Category: Makes Great Leftovers!

Fantastic Chicken Stew

In honour of the rare mid-April snowfall we experienced in Vancouver today, I’m posting this fabulous chicken stew recipe. It’s not too hard to make, and it’s full of flavour.  I’ve adapted a recipe for veal stew from a Western Living cookbook to make this.  Oh, and it’s so tasty if you use homemade stock – it’s pretty much vital to the flavour, so plan ahead and make some stock !

What you need:

2 tablespoons olive oil

4-6 chicken thighs, bone-in & skin removed

1 onion, chopped roughly

a cup or two of button mushrooms, halved

4 cloves garlic, finely diced

3 cups chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped finely

1 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons  flour

5-6 small potatoes, chopped in half

4-5 carrots, cut into rounds

1 medium-sized zucchini, cut into rounds

salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

1. Heat a large pot to medium-high heat and add one tablespoon of olive oil, then add the onions. After about five minutes add the mushrooms.  Saute until browned, then remove from the pot.

2. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pot, then add the chicken and cook until browned on each side.  Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add the chicken stock and cook, covered, for about 45 minutes.

3. Combine the wine and flour, then stir it into the pot. Add the potatoes, carrots, and sautéed mushrooms and onions. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

4. Add the zucchini and cook for about 15 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

I like to eat this all on its own, but it would be great served with a crusty bread.

Maple Butternut Squash Soup

The sun came out today and reminded me that I only have a little more time to make winter soups!  So here is a squash soup I’ve been meaning to post for a long time, one that I’ve been making for years.  The baked cauliflower topping, however, is a new addition, and I’m going to make it like this again.

I know that the sticker on your squash probably tells you that the easiest way to cook it is in the microwave.  This may be true, however, I find oven-baking it makes it taste sweeter, and it’s also more satisfying.  Also, you can cook the cauliflower while the squash is baking.

What you need:

1 medium-sized butternut squash

2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil)

2 stalks celery

1/2 large sweet onion (I cry less over sweet onions – you can use a regular one if you wish)

1 red or yellow sweet pepper

1/4 cup white wine (I used riesling)

1/4 teaspoon dry tarragon leaves, crumbled (1/2 teaspoon fresh)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

3-4 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock

maple syrup to taste

salt to taste, unless your stock already has salt in it

1/4 cup dry sherry – optional but amazing!

1 cauliflower, an optional topping

What you do:

1.  Cut the squash in half, de-seed and lay on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400F for about 30 minutes or until it pierces easily with a knife.  At the same time you can cut the cauliflower into florets and bake for the same amount of time, until browned.

2.  Cook the onion, celery and pepper in butter for several minutes.  Add the spices, then the wine, and cook for a few more minutes.  Add half of the stock and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.

3.  When the squash is cooked, allow it to cool enough to be handled.  Puree it, along with a cup of the stock, then add it to the vegetables.

4.  Heat the soup through, then add the maple syrup, sherry, and salt to taste.

5.  Top with chopped roasted cauliflower to serve.

Pasta with Butternut Squash, Capers and Raisins

This recipe comes from my mom – she’s been making it for years.  I’ve just changed a few things – I bake the squash instead of boiling it, which makes it sweeter (I think), I use less oil to cook the onions, and for meat-eaters I serve a bit of fried chorizo on top.  Oh, and a splash of wine, red or white, in the sauce, if I’ve got some on hand.

This is comfort food at its best – it tastes great, and it’s good for you.  I serve it on brown rice pasta, which is better for you and tastes so good, and works better for all the people who need to have gluten-free recipes.  I prefer the texture of it to whole wheat pasta, which seems grainier to me.  Just make sure you don’t overcook it – I always check it a few minutes before the recommended cooking time is up.

What you need:

1 medium-sized butternut squash

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 finely diced onion

4 garlic cloves, chopped fine

1 dried chili pepper, crumbled

1 – 796mL can plum tomatoes, chopped and undrained

2 tablespoons golden raisins

1 tablespoon capers

salt and pepper

pasta, 3-4 cups cooked, keeping in mind that 1/2 cup or cooked pasta is one serving

chorizo sausage, optional (if you’re in Vancouver, Windsor meats on Main street makes their own amazing chorizo)

parmesan to grate on top, optional (I use lactose-free l’Ancetre)

What you do:

1.  Cut squash in half, remove seeds and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for 30-ish minutes at 350F, or until a knife pierces it very easily.  Let it rest until it is cool enough to handle.

2.  Heat the olive oil in a large pan and then add the onion, cooking for a few minutes.  Add the garlic and chili peppers and cook for another minute.

3.  Add the tomatoes and their juice, along with the raisins, capers, salt and pepper and optional wine.  Let this cook for 20-30 minutes, or until much of the liquid has evaporated.  During this time you can boil the water and cook the pasta when the sauce is almost ready.

4.  Cut the squash into cubes.  I make cuts in it while it’s still in the peel, then scoop the squares out.  Carefully stir the squash into the tomato sauce, then combine with the pasta.

