Stuffed Avocado

I am trying to get myself back in the workout saddle and wanted something healthy dinner. I looked in my fridge and saw I had a bunch of avocados, tomato and some spinach that really needed to be eaten. At first I was going to make a salad but after playing with a bunch of different ideas this is where I landed.  Light, very tasty and pretty good for my body, a win for the day I would say. 

recipe (severs 4) :

2 avocados

7-10  cherry tomato 

1 cup spinach 

1/4 cup greek yogurt 

1 egg 

cooked cod 

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp paprika 

1/2 tsp garlic powder 

1/2 tsp onion powder 

salt and pepper to taste 

the sauce : 

4 tbsp greek yogurt 

riracha to taste ( I like spicy food so I added about 1 1/2 tbsps)

1/2 tsp garlic powder 

1/2 paprika 

and I added water until it was the thickness I wanted

I cut the avocados in half and scooped out most of the insides. I lightly smashed up the avocado and added all the ingredients together. Then I filled up the avocado skin  and stuck them in the over at 375 for about 25 mins.

The sauce I put all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisked them together, I added water to thin the sauce out a little. Not much, like a teaspoon, if that. When the avocados came out of the oven I drizzled the sauce on and served. They we wonderful. 

Cowboy Breakfast

Yesterday Chad made some AMAZING chili for us and out of the deal I got a little break from the kitchen plus great food, totally a win for me. This morning I was going through the fridge and saw the chili sitting there looking all yummy. I thought it would taste pretty good if I topped it off with an egg, I was right. Ended up being a great breakfast for this fine Victoria Day.

Happy Victoria Day <3

Chicken Alfredo Pot Pie with Spinach and Mushrooms - Gluten Free

Today I have been thinking about the period of time I was a waitress at this pizza joint, they had this Alfredo Chicken Pizza that I really liked and then the craving hit and I really had to have one. I was going to make a pizza but then the reality of having to make my own pizza dough hit and the idea quickly turned from pizza to pot pie. Sadly I get lazy like that, which today isn't a bad thing. This ended up better then a pizza by far.

Sauce recipe:

6 tbsp unsalted butter

1 shallot 

3 cloves garlic

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese 

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1 cup bavarian cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter and add garlic and shallot, cook until soft. Add cream and bring to a boil and sauce has reduced. Add the cheese and melt until sauce is creamy, add salt and pepper as you wish.

from there I added chicken, mushrooms and spinach to the sauce and put the whole thing into a baking dish. Then I topped it off with gluten free pie dough and baked it at 375 for about 50 mins, until the dough is brown. (I forgot to set a timer for this one)

As for this dough I used this recipe and I added to eggs and 1/4 cup cream to make it fluffier:

1/2 cup butter

1 1/4 cup gluten free all purpose baking flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)

2 tbsp cold water

1 tsp fine sea salt

2 tbsps sugar

Mix it together and chill until you need it. I got this recipe from www.simplygluten-free.com I really like their recipes.

Roasted Chicken

I have been wanting to make a roasted chicken after I used up the last of my saved turkey stock. Plus believe it or not I have never roasted a whole chicken before, just my awesome holiday turkeys. So We went to Granville Island and headed straight to the butcher I love. Really we totally went straight there, I forgot to get cash and everything, I was way too excited for this.

While reading up on how people pre-game roast I saw it was a trend that people risen and pat the chicken dry, like as dry and you can possibly get it. Then they would take a seasoning paste and rub the chicken down. Originally I was going to treat the chicken like a turkey and wet brine it for a day, but I decided that I was going to try new things and went with the paste. My paste here is made of :

1 1/2 tspn onion powder 

1 1/2 tspn rosemary 

1 1/2 tspn Italian seasoning mix

4 cloves of garlic 

1 1/2 tspn of salt 

pepper to taste 

I pasted it up with olive oil, I just added it little by little until it was as thick as I wanted it.

