Wor Won-ton Soup

Wor Wonton Soup

Ingredients:

1 carrot, sliced

1 celery rib, sliced

3-4 small mushrooms, quartered

5 cups chicken broth

6 shrimp, cooked

2 green onions

1/2 cup broccoli

1 1/2 cups bok choy

10-12 won-tons pork and chive pot stickers

Directions

Place broth in a large pot: bring to a boil. Add carrots and celery and cook for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, broccoli and bok choy and cook for 2 minutes. Add wontons and cook for 3 minutes. Add green onions and cook for 1 minute.

Additional tips: you can cook the shrimp by adding it at the same time as the mushrooms. To prevent the broth from becoming cloudy cook the won-tons separately.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

I cannot say that this roast was perfect but I really enjoyed it and I loved that I did not have to do anything to the sauce to make it gravy. Great Sunday or lazy day meal.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Ingredients:

5 1/2 lb Roast

2 Cans of cream of mushroom soup

1 package of Lipton onion soup mix

1 1/4 cup water

Directions:

In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and water. Place pot roast in slow cooker and coat with soup mixture.

Cook on high for 3-4 hours

Cook on low for 8-9 hours

Recipe from All Recipes

Pork and Chive Pot Stickers

I made these the other night and was impressed how quickly I was able to make almost 100 wontons. We only had a few for dinner and I have the rest in the freezer and plan to make wonton soup sometime next week.

Pork and Chive Pot Stickers

Ingredients:

1/4 lb ground pork

1 Tbsp minced chives

1 1/2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp cornstarch

20 wonton wrappers

1 Tbsp vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

In a bowl, combine pork, chives, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon water. Place a heaping teaspoon of pork mixture in center of a wonton wrapper. Lightly wet edge of wrapper, fold over, and press to seal. Repeat to form remaining dumplings (makes 20). In two batches, cook dumplings in a large pot of boiling water until cooked through, 4 minutes; transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. In a large nonstick pan, heat vegetable oil over medium-high. In two batches, cook until browned, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Serve with dipping sauce.

Freeze raw dumplings on a baking sheet, then store in bags, up to 3 months. Cook from frozen.

Soy Ginger Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp sesame oil

In a bowl, stir together soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, sugar, and sesame oil.

Helpful Tip: To always have fresh ginger on hand - peel your unused ginger, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Then when you need it simply take it out of the freezer and chop (from frozen) the amount you need. I like to have my ginger really fine so I use the very fine side of my cheese grater to give me the amount I need.

Back to School Lunches

I don't have kids in school yet but I like to imagine that when I do I would prepare cute lunches with cute notes like the ones on these websites. Some mom's are so creative.

Free back to school printables:

How Does She

Great lunch time ideas:

Simply Modern Mom

Basic Spaghetti Sauce

I feel a little silly posting a recipe for spaghetti sauce, but Jesse loves spaghetti - in fact it is the one dish that he will ask for (I don't get it either) but now that it is Elly's favourite too I have been searching for a recipe that I really like. After reviewing a bunch of the recipe's posted on all recipe.com I decided to make my own and this is what I came up with.

Basic Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef

1 onion

1/2 bell pepper (color of choice)

4 cloves of garlic

1 Tbsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1 1/2 Tbsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1 28oz can diced tomatoes

1 14oz can tomato sauce

Directions:

In a large pot cook ground beef, drain fat and transfer to another bowl. In the same large pot cook finely diced onions and bell pepper until tender; add garlic and seasoning and cook for another minute. Add cooked ground beef tomato sauce tomatoes and sugar and simmer for 2-3 hours.

Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Loaf

This bread was so moist and delicious with fresh blueberries - I skipped the topping from the original recipe, it was just too bitter for me but if you love lemon you may want to check out the recipe at Sisters Cafe; originally from The Smitten Kitchen.

Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Loaf

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

3 extra-large eggs

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 1 lemon)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan. Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 (+) minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean. When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack.

Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars

I love peanut butter and chocolate, it is my favourite combination so whenever I see any dessert that calls for both I feel like I need to make it and this recipe is no exception. I think that I will use a richer brownie recipe next time but I was in a hurry and just wanted to use one of my old favorites from my mom. But either way these were very yummy.

Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars

Brownie Base Ingredients:

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)

4 Tbsp cocoa

For the topping:

1 (10 1.2 ounce) bag of mini marshmallows

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter 1½ cups Rice Krispies cereal

Directions:

In a bowl sift together your flour, salt and cocoa. Using the paddle attachment of your mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Then add your eggs one at a time scrapping down sides of the bowl as needed. Add vanilla. Add flour mixture all at once and mix until just incorporated. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the corner of of the pan comes out with moist crumbs. Remove the brownies from the oven and immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over them. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes. Meanwhile, place the milk chocolate chips, peanut butter, and tablespoon of butter in a medium saucepan. Melt over low heat, stirring constantly, until completely melted (this can also be done in a microwave). Remove from heat, add the Rice Krispies and mix well. Allow to cool for 3 minutes. Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Refrigerate until chilled before cutting.

Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker

Red Lentil Stew or Baby's Dal

This is from Elly’s baby cook book Cooking For Baby in the 9-11 month section. I love that it is a great source of fiber and still something that I enjoy to eat. It is not Jesse’s favorite so it is usually something that Elly and I eat for lunch. The original recipe only called for 1/3 cup lentils and 2 cups broth but I really like the lentils and I enjoy it being a bit thicker (the consistency reminds me of split pea soup).

Red Lentil Stew or Baby's Dal

Makes about 3 cups

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup red lentils

12 baby carrots

3 small red potatoes

2 Tbsp green onions, chopped

2-3 cups chicken stock

1/4 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp ground cumin

salt and pepper

Directions:

Pick over lentils, discarding misshapen ones. Rinse and drain. Finely chop carrots and potatoes. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine all ingredients. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes and check to make sure stoke is not all absorbed. This is when you may want to add the third cup of stock, depending on desired thickness. Season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Recipe Card Maker

I found this really cute website that allows you to create and print your own recipe cards for free. Check it out!

Skip To My Lou

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

I made this dip for a dinner that I was attending tonight from a recipe that I found on the Sisters Cafe Blog it was yummy and something I will definitely make again. Next time I think it would be really yummy with some finely diced red onion.

Ingredients:

1 can (15oz) black beans rinsed and drained

2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 small garlic clove

1 tsp kosher salt

pinch cayenne pepper

1 cup frozen sweet corn, thawed

1 avocado, diced

1 small red pepper (yellow or orange would work as well)

2 medium tomatoes, diced

4 green onions (tops and all) finely chopped

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

In a small container (with lid) combine the lime juice, olive oil, garlic and seasonings. Cover and shake until well combined.

In a medium bowl combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the dressing. Serve immediately with taco chips or eat on its own as a side. Serves 3-4 main course servings or 6-8 side dish servings.