CHAD'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Today is Chad's birthday as well as New Years Eve, HAPPY BIRTHDAY YEARS EVE!!!! As you can tell I tapped into my pintest skills and decorated and cute carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Now I am off to do fun birthday things with Chad, we're going to the aquarium and then to a fancy dinner at Raincity Grill. I am super excited to try their bacon wrapped white rabbit. I have a feeling this is going to be a great day!

Happy New Year Skeleton

Turkey Stock

The best part about making a turkey is using the carcass for stock. Since the turkey is already seasoned the stock comes out soo tasty and you really don't need to add anything to it. I read that the longer you boil your stock the more minerals you get from the bones. For mine I boiled it around 15 hours with two carrots, 2 celery stalks and 1 onion. 

After, I strained it and let it cool before I put it into pitchers to store in the fridge. I was poking around the interweb about stock and found great ways to store it. Last time I did stock we ate soup for two weeks, this time I wanted to hold on to it. 

Letting it sit in the fridge over night all the fat raises to the top, makes it easy to scoop some of it out and pour it into ice trays. I froze the stock and put it into ziplock bags, I love this idea, you can just go in the freezer and grab what you need. 

Christmas Dinner

For Christmas day I thought it would be fun to have a little dinner party with some friends that didn't go anywhere for the holiday. It was really fun and a TON of cooking, my favorite!! Here I set up a little snack table while we waited for people to show up. 

I LOVE these cheese balls soo much, I only get to have them once a year. I know they are fatty but what the heck it's the holidays. I gladly helped myself to a few servings. For the Main course I made a turkey with stuffing, a slow cooked ham, mashed potatoes and a green bean casserole. Everything came out really awesome and I was soo happy to share with everyone.

The star, my turkey with gluten-free stuffing. I did one for Canadian Thanksgiving and I felt way more confident having done it once before. I have a system now, the key is the brine.

My turkey gets a little brine bath for around 24 hours before it goes in the oven. Almost like a little turkey spa day.

Once it's out I rinse it and soak it for about 20 mins before I stuff it full of my yummy stuffing. I kind of stuffed it a little too full and was fearing my turkey was going to explode like in the movies. I was lucky it didn't and it came out perfect.

The stuffing I made is one of my Mom's recipes, oh man, talk about comfort food. It was nice to have it around, not being able to travel to see my family this year. I used her recipe with one minor change, I used gluten free bread for the bread crumbs. 

Personally I love making my own bread crumbs. I use different breads for different recipes, some of them are free flavor. I ended up with extra, makes me happy I can use them for other things.

My ham was soo good!!! It said to cook for 8 hours, I ended up cooking mine for about 12. It just fell apart in your mouth, I really enjoyed it. I am also happy I have the bone and extra meat for lentil soup. My Grandma makes it every every year with the left over ham and I and truly excited to make her recipe. 

Even Chad got in the cooking, he made us a gluten free pumpkin pie. He's made it before and I really like this pie. He uses potato flour for the crust that adds this really awesome flavor to the pie, takes it to the next level I think. I didn't get a chance to take more photos of the green beans or the actual party, again throwing dinner parties are pretty busy. I did have a wonderful time with my friends and my love, I really couldn't have asked for anything better.

Robot tree topper agrees, Merry Christmas <3

Christmas Eve Fondue

For one of my Christmas presents from Chad he got me a fondue set. We went out and had it for dinner one night and I thought it was fun and really who doesn't want to sit at a table eating cheese? I saw a few different sets at this kitchen store we were at while out shopping together, I was totally going to buy one right then and there. He told me that I am not allowed to buy myself anything until after Christmas and here I am now with a fondue set, YAY!!! Best part is he got all of the things I needed to make the fondue and dipping foods. Super cleaver doing this while I have been shopping for the things I need for Christmas dinner tomorrow.  

Making the cheese dip is very simple, just requires a lot of stirring. The recipe I used came from this web page:  http://www.marthastewart.com/342141/cheese-fondue?czone=entertaining/holiday-entertaining/holidaycenter-foods&center=0&gallery=275404&slide=282790   good old Martha Stewart never lets me down. I am looking forward to having my very own fondue dinner party now. One of the best gifts so far. 

Christmas skeletion approves

Work Bake Off and Christmas Party

Today was our Holiday party at work, it was a good excuse to set up a bake off to help cater it. I made my go to tassies, everyone seems to like them. 

I like them because they are easy to make and not too sweet. I found these tins at the dollar store to dress them up a little. I am soo in love with the dollar store out here.

I also made seven layer bars, also called magic bars to try and be fancy. Someone else made them as well, great minds think a like. Here is the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/seven-layer-bars/ . I really liked the way they turned out, but they are really rich. They are best cut into small pieces.

(more pictures of the tables, they did such a great job

 setting them up. They looked soo amazing!)

I took one of everything, I wasn't able to finish the plate but I had some help from some of my co-workers. I got to taste everything and I must say my co-workers sure do know how to bake. It was a really fun activity at our party, everyone is a winner!! 

