Stoner Cooking 10-29-12

Eating burgers in Las Vegas
Nikki Neu
May 24th, 2012
http://blog.vegas.com/las-vegas-dining/eating-burgers-in-las-vegas-21382/

Here’s a list of some of our favorite burgers in Vegas.

Burger: The LBS Perfect Burger.
Available at: LBS: A Burger Joint at Red Rock Casino.
Why we love it: The Perfect Burger is just that–a perfect blend of ingredients. A beef patty topped with Gruyere cheese, Applewood smoked bacon, frisee greens and housemade ketchup. Needless to say, The Perfect Burger is all about the perfect ingredients.

Burger: The Surf & Turf Burger.
Available at: Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay.
Why we love it: Who doesn’t love the best of both worlds? With a black angus beef patty and half of a grilled lobster–this burger is fit for a king.

Burger: The mini, mini burger.
Available at: Guy Savoy in Caesars Palace.
Why we love it: While you usually don’t go to a restaurant for hors d’ouvres, you might want to reconsider. The micro mini burger is made with savory ingredients like cornichons, capers, shallots, Dijon mustard and more to create a one-bite hors d’oeuvre packed with unforgettable flavor. Oh, and don’t forget the Parmesan bun.

Burger: The lamb tandoori burger.
Available at: BLT Burger at The Mirage.
Why we love it: If you’re tired of boring beef, spice up your burger with Indian flair. Start with ground lamb and add mint, cilantro, yogurt sauce and cucumber. This burger is delicious on its own– but make sure you add a toasted marshmallow milkshake to wash it down.

Burger: The Rising Sun.
Available at: Holstein’s at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Why we love it: The Rising Sun burger is a Japanese-style burger that includes some tasty ingredients.

The Rising Sun burger includes premium ingredients such as Kobe beef, teriyaki glaze, nori furikake, crispy yam, spicy mayo and tempura avocado. With that winning combination, we wouldn’t mind the sun rising more than once a day.
Burger: Thanksgiving Turkey Burger.
Available at: KGB: Kerry’s Gourmet Burgers.
Why we love it: The Thanksgiving Turkey Burger is truly a bite of Thanksgiving. This filling burger includes stuffing, cranberry sauce and turkey gravy served on a white bun. We wouldn’t be surprised if you wanted to take a post-meal nap.

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Five Guys voted favorite burger chain, McDonald's near bottom
Tiffany Hsu
September 19, 2012
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-five-guys-burger-mcdonalds-20120918,0,2348963.story

Five Guys Burgers and Fries topped a new survey of favorite burger chains, leaving bigger chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King in the dust.

Market Force Information questioned 7,600 consumers, calculated the fan favorite based on total votes and then factored in the number of locations for each chain.

In every region, Five Guys led the list. Overall, In-N-Out was second, followed by Fuddruckers, A&W and Smashburger.

Dairy Queen ranked last in the group of 16 chains considered. Burger King, Hardee’s, McDonald’s and Jack in the Box rounded out the bottom five.

Five Guys ranked best in categories including food quality and taste, service, cleanliness and atmosphere. The only category in which it failed to rank No. 1 was best overall value; In-N-Out won that category.

Smashburger, a newcomer in the so-called better burger industry, ranked second in every category except overall value.

McDonald’s and Hardee’s shared the bottom rankings for overall value. Jack in the Box was last in the food quality and cleanliness categories. Hardee’s was deemed to have the worst service, while Dairy Queen’s atmosphere was voted as the most lacking.

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BBQ Chicken Crescents
http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/bbq-chicken-crescents/0429b068-1d32-45f8-a375-be567e889244
 
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten

1 Separate dough into 8 triangles.
2 In bowl, mix chicken and barbecue sauce. Spoon chicken mixture onto short end of each triangle; sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of the cheese. Roll up loosely as directed on can. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush with egg; sprinkle with remaining cheese.
3 Bake at 375°F 12 to 15 minutes.

