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!