Honey Garlic Pork chops

I am still addicted to Pinterest and am always searching for really good recipes. I found this one for pork chops and loved it. I highly recommend making them, they were quick and easy. The adults and the kids both loved them. We will be having these again.

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• salt and pepper
• garlic powder
• 5 pork chops
• 2 eggs lightly beaten with 4 tablespoons water
• 1 cup honey
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• black pepper
• 4 tablespoons oil, divided

Sift together flour, salt and pepper. (Any spice combination could be used, I just kept it really simple). Dip pork chops in flour, then egg mixture and then flour again. Fry in skillet that has been heated with 2 tablespoons oil.

Fry garlic in remaining oil until soft, not brown. Add honey, soy sauce and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes (keep watch as it can boil up). Dip cooked pork chops in the sauce and serve.

Crock pot pulled pork

We love pulled pork, it is so easy when it's made in the slow cooker and so delicious. I found our recipe at Tasty Kitchen on the Pioneer Woman's website. It is so simple, most of the ingredients you will have on hand in your pantry. I highly recommend it, especially this time of year when everything is so hectic and busy; a quick easy meal is a sure hit. I adapted the recipe slightly to suit my family's taste.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 can tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• pork - I use pork tenderloin but it can be any pork roast
• Kaisers
• 1 bag coleslaw mix
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all ingredients except pork in the crock pot. Once combined add the pork, turn to coat in the sauce. Cook on low for 8 hours.

Combine coleslaw dressing ingredients. Add coleslaw. Refrigerate until ready to use. When pork is cooked shred, add back to sauce. Pile pork and sauce on kaiser and top with coleslaw. Enjoy!

A Greek inspired meal

I loved tonight's dinner, there was chicken, salad, pitas, potatoes, and a yummy yogurt dip. I was so excited to eat dinner I forgot to take any photos. Not a good blogger I know. I love Greek inspired food, it's one of my favourites. Hopefully one day I'll get to Greece where I can try the real thing. Tonight's dinner was one of my favourites, if you are looking for something full of fresh flavours I highy recommend it.

Chicken ingredients

• 5 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, miced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless

Combine ingredients in a ziplock bag. Add chicken marinate 2 hours. When ready to cook heat an additional 2 tablespoons oil in a large frying pan, brown chicken on both sides. Place chicken in baking dish and bake 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees until done and no longer pink.

Yogurt sauce

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and let chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours.

Lemon potatoes

• 4 tablespoons oil
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 red skinned potatoes, washed and dried off, cut into chunks

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all ingredients in oven safe dish, make sure potatoes are coated. Cover with foil, bake 30 minutes, take foil off and bake an addiotnal 30-45 minutes (I usually add the chicken to the oven at this point so it is all hot and ready at the same time).

Enjoy!

Chili macaroni

I wanted to make something hearty and healthy for dinner tonight so I decided to do a loaded chili macaroni. It was a real hit, the boys liked it because it had noodles in it and I was happy because of all the veggies in it. I served it with these cheese biscuits and thought it was a really good meal.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 green pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced (small dice)
• 1 zucchini, grated on medium grate of box grater
• 1 can whole plum tomatoes
• 1 can roasted garlic tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 8oz macaroni, cooked

Heat oil in large pot. Add onions, peppers and carrots. Cook 5 minutes, add garlic cook 1 minute. Add zucchini cook 5 minutes. Add ground beef and brown, about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and water, chickpeas and black beans. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 1 hour.  Add macaroni, stir to combine. Serve with warm biscuits or buns.

Ham and Pea soup

We had a ham for dinner the other night which is always a hit, so I saved the bone to make soup with. We love ham and pea soup. It's so filling and delicious. I always make sure I leave a little extra meat on the bone for the soup. We like there to be a fair amount of ham in the soup. I served it with crusty buns and a salad. It was the perfect dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 ham bone with some meat left on
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 sweet onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, small dice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 3 1/2 cup dry split green peas

Heat oil in large soup pot. Fry veggies until soft, about 5 minutes. Add ham bone, salt and pepper. Cook 5 more minutes.

Add stock, peas and water. Bring to a boil. Skim off the foam.

Cover, simmer until peas breakdown and soup becomes thicker. About 2 hours.

Remove ham bone, shred meat into soup.

