Vikki's Dinner and a Treat

A Mini Bookshelf Quilt

2012-02-18T08:49:00.000-08:00

I finally got a project finished! I started this weeks ago, and had it all made, waiting for the binding. Apparently that was a big obstacle as it sat there for week, with the binding waiting to be sewed on. I got it all finished finally, and I think it looks great. Now I just have to decide were I am going to put it - it will most likely end up hanging on the wall by my bookshelf.

This was a great quick project (except for my stalling on the binding) and was a great way to use up my skinny scraps. I used the tutorial from Don't Call Me Betsy, which was great.

Peanut Butter Jam Bundt

2012-02-17T19:38:00.000-08:00

A couple people at work take turns baking cakes for people’s birthdays. Recently it was my turn to make the birthday cake for my cake decorating buddy. I was getting a little tired of making cakes with flowers on them, and knew she probably was as well. From previous discussion I knew that she was a fan of bundt cakes – both look and texture wise, so I decided to give everyone a break from the icing laden cakes that had been coming from class. I have loved following the Food Librarians “I like big bundts” over the past years and thought that would be a good place to start looking for something to make. When I came across the Peanut Butter and Jelly Swirl Bunt, I had to make it – especially as the recipient loves peanut butter!

I did make a couple changes with the jelly. I used a strawberry rhubarb jam (complete with fruit chunks) that I had made in the summer and I increased the amount as it didn’t look like there was enough jelly in the pictures.

I also topped it with a peanut butter frosting, and served it with additional jam should people wish to add more (I don’t think anyone turned down the extra jam, and by the time it was done my 2 cup jar was almost empty!)

Below is her recipe (originally from Welsh’s) with a couple of small changes.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Swirl Bundt Cake

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick), at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter (smooth worked fine)
2 tsp. vanilla
3 large eggs
1 cup dairy sour cream

¾ to 1 cup Jam

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place the baking rack in bottom third of oven.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Continue beating as you add the peanut butter and vanilla.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated, followed by the sour cream.
5. Slowly add flour mixture and mix until just blended (if using a mixer, use the lowest speed). Spoon half of the batter (about 3 cups) into greased 12 cup bundt pan. Dollop 1/3 Ts of the jelly over batter avoiding edges of pan.
6. Partially stir jam into batter using a skewer or thin bladed knife. Spoon remaining batter into pan and dollop and swirl remaining jelly into batter.
7. Bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Peanut Butter Frosting
¼ cup peanut butter
¼ cup butter, room temperature
2 cups icing sugar

Directions:
1. Cream together the butter and peanut butter.
2. Mix in the icing sugar until smooth.
3. Enjoy

Reviews:
Everyone loved this cake, especially the birthday girl. It went so fast I was unable to get a picture of the inside of the cake with the jam swirls.

I will be making this cake again soon – I think it would be great with some blueberry jelly, and I am looking forward to trying it.

Happy Valentines!

2012-02-13T20:30:00.001-08:00

I had some leftover fondant from my last cake class, and decided to use it up on a cute Valentines day cake. It started with the green fondant and then I had the great idea to make some lady bugs. As it was Valentines, I decided to try some writing. I think it turned out pretty good considering I had no idea what I was going to do when I started!

The cake was a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting - everyone at work enjoyed it and I had no trouble finding someone to take the last piece off my hands!

Lady bug with her antennae (I couldn't decide if I liked them better with or without).

Creamy Jalapeno Chicken

2012-02-09T19:02:00.000-08:00

I needed something new and interesting for supper this week to get myself out of the rut I have been in lately. When I came across a recipe for Jalapeno Chicken on How Sweet Eats, I knew this was perfect as I love jalapenos. There isn't a lot of color in this dish (veggies on the side sort of make up for this) but it is very tasty.

Creamy Jalapeno Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons sunflower/safflower oil
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 shallot, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour (any kind will do, I used whole wheat)
1/4 cup skim milk
1 12-ounce can fat-free evaporated milk
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese

1.Finely chop the jalapenos, onions and garlic. This is easiest done with a food processor, just give it a couple of pulses and you are done. Keep these for later.
2.In a pan, heat the oil and add the chicken breasts (seasoned with salt and pepper if you would like). Cook the chicken for 8 to 10 minutes a side, the chicken should be cooked through and browned on the outside.
3.While the chicken cooks, add the butter to a small saucepan on medium heat. Cook the jalapeno/onion/garlic mix for 2-3 minutes (will the a little soft and fragrant).
4.Add the flour to the butter vegetable mix and stir (the butter and flour will become a thick paste) and cook for 1 minute.
5.Slowly whisk in the milk and evaporated milk to the butter/flour/vegetable mixture, allowing it cook and thicken. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes until thick and add the parmesan cheese. If you want it to be a thicker sauce, turn the heat to low and leave it cook for a couple more minutes.
6.To serve, place sauce on the chicken.

Reviews:
Yum! I loved this and the sauce was fantastic with rice (I even ate just the sauce on rice for leftovers the next day). This meal will be in my regular rotation of meals from now on, it was easy to make and made a tasty dinner.

Final Cake - Gumpaste and Fondant

2012-02-08T19:03:00.001-08:00

My Wilton Fondant and Gumpaste class has ended and I had a great time. It was a lot of fun playing with fondant and the flowers all turned out really great. I decided to play around a bit, and convinced O to shape me a new cookie cutter, and ended up with some great looking Plumeria flowers! I love the tropical look (especially as it is February and I am anxiously awaiting spring).

Thank you Erin for a great class. I am looking forward to the upcoming Advanced Gumpaste Flowers class later this spring.

Cake Decorating - Gumpaste and Fondant

2012-01-24T19:45:00.000-08:00

I am now taking the third Wilton class (from my fabulous teacher Erin of Erin's Go To Cakes), and I am loving it. I am half way through the course and have so far learned how to make a fondant bow:

Rose,

Calla lily and carnation (I love the carnations).

I can't wait for the next class when we learn daisies and mums!

Belated Happy New Years

2012-01-24T19:39:00.001-08:00

Wow, I took a bit longer of break over the holidays that I was intending from blogging. I haven’t done a lot of baking or even cooking really since the end of the holidays and have spent a lot of time trying to get the house back in order and finding homes for things that have shown up over the holidays.

The spice drawer in my kitchen was a disaster (see what I mean).

A trip the the dollar store for some little jars and an evening of labeling later it now looks like this:

My quilting room has also been rearranged (I can not fully open the door to get in!), and I have been working on something to fill the blank space on the wall above the ironing board. The rulers have finally found a home - with easy access from my cutting area, and the catch all drawer has been emptied and my supplies are organized in a handy little organizer (I got it for 50% off at Michaels!). I will have to post pictures, as soon as I get around to taking some and not getting distracted by working or cleaning. Now hopefully I can get some of those projects left over from last year finished (there are only 5 quilts in various stages sitting around the room, along with other smaller projects that were started and never finished).

Ella's Quilt

2011-12-23T15:26:00.000-08:00

A few months back I showed a quilt I had made for Myah. Well her little sister, Ella, arrived late this summer and I set to work making a quilt for her. It took me a while to get the fabric and get it made, and even longer to actually find some time to get it to her as we start getting closer to the holidays.

I used a pinwheel pattern from Moda Bake shop and a layer cake of Ella’s Wishes from Collecting Threads. As soon as I heard her name, I knew it would be the perfect fabric!

It turned out great and I hope she likes it as I did!

Christmas Presents

2011-12-15T19:36:00.000-08:00

This year I am making a few Christmas presents, some are for my own friends and family and some I am doing for a friend to give away.

Among the things I have put together for my own friends and family is this lovely little tea wallet:

I used the pattern from Is It Naptime Yet?, which was great and really easy to follow, and came together very quickly.

A few people will be getting rice heating pads some packaged with baked goods, bath salts or creams. I created the pattern for this based off a heat pad I had picked up a few years ago from a craft sale.

It works fantastic for the upper back and shoulders. I love how it wraps around and the arms hold it in place.

My friend was lucky to be one of the recipients of the bag/neck rice heating pad earlier in the year and decided she wanted to do something for her friends. I had seen the Wellness bag and rice heating pads on Sew Mama Sew and decided to put together something similar for her.

She ended up with 2 sets of bags, each with their own coordinating drawstring bags to hold them. Each bag has card attached with instructions.

Each set included a neck/back bag, an eye pillow with removable cover, hand warmers and an all purpose bag (a mix between the Amy Buttler eye pillow scaled up and the Green Wife for the inside bag).

Hopefully the recipients get some good use out of these bags!

Frosty!

2011-12-13T19:14:00.000-08:00

While playing around on pinterest (oh the time I waste on that!), I came across a recipe to make your own Wendy’s Chocolate Frosty. I love Frosties and find myself stopping for them even in the middle of a Canadian winter! How awesome would it be if I could make them myself at home? That and I am always looking for ways to get my ice cream maker into more use. I did have to cut the recipe in half and that was a good thing as it still made a lot, which of course was promptly finished in 24 hours.... I wouldn’t have been able to fit a full batch in my ice cream maker anyways, so it all worked out.

Ingredients:
½ tub of light coolwhip
½ can of sweetened condensed milk
2 cup 1% chocolate milk

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in the icrecream maker and let run for 20 - 30 minutes depending on your maker and the desired consistency.

Serve and enjoy!

Reviews:
I loved this and couldn’t stop eating it. O remarked that it tasted just like a Frosty! We also decided for the sake of our waists, we should not keep the ingredients on hand, as it was so quick and simple to make things could quickly get out of control.

Menu: December 12 - 17

2011-12-11T21:02:00.000-08:00

Oh wow, it has been a long time since I have posted a menu. This has been due to a few reasons, mostly the coming Christmas season. I have been busy trying to get things planned, made and wrapped (more on that later). Also O has recently completed his first 1/2 marathon, so that was a crazy week as well!

I am not sure how long I will continue to post the menus, but will try to continue for a little longer, although I may have to take another break over the holidays.

Menu:
Monday:Stir Fry
Tuesday: Thai Chicken Bites
Wednesday:Lasagna/ manacotti
Thursday: Work Function
Friday: Cheesy Vegetable Chowder (new recipe from pinterest, will post after I have tried it)

Others: chips, crackers, hummus, antipasto, whatever Christmas food is around the house

Baking: No real plans, we will see what inspires me off the Christmas list.

Caramel Apple Pie

2011-12-11T20:57:00.000-08:00

Note: Let me apologize for this picture, I was lucky to snack anything to get a picture before this was devoured by O and a few friends! I will try to get a better picture when I make this again in the coming weeks.

This is Owen’s favorite apple pie. I originally found it on Allrecipes as Grandma
Opies Apple pie. I have made some changes over the years to suit out tastes more, and now it is the most requested apple pie I make, the main change I made is the addition of cinnamon - it isn't a true apple pie around here unless there is cinnamon.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tbsp cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
8 apples - peeled, cored and sliced (I like to use a slightly tart, baking apple)
Pastry dough for a double crust 9 inch pie

Directions:
1. Roll out the bottom crust of the pie and place in the pie plate.
2. Pile the apple slices into the pie crust, you want them so they mound slightly in the middle.
3. In a pot on the stove, melt the butter. Mix in the flour so that it forms a paste.
4. To the butter ‘paste’ add the sugars and water. Mix well and bring to a simmer until it thickens.
5. Add the cinnamon to the butter sugar mixture and pour over the apples in the pie crust.
6. Roll out and add the top crust (we use a full top crust with slits cut in it, but a lattice top works nicely as well if you like less crust).
7. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 350F and continue to cook for about 35 minutes.

Note: This pie freezes well. Just wrap in tinfoil and place in the freezer after step 6. When baking it, don’t let it thaw, pop it right into the oven and add an extra 20 to 30 minutes to the cook time.

Reviews:
This pie always gets great reviews, and is always requested when I ask if I should make an apple pie.

Cake Decorating - Flowers and Cake Design

2011-11-26T16:35:00.000-08:00

I finished the second cake decorating class (and am signed up to do the third - Fondant and Gumpaste in January). Here is a look at some of the flowers I was able to make and the final cakes.

My Lily Cake

Cake with all the other flowers

I was lucky enough that my instructor showed us how to do a few things that Wilton had taken out of the class when they redid the course, so I also got to learn the rope border and the butter cream pansy (which is one of my favorite flowers I leaned to make).

I also did a little playing around with the leftover gumpaste and some online tutorials to make a gerber daisy!

Thanks Erin, can’t wait for the next class!

Apple Stars

2011-11-08T18:28:00.000-08:00

These were my favorite snack as a kid, my brother and I would always ask our Dad for apple stars for our evening snacks. We didn’t always get them, and we usually fought over who got the one with the best “star” when we did get them. Eating these now takes me back to those memories and always makes me smile (plus I can always have the best “star” now that my little brother and I no longer live under the same roof). They are a quick, simple treat and not all that bad for you.

Ingredients:
1 apple
½ to 1 tsp brown sugar
dash of cinnamon

Directions:
1. Slice the apple in rings through the core, remove the seeds from the inside of the apple.
2. Lay the apple slices on a flat surface and sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon over the apples.
3. Serve and enjoy!

Menu: November 7 - 11

2011-11-08T18:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry for being late with the menu this week, I am not sure what happened to my weekend. One minute I was getting ready for the weekend, the next thing I knew I was at cake decorating class on Monday night.

Tuesday: Bacon Ranch Chicken (slow cooker)
Wednesday: spagetti squash
Thursday: Steak and quinoa pilaff
Friday: Going out

Snacks and other: Red pepper feta dip, caramel apple pie, homemade frosty, veggies and dip, honeydew

The Halloween Cake

2011-10-31T17:44:00.000-07:00

As promised here are the Halloween cakes I sent to work:

Owen's work minicake

Cake for my work

The bones, skulls, zombie arm and ghosts I made out of gumpaste. The pumpkins were bought at the candy isle and made into jack-o-lanterns with edible markers. The gravestones are chocolate mint cookies with white chocolate writing.

They were a huge hit at work, but the best part was when you cut into the cake as I had hid gummy worms between the layers!

And Abbey the Angel says Happy Halloween. Have a spooktacular night!

Menu: October 31 - November 4

2011-10-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween folks! I can't believe October is almost over, yikes. It seems like only a couple days ago it was September. Oh well, here is goes for a menu:

Monday: Egg McMuffins
Tuesday: Leftovers/Fridge Fallout
Wednesday: Calzones
Thursday: Chicken Soup
Friday: Tacos

Snacks: Apples with caramel Cheesecake dip, pumpkin pie yogurt, apple stars, crackers, veggies and dip, fruit,

Baking: Apple muffins/loaf or cake and possibly caramel apples or apple cider caramels (I have a bunch of apples that need to get used up)

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

I have been keeping busy in the kitchen this Halloween (and around the house - I finally have a yard to decorate!).

