Nacho Casserole

Ok ladies and gents, this is a fly by the seat of my pants creation.  So if you're expecting an exact recipe this is not the post for you.  But, if you are expecting a description of how I created tonight's yummolicious dinner then this post is exactly for you!

The decision of what to make for dinner tonight was more of a challenge than it should have been.  I spent the day at work and just wanted something easy when I came home. Unfortunately for me I am running low in the grocery department.  Random bits and pieces I have, but actual things to make a cohesive meal? Not so much.

I opened my cupboard and spied a bag of nacho chips, a jar of tomato sauce and a can of corn.  I also knew I had a small package of ground beef in the freezer.  I was pretty certain I could create something out of these things, so off I went.

Preheat oven to 325F

1) Brown ground beef in pan.
2) Drain off fat.
3) Add can of corn and a can of mushrooms
4) In separate bowl mix together a few spoon fulls of mayo (the tangy Miracle Whip stuff, not the legit mayo), a healthy pour of tomato sauce (see, told you this wouldn't be exact), a sprinkle of paprika, cayenne and chilli powder.
5) Pour mayo mixture over ground beef, stir.
6) In bottom of baking dish crumble nacho chips - just sort of break up the chips so they lay flatter in the dish, but don't mulch them up too much
7) Pour the beef-mayo mixture over the nachos
8) Bake at 325 for 15-20mins
9) Remove from oven, top with grated cheese of your choice (I used white cheddar)
10) Return to oven for another 5mins to melt cheese

11) Place heaping piles of this delightfulness into bowls 
12) Enjoy!

Stuffed Mushroom Caps with Roasted Veggies

I again was in the mood to cook today.  I always enjoy cooking but there are some days when I just *want* too cook.  And today was definitely one of those days.

I made a trip to the Farmer's Market yesterday and came home with carrots, beets, milk, cheese and a bottle of wine.  A well rounded trip if I do say so myself!

I knew I wanted to roast the beets and carrots and wanted something to go with them.  I made a trip to the grocery store to see what grabbed my attention.  And then there they were, portobello mushroom caps.  And there, my friends, was the inspiration for dinner this evening.

The Mushrooms

6-8 mushroom caps
5-6 garlic cloves, minced
half a large onion, minced
1 carrot, grated
8-10 asparagus spears, chopped into half inch size pieces
1-1.5 cups broccoli florets cut up into small pieces
1 package ground sausage meat (I used mild)
olive oil
cheese

Preheat oven to 425

-Prepare mushroom caps. Scoop out the ribs and remove the stem.  Place in baking dish, stem side up.
-Brown sausage meat in pan over medium heat
-Throw all the veggies and garlic in a separate pan with a splash of olive oil and cook until onions are soft and broccoli is cooked through
-Combine the sausage with the veggies
-Scoop mixture into the mushroom caps
-Bake in oven 12-15minutes
-Top with grated cheese, place back in oven until cheese melts

The Veggies

1 small bag of baby potatoes
1-2 onions, quartered
12 carrots (the bunches you can buy with the tops still on); or as many as required to feed your party
12 beets

-Remove tops from beets. Place in a foil pouch with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Bake at 425 for 40mins.
-Prepare veggies, place in baking dish with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Bake at 425 25mins.
-Remove beets from oven, allow to cool enough to handle to remove the skins. Place beets in same dish as rest of veggies.  Return to oven, bake an additional 15mins.

Garlic Chicken with Zucchini "chips" and Asparagus

It's dinner time!

Admittedly my eating habits have been kinda, well, not good.  I've been a smidge on the busy side so unfortunately many of my meals of come via a window and wrapped in wax paper.  Hey, its better than not eating, right?  Or is it?  Ok ok, don't judge me.

As I was leaving work I realized I was craving real food.  Food that once grew in the ground and meat that was recognizable.  After a quick stop at the grocery store (why is it you can never walk in there and make it out without buying a dozen other things that weren't on your list?) I was home to make some din-din.

The menu this evening: Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken with Oven-Fried Zucchini "chips" and Cheesy Asparagus.

Oh, I know.

It was every bit as delish as it sounds!

The zucchini had a lightly crisp outside with a tender, almost creamy inside. 
The asparagus was just delightful.  I like mine still with a bit of bite left, and these were perfect.
The chicken was flavorful, tender and moist.

A pretty yummy supper if I do say so myself!

The Chicken:

4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tbl spoons brown sugar
3 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 500F

-In a small saute pan, saute garlic with oil until tender
-Remove from heat
-Stir in brown sugar
-Place chicken breasts in baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray
-Cover chicken with brown sugar mixture
-Bake 20-30mins, or until done

The Zucchini:
(I winged this recipe so I don't have exact measurements for what I used)

Flavored breadcrumbs (I used italian)
Parmesan cheese
Zucchini
Salt & Pepper

-slice zucchini into rounds
-mix bread crumbs, parmesan, salt and pepper together
-coat rounds in crumb mixture
-place on baking sheet

I threw these in the oven at the same time as the chicken, and they were done at pretty well the same time

The Asaparagus:

Asparagus
Cheese of your choosing
Salt and Pepper

-place asparagus in grill pan (fry pan will work too) with a splash of olive oil
-cook over medium until done
-sprinkle with finely grated cheese (I used Old White Cheddar)

And voila!  Dinner!

Now, if you're not a fan of sweet I would suggest going with half the amount of brown sugar on the chicken and adding a splash of soy sauce to balance out the sweet.

Or add a bit of chili sauce to give it a punch of heat!

Or leave it as is, because really it is kinda fabulous on its own.

Jus'sayin.

A stroll through Nova Scotia wine country

Yes, for those who aren't aware Nova Scotia does in fact have a thriving wine industry.  No, we're not quite up to Napa Valley standards, but we're holding our own and have produced some lovely, award winning wines.

Up until just a few years ago I was not a wine lover.  I wasn't even a liker.  Wine seemed snooty to me.  But oh how wrong I was.  And then I discovered Nova Scotia was producing wine.  I fully admit my first thought was "oh, this stuff can't be that good".  Again, I stand corrected.

I had only tried 3 Nova Scotia wines: 2 from Grand Pre (Muscat & Reserve L'Acadie)  and one from Jost (Eagle Tree Muscat). The Muscat from Grand Pre is, thus far, my favorite wine.  I was not at all a fan of their l'Acadie.  And the Eagle Tree was purchased on a whim when my local NSLC didn't carry my beloved Muscat.  Turns out it wasn't a bad purchase!

A wine tour was arranged with some folks from work.  We all piled into a shuttle bus and off we went.  I was sad to learn Grand Pre wasn't on our list of wineries to visit.  On our list was L'Acadie Vineyard,
Luckett Vineyards and Blomidon Estate Winery.

First stop: L'Acadie Vineyard. These folks are award winning producers of sparkling wines.  They are also the only vineyard in Nova Scotia to be certified organic.  For anyone who follows/knows about sparkling wine making they make their wines following traditional methods: the fermentation takes place in the same bottle the wine is sold in.
L'Acadie Vineyard's 2007 Prestige Brut was a silver medal winner at Effervescents du Monde, Best Sparkling Wines in the world in Dijon, France.  For a small Nova Scotian vineyard this is quite an accomplishment.  And let me tell you for someone who is not a sparkling wine fan this was delicious!  Light, fine bubbles, not overly sweet but just sweet enough.  While I did not buy a bottle I will stop in on my next visit to the valley to pick one up.

