Delish wonton soup

I know I have been really bad; blogging has been hard since I started this new MBA class. IT isn’t too hard, but it is the driest thing I’ve ever been reading and doing. And Oh! So time consuming. I also decided to focus on my husband for the holidays, he is so supportive that every minutes I had free (I worked through the Christmas break) I made sure he was cared by a very nice wife.



Anyhow, winter is the soup season and I am a huge fan of wonton soup. I like to add veggies to it and I like the soft broth.

Easy Wonton soup

- 1 package of wonton wrappers
- 1 package of grounded pork
- ½ cup of finely chopped shrimps
- 1 cup finely chopped Asian cabbage
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1 cup of minced green onions
- Salt and pepper
- 1 egg
- A little bit of milk
- Chicken broth

Put all the ingredients (but the wonton wrappers) in a bowl and mix. Lay the wrapper on the countertop and put a teaspoon full of the meat mixture in the middle of the wrapper. Lightly brush milk on the wrappers to make it sticky. Form the wonton.




When fresh, cook for 15-20 minutes in a boiling pot of chicken broth. You can also freeze the wonton and use them in other recipes. When I do soup from frozen, I boil them for 20-25 minutes.



To serve, add finely chopped Asian cabbage, green onion and bean sprouts to taste.

Cream of carrots and parsnips

Did I ever write how much I love soup? Well, I do. I like all kinds of soups, but I have a preference for the creamy type (Aside of French onion of course!). Since Calgary is getting really cold, I like to make hearty and yummy soup. Here is a simple and delicious one.



Cream of carrots and parsnip
8 to 10 carrots, peeled & sliced
2 to 4 parsnips, peeled & sliced
3 to 5 potatoes, peeled & cubed
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. onion, chopped coarsely
6 c. chicken broth
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
1 c. cream (can use milk)
1/4 tsp. Tabasco
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. sugar
Salt & pepper

Heat butter in soup pot. Add onion. Cook and stir. Add carrots, parsnips, potatoes and broth. Boil. Add thyme and bay leaf. Simmer 30 to 40 minutes. Put through processor or blender. Add remaining ingredients.



Delicious, wintery, simple

Woot! I received my package!!

I feel terrible, I've been lazy on the blog. I just finished my first MBA class and work has just been crazier than usual.

Arghhh, these pictures don’t do justice to the delicious package I have received from Felice in the Kitchen.



I have joined a group and my first experience was fantastic! It is called the Foodie-exchange and there are members from all over the planet! It’s very simple, you create a package of food from where you are, about $10. You tell the group what you have to offer and TADAM! A couple of days or weeks later (1 exchange per month) you get a package from somewhere in the world and someone gets to eat your stuff.

For my first exchange, I had requested HOT stuff as my husband really loves the heat! Well, we were pleased! Chilli pepper (look so hot through the package), Taco mix (Yum!), oregano (I am so happy of this, Oregano is far from cheap in Alberta!) and a delicious red chilli jelly (I was doubtful of this to start but I tried a spoon and I swooned!).



Anyhow, I will most certainly do another exchange as I loved the concept!

Butternut squash, garlic and onion puree

I love winter and its incredible variety and availability of squash! Recently, I have been eating butternut squash. I like it roasted steamed but I prefer my puree recipe. For the squash, onion and garlic lovers, I am sure you will thank Me.!



Butternut squash, garlic and onion puree

- 1 butternut squash
- 1 yellow onion
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- A dash of olive oil



Cut the butternut squash in cubes. Boil the squash until a fork can go through it easily. While the squash is boiling, thinly slice the onion and the garlic. Heat a pan and in the olive oil, lightly brown the onions and garlic. Completely drain the squash. Grossly mash the squash without adding any liquid. Add the butter, browned onion and garlic. Salt and pepper to taste and yum!

Snickerdoodles

So, I wanted to make snickerdoodles, I found this recipe online and if I hadn’t been stupid, they would have been great. I mixed up some ingredient (misread) and they stayed in the shape of a ball and were dryer but still tasted decent. I am going to have to give it a second try.



Snickerdoodles

2¾ cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and put in refrigerator to chill.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

4. Gradually stir in the flour mixture, beating on low speed just until the flour is blended.

5. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.

6. In the meantime, mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

7. Scoop 1-inch balls of dough and roll in the cinnamon and sugar mixture to coat.

8. Place on chilled cookie sheet about 2 inches apart and bake for 10 minutes.

9. Chill the dough and cookie sheets between batches.

10. Let cookies set on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack. Store cookies in an airtight container.

red velvet and chocolate cupcakes.

So…Hawaii was fantastic – Hence the lack of posts.

I made these sometime this summer and had not got around posting them. We had a garden party with the regiment my husband belong to and I was tasked to bring cupcakes (because every time the girls meet, I am requested to bake something)




Everything is made from scratch aside of the icing that is Betty Crocker!

Red Velvet cupcakes



I• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa (powdered)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup of butter at room temperature
• 5 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon red food coloring

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl. Sift dry ingredients three times. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, making sure to beat well after each egg. Add 1/4 of dry ingredients to creamed mixture then approximately 1/4 of buttermilk alternating until mixed well. Mix in vanilla and food coloring.
Fill lined cupcake pans 1/2 full of red velvet batter. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool cupcakes in pans for 5 to 10 minutes then remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

Chocolate cupcakes



• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Cabbage rolls

If something remembers me of my parent’s home, it is cabbage rolls. My mum does the best and she gave me her recipe years ago. I love mines, but they are nothing compares to my mother… I remember going to visit them and she would ask for what I wanted to eat and invariably, I would ask for cabbage rolls even in the midst of summer! I would have dinner and then, in the middle of the evening, get some more. I would literally eat like a pig.

So today, when I saw that the snow was not going to stop, I felt like a home dinner. Something wintery, something that brings good feelings; I made my mum cabbage rolls.



Cabbage rolls

- 1 pounds of lean ground beef
- ½ cup of rice (I used brown rice)
- Salt and pepper
- Onion powder to taste
- 1 egg
- 1 table spoon of milk
- 1 big cabbage
- 1 big can of tomatoes juice
- 1 can of tomatoes sauce
- 1 can of tomato paste

Pre-heat the oven at 350 degrees. In a large bowl, put the beef, rice, egg, milk salt and pepper and onion powder and mix thoroughly (I use my hands, like kneading bread, it mixes everything evenly). In another bowl, mix the tomatoes juice, sauce and paste until smooth. Put the cabbage in a large pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Carefully remove one cabbage leaf at the time and put aside. Once all the leaves are out, it’s time to get rolling!



Put a spoon or two of the meat mixture in each leaves and roll. Put in a large cover dish. Once all the rolls are in, pour the tomatoes mixture over it, cover and cook for 3 to 4 hours. Check through the coking to ensure there are still liquid, if there isn’t, add tomatoes juice.

It’s delicious with mashed potatoes and sliced beets on the side!