CURRIED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP - VEGAN , VEGETARIAN

My boyfriends mom made this soup for me recently and I was instantly in love. It is so flavourful and delicious. I am a big fan of Indian food and curry so if you are too you should try this curried butternut square soup. There is a little bit of apple in it so it tastes a little sweet and is great if you have a kids. Oh, did I also mention its vegan/vegetarian friendly? That's right!!! There is no dairy so its great if you are on a diet and looking for a meal that will warm you up as well as fill you up guilt free.

INGREDIENT

4 TBSP of Butter (or vegan substitute)
1 Large Yellow Onion Chopped finely
5 TSP of Curry Powder
1 Butternut Squash (around 3lbs) peeled, seeded and cubed
2 Apples peeled, seeded and cubed
3 Cups of Chicken Broth
1 Cup of Apple Juice
Sun Flower seeds and Pine nuts (to garnish)

MATERIALS:

Blender of Food Processor

DIRECTIONS:

Melt the butter in a big soup pot. Add in the onions and curry powder mix together all the ingredients and let simmer, lid on, on low heat for about 25min.

Once the onions are soft and translucent add in the butternut squash and apple followed by the chicken broth. Mix the ingredients around and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook until the butternut squash becomes tender. About 30 minutes

Once the butternut squash is tender transfer in parts to the blender or food processor and blend to puree consistency and transfer back to the pot. (Sometimes draining out the chicken stock before you put it in the food processor can help, however don't forget to add the chicken stock back into the pot afterwards.) 

Add in the apple juice and stir. Salt and Pepper to taste (I think it only needs a bit of pepper)

You can continue to let it simmer with the lid off if you think its to watery and let some of the water evaporate but stir every once and awhile.

You can toast the pine nuts and sunflower seed and add them as garnish before you serve!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! I would love to hear from you and your thoughts on the taste. Please feel free to leave a comment below :)

FLORIDA KEYS COOK OFF COMPETITION WITH CHEF BOBBY STOKY!

Last week I had the pleasure of participating in a Florida Keys cooking competition with Florida Keys celeb chef Bobby Stoky! He was nice enough to share two of his signature Florida Keys recipes which 24 food bloggers competed to for a prize! For our mains we cooked Onion Encrusted Yellowtail with mango Salsa and for dessert we made his famous Key Lime Pie! I had so much fun and made so many new friends. I am also very happy to find be able to share these recipes with you! If you enjoyed watching me during the competition I encourage you to try it yourself at home :) They were delicious!!!!

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ONION ENCRUSTED YELLOWTAIL WITH MANGO SALSA

Servings: 1
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10-12 minutes

Key Lime Butter (prepare in advance)

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 Key Limes (juiced)
¼ Stick of Butter
15 ml Coconut Milk

DIRECTIONS:

Melt butter over medium heat, add coconut milk, and key lime juice. Remove from heat and let rest at room temperature

MAIN DISH

INGREDIENTS:

1 Filet (6-8 ounces)
¼ Large Yellow Onion (sliced thin for onion rings)
30 ml Panko Bread Crumbs
89 ml Flour
¼ TBSP Blackening Spice
1 Egg (beaten)
Vegetable Oil (for frying)

MANGO SALSA

INGREDIENTS:

¼ ripe Mango (diced)
¼ Green Pepper (diced)
1/8 Red Onion (diced)
1 Key Lime (juiced)
½ tablespoon Cilantro (chopped)
Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a large, deep sauté pan or fryer, preheat enough vegetable oil to cover onions. Heat oil to approximately 350°. In a medium bowl place 1 cup flour and blackening spice. Toss sliced onions in flour mixture and lightly shake off any excess flour. Place dusted onion rings into hot oil, and fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dark brown. Remove onions from the oil, and place on paper towels.

Allow onion rings to cool to room temperature, then using a kitchen knife or a food processor, chop onion rings until they are about the size of the panko bread crumbs. Place them into a medium bowl with panko crumbs, and mix well.

Dredge filets through remaining flour, then through the beaten eggs, and then press the filets into the onion/bread crumb mixture.

Preheat oven to 350F. Place a large sauté pan on the stove and add enough oil to just coat the bottom of the pan. Make sure oil is hot! Place battered filet into the sauté pan and sauté over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes per side, or until onion crust is lightly browned. Remove filets from pan and place onto an oven-proof dish. Place dish into preheated oven and cook until the filet is white throughout, approx. 4-5 minutes. Remove filet from oven.

Top with Key Lime Butter and Mango Salsa, and enjoy!

Mango Salsa

Place chopped fruits, vegetables and herbs into a medium sized bowl. Add lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.

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KEY LIME PIE!!!

INGREDIENTS:

1 - 9' Graham Cracker Pie Crust (shortcut)
2 - 300 ml Cans of Sweetened condensed milk
5 egg yokes
100 ml of Key Lime Juice

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C)

Blend milk and egg yokes at slow speed until smooth

Add in the Key lime Juice and finish blending

Pour mixture into pie crust

Bake for 15 minutes

Start Preparing Meringue while it cooks! (optional can use Whipping Cream)

Cool Pie 20 minutes before refrigerating

Add Meringue or Whipping cream on top and serve!

