Contest Entry # 3

If you don't try this... you must be crazy... even if you don't like seafood- watch the video and I give you other suggestions! Thanks to my wonderful hubby for helping with this one!
Happy cooking!

Video entry # 2: Layered Penne Bake

Just wanted to give a shout out to my creative director: Lauren Longbottom. You are an amazing friend:) Thank you for all of your help!

contest video # 1 :):)

So here is one of my videos for THE contest- my dream come true- please post comments!:)

Not your regular pasta dish...

I am very excited to share this recipe with you- We have had a crazy weekend of good food here... Even though I didn't feel well most of the time- the food that I could eat was ridiculous... Ex: Last night for supper I happened to catch an episode of eat street before I started cooking- and saw a burger they called the "I haz a cheezburger" -which is basically two grilled cheese sandwiches with a burger in between- Kev ate it- I couldn't, but it looked amazing!
Today for breakfast we had roasted potatoes, and fried eggs topped with green onions and cheese. Lunch- was Belgian waffles- Kev's favourite... They were great I just cant ever eat waffles- not my thing.
And today for supper, is what I am about to share with you, with lots of pictures:)

Picture 1: These are part of the ingredients you need for this layered take on lasagna. I have a box of whole wheat and whole grain penne pasta cooked. In the bowl there is one spicy sausage and 1/2 pound of ground sirloin browned in olive oil, and seasoned with Italian seasonings, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. The sausage will give you a lot of flavour- and will also be the flavour base for you veggies to come.

The veggies are 1 c of chopped cremini mushrooms, 1/2 of yellow pepper sliced, and 1/2 of a red pepper sliced, 1 medium onion diced, 4 garlic cloves minced. 

After I sauteed my meat- I put it into a bowl lined with paper towel to soak up the extra fat. I used the same pan for my veggies. I started by sauteing my onion for about 3-4 minutes, added garlic for 1- and added the rest of the veggies as well as salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings to taste- until everything was soft and lovely.

Then on to part 2:

You will need: 2 c of shredded part skim mozzarella. 1/2 of fresh Parmesan, 1 can of tomato sauce- no seasonings added, no salt added, 1/2 brick of cream cheese softened.

Then the layering process began:

In a 2.5 L dish I layered about 1/4 c of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish and 1/3 of my cooked penne. On top I spread out the cooked veggies. Then...

I layered some sauce, more penne, mozzarella, the meat  mixture, and 1/4 of an 8 ounce brick of cream cheese and I sprinkled on a bit more Italian seasonings. 

The final layer is the last of the penne, the rest of the sauce, the other 1/4 c of cream cheese, the rest of the mozzarella, and 1/2 c of Parmesan. 

This picture is a really good tip not just for this recipe but for your kitchen knowledge for the future. Put the dish on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet- this way if anything boils over- you do not have to spend time scrubbing off the burnt mess. 

I baked this dish at 385 for 35 minutes and here is the big reveal...

I know it will be very hard to do- but Liz this is for you- please wait at least 15 minutes before you spoon into this dish!!! Its kind of like lasagna- you want all of the juices that will be running to re absorb into the dish so that you don't get a soupy mess. I know I know, it will take a lot of self control but it's so worth it! :)

I served this with a loaf of M & M's garlic bread- It is my favourite of all time- not the best for you- so we don't eat it often- but when you taste it, you'll know why its my absolute favourite- I always go for homemade, but in this case this is one thing that is better to buy... Did I just say that???

Cooking! As always please let me know how it goes:)

My dream Contest!

So this is exciting- there is a contest going on right now called the Real Women of Philly- you have to submit a recipe using CREAM CHEESE..um HeLLO this is my favourite cheese... and if you win you get $20, 000.00 and to meet Anna Olson- who is someone I always watch!!!
It's like this contest was made for me- I have a post that I just created although I can't publish it for a couple of weeks because that is the one I will be entering for the prize! Ahhhh! Wish me luck!!!

Dijon Chicken or Pork Recipe & Roasted Asparagus

If you need a change from your regular chicken or pork routine- here is something easy for everyone!

Salt and pepper your pork or chicken generously- they both lack flavour- if you want to add garlic powder- or Italian seasoning- that would be great on here as well. In 1 tbsp of hot olive oil- pan fry your meat (on medium heat) until it is golden brown on both sides and you are confident that it is cooked inside. Add about 1/3 c of chicken stock and let this simmer until the stock reduces by half. When that is done add about one to two tablespoons of light cream cheese, and one tablespoon of whole grain Dijon mustard. If you don't have whole grain Dijon- you should get it cause its that good- and if I still haven't convinced you- add 1/2 tbsp of regular Dijon. When the cheese and Dijon melt into your mixture and become thick- you are done! Easy- tasty- and a nice change:)

I served the chicken with cauliflower rice and roasted asparagus. Cut the tough ends off of your asparagus- or if you want to do it one by one... why would you but who knows... hold both ends and bend- it will break naturally from the tough end. Spread the asparagus out on a cookie sheet and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Roast at 375 for 10 minutes- no longer- and you will have perfect asparagus every time! Why not real garlic? It will burn and turn bitter- resulting in bitter asparagus- which is never a good time!

