Cream of Spinach Soup

Every week I make soup and T inevitably says, "this is the best soup you've ever made!" But this week when he said it, there was something a little different in his voice. One spoonful and I knew this was no regular soup. First of all, the colour is shocking. It's the most intense green, you can almost tell it's good for you (though I'm sure kids would never know!). Second, the flavour is light yet rich. The spinach is smooth and the garlic really comes through, but it's the slight hint of the cayenne that makes all the difference in this soup. 


Cream of Spinach Soup with Swiss Cheese
Serves 4-6
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 bunches spinach, about 10 ounces weight
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tbsp butter
• small onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups milk (I used skim)
• 1 cup cream
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• black pepper
• 1/2 cup swiss cheese, grated

Directions

• In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add spinach and garlic, and let cook until wilted, about three minutes. 
• Add spinach to a blender or food processor. Pour in 1/4 cup hot water and pulse until pureed. Set aside.
• In a large pot, cook onion in butter over medium heat until onions begin to soften. Sprinkle flour over the top and stir to combine. Cook for about two minutes, then pour in stock, milk and cream, stirring occasionally. Add salt, pepper and cayenne and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for five minutes, stirring constantly. Pour in pureed spinach, then cook for another 3-5 minutes until thickened. Stir in swiss cheese.
• Serve, adding a little extra grated swiss.

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Bacon, Tomato and Cheese Frittata

Pancakes are our traditional Sunday morning breakfast, but this week, I wanted to be a little less hands on and give this quick frittata recipe a try. It was a nice change of pace and, since we don't eat a lot of bacon, a real treat to have something a little salty and well, let's just say it: greasy. 

I used six eggs which was two more than the recipe called for so it took a little longer to cook, but two of us easily split it. (Split may not be the right word here... there was definitely a hungry man in my kitchen that may have had more than his half!). Overall, a great way to mix up breakfast and give me some time to sit back and relax while this was cooking. A great way to start a Sunday.

Ingredients

• six eggs
• 1 tomato, diced
• 6 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1/2 cup of shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• In a skillet on medium, melt 1 tbsp of butter.
• In a bowl, beat the eggs slightly, then add the rest of the ingredients and stir.
• Pour in the warm skillet and cover. 
• Cook for 8 - 10 minutes, or until centre is set.

Recipe adapted from Kraft Canada's What's Cooking magazine

Grilled Cheese with Honeycrisp Apple

Grilled cheese and tomato soup is one of my favourite comfort foods. It's the perfect antidote to a cold and rainy day. I saw Martha Stewart on Oprah the other day and she said the "next big thing" is going to be the grilled cheese bar at parties, so I thought I would step up my grilled cheese from the regular white bread with a Kraft single, so something a little more grown up. 


The apple in this made it a perfect complement to the cream of cauliflower soup I made last week.


Ingredients

• 2 slices of rye bread
• 2 tbsp butter
• 8 slices mozzarella cheese (I cut it from a brick, so use your judgement on how much cheese this is!)
• 6 thin slices from a honeycrisp apple

Directions

• Slather one side of each piece of bread with butter
• Lay the bottom layer down in a frying pan on low heat, butter side down
• Place half the cheese down on the bread in a single layer
• Top with a layer of apple
• Top with the remaining cheese and then the second piece of bread with the butter side up
• Cook on medium-low for about five minutes
• Flip and cook on the second side for about 3 minutes

** I found it easiest to flip the sandwich with tongs, which helped keep the sandwich together

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan

My mom grew up on an asparagus farm and has always had an affinity towards asparagus as a side dish. My dad, on the other hand, has a general rule about not eating any green vegetables. How to please them both? Serve roasted asparagus with an garlic olive oil and parmesan cheese. Pleases even the fussiest pallets and takes your side up a notch. 

Ingredients

• 1 bunch asparagus spears, trimmed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp grated parmesan 
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, sea salt and pepper together
• On a baking sheet, lay out the asparagus in a single layer and brush with the olive oil mixture to coat and sprinkle parmesan cheese over top
• Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until tender, depending on thickness
• Serve hot

Turkey Cannelloni

In the movie Julie&Julia, they say that it's rude to say "yum" while you're eating, but I couldn't stop saying it when I made this. 

