Here's our New Year dish...

and here's the directions if you are interested:

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/gruyere_and_bacon_quiche.php?...rce=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=countdown_22Nov2012

What a lousy night's sleep!

I slept from 9:00-10:30 then was awake until 2:00 am, slept from 2:00-4:00 and then the eyes popped open again. My internal clock is surely on the fritz and needs a re-boot!

While I was awake in the middle of the night I spotted this and thought...oh yumm! I love barley! This would be terrific serve with some steamed green veggies, either asparagus or broccoli or for that matter brussels sprouts.

Barley Bake

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour 25 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

Servings: 6

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 (14.5 ounce) cans vegetable broth

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in onion, barley, and pine nuts. Cook and stir until barley is lightly browned. Mix in green onions, mushrooms, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a 2 quart casserole dish, and stir in the vegetable broth.

3. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until liquid has been absorbed and barley is tender.

Somewhere down the road...

I would love to make these!!

Mexican Chicken Chowder, Crock Pot Style

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs chicken breasts, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 celery ribs, chopped (I left these out)
4 oz diced green chilies
1 cup of Velveeta cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 cups of chicken broth
1 package of dry chicken gravy mix
2 cups of milk
2 cups of salsa (mild for me)
2 cups of corn
32 oz bag of frozen hash brown potatoes

Directions:

1. Combine chicken, onions, garlic, celery and broth in the slow cooker, cover and cook on low for at about 6 hours.

2. Dissolve the gravy mix into the milk in a medium size bowl. Stir into the chicken mixture. Add the salsa, thawed potatoes, chilies, corn and cheese. Mix well and cover. Cook for an additional 2 hours.

Isn't this just the sweetest? I remember doing this as a kid when we lived in Yukon.

I saw this and want to make this next year...

How cool is this???

I have 3 recipes for next year as well...at least if I post them here - I'll know where to find them. :-D

Here is the link for a Mushroom, Walnut and Barley Pilaf:

http://www.mushrooms.ca/recipes/recipe.aspx?ID=188

I thought this looked totally yummy!












Then I saw this healthy recipe for a Turkey Lentil Soup...

Ingredients

2 T extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil
1 chopped onion
10 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 clove minced garlic
1 T soy sauce
1 cup dry lentils
2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
1 lb. cooked turkey, cut into cubes
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
Salt to taste
Directions

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, mushrooms and garlic and cook until soft, about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add lentils, soy sauce and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until lentils are tender, but not mushy. Stir in turkey and pepper. Season to taste.

Yield

8 servings

Nutritional Information

Calories: 194
Fat: 4g
Carbohydrate: 18g
Saturated fat: 0.5g
Protein: 21g
Sodium: 325mg
Cholesterol: 23mg
Fiber: 8g

But the one I can really hardly wait to make is this one:

Pumpkin and Leek Nut Roast

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
750g butternut pumpkin, peeled,deseeded, cut into 1cm cubes
2 small leeks, halved, washed, thinly sliced
1 cup mixed nuts, finely chopped (such as pistachio nuts, roasted hazelnuts, slivered almonds)
1 1/2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/4 cup coriander leaves, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
steamed peas and oven-baked chips, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease and line base and sides of a 7cm deep, 10cm x 18cm (base) loaf pan with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang at both long ends.

2. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add pumpkin and cook for 5 minutes. Add leek and cook for 5 minutes or until pumpkin is tender. Transfer vegetables to a bowl. Cool for 15 minutes.

3. Add nuts, breadcrumbs, ground coriander, coriander leaves, egg, soy sauce and salt and pepper to vegetables. Mix to combine.

4. Press mixture firmly into pan. Sprinkle over sesame seeds, pressing into surface with your fingertips. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden and firm to the touch. Stand loaf in pan for 10 minutes. Lift out and slice. Serve with peas and hot chips.

Time to Give Thanks!

I have this little ditty to share with you...

And to add to your holiday table, here is a Mincemeat Bundt Cake:

This recipe makes 12 servings

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 Cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups classic mincemeat
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk

Topping:

1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp grated orange rind
2 tbsp orange juice

Preparation

Grease and flour 10-inch (3 L) bundt pan; set aside.

In bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla.
Stir in mincemeat. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, making 3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of milk. Scrape into prepared pan, smoothing top.

Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack. Turn out onto cake plate.

Topping: Stir together sugar and orange rind and juice until smooth; drizzle over cake.

I wonder if Larry would enjoy these?

I think these would be awesome with a bowl of soup!!

