Coconut Lime Chicken & Coconut Curry Squash Soup

Tonight I made a recipe I found on Pinterest for Coconut Lime Chicken.  I followed it exactly (but used brown sugar instead of white, and didn't bother cooking the marinade afterwards to make a sauce.)  I also found a recipe for Coconut Curry Squash Soup and whipped that up as a side dish for our meal.  For my super sweet baby (who is 7 months old today!) I puréed the two things together and he gobbled it up (twice!)  He's got good taste!!

Thanks for not feeding me boring food, Mom!

Hawaiian Kalua Pork with Apple Coleslaw

I found this on Pinterest and tried it a couple weeks ago.  It is supposed to taste like the slow-roasted pig that they serve at luaus in Hawaii.  There are lots of recipes online - one of them used bacon to get the smokey flavour, but most of them called for liquid smoke so I went and bought a bottle.  I discovered that the smokey campfire smell kind of gets on my nerves after a few hours -- I put this in the crockpot before bed so that it would be ready for supper the next day, and in the middle of the night my eyes and throat felt like I'd been sitting around a campfire all night.  I was worried the whole house would stink of smoke, but it seemed to dissipate (or I just got used to it).

KALUA PORK
3 lb. pork shoulder roast
1 tbsp. liquid smoke (1-2 tsp. might be enough)
1 tbsp. coarse sea salt (Hawaiian sea salt if you have it - I couldn't find any at the store so I used regular sea salt - don't grind it.)

Remove any fat from the roast.  Rub with sea salt.  (You could also stuff some garlic cloves into it if you like.)  Place in a slow cooker and add liquid smoke.  Cook on low for 16 hours.  Remove from slow cooker (carefully, because it will all fall apart on you!)  Shred with two forks.  I wanted there to be a little bit of crispiness to the meat, so I scooped half of it into an oven-safe frying pan and put it under the broiler for about 10-15 minutes.  (I saved the other half for supper the next night.)  We ate this with rice, grilled pineapple rings, and apple coleslaw.  Freshly squeezed lime juice would be a nice garnish as well.

APPLE COLESLAW (from Canadian Living)
2 apples, thinly sliced (like matchsticks)
4 c. cabbage, shredded
1 c. carrots, shredded
2 green onions, sliced
1/4 c. cider vinegar
2 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp. water
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. Lemon Dilly dip mix
salt & pepper

Toss first four ingredients together.  Whisk remaining ingredients together and pour over salad.  Let it sit for 15 minutes before serving.

This is likely the closest we'll ever get to Hawaii!

This was so tender and delicious - the kids loved it!  Now that I have a bottle of liquid smoke, I'm sure I'll make this recipe more often (although I might wait until it's warmer out so I can leave the windows open while it cooks!)

Almond Blueberry Crème Brûlée

Had a big family supper tonight, with a double batch of Cajun Chicken Alfredo (made with chicken & shrimp this time) and some decadent crème brûlée for dessert.  I used the same recipe I always use (first posted here, made with Cadbury Creme Eggs) but this time I doubled it and changed the flavour profile a bit.  Here's the double batch recipe, which made about 1 dozen small (1/2 c.) rammekins.

ALMOND BLUEBERRY CRÈME BRÛLÉE
10 egg yolks
3/4 c. sugar
4 c. whipping cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
1-2 tsp. frozen blueberries in each rammekin
extra sugar

Whisk egg yolks and sugar, then add whipping cream and extracts.  Put blueberries into each rammekin, and pour 1/2 c. of the custard mixture into each rammekin.  Place in baking dishes that are partially filled with water and bake at 325 F for 45 minutes.  When you remove them from the oven, they should be jiggly but the tops should be set.  Refrigerate (you can make these the day before) and bring to room temperature before you are ready to serve them.  Pour 1 tbsp. sugar over each one, and place on the top rack under the broiler for a few minutes, until the sugar melts and turns golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let them cool until the sugar solidifies.

Tap tap tap...

Oooooh, that's good!

