day 35, recipe 35: Slow Cooker Greek Chicken & Potatoes

I don't think I've ever been happier to have dinner ready the second I walked in the door as I was last night. I was super exhausted and my dogs were barking. Being able to do nothing more then toss a salad & serve dinner was heaven. Slow cooker for the win, as per usual. I will say, this recipe wasn't as fabulous as I had hoped. I think that 8 hours was a little too long for my drumsticks but live & learn!

2 lbs                   mini red potatoes, washed & skin on
2 lbs                   chicken drumsticks or chicken thighs
1 onion               cut into big chunky slices
5 cloves              garlic, minced
1 T                     lemon pepper
1 T                     oregano
2 T                     olive oil
2 t                      fresh rosemary
3 T                     lemon juice

Place potatoes and onion in the bottom of the crockpot. Layer chicken over top.
In a small bowl, mix together remaining ingredients and then spoon over top of chicken. Sprinkle liberally with salt and then cover, cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with a salad & squeeze additional lemon juice overtop if desired.

day 34, recipe 34; Parmesan Chicken Salad Wraps

These made a delicious & healthy lunch! I made it using two boneless skinless chicken breasts and it made enough filling for 4 large wraps, but you could probably stretch it out if you used small/medium tortillas. I chose to use spinach wraps for added flavor!

1/2 C           low-fat mayo
1 T              lemon juice
2 t               fresh basil
2 1/2 C        chopped cooked chicken or turkey
1/4 C           grated parmesan cheese
1/4 C           thinly sliced green onions
3 T              finely chopped celery
                   salt & pepper to taste

For dressing; stir mayo, lemon juice & basil together. Set aside.
Combine chicken, parmesan cheese, onions and celery. Pour dressing overtop and stir well. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve immediately on bread or divide into portions for later consumption.

I refrigerated the mixture in a ziploc container and made my wraps one night ahead. I found they didn't get soggy at all and were even better the second day! Definite winner for an easy brown bag lunch. Pack some fresh berries & a yogurt and you'll have a satisfying meal!

day 33, recipe 33; Cajun Shrimp

No Frills had frozen shrimp on sale for $3 - yay! However, the shrimp were still in shell, which made for some pretty funny dinner prep in this house. Thankfully, they were de-veined because otherwise, they would have stayed in the freezer until the end of time...haha.
I've mentioned before that we're a relatively heat-free household. I love it, but bf doesn't so if I'm going to kick up something, I usually wait until I've portioned it out. Wellllll, although the reviews for this recipe stated it wasn't that spicy, they were wrong. I rarely think anything is too spicy and this definitely had a whole lotta kick to it. It was really, really good though. Just be warned!

6-8             fresh vine tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 C       chicken broth
3 T             paprika
1/2             onion, chopped
1/2 t           cayenne pepper
1/2 t           black pepper
1/2 t           thyme
1/2 t           basil
1 T             chopped garlic
1 T             Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t            tabasco sauce
2 T             sugar
1/2 C          green onions, sliced
1 lb             shrimp, dethawed & skins removed
2 T             olive oil

Saute onions in olive oil for about 4 minutes. Add garlic & stir, cooking for another 2 minutes. Add paprika, cayenne, black pepper, basil, and thyme; stir well. Add everything else but shrimp and cook on low for about 45 minutes.
With 10 minutes left in a seperate frying pan, melt some butter and saute the shrimp. Cook until the shrimp turn pink throughout and then add to sauce.
Serve over rice with steamed broccoli...you might need a glass of milk or a slice of bread too, just saying.

day 32, recipe 32: Oh-so-simple Pasta Primavera

Yay, update time! So, since I cooked these meals according to the true day, I'm going to label them as such even though I'm posting them a little late. I guess it's easy to keep up the cooking, but not quite as easy to find the time to post them.
Anyways, this is ready to go in under 20 minutes. I've made it with Knorr Vegetable soup envelopes AND Knorr Cream of Vegetable soup envelope and I think I preferred the non-creamy variety. I guess it just depends if you want a lighter sauce or not! Feel free to add whatever veggie blend you want, I added an asian blend the first time around & it was really good.

1 pkg            Knorr vegetable soup mix
1 1/2 C         milk
1/4 C            butter
                    fettucine pasta, cooked as per package directions.

Bring a pot of water to a boil & throw your pasta in there to cook.
In a sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add soup mix and milk, stirring well. Bring to a slow boil, reduce to low and simmer for 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Drain cooked pasta, pour sauce overtop & serve garnished with parmesan cheese. Pretty easy, huh?

I swear, I'm still cooking...

So, we had a party hardy weekend & I went back to work yesterday. Now I'm like 4 days behind in recipes, but don't worry- I'm still cooking.
I'll catch up on them on Thursday- there were so delish dishes : )
xo.

day 31, recipe 31: Steak with Sauteed Mushrooms

Woo! One whole month of no repeats down and eleven more to go! It's been a fun month, but I digress..I'm starting to struggle a wee bit. I guess I'll just have to learn to think outside the box a little more.
We all love a good steak. It's easy to find bottled steak marinades, or rubs that'll ensure you'll have a tasty steak but it's more fun (and flavorful!) when you make your own. This was by far one of the best marinades I've ever used!

Marinade

1/4 C            extra virgin olive oil
1/4 C            soya sauce (low-sodium if you prefer)
1/4 C            Worcestershire sauce
1/8 C             balsamic vinegar
1/8 C             dry white wine
2 T                Keg steak spice
1T                 dijon mustard (shhh, this is my "secret" ingredient; mainly because the bf HATES mustard. hehe)
                     salt & pepper

In a large shallow dish, lay your steaks down & sprinkle with salt, pepper and steak spice. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients & stir well. Pour overtop of steaks, cover dish with cling wrap & place in fridge to marinate for a minimum of 3 hours.

