BBQ Fish in Foil (more recipes)

Lately I've been noticing the price of Salmon and Trout has gone up, while these sturdy types are great for the grill, I'm watching my budget so I've been looking for alternatives.  I've also not been happy with how much fish we've been having in our diets overall so I'm always on the lookout for any type of fish to up our intake.  A lot of the white or smaller fish are just too delicate to handle well on the BBQ, although if you can get a fillet with the skin on then you're in great shape for the grill.  Doing fish in a foil packet makes it manageable so I've been doing them quite often.  (Planking it on cedar planks would work well too!  But that's another post altogether...) Plus you can add veggies and sauce and have a complete meal ready to go.  Let me tell you of two variations I've tried lately that really rocked it out of park. 
I finally came across some catfish.  I love catfish but it's been hard to find at the grocery store.  Used to be you could find it at the fish counter all the time, but not these days.  So I was very excited to find it at the farmers market this past week.  It was amazing!  And here's what I did with it:

Catfish, Spinach and Goat Cheese
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 pieces of foil, 12inches X 24 inches each
• Cooking spray
• 3-4 green onions, diced
• 1 lb Catfish
• 2 tsp lemon pepper salt free seasoning or 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice and 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp dried dill
• pinch of salt
• 8 cups fresh spinach
• pinch of nutmeg
• 4 ounces goat cheese, about a cup
• 4-8 tbsp of water

Instructions:

1. Divide the above ingredients in 4 to fill 4 packets.
2. Layer them in the order presented above, spray foil on the shiny side with the cooking spray
3. In the middle of the sprayed foil place the green onions, then the fish, followed by the lemon pepper seasoning, dill, salt, spinach, nutmeg.
4. Top with the goat cheese, crumbled
5. Close the packets across the top and one side and pour in 1- 2 tbsp of water in each packet and seal.
6. Bake in a 350 oven or on indirect medium heat on the BBQ for 20 - 25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.  Any thicker than 1 inch and you should increase the cooking time another 5 - 10 minutes. 

You can prep these ahead, in the morning when you have time (I did up mine before hitting the yard for some gardening while I still had the energy to care about dinner) or before guests arrive...  So convenient!

 

Thai Flounder, Veggies and Noodles

Serves 4

 

Ingredients:

• 4 pieces of foil, 12" X 24"
• Cooking spray
• 4 cups cooked whole wheat spaghetti
• 1 lb flounder or other white fish
• 4 green onions, diced
• 2 cups diced broccoli (I used frozen and it worked perfect!)
• 2 medium carrots, shredded
• 1 roasted red pepper, diced
• 4-8 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 can, 14oz light coconut milk
• 2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp fresh cilantro and or basil, chopped

 

Instructions:

1. Spray foil sheets on the shiny side with the cooking spray
2. Layer in the spaghetti, fish, green onions, broccoli, carrots, red pepper, and mushrooms
3. Mix the coconut milk, curry paste, fish sauce, brown sugar and lemon juice.
4. Fold up the packets, leaving one side open.
5. Divide and pour the sauce mix evenly in the 4 packets and fold the remaining side closed on each.
6. Bake at 350 or over indirect heat in a medium BBQ for 20 -25 minutes. 
7. Top with the fresh herbs before serving.

And the very best part of this foil packet method - clean up is a pinch!

 

Updated Red Beans and Rice

This time around I adjusted my original seasoning from my Red Bean and Rice recipe.  Instead of Cajun Seasoning and Brown Sugar I used the following:

1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chipotle powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp celery seeds

And instead of dried oregano I used 3 Tbsp fresh chopped because I needed to pinch back the oregano growing in my garden. 

It was supper yummmmm!

Great Site!

In my adventures around the Internet I've come across a site worth sharing.  Broke and Healthy.  It can be challenging to balance our budgets with healthy choices so this site is a welcome pit spot along the information highway.  (I hope it grows cause it could be a great one stop spot for all your cheap living info needs.)You can find lots of info here on the Internet to make your life less expensive while maintaining a healthy lifestyle so go for it!

