Dreaming of backyard pizza parties? Your dream can now be a reality!

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basil, cheese, comfort food, cooking, delicious, dough, easy cooking, easy dinner, eat, eating, entertaining, food, fresh, fresh cooking, italian, kid friendly, Neapolitan pizza, Ooni, ooni pizza oven, Parmesan, pizza, pizza oven, quick cooking, simple entertaining, summertime, tomatoes

I have always dreamed of having a backyard with a huge stone pizza oven. But I’m afraid it’s going to be baby steps for me to get to my dream, so I started my journey on Mother’s Day when I treated myself to an Ooni Koda gas pizza oven from Capital BBQ.

This pizza oven has changed my life. It is portable, meaning I can pack it up and bring it to a friends house for dinner. It weighs 12 pounds, the design is sleek, I can store it in the off-season in my kitchen. It is powered by a propane tank and it only takes 15 minutes for it to come up to 930° and it cooks delicious Neapolitan style pizzas in 60 seconds.

The high temperatures help pizza dough quickly transform to a perfectly chewy-but-crispy crust, all while drawing any excess moisture out of any sauce, cheeses & toppings you have on your pizza. The result? Crispy crust, with no sogginess. A pizza lover’s dream!

I do have a couple of tips I have learned in the 5 times I have used my pizza oven.

• Use only quality ingredients – I make my own dough and sauce and boy does it make a difference!
• Use a wood pizza peel to put the pizza in the oven and the metal one to pull it out
• Do not multi task when you are making the pizzas, they take 60 seconds and every 20 seconds you turn the pie in the oven
• The less toppings the better. Since this cooks quickly you need you keep the toppings light
• Try new things! I created a Flammkuchen style pizza that is the 💣
• It is not just for pizza! With a cast iron pan you can look steaks and chicken in it too!

The cost. My Ooni koda cost me 499$ CDN plus tax. I would say it was the best money I ever spent.

Pizza dough, sauce and recipes coming soon!!

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Let’s talk Garlic Scapes

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basil, cooking, delicious, easy cooking, easy dinner, eat, eating, entertaining, food, fresh, fresh cooking, garlic, garlic scape, make ahead meals, Parmesan, pasta, pesto, quick cooking, simple entertaining

What are Garlic scapes?

They are the curled flower from the top of a garlic plant, are abundant at farmers markets (I just picked up a bundle at the https://carpfarmersmarket.ca/Carp Farmers Market). Available in the spring/early summer they make an easy, fragrant pesto that can be spread on bread or crackers, mixed with ricotta, put on pasta, used with fish, and as a substitute for garlic, onion, or scallions!

You can also slice them on the diagonal and sauté them with other vegetables as a side dish. They are wildly delicious.

Here is how I made my Garlic Scape Pesto that I will mix with ricotta for dinner one night and top sliced steak the next. Ready in less than 3 minutes 🙌

• 2 cups garlic scapes cut into pieces
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup packed basil leaves
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Pinch salt and pepper
• 4 green onions
• 1/2 lemon (juice and zest)
• 2 inch chunk of real Parmegiano Reggiano

Toss it all into your food processor and in 40 secs viola you have pesto!

Instant Pot – Tex Mex Chicken Thighs

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chicken, cooking, delicious, easy cooking, easy dinner, easy dinners, eat, eating, food, fresh, fresh cooking, instant pot, make ahead meals, pressure cooking, salsa, simple entertaining, tex mex, tomatoes, winter

This is a quick dinner that can be made on any weeknight or weekend.

All it takes is 30 mins in an Instant Pot.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 kilo chicken thighs (club pack)
• 1/2 medium onion diced
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tbls chili powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 cups fresh salsa
• 2 whole chipotles in adobo sauce diced up
• 3 cloves garlic
• Stems of cilantro finely diced *amazing flavour and even those who don’t like the cilantro flavour like this.
• 19 0z Can black beans
• 15 oz Can of corn kernels

Press sauté on your Instant pot until it registers HOT. Add 2 tsp oil and add your chicken thighs. Cook both sides of chicken for 5 mins add salt, chili powder, cumin, chipotles, cilantro stems, garlic and onions. Mix around for 2 minutes. Add canned corn with juice, add drained beans and stir. Top with salsa and DO NOT STIR. Tomatoes can tend to burn in the IP so just pour on top and spread out.

