Meal Plan Monday

It's been a long while! I've still been reading, collecting and trying new recipes, I just haven't been updating the blog. I've missed it, but, well, life got hectic and something had to give, for a while. My at-home meal planning also fell off the wagon a bit over the last while (I'm a bit of an expert when it comes to meal planning for our camping trips...we recently got back from 10 days away and the only thing we ran out of was eggs, which I knew we would but also knew that there was a grocery store near to our campground), but at home, especially in the summer, I tend to slack off. With back-to-school, back-to-work and hockey season right around the corner, it's time to get into the routine again. I'm back to work for a week, so I figured no time like the present to start the plan. Be patient, I do still have a few weeks of holidays booked before we go back full-time, but this is a start! Here's our meal-plan for the upcoming week:

Monday - Taco Casserole (recipe coming soon...if it's a success!)

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - Grilled chicken, Caesar salad

Thursday - Butter chicken, jasmine rice & naan

Friday - Social gathering with friends...not sure what's on the menu yet!

Happy planning for the week!

Thanksgiving Eve Cocktails - Guest Post by Sara from Milwaukee Kitchen

Thanksgiving Eve Cocktail Ideas

I want to thank Dawn for this opportunity.  When Dawn first told me I could guest post on November 21, I thought, "hey, that is the biggest drinking night of the year!"  

Did you know that the night before Thanksgiving is indeed the biggest drinking night of the year?  It is even bigger than New Year's Eve!  Who knew?  So, I thought I would show you a few cocktail ideas to get you started!  It was really fun to test these!

So happy Thanksgiving Eve!  If you like what you see, please feel free to visit my blog, Milwaukee Kitchen!  Again, thank you Dawn.   

Buttery Professor

Whoa!  This goes down easy and is a buttery, coffee-flavored cocktail.  

1.5 oz butterscotch liqueur

1.5 oz Frangelico liqueur

3/4 oz Kahlua liqueur

3/4 oz Absolut Vanilia

3/4 oz heavy cream

Razzle Dazzle

This easy cocktail is a raspberry, fizzy treat. 

3/4 oz Chambord liqueur

3/4 oz Frangelico liqueur

1.5 oz Absolut Vanilia

1.5 oz white soda (we used 7-Up)

serve over ice

Brandy Alexander

adapted from torani.com

A traditional holiday treat.  Like a milkshake in a glass.  

1.5 oz brandy

1.5 oz creme de cacao

3/4 oz heavy cream

3/4 oz Torani caramel syrup

What is your favorite holiday cocktail?  Happy Thanksgiving!  Always be safe when drinking and find a designated driver!

Sara@Milwaukee Kitchen

Coconut Beef Curry - Slow Cooker Thursday

Hello friends! Welcome to this week's edition of Slow Cooker Thursday!  If you have missed my other slow cooker posts, you can check them out:

• Chicken Stew with Sweet Potatoes
• Beef Barley Soup
• French Canadian Split Pea Soup
• Remarkable Ratatouille

And, don't forget about the SLOW COOKER LINK PARTY that is running all month!  If you haven't had a chance to link up or check out some of the great slow cooker recipes, you can do so below!

Today we are giving another interesting flavour a try.  I found this recipe for Coconut Beef Curry in my Canada's Best Slow Cooker Recipes book.  I liked the idea of having the meat and vegetables all in one pot - like a stew but with different flavours.  Here is the recipe:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 lbs stewing beef
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons red curry paste or 1 tablespoon red curry powder
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
5 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces (original recipe called for a 1 lb bag baby carrots)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can (398 mL) coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
Chopped fresh cilantro

In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high.  Add the stewing beef and cook until browned on all sides, approximately 2-3 minutes.

Add in the onion, garlic, paprika, cumin, cinnamon and curry paste or powder.  Saute for approximately 2 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, transfer the mixture from the skillet into the slow cooker.

Add the potatoes and carrots to the slow cooker.

In a small bowl, combine the tomato paste, coconut milk, water and salt. Whisk to combine, mix well.  Add to your slow cooker.  Stir to combine the liquids with the saute mixture (Note - I needed to add a little milk to the mixture to ensure that the meat and veggies were more covered).

Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 4-6 hours.  Dish is done when the vegetables are tender and the stew is bubbling.  Serve over rice with cilantro sprinkled on top.

VERDICT
This was a tasty meal.  Not overly colorful, but still tasty.  We did feel that there might be a bit too much cumin (it was quite fragrant) but the taste was still really good.  We ate this for dinner for a few nights, and for a few lunches too!

Now is your chance to link up your SLOW COOKER RECIPES!  Thanks so much for helping me out :-)

Coconut Shrimp

Our oldest son is a HUGE shrimp fan.  Seriously, huge.  I am pretty sure if we served him a plate full of shrimp he would eat every single piece of it!  So, we try to have shrimp on a somewhat regular basis, especially when I can find sales :-)  Because we seem to be trying panko with a lot of things lately, I did a little search for a breaded shrimp recipe, and I found a Coconut Shrimp recipe over at Skinnytaste that sounded pretty appealing!  Here is the recipe:

24 large shrimp, peeled and devined
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup panko crumbs
1-2 tablespoons flour
1 large egg
Salt (to taste, likely just a pinch)
Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

In a bowl, combine the coconut, panko, and salt.

In a second bowl, place the flour.

In a third bowl, whisk the egg.

Line up your dishes in order: 1) Flour, 2) Egg, 3) Panko mixture, 4) Baking sheet.  Dip your shrimp in the flour, then egg, then panko, then place on the baking sheet.  Repeat this process until all the shrimp are done.  Lightly spray the shrimp with cooking spray.

Bake for 7 minutes on the middle rack, flip the shrimp, then bake for another 7-10 minutes, or until the shrimp are cooked.

We served ours with a sweet chili thai sauce.

VERDICT:
Shrimp are always a hit in our house, and we were "fighting" over the last ones on the tray.  These were great!  We enjoyed them as an appetizer on a hot day, eating out on our patio.  So very good!  A bit of work - so many shrimp to dredge and dip, but worth it!

Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #25

Hello everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope that you've been having a fantastic weekend!  We're away camping....always a good time! Except sadly there is a campfire ban in effect (as of Friday)...no roasted marshmallows for us.  That's OK...better safe and forest fire free!
It's that time again, time to get on with the party! Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #25 is now OPEN! Please come share your recipes, and come check out all the great recipes being shared!

Don't forget, all featured recipes will be shared on my blog, and on my Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages!

PS...have you heard?   It's my BIRTHDAY this week...and starting tomorrow I will be hosting 5 DAYS OF GIVEAWAYS to celebrate!  Be sure to come back and enter the draws!!

Polka Dot Cake

I'm always looking to learn fun new tricks when baking.  I know that I've got a long way to go to become good at decorating cakes (I think I need to take some classes!) but I figure I can still find other little ways to dress up cakes...on the inside!  I saw some pictures for "polka dot cakes" and did some reading on how to make them, and I came up with this way for my first go at making one!  Here is what I did:

2 white cake mixes, plus all the ingredients needed to make the cakes
Food colouring (your choice of colours)
Icing

Preheat oven according to box instruction.

Take your first cake mix and prepare the batter according to directions. 

Divide the batter evenly into the number of bowls that you are wanting colours for your polka dots.  I decided to make pink and purple polka dots, so I needed two bowls.  Add the food colouring to the batter until you reach your desired colour.  Pour batter into cake pans.

Bake the cakes according to the box directions.  Note - I always bake for less time than the box states, it may be due to elevation, but I just find they bake faster than the box guidelines.

Cool the cakes completely, then break each cake apart to make your cake balls.  I added a little bit of icing into each cake to help stick the cake balls together.  Form your cake balls, place them on a plate, cover and put them in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.  I left mine in the fridge overnight as I started the project around 9 pm!

Once the cake balls have chilled, prepare the second cake mix according to the box instructions.  Pour the batter into the cake pans (I used 9x9) and then place the cake balls in the batter.  Bake the cakes according to direction (again, I bake for less time than the box recommends).

Once the cakes are baked, cool completely, and ice them.  I made my own buttercream icing for this project.

Now...when you cut into that cake...what a nice surprise to find pops of colour!

VERDICT:
While cake balls a re a bit of work (one of those cake pop baking machines are tempting to try to speed up the baking process), it was fun to have the different dots of colour in the cake.  I made this cake as a little belated birthday cake for my Mom (they were away for her actual birthday), and it went over well, especially with our 5 year old, who usually only eats icing! (He ate the cake too, because of the polka dots). I will experiment again in the future with smaller cake balls, just to see the difference, and maybe use different baking pans, all for fun!

Homemade Hamburger Helper

Last month I wrote a guest post over at Everyday Mom's Meals.  Krista was so kind to host me as part of her Weekend Company series.  If you happened to miss my post, I wanted to share it with you here today!  Here it is:

----------

Today I had my LAST duty day of the school year at preschool.  I cannot believe that the school year is nearly OVER.  Where did that year go?  Our oldest will be starting KINDERGARTEN in September!  Didn't I just have him?  Seems like yesterday, not 5 years ago!

Today also happened to be a dreadfully dreary day.  We're caught in some wicked weather system that is dumping rain, rain, rain on us.  It was a homemade chicken noodle soup kind of day, but with my necessity to be at school, I didn't have the time to put it together.  So it became spaghetti night, or so I thought.

Once school was over, I had NO DESIRE to make spaghetti.  But what could I do with the ground beef that I had laid out?  Meatloaf? My boys would LOVE that...me, not so much.  What to do, what to do.  I thought about my Dad's "Hash" recipe (which essentially is a whole bunch of stuff hashed together...with a ground beef base and add in all the leftovers from the fridge) - but we are all out of leftovers.  So then I thought about Hamburger Helper.  I've seen it on TV many times, never tried making it on my own.  A quick little google search, read through some recipes, and found one to base dinner on.  The recipe I used was found at Food.com, and modified to include more vegetables.  Here is the recipe:

Homemade Hamburger Helper

1/2 lb ground beef
1 lb macaroni
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup green pepper, diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Cook the pasta according to the box directions.  Drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, cook the ground beef over medium in a large skillet.  Cook until the meat is browned.  Add in all the dry seasonings (including the flour) and stir until combined.

Add in the milk, tomato sauce and peas.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 minutes.

Add in the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, stir until melted.  Add in the macaroni, stir to combine.  Serve immediately.

VERDICT:
This was an absolute HIT.  Our five year old had THREE helpings.  And my husband loved it too.  he didn't want to share the leftovers for tomorrow's lunch, he wanted them all to himself. This could easily be a new go-to recpe for us in place of spaghetti!  Yay!!

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Asian Noodle Salad

Last week, I told you about the Spicy Charred Calamari that I made....this is the accompanying salad!

Asian Noodle Salad (Source: Chatelaine, June 2012)


Fine rice-vermicelli noodles
2 teaspoons lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

In a large bowl, cover noodles completely with boiling water.  Let stand, stirring regularly until the noodles are your desired tenderness, approximately 5-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, fish sauce and sugar.  This will be your dressing.

Drain your noodles and rinse in cold water (very important to do this!).  Squeeze the excess water from the noodles (also very important!).  Put the noodles back in the bowl, and add your dressing and cilantro.  Mix well.

Serve the noodles, top with the Spicy Charred Calamari, and enjoy!

VERDICT:
I really enjoyed the noodles, so nice, light and FRESH tasting.  We love cilantro (which is a GOOD thing since it is growing wild in our back yard this year!) so I am always happy to find recipes that call for cilantro (hint...when you make tacos, if you mix onion, lime and cilantro together, it makes the onions OH so so so good, we always have to have our taco onions prepared that way!).

Spicy Charred Calamari

You know me, I'm always on the lookout for great new recipes.  I found yet another appealing one in the June 2012 edition of Chatelaine magazine, this time for Spicy Charred Calamari.  In the magazine it was accompanied with an Asian Noodle Salad, which I also made, and you'll be able to read about very soon :-)

I've never made calamari before, but have ordered it many times in restaurants.  When this recipe presented itself, I figured...why not now to give it a try?!  It looks like a nice summery meal...stay tuned for the verdict.