BBQ! Turnip Fries and Fish Packs

Happy June! Here are two quickies for the BBQ. I didn't serve these recipes together but they are both worth sharing.

Turnip Fries
Serves 3 -4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium turnip, cut into 1/4 inch fries


• 1 tsp turmeric


• 1/4 tsp cinnamon


• 1/2 tsp cumin


• 1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

1. Heat oven or BBQ to high heat (425F)


2. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil (shiny side towards the food!) and spray with cooking spray or drizzle olive oil and smear it around


3. Toss the turnip fries with the remaining ingredients


4. Spread the turnip over the baking sheet


5. Bake for 10 minutes, flip the fries and cook another 10 - 15 minutes until crispy.

Fish Packs
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb fish fillet, I used ocean trout but you could use any fish you choose


• 1 tsp dried dill


• 2 green onions, diced


• 1 small thinly sliced zucchini


• 1 tsp garlic powder


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 4 cups fresh spinach


• pinch of nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Heat BBQ to high heat


2. Cut fillet into 4 portions


3. Tear 4 pieces of aluminum foil, about 18 inches by 12 inches.


4. Spray each piece of foil on the shiny side with cooking spray


5. Layer ingredients as listed above, salmon, dill, green onions, etc.


6. Close foil on top and one end.


7. Toss in 1 Tbsp water into each packet and close the remaining end.


8. Cook on BBQ for 20 minutes. This is for a fillet about 1/2 inch thick. If the fillet is thicker, add 5 minutes per 1/2 inch.

These were simple and very tasty! (I've got to start remembering to get pics of these delicious dishes...)
Enjoy!

Leftover Rice and Risotto Salmon Cakes

I can not believe how long it has taken me to get these two wonderful recipes up on the blog. Holy smokes can I procrastinate. However, I was only nominated for the "Procrastinator's Award". My friend Colin won. But I digress. Gardening has been occupying most of my time these days. I'm starting to love spring for the gardening potential. Good exercise without going to the gym and the possibility of all those lovely veggies, herbs and flowers. Mom is second in command out in the garden so I'm thinking I'll seriously benefit from her experience this year.

Yesterday we went to the market. I wasn't expecting much in way of fresh veggies since the season has just started around here but there was lots of fresh asparagus, beet greens, rhubarb, fiddleheads.... and the most beautiful bunch of Swiss chard. Even more impressive was the selection of veggie and flower plants which were totally unexpected! These plants put my little seedlings to shame. No worries though, my gardening ego can take it. I'll admit defeat. And I did. And I bought some lovely tomato, pepper and herb plants. Maybe this will be the year I finally get some tomatoes out of my garden... I've been blaming the cooler weather out here next to the ocean (it's 22C and sunny in the city today while it's 11C and foggy out here) but it may be my little tiny seedlings that are started too late. Here's hoping cause I've got big healthy plants ready to go (thanks market vendors)!

Okay, on the recipes. I had leftover brown rice and asparagus risotto in the freezer so I pulled them out with 2 can of salmon and decided to try 2 different types of salmon cakes. Both were a huge hit! Here you go.

Curry Brown Rice Salmon Cakes
Serves 2 -3

Ingredients:

• 1 can pink or red salmon


• 1.5 cups cooked brown rice


• 1 tbsp fresh chives or cilantro or 1 tsp dried


• 2 eggs


• 1 tbsp curry powder


• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Instructions:

1. Remove the skin and bones from the salmon.


2. Mix the ingredients together and form into 4 - 5 patties. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.


3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil (spray the aluminum with cooking spray)


4. Bake in a 425F oven for 15 - 20 minutes flipping the cakes over at around 10 minutes.


5. Serve with Yogurt Mustard Lemon Sauce below

Leftover Risotto and Dill Salmon Cakes
Serves 2 - 3

Ingredients:

• 1 can pink or red salmon


• 1 cup cooked risotto (I used leftover asparagus risotto)


• 2 tsp dried dill


• 1 egg


• 1/2 cup bread crumbs


• 1 tbsp fresh chives or 1 tsp dried

Instructions:
See above!

