White Chickpea Chili

With the cold weather a lot of us experienced last week (except those lucky people in California!), I’m sure we’ve all been eating lots of warm comfort food lately.  When it gets that cold out all I want for dinner is soup, stew, or chili, but as these can often involve a lot of cooking time to develop enough flavour, during the week I need something that’s a little more quick and easy to prepare.  

Enter white chickpea chili!

I love white chicken chili as a refreshing change from tomato-based versions, but I decided to make it a little easier and cheaper to make by using all beans and no chicken.  This vegetarian white chili includes mashed chickpeas throughout for thickness, whole chickpeas and white beans for texture (and tons of protein, so you won’t miss the meat!), some corn for a little sweetness, jalapeno for spice, and then vegetable broth, garlic, onions, and seasonings for plenty of flavour.

You end up with a healthy vegetarian chili that’s inexpensive, easy and fairly quick to make, and full of flavour.  Perfect for these cold winter nights, and also Sunday playoffs if you usually associate football with chili (and if you're still watching - my team's still in it so I'm all about the football food!)

Hope you all had a good weekend and are dethawing a bit now!

White Chickpea Chili

Adapted from The Neely’s white chicken chili recipe

Serves about 4

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive or canola oil

1 large or 2 small yellow onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced (use more if you want it to be spicier)

2 (540mL) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed, divided

1 (540mL) can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

4 cups low sodium vegetable broth

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 cup frozen corn kernels

Salt and pepper to taste

Toppings:

Shredded white cheddar cheese

Chopped fresh cilantro

Light sour cream

Chopped ripe avocado (not pictured in my version but it would be a nice addition!)

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, and jalapeno, stir to coat with oil, and sauté until soft and fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse and drain your cans of beans, keeping one can of chickpeas separate. Transfer those chickpeas (1 can) to a medium bowl and mash with a potato masher until most beans have been smashed. Set aside.

Add cumin, chili powder, and oregano to the onion mixture in the pan. Stir to coat and let cook for about 1 minute. Add vegetable broth, lime juice, corn kernels, mashed beans, and remaining beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and let cook about 10-15 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm in bowls topped with shredded cheese, cilantro, a dollop of sour cream, avocado, and additional lime wedges, if desired.

Thai Coconut Red Fish Curry with Quinoa

I'm super excited for today's post for two main reasons - first is that this is one of the tastiest dishes I've had in a while, and second is to announce that I've partnered with the Sustainable Seafood Blog Project!

The idea of the Sustainable Seafood Blog Project is to unite food bloggers and businesses interested in promoting sustainable seafood choices.  When Jessie from Life as a Strawberry asked if I'd be interested in joining, I admit that I was a tiny bit hesitant because while I've heard a lot about sustainable seafood lately and know that it's a really important issue, I didn't feel like I was well informed on it enough myself to talk about it with you guys.  But after a bit of research, I was happy to find out that there are so many resources out there to help consumers make smart choices, so while the idea of sustainable seafood might sound complicated, it's much easier than you might think!

We've all probably heard about the health benefits of eating fish, but many of us (myself included) are perhaps less aware of the impact certain fishing practises have had on the environment, including overfishing certain species of fish, damaging the environment through harmful fishing methods, and catching unwanted types of fish or marine life.

Without getting into too much detail or trying to sounding too preachy, the idea of sustainable seafood is to support fishing practices that will not damage our oceans or deplete marine life.  The infographic below (courtesy of Jessie) summarizes these issues in a much prettier way than I could put together!

I'm happy to say that the two main grocery stores I shop at here in Ontario (Loblaw and Sobeys) have made commitments to selling sustainable seafood, and in addition, the Marine Stewardship Council has made it really easy to identify smart choices when you're shopping by just looking for their seal of approval on the product (see the blue checkmark in the images below).

I still only buy fish (or any meat) when it's on sale because it's usually expensive, but all the products pictured below were on sale and cost just as much or less than the fish without those labels, so it's nice that I didn't have to pay a fortune to choose them (unlike with organic fruits and vegetables)!

And if you want to read more, there are tons of resources available to you, such as:

The Marine Stewardship Council
Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch
Vancouver Aquarium Ocean Wise
Sea Choice
And of course, the resources page of the Sustainable Seafood Blog Project.

