January 9th: Pork Adobo + Cabbage

I'll keep this one short. The recipe was good, but I won't be making it again. From January 2014's Chatelaine: Pork Adobo with Cabbage

Instructions

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over high. Add 2 tbsp canola oil, then half of 2 pork tenderloins, cut into bite-size chunks. Cook until pork is dark golden on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Repeat with remaining pork.

Add 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, 1/2 cup water, 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup low-sodium tamari or soy sauce and 4 tsp brown sugar to pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves. Add pork and cook until cooked through, about 2 more minutes. Stir in 2 green onions, sliced diagonally, then transfer mixture to a bowl or platter.

Return pan to stovetop over high. Add 1 tbsp canola oil, 2 minced garlic cloves, 8 cups sliced napa cabbage and 1/4 tsp salt.

Cook, stirring often, until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Serve alongside Pork Adobo, with jasmine rice if desired.

Serves 4.

January 8th: Avocado Toast, Chicken Pot Pie Soup + Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

Last year, early summer, I was googling how to roast a pepper, a seemingly simple task that I always manage to botch. My searching brought me to The Wednesday Chef, and I fell in love. With the website, with the chef, the whole thing. Check it out. She's a beautiful person, a great writer, and has some really good food on her blog. If you'd like to know how to roast a pepper, click here; her instructions are spot on. After mastering that task, I also spent time trying out a recipe here and there, including one for Avocado Toast, which became my go-to breakfast and lunch of Summer 2013. Feeling a little nostalgic and very hungry today, I made one up for lunch and mm mm good. It hit the spot. Feel free to pop over to The Wednesday Chef for Luisa's instructions on how to perfect avocado toast. I've played around with it, and my favourite way is simply 1 piece of toast, with tonnes of mayo, topped with one avocado mashed with lemon, salt, pepper and sriracha. When that's not quite enough, I make a second.

For supper, I returned to last year's other favourite discovery, Skinnytaste. It's been freezing and I mean freezing cold in Ottawa recently. -30°C pretty normal. My car slid on ice and I rear ended a moving truck today, but that's another story... So it seems my timing was impeccable in choosing warm soup and biscuits for a chilly day. I modified two recipes from Skinnytaste: Chicken Pot Pie Soup and Garlic Cheddar Biscuits. They were both yummy and enjoyed by the whole family!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Ingredients

2 cups chicken broth, divided
4 cups milk
2 stalks celery, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 medium onion, diced
227 g sliced mushrooms (white, cremini, portobello)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
pinch dried thyme
2 medium potatoes, diced
handful green beans, diced
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup frozen peas or corn, or both
salt, to taste

Directions

Combine 1 1/2 cups chicken broth with milk in a large saucepan and set over medium. Allow it to come slowly to a simmer. Meanwhile, prep all vegetables and chicken. When liquid is hot, add celery, carrot, onion, mushrooms, pepper, and thyme. Partially cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add potatoes, green beans, and chicken, cover again and simmer another 10 minutes. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth with flour and whisk thoroughly. Slowly add to soup, stirring constantly. Add peas and cook soup another 5 minutes. Add salt to taste and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

Ingredients

2 cups flour
4 tsps baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
pinch salt
2-4 cloves garlic, divided, minced
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and half the minced garlic. Cut in unsalted butter, then stir in cheese. Whisk egg into milk, then add mixture to dry ingredients. Stir until it just comes together. Turn out on floured surface and knead about 20 times. Roll out to 1/2-1 inch. Cut with biscuit cutter. Bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in skillet over low heat. Add remaining minced garlic and sauté about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Remove biscuits from oven and drizzle garlic butter over them. Return to oven for 5 minutes.

Makes approximately 9 biscuits.

January 7th: Cranberry Muffins, Pork Za'atar

Otherwise known as, "Don't try to potty train your child and cook at the same time."

Sadie will be two in March. I would never have considered potty training her yet, if she weren't pulling at her diaper and saying "pee" in a most distressed manner since sometime last November. Santa obliged and brought her a potty, which she loves, and since this week is the return to school and schedules, this is the week to really give it a go, I thought. The potty is set up in the kitchen, well away from carpets, and we've been letting Sadie go bottomless to see what happens. This morning I decided to make muffins. Sadie was a gem, running around mostly naked, entertaining herself, sitting on her potty and reading her potty book and then, bam!, peeing in the potty and making it sing. The potty sings when you pee in it. Or when you cover the two sensors in the bottom with your hand, as Sadie has also discovered. The morning went so smoothly, I thought to give it a go again tonight. Big Mistake.

