Seafood Chowder

You know that Winter has arrived when temperatures dip to -25! With that comes the desire for wholesome warm meals. This chowder recipe is excellent - absolutely delish!

Ingredients:

1/2 pound sliced bacon
2 medium onions chopped
6 cups diced and peeled potatoes
4 cups of water
1 pound of each seafood you want to use cut into 1 inch pieces - we used lobster and halibut
1/2 cup of butter
4 teaspoons of salt
4 teaspoons of oregano
1/2 teaspoon of curry powder
4 cups of milk
1 can of evaporated milk

Directions:

In a large stockpot, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove and place on paper towel; reserve the drippings. Sauté the onions in the drippings until tender- add the potatoes and water; bring to a boil for 10 mins.

Add your seafood and cook for another 10 mins. Add the butter, salt, oregano, and curry powder. Stir in the milk and evaporated milk and heat through. You can garnish with the bacon or mix in and serve!

Perfect for a cold day - Enjoy!

LLW

Curried Mussels

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup minced shallots (or sweet yellow onion finely chopped)
  
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 pound of mussels - cleaned and debearded
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions

Cooking It Up:

1. In a large saucepan, cook shallots and garlic in simmering wine until translucent.
2. Stir in cream and curry powder. When sauce is heated through, add mussels. Cover, and steam mussels for a few minutes, until their shells open wide. With a slotted spoon, transfer steamed mussels to a bowl, leaving the sauce in the pan. Discard any unopened mussels.
3. Whisk butter into the cream sauce. Turn heat off, and stir in parsley and green onions. Serve immediately.

Serves 2-3

Pasta Salad with Evoo and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Spring time is here; we had an amazing weekend weather-wise and they are calling for even more incredible weather this upcoming weekend – unusually high temperatures of 22 and 24!! I am SO excited; but I don’t want to get my hopes up too high until I’m actually lying on the deck enjoying every moment!
Here is a nice and light pasta salad – that goes well alone or as a side. It’s perfect to take as leftovers in your lunch as well.

Ingredients:

¾ cup of EVOO
¼ cup balsamic vinaigrette
2 Tablespoons dried oregano
1 Tablespoon parsley
1 Teaspoon basil
1Tablespoon Parmesan
1 clove crushed garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste

Pasta of your choice; we had Rotini on hand;
Veggies of your choice; I used grape tomatoes, green pepper, red onion, and carrots. Cucumber is always good in pasta salad as well.
6 slices of bacon chopped.



(Chicken or shrimp would be a good addition as well if you were making it as a meal.)

Directions:

Cook pasta – let it cool while you make the dressing and chop the veggies; Mix everything together in a bowl; chill in the refrigerator and it is ready to serve.


Enjoy!

Ritz cracker Haddock with white wine

I am always looking for new ways to cook haddock – so if you have a favourite recipe or have found something delicious, please share it with us!

I came across this on tastespotting; and it’s so simple and so incredibly tastey, it is definitely a new favourite in our house. MS and I both loved it and both exclaimed how good it was after our first bites! (Which, I don’t know about you guys, but I usually have to ask MS if he likes something new – so it was great to hear that he loved something before I even had a chance to ask.)

Ingredients:

1 pound haddock fillets (we had two pounds – so cooking time was longer; and you should double up on the rest of the recipe)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons white cooking wine (we just used pinot grigio – what we had)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
8 to 10 Ritz crackers, crumbled
parsley, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a bowl, combine melted butter, wine and lemon juice and pour a small amount into a baking dish – to cover the bottom;

Place the haddock into the baking dish and pour the remaining butter mixture over the top. Then crumble Ritz crackers over the fish and sprinkle with parsley.

Bake in preheated oven until haddock is flaky – 20 mins per pound.


Serves 2.

Slow Cooker Seafood Chowder

This is the easy and inexpensive version of a delicious seafood chowder. If you are making this for a special evening (date night or company) you could easily replace the canned seafood with fresh. I would stir fry the fresh seafood, this can even be done the night before and kept in the refrigerator, and add it for the last 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through.

The Grocery List:

• 1 can (10 ounces) condensed cream of potato soup
• 1 can (10 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 4 medium carrots, finely chopped
• 2 large potatoes, chopped into small (1/4 inch) cubes
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp minced garlic
  
• 2 tsp Mrs. Dash (original blend)
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 can (6 ounce) medium shrimp, drained
• 1 can (6 1/2 ounce) chopped clams, drained
  
• 1 package (227 g) imitation crab, chopped (I used clover leaf crab delectable)
  
• 1/2 package bacon, cooked and crumbled

Cooking It All Up:

In a slow cooker, combine the undiluted soups and milk. Stir in the vegetables, garlic and spices.

Cover and cook on low for 5 hours. Normally you shouldn't lift the cover when you are slow cooking food but I recommend stirring this every hour or so and then quickly replacing the cover so you don't loose too much heat.

