This recipe is just what the doctor ordered if you happen to be:

1. Tired

2. Under the weather

3. Tending to under aged rugrats that are tired and under the weather

4. lacking time to cook real food due to items 1-3

5. Have only 3 ingredients in your pantry

6. Have your beloved vegan friend over for supper and suffer from items 1-5

Did I mention that there are only 3 ingredients in this recipe? Chives being ingredient number three, unless you count salt and pepper and the oil required to brush the pan. I know I don’t.

These patties are crispy, tasty, super easy to make and are gobbled by vegans and children alike.

Quick Vegan lentil patties

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup dry red lentils
2. 1/2 cup rice
3. 1 bunch of chives, finely chopped.
4. Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Put  lentils in a bowl and cover with 1 cup of boiling water. Cover and set aside while you prepare the rice.
2. Make rice like you would make pasta, in a pot of boiling, salted water until the rice is chewy but not over cooked. Drain.
3. in a food processor combine drained lentils, rice, chives, salt and pepper and pulse to a rough, sticky texture that is easy to work with.
4. Make small, flat patties. Fry patties on an oiled pan (I use a brush and spread Canola oil on mine), on medium high heat, flipping once until golden and crispy on both sides.

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A list of things I want you to know:

1.My family and I are in the midst of relocating ourselves, our three children under the age of five, our clothes, our books and what is left of our peripheral nervous system.

2. We are leaving the wild, wild North, the only home my children have ever known. We are going back to civilization. Traffic jams. Commuting. Gridlocks. Stress.

3. I want my mommy.

4. If I haven’t been writing lately, it must be due to the small, insignificant fact that I no longer posses a kitchen. I have been talked (kicking and screaming) into selling my entire cooking battery in the ridiculous claim that it is easy to replace, heavy to carry and expensive to freight.

5. I want my mommy.

6. Luckily, I have a few recipes up my sleeve (and my other blogs) that have yet to feature in salt and paprika. Now that I have 35 seconds to myself in our transitory motel room, I will try and finish writing a post or two.

7. This beef stew recipe is tasty. You should make it. And share in with your loved ones.

Slow Cooker Orange and Honey Beef stew 

 Ingredients:

About 700 grams (1.5lb) beef stew cubes
1 cup dry prunes

1 large onion, peeled and halved
1 heaping tsp minced garlic
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chili flakes
lots of freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp Rosemary (fresh or dry)

1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Preparation:

1.Place beef and prunes in the slow cooker.

2. Pulverize all the rest of the ingredients (except rosemary, water and cornstarch) in a food processor and pour over beef.

3. Mix water and cornstarch until smooth, pour into slow cooker with the rosemary. Mix and close the lid.

4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or 3-4 hours on high.

5. Serve on couscous decorated with toasted slivered almonds.

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Say you have a pack of chicken breast. With two pieces of chicken in it. And a family to feed.

Say you have sautéed chicken breast in a pan ad nauseam and that the frozen, crunchy grass beyond your patio doors was a pretty good indication that outdoor grilling is out of the question.

Say you needed a solution, and fast because the arrival of the hungry was upon you.

Grab your food processor. Grab your chicken. Let’s make meatloaf.

Chicken Meatloaf

600 gr chicken breast – largely cubed, or a pack of ground chicken if you have access to such convenience.
1 Lg onion, quartered
1/4 dry leftover baguette or 3 slices of leftover bread.
2 eggs
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp dry parsley
1 Tbsp Garam Masala (or any other spice mix that you have on hand. Cumin, paprika, coriander and oregano are a fine mix. Try lemon zest. Experiment with your favorite flavors).
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil

Glaze:

1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Preparation:

 1. In a food processor combine chicken cubes with the rest of the ingredients. Process until smooth while tilting the processor slightly to help it along if necessary.

2. It is better to transfer mix to the fridge for several hours and let it set, but if crunch time is upon you, feel free to skip this step. I won’t tell a soul.

3. Mix the glaze ingredients together until smooth.

4. On an oiled baking sheet, shape chicken mixture into a tight, smooth, elongated loaf. Brush on all sides with glaze.

5. Bake in a 350F oven (180C) for 1 hour, let cool slightly and slice.

Serve to hungry children and tired husbands. Enjoy compliments.

Meatloaf leftovers are phenomenal cold in a sandwich.

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Have you ever seen a pink soup? I haven’t. Until yesterday that is. Eyeing a bag of beets in my nearly empty fridge, I decided that the last thing I feel like consuming is a cold salad. so I made soup. A pink soup. It is pink. It is delicious and it is pr-e-tty.

On the bright side, this soup pretty much makes itself in the slow cooker while you nap. On the not so bright side, I have three kids under the age of four, so I cannot nap. But I have soup. and it is pr-e-tty!

Serve this soup as an entrance to a fancy meal, decorated with a dollop of sour cream and some chopped herbs (Parsley, dill, chives, thyme. Whatever floats your boat). Crunchy croutons will nicely contrast the velvety soup. I’m getting hungry just by typing this.

Slow Cooker Cream of Beets soup

Ingredients:

5-6 medium beets (the bag was 900 gr), peeled and cut into large cubes
1 large onion, peeled and diced
5 small cubes of butter
1/2 tsp dry Thyme
1 large potato (about 200 gr), peeled and cut into large cubes
1 medium turnip (about 400 gr before peeling) peeled and cut into large cubes
1 liter (4 cups) chicken or vegetable broth
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup heavy (35%) or cooking cream (15%)

Preparation:

1. In a microwave safe bowl, combine diced onion, butter and Thyme. Cook for 1 minute, mix and return to the microwave for 2-3 more minutes, until the onions are soft and transparent.

2. In the slow cooker insert, combine beets, turnip, potato, onions, broth,salt and pepper.

3. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours, until the turnips (which are the hardest vegetable) are soft. Turn off the cooker and let the soup cool for about 30 minutes.

4. With a blender stick, blend the content of the slow cooker into a velvety soup. Add cream and mix well. Taste and correct seasoning if needed with more salt or pepper.

Serve in a pr-e-tty bowl, decorated with a dollop of sour cream and chopped fresh herbs. Delicious!

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Are you intimidated by asparagus? I know I was.

Aren’t you glad we had this talk? I feel much better now.

Until discovering this cooking method, Asparagus was a special occasion dish around here and I fretted each time. Should I boil it? steam it? bake it in the oven? Asparagus just seemed too elegant to mishandle.

Happily, my asparagus anxieties are now the thing of the past. Since I began to cook my asparagus in the microwave, we began to eat it way more often.  ”We” being a relative term since I tend to accidentally place the asparagus plate close to me and demolish it not so accidentally before anyone has the chance to ask for seconds. It is that good.

Asparagus in the microwave

Ingredients:

1 Asparagus bundle
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

1. Wash asparagus spears and chop off the woody bottom part.
2. cut spears in half and place in a microwave safe large bowl or container.
3. Mix in olive oil, salt and pepper.
4. cover lightly and cook for two minutes.
5.Mix asparagus well and taste test one spear to determine if cooked enough. If still under-cooked,cover again and microwave in 30 second increments until cooked to your liking.

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This recipe is an old favorite of mine.

Every few months or so, when I am truly brain dead, sleep deprived, not in the mood or just plain grumpy (no, I am not in my period, I just gave birth, thank you very much), I desperately browse my old recipe collection for inspiration.

At a point in which even my kids tire of eating spaghetti, this recipe can save the day. It is tasty, it is quirky, it is easy to make and I usually have all the ingredients on hand. Eggs? check. Flour? check. Canned tomatoes? check. Saffron? just kidding.

This quiche recipe does not even require cheese. And best of all? it tastes like pizza.

You can easily replace the dough recipe with any of your favorite pie doughs, made or bought, as long as it yields enough dough to cover a large rectangular baking plate. I like to stick to the illusion of eating healthy and use my whole wheat pie dough recipe below.

Dairy Free Pizza Flavored Quiche

Filling:

1 can (800 ml/28 oz) diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed (I place mine in a colander and rinse under the tap)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced pepperoni/salami/ pastrami/any other cold deli meats you like and have on hand.
1/2 cup chopped/sliced pitted olives, any kind you like
2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp dry Oregano
3 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

 Dough:

2 cups whole wheat flour
80 gr cold soy margarine, cubed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup cold water

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I should really be fancy and call this dish something along the lines of “Coq au vin blanc et champignons”. Doesn’t everything sound better in French? It does, if you take a moment to ignore my accent.

French pronunciation aside, this dish does, excuse my French, kicks b*tt. It is rich, comforting and elegant. A perfect company dish for us tired, overworked folk. No one but your slow cooker will know how little effort you put in preparing this.

Most recipes out there call for frying the chicken prior to cooking it in the slow cooker. I am certain these recipes taste incredibly good.

Many people also spend a lot of time alphabetizing their CD collections or hanging their shirts by color code. I am certain that these too, are a worthy pass times.

Only that I don’t have any. Time that is. And even if I did, I would not be passing it pre-cooking my chicken or color coding my underwear. So there.

I prepared this particular recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks will work fine here as well, as long as you remember to remove the skin. I might be lazy but even I have my limits and soggy chicken skin is one of them.

Slow cooker Chicken in wine and mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 kg (about 2 lbs) boneless, skinless chicken thighs (my package contained 10 pieces)
1 basket (about 225 gr) button mushrooms, halved
1 large portobello mushroom, cut into large cubes
1/2 jar (jar contained 375 gr) pickled pearl onions, drained
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:

1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 Tbsp margarine
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp paprika

Preparation:

1. Place chicken, mushrooms and pearl onions in the slow cooker. Generously season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley.

2. In a microwave safe bowl, combine flour and margarine. Cook for about 2 minutes, until flour melts into the margarine.

3. Mix paprika and garlic into flour mixture and gradually add wine and broth, mixing until there are no lumps to be found. Pour sauce into the slow cooker.

4. Cook on LOW for about 6 hours.

Serve in a deep bowl, with lots of sauce, accompanied by more of that white wine and some crispy baguette. Yum!

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Look at the face lift my blog just got!

Scroll up! scroll down!

Isn’t it just darling?!

Ain’t it cool?

I love my geek!

(Good thing he is so easy to bribe.)

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This is my personal, quick and easy version of a classic favorite. This zucchini moussaka is lighter and easier to make than its eggplant counterpart, not to mention that in order to cut even more on the calories and workload, I skip the heavy bechamel topping and decorate my moussaka with tomato slices.

Zucchini Moussaka

Ingredients:

2 very large zucchinis, or 3 smaller ones
a little olive oil for brushing
4 cups ready meat sauce, the kind you make for pasta. I always have a frozen batch ready for a rainy day
1 cup bread crumbs
3-4 firm tomatoes
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Slice zucchinis lengthwise into thin slices. Place slices on a large oiled baking sheet, brush or spray the top of the slices with some more oil and broil for about 15 minutes, until the zucchini edges begin to golden.

2. Spread the bottom of an 8 inch Pyrex baking pan with half a cup of bread crumbs, top with half of the zucchini slices (make sure you tile them slightly on top of each other to prevent leaks), then 2 cups of the meat sauce. Repeat with another layer of tiled zucchini slices and the two last cups of sauce and finally the remaining half a cup of bread crumbs.

3. Cover the moussaka with a pretty layer of tomato slices. Mix together the olive oil and paprika and brush on top of the tomatoes.

4. Bake in a 375F oven for 40 minutes and let cool for about half an hour before slicing.

Do not wait two whole days before taking a picture of the last piece of your Moussaka or you’ll end up with this photo.

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No, I’m not pregnant again, thank you very much.

I just love pickles. And soups. And this brilliant combination of the two.

My Polish friend M. is the one who introduced me to this dish. M. is a medical professional, a talented musician, a great cook and an all around funny guy. He has this goofy, unexpected sense of humour that sends everyone around the table howling in laughter after one of his razor sharp cracks.

One spoon into M’s pickle soup and I knew I was in love. I asked and got the recipe and proceeded, as I cannot help myself, to tweak it to my (yours too!) convenience. I omitted the real chicken legs he puts in his soup, added some peppercorns to perk up the flavour and made my version in the slow cooker, just so that I could take a nap.

This soup is creamy, comforting and perky all at the same time thanks to the pickles. Bring it on.

Slow Cooker Polish Pickle Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups diced, peeled potatoes
2.5 cups dill pickles, diced or sliced
1/2 cup to 2/3 cup pickling liquid from the jar, depending on how “pickley” you want your broth to taste
4 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 finely chopped onion
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
3 Tbsp butter
1 cup sour cream

Preparation:

1. In the slow cooker, combine potatoes, pickles, pickling liquid, broth and peppercorns.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, combine onion, flour and butter. Microwave on high for 2 minutes, mix well and return to the microwave for 2 minutes more. The onions should be translucent, the butter melted and the flour clinging to the buttery onions.
3. Scoop a ladleful of the broth mix into the bowl af onions, mix well to loosen up the flour mixture and make sure it wont lump up on you. Add the bowl’s content to the slow cooker and mix well.
4. Cook on low for 6-7 hours (or on high for about 4 hours), until the potatoes are fork tender but not falling apart. Gradually add sour cream while stirring constantly.

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