Pumpkin Chicken Coconut Curry Stew

Pumpkin Chicken Coconut Curry Stew

After Halloween, I had a big pumpkin that I wanted to breakdown into pieces that I could consume. It was a very fun and rewarding experience. And it was shocking home much pumpkin you got from just one little pumpkin! If you are looking for cost savings meals in the fall, definitely consider buying pumpkins. The pumpkin was also a great ingredient for a coconut curry. You could also use sweet potato as well.

ingredients:

2 cups+ raw fresh pumpkin cubed
red pepper
chicken breast
onion
1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp curry powder
1-2 tsp cayenne pepper

garlic
1-2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
ground pepper
1 tsp brown sugar

handful of cilantro

lime

chicken stock

directions:

1. Dice up some onions, and put them in a medium size to large pot in some oil or butter. Start to cooking the onions down until they become caramelized. While the onions are cooking, prep your other ingredients. Make sure you have your pumpkin in cubes, maybe 1 inch wide. Also some red pepper. If you haven't done so already, you could cook the chicken breast in the oven before hand and cut that up. Or you could cut the chicken and put it in the curry at the same time as the pumpkin.

2. After the onions are done cooking, you can add your spices, and garlic to them. Heating the spices will help reinvigorate them. After a few minutes, add your coconut milk. If the coconut milk doesn't look like enough, you can also add a little chicken stock to stretch it out. But don't add too much or you'll lose the coconut goodness.

3. Toss in your pumpkin, chicken, and red pepper at this time. And turn down to medium heat. Let it simmer and cook the pumpkin through. Maybe 15-20 minutes.

4. Once the pumpkin has cooked through taste the curry. Is it salty enough? Is it sweet enough? Is it spicy enough? There is a good chance you might want to add some salt, brown sugar, or cayenne pepper just to get it right.

5. Once the curry is done. Spoon it into bowls. You could eat it with rice. But definitely eat it with a squeeze of lime for some freshness and acidity. Also, some chopped cilantro.

Chickpea and Chorizo Soup

Chickpea and Chorizo Soup

I found a recipe for this soup on a Jamie Oliver recipe. I changed it a little, like I didn't add the egg for example. I just thought I'd make the recipe a little easier from things from my fridge and pantry. It was a nice spicy soup, good for the winter time.

ingredients:

half a link of chorizo
1 can of chickpeas

1 carrot
1/2 onion
handful of kale
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 container of chicken stock (or veggie)
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp paprika
salt
pepper

directions:

1. Dice one onion, and put it in a large pot with some oil or butter. Chop up about half a link of store bought chorizo, and toss that into that pot after the onions get translucent or caramelized. At this point you can also toss in one carrot cut into tiny pieces. Put in 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper and mix. Next, put in about 2 cloves of garlic crushed. And cook for 1-2 minutes.

2. Then add your can of diced tomatoes, and about 1/2 container of chicken stock. Put in about as much as you'd like. After that, you can put in one can of whole chickpeas. Put the pot at about medium heat, and cooking for 15-20 minutes.

3. Let the pot cook, so that the carrots and chcikeaps are all cooked through. Then add in a handful of chopped kale into the pot. Cook for a few more minutes.

4. Taste the soup. Is it spicy enough? Salty enough? Add more cayenne pepper or chili flakes for spice. If you'd like the soup to be a little redder you could also add some paprika.

Wintery Spicy Sausage Kale Soup

Wintery Spicy Sausage Kale Soup

A great winter soup that is filling, but is also a little different. Tired of beef stew or chicken noodle soup? Give this soup a try! The turkey sausage is a refreshing change of pace compared to boring chunks of chicken breast. Also this soup is spicy, which also makes it great for the winter months or if you have a cold.

ingredients:

2 spicy or mild turkey sausages. You can substitute with pork as well, turkey is just healthier

2 white or yellow potatoes, skins on, sliced of cubed
handful of kale
garlic
salt
pepper
chili flakes, or cayenne pepper
1-2 containers chicken stock, or veggie stock
1 onion

butter

flour
cream or milk (optional)

directions:

1. Dice up your onion, and put it in a large pot with some butter or oil. Let it simmer and start to caramelize. When it's starts to become translucent put in your turkey sausage. If they are in casings, cut the casing of the turkey and squeeze out the meat inside. Season the onions and meat with salt, pepper, chili flakes (cayenne), and crushed garlic.