First up were my Tiger Tiger cupcakes - based of the classic ice cream flavour! They were a big hit (as long as you liked black licorice flavour).

To make them a little more in the spirit of things, I added little white chocolate skulls (made using a candy mold).

Then I had these cute cupcake holders around, and couldn't resist making some cupcake skulls with brains! I have a new favorite strawberry frosting recipe now as well, yum!

I also made some tombstones for front yard and carved a pumpkin:

And lastly here is a sneak peak for the Halloween graveyard cakes!

I had fun playing with the gumpaste for this cake - pictures to come tomorrow (trying to keep it a surprise for the folks at work!

Menu October 24 - 28

2011-10-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

Alright, I am a little late with this again - I have no idea how I am so busy all the time, oops.

Anyways we aren't doing anything special this week, but at least we don't have so much going on that I am not cooking at all!

Monday: Grilled cheese/ leftovers
Tuesday: Pepperoni Feta Pizza
Wednesday: Lasagna soup
Thursday: Sausage and potatoes
Friday: Tarragon Chicken (new recipe!)

Snacks: Fresh fruit and vegetables, antipasto and corn chips, pumpkin pie yogurt, rice pudding.

Baking: Tiger Tiger Cupcakes (Hope they work out!).

Cake Decorating

2011-10-16T18:11:00.000-07:00

In September a friend from work and I decided to take a Wilton Cake Decorating course. It was 4 week of Decorating basics and was great to learn how to do some basic flowers and borders. Below is my work from each class (sorry about the horrible photos - the lighting in my house is horrible at 9pm and I never had any leftovers after work the following day).

Class 1: Cookies and piping basics. I didn't take pictures of these, oops.

Class 2: 2D decorating on a cake (I am not very good at this)

This was a spice cake with an apple butter filling. It was great.

Class 3: Cupcakes with Pom Pom flowers and Shaggy Mums

These were gingerbread cupcakes with a peach cream cheese filling. They turned out really nice and balanced out the sweetness from all the buttercream on top.

Class 4: Final Cake - Ribbon Rose, Wilton Rose and writing

It was a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream. The middle of the cake really wowed people. It was made with my tasty fill wilton pans. The middle was a raspberry mouse.

We had so much fun with the first class, we have decided to do the Flowers and Cake Design class starting tomorrow!

Menu: October 17-21

2011-10-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

So first let me appalagise for the lack of a menu last week. We ended up eating variations of leftovers from thanksgiving supper for most of the week.

This week is going to be a little weird food wise as well. I have to leave early for a class on Monday night and Owen has a clinic on Tuesday night. Then on Wednesday and Thursday I am at a conference and will be home late. That leaves us with basically Friday night for an actual sit down supper, yikes!

Monday: Stirfry
Tuesday: Egg Hashbrown Bake
Wednesday: O's Choice
Thursday: O's Choice
Friday: Stew or Pizza (depending on how work out from the week we are).

Snacks: Fresh fruit and veggies, hummus, fresh salsa, banana bread

Menu: October 3 - 7

2011-10-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay, this weekend was a little busy with making apple juice and antipasto. So without delay here is this week's menu.

Monday: Sausage and spaghetti
Tuesday: Beef Roast and potatoes
Wednesday: Burgers and Corn
Thursday: Goose Breast and green beans
Friday: Meatballs and potatoes

Breakfasts = bagels and smoothies
Snacks = antipasto, fresh salsa, fresh peach dessert, veggies and dip, cookie dough hummus.

This week will also include a bit of baking getting ready for thanksgiving. I am doing all of thanksgiving supper this year - so I am going to try and at least get the desserts done early, so I also see some pumpkin in our future this week.

Peach Vanilla Bean Jam

2011-10-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

Vanilla Bean Peach Jam

I started making jam a couple years ago when my inlaws sent me a bunch of fruit. However I had always made jam using the pectin that you can buy in the store and the recipes they provided. This makes pretty good jam, but I have found that we end up with too much and it is a little sweet for me - tasting more like sugar sometimes than the fruit. So this year I decided to make jam without adding pectin. My first attempt (here) didn’t go so well and I ended up with fruit butter almost. But I kept going and ended up with this great jam from Smells like Home.

Ingredients:
3 lbs pealed, pitted and roughly chopped peaches
3 ½ cups sugar
1 vanilla bean, halved and seeded
1 lemon (juice of)

Directions:
1. In a large heavy bottomed pot combine all of the ingredients. If you don’t like chunks of fruit in your jam I suggest mashing the peaches a little.
2. Cook the jam on a slow simmer until the temperature reaches 120F (this could take a couple of hours depending on the sugar content and amount of juice in your peaches).
3. Remove the vanilla bean pods.
4. At this time I used an immersion blender to get rid of any chunks, but this is not necessary.
5. Ladle the jam into hot sterile jars and top with lid and ring.
6. Process if necessary by boiling for 10 - 15 min.
7. Check to insure jars sealed, if they didn’t just pop it into the fridge and eat it within the next few weeks.

Reviews:
Such pretty jam and it made the kitchen smell fantastic. It also tastes great, and you can really taste the peaches rather than just sugar that I find with most jams.

Cookie Dough Dip - Peanut Butter

2011-09-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

I was playing on pinterest (my goodness what an addiction that is) and came across a recipe for a healthy cookie dough dip. I am trying to get some healthier snack foods in the house as i know I like to snack throughout the day rather than eating a large meal 3 times a day. the only problem with that, is that I tend to grab whatever is easy - which means I need to get my but in gear and have some healthy snack food on hand. This seemed perfect for the days that I am craving something a little sweet.

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas
⅓ tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp milk
½ cup brown sugar
⅛ tsp baking soda
⅓ cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. In a food processor combine all ingredients,but the chocolate chips, and blend until smooth.
2. Mix in the chocolate chips.
3. Enjoy!

Reviews:
This is a great dip, that tastes a lot like a mix between a chocolate chip cookie and peanut butter cookie dough. You can’t even tell that there are chickpeas in there! I tried it on a couple people and they both loved it.

Menu: September 26-30

2011-09-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

This week is trying to clean up the odds and ends of things out of the freezer to make room for the new produce being harvested and processed now. I am trying to do a little more canning this ear and a little less stuff for the freezer, but we will see how that goes.

Monday: Ravioli
Tuesday: Grilled Chicken Salad
Wednesday: Perogies and Turkey sausage
Thursday: Steak, potatoes and corn
Friday: Travel Day!

Other food this week: Gingerbread cupcakes with peach cream cheese filling (for cake decorating class), peanut butter cookie dough dip (but healthy), fresh salsa and chips (from the garden produce), fresh fruit.

Lemon Blueberry Cake

2011-09-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

I had some fruit that was around leftover from the first fruit delivery of year and I decided to try a Blueberry Buttermilk Cake. I had some lemon curd in the fridge as well that hadn’t gotten thick enough to fill cupcakes with and decided to add it to the cake. What I ended up with was a wonderful moist lemon cake filled with fruit.

Lemon Blueberry Cake

Ingredients:
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon
3/4 cup + 1 T. sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup lemon curd
2 cups fresh blueberries

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare a 9x9 pan by lining with parchment paper or buttering and flowering.
2. In a bowl cream together the butter and ¾ cup sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add in the egg and vanilla, mix until well combined.
4. Mix in ½ the flour and baking powder, followed by the buttermilk. Then add the remaining flour and baking powder.
5. Fold in the lemon curd and blueberries.
6. Pour in the prepared pan ( you may have to spread it out to the edges as it is a thick batter), and bake for 35-45 minutes. After 20 minutes remove from the oven and sprinkle the 1 tbsp of sugar over the top before you finish cooking. Check if the cake is done by poking a toothpick into the middle (as long as you don’t hit a blueberry it should come out clean).

Variation:
Switch out the blueberries for raspberries for a yummy twist on this cake!

Reviews:
This cake got great reviews and quite a few people thought it was better with raspberries than blueberries. I suggest going with the fruit you prefer.

Even O who isn’t a huge cake fan loved this cake so much he ate a ⅓ of it in a single day. Both times I brought it to work, I didn’t have any leftovers (and I didn’t have to work too hard to get people to eat it either!).

Menu: September 19-23

2011-09-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

Fruit arrived late last week (a little earlier than expected), so evenings this week will be a little busy getting things stored away. Thankfully I was able to get a bunch of things done this weekend (egg rolls, apple chips, canned apple pie filling, and apple peal syrup). Suppers will be fairly simple this week and lots of fruit!

Monday: Spaghetti bolgnese
Tuesday: Calzones
Wednesday: Tater tot casserole
Thursday: Ham Potato Soup
Friday; Fridge Fallout

Snacks: fresh peaches and apples, Spice cake, Apple Crisp, fresh peach tart

Pumpkin Pie Hummus

2011-09-13T20:02:00.000-07:00

Fall is in on the way - it is getting cooler outside and the leaves are starting to fall off the trees. This time of year always has me wanting to make comfort food, start packing away food for the winter and bake. One of my favorite ingredients to play with in the fall is pumpkin. I was playing on Pinterest and saw some pumpkin dips popping up so I thought I would try and make a somewhat healthy alternative to pumpkin pie. I ended up with a pumpkin pie hummus - eaten on a graham cracker this really does taste like pumpkin pie, but full of protein, fiber and iron!

Ingredients:
1 cup chick peas (about 1/2 a can)
¾ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!)
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp all spice
⅛ tsp ginger
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp molasses
3 tsp maple syrup

Directions:
Combine the ingredients in a blender or food process and mix until smooth.

This is a starting point - taste it and see if you think it needs any more spice or sweetener, I change the amounts a bit depending on the day and what I am wanting.

I love this spread on graham crackers!

Reviews:

I enjoy this and a friend ate ½ a batch in one day and then proceeded to demand the recipe, so it must be pretty good!

Menu: September 12-17

2011-09-11T17:14:00.000-07:00

Things are getting busy in our house now. I am taking a cake decorating class starting this week, O is training for a 1/2 marathon later this year and hockey has started. This means we are going to be having more quick meals or freezer meals for a little while until we figure out the new schedules.

This week:
Monday: Pierogi
Tuesday: Lasagna soup
Wednesday: Supper out for O's Birthday
Thursday: Coconut curry chicken
Friday: Crouton crusted chicken

Other foods: We have pumpkin pie hummus, red pepper hummus, sugar cookies (decorating class), Monkey Bread (For O's Boss's birthday) and a Cake as yet decided for O's Birthday.

Menu: September 5 - 9

2011-09-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

September is here and with that cooler weather is supposed to be on the way, however it looks like we are going to get at least one more week of decent weather. I am hoping to make the most of it with some quick meals tonight that are easy to eat outside on the deck or in the park.

Monday: Pasta
Tuesday: BLT Pitas
Wednesday: Tzatziki chicken wraps, taco dip
Thursday: BBQ venison sausage and potato salad
Friday: Stir fry

Banana Caramel PIe

2011-09-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

I was playing around on Pinterest (oh so addicting) and say the picture for this delicious pie. My cousin was visiting and when she saw the picture, she declared we had to try making it. It also suits her style of cooking as you can get most of the ingredients premade.

Ingredients:
Graham cracker pie crust (homemade or store bought)
3 bananas
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
whipping cream/ whipped cream/ coolwhip

Directions:
1. Remove the label from the can of sweetened condensed milk and place in a pot of water (the water should cover the can). Boil the can for 2.5 hours.
2. Peal and slice the bananas. Layer the banana slices in the pie shell.
3. Pour the caramel from step 1 over the bananas and smooth.
4. Top with the whipped cream (whip this if necessary) or cool whip.
5. Place in the fridge to chill and set for 1 hour.

Reviews:
We all loved this pie, so yummy! It is rather sweet however and can be a little messy despite being in the fridge. If I made this again, I would also not put the whipped cream on until I am ready to serve it, as it got a little melted coming in and out of the fridge.

Mixed Greens with Apple Vinaigrette

2011-08-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

I love the mixed green salad at Earls, it is apple in my salad! Yum! The dressing is tangy and sweet all at once. I can’t get to Earls for lunch very often (or my wallet would really hate me) so I needed to make this at home. I think I have come up with a pretty decent copy.

Ingredients:
Candied Pecans (from Suzie the foodie)
¼ cup pecans
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar

Apple cider Vinaigrette (epicurious)
½ cup unfiltered apple juice (I used homemade, but you can buy this)
1 tsp honey
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Salad
Lettuce (mixed greens work best, but I just use what I have in the fridge) (2 - 3 cups for single serving)
Feta Cheese (1 tbsp for single serving)
1 Apple (I use a gala as that is what we usually have in the house, but a tarter apple would be great)

Directions:
1. In a pot mix together the pecans, water and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and heat until most of the syrup is gone (don’t forget to stir!) This takes about 10 minutes. Spread on a pan to cool. (This can be done days ahead of time and stored in a container ready to top your salads).
2. In a jar/container mix together the juice, honey, olive oil and vinegar. Shake until well combined.
3. Rip the lettuce and toss in a bowl. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese, candied pecans (step 1) and thinly sliced apples. Pour 1 to 2 tsps of dressing over the salad and toss.

Reviews: I really enjoy this salad, it is delicious and perfect for summer. It isn’t exactly the same as the Earl’s salad but it is a good imitation.

Menu: August 29 - September 2

2011-08-28T16:11:00.000-07:00

This week is going to be busy, I have 3/4 of a box left to deal with, a 4l pail of blueberries and some raspberries, so I with all that going on suppers are going to be fairly quick meals this week.

Monday: Tacos
Tuesday: Grilled Steak and broccoli quinoa
Wednesday: Smokies and grilled asparagus with feta
Thursday: Goulash
Friday: Leftovers

Other food and snacks: peach ice cream, blueberries/raspberries and yogurt, roasted red pepper hummus, peaches (fresh)

Chocolate Coconut Milkshake - For Grownups

2011-08-27T14:01:00.000-07:00

Recently a few friends and I went out for supper at SodaJerks - and the best part was the grown up milkshakes. They were delicious, I have been wanting more since I left. Well the past couple of days have actually been warm (apparently summer has decided to finally make an appearance here) and I have been looking for something to sip while sitting on the deck in the evenings. I decided to try making my own mixes of milkshakes. this one was inspired by the fact that I had been playing with Malibu to make some cookies, and a hot chocolate that a friend of mine makes (she works at a coffee shop and mixes me up all sorts of drinks when she is bored).

“Grown up” chocolate Macaroon Milkshake
Ingredients:
3 large scoops of vanilla frozen yogurt
½ cup milk
1 tbsp chocolate sauce
1 tbsp Malibu rum

Directions:

In a blender mix together all the ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy! If you are feeling extra indulgent, top with some whipped cream, chocolate sauce and shredded coconut!

Reviews:
I love this and it was perfect for a hot day on the deck. Owen also thought it was good and finished off the last ⅓ of it on me...

