Bean and Kale Smash

Bean & Kale Smash
This recipe is a winner with fiber content - as well all the nutrients provided by kale (calcium, folate, and iron). Plus, we love anything that has bacon. Adapted from the PC recipe.

Ingredients:

1 can diced tomatoes

7 slices of low-sodium bacon
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, chopped

1 bunch of kale
1 can of black or white beans (we used black because we had them!)

InstructionsCook the bacon within a frying pan, until crispy. Set aside to cool.

Add 1 TBSP of the bacon fat (or 1 tbsp of the oil of your choice) in a saucepan, and brown the garlic & onion until onion is translucent, on about 7 or high.

Reduce heat to medium, 5. Chop kale, removing the woody ends. Add to saucepan, stirring frequently until kale is starting to wilt.

Drain can of tomatoes leaving 1/2 of the juice in a seperate container. Add tomatoes to pan. Drain and rinse beans then add to the mix. Add some of the tomato juice as needed.

Chop now cooled bacon & add to the mix, stirring frequently until heated about 5-7 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Chicken Caesar Salad

Chicken Caesar Salad

Ingredients:
1 full head of romaine

1/2 red onion, cut into rings

2 chicken breasts, boneless

1 cup croutons
1/2 cup Hormel's Real Bacon

4-6 tbsp of caesar dressing (we like Renee's or La Maison)

1-2 tbsp of parmesan cheese

Wash and spin lettuce within a lettuce spinner. Add onion in rings. Barbecue or fry chicken with a pinch of salt and pepper. Put lettuce, onion and all the other ingredients into a bowl with a lid, shake. Add chicken to top of salad. Enjoy! This is one of our go-to meals for healthy, cheap and quick on weekdays.

Peach Carrot Smoothie

Almost every smoothie I make I try to add a little extra nutrition, here is my latest creation. Did you know carrots store a gold mine of nutrients? Its 87% water and contain vitamin A, B, C, D, E, an alphabet of good-for-you!

Peach Carrot Smoothie

1-2 cups of frozen peaches (I like Europe's Best)

1/2 cup of carrot juice (I use Bolthouse, but you could juice your own)

1/2 cup of peach yogurt (I used Yoptimal Peach & Mango)

1 banana, crisp

Optional: protein powder

Throw it all in the blender and enjoy, makes 2 large 16 oz glasses.

Egg-Free Carrot & Raisin Muffins

On a hunt yesterday to find a egg-less bran muffin recipe because eggs are not agreeing with me right now, but instead stumbled on a carrot raisin muffin at Sumi's Kitchen blog and with a bag of aging carrots in my fridge, thought why not? Let's give her a whirl.

 

Ingredients:
2 cups of shredded carrot
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup brown sugar
5 tbsp butter
1 cup milk
1 cup raisins
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

Shred carrots with your new Kitchen Aid mixer attachment. Check.

  

Throw the rest of the ingredients into your bowl, beat with the mixing paddle and call it a day. Check.

Curse when you don't have any muffin wrappers. Check.
Realize you have enough silicone muffin wrappers from your baby shower. Check.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Check.

These turned out well. I think next time I might add more carrot or maybe a little apple sauce just to punch up the flavour a tad, but I have throughly enjoyed them with a little cheddar or butter.

Phillips' Cheese Ball

This is a holiday favourite for my family and each year we make at least 2 for all the holiday gatherings.

Ingredients:

1 container Imperial Cheese

1 container of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (I prefer herb and garlic)

2 cloves of garlic, pressed

Mix well. I typically use my Kitchen Aid mixer on 6-8 for several minutes with the whisk attachment.

Form into a ball or press into a pate container and garnish.

Cover with wrap and let chill in the fridge overnight for best results or at least an hour before serving.

Enjoy with your favourite crackers.

Homemade Dog Cookies

Still working on homemade presents for my family & friends. I can't forget our friends on the four legged variety either, so Cooking with Jax and I teamed up to make some homemade dog biscuits or cookies or Milkbones, depending on what you call it for your furry friend.

The recipe was simple:

• 1 cup beef broth
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup powered skim milk
• 1 tsp salt (probably could be omitted)
• 1 egg beaten
• 3 cups whole wheat flour

In a large bowl, pour the hot broth over the margarine, let melt then add eggs. Stir in skim milk powerd, salt, and whole wheat flour (1/2 cup at a time). 

I rolled them out (1/2 thickness) and we cut them quickly with a cute cutter. I did add a few drips of water because the dough was quite dry, you could add flour or water depending on how your dough rolls!

They take about 50 minutes at 325 degrees to bake, so we settled in with some Sex in the City episodes - what better to do while they are baking to pass the time.

This recipe made 2 cookie sheets full of cookies, approx 1 lb of cookie love.

We let them cool and then gave them to our official testers (Raya, left, and Milton, right). Milton as usually snapped his up in record time and then went after Raya's crumbs.

To distract him, I made him do his circus trick that Daddy taught him. Put a biscuit on his nose, and get him to stay. He'll hold it until you tell him "okay", and then he flips it into the air. Sometimes he catches it, but usually not. Circus Dog!!!

We deemed them a success. Why not try this very easy recipe for yourself? Let us know how it goes.

Better-For-You Creamy Shrimp Carbonara

Better-For-You  Creamy Shrimp Carbonara
Adapted from the Kraft Canada version to add healthier options; you can also add different vegetables as you see fit such as peas, frozen veggie mixes. Great recipe for a kitchen multi-tasker!

220 g whole wheat spaghetti, uncooked

4 slices bacon, chopped

24-28 shrimps peeled large shrimp (I used pre-cooked)

1 large zuchinni

1/2 tub (250 g) Philadelphia Herb & Garlic Light Cream Cheese Spread

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup Kraft 100% Parmesan Light Grated Cheese

Put water on for spaghetti according to package directions (usually about 6 cups of water)

Cook bacon in skillet, then remove on to paper towels.

Add spaghetti pot and cook for 8-10 minutes in boiling water.
Cook/warm zucchini and shrimp in skillet in bacon drippings.
Drain water out of spaghetti and leave in pot on med heat, add milk & cream cheese and stir while chs melts into a delightful sauce.
Slice bacon into small pieces.
Add zucchini and shrimp into spaghetti and sauce, toss well.
Serve and top with grated cheese.

Bon appetite!

Dipped Oreos

Lately, I have been pinning a lot of gift ideas for Christmas on Pinterest; this one comes from How Does She? Since it was a recipe, I recruited one of my favourite baking beauties, Jax from Cooking with Jax to share the experience with me making dipper Oreos or Oreo Pops!

So, here's what you need:

-A package of Oreos (we used a family package)
-3-4 blocks of baking chocolate*
-Sprinkles, Candy Canes
-Wilton Lollipop Wrapping Kit (Found at Walmart)
-Coffee Stir Sticks (Found at Dollarama)

*- We tried for our second batch to cheap out and use chocolate chips and they did not dry as quickly or dip as well.

These are easy and quick and look amazing. I imagine they would also go a lot quicker without an individual having to entertain a really cute 5 month old in the process.

Instructions:

Step 1: Line 3 large cookie sheets with waxed paper.

Step 2: Crack your Oreo in half. I used a knife, J could twist them better. Task Done Best By: Jax

Step 3: Dip your stick and place in the middle of the Oreo. 

Step 4: Put Oreo halves back together. Let Dry (by the time you get to the last Oreo, the first one will be dry enough to dip).

Step 5: Prepare chocolate. We shaved each block with a sharp chef's knife into a glass bowl and microwaved 6 squares for approx 3 x 30 seconds. After each 30 seconds was up, we used a spatula to stir the melting chocolate.

Step 6: Scrape the chocolate into 1/2 of the bowl for the best dipping potential. Dip side one, flip, dip side two, let chocolate drip off and cover bottom of cookie near stick by rotating it while you dip. Practice makes perfect! Task Done Best by: Moi.

Step 7: Place dipped cookies on prepared wax papered cookie sheets. Don't worry if they don't look perfect!

Step 8: Decorate. Our favourites: Ziplock filled with other colour of chocolate for drizzling, sprinkles, or crushed candy cane!

 

Step 9: Let dry. 

Step 10: Put in bags, twist on twist ties, and voilà!

Thanks for the fun, Jax!
 

Holly's Oops I Almost Forgot Dinner Guacamole

Holly's Oops-I-Almost-Forgot-Dinner GuacamoleAvocado provides great fiber & healthy fats on a night where you don't want to eat a huge meal but want to be satisfied. Great for busy moms on the go because it literally takes about 5 minutes to make this!

-1 ripe avocado
-3 TBSP homemade (or canned) salsa
-1 TBSP fresh parsley
-1 garlic glove
-3 TBSP sour cream
-1 TBSP freeze dried cilantro
-Things for dipping: Rice Cakes, Cucumber, Carrots, Veggies or Tortilla Chips/Pitas work

Mince Garlic. Throw the rest of ingredients into small food processor, pulse 5 minutes on high, 1 min on low. Enjoy.

What`s In the Fridge Vegetable Soup

An all-vegetable soup packed with flavour but not much fat. Similar to Weight Watchers Zero Point Soup and Kitchen Parades` but made in a smaller batch size with more veggies.

Hands-on time: Chopping (20 minutes)
Stove Time: 20-40 minutes

• 2 Tetra packs of vegetable broth
• 1 cans diced tomatoes
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 0.5 red onion, chopped
• 1 large zucchini, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 russet potato, skin on, chopped (about 1-3/4 cups)
• 3 leaves of bok choy
• 1 stalk of celery
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons dried cilantro (optional)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat your largest stockpot on medium heat. Add vegetable broth and tomatoes. Saute onion and garlic in small frying pan. Add remaining ingredients as you chop. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender. Season with slat and pepper and serve. Goes amazing with a fresh french loaf, makes about 6 cereal bowls full.

Meatless Monday: Stuffed Mushroom Caps

Although I am not a huge mushroom fan, portabella's contain no fat, sodium or cholesterol so it is a great choice for a meatless night! We originally had a similar taste of this back a few years ago at a friend's house, and I really enjoyed them, so I thought I would try and make a similar recipe. Recipe adapted (aka use what's in the fridge instead) from Chef Meg's.

4-6 portabella mushrooms caps
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
2 baby zucchini, diced
2 cup baby spinach, stems removed
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 tbsp flax seed meal
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 small tomato, sliced
1 pkg soft cheese (I used Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs )
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Using a spoon, remove the stems and gills from the mushrooms, which are the dark ridges on the underside of the mushroom. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a skillet set over a medium flame. Add the red pepper, zucchini, onion and saute for 1 minute. Add the cleaned and trimmed spinach and cook until tender, about 2-3 minutes. Spray the bottom of each mushroom with nonstick cooking spray and place on a baking sheet pan. Place in the oven for 1-2 minutes just to heat the mushrooms. Rub each mushroom with the smashed garlic. Sprinkle with the flax seed meal. Divide the vegetable mixture between the four-six mushrooms, then top with vegetable mixture, soft cheese and sprinkle parmesan. Bake for 6 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Drizzle vinegar over cooked mushrooms before serving.