Individual Turkey Pot Pies

Cleaning up inside the freezer, I discovered I had some turkey breast meat leftover from Christmas. I also had some frozen puff pastry, so I decided it was a pot pie dinner tonight. This is a simple recipe if you already have prepared meat and some kind of ready made pastry on hand. Good way to clean out the freezer too!
 Ingredients:

• 4 cups of cooked turkey breast, cut into cubes
• 2 sheets of pie crust or puff pastry
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, cleaned, and thinly diced
• 2 carrots, cleaned, skinned, and thinly diced
• 2 medium sized potatoes (peeled and cubed)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• 1 tsp of dried thyme
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 egg, beaten, for brushing on top of the pie crust
  
  Method:
  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  Roll out your pie crust or puff pastry, and cut out as many rounds as you will need (I did six). I personally only made six rounds for tops, you may want bottoms on yours so double it up. Cover with cloth. Set aside.
  
  Now for the filling. In a large pot, add the butter, and slowly melt. Add in onions, celery, carrot and potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the flour, and stir, cooking for another couple of minutes. Whisk in the milk and continue to whisk until smooth. Stir in the chicken stock, and sherry. Bring the heat to low, and cook down for another 10 minutes. You will notice the sauce begin to thicken. This is what you are looking for. Stir in the thyme, parsley, peas, turkey, and season with salt and pepper. You will want to taste this a couple of times, getting your salt and pepper right on point before adding the mixture into the ramekins. Fill each ramekin to the top with the mixture, (if you are doing a bottom, add it first). Use some egg wash around the perimeter of the top of ramekins. Top each ramekin with a dough circle, making sure it is just a bit longer than the top of each ramekin. Seal the top of each ramekin by gently pinching around the edges. Brush the beaten egg onto the top of each ramekin, and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Poke a slight gash through the tops to allow some steam to escape. Place these back in the oven on a baking sheet for 25-30 minutes, or until they are a nice golden brown. (Keep checking after 20 minutes).
  
   ***Be very careful as the filling will be hot!!!

Valentine's Day Empire Cookies

Something sweet for that someone special on Valentine's Day.  These are one of my all time favourite cookies. They are a bit of a labour of love, but I am sure that someone special is worth it. A very Happy Valentine's Day to all.

 Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1/4 cup candied cherries, chopped

Directions

1. Cream butter. Add sugar, creaming well. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 2 inch rounds, (you can reuse dough, just form into a ball and roll it out again) and place on ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until very lightly browned at edges. Cool thoroughly.
4. Spread half of the cookies with jam, and top with remaining cookies.
5. Combine confectioners' sugar, almond extract, and enough hot water to make a thin icing. Frost tops of cookies. Top each with a small piece of candied cherry.

Potato Galette

Delicious side dish. Easy to prepare and takes no time to bake. The recipe is extremely versatile. You can add just about anything that you would like with a potato such as may-be some bacon, cheddar or even some ground sausage.  We enjoyed this simple side with our B.B.Q chicken breasts (recipe on Blog).

Ingredients:
4 good-sized baking or yukon gold potatoes
4 Tbsp butter (melted)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup romano cheese
1 small chopped shallot

Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 425°. Spray a 10-inch pie plate or shallow tart pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place your butter and shallots in a glass dish and microwave it for a few seconds until melted. Slice your potatoes into very thin slices, and distribute them in the bottom of your pie plate in a spiral fashion, 2 layers deep. Dust with salt, pepper and sprinkle of some of the cheese. Brush with melted butter and shallot mixture, and repeat the process until you've used all your potatoes. Press down a bit. Be sure to cover your top layer completely with the melted butter so it browns up nicely in the oven. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, keeping an eye on the degree of browning. When done, the potatoes will shrink away from the sides of the dish slightly and be fork-tender in the middle. Allow to cool slightly. Run a sharp knife around the edges and carefully flip the galette upside down on a serving platter and cut into wedges for serving.

