Meal Planning 101

Roasted Salmon With Sweet 'n' Hot Mustard Glaze

2012-01-18T21:13:00.000-07:00

This photo has been updated Jan 18, 2012. All other pictures were from the original Vancouver trip in 2008.

This is an old post from April 2008 when my husband and I went to Vancouver. I wanted to re-post it because I have a new (much better) picture, it tastes freakin' delicious and it turns out this recipe is in the Robin Miller: Quick Fix Meals cookbook I am reviewing. Oh...and I MacGuyver'ed it a bit while cooking this recipe in Vancouver. You'll see as you scroll down ;)

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I'm back from my week on the west coast. Can I just say how utterly awesome Vancouver and Victoria are? I was in my glory when we visited Lonsdale Quay Market and Granville Island Market. We don't have "markets" here in my small city in Southern Alberta. I get the pleasure of grocery stores and ONE small Asian store. But seriously....Granville Island Market?! Oh how I love thee.

We went on a Saturday and the whole market was buzzing and crowded with people. There was a huge organic produce section, many fresh seafood counters, fresh bread, fresh italian....EVERYTHING! Oh and there were buskers everywhere. It was so exciting. We were sick of eating out and wanted to cook a fabulous meal for my Father-in-Law. I had already decided to make my Roasted Salmon with Sweet 'n' Hot Mustard Glaze. We came to a fresh seafood counter and were utterly excited to see bright red salmon fillets staring up at us. We are used to frozen lumps of pink salmon (still good)...but not like this. This was Wild BC Sockeye Salmon....mmm.

We stayed in a guest room in Steve's Dad's apartment building. It came equipped with dishes, a few pots and pans and some cutlery, but no spices, salt....nothin'. I had to keep my cooking simple, since I lacked a stocked kitchen, so this dish was perfect. And seriously delicious. I think my father-in-law wouldn't mind if I stayed permanently in the guest room and cooked for him every night ;)

Recipe from Quick Fix Meals
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Serves 4

Cooking spray
1 pound salmon fillet
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup Dijon mustard*
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon mustard powder*
1 clove minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

*Instead of using dijon and mustard powder, I just bought Heinz Bold and Spicy Mustard and it did the same thing. I've made this recipe a ton of times the original way and this tasted basically the same.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

So here is the gorgeous red sockeye salmon fillet we picked up at the market. Use whatever salmon fillet's you can get.

If you are like Steve and I, and staying in a guest room with almost nothing, you will need to go to the nearest McDonald's and swipe yourself some packets of salt and pepper.

If not, then just get out the ol' salt and pepper shaker. I use Kosher salt at home. Season up both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper and then place in a baking dish that has been coated in cooking spray. (I skipped this step since I didn't have any and it worked fine. But usually I use it, just to make sure my beautiful fillet doesn't stick.)

Once your fillet is seasoned up, you can go ahead and make the glaze. Combine your mustard, honey, mustard powder (if you are using it...and I recommend you do if you aren't using a mustard with bite), finely minced garlic and the juice of a lemon. Mix it all up good and then this is when I check to make sure the balance is good. Too lemony? More honey. Too sweet? More mustard. You get the picture.

Then pour about half of the glaze on your salmon. Chop up some fresh dill and add it to your reserved sauce.

Then throw 'er in the oven and let it roast for about 15 minutes until the salmon is fork tender. I kept this supper simple since I didn't have much, and I served it with a baked potato. Spoon more of that sauce over your salmon and dive in. It's so good, Steve's Dad was spooning sauce over his potato as well.
Gotta love those classy dishes the guest room provided us with.

Click here for a printable version of Roasted Salmon with Sweet 'n' Hot Mustard Glaze

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THE RESULTS?
Above and by far our favorite way to eat salmon. This is simple enough that I made it in my little guest room kitchen. We were all licking our plates clean after this one. So try it. Seriously.

Smoked Cheddar Stuffed Burgers

2012-01-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

Way back in the early months of summer, I was at my Dad's and browsing through his cookbook collection, when one in particular caught my eye. I had just accepted a full time teaching position at my preschool and was wondering how I was going to balance it all when I snatched up my Dad's copy of Quick Fix Meals: 200 Simple, Delicious Recipes to Make Mealtime Easy by Robin Miller. I remember getting back home and on a couple hot sunny days I filled up the kiddie pool and while my girls splashed and played I was lounging in a lawn chair reading this cookbook cover to cover to get her tips and tricks for getting dinner on the table with a much busier lifestyle. I decided I would really like to review this cookbook next and hopefully learn a thing or two along the way.

This recipe for smoked cheddar stuffed burgers is super simple to make, not a lot of ingredients, quick to prepare and my favorite feature? She gives you recipes to "morph" the leftovers into completely different meals on other nights.

Gotta love having a headstart on TOMORROW's dinner.

Recipe from Quick Fix Meals
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Makes 8 burgers

2.5 lbs lean ground beef

2 tsp garlic and herb seasoning

Salt and pepper

1 tsp liquid smoke (optional - if you don't use smoked cheddar, this is a nice addition)

4 1-inch chunks of smoked cheddar cheese (or regular cheddar)

1 tbsp olive oil

4 hamburger buns

Favorite burger fixings

In a large bowl combine the beef, herb seasoning, salt, pepper and liquid smoke (if using). Shape the mixture into 8 patties about 1 inch thick. Press a chunk of cheese into the center of four patties, covering it well with the meat. (At this point you can refrigerate the uncooked burgers up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months; thaw completely in the fridge or microwave on LOW for 3-5 minutes before using.)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the burgers several at a time and cook 4-6 minutes per side for medium to medium well done (about 7 minutes per side for well done).

Serve the four cheese stuffed burgers with this meal on buns, with your favorite burger toppings. Refrigerate the remaining four burgers for up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months. With leftovers you can make this recipe plus the Greek Pita Pockets with Tzaziki OR this recipe plus Beef and Vegetable Soup and Spaghetti and "Meatballs" (look for these recipes below).

Click here for printable version of Smoked Cheddar Stuffed Burgers

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RESULTS?

We thought these burgers were great. I added salt and pepper to the recipe written above, because Miller doesn't add it to her recipe, but I thought it could really use some. I also couldn't find smoked cheddar at any of my grocery stores, so I substituted regular cheddar and added a bit of liquid smoke to the meat. I really loved the savoriness that it added. My husband threw some sliced onions and mushrooms into the pan after I had finished cooking the burgers, so we piled those on top with some lettuce, mayo, horseradish, ketchup, mustard and pickles. They were fully loaded and so delicious!

Even though this is a really simple burger recipe, I thought the brilliance of it came when Miller has you make a large batch of burgers (more than you need) and wrote three more recipes to transform the leftovers. Usually you see this done with a roasted chicken and then using up the shredded chicken meat, or ham or beef, etc....but burgers? I have to say I was skeptical! But these simple "morph it" recipes really work! Here's a shortened version of her recipes and an idea of what you can do with the leftover burgers:

Greek Pita Pockets with Tzaziki - warm up 4 leftover burgers, cut in half and place into soft pita pockets and top with cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes and tzaziki (either store-bought or homemade).

Spaghetti and "Meatballs" - bring a jar of spaghetti sauce to a simmer. Cut 2 leftover burgers into 2-inch chunks and add them to the sauce. Simmer 5 minutes to heat through. Stir in some chopped fresh basil and serve over spaghetti, topped with parmesan.

Vegetable Beef Soup - In a large stockpot, combine 6 cups beef broth, 2 leftover burgers cut into bite sized pieces, 2 cups diced potatoes, 1 cup chopped onion, 1 cup chopped celery, 1 cup chopped carrots, and 2 bay leaves. Bring to boil, then turn down to medium and partially cover the pot. Simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Serve.

I made both the Vegetable Beef Soup and the Spaghetti and "Meatballs" with my leftovers and I was so surprised! The soup came together in 10 minutes and then I sat down while it simmered for the other 10 and the spaghetti and meatballs, start to finish was done in 15 minutes. Gotta love that. And the flavor was great! Yep, this busy mom could definitely use more meals like these.

Oui Oui Mon Cherie...

2012-01-12T13:21:00.005-07:00

Lacey and I.

I have another wonderful Secret-Secret Geography Club dinner to share with you.

Eight months after Joel and Lindsey moved we finally asked a couple girls from our church (one's a chef and one's a die hard baker and cook) to add to our ranks. After much deliberation the six of us decided to visit France for our culinary travels. We had already done French food with Joel and Lindsey (which I still must tell you about!), but since it's such a vast and rich cuisine we knew that there was so much more to explore.

We had it all planned out:
I was going to do the appetizer with some Oeufs en Cocotte.
Lacey was going to bring some French wine as well as Coq au Vin.
Dan and Lisa were bringing duck and a terrine.
And Bailey had dessert covered with a croquembouche as well as macarons.

A feast of French cuisine! The day of our dinner I started to think maybe we needed a salad as well and so I started researching and thinking I'd do a traditional Nicoise Salad, but then Steve stopped me and said "Kin think of how much food everyone is bringing! We have enough." So I backed off and stuck to the plan.

But by early afternoon Bailey delivered the bad news that she had gone to the doctor for a sore throat and he thought she had mono. She would have to stay home (and eat all the profiteroles and macarons herself). So disappointing! But I guess we still had a bunch of food to eat and could make it through without dessert.

By 5pm Lacey called to say she had to work late that day at the restaurant, forgot to thaw her chicken, she hadn't started cooking her dish yet and Bailey was her ride out to our place, so she was cancelling too! Steve refused to let her back out and said we didn't care about the food, we just wanted her company. In the end Lacey made it and came bearing two bottles of French wine and some French cheese. All was well!

Our rocky start quickly mended when Dan and Lisa served their Roasted Vegetable Terrine with fresh herbs and goat cheese.

Slices of the terrine were served on top of French bread toasted into crostini and the flavor was wonderful. I'm not a fan of everything that went into this dish, yet when it all combined it all worked so well. Dan and Lisa did such a great job! I was so thankful that their terrine was vegetables and cheese, because when I googled "terrine" it said it was a "French forcemeat loaf" and generally used gelatin to hold its shape. Ewwwww. This was so much better than a forcemeat loaf.

The chefs Dan and Lisa.

I then served up my Oeufs en Cocotte. They were eggs baked in individual ramekins on a bed of creamed spinach with cream and parmesan cheese over the top. I had been drooling over this recipe for months and I was so glad to have a good excuse to make it. Since Deborah gave the recipe her first ever 5 out of 5 I was really expecting "spectacular". My first bite really underwhelmed me so I became a little disappointed. But as I ate I started to taste the gentle muted flavors and how well they all worked together with the runny eggs and the crisp French bread toasts. The creamed spinach is a fantastic addition and with a good sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and a little extra salt and pepper these baked eggs won me over. If they weren't so much dang work I'd love to serve them for breakfast on the weekends!

Dan impressed us all with his Duck a L'Orange. I had never tasted duck before so I was so excited to dig in. It had such a gorgeous crisp skin (my absolute favorite part).

Drizzled with the orange sauce the duck was succulent and divine. I was sad my piece was so small actually because once I got a taste I wanted more.

My handsome hubby.

Before dinner I had done a quick search for an easy French dessert and came up with Gratin de Fruits rouges. I had all the ingredients on hand and it looked like it would take about 10 minutes to whip up. I used frozen mixed berries and placed them in the ramekins and poured the vanilla cream over the top. The recipe had me sprinkle the tops with sugar and place them under the broiler. To my amazement they actually bruleed! There was a nice crackly caramel top and underneath cool berries and cream. I'm sure it was an accident that the cream and berries were still cold (since I had put the berries in frozen), but we all loved the contrast of the the cool creamy filling with the warm crackly top. This one was a surprise for me. I'd definitely make it again!

We all sat and visited, wine in hand, for hours and discussed all the possible countries we could eat or themed dinner parties we could have. It was so nice to have our Secret-Secret Geography Club revived again. Here's to many more dinners to come. Très heureuse!

Secret-Secret Reunion

2012-01-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

Hey, do you guys remember my Secret-Secret Geography Club posts? You know how there were three of us couples who loved to try new foods, so we'd pick a country and then have an entirely International themed dinner party? Those were so much fun and it's been aaaaaaaaaaa-ages since I've blogged about one of our dinners. I have so many back-logged posts that were never unearthed and no new recipes to share with you since I've been sick with these dang kidney stones, so I thought maybe I'd share a dinner party with you. This one's called: THE RETURN of the Secret-Secret Geography Club.

It's been more than six months since we've gathered together as a group to make International cuisine, and two and a half years since I last blogged about one of our meals. We started with excitement, but after three years as a group and sampling over 20 different countries and cuisines I think we lost steam. It also didn't help that one third of our group moved away.

But Lisa had the brilliant idea to plan a SECRET Secret-Secret Reunion for Dan's 35th birthday. Joel and Lindsey drove two hours to surprise him and be here with us.

Dan was blindfolded and the smells wafted from my kitchen as he walked in the door and we all yelled "Surprise!" We were all together again and in the business of making and eating incredible International food. Our theme: The Best of Asian Cuisine. We took all the best dishes from the Asian countries we visited and recreated them. It was a perfect theme since Dan's favourite countries were always the Asian ones, and we had so many mouth-watering recipes to revisit and walk us down memory lane.

I made a Korean vegetable and rice dish that Lindsey originally made called Bipimbap (beep-im-bap). The veggies are all sauteed individually with soy sauce, sesame oil and a bit of fish sauce and then arranged beautifully on top of a bowl of rice with a heaping spoonful of gochujang (a Korean red pepper paste). My husband is a hot sauce addict so I just happened to have some of this stuff in my fridge.

Dan and Steve have been bugging me for months to make this Beef Rendang from our Malaysian night again. The depth of flavours in this dish are insane, with warm hits of star anise, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves and rich coconut milk. The dish is spicy and sweet, warm and rich. It takes over three hours to make, but both Steve and I decided it's utterly worth it. This dish needs to be made in this house over and over again. Waiting two years to eat it again is unacceptable.

While adding my star anise and cinnamon sticks, I smiled as I reminisced the very beginning of this group when we forged ahead in the unfamiliar territory of Moroccan cuisine and I hated it because of the cinnamon and licorice flavours in my savoury foods. Every country we'd visit, I would turn up my nose when someone put cinnamon or licorice in the food and yet I'd always be pleasantly surprised. My taste buds have really changed and expanded since starting this group and I owe it to my fellow Geography Club members and their amazing cooking skills.

Lindsey brought her scrumptious Chinese Pork Buns again and I was in heaven. This time she brushed the tops of them with honey before baking, giving them a lovely sweetness. Fresh bread dough wrapped around spiced pork is a wonderful thing.

Lindsey also brought us a lovely Thai salad made of pomello's, cucumber, carrots, mint, peanuts and a dressing of fish sauce, chili's, lime and sugar. Pomello's are an Asian cousin to a grapefruit but are much sweeter. Lindsey got hers nice and fresh at the Asian Supermarket in her new city, which is much MUCH bigger than our little Asian market.

The first time Lindsey made this salad it also had shrimp in it, which sounds weird but was oh so good.

We also got to indulge in a beautiful little Asian fruit I had never tried before called mangosteen. The outside flesh was a gorgeous purple colour. Lindsey found some beautiful mangosteens at her Asian Supermarket and brought them for us to try after our meal.

She also showed us the proper way to open a mangosteen. Place the green top in the palm of your hand and the bottom in the palm of your other hand.

Push the palms of your hands together until the aubergine rind splits to reveal brilliant fuschia innards.

The part of the mangosteen you actually eat is the white bulbs inside that look like garlic.

I can assure you it tastes nothing like garlic, but a sweet mix of strawberry and kiwi flavours wrapped up with warm vanilla tones.

It was a wonderful treat to break open our own mangosteens and each try one.

Lisa brought us some Asian inspired Lime and Mangosteen coolers to enjoy with our meal and later we sipped on some Japanese Plum wine and ate some salted dark chocolate that had chilies and pop rocks in it that they found in the States. The chocolate had nothing to do with our Asian theme, but was delicious and so fun to try nonetheless.

We couldn't have a best of Asian food meal and not have Lisa make hotteok (ho-duck) for dessert. Freshly fried yeast dough with brown sugar, peanuts and black sesame seeds sandwiched in the middle. All of us love to talk about this delicious morsel and reminisce. They were just as incredible as we remembered.

Our reunion was a delicious stroll down memory lane and wonderful to be together again. If Dan had known about this dinner and it hadn't been a surprise, I probably would have begged him to make his Ba Mee Giao Moo Dang from Thai night or his Thai Sukiyaki. There was also talk of me making my Banh Mi (Vietnamese Charbroiled Pork Subs) from our Vietnamese night, but once we realized all the meat we were already going to have we had to consent to leave something out. Even without those dishes, this really was the best of the best Asian food!

Meal Plan 48 - Travel the Globe

2012-01-08T07:08:00.003-07:00

Click here to get a printable version of this week's meal plan with recipes

Grocery List:

The grocery list is color coordinated by meal so you can easily pick and choose which meals you would like to make. Either print and use the grocery list as is and make all the meals I have planned, or easily cross off the meals and corresponding ingredients you would rather not make.

Click here to get a printable version of this week's grocery list

This week has been very tough...not such a great start to the New Year. I woke up on New Year's Day with extreme pain in my left side and ended up in the Emergency Room. Turns out I have kidney stones. I spent the rest of the week in agonizing pain trying to pass them. On top of it all my Grandpa passed away. The pain managed to subside just in time for our family to travel 10 hours to be at the funeral, but it's been a long tough week. I haven't stepped foot in the kitchen and my plans of cooking and photographing new recipes went by the wayside. But it's a new week, and a new start, so I'm hoping things are looking up from here!

All of these recipes I chose this week are some of my favorites and it's an easy way to travel the globe. Asian, Mexican, Japanese, Mediterranean and Italian and none of them are overcomplicated.

Day 1: Grilled Asian Beef Kebabs with Rice and Teriyaki Bok Choy
These are really quick and easy, and eating sauteed teriyaki bok choy alongside is a super tasty side dish.

Day 2: Taco Soup with Salad and Chipotle Ranch Dressing
This soup can totally be made in the slow cooker, so depending on your schedule, saute the beef and throw everything in the slow cooker to simmer all day, or come home and make a pot right before supper. Either way it tastes fantastic with mixed greens with a homemade chipotle ranch dressing poured over top.

Day 3: Donburi (Japanese Chicken, Egg and Rice Bowl)
Mmmm, I love this meal. It's savory and kinda sweet and served over sushi rice.

