Chicken,Apple and Brie Panini’s.

I had made a suggestion to have homemade Twisters (a la KFC) for dinner, but mom suggested we have these panini’s instead. I’m glad we did, because they were DELICIOUS. She INSISTED they go up INSTANTLY! So,here they are

Here’s what you need:

• Roasted Chicken (we used one from a grocery store)
• Red Pepper Jelly (Or any type of Sweet-and-Spicy Jelly. I also enjoy Jalapeño Pomegranate and Chipotle Peach)
• Brie Cheese,sliced
• 1 Apple,sliced thinly (I personally prefer granny smith)
• Red Onion, sliced thinly
• Ciabatta Bread

Pull the chicken apart, slice cheese, apples, and onion. Spread jelly on both slices of bread and then assemble in your preferred order. 

Butter BOTH SIDES of the outside of the bread and then place on grill or frying pan until cheese bubbles.

Enjoy!

Homemade Cheese and Broccoli Soup.

I don’t think it should be a secret that I love soups. They’re comforting and if done right, they are both light AND filling. I LOVE Quizno’s cheese and broccoli soup and just HAD to find a way to make it at home. Thanks to my mom and her network of friends I have a recipe to share with you all!  I usually find that I’m full after one bowl,and I usually serve it with crackers.

1.5 cups of Chicken broth

1/2 chopped onion

2 cups finely chopped broccoli 

1/2 tsp thyme

dash of garlic powder

bay leaf

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons white flour

1 cup milk

2 Cups Cheddar Cheese

salt & pepper

A shake of red pepper flakes

Makes about four servings.



In a pot combine broth, chopped onion and broccoli, thyme, garlic powder and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simme10 minutes Remove the bay leaf . 

In another pot melt the butter and then blend in the salt, pepper & flour. Add the milk all at once, cook & stir until thickened & bubbly.Add cheese- stir until blended.  Add the milk mixture to the broccoli mixture. Heat through & serve.

Kat in The Kitchen- Katsta Salad!

Its safe to say Summer 2012 is JUST about here, and with that comes my favorite season- picnic season! I love picnic foods, salads especially. This is a pasta salad I started making, its pretty easy and generic -it lasts well refrigerated (even though I like mine room temperature) and you can easily add or subtract ingredients.

I used a whole tomato,half of a red onion half of a cucumber and black olives as my veggies.

If you live in Canada in general, the Presidents Choice’s Feta Cheese comes VERY highly recommended. Its smooth in texture and not too briny in taste.

Welcome to summer everyone!~

Introducing Kat in the Kitchen- quick snippets of the food I eat between restaurant bouts!

Today I packed myself a bento for work, doing most of the prep the night before.

I made:

• Fresh Strawberries with a light dusting of Sugar
• Cucumber and Asian Pear Salad
• Rice
• 2 Soy Sauce Eggs
• Homemade Tonkatsu (topped with BBQ sauce-not pictured)

The recipes are all from Just Bento which is a REALLY good resource not just for those interested in bentos, but also for Japanese inspired recipes over all.

I think the hardest part of this was actually the eggs- I hate peeling hard boiled eggs! But over all I think the entire thing was a success and I will make tonkatsu again for myself!