Relish

In this new town I live in of London Ontario their is a village. In this village called Wortley Village is a restaurant called Relish.  Food Network Canada was in this restaurant featuring the crazy burgers that are served.  Of course I had to go.  I had "The Grazing Hippy".  It had goat cheese, pesto mayo, sauteed spinach, roasted red peppers, and sprouts.  And then Lainey and I made out.

LAINEY AND I IN RELISH



THE GRAZING HIPPY-REALLY GOOD








Roasted Garlic Burgers With Peppercorn Chevre

This is definitely one of my favorites. These burgers ooze with flavour. Ooze? Really? But they do.

Roast the garlic. Mix with extra lean ground beef(No need to mash roasted garlic. It comes apart in the mixing process. And leaves pockets of warm sweet roasted goodness in the burger) Coat patties with salt and pepper. Cook on BBQ or however you like. Add a tablespoon or so of peppercorn goat cheese in the last few minutes. (Peppercorn goatcheese can be bought at the grocery store or you can make your own by rolling the goat cheese in coarse ground pepper.)



Source:Photos:Shawn Campbell

Sweet and Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken!!

Just 4 ingredients! In a slow cooker! Of course you could get all fancy on this dish and add a bunch of fancy beans and such, but that would take all the four ingredient fun out of it. Sometimes dinner tastes better when you know how simple it is to make.



3 chicken breasts
1 can of diced tomatoes(Drained)
1 third cup brown sugar
1 T. crushed red pepper flakes

Cook in crock pot until chicken is easily shred. Serve in tortilla with any taco topping you like.

Source: My Kitchen cafe

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Cooking is a little different with a newborn running around. Some things burn and others are under cooked. Then these cute and easy enchiladas came along. Super quick with a really neat balance of sweet and spicy. I used one of those BBQ chickens you buy at the grocery store and shredded it and soaked it in the marinade. This is a twisted version of My Kitchen Cafe's recipe here. I added veggies and beans and a few extra spices. De-lish.

4 Large Tortillas
1/2 cup Sour cream
1/2 cup Salsa Verde

1 Cup Montery Jack

2 Cups shredded chicken

MARINADE:
6 T. Honey
Juice of 2 limes
1 t. Dry corriander
1 t. cumin
2 T. Chilli powder
2 Chopped garlic cloves (Or Mel uses garlic powder)

1 Sliced green pepper
1/2 Sliced onion
1 Can white beans
1 t. Salt
1 t. pepper

Marinate chicken in above ingredients(Or dont and just coat it). Saute peppers, onions in oil with salt and pepper. Add beans. Wrap inside tortillas. Lay in casserole dish. Mix Salsa Verde with Sour Cream(Use more sour cream if your wimpy with spice) Pour on top. Layer with Cheese. Bake for 1/2 an hour at 350. Makes 4-6 servings.

Photos:Shawn Campbell

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

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

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

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

Shortcut Butter Chicken

With Brown Rice
3 chicken breasts
1/2 chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
1 T. ground cumin
2 jalapeño pepper
1 T. grated fresh ginger
3/4 cup chopped coriander
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1 can of tomato paste
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 t. salt
1 T. Garam masala
1/2 t. chili powder

Slice each chicken breast into 3 or 4 large pieces. Melt 2 tbsp butter in pan. Cook chicken with cumin. Add rest of butter and onions.
While chicken is cooking, finely chop peppers, including seeds. They should measure about 3 tbsp. Grate ginger and chop coriander.
Pour cream into pan. Scrape up and stir any bits from pan bottom into cream to add flavour. Then stir in butter, tomato paste, hot peppers, ginger, salt and spices. Bring to a boil. Then cover and simmer, stirring occasionally.
Pour over rice, serve with bread.

Buckwheat Crepe

I had never used buckwheat flour or tasted buckwheat flour ever that I can remember.

"...it contains all nine essential amino acids, rich in fiber, antioxidants and magnesium. Eating buckwheat regularly may help improve cardiovascular health, assist in regulating blood sugar, and reduce your risk of colon cancer"-Bon Appetit

It was scary. Buckwheat just doesn't sound that appealing and the magazine showed no images of it. I cut the amount of buckwheat in half and split it with all-purpose flour. I thought I'd start slowly.

I made a savory filling to experiment (Spinach, red onion, toasted pine nuts and mozzarella topped with Avgolemono Sauce)and I also made a sweet filling recipe slightly adapted from the magazine(Pear, lemon juice, brown sugar, lemon zest and devon cream).






