Hearty winter stew

When it's cold outside most people like stick to your ribs dinners that will keep you warm for hours. This stew is great for that and so easy to prepare.

1 lb good stewing beef, preferably organic free run but anything will work.
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 or 2 carrots
1 or 2 parsnips
2 potatoes
1 or 2 celery stalks if you want
2 medium tins of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
2 bay leaves
olive oil
dried oregano
sea salt
fresh ground pepper

Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a pot or deep frying pan. Chop the onion and put it in the pot when the oil is hot, cook them just until they begin to get soft. Mince the garlic and add it when the onions are soft.

 Roughly chop the carrots, parsnip, and celery and throw them into the pot.

When the carrots are just starting to get soft add your stewing beef. Make sure you pat away any moisture from the meat or it will not brown. Make sure all the sides of the beef are browned before adding any liquid.

Once the meat is browned add the tomatoes and red wine. Chop the potatoes into small just slightly bigger than bite sized pieces and add them to the stew making sure they are submerged. Leave the bay leaves whole and submerge them in the stew. Add the sea salt, pepper and dried oregano to taste. Let simmer for 30 to 45 minutes remove the bay leaves and enjoy.

Chocolate-Carmel Cookie Bars

I saw this on the Martha Stewart website and just had to try them. Don't be frighted off by the fact that you will being making the caramel, it's really easier than you think.

Crust
4 1/2 ounces butter, plus more for parchment
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Chocolate Caramel

10 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

3 ounces butter

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbs sea salt like Fleur de sel



Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a square or rectangular baking pan with parchment paper so it has over hang. I found that if you trace the bottom of the pan and then cut along two sides so that the parchment paper will hang over. Do the same thing for the other side of the pan. Butter the parchment paper but leave the over hang butter free.

Start by creaming the butter and brown sugar in a bowl until it is fluffy, then add the flour and salt. The blended butter, sugar, flour and salt should have a sandy consistency.

Press the mixture into the pan so that it is even. I used a spoon but you can use your hand if you would like. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until the cookie gets golden brown.

While the cookie is baking start to make the chocolate caramel. Chop the chocolate and place it in a medium bowl. 

In a saucepan heat the granulated sugar and water. Keep brushing the sides of the saucepan with water using a pastry brush so that sugar crystals don't form on the pan. Let the sugar water mixture bubble until it goes a nice caramel amber colour.

 

Take the pot off the heat and add the butter, salt and cream. Place the pot back on the heat and bring it back to a bubble and stir until smooth. Pour the caramel over the chocolate and stir until its all combined and let stand for about 10 minutes to cool. Pour over the cookie and store in the fridge for 4 hours or preferably over night. Top with Fleur de sel and cut into bars. 

Exam Time Meals

With the holiday's come exams. I have been busy with work and school and just have not had the time to post, so here are two posts together, both are simple and take around 40 to 50 mintes in tottal.

Spicy Italian Sausage Tomato Basil Sauce
This sauce is really nice and light and so simple to make. I put it over ravioli but it would be just as good on spaghetti or linguine noodles.

3-4 spicy Italian sausages
1 tin of diced tomatoes
1-2 good handfuls of fresh basil
1tbs olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan and add the sausage to the pan. The sausage will need to be removed from the casing, this may sound hard but it's really easy. To remove from the casing hold the sausage in the middle and squeeze until the filling starts to come out, then you just keep squeezing out the filling until it's all out. Like this ...

Break up the sausage so it looks a bit more like ground hamburger

While the sausage is cooking chop the basil. It doesn't have to be minced or even neatly cut as long as it's small it will be fine.

When the sausage is cooked add the tin of tomatoes and your basil. Add the salt and pepper to taest and simmer for as long as it takes to cook your pasta and then spoon over the pasta and enjoy.

Stuffed Peppers
This dinner is as easy as it sounds. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, take your favourite meat spaghetti sauce heat it up or make it and fill the desired amount of peppers with it and top with cheese. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes. To prepare the peppers all you need to do is wash them and cut the top off.

 

Butter chicken curry

Last night I made curry for dinner.... well not really made it came from a container all I had to do was cook the chicken and make the rice. That being said it is still really good and fast to make. All you have to do really is follow the directions on the curry bottle label and follow the directions for the rice. I like to use Jasmin rice instead of minute rice, it's fluffier and I find not as sticky. I love to have nan bread with my curry, the Presidents choice nan bread is really good and all you have to do is heat it up. I like to put a bit of butter and sea salt on it but its also great just plain. Nan is great for dipping in the curry or instead of pita chips with other dipps. 

Friday night shopping

Instead of making dinner tonight I went Christmas shopping so a nutritious dinner of popcorn and fries was had lol, 

Tuesday night chicken fingers

Tonight I made homemade chicken fingers with Cesar salad. I love chicken fingers but store bought ones just have to many chemicals and preservatives in them for my liking. I want know exactly what has gone into my food. The chicken fingers i make are from Jamie Oliver and they are so simple to make. You can make a bunch of them and freeze them for another night.

chicken fingers
2 flat chicken breasts
about 1 1/2 - 2 cups bread crumbs
zest of one lemon
1 egg
2 tbs milk
sea salt
pepper
dried oregano
dried thyme

Combine all the dry ingredients with the lemon zest.

