Salted Water

This week my Nutrition students made pasta with homemade fresh tomato sauce.  I get such satisfaction from watching teenagers in the kitchen having so much fun while working with food.  Can you believe that some of them had never boiled water before?! Crazy!  I cannot wait to have little kiddies running around my house so I can get them in an apron.  Cooking with kids can be so much fun.  I digress...

Back to the boiling water.  A lot of student asked "where is the salt?", to which I responded "This is a low sodium recipe, no salt needed".  A few students were confused because they were taught at home to cook pasta in salted water.  This is not something I do in my own kitchen at home and told them it wasn't necessary.  I spent the rest of the day wondering if I had missing a step all these years when I cooked pasta.  I spent some time doing some reading and have found that there aren't any benefits of adding salt. This is what I dug up

 Myths about salting your pasta water

• It makes pasta less sticky
• Enhances the flavour of the pasta
• Makes the water boil faster
• Makes the water hotter

Facts about salting your pasta water

• costs you more money to add salt
• Increases sodium in your food
• an extra step

There you have it folks, breaking news. Quick, call all of your friends...

Individual Portions

This morning my husband and I had a great visit with a very dear friend.  Great company, coffee, laughs and doughnuts from Spicer's - can't get much better (ok, ok, maybe if we were visiting on the beach in Jamaica it would make it a teeny bit better!).  My lovely lady friend has been feeling under-the-weather so I wanted to bring her some grub to toss in her freezer.  I opted for homemade carrot soup found here.  I wanted to make it easy to warm up so I froze it in individual portions.  Someone please tell me why I have never considered doing this before!!  I'm always making large batches of soups, chili's and stews so that I can toss some in the freezer and always end up freezing in a large container. No more of that.  Here is the simple process;

1. Cook the goods
2. Pour into cereal bowls
3. Place bowls in freezer over night
4. Fill sink with 2 inches of hot water and place bowls in for 1 minute
5. Flip bowl over and the goods will pop out (might need a little help by sliding a knife down the edge)
6.  Place into freezer bags & label with a sharpie
7. Toss back in the freezer

ps: am I the only one who likes to take a whiff of the sharpie when I use it?....

Tin Foil Chicken on the BBQ

Western Ontario is currently experiencing ah-maaaaazing weather! When I rolled in from work with the sunroof open, windows down and my tunes cranked (Jay-Z; I'm gangsta like that), I decided that I would be ridiculous not to BBQ something for dinner.  I had 4 chicken thighs in the fridge so I decided on a tin foil package dinner.  Super-duper easy and hardly any dishes. Cha-ching!




Ingredients
4 chicken thighs (bone in, skin on)
2 medium potatoes, skin on, cubed (I used peeled sweet potato in my foil package)
1 carrot, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 yellow pepper, chopped
A few mushrooms
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
sprinkle of your fav herbs/spices (I used paprika, rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano and garlic powder)

Method
Throw everything in a bowl and mix until coated. Separate everything into two servings.  Wrap each serving in tin foil and chuck onto the BBQ over medium/high heat (350ish degrees) for 40 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.  Rotate once half way through.

Ya Mon! Jerk Chicken

My apologies for the lack of posts over the last few weeks.  I was working ahead on a course I'm taking and finishing reportcards off at school so that my husband and I could escape to Jamaica over March Break.  It was 4 days of eating, drinking, sunning and relaxing.  I hadn't really be exposed to Jamaican food before this trip and figured out that it is mighty yummy.  While sitting on the beach, my husband and I feasted on jerk chicken and sausage (that's what she said).  I will attempt to recreate this deliciousness over the next week or so.  Be sure to check back!

Caprese Kabobs

This weekend my husband and I travelled to Toronto for a very special celebration.  A close friend of mine and the man of her dreams are getting hitched this summer.  We celebrated their engagement in style at a beautiful gathering of friends and family on Saturday afternoon.  The company was lovely and the abundance of food was delicious.  Since we were traveling about 2 hours to attend we had to be fairly selective as to what appetizer we were going to bring.  The expected guest list was about 50 people so we wanted to make 50 of something that could be transported easily and didn't require any cooking once we arrived.  I decided on caprese kabobs and was very happy I did.  The prep was about 15 minutes and there was pretty much zero clean up! They looked pretty too! I will certainly make these again and again! Below is a recipe for 25 kabobs.

Sidenote: Bocchini is a very mild cheese that takes on the flavour of basically anything. Most people think they don't like this cheese because it doesn't have a flavour.  Make sure you season this cheese in some way before serving or it ends up being a waste of money (and calories!).

Ingredients
1 container of cherry tomatoes
1 package of fresh basil
1 container of cocktail sized bocchini cheese, drained (I grabbed PC brand for $4.99 a container)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
sprinkle of dried basil
salt and pepper
25 mini skewers (I cut large ones in half)

Method
Drain brine from cheese.  In the cheese container add balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dried basil, salt and pepper. Coat cheese in mixture.  Let cheese marinade for at least 1 hour (I did it over night). The longer it marinades the more flavour it will pick up.  On each kabob add one cherry tomato, one small basil leaf and 1 piece of cheese.  Repeat until everything is used up.  Save leftover marinade to drizzle over the top once you serve. Serve at room temperature to optimize flavour of the cheese.

Congratulations B & A!

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!

Slacker

I'm slacking right now with the blog.  I have two things to blame
1) exam time...
2) Pinterest

I will write this weekend... maybe....

Spinach Smoothies

Yup, you read that correctly. Spinach smoothies. Sounds disgusting, right? Well it ain't. I tried a spinach smoothie not once, but twice today!  As previously mentioned, I am fighting yet another head cold and I'm always searching for non-medicated ways of overcoming nasty germs, quickly.  A friend of mine mentioned that she found an interesting recipe on 'Pinterest' called the Green Monster, found here. (Sidenote: Props to anyone who has the patience to use Pinterest...WAY too overwhelming for this girl).

Green Monster Ingredients
1 banana, peeled, sliced & frozen
1 cup milk
1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt (super duper high in protein!)
1 tablespoon peanut butter
4 cups fresh baby spinach

Method
Chuck everything into a blender and blend until smooth.

This morning I followed the recipe exactly and 'Iowa Girl Eats' didn't lie -  you cannot taste the spinach at all!  I found it to be far too filling and couldn't finish it so I decreased ingredient amounts for my round two smoothie after work today when I decided to create my own monster. It turned out ahhhh-maze-in' if I do say so myself! I would HIGHLY recommend adding two huge handfuls of fresh baby spinach to any smoothie you are making.  Doesn't smell, taste or have the texture of spinach at all. Trust me, you will love it! The great thing about smoothies is you can chuck in whatever you have hanging around.  This one is a little tart, but I love sour stuff.  Enjoy!

Berry Monster Ingredients
1 small handful of frozen raspberries
1/2 cup fat free honey Greek yogurt (PC brand)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup POM juice
4 cups of fresh baby spinach

Method
Chuck everything into a blender and blend until smooth.

*for the record, I didn't ingest 8 cups of spinach today.  I didn't finish my first one and I halved the recipe for my 2nd one.  I should also mention that my morning shake stuck with me four 4.5 hours and I didn't feel hungry at all.

SPINACH IS THE NEW BLACK. just saying....

Poop in my Cold FX

Whhhhhhat?! There might be poop in my bottle of Cold FX?! Maybe this is why I keep getting colds...ha!

Check out the deets here.

Scalloped Potatoes...again.

I know I've posted a few different recipes for scalloped potatoes but I have to say this one was the quickest and the most tasty! Prep time was about 10 minutes and about an hour for cooking time. I'm fighting yet another flippin' cold so I wanted some comfort food.  This did the trick!  Enjoy...

Ingredients
4 medium potatoes, sliced thinly
1/2 onion, sliced thinly
1/2 cup cheese, grated
1 can low fat mushroom soup
1/4 cup cream (or milk!)
pinch of garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste

Method
Mix all ingredients together except cheese. Spread in an oven proof casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. (cover for first half hour and uncover for remainder of time).

Sweet Potato Soup

You've probably noticed by now that I think soup is the shiznit*. When my husband and I first got married he claimed that 'soup is just a drink, not a meal'. True story. Oh jeez, was this marriage going to work with our soup differences? I'm happy to say that this girl converted him.

