Eat: Cake Pops!

By now we all know about the wonderfulness which is cake pops. After seeing them everywhere and discovering Gavin's love for them, I just had to try making them. Being in Regina was perfect because there were many more people to eat them so that I didn't eat them all! They were awesome and not too hard to make. I chose to make them look like presents, so forming them into cubes rather than balls lengthened the process a little, but in the end it wasn't too difficult. 

I coated them in candy as most recipes suggest, but I drew the ribbons on with cookie icing (called "Scribblers") that set just as hard as the candy. I may make them again if Gavin requests for his birthday... we will see!






PS - the 25 before 25 list

Eat: Mexican Chicken Soup

Soups are something I don't often make, but when I spotted this one in a recipe book I knew I had to try it. I have since made some alterations to suit my taste a little more. It's the perfect dish for this cool weather that is finally starting to set in.

What you need:

[for the spanish rice]
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/4 cup asparagus, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup roma tomatoes, chopped
a pinch of cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp paprika
1 1/2 cups brown rice
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt

[for the soup]
1 cup red onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, peeled and cubed
1 cup asparagus, chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
8 cups chicken stock
1 cup potatoes, cubed
1/2 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1 chicken breast (boneless, skinless), cubed
3 ears of corn, broken into halves (or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn)

[to garnish - optional]
1 ripe avocado, cubed

How to make it:

[for the rice]

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over low heat, then add the vegetables. Cook for 4 minutes then add remaining ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer (with the lid on) for 45 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.

[for the soup]

Place the onions, asparagus, carrots, and oil in a large frying pan and saute for 7 minutes. Add the stock, potatoes and seasonings and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for half an hour. Then add the chicken and cook for 15 more minutes. Finally, add the corn and cook for 5 more minutes. 

[to serve]

Place a couple scoops of the rice, some soup and 1/2 ear of corn in each bowl. Garnish with avocado if you wish.

Enjoy! 

I found the flavour to be quite bold when I ate this the first time, which is why I tweaked the recipe. If you find it is still a little too much, just add some water. It's delicious.

Eat: BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad

This may be my new favourite quinoa dish. I adapted the recipe from this one on Iowa Girl Eats.

What you need:

1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken broth (or water)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or leftover chicken)
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup red kidney beans (if canned, drain and rinse well)
1 red or orange pepper, sliced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup barbecue sauce + extra for chicken

How to make it:

Combine broth & quinoa in a medium sized pot and cook according to package directions. 
Grill chicken breasts and shred with two forks then toss with just enough barbecue sauce to coat. 
In a frying pan over medium heat, cook corn and peppers for about 5 minutes.
Mix together barbecue sauce and Greek yogurt for the dressing.
Finally, dish up some quinoa, drizzle with dressing then top with beans, corn, peppers, chicken and cheese. 

Enjoy!

Eat: Pistachio Pudding Cookies

Bizarre name, right? Are you intrigued? I had a box of pistachio pudding mix in my cupboard and decided I must be able to make cookies from it. I browsed the interweb to see what others had done then set out on my own adventure. Here is the recipe I came up with. It's so simple and strangely addictive. And it would be a great recipe to try with toddlers since it's not at all complicated and can be made quickly. Plus, the egg is totally optional. I found the dough really dry and hard to mix without it, but you could make do with a little effort. So if you want to munch on the cookie dough and don't feel comfortable with raw egg, leave that out (though I will say, I have eaten a great deal of raw-egg cookie dough in my life and never been bothered by it).

What you need:

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 pkg Jello pudding mix, pistachio flavour
1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup chocolate chips

How to make it:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cream butter & pudding mix. Beat in egg. Beat in flour, a little at a time. Mix in chocolate chips. Scoop in tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. 

You could also substitute any other flavour of pudding, so the possibilities are endless. Plus different types of chocolate chips. The cookies don't flatten out like most cookies do, so they look really cute if you have a melon scoop to use for the dough. Mine came out looking like little scoops of mint chip ice cream.

Enjoy!

Eat: Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Of all the uses for zucchini, chocolate zucchini cake has got to be my favourite! It's a super easy cake that is always moist (thank you, zucchini). If you've never made it, you need to - NOW. And if you have made it before, you should probably do it again. :)

What you need:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup golden brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup peeled, grated zucchini
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.

In a medium sized bowl, beat sugar & oil until combined. Add vanilla extract & eggs, then mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda & baking powder. 

Pour half of the dry mixture into the wet mixture and beat until just combined. Add the grated zucchini to the remaining dry mixture and toss to coat. Finally, add the zucchini mixture to the batter and mix until completely combined. 

Pour the batter into a greased 8x8 inch pan and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

The Cake

My nephew's birthday was a week ago already and I realized that I forgot to show you the cake. I may not have mentioned it before, but my sister's husband is a very talented guy. You know, he's the musical, gourmet chef, great golfing, cartoon drawing, awesome daddy, engineer. Because that's totally fair, right? :) 

Yes, apparently she knows how to pick 'em. 

Anyways, we know that when we're invited for a meal or a birthday there's going to be something great. So I had to share a couple photos of the fun & amazingly delicious birthday cake he put together for his little guy's birthday...

Amazing, right?

And guess what was inside? Layers of chocolate & red velvet cake with chocolate icing. Yum.

The birthday boy also got to play with his food!

Anyone else have a little case of cake envy?

Eat: BBQ Chicken Pizza

This month Mason hasn't been working a whole lot and until now, I was working full time. So I was lucky enough to come home to supper already made for a couple weeks! It was awesome. One day Mason put together some BBQ chicken pizzas and they were amazing, so I had to share the recipe here. :)

What you need:

4 six inch pizza shells
2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
1 cup bbq sauce (he did 1/2 bold, 1/2 not bold)
1 1/2 red, orange or yellow bell peppers, chopped
1/2 small red onion, chopped 
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 can pineapple, chopped
1 cup grated marble cheddar cheese

How to make it:

Wrap your chicken in tin foil and wrap your vegetables in a separate packet of tin foil and cook them on the bbq. Once the chicken is fully cooked and the veggies are tender enough, remove them from the barbecue. Chop the chicken and mix in the barbecue sauce. Put the chicken on the pizza shells first, giving them a generous coat of sauce. Then top with your vegetables and fresh pineapple and finish with cheese. Bake them in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted how you like and the crust is golden. Cut and serve!

Eat: Blue (or red) Velvet Pancakes

Ok, so the colour of these pancakes came out a little weird on the outside. I wanted to try blue velvet, instead of the usual red, but my food colouring was sky blue instead of royal blue. So yeah, they went a little greenish. We won't even get into the other strange side effects of tons of food colouring. Just remember that you ate it, ok? Great. Now that I've freaked you out, let me say that these are absolutely delicious! And if my food colouring babble scared you, just leave out the colour and enjoy.

What you need:


1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 egg
1/2 cup greek yogurt
3/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp royal blue or red food colouring
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp butter, melted

How to make it:

Mix all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. Combine all the wet ingredients in another bowl, beating well between each addition. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until smooth. 


Preheat a non-stick frying pan or griddle to medium heat. Pour batter in and cook until bubble start coming through the batter. Flip and cook for a couple more minutes then keep warm in the oven until you're ready to serve them. If you're feeling extra sweet, whip up a little cream cheese frosting to drizzle on top. 


Honestly, these are so good I'm happy to just eat them plain!

Eat: Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing

Years ago, I fell in love with a restaurant in Regina. They have amazing food and one thing I love was their salad with cilantro lime dressing. It sounds weird, but it was delicious. Then a while ago I came upon a recipe for the dressing at A Beautiful Mess! Yay! You can find it here if you'd like to try it too. :)

Food Friday

It has been consistently hot here for the last week or so and with that has come smaller appetites and cravings for cool, refreshing food. I found this recipe in a book I've had for ages. I tweaked it so it wouldn't be spicy like the recipe intended. The result was a creamy, satisfying salad.

