Quinoa and Chicken Chili

I think this may be my favorite chili I've ever made. Not least because there is basically no prep; minimal chopping, just mix everything in the slow cooker and you come home to a hot, healthy, deliciously filling meal. Fantastic.

I hate it when chili is too watery. Watery chili is up there with slow drivers, one-upping moms, and workplace butt-kissers in my book of Things That Annoy Me. This chili came out the perfect consistency. Plus it makes lots for leftover lunches, which is even more of a bonus lately when I can't just throw together a sandwich (for lack of gluten-free bread, which I hope to rectify when I do grocery shopping tomorrow).

Speaking of gluten-free. I am so stoked for Easter brunch on Sunday. It's going to be a dairy and gluten fest. Then I'll go back to being good. I cannot pass on Easter brunch with dishes like egg and sausage pie, cheesy bread pudding, that I've been eating every Easter for my ENTIRE LIFE. Clearly.

You know what else would be good with this chili, assuming you are good with gluten and dairy? Biscuits. Always a good idea with chili. Oh, I happen to have posted a recipe for Best Drop Biscuits a while back. You're welcome.

QUINOA AND CHICKEN CHILI

Serves 8

Adapted from Everyday Reading

Use less salt if you are not using no-salt added canned goods.

• 1 540-mL can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 540-mL can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 796-mL can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• optional toppings: chopped cilantro, diced avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream

Mix all ingredients up before chicken together in the crock of the slow cooker. Nestle chicken in the middle, ensuring chicken is submerged in liquid. Cook on low 6 to 9 hours. Shred chicken into chili prior to serving. Serve with desired toppings.

Roasted Parsnip and Butternut Squash Soup

Guys. I did it again. Remember how I got lost running around frazzled getting ready for my birthday party? It happened again last week. This is getting slightly ridiculous. Only this time I wasn't so frazzled. Oy vey. Tyler finds it amusing and slightly annoying how bad I am at directions. He thinks I'm just absent-minded. I like to think it's due to all the other genius going on in my head.

Onto the food. I know. Another post about soup. Trust me, I'd rather be eating a nice fresh salad right now. But lettuce from Mexico? No Thanks. So soup it is. Plus, this is just too good not to share.

I had some parsnips languishing in the fridge along with half a squash. I'm sure I'd had a plan for those parsnips when I bought them a couple of weeks ago, but whatever that plan was, it never happened. What to do with them? My go-to is always to roast vegetables. My Roasted Cauliflower Soup worked so well that I thought I'd try that with the roasted squash and parsnips. Success! Some Parmesan cheese finishes it off nicely. As well as a slice of freshly baked bread warm from the oven... with a schmear of butter... mmmm...

I've been making bread every week. This past week was Almost No-Knead Bread from America's Test Kitchen. It's fantastic. One tip though- it's a super easy recipe but it does need an overnight rise. Plan accordingly.

I'm all about the no-knead bread lately. I think I made Food52's recipe for No-Knead Sandwich Bread six weeks in a row. Yeah. We like bread in this house. Is there a Bread-aholics Anonymous? I may join. Oops... I just ruined the anonymous part, didn't I?

ROASTED PARSNIP AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Serves 4

An Amy Original

• 1 lb parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into chunks
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 onion, sliced
• 5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss parsnips and squash with a drizzle of oil, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Spread in an even layer on a baking sheet. Roast on middle rack of oven 10 minutes. Stir, ensuring browned sides are flipped, and return pan to oven for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and onions. Cook until just starting to brown. Add stock and roasted vegetables. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and cool slightly.

Transfer everything to blender with Parmesan and blend until smooth, adding some water if soup is too thick. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

*UPDATE* March 2, 2014. Since I had the recipe nutritional breakdown I've updated below. This will not be a regular feature! I find it very tedious to input every ingredient into a calorie counter, plus I tend not to measure things so I can't say this is 100% accurate anyway.

So I hear winter 'round these parts is here to stay until April. Possibly May. Oh my. The cold is already making me cranky. A warm bowl of delicious soup is in order.

This soup tastes exactly like chicken pot pie. Even the soup-hating husband had seconds. Success! I like to break up my biscuits into my soup, like dumplings, Parker and Tyler prefer to dip. I can't say which is the right way (mine's closest of course!), but either way this soup is a win. 

In other news, this conversation happened with my 3 and a half year old today:

Parker: The [stuffed] tiger is looking for something...a rabbit. Or a giraffe.
Me: (in a giraffe voice) Here I am! Let's play!
Tiger Parker: Let's fight!
Me: Why do they have to fight? Why can't they be friends?

Apparently this a stupid question and there is no alternative to the tiger-giraffe throw down. Parker just walked away. Oh boy.

CHICKEN POT PIE SOUP

Adapted from Skinnytaste

Serves 4

Use which ever root vegetables you have on hand. However, the celery, carrots, peas, mushrooms must stay for the true chicken pot pie flavor in my opinion. If you don't have cooked chicken on hand, poach a couple of chicken breasts while you begin the soup. 

• 4 cups milk, divided
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 celery stalk
• couple handfuls sliced mushrooms
• 2 small to medium parsnips
• any other root veg you want to throw in (celeriac, sweet potato, etc)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 cups good chicken stock
• 1 cup frozen peas
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups cooked, diced chicken breast
• Biscuits (recipe linked below) 

Whisk flour and 1/2 cup cold milk in a small bowl to make a slurry. Set aside.

Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion. Dice remaining vegetables, adding to pot as you go with some salt and pepper, stirring occasionally until vegetables are softened and starting to caramelize a bit. Add thyme and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Add remaining 3 1/2 cups of milk. Bring to a simmer (fully boiling may cause milk to split and curdle). Add peas and chicken. Slowly pour in flour slurry while stirring. Bring back to a simmer. Check for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed. Serve with biscuits.

Per Serving (made using skim milk)

Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar

299

37

5

29

514

8

BEST DROP BISCUITS Start heating the oven before you start the soup, mix the biscuits as the vegetables are cooking. 

Per Serving (2 biscuits)

Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar

293

31

16

6

424

3

Slow Cooked Apple Butter

This post could have been called Sloooooow Cooked Apple Butter. It bubbles away for over 24 hours in the slow cooker making the house smell amazing.

