Quinoa Stirfry with Chicken Thighs

This is what I made for dinner tonight and the hubby declared that it was his favourite quinoa dish I've made. Quinoa is so easy to make and I love that it's a complete protein. Plus, it's gluten free!This recipe uses broccoli slaw, which is a pre-made slaw mix of shredded broccoli, carrots and cabbage - it gives the stirfry a satisfying crunch and it's full of all sorts of good vitamins.

Quinoa Stirfry with Chicken Thighs
Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 20 mins | Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 chicken bouillon cube
4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 TBSP olive oil
1/4 cup onion, diced
2 green onions, diced
3/4 cup broccoli slaw
1/8 tsp each cumin, ginger powder and paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 TBSP soy sauce

Method:
1. Rinse the quinoa cold water. Put in a small saucepan and cover with 1 cup water. Crumble the bouillon cube into the water and stir. Cover and put over medium heat and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Resist the urge to lift the lid to check on it. Check after 15 minutes - you will know it is done because the grains will be translucent and all of the water will be absorbed. If it is not quite done, cook for 5 minutes more. Fluff with a fork and let sit about 5 minutes
2. While the quinoa is cooking, cook the chicken. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Cook the chicken over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, turning several times. You want it to get crispy on the outside but be careful not to burn it. The chicken should be no longer pin in the middle and the juices will run clear when you cut into it.
3. When the chicken is cooked, remove it to a cutting board. Add the onion to the pan and give it a quick stir. Cut the chicken into small pieces. Once the onion had been cooking for about 5 minutes, return the chicken to the pan. Add the green onions and stir. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the broccoli slaw, the lemon juice, the soy sauce and all the spices. Stir and cook for about 3 more minutes. Add the quinoa and stir. That's it!

Turkey and Ricotta Shepderd's Pie

My Mother-in-law inspired this post as she first came up with this idea for my husband's birthday lunch last month. The secret is adding ricotta cheese to the filling - it keeps it moist, helps it stick together and makes it amazingly creamy. She put crushed corn flakes on top of the potatoes under the cheese which gives it a nice crunch and it compliments the flavours very well - I didn't have cornflakes so I made it without and it worked fine. I would probably add them next time I make this.
This is my version - just made it for dinner and it was so, so good. Plus, it's gluten free, for those who can't eat gluten.

Turkey and Ricotta Shepherd's Pie
Prep Time: 35 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Serves: 4


Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground turkey
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 TBSP dried onion flakes
1/4 tsp each ground sage and dried oregano
2 tsp Johnny's Garlic Seasoning (or garlic powder)
salt and pepper to taste
300g light, extra smooth ricotta
3-4 large red skin potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 chicken bouillon cubes
water
2 TBSP butter
3-5 TBSP 1% milk
1 TBSP Johnny's Garlic Seasoning (or garlic powder)
salt to taste
about 200g grated monterey jack or cheddar cheese (or a mix of both)

Method:
1.  Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Put the diced potatoes, smashed garlic and crumbled bouillon cubes in a large pot and cover with water. Boil until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving 5 TBSP cooking water. Mash the potatoes. Add the butter and mix it in. Add the milk 1 TBSP at a time until you reach your desired consistency (they should be creamy and smooth but still fairly thick)
2. Meanwhile, cook the ground turkey in a large, deep pan until no longer pink. Add all spices and corn. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the ricotta cheese and the 5 TBSP potato water. Mix throughly.
3. Put the turkey mixture in a 9x9 square casserole dish. Top with the mashed potatoes and then the cheese. Bake for 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Blast under the broiler for 2 minutes more. Let sit at least 3 minutes before cutting and serving.

Pita Pizzas with Pancetta and Fresh Oregano

This recipe was inspired by a recipe I saw in an Australian Women's Weekly cookbook I have but the only similarities are that they are pizzas without tomato sauce (their recipe is just olive oil with garlic and mine is a white sauce with garlic/shallot) and include pork (theirs is ham, mine is pancetta), fresh herbs (they use sage, I use oregano) and cheese (their fontina to my mozzarella). So really, not at all similar.
I like Byblos brand pitas because they are really thin and have a great flavour, but use whatever pitas you can find (Byblos bakery is based in Calgary, AB and they distribute through out Western Canada so you may not be able to get them elsewhere).
Pancetta is Italian bacon, but please, please do not substitute bacon in this recipe. Pancetta has a different flavour and you will be disappointed if you don't use it. You can find already diced pancetta in the deli section of most grocery stores.

