Crispy crunchy chewy chocolatey bites (a.k.a. Saturday night chocolatey nibbles)

Chocolatey cereal bites full of toffee and coconut. Takes minutes to make and come to think of it, will probably take mere minutes to eat too!

I've read other food bloggers who have this problem too: chocolate goodies do not photograph well! I agree, it's hard to make a brown blob look appealing. It is what it is, these don't look great, but they do taste great - hits that chocolate and that crunchy craving. I guess it's good to stand by the old adage of don't judge by appearances!

Crispy crunchy chewy chocolatey bites (aka Saturday Night Chocolatey Nibbles)

1 cup chocolate chips

2 cups crisp rice cereal

1/2 cup toffee bits

1-2 tbsp coconut flakes (depending on flavour and chewiness preference)

Melt chocolate chips on 50% power in a medium microwave safe bowl for 2-3 minutes; checking and stirring after each minute. Stop microwaving once most of the chips melt after stirring through. 

Quickly add the cereal, toffee bits and coconut flakes and stir well to combine.

Mound by generous heaping tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet or large plate lined with parchment/wax paper. Alternatively, press into a square cake pan lined with parchment. 

Cool in the fridge for about 1/2 hour, maybe 45 minutes for the square pan.

If pressed into the square cake pan, on a chopping board, carefully cut into portions (you choose the size!) with a sharp knife. Store on the counter in a covered container.

Alternatively: eat it straight from the bowl; but they do taste better and the crunch is more dramatic after cooling.

Yield: It's up to you how many you want make and how big you make each portion to share or hoard...umm, I mean save.

Don't forget, you get to lick the spoon! Enjoy!

© Kooks in the Kitchen. 2015

Egg-cellent Muffins

A friend of mine shared this recipe at a healthy snack exchange I participated in last year. I've adapted and renamed and made it my own. Feel free to add some cooked diced chicken, small cooked beans or even cooked ground meat. These are great on a bunch table, as a quick breakfast on the go or a nice protein-filled snack. 

These freeze well and are great for crazy mornings. Simply pop into the microwave and you're good to go! Speaking of freezing, for this recipe I used cooked quinoa that I had frozen. Cook quinoa as desired and let it thoroughly cool down. I like freezing it in freezer bags and then flattening the pack; this way once it's frozen you can simply break off a chunk in the size you need. I find flattened food takes less time thawing than when it's in a big chunk. Alternatively, measure out portions into containers and freeze.

Mini Quinoa Quiches

1 cup cooked quinoa (any variety) 
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups shredded zucchini
2 green onions, sliced (both white/green part)
1/4 cup parsley (or cilantro)
1/2 cup chopped roasted red pepper
2 Tbsp cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 10-12 muffin tins with your choice of oil (canola, olive, coconut oil etc.) or use silicon liners. 

2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. 

3. Spoon the mixture to the top of each cup. 

4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges of the cups are golden brown. Let cool for at least five minutes before removing from the muffin tin. Serve with lemon or salsa if desired.

© Kooks in the Kitchen. 2016.

Breakfast for Dinner featuring Potatoes and Greens

This is a quick go-to meal I make when I'm fresh out of ideas; it's also a wonderful way to use up whatever vegetables you have in the fridge. Mix and match to clean out the crisper. Mushrooms would be fantastic in this in place of the greens, or in addition to. Try it once as written, then make it your own, it's a highly adaptable basic recipe, I myself have adapted it from a recipe I was inspired by in an old cookbook. And I never make it the same way twice!

Vegetable Frittata

 

1 sweet potato or regular potato (or as i do, a combo of both) (~ 250g)

2 cups chopped broccoli (or whatever greens you have on hand, pictured is Swiss chard, don't cook leafy greens for long - add them to the pan just before adding eggs - I use a lot of spinach and chard)

4 eggs

4 egg whites

½ tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp vegetable oil

¼ cup chopped green onions or finely chopped yellow onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried tarragon or dried oregano

¼ cup shredded fontina cheese (or other preferred cheese)

¼ cup fresh basil for sprinkling on top (optional)

 

1. Peel potato; cut into ½ inch cubes. Place in steamer basket over boiling water; cover and cook for 5 minutes. 

2. Add broccoli; cook, covered, for 4 minutes or until potato is tender and broccoli is tender-crisp; set aside. If using leafy greens do not add them at this step.

3. Meanwhile, in bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, salt and pepper; set aside. 

4. In 9-inch (23 cm) ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium heat; cook onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, and tarragon, stirring, for about 2 minutes or until softened. 

5. Spread sweet potato mixture in skillet; add leafy greens if using instead of broccoli in at this point and sauté for a couple of minutes.

I forgot to add the Swiss chard in before I added the egg mixture, do as I say, not as pictured... ;)

6. Pour egg mixture over top. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook for about 12 minutes or until bottom is golden and edge is set but center still jiggles slightly. 

7. Sprinkle with cheese; broil for 2 to 3 minutes or until light golden and cheese is bubbly. 

8. Sprinkle with basil just before serving. Enjoy as is or with toast or pita in the side. 

I don't eat cheese too often, so I simply broiled it without cheese on my half and with cheese for my husband's portion :)

Makes 4 servings. 

Adapted from an old cookbook, Canadian Living’s Best: Quick Suppers.

© Kooks in the Kitchen. 2015.

Saying Adios to Winter and Hello to Spring

A great recipe to use up the last of the winter roots, along with a little nod to the vibrant colours of spring!

I know the ingredient list looks long, but it really isn't, I've put all the direction for ingredient prep beside it. And honestly, use whatever vegetables you have on hand, that's how I made this up. Cook all the "harder" vegetables first, then add the ones that take less time to cook up.

Root Veg and Chicken Hash – One Pot Recipe 

2 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 medium turnip, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces

1 small sweet potato, scrubbed and chopped into 1 inch pieces

5 regular red radishes, quartered

A handful of nugget potatoes, any variety, thoroughly washed

4 medium carrots, scrubbed and chopped into 1 inch slices

Asparagus, 1 bunch use only the top 1/3 of it (save the rest for another use)

1-2 large leaves of Swiss chard (chop the stalks up into ½ inch pieces; roughly chop the leaves)

1 medium onion, chopped coarsely

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon oil (vegetable, canola, or olive)

1-2 tablespoons vinegar, your favourite variety, (I used balsamic)

1 ½ cups of low sodium chicken stock

Fresh cooking herbs, 1 sprig of each (I used rosemary and thyme; I actually used these fresh herbs that I had washed and frozen in Ziploc bags, I find herbs turn faster than I can use them up, so freezing works well for me)

1 teaspoon (or maybe a little bit more) dried Italian seasoning (just the herbs only variety, no salt added)

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon pepper (or more to taste)

½ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

Pinch ground cumin

Pinch ground nutmeg

Pinch ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon cornstarch

4-5 sage leaves (fresh or as above, fresh-frozen) – chopped in a chiffonade for garnish or parsley 

1. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large skillet and cook onion for 2-3 minutes until starting to get translucent; then add chicken and garlic and cook until chicken is no longer pink and is slightly browned. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar; stir and pick up any brown bits sticking to the bottom of skillet.

2. To the skillet, add the root vegetables (all vegetables except the asparagus and the swiss chard), 1 cup of the chicken stock, ¼ cup of water, the fresh cooking herbs, and all the spices, salt and seasonings. 

3. Cover and cook on medium for 10-12 minutes and then check the tenderness of the turnips and carrots. Just before these vegetables become fork tender, add in the asparagus and the Swiss chard leaves and stalks. Add the remaining ½ cup of chicken stock.

4. Cook for another 5-7 minutes, until the carrots and turnip are cooked through and the asparagus is fork tender. Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water to make a slurry; add to skillet and mix well once the vegetables are cooked.

5. Taste and season as needed. Garnish with sage or parsley.

© Kooks in the Kitchen. 2015.

What's My Beef

Those of you been following along on the Kooks in the Kitchen Facebook page (find it here: http://facebook.com/kitchenkooksedm)  might know that I post a lot of chicken and fish dishes and that I don't do a lot of beef just because I really don't eat much beef; maybe a couple of times a month and I favor ground beef over steak and the like.

There's nothing wrong with beef, I just don't really like it much, beef is a fattier meat and it's harder to digest, especially for those with pre-existing digestive issues, so that may be a part of the reason that I don't much like it. I think our bodies naturally and inherently know what works for us; as they say "gut instincts" or "trust your gut," truly your body tells you what you need and what you don't like.

Having said this, once in a while I do get cravings for beef, for red meat I guess you could say, and at those times I just have to have a burger. Obviously my body is telling me I need more iron likely, among other nutrients that are found in beef. Beef is also a very high source of protein and Vitamin B12. So I listen to my body and eat beef!

Trim all visible fat from the boneless blade steak or sirloin steak portion.

I made up this recipe on one of those beef craving times, and you know how much I love Mediterranean flavours, and that just doesn't stop with the baked goods. So to make the beef more palatable to myself, I figured Mediterranean-izing it would be the way to go. I did that by adding various herbs as well as lemons and my good old hummus.

I didn't have any chickpeas that day to make my own hummus, but I did have these President's Choice single serve portions of hummus. I had one left and I jazzed it up by sprinkling with some sumac.

I like this Garlic and Herb flavour of Mrs. Dash sodium-free seasoning. It's a great all purpose seasoning for meat dishes, vegetable sautés and it's fantastic on roasted potato wedges.

Mediterranean Beef Pitas

1 medium onion, thinly sliced 

1 red pepper, sliced

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced 

2 cups fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped 

2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil (divided)

Lemon (zested, then juice from half of it)

450g beef, boneless blade or sirloin steak (or your favourite cut) thinly sliced

1 tsp Mrs Dash Garlic and Herb sodium-free seasoning 

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or more to taste

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Garnishes/toppings:

Hummus, at least 2 tbsp/person 

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped

1 tomato, chopped into 1-inch pieces

2-3 leaves romaine lettuce, coarsely sliced/torn

1/3 long English cucumber, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

pitas, mini naans (see photo) or tortillas

I had these President's Choice mini naans in the freezer and I used these...hmmm two PC products, maybe I should get them to sponsor this post! 

1. In a skillet, with one teaspoon of the oil, stir fry the steak and garlic until meat is no longer pink. Remove to bowl and keep warm.

2. To the same pan, add the remaining oil and stir fry the onions and red pepper. Once the onions have become slightly translucent and the pepper is still tender crisp, add back in the beef and any juices. Stir in all the seasonings and spices, including the lemon zest and juice.

3. Stir fry it all for a couple of minutes to combine flavours. Add in the spinach and continue cooking until spinach is heated through and just wilted.

4. Serve on warmed naans or pitas spread with hummus and your choice of toppings!

© Kooks in the Kitchen. 2015.