Preheat your grill or bbq. I've got an indoor counter top grill that's super handy for winter days when you just don't want to stand around bbq'ing. I set the temperature at "3"- using a medium-low setting allowed me to cook the steaks long enough to achieve a medium-rare without burning or charring the outside of the meat.
Add your steaks to the heated grill & brush top side with remaining marinade. Cook for 7 minutes on the first side; turn over and cook for 5 minutes on the second side, once again brushing top with marinade. Discard remaining marinade. Allow steaks to sit for 1 minute when they have reached desired doneness & serve with sauteed mushrooms and oven roasted potatoes!

Sauteed Mushrooms- Easiest & Tastiest : )

You can use fresh or canned mushrooms for this. In a strange way, I almost prefer the canned mushrooms when I'm cooking them up like this. To each their own, right?

1 can                   sliced mushrooms
2 T                      butter or margarine
2 T                      soya sauce
2 T                      Worcestershire sauce
1 onion                 cut in half, then into thin rings
1 T                       garlic salt
                            pepper to taste

Melt butter in a small frying pan & add mushrooms. Saute just until soft; add mushrooms to pan & mix well with onion. Cook for 3-4 minutes then add soya, Worcestershire, garlic salt & pepper. Continue cooking until all the liquid has evaporated & been absorbed into the mushroom mixture. Remove from heat & serve over or on the side of your steak!

day 30, recipe 30: Stuffed Pork chops

Mehhhhhh....this was alright. It's basically what you'd expect from the ingredients. Easy enough to make, but I'd reserve my chops for more original ideas next time.

1 box                Stovetop stuffing, prepared as per instructions

4                      boneless pork loin chops, with a pocket cut into each
1 can                cream of mushroom soup
6                      white mushrooms, sliced
1 C                   milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Season chops with salt and pepper, and cut pocket into each.
Spoon 1/2 stuffing into pockets.
Sprinkle tops with mushrooms & then pour mushroom soup and milk overtop; allow to settle to bottom of pan. Spoon remaining stuffing mix on top of each pork chop. Bake uncovered for about an hour. Serve with rice & veggies.

day 29, recipe 29: The BEST French Fries EVER

One of lifes little luxuries is owning a deep fryer. I know, it's not exactly the most health conscious way to eat your foods but really, you aren't fooling anyone when you eat your mushy oven baked fries & claim they taste as good as ones from a fast food restaurant. These sweet & salty fries will be sure to satisfy!


3          large white potatoes, washed & scrubbed well, cut into shoe string pieces
4 C       vegetable oil, for frying

After you slice your potatoes into desired length/thickness, immediately transfer them into a bowl with ice cold water (throw a couple cubes in, too!). Allow to sit in the cold water for 30 minutes, until your oil has heated to correct temperature.
Transfer potatoes into your frying basket & shake off excess moisture before putting into oil. Lower basket into deep frier & place lid overtop (mine has a lid, yours might not). Cook for 5 minutes, remove from heat & allow to drain of oil in basket for two minutes. Lower fries into oil again & fry for an additional 3 minutes. Yup- that's right; TWICE fried potatoes. The secret for crispy success. Mmm.

Remove fries from oil & unplug your fryer- dump fries onto a plate with paper towel & allow to drain of excess oil. Sprinkle seasoning over top & enjoy!



Seasoning
1 T                   granulated sugar
1 t                    sea salt
2 t                    paprika

Combine ingredients & shake together in a small ziploc baggie. Great for popcorn as well, reminds me of kettle corn!

day 28, recipe 28: Best Salisbury Steak

Here's another recipe I've heard of, but never had. Sure, I've seen it in the frozen section at the grocery store but never really given it a second thought. I wanted to do something with ground beef today and didn't want anything involving cheese, tortillas, tomato sauce or pasta and I remembered this little gem. Knowing my boy had only the frozen variety to compare it to, I thought I found a winner. After eating this delicious (easy!) dish, I'm sad that I hadn't discovered it sooner.

1 1/2 lbs                   ground beef
1 envelope                dry onion soup mix, divided ( I prefer Selection brand to Lipton, I find it less salty & more mild )
1/4 C                       dry bread crumbs
1 egg                       lightly beaten
2 T                          vegetable oil
1 1/2 C                     water
6-8                          fresh white mushrooms, sliced

In a bowl, combine ground beef, 1 tablespoon of the soup mix, bread crumbs and egg. Lightly stir together to ensure even mixing of all ingredients. Shape into 4 patties & let sit in the fridge for an hour.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown the patties on both sides, remove from skillet & drain the excess fat.

Return meat to skillet and add remaining soup mix & flour. Slowly stir in water and mushrooms. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve patties over egg noodles smothered in gravy & vegetables. Mmmmmm.

day 27, recipe 27: Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

If I've ever needed a reason to love my slow cooker- it's today. Not only do I have a brand spankin' new one (thanks ma!!) but I decided to do NINE loads of laundry today. One of the little luxuries of living in an apartment is having use of more then one washer at a time. Sadly, we're only privy to three washers so it still took me about 6 hours, sigh.

ANYWAYS, I'm fairly certain that if I didn't have a slow cooker, we would have eaten kraft dinner & hot dogs for dinner...seriously. If you take anything away from my blog at all urbanites, it should be this; slow cookers are a god send.

1lb                 chicken thighs, skin on
1 can              diced tomatoes
1 can              tomato paste
2 T                 ginger
1 T                 curry powder
1 T                 chili powder
1/4 C              butter
1                    medium onion, halved & thinly sliced
1 t                  cinnamon

2 t                  garam masala
4                    cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 C              water
1 C                 plain yogurt
1/2 C              half & half cream
                      salt & pepper to taste
                      green onion, sliced (for garnish)

Turn your slow cooker on to high heat. Add the butter and cover for 15-20 minutes until it has melted. Add onions, garlic and spices.
Lay chicken on top of butter mixture. Pour tomato paste over chicken, then diced tomatoes & then water. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours (high 4-6). About 30 minutes before serving, add yogurt and half&half, stir well. Cover and cook on low for remaining 30 minutes. Serve over rice, spooning lots of sauce overtop! I also bought naan bread to make it a little more authentic!
As an after note, I probably would have not added the 1/4 C of water. The liquid in the diced tomatoes proved to be enough and I found that the "gravy" was a little on the runny side. You can always thicken up with flour or corn starch if you find this, but I'd air on the side of caution and just omit it, rather then ruin the buttery flavour!

