the simple five : chocolate toffee crunch

Every year, I seem to miscalculate how much chocolate I should purchase for Easter.  My eyes are larger than my stomach (and wallet), and with other chocolates collected from the Easter Bunny, family and friends, our house can rival Willy Wonka.  I'm not complaining though.  It just gives me a reason to consume use up whatever is in the house.

Here's a quick way to use up some of that overabundance of chocolate.  This recipe is a variation of the "crunch" bars found on the back of those "Baker's chocolate" packages, using ingredients I already have in my cupboards...including all the sweetness left behind by the Easter Bunny.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Toffee Crunch

(makes approximately 12 small servings)

Ingredients

• 35  whole wheat saltine crackers
• ½ cup  butter
• ½  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1 cup of chocolate, chopped in small pieces.  (I used 3/4 cup milk chocolate left over from Easter and ¼ cup white chocolate...you can use chocolate chips).
• 1 cup of a variety of the "crunchy topping".  (You can use crushed candy, nuts or even dried fruit. I used ¼  cup finely chopped toffee bits like Hershey's Skor Chipits, found in the baking section and 3/4  cup unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped).

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
• Place the crackers in single layer on a parchment covered baking sheet.
• Heat butter and sugar in saucepan on medium-high heat until butter is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring occasionally. 
• Bring to boil; cook 2 min. (Do not stir.) 
• Spread onto crackers.
• Bake for approximately 7 min. or until topping is golden brown. 
• Immediately sprinkle with the chocolate chips; let stand 5 min. or until melted.  
• Using a spatula, spread the melted chocolate chips evenly over the crackers.  
• Top with the white chocolate chips, and swirl onto into the chocolate to make a marble design.
• While the chocolate is still soft, top with the crunchy stuff...toffee pieces and or peanuts.
• Cool, then break into pieces.

the simple five: anchovy infused orecchiette with broccoli

Orecchiette is a uniquely disc shaped pasta that originates from Southern Italy.  Once cooked, this pasta creates little "bowls", making it ideal for light sauces, as most of the flavour is retained within the hollows of the pasta.

This recipe is an easy adaptation a traditional Italian dish, but as usual, uses only five ingredients (and easy to find ingredients).  Tuna would work well with this dish, but I chose anchovies to add flavourful depth, as the saltiness of the anchovies are balanced out with the broccoli. Anchovies are an acquired taste, but if you like food that with has a salty "bite" in flavour, this is your dish.

Enjoy!

Anchovy Infused Orecchiette with Broccoli 

(makes approximately 4-8 servings)

Ingredients

• 450g box of orecchiette pasta
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 6 anchovy fillets in oil, chopped (reserve 1 tbsp oil)
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ¼ tbsp (about ½ of a lemon, juiced)
• 1 small broccoli, cut into florets

Preparation

• Cook the orecchiette according to the package. 
• Mince/chop the anchovy.  Set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat 3 tbsp of the olive oil and 1 tbsp of the oil from the anchovies in saute pan/pot. 
• Add the garlic until the garlic is slightly golden. 
• Add the anchovies and lemon juice, and cook for 1-2 mins more until the anchovies "dissolve" and become part of the sauce.
• Toss with the pasta.
• Add the broccoli and toss with the pasta until the broccoli is bright green.
• Season with salt, pepper or parmesan (if desired), and serve.

the simple five: easy guacamole

Since Super Bowl is this weekend, many people are preparing "game day" foods (staples such as nachos, chips, chilli...basically anything comforting).  While some of those foods aren't exactly the most healthy, here's an easy and delicious way to add some nutrients to your game day menu.

Enjoy!

5 Ingredient Easy Guacamole

(Makes about 3 to 4 cups)

While storing in the refrigerator, a trick to prevent the guacamole from turning brown is to place a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the mixture.

Ingredients

• 5 ripe avocados
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped red onion
• 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped.
• ½ teaspoon salt

Preparation

• Cut avocados in half, remove seed and and scoop into a bowl.
• With a fork, mash the avocado, leaving it slightly chunky in texture (if desired).
• Stir in the juice, garlic, salt and red onion.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve with tortilla chips (or as a condiment for game day foods like chilli, nachos or burgers).

the simple five: roasted garlic cauliflower

I've read somewhere in those food magazines that cauliflower is the "new vegetable of the year".  Not sure why it's considered "new", since it's been available at grocery stores longer than kale has.  No matter the reason, I'm embracing this new "trend", using this wonderfully dense vegetable as a great side dish instead of potatoes.  It's quite filling, very nutritious, and easy to make.

What I also like about this dish, besides that it only uses five ingredients, is the fact that you can use the leftovers for soup. I've added this to potato and cheese, or broccoli and cheese soup with wonderful results (can you tell I like cheese in my soups!).

Enjoy!

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

(makes approximately 6 servings)

Ingredients

• 1 large head of cauliflower
• 3 tsp dried thyme (or about 4 sprigs of thyme, if you're using fresh)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼  cup of Parmesan cheese

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 425°. 
• Cut 1 head cauliflower into florets; 
• Toss on a large rimmed baking sheet (I used my cast iron skillet) with olive oil, thyme, and garlic cloves.
• Roast, tossing occasionally, until almost tender, about 20 minutes. 
• Remove from the oven and sprinkle the grated parmesan on top of the cauliflower.  Put back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes.