Pan-Fried Rainbow Trout

I went ice fishing with a good group of guys a couple of days ago, we were lucky enough to bring some home. Perfect size rainbow for the pan!! We cooked up 9 and ate every one of them!! A great meal to share with the family. The boys loved every aspect of it, catching, gutting, cooking, eating!!!

Ingredients:

Rainbow trout
1 lime
1 lemon
2 tbsp butter
Salt and Pepper

Melt butter in pan on medium high heat. Rinse and dry your fish, season inside with salt and pepper, place a slice of lime and lemon in each fish. Score the fish about 1/8 inch deep, add to the pan. When the side facing you starts to turn in color approx 4 mins, turn and cook for another 4-5 mins.

Serve and Enjoy!!

Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)

Well I did it! At least I think I did....I attempted Pho. After discovering this little Restaurant In Vernon, BC, I  became inspired to try my own Pho at home. It wasn't as good...Ha, but it tasted great and was fun to do!

I didn't follow any recipe in particular, I more just searched and found 2 or 3 I thought sounded good and came up with what I thought would be good.

Here is a link to one site I used, Click Here, I essentially quadrupled the recipe to make a 20 qt stock pot, I was serving 10 adults and numerous kids. I used all the stock ingredients listed and added coriander seeds as well. I also just used 7 chicken legs with backs attached instead of a whole chicken.

For the stock I didn't char the onion or the ginger like almost all of the sites say to do....But I started with those in water and the chicken, I lightly toasted all the spices and placed in cheesecloth and popped it into the broth. I brought to a boil and simmerd for 1 hr, I then removed all the chicken pieces and set in a bowl to cool, keep broth on a low simmer. Once the chicken was cool to handle, I removed all the meat, and added all the bones back to the broth. I simmered the broth, adding more of this and that, mainly salt...for 2 hrs. Through out the process I skimmed off any foam, and removed all the bones, spice bag, onion and ginger before serving.

I used thin rice vermicelli noodles. I cooked to package instruction. I kept in a bowl until serving time. Then came the fun part! Assembly! In each bowl I added the cooked noodles, a few pieces of chicken, a few cut up green onions and some cilantro.

 I then ladled the hot broth and served with suggested side options (bean sprouts, cilantro, lime, green onion, basil, jalapeno)

All the pictures of the Pho were the next day supper with Just the family, I added broccoli to the stock and peppers to the bowl before serving.

It was delicious, the kids had a blast using chopsticks and it was fairly easy to do! I think it will become one of the meals on the Munk family rotation!

Go Pho!

Cory

Pepperoni Pizza Log

Who doesn't like pizza? I mean, there is no limit or end of possibilities when it comes to pizza toppings. Simple or Complex, tons of flavors or one or 2. Pizza is one of those meals that is good anytime of the day! In my house, there is no fighting the kids to eat pizza, its like breathing!

My inspiration for this meal came from click here . I didn't use her idea of bread dough, instead I found a quick pizza dough recipe. Find your own pizza dough, or use this quick recipe for a good tasting, fast dough.

Pizza dough:

2 tbsp active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
2 tsp sugar
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
5 cups flour

Add the yeast and sugar to the warm water in a large mixing bowl. Once yeast starts to bubble, add remaining ingredients. Mix until combined, dump onto a floured surface, kneed until soft and not to sticky. Took me about 4 mins. Put back in bowl, cover and let rise till double in size, approx 30 mins. Then you can divide the dough into 2, using a greased cookie sheet or pizza pan, push dough out into a rectangle shape.

 Add the toppings that you desire, marinara? olive oil? Italian dressing? I used marinara, pepperoni and mozzarella. Layer out, and then roll from one end into a log, seam side should be placed down, I picked up the log and then rolled in corn meal, then put back on the pan. Bake at 400 for 30 mins. Remove, slice and serve. The dough was excellent, and it was a neat way to eat it!

Enjoy!!!

