Way back in April, a few Boston bloggers and I had the pleasure of meeting Joanne, the hilarious voice behind Eats Well With Others, while she was in town to run the Boston Marathon. I know, I know, you’re jealous, right? She’s awesome! We enjoyed dinner at The Helmand, where I was very excited to try Afghani food for the first time. Everything was tasty, but I was especially blown away by the delicious Kaddo appetizer, which was pumpkin seasoned with sugar, served on a garlic yogurt sauce, and topped with a tomato ground beef sauce. The flavors just worked perfectly together, and I immediately thought it would be fun to twist this dish into a burger!

I settled on making spiced tomato ground beef burgers atop a sweet pumpkin and butternut squash pancake smothered in a garlic yogurt sauce. I actually waited for autumn to work on this recipe in anticipation of using pumpkin puree and shredded butternut squash in the pancakes! I also did a little research online to figure out which spices to use in the patties and ended up mixing in garlic, coriander, and turmeric. And, I discovered that dried mint is sometimes used in the Kaddo yogurt sauce, so I stirred some of that in as well. I really love how almost any dish can inspire a unique burger!

Helmand Hamburgers
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Yogurt Sauce:
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon dried mint flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt

Sweet Pumpkin and Squash Pancakes:
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 cups coarsely grated butternut squash
1 large egg, whisked
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons canola oil

Afghani Spiced Patties:
1/2 cup grated yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground tumeric
2 teaspoons salt
2 pounds ground beef (I used organic 85/15)

Assembly:
6 hamburger buns, split and toasted

Directions:
To make the yogurt sauce, mix yogurt, garlic, mint flakes, and salt together in a small bowl until smooth and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the sweet pumpkin and squash pancakes, place pumpkin puree and sugar in a small nonstick stockpot over medium heat and cook for 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved, stirring well. Place pumpkin in a large bowl and mix in grated butternut squash, egg, flour, baking powder, and salt. Divide into 6 equal portions. Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and drop 3 of the divided mounds of the pumpkin/squash mixture into the pan. Press down slightly with a spatula until pancakes are about the same size as the hamburger buns. Fry 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Repeat with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and 3 portions of the pumpkin/squash mixture.

Meanwhile, make the patties, place the onion, garlic, tomato paste, coriander, tumeric, and salt in a large bowl. Gently but thoroughly mix in the ground beef and shape the mixture into 6 patties. Place patties on a greased grill pan over medium high heat and cook 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked to desired doneness.

To assemble the burgers, place a sweet pumpkin and squash pancake on the bottom piece of each bun. Place a patty on top of the pancake and evenly spread the yogurt spread on top of each burger and cut side of the burger tops. Add the burger tops and serve. Makes 6 burgers.

Nutrition: 811 calories, 43.5g fat, 7.8g fiber, 38.6g protein per burger
Cost: $2.65 per burger

This East coast heat wave has led me to eat cereal or ice cream for dinner a few more times than I’d like to admit! I’ve also been craving cool crisp salads more often than usual and thought this was the perfect time to share this tasty wrap that I made a few weeks ago. It’s just as refreshing as a salad but a bit more hearty because I packed the spinach wraps with flank steak, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, and an adobo ranch dressing. I broiled the steak quickly (of course you could also grill it!) and microwaved the sweet potatoes so the oven wouldn’t be on too long and assembled the wraps one night. Then we enjoyed them for lunch the next day straight out of the fridge. I’m putting these on the menu again for next week!

Adobo Ranch Beef Wraps
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
3/4 cup ranch salad dressing, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers, divided
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 pounds beef flank steak
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into small bite sized chunks (22 ounces peeled and chopped)
6 cups fresh baby spinach (6 ounces)
1 large tomato, chopped
6 10-inch diameter spinach wraps (or flour tortillas)

Directions:
To make the marinade, place 1/2 cup ranch dressing, 2 teaspoons adobo sauce, 1/4 cup olive oil, and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl and whisk until well combined. Place beef steak and marinade in large food-safe plastic bag and make sure marinade evenly coats steak. Close bag and marinate in refrigerator 6 hours or as long as overnight, turning once.

Heat oven broiler. Remove steak from marinade and place steak on rack of broiler pan so surface of beef is 2 to 3 inches from heat. Broil 13 to 18 minutes for medium rare (145°F) to medium (160°F) doneness, turning once. Remove; let stand 5 minutes. Carve steak across the grain into small bite sized chunks.

Meanwhile, while steak is cooking, place sweet potatoes in a large microwave safe bowl and toss with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil; microwave on high for 10 minutes, stirring once half way through. Heat remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Add sweet potatoes and sauté until cooked through and lightly browned, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

To assemble the wraps, mix remaining 1/4 cup ranch dressing and 1/2 teaspoon adobo sauce in a small bowl. Place spinach, tomato, sliced beef, and cooked sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Drizzle with chipotle ranch dressing and mix well with tongs. Place equal amounts of beef mixture down center of each wrap. Fold in sides of tortilla and roll up tightly. Makes 6 wraps.