Day 4: Grilled Beef Skewers with White Bean Dip with Rosemary and Roasted Garlic, Spiced Pita Chips and Sliced Cucumbers
You don't just have to save this white bean dip for appetizers with friends. It tastes fantastic as part of a meal. Grilled beef skewers flavored with garlic and cumin are a great choice.

Day 5: Italian Sausage Meatballs Stuffed with Mozzarella in a Tomato Pesto Sauce with Salad
These meatballs require few ingredients yet taste so yummy! Bursting with melty cheese in the middle and swimming in a tomato pesto sauce.

For more great meal plans, check out my complete list of meal plans or the Menu Plan Monday links at Orgjunkie.

Grilled Asian Beef Kebabs

2012-01-04T07:00:00.033-07:00

My husband has the worst memory ever. Seriously, ever. He has almost no memories from his childhood and not because it was horrible and painful, but because he can't remember ANYTHING. If you asked him what he did two nights ago he couldn't tell you. Although, once in a blue moon, he'll surprise me and recall some weird detail or some meal I made for him years ago. Over the six and a half years my husband and I have been married, I've cooked probably thousands of recipes, and when I mentioned to him "Do you remember these Grilled Asian Beef Kebabs? What should I say about them?" his eyes immediately lit up and he was like "YES I remember them. I love those things!"

So I guess they're pretty good if even Steve remembered them and thought they were fantastic.

Recipe by Robin Miller

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Serves 4

1 lb sirloin steak, cut into 1 inch cubes

¼ cup black bean sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp rice vinegar

Any skewering veggies you like – I use onions, peppers, and mushrooms, because it's a classic flavor combo with steak, cut into 1 inch chunks

Sesame seeds

Wooden skewers *(or metal ones)

Soak skewers in water for at least ½ an hour (*metal skewers don't require any soaking, and they're cheap). Combine black bean sauce, sesame oil and vinegar. Skewer cubes of meat alternating with your favorite veggies and brush on the sauce. Preheat BBQ or grill to medium heat. Grill 5-7 minutes turning once. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and grill another 2 minutes until sesame seeds toast.

Click here for printable version of Grilled Asian Beef Kabobs

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THE RESULTS?
These are ridiculously quick and simple to throw together. The sauce is so flavorful and delicious. Even if it's not summer time, these are worth it to make on a grill pan in the dead of winter. They'll make you happy.

Meal Ideas:

Grilled Asian Beef Kebabs + Fried Rice

Grilled Asian Beef Kebabs + Rice + Sauteed Bok Choy with Teriyaki Sauce

Meal Plan 47 - Fresh and Fun for the New Year

2012-01-01T07:00:00.003-07:00

Click here to get a printable version of this week's meal plan with recipes

Grocery List:

Click here to get a printable version of this week's grocery list

Look at me! I'm posting! Thank you to everyone who has been commenting and pinning my site on Pinterest as a great meal planning resource. I appreciate and love it so much. I've had some time off over Christmas holidays, so I've written a bunch of posts and set them to publish over the next little while. One of the comments I see a lot is how much people appreciate these meal plans with grocery lists, so I figured it was about time I posted a new one. It's full of fantastic recipes and great flavors to get you jazzed up about meal planning in the New Year.

Happy 2012!

Day 1: Spanikopita Chicken Meatballs dipped in Tzaziki and Pepper, Cucumber and Tomato Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
These little morsels are full of spanikopita flavors and I love them all the more slathered in tzaziki sauce. Did you know it's ridiculously easy to make your own tzaziki?

Day 2: Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken over Rice
A super easy recipe. Just throw everything in the crock pot in the morning and let 'er rip. This one's a family pleaser. Make extra rice tonight, to make it easier on day 4.

Day 3: Beijing Beauty Pork Tenderloin with Garlic Scallion Noodles and Peas
Mmmmm. A delicious Asian glaze is smothered on the outside of this pork tenderloin. I really hope you have an indoor grill pan so you can enjoy this recipe in both the winter and summer months. The garlic scallion noodles are a perfect companion.

Day 4: Coconut Lime Chicken with Chiles over Rice
A quick throw together dish. Hopefully you made extra rice on day 2, because all you need to do is heat it up and serve this coconutty chicken over top.

Day 5: Steak with Balsamic Mushroom Sauce with Earl's Warm Potato Salad with Corn and Bacon and Green Beans

I've been craving this warm potato salad so bad and what better to pair it with than steak! Save it for date night and you won't even have to go out to feel spoiled.

Deviled Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Dill

2011-12-31T07:00:00.009-07:00

I have some time off before I have to go back to work, so I plan to work on getting some more meal plan posts and dinner meals written before I do. In the meantime, I have one more appie recipe for you before the big New Year's Eve celebration.

I made these babies for a potluck bash quite awhile ago and I'm lucky I showed up to the party with a (mostly) full plate! I had to taste test them for quality control and it was hard to stop myself after I popped one in my mouth. Smoked salmon works so well when it's blended with creamy things like mayo or cream cheese and the honey mustard and fresh dill all come together to be serious friends.

The other thing I love about this dish is that smoked salmon usually comes in 8 ounce packages. Since this recipe uses only one ounce of smoked salmon, you can stretch one package into two recipes by then making Smoked Salmon, Horseradish and New Potato Salad or Linguine Alfredo with Smoked Salmon.

Recipe from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry
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Makes 16 deviled eggs

8 large eggs

1/4 cup smoked salmon, minced (about 1 oz)

2 tbsp light mayonnaise

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp honey mustard

1 tbsp fresh dill

1/4 tsp hot sauce

Salt and pepper

Place eggs in a large saucepan. Cover with at least 1 inch of cold water and heat to boiling over high heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Let stand covered for 18 minutes. Immediately pour off the hot water from the eggs, then run cool water over them for several seconds to prevent them cooking any further. Drain and let cool. Once cool, peel the eggs.

Carefully slice the cooked eggs in half lengthwise and remove the yolks. Place yolks in a medium bowl and mash well with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Using a small spoon, or a pastry bag with a large tip (or even a ziplock bag with the corner cut off), fill the centers of eggs with egg mixture, mounding slightly. Place a small piece of fresh dill on top of each egg or sprinkle with paprika, if desired. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Click here for printable version of Deviled Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Dill

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THE RESULTS?

I freaking love these things! You need some prep time to make them, but they really aren't hard at all. Once the eggs are boiled, they take maybe 5 minutes to assemble. Soooooo worth it for your next potluck or party!

White Bean Dip with Rosemary and Roasted Garlic with Spiced Pita Chips

2011-12-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhhhh. That's me sighing in relief that the busyness of Christmas is over and I have two full weeks off from teaching. After all that rich food, I thought a nice healthy (addicting) appetizer as an idea for New Year's was in order. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the cream cheese laden spinach dips and the full fat sour cream chip dip (heck I'm still eating coconut tarts from my freezer with a big dollop of Cool Whip leftover from Christmas), but there's something about eating healthy food that doesn't taste healthy that I just love. This white bean dip is very similar to hummus, but the flavors are so fresh and exciting from the lemon and rosemary. The combination of the spicy pita chips with the dip is fantastic.

Recipe from The Kitchn Witch adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

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serves 12 as an appetizer

White Bean Dip with Rosemary and Roasted Garlic

2 15.5oz. cans of white beans, drained and rinsed

1-2 heads of whole roasted garlic (recipe follows)

3 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

the grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor, combine all ingredients except salt and pepper; process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fresh vegetables or pita chips.

Roasted Garlic

1 head garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the top third of the garlic head off so that the tops of the cloves are exposed and place on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with oil and cover completely with foil. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until soft and golden brown. Cool. Squeeze the roasted garlic from each of the cloves and mash into a paste. Store any additional roasted garlic in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Spiced Pita Chips

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

6 pita breads, cut into 8 wedges each.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the olive oil and spices in a large bowl. Add the pita wedges and toss to coat. Spread the wedges in a single layer on two baking sheets and bake, tossing once, until the pitas are brown and crisp, about 10-15 minutes (mine seem to cook quicker). Cool. Serve with white bean dip.

These will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days.

Click here for printable version of White Bean Dip with Rosemary and Roasted Garlic with Spiced Pita Chips
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RESULTS?
I've made this recipe soooo many times over the last couple years and love it so much. When my brother in law and his wife had their twins, I went and stayed with them to help them out and cook for them. They love hummus, so I made tons of different variations, but this recipe was one of the favorites, especially with the spicy chips. The dip tastes fantastic smoothed on wraps or inside pita bread with chicken and lettuce and other veggies. I made a Rosemary Marmalade Ham last night for a family dinner and still have some fresh rosemary in my fridge. Writing this post has given me a serious craving for this dip, so I think I'll have to add it to my grocery list!

One note about the pita chips: start checking them after about 8 minutes. In my oven 15 minutes is WAY too long, yet it was fine when I was cooking at my brother-in-law's house. You want them lightly golden and crispy.

Meal Ideas:

White Bean Dip and Spiced Pita Chips + Grilled Beef Skewers + Sliced Cucumbers

Simple Lemon and Oregano Roasted Chicken + White Bean Dip + Fresh Pitas + Salad

Pinterest Recipes: Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

2011-11-10T12:28:00.002-07:00

Joining Pinterest this summer has been an amazing resource for me for both organizing and finding recipes, gathering ideas for decorating my daughter's "big girl room" and finding fantastic preschool crafts. I noticed that lots of people become attracted to the same recipes over and over again and I thought it might be kind of fun to test and review some of the popular ones. First up is this Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken. Here's the original image I pinned from Chef Mommy:

Photo by Chef Mommy

Recognize it?

