Chicken Orzo Salad

With the warm weather here, this is a good recipe to make and eat cold on those warm evenings when you just don't feel like cooking. It can be made in the morning while it is still cool and then just pulled out at dinner time.  


Once I discovered hoisin sauce and rice wine vinegar last year I started adding it to all kinds of recipes including just plain vegetable stir-fries. Here is another great way to use it.

Ingredients:
1 pkg orzo
2-1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 pkg sugar snap peas, fresh or frozen
3 green onions, chopped
1 med. red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup grape tomatoes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
1/8 cup  rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

Directions:
Cook and drain orzo and sugar snap peas in separate pots.

In a large bowl, combine first seven ingredients. Then in a small bowl, whisk together oil, hoisin sauce, vinegar and soy sauce. Pour over into the large bowl with the other ingredients and mix together. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Jalapeño-Cheddar Burger Recipe

After watching the Man vs. Food show I've become obsessed with the different foods I've seen on the show. Of course if you watch the show you know they tell some of the ingredients but don't tell any of the restaurants' secret spices and so forth, so it is up to you to make it to your taste. 


Over the past months I've seen hamburgers everything from boiled to fried. Made with different style of cheese and stuffed in any which way. The jalapeño-cheddar burger looked great, especially after Burger King started advertising their latest burger of the same type. So here is our recipe. Even my son, who generally hates spicy anything liked it.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, cut into small square chunks
1/2 cup jalapeños, chopped
1/2 cup onions, chopped
2 tablespoons jalapeño juice
1/4 teaspoon Garlic flavored Mrs. Dash or your favorite seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
optional:
Tomatoes
Pickles
Relish
Ketchup
Mustard
Mayonnaise
lettuce

Directions:
Preheat oven to broil
In a large bowl mix all ingredients well. Form mixture into round balls. Place on a hard service and using the bottom of a drinking glass push down into patties. Place on broiling pan and cook on both sides until cooked the way you like them.
(forgot to take the photo so I had to get one off line. This is from BKs Website. Of course if you don't want to make your own BK is selling there right now.)