Spicy Charred Calamari (Source: Chatelaine, June 2012)

1 package of frozen calamari rings (the original recipe called for frozen whole squid....and to cut it myself...the thought of that grossed me out, so I took the easy route!)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce (I used this version)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fried crispy shallots

Peheat BBQ to medium-high.

Allow calamari rings to thaw and pat dry.  In a medium bowl, toss the rings with vegetable oil, chili-garlic sauce, and salt.

Oil the grill, BBQ the calamari until slightly charred and just tender, 1-2 minutes each side.

Serve with the crispy shallots, on top of an Asian Noodle Salad.

VERDICT:
My husband and I both liked this nice change of pace.  We did find that the spicy wasn't spice enough, so next time we would actually turn up the heat in the coating on the calamari.  We did end up dipping our calamari in a hot sauce, because we felt it needed it!  But, it is a meal that we will make again!

Sweet Chili Sauce

My "free" subscription to Chatelaine magazine has inspired me again!  I say "free" because I was able to get a free subscription from purchasing yogurt.  One of those buy a few get a free magazine subscriptions deals...and I am so glad that I picked Chatelaine.  So many great recipes....so much inspiration.  Today's post is part one of two.  You'll have to come back on Wednesday to see part two. 

My husband LOVES Thai Sweet Chili Sauce.  We go through it like crazy.  Well, in the June 2012 issue there was a recipe for Sweet Chili Saice, so of course I had to give it a try!  Here is the recipe:

Sweet Chili Sauce (Source: Chatelaine, June 2012)

3 garlic cloves
2 large red chili peppers
1/3 cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt

Bring out your trusty food processer :-)

Remove skins from garlic cloves, cut off ends.  Put garlic into food processor.

Washed, seed and chop the chili peppers. Add to the food processor.

Process until finely minced, scrape the sides as needed to ensure mixing.  Add the vinegar and pulse until the mixture is well combined.

Pour mixture into a small saucepan.  Turn on to medium-high.  Add in the sugar, honey and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Stir occasionally.  Cook until the sauce is syrupy, approximately 15-17 minutes.

Allow to cool, and you are ready to use!

Check back on Wednesday to see what I used the sauce in...

Lazy Daisy Cake with Coconut Topping

In my tribute to Fathers this week, my second post is one of my Father-in-Law's favourites.  If you missed my post earlier this week, it was my Dad's favourite recipe - be sure to check that one out too! 

My Father-in-law's note in his email to me with his chosen recipe read "is a favorite dessert which my mother used to make. It is a recipe from WWII when butter was rationed. Again not just my favorite but a hit with the guys, except Brother J, as it contains eggs (Brother J is allergic to eggs). As the name implies it is very easy and quick to make and best eaten fresh out of the oven with minimal cooling time. It is called a "Lazy Daisy Cake"

Here is the recipe:  (Source: Nana D's recipes)

Cake
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon butter

Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat eggs well. Beat in sugar gradually.  Stir dry ingredients together and beat into first mixture with vanilla.  Heat milk and butter. Add to batter and beat well.  Pour into buttered 8 or 9 inch square pan. Bake 30 minutes.

Coconut Topping
Just before cake is to come out of the oven, boil together:
5 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp cream (I have used milk)
1 cup coconut

Spread on hot cake and return to oven till bubbly.  Serve warm.

VERDICT:
Now, when I made the cake, the coconut soaked up any of the "bubbliness" that I was expecting as per the recipe, but I was assured that it tasted just like it should.  I made the cake while my in-laws were visiting a few weeks ago, I figured, might as well make one of my Father-in-Law's favourites while he was here visiting!  He must have thought it was OK, he had two helpings at dessert.  And my hubby and our oldest son...well...the cake was gone the next day!

