Potato Bacon Soup

This is a favorite here in the Harseverse.  It's a meal-in-a-bowl!  Warm and delicious, perfect for those chilly winter nights.  Leftovers are even more yummy reheated next day.  Serve with garlic bread or crusty rolls.

Ingredients
1 large onion, diced
6 slices bacon, chopped, plus extra slices for garnish
5-6 large potatoes, cubed
1 liter chicken or vegetable stock
4 stalks celery, sliced
3 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus extra for garnish
1/2 cup chopped chives
freshly ground pepper

Method
Cook chopped bacon and onion together on medium high heat for 5 minutes.  Add potatoes, celery, and stock and bring to a boil.  You want enough stock to come up within an inch of covering the vegetables, but not to cover them entirely because you will be adding milk later.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  While soup is simmering, cook extra bacon slices until crisp, chop them and set aside for garnishing.  Once vegetables are tender, roughly mash with a potato masher.  Don't completely obliterate them - you want some chunkiness.  Add milk (add more for thinner soup, less for thicker soup) and the cheese and half of the chives.  Serve with the remaining chives, crispy bacon, shredded cheese and pepper for toppings.   

Homemade Hamburgers

It's just about barbeque season again, and what better thing to throw on the grill than a big juicy burger?

Ingredients:
1 pound groud beef
1/4 cup bread crumbs (use fresh if you can - throw a chunk of bread in a food processor and pulse until crummy)
1 egg
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 clove grated garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup finely chopped onion, or 1/2 Tbsp deydrated onion flakes

Mix spices and crumbs together in a big bowl.  Add egg and beef, mix with your hands until just combined.  Shape into four patties and cook on your preheated barbeque grill on medium-low heat until just cooked through.  Slap on some old cheddar and serve on split crusty buns with your favorite toppings.

Sausage and Pepper Pasta Dinner

1 pound (or so) fresh italian sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 sweet bell peppers, (red, green, yellow, whatever you like!) chopped
1 medium-sized onion, chopped (I like red)
2 large tomatoes, chopped (or 1 large can diced tomatoes with juice)
2 cups spinach, chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon dried oregeno
1 pound cooked pasta

In a large skillet, sautee the sausage until browned. Add garlic, onion, peppers, herbs and cook until almost tender, about five minutes. Add spinach and stir until wilted. Add tomatoes, juice and all. Cover and simmer 5-8 minutes. Add to pasta and stir. Serve with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Roast Chicken with Gravy

You need pepper, salt, two or three cloves of garlic, split, half of a cooking onion, chopped, and your herbs of choice (rosemary, sage, parsley, etc... or "poultry seasoning")
Season the cavity with salt, pepper, and herbs, and throw in your garlic and onion.Cut a little slit in the skin on each side of the opening.
Tuck the ends of the legs through the opposing slits so it closes the cavity. Especially handy if you stuffed the chicken. Season the outside of the bird.

Place in a roasting pan. I add about a half of a cup of water to keep the chicken moist. Roast at 350 degrees for a half an hour per pound.I roast with the lid on, and still get crispy skin. I find that leaving the lid on keeps it moist. If you find that near the end of cooking time the skin is not brown, you can take the lid off and crank the heat up to 500 degrees, or broil, for a few minutes.
Remove the chicken to a platter and cover. Strain the juices into a saucepan. Carefully scoop off most of the fat (it floats on top) with a spoon. Taste the drippings and adjust the seasoning to your liking. You can fortify it with chicken stock, if need be. In a small glass mix equal parts cold water and corn starch or white flour. Whisk slowly to boiling drippings, just adding enough to thicken. Serve with roast chicken and mashed potatoes.

If you don't wish to make gravy, don't throw away the cooking juices!  Strain and pour into an ice cube tray.  Freeze and store in a resealable container and add it to your homemade soups, sauces and even when cooking rice for a boost of flavour and nutrients.  If you make your own stock from the bones of the chicken, add the cooking juices as it's full of nourishing gelatin that has already cooked out of the roast.

Cheesy Chicken Burritos

Wondering to do with your leftover roast chicken? Try this simple, savoury dish that's sure to please the whole family! These were devoured so quickly, I didn't get a photo. Maybe next time!

Ingredients

2 cups leftover roasted chicken, chopped
1 sweet red pepper, chopped finely (use 1/2 green pepper, 1/2 red for some colour variation!)
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp chili powder
1/2-1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup sour cream
8-10 ten inch whole wheat flour tortillas

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Divide evenly amongst tortillas, about two heaping tablespoons each. Roll up burrito-style and place on an oiled baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees farenheit, flipping halfway. Serve with sour cream and salsa for dipping.

*Tip: Got leftover rice too? Toss it in the mix with some extra seasoning!

