Finally!!! An amazing alternative for chicken breasts!

This will be a quick little post. When I saw that President's Choice had launched a meatless Chicken patty I was kinda skeptical. It's made with Gardein which I'm not a huge fan of.

BUT! PC has definitely changed my mind with this new product.

1. The price is great. 8 patties for 9.99. That's almost the same as buying any of their "real" meat in a box
2. It holds its shape during cooking. Which means you can BBQ it, slice it and stir fry, pan fry etc.
   
3. It actually has a nice texture. Not too soft like Tofu, but not chewy like past "fake meat" products.
4. AND FINALLY! It cooks like chicken. Which is REALLY IMPORTANT when doing any kind of split meal. Your recipes, methods and cooking times don't have to change or adapt.

Last night I used a patty in my fajitas. They cooked quickly and absorbed all the yummy spices.

Now that I've got a freezer full of these guys, I'm really excited about trying out some chicken recipes I've passed on before. Tune in since I'll be posting lots!!!

Anywho, I suggest you go and buy it and try it for yourself. Available in the freezer section at any Zehrs, Lobalws, Real Canadian Superstore.

Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Perogies

There is something very comforting in a nice warm bowl of soup. Especially on days when you come home wet, tired and hungry. Again, thanks to Fine Cooking magazine, I was able to throw a couple of standard staples in my pantry to make this soup. I've kinda merged two of their recipes, which just goes to show you how versatile it really is.
To make this soup anytime, I would suggest always having these items in your cupboards: Canned diced tomatoes and a jar of roasted red peppers.


Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

• 1 Tbs of olive oil
• 1 Tbs of butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 Tbs of flour
• 3 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 Tbs of thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• kosher salt and pepper to taste
• 1 roasted red pepper, diced
• 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes

1. In a large dutch oven, heat up oil and butter over med-low heat
2. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft (8 minutes) You want the onions to be brown but not burnt. The longer you spend time on this, the sweeter the onions will be :)
3. Add flour and stir to coat
4. Add broth, tomatoes, roasted red pepper, sugar, thyme, bay leaf and 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper. Stir to mix and bring to a simmer.
5. Reduce heat, and cover. Continue cooking for 30 more minutes.
6. Remove bay leaf. Use an immersion blender or food processor to blend until creamy.
7. To top it off, I add a mixture of goat cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper a little bit of olive oil.
   

While the soup was simmering and continuing with slow cooking onions=sweet, I decided to make some perogies. Thinly slicing some onions and cooking them with some oil over a low heat in a large skillet. I seasoned with some salt, pepper and herbes de provence.
Pulling the perogies from the freezer and boiled them for about 5 minutes. Drained and tossed them in the skillet with the by now shruken golden brown and sweet onions.

Mini Burgers for quick and easy appetizers

I've often seen meatballs served as cute little finger foods at parties. IF you are really ambitious you can make your own meatballs, but the grocery stores now sell so many kinds (veal, turkey, chicken, beef AND veggie) that you can easily pick and choose your favorites.

Taking the meatball up a notch, I decided to make them into mini burgers. This is ridiculously easy that it doesn't really warrent a recipe step. I bought a variety of mini buns from Ace Bakery (sold at Loblaws). Simmered the meatballs in some Diana honey garlic sauce. To each burger I added some baby spinach leaves and monteray jack cheese. Easy!

Prosciutto wrapped chicken with a tomato zucchini gratin

When I browse through my cooking magazines and books, I like to look for recipes that make an ideal vegetarian main, but can also be a tasty side dish for my meateater husband.
Gratins fit the bill quite nicely. They are usually an excellent way of serving many vegetables, easily portable for potlucks and just look dang pretty when they come out of the oven. All bubbly goodness...
Tonight's dinner is a wonderful example of where me and my husband both win :)

Tomato and Zucchini gratin

• 1 onion thinly sliced


• 1 Tbsp of thyme


• 1 zucchini thinly sliced


• 4 roma tomatoes


• 1/4 freshly grated parmesan cheese


• salt and pepper to taste


• 2 Tbsp of olive oil
  

1. Thinly slice tomatoes and place on a dish to allow any juices to drain.


2. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Slowly cook the onions until they become soft and light brown, 20 minutes. You want them to be golden and not burnt. Doing this allows the onions to be come sweet and soft.


3. Meanwhile, in a bowl toss zucchini with 1/2 the thyme and season with salt and pepper and remaining oil.


4. In gratin dish (or ramekin if you want to serve individual gratins) place onions. Top with remaining thyme


5. Add a row of sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese and place a row of zucchini on top. Repeat until gratin is filled.


