Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Cream

Do you love Avocados?  I sure do!  And how happy was I to discover the new Avocados From Mexico recipe website "Recipes From Avocado Lovers"!!  It is a great site for recipe lovers like me to find new recipes to try.  Not only that, the website also allows us to share our favourite avocado recipes, download ringtones, wallpapers and other fun items to show avocado love!

There are so many great recipes on the site, so I had a hard time picking just one to try.  I found a recipe for Blackened Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Cream that I amended so that I could use groceries that I already had on hand.  Here is what I did:

1/2 cup of white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 onion, julienned

2 avocados from Mexico, halved, pitted and peeled
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 limes, juiced

2 cups coleslaw (I used the pre-packaged coleslaw)
2 tablespoons canola oil

1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1 tablespoon taco seasoning

Whole wheat tortillas
Fresh cilantro                       

Combine the vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan, boil for 1 minute. Julienne the onions and put into a bowl.  Pour the vinegar mixture over onions; chill until ready to serve. You can make this in advance if needed (and will allow for the mixture to cool more).

Using a blender or bullet, puree avocados, sour cream and half of the lime juice. Scoop into a small bowl. 

In another bowl, combine the coleslaw, half of the oil, the remaining lime juice and a pinch of salt.  Mix well.
Season shrimp with taco seasoning (I used my homemade seasoning). Use remaining oil for a skillet, heat skillet, add shrimp and sauté for no more than 2-3 minutes.

Prepare your tacos using a tortilla, coleslaw mixture, avocado cream, onions and garnish with fresh cilantro. 

VERDICT:
We had these for lunch, and they were a perfect summer lunch!  We all enjoyed them, and the baby was eating the avocado cream straight!  I think that my husband and oldest son re-discovered that they do like avocados, which is good, since the baby and I both love them!  These are tacos that we will make again, especially with the hot days of summer upon us.  They were so fresh tasting!

This sponsorship is brought to you by Recipes from Avocados From Mexico who we have partnered with for this promotion.

Smoked Salmon Gruyere Grilled Cheese Sandwich

April is "Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month" and our Crazy Cooking Challenge for the May party suitingly is "Grilled Cheese Sandwiches".  I had to think about what I would like to try for a new grilled cheese sandwich, and I happened to have a hankering for smoked salmon, so a little googling and I found a recipe for a Smoked Salmon Gruyere Grilled Cheese Sandwich, which inspired me to come up with my own creation. I made mine without lemon, and it was pretty tasty! 

Here is what I used / did:

Sourdough bread

Smoked Salmon

Gruyere Cheese (we used a smoked gruyere)

Butter (Unsalted)

Butter the outside of the sourdough bread.  Place butter side down, and start to fill the sandwich with toppings.  I pulled apart the smoked salmon into small chunks and place the chunks along the bread.  Slice the cheese and place in/on/around the smoked salmon, ensuring that the cheese will melt and tocuh each side of the sandwich to help hold it together.  Place the second piece of bread on top (again, butter side out) and place on warmed grill.  Cook until the cheese has melted and the bread is golden brown.  Slice and serve!

VERDICT:

What a nice treat this was!  My husband and I both felt it was a great "grown up" grilled cheese sandwich.  Very tasty indeed - an indulgence for sure!

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Chicken Vegetable Soup with Homemade Noodles

When I made or meal plan for this week I decided I wanted to try to make another soup from scratch.  Since my Hearty Ham & Split Pea Soup went over so well, I figured, let's try round 2 with a new one!  I've been wanting chicken noodle soup, so I thought about what I would put into it, researched how to make my own noodles, and here is what I came up with.  The egg noodle recipe I found at allrecipes.com, the rest of it, I made up as I went along.  Here is the recipe:

Chicken Vegetable Soup

Oil

2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into small pieces
3 slices of bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
1/2 onion, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 stalk of celery, sliced
1/2 cup cauliflower, cut into small florettes
1/2 cup broccoli, cut into small florettes
1/2 cup green beans, cut in half (ends cut off)
4 cups chicken broth
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Fresh homemade egg noodles (recipe follows)

In a frying pan, coat with a small amount of oil.  Heat, and cook chicken until cooked through.  Remove chicken from frying pan and set aside.  Add bacon to the pan and cook until crispy.  Remove from pan and set on paper towel to remove excess grease.

While the chicken is cooking, in a large pot, coat witha small amount of oil, heat over medium, and add onions, carrots, celery.  Cook until they start to soften.  Add in cauliflower, broccoli and beans.  Continue to cook, around 5 minutes.  Add in chicken broth, chicken, garlic, parsley and pepper.  Simmer at medium-low for 10 minutes.  Add bacon and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.  Add fresh pasta and simmer until pasta is cooked to your liking (approximately 5 minutes).  Serve, and enjoy!

Homemade Egg Noodles

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter

In a large bowl, stir together flour and salt.  Add the eggs, milk and butter.  Knead together until a smooth dough is formed, about 5 minutes.  Sit in bowl, covered with a tea towel, for 10 minutes.

After the dough has rested, roll it out to your desired thickness.  Cut into lengths (or shapes).

