Spanish Omelette

We discovered this omelette dish about a year ago and make it once every few weeks. It's quick to pull together and I always work to have the ingredients on hand for an easy meal. We often eat it for dinner on an especially chaotic night because by the time we're ready to sit down to eat, it's cooled to the perfect temperature. Nigella suggests this as a great item for a picnic lunch though as the warmest you want to eat it is room temperature and it's easy to transport.

What I love about it though is the combination of colours and flavours. Simple ingredients highlighted together in an equally simple dish. The sweetness of the peppers, the sharpness of the cheese, the texture of the soft potatoes with vibrant colour of the bright green onions.

Spanish Omelette
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 12-15 baby new potatoes, halved and boiled until cooked through
• 5 eggs
• 3/4 of a jar of flame roasted peppers, roughly chopped
• 3 green onions, finely sliced
• 3/4 cup old cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 tsp butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Heat an oven-safe, heavy-based frying pan on medium heat
• In a bowl, whisk the eggs, add the peppers, green onions and cheese and season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked, drained potatoes
• Heat the butter in frying pan and, when hot, pour in the omelette mix and cook gently for five minutes
• By this time, the bottom of the omelette should be set and, rather than turn it, simply sit the pan under the grill for a few minutes to set the top. It should be a little wobbly in the middle still but it will continue to cook as it cools
• Once cool, slice into wedges and serve at room temperature

Recipe from Nigella Express

Rigatoni with Sausage, Peppers and Onions

I wrote down this recipe from Giada de Laurentis' Everyday Italian at least two years ago and I'm so glad I've reconnected with it and finally made it. This is a wonderful pasta dish, unlike anything I have ever made, I think. It's rich and flavourful and the addition of the red wine makes it a truly special dish.

It was a little time consuming to make, but worth every minute. To help make this into a weeknight meal, it would be easy to make the sauce ahead and the toss it with pasta when ready to serve. We enjoyed it on a Sunday, which is the day I truly enjoy spending time in the kitchen and I was so happy to sit down and finally enjoy this one. This is definitely one for the regular rotation.

Rigatoni with Sausage, Peppers and Onions
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage
• 2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and sliced
• 2 yellow onions, sliced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup Marsala wine
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 pound rigatoni pasta
• freshly grated parmesan cheese, for garnish

Directions

• Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the sausages from the pan.
• Keeping the pan over medium heat, add the red peppers, onions, salt and pepper and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano and basil and cook for 2 minutes. 
• Add the tomato paste and stir until incorporated, then add the Marsala, tomatoes with juice and red pepper flakes, if using. Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the brown bits. Bring to a simmer.
• Cut the sausages into 4-6 pieces each. Return the sausages to the pan. Simmer uncovered until the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.
• While the sauce simmers, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta. 
• Drain the pasta and add to the thickened sauce and toss to combine. Spoon into individual serving bowls and garnish with parmesan cheese.

Recipe from Giada de Laurentis' Everyday Italian

Spaghetti with Quick Meat Sauce

As a wedding gift, I got the pasta maker attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer. It could easily be one of those gadgets that languishes in the cupboard collecting dust, but surprisingly, I use it quite regularly. It's usually pulled out when I'm making something for company, but since that hasn't happened in awhile, I thought it would be a treat for T and I to enjoy some fresh pasta.

Since the process of making pasta though is a little lengthy, the idea of a quick sauce to go with it sounded brilliant. What was also amazing about this sauce is that it's an easy vehicle to hide veggies in for unsuspecting picky diners (I'm looking at you, Dad). The second time I made this, I added red and yellow peppers and it was even better.