Crème brûlée is so easy to make, and it's great for entertaining because you can make it the day before and then just pop them under the broiler (or be dramatic and torch them at the table!) right before serving.  You can try all sorts of different flavours... I have added mini Cadbury Creme Eggs, raspberries, gingerbread spices, and I have lots of other flavour ideas I can't wait to try.  (Although I must admit, almond and blueberry is definitely my favourite!)  The only complicated part about making this dessert is figuring out how to fit all the rammekins into baking dishes... inevitably I end up with one or two leftover so it ends up taking a long time to cook them all, but it's worth it when your guests crack into their little pots of custardy goodness!

Kathy's Meatloaf

I made this meatloaf from scratch a couple weeks ago and it was so good.  Unfortunately I didn't take exact measurements, but I tried to recreate it tonight.  Here is a rough idea of what I put in it:

KATHY'S MEATLOAF
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
2 eggs
1 onion, diced (I forgot this the second time, darn it!)
1/2 sleeve of soda crackers (or use about 1 c. oatmeal or bread crumbs)
salt & pepper
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. BBQ seasoning
2 tbsp. Meatloaf seasoning or Italian seasoning
1 tsp. onion powder (optional)
1 tsp. garlic powder (optional)
1/4 c. chili sauce (I had some homemade chili sauce that my friend Jackie gave me - yum!)
1/4 c. ketchup
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
3-4 tbsp. brown sugar (maybe more... I used a couple handfuls)

Mix everything together and press into a greased loaf pan.  Poke holes throughout the loaf, and top with a mixture of ketchup and brown sugar (you can add some more BBQ seasoning if you like).   Bake at 350 F for 1 hour. Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting into it.

Mmmm!  This meatloaf is awesome... I love the brown sugar & ketchup sauce on top.  We served it up with good old mashed potatoes and peas... the perfect comfort food!

Valentine's Day Lunch

I bet you a lot of kids are eating pancakes for lunch today.  It seems to be the perfect Valentine's Day lunch for little people.  Hope you enjoy this recipe... my littlest Valentines sure did!

STRAWBERRY & CHOCOLATE PANCAKES WITH CHOCOLATE MILK SHOOTERS
1 c. flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 3/4 c. milk (I used soy milk)
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. oil (or applesauce)
2 eggs
1/2 c. diced strawberries
1/2 c. chocolate chips
red food colouring (optional)

Combine ingredients and cook on the griddle.  Serve with a shot glass of chocolate milk garnished with a strawberry.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

One of my favourite shows on the Food Network is "The Best Thing I Ever Ate", and now they have a new version called "The Best Thing I Ever Made".  On the first episode, chefs shared their favourite "comfort food" recipes, and I was intrigued by Anne Burrell's Spaghetti alla Carbonara.  It was simple to make, and the family loved it.  I only used 6 eggs (she uses 8 in her recipe), and when she made this on tv she specifically said that you don't want it to look like scrambled eggs, which is exactly what mine looked like.  However, it tasted just fine, and at least this way I knew the eggs were completely cooked!

Jamie Oliver's Tray Baked Chicken with Squashed Potatoes

This was a delicious, simple meal from my Jamie Oliver Meals in Minutes cookbook.  This is definitely a new family favourite!

CHICKEN WITH BACON & ROASTED TOMATOES (adapted from Jamie Oliver)

4-5 chicken breasts

salt & pepper

paprika

oregano

olive oil & butter

8 slices of bacon

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 lemon, quartered

Season chicken with spices.  Heat oil and butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat and brown chicken on both sides, about 4-5 minutes.  Transfer chicken and juices to a baking dish, add cherry tomatoes and lemon wedges, and lay 4 bacon slices over top.  Place under the broiler in the oven for about 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked.  Meanwhile, cook the other 4 bacon slices in the frying pan and add them to the chicken dish when it's finished in the oven.

SQUASHED POTATOES

1 1/2 lbs. baby potatoes (leave the peels on)

olive oil

6 garlic cloves

salt

Boil potoates for 12-14 minutes, until tender.  Drain.  Arrange them in the frying pan after you finished cooking the bacon (leave the bacon fat in there!)  Add some olive oil, crushed garlic cloves, and salt.  Use a lid from a smaller pan and gently squash the potatoes until they burst.  Let them brown over medium heat and then toss and squash them again.

