Slow Cooker Philippine Pork Stew

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Ok, this one comes VERY Hubby approved and recommended.  He seems to throw this comment out kind of often, but apparently this was the, 'best meal this year.'  Then I reminded him he said that about a pasta I made about a month ago, and so he said, "ok, this one is second place then."  Then I reminded him that he said that about a dinner he had at a restaurant we went to on our anniversary and another dinner that we had a week after that at another restaurant.  So, who knows really with him, but he definitely thought this was a keeper!

He put a cookbook into my stocking last year called The Best of Bridge - Slow Cooker Cookbook, and I have made only one or two things in it so far, but something triggered him to remind me of it this week.  I told him to go get it off the shelf, choose anything in the book, and I would make it.  The majority of the summer hasn't exactly been 'slow cooker bubbling away on the counter season,' on account of the heat wave, but a couple of weeks ago we were experiencing a bit of an Augtober that kind of put a 'damper' on things, and a CrockPot dinner seemed like just what the weatherman ordered.  The 'Pork Adobo' recipe caught his eye, and thus a Wednesday night dinner was born.  To be honest, it's probably something I would have turned the page on and never made if not for him choosing it this week.  Ingredients like, 'cinnamon stick,' and 'whole clove,' aren't usually up my alley, but a deal was a deal and I made the dish anyways.  Are we ever glad we did!  The Hubby gave rave reviews, and I always especially know it's a good meal when he excitedly packs his leftovers for lunch the next day.  He admitted afterwards that he chose the recipe because the cinnamon and clove seemed weird.  Haha.  Side note - a stick of cinnamon from the bulk section of our grocery store costs $0.03.  A whole clove is too light to even register on the store's scale, so the cashier shrugged and put it into the bag for free.  The bay leaves were the same way.  I basically robbed the grocery store!!

Mango and Black Bean Quinoa Salad

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"You can't have the Mango!" - Mango, SNL

I feel like I already know the answer to this question, but does anyone else think of Mango, the short-lived mid-90's Chris Kattan character from SNL, whenever they see a mango?  Just me again?  Wow - every time!  Well, here are some classic Mango quotes anyway:

"Can you catch a falling star without burning your hand?  Can you put the sky in your mouth?  Can you say to an earthquake, 'Hey, hold still for a second?'  No!  Such is Mango." - Mango

"Can you know the mighty ocean?  Can you lasso a star from the sky?  Can you say to a rainbow, 'Hey, stop being a rainbow for a second?'  No!  Such is Mango" - Mango

"No Mango for you!  Why must I be Mango?  Why I ask?  Why God, why?  Why can't I be someone normal like John Ritter?  Mango is like a drug.  You must have more and more and more of the Mango until there is no Mango left.  Not even for Mango!" - Mango

So those are the quotes that I think of when I look at or taste a mango, every time!!  I just look at a mango and I have a little chuckle to myself.

'Mini' Greek Salad (Humour Me!)

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This salad is perfect for the heat wave (mid-30 C / high 90-F!) that we are currently simultaneously loving and complaining about at the same time.  It's fresh, refreshing, healthy, and cool.

It's also obviously not brain science or rocket surgery!  I'm not re-inventing the wheel here...essentially this salad is the exact same concept as a regular sized Greek Salad except with baby, pint-sized, itsy-bitsy, minikin vegetables (I know - tomatoes aren't vegetables, and Pluto isn't a planet, but I'm still going to pretend that they are!).  Also, it's hot and hard for me to care about cooking or picking up my camera to take a picture while cooking or using my insanely hot laptop (seriously, why is it so hot!?) to talk about my cooking.  I made a really, really, really delicious pasta the other night and The Hubby kept asking why I wasn't taking pictures.  Answer - I was too hot and too lazy, and all I cared about was watching Big Brother, and am now way full of regret because I don't remember all of the steps for that pasta to be able to recreate it!  Sigh, sigh, sigh!