Pina Colada Macaroons

2011-08-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

I have a friend at work who was leaving soon and so i wanted to make something special for her. I know that she loves Pina Coladas and so decided to try and make them in a cookie form. I had just come across the Papaya Mac Cookies by Joanne Fluke (found in Devils Food Cake Murder). I used this as my inspiration and as a guide to start my Pina Colada cookies.

Ingredients:
½ can (7 ounces) of sweetened condensed milk
2 ½ cups (7 ounces) unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tsp Malibu (Coconut Rum)
½ cup chopped dried pineapple
2 tbsp Malibu

Directions:
1. In a bowl mix the dried pineapple and the 2 tbsp of Malibu - you want enough so all the dried pineapple is in some rum, but the top layer should not be submerged. Let sit overnight ( you could probably get away with a couple of hours, but overnight is best).
2. Preheat the oven to 325F
3. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. The mixture should be sticky and should stay in shape when formed.
4. Spoon onto a cookie sheet (I covered mine in parchment paper as the dough is quite sticky). They do not spread so you can place them quite close together.
5. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. They should be soft, but feel dry on the outside and the coconut on the top of the cookie should be starting to become a golden brown.
6. Cool and enjoy!

Reviews:
I first served these when I had friends over for supper and they were a big hit (more so with one guest than the peach pie!).

Menu: August 22-26

2011-08-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

It is that time again - time for me to figure out what on earth I am going to be eating for the next week. So here goes:

Monday: "Turtle" Burgers
Tuesday: Grilled Chicken and garden green beans
Wednesday: Egg "McMuffin", salad
Thursday: Grilled sausage and corn
Friday: Left overs/sandwiches (on the road)

Snacks/Desserts: Fruit salad, Veggies and Dip, Banana Caramel Pie.

There are no weekend meals again this week as we will be out of town. I am going to pick up some fruit and doing some canning at my parent's house this weekend.

Myah’s Quilt

2011-08-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

I have been drooling over the Just Wing It fabric for a while, and couldn’t figure out what I wanted to make with it, until I saw the McKinley Quilt. It was so cute, and I knew just the little girl to give this quilt to.

Using a charm pack of Just Wing It from Moda, this quilt went together very quickly! I decided to do a raw edge applique for the flowers (I wanted to practice for an upcoming project I have and the fact that that with a 4 year old and a new baby on the way, it would just be safer for my recipients than buttons).

I embroidered the little girl's name onto the quilt and used a fabric from the Just Wing It line for the back. I did straight line quilting to outline the boxes, and I think it turned out well.

I love how this quilt turned out and it’s new owner seemed to be pretty happy with it as well. It was quick to put together, and the tutorial was easy to follow.

Menu: August 15-20

2011-08-14T18:28:00.000-07:00

I had a friend request that I put up my weekly menu for a while to help her figure out what she was going to eat for the week. So here is the first week. The meals don't always stay on the assigned days depending on what time I get home and the prep time needed for the meal. Also in the summer I don't usually have meals planned for the weekends, as we tend to go places on the weekends more often than not.

Monday - Clazones
Tuesday - Breakfast "Burrito" (I will make extras for breakfasts for a few days)
Wednesday - Coconut Curry Chicken
Thursday - Grilled Ceasar Chicken salad
Friday - Tuna Melt

For snacks and dessert during the week will be blueberries with yogurt, and canned peaches with vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Garden Update

2011-08-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

Things are growing really well in my little garden. The first of the beans was ready today (sadly the dog stole it when I dropped it).

The peas have been coming for a couple days and are awesome. I haven't made any with them, as none have made it into the house before being eaten yet.

The strawberries have been going, and the pepper count is at 5 so far for green peppers and too many to count for the chilis!

Glueten Free Cherry Chocolate Pudding Cake

2011-08-11T20:53:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who should not be eating a lot of gluten but she loves baking. She was drooling over the Cherry Chocolate Pudding cake that I made, so I decided to try making her a cake of her own (well actually I put her to work in the kitchen to show her how to do it). I also decided to make it a smaller cake, as it is a fairly rich cake and even with taking it to work with me it was hard to get through a 9 x 13 pan of it. What we ended up with was an 8x8 pan of gluten, egg and dairy free cake!

Ingredients:
¾ + 2 tbsp all purpose GF Flour mix (I used Kinikinik brand)
¼ cup organic whole brown sugar
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp coconut milk (you could also use almond, soy, or rice - I just had coconut on hand)
¼ cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1 cup cherries - rough chopped

½ cup organic whole brown sugar
1 ½ cup hot water
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. (if using a glass pan cook at 325F).
2. In a bowl mix together the flour, sugar, ⅓ cup cocoa powder, baking powder, milk, and applesauce. (I had to add an extra 2 tbsp of milk, try mixing without before adding it. The batter should be thick but not dry).
3. Fold in the cherries.
4. Spoon the batter into a greased and floured 8 x 8 pan (or a pan lined with parchment paper).
5. In the same bowl mix together the dark brown sugar, hot water, and ¼ cup cocoa.
6. Poor overtop of the batter.
7. Bake 35 to 40 minutes (the cake will be set but not firm, you should see some pudding bubbling up on the edges.).

Chocolate Angel Food

2011-08-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

I recently had a birthday, as seeing as how my birthday falls in August, I usually have ice cream cake. This year though, the weather has been cooler and I wanted something different. I wanted chocolate, but light and airy as it is summer. When I saw a chocolate angel food cake, I knew I had to make it!

Ingredients:
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup granulated sugar
12 large egg whites (make sure not to get any of the shell or egg yolk in with the whites or they won’t beat up properly)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 325F.
2. In a bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar (3/4 cup) and set aside for a minute.
3. In a bowl with a stand or hand mixer (I guess you could do this by hand but there is no way my arm is that strong) mix the egg whites and vanilla. Beat the egg whites on medium high speed until they are frothy.
4. While beating the egg whites sprinkle the cream of tartar into the bowl mixing it in as you go.
5. Continue to beat the egg whites until soft peaks form (the egg white will come up with the beater if you remove it, but will flop over and not really hold its shape).
6. While beating the eggs slowly add the remaining ¾ cup of sugar and continue to beat until the eggs white become glossy and stiff peaks form (will hold a peak shape when the beater is removed).
7. With a whisk fold in the mixed dry ingredients.
8. Pour into an angel food pan (do not grease the pan, or flour it). Using a spatula smooth out the top of the cake.
9. Bake for 40-45 minutes (mine actually took about 55 minutes, but I think my oven might be a little off). The top of the cake should spring back when touched and the cracks should appear dry.
10. Let cool upside down (I stick mine on a top of a bottle or the top of the cake will get soggy).
11. Slide a knife gently around the pan to release the cake.
12. Enjoy

Reviews:
I love this cake! It is great without anything on it, but fantastic with strawberries and whipped cream. It was a great light birthday treat!

Birdie Stitches

2011-08-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

I first came across the Birdie Stitches BOM from Little Miss Shabby when I was looking for something to make with my sunkissed fabric. I had fallen in love with the fabric, bought a bunch and couldn’t decide what to make with it. Embroidery isn’t something that I have done before, nor was it something that I thought I would be interested in doing, but I couldn’t get those cute little birds and the bright spring colors out of my head. So I decided to do a test run to see if I could 1. do embroidery and 2. if it would drive me nuts trying to do it.

I ended up with this cute little.... something.... I am not sure what to call it, but it is cute! I think it will end up being an oddly Shaped Mug rug, or might end up hanging as a teeny quilt in my quilting room, who knows. This did tell me though, that oddly enough I kind of enjoyed doing the embroidery.

With that knowledge and an upcoming vacation, I pieced together some blocks, printed the patterns, got myself a larger hoop, some thread and a water erasable marker. I have now been working on these blocks for just over a month (I started them on July 2 - really late) and this is what I have to show to date:

I am slowly catching up and can’t wait to see the final blocks and the final quilt. I love this quilt more and more as I work on it.

Cherry Chocolate Pudding Cake

2011-08-02T19:38:00.000-07:00

I came home from vacation with a bunch of cherries and knew I had to do something with a few of them before I made myself sick eating them. I found a recipe for cherry chocolate pudding cake, and I had been wanting to try a pudding cake for a while. I had remembered them from when I was younger and loved the goey pudding mixed in with the cake, so I decided to give it a try. I did change the recipe a little bit to cut down on the sweetness and make a darker richer chocolate.

Ingredients:
1 and 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Sugar (1 original recipe)
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3 tablespoons Baking Powder
¼ + 2 tbsp cup Milk
1/2 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1 cup Cherries, fresh/frozen, pitted
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
3 cups Hot Water

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. In a bowl mix together the flour, sugar, ⅓ cup cocoa powder, baking powder, milk, and applesauce. (I had to add an extra 2 tbsp of milk, try mixing without before adding it. The batter should be thick but not dry).
3. Fold in the cherries.
4. Spoon the batter into a greased and floured 9 x 13 pan (or a pan lined with parchment paper).
5. In the same bowl mix together the dark brown sugar, hot water, and ¼ cup cocoa.
6. Poor over top of the batter.
7. Bake 35 to 40 minutes (the cake will be set but not firm, you should see some pudding bubbling up on the edges.).

Reviews;
This cake got good reviews and it was even good cold the next day. However, O decided that he would like it better without the cherries, or with the cherries chopped into small pieces. I am sure I will make this again at some time.

Relaxing Eye Pillows

2011-08-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

There is nothing that helps a person cool down or great rid of a headache quite like a cool pillow on your forehead. I love placing something cool over my eyes when I have a headache or just want to relax. I have a couple of the gel filled eye masks that I keep in the fridge, and while I love how cool they are, they are very uncomfortable to actually put on. I have a heat pad that I picked up at a craft market for my shoulder that I love. As I love it so much, but it is a little big for my head, I decided to make a smaller version to keep in the freezer so i could just pull one out when I wanted to put something on my head, or pop one in the microwave to have something warm.

I started with the free pattern provided by Amy Butler (I love the idea of a slip cover I can take off and wash!), and then made a few modifications to it to spruce it up a little. I had a bunch of solid fabric and some scraps sitting around so I decided to do a little piecing to make them more interesting and fun (why not have them look fun as well?). I do love how they turned out. The blue one is filled with flax seeds and the pink has rice in it. They were very simple to make and I had them done in no time, which is great.

I also tried tracing my old eye mast and making one of a different shape. It turned out nice as well, but the I like the removable cover of the Amy Butler pattern.

I had so much fun making them I am now thinking of making a neck wrap to match!

Lesson Learned for Making Jam

2011-07-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

I was visiting my parents when they informed me that they had a bunch of strawberries for making jam that they had picked up that day. No problem, I can handle jam - right? Well after two batches of plain strawberry I was bored and wanted to try something new. I was already putting together an apple rhubarb crisp, and apple strawberry jam sounded great. I googled a bit and came across a few recipes, but non used commercial pectin - they used the pectin already contained in the apples. Being ambitious I decided to try my hand at making jam the old fashioned way - condense the fruit enough so the pectin already there gels it. I read the directions, I measured and I started. Then I stirred, and I waited, checked the temperature, stirred and waited some more. After an hour or more I was thinking that this had to be done - it was getting really thick, but the temperature wasn’t moving! I waited some more, and the mixture of apples and berries on the stove was slowly moving toward the consistency of apple butter, not what I was going for. Upon looking at the stove, my Dad discovered the burner had been turned down. I had been keeping the mixture hot enough to evaporate the liquid but not enough to increase the heat - ooops. Upon turning the burner back up, I quickly reached the desired temperature of 220F and moved on the fill the jars with my really thick jam. The result of my mishap is a thick and delicious concoction - somewhere between a jam and fruit butter.

I am determined to get this process right, so I will be trying more jams the old fashioned way hopefully later this summer/fall. Next up is Strawberry Cherry jam.

Lazy Daisy Cake

2011-06-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

One of my friends used to often make this cake - Lazy Daisy Cake. I don’t know were the name came from but this cake, but who cares, it is a cute name and oh so yummy. I finally got the recipe from her (it was out of an old 4H cookbook!).

Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake

Ingredients:
Cake:
1 cup quick oats
1 ½ cups boiling water
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

Topping
⅔ cup butter
⅔ cup brown sugar
¼ cup cream/milk
2 cups coconut

Method:
1. Combine the oats and boiling water and let soak for 20 minutes (it will turn into a nice mush).
2. In another bowl cream the butter, white sugar, brown sugar and cream together. Once it is mixed and fluffy, beat in the eggs and vanilla.
3. Mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon.
4. Add the flour mixtures and the rolled oats to the butter sugar alternating (1/2 the flour, ½ the rolled oats, ½ the flour, ½ the rolled oats).
5. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
6. As the cake bakes, cream together the butter, sugar and milk for the topping. Mix in the coconut.
7. Spread the topping on the cake and return to oven for 10 minutes.
8. Cool, serve and enjoy!

Variation:
You can make the topping with 1 cup coconut and 1 cup of chopped nuts as well if you prefer.

Reviews:
This cake is moist and delicious. I love the cinnamon in the cake mixed with the golden coconut crust on the top. Everyone who tried it like it, and for me it is a great comfort food.

A Crazy Quilt

2011-06-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

A Crazy Quilt

Remember these brown squares from before Christmas?

Well I finally got the quilt finished for my Mother - in - law! It didn’t take nearly as long to put all the quilted squares together as I thought it would and I must say, that although I was unsure about the squares while they were in piles on the floor I do like the final product.

This is the largest quilt I have made so far, it will be on a double bed! I can’t wait to see it in its new home this summer when I go out to visit my in laws. I used the method from Crazy Shortcut Quilts. It was really easy and it would be easy to make each quilt unique.

On the back of the quilt I decided to do stripes of colors so you can flip it over if you want something a little less busy.

BBQ Pizza

2011-06-04T08:10:00.000-07:00

I finally have a yard - after 7 years I no longer have to BBQ on a tiny camping BBQ out my living room window (seriously, this is how I did BBQ for 7 years!). Now I can comfortably stand on my deck and use my real BBQ while enjoying the outdoors. The result is that I have been doing a lot of cooking on the grill lately (which is awesome as my house doesn’t heat up from the oven). I decided to try pizza one day, and was surprised at how easy it was.

