Creamy Chicken with Sweet Potatoes & Apples

Ah Sweet September, back to school, cool mornings and warm afternoons.  We have easily slipped back into the every day routime of school, although the after school chores still need a little work.  I think by the end of the day someone is fairly twitching from being off line for several hours.  Poor thing.
Emily was eager to get back to cooking, and when this recipe landed in my inbox this week I thought it looked quite tasty.  Emily agreed and dinner was planned.  While most of the ingredients are usually in our pantry I did need to stop at the store for cashews and sweet potatoes.  They are generally as much a staple as regular potatoes, but we were out.
Emily peeled and cubed one sweet potato, with a little help, they are rather tough to cut, and set it in a pot to boil..
While the potatoes were cooking Emily then chopped an onion, wearing her swimming goggles, since she had heard that would keep the onion from making her cry.  It works she says.  Not very effective though if you need to wear glasses to make sure you chop the onion and not your fingers.
The onion was then set aside while she cut boneless chicken thighs into bite sized pieces.  At one point I looked over and she had abandoned the knife and was tearing it apart with her hands.  Most unpleasant.  I dug out the curry powder and a portion of the grated ginger I had frozen a while ago, and then, despite protests she wanted to do this by herself, I started the rice.
Emily heated a little Zesty Lime Italian dressing in a pan and browned the chicken pieces.  Once they were browned she put them in a small bowl and added a little more dressing to the pan along with the onions, ginger, curry powder and the sweet potatoes, which we had drained and set aside once they were tender.  She cooked these ingredients together until all the vegetables were tender.
Meanwhile I played sous chef and whisked some flour into the remaining dressing.  This was then added to the potato mixture along with coconut milk, a chopped apple and the chicken.  It simmered until the rice was done.
All in all it was a very nice dish, although I thought it needed a little salt.  It was fairly quick and easy and made for a lovely plate of leftovers for lunch today.

Creamy Chicken with Sweet Potatoes & Apples

1 sweet potato (1/2 lb / 225g) peeled & cut into cubes           2 teaspoons curry powder

1/3 cup Italian Zesty Lime dressing *                                     1 tablespoon flour

1 pound (450g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut            1 cup coconut milk

into bite sized pieces                                                                1 apple, chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped                                                  1/4 cup cashews, chopped

1 tablespoon grated ginger

Cook potatoes in boiling water 5 minutes, drain & set aside.  (I think you could cook the sweet potato in the micowave & then dice it once it cooled enough to handle too)

Heat 1 tablespoon of dressing in a large skillet on medium high heat.  Add the chicken and cook until browned.  Remove from skillet, cover to keep warm.

Add 2 tablespoons of the remaining dressing, onions, ginger, curry powder and potatoes to skillet.  Cook & stir 5 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

Whisk the flour into the remaining dressing (3 tablespoons) in a bowl until blended. Gradually whisk in the coconut milk.  Add to the portato mixture, along with the apples & chicken.  Stir.  Simmer over medium heat 3-5 minutes; until chicken is done & sauce is thickened.  Sprinkle with chopped cashews.  Serve over rice.

*This is Kraft salad dressing.  You could add a splash of lime juice to any Italian dressing, or use olive oil & lime juice instead.

Crispy Shrimp Pasta

It looks like we are making the transition back to normalcy fairly smoothly.  Of course now that I've said that something will go sideways.  Two weeks and a half to back to school, to routine and everything that goes with it.  I'm sorry to see summer go, but I am looking forward to the return of school days.  Even though Grade six is now considered "middle school" my brain still considers Grade seven as the milestone start to Junior High.  And I am amazed at how quickly we got here, for all that that sounds like a cliche.  It wasn't so long ago I had a very little girl all excited for Kindergarten.  Now she's spending her days babysitting a little girl starting Kindergarten and excited about junior high.
Last weekend Emily wanted to have a couple of her little friends for a sleepover.  I reluctantly agreed, (it had been a long week, I just wanted to drink wine and watch Mad Men) after making sure both girls would eat shrimp, since that was what I had taken out of the freezer before work.  They all said they did, so they followed me home.  I had to feed them. While the girls played Uno I made supper- it was a hit, not a scrap left.  Emily wanted more, so I assured her she could give the recipe a try the next time she cooked.  So what if we had the same dinner twice in three days?  We do leftovers all the time after all.
This is a fast and easy dish, although Emily didn't realize the shrimp had shells on, not just the tails, so the shrimp she peeled only had the tails removed.  Not the worst thing, and a good lesson.
Once the shrimp were peeled (or de-tailed) she tossed them in a bowl with a little flour, salt & pepper, while she cooked the fettuccine.
She fried the shrimp in a little butter and olive oil, then (after arguing with me about this step) removed them to another small bowl.  To the pan she added chicken stock and cream, stirring until it thickened.  Once it had thickened she tossed the pasta with the sauce and added the shrimp.
She's getting better in the kitchen all the time, although she doesn't always read all the instructions with due care.  She wanted to add the broth to the pan without removing the shrimp first, which would have made deglazing the pan difficult, but would have resulted in overcooked seafood.
This was a fast, easy and relatively inexpensive meal and will certainly remain in our rotation.

Crispy Shrimp Pasta

4ounce fettuccine                                                       1 tablespoon olive oil

3/4 pound raw shrimp, peeled & deveined                1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon salt                                                            1 1/4 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon pepper                                                      1/2 cup whipping cream*

2 tablespoons flour                                                     1/2 teaspoon cajun seasoning**

Cook pasta according to the package directions.  Sprinkle shrimp with 1 tablespoon flour, salt & pepper, toss to combine.  Sprinkle with the second tablespoon of flour, toss to evenly coat the shrimp.