Back to the salad.  In this version, I have traded in full-sized cucumbers, bell peppers, and tomatoes for their ridiculously cute baby versions.  The other ingredients aren't tiny...I was considering using shallot or pearl onions in place of the red onion, but chose not to because who knows what that might have been like.  The olives I had no teeny substitute for other than capers, and that seemed weird.  The feta is also not mini...in fact, the the less mini you get with cheese in any recipe the better/tastier/merrier, amiright?

Garlic Scape Pesto

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Garlic Scape Pesto

Warning:  For garlic lovers only...all others beware the deliciousness!!!

It's garlic scape season again!!!!!!  Run, don't walk, to your nearest farmer's market and pick up some of these green beauties while you can, because their season is very short, too short, only 2 - 3 weeks in duration short.  I get a bit freakishly excited when I see garlic scapes at the market.  For example, my friend texted me that she picked up some garlic scapes and my reaction was 'Jealous!'  I've been known to buy armloads at at time, then go back for another bunch, then talk about it to whoever will listen.

Garlic Scapes !

Garlic scapes are one of the best kept secrets in the world of produce, and I'm here to out them.  The garlic scape is the long, bright green, usually curly stem that grows out of the garlic at the plant's maturity.  The closest thing that they resemble visually is a green onion, but they are hard to the touch unlike the soft green onion, with the stiffness of the stem of a daisy.  Their season is very short, from late June to early July (where I live anyway), and they can typically only be found at your local farmer's market.  Garlic scapes range in price from $1 to $2.50 a bunch - cheap, cheap, cheap - so get out there and support your local farmers.  They taste is exactly like garlic to me, which since I'm like very into garlic, works for me.

Golf Themed Cake

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I love my dad.  So much.  Enough to learn how to frost a cake with a cake decorating tip for his retirement party last year.  Which is something that I could never, ever, be great at.  I've just never been crafty...I don't think that I got that badge in Girl Guides.  But I do think that the golf-themed cake still turned out pretty well, all things considered.  This could be a great cake for your dad/husband/brother's celebration of their birthday/father's day/retirement.  Or hey, let's not discriminate here; it's great for golf-loving moms/wives/sisters/friends too!

I went to Michael's to buy the cake decorating tip, and may I just say that there is a whole world that I never even knew existed at Michaels in the cake aisle, including a whole section just for the various types of cake decorating tips alone.  To put it in perspective, the tip that I selected was called, "Grass," so that's how specific the cake tip selection gets.  Overwhelming.  I purchased my cake tip and left.
 

Creamy Bacon and Leek Pasta

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My family likes to cook.  So recently when we went away for a nice relaxing three-day weekend in Birch Bay just over the US border from our place, we decided to have a pasta throwdown.  Because why wouldn't you have an intense pasta competition on your relaxing family vacation.

The competition gets underway.

My family is obviously also competitive.  So when I called my dad a few days before our trip to let him know what kind of pasta I would be making and what my ingredients were, I shouldn't have been surprised when he remarked that he couldn't believe I had willingly given up my recipe so close to the competition and that he could really use this to his advantage.

Mini Peppers Stuffed With Goat Cheese and Asparagus

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Hurry and make this, while asparagus is still cheap in the stores!

I needed a healthy appetizer for when my sister-in-laws came over for some wine the other night.  I had a bag of mini bell peppers, a bunch of asparagus, and some goat cheese in the fridge, and this appetizer came to life.  Besides those three ingredients, the only other things you need are some olive oil, red pepper flakes, and garlic.  Although simple in terms of the number of ingredients, these healthy bites pack some delicious flavour.  And those mini peppers are just so cute.

My sister-in-laws and I gobbled down an entire platter of these mini peppers...they are so worth the asparagus pee!  But actually, in addition to eating too much food and drinking too much wine, the whole point of getting together that evening was to have an occasion to put on our wedding dresses one last time.  We pre-planned to meet at my place and throw the old gowns on for the night, because why spend so much money to just get to wear them once, right?!  I had never dry-cleaned mine after the wedding, so it still had McDonalds ketchup on it from the drive-thru on the way home from my wedding.  My sister-in-law Caitlin had mustard on hers for a similar reason, so there was no judgement.  The dresses didn't stay on too long, on account of then being extremely uncomfortable, but we had fun!

