THE most delicious Sticky Toffee Pudding

This recipe is the devil. It's basically the most delicious thing ever, and it's really easy to make. 

I was recently obsessed with the Sticky Toffee Pudding from President's Choice. Hubby got real sick of me thinking of things we needed from Superstore just so I could get my hands on more. It's seriously amazing. But I always think homemade is way better than store-bought. So if this stuff was so good, what would homemade sticky toffee pudding be like? It would have to be mind-blowing. 
As fate would have it, a friend of mine just so happened to post on Facebook that she thought that sticky toffee pudding was perhaps the most perfect dessert ever created. I shared with Sarah my love for the gooey stuff and I started on the lookout for a good recipe. There are many out there, but they all seemed a little intimidating, or missing the gooey factor (which is the best part). I wanted something that was easy to make and preferably not using ramekins, as I don't own any (gasp!). 
A few days later, Sarah says her mother-in-law is visiting from Scotland, and happens to have a recipe for sticky toffee pudding which is both easy and scrumptious. And let me tell you...that is an understatement. This is literally heaven in a bowl (or straight from the pan if you have no self-restraint like me). 
Many thanks to Ann and Sarah for bringing this into my life, although I'm not sure my waistline thanks you as much. Ha! 
So without further ado, I bring you

Oh mannnn...that sauce! Drool.

THE most delicious Sticky Toffee Pudding 
Sponge (cake)
1 cup sliced, chopped dates 1 tsp baking soda 1 1/4 cups of boiling water 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 cup of sugar 2 eggs at room temperature, beaten 1 1/2 cups of flour 2 1/4 tsps baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Toffee Sauce
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar 1/2 cup unsalted butter 2/3 cup whipping cream 1 vanilla bean
Place dates and baking soda into a medium saucepan and pour the boiling water over them (mixture will foam up). Set the pan over medium heat and simmer for one minute. Take off the hear and leave to cool for 15 minutes. 
Preheat oven to 350F, and grease a 8" square baking dish. 
Place butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add eggs, beating well after each addition. Mix flour, baking powder and salt together, and gently stir into bowl with a spoon, followed by date mixture and vanilla extract. Stir until combined. Pour into greased baking dish and bake for 35 minutes until springy to the touch. 
While cake is baking, make the sauce. Place sugar, butter and cream into a medium saucepan and add a split vanilla bean. Heat gently until butter is melted, then bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until thickened and a rich toffee colour. Try not to eat the whole pan. 
When cake is done, spoon a little sauce over the sponge to coat the surface and return to the oven for 5 minutes. 
Remove from oven, cut into squares and pour hot sauce all over the sponge. Lick the plate. 

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes & Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins

It's fall, which means it's that time of year to PUMPKIN ALL THE THINGS!!!!!

I have to admit I'm a late convert to the pumpkin craze. I actually don't like pumpkin pie (gasp!!) so I was pretty reluctant to think I would enjoy pumpkiny goodness in every single incarnation. Turns out it's actually really yummy! 
If you know me at all, you know I am pretty addicted to Starbucks; I love their Pumpkin Spice Lattes. I have tried for a few years now to recreate a similar coffee at home, and have tried everything from syrup to creamer recipes. None have ever really made the cut. Most of the time they are either really sweet, or they have a pretty gritty texture which I'm not a fan of. But I have finally found it! This latte tastes pumpkin-y and spicy and coffee-y...just right. 
And because you can't have a cup of coffee without a treat, I also whipped up some pumpkin zucchini muffins to go with them. I don't like zucchini at all, actually, but for some reason it tastes delicious in baked goods. So it seemed natural to toss some pumpkin in there too and make a fall pumpkin explosion. They are super moist and tender, and since they have 2 types of veggies in them, I feel like they are basically a health food. It would be easy to "healthify" this recipe a bit by subbing some whole wheat flour for the white, and reducing the sugar a bit, but I like em just like this. 
Enjoy!
 