Basic Buckwheat Crepe: (Bon Appetit)
1 1/4 cup buckwheat flour(Split with all-purpose)
3 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil plus more for skillet
3/4 cup milk
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 t. salt

Whisk ingredients together, pour over Med High heated non stick skillet. Immediately tip pan so batter goes right to the edge. Cook for 30 seconds on each side or until lacey and brown.

Spinach Pine Nut Filling:
-Toast pine nuts, add onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Saute. Set to side.
-Melt butter in aseparate pan, add fresh spinach, heat until just wilting.
-wrap into crepe with grated mozza
-Cover with Avgolemono Sauce

Avgolemono Sauce:
Boil 2/3 cup chicken broth. In a separate bowl whisk 2 egg whites and 1/4 cup lemon juice. Add half boiling broth in stream, whisking constantly careful not to scramble eggs. Then add that mixture to pot with other half chicken broth. Careful not to boil. Sauce should thicken slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste.



Pear Filling:(Adapted from Bon Appetit)
Heat crepe in pan with butter. Flip. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Fold into quarters. Keep warm in oven.
-Toss peeled, cubed pears (I used canned)with lemon juice and brown sugar.
-Lay onto crepe, top with lemon zest and creme fraise (I used devon cream)


Photos:Shawn Campbell

Buckwheat Flour

Chicken Pot Pie

The pie is in the oven and my house smells like baking cheese cake, pie pastry and comforting roasting chicken and vegetables.
The last time I made Lucindas Chicken Pot Pockets I had wanted to make a few changes. I did and I think she'd approve. I made an actual pie rather than pockets because I had less time to work with. I almost doubled the amount of veggies and added peas. And this time, I had chicken stock and shredded chicken left over in the freezer from when I made stock for Siri's Italian Wedding Soup. This cream cheese pastry literally took me 7 minutes to make. While the dough chilled in the fridge for 1/2 an hour I cut the veggies and made the filling. Super quick and super healthy.




Cream Cheese Pastry:
8T. unsalted butter at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 t. coarse salt

-Mix butter, cream cheese and cream in a food processor, with a mixer or by hand with a fork.
-Add flour and salt. Mix until combined and dough just holds together in a ball.
-Divide into 2. Flatten into disks and warp in plastic.
-Refridgerate for at least 30 minutes. Or overnight. If chilled overnight, take out 15 minutes before ready to use.

Filling: (Adapted Version)
3 T. butter
1/2 chopped onion
1/2 cup cup chopped celery
2 chopped carrot
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 t. coarse salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
2 1/2 T. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 heaping cup of shredded chicken
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 large egg, for egg wash

-Melt butter in a hot skillet and add onion, celery and carrot. Saute over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the salt and flour and cook for 1 minute more. Add chicken broth and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add chicken and cheese. Cool in fridge while you roll dough.
-Preheat oven 375.
-Roll out dough, lay half in a 9 inch pie plate, fill with filling, top with rest of rolled out dough, curl edges of top piece under edges of bottom piece.
-Crimp edges with fork. Chill for a few minutes.
-Cut 3 slices in top of dough so steam will escape during cooking process.
-When ready to bake, beat the egg with 1 T. water. Brush top of pie.
-Bake at 375 for 35 to 45 minutes or until crust is golden and juices are bubbling.
-Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting.
-Serve with mashed potatoes or green salad or steamed green beans. Or put greens beans right in the pie!! The more veggies the better.

Source: Adapted from "Mad Hungry" Lucinda Scala Quinn
Photos: Shawn Campbell

Stuffed Chicken

Ham and swiss rolled into chicken with whole grain mustard.

Wash and pound chicken until thickness is somewhat even throughout the breast. Spread whole grain mustard on one whole side of chicken breast. You want to barely taste the mustard so make sure it's quite thin. Layer a piece of salty ham. Layer swiss cheese thick enough to lose some throughout the cooking process. Roll tightly. Secure with toothpicks. Top with salt and pepper. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes.

I served it with garlic mashed potatoes and fresh steamed green beans.

Photos:Shawn Campbell

Valentines Day Ravioli

Spinach, Leek, Garlic and Ricotta inside heart shaped wonton wrappers.

1 Package wonton wrappers
1 Bunch of fresh spinach
1/4 Cup finely chopped leek
1/4 Cup ricotta cheese
3 Finely chopped garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Egg
Dash of cream or milk

-Lightly steam whole head of spinach. Wring it out. Chop it up.
-Add leek, garlic, ricotta salt and pepper.
-In a separate bowl beat egg with a dash of cream or milk.
-Lay down one wonton wrapper.
-Place 1/2 t. of filling in center.
-Brush 4 edges with egg mixture.
-Lay onother wrapper on top, push out air.
-Cut with cookie cutter. (I used hearts because of the occassion, but found it left too much noodle on the ravioli piece-Next time I'll use a circle)
-Make sure edges are sealed.
-Lay in a bed of flour until ready to boil.
-Boil for 5 minutes or until they float to the top. Strain.
Toss them in your favorite sauce.