Chop Salad

I was looking for a quick salad to make for dinner the other night but I wanted to make sure it had all the essentials in it, I came across this salad at the Stacey Snack's blog and adapted it to what we had on hand. I also used a low fat bottled Balsamic vinaigrette with it. It was really good and so simple.

Ingredients

•  1 bag baby spinach, washed and torn
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tomato, diced
• 50 grams thick salami, sliced
• cheddar cheese, diced
• walnuts, chopped

Combine and top with your favourite dressing.

Shortbread

With everyone feeling crappy and us having decorated our house (a little early I know) for Christmas I thought I would make some shortbread cookies. I didn't have my Grandma's recipe on hand so I found one from the Food Network Canada website I thought I would try. They were different than I normally make as these were a drop cookie but they were still good. You can't go wrong with shortbread during the holidays.

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted
1/4 cup cornstarch or rice flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add icing sugar and beat again until fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Sift in cornstarch or rice flour, blend in. Sift in flour and salt. Combine (dough will be soft) stir in vanilla.

Spoon large teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet leaving 2 inches between cookies. Bake 18-20 minutes until bottoms lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet to cool. Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas

Things have been a little crazy here this weekend. First we had the Grey Cup game in Vancouver (Go Lions!)and then my dad ended up in emergency and now James and I are not feeling well, needless to say the desire to cook is not there right now, so instead I want to share a link to a recipe I have made numerous times and absolutely love. Chicken Enchiladas. This recipe is easy to follow and the end result is delicious. Please go to Pink Parsley and check out this recipe. You won't be disappointed.

*This is the boys last Christmas. We are getting into Christmas mode here and since I don't have a photo of the enchiladas I thought these guys are a good substitute.

Chicken Pizzaiola

This recipe came from my mom. Her and my dad love it. I believe she got it from a local super market (Save On Foods). It's super simple and really tasty. I served it with some corn on the side and some flaky rolls. It was nice on a cold windy day.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite size pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 6 nugget potatoes, washed and cut in half
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 can sweet onion stewed tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 3/4 cup chicken stock

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in large oven proof skillet. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, brown in skillet. Remove chicken from skillet and cover with foil. Add potatoes, onion and green pepper to skillet. Cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomator paste, and stock. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Add chicken back to skillet. Cover tightly with foil. Place in oven and back 45 minutes.

Cookies for Christmas

I've been getting into the holiday baking mode, not quite started but making lists of all the treats I want to make. I never make sugar cookies. This year though because the boys are getting bigger I want to do some they can decorate. We did a practice batch tonight with a recipe I found here. What I liked about this recipe is the almond extract. It smells so good and makes it feel Christmasy. We didn't have any decorating items on hand so we just frosted some with a simple butter icing (when we make them for Christmas we'll use a Royal Icing). The boys had fun icing their cookies and I thought the recipe was good. We'll make them for sure at Christmas.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour

Cream butter. Add sugar. Blend in egg, extracts, salt and flour. Chill dough until firm. Roll 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface, cut with cookie cutters, bake 8-10 minutes (do not left brown). Let cool and decorate.

A couple days break

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you know I'll be back to posting tomorrow, we've been busy with doctor's appointments and life in general and will resume posting some yummy recipes Tuesday night.

Kristen

Blondies

I have seen recipes for blondies popping up on Pinterest quite a bit (yep, I'm one of those who is TOTALLY addicted to Pinterest). They look good but I've never made them, my dad has also been emailing blondie recipes trying to get me to make them, so I decided today was a good day to try them. They are so easy! I have no idea why I have never made them before. I like chocolate but it is not my favourite so a dessert like this is perfect for me since I am one of the few I think that prefers a non-chocolate dessert. The nice thing about blondies too is that you can mix in whatever you have on hand or whatever it is that you feel like. I found this recipe and changed it slightly to what I had on hand. I'll for sure be making these again. PS: They smell GREAT while baking!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar (I used golden brown sugar, I rarely have dark brown sugar on hand)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8X8 pan.

Stir melted butter and sugar together. Add vanilla and egg. Stir to combine. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. When combined stir in chocolate chips. Bake 20-25 minutes, let cool, slice and enjoy!

