Chicken Rice Pie

2 c. cooked rice

1/3 c. butter, melted

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 tbs. flour

1 c. milk

2 c. diced cooked chicken

2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

3 tbs. dry bread crumbs

Combine rice, 2 tbs butter, half fo the salt and half of the pepper and mix well. Press into deep pie plate to form shell and set aside. Melt 2 tbs. butter, stir flour and cook until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk until thickened and smooth. Season with remaining salt and pepper. Stir in chicken, tomatoes, celery and green pepper. Pour into rice shell. Mix bread crumbs with remaining melted butter and sprinkle over pie. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serves 6.

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

1 tbs. butter

1/2 c. chopped onion

2 large carrots

2 stalks celery

1 tbs. dried chives

1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper

1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

1 tsp. Mrs. Dash Italian Seasoning

1/4 c. flour

6 c. chicken broth

1 1/2c. evaporated skim milk

1/2 pre-roasted chicken from the deli

3/4 c. basmati or white rice

2 tbs. beef gravy thickener blended with a small amount of water

the night before....

Microwave butter in a small cup for 5 seconds.

Dice onion, peel and cut carrots and slice celery. Place in the inside pot of slow cooker. Pour the melted butter over top and stir to coat. Stir in spices and flour.

Gradually add chicken brother stirring constantly to avoid lumping. Add canned milk.

Remove meat from 1/2 a roasted chicken. Cut into bite size chunks and add to slow cooker. Stir, cover and stor in fridge overnight.

in the morning...

Return center pot with cover to the outer liner of slow cooker and set on low heat.

when you arrive home...

Toss in rice and stir well. Set timer for 20 minutes.

If the sauce needs a little thickening, combine a small amount of powdered gravy thickener blended with water and stir in.

Serve with buns.

Notes: This recipe is from Cooking for the Rushed The Healthy Family. I made this recipe all in one day for dinner one night. It is a very tasty and filling recipe. I've made this recipe a couple of times and will definitely make it again.

Review: The Spice Depot

I must admit I'm not a big spice person, I go through phases with spices and what I like. I went through my garlic powder, onion powder and seasoning salt phase about five years ago, now I'm more about experimenting with different spices to get different and more exotic flavours. I've been stuck in the Italian seasoning rut for awhile now so these new blends come as a nice surprise to my palate.

The first night I tried the Salad seasoning in some roasted veggies that I made. I make them quite often actually and the blend added a very nice and flavorful addition but I probably didn't add enough of it. Because the next time it was used my husband added it to some scrambled eggs and there was a definite and delightful zing to the eggs. I can't wait to have it again.

The very night I got the spices I got some pork ribs to try. I love ribs but I find them hard to prepare because I never know what to put on them or how to make a rub or sauce. So after I had boiled the heck out of them I coated them with butter and then put the Smoky Rib blend on them. I tried them when they first came out of the oven and they were a little bland but after they had sat for about 15 minutes and we were sitting down to eat at the table I was pleasantly surprise by the wonderful smoky flavor that burst in my mouth. Even the kids enjoyed them and they are hard to please.

Spicy chicken was also used another night on a roast chicken. I just sprinkled it on the skin and roasted like I normally do. Doing it this way doesn't usually get any flavor in the meat and it just goes in the gravy but I again was surprised because the flavor went through the skin and into the meat. I was a very nice touch to an ordinary meal.

I'll admit I have more experimenting to do with the blends and I will keep on trying because I really enjoyed them and will definitely be looking for new flavors to try in the grocery store. A nice touch to these blends is that each one comes with it's own built in grinder and just a few turns gives each meal a wonderful taste and presentation.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

12 servings
1 bread
13 min 10 min prep

1 cup water, plus
1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon shortening
1 1/2 teaspoons shortening
1 tablespoon dry milk
1 teaspoon fast rising yeast
Select whole wheat or basic/white setting, and medium crust.
Remove baked bread from machine and cool on wire rack.

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. cocoa

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 c. soft butter

2 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp. grated orange rind

2 c. coard grated zucchini

1/2 c. milk

Combine first 6 ingredients in bowl; set aside. Combine butter and suagar in bowl. Beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to mix well. Stir in vanilla, orange rind and zucchini. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk to butter mixture; mix well between each addition. Pour batter into greased and floured tube pan or bundt pan. Bake 50 to 60 minutes at 350°F. Cool 5 minutes on rake. Remove from pan, cool completely. Dust with icing sugar.

Notes: This recipe does call for 1 cup of nuts which I omit because of allergies. This recipe is awesome and turns out so nice. It has a little bit of a crunchy crust and then once I stored it for a bit it was so moist and good. It's a wonderfully nice chocolate cake.

Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary!!!

