African Peanut Soup

Love this recipe. Its a very flavorful soup with the red bell pepper and crunchy peanut butter.

 Not sure why its called African Peanut soup though?

Try this soup with a sprinkle of crushed peanuts on top or a dollop of sour cream.

African Peanut Soup:


Yield: 5 servings

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 ( 28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, with liquid
4 cups vegetable broth
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp chili powder( optional)
1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup uncooked brown rice

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Cook onions and bell peppers until lightly browned and tender, stirring in garlic when almost done to prevent burning. Stir in tomatoes, vegetable stock, pepper, and chili powder. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

2. Stir in rice, cover, and simmer another 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in peanut butter until well blended and serve.

Source: All Recipes Canada

Mud Hen Bars

I made these bars this family day weekend for my craving of something sweet. They hit the spot for sure. The topping on these bars is just like the topping on butter tarts.

 I have already polished half of the pan .

Mud Hen Bars


Yield: 24 bars

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, divided ( 1 egg, 2 yolks, 2 egg whites)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup chopped nuts( optional)
1 cup brown sugar

Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks, set aside the whites for later. Beat in the vanilla extract.

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Blend until just combined. Spread the mixture into the 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with marshmallows, chocolate chips, and nuts - if using.

4. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the brown sugar. Spread mixture evenly over marshmallows and chocolate chips. Bake for about 30 minutes or until bars are a deep golden brown. Let bars cool completely. Cut into squares and serve.

Source:  sunday baker

Lemony Lentil Soup

Mmmmm Lemons.

 Sometimes i get on these lemon kicks and decide everything needs to have a bit of lemon in it. This was one of those weeks.

I scored this awesome cookbook called "White Water Cooks by Shelley Adams" at a garage sale we held at work a few weeks ago and i have made 2 recipes already from it, the granola bars and this soup recipe.

 Stay tuned for the granola bar recipe at a later date .

Lemony Lentil Soup


Serves: 8

Ingredients:

2 cups red lentils
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 tsp. salt
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, diced
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. rosemary
2 bay leaves
8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
juice of 2 lemons
2 tsp. lemon zest
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
2 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped

Directions:

Rinse the lentils in a colander and set aside to drain. Heat the olice oil in a large pot, add onions and saute until translucent. Add carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, chili flakes, rosemary, oregano and bay leaves. Stir well and saute until the carrots are tender. Add the stock and the lentils and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Remove the bay leaves, you may puree the soup at this point or leave it as is. Add the lemon juice, zest, and more salt and pepper to taste. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle the feta and dill on top.

Source: White Water Cooks cookbook by Shelley Adams

Welcome to my food blog!

Although the blog is still needing some work i thought i would start posting anyways.

I wasn't sure what recipe to use first but after making 2 batches of these Chocolate Sugar Cookies and still wanting to make more I knew this would be it. My friend Angie created this recipe on her blog This and That. 

These are to me a no-fail cookie that everyone will love, well if they like chocolate that is and who doesn't :) So make these for co-workers, friends, family, or yourself! Enjoy!

Chocolate Sugar Cookies


Yield: about 24 cookies

Ingredients:


For the cookies:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 3/4 cups all -purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

White Frosting:

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 tbsp. milk
• 4 cups icing sugar
• 1 tbsp. meringue powder
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tsp.vanilla

Ganache:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 oz. chopped dark chocolate

Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and sour cream until well blended. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Mix into the butter and sugar mixture until combined.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375°F( 190° C).  Knead the dough a few times to bring it together so it doesn't crack when rolled. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart onto ungreased or parchment paper lined cookie sheets.

Bake for 7 minutes. Don't over bake. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.


To make Ganache:
 Heat heavy cream  until hot( don't boil it) and pour over chopped chocolate. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Place in refrigerator for a couple of hours.


To make Icing:
 Cream shortening, butter, vanilla, and milk together. Add dry ingredients and mix it for a few minutes until creamy.
Use a piping bag with a star tip or any tip you choose to decorate around the cookie so that the ganache will not overflow.




Source: original recipe found at This and That