Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Further evidence of how The Fairy Blogmother and I share some sort of freakish, bloggy, psychic connection today, for What's Cooking Wednesday, I bring you this dish prepared by my lovely husband...

(I love this part of the winter...when he is home...and he cooks!)


Chicken Tortilla Soup


If you like warm comfort food, and you like Nachos, you will like this soup.


Here is your ingredients list:


1 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

3 cups chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes**

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

1/4 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro


Tortilla chips, optional (really? I don't think they are "optional" at all. You must serve this soup with tortilla chips!).

**In case you didn't know...you should always buy canned tomatoes whole. It has something to do with the amount of processing, or something. The whole ones are picked vine ripened and canned and the diced ones have to be processed first or something...so they aren't as fresh or as flavourful. I forget just what the science behind it is now, but I think I must have learned this from the Food God, Alton Brown, so just trust me...only ever buy canned whole tomatoes and do whatever else you need to do with them (mush them, slice them, dice them...) yourself.



Directions:

• In a large saucepan, combine the first six ingredients; bring to a boil. Add chicken. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 4-6 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into soup.


• Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Top servings with cheese and cilantro (mmmm. I love me some cilantro. So does Bun-Bun!). Serve with tortilla chips "if desired" (why wouldn't you desire to serve this with the tortilla chips? C'mon...it's great!).

This soup was really, really, good and it was also quite filling. So, it makes a great dinner soup. And, my little Mexican food loving girls both really liked their soup - gave it two thumbs up and polished it off. In the words of Rachel Ray (but, no, it isn't her recipe), "Yumm-O".

This soup was made from a recipe in the book I got last fall, "Taste of Home, Heartwarming Soups". I tend to want soup a lot once the weather turns cold. Dave made this one and two others that he just "whipped up" on his own during this past week. Did I mention that I love it when Davey cooks? Yesterday he made me a curry vegetable soup without a recipe. It was really, really, good too!!

So....Happy What's Cooking Wednesday!

If you are looking for more great dinner ideas, or would like to share a recipe that you've tried out and loved, please go HERE to the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

Homemade Multigrain Bread

For this week's What's Cooking Wednesday I am making homemade Multigrain Bread from my new baking book, "The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book". And, for your viewing pleasure, I have taken lots of pictures of all the steps. Actually, this wasn't to make it any easier for you to follow along with the recipe as much as it was to try to sneak in shots of my Brand New KitchenAid Artisan Mixer (insert Tim the Tool-Man Taylor gruffing ape noises here). Yes, I finally got my mixer and, yes, I do love her. I haven't gone as far to name her...but I do walk by and pet her on the "head" every once in awhile. She sure is pretty. But, anyway...



On with the recipe!



Ingredients:

1. 1 cup seven-grain hot cereal mix (Red Hill is recommended)
2. 2 cups boiling water {For an accurate measurement of boiling water, bring a full kettle of water to a boil, then measure out the desired amount)
3. 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for brushing
4. 3 tablespoons honey
5. 2 1/2-3 cups all-purpose flour
6. 1 cup whole wheat flour
7. 1 envelope instant or rapid-rise yeast
8. 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
9. 1/2 cup unsalted pumpkin or sunflower seeds
10. 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats or quick-cooking oats

Directions:

1. Stir the cereal mix and boiling water together in a medium bowl and let stand, stirring occasionally, until the mixture resembles a thick porridge and is just warm (about 110 degrees), about 30 minutes. Stir in the melted butter and honey.

1. Combine 2 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, yeast, and salt in a standing mixer (like a lovely white Brand New Artisan, perhaps) fitted with the dough hook. With the mixer on low speed, add the cereal mixture and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes.




2. Increase the mixer speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes, adding the seeds during the final minute of mixing. If after 4 minutes more flour is needed, add the remaining 1/2 cup flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the dough clears the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom.




3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball. Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.






4. Grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and gently press it into a 9-inch square. Roll the dough into a tight cylinder and pinch the seam closed. Place the loaf, seam side down, in the prepared pan. Mist the loaf with vegetable oil spray, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size and the dough barely springs back when poked with a knuckle, 45 to 75 minutes.

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the loaf lightly with melted butter, sprinkle with oats, then spray lightly with water. Bake until golden and the center of the bread registers 200 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the loaf halfway through baking. Cool the loaf in the pan for 15 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before serving.

Results:




This was the first loaf of bread I've made that actually worked! I was so excited. It was a bit of an all-day affair (with all the waiting around for it to rise, etc.), but it wasn't really very much work at all. And, the house smelled mah-velous! I did cook it with the oven rack on the lower-middle position -- and the bottom of the loaf came out a bit burned. So, next time I would raise the rack probably for about the last 15 minutes of cooking time. And, I didn't have a pastry brush so I just kind of mushed the butter on top of the bread with my fingers and, as you can see, the oats didn't stick on to the top very well. I don't know if the pastry brush would have helped them stick better(?). But, the bread did taste very good. I mean, it is multi-grain bread so don't go expecting melt-in-your-mouth, buttery, fluffy, homemade white bread kind of a thing...but if you like multi-grain (and we do) it is very good.

But, more importantly...
isn't my mixer pretty?

Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes!

Shan did something sweet for this week's What's Cooking Wednesday...so, so will I.

Here are the treats I made for my little ladies lunch I had last week: Pumpkin Cupcakes!

These, of course, are from the best ever cupcake book, "Hello, Cupcake!". I have many, many, cupcake books and this is by far the best. It shows you how to make some really cute treats and everything is completely do-able (unlike some other books that are pretty to look at, but much less realistic). In fact, this book makes use of regular ol' cake mixes and plain ol' store-bought frostings which they jazz up to make something special.

Here are your ingredients for the Pumpkin Cupcakes:

12 standard Pumpkin Spice cupcakes (recipe to follow)

24 mini Pumpkin Spice cupcakes

4 green licorice twists

1 can plus 1 cup vanilla frosting

Orange food coloring

1 cup orange decorating sugar

Green licorice laces.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes:

1 box French vanilla or yellow cake mix

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

(Bake as directed on box).

{Photo of Finished Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes from the book}

Once you've baked your cupcakes {Note: I made 24 Standard Pumpkins and skipped the little guys}:

1. Cut the licorice twists into pieces for the pumpkin stems. Tint the vanilla frosting orange with the food coloring. Tint 1/2 cup of the orange frosting a darker shade of orange with more food coloring, and spoon into a ziplock bag. Press out the excess air, seal the bag, set aside.



2. Place the orange decorating sugar in a shallow bowl. Spread the lighter orange frosting on top of the cupcakes, mounding it slightly. Starting on the edge, roll the cupcake tops in the sugar to cover completely.



3. Use a wooden skewer to mark ridges in the top of each cupcakes. Starting in the center or slightly off center, lightly press the skewer down toward the top of the paper liner to create 5 or 6 indentations. Snip a 1/16-inch corner from the bag with the darker orange frosting and pipe a line in each indentation to make the ribs. Insert a cut green twist for the stem. Arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter or a cutting board and add the green licorice laces, trimmed to various lengths for tendrils.