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Cheesy Jack-o'-Lantern
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/cheesy-jack-o-lantern-114126.aspx

I made this for a Pampered Chef party that I had. Everyone loved it. It's almost too cute to eat! Very good and super easy...

prep:
10 min
total:
1 hr 10 min

24 servings, 2 Tbsp. spread and 5 crackers each

3  green onions, divided
2 pkg.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg.  (8 oz.) KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
1/4 cup  finely chopped red peppers
2 slices  OSCAR MAYER Pepperoni
RITZ Crackers

CUT 4-inch length from green end of 1 onion; slice remaining onions. Beat cream cheese and 1-1/4 cups Cheddar with mixer until well blended. Stir in sliced onions and peppers. Refrigerate 1 hour.

SHAPE into ball; roll in remaining Cheddar. Cut pepperoni into shapes for the jack-o'-lantern's eyes, nose and mouth; press into cheese ball to make face. Insert green onion piece into top for stem.

SERVE with crackers.

VARIATION Prepare using PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese and KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Cheddar Cheese.

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Bacon-Jalapeño Cheese Ball
http://traceysculinaryadventures.blogspot.com/2012/10/bacon-jalapeno-cheese-ball.html

barely adapted from Homesick Texan

6 slices bacon
1/4 cup chopped pecans
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 jalapeños (ribs and seeds removed), finely chopped and divided
crackers (for serving)

Cook the bacon in a large skillet set over medium heat until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Allow to cool slightly, then crumble and divide in half.

While the bacon is cooking, preheat oven to 350 F. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 5-7 minutes, or until fragrant.

In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, parsley, garlic, cumin, cayenne, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, half of the minced jalapeños, and half of the crumbled bacon until well combined. Season the mixture to taste with salt.

On a large plate, stir the toasted pecans, remaining minced jalapeños and remaining half of the crumbled bacon together until evenly distributed. Shape the cream cheese mixture into a ball (the mixture will be sticky, I found it easiest to shape if I just barely wet my hands first). Roll the ball in the pecan mixture until coated on all sides.

Cover the ball and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

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Slow Cooker Party Snack Mix
http://www.snackpicks.com/en_US/recipes/details/slow-cooker-party-snack-mix.html

Need a lot of snack mix? This recipe makes 17 cups at one time.

Preparation Time: 1 Hour 55 Mins.
Total Time to Serve: 1 Hour 55 Mins.
Servings: 34

INGREDIENTS
9 cups Kellogg's® Crispix® cereal
3 cups Sunshine® Cheez-It® Original Crackers
3 cups pretzel sticks
1 can (8.75 oz.) mixed nuts (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

DIRECTIONS

1. In 6- to 7-quart crockery cooker combine KELLOGG’S CRISPIX cereal, SUNSHINE CHEEZ-IT Original snack crackers, pretzels and nuts.

2. Stir together remaining ingredients. Drizzle over cereal mixture. Carefully stir until evenly coated.

3. Cook, uncovered, on high heat setting for 90 minutes, stirring every 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Cook, uncovered, on low heat setting for 20 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Spread on paper towels. Cool completely. Store in airtight container.

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Slow Cooker Wild Rice and Chicken Soup
http://www.snackpicks.com/en_US/recipes/details/slow-cooker-wild-rice-and-chicken-soup.html

Spectacular and rich, this soup features the popular upper mid-west flavors of wild rice and chicken.

Preparation Time: 25 Mins.
Total Time to Serve: 8 Hours 25 Mins.
Servings: 6

4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup coarsely chopped carrots
1/2 cup wild rice, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Keebler® Club® Original crackers

1. In 4- to 5-quart crockery cooker combine broth, soup, onion, celery, carrots, rice, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir in chicken. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or until chicken and rice are tender.

2. In small bowl stir together sour cream and flour. Gradually stir into mixture in slow cooker. Increase heat setting to high. Cover and cook about 20 minutes or until mixture bubbles around the edges and thickens.

3. Ladle into soup bowls. Serve with KEEBLER CLUB CRACKERS.

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No-Bake Cheesy Skillet Lasagna
https://progresso.com/recipes/no-bake-cheesy-skillet-lasagna/a54e71e8-50b5-4ec0-a561-fe56e2f3e25d

Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ cheese sauce provide a flavorful addition to this no-bake skillet lasagna featuring pork sausage and veggies – ready in 30 minutes.