I've been turning to slow cooker recipes more and more since going back to work, especially on Wednesdays when we rush home from work to eat, clean up, and then host community group in our home. I started a board called "Recipes : Slow Cooker " and this salsa chicken was one of the first recipes I ever pinned.

Recipe adapted from Chef Mommy
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Serves 4-6

1 lb bone-in, skinless chicken thighs (or use chicken breast, whatever your preference. It is not necessary to be boneless)
1 10 oz can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1 package taco seasoning (or 2-3 tbsp of homemade)
1 cup salsa

1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup sour cream

Place chicken, soup, taco seasoning and salsa in slow cooker and stir to combine. Turn on low for 6-8 hours.

When you get home from work, remove chicken and shred. Discard the bones. Stir in black beans, corn, and sour cream, as well as the shredded chicken, turn slow cooker up to high and replace the lid. Put a pot of rice on to cook. Serve creamy salsa chicken over rice.

Click here for printable version of Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken.
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THE RESULTS?
So yummy! The whole family loved this one. I loved that it was super easy to throw together in the morning before work and a cinch to finish it off when I got home. These could be eaten as Rice Bowls where everyone doctors up their own bowl with shredded cheese, chopped green onions, cilantro, etc. The chicken is also delicious as a filling for burritos or stuffed into taco shells.

The great thing about this recipe is that all I have to remember is the number ONE: one pound, one cup, one can, one package....easy easy!

If you want to follow me on Pinterest click here. Whenever I try recipes and really like them I place them on the board "Recipes : I Tried and Loved."

Cookbook Review: Eat, Shrink and Be Merry

2011-11-05T16:12:00.002-06:00

Since last Spring when I started to cook through and review my cookbooks, I knew that Eat, Shrink and Be Merry would be one of the first. My Dad gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago and it is a bright and cheerful cookbook with tons of amazing sounding healthy recipes.

To be honest, "healthy" cooking really turns me off. I always feel like I'll be sacrificing flavor or have to deal with a different texture (like when you swap whole wheat flour for white) or I'd be stuck with salads instead of the gooey, comforting foods that we actually like. But this cookbook really blows those misconceptions out of the water! The sisters Janet and Greta Podleski seek to create recipes with lower fat, lower calories, more fiber, more healthy things our bodies need and yet never have the recipes "taste" low fat. They've definitely achieved that with these recipes...I don't reach for this cookbook because I want to make something healthy, I reach for it because I love the recipes and they taste fantastic!

There are also tons of nutritional facts as well as health, wellness and exercise tips in the margins of the pages and lots of jokes to keep the whole thing fun and light-hearted. As I mentioned earlier the book is very bright and colorful and I loved that each chapter is color coordinated. I could easily glance at the closed book and know where to find the "Salads" chapter (green), Beef/Pork (red), or Desserts (purple).

Things to love about this book is the wide variety of recipe options and flavors as well as the use of easy to find ingredients. There is not a single ingredient in there that would require you to run to a different store to get it. The ingredient lists can be kind of long, but it does mean the food you are making is full of amazing flavor.

Some of my not-so-favorite things would be that the jokes go a little overboard and all the recipe titles are puns like "Kentucky Freud Chicken", "Wok this Way" and "Glad Thai Dings" just to name a few. The description of the recipe is right underneath, for example "Salmon Cowell" is "grilled salmon in an orange-ginger marinade" but the description is in small printing and I found myself squinting to read that to see if it sounded good rather than the actual title. This does, in a way, set this book apart from others and give it some "charm"....but still kind of annoying.

There are not many photos, only about one per chapter, but this doesn't bother me so much. I do love when cookbooks are full of mouth watering photography, but I was easily able to read the description and decipher if I wanted to make it or not.

In the end, the deciding factor is the taste of the recipes. I made a lot of them and tried to go for a wide variety of dishes. Here's some of the things I tried:

"Deviled in Disguise" (pg 33) are deviled eggs flavored with smoked salmon and fresh dill. I freaking LOVED these. The smoked salmon and dill were a perfect pair for the creamy eggs, and the addition of lemon and honey mustard sent them over the top. I brought these to a party and they were gobbled up right away.

"Na-cho Ordinary Taco Salad" (pg 39) was pretty much the best taco salad I've ever eaten. The beef mixture is flavored without using packaged taco seasoning from the store, instead incorporating fresh jalapenos, grape tomatoes and spices. I really loved the flavors and would use that as my standard meat mixture for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, etc. This is a seriously hearty salad, definitely NOT lacking in flavor.

"Chop 'Til You Drop" (pg 47) is an oriental chopped chicken salad with peanut dressing and it was wonderful. It was a great summer time meal. "Feast from the East" (pg 40) was another asian salad I made, this time with noodles as the base and grilled sirloin, broccoli, peppers, cucumber and carrots tossed with a sesame-orange dressing (fantastic by the way). There was very little oil in the dressing, mostly chicken broth and other seasonings so I really wasn't sure how it would hold up, but surprisingly the noodles just soaked up the dressing making it super flavorful and the lack of oil didn't even matter.

I rarely ever make completely vegetarian meals but the "Greek with Envy" (pg 74) cheese tortellini salad with vegetables and a vinaigrette dressing was yummy enough to keep our meat-loving household happy.

"The Roastess with the Mostest" (pg 83) is a super flavorful whole roasted chicken with mustard and fresh herbs and a hint of sweetness from the brown sugar. It makes the skin sticky and oh-so-yummy. One of the only recipes I didn't like was from the chicken chapter as well. "The Better Butter Chicken" (pg 82) I found to be lacking in flavor. It tasted very tomatoey with little authentic butter chicken flavor. I guess I'm a snob since my Slow Cooker Butter Chicken is so good and a tough recipe to beat.

"Dilly Beloved" (pg 90) was a cinch to throw together. I tossed some chicken breasts with maple syrup, Dijon, fresh dill, lemon, garlic and balsamic vinegar in a baking dish and threw the whole thing in the oven. Simple and easy but with great flavor. We ate the chicken with sauce spooned over brown rice and some steamed broccoli. That whole meal sounds ridiculously healthy (and it was!) but we'd have never known it because it was such satisfying GOOD food.

"Beijing Beauty" (pg 127) grilled pork tenderloin in an asian-glaze was sticky and sweet and tasted fantastic grilled on the BBQ.

"Glad Thai Dings" (pg 139) is an ingenious recipe for asian flavored meatballs in a Thai coconut-peanut sauce. Served over rice, noodles or as an appetizer they are sure to please.

It seemed that the whole time I was testing recipes for this cookbook, I'd run across friends who were cooking from this book and loving it as well! My husband and I were invited to a friends house for dinner and I walked in and was immediately bombarded by an amazing smell. I asked her what she was making and she said it was "The Loin King" (pg 117), which was a pork loin roast smothered in a sauce made of brown sugar, ketchup, balsamic, garlic and curry powder. It was so, so fantastic and I think my husband and I went back for seconds and thirds.

Another time I was at my daughters's dayhome when my friend busted out these delicious little cookies that tasted both like a peanut butter cookie and a chewy gingersnap. OF COURSE she said they were the "Girl-Guy Cookies" from page 168.

"The Died and Gone to Heaven Chocolate Layer Cake" (pg 192) was the last recipe in the book, under a chapter entitled "Your Gonna Die Anyway: One gut-busting, high-fat, calorie-laden doozie of a treat, 'cuz you only live once!" With rich fudgey chocolate cake layers and chocolate cream cheese icing this is one rich and amazing cake. All the puns and jokes actually made me laugh out loud on this recipe, because when I glanced down to read the nutritional information it only said "trust us you do not want to know!" I really liked that they included one decadent recipe to show that eating well doesn't mean NEVER enjoying treats or desserts once in a while.

These Canadian sisters really made me LOVE cooking healthy foods for my family and I never felt like I was sacrificing flavor. For all the recipes that I tried and came across ONE measly recipe that I didn't care for, really makes this cookbook worth the purchase (and I still have a ton of recipes bookmarked to try!)

This cookbook makes me really excited to get Janet and Greta's next cookbook The Looneyspoons Collection that was released November 1st. It's a collection of all the best recipes from the first two cookbooks (Looneyspoons and Crazy Plates) as well as Eat, Shrink and Be Merry and a bunch of new recipes. This will be their first cookbook full of lots of photographs of the food and more great nutritional info. It pretty much sounds like anything that was a short coming in Eat, Shrink and Be Merry was improved upon. Well, except for the puns and jokes. That's kind of their trademark ;)

Coconut Lime Chicken with Chiles

2011-10-23T21:17:00.001-06:00

After such a long break, I really never know how to begin writing a new post. Say sorry? Tell you where I've been all this time? Just jump right in like nothing ever happened? Maybe I'll start by telling you that I'm working full time for the first time in years, and it's an interesting juggling act teaching preschool, getting my kids to daycare, back home, dinner on the table, clean up, bath, put kids to bed and prepping for a new day of school the next day. Many many people have this busy schedule, I know, it just took a while for me to figure out the ropes, get my bearings and let the dust settle. Now that I've got the new routine figured out and I'm not falling over dead tired by 8pm, I'm adding more to my plate! My husband and I are gearing up for our first mission trip and will be going to India in late November. We'll be working with children in the slums and have been raising money to bring milk to the children. Not to mention my husband and I lead a church small group in our home once a week and I'm co-leader of our children's ministry at church. My plate is FULL!

