Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Although the weather outside is reverting to summer temperature, I'm already in fall season cooking mode.  Stews always warm me up and smell so good while they cook.  You can pretty much put any vegetables to your liking in with the beef and it will taste great no matter what! This is our slow cooker version (a mix of my mom's and this recipe) because it's always easier to set it and forget it. Also, since we chose a leaner piece of meat than the usual stew meat, we were able to skip the browning step at the beginning; the beef was still extremely tender and flavourful at the end.

Ingredients
1/4 cup (60mL) all-purpose flour
pinch salt
1 tsp (5mL) black pepper
1/2 tsp (2.5mL) dried thyme
1 1/2-2lbs sirloin tip roast, cubed
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp (5mL) paprika
1 tsp (5mL) Worcestershire sauce
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
4 medium potatoes, washed and cubed
4 carrots, largely sliced
3 celery stalks, largely sliced
2 cups (480mL) mushroom, washed and whole
3 1/2 cups (900mL) no salt beef broth
2 bay leaves

Method
1. In a small bowl mix the flour, salt and black pepper. In a 6-quart slow cooker, coat the beef with the flour mixture.
2. Add the garlic, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onions, potatoes, carrots, celery and mushrooms in the slow cooker. Mix well.
3. Add the broth and the bay leaves.
4. Cook for 10-12 hours on low or 4 to 6 hours on high.

Serves 6.

Beet Soup with Homemade Garlic Croutons

I had leftover cooked beets that were about to go bad and since I have no idea what else to do with beets other than pickle them or make a soup, I made a soup (inspired by this recipe). It's less time consuming and I figured it would go great with my croutons! They add nice flavour and texture to the soup.

How I cook my beets
I remove the greens and the root so the beets become round-ish, and I wrap them up in foil. I cook them directly on the rack at 350 F for 30-75 minutes, depending on the size, or until a fork easily goes through it. A medium beet will take about one hour. I them let them cool for 10 minutes and unwrap them. Now you have two choices to keep your hands clean, you either use a sharp knife and a fork or a pair of medical gloves to remove the skin, it will peel off quite easily. You can keep the beets in the refrigerator for up to a week, incorporating them in salads, soups or eating them on their own as the vegetable in your meal.

My homemade croutons
Preheat your oven at 350 F. Take whatever is left of your stale bread; the better the bread, the better the croutons. Slice and apply margarine or butter to one side of the slice. Now, cut the slices into equally sized cubes. Place the cubes on a cooking sheet with the butter side up, and sprinkle whatever spice you prefer on it. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until golden-brown and crispy.

Ingredients for the soup
7-8 medium beets, cooked
2 potatoes, washed
olive oil
1 medium to large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp yellow curry powder
3 1/2 cups (900mL) no salt beef broth
1 tbsp honey
1 pinch of salt, optional
1 cup milk
chopped chives and croutons as garnish

Method
1. Cube the beets and the potatoes the same size.
2. In a large pot (holding a minimum of 6 liters), heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and curry powder, cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the beets and the potatoes, cook for another 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the broth, the honey and the optional pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat so the soup simmers for about 30-45 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Stir occasionally.
4. When ready, remove the pot from the heat and put it on a heat resistant flat surface. Use a hand blender to puree the soup*. Once smooth, add the milk to thin it out to the desired consistency. 

5. Serve the soup with the croutons and chives as garnish. Enjoy!

Serves 5-6.

*This can also be done in batches in a blender, but the soup has to be cooled first and reheated afterwards. 

Gnocchi on Eggplant Parmesan

I love gnocchi! They can easily replace pasta in any recipe to add a whole new texture to the dish. Unfortunately the ones you buy at grocery stores are quite salty so I set out to make my own. Surfing on the internet I found this Italian man making gnocchi inside his villa. I find he transfers his passion for cooking so well that it makes me want to leave everything behind and just buy a villa in Italy so I can cook all day over a fire. Essentially, I reproduced his gnocchi but with no salt because I was adding bacon to the sauce and sitting them on a bed of eggplant parmesan. Also, just a couple of pointers: when you cut your gnocchi, make sure they size is even and small enough so that they cook thoroughly, a couple of mine were slightly too large.

Ingredients
Gnocchi
1kg potatoes
100g all purpose flour
2 egg yolks
rice flour to roll the gnocchi (I used all purpose flour and they did stick a little but it's no big deal)

Eggplant parmesan
eggplant
olive oil
black pepper
bread crumbs
fresh parmesan aka parmigiano reggiano

Sauce
3 slices bacon, cut up in 1/4-1/2 inch chunks
black pepper
fresh basil, coarsely chopped