So moving on to this recipe, this curry is one of the tastiest meals I've made in a while!  It may look a little complicated at first, but is actually really easy (sound familiar?)... All you have to do is sauté some veggies, throw in a little curry paste (I used red curry paste but green or yellow would work well too!), coconut milk, and a little chicken broth, then add the fish to simmer and that's basically it.

Most curries like this would be served with white rice, but to add a little more nutrition I decided to use quinoa, which I think tastes even better.  The flavours in this dish all come together in such a great way, and it's a pretty healthful meal too, so you can feel good about eating it for lots of reasons!

And if you like seafood, please check out these fabulous bloggers who are also part of the Sustainable Seafood project and are posting more great recipes today!

Buffalo Shrimp Tacos from Barbells and Bellinis

Cobb Salad Salmon Burgers with Blue Cheese Mayo from Cooking for Keeps

30 Minute Skillet Shrimp Paella from Wanna Be A Country Cleaver

Strawberry Basil Glazed Salmon from Life As A Strawberry

Crispy Baked Salmon Sticks from Running to the Kitchen 
Beer steamed mussels with ginger, mango, and lime from Mangoes and Palm Trees

Thai Coconut Red Fish Curry with Quinoa

Adapted from several sources, such as recipes from The Foodie Physician and Kristen’s Kitchen

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

~2 cups cooked quinoa

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 medium shallot, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 red bell pepper, sliced into 1” long slices

1 yellow pepper, sliced into 1” long slices

1 thai chili pepper, minced (optional for added spice)

2 tablespoons red curry paste

1 cup fat-free low sodium chicken broth

1 (400mL or 13.5oz) can light coconut milk

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1-1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

150g or about 5oz snow peas

4-6 white fish fillets, cut into 1” pieces – choose a mild white fish that is a sustainable option for your region, such as wild Pacific cod, Wild Alaskan or Pacific halibut, or wild haddock (Canadian)

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions:

Cook a box of quinoa according to package directions – I ended up using about 1/2 cup cooked quinoa per serving which was approximately one 200g box.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add shallot and garlic and cook for about 1 minute, stirring often.  Add ginger, red and yellow peppers, and chili pepper.  Let cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened.  Add curry paste, stir to coat, and let cook for another minute.  Add chicken broth and coconut milk and let simmer for 8-10 minutes.  Add fish sauce, brown sugar, and lime juice, and let simmer for another 1-2 minutes.  Add fish, cover, and let simmer 5-7 minutes, until fish is cooked through (may depend on type and thickness of fish).  Season with salt.

Add about 1/2 cup quinoa to each of four bowls.  Pour curry overtop and garnish with about 1 tablespoon cilantro, if desired.  Serve warm.

White Bean Dip with Roasted Jalapenos & Goat Cheese

I feel like I’ve been spending a lot of long hours in my windowless cave office lately (as I struggle to learn a data analysis software program that makes absolutely no sense – why are you so confusing, SAS, why??), so I’ve been needing a lot of snacks to get me through the day. One of my go-to healthy snacks that I eat all the time is carrots with hummus – it’s so easy (and cheap!) to whip up a batch of hummus that I then throw in a container and bring to school along with a bag of baby carrots through the week.

I’ve tried a lot of different hummus recipes in the past and have loved them all, but this time I decided to do something a little different and use regular white beans instead of chickpeas and omit the tahini. So it’s just a regular bean dip instead of hummus, but it’s still just as smooth and creamy!

Because white beans are pretty flavourless, I kicked things up by adding roasted jalapenos and cumin for spice, goat cheese for a bit of richness and tang, and some lime juice, cilantro, and honey for added flavour and balance. The first time I made this, I used two jalapenos and the dip was pretty spicy (but still good!), so the next time I only used one and then I could barely detect the spice at all. So I think one and a half would be the perfect amount for me, but you can definitely adjust the amount to your liking! I’d recommend roasting two jalapenos (they’re super cheap anyway), then start by adding one chopped pepper to the dip and keep throwing more in as you taste if it’s not spicy enough.