Top with a few slices of chorizo and some freshly grated parmesan.  So good, and fabulous as a leftover for my lunch today!

 

 

Lentil Vegetable Soup with Yogurt

This colourful soup is packed with nutritious veggies and plenty of flavour.  There aren’t many seasonings, but this soup gets its flavour from the vegetables, especially the browned onions.  A dollop of plain yogurt as you’re serving finishes it off perfectly!

What you need:

1 large onion, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 cloves, sliced

1 leek, sliced

1 red pepper, diced finely

1 fennel bulb, diced finely

2 carrots. grated

1 parsnip, grated

1/2 jalapeno with seeds, finely diced

4-5 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 cup red lentils

salt and pepper, to taste

yogurt

What you do:

1.  Heat the olive oil in a large pot and cook onions until slightly browned.

2.  Add the garlic and leek and cook for a few more minutes.

3.  Add the rest of the vegetables and cook for about 5 minutes.

4.  Add the broth and lentils and cook for about 30 minutes, simmering on low.

5.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve with a dollop of  plain yogurt.

Cauliflower Quinoa Bake

Always looking for new ways to cook with quinoa, I found this recipe in the Hollyhock cookbook and just changed it a little, most notably by using less cheese.  Quinoa is a great source of iron, calcium and protein, and cauliflower provides lots of folate and vitamin C, and is has anticarcinogenic properties.

Oh, and it all tastes good together.

What you need:

1 tablespoon butter or olive oil

3 cups diced onion

3 chopped and rinsed leeks

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 head of cauliflower, roughly chopped

juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon fresh or frozen dill

1 cup kalamata olives

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup quinoa, uncooked

1 cup grated cheddar (or another favourite cheese) – I use lactose-free l’Ancetre brand

paprika

optional: soft silken tofu

What you do:

1.  Cook the rinsed quinoa in 1 & 1/2 cups water for 15 minutes.

2.  Saute the onions, leeks and garlic in the butter or oil until the onions are transparent

3.  Add the cauliflower and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes.

4.  Mix the onion mixture together with the quinoa, lemon, dill, olives, salt and pepper (optional silken tofu) and half the cheese in a baking dish.

5.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and garnish with a bit of paprika.

6.  Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350F.

This one is best served hot, and also works well to heat up as leftovers.

Chicken Tomatoes and Potatoes Oliver

My friend Jen has a Jamie Oliver cookbook, which is where I found this recipe – and it was a big hit with everyone who ate it.  There are a few steps involves in putting it together, but in the end you pop it in the oven, and it comes out ready to eat. When I first made it I had a fabulous variety of different coloured cherry tomatoes, but when I took these photos I didn’t have the same access to great tomatoes.  I recommend the variety, but it’s really good with just the regular red ones.

Of course I thought olives would be a good addition, because I think everything is better with olives.  If you don’t agree, feel free to leave them out!

What you need:

3/4  lb small new potatoes

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

olive oil

salt and pepper

splash of red wine

5oo or so grams of cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup black or green olives

5 cloves of garlic, sliced

a few tablespoons of fresh oregano

red wine vinegar

What you do:

1.  Cook the potatoes in boiling water until you can pierce them easily with a knife.

2.  Cut each thigh into strips of three pieces each.

3.  Put a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a bowl with salt and pepper.  Add your chicken and mix it up so all the pieces of chicken get coated.

4.  Fry the thighs in a hot frying pan until they are quite browned and almost cooked through.  You can deglaze the pan with red wine if you want.

5.  Boil a pot of hot water and place the cherry tomatoes in it, after giving each one a little poke with a knife.  After a minute in the hot water, pour it out and rinse in cold water.  Then pinch off the skins.  If you’re in a hurry you can skip this step, but it tastes so good this way!

6. When the potatoes are cooked, give them a little squish, as you can see in the photo below.

7.  Put the potatoes, chicken, optional olives and tomatoes in a roasting dish.

8.  Using a mortar and pestle, bash up the oregano with some salt and pepper.  Add this to the pan, along with the garlic, a little olive oil, and a few sprinkles of red wine vinegar.

9.  Bake for 40 minutes at 400F.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Here is a recipe from the old Moosewood Cookbook that I’ve been making for years in the winter time.  It’s a really tasty vegetarian recipe that’s also quite hearty.  It also looks pretty impressive when it’s served – it’s best to use quite small squash if you’re going to serve a half for each person.

What you need:

2 medium-sized acorn squash

1 cup uncooked brown riced

1 tablespoon butter or olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium-sized tart apples, diced

2 oranges, sectioned

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice or cloves

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

What you do:

1.  Cook the rice in 1 & 3/4 cups water for 45 minutes, then let it rest off the heat for 10 minutes.

2.  Cut the squash in half, de-seed and place cut-side-down on a baking tray.  Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350F, or until very soft.

