Spicy Coconut Curry Carrot Soup

I looked at a few carrot soup recipes before deciding to base it on a ginger-curry soup and make up the amounts myself. I'm happy to say that it turned out really well!  I think this is quite forgiving and easy to customize based on individual tastes.

I found it too sweet at first, because of the wonderful sweetness of carrots from the garden, so I added quite a bit of salt and threw in this magical red curry paste. This is what we use for our Thai curry stir-fry and it has been a favourite in our pantry for a while now. It comes in small expensive jars (or in a larger bag of paste from Superstore for something like a quarter of the price).

Sliced yellow onion

Diced garlic (4-6 cloves)
1 Tbsp coconut oil

Carrots (lots. Cut into rounds)

Approx 2/3 carton of chicken stock

2 tsp yellow curry

Sprig of rosemary

Sprig of thyme

1/2 tsp ground ginger
Salt and pepper to taste

Squirt of spicy red curry paste , to taste (be careful! It seems to get spicier as it cooks!)
1/2 cup coconut milk

Garnish with cilantro or basil

Start by sauteing the onions and garlic in the coconut oil, and place in the slow cooker with the carrots and chicken stock. Add the spices (except for the red curry paste) and let it cook down until everything is soft (likely a couple of hours on high). Take out the sprig herbs and use an immersion blender to puree the carrots, onions and garlic. Add the red curry paste a bit at a time, as well as the coconut milk.

Garnish with some cilantro, and serve with cheese biscuits (I use my super easy biscuit recipe and just add in some grated strong cheddar).

Enjoy!

Lasagna

This may be "Canadianized" lasagna, but it is my favourite type because it's what I grew up with. I was always happy when Mom made this for dinner.

To make 1 large and 1 mini-lasagna:

Sautee:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 chopped yellow onion, on the larger side
• Several garlic cloves or 1-2 tsp garlic powder
• Approx 2 lb ground beef (this could be even less, compensating by making it saucier - it's all based on preference)

Sautee the onion and garlic in the olive oil, then add ground beef and cook until browned.  Add water if needed, but be sure to pour off any fat/grease before adding sauce.

Add:

• 1 Tbsp parsley if you have it, or I used a mix of basil and oregano
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 cans of pasta sauce (I used a pre-spiced "garlic and herb" sauce, 28-oz size can)

Let the sauce and meat simmer for 5 minutes. Separately, blend:

• Approx 2 cupes cottage cheese
• 2 beaten eggs

Also prepare:

• 1/2 lb lasagne noodles, cooked and drained (half a package)
• 1/2 lb sliced mozarella cheese - or as desired
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Now you are ready to assemble the lasagna(2).  Layer in this order, spreading through the two pans:

• thin layer of meat sauce
• half of the noodles
• all the cottage cheese mixture
• half of the mozzarella
• half of the remaining meat sauce
• remaining noodles
• remaining meat sauce
• remaining mozzarella
• grated Parmesan cheese

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.  I prefer my cheese topping browned and crusty so I end up leaving it in closer to the 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Mac 'n' Cheese

A co-worker of mine gave me her mac and cheese recipe - hers has been the only homemade version that I have ever liked in my life. My rendition turned out pretty close to hers so I consider it a success.

Start by cooking your macaroni - I used half of a 900g package (only part of which is pictured below).  Salt it well. Shred a variety of cheese - probably about 2 cups (I used regular and sharp cheddars, while my co-worker used pepper jack and cheddar).  

In a 4-cup measuring cup, melt 1/4 cup butter or margarine and add 3-4 tsp of flour to make a thick slurry.  Add 1 1/4 cup of milk, and either cube 1 1/2 cups of Velveeta or add about 1 1.2 cups of cheese whiz. Melt the mixture in the microwave and stir every minute or so.  Add more cheese whiz or flour if it's too thin, or milk if it's too thick.  It should be just thin enough to pour onto the macaroni. 

Grease the casserole dish very well (Pam or margarine or whatever you prefer) and add half of the macaroni. Sprinkle half of the cheese on top, then layer with the next half of cooked macaroni. Pour the cheese whiz mixture over the entire dish evenly, then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Add salt and pepper and paprika for colour. 

Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes - until the cheese on top is thickly crusted and nearly burnt.  Serve with more carbs if desired (I can't resist carbs so I paired it with cornbread).  Enjoy! 

Three-Cheese Tomato Orzo Soup

 

Aside from the cheese, I consider this soup to be a healthy meal option. It's quite quick and easy to make (half hour if everything is available), and is a huge hit at my house.

Start with:

• 1 diced yellow onion
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot and brown the onions over medium heat - just a few minutes until they're tender and translucent.  Add the garlic and brown for another minute or two. 