In a small bowl whisk the milk and egg until they are combined. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the chicken breast into 1 inch by 1/2 an inch strips. Dip the chicken into the egg to get it wet then transfer it to the plate with the bread crumb mixture,  cover with bread crumbs and press the crumbs into the chicken. Put the chicken fingers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cook for 15 minutes.

For the salad I just use Romain lettuce, croutons and Cesar dressing.

Cesar Dressing

2-3 heaping tbs plain yogurt
1 heaping tbs grainy mustard
2 cloves of garlic
1-2 tsp lemon juice
I like to use the cheese grater so that you don't get a big chunk of garlic in your salad.

Add all the ingredients together and stir. feel free to add more or less of anything so that it tastes right to you.

This is such an easy dinner and only takes about 30 minutes to make.

The Weekend

This weekend Justin and I went to London to visit his family. I had planned to take pictures of what i made for dinner but it was a total disaster. We made mushroom risotto, steak and a spinach salad. I couldn't find the leeks that I needed for the risotto so I had to use an onion..... don't it was not good at all the onion is far to potent. The steak was overcooked to my liking but that doesn't mean it was all that bad. The only thing that worked out was the salad. The salad was just spinach, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, and goat cheese with a simple dressing of olive oil and lemon juice. I recomen that you try the salad its one of my favourits :)

Thursday night dinner

So Wednesday I was bad and went out for dinner because I was so tired, Justin worked until 9pm and I just didn't feel like cooking. But tonight I made steak, mashed potatoes, and sauteed mushrooms. Justin barbecued the steak while I made everything else.

Mashed potatoes
4 small red skin potatoes
1 tbs butter or to taste
4 tbs goat cheese
1 tbs milk

You can peel your potatoes if you want but I prefer to leave the skin on because that is where most of the nutritional value is. Boil your potatoes until they are cooked, you will know they are coked when a knife is inserted and the potato slides off. Add the butter, cheese, milk and mash them to the desired consistency.
Normally I don't use goat cheese I like to use cream cheese and sour cream with no butter but I didn't have so I used what I did. They weren't bad but I didn't put in enough butter or milk so they were kind of dry. The mushrooms on the other had were great. I love mushrooms and could have just eaten them for dinner.

Sauteed Mushrooms
10 to 15 champagne mushrooms
1 - 2 tbs butter
1-2 medium sized garlic cloves

Heat a frying pan on medium high heat. Mince your garlic and add them to the butter in the frying pan.

When the butter starts to bubble add your mushrooms but don't crowd them, they won't brown if you crowd them.

If you do crowd them don't worry they will still cook and taste great, they will just be pale like this ...

I crowded mine :(
Over all it was a good dinner.

Tuesday night dinner after work

So tonight's dinner is kind of simple, it's cheese and spinach ravioli with a homemade meat sauce.
The sauce is a variation from Jamie Oliver's book Ministry of food. I love all of Jamie's cook books and cook from them a lot, he has so many easy to make healthy options in his books with just enough of the sweet stuff to keep you coming back.

Meat Sauce
4 tbs of olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 or 2 cloves of minced garlic
1 large carrot
2 celery stalks
1 lb lean ground beef
one tin (29 ounces) crushed tomatoes  
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
In a large frying pan saute the garlic and onions until tender.

When the onions are tender add the roughly chopped carrots and celery. Cook until the carrots are almost tender.

Add the hamburger and cook until browned.

Add the crushed tomato and simmer until your pasta is ready.

This sauce is great for more than just putting on top of pasta. Instead of using crushed tomatoes try using diced tomatoes and half a tin of water, simmering for about 30 minutes to make a thinner sauce. This can be used as the meat layer in a really great lasagna. Justin is always asking for the lasagna with this sauce. You can use any pasta you like with this sauce. I recommend using fresh pasta that can be easily bought in your local grocery store.

My first post

Hello everyone,
This is my first post :) I got the idea to start a blog about my adventures in food while looking for a recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip muffins for my boyfriend.  I found a great blog that had a great looking recipe so i had to try it. I got it off the blog Schweet'N Savory and they were a big hit

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip muffins
1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or mini chips work well too)
1 cup chopped pecans  (optional)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Combine the oats and milk in a bowl and let stand for around 15 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (about 200 degrees C). Grease a muffin tin or use paper wrappers if you want, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl and set off to the side.When the oats have finished sitting add the egg, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, vegetable oil, chocolate chips, and the pecans if you are using them. Stir everything until it is nicely combined, then you can add the flour mix to the oat mix and stir until it is nice and moist. Fill your muffin tin about 2/3 and sprinkle with remaining brown sugar and a few chocolate chips. Bake for 15 to 20.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we have :)

 Mixture in the bowl.

 Finished product.

 Fresh out of the oven.

 Just about to go into the oven.