Yogurt Mustard Lemon Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt


• 2 tbsp mayo


• 2 tsp dijon mustard


• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

• Mix and let sit for 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!!

Quinoa Bowl with Squash and Spinach

Here's my first quinoa bowl recipe. I seriously doubt it will be my last. This is easy and delicious. And it is cheap when you consider how far a little dried quinoa goes and since it's a complete protein you can have a vegetarian meal which is always less expensive.

Quinoa Bowl with Squash and Spinach
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup dried quinoa


• 1 1/2 cup chicken broth or water


• 2 tsp olive oil


• 1 onion, diced


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 2 cups diced roasted butternut squash (or frozen)


• 3 cups fresh spinach


• 2 tbsp olive oil


• 3 tbsp shredded basil


• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan + more for serving


• sprinkle of Ms. Dash herb and garlic and/or salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat the broth in a medium pot to a boil


2. Add quinoa and simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside


3. Heat the 2 tsp oil in a pan


4. Saute the onions until browned


5. Add in the garlic and squash and saute until golden


6. Add in the spinach and cook until wilted


7. Toss in the quinoa, basil, olive oil and Parmesan


8. Stir until heated through


9. Season to taste with the Ms. Dash or salt and pepper


10. Serve with extra Parmesan.

Enjoy!

Veal Bolognese

I love a good Italian sauce. And pasta makes me weak in the knees. So here's another bolognese that got rave reviews. The key is the ground veal. It gives the sauce a certain sweetness. You could substitute pork or beef but it won't be the same.

Veal Bolognese
Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil


• 1 large onion, diced


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 2 large carrots, diced


• 1 lb ground veal, lean


• 1 medium zucchini, diced


• 19 oz/ 540ml can of Italian chunky stewed tomatoes, no salt added


• 1 tbsp tomato paste


• 1/2 cup skim milk

Instructions:

1. Heat a saute pan over medium high heat with the olive oil


2. Saute the onions, garlic and carrots until tender


3. Add in the veal and saute until browned and cooked through


4. Toss in the zucchini, tomatoes, tomato paste and skim milk


5. Simmer for 10 minutes


6. Serve over pasta with Parmesan cheese

Enjoy!

Banger and Mash Pie

Here it is, finally. It's been a long day!
First attempt. Not so good. I've been up over 13 hours. Give me strength...

Second attempt. Better. No need to be perfect with puffed pastry in this sort of pie. Most pubs have the insides bubbling out all over the crust. It adds to the charm! (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)


Bangers and Mash Pie
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tbsp olive oil


• 1/2 tbsp butter


• 1 large onion, finely diced


• 2 banger sausages


• 2 tbsp flour


• 2 cups water


• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/4 inch cubes


• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce


• 1/2 tsp garlic powder


• 1/2 tsp onion powder


• 1.5 - 2 cups frozen peas


• Package of frozen puffed pastry or refrigerator pie crusts


• 1 egg, beaten

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F


2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with the olive oil and butter


3. Saute the onions and sausage, removed from the casing until browned


4. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute


5. Add in the water, potatoes, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and onion powder.


6. Simmer for 10 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender


7. Add in the peas and heat through


8. Cut the pastry into 4 rectangles


9. Spray 4 small casserole dishes with cooking spray


10. Place one half of the pasty in each dish with the other half hanging over the side


11. Spoon in the filling mix evenly between the 4 dishes


12. Turn over the other half of the pastry to cover the casserole.


13. Brush on the beaten egg.


14. Cook for 25- 30 minutes until golden. Check often, ovens and casseroles vary!

Really tasty! Quite easy too (aside from the battle with the first puff pastry) They looked fine in the end.

Enjoy!

Wedding Day

Mom in her wedding hat enjoying her English Breakfast tea!

10 AM and I'm losing steam. Wedding was beautiful. Someone needs to provide Princess Eugenie and Beatrice some styling lessons. Camilla has no shame. But overall a lovely day. You can tell William and Catherine really love each other and share a solid foundation for a good relationship. He is lucky to have found such a great partner to share his royal responsibilities (and burdens) with.

If you think the monarchy costs the British people you'd be quite wrong. The monarchy actually pays the British government and the queen pays income and capital gains taxes. Check it out here along with other interesting facts (Camilla could actually become queen...).

No Pimms were to be found here so I had to forgo the Pimms Cup cocktail. Straight champagne it is!

I haven't made the Bangers and Mash pies but I will this afternoon and post the recipe then. If that's not enough time for you to make it tonight.... well it'll be here for another British event... Queen's Jubilee, opening of the Summer London Olympics, to celebrate the birth of William and Kate's first born (with a year I'm predicting!)....

The Royal Wedding Viewing Menu

I'm ready!

The hat is the extent of my official Royal Wedding outfit. I'll wear it with my jammies. 4am is a little early to put on a fancy smancy outfit...

Since I'll be glued to the TV all day, I'm doing some 'make ahead' dishes. Here's the day's menu:



Whole Wheat Cranberry Scones (not my recipe but very, very good. Serve with your favorite jam)



Assorted Tea Sandwiches

Curry Egg Salad (regular egg salad with a dash of curry powder)

Apple and Cheddar (sliced apple and cheddar with honey dijon mustard)

Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese (this one is pretty self-explanatory)

Ham and Mustard (again, self explanatory)

Bangers and Mash Pies

Instead of having bangers, mashed potatoes and mushy peas, I'm going to take puffed pastry and make a pie out of diced banger sausage, potatoes and peas. I'll post the finalized recipe once I make it. The point is that I can make these up tonight and they'll be ready to go tomorrow evening.

And a large pot of tea, of course! And maybe a Pimm's Cup or Pimm's Royal or two...

It's gonna be a partay!

Mom's Birthday Dinner

The day started with a lovely brunch of smoked salmon eggs benny with the yogurt sauce I posted yesterday (see below). Then I made this Sour Cream Cheesecake. Next time I'd half the topping since it spilled over the pan. It was a simple and delicious recipe. I sliced up some fresh strawberries for the top. We went with the traditional Newfie Jiggs Dinner but instead of salt meat we had corned beef, a preference of mine and mom's since our Jersey days. The beige mashed stuff in the blue glass bowl is pea pudding. Just yellow split peas boiled in the pot in a pudding bag. Any cotton pillowcase will do to in a pinch. Tie it up tight and toss it in the and simmer for a couple of hours until the peas are soft then mash with a bit of butter. OMG, it's sooooo yummy.

You start by boiling the meat and peas pudding in a large pot for a couple of hours until the peas are soft and the meat is tender. Toss in some turnip and carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks. Cook those for about 20 minutes and then toss in the peeled potatoes and chucks of cabbage. I usually pull out the peas pudding at this point. Cook the veggies and meat for another 20 minutes or so until the potatoes are fork tender. That's it.

I use any leftover pea pudding as the base for pea soup. I also freeze the liquid I boiled the meat and veggies in for a base for pea, veggie or beef soup or stew later. It's got great flavour. My favorite is the leftover hash the day after. Mash or dice up the veggies and meat and throw it in a pan with a couple of big spoons of peas pudding. Sometimes I add some diced onion first. Best comfort food ever!

I could have made anything Mom wanted for her birthday but she thoroughly enjoyed this meal!

Birthday Brunch Yogurt Sauce

Today is my mom's birthday. I'm in the kitchen all day making some favs for her. We started the day with Eggs Benny with Smoked Salmon. Mom's watching her weight so I thought I'd try something lighter for the hollandaise sauce. Here's what I came up with. (Mom licked her plate so I think it was an acceptable substitute!)
Birthday Brunch Yogurt Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup low fat or fat free plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 2 green onions (scallions or spring onions)
• 2 tbsp light miracle whip or sour cream

Instructions:

1. Mix and enjoy on eggs benny, veggies or fish.

Yup, that simple. Enjoy!