Stir in clams, shrimp, and crab. Cover and continue cooking on low for 20 - 30 minutes until heated through.

Garnish each serving with crumbled bacon.

Makes 8 servings.

Tuna Buns

These buns are super easy to make for a great lunch or a quick supper. My kids do a little happy dance when they see me making them!

The Grocery List:

• 2 cans of tuna
• 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 1 cup Cheddar cheese, cut in small cubes (cubes is the best way to do this but I used pre-shredded cheese because that was what I had on hand)
• 1/4 cup mayo to start (add enough that it becomes creamy, not dry!)
• 6 hamburger buns
• pepper and salt
  

Cooking It Up:

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium sized bowl mix tuna, chopped egg, cheese and mayo.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray so the buns don't stick.

Lay the bun halves out on the tray and top with tuna mixture.

Season with Salt and Pepper.
Bake until heated through and cheese is melted.

Easy isn't it? So so so yummy. Let me know what you think! Oh and did you notice that I don't have any pictures of the cooked buns? We just couldn't wait to eat them .... sorry.

Easy Pad Thai

I love, love, LOVE Thai food but ordering it, as often as I'd like to eat it, can be expensive. This Pad Thai recipe is an easy way to enjoy it at home!
The Grocery List

• 6 oz. (175 g) wide rice stick noodles
• 1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup fish sauce (substitute reduced sodium soy sauce if you don't have fish sauce)
• 3 Tbsp. lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. ketchup
• 1 Tsp Asian chili paste or hot pepper sauce
• 2 chicken breasts, chopped
  
• 1 Tbsp and 1 Tsp extra virgin olive oil
  
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 oz. (250 g) large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup peanuts, chopped

Cooking It Up:
In a large bowl, soak noodles in warm water until soft (about 15 minutes), drain and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk chicken broth, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, ketchup and Asian chili paste or hot pepper sauce; set aside.

Cut chicken into bite sized chunks.

In wok or large frying pan, heat 1 tsp. oil over medium heat. Cook egg, stirring occasionally until scrambled and set. Transfer to small bowl or plate.

Wipe wok, add 1 tbsp. oil, increase heat to medium-high and stir-fry garlic, shrimp and chicken. When chicken and shrimp are almost cooked add the red pepper, continue to stir fry until chicken and shrimp are cooked through.

Stir in noodles for 1 or 2 minutes or until they start to soften. Pour in sauce; stir-fry until noodles are tender. Return egg to pan; add bean sprouts, cilantro and half the green onions. Stir until heated through.

Remove to warm serving platter. Garnish with peanuts and remaining green onions. Serves 4.

Per serving: Guesstimate	-
calories	331
protein	20 g
total fat	11 g
sat. fat	2 g
carbs	39 g
fibre	4 g
cholesterol	117 mg
sodium	915 mg

**Chicks note: You can reduce the chicken to 1 breast and add 6 oz of Tofu. Just add the tofu to the pan at the same time you add the red pepper!**

Cream of Mushroom Haddock

We usually always marinated our haddock in lemon juice and water and add salt and pepper to the fillets. This is so simple and so tastey – I love it. But one day I was thinking I needed to try something different with Haddock and came up with this…MS loved it; and it was a tasty change of pace.


Ingredients:
Chopped asparagus (celery or broccoli would be good too);
Chopped onion (I like onion in most things..optional);
Chopped mushrooms;
Grated Cheddar;
Salt and Pepper;
Can of cream of mushroom soup (Can try cream of broccoli or asparagus);
Haddock – two or three good sized fillets



Place the haddock on the bottom of your baking dish – sprinkle them with salt and pepper; Cover the fillets with your veggies; and then add your cheese and can of soup!


Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until your haddock is cooked through; put overtop of some rice and enjoy!

Not Just Any Tuna Melt!

I can't say that I've ever had a Tuna Melt before; and I really wasn't sure I'd like it. But I must say....it was surprising good! And seems fancier, or more decadent than it's name....
MS was sure he wouldn't like it; the ingredients were too much for him, he thought Tuna and Cheese...that's all you need; ugh, not cheese wiz? But after he tasted it, he too was pleasantly surprised!
A simple sandwich; with great flavour.

Ingredients:
1 can water packed tuna, drained and flaked
1 small onion, minced
4 tablespoons of Cheese Wiz
3 tablespoons of Mayo
2 tablespoons of pickle relish
1 tablespoon of mustard

Mix all ingredients together.

This...like any recipe probably is also tweekable -- I used 3 tbls of Cheese Wiz and 2 of Mayo...and cut up sweet pickles that I had; and dijon mustard (because I couldn't for the life of me find the mustard..which was apparently directly in front of me in the fridge...ugh)

Oven 350 degrees; Spoon into rolls or onto a bun - I put it into sub buns; Wrap the bun into aluminum foil, place on a cooking rack and bake for 20 minutes.

I had to leave it in the oven a bit longer, it was 'just' warm after 20 minutes and should be hot!

Remove and serve....eat and enjoy! :)