Thursday 1 September 2016

Chicken Fajitas with Marinated Purple Cabbage

This post is going to be brief, and I don't have a photo as it was too delicious to pause and take one! 
This fajita seasoning is a GREAT substitute for the packaged seasoning in the stores.  I used half the recommened sugar, and it was great!  I think a suitable ratio would be to use this on 3 chicken breasts sliced, 3 peppers sliced, and 1 onion sliced. I recommend three different colours of peppers for something visually appealing.  Once the chicken is cooked and the veggies are added and softened, add your spice mixture.  You will need to add some water to make a sauce as the cornstarch is in the spice mixture to thicken the sauce!   It depends on how much filling you put in each tortilla to really judge how many they make.  Don't forget a dollop of sour cream inside!  For extra flavor and texture, try placing the marinated purple cabbage inside as well - YUM! 




http://allrecipes.com/recipe/232967/fajita-seasoning/












Marinated Purple Cabbage:




½ head of purple cabbage


1 to 2 ratio of fresh lime juice: olive oil


Salt and pepper to taste


 


Slice or chop cabbage.  Massage oil on cabbage to soften.  Add lime juice; and salt and pepper to taste! 

Tuesday 5 April 2016

Moroccan Style Eggs with Chorizo, Feta, and Spicy Tomato Sauce

 
I have been seeing a lot of Shakshuka recipes in magazines for March/April this year, so I was reminded of this recipe that I saw while watching the Show of Hearts Variety Telethon way back in February.
 
The aromas that are created while sautéing and simmering this recipe are simply divine.  I made it with four eggs, but really, you could use more eggs as it makes a LOT of sauce.  Personally, I will make this again for a pasta sauce leaving out the eggs.  I was not a fan of the texture of the eggs in the end.  I like baked eggs, but these turn out a bit different due to the sauce.  They are a poached egg cooked in the oven, due to all the liquid, I guess.  We had leftover sauce, so we ended up having it for dinner the next night served with pasta.  It was soooo good! 
 
The website is worth checking out as there are a few other neat recipes as well that were demonstrated on the Variety Show as well.
 
 

Sautéed Onions and Chorizo
 
Adding in Red Peppers and Fennel Slices 

The Finished Product

Asiago Tuna Melts on Tomato Spinach Beds

I love tuna melts, so I was very pleased to find this recipe in the Alive magazine.  I did not make the spinach beds, though.  This recipe is VERY easy to make and is great to have in the fridge as leftovers for another snack or meal.  I did find that the lemon juice was a bit overpowering though.  I will make these again and was left with two questions:

1) Would my students eat these as they are a perfect level of difficulty for the grade 8s?  (tomatoes and tuna might be a tough sell)

2) What other nutritious and economical fillings could I stuff the tomatoes with besides the usual breadcrumb/cheese mixtures?

Give these a go...they are great with a side salad or on their own!


http://www.alive.com/recipe/asiago-tuna-melts-on-tomato-spinach-beds/


Ready for the Fridge

The Finished Product

Tuesday 15 March 2016

Chipotle Chicken and Vegetable Soup

The September/October 2015 Eating Well magazine issue has a fabulous two page spread on Changeable Chicken Soup.  If you can get your hands on a copy of this issue, it is worth looking at pages 90 and 91 among others!  They offer MANY suggestions for a 5 step process of making chicken soup:  seasonings, broth, vegetables, fiber, flavour boost.   One could easily make hundreds of soup combinations from their ideas.

They provided 5 recipes with one of them being the Chipotle Chicken and Vegetable Soup.  This recipe is a keeper.  Of course, I added more chipotle peppers as we like spicy soup.  I cubed the chicken instead of shredding it, and I used leftover rice pilaf from the previous nights dinner to boost the fibre instead of just plain brown rice (ironically, I had exactly 3 cups leftover!!).  Other than that, I left it as is....oh...and I did use homemade broth.  It made a lot, so I froze half in hope that it does freeze well.   The addition of the lime at the end is FABULOUS and necessary with the heat...oops!

Next plan:  I want to try and make Moroccan Chicken and Sweet Potato Soup,  Pesto Chicken and Cannellini Bean Soup or even get creative and make up my own!!

Check out the eatingwell.com website for MANY soup ideas or other great recipes!   I am so glad that this magazine gets hand delivered to me at my work and that I can access their website...two EXCELLENT resources!

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chipotle_chicken_vegetable_soup.html



Soup's on!