This goes great with pita chips (or ranch popped rice chips, shown here) or veggies, and while it may not make the jumble of numbers and words on your screen make any more sense, it will at least give you the energy to stay in your office and keep staring at them so it looks like you know what you’re doing!

Before I go, I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind comments on my blogiversary post and for entering the Starbucks gift card giveaway!  A winner has been randomly selected and contacted - thanks again!

White Bean Dip with Roasted Jalapenos & Goat Cheese

Ingredients:

1 (540mL) can white kidney beans
1-2 jalapenos (1 will make the dip quite mild and 2 might be fairly spicy, but it can depend on the pepper)
2 oz plain goat cheese
1.5 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to broil (500°F) and move oven rack to top third of oven, a few inches away from the top. Spray jalapeno(s) with cooking spray or rub with a bit of olive oil, and place on a baking sheet. Roast under the broiler until all sides begin to get black patches – time will vary but mine took around 5-10 minutes total. Keep an eye on them and turn a few times to brown them evenly. Remove from oven (use tongs or mitts) and place in a bowl covered in saran wrap to let them steam and loosen the skin for 10 minutes. Remove skins (they should peel off), slice lengthwise, remove seeds, and roughly chop.

Add all ingredients except the olive oil to the large bowl of a food processor. Cover with the lid and add the olive oil to the feed tube so it will slowly drain into the dip. Process until dip is smooth and oil is mixed in. Taste and adjust any amounts to your liking, if necessary. Store in the refrigerator but let warm up to room temperature before eating. Serve with carrots, other veggies, or pita chips.

Asian-Style Chicken Noodle Soup

Even though it's now officially Spring and it seems like everyone's already talking about spring produce like asparagus and peas and all those bright and crunchy fresh veggies, it's hard to get into the spring mindset when this is your view out the window:

With the seemingly never-ending snow and cold, I'm naturally still craving warm and cozy comfort food.  And with a sore throat signalling the start of another cold yesterday, I quickly developed a particular craving for the ultimate comfort food, chicken noodle soup.

But because I couldn't show you guys just any old chicken noodle soup, this one has a twist!

This soup takes on an Asian flavour with the addition of ingredients like mushrooms, bok choy, cilantro, fish sauce, lemongrass, and lime juice, and the use of soba noodles instead of more traditional egg noodles or other pasta.  This gives the soup such a great depth of flavour that still has the comfort factor and familiar taste of chicken noodle soup but is a little more exciting!

Even better, the addition of ingredients like ginger, garlic, and spicy chiles are great for fighting off a cold (at least I hope that's what I'm telling myself!)

If you're lucky enough to live somewhere that actually felt like spring on the first day of spring, send some warm and sunny thoughts up north!  In the meantime, I can't really complain when I have a giant pot of this delicious soup to keep me warm :)

Asian Chicken Soba Noodle Soup

Loosely adapted from LCBO’s Food & Drink

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola oil

2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz sliced mini bella or crimini mushrooms

1 large carrot, julienned (I used a couple handfuls of pre-sliced waffle cut carrots instead)

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 liters (8.5 cups) chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon frozen chopped lemongrass (or 2 stalks lemongrass)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, fat trimmed off

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (or more if you want it to be really spicy!)

8 oz soba noodles*

4-5 heads baby bok choy, ends trimmed and sliced lengthwise

Juice of half a lime

2-3 green onions, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

Cilantro and additional lime wedges for serving, if desired

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add ginger, garlic, mushrooms, carrot, and onions.  Cook for 5-7 minutes until softened, stirring often.  Add chicken broth, red pepper flakes, lemongrass, and chicken breasts.  If using a lemongrass stalk, remove the outer stalks, cut into chunks, smash, and wrap in cheesecloth – you will need to remove it before serving.  Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer.  Let simmer for about 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

Remove chicken breasts and set aside.  Add fish sauce and chili garlic sauce to broth and stir.  Add soba noodles and cook in the simmering broth for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, shred chicken.

Add bok choy and shredded chicken to the pot and let cook for another 2-3 minutes, until bok choy is slightly wilted.  Remove from heat.  Stir in lime juice and green onions, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Use a sharp knife or clean kitchen shears to cut some of the soba noodles in half, otherwise they will be difficult to divide into bowls.

Serve with additional lime wedges (I highly recommend this) and cilantro, if desired.

*Note: I used soba noodles because I have a ton of them to use up right now (and I like them!) but you could substitute rice noodles if you like.  Just cook them separately according to the package directions (usually soaking in hot water), toss with a bit of sesame oil to keep them from sticking, then add to the soup at the end.

Sweet Potato Peanut Bisque

My twin sister recently returned from a trip to Kenya, and of all the delicious food she tried and described to me, some familiar and some completely new, the one that stuck with me the most was peanut soup.  Maybe it's just because it's been getting colder here, but ever since she mentioned peanut soup I haven't stopped craving it!

One of the first recipes I came across in my search for peanut soup was this sweet potato peanut bisque from Eating Well.  Not only is it inspired by (West) African cuisine, but I also loved that it included sweet potatoes, which Gen had talked about during her trip, as apparently the sweet potatoes in Africa are much better than here!

I knew I'd love the recipe because I've already paired sweet potatoes and peanut butter together in two other African inspired recipes that I love: sweet potato and peanut stew and sweet potatoes with West African style peanut sauce.  If you're hesitant about the combination of sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and peanut butter, don't be!  It works!

I absolutely loved this soup and it satisfied my craving for something warm and comforting perfectly!  The flavours all worked so well together and the bisque was so thick and creamy while still being healthy.  The addition of the green chile made this really spicy, which I liked, but you can definitely cut down the amount of chiles for less spice, or use a dash of cayenne at the end to more easily control the amount of spice you add.

While this soup is (supposed to be) more reflective of West African cuisine, if you'd like to read about the food my sister enjoyed in Kenya (in East Africa), along with some cute safari animal pictures, you should check out her blog post about it!

Sweet Potato Peanut Bisque

Adapted from Eating Well

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato (around 12 ounces), peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

Pinch of cinnamon

Salt and pepper

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1/2 to 1 small green chile, minced (use half a chile for less spice, I used a whole green chile and the soup was quite spicy)

1/2 teaspoon allspice (I used 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg + 1/8 teaspoon cloves)

1-1/2 cups strained crushed tomatoes (or just crushed tomatoes if you can’t find strained)

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

Chopped cilantro and peanuts for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F.  Toss chopped sweet potato with 1 tablespoon olive oil, cinnamon, and season with salt and pepper.  Spread on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, until tender.

Meanwhile, heat remaining tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onions and sauté until softened and beginning to brown, stirring often, about 4-5 minutes.  Add garlic, ginger, chiles, and allspice, and cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Stir in crushed tomatoes, reduce heat to simmer, and let simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Add vegetable stock and peanut butter to the tomato sauce.  Transfer half the sauce along with half of the roasted sweet potatoes to a blender and puree until smooth (you don't want to fill the blender too high with hot liquid so blend it in two batches).  Puree the remaining half the sauce, then pour all the puree back into the saucepan to heat.  Add the remaining half of the sweet potatoes to the soup and cook over low heat until heated through.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve and garnish with chopped cilantro and peanuts.

Baked Sweet Potatoes with West African-Style Peanut Sauce

My twin sister Genevieve (from Vanilla & Spice) is in Kenya right now and I'm super jealous, so I thought I'd make myself an African-style meal to pretend that I'm also over there.  It didn't quite work (the pretending I'm in Africa part), but the meal did turn out to be delicious!

This is a simple, filling, and comforting dish made by baking a sweet potato and smothering it in a thick, creamy tomato-peanut sauce.  I know Kenya isn't in West Africa, and honestly I don't even know if this is a true West-African dish anyway, but Cooking Light says it is, so I'm going with it!

You might think it's weird to pair sweet potatoes and peanut butter together, but trust me, it works!  This actually reminded me of a lot of the African sweet potato and peanut stew that I love so much, except that the sweet potato is more the star of this dish.

If you're not convinced, the sauce pairs well with veggies too.  I served some of my extra sauce with steamed broccoli for a light lunch, and really enjoyed it!

Cooking Light suggests pairing a sweet potato with chicken, but I was really full from the sweet potato alone.  This may be because I doubled the amount of sauce called for, and the sauce is pretty filling, but I thought it was necessary to double it to make sure there was enough for every  bite of sweet potato.  I think pairing one of these smothered potatoes with a side of salad makes for a satisfying vegetarian meal, but go ahead and add a protein if you like too, I do think the sauce would work well with chicken!

This may or may not be a completely authentic African meal, but it's still something a little different than what I'm used to, and is a great autumn dish!

Baked Sweet Potatoes with West African-Style Peanut Sauce

Adapted from Cooking Light

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 a small onion, finely diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons grated or minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

Dash of cayenne

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup crushed tomatoes (tomato sauce)

3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped peanuts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Pierce sweet potatoes with a fork all over, and bake directly on the middle oven rack for 45 minutes or until tender.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion, ginger, and garlic, and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring often.  Add cumin, coriander, and cayenne, and cook for another minute.  Add water, tomato sauce, peanut butter, lemon juice, sugar, and salt.  Stir or whisk until smooth, bring to a simmer, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until slightly thickened.  Remove from heat.

Split potatoes lengthwise (not cutting all the way through), and squeeze the sides of the potato (with oven mitts on) so the filling fluffs out, if desired.  Spoon sauce over potatoes and sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro.  If you want to make sure sauce covers more of the sweet potato, cut the sweet potato up before adding the sauce.

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas with Peaches and Brie

Happy Labour Day!  As you all probably have much more exciting plans than me today (unless you consider a day of report-writing fun), I'll keep today's post short!

These quesadillas are a twist on one of my favourite easy dishes from last summer, peach and brie quesadillas, making them a little heartier with the addition of chicken and barbeque sauce, inspired by these chipotle peach bbq chicken quesadillas.  I kept them simple using storebought bbq sauce, so they can be thrown together in no time!

I wasn't sure how the barbeque sauce and peaches would work together, but they turned out so good - I think it's hard to go wrong with quesadillas!  The sweetness of the peaches balances out the barbeque sauce, the cilantro adds a fresh bite, and the brie cheese mellows everything out and of course keeps the quesadillas together.  I still love the sweeter peach and brie version, but these are a nice change for a more substantial dinner that's still easy and fun!

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas with Peaches and Brie

Inspired by Sunflower Supper Club and adapted from these peach and brie quesadillas

Serves 2-4 (makes 4 quesadillas, which can each be cut into 3 wedges, for 12 wedges)

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1/4 cup bbq sauce (I used storebought tequila lime bbq sauce)

4 large tortillas (I used whole wheat)

6 oz brie cheese, sliced

2 ripe peaches, peeled and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Directions:

Combine chicken and barbeque sauce.  Season with salt and pepper, if desired (I season my chicken breasts before cooking).  Divide brie cheese, chicken, peaches, and cilantro among the 4 tortillas, only layering them on half of each tortilla.  Fold the other half of the tortillas over to form half circles.

Heat two large non-stick skillets over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Place two folded quesadillas in each skillet and cook for about 2-4 minutes, until crispy and golden brown on one side, then flip and repeat on other side.  Serve warm.

Note: I've also tried these with monterey jack cheese instead of brie and they were just as good, so feel free to try a different cheese if you don't have any brie!

Quinoa-Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Chipotle Sauce

Have you ever had one of those nights where everything seems to go wrong in the kitchen?  This was one of those times.  It started with a blender explosion – I’d made my chipotle sauce in the blender, removed the lid, then thought “I really wouldn’t want a blender explosion right now, I’d better press the Off button again just to make sure it’s really off” (don’t ask why I thought that made sense at the time).  Of course, the 'off' button also doubles as sort of ‘on’ button (who designs blenders?), and my sauce went flying all over the kitchen.  If you follow me on Facebook, you may recall a picture of this little disaster that I posted (yes, it was all the way back in April, but please don’t take that as a reflection of the quality of this dish, it was amazing, I just haven’t had the chance to share it yet!)

Then I realized that the handy little microwavable package of frozen corn I’d bought was in fact not regular corn, but was coated in a LOT of butter sauce.  The butter sauce proceeded to explode out of the plastic bag in the microwave, so not only did I have to clean it out of there, I also had to try to rinse/wipe it off every piece of frozen corn because I didn’t want it to ruin my dish.  Once that was out of the way, I proceeded to dump way too much oil in my pan for cooking the onion, then forgot about the onions so they almost burnt, then sliced all the way through one of my peppers when I was stuffing it so I had to cut it in half …. You get the picture.

After all that, I was praying that this dish wouldn’t also turn out to be a disaster, but it blew away all my expectations and turned out so good! 

I’ve made stuffed green peppers before, but these were so much better.  The poblanos are roasted before stuffing so they’re nice and soft.  They also have a really nice flavor that’s very mild for a hot pepper, so they don’t give off much heat.  And they make the perfect vessel for stuffing, especially with a delicious quinoa, vegetable, and goat cheese mixture!

The filling in these was so flavourful, and I loved that it had a bit of richness from the melted goat cheese.  There wasn’t enough cheese to mask the flavours of the ingredients though, which I really liked.  The chipotle sauce was really spicy, but when you spoon just a little over your pepper, it adds the perfect level of spice (or you can just leave it in the pan if you don’t like spice!) 

All in all, this was a fantastic vegetarian meal that was both healthy and filling, and definitely worth my little series of kitchen disasters!

Quinoa-Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Chipotle Sauce

Adapted from Whole Living

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 large poblano peppers

2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/3 cup dry quinoa, rinsed

1/3 cup vegetable stock (optional)

1 tablespoon chopped chipotle chile in adobo sauce

1 garlic clove

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish

1 small yellow onion

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (or fresh cooked corn from the cob)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 roma tomatoes, diced

4 ounces goat cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 475°F.  Rub poblano peppers with two teaspoons of vegetable oil and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Roast in the preheated oven until soft and slightly blackened in spots, about 15-20 minutes, flipping once.  Let cool.

Meanwhile, bring 1/3 cup water and 1/3 cup vegetable stock to a boil in a medium saucepan (I like to use part vegetable stock for quinoa to infuse extra flavour, but it’s not necessary if you don’t have any open vegetable stock, you can use 2/3 cup water instead).  Add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low to simmer.  Cook until tender, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes, then remove lid and fluff with a fork.

While peppers and quinoa are cooking, prepare the chipotle sauce in a blender.  Combine chipotle chile, garlic, 3/4 cup water, and a dash each of salt and pepper in the blender and blend until smooth.  Add 1/2 cup cilantro and pulse a few times to combine.  Set aside.

In a large saucepan or deep skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add corn, black beans, tomato, and cooked quinoa and stir until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Add 2 ounces goat cheese and stir until it's melted and completely mixed in.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Make a small slit down the length of one side of each pepper, being careful not to cut through to the other side.  Carefully remove seeds, leaving stem end intact.  Spoon quinoa mixture into each pepper to fill them.

Pour chipotle sauce into a 9x13-inch baking dish.  Transfer stuffed peppers to the dish, and dot with remaining 2 ounces goat cheese.  Bake until cheese is golden, 15 to 20 minutes.  Cool in pan 10 minutes and serve warm, sprinkled with additional chopped cilantro if desired.

Thai Turkey & Carrot Meatballs

Since I returned home from my brief trip to Thailand, I've been really eager to try my hand at cooking Thai dishes at home. I wish I could say that this recipe was a brilliant and creative attempt at recreating Thai flavours in my own dish, but I actually made this dish a couple of months before I even went there, and it wasn't my idea but was inspired by an intriguing recipe I found from Foodland Ontario.

Nevertheless, these little turkey and carrot meatballs do pack a ton of Thai ingredients like ginger, lime, cilantro, fish sauce, and chili hot sauce, and they make for a juicy and tasty little bite that's bursting with flavour! They obviously aren't a dish you'd expect to find in Thailand, but I thought they were a really nice way of incorporating some Thai flavours into more of a familiar Western-style dish.

I also love that these are fairly healthy because they're baked instead of fried, and they're made with lean ground turkey, lots of carrots, and other good-for-you ingredients like ginger, garlic, and cilantro. I can imagine a vegetarian version made with something like lentils and cashews, though I haven't tried that yet - maybe that will be my next project!

These are really easy to make and the recipe makes a ton of meatballs, so they can serve a big group as a party appetizer, or can be frozen to be eaten later in any recipe you like! I ate some of mine on their own with the peanut dipping sauce suggested in the original recipe. I wasn't a fan of the sauce because it had a coconut milk base that was too sweet for me, but with a regular peanut sauce or Thai chili sauce, these would be great!

I then discovered that throwing the meatballs in a sub bun with carrot slaw, cilantro, and lots of peanut sauce made for one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. It was really messy but as long as I ate it in private so no one would see my sauce covered face and hands, it was amazing! I think the meatballs would also be great in a peanut noodle dish or a coconut curry soup - be creative and let me know what works!

I hope to start experimenting with more authentic Thai dishes soon, and hopefully I'll end up with a few successful recipes to share with you guys!


Thai Carrot & Turkey Meatballs

Adapted from Foodland Ontario, as seen on 50Plus

Makes about 50 small meatballs

Ingredients:

3 cups grated carrot (about 2-3 large carrots, weighing about 1 pound total)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg
1/2 cup minced cilantro
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon lime zest
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce (or more for more spice)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 pound lean ground turkey
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Add all ingredients except for the last two (breadcrumbs and turkey) to a large bowl and mix well. Add breadcrumbs and ground turkey and mix in until everything is thoroughly combined.

Roll about 1 tablespoon of the turkey mixture into a ball and place on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the mixture, until you have about 50 meatballs. Place in preheated oven and bake 12-16 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, until meatballs are firm and no longer pink inside.

Serve warm on skewers with a peanut sauce dip, sweet chili sauce, or other dipping sauce.

To make Meatball Subs:

I used a white baguette for the bun, covered the bottom half in a storebought broccoli-carrot slaw that I'd coated in a good amount of (storebought) peanut sauce, placed as many turkey meatballs as I could fit on top of that, sprinkled some fresh cilantro on top, then added another drizzle of peanut sauce.

Tropical Chicken Cups

I've never been to an Oscars party and I usually don't last through the whole awards show, but I've been seeing a lot of Oscar menu ideas lately and I decided to make myself an Oscar-themed appetizer this year to eat during my favourite part of the show, the red carpet!

The four Best Picture nominees that I've seen are Moneyball, The Help, Midnight in Paris, and War Horse, so if I wanted to make something to match one of those, it would mean either baseball food, Southern food, French food, or.. horse food? None of those really appealed to me today, but when I read that The Descendants takes place in Hawaii, I decided to make something Hawaiian to eat because it seemed like the perfect thing to brighten a cold winter day. Even though I haven't seen The Descendants, I may have to root for it now - it deserves to win just for inspiring these delicious tropical chicken cups!

My sister showed me the original recipe for coconut mango chicken cups on Liv Life because she thought they'd be up my alley, and she was right! I hadn't seen this blog before, but it has tons of fantastic looking recipes and photos so I can't wait to try more from it. Kim says that she's made her chicken cups for lots of different gatherings, so I knew they would be good. Hers had mango chutney and curry paste in them, but I decided to give them a Hawaiian twist by using pineapple instead, and I added in avocado because I think it pairs really well with pineapple. I left in the coconut milk and lime juice so that the whole thing would have a tropical taste!

These were pretty easy to make and were bursting with bright flavour! I think they'd make a perfect party appetizer that would be very quickly gobbled up (I know from the surprising rate that these disappeared from my own plate!) You could probably make a vegetarian version of them too by replacing the chicken with black beans, or even adding some coconut sticky rice for a bit more substance.

I realize you won't have time to make these in time for tonight's Oscars yourselves, but they'd be great for any occasion (and really, it's a bit of a stretch for me to call them Oscar-inspired anyway)! And now that I know what a great vessel wontons make for appetizers, I keep thinking of other filling ideas that would be fabulous in these - and if you decide to experiment, let me know what works!

Are you watching the Oscars tonight, and did you make any Oscar-inspired food?

Tropical Chicken Cups (with Pineapple, Avocado, Coconut, & Lime)

Adapted from Liv Life's Coconut Mango Chicken Cups

Makes 24 cups

Ingredients:

24 wonton wrappers
1 tsp canola oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 cups cooked diced chicken (or you could use fish instead!)
3/4 cup light coconut milk
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1-1/2 cups diced fresh ripe pineapple
1 ripe avocado, diced
salt and pepper
cilantro for topping (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick spray. Press 24 wonton wrappers into the mini muffin tin, pressing any folds firmly to the sides. Bake for 5-10 minutes, until golden. Set aside to cool.

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté about 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Add the chicken, coconut milk, and lime juice, and cook for a few minutes until coconut milk is mostly absorbed. Gently stir in pineapple and avocado. Season generously with salt and pepper, tasting to adjust any amounts to taste. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Spoon filling into wonton cups (you may have a bit of extra filling, which you can taste before filling the wonton cups to make sure it’s to your liking). Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top, if desired (if you're serving these to a big group, you may only want to put cilantro on half of the chicken cups because a lot of people don't like it). Serve warm or at room temperature.

Chili Lime Yogurt Dip with Salsa Pita Chips

I wasn't planning on posting any more Super Bowl recipes after my big recipe round-up on Friday, but when Danone Canada offered Canadian food bloggers the chance to win some free yogurt by making a recipe with Oikos Greek yogurt, I couldn't resist!

I often eat yogurt for breakfast, snacks, and dessert, so I go through at least a couple tubs of yogurt a week. Greek yogurt makes for one of my favourite breakfasts, with its high protein, low fat, and minimal ingredients list, but there never used to be a lot of options for different flavours here in Canada. I used to have to stock up on Greek yogurt when I made trips to the US, but lately the selection has greatly improved here, which makes my breakfasts a lot more enjoyable!

I'd never really thought to use yogurt in savory snacks, so I was very curious how a chipotle lime yogurt dip would taste. It looked like an easy and healthy snack to whip up, so I bought another tub of yogurt yesterday to give it a try!

I have to admit I was skeptical about adding things like chili powder and Worcestershire sauce to yogurt, so I was surprised when I finished mixing everything together and tasted the dip - the flavour was amazing! The Worcestershire sauce and chili powder add depth of flavour that is balanced out perfectly by the sweetness from the honey and acidity from the lime, and the whole thing has just the right amount of kick from the spice. And the best part is that this dip is actually healthy for you, especially if you pair it with veggies as dippers.

I've been enjoying this dip with baby carrots, but also decided to try out the salsa pita chips from the recipe. I've made pita chips in the oven before, but had never thought of flavouring them with something like salsa. I was worried that they wouldn't bake properly after being soaked with salsa, but while mine required a bit longer of a baking time than what was suggested, they still crisped up fine and were delicious! They made a great pairing for the chili lime dip, but were even great on their own.

If you're still looking for last-minute Super Bowl recipes and want something healthy to snack on among the other not-so-healthy food that will likely be served for the big game, try this dip! Or if you want to indulge today, you could make this later in the week when you're craving snacks that you can feel good about eating. You guys know I love dips from the amount of hummus recipes on my site, and I think this is going to be one of my new go-to dips to have around when I want something fresh and light to snack on.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

Chili Lime Yogurt Dip with Salsa Pita Chips

Adapted from Danone Oikos Greek Yogurt

Serves a group as an appetizer

Ingredients:

For the Pita Chips:

2 large pita pockets (I used whole-wheat)

1/2 cup salsa

For the Dip:

2 cups non-fat plain Greek yogurt (about one 500g tub)

1 tablespoon honey

2-3 teaspoons chili powder (start with less for less spice)

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (optional for more spice)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional - I liked the dip with and without cilantro)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut through the edges of each pita pocket to separate it into two circles. Cut each circle into smaller chip-sized triangles. Use a cooking brush to brush salsa onto both sides of each pita chip, then place pita chips onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 15-20 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Baking time may vary depending on type of pita, size of chips, and amount of salsa on each chip, so keep an eye on them and adjust time accordingly.

Meanwhile, mix all ingredients for the yogurt dip in a medium bowl. Taste and adjust any of the ingredients to your liking.

Keep dip refrigerated until ready to serve. Serve with salsa pita chips and veggies.

*Note: Make as many pita chips as you like – you may wish for more than what’s stated in the recipe if you are not serving any other dippers like vegetables. But, I have found that they are not as good the next day, so only make as much as you will need that day.