Tilapia with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus

After a long day at work and a fridge full of defrosted tilapia, I really needed something comforting to eat and healthy. This is what I ended up with, hit the spot. The tilapia was cooked with salt, pepper, a splash of lemon and my awesome infused garlic rosemary olive oil. The asparagus was the same topped with the last of my gruyere cheese, I baked it until it was crispy on the tips. Then I made mashed potatoes, I ran out of salt by the time I was on these and had to use my truffle salt, I love having this around soo much. Get to feel fancy even when I feel tired and hungry. I boiled the potatoes with the garlic and once it was ready I strained them, mixed them with butter, rosemary, cream and a tad of my truffle oil and used my mixing wand to blend them. Man I want to live in them and eat my way in and out of them everyday. Then take tasty naps in them and eat them in my sleep.... Oh.... sorry, got a little carried away hehe. They were alright :) 

Kangaroo sliders

While I was out shopping the other day I found a section at the store that had exotic meats in it. Camel, wild boar, crocodile tail and so on. Then I saw they had wild kangaroo, I didn't even you could eat them. They had burger patties, sliders and a steak looking thing (looked like a leg?). I got the sliders because I figured they would be easier to cook and wrap them in lettuce. I fried them up, topped them off with cheese and made some fries. I thought they tasted pretty good, there is a slight gamey taste but not very strong and they smelled amazing while I was cooking them. I would totally eat them again and it has sparked my curiosity to try everything in that section. 

Chili cook off day

Today my work put on a chili cook off, I LOOOOOOOVE making chili and was really excited. Chad made a chili also, so I ended up buying a new futuristic crockpot just for the event. We had score cards where you can rate the taste, color, texture, aftertaste so on. $5 got you a bowl and all the money went to a charity (our work sponsored a family for Christmas). There were six of us who entered. I ended up in second place with 38 points, the winner was at 40, so it was pretty close. Second place is still pretty good I think. 

This is the futuristic crock pot I got, it beeped every time I tried to set the temp on it. It seems super complicated for a crock pot, but I think it's pretty awesome. I have a feeling it might have a time travel feature, imagine munching on a ham while checking out what happened to the dinosaurs.

The only thing that kind of bummed me out about the cook off was I brought my chili in tupperware straight from the fridge and put it in the crock pot when I got to work. I had about 3 1/2 hours to get my chili warm, but it really didn't work out the best. Low setting was too low so 1/2 hour lost, Med was too low 1/2 lost, it was still cold. So high it was and then someone unplugged the crockpots. By the time it was time to taste my chili was cold, my co-workers where really cool and pushed the cook off by 1/2 hour to give me a little time to heat my chili up. It reached about room temp by the time people started eating it. It tasted great but it wasn't really as hot as I wanted. At that point I stopped worrying about it and let it be what it was.

In the end all the chili was eaten up and we made $215 for the family, it was a really great time and I am sure that family will be really happy. I love raising money for charity with food, cooking and eating it. Win win!! 

Pecan Tassies

This year I am going to spend Thanksgiving with Chad's family. I thought it would be nice to bring my Grandma's pecan tassies. They go great after dinner or in the morning with coffee, I love these little pies so very much. A little taste of home. 

recipe:

CRUST-

1 (3oz) package of cream cheese 

1 c. sifted all purpose flour 

1 stick of butter

Have all the ingredients at room temp, mix together and chill for at least 2 hours. Makes 2 dozen 1 inch balls and put inside muffin tins.

FILLING-

1 egg beaten 

3/4 c. brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tbspn soft butter

1 tbspn vanilla 

2/3 chopped pecans 

mix all togethe, fill cups 3/4 full. Bake at 325 degrees for about 25 mins, cool on rack, use sharp knife around the edges and lift out.  

Miso crusted salmon with Veggies

Tonight I made a rosted miso crusted salmon with a side of veggies, I know I see it too, SMILE!!!! I have a hard time plating, something I want to learn. For now, I can live with making yummy food. The recipe for the salmon :

1 tbsp yellow miso paste
1 tbsp fresh ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium)
1 tsp lemon juice
pepper to taste

mix it up and cover the top of the salmon and bake as normal

For the veggies I just cut up yellow potatoes, tomato and asparagus. I baked them at 400 for about 20 mins and I seasoned them with some infused oil I made.

This is a garlic, rosemary and truffle oil. I love having it around, so easy to just pour on something and enjoy the flavor it brings. This container normally lasts a month or so and when I run out I make more. Doesn't take very long. Chop and cook the garlic (most important to cook the garlic, it'll go rancide in the oil if you don't) put it in the jar with chopped rosemary and 6 drops of truffle oil, with a dash of salt and pepper. I let it sit for about two to three weeks and there you have it. Goes great on salads, cooking stuff in or just as a season. I change the recipe every time I make more, very convenient. 