Melt the butter & olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the shrimp in a single layer & cook on each side until golden brown, flipping once, about 2-3 minutes per side.  Remove to a plate.

Pour the chicken stock into the skillet & cook for about 5 minutes, whisking the bottom of the pan to deglaze.  Reduce the heat to medium & pour in the cream, whisking constantly.  Cook sauce over medium heat until bubbly & the cream starts to thicken the mixture, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Cajun seasoning, adjust the salt & pepper if necessary.  Add the drained pasta & shrimp, stir to combine.

*The first two times I prepared this dish I used milk instead of cream, A little flour may be needed to help thicken the sauce

**I have also made this using Tex-Mex seasoning.

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

It has been a month since my last post, and here we are in mid-August.  Emily was awy for the last two weeks of July (a mini vacation for me, I admit unabashedly) It took us another week to settle back into our routine.  She's been getting lots of babysitting jobs which keeps her busy, and is adding nicely to her small pile of savings.
I had stumbled across this recipe one afternoon and thought it looked really good.  We both like sweet potatoes and I like having a solid list of fast and easy meals tucked away, recipes with ingredients we usually have in the house.  This fit the bill.  Not really a summer dish, but last Monday the forecast was for cool, rainy weather - which we have had far too much of this summer!  Still, it seemed a good opportunity to take this recipe out for a test drive.
While Emily peeled and chopped the sweet potatoes I peeled and grated some ginger.  My sister said someone at work had told her to grate any excess ginger root and freeze in tablespoon sized portions, as ginger root, while relatively inexpensive, does dry up pretty quickly for those of us who don't use it daily.  I'll let you know how this experiment turns out.  I suppose you could use dried ginger in the soup, but you'd have to play with the amount a little.  I'd suggest starting with a teaspoon or so, as the ginger was not a hugely present in the flavour profile of the soup, but it did add something.
Sweet potatoes, onion, garlic and ginger were simmered in vegetable broth (I'm sure chicken stock would work just as well) until the potatoes were tender.  When the broth first came to a boil, at which point the recipe directs you to reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, Emily pulled out the immersion blender.  Thankfully I was in the kitchen.  You cannot puree something that is as firm as a raw potato.  At least not without making a colossal mess.  She waited, impatiently until the potatoes were finally sufficiently soft, and then put the immersion blender to use.
The soup was rich and creamy; topped with crispy bits of bacon and a dollop of sour cream.  Definitely a keeper, although I would be inclined to double it.  I had a bowlful for lunch the next day, Emily ate the rest for her own lunch.  More leftovers are never a bad thing.

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

3 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled & chopped       1" piece of ginger root, peeled & grated

         (about 4)                                                            1 quart vegetable broth

1 medium onion, chopped                                           salt & pepper

3 cloves garlic   

Combine all ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.  Cool slightly and puree in a food processer, blender or with an immersion blender.

Serve topped with bacon, Greek yogurt, sour cream, croutons, or fresh herbs, as desired.                             

Ratatouille Stuffing Bake & Potato Leek Soup

It's hard to believe July is half over, and so, by default summer is flying by.  Weather wise it's been an odd year - a few days of marvelous sunshine and heat, and the days of grey skies, thunder storms and rain.  Maybe August will feel like summer should.
We've been busy, or it feels like it, but when I try to catalog what we've been doing I am at a loss.  This past weekend Emily dressed up like Pippi Longstocking to hand out candy with the library float in the parade.  It was a fun costume to do; the kids were supposed to choose literary characters to dress up as.  Pippi seemed easy enough to me, second choice would have been Heidi (OK, they're favourites of mine, but I had to put the costume together!)
In any case the weekend slipped away, and I never made time to write and document Emily's cooking.  It was more important to spend a few hours visiting with my son, and to spend Sunday at my mom's.  So you, lucky reader, get two recipes today.

One afternoon last week Emily texted me a picture at work with the caption "Supper tonight?"  I couldn't make out the recipe at all, and had chicken thawed out, so I told her I'd look at it when I got home and consider it for the following day.
The recipe was for ratatouille, but not with eggplant.  I have to admit I've never tried eggplant, much less cooked it, so I would have tried to dissuade her - it is hard to teach what you do not know.  As it turned out the recipe called for yellow zucchini, and sounded very nice.
We eliminated the green pepper, replacing it with roasted red peppers in the can of diced tomatoes.  I also had her halve the recipe.  Not only did we not need a 9x13, 16 serving pan of ratatouille, but it was good math practice.
Emily sliced the zucchini and chopped the onion, putting the dish together with no help from me, although I should have helped her make sure all the mixture found its way into the baking dish.
She grilled a couple of steaks and made a simple salad to round out the meal.  The canned tomatoes we chose had spicy red peppers, so the ratatouille had a nice bite to it.  There are so many varieties of seasoned tomatoes this dish could easily be customized.

Ratatouille Stuffing Bake

1 tablespoon olive oil                                   1 can (28 oz/796 ml) diced tomatoes, undrained

2 yellow zucchini, sliced                              1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

2 green peppers, chopped                             2 packages stuffing mix

1 small onion, chopped                                1 cup shredded cheese (Italian blend)

3 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Add the zucchini, onions & peppers, cook 6 minutes, until tender crisp.  Stir in garlic, cook 1 minute.  Add tomatoes & basil, heat through, stirring occasionally.

Stir in stuffing mix, spoon into a greased 9x13" baking dish, top with cheese & cover.  Bake 3 minutes, until heated through, uncovering for last 5 minutes.  

*Substitute yellow peppers for the green & green zucchini for yellow.