Classic Spinach Dip in Bread Bowl

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People have asked me why I don't have a spinach dip recipe on my blog.  Well, it's because I use the same spinach dip recipe that you probably already have the recipe for.  It's the one that your mom uses, or you ate at that baby shower last week, or that you bought in the deli section of the grocery store the other day.  This guy...

It's the recipe almost straight from the Knorr website, which you can link to here.  Dead easy, and always devoured quickly.  Why mess with a good thing, right!

I have a question though...how do you say 'Knorr?'  I usually say it with the 'K,' but always feel weird about doing so, and even weirder when my friend straight up laughed at how I said it the other day.  It's a German company, so I had always assumed that that K should be used.  I also seem to remember from television commercials as a kid that the K was used, but logically it seems wrong, like it would to use the K in the words Knife or Knight.  In any event, since I'm in my 30's now and set in my ways, I will probably go on pronouncing it with the K because I fear change.

Update:  No wonder everyone is I am puzzled!  This is another Canadian / American word difference thing.  In Canada, we use the 'K,' and in the United States you don't.  I live an hour from the US border, so these types of confusing word situations come up a lot.  So, 'K'-Norr it is for me for now and forever more then!

Curried Coconut Chicken Vegetable Soup

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Healthy.  Delicious.  Satisfying.  Orange.  

 

Souper Sunday has arrived early this month...you're welcome!  Here's a goodun' for ya.  Chock full of veggies galore (you've got carrots, cauliflower, onion, and celery in there), flavourful spices (how does a combination of curry powder, ground coriander, cumin, and chili powder sound?), shredded chicken (delicious bite sized chunks...no two pieces the same!) and rich coconut milk (coconut anything and I'm sold...you?), this soup is a keeper.  The Hubby and I have pounded this soup for lunches at work this week.  You can choose to puree some or all of the soup to create a chunky or smooth texture based on your preference.  Don't worry, the chicken gets added in after the pureeing step.  

Spring Equinox Salad with Roasted Beets, Goat Cheese, and Pecans

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Here's a little salad that's perfect for late winter / early spring, and / or for when you have only four days left before you (well, me actually) have to squeeze into a bikini.

I mentioned in my last post that Hubs and I had just been in New Orleans for 10 days, and now we are off to Mazatlan on Friday.  We are officially on a salad-only dinner regime until we leave. New Orleans is one of our favourite cities in the whole world, but low-cal it is not...from all of the deep fried food to the massive portions to the sweet alcoholic drinks, it's hard to come back without a few extra pounds to call your own.

For instance here's The Hubby looking unimpressed by the size of his dinner order, 'Catfish Dinner with a side of fries and onion rings.'

Weeknight No-Brainer BBQ Chicken Salad

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The Hubby and I were recently in New Orleans for ten days for a combination of work and pleasure, and so it's pretty much been deep-fried catfish, and deep-fried shrimp po'boys, and deep-fried french fries and deep-fried chicken, and deep-fried crawfish, and deep-fried bacon (didn't even know this was a thing!), and deep fried chicken wings, and deep fried boudin, and deep-friend beignets, and even deep-fried pickles, jalapeños, and mushrooms.

One time I tried to be healthy and ordered a salad, and the only vegetable on my plate was 11 sprigs of arugula topped with fried green tomatoes, huge croutons, bacon, and a creamy dressing.  Another time The Hubby ordered a 1/2 sandwich, and what arrived was the biggest sandwich I've ever seen in my life.  I told the waitress that there was an error because we only ordered the half-size, to which she laughed and told me that was the half-size.  Makes sense, since it was the size of a small baby.  We were doomed a delicious, delicious fate.  Which leaves my waist-line in a bit of a predicament because The Hubby and I are off to our friend April's wedding at an all-inclusive in Mazatlan in just a little over a week, and I'm pretty sure that appropriate sun-bathing attire isn't my most comfortable pair of extra-large pyjamas.