Creamy Chicken Salad


What you need:


[for the chicken]
2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
5 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp soya sauce
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried basil
2 cloves garlic, crushed


[for the dressing]
1 ripe avocado, pitted & peeled
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
pepper to taste


[salad]
2 heads of romaine lettuce


How to make it:


For the chicken, lay down a piece of plastic wrap, put the chicken on top and then place another piece of plastic wrap on top. Use the bottom of a small pot to pound the chicken until it is only half the thickness that it originally was. Combine the 5 ingredients at the top of the list (lemon juice, soya sauce, pepper, basil & garlic) in a ziploc bag. Cut the chicken breasts in half and place all of the pieces in the bag. Refrigerate for 30 minutes - 2 hours.


When you're ready to cook your chicken, heat your bbq on medium to high heat. Cook the chicken for a few minutes, flip and then finish cooking. Don't overcook. When the chicken is done, set aside and allow it too cool.


For the salad dressing, place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Chop the salad and chicken into bite sized pieces and place them in a bowl. Pour about half the dressing over it and mix well. Add more dressing, bit by bit, until it is as creamy as you like and serve!








P.S.- Happy Friday the 13th!

Food Friday

So I came up with this dangerous recipe after looking at a bunch of others online. What's so dangerous about it? You can have super chocolatey cake in about 5 minutes! 





I was suspicious of the whole microwave cake thing, but apparently I was totally unwarranted.


(attention: this blogger will not be held responsible for readers' excessive cake eating because of this recipe!)

What you need:


2 Tbsp butter
1 square Baker's unsweetened chocolate
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
chocolate chips
icing sugar (optional)


How to make it:


Put the chocolate and butter in your mug and microwave for 1 minute, or until mostly melted. Stir to melt chocolate completely. In a bowl, whisk together egg, vanilla and sugar then add flour and baking powder. Pour into mug and mix well. Toss in a few chocolate chips and stir one last time. Microwave for 1-2 minutes (start at 1, you don't want to overcook!). The top will still look moist when it's done, so don't toss it in expecting that to go away. Sprinkle a little icing sugar on top if you like and let it sit for a couple minutes so you don't burn yourself!

Variation: split the mixture between 2 mugs and reduce cooking time. Top with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy with a friend!

Food Friday

It was Gavin's Grandpa Dale's 60th birthday a couple weeks ago and since we couldn't be with him, I figured we should still be able to have a little cake over skype. I wanted to make brownies (because I love them), but I also wanted a cake. So I modified the old brownie recipe, baked it in a round cake pan, and tossed on some icing and sprinkles. It turned out amazing. The secret ingredient? Greek yogurt!

What you need:


2 squares Baker's unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
2 eggs
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla extract


How to make it:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.


In a large bowl, melt butter and chocolate in the microwave. Add sugar, yogurt & eggs. Mix thoroughly. Add vanilla & flour. Stir until fully combined then pour into a greased 6 inch round pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes.


The greek yogurt gives the brownies a rich, cheesecake-like flavour that is so awesome. I whipped up some simple icing with powdered sugar, cocoa powder and milk for the topping, then let Gavin choose some sprinkles. It's no car cake, but it sure was delicious!

Food Friday

My mom bought me a waffle iron for Christmas last year and I love it. I tried a few waffle recipes and then I put together my own which has become my absolute favourite. It makes quite a lot, so I freeze the leftovers. Then it's easy to toast up waffles in the morning - as easy as eggos, but way more tasty!

Super Delicious Waffles


What you need:


2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, separated
2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup greek yogurt
1 cup milk
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla


How to make it:


In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar. Add yogurt, milk, butter & vanilla. Mix well. Add flour and baking powder and mix just until combined. In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form then fold into batter. Cook in a waffle maker according to its direction.

Food Friday: Kid Edition!

Have you heard of muffin tin meals? I tried them out with Gavin a couple weeks ago (and a few times since!) and had to share the idea with you. Gavin is obsessed with "snacks" and has a hate on for supper (and other meals to a lesser degree). So usually when we get home after daycare he asks for snacks and get grouchy when we tell him he has to wait for supper. He insists, "I don't want supper, I just want snacks".