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Place 2 1/4 cups of milk in a saucepan. Whisk in 3 Tbsps of pumpkin puree, 3 Tbsps of white sugar, 1 Tbsp of vanilla and 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice. Bring to a simmer. Add in 2 shots of espresso (I use my Tassimo for that) or 1/2 cup of strong coffee (to your taste). Pour into a mug and top with whipped cream and a dash of pumpkin pie spice. 
I didn't find the texture too gritty, but run it through a fine sieve or some cheesecloth first if desired. 
If you have a bit leftover, but it's not enough for a full cup, it's also delicious if you add a little bit to your regular latte or coffee. Yum yum!
adapted from Food Network Magazine

Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins
2 cups of flour 2 tsps baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt 2 tsps cinnamon 1 1/2 tsps ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1 cup zucchini, grated 3/4 cup white sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1 cup pumpkin puree 1 tsp vanilla 1 tsp fresh grated ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in bowl. Set aside. Cream butter and sugars for about 5 minutes until creamy and well incorporated. Add in eggs and combine well. Add vanilla, ginger and pumpkin and combine. Add zucchini and stir until mixed. Slowly add flour mix and stir until combined. 
Scoop batter into muffin pan (I use a silicone one so they just pop right out...they are amazing!) until almost full. Top with some cinnamon sugar if desired. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 20-25 mins until toothpick comes out clean. 

Adventures in Juicing: Week 4

Beyond Juice
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
I have so enjoyed this series on juicing from SPUD.ca. In previous posts I have shared how awesome our juicer is, and all the delicious, fresh, organic juice I have been making. But this week I wanted to touch a little bit on how versatile the juicer is. Sure, it makes delicious juice, but it is also a useful kitchen appliance and is much more versatile than you may think. 
The juicer I own (Hurom Slow Juicer) works like a mortar and pestle to crush the produce, so it doesn't have blades or generate any heat (which can destroy some nutrients). When you juice, you are left with a nice big pile of pulp from the produce you have squeezed dry. It's perfect for the composter if you have one. But, there are other, useful things you can do with all that fibre! You can run steamed veggies and fruits through the juicer and combine the pulp and juice to make your own baby food or even soup! You can use the pulp to make your own marmalade, or you can add it to baking to boost the recipe's fibre. 
Because my juicer is not a blender, I can juice anything I can chew. You can even use the juicer to make almond or soy milk! And juicing greens is no problem. Since they aren't getting pulverized by blades, there is no gross stringy texture to deal with in the juice either. 
I am really excited to use it for baby food once this new little guy is ready. For now, my favourite thing is to use the pulp in baking. Here is my favourite recipe. Peanut loves it, and I love that it's super simple to make, and pretty healthy to boot. Of course, I like to heat it up and slather it in butter, so there goes the health factor for me! ;) 

Whole Wheat Carrot Raisin Bread

Makes 1 loaf Prep time: approx 5 mins Bake time: 1 hour
3 medium carrots 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup - 1 cup of honey  (original recipe calls for a whole cup, but that is a lot. It's tasty, but I have made it with 1/2 a cup without sacrificing much taste.) 2 eggs 1/2 cup raisins 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 325F. Run the carrots through the juicer and save the pulp.  (Also, if you are like me and very rarely have fresh, juicy raisins on hand, soak your old, wrinkly raisins in some warm water for a bit to re-plump them a bit.)
Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. 
In a separate bowl, mix the apple sauce, oil, eggs and honey together. Then stir in the pulp and the raisins. 
Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well blended. The batter should be very moist. If you have reduced the honey you may want to add some of the juice from the carrot into the batter if it is too dry. 
Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. 
Bake for approximately 1 hour until it passes the toothpick test. 

So there you have it...the juicer is a versatile creature! It has so much more to offer than juice.
I hope you have enjoyed this series as much as I have. It has been such a great, healthful journey for me and my family. 
If you are interested in getting a juicer for your family, I highly recommend SPUD's juicing program. Not only do you have the option to purchase the juicer in small, manageable weekly payments, but you also have access to delicious, fresh organic produce for your juicer delivered right to your door. I can honestly not say enough about SPUD. Beyond the service they provide, they also have the best customer service I have encountered in a long time. It means a lot to be treated like a valued customer in this day and age, let me tell you! And the convenience can't be beat. SPUD is my worst-kept secret. ;) 
*Please note that this series is sponsored by SPUD.ca, as they provided the juicer and the organic juicing produce in order to facilitate this series. But all content and opinions are completely my own (as usual!). 

Adventures in Juicing: Week 2

You can check out week 1 here.
We've had our juicer for almost 2 weeks now, and I have to say that we are loving it! I was a little wary about having another kitchen appliance...I have a bit of an addiction it seems. And usually we use whatever new gadget a couple of times and then it gets banished to the Cupboard of Doom where we only try and dig it out once every 10 months and when we do we have to pull absolutely everything out of the cupboard to reach it...you know what I mean, right?!
Anyway, the juicer hasn't left our counter since we got it. We make at least 1 glass of juice a day with it. It's almost addicting, actually. Once I apprehensively started putting fruits and veggies in very strict combinations according to set recipes, I was hooked. I started thinking of all the different things I could juice, and all the different combinations of juices I could make. JUICE ALL THE THINGS!!!!
We have a couple recipes that came with our weekly SPUD delivery that we love, and they are in our standard rotation. For veggies, I am more of a kale girl, and Hubby is in love with the beets. 
My fave is the Morning Nourish Juice:

1 pear 1 handful of kale 1 apple 2 stalks of celery

Usually I make some juice in the morning and I give a little to Peanut diluted with water. As scared as I was of juicing veggies, it's actually not that bad! So I always make sure to have some veggies in it if Peanut is having some. He loooooooves it. His favourite? Kale. Who would have ever guessed? I normally don't really give Peanut juice, but I feel confident about giving him fresh, organic, homemade juice where I control what goes in, and with no extra sugar. 
For the adults in the house, we love that we can "eat our veggies" without actually eating them! It's awesome to get the nutrients from fresh fruits and veg without having to prepare them. I get so bored of trying to invent new ways to serve carrots. Well, nothing is easier than tossing them in the juicer! Of course we still eat actual fruits and vegetables as well, as we need the fiber and other goodness, but it's nice to know that we are getting our daily dose of vitamins and minerals so easily. 
Hubby's fave is ABC Juice:

2 apples 2 carrots 1 beet
but he always adds some citrus as well, usually by adding 1 grapefruit. 
But my absolute favourite recipe that I have made so far was a tropical-inspired cup of deliciousness!
1 mango 3 spears of pineapple 2 oranges
I could see this being a very delcious adult-beverage in the summer time with the addition of a little coconut rum. Yum yum! I didn't get a picture because I basically downed it the second it came out of the juicer. 
I really get excited every Thursday to get our SPUD delivery. It's always fun to see all the fresh organic fruit and veg just sitting there, unsuspecting that in the next day or so they are going to be crushed into delicious juiciness! One of my other favourite things about juicing is that I have so much less waste of produce. If something is a little under- or over-ripe I just toss it in the juicer with a few apples and it is salvaged. 

One lesson I learned very quickly...make sure you go easy on the ginger. A little goes a VERY long way. The first time I used it I made some apple and pear juice and threw in a little knob of ginger. It was probably double what I needed, and I ended up with one very spicy glass of juice! Ack!! If you are interested in trying out juicing, SPUD.ca has extended their very popular juicing promotion until February 7th! You can either buy the juicer in one payment, or pay for it in small weekly installments. When you sign up for their juicing program, you get $140 worth of organic fruits and veg for your juicer delivered right to your door free! You can check it out here: SPUD.ca Juicing Program
*Please note that this series is sponsored by SPUD.ca, as they provided the juicer and the organic juicing produce in order to facilitate this series. But all content and opinions are completely my own (as usual!). 

Creme Brulee French Toast with Drunken Strawberries

I had seen this recipe floating around a forum I belong to for a long time. It always was accompanied by rave reviews. The thing that appealed to me about it (besides its obvious-sounding deliciousness) was that it was a make-ahead breakfast. So when my Sister-In-Law and her husband came to stay with us for a ski weekend, I thought it would be a great Sunday morning treat. And boy, I was not disappointed! The recipe is super easy to make, and it was delicious! 
A couple notes: I had to use regular plain old French bread for this, as my grocery store is rather boring and doesn't carry challah or brioche. It worked just fine. I just sliced it up before hand and let the slices sit out a bit so they would get a little hard. I also think next time I would try and let the sugar mixture cool a bit before putting the bread slices in the pan. For some reason I think this would result in more of a brulee sort of result instead of the bread absorbing the sugary deliciousness. I could be wrong there, but I think it's worth a try. And also, I dumped all of the egg mix on, but I will not be so liberal with it next time. I would recommend pouring it on until the bread stops absorbing and discarding the rest. The extra cooked egg detracts from the overall look. Oh, and the strawberries are not really drunken; they are more like Tipsy Strawberries. Don't be scared by when you first mix them. They will make the whole room smell like a bar. I was worried that they were going to be super strong, but they were just right. The sugar really mellows out the alcohol, and the strawberries don't absorb too much. 
Here it is! Enjoy! Let me know how you like it. 
Oh...and I apologize for the photo quality...I took it with my phone, as I was too eager to eat this to go and grab my camera. Sorry! 

