Berry Bread Pudding

I love the idea of bread pudding: using an item that you thought was past in prime and transforming it into a nice dessert. I have to say that sometimes, I find bread pudding a bit on the soggy side of things. This recipe is not. The secret is very small bread pieces and the lack of milk. No milk and no eggs, it is quite cheap to make.


Ingredients

3/4 cup of butter or margarine
4 cups of diced bread, 1/2 inch dices
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups of fresh or frozen berries of your choice
2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup brown sugar, well packed.


1. Preheat oven to 350 F

2. Melt your butter or margarine. Put your bread chunks in a large bowl. Add sugar and cinnamon. Add the melted butter. Mix gently and make sure your bread is completely coated with butter.

3. In a medium bowl, mix your berries, lemon juice and the brown sugar.

4. In a greased 7 by 11 inch dish, Add half the bread mix and top with half of the berry mix. Repeat this step.

5. Plop in the oven for 25 minutes. Eat either warm or room temperature.

Chicken Noodle Soup

My chicken noodle soup with fusilli

A timeless classic! Yet, lets not kid ourselves, most of us don't run to our cookbook when we want to use up our leftover chicken in this heart-warming soup. I have decided to put this up simply because everyone needs a starting point when they begin their cooking adventure. This is my very own soup, and I think is a good base for every new amateur cook to start with and build-up on.


Ingredients

1 tbls olive oil or butter
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 carrot, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
1 cup cooked chicken, diced
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried savory
1 bay leaf
8 cups chicken broth
1 to 2 cups of uncooked pasta, I prefer fusilli


1. On medium heat, heat the oil in your favourite pot. Add the leek, carrot and celery. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring gently now and then.

2. Add the cooked chicken, the stock as well as the herbs. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, partially cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Add the uncooked noodles and let simmer until cooked

4. Serve. Pass the salt and pepper at the dinner table.

Barbecue Wings, with a kick

As some of you may know, our family has a small tradition of Finger Food Friday, a day where we get to indulge in what I would normally feel guilty of feeding our family. Last week, I decided to make some chicken wings as I had bought a rather large pack at Costco on a previous trip. I was waiting for a "special occasion" but I just couldn't wait any longer. So here is my slow cooker recipe for these barbecue wings that do have a bit of a kick. Although I love buffalo wings, my significant other does not. He does really enjoy these though and I think that they make a nice alternative if you are hosting game night or if you just want to stuff yourself silly and not want to die of heartburn.

The Recipe

About 5 pounds of chicken wings
2 1/4 cup  ketchup
1/4 hot sauce (I use Frank's Red Hot, feel free to use your favourite and add some more if you want it   spicier)
2/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup plus 2 tbs honey
1/2 cup molasses
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp chili powder


1. Remove the tips of the wings and discard. Grease two large baking pans and place chicken. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn them and bake for an additional 20 -25 minutes. the juices should run clear.

2. In the second half of baking time, prepare your barbecue sauce. Mix all remaining ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil . Reduce heat and let simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes.

3. Drain your wings and add a third of them to a 6 qt slow cooker (optional size IMO). Cover with one cup of the sauce. Repeat this two times. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Stir and serve.

The Verdict


The idea of giving my own a recipe a verdict seems a bit off, so maybe this is just a little heads up. If you like your wings very crunchy, you might be disappointed as they have just cooked in a lot of sauce for a couple of hours. You could place them on a baking sheet and put them in the oven just so that they become crispier. I personally love that they are dripping with sauce, just make sure to have napkins on the table ;)

Jambalaya

After baking a turkey for two adults and two young children, one is left with ALOT of leftovers. In an attempt to find pleasant dishes to make with the remaining meat without eating chicken sandwiches for an entire week, I tried The Good Home Cookbook's Jambalaya. I was pleasantly surprised with how well this turned out and how Wednesday didn't feel like leftover night.

The Recipe

2 slices of bacon
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 medium celery ribs, also diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups long-grain white rice (I had basmati)
2 tbl tomato paste
4 cups chicken broth
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomato (I used a 28 ounce can)
2 dashes of hot sauce, such as Tabasco
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 pound smoked ham, diced (I traded this for 2 Italian sausages)
2 c cooked chicken or turkey, shredded or diced
2 c cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used one of those shrimp crowns, they were on sale)
1/4 fresh parsley (that I forgot)
salt and pepper to taste


1. Cook the bacon (and sausage meat if you prefer it to ham) in a large skillet (If you have a large skillet with a lid, I suggest you use that one) over medium heat until the bacon is crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel to drain.

2. Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic to the bacon fat, and sauté 5 minutes, until softened.

