Recipe - Egg in a Hat

This recipe is as humble as it gets.  My youngest loves this dish beyond reason, and used to sneak down to Grandma's house and ask her to make him one.  Also known as 'Toad in a Hole' by some, but as one wise 12 year old said last night, who wants to eat a toad?

All you need is eggs, bread and butter.  Along with a frying pan of course, and a small round cookie cutter or very small glass.

Butter the bread generously on both sides.  Cut out a circle from the middle of the bread.  Place on a hot frying pan, and crack an egg into the middle of the bread.  Don't forget to nestle in the little rounds of buttered bread in your pan as well.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Fry for a while on one side, then flip to the other side and let it cook a little longer.  When both sides are golden brown, slide it on to your plate, and top the egg with the bread round (or hat).  I usually cook eight at a time on my big griddle, which is non stick, so the butter on the bread is enough to fry the egg.  If you're using a frying pan or cast iron pan, it probably wouldn't hurt to throw a little butter in the pan before you add the bread and eggs.   

If you are very health conscious, you can fry the egg in a ring of sliced green or red pepper.  Very pretty.  I'll stick with the original, though!

**Disclaimer - The eight servings on the griddle are not just for me! 

All in One Christmas Post - Recipes, Scrapbooking Ideas, Fun Links, Tips......

Well, my friends, the countdown is on and there's lots for all the Mrs. Claus' to do.  In the spirit of gettin' it done and keepin' it real, this is an all in one Christmas-palooza post.  So, here goes....

Recipe:  Raisin Clusters

1 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups raisins

Line baking sheet with buttered wax paper.  Set aside.  Melt chocolate with milk and vanilla in heavy small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat when melted.  Stir in raisins.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet.  Refrigerate until firm.  Store in fridge in container between layers of wax paper.  Makes 30 clusters.  This is my dad's very favorite Christmas treat.

Tip of the Week:

If you're making chocolate cakes or cup cakes this season, try dusting the greased cake pans with cocoa instead of flour.  No white flour marks on the cake - yay!

Family Activity:  Christmas ABC Scrapbook

  This is one I'm going to start in the New Year, it's an old idea I've had in my Christmas File for over a decade.  Basically, all the Christmas cards that you've kept through the years can be added to an ABC scrapbook.  Get a nice big scrapbook and make sure it has at least 26 pages in it.  Label each page A-Z with the following verses:

A is for angels, with halos so bright, whose carols were heard on that first Christmas Night.
B is for baby, that Christ child so dear, We celebrate Christmas, His Birthday, each year.
C is for Candles that so brightly shine, To give a warm welcome to your friends and mine.
D is for doorway with garlands of green, To make Christmas merry for as far as they're seen.
E is for evergreen garlands galore, We hang at our window, fireplace and door.
F is for fun the whole season long, From trimming the tree, to singing a song.
G is for greetings, a merry hello- With a heart full of love for people we know.
H is for holly with berries so red, To make into wreaths to hang overhead.
I is for ice on white covered hills, Where sledding is fun along with the spills.
J is for jingle bells merrily ringing To the whole world, joy they are bringing.
K is for Kris Kringle, so merrily he stands.  He is who they call Santa, in ours and many lands.
L is for lantern, I'm sure that their light Helped Mary and Joseph, on that first Christmas night.
M is for Mary, her heart full of love For her little son Jesus who came from above.
N is for Noel the angels did sing To herald the birth of Jesus, our King.
O is for ornaments, so shiny and bright, With lights on the tree, they sparkle at night.
P is for packages, presents so gay, All around the tree for our Christmas Day.
Q is for quiet Christmas Eve night, With snow covered hills glistening so bright.
R is for red, the color so gay, That makes all things bright on that one special day!
S is for shepherds who first saw the star Over Behtlehem's manger and followed it far.
T is for trees we decorate so gay, They wait for old Santa to hurry our way.
U is for universe, the whole wide world, Where Christmas means joy to each boy and girl.
V is for Vixen, the lively reindeer.  He always helps Santa deliver toys each year.
W is for wisemen who brought gifts so rare, and fell down and worshipped the Christ child there.
X is for excitement, the best day of the year, We can all hardly wait until it is here.
Y is for young children who love Christmas so, Who teach its true meaning by the love that they show.
Z is for Zeal, real excitement and fun.  May this book help to bring a "Merry Christmas" to everyone!

