Tuesday 26 May 2015

Crockpot Thai Beef Stew with Cauliflower Rice

Spicy!  Spicy, yet delicious!   This week's recipe can be found using the following link:

http://againstallgrain.com/2014/07/07/crockpot-paleo-thai-stew/

(If you are interested in the cauliflower rice, there are a ton of websites and videos on-line to peruse to discover how to perform this technique as well as many recipes to accommodate your taste buds.  Basically, you food process cauliflower into rice and then sauté it with various seasonings and add herbs.)

For the purpose of this week's blog, I am going to focus on the Thai Beef Stew as that was the new part for me.  I loved that dinner was all ready to go when I got home as this recipe uses a slow cooker.  I did feel that there was a lot of preparation for a morning, so I would do some prep work the night before next time.  Next time, we would consider using chicken thighs instead of beef, adding in more vegetables such as peppers or celery, and we would use way less curry paste...perhaps half of the suggested amount...  We both loved that the beef was very tender and flavourful.  It reminded me of a more traditional curry and not stew.  I was reminded of Ethiopian restaurants where I have dined in both Edmonton and Vancouver.  The texture brought me right back to those two experiences instantly.  Wild!

All in all, a perfect meal for a Monday as it created leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day!  Gotta love when that happens!



Thai Beef Stew with Cauliflower Rice

Monday 25 May 2015

Roasted Vegetable Quesadilla with Black Bean and Corn Salsa

 
This week's recipe was one that was shared within my network of Foods and Nutrition teachers.  I decided to try it out with my grade 9s this year for the first time.  It was a HIT and will be one that will remain in my program.  (the room was silent in both classes while they were eating....this is how I gage the success of my recipe choices...noise level during eating time....fyi).   I  have copied in sections of the students' recipe - NOTE that the recipe makes 2 quesadillas, so adjust the measurements for how many you want to make.  The salsa makes a ton...be warned!  If you have any leftover, it makes a nice salad or is great to have with tortilla chips or to even serve in "scoops" as an appy.
 
This recipe is worth the prep work!  Just look at the colour combination of the vegetables - they look beautiful even when raw.  I think the veggies are also great on their own as a side dish.  I also recommend making more portions of this recipe for home use.  The veggies could be frozen after roasting.  What an easy dinner...just defrost the veggies, grate cheese, form and cook the quesadillas - easy, peasy!  I love that there is representation from four out of the five colour groups for fruits and vegetables!  I love the variety of textures and flavours.  Love, Love, LOVE!  I hope you love it, too!
 
 
 
Vegetables Ready for Roasting 
(from my demo for grade 9s - teacher made)

Corn and Black Bean Salsa
15 mL olive oil
10 mL red wine vinegar
2.5 mL cumin
1.25 mL chili powder
1.25 mL sugar
Dash of salt AND pepper
185 mL black beans
60 mL corn
½ garlic clove, minced
¼ lime, juiced
¼ orange or yellow pepper, diced
1/8 jalapeño(optional)
½ green onion, thinly sliced
15 mL cilantro, minced
Roasted Vegetables

30 mL oil
1/3 zucchini
1/6 red onion
½ red pepper
1/6 butternut squash
 
1.     Combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, and spices in a medium bowl.   Add in minced garlic and lime juice.  Mix in the beans and corn.  Add in the sliced green onion and minced cilantro.
2.     Dice pepper into size of the beans and add into the salsa.
3.     Scrape out the seeds of the jalapeno.  Dice and add to the salsa.  WASH HANDS!!!
4.     Mix entire mixture thoroughly.

 
1.     Preheat oven to 425 F.
2.     Peel butternut squash.  Slice into pieces ½ cm thick.
3.     Slice zucchini into pieces that are thicker than the squash.
4.     Cut the pepper and onion into the same size slices or dices.
5.     Place all vegetables into a bowl.  Toss with oil and salt and pepper, if desired.
6.     Place vegetables on a pan lined with parchment paper.  Spread out the veggies.
7.     Bake until all vegetables are soft.
8.     Remove from oven and let cool on a trivet.


 

Quesadilla
2 tortillas
160 mL cheese, grated
Roasted Veggies
1.     Grate cheese.
2.     Place half of the veggies across HALF of one tortilla.  Sprinkle half of the cheese on top.  Fold the tortilla in half.
3.     Let cook on a heated frying pan (medium heat).  Once the cheese melts and tortilla browns, flip and cook on other side.  Repeat with other quesadilla.
4.     Cut each quesadilla into thirds or quarters on a cutting board.
5.     Serve with salsa.

 
 
Roasted Vegetable Quesadilla with Black Bean and Corn Salsa
(student made and student idea for presentation!)

