Okay, now to more serious issues: Food. The title to this post seems a little odd. You’re probably imagining a bowl of spaghetti noodles with dressing and a few croutons tossed in. Maybe it should be called Baked Veggies On A Bed Of Spaghetti Noodles…because really that’s what I did.

Yesterday I found myself with the task of using leftover spaghetti noodles from the night before (I made a really nice creamy tomato sauce with tons of vegetables and too many noodles – why is it still hard for me to determine the right amount of noodles?). Of course I could have made another sauce to pour over the noodles but I seem to prefer variety in my daily meals. So if you ever find that you have tons of noodles leftover and you don’t want a repeat from the night before then try a Warm Spaghetti Salad:

Cooked spaghetti noodles

Tomato sauce, I used Ragu

Baby spinach, coarsely chopped

Mushrooms, thickly sliced

Grape tomatoes, cut in half

Onion slices

Red bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces

Bits of artichoke hearts

Olive oil

Oregano

Fresh ground pepper

Balsamic vinegar

Grated cheese

Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the noodles in a greased baking pan and pour a bit of tomato sauce over them – you don’t need to mix the sauce into the noodles unless you want to. In a bowl mix all the veggies together and then toss with the olive oil, oregano, balsamic vinegar, and pepper. Spread over the noodles, top with grated cheese and bake for about 20 minutes.

All portions and amounts are to taste and liking. I didn’t measure anything, just eye balled how much I thought I would want to eat. The amount of time you bake this also is up to you. I just chose 20 minutes because I wanted the veggies to still be slightly crunchy…like a salad. I think next time I’ll add beans or chick peas for added protein.

I read the article on Wikipedia for risotto and followed the instructions to use butter, olive oil, garlic, and thinly sliced shallots to sautee the quinoa. But first I quickly sauteed the vegetables I chose to use:

2 celery stalks, diced

1 small orange (or red) bell pepper, diced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, whole – did I mention yet how much I love to bite into these? Careful though, I nearly burned my mouth with delicious hot tomato juice

I used a 454 gram/16oz package of mixed mushrooms – the package I found had enoki, crimini, oyster, portabellini and button mushrooms…of course half were button mushrooms. Coarsely chopped.

On medium heat in a large skillet heat oil and add celery and bell pepper until a bit soft (I like the celery to have a bit of crunch to it).  I added fresh ground pepper, oregano and fennel seeds at this point.  Add the mushrooms and cook until their liquids have released and are starting to evaporate. Transfer vegetables to a bowl and set aside.

For the liquids I used about a quarter cup of dry sherry and three cups of broth, your choice of flavour but I used beef…I was craving meat! In a saucepan heat the broth and keep on medium heat so the liquid stays very hot.

Now begins the risotto part. In a large skillet or a large pot, heat olive oil and cold butter. Toss in chopped garlic and shallots and cook for about 30 secs on medium heat. Add the quinoa and stir to make sure the grains are well coated. Look out for quinoa shrapnel!

Pour sherry into skillet and stir gently. When it has evaporated start adding the hot broth half a cup at a time and stirring constantly. Continue to add the broth in half cup measurements until it’s all incorporated into the risotto.

Just when the last bit of broth has been stirred in, add the vegetables and cherry tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes or so for flavours to mix. Remove from heat and stir in some cold butter and grated Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately and devour. I won’t post any pictures because I fear if I do you may not want to make this and it is SOOOO worth it!

Chickpea Burger Patties

Makes 4 good-sized patties

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Tahini sauce, about a tbsp

Juice of half a lemon

4 garlic cloves

Place the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until slightly coarse. Transfer to a bowl, add an egg and mix well. I’m not sure how much bread crumbs I used but just keep adding until you have the right consistency and texture. You want to be able to roll the mixture into a ball and then flatten into a disc and not have it fall apart. Heat a large skillet with oil and fry at medium heat for about 5 to 6 minutes on each side, just keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t burn. Place patties on paper towels for a few minutes and then serve. Dress the burger however you like. My burger was dressed with:

Dijon mustard

Fresh basil leaves

Goat’s milk feta cheese

Alfalfa sprouts

Cucumber slices

Tonight I simply sauteed vegetables in olive oil, oregano, and ground black pepper. Once the vegetables were softening up a bit I added a healthy splash of balsamic vinegar. I added the spinach in the last few minutes so it wouldn’t cook as much and lose its colour.

Veggies used:

Onion, chopped

Mushrooms, sliced

Cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces

Cherry tomatoes, kept whole because I love biting into a cooked cherry tomato

Fresh basil leaves

Baby spinach

I think I made quinoa once before tonight and like the first time, I burned the bottom layer slightly. Not enough to make the rest of the pot stink of burnt grains but just enough to give it a slightly smoked taste and a bit of crunch. I mixed the quinoa with a generous pat of butter, garlic powder, and fresh ground pepper. Turned out way better than I had expected. The meal was topped with crumbled feta cheese.

The picture below is the actual amount that I ate. At first I thought it would be too much food but…I couldn’t stop eating it!

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a Costco and even longer since I’ve had a chicken bake, as not all Costco stores carried them. And the last few weeks I’d been having intense cravings for a chicken bake so I did a quick Google search and discovered that all you really need is pizza dough, chicken, bacon, onions, mozzarella, and Caesar salad dressing.

For the pizza dough I went through my previous posts in search of the thin and crispy dough I liked – which also doesn’t take long to make. The recipe can be found here.

Chicken Bake Ingredients – For two people

Ready made pizza dough, store bought, your favourite recipe or the one mentioned above.

1 chicken breast, approx 6oz cut into small pieces

4 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces

1/2 a medium onion, finely chopped

approx 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, or more if you love cheese the way I do.

Caesar salad dressing, I used about 3 tbsp but that’s a matter of preference I think.

Spices of your choice for the chicken, I used garlic powder and cayenne pepper.

Preheat oven to about 450F. Heat a bit of oil in a pan and cook the chicken. Add seasonings and once it’s cooked through set aside in a bowl. Add the bacon pieces to the pan and cook until done and then add them to the chicken. Stretch your pizza dough to a rectangle about 11 inches by 7 or 8 inches. Spread desired amount of Caesar dressing over surface and then sprinkle onions, chicken and bacon, and the majority of the mozzarella cheese (leave some aside to sprinkle on top of the chicken bake). Fold the pizza dough over and seal the seams and then place in the oven for about 7 minutes.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and put back in the oven for another 8 minutes or so or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly and melted.

Was it as awesome as the original Costco chicken bake? Well, to be honest…I don’t really remember what the Costco chicken bake tasted like except that I remember loving it. But this version has completely wiped the memory of a Costco chicken bake from my mind.

Now, when I’m making somewhat elaborate dinners I like to prepare things ahead of time and get all my ingredients ready so I’m not scrambling around looking for the white wine while the garlic burns in a pan. First, I sliced the pork loin and laid it out on a piece of plastic wrap. For a video on how to butterfly a pork loin go here. Next, on another piece of plastic wrap, I made a lattice with the bacon by first laying down six strips vertically and then lacing bacon horizontally through the strips. The other thing I made several hours ahead of time was the creme brulee as that needed to chill in the fridge for at least four hours. And if you’re like me and don’t own a fancy brulee torch, then remember to bring out the creme brulee to sit for a few minutes at room temperature before broiling it in the oven.

Ok, Ingredients:

Stuffed Mushrooms:

6 to 8 white mushrooms

oil, I used canola

about 6 cloves of garlic, more or less depending on your taste

1 8oz pkg of cream cheese, softened

about 3tbsp Parmesan cheese

fresh ground pepper, to taste

cayenne pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. Carefully remove the stems from the mushrooms but don’t throw them away – finely chop the stems and set aside. Mince the garlic and heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Throw the garlic and mushroom stems into the oil and cook for about 5 minutes and remove from heat. Add the cream cheese to the pan and stir until smooth and then add the Parmesan cheese, ground pepper, and cayenne pepper. With a small spoon, stuff each mushroom with the filling – there will be a lot of filling, don’t worry, the rest will be in the pork. Dab a bit of softened butter on the bottom of the mushrooms and place them on a baking sheet. Pop the mushrooms in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until juices are flowing.