Creme Brulee French Toast with Drunken (Tipsy?!) Strawberries(from GourmetFood.About.com)
1 loaf of challah or brioche (or French bread) cut into 1 1/2 inch slices
1/2 cup unsalted butter1 cup of packed brown sugar2 Tbsps of corn syrup
5 lg eggs3/4 cup heavy cream3/4 cup milk1 tsp vanilla1/4 tsp salt2 tsps Grand Marnier or Cointreau
For the strawberries:1 quart of hulled strawberries sliced lengthwise1/4 cup sugar1/4 cup Grand Marnier or Cointreau
Butter a 9x13 baking dish. In a small pot, melt the butter with the brown sugar and corn syrup. Stir together until sugar is completely melted. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Place the bread slices on top of the sugar. Squeeze as many pieces as you can in there. Make sure it's nice and cozy! You want to fill up as much space as you can. Whisk together the eggs, cream, milk, vanilla, salt and Grand Marnier. Pour over the bread. Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or over night. 
Combine the strawberries, sugar and Grand Marnier in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours up to 24 hours. 
In the morning, remove the french toast from the fridge and let stand 20 mins before cooking. Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 30-40 mins until toast is golden and puffed. 
Top with strawberries and whipped cream. Die and go to heaven from the deliciousness. 

"30 Sucks" Birthday Party for Hubby

Way back in November, Hubby turned 30. I wanted to throw him a fabulous birthday party. I knew I wouldn't be able to make it a surprise, because it was going to be at our place. It's pretty much impossible to decorate and cook and bake without arousing SOME suspicion. 
I wanted to have a really fun theme, but couldn't come up with anything that I loved that didn't require a ton of work. After all, I had to pull this off while caring for a 3.5 month old, so I couldn't really put all the time I wanted into the preparation. I chose to use the "30 Sucks" theme I have seen floating around internetland and used that for the decorations. I made my own banner and centrepieces. 

For the centrepieces I used a piece of floral foam and pushed 30 suckers into it, then wrapped it in cardstock. I also hung up a few strings of lighted Chinese lanterns that we had from the wedding, but never ended up using. It gave the house a nice, soft, festive atmosphere.

The best part of any party, in my opinion, is the food. I needed food that would be easy to prepare and would feed a lot of people. I pulled out my favourite recipes and also browsed around to find some new recipes to try. I asked Hubby what sort of cake he would like, and he said he likes chocolate and peanut butter, so I decided to try chocolate peanut butter cupcakes I found on Pinterest. And OH MAN where they ever delicious. 

You may notice that one of the cupcakes is missing a peanut butter cup...*ahem* Chad...

My menu:

Mexican Layer Dip from The Pioneer Woman (this is my most favouritest dip)

Slow Cooker Meatballs in Peanut Chili Sauce from Crockpot365 (these are a new favourite. So delicious and easy!)

My mom's famous chicken wings

A tomato/feta dip

And of course, the most delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes from Glorious Eats

It was a ton of fun, and it was so nice to get together with our friends. It doesn't happen too much anymore, since Peanut has been added to the mix. 
Unfortunately, I barely took any pictures...and the ones I did take with my point and shoot weren't that great because of the awful lighting. I wish I would have taken a few of all of us together. Although, there were quite a few photos from that night floating around on Facebook, as one of Hubby's friends got him a life-sized standee of Justin Beiber as a joke. He even got someone to sign it "To Adam, Keep up with the music! Justin". What a hilarious gift! So there were many photos taken with the Beibs. 

It was also the end of Movember...icky moustaches were rampant.

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Sponsor Spotlight: Shortbread Meltaways and Holiday Wrapping with Lish from Imprintalish!

Today I have a special treat for you guys: a delicious guest post from one of my awesome sponsors, Lish! She blogs over at Imprintalish, which is one of my very favourite blogs to read. Gorgeous photography and awesome crafty ideas. She's got some great holiday ideas, so head on over and show her some love! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe Lish. Skor bars are my absolute favourite. I can't imagine that these are going to last long in my house...

Hello all you Up Mommy Creek readers!! I'm so happy to be here today hanging out with my fellow Canadian, Amy, and all of you!!! My name is Lish and I blog over at Imprintalish. I blog about everything from my two handsome little guys to crafts to pretty finds on the web, recipes and tales of balancing life, my etsy shop and being a SAHM.

Today I am going to be sharing a recipe with you that I put into my Christmas goodies line up a couple years ago. It's pretty simple and will be sure to help you pack on the pounds..LOL...I think I have ate a whole batch already, and if you add up those little calories (look at the bottom of the recipe down below), I think that equals out to two days worth of calories!! If you can keep your hands off them though, they are the perfect treat to share with neighbours, friends, coworkers and family!

Shortbread Meltaways
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup icing sugar
 2 teaspoons vanilla
 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
 1/2 cup cornstarch
 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 1 cup Skor toffee pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Beat butter, icing sugar and vanilla until creamy. In a separate bowl, combine flour, corn starch, baking powder and salt;stir half into butter mixture. Stir in toffee bits and remaining flour mixture. Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and place on prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Let cool on pan for about 5 minutes and dust with more icing sugar, if desired. Store in airtight container for up to two weeks. These also freeze well! 1 cookie= 80 calories-bet you didn't want to know that!

So once you've finished baking and let them cool, it's time to wrap them up!


What I used: 
Jar with air tight lid 
Kraft Paper Doily
Elastic Band
Glue
String of faux pearls

1. Loosely trace the lid onto some Kraft paper, I left about two inches of space around it. Next, center the doily on top of the lid with the Kraft paper on top of that. Secure in place with an elastic band.

2. To decorate the top of the jar, I cut a long skinny strip of Kraft paper and started twisting and rolling it to make it resemble a ribbon, almost like a piece of raffia. Then I started rolling it around into a shape of a flower.

3. Secure the flowers to the top of the lid with some glue.

4. Cover the elastic by wrapping a string of beads, ribbon, yarn around the jar.

Voila! A jar perfect for gift giving. Not only for Christmas but for any time of the year too!

Thanks so much for having my over to visit Amy, I had so much fun! I hope to see all of you over at my blog too...don't be shy either, I love meeting new people!

Authentic Pad Thai...Yummy!

So, last night I had a craving for Thai food. Since my maternity leave doesn't really allow for too much room in the budget for frivolities like eating out, I decided to make Pad Thai. 

This recipe is the real deal, so to speak. It's from a cooking school (basically, 2 ladies, 6 hotplates and a whole bunch of delicious!) in my favourite place in Thailand: Railay. It actually might be my favourite place of all the places I've ever been. It's definitely in the top 3. 

Railay is this awesome little island-like paradise. It's on the mainland in Krabi province, but only accessible by boat due to the crazy cliffs, which makes it a rock-climbing paradise. It's also probably one of the most beautiful places in the world, and is filled with some of the best people on the planet. I lived just a short longtail ride away for almost 9 months, and I think about it almost every day... Hubby and I can't wait to go back someday. 

Yup. I used to live right around that big rock on the right...sigh. 

Anyway, this is the recipe for Pad Thai, from The Rock in Railay Highlands. Enjoy! 
Ingredients:(serves 2-3)
a couple handfuls of rice noodles (pre-soaked in cold water for 30 mins, or prepared according to the package directions)1 Tbsp of oil2 cloves of garlic, mincedprawns or chicken (I used 2 small chicken breasts) 2 eggs1 large handful of bean sprouts3 or 4 green onions, chopped into 2 cm pieces
2-3 Tbsps of Thai sweet chili sauce2 Tbsps of fish sauce1.5 tsps of sugar1 tsp of soy sauce
(original recipe calls for 1 cup of sliced cabbage and Tofu chopped into cubes, but I omit these)
peanuts, lime and cucumber for garnish
Directions:
Heat the oil in a wok on med-low heat. Add tofu (if using) and then garlic. Add prawns or chicken. When cooked through, add eggs and stir. When egg is dry, add prepared noodles. Then add all the rest of the ingredients and stir. Add the seasonings and stir until everything is heated through. Garnish with peanuts, lime and cucumber. We also sprinkle dried chili flakes on our servings to taste. 
Notes:
As with most Thai cooking I have been taught, measurements are approximate, and the recipe works best if you adapt it to your own tastes. It's pretty much impossible to screw it up. Trust me. ;) Also, it is really fast to prepare, so it's best to do all your chopping and prep before so everything is ready to go when you start cooking. I usually mix the sauces and sugar together in a little bowl so I can just dump it in at the end. 

