Frog Tales

Ingredients 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1/4 poblano 6 chicken breasts, boneless 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder 2 teaspoon cumin 2 teaspoon dried cilantro 2 teaspoon mexican oregano 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 6 cups chicken broth, low-sodium canned 1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen 2 cans fire roasted tomatoes 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes) About a dozen corn tortilla chips, broken a bit Lime wedges tex-mex cheese sour cream Directions Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, poblano, chicken breasts, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, oregano, salt and pepper and cook until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and corn, bring to a boil, reduce the heat slightly, and simmer, covered for 60 minutes. Remove chicken breasts, shred the meat and return to the pot and cook for 5 minu

It's been a busy week here on the Island ... we launched a new trip with  Carnival Sailing entitled "Survivor Challenge".  We subjected our friends and colleagues to the inaugural run and put them through their paces :-)  I got tons of pictures and everyone had a fantastic day.  My parents arrived in late Thursday/early Friday as the already late arriving Westjet flight was delayed by 1.5 hours.  We then spent the weekend working on moving appliances, furniture, etc and cleaning for the upcoming tourist season.  All I can say is thank goodness for rum, as we all worked way harder than one should in the Caribbean! Given the business of the week, we didn't really research any new recipes but instead went with some of the best of the best.  We had Tandoori Chicken with spicy broccoli, tikka masalla and naan bread on Friday, Pomme de terre meat pie on Saturday, Tilapia with rice pilaf, corn and parker house rolls on Sunday (the rolls were the only new thing on the menu

You have to try this recipe ... and make sure to include the Chipotle Creama, it finishes it off perfectly!  Chipotle Corn Chowder Soup: 2 cups red potatoes, peeled and diced (1/2-inch) 4 tablespoons butter, plus 1 tablespoon 1 sweet onion, diced 3 cups frozen corn 1/4 cup diced poblano peppers 1 tablespoon minced garlic 5 cups vegetable stock 3/4 cup diced bacon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup freshly minced cilantro leaves Chipotle Creama, recipe follows In a medium saucepan, cover the diced potatoes with 3 cups of water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. then remove from heat and set aside. In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, add the 4 tablespoons of butter, and once melted, add the diced onions, half of the corn kernels and the peppers. Saute until a golden fond starts to form on bottom of pan, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, s

This recipe takes me back to reminds me of my Grandparent's kitchen in Southern Ontario when I was a kid.  It's a great hearty recipe full of flavour.  Even if kids don't like to eat the pepper itself, there is enough great flavour seeped into the meat for them. Stuffed Red Peppers and Tomatos Ingredients 3 large red bell pepper 3 large beefsteak tomatos 3/4 pound ground chuck 1/2 pound ground pork 1 medium onion, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced 1 teaspoon fresh thyme salt and pepper 2 teaspoons beef bouillion granules 2 cups cooked rice 1 cup diced tomatoes 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce 1 cup hot water parmigiano reggiano Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Start by cutting the peppers in half lengthwise, leaving the stems intact, and halving them also. Remove the seeds and ribs inside the peppers.  Cut the tops off the tomatos and scoop out the inside. Using a hot skillet, saut

One of the photo newsletters that I receive had a contest for "A Dog's Eye View" and these are the three pics I submitted ... the last is just a collage of them all.

Saturday - Heavy chest and back workout at Sportivo Fitness, so glad to be back to heavy workouts again ... being sick for 4 weeks really kicked our buts!  It's a pretty rainy day on the island, so we bought groceries and then did some room prep for guests arriving this weekend and later this week.  Chairman's reserve in Mom & Dave's fridge - check :-) .  For supper we are having Italian Stuffed Red Peppers and Tomatoes. Sunday - Today, our guest is one of the lads teachers who is unfortunately heading back to Canada on Monday.  They plan to head down the beach, try out mono-finning again and have some "epic" xBox battles.  Mark is vegetarian, so the menu for supper is Corn Chowder and Loaded Potato Skins (both vegetarian and meat-a-tarian). Monday - The older lads have the day off school so, Steve and I get to play (well, Steve can play .. I will be coordinating and taking oodles of pictures)!!  Today, we will be running a "fam" trip for Ca

Kujolpan (Nine Section Appetizers) ... modified to be 11 Section Appetizers Ingredients Pancakes + 10 fillings + 11 FOR THE PANCAKES: 2 cup flour 4 egg whites 2 cup water 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoon oil A Boiled Frog Bevie ... the glasses kinda look like drunken 11's FOR THE FILLINGS: 1/2 pound sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into very thin strips 2 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon sesame oil 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 scallion, minced 1 teaspoon red chili paste Freshly ground black pepper 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined 2 chicken breast 1 tablespoon hoisin 1 cup lettuce, rough chopped 1 cucumber, julienned 1 lime, cut into wedges 1/2 cup cilantro 2 tablespoons sesame oil, or more to taste 8 dried shiitake mushrooms, hydrated 1 carrot, julienned 2 eggs, beaten 1 tablespoon vegetable For sauces we used hoisin, teriyaki and peanut sauce Directions Make the pancakes: In a bowl, combine the flour, egg whites, water, and salt and stir until

Pizza Dough Ingredients 1 1/2 cups warm water, 100 to 110 degrees F, plus extra as needed 1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast 5 cups all purpose flour, plus extra as needed 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried oregano olive oil, for drizzling Directions Put the water in a small bowl. Add the yeast and stir until dissolved. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt and herbs together. Add the yeast mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. If the dough is too dry, add a little extra water, 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough is too sticky, add extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. With floured hands, knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drizzle the inside of a clean bowl with olive oil. Put the dough in the bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel. Set the bowl in a warm, draft-free place, until the dough has doubled in size, about 2

  This is a meal that you can kick off in the morning and finish it up when you get home in the evening.  Start off with the slow cooker .... Flautas Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice 2 tablespoons canola oil 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons ancho chili powder 2 tablespoons cumin 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons chipotle in adobo sauce, pureed 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped Salt and freshly ground black pepper Lay out for wrapping flautas Directions: Place all ingredients in the slow cooker and simmer on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.  Once cooked, shred the chicken and mix back into the simmer sauce. Flautas Ingredients: shredded chicken Vegetable oil, for frying 4 - 6 mini corn tortillas per person Toppings: Wrapped and ready to fry Mexican crema or sour cream shredded iceberg lettuce queso fresco or tex mex cheese refried be

This salad is a great side dish to any bbq and combines all the wonderful flavours of a loaded baked potato. Baked Potato Salad two small bags of baby potatoes (I like the mixed bags) 1 lb bacon (for if you want to make homemade bacon bits) or two packages of real bacon bits 4 green onions - chopped 2 cups of sharp cheddar - cubed 2 cups sour cream epicure cheese, chives and bacon dip mix salt and pepper to taste.   Boil potatoes whole in skins, drain, then cool and rough chop.  In a large bowl combine potatoes, bacon bits, green onions and cheese. Mix sour cream with half the recommended mix, then fold into the potatoes, add salt and pepper.  Serves 10 ...

The Meatballs This is one of Steve's creations, served over italian sausage pasta sauce (see an earlier blog) and spaghetti, accompanied by a good (and cheap - $4.85 CAD, have I mentioned that I love this Island) Aussie Red. Cook time: 25 Minutes Yield: 8 meatballs 1 lb. ground beef 4 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese 1 oz. gorgonzola cheese 1 cup panko bread crumbs 1 egg 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 shallots, minced extra-virgin olive oil salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste Place all above ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix thoroughly by hand until they are completely combined and the mixture is uniformly firm. Served over Spaghetti and Italian Sausage Sauce Coat your hands in olive oil, and using your hands form mixture into 3-4 oz. balls Drop the meatballs into the Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce. Let cook for about 10 minutes on one side. Turn them over, and cook for another 10 minutes, covering in the sauce with a spoon as they simmer. Let rest for 5 minutes befor

This is a fantastic combination of flavours, and the recipe is easy to make. The Pod man had 3 servings and then slept for 12 hours straight!! Ingredients 3/4 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced, 2 tablespoons of oil reserved 1/2 pound chicken breast, cubed 1/2 pound smoked turkey sausage, cubed 1/4 pound gourmet pepperoni, diced 4 large cloves garlic, chopped 3 shallots, chopped 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped 1 can corn, drained 1 tsp red pepper flakes 1 3/4 cups chicken broth 16 ounces rotini pasta 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan, plus additional for garnish 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano leaves 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves 8 ounces water-packed fresh mozzarella, drained and cubed Salt and freshly ground pepper Directions Heat the oil reserved from the tomatoes in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and smoked turkey sausage and cook until brown, about 8 minutes. Add the pepperoni, garlic, shallot

 Pod Moments  A perfect image for a Friday night

We served this with the Thai Curry Mac 'n Cheese, french bread and a Chilean Cab Sav. Yummy shrimp with Thai mac 'n cheese Shrimp in Garlic Pepperoni Sauce Ingredients 1 1/2 cups olive oil 1 (16-ounce) pepperoni, 1/2-inch dice 1 head garlic, peeled and chopped 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning 1 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon cayenne 1 1/2 pounds (16 to 20 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined Directions In a bowl, mix together the cajun seasoning, paprika, and cayenne. Add the shrimp and coat them evenly with the spices. Let rest for 15 minutes on the counter to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, in a medium saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat and saute the diced pepperoni until it releases some of its oil, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining oil and garlic and lower the heat to medium-low. Let flavors infuse over the low heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the shrimp to the garlic oil, raise heat slightly to cook, stirring and turning to cook the shrimp eve

Thai Red Curry Mac 'n Cheese: Pod enjoying the "Mac" Kosher salt 1 pound elbow macaroni 5 tablespoons butter 5 tablespoons all purpose flour 1 (4-ounce) jar Thai red curry paste 4 cups half & half milk 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated 8 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated 1 cup pancetta or bacon pieces Crumb Topping: 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs 2 tablespoons butter, melted Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Directions For the mac 'n' cheese: Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Salt generously, and then add the pasta and cook to box instructions, usually 6 to 7 minutes. Drain. In another large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and continue whisking until it deepens in color and releases a light toasted aroma, about 1 minute. Whisk in the Thai red curry paste, and when fully combined, pour in the milk and cream. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer until the

We remade this stew on the anniversary of the day it was created.  This recipe was created during Hurricane Tomas, and here is an excerpt from my cook book on that day ...  “November 2nd, 2010 Power has been restored and our tank is full of water, but we are starting to hear of the devastation around the island.  Parts of the windward and south coast were badly hit by mudslides.  In need of some comfort food, we made ... Mudslide Stew.” 1.5 lb beef steak, trimmed and thinly sliced across the grain into bite size pieces 1 med onion thinly sliced 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 bay leaves 1 whole cinnamon stick 2 whole star anise 1 sour orange, zest only 3 cups dry red wine 3 carrots diced 2 1/2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp olive oil 4 tbsp flour 1/4 lb mushrooms sliced salt to taste 2 tsp ground black pepper 4 cups beef stock Place beef, onions, garlic, spices, orange zest and red wine in a large bowl.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  Drain the meat and vegetables, reserving