Pizza Dough
¾ cup warm water
1 ½ tsp yeast
½ tsp sugar
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp oil

Toppings:
Cheese
Veggies ( I used a red pepper, green pepper and onion)
Meat (I used some fried pepperoni sausage)
Pizza sauce

Method:
1. In a bowl combine the water, yeast and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes, the mixture should appear slightly foamy as the yeast starts to activate.
2. Add in the flour and oil, combine until it forms a ball. Cover and let rise for about an hour - the dough will about double in size.
3. After the dough has sat for about 30 minutes, start preparing the vegetables. Cut them into strips (makes them easier to work with).
4. In a vegetable basket on the BBQ cook the veggies until they are crisp tender. (about 10 minutes depending on the size of vegetable pieces.
5. When the dough is done divide into 4 equal parts (or 8 if you would like a smaller pizza). and roll out until they are about ¼ inch thick.
6. When you are ready to start the pizzas, but the dough directly on the grill and let them cook for about 5 minutes. when they are done they will easily lift off the grill and will be soft on the top, a little puffy, but firm on the bottom.
7. Remove dough from grill and assemble the toppings on the firm cooked side of the dough.
8. Return to the grill until the dough is finished cooking and the cheese has melted (about 5 to 8 more minutes).

Enjoy.
Reviews:
This is a great way to enjoy pizza in the summer - you don’t have to heat up the oven or the house as all the cooking can be done on the grill. Also the grill gives the pizza dough a bit of a different texture that I love - a little crunch on the outside with a soft yummy inside! The flavor added by BBQing is great. I will be doing this more often this summer as the weather heats up!

The bonus with the smaller pizzas is that everyone can have their own - have them put their own toppings on to make them personalized.

Gardening!

2011-06-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

We are in the new house and I decided that I didn’t want to deal with trying to plant flowers and grow them in the planters in the back yard all summer. I will do the one in front, but other than that, I don’t want to be dealing with growing plants that don’t really do anything. I instead decided to see if I would be able to get some vegetables growing - they will look great and I should get some yummy produce if everything turns out well, so wish me luck!

I have two beds in the back yard that get various amounts of sun. In the sunniest i have planted beans, carrots, onions and garlic (which is already up a little bit - yay). In the shadier of the beds I have putting in peas and thinking of adding some lettuce as I have been told these do well in partial sun.

I also have a large deck and lots of space for pots, so I am trying out some pot bush beans (we will see how that goes), peppers, tomatoes and herbs! The herbs are doing great (I bought them already started) and some of the peppers already have flowers!

The last bed in the back i have left planted with the plants I found there - strawberries! I will be adding a couple of plants to replace those that seem to have died in the winter, but the remaining plants are already up and doing well. There is already a flower on a couple of the plants.

I am looking forward to see what I get out of the garden and being able to cook (hopefully) with some fresh veggies this summer!

Mom's Quilt

2011-04-10T18:33:00.001-07:00

Last year I decided to take up quilting (I am still not sure why I decided to do that, but I am loving it) and last spring I made my Dad a quilt. Well, then I said I would make my Mom a quilt, as Dad had one and apparently wasn’t great at sharing. It took a while to find a quilt or fabric that would suit my Mom but then I came across the Cherish Nature line by Moda. It was perfect, and even better, I got the kit for the quilt on sale for 50% off! Whoo hoo. My Mom loves butterflies and so I thought that the fabric from Paula Prass’s Flights of Fancy would be perfect for the backing.

The quilt turned out great. I started it in mid January, but had to wait for a little while once the top was done while I waited to get some batting I wanted to try. I decided to use Hobbs 80/20 fuseable quilt batting.

I free motion quilted this (I am getting much better at this), but decided to outline some of the birds and butterflies in the fabric to try and make them stand out a little more. I don’t know if it worked all that well, but I do like the way it looks.

I really wanted to get this to my Mom and as my Dad was coming up for a weekend I wanted to get it done and sent back home for her. Unfortunately that didn’t give me enough time to do the binding by hand like I have done on my other quilts. I had been wanting to try machine binding a quilt for a while to see how I liked it so this was the perfect excuse. Well, I love it! I was able to do the binding in one night and I like the look. I probably won’t to this for every quilt, but I am sure I will be doing it again.

April Fools Cupcakes

2011-04-08T21:51:00.001-07:00

I didn’t remember it was April Fools this year until the night before (which is one reason this post is coming after the fact and the other is people from work read this so it would have ruined the surprise). I wanted to do something, but didn’t have time to really thing this up, so I was messing around on the interned and stumbled upon Cupfakes by Willow Bird Baking.

These would be a great idea and I had everything I needed at home except for the avocados and I was lucky enough to find ripe ones at the store.

I made a couple of changes to the biscuit recipe as I didn’t check to make sure I had enough milk at home and ran out =(

Cheddar Bacon “Cupcakes”
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 sugar
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
3/4 water
2 tbsp skim milk powder (alternatively use milk instead of water)
1 egg
4 tbsp butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla
4 strips bacon, cooked and chopped, divided
1/2 small sweet onion, chopped finely
2 tbsp dried chives

Method:
1. Chop the bacon strips into small chunks and cook on in a pan until brown and slightly crispy. In a pan (you can use the same pan and cook them in the bacon fat if you want or use olive oil) cook the chopped onions until they are soft. Set aside the cooked bacon and onion.
2. In a bowl mix together all ingredients for the “cupcakes” ( flour, sugar, cheese, water/milk, milk powder, egg, butter, baking powder, vanilla, bacon, onion and chives). Mix until the dough hold together and is uniform.
3. Spoon in to cupcake liners.
4. Bake at 400F for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
5. Let cool completely before frosting.

Avocado Frosting
3 Avocados
4 ounces cream cheese
1 tsp lemon juice
salt pepper

Method:
In a blender or food processor combine the avocados, cream cheese, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth.
Pipe or spread onto the cupcakes before serving, (don’t do it too early or you run the risk of the avocado turning brown.

Reviews:
Alright, these do look like cupcakes, with an albeit interesting choice in colour for the icing. However, everyone was already pretty suspicious of me before I brought these out (it might have something to do with the fact that I had already been playing with computer mice that morning). It took a little convincing that I hadn’t done something horrible to the “cupcakes”, but once people tried them, they loved them! I liked the scone, but not being a big avocado fan myself, I could take or leave the topping.

Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-04-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

I was reading my feed one day and saw that someone had made chocolate chip cookies filled with an rollo- how awesome is that? I folowed to the original recipe and found all sorts of variations, oreo filled cookies, brownie filled cookies - so much yumminess. I knew I had to make these. I decided to try two combinations - oreo (regular not double stuffed) and brownie. I followed the original recipe and formed the cookies around either an oreo cookie or one of my fudgy brownies. Unlike the original brownie filled cookie - I cut my brownies to about the size of an oreo, I needed a cookie that could be eaten in one sitting. The other fun part about this size is I mixed all the cookie together so you wouldn’t know what filling you were getting until you bit into them.

I didn’t change anything in the recipe and the instructions on Picky Palate are fantastic, so i am just going to tell you to go there and check out her recipe.

Reviews:
The dough seemed a little dry when I was working with it, but it worked great. These were delicious and stayed soft while the oreo in the center stayed firm, how awesome is that?

The cookies were a big hit and were loved at my house, my work and O’s office! Only three people have been lucky enough to pull out both an oreo cookie and a brownie stuffed cookies. It was mixed on which was better, it was said that the brownie cookies were better as there was “more love” to them.

"Smurf" Cakes

2011-04-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

I have no idea why I decided to make these - but the blue cupcake and the white frosting reminded me of Smurfs, and so these have been christened as smurfcakes for no other reason than the colors. The cupcake is a blueberry cupcake topped with a lemon buttercream (don’t you just love the combination of blueberry and lemon?).

The cupcake recipe is of my own making as I was playing around in the kitchen and the frosting is a variation of a recipe from group recipes.

Blueberry Cupcakes

½ cup margerine or butter
¾ cup blueberry puree
½ cup milk
2 large eggs
2 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cup sugar
2 ½ cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
Blue food colouring (optional)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F and fill cupcake pan with liner.
2. In a bowl (much easier with a stand mixer), beat the butter until soft. Beat in the sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs and egg whites and bea until a smooth mixture is formed.
3. Add in ½ the flour followed by the milk and the remaining flour and baking powder.
4. Fold in the blueberry puree (and the food colouring if you want to make the cupcakes a brighter blue).
5. Fill the cupcake liners ⅔ to ¾ of the way full.
6. Bake for ~20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Lemon Buttercream
3 ½ cups icing sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp milk
⅓ cup butter (softened).

Method:
1. In a bowl with a mixer cream the butter and the milk. Slowly add in the icing sugar ½ cup at the time.
2. Mix in the lemon juice. (If it is too runny add a little more icing sugar to help thicken it).
3. Enjoy!

Reviews:
These cupcakes were very cute and the color combination was amazing. The blueberry flavour in the cupcakes was faint, and as such was overwhelmed by the lemon (not that it was a bad thing as the lemon frosting was AMAZING).

Max and Whiskers Quilt

2011-03-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

I finally finished another quilt! The amazing thing - even though I have 3 other quilts in various stages of being worked on, I finished this quilt in 10 days! That is from the day I received the fabric for the quilt top to the day I gave it to the recipient. Amazing what I can accomplish when I ignore the rest of the house and use precuts!

I made this quilt using a moda jelly roll of the Max and Whiskers line by Basic Grey. From the first time I saw this fabric I knew I wanted to make something with it (I love all the cute animals on the prints), but couldn’t decide what to do with it - then I found the perfect project. I used the pattern by Sweetjane, which used exactly one jelly roll for the top (with very little scraps left over). I made a trip last weekend to the local quilt shop and found the backing and binding in the sale rack (bonus for me).

This was also the first time I tried free motion quilting! Yay, I am glad it turned out so well and it was so much easier than I thought it would be (got to love my new sewing machine that came in a couple of weeks ago).

Anyone curious as to why I was in such a hurry to finish this quilt or who it was for? Well this quilt was the perfect thing for the new addition to my household. She is a big sweety and arrived a couple of weeks ago. The fabric was too perfect for her and I needed something for her to cuddle with on the couch.

Meet Abbey (and her new quilt - isn’t she cute?). Abbey is a 10 year old Brittaney Spaniel who has come to retire as a spoiled house dog. She loves living in the warm house (especially since it has been -25 or colder for the last couple of weeks) and is soaking up all the attention she is getting. She used to have to share people attention with 5 other dogs, now she has two people all to herself and is taking full advantage of that!

Anyways, why does Abbey get a quilt? Because I broke down and decided I needed someone to keep me company on couch, we needed something for her to lay on. The backing fabric should hide her hair nicely (thankfully she has pretty much stopped shedding - for now).

Review of the quilt:
It is pretty busy, but it came together very quickly (the binding took me longer than anything else). It will be great for what I needed it for and it looks like Abbey enjoys it.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing

2011-03-06T13:24:00.000-08:00

This a great variation of the cream cheese frosting but the consistency can be hard to achieve - especially if you don’t want to add more sugar and risking it getting too sweet. The key is to use real strawberries and concentrate the puree to remove most of the liquid but keep the flavour.

Ingredients:
½ cup of regular cream cheese frosting
½ cup of strawberries (you can add more or little depending on how much strawberry flavour you would like).

Method:
1. Wash the strawberries and remove the tops if using fresh (frozen works fine as well, as long as they are not in a syrup).
2. Puree the strawberries and put the strawberries in a pot. Turn the heat on low and let it simmer until it forms a thick paste. Be careful not to burn them!
3. Mix the cream cheese icing and strawberry “paste” together.
4. Frost and enjoy!

Note: If this seams a little runny to you then try putting it in the fridge, it will firm up if it is cool. If it is still too runny you can add more icing sugar to thicken it (this will make it a lot sweeter) or add try adding more cream cheese icing.

Reviews:
This icing is amazing, I love it. It would be good on anything.

I took it to work with Papaya cupcakes and it was definitely the star of the coffee break.

Papaya Coconut Cupcake

2011-03-05T21:16:00.000-08:00

I had some papaya in the fridge that I wanted to use and the oven was already on as I was baking some cinnamon buns for O’s work. What else could I do but try some cupcakes? I found a recipe on Chockylit but decided to make a couple of changes, mainly adding whole wheat flour.

Ingredients:
½ cup oil
2 large eggs
¼ cup coconut milk
1 ⅓ cup sugar
1 ⅓ cup all purpose flour
⅔ cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ cup shredded coconut
6 ounces of pureed papaya

Method:
1. In a bowl mix together the oil, eggs and coconut milk.
2. Add in the sugar followed by the flour and baking soda.
3. Once the flour is mixed in add the coconut and papaya and mix until just incorporated.
4. Fill cupcake cups (the batter will be a little sticky) and bake for 22 minutes at 350F. The cupcakes will be golden on top and a toothpick will come out of the cupcakes clean.
5. Allow to cool, and enjoy!

Reviews:
I enjoyed this but am hesitant to call them a cupcake. The consistency of the cake is much more like a muffin than a light and fluffy cupcake. O thought they were a little bland, but no one else seemed to have that complaint (and I blame this on my papaya - seriously, why did I think I could get a flavorful, sweet, juicy papaya in the middle of Canada in the winter?).

I topped these cupcakes with a strawberry cream cheese frosting which is the hit of the day (it really stole the thunder from the cupcakes themselves) and the recipe for that will be coming shortly.

Cream Cheese Icing

2011-02-27T17:35:00.000-08:00

I know I said I would post this a while ago, and I am sorry for the delay.

This is just a general cream cheese icing that I use for many purposes - icing cupcakes, cakes or even dipping monkey bread into (yum!). I add different flavours depending on the occasion but I must say it is pretty good all on its own.

Ingredients:
1 block (8 ounce) cream cheese
½ cup butter
2 to 3 cups of icing sugar

Directions:
1. Make sure the cream cheese and the butter are soft and at room temperature, the longer they have been out the easier they will cream together!
2. Cream together the cream cheese and the butter. Slowly add 2 cups of icing sugar and mix in.
3. Now the fun part - taste the icing. Is it too tart - add a little more sugar, is it too runny - add a little more sugar (you get the idea).
4. Use however you wish (eating with a spoon is always an option, just not the healthiest route to go!).

Lime Coconut Cupcakes

2011-02-06T15:08:00.000-08:00

There was a birthday at work this past week, and I hadn’t baked anything in a while, so I figured that was a good enough reason to make something. I wanted something new, not the same old cookies or vanilla cupcakes. Also I didn’t want anything too sweet - that is for next week when Valentines Day hits (still have no idea what I am making for that one - pink cupcakes maybe?)

Anyways, I wanted something a little spring like and upon investigating the contents of my fridge I came across some lime juice. I love lime flavoured deserts and went on the hunt for a lime cupcake recipe. I came across Coconut Lime Cupcakes on the foodnetwork site and decided to try - along with my own modifications of course, I was looking for a lime cupcake not a coconut cupcake!

Lime Coconut Cupcakes (makes ~ 12 to 15 cupcakes)
Ingredients

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons lime juice (bottled or freshly squeezed)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cups loosely packed unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. With an electric mixer (or a really strong arm) cream together the butter and sugar. The resulting mixture should be light and fluffy (don’t be afraid to let it beat for a couple of minutes to get it this way).

3. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated. Add in the vanilla extract and the lime juice, mixing well.

4. In bowl combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add ⅓ of the mixture to the wet ingredients and let mix. Add ½ of the butter milk, followed by ⅓ of the dry ingredients. Repeat once so all the milk and flour is used. Mix until a smooth mixture results.

5. Stir in the coconut.

6. Drop the mixture into cupcake holders, filling about ⅔ or ¾ of the way up. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes - until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

7. Allow to cool before Icing.

Reviews:
I used a cream cheese icing on these cupcakes and they were great. They got great reviews at work and I didn’t come home with any left! I will be making these again when I want something a little more spring/summery or just that hint of citrus!

Hashbrown Egg Casserole

2011-01-19T21:40:00.000-08:00

It has been snowing here (a lot) and it has been cold. This combination has made my desire to go grocery shopping almost nonexistant. I have been trying to stretch the distance between shopping trips as much as I can, as all I want to do after work is to come home, curl up with a warm blanket and a good book while trying to stay warm. This recipe came up as a result of an almost empty fridge and a refusal to go out into the cold for more ingredients. It is a variation and mix of an old recipe I only half remembered and one found on allrecipes.com.

Hashbrown Egg Casserole
Ingredients
1 (32 ounce) package frozen cubed hash brown potatoes, thawed
1/2 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 eggs
1/2 cup water
1 can evaporated milk
½ onion chopped, cooked until soft

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine hash browns, bacon, 1/2 cup cheese and salt. Spoon into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.
2. In a bowl, beat eggs, water, salt, pepper and evaporated milk milk until smooth.
3. Pour the egg and milk mixture over hash brown mixture. Sprinkle with paprika.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes until golden.
5. Top with the remaining cheese.

Reviews:
Oh, I love this for a change for supper. I rarely have the time or the desire to cook hashbrowns and bacon in the morning despite my love of them. This recipe is so simple and has endless changes that can be made to make it fit my mood for the day - adding vegetables such as chopped peppers, or switching the cheese. I do love a little jalapano montery jack in this - gives it a little kick. The egg taste is very mild to not really there (unless you are looking for it), which is a bonus for me.

Velvet Cupcakes

2011-01-19T21:38:00.000-08:00

I have always loved red velvet cupcakes, but never tried making them myself. When I saw the recipe for velvet cupcakes in Jamie Oliver’s new cookbook I thought I would give it a try. After a few batches and a couple of changes (due to the horribly dry climate I live in mostly) and a couple of “ooops” moments, here is what I ended up with.

Makes 12 cupcakes
¼ cup butter (rt)
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 lg egg
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp red food colour (optional)
2 heaping tbsp cocoa powder
1 ¼ cup flour
½ cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp white vinegar
3 tbsp oil

Directions:
Heat oven to 350F

1. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. , Gently beat in egg, vanilla and food coloring.

2. Whisk together cocoa and four. Fold half into the butter mix, followed by buttermilk. Repeat for remaining flour and milk.

3. In a bowl mix the baking soda and vinegar, stir into cake mix.

4. Divide into 12 liners in muffin tins, bake for 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in the pan then transfer to a wire rack.

Let cool before frosting.

Reviews:
Even after playing with the recipe, the cupcakes were denser than I would have liked. However I seem to be the only one that had an issue with the cupcakes - everyone else loved them (even when I had an oops moment and used apple cider vinegar!). This is a good cupcake, but won’t be my go to recipe.

Favorite Chicken Sandwich

2011-01-19T21:37:00.001-08:00

I love roasting chicken when it is cold out, the house smells amazing for the day and it is just a comforting meal when it looks miserable outside. The other thing I love about roasting a chicken - it usually lasts us no less than 4 complete meals and multiple lunches! The number of meals I am left with at the end usually depends on the number of people who are coming over for th initial roast chicken dinner and how big of a chicken we have.

Anyways, I had a chicken thawing for roasting when i went to the grocery store and disscovered on of my new favourite foods - peppercorn crusted bacon! How could I pass that up - it would be amazing on burgers right? Well since it is not grilling season, I did roast chicken sandwiches with leftover roast chicken. The peppercorn bacon was perfect and these are definatly my favourite sandwich!

Peppercorn Bacon Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients:
2 large soft kaiser buns (or your favourite bun)
Leftover roast chicken
6 to 8 slices peppercorn crusted bacon, cooked
Pickles, sliced
Mayo
Cheese (I used Swiss, but cheddar is equally good)

Direction:
Assemble the chicken, bacon, pickles, mayo and cheese in a bun with mayo. Enjoy!

Reviews:
Oh this so so good! I don’t usually make sandwiches for supper, or even eat leftover chicken sandwiches that much, but these babies make my mouth water! If I had another chicken in the freezer, I would be planning on cooking it soon just so I could have these again!

O liked the sandwiches as well - he said they would have been perfect with a slice of tomato (sadly we had none in the house).

Sorry for the Delay

2011-01-19T21:29:00.000-08:00

Oh wow has it been a long time since I put a post up! Sorry about that. I have a good reason - I swear. Since the last time I posted, my husband and I have bought a house, moved, tiled a bathroom, painted and put in a kitchen island. On top of that we went to the in law's for Christmas. So busy! Hopefully the posts will become more frequent now that the house is unpacked and I am settling into the new routine. Enjoy some picks of the house for now.

The living room before painting:

After painting (sorry about the bad lighting)

Coconut Macaroons

2010-11-23T15:51:00.000-08:00

I love to bake when the weather gets cold. There is just something comforting about a warm oven and a house that smells like baking when it is snowing and cold outside. Why does this matter? Well the weather here sucks, it is cold and snowing and I am not ready for it to be the middle of winter just yet. Despite having almost my entire kitchen packed (that is right, I am moving in 4 days – why did I think moving in November was a good idea?) I decided that I needed to bake cookies. I needed something simple to make (I didn’t want to unpack 6 boxes to find the ingredients and pans for anything) and remembered coming across this recipe on the Kraft site. It was perfect – they look Christmassy, kind of like a snowball, and I love coconut.

Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups medium or flaked unsweetened coconut
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
Chocolate (I used milk chocolate wafers for melting, but feel free to use whatever you want)

Directions:
1. In a bowl mix together the coconut, milk and vanilla. Once it is mixed together drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper – no sticking!).
2. Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes – the edges will start to turn a golden brown. 3. Remove the cookies to cool on a wire rack (they will still be soft, but don’t worry, they will solidify as they cool).
4. Once the cookies are cool, melt the chocolate and dip the cookies as little or as much as you would like.

Reviews:
These were great cookies! I love how simple they were to make and how good they tasted. They nixed my cookie craving and gave me a nice hit of coconut – something I love in the winter. These cookies somehow made it to coworkers who have all enjoyed it. Actually the reason I am posting this 3 days before moving when I really should be finishing my packing is because so many people requested the recipe, it was easier just to put it here than try and get copies to everyone. So for everyone who wanted to try making these – I hope you enjoy them. I am now off to try and finish my packing and get organized for moving!

No Flour Fudge Cookies

2010-11-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

I came across these cookies when looking at some gluten free recipes on King Arthur Flour one day (man I love that site), as a few friends and family members are celiac or at least gluten intolerant. These cookies looked amazing and I had to try them right away.

Ingredients:
2 ¼ cup powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
3 lg egg whites
2 tsps vanilla extract

Instructions:
1.Preheat the oven to 350F and line the cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2.Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth (make sure you scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl).
3.Drop cookies on the cookie sheets (I used my cookie scoop, and that was a good size).
4.Bake for 8 minutes (the tops will be crackly but the cookies will still be very soft). Allow the cookies to cool on the pan before removing to a wire rack.

Reviews:

These cookies are completely addictive; I couldn’t get enough of them. They were fantastic, and I have made a few batches. The cookies were almost like fudge in the shape of a cookie. I did add some instant coffee powder to some of the cookies and these were also enjoyed very much.

Caramel Apple Bunt

2010-09-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

We just recieved our first order of apples - just over 200lbs! (Don’t worry I did get some apples for other people and most are windfalls for making juice.) So I have an abundance of apples around the house. I also tried a couple of new varieties this year and wanted to see how they held up in baking before I started the mass pie production. This cake seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out the new baking apples - that and it was my husband’s birthday, so I was in need of a cake.

I found the original recipe on all recipes.com, but modified it a bit to suit my tastes (well hubby’s tastes and my aversion to 1.5 cups of oil in one recipe). Below is what I came up with and it was a delicious fall cake, even without the topping. I may make it again adding cinnamon to the batter and leaving off the topping.

Ingredients
CAKE:
3 eggs
1 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup apple sauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups chopped, peeled apples

TOPPING:
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 tbsp milk
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Pinch salt

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs until foamy; gradually add sugar. Blend in oil and vanilla.
2.Combine flour, salt and baking soda; add to egg mixture.
3.Stir in apples and pecans.
4.Pour into a greased bunt pan.
5.Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cake tests done (toothpick comes out clean).
6.Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake to a serving platter.
7. For topping, combine all ingredients in a saucepan; boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly pour over warm cake (some topping will run down onto the serving plate.)

Reviews:
My husband liked this cake and didn't mind having an apple birthday cake rather than the traditional birthday cake. The leftovers were fed to my coworkers and received rave reviews. Everyone really enjoyed the cake, and it was still nice and moist a couple days later.

Weekend update

2010-09-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

So this weekend my family and I dealt with nearly 300lbs of fruit, crazy right? There were five of us on Saturday working on the fruit. The count for the weekend was:
17 cups pear jam
16 cups peach jam
7 pints of apple sauce
30lbs of apples became apple chips
28 quarts of pressed apple juice
1 apple caramel pie
1 batch peach ice cream
1 batch caramel apple pie
15 lbs of peaches sliced and frozen
6 pie crusts

Oh, and my brother and Dad made 25lbs of pepperoni sausage for pizzas! I am so excited to eat that this week.

Earlier in the week my mother had made 28 pints of canned pears as well.

It was a busy weekend for everyone, but we managed to get most of the fruit done. There is a few more pears to get canned (Mom wanted to try a recipe of ginger pears), a few peaches for a pie, apples for pies, and about 15lbs more apples to be dried.

I am working on getting some yummy fruit recipes up, so keep looking - hopefully I will get one or two tonight!

An Update

2010-09-14T15:29:00.001-07:00

First let me say I am very sorry for the pathetic little that has been posted in recent months. I am still around, and still trying to get updates done - I have a camera full of food pictures to prove it! Sadly life seems to have gotten in the way, I barely have time to cook these days let along write about it. What has been keeping me so busy you ask?

Well it has been a number of things - new job, surprise trip to BC to visit the inlaws and this quilting hobby that has taken over all sembalance of free time! Oh, not to mention that I have had fruit coming in droves to deal with over the last couple of months. To date I have dealt with 80 + lbs of peaches, 10 lbs of cherries, 10 lbs of raspberries and 10 lbs of blueberries. Now it is apple and pear season. The latest batch has just arrived - more on that later - so it has been keeping me busy, and hopefully I will have a few new recipes to post from that!

Just to say that I did finally put up a post - here are some of the quilts that I have finished this summer:

Monkey Time - This is filled with a wool blanket for batting and will be keeping me warm at my husband’s hockey games this winter! I loved the sock monkeys on the fabric so much I had to make myself a sock monkey to go with it.

These are doll quilts that I have made for my cousin’s for Christmas. They are done this early as I have to mail them in a couple weeks so they will actually arrive by Christmas (Darn that overseas mailing!).

Here are a couple more that I am working on for various friends and family members. These should also be done before Christmas (what did I get myself into?)

I have a couple of recipe posts I am working on, so hopefully those will be up in the next few days!

Chocolate Cupcakes, White Chocolate Icing

2010-07-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

The chocolate cupcakes

For the wedding I decided to do a twist on the chocolate cupcake – a chocolate cupcake with a white chocolate icing (who doesn’t love chocolate on more chocolate). For the cupcakes I used a one bowl chocolate cupcake recipe from iheartcuppycakes. I adapted the recipe for the icing from Cupcakes take the Cake

Chocolate Cupcakes:

Ingredients:
1 ½ cup flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
1 ½ cup sugar
1 ½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
¾ cup milk
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 ½ tsp oil
¾ cup warm water

Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare your cupcake pan (this recipe doesn’t take long to put together).
2.On medium speed of an electric mixture (or by hand) combine flour, cocoa, sugar baking soda, baking powder in a bowl.
3.Reduce the speed and add in the eggs, milk, oil, vanilla and water. Mix until combined.
4.Fill cupcake liners ½ to 2/3 full (I put about ¼ cup cup of batter, not scraping out what sticks in the cup) into a large cupcake liner and this works well.
5.Bake 17-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
6.Let cool on a wire rack before icing.

White Chocolate Frosting:

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
5 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
4 - 5 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled to tepid
1/3 cup milk, heated to tepid
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1.In a bowl beat the butter for 1 -2 minutes (works best with the paddle attachment of an electric stand mixer on medium speed).
2.Beat in 1 1/3 cup sugar.
3.Mix in the melted chocolate.
4.Blend in 1 1/3 cup of sugar and the milk.
5.Beat for 2 minutes on medium high speed.
6.Beat in the vanilla and 1 1/3 cup of sugar.
7.Beat for 2 minutes and check the consistency – if it is not thick enough (mine was not) add the remaining icing sugar ¼ cup at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
8.Frost cupcakes.

Reviews:

These cupcakes were delicious and were a big hit at the wedding (especially with the kids!)

I used the leftover icing to fill some chocolate oreo cookies and they were fantastic!

Cupcakes and a Wedding

2010-07-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

So the last few weeks I have been busy making cupcakes, testing icings to see how they stand up to the heat without losing it's shape (or melting all together). Why all the testing and baking? Well in a moment of insanity I offered to bake the cupcakes for my friends wedding. Why on earth did I think that was a good I deal, well I guess I will never know. But I ended up making about 100 cupcakes, icing them, transporting them 1.5 hours to the wedding, and setting them up before driving another 20 minutes to try and make the ceremony in time! Thankfully I got there in time, the icing didn't melt and nothing was destroyed in transport.

I ended up making a chocolate cupcake with a white chocolate icing and a vanilla bean cupcake with a strawberry buttercream icing. They were pretty, and held up well. Everyone seemed to enjoy them.

So I hope you enjoy the pictures and I will hopefully get the recipes up soon!

Pheasant Quilt

2010-07-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

So sorry for the delay in getting this up (it has been done for a few weeks, and is residing in my parents living room now). I will get to the reason for the day in the next post (I promise I have a reason!).

Anyways, I got the quilt for my Dad done (albeit a little after father's day). He loves it and it goes well with the chair. Oh, and he had to try it out as soon as it arrived, despite the fact that it was the end of June and in the 20s (that is C) outside.

