Creamy Chicken and Sundried Tomato Pasta

I have been seeing this tasty looking creamy chicken and sundried tomato pasta on pinterest for a while now and it was time that I made my own version of it! You really can't go wrong with a creamy sauce packed with the flavour of sundried tomatoes but this pasta takes things a step further with the addition on plenty of melted cheese including both fresh mozzarella, which only adds to the creaminess, and parmesan! This recipe is super easy and it only takes as much time to make as it takes to bring the water to a boil and cook the pasta! You start off by cooking the chicken, deglazing the pan with some white wine, adding some broth and cream along with the sundried tomatoes and cheese and you're done! Other than tweaking the recipe I made one important addition and that was to add some roasted grape or cherry tomatoes for their juiciness and acidity which complements and contrasts the creaminess of the pasta perfectly! As simple as this dish is it's so wonderfully tasty that words just cannot describe how good it is, you really just have to try it!

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Chicken and Mushroom Skillet in a Creamy Asiago and Mustard Sauce

Up next we have another super quick and easy chicken dish and this time it's a one skillet chicken and mushroom dish in a creamy asiago and dijon mustard sauce and it's just packed with flavour! This recipe starts out by butterflying or pounding the chicken thin so that it cooks quickly and then cooking it at a high temperature to caramelize it on both sides before setting aside. The mushrooms along with the onion, garlic and thyme are then cooked before deglazing the pan with some white wine, adding the chicken broth, cream and mustards, simmering to reduce and thicken the sauce and adding the asiago cheese! All said and done this recipe takes about 30 minutes to make so it is perfect for dinner on a busy week night and it's sure to impress everyone that tries it!

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Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles

Zucchini noodles, aka zoodles, have been making their way around the food sphere for a while now and I finally jumped on the band wagon and tried them out and I was pleasantly surprised that they make an excellent substitute for noodles, rice, etc. Not only are zucchini noodles lighter and healthier but but they hold up like real noodles and they are a great way to sneak in some extra vegetables into your meals! One of the first dishes that I thought to use zoodles in was one of my favourite pasta dishes, shrimp scampi, a dish where shrimp is served on pasta in a lemony, garlicky and buttery sauce. If you are into the lemon, butter and garlic combo (and who isn't???) then this dish is for you and it's so quick and easy to make, taking less than 20 minutes in total! The zucchini version of shrimp scampi is so much lighter and fresher than the pasta version and I think that I may just like it even more than the original!

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Crispy Honey Lemon Cauliflower on Chili and Garlic Stir Fried Zoodles

After recently making the crispy parmesan cauliflower bites I could not help but think that crispy cauliflower could be used in other recipes and the thing the that stuck out in my mind was using it to replace the meat in a Chinese style dish like honey lemon chicken. Normally when I am making a Chinese style dish where the meat is coated and fried until crispy I take a lighter approach and use simple sauteed meat but since the meat in this case is actually cauliflower I thought that it would be alright to indulge a bit and go with the crispy coating. The honey lemon sauce is super quick and easy to make starring, you guessed it, honey and lemon along with some other Chinese style sauce staples including soy sauce, garlic and ginger. You will definitely never miss the meat in this dish as the crispy cauliflower is absolutely amazing in the tasty honey lemon sauce!

I served the crispy honey lemon cauliflower over a bed of zucchini noodles stir fried with some garlic and a touch of chili heat to keep things nice and light.

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Shrimp Creole

Mardi Gras is tomorrow and I have one more New Orleans dish to share with you before it starts, this tasty shrimp Creole! Shrimp creole is a dish where the meat, often shrimp, is served in a tomato based sauce with onions, celery and bell peppers along with some spicy hot sauce and it is simmered until it gets nice and thick. This dish is so easy to make, you just need to cook the veggies until tender, throw everything but the shrimp into the pot, simmer until nice and thick, add the shrimp, cook and you're done! Although this recipe takes a bit of time to make, it's worth it because all of that simmering really brings out all of the flavours! So if you are still looking for an idea of what to make for dinner tomorrow for Mardi Gras (and lets be honest, this is good any day of the year), you cannot go wrong with this shrimp Creole! I't like bringing NOLA to your home!

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Quick and Easy Chinese Hot and Sour Soup

The Lunar New Year, often called the Chinese New Year, is next week and I take that as the perfect excuse to pull out some of my favourite Chinese recipes and to try some new ones. One of my favourite Chinese take out dishes is the hot and sour soup and a few years ago I shared a traditional Chinese hot and sour soup recipe but it required a few ingredients that you could only get on a trip down to Chinatown or a well stocked local Asian grocery store so I decided to come up with a more accessible or pantry friendly version. This version of Chinese hot and sour soup does not require any rare ingredients, it takes less 20 minutes to make and what's more is that it's still better than most take out versions! You really couldn't find a much simpler soup recipe than this one, you pretty much just throw everything into the pot, heat it, pour in the egg drop along with a few seasoning and you are done! If you are looking for a quick, easy and tasty Chinese hot and sour soup, this is it and it was perfect for me right now since it is far too cold out for me to head down to Chinatown to pick up some of those wood ear mushrooms and lily buds that are required for the more traditional version of the recipe!

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New Orleans BBQ Shrimp

Next week is Mardi Gras and even though I will not be in New Orleans to celebrate, I take it as an excuse to whip up some NOLA inspired dishes since I am a big fan on NOLA cuisine. Another one of my favourite dishes that I had when I visited New Orleans was the BBQ shrimp and I just had to try making it at home. Normally the BBQ shrimp is served whole with the shell and the head on but if you have any squeamish eaters feel free to serve the shrimp completely peeled. Other than the shrimp the the most important thing is the BBQ sauce which is a mixture of hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, garlic and plenty of butter. The recipe itself is really easy, you just cook the garlic a bit in some butter, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until the shrimp is cooked. Despite being so simple this New Orleans stye BBQ shrimp is so addictively good that you'll want to serve it with some crusty bread to mop up absolutely all of the BBQ sauce. If you are looking for a way to celebrate Mardi Gras from home next week this BBQ shrimp is a great way to do it. (To be completely honest with you, I didn't wait for Mardi Gras to enjoy this BBQ shrimp since it's great any day of the year, including say, today!)

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Miso Glazed Black Cod

This miso glazed black cod has to be one of my favourite dishes and since black cod is a little on the expensive side here I typically only use in on special occasions like Valentine's Day and it is alway an absolute please to do so! Black cod (aka sablefish) is a white fish that has a buttery texture due to the fatty layers that contain as much omega 3 fatty acids as wild salmon. My favourite way to enjoy black cod is in a super quick and easy miso marinade or glaze that takes 10 minutes to make the marinade and 10 minutes to cook with a marinate time of anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 days. That means that you can make the marinade a day or more ahead of time and you can have an amazing dinner ready in under 10 minutes! Although the recipe for this misoyaki black cod is nice and simple it's so good that it's sure to impress that special someone on Valentines Day!

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Chargrilled Oyster Pasta

When I made the chargrilled oysters I could not help but think about turning them from an appetizer/starter into a meal and the perfect way to do so was to use all of the flavours of chargrilled oysters in a pasta! Really the flavours of chargrilled oysters are very similar to those of shrimp scampi except with oysters in place of shrimp along with a few Cajun/Creole flavours. The sauce is pretty simple with a butter base followed by garlic, some wine or seafood stock, lemon juice and then some Worcestershire sauce, plenty of cheese and a hit of cayenne for some heat; it literally takes less time to make than it takes to cook the pasta. Since chargrilled oysters are grilled, I topped the pasta off with some more cheese and threw it under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese and get it all nice and golden brown. I served the chargrilled oyster pasta along with some actual chargrilled oysters and some bread to mop up any remaining sauce from the plate. This is definitely one tasty pasta dish and it's perfect for a special dinner for two like Valentine's Day!

Mardi Gras is next week and this chargrilled oyster pasta is a great way to bring a little bit of New Orleans into your home to celebrate!

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Caramelized Pear and Blue Cheese Soup

It's time for another warm comforting bowl of soup for these cold winter days! At first this pear and blue cheese soup might sound a little strange but the combination of pears and blue cheese can be a magical one; the trick is that you need to be careful not to overpower the delicate flavour of the pears with the strong flavour of the blue cheese. This soup starts off by caramelizing the pears in butter and brown sugar to add a little to their sweetness and to bring out more of the pears flavours. From there the recipe is pretty much a simple soup recipe where you cook some onions, garlic and thyme before adding the broth along with some potatoes to thicken the soup a bit, simmer until tender, puree and add the blue cheese along with some cream. I have to say that the sweet pear and savoury blue cheese combo is an absolutely fabulous one and it works amazingly well in this soup! As good as the soup is just like that it benefits from the saltiness from a garnish of some crispy fried pancetta or bacon; a must in my books! No matter how you make it, this soup is pure comfort food that will warm your soul through the dead of winter!