Put on IP Lid and seal the vent. Press Chili button – 30 mins. Viola

Do what ever you need to do and once the IP beeps release the steam vent to depressurize. Shred the chicken thighs, they will be soft and buttery. Mix everything together, add fresh cilantro leaves and check seasoning.

Serve on its own, on rice, spaghetti squash, top with chunks of avocado, cheese and a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Makes 10 cups and freezes perfectly well.

Enjoy!

The BEST Mexican Corn Salad recipe

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avocado, cooking in 15 minutes, corn, easy cooking, easy dinner, easy dinners, easy salads, eat, eating, entertaining, feta, food, fresh, fresh cooking, grill, light dinners, quick cooking, simple entertaining, summer, summer salads, summertime, tomatoes

It’s late summer and corn is in season right now in Ontario and it is DELISH! I know after a few meals of corn on the cob we all want to switch it up a little … so this is a perfect alternative to corn on the cob.

Not sure if you are familiar with Mexico’s all-dressed corn-on-the-cob…but this recipe turns it into a summery salad. If you don’t like spicy foods, use smoked paprika in the crema; otherwise, chipotle powder or canned chipotles gives the salad an authentic smoky kick or in a pinch use Sriracha. The crema is also delicious with nachos, on burgers, chicken, grilled fish, honestly anything!

Chipotle Lime Crema

• ½ cup (125 mL) mayonnaise (reduced fat is fine)
• ½ cup (125 mL) sour cream
• 2 Tbls fresh lime juice
• Finely grated zest of 1 lime
• 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika or ground chipotle pepper
• Salt to taste

Corn Salad

• 6 cobs of corn, shucked
• 1 orange pepper diced finely
• ⅔ cup dice finely a Vidalia onion
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 whole avocados diced
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 cups arugula (the peppery taste is a nice compliment to the sweetness of the corn)
• 1 cup (250 mL) crumbled feta or cotija cheese if you can score that
• Lime wedges

 

Step by Step:

For the crema, whisk all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate at least 24 hours and up to 1 week.

Preheat grill to high. Clean and oil barbecue grate. Place corn on grill. Cook, turning occasionally, until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you could boil the corn in unsalted water for 5 minutes then quickly char it directly on the flame of a gas burner.) Transfer to a baking sheet and cool completely.

* TIP! Start with a large bowl and then place a smaller bowl upside down. Stand corn on end. Slice downward with a sharp knife to cut kernels away from cob. Less Mess!  Place corn in a large mixing bowl with onion, peppers, avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix.

For each serving, place a little mound of salad greens in a bowl, if using. Spoon in some corn salad. Top with a dollop of crema and sprinkle with feta. Serve with lime wedges.

Enjoy!

www.monicaskitchen.com

 

The Best Bolognese sauce, hands down. Instant Pot Recipe.

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basil, comfort food, cooking, easy cooking, easy dinner, easy dinners, easy pasta, eat, entertaining, fall dishes, food, fresh, fresh cooking, fresh pasta, gluten free, instant pot, italian, Italy, kid friendly, make ahead meals, Parmesan, pasta, penne, pork, quick cooking, sauce, sausage, simple entertaining, spaghetti, sugar, veal

I can’t say enough good things about my Instant Pot. I bought the 8 quart one this winter and I can’t get enough of it. 

I typically make my bolognese sauce on the stove and it takes roughly 6 hours on a slow simmer to come out perfectly. 
Using my instant pot it took 35 minutes on high pressure and viola my sauce is ready!

The sauté feature is a huge time and prep saver as you can sauté in the actual pot. 

The key to this sauce is the meat ratio and I blitz all the vegetable in the food processor before I add it into the meat. This bolognese sauce is more of a ragu than your typical spaghetti sauce. Also another tip I don’t use beef, I only use veal and pork and prom sausage. This makes the sauce much more mild. 