6. Top gratin with remaining cheese


7. Bake at 375 C for 60-70 min, until golden brown.

Spinach and Basil Pesto

• 1 cup of chopped baby spinach


• 1 cup of chopped basil leaves


• zest of 1 lemon


• juice of half a lemon


• 1 garlic clove minced


• 1/2 cup of olive oil


• 1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts


• 1/4 roasted pine nuts
  

1. In your food processor, add basil, spinach, lemon zest and juice, garlic and pine nuts.


2. Start blending and slowly add olive oil. Blend until smooth. Stopping and scrapping down sides if necessary.


3. Scoop out pesto into a bowl and add parmesan cheese. Stir until blended.

I used this pesto with some fun looking pasta which name escapes me at the moment :)

Prosciutto wrapped Chicken stuffed with goat cheese and rosemary

• 2 pieces of chicken (I used thighs)


• 2 Tbsp of goat cheese


• 1 Tbsp of freshly chopped rosemary


• 1 Tbsp of Dijon Mustard


• 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil


• 2 thin slices of prosciutto


• salt and pepper to taste

1. 1. Lay our your chicken thighs. It's easier to stuff the inside of the thigh and wrap around than vice versa. Place 1 Tbsp of goat cheese and half of the rosemary inside. Fold the chicken



2. 2. Rub the outside of the meat with Dijon mustard and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides



3. 3. Wrap the prosciutto around your chicken bundle.




4. Place bundle seam down on your tray.



5. Pour oil over bundles. This will give it a nice crispy coating
   


6. Bake at 400 C for 20 minutes. To make sure chicken is done, gently prick to see if juices run clear

For extra points I added a little roasted red pepper sauce. Silly easy to do. Just get a jar of roasted red peppers. Take a couple of peppers and their oil and puree (this is where a handy Magic Bullet :) )

Breakfast Frittata: where everyone wins!

When I woke up Saturday morning, I turned to my husband and said "Let's have a frittata for breakfast". He grumbled and said it would be too much work. Which is High-larious since I'll be the one making it... let me worry about work.

Anywho, I ran downstairs while he started a load of laundry. By the time he was done, so was breaky. In the end, he had a tasty meal and I had clean clothes. Everyone wins!

Frittatas may sound complicated, but they are a great thing to serve when you have vegetarians and meat eaters together. I used a regular sized cast iron pan, but if you are really ambitious you could use 2 (one meat one veggie).
To satisfy my husband's meat urges, I placed a thin slice of prosciutto on his plate with this frittata. Serve with slices of baguette.

Potato and Spinach Frittata for 4

• 5 large eggs
• 3/4 cup diced potato
• 1/2 cup of chopped spinach
• 1 Tbsp Cajun Spice (paprika, chle, parsley, cumin salt and pepper)
• 1 Tbsp of olive oil
• 1 Tbsp of freshly chopped Rosemary
• 1 Tbsp of milk
• A few thin slices of cheddar cheese
• Prosciutto slices

1. Heat up cast iron pan on medium
2. In a bowl toss potatoes, olive oil and cajun seasoning
3. Add potatoes to cast iron. Cook until brown and crisp. Add rosemary
4. In same bowl, whisk eggs with milk. Whisking add bubbles which will make the frittata light and fluffy
5. Top with chopped spinach and cheese
6. Pop into a preheated oven at 400 C for 5 minutes or until frittata has settled and browned. (jiggle the pan.. should be slightly firm)
7. Cool cut and serve

Wild Mushroom Tart... mmm lattice work

If you really like mushrooms, then this meal is for you. The initial quantity of mushrooms will make you think i'm a freak, but trust me.. after they have cooked, they will shrink to less than half their size! This dish is really easy to make and looks quite elegant (so your guests will think you are clever and such a chef!)

MMM makes me think of danish pastries!

Wild Mushroom Tart with Parmesan Broccoli Orzo

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 shallot chopped
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 8 cups of sliced mushrooms (Cremini, Portobello, Shitaki, Oyster etc...)
• 1/4 cup of Sherry
• 2 cups finely packed of baby spinach
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/4 grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 roll of thawed Puff Pastry
• melted butter
• sliced almonds

1. In a large skillet on medium heat, add olive oil, garlic, thyme and shallots. Cook for one minute


2. Add mushrooms and continue cooking until they have shruken in size and have lost their moisture


3. Add sherry, and continue to cook until liquid is fully absorbed


4. Add spinach and cook until slightly wilted


5. Turn off heat and add sour cream. Stir until blended.


6. Roll out pastry sheet. Place mixture in middle. Using kitchen shears, cut diagonal strips towards the mixture


7. Like a weaving basket, criss cross your pastry strips over the mixture


8. Brush with melted butter. Add slivered almonds on top


9. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes until brown

Parmesan and Broccoli Orzo

Orzo is one of those elegant little dishes that have popped up recently. Although it IS a pasta and cooks likes a pasta, it has the shape and size similar to rice and the ability to absorb an incredible amount of flavour.

