First up, roast beef with fan potatoes and steamed broccoli. I bought a hormone/antibiotic free sirloin roast, coated it with a mix of salt, pepper and Johnny's Garlic Seasoning the roasted it low-and-slow until it was tender and juicy and still a bit pink on the inside. Let me tell you, some of the best roast beef I've ever had. The fan potatoes recipe can be found as this week's Featured Recipe: they are crispy and buttery and melt in your mouth all at the same time. A must try for potato lovers.
Secondly, Spicy Roasted Sweet Potato Soup. Now, let me be the first to say that I am not the hugest sweet potato person. They are okay as fries, but the sweetness of them really throws me off. I know they are good for me so I'm trying to find ways to eat them. I came up with this recipe about 5 years ago when I was working at a cafe that had its soups delivered by a local soup company. I had a bowl of the sweet potato soup for lunch and it had a nice spicy kick to it that was highly enjoyable. I decided to see if I could come up with something similar. Mine is a puree of roasted sweet potatoes, red peppers and carrots seasoned with a blend of ginger and cinnamon (and a few other secret spices). Then it's mixed with chicken broth and cayenne pepper. Lastly, after it's pureed, add sauteed chicken, green peppers and onions. Top it with a little Parmesan cheese. Divine! This is also good as a pasta sauce or as lasagne filling. This is kind of my "signature" recipe, so you may have to wait until my cookbook comes out for the recipe.
Next up, chicken strips and Caesar salad. Ok, so this is a "stand-by" recipe, but seriously, so delicious!
Fourth, Shepherd's Pie with garlic mashed potatoes. This is one of my favourite foods. I adapted my version from a Best of Bridge cookbook from my mom. I guess this one is not "technically" shepherd's pie (according to traditionalists) as it is made with ground beef instead of traditional lamb and has cheese on top. But, I don't really like lamb and cheese makes everything better. Also, the secret to great garlic mashed potatoes is to smash about 6-8 cloves of garlic and drop them in the pot (remove the skins first, of course) when you're boiling the potatoes. Then, when you mash the potatoes, you just mash the garlic right along with it. Monterrey jack is a nice cheese for the top, but cheddar is good too.
Next, chicken quesadillas. Chicken, green and red peppers, green onion and cheese grilled inside a tortilla until crispy...my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I'm going to season the chicken with some tex-mex seasoning to give it some depth and then serve with salsa or hot sauce. Plus, the recipe is a balanced meal, especially if you use whole wheat tortillas: it has grains, poultry, veggies, diary and good fat (as long as you cook them in olive oil). I haven't had these in ages - they're going to be so good!
Next up, perogies! I haven't had perogies in a long time (I think since Christmas when I helped two of my sisters-in-law make them from scratch. It's kind of weird, but my husband and both his brothers married women with Ukrainian heritage) so I'm pretty excited. These, of course are not going to be home-made but store bought ones can be pretty good. The trick is to boil them first, then fry them in butter until they're crispy and then top them with bacon and cooked onions.
Finally, rice noodles with chicken, red peppers, carrots and peanut sauce. I came up with this one the first year I was married but haven't dug it out of the "vault" in several years. It's wide rice noodles (Pad Thai style) with julienne red peppers and carrots (julienne is just a fancy French work for really thin strips), sliced green onion and diced chicken. You soak the noodles in hot water until they're al-dente (soft but still firm - the time will vary depending on what brand you buy. My favourite is Rose brand because they hold together really well and they only cost about $1.50 for a big package, but they have no cooking instructions on them. I soaked them for about 15 minutes or so). Then you saute the chicken and veggies in a large pan or wok (you're going to need a big, deep pan for this one). Then, add the noodles once they're cooked and stir in store bought spicy peanut sauce (I really like PC Memories of Szechwan spicy peanut satay sauce). Yum.
Bon Apetit!
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