Cajun Chicken Alfredo

I'm not much of a pasta fan, but this recipe was so awesome I even had seconds!  It's Guy Fieri's recipe for Cajun Chicken Alfredo, and it's delicious.  I used the blackening spice on 3 chicken breasts and left the fourth chicken breast plain because I thought the seasonings would be too hot for my kids.  But I discovered that even though the chicken is quite spicy on its own, it really isn't spicy at all once you mix it into the pasta sauce.  I also discovered that 4 chicken breasts is just way too much chicken, so I only used 3 all together and saved the last blackened chicken breast for tomorrow's lunch (Cajun Chicken Caesar Salad maybe?)

This is sooooooooooo good!!!

Guinness Chocolate Cake

So my littlest man is just over 2 weeks old now, and according to the scale he weighs 1.5 lbs. less than he did at birth.  We aren't in panic mode (yet), but I figured it couldn't hurt to boost up my milk supply, and apparently Guinness beer is supposed to help with that.  I drank a little bit of it last night, and surprise surprise, I hate Guinness.  (I am not a beer drinker... I'm much more of a Mojito/Margarita/Sangria kinda gal.)  So if I can't drink it, I might as well bake with it!

CHOCOLATE GUINNESS CAKE (I halved this recipe from Ricardo)

1 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. + 2 tbsp. butter

1 1/4 c. Guinness

1/2 c. cocoa (I only used 1/4 c. of Epicure cocoa)

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 eggs

6 tbsp. Greek yogurt (I used black cherry Greek yogurt - original recipe just calls for sour cream)

Sift flour and baking soda together and set aside.  Melt butter with Guiness and cocoa and let it cool.  In a large bowl, combine sugars and salt, and gradually add cocoa mixture, eggs, and flour mixture.  Pour into a greased 8" or 9" pan and bake at 350 F for 35-45 minutes.

Top with icing (halved from this recipe in Chatelaine):

1 1/2 c. icing sugar

2-4 tbsp. cocoa

1/4 c. butter

2 1/2 tbsp. Guinness

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Sift together icing sugar and cocoa.  Cream butter.  Mix in half the icing sugar mixture (it will be crumbly) and then add Guinness and vanilla and continue beating.  Beat in remaining icing sugar mixture until smooth.

Not sure if it will make much of a difference to my milk supply, but let me tell you, that is one damn good chocolate cake!

Boozey Sticky Toffee Pudding (in minutes!)

Saw this on Pinterest and I had 5 minutes to kill, so I thought I'd give it a try... with a "Kathy's Kitchen" twist (aka - I added booze to it.)
BOOZEY STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING (adapted from this recipe)
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. brown sugar
3 tbsp. flour
pinch of salt
1 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. liqueur (I used Baileys, but Kahlua would be awesome too!)
chocolate (optional)

In a rammekin, melt butter in the microwave.  Stir in sugar, flour, salt, milk, and liqueur.  Pop in the microwave for 1 minute.  Put some chopped chocolate on top (I just shoved a Baileys-filled chocolate in the middle) and let it sit for a minute so the chocolate starts to melt.  Serve on its own or with a scoop of ice cream.  (The original recipe suggests caramel sauce, which would be delicious, but this cake is pretty darn sweet so I think something creamy would be a better topping.)

As soon as I cracked open the chocolate, this pudding turned into a delicious mess of Baileys, chocolate, and ooey-gooey warm sponge cake.

Sausage, Tomato, and Spinach Pasta

This recipe came from two recipes in my "Everday Food" magazine that I mashed together.

SAUSAGE, TOMATO & SPINACH PASTA
1 lb. ground sausage
3 leeks, white part only, finely chopped
1/2 c. dry white wine
4 shallots, sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes
4-6 handfuls of baby spinach
salt & pepper
cooked pasta
grated Parmesan and Romano cheese

Brown sausage in a frying pan.  Add leeks and cook for a few minutes until softened.  Add white wine and simmer until almost evaoprated.  While leeks are cooking and wine is simmering, heat some olive oil in a separate frying pan.  Add shallots and tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes start to blister.  Add spinach a few handfuls at a time until it wilts down.  Add this to the sausage mixture and season with salt & pepper.  Toss with cooked pasta and top with cheese before serving.

I likely could have mad this in just one frying pan, by taking out the sausage after it browned, and then doing all the veggies and adding the sausage back at the end.  The sausage/veggie mixture was so delicious, I could have just eaten that for supper.  I honestly hate pasta, so I picked out my noodles and gave them to the kids, who picked out their tomatoes and gave them to me.  We were all happy.

