13 April 2024

Poutine Wraps

During my trip to Québec in October, I finally got around to trying the legendary dish: poutine. And I became a fan right away. It is so freaking good...at least the ones I had were. Poutine comes in many varieties, and like any dish, is not the same from chef to chef. At any rate, when I came across this recipe, I just had to try it. And oooh am I ever glad I did! The poutine part itself is awesome, so if you don't feel like having the extra calories of making a wrap of it, you can omit that.

Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/rVVmdI2kFKQ

Original recipe credit: https://www.cuisineathome.com/recipes/lunch-dinner/poutine-wrap/

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

~5 oz. frozen fast-food style (shoestring) French fries, cooked according to package directions
1 T. canola oil
8 oz. skirt steak, cut into thin strip/slices
salt and pepper, to taste
1 c. (~4 oz.) sliced button mushrooms
1 T. minced garlic
1 T. tomato paste
1 T. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. dry sherry
1/2 c. low-sodium beef broth
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. crème fraîche
1 T. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 c. (~2 oz.) cheddar cheese curds
2 burrito-sized flour tortillas (10")

Directions;

1. In a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, heat the canola oil, then add the skirt steak. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat has lost most of its pink (or all, if preferred). Transfer to a plate and set aside.

2. Add the mushrooms to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for around 3 min.

3. Add the garlic and tomato paste. Cook, stirring constantly, for around 1 min.

4 Sprinkle flour over mixture, stir to combine and cook for around 1 min.

5. Deglaze pan with the dry sherry. then add the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to simmer, stir occasionally, for around 3 min.

6. Remove from heat. Return steak to pan, stir to coat. Stir in the crème fraîche, then the parsley, and finally the cheese curds.

7. Place half of French fries to line center of tortilla, then top with half of the poutine mixture from the pan. Roll wrap up to close, serve, and enjoy!

Marbled Chocolate Chip Cookies

In the mood for a new twist on chocolate chip cookies? Here you go! These are very good, though I wouldn't put them above regular chocolate ship cookies (I mean, kinda hard to beat those :)) And I would make these again for sure. The marbling part when making the dough balls is a bit messy, be warned.

Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/lLeHKJiN8dI

Original recipe credit: https://www.verybestbaking.com/toll-house/recipes/marbled-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

270g (2 1/4 c.) all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/3 c. baking cocoa powder
1 c. white morsels
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. In a small bowl. stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla extract, until light and fluffy.

4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

5. On slow speed, mix in the reserved dry mixture.

6. Divide dough in half. In one half, mix in the cocoa powder, then stir in the white morsels. Stir the chocolate morsels into the other half.

7. For the dough balls, scoop about 1/2 T. of each dough, then roll gently together into one ball (it will look like half-and-half). Place dough balls 1.5" apart on baking sheets.

8. Bake for 9-11 minutes (my dough balls were a little large, so I went the full 1 min). Let cookies rest on sheet for a couple of minutes after removing from oven, before transferring to cooling rack. Enjoy! 

09 April 2024

Thai-Inspired Chicken Stir Fry with Rice Noodles

Oh major yum! I started with a recipe from a cookbook that I have, but ended up modifying it so heavily, it's not really the same recipe lol. But what I came up with? So. Very. TASTY! Hubby & I both loved it! Thing is, I did not measure some of the ingredients...so I'm making my best guess on the ones with ~ next to them. Next time, will measure and correct amounts if/as needed.


Ingredients:

~1 1/2 T. canola oil
1 T. Thai red curry paste
~1.25 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in bite-size pieces
~3/4 c. coconut milk
2 T. fresh lime juice
2 T. fish sauce
1/2 T. bottled minced garlic
1 finger pepper (preferably very ripe/turning orange), seeds removed, finely chopped
~5 oz. bean sprouts
1/2 c. cocktail peanuts (salted), chopped
~1 tsp. dried basil
8 oz. (dry weight) wide rice noodles, cooked according to package directions

Directions:

1. Heat oil in wok over medium-high heat. Add curry paste and stir, cook for around 1 min.

2. Add chicken to wok and stir to combine. Cook for 3-4 min, until chicken no longer has pink showing outside.

3. Add coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, and finger pepper. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a simmer.

4. Once simmer is reached, add the bean sprouts. Stir in and cook for 1-2 min.

5. Stir in the peanuts and basil. Let cook for 1-2 min.

6. Remove from heat and stir in the cooked rice noodles. Serve and enjoy!


03 April 2024

Herb-Roasted Red Potatoes

Excellent and easy potato recipe! Will be making these on the regular for sure.

Original recipe credit: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a22865719/herb-roasted-potatoes-recipe/

Ingredients:

2 lb. small red potatoes, cut into small chunks
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. chopped fresh rosemary
1 T. chopped fresh curly parsley
1 T. chopped fresh thyme
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425°F.