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My Dad's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

If you are a reader of my articles over at Okanagan4Kids, then you know that June is all about our Dads, and my article was all about my Dad and my Father-in-law's favourite recipes.  I saved my husband's favourites for special posts here on my blog this month as June is also his birthday month.  So, like my May article, about my Mom and Mother-in-Law's recipes, I asked my Dad and my Father-in-Law to share with me their favourite recipes.  Of course, I was a little cheeky and did say that I had veto power on what they chose (again, my Mom's buns were off limits, and my Dad knew right away that I wouldn't be making liver and onions...his favourite...but torture in my eyes LOL).  My Dad so kindly shared with me his recipe for his favourite cookies...also the cookie that my oldest son loves and loves to steal from the cookie jar and Grandma and Papa's.  Today I am sharing his recipe, and on Wednesday I will share my Father-in-Law's recipe - be sure to check back for that one! 

Here is today's recipe:

Dad's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Source: My Dad!)

2 cup of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup of brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 cups oats (anything but instant oats)
1 1/2 cups of raisins 

Preheat oven to 350F

In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter.  Add in eggs, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla - mixing on low.  Increase speed to high and beat until fluffy and the colour lightens. 

Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture until no flour is visible. Do not overmix - over mixing develops the gluten, making a tough cookie. Now add the oats and raisins; stir to incorporate.

Fill cookie scoop with dough - about two tablespoons.

Drop 2-inches apart onto baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.

Bake 11-13 minutes (on center rack), until golden, but still moist beneath cracks on top.

Remove from oven; let cookies sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

VERDICT:
Mu husband has delcared these his absolute favourite cookie.  Of course, I felt they needed a little chocolate, but then again, I am happy to add chocolate to almost any baking (like bacon, it just makes things better!).  These cookies did not last long in our house at all...a new cookie monster has popped up and ate them all up!

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Strawberry Infused Vodka

A while ago my hair stylist told me about how dangerous strawberry lemonade can be...especially with a little bit of vodka.  She sent me her lemonade recipe, which of course I can't find anywhere (sorry Roxy!), so I searched for a new one., found it, made it, and well...I'll be sharing that one with you soon :-)  Yes, I am a bit of a tease. 
Before I could make my strawberry lemonade, I wanted to make some Strawberry Infused Vodka to add to that lemonade, to kick up that strawberry-ness just a little.  And it makes for a nice, adult drink!  I had no idea that making an infused vodka was so stinkin' easy...thanks to Shutterbean for the recipe and tutorial!

1 pint of fresh strawberries
2 cups vodka

Wash, hull and slice the strawberries.  Fill a mason jar. Measure out the vodka, pour over the strawberries.  Seal.  Let the vodka/strawberry mixture sit for up to a week - on your counter, in the pantry, just not in direct sun.  Give the mixture a good shake everyday.  When you are ready, strain the mixture. Strain it well...get as many of those little bits out that you can!  I also squeezed as much juice as I could out of those strawberries.  You will now have some beautiful, sweet smelling, nectar-like vodka that you can store in little mason jars in the fridge and add to your favourite drinks.

It's easy peasy!!

VERDICT:

My husband was doubting me when I said that I was making Strawberry Infused Vodka.  Maybe because I don't really drink much (been busy making babies for the last 6 years!) - so he was rather shocked when he opened up that jar full of strawberries that was sitting on the counter, took a whiff, and WOWZERS what a surprise.  This was before the infusion had really set in, so it was more of an alcohol smell than the sweet strawberry smell that it is now.  And it is just that...such a beautiful sweet smelling concoction...I just want to chug-a-lug! LOL.  We added some to our strawberry lemonade, and well...YUM!  You'll have to come back and try the recipe for strawberry lemonade...posting soon :-)

Green Monster Smoothie - Crazy Cooking Challenge

It's that time again, time for the Crazy Cooking Challenge!  This month, our task was to make a smoothie...any smoothie we wanted, we just had to find it from another blog.  After some thinking about what I wanted to try in a smoothie, and a little bit of searching, I finally found a new recipe to try - the Green Monster Smoothie, courtesy of Two Peas & Their Pod.  I did amend the recipe slightly from the original.  Here is how I prepared the recipe:

Green Monster Smoothie
1 large orange, peeled and segmented
1/2 large banana, broken into chunks
6 large strawberries, sliced
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup 1% milk
6 ice cubes


I used our Bullet as our blender died and we haven't yet replaced it.  So, I prepared all of the ingredients, and divided them equally between two bullet cups.  I blended each drink, garnished with some orange and strawberry, and served.  Easy breezy!