Cory

Venison Sausage Chili on Garlic Toast

I recently came home from spending a week visiting and hunting in Haida Gwaii, I had a great time, and was able to bring home some meat as well! I was given a few packs of sausage, which led me to chili!

For this chili, I started with cooking chopped onions and garlic in some canola oil on med heat. I then added chopped carrots and continued to cook for 5 mins. I then added the venison. I cut the sausage up in bite sized pieces, cook until mostly done.

I then added some tomato sauce, heinz ketchup, salt and pepper, frozen local corn, 1 double can of brown beans and a tbsp of maple syrup. I like a sweet chili, and the syrup adds just that!

The nice thing about chili is that it doesn't take a long time, I simmered it for 30 mins and served on a toasted french bread with home made garlic butter.

Very tasty, very hearty, the venison has a wonderful taste, no smell when cooking, and was incredibly lean!

Enjoy

Cory

Meatball Sliders w/ Butternut Squash Fries

Today I just could not decide what I wanted to make for supper, sometimes you just get tired of doing your same hand full of ground beef recipes. I took a look in the freezer, and stumbled across some home made buns that Shelby and my Mother in Law whipped up a bit ago. Solved. Meatballs....Yum.....Buns....Yum....Together.....Delicious!

We have attempted squash fries a few times before...the new trick I found out is to bake them on wire racks on a cookie sheet, rather then just on a cookie sheet. You get an even crisp and then a soft squash fry in the middle. Dead simple to do.

I peeled and sliced the butternut squash into "fry" shapes. Toss with some canola oil and a good season with Sea Salt. Lay on wire rack and bake for 40 mins @ 350 F. I failed to turn them once, and I don't think it would have made a difference. They were evenly crisp on all sides. Re season with Salt and serve!

For the sliders, I mixed lean ground beef with Salt and pepper, a bit of garlic powder, dash of soya sauce, and 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs. Mix and form into whatever sauce Meatball you want. I cooked on med high heat turning 3 or 4 times for 15 mins. You can add whatever you want for sauce, I used sweet basil marinara, and fixed my bun in jalapeno ranch dressing. Before I added the meatball to the bun, I dug out the bottom a bit so the Meat would sit in nice. Baked off until buns were brown,

Enjoy

Cory

Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken

My second ever attempt at "chinese" food! Success!!!

I saw this recipe on Pinterest....yeah thats right Pinterest....Anyway click the link below for the recipe. It was easy to do and produced amazing flavor!

http://life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.ca/2010/09/baked-sweet-and-sour-chicken-with-fried.html

Served it on a bed of Quinoa. If you have yet to try quinoa...I suggest you do it! Fantastic and Versatile.

So try this one out today! Easy, fun, and very tasty!

Cory

Pork Roast w/ Leek Gravy and Roasted Fall Veg

I'm Back! Man it has been awhile! No posts from me in forever!!! Well here you go! A new post. It was delicious!!
Slow cooked Pork Roast with leek gravy. Roasted delicata squash, spuds and rainbow carrots. Sweet corn and delicious buns from my Mother in-law! It went down soooo good!

Ingredients:

2lb Pork loin
2 small leeks
1 lb rainbow carrots
1 small delicata squash
5 spuds.
1 spanish onion.
5 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper
3 tbsp corn starch.

(we had frozen local corn, and home made buns on the side)



Slow cooked pork roast is dead easy, actually, slow cooked anything is easy! Season your roast with salt and pepper, wash and cut leeks throw em in. half a cup of water, cook on low for 6-8 hours. Pull out and let rest for 10 mins before slicing. I removed the drippings from the crock pot, and simmered those on the stove for 15 mins, added corn starch, re seasoned, and leek gravy is done!!

We are so blessed to live in an area that is abundant in fall vegetables. Local spuds, carrots, squashes, peppers, beets, cabbage, leeks, onions and more!!