Leave the noodles to air dry after you've cut them.

*Notes 
- I made my egg noodles around 10 am and left them to sit on the counter until I started making the soup at 12:30 pm.
- I found that this recipe made enough for 3 batches of noodles, so I have packaged up the other 2 batches and will freeze them until the next time I make soup.

VERDICT:
Of course the baby decided he was hungry just as I was about to serve the soup.  So I dished up bowls for my husband and our oldest, and they ate while I fed the baby.  My husband's first reaction was "This is SO good".  He ate his bowl of soup really quickly and went back for more.  Our oldest wasn't in the taste-testing mood, he was tired after a busy day yesterday (swimming lessons, birthday party, babysitters so that Mom & Dad could go out for a grown-up only dinner) - so he didn't actually try the soup, he went for a nap instead.  Finally, I got to try the soup, and it was declicious.  I really enjoyed it.  The variety of vegetables, the fresh noodles, oh my.  It was yummy!  This is a keeper in our books!  To top it off, we have two nice sized servings leftover, already packaged for lunch tomorrow...can't wait!

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Toffee Crunch Lunch Box Cookies

For Christmas I received a new cookbook, "Whitewater Cooks with Friends".  I love the Whitewater Cooks series of books, for a whole bunch of reasons.  Any recipe that I've made out the books has been delicious, the books themselves are beautiful, and they are written by a BC resident - out of Nelson.  Now the third book (with Friends) is another great book, though I am having troubles with some of the recipes only because there are a lot of almonds or scallops in their recipes , and my hubby is allergic to both.  So, I'll need to get a little creative with the recipes to make some substitutions, and then all will be great!  If you have never seen these cookbooks before, I recommend you check them out.  So far there are three in the series.  Many thanks to my friend Jody who introduced them to me, and to my hubby who keeps fueling the recipe addiction by giving me the latest book!

My husband claims that he doesn't like chocolate, and when I make cookies, they are usually my Mom's chocolate chip cookies (they are my favourites!).  In the newest Whitewater book, there is a recipe for Toffee Crunch Lunch Box Cookies...complete with Skor bits, and my hubby loves Skor bits so I figured these cookies might be a hit.  Plus it's a pretty easy recipe, a perfect Mother-Son baking session (which was a lot of fun!).  Sure enough, these cookies were a big hit, with hubby and oldest son alike.  They LOVED them!  Here is the recipe:

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoom baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 lb butter, room temperature
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package (200g) Skor toffee bits
White sugar for sprinkling (though I left this step out)

Combine flour, baking powder and salt.

Beat together butter, sugars, and vanilla until light and fluffy in a large bowl.

Add eggs and blend thoroughly.

Add flour mixture in thirds, mixing well after each addition.

Stir in toffee bits.

Drop by rounded teaspoon onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle with white sugar (as mentioned, I left this step out).

Bake in a 350F oven until golden brown, for about 12 minutes.

Cool on rack when done.

Easy breezy, and a hit with the boys.  I enjoyed the cookies (I AM a cookie monster), though it is hard to beat my Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies!  Thanks again, Whitewater Cooks!

Hearty Ham & Split Pea Soup

What does one do with leftover ham and the ham bone?  Why, we make soup of course!  I've never tackled split pea soup before, but I figured, no time like the present.  My mother-in-law shared her split pea soup recipe with me and I combined it with the recipe that I found in my favourite cookbook series - Whitewater Cooks - to make my own recipe.  It is a hearty soup, very green, and quite tasty!  I already had most of the items in my kitchen, with the exception of the dried split peas, but a quick adventure to the grocery store and we were all set for soup making!

Here is the recipe:

Part 1

1 ham bone

1 onion (chopped)

2 carrots (chopped)

1 celery stalk (chopped)

2 bay leaves

1 ½ tsp thyme

Simmer ham bone in about 10 cups of water with bay leaves, thyme, onion, carrots, and celery for about 3 hours.  Discard bone, bay leaves and vegetables.

Part 2

1 ½ cups dried split peas, rinsed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion (chopped)

2-3 carrots (chopped)

1-2 stalks celery (chopped)

1-2 cloves garlic (minced)

¾ teaspoon chilli powder

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Pepper to taste

2 cups chopped ham

2 cups frozen peas, thawed and pureed in food processor

Add peas to stock (add chicken broth if needed to make about 8 cups of liquid) and heat to boiling.  Boil uncovered for about 2 minutes.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Saute remaining vegetables with olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Add sautéed vegetables, ham, chilli powder, red pepper flakes and pepper to stock.  Cover and simmer for about 1-1 ½ hours, or until peas are tender.

10 minutes prior to serving, add pureed peas to the soup.  Increase heat to medium-high and heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Do not overcook the soup at this point.

Serve immediately with warm bread (we had three cheese focaccia bread).

VERDICT:

We loved the soup.  Especially my husband and I.  Our four year old ate it but pretended he didn't like it, though we know that he did.  Adding the pureed peas at the end added a little extra oomph to the flavour, as well as a nice greener colour.  The bread was great for dipping in the soup...yum yum!  I'm looking forward to the leftovers!