Cottage Cheese Gnocchi

I was surprised at how easy this was to make. I was inspired by a cooking show I watched, so I tried it out, adding my own twist to the ingredients. It has a lot of protein in it, so it is very filling.

3 cups cottage cheese, strain out as much liquid as possible.
2 cups spelt flour
Pinch of salt
1 egg
2 egg whites
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp olive oil

Leave the cottage cheese in a strainer for a couple of hours to get out as much liquid as possible.

After the cheese has been strained, boil a large pot of salted water.
In a food processor, blend cottage cheese. Add all other ingredients but olive oil. Do not over-mix, as the gnocchi will be chewy.

Place blended ingredients into a Ziploc bag, as you would in a pastry bag. Squeeze the dough into one of the corners, and then cut the corner of the bag with scissors. Squeeze one centimeter pieces of dough through the corner and cut with a paring knife, directly into the boiling water. Once all the gnocchi have been cut, cook for 3 minutes. Strain, and add the olive oil so that they don’t stick together.

Top with a marinara sauce and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Tomato Soup with a spicy twist

This isn’t really my recipe. A friend of mine brings it to work all the time, and so I tried it at home, and it is so good. It has just enough spice and flavor to satisfy your hunger.

24oz can of diced tomatoes
19 oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
½ cup dried red lentils.
6 cups fresh spinach
1 tbsp cumin, cinnamon and paprika
1 litre vegetable stock
1 diced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced

In a large pot, sauté onions, garlic and spices for a few minutes. Add all other ingredients. Cook for about 20-30 minutes. Puree and serve.

Muesli

As my husband and I were grocery shopping this weekend, he suggested getting some boxed muesli. But, I feel like I am getting ripped off when I buy it. So I told him I would come home and try to make it myself. It honestly took me 2 minutes to do! The ingredients can be swapped out for your favourite nuts/seeds/dried fruit, so experiment. I serve it either as a regular cereal with milk, or on top of yogurt.

3 cups steel cut oats
1/2 cup each sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut, raisins and bran buds (or any other psyllium fibre)

Add all ingredients to a large ziploc bag, and shake well until it is mixed. It will stay fresh for a few weeks if the bag is sealed properly.

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

We love chickpeas in this house. Seriously, we go through a few cans a week, and they go in just about everything we cook. They are a versatile bean that adds flavour and protein to a meal. So, to try something slightly different than I am used to doing with chickpeas, I roasted them. They were DELICIOUS! They get crunchy on the outside, and the spices add just enough flavour. We almost devoured an entire bowl in one sitting. Make extra of these, trust me, they won't go to waste.

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp paprika and cumin
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch of cayenne
1 19oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

After the beans are rinsed and drained, place into a kitchen towel to get them as dry as possible. This is important. If the beans are still moist, they will not get crispy.

While the beans are drying, add olive oil, spices and salt to a bowl. Mix well. Add the beans, and stir until all the beans are evenly coated.

Place on a cookie sheet in an even layer. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until the beans are crispy.

These will stay fresh in an air tight container for a couple of days...if they make it that long.

Salt and Pepper Almonds

My husband loves almonds, so I thought I would try this out for something different. They were surprisingly easy, and a great snack. We took them to a friends house, and they also agreed. Plus, they are in the slowcooker, so they are even easier!

1 tbsp olive oil
4 cups raw almonds
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

In a slowcooker, add all ingredients. Stir until all almonds are coated evenly. Cook for 1 1/2 hours on high, making sure to stir every half hour so that they don't burn. Remove from slowcooker and store in an airtight containger.

Tomato Stew

This is a very quick slowcooker/weekday meal. I think next time I will try it with fresh basil on top. The goats cheese adds just the right richness to the stew.

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 cup green beans, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn
1 19oz can chick peas, rinsed and drained
2 cups vegetable stock
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tbsp goats cheese

Add all ingredients but goats cheese to the slowcooker. Cook on low for 6 hours, or high for 3 hours. Add goats cheese, and continue to cook for 30 minutes.
I served it with toasted pita bread, but you can also put it on top of rice or pasta.

Breakfast Bars

You know those cereal bars that you see in the grocery store that claim to have whole grains. Well, what they fail to mention is that they are only partially whole grain. They are mostly made with "enriched wheat flour", which is a fancy term for white flour, a.k.a. empty calories. This recipe is truly whole grain, and full of fruit.
Trying to get everyone out the door in the morning with a good breakfast is a challenge on the best of days. This recipe simplifies the question "what's should we have for breakfast?" Since I premake them, I don't have to worry about preparing something every morning. We usually eat a banana with it, and find it keeps us full for at least a few hours.

Fruit filling
3 cups frozen mixed berries
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp organic sugar cane

Crumble topping
1 ¼ cup oats
1 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
½ cup organic sugar cane
¼ tsp each cinnamon, baking soda and salt

In a pot on medium high heat, combine fruit, water and sugar cane. Cook for a few minutes, and then set aside for another few minutes, until it slightly thickens. It will still be quite liquidy.

In a medium bowl, mix together oats, flour, butter, sugar cane, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Using a muffin tin, place a layer of the oat mixture on the bottom of each cup, using only half of the entire mixture. Pour a layer of berries over top of the oats. Top with the rest of the oat mixture.

Bake on 350 for 20 minutes. Let cool completely in muffin tin before removing.

Banana Chocolate Chip cookies

The dates in these cookies provide the perfect amount of sweetness, without overpowering the flavour. I used a mini-muffin tin, but if you don't have one, just use a cookie tray like you would for a normal cookie recipe.

