Category Archives: Recipes

French Toast

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One of my favourite breakfasts to have is french toast – I’ve loved it since I was a child and it’s an easy thing to make and so delicious!

Loaf of day old french bread (any bread will work but this is the best one)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Whisk the ingredients together. Slice the bread ( I like mine cut thick ). Heat a frying pan with vegetable oil and butter and then dip the bread into the mixture and place in pan. Cook until golden brown on one side, flip and finish cooking. Serve with a dusting of icing sugar and syrup. Quick and easy! Serve with sausage or bacon as well if you wish.

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Easy Vegetarian Chili

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It’s been a while since I made vegetarian chili but it’s one of my favourite recipes to make.

1 can whole tomatoes, with juice
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can kidney beans
1 can chick peas

Drain all the cans except for the tomatoes. Add everything into a crock pot (or a regular pot if you are making it later in the day). I add the tomatoes whole but cut them up a bit in the pot. For spices, I add chili powder, chipotle, oregano, salt, pepper, and if you like it spicy, add some Frank’s Red Hot sauce (or equivalent).

If it’s in the crock pot, turn it on low and let it simmer all day. If you are cooking it on the stove, turn it up high for 20 minutes, then lower it to simmer, put the lid on and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve the chili with some fresh bread.

BLT Pasta Salad

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I’m always looking for new recipes to try, and I came across this recipe in one of my magazines I have. It is delicious!!

1 lb mezzi rigatoni
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
Salt and pepper
8 slices cooked bacon, chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups baby arugula

Cook pasta.

Heat oil in a skillet at medium heat. Add onion and saute until just tender. Remove from heat and place onions in a large bowl.

Once pasta is cooked, drain well and to bowl, with 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper, and toss. Fold in the bacon, tomatoes and arugula.

An easy recipe and so good!

BLT Pasta Recipe - Pasta Recipes
Photo courtesy of Woman’s Day magazine

Shepherd’s Pie

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Tonight was a comfort night for dinner. I wanted a comforting meal to cook so I decided to make my shepherd’s pie. It’s a pretty basic recipe but fast, easy and delicious!

Ingredients

1 package ground beef (or chicken or turkey)
1/2 onion, chopped
3 medium sized potatoes, diced
Can of corn, drained
1/2 cup frozen green peas
Broth (beef, chicken or vegetable)
Salt, pepper, spices
Milk and butter
Shredded cheese

It’s a simple recipe and really the only thing that varies are the spices you like. I use minced garlic, rosemary, whatever I have on hand, I add. Tonight I used an Epicure product – a shepherd’s pie seasoning – which is very easy. I love Epicure! So yes I used that package tonight, and it made a lovely gravy for the beef.

Sautee the onion with 1 tablespoon of butter until soft, then add the ground meat and brown. While the meat is cooking, boil the potatoes until soft enough to mash.

To the meat, add salt, pepper, rosemary, garlic, to taste, and any other spices you might like. Add some broth – about 2 cups. This will create a nice gravy to season the meat.

Mash the potatoes with butter and milk until soft.

Layer the pie – first the veggies, then the meat mixture and then the mashed potatoes. I add shredded cheese to the top of it all in the casserole dish. Cook at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, to melt the cheese and cook the vegetables.

So easy, delicious and so comforting!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

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It’s a cool rainy day today so I’ve been perusing my cookbooks in anticipation of baking more, and I came across one of my favourite recipes.

3 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup chocolate chips

In a bowl, mix together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour (I use a whisk to make sure everything gets incorporated together). In a separate bowl, add sugar and beaten eggs to mashed bananas. Mix well. Add butter and mix. Stir in dry ingredients and add chocolate chips.

Spoon into muffin pan that has been greased and floured, or use muffin cups. My preference is to grease and flour but either way works.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Enjoy! This recipe makes 12 large muffins.

Taco Night!!

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I’ve been craving tacos so tonight I picked up the ingredients for guacamole.

Ingredients
Avocado, half of one mashed up with a fork – I like it chunky
One Roma tomato diced up
About 1/4 cup of red onion diced
Cilantro about a tbsp chopped
Sea salt, olive oil

Mix it all together and let it sit for at least 15 minutes.