This morning I made sweet potato soup. I've actually never tried this kind of soup before which is strange because sweet potatoes are ma thang. My husband claims he hates 'em. Pfffff! That's what he said about soup...
We'll see if he likes this soup (I'll tell him it's carrot....)

*For the older folk: Shiznit; shortened term for "that is the shit, isn't it?", the best, the greatest, goddam' phenomenal bi-atch.
Definitions found at Urban Dictionary 

Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled, chopped
1 white potato, peeled, chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1 med-large onion, chopped
4 cups chicken or veggie stock (don't use beef as it's too rich for this recipe)
1 1/4 teaspoons nutmeg
Salt & pepper to taste

Method
Throw all washed veggies into a food processor to chop. Throw everything into a large soup pot, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.  Transfer in batches to food processor to puree & serve! Easy. Just like me.

Goods in a Jar

It's a sad day. Christmas tree is gone, decorations are packed up and all of our gifts have been put away in their new home. Holy smokes, were we ever spoiled!  Our families were ridiculously generous and thoughtful yet again this year. THANK YOU FAM! 

This year I decided to make a useful, homemade gift for our Grandmother's.  Attempt #1: Soup mix in a jar. It looked cute and was inexpensive however I was nervous to give it as a gift because I never sampled it. Onto plan B. Chocolate chip cookies in a jar. Done. They looked equally as cute as the soup but this time I was confident that the would turn out great when baked.  The bonus, I had all the ingredients in my cupboard already. Cha-ching! Last weekend I cooked up a batch of the soup and it tasted great. Dang! I should have given both out as gifts! ah well, next time.  All of the ingredients used can be purchased at the Bulk Barn.

Minestrone Soup Mix in a Jar
1/4 cup red lentils
1/4 cup green split peas
1/4 cup barley
1/3 cup beef bouillon powder
2 tbsp. parsley flakes
3 tbsp. onion flakes
1/3 tsp. thyme
1/3 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. basil
1/4 cup shell macaroni
Yield: 2 jars (pint sized)

I decided not to layer the soup because most people don't want to make a ridiculously large pot of soup.  This way you can make a few servings at a time. Mix all ingredients in a bowl thoroughly. Pour into a pint sized mason jar (I purchased jars from Dollarama) and attach a tag that says:

"For 6 servings combine 1/4 cup of soup mix and 4 cups of water in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat  Add a sliced carrot, 1/2 can of diced tomatoes and 1 cubed potato. Bring to a boil, reduce to low temperature and simmer for 40 minutes."  

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix in a Jar
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

 Yield: 1 jar (pint sized)

Layer all of the above ingredients in a pint sized mason jar (I purchased jars from Dollarama) and attach a tag that says:

"Empty contents of jar into a large bowl. In separate bowl combine 3/4 cup of butter, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until creamy. Add to dry mixture. Drop by tablespoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for 8 to 10 minutes."               

Bring on 2012!

2012 is going to be AMAZING, I feel it in my gut (or is that my hangover...?).

May this be a year full of love, silver linings, dreams coming true, happiness, smiles, laughing, positivity, changes, adventures and peace.

To all of you, Happy 2012!

 

J-E-L-L-O

My husband and I feel very fortunate to have family to celebrate the holidays with. This year we  had 4 full out family Christmas celebrations - - that's a whole lot of turkey! At one of our get togethers my sister-in-law brought these festive jello shooters! How cute are they?! She made four different flavours of jello and layered them, giving each layer time to set. She decreased the amount liquid a bit to make them firmer, added some vodka and a cherry in the middle which made it super easy to distribute and to clean up.  She used small dixie cups for the form and discarded them before serving. They were a huge hit! 

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to drop a line to say MERRY CHRISTMAS to all my awesome readers!  I hope you and your families have a wonderful time together.  If you are heading out of town, travel safe.  Enjoy every minute of the holiday and try not to get wrapped up in all the chaos and stress of it all.  Relax and enjoy one another.


PS: I learned a very important lesson this morning while trying to make a cherry cheese cake.  Heavy cream is whipping cream NOT  table cream. Dammit.  Back to the drawing board...

Taco Salad

A student suggested that we make taco salad this week for our food lab.  What a great suggestion!  It was a hit.  When I got home tonight I decided to make it for hubster because I knew he would love it.  I didn't have prepackaged taco seasoning or Catalina salad dressing so I made both from scratch.  I also used ground chicken instead of beef.  It turned out GREAT!

