Vanilla Spice Steamed Milk

I love steamed milk. It’s the ultimate in a comfort beverage for me. I love to try and create new ways to bring out the natural sweetness in milk, without adding too much. This flavour combination is reminiscent of a chai late, without too much bite. There are only three ingredients to this one: vanilla, cardamom and cinnamon.

Justin bought me a milk steamer for my birthday one year. Since I love making homemade steamed milk so much, this thing gets a lot of use!

Pop all the ingredients in there and let it whirl.

Serve up nice and hot on a cold winter’s day!

Vanilla Spice Steamed Milk

You will need:

1 cup milk

1 tsp each vanilla, cardamom and cinnamon

If you have a milk steamer, combine all the ingredients together and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to heat. If you do not have one, combine all ingredients into a saucepan and heat until it reaches your desired temperature. Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches with Lemon Honey Garlic Aioli

Way back when and once upon a time, I worked in a restaurant. Some Edmontonians may fondly remember the Arbour Restaurant, the quaint little teahouse at Rutherford House, as a charming lunch spot that offered high tea (complete with cucumber sandwiches), scones and raspberry butter, quiche and mouthwatering sandwiches.I served lunch and worked in the kitchen there for about 2 years and fell head over heals in love with their roasted vegetable sandwiches. I’ve recreated the veggies hundred of times, and if you’ve been following the blog for some time, you may remember one of my first posts, Roasted Vegetable Weekend. Well, the recipe remains unchanged to this day. It’s the same one they served at the Arbour Restaurant, and it is the same one that graces my kitchen whenever I want something satisfying, hearty and healthy.

Thinking back to my time at the Arbour, I remember a luscious aioli that went with the sammies. It added a smoothness that complimented the sandwich’s many complex textures. Here’s my own take on the aioli.

First things first, make your veggies.

The aioli took only 3 ingredients: Mayo, lemon flavoured honey, and garlic.

First, mince the garlic.

Heat the honey in the microwave for a few seconds.

Add the mayo and mix thoroughly.

To assemble the sandwiches, layer bread, cheese and roasted veggies.

Heat either using a toaster oven or a paninni press. Spread the aioli on the other half piece of toast.

Reassemble and enjoy. hmmm!

Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches with Lemon Honey Garlic Aioli

For the roasted veggies, you will need:

1 medium zucchini

1 medium red onion

2 sweet bell peppers

6-7 medium size mushrooms

1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp minced fresh garlic

2 tsp Italian seasonig

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp seasoning salt

For the aioli, you will need:

3 garlic cloves

1 tbsp lemon-flavoured honey

1 cup mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 375. Chop veggies into flat pieces (for ease of sammie assemblage). Throw all veggies into a bowl, add spices, seasoning and oil and mix well to combine. Transfer to a baking dish and roast for 30 mins, until veggies are cooked, but still a little crunchy.

While your veggies are cooking, assemble aioli by crushing garlic and transferring to a bowl. Heat honey in microwave until runny. Add to bowl with garlic. Add mayo and stir evenly to combine.

To make your sandwich, layer bread, any tasty cheese and roasted veggies. Heat either using a toaster oven or a paninni press. Spread the aioli on the other half piece of toast. Assemble and devour. Enjoy!

One Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff

I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of a one-pot meal. You start your base, add your liquid and boil the starch until cooked. No need to drain the pasta or potatoes; instead, they are cooked in with the liquid from the meal. Easy peasy and super flavourful! The only downside to a one-pot meal is that it takes a little longer to make. Where you could have been boiling your noodles at the same time as making the sauce, you have to wait until after the sauce is made. There is always a trade off. In this case, it was less dishes vs. more cooking time (something I’m sure hubby was more than ok with, considering the amount of dishes he does around here!)  This recipe was super easy and took only a few ingredients.

First, dice up the onions, crush the garlic, and saute them together in a large pot with a little olive oil.

Next, add the ground beef and brown.

Drain the grease and add the mushrooms. The recipe called for crimini mushrooms and I suggest going the extra mile and some picking for this dish. They added a wonderful texture and flavour that is not quite there with button mushrooms.

Next, add the beef broth and noodles, and boil on medium until noodles are cooked and the stroganoff has thickened.

Stir in sour cream and serve right away. Enjoy!

One Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff

You will need:

2 medium onions

4 garlic cloves

3 tsp olive oil

1 lb ground beef

3 tsp paprika

1 container of crimini mushrooms

4 cups low or no sodium beef broth

One 370 gram bag of egg noodles (or 3 cups)

5 tbsp sour cream

Begin by dicing up the onions, crushing the garlic, and sauteing them together in a large pot with the olive oil. Add ground beef, paprika and brown. Drain the grease. Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add broth and noodles and bring to a boil. Boil on medium heat until noodles are cooked and strogranoff has thickened (about 10-15 minutes.) Stir in sour cream and serve hot. Enjoy!