This was my first time making apple butter and it turned out absolutely delicious. Like apple pie in a jar. Without the fattening pastry. Unless of course you make spread it on buttery toast, which I highly recommend. Or bake it into crescent rolls. Or stuff it into puff pastry to make apple turnovers. Okay.... there's lots of sinful ways to un-healthify apple butter.

You're going to end up with tons of the stuff. I made 9 jars. You'll definitely want to gift some. How to use the remaining jars? Let me count the ways:

• On toast, pancakes, waffles, crepes, etc.
• Apple Pie Smoothie
• Apple Turnovers
• Apple Pie Crescent Rolls (pictured above - spread apple butter on Pilsbury Crescent Rolls before rolling up. Bake as directed on package.)
• Condiment with pork or potato latkes
• Stir into oatmeal
• Swap apple butter for pumpkin puree as a pie filling? I'll let y'all know if I try this out of course
• Use in place of applesauce in baked goods
• Eat it out of the jar with a spoon standing in front of the fridge while deciding what to eat for lunch. Not that I've done that. Much.

One Year Ago: Thai Feast

Two Years Ago: Leek, Chicken and Feta Stuffed Pitas + Slow Cooker Pulled Beef +  Roasted Root Vegetable Puree

Three Years Ago: Chicken Pot Pie + Crown Loaf + The Best Lasagna

Four Years Ago: Spicy Cheese Dip + Spanakopita + Spaghetti with Spaghetti Squash + Egg Nog Panna Cotta

 SLOW COOKED APPLE BUTTER

Adapted from Eating Richly

Makes 8 or 9 pint jars

You may want to set the slow cooker on a wooden board or something that will absorb heat in case it gets too hot- apparently they've been known to warp counter tops and it's going to be on for a long time.

• 8 lbs apples, washed (I used Gala apples)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp ground ginger

Core and roughly chop apples (do not peel) and add to slow cooker as you go until full. You will not fit in all the apples at first. Set the remaining apples aside. Mix together sugar and spices in a bowl. Add to apples and stir to combine. Turn slow cooker to low for 8 to 10 hours. Stir once in a while if you are walking by.

Apples will have really cooked down at this point. Chop remaining apples and add to slow cooker.  Stir and cook on low for another 10 to 12 hours, stirring occasionally. Puree (an immersion blender is the easiest as you can put it right in the crock pot) and return apple butter to crock. Continue to cook on low with the lid off until apple butter reaches the desired consistency. It will thicken slightly when cool. Taste and add more sugar or spices to taste (I didn't need to add anything else to mine). Keep apple butter refrigerated or can it using the waterbath method following the instructions at the bottom of the recipe HERE.

Roasted Cauliflower and Caramelized Onion Soup with Parmesan Crisps

Pretty much the only thing I like about the weather getting colder is that means it's soup time! Well, ok I also enjoy cozy sweaters, tea, and boots (sexy boots, not mukluks). I think I've mentioned before that Tyler doesn't like soup. Fortunately, I now have a soup ally. Parker asked to have this soup instead of macaroni and cheese last week. Score one for the good guys.

The first time I made this soup I loosely followed a recipe from Closet Cooking. I meant to follow it exactly, but I kept getting distracted. Among other mistakes I made, I forgot to add milk to the soup and thinned it out with water instead. It wasn't until we had finished dinner that I realized I had forgotten a pretty major ingredient. As it turns out, the cauliflower is creamy enough without having to add dairy. I have posted a cauliflower soup previously, but this one is better, if I do say so myself.

I put this soup on double duty the second time I made it. To half of the soup I added some goat cheese and shredded cheddar cheese after blending it and used that as a healthy base for macaroni and cheese. I know. I am a frickin' genius.

One Year Ago: Nada

Two Years Ago: Fried Udon Noodles 

 Thanksgiving Menu 

 Cheater Turducken 

 Lentils with Chorizo, Brussels Sprouts, Balsamic Vinegar 

 Apple Cheddar Soup

Three Years Ago: Fresh Pea Pesto Pasta (ie Labour Pasta)

 Squash, Roasted Garlic, Canellini Bean Spread 

Breaded Shrimp 

 Kale Chips 

 Death Boats to Hades aka Jalapeno Poppers

Four Years Ago (yes! My blog-iversary passed on Oct 17. Four years!): Caldo Verde Soup 

 Deep Dish Pizza

  Amazing Granola 

 Chaussons Aux Pommes

Flu-Be-Gone Soup

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER AND CARAMELIZED ONION SOUP WITH PARMESAN CRISPS

Serves 4-6

I always try to have some homemade chicken stock in the freezer, especially during soup season. If you don't have homemade, I have found Campbell's Stock First is a good store-bought alternative.

• 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into small pieces
• olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp butter
• salt and pepper
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, divided

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss cauliflower with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet along with garlic (no need to peel it). Roast on middle rack of oven until browned on one side, 10-15 minutes. Stir cauliflower to put browned side up and return pan to oven for another 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven but keep oven on. Peel garlic.

Meanwhile, heat a large pot over medium high heat. Add butter and onions, season with salt and pepper. Cook onions, stirring often, and adding a splash of water when onions start to get too brown to deglaze the pan and stop them from burning (this is a quick caramelizing method. You can use a slow method of your choice if you'd like. I'm just not that patient). Once onions are very soft and deeply browned, add stock, thyme, and roasted cauliflower. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes, until cauliflower is very tender.

Carefully ladle half of the pot into a blender and blend until smooth, adding water to thin to desired consistency. Repeat with other half of cauliflower mixture. Alternatively use an immersion blender to blend right in the pot. Return soup to pot and add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, stirring until melted (if your soup isn't piping hot reheat before adding the cheese).

For cheese crisps, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Make small piles of Parmesan cheese and pat down flat. Bake until melted and golden brown. Watch closely- they will burn quickly. Remove pan from oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Potato Latkes with Homemade Applesauce

Who says it has to be Hanukkah to make latkes? Ok, maybe Jewish people do... but I say make them any time. Because they are delicious. And easy. And fulfill my craving for "bad" food today but aren't the worst thing I could put in my body so I figure it's okay.