Taco Salad
1 Romain heart, chopped
1/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup grated cheese
1/2 lb ground chicken (or beef)
1 huge handful cheese Doritos, crushed
1/2 package taco seasoning *see recipe below for homemade seasoning
1/2 cup water
Catalina dressing to taste *see recipe below for homemade dressing

Cook ground chicken over medium heat until cooked through.  Drain fat if needed.  Add taco seasoning and water.  Simmer for 5 minutes or until liquid is almost gone.  Serve over salad that has been prepared with other toppings.  Enjoy!  My students really enjoyed this meal...so did my husband!

Catalina Dressing

1/4 cup ketchup 

4 tablespoons sugar

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Splash of Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup olive oil 

salt and pepper

Shake together in a mason jar.

Taco Seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

 

Power Through

Let's face it, life can throw us some pretty crappy situations.  Just when you don't think you can handle one other thing, that one other thing happens. The amazing thing is, you always get through it.  We are all capable of powering through the craziest $h!t and when you get to the other side you think 'whoa, how did I survive that?'. There are so many little things that seem to help me power through the B.S. Here are some of my favourite pick-me-ups in no particular order:

• A Starbucks beverage of any sort
• Snail mail
• A compliment from a stranger (or student!)
• My family!
• A pep talk from a good friend
• Going out for dinner with my husband
• Candles (Pine or pumpkin spice scents are my fav!)
• Going on a walk with my pup
• Will Farrell movies
• Flowers - my amazing Mother sent me flowers 2 weeks ago!  How thoughtful!
• Text messages in the middle of the day
• A dirty joke
• Red wine
• Music

For those of you going through a tough time right now try to do a few little pick-me-up things for yourself.  For those of you who aren't going through a tough time right now, do something nice for someone who is.  It quite possibly could be the pick-me-up that they need to get through...

~ Dr. Phil Jill
 

Cranberry Pumpkin Seed Crisps

I'm not one to shop at Metro.  I find the prices at 24 hour grocery stores to be outrageous but I only need two items so I ran in. On my way to the checkout I grabbed a box of crackers from one of those store front displays (I'm a sucker like that...that's what she said). They are fabulous! I think you might be able to purchase them at Food Basics as well (I will look next time I'm there and let you know).   They are Cranberry Pumpkin Seed Crisps and are Iresistibles brand (ain't that the truth!).  According to the box they are "Artian biscuits (ummm, whatever that means) made from the finest grains and seeds.  Excellent with cheese, dips or on their own." I agree!  They would be AMAZING with brie cheese.  A quick and easily transportable appetizer to bring to a holiday party.  I think the box ran me about $4.00.  Worth every penny.... they are gone already....opps....

 

3rd Annual Cookie Exchange

Last night was our 3rd annual cookie exchange with some lovely friends. This is my 2nd cookie exchange that I've been sick for. ugh!  Last year I had to make 6 dozen cookies while nursing the worst hangover of life and this year I'm working through a brutal cold.  I cannot even begin to tell you how brutal it was baking cookies last year when I couldn't even stomach water. This year was a much more enjoyable experience. I decided to make the same cookies and last year and ended up making 4 batches (about 90 cookies) of Chewy Ginger Cookies.  The other ladies made Pecan Puff Cookies, Peanut Butter Balls, Chocolate Almond Bark, Sugar Cookies and Rolled Chocolate Short Bread. A great variety.  I will eventually get the recipes for all of the treats. I've 'sampled' all of them and they are all Y.U.M.M.Y. and look pretty cute too!

Cabbage Soup

I'm currently fighting off my 2nd cold of the school year. blah. After doing some reading on natural health remedies I thought it would be good to put my leftover cabbage to good use.  Cabbage soup it is.  Here is some information I found....