Sadie hasn't been napping recently. Not sure what is up with that. She seems to think she gets two hours of playtime in her crib in the afternoons. Today was one of those days. Then she dissed my muffins. So by the time I was making supper (Greg and Olivia were gone to piano lessons), Sadie was tired, hungry and driving me up the wall. Why I let her go bottomless I'll never know. In the 45 minutes G&O were gone, I toasted pine nuts, dissected one grapefruit, mixed together spices, and cleaned up 6 pees: 2 in the potty and 4 on the floor. Supper was late, Sadie and I were both cranky and for what?! Sigh. We'll try again tomorrow.

[This is where I'm tempted to post an oh-so-cute picture of Sadie on her potty online for the world to see, but I will resist temptation.]

Onto the food! From the 2013 Milk Calendar:

Cranberry Crumble Muffins

1/3 cup (75 mL) quick cooking oats
1/4 cup (60 mL) packed brown sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter, melted

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour
1 cup (250 mL) whole wheat flour
2 tsps (10 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp (1 mL) each, baking soda and salt
3/4 cup (175 mL) packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) milk
1/4 cup (60 mL) plain yogurt (not fat free)
1/4 cup (60 mL) butter, melted
2 cups (500 mL) fresh or frozen cranberries

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter a 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper liners.

Crumble: In a small bowl, combine oats, sugar, cinnamon and butter; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all-purpose and whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, egg, milk, yogurt and butter until blended. Pour over dry ingredients and sprinkle with cranberries; stir just until moistened.

Spoon into prepared muffin pan; sprinkle tops with crumble. Bake for about 25 minutes or until tops are firm to the touch. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 muffins

I thought these muffins were delicious. I love cranberries, and sour things generally, and these muffins weren't horribly sweet and cake-like as some muffins are. Good texture too, firm but moist. I would definitely make them again. Sadie wouldn't even try them. Olivia ate half of one and said she didn't like it. Grace ate one and asked for another. Taye ate half of one and left the room. Greg is trying to avoid grains, he says his biggest pitfall, and if he eats one he'll eat three so he's not eating any. More for me, I guess. And Grace. And Olivia's lunch, whether she wants one or not.

For Supper! From January 2014 Chatelaine:

Za'atar Pork with Grapefruit Salad

Instructions

Preheat broiler. Arrange 4 boneless pork chops on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Combine 1 tbsp za'atar with 1 tbsp sesame seeds and 1/2 tsp salt. Sprinkle over pork chops. Broil in top third of oven 3-5 minutes.

Remove segments from 2 pink grapefruits, reserving juice separately. Toss 4 cups packed baby spinach with grapefruit segments and 1/4 cup each coarsely chopped parsley and toasted pine nuts in a large bowl.

Whisk 3 tbsp reserved grapefruit juice with 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp water, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 1/2 tsp honey in a medium bowl. Drizzle salad with dressing just before serving.

Several notes: the original recipe called for 8 lamb chops; I'm not a big lamb fan and have a ton of pork chops in my freezer so subbed those in. We all four of us liked the pork. Success! The recipe said to broil the meat on parchment, which I did. I don't think parchment is supposed to be used for broiling and mine certainly burnt. Also, at 5 minutes under the pre-heated broiler, our chops were over cooked, so I've reduced the cooking time above from the original. None of us liked the grapefruit salad. I even hesitated to type it out here. We do like grapefruits, and I love toasted pine nuts like they are the best thing in the world, but this salad sucked. Will not be tried again. Za'atar: I've been reading about this for the past few years and noticed they sell it at Loblaws now, so thought this would be a good chance to give it a go. According to Chatelaine  "This earthy Middle Eastern spice blend is the flavour of the year. Make your own by mixing 3 tbsp thyme with 3 tbsp sesame seeds, 2 tsp sumac or lemon zest, and 1/2 tsp kosher salt." It was yummy stuff.

