All posts by Sonte

Poultry

Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken

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So many recipes, so few dinners a week to prepare and worse than that, so few people to prepare for. Honestly, I could handle cooking dinner twice a day with two separate groups to feed, because no one should be allowed to eat as much as I can cook.

This Cashew Chicken is oh, so good. So many flavours blending together so perfectly. And so easy to make.

2 lbs Chicken Breasts or Thighs, skinless
1/4 cup Flour
1/2 Pepper
1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Ketchup
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh Ginger, grated
1/4 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
1/2 cup Cashews

Combine flour and pepper.
Coat chicken in flour mixture.
Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
Brown chicken, about 2 minutes on each side.
Place chicken in slow cooker.
Combine soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and chili flakes; pour over chicken.
Cook on LOW for 3 – 4 hours.
Add cashews and stir.
Serve over Rice.

Serves 4-6

About, Indian Cuisine, Vegetarian

Curried Vegetables

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I make pretty good Dal, a good Red Curry that I sometimes do Vegetarian, sometimes with Chicken or Shrimp, killer Naan, decent Gobi Aluu but was lacking in the Curried Veg department; even my husband’s Granny made better curried veg than me…well, no more! I found this super Quick Curried Vegetables recipe at Vegetarian Times.  Of course I tweaked it according to what I had on hand and I am sure I will tweak it every time I make it…

curried vegetables
Curried Vegetables

2 teaspoons Olive Oil
1 large Onion, chopped
1 (400ml) can Coconut Milk
1 cup Water
1 McCormick Vegetable Stock Cube, crushed
3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
3 Tablespoons Curry Powder
1 lb Red Skinned Potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1″ cubes <- I used mini white/red potatoes I had on hand
1 small Cauliflower, cut into small flowerets
2 heads Broccoli, cut into small flowerets
1/2 cup frozen Peas
1/4 cup fresh Cilantro, chopped
1 – 2 Tablespoons Lime Juice

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add coconut milk, water and vegetable stock cube; whisk in tomato paste and curry powder.
Bring to a boil; add potatoes, reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 15 minutes until potatoes are stiff firm but almost done.
Stir in cauliflower, broccoli; cover and cook another 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
Remove from heat; stir in frozen peas, cilantro and lime juice.

Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Serve with Basmati Brown Rice.

Serves: 6 – 8

 

Desserts

Apple Pie Enchiladas

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Oh my!! This recipe for Apple Pie Enchiladas came through my Facebook page the other day and I declared then and there that I would make these ASAP! Alright, it has been a few days since I saw the post but so many other yummy recipes came through the feed that it was hard to choose when to make what….and, well, Mains come before Dessert, right? Even though my belief is, “Life is Short, Eat Dessert First!”

Apple Pie Enchilada
Apple Pie Enchilada

 

1 21 (oz) can Apple Pie Filling or Home made Applesauce
6 (8 inch) Flour Tortillas

1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Water
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon Apple Pie Spice
or 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp each ground Cloves, Nutmeg, Ginger

Lightly spray an 9″x13″ casserole dish with vegetable oil spray.

Spoon about 1/4 cup apple pie filling evenly down the centre of each tortilla.
Roll up, tucking in edges, Burrito-style, and place seam side down in prepared baking dish.

In medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and water.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; reduce heat and simmer for 3 – 5 minutes.
Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and apple pie spice.
Pour sauce over enchiladas and let stand for 45 minutes; this is an important step, don’t rush it.
Bake in preheated 350F oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield: 6

Like I said, this recipe came through my Facebook page but what an Apple Pie Enchilada recipe is doing on what appears to be a weight watchers page is beyond me?

Vegetarian

Vegetarian Meatball Stroganoff

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Cooler temps prevail and there is need to cook warmer meals. Being a Vegetarian is so easy in the Summer months…you can get by on just salad but with Fall on our doorstep, it is time to step up with fully cooked meals that will satisfy both the Vegetarian and non-Vegetarian.

