Pomegranate Chicken Soup

So many of us have a freezer full of turkey or chicken stock after the holidays...I use it in stirfrys, risottos and soups! Especially in the cold days of winter there is nothing better than a bowl of heartwarming soup. Rather than make a big pot of one soup, I freeze my stock in smaller containers so I can make a new soup every night or two.

My last soup was chicken with bok choy and pomegranate seeds! It was fantastic. The few ingredients means I can whip it up in no time at all. I just added left over chicken and freshly chopped bok choy to the stock and heated it up. When I dished it, I added a handful of pomegrante seeds. The bok choy is tender crisp and the seeds add a great bit of freshness and sweetness which plays well off my stock which is generally a bit spicy.

The green and red colours also make a great presentation. Try it. I bet you'll like it!

Newfoundland Dip

The Christmas party season means dips, dips and more dips. Here's one that might look a bit strange on paper but in your mouth it works perfectly! I don't have a picture because it was devoured before I had a chance!

Newfoundland Dip

Mix all of the ingredients below in medium bowl.

1/2 cup mayonaise or miracle whip

2 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp onion flakes

1/2 tsp curry

7 drops of tabasco sauce

Salt to taste.

Great with veggies especially celery, carrots and peppers.

Pine nut and Cranberry Granola

This is a great recipe that can be changed up to suit your mood - substitute different nuts, spices, or dried fruit depending on what's in your pantry!

From granola

Ingredients3.5 cups large flake oats
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cashews
1 cup pine nuts
3/4 sweetened shredded coconut
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon salt
1.5 tsp vanilla
1 cup craisins or other dried fruit

Directions
Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Mix oats, all nuts, coconut, cinnamon and brown sugar in a large bowl.
In another bowl stir together oil, honey, maple syrup, salt and vanilla.

Add oil mixture into dry ingedient bowl and mix until combined.
Spread mixture evenly over two large cookie sheets lined with parchment or silpats.

Put in oven and bake for about 65 - 75 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes to ensure even browning. Keep an eye on them during the last 15 minutes as they can go from brown to burnt quite quickly. Take out of oven and cool for ten minutes. Put granola in large bowl and add craisins. Mix. Once cooled place in air tight container. Enjoy on its own or with yogourt.

From granola

Deconstructed Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

From deconstructed peanut butter and banana

I have to admit one trend I have not enjoyed in the world of food is deconstruction!  I know, I know some say deconstruction isn't just about taking a dish apart but putting the pieces into a new form.  But really, if I want a salad, I don't want to have to cut up the head of lettuce myself, mix the dressing and make my own croutons...I'm paying for someone to make my dinner for me and serve it so all I have to do is eat it....otherwise I can stay at home. I'm sure there are amazing deconstructed dishes out there, it's just not my thing. And the new thing of deconstructed drinks!??! Don't get me started!

Anyhoo, I told you this because I am admitting that I made a deconstructed meal the other night. My 5 year old daughter is usually a good eater as long as it doesn't involve any form of a potato (not even a french fry!). But, of course, the one night I am beyond tired and slightly cranky she decides that she wants nothing to do with the meal we had planned.

From deconstructed peanut butter and banana

I decided to be nice and I offered to make her a pb and j sandwich for dinner instead ... she refused. Normally, that would have been my final offer figuring when she got hungry enough she'd come around but I decided to try a different tactic. I cut up a banana, melted some peanut butter in a small bowl, cut up a tortilla and added a toothpick... stuck it on a plate and offered up a "deconstructed peanut butter and banana sample platter"... I've learned that if I don't call it "dinner" my kids are more interested in it ... sometimes. I am proud to say it worked! The plate was wiped clean, there were no tantrums (from me or her), and bellies were full. I didn't cure a disease, find a lost civilization or write a best seller but I did get my daughter to eat a nutritious dinner... a success in my book!

Brown Sugar & Walnut Coffee Cake

Of all the baking I do, this is by far the most requested recipe. It is my Mom's recipe. It is the perfect coffee cake - not too cakey, but not dry. As my husband says, the cake is not so sweet or fluffy that it makes you feel guilty about having it for breakfast! The brown sugar topping that is scattered in the middle and the top is delicious and nutty. In all honesty, I often double the topping because you can't have too much of it! The icing drizzled on top adds the perfect extra sweetness to this amazing coffee cake.