MERINGUE (optional)

INGREDIENTS:

5 egg whites
5 TBSP of Sugar
Pinch of Cream of Tartar
1 TSP Vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Beat egg whites, sugar and vanilla at high speed

Add in cream of tartar and continue to beat until whites are stiff. You will know it is ready when it starts to make little peaks

Use a spoon to top pie with Meringue and make for an additional 10 minutes till it is golden brown at the top

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I hope you enjoyed these recipes. If you want to see a video of the competition I posted it below!!!!

SOFT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:

1½ Cups or 6OZ of Melted Butter
2 Cups and 2 TBSP of All Purpose Flour
½ Cup of Cane Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar Lightly Packed
2 TSP Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
1 TSP Baking Soda
½ TSP of Salt
1½ Cups of Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and mix it with a whisk.

In another bowl mix the sugar and cooled melted butter with a hand mixer till it becomes creamy then add in the eggs and vanilla extract and continue to mix for a minute or until it is just combined. Do not over mix

Slowly add in the previously combined dry ingredients bit by bit about 1 cup at a time until there are no flour lumps left.

Next fold in the chocolate chips.

Refrigerate for 45 min to an hour

Preheat the Oven to 325 degrees

Line a baking tray with parchment paper

Roll 1/4 cup scoops of cookie dough into balls and push them into the parchment paper leaving space for them to spread out.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 10-12 minutes, rotating the tray half way though. Every oven is different so I would recommend starting with one or two cookies till you get the time and consistency desired.

Did you enjoy this recipe?? If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them in the comment section below! I would love to hear from you!

BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH PANCETTA & ONIONS - GLUTEN FREE

This is a super easy recipe to whip up. There may be only three ingredients but this dish has so much flavor. Even my friends who don't like Brussels Sprouts enjoy this recipe. I ate this one night as a main but it can easily be a side dish. Also its gluten free and doesn't have any carbs so YAY for that!

INGREDIENTS:

Brussels Sprouts
Pancetta - about 150g cubed
Medium Onion - chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Clean the Brussels Sprouts, cut off the bottom and cut in half.

Steam the brussels sprouts until they turn bright green about 5 minutes.

While you steam the brussels sprouts throw the cubed pancetta and chopped onion into a pan and cook on medium heat. The pancetta will release its own oil which will cook the onion down and caramelize them. Make sure to stir periodically so that they do not burn.

When the brussel sprouts turn bright green add them to the pancetta and onion. I like to move everything over and put the brussel sprouts face down and pile the bacon and onion on top. This will let the brussel sprout get a little crispy from the pancetta oil. Leave it to cook for 2 minutes before stirring. After that let it continue to cook and stir every couple minutes until the onion fully cooks down. Now its ready to eat.

You do not need to add salt because the pancetta is salty.

Easy right!? If you liked this recipe or have any comment please feel free to leave them in the comments section below. I love hearing from you guys and hope you enjoyed this recipe!

BANANA OATMEAL MORNING GLORY MUFFINS - VEGITARIAN AND DAIRY FREE

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I wouldn’t say breakfast is my favorite meal. Most people skip breakfast and I tend to be guilty of this too. Give me my coffee in the morning and perhaps a banana around 10:30AM and I’ll hold out till lunch. Studies have shown that skipping breakfast actually leads to overeating at lunch or worse choosing the wrong things to eat. When you are hungry you make the wrong choices just to get something quickly and those things tend to be full of calories and sugars that don’t give you the nutrition you need and only leave your body wanting more. So what can you do? BE PREPARED! I made these breakfast muffins as an “on the run” meal (cause Beyonce and Jay-Z ain’t the only ones). Full of fiber, protein, potassium and a little bit of sugar to give you the energy and fullness you need to get through till lunch.  I made mine with almond milk to avoid dairy but you can do as you wish. Happy eating my friend!

You may be wondering why I used a circular tray in theabove photo and it is because I lost my muffin tray recently during my move so I had to use this circular tray instead - it worked great.

INGREDIENTS

3 Ripe Bananas mashed
1 Cup Almond Milk (or equivalent)
2 Eggs
3 Cups of Oats
1 TBSP Baking Powder
2 TBSP Cane Sugar
1 TSP Vanilla Extract
1/2 TSP of Cinnamon (optional)
Chocolate chips (optional)

MATERIALS

Baking muffin tray
Baking muffin tray paper cups

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees on Bake.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.

Line your muffin tray with muffin paper cups

Scoop out the ingredient mixture into each cup evenly and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes. You should smell the muffins, if not let them stay a little longer or test with a toothpick to see if they are done. If they are ready there should be nothing on the toothpick when you stick in into a muffin and pull it out.

Allow to cool before eating.

Did you find this recipe easy? What do you think of preparing this on Sunday night for the week - a realistic task? I would love to know what you think of this recipe! Please let me know any comments you have down below and I will be happy to hear from you and answer any questions you have.