10 May 2011

crockpot braised ribs

another recipe i love to make in my own kitchen!

ingredients:
bay leaves, fresh (4-6, torn in half)
1/2 large onion, chopped
3-4 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2-3 carrots, peeled & roughly chopped
4 medium potatoes, quartered
1.5-2 lbs of spareribs in 1" pieces

in a bowl, marinate ribs with:
soy sauce (OR 2-3 tsp salt--i use soy sauce instead)
cracked pepper
prepared, minced garlic
1 tsp honey

coat ribs evenly with marinade.

in crockpot, combine all ingredients (along with any spare marinade).
add just enough liquid to cover (any liquid of choice: water, stock or a combination)
set crockpot for 4-6 hours.

serve with rice, toasted pita bread or pasta.

08 May 2011

linguine with butternut squash & double smoked bacon

this is actually something i just made at home earlier tonight.

you need:

fresh, whole wheat linguine (dried works too)
1 pkg of double smoked bacon
pre-cut butternut squash

preparation:

cut the butternut squash into 1 inch pieces.
remove rind from bacon, slice and cube into 3/4 inch pieces

preheat your stove to a medium-high heat.
add bacon and give it a 2-minute head start.
add squash. saute everything together for about 5-8 minutes.

season with a bit of pepper (the bacon is naturally salty, so don't add salt!)
add about 1/4 cup of water to the saute pan. turn heat down to low and allow everything to simmer for another 5-8 minutes more so that the squash will be tender.

for the pasta:
cook pasta according to directions if using dried.
IF using fresh pasta, cook near the end of the process

drain pasta and add to squash and bacon.

01 May 2011

kelsey's shepherd's pie: nothing like homemade!

i have to say: i've come to really appreciate the taste of homemade food (especially because i spend a lot of time cooking in my own kitchen at home). the shepherd's pie from kelsey's at warden-eglinton just happened to hit the sweet spot for me last night after a long day doing a CPR course with my bff.

a perfectly tender filling of ground beef, carrots, corn & peas, topped with mashed potatoes along with a side of steamed veggies and gravy was a brilliantly put together combination of flavours and textures. i also have to say that this happened to be a perfect portion, as it was in one of the white, ceramic boats that's often used for dishes such as mac & cheese etc.

now, me being the immensely hungry person i was, i pretty much managed to demolish everything along with a nice, warm cup of coffee. seeing me clean a plate when i go out is rare, but heck--$11.99 for the pie & veggies and then $2.29 for the coffee giving me a total bill of just over $16 after taxes was quite reasonable.

so, if you were to ask me if it goes in the books under the category of best thing i ever ate, the answer is YES!

till next time,