Cornish Hen for Dinner

Dinner with friends the other night included delicious cornish hens (purchased at the grocery store – not a fancy butcher), baked potato slices and fresh from the garden salad. Oh so good.

The cornish hens were stuffed with lemon and garlic and rubbed with some olive oil and then roasted for about an hour at I think 400 degrees (give or take a bit depending on your stove). Chicken should be 165 degrees I think for doneness. It was so moist it almost melted in your mouth.  The potatoes were just brushed with olive oil and a bit of salt and baked on another rack along side the chicken till golden. (flip them at the 30 minute or half way mark).

Most of the salad was from a friends garden and was simple greens, a bit of coriander, tomatoes, purple cabbage and feta cheese. The dressing was just poured directly over the salad and included about 3 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar, a lug of olive oil, juice of ½ a very ripe lemon and a sprinkle of brown sugar to cut some of the acidity (there was no white sugar which I would normally have used).  Again very fresh tasting.  All in all a perfect summer meal!

Simple Recipe Formula for Great Healthy Meals

I came across this on Facebook and thought it was perfect as a reference guide.  Quick simple ways to create great meals. How can you go wrong? Grain bowls, rice bowls, quesadillas, squash boats, and chili.

Check out the link to great ideas for simple and healthy meals.

http://greatist.com/eat/easy-recipe-formulas?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=opengraph&utm_campaign=easy-recipe-formulas

Salmon Platter

I spent last weekend at my friend Victorias place where as I have mentioned we have discussions that try to solve the issues facing the world including economic, political and social affairs. If only we ruled the world – I think it would be a better place ;-).

Kidding aside we also always cook up some wonderful meals which is really what this blog is about. This time we did a salmon platter with some fabulous salmon fillets we got on sale.

Victoria has a great cast iron platter that we roasted some potatoes on (after parboiling them first to soften them), grilled some asparagus – fresh picked (by Victoria) and a lovely salmon tail fillet.

The salmon turned out super moist and layers just peeled away. It was delicious.  We had marinated it with a bit of dijon mustard and maple syrup (1 tbsp of dijon and 2 tbsp of syrup). The potatoes were parboiled then put on the oiled platter and the asparagus was also done in the oven with everything else.

The potatoes took about ½ hour to roast (although I think in hindsight I would have gone a bit longer – perhaps 45 minutes at 375 degrees C). Everything else was in at 375 for about 15 minutes. The salmon was turned once at about the 10 minute mark.

I think the secret is that you put the cast iron platter in while the oven is heating up so it is hot when everything is placed on it. That seemed to make a difference in the timing as well.

After the 15 minutes we put everything on a platter and sprinkled the asparagus and the potatoes with parmesan peels then squeezed some lemon on top.  The perfect meal in my books.  It was absolutely delicious. I could tell because there was nothing left when we were done.

Lazy Ravioli Lasagna (from Emily Always Cooks)

This sounded like a great way to make lasagna without lots of added ingredients or dollars spent. It made perfect sense to me. Smart recipe over at Emily Always Cooks blog!

Lazy Ravioli Lasagna.

Roasted Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter

Just saying the name gives me goosebumps! I love maple and I love cinnamon so to be able to combine these two ingredients makes for what I would consider the “perfect recipe”. I was going through some of the foodie emails I get each day and came across this recipe on a blog called “Edible Perspective”

I immediately thought of all kinds of things I could use this for including a great gift to bring when going to someones home for dinner. How special would that be?

*Image from edible perspective blog

I still get amazed at how creamy nuts become when you put them in a food processor for long enough. First they become a flour like (which you can use as a substitute for flour in some recipes – and talk about way more flavour that regular flour), then it starts to get creamy and by the time you are finished it looks like the above.

Think of this spread on toast (instead of something like Nutella). I am even thinking of trying a light brushing over meat and then grilling. i bet it would caramelize well – who knows it may be awesome!

Check out the recipe and let me know your ideas.

Cook your eggs perfectly with this infographic

Check out this great infographic from the food network.com.

Evergreen Content Ideas for Food Bloggers

This blog goes out to the many many food bloggers out there who sometimes hit a roadblock on what to write about week after week.  Check out the link below from Food bloggers of Canada.  Some great tips and recipes included.

http://www.foodbloggersofcanada.com/2015/04/evergreen-content-ideas-for-food-bloggers/

Moroccan Red Lentil Soup

This looks like a fabulous lentil soup with really interesting flavours. A must try!

Ocean View Kitchen

I decided to make Moroccan Red Lentil Soup the other day. Lentil soup is comforting, simple, and easy to throw together with just few ingredients. You can make a big pot of it in about thirty minutes, which will then last all week. Its hearty and filling enough to last you to the next meal, but it’s also one of the healthiest dishes you can put on the table. It’s made with red lentils, onions, tomatoes, garlic and spiced with coriander, cumin, turmeric, paprika, red pepper flakes and touch of cinnamon. I also like adding a squeeze of lemon at the very end to brighten the flavors. This soup is high in protein and fiber, very healthy and delicious. Red lentils require a cooking time of 10 to 40 minutes, depending on the variety—mine were done in about 15 mins. I often pair lentil soup with crusty bread and top…

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Stuffed Pasta Shells

I know I know – I’m supposed to be on a hiatus. But I got into a crazy cooking frenzy on Sunday and cooked meals for a week! I tried a new dish for me (got the idea from my friend and neighbour Zannat) called stuffed pasta shells. Very simple dish and total comfort food.

Ingredients

1 lb Ground turkey (can use beef or chicken or tofu)

1 can lentils (because I always add lentils to any ground meat I make)

1 onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic chopped

8-10 mushrooms sliced or chopped

1 cup of Ricotta cheese

1 tbsp dried oregano

2 cups of tomato sauce (I used a marinara)

Grated parmesan cheese to top with

Directions

Sauté onion, mushrooms and garlic first. Then add ground meat and cook till browned. Add in oregano and ½ cup of tomato sauce and the can of lentils.  Sauté all until cooked and then add the ricotta cheese and mix thoroughly.

In a large pot, boil the water for the shells and drop in pasta. Stir occasionally until el dente. Drain pasta when ready.

Using your hands and a fork (I found this the easiest way), stuff each pasta shell with the meat mixture and put in a baking dish. Cover with remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle parmesan cheese over top and bake at 350 degrees F for ½ hour (check to be sure it doesn’t burn – or if it needs more time leave it in for a bit longer – technically everything is already cooked so it is just to crispen the edges of the pasta and heat everything through).

Thats it! pretty simple.  I tend to double the meat portion of the recipe and keep it aside before putting the ricotta in. It is perfect for stuffed squash and or several other dishes or just eating as is with a nice salad.

Skinny Chicken Marsala

I came across this blog looking for chicken recipes I could make for clients that was a bit different. This one caught my eye. It doesn’t look too difficult and the end result looks amazing.  I am going to try it out this weekend for myself. I love the richness of the colour and the fact that each chicken breast is sliced in half into cutlets makes it that much more appealing. It basically doubles the quantity ;-).  Click here to go to the site for the recipe.

Check it out!

The photo is from the website Grandbabycakes