Spaghetti with Quick Meat Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 12 ounces spaghetti
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3/4 pound extra lean ground beef
• kosher salt and pepper
• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan

Directions

• Cook the pasta according to package directions
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, garlic and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 8-10 minutes
• Increase heat to medium high. Add the beef, 3/4 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon until no longer pink; about 5 minutes. 
• Add the tomatoes and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about five minutes. Add the parsley.
• Serve the pasta with the sauce and sprinkle with the parmesan

Stuffed Shells with Ground Beef

Another wonderful make-ahead dinner is stuffed shells with ground beef. I have made a similar dish with ricotta and spinach and the premise is the same -- make ahead and bake what you need. Perfect for a healthy weeknight meal.

These are hearty shells, full of ground beef and loads of cheese. Serving them with sour cream is decadent and it's almost like eating a plate of nachos. In fact, my dad, who shared this recipe, even tops them with crumpled nacho chips for an added crunchy texture.

Stuffed Shells with Ground Beef
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound extra lean ground beef
• 6 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese, at room temperature cut into cubes (3/4 of a box of cream cheese)
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 package of Taco seasoning (make as directed with a cup of water to mix)
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese
• 20 large pasta shells

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
• In a large saute pan, cook ground beef and drain off fat
• Add cubed cream cheese, chili powder and mixed taco sauce. Help the cream cheese to blend by pressing on it with a spoon
• Let simmer gently but don't boil off the taco sauce, keep it fairly runny
• Meanwhile, cook 20 pasta shells, then strain under cold water
• Use a soup spoon to stuff each shell carefully (open the shell in the palm of your hand with the points between your thumb and little finger, spoon in mixture with the other hand. This is easiest if the mixture is cooled, too)
• Place each shell in a buttered, oven proof dish meat side up
• Cover and cook for at least 15 minutes (if just out of the fridge, cook for about 30 minutes)
• Remove from oven and cover with cheeses and broil until cheese is bubbling
• Serve with sour cream

Chicken Piccata

As I learn more about cooking, I'm also realizing that I gravitate towards certain kinds of flavours. I'm not one for spice, but I realize that spice-less does not have to mean taste-less. Lemon is one of my favourite flavours to cook with (as shown here and here). It's a bright flavour that can take a regular dish to the next level. Too much lemon though can easily overpower a dish so less is more, especially with this recipe. It won't look like you have a lot of sauce once it's reduced down, but it's intense and a little goes a long way.

I also try to cook with fresh ingredients as much as possible, but on the occasion that I have turned to bottled lemon juice (unless called for) the flavour simply doesn't compare with fresh.

From a preparation perspective, I finally got a reamer and it made juicing the lemons a million times easier, plus I got more juice than the good ol' hand squeeze method I was using.

Chicken Piccata
Serves 2

Ingredients

• 4 split (2 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
• olive oil
• 3 tablespoons room-temperature butter
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), with lemon halves reserved
• 1/2 cup white wine
• sliced lemon, for serving
• chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for serving

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking tray with parchment paper
• Pound out each chicken breast to 1/4" thickness (it will be so tender!) and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper
• Take three shallow bowls and put flour in one, eggs beaten in another and Panko bread crumbs in the third. Take each chicken breast and coating first in the flour, shaking off the excess, next dip in the egg and finally coat with the bread crumbs. Lay flat on the baking.
• Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add two chicken breasts and cook for two minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan while you cook the rest of the chicken. Heat more olive oil in the saute pan and cook the second two chicken breasts. Place them on the same sheet pan and cook for 10 minutes in the oven while you make the sauce.
• For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. On medium heat, melt one tablespoon of butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, reserved lemon halves and salt and pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced by half, about two minutes. Off the heat, discard the lemon halves and add two more tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. 
• Serve one chicken breast on each plate, spoon on the sauce and serve with sliced lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Recipe from The Barefoot Contessa at Home

Shrimp and Mushroom Linguini in an Herbed Cheese Sauce

Another rich and decadent pasta dish, fitting for a Sunday night meal but easy enough for a weeknight. The main ingredients are of course the shrimp and mushrooms, but once they were tossed with the cheese sauce, I felt the need to add some colour back in, so I added some cooked broccoli in. Just another example of how adaptable these dishes are to your personal taste. 


Shrimp and Mushroom Linguini in an Herbed Cheese Sauce
Serves 4


Printable Recipe


Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz) package linguini pasta (or fresh pasta)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (3 oz) package cream cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 3/4 tsp dried basil
• 2/3 cup milk, warmed
• 1/2 pound shrimp, cooked (preferably in white wine and garlic)

Directions

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguini and cook until tender. Drain.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, cook and stir until tender. Transfer to a plate.
• In the same pan, melt 1/4 cup butter with minced garlic. Stir in the cream cheese, breaking it up with a spoon as it melts. Stir in the parsley and basil. Simmer for five minutes. Mix in milk until sauce is smooth. 
• Stir in cooked shrimp and mushrooms and heat through.
• Toss linguini with sauce and serve.

Salmon Poached in White Wine

We recently got a massive piece of salmon from Costco that I cut into fillets. I was looking for an easy way to cook some of this so we could enjoy it as an easy weeknight meal. Poaching immediately stood out as a simple technique that made the salmon moist and delicious. And the best part is that it took about 20 minutes to make from start to finish so we could enjoy a healthy and delicious meal in the same time it would have taken to make a frozen pizza. 

Ingredients

• 4 fillets salmon
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 tsp parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp chopped garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Heat wine and water over medium-high heat until simmering.
• Place salmon in poaching liquid and dot with butter. Sprinkle with parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.
• Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10-15 minutes, until salmon is easily flaked with a fork.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Pork Tenderloin with Apple Crust

We have a freezer stocked full of meat. I buy it at the grocery store when it's on sale, it immediately goes in the freezer and then it is forgotten about until the next week when I add to the stash and inevitably say "OH! I forgot I had that chicken!" It's a vicious cycle.

So last week, T. took out some pork out of the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge. Two days later when I was looking for something to make, I had this lovely, thawed pork tenderloin to dress up.

We don't eat a lot of pork, but I know that it pairs well with apples. I had a recipe in my file that I had made a note to adapt and the apple crust was born.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of pork tenderloin (where I bought it, two pieces came together)
• 2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs (or you could add your own seasoning to plain ones)
• 2 apples peeled and minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup of olive oil

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Mix bread crumbs, garlic and apple in a bowl. Slowly add olive oil to reach consistency that would be moist enough to stick to the meet when pressed.
• Place pork in shallow baking pan and press the crumb mixture onto all sides until pink is no longer showing, usally 1/4 inch thick.
• Bake for at least 35 minutes until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F, or until there is no pink when the pork is cut.
• If crust still isn't as crispy as you'd like, leave it under the broiler for five more minutes.
• Let pork rest for 10 minutes covered in tin foil before cutting into 1/2 inch slices.

Recipe adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-and-Elegant-Pork-Tenderloin/Detail.aspx

Hearty Winter Soup with Sausage and Tortellini

I have been on a soup kick the past few weeks. Every Sunday, I like to make a big pot of soup that we enjoy throughout the week for dinner. It's a quick and easy meal (mostly due to the french stick we scarf down with it), it's healthy and always satisfying.

As you can no doubt see, I usually gravitate towards cream soups -- cream of leak and potato, cream of cauliflower, cream of squash -- so this week I wanted to make something with pasta in it. Specifically tortellini -- cheese-stuffed are my favourite.

It wasn't long before I found a hearty recipe on http://www.allrecipes.com/ and I simply adapted it to what I had on hand. You could easily make substitutions or additions, depending what your family likes. There's no going wrong with this one, but here's what I did:

Ingredients

• 3 mild italian sausages
• 1/2 package fresh tortellini
• 10 stalks of asparagus, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 medium onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 5 cups chicken stock
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Pan-fry the sausage until cooked. Let cool and cut into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
• In a large pot, melt the butter and sauted the onion and garlic. Cook until onions are transluscent.
• Add the diced tomatoes, white wine, chicken stock and tomato paste. Stir and let simmer for 20 minutes.
• Add the tortellini, sausage and asparagus and let simmer until tortellini is cooked.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• If desired, top with shredded cheese and serve with crusty bread.

