Minestrone Soup

I've been trying to explore vegetarian dishes lately. I came a upon the minestrone soup, we always ate the Habitant brand when I was a kid so I decided to revisit that childhood classic. After searching the web and finding a multitude of recipes, I came up with a sort of winter version of it. It was a low maintenance complete meal soup that you can leave and come back to. It's also packed with nutrients! What's not to love?

Ingredients
Canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1/2-1 tbsp (7-15 mL) ground black pepper
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 pinch of salt, optional*
1 can (540 mL) cannellini beans, unsalted, rinsed and drained
1 can (800 mL) diced tomatoes, unsalted
1 tbsp (15 mL) tomato paste, unsalted
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
4 cups (1000 mL) chicken broth
1 cup (240 mL) kale, shredded
1/2 cup (120 mL) baby shells or macaroni elbow pasta
Fresh Parmesan, grated, as garnish

Method
1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, celery and carrots, season with black pepper, parsley and a pinch of salt. Cook until onions are almost translucent; since there are a lot of vegetables, it can take up to 10-12 minutes.
2. Stir in beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, sweet potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, then cover and let simmer on lower heat until vegetables are almost tender - about 45 to 60 minutes depending on the size of your diced vegetables. Add broth or water at any time if the liquid goes below the solids and it starts to look more like a stew than a soup.
3. Stir in kale and pasta. Let simmer for another 20-30 minutes or until your pasta is ready.
4. Serve hot with grated fresh Parmesan as garnish. Enjoy!

Serves 8.

*Suggested if you use unsalted canned beans and tomatoes.

Vegetarian Omelette with a Sweet Potato Crust

This is what happens when your vegetarian friend comes over for supper and Pinterest collide : a delicious omelette! This recipe is vegetarian and does not need the meat to satisfy your hunger or your taste buds, but bacon lovers could easily add in bacon pieces while the onions and mushrooms cook at the beginning. Lastly, I used the ingredients I had at home but they can easily be altered like a shredded carrot, asparagus and strong cheddar omelette with a potato crust, and dill as the main herb.

Ingredients
1 sweet potato, peeled
Black pepper

olive oil
6-8 mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 tsp (5-10 mL) smoked paprika
1/2-1 tsp (2-5 mL) oregano

Black pepper

1 pinch of salt

3 tbsp (45 mL) vegetable broth or white wine

10 eggs

1/2 cup (120 mL) milk

Black pepper

1 cup (240 mL) spinach, chopped

100g/3/4 cup, shredded mozzarella

Fresh Parmesan, optional

Method

1. Preheat oven at 375 F.

2. Grease 9"x9" ovenproof dish.

3. Thinly slice sweet potato in medallions. Place medallions in ovenproof dish, cover the bottom and the sides with the sweet potato - it's okay if there are holes between the slices and it's okay if you decide to double the crust on the bottom. Season with black pepper. Place in oven on middle rack while you prepare the rest of the omelette - don't worry if the oven is not fully preheated yet.

4. In a skillet on medium heat, cook onions and mushrooms in a little oil. Season as it cooks with paprika, oregano, black pepper and a pinch of salt. When the onions are almost translucent, use the broth or wine to deglaze the skillet and let onions become translucent before you take it off the heat.

5. During that time, in a medium bowl, beat eggs and milk. Season with black pepper or any other spice you like.

6. Take the sweet potato crust out of the oven, it will not be fully cooked and some slices might have curved a bit but that doesn't matter. Carefully pour the egg mixture on the sweet potatoes. Add the mushrooms and onions, ensure they are well distributed throughout the omelette. Spread the spinach on top - they will sink a little or you can push them down slightly with a fork. Sprinkle the shredded cheese and Parmesan on top. Place in hot oven for 40-50 minutes, or once the middle no longer wiggles when you shake it slightly.

7. Once cooked, take out the omelette, let cool for 5 minutes and serve. I would suggest serving it with roasted sweet potatoes and root vegetables that you seasoned and cooked at the same time as the omelette. Enjoy!

Serves 4-6.

Pasta with a Mushroom, Shrimp and Red Wine Sauce

I was hungry for pasta but had only shrimps and mushrooms at home, and did not want to face the cold to go buy more food. This recipe is what I came up with after I opened a bottle of red wine and surfed the net. It was delicious and more simple than I thought to cook. It can also easily be modified depending on what you had at home; might I suggest a shrimps, leeks and white wine sauce. My final recommendation is that when you choose wine for cooking, don't choose a wine you wouldn't drink or it will ruin your dish.