Add (feel free to be flexible with amounts - this is just a guideline):

• 2 (28 oz) cans of whole or diced tomatoes - I use whole and cut them up a bit. They seem a bit more flavourful than the diced ones. Add the liquid from the can also.
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup fresh basil if available, or a couple of teaspoons of dried basil
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1-2 tsp sugar, to taste (if I use more yogurt because it needs to be used up, another tsp of sugar or so is helpful)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Simmer until well-heated throughout, then blend with an immersion/stick blender. Add cheese as desired - I used a sharp vintage white cheddar (love Tillamook cheese!), a bit of parmesan and some Friulano cheese, a staple of my Italian grandmother-in-law's kitchen.  Probably about 1.5 cups of grated cheese. Add pre-cooked orzo pasta to add some weight to the soup if desired - I love this.  Serve with basic buttered biscuits and enjoy! 

Peanut Butter Cookies

These were always a favourite growing up. With milk. Or frozen as dough and scooped out piece-by-piece.  The baked cookies just melt in your mouth.

Cream together:

• 1 cup margarine
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs

Add: 

• 2 1/4 cups flour (don't underfill, or you'll end up with very sticky dough)
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup peanut butter

Squish with a fork both ways to get the signature look. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.  Try not to break them when removing them from the pan... but don't beat yourself up about it... it's all the same in the stomach.

Gnocchi

I married an Italian... with many relatives that live nearby... and for that I am eternally thankful. Gnocchi are small light bites of pillowy goodness - potato dumplings loaded with cheese and spicy meat sauce. We bought the packaged ones from the store once, but they are nothing like Grandma's.  She, in her unique grumpy-grandma style, refused to teach us how to make it like she learned in Italy.  So, we decided to try it on our own and give her a run for her money. 

This is one of those "by feel" recipes that I normally avoid, but after several successful productions (with rave reviews from even the Italians) I am happy to say that we can add this to our cookbook. 

• 3 large russet potatoes, boiled and peeled
• 1 egg
• a generous pinch of salt
• flour as needed (probably up to 2 cups)

The most important step of the recipe is this: you must put the potatoes through a potato ricer.  When they're cool enough to handle and peel, take portions of the hot potatoes and squish them through.  This will make the finished gnocchi light and fluffy. 

Add the salt, egg, and mix briefly together. Add most of the flour and mix, again briefly.  Do not mix this dough for long - it should come together but not be completely homogeneous.  Add flour until the dough (still warm!) is pliable and doesn't completely stick to your hands. Essentially it has to be enough like a pasta dough that you can roll it out into long snakes. You want to add the minimum amount of flour necessary, as the finished product will be more dense if there is more flour in it. 

Cut the snakes into small pieces and squish halfway with a fork (I find the dough should be sticky enough that it would cling to the fork in an annoying way... so flour the fork to keep this from driving you crazy).  This creates grooves for the pasta sauce and cheese to cling to. Grandma is very good at quickly whipping them off the fork... we will need a lot more practice at this.

Prep a pot of boiling water, well salted, with a bit of oil to keep them from sticking. Cook them like pierogies - drop several into the water, remove right away once they float to the top (this will be 10-30 seconds or so).  Taste to confirm that the dumpling is light and cooked fully through.

Load with cheese - parmesan, friulano, romano - anything white and sharp and tasty.  Add your favourite sauce - we usually take something that's good from a jar or can and add sauteed onions, peppers, and pieces of Italian sausage from a local butcher.

Enjoy with a salad and ciabatta bread.

Apple Crumble

Topping:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg
• 1/3 cup melted butter or margarine

Fruit filling just requires a pinch of salt, cinnamon, and a bit of sugar to lightly coat the fruit.  Standard recipe would be granny smith apples but nectarines (as above) or blackberries make an excellent summer treat!

375 for 30 min or until apples are soft when poked with a fork.  Best when served with ice cream.  

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Original recipe found here (Home is where the Holmans are), and many thanks!  This worked really well in my dutch oven. Again, my reason for re-posting is to ensure the recipe is never lost to me.

Photo of the finished soup found with my biscuit recipe here.  This is a wonderful spicy soup that doesn't really need a recipe unless you're like me and you can't cook worth anything.  Even I was able to modify based on what I had in my pantry and voila - tasty and cozy goodness!

• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 skinless chicken breasts (I used equivalent in tenderloin strips)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ancho chili powder (I used regular chili powder)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Combine above and cook over medium heat (likely 20-25 minutes) until chicken is cooked through - then remove chicken, shred it, and set it aside. Add the following ingredients to the stock:

• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 4-6 jalapeno peppers, minced (yes you'll probably want at least 4!)
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced

Simmer about half an hour until tomatoes are starting to fall apart. Add:

• 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 8 oz cotija cheese and 8 oz pepperjack cheese (I only had mozzarella and a bit of asiago, so make do with whatever you may have for cheese)

Put shredded chicken back into soup and cook 20 more minutes or until desired consistency.  If using a crock pot after the chicken is cooked, add everything but the chicken and cook on low at least 3 hours. Add the chicken back in a half hour before serving, and add:

• 1 cup chopped cilantro

Enjoy with a bit of shredded cheese on top and baked biscuits on the side!