3. Add the rice and tomato paste to your skillet and sauté until the tomato paste darkens to a mahogany colour, about 4 minutes. Stir in the broth, the can of tomatoes, hot pepper sauce, thyme and the bay leaf. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle boil and cook until the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

4. Uncover and add the ham (or sausage), chicken, shrimp and parsley. Replace the cover and let stand for 15 minutes.

5. Fluff the rice with a fork. Crumble the bacon and mix in. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add hot sauce to taste. Remove the bay leaf and serve


The Verdict


I only had jambalaya once before in my life. I am in no way an expert on american cuisine, but this tasted very good. It had a nice spiceness and a great variety of flavours. My boyfriend loved it, but  the idea of rice not being white was weirding my kid out and he didn't touch his plate.

I must say though that the list of ingredients is a bit long for a leftover dish. Unless you had a Christmas buffet recently or you planned this one ahead of time, it's not prepared with staple items that everyone keeps on hand at all times. So even though it is a delicious and great way to pass your leftover chicken, you might be disappointed if you decide to throw this together last minute. In fact, that's part of the reason why I had never made jambalaya before. I am definitely glad that I took the time to add this to my meal plan

Jalapeño Pot Roast

This recipe came to me from Stephanie O'Dea's book Make It Fast, Cook It slow. This book is the first that I purchased after receiving my slow cooker about 2 years ago. I have never regretted my purchase and I invite you to check out her blog where she keeps her recipes. I have to say that some recipes were a total disaster, but not the one that follows!

I made this recipe on our anniversary which I had totally forgotten until my boyfriend mentioned it on the morning walk to work. I had planned leftovers for that night and figured that our anniversary deserved better. I rummaged through my freezer and found an expensive cut that I had purchased a few weeks ago when it was on sale. I usually cook my roast beef  in the oven and cringed at the idea of throwing it in the slow cooker, like some cheap piece of meat. But I had no time to defrost, so in there it went, still frozen. So here it goes.


 The Recipe

3 pound chuck roast ( or whatever you have and it can be frozen)
1 (10 ounces) can of cream of something soup (I added 2 cans of cream of mushroom)
2 to 4 tablespoons of jarred jalapeño slices
1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, drained and rinsed (I added red kidney beans)
1 yellow onion, sliced in rings
1 to 2 cups of plain yoghurt or sour cream( I added Greek-style plain yoghurt)


1. Use a 4 qt slow cooker. Put in the meat and add your cream-of whatever soup, the jalapeños, the black beans, as well as the onion slices. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

2. After the meat has cooked, remove it using tongs. Scoop out a cup of the liquid and put it into a mixing bowl with the yoghurt or sour cream. Mix well. Pour the mixture back into the crock and stir to completely dissolve the yoghurt or sour cream. Slice the meat , return to crock and proceed to serve.


The Results


This is a nice alternative to the traditional slow cooker roast. It has a nice spiciness but you can easily choose the spice factor with  the amount of jalapeños and yoghurt that you add. My boyfriend really liked it, as well as my two year old that ate all his meat for the first time in his life.

I enjoyed that all the ingredients were in my pantry and fridge. I keep jarred jalapeños for the days when I feel like making nachos or sandwiches and this was a new way to enjoy them. As for cream-of-something, it is a staple that most people keep on hand. If you prefer home-made, the author suggests to use two cups of your own cream-of-whatever. I must add that my second can of cream of mushroom soup was not necessary. When I was preparing the dish, I thought it looked a bit naked so I just threw an extra one, but one simple can would have suffice.

However, the can of black beans was unnecessary. Sure if you are looking to add beans in your diet, it can be interesting, but I didn't think that it belonged in the dish. It just felt like she had an extra can of beans which she added. So if you don't have beans on hand, or your family doesn't enjoy them, feel free to omit.

I will make this again, but with a cheaper cut so I feel less guilty. We had the leftover in a sandwich on onion bread, it was great!

Pork Goulash with Sauerkraut

As a lover of Goulash, this recipe in Donna-Marie Pye's Canada's Best Slow Cooker called out to me. As pork is often on sale but I have few recipes that I absolutely love, it seemed necessary to at least try it out. I also appreciate the idea of adding sauerkraut, because I think that it's the bee's knees. If you can't stand the thought of sauerkraut, you can simply omit as the author indicates in her book.

The Recipe
1 tbs oil
1  2lb pork roast (shoulder), cut in 1 1/2 inch cubes
2 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 sweet paprika (if you only have hot paprika on hand, half this quantity)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
19 oz can of sauerkraut (can be replaced by fresh sauerkraut)
19 oz can diced tomatoes, with their juice
1 c beef broth
1 c sour cream ( I usually use natural Turkish yoghurt)
   cooked and hot egg noodles to serve
   extra sour cream, optional and also for serving


1. In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Add the cubes of pork, the onion as well as the garlic. Brown meat on all sides, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the paprika , salt and pepper and cook one minute extra.