On Sunday, when we got back from my mom's Emily brought me a recipe for hotdogs topped with beans & barbecue sauce.  They looked like a fun summer treat, but  I had to ask her if she would actually eat them, given that she doesn't like beans.  She perused the recipe again and started looking for something else.  This morning, with the weather report promising another cool day with rain I suggested potato leek soup.  I've made this recipe often, it's fast and easy, and really good.  I dug it out and the choice was made.  

I stopped for leeks on the way home, and once the rest of the groceries were stored away showed her how to trim leeks and cut them most of the way to the root & clean out all the sand.  She sliced them and an onion, setting them over low heat to sweat while she peeled and diced potatoes.  She added the potatoes to the onions and leeks along with chicken stock and thyme (I never have chervil or bay leaves) and brought the mixture to a boil.  Once the potatoes were done Emily got to use my hand blender, a toy she loves to play with.  The soup was rich and creamy, and a sprinkling of grated cheese just made it better.

Potage Parmentier (Potato Leek Soup)

2 tablespoons butter                                       6 cups warm chicken stock

2 sliced leeks, white part only                        1/2 teaspoon each thyme & chervil

1 Spanish onion, sliced                                  2 bay leaves

1 1/2 pounds  (4 large) potatoes,                    2 teaspoons fresh chopped parsley

peeled & diced                                               salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large saucepan.  Add the leeks & onion & cover.  Cook for 15 minutes over low heat; stir occasionally.

Add the potatoes, stock & herbs,  Season with salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium & simmer the soup for 40 minutes, uncovered, stir occasionally.

Correct the seasonings and puree the soup.  If it is too thick stir in a little more chicken stock.

Before serving stir in 2 tablespoons cream & fresh parsley.

Tuna Cakes

Summer is in full swing now.  With no school Emily is babysitting even more, and when she's not, is spending her evenings at the pool.  I can't believe how quickly she is growing up.
We were busy enough last week that she never got an opportunity to cook, and this week was one thing and then another, but she did make supper on Thursday.
She had selected a recipe for pasta shells stuffed with a mixture of chicken and cheese, which, while sounded very good, but the thought of baking a pasta dish when the temperatures have been in the high 20s just seemed like a less than ideal meal plan.  We'll have to try that recipe in the fall.
Emily combed through our cookbooks and magazines, finally suggesting this recipe.  Originally it was for bite sized appetizer patties.  They would be wonderful as such too, but I suggested she make them bigger & we turn them into an entree.
On my way home Thursday night I stopped at the grocery store for the few things we were out of and got caught in a downpour.  Once I dried off and changed I helped her out by peeling potatoes to make mashed potatoes as a side, and let her mix together the tuna patties themselves.
Our one error, the patties are actually supposed to chill for an hour before you bake them.  We skipped this step for expediency.

Dinner was very good. Emily decided she didn't like the sauce for her tuna, but she ate two, and finished them off for lunch the next day.  Always a good sign.

Mini Tuna Appetizer Cakes

1 package stuffing mix                       3/4 cup water

2 cans tuna, drained & flaked             1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing (Miracle Whip) 

1 cup shredded cheese*                      1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1 small stalk celery, finely chopped    1 teaspoon lemon zest

3 green onions, finely chopped           1 tablespoon lemon juice

Mix first six ingredients plus 1/4 cup mayonnaise until just blended.  Shape into patties (30 small one, using a tablespoon of tuna mixture for each, for appetizers; use about 1/3 cup of the mixture to make larger patties as an entree) Place on a greased baking sheet; refrigerate 1 hour.

Heat oven to 400F. Bake patties, 8-10 minutes on each side (longer for lager patties, about 15 minutes) until golden brown on each side.  

Meanwhile combine remainin 1/4 cup mayonnaise, hot sauce, lemon zest and lemon juice. 

*The original recipe called for shredded mozzarella, we had a Mexican blend of cheddar, Moneray Jack & mozzarella.

Sweet & Sour Meatball Skewers and Herb & Cheese Stuffed Burgers

I've been a little neglectful, finding it hard to get motivated to do a lot.  We are well into June and Emily's schedule is busy with year end exams and projects, band concerts and babysitting.  By default I find myself busy too.  It's true her busyness often leaves my evenings free, but by the end of the day I don't want to do much more than watch a little tv and go to bed early with my book.  It's a comfortable existence and I am content.  In any case, because of this contented ennui I didn't share last week's recipe.
I mentioned in my last post Emily had wanted to make a recipe that called for frozen, cooked meatballs.  Sunday afternoon, while she was off with her dad, I prepared meatballs; nothing fancy - a couple of pounds of ground bison, an egg, some oatmeal, salt and pepper.  I also stirred in the last of a bottle of ketchup and a few tablespoons of mashed avocado that were taking up space in the fridge.  I baked the meatballs for about an hour at 325F then froze them, once they had cooled.  Monday before I left for the day I put the frozen meatballs in the fridge to thaw.
Emily's recipe called for a red & green pepper cut into 1" chunks, but neither of us like peppers much.  She had suggested carrots as a substitute, I thought the would take too long to cook.  Instead I had her slice a couple small zucchinis into 1" chunks.  I had boiled a pot of baby potatoes until they were just tender, and she threaded the meatballs onto skewers with the zucchini and potatoes.
When the skewers were ready she put them on a pan and stirred together the sauce; apricot jam and barbecue sauce.  Once the sauce was brushed over the skewers she took them out to the grill.
It was a simple enough recipe, that tasted wonderful....but anything on a stick is good, right?
My one caveat would be to advise cooking the skewers on a griddle place onto the grill.  Several of the meatballs stuck to the grill & broke when Emily tried to turn them or remove them for serving.
Despite the less than perfect results this would make a nice summer barbecue change from burgers and hot dogs....especially for those picnickers who prefer to forego the buns.

Sweet & Sour Meatball Skewers

32 frozen, cooked meatballs, thawed (I made my own, but you can purchase them at the grocery store too)

1 green pepper & 1 red pepper, cut into 1" chunks (or any veg you prefer, zucchini, mushroom caps, etc.)

1/4 cup apricot jam

1/4 cup barbecue sauce.

Thread the meatballs & vegetables alternately onto wooden or metal skewers.  

Combine the apricot jam & barbecue sauce, brush over the skewers, place on a preheated grill, cook until heated through, baste with remaining sauce.

Extra sauce also makes a lovely condiment to serve at table.

The following Sunday Emily decided she wanted cheese stuffed burgers.  I've attempted this idea before, and found myself with a gooey mess on my hands, and I know it's not quite as simple as "You just stuff some cheese into a hamburger" as Emily insisted.  I went online and checked out a few of my favourite sites and found this recipe.  I also found one with bacon, but surprisingly Emily wasn't interested.  

When I got home from work Monday I tossed together a fruit salad, deciding it would be a nice change of pace.  While I did that Emily stirred together cream cheese, shredded Cheddar, and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard.  Next she combined ground bison with two more teaspoons of Dijon, two green onions, ketchup and some oatmeal (I was out of dried bread crumbs)  The recipe called for dried rosemary and sage, but I have neither in my pantry.  Instead I chopped a few fresh sage leaves and some fresh thyme for her.  She shaped this into thin patties (the recipe said 8, we only got 6 out of a pound of meat) onto half the patties she spooned a portion of the cheese mixture and topped it with another patty, pressing the edges together to seal them.  We had extra cheese so I quickly mixed up another pound of meat and we repeated the process. Once the burgers were ready to go Emily put them on the barbecue to cook.  

 The burgers were juicy and creamy, and taste of the fresh herbs was apparent.  I don't like much on my  burgers besides ketchup, good Dijon mustard & cheese, so we skipped the usual burger toppings, but that's just my preference, which is why my burger looks under dressed.

Herb & Cheese Stuffed Burgers

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese                         2 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons cream cheese                                  1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley                     1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary*

3 teaspoons Dijon mustard, divided                     1/4 teaspoon dried sage*

2 green onions, thinly sliced                                 1 lb ground beef, lean

3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

In a small bowl stir together Cheddar, cream cheese, 1 teaspoon mustard & parsley.  Set aside.

In a large bowl combine remaining ingredients.  Shape in 8 thin patties.  Top four patties with a portion (1-2 tablespoons). Top with remaining patties, seal edges gently.  

Grill until cooked through (4-5 minutes/side, 160F)

*I used about 6 fresh sage leaves, chopped, and about 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme.

I also used quick cooking oats in place of the bread crumbs.  As well, we had extra cheese, so we doubled the meat recipe.

Serve on rolls with your favourite burger toppings; lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc.

Lemon Barbecue Meatloaves

Somehow May has slipped through our fingers.  In a matter of weeks now school will be done and Emily will embark on another summer of adventure.  I am envious, a little.  I remember the anticipation of June and the promise of long, lazy summer days.
She spent the long weekend at her dad's, and judging by the texts I received throughout the weekend I suspect she was a little homesick.  I collected her Monday evening on my way home and we both turned in early.
On Tuesday she had no school, and mid-day I got a phone call.  She had found the recipe she wanted to make for supper.  I put her off for a day, as I had plans to go out with the girls, and she was supposed to babysit later.  The recipe she chose called for cooked, frozen meatballs, so I suggested she set it aside for the following week and make something else.  With some grumbling disappointment she quickly suggested meat loaf.  Meat loaf is a meal that lends itself to fall or winter days, but it has been rather cool and rainy.  I pulled out one of my favourite cookbooks, one well perused and falling apart and tuned quickly to the recipe for Lemon Barbecue Meatloaves.  It was already bookmarked, the page stained; it is an old favourite.  She looked it over and decided to give it try.
When I left for work Wednesday I advised her to peel 4 or 5 potatoes when she got home, and to dice them and put them in cold water.  It is not a speedy process for her yet, so I figured she could get a head start on that part of the meal.  When I arrived home she had done as I suggested, but the potatoes looked more like they had been minced for hash browns than cubed for boiling, but the job was done.
While Emily began collecting her meatloaf ingredients I minced an onion for her (some how, for someone who had just minced 5 potatoes, she would have only diced the onion) I also ran a few slices of bread through my manual food processor to make her some fresh bread crumbs.  To ground beef Emily added the onion, breadcrumbs, lemon juice, an egg and some seasoned salt.  I showed her how to shape the mixture into six small loaves and once they were in the oven she began making the barbecue sauce.
After 15 minutes she removed the meatloaves from the oven and spooned sauce over them, finally topping each one with a slice of fresh lemon.
The meatloaves were as good as I remember, the sauce sweet and tangy.

Lemon Barbecued Meat Loaves

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef                               1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 cups fresh bread crumbs (about 4 slices)            1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 cup lemon juice                                                1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 cup minced onion                                             1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 egg                                                                       6 thin lemon slices

2 teaspoons seasoned salt 

1/2 cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl combine ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg, lemon juice and seasoned salt.  Mix well and shape into six individual loaves.  Place in a greased baking pan.

Bake 15 minutes.

While the meatloaves are baking prepare the barbecue sauce.  Combine ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, allspice and cloves.  Mix well.  Spoon the sauce over the meatloaves and top each with a lemon slice.  Return to the oven and bake 30 minutes longer, basting occasionally with remaining sauce.  Serve any remaining sauce on the side. 

