1 Month Later

So it's been about a month since the last time I blogged. Things have been all over the place with the aftermath of the RN exam, spending time with family whom I had not seen much during my studying, and then my fiance leaving to go home to Fredericton, NB for 2 weeks.

I also started a new nursing job, and the orientation has been long and straining. It is where I did my consolidation, but now I am moving more quickly through the motions and learning things that should have been taught to me as a student. It's been a steep curve, but i'm surviving!

Having said that, there has not been a ton of motivation to cook and blog in the last month. Let me tell you, it is not easy cooking for one. I seemed to lack the passion that I get when I cook for others, when it is only me. To remedy this, I invited some of the girls from my exam study group over for dinner and had an absolute blast cooking for them. I made an avacado salad, garlic chicken breasts covered with onion and paprika, and we had ice cream cones for dessert! Pair that with a funny movie rental and it was an amazing night!

Colin got back last weekend and we have had a busy schedule. We have made some regular baked chicken, same recipie I made for the girls, and paired it with steamed broccoli and rice. This past friday night, we gave up on cooking and had a date night. We went to Moxie's and celebrated 11 more months till our wedding, and then we saw Toy Story 3 - great movie!

Saturday, I made Colin's mom's amazing meatloaf. I have to say, I used the Selection brand tomato soup in it, and this was the absolute best that I think it has been! I'm so glad. It is one of Colin's favourite recipies and so we make it often! I think the recipe is a family one, and so I won't be posting it, but dinner tonight is definitely the last 3 pieces :D YUM!!!

Hopefully we get cooking again this week. 1 day, and 3 night shifts for work, so we'll see where things go. Until then, have a yummy tummy!! xoxo

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Saturday June 12th was my Mom's birthday. What an awesome day! I decided to cook mom and the family a delicious meal to celebrate. I made 2 roasts, baked potatoes, peaches & cream corn, tossed salad and gravy for dinner, and a cheesecake with the choice of blueberries, caramel sauce, or chocolate sauce for dessert. The cheesecake was actually a birthday cake for both Mom and Colin's birthdays which are only 3 days apart!

The roast was really easy. I marinated it for a couple days with some olive oil, garlic, and montreal steak spice, and then put it into the oven on 325 degrees until the internal temperature was between 160-170 degrees F.

I used my Magic Bullet Blender to make the cheesecake. Here is the recipe!!

Magic Bullet Blender Cheesecake

2 package cream cheese
4 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 graham cracker crust (store-bought)

1. Before you get started preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add half the ingredients (except crust) to the Tall Cup and mix until smooth.
3. Pour the ingredients into the graham cracker crust.
4. Add the second half of the ingredients (except crust) to the Tall Cup and mix until smooth.
5. Pour the remaining ingredients into the graham cracker crust and stir to even out.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes (until set).

Serving Suggestion
Fruit toppings are always a scrumptious way to top a cheesecake. To make Strawberry Cheesecake, or Blueberry Cheesecake, fill the Short Cup up 3/4 of the way with your fresh strawberries or blueberries, add 1-2 tablespoons of sugar, and blend until you achieve a chunky syrup consistency. Pour that over the top of the cooled cheesecake (at least an hour in the refrigerator), then add a layer of sliced strawberries, or whole blueberries, to the top. Chill for a few hours, then serve.


That's it for tonight everyone. I'm off to bed. Until next time, have a yummy tummy!! =)

C is for....Chicken!!

I'm starting to think that there is no one out there reading my blogs. No comments yet... Who knows...maybe you're shy? You should try one of the recipies I post, and let me know how it goes!

So now that I'm a lot more organized and mostly recovered from writing the RN exam, I'm slowly moving back into the cooking part of my life. Today I started with chicken.

Actually, I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner and so I walked into the Metro grocery store. I was pretty happy to see the buy-one-get-one free sign over the whole chickens, so 2 birds went into my shopping cart...along with 2 oven roasts, both under five bucks each on special, and some ground beef! Who can really resist good meat when it's on sale!!??

haha...so $20 bucks later and about 10 pounds heavier by carrying all of this meat, I headed home...still not sure what I was going to make for dinner.