Aroi mak mak!!

French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I am the type of girl who always buys the same brand of bread. Always. I think it must be because I just continued buying what my mom always bought. In any case, I always buy Dempster's Whole Wheat. Hubby always wants me to get the bread with all the delicious grains in them, but for some reason I just always want the comfort of my Dempster's Whole Wheat. 

When I received an email telling me about the new line of Dempster's breads, I was intrigued. After all, it's my go-to brand. I received a coupon for a free loaf, and went to the local grocery store to try it out. The new line is called Dempster's Country Originals, and it's free from artificial preservatives, colours and flavours. They also have no high-fructose corn syrup and are made with 100% Canadian wheat. Sounds awesome, right? I have to admit that a little part of me was wondering if it would taste bland (that artificial stuff is in there for a reason, right?!), But you know what? It was the same delicious taste I was used to. I even went out on a limb and bought the 12 grain, much to Hubby's delight. This will be my new standard purchase for bread. It was delicious, and I love that it's a healthier choice. 

I guess because it is starting to look a lot like fall lately, I have been thinking and dreaming a lot of French Onion Soup. However, our weather has been hot and nice still (which is strange for Calgary, honestly), so I don't feel like I can make it for dinner. It would be like cheating on Summer with Fall. So instead I decided to try something I have never done before, which is create something to eat completely from my own head. I almost always use some sort of recipe when I cook, even if it's just as a base. I thought about what I love most about French Onion Soup, which is basically the cheese and the crouton. So, behold! It is my very own recipe for a French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwich. We had a left over beef roast in the fridge, so Hubby's half of the sandwich had beef, while mine did not. I prefer to let the cheese be the star. Mmm...melty cheese.  Enjoy! 

French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwich

2 tbsps butter

1/4 of a small onion, sliced

2-3 dashes of worchestershire sauce

1 tsp of red wine (optional)

1 slice of roast beef (optional)

4 slices of Swiss cheese

2 slices of Dempster's Country Original's 12 Grain bread

Melt 1 Tbsp of butter over med-low heat. Add the onions and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft and brown and delicious. Add worchestershire and wine and cook for a few more minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. 

Oh sweet caramelly goodness! 

In another pan, melt the remaining 1 Tbsp of butter over med heat and place a slice of the bread in the pan. Top with 2 slices of Swiss cheese, the onions, the roast beef (if desired), 2 more slices of cheese and the last slice of bread. Cook for a few minutes until golden, and then flip. Once the bread is golden and the cheese is ooey-gooey and melty, you are ready to enjoy! 

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Icing

It was my friend Danielle's birthday, and since I am a big preggo, our usual celebration at the pub was not really looking that appetizing to me, so we had her and her boyfriend over for dinner. I made Thai chicken satay with peanut sauce and an Asian Noodle Salad. It was yummy. But it was nothing compared to the cupcakes; at least in my opinion! 

I thought about picking some up from the local bakery that makes to-die-for cupcakes, but then I knew that I would just end up picking up 2 dozen and eating one of them all by myself. And also spending like $50. So I decided I would attempt to make some instead and try to compete. 

I used the basic Vanilla Bean Cupcake recipe from How Sweet It Is, and then added my favourite icing recipe. I also attempted to make them look a little prettier than my normal cupcakes by using an icing piper thingy for the first time. I obviously need to work on some technique, but I think they turned out relatively nice. At least better than usual, where I just slather icing on with a spoon. They did, however, turn out to be absolutely delicious, if I do say so myself. The dozen I made didn't last more than a few hours between the 4 of us. Mmmm...

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes from How Sweet It Is

(makes 12 cupcakes)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

contents of 1/2 a vanilla bean

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350F. 

Cream butter, sugar and eggs together until fluffy. Add vanilla and the contents of the scraped vanilla bean. Mix into the batter. 

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the batter, mixing until just combined. Add the milk. Once incorporated, add the remaining dry ingredients and stir until combined. 

Pour into cupcake tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool before frosting. 

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened

2 tbsp butter, softened

1 tbsp milk

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp coconut extract

2 cups of icing sugar

In a bowl, beat cream cheese with butter until light and fluffy. 

Beat in milk, vanilla and coconut extract. 

Reduce speed and beat in icing sugar, 1 cup at a time until fluffy. I usually add a bit more milk until I get it to the right consistency. 

Try not to eat all the icing before you get all the cupcakes iced. It's hard, I know. 

Hope you enjoy them! 

Fast Food at Home

So, lately I have had my first real pregnancy craving, and that has been Dairy Queen Blizzards. I am not usually a big ice cream fan, but this pregnancy has converted me. Also, now that they have introduced the new mini size (well, it’s new here in Canada), they have now created the perfect amount of Blizzard for me. My indulgence of choice is usually Chocolate Covered Cherry/Skor (I believe the other name for this chocolate bar is Heath elsewhere). Mmmm…I’m drooling just thinking about it. For the first few days, Hubby was indulging me by running to DQ to grab one for me after dinner (I think he secretly wanted the excuse for ice cream treats too). However, lately he has been putting his foot down. This is partly due to the fact that having treats from Dairy Queen everyday is both a)excessively indulgent, even if you are pregnant and b) very hard on the old bank account. Also, I think that he also is just tired of driving to get it for me.

With my delivery method thwarted, and my laziness trumping all, I grumpily resigned myself that I would no longer be eating ice-creamy, candy goodness. But that’s when I had a genius idea. I probably looked like the Grinch when he figures out he can steal all the Who’s pressies by dressing up as Santa…I just had to wait for the perfect opportunity to sneak it past Hubby’s defenses. 

So, when he suggested that we go for a walk to get some exercise, I had the perfect opportunity. If I agreed to go on this walk  waddle (in the rain, I might add) and reap all the health benefits associated with it, then we could grab some ice cream from the corner store. Just vanilla. Hubby agreed eagerly, and off we went. I will not regale you with the details of how long it took me to waddle my butt down to the corner store, or how my rain coat wouldn’t do up over my belly, so it got all soaked. I will let your imagination fill in these details.

When we got to the store, I also grabbed 2 king sized Skor bars along with the vanilla ice cream. When Hubby asked me what I was doing, I told him my genius plan: We would make our own Blizzards!! They would be delicious, and we wouldn’t have to pay a lot for them, and best of all, he wouldn’t have to leave the house! Hubby could hardly argue with me when I looked so deliriously triumphant in front of the sweet little girl behind the counter. So I won. MWAHAHAHA.

I also made some buffalo chicken sandwiches for dinner to go along with our homemade Blizzards, so it was like a fast food meal at home. This way, we could control the portion size and the ingredients to make it a smarter meal. And it’s cheaper. We substituted potato salad for fries, since it’s what we had on hand. I am not sure if this is a healthier choice or not, but it feels like it, and that’s all that matters.

Actually, it is an incredibly quick meal to make, so it really is fast food! These are both such easy dishes that they don’t really warrant recipes, but here they are anyway, just in case. J

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches a la Amy

This recipe is incredibly simple, but has many variations depending on your taste. We used BBQ’d chicken breasts, but you could also bread them in panko crumbs and bake them for a crispy version, or used ground chicken to make burger patties first. Whichever way your little heart desires!

Chicken Breast (I used only 1 and halved it so that they wouldn’t be too big for the bun and would cook evenly)

Your favourite Buffalo wing sauce (we prefer Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo)

Lettuce

Tomato

Hamburger Buns or other bread (ciabatta would be delicious)

Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing

Extra Old Cheddar Cheese (if such a thing appeals to you. It certainly appeals to me!)

Prepare the chicken how you prefer. We tossed it on the BBQ for about 10 minutes until cooked through. Once the chicken is done, place some wing sauce in a bowl or plastic baggie (if you don’t like to do dishes) and shake the chicken until it is covered in the perfect amount of deliciousness.

Spread some salad dressing (ranch for Hubby, blue cheese for me) on your bun, and top with lettuce, a big slice of tomato, and the cheese. Place your chicken on top of the cheese, so it gets nice and melty, and then devour. Mmmmm…

Homemade Blizzards

Vanilla ice cream

Milk

Candy, chocolate or cookie of your choice

If you are using a candy bar or cookies, I suggest putting them in a plastic baggie and smashing them to bits with a kitchen mallet. If you put them in the blender, you run the risk of making them too small. This way, you can control how chunky you want the pieces of yumminess.

