Chicken Bowls

Don't worry, I'm not about to write about those awful things from KFC... instead this is about a different kind of pot pie. I started out making some pot pies because I had leftover mashed potatoes and some chicken I needed to use, but when they turned out, a pot pie wasn't really what I was looking. Thus the birth of my own Chicken Bowls.

Reebs' Chicken Bowls
Unsalted butter
1 Potatoe, peeled and diced
1/2 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 onions, diced
1 or 2 carrots, diced
minced garlic
1 1/2 cups stock
1 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
4 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
2 cups mashed potatoes, however you like them
*I didn't add corn this time, but would recommend it for future bowls.

In a pan, melt butter over medium-high heat and saute the two potatoes, onions, carrots and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of water (or white wine if you have it) and simmer for 1 minute. Add stock and simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered, until veggies are tender. Whisk flour and mlik together and add to the vegetables, cooking until thickened. Add chicken and any herbs (thyme, parsley etc.). Set aside.


To assemble, divide the chicken filling between 6 containers. Spoon mashed potatoes on top. Cook uncovered in 350F for 30 minutes. If you want you can freeze these, and then cook from frozen, increase baking time to 45 minutes.




Turn out into a bowl, and voila, your very own Chicken Bowls, no MSG added!

Calzones/Panzerotti's

The best pizza crust I've ever made is from The Best of Bridge. It is foolproof. After making a lot of pizza's, I thought why not try and use it make a calzone? I grew up calling them panzerotti's, but I never knew that the difference was that a panzerotti is fried while a calzone is baked, so it's calzones all the way!



Dough:
3/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp yellow cornmeal
1 tbsp olive oil

In a small bowl, mix warm water, yeast and sugar together. Let sit until yeast activates, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, stir together flour, salt and cornmeal. Add yeast mixture and olive oil and knead to a smooth dough, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle a work surface with cornmeal.

Filling:
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
a few mushrooms, sliced
1 can pizza sauce

Sautee onion for 5 minutes, add green pepper and mushrooms, sautee for a few more minutes. Add pizza sauce and stir, set aside.

Divide dough into four portions. Roll out each portion to a circle, about 8 x 20. Spoon filling onto one half of each of the pieces of dough. Cover with about 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella. Fold over, and pinch edges so that they are secure, using a fork if needed.

You can freeze these on a parchment lined pan and then store in freezer bags, thaw in fridge and bake, or bake them right away.

Bake in 425F oven for 15-20 minutes (check after 15 minutes).

Fall Comfort Food

With fall comes colder weather and rainy days (at least in Vancouver). I love sweater weather, and pulling out scarves and mittens again, and spending evenings sipping tea and catching up on the reading you never got around to in the summer. I also love switching into fall/winter cooking mode: soups, stews and casseroles that keep you warm all day long. There's nothing like a big pot of soup to get you through a busy week. Add a sandwich or a salad and you've got a great meal. Some soups are even meals in themselves, much like this one.

Hearty Fall Soup

• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 1/2 cups cubed pancetta
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 3 cups chopped kale or spinach
  
• Salt and Pepper to taste

In large saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add red pepper, chickpeas, sweet potato, pancetta, stock and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Add kale and simmer for 5 minutes.

This soup is very hearty. It also keeps well in the fridge for a few days, and is great for lunch.

Soup and Sandwiches

Soup and Sandwiches

Soup is a versatile and easy way to begin or round out a meal. Making soup does not take long, and once you start making homemade soup you’ll have a hard time eating it out of a can. Served with a salad or sandwhich, soup becomes the base of a great meal. One of my favourite combinations is tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Here is an updated version.

Vegetable Soup

~onion (any kind, today I used half a red onion I had on hand)

~carrots

~celery

~red pepper

~potatoes

~stock (I use veggie, chicken would be great too)

~salt and pepper

~bay leaf

Chop onion, carrots, celery and red pepper. Peel and cube potatoes. In soup or large pot sauté vegetables (minus the potatoes) in a little bit of oil, until they soften, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and some salt and pepper. Add 5 cups of stock and 1 cup water. (Amount of liquid is more important than ratio of stock to water, less stock just means you need to season the soup a bit more).

Add a bay leaf.

Bring to boil, then cover & simmer on low for 25 minutes or until potatoes are soft. In batches or with an immersion blender, blend soup until desired consistency is reached.

Asparagus & Brie Panini

~asparagus spears
~brie or camembert cheese
~ciabatta buns

Blanche asparagus spears in boiling water for 2 – 4 minutes. Transfer to cold water bath to stop the cooking. Slice brie to fit on buns. Place asparagus, cut in half, on bottom half of the bun. Place brie on top. Grill in Panini Press (or waffle iron) until cheese is melted.