Gnocci With Chicken & Four Cheese Sauce

Spring is rapidly becoming summer, and I am finding it harder to find time to write, even these brief posts.  This week has been busy enough we haven't found a night for her to cook.  Hopefully next week will be better organized.  Then again, Emily is babysitting more too, and that often shifts the evenings too.
I tripped across this recipe a week or so ago and suggested it to my chef in training.  She thought it looked good so the decision for last Monday.
I helped Emily slice chicken breasts into thin strips when I got home,  She had an onion already chopped, and the garlic minced when I walked in the door.
As it happened I had thawed out twice as much chicken as we needed.  I put half of the strips into the fridge and made chicken fingers a couple of nights later.  I had also purchased the larger bag of gnocci, so we had the second half another night with a lovely garlic & thyme butter sauce.

While the water for the gnocci was coming to a boil Emily browned the chicken and onion in hot oil.  I had neglected to purchase rosemary, so we left it out.  Once the chicken was done Emily stirred in the garlic and cooked it another minute.  To the chicken Emily stirred in a can of four cheese pasta sauce and seasoned it with black pepper, simmering it for 5 minutes or so, until it was heated through.  In the meantime she had cooked the gnocci.  She drained it and stirred the pasta into the sauce.  It was delightfully simple and very good.  I had never cooked gnocci before and will definitely be adding it to the menu more often.  It cooked quickly, which is always a bonus.

Gnocci With Chicken & Four Cheese Sauce

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts,                1 jar (650 ml) Four Cheese pasta sauce

      cut into thin strips                                                  1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1 onion, chopped                                                         1 package (500g) gnocci, cooked

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary                         2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley    

2 cloves garlic, minced         

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large, deep skillet.  Add chicken, onion & rosemary, cook 6-8 minutes, until the chicken is done.  Stir in garlic, cook one minute longer.

Add the pasta sauce & pepper, simmer until heated through.  Stir in gnocci and parsley.                               

Spinach & Potato Frittata

It's Mother's Day.  Like lots of holidays, especially the rather arbitrary ones, it tends to make some of us reflective.  It's always been an emotional day for me, although it is better than it used to be.  Before Emily was born Mother's Day celebrations in church were painful, as more often than not, it seemed, it was not my weekend with my sons.  We were supposed to shift the schedule around so I got Mother's Day & he had them for Father's Day, but somehow that never seemed to work.
I had a few epic battles with my ex mother-in-law when she was still my mother-in-law....the kind that strengthen one's resolve to be a beloved mother-in-law when the time came.  I love my mother dearly, and I admire her immensely.  She is an amazing woman, but like all mother/daughter relationships there have been some rocky places.  I know Emily and I will likely have our share, she is not yet a teenager.  Regardless of all of that the best name I have ever worn was that of "mom".   Further musings on that matter however is grist for another mill.
Last weekend Peter brought me a couple dozen eggs from a friend he was visiting, and while eggs are never in over abundance, this seemed a good opportunity to suggest quiche, or some other egg based dish to Emily for her menu.  After all eggs are generally inexpensive and readily available.  Having a few of these kinds of dishes in one's recipe box is always good for a fast and easy meal.  I suggested this recipe to Emily and she seemed to think it was a good idea, so we were off.
When I got home on Monday night I showed her how to cut a thin slice off the side of a potato to give it a flat surface to make slicing it into thin slices easier.  Once the potatoes were sliced she cooked them until they were just tender in hot oil, before stirring in spinach, green onions and garlic.  When it came time to add the egg mixture though she kept stirring, rather than letting the eggs cook into a solid, slice-able dish, so our frittata looked more like scrambled eggs.  Nonetheless it was  very tasty.  I made a fruit salad to go with it rather than a lettuce salad, which made a nice change of pace.

Spinach & Potato Frittata

2 Tablespoons olive oil                             salt & pepper

6 small red potatoes, sliced                       6 eggs

1 cup torn fresh spinach                             1/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons sliced green onions*             1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Place the potatoes in the skillet, cover and cook about 10 minutes, until tender but firm.  Mix in the spinach, green onions and garlic.  Season with salt & pepper.  Cook 1-2 minutes, until the spinach is wilted.

In a mixing bowl combine eggs and milk.  Pour over the vegetables, sprinkle with cheese.  Reduce heat to low, cover & cook 5-7 minutes, until the eggs are firm.

Meatball Subs with Marinara Sauce

Emily's school has a hot lunch program in which, once a month, the students are given an opportunity to order & enjoy a meal from a local restaurant.  Sometimes it's pizza, other months have been wraps and sliders from another eatery.  In April it was Subway.  Emily opted for the meatball marinara, which she ordered the last time Subway was the restaurant of choice.  As we filled out the order form and she began raving about how much she loooovves these sandwiches, I commented that perhaps she could find a recipe and make her own.  This struck her as a novel idea, and two weeks ago she did just that.  This past week was uncommonly busy with other thing, we never got around to having Emily prepare a meal, and last weekend was busy....I regrettably never found (ok, made) the time to write.
In any case, meatballs marinara.  As easy, if mildly labour intensive as I suspected.  I thawed a couple packages of ground bison and stopped at the store for canned tomatoes, submarine rolls and spinach.  I even indulged in a bag of preshredded Italian blend cheese, a time saver.
Emily combined the meat with an eggs, minced garlic and a chopped onion. Her initial chop was rather coarse, so I rescued as  many bits as I could and ran them through my food chopper, then readded them.  She was annoyed, but I pointed out no one wants huge chunks of onion in their meatball.  Once everything was seasoned and well blended Emily shaped the meat into ping pong bal sized balls and arranged them on a baking sheet and baked for about 12 minutes.
While the meatballs were baking she made her marinara sauce.  We did find recipes on line that used bottled sauce, but there's no learning in that.  She combined garlic, tomatoes, parsley and oregano and simmered it all together, stirring in the meatballs once they were cooked.
We spooned meatballs and sauce into the submarine rolls and added the shredded cheese.  The original recipe also advised shredded fresh basil or arugula, I opted for spinach.
Emily had also made oven fries as a side dish.  Dinner was great, as always.  The next day I cooked spaghetti and reheated the sauce; just as delicious.