This was easily one of the most delicious things that I have ever made, and something I genuinely would be happy to get in a restaurant. But let's be honest, it's also one of the most complicated. Usually when I look for recipes, I look for simple, simple, simple. But I was craving cannelloni and I was willing to put in the effort for something a little more complex. And boy am I glad I did.

Sure, there are a tonne of ingredients and a crazy amount of directions. Sure, this recipe is a little fiddley -- especially if you make the pasta. (even if you don't make the pasta, fresh pasta is a must). But, this is one dish that is well worth the time and effort to put in. And it's a great dish for company because you can make it advance and then just bake it. A major culinary breakthrough for me!

Printable Recipe of Turkey Cannelloni

Ingredients

• 1 cup minced onion
• 1/3 cup minced carrot
• 1/3 cup diced celery
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-1.5 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tsp chopped rosemary
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning (I substituted a mix of basil, oregano and thyme)
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup millk
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 jar tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 pound fresh pasta sheets

Directions

• Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook over moderate heat until softened.
• Add the garlic and cook one minute. 
• Add turkey, stirring occasionally until meat is no longer pink. 
• Add wine and reduce for one minute. Stir in broth, herbs, bay leaf and salt and pepper.
• Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover and reduce until almost dry. Discard bay leaf and set mixture aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan set over moderately low heat. Whisk in flour for about two minutes. Whisk in milk, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally for five minutes or until thickened. Stir in parsley and parmesan.
• Transfer cooled meat mixture to a large bowl, mix in egg yolks and cooled cheese and parsley sauce. Set aside.
• Combine the tomato sauce and cream. Set aside.
• Cut the pasta sheets crosswise into 5 inch lengths. Cook in boiling water until al dente -- should only take a couple of minutes with fresh pasta.
• Spoon some filling down the centre of one noodle and roll the noodle to enclose the filling. Transfer cannelloni seam-side down to a buttered lasagna pan until filling is complete.
• Cover cannelloni with tomato-cream sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until bubbling. Run under broiler for two minutes until cheese is golden.

Recipe adapted from www.allrecipes.com 

Poppyseed Dressing

The summer is coming to an end so I have been craving the last bit of fresh summer goodness. I usually make this salad dressing for a traditional spinach and strawberry salad, but I used the mixed lettuce I had on hand, some last summer berries, goat cheese and walnuts. Refreshing and light -- exactly what I was looking for.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 2 tbsp. sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp. poppy seeds
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp. minced onion

Directions

• Combine dressing ingredients and mix well
• Serve over your favourite salad

Bacon Rollups

Appetizers, in my experience, tend to be cold because the cook is always using the oven for the dinner. But when I get an opportunity to use the oven for an appetizer, I make these bacon rollups that my dad has been making for years. 


Ok, they're pretty bland looking (though they're better if you bake them seam-side down as I indicate in the recipe), and have no illusions about the health content of these little guys -- bacon and cream cheese?! -- but they explode like little bites of heaven in your mouth. I know it's everything in moderation, but I could eat the entire plate of these. Don't judge until you've tried them.


Ingredients

• 6 slices of bacon, diced
• 2 cups finely chopped mushrooms
• 1 onion chopped
• 5 oz. cream cheese
• 15 slices sandwich bread
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Directions

• In a skillet, cook bacon
• Add mushrooms and onion for 5-8 minutes
• Stir in cream cheese until melted
• Trim crusts from sandwich bread and flatten slices with a rolling pin
• Spread 2 tsp of bacon mixture on each slice
• Roll each piece like a jelly roll and secure with a toothpick
• Place seam-side down on a baking sheet
• Cover and chill for at least an hour
• Brush with melted butter
• Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until brown
• Remove toothpicks, cut in half and serve

Veggie Quesadillas

I can't handle spice. I barely like pepper, though I'm becoming more tolerant of it. So quesadillas are about as much Mexican as I can handle. You can top these as you like, but I like just cheese and some veggies, topped with some sour cream.


