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Olive and Mozzarella Breadsticks

Am I the only one who was slightly surprised when The Descendants won best drama in The Golden Globes the other night? Am I also the only one who was very underwhelmed by the gowns worn? What about Ricky Gervais, I wanted to see more of him! Am I alone here, people?

Before we get into the recipe for Olive and Mozzarella Breadsticks, let’s talk about what I did love from The Golden Globes. I loved Martin Scorsese’s win for Hugo. Have you seen this movie? Not only is it a visual masterpiece but it’s a tribute to Georges Melies and the beginnings of film. Having studied Melies and his films throughout my studies meant that I enjoyed this movie that much more – seeing the the history was brought to life. I highly recommend it for everyone, especially families – I feel like children would find it fascinating as well.

Alright, so you now that I have convinced you to see Hugo it’s time to talk about food. I think that breadsticks are a great appetizer for any event whether it be a dinner party, Oscar party or Superbowl party. These breadsticks are different from your typical Parmesan ones; the tang and saltiness from the olives pairs perfectly with the melted velvety mozzarella. These really hit it out of the park and are so easy using frozen puff pastry – I can’t wait to make them again.

Olive and Mozzarella Breadsticks (makes 24)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

2 sheets of frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg + 1 tsp water
1/2 cup chopped stuffed green olives
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the puff pastry and brush with egg wash.

Leaving a 1/2 inch border, sprinkle the puff pastry with green olives, cheese and black pepper.

Brush egg wash on the second sheet of puff pastry. Place the second sheet of puff pastry on top of the first sheet. Pressing around the edges to adhere the sheet.

Using a knife or a pizza cutter cut the sheets into 24 thin strips. Picking up by each end, twist the breadsticks and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Be sure to press down the ends of the dough onto the cookie sheet so that the breadsticks keep their shape.

Repeat with remaining dough and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Who’s ready for the Oscar nominations to be announced? I know I am! Check back next week for my third Oscar Party recipe – we’re getting close.

- Lou

Crustless Quiche

Can you believe that it’s been a month since my last Secret Recipe Club post? Wow. Time sure flies! I was on the hunt for something festive for December’s reveal, and I realized that I didn’t want to go for cookies or something sweet. Why? Well because brunch is one of my favourite meals. There is nothing better than a nice, slow and relaxing morning ending with a comforting brunch. Quiche just screams brunch to me, and this quiche is not your traditional quiche. For starters, it’s crustless, AKA it takes about 30 minutes to make. It’s also packed with healthy vegetables such as broccoli and instead of regular potatoes I decided to opt for sweet potatoes.

You may be wondering where I got my inspiration for this crustless quiche? This month I was assigned to The Tasty Cheapskate which is run by the lovely Jean who makes frugal, albeit simple and delicious meals. I was so pumped when I got my assignment for December because her blog is packed with recipes. I had so many to choose from and I’ve already made a couple like her Chocolate Gingerbread which was so decadent and perfect for the holidays! I love that she makes healthy, wholesome recipes with some sweet indulgences on the side, she also tells you how much each recipe costs to make. For a college student like me, her blog is right up my alley!

Crustless Quiche (serves 4)
Recipe inspired by The Tasty Cheapskate

Ingredients

4 slices of bacon
1/2 cup diced sweet potato
1/2 cup chopped broccoli florets
1/2 onion, shredded
6 eggs
3 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook bacon in a pan, remove from pan (leaving fat) and crumble with hands.

If needed add olive oil to coat the pan. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for 5-7 minutes over medium heat. Add in the broccoli and cook for another 5 minutes. Add in onion, and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk eggs, milk, salt, pepper, chili flakes and cheddar cheese. Add in the cooked vegetables and pour into a 9-inch quiche dish.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until fully cooked and eggs have set.

I hope you enjoy this month’s SRC post! Happy holidays.

- Lou

Cranberry Stuffed Mushrooms

Relaxed, inspired and energized; that’s how I’m feeling these days. I’m finally getting out of my school induced rut. Exams finished on Friday, and having finished exams at least a week before most of my friends means that the city is deserted. I finally have all the time in the world to watch all of the John Lennon and Paul McCartney videos I can find on YouTube, catch up on reading (I’m reading One Day by David Nicholls) and be a total food nerd and spend hours in the kitchen creating recipes.

Over the last month or so I’ve really been lacking in inspiration. I can’t even tell you the number of times I would go into the kitchen and stare into the cupboards and the fridge only to leave the room empty handed. You could say I was in a food rut. And a blogging rut. And a life rut. I think my brain and my body were a little exhausted.

The holiday season has always been my favourite time of the year. It’s just so inspiring, especially with all of these Christmas flavors like cranberries, tangerines and peppermint, to name a few. These Cranberry Stuffed Mushrooms came in a moment of inspiration, something which I have not felt for a while now. There was also a 2 for $5 sale on bags of cranberries at the grocery store, which may have helped. Whatever the reason, these Cranberry Stuffed Mushrooms were born. And are they ever special. With flavors of the season, rich and decadent goats cheese and crumbled sausage, they are the perfect holiday appetizer.

Cranberry Stuffed Mushrooms (makes 12)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

12 button mushrooms, stems removed
1/4 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
1 tbsp butter
Olive oil for pan
1 medium sausage link
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp white wine
1/4 cup goats cheese
1/4 tsp dried sage
3/4 tsp maple syrup
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp Parmesan

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Dice 6 of the mushroom stems, discarding the remaining 6.

In a pan, melt butter over med-low heat. Add cranberries and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the mushroom stems and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool in bowl.

In the same pan, turn up the heat to med-high and add a little olive oil to coat the pan. Next, add the garlic and sausage meat. Cook and crumble until sausage is fully cooked.

Leaving the sausage meat in the pan, add the white wine, scraping up all the brown bits on the bottom.

Turn off heat and add the cranberry and mushroom mixture back into the pan. Add in the goats cheese, sage and maple syrup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow goats cheese to melt then stir together to combine all of the ingredients.

Spoon the mixture into the mushrooms and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

After the 15 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan. Return to oven and bake for another 5-7 minutes.

These cranberry stuffed mushrooms hold the perfect balance of tang, sweetness and richness. I think they make a wonderful and sophisticated appetizer for your holiday spread this December.

- Lou

Mexican Rice

One of my favourite things about being a food blogger are all of the opportunities we have to be creative. As a food blogger, I have the opportunity to create, create and create. Whether it’s through creating a new recipe, or adapting one to suit my tastes, writing posts or staging and photographing my dish in the perfect light with the perfect exposure, running a food blog is a highly creative process. I think that running any blog for that matter is extremely creative.

I was lucky this month when I was assigned Making Memories… as my blog for The Secret Recipe Club. First of all, I have to point out that her URL is “makingmemorieswithyourkids”, um hello fun mom! I have to say, after falling head over heels with her url, looking through Erin’s blog gives every creative person exactly what they crave – inspiration. Her creative ideas and activities she does with her two adorable children just make me smile. Especially in a time when lots of kids are spending so much time on computers, TVs and video games, it’s nice to see someone who is inspiring and shaping their creative minds. And of course, there are recipes – we cannot forget the recipes! So many recipes for yummy treats and sweets. Cinnamon Roll Pancakes anyone?

I love Mexican food so when I stumbled upon her recipe for Taco Rice and Beans, I decided to put my creative mind to use and put a bit of a Living Lou spin on Erin’s delicious sounding recipe. I knew that our posting date was a Monday so I Meatless Monday-fied this recipe, it’s now a hearty and filling vegetarian meal.

Mexican Rice
Adapted from: Making Memories…

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 green pepper, diced
2 tbsp taco seasoning
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp Sriracha (Hot chili sauce) or any favourite hot sauce such as Franks
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups water
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1 bayleaf
1/2 19oz can black beans

Directions

In a pan, heat olive oil and saute onion for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or until fragrant. Add in the diced green peppers, taco seasoning and cumin and cook for another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the tomato paste with the sriracha or hot sauce.

Once green peppers have started to soften, stir in the tomato paste/sriracha or hot sauce mixture into the pan. Add the rice and stir to coat. Add in 2 cups of water and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 18 minutes or until rice is cooked and no liquid remains.

Once rice is cooked, remove bayleaf and stir in cheese and black beans.

I hope you enjoy my take on Erin’s Taco Rice, what’s everyone else having for Meatless Monday?

- Lou

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers are probably one of my favourite things to eat. They are so flavorful and the peppers gets so sweet and tender – they’re perfect. They also make the ideal vegetarian meal for Meatless Monday. You can stuff peppers in a variety of ways with all sorts of different flavors, you can stuff them with meat such as ground beef or ground turkey, or you can stuff them with vegetables and different types of rice such as arborio rice or brown rice.

I remember when I was little, my Mom would always order stuffed tomatoes or stuffed peppers at little tavernas while we were vacationing over the summer in Greece. The smells and the colours were beautiful and I would always ask to try a little bit. It’s interesting how a first experience with a type of food can really shape the way we feel about it. When I think of Stuffed Peppers I think of little tavernas on the beach and the stray cats that would tickle my legs under the table as I was eating the delicious food and taking in all the sights, sounds and smells.

These stuffed peppers I’m sharing today seem to be more Mexican inspired than Greek inspired, but soon enough I’ll be sharing a recipe for Greek Stuffed Peppers.

Stuffed Peppers (serves 4)
Recipe Source: The Fresh Fridge

Ingredients

4 bell peppers
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 19 oz can Black Beans, drained and rinse
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup salsa
1/4 cup hot sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash bell peppers and cut off the tops, removing the membrane and seeds.

For the filling, in a large bowl, mix all remaining ingredients together. Spoon the filling into the bell peppers and place on a baking dish. Put the tops of the peppers back on and cook for 30-35 minutes or until filling is cooked and rice is soft.

I hope you enjoy these stuffed pepper as much as my whole family did! Have a great Meatless Monday everyone.

- Lou

Olive and Mozzarella Breadsticks

Crustless Quiche

Cranberry Stuffed Mushrooms

Mexican Rice

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

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