Birthday Party Food

It was my husband's birthday party last night, so I made tons of appetizers for the event.  Here are the recipes:

BAKED BRIE WITH APRICOT & JALAPENO
1 brie wheel, with the top sliced off
apricot marmalade
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
crushed pecans

Spread the marmalade on top of the cheese, and sprinkle with jalapeno and pecans.  Bake until gooey, and serve with crackers or bread.

I took the picture before it went in the oven, because it's not nearly as pretty after it's all melted
(but it tastes soooo good!)


SALSA (this recipe was used to make the world's largest bowl of salsa!)
4 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
6 tbsp. red onion, diced
1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped
6 mint leaves, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper

SUSHI ROLLS (see how to make them here)
nori papers
2 c. sushi rice (soak in 3 1/2 c. water for 30 minutes, then bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover slightly with the lid and simmer for 10 minutes or until water is all gone.  Turn off the burner but leave the pot there and put the lid on tight for 10 minutes.  Stir in 3-4 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar.)
smoked salmon
1/2 cucumber, cut into long skinny pieces
1 avocado. sliced




PINEAPPLE CRAB MUSRHOOMS (adapted from the cookbook "Just Add Rum!" by Angela Spenceley)
1 can crab meat
1/2 small onion, diced
1 garlic cloved, minced
1/8 c. red bell pepper, diced
1/8 c. pineapple, diced
1/8 c. mushroom stems, diced
1 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
2 tsp. butter
2 tsp. rum
pepper
approx. 30 mushrooms, stems removed

Sauté onions, garlic, red pepper, and mushroom stems in some oil in a frying pan.  Add crab, pineapple, and parsley and sauté for 1-2 minutes.  Add breadcrumbs, butter, rum, and pepper and mix well.  Spoon into mushroom caps and place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes.

EXTRAORDINARY CHEESE DIP (I don't have a picture, but there is one on the link.)

All of these appetizers were delicious (either that, or our friends are just really polite and ate everything to make me feel good!)

Bad Day Chicken

Today sucked.  No need to get into the specifics of it, it was just "one of those days".  I had planned to make a roast chicken with veggies, but I needed to kick it up a notch to counteract the horribleness of today.  So I brought out the bacon, and I brought out the booze, and I showed that chicken who's boss!

BACON & BEER ROASTED CHICKEN & VEGGIES
1 roasting chicken
whatever seasoning you like (I used some of Epicure's Turkey Rub and Maple Spice, and salt & pepper)
olive oil
4 bacon slices
3-4 carrots, thickly sliced
2 onions, chopped
1 beer

Place chicken in a roasting pan.  Rub with spices and drizzle with olive oil.  Lay bacon over the breasts and drumsticks, and then pour a little beer overtop.  Put in the oven at 400-450F for 25-30 minutes.  Add the the chopped vegetables and pour some more beer over them.  Cover and reduce heat to 350 F for 1 hour or until chicken is done (mine took about 1 h. 15 min.)  Make a gravy with the liquid in the bottom of the roaster by adding more beer and some flour to thicken it up.

BEER MASHED POTATOES
5-6 potatoes, scrubbed and chopped (leave the peels on)
1 bottle of beer
water
2 tbsp. butter
3-4 tbsp. whipping cream or milk
crumbled bacon slices

Add potatoes to a pot and pour beer over them.  Add enough water to cover the potatoes.  Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are soft.  Drain liquid, add butter and whipping cream, and mash the potatoes.  Fold in the crumbled bacon.

This was scrumptious.  The kids were over the moon when they saw that there was bacon mashed into their potatoes.  I think the words, "You're the best mom ever!" came out of their mouths.  The chicken and veggies were super tender, and well, the potatoes, were fantastic.  Drizzling it all with beer gravy didn't hurt one bit either!

Comfort Food

Winter has arrived on the prairies (with a vengeance!) and I have some great comfort food recipes to share with you.

CHICKEN STEW WITH DUMPLINGS (from Canadian Living)

I followed the recipe almost exactly - I just added a little extra cream (because cream is good) and I needed to make some more roux (melt butter and flour, cook for a minute and then whisk in some broth) to thicken it up a little more. I didn't have any thyme or frozen peas, so I just left those out, and I used 4 chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs. It made a huge pot of stew, and it was heavenly.

MOCHA PUDDING CAKE (from Epicure Selections)

I followed this recipe exactly, and baked it in my Epicure dip baker. I think I overbaked it slightly, but it was still delicious, and I ate 3 pieces of it the next day. I think it's safe to say that next time I would use Kahlua instead of coffee, because that would just be awesome.