Tuesday 12 May 2015

Italian Sausage Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

 
This week's inspiration came from admiring a similar item in the meat section of a local grocery store.  In-store made Italian sausage stuffed Portobello mushrooms caught our eye while shopping one night.  I decided not to buy them but to try and make them as part of my blog instead.  I did an internet search for a few recipes and decided that I was okay to combine a few recipes on my own.   I never measured anything, so I apologize.  This is what I did.
 
First, I scramble fried some high quality hot Italian sausage.  I decided to buy the links and cut off the casing as the sausages looked better than the sausage meat.  (so..cut off casing, and fry the inside meat breaking it down as it cooks.).  Once the meat was cooked, I then sautéed some diced onions and peppers in the fat drippings from the sausage and added fresh spinach, allowing it to wilt.  I added more spinach periodically until the green colour looked balanced with the orange pepper.   Once the veggies were all softened, I added a small/medium can of tomato sauce and added in seasonings like dried basil, dried oregano, and black pepper.  I did not add salt nor did I add chili peppers to allow the flavour of the sausage shine through.  I then divided this mixture onto four Portobello mushrooms that had been prepped (cleaned, stems removed and placed on a foil lined cookie sheet).  I added some grated jalepeno cheddar on top of each.  Then, these yummy concoctions baked in a 350 F oven until they were done....maybe 20 minutes?  Done is supposed to look like the mushrooms softened and the cheese melted and golden brown ( I overcooked mine slightly....oops).
 
These were an ABSOLUTE hit!!   We usually make Portobello mushroom pizzas on a regular basis (basically make a pizza using the mushroom as your crust and bake them in the oven).  The Italian sausage mixture kicked it up MANY notches.   This will replace our Portobello pizzas for sure!  Next time, I would just add fresh basil and fresh oregano to the mixture (the store was out of these, and my garden is not quite there, yet...).  I have no more words to describe the experience you will have when you eat these.  If you like the ingredients I used and if you like a balance of textures, flavours, and colours in your food, you will love these! 
 

 
 
Italian Sausage Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Side View

Tuesday 5 May 2015

Cauliflower Corn Chowder

A healthier version of a chowder caught my eye as I was perusing an issue of Canadian Living magazine.  Too good to be true, so I just had to try it out.  Pureed cauliflower instead of cream?  Interesting!

This recipe is good on its own, but I also think it offers an excellent base for a lot of chowder variations.  I enjoyed the soup, but I did find it offered a bit of sweetness....could be that my taste buds are changing a bit or that I had super sweet corn and a super sweet red pepper by chance.    The recipe does recommend to add chicken as a variation, but we are more seafood or clam chowder fans....(I know, I know....but we are saving our calories from no cream, right?).   So....I can see this being made again with the addition of prawns, scallops, and/or salmon or with just clams.  I am also curious to try it with some potato in it as well to make it super hearty.   There are many possibilities for this recipe next fall and winter for sure!

I would disagree with the hands-on time of 30 minutes unless I am a bit slower at prepping food.  I even cheated and used canned corn kernels instead of husking corn cobs, and it took me over 30 minutes from start to finish.  Having said that, it is still very doable on a week night.  Be sure to read the intro paragraph warning about taking the vent off your blender lid and covering it with a tea towel as the hot soup can cause pressure inside the blender!  That would not be fun to deal with after a day at work.....or anytime, really.....

Here is the on-line version of the recipe: 

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/cauliflower_corn_chowder.php

Enjoy!


Cauliflower Corn Chowder

Monday 4 May 2015

Thai Cucumber Cups




Today marked a great occasion!   My copy of The Whole30 cookbook FINALLY came in.  I was so excited that I just had to make a recipe from it immediately!  I went with the Thai Cucumber Cups.  I have seen the hollowed out cucumber cup technique at many social gatherings...usually with seafood sauce and shrimp.  I have never seen them with ground meat, and I have never tried the cucumber cup technique.

I am not enclosing the recipe for this one, but it IS very good.  (the cookbook is brand new, so there are not any links on-line).  I have just flipped through the book today, but it is definitely highly recommended to non-vegetarians at first glance.  I am certain more recipes will appear in future blogs.

As far as an actual recipe.... I guess you should buy the book!!!  or.... I think that one could find their own way by simply googling "Thai Cucumber Cups" or even using the recipe from one of my previous blogs.  I would use the meat mixture from the Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps and put that inside the cucumber cups.  The Whole30 recipe is great as there is not any type of sweetener in it.  From a quick internet search, it seems that a lot of the recipes on-line had some sort of sweetener.  After eating these, the sugar definitely was not missed.

I would serve these to company that was very comfortable to me as they can be quite messy.  I am not sure I would bring these to a gathering of strangers for the mess factor.  All in all, both my husband and I enjoyed these for dinner and can see them being made again in our home.