Salmon Cakes

We grocery shop on Thursdays so by Wednesday, we're pretty much out of food. I'm desperate to learn how to menu plan (any tips out there?), but I'm thrilled if I can scrounge something up for dinner on Wednesday.

Enter: salmon cakes.


My dad makes these and they're simple to make and use ingredients that I always have on hand. I was able to whip these up and still have something healthy for dinner.




Ingredients

• 1 potato (fairly large or two small)
• 1 tin of salmon, drained well and cleaned
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 7-8 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tbsp bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Boil potato while cleaning the salmon and sauteing the onion and green onions
• Lightly mash the potato and add it to the salmon and sauted onion and green onions in a bowl
• Add egg and all other ingredients
• Mix ingredients and divide the mixture into six
• Shape into six patties and place them on a plate
• Cover and chill in fridge for 30 minutes
• In a skillet containing melted butter, sear the four patties for three or four minutes on each side, until lightly browned
• Put the patties on a cookie sheet and place in oven and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes
• Serve with lemon wedge or roasted garlic mayonnaise

Mango Chicken Curry

One of my favourite restaurants in Toronto is Salad King. They make the most delicious mango chicken that is sweet with a mango sauce full of chunks of mango and red and green peppers and served with a steaming side of rice. Due to a problem in the building, Salad King has been closed for months and I have been craving this delicious meal so to satisfy my craving, I turned to Google. I think mango chicken as I know it must be a Salad King original but I found a decent recipe on www.allrecipes.com.

This dish was more of a curry (and for those of you who don't know me well, spice and I are not super close), but since I was making it I could monitor the amount of spice I put in. This was also the first time I had cooked with coconut milk and I really liked how it added a light thickness to the meal. And, with the exception of the coconut milk, I had everything else on hand.

Overall, not exactly what I set out to make, but still a really good dish that I will certainly try again. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, julienned
• 1 medium green pepper, julienned
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 cup chopped, peeled mango
• 3/4 cup coconut milk (I used lite)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• hot cooked rice

Directions

• In a large skillet, saute onion and red and green pepper in oil for 2-4 minutes or until crisp tender
• Add the chicken, curry, ginger, garlic, salt and cayenne. Cook and stir for 5 minutes
• Stir in the coconut mil and tomato paste. Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
• Add mango and simmer for a couple more minutes. 
• Serve over hot rice.

Recipe from www.allrecipes.com 

Shrimp Scampi

On Sundays I like to spend time in the kitchen. It's an opportunity for me to unwind and relax and make a meal that will have a couple of portions left over for a relaxed dinner on Mondays.

I saw this recipe over at Annie's Eats and I immediately gravitated towards it because it had only a few simple ingredients and looked like a light summer supper. We don't eat a lot of fish at home but often have shrimp on hand and I really like how it was the star of this meal. I made the pasta from scratch and tossed it with this light butter-lemon sauce and it was a hit. Unfortunately, it was such a hit, that there weren't any leftovers!


Ingredients

• 3/4 lb. linguine (try to make homemade like this)
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined 
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3-4 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions

• Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, in a saute pan, melt the butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for one minute. 
• Add the shrimp in an even layer and add salt and pepper. Once down side of shrimp turns pink, flip and cook second side evenly. 
• When shrimp is opaque, remove pan from heat and stir in the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice and red pepper flakes.
• Drain pasta and add to the saute pan and toss to combine.
• Serve immediately.

Recipe from Annie's Eats

Summer Garden Pasta

I was recently given a gift certificate for Indigo and I knew exactly what I wanted to buy -- a cookbook by Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. For years, I have enjoyed watching her on the Food Network for her simple, classic recipes and she always just looks so happy cooking! Though I guess if I had her kitchen in the Hamptons, I might too!