6 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS
1 lb bulk Italian pork sausage
1 bag (16 oz) frozen red bell pepper and onions for stir-fry, thawed and drained
1 can (18 oz) Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ creamy three cheese cooking sauce
3 cups uncooked mini lasagna (mafalda) noodles or medium egg noodles (6 oz)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)
Garnishes, If Desired
Chopped fresh or whole basil leaves

DIRECTIONS
In 12-inch skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink; drain.
Stir in 2 cups water and all remaining ingredients except cheese and basil. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.
Reduce heat to medium; simmer uncovered about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender. Remove from heat; sprinkle with cheese. Cover, let stand 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with basil.

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Chicken Enchiladas Verde
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/chicken-enchiladas-verde

Ingredients
1 roasted or rotisserie chicken, skin removed and meat shredded or cut into bite-size pieces (3 to 4 cups)
2/3 cupsgreen onions, chopped, white and part of the green
8 ouncesreduced-fat shredded Monterey Jack cheese, or a reduced-fat blend of Jack and cheddar cheeses
10 flour tortillas, (use higher-fiber tortillas to increase the fiber)
5 tablespoonsfat free half-and-half
2 cupstomatillos, (Mexican green tomatoes) coarsely chopped fresh or canned, drained
1 cupfresh cilantro, chopped
2- to 4-ounce cangreen chilies, chopped (mild or hot, depending on your preference)
1 cupfat-free sour cream

 Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch baking pan with canola cooking spray.
Add shredded chicken, green onions, and shredded cheese to a large mixing bowl and toss well to blend.
One by one, heat tortillas in a nonstick frying pan until softened. Lay a heaping 1/3 cup of chicken down the middle of each tortilla. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of fat-free half-and-half down the center of each. Roll up the tortillas and place seam-side down in the prepared pan.
Bake for about 25 minutes. Pan can be covered or uncovered – it works both ways.
To make the verde sauce, add tomatillos, cilantro, and green chilies to a food processor and pulse briefly (the texture should be somewhat chunky, not pureed). Stir in the sour cream. Serve the enchiladas with a spoonful of verde sauce over the top.

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Italian Meatballs
http://www.dashrecipes.com/recipes/cookbook/i/italian-meatballs.html

For a robust meal, serve up these classic meatballs with spaghetti and pasta sauce. On their own, they're fit for a party as an appetizer.

1 package Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage (ground or links)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3cup dry bread crumbs
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup milk
¼ cup finely chopped onion

SERVINGS: 6
ACTIVE TIME: 25 min
TOTAL TIME: 45 min

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, milk and onion.

2. Remove sausage from casings. Add sausage to the bread-crumb mixture and mix well. Shape into 20 meatballs. Arrange meatballs on a shallow baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through (160°F). Serve with your favorite sauce and spaghetti.

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Enjoy these recipes for delicious all-vegan 'ice cream' and non-dairy, sweet almond milk
Tony Isaacs
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
http://www.naturalnews.com/037399_vegan_ice_cream_recipes_almond_milk.html

Who says you have to use dairy products or eggs to make a delicious "ice cream"? Or sugar? This completely vegan recipe is super easy and fast to make as well as healthy and oh so yummy. The ice cream recipe doesn't call for much of the non-dairy milks. Play around with it and you will soon learn just how much non-dairy milk you need. As an added plus, you can thin the recipe down a bit and make a delicious all-vegan "shake." Use the accompanying recipe for classic sweet almond milk for a super healthy version of this recipe. Enjoy!

Best ever all-vegan 'ice cream'

Ingredients (use vegan versions):
One cup of frozen fruit, such as strawberries, peaches or blueberries
One medium to large sliced and frozen banana
Raw, organic honey or vegan maple syrup to taste
Coconut, almond or rice milk to preferred consistency

Directions:
Slice your bananas and place in a baggy before freezing. If your fruit choice is peaches or a similar fruit, slice and freeze the same as the bananas.
Use a food processor to blend the fruits and make the mixture creamy. If the fruit does not blend well at first, add 1/4 cup of the non-dairy milk at the beginning.
If need be, the mix can be chilled for several minutes to harden.
For easier mixing, blend the honey or maple syrup with your non-dairy milk prior to adding it in with the other ingredients.
Always freeze any left over peaches or bananas.