Day 26, Recipe 26: Sunday Roast Dinner

One of my favorite memories of being a kid, is sunday dinners. What is served at these dinners always varies, but it's always delicious- like a mini-holiday feast! The bf & I love to carry on this tradition, whether its pork tenderloin, roasted chicken or a beef roast, we'll prepare all the fixings & enjoy a great meal as we wind down from the weekend. I'm fortunate that he's the meat & potatoes kind of guy, because before he came along, I couldn't cook a cut of beef if my life depended on it- seriously, runs in the genes or something.

We found a cute little 2 lb sirlion tip roast at Metro yesterday for $10 (which is a really, really good price- we've paid upwards of $25 for our roasts before). It was the perfect size for us & we even had leftovers. Here's my marinade recipe, followed by my gravy sauce recipe.


2 lb               Beef roast (Sirlion Tip or other lean cut)
1 T               olive oil
1/4 C            red wine
2 T              Worcestershire sauce
1 T              montreal steak spice
5                 cloves of garlic, minced
1                 small onion, minced

Prepare the marinade in a small bowl (all items excluding the roast). Place roast into a shallow pan (you can also place it on top of a rack, if you have one). Drizzle the marinade over top of roast, brushing all sides. Place into fridge and allow to sit for 2 hours.
Remove roast from fridge and preheat oven to 325 degrees F- using a low heat is ideal for this cut of beef. We also prefer our roasts medium-rare so we can afford to cook at this low temperature and not have to wait for hours to eat.
Place roast into the oven & cook for approximately 30 minutes per pound. If you have a meat thermometer, it should read about 140 degrees for medium-rare. We don't, so we just eye it out.
After roast is cooked to desired doneness, allow to sit on a cutting board for 15-20 minutes. Then thinly slice & serve with prepared gravy, horseradish, etc.

Now, take the drippings from your roast pan and make some gravy! It's sooooo much better then using packaged gravy if you do it right. The more spices you use on your roast, the more flavorful the drippings will be resulting in a more rich gravy. I nailed it first try and I'll never look back to that little brown package. A little shinfo on making gravy- it's important to know how much fat/drippings you have. If you like a thick gravy, the ratio should be 1:1 for drippings:flour.

1 T                roasting pan drippings
1 T                flour
1/2 C             beef broth/chicken broth
1/4 C             red or white wine (use red for beef & pork, white for chicken)

If you have company or you just want a ton of gravy and you don't have enough fat, melt down some butter in it's place.
Start with the drippings in a pan over medium heat. Stir in flour until it is well mixed & begins to slightly bubble. Add 1/4 cup of wine in slowly, stirring to ensure all the bits from the bottom are mixed in. Now add broth 1/4 cup at a time, stirring well. As the gravy begins to thicken, reduce heat to low & simmer for about 10 minutes. The result? A thick, tasty homemade gravy!

Day 24, Recipe 25: Hashbrown Casserole

Casseroles offer so much versatility. For example, in this recipe you could follow it exactly...or you can sub ground beef, ground turkey, or mashed potatoes for hashbrowns, or cream of chicken for cream of mushroom. You can add eggs (to make a breakfast casserole), add cheese, even add more vegetables to the mix!

1- 750kg pkg            frozen cubed hashbrowns
1 can                       cream of mushroom soup
1 C                          sour cream
1/2 C                       milk
1/2 C                       frozen corn, thawed
1                             medium green pepper, chopped
1                             onion, diced
2                             green onions, sliced (for garnish)
1 lb                          mild italian sausage
1 tsp                        black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a skillet, cook sausages until no longer pink- approx 15 minutes. Slice into quarter sized pieces.
In a 9x13 pan, add the sausage pieces, corn, green pepper and onion. Cover with hashbrowns.
Mix together milk, sour cream & black pepper. Pour overtop of hashbrowns. Pour the mushroom soup overtop & stir gently to mix together. Cover with foil & bake for 45 minutes; remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until potatoes are fully cooked. Sprinkle with green onions for garnish & serve!

This was really, really good. It kind of tasted like scalloped potatoes, we decided and was way less fuss! Definitely adding this to the collection for my post-365 no repeat days, of course. : )

Day 24, Bonus Recipe: Zesty Vinaigrette

Happy Friday! I love salad. All forms & all types of salads ('cept for that bagged stuff- keep it away!). This is by far my FAVE salad dressing. I make it from scratch. I know that the recipe came from my mom, but all I rememeber is the pepperconi juice and honey so I make it off the top of my head. You can double, triple etc to suit your needs- you can also store it in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks! If you chose to increase the recipe, remember the 3 to 1 oil to vinegar ratio. Heck, knowing that ratio- it's not hard to come up with your own vinaigrette!

6 T             extra virgin olive oil
2 T             red wine vinegar
1 T             pickled pepperconi brine
2 t              lemon juice
1 t              honey
                 crushed bay leaf, oregano, salt & pepper to taste

Best served over a greek salad, but I've used it on chefs salads, tomato/cucumber salads and once even as a marinade! It has a certain twang about it that makes you want to eat up all those veggies. Seriously!

Day 23, Recipe 24: Mediterranean Crockpot Chicken

I know, I know- I'm addicted to the slow cooker. I heard it's making a comeback, just sayin'. This is pretty much the adult version of "throw stuff in a pot" and see what happens. I forgot to take a picture before we ate it all.

4-6                 chicken thighs
1 jar                black olives, drained of liquid
1 jar                marinated artichoke hearts, 1/4 of liquid reserved
1 can               diced tomatoes with liquid
1/2                  red onion, sliced
5 cloves           garlic, whole

Yup, you guessed it- toss it all in that slow cooker! Turn on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6. I thickened the sauce after removing the chicken & served it over gnocchi as a side. Sprinkle both with freshly grated parmesan cheese! I thought it was okay, bf went back for a huge pile of seconds. The chicken was frozen when it went in so I cooked it on high and it was so juicy, it fell right off the bone!