This roasted veg was easy! Cut the veg to any size you want, the squash I chose, you can eat the skin and all! Its called Delicata. Google it!! Very mild and tasty. I removed the seeds and stem, and sliced into wedges. Add to the rest of the veg, season well with salt and pepper and add the Balsamic and olive oil. Balsamic when roasting vegetables is fantastic. The sweet flavors of the vinegar become evident, and the acidic flavor disappears. Wonderful. Roast for 1 hr at 400f. turning once.

Enjoy!!!

Cory

BBQ Fish Medley w/ Roasted New Potatoes

I Will mention again, I am so fortunate to have a father who lives in Haida Gwaii and is able to send us down fish....We enjoyed Snapper, Smoked Salmon and Smoked Black Cod.

I also purchased my Fathers day gift to myself.....A Charcoal bbq. It is unreal! The flavor you get from a Charcoal bbq is second to none!

Snapper in the back left, salmon on the right, black cod bottom left. My mouth is watering typing this, and I already enjoyed this meal!!!

The Potatoes were almost my favorite part of this dish. We get our weekly produce box from Pilgrims Produce The stuff we get is wonderful. One of the things we got in this last weeks box were new potatoes. I boiled these spuds first until almost done, drained and tossed into a mixture of chopped fresh thyme, marjoram, sage, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper. I threw in some extra whole stalks of the thyme and whole garlic. Roasted at 400f for 30 mins, turning once. The flavor you get is amazing. The herbs and roasted garlic, along with the crispy outside of the spud, you then bite into the soft texture of a new potato. Wonderful!

The asparagus I cooked in a basket over the briquette bbq, I tossed them in Olive oil, Balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper, threw them in the basket, cooked for 15 mins. 

Whatever your meal may be, go out and support your local farms, buy some new potatoes and carrots, enjoy what we have local. It is amazing what standards we get used to with non fresh or local produce in the store. A beet fresh from the farm will blow your mind compared to one from the store. 

Enjoy

Cory

Honey Ginger Chicken w/ Dilled Baby Carrots and Beet Greens

Our weekly produce box from Pilgrims Produce is starting to pick up, this week we got first of the season baby carrots. If you have never eaten a carrot fresh right from the garden, you are missing out!! Our weekly newsletter had a recipe from Greens! Glorious Greens! I will tell you what I did.

I started with 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped, 1 small new onion chopped and baby carrots quartered with greens trimmed, cook in olive oil over medium heat for 2 to 3 mins. Then add beet green leaves, sliced in 2 inch chunks, add a bit of water, cover and cook for 6-8 mins. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and stir in 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill. Serve.

For the chicken, I dip chicken pieces in beaten egg, and tossed around in a bag with flour, salt and pepper and garlic powder. Then I friend skin side down first in some canola oil over medium high heat in a pan. Doing this will ensure you get oven "fried" chicken. Turn after 5 mins, cook for 5 more. Remove from pan and place on roasting pan or baking sheet. Bake @ 375f for 40 mins. I brushed on the sauce twice during baking, which I made on the stove in a saucepan, 1 clove of garlic minced, 2 tbsp fresh ginger minced, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 4 tbsp creamed honey and 1 tbsp butter. Cook garlic and ginger in butter until browned, add remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Simmer for 5 mins and remove from heat.

I accompanied the meal with a fresh spring mix salad and quinoa. Delicious. The skin on the chicken is so crispy and tasty. The freshness of the Ginger and the sweetness of the honey bring great taste to this chicken dinner!

Enjoy

Asparagus Quiche w/ Shredded potato crust.

Asparagus season is definitly one of my favorites!!

I was searching online, I cant remember the source, but I stumbled across this idea for a crust, rather then pastry, It works really well and adds great flavor!

You bake the "crust" first, then add your eggs and veggies, and bake off. Quiche makes a great anytime meal! Our boys loved this, and any variations would do!!

This is the crust, take 10 small potatoes, shred them, 1 small onion, shredded, 1 tsp garlic minced, salt and pepper, 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese, 1 beaten egg, Combine mixture, press into pie plate to form a "crust", bake at 375f for 25-30 mins.

The crust will start to turn a nice golden brown, remove from heat, I then sprinkled chopped asaparagus, mushrooms, onion and feta all over, beat 8 eggs, and pour over entire mixture, Top with grated cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 mins.

So take the time, have some quiche, save a "few" calories and fat with no pastry, and enjoy the spring produce that we have available to us!!!


Quiche can be enjoyed so many ways, you just need to try new things, mostly anything can taste good with eggs and cheese, Enjoy!


Cory

Smoked Salmon w/ Quinoa & Spring Mix Salad

We are so very lucky, my father sends us all kinds of fish from Haida Gwaii. This smoked sockeye is to die for. Dad does a very nice job smoking the fish, not too much salt, the flavor is incredible. I threw these on the BBQ, and served on a bed of Quinoa with dill, feta, garlic and balsamic.

We buy our Quinoa in big bags from Costco (Thanks Shawna), Its become more regular then rice in our house! I just cook it like rice in the cooker, and voila...tasty little quinoa.

I mixed 2 tbs of balsamic vinegar, 2 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp dried dill, 1 tsp whole grain mustard, salt and pepper and 1/2 cup feta, crumbled. Pour over the cooked quinoa, mix and serve.

Eat tons of salad too, we have been having a huge salad every night, trying to get the boys to fill up half of the plate with salad....no problem there!!

Enjoy!

Cory

Cream of Asparagus Soup w/ Cheese toast and Garden Salad

I am so stoked for asparagus season! This is my favorite spring/summer vegetable. We are so lucky to live in an area that grows an abundance of asparagus. It is very healthy for you, and tastes 10 times better then imported asparagus! So go out and buy some today! Quality Greens, Swan Lake, Askews are some of the places that sell local asparagus, all for around $2.99lb, but....go direct to the farm and it is usually $2.25lb.

I made this soup the other day when it was rainy and cold. Simple flavors make this a tasty soup hot or cold.

Soup:

1lb asparagus
1 head of bok choy
1 small onion
1 Tbs minced garlic
8 cups of chicken stock
2 cups of milk
4 Tbs of flour
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Start by chopping your asparagus, bok choy and onion into small pieces. Saute in olive oil with garlic. Cook for 10 mins or until asparagus is soft. Remove and set aside in bowl until later. In same pot, add butter until melted, add flour, salt and pepper, stir around and cook for 1 min. Add milk and whisk over med heat until soft boil. Once boiling, add chicken broth and cooked veggie mixture, return to boil, once thickened and boiling, remove from heat and use submersible blender or do in batches in blender. Blend until smooth.

Serve with Bread and Salad. I made quick cheese toasts with epicure herb and garlic sprinkled over top cheddar and feta on Shelbys home made 9 grain whole wheat bread.

Enjoy!

Cory

Crispy "fried" Chicken

I love a good crispy piece of chicken. I know the skin is not good for you, but when you are eating fried chicken...who cares!

This is an easy way to get a crispy skin. I start with taking 2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp each of dried rosemary, sage and thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper and mix well in an ice cream pale or large ziplock. Beat together 3 eggs in medium size bowl. Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture, add to flour and shake until coated. Add piece to a pan on med high with some olive oil. Cook for 2-4 mins flip once, remove, cook in oven at 375f for 30-45 mins, depending on size of pieces.

Frying the chicken before gets you a beautiful crispy skin in. The flavor of the herbs beats shake and bake anytime!!!

Chicken, mashed potatoes, garden salad....delish!

Enjoy,
Cory

Smoked Salmon Benny

I am very privileged to have a dad who lives in Haida Gwaii. He sends us beautiful smoked canned salmon. Once in awhile we whip out the Ol Eggs Benny, usually using back bacon from Askews, but I thought of using the smoked canned salmon....wonderful! What doesn't taste good with hollandaise sauce?

