I love my veggies.

Seeing as I have been under the weather for a few days, my weekly meal plan has kinda gone out the window. Pretty much everything can just be shuffled down a couple of days to accommodate for an extra day of left overs and Pizza my hubby brought home. All that is except the veggies. You know you do your groceries with the thought that you will be super healthy, have at least 2 different veggies at every meal, you will even cut them up as a snack. In reality you snack on the box of cookies your mother-in-law brought over for the kids on the weekend... Not me, you .. hmmm.

So yesterday I raided the fridge for the veggies that wouldn't make it. The only casualties were my eggplants. Oh well, Eggplant Parmesan next week.

I found some red peppers, zucchinis, and asparagus. Everything else could make it another day.

Then I raid the cheese drawer, a bit of Mozzerella (I wish I had goat cheese), and some parmesan.

Since my bread machine died of over use, Pizza isn't an option.

Next step was to raid the freezer, I'm looking for Phyllo pastry... I'm out, but I find one square of puff pastry left. Success!

So I start by slicing my peppers, with an onion. Toss with some olive oil salt & pepper and a bit of thyme.
Pop it in the over for about 10 minutes at 400.


I cut up my asparagus into 1" pieces and quarter and slice my zucchinis. I wish I had mushrooms. I add this to the peppers and onions, and pop it bake in the oven, with a bit more salt, pepper, and thyme for another 15 minutes.

Once this is done the veggies should be pretty soft but not mushy (I hate mushy vegetables).

Then I roll out my puff pastry into a nice big rectangle, I do this on a lightly floured cutting board. There is a reason for this.

Then comes the cheese, topped with the roasted veg.

Fold it up like a little package.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the line tray upside down on the prepared package, then flip over the cutting board so the veggie package is seam side down and you didn't break it in two. Good trick uh?

Brush with an egg white wash to make it nice and golden brown.

Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Teacher Appreciation

I'm sick... over the past 2 weeks 3 of the kids and my hubby have been fighting some kind of germy nasty-ness, yesterday it manifested it's self in me and my poor little Layth. We feel like crap. Asides from that I am feeling awful. One of my grandmothers is not doing so great. She's old, I know, but it's hard when you see the rock of your family start to crumble. In any other circumstance I would pack myself and Layth up and we would hop in the car and take that 2 hr drive to see her in a heart beat. But with the germs we can't. Makes me feel even worse. All that being said I will apologize now if this post is less than spectacular, or dare I say incoherent.

Anyone who knows me knows that when I am upset, down or stressed I head to the kitchen. So that is exactly what I did. Lucky for me it is also Teacher Appreciation week at my daughter's school and they asked us to donate some baked goods. Great I can bake and we don't have to eat it. Perfect.

Since it's for the school it has to be nut free. I'll take it one step further and do egg free too. This could easily be a completely vegan cupcake, but I can't bring myself to make the vegan icing. So while the cupcakes themselves are vegan. The icing is not.

Since they are for the teachers I am faced with a tough decision. Which type of cute cupcake wrapper should I use? If I was closer to my good friend over at Just Me Prints I would have just got her to make me some super cute tags. But I'm not, so this is what I decided. Cute purple flower cupcake holders.

Now for my favourite Chocolate Cupcake recipe. Yes it happens to be vegan, but it is my go to, and I promise you won't even know that it's vegan. It is super easy, light, fluffy, and ouber cheap to make. Win on all levels.

I decided to make them mint chocolate. Here goes:
Start with the wet ingredients:

5 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp white vinegar
1tsp mint extract (or vanilla if you prefer)
1 1/4 cups water
Wisk well together

Then add:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mix really well until there are no lumps.

Here is my trick. Not really to complicated. Since this batter is a bit on the wetter side, and since these are cute liners I don't want them to get all dirty. So I use one of my piping bags, drape it over a tall cup and fill with the batter. Then snip the end off and it is much easier to fill the liners mess free.

(Also yes I normally use reusable piping bags so I don't have to waste. But I'm sick and the thought of washing them is not doing it for me today. Thus disposable is the way to go.)

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.
Let them cool on a wire rack.

Ice with your favourite icing. Mine happens to be a simple:
3/4cup butter
3 cups icing sugar
splash of heavy cream
mini splash of mint (or vanilla) extract
Beat until creamy.

So I tinted my icing a light yellow for the middle of the flower. Creative no?

I also busted out some different decorating techniques for all of them I used my #18 Wilton tip.

Hope you enjoy!

A Healthy - er cookie

Cutting out sweets for me is not an option. Sure I would like to loose the rest of this baby weight, yes I will work out, but under no circumstances can I give up my sweets.  What I will be doing is trying to put a healthy - er spin on some of the things I do eat. Now don't get me wrong, there is no healthy option for Nanaimo bars, but I did modify a great oatmeal cookie recipe to be pretty guilt free. 

So here is what you'll need:

1 cup white flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 cup room temperature butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp almond extract ( I prefer to use almond, but by all means use vanilla)

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I like to use the mini ones so the same amount seems to spread further)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

OK so being the lazy baker I am this is how I roll:

Start my combining the butter, sugars, eggs, and extract in a large bowl. 

Add the flours, flax seed, baking soda, salt, cinnamon on top. Mix it all together well. 

Then add the oats, chocolate chips and cranberries and mix it all together. 

Drop a tbsp of batter on a parchment lined baking sheet (easy clean up) leaving enough space for them to spread. 

And bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. 

Let them Cool on a wire wrack. 

The smaller you make them the more you can eat without feeling guilty!

An early V-day treat

I had a pretty rough day yesterday with my little monkeys. I went shopping for me, and ended up spending 70 bucks on the kids. Came home cleaned up the messy house, bathrooms, floors etc... started supper. Fed the cranky baby, who then vomited all over me... cleaned the couch, cleaned me, gave him a bath, just for him to do it all over again. 


Get my eldest off the bus, get the middle 2 from day care. Let the insanity begin. Running, yelling, groaning, fighting, supper, running, yelling, baths, bed, me and my hubby sit down to eat. 


I think Ahhhh this is great... Then:  My littlest wakes up more then normal ends up in bed nursing all night, my second eldest comes in our room with a nightmare, my eldest came in because she was not feeling well. The alarm goes off and it's time to start all over again. Only today I will make a yummy treat. 


So the first time I made these I did so for Christmas, with cute little festive Christmas sprinkles. All you have to do is change up the sprinkles and they are good for any occasion. 


If you haven't realized by now I am a fan of super simple things. 

Here's what you need.

Here's what you do. 

Beat 2 cups of icing sugar, 2 tbsp corn syrup, 1 1/2 tbps soft butter, 2 tsp milk, and 1 tsp peppermint (or any other flavour you like, I'm thinking cherry) extract until smooth. 

Scrape it into a little bowl and chill for at least 30 minutes. 

Play with cute baby.

Meanwhile: Melt about 8 oz. of chopped chocolate ( I used dark, it's healthy right?) with 2 tsp of shortening (this will make the coating nice and smooth).

Pull the chilled filling out and roll into little balls, then roll in the chocolate. 

Place on parchment lined baking sheet. 

Sprinkle with desired sprinkles. 

(I let my daughter do this part, oh didn't I tell you I had to go pick her up from school today... grumble, this meant I couldn't try and find the sweater I un-successfully went out for yesterday)

Chill. 

Eat your crappy day away :)

Oh or enjoy with your loved one for Valentines day. 

Enjoy!

Meatless mercredi

I know I know it's supposed to be meatless Monday, but Monday quickly turned into Tuesday, which is now Wednesday... I digress. 


So for the new year I have decided to make a serious effort to organize my life. This is some work with 4 young kids, but I'm trying. I have 8 more months before I return to work, which gives me 8 months to get stuff in order. This being said I am trying to cut back on expenses, cut out the clutter, and cut out some crappy food choices. 


Here is my super easy Dal recipe. For those of you who aren't familiar, Dal is like a curried lentils. Don't shrug it off because you don't like curry, or lentils. The benefits of this recipe are worth trying it alone. It's simple to make, yummy, healthy and ouber cheap. A true testament to this recipe is that my mother-in-law (100% Pakistani) says she likes my dal better then her own. 'Nuff said. 


Start with some orange lentils. 1 cup

Soak them for about 30 minutes to an hour. 


Drain them well. 

To that 1 cup of lentils add about 5 1/2 cups of water, 1 tsp each turmeric, cumin, salt. Throw in a couple of coarsely chopped green chillies (depending on how hot you like it)


Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. 