Day 22, Recipe 23: Mini Pita Pizzas

Cute, great for portion control & healthy. What more could you ask for? Surely, I can't be talking about pizza you're probably thinking. Oh, but I am. I came across this idea on another blog of a "starving student". These are really cheap to make (depending on toppings) and really fast. They taste as good as the real deal too! And yes- you can eat the WHOLE thing for under 450 calories. Score!

Basics:

1 pkg                 Greek style pita breads (the ones without the pockets)
1 jar                   Pizza sauce (I use homemade, but use whatever you're comfortable with)
1/2 C                 shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
                         assorted toppings (pepperoni, bacon, mushrooms, olives- etc etc)

Arrange the pitas on a baking tray. Sauce, cheese & dress them however your little heart desires & then bake them for 10-12 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees F. Even easier- you can toast them little pizzas in the toaster oven & they'll still be amazing! I made four different pizzas, here are some topping/sauce combos I tried:

White Pizza Sauce (enough for 2 pita pizzas )

1/4 C           cream cheese, softened
3 T              creamy Ranch dressing

White Pizza #1
White Pizza Sauce
Spinach
Artichokes
Black Olives
Red Onion
Red Pepper Flakes
Mozzarella Cheese

This one got the second highest rating from my taste tester (boyfriend). The cream cheese base was AWESOME and surprisingly, had a light taste.

White Pizza #2White Pizza Sauce
Mushrooms
Red Peppers
Cooked bacon crumbles
Ranch dressing
Mozzarella Cheese

After I added all the toppings, I zig-zagged a line of ranch dressing overtop. This pizza was ranked highest (duh!).

Veggie Pizza #1Tomato Pizza Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Spinach
Red onions
Black Olives
Mushrooms
Feta Cheese

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Veggie Pizza #2
Tomato Pizza Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Red Peppers
Red Onions
Mushrooms
Black Olives
Parmesan Cheese

Sprinkled with parmesan cheese, it changes the flavors of the veggies between pizza 1 and pizza 2.
Topping possibilities are endless, don't be afraid to play around! The great thing here is that you don't have to worry about making this huge pie that has some wacky toppings on it & no one liking it! These freeze well too for lunches on the run : )



 

Day 22, Recipe 22: Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Jalapeno Thingies

These are out of this world. Pretty much nothing else to say about them other then that. If you're bringing these somewhere, I'd double or triple the amount...they have a way of disappearing really, really fast.

5                      fresh jalapeno peppers
1/2 C                cream cheese
1/2 pkg             bacon, cut into half


Start by washing & drying the peppers. I didn't wear gloves to cut them & seed them but I live on the wild side. If you're making a huge batch of these, better safe then sorry- put the gloves on. Slice the peppers down the middle from stem to end & remove seeds and the white "pepper pulp". The heat in jalapenos comes from the seeds and the pulp, so make sure to get it all out of there if you don't want the spice. Leave a little if you like it HOT.

When the peppers are seeded, put them onto a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Using a spoon, scoop and fill each pepper with cream cheese. Use as little (or as much) as you like- the more the better in my opinion. Take a bacon half and wrap it around the jalapeno. You may choose to secure the peppers with toothpicks once they are wrapped, I didn't need to though- they stayed in place just fine!

Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, or until bacon is done. Serve warm.

Day 21, Recipe 21: Spicy Broccoli Mango Salad

This was AWESOME. I found a bunch of recipes for salads with the two main ingredients but alot of them called for mandarin oranges (yuck) so I'll say that this is very loosely based on a Betty Crocker recipe, but I changed so many things I'm dubbing it an original.
Also, call me crazy- but sauteed crushed walnuts kind of simulate bacon, no joke. 

Spicy Walnut Topping

1 C            coarsely chopped walnuts
2 T            vegetable oil
1/4 C          crushed red pepper flakes

Heat oil in a skillet and toss walnuts with red pepper flakes until coated & heated, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Salad
1 head          fresh broccoli, cut into pieces
1                  mango, peeled and sliced into cubes
1/2               red onion, chopped

In a bowl, combine ingredients. Toss with dressing and serve immediately, topped with spicy walnut pieces. I made this in the early afternoon and tossed it into the fridge for a few hours so I made the walnuts last minute & added them right before serving.

Dressing

1/4 C             plain yogurt
3/4 C             low fat mayo-type salad dressing (you know the stuff)
3 T                apple cider vinegar
                     splash of orange juice
1/8 t               salt

Mix all ingredients together & pour overtop salad. Seriously- so good & healthy to boot!

Day 21, Recipe 20: Whipped Chocolate Cheesecake Pie

I know, I know. Doesn't make much sense to have this healthy dinner prepared and then counter it with a luscious dessert, but hey- that's just the way I roll. As I said, I'm not a baker and when it comes to desserts, I like 'em to be relatively low fuss. This recipe is just that- even baking the crust is totally optional!

The only thing I would suggest, is serving this for a weeknight dessert. It doesn't come out of the pan intact so it doesn't make for a great presentation. But it's yummy...so SO yummy!

1 C                  graham cracker crumbs
1                     container Light Cool-Whip, thawed
1 pkg               instant chocolate pudding
2 C                  cold milk
1 pkg               cream cheese
1/3 C                butter
1/4 C                granulated sugar
1/4 C                icing sugar

*The walnuts are for the salad I also made, so disregard them in this picture.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Baking the crust is optional, but I chose to do it. Mainly to give me some time to whip together everything else.
Melt butter in the microwave. Combine granulated sugar, butter and graham cracker crumbs. Press down into a pie dish evenly at the bottom to make the crust. Bake for 15 minutes and then allow to cool.