B.B.Q Chicken Breasts

Even though it is dead cold winter, doesn't mean that I cannot enjoy a taste of a summer barbecue chicken.  These chicken breasts were marinated overnight and were tender and juicy...just the way I like them.  Simple and delicious.

Ingredients:
4 organic chicken breasts (I used bone in, for ultimate flavor)

Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
pinch crushed chili's
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic minced
1tsp onion powder

1/2 cup of your favorite B.B.Q sauce


Method:
Combine all ingredients. Wash chicken breasts with COLD water and pat dry.  Place chicken breasts in marinade and refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours). Remove chicken breasts from marinade and remove excessive marinade.  Place the meat on parchment lined baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes (you could also grill them on your stove top with a grill pan). Brush some of your favorite B.B.Q sauce on breasts and bake for 5 minutes more. Repeat again with the sauce. Test by slightly inserting a sharp knife just a bit into the flesh to see if juices run clear.

Coconut Macaroons

 As I was starring out the back door, I marvelled at the piles of snow that were just ploughed into monster sized mountain peaks, and I (always having food on the brain and a little too much time on my hands), thought about coconut macaroons! Funny the way the brain works when you are snowed in. Anyway, the last time I tried to make these sweet treats, I opened the oven to find a big, messy, gooey-goop. This time I looked high and low for a good recipe for them, and here it is! As you can see, they are not gooey or goopy.  They were delicious and I hope that you will give them a try.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg white
1½ teaspoons vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
3½ cups coconut (sweetened shredded)

For the chocolate dipping:
About 1/2 cup chocolate (you can use semi-sweet or milk chocolate)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, stir together the sweetened condensed milk, egg white, vanilla extract, and salt. Add in the coconut and mix well.
With a spoon, scoop up about 1 tablespoons of the mix and place them on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart.  (Form the cookies into semi-tight haystacks). 
Bake cookies for 15 minutes. Until light golden brown (Keep an eye on them).
Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for about  5 minutes or until they are firm and set. Remove with a spatula onto a cooling rack.

Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. You can melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water if you wish.

Lay out a large piece of parchment paper.  Drizzle all of the cookies.
Let the cookies sit until the chocolate has dried. Enjoy!

French Canadian Tortiere

The reason I enjoy this recipe so much is my absolute desire for any kind of meat pie. This is a classic Canadian favourite. Served up with a side order of poutine (French fries with beef gravy and cheddar cheese curds), which happens to be another Canadian staple.Very easy to make and very delicious too.
Ingredients:
For double pie crust
2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt
3/4 cup crisco shortening
4-8 TBSP cold water

Method:
Blend flour and salt. Cut in pieces the shortening. Add to flour. Gently use pastry cutter or two forks to combine until mixture resembles small peas. Add a little water at a time until you get the consistency ,(not too wet). Add flour if this happens.  Do not overwork dough.  Divide the dough into halves, and flatten into 1 1/2 inch rounds.  Place in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for approximately 1 hour.

Ingredients :
Meat filling
1 lb ground beef (or pork, or combination)
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t black pepper
1 t salt
1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 c beef broth
2 T breadcrumbs


Method:
Put the stock in a large pan or pot and bring to a boil.  Add the beef, onions, and seasoning.  Cook with the lid on until the meat is completely broken down and cooked, about 1hour.  Remove the lid and cook until all of the liquid has evaporated.  Add bread crumbs one tablespoon at a time to soak up any oil.  Cool completely before filling the pastry shell

Meanwhile, remove the dough from the fridge and throw some flour on area where you will roll it out. Roll the dough to fit in pie plate and fill the shell with the COOLED filling.  Roll out the other crust and place on the top of filling. Remove excessive dough and brush with egg wash, (1 egg with a tsp water combined). Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top and bake for 25-30 minutes (check after 20 minutes), at 375 degrees. Let cool 15 minutes. Slice and enjoy!