Pineapple Ham

I absolutely love having dinners that you make and put in the oven for a while, it enables me to have the kitchen completely cleaned before we even sit down to eat. They do however take a little longer and have to be done on nights that we have more time.

For the ham you will need a ham and a can of pineapples. I usually would take pineapple slices but I had chunks that I had bought for something else that I never ended up making, so I used those.

Slice the ham the way you like it. I like mine not too thick, I find it more flavourful. I used a 750gr ham and used half of it. The other half went in the freezer. There was three of us for dinner and I had some left for my lunch.

Put the sliced ham in an oven proof dish and put the whole can of pineapple on top (juice and all). If it's slices you might want to arrange it all nice. Give it a little shake to disperse the juices.

Put in the oven at 350 or so for about half an hour. Mine doesn't look all esthetic because it's chunks.

I served my ham with scalloped potatoes, the recipe will follow shortly!

Cheesy bacon mini meatloaves

Oh my, it has definitely been a while, and I apologize. However, in the meantime I have tried many new recipes and some were successes and some, not so much. So you won't read about those, but here is one of my success, I made these when my in-laws were visiting, I didn't want to be slaving away in the kitchen all day just to have a good meal, I wanted to be able to enjoy my time with them so I made these make-ahead mini meatloaves.

Ingredients

2 eggs

1 cup milk

2 lb. (450 g) extra-lean ground beef

1 pkg. (120 g) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken

1 cup Shredded Cheese (in this case I had leftover jalapeno havarti)

1/2 cup BBQ Sauce (I had Kraft original on hand)

slices of bacon (I used 12 since I made 12 meatloaves)

Directions

Whisk egg and milk in large bowl until blended. Mix in all remaining ingredients except bacon. Shape into 1-inch-thick patties; wrap bacon slice around edge of each patty.

Wrap individually in plastic wrap; place in freezer-weight resealable plastic bag. Seal bag. Freeze up to 3 months. See I didn't plan that much ahead of time but I did put them in the freezer for about 6 hours, they were frozen through but they weren't flimsy either.

Heat oven to 375ºF. Unwrap frozen patties; place on rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 40 to 45 min. or until done (160ºF).
You could probably bake them right when you make them, I probably would put them in the oven for 30 minutes instead of 40 and see if they are cooked. These were delicious

I got 12 out of this recipe, which was great because we were only five and now I have more in the freezer, I think we'll eat those tonight!

I served them with garlic mash potatoes and a canadianized greek salad.

*recipe adapted from http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/make-ahead-cheesy-bacon-mini-130726.aspx

Twisted Mac and Cheese

Seeing as November is coming around and the weather is slowly changing, I was looking for comfort foods! Yummy! I love mac and cheese but I get tired of the normal one. So I found this recipe and I played with it a   little and it came out oh so good! And bonus, it's easy and fast.

Ingredients

Macaroni
Mushrooms (I used about two 8 oz container, but use as much or as little as you want)
2 tbsp butter
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
12 oz feta cheese
spices (I used rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper)
2 big cloves of garlic crushed (or as much as you want)
1 cup of 35% cream (I used my 1% milk and I added corn starch to thicken it)

Heat oven to 500.
While your noodles are cooking, melt the butter, I use my big Wok, and cook the mushrooms until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the spices and the garlic, cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the cream, bring a to simmer. (At this point if you have used milk you would add your corn starch, I usually mix mine with a little bit of water to make it more liquid and therefore it is distributed evenly in my dish). Add half the feta cheese and simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes.

In an oven proof dish, mix the sauce and the noodles together, top with remaining feta cheese. If you want to add more you could add some parmesan, It would be very good!  Put in the oven for 5 minutes, let is set for a minute or two and serve!

This picture is from my lunch the next day and it was just as tasty!

Enjoy!

Slow cooked steak sandwiches

I absolutely love my crockpot! And I love finding new recipes and trying them out. Recently I saw a recipe for Pizza steak sandwiches (http://eatathomecooks.com/2011/11/pizza-steak-sandwiches-in-the-slow-cooker.html) and I was inspired! Here is my version of slow cooked steak sandwiches!

Ingredients

Steak (whatever you cut you like)

a can (28 oz) of tomatoes (I took whole tomatoes with italian spices)

Mushrooms (you can put whatever veggies you like or have on hand, like peppers or whatever)

Salt 

Pepper

Oregano

Cheese

Buns of your choice (I used fresh cheese buns, that my husband had just picked up)

Put steak in slow cooker. 

Add tomatoes, I had to cut mine up in smaller pieces, or you could just use crushed ones, I just prefer that kind. 

Add mushrooms and spices of your choosing.

Cook. Since I knew I was going to be gone pretty long, and my slow cooker allows me to change the setting on my slow cooker, I put mine on for 5 hours on low and then warm the rest of the time until I got home! 

