Chefs Plate (Canada edition)

Gasp, I know, a non-gaming post, but a few folks were interested in details so I figured I’d put it here. Chefs Plate is another one of those meal delivery type things like Blue Apron or Hello Fresh where you choose from a selection of weekly recipes and they send you the ingredients and you cook it. There are tons of different plans and prices, but for Chefs Plate it’s $10.95 (CAD) per meal. I happened to have a 50% off coupon. They don’t offer meals for one person, but they did have a 2 person meal combo, so I went for that. They have 2-3-4 meal options. I went with 3. This put my order at $32 (CAD) for 3 different meals, 2 of each meal.

The box is 100% recyclable, as is everything in it (yay). My stuff arrived and it was nice and cold, even the meat. The recipes are printed on GIANT pieces of stiff paper, I wish they were more index card sized. Even if you decide not to go with further shipments (there’s no commitment here) you get to keep some (hopefully) amazing recipes.

My fist meal was grilled beef & pesto burgers with grilled mushrooms, peppers, and a nectarine salad. The facebook page claimed meals “could feed 3-4” but that’s not true, especially not for these burgers where you only get 2 buns. Ingredients are supposed to be local to Canada, but my red pepper has a big “U.S.A” sticker on it. The meat is Canadian, and I do like supporting our local farmers. Cutting into the red pepper showed me it was completely rotten inside, black mold everywhere. Gross.

The beef was *amazing* whoever they’re getting it from in Canada is doing a fantastic job. It was probably one of the best tasting burgers I’ve ever made. With the grilled red pepper and mushroom on top, it didn’t need anything else. Making the pesto by hand was a pain, you have to dice up arugula and sunflower seeds. The pesto wasn’t that great, but when you added the red wine vinegar to it, the flavours were incredible. No complaints about the burger at all.

The salad.. was nothing to write home about. The red wine vinegar was used there too and it overpowered the nectarine and the radish. Was this plate worth $10.95? I don’t personally think so.  I do have two more dishes to go, plus the second portion of this one (which I will have tomorrow) and if the steady price was $32 I’d be MUCH more inclined to purchase from them. In the meantime, at least I got some neat recipes to try out on my own.

Easy Sweet and Sour Meatballs

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These meatballs are fast and easy and absolutely delicious served with noodles or rice. You don’t have to be exact with the ingredients, so play around until you find a combination that suits your taste.

Meatballs:

  • Ground beef (lean) and ground turkey mixed together
  • Kirkland no salt spice (or any other spices of your choosing)
  • A healthy dose of sriracha (to your taste, as spicy as you like)
  • 1 egg
  • breadcrumbs
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • fresh garlic minced up

Mix this all together and make into little ball shapes, then put on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven just until the balls are cooked on the outside, about 5-10 minutes or so at 350. When they’re done swap them into a deeper baking dish (like a casserole dish) and set aside.

Sauce:

  • 4 tablespoons ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons mustard
  • 3 tablespoons vinegar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Mix all the sauce stuff together (until the brown sugar is dissolved) and then drizzle over the meatballs in the casserole dish. Let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour, and then bake at 350 until the sauce is bubbling and thick and the meatballs are cooked all the way through (about 30 minutes). Serve over your favourite rice (mine is basmati) or with noodles. Recipe can be adjusted any way you want. Bon appetite!

Spicy Ham Quiche

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  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 3 green onions finely chopped
  • 4 1/2 ozs. ham or crab meat or any meat (cooked)
  • 2 cups grated swiss or cheddar cheese (I use cheddar)
  • 9″ pie shell
  • 1/4 tsp. of cayenne powder
  • black pepper to taste

Beat eggs, mix in flour, mayo and milk. Add onions, add meat and cheese. Mix everything and pour it in a 9″ pie shell at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or till golden brown.

By far the absolute best quiche I have ever had.

358 calories per piece, serves 8.

 

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

pizza

 

Cauliflower crust pizza – it was amazing. No flour at all. The recipe is adapted from theluckypennyblog.com

Grain-Free Cauliflower Crust Pizza
makes one approx. 12 inch pizza

1 small to medium sized head of cauliflower – should yield 2 to 3 cups once processed
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil (crush it even more between your fingers)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (crust it even more between you fingers)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
[omitted] optional a few shakes of crushed red pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese [omitted]
1 egg
Desired amount of sauce, cheese for topping, and other toppings.

Place a pizza stone in the oven, or baking sheet if you don’t have a pizza stone. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a cutting board, place a large piece of parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking oil.

Wash and thoroughly dry a small head of cauliflower.Cut off the florets. Pulse in your food processor for about 30 seconds, until you get powdery snow like cauliflower. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cover. Microwave for 4 minutes. Dump cooked cauliflower onto a clean tea towel and allow to cool for a bit before attempting the next step.

Once cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the dish towel and ring the heck out of it. You want to squeeze out as much water as possible. This will ensure you get a chewy pizza like crust instead of a crumbly mess.

Dumped ringed out cauliflower into a bowl. Now add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon dried basil (crush up the leaves even more between your fingers before adding), 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (crush up the leaves even more between your fingers before adding), 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt), and a dash of red pepper if you want. Now add your egg and mix away. Hands tend to work best.

Once mixed together, use your hands to form the dough into a crust on your oiled parchment paper. Pat it down thoroughly, you want it nice and tightly formed together. Don’t make it too thick or thin either.

Using a cutting board slide the parchment paper onto your hot pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 8 – 11 minutes, until it starts to turn golden brown. Remove from oven.

Add however much sauce, cheese, and toppings you want. Slide parchment with topped pizza back in the hot oven and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly golden.

Cashew Chicken

chickenThis recipe was adapted from favfamilyrecipes.com – Crockpot cashew chicken

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp ketchup
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup cashews

Note: I did NOT make this in a crockpot, I used the stove.

Put the flour in a resealable food bag, add chicken (diced up into small pieces), shake to coat the chicken with flour. Heat some oil in a frying pan, brown the chicken for about 1 minute on each side. Put the chicken into a pot on the stove, on low heat.

Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes in a small bowl. Pour over the chicken. Cook on low for 2-3 hours. Add cashews and stir.

I served mine with diced up leeks, over soba noodles. This recipe may not be very low fat, but it was a HUGE hit, and it’s very good with the soba noodles (which are way nicer than regular plain white noodles).