This is a project to be brought out every Christmas season.  Keep the Christmas cards you receive every year alongside the scrapbook, so whenever little people get restless, you can get them to look through the cards and find new pictures to add to each scrapbook page.  Warning:  this scrapbook is not for moms to obsess over, it is a yearly activity for the kids, so please put your perfectionism aside!  (Unless you want to do one for yourself, of course.  Kind of like how dads should have their own kub kar/pinewood derby car all for themselves.)

Home and Garden:  It's Yarn Season for me.  I can't go outside and dig in the dirt, so I play with yarn and drool over seed catalogues.  Here's a link to one of my favorite crochet pattern websites, it's pretty comprehensive:  Crochet Pattern Central .  I've made two cute hats already and am working on a Mobius Granny Scarf right now.  Confession:  I drooled over yarn at Michael's yesterday, then reminded myself of the pact I have made to abstain from buying yarn until I have used up my current stock, which is shocking.  I think I have enough yarn to cover a bus.  Did you know there are yarn ninjas out there who do yarn grafitti?  Maybe Beaumont will discover a yarn activist when I run out of people to cover in granny squares........

Review:  The Graphics Fairy

This isn't so much a review as a big thank you to The Graphics Fairy.  Her site is amazing, and filled with free vintage clip art and absolutely cute craft projects.  I am in awe.....

Family Inspiration: 

This was written by Toni Young of Calgary many many years ago:

"Remember---

What children really want for Christmas is a warm and close family celebration and a few carefully chosen gifts from people who care about them.

Build up to Christmas has been lengthened, but its ending has been cut short.  When the gifts have been unwrapped, Christmas is over and children are left dazed and bewildered. 

When parents have family celebrations, kids learn there's more fun to Christmas than just unwrapping gifts.  When children have exciting family activities to look forward to, before and after the present-opening, gifts start taking their rightrful place in the festivities."

 

Candy Cane Cookies

The other night we were having a vote to see which cookies I would make for Christmas this year, and hands down this is the winner.  Our children absolutely love these cookies.  My mother made these when I was a child, and we always left one of these on the plate for the guy in the red suit, and my children do as well.

Candy Cane Cookies

375 degrees F.
8-10 minutes

Sift together three cups of flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt.  Cream together 1/2 cup shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar.  Add 2 eggs, one at a time, to the creamed mixture.  Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla and 1/4 cup milk.  Stir in the dry ingredients and mix well.  Divide the dough in half, and to one half mix in 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring.  Mix well.  Shape into candy canes by pinching off a 1" ball of both white and red dough.  Roll each piece of dough out into a snake, take the ends of the dough, and twist together into the shape of a candy cane.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet, bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees F.  Let cool a bit first, and then remove to wire rack to cool completely.  Be careful taking them off the sheet, they'll snap.  If the dough seems a little dry, add a tablespoon more of milk if necessary.

Gingerbread Pudding Cake

I made this dessert Sunday evening, after digging through my old recipe box for something winter-y.  It was very satisfying, and filled my need for gingerbread and caramel sauce all at once.  I can't give credit for this one, as it is one of those old cards that's been in the box for over a decade.

Gingerbread Pudding Cake:

Mix together:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Cream together:
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar

In a mixing cup mix together:
1 cup molasses
1 cup water.

Alternately mix the creamed butter and the molasses water into the dry mixture.  Spread in 13x9 inch pan.  Sprinkle with 3/4 cup brown sugar.  Pour 1 1/2 cup hot water mixed with 1/3 cup melted butter over batter.  Bake at 350 degrees F. for 40-55 minutes or until tests done.  Serve warm.  Cake will rise to the top and sauce will be on the bottom.

I like it with good vanilla ice cream.  Yum!

Whoopie Pies

My mother used to make this special lunch box treat when I was a little girl.  Whenever I'd open my orange Scooby-Doo lunch box and see this little treasure inside I'd give a big 'Woohoo!'.  My sister used them as a serious barter item, and traded her way to some store bought treats that we'd never see otherwise.  I've noticed that whoopie pies seem to be having some sort of comeback lately, so I thought I'd dig out this oldy but goody.

Whoopie PIes

1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter and sugar, add egg and mix well.  Add milk and vanilla and mix well.  Combine remaining dry ingredients, add.  Drop from tablespoon on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 425 degrees F for 9 minutes.  Cool and frost.