Yesterday was my BBF's wedding anniversary, 4 years I think. I made this but haven't given it to her and her hubby yet. I was going to tell her to pick it up on her way home from work but she wasn't in when I was in there, wasn't done at that time anyway because I was going to finish after the kids were in bed. But I ended up in bed pretty early last night anyway.

It was my first try at the basket weave but I think it looks alright. So H, you'll have to pick it up later on your way home, I'll keep it in the fridge until then. Love you, hope you had a wonderful night!

Pork Chops with Peaches

I've made this recipe twice now and I really liked it a lot. Seen here with some fresh green beans from the garden.

Pork Chops with Peaches

4 pork chops
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. ginger
1 large onion, sliced
1 cup water
2 tbs. soya sauce
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1 tbs. cornstarch, dissolved in cold water
2 fresh peaches, peeled & sliced

Brown pork chops in hot pan. Sprinkle sugar and ginger over chops, top with onion slices and cover with water, soya sauce and vinegar. Cover tightly and simmer for 35 minutes, turning chops once. Thicken sauce with cornstarch mixture, add peaches and heat until warm.

Serves 4.

This is from my The Complete Harrowsmith Cookbook. It was really very good, I bought a bunch of peaches and was trying to find ways to use them up. It was tastey and I did have a lot of sauce left over but I only cooked 3 chops.

Bailey's Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Serving Size : 12

-----CRUST-----

1 tbs. butter

2 cups Graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Butter -- melted

-----FILLING-----

2 1/4 (36oz) pounds Cream cheese -- room temp.

1 2/3 cups Sugar

5 Eggs -- room temperature

1 cup Bailey's Irish Cream

1 tablespoon Vanilla extract

1 cup Semisweet chocolate chips

-----Garnish-----

1 cup Chilled whipping cream

1 tablespoons Confectioner's Sugar

1 to 2oz. semisweet chocolate

For Crust: Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat a 10 inch springform pan with 1 Tbs Butter. Combine crumbs and sugar in pan. Stir in butter. Press mixture i nto bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Bake until light brown, usually about 7 minutes. Maintain oven temperature at 325°F.

For Filling: Beat cream cheese until smooth with and electric mixer. Gradually add sugar, then eggs one at a time, then Bailey's and finally the vanilla. Sprinkle half of the chocolate chips over crust. Spoon in filling. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake until cake is puffed, springy in the center and golden brown, about 1 hour & 20 minutes. Cool cake completely in refrigerator.

For Cream: Beat cream, sugar powder until peaks form. Spread mixture over cooled cake. Garnish with chocolate curls.

Notes: I used 5 250kg packages of Cream cheese. I actually melted chocolate and make the chocolate curls. I made this cheese cake for a fundraiser and it didn't even make it to the table. I'm very proud.

Mother's Day Cake

I made a cake for Mother's Day. My mom was having a party. So I made cake with French Vanilla Cake mix and Buttercream frosting.

1/2 cup butter

3 cups icing cugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2-3 tbs. milk

Cream all together until a nice smooth consistency.

I did this but the peach color I made very airy somehow, too much milk I think and it didn't go on the cake very well and then when I was making little flowers the icing was getting mushy from the heat from my hands, so I was doing a lot of fridge breaks. I tried my had at the top flowers for the first time ever, I definitely have to work with cooler icing to do that part. I also love the Wilton icing colors. I used 3 of the pastel colors.

I also need to practice with my new cake decoating tips I got at a yard sale. I got about 70 tips, some of them are doubles and some are no name brand but there were 3 nails and half dozen coupers so I'm pretty satisfied for the $20 I spent. Now I need to make a list of which tips I have, so I don't buy doubles if I do buy any in the future and figure out what designs they are. I'll have to go to the Wilton site and print what each looks like or something. It was a pretty simple cake but I used some instructions online to make is stable using dowelings and cardboard under each cake. I'm pretty happy with it, keep in mind I feel asleep the night I was going to work on it after the kids were in bed so I started first thing in the morning baking the top and bottom and then decorating with three children in my ear all day and bothering me. They seem to all get so needy when I want to do something. So maybe next time I'll do a better job of icing. I found the blue icing I made a lot nicer in consistency and nicer to work with and I feel it went on much better than the peach.

So here it is.

Asparagus Fettuccine

4 oz. uncooked fettuccine
1/2 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 garclic clove
1 tbs butter
2 oz cream cheese, cubed
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp lemion juice
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet saute the asparagus, onion and garlic in butter until tender.

Add the remaining ingredients. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is blended. Drain fettuccine; toss with asparagus mixture. Yield: 2 servings.

Notes: I cooked this one following the ingredients exactly, except i had no lemon rind. It was very tasty, I'm sure to make this again. The asparagus was not overpowering as I usually find it. Both this and the last recipe where from Home Cooking magazine.