With all that going on, you can imagine I've been on the lookout for quick meals so I can actually get food on the table for my family. I borrowed Robin Miller's cookbook Quick Fix Meals from my Dad months ago and perused it this summer, bookmarking recipes like crazy and taking note of dinner strategies. I've been so impressed with some of the recipes I went on a cooking spree today just so I could photograph and share them with you.

This great coconut lime chicken is done in about 20 minutes and doesn't require a ton of ingredients. Don't let the word "chiles" scare you off if you don't like spice. It's really quite mild.

Recipe from Robin Miller: Quick Fix Meals
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Serves 4

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp curry powder
1 14 oz can light or regular coconut milk
1 4 oz. can diced green chiles
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and garlic and cook until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring for 1 minute, until it is fragrant. Add the coconut milk, chiles, lime juice and zest, bring to a simmer, and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat, stir in the green onions and cilantro. Serve over rice.

Click here for printable version of Coconut Lime Chicken with Chiles

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THE RESULTS?

The sauce on this chicken has a really great smooth and coconutty flavor with a kick of lime. I even punched up the lime by adding a bit more juice. While you do add curry powder, this dish is not really a curry, per se. It just adds a subtle warm flavor. The diced green chiles add flavor rather than heat, and it wasn't too spicy for my spice-wimpy children.

I should tell you that this dish was met with mixed reviews. Both myself and my kids ate this and thought it was great while my husband thought it was just okay. He wanted it to have more curry flavor, but that's not the point of this dish. It's NOT a curry, it's COCONUT LIME. He also wanted it spicier. I wouldn't have minded more spice either and think a great solution would be to saute sliced jalapeno's with the chicken....but then it wouldn't be so kid-friendly anymore. When it's six of one and half a dozen of the other, I'll take "no complaints from my kids" on a busy weeknight for sure.

I really loved how quick and easy this was to prepare. I brought the leftovers to work the next day and my co-worker exclaimed "WOW that smells good! Is that recipe on your blog?"

Earl's Warm Potato Salad with Corn and Bacon

2011-08-10T14:58:00.002-06:00

Last summer my husband and I went out for a nice dinner date together at Earl's Restaurant. Some friends had recommended we try the Baby Back Ribs with Cajun Chicken, so we got an order and split it. It came with two side dishes for us to choose from and whenthe waiter told me the description of the warm potato salad I pretty much had to wipe my jaw up off the table. I had just tried my first warm potato salad a couple months earlier so I already knew they were fantastic...but the addition of fresh dill, salty bacon and sweet corn was just incredible. Since I was sharing with my husband, I had to restrain myself from eating it all which became EXTREMELY hard to do.

I came home and immediately scribbled down some ideas in my kitchen journal for how I could recreate that salad. I made this a few times last summer and again this summer, and I can assure you it is fantastic. Now to figure out how to make Earl's Blackened Cajun Chicken....

Recipe by Meal Planning 101

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Serves 4 as a side dish

2 lbs new yellow potatoes
1/3 lb bacon, cut into small pieces
1 cup 35% cream
Zest of lemon
Salt and lots of pepper
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1/2 cup corn kernels
4 green onions, chopped

Put a medium pot of salted water on to boil. You want your potatoes to be about 1 inch in diameter, so add them whole if they are small or cut them in half. Once the water is boiling add the potatoes and cook until tender (about 10 minutes). Add corn (frozen or fresh) in the last minute or two. Drain.

While the water for the potatoes is boiling, begin frying the bacon over medium heat in a frying pan until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel.

In a small saucepan over medium, heat the cream until boiling then turn down to low. Add zest of lemon, salt and lots of pepper. Once it has simmered and reduced a bit, remove from the heat and stir in the dill. Once the potatoes are drained, place them back into their pot and pour over the warm cream while the potatoes are still hot. Toss the potatoes for a couple minutes. The potatoes will suck up the flavor of the cream while you toss. Add the crisp bacon pieces, and chopped green onions and toss again. Pour the potato salad into a pretty bowl to serve.

This can be served immediately while hot, or can sit and rest and be served warm or at room temperature. The longer it sits the more the cream will thicken and be sucked up by the potatoes. Garnish with extra dill.

Click here for printable version of Warm Potato Salad with Corn and Bacon

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RESULTS?
Oh my goodness, this stuff is good! My husband kept singing my praises when I made this for him. This is fantastic alongside grilled meat, or double it and bring to a potluck. The fact that it can be served hot, warm or room temperature makes it a great offering at a potluck. You will love it! It's a great copycat recipe.

Meal Ideas:

Grilled Steak + Warm Potato Salad + Sauteed Mushrooms with Thyme

Mom's Greek Ribs + Warm Potato Salad

Beijing Beauty Grilled Pork Tenderloin + Warm Potato Salad + Green Beans

Beijing Beauty Grilled Pork Tenderloin

2011-08-04T23:06:00.002-06:00

My pale white skin is actually boasting a bit of a tan this year, as my girls and I have been taking advantage of the huge yard we inherited when we bought this house. The yard was a complete and utter mess until earlier this summer when my Dad came out here for a visit and ended up schooling me in the ways of becoming a green thumb. Now I'm loving the summer sun beating down on me while my knees are caked in dirt and I pull more weeds and my girls run around our yard stripped down to their skivvies with the water hose. It's been a good summer.

But long hot summer days leave me with little desire to be cooped up in a hot house or standing over the stove to get dinner on the table. I searched out a grilling recipe from Greta and Janet and came up with this beauty. I was able to mix up the Asian glaze, throw a pork tenderloin on the BBQ and make a couple side dishes, all in about 20 minutes.

And there was still more time in the sun for me and my family.

Recipe from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry
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Serves 6

1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp liquid honey
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp grated gingerroot (easier to do when frozen)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of one lemon

3 pork tenderloins (12 oz / 340 g each)

To make the glaze, combine all the ingredients into a bowl except for the pork tenderloins and mix well.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Spray grill rack with cooking spray or lightly oil. Grill the pork for about 16 minutes, turning occasionally. Pork should be just slightly pink in the center. Do not overcook pork or it will be dry.

Brush pork generously with glaze during the last 5 minutes of cooking time. Baste over and over again with the sauce. The more you baste the more flavor it will have. Once cooked, place pork on a cutting board, cover loosely with foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut pork into medallions and serve.

Click here for printable version of Beijing Beauty Grilled Pork Tenderloin

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RESULTS?
This recipe was so quick and easy, JAM PACKED with flavor from the Asian glaze and totally healthy. Although I did counter-balance the healthiness of the pork with these Garlic Scallion Noodles. I really don't regret it either! These two dishes complimented each other perfectly and the noodles took all of 5 minutes to put together as a side dish. I threw some frozen peas in the microwave and my whole meal was done in 20 minutes. Love it.

Meal Ideas:

Beijing Beauty Grilled Pork Tenderloin + Garlic Scallion Noodles + Peas

Beijing Beauty Grilled Pork Tenderloin + Crunchy Peanut Slaw

Leftover Ideas:

Dice up leftover pork and serve it with Crunchy Peanut Slaw wrapped in tortillas for a taste very reminiscent of Hoisin & Ginger Pork Wraps

Meal Plan 46 - Summer Goodness

2011-08-01T12:42:00.001-06:00

Click here to get a printable version of this week's meal plan and recipes

Grocery List:

Click here to get a printable version of this week's grocery list

I've had this meal plan ready in my queue for awhile, but summer holidays and activities have kept me from making the coordinating grocery list. There's some great fresh summer produce in here and even some quick dinners on those busy summer nights. My next summer meal plan will definitely involve some grilled recipes and some summery fresh salads....I've been having major cravings for those two things lately! What meals do you like to plan on these hot, busy summer days?

Day 1: Sweet Mustard and Herb Roasted Chicken and Potatoes with Green Beans
I love this roasted chicken and if you roast it in a big soup pot you can catch all the delicious drippings and make a fantastic stock in the same pot. Save some chicken to make Baja Quesadillas and Chicken and Rotini Soup and use up the delicious stock you made as well. How's that for resourceful?

Day 2: Baja Quesadillas and Southwestern Salad
A super quick meal that can be thrown together in minutes. If you're short on time and you need the meal to be even quicker, opt to forego the southwestern salad and make one of those pre-made salads in a bag.

Day 3: Tex Mex Chicken and Rotini Soup
This is totally a "leftover soup" made with leftover chicken and chicken stock from the first night. If you don't have all the veggies on the grocery list, don't specifically buy "1 rib of celery" to make this soup...just use up whatever you have in your fridge.

Day 4: Spaghetti with Smoked Mozzarella, Prosciutto and Asparagus with Side Salad
Mmmmm, love this delicious pasta. It's perfect for summer.

Day 5: Donair Meatballs in Pitas
We love to go out to eat Donairs, and these donair meatballs with sweet sauce make a really great at-home substitute.

For more great meal plans, check out my complete list of meal plans or the Menu Plan Monday links at Orgjunkie.

Died and Gone to Heaven Chocolate Layer Cake

2011-07-29T16:17:00.000-06:00

It's been "birthday week in our house"; first my oldest daughter who turned four, and then myself two days later. We've had a blast joyously celebrating with birthday ice cream with sprinkles:

and a birthday peach pie, courtesy of my mother-in-law.