Tuesday 1 March 2016

Greek Lemon Roasted Potatoes

 

 
So...I haven't found a new recipe that I have been yearning to try out.  I have had the opportunity to make a recipe that goes waaay back and is all about my favorite things....good friends, potluck THEME dinners,  simple ingredients that result in flavourful food, great conversation, big belly laughs, and memories to last a lifetime!
 
A good friend of mine and lifetime mentor shared this recipe at least 17/18 years ago.  This is a recipe that she developed by combining a few recipes from a few sources (one of my favorite hobbies!).  I make this recipe when I need to bring a dish to a potluck, especially if the theme is GREEK!   One thing about this recipe is that it needs to be doubled to make sure that you will have leftovers!  Don't serve everything you make....stash some aside in your fridge to be sure that you will indeed have some leftover!  
 
Here it is!  Thank you to KB for letting me share this with all of you!
 
8 large potatoes, peeled
1 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed is best!
1/3 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. salt...maybe less depending on your taste buds
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. pepper
 
 
Preheat oven to 325 F.
 
Cut potatoes into wedges and place in shallow baking dish.  (Note...if  using softer potatoes....I cut them in half...)
 
Pour ingredients over potatoes and stir to coat well.
 
Bake at 325...turn occasionally to keep spuds moist!
 
Bake approx.  2 hours until tender and most of  liquid is absorbed/evaporated.
 
 
The biggest thing for me is to trust this recipe!  It will seem like a LOT of liquid.  It will work out.  Even after 1.5 hours...you might be doubtful....give it at least 2 hours and trust the process.  It will be worth it.  This recipe is simple and DELICIOUS!   I am grateful for every memory/opportunity that this recipe has brought me over the years!   I hope that it yields the same results....simple, amazing, delicious food with the added bonus of getting loved ones together to create some fond memories around a table!  C'est la vie!
 

 
 
 
 
Ready for the oven! 
 
 
Yummy!!!  Ready for Dinner!

All Dressed Kale Chips

Just a short post to highlight one of my favorite sites on how to make perfect kale chips!  This All Dressed recipe is very nice indeed!   I love that these help satisfy the snacking craving while keeping it healthy!  Happy Snacking!

http://ohsheglows.com/2014/03/12/6-tips-for-flawless-kale-chips-all-dressed-kale-chips-recipe/


Kale...ready for the oven

Kale Chips - ready for snacking!

Wednesday 10 February 2016

Garam Masala Drumsticks with Aloo Gobi

Ok...this isn't the first time that I have made this recipe, but it is worth sharing!  Homemade "Shake N Bake" with an Indian/coconut twist anyone?

I really like this recipe, and I tend to double it or triple it every time I make it.  This is a GREAT recipe to make for company as well or to have around for leftovers and snacks.  I wonder what it would be like with chicken thighs or breasts?  I love the crispiness of the coating, but I am slightly curious what panko crumbs would be like instead of bread crumbs...maybe too messy for the first coat?  I love how this mimics a healthier fried chicken recipe...baked in the oven but still crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.  I wonder if the chicken drums would be even more tender soaked overnight in buttermilk - similar to many baked chicken recipes I have seen.  I love the flavours of the spices and the coconut, so I would not mess around with that at all - perfection!  Just a note....I tend to only make the drumsticks as I have another recipe that I like for Aloo Gobi.  If you are looking for a one pan dinner, though, I do recommend this entire recipe!

I would love to make this with my grade 9 classes, but the 40 minute bake time is a bit too much for our limited time.  Perhaps, I can recommend it to my high school colleagues or even save this one for the many requests I have had to teach evening cooking classes to either teenagers or adults....

Another great recipe from Canadian Living magazine!  I wonder if I will ever get the chance to collaborate with their test kitchen.....how fun!

Ready for Baking

The Finished Product


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

Monday 1 February 2016

Impossibly Easy Taco Pie

 
 
This recipe is taking it back to 1970s when apparently Bisquick had this recipe on their boxes.   My husband has been craving this comfort food from his childhood, so we decided to search up a recipe to see if it was close.  We used the first recipe but did not use 4 lbs of meat, so we weren't sure if we should add all the liquid batter or not.  We decided to play it safe and not, but after it was baked, we probably should have just used it all.  We also added in some black beans, corn, jalepenos, and sliced black olives into the meat mixture.   We used lettuce, sour cream, salsa, green onions, and cilantro as garnish after it came out of the oven.
 