There's this show, Best Recipies Ever, on CBC, where I get a lot of inspiration and recipies from. Kary Osmond is the host of the show and she lives in Toronto. She's pretty cool and the show is strictly cooking, kinda like the old Rachel Ray without the talkshow. I love it!

A month or so ago, she made a lemon-herb roasted chicken, so today I attempted it. Surprisingly, it turned out quite yummy and I was able to make quite the gravy with the drippings too! Here is the recipie:


Lemon Herb Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

1 chicken
2 cloves garlic
1 lemon
1/2 onion
1/2 bunch fresh parsley
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 tbsp(15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2 mL) pepper
2 tbsp(25 mL) all-purpose flour
1 cup(250 mL) sodium-reduced chicken stock


Preparation:

Remove giblets and neck from chicken.

Using side of chef's knife, smash garlic. Rub inside of chicken cavity with garlic; put garlic in cavity.

Halve lemon; squeeze out juice and set aside. Put lemon halves, onion and parsley into cavity. Tie legs together with kitchen string; tuck wings under back. Place, breast side up, on rack in roasting pan. Tuck rosemary under chicken.

In small bowl, stir together reserved lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper; pour over chicken. Pour 3/4 cup (175 mL) water into pan. Roast in 375°F (190°C) oven, basting occasionally and adding 3/4 cup (175 mL) water halfway through, until meat thermometer inserted in thigh registers 185°F (85°C), 1-1/3 to 1-1/2 hours in convection oven, 1-3/4 to 2 hours in conventional oven. Discard contents of cavity; tip juices from cavity into pan drippings. Transfer chicken to platter and tent with foil; let stand for 20 minutes before carving.

Skim fat from pan juices. Sprinkle with flour; cook over medium-high heat, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in chicken stock and any juices from platter; boil, stirring, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Strain into warmed gravy boat. Serve with chicken.




So that's my recipie for today. Try it and let me know how it goes! Until next time, have a yummy tummy!!

Comfort Food

My favourite comfort foods are bread and potatoes....and chocolate. Hehe..wonder if there is a recipie that can incorporate all three???


What's your favourite comfort food??

Done & Done!!

Wrote the CRNE exam today with over a thousand other nursing students. I don't really know how it went, though so many people have asked what percent I think I got. It's a pass or a fail, based on whatever they decide the pass mark is and eliminate some additional questions. Frustrating, but not the worst part!

We have to wait 6-8 weeks before we get our results back, so it's gonna be a while!

Anyways, back to food...

I decided to go to Carassauga last Saturday and it was so much fun! Visited most of the countries, sampled empanadas in Mexico, beavertails in Canada, and curry chicken roti in the Caribbean....not to mention a ton more different types of food and drinks! My favourite is coconut water from a fresh young coconut. The vendor used a cordless drill to make the hole so we could put straws in, and then when we drank all of the water, he cut it in half and we ate the jelly on the inside - YUM!! All in all, an awesome and well deserved day!

Here is a quick recipie that I made for my study group on Sunday. Actually, I made 24 mini chicken-broccoli-cheddar quiches but Colin and I ate almost half of them for dinner the night before, so only 12 made it to the study group. Ooops!!! ;)

lol...so here is my recipe for today!


Chicken-broccoli-cheddar quiches

Ingredients
24 Frozen mini tart shells, (in foil cups) thawed
4 eggeggs
1-1/4 cups cups(300 mL) (300 mL) milk
1 tsp(5 mL) (5 mL) Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp(1 mL) (1 mL) salt
1/4 tsp(1 mL) (1 mL) pepper

Filling:
1 small chicken breast, boiled and shredded
1-1/2 cups broccoli florets steamed
1 1cup cup(250 mL) (250 mL) your favourite shredded cheese


Preparation:
Filling: Place tart shells on rimmed baking sheet; divide chicken, broccoli and cheese among shells.

Separate:
In bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper; pour into tart shells. Bake in bottom third of 375°F (190°C) oven until pastry is golden and filling is just set, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm. (Make-ahead: Let cool. Refrigerate in airtight container for up to 3 days; reheat in 400°F/200°C oven for about 4 minutes.)


Variations:

Mini Mushroom and Ham Quiches: Omit Filling. Divide 4 mushrooms, finely diced; 2 oz (60 g) ham, cubed; and 2/3 cup (150 mL) shredded Cheddar cheese among tart shells.

Mini Double-Cheese and Spinach Quiches: Omit Filling. Divide half pkg (300 g pkg) frozen spinach, thawed, drained, squeezed dry and chopped; 1/2 cup (125 mL) diced rindless Brie cheese; 1/2 cup (125 mL) shredded Gruyère cheese; and pinch nutmeg among tart shells.

Mini Artichoke and Shallot Quiches: Omit Filling. Divide 2 oz (60 g) pancetta, diced; 4 small shallots, minced; and 1/2 cup (125 mL) marinated artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and diced, among tart shells.

Mini Shrimp and Smoked Paprika Quiches: Divide 1 cup (250 mL) small cooked shrimp, chopped, and 1/2 tsp (2 mL) smoked paprika among tart shells.


That's all I've got today folks! I'm off to bed. Until next time, have a yummy tummy!!

Studying....

I've been studying for my RN exam...which is in 4 days...so I haven't been cooking very much. Mostly a lot of quick throw-togethers or meals made from leftovers.

I made a Trinidad style stew chicken the other day. Oil, onions and garlic fried up in a big pot, throw the chicken in and fry it up a little, throw in some soya sauce (just a little for colour), some black pepper and water enough to cover the chicken. Let it cook down on a medium heat until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and there is enough water left for a little gravy. May have to add more water during cooking if it dries out. Serve on rice with side of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers!

I made that from watching my parents cook at home! My fiance said that he was happy I could make a variety of things. I take that as a compliment!

lol...so that lasted through 2 dinners :P Leftovers are awesome!

Tonight I cooked fast-fry steaks that I found at the grocery ($1.86 for 2), marinated with salt, pepper and a tiny bit of butter. Fried up on the pan and served with boiled potatoes and corn on the cob. In essence, it was quite a yummy dinner.

Tomorrow (Today-Saturday), I am going to Carassauga with my best friend and our sisters. Gonna be a girls day. Best part is that Carassauga (www.carassauga.ca) is held in Mississauga every year and there are about 80 pavillions at local community centres and arenas. Each pavillion hosts a different country from around the world where you can sample the foods, enjoy the culture and music, and meet all of the interesting vendors who try to sell you ornaments and items from their respected countries. It's so much fun but to be perfectly honest, Shawna and I have been going every year for the food!!

We have been looking forward to it for ages!! It's kinda our thing :P

I'm sure I'll have lots to tell!! Until next time, have a yummy tummy!!

Do you really need a reason?

So I decided to start this blog because I was talking to a good friend and it seemed like the thing to do. We all have facebook...well the vast majority of us, and I seem to be posting the dinners I love on there more often than not. My fiance is a lucky guy. I love to cook, and he loves to try everything I make. He gives constructive feedback which is good....most of the time...and I'm glad. Cooking is my vice. I find there is always something that calms me down and makes all the other stress feelings go away when I start mixing herbs and spices together.

I made yorkshire pudding for the first time two days ago. I saw it being made on Fixing Dinner on Global and so I though, hmmm...i made roast the night before with an amazing gravy....so why not make the Yorkshire pudding to go with leftovers tonight. Needless to say, it was a hit :)

***

Easy Yorkshire Pudding

• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups 1 % milk (325 mL)
• 1/2 cup flour (125 mL)
• Pinch salt
• Canola oil

1. Make Yorkshire Pudding by first preheating oven to 425 F (220 C).

2. Beat the egg in a medium bowl until slightly frothy. Whisk in milk until blended. Whisk in flour and salt. Let stand in fridge. Set timer for 25 minutes.

3. Place a drop of oil in each muffin tin (12 in total). Place in oven for a few minutes or until slightly smoking. Remove and immediately pour approx 1 tbsp of batter in each. Return to oven uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.

****

I made tacos last night. Heads up, the Old El Paso taco mix tastes better than the President's Choice one. The PC brand is much stronger....it works for 60 cents cheaper...but honestly, I'd rather spend the extra 60 cents for the Old El Paso brand once I start working at my new full-time job in June.

Anyway, I have laundry to do, as well as studying for the CRNE, and then I'm going away for the May long weekend! I may or may not blog, depending on what goes down. Until we meet again, have a yummy tummy!!

Miche