Blueberry or Saskatoon Berry Muffins

I made a batch of blueberry muffins a couple days ago, and they turned out perfectly so I decided to make a double batch this morning.  I used saskatoon berries instead, and just after I finished saying to my daughter that we didn't want to overmix the batter, she held up the bag of brown sugar and said, "Weren't we supposed to put this in?"  Shoot.  So much for not overmixing... I added in the sugar and crossed my fingers that the muffins would still taste good.  Luckily it worked, and my husband told me they were even better than the first batch I made!

I used this recipe but omitted the lemon zest.  I love the almond and vanilla extracts - it adds a really great flavour to the muffins.

BLUEBERRY OR SASKATOON BERRY MUFFINS (this is the double-batch version)
4 c. flour (I used 3 c. all-purpose flour and 1 c. whole wheat flour)
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 c. blueberries or saskatoon berries
1 1/2 c. milk
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2/3 c. oil (you could use applesauce instead to make these low-fat)
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Put berries in a bowl and sprinkle a few tablespoons of the flour mixture over the berries to coat them.  In a separate bowl, combine milk and lemon juice and let it sit for a few minutes.  Add oil, brown sugar, eggs, and extracts.  Mix together, and then pour over dry ingredients.  Stir until just moistened, adding the berries in the last few strokes.  Scoop into a greased muffin tin and bake at 375 F for 15-18 minutes.  Makes 2 dozen.

Québécois Pea Soup

My mom's friend brought us over an awesome meal of ham, scalloped potatoes, broccoli salad, asparagus, and homemade cookies last week.  I am normally not a fan of ham soup, but this ham bone was just staring at me, and I figured it would be a waste not to use it.  Seeing as my husband is from Quebec, I thought I would make some traditional Pea Soup.  I personally hate pea soup (or so I thought), but I knew he liked it and it seemed simple enough, so I gave it a shot.

QUÉBÉCOIS PEA SOUP (adapated from this recipe)
1 leftover ham bone (with some meat still on the bone)
2 tbsp. butter
2 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 3/4 c. dried yellow split peas
2 bay leaves
pepper (don't add any salt - there is enough salt from the ham already)
8 c. water
2 small potatoes, diced

In a large pot, heat butter over medium heat and cook celery, carrots, onion, and garlic for about 15 minutes or until soft.  Add split peas, bay leaves, and pepper.  Cook for 2 minutes, then pour in water and add potatoes.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover, simmering for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  Discard bay leaves and remove ham bone.  Once it's cool, remove all the meat from the bone and shred into small pieces.  Purée the soup and then add in the pieces of ham.

Someone may have even said it was better than his grandma's.... but I don't want to get anyone into trouble!

This soup was delicious and filling, and it was so inexpensive and easy to make as well, which is an added bonus!  The whole family loved it.

Jamie Oliver's Pregnant Jool's Pasta

I'm guessing this was a recipe Jamie's wife liked when she was pregnant.  Seemed appropriate for me to try it out this week, since I'm 39 weeks pregnant! (Obviously I wrote this post a few weeks ago... just getting around to posting it now!)

PREGNANT JOOL'S PASTA (adapted from Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes)
4 green onions, diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1-2 chilies, seeded and diced
1 pkg. ground Italian sausage
1 tsp. oregano
4 garlic cloves
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
14 oz. can diced tomatoes
penne noodles, cooked according to package

Heat some olive oil in a frying pan.  Add veggies, sausage, oregano, and garlic and cook till sausage is browned.  Add balsamic vinegar and tomatoes.  Add a little bit of the pasta water if necessary.  Stir in cooked pasta and garnish with grated Parmesan and basil if you like.

Super yummy pasta!

FENNEL & RADISH SALAD (from Jamie Oliver)
2 bulbs of fennel
1 bunch of radishes
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
salt & pepper


Use a mandolin to finely slice fennel and radishes.  Toss with lemon juice and olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

This was a nice fresh salad - I was quite pleased with it!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

We have wonderful friends.  I have always known this fact, but over the past two weeks it has been reinforced by the generosity and thoughtfulness of some truly wonderful people.  One of our friends organized a "food chain" and set up a schedule for people to bring us supper every night since we got home from the hospital with baby Michael (who is fricking adorable, by the way!)