A soon as fall weather hits I feel the urge to hibernate. This manifests itself in no motivation to work out. I usually go for a run a few times a week in the evening after Parker goes to bed. But now that it's getting cold and dark in the evenings all I want to do is sit on the couch and watch all TV. I thought I'd trick my body today and got up early to work out. The result was a craving for chips and McDonald's all day. So, sure, these latkes are pan-fried in oil but they are infinitely better than scarfing a Big Mac. And I can can still face myself in the morning.

I've made latkes once before years ago. I think the recipe was from Food That Really Schmeks. They were not nearly as good as these. These latkes hold together easily, cook quickly, and get perfectly browned and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. To be honest, I've never had potato latkes aside from the two times I've made them, but I feel these are the ideal and all future latkes will be compared to this recipe.

 HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE

This is a bit of a joke of a recipe. Chop some apples into large chunks and throw into a pot- you can forgo peeling them- cook with a splash of water and a sprinkle of sugar until soft. Puree using an immersion blender, food processor, or regular blender.

If not serving with latkes you can throw a cinnamon stick in while the apples are cooking. Or just sprinkle on some cinnamon after. This stuff is way better than the jarred applesauce at the grocery store- it's a staple in my house during cold weather.

ADAM AND MAXINE FAMOUS LATKES via Bon Appetit

I modified the recipe slightly. Of course. I didn't peel the potatoes. Part laziness, and partly from a health standpoint- the skin has all the fiber. Didn't seem to affect the recipe at all. I used the potatoes I had- just regular white potatoes rather than Russets. And next time I would use less salt. The recipe calls for 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt. I used 2 tsp and found them a bit too salty. A food processor with a grater attachment makes quick work of grating the potato and onion. The onion will still make you cry though.

Super Simple Scrumptious Supper

This is, hands down, once of the simplest and most delicious meals I have ever made. They always say that keeping food simple is best, and this is a fantastic example of that. The pork is 3 ingredients plus good old salt and pepper. The roasted vegetable side is thrown in the oven with the pork at the back end of the cooking time. Easy peasy.

My family was all abuzz about pork this weekend. Yesterday my step mom called asking if we wanted some pork from Costco. She had already bought a couple of pork loins and was going back for more. Because they were $11 bucks for just over 7 pounds!!! What!?! Of course I wanted some. So my step mom called my brother, my brother called me, and a few hours later I had 15 pounds of pork. Oh yeah.

Obviously a pork roast was in order for dinner tonight. A quick Google search turned up this recipe for Pork Loin Roast with Garlic and Rosemary. This one's a keeper folks. The pork came out perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, and incredibly juicy. I'm sure this is a testament to both the recipe and the meat itself (Costco's meat is so good, right?).

Okay, pork is in the oven. What will we eat with it? I had a few vegetable contenders- sweet potatoes, parsnips, or carrots. I went to my new go-to vegetable book Ripe by Cheryl Sternman Rule. This book is my new favourite. Beautiful photography, simple recipes, and witty commentary. I also love the fact that the author has organized the recipes by colour i.e. Yellow- there is a page for corn, one for pineapple, one for yellow onions. Each fruit or veg has a funny overview on the vegetable, a few suggestions on how to use it (not recipes but simple uses like Nectarines: Relish = diced nectarines + cherries + red onion + ginger), and then a recipe highlighting the produce.

The parsnip recipe won me over. The recipe in the book is for Roasted Parsnips with Pears and Thyme. I didn't have any pears, but apples with pork are classic, so I swapped apples for the pears. Now, I actually am just warming up to the sweet with savory deal. I have never had a pork chop with applesauce. It just weirded me out. BUT the apples were the best part of this meal and went perfectly with the pork, other vegetables, and thyme. I will make this again and again.

By the way, how do you like the alliteration in my post title? I enjoy it myself.

One Year Ago: Sriracha Devilled Eggs, Tomato Soup Cake

Two Years Ago: Creamy Mushroom Fettucine with Spinach

Three Years Ago: Ricotta Gnocchi

ROAST PORK LOIN WITH THYME PARSNIPS, CARROTS, AND APPLES

Vegetable recipe adapted from Ripe by Cheryl Sternman Rule

Serves 4

I used dried rosemary on the pork and it was great, but I bet it would be even better with fresh rosemary. Ditto for the thyme with the vegetables.

• Roast Pork Loin with Garlic and Rosemary via Epicurious
• 4 parsnips, peeled
• 2 apples
• 2 cups baby carrots
• 1 tsp dried thyme, or 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Get the pork loin in the oven following the recipe linked above. Keep in mind that you will putting another pan in the oven beside the pork or on the rack underneath, so plan accordingly.

Cut parsnips in half across the width. Cut the thinner ends in half again lengthwise. Cut the wider ends into quarters lengthwise. Cut the apples into wedges, discarding the core.

Place apples, parsnips, and carrots on a baking tray lined with foil. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with thyme, salt, and pepper. Toss and arrange everything in a single layer, ensuring the apples are not sitting with the skin side down (you want the flesh to touch the tray so that it gets caramelized for optimal deliciousness).

After turning the pork halfway through cooking, put the tray of vegetables in the oven with the pork, either side by side on the middle rack if you can, or on the rack below. Roast for 15 minutes then flip the apples and veg with a spatula. When the pork is done let it rest as per the recipe, keep the apples and veg in the oven cooking until the pork has finished it's rest. Serve with ketchup if you are 2 years old, otherwise nothing else is needed.

Bolognese Sauce

I have been meaning to post this recipe for Bolognese Sauce for a long time. It's been sitting in my drafts for two years, in fact. Oops.

Ground beef mixed with tomato sauce this is not. There are no hard bits of ground beef here. I don't know how to describe it except to say that the meat is soft, but "soft meat" sounds wrong somehow. Just make it and you'll know what I mean. This recipe makes a lot of sauce. It freezes really well, and since it takes all day to make (are you still reading after I said that? Good- it's made in the slow cooker) it's nice that you have lots to show for it. I always have some in the freezer for a quick meal, and as soon as I run out I make some more.