As you can see I couldn't find all of my measuring spoons besides the 1 1/2 tspn, worked out just fine :)

After I made my paste I gave my little chicken a pasty rub down. I went under the skin with the paste and inside the carcass.

Then I did something super new to me and grabbed a cast iron pan (I never use them, they just sit there looking sad at me all the time, until now) and heated up some olive oil. I browned all the sides of the chicken and let it take a rest for about 10 minutes. I am sure the poor thing was all tired after all the skin treatment It just had. After the 10 minute nap I wrapped the top with tin foil and put everything into the oven for about 1 1/2 hours at 375, until it was 175 degrees in the thick part of the breast. About 1 hour unto the baking I went in and took off the foil to crisp up all the skin. I am looking forward to making more of these little guys.

Banana Bread French Toast

I have been watching my friends cats while they have been out of town and I noticed they had a bunch of bananas that were going bad. I thought it would be nice to turn their bad bananas into bread. Best timing because I also had some bananas that where browning. That means TWO loafs of banana bread, one for them and one for me.  It's my same gluten free banana bread recipe I normally make :

http://cookingbrandy.blogspot.ca/2012/11/banana-bread-gluten-free.html 

And what better way to eat that bread? Banana bread french toast!! Personally I thought I invented it while I was baking the bread. A little lightbulb went off in my head and I knew it was going to taste great. I thought it was the best idea ever, I am also not the only one haha. Turns out it's a thing and people make it all the time, for good reason. 

(Normally when I make it a small piece off the bottom always gets stuck to the pan and breaks the bread. This time I used PAM on the loaf pans and the bread popped right out. I really like the stuff for baking. )

Mediterranean Chickpea, Kale & Feta Casserole

Tonights dinner was soo yummy!! I was browsing pintrest and came across this little recipe: 

http://kaleandcaramel.tumblr.com/mediterraneanchickpeakalefetacasserole 

 I altered a few things, like mixing some goat cheese in with the feta and I topped it off with some gluten free tapioca bread.  I was very happy with how it turned out,  looking forward for tomorrow morning, where I'll heat the leftovers back up and serve them with a fried egg on top. 

(like this)

Southwest Salad

Today was so beautiful out, I thought a colorful yummy salad with home made corn bread croutons would be the perfect dinner. 

kale

hard boiled egg 

corn 

black beans 

tomato 

avocado 

corn bread croutons 

cheddar cheese sprinkled on top

The croutons were easy, took some left over corn bread, cut into pieces, sprinkled them with some olive oil and salt. Then baked them until they were golden. It really kicked up the salad a little, the sweet and salty taste plus the crunch. I really enjoyed this salad.

Happy Cinco de Mayo <3

Guacamole

In the mood for some Saturday laziness, time to catch up on some TV. What better way to enhance the experience and use some avocados I have bought at the same time. 

recipe:

2 ripe avocados 

3 tbsp tomato 

3 tbsp onion 

1 tbsp lemon juice 

salt and peper to taste 

I mash up the avocados and then garlic press the tomato and onion (it's easy and fast plus you get lots of juice). I put in the lemon juice and salt and peper. I severed these with pecan nut crackers. 

Best Saturday :)  

Leftover Bratwurst and Mushroom Frittata

A few days ago Chad made these insanely good bratwursts for dinner and we had a few left over in the fridge. I thought they would go really well with some mushrooms and eggs, plus I am really gung ho about eating our left overs. Makes me sad, for a number of reason, when I have to throw out food that has gone bad in the fridge.

5 eggs

chopped up bratwurst 

tomato 

mushrooms 

cheddar cheese 

bake at 375 for about 30 mins or until the top has browned a bit. 

I chopped up a potato and fried it in coconut oil, added salt and pepper to taste and there you go. 

Lavender Mint Lemonade

While I was at the market I found some dried lavender and thought it would be awesome in some lemonade, then Chad suggested I add some mint. It tastes flowery, sweet and sour all in one and it's super refreshing. 

recipes: 

2 c water 

1 c sugar 

3 tbsp dried lavender flowers 

3 tbsp mint leaves 

1/4 c agave nectar

1 c lemon juice 

boil water and add sugar, agave, lavender and mint. Once sugar has dissolved remove from heat and let steep for about 10-15 mins. Pour into pitcher and add lemon juice, then fill up the rest of the pitcher with cold water.  