Meatball Subs

Meatballs:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef                             1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 large egg, beaten                                        2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 cup bread crumbs                                       1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped*

1/4 cup grated Parmesan                               salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.  Combine all the ingredients and mix well, without over mixing.  Divide meat into meatballs (the original recipe advises dividing the meat into 4, and then each quarter into 4 balls, we just made manageable sized meatballs)  Place, evenly spaced, on a non stick baking sheet and roast for about 12 minutes, until cooked through.

* We used about a tablespoon dried parsley, I was out of fresh

Marinara Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil                                     1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

4 cloves garlic, crushed & chopped                 1 -28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes           2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1- 14 ounce can chunky style crushed tomatoes 

salt & pepper

Heat the oil in a deep sauce pan, add garlic, and once it starts to sizzle add the herbs and crushed red pepper.  Allow to infuse for about 30 seconds then add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a simmer and simmer until meatballs are done.

Combine meatballs & sauce.  Top sub buns with meatballs, sauce, shredded cheese and  place under the broiler until the cheese is melted, add spinach/arugula/basil

Oven Fries: 

4 medium, white skinned potatoes, cut lengthwise into 8 wedges, tossed with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil & grill seasoning, or coarse salt & pepper.  Place on a non-stick baking sheet and roast 20 minutes, until just tender.  Stir after about 10 minutes to avoid sticking.

Easy Baked Taco Pie

I don't know about your house, but in mine tacos are always a win.  It doesn't matter if they're beef, or fish or made with ground chicken instead of beef.  Like chocolate, salsa makes everything better.  For me it's a trip back to childhood, Mom made tacos regularly, I think before they were even a "thing".  My dad loved them, and all the particular fillings had to go in in a very specific order.  For the life of me I don't know what that order is, but I know, that while I don't put all the same things in my taco, the order is just a critical.  You have to get the layers right so everything mingles properly.
In any case Sunday night, when it was time for Emily to choose her recipe, she happened upon a handful of taco pie recipes.  One called for perogies.  It did sound good, but awfully heavy.   I dug a little deeper down the rabbit hole of internet recipes and found this one that looked pretty easy and had all the right ingredients but would be a change of pace.
I double checked the pantry and made sure we had everything and we settled into a quiet Sunday evening at home.
Monday night Emily browned 2 pounds of ground bison with a chopped onion.  The recipe only called for 1 pound of meat, but that always seems so scant to me.  But I am a carnivore.  Skip the veg and pass the meat, please.
To the browned meat she added a can of diced tomatoes and 2 cups of frozen corn (again, more than the recipe required but, hey....life is for living).
Once this mixture was heated through Emily layered the meat with tortilla shells, more meat & shredded cheese, and more tortillas.  After it had baked for about half an hour she removed the casserole lid and added another layer of cheese, baking it another 5 minutes.
It was so good I neglected to take a picture.  A salad would have been a good addition, but that called for more organization than I could muster.  We had pita chips & dip on the side instead.  Sour cream and a spoonful of salsa was the perfect topping for each serving of the casserole, adding just a little hit of heat along with the cool creaminess of the sour cream.

Easy Baked Taco Pie

1  (or 2) pounds lean ground beef                 1 - 2 cups frozen corn, thawed & drained
1 onion, chopped                                           6 whole wheat tortillas (6")
1 tablespoon chili powder                              1 cup shredded cheese (we used a mixture of cheddar &   1 can (520 ml) diced tomatoes, undrained       Monterrey Jack, the recipe called for Kraft Mexican                                                                               style shredded cheese)   Use more if you like


Heat oven to 375F.  Brown meat & onions on medium high heat in a large skillet.  Add tomatoes and corn; cook 5 minutes more, until heated through. stirring occasionally.
Spoon 1 cup (2, if you doubled the meat)   into a large, round casserole.  Cover with three tortillas, overlapping if necessary to fit.  Top with 2 more cups of meat mixture and 1/2 cup cheese (or more if desired) Cover with remaining tortillas and remaining meat mixture.  Cover.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until heated through.  Top with remaining cheese; bake uncovered, 5 minutes longer, until the cheese is melted.  Cut into wedges.  Top with sour cream, salsa, chopped green onions and/or cilantro if you like.                                                  

Cranberry Chicken

Another busy week.  It seems they are getting busier all the time, even though I can't quite pinpoint any real changes in our schedules.  Then again lately by 9:15 I'm all in and feeling like it's midnight.  Thankfully Emily is becoming more helpful and lightening the load more than a little.  She balks from time to time, but it is rare, I admit, and usually the reminder that she's got it better than a lot of people pulls her back in line.  She as fretting the other day about her tablet not having enough memory, and wanting me to dash into Staples right now for a new SD card.  I was tired & not a little frustrated when I finally snapped at her, "There are children in this world who don't have a roof over their heads and you're crying because you can't play enough stuff on your tablet!"  A little harsh, but, tears over things that really don't matter in the grand scheme of things irritate me.
Anyway.  Sunday afternoon she began perusing cookbooks and magazines for what she wanted to cook.  She found a recipe for Moroccan Chicken with couscous that sounded pretty good, but I really didn't want to buy a rotisserie chicken.  And, honestly, I wasn't in the mood for couscous.  I flipped through one of my notebooks, looking for something easy.  I suggested Chicken Primavera, or Kung Pao Chicken, then showed her the recipe for Cranberry Chicken.  I was surprised she chose it, since she generally skips the cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Still, it's a good recipe, and easy.  I dug some chicken breasts out of the deep freeze Monday morning, and stopped on my way home for cranberry sauce and French dressing (not something I usually buy, preferring Ranch & Caesar).
When I got home I had her start the rice, since brown rice takes about three times as long as white, but I think it tastes better (ok, it tastes like something.  White rice is only a vehicle for sauce).  Emily stirred together a can of cranberry sauce, a packet of onion soup mix and the French dressing.  She was preparing to line a baking sheet with parchment for the chicken before I pointed out the sauce would be everywhere if she did that.  I handed her a baking dish instead and she arranged the chicken in that, before pouring her sauce over the chicken  and putting it in the oven to bake.