Season the ground beef with your favourite taco seasoning. Layer your shell with chopped lettuce, guacamole, cheese and beef. Sour cream on the side to dip.

Daily Thought – October 13

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Yesterday was the Canadian Thanksgiving and I decided to buck tradition – and made lasagna. I experimented with the oven ready lasagna noodles and it was a hit! Here’s my recipe for my lasagna.

1 package lasagna noodles (oven ready)
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups chopped mushrooms
2 tbsp. oil and 1 tbsp. butter
2 jars of your favourite spaghetti sauce (or homemade)
1 500ml container ricotta cheese ( you can substitute cottage cheese as well )
Mozzarella cheese (I used 3 cups of shredded cheese in and had 1/2 cup for the top)

Sautee the onions in oil and butter for about 5 minutes, just until translucent. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute (don’t let it burn!). Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms shrink down. Remove from pan. Fry the ground beef until cooked then add back in the mushroom mix. Add in the sauce and simmer for 10 minutes, season with salt. In a bowl, combine the ricotta and mozzarella, mixing it well together

Prepare your lasagna pan. Spoon a small amount of the sauce on the bottom of the pan then add your first layer of noodles. I usually use about 4 and a half noodles, so that the entire bottom is covered.

Spoon sauce on top of the noodles. Spoon half the cheese mixture over the sauce and spread it out. Repeat – noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles. Pour remaining sauce on top of the noodles, sprinkle with the 1/2 cup cheese, and then bake for 60 minutes at 375 degrees. Take out and let sit for at least 5 minutes to let the lasagna set.

Food Quotes | Quotes about Food - Sophisticated Gourmet

Chocolate-Mocha Brownie Cookies

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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon hot coffee
  • 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour (or plain flour)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used sea salt)
  • 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, (add more if desired)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 2 cookie sheets or baking trays with parchment paper (baking paper).
  • In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, white sugar, butter and vegetable oil. Beat in egg and vanilla until fully incorporated.
  • Add the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir the dry ingredients first before mixing them through the wet ingredients until a dough forms (do not over beat). Fold in the chocolate chips.
  • Scoop out 1-2 tablespoonful of dough and place onto prepared baking sheets. Press them down as thick or thin as you want your cookies to come out. 
  • Bake in hot preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. The cookies will come out soft from the oven but will harden up as they cool. (Be careful not to over bake as they will dry out.)
  • Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Lentil Soup

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A perfect dinner for an Autumn evening

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 2 large stalks celery, diced
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more as needed
  • 1 cup dried red lentils
  • 4 cups water or low-sodium broth
  • 1 whole bay leaf (I like lots of bay leaves in my soup, so I added 3)
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1/2 large lemon)
  1. Heat the oil. In a medium (2- to 3-quart) saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the carrot, celery, onion, and salt and stir to combine. Cover and let the vegetables sweat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the lentils, water or broth, and bay leaf and bring up to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer, covered, until the lentils begin to fall apart, about 20 minutes.
  3. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Taste and season with salt as needed.

This was the first time I made this and I questioned the lemon juice in it – but definitely add it because it gives it a very nice taste! Enjoy!

Daily Thought – September 22

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Welcome to Fall! There’s nothing better, to me, than something cinnamon-y with a cup of coffee. It’s a nice treat on a cool Autumn night. Here’s a great recipe for a cinnamon streusel loaf!

Streusel
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup cold butter
1/2 cup butter, softened

Loaf
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cps all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp each baking soda and salt
2/3 cup buttermilk

Streusel – in small blow, stir together sugar, flour and cinnamon. Using pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until in coarse crumbs, set aside.

Loaf – in large bowl, beat together butter with sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs, 1 at a time. beat in vanilla. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir into butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, making 3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of buttermilk.

Scrape half of the batter into parchment paper-lined 9×5 inch (2 L) loaf pan. Top with half the streusel. Scrape remaining batter over top and sprinkle with remaining streusel.

Bake in 325 degree F (160 degree C) oven until cake tester inserted comes out clean, about 65 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack; let cool completely.