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Cauliflower Chowder

It's time for another soup and this time it's a cauliflower chowder that is so quick, easy, light, healthy and so tasty that you'll be coming back for seconds every time! My favourite cauliflower soup is my roasted cauliflower and aged white cheddar soup where the cauliflower is pureed to make a smooth soup but it's also nice to get the texture of the cauliflower and this chowder does just that. This recipe could not be simpler, you just saute the standard three veggies, onions, carrots and celery in oil, add some flour as a thickener, add the broth and cauliflower, simmer until the cauliflower is tender, add the cream and season to taste. The recipe as written is really good but I like to kick things up a bit by adding some umami in the form of melting parmesan cheese into the chowder, adding miso paste and finally by giving into my inner bacon addiction and topping things off with some crispy bacon! This is definitely one of my new favourite soups with it being both hearty and tasty while also being light and healthy and it's also a bowl of pure comfort food that is perfect for these cold winter days!

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Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Quinoa and Arugula Salad with Almonds, Pomegranate and Feta in a Lemony Tahini Dressing

After all of the football snacking in January it was time for some healthier dishes starting with this roasted cauliflower and chickpea quinoa and arugula salad/grain bowl. I start this salad out with a base of quinoa and arugula and I build it up with some meaty roasted cauliflower and chickpeas. From there I add some toasted almond slivers for crunch, pomegranate for both the colour and the juicy bursts of sweetness and some salty feta before finishing it off with plenty of fresh herbs like parsley and mint. Continuing with the Mediterranean theme I went with a simple lemony tahini based dressing and despite it simply consisting of tahini, lemon juice and salt it is so amazingly good! One of the things that I like most about this salad, other than the fact that it tastes amazing, is all of the vibrant colours from the black quinoa to the green arugula to the white cauliflower and finally the red pomegranate and I also thoroughly enjoy all of the contrasting textures. If you are looking for a healthy light meal (or a side dish) you just cannot go wrong with this tasty roasted cauliflower and chickpea quinoa and arugula salad/grain bowl!

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Creamy Parmesan Mushroom and Spinach Tortellini Soup

With all of the cold and the snow I have been in full on soup mode and my latest soup is this creamy mushroom and spinach soup with cheese tortellini. Mushrooms and spinach are a fabulous combination that I enjoy using in many different dishes so it was inevitable that I eventually used them in a soup like this one and it's a good thing that I did because this is one of my new favourite soups! This recipe is pretty easy, you simply slice the mushrooms, dice the onions, cook them in a saucepan, add the broth and tortellini, cook until the tortellini is done and add the spinach before seasoning and enjoying a bowl of pure comfort! If you know me then you know that I could not resist adding a bit of extra flavour, aka umami, in the form of using white wine to deglaze the pan, adding parmesan and I even add a tablespoon of white miso paste to the soup. No matter how you cut it, this creamy mushroom and spinach soup with cheese tortellini is one hearty and tasty bowl of soup that is perfect for these cold winter days!

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Spinach and Artichoke Dip Pizza

My favourite dip hands down has to be the hot spinach and artichoke dip and for this years Big Game for the football playoffs I thought that I would bring it in pizza form! The basic idea was to make a pizza with all of the flavours of the spinach and artichoke dip and as it turns out it is freaking amazing! This pizza is also super easy to make, you start by brushing the pizza sauce, in this case a garlic olive oil, onto the pizza crust, drop on some dollops of cream cheese followed by mozzarella and parmesan along with the stars of the show the spinach and artichokes before baking it until golden brown and bubbly; it's all done in less than 20 minutes! Both fresh and frozen spinach work well in this pizza and if you want to kick things up a bit you can try adding things like bacon, sun dried tomatoes or even shredded chicken. I will definitely be making this pizza very often and especially for the Big Game this weekend!

