Broccoli and Potato Soup

This is really really good soup! It is thick, hearty, and very filling. You could probably make it even healthier by using low-fat milk instead of cream, and less cheese. It looks watery at first, but after you puree everything it thickens right up! This serves about 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

• 2 large heads of broccoli, roughly chopped
• 5-6 potatoes, diced (keep 2 of the diced potatoes separate)
• extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cups vegetable stock or broth
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup whipping/heavy cream (or milk)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup grated old white cheddar
  
• salt & pepper to taste

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 220 C (425 F). In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat and saute the 3-4 diced potatoes.
2. Add in enough vegetable stock so that the potatoes are just covered. Add 1 1/2 of the chopped broccoli heads (save 1/2 of a chopped broccoli head for the end). Cover and simmer over med-low heat for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
3. Sprinkle the remaining 2 diced potatoes (make sure they are not huge chunks) with salt and pepper and place on a greased and/or lined baking sheet and bake until crispy and fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes.
4. Puree the soup with blender or your food processor (don’t overfill, if it all doesn’t fit you can always do this in two parts) and then put in back in the pot.
   
5. Add in the cream/milk and cheese. Add the rest of the broccoli and cook for several more minutes.
   
6. Gently stir in the roasted potatoes, then check the seasoning and add salt and/or pepper if you feel it’s needed.
7. Enjoy!
   

Mini peanut butter cups

These are great!! Mark can't get enough of them! Extremely easy to make too!

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces (115 g) white chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 12 ounces (340 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (or dark chocolate), chopped

What you do:

1. Line two 12-cup mini muffin pans with paper liners; set aside.
   
2. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine white chocolate and peanut butter. Microwave, until almost melted, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, stirring halfway through. Set aside to cool slightly.
   
3. Meanwhile, place semisweet chocolate in another microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, stirring once or twice, until almost melted, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Dividing evenly, use a spoon to layer semisweet chocolate and peanut-butter mixture into liners, beginning and ending with chocolate; sprinkle with peanuts. Place muffin pans in freezer until peanut butter cups are firm, about 15 minutes.
   
5. Bring to room temperature before serving and enjoy!!

I got this recipe from here

Cajun Chicken Pasta

This recipe was pretty good. I didn't use enough cajun seasoning, so next time it will be even better!! This recipe feeds about 4 people.

Ingredients:

• Bowtie pasta
  

For the chicken:

• 1-2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Salt and pepper
• Cajun seasoning

For the sauce:

• butter & olive oil
• 1 red capsicum (bell pepper), seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1 green capsicum (bell pepper), seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1/4 of a yellow onion, chopped
• freshly ground salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 T cornstarch
• 1 T water
  

What you do:

1. To cook the chicken, heat a small amount of butter or olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and a generous sprinkle of Cajun seasoning. Add to the skillet and cook until lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
2. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, return the skillet to medium heat and heat the butter and olive oil until the butter has melted.
   
4. Add the capsicums and onion to the pan. Mix in the salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 6-8 minutes.
   
5. Add the half-and-half and heavy cream to the pan and bring to a simmer.
   
6. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water, and add to the skillet once the cream mixture has started to bubble. Allow to cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
7. When the sauce has thickened, add the cooked pasta and chicken pieces to the pan. Stir well to combine and cook at medium-low heat just until the chicken is warmed through.
8. Adjust the amount of Cajun seasoning if necessary to suit your tastes.
   
9. Serve immediately and top with additional Cajun seasoning, if desired.

I got the recipe and picture from browsing tastespotting.

Tacos (vegetarian style)

These are very yummy and healthy tacos. Since I don't eat beef, but I love tacos, I had to invent this recipe on my own. Mark loves it. This recipe feeds 2-4 people, depending on how many beans and taco shells you use.

Ingredients:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 T Cumin
• 1 t Paprika
• 1 t Cayenne
• 1 t Mexican chili powder
  
• 1 red capsicum (red bell pepper) chopped
  
• 1 green capsicum (green bell pepper) chopped
  
• 1-2 cans organic red kidney beans
• 1 cup of taco sauce (from a jar)
  
• frozen corn
• taco shells

What you do:

1. Add oil to a heated pan and then add the onions.
2. After a minute or two, add the garlic and some of the spices and sauté for a bit.
3. Add the red and green capsicums and sauté for a few minutes.
4. Add the beans, the rest of the spices, and the taco sauce. Simmer for several (5-10) minutes. Add the corn towards the end.
   
5. Meanwhile, heat up the taco shells in the oven until they are starting to turn light brown.
6. Fill up the shells and serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole (mash up an avocado and add S&P, lemon juice, and sour cream to taste), and salsa. (you could even add some shredded lettuce and fresh tomatoes if you wish)
   
7. Enjoy!! Yum!
   

Blueberry Banana Bread

MMMMMM! Now this is some good eats! It is based on several different banana bread recipes from tastespotting.com and I decided to add blueberries because I just happened to have some. It's super moist and soft and honestly, perfect!
Ingredients:

• 250g plain flour
• 150g regular sugar (I used organic)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• a few grinds of iodized sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 115g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3 large or 4 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 packet of blueberries
  

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F). Grease the bottom and sides of a loaf tin, or line with grease proof paper (I lined with grease proof paper for easier clean up).
   
2. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts. In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients - mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.
3. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients bit by bit, just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. Add the blueberries here too. **IMPORTANT: Do not overmix the batter** There should still be traces of flour. Over mixing will result in tough bread.
4. Pour the batter into the loaf tin. Bake in the middle of the oven for 60 minutes, until the bread is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. The bread is easier to slice when it has cooled.
   

Lasagna: simple, yet amazing!

This is a family recipe. I have tried to modify it in the past by adding spinach and/or other veggies, but nothing is as good as the original. Since veggies are good for you (you should be eating 5 servings per day!), please serve them on the side! This recipe easily feeds 3, possibly even 4 people. We have 2 small baking dishes, so I always make a gluten-free one with meat for Mark and a whole-wheat one without meat for me. The picture is of Mark's meat one.

Ingredients:

• Lasagna sheets (preferably organic whole wheat, or use gluten-free if you have Coeliac like Mark)
• ~ 400 g (14 oz) shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (please, no dried crap!)
  
• 500 g (~18 oz) Ricotta cheese (yes, you need this much for such a little lasagna!)
• Marinara sauce (you can use meat sauce if you must)
  

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 190 C (375 F) and cook the pasta sheets if they aren't instant.
2. In a small (8 x 8 inches), square glass baking dish (if you want to use the large one, you need to double the recipe), spoon sauce in the bottom of the pan (to prevent the noodles from sticking)
3. Lay down one layer of noodles (if you are using the instant kind, be aware that these noodles will grow during the baking!)
4. Layer in this order: ricotta (a thick layer of this is best), mozzarella, parmesan cheeses
   
5. Spoon marinara sauce over the cheeses
6. Lay lasagna noodles on top of the marinara sauce
7. Spoon more marinara over the noodles and repeat until done (sauce, noodles, sauce, cheeses, sauce, noodles, sauce, cheeses, ....)
8. End with the cheese layer
9. Bake in hot oven for 40 mins or until bubbly (I like to cover with foil first and half way through remove the foil)

*note: you can freeze either before baking or after

Creamy Semi-Dried Tomato and Mushroom Pasta

This is one of my favourites! It's quick and easy, plus it's very good the next day for lunch! This recipe yields about 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• Chicken breasts cut into strips (optional)
• ~ a heaping 1/2 cup of semi-dried tomatoes (like sun-dried tomatoes, but a bit softer)
• 3/4 of a jar of your favourite organic tomato sauce
• ~3/4 or 1 cup of heavy/thickened cream
• ~ 1 cup of sliced mushrooms
• Organic whole-wheat penne pasta
  

What you do:

Cook the chicken any way you like. I think grilled would be best, but if you don't have a grill, then saute the chicken in a pan with butter and olive oil. Set aside.
Meanwhile...

1. Start the pasta water boiling.
   
2. Chop up the semi-dried tomatoes (or put in food processor) and saute in pan (same pan chicken was in).
3. Once the tomatoes are going, add sliced mushrooms and saute until mushrooms are soft
4. Add tomato sauce and cream (the sauce should be pink in colour).
   
5. By now the pasta water should be boiling. Add the pasta to the water.
6. Add the chicken to the sauce and simmer until pasta is ready
   
7. Drain the pasta and mix the sauce and pasta together really well so that the pasta is coated with the sauce.
8. Serve into bowls and top with a lot of freshly grated parmesan (none of that dried crap!)
9. Enjoy with some crusty bread!!