Pork Loin:

I used a 760g/1.6lb pork loin

approx 12-16 strips of bacon

Leftover cream cheese filling from stuffed mushrooms

Kitchen twine

A generous splash of Guinness to keep the pork moist while cooking.

Turn oven heat up to about 400F. With the pork all ready to go, all you need to do is spread the cream cheese mixture over the top and then roll it and tie it with string. Place the pork in the centre of the bacon lattice and with the help of the plastic wrap, carefully cover the pork and press the bacon down. Place it in a baking pan (one preferably with a lid) pour some Guinness around the sides and put it in the oven for about 40 minutes to an hour. You can remove the lid halfway through, depending on how brown you want your bacon to be. I think we may have overcooked our pork – the bacon was a little crispy but the meat was amazing inside.

The sides:

2 russet potatoes, unpeeled, washed, and quartered

a bunch of asparagus – sadly our local store did not have artichokes

Hollandaise sauce

While the pork is doing its thing in the oven, boil the potatoes. And while that’s happening you can make the Hollandaise sauce. I would rather just tell you to Google Hollandaise sauce because one recipe and instruction may work for one person but it may not for another. The first and only time I successfully made Hollandaise sauce I used Laura Calder’s recipe but when Jay tried it, he wasn’t as successful. Last night, he used Julia Child’s version and the sauce turned out really well. In Jay’s opinion, it helps if you have another person reading out step by step instructions while you work on the sauce.

For the asparagus, place the stalks in a steamer basket and then over the simmering pot of potatoes. When the pork is ready to be cut, the potatoes will be ready and so will the asparagus as the stalks only need about 5 minutes or so to steam.

Creme Brulee:

For recipe and ingredients go here. As I mentioned before, I don’t have a torch so I used the broiler to burn the sugar coating. Unfortunately my broiler takes FOREVER to heat up and time was a-wastin’ so the sugar did not fully melt and did not have that crackly effect. However, the custard…oh the custard. Please make this. You don’t even really need the crackly sugar on top – the custard is like heaven in a ramekin.

This turned out to be a happy coma-inducing dinner where all we could do was say, “Wow, that was amazing.”

And in case you’re wondering – the non-alcoholic wine tasted like almost unsweetened grape juice. Oh the sacrifices we make.

In the instructions it says to microwave everything and to be honest, I’m not a big fan of microwaving food. Leftovers yes, but raw meats? Not so much.

I used boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces. For the basil rub I used whatever lemon rind I had left over (you need about 2 tsp of lemon rind for the sauce but you can probably get more than that out of one lemon) and about a tsp of lime rind. With my fingers I rubbed the rinds together with about a tbsp of dried basil leaves and I coated the chicken pieces with that.

For the sauce I melted the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and then added the flour and stirred until it was nice and thick. Next I added the lemon rind, garlic, and milk. I cooked that for about five minutes and then I added the homemade pesto Jay’s mom gave us. I’m not sure if there was salt in the pesto so the sauce turned out a little bland but very flavourful so I would suggest you taste the sauce and add salt to your liking. I added the chicken pieces to that same saucepan, covered it, and continued to cook everything on medium heat for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the chicken cooked I made the pasta noodles – I used fettuccine.

I really liked this meal but I think the sauce would be much better suited for shrimp. Even as I made the sauce I could visualize shrimp in it so keep that in mind if you ever feel inclined to try this Pampered Chef recipe.

Tonight’s dinner came from The Pampered Chef website because I seem to have a new found obsession with their products and recipes. For the BBQ sauce I simply Googled “BBQ sauce recipe” and I came across one on chow.com. Recipe is here and it is super tasty. The meatloaf recipe can be found here.

