I started doing things around the house yesterday morning, and before we knew it, it was 10:30.  I hear Tony whisper: “Mama Rini’s” and I bolted to get changed!  I don’t know why, but I almost enjoy eating breakfast out more than dinner.  It’s slower paced (although some a-hole was talking on his cell phone so the whole restaurant could hear how he was divorced, his wife remarried, how he took his kids to Great America!).

One of the specials was 2x2x2.  Two pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 pieces of bacon – all for $3.95 – sold!  I gave one of my pancakes to Tony – I was glad they had sugar free syrup 😀

While Tony read the paper at breakfast, I came up with a grocery list and menu.  Then it was off to the store.  When we got back, after putting the groceries away I started yet another batch of my baja fresh salsa.  I decided to host a Mexican fiesta at work tomorrow for my 5 year anniversary – on the menu:   baja fresh salsa and chips, zucchini enchiladas, ground beef taco bar with all the fixins, a black bean, cucumber avocado and tomato salad, creamy black beans, and for dessert, tres leches cake!

this amount of tomatoes made FIVE GALLONS of salsa! 😀

Since we ate a late breakfast, lets just say lunch was chips and salsa – I mean, I had to make sure there was enough salt in the salsa, didn’t I?

At the store we picked up a whole roasted chicken for $3.75 – nice!  We’ve recently started butterflying our chicken and will never do it any other way again.  Everything cooks evenly and you don’t run the risk of bringing it to the table, only to realize the meat next to the bone is raw (and believe me, its happened to us a lot!).

I stuffed fresh lemons under the skin, then made a mixture of olive oil, oregano, lemon zest salt and pepper for the outside of the skin
love the crispy skin! although, so close to the lemons it was a bit tart!
my plate
And I had one non-alcoholic beer - it was so good! Tasted just like a German lager 😀

After dinner I had a jones for something sweet -usually that never happens, I usually grab pretzels or peanuts!  I had this in my pantry:

35 calories per 1/3 cup

I took one phyllo dough sheet, folded it in half and then put the cherry filling in the middle.  Then just rolled it up – only 1 teaspoon of melted butter was used over three of these, then sprinkled with 1/2 a package of raw sugar.

100 calorie cherry pie!

So Debbi picked ground turkey for the BSI ingredient this week.   I was wondering what I was going to make when I saw Amanda’s sister Kerry talk about Turkish dishes her boyfriend introduced her to.  I have no idea what Turkish dishes are, but one stood out to me – it was called Boregi – and it is a minced meat hand pie that street vendors typically sell on the street.

Biz’s Turkish Boregi (printer friendly version here)

Makes 18 servings (164 calories, 5.1 fat, 16.7 carbs, .5 fiber and 8.7 protein)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, sriracha
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
3 ounces potato, cooked and diced
18 phyllo sheets
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

  1. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil and cook garlic until it begins to soften and brown. Add ground turkey and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add cinnamon, oregano, parsley, crushed red pepper, hot sauce, potato and parsley.
  2. Cook an additional 3 minutes, season with salt and pepper and let cool.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, milk, and olive oil.
  4. Lay out phyllo dough. Brush the edges of half of the dough, and fold in half. Put 1/3 cup mixture in the middle. Fold each side into the middle covering the filling. Bring the bottom half way up, then use egg wash on all the edges.
  5. Roll up like a cigar and put on parchment lined cookie sheet. Repeat until you have 18.
  6. Brush with remaining egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes or until nicely browned.
the filling
ready for the oven

delicious!

It’s light and flakey, and I love the combination of the cinnamon, oregano and hot sauce – after a couple bites you start to feel a bit of heat! 😀

Thanks Debbi for hosting this week!  Off to check my email for the 101 Days of Summer Updates! 😀