Just for Darcy:)

This is my mother in law's recipe for Ham and Corn Chowder. I made this recipe for our school soup club and it is amazing:)

• 4 slices raw bacon
• 1 large onion
• 3 c diced potatoes
• 3 c water
• 3 tbsp margarine
• 1/4 c flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 c diced ham
• 1/4-1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 2 c milk
• 1 can corn
• paprika to taste

Cook bacon, add onions and saute until your onions are clear- 3-5 minutes. Add potatoes and water- simmer for ten minutes or until your potatoes are tender. While this is cooking you will also be multi tasking and working on your white sauce to thicken the soup. In a large measuring cup- 6 c at least combine: butter and flour- microwave for 2 minutes and whisk. This is to cook the flour so your soup doesn't taste flour-like. Slowly (while whisking) add all of your milk. Microwave the whole mixture in 2 minute increments until you microwave it for ten minutes- or until it is very thick. (At this point add your paprika, salt and pepper, to the white sauce. (This is also an amazing sauce itself over noodles:)) Add to your soup mixture and all the other remaining ingredients. Simmer the soup but DO NOT LET IT BOIL- unless you want a curdled mess- if so then boil away.
Good luck! Enjoy!

It's all about the toppings...

So today at Kev's parents house we had burgers- regular store bought frozen burgers- with store bought buns- but that is where the store bought ends....
What is most important about a burger is what you put on it- and today they were out of this world. I caramelized onions, cooked mushrooms, made my own barbecue sauce, and made home made dressing for the coleslaw and all together it made one amazing burger!

For the full effect I put a bit of everything on my burger as well as some jalapeno cheese, here are some hints for making the filling.

My BBQ sauce:

• 1/3 yellow onion chopped very finely
• 3 cloves garlic crushed
• 1 c of ketchup
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 1 tbsp soy
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire 
• garlic powder- 1/2 tsp
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 onion powder
• dash of vinegar
  
  Start with a bit of olive oil in a sauce pan- add your onions and garlic and let this go for about 2 minutes on low/medium heat. Add all ingredients and cook on low. Adjust seasonings/sugar to suit your taste!:)

Caramelized onions:

Good caramelized onions are going to take some time. I started with about 3 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Important that you use butter to get that brown color, and important to add oil to keep that butter from burning. I chopped 3 large white onions in thin slices, added 2-3 tbsp of sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp dry oregano. You let the onions go for on a medium heat- stirring constantly scarping the bottom of the pan where the flavor tends to stick!!! Do not leave these alone because they will burn- but don't stir too much in the beginning in order to let the sugars caramelize the onions- if you disturb it too much it won't happen and instead they will burn. When they are golden brown and falling apart you are done:)- which takes about 20-25 minutes.

Mushrooms:

 We chopped a paper bag 3/4 full of mushrooms and added that to a heated pan with 2 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil. I added salt, pepper, oregano, and a bit of sugar. At first your mushrooms will release some moisture and you will think you added too much butter or olive oil- this is not the case- this just means you have a ways to go to cooking them fully. When they are done they will be golden, and all of the moisture will be gone. To finish them off I added 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar which will evaporate quickly and leave behind a sweet coating on the mushrooms.

Coleslaw:
I adapted a recipe I once saw on Guy Fietti's show: Guy's Big Bite.
For the dressing you will need:

• 1 tbsp of Dijon
• 2 tbsp of sugar
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 3/4 c mayo
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2-3/4 tsp pepper- fresh ground
  To this I added:
• a bit more sugar
• 1/3 tsp celery seeds
• a touch more vinegar
• 1 1/2 bags of coleslaw
  
  We used grainy Dijon which isn't as strong as a regular ground Dijon - because of that I added a bit more. If I was using regular ground Dijon I wouldn't need any extra. Toss the coleslaw 10- 15 minutes before your going to need it- if you don't the coleslaw doesn't absorb any of that good flavor- if you mix it too early the slaw will let get a lot of moisture and interfere with all of your hard work.

I put jalapeno cheddar, a bit of my BBQ sauce, mushrooms, onions, and coleslaw on top of my burger and it was the best burger I have had in a long time.
Try it out- and let me know how it goes!