Meanwhile, make your pudding according to package directions. I used No Name instead of Jell-o brand, and it called for only 2 cups of cold milk. Use your hand mixer and mix it on up for 2 minutes. Set aside.
Next, add package on cream cheese, 1/2 of the thawed cool whip and icing sugar to a bowl. Mix together on a medium setting until it is smooth. Then use a spatula to fold in the remaining cool whip.

Spoon the whipped mix on top of the graham cracker crust and smooth out lightly so that it is all even. Next, spoon the pudding on top of the whipped layer. Chill for 4-5 hours and serve. Betcha can't have just one piece.

day 21, recipe 19: Pesto Salmon Foil Packets

I did it again- ate too much for dinner & was left way unmotivated to put up the recipes I tried yesterday. Oops. However, I cooked a ton of stuff yesterday- 3 new things! Now, I'll finally be able to catch up on those missing days.

Recipe one was a salmon recipe. This was okay- boyfriend really liked it, I didn't hate it. Problem is, I realize why people put dill cream sauces on salmon fillets- to tone down the strong flavor. I think I forgot that when I decided to make this recipe so be warned- if you prefer to mask that fish taste, this probably isn't going to be a big hit for 

you

.

2                    fresh salmon fillets, about 6oz
1-3                 fresh tomatoes, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
2 T                 olive oil
4 t                  pesto (you can use fresh, frozen, or storebought)
                      aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Tear two sheets of aluminum foil big enough to wrap the salmon in and stack one on top of the other.
Sprinkle the olive oil in the center of the sheets and lay salmon side by side. Spread about 2 tsp of pesto onto each fillet and cover with tomato slices.
I sprinkled them with parmesan cheese too- I felt it needed it. Close the foil up, making sure to double over the ends & the sides. Place on a baking sheet and cook for about 20 minutes (salmon should flake when touched with a fork when it's done).
Remove from oven and let stand for 2-3 minutes- it'll be way hot. Serve over couscous!

This is why I love the Internet....Pre-recipe research.

I honestly laughed so hard when I saw this video. For one, it's nice to know that other people have the same dumbass ideas for cooking as me. And really, I might have actually attempted to make this is I didn't see this video. Enjoy!

(Recipe obviously not ever to follow...hahaha)

Day 20, Recipe 18: Sweet and Spicy Beef Stir-Fry

Yep, took the weekend off once again.Hit Tortilla Flats downtown on Saturday night for epic burritos and enjoyed a delicious pork roast Sunday night with the boyfriends family (..really need to get his moms gravy recipe- it's out of this world). We went grocery shopping yesterday & it's safe to say, I now know why people choose to shop at No Frills. They have chicken drumsticks on sale this week (expect drumstick recipes to follow later in the week) and just overall a better choice for savings!
I've purchased VH stir-fry marinades in the past and have always been disappointed. But "authentic" recipes you find are always way too much work. This one is easy to make and if you want to skip the marinading stage, feel free. I happened to have the time to toss it into the fridge to soak in for a few hours, so I did.

And yes, I've finally moved on up in the blog world- I'm adding photos of my meals for your viewing pleasure : )

Marinade


1lb              1-inch steak strips  (I bought pre-cut strips specifically for stir-fry- yay, timesaver!)
2 cloves       garlic, minced
1/4 C           low sodium soya sauce
1/2 C           Catalina salad dressing
2 T              oyster sauce
2 T              red chili pepper flakes (*recipe called for 1/2 cup, but adjust to your desired heat level!)
1 T              olive oil




In a small bowl, mix all ingredients except steak and stir well. Pour over top of meat, cover and let marinade for 3 hours.

Stir-FryThe great thing about stir fry is that just about any combination of veggies will work- use what you have & still achieve desirable results!

1 pkg            Thai rice noodles, prepared as per package instructions
1 medium       red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 small           onion, cut into chunks
1 small           baby bok choy stem & leaves, sliced
6                   button mushrooms, sliced
1 C                bean sprouts
1/2 C             matchstick carrots
1 C                canned baby corn, chopped into pieces
1                   green onion, sliced (for garnish)

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add marinated beef mixture. Cook for approximately 8-10 minutes covered.
Meanwhile, heat a wok over high heat. Add 1/4 cup of water and all vegetables except for bean sprouts & green onion. Stir and cover to steam for about 2 minutes.
Add soaked rice noodles to vegetables and pour beef sauce overtop. Cover and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Stir in bean sprouts, remove from heat. Serve with a sprinkle over green onions. Yum-o! You can use more noodles and less veggies, or vice versa. This dish is so easy and versatile, I'm happy it worked out better then the oven baked mini spring rolls I attempted to whip up as an accompaniment. Recipe not to follow- steer clear haha!

day 18, recipe 17: honey glazed ham

Easter is coming & if you don't have a huge family to feed- or just don't want to be bothered with the whole turkey 'thang, ham is a great alternative. You can buy fully cooked, smoked hams for about $8, that'll more then feed two people. I even had a little bit left over to scramble into some eggs this morning. This was good but to be honest, smelled horrible the first few hours. The cider vinegar was such a strong odour that when I actually tasted the glaze overtop the ham, I was shocked that it wasn't more dominant. My "glaze" didn't thicken up during cooking, so it was more just a liquid to boil & give extra flavour. I sliced up the ham after 6 hours and returned to the slow cooker for another 30 minutes on high so that each slice would be fully glazed. Mmm. Definitely a keeper, I only wish I'd saved it for Easter now.

4-5 lb              ham, boneless or bone-in (smoked, fully cooked is what I used)
1/4 C               butter
1/4 C               cider vinegar
1/4 C               honey
1 t                   Worcestershire sauce
1 T                  brown sugar
2 t                   dried thyme

Put your ham into your slow cooker. Melt the butter in a pot on the stove over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and add vinegar, honey, worcestershire sauce, sugar & thyme. Mix together, pour over ham and turn slow cooker on to low for 6-7 hours. The ham bastes itself, and turns out awesome! I rotated my ham a few times during cooking, and spooned some of the juices overtop each time.

day 18, recipe 16; Unstuffed mushrooms

I've always thought of mushrooms as an additive to any dish, a vegetarian meat (portabello), or a condiment for steaks (seriously, haha). Yesterday I started thinking that I've never made a side dish where plain old button mushroom are the star. I came across a few options but this one stuck out seeming to be the easiest. Of course, I used my slow-cooker again to make a honey glazed ham & served with cheesy scalloped potoatoes, but the mushrooms were the definite fave of the evening. Because this recipe is kind of a "look & feel", you can play around the with amount of each ingredient until you get to your desired consistency.