I heated up the salmon, poached my eggs, toasted the muffins, used a pre pack sauce, I know, but so good, cheap, and quick. Assemble, present, devour! Benny makes for a quick breakfast, a little extra work in poaching the eggs, but all is worth it. I usually make in a large batch, this time we were gluttons and I made 9 of them for 3 adults. My sister in law enjoys the benny, usually because we are missing either the muffins or the meat or the eggs, and we combine and dine! So take some time out this weekend, make some benny, its great!

Enjoy

Cory

Lasagna Rolls w/ Ricotta, Turkey and Sausage

We had some leftover ground turkey from burgers yesterday that needed to be used. I saw some lasagna rolls  on google that looked pretty good! So I tried it for myself! I also had one link of Mennonite Farmer sausage leftover from a couple of days ago, I started by boiling my lasagna noodles in salted water until done. Drain and set aside. I friend up the ground turkey and sausage until brown and a bit crispy. I also combined 1 small tub of ricotta, chopped spinach and salt and pepper. Then I started assembly.

I placed a tbsp or 2 of the ricotta mixture on first.

I then added the sausage and turkey mixture. Roll up and place in a casserole dish on top of a layer of pasta sauce, seam side down.

I made 9 rolls, covered with pasta sauce and smothered in cheddar cheese. Baked at 350f for 30mins.


Served with some cut of veg and dip!

The boys enjoyed!

Enjoy
Cory

Farmer Sausage Casserole

I was going to make perogies and farmers sausage, but as I took them both out and pots and pans etc, I decided to do a one dish meal. Easier clean up, and no sacrifice of taste!! This was an easy way to spruce up the ol sausage and perogy supper!

Select your roasting pan or casserole dish, place frozen perogies in the bottom, cut up the sausage and place on top. Vernon Butcher Shop has excellent Mennonite Sausage, pricy, but tasty! This was on Sale at Superstore, it is really good too, this stuff is not pre cooked.

Then add whatever vegetable you would like. We love spinach, and usually buy it in those big sealed containers.

Then mix one can of cream of anything soup, this was mushroom, I mixed in some sour cream and 3 tbsp of herb and garlic dip mix from Epicure. Pour all over!! Pre heat oven at 425f
Sprinkle 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Cover with tin foil, place in oven for 45 mins, remove foil and bake another 15 mins.

Yum! We devoured this rich, savory dish. I could only eat this once every couple of months, it is rich and very tasty! Enjoy!!

Cory

Munks Moons

Dennys...Its hard to resist the ol "moons over my hammy", Here is my take on just the moons...I had no hammy....Ha. Start off with scrambling 3 eggs with salt and pepper. Once finished, remove from heat. Grab two slices of bread, butter both outer sides, just like a grilled cheese. A little mayo inside, hot sauce if you like, a layer of cheddar cheese, and some crumbled feta. Add your eggs, put together and cook on medium high heat, turn once, slice and serve.
Enjoy!!

Cory

Focaccia BLT w/ Mozzarella

Who doesn't like a BLT? Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, on a yummy bread. Awesome and easy lunch idea.
The boys had a blast eating this monster of a sandwich, and they are huge!

I bought this massive loaf of focaccia at the Bakery in Askews. Day old, so it was 3.50, I sliced in half, toasted under the broiler until nice and brown, then to one half I added my cooked bacon.

On the other half, I shredded some Mozza, and added tomatoes to the adult half...My kids aren't fans ha! And placed under the broiler for a few minutes. On the other side added my nice lettuce, I didnt use mayo or butter, the focaccia has tons of olive oil and herbs in it, tons of flavor. Put together, slice and serve!!

Thats a Munk size BLT. We devoured the whole thing!!! So grab some bread, and enjoy a BLT today!!!

Enjoy

Cory