Dinner was very good, again, as always, and we had leftovers for lunch the next day, which is always a bonus.

Cranberry Chicken

1 -16oz can whole berry cranberry sauce                    Juice of half a lemon (about 1 1/2 tbsp)

1 packet onion soup mix                                              2 pounds chicken

10-12 ounces French dressing (1 small bottle)           

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Combine all the ingredients except the chicken.  Arrange the chicken in a baking dish, pour the sauce over.  Bake 30-45 minutes, until done.*

* I used boneless chicken breasts, but bone-in chicken works too.  Boneless chicken needs less cooking time.  This also makes a lot of sauce, so 1 - 250 ml bottle of dressing is ample.

Fish Tacos

Easter week was busy, as holiday weeks seem to be.  We were away at my mother's for Easter.  It was wonderful to spend time with the family, eat well and celebrate the resurrection.  Life is good.  We didn't come home until Monday afternoon, so Emily didn't cook until Wednesday.  Her aunt has been in possession of our Fish Taco recipe for some time, but she wanted to see the method, and try them first, which I absolutely understand.
 I had heard about fish tacos for ages, but, loving beef tacos, couldn't quite imagine them.  Emily talked me into going to Taco Time one day a year or so ago when we were shopping.  I figured for $2.50 I could try a fish taco and not be out much if I decided they were not for me.  As it turned out I thought they were quite tasty and came home and did an internet search for a recipe. When I emerged from the rabbit hole that recipe searching on the internet can be I had found I recipe I thought would work.  It has had a few modifications, but has become a favourite in our household.  I'm not a fan of reheated fish, but these I will do a  leftover lunch the next day.
Emily waited until her aunt arrived to make the marinade, while I assembled the coleslaw for a topping.  I used packaged coleslaw and bottled dressing, but to the dressing I added a splash of lime juice and a generous pinch of chili powder to give the dressing a nice kick.
Once my sister arrived Emily combined vegetable oil (she used canola, but I usually use olive oil) lime juice, garlic, cumin and chili powder.  Into this mixture she added several Basa filets, and after about 15 minutes took them out to the barbecue.
The fish did not take very long to cook and before long we were enjoying our tacos.  Into soft shells (which I prefer to the hard ones, but use what you like) we put a filet half, topping it with peach mango salsa (a nice change, a little sweeter, than traditional salsa) sour cream and the spicy coleslaw.

I suppose you could add in any other toppings you like, but the simplicity of these flavours is rather nice.  I neglected to take a picture, so you'll just have to take my word for it.  They are delicious, fast and easy.


Fish Tacos

Juice of 1/2 a lime (1- 1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 medium clove of garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Combine & marinate mild white meat fish filets (basa, tilapia, cod, etc) for about 15 minutes.  The marinade can be doubled easily if you are doing more than about 3 filets.  Grill, bake or pan fry the fish until done.  Top with peach mango salsa (or whatever you like) sour cream & coleslaw.

Skillet Sweet Potatoes

My post is a trifle late this week.  It was a busy week filled with preparations for Easter; baking hot cross buns and steeling myself from eating all the lovely chocolate treats I bought for the kids.  We spent the weekend in Cardston celebrating and feasting with family, and as wonderful as that was it is good to be back home.

I had purchased steaks on Sunday last week, along with the shrimp I prepared for Sunday supper.  Emily decided that she could manage the barbecue and I suggested she do the sweet potato recipe I discovered last week.  While she peeled and diced a pair of sweet potatoes (yams, actually, but whatever...) I seasoned the steaks with a seasoning blend I make myself.
I helped her measure a couple of teaspoons of coconut oil into a large skillet.  She added the sweet potatoes, tossing them gently to coat.  Once the potatoes were coated with the oil she sprinkled them with a mixture of sea salt, cinnamon and parsley.  I thought I had been a trifle sparse with the test batch, so I decided to add a little extra cinnamon to her salt mixture....but the bottle slipped, and I wound up adding far too much!  Oops.  Still they turned out ok.
I helped Emily light the barbecue, and once the steaks were on she came in to prepare some broccoli to steam.  She also wanted corn, but decided 1 can was not enough.  For the record two cans is far too much.
Nonetheless, errors in measurement and judgement aside, dinner was delicious.

Skillet Sweet Potatoes

1 sweet potato

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

ground cinnamon to taste 

2 teaspoons coconut oil

Peel & dice the sweet potato into bite sized pieces (about 1/2" cubes)

Over medium heat heat the coconut oil.  Once the oil is hot add the sweet potatoes, stir to coat all the potatoes with the coconut oil, then add the salt, parsley & cinnamon.  Mix well.  

Cook the potatoes, stirring occasionally for about 15-20 minutes.  Don't let them burn but make sure they get nice & crispy.  Cooking time may vary depending on the size of your potatoes and the heat of  your stove.

*We doubled this, one sweet potato is not enough- unless you buy a very large one.