1-2 packages            fresh button mushrooms, roughly chopped
                               fresh parsley
3 cloves                   garlic, minced
1/4 C                       bread crumbs
                               extra virgin olive oil
2 T                          parmesan cheese
                               salt & pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil, and toss mushrooms in for two minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together parsley & garlic, finely chopping both together.
Arrange mushrooms on a baking tin and sprinkle in olive oil, stirring to ensure all is covered.
Add garlic mixture, bread crumbs and parm cheese to mushrooms. Add more olive oil and stir around until coated. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. Season with salt & pepper and serve!

If the mushrooms are too dry, add more olive oil. Too wet, add more breadcrumbs. Voila!

day 17, recipe 15; Indian inspired steamed broccoli (sauce)

Cheese sauce is amazing, don't get me wrong. But sometimes, you just don't want your side dish to overpower your main dish. Compliment, not complicate- you know? There were a few sauces I came across but none of them fit my time frame- the steamer was already on and set to be done in 5 minutes and so far, all I had prepped was lemon, garlic and butter. Alas, a zesty spin on your typical green sidekick.

1/4 C              plain, low fat yogurt
1/4 t               cumin
1/4 t               red pepper flakes
3 T                freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 T                butter
                     salt & pepper, to taste
1                   garlic clove, minced


1 head            broccoli, steamed or prepared to your liking

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in cumin, red pepper, lemon juice & garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat; add yogurt, season with salt and pepper and immediately toss with steamed broccoli. A sauce that's start to finish in under 5 and adds enough zip to any meal to have 'em asking "wow- what's in this?"

day 17, recipe 14: Asian Inspired Peanut Porkchops

A girl I know sent me a link to a blog of similar goals- hers happened to be 365 days of slow cooking. I had pulled out boneless pork tenderloin chops yesterday and was eager to use them up in an unconventional way. My mom was quick to point out that we all tend to fall into ruts of cooking- using our favorite ingredients to flavor dishes. I agree- a meal prepared with garlic and onion to me usually just won't make the cut. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, anything containing cilentro gets a quick nay-nay.
This contains both of my staples, but also threw me for a curb. I made it almost 100% to the recipe- my only substitution was the pork chops for pork tenderloin. Granted, that definitely affected my overall cooking time, but the results were still fabulous! It doesn't sound like much, but it yielded amazing results.

4               boneless pork chops, trimmed of all fat
1/4 C         soya sauce
1/4 C         brown sugar
3 T            white wine vinegar
3 T            water
2               garlic cloves, mined
1 med        onion, cut into rings
1/2 C         all natural smooth peanut butter

Arrange onion rings along the bottom of the slow cooker to completely cover. Lay chops over top. Pour soya sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, water, garlic and peanut butter overtop- don't worry about stirring, the peanut butter needs to melt. Turn slow cooker on to low setting and cook for 4-5 hours. Serve over rice with my indian inspired steamed broccoli!

Normally, the low setting is reserved for cooking times of 8-10 hours. I'd imagine if one were to use a 4 pound pork tenderloin, a longer cooking time would be needed. My chops were still moderately juicy and bursting with a nutty flavor, but I would decrease the cooking time to 4 hours maximum for those chops on the thinner side. Sauce base would also be delicious on top of chicken!

Day 16, Recipe 13; Slow cooker to the rescue! (Chicken in Onion Gravy)

I found that this morning, I was endlessly searching for slow cooker recipes to compile for my return to work next week. Surely, if I plan on continuing this 365 day challenge, I'll need a roster of fall back slow cooker recipes to sustain the days that I work later then 7pm.
I sent out a small grocery list with my boy, naming a few household staples- if you can cook, a variety of fresh veggies, garlic, canned soups and meats can make satisfying meals on any budget. One thing I haven't really experimented with is onion soup mix. So, I present- chicken thighs with onion gravy in a slow cooker. Mmmm.

1-2 lbs                bone in, skin on chicken thighs
1 medium            onion, diced
2                         carrots, diced
2-3 medium          potatoes, skin on, scrubbed & diced into small cubes
1 can                   cream of celery
1                         soup can of water
1                         envelope onion soup mix
3 t                       corn starch
1/4 C                   water

Coat your slow cooker with vegetable oil spray. Layer onion, carrot and potatoes at the bottom. Place chicken thighs over top. Pour envelope of onion soup mix over chicken, then add cream of celery and water. Stir to mix and settle contents. Mix corn starch and 1/4 cup of water; stir into slow cooker.
Turn slow cooker onto high and cook for 4-5 hours, until chicken has cooker.
Serve overtop egg noodles, fettucine or rice with a green salad. Also makes a fabulous gravy/meal over mashed potatoes.

Day 15, Recipe 12: Not your average Shepperd's Pie

I know, I know- this should be called "cottage pie" because it contains ground beef and not lamb. Well, I've always known this to be shepperds pie, so it shall be called such. After 3 consecutive strike-out meals, I guess it was only natural that I reverted back to a comfort food. I love shepperds pie, it's another dish that I've made using vegetarian ground round, beef, pork and even ground chicken. Tried, tweaked- heck, I've even made it mexican! This recipe contains bits and pieces of different concoctions I've made, and even has a secret kick ; )

*Note: Many people choose to use instant mashed potatoes to make their pie. Not only do instant mashed potatoes taste incredibly salty (yes, even for me who uses a good 2 teaspoons on everything I eat- no joke), but they just don't have the same flavor IMO.