VERDICT:
We enjoyed this smoothie, and I must admit, I think it perked me up more that my usual morning cup of coffee.  All the fresh fruit and the spinach, tasted great together.  The Bullet did leave som orange chunks in the smoothie which was about the only down side to this challenge!

Peanut Butter Pretzel Fudge

I have never tried making fudge before.  I love fudge...but just never have tried.  Somewhere along the line someone told me that it was hard to make, so I've always been a little afraid.  But I have been dreaming about fudge.  Chocolate.  With peanut butter. And pretzels.  Oh me, oh my.  Then I found this recipe that is for 5-minute fudge.  Could this be the time that I try making fudge?  Yes...indeed!!
Here is the recipe (Adapted from Carnation, Classic Five Minute Fudge)

1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk (I used Carnation)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups marshmallows
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup pretzels, broken into smaller pieces, but not too small!

Line an 8 or 9 inch square baking pan with waxed paper.  Set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt.  Bring to a rolling boil.  Stir constantly.  Boil for 4-5 minutes (set the timer!) or until the mixture starts to thicken.  You must ensure the mixture has boiled for at least 4-5 minutes or the fudge will not set.  Remove from heat.  Stir in marshmallows, chocolate chips, peanut butter and vanilla.  Mix until everything is melted and well combined.  Add in the pretzels, stir just to combine.  Pour into the baking pan.  Chill until set.  Once set, carefully remove the fudge from the baking pan by lifting the wax paper.  Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 1 inch pieces.  Enjoy!

VERDICT:
Oh....my....goodness.  My husband...the non-chocolate guy...hasn't stopped sneaking pieces of fudge.  He L-O-V-E-S it.  And I am so so so happy.  It's exactly what I had been dreaming about.  Satisfies the sweet craving, adds in a little salty AND a little crunchy.  Oh, it is so very good :-)  It could be dangerous!  I wonder how long the pan will last...

Nanaimo Bar Ice Cream Cake

Today is my husband's birthday!  Happy Birthday!!  Today's recipe is one of his favourites...you may have read it when I guest posted over at DJ's Sugar Shack...and today I am posting it here in honour of my wonderful hubby! 

This is a recipe that I printed in 2005, and have been saving until the right time to make.  I have a huge sweet tooth...my husband not so much.  But we both share a love for ice cream.  I also love Nanaimo Bars, so this recipe seemed like it could be the perfect mix of things that we both like.

At first my hubby wasn't so sure about the Nanaimo Bar part of it...too much chocolate, he thought.  Well...you'll have to read our verdict below to see what we thought! 

Here is the recipe: (Source -The Canadian Living Test Kitchen)

Nanaimo Bar Ice-Cream Cake

1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (I used Oreo)
1/2 cup sweetened coconut, shredded
1/3 cup hazelnuts (filberts), finely crushed/chopped
4 cups vanilla ice cream (I used Breyers Natural Vanilla)
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 oz (3 squares) semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used Baker’s)

Preheat oven to 350F. Ensure rack is in the centre.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add in sugar. Then add in the egg yolk, cookie crumbs, coconut and 1/4 cup of the hazelnuts. Mix well. I used one of my trusty spatulas…one of my two kitchen items that I can’t live without…the other is my KitchenAid Stand Mixer!

Line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with foil, leaving a 1 inch on each side for handles. Grease the foil. Scoop the crumb mixture from the saucepan into the loaf pan and press the mixture evenly into the pan.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes or until firm. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack (leave in the pan).

While the crumb mixture is baking, soften the ice cream in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Pack firmly over the cooled crust. Freeze for 4 hours or until solid.