"Health Benefits: Eating cabbage soup can also offer a range of health benefits. Cabbage is packed with nutrients. One cup of cabbage has nearly an entire day's recommended daily allowance of vitamin K, and half the amount of vitamin C you need each day. It also has plenty of fiber and B vitamins. As a vegetable in the cruciferous family, it contains plenty of phytonutrients, or beneficial plant chemicals that are useful for everything from cleansing our system of toxins to lowering our risks for a variety of cancers. In addition, cabbage can contribute to gastrointestinal health, and can be beneficial for a range of women's health issues."   Information from: http://www.ehow.com/list_5793708_cabbage-soup-benefits.html

Ingredients
1/2 small cabbage, shredded (or 1/4 of a large cabbage)
splash of olive oil
2 beef or chicken bouillon cubes
4 cups of water
1/4 of a onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Method
Over medium heat heat olive oil in a pot.  Throw in garlic and onion into pot and cook for a few minutes. Toss in everything else and simmer for 25 minutes.

Coleslaw

I eat pretty much anything except for weird meats (that's what she said). I certainly get every dollar's worth at a buffet. I love pasta, veggies, potatoes, fruit, breads, cheese, everything!  Last week while speed walking through the produce isles at the grocery store I realized that I've never bought a cabbage. Weird.  So I tossed one in my cart. Cabbage is one of the foods on my "indifferent" foods list along with pie, yogurt, stew and corn to name a few.  Tonight I had meatballs (found here) and decided that a coleslaw side would be a perfect compliment.

Ingredients
1/2 small-medium cabbage
1 large carrot
1/4 of a red onion
1/2 cup mayo
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
salt & pepper

Method
shred cabbage and carrot (I used my food processor).  Shred red onion much smaller then the cabbage and carrot.  In a bowl mix mayo, vinegar, mustard powder, salt and pepper.  Pour over cabbage, carrot and onion to coat.  Eat.

now....what to do with this leftover cabbage....

Winning X2

Last night this girl won her very own turkey!  That's right, a turkey! I found out that I might actually be relatively good at curling. hmm, who knew?! Closest rock to the turkey won!

 Mama, Jill's bringing home the bacon turkey for Christmas  this year... woot woot!

Movember

A lot of people I know participated in Movember this year. Good on ya!

I attended a 'Stash Bash at a friends place on the weekend and these lovely cookies were one of the yummy snacks served.  They were delish!  Check out the recipe here.

Looking to donate? You still have time!

MOVEMBER

Half Chickens with Pesto

Last week I took a small container of my homemade pesto (found here) out of the freezer with every intention of making pasta but completely forgot.  Tonight I was cooking up half chickens and decided to spread pesto all over the chicken before baking.  It turned out fantastic.

Baked Chicken
2 half chickens (enough for 4 servings)
1-2 tablespoons pesto

Paint pesto over chicken and bake at 400 degrees for at least 35 minutes, or until juices run clear. Serve with a veggie side (I did roasted asparagus with melted provolone cheese)

Baked Shrimp & Caesar Salad

Monday was shit. Yeah, I said it. But I was determined to make Tuesday a better day and decided to make one of my favourite meals for dinner.  Baked garlic shrimp, Caesar salad (homemade dressing!) and fresh french bread. Heaven.on.a.plate. (I might have stolen that quote from The O.C. circa 2004). It is ridiculously easy and ridiculously bad for you but oh so tasty.

Baked Garlic Shrimp for 2
12 shrimp, cooked, devained, tails off
3 tablespoons butter, cut into 12 pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated cheese (whatever cheese you have. I always mix cheeses together)

Can be purchased at Dollarama

Place one shrimp in each of the sections of an escargot baking dish. Spread minces garlic on each of the shrimp.  Place cube of butter on each shrimp. Cover with cheese.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Put on HI broil for 2 minutes to crisp up top of cheese.  Serve with french bread for dipping.
OHHHHH SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD!



Salad Dressing
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp brown sugar
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tbsp mayo (depending on how creamy you like it) <-- that's what she said.
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
splash of lemon juice
splash of Worcestershire sauce
salt & pepper

Place everything in a mason jar. Shake and pour over a bed of romain lettuce.

Chai Nog Latte

In my next life I'm going to be an owner of a quaint coffee shop who doesn't actually do anything except sit in the shop, drink (free) coffee and read novels all day. Lazy Barista Boss. Sign me up.

 *For the out-of-the-loop people:  barista (from the Italian for "bartender") is a person, usually a coffee-house employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks.

Tonight's latte concoction; Chai Nog Latte. This is DELISH!



Ingredients
1/3 mug of chai tea concentrate (more info here)
1/3 mug milk
1/3 mug eggnog

Method
Toss in the microwave for 1 min 40 seconds. Remove and whip with milk frother.