The sauce is great on pasta, of course, but I love it best on spaghetti squash. It is lighter and actually more flavourful, I find and the squash adds another dimension of flavour. I've made it before and then mostly forgot about this weird and wonderful vegetable until a girls weekend in October. One friend brought meatballs with tomato sauce and another made spaghetti squash in place of pasta. Even those who were sceptical went back for seconds and we didn't even need to make the back-up pasta. 

One Year Ago: Chocolate Lollipops

The Scoop on Chia

Schnitzel, Spatzle, and Sweet and Sour Cabbage

Two Years Ago: A Tale of Two Banana Breads

 Open-Faced Steak Sandwiches

 

Three Years Ago: Home Made Gifts 

 Man-Sized Salad

Baked Fish and Chips 

Olive Bread

Birthday Menu

Chai Tea Mini Cupcakes (with a must see baking fail)

SPAGHETTI SQUASH RECIPE

SLOW COOKER BOLOGNESE

from Best of America's Test Kitchen 2007

• 3 tbsp butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped fine
• 1 carrot, chopped fine
• 1/2 celery rib, chopped fine
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 1/2 lbs ground pork
• salt and pepper
• 3 cups whole milk
• 3 cups dry white wine
• 2 28-oz cans whole tomatoes, pureed in a blender until smooth
• 1 tsp minced fresh thyme

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot and cook until softened but not browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste, cook about 30 seconds. Add meat, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and cook, breaking up meat, until crumbled into tiny pieces and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the milk, bring to a vigorous simmer, and cook until milk evaporates and only clear fat remains, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add wine, tomatoes, thyme and bring to a boil. Transfer mixture to a slow cooker. Cover, set the temperature to high, and bring to a boil.

Remove the lid and simmer until the sauce is very thick, 7 to 8 hours. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes: Sauce can be refrigerated up to 4 days, frozen up to 2 months.


Recipe can be made partially ahead of time by completing all steps prior to putting sauce in the slow cooker- refrigerate sauce in pot overnight, then bring to a boil again before transferring to slow cooker.


Place slow cooker on a counter or on the stove away from cabinetry as a lot of steam will rise from the sauce as it cooks.


If you will be out of the house for longer than 7 or 8 hours, set the lid halfway off the slow cooker rather than removing it entirely, then simmer for 10 to 11 hours.

Meatball Stuffed Peppers

Life as gotten busy lately. I went back to work full time in June, but apparently I was living in some kind of fantasy land over the summer where life is rainbows and lollipops. Four Seasons Kitchen is now feeling the effects of my working full time plus being a mother and a wife.

The other thing that has affected the blogging frequency here is my husband is on a naturopath-perscribed food trial. No gluten and no dairy for a month. I have not been very enthused about dinner the last couple of weeks. I have found it pretty difficult to find recipes that contain no dairy or gluten. Most recipes are either/or. I looked at vegan recipes, but then you get crazy substitutes for eggs and such. Le sigh.

A friend at work lent me a gluten-free cookbook, Deliciously G-Free by Elizabeth Hasselback, which has helped with some dinner ideas. We think Tyler's problem is probably gluten, rather than dairy, so if that is the case I can make a lot more recipes from this book. Almost everything looks delicious, but there are a lot of recipes with dairy. Baking anything sweet from the book is pretty much out as all the recipes contain butter or other dairy. I think the poor guy has lost almost 10 pounds over the last few weeks.

This recipe for Meatball Stuffed Peppers is adapted from the book. It was great and I will make it again, whether we have to continue with gluten-free or not. I did, however, find the meat in the pepper a bit tough. Treating it more like a meatball by adding bread crumbs soaked in milk (or rice milk) next time will help. I am including that modification in the recipe below.

So, what the hell have we been eating for the last couple of weeks on this elimination diet? Here it is. Hopefully anybody else starting on a gluten free or dairy free diet (or the hell of both) will find this helpful! Let me know in the comments if you have any other delicious meal ideas please! I almost threw my computer across the room yesterday trying to come up with dinners for the upcoming week. I have problems with patience. Tyler calls it short aggression... ok moving on to the menus....

Week 1

White Bean Chicken Chili  
I never ended up making this, we ended up getting a roast chicken, wedges, and bean salad from the grocery store that night instead. The bean salad had barley in it though. Oops.

Spanish Rice Bake with Chorizo added to the recipe

Pasta Carbonnara with Broccoli  
We used rice pasta. I have since discovered that corn pasta is better. Not as mushy

Frittatta with Sausage, Roasted Red Peppers, and Kale  
This was a winner. Delicious.

Shepard's Pie  
Make your Shepards Pie (Cottage Pie if you're not Canadian) with cornstarch instead of flour for the gravy, and I made smashed potatoes to go on top instead of mashed potatoes which you really need dairy for.

Week 2

Asian Slow Cooker Pork, Rice, Stir-Fried Broccoli

Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi with Pasta  
I added some roasted vegetable tomato sauce as well

Quinoa and Kale Pilaf with Fried Egg  
This was a fail. Apparently I am the only one in the house who likes quinoa

Corn Griddle Cakes with Sausage and Maple Syrup  
OMG these are so good. I used a gluten-free baking flour I found at the grocery store and subbed rice milk for the buttermilk.

Burgers on Gluten Free Buns with Sweet Potato Fries

Week 3

Meatball Stuffed Peppers (recipe below)

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Saurkraut

Pasta with Meatballs and Roasted Vegetable Sauce

Pad Thai from Deliciously G-Free.
It wasn't great. The sauce was too thin. I found a recipe in Clean Eating magazine that looks better. I'll report back after I make that one.

Steak with Roasted Potatoes and Root Vegetables



I realize there are only 5 meals per week listed above. We did eat, of course, on the other 2 days of the week. I just don't remember what we ate.

MEATBALL STUFFED PEPPERS WITH POLENTA
Adapted from Deliciously G-Free

Serves 4

Note: If you eat dairy, some goat cheese stirred into the polenta when it's finished cooking is out of this world.