Next stop: Luckett Vineyard.  These guys are the new kid in town.  They were only established in 2010.  One thing is certain:  their grapes have a fantastic view. 
Now, anyone who knows Pete Luckett (of Pete's Frootique) knows he tends to do things well  and with a touch of quirkiness thrown in for good, fun, measure.  And the same holds true for his vineyard: how many vineyards have you seen with a bright red phone booth planted in the middle? 
We were able to sample several of their wines: whites- Tidal Bay and Ortega to name a few; reds-I'm not a red fan so I skipped out on these ones; dessert- Juliet cherry, Vidal icewine, sparkling apple and blackcurrant among others. 
As soon as I heard they had a cherry wine I HAD to try it.  I love cherries. LOVE.  I am always disappointed when something is said to taste like cherry (or strawberry or whatever) but doesn't.  But this? This tasted like cherries.  It is pretty sweet, but it is a dessert wine after all.  After one sip I knew I was not going to walk out of there without bringing a bottle home with me.  It was worth the $25 for the bottle.

We all hopped back on the bus headed for our next, and final stop.  Then I heard a rumor.  Is it true?  Are we really making a quick stop at Grand Pre?

We are!

Oh how happy this makes my heart.

We unloaded and all 14 of us descended upon the wine shop.  I'm pretty sure the staff didn't know what hit them.  But we all started buying stuff.  I, of course, a bottle of their Muscat.  I was happy to see I could buy it for $5 less than i usually get it in store.  Happy times!
While this wasn't on our wine tour itinerary the lovely folks at Grand Pre were nice enough to supply us with some samples anyway.

Our final stop was at Blomidon Estate Winery.  These folks also have a great view over the Minas Basin.  Their grapes are lucky grapes.
Again we got a variety of samples.  I also skipped out on the reds, not being a big fan myself.  I did try their Tidal Bay white and a rose.  Their Tidal Bay is delightful and of the ones we tried throughout the day this was my favorite.  While I did not buy a bottle I certainly will.

There you have it, ladies and gents. While there is more to Nova Scotia wine country than what I have noted here this gives you a quick snapshot of what our lovely province has to offer.  So, the next time someone mentions a Nova Scotia wine, give it a try.  I guarantee you'll find something out there you'll fall in love with.  Like Grand Pre's Muscat.  Jus'sayin.

Salmon & Avocado Burger

Happy Weekend, all!
Yes, I realize it is Sunday and the weekend is pretty well over.  Nonetheless, I do hope you enjoyed it and the weather treated you all well, where ever you were.

I realized today that I have been eating far too much pasta lately.  Don't get me wrong I love me some pasta.  LOVE.  But when you realize you've been eating pasta more nights than not it is time to shake things up a bit.

I came across some recipes lately for salmon burgers.  Interesting.  But I couldn't quite find one that I liked.  I found I was liking bits and pieces from each recipe but didn't find one, as a whole, that I liked.  So, I picked a bit from here and a bit from there and this is what I ended up with:

The Burger:

Salmon Filets
1 egg beaten
1 green onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp flax meal
2 tbsp finely chopped dill
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 avocado, diced
Dash of your favorite chili sauce

Remove and discard skin from salmon. Chop into 1/2-in pieces, transfer to large bowl. Stir in egg, onion, flax, dill, lemon juice and salt.  Gently stir in avocado.

Heat large nonstick frying pan over medium.  Give the pan a quick spritz with cooking spray.  Pile in a heaping 1/2c measure of the mixture into the pan.  Form and press into 1-in thick patty.  Repeat process.  Do not over crowd the pan.

Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, 3-4mins.  Flip and continue cooking until cooked through, approx 3mins longer.

Top with peach salsa.  Serve on traditional burger bun, or on grainy bread.

Tips: the next time I make this I'll skip the chopping of the salmon.  The piles just didn't stay formed as patties.  They all sort of just came apart.  Next time, I'll just cut my salmon filets into individual portions and cook that way.  I'll also go a little heavier on the chili sauce.



The Wing Man....

Roasted Potato and Vegetable Salad

2-3 lbs potatoes cut into chunks
1 med onion, chopped
1 red pepper cut into strips
1 can corn
3 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
salt and pepper

The dressing:

2tbsp Apple Cider vinegar
2tbsp canola oil
2tsp dijon mustard

Combine first 5 ingredients, leaving out the corn for now
Bake at 400 for 25mins until edges start to turn brown


Remove from oven, add can of drained corn
Cook an additional 15mins





Toss with dressing.  Serve.