A little brief Update and Epicure Spice Recipe

It has been awhile since this blog has been updated, but I've definitely been cooking still. When my mom visited this month she brough me some goodies from Epicure that I was SO excited to try out. The one I was most excited about was "Mild Smoked Paprika" I see it on the Food Network quite often and something about it made my mouth water every time. She also brought silicone tongs and brush, pepper jelly, and PINK peppercorns, which taste NASTY raw but SO GOOD not raw. I thought they were like black ones so I thought how cool is that, pink on your food instead of black. So wrong, but they work anyways :) Thanks again, Mom!

We went to the grocery store and bought some stuff to make dinner. That particular night I was craving pork tenderloin, since that's what I saw someone cooking on tv. So I thought I could totally use the paprika for this. If you're interested here is what I did:

I sliced the tendorloin into half inch little pork loin chops. we picked out a small one, but it still fed 3 adults and 2 children.
Put the tiny cute little chops into a medium size tupperware container.
Coated them with about 4 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Seasoned them with Epicures Mild Smoked Paprika, a pinch of cayenne for a "kick" I like my food to have a bit of spice to it sometimes, a half a teaspoon of salt and some fresh ground pepper.
I then put a lid on the container and marinated it in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Since it's summer I like to use our grill (indoor electric one) as much as possible. Grill for about 6 minutes each side. More or less depending on your grill.
Be sure not to overcook tenderloin.

OH MY GOSH so good! Trust me. It's so easy and pretty healthy too. We served it along side some steamed snow peas (cheap and plentiful in the summer, I got mine for $1 a bag, and they last a couple meals), and our favorite side dish: roasted yams, which are one of the healthiest things you can buy in the produce deparment, onions and garlic.

Oh, also, yesterday while the kids and I were at the grocery store, I noticed with the Coke display, a pamphlet full of recipes made with COKE! So neat, since the other day i was thinking of doing that. You have no idea how many times I think of things, just to find out some other GENIUS (;)) thought of it too. It actually makes me feel like I'm doing something right and not completely out in left field as far as cooking is concenred. So anyways, in this pamphlet on the back page there was instructions on how to make a SPIDER out of HOTDOGS. I make the kids octopuses with their kraft dinner sometimes, but NEVER have I seen a SPIDER. So that's what they got for lunch today, with their new favorite thing, Mr.Noodle. I haven't made that ever before for them, but they've got it quite a bit lately since they discovered their infatuation. All you do is cut both sides like you would an octupus, leaving about 2 inches in the middle. Daughter could've cared less, (she's 18 months and loves to THROW food, dip it in her juice, etc, not really eat it all, but son almost peed his pants with excitment. It's the little things Mothers!!!

Anyways...that's all for now...

later,
Nichelle

Meatballs-Asian Style.

Last night I was craving asian food, which happens very often, so I thought about what I had in the freezer, and what I had in the fridge. I had some ground beef I wanted to use so I thought instead of making traditional Italian Meatballs, I could "Nichify" it and make asian style instead. Here is what I came up with:

Meatball Ingredients:

1lb Lean ground beef
1 Inch finely grated fresh ginger
Teriyaki Sauce
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1 medium egg
Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp milk
(i forgot to add garlic, you can add some if you want)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Make 1 inch meatballs and place on a foil-lined pan. Bake 15-20 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.

Meanwhile. Make sauce for the meatballs.

Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup of your favorite Teriyaki Sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/2 inch fresh ginger, finely grated
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1/4 tsp hot sauce.
2 tbsps water

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a microwaveable bowl. Heat in microwave for 1 minute, stir half-way through.

In a medium bowl coat the cooked meatballs with the sauce.

And youre done!

ENJOY!

OOPS!!!

Let's be honest here. Not everything I make is totally awesome and flawless. Here's a lessson learned from tonight's dinner.

When cooking chicken breast, take them out right away when they are done. Or else they WILL overcook. DO NOT leave them in the oven even for a second longer. Take them out and serve them right away. Chicken breast is tricky to cook, but when done with care they will come out juicy and perfect every time.