As you can see, I could not find any green licorice so I got black instead. I also could not find any licorice laces in any color. I even went to Fortinos hoping I would be able to get all my ingredients in one stop. No such luck. They didn't even have any orange decorating sugar so I had to pick that up at Michael's instead. Ah well...they still came out looking mighty cute, I think. One of my guests even said, "Oh! I totally didn't think those were real! I thought they were made out of ceramic or something and they were just for decoration".

Cool.

Surprisingly, I didn't think the cupcakes really tasted very pumpkin-y really so next year, if I were to make them again, I may add a bit more of the pumpkin pie spice. But, the grown-ups and the kids both loved them and thought they were great. Super easy and lots of fun to make, too!

Still got the pumpkin bug? Well, be sure to head over to the Fairy Blogmother's site for more of What's Cooking Wednesday...she even has a nice pumpkin cake recipe up today!

Thai for Two.

It's What's Cooking Wednesday time again, folks...

so I bring to you this recipe from "Crazy Plates" by those two Canadian ladies I love, Janet and Greta Podleski (did you know they are actually the youngest of 6 girls! Wow. Imagine trying to get in the bathroom at that house when they were all growing up):

Thai for Two (Linguini, Shrimp, and Veggies in Plum sauce).

Here are your ingredients:

1. 4 oz. uncooked linguini



2. 1/2 cup each plum sauce and low-fat chicken broth



3. 1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar



4. 2 tsp grated gingerroot



5. 1 tsp each reduced-sodium soy sauce and sesame oil



6. 1 clove garlic, minced



7. 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes



8. 1 cup each carrots, zucchini, and red bell pepper, cut into thin strips



9. 8 oz. uncooked jumbo shrimp, peeled



10. 1/4 cup chopped green onions

Here are your directions:

1. Cook the linguini (but...I'd do this closer to the end so you can just plop it right into the sauce/toppings...otherwise it gets cold and sticky)



2. In a small bowl, combine plum sauce, chicken broth, vinegar, gingeroot, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside.



3. Spray a large, non-stick wok or skillet with non-stick spray. Add carrots, zucchini, and red pepper. Cook over med. heat until veggies begin to soften (about 4 mins.). Stir often (really, you should "shake" the pan like they do on the t.v. shows because it makes you look much, much, cooler than just stirring). Add shrimp, green onions, and sauce. Increase heat to med.-high. cook and stir until mixture is hot and bubbly, and shrimp is cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add cooked linguini to wok or skillet and mix well. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Verdicts:

Maddie said, "I don't like Ginger. Did that just hurt your feelings Mom?". Isn't she cute? I told her, "No, sweetie, that doesn't hurt my feelings, but `cha ain't getting anything else". She then managed to eat the rest of her dinner...as did Jamie when she found out that she wasn't getting any junk food (cookies) until she ate some healthy food (her dinner). There was nothing too hot, or too spicy, about this dish...so I wasn't letting them off. I figure if it is really spicy then I won't make them eat it, but if there is really nothing wrong with it then...no such luck.

Davey gave it a 7/10. He said "It would be an 8 if you made it with some beef." I said, "Mamma don't cook cow". And he said, "It would be a 9 if you made it with veal". {He likes to press my buttons. Can you tell?}. Then he told me about an episode of Anna Olsen's cooking show that he just saw in which she was using veal. So, of course, I went off about how cruel that was and how people are just ignorant about how these animals are kept and treated. It is just plain mean and heartless. Dave just sat there quietly smirking to himself.

Me, I say this was quite good. It had a lot of that ginger heat that I love. I think it would have been so much better had my noodles not been finished before everything else because then they just sat there getting cold and forming a big sticky mass before I could get them into the sauce. Next time, I will definitely make the noodles near the end of prep...but I'd for sure make this again. I seem to be getting over my fear of shrimp and I'm hearing more and more good things about the health benefits of shrimp so I'm glad to add some variety to my diet.

For more recipe ideas please go check out the Fairy BlogMother's site...the home of What's Cooking Wednesday. And, if you have a great recipe you'd like to share...feel free to join in the fun!!

Two side notes:

1) I just got listed on The Mom Blogs!!! Yay! So, if you like my site, please rate it up on the top left-hand side of this page. Thanks!!! All votes for "excellent" will receive their cheques in the mail promptly (JK!!!).

2) The other pizza mom called me!! So, she will hand out the pizza and I can be here to get my kids' bunk-beds when they arrive...and do my homework...and, um, maybe just run out to The Bay for a quick second to buy the frickin' KitchenAid Artisan Mixer that I have been obsessing over for days...weeks....years!!! It's on sale. And, frankly, I'm just getting sick of thinking about the damn thing. I think I'd really just better buy it already.

Yummy Shrimp Gumbo

It's What's Cooking Wednesday time again and Shan has so much on her plate, she has no time to blog about putting food there! So, if you have a great recipe you'd like to share this would be a great week to do it. Please just click right HERE to get all the details - and pick up some other great recipes from The Fairy BlogMother's pals.

But, before you go...

let me just tell you that if you are looking for a nice, hearty soup that fills you up and leaves you feeling all warm and cozy inside (just in time for this colder...waaahhhh....weather) then look no further than Michael Smith's Recipe for Shrimp Gumbo which you can find right HERE. I really love Michael Smith's "Chef at Home" show...not just because I get such a weirdly huge kick out of watching him duck in and out of his pantry door (this man is really, really, tall)...not just because he has a really adorable son named Gabe who often makes guest appearances...but because Michael Smith has some of the very best, easy to make, and fool-proof recipes on his show.

This recipe has been made a couple of times now by my wonderful hubby, Davey. I just love it when Dave cooks because he is really good at it, actually, and he usually does it (when he does) on the weekend so that when I come home from work the house smells so nummy when I step inside. Isn't that the best? When you are driving home from work, starving, and wondering what the hell you are going to have for dinner and you open the door and smell...mmmm...good food. And, I find, for some reason, that food always tastes better when I don't make it. Oh...is that a weird phenomenon or a comment on my cooking ability?

Anyway. Because I don't eat pigs or cows (which, apparently, makes me a "flexitarian". I never knew that before. I guess they have a name for everything these days), Dave just switched out the Italian sausage for turkey sausage, but everything else remained the same. It was delicious.

I'm just sorry that poor Mike (The Fairy BlogMother's wonderful hubby) who will be recuperating this week can't try this one - unless he wants to head back to the hospital early! But, if you aren't deathly allergic to shellfish then you have to try this one out. It is really, really, good and I ate the left-overs for the next two days straight!

Happy What's Cooking Wednesday and

We'll all be thinking of you Mike...and sending you our best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Chicken & Mushrooms in Pastry with Pesto-Glazed Veggies

It's What's Cooking Wednesday time, again. Good thing...gets my butt in gear and forces me (usually) to start posting again. I don't know...I think sometimes I get bored listening to myself blog.

So, here we have another lovely dinner brought to you by that wiz. of the "Dinner Fix", Sandi Richard. This recipe comes from her latest book (and I own them all except for, "Getting Ya Through the Summer" which I borrowed from the library and found it didn't have very many vegetarian/flexitarian substitutions, which all her books to follow have had lots of). The grammar and run-on sentences are just incredible so far aren't they?

Anyway,

here is what you need to make Chicken & Mushrooms in Pastry with Pesto-Glazed Veggies ....

Ingredients:

1. 2 Tbsp butter
2. 10 mushrooms
3. 2 Tbsp flour
4. 1 cup milk
5. 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
6. 2 cups cooked roaster chicken (from the deli)
7. 1 cup frozen peas
8. 1 pkg of 6 frozen puff pastry patty shells (300 g), ex. Tenderflake
9. cooking spray
10. 1 red bell pepper
11. 1 yellow bell pepper
12. 2 medium zucchini
13. 1 Tbsp basil pesto

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a med. stove-top pot on low heat. Wash and slice mushrooms, adding to pot as you cut. Stir and remove from heat.
2. Gradually whisk flour into pot until combined. Slowly whisk in chicken broth and milk. Return to heat and simmer on low. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and spice.
3. Remove meat from chicken and cut into cubes. Add to sauce. Fold in peas.
4. (meanwhile....) Place pastry shells on a cookie sheet and bake in preheated 400F oven. Set timer for 20 minutes.
5. Spray a large nonstick fry pan with cooking spray and heat at medium. Rinse peppers and zucchini and cut into large chunks, adding to pan as you cut. Dab with pesto and toss until tender.
6. When timer rings for pastry, remove from oven. Remove top center disk using a fork and set aside. Gently lift out the soft pastry from the inside of the shell and discard, leaving the bottom intact.
7. When you are ready to serve, place a shell on each plate and fill with sauce. Put a pastry disk on top of the sauce. Serve alongside veggies.

Verdicts:

Nice and easy to prepare. I just love this idea of using roaster chickens to make something else. I mean, they are about 8 bucks and they are already cooked! It's great. And, Dave hacked this one up so the yuck factor was taken out of the cooking for me. Everything looked very pretty and it came together very quickly. And...most importantly...yep, it tasted really good. Dave gave it 7.5 out of 10 and said he'd eat it every couple of weeks. That is "steady" rotation around here and rates the "Good Enough to Eat" seal of approval. The girls also liked it, but would have preferred the veggies sans the basil pesto: a little too fancy-smancy for them.

{oh and, yes, Dave got his knickers in a twist when he saw me adding peas to the pot. He said, "Well, now you've just ruined it". I knew he would be a baby about the peas so I was trying to just sneak them in there. After dinner I asked if he would have liked it better without the peas and he said, "Actually, I didn't even noticed them. It was fine". It's hard to convice someone who ate a lot of canned peas as a child that fresh or frozen peas are not the same thing. But, he is coming along} ;-)

For more ideas on what to make for dinner (or desert! or for a snack!) please head on over to the Fairy Blogmother's site right HERE (and you can check out both Shan and Mike's award winning creations - although...Mike had to cheat to beat Shan...but...you know...whatever...) ;-)

Creamy Pesto Shrimp with Linguini and Asparagus.

While I sit here waiting for the chimney sweep to arrive, and for the hours to pass by so that I can get to my ultrasound appointment at 1 o'clock, I thought I'd go ahead and share with you this yummy recipe for Creamy Pesto Shrimp with Linguini and Asparagus.

This is a recipe from my latest Sandi Richard's book (which was just released on September 2 - and I bought immediately off of Chapters without even so much as having looked in it first), "Dinner Survival". {Oh, my Chimney Sweep just arrived. No black top hat, though. wth??}.

Here is your Ingredients List:

1. 1 Tbsp butter
2. 1 Tbsp evoo
3. 2 Tbsp flour
4. 2 cups milk
5. 1/2 tsp pepper
6. 375 g linguini pasta (one box)
7. 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, light
8. 1/4 cup basil pesto
9. 450 g (or 1 lb) large shrimp, cooked, peeled, and deveined
10. 20 asparagus spears (450 g or 1 lb)
11. water (sorry)
12. 1 tsp butter
13. pinch of salt
14. hot chili flakes (optional)

Here are your Directions (given in "real time" as Sandi does, which I love):

1. Fill a large stove-top pot with water and bring to boil.
2. Heat butter and evoo in a large nonstick fry pan at med.-low. Remove from heat and whisk in flour. Slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Return to med.-low heat. Season with pepper. Heat through while whisking. Reduce heat to simmer white sauce.
3. Place pasta in boiling water. Set timer for 10 minutes.
4. Whisk cheese into white sauce until well combined. Blend in pesto. Fold shrimp into sauce and heat through.
5. Snap off bottom nodes of asparagus and discard. Rinse in colander or steamer basket. Place a small amount of water in the bottom of a stove-top pot and bring to a full boil with the asparagus in the basket above. Cover and set timer for 4 minutes. When timer rings, drain water and toss in pot with butter and salt.
6. When timer rings for pasta...rinse pasta in colander and return to pot, no heat.
7. Serve shrimp and sauce over linguini.

Verdicts:

Dave and I both really, really, enjoyed this dish and I'm not even a big shrimp fan. In fact, I think this is the first time I've ever been able to eat a "shrimp" dinner. It's just one of those (unfortunately, many) foods that grosses me out. But, every once in awhile I start to feel pretty guilty about cooking yet another chicken dinner, so this was great.

Not only that, but we had a little surprise guest over that night. Maddie's friend from school popped by while I was in the kitchen whipping up dinner. We called her Dad to see if she could stay for dinner: "Sure, we have plenty - no problem at all". So cool. It was a moment. I felt like Martha Stewart: ever ready for dinner guests, with lots of food and even a clean house. Now, mind you, this only happened because all the stars were properly aligned and my moon was in the 7th house, or something like that, and it will probably never happen again, but I was lovin' it.

As for the kids, well...mine ate the food and liked it, but were anxious to get down from the table to go play. Our guest, who "loves shrimp...and cheese...just not that white kind of cheese" didn't eat too much. But, that was okay...they still all had fun and I, I, was Martha Stewart for one shining moment.

And that is What's Cooking Wednesday {and my Chimney Sweep just left}. For more WCW ideas please check out The Fairy BlogMother's site right HERE. She couldn't bother her a** to participate this week, but at least the rest of us have.

{Just Kidding, Shan! Mwahh!} ;-)

Better Butter Chicken.

You know how I don't like to bother sharing a recipe unless it's really, really, good - right? Well, get out your pens and paper people...this one is a keeper.

Thanks to those wacky Canadian gals over at Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry (I can't just say that, I have to sing it...but you won't know what the heck I'm talking about unless you've seen their show. That's okay. Never mind. Anyway!)...I am bringing you this super yummy recipe for Better Butter Chicken!

"Why is it 'Better'", you ask? Well, as Janet and Greta explain, "It's the star of India! A real jewel. A gem of a recipe. Our healthier rendition of this popular ethnic dish doesn't use gobs of butter and tons of heavy cream, so you can save those precious calories for dessert". But, I say, "Dessert?! Who has room for dessert after you've stuffed yourself with this? It is Sooooo good!"