Miso soup with broccoli and red peppers

I love miso soup so much and it turns out its really healthy for you. Also pretty quick to make. I use organic MSG free yellow miso, then season it with onion powder, clove of garlic, ginger and shichimi (Japanese chili powder). I add veggies to it and boil them in the soup until tender, all cooked in my donabe pot. I love my donabe pot!! I think it adds something to the food, just makes everything taste good. The gyoza were store bought and fried in a pan with olive oil, I'll attempt to make those myself later down the road. 

my lovely donabe pot <3

Veggie pesto brown rice veggie pasta -- gluten free

Putting that yummy pesto to work, I thought a veggie pasta would be a delicious way to do it. I picked some veggies (asparagus, broccoli, red pepper, peas and tomato) 

I sauteed them mixed with a little olive oil and my pesto sauce ( about 3-4 tablespoons) until tender and mixed them with some gluten free brown rice veggie pasta. I used Tinkyada Pasta Joy Ready and out of all the gluten free pastas I have tried, it was crazy good. The package looks like this:  

 very much enjoyed it. I shredded some gruyere cheese on top and wallah, super fast healthy dinner. 

Kale and spinach pesto

I had some kale in my fridge I needed to use before it went bad and presto I made some pesto. I know that was really terrible. Anyway I found a really good kale pesto recipe on www.inerikaskitchen.com (love her blog) it really spiced up my salmon and pilaf I planned for dinner.

recipe:
http://www.inerikaskitchen.com/2012/02/kale-pesto-recipe.html (mine I added 6 cloves of garlic, spinach, tomato, went with pine nuts and Gruyere cheese.)

Pesto crusted salmon with a brown rice pilaf 

Black bean patty with cheese

I was thinking about cheese burgers all day, in an effort to be healthy I remembered about my black bean burger patty recipe. With some cheese and crinkle cut fries, I made my burger dinner dream come true.

recipe:

16oz can of black beans, rinsed 

1 red pepper

1/2 onion 

4 garlic cloves

1 egg

handful of cilantro (finely chopped)

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin 

1 tbsp hot sauce (any kind)

1 med tomato 

2 jalapenos

1 cup panko 

I saute onion, pepper, jalapeno, cilantro, tomato until all tender. I mash up the black beans and add the veggie mixture, spices, egg and panko, make into patties. I heat up a little oil then fry up the patties until both sides are browned. 

Banana bread -- gluten free

Relaxing morning sitting at the table with some coffee and banana bread, a great combination if I may say so. I normally make banana bread when we forget to eat our bananas and  they start to brown. I just started the gluten free version and it is great.

recipe:

2 1/2 c. gluten free all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 c melted butter

2 c sugar

3 over-ripe mashed bananas

4 eggs beaten 

1 c chopped nuts

1 tbsp banana liqueur (or dark rum)

preheat oven to 350 degrees, put mixed ingredients in a well greased loaf pan and bake for 65-70 degrees. Mine tend to brown too fast on the outside, so about half way through baking I cover it with foil. After it tests done allow to cool a few minutes, remove from pan and rub the top of the loaf with butter to soften edges and glaze the top.

Korokke (Potato & Meat Croquette)

 I was craving croquettes today and thought it would be fun to try to make them. They are pretty easy, make mashed potatoes add cooked carrots, peas, onion and meat with an egg. Make into patties then dip them in egg and panko and fry in oil. Serve hot with some curry, you have the perfect dinner.

French toast blueberry cream cheese sandwiches

For Sunday brunch I thought it was be nice to switch it up. I made regular french toast, eggs, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg and a touch of vanilla extract. Then I took cream cheese and mixed some sugar and a handful of blueberries. Great Sunday treat :)

Smoked gruyere cheese puff FAIL

My neighbor invited me to a party she was throwing for her birthday and I thought it would be nice to bring something to snack on. I was really excited when I found this cheese puff recipe, I mean smoked gruyere is crazy good. I could probably eat a whole block of it in one sitting, which is pretty gross. I wanted to make this recipe gluten free so I substituted out normal flour for the gluten free brand. The recipe also called for a dough mixer which I didn't feel I needed. You can already see why this didn't work out. Without the mixer and adding in three eggs it called for, it turned it into a complete mess. So I stated to add more flour in a panic to make it dough again. It was so sticky and gooey getting it into balls onto the tray was terrible. Once I got all the different sized balls on the tray I put them in the oven. After being in the oven for about 15 mins I saw they started to look good and they smelled great. Once the buzzer went off they were golden and I thought it might have worked out. Nope, I took the biggest one and it was raw in the middle, I put them back in the oven for 15 more minutes. Still raw in the middle and the outside was about to burn if I cooked them any longer. They look great, sadly it didn't work out. Valiant effort for the cheese puffs...

Chickpea Masala

I have been very excited to make this. I went to every web page I could fine to for a good recipe. I found a ton of different ones but nothing really jumped out at me. I was able to get the key ingredients and took the things I liked from some of the recipes, my Frankenstein Masala. I used

2 tbsn olive oil (most all for butter)

3 garlic cloves

2 jalapeno, minced

1 tsp red pepper 

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp cumin 

2 tsp ground ginger 

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garam masala (I used my homemade one)

1 tsp salt

1 can unsalted tomato sauce 

1 c. heavy whipping cream

2 cups chickpeas

I was very happy with how it turned out and how easy it was to make, I have a feeling this is going to get thrown in the regular meal rotation.