3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup chopped dates
1/3 cup chocolate chips
½ cup coconut
1 ½ cup oats, not instant
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
¼ cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Stir until evenly mixed. Evenly distribute batter into a mini muffin tin (one that fits 24 muffins) that has been greased. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool before removing from the pan.

Laziest of Lazy Man Cabbage Rolls (Slowcooker)

Since I love cabbage rolls, but hate the work that goes into them, I decided to try out this recipe in the slowcooker. It really can't get any easier than this! Both my husband and daughter had seconds, so I'm going to take that as a strong hint that this was a good recipe.

1 litre vegetable stock
1 24oz can diced tomatoes, including liquid
1 5.5oz can tomato paste
¾ cup brown rice
½ cup dried red lentils
1 340g bag of cole slaw, or 6-8 cups sliced cabbage
1 onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a slowcooker, and cook for 6 hours on low. Then, add about 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, and continue to cook for another half an hour on high, or until the cheese is melted. See, I told you it was easy!

Enchilada Casserole

Everything about this casserole was tasty. The sauce was very rich because I used tomato paste rather than the traditional tomato sauce, and the cocoa added so much flavour. The bean mixture was very filling, and the olives on top added the perfect amount of saltiness. I'm not sure how authentic this casserole is, but it is definitely delicious!


Bean Mixture
1 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
1 19oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

Sauce
1 5.5oz can tomato paste
1 cup water
1 tsp cocoa powder
2 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
A pinch of cinnamon

Other
3 whole wheat tortillas
1 cup cheddar cheese
About 10 Kalamata Olives, pitted and chopped (optional)


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a frying pan heated to medium high, sautee pepper, onion, garlic, cumin and salt in a little bit of olive oil until onions are translucent. Add black beans. Continue cooking for another couple of minutes.

While the onion and pepper is sautéing, combine all ingredients for sauce in a bowl, and mix until a sauce is formed. Set aside.

In a circular pyrex dish that is about the same size as the tortillas (it doesn’t have to be the exact same size), layer sauce, tortillas, bean mixture and cheese (in that order) like you would a lasagne. Top with pitted and chopped Kalamata olives if desired.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

Tapenade

If you like olives, try this recipe. It totally beats the tapenades that you can buy in the grocery store. An added bonus is that it takes no time, and any guests that you serve this to will be impressed that you took the extra effort to make it yourself. We served it on crackers and bread.

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and finely chopped
2 tbsp capers, roughly chopped
1/4 cup roasted red pepper (jarred is fine), finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil

Combine all items in a bowl, and serve. If you like a more pureed tapenade, then this can easily be pureed in a blender or with an emulsifier.

Artichoke Spread

When my husband and I were in Italy, we had an amazing meal that we talk about all the time. We went to a market and bought fresh tomatoes, cheese, olive oil, wine, arugula and a loaf of bread, and ate all of it! Seriously, there wasn't a bite left.
We often try to recreate this meal, and although it doesn't taste quite the same as it did in Italy, it always comes pretty close. We had one of these meals recently, and I decided to try something new with it. This artichoke spread was delicious on freshly toasted bread. If you like artichokes, you'll love it.

1 14oz can artichokes, liquid drained
1 tbsp olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Salt to taste

Puree all items in a blender, and spread on fresh bread.

Minestrone Soup

Since being back at work off of my mat leave, my slowcooker has also been working full time. I love coming home to a house that smells great, and having little to no prep work for getting dinner on the table. This recipe is amazingly good! The red wine makes the broth so full of flavour, and with all the beans, it is very filling.

If you have a cold day coming up in the forecast (which is almost everyday for us with all the rain we are getting), put this into the slowcooker. There is no better way to warm up on a cold day than a hot bowl of soup.

1 litre vegetable stock
1 19oz can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 14oz can lima beans, rinsed and drained
3 small zucchini, 2 medium carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 yellow onion, 2 cloves garlic, all finely diced
1 24oz can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
Salt and Pepper to taste
2/3 cup red wine
3 tbsp freshly chopped basil
½ cup whole wheat macaroni
Parmesan Cheese

Add all ingredients up to salt and pepper to slowcooker. Cook on low for 6 hours. Add red wine, basil and macaroni. Continue to cook for another hour. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Lentil Soup

The most important ingredient in this soup is the molasses. Honestly, it makes the soup! The broth has such a rich flavour. Not to mention that it is so simple to make. I have had many lentil soups, both ones that I have made, and in restaurants, and this has got to be the best one that I have had. Give it a try. You may be surprised how you like it.


2 cups brown lentils
1 litre vegetable stock
2 carrots, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 ½ tbsp molasses
2 cups water
3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
Freshly grated parmesan cheese to top

Add all ingredients, except basil and cheese, to a large pot and cook for about an hour on medium/high, or until the lentils and vegetables are soft. Puree until smooth.
If you want to do it in the slowcooker, add all ingredients except basil and cheese, and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.
Top with fresh basil and cheese, whether it is cooked in the slowcooker or the pot.

Chocolate Pudding

This pudding takes literally 5 minutes to make. Seriously! That includes clean-up too. And, it is loaded with protein, which is an added benefit,not to mention it is also high in antioxidants. For a light dessert, it is quite rich though, so a little goes a long way. One recipe of this will feed 3-4 people a small amount. It won't look like you are eating a lot, but trust me, with how rich it is, it is more than enough.

1 pkg soft or silken tofu
1/3 cup pure cocoa powder
1/3-1/2 cup agave syrup
1 tbsp vanilla

Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Chill in the fridge before serving, or serve at room temperature. That's all there is to it!