The quilting projects seem to be piling up quicker than I can get them done. I have a sock monkey quilt that will be finished in a couple weeks (just waiting to get the time to do the binding), doll quilts for some of my cousins, a quilt for my mother (fabric is on the way) and some small projects for a friend of mine. I can't wait!

Quick Cheesy Pasta

2010-06-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

I was short on time making supper one night and needed something to go with our grilled chicken. I had no pasta sauce of any kind in the house and so decided to try something for a creamy cheesy side. It took only minutes and turned out great.

Ingredients:
Pasta
¼ cup milk (I used 1%)
2 Laughing cow light cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning.

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to the package instructions.
2. Drain the pasta and place it back in the pot. Over low heat add the milk, cheese and seasoning.
3. Stir the pasta until the cheese has melted and the pasta is coated.
4. Serve and enjoy.

Reviews:
This turned out great! It was quick and easy, but oh so creamy and delicious. You would never guess that I made it with light ingredients.

Banana Boat Cookies

2010-06-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

I loved Banana boats as a kid (bananas filled with mini marshmallows and chocolate chips, mmmmmmmmm) but sadly only have them while camping (I will have to remember to post those sometime this year). Well I always get a craving for them at some point during the year when I just can’t make them – winter or when the first signs of spring are coming out, so I decided to make a cookie to try and replicate them. What I came up with is a soft delicious banana cookie filled with chocolate chips toped with toasted marshmallows.

Ingredients:
½ cup butter (room temp)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup mashed bananas (2-3 bananas – I like to use 3 big bananas and not care if it is a little over. The riper the bananas, the stronger the flavour)
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips
Mini marshmallows

Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 350F while you make the dough.
2.Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg until it is light and fluffy.
3.In another bowl mix the mashed bananas and baking soda, let sit 2 minutes.
4.Mix the banana and butter mixtures.
5.Add the flour until just combined – don’t overmix.
6.Fold in the chocolate chips. Drop cookies onto a cookie sheet, top with 1 mini marshmallow.
7.Bake for 11-13 minutes (will be golden) and let cool on wire racks. While cookies are still warm press another marshmallow into the top of the melted marshmallow in the cookie.
8.If you would like to go the extra little bit, you can put the cookies under the broiler for a few seconds to toast the top of the marshmallow – devine!

Reviews:
Oh, how I love these little delights, so moist and delicious. Oh, and there is bananas in them, so I can almost trick myself into thinking they are healthy – right?

The first batch of these I made were supposed to go to the bulldogs during their season, but somehow ended up at the team Captain’s house and never made it to the game, hmmm.

Grilled Salmon Steaks

2010-06-28T08:54:00.001-07:00

For Father’s day, we were visiting with both sets of parents. O and I decided that for a special treat for the parents we would pick up some fresh fish at the local fish market and grill it for them. They had some great looking salmon that we picked up and took home. I decided to marinade the steaks before grilling them and found a great looking recipe on all recipes. I changed the recipe a little just to make it easier and so I had to handle to fish less – I am not a huge fan of fish.

Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs salmon ( I used steaks)
Lemon pepper to taste – about ½ to 1 tbsp
1 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
¼ cup vegetable oil

Direction:
1.Mix together the lemon pepper, garlic powder, soy sauce, brown sugar, water and vegetable oil.
2.Pour the marinade into a large Ziploc bag and add the salmon. Press out the air and seal. Marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours (I had mine in for a few more hours).
3.Grill the salmon over medium heat on the grill, until it flakes easily. Don’t overcook or it will become dry.

Reviews:
Everyone loved the salmon! The marinade was simple and didn’t overpower the fish. It was a big hit and some people thought it was better than any salmon they had ever had a restaurant.

Citrus Ginger Spice Cookies

2010-06-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

I received a cookie press and off course I had to try it out right away. Upon flipping through the book that came with the press I came across the recipe for ginger cookies, and had to try them. Now, first, these are not a ginger snap, nor a molasses cookie, but a more citrus like cookie.

Recipe:
1 ½ cup all purpose flour
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup room temp butter
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp orange zest (zest of 1 large orange)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 350F while you prepare the dough.
2.Mix the flour and pumpkin pie spice together and set aside.
3.Cream the butter and sugar together, add the orange zest and vanilla extract and mix until light and fluffy.
4.Beat in the eggs. Mix in the flour and spice mixture. The dough will be soft.
5.At this point either pack into the cookie press and press cookies, or spoon on to a cookie sheet (cookies should be small).
6.Bake for 12-15 minutes. The cookies should be just firm to the touch. Cool and enjoy.

These cookies made the kitchen smell so good. I loved it. The cookies were a big hit, even though they were not a traditional ginger cookie. The one comment I did get was that they went great with either a glass of milk or coffee – whichever you are into.

Despite this being a recipe for a “cookie press” I am sure it would work fine with just spooning out small teaspoon sized cookies.

Quilting - The next project...

2010-05-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

My Dad's birthday was in May and Father's day is coming up so I thought I would try making him a quilt (I doubt it will be done in time for father;s day, but here's hoping...).

Here is the fabric that I have for the quilt:

When I saw this I thought it would be great to go with the glider chair in my parents house:

They raise pheasants and pointing dogs, so they have a bit of this stuff around the house.

Anyways, I am hoping to get this done as soon as possible (as well as getting ready for my thesis defense in 3 weeks) so wish me luck!

7 Minute Frosting

2010-05-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

This frosting is out of an old cookbook that my Dad got when he left home to go to college. It is light and fluffy, but super sweet. You can easily change the flavor by adding a different extract other than vanilla, have fun with it! So if you have a special occasion coming up or just want to indulge, I hope you enjoy this recipe.

7 minute Frosting

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups white sugar
2 egg whites
½ cup cold water
1 tsp cream of tarter
Vanilla (1-2 tsp)

Directions:
1.In the top of a double boiler (or a glass bowl you can set in a pot, with the rim sitting on the edge of the pot) combine all the ingredients and mix until combined.
2.Place the top of the double boiler (or the bowl) on top of a pot full of boiling water. Beat the ingredients until soft peaks form (I highly suggest using an electric mixer for this!). This should take between 4 and 7 minutes.
3.Remove the top of the double boiler (or bowl) to cool water and continue beating until the frosting has cooled enough to spread.
4.Working quickly (with as few strokes as possible) frost the cake. This icing looks wonderful with lots of little peaks all over the cake – it is not the best for a nice smooth neat surface!

Reviews:
This is my Dad’s favorite frosting to have on top of angel food cake, and it is the cake that he never fails to request for his birthday. The frosting is very sweet, almost like a marshmallow fluff, so while it is great as a special treat, it is not something you would want to use everyday.

First Quilt - Finally Done!

2010-05-24T16:13:00.000-07:00

Around Christmas time I was looking for something to keep me occupied during the long dark cold evenings of winter. For some reason I decided that quilting would be a good thing to try, I don’t know why quilting struck me as something to do and have yet to figure it out. No one in my family quilts (well my mother started a quilt some 15 years ago – it is still sitting unfinished in a closet somewhere).

Anyways, I wanted something simple – I don’t do much sewing generally, and wasn’t sure how this was going to go. I found a cute kit on connecting threads, and thought that would be a good way to go. I loved the fabric and then I didn’t have to mess around, finding a patter, picking fabric, determining yardage and such. It looked like a simple enough patter, a lot of squares, in only 2 sizes.

The fabric came in in January, and I got to work. A few weeks later I had a quilt top done and ready to be made into a quilt – the kicker? There is not even close to enough room in my living room unless I move out a bunch of furniture, to put the three layers of a quilt together. This meant that my poor project was left sitting for months until I went to my parent’s place and took over their dining room to finish it.

Well, it is done now, after 1 weekend spend ironing, sewing, pinning and quilting and one weekend spent hand sewing on the binding. I am very pleased with the results, and it turned out much better than I had expected. I have found quilting to be relaxing and a great way to let me procrastinate working on my thesis. In the time since this quilt has been finished (or almost finished) I have somehow come with 4 more quilts I would like to make and am trying to figure out what I can do with other fabrics that I love.

Hopefully there will be more quilt posts to come!

Breakfast Burritos

2010-05-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

I saw this on a OAMC website one day and thought it was a great idea. Owen doesn’t like cereal for breakfast, he doesn’t have the time to cook eggs in the morning and toast doesn’t keep him full enough. That means that most weeks we are buying bagels for him, upon seeing this though I knew it would be a great idea.

I made mine different from the original website, and filled them with what O likes in his omletes he makes on weekends and what we had in the fridge. He has now been eating these for two weeks and is really enjoying them.

Ingredients: (made 7-8 burritos)
6 large eggs
1 – 2 cups diced mixed peppers
4 thick slices of bacon, chopped (optional)
½ small onion
1 cup shredded cheese
7 to 8 large tortillas

Directions
1.In the frying pan, fry the bacon until cooked. Leave a little oil in the pan to fry eggs in. You can remove the bacon and add it again with the veggies.
2.In a frying pan (with a little olive oil if you didn’t do the bacon first), scramble the eggs until cooked.
3.Add the veggies and the bacon.

4.Lay a torilla on a piece of tinfoil (if they are dry, heat them in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to make them more pliable).
5.Put ½ to 2/3 cup of egg mixture on the tortilla and sprinkle with cheese.

Fold up the bottom, then fold in the sides and roll. Wrap in the tinfoil and freeze.
6.When you want to cook you bake it in the oven at 400F for 25 min, or you can microwave it until warm. Note: O likes to put his in the fridge the night before, then he doesn’t have to bake it as long in the morning, and he can get in the last couple minutes of sleep.

Reviews:
Owen has been enjoying a little more variety in his morning routine and likes having a breakfast that is healthy and keeps him going. It is a fairly economical breakfast when compared to buying bagels for the week or the better cereals. We have made these a couple times and now just add whatever veggie odd and ends we happen to have in the fridge that might go well.

Bulldogs Update

2010-05-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

I have been really bad about posting the bulldog's cookies each week, but with all that was going on I barely had time to get the cookies made let alone write up posts to go with them, so I am giving you the last of their cookies now, and will start working on the backlog.

This is what I made for the bulldogs for the last playoff game they were in - they were playing 2-3 games a week at this point so I was short on time between games. Also supplies for baking was running out in the house, and as I was leaving a couple days later on vacation, grocery shopping was the last thing on my mind. I had tried this with a couple of leftover egg roll wrappers the last time I made egg rolls, and they got great reviews.

Apple Rolls

Ingredients:
1 pkg egg roll wrappers
3-4 apples (use a tarter apple such as Granny Smith)
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Water
Oil for deepfrying

Directions:
1. Peal and core the apples, cut each apple into 12-16 slices. You want the slices to be no more than 1/2 and inch wide on the widest side.
2. Take one egg roll wrapper, and place an apple slice near one of the corners. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon - tarter apples will need a little more sugar, so go with what you like. Top with another apple slice.

3. Fold the bottom corner over the apples, fold in side corners and roll up like an egg roll. Wet the top corner so it will seal.
4. Repeat until you run out of egg roll wrappers.
5. Deep fry the rolls in oil at about 375F until the wrappers are golden. Drain, let cool slightly and enjoy.
Note: they will become soft if stored too long - so just give them a quick cook in the oven to crisp them up again (375-400F for 5-10min).

Reviews:
These were a huge hit, I got more comments on them than any of the others cookies from through the season. One player stated that they were his all time favorite. One warning that O noticed (he has had them twice now) is to make sure you don't overcook them or the apples will be soft. Not a problem if you don't mind soft apples, but he says they are better with apples that are still holding their shape a bit.

Bulldogs:
Alright, the Bulldogs got into their divisional playoffs in first place. Sadly they were unable to make it to the finals.

Mustard Potatoes

2010-05-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

First let me apologize for the long break - end of term and thesis writing took over my life for a while. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel now, and have a little time to get back to actually writing down the recipes I have been trying. So here we go:

We were having salmon for dinner (well I was having chicken) and O had mentioned that he wanted potatoes with it for supper. I knew that there was some mustard going on the fish, so I figured I would put some on the potatoes as well. After a quick search I found a recipe that sounded great and had some good reviews. I modified the recipe a little (I refuse to do shopping trips for 1 item). The end result was delicious and went great with the fish.

Ingredients:
3 Large potatoes (5 med-regular potatoes)
¼ cup grainy dijion mustard
1 tbsp safflower oil (or any vegetable oil)
½ tbsp lemon juice
dash of salt

Directions:
1.Peel the potatoes if you wish, and cut them into small cubes/chunks.
2.Mix the mustard, oil, lemon juice and salt. Pour over the potatoes and toss to coat.
3.Place the potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 425F for 20 minutes.
4.Stir the potatoes around and bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft and tender.

Baby Quilt

2010-03-07T10:47:00.000-08:00

A friend had her lovely baby boy a few weeks ago, and I had offered to make him a nice warm blanket for watching hockey games in – he came to his first game to watch his Dad play at only 2 weeks old, I would say he is going to be a hockey fan. Anyways, I decided to do the blanket in the colours of the team’s jerseys (they are basically the same as the Nashville Predators jersey).

I got the idea from a pattern I had seen with nice large blocks and made a trip to the fabric store. Lucky for me they were having a sale on fleece, and that would make a great hockey blanket! I didn’t do the 3 blankets like the original pattern called for, so I kind of re worked the cutting and fabric amounts to work for me.

Materials:
¼ m Fabric 1 (yellow)
½ m Fabric 2 (White)
½ m Fabric 3 (Blue)
1 m Fabric 4 (patterned)
36 x 42” batting

Squares:
4 – 9X9” squares (Fabric 1)
1 – 18 x 24” square (Fabric 2)
2 – 9 x 18” square (Fabric 3)
2 – 9 x 24” square (Fabric 3)
1 – 36 x 42 square (Fabric 4)

I sewed everything together following the original instructions, and then quilted it with a random curved line. The only thing I added as a stitch around the edge of the blanket to make it neat with a ¼” seam.

Reviews:
I love how thick and soft this blanket it. Sadly the total size of 35 x 41” is a little too small to be of much use to me. I really hope the new hockey fan enjoys it!

Salsa Rice

2010-03-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

Salsa Rice

Some days I want something quick, that I don’t really have to think about – this is one of those meals. I love how tasty it is and how easy it is to put together. I originally got the recipe out of a Kraft cookbook and have altered it over the years, as I don’t usually have minute rice in the house. I have also tried to make this a healthy meal, while keeping the cost down.

Ingredients:
½ lb lean ground beef (you could also use ground chicken or turkey)
2 ½ cups cooked brown rice (I use Basmati)
1 ½ cup salsa
1 can corn niblets (drained)
Shredded light Old Cheddar

Directions:
1.While the rice is cooking (however you like to cook rice, I like to through min in my little rice cooker) brown the ground beef.
2.Combine the corn, ground beef, rice and salsa in the sauce pan and let it heat so the corn is hot.
3.Dish up and sprinkle with cheddar to your taste.