It has been a godsend to have meals prepared for us every night - I haven't needed to buy groceries, make meal plans, or stand in the kitchen and try to make supper in between feedings and diaper changes and baby snuggles.  The kids are convinced that I should have more babies just so we can be spoiled like this all over again!

Our friend Glenna wrapped up the food chain last night with a delicious meal of Fiesta Mac & Cheese, and she also made some of her yummy homemade granola that makes me swoon.  Here are the recipes:

FIESTA MAC & CHEESE
2 heaping cups of macaroni, cooked until tender but firm
2 tbsp. butter
1 onion, chopped
1/3 c. flour
3 c. milk
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 3/4 c. cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 c. salsa
1/2 c. frozen corn
dash of hot sauce
1/4 lb. ground beef (browned and seasoned with taco seasoning)
tortilla chips

Melt butter over medium heat.  Cook onion for about 5 minutes or until softened.  Add flour and cook for 1 minute, then gradually whisk in milk.  Continue stirring for about 8 minutes or until sauce has thickened.  Add mustard, salt, pepper, and cheese.  Stir until melted, and then add in salsa, corn, hot sauce, beef, and stir in macaroni.  Spread in a baking dish and top with crushed tortilla chips.  Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

MOSTLY OATS GRANOLA (from Simply in Season)
6 c. rolled oats
1 c. coconut
1 c. raw wheat germ
3/4 c. almonds
1/2 c. raw sunflower seeds
1/2 c. sesame seeds

Combine in a roasting pan.

1/2 c. honey
1/3 c. olive oil
1/3 c. water
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together and pour over oat mixture. Stir well. Bake at 275F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Watch carefully so it doesn’t burn.

Add 1 c. dried fruit (mango and banana chips are my favourite, but you can use raisins, cranberries, apricots, prunes, etc.) and store in airtight containers.

I don't have pictures for these recipes, but trust me, they are delicious!

A heartfelt thank you to all the people who have welcomed Michael into the world with their kind words, gifts, meals, support, and love.  We are truly blessed!

Successful Sunday Supper

I took a couple recipes from Jamie Oliver again and made a pretty darn good meal for supper tonight!  I didn't even attempt to cram it all into 30 minutes - that just ain't happening!  But I made dessert earlier in the afternoon, and then supper wasn't too hectic to make.  Here are the recipes:

MUSTARD CHICKEN WITH LEEK SAUCE (from Jamie Oliver)
4 chicken breasts (I used 5 boneless skinless)
4-5 tsp. dry mustard powder
olive oil
salt & pepper
fresh rosemary
3 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
white wine (about 1/2 c., maybe more)
whipping cream (about 1/2 c.)
1-2 tbsp. dijon mustard

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.  Rub chicken breasts with dry mustard, salt & pepper.  Set them in the pan and sprinkle with rosemary leaves.  Let them brown on one side for about 7-8 minutes, then add leeks and garlic.  Turn the chicken over and add wine, stirring the leeks well so they don't burn.  Continue cooking for about 10 minutes (or until chicken is done.)  Set chicken aside and cover with tinfoil.  Add whipping cream and dijon mustard and stir to make a sauce (add more wine or whipping cream until you get the consistency you want.)  Pour sauce over chicken before serving.

SCALLOPED POTATOES (or "Dauphinoise" as Jamie Oliver calls it)
about 6 potatoes, very thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 c. whipping cream
salt & pepper (and nutmeg if you want, but I don't like it)
freshly grated parmesan cheese
olive oil
2 bay leaves

In a roasting pan, toss together all the ingredients and then pour in 2/3 c. boiling water.  Set on a burner over medium heat with the lid on for about 10-15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to keep things from sticking to the bottom.  Transfer to the oven at 425 F for 15 minutes.  Top with more grated parmesan if you like.