2. In a large bowl, pour the oil over the potatoes, then add the remaining ingredients and toss to coat evenly. Pour out into a 9" x 13" baking dish.

3. Transfer to oven and bake for 45-55 min. Enjoy!

01 April 2024

Chocolate Soufflé...then "Brownies"

Have made this twice now, really love it. I call it soufflé...brownies because the next day, after deflating, it basically turned into brownies! So don't toss it if you don't eat it all while it's in soufflé form, it's still delicious!

Link to original recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018499-bittersweet-chocolate-souffle

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter (plus more for buttering soufflé dish)
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate (60-65% cacao), finely chopped
6 eggs, separated, room temperature
pinch of fine salt
4 T. sugar (plus more for coating dish)
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Position a wire rack in the lowest possible position in oven. Remove all other racks. Heat oven to 400°F.

2. Generously butter a 1.5 qt soufflé dish, then coat thoroughly with sugar. Tap out any excess.

3. In the top pan of a double-boiler, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring to combine. Once fully melted and combined, remove from heat and let cool slightly (it should still be warm, though). Stir in the egg yolks and sea salt.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to beat together (medium speed) the egg whites and cream of tartar, until very soft peaks stage is reached.

5. Increase speed slightly and beat in 1 Tablespoon of sugar at a time. Continue beating until whites reach stiff peaks and look glossy.

6. Pour chocolate mixture into a large bowl. Gently whisk a fourth of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Then, fold in remaining whites in two additions.

7. Gently pour batter into prepared soufflé dish. Run your finger around the edge of the top of the batter to create about a 1/4" space between the dish and soufflé mixture.

8. Place the dish on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Upon placing in the oven, reduce temperature to 375°F.

9. Bake until soufflé is puffed and center is mostly set, 25-35 minutes (25 for a softer center; I always go 35 min, as I prefer it more "set"). Note: do NOT open oven door during the first 20 minutes of baking!!


10. Serve immediately--seriously, you must serve it right away, as it starts to deflate and lose its texture quickly. Highly suggest and recommend serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.


Should you have leftovers, as I mentioned at the beginning, the deflated soufflé is much like brownies :)

25 March 2024

Cabbage Beef Casserole--600th recipe post!!!

Woohoo! This is my 600th recipe post!!! My goal this year is to post more recipes than I did in my inaugural year of this blog (2015, posted 127 recipes that year)...so far, seems like I'm getting there!

Need a hearty, filling, easy recipe that won't break the bank? Here you go! I've had this recipe in my collection for a very long time now, remember really liking it, yet hadn't made it in quite sometime...until now :D And very glad I did! Hubby loved it, and it was as yummy as I recalled. 10/10!

Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/SOZvYqNDkS0

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. chopped yellow onion
1 1/4 lb. chopped cabbage
16 oz. regular tomato sauce
8 oz. tomato sauce with basil, oregano, and garlic
***(if you don't have the herbed tomato sauce (like in my video), use 24 oz. regular sauce plus 1/2 tsp. dried basil, 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, and 1 tsp. bottled mince garlic)
1/2 c. uncooked instant white rice
1/2 tsp. salt
dash ground pepper
dash garlic salt
10.5 oz. beef broth

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and break up into crumbles. Add the onion and stir to combine. Cook until ground beef is browned/cooked through and onion has softened. Dab out/drain any excess rendered fat. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all remaining ingredients EXCEPT the beef broth.

4. Stir in the reserved ground beef, then pour and spread mixture into a 9" x 13" casserole baking dish.

5. Pour the beef broth as evenly as possible atop the mixture in the casserole dish. Cover dish and transfer to oven.

6. Bake for 30 min. Open cover, stir mixture, then re-cover. Increase oven temperature to 365°F and bake for additional 30 min.

7. When finished baking, let rest (uncovered) for at least 5 min before serving. Enjoy!

21 March 2024

Crispy & Soft Sugar Cookies

Happy Spring! The picture below doesn't capture how pretty these turned out (I used pastel colors of sanding sugar, I swear)...and oh so yummy! It's a nice small batch cookie with only a few ingredients, thanks to using self-rising flour. Please measure by weight if you can, they are far more likely to turn out correct.


Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/BDQaGBU3yXc


Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
198g (1 c.) sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
227g (2 c.) self-rising flour
sanding sugar (or regular sugar) for coating

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and creamy (2-3 min).

2. Beat in the egg.

3. Mix in the flour.

4. Cover dough and refrigerate for 30 min. Depending on your oven, heat it so it will be ready when the dough is done chilling. Temperature: 375°F.

5. Line baking sheets with parchment. Form dough into 1 to 1 1/2" balls, then roll in the sanding sugar to coat all over. Place on prepared sheets, spacing 2" apart.

6. Bake for 10-12 min (I went 12). Let cookies rest on sheet for 5 min after removing from oven, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!