2. With a slotted spoon, add the contents of the skillet in the slow cooker. Add the sauerkraut, the can of tomatoes, and the broth, Place the lid and cook on slow for 8-10 hours or on high, 4-6 hours. The meat should be tender.

3.Place your slow cooker on low. Add the sour cream and cook for five additional minutes. Serve on the warm egg noodles with a dollop of additional sour cream.


The Verdict

I've made this twice since I typed out the ingredients about a month ago. My first time, I doubled the portions and went a little overboard on the sauerkraut. My can was too big, I was lazy, so I just dumped everything in there instead of putting the leftovers in a Tupperware. The taste of sauerkraut was a bit overwhelming and it tasted more like a paprika enhanced sauerkraut than a meat dish.
Therefore, I decided to  retry using the real ratios.

I'm going to sound wishy-washy, forgive me. I don't hate it, but I don't love it as much as I hoped I would. Perhaps, if I had had less hopes for this recipe, I would have appreciated it more. It was a nice switch from my regular goulash; sauerkraut gives it a nice depth of flavour and the tomatoes really lighten the dish. However, I would never trade in my recipe of regular goulash for this one. I like having this recipe at hand for special occasions or for when I crave sauerkraut (because I do have huge sauerkraut cravings), but my regular goulash that is robust and meaty, has nothing to fear.

Another negative aspect of this recipe is that it doesn't freeze well if you add the sour cream as indicated in the last step. The sour cream will separate and curdle when it defrosts, something that I hadn't even thought about when I  put my extras in the freezer. Let's just say, that even though it still tastes okay, it looks awful and I was the only one that accepted to eat leftovers.

So all-in-all, an interesting take on a great dish BUT that doesn't surpass the original, unfortunately.

Slow Cooker Salmon Meatloaf

Earlier this month, my boyfriend and I had decided to include more fish in our diet. I was glad because I love fish and decided that I wanted to have good slow cooking fish recipes. While glancing through Judith Finlayson's The Healthy Slow Cooker, I found a recipe for salmon meatloaf. I thought the concept was interesting and since I had everything on hand, I gave it a try.

The Recipe

1 tbs oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 branches of celery, finely chopped

8oz of mushrooms, finely chopped

1/2 tsp tarragon (I didn't have any, so I substituted for thyme)

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

3 eggs

2 tbs fresh lemon juice

2 213g (7 1/2 oz) cans of salmon 

1/2 c fresh parsley (i didn't have that either)

3/4 c breadcrumbs 

warm tomato sauce, for serving (optional)

1.In a skillet, heat oil on medium heat. Add the onion, celery and mushrooms. Cook and stir once every so often for about 5 minutes, or until the celery is tender. Add tarragon and pepper, cook for a minute while stirring. Remove from heat

2.In a large bowl, beat the eggs and lemon juice. Add the salmon (she suggest leaving the bones and skin in, I removed both; there is nothing I hate more than picking out skeleton pieces in my plate). Break the salmon in pieces with a fork. Add the mushroom mix from the last step, the parsley and the breadcrumbs. Mix well. If you see the mix is too wet, add in one tbs of breadcrumbs at a time. (I added at least 3 tbs and then got tired of adding some in, and thought good enough).

3. Fold a long piece of aluminium (she suggests 2 feet long) in half, lengthwise. Place it in the bottom of your slow cooker and bring the edges of the paper up the sides of the recipient. Make a loaf with your salmon mixture and place it on the bottom in the middle of your slow cooker.

4. Cook it on low for 4-5 hours or on high 2-2.5 hours, or until the loaf is cooked. With the help of the aluminium foil, lift and slide your loaf to a serving plate and cut the loaf. Add the tomato sauce, if using.


The Verdict


This tasted nice, a bit like seafood stuffing. I had made a sauce with cream cheese, thyme and chicken broth to go with it, which was a winner. I would make it again but not if I was receiving fancy company for the sole reason that it didn't hold so well and looked like cat food.  My boyfriend said it didn't look THAT much like cat food, but it's the first impression I had. Perhaps if I had continued adding breadcrumbs, I would not have had this issue.

I liked that it didn't take much time to cook, so if ever I ran out of time in the morning to make supper, I could always count on this . But its short time could also be a problem e.g. if you have to prepare your meal before leaving for work.

I also liked that it uses up canned salmon. I always have some, but I can't say that I have many recipes that uses it in comparison to fresh salmon.  So all in all, I think it's an interesting and useful recipe,  but I won't be feeding it to the Queen of England.