Zucchini and Tomato Dish

So this blogging thing isn't going over so well... but life always seems to get in the way, and the lack of readers doesn't help much either. I have a bunch of recipes to share with you though, so you can look forward to those over the next week or two.

This is one of my favourite side dishes that my mom always made in the summer. It works great as a side dish, a meal on it's own or even for breakfast! It's simple and delicious.

You can play around with the proportions and seasonings in this recipe.

1 Zucchini 1 Tomato Pat of butter Few shakes of Lemon Pepper Seasoning S&P Parmesan Cheese to finish it off!

Melt a little butter in a frying pan. You will want to use butter or margarine, and not oil because the goal is to soften the vegetables and not 'fry' them.

Slice zucchini, and saute. Season with a few shakes of lemon pepper seasoning, and salt & pepper.

When the Zucchini is almost finished add slices of tomatoes and saute for another minute or two. Don't stir around too much because you don't want the tomatoes to break up too much.

Sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese to finish it off!

Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas

Today I went to the Superstore and attended their free* 'what's for dinner?' cooking class. They made two dishes from the Insiders Report, promoting their products. It was a free class so you really can't blame them. The one recipe that I took away is the Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas. The flavour combination is fantastic, and it makes for a quick and easy meal with a salad on the side.

I am going to post the recipe as it was handed to me, but you will be able to find the same products with a different brand. Unfortunately my camera battery was dead so I wasn't able to get any pictures of this one.

*they have started asking attendants to pay $10 for the class, however, they give you a $10 gift card to use in their store. So essentially it is a free class.

Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas- 2 servings

4 PC Blue Menu Ancient Grains Tortillas
1/4 cup PC Blue Menu Spicy Black Bean Dip
1/2 cup PC Blue Menu Peaches and Cream Canned Corn, drained
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 Chicken Breast (OPTIONAL- I added the chicken to make it more suitable for dinner)

1. Season and Grill or Bake Chicken, chop or shred into tiny pieces.
2. Place two tortillas flat on work surface. Divide black bean dip between them, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with corn, chicken (optional), then cheese. Place the other two tortillas on top, pressing down.
3. The recipe says to heat the Quesadillas in a frying pan, but I prefer to do it in the oven. If you are making a bunch of them it is quicker to pop them on a cookie sheet, spritz each side with canola oil cooking spray and bake all together at 350 until cheese has melted and tortillas are crisp.

Jack Daniel's Real Deal Onion Dip

In celebration of the Superbowl tonight I have decided to attempt at making a real onion dip. This one from the Cooking with Jack cookbook intrigued me. The dip IS good, but I'm not sure if it is worth the effort required to make it. I almost think that ripping open a packet of onion soup and mixing it with sour cream and yogurt is sufficient. I do however, recommend that you try this yourself and see how you like it.

The Real Deal Onion Dip
Cooking with Jack - Makes about 2 1/2 Cups

6-8 Slices of Bacon
3 Cups Chopped Onion (approx 2-3 Onions)
1 Tbsp sugar
1/3 Cup Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 Cup Yogurt
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Hot Pepper Sauce, to taste

1. Cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon from your pan with a slotted spoon leaving behind the fat. Set aside.


2. Cook the diced onion in the bacon fat slowly over medium-low heat until browned (approx. 20 mins). Stir in the sugar and whiskey, allow to cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 5 mins. Allow onion mixture to cool.


3. Combine the yogurt and sour cream with the onion mixture, add salt & pepper and a few dashes of hot sauce. I also decided to add a few shakes of garlic powder to elevate the flavour a bit. Store covered in the refrigerator.

4. Sprinkle with reserved bacon bits, and serve with chips, crackers or veggies.

Herb Roasted Pork Loin

I made this recipe last week and was impressed with it. I do have to say though, there are a few things I would change if I make it again. First of all, the cooking time in the recipe is off. I used a smaller piece of pork and still found it needed more time than what was reccomended in the oven. And second, for me personally, I found the dijon to be too over powering. I don't like spice, so the dijon was a but much for me. My friend Rachelle suggests mixing the dijon with sour cream for all of the flavour and none of the heat. I will try that next time, or possibly use honey mustard instead.


With all of that said, the pork did turn out nicely. And the smell of the herbs in the oven was to die for. I couldn't wait to dig in! The gravy that goes a long with the roast was perfect and added the extra oomph to the roast. This would make a good meal for a dinner party. It is very pretty too.


In case you are interested in trying it out for yourself here is the link to the recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Herb-Roasted-Pork-Loin-352314.



