Caprese Garlic Bread

This is a nice way to jazz up a side of garlic bread from your family or guests.  I didn't have any fresh mozzarella around so I just used grazed mozzarella.  The fresh would obviously be more delicious but it wasn't in my budget since it was just the garlic bread.  I just used premade garlic bread from the store for this since I was in a hurry and it was on sale.  I usually make my own garlic bread.  I like to put lemon zest and parsley in with my garlic, salt and butter (or try roasted garlic for a nice mellow flavour).

Source: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/caprese-garlic-bread/

Ingredients:

homemade or store bought garlic bread
(I used 1 1/2 tomatoes for half a french loaf)
handful of basil
fresh or grated mozzarella
balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Pour 1/2-3/4c of balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan and put on medium heat to simmer and reduce by half- this is your balsamic drizzle.

Take your prepared (buttered) bread and place the fresh mozzarella on top or sprinkle the grated cheese.  Bake for 10-15 minutes until bread is toasted and cheese is melted (I just used 350-the original recipe calls for 400...do whatever you feel comfortable with while toasted bread/melting cheese in your oven).  Take the bread out of the oven and place slices of tomato on top.  Sprinkle chopped basil and drizzle reduced, thick balsamic over top. Slice and enjoy!

Cowboy Cookies

Oats.  Coconut.  Chocolate.  Need more? My source for this recipe is THIS site- you can find a nice little story about Laura Bush using these cookies to help win the presidency for her husband (sort of..not really).  I halved the recipe and still got 3 dozen cookies.  Here is the full recipe- if you only do half, use one big egg or 2 small eggs or the weird thing I did, where I used one medium egg and tried to let only half of the second one fall in the bowl...

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp baking soda

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups sweetened coconut flakes

2 cups chopped pecans (optional - I omit)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In a second bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat for another 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. 

Stir in the flour mixture, blending until just combined. Add the chips, oats, coconut, and pecans and stir until fully incorporated.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto an ungreased baking sheet, making sure to allow plenty of room between cookies. Bake for 10 minutes- they will seem underdone- let them cool completely on the sheet before removing to a rack or plate.  This is how you achieve that wonderful soft, chewy cookie texture while keeping crisp edges.

Then hide them.  Because you will eat them all!

Roasted Cauliflower and White Cheddar Soup

I don't often have "this is amazing" experiences with cauliflower.  But this soup tonight provided that for me.  It is divine.  Roasting the cauliflower first gives the soup an incredible depth of flavour and colour.

Source: http://www.closetcooking.com/2012/02/roasted-cauliflower-and-aged-white.html

Serves 3 adults- anymore and you need to double it.

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower
oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced/grated
1 tsp thyme, chopped
3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 1/2 cups sharp white cheddar, shredded
1 cup milk or cream (I used whole milk)
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne (optional)

Directions:

Chop up your head of cauliflower and toss with a couple tablespoons of oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, tossing halfway through. 

Saute your onion and garlic over medium-low heat in a big soup pot in a little oil or butter.  Add your thyme and cook for another minute.  Then add your broth and roasted cauliflower (you will need more broth if your head of cauliflower was really big- because your cauliflower was just roasted your broth doesn't need to completely cover them).  Boil, covered, for 20 minutes.  Turn off your heat and blend your soup with an immersion hand bender (or in batches in a regular blender). 

Stir in your shredded cheese and cream.  Add more salt and pepper if needed.  I added 1/3 tsp of cayenne at this point for a tiny little note of heat.  Turn heat back on and heat till desired temperature (don't boil again).

We had our soup with a baguette and garlic butter.  I had some left over cream in my fridge so I whipped it up into some fresh butter.  So delicious.  Just whip your butter with your hand blender till it passes the "whipped cream" stage and you see liquid separate from it.  Drain the liquid and whip salt and a clove of minced garlic into the remaining fat.  Serve along with your bread.  I defrosted a cheddar/jalapeno baguette I had in my freezer that I bought on sale at the store last week.  But fresh bread with this fresh butter and divine soup would have pushed it over the edge!

Sea Salt Caramel Brownies

Cole was craving brownies last night and picked these for me to make.  It was my friend's birthday yesterday as well, so part of the pan went off to her (because she is my friend AND because I didn't want to eat a whole pan of these brownies).  Use whatever brownie recipe you'd like and whatever caramel sauce you'd like.  Great way to jazz up any brownie recipe (or box mix).

Note: The caramel sauce I used was super easy- kind of a fake out sauce.  I figured this was a good time to not worry about it because it was being drizzled on brownies.  Use whatever recipe you'd like- caramel is essentially butter, sugar and cream.

