Dinner - The Butcher's Daughter

Gourmet Burger Craving!

March 23, 2024February 17, 2026by shannonleger

My 10 year old son has been wanting a good juicy gourmet style burger. So yesterday I gave in and made some for the family. I got a large package of ground pork for half the price of the same sized package of ground beef. It’s still so crazy to me how costly beef is these days, but everything has gone up in price hasn’t it? I hope we see a stabilization of prices in the days to come, but I’m not holding my breath. I digress……back to the subject at hand. I was able to score La Fournée Dorée brioche burger buns with sesame seeds from Superstore for half price by shopping Flash Food. I love using an artisanal style bun for these as you need something a little more stable and larger in size to hold the bigger, thicker patty and the toppings. With the savings on the two main components of these burgers, the pork and the buns, I was able to feed my family of four for about $1.25 a burger!!! I added a vegetable salad from the grocery store deli for 50% off, around $6 (also purchased via Flash Food) bringing our total to about $10 for the total four serving meal. Far cry from the cost of four gourmet burgers from the local gourmet burger joint and this included a side. I adapted a recipe I’d saved from a Hello Fresh box we’d enjoyed years ago and made a lower calorie, lower fat version.

Southern Pork Burgers

shannonleger

Juicy pork burgers with a fried onion BBQ sauce, spinach and pickles served on a brioche bun

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Equipment

2 frying pans
1 Mixing bowl
1 wooden spoon
1 cookie sheet

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork
4 brioche buns, split and toasted
5 tbsp butter
4 dill pickles, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tbsp milk
1/4 cup bbq sauce
baby spinach
1 tbsp oil
salt and pepper

Instructions

Set broiler to high. To the ground pork, add Dijon mustard, milk, salt and pepper. Mix together and form four large patties.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan and add pork patties. Fry until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes per side depending on thickness until they reach 180 degrees F on a thermometer. As the patties are cooking, heat 1 tbsp of the butter in another pan. Add chopped onions and cook until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add bbq sauce and stir together.
Spread 1/2 tbsp of butter on each bun half. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and broil for 2-3 minutes watching not to burn.
Spread bbq sauce onion mixture on bottom bun, top with baby spinach, a pork patty, pickle slices. Serve.

Food, Cooking, From-Scratch Food, Winter

Savoury Cream of Mushroom Soup

March 7, 2024February 17, 2026by shannonleger

Here in my little corner of the world, it’s snowing……again. I can’t complain, the past little while the weather has been unseasonably warm and springy. I’ve been feeling spoiled because I really don’t enjoy winter so today is a good dose of reality. I mean, we live on the East Coast of Canada, where weather is often tumultuous. On days like today, I go right for the soup pot! There’s nothing more comforting on a blustery day than a nice homemade soup full of hearty meat, veggies or in this case, mushrooms! I hope you’ll give it a try! Let me know how it turns out, it’s a pretty simple soup to throw together yet it feels like a classy meal when paired with a nice glass of wine and some artisanal bread or baguette. I served mine with homemade biscuits for a more old fashioned hearty meal vibe.

Hearty, earthy, creamy homemade mushroom soup

Savoury Cream of Mushroom Soup

shannonleger

A rich creamy mushroom soup with a deep earthy full flavour.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Servings 6 Servings

Equipment

1 Medium soup pot
1 wooden spoon
1 Chopping knife

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, diced
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 pounds Fresh Bella brown mushrooms, sliced
4 tsp savoury summer or winter savoury
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
Chopped fresh parsley to serve if desired

Instructions

Heat butter and oil over medium heat until melted together. Add onions and saute until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
Brush dirt off mushrooms (I also give a rinse under the tap), slice and add to pan. Add half the savoury and cook for approximately 5 minutes until mushrooms are browned and softened. Add white wine and continue to cook another 3 minutes.
Sprinkle flour over mushroom mixture, mix well until no lumps of flour remain and add stock. Bring mixture to a simmer stirring often so the flour doesn’t burn. Season with salt and pepper and reduce heat to low-medium. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until thickened.
Reduce heat to low and add heavy cream. Stir to combine and adjust seasonings to taste or seasonings can be added at the table. Stir in remaining savoury. Top with fresh parsley if desired.

Cooking, Food, From-Scratch Food, Spring, Winter

Veggie Quiche

January 17, 2022February 17, 2026by shannonlegerLeave a Comment

Hello! I hope you’re all staying warm today! Here where I live in Eastern Canada the temperature is around -22 Celsius…..a high today of -18 Celsius. Our eggs have been freezing in the coop so I have to be sure I get out there early each morning and collect before they freeze. At least until this cold snap is over. We’ve had an abundance of eggs lately, the colder weather and shorter days hasn’t seemed to affect the girls at all. So I decided to make a quiche to use some up and have something a little different for supper. I served it with steamed baby bokchoy. SO good! This is a recipe I have used for YEARS. I’m not even sure on the origin of it anymore but it’s a good one! I love how versatile quiches are! The original recipe calls for Swiss cheese but I always use marble or mozzarella and this time I used a bit of both.

You can use leftover cooked vegetables in this or you can throw frozen veggies in it. I used chopped up broccoli, onions and green pepper. I sometimes will use frozen mixed stir fry vegetables which gives it a little different flavour. If you are freezing for later use and are worried about over-baking the quiche upon reheating, you can partially bake it at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes or until partially set. Cool and wrap well and freeze. To thaw and serve, bake it in a 400 degree F oven for 45 minutes.

I serve this often as a meal with a steamed veggie on the side or a green salad. I hope you enjoy!

Vegetable Quiche

Rich and flavourful quiche loaded with cheese and veggies.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Course Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American, French

Servings 8 Servings

Equipment

2 Pie Plates
1 Grater
1 Whisk
1 Measuring Cup
1 Measuring spoons

Ingredients

2 Premade frozen pie shells or make your own
6 eggs
2 Cups evaporated milk
1/2 Cup milk, scalded
1 Tsp salt
1 Dash pepper
1 Dash nutmeg, optional
2 Cups grated mozzarella cheese or cheese of your choice
2 Cups Vegetables or your choice, fresh cooked or frozen

Instructions

Place pie crust in 2 pie plates or remove frozen shells from packaging and prick crusts with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
Beat all remaining ingredients except cheese until well blended. Add cheese and stir. Divide into 2 pastry shells.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 45-50 minutes. Cool before serving. *I cook both at the same time and cool and freeze one. Thaw and reheat in microwave or in the oven for a quick meal.

Keyword Quiche, Veggie Quiche, Light Lunch, Brunch

Cooking, Food, Spring

Spring is Around the Corner

March 10, 2021March 14, 2021by shannonlegerLeave a Comment

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.

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.

Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve!