Spinach, Asparagus and Feta Quiche

Maybe this magnificant spring quiche will lure her out...

Lucinda's Cream Cheese Pie Crust or a pre-made shell

Spinach
Asparagus
Green Onion
Feta
4 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 T. Sour cream

Salt and pepper

Steam asparagus, steam chopped spinach and drain. Put them + onion and feta in pie crust. In a separate bowl mix egg, milk, salt and pepper and sour cream. Pour over ingredients. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
Photos:Shawn Campbell

White Bean Asparagus Tart

I woke up this morning craving my Ashparagus N' Leek Phyllo Pizza Pie. I didn't have phyllo or leeks but I had puff pastry. And so the following was created.




Puff Pastry
White bean dip
Asparagus
Sundried tomato
Cheese(I used parmesan but any pecorino would work-or feta or goat)
Olive oil
Salt an pepper

Slice asparagus spears in half length wise. Roll out puff pastry. Spread with dip like pizza sauce. Top with sun dried tomato and asparagus. Then salt and pepper. Then drizzle olive oil and top with cheese. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Photos:Shawn Campbell

White Bean Dip

First time making this dip and I think I like it better than Hummous. Which is super strange cuz I love hummous.


1 can cannellini beans
3 cloves of garlic
2 T. dried basil(Fresh might be better, but I didnt have any)
3-4 T. olive oil(Or to taste)
Lemon juice
Lemon zest
Salt and pepper

Mix all in a food processor. Delicious!!


Photos:Shawn Campbell

Spinach Pizza

With Tomato, Garlic and Onion
Ok, I've posted this amazing pizza dough before. It make 4 adorable mini pizzas and is surprisingly filling. I've modified the way it's cooked. Before putting any toppings on, brush with olive oil. Bake as is at 500 for 5 minutes. Top it and bake it for another 5-7 minutes. Much better. The recipe is here. And keep in mind you can make the dough and freeze it for a rainy day. Or squirrel it away like a creepy pregnant chic.



Photos:Shawn Campbell

Look at this award I just recieved from Andrea the Kitchen Witch !!! She is one of my favorites. If I'm looking for a recipe or ideas, her site is always one of the first I peruse. And then she gives me this. When I should have given it to her. Thanks Andrea.



Here is the Link to the award page.

The "Rules"
1. Display the Stiletto badge of honor.
2. Brag about it - post a link to the page to highlight what the award is about
3. Say thanks! Include a link to the friend who nominated you.
4. Share the love-nominate 5-10 more blogs. Leave links to their blogs and leave them a comment so they know they won!
5. Do what you do! Keep at it and keep inspiring others!

Now I get to pass it on to other bloggers. Fun.
1)Siriously Delicious-She may have already been nominated, but this is a list of my favorites.
2)Boy Chef, Girl Wonder-Super cute with great photos.
3)Be Delicious-Really great recipes. She also has a really good beer blog.
4)Homemade-She hasnt posted anything for a while, but I still look at her site all the time for recipes and ideas.
5)I Am Chasing Thirty-Another super cute one with great photos.
6)Kitsch In The Kitchen-An art blog I like to look at.
7)Sweetlife-You should check out the things she does with food. I don't quite know how to explain it.
8)Pink of Perfection-Super fantastic blog with cute little videos and art projects and such.
9)Evil Chef Mom-She's evil and a chef. Look at the strawberry tart she just posted.
10)A Foodie's Thoughts-This site always makes me hungry and she's Canadian!

Raspberry Oatmeal Muffins

I made more muffins. Being pregnant really reminds you of what an animal you are. Not you, me. I keep making things that I can freeze. Storing food away like a hamster. And 6 purple buckwheat muffins(I ate the other 6) were obviously not good enough. So I made these. They were great like a muffin should be, but the buckwheats were better.

1/2 c. rolled oats
1 c. buttermilk
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg
2/3 c. brown sugar, packed
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 c. fresh or frozen raspberries, not thawed

In one bowl, combine oats and buttermilk; let stand 5-10 minutes. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
Beat eggs, stir in brown sugar and oil. Blend. Stir in oats mixture, then flour. Gently fold in fruit.

Bake at 375°F. for 20-25 minutes

Photos:Shawn Campbell

Purple Buckwheat Muffins

I have a ton of scary buckwheat flour left over from my buckwheat crepes and considering all of it's wonderful health benefits I thought I should learn how to use it. I found a good-lookin' buckwheat muffin recipe at "Pink of Perfection" and replaced the strawberries with raspberries. Also, because I'm still scared of buckwheat I topped them with alot of brown sugar instead of a little bit of white. They turned out so pink that they are almost purple and how can I be scared of purple muffins? Turns out I'm not. I can't stop eating them.