• 2 handfuls baby spinach
• 1/4 lb lean ground pork
• 1/4 lb lean ground beef
• 1/4 cup gluten free breadcrumbs (pulse a slice of gluten free bread in a food processor to make bread crumbs)
• 1/4 cup milk or plain dairy substitute (rice milk, soy milk, almond milk, etc)
• 1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped (the Slap Chop works great for this)
• 2 tsp each salt and pepper, divided
• 2 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes (I used a can of diced tomatoes originally and I found them too chunky)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• fresh parsley or basil, chopped to garnish

Polenta:

• 1/2 cup coarse cornmeal
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp salt and pepper

Heat a large skillet over med-high heat. Add spinach and 1 tbsp water. Cook until wilted, 30 seconds to a minute. Remove from skillet and set aside until cool enough to chop. Keep heat on skillet.

Add olive oil and garlic to skillet. Cook 30 seconds or less- don't let garlic brown. Add tomato paste, cook 30 seconds. Add tomatoes reduce heat to medium to medium low- you just want the tomato sauce to simmer, not boil.

Place bread crumbs in a smalll bowl. Add milk and stir to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes.

Cut peppers in half lengthwise (stem to bottom). Remove stem, seeds, and any white membrane from each half. Season the inside of each with salt and pepper.

Chop spinach and add to a large bowl. To spinach, add pork, beef, mushrooms, bread crumb mixture, and 1 tsp each salt and pepper. Squish and mix with your hands until well combined.  Divide mixture equally between pepper halves.

Add peppers to skillet, cut side up, nestling them into the sauce. Cook, partially covered and keeping at a simmer, 40-50 minutes ensuring meat is cooked through.

10 minutes before peppers are done, bring water for polenta to a boil in a sauce pot. Very slowly pour in polenta, stirring with a whisk the whole time to avoid lumps. Add salt and pepper. Cover and turn heat down to low. Cook, whisking occasionally, until polenta is cooked (taste it- it shouldn't be hard or gritty) and water is all absorbed. If water is absorbed and polenta is too stiff before it's cooked add a little more water and whisk gently. Polenta should be thick but pourable.

To serve put some polenta in the middle of a plate or shallow pasta bowl and top with 1 half pepper per person with some sauce and fresh parsley or basil sprinkled over top.

New Tag: Cook Once Eat Twice

I have added a new tag to some previous posts, and to this new one. Cook Once, Eat Twice. It could be called Cook Once, Eat a Bunch of Times but that was too long.

I love it when I can use up leftovers in a new way. It makes meals so quick and easy. So why not plan meals to have left overs to re-invent the next night? I'm not talking my step mom's classic "casserole". Growing up when we were having "casserole" it meant leftovers mixed into rice and warmed up in a casserole dish.

So today's recipe is a roasted vegetable puree that can be made in to many other meals. Or just mix a little into whatever you are making- I mixed some into Bolognese sauce last night and nobody was the wiser. Since Tyler doesn't read this blog (because he says "he lives it"), it's still our little secret.

ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLE PUREE

Adapted from Sweet Potato Chronicles

The vegetables and their amounts are a rough guide- use which ever vegetables you like, but ensure they all have roughly the same cooking time. 

To peel celery root, use a knife to take off the outside 1/4-inch all around the vegetable- the skin is too tough to use a peeler. The squash and sweet potato aren't peeled as the skin adds more fiber and nutrients, and it get soft in the oven and pureed anyway.

• 2 carrots, scrubbed and chopped into large pieces
• 1 medium celery root (celeriac), scrubbed, peeled, and chopped into large pieces
• 1/2 medium butternut squash, scrubbed and chopped into large pieces
• 1 large sweet potato scrubbed and chopped into large pieces
• 1 large parsnip, peeled and chopped into large pieces
• 1 large onion peeled and quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• olive oil
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• salt and pepper
• 3 cups chicken stock

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large, or 2 small, baking sheets with parchment paper or foil. If using foil spray with cooking spray. Toss all vegetables with a good drizzle of olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. Arrange on baking tray so that they are all in one layer. Roast until golden brown on the bottom, about 15 minutes. Stir the vegetables on the tray and return to oven for another 10-15 minutes- until vegetables are golden and cooked through. Allow to cool on the tray 15 minutes.

Peel garlic cloves and discard the peels. In two or three batches, puree vegetables with enough stock to just cover them in a blender until smooth- use water if you run out of stock. Puree can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days, or frozen in smaller portions for up to 4 months.

ROASTED VEGETABLE SOUP

Add enough water or chicken stock to vegetable puree above to get it to the consistency you want for soup. Heat and serve. With grilled cheese would be nice.

SAUSAGE AND KALE PASTA WITH ROASTED VEGETABLE SAUCE AND FETA

Serves 4

Some white kidney beans would be a good addition as well. Or to make this vegetarian, replace the sausage with beans.

• 500 g dried pasta
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 onion, cut in half and sliced thinly
• salt and pepper
• 2 hot Italian sausages, casings removed
• 1 small bunch kale, washed, ribs removed, chopped
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• roasted vegetable puree
• tomato sauce

In a large pot of salted boiling water cook pasta to al dente and drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, butter, onions. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to break up onions into individual strands. Cover for 5 minutes. Remove lid and cook onions, stirring occasionally, until just slightly caramelized. Remove onions from pan and set them aside.

Heat same pan to medium high heat. Add sausage and break up into small pieces with a spatula while it is cooking. Once sausage is cooked through and browned, add kale. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add 2 large ladles of roasted vegetable puree and the same amount of tomato sauce. Stir until heated through. Add pasta and feta. Stir to combine. Add enough pasta water until the sauce is the consistency you want. Serve with a little more feta crumbled on top if desired.

Apple Cheddar Soup

Photo from Cityline.ca

I made another amazing recipe from Healthy Starts Here the other day for Apple Cheddar Soup. It is perfect for the cold wet weather we've had lately. Tyler liked it, but declared it not to be in the "man soup" category. Apparently "man soup" has to have red meat or sausage. I served it with a quick bread made with beer, however, so that helped up the man-quotient.

A note about the recipe: If you cannot find unsweetened apple cider, use a little less cider and more water or some chicken stock. We found the soup a bit on the sweet side.

