Fusilli with Basil, Tomatoes and Avocado Sauce

One of the cool things about my Runners World subscription is that there are often recipes that are simple to make and taste good. The August 2014 addition featured a dish called "Fusilli with Basil, Tomatoes and Avocado Sauce". This is my attempt at it.

Ingredients:
1/2 - Box of Fusilli Pasta
2 - Cups of Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1/4 - Tsp Salt
1 - Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 - Cup packed Fresh Basil leaves, chopped
2 - Avocados, halved and pitted
3 - Large Cloves of Garlic, chopped
1/4 - Cup lemon juice
1/2 - Cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 - Tsp Pepper

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta until tender. Remove from heat and reserve 1 cup of the cooking water. Drain pasta, cover and set aside.

In a large bowl, add tomatoes and sprinkle then with salt.

Add basil and oil, toss to coat then set a side.

Scoop the avocado into the empty pasta pot and mash with a potato masher. The avocado should be ripe or it won't mash very well (that's what happened to me...)

Add garlic, lemon juice, pepper and stir in the pasta water until you create a light sauce. Careful as you don't want it to be too runny. I think I only ended up using about 1/4 - 1/2 a cup of the pasta water.

Add in the tomato basil mixture.

Add pasta and mix everything together

Scoop onto a plate and top with Cheese.

Because my kids have a habit of not liking something new just because it's new, I cooked up some chicken breasts to go with it for my dinner,

The funny thing is that the kids liked this salad (I was really surprised!)

Watermelon Smoothie

I saw this recipe come in on my RSS Feed (TastyFavoriteRecipes.com) and I was like "I have all those things and this will take like 5 minutes to make!".

Ingredients:
3 - Cups diced seeded watermelon, chilled
1 - Cup frozen strawberries
1 - Tbsp lemon juice (I would cut this back just a little bit)
Pinch of sea salt

Directions:
Combine everything in a blender but make sure you put the watermelon first or there wont be any liquid to help the strawberries blend - yes I know this from experience. Blend until smooth, garnish with an Orange slice or Mint leaves.

Garlic Scapes

I think Garlic is absolutely amazing and I pretty much use it in everything that I cook. Now that we are at the end of June, I've cut the Scapes off my Garlic. What are Garlic Scapes? They are the central stalk which goes straight up and usually makes one or two loops. If they are not harvested, they will flower. When they flower, it pulls the nutrients from the garlic bulb and shrinks it. Since I'd like the bulbs to grow as large as possible, I cut off the Scapes.

In the fall I planned 7 cloves but only 4 made it through the winter. This is my 3rd or 4th year with this line of Garlic. The Garlic bulbs have to be planned deep enough to avoid the froze / thaw cycle that can damage them. As you can see in the picture below, the one on the left is doing really well and the one on the right looks really small. It could be a combination of the depth and that I recently expanded the garden a little bit so the soil over there might not be as good.

Here's a close up of the good looking one. The Scapes have already been cut off and come July I will stop watering these completely so the bulbs can mature. Then sometime between the end of July and mid August, I'll harvest the bulbs and have my fresh Ontario Garlic!

Now... I just need to figure out what to make with the Garlic Scapes. I could use them as seasoning, I could do a pesto or maybe I'll look up some other ideas for things that I can do with them :)

Slab of Bacon

It's no secret that I love bacon and it's also no secret that I'm a huge Simpsons fan so whenever I'm cooking up bacon, ribs or ham this quote from the Simpsons comes to mind.

(Lisa)  "I'm going to become a vegetarian"
(Homer) "Does that mean you're not going to eat any pork?"
(Lisa)  "Yes"
(Homer) "Bacon?"
(Lisa)  "Yes Dad"
(Homer) "Ham?"
(Lisa)  "Dad all those meats come from the same animal"
(Homer) "Right Lisa, some wonderful, magical animal!"

One day while looking through the meat section at Central Fresh Market, I was checking out the middle isle which usually has the larger hams and what I would call "weird meats" (only because I have cooked with them yet) when I noticed the slabs of bacon. I just so happened to need bacon for something that I was cooking but I couldn't find it on sale and I wasn't about to pay $5.99 for a package of it (it should be around $3.99). The colouring and fat level's looked really good, better then I normally see for pre-sliced packaged bacon, so I decided to give it a try. I have to tell you that I've been hooked on the bacon slab ever since! I love the convenience of it too, I can slice off 3 or 4 pieces for my morning breakfast, wrap it and throw it back in the fridge. At first I thought slicing it would be a pain but it really wasn't that bad and I'm actually getting pretty good at cutting thinner slices now but I kind of like them a little thicker.

One other thing that has helped add to the convenience of all this is the "Bacon Wave". I got this little item for Christmas and I first I didn't really use it but once I started, I couldn't stop. I put my slices in, stick the stick through each end, put it in the Microwave (I like Microwave bacon over fried bacon) and it done!





I can drain the bacon grease into a cup for easy disposal and then I pull the bacon off the rack by grabbing onto the sticks so no more oil burns.



Bacon has never tasted so good! The picture below is what my normal breakfast would look like.