Prairie Casserole

It's been a busy week again, and the time change, losing that hour of sleep, did nothing to help.  While it does mark the beginning of Spring and has not really upset my internal clock much since my kids were babies (when the time change meant meal times & naps were slow to re-coordinate)
I'm still trying to get my feet back under me though.  The flu hit me hard and I"m still battling a lack of energy.
Emily had seen this recipe in my notebook last week and thought it looked good.  As it happens it is good.  I haven't made it in ages because I don't want leftovers for too long, but now that Emily is eating almost adult sized portions and taking leftovers to school it isn't such a big issue.  And if there is still too much I make TV dinners to freeze for Peter to eat when he's working.
When I got home from work Monday I suggested Emily start cooking, since the casserole takes 30 minutes to bake, plus cooking & prep time.  While she chopped the onion I grated the heels of a couple of blocks of cheese.
The recipe calls for a 6 ounce can of tomato paste or sauce.  Since I rarely use these things, and often simply omit it from this recipe I had neglected to buy it.  But Emily wanted it, so I dashed off to the store, leaving her to start browning the ground beef with the onion and starting water to boil to cook the noodles.
Once the water was boiling I handed Emily the package of broad egg noodles.  She glanced at her recipe and told me it called for "flat noodles", not egg noodles.  I explained that the egg noodles were what I usually used, and they are indeed flat.  I have, incidentally, used rotini in a pinch, and once even used rice.
Once the meat was browned she spooned it into a casserole dish and then stirred in two cans of tomato soup, the cheese and the cooked noodles, along with a can of corn.  As I helped her stir (It is easier to mix everything in the skillet, if you choose a big, deep one) I noticed she had forgotten the tomato paste!.
While the casserole baked Emily did the dishes, cleaning up her considerable cooking mess.
Dinner was, as always, very good.  The casserole tasted the way I remembered it.  It was one of my favourites for pot luck suppers once upon a time.

Prairie Casserole

1/2 package flat noodles (broad egg noodles)      1 can niblet corn

1 cup sliced onion                                                 1 garlic clove, minced (optional)

1 pound ground beef                                             1/2 cup green pepper, chopped (optional)

1-6 ounce can tomato paste or sauce                    2 cans tomato soup, or 12 ounce can tomato juice

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce                        2 cups grated cheese

Cook the noodles according to the package directions, drain & set aside.  Meanwhile brown the beef, onions, pepper & garlic.  Combine all the ingredients in a 3 quart casserole dish.  Bake, uncovered at 350 F for 30 minutes.

Chinese Noodle Casserole

I spent much of last weekend shuttling Emily to and from a birthday party and making giant cookies for the Grade six band bake sale this past Thursday.  A triple batch of my favourite oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe made a full 25 cookies 6" across.  They were a hit at the bake sale too, it seemed.
Emily wanted to make Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars, but they can't go to school because they have a nut-free policy.  I put her off, but she decided, since they were no bake, she could make them on Monday while I was at work, since she had (another!) day off school.  I can't help but wonder if I could get a day off for spiritual development....
While I was making supper Sunday night I found myself hungry for an old favourite.  I looked up the recipe and decided Emily could manage it, so instead of asking her what she wanted to make, I simply took ground bison out of the freezer and told her this was the menu.
Monday afternoon I got a call at the office.  "Mom, what is a "oz"?  I went on Google and asked how much was 12 oz of chocolate, but Google's being dumb."
I had to laugh.  She was looking at my handwritten recipe, that calls for 12 ounces of chocolate chips, which I have abbreviated "oz".  I explained that oz was short for ounce, and she needed about a cup and a half of chips.
Later that afternoon, once I was home, she started preparing the casserole for supper, assuring me she could do it by herself.  It wasn't long before she asked me if I'd chop the onions for her, until I reminded her she said she was doing it alone.  The chewing gum trick still doesn't work.
The recipe she was using is another handwritten one, copied years ago out of a newspaper.  I kept my transcription brief, details were not necessary I didn't believe.   At least not until Emily asked if she was supposed to cut the celery up.  I laughed and told her that no, she could just stick a whole stalk into the casserole.  Then I explained about leaving out words when I copy recipes because to me some things just go without saying.  She chopped the celery.
We had a similar conversation after she collected her ingredients.  I had written "Brown onion, celery and beef..."  and she asked what she should brown it in.  I asked her what she thought - a mixing bowl?  the kitchen sink? the microwave?  A skillet she decided.  From there it was smooth sailing, until she cut her finger on a soup can lid.  I bandaged her up and sent her back to the stove.  She did manage to make dinner all by herself, although I did help pour the meat and sauce into a casserole dish.
As she was cooking Emily noticed another recipe on the facing page, and commented that it looked good too.  She's right, it is good, and will be on this week's menu.

Chinese Noodle Casserole

1 cup chopped onion                             1 cup chopped celery

1 can tomato soup                                  1 lb ground beef

2 tablespoons soy sauce                         1 can mushroom soup

4 ounces chow mein noodles

Brown onion, celery and beef in a large skillet.  Stir in soups and soy sauce along with 3/4 of the noodles.  Stir to combine and pour into a medium sized (1 1/2 quart) casserole dish. Sprinkle with the remaining noodles.  Bake, uncovered 45 minutes at 350F

* I like lots of noodles so I add several generous handfuls rather than measuring.

Reese's Bars

2 1/2 cups Graham wafer crumbs           1 cup melted margarine

12 ounces chocolate chips                       2 3/4 cups icing sugar

1 cup peanut butter

Melt the chocolate and set aside.  Combine the remaining ingredients and press into an ungreased 9x13" pan.  Pour the chocolate over.  Refrigerate, cut into squares before completely cool, after about 15 minutes in the fridge.  Decorate each square with a peanut if desired.