Choosing to Buy Local

So recently, especially if you're in Canada, you may have heard about the beef recall due to possible e. coli contamination.

Upon hearing about it, we decided not to buy meat (beef in particular) from the grocery stores anymore, since we don't know where it's from, what's been done to it, etc. Besides, too many times in the past few months, one of us has gotten ill from meat (beef) bought at the grocery stores.

We also learned that if Charlie won't touch it...it's probably spoiled or bad in some way. He loves meat and it's rare that he won't eat it, but if he refuses, and we still eat it...one or both of us is sick the next day.

Lesson learned: Pay attention to the toddler when it comes to meat. LOL.

Anyway, there is a butcher shop in town, they've been around for longer than I've been alive. When I was little, my parents got their meat from him all the time, but stopped when I was probably five or six, and started buying it at the grocery store.

Because of the recall...my parents have started going to them regularly again, and I have as well. I told the lady who waited on me today that I will be a regular customer of theirs because of that recall, and the fact that it's just so much better.

It's also kind of cool that they know my parents...and that the lady recognized me as their daughter (even without seeing me with them) and we were talking about them while I was there today.

They get the meat (beef, chicken and pork) from local farms in our county. They also sell eggs, cheese, apples and other stuff, all of it from our local area. No chemicals, nothing. The meat looks fresher (heck, most of it, they will slice it fresh right in front of your eyes, to your specified thickness, as I discovered today) and tastes a million times better than meat bought at the grocery stores.

So far, we've had ground beef and pork chops. So...freaking...good. And it just feels good to be supporting our local butcher and local farmers, you know? I know it's not for everyone, but it's really not more expensive (if anything it's cheaper!) and it has to be better for you (but that's just my opinion).

I can't wait to try other cuts of beef and pork, and chicken, from them, ha ha!

Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Cookies

So, Alex found this recipe on allrecipes.com. There, it's called "Craving Cookies" because they're high in magnesium, and when a person craves chocolate, it's actually magnesium that is being craved. I didn't want to just call them that, though, so...yeah. They. Are. Awesome.

1/2 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup peanut butter
5 tablespoons cocoa*
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder

In a medium bowl, stir together the mashed banana and peanut butter until well blended. Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar and vanilla until smooth. In another bowl, combine flour and baking powder, then add to the peanut butter mixture and mix well. The add the cocoa and mix again. Cover and chill dough for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into walnut sized balls and place two inches apart on the sheets. Press lightly with a fork (like you would do for regular peanut butter cookies).

Bake for 10-12 minutes (Alex cooked ours for 12). Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

*The actual recipe calls for 1/4 cup of semisweet chocolate chips, but we didn't have any so Alex substituted for the cocoa. Personally, I think they're better this way than they would be with chocolate chips.

Chicken Alfredo

I came home from work today and Alex was in the process of making this. It's very, very rich, but oh so good. Would definitely make it again (or get him to, ha ha)! It *is* a bit time consuming, but it's so worth it.

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
6 tablespoons butter, divided
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 pound pasta
1 onion, diced
1 8-ounce package sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups homogenized milk
3/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup sour cream

In a large skillet over medium heat, combine chicken, 2 tablespoons butter, 2 cloves garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.

Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons butter int he skillet. Saute onion, 2 cloves garlic and mushrooms until onions are transparent. Stir in flour, salt and pepper; cook 2 minutes. Slowly add in milk, stirring until smooth and creamy, then stir in sour cream and cheeses until cheese is melted. Finally, stir in the chicken mixture and heat while stirring for about 5 minutes. Serve over the cooked pasta.

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna Rolls

This is another of those situations where I wanted to try something different...and I have to say, it turned out amazing. Charlie didn't eat it, either because he didn't like it or because he was just being 17 months old, but Alex and I loved it. It may seem to be time consuming, but if you cook the chicken and the pasta noodles at the same time, it's really not that bad.

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced and cooked
8 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
1 cup Ricotta cheese (I used mozzarella because we don't have Ricotta and the stores are closed today)
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon white pepper (used black because we don't have white)
1 can of Hunts basil and mushroom spaghetti sauce
Sprinkle parsley and garlic

1. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, cheeses, milk and pepper.
2. Spread some of the mixture on each lasagna noodle; roll jelly-roll fashion
3. In a 13x9 inch baking dish, spread half of the spaghetti sauce
4. Arrange lasagna rolls, seam-side down, in sauce in baking dish
5. Sprinkle each roll with parsley and garlic (use as much of each as you like)
6. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce
7. Sprinkle a little more grated Parmesan cheese on top of each roll
8. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 375F for 30 minutes, or until hot

Vegetable Beef Soup

I wanted to try my hand at making soup...something I've never done before. So yesterday I did it and it was incredible. It's a slow-cooker recipe, but I imagine you could also do it on the stovetop if you don't have a slow-cooker.

1 lb. stew beef, diced into small pieces
3 regular sized cans of Mixed Vegetables including juice (I used the Compliments brand from Sobeys)
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 of a 900mL box of Campbell's low sodium Beef Broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients into the slow cooker and mix well. Cook on low for 6 hours. We actually did it on low for 4 hours and then high for 1 hour at the end, so that works as well.

Of course, if you had lots of time (and didn't have a toddler to deal with) you could chop up fresh veggies of your choice and put those in the soup instead of the canned veggies. This is just the quick-and-easy (somewhat cheating) way to make a delicious soup without spending a lot of time doing it. The part that took me the most time was dicing up the pieces of stew meat.

Alex's Burger-n-Rice Casserole

I started a new job yesterday, so Alex has been in charge of cooking supper the last couple of days. Tonight, he made up a new casserole and it is AMAZING. All three of us loved it and I told him he could make it again any time. Then I proceeded to ask him for the recipe, so I could share it with everybody. So here we go, Alex's Burger-n-Rice Casserole!

2 cups of long-grain rice, uncooked (do not use instant or minute rice)
1+ lb ground beef
1 can of chili style kidney beans, drained
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 cup diced onions
2 tbsp (approx) minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp Club House Italian Seasoning
Dash basil
Dash sage
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of shredded cheese (1 cup mozza, 1 cup old cheddar)

Cook rice according to directions on package, set aside.
Brown rice with 1 teaspoon italian seasoning. Drain and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large wok, stir fry onions, carrots, green peppers, the rest of the italian seasoning, basil, sage, salt, pepper and garlic until the onions are clear.
Mix in rice, kidney beans and hamburger.
Put in a casserole dish (or two), cover with the shredded cheese, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Note: This makes a HUGE amount of food, so make sure you use a really big wok. That's also why I said the (or two) when I spoke of the casserole dish. It might be too much to fit in one dish.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

That's probably not a great name for the recipe, but it beats "Oh So Good Chicken", which is what the recipe was called online. LOL. Wanted to do something different with the chicken for supper tonight and even though Charlie didn't like it, Alex and I absolutely loved it and definitely recommend it. :)

4 teaspoons olive oil
6 tablespoons sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
1 regular sized jar of salsa (we used mild)
2 cups cooked white rice
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
A few handfuls of crumbled tortilla chips

1. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Saute mushrooms.
2. Combine mushrooms, sour cream, cheese, salsa, rice and chicken, mix well. Place in a greased casserole dish.
3. Cover with crumbled tortilla chips and bake at 350F for 25-35 minutes.