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 container (227g) mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, minced
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) black pepper
1-2 pinch of ground chili peppers
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of granulated sugar
1/3 cup (80 mL) red wine
1/2 cup (120 mL) chicken broth
10-12 medium shrimps, raw, peeled
1/4-1/2 cup (60-120 mL) milk or cream
Enough pasta for 2 people

Method
1. In a medium to large skillet, heat oil on medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic as well as all the spices. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until onions are translucent.
2. Add the sugar and mix.
3. Add the wine. Raise the heat and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce wine for 4-6 minutes.
4. Once the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken broth. Let reduce for 5 minutes.
5. While the liquid reduces, in a medium pot, boil water for the pasta. Once boiling, add enough pasta for two and follow the cooking instructions on the box. Drain and keep warm until the sauce is ready.
6. Back to our sauce, reduce the heat to medium and place the shrimps on the sauce. As one side of the shrimp is cooked, flip them.
7. Once the shrimps are cooked, remove from heat, and add the milk (or cream) and the drained pasta. Mix well.
8. Plate and enjoy! I garnished mine with grated parmesan.

Serves 2.

Chicken à la King

The fancy pastry is only because I forgot to buy patty shells.

I know I haven't been sharing any new recipes lately but I hope this one will make up for it. (I've been trying to make a homemade whole wheat/whole grain bread and it just hasn't been turning out like I want.) I set out to make this recipe because I have always loved chicken à la king but turns out it's always been made with a salty powder envelope. The fact that people use the powder makes it seems like it's complicated and that it would take a very long time to make chicken à la king, but with 15 more minutes than it would take to make it with the powder, you can make a delicious low salt homemade version! This recipe was based off of multiple recipes I found online, all depending on the ingredients I had at home. This means that you can easily interchange the vegetables for sliced mushrooms, diced red bell pepper, diced carrots, different hot peppers, etc. If you use fresh vegetables, I suggest you add them with the onions and celery at the beginning; if you use frozen, add them at the end where I added the peas.

Ingredients
1/4 cup (60mL) unsalted butter or margarine
1/4 cup (60mL) celery, finely
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 small marinated hot pepper, finely diced
black pepper
2.5 tbsp (37.5 mL) all-purpose flour
1 cup (240mL) milk
2 tsp (10mL) garlic powder
1 tsp nutmeg, ground
1.5 cup (360mL) low salt chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups cooked chicken or turkey, diced
1 can (400mL) low salt peas
4 patty shells

Method
1. On medium heat, heat butter in a large pan or large pot. Add the celery, onion and hot pepper. Season with black pepper. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until onions are translucent.
2. We are about to make a bechamel sauce so make sure you have enough butter melted in the pan, if not add a teaspoon or so. Add the flour, one tablespoon at a time, whisking in between.
3. Once all the flour is wet/stuck to the vegetables, add the milk while whisking. Season with garlic powder and nutmeg. Bring heat up to medium high. Continue whisking as it heats for a couple of minutes.
4. As the bechamel thickens, add the broth while whisking.
5. Add the chicken and vegetables. Taste your sauce and season as needed. Let cook for another 10 minutes, especially if your vegetables or chicken were frozen. You can bring the heat down to medium if you are scared that your sauce will thicken up too quickly since you are not whisking.
6. During the last 10 minutes, take the time to heat up your patty shells. I also learned that you can eat chicken à la king on egg noodles, rice, biscuits, mashed potatoes or any other carb you fancy.
7. Plate up and enjoy! I served mine with roasted root vegetables.

Serves 4.

Meal: Brie Stuffed Chicken, Roasted Red Pepper Pasta and Cheesy Crostini with a Garden Salad

This meal was specially prepared for my mother on her birthday. She had asked for pasta and this is what I came up with. The recipe below is for the crostinis, pasta and the chicken. As for the salad, just mix lettuce, kale, spinach, and your favourite vegetables and dressing. This meal also requires a little prep in advance for the roasted red peppers, I don't suggest you buy them since there are many ways to easily make them yourself as shown in the link.

Ingredients

Chicken

4 chicken breast, boneless, skinless 

8 slices of brie, however thick you want them

cooking string (i.e. one that does not contain chemicals)

smoked paprika and black pepper

Crostinis

1 bread of your choice, thinly sliced

2-3 garlic cloves

shredded cheese

dried thyme

Pasta

enough pasta for 4 people, about 150g

2 cloves garlic, finely minced or crushed

1 medium onions, finely minced

black pepper

1 tbsp (15mL) butter or margarine

1 tbsp (15mL) flour

1 cup (240mL) milk

2-3 roasted red pepper, chopped

Method

1. Preheat oven at 375 F.

2. Cut the each chicken breast in the middle but not all the way through, just like a hot dog bun. Stuff each breast with 2 slices of brie. Use string to tie each breast so the brie stays inside and doesn't ooze out too much. Put the breasts on a baking dish/sheet, sprinkle each one with black pepper and smoked paprika. Cover with a foil and bake for 40 minutes on bottom rack, remove the foil for the last 10 minutes.