1 1/2 cups raspberries
1/3 cup plus white sugar
2 T. brown sugar for tops of muffins
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a standard 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. Toss together raspberries and sugar. Using a potato masher, lightly mash berries; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla until combined.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk mixture and the berry mixture (including juices). Fold until just combined. Divide batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with brown sugar.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: Adapted from "Pink of Perfection"

Chicken With Peanut Salsa

Could this be my signature dish? Thats what I asked myself over and over again last night when I should have been sleeping.

I've been researching peanut salsa for days now. While compiling my final ingredient list this morning I thought I started to feel a little bit of a contraction. I wasn't ready to go into labour. I was determined to make this salsa and feed it to somebody. So I quickly got dressed, grabbed my list, and ran/waddled to the grocery store. It turned out to be a false alarm. Not only was I able to make the dish, I was able to eat it too!! Now, I think I'm ready for labour...until I get obsessed with my next recipe idea.

-5 Chicken drum sticks
-1 1/2 cups unsalted peanuts
-1 roasted red pepper
-1 onion
-4 garlic cloves
-2 Chipotles in adobo
-4 T. Adobo
-1 T. smoked paprika
-1/4 t. cinnamon(Optional)
-1 T. tomato paste
-1/8 t. ground clove
-Juice of one lime
-Juice of one lemon
-About 2 cups chicken broth

Roast peanuts in pan, throw into food processor or blender.
Dice and saute onion and garlic in same pan. Add to processor.
Dice roasted red pepper and add to processor with chipotle, adobo, paprika, cinnamon, clove, tomato paste, citrus juice and chicken stock. Keep adding chicken stock until the consistency is liquidy and saucy rather than pasty.

Brown and crisp drum sticks in onion and garlic pan. Toast with salt and pepper.

Add just enough peanut salsa to coat chicken and a bit for the bottom of the pan and bake until chicken completely cooked. (NEXT TIME I WILL KEEP IT IN THE PAN AND FRY RATHER THAN BAKE TO KEEP THE CHICKEN CRISPY)

I served this with baked cilantro tomatoes and couscous.

Photos:Shawn Campbell

Baked Cilantro Tomatoes

This makes an excellent flavourful and healthy side dish. You can also replace cilantro with any herb that accomodates your main dish.

3 Roma tomatoes
2 Garlic cloves minced
6 t. Bread crumbs
3 T. Chopped cilantro
S+P
Olive oil

Cut tomatoes in half and place each half cut side up on baking dish. Top with Kosher salt and pepper.

Mix garlic, bread crumbs and cilantro in bowl. Pile mixture on tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Photos:Shawn Campbell

Spanikopita

And How To Fold The Perfect Phyllo Triangle
Anyone can make spinach pie. It's delicious and it's healthy. Personally, I think the trick to the perfect spinach pie is tons of fresh garlic and tons of fresh dill. I have made this now many many times and I consider the below to finally be the perfect mix of ingredients. I've been told more than once that "It's the best".


Recipe Makes About 12 Triangles

2 packages frozen chopped spinach
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. black pepper
1 T. greek seasoning
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 8 ounce package feta cheese
1/4 cup fried chopped onion
2-3 chopped green onions
3 cloves minced garlic
3 Heaping T. chopped fresh dill
1 package of phyllo

Heat frozen packages of spinach in microwave for about 5 minutes. Once defrosted empty contents into a clean dish towel. Wring out liquid over sink. Put dry spinach in bowl. Mix all ingredients together and wrap into phyllo like this:

**Note the green damp towel covering the thawed phyllo sheets. Phyllo dries very easily so make sure to keep it covered.
Step 1: Lay one sheet of phyllo out. Brush center line with melted butter or olive oil.
Step 2: Fold one side of sheet over buttered area. And butter the top of the folded piece.
Step 3: Fold other edge over buttered area like a letter. Now you have a long rectangle.
Step 4: Place about 2 T. filling in phyllo like this. Loosely shape it like a triangle.
Step 4: Fold the corner over filling like this and then butter the rest of the phyllo.
Step 5: Keep folding until you reach the top.

At this point you can freeze them or bake in oven at 350 for 15 minutes. You may need to flip them half way through. When cooking from frozen leave in oven for 30 minutes.

Photos:Shawn Campbell

My Sweet Sweet Man Made Me Some Sweet Sweet Cookies

Sometimes my boyfriend makes me chocolate chip cookies. I eat them all day long. I eat them for breakfast. With my lunch. After my dinner. Then I wake up in the middle of the night and I eat them again.
If it were up to him he would make cookies for me all the time. He loves it. He gets quite creative. This time he added Vanilla, Peanut Butter and Honey.
I am so impressed. I never would have thought to add those ingredients to the recipe. So daring. I had to document it. And look at how beautiful they are.

