Mexican Taco Stoup

Yes, I stole a Rachel Ray word there. This meal can only be described at Stoup, even though I’ve been known to call it stew. It’s thinner than stew but thicker than soup, so stoup fits like an oven mitt.

This is the second time I’ve made this meal and this one differed a tiny amount from the first one (which I don’t have a decent photo of, sorry). I got the recipe from Whole Foods (here) and made some slight modifications as I’m known for not really following recipes exactly. While Michael Smith would approve of this process, I feel like this is the reason why my baking doesn’t turn out exactly as I’d planned. (Brerin Fun Fact: Brian is an amazing baker. And we don’t even own a mixer!)

Mexican Taco Stoup

Ingredients:
- package of extra lean ground turkey (around 450ish grams or 1lb for any Americans reading this)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced (we LOVE garlic)
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (we got ours from Bulk Barn)
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon chili flakes
- 2 cups Blue Menu No-Salt-Added Chicken Broth (from Superstore)
- 1 can of Blue Menu No-Salt-Added 6 Bean Medley (from Superstore)
- 1 can of Blue Menu No-Salt-Added diced tomatoes (from Superstore)
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup medium salsa

Brown turkey in a large pot over medium heat. Once browned, remove turkey and set aside. In the same pot, saute onion, red pepper and garlic until onion are transluscent. Add the turkey back to the pot. Add the chicken broth, can of beans, diced tomatoes, corn and salsa. Stir to combine. Add taco seasoning, paprika, and chili flakes. Simmer on low for 20ish minutes.

Top with a dollop of sour cream, chopped green onion and shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Now, this is usually where the recipe says how many servings it makes. I’m wary to say because if you’ve got big eaters coming for supper, it might only serve 6. But if you’re serving something else with it, like salad and buns, you could probably feed 8-10. Since the meal is so inexpensive (the ground turkey is the most expensive part and even then it’s usually less than 11$/kg), if you’re serving it for more than 6 people, I would recommend doubling it. Worst case: you have just enough. Best case: you have leftovers that you can freeze!

The first time I made this, I added chopped yams. I like it both ways, so feel free to add some yams in there! If you do, you might want to increase the simmer time to make sure the yams are cooked all the way through.

Now I haven’t made this without turkey, but I’m assuming you could easily replace the ground turkey with the veggie-friendly equivalent. It might up the cost of the meal but I can’t imagine it would be that much more expensive. Brian and I are hosting a veggie friend of ours for dinner on Saturday. Perhaps I should test this stoup out on her using my suggestion!

With autumn fast approaching us here in Edmonton, this stoup will be finding its way onto our menu board at least bi-weekly. Since this stoup freezes so well, you can portion out the leftovers into smaller containers and have quick lunches for those chilly autumn days! I know we will be!

Tags: brerin fun fact, photos, recipes

French Toast Chef John Style

Yesterday was Labour Day, which means long weekend! After having all-day things on Saturday and Sunday, B & I decided to spend the extra weekend day having a nice brunch and then getting some chores done around the house.

For brunch we decided to make french toast, Chef John style. Now for anyone who has never heard of Chef John, lemme say this: the man is AMAZING. Like so amazing that I worship the kitchen he cooks in. Heck, I even worship the utensils he cooks with. He makes me laugh while inspiring me to improve my culinary skills and I am forever rewatching his video recipes and quoting his lines. One of my favourites is during the chicken parmesan video where he pours tomato sauce straight from the jar into the casserole dish. He says you’ll need two cups of sauce and no, he didn’t use a measuring cup because why would he want to dirty an extra dish? The jar has three cups and he poured in two-thirds. I laugh every single time. Without fail.

Anyway, enough fangirling. You should check him out ASAP and I can guarantee his recipes will change your life (but not necessarily your waistline).

And just so you can drool over the french toast Brian made on Monday morning, here is a photo of the deliciousness! We used Mexican vanilla a coworker of Brian’s brought back from Mexico, as well as freshly shaved cinnamon. I like to think those two ingredients made a bit of difference in this dish.

Tags: Brian, Chef John, Erin, Holidays, meals, photos

Wedding Photos

WOW! Been a loooong time since we’ve posted. I’m sorry about that! Life has been crraaaazzzyyy for us (both good & bad) since we’ve gotten married. I’ll do another update post just so everyone knows what’s been happening over at Maison du Drought.

For now though, I’ll just do a quick post to let everyone know that wedding photos have been posted to our gallery. There’s a couple of ways to check ‘em out. The first is to view the slideshow we put together and the second is to just check out each gallery individually. To check out the photos, click the “Photos” link at the top of the page and then go to “Wedding Photos”.

We’re also in the process of designing our photobooks! We haven’t forgotten about them or anyone we promised them to.

And it goes without saying but if anyone would like copies of the pro photos, send us a quick note from the Contact page (or to one of our personal emails) and we’ll let you know how to get them!

xo,
Brian + Erin

Tags: photos