January 6th: Gourmet Grilled Cheese & Spinach Salad

This year, Monday night is dance night for Olivia and our busiest night of the week. She does two dance classes: 45 minutes of tap, 1 hour of ballet, with a 1 hour break in between. That's after a full day of school. Eep. Luckily, she is enjoying both. I try to plan simple meals for Monday nights that can be pulled together quickly in between chauffeuring Miss O around. Greg thinks my definition of simple meals might not be the same as others'.

Turns out tonight I could have done a more complicated meal, as Miss O has been running a fever for a few days and didn't go to school or dance today. However, I am not one to stray off my schedule, so I made our meal as planned, from January 2013's Chatelaine:

Gourmet Grilled Cheese & Spinach Salad

Instructions

Spread 1 tsp honey on a slice of multi-grain bread. Top with 1/4 cup grated aged Cheddar, thinly sliced red onion and thinly sliced apple. Top with another 1/4 cup grated Cheddar, then sandwich with another bread slice. Brush top and bottom with 1 tbsp melted butter. Repeat, making 4 sandwiches in total.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium. Arrange sandwiches in pan. Cook, flipping halfway through, until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted, 6 minutes.

Divide 4 cups baby spinach amongst 4 bowls. Top with 1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts and 1 apple, thinly sliced. Whisk 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar with 4 tsps each canola oil and honey. Drizzle over individual servings of salad.

Serves 4.

The original recipe called for parsley where I have used spinach. I wasn't sure my family would go for a parsley salad, and besides, I had to buy spinach for another meal for this week, so subbed it in. I also increased the vinaigrette amounts.

The sandwiches were okay but not repeatable. The salads were better but that recipe will be tossed also. Ah well.

January 5th: Sloppy Joes & Slaw

I have been planning meals a month in advance for almost 10 years. I started in 2004, stuck in hospital, mooning over a pretty food spread in Chatelaine and waxing poetic about the food I could be cooking and eating if not knocking on death's door, etc. With some ebbs and flows over the years, ebbs especially in the immediate post-baby timeframes, I have more or less been an avid meal planner ever since. In that 10-year timeframe, I have always used my Milk Calendar as my planning tool. Alas.

Normally I have two Milk Calendars delivered to my door in the fall: one with my Chatelaine subscription, and one with my Ottawa Citizen subscription. Well, either I missed them this past fall, or they weren't sent; I don't know which. What to do? I have switched allegiances. I don't remember where it came from, but I found a Foodland Ontario calendar kicking about my kitchen, so yesterday I made use of it and planned out my meals for January, with a few blanks here and there. Always best to allow for contingencies.

For tonight's meal, I put the Foodland Ontario recipe for January to use:

Turkey Joe with Kaleidoscope Slaw

Ingredients

Joes

2 tsp (10 mL) canola oil

1 lb (500 g) extra-lean ground turkey or chicken

2 cups (500 mL) diced sweet potato

1 onion, chopped

19 oz (540 mL) stewed tomatoes

1/4 cup (50 mL) barbecue sauce

1/2 cup (125 mL) shredded Cheddar cheese

4 onion buns or whole wheat Kaiser buns, toasted

Slaw

1 1/2 tbsp (37 mL) canola oil

2 tbsp (25 mL) cider vinegar

1 tbsp (15 mL) maple syrup

1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp (1 mL) each salt and pepper

2 cups (500 mL) each shredded green and red cabbage

1 cup (250 mL) grated carrot

Preparation

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add turkey, sweet potato and onion; cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, for 5 minutes or until browned.

Stir in tomatoes; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for  7 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender-crisp and half of the liquid has evaporated.

Stir in barbecue sauce; simmer for 1 minute or until heated through. Remove from heat. Stir in half of the cheese. Spoon turkey mixture over buns; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Serve Kaleidoscope Slaw on the side.

Kaleidoscope Slaw: In serving bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, salt and pepper. Add green and red cabbage and carrot; toss to coat. Set aside.

Tips: Omit the buns and serve the turkey mixture over baked potatoes. If the stewed tomatoes are large, crush with a fork. Kick up the heat and add hot sauce or use a spicy barbecue sauce.

I served the sloppy joes with baked potatoes, as suggested. Mine were a bit on the runny side because I used a can of whole tomatoes, which is larger than the can of stewed tomatoes called for. We ate it like chill, with cheese, sour cream and green onions on top. It was yummy; I likely won't make it again. The slaw was pretty and good but unlikely to happen again either.