Ingredients

• 2 flour tortillas
• lots of shredded cheese
• 1 yellow pepper, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• sour cream and salsa

Directions

• In a sautee pan, heat olive oil, cook onion and pepper for a few minutes
• Place a large tortilla in a separate frying pan
• To half, add shredded cheese, onion and pepper, tomatoes and top with more cheese (this is the "glue")
• Flip other half over top (now a half circle), and cook on medium heat until brown and cheese begins to melt
• Carefully with a large flipper, flip quesadilla over to cook other side
• Put on cutting board, let cool for a minute before cutting in two or four
• Top with sour cream and salsa and serve

Chicken Fajitas

I love an easy weeknight meal that comes together with ingredients from my own kitchen. I have a dream that one day I'll menu plan so grocery shopping is more productive and meal-time less stressful, but for now, I'll just take it when I can create a healthy and satisfying meal from my items I already have. 

Fajitas are easy and can be personalized to any taste. I keep mine simple with lettuce, tomato, cheese and chicken, but feel free to add additional toppings. T, for example, added artichokes, olives and hot sauce. I'm trying not to judge.

These are also fun to serve at a casual party and have the toppings in separate bowls and let your guests put them together. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground chicken (turkey or beef would work too)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 package of fajita seasoning (stay tuned for an at-home version to make)
• 1/4 cup water
• lettuce, shredded
• cheese, shredded
• tomatoes, diced
• sour cream and salsa
• tortillas (once I get a cast iron skillet, I'm going to make these tortillas)

Directions

• Brown ground chicken until no longer pink and drain off any excess liquid
• Add diced onion, seasoning and water and simmer for a few minutes
• Warm tortillas in the oven 
• Add chicken to tortilla and add preferred toppings, such as lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream and salsa
• Wrap tortilla pulling bottom up (perpendicular to line of toppings), then fold in sides to create a leak-free fajita
• Serve with a fork -- in case the leak-free fajita, well, leaks

Risotto with Aged Cheddar and Sweet Peas

T. and I were recently in Ottawa and one of the highlights of the trip for me was stopping at Maple Dale Cheese. We buy obscene amounts of delicious cheeses -- pesto cheddar, garlic cheddar, aged cheddar and cheese curds -- regular and garlic. It's embarrassing how quickly we go through this cheese when we return home. I think mice live here.

Looking for new and creative ways to use some of our loot, I made a basic risotto and added some of the aged cheddar and balanced out the creaminess and sharp flavour with some fresh peas I picked up at a farmer's market. It was a simple and delicious weeknight meal that was good for two nights and a great way to enjoy some cheddar.

Ingredients

• 1 cup arborio rice
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 tsp butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup grated aged white cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh peas
• 6 cloves of garlic (I like a lot of garlic!)
• pepper to taste

Directions

• In a medium saucepan,combine the chicken stock and water on medium heat. You want it to be warm when you add it to the risotto because it will absorb better. I used a ladle to transfer the liquid over to the risotto.
• In a shallow but large pan, melt three teaspoons of butter on low to medium heat, add garlic and sautee the diced onion until soft.
• Add the risotto and coat with the butter until it's "toasted," about three minutes.
• Add the wine and stir until absorbed.
• Increase heat slightly (I never went past medium) and add in broth-water mixture about a 1/2 cup at a time. Stir frequently until liquid is absorbed before adding more. This process should take about 30 minutes of stirring and adding liquid slowly.
• In a separate pot, boil water and add peas. Cook for about five minutes until bright green.
• Cook rice until tender and mixture has a creamy consistency.
• Add cream, cheddar cheese and peas. Stir until mixture is creamy, about 2-3 minutes.

Easy Cheesy Macaroni

For years, I have had a secret love affair with Kraft Dinner. My mom (smartly) refused to serve it, so it was always a treat to go to someone else's house where it was a staple. There's nothing like writing your name in ketchup on those cheesy noodles!

I have however, come a long way with my culinary tastes, and while I'm still a pretty plain food eater, I do love me some cheesy pasta. So, on a wet, cold and awful day, I decided it was about time to learn how to make my own macaroni and cheese. And four cups of pasta and one entire large brick of cheese later, I sat down to some ooey-gooey goodness.

Now, as a new cook, I don't seem to understand recipes very well. Let me save you the trouble here: 4 cups of pasta and an entire large brick of cheese will leave you with enough macaroni to serve an army -- or least two people for five dinners. I will provide the whole recipe here, but you might want to cut it in half for two weeknight meals. I speak from experience.

