As Seen on TV...

Well last week I had a very unique and fantastic experience when it comes to my culinary life. I appeared on a local morning news/ magazine show called Breakfast Television.(www.btwinnipeg.ca) The segment was a holiday cookie exchange. I submitted my cookie recipe and was selected with 5 other recipes to be shared and exchanged on the air. That's me beside the cute blonde with the red t-shirt.

I didn't actually get to demonstrate my cookies, but it was so much fun.   Hey, BT: how about a segment featuring local food bloggers?!? I made 8 dozen cookies for this exchange, on top of the 12 dozen I made for my regular one. That is A LOT of cookies.  To see the segment as it aired, click here.

My recipe hasn't yet been posted on the Breakfast Television web site, but I can share it with you here. I love this recipe because it is so wonderfully simple. One of the things I look for in a cookie exchange recipe is to my egg-free, as the husband of someone in our exchange has an allergy to egg, and it is also gluten free. These are no-bake cookies - so anyone can make them, even if you don't like baking.

PEANUT BUTTER SNOWBALLS

2 cups rolled oats

½ cup peanut butter

½ cup honey

1/3 cup finely shredded sweetened coconut

In a food processor, pulse the oatmeal until a fine crumb. You should get about 1 ¼ - 1 ½ cups ground oatmeal. Place in a bowl and add peanut butter and honey. Mix well.

Form into balls and roll in coconut. To freeze, place on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper and put in the freezer. Once they are frozen, transfer to a cookie tin.

Makes about 3 dozen.

The variations for this recipe are practically endless. You can substitute 1/4 cup of the ground oatmeal for cocoa powder. You can use any nut-butter you wish, including the chocolate-hazelnut spread. You can roll in chopped nuts, chocolate shavings or sprinkles.

As an additional note, I used local honey for this recipe, from a farm near Treherne Manitoba. For more information contact: honey@trehernehoneyfarms.com

Now, its 2 days until Christmas and admittedly I'm not as organized this year as in past years. My shopping was only done last week (usually done by dec 1) and my Christmas cards are late as well. The tree is finally up and I'm about to start wrapping. This year, as with most years we are having Christmas Eve dinner at our place; my brother and his family host Christmas morning brunch and my mom cooks this big turkey dinner Christmas night. So with all this work left to do, and several big meals on the horizon, one may ask...

What's for dinner tonight?

My advice would be "Keep it Simple"; and that's just what I'm doing. I've defrosted a little ham nugget that I'll heat in the oven for 30-40 minutes; with some potatoes and green salad. No recipe needed. This should give us enough leftovers to keep my kids in ham sandwiches until after Christmas.

Time to "Wrap it up";

Happy Holidays!

Early Snow Brings Soup for Dinner

It's been an odd week for weather here on the prairie. Last week, it was 26C and sunny with no end in sight, today cold and wet; dare I say SNOW. Yes, there IS snow falling today. Needless to say the Family BBQ that was planning with the Boy Scout Group was cancelled due to the impending winter storm so I needed to come up with something using what I had on hand. We've had ground beef a couple times already this week, and I used up my leftover chicken.

This blustery day called out soup to me, which in my house means "slow cooker". But what kind of soup to make? Googled a couple things, and flipped through a couple slow cooker magazines until I came across "Sante Fe Sweet Potato Soup". I didn't have sweet potato, but I had an acorn squash. This could be good.

So, at 7:30 this morning, I'm sauteing onions and garlic, roasting peppers and peeling squash, trying to get everything in the slow cooker before getting to school as today was the day I was volunteering in Jack's kindergarten class.  Well, it seemed to have worked out, for when we came home at lunchtime, the house smelled great! I pureed and added my last few ingredients and there's nothing left to do until dinnertime, except maybe make some biscuits... and apple crisp. (I love the fall)

In the midst of this, I also made the mash potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner. Don't worry. It's the "Make Ahead" Mashed Potatoes. Not only do you make them ahead of time, but you heat them up in the slow cooker. Ingenious! The last time I made them the recipe said to heat them in the oven in a casserole dish, but who has the room in the oven when making a turkey? This will save some much work and mess.

