French Onion Soup

There is something about a really good bowl of onion soup. I used to work at a pizzeria in Montreal, and we had the best French Onion Soup. A bowl of it was a meal in itself, and was always a nice reward after a long night of serving tables. I wanted to recreate that feeling at home, so I did what I usually do when trying to make something new. I check some of my favourite recipe sites and look at a dozen or so recipes, and then create my own. Below is one that worked really well.

I would recommend however, if you have a small apartment like me, to be warned of the smell. Onion soup is great, but very overpowering in a small space when you are cooking the onions. A great way to rid your kitchen and apartment of strong cooking smells is to boil a little bit of water in a small saucepan, with one or two cinnamon sticks in it. When the water has come to a nice boil, simmer. I usually take the saucepan and walk it around the apartment as well. Works every time!

Reebs' French Onion Soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 onions (any kind) thinly sliced
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- 4 leeks, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 cups broth (preferably beef, but vegetable works too)
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- Crusty bread
- Gruyere cheese, shredded

In large saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the oil. Add the onions and saute, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Add sugar and leeks and cook, stirring frequently until richly coloured and caramelized, 30-45 minutes. Increase heat at end for added colour.



Add garlic, saute 1 minute. Add stock, wine, bay leaf and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until flavours are well blended, 30 minutes. Season. Discard bay leaf.

Ladle into oven and broiler proof bowls. Add 2-3 slices of bread on top of each bowl and sprinkle with cheese. Using a kitchen torch or the broiler setting on your stove, broil until bubbly and lightly browned, 3-4 minutes, watching carefully!

Serve with a light salad.

Turkey Chili

A great way to use up leftover turkey. For this recipe I actually roasted a turkey breast and then used that meat for sandwiches and this chili.

Turkey Chili
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 2 cans (35 oz) stewed tomatoes
- 2 cans (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3/4 cup stock
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp dried hot red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper
- 3 cups shredded, cooked turkey meat

In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the oil. Cook the onion and green pepper over medium high heat, stirring for about 5 minutes, or until onion is golden. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring for a minute or two.

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, beans, oregano, salt, pepper and turkey. Bring mixture to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered for an hour. Salt to taste, adding sugar if desired to take some of the acidity of the tomatoes.

Enjoy topped with shredded cheese and your favourite toast. Freezes really well!

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Stuffing chicken breasts is a great way to create a special meal any day of the week. The possibilities are endless, from creating a simple Chicken Cordon Bleu to adding any cheese or herbs that you like. A really easy thing to do is to slice a chicken breast open and add mustard on one side, some herbs on the other and a few finely chopped veggies. This recipe I came up with on the way home from work, just kind of walking around the grocery store trying to decide what I felt like eating today.

Chicken Breasts with Goat Cheese Filling
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup of herbed goat cheese, crumbled or chopped
- 1/2 red pepper, chopped
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- salt and pepper
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 cup bread crumbs

In a bowl, mix goat cheese, red pepper and shallot. With a filet knife, slice into the chicken breasts and open like a book. Season inside of chicken with salt and pepper. Spoon half of the filling (or as much so the chicken will still close) onto each of the chicken breasts.

Fold chicken over filling. Dip chicken breast in egg, turning to coat. Follow by dipping in bread crumbs, pressing to stick.

Place on parchment paper lined baking sheets. Bake in 350F oven for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve with rice and vegetables.

Chickpea Burgers

A very hearty alternative to beef burgers. We often take these to bbq's and are asked whether we are vegetarian, our answer is always 'no, but we love these burgers'. Believe me, you will too!

Neecole's Chickpea Burgers
- 1 can drained, rinsed chickpeas
- 2 chopped green onions
- 2 slices whole grain bread
- 1/3 cup unsalted peanuts or almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
- salt and pepper
- large egg

Throw everything but the egg into a food processor. Pulse until chopped.

Remove half the mixture to a bowl; add egg to food processor. Process until smooth; add to reserved mixture in bowl, and mix well. Form the mixture into patties.

Brush each side generously with olive oil; grill until charred, 305 minutes per side. These burgers also freeze really well, thaw in refrigerator before grilling.

Gnocchi

We all have those days where we look in the fridge and notice there's a half of this, a chunk of that, and you don't want it to go to waste. This is what came out of one of those days, and it is definitely a keeper.