When you are ready to eat, cut up your bun in half if it is not precut, add a piece of cheese (whatever kind you like, cheddar, mozzarella and provolone would be good) and pull the steak apart (sort of like pulled pork) and put on top of cheese, close it up and enjoy!

My husband really enjoyed it and it will definitely be done again in our house. Don't be afraid to play it and add things that you like. 

Taco meatloaf with bacon and cheese potatoes

A few years back I was looking for meatloaf recipes and I came across this taco meatloaf one. Over the years I have modified it some, here is how I make mine! There is also a recipe for probably the best potatoes I have made in a while.

Ingredients
Ground beef (I use 1lb for my husband and I, two if I have people over)
One envelope of Taco seasoning (I get the PC brand, it's cheaper and very tasty. I also do not double this weather I use 1 or 2 lbs of beef)
One egg
A dozen crackers (I cumble them all, I have used cheese crackers, soda crackers, and bread crumbs too)
Salsa
Cheese (I have used processed cheese, mozarrella and cheddar before)

There are two ways to make these, I have done both, but I find that the first one holds together better (but I will put both)

Mix first 4 ingredients together and place in your meatloaf pan.
Bake at 375 for about 35 minutes.
Take out, pour a little bit of salsa and cheese on top and cook for another 10 minutes.
Enjoy!

*This is the second one, I find it breaks easily
Mix first 4 ingredients, place half of the mixture in your meatloaf pan put cheese slices, and palce remaining mixture.
Bake at 375 for about 35 minutes.
Take out, pour a little bit of salsa and cheese on top and cook for another 10 minutes.

*based on this recipe http://www.mealsmatter.org/recipes-meals/recipe/9180



Bacon and cheese potatoes

Ingredients
Potatoes (I used about three medium size each)
Bacon crumble
Cheese (I used mozzarella)
*green onions (optional) (I didn't have any so I didn't use them, but they would be good)

Slices potatoes thinly, melt butter and spread over the potatoes on both sides (I used a brush).

I cooked them at the same time as my meat loaf, and they were just perfectly crispy.

Top with bacon and cheese as soon as they come out of the oven.

Enjoy these two recipes together or separately

Chicken and Strawberry Spinach salad

I wanted to have something a little bit lighter and reminding me of the summer before we see some snow! I had left over fresh spinach from my skillet lasagna (I will tell you about this one in the next few days, I don't have enough time today) but anyway I didn't want it to go to waste.

You will need :
Fresh Spinach (I use baby spinach, or you could use anything else, like Romaine, whatever you like)
Strawberries (I suppose you could use raspberries or blueberries or whatever kind of berries)
Pecans (or any kind of nut, that just happened to be what I had from my left over for pecan pie, which I will also blog about another time)
Chicken
Berry Poppyseed dressing (I was looking for the raspberry but I couldn't find it, so I used the field berry one)
Cheese (goat cheese is really good or whatever you want)

Mix it all together and you have a very tasting salad that can be used as a side or as a main dish with chicken (like I did).

Enjoy!

Bacon and cheese impossible pie

Well it's been a little while and I promise I will try and update this blog every couple of days. I have a few recipes now that I have done in the past couple of weeks and haven't shared!
Who doesn't love quiche! Typically french, typically complicated, well here come the quick and easy impossible pie! Let me dwell on the name for a little while...why impossible, it is so easy that it should be called the I'm Possible Pie!(Okay I suck at jokes).

I love these 'cause you can make them be whatever you like, and it is so easy!

Anyway here is my recipe for my bacon and cheese impossible pie! Enjoy!

I use one of my pie bakeware  for this I find that it works perfectly and it cooks faster than a pie glass dish

Ingredients *this will make one impossible pie
4 eggs
1 cup of milk
1 cup of bisquick (you can make your own, but the one recipe I had found made a ton of it and you have to use it fairly quickly)
Bacon (I used pre-cooked crumble bacon that I got at a good price, but you could cook your own)
Cheese *or whatever else you want to put in these
*Spices of your choice



First heat up your oven at 375 F.
I then put a tiny little bit of butter or oil in my plate just to make it a little greasy and to avoid any sticking!
Mix well the eggs, the milk and the bisquick (you can put it in the blender if you don't want to stir)
In  the pie plate put the remaining ingredients and spices (as much as you like, I usually go for about two cups of whatever I am putting in, obviously only a pinch of spices)
Pour the egg mixture on top of your ingredients and do not mix!
Cook for about 35 minutes

Pumpkin scones

Fall is upon us! YAY! I love the Fall, I love the colours, the breezes, the fashion, pretty much everything about Fall. So the other morning I was up early (or what is early for me) since I changed my schedule at work and now have to be there by 7 (gasp...no I really love being home by  four every day and able to make delicious meals for my husband). Anyway, I decided to stop at starbucks and get a nice non fat Chai Latte, Yummy! That's when I saw them, the glorious pumpkin scones! I caved and took one, it was so good, which in turn made me decide to find a recipe! 