Nutrition: 719 calories, 38.5g fat, 3.0g fiber, 32.4g protein per wrap
Cost: $2.88 per wrap

I’m back and feeling ready to post! To be honest, I had lost a bit of my blogging mojo over the past several weeks. I was plagued by writer’s block and couldn’t motivate myself to even get into the kitchen. But, I felt a lot of pressure to keep posting on a regular schedule, which is sort of silly because my blog is my creative outlet and is supposed to be fun – I never want blogging to start feeling like a second job. Anyway, I’m going to try and stop being so hard on myself and just take a break if I need it from now on!

I’m definitely feeling very refreshed and ready to cook now. I’ll post recaps of our trip to Portland and my college reunion soon, but first I wanted to share these Indian Meatball Naanwiches. When I returned from my conference in Newport, our fridge was pretty bare, but I did manage to find some ground turkey and naan in the freezer, which served as the inspiration for this dish.

These naanwiches are a fun twist on traditional meatball subs. The spiced meatballs contain a hefty amount of garlic and ginger, and are packed with cumin, ground fennel seeds (don’t leave these out – they really elevate the meatballs in my opinion!), and cayenne pepper. Since I wanted the tomato sauce to compliment the meatballs but not overpower them, I kept it pretty mild by only stirring in a touch of garam masala. I also added golden raisins for a bit of sweetness and Greek yogurt for some creaminess. These naanwiches were really tasty, but I think they would have been even better with some fresh cilantro on top to bright them up. So, I went ahead and added the cilantro to the recipe below and already can’t wait to make them again with it!

Indian Meatball Naanwiches
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Meatballs:
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons minced ginger
4 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons ground fennel seeds
2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt
3 pounds ground turkey

Tomato Sauce:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon salt

Assembly:
7 pieces of naan, warmed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:
To make the meatballs, heat oven to 375˚F. Place the garlic, ginger, cumin, ground fennel seeds, cayenne pepper, and salt in a large bowl. Gently but thoroughly mix in the ground turkey and shape the mixture into 21 meatballs. Place meatballs on a large cookie sheet and bake at 375˚F for 20 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center.

Meanwhile, to make the tomato sauce, heat canola oil over medium high heat in a nonstick skillet. Sauté red onion for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender; mix in garlic and garam masala and sauté for 1 additional minute or until fragrant. Stir in golden raisins and tomatoes and cook 1 more minute. Place mixture in a food processor and pulse for a minute or until smooth. Stir in Greek yogurt and salt.

To assemble the naanwiches, top half of each piece of naan with three meatballs. Evenly spread sauce and cilantro on top. Fold naan over and serve. Makes 7 naanwiches.

Nutrition: 460 calories, 17.0g fat, 2.1g fiber, 33.7g protein per naanwich
Cost: $2.19 per naanwich

I used to always immediately think of McDonald’s when anyone mentioned fish sandwiches. I’ve actually never had a Filet-O-Fish, but they were my brother’s favorite when we were lucky enough to stop by the Golden Arches growing up, and I have fond memories of him inhaling a couple while I was munching on my Chicken McNuggets. So in my mind, fish sandwich = boring fried fish on a bun.  But, this all changed after I ordered a blackened tilapia sandwich with cilantro lime mayo on a whim at the Calypso Café in Chicago. Wow, now my mouth actually waters thinking about fish sandwiches because their version was so flavorful and flakey! I’ve raved about the Calypso Café before – they inspired me to make these unique plantain nachos and are one of the many restaurants I really miss now that we’re in Boston. I bought some tilapia recently and finally decided to try making my own version of this favorite at home.

I mixed a bunch of spices together to coat my tilapia fillets and then whipped up an avocado spread since I prefer it to mayo. I topped my sandwiches with some perfect summer tomato slices too, but my little twist is that I also piled on some crispy shredded plantains! They provided a nice crunch and yes, I know it’s a pain to fry things, but they really take this sandwich to a whole new level and are worth stinking up your kitchen to enjoy.  I need to make these for my brother!

Blackened Tilapia Sandwiches with Avocado Spread and Crispy Plantains
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Crispy Plantains
Canola oil for frying
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium green plantain, peeled and shredded with a coarse cheese grater

Avocado Spread
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and mashed
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt

Blackened Tilapia
1 1/2 teaspoons ground thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tilapia fillets
1 tablespoon canola oil

4 buns, split
2 tomatoes, sliced

Directions:
To make the crispy plantains, heat vegetable oil to 350˚F in a fryer. Mix flour and salt in a large bowl; add shredded plantains and toss until well coated with the flour mixture. Remove any extra flour from the bowl, if needed. Place flour-coasted shredded plantains in the oil and fry until light golden brown, about 2 minutes, working in batches as needed. Remove crispy plantains with a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

To make the avocado spread, mix the mashed avocados, lime juice, cilantro and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.

To make the blackened tilapia, place the thyme, cayenne pepper, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a small bowl and mix well. Massage the spice mixture evenly onto both sides of the fillets. Heat the canola oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet and cook fillets on 3 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Cut fillets as needed to fit the buns (I cut ours in half and put both pieces on one bun).

To assemble the sandwiches, spread the avocado spread on the cut sides of the bottom buns. Place a tilapia fillet on top, followed by a few tomato slices and a mound of crispy plantains. Add bun tops and serve. Makes 4 sandwiches.

Nutrition: 636 calories, 27.6g fat, 6.9g fiber, 33.9g protein per sandwich
Cost: $2.65 per sandwich