In a small saucepan, bring whipping cream to boil over medium. Remove from heat. Add in the chocolate, whisk until smooth. Allow to stand for 30 minutes or until cool and has started to thicken.

Pour chocolate sauce over ice cream layer, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with remaining nuts. Freeze for 1 hour or until the chocolate is firm.

To serve, let the frozen cake sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Dip pan into warm water briefly. Using foil handles, remove the cake from the pan. Dip a sharp knife into hot water, slice the cake, and serve.

VERDICT:
This was a very yummy treat! It was such a nice blend of ice cream, cookie crust, hazelnuts and coconut. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. My husband even had seconds. And he hasn't stopped talking about it ever since I made it.  When I was writing my article for Okanagan4Kids for this month, I had asked my hubby, my Dad and my Father-in-Law for their favourite recipes.  This was my hubby's first choice!  His second was my Sweet & Spicy Baby Back Ribs. 

Oh yes, back to the verdict.  This wasn't too hard to make – and is for sure one that will be made again!  We might try adding a little coffee flavouring to the ice cream next time, for an extra little twist.

My only recommendation would be to make the cake the day before and allow it to freeze overnight and serve the next day. Just to make sure that the ice cream and the chocolate topping have hardened. Enjoy!

It's A Keeper Thursdays - I'm the Co-Host!

I am so excited to be co-hosting thie week's It's a Keeper Thursday over at Everyday Tastes! Thank you so much Christina for having me co-host with you! I am a faithful participant in the weekly It's A Keeper party - if you haven't yet checked it out, NOW is your chance! We would love for you to share a recipe by linking up (below!). And we encourage you to visit other submissions to check out all the goodness being shared!

If you are new to Addicted to Recipes, I would love for you to join me here!  I host a weekly recipe link party on Sundays, called Scrumptious Sunday.  You can also find and follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

Happy Linking!

Teriyaki Chicken Burgers

I find it funny that I am constantly trying new recipes, and yet I find myself so stumped about what to make for dinner.  Part of the problem is that I didn't make a meal plan for the week.  Had I taken the time to do that, then I wouldn't have been "scrambling" trying to think of something new to do with the chicken that I laid out.  Mostly it was I just didn't want another meal of BBQ chicken (as good as it is, I just needed a change!)...so some quick flipping through a cookbook and I came up with a solution for tonight's dinner, as well as some tags for future chicken meals :-)  Yay!  And yes, I've now made my meal plan for the rest of the week!  Anyways, tonight we went with Teriyaki Chicken Burgers.  Anyone who knows me is making one of those funny, confused faces right now, just like the one my hubby made when I said what I was making.  I don't like teriyaki.  Never have.  Not really sure why, but I just don't care for it.  BUT, he loves teriyaki, so I did it for him :-)

Here is the recipe: (Source: Company's Coming: Barbeques)

Marinade
1/4 cup soya sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ginger, fresh grated
1 clove garlic, minced

3 Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

Pineapple (rings or pieces, whichever you prefer)

Hanburger buns, cut, buttered and toasted on the grill
Lettuce
Tomatoes (if desired)
Mayo (if desired)
Cheese (if desired)

Mix soya sauce, brown sugar, ginger and garlic in a bowl.  Using a ziploc bag (or similar) combine chicken and marinade.  Marinate for at least 30 minutes (I had time for ours to marinate for about two hours).

Preheat BBQ.  Cook chicken on grill over medium heat for about 20 minutes, turning as needed.

Prepare your buns as you desire (lettuce, tomato, mayo, cheese, pineapple).

The chicken can also be used as a main course should you wish to go the no-burger route.

VERDICT:
My hubby was in love with these burgers.  He said it was a nice change for burgers and for chicken.  He kept saying how good it was.  That makes me happy!  I am sure he'll be asking to make these again.  I was OK with the burgers, it satisifed my need for something different.  I didn't add the pineapple to mine, which probably helped.  I did add mustard though, that's my favourite condiment.  I know, not really a teriyaki flavour but hey, it was my burger!

Are you interested in guest posting here at Addicted to Recipes?  If you are, please let me know!