TOMATO SALAD (I was going to use a recipe from Jamie's cookbook, but my basil looked iffy so I opted for an old standby recipe that always tastes delicious)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
handful of feta cheese
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt & pepper

Toss the tomatoes and feta together, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.  Add a bit of olive oil, season with salt & pepper, and toss to combine everything.

Everything was delicious!

CREAM PUFFS
1 c. water
1/2 c. butter
1 c. flour
4 eggs
whipping cream or custard

Bring water and butter to a boil.  Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring until it forms a ball.  Remove from heat.  Beat in one egg at a time.  Use a piping bag or a portion scoop and place balls of dough onto a baking sheet.  Bake at 400 F for 30 minutes or until golden.  Let them cool, then cut a small hole in the side and pipe in whipping cream or custard.

Easy to make, and you can be lazy like me and buy the spray can of whipping cream, so they are easy to fill too!

Happy Birthday, Geneviève!

It's a little surreal for me right now... my baby girl is 9 years old today, and I'm about to pop with baby #3 any time!  Luckily for Geneviève, this baby stayed in long enough so that I could make a half-decent birthday cake for my special little lady.

I asked for a bunch of recipe ideas on my Facebook page and got some fantastic ideas (you should really check them out if you love cake, and really, who doesn't love cake?)  Unfortunately, I was limited by the ingredients in my pantry, so I couldn't try out some of the fabulous suggestions.  I did, however, have a supply of mango buttercream in the freezer that my fancy chef sister left here after making my mom's wedding cake in the fall.  I absolutely love my sister's raspberry mango wedding cakes, so I thought I'd use those flavours as inspiration for my adaptation of this recipe for a simple white cake.

RASPBERRY CAKE WITH MANGO BUTTERCREAM
3 c. cake flour (or apparently you could substitute with 2 1/3 c. all-purpose flour)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4 egg whites
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
1 c. raspberry yogurt
4 egg yolks
1 tbsp. vanilla
red food colouring (optional)

Sift dry ingredients together and set aside.  Beat egg whites until stiff (3-5 minutes) and gently transfer to another bowl.  Beat butter, sugar, and yogurt until creamy, then add in egg yolks, vanilla, and food colouring and continue beating.  Gradually add dry ingredients, mixing well.  Using a spatula, gently fold in the egg whites.  Transfer to cake pans that have been lined with parchment paper.  (I only have two 8" cake pans so that's what I used, although the original recipe suggests using three 9" pans.)  Bake at 350 F (original recipe suggests 20 minutes, but since my cakes are smaller and there are only two of them, I baked them for about 35 minutes.)  Transfer to a cooling rack.

When cakes are cool, slice off the top of one cake so that it's flat.  Turn the other cake over so that you have two flat surfaces.  Spread one cake with raspberry jam, and the other with mango buttercream (my apologies, I don't have an actual buttercream recipe for you since my sister made it... but find a good one on the internet, and then mix in some mango purée.)  Turn the unsliced cake right-side-up and set it on top of the other cake (so your two fillings meet in the middle), and then ice with regular icing.  (Unfortunately my mango buttercream looked a little chunky after being thawed out, so it wasn't an option to ice the cake with this stuff, even though it tastes delicious!)

My icing skills are what some would consider appalling, so I whipped out the other bag of frozen goodness that my sister left in my freezer -- fondant icing!  I defrosted it, rolled it out on a floured surface, and then laid it on top of the cake and trimmed around the edges.  It's not as smooth and flawless as my sister's cakes are, but that's why people used to pay her the big bucks to make wedding cakes!  She can also make amazing sugar flowers and all sorts of fancy sugar designs.  I, on the other hand, can go buy some flowers to decorate my cake.

Happy Birthday to my amazing daughter!!

