If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a Mother of three boys – the best way to lure sleepy kids/teenagers out of bed – BACON! Yep – that’s it! Once they smell bacon cooking in the kitchen – they seem to come running! Just a little trick I’ve got up my sleeves! This was the case today when I started to whip up this Frittata..as soon as the bacon hit the pan I had three boys up in my kitchen wondering what was cooking! I have 2 full bookshelves of cookbooks that I’ve been collecting over the years…and I actually de-cluttered and gave away a bunch last month because simply…
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Chicken Tortilla Soup with Avocado and Lime (Whitewater Cooks)
OK first don’t laugh at my poorly staged picture. It’s been busy around here – I haven’t felt like I’ve had time really to update this site – but I loved this simple easy to prepare soup and figured I would try to share the recipe tonight – bad picture and all! Life has caught up with us lately now that the kids are back to school and activities the calendar seems to fill up quickly and us parents are left pretty tired by the end of most days! In fact my husband and I sometimes have trouble staying up past 10 – we are definately getting old. I’ve been…
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Pasta Carbonara
Carbonara has to be one of my favorite pasta dishes of all time. Not only is it delicious, it’s also super quick to make with minimal ingredients that you may just have laying around already. When you feel like something indulgent, this is it! My boys actually used to fight for seconds when I made this. So if you have growing teenagers, you may want to double this recipe…otherwise, this should serve about 4 people (or 1 teenage boy). In my opinion, there are a few key ingredients to making a good carbonara. The first being good pasta (my favorite brands for this are Barilla or De Cecco). You also…
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Simple Salmon and Dill Patties
If you are looking for a new way to serve up your Salmon – try out this easy simple recipe by Nigel Slater. I truly adore his simple approach to cooking. Reading through Nigel’s cookbook yesterday had me inspired to clean out my fridge and use up what we have on hand – become inspired by the ingredients available rather than always running to the market…he just may save us some money! I bet my husband would like that! I had some salmon to use up in the freezer and found this simple little recipe in his book. Give it a try. Simple flavours – very quick and easy for…
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My ‘Foodie’ Idol and a Chicken Pie
All of us I’m sure have that one person that inspires us – that we are amazed by – that we admire. When it comes to cooking – I would have to say my favourite chef is Nigel Slater. He truly is in my eyes pure genius! His cooking is simple, delicious and unpretentious. I love him! Being that he is also a food writer, his cookbooks are a joy to read – almost like a novel you can keep on the side of the bed. I was excited to try out his recipe for a chicken pie with bacon and leeks…it did not disappoint – only affirming my affection…
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Orecchiete with Baby Kale and Pancetta
This was kind of one of those – just wing it pasta recipes. I find pasta is great when you don’t have much time to mess around in the kitchen. I made this Friday night after a long day baking cupcakes for my friends wedding – and it was a delicious and fast dish! Note – you can use all Pancetta or all Bacon for this recipe – I just used both because I had a little of each in my fridge. Oriccehiete means ‘little ears’ in italian because the pasta is shaped this way. I found a package at a gourmet grocers in the city – but if you…
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A Wedding Cupcake Tower for Tanya
My friend’s Tanya and Colin got married over the weekend – and I had volunteered to make the cupcake tower for the wedding – it was a first for me – and I came to the conclusion – that flowers really do make everything look prettier (especially when you are trying to cover up your lack of icing skills) – and that I really don’t enjoy baking as much as I enjoy cooking. overall though – I think it looked pretty. I used a tried and true Chocolate Cupcake recipe that we’ve been using for years and a Cream Cheese Icing recipe I found online. I just had to share my pretty picture. Congrats…
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Linguini Puttanesca with Zuchinni
It’s been a crazy week! We were awoken in the wee hours this morning by my oldest two boys telling us that it was flooding from our roof into our basement…not a fun thing to wake too. So I spent the day dealing with insurance, plumbers, flood repair guys, no water. It’s been a long day! Although with much news lately of dear friends going through serious health issues and the many other numerous problems throughout the world – we are still able to count our blessings – as many things in life could be much worse! So I’m putting it into perspective and enjoying the fact that I have…
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Warm Red Cabbage Salad with Pancetta and Goat Cheese
We shared an awesome meal tonight to celebrate my husband’s birthday. Steak Au Poivre, Roasted Butternut Squash, Twiced Baked Mashed Potatoes with Pancetta and Parmesan, Pavlova and this delicious salad recipe that I tried from a Whitewater Cooks Book. My husband is German – which for some reason makes me think of cooked Red Cabbage…is that weird? I wanted to serve an updated version of this dish he loves and so this recipe definately fit the bill. Give it a try – it was really good! 1 tsp olive oil1 cup of Pancetta, diced1/2 head red cabbage, slice finely (like coleslaw)1 small head of raddicchio, thinly sliced1/2 red onion1/2 cup…
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Zander’s Birthday Feast! Pavlova with Whipped Cream and Fruit
Tonight was my Husband’s Birthday – I call him Zander – his actual name is Alex – anyway – we usually treat birthdays at our place with a good homecooked meal. What was on the menu for tonight? Can I start with Dessert? I first had Pavlova at Christmas one year. My Brother In Law’s Sister made it for us and I thought it was such a beautiful dish! It amazes me how you can transform just a couple simple ingredients into something really special…just a few egg whites and sugar. I love it topped with loads of fresh whipped cream and tons of berries or seasonal fruit. Tonight I…