Note: Use a 9x13 pan or cooking time goes up a lot and it's hard to get the chewy brownie consistency desired because they are too thick.

Source of brownie recipe: http://joannagoddard.blogspot.ca/2012/11/the-best-salted-caramel-brownies-youll.html
Source of caramel recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/easy-caramel-sauce-recipe/index.html

Ingredients:

Brownies:
1 cup butter
4 squares of dark chocolate (28 grams per square)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4-1/2 cup caramel sauce
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

Caramel:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cream (half and half or whipping)
2 tbsp butter
pinch of salt
1/2 tbsp vanilla


Directions:

For the caramel, add everything but the vanilla to a small saucepan and stir on medium heat.  Once you see little bubbles, keep stirring for 5-7 minutes, then add vanilla and stir another minute.  Pour into a container and refrigerate to cool down.  It will keep thickening once it's cooled.

For brownies, in a medium saucepan melt butter and chocolate.  Take off heat and beat in sugar.  Then beat in each egg separately, incorporating really well.  Add vanilla.  Beat in salt and flour.  Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 pan and drizzle top with caramel.  Swirl with toothpick and then sprinkle with coarse salt.  Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  You can drizzle some more caramel and salt on top while they are still warm if you want.  Then let them cool before cutting into them.

Chow Mein

Great recipe for a night where you want to use up the extra veggies and meat in your house.  Very versatile- use what you like.  Great as a vegetarian dish as well.  This is the combination of ingredients I used but just use it as a guide.

Ingredients:

Stir Fry:
chicken (I had 3 leftover chicken thighs that I cooked in salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and soy sauce and then chopped into bite sized pieces)
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup chicken or veggie broth
1 bag chow mein noodles (I used the dry ones- they were on sale)
green onion, thinly sliced
bean sprouts

Sauce:
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp hot sauce (I used sriracha)
3 tbsp water mixed with a couple tsp of cornstarch
3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
2-3 tsp of freshly grated ginger


Directions:

Mix sauce ingredients and leave in a bowl.

Stir fry your veggies in a hot wok with some oil.  Reserve the green onion and bean sprouts, otherwise they will get overcooked.  Once your onion is translucent, add the broth and noodles.  I partially covered the wok to let the steam cook the dry noodles through while occasionally tossing everything together.

Add in cooked chicken, green onion, bean sprouts and prepared sauce.  Toss for a few minutes then serve. 

Baked Garlic Cilantro Fries

A great way to enjoy a craving for fries- flavourful, crispy- BAKED!

Note: best way to get crispy baked fries is to soak cut fries in icy salt water before baking (blot dry before baking)

Ingredients:

6 yukon gold or red potatoes or 3 russet potatoes
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2-3/4 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro


Directions:

Cut potatoes (skin on) in fries.  Use salt water bath if desired (you should!)- then dry. Toss with oil and seasonings.  Place on a rack on top of a baking sheet or else on a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 425 for 20-30 minutes.  If you are using a rack, there's no need to flip the fries.  If you are using a greased sheet, check every 7-10 minutes to toss to make sure they are baking evenly and not sticking.  When they are done, toss with cilantro and any extra salt if you think they need it.

Makes 3 servings

Chili-Cinnamon Rubbed Pork Loin with Fresh Apple Salsa

I got the recipe from THIS site.  It's my first I've tried of hers, but it looks like she's got some good stuff.  I think the rub needed some more salt.  I loved the salsa! Try to rub your pork loin the day before.

Ingredients:

Pork Loin:
3 tbsp oil
4 garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp salt
2 lbs pork tenderloin

Salsa:
2 medium/large apples, diced
1/2 cup red pepper, diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 limes, juiced
honey, salt and pepper to taste


Directions:Pork Loin: Whisk together spices and oil then rub your pork loin.  Cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge for hopefully a day but if you just have a few hours, that's fine, too.  Make sure to take meat out a good hour before cooking to let it come up to room temperature.

Sear loin on all sides in a hot (medium-high) pan with some oil.  This means you leave it on one side for a few minutes to get dark (remember because your rub is dark your meat may look burnt but just be careful and go by the smell)- do that for all sides.  Then put in oven safe dish (or leave in pan if it's oven safe) and roast at 350 until your thermometer reads 150 degrees.  Then let your meat rest on a cutting board with tinfoil over it for a good 10 minutes.  Super moist, delicious pork!

Salsa: combine all ingredients and taste to adjust seasoning.  Refrigerate till ready to serve or take out a little before hand so it's not so cold.  I read in the comments of the original recipe that it is also good warmed up, so it melds into a kind of apple sauce. 

Left overs are great the next day for however you want to use them.  We had the dinner twice and the pork was still moist.  I also used some leftovers for a breakfast burrito.