The muffin tin meal idea means that he gets small portions of a bunch of different foods and it has gone over really well with him. I love it because he gets such small portions of things that he can't fill up on just carbs (like he prefers), he actually has to eat a variety. And he loves it because he gets "snacks for supper". Also, it's a great thing to feed him when I want to cook something spicy or kid-unfriendly.

Do you have any sneaking mealtime strategies for your kids?

No Food Friday?

What's that? No Food Friday? Noooooooooooo!


Yeah, that's right. I had my Fridays all booked up in advance for so long that I forgot to check if I had any coming up. And they finally ran out. It felt so strange not having a Food Friday post lined up for this week that I went ahead and wrote a post just to say there isn't one.


If you happen to be disappointed that I don't have any awesome recipes posted today, feel free to check out my (rather extensive) recipe page! You're bound to find something interesting over there.


Have a lovely weekend!

Food Friday

I decided to direct you to a recipe elsewhere again today! I followed this one to a tee and it was really yummy. It's another vegan recipe, this time a pasta. It's creamy without any animals products, she used cashews instead! Who knew, right? 


Anyways, this yummy pasta is over at lil blue boo. Go check it out. :)

Food Friday

I know that this isn't really the time of year to publish a beef stew recipe - the weather is getting warmer, we start feeling like eating lighter - but here it is anyways. This was another slow cooker recipe I used when I had class at an awkward time on Mondays and wanted to get supper on the table without being there. 


Slow Cooker Beef Stew

What you need:

1 lb stewing beef, cubed
4 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 carrots, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, mined
2 cups beef stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1 cup frozen corn
2 Tbsp bisto

How to make it:

Combine all ingredients except the last two in slowcooker. Cook on low for 10-12 hours. Add corn and whisk in bisto (I like to dissolve it in a small amount of water first, then add it). Cook on high for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, or until it reaches your desired consistency. Turn off heat and serve!

Food Friday

I had a couple overripe bananas on the counter that I wanted to use up the other day because I find that if I put them in the freezer, I never use them. But I also wanted something different from my usual banana muffins. I just used a muffin recipe and swapped out ingredients. They turned out great, we liked eating them for breakfast since they are simple and filling. 

Peanut Butter, Banana & Oatmeal Muffins 
(Yeah, I know, why don't I just list every ingredient and call that a name)

What you need:

1 cup flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
2 Tbsp ground flax
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp honey
1 cup mashed banana
6 Tbsp smooth, natural peanut butter
3/4 cup milk

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.


Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Combine wet ingredients in another bowl. Blend well then pour into dry ingredients. Stir just until combined. Pour into lined muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes.

Food Friday, part one

I'm getting so close to having photos for every single one of my recipes... my nerdy-perfectionist side is so happy. So that means rerunning recipes is almost done. This is the second last one! And I decided to add onto it by including the recipe for the delicious potatoes we ate with it (but in a separate post because I'm crazy like that).  

Marinated Steak


What you need:


1 tbsp Montreal Steak Spice
1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil (I used a little of both, olive oil isn't cheap you know!)
1/4 cup soya sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Steaks


How to make it:


Dump everything into a big freezer bag (that closes with a zipper!) and make sure it is mixed well. Then add the steak. Leave the steaks in the marinade for a few hours to a few days, then leave the bag on the counter for 1 hour before cooking. Toss the steaks on the barbecue and grill to your liking. 

PS- Happy Friday the 13th! Wishing you good luck today :)

Food Friday, part two

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

What you need:


10 baby red potatoes, cleaned and halved
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp paprika


How to make it:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pour about 1/2 inch of water into a large pot and bring to a boil. Place the potatoes in, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 8 minutes then drain and transfer to a bowl.


In the bowl, drizzle potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle seasonings over them. Toss to coat them evenly then transfer to a glass baking dish. Pour any oil or seasonings from the bottom of the bowl over the potatoes. Bake for 12 minutes, turning occasionally for even browning.