We will make this again!  It was VERY tasty, and we are both very curious the difference when we use all of the Bisquick batter that it suggests.  My husband remembers more of a base like a biscuit crust, so it would make sense to have used all the recommended batter.  We followed the cooks.com recipe and maybe should follow the Betty Crocker one next time as it has smaller ratios.
 
This made a lot, so we both had enough for leftovers for lunch the next day.  Another bonus!
 
We are looking forward to making it again as my husband said that it was close to his childhood memory taco pie, so we need to perfect the recipe....or actually follow it, let go,  and trust the process!
 
PS  In case you need to know where to find Bisquick, we found it by the pancake mixes in the grocery store.
 
 

 
 
 
Ready for the Oven!


Adding on the cheese, tomatoes, and cilantro
 

Finished Product

Plated with Garnishes

Cornish Game Hens

 
It seemed like a lot of people who I spoke to over the holidays made the switch to Cornish Game Hens for their Christmas Feast instead of a turkey.  I have never eaten or cooked Cornish Game Hens, so I thought I would pick up a couple for a weekend dinner treat.  I searched a few recipes and seasoned mine with the every handy fresh herb Poultry mix of sage, Italian parsley, rosemary, and thyme.  I also used some chicken broth, salt, pepper, and garlic.  I had some leftover wild rice, so I made up a stuffing with onions, celery, shitake mushrooms.  Stuffing the hens was interesting as they are so small.  I roasted them in the oven at 375 F until the thermometer said they were done.  (about an hour and a half).
 
All in all, we weren't overly thrilled with them.  They were good, but we wouldn't make them again.  We felt they were really greasy and would prefer chicken or turkey.   In fact, our favorite Christmas dinner was when we made a stuffed sockeye salmon....maybe I will bring that back next December...
 
 
 
Cornish Game Hens

Tuesday 12 January 2016

Black Pepper Noodles

One of our favorite dishes from a local Chinese restaurant is "Beef with Black Pepper Thick Noodles".  A hobby of mine that started with my mom when I was a pre-teen was to taste things multiple times in restaurants, guess what was in it, and try to recreate it at home....all WITHOUT the help of my new friend, Google!

I found this recipe, bought most of the ingredients and was all set to make it, but my husband excitedly took over from me.  I wasn't going to argue.  I took it as a chance to sit back and relax on a late Saturday afternoon!   We used beef instead of seafood and used up some veggies in the house like peppers, broccoli, baby corn...not sure what else to be honest.  I know that we ended up using a bit more black pepper and soy sauce as well as adding a drizzle of sesame oil at the end.

http://blog.seasonwithspice.com/2012/02/seafood-yaki-udon-recipe.html


We had enough noodles for him to make another batch the next day with leftover chicken, so we obviously enjoyed this.  Note to readers...maybe just double the recipe on the first go!

All in all, this was very close to our restaurant fave.  I can see it being made again when I am craving some Chinese noodles.  Maybe we can get adventurous and make a few more of our favorite dishes and have a theme dinner....I have always wanted to try and make Egg Foo Young....stay tuned!

Turkey Black Bean Enchiladas

Wondering what to do with that leftover turkey in the freezer?  I was wondering the same, and I felt inspired to try enchiladas.  A google search had many variations, but this one caught my eye as you have to make your own enchilada sauce plus all of the flavours were exactly what I was looking for.  For those of you who need photos, check out this link.  There are a lot of photos and my meal actually looked EXACTLY like these photos!!

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/turkey_enchiladas/

These are DELICIOUS!  They are also a lot of work.  I am going to disagree with the 10 minute prep time  - I must be slow!  It took me an hour and a half from start to finish.  The good news is that you can prep the garnish and clean-up while these are in the oven!  I used a LOT of dishes.  I think that the effort is worth it, though.

I was so impressed that I made my own enchilada sauce as I usually buy mine.  I was even more surprised by the amount of chili powder used and that there wasn't any tomato sauce or paste in the recipe...the red colour is all chili powder!     I loved the texture of the tortillas after being dipped in the sauce and then baked.  Next time, I would consider using less cinnamon and would try to make them with  corn tortillas - yum!  Now...the garnishes are essential - raw onion, fresh avocado, crisp lettuce, creamy sour cream, fresh lime juice and cilantro on top of these enchiladas was the perfect mix of warm and cold, soft and crisp, and the flavours from everything were perfectly balanced (minus what I thought was a very slight overpowering of cinnamon).  I used two jalepenos and thought that was mild, so I might consider three....it is hard to know with jalepenos sometimes!

So....I guess I will have to make some more turkey drums in the slow cooker so I have some leftover turkey so I can make these again on a WEEKEND :)