Chicken Stew

I had some leftover mushrooms from last night, along with lots of leftover wine from a wine-and-cheese party we had on Friday night. I searched through my Liquor-laced recipes to see what I could do with the wine, and I decided to make Coq au vin. I've made it a couple times (you can search for the recipes using the search box on the right hand side of my blog), and it's one of my favourites. I didn't have exactly the right ingredients, so I thought I'd improvise and turn it into some sort of chicken stew.

CHICKEN STEW

8 slices of bacon, chopped

2 c. mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. flour

2 c. red or white wine

2 c. chicken broth

1 small chicken (remove as much of the skin as possible)

3 carrots, sliced

2 bay leaves

Cook bacon in a frying pan, and then set aside. Reserve the bacon grease and sauté the mushrooms. Set aside, and then sauté the onion, garlic, and bell peppers. (I cooked half the bacon first, then used the grease to brown the mushrooms, then cooked the rest of the bacon so I'd have more bacon grease for the remaining veggies.) The veggies don't need to be thoroughly cooked, just slightly softened and golden. When everything is out of the pan, add a splash of wine and scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pan. Add butter and flour and whisk till smooth, cooking for about 1 minute. Whisk in wine and broth and bring to a simmer. Place chicken in crockpot and dump bacon and veggies on top. Stir in carrots. Pour wine mixture overtop and add bay leaves. Season with salt & pepper if you like. Cook on high for 4 hours. Serve with french bread to soak up the yummy broth!

(Coq au vin is never very photogenic, and apparently this chicken stew is no different. But trust me, it tastes great and everyone loved it!)

Campfire Fajitas and Beans

We went camping this weekend with another family and we each took a turn making supper for everyone. My turn was on Saturday night, and I decided to make fajitas and a side dish of black beans. I didn't take a picture, but here's a rough idea of the recipe:

CAMPFIRE FAJITAS (this fed 8 people)
Take three ziploc freezer bags and fill them with the following:

1. 3 chicken breasts (cut into strips), some Tex-Mex seasoning, 1/3 c. tequila, 2-3 tbsp. lime juice, and 2-3 tbsp. olive oil
2. 1 inside round steak (cut into strips), and the same seasonings & marinade as the chicken
3. 2 onions and 3 red bell peppers (cut into strips)

The meat can be frozen in the ziploc bags before you put it in the cooler and head out camping.

Heat a large pan over the fire and cook the veggies until they are soft. The peppers should start to blacken a little, and the onions should be nice and golden. Set them aside in a large container covered with tinfoil. Cook the chicken, and then cook the beef, adding each one to the container with the veggies when they are done. Serve meat and veggies in tortillas along with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and grated cheese.

CAMPFIRE BEANS
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 onion, diced
1 tomato, diced (I used some leftover canned Italian tomatoes that I had put in the freezer)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. cumin

Mix everything together in a frying pan over the fire. Simmer for quite a while, until the onions are soft and liquid has evaporated. Serve as a side dish, or wrap in a tortilla with some sour cream and grated cheese.

These are colourful and tasty and wonderful! Camping season may be over now, but I'll definitely be making this entire meal again soon.

Cream of Brie Soup with Lemon Asparagus Risotto

This doesn't happen very often, but I have a vegetarian meal for you! (Okay, it uses chicken broth, so I guess it's not perfect, but you could totally use vegetable broth instead.)

While I was in Quebec, I looked through a Ricardo cookbook and jotted down a few recipes that looked good. One was for Cream of Brie Soup with Mushroom Duxelles.

This soup was easy to make, and if you like brie, you'll love this. I only like brie in small doses, so I found this soup a little too strong for my taste, and so did my daughter. But my husband loved it, and after much convincing, my son even tried a spoonful.... and then ate 10 more (willingly!)

The other part of tonight's meal was Lemon Asparagus Risotto, which I saw on an episode of French Food at Home.
The risotto was easy, but tedious, to make. You have to add the hot broth a little bit at a time and stir the rice while it soaks up the liquid. It took at least 30 minutes, but it was worth it! The lemon zest and sautéed asparagus were perfect with the creamy risotto. I absolutely loved it, and even though it was a lot of work, I can't wait to try a few other flavour combinations in risotto. (FYI - I used Arborio rice to make the risotto, and a Chardonnay for all the white wine in the recipes.)

This was a filling, flavourful meal - I hope you'll try it sometime!

