Thai Potato Salad

I love carbs. Love is sort of an understatement. I have never met a bread I didn't like, same goes for potatoes. Scalloped, mashed, baked, I love you all.

Give this whirl for your next barbecue. Thai potato salad. You won't be disappointed.

Combine 1/4cup mayo, 1/3 cup coconut milk, 1 tbsp each green curry paste, lime juice, and salt.

Toss with about 2 lbs of mini potatoes cut in 4, your choice of crunchy veggies (I used chopped baby carrots), 4 green onions sliced, some coriander and basil, thinly chopped.

Let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.

Oh so yummy.

Pizza Pizza

You know those nights when you just want your kids to eat. Like not an ounce of you feels like fighting or repeating "eat your food or get off of my table!" So on those nights I usually make one of two things, Pasta with a 3 (or more) cheese white sauce, or Pizza.

The best part of making pizza is that I use my home made spaghetti sauce, and I LOAD that up with veggies, so I don't even feel guilty when I just pile on olives and cheese on my pizza and call it supper.

So here we go break out the bread machine because it's that simple.

In your bread machine add in:

1 1/3 c of water
1/4 c of olive oil
3 1/2 c flour (white or whole wheat, or a blend)
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast.
(you can always add a bit of Oregano or Italian Seasoning)
 Set it on the dough setting and come back in 1 1/2 hrs.

This makes 2 large pizzas. When I was at work I would set this in the morning and make it when I came home. Still turns out pretty good, even after sitting all day.


Bake it at 400 for 18 minutes.

So here's our creations (actually they are pretty standard in our house) Olive and All Beef Salami for the kids.

Pesto, Olive and Sun dried Tomato for us.

Enjoy!

Mix & Match Bread

Before I start, let's give credit where credit is due. This recipe is adapted from a Foodnetwork magazine I got a couple of years ago. I can't take credit. Although I have changed it just a little and the changes are what I post.  Enough of that let's start.

Ok oh so yummy, you mix and match to make the perfect quick bread or muffin that you are craving. It takes 3 steps. The base, the fruit, the add ins.

The Base:

Combine the dry ingredients

1 1/4 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp each baking powder, salt, and cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda.
Now whisk the wet

2 eggs
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/2 c yogurt or sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
Combine

The Fruit:
1 c of your chosen fruit. (pears, apples, or zucchini shredded and squeezed dry, banana mashed)

The Add Ins

Once all that is combined, it's time for the good stuff, the add ins. Mix in up to 1 1/2 cups of add ins, try nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, shredded coconut. You get the idea.

So the oven has to be at 350, if you are doing a loaf it takes about 55 minutes -1hr, mini loafs about 35-45 minutes, and muffins take about 30 minutes.

So I did a Banana loaf with chocolate chips, cranberries and walnuts.

Then I did some banana muffins, I switched out the vegetable oil for apple sauce, and did about 1/3 cup each of chocolate chips, coconut, and score bits, and about 1/2 cup of dried cranberries.

Give it a whirl, let me know what great combos you come up with. 

Chocolate Macaroons

I got this recipe years ago. I mean years ago, I still use it when I need a quick, simple treat that is sure to please anyone. You don't need a stove, no oven either. Just a microwave.

Get ready, it's complicated ;)

Combine 2 cups of sugar, 1/2 cup each butter and milk in a microwave safe bowl.

Microwave on high for 3 minutes.

Stir.

Microwave on high for another 3 minutes.

Stir.

Last time, Microwave on high for 2 minutes.

Stir.

Add to 2 cups each shredded coconut and oats, 5 tbsp of coco powder, pinch of salt.

Mix it all together.

Drop tablespoons of the mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet and chill for a couple of hours until firm.

That's it. Really that's it.

Enjoy!

Grilled Veggie Pasta Salad

So yesterday a friend asked her FB family for a new twist on a pasta salad. Coincidently I was making one for supper. So I thought I could share with all of you! Keeping the words short today. It's Friday and the house is still a mess, errands still have to be ran, and I would love to squeeze in a nap... not going to happen, but in an ideal world right?

Start by raiding your fridge for grillable vegetables. You like that right, Grillable.

I got some zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, and red onion.
Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.

Grill. Big chunk chop.

Boil some pasta, I did Rotini, drain, throw in the bowl with the veggies.

Grab some cherry tomatoes and cut them in half, some green olives and do the same. Hey why not some artichoke hearts? (I didn't have any this time)

Throw all that in too.

Now some dressing. About 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup balsamic, salt and pepper, and chopped fresh basil. (measurements are very aprox. I don't measure sorry). Mix it up.

You got it, throw that it too.

Mix it up.

Add some cheese if you want. I had Haloom on hand.. Oh my yummy salty friend Haloom, how I love thee.

Hope you like it!

Two colour swirl

Ever wonder how to make those cute cupcakes even cuter? Two coloured swirl does it for me. In a pinch you throw some icing on your cupcake with a knife. If you have a little more time you pipe it on. A little more and you can do a two colour swirl.

So it was my eldest's birthday over the weekend and we went away on vacation, she got a frozen icing cream cake on her actual birthday. BUT the day before we left we gave her her presents and had some home made cupcakes. Instead of sharing a recipe today, I'm sharing a technique. Let's face it, in a real pinch Betty Crocker does just fine. :)

So start by making and cooling your cupcakes. These ones were vegan Mango. I made a regular Butter cream icing.

I took two disposable piping bags (they are recyclable) and put them in a tall glass, just to hold them still as I filled them. So much easier this way.

Then I tinted the icing using Wilton's Gel paste, one pink and one purple. (unlike me, my daughter really is a girlie girl)

Then I tied the top with these.

They are like those old school elastics we used to wear in the 70's early 80's. It basically just helps to keep the icing from coming out of the top of the bag.

Then snip the point of your bags, and place them both in your bigger piping bag like so.

If you have a 16" bag it really works best. I used the Wilton 2D tip for these. Twist the top of the bag to keep it all together. These take a little more elbow grease to get out, but it's still pretty simple. Just keep constant equal pressure.

I practiced on a plate to make sure that the two colours were blending. Then started on the cupcakes.

Cute like this? Yes. But wait. Fun activity find. I was at Winners and saw these:

So without telling my kids what they were for I got them to colour them.

Then after supper we put it all together. Pretty cute no?

Challah Bread

Oh my bread machine, how I love thee, let me count the ways. I don't know why I only tried this for the first time recently. Why did I over look it for so many years???

To all my bread lovers out there. You must MUST try this one.

Place in your bread machine:

3/4cups water
1 egg (beaten)
3 tbsp shortening (I used butter)
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast

Set the machine on the dough cycle and let it do it's thing.

Once it has finished remove the dough from the pan and split it into 6 equal parts,

Roll them each in a ball

Then into a snake shape.

Then attach the snakes at one end.

Next you braid the 6 "ropes"

Voila, it's a little tricky, I'm not going to lie.

Let it rise for about 30 minutes

Combine 1 egg yolk and a splash of water, Brush over the bread.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Let's just say that my kids ate all their Quinoa salad so they could get a piece of bread.