Tuna Melts

            One of my favourite childhood meals was tuna melts.  The egg and tuna combination to me is just perfect. Since the husband doesn't like tuna, I often make tuna melts when I'm flying solo for dinner. This recipe is for 1, but could easily be quadrupled. I didn't take a photo because I was too busy eating :) 


Ingredients:
1 can tuna, drained
1 hard-boiled egg, peeled, rinsed & chopped
1 1/2 tbsp mayo
1/2 tsp mustard
1/8 cup diced celery
dash of dill, celery salt & pepper
grated marble cheese
kaiser roll


Directions:
Combine all ingredients well. Stuff 1 large or 2 regular kaiser rolls with filling, and wrap well in tinfoil. Bake in preheated oven at 350F for 15-20 minutes. 

Rhubarb Crumble Muffins

i love spring, and I love all of the new fruits & vegetables that come along with it. I recently discovered a daily (yes, daily!) farmer's market in Woodstock (just outside of Home Hardware for those of you in the area) and I have started to frequent it. Today they had a bunch of rhubarb for just $1, so I grabbed some, figuring that I'd know what to do with it later.

I found this recipe for Rhubarb muffins on AllRecipes, and I adapted it slightly to make it healthier. I used my regular crumb topping recipe. Halfway through the baking time, I realized I accidentally forgot the vanilla extract - but they still turned out really, really well. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups diced rhubarb
• 
  
• Crumb topping:
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 18 muffin pans or line with paper cups.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the brown sugar, oil, egg, vanilla and buttermilk with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour in the dry ingredients and mix by hand just until blended. Stir in the rhubarb. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, filling almost to the top. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining flour, oats, melted butter, white sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of this mixture on top of each muffin.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly pressed, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pans for at least 10 minutes before removing.

Leek & Potato Soup

          I absolutely love soup. I feel like its one of the most versatile meals on the planet - there are probably hundreds, if not thousands of types of soup. So when I picked leek as my new vegetable to try, I knew that I could use it for leek & potato soup. 

           This soup is incredibly simple with its ingredient list & it can be made in less than an hour. Its satisfying enough to have as a complete meal if you have some fresh veggies or bread on the side. Enjoy!

Ingredients

       6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

       4-5  cups chicken broth

       1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

       3 leeks, cleaned & sliced

       1 cup half & half cream

       salt & pepper to taste

      

       Directions

            1. In a large saucepan or stockpot, bring potatoes and chicken broth to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, reserving 3 tablespoons of grease and set aside. Sautee the leeks in the frying pan with the reserved bacon grease 8 to 10 minutes. (if you choose not to use bacon, saute leeks in 1/4 cup butter instead)

          2. When the potatoes are tender, stir in the fried leeks, cream and bacon. Stir to blend and remove from heat.
          3. Blend 1/2 of the soup mixture in a food processor for about 30 seconds. Add to remaining soup mixture, stir well & serve immediately.

Maple-Glazed Salmon Filets

So I realize that I have absolutely slacked lately at blogging anything, and I'm not sure that its about to get better anytime soon! I'm still cooking quite a bit, but I haven't tried any new recipes - just the tried & true. The lasagne from this site I made on the weekend, and it was amazing as usual. I've also made some lemon loaf and black bean & rice cakes, but other than that, its been way too low-key to write about!
Tonight for dinner I made maple-glazed salmon, but alas, I forgot to photograph it. I was too hungry! Nonetheless, it was excellent - here is the recipe!


Ingredients:
4 salmon fillets 
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 tsp minced fresh garlic


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease a baking pan.
2. In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, maple syrup, ginger & garlic. 
3. Arrange filets on baking pan, and brush with glaze.
4. Bake for about 14-18 minutes. Serve with rice & steamed broccoli.

I have been so neglectful...

Hi everyone!
      I know that I have absolutely neglected this blog the past few weeks, so my apologies! I have been busy starting my new career as a real estate sales representative with Sutton Group Right Way in Woodstock. So far its been quite busy but I am loving every minute of it! I promise to get back to blogging soon, I just haven't been cooking nearly as much as usual. I also went to Chicago with my lovely husband last week, so I haven't needed to! Of course, I took photographs of the food we were eating, as we had some great meals (with HUGE portions!) while we were there. I shall post those soon too. In the meantime, happy eating!