Homemade Pierogis

Apparently the orgins of the pierogi are difficult to trace. I personally have a soft spot for the Ukranian version. So that is why I call these Ukranian.

You can stuff them with just about anything. Make hundreds and freeze them. Boil them, bake them, fry them. Serve with sausage, or fried cabbage, sour cream!

Way better than the supermarket frozen version.

Makes about 50 pierogis

Dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 t.salt
2/3 cup warm water

Filling:
3 Cups Mashed potato (mix with 1/4 cup cream, 3 T. Butter, Salt and Pepper)
1/4 Cup cream cheese
3-4 Green onions
Chopped bacon(About 10 slices)

-Combine all dough ingredients and knead until well blended. Divide the dough into 4, then roll out to 1/8 inch thickness.
-Cut out round circle about the size of your palm.(Note: This dough shrinks a little bit so the circle may seem large until you fill, coat the edge and fold it.)
-Place 1 t. of filling into the center of each round. Moisten the edges with melted butter, fold over, and press together with a fork to seal.
-Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add perogies and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until they float to the top. You can eat them like that or toss them in an oiled frying pan like I do to crisp them a little. Top with cheddar cheese.


Photos:Shawn Campbell

Lemon Butter Halibut with Dill Sour Cream

He doesn't like seafood but thinks he might be able to handle halibut. I soaked it in lemon, butter, salt + pepper. I also served a fresh dill sour cream mixture for him to dip it in and a spinach salad on the side. He ate it all and said it was good and thats really all I could ask for.

Wash halibut, squeeze lemon juice over top, salt Pepper, butter. Bake at 375 until white and flaky.

Sour cream, Fresh Dill, and Salt.

And a spinach Salad.


Photos:Shawn Campbell

Chicken And Sausage Chili

3 Chicken breasts
1 Chorizo sausage
1/4 Cup flour
3.5 Cups chicken stock
1 Whole onion
1 Green pepper
1 Red pepper
1 Can cannellini beans
1 Can kidney beans
1 t. Ground corriander
1 t. Cumin
1 t. Cayenne
1 T. Chili powder
1 T. Kosher salt
1 t. Fresh ground pepper
1 4 ounce jar diced green chilis
Sour cream and green onion for garnish
1/8 Cup cream


Brown and cook chicken in pan, set aside. Brown and cook sliced chorizo in same pan, pour on top of chicken. Pour chicken stock in pan and heat up scraping bits of chicken and sausage from bottom. Whisk flour in slowly until sauce slightly thickens. Pour over chicken and sausage. I used a crockpot but you could also make it on the stove. Add diced veggies and chillis and spices. Cook for while. When it`s almost done, add cream. Stir, heat, serve, top with onion and sour cream. Serve with fresh bread.

Photos:Shawn Campbell

Bread Machine White Bread

1 2/3 cup warm water
2 T. oil
2 T powdered milk
1 1/2 t. salt
2 T. sugar
2 t. quick rising yeast
3 cups bread flour

Put in bread machine in order of ingredients. Bake on quick bake.

Photos:Shawn Campbell

Sun Dried Tomato Burger with Garlic Basil Mayo

~ Maternity Leave Burger Party ~

~ Of Two ~
In the past I would mix ground beef with egg, onion and garlic. Then I learned that it's not necessary. Not necessary at all.

Garlic Basil Mayo:
1/4 cup Mayo
2 T. Finely chopped fresh basil
2 Cloves of garlic
Generous pinch of salt

Sun Dried Tomato Burger Mixture:
Extra Lean Ground Beef
Sun Dried Tomato
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

Mix ground beef with finely chopped sun dried tomato. Form patties. Coat each side generously with salt and pepper. Fry.

Photos:Shawn Campbell

Spinach and Dill Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Fresh dill mixed with cream cheese. Spinach and Mozza. Salt and Pepper.


Photos:Shawn Campbell

Mexican Lettuce Wrap

Like the Asian Lettuce Wrap we want to incorporate a super flavourful meat/vegetable mixture with a slightly crispy texture. We replaced noodles with baked torilla strips and topped it with hot sauce, cheese and a sour cream mixture. Then wrapped it up into a crispy coat of lettuce.

Sour Cream Mixture:
1 Cup sour cream
1 t. Chili powder
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 t. Sugar
Cilantro to taste(Optional)

Ground beef
Cumin
Chilli powder
Cayenne pepper
Onion
Green pepper
Tomato
Jalapeno
2 tortillas
Cheese(Jack)
Hot sauce

-Slice tortillas very thin. Lay on baking sheet. Brush with oil. Bake for 10 minutes at 375.
-Brown Ground beef. Add cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Cook with onion, green pepper, tomato and jalapeno.
-Fill lettuce with beef filling. Top with sour cream mixture, hot sauce, cheese and crunchy tortilla strips. Wrap up nice and tight and enjoy!