But no where this week, have we actually consumed birthday cake! I figured I should remedy that by offering up a slice of this "Died and Gone to Heaven Chocolate Cake." This stuff is deadly. It's rich and moist and oh so chocolatey; the perfect rich delight to celebrate some birthdays.

I first made this cake over a year ago* when I first decided I wanted to review cookbook's. I had just begun running (even participated in two 5 km races) and decided the next logical step was to begin to eat more healthily. The cookbook Eat, Shrink and Be Merry: great tasting food that won't go from your lips to your hips! had been on my cookbook shelf for a couple of years. I had barely cooked from it and thought now would be the perfect time. I was running, getting into shape, starting to feel really good physically, even seeing the scale moving a bit to the left. It was perfect timing to cook and review a bunch of recipes from a low-fat cookbook! Go figure that the first thing I did was flip to the last chapter of the book called "You're Gonna Die Anyway" that had one lone recipe in it with a caption that said "one gut-busting, high-fat, calorie-laden doozie of a treat, 'cuz you only live once!"

Ummm. Done. That was the first recipe I cooked out of the book and I never looked back.

Recipe from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry
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Makes about 16 slices

Cake:
3 cups sugar
21/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs
11/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz unsweetened chocolate squares, melted and cooled slightly

Frosting:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup whipping cream
6 oz semisweet chocolate squares
2 tsp vanilla extract
8 oz light cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease bottom and sides of three 9-inch round cake pans. Cut circles of parchment paper to fit bottom of pans and place in pans. Lightly grease paper. Set pans aside.

Combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

In another large bowl, beat eggs on high speed of electric mixer for about 3 minutes, until they have thickened slightly and are lemon coloured. Add buttermilk, coffee, oil, vanilla and melted chocolate. Mix on low speed until well blended.

Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix on medium speed until batter is smooth. Divide batter evenly among pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in centre of cakes comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, peel off paper and cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting: Whisk sugar, cocoa, and whipping cream in a medium saucepan. Cook slowly over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted. Stir in vanilla. Let cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter on high speed of electric mixer until smooth. Add cooled chocolate mixture and beat on medium speed until well blended. Refrigerate frosting until desired spreading consistency is reached, about 1 hour. It’s important not to let it get too firm, or you won’t be able to spread it.

To frost cake: Place one cake layer on a pretty plate. Spread 1 cup frosting over top. Repeat with second layer. Place final layer on top. Ice top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Decorate cake with halved strawberries or whole raspberries, if desired. Cover and refrigerate. Let cake stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Click here for printable version of Died and Gone to Heaven Chocolate Cake
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RESULTS?
When the caption says it's a "gut busting, doozie of a treat" they weren't lying! This cake is luscious and so incredibly delicious and fudgey. I added halved strawberries to the top and the cake really needed the fresh, juicy fruit to cut through the richness. Earlier this year, I was at my daughter's friends birthday party and devouring the homemade Thomas the Tank Engine cake with a vengeance. "This is like the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten!" I exclaimed as I shoved more blue icing-ed morsels into my mouth. "I know" she replied. "It's the Died and Gone to Heaven Cake" from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry." I shoulda known! To be honest, I almost liked it better with the vanilla icing she had on there. I have officially added this chocolate cake to my arsenal of special occasion treats. A triple layered cake with chocolate cream cheese icing like this, or a single layer of chocolate cake topped with your favorite vanilla, peanut butter or coffee flavored icing would also be spectacular.

Ummm, I'm sorta making myself hungry! Maybe making my own post-birthday birthday cake is in order. Yes, I think so.

*Can you say "procrastinate much?" Procrastination should be a sport. I would most definitely excel at it.

Red Thai Curry Noodles

2011-07-15T16:33:00.000-06:00

A few months ago, after I came down with my 50th cold/flu of the year, I started think maybe I needed to change my diet and up my vitamin intake to combat the germs my body was not fighting off. Being in a preschool with 18 germy 3-year olds took a toll on my immune system! I began a 3 week detox cleanse to rid my body of sugars and other garbage and kick start healthier eating habits. For 3 weeks I had to give up caffeine (my sweet, sweet coffee!), sugar (noooo!), red meat, dairy, wheat, yeast, alcohol, nuts, soda, deep-fried anything and no fruit. Yep. I'm sure you're wondering what the heck I ate! I assure you, I would not have done the detox if I didn't have delicious food to eat so I was very strategic in my planning.

Turns out that a lot of Asian recipes fit the bill, specifically Thai food, which happens to be one of my favorites! Score for me. These noodles were so spicy and slurpable, my husband and I couldn't get enough. I made this recipe twice in two weeks we loved it so much. It is indeed gluten free, dairy free, sugar free and minus the chicken, could be meat free. Despite all that, I'd eat this even without being on a detox. It's fantastic!

While some of you may be tempted to swap the coconut milk for light, make sure at least one can is full fat. You need the thick coconut cream from the top of the can to melt into coconut oil to cook your chicken in. Very authentic and full of flavor! When you are at the store, shake the can of coconut milk near your ear. If you can't hear any sloshing around thats good. It means the coconut milk is good quality with lots of rich coconut cream at the top.

Recipe adapted from Chef Michael Smith

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Serves 4

2 13 oz cans of coconut milk (at least one can needs to be full fat, not light)
1-2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1 bunch of cilantro, stems and leaves chopped separately
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
3 cups of chicken stock
6 lime leaves
1 tbsp ginger root, grated
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 8oz package of wide rice noodles
2 cups bok choy, chopped
1 cup bean sprouts
4 green onions, minced

Preheat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. From the full fat can of coconut milk, scoop the thick coconut cream from the top of the can into it. Add the red curry paste as the cream melts into coconut oil. The mixture will start to sizzle as the oil then heats up. Add the chopped cilantro stems and chicken and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Add the coconut juice from the first can as well as the entire contents of the second can of coconut milk, chicken stock, lime leaves, and fish sauce. Grate the ginger into the broth (easier to do if the ginger root is frozen). Simmer for 20 minutes, until the broth has begun to thicken slightly. Remove from the heat.

Place the rice noodles, bok choy and bean sprouts into the broth where they will quickly soften in about 5 minutes. Add all but 2 tablespoons of the cilantro leaves and stir gently.

Ladle into large bowls and garnish with the green onions and the remaining cilantro.

Click here for printable version of Red Thai Curry Noodles
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THE RESULTS?
My husband and I loved these noodles. We love spicy Thai food. I found that 1 tbsp of curry paste was perfect for me: warm with lip tingling sensations. 2 tbsp was just a tad much, but my husband LOVED it with 2 tbsp of curry paste. I would suggest starting with 1 tbsp of curry paste and see how you like it. You can always add more as it's cooking. Made even with 1 tbsp of curry paste the dish was too spicy for my young kids, so I steeped some plain rice noodles in boiling water and drained them. I tossed them with a smidgen of chicken and bok choy from the pot...it was just enough to give the noodles flavor, protein and veggies but the sauce was so diluted they didn't complain of spiciness.

With leftover Thai red curry paste, you can make:

Coconut and Beef Curry with Noodles

Meal Planning for Holiday Trips

2011-07-13T22:28:00.000-06:00

Our family just got back from a three day vacation with extended family in the mountains. Freakin' gorgeous! The mountains are truly breath taking and had me continually in awe of the Creator and His creation.

Before we went, I needed some smart meal planning for this trip. My mother in law had suggested we be prepared to eat out, but we just couldn't justify the expense especially when we had access to a full kitchen. Instead I made a meal plan, grocery shopped, and packed everything into coolers. I decided to prep all our meals before we left so that when we got there we could enjoy our outings and quickly throw dinner in the oven when we got home.

The day before we left I spent 2.5 hours preparing all our meals for three days, took a break, and then spent another 2 hours in the afternoon baking muffins for snacks and bread for breakfast. Here was my meal plan for our 3-day mountain vacation in a condo:

Saturday:
Lunch - Bombay Sloppy Joes with Spinach Salad
Supper - Beef and Bean Chimichangas with Salad

Sunday:
Breakfast - toast, eggs, yogurt, and strawberries
Lunch - Sandwiches, Hummus with Pitas, Veggies with Dip and Wildberry Muffins (this was our picnic on the mountain)
Supper - Italian Sausage Soup with Buns

Monday:

Breakfast - toast, eggs, yogurt, and strawberries

Lunch - Sandwiches and Leftover Chimichangas

I doubled all the recipes to feed 5 adults and 4 children and we had a ton of food! It was amazing to just quickly heat up the soup on the stove, or toss the tray of pre-made chimichangas in the oven, or heat up the sloppy joes and serve them up on buns. Everybody's bellies were happy, it took hardly any time at all, and the cost was about $20 per adult to eat like a king for three days! Much better (and cheaper) than fast food or expensive tourist restaurants.

My criteria when choosing recipes were to think about:
1) One pot (or one pan) meals
2) Inexpensive, yet tastes incredible
3) Things that would travel well and would be self-contained once we got there (ie: things that don't need a lot of condiments or add ons which would take up more room in the coolers)
4) Heat up easily

I definitely got that out of the meals I chose to make! I'll post them here with their pictures, along with a few more that I think would have also been good to pre-make and take with us:

Beef and Bean Chimichangas

I also made a batch of Taco Rice and used that in the filling to make the meat and beans stretch farther. I ended up with about 18 chimichangas which fed all of us for supper one night and lunch the next day with a few leftovers for the drive home.

Italian Sausage Soup

Make the soup and let it cool down, then pour into jars to travel to your destination. DO NOT add the spinach until right before you serve it.