Crab Stuffed Portobellos

(Sorry this was the best picture I got of it.)

2 portobello mushrooms, (5 oz each)

2 tbs olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 can (6 oz) crabmeat, drained, flaekd and cartilage removed

5 tsp. mayonnaise

2 roasted sweet red pepper halves, drained

2 slices provolone cheese

Remove and discard stems from muchrooms. Place caps on a greased baking sheet. Place caps on a greased baking sheet. Combine oil and garlic; brush over mushrooms. Broil 4-6 inches from the heat for 4-5 minutes or until tender.

In a small bowl, combine crab and mayonnaise. Place a red pepper half on each mushroom; top with crab mixture. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Top with cheese; broil 1-2 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 2 servings.

Notes: There is a reason for the roasted red pepper, I used fresh pepper and it was not tender at the end. I used shredded parmesan instead of provolone, I'm chicken when it comes to cheese I stay with the may 4 usually, cheddar, mozza, parmesona and havarti. I put the cheese on a step too soon but it was a nice crunchy cheese after it was all done. The whole thing was really good and I plan on making it again.

Pineapple Banana Bread

1 cup b utter, softened
2 2/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup honey
3 eggs
1 tbs. vanilla
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 (20oz) can crushed pineapple
4 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 3 (8 x 5 x 3 inch)large loaf pans.
In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar and honey; beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in banana and pineapple. Stir in flour, walnuts, cinnamon , baking soda and salt until moistened. Pour into prepared loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cook 10 minutes. Remove from psn. Makes 3 loaves.

I got this one from Sept/Oct 2005 isuse of Home Cooking, I went looking through my old mags for some banana recipes being sick of the current recipes I use.I've had a lot of bananas to use up lately so wanted something different and this one looked interesting.

I didn't have a 20 oz can of pineapple so I used a 14 oz and it worked great! I can't imagine how much moister this loaf would be if I used more. It's got great flavor and texture. I of course did not sure the walnuts and it didn't take away from the recipe at all. This is a 5 star recipe in my eyes.

Strawberry-rhubarb Frenchtoast

1 loaf of french bread (cut into 1.5 inche thick pieces)
1 cup frozen rhubarb
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 tbs sugar
5 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Mix frozen fruit together and add sugar.
Cut the bread pieces then cut a 2 inch long pocket into the bottom of bread.
Drain thawed fruit and spoon fruit into the pocket.
Spray a 13 x 9 inch glass dish.
Lay stuffed bread in the dishes.
Mixed up the eggs with cinnamon and vanilla and pour over bread, flipping the bread once.
Let sit for a few hours or overnight in the fridge.
Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes or until a golden brown.
Serve with leftover fruit and whipped cream or maple syrup.

Food meme from Jen.

1. What are your favorite types of food? Are they foods you grew up with? Any specific cultures you tend to cook the most?

We grew up on the standard food, three course meals starch, veggie and meat. One of my favorites to this day is shake and bake pork chops with mashed potatoes and corn or peas. But I use rice now and growing up my dad never ate rice because my gramps never ate it. I love rice myself and have it most nights. I also loved Sunday night roast with gravy, mashed potatoes, peas and yorkshire pudding. Summers when my nana used to visit were filled with sweets. We used to have a bakery two doors down and we get sent often to pick out an after dinner treat. My dad is English to food was pretty plain growing up.

2. Describe your fall-back dish when you don't feel like cooking (no take out!).

Something easy like hamburger hot dish, just fried up hamburger with whatever veggies I feel like mixed with eithe rice or kraft dinner and cream of mushroom soup. Or what we've been doing lately is haveing fish and chips or rice more often.

3. Could you create a foodie Haiku or poem? Would you care to share with us?

I make up many creations in my kitchen.
No one but me is aloud in my kitchen.

From chili to pepper steak, baked goods and stove tops.
I always follow a recipe in my kitchen.

My kitchen aid, my blender, my spoons and cups.
I have many a help in my kitchen.

Measure and pour, measure and pour.
I teach my kids many a thing in my kitchen

Clean up is a big part of cooking or baking.
I don't do it though, I leave it to my husband in my kitchen.


4. What is your favorite holiday food-wise? What do you typically eat during that holiday?

We usually have one big meal during the holidays be it New Years, Easter or Christmas. It's usually a big turkey or ham meal. Lately my parents have been going for prime rib. Christmas morning hubby and I have started a Bruch tradition where we invite his family and mine. It's a big breaksfast of egges, meats, pancakes or french toast, hashbrowns, toast. I also do a lot of baking during the Christmas holidays.

5. If you could find one recipe that would satisfy your palate for the rest of your life, what would it be and why did you choose that one recipe?