Method
1. Preheat oven at 400 F.
2. Peal the potatoes and cut them into cubes. In a large pot, bring the potatoes to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes approx.
3. While the potatoes cook, cut the eggplant in 1/2 inch slices. Starting from the larger side, cut enough for 2-3 slices for each person.
4. On a baking sheet covered with parchement paper, place the slices evenly.  Sprinkle the slices with a bit of oil, flavour with black pepper and cover the whole surface of the eggplant with bread crumbs then grated parmesan (put as much as you want). Set aside.
5. When the potatoes are done, drain and pat them dry. Mash them and allow them to cool enough to be handled with your hands.
6. Cook the eggplants for 15 minutes, and broil for 5 minutes until they are crispy on top.
7. The mashed potatoes should be cooler by now so, in a large bowl, mix them with the egg yolk and the flour to make a dough.
8. Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you cut your gnocchis.
9. On a clean work surface, sprinkle flour and roll out the potato dough in a long sausage - about 3/4-1 inch in diameter. With a sharp knife cut the dough sausage every 1/2 inch or so to make little gnocchi.
10. For the sauce, on medium heat, drizzle a little oil in a pan and throw your bacon chunks.
11. Your water should be boiling by now, so you can place your gnocchis in the boiling water. Let simmer, when they rise to the top they are cooked - it happens pretty fast.
12. You can then remove the gnocchi from the hot water with a slotted spoon for the water to drain, and place them in your pan since the bacon chunks should be cooked. Season with black pepper and gently mix in the chopped basil, be careful not to break the gnocchis.
13. It's time to plate your meal. Whether you put the eggplant slices on top or below the gnocchi, this meal is delicious. Enjoy!

This made enough for 3-4 portions, depending on your appetite.

Pulled Pork Tacos with Bean Salsa

We were looking for something quick and refreshing to do with our leftover pulled pork. We scavenged our pantry and came up with pulled pork tacos topped with a bean salsa. Now that I think about it, a mango salsa (with some red peppers, green onions and balsamic vinaigrette) would have been good, too.

Ingredients
Bean salsa
1 celery stick, cubed
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
1/2 can corn kernels
juice of 1/2 lime
pepper and a tiny pinch of salt
cilantro, minced

8 small whole wheat tortillas
about 2 cups pulled pork
salsa
mozzarella cheese, grated
sour cream or mayonnaise

Method
1. Mix everything from the bean salsa together.
2. During that time, heat up the leftover pulled pork.
3. Make the tacos and enjoy!

Spinach Pasta

This was delicious! As always, of course, because I only showcase our delicious meals and never speak of our in progress recipes. Our inspiration came from Chef John always making béchamel seem easy to make, and he's right! One part butter/margarine, one part flour, fast whisking and then you add as much milk as you want to the consistency you desire. Just check out Chef John's video, you'll see.

Ingredients
225g rigatoni (any type of pasta will do)
3 tbsp margarine
3 tsbp all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
pinch of salt, if not using salted margarine
pinch of cayenne
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/8-1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and patted dry-ish

Method
1. In a medium pot, bring water to a boil to cook the pasta.
2. In the meantime, in a large frying pan, melt the butter on low-medium heat.

3. Once the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk vigorously until combined and no longer clumpy. 

4. Add the milk and keep whisking.

5. Add the spices for flavour.

6. Add the spinach and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

7. Add pasta and mix well.

8. Top with parmesan cheese and serve.

Enjoy!

A Very Spicy Chili

This chilli is pretty quick and mostly necessitates ingredients you have in your pantry. As for the recipe, I tweaked my mom's recipe and I removed the meat to make it vegetarian. There's only one problem if there is no meat, the spice is unbearable! So here's the recipe but with a little less heat than what I used.

Ingredients

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes

1 large carrot, diced

1-2 cans red kidney beans

1 can low sodium corn or 1 1/2 cup frozen corn

1 can low sodium crushed or diced tomatoes

Method

1. On medium-high heat, in a large pot, heat up cooking oil and cook the onions and garlic for 3 minutes. Add in the spices and cook for 3-5 more minutes.

2. Add the the rest of the ingredients in the pot. Let simmer on low-medium for 30 minutes.

3. Serve with sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro. 

If you want to add some ground meat to your chilli, just add about 1/2-1lb at the same time as the onions and garlic.

Almost Perfect Vegan Burger

The summer is here!...Well almost and this meal makes it feel that much closer. We were having our vegan friend over for board game night so we quickly combined chickpea burger recipes from Yummly and Oh She Glows, and came up with the patty you have before you. Although, this patty will not fill a hamburger craving, if you think of it as a whole new meal instead of a meat replacement, it's quite tasty! The only thing is, we have tried a couple of version of this, and the patties just can't stay together when we eat them. Our journey for a crumble free vegan patty continues but, in the meantime, here's what we used.

Ingredients
1 can chickpea, drained
1 medium carrot
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1 small zucchini
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
2 tbsp tahini or peanut butter
1 Chinese eggplant, cooked
1/2-1 cup panko (breadcrumbs)

Method
1. Preheat oven at 400 F.
2. In a food processor, mix everything but the panko.
3. In a medium to large bowl, combine the vegetable-chickpea mush with the bread crumbs. Start with about 1/2 cup of panko and, if need be, add the rest.
4. Form into patties, makes 4-6 depending on the size.
5. Place on baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes, or until they start to brown and are all warm on the inside.

Don't hesitate to use other kinds of vegetables in your patty, you can basically just use leftover vegetables that are about to go bad. For alternate methods of baking, check out the links from Yummly and Oh She Glows.