At the 45 minute mark chop up a potato and thinly slice an onion. In a separate pan lightly sauté these in 1 tbsp of olive oil just until the onion is soft. Throw this into the pot with the lentils and continue cooking until the potatoes are cooked and the lentils have absorbed almost all the liquid, leaving it looking like a thick soup (about another 45 minutes)

Done. Super simple right? Want to jazz it up a bit?

Chop 2 tomatoes, 1/2 small onion (finely chopped), toss together with a splash of vinegar and some cayenne pepper. Let this sit for a while, then use it as a topping on your Dal. If you have some coriander on hand, throw that in too. :)

Serve it with Rice or some Naan and you are good to go. 


Super cheap, super yummy! 

Some like it hot!

Oh yeah baby, we like it HOT! I stumbled this recipe years ago, modified it a bit to make it my own, and let me tell you after 9 years I still get a "oh yeah, Thai Shrimp Curry" from my hubby. No way do the kids eat it, I usually make this when I know I have left overs for them :) . So let me share this oh so yummy recipe with you all.

To start let me introduce you to my favorite brands of Asian ingredients.  

I've tried others but they always disappoint. If I don't have these on hand I don't make it.


Ok so lets get started. 


First you need some grated carrots (I use about 1/2 a bag of baby carrots or more)
2 peppers, I like using red. 
6 green onions, sliced.
4 garlic cloves
2 - 3 tbsp chili paste
2  tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 can of coconut milk
shrimp, peeled (I'm not adding a quantity because I'm not too sure. I usually buy it in bulk at Costco, and then pour out an amount into a pasta bowl. If I were to guess I would go with 1lb)
large handful of chopped cilantro and thai basil (not the regular one. Thai basil has a licorice taste to it)


Get your wok screaming hot, add a couple of tsp of peanut oil or vegetable oil. Add all your veggies. Sauté for a couple of minutes. 


Add the Chili paste, toss until it becomes fragrant. Then add the fish sauce, toss, and then the brown sugar. 


Add the can of coconut milk and bring to a simmer.


The coconut milk will thicken a bit. Then add your shrimp, cook until it turns pink. 


Add your Coriander and Thai basil right at the end. 


Serve with rice. 

Hope you enjoy!!! 

Quinoa Patties

Everyone is trying to eat better these days... Trying being the operative word. So when I find something that is good for you and so easy and yummy I indulge. That is exactly what I do when I make these. 


For those of you who aren't familiar with Quinoa let me introduce you to my new best friend. Quinoa grains are cooked similar to couscous or rice, and contain essential amino acids and good quantities of calcium, phosphorus, and iron. 


Quinoa is so simple and versatile it is easily a great side or light lunch.  This recipe can easily be adapted to your tastes, I chose to make Greek style Quinoa patties, I served them next to some chicken souvlaki's with my favourite store bought Tzatziki. 

Start by boiling 1 1/2 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups of vegetable (or chicken) broth. Once it's boiling add 1 1/2 cups of quinoa. Cover, and lower the heat, allow to simmer until all the liquid has absorbed. (usually about 15 minutes) Once quinoa is cooked allow to cool. 


While you are doing this, chop one small onion, 3 garlic cloves and sauté until lightly golden brown. Add 3 cups of raw spinach and cook until it has completely wilted and all the water has evaporated. Set aside to cool. Then chop it up. 


In a medium bowl beat 3 eggs, 2 tbsp flour, and 1 1/2 tsp baking powder. Add some crumbled feta cheese, a hand full of chopped kalamata olives, some chopped sun-dried tomatoes, lemon zest and about 1 tbsp of sesame seeds (or pine nuts, or sliced almonds). 


To the egg mixture add the cooled quinoa and the cooled chopped spinach. (if they are not cooled you are asking for some scrambled eggs... trust me, give it time to cool).


To make the patties get a large baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Wet your hands so the mixture doesn't stick, and make your patties. I normally get about 15-18 patties. 


Place them in the fridge for about an hour to firm up. 

In a large skillet with a bit of olive oil fry the patties until they are golden on each side. (they are pretty fragile, so it may be helpful to use 2 spatulas to do the flipping). 


Serve with a salad, or as a side.   

Don't stick to my combo switch it up by omitting or adding what your family likes. Sure to please guaranteed!