Pierogi Lasagna

I tried a new recipe the other day and though it is quite starchy, it turned out to be extremely delicious. If you like pierogies, but don't like the hassle in making them, then this is a recipe you simply must try.


Pierogi Lasagna

Makes: 8-10 servings
Total Time: 1 hour

http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/easy-pierogi-casserole-126267.aspx


Ingredients

• 9 lasagna noodles, uncooked
• 4 cups hot mashed potatoes
• 1/2 cup (1/2 of 250g tub) herb and garlic cream cheese spread
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 pkg (80g) fully cooked bacon pieces, divided
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Cook noodles according to package, omitting salt. 
3. Meanwhile, combine mashed potatoes, cheese spread, green onions, 1/2 the bacon, and 1 cup cheddar.
4. Place 3 noodles in greased 9x13 inch baking dish, cover 1/3 of potato mixture. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining bacon and cheddar.
5. Cover and bake 30 minutes, or until heated through. Uncover and bake 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Please feel free to attempt, tweak, and enjoy this splendid Pintrest find.



Kage

Homemade Turkey Soup

Well, for those of us Canadians out there, we've all likely had our fill of turkey this past week. Many of us have probably tried a variation or two of turkey soup to try to use up some of that left over turkey. Well let me share with you my most recent discovery of my homemade turkey and rice soup. 

Yes, this dish takes some time and patience, but believe me, it is well worth the wait.

Homemade Turkey Soup
Makes: 4 to 6 servings
Total time required: 2h & 15min

Ingredients
   Turkey Broth

• 1 turkey carcass
• 6-8 cups water
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp italian seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 2 Bay leaves

   Turkey Soup

• 1/4 cup uncooked barley
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 lb cooked turkey
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 227g pkg mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp sage
• 2/3 cup parboiled long-grain white rice
• 2-3 cups turkey broth
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 pkgs beef bouillon
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine all turkey broth ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until carcass is tender. Strain broth and set aside.
2. Prepare barley according to packaging instructions and set aside.
3. Meanwhile In the same pot used to prepare the broth, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook carrots, onion, celery, mushrooms, thyme and sage, stirring for 5 minutes or until onion is softened. Stir in rice.
4. Add stock, tomato paste, and bouillon, scraping up any bits stuck to pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium-low; boil gently for 15 minutes or until rice is almost tender.
5. Stir in turkey and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until rice is tender. Add the barley.
6. Increase heat to medium. Whisk flour into milk, gradually whisk into soup. Cook, stirring for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in salt and pepper to taste.

Store bought turkey or chicken broth can be substituted for the homemade broth, but it won't yield the same delicous results. I highly recommend attemting, tweaking, and enjoying this delicious recipe as we have.


Kage

Peach Cobbler

A couple weeks ago I had some peaches that were over ripe, and not so good to eat raw. I sliced the peaches, removed the pits, added a touch of sugar and froze them. This evening I was in the mood for some peach cobbler, but I didn't want much of a fuss. I found a great recipe from Betty Crocker using Bisquick, that turned out to be incredibly easy and delicious.

Classic Bisquick Peach Cobbler
Time: 1 hr. and 10 min.
Makes: 6 Servings

 http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/classic-bisquick-peach-cobbler/a2efbfa6-3233-4f7a-bf5b-43ce62bd1055


Ingredients

• 1 cup Bisquick mix
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1 cup and 3 Tbsp sugar, divided
• 2 cups frozen peaches, thawed
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine Bisquick mix, milk, and nutmeg in an ungreased 8x8" baking dish. Stir in butter until combined. 
3. Combine peaches and 1 cup sugar, spoon over Bisquick mixture.
4. Combine remaining 3 Tbsp sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle on top of peaches.
5. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until golden.

I have found that my oven is quite hot, and I regularly have to turn the temperature down so as to not bake the food too quickly. Tonight I found that this recipe was even better at the high temperature because the batter became crispy, which only added to an already delicious cobbler.

Please feel free to attempt, tweak, and enjoy this classic peach cobbler.



Kage

Butter Chicken

I made one of our favourites for dinner tonight. However, it is high in butter and cream, so I tend to not make this recipe very often. Not to mention it is a little more time consuming than many of my other recipes, but extremely delicious nonetheless. I was sent this recipe through an e-mail subscription from www.allrecipes.com just over a year ago, and we have loved it ever since.