Kale Salad

Today was a busy day and I felt like something healthy and light to eat for dinner. I love Kale salads, they taste great and if you don't finish it or want to pack some up for the next day the kale doesn't get all soggy like lettuce does when it has dressing on it.  

Kale

chickpeas 

black olives 

tomato 

avoado 

toasted pinenuts 

parmesan cheese 

I also used my handy dandy infused olive oil I make as a dressing, the added garlic, rosemary and truffle makes the salad. 

(infused olive oil recipe here)

http://cookingbrandy.blogspot.ca/search?updated-max=2012-11-23T22:21:00-08:00&max-results=7&start=21&by-date=false

Chad's Welcome Home Flourless Chocolate Cake

Chad has be away for awhile and I though it was be nice to make him a welcome home cake. He has been wanting me to make him a flourless chocolate cake for awhile now and lucky for him I had all the ingredients. 

recipe: 

4 oz bittersweet chocolate 

1/2 c butter 

1/2 c unsweetened coco powder 

3/4 sugar 

3 large eggs

preheat oven to 375 and line bottom 8 inch baking pan with wax paper. 

chop chocolate in small pieces and melt in a double boiler with the butter. Stir until smooth, remove from heat and put butter/chocolate mixture into a mixing bowl. Whisk in sugar and eggs and mix until smooth. Once you have that all mixed, sift in the coco powered and mix well. Pour batter into a 8 inch greased pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes or until the top has formed a crust. let cool on rack 5 minutes before removing from pan. 

Corn Bread Sloppy Joe

Today I was browsing Pintrest and saw a post for sloppy joes on corn bread, enough said. 

Recipe:

1 pound lean ground turkey
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
1 1/4 c ketchup
5 tbsp worestershire sauce
1/4 c packed brown sugar
3 tbsp vinegar
3 tbsp spicy mustard
2 tsp chili powered
3 tbsp cumin
1 tsp ginger
salt and peper to taste

I put browned the turkey and put it the crockpot and added all the other ingredients. I cooked it on low for 8 hours. The corn brean was boxed corn bread. I topped it off with some cheddar cheese and a scoop of sour cream.

Beef Stroganoff

For some reason I have been craving beef stroganoff, I think it has something to do with walking past the freezer section in the store and seeing the frozen microwave beef stroganoff. They always look so good on the box and when you open it it's horrible and tastes bad. I ended up looking through tons of recipes and I noticed most of them require a can of mushroom soup. I personally think that is cheating and also I dont like that fact I dont have control over what's in it. So I made my own sauce and added lean ground beef to it. I used rainbow pasta to dress it up a little for spring. 

recipe:

1 c. fried onions (the ones in a can you get at the store)

3 tbsp butter 

10 oz mushrooms 

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 c flour  

1 1/4 c chicken stock 

1 1/4 c cream 

1 pound lean ground beef 

pasta noodles 

Put fried onions in the food processor and process them down to crumbs and set aside.

Melt butter, add mushrooms, cook for about 5 minutes on med-low heat until all the liquid is released. After tuen heat to med-high heat and cook for another 5 mins until all liquid is absorbed again. Add garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant then add flour and onions cook until flour has browned a little, about 1 minute. Stir in cream and broth, reduce heat to low and cook for about 10 mins or until the cream has thickened.

After I cooked up the meat and added it to the mushroom cream sauce. I put that on top of the pasta and sprinkled left over fried onions on top.

Asparagus tart

Today is Easter Sunday and I was thinking what to make, I wanted something that felt kind if like Spring and that was quick to make because I have been working so much. I came up with this tart, it was a very nice Easter treat. 