Along side the roasted pork loin, I tried a recipe for Maple Dijon Carrots. It was a quick and easy way to dress up carrots.


1lb carrots , trimmed, peeled and sliced diagonally
1 tbsp margarine or butter
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp fresh parsely, chopped (optional)

1. place carrots in a saucepan and add just enough water to cover. bring to a boil and cook over medium-high head for 6 mins until tender-crisp.
2. drain carrots, then return to saucepan and toss with margarine, dijon, and maple syrup to heat through.
3. garnish with fresh parsely if desired. serve immediately.

2010

We are already 17 days into 2010, and my how they have flown by.

2009 was a horrible year for me, it seemed so promising in it's early days, then it all went down hill. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. I will spare you the details, but tell you that it all began when I was laid off from my first real job- my career.

So this year, 2010, I am going to make this MY year. I want to become a better person, I feel as if I have lost myself in the past couple of years and I would like to reunite with my inner self. On this journey I am hoping to change my lifestyle for the better. Become more active, get fit, and finally lose the weight that my mother reminds me about every time I see her. I am also hoping to land my dream job for the second time... hopefully this time I will get to keep it!

After posting yesterday about the Boeuf Bourguignon I realised that I don't have a Dutch Oven... so I think that recipe will have to wait until I get one. I really want to make Julia Child's version... and make it exactly as the recipe calls! I bought a pork loin, so I am going to have a look around and see what kind of recipe I can find for that. I'm going to check Jamie Oliver and Martha Stewart's websites and see what they have to offer.

Julie & Julia

Last night I watched the new movie Julie & Julia. I am feeling motivated to start my own food blog... I however am not as ambitious as Julie Powell. I cannot commit to 524 recipes in one year. But, I have been wanting to try out at least one new recipe a week. Maybe I will start with that, see how it goes.

Where shall I start??? I am really craving Julia Child's Boef Bourguignon after watching the movie. Maybe that will be my first.

Oh-la-la-sagna

After a long, rainy, and gloomy week I was ready for some comfort food so I made some lasagna. I'm trying to work on eating more healthy so I changed the recipe around a bit to make it healthier. I did this by making a fresh, homemade sauce with pureed vegetables (pureed so that my boyfriend who detests vegetables would eat it), and I also used whole wheat noodles and tried to use less cheese.

Oh-la-la-sagna (adapted from Eat, Shrink & Be Merry)

3-4 sausage links, casing removed and crumbled
1 package extra lean ground beef
1 onion diced
2-3 cloves of garlic diced
1 Can crushed or diced tomatoes
1 Carrot, grated
1/2 zucchini, grated
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp each of oregano, basil, and parsely, OR use Italian Seasoning
Salt & Pepper
2 cups, Ricotta Cheese
1 egg
1/4 - 1/2 cup Spinach
1-1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella (I used shredded Kraft 4 Cheese Italiano shredded cheese and added some cheedar)
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Package whole wheat lasagna noodles

Makes one 9 x 13 pan, serves 10 people. (Since there is only two of us I like to fill two loaf pans and freeze one of them for later.)

• In a pan, brown the ground beef, and sausage meat (remove casings and crumble) with 1/2 the onions and garlic. If you do not like onions you can save all of them for the sauce.
• 
• In a pot, simmer crushed tomatoes, grated zucchini and carrot, balsamic vinegar, remaining onions & garlic, red pepper flakes, basil, oregano, parsley , and chicken stock for 15- 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, boil a pot of water and cook lasagna noodles until el dente (about 8 mins).
• Take an immersion blender and puree the sauce until smooth (this may take a few minutes). Season with salt & pepper to taste.
  
• At this point you can combine the sauce with the meat. I only added a little bit of the sauce to the meat because Sam doesn't like a 'saucy' lasagna, and reserved the remaining sauce to spread in the layers.
• Combine ricotta with 1/2 cup of parmsean cheese, egg, and spinach.
  

• In the bottom of your pan spread some of the sauce (this is where I just used the remaining sauce, but you can use the meat mixture here too).
• Layer with noodles, spread noodles with a little sauce and 1/2 of the meat mixture. Top the meat mixture with 1/3 of the cheese.

• Add a new layer of noodles and spread a little sauce (if you reserved some on the side) and spread with the ricotta mixture.
• Add a new layer of noodles and layer with remaining meat mixture & 1/3 mozzarella cheese.
• For the final layer, add noodles, spread with a small amount of sauce and top with the remaining mozzarella and some Parmesan cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until the cheese browns. Let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes before serving.