The first two things that pop into my head are Sausage, onion and peppers with mashed pototoes and hot chicken salad which has lot's of veggies and protein. Not sure if I can pick just one. Though.

Steak

Hubby has been cooking a lot lately. His newest concoction is awesome.

Cut up some steak into strips, saute some minced garlic and italian herbs in olive oil. Add meat, sliced onions, some soya sauce. About five minutes before done add some green onions. This dish is so yummy I can't get enough! Serve over rice.

Food Pleasures

My friend over at Pie is the New Toast had a little post I wanted to copy. Name five guilty food pleasures. It seemed like a good idea, so here is mine.

1. Cheesecake - nothing beats the creamy and decadent goodness of cheesecake. Whatever flavor, I love it!

2. Poutine - cheese and gravy, who could resist.

3. Pizza - I love the cheesy goodness of Hawaiin or Deluxe pizzas with everything on them.

4. Steak - Nothing beats a steak made by my hubby, just he right amout of garlic and herbs and served with maccaroni or potato salad and it's to die for.

5. Cake - Preferrably double layered chocolate with chocolate frosting. It's decadent but good. Very sweet and nurishing for the soul.

New Lunch Box

for SmartGuy

My oldest spends his lunches at school and we've been using lunch bags but going through plastic bags, aluminum foil or wax paper seems bad.

I've been frequently checking this site. Vegan Lunch Box for lunch ideas or just to see what she has made recently.

I'm trying to change our children's eating habits, I'm guilty of giving into the sweet pleasures of food and by that I do a lot of baking. I'm also a bad example of eating habits. I grew up as part of the 'empty plate' club. A curse that I have not passed on to my kids thank goodness. I don't make them eat everything if they don't want to. I do make sure they have at least two bite of everything, so they at least have tried something.

My oldest, SmartGuy is pretty good for the most part in his eating habits but he's got a sweet and salty tooth, both from me and his dad. He absolutely loathes mashed potatoes and gags when he takes even the smallest bit.

My youngest, Hudini, is an eater like mom, he likes savoury food with lot's of flavor. Usually the comfort food variety and not so healthy for you. The only veggies he eats are carrots and cauliflower and the only fruit he likes is apples, oranges and bananas.

So now that I'm back on the road to healthy eating, we are going to be changing or tweaking our eating habits. Not so fast or convenient.

I ordered the lunch box above from Lunchboxes and ordered the Bento Box. I've seen this box in a few places and figured it would be a perfect way to pack lunches for my son, save money by not using consumables so much and finding new ways to pass on good eating habits to my son. So this is what I packed this morning for his lunch.

Just simple rice with soya sauce, cut up veggies (carrots, snap peas & broccoli), a few cubes of cheese, creamy cucumber dip, bananas and grapes and some honey tebby bear grahams and mini marshmallows. I will add that he rarely gets a treat like the last mention in his lunches.

So I'm hoping in the future I'll have some more healthy recipes to share. Once I'm past this postpartum stuff and back to my old self because frankly lately I haven't felt like cooking or baking.

Classic Apple Pie

I'm making this recipe right now except I'm using my own pastry. I'll let you know how it turns out and post a picture later. It's from recipezaar.com

Classic Apple Pie Recipe #2537
Use your favourite apple variety, just make a note to alter the amount of sugar based upon the sweetness of the apples used!
by Dancer^
6-8 servings
1½ hours 35 min prep
7 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemons, rind of, finely grated
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Pastry for double crust pie
2 cups flour
2/3 cup lard or butter or shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
cold water
Pastry for double crust pie-------------
Combine flour, lard and salt with a pastry blender or fork until balls are the size of a large pea.
Add cold water by the spoonful and blend until the bowl starts to clean itself as you work the dough.
Then it is ready for rolling.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Combine sliced apples with sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon rind.
Line pie plate with unbaked pie crust, trim pastry, crimp to edge of pie plate. Fill pie crust with apple mixture and dot with softened butter.
Brush crust edge with water and place pie crust top on top of pie, crimp to the bottom crust. Make some slits in the top crust for steam to escape. Bake for 10 minutes.
Turn oven down to 350 degrees F and bake for 45 minutes longer.

White Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1 egg
1 tbs. brandy
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. white chocolate
1 c. dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease cookie sheets
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in teh egg and brandy. Combine the flour and baking soda; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the white chocolate chips and cranberries. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 -10 minutes in prepared oven. For best results, take them out while still doughy. Let them cool on sheet for 1 minute before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Notes: Vanilla can substituted for the brandy. Other chips can be used in this recipe. I made this one at Christmas and forgot to get a picture but they were sure yummy and soft. I also tried them last week with only chocolate chips and they were good. I think I found a new recipe I will use often. I came in a newsletter so I'm not sure who to give credit to because it doesn't say where it came from.