3. Preparing the pasta and the crostinis only takes about 20 minutes, so you can rest for a bit or prep everything else. 

4. Bring water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente; drain leaving only a little bit of water so they don't dry up if your sauce isn't quite ready.

5. During that time prepare the crostinis, place the bread slices on a baking sheet. Rub some freshly cut garlic (don't throw it away after you are done, mince/crush it and use it for the pasta sauce) on the bread slices. Sprinkle the cheese evenly on each slice, and top with dried thyme. Bake for 5 minutes on the top rack when there is only about 15 minutes left for the chicken to cook. This way your guests can start enjoying their meal while you finish up.

6. As for the pasta sauce, heat oil in a medium pan on medium heat. Cook the onions and the garlic seasoned with black pepper for about 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add butter, let it melt then add the flour. Whisk for about 3-4 minutes to ensure there are no lumps and that the flour cooks a bit. Add the milk and whisk for a couple of minutes. Mix in the roasted red peppers and keep mixing until the sauce is at desired consistency. Incorporate the cooked pasta without the remaining pasta water.

7. Your chicken should be ready by now. Take it out of the oven and let it sit covered with the foil for 5 minutes before you remove the strings, or you can let your guests remove their own. 

8. Plate up and enjoy!

Serves 4.

Stuffed Mushrooms Caps

Picture of before they were cooked because my family devoured them!

These healthy bites were a hit at my family's Christmas party! I took this recipe, changed all the measurements and added more spices, which means the flavour came from the spices and not from the butter. They were quite simple to make and packed with fibre which can be rare for holiday appetizers.

Ingredients
20 medium mushroom, white or crimini
1 tbsp (15mL) margarine or butter
1 tbsp (15mL) olive oil
1/4 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tsp (5mL) freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp (2.5mL) dried oregano
1 tsp (5mL) smoked paprika
1/2 cup (120mL) lentils, cooked or canned and drained
1/2-3/4 cup (120-180mL) cheese, grated - I chose old cheddar
1/2 cup (120mL) plain breadcrumbs
Smoked paprika for garnish

Method
1. Preheat oven at 375 F
2. Lightly oil a baking dish big enough to hold all your mushroom caps.
3. Remove stems from mushrooms. Finely chop the stems and set aside. Arrange the mushroom caps in the baking dish, round side down.
4. Heat olive oil and margarine in a frying pan on medium-high heat. Add the chopped stems, onions, black pepper, oregano and smoke paprika. Cook until onions are translucent, about 8-10 minutes.
5. Mix in the lentils, cheese, and breadcrumbs. Once all combined, remove from heat.
6. Stuff the mushrooms with the mixture. Sprinkle smoked paprika on all of them.
7. On middle rack of oven, bake for 8 minutes and broil for 4 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy!

If you are making them for a diner party at someone else's house, I suggest you do steps 2 to 6 at home and the baking once you're at the diner party.

One-Pot Chicken Curry

I must start with an apology, I was so hungry and so excited to eat this delicious smelling curry that I forgot to take a picture of my meal. It's the third curry I've made in a month because I was not satisfied with the results of the others. What I was looking for in this curry is a medium heat with a nice and creamy consistency without using cream, you'll see what I mean when you taste it.

Ingredients

Cooking oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, minced

2 red hot peppers, minced, optional for heat

3 tbsp (45mL) red curry paste

3 chicken breasts, cut in about 1" pieces

1 large broccoli, cut the florets and slice the stem (remove some of the hard skin on the bottom of the stem before slicing)

2 carrots, peeled or washed and sliced
1 can (400mL) coconut milk

Method
1. In medium to large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. Cook onions, garlic and the hot peppers for 3 minutes, until right before the onions turn translucent.
2. Add the red curry paste and mix it in the onion mixture.
3. Add the chicken and continue cooking for 10-12 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. Continue flipping/mixing as you cook so that by the end the chicken is coated with the curry paste as well.
4. Add the broccoli (florets and stem) and the carrot slices. Cook covered for 5 minutes.
5. Add the coconut milk and bring down the heat to let simmer for 20-30 minutes, uncover for the last 5 minutes of cooking to reduce the liquid a little and acquire the desired consistency.
6. Serve on a bed of white or infused rice. Enjoy!

Serves 4.