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Roasted Pumpkin and Green Bean Quinoa Salad in Thai Peanut Dressing

It's time for another pumpkin recipe and this time we've got a roasted pumpkin and green bean quinoa salad in a tasty Thai peanut dressing. Quinoa makes for both a nice addition to a salad and a great base for salads and if you are using it as a base for a salad all you really need to do is add some veggies, like pumpkin, along with a dressing and you're done! In addition to the pumpkin I added green beans (which I blanched rather than roasted to retain their bright green colour and crispy crunch) and red peppers along with some green onions and cilantro. The pumpkin and Thai peanut sauce combo is a fabulous one, and the inspiration for this salad, so a dressing based on it was a must! Although it's not required, I like to serve this salad on a bed of baby spinach, just to get some more veggie goodness!

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Chicken in a Creamy Parmesan and Sundried Tomato Sauce

Everyone loves a quick, easy and tasty chicken dish and this chicken in a creamy parmesan and sundried tomato sauce fits the bill perfectly coming together in less than 30 minutes. This recipe could not be easier, you simply cook the chicken in the pan and then make the sauce in the same pan! The sauce is pretty simple and yet packed with flavour from the sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan and it is made in a base of chicken broth and cream. This chicken in a creamy parmesan and sundried tomato sauce is great by itself or served over rice, quinoa, etc. or you could even slice the chicken up and toss it and the sauce into a pasta like fettuccine.

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Pumpkin and Chicken Tagine

I certainly have been enjoying pumpkin season and while they are here I squeezed in another recipe, this pumpkin and chicken tagine (a Moroccan style stew). One of the signatures of a tagine dish is all of the multitude of flavours that meld together perfectly and these flavours come from the use of many spices and other ingredients; but don't let the long list of ingredients daunt you, it's actually a really easy dish to make and well worth it! I was going for a Fall theme with stew so I added some apples to the pumpkin and they complement the pumpkin nicely without overpowering it. There are usually plenty of spices in a tagine and they vary from dish to dish and for this one I went with more of a pumpkin pie spice blend with cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Tagines also commonly include dried fruit such as raisins, apricots, etc and for this fall themed tagine I went with dried cranberries. The final touch of fall comes from the pomegranate garnish which accompanies the almonds, cilantro and yogurt. This pumpkin and chicken tagine truly does taste like a wonderful melody of fall in your mouth and it is perfect comfort food for these cooling days!

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Eggplant Parmesan Boats

With all of the stuffing that has been going on with the stuffed zucchini and stuffed spaghetti squash it was time that eggplant got stuffed and what better way to start than with stuffed eggplant parmesan! It seemed only natural to stuff eggplant with the flavours of a dish that eggplant is normally used in and this eggplant parmesan boat recipe, adapted from Skinny Taste, is super easy to make and packed with flavour. You pretty much just need to hollow out the eggplant, roast it, cook the sausage along with the eggplant that was scooped out before adding the marinara sauce, stuffing the eggplant, topping it with cheese and baking it until the cheese melts. Stuffing vegetables is always fun and this stuffed eggplant parmesan is a new favourite! I can't wait to see what else I can stuff eggplant with!

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Creamy Parmesan Tomato and Spinach Tortellini Soup

With the cooling fall weather I have been thinking about soups a lot more and I started this years soup season off with this comforting creamy parmesan tomato and spinach cheese tortellini soup. This tasty soup is super easy to make and it only takes about 30 minutes so it is perfect for busy weeknight meals! You basically just need to cook the onions and garlic, add the broth, tomatoes and tortellini and simmer until the tortellini is cooked before adding the spinach and parmesan cheese. (I like to add some fresh basil at the end but this is completely optional.) With the cheese tortellini this soup is hearty enough to eat as a meal and it is perfect for those chilly nights when you just want something quick, easy, tasty and comforting!

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20 Minute Light Sweet and Sour Chicken

One of my favourite Chinese takeout dishes has to be sweet and sour chicken or pork with juicy pieces of pineapple and crisp slices of bell pepper and it's super easy to make at home in under 20 minutes! As with a lot of my Chinese takeout recipes I like to omit the breading and deep frying and keep things nice and light with a quick and simple saute. This recipe is as easy to make as quickly cooking the chicken at a high temperature, adding the pineapple and bell pepper followed by the ingredients for the sauce and with a total cooking time of less than 10 minutes, this tasty dish is perfect for busy work nights!

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