Chicken Chow Mein

If you've been following my foodie blog long enough you'll know that I have a huge affinity for 'one-pot' meals, whether it's using one of my slow cookers, or having a casserole bubbling in the oven or as here, using a large skillet for a stir-fry.  I used what I had on hand for this one, but obviously combinations of whatever you have or your favourites can be substituted.

Chicken Chow Mein
4 servings

1 Tbs vegetable oil
3-4 chicken breasts, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup frozen peas
4 cups chinese style noodles
2 Tbs cornstarch
4 Tbs soy sauce (I use Tamari)
4 cups baby spinach

• in a small bowl combine the cornstarch and soy sauce and set aside.
• using a large skillet over medium to high heat, cook the chicken in the oil until no longer pink (I actually used some chicken that I had already roasted earlier in the day just because it was available, but whichever you have is great).
• add the peppers and onion and saute for a couple of minutes until they've softened slightly.
• pour in the vegetable stock and frozen peas, mix well, cover and let bubble for 5 minutes.
• add the noodles and mix well..
• pour in the soy sauce mixture and stir to coat everything.
• simmer for a couple of minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
• turn off the heat and fold in the baby spinach to wilt it.
• serve and enjoy :o)

 Chicken Chow Mein ingredients.

(I used some chicken breasts that I had roasted earlier in the day)

Oops, I forgot to add the baby spinach to the ingredients photo....here it is :o)

slice the chicken and the veggies into fairly uniform pieces.

saute the chicken, peppers and onion until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies have softened.

the chinese noodles are hard to begin with, but they soon soften up with a little liquid and heat.

it only takes about 30 seconds to wilt the spinach right at the end before you serve.

Yummy!!

Stuffed Peppers

Today was the kind of day that found me standing in front of my fridge and trying to decide what to do with anything that was fast approaching it's 'life as we know it' date.  I found half a bag of bell peppers in the bottom crisper that I had forgotten were there, and one was just beginning to get a little patch of that 'wrinkley' effect as they start the downward spiral towards the compost heap, but they were plenty fresh enough for these stuffed peppers that I decided to make with them.  I like this recipe because you can basically add any spice or flavour that you feel like and they'll usually turn out delicious.

Stuffed Peppers
makes 4-6 servings

4-6 bell peppers
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped finely
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can (19 fl oz) diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup rice (uncooked)
1 Tbs worcestershire sauce
a few dashes of Chipotle Tabasco Sauce
1 cup grated cheese

• cut off the tops of the peppers;  remove the membranes and seeds;  sprinkle the insides of the peppers generously with salt.
• put the peppers, upright, into a baking dish and set aside.
• in a large skillet on medium to high heat, saute the onions and ground beef until all the pink has gone.
• add the salt and pepper, diced tomatoes, water, rice, worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce to the browned beef and mix thoroughly.
• reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the rice is tender, approximately 15-20 minutes.
• by the end of the simmering period most of the liquid should of been absorbed.
• add the grated cheese and mix until melted and combined.
• preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• spoon the beef mixture into the prepared bell pepper shells up to the top edge and pack down well.
• bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes until the peppers have softened slightly and the tops are browned.
• these are quite substantial on their own, especially if your peppers are large like ours were, so I just served them with some homemade garlic bread.
• I only had 4 peppers left in the fridge so I popped the remainder of the beef mixture into a container and froze it.  We'll use it either in more stuffed peppers, or even possibly as a filling for burritos.

 Stuffed Peppers ingredients

chop the tops off of your peppers and place them into a baking dish ready to be stuffed.

saute the ground beef and onion until no more pink remains.

add all the other ingredients, except the grated cheese, and combine thoroughly.

once it has simmered most of the liquid away, add the cheese and mix.

stuff the pepper shells well, and bake for 25-30 minutes.

alongside some soft garlic bread.....deeeeeelish!!!!

Southwest 'Philly' Cheesesteak

Whenever hubby and I go out to a restaurant there are a couple of things that I tend to gravitate to if they're on the menu - along with jalapeno poppers and lemon meringue pie (which doesn't come along too often unfortunately), I love to see Philly Cheesesteak on the page.  Some have fancier bread than others, some add a different twist with the cheese choice, some mix up the veggies, but whatever differences are there I'll usually want to try it.  Well here's my take on one of my favourites, and I'm calling it my Southwest 'Philly' because like so many of my recipes it's turned down the road to Spiceville with the addition of salsa (you may of noticed our penchant for the salsa kick :o)

Southwest 'Philly' Cheesesteak
serves 4

3 small bell peppers, sliced
1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup salsa
1/2 brick cream cheese
300g deli cooked beef
pinch of salt and pepper
loaf of french bread (or individual baguettes)
4 slices of cheese of choice (I used Havarti)

• in a large skillet saute the peppers and onion in a little olive oil over medium to high heat, until softened.
• add the salsa and cream cheese and heat until the cream cheese has melted and the sauce is creamy.
• cut the deli beef up into strips and add to the pan;  mix, reduce heat and simmer until the beef is heated through and the sauce has thickened slightly - 5 minutes.
• cut the french loaf into four pieces and slice each piece in half for the sandwich (today I actually used a 'half-baked' baguette that I had in the freezer).
• heap some of the beef mixture onto the bottom of each baguette piece and place a slice of cheese on the top.
• place under a broiler to melt the cheese or if you've been cooking something in the oven (as I was) pop it inside for a couple of minutes just until the cheese is soft and gooey - yum!!