So, what's for dinner tonight?

Sante Fe Acorn Squash Chowder

It's probably worth a note, that this would work with almost any winter squash.

Ingredients:

1 T vegetable oil
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
4 C chicken or vegetable broth
1 acorn squash, peeled and diced

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

1 T New Mexico chili powder

1 potato, peeled and diced

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t smoked paprika

salt and pepper to taste.

1 roasted red pepper

1/2 C pumpkin puree

1 can (approx. 10oz) evapourated milk

Directions:

In a pan, saute onion, garlic and celery in oil until softened. Transfer to a slow cooker. Place acorn squash, potato, broth, jalapeno, chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high 2-3 hours, until squash and potatoes are soft.  Add the red pepper. Using an hand held (stick) blender, puree the entire mixture. Mix int the pumpkin and milk.

Cook on low 2 -3 hours. Mix in lime juice and garnish with cilantro and sour cream.

As a note, do not use the slow cooker liners for this recipe if you are blending in the slow cooker. It WILL get chewed up. Remove the contents to blend in a traditional blender or food processor, or opt not to use the liner for this recipe.

Thanksgiving Preparations

For us Canucks, Thanksgiving is just around the corner. This year, my uncle from New Brunswick is coming for a visit so my mom is having a traditional dinner. Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce... the works. Also this year is my turn for hosting the in-laws. My husband of course wants the traditional set up as well. Being a week before his birthday, sure why not. And I never complain about having turkey leftovers. (Turkey pot pie, turkey soup, turkey BLTs....)

Being true to myself, I wanted to add something a little different this year, but still staying traditional. I picked up an Acorn Squash at the store today and thought I would test run a side dish for Thanksgiving. I threw a chicken in the slow cooker and voila! Sunday dinner on a Tuesday.

The squash I chose to make is Balsamic Glazed Acorn Squash and Carrots. I diced them (acorn squah and baby cut carrots) up and place in a bowl, then dressed them with a simple vinegarette of balsamic vinegar, rosemarry, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. (I used regular balsamic but next time I think I'll try the white balsamic) I then placed them in a baking dish (with the chicken to crisp the skin from the slow cooker) for about 40 minutes, flipping once or twice. It was easy as pie and tasted almost as good.

Now, I had offered about a month ago to make dessert for my mom's thanksgiving dinner, so I was trying to think of something I can make ahead of time and freeze. So, I think I'll double my pumpkin gingerbread swirl loaf recipe and turn it into a bundt cake and serve it the sweetened whip cream. The other dessert, I think I decided on a carrot roll cake. It will be everything we love about carrot cake rolled around cream cheese icing and topped with walnuts. I will share my recipe as soon as I work out the details. Did I mention my husband loves carrot cake?

Overall, I feel pretty organized, but will feel better once I get in the kitchen. Before you know it, we get to do it all again for Christmas.

I Love Fall

Yes, I really do love fall. I love the crispness in the morning air and the leaves when they change colour. And I love getting back into our regular routine. Admittedly, the meal planning has fall off the back burner in the lazy summer months, but no more. The kids are back at school (yeah) and the activities have started. Such is the life of a Stay-At-Home-Mom. My little one has started kindergarten and loves it. My 8-year-old can take it or leave it.

On my meal plan for tonight is written "Slow Cooker Chicken". I have a whole fryer chicken in the freezer, so I could make a roast slow cooker chicken, but was really not in the mood for that. I was pretty brisk this morning, so I knew I still wanted to dust off the slow cooker from months of neglect. I had a pound of ground chicken in the fridge, so how about.... meatballs. The kids love meatballs and I love creating something new with ground meats. (It's something about making the ordinary, extrordinary)

So, What's for dinner tonight?

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken Meatballs

I had found a recipe online, but it used chicken breasts, which from the pictures, looked like it was shredded; and there were no vegetables in it. So, in my version, I used my lean ground chicken and added a ton of vegetables. The kids loved it.