Jamie Oliver's Portuguese Tarts

I bought myself the new Jamie Oliver cookbook with the hope that I would be able to create some fantastic, healthy meals for my family in 30 minutes.  I especially had it in mind for after the baby comes (which could be any day!).  The meals are designed so that if you work quickly and stay on task, you should be able to make a main dish, side dish, and dessert in 30 minutes.  The first meal I tried was not what I would call a success.... it was Mushroom Risotto with a side salad and a Lemon Raspberry cheesecake.  I skipped out on the dessert (because we had so many Christmas treats still lingering around the house), so I just made the risotto and salad.  It took at least 45 minutes, and the risotto was not as wonderful as I had hoped it would be (although my husband swears it was delicious.)  I think if I read the directions more carefully next time and do more of the prep work ahead of time (instead of in between steps, like Jamie does), it will be much quicker and less chaotic.  (Perhaps making risotto, which requires almost constant attention, wasn't the best meal to start out with!)

Anyway, on his Food Network show this weekend, I saw him prepare one of the meals that is in the new cookbook.  It was helpful to see him go through the motions, so I decided to give it a whirl.  The recipe is for Piri Piri Chicken, a side salad, and Portuguese tarts for dessert.  Turns out we are having friends over for supper tonight and I didn't feel like experimenting with a new main dish recipe when guests are here, so I just made the tarts for dessert and we're ordering pizza for supper!  Tomorrow night I will tackle the Piri Piri Chicken and salad.  Here's the tart recipe though, which is super easy to make!

PORTUGUESE TARTS
1 square puff pastry, thawed & rolled out into an 8" square
approx. 1 tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. whipping cream
1 egg
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
zest of 1 orange
1/4 c. sugar
juice of 1 orange

Sprinkle puff pastry with cinnamon, then roll up like a jelly roll.  Cut into 8 equal pieces (Jamie only made 6, but I had enough for 8.)  Turn them on their side (so you can see the pinwheel design) and squash them down.  Use a rolling pin to flatten them out and then lay them in a muffin a tin so that they make tart shells.  Bake at 400 F for 8-10 minutes.  Remove from oven and use a spoon to push the dough up against the sides of the muffin tin so that you create a space for the custard.  To make the custard, whisk together whipping cream, egg, 1 tbsp. sugar, vanilla, and orange zest.  Fill the tart shells and put them back in the oven for 8-10 minutes.  They should still be jiggly when they come out.  While they are baking, heat 1/4 c. sugar and the orange juice in a saucepan over high heat to make a caramel (the sugar will boil and eventually turn a golden brown).  Pour caramel sauce over the tarts and let them set.

Mmmm.... kind of like a cinnamon bun and a crème brûlée in one little bite!

I wasn't sure how these would taste, so I had to sample one before our guests get here.  Umm, they are delicious!  Wish I would have doubled the batch!

Lemon Chiffon Tarts

Well fudge, I made some fabulous lemon tarts yesterday, and the recipe was on the bag of Meyer lemons.  I set the empty bag beside the computer so I could copy it out for you, but I think my husband must have thrown it out.  Let's see if I can remember it off by heart...
LEMON CHIFFON TARTS (or pie)
1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. lemon rind
1/2 c. fresh lemon juice
4 eggs
1/3 c. butter
1/2 c. whipping cream
1 pie shell or 48 mini tart shells (I made my own pastry using a half-batch of the recipe on the back of the Tenderflake shortening box).

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine first four ingredients.  Stir constantly for 4-5 minutes, until mixture begins to bubble and thicken.  Remove from heat and stir in butter one tablespoon at a time.  Cover with plastic wrap and cool to room temperature.  (Place the plastic wrap right on top of the lemon mixture so it doesn't form a skin on top while it cools.)  Meanwhile, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks.  Once lemon mixture is cool, fold in the whipped cream and then pour the mixture into a baked pie shell or baked tart shells.  Allow them to set for a couple hours before serving.

These were very tasty!!

Tourtière

One of my favourite dishes from Quebec is tourtière - a meat pie made with beef & pork and a unique blend of seasonings.  Depending on where you are from in Quebec, there are a few different ways to make this popular dish.  They are all delicious though, and here is my version that blends together a couple recipes I have tried in the past.

