As I sit down to write this blog post, I hear Dean Martin crooning away in the background When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, That’s Amore, That’s Amore! About now I’m wishing I could make it to old Napoli but thanks to COVID who knows when that will even be possible. The way I see it, if we can’t travel to Italy, we can at least eat like we’re there! I have been making my own dough off and on for years but have really made it a habit since the Pandemic started last year. There’s just something so comforting about making your own bread isn’t there? And we have certainly all needed a little comfort over this past year. My next bread adventure will be sour dough I think. I can’t believe I haven’t gotten on that bandwagon. I guess maybe I’ve found it a bit intimidating. But it’s time I took a chance!
This pizza dough recipe is quick to throw together since you use quick-rise yeast so you don’t have to worry about dissolving the yeast before mixing it with the flour. It will make two 12” pizzas, I used to make one pizza and one pan of garlic fingers. Lately I’ve been doing a 15” round pizza instead. Stay tuned for a wonderfully rich and flavourful homemade pizza sauce and a quick and easy donair sauce that doesn’t require freezing.
In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour with the yeast and salt.
Pour hot (not boiling) water and oil into the flour mixture and mix well. Mix in remaining cup of flour until dough can be gathered into a slightly sticky ball. Knead and shape dough.
Let rise 1 hour. Punch down and put into two greased 12” pans. Let rise 1 more hour. Add toppings and bake for approximately 20 minutes.
Today is a gorgeous spring-like day here on Canada’s East Coast! It’s got me thinking about daffodils, garden planting and lamb shanks! I braised lamb shank yesterday for supper and they were better than I could have imagined! Oh my goodness! Fall off the bone tender and just so flavourful. The rich flavour of the port really adds depth to this dish.
There will be lots of sauce for potatoes or rice and let me tell you, it’s worth eating. Don’t throw it out! The flavours from slow cooking the shank which of course includes the bone, are simply out of this world due to all that bone marrow goodness. Below is the recipe for Port Braised Lamb Shanks. The recipe is repeated at the end of my post in it’s entirety but I first divided it into steps with pictures to guide you along the way.
Lamb can be an intimidating meat to cook because for a lot of us, it’s a meat we rarely have on hand. Shanks are not the most tender part of the lamb but cooked correctly they can be very tender and succulent! Lamb is generally pretty expensive, or at least I find it is, but it does go on sale or clearance pretty often at my local grocery stores. I have found a great time to get super prices on lamb is right before a holiday. Keep your eyes peeled for deals and give this recipe a try soon!
Port Braised Lamb Shanks Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil, divided 4-6 lamb shanks trimmed of excess fat 1 large white onion 6 cloves of garlic, minced 2 large carrots, sliced or chopped 1 cup of celery, sliced or chopped 1 pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 1/4 cup flour 2 cups beef or chicken stock 1 1/2 cups port wine 14 oz diced tomatoes 2 tbsp tomato paste 1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped 2 tsp dried parsley, divided 2 bay leaves
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dry lamb shanks with a paper towel. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a heavy based pot over medium-high heat. Sear the shanks until browned on all sides. Do a few at a time. Repeat with remaining shanks and oil.
Transfer to a plate and keep warm. Add onions, carrots and celery to the pan juices and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Don’t worry about black bits in the bottom of your pot. These will add tons of flavour to the finished dish. Return shanks back to the pot and season with 1 tsp coarse salt and 1/2 tsp of ground pepper. Sprinkle with flour, cook for 4-5 minutes turning several times to brown the flour. Add stock, port, tomatoes, tomato paste, 1/2 the parsley and remaining herbs. Cover and bring to a boil, then transfer to the oven and braise for 2 – 2 1/2 hours stirring the sauce occasionally. This is your gorgeous end result. Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve! Meat will be falling apart tender! The sauce (not pictured here) is amazing on rice or mashed potatoes. I served with baked potato and green peas and it was delicious!
Port Braised Lamb Shanks
Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil, divided 4-6 lamb shanks trimmed of excess fat 1 large white onion 6 cloves of garlic, minced 2 large carrots, sliced or chopped 1 cup of celery, sliced or chopped 1 pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 1/4 cup flour 2 cups beef or chicken stock 1 1/2 cups Port wine 14 oz diced tomatoes 2 tbsp tomato paste 1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped 2 tsp dried parsley, divided 2 bay leaves
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dry lamb shanks with a paper towel. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a heavy based pot over medium-high heat. Sear the shanks until browned on all sides. Do a few at a time. Repeat with remaining shanks and oil.
Transfer to a place and keep warm.
Add onions, carrots and celery to the pan juices and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Don’t worry about black bits in the bottom of your pot. These will add tons of flavour to the finished dish.
Return shanks back to the pot and season with 1 tsp coarse salt and 1/2 tsp of ground pepper. Sprinkle with flour, cook for 4-5 minutes turning several times to brown the flour. Add stock, port, tomatoes, tomato paste, 1/2 the parsley and remaining herbs. Cover and bring to a boil, then transfer to the oven and braise for 2 – 2 1/2 hours stirring the sauce occasionally.
Once in awhile I find a product that I really enjoy and think is great value for money……and let’s face it, these crazy times we find ourselves in call for getting creative sometimes, whether it be substituting an ingredient or trying a new brand of ingredient because we are limiting our shopping trips and store stops or due to the need and/or want to save money.
When I get excited about a new find, I want to shout it from the rooftops. Haha! Here’s the latest find that I want to share with you! I adore fried onions, always have, likely always will. I especially love them on top of a juicy burger which we had a few nights ago for supper. Man these are tasty! And how can you go wrong when they only cost $1 for a 100g tub?! I don’t make a habit of grocery shopping at Dollarama but the other day I was out picking up a few things there and thought heck, why not? I’m gonna try them. So glad I did! The brand is Top Taste Crispy Fried Onions. They are as good as the grocery store brands and a fraction of the price! Grab some next time you’re at Dollarama, one of the few items there that really are just $1 these days!
Top O’ the Mornin’ to Ya! St Patrick’s Day is around the corner and I’ve been looking for something I could make that day other than the traditional corned beef and cabbage. I made this soup from an old WalmartLiveBetter magazine yesterday for the first time and wow! It was so good! Perfect for a winter’s day in so many ways……warm and satisfying, full of nutrition, and best of all, the most beautiful shade of emerald green. The colour alone brightened my spirits and reminded me that spring is on it’s way. And it’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! It’s nice and creamy but doesn’t contain cream, milk or butter so it’s great if you are trying to cut back on fats and calories. It makes 4 small-ish servings so it’s perfect as an appetizer but you could double the recipe if you want larger servings/more servings for a main course.
Cream of Green Vegetable Soup
Serves 4
1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 tbsp olive oil 4 cups chicken broth 2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets 2 cups asparagus, fresh or frozen, cut into chunks Salt and pepper 4 cups baby spinach Baby spinach leaves for garnish Feta cheese, crumbled
Place a large saucepan over medium heat. Soften onion and garlic in the oil. Add broth, broccoli, and asparagus. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
Store in spinach and simmer for about 1 minute. Purée soup with a hand blender until smooth. Add more broth if needed. When ready to serve, top with spinach leaves if using and crumbled feta.
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.
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.