Reviews:
This is so tasty and simple that it a great dish to throw together on a busy night. The bonus – my husband can easily make this with little instruction or help for me, which is a great thing if I need to work late. The brown rice gives it a nice flavour that you don't get with the white rice (although it is still yummy).

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

2010-03-03T20:28:00.000-08:00

I had some butterscotch chips in the cupboard to use, and what better way to use them than feeding them to the hockey team? The bars worked so well for them last week that I decided to do a bar again (well that and it takes so much less time to bake when I am in a hurry.)

I looked for butterscotch bars and decided to try the Nestle TollHouse version of Butterscotch Brownies (although they were really just like cookie dough), and decided to add some chocolate to it.

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup margarine softened
1 ¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2/3 to ¾ package of butterscotch chips
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. In a bowl cream the margarine/butter, then cream in the sugar, eggs and vanilla.
2. Mix the flour and baking powder together, then slowly add to the sugar/butter mixture.
3. Fold in ¾ of chips (both butterscotch and chocolate). Spread the batter into a 9x13 baking pan (I lined mine with parchment paper).
4. Sprinkle the remaining chips on top of the batter.
5. Bake at 350F for 25 to 35 minutes (30 min was a bit too long in my oven, they will be soft in the middle at the end, but set).
6. Cool on a wire rack, and cut into squares.

Reviews:
These were tasty, especially if you like butterscotch or chocolate chip cookies. I actually had members of the Bulldogs stopping to thank me for them this week and tell me they really liked them. The goalie said they were a little heavy for before the game, but he couldn’t stop eating them! I would say that it is a good review anytime someone makes themselves sick because they were couldn’t stop eating it.

The Score:
The Bulldogs beat the Gators 4-2 and are now in second place in their division! Hopefully they keep up the good work, as playoffs are only about a month away.

Peanut Butter Fudgey Brownies

2010-02-24T15:44:00.000-08:00

This week the Bulldogs had a late game (10:45 pm start time, nice right?), and so I thought I had tons of time on Saturday to figure out something. Turns out I got a lot busier than I thought that day, and when I realized we would be leaving for the game in 3 hours, I still hadn’t even thought of anything to make. A quick look in my cupboard revealed a bag of peanut butter chipits, hmm what to do with those? I decided on brownies, as I needed it to get done quickly and cool so I could get them to the game, and still had to make some supper.

Fudgey Brownies with Peanut Butter
Ingredients:
1 cup margarine
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup all purpose flour
peanut butter chipits (I used ½ a package but would up that to ¾, do what you like)

Directions:
1.In a medium saucepan melt the margarine and remove from heat. Stir in the brown sugar until smooth.
2.Add in the eggs and vanilla once the mixture has cooled so it will not cook the eggs.
3.Stir in the cocoa powder and all purpose flour until just combined. Fold in the peanut butter chipits.
4.Pour into a 9x 13 inch pan ( I line mine with parchment paper)
5.Bake at 350F for 25 minutes, cool on a wire rack.
6.Enjoy!

Reviews:
The boys loved these brownies (and I must admit that I stole a few before they made it to the locker room). The peanut butter cuts the sweetness of the brownie just the right amount, and what goes together better than peanut butter and chocolate? When asked what they wanted next week, I was told these brownies (or the oreo cookies). Too bad for them that isn’t happening, I can’t have these things around too often!

The Game:
They won 10-4 against the Canadians! Way to go boys! They play again Saturday evening, and hopefully I will have post up a little quicker this time.

Tai Coconut Curry Soup

2010-02-24T15:40:00.000-08:00

I saw a recipe for this in “The best of Chef at Home” by Micheal Smith. The picture had me drooling, and I really wanted to try this soup. However after a trip to the grocery store I was unable to find a few of the ingredients (lemon grass, lime leaves ect), so I picked up a curry sauce instead of a paste and made my own soup!

Ingredients:
2 cans coconut milk
1 jar Thai curry sauce (I used yellow, but if you want spicier go for red or green)
2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
2 carrots – shredded
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 – 2” knob of ginger
1 box chicken broth
1 packed thai rice noodles

Directions:
1.In a saucepan, cook the chicken strips.
2.Add in the curry sauce (start with ½ the jar and go from there), 1 can of coconut milk, cream from 1 can of coconut milk, carrots, celery, grated ginger and chicken broth. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes ( vegetables should be cooked).
3.Add the rice noodles and allow them to rehydrate (1-3 minutes depending on heat of soup – check package directions).
4.Serve and enjoy.

Tip: If the noodles are long (as rice noodles tend to be), break them before putting them in the soup, long noodles are hard to dish up or eat with a spoon!

Reviews:
O and I both really enjoyed this soup! It was easy to adjust the spice, and the flavours went really well together. Using the pre-made curry sauce allowed the soup to be made in about 30 minutes, with very little work (and I didn't have to hunt out lemon grass, but still got the flavour). That is my kind of dinner.

The chicken is great in this, but I am sure it would be just as good without and using vegetable broth as a vegetarian version.

Chocolate Chip Cardamom Cookies

2010-02-21T20:23:00.000-08:00

First let me let me apologize for the lack of pictures, my camera batteries were dead and then all the cookies were done before they were charged. Also the last week has been terribly busy, so i apologize that this post is a week late.

I love cardamom and usually only get it in cookies around Christmas time. I had a craving for it this week, but didn’t want to make fattigmen or anything like that. I had seen some recipes for Cardamom Chocolate pots, and figured if it went well with chocolate, it should go well in chocolate chip cookies.

Cardamom Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Ingredients:
1 cup margerine or butter
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2 egg
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups all purpose flour
½ to 1 tsp ground cardamom (if it is fresh, you will need only ½, use 1 for preground, or if you really like the flavour!)
Chocolate chips.

Directions:
1.Cream the butter until it is light and fluffy, then cream in the sugar, followed by the egg and vanilla.
2.Mix the baking soda, flour and cardamom together. Add to the butter mixtures and mix until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
3.Using a teaspoon drop cookies onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 10 to 12 minutes.
4.Cool on a wire rack.
5.Enjoy

Reviews:
So I made a half batch with cardamom and a half batch without. I loved the cookies with the cardamom in them and could tell the difference. O thought they were okay, but isn’t a big fan of cardamom so he mostly went for the regular. He could tell which were the cardamom cookies, as he would take a bite then give them to me and get himself a new one!

However the hockey boys could not tell the difference between the two batches. My theory is they weren’t really trying. No complaints on either batch though, and I will be making these again.

All right Game time:
I know I missed last week as I was away – well the boys won sans cookies! Way to go! As for this week, the game ended in a 2-2 tie after 3 periods and one round (5 players) of shootout. They then ran out of ice time and had to leave the game as a tie.

(As this post is a week late, this weeks post will be up soon!)

Cinnamon Cookies

2010-02-13T12:18:00.000-08:00

I love cinnamon, so naturally I am fan of cinnamon hearts. I had a large bag of cinnamon hearts and decided to try and make a cookie out of them for valentines, as I wanted something new and special.

Cinnamon Heart Cookies

¼ + 2 tbsp butter
¾ cup crushed cinnamon hearts
1 egg
¼ tsp vanilla
1 ¼ cup flour
½ tsp baking poweder

powdered sugar
crushed cinnamon hearts

Directions:
1.Cream the butter and then add the crushed cinnamon hearts and continue creaming. Add in the egg and vanilla until well mixed.
2.Add the flour ½ cup at a time and the baking powder until mixed.
3.Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
4.Sprinkle the counter top with powdered sugar and roll out the dough to ¼ inch thick.
5.Cut out cookies and place on a cookie sheet, sprinkle the top of the cookies with the remaining crushed candies.
6.Bake at 400F for 6-7 minutes.

Reviews:
I fed these to my students and they all seemed to really enjoy them. Theya re great slightly crispy cookies with a little kick of cinnamon to them. They make a fun and easy Valentines treat, or a great treat for anyone who is a fan of cinnamon hearts!

Lasagna (with Bolognese sauce)

2010-02-01T14:48:00.000-08:00

I watched Guy's Big Bite on the food channel one day (seriously big mistake) and they featured a couple of Italian places with amazing looking food. After that I was craving something cheesy and tomato goodness. In that same timespan I found myself on bell'alimento (again, not the smartest plan when I was already craving Italian). As soon as I hit the Lasagna Bolognese I was done. I called O at work, he stopped on his way home to pick me up some cheese as I got to work on the sauce. The result is a mix of bell'alimento's recipe and the ones I saw on the Food Network that week.

Lasagna (made with Bolognese sauce)

Bolognese sauce
fresh pasta dough/ dry lasagna noodles
mozzerela cheese
Bechamel Sauce (recipe below)

Assemble the lasagna.

1.Take the pasta dough from fresh pasta and roll into sheets, or use dry noodles. Cook the dough in boiling water.
2.In a pan layer Bolognese sauce, cream sauce, cheese and top with noodles.
3.Repeat the layers until you have 3 layers of noodles, top with sauces and cheese.
4.Bake at 350F for 35 min. (golden on top)
5.Let sit 15 min before serving.

Note: you could also sprinkle some paresien cheese on the top as well!

Also the Bolognese recipe makes a lot, I got 2 of these lasagnas made in a 9” pan and more for spagetti.

Bechamel Sauce (made enough for 2 9” square pans of lasagna)
4 tbsp of Butter
1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups Milk

In a pan melt the butter. Whisk in the flour until it forms a “paste”. Slowly add the milk to the paste and whisking until smooth each time. Once all the milk is in cook for 5 min or so until it thickens.

Reviews:

Oh my, this hit the spot. I almost pulled it out of the oven and started shoveling it in my face before it was done it smelled so good. It was hardy and filling and just good comfort food. I am drooling just thinking about it. This was also a hit with O.

I have one sitting the freezer ready for to bake it in the coming weeks. I am really looking forward to this.

Bolognese Sauce

2010-02-01T14:40:00.000-08:00

I have tried a few different Bolognese sauces over the last year or two, trying to find one that I loved. I have eaten at a couple of places that have tasty ones, so I kept trying. While browsing one day I came across bell'alimento, and here delicious looking Ragu alla Bolognese. I knew I had to try it.

I have made a couple of changes, as I was looking for something with a little more tomato in it (also requested by O) that day, but the original sauce is also amazing! I highly suggest checking it out, and all her other yummy looking recipes!

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients:
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 carrots - peeled & minced
2 stalks of celery - minced
1 clove of garlic - minced
1 onion - minced
1 6oz can of tomato paste
2 cups red wine (I used a Shiraz)
1 ½ lb of ground beef
½ lb of ground venison (or beef)
water
s/p
3 cans tomato sauce

Directions:
1. In a large, deep pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
2. Once hot add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Saute on low heat for 20 to 25 min. The veggies should be soft and tender. Don’t forget to stir it once in a while.
3. Add the meat, salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is brown through.
4. Add the tomato paste and brown for 5 minutes. Add the wine and allow to reduce by half (10-20 min).
5. Put enough water in the mixture to cover the sauce by 1”. Let the sauce simmer on low for a MINIMUM of 1 hour, best is 2-3 hours. If the liquid gets too low, add a little more.
6. ½ hour or so before using the sauce, add in the tomato sauce and stir. (If you want you can add a little basil and oregano – I did this to ½ the sauce.)

Read more: http://www.bellalimento.com/2009/11/10/bolognese-sauce/#ixzz0eK7fPZ87

Reviews:
Both the original sauce found on bellalimento's sight and this version are amazing, just depends on how much tomato you feel like. I am in love with this sauce and I can see I will be making it again in the near future (after the leftovers in the freezer run out).

This recipe make a lot of sauce, and so I have some in the freezer just waiting for me. I am looking forward to see the results of freezing on the sauce. I used this sauce to make lasagna (coming very soon!).

Egg Rolls

2010-01-31T15:43:00.000-08:00

I had stumbled across this recipe a while ago on My Kitchen Café, and thought it would be fun to try and make them. The problem I soon discovered was in trying to find egg roll rappers. Apparently they aren’t easy to find around here.

I finally stumbled upon the wrappers and all the necessary sauces and was able to whip up some up. The key was to look in the correct area of the store – and despite the warnings from the author, they were actually called egg roll wrappers, not spring roll wrappers.

I decided to ½ the recipe as it was going to produce way more than I needed.

Egg Rolls
1 package vermicelli noodles
1lb ground pork
1 lb ground chicken
½ head of cabbage, shredded finely
2 whole eggs
1 egg white (save the egg yolk for sealing the egg rolls)
1/4 pound carrots, shredded finely (about 2-4 depending on size)
1 onion, finely chopped

Cook the noodles according the package instructions (soaking in hot water for 10 to 20 minutes). Once soaked, drain very well and chop noodles up a bit into 2-3 inch pieces (not too short).

Mix all the above ingredients (noodles, meat, cabbage, whole eggs, egg whites, carrots and onions) in a large bowl. Hand mixing works best. Then add:

1 1/2 tablespoons salt
4 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoons fish sauce

Mix together.

Take a wrapper and place filling about a 1/3 of the way up the wrapper. Fold the end over, then fold the bottom up and roll. Seal using the leftover egg yolks.

In a pot heat oil (I used safflower) to about 375F. Drop in the rolls and cook until golden brown and cooked through, you will have to turn them so it cooks on both sides. (I tested the first couple with a thermometer to figure out how long it took to cook the insides.)

Reviews:
I only wrapped about 1/3 of the filling before I ran out of wrappers, oops. I froze the rest of the filling to use later – note this makes a lot of filling.

These were delicious, O loved them and friends enjoyed them. The 30 that I made and wrapped were gone in a matter of days, even after putting them in the freezer! They are completely addictive, and I can’t wait to make up the rest of them (although I am trying to hold out as I can’t imagine they will last very long).

A tip: make a bunch and put them in the freezer after cooked. When you want to have them for supper bake them for 20 min at 350F. They remain crisp and still taste amazing!

Chocolate Dream Cake

2010-01-31T15:19:00.000-08:00

I received a cakepan that would allow me to make filled cakes really easily. I couldn’t wait to try it and and decided to make a dreamy chocolate cake filled with all sorts of different kind of levels of chocolate.

Starting with Martha Stewart's One Bowl Chocolate Cake, I then filled it with a dairy free chocolate mousse (my friend coming over is lactose intolerant, so I wanted something she could enjoy), and topped it all with chocolate butter cream (Martha Stewart) and chocolate shavings.

The cake was very easy to put together – pop out of the pan, fill, stack, ice. So simple, with fantastic results.

