Chili, Again

I made Chili last night. It was really yummy. I just threw whatever I could think of into it. I browned everything in the same pot first and then added everything back in to take advantage of all the flavour living on the bottom of the pan. YUM!

I used turkey, beans and bacon as the proteins and even threw in some zucchini (my new favourite veggie). I NEVER use bacon in anything, we never buy it and when we do it almost always goes bad because we can't eat it quickly enough . I just happen to browse the meat counter while shopping for this dish and they had some smoked bacon there, so I decided to grab a little bit. It was the perfect amount for the Chili and I didn't have to feel bad about any leftover. Plus it made Clutterbuck a very happy camper while it was cooking.

I didn't take a picture because it just looked like regular old Chili. We're eating it for dinner tonight, perhaps a photo op will present itself.

Balsamic Chicken (the remix)

Take One
Chicken Breasts, caramelized onions and mushrooms simmered in balsamic vinegar, garlic, chicken broth and a whole bunch of spices. Served with roasted asparagus with crispy garlic and parmesan flakes.


Take Two
Same as above, shredded and tossed with some bechamel sauce. Served over ziti pasta boiled with the leftover asparagus.

Both of these dishes were De-Lish! I love a good leftover remix! I will make both again, very soon!

Chicken and Biscuits

Oh YUM! Like really yum! Perhaps the yummiest of yums!

Chicken and Biscuits is one of Cluterbuck's favourites. However, I haven't made it in forever because it isn't always the lowest fat recipe. After telling him one night that he could choose whatever he wanted for dinner, he chose this (he always chooses this but this time I actually obliged). I tried my best to lighten it as much I could. I used margarine instead of butter, flour to thicken instead of cream based soups, LOTS of veggies...you get the idea.

I also normally make this in the slow cooker, but this time I did it over the stove and then baked it in the oven. It made for much crispier biscuits which I preferred.

Yummy! We've been eating the leftovers for days now.

Spaghetti Squash

I don't like squash. People always get very excited about butternut squash tortellini, or a puree of sorts. Yuck.

However, I've been intrigued for some time about the spaghetti squash. Could this be? Does it actually have the consistency of pasta? Does it taste like squash? So many questions....I finally decided to answer them myself. 

I figured that a squash that lends itself to being smothered in any type of sauce, is probably a great place to start introducing squash to our diet. 

I decided to grill some chicken breast, sauté some onions and chopped tomatoes and then toss it all with some pesto. It was great. The squash completely shared its flavour space with all the other ingredients and the texture was not off-putting at all (meaning it didn't resemble squash). I wouldn't go so far to say that you could completely pass it off as a pasta but it definitely does the trick without changing too much. 

I actually made this a few months ago. I'm not sure why I didn't post it but I just found the picture on the camera while I was transferring the recent posts. I thought it deserved some blog space. 

Easy Beef Stroganoff

I have a confession to make. I actually tried this recipe a month ago and fell in love. However, it was right in the midst of when life got crazy so I never ended up posting about it. The picture does no justice here, but here it is anyway.

Even though we're not big beef eaters in the Smart-Clutterbuck household this is quickly falling into regular rotation around here. I made it again last night and was just as pleased as I was with it a month ago. 

It couldn't be any easier. The recipe was as follows:

• About a pound of steak (I used sirloin)
• 1 can of Campbell's Tomato Soup
• 1 cup water
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp worcestershire sauce
• garlic
• 1 onion 
• mushrooms (as many as you want)
• Sour Cream

Brown the meat, remove to cook the onions, mushrooms and garlic, add the rest of the ingredients and the beef, cover and simmer for about 40 minutes. Add some sour cream.

I served it over some egg noodles and both Clutterbuck and I couldn't resist having seconds.

Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings with Grilled Portobellos and Mashed "Fauxtatoes"

So these wings were awesome (and the first I've ever cooked) but the grilled portobellos were the star of the meal! I marinated them in some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, basil and dried hot peppers. They were FANTASTIC. I will be making these again soon, perhaps to put on a thin burger bun and dress up like a burger. YUM!

Here they are marinating away.

The mashed "fauxtatoes" was steamed cauliflower mashed with some onion dip. A total cheat I know, but it was super easy and actually quite yummy. Plus the dip was taking up room in the fridge so it had to go.

This fridge is turning into a great excuse to cook with things I might otherwise not consider...although once I've cleared it of the stuff that survived the move I suppose it just won't house such ingredients any longer.

The wings were good. I obviously need some more practice at crisping up the skin in the oven. I know it can be done, but I didn't quite get there this time around. The sauce was great though, it was the same marinade and sauce that I used in the Light Boneless Wings Post. This is a great sauce to use when you don't know what else to do with any cut of chicken. 

I'm BAAACK

Well it's been waay too long since my last entry. I won't list all the reasons I have taken some time away from cooking (and therefore blogging), but one of the main reasons was because we moved.

Yes, that's right. I am so excited to report that I am now in the presence of BRAND NEW, FULL SIZE Kitchen Appliances. Whats the catch you ask? The fridge....ugh the fridge....its TINY. I've never seen such a small fridge. My condiments alone fill the whole bloody thing up. I have no reason why this fridge was chosen for this kitchen, but for now I'm trying to work with it.

Since, I had a bottle of Diana's Honey Garlic Sauce taking up room in the fridge I decided to use it up. I chopped up an onion, green pepper and some garlic and sauteed it them on my brand new ceramic cook top. Threw it together with some meatballs and served it with brown rice and corn on the cob.

This folks, is the closest we have come to eating a home cooked meal in almost two months (unless you count the scrumptious chicken pot pies my mom made for us to re-heat and eat after our move). Sadly, the meatballs were not made by me. They were PC blue menu. However, they were also taking up space in the even more ridiculously sized freezer, so I was happy to see them go.

Our new place is on the 16th floor of a high-rise building in an area where there are no other high-rises. Our view faces west and south. We have been here for a week or so now and are still captivated by the city views. The sunsets especially are unbelievable (as seen in the first photo of this entry).

Here are a few pics I snapped last night while making this meal. Sadly, it was POURING intermittently so by the time dinner was ready we couldn't sit out to enjoy it more, but that's OK. Something tells me we'll have plenty of opportunity in the coming weeks.

Here's the Diana's Sauce enjoying the view of the CN Tower.