Meatloaf (loaded with veggies)

I love meatloaf, it's simple and so tasty (I love meatloaf sandwiches the next day, however we usually don't have any leftovers...). I wanted to make sure we had our veggies with dinner as well though but instead of doing sides of veggies I opted to add them to the meatloaf. It tasted great and I really don't think anyone noticed they were there. A great way to incorporate vegetables into a meal. I'm not a great food photographer as you may have noticed, and meatloaf while it is tasty is not a pretty food to photograph so instead of the meatloaf you get a photo of my helper.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloved, minced
• 1 carrot, grated on small grate of box grater
• 1 small zucchini, grated on small grate of box grater
• 1/2 red pepper, seeded and very finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/4-1/3 cup panko
• dash of milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine ground beef, onion, garlic, carrot, zucchini, red pepper, egg, panko, milk, salt, pepper, and oregano. Place in loaf pan that has been lightly sprayed with a cooking spray such as PAM.

In a small bowl combine ketchup, mustard and sugar. When smooth spread on top of meat loaf. Bake 45-60 minutes (until cooked through). Enjoy!

Pasta e Fagioli

I love this soup. James and I went to Strongstart at a local school this morning where we played with lots of toys, had a snack, read some books, sang songs and played in the gym. It was a great morning (Jonjon was at home with Nana). When we left the gym we were surprised to see it snowing! It didn't last and hardly stuck but it was so cold! I decided to make this soup for a warm hearty dinner. It is one of my favourites. This may not be a true Pasta E Fagioli as I use chickpeas and kidney beans instead of cannelini beans but I like the pop of the chickpeas. I served it with some dinner buns and couldn't be happier (or more stuffed).

Ingredients

• 4 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 sweet basil Italian sausages, casings removed
• 1 small package (about half a pound) lean ground beef
• 1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 6-8 cups beef broth (I use a low sodium one)
• 1 can herb and garlic pasta sauce (I use a can of Thick and Rich pasta sauce, I love the taste, it adds a little more flavour than a can of tomato sauce)
• 1 tablespoon sundried tomato pesto (I use Classico brand)
• 3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6oz. small pasta (I use either ditalini or the small bowties)

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large pot. Add ground beef and sausge. Brown. Remove from pot, drain and set aside.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter. Add veggies. Cook until soft. Add meat and tomatoes, simmer 10 minutes. Add beans, broth, pasta sauce, and pesto. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Add pasta, simmer an additional 30 minutes.

Serve and enjoy. This soup would taste great with some fresh grated parmesan cheese.

I'm taking a break from food today to talk about something that is really important to me. Last June my Uncle Bob passed away after a short, horrible fight against Pancreatic Cancer. He was diagnosed in March and we lost him in June. It's been over a year and it's still a struggle, impossible to believe he is gone. Pancreatic Cancer has horrible statistics, it's the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in Canada, only about six percent of people diagnosed live at least 5 years (please visit Pancreatic Cancer Canada for more information). More often than not it seems when someone is diagnosed with this disease making it to a year is a milestone. Unfortunately for my family my uncle didn't even make it 6 months. The reason I am sharing this is because November is National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness month, however most people I talk to do not know this. I think it is important to bring awareness to this disease as many families are affected by it. Purple is the colour of Pancreatic Cancer, please wear some purple, buy some purple LED lights, donate, or just tell people about this horrible disease and maybe if we all keep talking about it more money will go towards Pancreatic Cancer research and other families will not have to go through the pain that my family and perhaps yours has gone through. And, if you are wondering, Uncle Bob or UB as I called him is the Uncle that called me KR, hence KR's kitchen. This blog is for him.

Auntie Diane's Cuban Pork Stew

My Auntie Diane makes this stew and it is so delicious. It is another favourite around here. When the weather gets cold its a good dish to make. It's really quick and simple. The pork tenderloin is super tender and makes the dish.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 pork tenderloin, cut in bite pieces (silver skin removed)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 2 red potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 green pepper, chopped

Melt butter in laege pot (I have a large wok that I use). Add onions and celery, cook 5 minutes. Add garlic cook 1 minute.

Toss pork with flour, add to pan. Cook through. Add all remaining ingredients except green pepper. Cook partially covered 20 minutes.