Even though I didn’t make the full amount of BBQ as shown on the recipe I still have plenty left over. I’m hoping to use the rest this week…perhaps some succulent ribs?

I absolutely love this loaf pan – I didn’t have to spray or coat it with oil, just shaped the meat into a loaf and baked.

This meatloaf was incredible – full of flavour and juicy. I paired it with pesto mashed potatoes from a previous entry.

For dessert I made a Chocolate Almond Cheesecake, as well, from The Pampered Chef website and the recipe can be found here. The spring form pan is awesome. The pans I had before were of much lesser quality but this one was so worth getting. My cheesecakes don’t stick and I don’t need to grease the sides.

This cheesecake was rich and silky. The almond extract is such a good combination with chocolate. In this recipe it says to use semi-sweet chocolate but I may try it with dark chocolate next time. I’m not a big fan of decorating cheesecake with whipped cream so I left it naked – it’s that good on its own. But you can also sprinkle some almond slices for a nice crunchy texture.

Here’s what I used (I hope I can remember now):

approx a pound of beef (best to use stewing beef)

3 or 4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped because I like biting into whole bits of garlic but if you’re not a fan of that you can finely dice the garlic.

1 onion, diced

1 28oz can of diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

1 cup of water – depending on how thick you want the stew add more or don’t add any at all

approx 1 tsp of oregano

approx 1 tsp of cumin

1 can of kidney beans

1/2 cup of red wine, if you have it

half a  jalapeno pepper, which I had completely forgotten about being in the fridge so that worked out great

salt and pepper to taste

And the rest of the ingredients were leftovers like:

3/4 of a zucchini, sliced into small pieces

1 carrot, sliced

2 mushrooms, roughly chopped – of course if you have more than 2 mushrooms by all means use more – for some reason we only had 2 haha.

I think any vegetable could work with this mix.

In a large pot brown the beef in some olive oil at medium-high heat. Lower to medium heat. Throw in the garlic and onion and sautee until soft. Add the can of tomatoes, bay leaves, and cook for 10 minutes. Add cumin, oregano, jalapeno pepper, and 1 cup of water, if needed, and let it cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes, covered. This would be a good time to dice all your veggies, if you haven’t done so already. Turn heat to low.  Add the  veggies and other leftovers you want to use, and red wine, if it’s handy. Let that simmer, stirring every so often, for about 30 minutes or longer if your stomach can wait. I think we made it to 30 minutes before we dove in – the spicy aroma was too tempting.

The smell of carrots and onion boiling in a pot of chicken broth is probably the most comforting aroma ever. It takes me back to cold nights as a kid snuggling with my mom, playing games or listening to her stories.

Speaking of moms, Jay’s mom lovingly made us a nice batch of home made pesto, which we’ve been gorging on because it’s so good. I’d previously purchased a bottle of pesto but last night there was no question as to which one I’d be using. Mom’s pesto is way better, in our opinion.

This recipe comes, again, from Jean Pare’s 30 Minute Pantry. Seriously, if you can find that book, get it.

Here’s what I used:

1 carrot, sliced

1 onion, chopped (original recipe says to use celery)

4 cups ready made chicken broth

1 cup water

about 3 handfuls of egg noodles

four chicken drumsticks

another onion, chopped

2 tbsp pesto

Into a pot on medium-high heat put the chicken broth and water. Add the carrot and onion and bring to a boil then add the noodles and cook until carrot is tender. While that’s happening, cook the chicken in a pan with some oil and the other chopped onion. The original recipe says to use boneless chicken thigh cut into small pieces so it will cook faster but because I used drumsticks it took a lot longer. Basically, just cook until it’s not pink inside. The onions started to burn a little so I added a bit of water, which sort of caramelized everything. Once the chicken is cooked through, add the pesto and mix to coat everything. Add to the pot of soup and stir. I let it simmer for a few minutes more to combine flavours.

Home made pesto from Jay’s mom.