The Original Mardi Gras

When planning my weekly dinners I always try to incorporate any "special days" into the schedule. Things like Sp-BOO-ghetti and meatballs for Halloween or enchiladas on Cinqo de Mayo help to create family tradition as well as learning opportunties.

This week was one of those days. Although not well known, it was always a treat in my house when I was growing up. I'm talking about Pancake Tuesday, of course.

The pancake can go by several names. Pancakes, flapjacks, hot cakes, griddle cakes, crepes. Similiarly, as you may not have heard of Pancake Tuesday, I can all but guarentee you have heard of one of it's other names... Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras literally translates into "Fat Tuesday". It is the day before Ash Wednesday, and Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent... a period of fasting and self sacrifice to prepare the soul for Easter, as Jesus did for 40 days in the desert. In the days preceeding Mardi Gras, Christians would be trying to use up all the non-essential items so they wouldn't go to waste. By the time Fat Tuesday can, typically all that was left was flour, eggs and milk - so what they made was pancakes. I can't be certain, but I believe this started in Canada with the Acadians and followed them to Louisana when they were expelled from Canada by the British in 1755.

So I can imagine in the days preceeding Ash Wednesday, great feasts and parties being prepared to empty the cupboards for Lent. And through evolution, transformed into the New Orleans festival of Mardi Gras.

So, pancakes for dinner? Sure. Why not? It's quick, easy and kids love them. I added a little bacon and a fruit salad to round things off.

You could use a pancake mix - that is totally acceptable. In fact, most times I make pancakes that's how I do it. To add a little healthy kick to it, I'll add a little ground flax seeds and oat bran to the mix. Just adjust the water to the right consistancy. But, if you wanted to make "From Scratch" pancakes here's a recipe that was given to me by my friend's mom several years ago.

Homemade Pancakes

2 cups flour

2 cups milk

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

You can substitute different flours, use buttermilk instead of regular, even soy milk would be good. But this is a good place to get started. If you want to try a traditional Acadian pancake (ployes) here's a recipe I found. It used buckwheat flour instead of all-purpose.

http://www.recipestar.com/recipes/view/ployes-traditional-acadian-buckwheat-pancakes-8252

For something extrordinary, try this Cinnamon Bun pancakes. They are truely worth it.

http://www.howdoesshe.com/cinnamon-bun-pancakes

If you have never cooked a pancake or are unsure; here are some tips.

1. Start with a hot pan

2. Use butter or some sort of fat to coat the pan. This will help the pancake not to stick, but also help to carmelize it.

3. When adding things like bananas, chocolate chips or blueberries, I like to add them in the pan. Pour the batter to the desired size, them sprinkle your additions on top. This way you can ensure even distribution.

4. Watch for bubbles. When the bubbles come to the top, and stay; and the edges of the pancake start to look dry, it is time to flip.

Whether you call them pancakes, hot cakes, johnny cakes or flap jacks flip your family's dinner over with this original Mardi Gras tradition.

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Stepping Out of the Weekly Rut

Last spring, when my boys had swimming lessons at 5:00, we had a pretty good routine. I would pick up my son from school and we would go right to the pool. The pool had a little sitting area where we would could have a snack (I usually packed something) and do homework. We finished up around 4:30, which gave us enough time to change without rushing and maybe watch the diving team. When we got home, we would have a quick dinner, which on most nights was scrambled eggs and toast. If you ask my kids, they'll tell you that this is their favourite dinner. So, eggs for dinner became synonymous with swimming night.

This year, the lessons start a little later which allowed us to eat a light dinner (eggs, toast and raw veggies) before we left, then a piece of fruit and glass of milk when we got home. This week, I had another idea. Something I thought the kids would like, that would give them enough protein and vegetables to make it through swimming, and not be starving by breakfast. I made Sloppy Joes. Too make it even easier, I used the slow cooker but in a short time you could also make it in a skillet. Or as a faster alternative, make the meat with sauce the night before. Place in some Tupperware in the fridge. Simply toast the buns and heat up the meat mixture in the microwave. (Nice lunch idea too)

To my surprise, I only found a couple cookbooks with recipes for Sloppy Joes, none of which jumped out at me so I came up with this one. But if you have a favourite recipe, call your mom or dig it out, and reintroduce your family to a busy-night, quick dinner solution that will have them coming back for more.

So, what's for dinner tonight?