1 package Pillsbury crescent rolls

1/2 pound asparagus

1/2 cup mushrooms

1/2 cup tomatoes 

1 cup cheese, I used a smoked cheddar

goat cheese for sprinkling on the top

In a oven safe dish roll out the crescent roll dough, then layer asparagus. Add cheddar, then layer mushrooms, tomato and left over asparagus. I added goat cheese and baked it at 375 until the crescent dough was cooked.

Beautiful Easter flowers from my parents <3

Gumbo

  

I wanted to do an Easter dinner with friends, you know,  the lamb and whole shebang. Things are little busy lately so I wasn't able to get the day off and have time to go pick up everything I needed. The dinner shall still go on!!! I came up with the Idea to make gumbo, really it was the first thing that came to mind. SO here is my "Easter" (two days early) Gumbo or Good Friday Gumbo, both sounds good to me.

1/3 c butter

1/3 flour ( I used corn flour)

1 large onion

2 bell peppers (any color)

2 celery ribs 

4 cloves of garlic 

2 jalapenos 

1 lb chicken (I used thighs)

1 lb sausage 

1 lb shrimp 

2 tbsps Italian seasoning 

1 tbsps Old Bay seasoning 

1 tbsps onion powder 

1 tbspn garlic powered 

1 tsp ginger

2 tsps cumin 

2 tsps cayenne pepper 

salt and pepper to taste (1 tsp each)

4 c. chicken stock 

and rice to put everything over 

  

So what you do is, cut up all your veggies and cook all the meat (minus the shrimp) put them in the crock pot. While your doing that put your butter in a pan heat it up until melted and then add the flour to it  and mixing it all up for your roux. You are going to cook it for about 15-20 mins until chocolat brown, stir occasionally so it doesn't burn. Once it's done put it in the crock pot with the meat and veggies, then add your stock. Add your seasonings and cook 8 hours on low or 5-6 hours on high. Once you are about an hour away from being done add the shrimp. Also mine was a little thin, so I added an additional roux with corn starch to thicken it up.  

 My friend also brought dessert for us to enjoy, it was a tapioca pudding he made. Tapioca pearls with coconut milk and shredded coconut, topped off with fresh fruit and some maple syrup. It was light and just the right amount of sweetness. Amazing treat, great dinner and awesome friends.

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>(^ . ^)<

Veggie Stuffed Pepper

In the mood for something veggie, I decided to make stuffed peppers. I love how light and filling they are at the same time. Also I think peppers are coming into season, because the ones at the store are looking beautiful. 

4 bell peppers

2 cups quinoa

can of black beans

1 can of diced tomatos 

small can of corn 

3 cloves garlic

3/4 c shredded cheese ( I used a spicy pepper jack)

1 tsp cumin 

1 tsp paprika 

1 tsp ginger 

1 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

and I topped it off with goat cheese

375 in the oven until it starts to brown. 

Pink Juice

Still playing around with my juicer I found this recipe on line and added a few things to it and made this wonderful pink juice. Pink Juice is what i am calling it, I know it's celever because the juice is pink when it's all mixed.

Half a cabbage  

3 carrots 

1 grapefruit 

2 thumbs of ginger 

3 cucumbers 

3 pears 

Pulled Pork

I have never made pulled pork before, but I was craving it after eating it at this sandwich place called HUBBUB. Best pulled pork sandwich I have ever had, truth be told I never really eat it but this sandwich changed my mind. So naturally on my food journey I had to try my own.

I got about three pounds of meat (Sorry Canada I haven't mastered the metric system yet) and I trimmed off the fat.

I made a dry rub of :

1 tspn cumin

1 tspn ginger

1 tbspn garlic powder 

1 tspn tummeric 

1 tspn cayan pepper 

1 tspn paprika 

1 tbspn smoked salt 

1 tbspn sea salt 

I let it sit for 24 hours in a bag

Then added two small cans of jalapeno peppers and an onion, I let them sit over night so I could just throw everything in before I left to work the next morning.

I added the meat to the onions and jalapeno peppers with a can of Coke and cooked it on low for about 12 hours....  It came out soo tender and yummy. I will for sure be making this again. 