Photos:Shawn Campbell

Asian Lettuce Wraps With Beef

Lettuce wraps can be made with so many different ingredients. This is how I made them today and they were delicious. The sauces make them fun to put together, trying different combinations with every serving. Healthy, quick, and delectable.





Filling:
Ground Beef
Sliced mushrooms
Garlic
Ginger
Soya sauce
Black bean sauce
Sesame oil

Cook beef with the above ingredients.

Vermicelli noodles(Boiled or deepfried--today they were deepfried)
Hoisin sauce
Sweet chili sauce
Hot chili sauce
Green onion
Lettuce

Wrap beef filling inside pieces of lettuce, topping with green onion, whichever sauce you feel like and noodles.

*****To deepfry vermicelli noodles-simply place a small handful of noodles into about an inch of hot oil. Repeat until you have desired amount. They will puff up immediately. Be ready with a slotted spoon to scoop them out. This way the noodles are crispy, but very very light.****

Photos:Shawn Campbell

Ashorizo Lasagna

This lasagna was delicious. The lower layer consisting of spinach and leek with a textured cheese mixture. While the middle layer combined chorizo, garlic, peppers, onion, mushrooms and tomato sauce. Then came the light layer of bechamel sauce and mozza. I was hesitant to add this layer but couldn't help think of the spinach and how nicely it would accomodate it. The small amount of bechamel sauce was barely noticable but helped balance the spice of chorizo with the tang of the tomato sauce. It was a genius blend of ingredients and I recommend you try it immediately. You want it. You want to make it and feed it to your family.

Bottom Layer:
1 Large container of cottage cheese
3 T. chopped leek
1 egg
Parmesan cheese
Mozza cheese
fresh spinach

-Mix cheeses, egg and leek with a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Spread over a layer of no boil lasagna noodles in a 9 x 13 pan. Lay fresh spinach on top 2 leaves thick. Then another layer of noodles before adding to second layer. The chorizo layer.

Second Layer-Chorizo Layer:
1 jar of Ragu sauce
2 Chorizo sausages, sliced or diced or however you like it. I sliced mine and then cut it in half for a chunky style.
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 diced onion

I was trying to speed things up so I didn't even cook the tomato sauce. I cooked the the chorizo, mushrooms, onion and garlic and simply added it to the cold tomato sauce. Spread into the lasaagna dish and lay another layer of noodles on top.

Third Layer-Bechamel Layer:
2 T. butter
2 T. Flour
1 Cup milk
salt and pepper
1/2 t. nutmeg
Mozza
Parmesan

-Melt butter, whisk in flour, gradually add milk, stirring contantly over med high heat. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg.
-Pour over lasagna, top with tonz of mozza and parmesan.
-Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Place a baking sheet underneath in case it drips. let cool for 10 minutes.

Photos:Shawn Campbell

Spinach

The other day when Canada won the gold metal in olympic hockey the whole city of Vancouver went crazy. Celebration is great! But this went beyond celebration. The win seemed to make some people feel cool and beautiful. Beautiful?? Cuz you won a hockey game? Ew.

My aunt once told me that when she was pregnant with my cousin she had heard that if you ate lots of spinach while pregnant then your baby will be born with a huge brain. Her daughter, my Beautiful cousin is one of the smartest people I have ever met. She is a nurse and is currently working on her law degree. She is only 26 years old.

I'd imagine spinach is great for developing brains too. So if you have children or are going to have children, eat spinach, feed them spinach. Lets work on the brain size of generations to come. Maybe we can make the world a more brilliant and less self absorbed place to live. Starting with spinach!!

Here is my spinach list.
Valentines Day Ravioli
Super Vegetable Chicken Soup
Italian Wedding Soup
Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce
Buckwheat Crepe
Ashorizo Lasagna

I've also used it with:
Pare's Cornmeal Pizza Dough (Spinach, Garlic, Red Onion, Tomato)
Ashparagus N' Leek Phyllo Pizza Pie (Replace the asparagus with Spinach)
Shortcut Butter Chicken (Mix Spinach in at the very end of the cooking process)
Most broth based soups can be poured over top of a fresh bed of spinach and kids won't even notice.
Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast and Spinach Triangles coming soon.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I ate this for dinner last night.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
4 very ripe bananas
1 T. milk
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix sugar and butter with mixer. Add all other ingredients besides chocolate chips. Mix. Then add chocolate chips. Pour into loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 65 minutes.