Two words that go great together  … Tex and Mex!

I really love enchiladas, but the idea of rolling so many of them can be daunting. Here’s a recipe that gives you that great taste but in a form a bit easier to manage.

Let’s see what we’ll need to make this:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 8-12 7″ tortillas (more if smaller) – corn or wheat
• 1 lb shredded cheddar
• 1 medium red onion
• 2-3 jalapeno peppers
• 1 cup of whole corn kernels
• 12 oz of black beans (1 can)
• 12 oz tomato sauce
• 4 tbsp chili powder mixed with 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp cumin (separate from above)

First thing you’ll need is enchilada sauce. Sometimes you can find it pre-made, but let’s do it from scratch.

Take the tomato sauce

and add it to a medium sized mixing bowl.

Add the chili powder/cumin mixture

Stir until smoothly mixed. Put this aside for later!

Chop the jalapenos (again, make sure not to touch your eyes after this until you wash your hands!)

The heat comes mainly from the seeds. You can control how spicy this dish is by adjusting the amount of seeds in it. Less seeds means less spicy heat!

Heat a little olive oil in a skillet and add the ground beef

Add the jalapenos

Stir and let this start to cook a bit. While that’s going on, chop up the onion.

Add the onion

and stir!

Now add that cumin

Mix this all in

this is now smelling pretty damn good!

Corn!

you know what to do here … stir!

Finally some black beans …

stir this in, let it cook for about 2-3 more minutes

Your filling should end up looking like this!

Get a 9×12 pan and coat the bottom with your enchilada sauce

Cover the bottom with a layer of tortillas. Slice a few to make sure to fit all the way to the sides.

Cover this with more sauce!

Spoon the beef mixture on top, covering the entire pan

Add shredded cheese until covered.

HOLD ON, we’re not done yet …

Cover this entire thing with another layer of tortillas

Top with sauce …

Add the remaining meat mixture and cover with any remaining sauce

Top it with your remaining cheese

Place into a 375F oven for approximately 15-20 minutes … until the cheese has melted and started to get a bit golden.

Ready to serve!

Individually plate them … you can top them with a dollop of sour cream in you are feeling fancy!

There you have it … my “Deconstructed” Beef Enchiladas

Bon Apetit!

We have a Jack Russell-Pug-Sheltie-Border Collie cross named Pippi. (As we discovered upon moving to Quebec, this name does not translate and basically means to pee. This has led to many awkward conversations at the dog park). What fun is it to have a pet if you don’t spoil them silly? In that vein, we thought maybe we should make our own Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits!

“Did you say you were going to make me Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits?”

Yes Pippi, yes we are!  For everyone who wants to try this themselves, here’s what you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup natural, unsweetened peanut butter
• 1 cup flour (whole wheat or white flour works)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Pour the milk into a mixing bowl or food processor

Add the peanut butter. Natural peanut butter is much more liquid and easy to pour.

Mix this together

Add the flour and the baking powder

Mix it all together

Pour the dough out in a ball on a floured surface

Knead for a couple of minutes

Roll out the dough to about a 1/4 inch thickness

Now use cookie cutters to cut the dough into shapes!

Place the cut out biscuits on a well greased cookie sheet

“I eat them now?”

Not yet Pippi … place in preheated oven and 375F (190C) for 20 minutes or until starting to brown

SOON

Take out of the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack

Now you can have one Pippi!

Sit! Now roll over …

“Now?”

Here you go!  How is it?

“Can’t talk … eating”

“OM NOM NOM!”

“MORE?”

So there you have it, all you need to spoil your dog with Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits!

Bon Apetit, petit chien!

Another favourite at our Midsummer table is Apple & Beet Salad. As a spread on a slice of hard bread or the base of an open face meatball sandwich, the table wouldn’t be complete without it!

Okay, let’s see how it’s made

This is what you’ll need:

• 2 cups pickled beets (drained)
• 2 Granny Smith apples (cored and chopped)
• 1/2 white onion
• 5-6 sweet gherkins
• 1/3 cup celery (chopped)
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Oh, and a food processor (or blender)

Add the apples to the food processor

Blend for about 1 minute

Now, add the beets

and blend

now add the gherkins

Yup, you guessed it … BLEND!

Onions! (ignore that man in the background … my father in law … and those are scissors in his hand, not walking around with a knife)

did someone say BLEND?

okay, add the celery

… wait for it … wait for it ….

BLEND!

Keep this blending going until you have a pretty smooth mixture

finally, add the sour cream

I think you know what I’m going to say …

BLEND! (until smooth)

Should look like this!

Just serve it in a bowl (make sure your guests know it’s not ice cream!)

So there you have it, our lovely Midsummer Apple & Beet Salad

Glad Midsommar and Bon Apetit!

To me, no food says “Summer in Sweden” quite like Räksmörgås. Served usually open face on either hard bread or a slice of rye, this is the core of our Midsummer table.

So, how do we make this delicious dish?

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 lbs cooked & shelled shrimp*
• 1 bunch fresh dill
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise

* note: if you send someone out to get you shrimp because you are busy preparing other things (for example, your Father-in-law), make sure to specify PEELED or SHELLED shrimp, or preparation times can get much longer

Fine chop the dill. It should give you about a cup of chopped dill when you are done.

Grab a large mixing bowl.

Add the cooked shrimp.

I did have to peel these (I had quite the horrifying bag of shrimp heads at the end of it). While it was time consuming, I have to say the quality of the shrimp is much higher this way.

Add your chopped dill

Should pretty much cover the shrimp

Add the mayonnaise

Your main ingredients are ready

Mix together well

At this point taste your mix and add salt and pepper. As much or as little as you want, it’s your Räksmörgås!

Served on hard bread with a nice slice of hard boiled egg

For me, the egg is the finishing touch that makes the sandwich

The Midsummer food table is shaping up!

Sit outside and enjoy your Räksmörgås !

Glad Midsommar and Bon Apetit!

Okay, I’m not the biggest fan of a salad, even though I have had some fantastic tasting salads in my life.

This is one of those dishes that you’re not quite sure how to qualify … is it a salad? Is it a dessert? Why is my mouth on fire? In the end, just say “this is delicious” and go from there!

I’m sure that over the summer you’ll be invited to someone’s house for a BBQ and you’ll see the words “pot luck” somewhere … THIS is a great dish to bring over to the party!

Let’s see how to make it!

You will need:

• 1 pineapple (you can buy it peeled and cored if you want to save time)
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 thai chilis (trust me, that’s enough!)
• 4 oz fresh cilantro
• 2 tbsp olive oil

First thing you’re going to need to do, once you have large bowl, is cut off the top of the pineapple

Now slice off the bottom

Stand the pineapple up and slice off the rind (or skin)

Get it nice and clean … try to dig out any leftover nodes

Slice in half. You should be able to spot the inedible core quite easily.

Slice into quarters and remove the core. Now cut the quarters into halves again .

Slice into approximately 1 inch slices

Slice again in half, and you should have nice, bite sized pieces of pineapple.

Repeat this until your pineapple is all bite sized pieces, like this!

Slice your onion in half, and then dice that half

Should look like this

Add those onions to the bowl

Time for the chili peppers!  Now, let’s talk about what NOT TO DO when you cut hot peppers. You are going to get very hot chili oil on your fingers. No matter how carefully you wash your hands, this is going to last for a few hours. Be cautious not to touch your eyes after! For extra precaution, you can wear latex gloves … seriously, once you’ve accidentally touched your eye after cutting chili peppers, you’ll understand!

(Think your fingers are clean? Touch one to your tongue and let it sit there for a moment … you feel that burning? Yea … once you can touch your tongue without a burn, you’re okay!)

Cut off the tops and tips, then slice open

We’re going to remove the seeds

The majority of the heat from chili peppers come from the seeds. This will be plenty spicy without the seeds … but you can keep some if you really want some heat!

Chop the chili peppers into very small pieces

Remember, you don’t want a big mouthful of chili when you eat this!

Add the chili peppers to the bowl

Chop some fresh cilantro

Not too fine … remember, some folks can’t stand cilantro, so it’s nice for them to be able to see and avoid it

Now add this to the bowl

Okay, almost done!

Pinch of salt (I am using a nice grey salt here … not sure if it makes any difference, but I feel fancy!)

Now add the olive oil

… and mix it all together!

Great Spicy Thai Pineapple Salad !

Perfect to bring to a picnic or BBQ. Just make sure to warn people that it’s spicy!

Bon Apetit!

Not sure if this dish is Indian or Caribbean … what I can say is it’s spicy, sweet and delicious, which is all you really need to know.

Okay, so this is what you’ll need

• 2 lbs diced chicken
• half large white onion, sliced
• 1 can (14oz) of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 8oz (small can) of tomato sauce
• 2-3 tbsp of curry powder (to taste)
• 3 tbsp white sugar
• 1 clove minced garlic

Let’s do this!

Pour 2-3 tbsp of oil into a large skillet

Once the oil is hot (medium-high heat), add the curry powder

You’ll want to cook the curry powder for 2-3 minutes. The heat will activate much of the flavours

Next, add the onions

Stir until well coated by the curry

Let those onions cook a while, until they are getting clear

Add the chicken

Already smells amazing! Stir and cook until the chicken is mostly cooked through and the juices are running clear.

Now add the tomatoes

Mix well

Add the sugar

A little extra tomato sauce

Don’t forget that garlic!

Now add the coconut milk. Don’t worry if the milk has separated and the cream is on top in a lump … once you mix it with the hot ingredients it will blend nicely

Now let your curry simmer on the stove for 30-40 minutes.

While it’s simmering, prepare some rice. I like to use basmati rice for this.

Okay, ready to serve!

Place some rice in a bowl. Get a large spoon and spoon the curry over the rice.

So good

So there you have it, my curried coconut chicken

Bon Apetit!

Paella is a both the name of the dish and pan in which it’s cooked. Originally from the Valencia region of Spain, Paella quickly became a national dish. Each region prepares it using different ingredients, thus insuring that whatever ingredients you use, there will be a Spaniard telling you that you’ve done it wrong! (Canadians are this way when it comes to poutine)

So, let’s see how this Canadian prepares it!

You’ll need:

• 6 diced chicken thighs
• 2 cups Arborio rice (think of this kind of like a risotto)
• 1 diced spanish onion
• 1 diced red bell pepper
• 4 oz green peas (frozen or canned can work)
• 4 oz sliced Chorizo
• approx 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp of saffron

Basically, you can play with the ingredients, as long as you have the rice and the saffron

Oh yea, and a paella. It can certainly be prepared in a large skillet, but the pan is what makes it paella. You can get them in most kitchen stores. I got mine in Madrid, but I’m sure you don’t need to travel that far.

Add some olive oil to coat the pan. Put at medium heat.

Add the chicken

and some salt

Stir and get the chicken cooking

Cook the chicken until it’s mostly cooked through

Add the onions

Cook until the onions start to get a bit clear

Add the red pepper

Add the chorizo

… and the peas

Mix it all together, let it heat through

Add the rice. Stir it all together

Add the saffron

Looking pretty good, almost there …

Cover the entire dish with chicken stock … really fill the pan, as the rice is going to absorb it

Get the dish simmering

Okay, so here’s where we get away from a risottto …

Cover the paella with foil and let it simmer over a low heat for about 20 minutes. You can test the rice and add a bit more stock during this process if you think it needs more, but DO NOT stir it. One of the distinctive traits of paella is the rice on the bottom should be toasted and have a crunch. You want to let this sit!

Okay, internet magic, time has passed …

Paella!

Now, let’s get this to the table

Paella should be served at the table, right from the pan to your dish. This pan is for making a 2 person portion. You can get anything from single person to like 10 person sized pans! (Large pans must be prepared outside, over a fire … the real traditional way!)

Okay, this looks good!

Note the toasted rice on the top of this dish

That crunch is an important textural element of paella

Feel free to change up the ingredients. Make it with seafood, or make a vegetarian version!

Just remember, however you make it, you’re gonna piss off a Spaniard!

Bon Apetit!

In the morning, once I have had my coffee, I usually start to debate on whether I’d like something quick and easy to make for breakfast, or if I should do something “fancy”. This amazing recipe will let you do both!

Cheesy eggs with salsa and sour cream, served on a corn tortilla … you’ll look like a star!

Enough talking, I am hungry and want this already!

Here are the simple ingredients you’ll need:

• 4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 oz sour cream
• 4 oz salsa (mild or hot)
• 2 corn tortillas (small ones, the size of a fried egg!)
• 2 eggs

On medium-high heat, warm the tortilla until it’s getting a little brown. Flip and do same for other side. Place tortillas aside.

In a pan with some butter, on medium heat, get the eggs frying (don’t break those yolks!)

Put cheese on top of the eggs. Cover the white parts but try to leave the yolks uncovered

Let this cook and go back to your tortillas

Get that salsa and cover each tortilla, leaving a tiny bit of room from the edge

Okay, pretty easy. right?

Get that sour cream and put a dollop in the centre of each tortilla, on top of the salsa

Now we’re ready for those eggs

Get an egg and put on top of each tortilla you have prepared

That’s it!

Doesn’t this look good?

You can top with more salsa or serve them as they are

So there you have it, “Quick and Easy” Huevos Rancheros

Bon Apetit!

Spring has arrived in Montreal … so now mixed in with the snow we get some very cold rain. On days like these, there’s nothing quite like hot, cheesy French Onion Soup to warm you up!

I’m going to show you how to make this restaurant favourite right in your own kitchen. Get ready to be a superstar!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 large Spanish onions
• 4 oz of shredded or sliced Swiss cheese
• 4 oz of shredded Gruyère cheese
• 2 cups (one box) beef stock
• 1 slice of baguette per bowl (toasted or day old)
• oven proof bowls or crocks

In this post I’m going to prepare 2 bowls, but the soup is actually enough for 4 bowls

Melt butter in a medium sized pot on the stove

Chop and add the onions to the butter

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the onions start to get translucent

Here I added a pinch of herbs de province … just season to taste (pepper is good here)

Add the beef stock.  Now … let’s add something special I didn’t talk about at the top!

Semi Dry Sherry!

Pour in about as much as you would for a shot (1 oz). If you don’t have sherry, try some wine … white or red will give different flavour profiles … play around!

Let this soup simmer on the stove top for about an hour

Get your oven proof bowls and place them on a baking sheet

Laddle soup into each bowl

Fill to about the 2/3rd full mark

Place one slice of baguette on top of each bowl of soup (alternatively, you can place the baguette at the bottom of each bowl and pour soup over top)

Cover each bowl with shredded or sliced Swiss cheese

Sprinkle the Gruyère on top of this

Ready for the oven!

This is gonna be good!

Set the oven to broil

Broil until the cheese is bubbling and golden, just starting to brown

Carefully take those bowls out, it’s ready to eat!

So there you go, nice, warm, cheesy French Onion Soup

Bon Apetit!