Did you know that January 20th is National Cheese Lover’s Day??
I happen to have the amazing opportunity to live in the Dairy Capital of Canada – Woodstock, Ontario. We are a small town with many dairy farms in the surrounding area that provide us with milk. “The Snow Countess” is our real claim to fame, a statue downtown to honour the original cow and her owner. She is a cow who earned the record in 1933 for producing more butte[][1]rfat over her lifetime than any other cow in the world. She held this world record for 21 years.
Living in the Dairy Capital has truly developed a love for milk and cheese in our family, and realistically in our entire town. My husband loves going to our local cheese maker on the weekends to get fresh cheese curds straight off the farm (and made with the milk from their neighbouring farm). And really, Canadians love poutines (well … most Canadians because I really don’t care to much for cheese on my french fries to be honest).
So here’s your challenge this weekend. Find a recipe that contains cheese, and that you’ve never made, and try it out as a family. Below you can find one of my favourite recipes that contains cheese. If you’ve never had a poutine before, it is definitely worth a try and easy to make. Cook up some french fries, put some cheese curds on top (would also work with any cheese, it just won’t taste the same), and pour some brown gravy on top, I have also seen “poutine gravy” in the grocery stores.
Have an awesomely cheesy weekend!!
Parmesan, Chicken & Broccoli Pasta
- 1/3 pkg spaghetti, uncooked
- 2 tbsp Zesty Italian dressing
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ lb chicken breast (strips)
- 2 c small broccoli florets
- 1 c chopped tomatoes
- ½ c mozzarella shredded cheese
- 4 tsp parmesan cheese
Cook spaghetti. Meanwhile, heat dressing and garlic in a large non-stick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken and broccoli; cook and stir for 5 – 7 min or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in tomatoes and ¼ c of mozzarella cheese; cook 1 – 2 min or until heated through stirring occasionally. Drain the spaghetti; place on serving plate. Top with the chicken mixture, remaining ¼ c mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese.