Eggnog Pancakes

Posted in Breakfast, MEALS by Katherine

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup eggnog
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
Nutmeg and powdered sugar

Directions
1.Heat a lightly oiled skillet or griddle over medium heat.

2. In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the eggnog, butter, and egg. Mix until dry ingredients are evenly moist.

3.Pour 1/4 cup batter onto the hot griddle for each pancake. Cook pancakes until bubbly on top. Flip with a spatula, and continue cooking until lightly browned on bottom.

4. Sprinkle with nutmeg and powdered sugar

14Dec2014

Festive Smores Brownie

Posted in DESSERTS, Sweet and Easy by Katherine

prep time 20 min

total time 1 hr 30 min

makes 16 servings or 8…..ha ha ha

What You Need
1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
2 pkg. Jell-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
2 cups cold milk
1-1/4 cups cold water
3 cups Jet-Puffed Miniature Marshmallows
3 oz. Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate
red, green, brown smarties

HEAT oven to 350°F.

PREPARE cake batter as directed on package; pour into 13×9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Beat dry pudding mixes, milk and water with whisk 2 min.; pour evenly over batter. Place dish on rimmed baking sheet.

BAKE 55 min. to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool 10 min. Meanwhile, heat broiler.

TOP cake with marshmallows. Broil 30 sec. to 1 min. or until marshmallows are golden brown. Gently place Smarties on top of marshmallows. Melt chocolate as directed on package; drizzle over marshmallows and smarties. Cool cake 15 min.

7Dec2014

Red Velvet Pancakes

Posted in Breakfast, MEALS by Katherine

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons red liquid food coloring
Sweet Cream-Cheese Butter (recipe below)

Directions

Sift together first 6 ingredients into a large bowl.
Whisk together buttermilk and next 3 ingredients in another bowl.
Gradually stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until dry ingredients are moistened.
Pour about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto a hot buttered griddle.
Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look dry and cooked.
Turn and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until done.
Serve with Sweet Cream-Cheese Butter.

Sweet Cream Cheese Butter

Ingredients
1 (8-oz.) cream cheese
1 cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended after each addition.
Add vanilla, beating until blended.

30Nov2014

Easy Lasagna

Posted in Family Night, MEALS by Katherine

Prep time: 20 min
Total: 1 hr 35 min
Servings total:12 servings

Ingredients

1lb. ground beef
2-1/2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1 container (15 oz.) Ricotta Cheese
1/2cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1 egg, beaten
1 jar (24 oz.) favourite spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Instructions

HEAT oven to 350°F.

BROWN meat in large skillet on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mix 1-1/4 cups mozzarella, ricotta, 1/4 cup Parmesan, parsley and egg until blended.

DRAIN meat; return to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Add 1 cup water to empty sauce jar; adding the water to the sauce helps cook the traditional noodles during baking, so you don’t have to cook them beforehand. This saves you 15 to 20 minutes of prep time. Add water to meat mixture; stir until blended. Spread 1 cup meat sauce onto bottom of 13×9-inch baking dish; top with layers of 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup meat sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining noodles, meat sauce and cheeses. Cover with foil sprayed with cooking spray.

BAKE 1 hour or until heated through, removing foil after 45 min. Let stand 15 min. before cutting to serve.

23Nov2014

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Posted in MEALS, Slowcooker by Katherine

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 5 hours

Ingredients:
3 large skinless chicken breasts (2 1/2 to 3 pounds total)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup mixed blackberries and blueberries
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup garlic hoisin sauce
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion

1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Sliced green onions, for garnish

Directions:

Arrange the chicken breasts in the slow cooker so that they are not overlapping.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, blackberries and blueberries, sugar, hoisin, olive oil, and onion, and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover the slow cooker and cook the chicken on LOW for 4 to 5 hours until the chicken is fully cooked.

Using tongs, remove the chicken from the slow cooker (reserving the liquids) and place it on a cutting board. Shred the chicken into smaller pieces.

In a small saucepan, whisk together the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of cold water.

Transfer the liquids from the slow cooker into the small saucepan set over medium-high heat . Bring the sauce to a boil and cook it until it reduces and has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. Pour the sauce over the chicken, tossing to combine. Serve the chicken topped with green onions.

Serve with rice and broccoli

10Nov2014

Blueberry Muffins

Posted in Breakfast, MEALS by Katherine

Portion size 12

Ingredients
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) butter, softened
1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup (175 mL) milk
3 cups (375 mL) frozen blueberries,divided

Preparation

In bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In separate bowl, cream butter with sugar; beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually stir in milk (mixture may appear curdled). Make a well in centre of dry ingredients; pour in liquid and stir just until moistened. Gently fold in 1 1/2 cups of blueberries.

Spoon into large paper-lined or well-greased muffin cups, filling to top. Sprinkle each muffin with some of the remaining blueberries. Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until tops are firm to the touch.

1Nov2014

Turkey Kolbassa and Cabbage Casserole

Posted in Date Night, MEALS by Katherine

I know turkey and cabbage but really it was good!

Ingredients:

450 grams spagetti
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups milk
3/4 cup shredded marble cheese
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 (16 ounce) turkey kolbassa sausage,cubed
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup shredded swiss cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spagetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 7 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour, dry mustard, and black pepper; cook until smooth, about 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, a little at a time, and bring white sauce to a boil. Cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly, to make a smooth, thick sauce. Whisk 3/4 cup marble cheese into sauce until melted.
4. Stir spagetti, cabbage, and kolbassa sausage into the sauce and transfer to a 3-quart casserole dish. Mix bread crumbs with 1/4 cup swiss cheese in a bowl and sprinkle over the casserole.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until casserole is heated through, about 20 minutes.