Chipotle Ranch Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

1 T vegetable or canola oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb ground beef (pref. extra lean)

1/4 C ground flaxseeds

1 pobano pepper, finely chopped

1 small can chopped green chilies

1 T chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, pureed (or more to taste)

1 C chili sauce

1 t cumin

1 T red wine vinegar

1 C coleslaw mix

1-2 T ranch dressing

butter

4 burger buns

Directions:

In a skillet, heat the oil. Add the onions and garlic. Once the onions have cooked a couple minutes, add the meat; breaking it up with a spoon or spatula. When the meat is almost completely cooked, add the flaxseeds. Mix well.

Transfer mixture to a slow cooker. Add the pepper, chilies, chipotles, chili sauce, cumin and vinegar. Mix well. Set to low, and let cook 6 - 8 hours.

In a small bowl, mix together coleslaw mix and ranch dressing.

When you are ready to serve, butter the buns and toast in a skillet. Place 1/4 of the meat mixture on the bun. Top with 1/4 of the coleslaw mixture.

As a note, if you have never bought chipotle peppers before, they are smoked jalapeno peppers in a tomato/ vinegar sauce and are usually found in the Mexican food aisle in a can. When I bring them home, I place the entire jar in the food processor and puree it, then place it in a freezer bag or container and use it as I need it. You can also substitute it for Chipotle Chili Powder.

Superbowl Sunday is more than Football

I don't think there is anything more "American" than Superbowl Sunday. But as a Canadian, I too can appreciate the signifigance of this institution known all over the world as "Superbowl Sunday". But the Superbowl is more than just about the game... who wins, who loses, how many fumbles. And even more than the halftime show or commercials. It's about getting together with good friends and having good food.

I was never much of a football fan. I understand the game and appreciate it's nuances but it wasn't until my oldest son, Danny started playing when I really got excited about the game.

This Sunday, we are going to the home of good friends of ours. It so happens that our hostess is a wonderful cook, as is her daughter. (Wants to a chef when she grows up). So, there is our trifecta. Good football, good friends and good food. A glorious Sunday indeed. In addition to the flatbread salad (see previous post) I am bringing a Hot Spinach, Crab and Artichoke Dip served with pita crisps and assorted crackers. I can make it ahead of time and bake it when we get to our destination.


Spinach, Crab and Artichoke Dip


Ingredients:

1 8oz package cream cheese at room temperature
1 10oz package frozen spinach (thawed, drained and patted dry)
1 can or jar (8-10 oz) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (in food processor works great)
1 can (6-7oz) crab meat, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2-3 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 pinch tarragon

Directions:

In a bowl, soften cream cheese. Add in spinach, artichokes, crab and garlic. Mix well.

Add in the parmesan, lemon juice, paprika, cayenne and tarragon. Blend together.

Place mixture in an oven proof dish and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until it is bubbly. Serve with chips, crackers or pitas.


And trust me, in the off chance you have some leftover (and you proably won't) it is too good to waste. You can freeze it for a snack later or even use it as a pasta sauce heated in a pan with a little olive oil.

So to all of you - fill your plates and GO PATRIOTS!

Salad Pizza... a new Superbowl tradition

This afternoon we were at my in-laws for lunch. I had offered to bring something as I always do. I was stumped on what to bring. What was planned quite casual. Sandwiches with fresh deli and fresh bread, deviled eggs and the like. It was delicious, by the way.

Earlier in the week, when the menu was discussed I decided to bring something healthy, something that didn't require forks and something that went with the casual theme yet still nice enough to impress the in-laws.

So, I put my thinking cap on and mentally went through some of the options and I flipped through a number of cookbooks. I'll try to explain the best I can the journey my brain takes me on during my "creative process".

My best idea at this point was a cold vegetable pizza. I have made them before, using a refrigerated crescent crust, baked off and spread with a mixture of cream cheese and ranch dressing, then sprinkled liberally with finely chopped vegetables. It is delicious, but hardly impressive and definitely could be healthlier. So, I recalled something I had at a meeting once - something I call bagel bites. A bagel, cut into 6 wedges and spread with cream cheese cand topped with different fruits and vegetables. But, what I really wanted to bring was a nice salad. A salad requires a fork - how can I make a salad you can eat with your hands? So after a few more rounds of mental ping-pong I came up with this salad pizza. Yes, a salad you eat with your hands!

