shannonleger - The Butcher's Daughter

Spring Oven Refresh

February 18, 2021February 18, 2021by shannonlegerLeave a Comment

OMG, is your oven a nightmare like mine usually is? I use my oven ALOT and when it starts to get disgusting, I start to ignore it and stress over it simultaneously. It’s a self cleaning oven but honestly I’ve never really understood that term, haha! Self cleaning it may be but man this thing requires some elbow grease if I really want to get it super clean.

Last summer after leaving it waaaaaaay too long, I broke down and finally buffed it up. I wanted to share the process here in case some of this info is useful to you. I found myself looking all over the internet trying to solve a few issues that I didn’t know how to deal with. One big issue was the oven door. I started this whole process with a self cleaning cycle to see what I could get rid of before calling in the big guns…..things like heavy duty cleaners, razor blades, and various other tools. Yup, I said it, I used razor blades in the cleaning of my messed up, baked on, oven.

Here’s part of what I was starting with…….the door was even worse!

After the oven cooled from the Self Cleaning cycle, I took off the door and rubbed on a paste of baking soda and vinegar and let it set for an hour or so. Leave on longer time when you are dealing with heavy soil.

A scrubbie comes in handy here. I love how well these work on scrubbing off hard to remove crud on just about anything! The best thing about them is they are washable and reusable. Once I scrubbed the entire door down with the scrubbie, I got out my handy razor blade. It worked so well to remove baked on grease from the glass. It takes some time but its well worth the results. I also used the scrubbie with a paste of Bar Keepers Friend and water to get brown grease marks (that had appeared after a self cleaning cycle) off the top of the oven door up by the handle. I didn’t want to replace that part due to cost and had never been able to get it off so this was pretty exciting.

So satisfying! Look at how much grease is coming off the glass!

You can see here that there was dust, dirt and pet hair (probably some human hair in there as well, yuck!) that had gotten in through the vents in the door. You can also see that the metal piece that holds the door onto the hinges had chipped and rusted over the years. I was able to order a new part online at Partselect.ca. I entered my model # and identification # from a sticker inside the oven and was then able to find the part I needed. It cost around $60 but was well worth it to make the oven look it’s best. A lot cheaper than replacing the oven! For me, totally worth it.

More of the gunk between the oven door glass. That’s gotta go!

On a flat surface, with a rug, towels or something soft so you don’t break the glass, carefully remove the top glass. You will have several screws to remove and likely that bottom piece that was rusted on my oven door, depending on your oven design. Vacuum up all loose dust, dirt, etc and then remove any baked on grease with the razor blade. I used a general purpose spray on cleaner (Mrs. Meyers) after to get the rest of the grime.

Just look at this piece of the door! New vs. Old. This is the part I ordered from Partselect.ca.

Now for the racks. They were in really bad shape. Eeeek. I ended up doing a few things to them but I started by soaking overnight in a very hot tub of water and a couple of dishwasher pods. That got rid of a lot of grease and grime. I wasn’t completely happy with them so I took them out and scrubbed with a paste of soda and vinegar but it didn’t get me much further. I took them outside and resorted to spraying them with oven cleaner. That got a lot more off but still not perfect. I went with it though because the racks looked so much better and I’d spent a couple days at this point trying to clean them. Next time I’m faced with cleaning oven racks, I’m going to do the ammonia soak in garbage bag method.

This was mid process……make sure you put old towels or sheets under your racks if you are soaking in your tub. As you can see, some rust or grease marks may appear and you don’t want that on your tub.

After I was finished the process, I added a liner in the bottom to keep things clean. I love the Betty Crocker ones from Dollarama! However, they don’t always have them in stock. I added burner protectors under my wire burners which should help keep things clean on my stove top. These were also the Betty Crocker brand from Dollarama.

Ahhhhhh, no more rust on the door! And I can see through the oven window. This brings me so much joy, haha! I’m sure many of you can relate!

And here is the final product! A gorgeous oven makeover just in time for spring! Add this to your spring cleaning To-Do list…..you’ll be happy you did!

Cooking, Winter

Storm Day Chicken Soup

February 16, 2021February 18, 2021by shannonlegerLeave a Comment

Today is a storm day in Atlantic Canada. We are all cozied in with a warm fire and the smell of chicken noodle soup simmering on the stove has my mouth watering. This recipe is based on a Yummly recipe and I changed up a few ingredients and added some extras. I served it with garlic bread but it would be amazing with biscuits or your choice of bread as well! This is a particularly fantastic soup for when you are feeling under the weather as it includes garlic, lemon, and fresh ginger.

Storm Day Chicken Noodle Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts precooked or approx. 3 cups chopped rotisserie chicken
2 bay leaves
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated with a microplane
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
7 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
3/4 cup ditali or ditalini pasta
1/4 cup soup mix (green and yellow split peas, red split lentils, rice and pearl barley)
Black pepper
Kosher salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp dried parsley

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, thyme, rosemary, and cook about 2 minutes.

Stir in chicken stock, bay leaves, 1 cup water and 1/4 cup soup mix. Bring to a boil. Cover, turn down heat to low and simmer for approx 50 minutes. Stir in pasta and cook until pasta is tender, 8-10 minutes.

Stir in chopped chicken and lemon juice. Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with 1 tbsp dried parsley. Serve.

Food

Tzatziki and Hummus Lettuce Cups

February 14, 2021March 31, 2021by shannonlegerLeave a Comment

Plated salad with hummus and feta cheese

TZATZIKI AND HUMMUS LETTUCE CUPS

shannonleger

I’m trying to get in more exercise and eat a little more healthy food lately. At a recent doctors appointment I was told I have high LDL cholesterol so I’m trying to cut back on fats, red meat and sweets. I’ve been enjoying this lovely little salad for lunches. It’s so easy to throw together and really amazingly delicious! I’m honestly obsessed!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Lunch, Main Course, Salad

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 1 Serving

Ingredients

Two leaves of a romaine heart
¼ cup Tzatziki, 1/4 cup
¼ cup Hummus, 1/4 cup
½ cup One choppped tomato or cherry tomatoes halved
½ cup Chopped cucumber
Black Olives to your taste
Red Onion, chopped
Feta cheese to your taste
½ tsp Oregano or Greek souvlaki seasoning to your taste

Instructions

Wash and dry two leaves of romaine. Place whole leaves on plate. Spread leaves with 1/4 cup hummus and then spread 1/4 cup of tzatziki over this. Top with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and olives. Crumble feta over top of salad. Sprinkle oregano or Greek souvlaki seasoning over all. Enjoy!

Keyword Greek, Lean, Letuce Wrap, Salad

Cooking, Food, Winter

Hing Hang Walla Walla Bing Bang!

February 9, 2021March 31, 2021by shannonlegerLeave a Comment

It’s been so long since I’ve posted! Like crazy long! Life got in the way like it can so easily do when you have two littles, a hubby, a home to run…..and all the other stuff that can steal our time, energy and motivation if we aren’t careful.

It’s almost halfway through February but kind of feels like we just got winter underway. I’m grateful for that since I’ve been trying to make getting outside daily for a walk a priority. So much easier when the weather is nice and not too cold and blustery.

Hing Hang

Shannon Léger

I’ve been making lots of comfort food for my family over the fall and winter and one that always stands out is this recipe my Grammie used to make. My Mom has made it for years and now I make it for my family. It’s real comfort food. Noodles, tomato sauce, beef and cheese all baked together for a hearty and soul comforting casserole. It’s so easy to put together and is always a hit. I think what makes it different from a lot of other ground beef casseroles out there is the addition of consommé. I’ve attempted to make it with beef stock and it just honestly isn’t the same at all. You really need the concentrated and rich flavour that the consommé can offer to make this recipe shine. My favourite thing about this recipe is it’s mostly done in one big pan or Dutch oven. The only other pot you’ll dirty is the one to cook the egg noodles. I often serve this on it’s own but it’s a great dish to serve with a Caesar salad or a tossed salad on the side and a piece of garlic bread. Yum! My mouth is watering just talking about this! Here’s the recipe.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Ingredients

1 package broad egg noodles cooked according to package directions
1 onion chopped
1 lb ground beef
1 can consommé soup
1 large can tomato sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
½ cup Mozzarella cheddar or marble cheese, grated

Instructions

Fry together, add cooked egg noodles. Put cheese on top (I use 1-2 cups) and brown in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Gardening

Garden Plans 2020

March 7, 2020February 11, 2021by shannonlegerLeave a Comment

The days are starting to get brighter, the sun a little warmer and my mind is starting to daydream about seeds, and compost and tilling. Here’s a list of what we intend to plant this year. We are expanding the plot by a few feet which will be easier to do using the new tiller my Mom and Dad surprised us with last year.

Do you plant a garden? What is on your must-have list?

My Journey

I’m a Blogger! Now what?!

March 7, 2020May 25, 2023by shannonlegerLeave a Comment

OMG, I’m a blogger! I’m panicking a little if I’m honest. This isn’t my first attempt at creating a blog that expresses who I am, what I’m passionate about and attempts to bring value to other folks who are interested in some of the same things I am.

Here at The Butcher’s Daughter I plan to talk about lots of home related things……most of which will revolve around food and my kitchen. It’s what I’m most passionate about. I absolutely love creating delicious meals for my family and friends. I adore everything baking related, including eating it, haha! Recently I joined WW after too many of those sweet indulgences so I plan to share what I’m learning about creating healthful meals and desserts that fit into a healthy lifestyle. It’s still pretty new to me and we can learn together! For several years now, my husband and I have planted and lovingly tended to a backyard garden and lets just say, we are hooked! The produce from that garden is organic, healthy, delicious and inexpensive! All bonuses when raising two hungry growing boys!

Who is The Butcher’s Daughter anyway and what inspired me to choose this name for my blog? Well, I’m a wife, a proud Mama to two little boys and yup, you guessed it! I really am a Butcher’s Daughter. I grew up in the country, was schooled in the city and after university graduation moved to a tiny town in NB where I can live a country life close to city amenities. Best of both worlds…..’cause let’s face it, you can take the girl out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the girl! I’ll always be rooted in the country and everything I do in my home reflects that!

I’m so excited to be on this journey and can’t wait to have all of you join me! Ready? Here we go!