Bombay Sloppy Joes

These are fantastic and everyone always raves. Easy enough to heat up and serve on buns.

Sweet Pork Tacos with Avocado Cream

If I could have found pork shoulder roast on sale I totally was going to bring this! On your prep day, you need only throw everything in the slow cooker and let it cook. Make the avocado cream fresh right before you serve it just by mashing with a fork instead of a food processor.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

Another dish where your slow cooker does all the work on prep day. This is a nice mild curry sure to please everyone's palettes.

Taco Soup

This is similar to a chili but I find chili to be so boring and predictable. This is a great one-pot meal that throws a little somethin' somethin' unexpected at you.

Meatball Subs

This is another easy hot sandwich that you need only heat up the meatballs and serve it up on some buns or sub rolls with cheese.

All of these dishes are great ideas for you if you are going away on holidays to a cabin or condo, whether in summer or the dead of winter. But don't forget about snacks! Those were some of the best things we had while we were hiking up the mountain to the waterfall or picnicking beside the lake.

Wildberry Muffins

Carrot Spice Muffins

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Hummus with Pitas

Other great snacks were:

Veggies with dip (easy to precut on your prep day and put into vegetable bags)
Fresh fruit

What a fantastic trip we had with fantastic food to boot! Do you meal plan for family vacations? What other sorts of one-pot dinners would you make?

Sweet Mustard and Herb Roasted Chicken

2011-06-20T15:55:00.000-06:00

The combination of sweet brown sugar, punchy dijon mustard, tart lemon and fresh herbs makes a fantastic rub for chicken. It comes together in seconds then you slather it all over a whole chicken and throw it in the oven and supper cooks itself. Seriously SO easy! I like roasting two chickens at a time because I love having shredded chicken on hand as a starter for other recipes during the week. One easy recipe turns into two or three easy recipes.

Gotta love that.

Recipe from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry
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Serves 4

1 4 lb whole roasting chicken
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Grated zest and juice of half a lemon

Move oven rack to bottom third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Place a rack inside a small roasting pan and pour 1 cup of water in the bottom of the pan.

In a small bowl mix together mustard, brown sugar, fresh herbs, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper to make a paste. Add the lemon zest and mix again. Rub all over the chicken. Place the other half of the lemon inside the chicken and tie the legs together using kitchen string. Place breast side down on the rack and roast uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and flip over. Add a bit more water to the pan if it has evaporated. Return to oven and roast for 35 to 40 minutes more depending on the size of the bird. If chicken browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil. When cooked, legs should move easily in sockets and the thigh juices should be clear (not pink). A meat thermometer inserted into thigh (away from the bone) should read 170 degrees.

Remove chicken from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Click here for printable version of Sweet Mustard and Herb Roasted Chicken
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RESULTS?
The rub on this chicken is so flavorful! I love the combo of sweet with mustard and the freshness of the herbs. It's possible that the roasted chicken skin is my favorite part, and it's also possible that I sort of kind of steal bites of it while I'm carving the chicken for my family's dinner. Don't tell anyone.

Meal Ideas:

Sweet Mustard and Herb Roasted Chicken + Broccoli and Cauliflower Gratin

Sweet Mustard and Herb Roasted Chicken + Carla's Not Calorie Conscious but Delicious Mashed Potatoes + Steamed Carrots

Sweet Mustard and Herb Roasted Chicken + Roasted Potatoes + Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

Sweet Mustard and Herb Roasted Chicken + Citrus Spinach Salad

Leftover Ideas:

Fusion Chicken Wraps (with hummus and peanut sauce)

Tagliatelle with Chicken, Rosemary and Pine Nuts

Shredded Chicken Flautas

Strip all the meat off the bones, and use the carcass to make: Homemade Chicken Stock. You can then make any number of homemade soups with it like: Creamy Summer Vegetable Soup.

Baja Quesadillas

2011-06-13T12:24:00.000-06:00

Updated from the archives. Originally posted Jan 24, 2009.

Quesadillas are one of the quickest lunch or supper items to make and quite versatile. I've been crazy busy with wrapping up preschool, and I've been making quick meals like this when I'm strapped for time (and it's so simple I even had my husband whipping these up for us). This version which doesn't use any salsa I discovered in my first year of college at Moxie's. I loved the smoky, rich BBQ flavor combined with the pops of sweet corn and cool sour cream. Luckily I perfected the recipe at home years ago because they have since changed the recipe on their menu.

I prepare for a quick meal like this by either picking up a roasted deli chicken the day I buy my groceries, or I will schedule a roasted chicken on my menu plan (like this one or this one) to eat the first night and then use up the leftovers in this dish the following night. When I buy whole chickens I get a better deal if I buy the packages with two or three chickens in it. I'll bring that home and roast two chickens at a time, specifically to make recipes that call for shredded chicken. I'll keep it simple and do a lemon herb one and slather one in BBQ sauce and then roast them at the same time. You can make amazing soup this way and have a container of shredded chicken for quick meals like these full of flavor quesadillas.

With just a little forethought you can be eating a fantastic and easy meal on a busy weeknight.

Recipe by Meal Planning 101
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Makes 6 quesadillas

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp taco seasoning (homemade or store-bought)
1/3 cup water

6 large flour tortillas
6 tbsp your favorite BBQ sauce (we love Bullseye Grilled Onion and PC Smokin' Stampede Beer & Chipotle)
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
Sour cream, for serving

In a large saute pan over medium heat dump in the chicken, corn, black beans, taco seasoning and water. Stir and let it cook down until most of the water has evaporated. Remove from heat.

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Spread a thin layer of butter over one side of the tortilla and put the butter side down into the hot pan. On one half of the tortilla, squirt about a tablespoon of BBQ sauce and top with a sixth of the chicken/bean/corn mixture. Add a generous sprinkling of grated cheese (about 1/3 cup). Fold the other half of the tortilla over all the filling and cook until the underside gets brown and crispy. Flip the quesadilla over and let cook until the other side is also brown and crispy. If your quesadilla is browning too quickly before all the cheese is melted, turn the heat down to medium.

Remove from pan, cut into wedges and serve with sour cream and extra BBQ sauce if desired.

Click here for printable version of Baja Quesadillas
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THE RESULTS?
These are pretty much the only quesadillas my husband and I make because we like them so much. I am a bit of a BBQ sauce snob when it comes to these though, and I think that ONLY Bullseye Grilled Onion BBQ Sauce will do (although in recent years I've discovered the Beer Chipotle one and love that too). Probably because the flavor so closely matches Moxie's original recipe. It's rich and deep flavor is perfect in my opinion.

This is also a really great way to use up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas. The flavors are so different from holiday fare, its a nice change up for the palate.

And what's with the name "Baja" you ask? I don't know. It just sounds good doesn't it? And besides...that's what Moxie's called it.

Meal Ideas:

Baja Quesadillas + Side Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing

Baja Quesadillas + Southwestern Salad

Leftover Ideas:

Use leftover chicken/corn/bean filling to make taquitos using this method.
For serving a large group, instead of making the quesadillas you could make flautas instead. Add the BBQ sauce to the chicken/corn/bean filling and make flautas using this method.

Cookbook Review: Everyday Food - Great Food Fast

2011-06-06T15:45:00.001-06:00

It's getting a little ridiculous how long I have been taking to do a cookbook review, and I apologize to those of you who have totally lost interest. I had it in my mind, that to truly review a cookbook I needed to test a wide variety of recipes (at least 8-10) from different sections of the book to get a real sense if the cookbook is a keeper or not. While I do still feel this is totally valid, it's unnecessary for me to post every. single. one. of those recipes for you. Next cookbook review will be a little different. In the mean time, let me tell you how much I LOVE Everyday Food: Great Food Fast.

If you've never heard of it, the book comes from the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living and the recipes are meant to be fast, easy and simple. They are definitely that. Most recipes run around the 20-30 minute mark to prepare, while a few others are up to an hour (a lot of that is hands off cooking time). A bonus is that each recipe has a statement of the total prep time needed as well as the total cooking time. As I tested the recipes, I made sure to keep track if my preparation time was accurate to the cookbook and I was pleasantly surprised that it was. The ingredients are easy to find in regular grocery stores, and the ingredient lists for the recipes are short (which I never realized how much I loved until this book) making the recipes simple to prepare, but still able to deliver flavor.

Each recipe has a concise description of what it is, and some have suggestions for what to serve with the dish along with page numbers of where to find it, like the Lemon-Parsley Pork Chops suggested to be served with Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes. Both recipes were excellent and tasted wonderful together. As a meal planner, I loved that the guesswork was taken out of the equation for me. It made my meal planning that much quicker and easier.

A feature I found interesting, but may not be everyone's cup of tea, was the organization of the recipes by season: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. The point of this is because there are different produce in season at different times of the year as well as most people like to cook differently throughout the year like grilling in summer, soups and stews in winter, etc. Again this helped with meal planning since I knew in the spring that the stores would be bursting with fresh asparagus, peas, beans, etc, and all I had to do was flip to the Spring section to find inspiration waiting (like delicious Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan). This does mean that you may have difficulty finding recipes if you are specifically looking for Chicken dishes, or Soups or something since they are interspersed throughout the cookbook. Even though the recipes are separated by season in Martha's introduction she points out that "because the ingredients are readily available, you can really try any recipe on almost any day."