En-freakin'-Joy.

Cookie Gadget

Gadgets ain't ma thang. Sure, they all have a purpose, but they usually have a very specific function, are used infrequently and take up valuable space. Am I right, or am I right?

Last Christmas my brother and his wife gave me a kitchen gadget and if I'm being honest here, I was planning on donating once the "I've kept it for a year so now I don't have to feel bad getting rid of it" rule was up (If you are reading MM, I'm sorry!).  However, a few weeks ago I decided to take it for a test drive. I definitely changed my tune - this bad boy isn't going anywhere. I can now make the perfect sized cookies with just one hand. Buddy, I'm sorry I ever doubted you...

Update: The cookie gadget (aka: Cookie Dropper) was purchased at Lee Valley (check it out here). I took a picture of my gadget (that's what she said), but didn't realize that I was actually taking a video (that's what HE said).  It's probably just me, but I find this video motage of spoon footage halarious! I think I need to get out more. (ugh! For some reason the clip won't upload. I will try again tomorrow.)

Emptying the fridge...

I've been a slacker with the blog for the past few weeks. My bad. I've been distracted with Christmas decorating and shopping.  I'm proud to say that I'm about 90% done my Christmas shopping. WOOT WOOT!  This year I work right up until December 23rd, BOO! I wanted to get all the shopping done long before then so I can spend the week leading up to Christmas enjoying life, and not wandering the mall and having the urge to punch people between the eyes or drop kick them.  I even made a spreadsheet of gift ideas and budgeting. I must have been avoiding laundry or something...

This week we ordered Chinese food so we've been working on those leftovers for a bit.  I haven't spent much time in the kitchen at all... with the exception of making this soup. I noticed a few days ago that I had some veggies that needed to be used up or else I'd have the toss them.  Quick fix; soup. I basically threw everything in a pot and simmered for and hour.  If you have extra veggies hanging around that aren't going to last much longer, think about whipping together a quick soup to limit the amount of food tossed.

what I used:
1 can lentils, drained & rinsed
1/2 cup quinoa, rinced thoroughly
2 leeks, halved & sliced
1 tomato, diced
1 carrot, sliced
3/4 cup corn
1/2 cup frozen spinach
1 red pepper, diced
4 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt & pepper to taste

It made A LOT of soup so I put most in the freezer to use later. 
  

Make a friend!

Starbucks
Buy One Holiday Drink & Get One Free

Novemeber 17-20th

2-5pm

Can I get a BOOYA!

Want more deets? Check them out here

Winning

I'm one of those people who never win anything.  I wouldn't go as far as to say that I'm an unlucky person because I have been dealt some pretty awesome cards. However, I have now learned to expect absolutely nothing from any raffle, 50/50 draws or contest that I participate in (except the warm fuzzy feeling of money going to a good cause, right?!)  Well folks, that all changed on Thursday. I WON A CAKE!  Talk about a great day at work, eh?  I walked into school with half a cup of lukewarm coffee in my hands and walked out of the building with a huge chocolate cake with beautiful tidied fondant icing.

Winning...

Salsa

I don't know what I was thinking but I decided to hit Costco on Friday evening after work. Hell.On.Earth. Why don't people understand how to operate a shopping cart? It's a simple concept folks - stick to the right and everyone will keep moving.  That is until someone decides to leave their cart in the middle of the isle, on a slight angle preventing everyone from getting by all because they saw the jumbo ketchup on sale back 10 feet.  I digress. 2 months ago I purchased amazing salsa from Costco so I was on a mission to get it again since my brother, sister-in-law and adorable nephew were visiting the following day. Darn it!  They weren't carrying that brand anymore. I decided to whip together some homemade salsa instead so grabbed some tomatoes and red peppers and headed for the checkout (who am I kidding!? I didn't just purchase those two items.  I've never left Costco without dropping at least a hundred buckaroos).  The salsa turned out pretty good!

Ingredients

6-8 tomatoes, diced

1 small onion, diced (small)

1 green pepper, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/8 cup diced jalapenos (alter amount depending on heat tolerance)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

Toss everything into a pot and simmer for 1 hour, stirring every so often.  Cool and serve.  Keeps in fridge for a week.