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp grated ginger root
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 whole cooked rotisserie chicken, skin removed and meat cut up (big-ish bite sized chunks)
• 1/3 cup light cream
• 1/4 cup light sour cream or plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp minced fresh cilantro


• Hot, cooked basmati rice.

Directions

1. Melt butter in a deep, 10- inch skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook slowly, stirring often, until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add ginger root, chili powder, turmeric, and cinnamon. Cook 1 more minute. Add undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.


2. Add cut-up chicken, cream, and sour cream. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Serve over hot basmati rice.

Makes 5 servings.

Per serving: 293 cal, 11.4 g total fat, 5 g sat. fat, 33 g protein, 15 g carbs, 2.9 g fiber, 105 mg cholesterol, 483 mg sodium.

Verdicts: Well, you already know I love, love, loved it! Dave also thought it was really, really, good and despite my giving him a HUGE plateful (at which point I said, "Oh, I really gave you a ton there. Don't feel like you have to eat it all"), he DID eat it all. And the girls? Two thumbs up from both of them...and I really love that they are enjoying foods with flavour and not just sticking to bland, blah, stuff. Good for them! :0)

For more ideas on what the heck you can cook for dinner...please check out the Fairy BlogMother's blog and the home of What's Cooking Wednesday!!

p.s. You can see from my picture that I didn't add cilantro. Well, Fortinos didn't have any. :-P Too bad, because I really LOVE cilantro (as does my bun, bun). Just imagine how good it would have been if I had some of that on top, too! :)

Chicken Curry in Roasted Acorn Squash. YUMMO!

Oh...you are so lucky. I am going to share with you this fabulous, wonderful, completely delicious and super easy-peasy, yet very impressive looking, dish!!



This is something Dave made for me over a year ago and I absolutely loved it. I could seriously eat it every single week (if not every single day). Then, we proceeded to loose the recipe.



Well, I just dusted off all my old Sandi Richard's "Cooking for the Rushed" cookbooks last week (and ordered a couple more from the library) and what should I find tucked away in the pages of "Life's On Fire", but my recipe for Chicken Curry in Roasted Acorn Squash! Woot!



This recipe was just torn out of the January/February 2007 issue of Men's Health Magazine (that's why it was so easy to loose).



Here is your very simple ingredients list:

1. 1 small acorn acorn squash
2. 12 oz. boneless chicken breasts, chopped
3. 1 red bell pepper, chopped
4. 1 Tbsp mild yellow curry powder
5. 1 Tbsp olive oil
6. 1 med. yellow onion, chopped into 1/2" pieces
7. 1/2 c milk or heavy cream
8. 1/4 c golden raisins
9. 1/4 c chopped cilantro

Here's what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 450F
2. Cut the squash in half. rub it with half the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place on a baking sheet. Roast it in the oven until the flesh is soft and brown, about 25 minutes.
3. while the squash roasts, heat the remaining oil in a large saute pan over medium-heat. When it's hot, add the chicken, bell pepper, and onion. Saute for 3 minutes, then add the curry powder, milk, and raisins. Use a wooden spoon to mix thoroughly {why they specifically state a wooden spoon, I have no idea? I don't think it has to be any specific length of wooden spoon, though...}. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
4. Serve a scoop of the curry inside of the roasted squash. Garnish with the cilantro. Makes 2 servings.

Per serving (if you care): 610 calories, 42 grams of protein, 74 g of carbohydrates, 20 g of fat (only 4 saturated), 17 g fiber, 850 milligrams of sodium.

Verdict:


Well, can you guess? I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this dish. I see now that my picture totally does not do justice to how good it tasted. It is so good that I am drooling as I type about it right n*@w. OH, nko -++ m7 keeeEEEEEEEEEEyBoaRRRRD izzzzzznt""" woR8King proP3rlE n)0w. OOOopps23!

4 MOre WHAT:S COOKING wedNesday pLEEeeeeeeeeeeese g0 H3re!

Fish and Chips with Salad: Yum.

I'm back!

Sorry I'm such a blogger-slacker. I blame it on dial-up. It takes so long to get onto the internet in the first place and once I'm there every page takes just forever to load. By the time I read all of what's goin' on in Facebook, and read my friends' blogs, I feel too guilty to spend anymore time on the computer and post my own blog entry!

But, I made something super easy and very nummy for dinner last night so I'm back to share it with y'all (I like to pretend I'm southern every once in awhile apparently).

Fish and Chips with Salad,

as taken from Sandi Richard's book, "Cooking for the Rushed: The Healthy Family".

Here are the ingredients you will need for the fish:

1-1/2 lbs firm white fish (I used halibut)

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (low-fat)

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy Seasoning

cooking spray.

Here's whatcha' do:

1. Pour your buttermilk into one bowl and the bread crumbs, Parm. cheese, and spices in a second bowl.
2. Dip your fish into the buttermilk, then coat it in the bread crumb mixture
3. Place prepared fish onto a cake pan sprayed with cooking spray. Spray top of fish with cooking spray, as well.
4. Place on lower rack of preheated (to 375F) oven for 15 minutes.
5. When the 15 mins. is up, move the fish to top rack and put your frozen fries on the lower rack. Set timer for 5 more minutes.
6. When timer rings, switch positions of fish and fries and let cook for 5 more minutes.

(As all of this is going on you can get your salad ready and set the table. Sandi suggests sprinkling some seasoning salt on the fries before cooking.)

Verdict:

Really, really, yummy. Dave and the girls and I...we all loved it. So much better than those completely gross and gooey frozen fish sticks you can buy at the grocery store. Nice and light and fresh and just plain old good food. Dave said this meal should go into "heavy rotation" (meaning once per week). Only problem I encountered was I forgot to buy "5 minute fries" so my fries were not done in time with the fish. Sandi says to buy 5 minute fries, but cook them for 10 minutes. Great meal! And healthy! Loved it.

Note on the cookbook: I've said it before, I'll say it again, "Excellent". If you don't have any of the "Cooking for the Rushed" cookbooks you HAVE to get them. I stopped using them for a bit because I was trying to make fancier stuff...and more vegetarian stuff...but they are just so great for keeping you organized and helping you to get an entire meal on the table in a very short amount of time. The books are Canadian, too, and you never have to worry about not knowing what an ingredient is (i.e. Garbanzo Beans=Chickpeas, Scallions=Green Onion, Creme Fraiche=HellifIknow) or if you will be able to find it. Highly recommended!

{Maddie about to give it the thumbs-up}


{Jamie giving it the thumbs, and 4 additional fingers, up!}

Happy What's Cooking Wednesday!

CrockPot Indian Curry.

