5 ingredient Cauliflower Soup

Having two little ones under two I need quick, easy lunch ideas. On this particular day, I had half a head of cauliflower left in the fridge. Aiden was having hot dogs (I don't like them, but sometimes I give them to him so he can enjoy being a kid!). I decided to make up a quick bowl of soup for myself. Super easy, and only 5 ingredients!!!




Ingredients: 

• Half a head of cauliflower, cut into small chunks
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• Approximately 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup cream
• Feta (optional)

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, saute onions for 3 minutes. Add cauliflower and add enough chicken broth to just cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes until cauliflower is tender.
2. With an immersion blender, slightly blend up (I like mine a little chunky...not so pureed)
3. Add cream and heat through
4. Serve and top with feta, salt and pepper!

Feisty Tomato Rice (with Chicken)

I just got back from a conference in Edmonton and haven't had a chance to do a full grocery shop. I went to a work out class this morning, came home and needed something quick for Aiden's lunch so he could nap. There was leftover rice in the fridge and decided to use that up.

This recipe has very few ingredients and it was actually really good :) I used a salsa spice I had in my cupboard, but you can make it as mild or spicy as you like. 

I made a decent amount so I was actually able to have it for dinner with a chicken breast and topped with Feta. Very good!!! (My husband is harvesting so he is hardly home, unfortunately I haven't been cooking as much as normal, so this was a 2-for-1...lunch and dinner!) 

Ingredients

- 1tbsp butter

- 1/4 onion, chopped

- 1 yellow pepper, chopped

- 1 can diced tomatoes, drained

- chilli pepper flakes to your liking

- 2 cups cooked rice

- Optional: Cooked chicken and/or Feta

Directions:

1. Melt butter and sauté onion and pepper for 5 minutes 

2. Add tomatoes and chilli flakes, bring to a boil

3. Add rice and simmer for 5 minutes

4. Top with cooked chicken breast and feta cheese 

Broccoli Cheese Sauce

My husband loves cheese sauce for broccoli and cauliflower. I enjoy mine with just a bit of butter and salt, but I decided to make him some sauce. I really enjoyed it. Aiden is also in a phase where he loves to dip anything! So the cheese sauce brought smiles to his little face :)

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour, cook and stir for 1 min.
2. Slowly whisk in milk. Whisk constantly until thickened.
3. Remove from heat, and stir in cheese, salt and pepper until cheese is melted.
4. Serve over veggies.

Cheesy Broccoli Balls

I was browsing Pinterest the other day, and came across this idea! Our household LOVES broccoli! And I am always looking for different ideas. These turned out really good, so will definitely be a repeat :)

Ingredients:
- 1 bunch of broccoli, steams removed and florets cut into small pieces (about 2 cups)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- Pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp Thyme
- 3 eggs, beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*
2. Mix all ingredients, except the eggs in a large bowl and then mix in eggs.
3. Form mixture into 2" balls.
4. Place on a foil lined baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway.

Roasted Brussel Sprout Salad

This past weekend was beautiful! Saturday night we enjoyed a delicious BBQ. I had brussel sprouts in the fridge that had to be used, so I made this amazingly good salad. It was the perfect combination of tanginess (I don't know if that is a word...but I'm going to go ahead and use it!!) from the lemon, and sweetness from the apples.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups fresh brussel sprouts, cored and quartered
• 3 tbsp EVOO
• 2 apples, cored, peeled and chopped coarsly
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Placed brussel sprouts in a baking pan, coat with 2 tbsp of oil and season with salt. Roast for 15 minutes (or until slightly tender) flipping halfway through.
2. Mix remaining ingredients together in a bowl. Once sprouts are cooked, add to salad and put in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Roasted Cauliflower Au Gratin

Thursday I was watching Rachel Ray and saw this dish. I had all the ingredients and was looking for a side to go with our ham dinner. It was absolutely amazing!! I think I might have a new favourite side!! It was a hit with my husband and Aiden!! Not only does he love meat, but he also loved broccoli and cauliflower :)

This would also be a great potluck item! Make everything ahead of time, when you get to the party warm up the dish and top with the breadcrumbs. My mouth is watering just thinking about how awesome this was!! I am going to have to make it again VERY soon!

Ingredients:

• 2 large heads of cauliflower cut up
• 3 tbsp EVOO
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup Ricotta cheese

Topping

•  2 tbsp EVOO
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Zest of 1 lemon (reserve remaining lemon for juice)
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 1 cup bread crumbs

Sauce

• 2 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp flour
• 2 cups milk
• Salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste

Directions:

1. Toss cauliflower chunks in EVOO, salt and pepper. Bake at 400* for 15 minutes.
2. Topping: Melt EVOO and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, lemon zest and parsley. Cook for 2 minutes. Add breadcrumbs and toast until golden brown. Transfer to a bowl and reserve.
3. Sauce: Melt butter in a medium saucepan and stir in flour. Stir in milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.
4. Turn oven down to 375*.
5. Put cauliflower in a casserole, pour sauce over top and dollop Ricotta cheese on top. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. Finish with breadcrumb topping and squeeze lemon juice on top.

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

It was such a beautiful day today! I honestly can't believe it is February. And what do you do on a beautiful day? BBQ of course!! We had homemade burgers and stuffed portabellas. Such a delicious meal :)

The mushrooms were honestly amazing! Probably the best thing I have made in awhile! I can't wait to make them again!

Ingredients:

• 4 portabellas
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1.5 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• 125g (half a package) of cream cheese
• Feta cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300*.
2. Wash portabellas and remove (and reserve) stems. Place caps on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking oil.
3. Melt butter in a pan and saute onion and garlic until tender.
4. Finely chop mushroom stems and add to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add spinach and cook for an additional 2 minutes (stir constantly)
5. Stir in cream cheese until melted.
6. Spoon mixture into each portabella and top with feta cheese.
7. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes

Sweet Potato and Carrots with Pecans and Raisins

I'm so tired of the same old side dishes. I had a sweet potato and a carrot sitting around, and thought they would be perfect together! Boy was I right!! This side dish will defiantly be a repeat!! I really enjoyed it!!! We had it along side pan-fried halibut and a side garden salad. Delicious meal!

Ingredients

• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into small pieces
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Place carrots and sweet potato in a medium pot and cover with water. Cook over medium heat until soft (about 20 minutes).
2. Drain and mash with butter, brown sugar and apple sauce.
3. Mix in pecans and raisins! Amazing :)

Lemon-Butter Snow Peas

My vegetable garden is producing a ton of snow peas!! And they are so delicious!! Tonight I wanted to make a side dish of snow peas to go with our ribs and (loaded) baked potatoes. I found this really simple recipe on Allrecipes.com. The dish is made in the microwave, and only takes 5 minutes – which means our house doesn’t get too hot!!

We thought they were really yummy so I decided to share.

Ingredients:

-          2 cups fresh snow peas

-          1 tbsp water

-          1 tsp minced garlic

-          1 tsp lemon juice

-          1 tsp butter

-          ½ tsp Italian Seasoning

Directions:

1. In a covered bowl, microwave snow peas, water and garlic for 3-4 minutes
2. Drain and mix in lemon juice, butter and Italian seasoning

Canadian Potato Salad!! :)

I have been trying to find a decent recipe for a yummy potato salad and I found it really hard! I combined a few different ideas and came up with something! I did boil the potatoes with the skin on, then put them in cold water and peeled them. Then I mashed them up! This results in a more chunky texture (some harder spots, some softer spots) However if you want to do it quicker you can peel them and cut them into small pieces before boiling, then mash them up; this has a smoother consistency. But either works J

Ingredients:

-          6 medium sized potatoes

-          3 slices of bacon, cut in small pieces, cooked and drained

-          6 green onions, sliced

-          ¾ cup mayo

-          2 tbsp red wine vinegar

-          1 tsp yellow mustard

-          Salt and Pepper

-          Fresh dill (right from my garden!!)

**Note: You can pretty much add anything to this recipe. Here are a few suggestions: Celery, Sweet Peppers, Hard Boiled Eggs, etc.

Directions:

1. Cook potatoes (by either method posted in the intro!) and mash
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well
3. Refrigerate until cold and then serve

BBQ Dinner - Wings and Potatoes :)

 These last two nights have been really warm!! As you know we don't have A/C. Luckily our house has been pretty good so far (around 23/24*C), however the last two nights have been much warmer (well only by 2 degrees, but it feels a lot worse!). So of course I turned to the trusty grill!!

BBQ Chicken Wings

I have never made chicken wings on the grill before but these turned out really good, and were really easy!! (Minus the burn on my finger from the sauce). I am pretty much giving directions rather than a recipe!

1. Rinse the wings under cold water and dry them on paper towel

2. Put the wings in a bowl (with a lid) and add sauce - Honey garlic sauce, BBQ sauce and hot sauce (but you can pretty much do whatever you want!)

3. Allow wings to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes or so

4. Meanwhile heat grill to medium

5. Put wings on the grill for approximately 15 minutes while turning frequently - you can also brush wings with the remaining sauce from the bowl, however I did not do that.

**Note: This is where I burnt my finger!! BE CAREFUL TURNING THE WINGS!!!!! **



OUCH!!!

Sliced Potatoes

The potatoes are also really easy! I put them on the grill about 45 minutes prior to the wings. I used a mandoline to slice potatoes thin. Put on tinfoil with seasoning and add 2 tbsp butter. I usually slice up onions as well, but I didn't feel like it tonight! Wrap potatoes in tinfoil (I use two sheets - wrap once, then wrap again with the folded parts on the opposite side). With the grill on high, put the potatoes on the top rack. Flip after 30 minutes.
**Note: When you are ready to cook wings, remember to turn the grill to medium!!!