Pita Pizzas with Pancetta and Fresh Oregano
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Bake Time: 15 minutes | Yield: 6 pizzas

Ingredients:
6 whole wheat pitas
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium shallot, minced
1 scant cup 1% milk
1 TBSP flour
150g diced pancetta
dash of black pepper and salt
2 TBSP fresh oregano, chopped
300g grated mozzarella

Method:
1. Cook the pancetta over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the edges start to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove pancetta to a bowl; keep the fat released by the pancetta in the pan
2. Cook the garlic and the shallot in the pancetta fat until very fragrant but not brown, about 1 minute
3. Add the flour to the milk and mix well
4. Reduce the heat under the pan to medium-low and slowly add the milk/flour mixture, stirring constantly. Add the pepper and salt (resist the urge to salt the sauce more than just a dash as the pancetta is very salty). Sitr frequently until the sauce is thickened and is a uniform consistency 5-7 minutes. Remove form heat
5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Divide the pitas on 2 baking sheets. Divide sauce evenly between pitas and spread with a spatula. Sprinkle pancetta equally over pitas, then the oregano, then the cheese
6. Bake for 7 minutes, then turn the pan 180 degrees (so the pizzas that were at the back of the oven are now at the front). Return pizzas to the oven and bake for 5-7 minutes longer (until cheese is melted and bubbly). Let sit for 2-3 minutes, then slice in half and serve

Pizzas before the cheese has been added

Finished product. Yum!

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

If you like chocolate and peanut butter together, you're going to love these. They're chocolate-y, peanut butter-y, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and totally delicious.
I wasn't entirely sure if there were going to work as they were an experiment, but they did and I'm really happy with the result.

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Prep: 25 mins | Bake Time 10 minutes | Yield: 3-4 dozen

Ingredients:
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 squares semi-sweet baker's chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:
1. Cream together the butter and the sugars until smooth and creamy using a wooden spoon. Add the peanut butter and mix well. Add the melted chocolate (make sure it has had some time to cool because you don't want it to melt the butter) and mix well. Add the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each egg.
2.  Add the flour and baking soda to the peanut butter/chocolate mixture. Blend until just mixed. Add the chocolate chips and stir until incorporated
3. Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart (if your cookie sheet is not non-stick, grease lightly with a bit of vegetable oil or no-stick spray or line with parchment paper).
4. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-11 minutes. Check after 10 minutes - if the cookies are very puffy looking, bake for 1 minutes more (this will give them the crunch on the outside ad the chewy centre).
5. Let sit on baking sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 3 minutes. Put them in an air-tight container while they are still warm.

Be sure to enjoy one or two while they're still warm from the oven with a tall glass of milk

Linguine With Garlic Oil and Pancetta

 I made this a short while ago for dinner and it is amazing. I found the recipe in the book Nigella Bites by Nigella Lawson (it is the recipe, in fact that made me want her cookbook). It is posted on her website and I thought I'd share it with you. It is so easy to make and so delicious!

The recipe calls for garlic infused oil, which I didn't actually have, so I just cooked 3 smashed garlic gloves in 2 TBSP of olive oil for about 2 minutes, then discarded that garlic and used that oil and it worked just fine.

 

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/linguine-with-garlic-oil-and-pancetta-188

What's For Dinner?

In light of my husband's recent development of food sensitivities (tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach), he has come up with a theory: our bodies are designed to digest food that our ancestors ate, and are less likely to be able to digest foods that weren't available before globalization carried food around the world. His ancestors hail mostly from the United Kingdom and therefore he has challenged me to cook foods that would be classified as "British" to see if his body feels better eating those foods rather than things like spinach and bell peppers.
Here's what I've come up with:

First off, a ham roast (just the pre-cooked kind, not one that you have to cook all day) with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed baby carrots. Good old fashioned comfort food.

Next is Chicken Club Wraps. This is basically a chicken club sandwich in wrap form (cooked diced chicken breast, bacon, lettuce, cheddar cheese wrapped in a whole whet tortilla) . I've taken out the tomato part and added chopped green onion (I add green pepper for me too because I love it) and Caesar dressing.  

We're going to have hamburgers with corn on the cob one night as we try to hold on to the last days of summer.

The ultimate comfort food this week is potato chowder, hearty and savoury. You peel and cube the potatoes and cook them in a little veg oil in a deep pot with the onions and carrots. Then you boil that mix in chicken (or veggie) stock with some earthy herbs (oregano, thyme, sage, etc). when the potatoes are super tender,  take out about a cup of potatoes and a cup of broth. Puree that until it's smooth and add it back to the soup. This thickens it and gives it a velvety texture. Then add milk, corn, bacon bits and green onions. Top with cheese.

Next, we're going to try a prosciutto and parmesan filled pasta (found this fresh pasta at the grocery store - excited to try it out) with a creamy chicken sauce plus cooked zucchini with garlic.

Then we're going to have beef stroganoff on whole wheat egg noodles plus steamed broccoli. Stroganoff is one of my husband's favourites and I never had it as a kid, so I've had to watch his mom make it and pick up some of her tricks. The trick is instead of using all sour cream, use half sour cream and half onion dip (that way, you don't have to chop up an onion) - if you use a cream cheese based one rather than a sour cream based one, it gives great flavour. I also add paprika for some depth and half a beef bouillon cube.

Lastly, chicken enchiladas. This is one of my favourites and is the only thing on the menu that has peppers. It was my very first "featured recipe" and it just gets better every time. Adding a poblano pepper gives it nice smokiness and serving it with salsa verde (a green sauce made with tomatillos,  serrano or jalapeno peppers and  cilantro) is key. Latin import stores often carry authentic versions.   

I hope this has inspired you.

Bon Apetit!

Kitchen Tips - Part 1

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Everyone has their favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe; whether it's the cookies your mom used to make as an after school snack, a secret family recipe passed down through the generations, a recipe you discovered at the back of a magazine, or simply the recipe from the back of the chocolate chips package.
I don't claim to have the best recipe - in fact, I have a sister-in-law and a friend who both make better chocolate chips cookies than I do and, to me, my Grammie was the reigning queen of baked treats (her double chocolate snaps, nutmeg logs with pink icing and coloured sprinkles, boiled raisin cookies and butterhorns were the best things around), but I found a good recipe (on the back of the chocolate chips package) that suits me just fine.
There are, however, a few tips for making GREAT chocolate chips cookies, no matter the recipe.

1. The fat you use - I always use butter and have found that it creates the best flavour. I have tried shortening (when I really wanted cookies but had no butter) and they were okay, but butter works best. Hard margarine works to, but I avoid margarine at all costs as it contains a huge number of ingredients I can't pronounce and is about 2 ingredients away from being plastic. Truthfully, you can use any kind of fat that is solid at room temperature (butter, hard margarine, shortening, lard) but no oils (your cookies will be a funky texture if you use oil). Also, do not melt the fat (same funky texture as using oil). Changing the fat will change the taste.
2. The sugar you use - Many chocolate chip cookie recipes will call for a combination of white sugar and brown sugar. They key here is that a higher ratio of brown sugar will make the cookies chewier; more white sugar will make them crispy. I personally like a soft cookie, so my recipe has twice as much brown sugar as white. (Brown sugar  has molasses added to give it its distinct colour and flavour. It varies in darkness depending on the molasses content. I generally use "golden" or light brown sugar because I think it gives the best flavour). Measuring brown sugar is different than measuring white sugar. Brown sugar needs to be "packed" (scoop it into your measuring cup and then press down with the heel of your hand so it compresses ("packs") some. Then add more sugar and press down until you have the full measurement. Perfectly packed brown sugar will keep its shape when you tip it out of the measuring cup.
3.  The crucial first step - most cookie recipes start the same: "Cream together the butter and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla." Creaming the butter and sugars together is sooo important in getting the texture right. The butter must be room temperature soft (be careful if you microwave the butter to soften it - a few seconds too long and it's melted and that is not good for your cookies). You need to beat the sugars into the butter for several minutes (please, please, please, use a wooden spoon, not an electric mixer! Using an electric mixer makes the texture too fine and besides, cookies taste better when mixed with a wooden spoon) - you will notice that the mixture gets very creamy and the colour will get lighter than when you started mixing. Only then are you ready to add the eggs. Add them one at a a time and fully mix it in before you add the next one. 
4. The flour - This step is more important when making cakes and pastries, but it's not a bad habit to get into for cookies. When measuring the flour, use a smaller scoop/cup to spoon the flour into the measuring cup, then level the top with a flat edge like a butter knife. Spooning the flour into the cup gives you a more accurate measurement. If you just scoop it up with the measuring cup you're using  and then level it off, it packs the flour into the cup and you will actually get more than you really need. 
5. Baking - once you've added all the other ingredients, you're ready to bake. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheet and bake for the shortest time as suggested by the recipe, then check them. For a softer cookie, they should just be golden around the edges; for a crispier cookie, they should have a light golden colour on the top and darker edges. To keep soft cookies soft, put them into an airtight container when still slightly warm. 
6. Be sure to eat one or two when they are still warm from the oven with a big class of cold milk!