Scrumptious Sunday #12 Features

Before we get to all the wonderful recipes from last week, I wanted to share with you that I'm the featured blogger over at the Weekend Blog Walk this weekend!  Woohoo!  The Weekend Blog Walk  is hosted by At Home Take 2 - you should pop over and check out her blog AND the hop! Thank you Jessica for the feature!

Now, onto the features from Scrumptious Sunday! There were so many awesome recipes submitted again this week.  You all ROCK!  Thanks so so much for sharing.  I'm excited to share with you this week's features.  If you are featured, please grab a button!

<a href="http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w519/AddictedtoRecipes/addictedbutton.jpg" width="200" height="177" border="0" alt="I was featured, I was Featured by Addicted to Recipes"></a>

Congratulations to this week's features:

Homemade Kahlua from Watch Out, Martha!

Cinnamon Roll Baked Oatmeal Cups from The Better Baker

Punjabi Samosa Snack from Quick Asian Recipes

Chili Rellanos from Kathe With an E

White Chocolate Goo Goo Cluster Brownies from Inside BruCrew Life

I will be featuring all of these wonderful recipes on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.  I would love for you to follow me at via these too!

Don't forget, Scrumptious Sunday Link Party #13 will go live on Saturday evening at 8 pm PST.  I am so looking forward to seeing what you share with me next week!  And to my American friends, I hope you have a happy, safe long weekend!

Strawberry Cream Crepes

A few weeks ago, I wrote a guest post for my friend Kim over at Cups by Kim.  If you didn't get a chance to see the recipe, I thought I would share it with you now!

Having never made crepes before (can you believe it?!), I decided to make  “Strawberry Cream Crepes” for my family for our Saturday morning breakfast. Nice change to our usual pancakes / waffles / french toast.  I did take the extra time to make the crepes over a few days (made the batter on Thursday night, made the crepes on Friday, and served them on Saturday) - and I am really glad that I did. Made for a mellow Saturday morning enjoying a lovely sweet breakfast before the busy-ness of Saturday kicked in.  Here are the recipes I used:

Strawberry Cream Crepes

Crepes – Source – Company’s Coming Desserts

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup water

2 cups flour

4 tablespoons cooking oil

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

Beat eggs in a large bowl until they are frothy.  Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.  Cover and store in fridge for a few hours to overnight (I stored overnight).  If you find the batter is too thick when you go to cook the crepes, add milk to thin it (I didn’t need to).  Pour approximately ¼ cup of the batter into a greased, hot crepe pan (I used a frying pan).  Tip the pan to swirl the batter all over the pan bottom (do this quickly, the crepe starts to cook the moment the batter hits the pan).  Remove from the pan when the underside starts to brown.  Cool and stack with waxed paper between each crepe.  If you aren’t using the crepes right away, wrap them in plastic and store in the fridge or into a freezer bag. 

Cream Cheese Filling - Source – Company’s Coming Desserts

1 package cream cheese, softened

¼ cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

Beat cream cheese, sugar and sour cream well. 

Strawberry Sauce

2 lb strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced

In a medium sized pot, put the washed, sliced strawberries.  Add a smidge of sugar (yes, just a smidge!).  Warm over medium heat until the strawberries start to break down, forming a chunky strawberry sauce.

Putting it all Together:

When you are ready to use your pre-made crepes, bring them out of the fridge (or freezer).  Use a pancake griddle to slowly warm the browned side of the crepes to your desired serving temperature.  Spread the cream cheese filling on the unbrowned side of the crepe and roll.  Top with the warmed strawberry sauce, a dollop of whipping cream, and serve!

VERDICT:

This was like having dessert for breakfast.  It was such a nice treat!  My husband and I both really enjoyed these crepes, and are already planning for our strawberry-banana ones tomorrow morning.  Our oldest son isn’t much of a cream cheese fan so we had to modify his slightly to just crepes and strawberries.  He still wasn’t as “in love” with the breakfast as we were (he prefers fluffy pancakes) but he did clean his plate.  I am really happy that I made the crepes the day before, so all we needed to do was warm, fill and roll in the morning – quick process and we all got to eat together!  I will be making this again!