TOURTIÈRE
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 onions, diced
1 tbsp. oil
2.5 lbs. ground pork
2.5 lbs. ground beef
1/4 c. flour
2 tbsp. Epicure's 3 Onion Dip Mix
2 tsp. Epicure's Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tbsp. Epicure's Montreal Steak Spice or Beef & Steak Seasoning
salt & pepper
4 potatoes, grated
2 c. beef stock

In a large pot over medium heat, soften the garlic and onions in oil.  Add the ground meat and cook until it is all browned.  Drain if necessary.  Stir in flour and seasonings, add grated potatoes and stock, and continue cooking for about 40-45 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and let it cool.

There are a few ways you can make your tourtière:

• The traditional way is to make meat pies.  Roll out a pie crust, fill it up with tourtière filling, and then cover with another pie crust and bake in the oven according to your pie crust recipe.
• You can also try my "Tourtière Triangles" recipe and use puff pastry to make individual popovers which are super delicious.
• You can use a mini muffin tin and make little tarts (which I baked, then froze, then reheated to serve on Christmas Eve as appetizers.)

• Or you can toss the filling into freezer bags (I suggest 4 c. portions) and use it later to make meat pies.

This recipe makes a HUGE BATCH!  I made one meat pie, 2 or 3 freezer bags to make meat pies later on, 8 puff pastry triangles, and about 36 mini tarts.

Tourtière is especially tasty with ketchup on the side.... you can use regular old ketchup, or get a little fancy and try some homemade or gourmet ketchup (made with cranberries or something like that.)  It's great comfort food, and perfect for stocking up your freezer with ready-to-go meals.

Jamie Oliver's Turkey & Leek Pie with Sage Pastry

I watched one of Jamie Oliver's Christmas specials on the weekend, and I couldn't wait till after Christmas to try out his Leftover Turkey & Leek Pie, so I went out and bought a small chicken so I could make this for supper.I'm not exactly sure if I followed Jamie's recipe exactly or not, but this recipe is quite forgiving.  Here's what I did:

CHICKEN & LEEK PIE WITH SAGE PASTRY
1 small chicken
2 onions
2 celery stalks
2 carrots
1/2 pkg. bacon, chopped
6 leeks, chopped and washed (I only used the bottom halves of the leeks)
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt & pepper
2 heaping tbsp. flour
4 c. chicken stock (if you don't have enough from the crockpot, use some store-bought stock to top it up)
1 square puff pastry
1 tbsp. Sage & Apple Stuffing Seasoning

Season chicken with salt & pepper. Place in slow cooker along with 1-2 c. water and roughly chopped onions, celery, and carrots. Cook on low for 8 hours. Remove chicken and chop up all the meat. Strain the liquid from the crockpot and reserve for later.  (Alternately, you could use a pre-cooked chicken from the grocery store and some store-bought chicken broth.)
Brown bacon in a large pot over medium heat.  Drain most of the grease, then add leeks, butter, and olive oil, coating well.  Season with salt & pepper.  Put the lid on and cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes so the leeks don't burn.  Add chopped chicken to the leek mixture and sprinkle with flour.  Pour in stock and bring to a boil.  Season with more salt & pepper if needed.  Pour mixture into a large strainer overtop of a pot, and let most of the liquid drain out.  Reserve this liquid to use as gravy later on.  Once it has drained, spread the chicken & leek mixture into a 9x13" baking dish.
Roll out the puff pastry and sprinkle half with Sage & Apple seasoning.  Fold the dough over to cover up the seasoning, and continue rolling until it will cover the baking dish.  Lay dough over top of the chicken & leek mixture, and tuck it in around the edges.  Gently score the dough with a knife to let the steam out, and then brush with a bit of beaten egg.  Bake at 375 F for 35-40 minutes.  Serve with gravy.

Thank you Jamie Oliver - this was delicious!!!

Mock Skor Bars

I can't take credit for this recipe, but I will gladly help spread the word about how fantastic it is!
MOCK SKOR BARS
1 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
24 soda crackers (salted is good, but you can use unsalted too)
2 c. chocolate chips (I used melting chocolate to get it a little bit smoother, but normally I just use chocolate chips.  You can use milk or dark chocolate.)