In a large saucepan, I boiled the orzo (about 1 cup) for 10 minutes. In the last two minutes I added my little florets of broccoli.

Drain and return to the pot. Stir in some freshly grated parmesan, a little bit of cream (I had 35% Whipping cream on hand, but any % will do) and salt to taste.

Butternut Squash Ravioli and Tortellini (DECADENCE!)

This isn't a split recipe, but it is a damn tasty one. I also don't have any "real" measurements, as I was eyeballing the whole thing. I'll try to give estimations when I can.

From start to finish, this recipe is a challenge. However, by spreading out some of the steps, it isn't so bad. For the filling, I had some butternut squash that I had roasted a couple of days earlier. On a baking sheet, I had placed the pieces of squash and rubbed them with some olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Roasted them for about 80 minutes at 400 deg.

Along for the ride were two foiled wrapped garlic heads. Roasted garlic can keep for days and is handy to have for so many recipes.

The other added bonus for this recipe was that I could finally crack open my newest kitchen toy: KitchenAid Food Processor, given to me by my darling husband for Christmas (Schanks sweetie!)

So, into the bowl went my Butternut Squash (I probably had about a 1 1/2 cups), 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese, 2 roasted garlic cloves, a pinch of sage and cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste. A couple of tbsp of olive oil was also added. Mix until smooth.

At this point, I snuck a taste (Yes the blade had stopped running!) and OH MY LORD... sweet yummy DECADENCE!!)

The key to making these guys is

1. Patience


2. Mise en Place

The first because these can be kinda tricky to make. The second part is French for "Have everything in place". I generally do this in all my cooking, but here it is crucial. Treat it like a little pasta making factory assembly line!

I used one package of won ton wrappers for the dough. Take them out and keep them wrapped in a damp paper towel (they'll fold easier this way). You will need to have"

1. Butternut Squash Filling


2. Won Ton wrappers wrapped in damp paper towel


3. Bowl of Water


4. Pastry brush


5. Melon Baller (not necessary, but when else am I going to use this guy?)


6. A couple of cookie sheets pre dusted with flour


7. Extra flour for your work surface.

I decided to try and make Ravioli and it's pretty straight foward. Lay your noodle down, plop a melon ball size of filling (say 1/2 tbsp). Wet the edges with water, place another noodle on top. Make sure to squeeze out any excess air. You can crimp the edges with a fork. Once done, place them on your cookie sheet, then pop in them into the freezer. Once frozen, they can be placed into a ziplock baggie.

Now for some tortellini...

I suppose that once you start making one type of stuffed pasta, the others are just as easy to do. So, for funsies, I played around and attempted to make tortellini.



The first step is to place a 1/2 tbsp of filling in the center of your square dough. Wet the edges and fold into a triangle (left).
Next, brush a little more water on the tips and bring them together (almost like folding a diaper!). Pinch to secure. At this point, you should have something that resembles the pope's hat (middle).
Lastly, bring the last point in and pinch, again adding more water if need be.

The finished product!

Butternut squash tortellini with a brown butter cream sauce with sage and hazelnuts

• 24 tortellini
• 2 tbsp of butter
• 1 tbsp of 35% cream
• 1 tsp sage
• 2 tbsp of crushed hazelnuts
• salt and pepper to taste

Set a large pot of water to boil, season with salt. While this is heating up, start with your sauce. The tortellini don't take that much time to cook (3 minutes MAX!) so you want your sauce to be ready beforehand.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. The first time I did this, it started as a beautiful cream colour to burnt black. As my husband looked over my shoulder he reminded me how easily butter burns... fine fine.

The second time, I took my time and gently melted the butter and heated until it turned a lovely caramel colour. Once it reaches that point, take it off the heat and add your sage, cream, salt and pepper.

Once your water is boiling, add your tortelini. After a minute or two, they will start to rise from the bottom. Once they start floating at the top (2 minutes) they are done. Fish them out with a slotted spoon and toss them in your sauce.

Add your hazelnuts and grated parmesan cheese.

Now to describe this flavour. ... almost like little pillows of sweet savoury heavenly goodness. The filling melts on your tongue and does a lovely dance with the creamy butter and nutty hazelnuts. DELISH!