Saturday, November 30, 2013

Turkey & Butternut Squash Stew


Feel free to use chicken which is how the recipe originally was on Cookin Canuck.

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 quart turkey broth (or chicken broth)
1 cup quinoa
Cooked turkey (or chicken) 
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Shred cooked turkey. Peel and cube butternut squash. Cook half for 8-10 minutes or until almost soft. Cook other half of squash for 15 minutes and mash. Sauté chopped onion until translucent. Add garlic, salt, pepper and oregano. Add tomatoes, all of squash and turkey broth. Bring to a boil. Add quinoa and reduce heat to simmer and cover for 15 minutes. Add shredded turkey and simmer for 5 more minutes. Enjoy!

Bruschetta



Ingredients:
Baguette or ciabatta loaf
Pesto
Fig spread
Balsamic glaze
Brie
Prosciutto
Smoked salmon
Pear
Cheddar

Instructions:
Lightly toast bread for 10 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or until golden brown.  Cut all toppings. Stack desired toppings on each slice of toast. Here are a few combinations...

Fig spread, brie, pear, prosciutto.

Pesto, smoked salmon, cracked pepper.

Pear and balsamic glaze.

Cheddar, prosciutto, fig spread.

Mozerella, basil, tomato, balsamic glaze.

Salami and pesto.

Anything you prefer! Don't forget to enjoy with your favorite wine!

Macaroni and Cheese


This recipe is from my best friend Whitney's grandmother Pauline. It's simple, but delicious. It only calls for cheese, milk, pasta and butter  I've even left out the butter a few times and it's still delicious. 




Ingredients:
Elbow macaroni (1/2 cup dry per person)
Sharp cheddar cheese
Milk
Butter

Instructions:
Boil pasta until almost done.  Strain water and return pasta to pot. Turn burner to low.  Add milk to pasta, just until you can see the milk, but without covering the pasta. Add 1-2 tablespoons of butter. DO NOT BOIL MILK. Keep heat on low for the rest of the time. Once milk starts to simmer, slowly stir in a handful at a time of shredded cheese. Wait until cheese melts before adding more.  Taste sauce and add more cheese as desired. Simmer until sauce thickens.  Add salt and pepper to taste.



Breakfast Burritos








Ingredients:
Package of fresh tortillas (10-12)
10 eggs
1 cup shredded cheese
3 slices turkey bacon
3 slices bacon
1 cup turkey sausage
2 cups frozen sliced potatoes

Instructions:
Prepare your fillings.  Cook bacon to desired crispness. Scramble eggs. Fry potatoes.  Shred cheese.  Cook sausage. Place each ingredient in a plate or bowl.  Heat up tortillas in the microwave for a few seconds. Fill with desired fillings and roll burrito.

If freezing, wrap each burrito in Saran Wrap or aluminum foil.  Label and place in a freezer zip-lock bag. When ready to eat, microwave for a minute and a half to two minutes. 













Cranberry and Brie Puff Pastries



Ingredients:
1 sheet of puff pastry dough
1 small wedge of brie
1 small container of cranberry sauce

Instructions:
Take puff pastry dough out of freezer and into the fridge overnight to thaw. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll pastry dough out. Use pizza cutter to cut 12 squares in the dough. Place each square of dough into a greased muffin pan. Fill each piece of dough with a bite size slice of brie and a small scoop of cranberry sauce, careful not to overfill. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes.  Enjoy!

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Parmesan Crusted Pork



Ingredients:
2 pork loin chops, 1/2 inch thick
1 egg
1 Tablespoon milk
1/4 cup flour
2 Tablespoons bread crumbs or panko
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Instructions:
Prepare 3 bowls. One with the flour. One with the egg and milk whisked together. One with the parmesan, bread crumbs, salt and pepper mixed together. Coat the pork evenly through each bowl starting with the flour, then egg/milk mixture and lastly the parmesan/bread crumb mixture.

Heat a pan over medium-medium high heat with vegetable oil. Cook the pork about 4 minutes each side. Remove from heat and let rest 3-5 minutes.

Smashed Baked Potatoes



Ingredients:
5 baby dutch yellow potatoes per person (or one handful other small potatoes per person)
salt
pepper
rosemary
sage
chopped bacon
parmesan cheese
plain greek yogurt (or sour cream)

Instructions:
Boil potatoes for 10-15 minutes or until fork tender. You want the fork to easily poke the potato. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place potatoes on a foil lined or lightly greased baking sheet. Gently smash each potato with a fork. Sprinkle a pinch each of salt, pepper, rosemary and sage over each potato. Top with a pinch of chopped bacon.