DO NOT EVER think of dinner as something that can be forgotten about and it will be fine. Take dinner seriously. Dinner time should be an enjoyable time spent with the ones you love. Take pride in what you are cooking! Don't neglect your food and always put effort into it. Don't be scared to try new things.

I say all this because I struggle with every one of those things at times. Sometimes I forget how much I really love to cook for my family. But then when I choose to suck it up and get in the kitchen, it turns out to be rewarding every single time!!

Ok...not every one LOVES to cook, I understand. But your family will appreciate you and you are creating some strong morals in your children as well. You are teaching them to cook and provide for their own families one day.

We all make mistakes in the kitchen, just REMEMBER to learn from them!

DINNER TIME IS IMPORTANT!!! (even if it's just sandwiches or cereal some nights!!!)

Tricks-What to do when you don't like Coke.

I dont mind coke, but prefer Pepsi. Below is what to do when the place you are eating at serves coke products only.

-Fill the cup half way with Coke, top it off with rootbeer.
Tastes EXACTLY like PEPSI!!!

Easy No-Meat Chipotle Enchiladas

I don't know about you but I don't like to eat meat with every meal, so I came up with this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 bag Corn Tortillas
1 can refried beans
1 can chipotle peppers
1 bag Mexican mix cheese
1-2 cans enchilada sauce.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425. Seed your desired amount of chipotle peppers (the more you use the spicier it will be, so be careful. Just use a tiny bit for a nice smokey flavor if you don't like spicy food), and chop into small pieces. In a small sauce pan mix enchilada sauce with chipotle peppers. Layer a thin layer of the sauce on the bottom of a 9*13 pan. Coat the corn tortillas with the warm sauce-this step is very important, if you don't coat the tortillas they will break when you fold them. Once coated fill them with refried beans and cheese. Fold and place in baking dish, fold side down. Drizzle any remaining enchilada sauce over top. Sprinkle more cheese over each one. Bake until cheese is bubbly and golden brown, about 12 minutes.

Very nummy served with guacomole and/or sour cream!

These are very filling and did not require any side dishes. But if you'd like one I would recommend a light salad.

ENJOY!!!!

Roasted Veggies and Meat Dinner

This is one of my favorite kind of meals to make. It is super easy, super rustic, and super nummy! All it takes is chop, season, bake and done! This is how I do it!

Ingredients:

2 smaller Yams, peeled and chopped
2 Yellow Onions, chopped
3 Carrots, peeled and chopped
Pork Tenderloin Chops
EVOO
Nutmeg, freshly grated
Pork Seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Artichokes in a jar
Fresh Spinach

Directions:

Heat oven to 400. Place everything in a 9*13 shallow baking dish. Drizzle EVOO over everything. Season vegetables with salt, pepper, and a few grates of fresh nutmeg. Season pork tenderloin with the Pork seasoning. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes. Turn oven to 425 and bake until pork is thouroughly cooked and veggies have caramelized.

I like to use Spinach in almost everything I cook. A good way to use it in this dish is to serve cold under some roasted veggies. Then mix in some of the artichokes. It gives this dish a nummy unexpected twist, and makes it even healthier!

Enjoy!

Recipe Request--Pot Roast

I was asked by my sister Mary-Anne if I had a recipe for pot roast-she said she can never get hers very flavourful.
I said, "as a matter of fact I do."

Ingredients:

Beef Roast
4 Fresh Garlic Cloves, sliced
EVOO
Montreal Steak Spice

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 400.
Pierce holes all over roast. Slide sliced garlic in holes.
Coat roast with EVOO, then liberally sprinkle Montreal Steak Spice all over. Spread with your hands to make sure it is evenly coated.
Place roast in a shallow baking dish and bake until browned, about 10 minutes.
Once browned, remove from oven and turn heat down to 325.
Add about 2 cups of water to baking dish and cover dish with foil.
Bake 2-3 hours and baste every 15 minutes. Basting is very important, this makes for a very flavourful, moist roast.
Once done, remove from oven, do not slice roast yet, let rest covered about 15 minutes. This allows juices to evenly distribute throughout the roast.

Use drippings to make the best gravy ever!

