breakfast – Cheerios with sliced bananas

Lunch – Cream cheese and jam hearts w/ cut veggies
I was being cute and used a cookie cutter to cut heart shapes out of bread and then spread a layer of creamcheese on each side with a dab of jam in the middle

Dinner – Pesto veggie quesadillas
On a whole grain tortilla spread about a tbsp of your favourite pesto. Add diced tomato, slices of bell peppers, mushrooms, artichokes and whatever veg your family likes. Top with a layer of cheese and a second tortilla. Cook in a large pan over medium low until both sides are golden brown and the cheese is melty gooey. I served these with plain yogurt and salsa for dipping

Tuesday

Breakfast – Waffles
When my hubbers is in town I make a massive batch and then freeze what we don’t eat. They turn out perfect in the toaster and I know exactly what’s in them. For this batch I had diced up cooked sausage thrown it into the batter. It made them a perfect breakfast and tasted delicious!

Lunch -Picky plates
Basically this is a plate of whatever’s in the fridge in little bits. I used: crackers, slices of cheese, some sliced deli meat, cut apple, pickles, red pepper and cucumber. My son loves getting a little of everything

Thanksgiving Grill Cheese

Thanksgiving Grill Cheese

Dinner – A grill cheese version of Thanksgiving
I made grill cheese with sliced deli turkey and a spread of cranberry sauce with white cheddar. They were awesome. On the side I had roasted carrot, potato and sweet potato fries, so it was like a thanksgiving dinner minus the 10 million hours of work.

Wednesday

Breakfast – Eggy Bagels
I found these little whole wheat bagels at Superstore and used them for a cute little breakfast sandwich. I cut the bagels in half and placed a slice of cheese on the bottom half. Then the bagels were toasted in the oven getting the cheese melted. I made scrambled eggs and then layered the eggs on top of the cheese with a slice of tomato.

Lunch – Tuna sandwiches with strawberries

Dinner – BLT salad with pesto chicken
I used chicken tenders and rubbed a few tbsps of pesto on them then quickly cooked them on the bbq. While they were cooking I crisped up some sliced bacon, diced a tomato and opened up my salad greens. It made a great yummy salad that took 15 minutes and was devoured by my bacoholic son.

Thursday

Breakfast – Waffles again

Lunch – Ham sandwiches and cut veggies

Dinner – Chicken tacos
My wonderful other mother had us for dinner and she even made the tortillas. I plan on learning this skill as they are a zillion times better then any I buy. The tacos were filled with cooked chicken, diced tomato, grated cheese, lettuce and a little hot sauce for the older folk

Friday

Breakfast – Breakfast burritos
Scramble a few egg then in warmed tortillas (unfortunately not home made) layer the eggs with grated cheese, lettuce and tomato. A great breakfast to take on the go too.

Lunch – Mini bagel sandwiches with sliced apples

Dinner – Pork cutlets with garlicky lemon past and steamed broccoli
The pork recipe will be up in a few hours. I used a spaghetti noodle cooked al dente (still has a bit of bone, my hubby would say). Once drained I added a tbsp of butter, 1 clove finely diced garlic, 1 tbsp lemon zest and 3 tbsp plain yogurt or sour cream. This was a huge hit with the littles

Saturday

Breakfast – Cheerios with sliced banana

Lunch – Leftovers

Bhan mi burger

Bhan mi burger

Dinner – Banh Mi inspired burgers with salad
A banh mi is a Vietnamese sandwich loaded with flavour. I took inspiration from this and made a pork burger that is unique and inexpensive

Sunday – Bagels with cream cheese and fruit slices

Lunch – Tuna sandwiches

Dinner – I had a memorial to attend an hour away so unfortunately dinner was on the road but Daniel had a lovely stir fry at Oma and Opas:)

So that’s what we ate last week. Easy healthy meals that I was able to get to the table despite the two kids running/crawling around being crazy. A feat I am pretty proud of. Hope these ideas make your week a little easier and I’d love to hear about how you feed your crew. I also share some of these meals that aren’t quite a recipe on my Facebook page My Weekly Dish. You can “like’ me to get recipes, posts and quick meal ideas

20130428-224711.jpg

Weekly Meal Plan – Spring Showers and a Full Freezer

Leave a comment

Well my hubbers is off to work again and I’m feeling like his time home was a bit of a write off. We had such great plans of picnics and fish and chips and pretty much none of it happened. We all managed to get sick and between naps there was no time to head out. It did however give me some great time to write a few new recipes. A couple are ready to share so will show up over the next few weeks and the rest require more tweaks before going public.

