Vegetarian Barley and Mushroom Stew

^  Barley and Mushroom Stew ^

This is a hearty vegetarian stew that looks amazing, and I want to make it.  I had to post something meatless to take the thought of the last post out of my mind, lol.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
3 red potatoes, peeled and cut into eighths (about 2 cups)
8 whole garlic cloves, peeled
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup pearled barley *Tip: Make sure you buy pearled barley, with the husk removed.
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 cups vegetable stock
Chopped parsley for garnish (optional)



Add hot water to cover porcini; set aside.
Heat oil on medium-high heat in large pot; add onion, carrot, celery, potatoes and garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables brown, about 12 minutes.  Drain porcini, reserving liquid, and chop. Add fresh and reconstituted dry mushrooms; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add barley and cook, stirring, until shiny and coated. Stir in thyme, salt and pepper.  Add vegetable broth to porcini soaking liquid to make three cups; add to stew. Bring to boil over medium-high heat; turn heat down so stew barely bubbles. Cover and cook 30 minutes, stirring once or twice
Serve with chopped parsley if desired.
Makes four servings.


Found recipe at:http://www.thestar.com/living/article/543177 From Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

Candied Bacon (Father's day idea)

Would probably go great on top of the Ultimate pumpkin waffles .

I spied this recipe in Canadian Family magazine and thought about the meat-ivore in my life, my loving husband.  I don't eat bacon, but I can already hear the drool forming in the corners of the mouths of most meat-loving men, and probably the women too, over this interesting treat for a special breakfast.

Ingredients:

12 slices of bacon
1/4 cup of brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Place bacon on a foil-lined baking sheet with edges (like a jelly roll pan)  Sprinkle a spoonful of sugar over each strip of bacon and press it so that it adheres to the entire slice.  Bake for 13 - 15 minutes or until bacon is crisp and mahogany-coloured.  Watch carefully in the last few minutes because bacon can go from underdone to overdone very quickly.

There you go.  Bacon lovers rejoice.  Non-bacon lovers like myself be happy for the happiness of the bacon recievers, shake it off and go look up a tasty falafel recipe... mmmm, falafel... maybe later...

Drool Fodder: Ultimate Pumpkin Waffles

I will start by saying I need a waffle iron.  I want this recipe, want it badly.  I am thinking about getting the waffle iron just for this recipe alone, plus for all you people looking for a good father's day breakfast idea, I think this recipe will do, and maybe put candied bacon on top.  I have that recipe in a magazine, I will post it soon.  I don't eat bacon, but my mega-carnivore husband will probably love it to death.

Anyways, back to the drool worthy recipe at hand...   found at this webpage: http://pumpkinwaffles.wordpress.com/ultimate-pumpkin-waffle-recipe/
(they actually have pumpkin waffles in the webpage name lol, this person is really really serious about these waffles) 

This website is so devoted I am not even going to attempt to write the recipe on my page.  You will have to see for yourself, especially because the directions are fairly detailed and the pictures are very food-pretty.  I recommend at least drooling over this recipe for a few minutes before moving on to your bland frozen waffle substitutes.

Freeze ahead breakfast burritos

I really want to start eating a proper breakfast, but I have trouble getting up in the morning as is, then I have to feed the baby and 3 days a week we go straight to the chiropractors in the morning, so time is not on my side as they would say. 

I plan to try out this recipe, it looks good and may be the solution to my breakfast problems.  They do say that eggs provide energy and can keep you satisfied until the next meal, and eating two eggs a day for breakfast is supposed to help with weight loss. I am not on a 'diet' but after having a baby it would be nice to loose a few pounds so I am fairly interested in food that helps my weight but still tastes good.

By the way... who are 'they' and why are they always telling us what to eat??  Oh well, this looks good anyways.  I put my own spin on the recipe of course, so make your own changes too if you are brave.

You can vary the additions to this recipe for breakfast burritos. Add onions or frozen hash brown potatoes, omit the salsa, try using different types of cheese or flavored tortillas. The possibilities are endless!




Ingredients:

12 eggs

2 Tbsp. butter

1/2 cup chunky salsa

1 can or 1-2 cups chopped mushrooms

A cup or two of  'loose' veggies if you have them on hand, like onions, peppers, etc... the more veggies the healthier and better, sauteed or cooked and chopped.

1 tablespoon roasted red pepper dried spice (or your favorite spices, montreal chicken spice is good in everything too, even pasta sauce)

2 cups Cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese

24 flour tortillas

Preparation:

In large skillet, melt butter. Beat eggs and spice in large bowl and add to skillet. Cook eggs in butter, stirring frequently, until scrambled and set. Add cooked veggies and salsa to egg mixture and mix gently.

Warm tortillas as directed on package. Place about 1/2 cup egg and veggie mixture onto each tortilla and sprinkle with some cheese. Roll up each tortilla to make burritos, folding in the ends and rolling up. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets and freeze until solid. Then wrap individually and package in zip-lock freezer bags.


When you're ready to eat, unwrap the burritos, wrap loosely in microwave safe paper towel and heat in the microwave on high power for 1-3 minutes until hot and cheese is melted.


You can also thaw burritos in the refrigerator overnight, then wrap each in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until hot. The thawed burritos can also be deep fried for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and crisp.

makes 24 burritos roughly.


original recipe found here:  http://busycooks.about.com/od/breakfastmaindishes/r/freezerburrito.htm

Kraft Dinner of the week

Tuna Casserole

For me, I usually just kludge my tuna casserole together in a pinch, either adding a can of tuna and some peas to the last minutes of the boiling water, or the last 3 minutes of the microwave method, but if you want to try something a little more formal, here is a kraft dinner tuna casserole recipe.

Ingredients:

1 pkg (227 g) Kraft Dinner Macaroni and Cheese

1 (10 oz/284 mL) can cream of mushroom soup

1 can drained tuna

 1 cup frozen peas

1 Tbsp. Miracle Whip Dressing

Directions:
PREPARE pasta as directed on package.

STIR in soup, tuna, peas and salad dressing. Spoon into a baking dish.

BAKE at 350°F (180°C) for 15 minutes.

recipe found at: http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/kraft-dinner-tuna-casserole-85472.aspx