I have been making Stroganoff for as long as I can remember using Ground Beef, Yves Just Like Ground Round, Meatballs and now I have discovered Yves Veggie Meatballs!  Meat-eaters got nothing on me now! Though I am sure they would beg to differ….Whip up this Meatless version of Meatball Stroganoff and see what you think.

vegetarian Meatball stroganoff
Vegetarian Meatball Stroganoff

1 pkg Yves Veggie Meatballs
1 medium Onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
1/4 cup butter
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 McCormick’s Vegetable Stock cube, crushed
Freshly ground Pepper
15 Mushrooms, sliced
1 (10 1/2 oz can) Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Celery soup, undiluted
1/2 cup Water
1 cup Sour Cream or Plain Balkan Style Yogurt

300 grams Hot cooked pasta as per directions on package – Fettucine or Egg Noodles

In a large saucepan, over medium high heat, sauté onion for about 3 minutes.
Add chopped garlic and continue sautéing for another few minutes.
Add flour, stirring constantly, and cook for a minute.
Stir in soup and water and bring to a boil, stirring often.
Reduce heat to low and stir in crushed stock cube, sliced mushrooms and Veggie meatballs; cook until meatballs are heated through, stirring occasionally.
While pasta is cooking, stir sour cream into Stroganoff to heat through.
Serve over hot pasta and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.

Serves 6 – 8

 

 

Coffee Cakes

Pecan Apple Coffee Cake

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Autumn, glorious Autumn! I am so thankful we have four distinct Seasons. I have to say that Autumn is one of my favourite Seasons! I love the colours, I love the crunch of leaves underfoot, I love the crisp early mornings, I love the sun on a cold day but above all, I love my fireplace! I love being able to curl up in front of the fire with a good book and some quiet jazz music in the background.

Oh, I like the food too: apples, pears, plums, pumpkin, hearty soups and stews, substantial breads, hot coffee, to name a few. This recipe came through my FB feed the other day; since I had a few Granny Smith apples aging day by day….why do I buy these??? No one likes to eat them! When I was a kid we used to eat them with a dash of salt on each bite! Probably not all that healthy, but Yum! Anyway, they are such a brilliant Green that I like to have them in the fruit bowl. Granny Smiths are the perfect apple for this Pecan Apple Bread. Now in the original recipe the batter was baked in a loaf pan; I just think taking a loaf bread batter, throwing it into a bundt pan, dressing it up super pretty is so much more fun! That and it doesn’t take as long to bake. Anyway, you make your Apple Pecan Coffee Cake they way you want just so long as you DO make it!

Oh, hey, this recipe is lacking butter! I thought that was weird and maybe it was simply forgotten in the transfer to the internet? Happens. I tried to track the recipe back to an original site to no avail. Shrugged my shoulders and thought I would try it as listed before I changed it…didn’t have to! It came out perfectly! One little change that I made and will do again next time was to include a streusel topping…except it ended up on the bottom. Yes, I knew it would be on the bottom! I thought it would add some nice texture and I was right. Next time though I will put half the batter in the pan, some streusel mix then the rest of the batter and finishing off with streusel mix.Pecan Apple Bread

Pecan Apple Bread

1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Sour Cream
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 cups Flour
2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Epicure Apple Pie Spice
or 1 teaspoon Cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon each: ground Cloves, Nutmeg and Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 cup peeled and chopped Granny Smith Apples
1 cup Pecans, chopped
Drizzle
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Butter

Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly spray a bundt pan with vegetable oil and swirl about 1/4 cup of flour around the greased pan; tap out excess flour.
Peel and chop apples; set aside.
Combine brown sugar, sour cream, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl; beat on low speed until well blended.
Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, Apple Pie Spice, salt; stir well.
Fold in apples and 3/4 of the pecans.
Turn batter out into prepared bundt pan.
or Spoon half the batter into prepared pan, sprinkle with half the streusel, spoon in remaining    batter then top with remaining streusel.
Bake in preheated 350F. oven for 35 – 40 minutes or until pick inserted in centre comes out clean.
Remove from oven, run a small metal spatula around to loosen edges then cool, in pan, on wire rack for 20 minutes.
Turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Drizzle with Brown Sugar Drizzle:
In a small saucepan, over medium heat combine brown sugar and butter.
Stirring constantly, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for a minute or until it thickens.
Remove from heat and drizzle over cooled coffee cake.

Yield: 12- 18 slices

Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Flour
1/4 cup Butter, cubed
Combine brown sugar and flour together in a small mixing bowl.
Cut butter in with a pastry blender or simply rub butter in with hands, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.