Gnocchi with Fridge findings
- 1 package gnocchi, any kind
- 1/2 tomato, chopped
- 3 mushrooms, sliced
- small chunk of mozzarella, grated
- 1/4 cup parmesan, grated
- big bunch of kale, rinsed and chopped

Fill a pot with water to boil for gnocchi. Meanwhile, saute mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil, for about 5 - 7 minutes, or until nice and browned. Add kale, stirring lightly and letting the kale steam. If needed, add a bit of water to help the process. Once kale has wilted, add salt, tomatoes and stir in cheeses slowly, allowing to melt. Add some warm water if needed.

Cook gnocchi according to package directions. Drain and add to pan, tossing everything to coat. Add more cheese if you like it cheesier. Serve immediately.

Lasagna

I love lasagna, and I think I'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't. I love making lasagna too, experimenting with different kinds of lasagna, different sauces, and fillings. A couple of my favourites include the Death to Dieters and Seafood Lasagna from Best of Bridge . I've also had a great deal of success with lasagna's from Canadian Living , from my most recent Spinach and Eggplant Lasagna, a great Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna, to one from years ago that I've never been able to find the recipe for, it had a Bechamel sauce, a red sauce, pancetta, roasted squash. Now each of these lasagna's I've made once or twice, and have loved, but each time I make them I find myself exhausted going through all the stages to make the masterpiece. The more complicated the recipe, the more I'm drawn to it, even considering making my own lasagna noodles. And while I've thoroughly enjoyed each of these lasagna's, there is also something so satisfying about a cheese and meat sauce lasagna that is so simple, and takes so much less time, and frankly, is just as good.

Reebs' Lasagna

14 Lasagna Noodles
2 each, carrots, stalk celery, red or green peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bottle spaghetti sauce (or about 3 cups of homemade)
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups mozarella cheese, shredded
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 lb gr. beef or turkey

Saute beef and garlic over medium-high heat until beef is no longer pink. Add carrots, celery and peppers, saute for 3-5 minutes. Add spaghetti sauce and 1 cup of water, simmer. Meanwhile mix ricotta cheese and eggs with 1/2 cup of mozarella cheese. Add salt and pepper. Cook lasagna noodles, 8-10 minutes in boiling water. Rinse in cold water and lay out on damp towels in single layer so they don't stick before you assemble the lasagne.

Assembly:
Layer lasagna starting with 1/2 cup of sauce. Place a single layer of noodles on sauce. Add another cup of sauce. Layer with 1/3 of the cheese mixture, 1 cup of mozarella and then noodles.

Repeat layer twice, finishing with mozarella cheese. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake, loosely covered, in 350F oven for 35 minutes. Bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes or until heated through and bubbling. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Even better the next day!

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!

Skewer Yourself

I know summertime is here when walking down the street the smells of grilled food fills the air. One of my favourite things to grill are skewers, they are easy to prepare in advance, and are even easier to eat! Bonus, year round, they are great on an indoor grill.



Reebs Skewer Pointers:

Shrimp - toss shelled, deveined shrimp in a bowl with some olive oil, a bit of citrus (lemon, lime or orange) and some salt and pepper. Thread onto soaked skewers. These don't take long to cook, so should go on the grill last. Cook until nice and pink.


Chicken - between sheets of waxed paper, pound chicken. This helps it to cook faster and I find helps it to stay moist from the marinade. Much like the shrimp, I just toss the chicken in some olive oil, citrus and salt and pepper. You can let the chicken marinade for longer. Thread onto soaked skewers. I am neurotic about chicken, so I put this on the grill first, and check repeatedly. I find the biggest mistake is not letting the chicken cook right through. Patience young grasshopper, patience.

Veggies - Cut veggies in big chunks, you don't need to cook them all the way. My favourite combo's are green and red peppers, red onions, mushrooms, zucchinis. Again, I toss them with the oil and citrus and salt and pepper. Thread onto skewers and I usually put them on the grill shortly after the chicken.


You can enjoy these on their own or make a quick seafood sauce, some peanut sauce, anything really. Here's a quick seafood sauce that will surprise you with it's easiness and taste - and I bet you have most if not all the ingredients on hand!

Seafood Sauce
In bowl, mix together 1/3 cup ketchup, 2 tsp (or more) prepared horseradish, squeeze of lemon or lime juice, splash of Worcestershire sauce and a dash of hot pepper sauce. I guarantee you'll stop buying bottles of seafood sauce!

Enjoy your spread with some good fresh bread and your favourite wine or beer!

Simple Stir Fry

Other than a good ole PB&J sandwhich, there aren't many meals out there that are as easy and as fulfilling as a good stir fry. This is the 'let's clean the fridge' meal, allowing you to really try your hand at creativity. The basics for stir fry are simple:

Protein - chicken, beef, pork, tofu, shrimp, almonds etc.
Veggies - anything goes, just make sure they are all cut the same size, and that you cook them in a good order (watch for veggies that cook super fast!)
Sauce - 1/2 cup of broth (veggie, chicken, beef, even water will do in a pinch), 2 tsps cornstarch, 2 tblsp soy/tamari sauce (easily doubles if you have loads of veggies)
Carb - rice, noodles

My favourite stir fry starts with extra firm tofu. I pat it dry, cut it up, and marinate it in some tamari for about 5 minutes. While the tofu is marinating I chop all my veggies. Staples for me include celery, carrots, peppers, snap peas, zucchini, canned baby corn (that's a Brent pick!), water chestnuts, & sprouts. Some things we've tried include cucumbers (not that awesome), asparagus (works depending on your protein). Just play with the flavour combinations, you'll figure out what you like. I love adding pineapple if I'm making a beef stir fry.

Heat some olive oil in your wok or frying pan on high, and start frying up the tofu (about 4 minutes is what I prefer). Add the veggies. At this point I usually add about half a cup of water and put a lid on, toss it all up and let it steam. Watch it, the veggies don't take long to cook, and you'll know when they're ready. Save snap peas and sprouts etc. for right before you add the sauce.

For the sauce you just want to mix the ingredients, and don't worry, it will settle and need to be stirred right before adding to the pan. It will thicken when it heats in the pan.

For my carb, I like to use steam fried noodles, they take about 2 minutes in boiling water to cook, and there's just something about them that I love. That being said, if you are going to serve this with rice, try and remember to put the rice on before you start anything, cause it will stay warm, but there's nothing worse than waiting for rice to cook!

Once everything is cooked up, I prefer to mix it all in the same pan, but to each their own.

Don't forget to grab your chopsticks!

Meatballs

Meatballs are easy to make, freeze wonderfully, and add so much to many simple meals. I've tried different meatball recipes over the years, and there are a few things I've taken from each of them to create my own.

One of the most important things about meatballs is, of course, the meat. If you can, always get your meat from a reputable butcher. We are really lucky in Vancouver, with Granville Island a tugboat away and a great Butcher on Denman Street, a few blocks from home. The type of meat you want to use is completely up to you, it really doesn't change the recipe that much. Recently I was at Tenderland Meats on Granville Island, and I put in my order (1/3 lb lean gr. beef, 1/3 lb gr. pork, 1/3 lb gr.veal) and a gentleman beside me said 'You must be making meatballs, and it sounds like a gourmet recipe'. It made me smile, because meatballs are so affordable and still 'gourmet'. My order usually comes to $5.00, and I end up with at least 6 meals out of it.

Needless to say, here is my recipe for my favourite meatballs!

Meatballs for All Occasions

1 - 2lb ground meat (my favourite mix is beef,veal and pork)
1 egg
1/4 cup or so Italian breadcrumbs (I make my own with fresh grated parmesan and parsley, and then freeze)
1/4 cup onions, finely chopped
Herbs or spices to your liking

In medium bowl, beat egg lightly, add breadcrumbs and onions, any herbs or spices, and mix. This is where it's fun to play with flavours. - One thing I recently discovered was liquid smoke. Just a drop or two adds a lot of to a simple meatball or hamburger recipe - .
Add meat. Mix (with your hands is best!).


Using a spoon or a scoop (the one I use is actually a cookie dough scoop) divide into equal portions, shape into balls. It's really important they are all the same size, no matter what size you decide, that way they cook evenly and remain moist.

Place on tinfoil lined baking sheet (so easy on the cleanup) and cook for about 18 minutes in 375F oven. Just check them every once in awhile after 15 minutes.




Cool on rack, and then freeze in single layer in ziploc baggies. When you want to use them, just reheat in sauce. My favorite uses are Meatball Subs, Party Meatballs in BBQ sauce, or just plain old Pasta and Meatballs. Enjoy!