My mum used to just frost the top.  You can take two whoopie pies and sandwich them together with frosting, which would be yummy as well.  These are very dark chocolate, and can be a little dry.  If your batter seems too dry add a little more milk.  Don't overbake them!  If your oven is hot bake at a slightly lower temperature.  Enjoy!

Mummy Dogs Recipe

Halloween is a really fun time of the year, but it doesn't really have a meal that is associated with it.  I've tried over the years to pick a Halloween-y meal that the kids can look forward to.  For a long while it was a chili night for a chilly night.  However, we have one person in our family that thinks chili is the most disgusting thing ever, so that meal idea went out the window.  About three or four years ago I stumbled upon a recipe for Mummy Dogs.  So our Halloween-y meal became a Hallo-weenie meal! 

Take a package of hot dogs and one recipe for biscuit dough.  You can use packaged biscuit dough (the kind that comes in the can) or your own recipe, or the biscuit mix.  I like my own recipe, which can be found in the recipe section here.  Take one hot dog, and wrap it in a long strand of biscuit dough, leaving a little face area clear at the top of the dog.  Bake it in the oven according to your biscuit recipe.  Remove from oven and put two little mustard dots on the face for eyes.  My kids, young and old, love this meal.  We serve it with rootbeer floats.  You could use vegan hot dogs, of course, or pre-cooked sausage links.  I like this recipe because it is really quick on a busy night, and lots of fun. 

Pride O' Scotland Shortbread Wedges

My mother has been making these delicious treats as far back as I can remember.  I usually save these for the holiday season.  There was a Recipe Exchange being hosted at our church this evening, but because of a school concert conflict, I won't be there.  So I thought I'd share the recipe I would have brought anyway!

Pride O' Scotland Shortbread Wedges

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.  In a large bowl, put 1 1/4 cups flour, 3/4 cup white sugar aind 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Mix well.  Add 1 cup softened butter, 1 egg yolk and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Mix well with hands, until dough is smooth.  Divide into two equal balls.  With floured hands, using palm of hand, press each ball into a pie plate.  Use tines of fork to crimp around edges, and prick entire surface with fork as well.  Bake for 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees Farenheit, or until light golden brown around edges.  Sprinkle with powdered icing sugar and let cool.  When cool, cut into wedges.

These are one of my most favorite treats, I hope you enjoy them!

Peek-a-boo Cherry Cake #1

My friend Colleen makes this amazing cherry sheetcake that my children absolutely love!  When I was digging through my recipe box the other day, I found this recipe for Peek-a-boo Cherry Cake that reminded me of Colleen's cake, so I decided to give it a try.  (Do you have recipes like this, that you copied down twenty years ago and are just now trying out?  Please say you're more up to date than I am!)  While I was rifling through some very old recipe magazines at work I found another cherry cake that has the same effect, which I will post after I have tested it, and will let you know which one I like best.  Then, maybe Colleen will share her original recipe with me and it'll just be a cherry cake-a-polooza!

This is a very pretty cake, and perfect for the holiday season.

I don't know who gave me this recipe, so no credit can be given.  Thank you, whoever you are!

Peek-a-boo Cherry Cake

350 degrees Farenheit
45 minutes
12 servings

1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1 can cherry fruit filling
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Combine all ingredients (except cherry filling, 2 T. sugar and 1/4 c. almonds) in large bowl.  Blend, then beat for three minutes at medium speed.  Spread 3/4 of dough evenly in greased 9x13 pan.  Spoon fruit filling on top and spread gently to cover surface.  Drop remaining dough by small spoonfuls over cherry layer.  Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar and almonds over top.  Bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool, and cut into squares.  Yum!

graphics courtesy of graphicsfairy.blogspot.com

Commodores

My life has been very pie-centric lately.  Strawberry-rhubarb (pictured above), apple, blueberry, you name it, I've made it. 

A result of making so many pies is lots and lots of scraps of pastry left over, once the pie is trimmed and crimped.  I don't like to waste things, so I try to use up those little bits of pie pastry when possible.  One thing my mother-in-law makes is something called Commodores.  I have no idea why she calls them Commodores, neither does Scott.  All I know is my husband loves these, and I like to make him happy! 

