Winter day soup

I had some leeks needing to be used up, some cauliflower that had sat in the fridge too long and some sweet potatoes that I was too tired of making chips from. So what does one do? Make a soup that's perfect for an evening that threw an unexpected winters mix at us.

What I had:

• 2 cups cauliflower florets
• 2 medium sweet potatoes cut into inch pieces
• 2 leeks, all the whites and an inch of the green parts chopped
• Coconut oil
• Cumin, salt and paprika to taste
• Parsley for garnish
• 4 chicken bullion cubes, in 4 cups boiling water
• 2 cups coconut water
• 1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

What I did:

• Heat up 2 tbsp coconut oil in a heavy skillet, add leeks till soft
• Add the cauliflower and sweet potato and pour the chicken broth in
• Let it simmer for 5 minutes, then add coconut milk and flakes
• Let this cook for 10 minutes till the vegetables are soft
• Transfer the entire thing to a blender and blend till almost liquid (I like some pieces in my soup for texture)
• Transfer back to skillet, add the spices to taste
• Serve with some cilantro 

When the 3 year old eats something without complaint, it's a big win for me!

Spinach pancakes

or sneak some veggies into your breakfast pancakes :-)

What I had:

• 1 cup tightly packed spinach
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup flour of your choice (I used all purpose)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• spray/butter/oil for frying

What I did:

•  combined spinach, yogurt, egg and oil in a blender till smooth
• in another bowl, sifted the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt till well mixed
• slowly whisked wet ingredients into dry
• poured a tablespoon at a time on a greased iron griddle
• cooked till brown

Ate till gone!

Irish Lamb Stew

While searching for Irish recipes for St. Patrick's day, beef or lamb stew kept coming up. I didn't like any recipe in it's entirety so I came up with my own and it was delicious!

What I had:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 2.25 lbs butterflied lamb leg (use any cut you like), cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 5 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch rounds
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 cup Guinness stout beer
• 20 small white potatoes, cut into halves
• fresh thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

What I did:

• heated the butter and oil on medium heat, with 2 sprigs worth of thyme leaves and the bay leaves, in a soup pot
• added the lamb and browned on high heat, about 5-8 minutes
• removed lamb from pot
• added onions till soft
• added carrots, stirred for 4 minutes
• added lamb back in
• poured the broth, wine and beer in
• added the potatoes
• salt and pepper to taste
• topped with 3 sprigs of thyme
• covered and cooked on low-medium heat for an hour

Enjoyed it immensely! It was delicious, the lamb melted in our mouths.

Poppy seed dessert

So, what I really wanted was to use this poppy seed cake and pie filling and make something sweet. I had cream cheese, and I thought I could use Pillsbury crescents and do something. I also had some raisin bread, so I cut slices of that, put the topping on it and baked. They were all delicious, but if you are going to use the crescent dough, use the entire filling. It might look like it's going to overflow, but it won't trust me. I wish I had more filling in there.

Filling:

• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 can Solo poppy seed pie and cake filling
• 8 oz fat free cream cheese
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 2 cups chopped pecans

Mix the sugar and cream cheese till soft, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Top on slices of sweet bread and bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

Or you can do this with the Pillsbury crescent dough:

• Roll out the crescent roll dough and pinch all seams shut.
• Spread filling down lengthwise in the middle. Left an inch on each side.
• Cut 1/2 inch thick strips on both sides of the filling.
• Folded the strips over the filling, overlapping them a little.
• Baked at 400 for 12 minutes.

Finish it off before anybody else can get their grubby little hands on any ;-)
 

I love the taste of the poppy seed filling, and I am trying to think of other ways to use. In those pre-made phyllo dessert cups. Inside a cake. With a spoon. The possibilities are endless.

 

Shepherd's Pie

Since everyone was Irish this past weekend, I jumped into the spirit of it too. We had green eggs, green ham and green (spinach infused) silver dollar pancakes for breakfast. And, then I got into the spirit of things and made an Irish lamb stew and Shepherd's Pie for dinner.

What I had:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced finely
• 4 large carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 glass red wine
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Boxed mashed potatoes, 4 cups prepared
• 1 egg, beaten
• Grated Parmesan cheese

What I did:

• Pre-heated oven to 400.
• Sauteed carrots in the olive oil until they were tender.
• Added in the onions for a minute or two, and then added the meat.
• Seasoned with black pepper and thyme.
• Cooked until browned then drained fat.
• Added the butter and peas.
• Sprinkled with flour and stir through.
• Added tomato paste, wine and Worcestershire sauce.
• Let it reduce slightly, added the chicken stock. Allowed to reduce down to a thick meaty gravy. 
• Seasoned with salt and pepper.
• Removed from heat. Greased a 9X13 glass baking dish with butter and added the sauce.
• Spooned mashed potatoes over top. Brushed with egg and sprinkled Parmesan cheese over top.
• Baked for 20 minutes till the potato was nice and browned on top. 

Dig in!

I like the sauce a little wet since it helps the potatoes absorb the flavor