Beef Bourguignon

If I had several hours in my day to cook I would use a lot more of Julia Child's recipes. With a  lot of her recipes I have to sit there and study it for a good 20 minutes before I even attempt anything! Her Boeuf Bourguignon is divine. It is very time consuming as well but so worth it. My version of Beef Bourguignon is unbelievably delicious and time consuming to make but easier to understand then Julia Childs and takes a little less time then hers. This meal is great if you are having company over and it can be made the day before and just gets better with time.

Ingredients:
2- 3lbs stewing beef
2 tbsp olive oil, separated
3 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
6 slices bacon
1-2 carrots
1 medium onion
3 cups red wine
approx 2 cups beef broth plus 1/2 cup, separated
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, mashed
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 bayleafs, separated
15-25 pearl onions
3 tbsp butter, separated
10 quarted mushrooms
handful of fresh parsley sprigs
3 thyme sprigs

Crescent Rolls

As you probably already know, if you follow my blog, I have a really hard time buying bread. Once you are so use to eating homemade bread or rolls it feels like a sin to go and buy it! These rolls are delicious and I am guaranteeing your kids will love em'.

Ingredients
3/4 cup milk
6 tbsp sugar plus 1/2 tbsp
1 egg
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp yeast
1 cup warm water
4 3/4- 5 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, seperated

balsamic vinagrette dressing

I can't even remember the last time I bought a jar of salad dressing. This dressing is so easy to make and not time consuming! I always make extra and store the rest in the refrigerator. This is one of my go to salad dressings and it always is a table pleaser.

Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 garlic clove minced
1 tbsp freshly chopped oregano
salt and pepper

Chili

I can't believe it! In one week I won 2 great prizes from 2 different blogs. I won myself a brand new Kitchenaid, which I am so excited about. I also one myself 4 personal training classes! Haha! Did you read my post on exercising?!?! I am going to die. It shall be fun, anyway. It just goes to show that people really do win these draws! I had to share you this great news before I posted my dinner from last night:)
Chili, mmm mmm. Chili is a great choice because it can be served so many different ways. My favourite way is over top of white rice. We also eat it with potato wedges or on top of nachos. Last night we went with the potato wedges because that is his favourite and I was being a good wife:)

mini banana muffins

I know I just posted apple cheddar muffins but I have been in a muffin mood lately so you are getting another muffin recipe today. It is time to take out that pile of black bananas that are sitting in your freezer and put them into some baking. You didn't know that I knew that about you, did you? Banana hoarder. Yeah, I am guilty too. I hoard bananas in my freezer. I am sure it drives my husband crazy because our freezer is already way too full. So I finally got rid of some today and boy am I glad. These mini muffins were moist and fluffy and a great size for my kids. They kind of trick you as well. You think 'Oh they're mini, I can eat a few of these in one sitting.' Well, when you tell yourself that a few times a day, it can get dangerous. I think I ate 9 mini muffins today.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup softened butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 very ripe bananas

1/2 cup applesauce

1 2/3 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

Apple Cheddar Muffins

I know my muffins are always a hit when I make a batch of 16 and they are all gone by the end of the day! I guess I shouldn't mention that because now you know of my family's gluttonous. But in all honesty, are muffins not the best the first day? Speaking of muffins, years ago when I was just getting into baking and I wasn't certain of how much ingredients was appropriate for a recipe... well, I should of realised when my muffin recipe called for 10 cups of flour. Needless to say, I think I had enough muffin batter to feed my neighbours breakfast for a week. This batch of muffins that I came up with this past weekend made about 16 muffins. I could of adjusted my measurements a little to just get 12 so feel free to do that or else just make the 4 extra, someone will appreciate it:)


Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 apples
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup cubed cheddar cheese