Rainy Day Minestrone

It's a crappy, rainy, cold day around here. Mud up to our eyeballs. Even the dogs are thinking it's too wet to play outside! I was going to heat up some leftovers from the freezer for supper so I could get some household chores done but it's too dreary to think about chores. So since I'm not getting anything done around the house I figure I might as well play around in the kitchen. This recipe is great to make a supper for one night and then have cups of it for a starter for the rest of the week in place of a salad since its full of veggies and a good soul warmer for these chilly spring days! I've got a multi grain ready to bake loaf in the freezer that will round out the meal quite nicely.

Use whatever veggies you've got on hand. The combo here is what I had handy.

Rainy Day Minestrone

Serves 8 -10

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil


• 1 onion, diced


• 2 large carrots, diced


• 2 ribs celery, diced


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 6 cups chicken broth


• 2 tbsp lemon juice


• 1 798ml/28 oz can of tomatoes


• 1/2 large cabbage diced


• 2 tsp each dried parsley, oregano and thyme


• salt and pepper to taste


• 1 medium zucchini


• 1 cup orzo pasta or some other small pasta.


• 1 540ml/19 oz white kidney beans (also known as cannellini beans)


• Parmesan to serve.

Instructions:

1. Heat a large pot over medium high heat with the olive oil


2. Add in the onions, carrots and celery and saute until soft, about 5 minutes


3. Add in the garlic, chicken broth, lemon juice, tomatoes, cabbage and dried herbs.


4. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.


5. Add salt and pepper to taste.


6. If I'm making this for later I would stop here and let the soup sit until shortly before I'm ready to head to the table.


7. Bring the soup up to a boil.


8. Add in the zucchini and pasta


9. Simmer until the pasta is done. (refer to package directions for time)


10. Stir in the beans and heat through


11. Serve with a generous sprinkle of grated parmesan

Enjoy!

Rant - Processed Foods Are Evil!

• I'm pulling out my soapbox and hopping on it. Although I should be knitting my mother's birthday gift this is just too important. (and my hand is going numb again so I could really use the break) I just watched Dr. Oz reveal the recent research that has found a link between preservatives, processed foods and Alzheimer's. I've been saying for a couple of years now how important it is to find the shortest distance from Mother Nature's hands to your mouth when making food choices. Processed foods are EVIL! Stop eating them. They are bad for you. They increase the risk of cancer and diabetes. And now we see there is a correlation between type 2 diabetes (previously known as adult onset diabetes but is now seen regularly in kids) and Alzheimer's. Scared?! You should be!

• For years we've known the correlation between diet and heart disease but we all must start to recognize the connection between our complete health, physical and mental (the brain is just another body organ after all) and what we put in our bodies. Any population that has been touted as 'being health', Sardinia, Greek, Italian, Indian, are population groups that eat natural food products with no processed foods. It seems living off the land is a good thing. But if you can't live off the land, you can at least make better choices when you put food into your body. What exactly are processed foods? A good general way to look at it, to help keep things simple, is once man has interfered, the food have become processed. Natural sources are always, I repeat ALWAYS, best. Read the ingredients, if you can't identify everything in the list put it back on the shelf. There are special things to look for, Glucose-fructose (sugar), MSG and has Dr. Oz pointed out, the dreaded Sodium Nitrite. Here's a good list to start with!

• The label says it's healthy and natural with less fat, injected with omega 3 or probiotics. Must be good for me, right? Hold the phone folks! If it's not as Mother Nature intended beware. It's officially a processed food. Adding nutrients into other food sources isn't the best way to get the nutrient. Get your omega 3 from fish, not added to your yogurt or margarine (don't even get me started on margarine, use olive oil and limited amounts of butter - way better than man-made margarine, I don't care what health organization the margarine producer is supporting...). Check out a great article from thatsfit.ca on foods touted as "healthy". Actually the whole http://www.thatsfit.ca/ site is pretty great for a different perspective on healthy living.

• One more thing to consider under the heading of processed foods. White flour, white sugar, white rice, anything processed to 'white' is bad for you. Period. No dancing around it. When it comes to food, white ain't cool. Save 'white' for your summer wardrobe, not your diet. If you can find a local small mill that is stone grinding flour or grains, buy, buy, buy! Even white salt should be replaced with sea salt. Yup, less processing, just as Momma Nature intended.

• I'm getting off my soap box now. For supper this evening I'll be having leftover Cheesy Spinach Pasta Bake (see below) which has all real foods, nothing processed!

Cheesy Spinach Pasta Bake

I'd picked up a large box of fresh baby spinach at the CostCo and wanted to use it up by it "Best Before" date so I was thinking veggie lasagna. When I checked I was low on lasagna noodles but had tons of these wonderful ziti noodles. Hmmm, baked ziti is one of my favorites of all times. This is a healthy variation on the dish. It's a bit time consuming making it a perfect weekend meal with lots of leftovers for lunches, another weeknight meal or the freezer.

Cheesy Spinach Pasta Bake

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

• 1 lb/454 g dried ziti or tube type pasta


• olive oil


• 1 onion, diced


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 28 oz/798 ml can diced tomatoes, no salt added


• 2 tsp dried oregano


• 6-8 cups fresh spinach, chopped or 2 packs frozen, drained


• 500ml container low fat cottage cheese


• 3 cups shredded part skim mozzarella


• 1.5 cups shredded parmesan


• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Cook the pasta as directed on the package but pull it from the water about 2 minutes before the recommended cooking time (it will absorb more fluid while baking in the oven) and drain


2. Heat a large pot over medium high with a drizzle of olive oil


3. Saute the onions until soft.


4. Add in the garlic, tomatoes and oregano, simmer for 5 minutes


5. Add in the spinach and stir until just wilted


6. Remove from the heat and stir in the cottage cheese, 2 cups of the mozza and 1 cup of the parmesan.


7. Add in the pasta.


8. Pour the mix into a 9 X 13 baking pan (lasagna pan)


9. Top with the remaining cheese.


10. Bake at 350 for 35 - 40 minutes until the dish is bubbly and brown.

Enjoy! (This one is nice for a make ahead dish for entertaining!)

Quinoa!

This week I tried a recipe for Quinoa Cakes I'd seen on CBC's Steven and Chris show. They were cooking with "Best Recipes" Kary Osmond. This can be found here. I actually followed the recipe to the letter which is not something I usually do. While it was a bit time consuming (you have to cook the quinoa ahead and let it cool and once you assemble the cakes you have to refrigerate them for an hour) you could do it on the weekend and have leftovers for another meal during the week or for lunches. It was worth the effort! This recipe got rave reviews around here. Quinoa is a complete protein so it's great for a vegetarian meal. It has a fun texture that's quite appealing to most picky eaters. I came across another recipe for a Quinoa Bowl which looks like lots of fun because you can play with the ingredients. Treat it like a pasta or rice and toss with whatever you have on hand. Blue cheese, feta or parmesan finish off the dish (I'm a cheese-a-holic). ps. it's pronounced Keen-wha!

Tuscan Chicken and Bean Stew

Keeping with the theme of cheap, easy and healthy, I bring to you this delish stewie soup recipe.

Tuscan Chicken and Bean Stew
Serves 4 -6

Ingredients:
1 cup navy or cannelloni beans, dried (or 19 oz can)
2 slices bacon, diced
1 large onion, diced
3/4lb chicken breast, bone in, skin removed
4 cups water
2 tsp dried rosemary and thyme
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper as necessary
1 pk or 5 nuggets frozen spinach or 4 cups fresh chopped (as much as you want, use Kale or Swiss Chard if you're feeling frisky!)
1/2 cup or so of grated parmesan cheese for serving.