Bake potatoes for 10 minutes. Top with a pinch of parmesan cheese and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and top with plain greek yogurt (or sour cream). You may also top with fresh chopped chives.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Pannkakor (Swedish Pancakes)


This recipe is from one of my best friends who lives in Sweden. She sent me her great grandmother's recipe for pannkakor (Swedish pancakes).

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon sugar
pinch of salt

Instructions:
Whisk all ingredients together, adding only 1 cup of milk. After all combined, add the remaining cup of milk. Let batter sit in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to thicken. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Melt a little bit of butter or spray the pan with cooking oil. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and quickly turn the pan all around with your hand, coating the pan evenly. Let cook for about 1 minute then flip in the air. Let the other side cook for another minute.

Spread desired topping on inside of pancake then fold in half twice or fold then put toppings on top. You can use lingonberries, applesauce, Nutella, jam, whipped cream, ice cream, or whatever else you prefer.

Recipe makes about 20 pancakes. You can refrigerate batter for a few days.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Lemon Cookies



I originally found this recipe on Pinterest back when I very first started pinning. The only thing I changed in the recipe today was I used whole wheat flour instead of white flour. It tastes exactly the same, but it makes the cookies look a little brown. I like the look of them better using white flour.


Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest (or zest from one lemon)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice (or juice from one lemon)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat butter and sugar until fully mixed. Add vanilla, egg, lemon zest and lemon juice and mix until fully combined. In separate bowl whisk together salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix together.

Take teaspoon size balls of dough and roll into powdered sugar. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Yeast Rolls





I found this recipe from Tasty Kitchen. I did end up adding some wheat gluten and used my dutch oven to bake these.

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 Tablespoons butter
3 cups bread flour
1 Tablespoon wheat gluten

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix yeast, warm water and sugar together in large bowl. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. The mixture should foam and bubble. Mix in butter, salt, bread flour and wheat gluten. Transfer dough to a flat surface lightly covered in flour. Knead dough for 10 minutes or until dough is shiny and smooth.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with saran wrap. Place bowl in a warm area for 2 hours for dough to rise. Dough should double in size. Gently knead dough down then tear apart into 12 balls that fit into your palm. Place in a greased dutch oven. Cover in saran wrap and let sit for an additional 30 minutes. Balls of dough should rise slightly. Put lid on dutch oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove lid and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until golden brown.

*If using a 9"x13" pan bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Broccoli "Pasta"



Ingredients:
(Recipe for single serving size, add more water to adjust for more broccoli)
1 cup broccoli slaw (or shredded broccoli)
1/3 cup water, more as needed
1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 Tablespoon slivered almonds
1/2 Tablespoon Buffalo Wild Wings Asian Zing (chili pepper, soy and ginger sauce)
1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce (for added heat)

Instructions:
Bring 1/3 cup water to a boil in a saute pan. Add broccoli slaw to pan. Cook for 5 minutes. Add more water as needed. You want to end with very little to no water in the pan. Add sauces, sesame seeds and almonds. Toss and enjoy.

If you want to add meat to this dish cook the meat first, set aside and add back to pan with all other toppings and sauce. Toss broccoli "pasta" with any sauce and meat of choice.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Taco Soup






Ingredients: 
1 pound ground turkey
1 medium onion
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles (or 2 cans diced tomatoes and 1 can diced green chiles)
1 can corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
2 Tablespoons taco seasoning (store bought or see below)

Instructions:
Dice onion. Saute on medium high heat with vegetable oil until slightly translucent. Add a few more tablespoons of oil and add turkey. Cook turkey until fully brown, add taco seasoning and simmer for a few minutes. Add cans of tomatoes, corn, pinto and kidney beans with all their juices. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cover for 10 minutes. Top with plain greek yogurt (or sour cream), shredded cheese, avocado, cilantro, tortilla chips, diced jalapenos etc.

Taco Seasoning from allrecipes.com
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Tiramisu Cookies



Ingredients:
60 2-inch cookies (biscotti cookies or vanilla wafers)
1/2 cup mascarpone
1/2 cup Nutella (or other nut/chocolate butter)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I did 1/4 cup shredded coconut & 1/4 cup chopped pistachios)
1 cup coffee liqueur

Instructions:
Mix mascarpone and Nutella together in small bowl. Chop nuts and set aside in small bowl. Dip each cookie in coffee liqueur, don't soak. Immediately spread with mascarpone/Nutella mixture and top with another cookie dipped in liqueur. Roll each sandwich in the chopped nuts, careful not to press too firmly. Place all sandwiches on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, best overnight.