 Southwest 'Philly' Cheesesteak ingredients.

in a large skillet saute the peppers and onion.

add the salsa and cream cheese.

reduce the heat and simmer until the cream cheese has melted - sorry about the steam making the photo 'misty' :o)

cut the deli beef into pieces - and of course, nobody will blame you if you sneak a little piece - purely for taste test reasons!!

add the beef to the sauce, mix and heat through.

heap some beef mixture onto the bottoms of the baguette and cover with cheese - this was just before I popped it into the oven to melt the cheese.

we had ours today with some sweet potato discs and chive sour cream.

Veggie Pasta Salad

I came across this recipe on a wonderful food website that I'm constantly perusing called Tasty Kitchen and just knew that a variation of it would be wonderful alongside some beautiful salmon fillets that we bought.  I know it's the middle of winter and believe me we will be having the rib-sticking, like-momma-used-to-make, warm, winter casseroles and stews also this week, but when you've got deep red pacific salmon on your plate you want something light and simple beside it.  This is perfect - and believe me, it will also be coming back out in the middle of summer next to those barbecue ribs and steaks that my hubby (the BBQ master :o) rustles up outside.

Veggie Pasta Salad
6-8 servings
(adapted from this 'Summer Pasta Salad')

dressing
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs dried parsley
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs black pepper
3/4 Tbs salt

salad
2 cups dried elbow or penne pasta (to give you approx 4 cups)
1 large tomato
1 green bell pepper
1/2 cup baby carrots
4-5 green onions

• place all the dressing ingredients into a lidded jar and.....shake, shake, shake :o) - store in the refrigerator until you're ready to use.
• cook the pasta in boiling, salted water as per package instructions.
• meanwhile, chop the tomato, pepper, carrots and green onions to uniform size (I wanted mine fairly small) - these were just the veggies that I had on hand, but use your own favourites.
• when the pasta is cooked, drain and run under cold water to cool and stop it cooking any further.
• in a large bowl, mix together the cooled cooked pasta and veggies until well blended.
• pour about half of the dressing over the pasta and toss well - add more dressing if you want.
• keep covered in the refrigerator.

Veggie Pasta Salad ingredients.

dressing ingredients.

place all the dressing ingredients into a lidded jar.

pop on the lid and give it a good shake; put in the refrigerator until you want to use it.

cook the dried pasta in boiling water.

run the cooked pasta under cold water to stop it cooking further and cool it down.

chop all the veggies.

mix all the veggies and cold pasta together.

pour some dressing over the pasta and mix well - I couldn't resist spooning out a small bowl of it to eat straight away - I promise the rest went into the refrigerator ready for dinner and left-overs :o)

Baked Vegetable Egg Rolls

We spent a wonderful couple of hours yesterday at the home of very good friends of ours, for a small pre-Christmas get together.  My friend made some delicious guacamole, succulent bacon wrapped scallops (thankfully there were a few left over that she very kindly sent home with me :), a platter of cheese, crackers and veggies, and a wonderful assortment of cookies, cakes and other sweet treats (one of which was her delicious shortbread cookies, a family recipe with a secret ingredient - I now know it and have been sworn to secrecy!!! :) .  I took along some crispy chicken fingers (a favourite food of her eldest little boy), and these baked vegetable egg rolls.

I have to admit that appetizers are one of my favourite types of food - I've often been known to order a couple of appetizers instead of a main course in restaurants, much to the delight of my hubby, because undoubtedly there's usually enough for him to have a sample too :)

Baked Vegetable Egg Rolls
makes about 20 egg rolls

1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5 green onions, cut into 1 inch julienne strips
1 carrot, grated
1 red pepper, cut into 1 inch julienne strips
2 bok choy, shredded finely

• (any combination of vegetables can be used - beansprouts, water chestnuts, broccoli, corn...whatever's your favourite or you have on hand)

1/4 cup vegetable stock
2 Tbs soy sauce (I used Tamari)
1 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs sesame oil
egg roll wrappers (mine were about 4 inches square) - while assembling the egg rolls, keep the wrappers covered with a damp towel or kitchen towel so they don't dry out.

• combine the vegetable stock, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl: set aside.
• in a large saucepan or skillet, heat the vegetable oil and stir fry the ginger and garlic for 30 seconds.
• add the green onions, carrot and pepper and fry, over high heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
• add the broth mixture and bok choy, combine well and bring to a boil.
• reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables having softened.
• remove from heat, add the sesame oil and mix well.
• let the mixture cool for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 F, and place a cooling rack over a rimmed baking tray (I lined with foil, just for easy clean up).
• strain the vegetable mixture (you don't want the filling too wet otherwise it will make the egg rolls soggy)
• laying an egg roll wrapper on a flat surface (I used a small plate for ease), brush the top, left and right edges with a little water.
• add about 2 heaped teaspoons of mixture in the middle of each wrapper, fold the bottom edge up, and then the top edge down to overlap the bottom (the water will help the edges to stick together).
• squeeze the ends of the egg roll carefully, but firmly together to close the mixture inside.
• place the egg rolls seam side down on the prepared baking tray, brush with vegetable oil and bake for 20 minutes, turning half way through cooking time.
• serve with your favourite dipping sauce.

 Baked Vegetable Egg Rolls ingredients.

it takes a little time to get everything prepared but well worth it.

saute the ginger and garlic - the smell is heavenly :)

add the onions, carrot and pepper.

add the broth mixture and bok choy.

mix everything well, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

let the mixture cool for 15 minutes and then strain the liquid away.

keep the wrappers covered with a damp towel or kitchen towel (on the left) while assembling.

after brushing the top and side edges with a little water and filling with the vegetable mixture, fold up the bottom edge.

fold down the top edge to overlap, before squeezing the ends to close.

brush each egg roll with vegetable oil.

even though I do have a couple of other, newer, basting brushes I always seem to grab my 'old faithful' first - he's stubby and losing his bristles, but he never lets me down, and I love him :)

serve with your favourite dipping sauce - we like the Asian Family's Thai Sweet Chili Sauce.

Tortilla Lasagna

The weather today has been that cold, drizzling rain most of the day - you look outside and give a little thanks that you're cozied up indoors with your loved ones and the fire's blazing, pottering around doing chores and watching either national geographic programmes about vampire squids or snoozing on the couch with a snoring kitty cat on your chest.  The day definitely called for comfort food, and one of my favourite 'feel good' meals is lasagna.

This isn't a traditional lasagna by any stretch of the imagination, but it came about one day when I had decided in advance to make lasagna without checking my pantry before hand - no lasagna sheets, no diced tomatoes....you get the picture.  I had the ground beef and vegetables and that was about it, so it was a matter of searching the pantry and fridge and throwing in whatever I found and whatever I had a craving for.  Sometimes those are some of the tastiest recipes!!!

As usual, as I think I've mentioned before, even though there's only the two of us, this recipe will easily serve six, or even eight if you stretch it, but I'm a huge believer in leftovers and freezing so.....

Tortilla Lasagna
6-8 servings

1 onion - finely chopped
2 bell peppers - finely chopped
2 garlic cloves - minced
1 lb ground beef
1 large jar of favourite pasta sauce
3/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbs Italian seasoning
1 tsp chipotle Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste
4 flour tortillas
2 cups cheese - grated

• preheat the oven to 400 F.
• in a large skillet over medium-high heat fry the onions, peppers and garlic in a little olive oil until softened.
• add the beef and cook until no longer pink.
• add all other ingredients except the tortillas and cheese, reduce the heat and simmer until liquid has reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes.
• meanwhile trim the tortillas to fit into a deep 9x13 inch baking dish, and set aside ready for assembly of lasagna.
• assemble the lasagna as follows:  meat layer, tortilla, 1/4 cup cheese, meat, tortilla, 1/4 cup cheese, and so on, finishing with a cheese covered tortilla on the top.
• place dish onto a baking tray to catch any spill overs, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown.

 oops....forgot the garlic and cheese in the photo - thankfully I didn't forget them in the lasagna though :)

nicely chopped veggies using my new ceramic knife - thank you hubby.

I just love the look and smell of onions, garlic and peppers cooking.  It's the start of soooo many wonderful things.

break up the beef and saute until no longer pink.

once you've added the other ingredients give it all a good mix.

taste regularly as it's simmering and add or alter any of the ingredients to your personal taste.  With the recipe above the Tabasco has a subtle kick and it has a slight sweetness from the ketchup.

keep the off-cut trimmed pieces of tortilla to fill in any gaps.

start with a meat layer

then build the lasagna in layers of meat, tortilla and cheese.

finish with a cheese topped tortilla layer.

leave it to cool down slightly for 5-10 minutes so you don't burn yourself - as we know from past experience - ouch!!

the tortillas stay together really well in their layers and add a nice change from the usual pasta sheets.