For the base:

1lb                ground beef
2                   carrots, chopped finely
2                   celery stalks, chopped finely
3 cloves         garlic, minced
1/2 can          diced tomatoes
1 t                 thyme
4 t                 all purpose flour
1/2 C             chicken broth
1 can             corn
1/2 C             frozen peas
2 T                worstershire sauce
                     salt & pepper
1 T                olive oil
1/2 C              cheddar cheese, shredded

For the topping/potatoes:

3-4                 russet potatoes, peeled
1 T                 butter
1/4 C              milk
1                    HEAPING tablespoon of horseradish
2 T                 bread crumbs

Bring a pot of water to a high boil with potatoes. Boil until tender and easily pierced with a fork. Drain water, mash potatoes with butter, milk and horseradish using a potato masher or hand mixer; cover and set aside.

In a skillet, head olive oil and add carrots, celery and garlic over medium-low heat. Cover and cook for approximately 8-10 minutes until carrots are soft. Add ground beef to skillet and break apart with a spatula, cooking until only slightly pink. Pour in diced tomatoes and flour, one teaspoon at a time. Cook for another minute.
Add spices, thyme, worstershire, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and continue to cook for about 20 minutes until the mixture has thickened, but is still saucy.
Remove from heat; stir in corn and peas.

Pour meat mixture into a casserole dish and spread out evenly. Sprinkle with cheese. Using a spatula, blob mashed potato mixture on top and spread evenly over casserole- ensure that you have covered the corners to prevent the meat mixture from bubbling over during cooking.
Use a fork to gently "rough" up the potatoes and create little peaks- they'll brown better! Liberally sprinkle the bread crumbs overtop.

I tossed this into the fridge for two hours to allow the flavors a little more time to bond together, but you can bake right away. In a preheated 350 degrees F oven, bake for 35 minutes. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with a tossed green salad and enjoy guilt free comfort food! Eliminating the milk, condensed soup and most of the cheese cut out major calories in this dish- a normal serving is usually around 700 CALORIES, wow. Considering this dish is supposed to serve 8, I didn't feel as guilty when we nearly finished it off.

Day 12/13, Recipe 0: The unrecipe blog

No, I haven't given up cooking...but to be perfectly honest, none of the meals I made the past two days passed the taste test. Dips I made to entertain company on Saturday night called for substituting plain yogurt for sour cream, which resulted in a watery dip. Another was a navy bean & artichoke dip that was so overpowered by garlic, I was sure to keep it on my side of the table. Tonight's attempt at a slow cooker vegetable stew was even worse- I followed a recipe I came across on another blog. It called for a 4 cups of beef broth as the liquid, which I found strange as beef broth is the more "bold"  of the broth choices. It took over all the natural flavours that sweat out of the various vegetables during cooking. It was so bland, my boyfriend put salt on it. First time in our relationship I've ever seen him pick up the saltshaker. 0/2. Oi. Hopefully I have better luck tomorrow!

Day 11, Recipe 11; Meditearrean Sole

Friday has always been a traditional fish & chip day- many restaurants feature fatty, deep fried battered fish with a heaping side of french fries & tartar sauce. I wanted to keep things on the lighter side tonight, and since I still have feta cheese leftover, I wanted to incorporate that into my dish. Easy to prepare, cook in under 20 minutes & was served as a sauce to the greek rice I prepared to accompany the dish!

1 lb            frozen sole fillets
1/4 can       diced tomatoes
3 cloves      garlic, chopped
4 fresh        basil leaves, chopped
                  salt & pepper
1 T             freshly squeezed lemon juice
                  extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Mix olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice together. Brush half of the mixture onto a deep glass baking dish. Layer sole on top and coat the top in olive oil mixture.
Mix tomatoes, garlic and basil leaves together. Pour over fish, coating evenly.
Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork. Mmmm, simply satisfying! Serve over plain long grain rice or greek rice (long grain rice boiled with chicken broth, lemon zest, bay leaves & salt)!

Day 10, Recipe 10: Roasted Broccoli with Balsamic Vinegar

Today's post is going to be a short one because I'm tired & this recipe pretty much speaks for itself. Found it on the Oprah website. It's only 60 calories per serving of simple, delicious veggies! I made chicken paprikash and homemade spaetzel as well and I'll try and post one (if not both), of those recipes tomorrow. Enjoy!

1       head of broccoli, cut into 1 inch florets
4       cloves garlic, chopped
         vegetable oil spray
2 T    balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Cover a cookie sheet in aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil spray. Arrange broccoli onto sheet and sprinkle with the chopped garlic. Spray again with cooking spray.
Bake for 6-7 minutes.
Toss the broccoli and garlic in the balsamic vinegar- serve with your favorite main dish! Mmmmm. So simple, healthy and tasty! Definitely a great way to spice up your veggies!

Day 9, Recipe 9: Layered Taco Pie + Spanish Rice

Let me just start off by saying- I LOVE soft tacos. Almost everything about them- I don't care for the messiness. I came across a Kraft recipe that was prepared almost entirely in the microwave. We don't have a microwave, but I was not discouraged. After scouring a few different sites and variations of this recipe, I decided I could achieve even better results if done in the oven! Almost all of the recipes called for a can of green chiles but I didn't have them on hand and my boyfriend can't dig the heat so I subbed them out for Willie's Chili sauce in the sour cream spread- it made the pie so flavorful and didn't overpower the taco seasoning. After the first bite, my boyfriend exclaimed "You should have made 4 of these!!".
Spanish rice seemed like an obvious choice to serve as a side to the taco pie. I've had some pretty terrible spanish rice in my day though, so I cut the amount of liquid in this dish and omitted the salsa, opting again to use Willie's Chili sauce. I also used my newly acquired rice cooker (thanks, mom!) to make this recipe. I had to cycle it twice to get the rice fully cooked and let stand on the warm setting for an additional 15 minutes; in total plan for approximately an hour for this dish to reach it's full potential. Take my warning though, this yielded enough rice to feed a family of 6! Made a little more then what I'd classify as leftover lunch for tomorrow, so I ended up only portioning out two servings and tossing the rest. If making for 2-4 people again, I'd cut the recipe down to half.