It's pretty easy, you just smoosh together the leftover scraps of pastry, and re-roll them out.  I know this is technically a no-no, but please remember we're being thrifty here!  Once the dough is rolled out again, I use a big round cookie cutter and cut out lots of circles.  Try and roll the pastry as thin as possible, it tastes better.  Once they're cut out place a spoonful of your favorite preserves in the centre of the pastry.  Either top them with another circle or fold over to make a semi circle.  Then pinch the edges closed, brush with a little egg white and sprinkle with sugar.  Place on a cookie sheet, and pop in the oven while the pie is baking.  Keep an eye on them, it only takes five or ten minutes until they're done.  These are yummy little things!

Another use for leftover pastry scraps is to gather them all together, smoosh them up and roll them out into a rectangle.  Spread some softened butter on the pastry, and then sprinkle generously with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.  Roll up like a skinny jelly roll, cut into little circles, and bake as above.  These are yummy, tiny little cinnamon buns.

This is a fun job to give to your children.  Let them have a whack at rolling out the dough, and making little treats.  They can be very creative! 

Apples, Apples and more Apples!

photo credit:  Sarah MacIntyre - apple trees blooming, mid summer, and harvest time.

I am surrounded by apples.  Bags and bags of beautiful, crisp apples.  Apple pies are frozen in the freezer, apple pies have been eaten by my family, another apple pie will be made today. Jars and jars of apple pie filling have been canned, and more jars are waiting to be filled.  I will also be freezing pie filling in freezer bags as well.  My hands are a little stiff from all the peeling, but it's so satisfying to see all the hard work stacked up in the freezer and cold storage room.

Here's a recipe for canned apple pie filling:

Apple Pie Filling:

5 cups peeled and sliced apples
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons minute tapioca
1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Add the sugar and apples together in a large pot.  Let sit until juices are released.  Place on burner over medium high heat, bring to a boil.  Boil hard for 1 minute.  Add tapioca, lemon juice and cinnamon and boil for one more minute.  Spoon filling in hot sterilized quart jars, process in hot water bath for 20 minutes.  Makes 1 quart.

(Recipe comes from Company's Coming Preserves, by Jean Pare.)

For freezer filling, I put 6 cups sliced, peeled apples in a large bowl, and toss with 3/4 cup white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of white flour.  Plus a dash of salt.  If you are concerned about the apples browning, you can always dip them in a solution of vinegar and water, or lemon and water before you put them in the bowl.  Then I toss the mixture in a freezer bag and seal and label it.  My friend Irene Hirtle (who is very clever), puts the apple filling in a pie pan lined with lots of cling wrap, wraps it up tight and freezes it in the pie plate.  Once frozen, she takes the wrapped filling out of the plate and stacks a neat pile in her freezer.  When it's time to bake a pie she unwraps the pie filling and plops it right in the pie crust - perfectly shaped!  Neat trick, huh?

Jiffy Cinnamon Rolls

In a recent Relief Society lesson, one of our sisters mentioned that she made cinnamon buns a lot for her teenagers during the school year, because she knew they were stressed out, and she wanted them to smell the cinnamon when they came through the door, and associate that smell with home, comfort and love.  I think that is a wonderful idea! 

So, here's my favorite recipe for cinnamon buns.  It's quick and easy and delicious!  If you want a deluxe version of cinnamon buns, I can recommend PW's cinnamon rolls.  They're to die for!  They also take some planning, and I don't always have time for a big production.  If you want cinnamon buns in less than an hour, this is the recipe for you.  It doubles well, so make two batches at once.  One is not enough!

This recipe comes from my battered copy of Muffins and More (Companies Coming) by Jean Pare.  Page 87.  The one with the stains on it.

Jiffy Cinnamon Rolls

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
 4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold butter
1 cup cold milk
1/3 cup softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/3 cup raisins (optional)

In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  (I once used baking soda by accident, they were completely inedible!)  Cut in first amount of butter until crumbly.  Make a well in the centre.  Pour milk into well.  Stir to form soft dough adding a bit more milk of needed.  Turn out on lightly floured surface.  Knead 8-10 times.  Roll into rectangle about 1/2 inch thick and 12 inches long.  Width will vary. 

Cream second amount of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon together well.  Drop 1 measured teaspoon into each of 12 greased muffin tins.  Spread the remaining cinnamon mixture over dough rectangle.  Sprinkle raisins over top if using.  Roll up as for jelly roll.  Mark first then cut into 12 slices.  Place cut side down in muffin pan.  Bake in 400 degree f oven for 20-25 minutes.  Turn out on tray.  Makes 12. 

