Belated Pancake Tuesday

Oops!  We missed Pancake Tuesday this year because I was out of town at my Brother and Sister-in-laws place for dinner.  That makes today belated Pancake Tuesday (on a Saturday morning...meh...).  Check out my quick and easy (that's what she said) pancake recipe here that makes 6 pancakes. The perfect amount for two people with a big weekend morning appetite. 

Classic Macaroons

I had some leftover coconut from the shrimp I made last week and wanted to get rid of it so I decided to make macaroons.  I've only made them once before (here), and I wasn't a fan of the chocolate variety however I enjoyed these ones much more. Hope you like 'em too.

Yield: 12 medium cookies

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour (I used regular but I'm sure you could use whole wheat)

2 egg whites (I hate wasting the yolk so I cooked them up to throw on my puppy's breakfast tomorrow)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I'm still working on the Mexican stuff I told you about here)

Method

Mix all dry ingredients together.  Add in wet ingredients. Drop by spoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

Smells like a tanning salon in here right now...I love the smell of coconut!

Hit me baby one more time...

Thanks a million (or should I say ten thousand) for reading my blog. Today my blog reached 10,000 views!  I've been working on this venture for one and a half years and I've enjoyed it far more then I ever thought I would.  When I started writing I expected it to be a summer project. I'm really happy I've stuck with it - I've tried out so many different foods and recipes and rarely repeat meals. In fact, I'm close to 200 posts! Let me know if there is anything you'd like me to try try and blog about.

Bacon & Pineapple Appetizer

Happy Family Day!

We've had a wonderful weekend filled with family and friends and it's not even over yet! Today we are going to the in-laws place for an impromptu family lunch.  I was asked to bring an appetizer.  Living a 30 minute round trip to the closest grocery store (and I had already been into town 2 times yesterday) I decided to figure out a yummy app using only ingredients that I had hanging around. hmmm...a golden pineapple sat on my counter and a package of bacon that I didn't end up using for breakfast yesterday was in the fridge.  Thanks to Pinterest I found a perfect recipe here. I haven't tried them yet but will update you tonight. Let's be honest though, anything with bacon is DELISH!

Evening update: The bacon basically fell off the pineapple. It looks very messy to serve but tasted great.  Next time I plan on wrapping thinly sliced ham around the pineapple since it has a lot less fat and will likely stay put!

Ingredients
1 pineapple, cut into chunks (or one can of pineapple drained)
1 package bacon, each piece cut in half crosswise
25 tooth picks, soaked in water for 10 minutes
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
5 drops of Tabasco
salt and pepper

Method
Boil ketchup, sugar, Worcestershire, soy sauce, Tabasco, salt and pepper in a sauce pan for 10 minutes. Set aside. Wrap a half piece of bacon around each chunk of pineapple and secure with a tooth pick. Place on a roast rack in a deep(ish) pan and cook for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  Remove, baste with homemade BBQ sauce and continue to bake for 15 more minutes.  Remove, plate and serve with leftover BBQ sauce.

Pizza Made With Love

Happy Valentine's Day

If you read my blog regularly (or know me personally) you will know that pizza is absolutely, without a doubt my favourite food. Check out all my reasons for diggin' it here. Last night my wonderful husband cooked for me!!  He made homemade BBQ chicken pizza. Definitely worth the wait! You can find the crust recipe here. All you'll need to do is mix 2 teaspoons honey with 3/4 cup of your favourite BBQ sauce.Paint on mixture over rolled out crust. Cube two chicken breasts and cook in a frying pan with a little olive oil until cooked all the way through. Add to top of dough. Sprinkle top with mozza and Gouda cheese. ENJOY! 

Baked Coconut Shrimp

I'm not a fan of coconut. The hubster on the other hand is slightly in love with it. One of his favourites is coconut shrimp so I decided to hook him up tonight for dinner.  They turned out pretty good! I will for sure be using this recipe again.  It will be great for an app when friends come over.

Ingredients
20 ish raw, peeled shrimp (tail on or off)
1/2 cup Japanese bread crumbs (do NOT use regular bread crumbs)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
pinch garlic powder

Method
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Thaw out shrimp. Mix Japanese bread crumbs, coconut, Cayenne pepper and garlic powder. In a separate bowl beat two eggs. Using tongs dip shrimp in egg then into bread crumb mixture to coat.  Place coated shrimp on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 12 minutes, turning once half way through. Serve with a a Thai chili dipping sauce. YUMMMMY!