Melt butter in a saucepan and stir in brown sugar.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Continue boiling for 2 minutes.  Lay crackers in a parchment-lined 9x13" baking dish.  (Please please please use parchment paper!  Otherwise you will have one awful mess to clean up.)  Pour caramel over the crackers and bake at 350 F for 5 minutes.  Top with chocolate and put back in the oven for a few more minutes until chocolate melts.  Take out of the oven, and once it cools a little bit, spread the chocolate into a smooth layer.  (If you prefer, you could also wait until the caramel has cooled and then pour melted chocolate over top and spread it.)  Refrigerate and then crack into pieces and serve.

This is not the best photo - I cracked it before it had enough time to set in the fridge.  Still tastes awesome though.

The problem with Christmas baking is that I generally only make these recipes once a year.  So I forget the little things like exactly how long did I boil the sugar and how long did I bake it in the oven.  The recipe I posted above is the one I have in my cookbook, but when I sampled it just now it doesn't seem very hard, and the caramel is a little grainy.  I think I should have boiled it longer to smooth out the caramel mixture, and baked it a bit longer till it was bubbling in the oven (I seem to remember it bubbling last year, but this year there was no bubbling happening in the oven.)  It might need some extra time in the fridge to solidify too.  I just might have to make a second batch of this to confirm my theories!

Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT THUMBPRINT COOKIES
2 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa (recipe called for 2/3 c. but I used Epicure's cocoa which is very rich so I only needed half the amount)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. sugar (plus more for coating the cookies)
1 egg
1 tbsp. vanilla
4 oz. baker's chocolate (I used bittersweet, but you could use dark, semi-sweet, or white chocolate)
1/4 c. butter
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

Whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt.  Beat butter and sugar until fluffy, then add egg and vanilla and beat until combined.  Gradually add in dry ingredients, beating until combined.  Roll into balls and coat in sugar.  Place on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 F for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and use a small round measuring spoon to make an indentation in the middle of each cookie.  Put them back in the oven for 4 minutes.  They will still look moist - don't overbake them.  While they are cooling, melt baker's chocolate and butter in a double boiler.  Add peppermint extract and scoop chocolate into a piping bag (use a Ziploc bag and then snip off the corner.)  When cookies are cool, pipe some chocolate into the indentations.

These were simple to make, and delicious.  I think next time I would use white chocolate and leave out the peppermint, but top them off with some crushed candy canes.

Heaven must smell like this

All the stars were in alignment this morning, and my children were semi-capable of getting themselves through the morning routine without too much prompting from me.  This is a rare and special occasion, which allowed me to whip up a batch of banana bread and pop it in the oven before I walked them to school.  It is Day #4 of winter here in Saskatchewan, and let me tell you, nothing is better than a crisp morning walk with well-behaved children, followed by opening up the door to your house and being enveloped in the warm, comforting smell of banana bread in the oven!
Then a friend came over for tea, and I put a pot on the stove to make us some delicious Chai tea.  Unfortunately I put the wrong burner on, and there was a glass baking dish filled with buns that I had made yesterday sitting on that burner.  KABOOM!  Glass everywhere.  And by everywhere, I mean we'll be finding glass for weeks to come, even after I spent an hour cleaning my kitchen.  The glass even scorched parts of my linoleum when it landed.  Thank God no one was hurt, and thank God I had moved the banana loaf to a part of the kitchen that somehow managed to avoid the shower of glass shards.

Anyway, back to my banana bread.  I used a recipe from Canadian Living and added Skor Bits instead of chocolate chips (because I have overdosed on chocolate since Halloween!)  Here is the final version:

BANANA BREAD WITH SKOR BITS
2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 c. Skor Bits
2 c. ripe bananas, mashed (I used 6 bananas)
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. milk
2 eggs

Sift all the dry ingredients together (including Skor Bits).  Combine the wet ingredients and pour into the dry ingredients, stirring just until blended.  Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 F for 50-60 minutes.

This turned out perfectly, and it was delicious.  I like that this recipe doesn't use much sugar, and by using 1/2 c. Skor Bits instead of 1 c. chocolate chips, it really cut down on the sweetness without being bland.  I will definitely use this recipe from now on, and I will always make sure I turn on the correct burner when making tea.