Meatballs:

1 lb ground chicken

3 tbsp ground flaxseeds (or breadcrumbs)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp ground ginger

salt and pepper

1/2 onion, diced

Form into balls and place on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes. Transfer to slow coooker with diced onions.

Sauce:

3/4 c honey

1/3 c tamari

1/4 c ketchup

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp Asian hot sauce - or more to taste

2 tbsp corn starch mixed with 1/4 c chicken broth

Mix together and pour over chicken in the slow cooker. Cook on low 5-7 hours.

Add the vegetables:

1 green pepper, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 can baby corn, drained

3-4 oz snow peas

Give it a mix and cover for another 30-40 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

I particularly like this dish because there is so much you can make ahead of time. You can have the meatballs made and frozen in the freezer, you can make the sauce the night before and prep all the vegetables. Not only is dinner ready for you, but most of the cleanup is done too.

This would also work with ground pork, diced cooked chicken  or even browned pork chops.

Enjoy

Breaking the Picky Eating Cycle

I had a friend ask me the other day how to deal with her picky eater. Now, I am fortunate that this is not an issue I have to deal with. Both my boys are great eaters but I like to think it's because that's the way we trained them. But, I do have some tips for changing your picky eater. The quicker you catch it, the easier the transition.

I think the first thing you need to do is lead by example.It sounds simple enough, but you wouldn't believe how many adults I know that are picky eaters. If there is something you don't like, say in front of the child that you don't like it, and don't make faces. Try to keep a positive attitude. Make dinner a family event, not hitting the drive through between activities. Of course, in today's hustle and bustle lifestyle, that is not always a possibility but make dinner a priority, not an afterthought. Family dinners should be the norm, not the exception.

Another tip for picky eating is the one bite rule.In our house, when we are trying a new food, we have to have at least one bite. If you don't like it after that, then this time you don't have to eat it. The next time that dish is made, that one bite may turn into two. As an additional caveat to the rule, is always have something on the plate that they do like. If you know your child like raw carrots with dip, then you can make that part of the meal. But that meals everyone eats the carrots and dip. If after the carrots, and the one bite of the new food, they are still hungry I recommend offering them a "whole food". That is, something healthy and unprocessed. That could be an apple, glass of milk or yogurt... something along those lines. After all, I'm a mom, not a short-order cook.  If they are still hungry after that, then I hope they like breakfast. (Yes, a little old-school) I have tried to steer away from bribery and deal making. "If you eat your peas, you can have a cookie" sort of thing. As someone who deals with a weight issue, I didn't want my kids to have food as a reward.

Getting you children involved in cooking is a good idea for many reasons. When my kids were really little, we had a toy barbeque and microwave with a big box of toy food right in the kitchen. My 5-year old still loves to play with it, and will often play restaurant or create some wonderful dish and serve it to us. At the grocery store, have your children name the different items in the produce aisle. Maybe even bring one home to try. Let them know that trying new foods is fun. As the children get older they can have more input. Let them rip up the lettuce for the salad, measure the tomato sauce or crack an egg into a bowl. Let them tell everyone what "they made for dinner".You can let them pick one part of the meal... "Sally, would you like to have peas or carrots with dinner?" Older ones can start to cook. My 7-year old will make his own scrambled eggs and flip pancake. By the time they are teenagers, full responsibility for a meal could be a weekly occurance. After all, dinner is a family event.

As parents, we are always creating habits for our kids, good and bad and this is one of them. When toddlers start "terrible-twos" some of it is a control issue. Giving your child a little age-appropreate control when it comes to food will work wonders. As with everything set expectation and follow through.

Post a comment with specific questions about picky eating and I'll do my best to help.

Bring Out Your Inner Child

It all started Tuesday last week when the boys and I came in from outside to see water on the kitchen floor. The dishwasher had leaked. By Friday it was fixed (corroded coupler) and we were off to the cottage for the long weekend. Saturday was rainy but it was nice to finally be at the cabin. We built a fire in the wood stove to stay toasty warm, and watched a couple movies. My boys have taken to the movie "Caddyshack". They laugh at the gopher everytime. Sunday we spent a beautiful day landscaping and was settling in for the boys' bedtime routine. In the middle of our movie, the TV died... just died. I did what I could, but I'm afraid she's lost.