This week I need to do some serious freezer clearing. I was a little shocked by how much has accumulated in there. Normally with meal planning very little is left in my fridge or freezer by the end of the week but I think with my trying to write some new recipes I got a small backlog. Plus, I can’t throw anything away so I end up with the most random things in there. Fortunately/unfortunately the weather is very spring like and rainy here so I’m thinking it will be a perfect week to clear out the freezer with some hearty meals. This will also save me a few bucks for some cute spring dresses for when it does get sunny.

Monday

Lunch – Crackers, cheese and cut veggies with dip

Dinner – Chicken Soup
In my freezer I discovered chicken bones and veggie scraps I was obviously intending for a soup that hasn’t happened yet. I’ll start the stock early in the afternoon by roasting the bones and veg in the oven until golden brown and then moving it all to a pot of water to simmer on the stove. I know I have some veggies that will be happy to join the pot and I’m sure there is some chicken hiding somewhere too.

Tuesday

Lunch – Peanut butter, jam and banana wraps with apple slices
A tortilla spread with a smear of peanut butter and jam then rolled around a banana. I may even add some cheerios or granola in for some texture.

Dinner – Pierogies, sausages and sauerkraut
I love sauteed onions and plain yogurt on the side.

Wednesday

Lunch – Ham and tomato grill cheese with veggies and dip

Dinner – Fish tacos
I have some multi-grain Tilapia fish sticks that work great. They’re huge pieces so 4 is good for me and the kids. I serve the fish in tortillas with shredded cabbage, cilantro, diced tomatoes and a lime sauce. The sauce is really easy: 1 tbsp mayo, 1 tbsp plain yogurt, half a lime and a little salt.

Thursday

Lunch – bagels and cream cheese with apples slices and peanut butter

Dinner – Vegan satay pizza
A friend is bringing me this over to try and I’m really excited. It sounds like an amazing pizza with cilantro, peanut sauce and yummy veggies. I may steal the recipe if I fall in love.

Friday

Lunch – Tuna sandwiches

Dinner – Chili mac with cornbread crust
I need to use up some frozen chili and cornbread muffins. I’m going make a basic mac and cheese, mix in the chili and then top with the crumbled muffins. I think it should be pretty nummy.

Saturday

Lunch – Egg salad on buns with carrot sticks

Dinner – Meatball subs with Caesar salad
I made these a few weeks ago and they were delicious. I’m using meatballs and sauce from my spaghetti recipe that I froze last time I made it. Cut the top off a sub bun (old school Subway style) and place a row of meatballs in. Cover with sauce and grated cheese. Place in a 400F oven for about 10 minutes, remove and top with their lids.

Sunday

Lunch – Waffles and fruit salad
I love brunch so I’ll give the kids some fruit to tie them over and then make waffles, sausages and fruit salad

Dinner – Veggie Taco Salad
I’m hoping for a little sun at the end of the week and with some heavier meals throughout the week this will be a great ending

Hope this makes your life a little easier, at least the food part. I’d love to hear about how your family plans their meals.

20130414-213306.jpg

Vegetarian Black Bean Taco Salad

Leave a comment

Taco salads are great for so many reasons. They’re easy to make, taste fresh and delicious and feel satisfying. I usually always make mine with chicken but in my goal to reduce our meat intake at home I thought I would try to make a vegetarian version. One of my biggest pet peeves about vegetarian cooking is when a recipe just takes out the meat and calls it a day. I feel like I can tell that something is missing so I wanted a salad that can stand on its own and that you wouldn’t even consider adding chicken to. I think I nailed it and I hope it’s a hit at your home too.

The dressing has a tonne of flavour and would be a great vinaigrette for any salad. There’s lots of fresh vegetables  and  enough protein that you feel completely satisfied. Minus the cabbage and salad greens and this would even be a great salsa. Even though my son can handle a bit of spice I added the jalapeño after removing a portion for him. He loved it and finished his plate.

Vinaigrette

Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp Agave or honey
2 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 clove  finely chopped garlic
salt to taste

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and thoroughly whisk together.

Salad
1 540ml can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1 cup diced red pepper
1 cup cooked corn
1 cup diced tomato
2 cups shredded purple cabbage
1/2 a finely diced jalapeno

I used frozen corn cooked in the microwave for 3 minutes and then drained. 
Add all of the ingredients to the bowl with the vinaigrette and allow it to all mingle and fall in love. I let mine sit about 15 minutes before serving. 