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

I finally watched "Julie & Julia" while on holidays this summer, and I loved the part when she makes Boeuf Bourguignon (although I hated the way she pronounced it - boeuf rhymes with hoof, not roof! Although if you are American, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about!)

I decided to find out what all the fuss was about. I mean, it's just beef stew, isn't it? My sister (the chef) assures me that it is not just beef stew.... if it's made properly.

I searched for Julia's recipe online, and found a version of it on Oprah.com. With only some minor modifications, here's what I came up with:

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON

1 head of garlic

2 tbsp. red wine

8 slices of bacon (preferably thick-cut), cut into 2" pieces

3 lbs. roast beef, cut into 2" pieces

3 carrots, sliced

1 onion, sliced

salt & pepper

2 tbsp. flour (I think I used closer to 3 or 4 tbsp.)

3 c. red wine (I only had 2 1/2 c. so I added 1/2 c. beef broth)

2 c. beef broth

1 tbsp. tomato paste

1 bay leaf (I used 3 small ones)

18-24 pearl onions, braised in stock

2 c. white mushrooms, quartered and sautéed in butter

Preheat oven to 450 F. Take the head of garlic and slice off the top so that it exposes all the cloves. Set in tinfoil and pour 2 tbsp. red wine over top. Wrap it up in the tinfoil and put in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

In a large pot, cook bacon pieces until lightly browned. Set bacon aside but keep the grease in the pot. Pat the pieces of beef with a paper towel (this is a key step!) and brown in the bacon grease on all sides. Do this in batches, and set the meat aside with the bacon. Add carrots and onions to the pot and sauté for a few minutes. (I only had about 1 tbsp. of bacon grease left by this point, but it was just enough to coat the veggies.)

Return beef and bacon to the pot and season with a little salt and pepper. Coat the meat with flour and then put the pot (uncovered) in the oven on the middle rack for 4 minutes. Toss the meat some more and return to the oven for another 4 minutes. Set the pot on the stove and reduce the oven to 325 F. (Leave your garlic in there if it's not done yet.)

Stir in wine and add enough broth to just barely cover the meat. Add tomato paste, garlic, and bay leaf. (To add the garlic, remove it from the tinfoil and turn it over so the cut-side is down. Mash it with a spoon until the garlic cloves slide out of their skins, and toss the garlic cloves into the pot.) Bring stew to a simmer, then cover the pot and place in the oven on the bottom rack. Cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

While stew is cooking, braise the pearl onions (I followed this method for brown-braised onions) and sauté mushrooms in butter.

When stew is ready, drain the liquid through a strainer overtop of a saucepan. Add onions and mushrooms to the beef and vegetables. Skim fat off the drippings in the saucepan and simmer for until sauce lightly coats the back of a wooden spoon. (There should be about 2 1/2 c. sauce when it's done. The recipe says to simmer for a couple minutes, but I had mine going for at least half an hour before it thickened up nicely, and there was probably at least 3 c. of sauce.) Pour over meat and vegetables and serve with crusty bread.

I made this yesterday and saved it for supper tonight. It was delicious, and everyone enjoyed it. I would definitely make this again, although I'm not convinced that it needs to be quite so time-consuming.... I'm pretty sure if you cooked the bacon, browned the beef, and then tossed everything in the slow cooker you'd be good to go. I liked thickening the sauce afterwards, just to make it richer and heartier, and I loved roasting the whole head of garlic in red wine. But this business of cooking the mushrooms and pearl onions separately, and browning the beef in the oven for 8 minutes before adding the liquid, well, I'm not sure it's necessary. (Julia Child is probably rolling over in her grave right now! Sorry, Julia.)

There is something special about preparing this stew though. Anyone can toss meat and veggies in a slowcooker and turn it on before they go to work. The house will smell great, the stew will taste great, and everyone's happy. But when you spend so much time in the kitchen, taking the extra time to pat your meat dry, braise your pearl onions, and sauté your mushrooms in butter..... I was proud of that stew when I served it up for my family tonight! That was a labour of love, and it paid off. Even though it was a lot more work than regular stew, I enjoyed making it, and I definitely enjoyed eating it. Hopefully that will redeem me in Julia's eyes.

Creative Cuisine - Possibly my best meal EVER!

Tonight's supper consists of three brand new recipes, and they are all a little on the "experimental" side. Luckily, this experiment worked! (And if you agree after reading this, please share this post on Facebook or Twitter - there are links at the top of this post.)