I found this recipe, I didn't change a thing, well actually if like me you think "oh there isn't much difference between parchment paper and waxed paper" There is! Wax paper will smoke out your house, so my pumpkin scones did not rise as I had to take them out halfway through if I didn't want to firemen to show up at my door (It was bad), but either way they were delicious! 

Scones Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
7 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 Tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 Tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg

Sugar Glaze Ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons whole milk

Spiced Glaze Ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch ginger
1 pinch ground cloves

Scones Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl.

4. With a fork, pastry knife, or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter remain. Set aside.

5. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk pumpkin, half and half, and egg.

6. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball.

7. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide).

8. Use a large knife to slice the dough into three equal portions. Cut diagonally to produce 6 triangular slices of dough.

9. Place on prepared baking sheet from step 2.

10. Bake for 14–16 minutes until scones turn light brown.

11. Place on wire rack to cool.

Sugar Glaze Directions:

1. Mix the powdered sugar and 2 Tablespoon milk together until smooth.

2. Brush glaze over the top of each cooled scone.

Spiced Glaze Directions:

1. As sugar glaze firms, combine the spiced icing ingredients.

2. Use whisk to drizzle over each scone and allow to dry before serving.

* http://www.momswhothink.com/bread-recipes/starbucks-pumpkin-scones-recipe.html

Easy Lamb Chops

Although I was not feeling good today (I think my coworker gave me her cold), this was on my menu today and I decided I wasn't going to let a little headache and a runny nose stop me from trying this recipe. 

Earlier this year we made a freezer order and for fun we ordered one pack of lamb chops, this week I decided I was going to try it! 

So I found this recipe on Food network's website. The only thing I changed (and I wouldn't change it next time) is that I forgot to buy fresh rosemary, so I used dry. It was good, but like I said with fresh rosemary it probably would be better. I also left for 3 minutes on each side and I probably would leave them a little longer, like 4 minutes maybe even 5 next time. I only had four chops but I didn't change the amounts at all. 

I served these with cucumbers and garlic mashed potatoes. I used the left over from the garlic butter I had made the other day for my cheesy garlic bread, and I always make it with milk (or cream if I have some on hand) to make them creamier.

All in all I think I wanted to try this to be able to impress my next guests, but I'm not sure. I think I know why we don't eat lamb (not only because when you think that you are eating a baby sheep is very sad) but I figured that we both are not big fans of the taste of lamb. 

So if you are gutsy, go ahead and try these!

Ingredients

16 small lamb chops (2 to 3 ounces each) 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (30 ml)

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped (30 ml)

1 teaspoon coarse salt (5 ml)

Sprig of rosemary for garnish

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix 1 tbsp. of olive oil, garlic, rosemary and salt. Place the lamb chops in the bowl and rub them until they are well coated in the rosemary garlic mixture.

Preheat oven on broil setting to 500 F. Grease a non-stick cookie sheet with remaining olive oil. Arrange lamb chops on the cookie sheet and place it on top rack under the broiler cook for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes on each side. Once cooked, take them out of the broiler, arrange them on a platter and garnish with a sprig of rosemary. Serve them while they are hot.

*http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Main/Lamb/recipe.html?dishid=5703

Baked Penne Bolognese

My husband loves going to East Side Mario's, free bread and salad, yay! Recently he discovered a new dish, Baked Penne Bolognese! I looked at the ingredients and I thought, hey I could do that, it sounds easy. So last night I decided to try it, and it was a success, my husband even said that it was better than the one's at East Side's!

So when I plan my menu for the week, I try to not have too many things go to waste, and I knew that I wouldn't use my whole can of spaghetti sauce that I had bought to make the lasagna in a cup.

You will need:

pasta of your choice (I would use small tubular pasta, like penne or macaroni or rotini like I did)
spaghetti sauce
alfredo sauce
mozzarella
ground beef (optional)
spices of your choice

So I started by boiling water for my pasta (I thought I had pennes, but I didn't, so I made Rotinis instead), I always add salt to my water, not to make it boil faster, as I think that's a myth but to add a little bit of taste to the pasta.

In the meantime I started cooking my ground beef in very small bits, I don't like chunks (to make bolognese you need meat, but I suppose you could make it vegetarian and forgo the meat). I then added the leftover of my spaghetti sauce, a bit of italian seasonings and then the jar of alfredo sauce (I usually make my own when I want to eat chicken alfredo, but for this I thought the texture of bought would be better and it would be faster). I let it warm up a little.