Suggestions:

For a chunkier version, cut some of the frozen fruit in bits and add after you have blended the ice cream. You can also add healthy almonds, pecans or walnuts for a nutty version. For a healthy and crunchy version, add wheat germ on the top when you put the ice cream in bowls.

Healthy notes:

For the very healthiest recipe, use organic ingredients as much as possible. Do NOT use soy milk, despite the soy industry's false promotions about soy milk being healthy. Chances are that it contains GMO soy and many believe that non-fermented soy is unhealthy even if it is not made with GMO soy.

Serves two to three.

Classic sweet almond milk

Enjoy this classic recipe for delicious, healthy and sweet almond milk.

Ingredients:
One cup of raw, organic almonds
Three cups of pure, non-chlorinated water
One medjool date* or one tablespoon of raw, organic honey
Directions:
Place the almonds and water in a blender and blend on high speed until the nuts are completely broken and almond milk is created.
Strain the almond milk through a fine sieve or a nut milk bag into a bowl or other container. Save the pulp for a dessert recipe, for dehydrating into almond flour, or for compost.
Rinse the blender and add back in the strained nut milk.
Add sweetener and blend.
Taste test for sweetness and add more if required.
Serve and enjoy!

Tips:

Add one teaspoon of vanilla extract or half a vanilla bean to create vanilla milk.

Add a fingernail sized scraping of coconut butter for a creamier, richer flavor.

Makes about four cups.

* Medjool dates are exceptionally large, sweet dates which are often referred to as the "king of dates" or the "crown jewel of dates." Medjool dates are available at Middle Eastern and specialty grocers and are also widely available online. If you are unable to obtain medjool dates, you can substitute one to two regular sweet dates - but note that the medjool dates are well worth the effort of finding.

Sources:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-medjool-dates.htm
http://www.tbyil.com/All_Vegan_Ice_Cream.htm
http://www.tbyil.com/Sweet_Almond_Milk.htm

Tony Isaacs, is a natural health author, advocate and researcher who hosts The Best Years in Life website for those who wish to avoid prescription drugs and mainstream managed illness and live longer, healthier and happier lives naturally. Mr. Isaacs is the author of books and articles about natural health, longevity and beating cancer including "Cancer's Natural Enemy" and is working on a major book project due to be published later this year. He is also a contributing author for the worldwide advocacy group "SANEVax Inc" which endeavors to uncover the truth about HPV and other vaccine dangers.

Mr. Isaacs also hosts the Yahoo Oleandersoup group of over 2600 members and the Utopia Silver Supplement Company and he and his partner Luella May recently began hosting The Best Years in Life Radio Show" on Wolf Spirit Radio.

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Cherry Cake
http://www.napsnet.com/food/food_ss_08092012.html

(Makes 8 servings)

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray

1½ cups sliced almonds, divided

1¼ cups maraschino cherries, quartered

1½ cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 lemon

1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Freshly whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray 8- or 9-inch cake pan well with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper on the bottom and sides.

Finely grind 1¼ cups almonds in food processor (you should end up with 1 cup); combine with cherries in small bowl. In separate bowl, place flour; take out 1 tablespoon flour and stir into cherry mixture. To the remaining flour, add baking powder and salt; whisk to combine.

Cream butter and sugar with electric mixer for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Add flour mixture and fold together. Stir in the cherry mixture. Finely grate lemon peel into the batter and add juice of the lemon; stir to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup sliced almonds and turbinado sugar on top. Bake 50 to 75 minutes or until cake is golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes, then remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely.

Serve topped with whipped cream, if desired.

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Summer Breezes Smoothie
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/summer-breezes-smoothie

Ingredients

1 cup yogurt, plain, nonfat
6 medium strawberries
1 cuppineapple, crushed, canned in juice
1 mediumbanana
1 teaspoonvanilla extract
4 ice cubes

Instructions

Place all ingredients in blender and pure until smooth.
Serve in frosted glass.