Either way, the first couple of days we really enjoyed the treat. Certainly a rich and decadent dinner, though!

Ingredients

• 4 cups Dried Macaroni
• 1 egg beaten
• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup flour
• 2-½ cups milk
• 2 teaspoons (heaping) Dry Mustard
• 1 pound grated cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.

In a small bowl, beat egg.

In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.

Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.

Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.

Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.

Add in cheese and stir to melt.

Add salt and pepper. Do not under salt!
Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.

Serve immediately (very creamy) OR pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

(before baking)

(after baking)

** I much preferred the creamy version before it was baked, but T enjoyed the baked version better. It's nice to try both. You could also add different toppings, such as fresh tomatoes or steamed broccoli
 
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Easy Cheesy Tortellini Bake

I love East Side Mario's Cheese Cappelletti. When I used to go for dinner with my skating team at competitions, we would get 30 orders of it. Thinking about it actually makes my mouth water. It is that good.

Well, I have stumbled upon a really close second. It's cheesy and delicious and the awesome thing is that this is hardly even a recipe really because it has just FOUR ingredients. It was such a no-brainer I wasn't even thinking of blogging about it (really, it's hardly cooking), but it is so good that I couldn't keep it to myself.

It would be really easy to personalize this dish by adding tomato, different kinds of cheeses or even different pasta. This is going to be a staple in our house for sure.

Ingredients

• one can tomato soup
• one can milk (fill up the empty can of tomato soup to measure)
• one package of fresh tortellini
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

In an oven safe dish, pour tomato soup and equal amount of milk. Stir. 

Add UNCOOKED tortellini -- yes, straight out of the package. 

Stir to coat. 

Place in oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Stir once or twice during this time so all tortellini cooks evenly.

At 40 minutes, spread mozzarella over top and put back in oven on Broil for 10 minutes until cheese is bubbling and browning.

That's it. So easy, so amazing.

Classic Lasagna

A classic lasagna is something everyone should have in their cooking repertoire, but who knew it was so easy?

This recipe is my mom's traditional lasagna and while it's not difficult to make, it's what my mom calls "fiddley." Honestly, I don't know what that means, but this recipe is easy, delicious and easily feeds 14 people.

I made this in a 10 x 20 pan, but you could easily half it for a couple of weeknight dinners and you can also freeze individual pieces for a healthy frozen entree that lasts for three months.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef (I used extra lean)
• 1 medium onion
• 2 jars of your favourite tomato sauce (I used Presidents Choice primavera)
• 3 tsp each of basil and oregano
• 10 lasagna noodles
• 2 tubs ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions


Chop onion and put in large pot. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink -- about 15 minutes. Drain liquid off.

Add both jars of tomato sauce, basil and oregano. Let simmer for flavours to meld.

In a pot of salted, boiling water, cook 10 lasagna noodles. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Put each tub of ricotta in a separate bowl and mix in an egg into each.

Start to assemble layers in a buttered lasagna pan:

• place five noodles as the bottom layer
• spread one tub of ricotta across layers of noodles
• spread half of meat
• spread 1/2 of shredded mozzarella cheese
• top with five more noodles
• spread other tub of ricotta
• spread other half of meat
• top with remaining cheese

(bottom layer of noodles)

(noodles with ricotta)

Bake covered with tinfoil for 60 minutes at 325 degrees. Bake uncovered for another 30 minutes. Take out when cheese is brown and bubbling.

Download a printable recipe for Classic Lasagna

Double Tomato Bruschetta

Bruschetta are often a bad idea at parties. They can be messy and difficult to eat with in front of people, but I made these for my family for Mother's Day and they were devoured so I think they might be worth it. 

For me, the trick to a good bruschetta is the bread. When the bread is too toasted, that's when it gets difficult to eat. So these ones I worked to not over toast and I think I found the perfect balance to toasty by still soft to easily bite into without it crumbling apart. 

I also used only fresh ingredients for the topping and I think it made all the difference. Our local fruit market sells these huge bags of fresh basil for $1.99 and it really was much better than using dried. This is certainly a keeper!