One Bowl Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

Makes 2 eight-inch square or 3 eight-inch round layers

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for pans
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups soured milk (I used 1% plus 1tbsp lemon juice)
3/4 cup safflower oil (or any vegetable oil)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup warm water
Unsalted butter, for pans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter round or square cake pans, and line bottoms with parchment; butter parchment, and dust with cocoa.
2. Into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, stir in eggs, 1 cups warm water, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla until smooth, about 3 minutes.
3. Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake, rotating once, until tester inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes for 8-inch layers, depending on amount of batter.
4. Let cakes cool in pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely, right side up on rack.

Note: the original recipe calls for 1 ½ cups of warm water but only in the directions, which I thought was weird. After adding 1 cup of water, I thought it was a good consistency and baked it. It turned out great.

Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients

4 ounces 80% cocoa chocolate (I used Lindt)
3/4 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, cream the margarine.
2. Add the sugar, vanilla and melted chocolate and beat until fluffy.
3. Add the eggs and beat for 3 minutes until smooth and thick.
4. Refrigerate until serving, or in this case fill the appropriate areas of the cake.

Chocolate Buttercream

Ingredients

Makes enough for 15 cupcakes

1 cups sugar
1/2 cup egg whites (about 3 large)
¾ cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly (I used an 80% cocoa Lindt bar)

Directions

1. Place sugar and egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer set over (but not touching) a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until mixture is heated and sugar is dissolved. Whisk (with an electric or stand mixter) until cooled and stiff peaks form (the peak remains after you remove the beater).
2. With the mixer running, add butter, one piece at a time, until completely incorporated. Continue whisking until a light, fluffy cream has formed. Stir in chocolate until well combined.
3. Use as needed.

Reviews:
Oh wow, this cake truly was a dream. It was 8 to 9 inches high and full of delicious chocolate. The mousse was divine, and I admit I licked the bowl out, not the normal lick off the spoon, but I full on broke out the spatula and scraped every last bit out of the bowl. So good! The cake was moist and delicious, I will using this recipe again.

The only thing that I would have done differently? Used white chocolate and milk chocolate shavings on the top as well as the dark chocolate. mmmmmmmmmm

Oreo Cakesters - Bulldogs

2010-01-29T12:44:00.001-08:00

The bulldogs played midweek (Wednesday at 10:30pm!) this week. Sadly after their last game they had requested the soft oreo like cookies that I will sometimes make, and our my brother in law's favorite cookies. These are really tasty cookies, and come together very quickly.

I have previously posted these cookies, so it sadly wasn't a new or fun cookie for the boys this week.

However the cookies were a hit (I had very little doubt on that point) and no leftovers found their way home.

Bulldogs: The boy's lost the game this week by one goal after coming back from being behind by 3 goals.

Next week's cookies: I am really not sure yet, and as O and I will be gone that weekend, I don't know if I will be sending them cookies.

Quick "Asian" Noodles

2010-01-18T14:12:00.000-08:00

I wanted something to go with the beef and broccoli I was making, and while in the grocery store I checked out the selection of asian noodles – they had the fresh Shanghi noodles ( a soft, thick yellow coloured noodle) on sale and decided to try it. My mother used to cook with them once in a while and I remembered they were pretty good, and there was a recipe on the back of the package. I combined it with a recipe from Steamy Kitchen (15 min Asian noodles).

Quick Noodles

1 lb “fresh” Asian noodles (refrigerated section, with other asian foods)
2 stalks green onion, cut in small slices/rings
1 carrot, thinly sliced or shredded
4 tablespoons oyster sauce
4 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon sherry
2 tablespoon cooking oil (canola or vegetable)

Directions:
1.In a hot frypan or walk heat the oil and add the carrots and green onions, and fry until tender.
2.While veggies fry mix the oyster sauce, soy sauce and sherry together.
3.When veggies are almost done add in the noodles (cooked if the package says to cook them first, but these just needed to be heated) and mix with the veggies. Cover the sauce and cook until heated.
4.Enjoy!

Reviews:
These were pretty yummy, and they were ready I about 10 min or so. They paired great with the beef and broccoli.

The noodles I used:

Ice On Whyte

2010-01-18T13:50:00.000-08:00

It has been a great weekend around here, the weather has warmed and festivals are running, making finding some entertainment easy.

This weekend, O and I decided to check out Ice on Whyte which opened on Thursday. We don't usually go this early as not all the sculptures are done, but we wanted to see things before the heat destroyed them.

It was great to see the ice carvers at work!

The Castle theme this year was hotel, which they did a great job of. The bar was great with all the bricks. (Top of post)

I even tried the Ice Slide - which was so much fun, I highly recommend. It takes between 6-7 sec to get down (we had timed races)

If you are Killing time in Edmonton this week, be sure to check out the festival.

Beef and Broccoli

2010-01-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

Beef and Broccoli

I love beef and broccoli, it was also my favourite dish from the little chinese place growing up. The owner/chef/water made amazing beef and broccoli. Sadly, I have moved away from my little hometown, and I think that he has since closed his restaurant. I came across this recipe after hearing great things about the site Steamy Kitchen and decided to try it.

Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients:

3/4 pound flank or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
1 pound broccoli florets
1 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil
1/4 to 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

Marinade

1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sherry
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
Dash teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth

Method

1. Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and coat, let stand for 10 minutes

2 While beef marinates stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

3 Cook the broccoli using your favorite method (I steam mine, keeps more of the nutrients in them). Keep them tender crisp, as they will cook a little bit more, but not much in the frying pan.

4 Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and immediately spread the beef out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching), fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until no longer pink, Pour in the sauce, add the blanched broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.

Reviews:
I love this recipe! It isn’t as good as the one from the little hole in wall restaurant I grew up with, but it is still delicious. And the best part – it is so quick and easy to make!

Cranberry Cookies - Bulldogs

2010-01-18T13:15:00.000-08:00

It was Bulldog Cookie time again, and I needed to get rid of some cranberries and cranberry sauce from my fridge/freezer. Cranberries go well in cookies right? I am sure they do, so I decided to try and put some cookies together the sauce – the boys are so good about eating just about anything I put in front of them.

I am sorry, but somehow I didn't get a picture of these adorable cookies when they were done baking , but I did get a couple of prep pictures (sorry about the bad quality, the light in my place is worse than usual lately)

Let me just say this – these cookies smelled heavenly when baking!

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
1 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup of cranberry sauce

Extra Cranberry Sauce (note: I used all homemade cranberry sauce, but I am sure canned will work.)

Directions:

1.Cream the butter until light, then add in the sugar and continue creaming until light and fluffy (3-5 min).
2.Add the egg, cranberry sauce and vanilla and mix until well combined.
3.Add the baking powder and salt to the flour and add it to the butter mixture until combined.
4.Using teaspoons or a small cookie scoop, portion out the dough. Flatten each piece of dough and place a small amount of sauce in the middle.

Wrap the dough around the sauce

Form a ball, and roll the ball in a little sugar

Note: You can also spread sauce onto one flat cookie and top with another, and pinch the edges together to make a flat cookie.
5. Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes, let cool on the sheet for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack.

Reviews:
I loved the smell and pretty light pink of these cookies – they were adorable. The little dark spots were some of the sauce was peaking through made the look a little like a jelly donut.

The cookies were good without the filling in them, but most people agreed it needed a little more. Instead of mixing extra sauce into the cookies I used it as a filling. Other suggestions I need to dry were adding white chocolate or craisins. The sauce I used was made with orange juice so it had a hint of orange and some people thought it could use a little more.

The Bulldogs loved the cookies, and a few commented that they reminded them of holiday dinners.

Game Recap:
Bulldogs won 6-5 at their late night game. #13 got a hat trick - woo hoo! It was a tight game and after pulling ahead early, the game became tied in the 3rd remained that way until a shorthanded goal by #13 put them back in the lead with only a couple minutes left in the game.

They boys play again on the 27th.

The Olympic Torch!

2010-01-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

I was alive the last time Canada hosted the Olympics in Calgary (in my home province), but I was too young to really remember anything about it. Luckily, I am not old enough to remember and I am living in an area that makes it easy for me - at least this time.

The olympic torch made it's treck through our beautiful city yesterday, and I was lucky enough to see it go by. Actually it took a little planning on my part to figure out where I wanted to catch it as it was coming a couple blocks from work and a block from my house - how lucky is that?

It was great to see the crowds of people who turned out to see the torch - adults, kids and dogs lined the street, cheering for the runners. Everyone was enthusiastic and some people were even running down the sidewalks trying to catch up with the torch. Luckily traffic was stopped and people were spilling into the street in anticipation of the torch.

I got to see the passing of the torch from one runner to another, but sadly couldn't get a good picture. I have no idea who it is running with the torch at this point, as it wasn't one of the sections that I had heard who it was.

Owen got to see the torch earlier in the day, as he got to take some time off work to see his boss run with the torch. I tried to go, but it was a little to early for me to be able to take off.

Anyways, the Olympics are almost here, and while I don't get the joy of going to the actual games, I at least got to see the torch go by.

Go Canada!!

Bulldogs - Soft Ginger Cookies

2010-01-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

The Bulldogs have had another game and they had requested ginger after the last game. I knew there was some molasses in my cupboard so I figured this would be no problem.

I know that O prefers a nice soft cookie, so after a quick search I found a recipe on all recipes. I didn’t change the recipe much, but what I did is posted below.

Soft Ginger cookie (makes about 3 doz cookies)

Ingredients:
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (+ 2 tbsp, may not be needed)
2 ½ tsp ginger
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
dash of salt
¾ cup soft margarine
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp water (warm)
¼ cup molasses (dark cooking molasses)
2 tbsp white sugar

Directions:
1. Mix the four, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt together and set aside.
2. In a bowl cream the margarine and sugar. Once it is “fluffy” add in the egg, followed by the molasses. Use the warm water to rinse the molasses from the measuring cup into the mix.
3. Slowly mix in the flour mixture. If it is still really sticky (mine was, I think due to a large egg) slowly add in the 2 tbsp of flour.
4. Using teaspoons portion out the dough, roll it into balls and roll in the sugar. Place on a cookie sheet and flatten to ½ to ¼” thickness.
5. Bake at 350F for 8-10 min (mine took about 9 min). Middle should still be soft, but should fall if touched.
6. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 30 -60 seconds before transferring to a wire rack this will give it a nice light crunch on the outside. Sprinkle a little sugar on top while they are still warm.

Reviews:
O hasn’t been able to stop stealing these, if there is one sitting out when he walks by he has to steal it. I love the little extra sparkle the sprinkle sugar at the end gives them!

I had doubled the recipe, but ended up making smaller cookies than the original and got about 6 doz. cookies. So I now have some unbaked cookies in the freezer. I am looking forward to seeing how they bake up.

Bulldogs:
Sadly this week O had to sit out the game with Bulldogs due to an injury from a game with his other hockey team (that is right folks, he plays on TWO hockey teams for the winter – 8 months). I checked the score of the game and it looks like while they put in a valiant effort, they lost the game with a score of 5-4.

2010-01-08T12:54:00.000-08:00

Quick Dinner – Stirfry

There are some nights during the week that I need a supper I can through together quickly and without much thought (or nights that I just don’t have the energy to make something big). There are also days when I want something a little lighter for supper – without all the butter, cheese and bacon that O loves so much.

We eat “stir fry” of some sort at least once every other week, and usually once a week. Sometimes we put it on noodles, other times we serve it over rice and occasionally rice noodles. We switch up the sauces, and sometimes add a special vegetable, or different meat to keep it interesting. At the bottom I will share some of the most common additions or changes that get made in the house, but first I will give you the basic recipe. Play with it as you like.

Chicken “Stir Fry”
Ingredients:
1 green bell pepper
½ bell pepper (red, yellow or orange)
½ onion
2 to 3 stalks celery
2 to 3 chicken breasts
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp ginger
2 tsp honey
½ tsp corn starch
2 packs of “ramen” noodles (I use the cheap store brand, all you need is the noodles)

Directions:
1.Take the vegetables (except celery) and chicken and cut them into long thing strips. Chop the celery into fairly large chunks.

2.In a wok or large frying pan, heat oil and cook the strips of chicken until just done.
3.Add in the vegetables and cover. Cook until the vegetables are just tender, stirring often (I cover, so the vegetables steam a little and then I don’t have to chop them as small, but they don’t take forever to cook)
4.As the vegetables are cooking mix the soy sauce, ginger, corn starch and honey together in a bowl. (If using solid honey, just microwave for 10 seconds to soften and everything will combine) Cook the noodles according to the direction,drain and DO NOT add the seasoning packet.
5.When the vegetables are tender-crisp (or done to your liking), add in the sauce you mixed and stir to coat.
6.Optional: Add the noodles, stir to coat and fry a little.

Enjoy!

Variations:
1.Serve over rice instead of noodles
2.Serve over vermicelli rice noodles
3.Add bean sprouts with the vegetables
4.Add a little garlic to the sauce or with the vegetables
5.Use a bottled sauce of a desired flavour – we are fond of Szechuan
6.Add some broccoli to the vegetables
7.Add some carrot to the vegetables

Reviews:
As I have said previously, this is a staple in our house. We enjoy it – it is quick, light and is packed full of veggies!

Friends who have tried variations of this have also enjoyed it.

Have ideas for other variations? Let me know, we are always looking for new ways to change this dish up a little!

Quick Dinner - Grilled Tuna Melt

2010-01-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

There are some days that I need a quick dinner – or a dinner that is easy to transport. Sandwiches are great for a supper on the go and for something quick, but after eating plain old sandwiches for lunch a few days a week – you don’t really want them for supper. The other problem with a sandwich is that I like my suppers to be at least warm in the winter. So when I am feeling a bit lazy or need something quick we will often have a grilled cheese, but even that gets old after a while.

I decided to spice it up a little while ago and do a tuna melt instead of a plain grilled cheese. Now in the summer I will often make these as an openface sandwich, but I needed these to be portable, so I decided on a grilled version – kind of like a grilled cheese.

Grilled Tuna Melt.

Ingredients:
2 cans of tuna, drained
3 to 4 tbsp Miracle Whip (or mayonase)
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/3 to ½ cucumber chopped
salt and pepper
grated cheddar cheese
slices of bread

Directions:
1.In a bowl combine the tuna, miracle whip, celery, cucumber, salt and pepper until mixed You want enough mayonnaise/miracle whip to hold everything together.
2.Butter two slices of bread. On the unbuttered side place tuna mixture (between ¼ cup and ½ cup, to your liking), sprinkle with cheese and top with the second slice of bread (buttered side out).
3.In a hot frypan, grill the sandwich – just like a grilled cheese, until the bread is toasted and cheese has melted.
4.Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each sandwich.

I usually get about 4 to 6 sandwiches depending on the size of the bread and how full I decide to fill them that day.

Reviews:
I love these sandwiches on a cool night. They are warm, creamy, cheesy, crunchy and just comforting! They made a great portable supper when I needed to run some food to O who was working late one night, and was great for him to eat as he could just pick it up.