Living Lou's Omelet

Omelets are such a versatile dish, they are something that can be whipped up rather quickly, with whatever ingredients you have on hand. That is exactly what this omelet was, except I realized it tasted absolutely delicious and wrote down the recipe to share with all of you!


This omelet is pretty packed, every bite is filled with the flavors of either mushrooms, or bacon, or potatoes. It filling and satisfying - it doesn't get much better than this.

Living Lou's Omelet (for 2)

Ingredients

2 strips of bacon, sliced into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup diced Yukon gold potatoes
1 1/2 tsp oil
4 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1-2 button mushrooms thinly sliced
1 green onion chopped
1/2 tsbp butter

Directions

For this omelet, I recommend cooking it in a small frying pan.

Begin by slicing bacon in 1-inch pieces, then fry them up in 1/2 tsp of oil over medium heat until lightly cooked.

As bacon cooks, dice your potatoes (do not peel). Once the bacon is done, remove it to a bowl and set aside. In the same frying pan, add in the other 1 tsp of oil and season the potatoes with salt and pepper to taste. Fry the potatoes until golden about 8-9 minutes. Shaking the pan 2-3 times during cooking. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon.

While potatoes are cooking, combine eggs with milk and salt and pepper. Prepare the cheese, mushrooms and green onion.

Once the potatoes are done and removed from the pan, add the butter, followed by the egg mixture, sprinkle with cheese and add your other ingredients (mushrooms, green onions, potatoes and bacon).

Turn down the heat to medium-low and cover the pan and cook on the stove for about 8 minutes. Checking after 8 minutes and seeing whether the eggs have set. If they have you're omelet is done, if not cook for another minute or two.

And there you have it, a delicious omelet, perfect for brunch, or a last minute dinner!

- Lou

Cheese Garlic Bread

You know it's the holidays when in the middle of baking cookies, your doorbell unexpectedly rings and you're left standing there with a big (fake) smile on your face, but really you're thinking "Oh no. I have nothing for them to eat!"

Well don't worry, I've come to your rescue! This is something which can be whipped up in 15 minutes: 7 minutes (yes, very precise) to prep your ingredients, and another 7 minutes in the oven and then a minute to slice and serve! And this is sure to be a crowd pleaser, I can't even begin to tell you how many times people ask me to make this garlic bread.

Cheese Garlic Bread
Recipe adapted from: One Lovely Life

Ingredients

1 loaf of bread, can be a french loaf, but I find that ciabatta has the best results
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
5 tbsp softened butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 cups grated cheese (I use the store bought, pre-grated mixture of cheddar, Colby and Monterrey Jack)
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Half your load lengthwise. Roughly slice your green onions. Soften butter in the microwave for 10-20 seconds.

Now that all the ingredients are prepared, combine the green onions, butter, mayonnaise, crushed garlic, pepper and cheese in a bowl. Make sure it's fully combined.

Spread evenly over both halves of bread, and pop in the oven for about 5-7 minutes. Or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Allow to cool for a minute or so, and slice bread into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Serve immediately!

This is seriously the best garlic bread, and whoever you serve it to will be completely smitten!

Hope this holiday season is treating you all well,

- Lou

Gluten Free Vegetarian Quiche

Ah, another Monday and you know what that means? Time for another one of Lou's Meatless Monday vegetarian dishes... on today's menu: quiche! And guess what, not only is this a vegetarian quiche, but it also has a gluten-free crust! And want to know something even better? It tastes amazing. This quiche has the perfect balance of hearty veggies, cheese and delicious eggs, some milk and maybe a smidgen of cream... yum! This is a fun and unusual take on Meatless Monday, usually a nice soup or stew or pasta dish would be a Meatless Monday dinner, but not today!

I'm sure that everyone in your house will enjoy this quiche, it's a big hit here! And the gluten-free crust is made with ingredients available at practically every grocery store!

Note: If you don't want/need a gluten free crust, this can be made in literally an instant, it's the crust that takes a little bit longer. You can use either a store bought crust, or your own recipe!

Vegetarian Quiche

Gluten-Free Crust
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Pulse ingredients together in a food processor until it forms into a ball. Remove from food processor onto a well flour surface and knead lightly. Press dough into pie dish.

Quiche Filling
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup cream
1 cup broccoli chopped
1 cup white button mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese grated
1/2 tsp onion powder
pinch of nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Firstly, prep the ingredients, chop the veggies and grate the cheese. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and pour into pastry lined dish.

Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until center of the quiche has just barely set. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes prior to serving.

Hope you all have a great Monday, that's meatless and delicious! Plus, how fun is this post? Two recipes for the price of one... woo!

- Lou

Tomato Garlic Parmesan Couscous

The end of summer has really thrown off both my cooking and my blogging! I've been busy working, and just enjoying these last few remaining days until - gasp - my senior year of high school! Yes, my last year... oh man, please excuse me while I go hyperventilate. eek!

Whew.

I was in the mood for a quick snack, but something different then say my favourite crunchy snack - granola, or my favourite chocolate snack - brownies, or my favourite, super healthy snack - sweet potatoes. So after about 20 minutes of sifting around the kitchen for something to eat, I finally found it, the one and only couscous! And since we are currently running rather low on food, I didn't have much choice as to what to use to transform my couscous from boring, to wow!

Tomato Garlic Parmesan Couscous
Ingredients
1 cup couscous
1 1/4 cup water
1 tsp olive oil
1 garlic clove (crushed)
1/8 tsp each of dried thyme, basil and parsley
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for sprinkling)

Directions

Bring water to a boil and add the couscous, return to boil, cover, remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

While couscous is sitting, heat olive oil in a pan and add the garlic, cook until fragrant (about 1 minute), add herbs and cook for another minute, then add the tomato paste and stir to combine.

Once the couscous is done cooking, fluff with a fork and add to the pan of garlic, herbs and tomato paste. Mix to combine and add Parmesan cheese. Mix well to make sure all the couscous is covered.

Remove from heat and serve with extra Parmesan cheese!

This makes a great quick snack and would also make the perfect side dish. It takes literally 10 minutes or less to make!

- Lou

A Meatless Monday Appetizer!

I haven't been feeling very well today so I had to skip out on my usual "Meatless Monday" dinner post, but I've come up with the next best thing... a Meatless Monday appetizer!! So here's a super easy and tasty recipe for Parmesan straws! The good thing about this recipe is that you can change up the fillings to be basically any flavour you want! This was my second time making these Parmesan straws and both times they have been an absolute hit; these will definitely be on the menu for all future dinner parties!

Ingredients
2 sheets of frozen puff pastry (thawed)
1 egg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
All-purpose flour, for rolling

Directions
Thaw the pastry and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a small bowl create an egg wash by whisking the egg and 1 tablespoon water together. In another small bowl, combine Parmesan, mustard powder, salt, and cayenne; set aside. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the first sheet of dough. Brush with the egg wash onto the dough and then liberally sprinkle the cheese mixture over the egg wash. Roll out the second piece of dough and brush one side with the egg wash. Place the second piece (egg wash side down) on top of the first piece and press down to adhere the two sheets together.

Using a pizza cutter cut the dough into 24 strips about 1/2 inch to an inch wide. Twist the strips and place them onto a baking sheet, pressing down on the tips to adhere them to the baking sheet. (You press the tips down in order for them not to loose their shape.) Bake until golden and puffed about 8-10 minutes.

These are seriously so tasty! They are wonderful straight out of the oven but they are also amazing when they've cooled down.

- Lou

Recipe adapted from: Martha Stewart's Parmesan Straws

Bite Sized Stuffed Mushrooms

Here's another one of my promised appetizer recipes; stuffed button mushrooms! These bite sized babies are scrumptious, and I actually got a round of applause from the guests! Now that is success. I usually find stuffed button mushrooms to be a little too rich and cheesy for me. This recipe has the perfect balance of flavors. And they are perfect for a dinner party because you can prepare the filling in advance and fill the mushrooms and leave them in the fridge and pop them in the oven when your guests arrive. Twenty minutes later, when the kitchen is smelling heavenly voila, stuffed mushrooms fit for a King!

Ingredients
24 whole fresh button mushrooms
3-4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tsp canola oil
1/3 cup fresh cream cheese
1/8 Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (the added cayenne gives the mushrooms a nice bite!)
1 cup small peeled cooked shrimp

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean the mushrooms (using a damp cloth or paper towel.) Remove the stems from the mushrooms (sometimes this can be a bit tricky, but once you get the hang of it all goes well!) Set aside the caps and stems. Add the stems and garlic to a food processor and pulse in brief bursts until finely chopped.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushroom caps and garlic and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until all the moisture has disappeared. Add in the shrimp and turn heat down to medium-low. Stir in the cheeses and spices. Mix together until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Meatless Monday... Take 3 - Baked Tortellini

It's time for my weekly "Meatless Monday" post! Last week was Victoria Day up here in Canada, so I didn't have time to post. Today I wanted to make something tasty and filling, I went with a Martha Stewart "Baked Raviolli" recipe. I made a few adjustments and it tasted fantastic. This was my first time using tortellini, and it was fantastic. I will definitely be making this recipe more often.

Just take a peek at the magic beneath the layer of melted cheese.


Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped (or in my case, grated.)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, or oregano
2 cans (56 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 pound store-bought tortellini (I had herbs and three cheese. SO good!)
mozzarella and Parmesan to taste

Note: This will make a lot of sauce, I was able to freeze about a Tupperware full!

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Soften onion, garlic, salt and pepper in the oil. Add in the thyme and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Whilst all of that is going on, bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook tortellini until they float to the top (this will happen super quickly, make sure you watch the pasta!) Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. (The sauce that you have not set aside for freezing!)

Poor the pasta and sauce into a large oven safe dish and cover with mozarella and Parmesan. Bake it in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Make this now. It is the most delicious meal ever.

- Lou

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Baked Ravioli

Cheesy Garlic Bread!

Garlic bread... everyone loves garlic bread. It's the best snack ever. (Other than the icky effects on your breath...) It's so easy and quick to throw together, and everyone always has all the ingredients lying around... it's just the perfect dish! I like to put a little cheese on mine, how do you like yours?

Ingredients
your favourite type of bread (preferably whole wheat as it's better for you!)
2 tbs butter (softened)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
cracked ground pepper to taste
cheddar cheese (optional)
a pinch of thyme

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 F.

Slice your bread to your desired thickness. Soften the butter in a microwave, crush your cloves of garlic into the butter and mix it around to create a paste. Brush the paste onto your slices of bread. Layer the cheese on top of the butter mixture and top with a sprinkle of thyme. Drizzle a little olive oil over the pieces of bread and put it in the oven for 5 minutes. (Note: You can also grill the garlic bread and it's wonderful.)

This is just a nice and simple garlic bread recipe, you can always add spices and other herbs to spice it up! Also, using whole wheat bread makes this a little less indulgent... at least that's what I tell myself!

- Lou