Thursday, April 19, 2012

Grilled Cheese Sandwich


Nothing fancy for dinner tonight.  It was a beautiful sunny day here and I spent most of the day in the garden, not in the kitchen.  Soooo we had grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.

Very simple but good.  I grated marble cheddar cheese and sliced one green onion.


Then I butter one side of the bread and cook in a large frypan.


So buttered side down in pan, spread cheese and onion on bread and put on top slice, buttered side up.  Fry until bread is toasty and brown and flip to brown other side.  It is done when the cheese has melted.  I like the bite of the green onion and if you grate the cheese, I use about half the amount I use of sliced cheese.  Am I trying to argue that grilled cheese is healthy? Fuggedaboutit and Enjoy!


Julie

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Manicotti

It was a beautiful sunny day but quite chilly and a strong wind started late afternoon.  As we had duck for dinner last night, I decided to make something plainer and heartier for dinner tonight.  Not your typical Easter fare but it was delicious.



Start by preheating oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients

manicotti
2 lbs of ground meat
can of spaghetti sauce
breadcrumbs
mozzarella cheese
onions
garlic
green pepper
mushrooms


Start by browning your ground meat.  I used a pound of beef and a pound of pork but you can use any ground meat you like.  Salt and pepper to taste.  I also added dried herbs - 1 Tbsp parsley, 1 tsp oregano and 1 tsp of basil. You can definitely use fresh herbs if you have them on hand.


Once the meat is browned, strain and move to a large bowl.  Drain all but 1 tsp of fat from the pan.  Finely dice - 1/2 cup of onion, 1/2 cup of green pepper, 1 cup of mushrooms and 3 small cloves of grated garlic.  Add these to the pan and cook enough to soften.  Add to the bowl along with 1 cup of breadcrumbs that you have browned for 10 minutes in the oven.


Next stir in 1 1/2 cups of grated mozzarella cheese.


Boil water for the noodles.  You are going to cook them until they start to soften (5 to 7 minutes) but they need to still be quite firm to stuff.  If you overcook them or overstuff them, they will fall apart (see below).


Stuff the noodles with your meat mixture using a teaspoon or your very clean hands.  Use non-stick vegetable oil on the pan, spoon some spaghetti sauce over the bottom and lay the noodles in rows.  Spoon more sauce over the top.


Then cover with grated cheese and bake 30 to 45 minutes.


It's great served with a caesar salad and it freezes well. This pan would serve 6 so I have easy freezer meals for nights I don't feel like cooking. Enjoy!

Julie

Lemon Madeleines


I made lemon madeleines for dessert last night.  They were so good - this recipe is one of Laura Calder's.  When I  read the ingredients, I was a little skeptical but they were the best madeleines I ever had.  Nice and light and  fresh and moist.

Ingredients

1 cup and 2 Tbsp of flour
1/2 tsp of baking powder
pinch of salt
2/3 cup and 1 Tbsp of butter
1/2 cup and 2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp of honey
4 eggs
zest of one lemon
icing sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray your madeleine pan (see my recipe for coconut madeleines for full directions).  Mix flour and baking powder and salt together. Then melt butter and whisk in white and brown sugar, honey, eggs and lemon zest.  Add dry ingredients and mix to a smooth batter.  Pour into madeleine pans and bake 10 minutes.


I served them on a plate with some fresh strawberries dusted with icing sugar.  They were delicious.  My mother and I had orange duck for dinner and played a few games of Rummicube while enjoying our  dessert.  Happy Easter everyone.

Julie

Monday, April 2, 2012

BBQ Marinated Boneless Leg of Lamb


We had a gorgeous BBQ leg of lamb for dinner last night.  My sister did cooking and I marinated it.  The day before I put the leg of lamb in the marinade and turned it a couple of times.

Ingredients

1 carton (about 3 cups) of Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp of olive oil
1 Tbsp (2 or 3 cloves) of garlic
the juice of one lemon
1 Tbsp of Herbes de Provence
salt and pepper



Stir the marinade together and roll the lamb in it to completely cover.  Marinade up to 24 hours (at least 2 or 3 hours) in the fridge.  Tie the leg up with kitchen twine so it will cook evenly.

Heat up your BBQ or oven to about 400 degrees.  Cook 2 hours or until it is done to your liking.  I like medium rare - still quite pink.  When you are BBQing, heat one side of the BBQ and place roast on the other side (indirect heat) with the lid down.  Check and turn a couple of times.  Let it rest about 20 minutes before slicing.  The yogurt marinade is very flavourful and keeps the leg very moist.  Enjoy!



Julie