Boss Hog's

A few friends from work and I decided to celebrate the end of semester one and went out for a kick ass meal at a new place called Boss Hogs in London.  The owners have won first place at many Ribfests around the province and I can understand why. It is a pretty small place with about 12 tables and a bar but it is fantastic! Perfect for grub and a beer at lunch. If you like smoked meats, ribs or nachos I suggest you stop by. Prices are good, food is awesome and service is fantastic.

Definition
Boss Hog: Someone who is straight ballin;. Does whatever he wants, whenever he wants.
Example:
                     Tara: Tim is pretty hardcore about his nacho toppings.
                       Jill: Yeah, that's because he is boss hog's.
*Definition from Urbandictionary (man! that site makes me laugh...)

ECS Coffee Inc.

Remember when I mentioned here that if this teaching gig doesn't work out I'd love to own a coffee shop? Thanks to my in-laws I now have a mini coffee shop in my kitchen; A Tassimo!  I'm the first to admit when these things first came out I thought they were a ridiculous waste of money but I've been converted.  We only brew about 4 cups a week using the machine since we have a regular coffee maker and don't see a point in using the Tassimo for regular coffee. We use it for lattes, cappuccinos and specialty coffees.  This weekend we headed to the GTA and hit up a great place called ECS Coffee Inc..  It is an online coffee store that has one showroom in Burlington, Ontario (that gives out free beverages! Any hot drink of your choice!). You should have seen the people there on Saturday.  At least 100 people and every person walking out was carrying a box of goods. We dropped over $60.00 on coffee. Opps!  They sell a ton of products including Starbucks coffee beans.  We adore Starbucks Christmas Blend so we stalked up. One disappointment - - Cadbury Hot chocolate. Don't buy it!  Instant hot chocolate tastes a million times better.

ECS Coffee Inc. offers free shipping on orders over $100. It has a huge selection of products including individual packets for $0.90 so you can sample before you buy (I should have done that with the hot chocolate!), and prices are a wee bit cheaper then regular retail stores. Check it out!

Cheers!

Cauliflower

Cauliflower doesn't show its' face (head?) around here often.  I don't hate it but I definitely don't love it.  I'm always looking for ways to add more of the 'good stuff' into our meals so we can enjoy the 'bad stuff' without feeling the guilt.  Today I made roasted cauliflower for an after school snack and it turned out far better then I thought it was going to be. My husband even tried it and didn't think it was bad at all (although he did say he prefers kale chips).  I roasted it with a little Slap Ya Mama sprinkled on top to add some kick. If you are salty snack fan give these a try!

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower
3 tablespoons olive oil
sprinkle with fav seasoning (salt & pepper work too!)

Method
Cut cauliflower into medium chunks.  Coat with olive oil and sprinkle season on evenly.  Spread on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and roast at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, turning twice. Let cool slightly before eating.

Next time I buy cauliflower I'm going to try to add it to mashed potatoes. I've heard good things...

Pineapple Green Smoothie

I'm a jerkface. I'm sorry I've been so neglectful lately.  I haven't had a whole lot of time these last few weeks and therefore haven't been creating new and exciting meals. Exams are marked, report cards are written and I've finally learned to navigate through the never ending Pinterest world, which means I have time to cook and write. Excuses, excuses. I sound like my students...

Sidenote: Want to follow me on Pinterest? I'd love that! Click here.

I mentioned here that I was fighting off another cold a few weeks ago and was desperate to feel better without any medication.  Those spinach smoothies... well, I've been hittin' them pretty hard, and haven't looked back since (that's what she said).  My husband and I now have them every morning before work. With some suggestions from a few friends, I've figured out my absolute favourite concoction and wanted to share it with you. I eyeball everything I put in so don't feel like you have to measure out anything. The great thing about these smoothies is that you can throw in whatever fruit you have hanging around.

Yield: 2 large shakes

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups frozen pineapple chunks*
3/4 cup fat free vanilla Greek yogurt**
1 1/2 cups milk
4 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
 
*I just got home from No Frills where I scored pineapples for $1.47 each. I purchased 3, chopped 'em up and chucked them in the freezer in a big ol' freezer bag.
** Here is a picture of the brand that I buy. This container is $3.99 and can be purchased at No Frills or the Superstore.

Method
Throw everything in a big blender and mix for 1 minute, stirring once. If you find it to be too tick, add a little more milk. Enjoy!