What you need:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground pork
• 1 1/2 pounds ground veal
• 1 pound Italian sausage meat (casing removed)
• 1 large white onion
• 2 carrots
• 3 celery heart stalks
• 4 garlic cloves 
• 3/4 cups of sundried tomatoes
• 1 huge handful of fresh basil
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 28 oz can tomato purée (try to find San Marizano tomatoes)
• 1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes
• Parmesan rind
• Dried Bay leaves (4) 
• 1/3 red wine
• Splash of heavy cream 

In a food processor add all the vegetables and basil and sun dried tomatoes. Blitz until their are no chunks and you have a very finely diced mixture. Set aside.

Plug in your Instant pot and press the sauté button – it will take a few minutes and it will beep and say hot.

Start sautéing the sausage meat so some of the fat renders down, once crumbly add the  ground pork and cook down and then add the veal. This whole process will take about 10 minutes to brown the meat. 

Once no longer pink, add in the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, basil and sundried tomatoe purée. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Then add in the 2 cans of tomatoes, salt and sugar and bay leaves. Throw in the Parmesan rind and 1/3 cup of good red wine. 

Put on the top of the Instant pot, press the meat/stew button (35 mins on high pressure) and sit back and relax! It will take about 5 minutes to come up to high pressure and then the timer will start counting down. Once it is finished, the Instant pot will shut off automatically. 

This sauce usually simmers on my stove for 4-6 hours. With this instant pot it now only takes 45 minutes! 

Typically a Bolognese sauce is served with a wider pasta noodle but you can serve it on whenever noodle you desire. Before serving add a splash of cream to the sauce. I can’t explain what it does to the sauce but it makes it amazing and rounds out all the meat and tomato flavour. 

This sauce freezes amazingly well (do not add the cream before you freeze it) and this recipe will give you roughly 10~12 cups. 

Mangia! 

Easy Pasta in 15 minutes

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basil, cooking, cooking in 15 minutes, easy pasta, fresh cooking, fresh pasta, mushrooms, pasta, tomatoes

I had a friend pop over for lunch last Wednesday and I needed to make us a quick bite to eat.

The day before I had bought a small little pack of fresh pasta for 2$
and some portobello mushrooms. With a few other ingredients the results were delish!

Pasta with mushrooms, tomatoes and basil

I love using mushrooms because they can actually replace the meat in a dish. Portobello mushrooms when they are cooked have a meaty texture.

Tip! When prepping your mushrooms scrape off the dark gills of the mushroom to prevent everything in your dish from going black.

Ingredients:

3 large portobello mushroom caps
1 onion sliced
Diced up smoked Serrano chili or 1/2 tsp of chipotle powder
Handful of fresh basil
Handful of sliced cherry tomatoes
Splash of white wine or sambucca or both
Heavy cream ~ 3/4 cup
Parmesan
Salt and pepper
Fresh pasta

In a sauté pan on high heat add a touch of oil and sauté the mushrooms until they start to color. Add onions. Salt and pepper. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add wine or sambucca. Put pan back on heat to reduce. Add Serrano pepper or chipotle pepper. Add cream and reduce heat to low.

Sauce simmering

In a pot of salted water cook fresh pasta. It takes minutes to cook. I LOVE fresh pasta because it is a great chew to it which goes well with this sauce.

Pasta cooking

Once pasta is cooked, drain and add directly to the sauté pan that has the mushrooms and sauce. Coat the pasta with sauce and let it absorb. Toss in the sliced cherry tomatoes and the fresh sliced basil. Let heat for a few more minutes and put in pasta bowls, top with Parmesan and serve! Delish!

Toss pasta with sauce

This dish takes 15 mins to make. Super fast, easy and tasty, and you don’t even miss the meat. I promise.

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I am a girl who loves food. I grew up with a Mom who was an excellent cook. She wrote a cookbook when I was a child, and as they say, the rest is history. Started a catering business in 2005 and haven’t looked back. I am a mom to 2 beautiful girls and I want them to love food as much as I do. In the meantime, I love life and love my job @ http://www.monicaskitchen.com