Layered Taco Pie

1 lb             extra lean ground beef
1/2 onion     chopped
1 T             extra virgin olive oil
1 pkg          taco seasoning
3/4 C          salsa
1/4 C          water
6                soft tortilla shells
1 C             cheese, grated ( I used part-skim mozzarella to save some calories )
1 C             low fat sour cream
2 T             Willie's Chili sauce

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and add ground beef & onions. Saute until ground beef is cooked through. Add the water, taco seasoning and salsa to skillet; cook over low for approximately 6 minutes. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, mix together sour cream and Willie's Chili sauce. Set aside.
Spray two small round cake pans with vegetable oil spray. Lay one tortilla on the bottom of each. Spoon ground beef mixture onto tortillas, followed by a layer of the sour cream sauce and top with cheese. Layer another tortilla on top and repeat process, ending with a tortilla on top of both pans.
Cover each pan with aluminum foil; place on into the freezer for cooking later and place on into the preheated oven.
Bake for 30 minutes and then remove aluminum foil, baking for an additional 10 minutes.
Allow to sit and solidify for 5 minutes after removing from oven. Cover with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, green onions and watch it disappear!

Spanish Rice in a Rice Cooker (*vegetarian/vegan friendly dish!)







2 C           long grain rice
1 C           water
1/2           onion, chopped
1 small      green pepper, chopped
1 stalk       celery, finely chopped
3/4 t          cumin
1 t            chili powder
1/2 t         garlic salt
1 can        tomato paste
1 can        diced tomatoes
4              pickled pepperconi jalapenos, drained & sliced
2 T           Willie's Chili sauce
                salt & pepper

Spray your rice cooker with cooking spray. Add water, rice and all other ingredients. Stir and turn on rice cooker. After the inital cycle, stir and cook again. Allow to "warm" for 15 minutes before serving.

I did the dishes while waiting for all this to cook and the end result left only 4 dishes (including our plates!). Love these two recipes, was really surprised by the flavors of both- though containing similar ingredients, they had totally different textures, tastes & colors! Household hit for this urbanite. xoxo.

Day 9, Recipe 8: Deliciously light lunchtime pasta

As I've mentioned, I'm pretty 'lax when it comes to preparing pasta. I had a craving for something tuna related for lunch today and automatically thought of tuna melts. After factoring in the calories of the cheese and mayo, and finding only flavoured tuna in my cupboard, I had to get a little more creative. This concoction of mine was easy and so tasty- it came together in under 15 minutes! Using the vegetable rotini added some color into the dish, but use whatever pasta you have handy. You can double the portion if preparing for dinner and I would think if it was chilled, it would even make a great pasta salad! I wouldn't recommend doubling the tuna though- this little can packs a punch!

1 can             Cloverleaf Garlic and Hot Pepper Flaked Light Tuna
1 cup             Vegetable rotini pasta
2 T                light feta cheese, crumbled
2 t                 lemon juice concentrate
                     salt & pepper, to taste
                     sprinkle of parmesan cheese

Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta until it is al dente (approximately 9-11 minutes for vegetable pastas).
Drain the pasta and return to pot. Add can of tuna, feta cheese, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top and serve! Mmm, delicious.

The juices that the tuna is packed in provides enough to coat the pasta without being oily. All of the cloverleaf light tuna tins are a great thing to have handy- simply open & spoon onto pita bread with some hummus for a satisfying snack anytime!

Day 8, Recipe 7: Meatloaf Muffins

I realized today that in the 3 year span that I've been cooking, I've never even attempted to anything that could be classified as meatloaf. Truth be told, I'm terrified of the stuff. I hated it when I was a kid- next to liver, there was no family dinner I'd rather pass up. Maybe this is what caused me not to ever attempt it, but then I decided- we're not really a meatloaf generation. I don't think you can buy it premade, so that probably causes most urbanites to steer clear.
I don't know why, but I had a craving. Cravings lead to googling. And googling leads to deliciousness! Found this on a website that boasted it was a "toddler meal"...here's hoping my boyfriend isn't as fussy as a two year old!

2 T          extra virgin olive oil
1              medium onion, chopped finely
3 cloves    garlic, minced
1-1 1/2 lb  ground turkey
1 carrot     shredded
1 C           fresh spinach, chopped finely
3/4 C        bread crumbs
1/4 C        parmesan cheese
1 egg        lightly beaten
1 t            salt
1 t            pepper
1 T          worstershire sauce
1/2          fresh green pepper- finely chopped
1/2 C       white mushrooms, finely chopped

Sauce:
1/2 C      salsa
1/2 C      ketchup
3 T         brown sugar
1 T         mustard
1 C         cheese, shredded

In a bowl, combine all sauce ingredients except for cheese and set aside.
In a skillet, heat olive oil and saute onion and garlic until fragrant and onion is translucent.
In a large bowl, mix turkey, carrot, spinach, bread crumbs, cheese, egg, salt, pepper, green pepper, mushrooms and worstershire sauce until all the mixture is coated.
Cover bowl with cling wrap and place into the fridge for 30 minutes to help mixture bond together.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Spray a coat of cooking spray onto a muffin tin. Fill each muffin tin to the top and lightly pat down. Spoon sauce mixture over top.
Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes. Remove and sprinkle each little loaf with cheese; return to oven and bake additional 5 minutes.

These freeze really well, just leave the cheese off & be sure to store in a container deep enough that the topping doesn't rub off : ) They turned out really well, and weren't dry at all! The original recipe called for a pound each of ground turkey AND ground beef which just seemed like way too much meat for my liking. I opted to use the ground turkey the make this dish a little lighter. Using the muffin tin is a great way to help with portion control too! They were so cute and tasty, I think I've gotten over my hatred for meatloaf- yay!
★ ★ ★ ★ ★/ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
5 out of 5 for yum factor-seriously