Gravy Directions:

Melt about 1/4 cup of butter in sauce pan, add a couple of tablespoons of flour, whisk for 30 seconds-make sure roux is still liquidy, if not, add more butter-then slowly add drippings, continue whisking constantly. Stir in some milk if you prefer a creamier gravy. Season to taste, if necessary.

At our house we serve roast with yorkshire pudding, roasted potatoes, and salad.

ENJOY!!

xoxo

Nichelle

Recipe by T

Ingredients:
2 Corn tortillas
Cheese
Spiderman Fruit Snacks.
Sliced White mushrooms

Directions: Put cheese, fruitsnacks, mushrooms all on one tortilla. Put another layer of cheese on top of that. Place other tortilla on top.
Microwave until cheese is melted, about 40 seconds.
Cut in quaters,

Verdict: It doesn't taste as good as it sounded in his head, but it looks nice.
HAHAHAH!!!

Recipe- Cabbage Rolls

****My camera is getting repaired right now, so sorry for the lack of pictures. You`ll just have to use your imagination in the meantime****

Cabbage Rolls Ingredients:

1lb lean ground beef
1 head of cabbage
1 small onion, chopped into smaller pieces
1 small tomato, chopped.
2 tbsps thick teriyaki sauce (one that is not too strong in flavour)
1 tsp soy sauce
1.5 tbsps Club House Montreal Steak Spice
5 white mushrooms, chopped into smaller pieces
2 cloves fresh garlic, finely grated.
2 handfuls of plain bread crumbs
1 can plain tomato sauce.
Half a pound of whole wheat macaroni.
freshly ground pepper
1 cup cheddar cheese
half cup freshly grated parmesan cheese.

-Boil water for the macaroni and preheat the oven to 425.¸

-In the meantime brown the ground beef, then add Montreal Steak Spice, Teriyaki sauce, and soy sauce. Stir to combine . Let simmer for 2 minutes on medium heat. Add mushrooms and onion. Cook until meat is cooked thoroughly, then add tomatoes and garlic. Let simmer on low heat while you prepare the cabbage.

-Boil water in a large pot. Carefully peel off cabbage leaves. Once water comes to a boil add the cabbage leaves. Let boil until al dente yet pliable. Remove leaves immediately from boiling water and place in a clean kitchen towel to dry.

-Once macaroni and meat mixture are done cooking and simmering, mix the two together and add bread crumbs.

-Assemble cabbage rolls.

-In a 9*13 baking dish, put a layer of tomato sauce then place each assembled cabbage roll onto the sauce, seam side down. Top the cabbage rolls with remaining sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese, and pepper.

-Bake for 10 minutes. Then turn the oven to broil. Grate some cheddar cheese and top the cabbage rolls with the cheddar cheese and some fresh ground pepper. Let broil until cheese is golden brown.

Serve immidiately!!

ENJOY!

xoxo

Nichelle

PS. Trystan and Tiffani gobbled these right up and loved them!

Got bread?

Bread can be used for many different things! French toast, sandwiches, breakfast bakes, bread crumbs!

Have you ever bought bread crumbs at the grocery store when you had bread at home? I made that silly, unnecessary mistake once. In fact, I still have those in my cupboard right now, and it bugs me. Have you ever looked at the ingredients list? You would think for something as basic as bread crumbs that the list would consist of a few things; however, it consists of at least twenty!

I'm not one to eat strictly organic, but seriously?

Knowing there was a better alternative I rounded up some things to make my own freakin' bread crumbs!

Here's how:

1)Get bread (it doesn't have to be the best bread, in fact, you probably have some discount bread in your freezer right now, use that! Or ,use your fresh bread. It doesn't matter)

2)Get blender

3)Get toaster

4)Toast bread

5)Break up pieces of toasted bread, put in blender, then crumb.

6)Put crumbs in plastic freezer bags, and freeze. Make as many or as little as you want. If you want to season you can, but not necesssary as you will season your dish when you make it.

Easy, right!

Bread crumbs can be used for meatballs, burgers, meatloaf, etc. They are a must to have around.

Save yourself some money and stop putting all those preservatives/chemicals in your body, when you don't have to!

Making things on your own feels good.

Try it!

xoxo

Nichelle