Date Night // Homemade Poutine Recipe

Written with love, by Sarah-Elizabeth Stone

I find that during the summer my spending goes way up, as well as my inability to talk myself out of the pub, bar, restaurant, sandwich place, hot dog stand, or just about any location that serves food outdoors. Perhaps it’s my ‘Canadian responsibility’ to take in every single moment of summer. We get a few fleeting months of warmer temperatures; I should be spending my time in the great outdoors at my local patio. Alas, as with all over indulgence, the guilt eventually sets in. Somewhere around early to mid-August I stare at my bank account and my pant size and wonder why the two have reversed themselves.

While I’m not quite ready to give up my summer indulgences, there are ways I can help my situation. I have a backyard, and I have the capability to sit in it with a cold (cheaper) beer of my own and a healthier (cheaper) meal I’ve created. This meal is a tad bit of a cheat, however just think to yourself – you know where the ingredients come from, and you’ve spent about half the dollar value in making this meal. Oh, and speaking of ‘Canadian responsibilities’ – I give you our go to cheat meal; the poutine!

Poutine Ingredients

·         4-6 sliced up potatoes

·         1-2 cups of olive oil (or cooking oil)

·         Bacon (3-5 slices)

·         2 stalks of Green onion

·         4 cups of cheese curds

Gravy/Sauce Ingredients

·         2 cups of beef stock

·         ¼ stick of butter

·         ¼ teaspoon of paprika

·         ¼ teaspoon of basil

·         Pinch of salt

·         2 tablespoons of flour

Directions

1.       Depending on how your planning on cooking the potatoes, start by preheating the oven to 350F or in a large skillet heat 1-2 cups (depending on size) of olive oil

2.       Slice up potatoes into wedge shapes, and lightly salt

3.       Cook potatoes on medium-high heat on stove top for 15 minutes (or until golden brown), or for 20-30 minutes in the oven

4.       While the potatoes are cooking, begin your sauce by adding two cups of beef stock, and butter into a pot, keep on low-medium heat while mixing

5.       At this point you can begin to fry your bacon or any other protein you want in the poutine

6.       Next add in your spices into the sauce and bring to a boil and whisk well

7.       When your potatoes are done, let them rest on a paper towel for 1-3 minutes for the excess grease to come off

8.       Next bring your sauce back down to low heat and add in two tablespoons of flour, the sauce should get thick

9.       In a bowl place your potato wedges, then some cheese and bacon , pour on gravy and lastly add green onions on top

10.   Serve!

Date Night // Broccoli, Herb, and Cheese Souffle Recipe

Written with love, by Sarah-Elizabeth Stone

Have you ever tried to read a foreign language with little background to go on? That is the definition of making a soufflé for the first time.  Besides learning new words that define an entirely new set of actions, let’s throw in proper timing, separating eggs, and the risk of complete failure when the whole thing collapses in on itself, literally. Who has ever has heard of folding stiff egg whites, raise your hand.

After several phone calls to parents, and many Youtube videos (I may have also looked up the definition of stiff peaks on Urban Dictionary), it’s actually not an impossible feat. In fact, once you stop yelling at your mixer, you’re well on your way to the perfect soufflé! It may be a challenge the first time around, at least it was for me, but I promise the outcome of this healthy and delicious meal will be sure to impress your partner, just leave out the part where you stared into the oven for 15 consecutive minutes waiting for it to rise.

Ingredients (Souffle)

• 2 cups of broccoli

• 1 green onion (chopped)

• 8 eggs

• 8tbs of grated cheese

• ¼ tsp of paprika

• ¼ tsp of basil

• ¼ tsp of rosemary

• Salt and pepper

Ingredients: Side Asparagus Wrap

• Asparagus (3 per bunch)

• Swiss Cheese (2 slices per bunch)

• Prosciutto (1 slice per bunch)

Directions (Main)

1. Preheat oven to 400F

2. Separate the egg whites, and egg yolks into separate bowls

3. Mix 2 cups of lightly steamed broccoli and 8 egg yolks in a blender until finely chopped

4. Pour into bowl and add paprika, basil and rosemary

5. Beat egg whites until they become stiff peaks (Definition: when the whites become light and fluffy, you should be able to turn your beaters upside down and have the whites stand on their own). In my experience it takes 2-5 minutes

6. Pour egg whites over top of your yolk and broccoli mixture

7. Fold (Definition: literally cut the whites in half and fold onto the bottom layer) everything together until it creates a light green mixture

8. Scoop and put into butter lined ramekins, filled roughly ¾ full to allow for rising

9. Bake for 15 minutes and do NOT open the oven door until then

Directions (Side)

1. Lightly steam asparagus

2. Wrap a group of three with a piece of prosciutto and tuck a slice of cheese in the middle

3. Bake for 5 minutes and then add a small slice of cheese on top

4. Back in the oven for another 5-7 minutes, then serve

Date Night // Vegetarian Frittata Recipe

Written with love, by Sarah-Elizabeth Stone

Once in a while, date night is traded for girl’s night. Those thrilling occasions where we let go of our comfortable routines, pour a few glasses of wine and have a great evening. Our fabulous fiancés and partners are banished to another section of the home, and left to fend for themselves.  These are the special occasions where we all get into the kitchen and decide a wine infused late night treat might be in order.  Something simple, yet delicious. A meal that’s easy to cook and you won’t regret it in the morning (unlike that last glass of wine).

Whether you’ve traded the date night for your girlfriends, or want to make a quick and fun meal, frittatas are your fantastic go-to dish!

Ingredients

·         ½ fresh mint leaf

·         1 tsp of basil

·         1 tsp of parsley

·         1 spring of rosemary

·         2 cloves of garlic

·         1 tsp of oregano

·         1 small onion, chopped

·         8-10 eggs

·         ¼ cup of ricotta cheese

·         ¼ cup of chopped asparagus

Directions

1.       Chop up herbs, mushrooms, garlic, onion, asparagus and any other fresh veggies/meat you’d like to add

2.       In a large mixing bowl, whisk  8-10 eggs, depending on the size of your frittata

3.       Mix chopped ingredients into the whisked eggs, stir well

4.       On medium heat, in a large frying pan, cook for roughly 6-8 minutes per side. Make sure to really grease the pan, whether using Pam or butter

A note on flipping your frittata; wait until the top is no longer liquid before flipping onto a dinner plate, then flipping back onto the frying pan.