I'm so proud of myself: I used my crock pot again! And, I have A Year of Crockpotting to thank for that. This lady, Stephanie, made herself a resolution to use her crock pot everyday for the entire year - and she has actually stuck to it! That is amazing, I say. I'm sure my efforts would have fizzled out somewhere around day 3. I should also thank Shan at Tales from the Fairy Blogmother for letting me know about this ultra-cool blog through one of her Spreading some Linky Love posts. So, if you have a crock pot down in your laundry room collecting dust (like mine was) then be sure to check out this blog and get inspired (btw...Stephanie is famous now, too, and has appeared on Rachel Ray's t.v. show. I didn't see it, but maybe you've caught her on there already).

I decided to make the CrockPot Indian Curry (I'm a sucker for anything with the words "Indian" or "Curry" in it) and since the recipe was taken right off her blog, and I really, really, think you should go check it out...just follow THIS link for the ingredients list and recipe details. {cool. that saved me some typing}.

Now, you'll notice that she said she only used 4 to 6 chicken thighs and this dinner served her family, some guests, and she had enough for left-overs. This I had to wonder about. Was it a typo? Did she mean she used 4-6 chicken legs instead of thighs? Nope. They just don't eat very much meat and she told me that 1/2 to 1 chicken thigh each was enough for each of them. [insert shocked face here]. Not in this house. I don't know about you folks...but Dave could definitely eat 6 chicken thighs by himself - easy. I gave him 4 (as you can see in the photo) and I gave the girls 1 each and I just stuck to eating the veggies and beans. There was still tons of room in the crock pot though so, personally, I would suggest throwing in a whole whack more of the thighs. There are leftovers - but none of it has any meat in it (so Dave won't be eating any of the leftovers).

Also, did you know that garbanzo beans are also known as chickpeas? I think I knew that, but I wrote the recipe down as is and Dave came home empty handed on that front. He could not find "garbanzo" beans in our Canadian grocery store. I had a foggy notion that they may be a.k.a. chickpeas so I did a google search "garbanzo beans also known as" and found out that, yep, they're chickpeas. Too bad, too, because I like chickpeas but I didn't have any in the cupboard. I did have white kidney beans, so I threw those in instead. They were good - but I'm not sure a pregnant girl whose digestive system has already slowed to a turtle's pace really needs to consume a lotta' beans. TMI? sorry.

Anyway, the girls both gave it 10 fingers and 10 toes up and Dave said it was "good" about three times as he polished off his plate and cleaned-up the girls' left-overs, too (Maddie liked everything but the meat...I think she is going to become veggie). I loved the sauce and you just can't go wrong when you shove some sweet potato in anything, but I was feeling completely exhausted by this point in the day and was too tired to really enjoy it. I asked if I could just go lay down on the couch for awhile mid-way through dinner. I think I'll enjoy the leftovers for lunch today.

Thank-you CrockPot Lady.

And, Happy What's Cooking Wednesday.

Chicken Souvlaki Dinner

Here's another recipe from "The Good Food Book For Families" which I really like. Nice, simple, easy, family-friendly recipes and it is a Canadian book so you know you are going to be able to find all the ingredients, and they are going to be called what we call them here.

Chicken Souvlaki Dinner

Ingredients:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 squeeze of fresh lemon juice
4 to 6 whole wheat pitas
1 cup Tzatziki (Recipe for that to follow!!)
10 leaves romaine lettuce, shredded
3 tomatoes, diced
1 sweet green or red pepper, diced
1/4 cup diced red onion (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, oregano and lemon juice
3. Cut chicken into 3/4-inch cubes and toss with marinade
4. Line a cookie sheet with foil and place chicken on foil. Bake until chicken is cooked through, 15-20 minutes (Wrapping cookie sheet in foil facilitates easy cleanup).
5. Warm pitas in oven or microwave until softened
6. Place 3 to 4 pieces of chicken on each pita and top with tzatziki, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and onion (if using)
7. Roll souvlaki. Wrapping the souvlaki in a napkin or foil will make it easier for little hands to grasp.

Tzatziki Recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 English cucumber, grated (approx. 1/2 lb)

1 cup Balkan-style plain yogurt

1 or 2 cloves garlic, crushed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. With clean hands, squeeze cucumber to remove excess liquid
2. In a bowl, combine yogurt, cucumber and 1 clove garlic to taste and mix thoroughly. (1 cup of yogurt usually requires 1 1/2 cloves of garlic.) You want to taste the garlic, but it should not be overpowering.

Verdicts:

Dave and I both really enjoyed this and it was so easy to make! I was super impressed with myself for making my own home-made tzatziki and I had no idea how easy it was to do! The girls didn't want to eat theirs all wrapped up, so we just cut the pitas up for them and gave them the chunks of chicken and slices of red pepper and tomatoes for dipping. They decided they would rather not dip them, though...saying the tzatziki was too "spicy" and just ate all the ingredients by themselves.

Definitely one to put into steady rotation. A nice change from the tacos, or fajitas, we always make.

For more recipe ideas please check out What's Cooking Wednesday and feel free to post one of your new favourites, too!

A Whole Lotta' Vegetarian Chili

For this week's What's Cooking Wednesday I bring you the biggest vegetarian chili you'd ever want to make. The recipe is from the book, "The Good Food Book For Families" by Brenda Bradshaw and Cheryl Mutch, M.D. The intro. to the recipe warned me that "this recipe is designed to be made in bulk and frozen to provide convenient family meals" and when they say "bulk" they mean "bulk": my big, 5.6 quart Jamie Oliver stockpot wasn't even big enough to hold all the ingredients (but, luckily, I had totally forgotten about the cauliflower - so I was able to fit in all the stuff I did remember). Now, really, don't let the beans in the recipe scare you. There is so much else going on in this dish that you don't even notice them - so this is a great way to get all your veggies, and still get all your protein, in one nice, spicy, bowl of yumminess.

Here is your ingredients list. Get comfy.

1 onion, diced

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 cup grated fresh ginger

1/4 cup canola oil

1 sweet red pepper, diced

1 sweet yellow pepper, diced

2 zucchinis, cut in half and sliced

12 mushrooms, sliced

1/2 eggplant, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 cup cilantro, chopped

1 can (19 oz.) white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (19 oz.) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 can (19 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 russet potato, peeled and cut into chunks

2 1/2 cans (28 oz. each) diced tomatoes

1 small can (5.5 oz.) tomato paste

1/2 head broccoli, cut into florets

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets

4 carrots, peeled and cute into bite-size pieces

1/2 cup chili powder (you may want to add a bit less if serving to kiddos)

3 tbsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1 bag (70 g) fresh spinach [optional] --I didn't use this, either.

Toppings

Shredded Cheddar cheese

Green onions, sliced

1 cup plain yogurt or low-fat sour cream.

Directions:

In a stockpot [and they should really say, "very big" or "probably at least a 6 quart stockpot"], saute onion, celery, garlic and ginger in 2 tbsp of the oil over med. heat until onion is translucent, approx. 5 minutes.

Add the rest of the oil, along with the peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and eggplant and cilantro and continue to saute, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms and eggplant and cooked and soft, approx. 15 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients with the exception of spinach and toppings. Mix thoroughly and bring to a boil.

Turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat, add spinach (if using) and stir.