We made an early escape Monday and started the chore of unpacking, laundry and re-packing for the following week. Tuesday my youngest woke up with a sore stomache and was sick shortly thereafter. And to top things off, my van didn't start. My darling husband came to the rescue and came home from work to boost the car, then I was off to the mechanic for a new battery.

While driving with white knuckles all the way to the garage, all I could think about was all the things I needed to get done that day. Groceries, laundry, dinner and soccer snack. Luckily Jack was on the mend. So what's for dinner. I need something easy. I need something I could make with what's in my house already. But most importantly, I need something that will make me feel better. Yes, mom's need comfort food too. Today was a Mac & Cheese day!

My mom didn't make scratch Mac & Cheese. I don't know why. She just didn't. Probably because her mom didn't. So, this recipe is a variation of my mother-in-law's Mac & Cheese. I made it in the afternoon so I could just through it in the oven when it was dinner time, and I could have the mess cleaned up before we left for soccer. You can certainly make this the night before. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.

Baked Mac & Cheese with Bacon

Ingredients:

2-3 T butter

2-3 T flour

1 can evaporated milk (skim or low-fat)

2 C sharp cheddar, grated

1 T dry mustard powder

1 t smoked paprika

1 package elbow macaroni, cooked- I use whole wheat

4-5 slices cooked bacon, chopped

Directions:

In a large sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the flour and mix for a couple minutes. This creates a roux and will thinken the sauce. Add the can of milk and whisk until smooth. I like to use the canned milk because some of the liquid has already evaporated and makes the sauce that much quicker.

Once the sauce is smooth, add the cheese gradually. Add the mustard powder and paprika. I'm using smoked paprika because I am adding the bacon. It just adds to the smokiness. You could use regular paprika too. Add the cheese sauce to the cooked macaroni and stir to coat. Pour into a greased baking dish and top with chopped bacon pieces.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until bubbly. If you are cooking it from the fridge, it may need a little longer. Serve with a salad. This isn't the healthies thing I've made, but I have made ingredient choices to make it less sinful. After all, they don't call it comfort food for nothing. This classic dish gives you a hug from the inside to make you smile on the outside. The stresses of the day (or week as it were) are melted away and replaced with cheesy goodness.

Enjoy

Iron Chef's Dinner Solution in 5 Minutes Flat

I was watching a bit of The Chew this morning and I was intrigued by Michael Symon's Italian Goulash he made during the segment "5 in 5". That is, 5 ingredients in 5 minutes. Tonight is soccer night and after homework, we have to get out the door pretty fast, so I thought I would give it a try. I have almost everything on hand, and it will be better than the chicken fingers I had planned. (Yes, even the best of us use chicken fingers on occasion)

I have a busy afternoon planned, getting ready for my sister-in-law to visit from California on the weekend. We are having a family dinner on Friday when we are planning grilled chicken, grilled asparagus, baked potatoes and spinach salad. (Strawberry Crumble Pie for dessert) More about that meal another day.

I'd been a while since I've tried a recipe from a celebrity chef, but it did look easy enough for a weekday meal and something my family would actually eat. It's based on a classic Italian dish, sausage and peppers, served over egg noodles. I think I'll add some extra vegetables to mine, like tomatoes and zucchini. Also, I don't have fresh basil at the moment - I'll probably use a bit of dried, or some pesto.

So, between loads of laundry and other chores, I'll get my prep done - chopping vegetables etc. You could do this part the night before and either wrap in plastic wrap, or place in a resealable container if you are unavailable during the day.

So, what's for dinner tonight?

Michael Symon's Italian Goulash

http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Italian-Goulash-Twist-Michael-Symon

This is exactly the kind of recipe I like for those nights during the week when time is precious. I like to have my prep and clean up done in advance for easy assembly.