Butternut Squash, Italian Sausage, and Spinach Pasta

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Secret:  The butternut squash is the sauce.  No, like it actually is the sauce.  Like, there's no tomato sauce, and instead it's butternut squash.  Does that mean it's healthier?  I have no clue.  But tasty?  Oh my gourd, yes!

But, first things first (and I know I'm a little late)...WAY TO GO TEAM CANADA!

This is what Canadians live for!

We had 26 people crammed into our tiny living room to watch Canada win gold over Sweden in Men's Hockey in the Sochi Olympics.  And with a 4am game start time, why wake up early when you can stay up partying all night long?  We didn't crawl into bed until close to 8am, but it was worth it.  Well, except for The Hubby who was sawing logs by the end of the second period after doing a well-executed 'classic slip-out*' exit from the party.  He was discovered minutes later, in our bed, with drool already on the pillow...it was too late to drag him back to the party.

*During a classic slip-out, you must tell no one that you are leaving, and 'slip out' of the room without saying goodbye, for fear of being told by anyone in the room that you are actually, in fact, not allowed to leave because leaving would be super lame.

So, Pinterest is awesome and something I could become easily obsessed with.  Just kidding, I already am obsessed with it.  You can follow me here if you like.  Actually, I have pinned something like 1500+ recipes (with probably a lot of duplicates, because with 1500 recipes who could remember which ones you've laid eyes on before), and have only made a few things.  A couple of weeks ago I challenged myself to make something, anything, from one of my Pinterest boards, and that's when I stumbled upon the Pasta with Butternut Sauce, Spicy Sausage, and Baby Spinach from the Skinny Taste website.  It looked like exactly what I was going to need in my life that night, so I went to my favourite store (COSTCO!!), and picked up some butternut squash, 18 other things that I didn't plan on buying (48 granola bars!  16 cans of soup!  6 boxes of crackers!), and Italian sausage.  I changed up the recipe a little bit, with one of the main differences being that I roasted the squash instead of boiling it in water, which I felt would help to retain more flavour.

Roasted Bell Pepper & Roasted Garlic Soup

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This is going to make your house smell sooooooo gooooood.  I'm jealous of you.

This is the type of soup to make when you buy a big bag of bell peppers from the produce store because you thought you were out, and your husband also buys a big bag of bell peppers the same day because he thought you were out, and then you both get home and you already had a bag of bell peppers in your fridge.  This is a true story of my mom and dad and the dilemma of what to do with too many bell peppers.  Cue a delicious tasting soup that requires eight of these beautiful bells, and a mother/daughter team ready for the challenge while gearing up for a diet (my mom and I made this soup while we were making our diet Detox Water the other day).

Slow Cooker Beef Chili Rice Bowl

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The Hubby put a new cookbook into my Christmas stocking this year - the 'Best of Bridge' Slow Cooker Cookbook. Although this recipe is not from that book, him buying it for me reminded me that a) I have a slow cooker, and b) slow cooking is awesome.

What I don't like is when you have to do a lot of pre-cooking before the slow cooking starts, which just makes me feel like there's no point in finishing things up in the slow cooker in the first place.  What I do like is when you can just throw everything into the slow cooker and press Start.  "Set it and forget it!!" I think people say.  Or maybe that's referring to something else like alarm clocks or my recordings of Real Housewives on the PVR, or each and every single one of my New Years resolutions.  Who knows, but in any event, slow cooking is super easy when all that you have to do is dump stuff into the thing and turn it on.

Detox Water

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Booze free January continues full throttle.  But really, who needs wine and beer when you can have...Detox Water!

Or whatever.

On Sunday I was over at my parents' house and my mom was making this Detox Water, so I joined in on the fun.  It's really simple...you slice up a bunch of fruit and cucumber, throw in some mint, and top it up with water.  The water is meant to aid in digestion, cut fat, help in the absorption of nutrients, suppress appetite (naturally and healthily!), and alkalize the body.   Sounds good to me!  I've been drinking it in the morning before work for a refreshing start to the day.  This is a great way to get 3 of your 8 required glasses of water per day out of the way.  

The other bonus is that I found another use for my mason jars following my disastrous attempt at making pickled beans!  Things happen for a reason?