Streusal topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 cup melted butter

chicken souvlaki

So I haven't shared any stories with you lately about my life that seems to get me into a little embarrassment so I thought it was about time. I will get not get into the whole story because it's a long one. So to make it short, about 5 years ago I went to the doctor because I thought I had a 'purple hand disease'. Yes, I diagnosed it myself. It was either that or I thought there was a ghost living in my house playing tricks on me. My doctor looked at me like I was crazy. "Doctor, I wake up every morning and I have purple hands" Trust me after 4 days of this happening to you, you would of gone to the doctor to, right? I must of been talking pretty loud (which is not abnormal) because as I came out my sister who was with me said "Did you actually just tell the doctor you had a purple hand disease?" Well, in the end it was from my tip jar that sat on my shelf and I had no idea but my husband wrote all over my jar in purple felt pen "this is not money for shopping." Do these sorts of things really only happen to me? Oh well, at least I can cook. So today, I will share with you chicken souvlaki which would go great with my lemon potatoes.

strawberry balsamic vinagrette

This recipe was taken from www.blogs.babble.com which my sister had found off of Pinterest. She told me it was sooo good, so last night I decided to make it and it was quite delicious. If you think otherwise you can blame her for this post:) This dressing was divine with the candied almonds that www.blogs.babble.com mentions in her blog post. You can check out the recipe for those at the link above.I can only imagine how much tastier this dressing will be in the summer when I can take my strawberries from my garden and use those!

Easy Chicken Parmigana

The great thing about blogging about food is that you end up experimenting a lot more with food then you would otherwise. Cooking also becomes more exciting because you get to share your masterpieces with those around you. I hope that as you read my blog and follow some of my recipes that you mix things up and try new ingredients in my dishes. And when you do this, share with me your ideas so I can try them too.
Tonight's dinner always gets raving reviews around my dinner table. Even my 2 year old son Lincoln says "I like it mom, it's nice." This meal is great to make because I don't find it takes a lot of time. Roll up your sleeves and start cookin'.

Dairy Free Quinoa Chicken Casserole

I never started eating quinoa until about a year ago. I feel like it almost came and went as a fad. For awhile I thought if my stomach ever exploded, quinoa would just pour out. Needless to say, I haven't eaten quinoa for awhile so I thought I would try it hot, as I usually eat it in salads. I thought that with this dish it would taste great using no dairy and that way it would be something people with allergies could easily make. If you love dairy so much that you can't eat without it, you could always spice it up a little at the end with some shredded cheese for a little extra pizazz. But in the ingredients listed below you will see I didn't use any and it still tasted great. Serve this up with my Bun in the Oven and a fresh salad.

tzaziki sauce

In 2006, my husband and I travelled around Europe for three months. We went to France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Greece, Romania, Germany and a few other countries. One of my favourite places I went was Greece and that was because of the beaches, not the food! If there is one thing that you need for a Greek dinner it would have to be the tzaziki sauce. This was one thing that was so disappointing when travelling around Greece. You would think that in Greece you would have this amazing food, yet, I was never satisfied with it. Who serves french fries with Greek food??? This dip gets better the longer it sits in your fridge so make it at least a few hours before serving or even better, the day before. Serve with my Homemade Pitas 


Ingredients:
2 cups Greek plain yogurt
3/4 cucumber grated and squeezed
1 small handful fresh dill
2 garlic clove, minced
1/2 freshly squeezed lemon
Salt n Pepper to taste

Pita Bread

I am a huge fan of homemade pitas! These are the best pitas for donairs or gyros. I will be making those one day for you on the blog. I was making Greek dinner on the weekend and I thought I needed to have pitas and since these are way better then store bought pitas I got bakin'! These are a little time consuming and can be tedious but give them a try.

'feels like home' spaghetti

When I think of spaghetti certain things pop in my mind. 'Home', 'Family', 'Comfort'. I don't know why??? Spaghetti seems to make things feel better. When it is cold outside, spaghetti. When I am sad, spaghetti. My kids favourite food, spaghetti. 2 dogs fell in love in a childhood classic movie over a bowl of... spaghetti. Do me a favour, make spaghetti this week for your family. They will feel loved.

1000 Island dressing

As a kid this was my favourite dressing. I have not had this dressing in so long and tonight as I was making a Cobb Salad for dinner I thought 'I am going to make this dressing!' It was really easy and went great with dinner so I thought that if anyone else was a 1000 island dressing (I know there are not a lot out there) lover then you would love this easy to make dressing.

lemon potatoes

If someone hands you a lemon, make lemon potatoes. Mmmm,mmm. These potatoes go great with a Greek themed dinner.