Black Bean Taco Salad

Black Bean Taco Salad

You can stop here and this is a great vegan salad that stands completely on its own. For our dinner we layered the bean salad on organic salad greens, topped with tortilla chips and a sprinkle of grated cheese. It was awesome, delicious and so easy to make. I will definitely make this a part of our regular meal plan.

Vegetarian black bean taco salad

Weekly Meal Plan – Hubby’s home

Leave a comment

I made it through my first two weeks alone with the kids in months and successfully I think. We all are completely intact and I managed to get meals on the table every day. Personally, this last one was a huge win and a whoot, whoot to my successful meal plans.

This week I have my husband home. When he works away we try to cram as much in as possible so we are eating out a few times. Partially for convenience and partially because for me eating is part of the adventure. The rest of the week we’re at home spending as much time together as possible. I’ve picked meals that are easy so I’m not spending too much time in kitchen and a few family favourites too.

Monday

Lunch – Coombs market
My favourite market up-island. We’re planning a hike up that direction so lunch and a little shopping sounds perfect. My son also loves it because they have goats that live up on the roof and what almost three year old wouldn’t think that was awesome.

Dinner – Gnocchi, turkey sausage and peppers
Gnocchi are delicious little potato pastas. They cook like a regular pasta and then I sauté them with the sausage and peppers. I found a sundried tomato and basil sausage that I think will work perfect for this.

Tuesday

Lunch – Bagel sandwiches

Dinner – Pulled chicken sandwiches with coleslaw
Use left over or rotisserie chicken and coat with your favourite bbq sauce in a saucepan over med-low heat, (I have an amazing bbq sauce recipe I’ll share over the summer!). Make a quick coleslaw with shredded cabbage, grated carrot and a dressing of roughly 2 spoons mayo, 1 spoon vinegar, a sprinkle of sugar and salt. Place the bbq’d chicken on a bun top with coleslaw and voilà, pulled chicken sandwiches.

Wednesday

Lunch – Picnic for Newcastle Island
I’m making veggie wraps with hummus, fruit salad and will have some snacks of chips, trail mix and juice.

Dinner – Trollers Fish and Chips
Working in Alberta doesn’t give hubbers much chance to eat yummy fish so since we’re going to be in Nanaimo it only makes sense to stop at Troller’s after our busy day exploring.

Thursday

Lunch – Pita and tzatziki with Greek salad

Dinner – Spaghetti and Meatballs
I’m not sure why but all my son wants to eat with daddy home is spaghetti and meatballs, or sketti and meatballs. I Can’t even maybe say no to this.

Friday

Lunch – Chicken quesadillas
I’ll use the last of the rotisserie chicken I bought, pesto, diced tomatoes and cheddar

Dinner – Pepperoni, mushroom and green pepper pizza

Saturday

Lunch – Ham sandwiches

Dinner – Creamy chicken and vegetable tortilla casserole
I’m having my parents over for dinner and with a salad this is a great family meal

Sunday

Brunch – I’m making waffles, fruit salad and bacon

Dinner – Chicken and Root Vegetable Fries
I want to get a little more chicken for when my hubby is gone so this will be a great last dinner before he heads back to Alberta.

Walking in My Grocery Shoes

Leave a comment

I think there is no better way to understand someone then to walk a kilometre (I’m Canadian) in their shoes, so I’m going to share my grocery shopping routine.

Over the years my hubby and I have had our financial ups and downs. Being a student and typical life stuff have made us look at how we spend our money and I’ve been able to develop a grocery routine that works no matter how much income we have. An ability to stick to our budget and prepare for the worst has helped us ride out the more difficult times. Generally my monthly budget is $650.00 for a family of four and that includes toiletries and household supplies.  At this point in my life I have decided to make a few choices around food that raised my budget a bit. If you are on a more restrictive income or if your priorities are different then mine you can cut some of the costs for sure.

Once a month I stop at a local grocery store, Country Grocer in South Nanaimo, one of the few places I can find local meat at a price I can afford. Local purchasing is something that has become a priority for me but does increase my food costs.  Being the saavy, thrifty lady that I am I go through their meat department and buy everything I can that’s marked down. Most goes immediately into the deep freeze and it saves me between 30-50%. Sometimes this means that I get a random assortment of meats, I got a lot of ground bison one week, but I can work around this and just incorporate it into my meal plan.