Glaze:

To 1/2 cup icing sugar, add enough milk or water to make a thin glaze.  Drizzle over cinnamon rolls.

Notes*  I spread the entire amount of brown sugar cinnamon butter on the dough rectangle, cut into 12, and put six rolls each into 2 greased 9" cake pans.  Then I turn the whole thing out on a rack once they're done.  Once they're glazed and cooled a bit (if they last that long) I break them apart gently.  Sometimes I ice the buns with buttercream frosting.  Yum!  I don't add raisins, there'd be an uprising. 

Pizza Dough

I got this recipe for pizza dough from my friend, Michelle Grant, who got it from her dear mother-in-law, Jenny Grant.  The date on the recipe card is 1991!  I'm going to give two versions of the recipe, the original, and the one I've tweaked over the years.  I make pizza every Friday night, unless something really weird happens.  Pizza take out for a family of seven would really set us back, but homemade healthy pizza is no big deal on the wallet.

Here's Jenny's original recipe:

Pizza Dough #1

Dissolve 1 tablespoon yeast in 2 cups of warm water with one tablespoon of sugar dissolved in it.  Let sit for five minutes, until yeast is activated.  Add 2 cups of white flour and one teaspoon of salt.  Stir well.  Add another 2-3 cups of flour, until dough pulls away from side of bowl.  Turn out on floured counter, and knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour as necessary.  Cover in greased bowl, let rise until double.  Punch down.  Divide in two, roll out and place on greased pizza pans.  Add sauce, cheese and toppings.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.

And here's my recipe:

Pizza Dough #2

Add 2 tablespoons yeast to two cups very warm water with 2 tablespoons sugar dissolved in it.  Let sit for five minutes, until yeast is activated.  Add 2 cups of white flour, a healthy glug of canola or olive oil (roughly 1/4 cup, I never measure) and 1 teaspoon of salt.  Stir well.  Add another 2-3 cups of flour, until dough pulls away from side of bowl.  Turn out on floured counter, and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour as necessary.  Cover in greased bowl, and let rise until double.  Punch down dough, divide in four equal pieces.  Roll out and place on four greased pizza pans that have been sprinkled with fine cornmeal.  Add sauce, cheese and toppings, and bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. 

This recipe originally makes 2 crusts, they are very high and fluffy.  My family likes a thin crust, so I divide it into four pieces.  Adding the oil and extra sugar improves the texture and flavor, in my opinion.  I like the little bit of crunch the cornmeal on the pan adds, but I try to use as fine a cornmeal as I can find. 

World's Greatest Apple Pie

This is a recipe I wrote down in my little red book in 1990.  The name World's Greatest came with the recipe, I make no particular claims here.  I can't even remember where I got the recipe!  I can tell you I have made this many many times, and it always turns out beautifully.

World's Greatest Apple Pie

2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
2 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons water
1 egg yolk

Sift flour into medium sized bowl.  Add baking powder and salt.  Toss lightly.  Add shortening, mixing until shortening forms small balls.  Combine milk and water in small bowl.  Add egg yolk.  Combine with shortening mixture.  Toss lightly until thoroughly mixed.  Let stand for 5 minutes at room temperature.  Remove from bowl; knead until together.  Divide in half.  Roll out pastry; line 9-inch pie plate with 1 portion.  Reserve remaining for top crust.

Filling:

6 cups tart apples
sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of salt

Pare apples and slice thin.  Combine 3/4 to 1 cup sugar, flour, spices and salt.  Mix with apples.  Pour into pastry shell.  Dot with butter.  Place reamining pastry on top, fluting edges.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees farenheit for 55-60 minutes or until apples are done.

Enjoy!

Grandma's Taco Salad

Grandma Judy's Taco Salad

This is a recipe from Scott's mum, Judy.  She's a great cook, and I've learned so much from her over the years!  Isn't she cute?  I love this picture!

When Scott was born, the family MacIntyre was living in California, where they were introduced to all sorts of American things, like...taco salad.  This recipe is very flexible, so bear with me on the amounts.  Once again, it's one of those guesstimate recipes.

Brown 1 lb. ground beef, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Drain and set aside.  In a large salad bowl, shred one head of iceburg lettuce.  Add about a cup of grated cheddar cheese, one can of drained and rinsed kidney beans, two chopped tomatoes, and a diced onion, if you like.  In a small bowl mix about a cup of Miracle Whip salad dressing with a generous squeeze of ketchup.  Add enough ketchup so it's the color of thousand island dressing.  Or use thousand island dressing, actually!  Toss the meat in with the salad, add the salad dressing and mix it up.  If you have to make a little more dressing, do so, you want everything coated really good.  Then take a big bag of Doritos, smash it up, and mix it in with the salad.  That's it, you're done, enjoy!