From brown sugared coffee cake

From brown sugared coffee cake

From brown sugared coffee cake

From brown sugared coffee cake

From brown sugared coffee cake

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp melted butter
1/2 walnuts

Mix all of the above together and let stand.

Batter:
1/4 cup buttter
3/4 cup whte sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 egg slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1.5 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Icing:
1/4 cup commercially prepared icing

Cake:
Cream butter and sugar for three minutes.
Add egg and vanilla.
In another bowl sift or whick together flour, baking powder and salt.
Add sifted ingredients, alternately with milk (3 flour: 2 milk) and mix with each addition..
Put 1/2 batter into greased tube pan.
Add half of topping.
Add rest of batter.
Add rest of topping spreading evenly.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool cake 10 minutes, remove from pan and flip so topping side faces up.
Ice while still warm by microwaving it for 10 seconds and then drizzling over cake (I know commercially prepared icing will make some of you revolt but seriously after years of making this cake it is exactly what it needs).

Soft and Chewy Ginger Snaps or Is My Mother a Liar?

From Ginger Snaps

Is my mother a liar? That is the life altering question I am pondering tonight. You see my Mom makes the best ginger snaps I have ever had the pleasure of eating in my life. They are encrusted in a delicate sugar coating, and when my teeth sink into the body of the cookie they are met with a soft and yielding cookie that is sweet and spicy and full-bodied. I love these cookies.  But these cookies are at the root of the question tonight - is my mother a liar?

You see, I wanted to look into the history of the ginger snap so I googled it, of course. PS btw, what the heck did we do before the ability to google? I have a love/hate relationship with googling - but that will have to wait for another blogging day. Anyways, I googled "ginger snaps". The first definition I see is "traditionally, the cookies are very crispy, so that they make a snapping noise when they are bitten into." Now do you see the problem?? If not, read the first paragraph again! The cookie I have viewed as the quintessential ginger snap are SOFT!! There is no "snapping" noise! There is no sound except for a gutteral "mmmm" coming from somewhere within me! And if this is true, what other life shattering lies has my mom told me... am I not the most beautiful girl in the world?? Is it possible I don't need an extra ten pounds on my body just in case I get sick?? Is my singing voice not up there with Celine Dion's?? Could my mother possibly be deceiving me in these areas too?? Oh the horror of it all!

It's too much to deal with tonight. I have decided that somewhere in the world ginger snaps were named ginger snaps because they are snapped up as soon as they are baked! That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Most importantly, it means my Mom is not a liar and I don't have to lose 10lbs, stop singing or start saving for a face lift. Phew. And, in case you are interested, here is my mom's recipe for her amazing, aptly named Ginger Snaps... :)

From Ginger Snaps

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
2.5 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt

extra granulated sugar in bowl for dipping cookies

From Ginger Snaps

Method
1. Cream butter and 1 cup sugar well.
2. Beat in egg.
3. Mix in molasses.
4. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt.
5. Add to the creamed mixture and mix well.
6. Shape into 1 inch balls.
7. Roll in sugar and on baking sheet.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Kitchen Sink Stuffed Peppers

From stuffed peppers

Saturday night and the kids are fed and in bed by 6:30pm - whoop! That leaves a large and important question, "What are we having for dinner?" The answer: kitchen sink stuffed peppers. Yum!

No recipe tonight just a cleaning out of the fridge and throwing things in a pan. Ground beef, a white onion, a big leek, 4 cloves of minced garlic, a couple of teaspoons of freshly grated ginger, some chopped, rather limp carrots, frozen spinach, and spices including celery seed, curry powder, salt, pepper, cayenne, and thyme. All of this went into the pan and sauteed until done.

While that was going on, I also cooked up a pot of of basmati rice which went into the saute pan when done.

Three red peppers were cleaned and cut. For a topping, I mixed some feta cheese, a handful of walnuts, and some breadcrumbs together with three tablespoons of melted butter.

After a half an hour or so in the oven (375 degrees) it was dinner time! Happy Saturday to all and to all a goodnight!

From stuffed peppers