January 4th: Pork and Mushroom Alfredo

This is a cheater post, as I'm repeating a recipe from 2011: Mushroom Alfredo. The teeny difference is that this time I added meat. I have a bunch of pork chops in the freezer and have been looking for ways to use them up. I thought this would work well, and it did. Chicken and shrimp would also be good, I think. And since I haven't gotten around to blogging in 7 months, I'm easing in...

Pork & Mushroom Alfredo

350 g fresh fettuccine

1 tbsp each unsalted butter and olive oil
1 lb boneless pork chops, chopped*

1 lb assorted mushrooms, sliced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

¾ cup half and half (10%) cream

6 tbsps unsalted butter

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook fettuccine according to package directions, approximately 5 minutes. Reserve ½ cup cooking water, then drain pasta.

Meanwhile, heat butter and olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add pork and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add cream and butter and heat through, simmering gently. Stir in ¼ cup reserved cooking water, cooked pasta, and Parmesan cheese. Thin with more water if necessary.

Serve and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Top with more Parmesan cheese if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

*Can substitute 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, or 1 lb raw peeled deveined large shrimp. If using shrimp, add to pan at same time as garlic.

Served with (gasp) store-bought pre-packaged Caesar salad. I never.

A month of skinnytaste

If I remember correctly, I first heard about the blog skinnytaste from my former coworker Brittany, a couple of years ago, although I didn't try any recipes from the the website at that time. I recently came across it again, and in need of kitchen inspiration - and with my trusty new/old iPhone in hand - I spent some time trolling the website and came up with a list of recipes to try out. We've been eating skinnytaste almost exclusively in the month of May; happily, we have had a number of hits and only a few near misses. Super excited to have a new bank of inspiration upon which to draw.

I'm only going to talk about the hits...


May 5th: Cheesy Jalapeño Popper Baked Stuffed Chicken and Fiesta Lime Rice

The title pretty much says it all. Create a stuffing of bacon, cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, jalapeño, and green onion, and roll it into flattened chicken breasts. Bread and bake. Cheesy, spicy, gooey goodness.

We ate this accompanied by Fiesta Lime Rice, a delicious and super healthy side dish of rice, beans, corn, tomatoes and green onions. Greg found it bland, but of course, I made his without cilantro, which added tonnes of flavour. His loss. I loved it. I doubled the corn in my version.

Mmm. I want to go make, and eat, this again right now.

On the left side of the plate are the cheesy bits that melted out of the chicken onto the pan. Mmm.
To the right of the plate is my current reading material.

May 7th: Spicy Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle Mayonnaise

Again, with the apt title. Need I say more? Yes. These are probably the best homemade bean burgers I have made to date. The recipe says it makes 4, but I was working with small buns, so I made 6 out of the mixture. I cooked 3: one each for me and Greg, one to split between O and S. I then froze the other 3, and happily ate them in later days as a quick, cook-from-frozen lunch (I found I had to cook them a little longer than suggested). Delicious every time. The burgers are a little spicy, and the mayo is spicier. I left the mayo off O's and S's, and although O said she didn't like the burger, she ate it, which makes me doubt her word. S ate hers; she loves beans.

The recipe calls for 1 jumbo egg; I used 2 large. If you decide to make these, read through all the instructions; there are some good tips there.

May 10th: Broccoli and Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes

Maybe not quite as good as bacon- and cheese-laden baked potatoes, but still good tasting and infinitely better for you. All your veggies in one spot.

May 12th: Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

I left off the part of the title describing these as "insanely good." They were good, but I don't know if they were that good. We did, however, make short order of them in our house; they were gone in 2 days.

Olivia and I spent Mother's Day morning making these. We haven't done much baking together recently; it was good to do so again.

My girlies and my Mother's Day flowers:

Must Stop Using IPhone To Take Pictures

May 13th: Chicken and Orecchiette Soup

Delicious warm chicken soup after a couple of cold days. I found these fun-coloured carrots at the grocery store:

...but didn't realize the purple carrot would colour the soup an unappealing grey colour:

Luckily, the taste was good. I couldn't find the cavatelli pasta called for in the recipe, so instead bought orecchiette, which Olivia was excited about, because they stick to the tongue. She and Sadie both ate the soup right up.


Looking for cooking inspiration? Check out skinnytaste. More to come...