I then drained my pasta (I like to make my pasta al dente, so a little bit hard still, not too much, just a tad resistant).
I served them in onion soup bowls to make it unique and one serving a bowl. So I put the pasta in the bowls, a little bit of sauce, mixed it, and then a tiny little bit more sauce and then mozzarella cheese on top (to make it baked, but it could be done without). I put it in the oven for maybe 5 minutes at 400 F and then a couple minutes on broil to make it brown a little (this step should be done to your liking).

I served it with cheesy garlic bread (I didn't want to make ceasar salad two nights in a row). I always make my own garlic butter, I find it a waste of money to buy, for 4 slices of bread, I took about 2 Tbsp of butter and two normal size garlic cloves minced (I have a contraption from pampered chef to mince garlic).

And voilà, once again dinner in under 30 minutes! And the bonus is that it made so much sauce that I have enough for two more meals of that, I put them in the freezer!

Lasagna in a cup

I recently decided to join Pinterest after being reluctant because I didn't understand the concept. But my persistent sister-in-law told me to try it and to explore and that's what I did. I found this recipe on there and oh was it ever so good!

So I promise I will try and work on my presentation of this food, to make it look even more appetizing.

So these were so easy to make, it took about 30 minutes from the time I got off the couch to the time we sat down to eat! I tried two different styles since the recipe was not very clear as to how many wonton noodles to use. By the way, for all those that think that wonton noodles might be hard to find, think again! Most grocery stores carry them and they usually are in the fridges close to the produce section, usually with the salads in a bag.
Alright, so my two experiments were if I should put wonton, sauce, ricotta and mozarella to finish it off or just wonton and mozarella. After having tried both of those I prefer the wonton, sauce, ricotta and mozarella, it made it less crunchy, which I guess some people might like crunchy better. I also did not put any meat, to my husband's disappointment (he still liked it), but you could add ground beef or more veggies to the sauce. All in all it was a delish recipe that will definitely be made again in our house!

My friend came over last night and ate with us and she approved of them and even had a great idea, they could be made for a potluck since they are almost finger foods!

Ingredients:
marinara sauce (or whatever canned/homemade sauce you want, I used a can 'cause I was lazy)
ricotta cheese
mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
wonton wraps
Italian seasoning
ground beef/sausage (if desired)

Simply spray the cupcake pan with Pam & place one won ton wrap in each cup.  Next layer sauce & cheeses, then repeat.  Sprinkle with Italian seasonings & bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes & pop out with a knife. 
Depending on your appetite, figure 2-4 cups per person for a hearty dinner. (I had two and my husband had 5 served with Ceasar salad)

*this recipe was taken from http://www.catchingfireflies.com/blog/2012/06/mighty-tasty-mini-lasagnas/

Roasted beet and potato salad

So yesterday we had a potluck for a baby dedication at our church. I was told to bring a salad, but I couldn't decide on what to make, usually people bring potato salads or macaroni salads, but I like to make different things! Recently my husband's grandfather gave me two recipe books Taste-of-Home, and I found this recipe in one of them, which I slightly adapted.

Now I LOVE beets and this recipe was excellent, however here is what I changed, I didn't have any onions and I didn't feel like going out at 10pm Saturday night, plus I'm not s huge fan, so I omitted them. I also used vegetable broth, 'cause I ran out of chicken (which is what I usually use) and I forgot to replenish that item in my pantry. Also I think next time, I might try to cook the beets a little bit before hand (boiling them) because this way they were quite hard after only 35 minutes and I ended up leaving them there for about an hour and I thought they might have lost a bit of their taste, and the potatoes were well done (a little too mushy to my liking). Anyway this recipe was a success, definitely one I will make again, there was some left over and I was able to eat it for lunch too (the picture was from my lunch, it made a whole lot more) YUMM

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds small red potatoes, halved
• 2 medium red onions, cut into wedges
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-1/2 pounds fresh beets, peeled and cut into wedges
• 2/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions

• Place potatoes and onions in two 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt; drizzle with oil and toss to coat.
• Place beets in pans (do not stir). Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 35-40 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• For dressing, in a small saucepan, combine the broth, vinegar, brown sugar, thyme, pepper and remaining salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 1/3 cup.
• Transfer vegetables to a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 9 servings.

*adapted from http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Can-t-Be-Beet-Roasted-Potato-Salad

Welcome friends, over the years I like to believe I have become a pretty good cook, at least my husband thinks so, and really that's all that is important (lol). I have recently made a menu board to try and stay organize as fall and all its programs are starting up. After posting a few pictures on facebook, my friends were asking for different recipes of stuff that I have on there, so I thought, hey why not start a blog with some of my favorite recipes and also all the new ones that I am going to try (I love trying new stuff).

So here it is! Welcome to all of you and I hope you find inspiration from my experiences.