Serve sprinkled with cheese, onions, and either low-fat sour cream or plain yogurt.

Verdicts:

Dave is a big baby when it comes to vegetarian food so he ate a few mouth fulls and then got up, went to the fridge and pulled out a huge sausage he had left-over from the day before, and started dunking his sausage in the chili. Ya, very funny honey.

The girls ate a bit of it, but once they ran out of cheese and sour cream on the top it started to get too spicy for them.

I loved it. Very nummy. So good with nice whole grain bread dipped inside. I ate it for the next 3 days for lunches and snacks and I still have vats of the stuff in my freezer. Very good chili - but I think I'd like to divide all the ingredients by about 4 before I make it again. It just makes toooooo much!

For other recipe ideas please check out The Fairy BlogMother's site and all of the What's Cooking Wednesday posts. And, remember...you are welcome to join in! The more recipes, the better!!

Apricot Chicken with Lemon Broccoli

What a relief! I didn't think I was going to be able to participate in this week's What's Cooking Wednesday because I didn't think I had cooked/photographed anything fancy-smancy in the past week. I sat here berating myself for being a horrible mother and wondering just what had we been eating lately. Breakfast for dinner, boring old pasta, pizza...jeez! Then I decided to download the images from my camera to check out all the cute pics. I took of Jamie at her J.K. "Meet the Teacher Night" last night and, low and behold!, there was a pic. of the Apricot Chicken I had made! I had completely forgotten about that. Whew. So, I'm a good mother again. Just like that.

The recipe came from Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade 20-Minute Meals which I have on loan from the library. I love her "cheating" dessert recipes, so I thought I'd check out the main-meal ones. Hmmmm. I'd have to say that I probably won't be adding this cookbook to my collection. It seems like a lot of her recipes aren't all that terribly healthy and quite a few of them call for alcohol: vodka, wine, Kahlua, etc. I mean, I know the alcohol cooks off, but I just don't want to have to buy a new bottle of something everytime I want to whip off a "quick and easy" dinner. Plus, the recipes don't seem to be that much quicker to make than it would be to actually prepare something healthy with real, whole, ingredients. But, I picked out a pretty good one and, now, I bring you "Chicken with Apricots and Almonds" served with a side of "Lemon-Garlic Broccoli" (and some prepackaged chicken rice).

Chicken Ingredients:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves

2 tablespoons or more extra-virgin olive oil

2 scallions (aka green onion!) finely chopped

1 jalapeno chile pepper, sliced thin

1 teaspoon bottle minced garlic

1 teaspoon bottle minced ginger

1 teaspoon lime zest

1 can apricot halves

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted.

Broccoli Ingredients:

12 oz packaged broccoli florets

1 tablespoon lemon olive oil

1 tablespoon water

2 teaspoons shredded lemon zest

1 teaspoon bottle minced garlic

2 tablespoons lemon juice

salt and ground pepper

Chicken Directions:

1. In a large zip-top plastic bag, combine flour, salt, and lemon pepper. Add chicken. Seal bag; shake to coat chicken. Remove chicken from bag; shake off excess flour mixture. Set aside.


2. In a skillet, heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add chicken to hot oil; cook about 3 1/2 to 4 minutes per side or until cooked through. Transfer chicken to plate; set aside. Add scallions and jalapeno to skillet. Cook and stir for 1 minute, adding more oil. Add ginger, garlic, and lime zest; cook and stir for 30 seconds.


3. Drain apricots, reserving liquid. Set apricots aside. Add the reserved liquid to the skillet, scraping up browned bits in pan. Return chicken to skillet with any accumulated juices. Add apricots and toasted almonds. Stir to combine; heat through. Serve hot.

Broccoli Directions:

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine broccoli florets, olive oil, the water, lemon zest, and garlic. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; microwave on high setting for 4 - 5 minutes. Check for doneness; cook 1 minute more if necessary. Sprinkle with lemon juice; toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Verdict:

Well, I bought the chicken on sale: $10 for 6 breasts. I'm not doing that anymore. I find that cheapo chicken is just rubbery and gross. But, that's not Sandra Lee's fault. Also, it took way longer than 3-4 minutes per side to cook the chicken. Way. Longer. And, one other little note: I did not include the chile pepper.

The sauce was pretty good. I was surprised how it did thicken up nicely. Probably if I had used some nice, fresh, organic chicken this would have been pretty good. As it was, I just couldn't get past the gross chicken. Dave said he liked it, both the girls ate it, and it sure did look pretty on the plate.

The broccoli on the other hand was a huge mistake. None of us liked the lemon flavour. We just like broccoli to taste like broccoli, I guess. Maddie, who normally loves the little green "trees", kept trying different pieces and saying, "Ewww, there's something icky on this one. Ewww, there's something icky on this one, too. Ewww. Do I have to eat my broccoli tonight?"

The second side was prepackaged chicken rice which Sandra Lee actually recommended serving with this dinner. This got 2 thumbs up from both kids who loved it. I hate prepackaged crap: the list of "ingredients" on the packages frightens me to no end. Figures that this was their favourite part of the dinner! I kept thinking, Chef Ramsey or Jamie Oliver would have shuddered to see me making it. Well, I now have both of their cook-books so maybe I'll post something from one of them next week.

For other recipe ideas please check out Shan's Tales From the Fairy Blogmother and feel free to add your own while you are there!

Angel Food Cake with Strawberries (and Mint)

Ohhh, so we were both thinking dessert this week, Shan! Of course we were. ;-)

And you think yours was easy - well wait `til ya' see this. This is so easy that it may not even qualify for "What's Cooking Wednesday" because there was no actual cooking involved! The recipe is from Sandra Lee's "Semi-Homemade Desserts, 2nd ed.". I bought this book after getting her first Semi-Homemade Dessert book from the library. From that I made the most impressive looking Black Forest Cake for my mother-in-law's birthday - that was really one of the easiest desserts I had ever whipped off in my life! From this book I made Sandra Lee's "Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Mint".

Here is the ingredients list:

1 purchased (12 oz) angel food cake {ya, you don't even have to bake a cake!}

1 bag (16 oz) frozen strawberries, thawed and drained

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint

1 tablespoon orange-flavoured liqueur [ex. Cointreau or Grand Marnier]

1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed [ex. Cool Whip]

1/4 teaspoon orange extract, [ex. McCormick]

fresh mint leaves.

Here are the incredibly simple directions:

1. Remove angel food cake from container and invert onto plate; bottom is now the top of cake. With a serrated knife, carefully remove top of cake by slicing horizontally 1/2 inch down from top. Set aside.


2. Gently hollow out center of cake. Be careful not to tear inside or outside "walls" of cake. Tear removed cake into small pieces and place in medium bowl.


3. Pick out best looking strawberry to use as garnish; set aside. To bowl containing cake pieces, add strawberries, mint, orange-flavoured liqueur, and 1/2 cup of the frozen whipped topping. Fold until combined.