For the most part that was true for me, with the exception being the Spaghetti with Three-Tomato Sauce. The three tomatoes being fresh, canned, and sun-dried this totally didn't work for our family as I made it in the middle of winter. There was no richness or sweetness, just acidic tomato flavor. I won't write off the recipe just yet though, because I think it could be pretty spectacular with sweet garden fresh tomatoes in the summer time.

Most of the recipes I tested were incredible, with winners like Indian-Spiced Chicken Burgers with a cumin yogurt sauce served in pitas, Favorite Turkey Burgers, Salmon with Hoisin Glaze, and Chicken in Mustard Cream Sauce with Sauteed Mushrooms in Thyme on the side. I really loved every one of those recipes. Another lovely one I tried was the Braised Chicken in Mushrooms which was as simple as browning some chicken breasts and mushrooms with garlic, adding some wine and chicken stock and covering with a lid to let braise. It was so simple yet the flavors were homey and comforting.

The only recipes that fell flat for me were the Spaghetti with Three-Tomato Sauce being too acidic with not enough flavor, and the Mushroom Ragout with Pasta. I can't even say what we didn't really like about that dish, other than the mushrooms are never able to brown in this dish, which maybe causes them to miss out on some depth of flavor.

After trying a wide variety of main dishes from pork to chicken to seafood and a range of side dishes, I thought I better also try a salad, as well as a dessert to really round out my experience with this book. The Spinach Salad with Dried Cherries had a nice bit of texture from the thinly sliced purple onion and raw pumpkin seeds, and great sweetness from the dried fruit. The dressing counter-balances the sweet cherries with a tart vinegar-mustard dressing. I also whipped up some Glazed Lemon Cakes which my guests swooned over when I served them with tea one evening.

I know that a lot of people look for not only great photography, but for each recipe to be accompanied by a photo. That's hard to come by, but I'm happy to say this book serves that up for you. EVERY recipe has a full page photo (although some of the side dishes are 4 photos to a page) helping you to drool and salivate and earmark recipes to try as well as reference what the finished product should look like.

There are many things to love about this cookbook, but the flavor of the food is definitely the reason you should love it the most. It's so dang good! After testing 13 recipes and loving all but 2, I'm confident in the quality and flavor delivered. We've found some new family favorites in here and I have a TON more recipes bookmarked to try! I still salivate when I flip through the pages of this book. I currently don't own this cookbook, but it's on my "must buy" list. I have borrowed it from the library 3 times, only to renew it and renew it until my renews are maxed out and the book is overdue.

I just can't part with it.

Donair Meatballs

2011-05-19T06:00:00.010-06:00

What's with me and meatballs? Lately, they've been gracing my meal plans in various forms, as well as baggies of different flavored ones in my freezer. The glorious meatball, versatile in it's many applications and ease of preparation. The thing about these ones is that they taste just like a donair, complete with accompanying sweet sauce.

Have you ever had a donair? Not like a Lebanese donair full of tzaziki or tahini sauce, but an Atlantic Canadian donair. The meat can be a combination of beef and lamb (usually all beef) that is spiced with garlic, onion, and oregano and formed into this huge log that gets roasted on a spit. When you order it from a donair place, they shave off slices of the donair meat and throw it on the flat top so you get juicy flavorful slices of meat with crispy edges. They pile the meat into pita pockets and top with your choice of lettuce, tomatoes and onion slices and finish that all off with this sweet garlic sauce. The sauce is what makes these donairs unique. From what I gather from the internet, this originates in the maritimes, and has migrated over here to Alberta and Toronto. I first tried a donair on the trendy Whyte Avenue in Edmonton, Alberta.

As I seem to do quite frequently, I set out to make my own donair meat and sweet sauce. I was amazed that I could accomplish such an exact replica! Just what I was looking for, so close to the restaurants. But after making it only two times in two years and realizing that any time I scheduled it into my meal plans it continually got bumped, week after week, I figured it had something to do with the process. Let me see: mix the meat, knead the meat, throw the meat at least twenty times, form the meat, bake the meat, let it rest and cool, place the meat in the fridge and the NEXT night you can enjoy it for dinner. Only after you've made the sauce and prepped the veggies. Ummmm....no thanks. Not the kind of work I want to go through for a weeknight dinner. Then the bright idea hit me...the glorious meatball! Take all the same flavors and spices, roll them into little balls that can be baked in 20 minutes and serve it up with all the same toppings.

Yep, I got me a winner.

....and ok, ok, I'll lay off the meatballs soon I promise.

Recipe inspired by Dash's Donairs

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Serves 6-8

Meatballs:

2 lbs lean ground beef

2 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 tsp garlic powder)

1 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp oregano or marjoram

1 tsp basil

Donair Sweet Sauce:

1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk (use full fat, not reduced. The recipe won't work with reduced fat)

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp garlic powder

4 tsp white vinegar, as needed

Pita pockets

Lettuce

Tomates, sliced

Onions, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix together all the ingredients for the meatballs. Form into 1 1/2 inch size balls (you should get about 36-40 meatballs). Place on a baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.

To make the sauce, whisk together the evaporated milk, sugar and garlic powder in a medium mixing bowl. Gradually whisk in the vinegar one teaspoon at a time until the sauce thickens.

To serve, place donair meatballs inside a pita pocket and fill with lettuce, tomatoes and onions (or your desired toppings) and spoon over some sweet sauce.

Click here for printable version of Donair Meatballs

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RESULTS?

We love these pitas! It satisfies the craving for donairs at home without paying for take out. And after making the full fledged donair meat a couple times, I can definitely tell you that these meatballs are so easy and quick and still deliver the same flavor profile.

Meal Ideas:

Donair Meatballs made into pitas

Donair Meatball Pitas + Homemade Oven-Fries

Southwestern Salad

2011-05-18T10:07:00.000-06:00

In this house, we love ourselves some good Mexican fare. Who doesn't really? I think taco nights are standard in most North American households. Here's a simple salad that makes a perfect side dish to taquitos, chimichangas, quesadillas and the like.

Recipe by Meal Planning 101
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Serves 4

Dressing:

2 1/2 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
4 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

In the bottom of a medium bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients until combined. Add the rest of the salad components and toss until combined.

Click here for printable version of Southwestern Salad
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THE RESULTS?
This salad has a burst of freshness and is a nice change up from regular lettuce salads.

Meal Ideas:

Creamy Beef Taquitos + Southwestern Salad

Beef and Bean Chimichangas + Southwestern Salad

Shredded Chicken Flautas + Southwestern Salad

Baja Quesadillas + Southwestern Salad

Creamy Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas + Southwestern Salad

11 Interesting Recipes for Ground Beef

2011-05-16T11:32:00.000-06:00

Sometimes one of the toughest things about putting together a meal plan, is planning meals that get you excited to get in the kitchen and cook. Lean ground beef is an item that is always a frugal inexpensive meat option, but the same ol' routine with it can be boring: spaghetti sauce, tacos, meatloaf, hamburgers, etc. Inject some variety into your week with these 11 interesting (and delicious) ground beef recipe options to get you excited about your meal plan.

Creamy Beef Taquitos

Thai-Inspired Meatballs in Coconut Peanut Sauce

Grilled Beef Skewers on a Pita with Tzaziki

Chinese Beef and Green Onion Pot Stickers

Taco Soup

Sweet BBQ Tater Tot Casserole

Hoisin Cashew Beef in Lettuce Wraps

Nacho Ordinary Taco Salad with Creamy Lime Cilantro Dressing

Indian Spiced Beef with Warm Curry Potato Salad

Beef and Bean Chimichangas

Mexican Pizza

Meal Plan 45 - Thai One On

2011-05-15T16:12:00.001-06:00

Click here to get a printable version of this week's meal plan and recipes

Grocery List:

Click here to get a printable version of this week's grocery list

I make my meal plans based on what I've been inspired by. Lately it's been: Prepping Ahead and Thai food. I'm loving doing a bit of extra work on one day to get me through a busy week. I did that again here, as well as gave you a taste of the exotic with some delicious Thai recipes. We've been eating rice noodles, coconut milk and red curry paste like crazy around here (and to be honest, I've actually got another Thai recipe to share with you this week).

Cheers to happy meal planning!

Day 1: Baked Potato Soup with Salad
This soup is a cinch to throw together. While the potatoes are baking you can mix, roll, and bake the ground beef for the Thai meatballs as well. Store them in the fridge for tomorrow night and then continue making the soup.

Day 2: Thai-Inspired Meatballs in Coconut Peanut Sauce over Rice with Steamed Broccoli
Delicious and easy. Throw together the ingredients for the sauce and then dump in the prebaked meatballs from the fridge. Put on a pot of rice and steam some broccoli and dinner is done!

Day 3: Coconut and Beef Curry over Noodles with Edamame

My kids are in love with edamame and popping the "treats" from out of the shell. I serve that as my side dish for this yummy beef and noodle curry.

Day 4: Meatball Subs with Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce with Caesar Salad
If you made last week's meal plan, you should have some Spicy Meatballs already made and baked in your freezer. Pull them out and put them in the sauce for another no-brainer meal.

Day 5: Chinese Beef and Green Onion Pot Stickers with Fried Rice and Sauteed Green Beans with Almonds
These are best made on the weekend when you've got some extra time or on a busy weeknight if they are already prepared in your freezer. Serve them with some fried rice and sauteed green beans and you've got a better than take out meal right in your own kitchen.

For more great meal plans, check out my complete list of meal plans or the Menu Plan Monday links at Orgjunkie.