Recipes for 1: Curried Broccoli Alfredo

I know what you are thinking. Italian and Indian foods don’t mix. Well, sorry to break it to you, dear readers, BUT…

YOU’RE HORRIBLY WRONG!

The following is a recipe adapted from an amazing meal a friend of mine made last weekend when I was in Prince George. If I can ever find all the ingredients to recreate that masterpiece I will post it too… until then, you can have the abridged version.

The only thing I don’t like about this recipe is that it uses three different pots/pans. I can’t think of a way to cut down on that… but other than that, enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 broccoli crown, separated into little florets
1/2 bottle alfredo sauce (I used Classico Original — their other flavors, ie roasted garlic, taste funny — but you can make your own if you’re creative.
2 loonie-sized bunches of fettuccine noodles
1/8 cup parmesan cheese (fresh is best, pre-grated is okay too though)
1 tsp butter/margarine
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

This makes enough for one meal and one lunch. If you like, you can always add a sliced chicken breast when cooking the broccoli, if you want some protein.

Instructions:

1. In a medium pot, bring water to a boil, begin to cook noodles.
2. In a second, small pot, begin to heat alfredo sauce
3. In a small pan, melt butter/margarine, add garlic, curry powder, and cayenne pepper.
4. Heat until fragrant, about a minute or two.
5. Add broccoli to pan and cook in spices. I tried not to add water because I didn’t want to “wash out” the spices but if you think you need some, try to boil the extra water off. You want the spices to be cooked IN the broccoli as much as possible, not floating in some kind of liquid.
6. When noodles are cooked, strain and separate into two bowls (one for leftovers! Or supper number two if you’re really hungry).
7. Pour heated alfredo sauce over noodles, put curried broccoli on top.
8. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese…

Rub your belly because it tastes so good!

Recipes for 1: Potato-Veggine Pancakes

I made this guy this afternoon. I was fairly pleased with how it turned out, but thought the “pancake” could use with a little more spice. I made the one here without the seasoning inside, I added the seasoning to my sour cream instead. You can use any kind of seasoning really, I just picked Club House Italiano, because that’s what I had in my cupboard.

Ingredients:

1 medium potato
1 medium parsnip
1 carrot
1 egg
1 tbsp flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp seasoning of choice (Italiano, for example, optional)
sour cream
2 tsp olive oil

1. Shred potato, parsnip, carrot (either on a grater or in a food processor)

2. In medium bowl, mix potato, parsnip, carrot, egg, flour, salt, baking powder and seasoning.

3. In a frying pan (large if you want a big, skinny pancake, small if you want a thicker one — that’s what I used), heat oil until very hot. Spread mixture onto skillet, flatten with spatula until even. Cook over medium until crisp, browned and set (about 8 minutes). Flip (either by using ninja spatula skills or by transferring onto a plate and back again to the pan) and cook for another 8 minutes.

4. Cut into quarters and serve with sour cream garnish. Enjoy!

 

A new series

So the blog fodder has been quickly stripped away ever since I moved down south … and ever since I started on Twitter.

So I’m starting up a new series called ‘Recipes for 1.’

Why?

Because my biggest challenge these days, it seems, is cooking food just for little old me. Up north, I had a cooking buddy, so we made many MANY of our meals together, then fought over the leftovers. I don’t have that anymore, and with more than 3 restaurants in town (a blessing AND a curse in Rankin) and too little time… I am wasting ALOT of my paycheque on takeout.

Granted, that takeout is more often than not amazingly delicious (last week it was a yellow Thai curry… droool!), but I’m trying to get better at making dinner at home — something I really do love to do, it’s just hard when I’m the only one to eat it.

So the first in the series will be a chowder I made tonight and just blew me away. I was never EVER a soup girl before. That is until my Northern Cooking Buddy introduced me to Jalapeno Soup. That’s when I learned it’s not soup I don’t care for… it’s CANNED and MIXED soup I don’t like.

And without further ado…

Corn and Bacon Chowder.

This, like hopefully all of the recipes in the series, will be for 4 servings or less. Just enough for a full meal and a couple days of leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 2 or 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 yellow pepper (or red pepper), seeded and chopped
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 cups whole corn kernels (I used frozen)
• 1/2 cup light (or regular) cream

1. Cook bacon in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp water, heat until crisp. Remove half and put aside (for topping).

2. Add onion, bell pepper, 2 tsp water to saucepan (with remaining 1/2 bacon). Saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add stock and potatoes, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in corn, simmer 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat.

3. Transfer 2 cups of soup to a food processor or blender, puree. Pour back into the saucepan. Stir in the cream, heat to serving temperature. Serve topped with bacon bits.