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mexican pasta shells

November 18, 2014 By Fareen Leave a Comment

In the last few weeks, Q has decided that Tuesdays are for tacos. Since they are quick and easy and loved by us all, we are happy to indulge his desire for Taco Tuesdays. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to put a spin on things – Mexican Pasta Shells. Inspired by K, my former co-worker, large pasta shells are filled with seasoned taco meat, covered in salsa and cheese. The baked dish is then topped with everything you would put in a taco.

I wasn’t sure what Q’s response would be. He is sometimes finicky with pasta, usually choosing other things over it. This dish, however, was a hit! I’m always thrilled anytime he goes back for seconds of anything.

There’s not really a recipe for this per se. I use taco seasoning when browning my meat. I stuffed the cooked shells with meat and layed them in a dish on top of salsa. I put more salsa on top and then covered it with cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is melted. In K’s recipe, the taco meat is mixed with cream cheese. Hubby is lactose intolerant though, so I held off on the cream cheese. His portion of shells were also not covered in cheese.

Once out of the oven, top with onions, tomatoes and avocado and serve with sour cream. An easy and filling dish that’s everyone’s favourite.

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: beef, cheese, mexican, pasta, taco, vegetables

my little foodie and his ultimate grilled cheese

November 6, 2014 By Fareen 5 Comments

I can’t believe my little guy is six today! It’s been amazing to watch
him grow. There have been so many times that I have wanted to press
pause, making time go a little slower. But here he is in grade one, a
little man.

He has grown to be kind, loving and the best big brother ever. He has
also grown into quite the foodie. For his birthday dinner today, it’s
no surprise that he wants to go to his favourite restaurant Kinjo for
sushi.

At a sleepover recently at his cousin’s house, they were discussing
dinner and his request was duck. His cousins looked at him in disbelief,
happy to be eating the pasta they were served.

He loves coming up with creations like his bedtime snack a couple weeks
ago – French bread with Boursin, studded with pistachios.

He does love a good grilled cheese. When I asked him what the ultimate
grilled cheese sandwich would be, this is what he came up with.

French bread enveloping Boursin, Brie and Mozzarella. It was a good
combination and our one trial sandwich was not enough to fill our
bellies.
The Brie and mozzarella made the sandwich ooey gooey and the Boursin added an extra level of flavour.

Happy Birthday Q! Love you to the moon and back, a million times!

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: celebrations, cheese, kids, sandwiches

thanksgiving desserts

October 10, 2014 By Fareen Leave a Comment

Happy Friday! The long weekend is here and it’s time to celebrate the Canadian Thanksgiving! No turkey feast is complete without the dessert. No matter how much turkey or stuffing one has had, there is always room for dessert. According to Q, dessert goes into a separate compartment. Below are some great recipes to round out your meal.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Apple Pie
Chocolate Cheesecake
Turtle Cheesecake
Chocolate Mousse Cake
Apple Pie with a Cheddar Crust

Save

Filed Under: foodmamma, thanksgiving Tagged With: cake, cheese, dessert, holidays

yyc pizza week and donair pizza

September 26, 2014 By Fareen Leave a Comment

Today marks the start of YYC Pizza Week! The team behind YYC Burger Week have partnered up with some great restaurants in the city to raise money for Calgary Meals on Wheels.  From September 26 to October 5th, 40 restaurants will compete in a pizza battle, with a portion of all sales going to Calgary Meals on Wheels. What a delicious idea!

There is also a Blogger Challenge which I am participating in along with 8 other local bloggers. We were given a list of three secret ingredients which we needed to incorporate in our pizza. You had an option to choose one or all three: chestnut puree, anchovies or fire roasted tomatoes.

I would love your votes for my Donair Pizza! The base of the pizza is a creamy white sauce loaded with garlic and sweetened with chestnut puree. This was topped with homemade donair meat, crisp onions, fire roasted tomatoes and loaded with cheese. My pizza is up against some tasty creations so your vote would be most appreciated. Thank you!!

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: cheese, events, pizza

apple pie with a cheddar crust…for pi day!

March 14, 2014 By Fareen 1 Comment

It’s Pi Day – giving me a great excuse to make a pie. I’ve had this on my list of things to make and what better day to make it.

Sugar and cinnamon tossed apples are baked within a cheesy, buttery crust. The sweet and savoury combo is definitely a win!

Apple Pie with a Cheddar Crust

Cheddar Crust
From Martha Stewart

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 sticks cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Pulse flour and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds.  Drizzle 1.4 cup water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture just begins to hold together (dough should not be wet or sticky). If dough is too dry, add more water, 1 TB at a time, and pulse. Add cheese; pulse until combined.

Shaped into 2 disks, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes or up to overnight.

Filling:

5 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced
2 TB lemon juice
1/2 brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Finish:

1 egg
2 TB water

Combine the apples with the lemon juice, sugar, flour and spices.

On a floured board, roll out pastry, using your pie plate as a guide.
Place the first circle in the pie plate and fill with filling. Top with
the second crust. Fold bottom pastry over the top and crimp the edges.
Using a pastry brush, brush the crust with the egg and water mixture and add some vents.

Bake at 375 F for about an hour, until the crust is nice and golden.

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: cheese, fruit, pie

lobster and prawn cannelloni

April 19, 2013 By Fareen 1 Comment

Hubby and I celebrated our seven year anniversary on Monday! I feel like I was just reminiscing the other day about our honeymoon and that flashback has already been a year! Time really does fly.

Although we went for sushi with our little guy on the weekend, I wanted to make hubby something special.  My cousin had been talking about lobster mac and cheese a few weeks ago and I had been thinking about it ever since. Lobster definitely had to be in the picture, I just changed the cheese and pasta – cannelloni!

I filled the tubes with a flavourful mixture of ricotta cheese, sweet lobster and meaty prawns. Instead of using a bechamel, I opted for an alfredo sauce which covered the filled pasta shells and baked them in some bubbly cheesy goodness.

The richness was cut by the addition of some fresh tomatoes. The perfect indulgent meal to celebrate!

Lobster and Prawn Cannelloni

10 cannelloni shells, cooked as per package

2 lobster tails, cooked and cut into chunks
10 large prawns, cooked and cut into pieces
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 parmesan cheese
bunch of basil, chopped
salt
pepper

1/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup parmesan cheese
pinch nutmeg

Cook the onion and garlic in a bit of oil until softened.  Combine with the cheese, seafood and basil. Stuff this mixture into the cannelloni and place in an oven safe dish.

For the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan.  Add cream and garlic and let simmer for a few minutes.  Add the cheese and a pinch of nutmeg and stir until the cheese has melted.

Pour the alfredo sauce over the filled cannelloni and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: celebrations, cheese, pasta, seafood, shrimp

cheese stuffed turkey meatballs

February 5, 2013 By Fareen Leave a Comment

In our house, we are cheese fanatics. Usually, any dish loaded with cheese is a hit. These cheese stuffed meatballs were no exception.

The turkey was packed with flavour with the addition of pesto and the ooey gooey bocconcini centre was a very pleasant surprise.  I used the Trestelle Bocconcini* which were the perfect size to wrap the flavourful meat around. (Please excuse Q’s fuzzy picture.)

The meatballs were cooked and tossed into our favourite marinara sauce. The boys ate theirs with pasta while I chose to eat my meatballs with a runny egg. So tasty!

Cheese Stuffed Turkey Meatballs

1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 TB minced garlic
1 TB pesto
1 egg
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
salt
pepper
12 bocconcini
marinara sauce

Combine the turkey with the cheese, crumbs, garlic, pesto egg and onions.  Divide the meat into 12 balls.  Form the meat around the bocconcini.  Pan fry until cooked.  Add some marinara sauce and enjoy with pasta (or an egg!).

*I did receive vouchers from Trestelle to try out their cheese.  Opinions are my own.

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: cheese, pasta

wordless wednesday: tomatoes from the garden

September 21, 2011 By Fareen Leave a Comment

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: cheese, vegetarian

beef bacon wrapped boursin filled prawns

April 19, 2011 By Fareen 4 Comments

Rob Rainford was on CityLine last week and he made these amazing looking stuffed prawns wrapped in bacon.    These looked like the perfect item for our upcoming appetizer party.  I made a few changes, using ingredients that I had in the house.  Trying to stop the cheese from oozing out while wrapping the prawn with the bacon took some effort.  After making only 8, I decided that these may be more work than they were worth.  I was wrong!  These tasty bites were so amazingly delish, I wish I had made more.  The creamy garlic from the cheese, the sweetness from the soy, the grease from the bacon – they just made us wanting more.

Beef Bacon Wrapped Boursin Filled Prawns
(Adapted from Rob Rainford’s Stuff Jumbo Prawns with Goat Cheese Wrapped in Bacon)

8 jumbo prawns, peeled and deveined
8 tsp boursin cheese
4 strips beef bacon (or any bacon you wish to use)
4 TB sweet soy sauce

Butterfly each prawn and fill with boursin cheese.  Take half a strip of bacon and wrap around the prawn, holding it together with tooth picks.  BBQ until prawns turn pink, basting with the sweet soy sauce on both sides.  Gently remove the tooth picks before serving.

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: bacon, cheese, shrimp

celebrating eid – tomato and bocconcini salad

September 11, 2010 By Fareen Leave a Comment

Today is Eid, a festival which marks the end of Ramadan and a month of fasting.  On this joyful day, people celebrate by going to mosque and sharing a feast with friends and family.  This year’s dinner consisted of a fabulous meal made by my mother-in-law which consisted of biryani (a rice and meat dish), and freshly fried samosa. 

My contribution to the meal was a Tomato and Bocconcini salad made into an appetizer by placing the cherry tomato and cheese on a toothpick.  This is one of my favorite salads – the combination of the lemon, garlic and basil adds so much flavour to the otherwise flat-tasting cheese.

This is a ridiculously easy to make salad and a great way to use up those summer tomatoes.  Its packed with so much flavour, and is a hit everytime it is served.

Tomato and Bocconcini Salad

200 grams mini bocconcini
1 pint cherry tomatoes
zest and juice of one lemon
2 garlic cloves, minced
basil bunch, chopped
2 TB parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
salt
pepper

Combine lemon, garlic, basil, parmesan, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Add cheese and tomatoes and toss.

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: cheese, salad

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Hello!

My name is Fareen and I'm so happy you stopped by! This blog is about my favourite things - family, food and travel. Here you will find adventures with hubby, my two boys and my great big family. There is food (lots of food!), as much travel as we can squeeze in and just life in general.

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