One Year Ago: Breaded Shrimp and Vegetable of The Week: Kale

Kale Chips

Two Years Ago: Deep Dish Pizza

The Best Granola 

Chaussons aux Pommes

Recipe: Apple Cheddar Soup via Cityline

BEER BATTER CHEESE BREAD

Adapted slightly from Best of America's Test Kitchen 2009

• 8 oz old cheddar cheese, 4 oz shredded and 4 oz cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 pepper
• 1 (12-oz) bottle light-bodied beer (I used Blue)
• 3 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F with rack in middle. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Combine the cheese, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, pepper in a large bowl. Stir in the beer and mix well. Pour the batter (it will be quite thick) into the prepared pan, pushing batter into the corners and smoothing the top. Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top.

Bake until loaf is deep golden brown and a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean (try a couple of spots because it may look wet if you hit a pocket of cheese), about 45 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and finish cooling on a rack. Can be kept at room temperature for 3 days in an airtight container, although is better toasted on the 2nd day.

Two Years + 100th Post!

This post marks both 2 years of Four Seasons Kitchen AND my 100th post! I didn't even plan that, I swear. Actually, I really should have planned a bit. When I realized that both these blog milestones were coming this week I figured the recipe for this post should be an amazing one. However, we hadn't done grocery shopping for real food (just Thanksgiving food) for a couple of weeks. Hmm... what to make?

The best thing I've made lately was something I didn't think I would even post, let alone allow to represent these milestones. But the more I thought about it, it came to me that this dish really represents why I write this blog and how my cooking has evolved in the last few years. It is quick, easy, healthy, and unexpectedly delicious.

I started Four Seasons Kitchen because I wanted to share my recipes and inspire anybody reading to get cooking and try something new. Comparing posts from the start of this blog to now, I now put more thought into eating healthy, especially in the last year since Parker was born. Since my first post October 17, 2009 I have gotten married and had a child. Amazing.

So without further ado, here it is- Lentils with Chorizo, Brussels Sprouts, and Balsamic Vinegar.

Ok, a little more ado. I feel I have to justify this dish. I had some lentils, chorizo, and brussels sprouts hanging around in the fridge and I needed a quick lunch for myself and Parker. I wasn't sure I'd like what I had created but I figured it'd have to do cause I was starving. And the rest is history. I loved it and so did Parker (I know, the kid will eat anything). I beg you to try it. Report back on how much you like it. I won't even say I told you so.

One Year Ago: Sneaking in healthier foods

Two Years Ago: Caldo Verde Soup (also with chorizo, funnily enough)

LENTILS WITH CHORIZO, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR

In true Four Seasons Kitchen style, this is not a recipe so much as a method. Use your judgement on amounts and seasoning. 

To cook lentils, cover dried lentils in a pan with water and add a carrot, celery stick, a couple whole cloves of garlic, half an onion, and a bay leaf. Simmer until lentils are tender, drain and remove vegetables and bay leaf. Can be frozen for quick meals.

• brussels sprouts, quartered
• olive oil
• dry chorizo sausage, sliced
• cooked lentils
• splash of balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

Heat a pan with olive oil over medium high heat. Add brussels sprouts and saute, turning them over a few times throughout cooking, until golden brown on all sides. Add a splash of water and cover pan. Let steam until brussels sprouts are just tender. If there is still some water in the pan, uncover and increase heat to high to let it evaporate.

Add chorizo, saute a couple of minutes. Add lentils to heat them through. Add a good splash of balsamic vinegar and cook until pan is almost dry. Season with salt and pepper.

Baked Rigatoni

Do you consider lasagna to be too much work to make? Baked rigatoni is lasagna's unpretentious and lazy cousin. You've still got meat sauce, melty cheese, and pasta, but it's not as fussy. The key to success here is slicing the cheese instead of grating it. I don't know why; the answer lies only with the pasta Gods.

My friend Courtney asked me for my baked ziti recipe recently. I had made it probably 5 years ago and then totally forgot about it. I didn't have the recipe anymore, so I've created a new one. This is just for you Courtney (ok fine, everyone else can have the recipe too).

One Year Ago: Almond Cake for Spring

BAKED RIGATONI

Serves 8-10

Recipe can easily be halved

• 900 g rigatoni or similar tubular pasta
• 500 g lean ground beef
• 650 ml jar of your favourite thick and chunky pasta sauce*
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 500 ml cottage cheese
• 200 g mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 200 g provolone cheese, sliced

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta for half of the time stated on the package. Meanwhile brown beef in a large skillet. Drain liquid and add tomato sauce and tomatoes. Warm sauce until just starting to bubble. Mix meat sauce and pasta. Layer in a large baking dish half of pasta, top with cottage cheese and half of the sliced cheeses. Top with remaining pasta, then remaining cheese. Bake 40 minutes or until bubbling and cheese is starting to brown.

*I used this sauce that I love and buy all the time, but it was too thin. You want a hearty sauce here.

Creamy Vegetable Soup

Creamy Vegetable Soup with Cheese Quesedilla

I hate creamed corn*, yet I now have created two recipes that contain this vile sludge and they are some of my favourite dishes. I had a half a can of creamed corn languishing in the fridge because it is the secret ingredient in my cornbread recipe (another post for another day). The cornbread only takes half the can, so what to do with the rest? Usually I just throw it out right away, but I saved it this time because I figured I'd make more cornbread. Obviously I didn't make the cornbread but I'm glad I saved it, because it lead to the discovery that pureed creamed corn will make soup creamy without adding any cream, and add a pleasant corny flavor.

This is a clean out the fridge soup. You can use pretty much any vegetable in this soup that is lurking in your fridge. I had broccoli stalks- I save the stalks for soup when I use the florets for something else, half a can of tomatoes, and a leek. You can puree the soup with an immersion blender rather than a regular blender, but it won't get as smooth, especially if you have included something fibrous like broccoli. If you want your soup really smooth you can run it through a sieve, but that's too much work for me.

*I attribute this to one of two things: my brother, who loves vinegar, would always drown his creamed corn in vinegar when we were kids (I know, it's so weird and wrong), or because we always had creamed corn on fish sticks night (I hated fish sticks and haven't eaten them since I hit puberty).

One Year Ago: Nothing. Posts were pretty few and far between this time last year as I was in early pregnancy and could only stomach toast most of the time

CREAMY VEGETABLE SOUP

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 14 oz canned tomatoes- diced, whole, etc... whatever you have on hand
• 2 broccoli stalks, chopped
• 1 leek, light green and white parts only, cleaned well and chopped
• 200 ml creamed corn
• salt and pepper 
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Combine everything in a pot and bring to a boil- the milk may separate, but it's going to pureed in the end so that's ok. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until vegetables are tender. Puree in a blender, half of the soup at a time. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Lasagna Sundays

Tyler wanted to start Lasagna Sundays in our house. I guess now that Parker is here we are thinking more about traditions that he will remember. You know, like the Sunday roast of years past. Who can knock a tradition that involves cheese? Not I. To kick off our first Lasagna Sunday last week, I made this basic lasagna that tastes anything but basic (thank you goat cheese, you will always have a special place in my heart).

You could also switch it up and make baked ziti instead. Use ziti or even penne instead of lasagna noodles. Then you can be lazy with the layering too. I would probably add some water to the pasta sauce though to ensure there is enough liquid to cook the pasta without drying everything out. Also, a mix of half mozzarella and half provolone cheese is delicious in baked ziti (I would leave out the goat cheese if using provolone though). I made a huge pan of baked ziti this way for a Labour Day pot luck years ago. I had totally forgotten about it until somebody recently asked me for the recipe (Courtney- this is for you!).

SUNDAY LASAGNA
adapted from Ina Garten via Lottie + Doof
Makes about 8 servings

• 3 mild Italian pork sausages, or turkey sausages, casings removed
• 1 jar good marinara sauce
• 1 container (about 15 oz) ricotta cheese
• 3 oz goat cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 lb (250 g) mozzarella cheese, half of it grated and half of it thinly sliced
• 16 lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If using traditional lasagna noodles (not no-cook noodles), cook in a pot of boiling salted water until pliable- about 6 minutes or according to package directions. Lay noodles on a clean tea towel until ready to use.

Brown sausage in a frying pan over medium high heat, breaking into small pieces with a spatula while cooking. Pour off fat from pan. Reduce heat to medium, add tomato sauce to warm through.

In a medium bowl combine ricotta, egg, goat cheese, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and grated mozzarella cheese.

Spread tomato sauce in a thin layer in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Layer in this order with 4 noodles between each layer: meat sauce, cheese, meat sauce, cheese, ending with another layer of meat sauce and the remaining sliced mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until pasta is cooked through and cheese on top is starting to brown.

Chicken Pot Pie

I am really proud of this recipe. I created the perfect pie dough by taking tips and bits from other recipes and combining them into this amazing, flaky dough. The filling is full flavoured but not full of fat because I used milk, not cream. Plus there are lots of veggies- I love it when I don't have to make a side dish with vegetables to ensure we are getting our 5-10 a day (more on the 5 end- does anybody really eat 10 servings of fruit and veg a day?). Chicken pot pie is exactly what I want to eat on snowy, cold days. Like today. Ugh.

Look how flaky!!!

One Year Ago: Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies and Spicy Cheese Dip

CHICKEN POT PIE

Serves 4

Any mix of vegetables can be used. To freeze pot pies freeze pastry and filling separately. Thaw both in fridge overnight, then top with pastry and bake as directed.

Pastry:

• 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup cold butter, cubed
• 1 tbsp vodka*
• 6-8 tbsp ice water

Filling:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, fresh or frozen
• 1 carrot
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 peppercorns
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 cups diced vegetables- I used mushrooms, carrots, celery, squash, peas
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 5 tbsp flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped - reserve stems to flavor broth
  
• salt and pepper
  

To make pastry: Combine flour, salt, and butter in a food processor using short pulses until butter resembles small marbles. With motor running, add vodka and 6 tbsp ice water. Add more water one tbsp at a time if needed just until dough forms a ball in the machine. Dump onto counter, pat into two discs, refrigerate for 30 minutes.

To make filling: Place chicken (no need to thaw if it is frozen), carrot, celery, peppercorns, bay leaf, parley stems, and enough water to cover chicken in a pot. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken breasts and cut into bite sized pieces. Strain liquid, reserving broth.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add onions, garlic, vegetables, saute until just tender. Add white wine, cook until only a little liquid is left in the pan. Sprinkle in flour, stir for 2 minutes until flour is cooked out. Whisk in milk and 1 cup of reserved chicken broth. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until thickened. Stir in cooked chicken and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour filling into 4 large ramekins or 6 smaller ramekins.

Roll out pastry to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out rounds big enough to cover ramekins with a bit of over-hang. Top ramekins with pastry, pressing around edges to seal. Cut a vent in top of pastry. Place ramekins on a baking tray in case they overflow in the oven. Bake 25 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is hot and bubbling around the edges.

*Every time I make pie dough Tyler asks why I'm drinking vodka. Every time I tell him it's for the dough. I'm more of a rum person. Adding vodka to pastry keeps it tender and flaky as gluten cannot form in alcohol.

Moroccan Chicken and Eggplant Dish

I don't really have a story behind this, or anything interesting to say about this dish really, except that it came about because I was planning on making this Moroccan Lemon Chicken on Friday but I realized I had used up all the lemons I had. Lemon being a pretty important part of that recipe, of course, I made up something entirely different but using the same spices as the lemon chicken recipe.

The nice thing with this as well it that it is a one pot meal. Well maybe it's technically two, as you need a baking sheet to roast the eggplant, but I always line my baking sheets with foil so that I don't have to wash them. Leftovers are really good as well- just make sure to cover the plate or dish you are warming it up in so that you don't end up with rice and tomato sauce on the roof of your microwave like I did.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN AND EGGPLANT WITH RICE

Serves 4

1 eggplant, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp lemon pepper, or the rest of 1 lemon if you have it and increase the pepper when you season
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tomatoes, diced, or use some drained canned diced tomatoes if this is what you have on hand
1/2 cup black olives, chopped
1 14oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
1/2 cup long grain rice
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a bowl, toss eggplant with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste*. Place eggplant in a single layer on foil lined baking sheet coated with cooking spay. Roast eggplant in middle of oven until golden brown- about 20 minutes- stirring eggplant halfway through cooking to ensure all sides are browning evenly.

Heat a large skillet with about 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic until softened. Add spices, cook for 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes, olives, crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper to season, and water. Bring to a simmer. Stir in rice and add chicken pieces on top. Cover pan and cook until rice is cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Add roasted eggplant, stir to combine. Adjust seasoning and serve.