Add green peppers, cook an additional 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Stir Fry

My mom and I went into Vancouver today to go to the Circle Craft Christmas Fair and do some shopping at Pacific Centre mall. Trips into town are so much fun. I love going into the city. While we did some early Christmas shopping the boys, Ryan and my Dad cleaned up our yard, we have mountains of leaves that needed to be raked. It was a great day for all, lots of fresh air for the boys and lots of shopping for the girls! Needless to say when dinner came around we were all pretty tired and not too interested in cooking, so we decided on a quick simple stir fry that my mom frequently makes. It turned out great and was a perfect dinner after a day of shopping.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1 inch pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
• 1 cup baby carrots, sliced lengthwise in half
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2-3 teaspoon sugar
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup onion, sliced thin
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons oil

Heat oil in wok (or large frying pan). Add chicken, garlic and ginger. Cook 2-3 minutes. Add onions, carrots, 3/4 cup chicken broth, soy sauce and sugar. Cover and cook over medium heat. Stir occasionally. Add broccoli, mushrooms, and red pepper. Cook 5 minutes (or until chicken is no longer pink).

Mix cornstarch with remaining chicken broth. Stir into chicken mixture. Cook, stirring frequently until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice.

S'mores Cupcakes

I'll admit it, I have never had s'mores before, lately though I've been really wanting to try them. Instead of making traditional s'mores though I opted for the cupcake version. I'm really glad I did. I found this recipe at Bakerella and decided to try it out. I did a couple things differently (she puts a ganache on the cupcakes whereas I thought they were great without and I did not put the topping in the centre of the cupcakes) but they turned out really good. I also made them into large and small cupcakes, I did 7 large ones and 6 mini ones but I think it would make about a dozen large size cupcakes. They are definately worth a try!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder (I used a little less and they were very chocolately)
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup oil
• marshmallows cut in half

Topping

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Divide equally into two bowls.

Stir cocoa into one flour bowl, graham cracker crumbs into the other.

Add 1/2 cup milk, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1/4 cup of oil to each bowl. Stir to combine.

Topping: combine ingredients until crumbly.

Assemble cupcakes in lined muffin tin. First put some of the graham cracker crumb batter in the bottom of the tins, add half a masrhmallow then the some chocolate batter and then sprinkle some topping on. Bake 15-20 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean when inserted.).

Remembrance Day

It's Remembrance Day here in Canada, new posts will be up tomorrow. I also wanted to share that is the 100th wedding anniversary of my great grandparents. I never got the opportunity to meet them, but it's a side of my family that I am very close to. In honour of them I am planning on doing a Ukrainian feast in the upcoming days. They came to Canada from Ukraine in 1908. Asides from the typical perogies, holubsti and kolbassa that are commonly eaten in Canada. I would love to hear about some other Ukrainian (Eastern European) dishes that are eaten at celebrations. Please leave me a comment with some of your favourites. I am always looking to recreate some "heritage" meals!

Halloween Candy Cookies

Our boys received such a ridiculous amount of Halloween candy this year. We went to 15 houses and the home owners were very generous to the boys. However, our boys are 4 years old and 18 months, they do not need that much candy. In order to use up some of the candy I thought I would make cookies and put some of the chocolate treats into them. I used my tried and true cookie dough recipe (courtesy of my elementary school cookbook: Parkside Centennial Cookbook - Timothy's favourite cookies), milk chocolate chips and chopped Halloween candy (smarties, and fun size chocolate bars). My dad stopped by for a visit (conveniently when they came out of the oven) ate one and then another and took one for the road. I think they were a success!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cups EACH brown sugar and white sugar (I usually use closer to 1/2 cup of white sugar)
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup mixed Halloween candy (chocolate bars that have been chopped and smarties is what I used)

Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Sift flour, baking soda and salt together. Blend into the wet ingredients. Add chocolate chips and candy. Mix to combine.

Drop by tablespoon onto baking sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes. Cool on pan 5-10 minutes, remove to wire rack to cool. ENJOY!

Pineapple Chicken

This dish is a favourite of my 4 year olds. He loves the combination of the chicken and pineapple. When Ryan and I went to Las Vegas my mom made it for the boys for dinner and now we've added it to our recipe rotation. It's nice and saucy and tastes great with rice. The photos for dinner tonight did not come together, so there is no photo of dinner, instead I decide to post a picture of the boy who loves this dish! I hope you like it as much as we do.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. chicken breasts, cut in bite size pieces
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 green pepper, chopped (I use whatever type of pepper we have on hand)
• 1 cup BBQ sauce (use whatever type you like/have on hand)
• 2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 can pineapple tidbits, drained

Heat oil. Brown chicken. Add vegetables to skillet. Reduce heat, cover, cook 20-30 minutes, until cooked through. Add remaining ingredients, stir, heat through and serve.