Beef on a Bun

Beef on a bun is a really easy weekday dinner, and is also great for company or a potluck dinner, too.  You need a lot of time to make it, because the beef has to be cooked low and slow. 

You'll need:

a beef roast, whatever size or cut you like (this is a pot roast type cooking method, so use a cheap cut.  I use inside round roast.)
a roasting pan
seasoning (I use salt, pepper and garlic powder)

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees farenheit.  Season your roast with salt, pepper and garlic powder, and be generous!  When the oven is preheated, place the roast, uncovered, in the oven for half an hour.  When the half hour is up, turn the oven down to 300 degrees, add a cup of water or stock to the pan, and slap the lid on.  Walk away for several hours, depending on the size of the roast.  I made a small roast today, and let it cook for 3 1/2 hours.  The roast will shrink in size, be very brown, with lots of juices in the pan.  The roast should shred when you poke at it with a fork.

Take the roast out of the pan, place it on a rack and loosely cover it with foil for 20 minutes.  During this time, skim the fat off the pan juices, place the pan on the stove top on medium heat, and when it is bubbly, add a slurry made of flour and water to thicken the juices.  Shred the meat with two forks, and add to the pan.  If you want to add half the meat to another pot with barbecue suace, now's the time.  When the meat is heated through, serve on a bun with your favorite sides.

You can adapt this recipe to use with a crock pot as well.  I prefer the oven, though.

Sweet-Spicy Glazed Salmon

So.  Let me tell you about the things I ate in this last week.  Thursday night Scott and I went to Taste of Edmonton with our friends, JR and Kathy.  We ate a lot of wonderful food, including ginger beef, lemon chicken, crab/cream cheese stuffed deep fried wontons, bison sliders, vegetable tempura, montreal smoked meat sandwich, chocolate filled crepes and molten lava cake with raspberry sorbet.  (Taste of Edmonton is a tasting fair put on by local restaurants.  You buy tickets and get a little plate of food at the different vendors.  We shared the above mentioned dishes, it wasn't a total pig out.  Okay, it was, but it could have been worse...)  Then we took the kids to Capital Ex on Saturday.  We ate poutine, subs, and mini donuts.  Monday was Heritage Day, so we went out to dinner as a family.  I had yam fries with chipotle sauce and a California Chicken Burger With Provolone Cheese, Guacamole, and Applewood Smoked Bacon.  (That's in capital letters for a reason, because it was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had.  Sarah had the same thing, and ate very slowly and was sad when the last bite arrived.)  Oh yeah, we had pizza on Friday night as well.  All this is to explain why I gained 2 pounds this weekend, when I agreed to a plan to lose 8 kg in 8 weeks (Sorry, Sammy, I let you down this week!) { It's not my fault (yes it is), it's festival season in Edmonton, and I have willpower issues.}  There's my confession, I ate a zillion calories in four days.  Sigh.

Which is why my recipe for the week is for salmon.  I'm back on the bandwagon people, I have a commitment to keep!  I made this recipe last night for the first time, and it turned out really well.  It's from the Cooking Light - the Essential Dinner Tonight Cookbook.  You can find it on page 175.  

Sweet-Spicy Glazed Salmon

3 tablespoons brown sugar
4 teaspoons chinese-style hot mustard (you can substitute 1 tsp dry mustard instead)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
4 6 ounce salmon fillets
cooking spray
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit.  Combine first 4 ingredients in a saucepan' bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Place fillets on a foil lined pan coated with cooking spray.  Sprinkle fillets evenly with salt and pepper.  Bake for 12 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Preheat broiler.  Brush sugar mixture over fillets;  broil 3 inches from heat 3 minutes or unitl fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.  

Yum!

Puffed Wheat Squares

I know in most parts of North America, there's been a big heat wave.  However, I live in NORTH America.  No heat wave here, people.  In fact, I just came back from a Relief Society social, and one friend put on a second coat.  Over her first coat.  That's right, two coats.  I was wearing long jeans and a thick cable knit sweater, and I was chilly and had goose bumps.  That's right, goose bumps. 