Place the ice cream in a blender, and then slowly add enough milk to make it blendable. It’s important to add just a little bit at a time, or your Blizzard will end up more like a milkshake, which isn’t a good thing for suspending chocolate-y goodness in. You want the consistency to be similar to soft-serve. Once that’s done, you can add your pre-smashed candy and gently pulse it until it’s mixed.

Pour it into a mug, and you are ready to go! I do not recommend doing the famous Blizzard upside-down turn they do at DQ. Unless you like cleaning your kitchen floors…

You can also add a little cherry sundae topping to it to recreate my favourite flavor…that’s on the agenda for next time.

Of course, it’s not the same as the real thing, but it sure does satisfy the craving in a pinch.

Enjoy!

PS Thank you all for voting for me for the Top 25 Pregnancy Journals on Circle of Moms. There are 5 more days left in the contest, so if you wouldn't mind giving me a thumbs up? Much appreciated!!

What Happens When Hubby is Away...

Ok, so it's a beautiful Sunday morning, and Hubby decided to go skiing, since he had some lift passes to use up. He left at an un-Godly hour this morning, and of course since my sleep is very sporadic lately on my giant nest of pillows, I was up at 6:30 with him. Sigh.


I started with the plan that I would try and re-start my sewing project, and went to Wal-mart to find the bobbin winder so perfectly presented online, to find that they do not carry it in store. I guess I have to actually go to a sewing store. Which is very intimidating. So instead I came home and did something I can actually do pretty well: make food.


It started out with me feeling pretty guilty (see Mommy Guilt) about my eating habits lately, which have been pretty atrocious, since I have been leaning towards comfort foods (read full of fat and cheesy goodness). Being preggers, I feel like maybe I should make a better effort, so I wanted to make some relatively wholesome food today.


I found a recipe for Whole Wheat Blueberry Banana Bread Muffins and thought these would be a must. I am trying to eat more bananas, since I have this pregnancy related restless leg thingy that happens every night while watching tv, and it's driving both Hubby and me crazy. Mostly Hubby though. So apparently potassium helps with that. But I hate bananas. So I usually put them in smoothies where they are disguised by more delicious fruits. So this recipe was perfect, and it fit the wholesome bill, since they are made with whole wheat flour and applesauce and blueberries and bananas. All good. And they taste delicious too; nice and moist. Big win there.

After that, I was still pretty bored, so I thought I would make a refreshing dessert (I originally typed desert, but that would be pretty silly wouldn't it? Since when have you heard of a refreshing desert?). My mom had us over for dinner a while back and made Gordon Ramsay's Lemon Posset for dessert, so I tried it myself. Man, is it easy! And it tastes sooo delicious. I also think this sort of fits the wholesome bill, even though it's only whipping cream, sugar and lemon juice. Mostly, I think it fits because it's stopping me from eating a chocolate bar, or 10 cookies for dessert. For those of us not in Britain, "double cream" is something we don't have here...so the closest we can get is whipping cream. It works fine. Also, caster sugar is apparently just super fine sugar. The more you know. 

And then I started thinking about how I wanted to make something for dinner as well, even though there are tons of leftovers in the fridge. But that's what happens when I have all of Sunday home alone. I make food. So I picked up some sole to make some graham-crusted sole. This was lacklustre at best when finished, so I won't even bother posting the recipe. And I thought I would try making risotto for the first time ever. So I tried Red Pepper Risotto. I have never tasted risotto before, but I have to say that this is my new favourite thing. Oh my gosh it was sooooo delicious. I ate like 3 servings of it, and I'm dreaming about eating it tomorrow for lunch. I think red peppers are my new favourite flavour. Also, I couldn't forgo the cheese all together today, so that probably helped endear the dish to my heart...And then I roasted some asparagus, to keep in line with the more veggies and goodness thing (and dumped some parmesan cheese on it too...I just can't stop myself!).

Anyway, it all turned out delicious (except for the average-at-best fish), and Hubby appreciated my efforts. He can't wait until I am home from work and can "make delicious food all the time". Rrrriiigghhhttt...