Oven baked fries

We had beef dips for dinner the other night and I wanted to do fries but didn't want them to be deep fried so I decided to do oven baked fries. I did a combination of russet potatoes and yams. They turned out great, easy to make and the boys loved them which made me happy.

Ingredients

• 3 russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut in 1/4 inch thick slices (do not peel)
• 2 yams, scrubbed and 1/4 inch thick (do not peel)
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Place potatoes and yams in a bowl, drizzle with oil and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix to combine. Ensure potatoes and yams are coated with the oil.

Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper, spray lightly with cooking spray. Spread out evenly. Bake 20 minutes, flip and back an additional 20 minutes (until tender and golden).

Bowties with chicken and veggies

I was wanting to make pasta for dinner but wasn't in the mood for a tomato based sauce and I'm not a fan of alfredo so I decided to make a primavera style pasta but with chicken as well. It turned out really great. We all enjoyed it, the boys liked all the different veggies in it and the different colours in their bowls.

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 4 asparagus stalks, trimmed and chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• broccoli, chopped
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
• Italian dressing
• Farfalle pasta
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Pour some Italian dressing into a sealable freezer bag. Add chicken. Let marinate for an hour.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake chicken 30-40 minutes, until cooked through. Slice.

Heat oil in large skillet. Add onion, garlic, celery, carrot, peppers, and asparagus. Cook 10-15 minutes. Add zucchini, broccoli and tomatoes. Continue cooking until veggies soft.

While cooking the vegetables, cook the pasta as per the directions on the box.

When the veggies are soft, add a couple tablespoons of Italian dressing to the vegetables and oregano. Add the cooked chicken. Stir to combine, heat through.

Drain pasta and combine with chicken and veggies. Season to taste. Enjoy!

Roasted brussel sprouts and Asaparagus

I decided to roast brussel sprouts, asaparagus and a small butternut squash to have with dinner last night. I have never roasted brussel sprouts before but am so glad I did. They turned out great. Such a simple way to cook them. I will be doing this again for sure.

Ingredients

• brussel sprouts, cleaned and trimmed
• asparagus, ends taken off (if stems to thick use a veggie peeler to thin them down)
• butternut squash, cubed
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Spread brussel sprouts on cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Use your hands and mix the brussel sprouts around to ensure they are all covered. Put in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Toss squash and asparagus with olive oil (I did this part in a bowl while the brussel sprouts were in the oven), salt and pepper. Add to the oven with the brussel sprouts and roast for another 10-15 minutes.

Greek Salad

I love Greek salad, I think I could eat it every meal of the day. The longer it sits the better it tastes, the only problem with that is that I'm impatient and don't like to wait so it's usually gobbled up pretty quick. I personally don't like kalamata olives (or any black olives for that matter) so I don't add them to the salad. I also don't add any lettuce. For this salad I used red pepper and it tasted great, usually I use green peppers but I used them the other night in the spaghetti sauce. The dressing is simple to make and tastes great. I highly recommend this salad!

Ingredients

• 1 English cucumber, diced
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• feta cheese, crumbled (I use cows milk feta but whatever kind you prefer use)
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice (I use fresh lemon juice)
• 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Combine cucumber, tomatoes, peppers and onion in a large bowl.

Put dressing ingredients in a mason jar with a lid or a gravy shaker (a bowl and a whisk would work too!). Shake until combined.

Pour dressing over vegetables. Top with feta cheese. Toss lightly to combine. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours (if you can wait that long!). Enjoy.

Baked Spaghetti

I love spaghetti and love to play around with the sauce. Ryan loves baked pasta so I decided to do a baked spaghetti loaded with veggies and cheese. I did add ground beef to this dish to make it a little heartier for Ryan after a long day at work, but it would have been just as delicious with no meat added. It turned out delicious. Noodles and cheese, really who could complain about that!

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 small sweet onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 carrot, grated (I used the small grate on my box grater)
• 1 small zucchini, grated (I did the large grate for the zucchini)
• 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1lb. extra lean ground beef
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 large can tomato sauce with garlic
• 1 can diced tomatoes with olive oil and roasted garlic
• 5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• spaghetti noodles, cooked
• cheese, grated (I used marble cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan would have been great on top as well)

Heat oil in skillet, add onions and celery. Cook 5 minutes. Add peppers, carrot, zucchini and garlic. Cook 3-5 minutes. Add ground beef, salt, pepper and oregano. Cook beef through. Add tomato sauce and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes to an hour. Add chopped basil and stir.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine noodles and sauce. Spray an oven safe dish with a non-stick spray. Add pasta, top with cheese and bake 30-45 minutes. Until cheese is bubbly and the pasta is warm through out. I served with some warm buns, a salad would have gone nicely with this as well.

The BEST Chocolate cake!

I love to bake however when it comes to decorating cakes I'm hopeless. No matter how hard I try it looks like my four year old decorated the cake for me. So making this chocolate cake from scratch made me a little unsure because then I was going to have to frost it (and for me even frosting a cake does not always go well) but I decided to go for it. I am sure glad I did. This is cake is not only easy to make but it tastes great. I found the recipe at http://thenonpareilbaker.blogspot.com and adapted it slightly. It is orginally a Hershey's recipe, so how can you go wrong!

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare two 9 inch cake pans by greasing and flouring them.

Combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Stir in boiling water. The batter will be on the thin side.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake 30 minutes. Cool in the pans 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.

I frosted the cakes with a really simple buttercream frosting. I like chocolate cakes with white frosting so that is what I did for this cake.

Frosting Ingredients

• 3 cups icing sugar, sifted
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons milk

In your mixer (or with a hand mixer) with whisk attachment combine sugar and butter on low. When blended add vanilla and milk. Whisk one minute until completely combine. Frost cake and enjoy!

Swiss cheese and Basil stuffed chicken breasts

Tonight for dinner I decided to make chicken breasts stuffed with Swiss cheese and basil. I served them with Yukon Gold potatoes that were smashed with sauteed leeks and parmesan cheese, we also had asparagus on the side that I had pan fried in butter and olive oil. Everyone asked for seconds which was a good sign! We followed up dinner with the a great chocolate cake I made (recipe to follow tomorrow).  All in all it was a great dinner!

Ingredients

• boneless skinless chicken breasts (however many you need to feed your family, I used 3 for 2 adults, a 4 year old and an 18 month old)
• Swiss cheese
• fresh basil
• panko
• parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


In a bowl combine panko and parmesan cheese. I didn't measure it, I just used what I thought I needed which was probably a cup of panko and a couple tablespoons of grated parmesan.  In a seperate bowl beat an egg lightly.


Lay chicken breasts on cutting board covered in plastic wrap, top with more plastic wrap. Hammer out chicken until flat and as even as possible. Season with salt and pepper. Top with a piece of Swiss cheese, a basil leaf and a light sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Roll.

Dip chicken in egg and then dredge in panko. Lay seam side down in a baking dish that has a drizzle of olive oil in the bottom so the chicken will not stick. Bake 45-60 minutes. Mine took closer to 60 minutes, they could have been rolled a little thinner for a quicker cooking time.

Happy Halloween! Pineapple Pork Tenderloin with Avacado Topping

My plan for our meals today was to make everything as healthy as possible because I knew we'd be eating a ton of candy for the next few days. I decided to do a really simply pork tenderloin with fresh pineapple served over rice with an avacado salsa. We all enjoyed it, it was the perfect pre-trick or treating dinner. The photos of the dinner really didn't turn out so instead I'm posting Woody and Buzz, they're much better to look at! Happy Halloween!

Ingredients

• pork tenderloin, cut in bite size pieces
• juice of half an orange
• juice of half a lime
• fresh pineapple, chopped (reserve any juices)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons oil

Avacado topping ingredients

• 2 avacadoes, peeled and diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 lime juiced
• salt to taste

Combine orange juice, lime juice, salt and pepper in a sealable bag. Add pork, refrigerate 1-2 hours. Take out of fridge 15-30 minutes before cooking. Heat oil in skillet add pork, once golden add pineapple and any juices. Cook until done and heated through.
Topping - combine chopped avacado, tomato, onion and cilantro. Season with some salt and lime juice to taste.

Assembly: I served the pork and pineapple on top of brown rice and topped the pork with the avacado. It was delicious. We will be having this again and next time I will take better photos! Enjoy.

Tortilla Chicken Soup

It was a cool day today and I wanted to do something that would warm us up but also that Ryan could take to lunch during the week. I decided to do a Tortilla Soup. I added chicken but it could easily be made without meat (vegetable broth could be used instead of chicken as well). I also used flour tortilla's but corn could easily be used, we just prefer the taste of flour ones. I served it with some dinner buns and it was an easy delicious meal.

Ingredients

• 2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can chili tomatoes (we don't have Rotel in my area otherwise I would have used that)
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 7 cups chicken stock (vegetable stock could be used as well)
• 1 cup water
• chili powder to taste
• cumin to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• flour tortillas, cut into strips
• avacadoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
• cilantro, chopped
• tomato, diced
• red onion, finely diced
• 2-3 radishes, sliced thin
• sour cream

Heat oil in large stock pot. Add onions, cook until soft, about 5-8 minutes. Add carrots, peppers and celery. Cook 5 minutes, add garlic. Cook 1 minute. Add chicken stock, water, tomatoes, beans and spices. Stir in chicken. Season with chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper (season to your liking). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes.

While soup is simmering, heat oven to 350 degrees, arrange tortilla strips on baking sheet and bake until golden. 5-10 minutes.

Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream, diced avacado, tomato, radish slices, cilantro and tortilla strips.

Philly Cheesesteak A. Family Style

We had a fun filled day at the pumpkin patch today going through corn mazes, hayrides and of course picking out a pumpkin. We couldn't decide what we wanted to do for dinner so after a quick stop at the grocery store we decide on Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. I don't think what we make actually qualifies as a Philly Cheesesteak but it was tasty and that's all that matters. I served it with a really simply Asian style coleslaw.

Ingredients

• steak (amount depends on how many you are feeding, I used 2 strip steaks for 2 adults and 2 small kids)
• salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
• 1 sweet onion, sliced thin
• 1 green pepper, sliced thin
• 6 large button mushrooms, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Cheese, (we used a combination of swiss cheese and marble cheddar)
• Submarine sandwich buns
• oil and butter for frying

Season steak with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook until desired doneness.

Heat oil and butter in frying pan, once hot add onions, peppers, mushrooms and garlic. Fry until soft.

Heat broiler. Toast buns lightly. When slightly golden pull out of oven, top buns with steak, onion and pepper mixture, and cheese. Put back under broiler (I put everything on a cookie sheet so it wouldn't make a mess in the oven) and heat through until cheese is bubbly. Serve and enjoy.

A great meal after a day at the pumpkin patch!

Carrot Cake

I got this recipe from a girl I worked with at RE/MAX. We were both working at the front desk at that time and I was having Ryan's sister and her family over for dinner and needed a fall dessert. She gave me this carrot cake recipe and it's been a family favourite ever since. Thanks Deidre!
*Unfortunately I do not have any photos of the cake as it was eaten before I could take some! Next time I make the cake I will update the post with some photos.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup canola oil
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups of carrot, shredded
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the dry ingredients. Beat in carrots, eggs and vanilla. Pour into greased and floured 13X9 pan. Bake 30-45 minutes.

You can't have carrot cake without cream cheese frosting! Here is the frosting recipe:

• 1 package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup of butter, softened
• 2 cups icing sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat until smooth. Spread on cooled cake.

Guacamole Burger

In our house guacamole does not last long. It is pounced on the moment it hits the table. We enjoy it so much my brother and I had a "guac off" once to see made the better guacamole. I decided to make burgers tonight with a guacamole topping. It was served with black beans and pan fried potatoes and yams. It was a great dinner.

Burger Ingredients

• 1lb ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1/4 -1/2 cup panko
• 1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• salt and pepper

Combine burger ingredients, form into patties and refrigerate 15 minutes or longer before cooking.

Guacamole Ingredients

• 2 avacados, peeled and pitted
• 1 tomato, small dice
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• fresh cilantro, chopped (we like a lot of cilantro so I don't measure it)
• 1/2-1 lime, juiced
• salt

Mash avacadoes to desired consistency (we like our guacamole to be on the chunky side). Add remaining ingredients, combine.

Dinner was enjoyed by all!

Auntie Diane's Oven BBQ Pork Chops

This recipe comes from my Auntie Diane. It is another favourite of ours. The boys love this dinner as do Ryan and myself. The sauce makes quite a bit and tastes great over rice.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 5-6 pork chops
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in large frying pan. Brown pork chops. Remove from frying pan and place in a baking dish. Add onions to frying pan, cook until soft. Add garlic, cook 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes. Pour sauce over pork chops and bake 45-60 minutes.