3.  Melt the butter, then cook the onions until slightly browned.

4.  Add garlic, apples, oranges and spices and cook for about 5 minutes more.

5.  Add the apple mixture to the cooked rice and season with salt and brown sugar.

6.  Fill the squash with the rice mixture, top with nuts and a little more brown sugar if you like.

7.  Bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes or until heated through.

I like to have some for leftovers – I scoop it all into a container to save in the fridge, so it doesn’t look fabulous.  But it sure tastes great!

Corn Chowder, lactose-free

The sweetness of corn works well here with the salty-smokiness of the prosciutto and smoked paprika.  Roasted garlic comes in handy to perk up soups – sometimes when I’m baking I throw a bulb of garlic in the oven, wrapped in foil.  Then I store it in the fridge for future use.

If you don’t need to make this recipe lactose-free, feel free to use milk or half milk, half cream in place of the soy milk.

What you need:

100 grams prosciutto, chopped into medium-sized chunks

1 large onion, diced

1 leek, sliced

3 stalks celery, diced

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 large potato, chopped

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 bulb roasted garlic

4 cups chicken stock

2 cans corn or a few cobs

2 cups soy milk

a few dashes of hot sauce

a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper

What you do:

1.  In a large pot, cook the prosciutto for a few minutes, then add the chopped onions, leeks and celery.  Cook on medium heat until they are soft.

2.  Stir in the paprika and cook for a few more minutes.

3.  Add the chicken stock, potato, parsley and roasted garlic.  Cook for about 30 minutes on medium low heat.

4.  Add the corn and soy milk and let them heat up but not boil.  Add hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

Mushroom, Turkey and Hot Italian Sausage Lasagna, lactose-free

Lasagna is such a great dish for a dinner party – throw it in the oven before the guests arrive and you’ve got time to do a few last-minute things, and then sit down and relax a little while dinner cooks.

This recipe can be made lactose-free or lactose-full, depending on which way you lean.  For me soy and lactose-free cheese are revolutionary.  For cheesy/dairy people, just substitute with the real thing.  One product I never use is soy cheese; they don’t taste very good, and they stick to your teeth like melted plastic might.  Ick!  Instead I use lactose-free L’Ancetre cheeses, which tastes fabulous!

What you need:

1 recipe homemade pasta OR store-bought lasagna noodles

1 recipe Turkey & Hot Italian Sausage Tomato Sauce

1 recipe mushroom cream sauce

2-3 cups mozzarella cheese

What you do:

You have prepared all of your ingredients, and are now ready to put the lasagna together!  I used a 9×11 deep-dish pan for this recipe.  My homemade noodles were quite thin, so I was able to do 4 layers of pasta; if you are using store-bought noodles you might not be able to fit that many layer into your pan.  If this is the case you could assemble it in two pans, or save the extra sauce for another use.  (You can use the mushrooms to stuff some crepes!  And the tomato sauce could be served over pasta!)

1.  Spread a little tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan, about 1/3 of it.

2.  Lay out the noodles on top of the sauce.  If you are using homemade pasta you don’t need to cook it first.

3.  Now add a layer of the mushroom sauce, about half of it, then put some more noodles on top.  (Or, if you’re really into your cheese, you can add some extra mozzarella on top of the mushroom sauce.)

4.  Add another third of the tomato sauce, then more noodles.

5.  Now add the remaining mushroom sauce, then another layer of noodles.

6.  Final layer: the last of the tomato sauce.  The mozzarella cheese will go on half way through the baking.

So now you’ve got:

tomato, noodle, mushroom

noodle, tomato, noodle,

mushroom, noodle, tomato

7.  Cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350F.

8.  Remove the foil and sprinkle on the cheese.  Bake for another 30 minutes, then check to see if it has browned.  If not, then pop on the broiler for a minute, watching carefully so it doesn’t burn, until it’s browning and bubbly.

9.  Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it rest for about 20 minutes before cutting.  Letting it rest helps the pieces will stay together when you serve them.

Turkey and Hot Italian Sausage Tomato Sauce

Here’s a tomato sauce you can use for spaghetti or lasagna – I made it up to go in my Mushroom, Turkey and Hot Italian Sausage Lasagna.  It’s pretty easy to make, and just requires a bit of cooking time.

What you need:

3 spicy italian sausages

400 to 500 grams ground turkey

1 -796 mL can crushed tomatoes

1 -796 mL can chopped tomatoes

1 onion

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup white wine

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons olive oil or butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar, or to taste

a few shakes of chili flakes

salt and pepper

What you do:

1.  Remove casings from the sausages, then cook them in a large pot until the meat is no longer pink, adding the turkey meat and chopped garlic part way through.  Break up large pieces of meat and remove excess fat.

2.  Add the canned tomatoes, the whole onion, garlic cloves, wine, bay leaf, olive oil or butter and chili flakes to the meat.  Cook on low heat for about an hour, or more if you’ve got the time.

3.  Remove the onion and bay leaf, and add the brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

Feel free to make a big batch and freeze part of it.