4. Fill cake, both well and center with strawberry mixture. Replace reserved top of cake.


5. Stir orange extract into remaining frozen whipped topping; frost cake. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and top with reserved strawberry. Chill cake for 4 hours before serving.

Okay, so I didn't bother with the mint because while it looks really pretty in the cake I just know Maddie would have hated that. Also, I had no orange flavoured liqueur hanging around and even though it's such a small amount...probably shouldn't be giving booze to the kiddos. I did have orange extract, though...so I used that in the Cool Whip. The brand of mine is "Frontier" but I don't remember now where I got it...probably from "Goodness Me".

Verdict: yummo.

So simple and easy and really impressive looking. Well, mine is a bit messy (Sandra Lee swirled her Cool Whip and I just spiked it. The swirls are prettier. Plus, Sandra had all the little hits of green from the mint in hers - which also makes it look prettier). This would be great if you needed to bring a dessert to someone's house but you really had no time. They'd think you slaved over it all day! Dave thought it would be even better with fresh strawberries and that would probably be true but only if you added sugar and water to them and let them sit for a bit to get all nice and squishy. You need there to be some sugary syrup around them to seep into the cake.

Easy-Peasy!

Please head on over to The Fairy BlogMother's site for more great recipe ideas and to maybe even add one yourself: we'd love to have you play, too!

The Golden Potato Salad.

Ok...I was going to do my recipe for a quite nummy chicken casserole. It had chicken on top of rice and was a quite easy to prepare one dish meal (gotta' like that) but, uh, guess what? I lost the recipe! I think it was from the Looney Spoons book that I just returned to the library! So, let this be a lesson to all you kids out there...be sure to write down your recipes before you forget where you got them from...or return your cook-books to the library!

So, instead, I bring you the side dish: Golden Potato Salad.

This recipe is from "The Vegetarian Family Cookbook" and I have made it two slightly different ways.

Here are the ingredients:

1 large sweet potato

4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

1 medium red bell pepper, cut into narrow strips

2 scallions (a.k.a. green onion), thinly sliced

Dressing

1/2 cup [soy] mayonnaise

1/2 cup low-fat yogurt

2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard

Juice of 1/2 lemon or lime

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Minced fresh parsley and/or dill, to taste.

Directions:

Bake or microwave the potatoes in their skins until done but still firm. Allow 2 to 3 minutes per potato, test for doneness, then add a little time as needed. Let them cool to room temperature. Slip their skins off and cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch chunks and place in a serving container with the peas, bell pepper, and scallions.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and stir together. Stir into the potato mixture.

Season with salt and pepper. Add parsley to taste, or put in a small bowl and pass for topping individual portions.

The first time I made this I used the soy mayonnaise which is called "Veganaise" and I only added 1 teaspoon of mustard and, of course, no disgusting dill. I hate both mustard and dill. Horrible, horrible, things. And, it was DELICIOUS!! Even Dave who doesn't hate much more in this world than peas - loved it. When he saw the peas he just about flipped out and said, "I am not eating peas. Don't even bother. I won't eat it". But, I explained to him that they are not cooked and they taste totally different (and very good) when they aren't cooked. So, you HAVE to use frozen and NOT canned peas! Dave also really, really, loved the Veganaise but then we discovered something that wasn't so good about it and stopped buying it. It was either the high price and/or I think it had a lot of cholesterol (which doesn't even make sense...but I think it really had more cholesterol than reg. mayonnaise). I can't really remember now what the reason was to not buy it again (short shelf life, too, I believe). But, I must say, this potato salad was gobbled up. Everyone was practically fighting over it. The girls kept asking for more and Dave brought a bunch in his lunch the next day.

The second time I made this I used the full amount of mustard, regular mayonnaise, and I over-cooked the potatoes a bit. It wasn't as good at all. So, be very careful about cooking your potatoes in the microwave...you may not need as much time as they suggest you may. And, you may want to go ahead and try the Veganaise because I think it made it taste really, really, good. The sweet potatoes make it different and very nummy and the peas are fantastic in this potato salad so don't listen to your family of pea-haters and add them in!

Be sure to hop on over to The Fairy BlogMother's site (the Home of "What's Cooking Wednesday") to find a bunch of other great recipes and...hey...why dontcha' join in and let us know what's cooking at your place while you're there?

Indian Appleous 500 winner!

Here's another recipe from the crazy gals who wrote, "Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry". I like this cookbook because it's not just recipes; it's also funny little stories, tid-bits, anecdotes and really bad jokes. They also, helpfully, tell you where in the grocery store to look for lesser-known ingredients. And, each recipe is accompanied by the per serving nutritional information so that you can feel even better about your dinner.

This weeks choice was a GREAT one: "Indian Appleous 500". Mmm-mmm, is all I have to say.

Ingredients:

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 kg)

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 tsp minced garlic

1 1/2 tbsp grated ginger root

1 1/2 tsp each curry powder and chili powder

1/2 tsp each ground turmeric and ground cinnamon

1 can (398 ml) light coconut milk

1/4 cup mango chutney

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup peeled, cored, and chopped Golden Delicious apples

1/2 cup frozen green pees

2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro

Directions:

"You'll need a large, deep, non-stick skillet with a lid. Spray skillet with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces and cook until both sides are lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Remove chicken and keep warm.

Add onions, red pepper, and garlic to the same skillet. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add ginger root, curry powder, chili powder, turmeric, and cinnamon. Cook and stir for 1 more minute. Add coconut milk, mango chutney, lemon zest, and salt. Mix well. Still in chicken pieces and apples. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Add peas and cilantro. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 more minutes.

Serve hot. Tastes great on a bed of basmati rice."

Yes it does.

Oh, and do you know the easy microwave way of cooking basmati rice? Let me tell you - take 1 1/2 cups of rice and put in a microwavable glass dish (with a lid) and 3 cups of H20. Cook on high for 10 minutes, and medium power for 10 minutes. Done. Easy Peasy.

Verdicts:

Great! Yummy, yummy. Everyone in the family loved it and I even ranked it (slightly) above the roasted chicken that's been the fav. so far. Definitely 9/10 and a keeper!! I love anything with curry and turmeric that involves basmati rice and this was no exception. You should try it!

More Great Recipe Ideas Can Always Be Found at The Fairy BlogMother's site -- the home of What's Cooking Wednesday!

Creamy Bow-Ties with Chicken.

As you know, every once in awhile Maddie invites her best friend over to play and have dinner with us. But, her friend doesn't actually get much dinner! Poor little thing usually has three bites and she is done. I was determined to find something she would love and gobble up. I couldn't wait to tell her Mom, "She ate up her whole plate and asked for seconds!!" I know she likes chicken and pasta so I tried this recipe from my trusty "Great Food Fast" book - specifically because it contained both of those ingredients and it says in the description, "This attractive dish is perfect for entertaining, but it's so quick and easy you'll want to make it for the family. Kids love it!" Perfect!