Mediterranian Flatbread Salad

Ingredients:

1 12" multi-grain flatbread

1 8oz pkg cream cheese (light), room temperature

1/4 C extra virgin olive oil

juice and zest of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp dried oregano

salt & pepper

1/4 C red pepper, finely chopped

1/4 C green pepper, finely chopped

1/2 english cucumber, peeled & finely chopped

1 roma tomato, chopped

1/4 C red onion, finely chopped

3 tbsp black olives, drained, pitted and chopped

1/2 C feta crumbles

Directions:

Place flatbread on a pizza pan.

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix well.

With a pastry brush, brush the flat bread with the olive oil mixture and bake according to package directions. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

In another bowl, place the cream cheese. Add 3 tbsp of the olive oil mixture. Mix well.

Spread the cream cheese mixture onto the flatbread. Sprinkle with peppers, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes and olives. Top with feta and drizzle the remaining dressing.

I can made ahead and refrigerated at this point.

Prior to serving, slice into wedges.

This was a new way to serve salad, and will definitely do it again. I plan to make it for the Superbowl, for the Scout potluck dinner, and even at the cottage.

As an additional note: instead of mixing olive oil with the other ingredients, you can use bottle Greek salad dressing. It would taste (almost) as good. I had a co-worker once from Greece and have me his recipe for Greek salad dressing. I may never use store bought again.

I also wanted to mention, while testing this recipe I cut up WAY too many vegetables, so I plan to make a Greek Salad wrap. I'll use my vegetables with some cooked chicken, the feta and a little dressing; all wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla.

Just the Flax, Ma'am

It is a cold, blustery day out there. This morning it was -38 with the windchill. A good day to stay in bed and watch the Food Network. Unfortunately, that it's an option today. It is also a good day for a nice hot bowl of slow cooker comfort food! But, I would like to share a little secret ingredient... a nutrional powerhouse that can make any dish, even your favourite comfort food a little healthier. It is FLAX!

I add ground flax seeds to something almost everyday. From pancakes to cupcakes this veratile seed is a staple in my house. There are 3 major nutrional components to flax seeds. (1) OMEGA-3 (2) LIGNANS (3) FIBRE

Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid, which means it's a "good" fat that your body requires but cannot produce itself. It helps protect us from heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer as well as increase your HDL (good) cholesterol. It is also aids in retina and brain development in infants.

Lignans are compounds that help protect us against some cancers particularly colon and breast cancer. Lignans also help the body flight viruses and other infections.

Fibre is an important compontent of any diet to help regulate the digestive system and to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.

So, to use flax seeds effectively, you need to know a couple things. (1) The flax seeds must be ground to be readily absorbed into the body. Whole flax seeds will pass right through. You can buy ground flax seeds in the baking aisle of most grocery stores or in health food or bulk stores. (2) Since it contains oil, it can go rancid so keep it in the fridge, in an air tight container.

So, now that you know my secret what's for dinner tonight?

Chili Con Carne

You can make this in a slow cooker or large sauce pan. I prefer the slow cooker.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, minced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lb extra lean ground beef
1/4 C ground flax seeds
1 28oz can diced tomatoes (no salt added)
3 C tomato sauce
1 5.5oz can tomato paste
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 C Mexican beer (like Corona) or beef broth
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp New Mexico chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp caynne pepper - or more to taste
2-3 poblano peppers, chopped
1 serrano pepper or 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 lime
shredded monteray jack or cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a skillet, heat the oil. Add the onions and garlic and allow them to sweat. Add the ground beef, breaking it up with a spatula while it cooks. Add flax seeds.

Transfer meat mixture to a slow cooker. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, beer and spices. Cover and turn on low 6 - 8 hours or on high 3 - 4 hours. PLEASE: DO NOT use pasta sauce, use tomato sauce. Pasta sauce contains extra sugars, salt and other ingredients.

One hour before serving at peppers, stir, cover and place on high it not already.

After an hour, zest and juice 1 lime and stir. Serve with shredded cheese on top.

Apple Crumble

Ingredients:

1 C oatmeal
2 tbsp flour
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C ground flax seeds
1/3 C butter
pinch of salt
3-4 apples
2 tbsp flour
1/3 C sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, salt, flax seeds and brown sugar. Cut in the butter until resembles coarse crumbs.

In a 8" round cake pan, or 8" sqaure pan place apples that have been peeled, cored and cut into wedges. Toss with flour. Sprinkle with sugar and nutmeg. Sprinkle topping over the apples and press slightly. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes, until the apples are tender.

Now if that doesn't warm us up, nothing will.

Bon appetit!

Keeping New Year's Resolutions

Well, the kids are back at school and activities have started up again. Things are starting to feel "back to normal" after the hussle and bussel of Christmas. We had a nice holiday, fairly low key. My dad broke his ribs outside my son's school after the Christmas concert so we simplified things a fair bit this year. It definitly shifts your priorities... makes you remember what's important and what Christmas is really about.

So, we start a new year and as usually we make promises to ourselves to improve our lives. This year my New Years Resolution is a health related one. Like most of us, I would like to lose a few extra pounds. But instead of the big New Year's Resolution of "I'm going to lose weight this year", I'm making smaller ones that will propel me to my goal. So, here are my New Year's Resolutions...
1. I am going to drink 6-8 glasses of water a day, therefore reducing the amount of diet soda consumed
2. I am going to eat 5-8 servings fruits and vegetables a day
3. I am going to go to the gym at least 3 times a week.

You may want to ask... how is a meal plan going to help me? Well, when you make your meal plan you make healthier decision. Plan your sensible meals and grocery shop according to your plan. You keep less junk in the house and fight the temptation in the grocery store. Secondly, when you know you have the chicken thawed when you get home, you are less likely to grab the fast food on the way home.

So, my advice to those making New Year's Resolutions is this...
1. Make small, measurable, obtainable goals
2. Make a plan to reach your goals.

So, what's for dinner tonight?

Well, tonight is swimming lessons and they happen to be right at dinner time. So, what works for us is, a small meal before swimming and a small snack afterwards. So, tonight we are having scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast and a tossed salad. After swimming will be yogurt and a piece of fruit. Not complicated at all, but happens to be one of my kids' favourite dinners. (We call it "Scrambies") My husband is working late and has taken leftovers from a previous night. He'll have that and a salad for dinner.

I should mention the importance of leftovers. I will usually make enough of any dinner so I can package them up as lunches or dinners. I place them in plastic containers, label them and place them in the freezer. I keep them as single servings. It's like a TV dinner but made with love, not to mention all your own ingredients. Much healthier than the store bought counterparts.

Good luck everyone with those New Year's Resolutions!

Meal Planning to Reduce Holiday Stress

Yes, yes, it's been a while; but I am here now. It's been busy around here with the holidays approaching and all that goes with it. Shopping, wrapping, Christmas cards, baking, cooking etc. There are 3 Christmas concerts this week. The first one was last night. The parent choir from my son's school sang; tonight is my oldest's concert which the parent choir will be singing again. Lastly, Friday morning is my little one's "concert". Should be cute.

As far as holiday prep goes, my shopping is done, baking is done, wrapping is started and Christmas cards are almost done. Not bad for December 14.

Thank goodness I had my meal plan to make it through! Knowing in advance when your holiday parties are can help determine what meals to make which nights. Do as much prep the night before or in the morning. Make it as easy as you can for yourself. Is there anything worse than looking in the fridge after a long day of being at the mall & dealing with winter traffic, and trying to decide "What's for dinner"? Chances are we'll make a poor choice: Fast Food or convenience foods. Make the dinner decision long before heading to the mall. Ordering a pizza is great, don't get me wrong. I love a good pie. But, it's when we rely on these types of meals on a regular basis that we need some help, or at least a plan.

So, the question remains...

What's for Dinner tonight?

As I mentioned earlier, tonight is my son, Danny's Holiday concert. It starts at 7:00, but the school opens at 6:15. I'm planning to be there early to get a good seat, and save a couple for grandparents - not to mention, parking becomes an issue quite quickly. So we have to have homework done, shower, dinner, concert clothes on etc long before the concert starts. So, we are having quite a simple meal...

(1) Baked chicken thighs (because they cook faster)
(2) Left over rice (I cooked extra a couple nights ago)
(3) Tossed salad, which I made this morning

Easy Baked Chicken Thighs
Serves 4

Ingredients:
8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 C ground flaxseeds (optional)
2-3 tbsp favourite spice blend (I like Montreal Chicken Spice)
salt a pepper to taste
olive oil


Directions:
If you want you can cut the thighs into pieces to make chicken fingers, but not necessary.

Place breadcrunbs, flaxseeds and spices onto a plate. Coat each piece of chicken with the coating and place on a baking sheet lined with foil (for easy clean up) Drizzle with olive oil to help make them crispy.

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes or so (depends on the size of the chicken), until the chicken is cooked through. Serve with a dipping sauce is desired.

This meal is healthy, easy, quick and is kid and parent approved.