Cucumber Spinach Juice

This juice is light and tasty, I feel like a million bucks after drinking it. 

handful of parsley

2 cucumbers 

1 lemon 

2 thumbs of ginger 

a whole bunch of spinach 

1 green bell pepper 

Cod with Tomato and red Pepper Sauce

First dinner I have made in awhile, I wanted something light and healthy. I was surfing the web for ideas and came across this http://anyzkowo.blogspot.ca/2012/07/ryba-w-sosie-pomidorowo-paprykowym.html . I dont even know know what it says, but from the pictures I was solid. So I just took what was there and made up my own.

4 Cod Filets 

1 can of stewed tomatoes 

1 small can of tomato paste

small onion 

red bell pepper 

3 cloves of garlic 

1 tspn cumin

salt and pepper 

1 tspn basil

1 tspn parsley 

1 tpsn oregno 

1 tspn ginger 

Green Cucumber Juice

So I have been MIA lately, I thought a good way to start posting again would be a healthy green juice. If you are a proud owner of a juicer like myself then you know how easy and fun it is to come up with different combinations of veggies and fruit to make a great tasting drink. The cucumber green juice I made here is light and very refreshing.

3 cucumbers

4 stalks of celery 

2 thumb sized pieces of ginger 

two lemons (peeled and seeds taken out)

and a cup of parsley 

Cabbage Casserole

I had half a red cabbage left over from the bierocks and I needed to figure out something to make with the rest of it. The casserole looked pretty easy and healthy.  I know it's not much to look at but believe me it tasted fantastic. I am thinking about putting this dish into the normal rotation, I'll call it the Cabberole, see what I did there? Anyway, onto the recipe:

1/2 a head of red cabbage 

1 lb of ground turkey 

1 small onion 

1 of raw brown rice, cooked 

about a cup ricotta cheese

1 can tomato puree

2 tablespoons asiago cheese 

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 

1 teaspoon ground ginger 

2 tablespoons of garlic powder 

salt and pepper to taste 

First cook the rice,  then in a separate pan  season meat with salt and pepper and cook with the onion until meat is done. Once rice and meat are done mix together and set aside. Then I made a simple tomato sauce.

1 can tomato puree

Italian seasoning 

garlic powder 

asiago cheese

 While that is cooking, cut up the cabbage and boil it until it is limp (the best part about this step is you get some awesome cabbage broth, going to freeze it and make some soup later.) 

CABBAGE BROTH <3

Once everything is cooked, Layer it in a casserole dish starting and ending with the cabbage. Cabbage, meat mixture, sauce, ricotta cheese, repeat. I put it in the oven at 375 for an hour and a half. About half way through cooking I saw the cabbage crisping up so I covered it with foil. 

Bierocks

I was thinking about making these for awhile now, my mom use to make them when I was a kid, love them so much. Today I had the time to make them and what a treat. I have been working a lot more lately, that means I get home late and sometimes I am too tired to really cook anything. I love the fact this recipe makes about 18 and I end up with tons left to freeze. 30 seconds in the microwave or 20 mins in the oven at about 375. I eat them with a little ketchup and sauerkraut if I have it around.

The recipe:

1 pkg. frozen bread dough

1 med. head of cabbage (I used red cabbage today)

1 large onion

2 lbs. of ground beef

3-4 cloves of garlic 

1 tsp ginger 

1 tsp italian seasoning 

salt and pepper to taste 

2 tbsp of olive oil 

I heated up the oil and cooked the onion, garlic and cabbage, while that was cooking in another pan I cooked the ground beef until it was brown. When the beef was done I drained the fat and put it in with the cabbage. Then I aded my seasoning. I cooked it on low for about 2 hours and then let it cool.  

I took the defrosted bread dough and took about 3 inch balls of bread dough and rolled it out. I put about 3 tablespoons of the meat and cabbage mixture and folded the dough over it. I baked them at 375 for 25 mins or until golden brown.