Creamy Bow-Ties with Chicken, Spinach and Peppers

Ingredients List:

6 oz Bow-tie Pasta
12 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts, but into strips
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup julienned red bell peppers
2 cups shredded fresh spinach
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp minced garlic
2 cups milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup shredded old white Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta until tender but firm; drain. Rinse under hot water; drain. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, spray a large skillet with vegetable spray. Add chicken strips and cook over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until browned and juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork. Transfer to a plate.

3. In the same skillet, heat 1 tsp. of the oil over medium heat. Add peppers and saute for 3 to 4 minutes or until slightly softened. Stir in spinach and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until wilted. Stir in lemon juice. Transfer vegetables to a bowl and set aside.

4. In the same pot used for cooking pasta, heat remaining oil over medium heat; blend in flour. Add garlic and milk; cook whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in salt, nutmeg and pepper. Remove from heat. Add Cheddar cheese and stir until blended. Add pasta, chicken and vegetables to sauce; stir until combined. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Verdicts:

I found out that Maddie's friend does not like red peppers and she gave those a thumbs down. However, she said she loved the chicken and the pasta and gave those two thumbs up! But, still, she didn't eat very much at all. Maybe she's just too excited about playing to eat. I feel bad that I'm not filling her up better, though. We'll keep trying!

My girls both said they loved this recipe and Jamie ate it all. Maddie ate most of it but I think she, too, just wanted to get going to play.

Dave and I both really enjoyed it and we both gave it an 8 out of 10 which is a high enough rating to put this one into steady rotation. It makes great left-overs, too!

The best part of dinner, though...definitely had to be dessert.

:-)

For more great recipes check out What's Cooking Wednesday brought to you by the birthday girl...The Fairy BlogMother!

Where's the Beef?

I have an oddly strong affection for cows- I admit it. I'm not exactly sure why but it may be because we had "pet" cows (bull calves, really) when I was in vet. tech. school. Also, I now live in an area that is surrounded by cows and I always have to slow down to look at them because I think they are just so cool looking (am I weird?). Thus, I don't eat beef (or pork - they're too cute too. Terrible, I know. That's just how my brain works). So, poor Davey never gets any red meat around here. And, he has ~no~ problem with eating a cow. "Mmmm. Good". Usually the only time he gets any beef is when we go out for dinner and he can order a steak or he throws a regular burger on the barbeque for him and something tofu-ey for me. So, in honour of his first full day back to work as Landscaper Extraordinaire I decided I would be a good wifey and try to cook him something with beef. Yes, it was completely gross to cook and smelled disgusting - but that's the price I was willing to pay for my man.

So, this weeks What's Cooking Wednesday is...

Hoisin Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

brought to you by the Dietitans of Canada's "Great Food Fast"

Ingredients List:

2 tsp evoo

12 oz. inside round steak cut into 3- by 1/2 inch strips

1 tbsp chopped ginger root

1 tsp minced garlic

3 cups small broccoli florets

1/3 cups sliced water chestnuts

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1/3 cups orange juice

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional)

black pepper

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over med-high heat; add beef strips and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until browned. Add ginger, garlic, broccoli, and water chestnuts; stir-fry for another 2 to 3 minutes until broccoli is tender-crisp.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, orange juice, hoisin sauce and, if using, sesame oil. Add to skillet; cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes or until thickened and heated through. Season to taste with pepper. Serve over rice. If desired, sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Verdicts:

Dave didn't say anything as he started eating so I knew that it probably sucked. I had to probe him to get him to say, "Well, it's good- but the meat is over-cooked". Of course. I always over-cook meat...especially meat that is supposed to stay a bit pinkish because that pinkish is just too gross for me to handle. I would be a horrible chef! He said he'd give it a 7/10 but I think he was being generous just because I tried to make him something with beef and he was giving me bonus points. I think you may *really* need a wok to do this properly because I just used a big pan and while the tops of the broccoli got cooked (almost too mushy, really) the stalks were still too hard. The water chestnuts were also too hard and not sliced thinly enough. I bought them whole and they are really, really, hard to slice without cutting your fingers off. The girls both love rice and broccoli so they were okay with that part. Jamie said the meat was "not good" and Maddie ate some but didn't love it.

I don't think I'll be trying this again but, if you do, I'd suggest either using a wok or steaming the broccoli first and then just tossing it in to get it coated with sauce. I also added the optional sesame seeds which I toasted in the oven (trying to be fancy-smancy) and let me say - there is a difference of about 1 millisecond between not toasted and burnt. :)

Check out The Fairy Blogmother's other recipes at What's Cooking Wednesday!

The Great Chicken Roast.

You can't call yourself a grown-up and not know how to roast a chicken, right? So, I figured it was about time I figured out how to do it. I decided to learn from one of the best and got my instructions from Alice Waters' book, "The Art of Simple Food". It actually was very, very, simple and the results were spectacular. I've never before made something that took such little work and got so much praise from everyone in the family!

Here are the instructions:

Get yourself a 3 1/2 to 4 pound chicken (preferably organic - but ours was regular) and season with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt mixed with a 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper both inside and outside the bird. You can also use fresh herbs and garlic at this point if you like (and we did). We stuffed fresh thyme and rosemary sprigs under the skin of the chicken on the breasts and the drumsticks along with slices of garlic. We also filled the whole cavity of the bird with the fresh herbs. We then just covered it and put it back in the fridge (ideally, you should put it back in the fridge like this for a day or two - we just let it sit for the day).

Take the bird out of the fridge an hour before cooking. It's important that it isn't cold when it goes into the oven. Cook in a preheated, 400 degree, oven for 20 minutes breast up. Then flip the bird and cook for 20 more minutes breast down. Then cook for about 20 more minutes breast up again (but check it after 10 mins. to see how it is doing). The chicken is done "when the legs and thighs are no longer pink and the breast is still juicy and tender. Don't be afraid to cut into it. The thighs are the last parts to finish cooking , so cut into the bird near the joint between the drumstick and the thigh. The meat should be hot and no longer red".

We also made use of our digital cooking thermometer and cooked the chicken until it was 180 degrees.

Let the chicken rest for a minimum of 10 -15 minutes after you take it out of the oven. This is so "the juices will settle, the internal temperature will stabilize, and the chicken will be much more succulent than if you carve it immediately".

I served the chicken with corn and some white and red baby potatoes that I roasted in the oven, whole, at the same time as the chicken. I just tossed them in a bit of evoo and seasoned them with salt and pepper and I threw some whole garlic gloves and a bunch of fresh herbs on top of them, too.

The verdict? This was the best meal ever according to everyone! The herbs just filled the chicken up with flavour and it was so moist and yummy! Dave said it was "way better than the chicken you get at the grocery store" and he was in a really, really, good mood for the rest of the night. Maddie gave it two thumbs way up and when I asked her what the best part of the dinner was she said, "Everything!" She ate every last bit of food on her plate and asked for more of the potatoes. She even wants us to send some leftovers in her lunch with her tomorrow.

Wow. A HUGE hit.

I'll be roasting chickens all the time now. I thought it was going to be hard to do, but it's actually really easy and there was so little work involved.

"Luuved it!" (you have to say that with a Simon Cowell accent).

And...that's What's Cooking Wednesday (around here)!!!