Stuffed Zucchinis - GV Style

THURSDAY, APRIL 29TH, 2010

4-4.5 stars (out of 5 - simple, yet impressive and delicious!)

GV gave me this recipe at one of our many in-between-patient meetings, where we love to talk about anything but the stress of our internship! This is really a simple recipe that looks super impressive and tastes just as good. I love the heartiness of it, and the blend of all the flavours.

Ingredients:


Medium sized zucchinis
1 shallot per (whole) zucchini, finely chopped
Butter
1 slice of white bread per zucchini (whole), torn into bite-sized pieces
Splash or two of milk or cream
Shredded cheese (either Havarti or Gruyere)*
Salt and pepper

{*Note. I have made these two times: the first was with Gruyere cheese, which was great; this time I made it with Havarti, which was also good and browned easier. Basically, any good, strong cheese will work, depending on your preference}.

1. {Preheat oven to 350 or 375F} First, I cut the zucchinis in half, and scooped them out. I chopped the zucchini "insides" and set them aside.


2. I then heated a pan over medium heat, and added butter. Once it was hot, I added the shallots and cooked for about 3-4 minutes.


3. Once the shallots were semi-cooked, I added the zucchini "insides" and cooked for about 3-5 minutes.

4. As this was cooking, I tore the bread into small pieces, and added a dollop of milk so that the bread-milk mixture was moist, but not soggy.


3. I then added the cooked zucchini/shallot mixture to the bread...

4. ... and stirred in the cheese, mixing everything well.


5. I then stuffed the zucchini halves with the mixture...


6. ... and topped with extra shredded cheese.


7. I then placed them in the oven for about 10-14 minutes.

Final product:


Overall, I found these to be a delicious accompaniment to any meal, or as a main part of a meal (which I did as a replacement to a meat, served with a salad). The flavours and textures are ideal, and they are simple to make (and hard to mess up!) which I love. These will definitely become a regular in our household. Thank you, GV!

Cod: Baked with Dill and Lemon Sauce

THURSDAY, APRIL 29TH, 2010

4.5 stars (out of 5 - so simple, and so good!)

I wanted to make another fish dish for several reasons: 1) I wanted to expand my "repertoire"; and 2) I wanted to start to make more healthy dishes for SB. I saw this recipe in "Company's Coming" and it looked easy and delicious. Fortunately, it was!

Ingredients:

Cod fillets (boneless) - up to 4 @ ~150-200g (I used 1x 250g)

1/3 cup sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dill weed (dry)
1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/3 cup grated Havarti (or old cheddar) cheese

1. {Preheat oven to 350F} First, I mixed the sour cream, lemon juice, garlic salt, and dill together in a small bowl, and set aside.




2. I then grated the cheese... and placed the fish fillets in a baking sheet (with sides), spooning the sour cream mixture over top...




3. ... and sprinkling with cheese.


4. I then placed the fish in the oven for about 12-15 minutes (depending on the size of your fillet... for a 250g fillet, I needed 16 minutes).

5. After the fish was basically cooked, I placed the oven on broil for 2-3 minutes to slightly brown the cheese...



6. ... and served it with a side of couscous (or rice) and asparagus.


Overall, this recipe was SOOOO simple and (apparently) really good. SB really liked all of the different flavours, and also I loved how it didn't make my entire flat smell like fish! I will definitely do it again.

Tomato Chicken Casserole

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2010

4 stars (out of 5 - simple, stress-free, and pretty darn good!)

I hadn't cooked a new meal in a while (and had been, quite frankly, a bit lazy), and SB asked me what was going on.... I didn't know! I guess I have been a bit busy and stressed, but I decided to make sure that I made time to cook some new meals, as I know how much satisfaction I get out of it. This was my first attempt in a while, but an easy one. It's one of those "canned soup" recipes... but I refuse to feel bad about them - they always turn out well. This was no exception - the meat was moist and well-cooked, and (most importantly) it was stress-free.

Ingredients:

Meat:

Bone-in chicken (skinned)*
Garlic powder
Salt Pepper

Mix:

1 can (284mL) tomato soup
1 can (284mL) cream of mushroom soup
1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped
1 bunch green onion (or chives), chopped finely
1 v. small onion, chopped finely

{*Note. I used about 1 lb. or less of chicken... basically, do whatever you want up to 3 lbs (original recipe) because I had a lot of extra sauce. I think my basic guideline would be to have as much chicken as I could line my casserole dish with.}

1. {Preheat oven to 350F}. First, I placed the chicken in a 3qt (3L) casserole dish.


2. Next, I sprinkled with salt, pepper, and a good coating of garlic powder.


3. I then mixed the tomato soup and mushroom soup in a medium bowl...




4. ... and added the tomato and 2 types of onions...


5. ... and stirred well.


6. I poured the mixture over the chicken, and placed it in the oven, covered, at 350F for about 2 hours (flexible - no stress!).


New oven!


Look at how my casserole dish now fits in!


7. I served it with rice, but mashed potatoes also worked well. After the photo, I added a side of green beans (and a salad in a separate plate).


Overall, this was a super good, super easy recipe, and I was glad I tried it (despite my reservations about using the soup mixtures). SB really liked it, and the meat was super tender. I guess it can't really be considered anything close to a gourmet dish, but I would serve it to some of my good friends I was trying to make a good meal for (and at the same time being able to socialize!) ;)

New Apron!!

I couldn't resist posting a pic of my AMAZING birthday present from MM - a very stylish apron. It's actually so nice that I don't want to get it dirty (and also, I would like to sew a back on it and wear it out!). Thanks, MM, for the beautiful and very thoughtful gift :)