First off we have Raspberry Chipotle Garlic Pork Tenderloin. Yes, that's a mouthful to say, but I couldn't come up with a snappier name for it (feel free to suggest something.) This recipe was inspired by a 2 second clip I saw on the Food Network while I was flying from Montreal to Halifax a couple weeks ago. There was a commercial for some type of BBQ show, and I saw a big batch of raspberry purée. I have no idea what they were going to do with it, but my mind came up with the perfect idea:

RASPBERRY CHIPOTLE GARLIC PORK TENDERLOIN

1 c. frozen raspberries

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/8 - 1/4 tsp. Chipotle Chili powder

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 pork tenderloin

In a sauce pan, gently simmer the first three ingredients till sugar is dissolved and most of the raspberries are broken up. Set aside to cool. Rub garlic over the pork, leaving the minced pieces stuck to the side of the meat. Pour the raspberry mixture over both sides of the pork, reserving some of the sauce for later. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours. Grill on the BBQ over medium-high heat for about 4-5 minutes on each side (top, bottom, and both sides). Tent with tinfoil and let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Heat the reserved raspberry mixture until simmering, and serve with the pork.

This had the perfect balance of sweet and heat, and it was super juicy and tender. The whole family loved it.

Next we have a side dish that my friend Lisa suggested to me a few months ago. I bookmarked the site, and finally decided to try out this recipe for Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mangoes. I used maple syrup instead of honey in the dressing, and I used a peach instead of a mango, because the mangoes weren't ripe at the grocery store.

You have to make this salad. It's spectacular! I especially loved the peaches and cilantro. (And the kids even ate it, although they picked out some of the things they didn't like.)

For dessert, I made some sort of green tropical fruit jello for the kids, and I made Sangria jello for the grown-ups! I can't remember what prompted this creation, but at some point during my holiday in Quebec I decided that I simply had to try making jello that tasted like Sangria. It was quite possibly my greatest idea ever.

SANGRIA JELLO

1 pkg. orange flavoured jello

1 c. boiling water

1 c. red wine (chilled)

slices of strawberries, nectarines, oranges (or whatever fruit you like, but not pineapple or kiwi because the jello won't set)

Dissolve jello in boiling water. Add cold red wine. Put some fruit in the bottom of 4 wine glasses and pour jello overtop. Refrigerate until jello has set.

I was worried that this might be absolutely awful, but trust me, it was magical! It would be nice with peach jello and white wine too I think.
All of these recipes were ridiculously simple to make, and they turned out perfectly! I hope you'll try them! Now I'm going to get drunk off the rest of my jello....

Blueberry Mojitos

If you know me in real life, you've probably seen me drink a mojito or two. I heart mojitos. Tonight we're having friends over for a campfire, and I decided to try some blueberry mojitos. I took a whiff of my sisters Blueberry Mint tea the other day, and I was sold on the idea of blueberry and mint together. Add a little alcohol, and it's darn near perfection!



BLUEBERRY MOJITOS
5 mint leaves
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. lime juice
1 oz. blueberry vodka (mojitos are usually made with rum, but I figured this would be more appropriate)
fresh blueberries
club soda



Put mint leaves, sugar, and lime juice in a glass. Muddle mint leaves with the back of a spoon to release the flavour. Add vodka and blueberries, and top it up with club soda.

Some of my other favourite mojito variations are:

• using Summer Berry or Tropical Fruit Dip Mixes instead of sugar (fantastic!!!!)
• using raspberry gingerale instead of club soda
• rimming the glass with Mojito Rim Trimmer
• adding fresh or frozen fruit (I've only tried raspberries and blueberries, but there are lots more I'd like to try: peaches, mangoes, blackberries, strawberries, and even cucumber!)

Hope you like my marvelous mojitos!

Caribbean Supper

I've started taping the recipe show Best Recipes Ever each day, and I really like the simple, quick menus that they show. This week they had a Caribbean-inspired meal that looked delicious and so easy to make, so I whipped it up tonight for supper. Here are the recipes:

JERK PORKCHOPS (I made a larger batch, and changed up the spices slightly)

8 bone-in porkchops

4 tbsp. soy sauce

4 tbsp. orange juice

4 tbsp. olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

6 green onions, finely chopped

4 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice (or allspice or Jamaican Jerk Seasoning)

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Mix together soy sauce, orange juice, oil, garlic, green onions, and spices. Lay porkchops in a glass baking dish. Rub spice mixture into porkchops and pour excess sauce overtop. Marinate for a couple hours if you have time, then transfer to a grill pan or roasting pan. Bake at 375 F for 7-9 minutes per side.