20130402-232239.jpg

My sweet little helper

I shop weekly at Superstore for all of my pantry items, there is no where I’ve found with better prices regularly. They have a great selection of healthy options and insanely cute kids clothes (so super helpful for the budget). I also keep close watch on the shelves for items that I regularly use that are on sale. This week they had my favourite tomatillo salsa on sale. It’s something we go through consistently so I grabbed two even though I had one at home. I do the same when there’s a bargain deal on toilet paper, toothpaste or really anything. Now, I’m not one of those wackadoos with a bomb shelter filled with enough canned goods to last me a year, or a plague of locusts. My kitchen is tiny and I don’t even have a pantry so I only get what fits, but this has saved our ass a few times. These last few months are a great example. I’ve been on maternity leave and my hubby was taking time to be at home with us, so we were on a really tight budget. Not having to buy toiletries and having food to pull from meant we could ride out this tight time a little easier.

Produce is also a place where I have made a few personal choices. Where ever possible I try to buy local and at the very least Canadian. At the right time of the year this is easy and actually inexpensive. Off season this becomes a bit harder and I need to shift my menu or spend a little more. My favourite spot for buying produce is Russell Farms Market. It’s a lot of their own or local produce and their prices are great. Farm stands or farmers markets are a fabulous option for local, reasonably priced produce. This does add an extra stop on my grocery date but it’s become a fun stop where we often get ice cream and check out the nursery. If this extra stop doesn’t work, Superstore has a decent selection of produce that is reasonably priced.

20130402-232220.jpg

My other grocery pal

I also have a Costco membership and make a trip every few months for baby wipes, and a few items that I get a good deal on there.

It’s taken a bit of trial and error to find out what works for my family. We all go shopping together when my hubby’s in town and make it a fun family day. When he’s out of town I make a date with a friend and we use our shopping as a chance to hang out. Farmers markets can also be a weekend family adventure and a chance to check out local food culture.

Our budget has also stayed pretty constant. I don’t like going much below the budget we’ve set because of some of the food choices I’ve made for our family. This has meant I cut back in other areas instead. However, I get that a lot of people live on a lot less and if I used more generic or less organic/natural products my budget could almost be 100-200 dollars less a month.

I’d love to hear what your grocery routines are and if you’re interested in how I meal plan click HERE.

Baked Scotch Eggs with Chicken Sausage

Leave a comment

This was an experiment based on the fact I did nothing Eastery food wise but knew that lots of people would have left over boiled eggs. I have never tried a scotch egg but have been fascinated (really??) by them for way too long and finally decided to try my hand at making them. Typically they are made with pork sausage and deep fried. Since I like to eat lighter fare but love the idea I thought chicken sausage would work perfectly.

They were super yummy and my son loved them. I see them being a great brunch item or as part of a lunch. I’ve seen scotch eggs on menus as part of a ploughman’s lunch, which are generally meats, cheeses, pickles, bread and a bit of salad. I think lunch guests would be  impressed with a spread like that and honestly they aren’t much work.

Ploughman's lunch

Ploughman’s lunch

Scotch Eggs

7 Free Range Eggs
1 package (400g) of ground chicken thighs or ground turkey
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground sage
pinch nutmeg
pinch marjoram
pinch thyme
or 3/4 tsp poultry seasoning to replace sage to thyme
1 tbsp brown butter
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp paprika

20130401-222110.jpg

Scotch Egg Loveliness

Preheat the oven to 350F

In a large saucepan cover six of the eggs with about an inch of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil, reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook for six minutes and then place the eggs into cold water.
In a mixing bowl combine the ground chicken with 1 tsp salt, and the spices. In a small sauce pan over medium low heat melt the butter and allow it to become brown without it burning. Add the browned butter and mix in to the ground chicken mixture.
In a shallow bowl combine the panko, paprika and 1 tsp of salt. Prepare a breading station with three bowls. The first has your sausage mixture, second the last egg beaten, and the third is the panko mixture. Also have a sheet pan ready for your finished eggs. I lined mine with parchment paper but they aren’t messy.
Remove all the shells from the eggs and one at a time cover in a thin layer of the sausage. Place it next in the egg bath and roll it around. Then move the eggy egg to the panko and roll the egg around gently to form a crust. Place on the baking sheet and move on to the next egg.
Once all your eggs are ready place in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes making sure the sausage is thoroughly cooked.

20130401-222048.jpg

Delicious