Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Where did I find this recipe? Best Recipes Ever of course. Man I love that show!

The Recipe:
1 tsp vinegar
8 eggs
4 English muffins or wedges focaccia or croissants
8 oz smoked salmon

Hollandaise Sauce:
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

1. Pour enough boiling water into skillet to come 3 inches up side; return to boil. Add vinegar; reduce heat to gentle simmer.

2. Break each egg into small dish; gently slip into simmering water.

3. Cook until desired doneness, about 5 minutes for soft yolks and firm whites.

4. Remove with slotted spoon and drain well, patting bottom of spoon with towel to dry egg.

5. Meanwhile, cut English muffins horizontally in half and toast; place 2 halves, cut side up, on each plate.

6. Top each with smoked salmon, poached egg and 2 tbsp Hollandaise Sauce.

Hollandaise Sauce:
1. In heatproof bowl over saucepan of simmering water, whisk egg yolks until thick enough to coat back of spoon, about 4 minutes.

2. Remove from heat.

3. Whisk in butter, 2 tbsp at a time, until thickened; whisk in lemon juice, salt, cayenne and dill.

4. Keep warm over hot water.

My Experience:
I don't like making sauces. Next time I will just buy a package of Hollandaise sauce because I didn't find it was worth the effort. Especially since I didn't use fresh dill and put WAY too much in so I had to add more egg yolks. Now I have 6 egg whites in my fridge to use. But if you are good at making sauces, go right ahead. It just isn't for me.

Other than that incident, this was really yummy. It was also my first time making poached eggs. I sort of over-cooked them though. So if you want the yolk runny, I would say cook less than the 5 minutes because it was too long for me.

Sam said he really liked it on the croissant and of course he loved the smoked salmon.

I might try this again, but with store bought sauce and cook the egg for less time.

Rosemary Beef Burgers with Jalapeño Mayonnaise

Saw this recipe on my favorite show EVER (Best Recipes Ever that is!) and I just had to make it. Especially for my boyfriend who loves everything spicy (I toned it down a little for me).

The Recipe:
1 egg
1/4 cup sodium-reduced beef broth
1 small onion, grated
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lb lean ground beef
4 kaiser rolls or hamburger buns

Jalapeño Mayonnaise:
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp minced jalapeño pepper
1 clove garlic, minced

1. In bowl, beat egg with beef broth.

2. Stir in onion, bread crumbs, rosemary, salt and pepper; mix in beef.

3. Shape into four 1/2-inch thick patties.

4. Place on greased grill over medium-high heat; close lid and cook, turning once, until digital thermometer inserted sideways into centre registers 160°F, about 10 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, parsley, jalapeño pepper and garlic.

6. Cut rolls in half; toast, cut sides down, on grill until golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

7. Spread jalapeño mayonnaise on cut sides.

8. Place burgers on bottoms; sandwich with tops.



My Experience:
So I made these burgers as mini burgers like they did on the show because it makes them more fun!

I used crushed saltine crackers instead of bread crumbs because, well, I had some and mom used to always make burgers that way. However, the addition of the beef broth made the burgers nice and juicy which was a lovely surprise.

Since I don't really like lots of spicy, I didn't put any jalapeño peppers in my mayonnaise (but I did in my boyfriend's).

I topped our burgers with jalapeño monterey jack cheese (could you any cheese you like), sliced tomato, lettuce and bacon (like I always say, everything is better with bacon). However, you can top the burgers with whatever you like best!

Sam said it was great and spicy. This is definitely a meal I will be making again!

Nutritional Info (approx per serving)
cal 534
pro 30g
total fat 27g
sat. fat 9g
carb 41g
fibre 2g
chol 130mg
sodium 897mg
%RDI: 419mg
calcium -
iron 10%
vit A 32%
vit C 4%
folate 8%

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Pork Loin

Tried this new slow cooker recipe and we loved it! Need a sweet tooth to enjoy it though.

The Recipe:
1 boneless pork loin roast, 4 to 6 pounds
1 clove garlic, halved
salt and pepper
1 1/3 cups brown sugar, divided
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Wash pork roast, trim excess fat, pat dry, and rub with garlic halves

2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then prick the roast all over with a fork or skewer

3. In a cup or bowl, combine 1 cup of the brown sugar, the mustard, and vinegar. Rub all over the roast.

4. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours. Pour off the excess juices. (SAVE THE JUICES for a gravy!)

5. Combine the remaining 1/3 cup brown sugar with cinnamon; Spread the mixture over the top of the roast.

6. Cover and continue cooking on LOW for 1 hour longer.

My Experience:
So so so so so yummy! Don't be fooled by the lack of liquids in the recipe... the juices from pork do the job (just don't cut off too much of the fat, I actually didn't cut any off of mine). After about 5 hours I just turned the roast over so that the top layer could soak for a bit. Mine was nice and moist.

I couldn't get my bottle of balsamic vinegar to open so in my hurry this morning I just used regular vinegar and it was still good.

I saved the juices and made a very yummy gravy out of it. Sliced up the roast and served it with rice (with a bit of gravy mixed in) and a side of steamed vegetables.

Tuna Pasta Salad

Had a curling bonspiel this weekend and needed to make something for the potluck dinner. This was my selection (from the Gold Seal website), and the bonus: it was pretty cheap :)

The Recipe:
1 can tuna, drained and flaked
2 cups small pasta shells
1 celery rib, cut into 1/4" dice
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1/2" dice
1/2 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1/2" dice
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
2 tsp horseradish
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water until just tender and drain well

2. Cool in cold water and drain well again. Place in a salad bowl

3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix gently to combine

4. Refrigerate the salad until ready to serve

My Experience:
I actually cooked the pasta and cut up all my veggies up the night before so that it was a quick mix in the morning. Made my life at 7am much simpler.

I also made the dressing before mixing everything together to make sure that the mayonnaise and horseradish fully mixed. For some extra tang I used extra hot horseradish (it was also all we had at the apartment) and I added maybe half a tsp of sugar to balance out the lemon juice. I don't know why but I thought it tasted better.

Other than that it was quick and easy to put together. The longest part was all the veggie chopping because, well, I'm not very good with a knife lol.

If you are interested, I even have the nutritional values for you this time! (provided by Gold Seal)
Per Serving
Calories 118
Fat 3.1 g
Carbs 15g
Protein 8g
Fibre 1.5g
Sat fat 0.5g
Cholesterol 8mg
Sodium 120mg
Sugar 1.6g
Calcium 14mg

Mini Tacos

Easy spin on Old El Paso Tacos with less mess while eating.

The Recipe:
Old El Paso Taco seasoning mix
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 bag of Tostitos Scoops

Toppings
Shredded cheddar cheese
Shredded lettuce
Salsa
Sour Cream
Whatever you like!

1. Brown ground beef in large skillet; drain

2. Fry onions in a bit of butter on low heat (at same time as beef but in small pan)

3. Stir 1 cup of water and seasoning mix in with beef

4. Simmer for 7 to 8 minutes or until almost all liquid is absorbed, stirring often

5. Stir in onions after about 5 minutes



6. Place Tostitos Scoops on a baking sheet covered with foil

7. Spoon some beef mixture into each Scoop

8. Top each with some cheese

9. Broil until cheese is melted



10. Serve with all the toppings as a self serve!



My Experience:
I love tacos! But they make such a mess when you try to eat them (maybe I just don't do it right...). These mini tacos allow for bite size pieces and you can top them how you want: whether it's salsa, sour cream, lettuce, diced tomatoes or whatever else you choose.

Just make sure you use the non-broken scoops so that you can spoon in the meat and cheese. It's MUCH easier! Save the broken ones for later snacking.

The meat is also really good on day 2 because it allows for the seasoning to soak in so don't worry about the left overs. You can even use the left overs with the broken chips to make a taco salad (with the left over lettuce topping) the next day! I've done it and it is yummy :)

Philly Cheesesteaks

I love me some Rachael Ray and I saw this recipe on her show last week and I just had to try it! We had some cheap steaks in the freezer that we weren't crazy about so this was a great way to use them up and make them super yummy!

The Recipe:
For the Garlic Butter Bread
2 loaves baguette, halved and split or 4 crusty sub rolls 12 inches each split
6 tablespoons butter
4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

For the French Onion Steak Filling
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 large or 3 medium onions, very thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1 large fresh bay leaf
1/4 cup dry sherry or 1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cans beef consommé or 3 cups beef stock
4 flat-iron steaks or 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak
3 cups shredded Gruyère cheese

ONIONS
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat then add butter.

2. When it foams, add onions and season with salt, pepper, thyme and bay.

3. Cook until caramel in color, about 30 minutes.



4. Add consommé and sherry/wine to onions.

5. Continue to simmer until consommé reduces by about half.

BREAD
6. Toast bread in a 375°F oven to golden.

7. Melt butter in a small pan over medium heat until it foams.

8. Stir in garlic 1-2 minutes then remove from heat and stir in parsley.

9. Brush toasted bread liberally with garlic butter and reserve.



STEAK
10. Heat griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat; drizzle with oil.

11. Season room temperature steaks liberally with kosher salt and pepper.

12. Cook 10 minutes, turning once.

13. Let stand 5 minutes, thinly slice against the grain.



SANDWICH IT UP
14. Pile steak and onions onto toasted bread bottoms arranged on a baking sheet.

15. Top with lots of cheese and melt under broiler.

16. Set tops in place and serve.



My Experience:
So this recipe takes a really long time because the onions take about half an hour to 45 minutes but you only have to stir every once in a while so I just prepared everything else while the onions were cooking.

Instead of Gruyère cheese I used Provolone but you could also use Swiss. Just buy it in a block so that you can grate it.

When making the garlic butter, try grating the garlic. It may waste a bit if you don't want to destroy your finger tips but it works really great to mix in well with the butter.

These sandwiches were really really good and I highly recommend trying it at least once. It might be time consuming and make a good stack of dishes but it is easy to make!

Honey Garlic Pork

Not much of a recipe but it is still my favorite pork dish that my mom used to make me.

The Recipe:
Honey Garlic sauce
Pork
Rice

1. Cut pork into small cubes

2. Brown pork in frying pan on medium-high heat

3. Poor honey garlic sauce into pan

4. As sauce boils, stir often (scrapping the bottom of the pan to avoid sticking)

5. The sauce is caramalized when there is separation ss you scrape across the pan with a spatula

6. The longer you cook it, the thicker the sauce gets (and the bigger mess there is to clean up)

7. Serve pork and sauce over rice

My Experience:
Easy recipe right? I told you so.

I prefer the VH brand for the honey garlic sauce but I doubt that it really matters. I use most of the bottle of sauce so that I have tons for my rice since it tastes so good.

The kind of pork doesn't matter either, mom used to always use pork chops but this time I used pork leg schnitzel because it was on sale.

As I said above, the longer you cook the sauce to caramalize it, the harder it is to clean everything. But it is TOTALLY worth it (although mom didn't always think so). Just have patience and soak the pan after (as I write this I have yet to clean my own pans so I might regret that statement later). The caramalized sauce will still be on the liquidy side while warm but it will start to solidify as it cools. So if people plan on going back for seconds, keep the pan on the burner on min so that it doesn't harden.

Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

Slow-cooker recipes are awesome for exam period. Start it in the morning while still groggy, come home from a 2pm to 5pm exam and it is all ready to eat while you are detoxing from information overload!

The Recipe:
2 lb (1 kg) stewing beef cubes
4 potatoes, peeled and cut in wedges
3 carrots, cut in chunks
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 cups beef stock
1 can (5 oz/156 mL) tomato paste
1 bay_leaf
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1. Trim and cut beef into 1-inch cubes

2. In 18- to 24-cup (4.5 to 6 L) slow-cooker, mix together beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, beef stock, tomato paste, bay leaf and Worcestershire sauce

3. Cover and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours (or on High for 5 to 6 hours) or until beef and vegetables are tender

4. Add peas, salt and pepper

5. Increase heat to High

6. Whisk flour with 2 tbsp water; stir into stew

7. Cook, covered, for 5 minutes or until thickened

8. Discard bay leaf

My Experience:
So I followed this recipe mostly. I didn't add peas (I don't like peas) but I added 1 turnip cut in wedges.

I'm also not a huge fan of tomatoes so I probably wouldn't have the tomato paste next time. It tastes more like tomatoes than I thought it would.

I didn't try it but the original recipe suggests to serve the stew in bread bowls (hollow out a crusty bun, leaving 1/2-inch thick shell) and have vanilla pudding with peaches for dessert. Benig exam period, I was too lazy to do the bread bowl and instead served warm pillsbury crescents.

I got this recipe from Canadian Living (I'm going to try to start posting where I get the recipe from)