PEAS, PEPPERS & RICE
1 tbsp. oil

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

3/4 c. rice

1 1/2 c. vegetable stock

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

salt & pepper

1 c. frozen peas

Heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Sauté onions until soft, then add bell pepper and rice, stirring to coat the rice with oil. Add remaining ingredients (except peas) and bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add peas and fluff with a fork. Keep the lid on for a few minutes to let the peas thaw before serving.

GRILLED PINEAPPLE (This recipe came from my friend Kimberly)

1 pineapple, peeled and cut into 1/2" slices (you can core it if you like, but I left it whole)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. lemon juice (or use all lime or all lemon juice)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat grill (I used an indoor grill, but you could do them on the bbq.) Combine brown sugar, juices, and cinnamon and brush over one side of the pineapple slices. Lay that side down on the hot grill and brush the other side with more of the sugar mixture while they are grilling. Grill for 5 min. per side. Can be served with rice and porkchops, or as a dessert with vanilla icecream.

GINGER BEER SHANDY

ice

fresh lime juice

ginger beer

lager

Fill a glass half-full with ice, and squeeze a little lime juice overtop. Pour in equal parts ginger beer (or ginger ale if you can't find ginger beer) and your favourite lager.

Everything was awesome! I'm loving the ginger beer shandy -- I think I might go make myself another one!

Enoy the long weekend!!

Bud Light Lime and Seafood for supper

Many of you know how fond I am of cooking with booze. It makes me feel classy, even though it really proves the exact opposite.

Tonight's meal is brought to you by Bud Light Lime. It was the only beer we had in the fridge, so I figured it would do the trick for some Beer-Battered Tilapia and some Beer-Steamed Mussels.

BEER-BATTERED TILAPIA

3 tilapia fillets

about 2 tbsp. lime juice

2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

2 tbsp. oil

salt & pepper

Batter:

2 egg yolks

1/2 c. Bud Light Lime

1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

salt

Combine lime juice, parsley, oil, salt & pepper and pour over the tilapia fillets. Mix together the batter ingredients and coat the fillets on all sides. Heat some cooking oil in a fying pan and cook the fish for about 4-5 minutes per side.

BEER-STEAMED MUSSELS

mussels, rinsed under cold water

1/2 c. Bud Light Lime

1 stalk of celery, sliced

1 slice of onion, diced

Put everything in a pot and heat on the stove over high heat for about 5-7 minutes, until mussels open up. Discard any that didn't open up.

I'll be honest with you - this meal was bland. Mediocre at best. My son loved the fish, which tells you exactly how bland it must have been. It needed some lime zest or something to give it a lot more flavour. The mussels were fine, but of course the kids didn't eat those. It certainly wasn't a horrible meal by any means, but I wouldn't rush out and make it again. Next time I'll stick with my favourite tilapia recipe instead.

Rum & Coke Ham

I've been dying to try out this recipe, and I finally got the chance tonight. It was worth the wait. We had a big family supper in lieu of Easter dinner (since we were all busy on the weekend), and here's what I made:

And here are the recipes:

RUM & COKE HAM

1 butt-end ham (bone-in, no slices removed, no water added)

2 L Coke (you won't use all of it)

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. prepared mustard

1 tbsp. dry mustard

2 tbsp. rum

2 limes, juiced

Place ham on a layer of onions, carrots, and/or celery in a roasting pan (use the vegetables instead of a roasting rack.) Pour in 4 c. Coke, and loosely cover the ham with tinfoil. Put in the oven at 325 F for 1 hour. Meanwhile, pour 3 c. Coke into a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil, simmering over medium heat until reduced to 1/2 a cup. (I only reduced mine to about 1 cup because I forgot to do it until the ham had already been in the oven for 30 minutes.) Stir in brown sugar, prepared mustard, dry mustard, rum, and lime juice. Once ham has cooked for 1 hour, start basting it with the rum & coke glaze every 10-15 minutes for the next 45 minutes or so. Transfer ham to a platter and tent it with tinfoil, allowing it to sit for 15 minutes before carving.

SPINACH & FRUIT SALAD WITH POPPYSEED DRESSING
1 head of spinach
1/2 cucumber, sliced
1 apple, chopped
6 strawberries, sliced
1/2 c. blueberries
1/4 c. blackberries
(you could also add mandarins, candied pecans, avocados, etc.)

Dressing:
1/3 c. raspberry vinegar
2/3 c. olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp. Poppyseed Dressing
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. mayonnaise

Toss together salad ingredients. Whisk together dressing ingredients, and spoon over salad.