Anyway, so I just got two of her books in the mail and they are beautiful. Nice glossy pages with beautiful photos and I was immediately inspired to make three dishes of hers and they were all easy and full of flavour.

The first I made was the summer garden pasta. Angel hair pasta topped with a simple mixture of cherry tomatoes, olive oil, fresh basil and garlic. You had to marinade the sauce for a few hours before so all the flavours infused together and it smelled like nothing else. I couldn't wait to eat this one!

Ingredients
Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa at Home

• fresh angel hair pasta (make your own using this recipe)
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves freshly minced garlic
• 10 leaves fresh basil, chiffonaded
• 1 cup grated fresh parmesan
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• In a bowl, combine cherry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, basil and salt and pepper. Toss and let sit for about four hours.
• Bring large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta. Drain.
• Put tomato mixure in a large pan and warm. Add in pasta and toss, fully coating pasta. Add parmesan and stir, letting it melt throughout.
• Serve warm with more parmesan and basil for presentation.

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.

Speedy Beef Stroganoff

Beef stroganoff is one of my favourite meals. It's one of those meals that I could enjoy all the time, and now that I know how to make it, I just might. 

This is easy to make, and not that expensive. It makes a solid four portions, which is what I look for on a weeknight that I can get two nights out of it. You could use various cuts of meat, but I actually just grabbed a package of beef stirfry strips, which meant that they were pre-cut and quick to cook.

Give this a try on a weeknight. You won't regret it.

Ingredients

• 1 lb beef or pork tenderloin, sliced into one inch strips
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 1/4 cups beef stock
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 3 tsp butter
• two green onions
• pkg of egg noodles

Directions

• In a large pan, melt 1 tsp butter a cook onion for about 4 minutes until tender.

• Add beef/pork strips and cook until no longer pink, about 5 or 6 minutes.

• Remove onion and meat from pan. Melt remaining butter in same pan and cook mushrooms on medium heat for about 3 or 4 minutes.

• In another bowl, mix beef stock, sour cream, dijon mustard and worcestershire sauce.

• Add meat and onion back into pan and pour stock mixture over it. 

• Let simmer for a few minutes. 

• Pour over rice or egg noodles and sprinkle with green onion.

Print recipe for Speedy Beef Stroganoff

Stuffed Peppers

I tend to over-buy vegetables. I get overly ambitious about the things I'm going to make, and it's not uncommon to have casualties in my fridge; poor vegetables that have been ignored and unused. 


So last week when I was at the farmer's market, and I came home with four peppers (which would be keeping the two peppers I already had in the fridge, company), T told me that I needed to use them asap. 


A quick search of my freezer, fridge and cupboards showed that I had all the ingredients of stuffed peppers -- a family fave. I defrosted some beef I purchased for lasagna, grabbed a can of tomatoes, dug up some rice and got set to cook!


These stuffed peppers are a meal in themselves -- a giant pepper stuffed with meat, tomatoes and rice. I am often perplexed about what to serve as a side with them because they simply don't need anything else, but they look lost on the plate. I'm open to suggestions! In the meantime, enjoy the peppers.




Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef (or chicken or turkey)
• 1 28 oz can of tomatoes (diced, stewed, whole, whatever)
• 1/2 cup rice
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1 tbsp butter
• four peppers, tops cut off and insides scooped out
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions

In a pan, melt the butter and sautee the onion and garlic.

Add the ground meat and cook until no longer pink.


Drain off fat.


Add can of tomatoes, rice and chili powder. Simmer for about 25 minutes until rice is cooked.


While cooking, prepare peppers by cutting tops off and scooping out insides.


Let meat mixture cool slightly, then stuff peppers, right to top.


Cook at 325 degrees, covered with foil, for 90 minutes, or until peppers are soft.


Uncover and sprinkle with cheese and broil for 5 more minutes until cheese is bubbly.


Serve with a dollop of sour cream.




Print recipe for Stuffed Peppers

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