2. After you have cooked the meat for a while in the onions and spices, add your stock. At this point add your potatoes well.

3. In a sauce pan, add some butter. Melt it down, then slowly start to add flour. Make a rue which you will use to thicken your soup. If you don't want to make a rue, or you want your soup to be creamy add some cream or milk instead. Or you could add both.

4. Cook the soup on low to medium heat until the potatoes are cooked through. Once the potatoes are almost cooked, put in some chopped up kale and let it cooked for at least a few more minutes.

5. Taste test your soup. Is it spicy or salty enough for you? I find I like mine a little spicy, so I might add some more chili flakes at this point if I want.

Beef Stew with St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout

Beef Stew with St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout

If you don't cook beef stew with either red wine, or an amber or dark beer, than you should. For this stew, I used the St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout. It gave it a dark deep rich flavour. Cooking with this beer gave it tastes of espresso and chocolate, which gave the stew another dimension.

ingredients:

2 pounds stew beef
2 carrots
2-3 celery stalks
1 onion

3 poatoes (skin on or off)
1 container of beef stock, or beef bouillon cube

handful of frozen peas

1-2 bay leaf

3 tbsp flour
salt
pepper

1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 bottle of dark or amber beer

directions:

1. Cut stewing beef into cubes. About 1-2 inches thick. Just make sure they are an even size and will cook at the same rate. Chop vegetables into similar sized pieces and set aside.

2. Dredge the beef in a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper. And heat some oil in a large pot. Once the pot is hot, put in the beef to get a sear on the outside of the beef. Flip around until there is a brown crust forming on all sides of the beef.

3. Next, drop in your potatoes, and pour in your beef stock. This is also when you can pour in your beer, and your vinegar. The vinegar will help break down the beef and make it more tender. I'm not going to put in the other vegetables yet because I don't want those to become overcooked. But I don't mind if the potatoes are mushy. If you want firmer potatoes, put them in with the rest of the vegetables later. Bring to a boil, and then simmer.

4. Simmer the beef in the broth for at least 30 minutes on its own. After 30 minutes, you can add the onions, celery, and carrots to the stew. Also add 1-2 bay leafs. And cover the pot again.

5. Continue to simmer the stew covered for another 30 minutes. At this point you can pull out your bay leafs. And drop in your frozen peas which should cook quite quickly, which is way we save them for last.

6. After a few minutes the beef stew should be done, and ready to serve. Best eaten with bread.

Eggplant Parm Sandwich with Greek Style Potatoes

Lemony potato goodness.

Paneer Pasanda

I ate this at my friend's wedding a couple years ago and after wards I needed to figure out how to make it! I LOVE paneer!

Butternut Squash Soup

With a broccoli tree growing up the middle...

Salmon Pie with Grilled Fennel

Salmon Pie with Grilled Fennel

My mom made this for me when I was at home recently, and I decided to make it myself.

ingredients:

canned salmon
eggs
green onion
salt
pepper
cream
pie crust

Chickpea Curry

Chickpea Curry

Ingredients:

1 can Chickpeas
1 Red pepper
1 Green pepper (Sometimes I will do orange instead)
1 Onion (white or yellow)
1 Garlic Clove
1 can Cocunut Milk (or 1/2 can)
1 tablespoon Curry Powder
1 tablespoon Cumin
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric (mostly for colour)
1/4 teaspoon Chili Powder
Salt
Olive Oil
Water

Instructions:

1. Dice up a red pepper, green pepper, and onion. Mash up some garlic. Add these elements into a frying pan, in perhaps some margarine. Add some salt to help release the water in the vegetables. Add 1 can of chickpeas. Then cover with water so everything is submerged. Cook on
medium heat.
2. After a while, the chickpeas will soften, you will see the skin start to peel off a bit. And the water will evaporate.
3. Once the water has evaporated, it is time to add the spices. Put in 1 tablespoon curry, 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
(you can add more if you want it hotter but I really recommend this amount) and at least 1/2 can of coconut milk. (I usually don't shake the can up and just add the creamy half floating on the
top and chuck the rest)
4. Let that cook down, so the coconut milk and spices reduce and become sticky. Once sticky, add in a little olive oil and mix it together. (oil isn't necesarry but maybe helps bind it and give
it a little shine)
5. Serve with basmati rice.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:

1/2 block Firm Tofu
1/2 can Kidney Beans
1 cup frozen Peas and Carrots (you could use fresh...)
1/2 Onion (white or yellow)
2 Cloves Garlic
Soy Sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Ketchup
Pepper

Potato Topping:

4 potatoes
Margarine
Salt
Water (or milk...)
Sour Cream (If you want them extra creamy)

Instructions:

1. Boil 4 medium sized potatoes.
2. Crumble 1/2 block of Firm Tofu into a dish. Cover with soy sauce so that all the tofu has some on it and turns brownish. Marinate this over night if possible. (Instead of doing this you could use ground round or whatever... but I never do. I always just crumble tofu and add soy sauce for my fake ground beef)
3. Fry tofu with diced onions, and garlic. Add a dash of pepper. Once the tofu starts to brown. Add 1/2 can of kidney beans, 1 cup of frozen peas and carrots or however much you wish, 1 tablespoon of ketchup, and then 1-2 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce (you can get this vegan if you wish, the normal stuff has anchovie paste in it)... I never measure the worcestershire sauce... I just add and taste it.
4. Mash potatoes in a pot with some margarine and add salt to taste. Add water (or milk) to help the mashing process. Maybe 1-2 cups. Add it bit by bit until you get the consistency that you want.
5. Take a square casserole dish, like 9 x 9 inches. Fill the bottom with the tofu and beans mixture and flatten. Then spoon the mashed potatoes on top of that and flatten. Score the top of the potatoes with a fork to make it look all pretty.
6. Put in the oven at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Flip it to broil for 5-10 minutes at the end until the top gets slightly brown. (the scoring with the fork will make this more noticeable).

Vegetarian Bean Chili

Vegetarian Bean Chili

Ingredients:

1 can Mixed Beans (chickpeas, kidney beans, etc)
1/2 can Black Beans
1/2 can corn (or frozen)
1 can Tomatoes
1 Onion (white or yellow)
1 Red Pepper
2-3 Celery Stalks
2 Cloves Garlic
2 teaspoon cayenne/chili pepper (1 teaspoon if you want it less hot)
1 + 1/2 tablespoon cumin
1 + 1/2 tablespoon coriander
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 veggie cube

Instructions:

1. Crush garlic, and dice 1 onion, 1 red pepper and a couple celery stalks.
2. Toss these elements into a big pot with some margarine in the bottom. Add a little salt if you want, helps release the water inside the vegetables.
3. Let it cook for 5 minutes.
4. Put in 1 can of diced tomatoes.
5. Add spices. 1 veggie cube, 1-2 teaspoon of chili pepper (don't do too much if you don't like things hot), 1 + 1/2 tablespoon of cumin, 1 + 1/2 tablespoon of coriander, 1 tablespoon brown sugar (I like things that are spicey and sweet, you can leave this out if you wish), dash of pepper
6. Let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.
7. Add in 1 can of mixed beans, 1/2 can of black beans (if they aren't in your mixed beans), and 1/2 can of corn.
8. Simmer for 20 more minutes.
9. I recommend letting it sit/simmer off the heat for a bit with the lid on. This will give the flavours a chance to blend and mingle, and get all happy.
10. Top with shredded cheese and green onion if you wish.
11. Serve with blue corn tortilla chips... and sour cream! My favourite!