Hibernating

We had quite the pile of snow deposited on our fair city yesterday.  It's definitely a winter wonderland!  Trevor couldn't even get the car in the driveway by the time he got home from work last night, fortunately Cameron and I came home a couple of hours earlier so we were able to make it up to the garage.  Unfortunately, we don't get to enjoy the new snow because of the bitter cold temperatures.  -16C is way too cold for playing outside. 

While hibernating inside, I like to cook!  Knowing that we would probably be snowed in this weekend made me start thinking of comfort foods that I associate with winter.  Baked beans came to mind (even though I'm not really a fan, I enjoy them once in a while).  I soaked some beans overnight and mixed up a sauce of some sort to cook them in the slow cooker all day. 

I felt like trying something new for lunch too, so I grabbed one of my favourite cookbooks for comfort food, Pioneer Woman Cooks.  I love her blog and recipes:

For lunch, I decided to try my hand at a new baked mac-n-cheese recipe:

I made a few modifications to the recipe, replacing whole milk with 1% and using a combination of havarti cheese and marbled cheddar (since that's what I had on hand).  I also used penne instead of elbow macaroni.  I served it with a salad and it was quite good.

 

That sums up lunch, now back to the beans!  I'm happy to report that this batch softened and was absolutely perfect.  (The last time I made baked beans, they were tough.)  I used a combination of about 3 recipes and suggestions from several people. 

Slow-cooker Baked Beans

2 pounds white pea beans
chopped onion
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup maple syrup
1 1/3 cup water (more added during cooking)
2/3 cup ketchup
2T + 2tsp prepared mustard
1/3 cup molasses
2 tsp smoked paprika (adds flavour in place of meat)
peeled potato (placed in beans during cooking, removed before serving)

1. Soak beans over night in cold water
2. Change water and parboil for 10 minutes
3. Mix ingredients for sauce
4. Drain beans, add to slow cooker, stir in sauce
5. Add potato, this is supposed to absorb the "gassy producing irritants" in the beans
6. Cook on high (took about 6 hours in my slow cooker and I let them cook an extra 2 hours after that); check every 2-3 hours to see if more water is needed (I added water at the halfway point)
7. Beans are done when tender; remove potato before serving.

I love the flavour of these beans!!  I'm glad there are lots of leftovers for the freezer.  I also made a potato/parsnip/carrot scallop to serve with the beans.

My week of "detox" has been going well.  Lots of healthy foods after several days of decadence while we were away.  I find that a few days without meat also helps me start to feel back to normal.  It also feels good to get back to normal workouts after the easier workouts during vacation.

I don't have a picture, but earlier this week I attempted to replicate a portobello mushroom burger that I had in a restaurant while we were away (one of the few healthy meals I had!).  It was sooooo good!  I think my version came out just as yummy as the restaurant's and I definitely want to remember what I did:

Portobello Mushroom Burgers

large hamburger buns
portobello mushrooms
provolone cheese
fresh spinach
onion
red pepper
sweet, mild BBQ sauce

1. Slice onions and red pepper, grill until soft, add spinach and allow to wilt.
2. Grill the mushrooms on each side and add a touch of BBQ sauce.  When both sides have been grilled, add a slice of provolone cheese to the top and allow to melt.
3. Grill the buns so they are nice and crispy.  Assemble into burgers.

I served the burgers with roasted potatoes and chickpeas.

Now, off to read some more cookbooks/recipes and decide what to cook tomorrow!  I'm sure soup will be involved and Cameron has requested pizza.   Works for me!