Pumpkin Scones

One very fond memory of pumpkins was when I was in grade 1 and I won a pumpkin carving contest!
That was the last time that ever happened:( Maybe that is the reason I have never been very fond of pumpkins. Last fall, was the first time I ever started liking pumpkin related foods. For some odd reason, pumpkin was always a hard fruit for me to want to eat. I think it was more of the thought then the actual taste. I finally attempted to make my own scones and now they are one of my go-to scones when I have company over. Believe me, if you do not enjoy scones very much I urge you to try these. I think you will change your mind.

Chicken Pot Pie

Last week, I posted my first giveaway on my blog and the lucky winner was Laura Toews. One of the rules to be eligible for the prize was to make a suggestion of a recipe or food item you wanted to see on the blog. Laura asked for a non-dairy casserole. Now I am unsure if you would consider this a casserole or not??? Laura, this may not be exactly what you were looking for but I hope this is something you could make for your family one evening and they will all love.

No Fail Pie Crust

Pie crusts have always been a little touch n go with me. Sometimes I get a great pie crust, other times not so much. The worst part about a pie crust for me is a) It falls apart constantly as I try to roll it out or move it to my pie dish b) It is just a very tough pastry and I don't have the muscles to roll it out
If I am making a meal and I need a pie crust for the bottom of my pie dish I will now always use this "no fail pie crust" as what I like to call it. I struggled trying to come up with a recipe and yesterday I tried a few new things and a) it was so easy to roll out b) It was very easy to transfer to my pie dish and c) it tasted great. I used this pie crust to make a chicken pot pie which will be posted in my next blog post. I have yet to try it with an actual pie but I promise to do that in the next week or two and let you know how it goes.

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Slow cooking, can be so helpful for people who work 8 hours a day and don't want to come home and cook a meal. You can prep stuff first thing in the morning and come home to a deliciously smelling home or you could even prepare a lot of stuff the night before. The one problem you do not want to encounter, as I have is, not plugging it in!!! Luckily, I wasn't working and I came home a couple of hours later and was able to still have dinner ready in time. Pulled pork can be done so many different ways. I am pretty sure I have never done the same recipe more then once but this recipe I came up with last night will be on our weekly menu quite regularly. Pulled pork can also be done with a pork roast, pork tenderloin or pork loin... I usually end up buying whatever is on sale because you cook the life out of it so it will be tender regardless. Yesterday, I found a great sale on pork tenderloin so that is what I have decided to use.

In your slow cooker, place your cut of pork inside (mine was even frozen). Place 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 can of crushed pineapple plus all the juice and set aside the rest of pineapple for later. 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp hot chili peppers, 1 tbsp mustard, 2 tbsp worcheschire sauce and 3/4 cup bbq sauce. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Slice up an onion and add to slow cooker. Turn slow cooker on High and cook for 5 hours. If you prefer to cook on low cook 7-8 hours.

While your pork is in the slow cooker prepare your coleslaw. Chop up 1/2 a green cabbage, 2 green onions, and 1 peeled and cored apple. Grate 1 carrot

In a bowl combine 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp ground mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Mix this together and stir in coleslaw ingredients listed above. You can add the other half of pineapple into your coleslaw as well. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.

About an hour before I serve dinner I take 2 forks and I shred my meat into small chunks. Before shredding it may look like a lot of liquid in your pan but I suggest you shred your meat before you decide whether or not to drain out some of the liquid. Draining it is not necessary.

Pile pulled pork onto fresh buns and top with coleslaw

It might be messy but it is, oh so good!

These are a few of my favourite things

My Christmas from my mom and dad came early this year. About 7 months early. I was eyeing these dishes at a store in South Dakota, where my parents live and I new it was love at first sight. I knew my husband would never approve of me getting these so why not ask for an early Christmas gift. The only crumby thing is they stared at me from my closet for months and begged me to come out of their boxes. Well now their out and they are being used daily! Are these not beautiful!? Check out all the wonderful dishware from http://www.lecreuset.ca/ and just hope they're on sale.  I just had to share these with you. I hope to grow my collection if anyone wants to buy me a present ;)

Okay, lets have another look from a different angle.

Beautiful, thanks mom and dad