Instructions:
Soak the beans overnight covered in water if using dried. Drain and set aside.
Heat bacon in a large soup pot over medium heat. Cook until just crispy. Remove from pot and set aside
Toss onions in pot with bacon fat. Cook until soft and browned
Add in Chicken breast and brown on all sides
Add in beans, water, rosemary and thyme and simmer until the chicken is cooked through (20 - 30 minutes) (this makes a chicken broth which is why I used just plain water)
Remove chicken and tear chicken off the bone. Return the chicken to the pot
Check beans, making sure they are tender. Don't add tomatoes until the beans are as soft as you want them. (the acid in the tomatoes will stop the cooking process for the beans)
Add in the tomatoes. Check the taste and salt and pepper as necessary.
Simmer 10 minutes
Add in the spinach and heat through or until wilted.
Serve each bowl topped with a good shake of parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Hash

This recipe rocks it out of the house. Seriously. And it's cheap, healthy and surprisingly quick. Food costs are expected to rise 7 - 10% in the next while so I'll really be focusing on cheap, healthy eats. The best way to combat rising food costs is to buy local! So hit those farmers markets!

This recipe calls for pork but you can use your favorite sausage and leave out the 1/2 tsp each of the dried spices. Try to buy the lean sausage. Take the sausage out of the casing and break it up in the pan as you brown it.

Sweet Potato Hash

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil, canola oil or a bit of bacon fat (I use a combo of oil and bacon fat to give the pork more flavour - if using sausage, omit the bacon fat)
• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• 1 lb lean pork sirloin, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp each, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, paprika, black pepper and coriander.
• Salt as necessary
• 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Place the sweet potatoes in a pot with about 1/2 inch of water on the bottom. Heat over high and boil about 5 minutes until just fork tender. Drain
2. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan over medium high heat with the oil/fat.
3. Saute the onion until soft
4. Add the pork, garlic and spices and cook through. Check for salt and add as necessary
5. Add the drained potatoes and cook until browned, about 5 minutes
6. Add the maple syrup and nutmeg and heat through

Enjoy!

Shrimp Quesadillas

Last night I made a quick and tasty dish with some frozen, cooked shrimp. I always have cooked shrimp in the freezer because they make a great low calorie, lean protein evening snack with a little cocktail sauce. But they're also great for quick meals, salads, to throw in with pasta...

Here's what I did
Per serving:
2 tortillas
spinach
red onion
shrimp
cheddar
avocado
lime juice (just a little squeeze on the avocado)
chili powder
garlic powder
onion powder
red pepper
mushrooms
Layer all the goodies on one tortilla, cover with the other tortilla and bake at 350 until the cheese has melted.

This dish inspired me to think of other ways to make quesadillas or tacos. Leftovers of any meat, fish or seafood will work. It's a great way to make a little go a long way. And each person can customize their own. I don't like mushrooms in general so I left them off mine. Easy!

You can be traditional and use salsa and sour cream. I find most fish taco recipes don't use a lot of or even any tomatoes or salsa and I find it's a nice break to leave them out. The point of this type of dish is to do what you want. You have a nice blank slate - fill it as you see fit!

ps. these were deadly tasty!

Beautiful Beef Stew

The ingredient list looks long but this really is a simple stew. I was quite impressed with the flavour if I do say so myself. Wonderful for these dark, cold days of winter.

Beautiful Beef Stew
Serves 8 - 10

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 lbs stew beef
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 ribs celery, sliced thin
• 4 - 6 carrots, peeled and diced into 1/2" pieces
• 4 - 6 parsnips, peeled and diced into 1/2" pieces
• 1/2 - 1 turnip, peeled and diced into 1/2" pieces
• 4 cloves roasted garlic, minced (or 2 cloves raw garlic)
• 1/2 bottle red wine
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 6 cups water (or 6 cups low sodium beef broth instead of the bouillon cube and water)
• 25 shakes Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 4 cups potatoes, peeled and diced

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat.
2. Saute the stew beef until brown.
3. Sprinkle with the flour and saute until thick
4. Add the onion and celery and saute until soft, about 5 minutes
5. Toss in the everything but the potatoes
6. Simmer over medium low heat 15 minutes
7. Add the potatoes and continue simmering until they are tender when poked with a fork.

You can also make this dish in the slow cooker/crock pot. Do steps 1 -4 as directed then add them and everything but the potatoes in the slow cooker. Simmer 6 hours on low. Add the potatoes and turn the slow cooker up to high and cook until the potatoes are tender, 20 - 30 minutes.
Enjoy!