Cauliflower Cheddar Soup

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
1 head of cauliflower, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 litre chicken stock
2 cups shredded old cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Directions

Heat oil in soup pot and sautee onions until translucent. Add potato and continue cook for an additional minute. Add cauliflower and chicken stock, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until vegetables are very tender. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. If the soup is too thick, add some milk until it's your preferred consistency.
Serve with crusty bread.

Pancakes

Recipe adapted from Aldergrove's Best Cuisine

Ingredients

2 cups flour (1 cup a.p., 1 cup w.w.)
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk

Method

Mix dry ingredients together. Add the eggs and milk; mix. Pour ladlefuls onto a hot oiled griddle and when fully-cooked, enjoy eating them!

*Tastes great with a little butter and syrup, or with berries and cream as pictured here.

Lasagne Casserole

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
4 or 5 cloves garlic, minced
2 peppers, (green, red, yellow, whatever) diced
1 small zucchini, diced
2 cups sliced mushrooms (or 1 227 gram package, sliced)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 jar or can of pureed tomatoes or tomato sauce
1 tub ricotta cheese
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, or half of a container fresh baby spinach, chopped and steamed
oven-ready lasagne
oregeno
basil
salt and pepper
250 grams shredded mozzarella cheese (half of a large bar)

Directions

In a large pot, brown ground beef. Add onion and garlic and sautee until softened. Add peppers and mushrooms and sautee for a few more minutes. Add diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add enough pureed tomatoes or tomato sauce to thin it out. Season with oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Meanwhile, combine ricotta cheese and spinach in a seperate bowl. Season with a dash of pepper and a pinch of salt. Sometimes I put a pinch of ground nutmeg in it, when I think of it, or add some parmesan if I have it. Put a little tomato sauce in the bottom of casserole dish so the noodles don't stick. Put one layer of noodles down, scoop half of the sauce on top. Add another layer of noodles. Spread the ricotta mixture onto the noodles. Add another noodle layer, then the rest of the sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Broil for a few minutes to get the cheese on top melty and bubbly.
I sometimes do a vegetarian version. Just add a diced eggplant and an extra zucchini.

Simmered Steak

Simmered Steak

One 2 to 2.5 pound simmering steak
A couple of tablespoons of flour
Salt and pepper
3 Tbsp canola or olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 cups puréed tomatoes (canned or fresh)
2 teaspoons each of fresh thyme, sage, marjoram, or 1/2 teaspoon each of dried

1 Rub flour into both sides of the steak. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a wide, shallow (3 inches), covered pan to medium high heat. Add 2 Tbsp of oil to coat the pan. Place the steak in the pan, and cook for a few minutes on each side, enough to brown the steak.
2 Remove the steak from the pan and set aside. Add onions and garlic to the pan and another tablespoon of oil. Cook the onions and garlic for 3-5 minutes, using a metal spatula to scrape up any steak drippings, mixing them in with the onions. Add half of the herbs to the onions. Return the steak to the pan, placing it on top of the onions. Crowd the onions around and on top of the steak. Sprinkle the rest of the herbs on top of the steak. Add the 2 cups of puréed tomatoes to the pan.

3 Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid. Use a high lid if available. A high lid will help circulate the steam and moisture from the cooking juices and keep the steak moist. Bring the steak in the tomato purée to a simmer and then lower the heat to the lowest heat possible to maintain a low simmer.

4 Cook for about an hour, turning the steak every so often. To check it, you can poke it with a fork. The meat should be quite tender. To serve, remove the steak and slice it on a carving board, or shred with two forks and serve on rice with the sauce. Serves 4-6.

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore

1 2 to 3 lb roasting chicken
1 cooking onion, finely diced
½ lb button mushrooms
2 red peppers, large dice
1 zucchini, large dice
1 tbsp minced garlic
½ cup white wine
4 cups pureed stewed tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Butcher chicken into 8 equal parts. Mix 1 cup flour with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper in a bowl. Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture, turning to coat. In a deep pot, brown chicken on all sides using ¼ cup olive oil. Remove and set aside chicken. In the same pot using the residual oil, brown the onion and garlic. Add mushrooms, zucchini, and peppers, stir frying for about two minutes. Add wine, and scrape up any bits in the bottom of the pot. Add basil and tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Reintroduce chicken and simmer for 1 hour until chicken is tender.
Season with salt and pepper and serve with pasta.

For a lower fat recipe, use skinless chicken breasts!

Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff

1 – 2 lb top sirloin
½ lb mushrooms, sliced
½ cup red wine
1 cup beef stock
1 sprig rosemary
1 cup sour cream

Slice sirloin into strips ½” thick and brown it in a frying pan in small batches. Set meat aside, and drain excess fat from pan. Add wine and stock to the pan and bring to a boil. Add rosemary and reserved beef. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Warm through and serve with noodles.