2 Large Eggs - 140 Cal
1 Toast (not buttered) - 90 Cal
1 Processed Cheese Slice - 110 Cal
3 Slices Bacon - 200 Cal
540 Calories

And then I'll have a small glass (1 Cup) of milk to drink. The Bacon slabs that I'm buying go for $5.99 per pound and the slabs I pick are between $9 - $12. Next time you are in been of bacon, give it a shot and let me know what you think!

Tomato Based Chicken Fusilli

I really didn't know what to make for dinner last night. We had Chicken Breasts last night, Steak the night before and Burgers before that so I wanted something a little bit different. I thought about making my Creamy Balsamic Penne but I didn't have whipping cream or spinach... Looking around in my cupboards I saw that I had diced canned tomatoes and a number of other veggies. I pulled some stuff out and this is what I came up with.



Ingredients:

2 - Chicken Breasts
1/2 - Box of Fusilli
1 - Medium Onion
1 - Portobello Mushroom
1/2 - Orange Pepper
3 - Cloves Garlic
1 - Can Diced Tomatoes
1/2 - Can Sliced Black Olives
Salt, Pepper and lot of Basil



Options (not shown in Photos):

1 - Tsp Red Chili Pepper Flakes to add some heat
Top with Cheddar Cheese to add a little flavor
or Top with Goat Cheese to add a creaminess to the dish

Directions:

Put your Chicken on the BBQ and Put your Water on the Stove to make the Fusilli. While the Chicken and Fusilli are starting, chop up Onion, Mushroom, Pepper and cook on medium heat until translucent

Add in Garlic, Salt, Pepper, Basil and mix well

Pour in the can of diced tomatoes, black olives, then simmer for 8 minutes or until sauce starts to thicken up a bit

At this point the Chicken and Fusilli noodles should be done cooking. Drain noodles and chop up the chicken

Plate the noodles and Top with Sauce

Add the Chicken on top (I really need to find a better way to plate the chicken so it looks a little nicer)

Server with a German Riesling

Top with a sharp Cheddar or Cream Goat cheese if you wanted to add some different flavors

BBQ Salad

Summer is finally here and it's so nice to stand outside to Barbecue. Don't get me wrong, I was Barbecuing all winter but I had the Barbecue pulled right up to my sliding door and I was Barbecuing from inside the house :)

For dinner was I going to make my "regular" BBQ chicken and rice but I happened upon an Instagram picture of a Salad with Barbecued Peppers and Mushrooms. I wondered about the mix of hot veggies and cool lettuce so I decided to give it a try.



Ingredients:

1 - Chicken Breast (cooked and chopped)
1/2 - Head of Romaine Lettuce
4 - Medium Portobello Mushrooms
1/2 - Peppers, Red or Orange
1/2 - Red Onion
Balsamic Dressing




Directions:

Wash, dry and chop your lettuce, set aside
Cut Peppers in half and remove seeds
Slice Onion into thick slices
Put Peppers, Onion and Mushrooms on BBQ, cover with some Diana's smoky BBQ sauce

Once the veggies are cooked, remove from BBQ and chop into thin slices

Plate lettuce and layer with Pepper, Mushroom, Onion, Chicken and drizzle on Balsamic dressing

And there you have it, I nice BBQ Salad for dinner!

When I started plating I was thinking that this salad could use something else like a feta cheese or some cherry tomatoes but when I tried it, I though it was good on its own.

Leek and Potato Soup

I love how smooth this soup is after it's been blended. I didn't do it this time but if you want it extra velvety smooth then you can run it through a strainer when pouring it out of the blender at the end. Oh and not pictured, because I totally forgot about it until I topped it with cheese, is sprinkling with crumbled bacon. Mmmm.... Bacon....

(updated photo with Bacon!)

Ingredients:

2 - Small to medium onions, chopped

2 - Leeks, chopped

2 - Tbsp butter

2 - Tbsp flour

4 - Cups chicken stock (1 full 900ml box is close enough)

3 - Medium potatoes, peeled and chopped (even through the picture shows 4, I only used 3)

1 - Cup 1% Milk

1 - Bay Leaf

Salt and Pepper to taste

Garnish: 1 - Cup Old Cheddar Cheese and 1/2 - Pack cooked Bacon, crumbled

Directions:

In a Large Stock pot add onions, leeks, butter and saute over medium heat until soft

Stir in flour and cook for another 2 minutes

Gradually pour in (read dump in) chicken broth, add potatoes and bring to a boil

Once a boil has started, add in the bay leaf, turn heat down to low and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes or until the potatoes are soft

(Photos missing) - Once the potatoes are done, stir in milk and season with salt and pepper. Ladle mixture, in batches, into a blender and blend until blended. Pour blended soup into a clean pot. Pour through a strainer to get the soup extra velvety

(Not the best looking picture but trust me, it's a good soup!)

Slice up a french loaf and butter a couple of pieces

Ladle the soup into bowl and serve with bread

Top with some old cheddar cheese for some extra flavor

And if you want even more flavour, add some crispy bacon on top!