For the other two side dishes, I made asparagus (snap the ends off, drizzle with olive oil and a little sea salt - I used Tuscan Rub - and then bake in the oven at 350F for 10 minutes. Turn the broiler on for another 5 minutes and then serve) and smashed potatoes.

This meal was soooooo good! The ham was delicious. The glaze was amazing. The salad was delightful, and the asparagus and potatoes were yummy too. I couldn't have asked for things to turn out any better. And to top it all off, we had Carlyle Bakery cinnamon buns for dessert!!! (If you're from Saskatchewan, you should know what I'm talking about. If you're not, well then you're missing out on the best cinnamon buns in the world!) All in all, this meal was undeniably one of the best (and easiest) I've ever made!

Maple Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Last night at cooking class, we made a delicious pork tenderloin, drizzled in maple syrup and a sherry vinegar reduction. We served it with carmelized pears and some mashed potatoes mixed with cheese, green onions, and garlic. It was so decadent, and yet so simple to make, so I did a variation of it for supper tonight.

MAPLE GLAZED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH MULLED WINE SAUCE & CARMELIZED APPLES
1 pork tenderloin
2 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. maple syrup

Rub pork with olive oil, then mix the spices together and sprinkle all over. Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes (until meat thermometer reads at least 155 F.) While pork is cooking, baste occasionally with maple syrup. Tent with foil afterwards.

Carmelized Apples:
Thinly slice two apples. Melt 1 tbsp. butter in a pan and sprinkle with sugar (I used Cinnamon Sugar.) Over medium high heat, lay apples in the pan and sprinkle with more sugar (don't overcrowd the pan; do it in batches.) As apples begin to carmelize and brown, flip them over, then set them aside in a bowl and cover with tinfoil to keep warm.

Mulled Wine Sauce:
When the apples are done, pour 1/2 c. red wine and 1/2 c. apple juice into the pan. Add 1/2 tsp. Mulling Spices if you like. Bring to a boil, then simmer until liquid has reduced to a few tablespoons. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the Mulling Spices.

To serve, thinly slice the pork and lay it on the plate, alternating with pieces of carmelized apple. Drizzle with mulled wine sauce. Serve with potatoes that have been mashed with minced garlic, green onions, grated cheese (I used mozzarella), and some butter. I also served them with braised carrots (slice them and cook them for a few minutes in a shallow pan of water. I used the same pan that I used for the apples and the glaze, so there was some flavour left in the pan.) My cooking teacher showed us to make a little "tower" out of them, so I hoped that would impress the kids. It did, but they still didn't like them (they were "al dente" and my kids prefer mushy cooked carrots.)

I'm telling you, this meal was amazing! The flavours were perfect. I absolutely love pork tenderloin, because it always turns out so amazing.

I have to run now, because my children are still sitting at the table, (my son is picking out the green things from his potatoes) and I just heard a blood-curdling scream. Maybe that means they're ready for dessert?

Cooking classes

I've started taking some cooking classes from our community association, and I thought I'd share a couple photos of the things we've made so far. (I'm going to check with the chef before I post his recipes on here, just to make sure he's okay with it.)

The first thing we made was a chicken breast stuffed with a mixture of onion, figs, and spinach. Then we baked it in a tomato cream sauce that had some garlic and ginger as well. It was delicious! I tried it at home a week later, and it turned out really well. I don't think it was a huge hit with my husband (and I didn't even attempt to feed it to the kids... I gave them an un-stuffed chicken breast with some of the sauce on it) but it was nice to try something new.

Last week we made soups... nothing difficult, just some nice fall flavours (carrot ginger and potato leek) and we swirled them in the bowl together with a homemade crouton in the middle. The soups were delicious though, and I'll definitely make them again.

And here's one more recipe for you. It's not from cooking class, just my standard chili recipe, but I used chicken breasts instead of ground beef. The kids hated it (they are opposed to things such as beans, mushrooms, and tomatoes, so it was bound to be disgusting in their eyes. I thought it was awesome, though.)

CHICKEN CHILI

2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can mushrooms, drained

2 large cans diced tomatoes (I didn't drain them, but I probably should have)

1 onion, diced

Any combination or all of the following: spinach leaves, broccoli, bell peppers, frozen corn

2 tbsp. chili powder

2 garlic cloves, minced

salt & pepper

Throw it all in the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, and grated cheddar cheese.

Tonight I'm making my standard Super Awesome Roast Beef, but I didn't have any Coke, so I'm using white wine instead. I'm also cooking the roast from frozen, since it just dawned on me at 10:30am that I had nothing planned for supper tonight, and no time to cook anything. I hope it turns out, or I just wasted a whole roast and a whole cup of white wine!