Butter Chicken
Makes: 6 servings
Total time: 1 hour

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/141169/easy-indian-butter-chicken?mvtid_tab=b


Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, divided
• 1 oncion, minced
• 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 can tomato sauce (15oz)
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp indian masala
• 1 1/2 lb boneless,skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp indian masala

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Melt a few tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic, cook until onion caramelizes to a dark brown, about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile melt the remaining butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat along with tomato sauce, heavy cream, salt, cayenne pepper, and indian masala. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then stir in caramelized onions.
4. While sauce is simmering, toss cubed chicken breast with olive oil until coated, then season with indian masala and spread out onto a baking sheet.
5. Bake chicken in preheated oven until no longer pink in the centre, about 12 minutes. Once done, add chicken to the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes before serving with Basmati rice.

Please feel free to attempt, tweak, and enjoy this delicious recipe.


Kage

Thai Sweet Chili Chicken

A great place to pick up a new recipe is your local grocery store. Often an individual grocery store will print a flyer to advertise some of the products they offer, which often include recipes. Sometimes they'll provide recipe cards in the entrance of their store, or even down the aisle of a key ingredient they hope to promote. The other day I picked up a couple of these recipe cards from my local Sobeys as they were promoting Knorr products. This evening I made the Thai Sweet Chili Chicken recipe and it turned out to be fairly flavourful and simple, a great combination.

Thai Sweet Chili Chicken
Serves: 4
Total Time: 25 min.


Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1" pieces
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 pkgs Knorr Sidekicks, Thai Sweet Chili Noodles
• 2 cups snow peas, halved
• 1 can (250g) sliced water chestnuts, drained

Directions

1. Combine soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and oil. Toss with chicken.
2. Heat mixture in skillet on high and cook chicken about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package. Stir in snow peas, chicken, and water chestnuts during last 3 minutes of cook time. Continue cooking until chicken is done.

Please feel free to attempt, tweak, and enjoy this simple, spicy recipe.


Kage

Simple Homemade Veggie Dip

I tried a new recipe the other day and it turned out to be quite a flop. It sounded like a great idea: veggie fries. The recipe called for a variety of veggies dipped in flour, beaten eggs, and a bread crumb mixture then baked. I was excited to find a healthy replacement for french fries, but neither my husband or I liked them. We ended up eating only a few each then threw out the rest. However, the recipe also suggested a homemade dip for them, which was simply delightful. It was incredibly simple to make, and in the future this is definitely going to be my new go-to recipe for raw veggies.


Simple Homemade Veggie Dip
Total time: 3 minutes


Ingredients

• 1 (6 oz) container Greek Fat Free plain yogurt
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 Tbsp dried dill weed, or to taste

Directions

1. In small bowl, mix all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

I always enjoy making as much as I can on my own, instead of store bought goods, because that way I know exactly what we are eating. Not to mention the possibilities are endless when creating your own dishes. The recipe I used called for 2 tablespoons fresh herbs (basil, dill, oregano, and/or thyme), but all I had was dried dill weed so I made do, and I was thrilled with the result. In the future I will make no alterations to my veggie dip (the above recipe).

Please feel free to attempt, tweak, and enjoy this simple guest impresser. 



Kage

Sizzling Calamari Al Diavolo

This evening I made an old, but delicious and more adventurous recipe: Sizzling Calamari Al Diavolo. I found this recipe on yet another blog a while ago, but have made some tweaks of my own to suit our personal tastes and grocery store options. This recipe resembles the appetizer from East Side Mario's: Sizzling Calamari Al Diavolo, that comes in a cast iron skillet and literally sizzles as the server sets it down on the table.


Sizzling Calamari Al Diavolo
Serves: 2
Time: 30 minutes


Ingredients

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, cut into chunks
• 1/2 red pepper, cut into strips
• 1/2 yellow pepper, cut into strips
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and cut in half
• 1/4 cup chunky salsa
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
• up to 1 cup water
• 2 tsp Tex-Mex seasoning
• Franks Red Hot Sauce to taste
• 1/2 lb pre-breaded frozen calamari

Directions

1. Cook calamari as directed on box.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in 10inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the veggies. As the veggies begin to soften add the salsa, chicken bouillon, Tex-Mex seasoning, and Frank's Red Hot Sauce. Mix together. 
3. Drizzle a little water as needed to keep food from catching, but don't drown it. Cook until veggies are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. 
4. Add calamari and mix just until calamari is heated through. Do not over cook (over cooking will leave calamari rubbery). Serve immediately. 

As a little tip, don't be tempted to cook the veggies fast or it will burn and the flavours need time to mix well. 
Sorry about the lack of picture, I will need to take one next time I make this.

Please feel free to attempt, tweak, and enjoy this Sizzling Calamari Al Diavolo.



Rage