Of course I finished my meal off with a little bowl of fresh strawberries (and a little sugar!!). What a perfect HOT night meal :)

Bruschetta Bread

I don't like uncooked tomatoes (but I love salsa, tomato sauce, etc...weird I know), so I would NEVER order bruschetta! But I went out for dinner with a co-worker and she ordered bruschetta from Jack Astor's, she offered me a slice, and of course I tried it. I must admit it was really yummy!

With that said, my husband LOVES tomatoes! So when I told him about my bruschetta experience he suggested we have it with our leftover soup. Well I started looking a recipes and mixed a few together to come up with my own variation. I used a french loaf, but I think it would be better with a baguette. I would also top with mozzarella and feta cheese!! I also used my food processor to make this (since the tomatoes are not completely cooked, I wanted them in small pieces), however you can easily chop everything and mix together.

Ingredients:
- 4 medium sized tomatoes, cut in quarters
- 1 small onion, cut in quarters
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup fresh Basil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 French baguette (or loaf)
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Crumbled feta

Directions:
1. Preheat oven on broiler setting
2. Add tomatoes, onion and garlic to a food processor, and pulse until smooth
3. In a large bowl, combine tomato mixture, oil, vinegar, basil, salt and pepper. Allow mixture to sit for 10 minutes
4. Cut baguette into 3/4-inch slices, arrange on a baking sheet and broil for 1 to 2 minutes until slightly brown
5. Top bread with tomato mixture and cheese
6. Broil for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted

Mushroom Fried Rice

This is another original! My husband is not a huge fan of rice, but sometimes I run out of ideas for sides. He doesn’t mind this one! It is pretty easy to make and I usually serve it with pork or chicken.

Ingredients:

-          1 cup water

-          1 cup rice

-          1 tbsp oil

-          1 can of sliced mushrooms (you can also use fresh if you prefer)

-          1 onion, chopped

-          1 egg

-          Soy sauce

Directions:

1. Boil water, and add rice, turn heat to low
2. Meanwhile fry mushrooms and onions in a large frying pan with oil
3. Once rice is cooked, add to frying pan
4. Add the egg, and stir until well mixed
5. Add soy sauce (enough to cover rice about 1 tbsp) and mix well
6. Turn heat to low and allow rice to sit for 5 minutes

Macaroni Salad

This is another great salad during the summer. Since we don’t have AC in our house, we love to cook outside…therefore we love to BBQ! This is a *very* easy traditional summer salad. I usually make one up when we go camping, that way we have it all weekend.

ENJOY!

Note: I did not put red pepper in mine!



Ingredients:

-          1 package egg noodles, cooked as directed on package

-          6 green onions, chopped

-          1 red pepper, chopped

-          1 can tuna, drained

-          1 cup mayo

-          Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Once noodles are cooked, cool under cold water
2. Mix cold noodles, onion, pepper and tuna in a large bowl
3. Add mayo, salt and pepper and mix well

Broccoli Salad – One of my favourites!!

I love this salad. When the weather gets warm, it is amazing with BBQ! It is really easy to mix up and a crowd pleaser!

If you prefer sweeter salads, you can add 1 tsp of sugar to the dressing and top with raisins. Personally I prefer the “non-sweet” one!

ENJOY :)

Ingredients:

-          2 broccoli heads, cut into small pieces

-          6 slices of bacon, cut into pieces and cooked

-          1 red onion, chopped

-          ½ cup mayo

-          Approximately 2 tbsp vinegar

-          2 tbsp parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Mix broccoli, bacon and onion in a large bowl
2. In a separate bowl mix mayo and vinegar until dressing has a smooth consistency
3. Pour dressing over salad and mix
4. Top with parmesan cheese

Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole

One of our favourite sides is this broccoli and cauliflower casserole. It is absolutely delicious!! My husband begs me to make it. I swear he would eat it everyday if he could. I got this recipe from my sister (awhile ago). I make it so much I don’t even need to look at the card anymore.

Ingredients:

- 2 cups each of fresh broccoli and cauliflower, chopped

- 2 eggs

- ½ cup mayo

- 1 onion, chopped

- 1 can of mushroom soup

- 1 cup of yellow cheddar cheese

- Croutons (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350^o

2. Cook veggies and drain

3. Meanwhile, beat eggs, mayo, onion, mushroom soup and ½ of the cheese in a large bowl

4. Add veggies to egg mixture, pour in casserole dish and top with remaining cheese and croutons

5. Bake for 40 minutes

This can easily be made into a meal. Sometimes I fry up chopped chicken breasts and add it to the casserole before baking. Or you could also add cooked noodles. Very yummy and filling!

On a side note: I hope everyone is ready for Christmas!! Only 11 more sleeps!! Christmas is my favourite holiday; I love spending time with family and friends and just enjoying company.  

Here is a picture of our first tree as a married couple! :)