*I never measure salt and pepper unless I'm actually following a recipe. I seasoned the eggplant with 2 big pinches of kosher salt and maybe 8 grinds of pepper, so I don't know the measurements. Go with your gut, you can always adjust the seasoning later.

Slower Cooker Awesomeness

I saw a post last week on The Kitchn about using your slow cooker during the summer so as to not heat up the house by turning on the oven, and this made a lot of sense. I hardly ever use my slow cooker, but I'm going to try to use it more now that I have re-discovered it's awesomeness. When I walked in the door last night my house smelled delicious, plus dinner was cooked already except for putting some potatoes in the microwave! I couldn't speak throughout dinner except to say "oh my God this is so good".

The recipe accompanying the post was for pork carnitas which I was going to make but they didn't have pork shoulder, or any other suitable pork product, at the grocery store this week. They had beef brisket though. The butcher said they rarely have it, so if you can find brisket at your store pick some up. I wish I had bought two. It's that good. I had brisket sandwich once at a restaurant and it was really fatty, but this wasn't fatty at all- there wasn't even any fat on the top of the leftovers when we took them out of the fridge the next day.

To serve, I shredded the falling-apart-tender meat and we ate it on top of some mashed potatoes with the delicious sauce left in the slow cooker spooned over top. Heaven! I have had leftovers on a kaiser bun for lunch the last two days, and it's delicious this way too. The recipe is dead simple- I was able to throw it together in 10-15 minutes before leaving for work. Don't worry too much about the measurements, I eyeballed everything as I threw it in, it will turn out great. Plus, the cooking time is very forgiving- if you get caught up at work and it cooks for 10 hours, that's ok. The only change I would make, and I've included this below, is to add some chopped fresh parsley when serving.

PS We had peas and corn with it too, in case you were worried about the lack of vegetables in the photo.

SLOW COOKER BRISKET WITH ONIONS AND TOMATOES

Adapted from Epicurious

• beef brisket- I think mine was 2 to 3 lbs, but you can go bigger and don't have to change anything
• salt and pepper
• 2 small onions, sliced 
• 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 bottle beer- I used Moosehead Light because that's what Tyler had, but any beer will do
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
•  1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard
• 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Trim any visible fat from the outside of the beef. Season with salt and pepper. Brown on all sides in a skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, put all other ingredients except parsley in the bottom of the slow cooker and stir to combine. Place beef in slow cooker, cover with lid, and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Stir in parsley before serving.

Stuffed Shells

These stuffed shells are super duper easy to make. They are another recipe that I improvised with great results. So maybe I'm better at this than I thought. I never really plan to make stuffed shells, but sometimes I just happen to have the pasta and ricotta that are the main components at the same time, and it comes to mind when I have no other ideas of what to cook for dinner but I spot the ricotta in the fridge. I always think after dinner, "Why don't I make this more often?". My husband concurs.

You can put pretty much anything in the filling. Fresh herbs are even better than the dried herbs I have included in the below recipe- use a big handful of any fresh herbs you have on hand and chop finely. Some other variations that come to mind would be to use pesto instead of dried herbs, or omit the spinach and use other finely chopped veggies (some chopped roasted tomatoes would be really good I bet). I like to use spinach, however, because I don't really like it so I never use it in anything else. Somehow spinach is delicious and perfect in the stuffed shells. If I have mozzarella cheese, I'll also grate some into the filling. So, without further ado, here is the recipe. Buon appetito!

P.S. Tyler got home from work late on Thursday when we had this for dinner so we ended up eating dinner while watching CSI. Is that weird?

SPINACH AND RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS

Serves 3-4

To double this recipe to serve a crowd,  cook the same amount of pasta but double the filling and sauce.

• 350 g box dried jumbo shells
• 475 g tub ricotta cheese
• 300 g box chopped frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
• 1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 to 3/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• dash of nutmeg (I would probably omit if not using spinach)
• drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F with rack in middle. Cook pasta in boiling, well salted water for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Mix all other ingredients except for tomato sauce. Cover bottom of a baking dish (I use a 10.5" x 7" dish) with 1 cup of tomato sauce.

Stuff pasta with about 1 heaping tbsp of filling* and place in baking dish. Continue stuffing shells until all filling is used up**. The filling will do about 25 shells. Any stuffed shells that don't fit in your baking dish can be frozen- line a baking sheet with plastic wrap, freeze shells until solid, store in a Ziploc bag. To cook follow same method as follows, but bake for longer.

Cover shells with remaining tomato sauce, making sure that everything is well covered or else the pasta will dry out in the oven and be crunchy (not what we're going for here). Cover dish with foil, bake 25 minutes. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

*I find it easiest to use my (well washed) hands to stuff the shells.
**There will be leftover cooked pasta. I have these for lunch the next day with tomato sauce.

Egg Nog Panna Cotta

Here's another recipe for y'all, since I haven't shared many recipes lately. Two posts in one day! Can't say I don't love you.

This is another recipe I made up, and it turned out great on the first try. I usually follow a recipe for almost everything I make, but I came up with this idea for Egg Nog panna cotta for dessert at Christmas while watching Chef at Home. Michael Smith made a Pina Colada panna cotta, so I figured if he can make panna cotta with coconut milk, why not with egg nog? The only thing is, I couldn't think of what to serve this with- the only fruit I could come up with was banana, and even that doesn't seem right.

Although this dessert hasn't made the cut for Christmas dinner (the judges are very strict, and I think the Russian judge was paid off), I will keep this method in mind for other panna cotta flavors. Candied Bacon panna cotta anyone?

EGG NOG PANNA COTTA
Makes 4-6 servings, depending on the size of ramekins

• 2 cups egg nog
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 envelope gelatin powder
• maple syrup, to serve
  

Heat egg nog, salt, sugars, spices, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat until mixture simmers. Meanwhile, dissolve gelatin in water. Once egg nog mixture simmers, remove from heat and whisk in gelatin. Pour into ramekins and refrigerate until set- about 4 hours. To serve, run a knife around the edge of the panna cotta and turn out onto the center of a plate and drizzle with maple syrup.