Anyway, for the rest of you who are actually experiencing summer, I have another no bake cookie recipe.  This is for Puffed Wheat Squares, which I have never had anywhere else but Alberta.  I'm not sure where I got this recipe, it's just one of those things everyone knows how to make, like Rice Krispy Squares.  The kids like it a lot, and it makes a really great lunch box treat as well.

Puffed Wheat Squares:

1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 cups puffed wheat

Combine first five ingredients in medium saucepan.  Stir continually on medium heat until it comes to a boil.  Pour over puffed wheat in large bowl, mix together until all the puffed wheat is coated.  Pour into greased 9x13 pan, pressing down very firmly.  Chill for 2 hours and cut into squares. 

Rhubarb Strawberry Pie

I made four of these pies last Wednesday, and delivered three of them to neighbors.  Then, on Sunday, people asked for the recipe.  So here it is!

I got this recipe off the website Allrecipes.com. 

Here's the link:

Rhubarb and Strawberry Pie

Enjoy!

Italian Spaghetti Sauce With Meatballs

This is a great recipe for the family, and it freezes well!  I can't quote my sources on this one, it is written on a recipe card in my file box, with no name or source written on it.  If anyone knows where it comes from, let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.  I've been making it for a few years now, and you can either serve it over pasta, or use it to make an amazing meatball sub, which is what Justin prefers.  Just put the meatballs and sauce on a good sub bun, top with mozzarella cheese, and broil in the oven until the cheese does it's cheesy thing.


Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs:

Meatballs:

1 pound ground beef
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg, beaten

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients; mix well and form into meatballs.  Store, covered in refrigerator until needed. 

Sauce:

3/4 cup chopped onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cans crushed tomato
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 bay leaf
1 can tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in oil.  Stir in remaining ingredients, simmer for 90 minutes.  Add meatballs for last 30 minutes.

*  I don't refrigerate the meatballs and cook them in the sauce, because sometimes I like to serve the sauce over the meatballs.  So, I cook the meatballs on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F.  Then, either add the meatballs directly to the sauce, or spoon the cooked sauce over the meatballs.  Whatever floats your boat.  This recipe freezes well, by the way, and you can double it if you want to make a batch for dinner, and a batch to freeze for another day.  Justin suggested that the next time I make it as a sub, to brush the sub with garlic butter and broil it first, then add the meatballs, sauce and cheese and return to the oven to broil it again.  Sounds yummy, I think I'll try it next time. 

Strawberry Shortcake - a polite discussion

So, I have these big aspirations every week to take beautiful, stylish pictures of the recipes I post. I live in a house full of locusts, however, so when I turn around, the yummy food has been inhaled. I've decided I'm going to take pictures of the empty plates from now on, starting next week. I'll never be known for my foodie photos, sigh.

Yesterday my husband had a craving for strawberry shortcake his way. There has often been a debate over this dessert in our house, and in our in-laws house as well. Scott and his dad are in the yellow shortcake shells you buy at the grocery store camp, and his mum and I are in the homemade shortcake camp. Homemade shortcake is more like a tea biscuit, yum! Those yellow shells are more in the dry as the desert tasteless style, blech! But I'm not partial.

There are, of course, more options available. I recently helped out at a wedding where the strawberry shortcake served was made using a beautiful white cake, it was delish. My mother likes to serve her strawberries and cream over pound cake, which is great, especially if it's lemon pound cake. I have also served it with angel food cake, which is what Scott makes for my birthday every year, thanks honey!

Let me know what your shortcake preferences are, inquiring minds want to know. Maybe I'm the only one who feels so strongly about a simple summer dessert, though!

Strawberry Shortcake the right way

6 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1 beaten egg
2/3 cup milk
Whipped cream

Stir together berries and 1/4 cup of sugar, set aside. Stir together remaining sugar, flour and baking powder. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine egg and milk, add all at once to dry ingredients. Stir just to moisten. Spread in a greased round cake pan. Bake in a 450 degree F oven for 15-18 minutes, or until tests done. Cool in pan 10 minutes, remove from pan, split into two layers. Spoon the fruit and cream between layers and over the top. Serve immediately. Serves 8.

This recipe comes from Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook.

Use frozen butter and grate it to save time and make the shortcake flaky. for individual shortcakes, roll outnand cut with round biscuit cutter, bake for 10-12 minutes.

This recipe approved by Judy and Jennifer MacIntyre, who are right.