Don’t be afraid of puff pastry

Frozen puff pastry can be a host’s best friend. It is quick, easy, always good to have on hand and most of the appetizers or desserts can be made, frozen and cooked straight from the freezer. Frozen puff pastry was something that I used to be afraid of. This is partially because the first time I used it, I didn’t really understand the instructions from the recipe I was using and tried to unfold the pastry. Well let me tell you, it’s not supposed to unfold, you actually roll it out. That made it a lot easier. So, here’s a great recipe to introduce you to puff pastry.


Chicken & Brie Turnovers

These little bites are a fantastic appetizer to have on hand for entertaining. They are relatively easy to make and freeze really well for up to a month. Believe me, they won’t last that long!

The basic recipe can easily be modified to suit your likes.

What You Need:
1 pkg frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten

Filling:
11/4 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey
¾ cup diced Brie or Camembert
1 or 2 green onions, finely diced
2 spoonfuls of mayo
Minced garlic
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries or other fruit

Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. In bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients and stir gently.Now for the pastry. Each package of puff pastry has two squares. Separate and roll each out to a 10-inch square. Cut each portion into 16 squares.

Brush some of the beaten egg onto the edges of the squares. Spoon a healthy teaspoon of filling into the center of each square. Fold as you’d like, crimp edges, place on baking sheet and brush with egg.

Freeze on pans and transfer to waxed lined container and freeze between waxed paper for up to one month. Bake from frozen for approximately 25 minutes in 350F oven on top and bottom thirds of oven, switching halfway through, until golden and puffed.


Try to let them cool for a minute or two before you dig in!

Extra: What is that thing that I’m rolling my pastry out on? It’s a pastry mat, and one of the best $10 I spent. It has built in rulers, and circular patterns to help with crusts etc. Also, it makes cleaning up way easier after baking. Worth investing in!!!

Local Food

With the onset of summer, I always get excited about Farmers Markets and fresh local produce. This year I’ve been anticipating and awaiting it with extra enthusiasm. I’ve recently finished a couple of great books – The Amateur Gourmet, The Omnivores Dilemma and The 100-Mile Diet, of which I will talk more about in another post.

I also just got back from a week at Big Basswood in Northern Ontario, one of the best places to be in the summer. So, while visiting with family, eating fresh lake trout caught by my dad, and reading about the evolution of our food industry, I started daydreaming about what I can do with food this summer. On the way home from the airport, I picked up The 100-Mile Diet. The couple in this book lives not far from us, so whenever they talked about finding a great local food source, I realized, these were places I could go.

So I spent a bit of time on the Internet, looking around for information about local farmers markets, u-pick berry farms, and local meat and fish. I even found an awesome chart that outlines foods in season in my area. And so I embarked on my own journey to discover the great local food options we have here in Vancouver.

I gathered the troops and we headed out to Krause Berry Farms where we picked berries, ate corn pizza and drank fresh smoothies. You will no doubt see many posts outlining the many fabulous treats that were the result of all the berries we picked.

Another of my favourite things to do is visit local farmers markets. For those of you in Vancouver visit www.eatlocal.org for a list of markets and vendors. We live a few blocks from the West End Farmers Market and frequent it weekly from June to late October. Another great place to find local food is Granville Island. But buyer beware, you really have to check the labels and try and stick to the daily vendors…or you might end up eating apples from New Zealand while there are fresh orchard apples two stalls over!

I encourage everyone to try and think and eat locally, it is amazing how much is out there, and the more you think about it, the better your relationship with food becomes, and meal time progresses towards social time. Heck, we have to eat right? Why not have fun doing it. With that I will leave you with a recipe that I made using market finds:

Market Fresh Pasta

Sausages ( I found some awesome lamb sausages at the market last week)
Veggies – whatever’s in season, I used peas, peppers, carrots and zucchini
Pasta – this is where I fibbed, and used dry pasta that was in the cupboard
Cheese – any kind, ricotta, goat, feta…the options are endless


While the water for the pasta is boiling, cut up the veggies and sauté in a little bit of olive oil. Cook the sausages separately, drain and slice and throw in with the veggies. When the pasta is cooked, save a bit of the water, drain and then throw in the pot with the veggies. Add the cheese and stir to melt, adding a bit of the leftover pasta water if needed. Top with fresh herbs or parmesan cheese and voila, a market fresh meal!

Quick and Easy Snack

We all have days when we don't feel like cooking or prepping, but also don't want to pick up the phone and call for take-out. Here is a quick and easy snack that can also be a light lunch or dinner.

English Muffin Melts
English Muffin
Tomato
Basil
Onion
Cheese

Toast the english muffin a little bit while you slice the tomato, chop some fresh basil, red onion and slice some cheese.


Layer the tomato, onion and basil, drizzle a little olive oil, top with cheese and then broil in your toaster oven or oven.


Voila! A fantastic light dinner. Enjoy your 5 minute creation!