SWEET POTATO BISCUITS
from Chow.com

INGREDIENTS

•2 cups all-purpose flour
•1 tablespoon baking powder
•1 tablespoon granulated sugar
•1/2 teaspoon fine salt
•1/4 teaspoon baking soda
•3/4 cup whole milk
•1 cup baked, mashed sweet potato (about 1 medium potato)
•8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), frozen
•Heavy cream for brushing the tops

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside. In a separate large bowl, mix together milk and mashed sweet potato until evenly combined.

Grate frozen butter through the large holes of a box grater and toss with dry ingredients until butter is coated. Add milk mixture and mix lightly until dough forms a shaggy mass.

Turn out mixture onto a floured surface and knead just until it comes together. (The dough will not be smooth.)

Pat into a circle and use a floured rolling pin to roll dough to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cookie cutter, or glass, cut the dough into rounds. Gather leftover dough into a circle, reroll, and cut until you have 8 large biscuits.

Place biscuits on a baking sheet, brush tops with heavy cream, and bake until the bottoms are golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.

For a holiday table...Carrot Cream Soup – cream-less and dairy-free!

I thought this was worth sharing. Here's a link:

http://dinnerinvenice.com/2012/11/15/carrot-cream-soup-cream-less-and-dairy-free/

Homemade Christmas Gifts...

I saw this the other day and thought the brown sugar body scrub would sure be a nice stocking stuffer. Check out the link:

http://www.countrycleaver.com/2012/11/diy-sugar-scrub.html

I must be in a "spa" kind of mood these days because the blue glass in the next picture made me feel so serene, just looking at it. I know that colored glass is triggering something in the back of my memory but I just can't seem to drag it to the front of my mind. Mom wasn't a makeup or lotions & potions kind of lady so I don't think it's something from her. I wonder if this blue glass was something my Grandmother had?

I was craving a mushroom soup the other day since we haven't made a mushroom soup since we left town and I found this recipe. I had the typical mushroom soup out of a can last night but I have a block of Swiss that we need to use, so I think I will substitute the Swiss cheese for the Gouda. Either one would taste good! I see this making an appearance on our dinner table pretty darned quick!

Golden Gouda Mushroom Soup

Prep/Total Time: 30 min.

Yield: 6 Servings


Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 carton (32 ounces) chicken broth
1/2 cup sherry or additional chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
4 garlic cloves, minced << gonna skip this
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded smoked Gouda cheese << using Swiss instead
Chives and smoked paprika

Directions

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, pepper and allspice until smooth; gradually add the broth, sherry and cream. Bring to a boil. Add mushrooms and garlic.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-6 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.
Add cheese; cook and stir until melted. Garnish servings with chives and paprika.

I have decided that I am going to take a bit of a break from blogging. This is extremely time consuming process...finding nice pictures and information to share let alone writing the blog and formatting it. This comes at a time of the year when I would rather be doing things to celebrate the holiday season - both myself personally and with hubby. If I find something I simply must share, I will. But for now my priorities have shifted.

A little tired so not very creative...

I am a little weary and I am not sure why I always expect to get caught up in 24 hours and then feel disappointed in myself when I have hardly made a dent in what needs to be done. I've had years of training with others having unreasonable expectations of me and trying my best to meet those demands despite the cost to my health - I guess this bad habit of mine is going to take some time to change.

We certainly saw a lot of RV's and trailers on the road this trip. I guess there were a lot of folks with itchy feet in October and November. I have to admit, if I was going to travel that way I would want all the luxuries of our hotel and there's no way we could afford something that high end. Truthfully, it's not my idea of fun in terms of traveling, but then I again I never liked camping either. I saw this picture though and thought this was very pretty...if you did happen to like camping.

I think tomorrow, after I pick up a few groceries, I will make us a nice Creamy Shrimp and Tomato Chowder. Here's the link for it: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/soups/creamy-shrimp-tomato-chowder/

Ingredients

2 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, undrained
8 ounces medium peeled cooked shrimp
1/2 cup whipping cream << I will use skim milk 1/2 cup water Ground Black Pepper Slivered fresh basil Focaccia wedges Directions 1. In a large saucepan cook celery and onion in hot oil just until tender. Stir in tomatoes; heat through. Add shrimp, whipping cream, and water. Cook over medium heat just until hot. Season to taste with pepper. 2. Ladle chowder into bowls; top with basil. Serve with focaccia wedges. Serves 4 (1-1/2-cup servings).

Doesn't this sound yummy???

Found a few soup recipes...

I have a few new soup recipes that I plan to try this week. I will post them and my comments as I try them.

Today is all about settling in at home and taking care of business. I don't expect to let any grass grow under my feet today.

We held off having our Chinese food anniversary supper as we were still full from lunch at Red Lobster. I think we'll have that tonight and I will tackle a few groceries tomorrow. :-)