A Margarita Meal

If you've followed my blog for a while, you'll know that I like to try alot of Rachael Ray's recipes. I don't watch alot of cooking shows, but whenever I happen to catch hers, the recipes are generally easy to follow and use ingredients that I have handy in the house. I'm not intimidated by her recipes... she's not a professional chef, just someone like me who loves to cook, and was lucky enough to turn her hobby into a wildly-successful career!

So last week on her show, she made Tequila Lime Chicken and Grilled Romaine Hearts with Caesar-cado Dressing. I have made Tequila Lime Chicken before (click here for my Pollo Loco recipe that is my attempt at copying Applebee's Fiesta Chicken.) This recipe is much simpler... and probably alot healthier (no spicy mayo sauce or grated cheese on top, just chicken marinated in booze - yum!) I made a couple adjustments, based on what ingredients I did/didn't have in the house, and the whole dish was awesome.

TEQUILA LIME CHICKEN (from Rachael Ray)
4 chicken breasts
1/2 c. tequila
juice of 4 limes
1/4 c. olive oil
salt & pepper
Cuban seasoning or Fajita seasoning

Lay the chicken in a shallow dish and pour the tequila, lime juice, and oil over top. Let it marinate for 30 minutes or more. Shake off excess marinade and season chicken with salt & pepper before grilling.

CHIMI-CHOP (from Rachael Ray)
1/2 c. cilantro
1/4 c. mint
1/2 red onion
2 jalapenos, seeded
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/3 c. olive oil

Finely chop the cilantro, mint, red onion, and jalapenos. Stir together with vinegar and oil. Serve overtop of the grilled chicken.

CAESAR-CADO DRESSING (from Rachael Ray)
1 avocado
juice of 2 lemons
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp. Chipotle powder
1/4 c. olive oil

Combine everything in a blender. Serve over romaine hearts that have been cut in half, washed & patted dry, sprayed with cooking spray (on the cut portion) and grilled on a bbq for 2 minutes.
For a beverage, I adapted the recipe for Camp Juice to make it a slushy margarita:

BEERGARITAS
1 c. tequila
1 can limeade
2 cans water (use the empty limeade can)
2 cans beer

Pour into a container and freeze overnight. Let it thaw slightly before serving.

This was a really simple meal to make, even though it sounds like it would be complicated. Throw your chicken in a bag with some marinade; grill it. Slice your lettuce in half; grill it. Throw your salad dressing ingredients in the blender; blend it. Throw your beergarita ingredients in the freezer; freeze it. The hardest part is probably the Chimi-Chop, which is just chopped herbs & veggies - not really rocket science!

The caesar dressing is amazing (although I think I'd take it easy on the lemon and garlic next time... it was a little strong!) and the Chimi-Chop was delicious on the chicken (I had my doubts when I first made it... it didn't smell fabulous, but it tasted great.) The beergaritas were perfect.... in fact, I think I'm going to have another one right now! Good night!

Purple Roast

A friend brought us over some garden beets the other day, and I must admit, I'm not usually a fan of beets. But I am nothing if not open to new ideas in the kitchen, and I'm especially anxious to introduce my kids to new foods. I hear they will make your pee pink, which is kinda cool no matter how old you are, so this could be fun.

PURPLE ROAST
1 roast (I used a 3 lb. round roast), seasoned with Beef & Steak Rub

2 garlic cloves, minced
8 potatoes, washed and quartered
2 red onions, cut into large pieces
5 carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
6 beets, washed, trimmed, and wrapped in tinfoil

2-3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. red wine

Place roast in roaster and drizzle with a little olive oil, turning to coat. Rub garlic on top and arrange vegetables around the roast. Drizzle with olive oil and red wine. Cover and bake at 325 F for approximately 1 1/2 hours (or until meat thermometer reads 160 F for medium.) Remove beets from tinfoil, peel and slice them, and then return them to the roaster. Transfer meat and veggies to another dish and place roaster on the stove over medium heat to make gravy. Stir in a handful of flour, some more red wine, and a little gravy browner (if you like -- my gravy was a nice purple colour until I put a little too much of the browner in.)

The kids (and grown-ups) all like their beets, although my children fought it just out of principle. This made a huge amount of food, so we'll have the same fight tomorrow. The roast was overcooked, but that's generally what happens when I cook a roast anyway, so I wasn't surprised. That's why the gravy is so important!!