I tossed mine in a creamy pesto sauce (Butter, flour, cream and pesto) Very good, very rich.
I served this dish with sundried tomato basil turkey sausage.
He loved it (Said it could very well be my signature dish!! That is depending on the final tally of the question on my side bar.... Is it once a year? Or weekly? The suspense is driving me crazy!!) and then he brought me these.

Beautiful, wondrous pieces of love joy. And we all lived happily ever after.


Photos:Shawn Campbell

Proscuitto Chicken Ceasar Pita

I find proscuitto much easier than bacon to deal with. The salty crispiness gives great texture and it compliments the spice of the garlic in the ceasar dressing really well.

-Bake chicken breast in 375 oven. 5 minutes before ready to take out-lay proscuitto pieces on top of chicken to bake until crispy. When done let cool slightly before slicing into longer pieces.
-Toss chicken and proscuitto pieces into freshly ceasar coated romaine lettuce.
-Place into Super Soft and Supple Pita Bread and top with Parmesan Cheese.

Photos:Shawn Campbell

Mexican Chicken Pockets

Have you ever been to My Kitchen Cafe? Well, if not you should go. Today I needed a recipe that would be quick cuz I wasn't getting home from work til late and I was tired. Thats where I got this idea, which I changed a bit to suit my ingredient list. I had quite a bit of filling left over so I made burritos out of it, rolled tightly in saran wrap and put them in the freezer for work lunches. But the fried pocket version follows.

Cooked brown rice
Shredded Chicken
Refried beans
Cream cheese
Green onion
Cilantro
Lime juice
Chili powder
Cumin
Cheese
Sour cream
Tortillas

Mix rice with everything except beans, cheese and sour cream.
Heat tortillas in microwave until soft so they dont rip when you fold the pockets.
Spread cream cheese in middle of tortilla along with refried beans and a layer of cheese.
Fill with chicken and rice mixture.
Fold into a pocket square thing and fry in lightly oiled pan. (Use a bit of the refried bean as a glue to keep the pocket closed until it fried shut)

Source:My Kitchen Cafe

Photos:Shawn Campbell

Chicken and Chorizo Fettucini Alfredo

I figured I'd make this dish while I'm allowed to be fat. Everyone says Alfredo is an easy sauce to make. I found it a little stressful actually. You have to be careful not to scorch it. Watch that it doesn't start to curdle. And hope that it thickens to the right consistency. I had troubles with the thickening. I had to turn the heat back up, bring almost to a boil again and then take it off the heat. It all worked out well in the end and it actually tasted like Alfredo.

Chicken breast
Chorizo sausage
Fettucini noodles
2 Cups heavy cream(I used Creamo)
1/4 Cup butter
1/4 Cup parmesan cheese
1 T. minced fresh garlic
salt, pepper, chopped parsley

Bring cream to a boil
Reduce heat to medium, continue to boil until reduced by half.
Meanwhile cook noodles. Cut up chicken into pieces and fry with a bit of fresh garlic, add chorizo and fry together until done.
Once cream is reduced, remove from heat.
Add butter 1 T. at a time with a whisk.
It should thicken and turn glossy.(Mine didnt-had to turn it back up for a bit)
Add cheese, hot pasta, salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh parsley. Top with meat.

Photos:Shawn Campbell

Mexican Chicken

I've adapted this recipe from Andrea The Kitchen Witches Cream Cheese Salsa Chicken recipe. I added red pepper and onion sauteed with cumin, cayenne, and kosher salt. I served it with warmed black beans with melted cheese and fresh green onion. It would have been perfect if I weren't on the phone and BURNED my brown rice. BLACK. AND SMOKEY. Ruined my pot. I would be more generous with the cream cheese next time as I only added a few thin slices and found it to be not enough. I also would add fresh cilantro as a finishing touch. All in all, it was a super quick and easy meal, which I love on Mondays after a long day of work. Thanks Andrea!!

1T. Olive oil
1/2 Onion(Chopped)
1 Whole red pepper
1/2 t. Kosher salt
1/2 t. Cumin
Dash of cayenne pepper

-Saute over medium high heat until just softening.
-2 Chicken breast
-4 T. Cream cheese
-3/4 Cup salsa

-Push to the side and brown 2 chicken breast on each side.
-Spread cream cheese onto each breast.
-Pour salsa into pan with veggies surrounding chicken.
-Put whole thing into oven and bake for 20.

Photos:Shawn Campbell