Ingredients

• 6 tomatoes (most recipes recommend Roma tomatoes because they are less juicy inside, but I used regular tomatoes because they were redder and I simply scooped out the seeds and juices)
• 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, diced
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 fresh basil, chopped
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• french baguette
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions 

Prep all the ingredients -- dice fresh and sundried tomatoes, garlic and basil.

(I scooped out all the middle of the tomato because you don't want all that extra liquid)

Mix tomatoes, garlic, oil, vinegar, oil, basil and salt and pepper together. Let rest for 15 minutes while flavours blend together.

(this smells amazing!)

Set your oven to broil.

Slice the french stick into 1/4 inch slices. The bigger the angle you cut them on, the bigger the piece will be. (I used one and a half french sticks to get 20 slices, which was the perfect amount for the topping).

Paint each piece of bread with oil on one side and lay flat, oil side up, on a baking sheet and broil for two minutes until getting very lightly toasted.

Remove from oven and top each piece with the tomato mixture and then some mozzarella cheese and put back in oven (still on broil) for five minutes until cheese is melted and bread is toasted but still soft.

Remove from oven and place on platter and serve to a hungry crowd (who are already armed with side plates and napkins!)

Download a printable version of Double Tomato Bruschetta

Three Cheese and Garlic Scalloped Potatoes

Do you like cheesy, garlicky, creamy, heavenly carbohydrates like I do?

If so, these three cheese and garlic scalloped potatoes are for you! I served these with ham at Easter and they were the perfect side dish.

Ingredients (this made enough to fill my lasagna pan)

• about 10 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 cups of old cheddar cheese
• 6 slices of provolone
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 cups of cream (I used 2/3 10% cream mixed with 1/3 skim milk)
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped (I used jarred garlic and used one heaping tablespoon -- mmm...garlic)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Grease a casserole dish (note that I used a lasagna pan, so adjust the recipe accordingly for your size of container)

Layer 1/3 of the potatoes slices at the bottom of the dish. Pour 1/3 of the cream mixture over the potatoes. Drop garlic over the layer. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheddar cheese over the layer and then add salt and pepper.

Repeat two more times (three layers in total)

On top, place the sliced provolone.

Cover with tinfoil and bake for an hour.

Then sprinkle parmesan cheese over top and bake for another 30 minutes until cheese is bubbled and brown and it's easy to stick a knife through the potatoes.

When you take these out, you may want to use a paper towel to seep up some of the oil from the cheese.

I forgot to take a final picture, but trust me, they were oozing with deliciousness!!! And the whole pan was eaten by only 10 people! That's the sign of a good side.

Eggplant Parmesan

We eat a tonne of vegetables and I'm always looking to try new things so when we are at the grocery store the other day, I picked up an eggplant. This is usually the kind of item I would pick up and would rot in the back of our fridge for a few months because I had no idea what to do with it, but on Sunday night, I had a revelation and I whipped up some eggplant parmesan.

I had never cooked an eggplant before so I turned to trusty http://www.allrecipes.com/ to learn how to make a veggie parmesan. It took longer than I thought, but it tasted pretty good and I think this is a new weeknight dish for us.

Ingredients (makes four servings)

• 1 medium eggplant
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs (I added dried basil and oregano to mine)
• spaghetti sauce
• mozzerella cheese

**you may note that there is no parmesan in my parmesan, I didn't have any on hand and it turned out ok

Directions

1. Cut off top and bottom of eggplant and peel (I just used a knife and cut off the peel)

2. Slice your eggplant into rounds (we did about a 1/4 inch, but next time I would probably do a little thicker)

3. Sweat your eggplant for about 15 minutes. I read different feedback about why you do this -- one said it's because there's so much water in eggplant, while another said you do it to release the bitter oils in it. Either way, I did it by pouring salt all over the eggplant. Within minutes, oils start to release and then you rinse it off and pat it dry.

4. Dip each piece of eggplant in egg then in the bread crumbs. Put onto cookie sheet

5. Bake your eggplant for 10 minutes on each side at 350 degrees

6. Pour spaghetti sauce over large pan, then put your eggplant in in a single layer, cover with more sauce and finally with mozzerella cheese

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes