Tortellini and Spinach Soup

    

    Chicken broth is a common ingredient in many meals.  If you don't have homemade chicken broth you can substitute with chicken bouillon.

     Chicken bouillon has a long shelf life therefore its easy to keep on hand.  Generally, each bouillon cube, added to one cup of water makes one cup of broth depending on your taste preference. 

     Its been cold here in Vaughan Ontario so this weekend I made my family tortellini and spinach soup.  To speed the process, I used frozen tortellini and bouillon cubes.  The tortellini are a heavy pasta so the soup was a meal in itself, I just added a garden salad and dinner was done.

Ingredients:

1 bag frozen tortellini (cheese)
2 cups baby spinach leaves
4 cups chicken broth
3 bouillon cubes (chicken flavor)

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan bring water to a boil and add bouillon cubes to boiling water, reduce heat to medium.

Add spinach and tortellini to broth simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Serve and add grated cheese if desired.

Enjoy!!

Grilled chicken with homemade honey mustard sauce

Here is a quick marinade I recently put together.  Takes about 15 min to prep.  My family can't get enough of this!  I hope you enjoy as much as we do.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

In a bowl, mix the mustard, honey, mayonnaise and worcestershire sauce. (save some extra sauce for basting). Add the chicken to the sauce to coat let the chicken marinate for 30 mins before grilling.

Grill the chicken for 20-25 mins.  Turn the chicken occasionally basting the chicken with sauce.

Serve and enjoy.

Warm Chorizo Salad

This is a simple recipe that I came up with a few nights ago.  It does not require much time to prepare.  If you have homemade chorizo you can use that or you can use store bought chourico.  I used homemade chorizo.

Ingredients:

1 pound Portuguese chorizo
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 bunch parsley
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan.  Fry chorizo until crispy.  Stir in chickpeas and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in parsley and serve warm

Roasted Carrots

Carrots are available throughout the year and have several beneficial nutrients.  Carrots is high in antioxidants as well as vitamin A and fiber. 

Here is a quick recipe for roasted carrots which will make a great side dish for a great steak plate.

Ingredients:

Carrots
Olive oil
Sea salt
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat the over to 350 degrees.  Wash carrots and place them on a greased baking dish.  Drizzle olive oil on the carrots and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. 

Place the carrots in a bowl and toss with additional olive oil, tbsp brown sugar, pinch of salt and toss together.

Pasta with Broccoli and Chicken

 Here is a quick and easy dish I made this weekend.

Ingredients:

450g Pasta

2 TBSP unsalted butter

2 TBSP olive oil

1 clove chopped garlic

1 bunch of broccoli

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt heavily.  Cook pasta, drain and add butter.

Cook the chicken, if you slice the chicken small enough it is ready in a matter of minutes.  Approximately 4 minutes per side or until browned.  Add  the cooked chicken to pasta.

In a small pot, boil the broccoli until fork tender.  I used frozen broccoli it was ready in 4 minutes.

Combine pasta, chicken and broccoli. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Marcello's Pizzeria in Vaughan

Now that I am a wife and mother of two, its not often that I find a moment to treat myself to dinner at some of the wonderful pizzeria's located in Vaughan.

My husband is currently away on business, my mom and I treated ourselves to dinner at Marcello's Pizzeria in Vaughan and we loved it!

The decor is modern and simple with limestone accents on the wall.  Tables and chairs were of dark cherry wood.  The place in general was well kept, neat and clean.

The hostess was friendly and seated us promptly as a table became available.  Our server was knowledgeable and polite, which was much appreciated.

We started with the Frittura di Mare (fried calamari) which we shared. My mom and I both ordered the pizza al pollo.

Calamari (14.15)
Pizza al pollo (13.50)


The Frittura di Mare was served hot, it was perfectly seasoned and lightly battered.  It was an excellent start to our meal, it was also very addicting. 















Pizza al Pollo Toppings:  Goat cheese, grilled chicken, sundried tomatoes  and spinach.

The ingredients blended well together making this a great tasting pizza.  The crust was crisp and flavorful.  The pizza in general was light and filling but not so filling that I felt like a ton of bricks  after eating it.
Clearly we were impressed with Marcello's and will definitely be returning customers. 

Left Over's

My husband works with is father and brothers at their family business.  They are subcontractors and quite often, given their line of work, they work late nights.  Since my husband travels with his father and brothers using the company vehicle, my mother in law's house is the common meeting place.  That being said, on those late nights, she sends home left over's and most of the time its chicken.  So what do I  do with her left over's when I've already made chicken for dinner?  I refrigerate the chicken for the next day and make my husband chicken salad sandwiches for his lunch!

 Here's my recipe:

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayo
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken meat
1 stalk celery, chopped

Directions:

In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with mayonnaise. celery and pepper.

Place the chicken on your fave bread (we use onion buns) and then top with items like tomato, red onions, lettuce etc

Bite Sized Chicken Meatballs

This is the perfect appetizer and simple to make.

Ingredients:

1 lb of chicken
1/2 cup of finely chopped carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup of finely chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of plain breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Blend all of the above ingredients. Roll a Toonie sized amount of chicken meat in to a ball and place on a greased oven tray. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes.

I served these with some leftover tomato sauce or you can even serve with ketchup.

Tip:  When your using your hands to roll the chicken meat into a ball, coat your hands with a thin layer of oil so the meat doesn't stick to your hands.

Sangria Time!!

What you will need:

1 Bottle of red wine
The juice of 1 Lemon 

1 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup of brandy
2 Cups 7up or club soda

Fruit Ideas:

Strawberry slices, orange wedges, raspberries, blue berries, lemon slices

 Directions

Pour wine in the pitcher and squeeze the juice from the lemon and add the orange juice into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) as well as other fruits you desire
and add sugar and brandy. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale or club soda just before serving.

Or serve right away using chilled wine and lots of ice.