Weekend Eats and a Stew

Yup. Winter is here.

It wasn't fun waking up on Sunday and rushing to get ready so that you can pick up your 90 year old grandmother for lunch only to find that your car is covered in a mountain of snow.

Ah well. After putting the ol' parka on and oversized winter boots, my grand-mere and I went to Cora's for lunch and I ordered the eggs benedict with asparagus and swiss cheese. It was exactly what I needed.

There were a lot of good eats this weekend! On Friday, M. and I went to his parents place for dinner and these amazing dishes were waiting for us!

Linguini with Parmesan Sauce and Roasted Butternut Squash

Greek Salad

The food is certainly never disappointing when we go over there to eat. I would never have thought to make a pasta dish like that! Simple yet so tasty! I was lucky to snag some left overs for the next day.

M. was away actually away this weekend and the night he was coming home, I made one of our favourite go to stews. Nothing like coming home to a home cooked meal! M. found a cannellini bean, spinach and carrot stew years ago (off of the realsimple.com website) which is a weekly made dish around here when winter rolls around.

I drizzled some smoked balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese over top. This hearty (and healthy!) stew is incredibly easy to make with very little prep work. See recipe below.

M. was kind enough to buy me some treats from his travels... 

Nut grinder, Newman-O's mint cookies, Coke Zero Cherry, peanut butter cups and fusili quinoa pasta!

Gotta love Martha Stewart.

Cannellini Bean and Spinach Stew

Altered by Stephanie Barke 

Ingredients:

• 2-15oz cans of cannellini beans (found at Vita Health for $2.50 a can)
• 1 15oz can of vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 tsp of minced garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 large carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 3-inch pieces
• 2 cups of fresh spinach leaves
• pinch of salt and black pepper

Directions:

• In a large soup pot, over medium heat, add both cans of beans (once drained and rinsed), broth, garlic, bay leaf and carrots to a boil.
• Once it reaches a boil, cover and reduce the heat so that the stew simmers until the carrots are tender. Approximately 15 minutes.
• Discard the bay leaf.
• Add the spinach, salt and pepper and stir. Let the spinach wilt which should take a minute or two. Do not stir frequently as you want to avoid breaking the beans.
• Spoon the stew into bowls and add a tablespoon of balsamic oil and some parmesan cheese if desired.