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Breakfast

Chorizo Leek Frittata

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A classic Italian egg dish, this Chorizo, Leek Frittata can be made for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner any day of the week.

Chorizo combined with Leek Frittata
Chorizo combined with Leek Frittata

Frittatas are a quick, customizable, light meal you can enjoy anytime. Try it hot or cold, paired with a salad and finished with fresh herbs.

A versatile egg dish, Frittatas can be made using seasonable ingredients or a variety of ingredients including leftovers.

Dig in to the Chorizo Leek Frittata
Dig in to the Chorizo Leek Frittata

While you can fold and flip your frittata, we prefer the stir and bake method in a cast iron pan. The pan will retain the heat and keep the frittata warm while serving.

Chorizo Leek Frittata
Chorizo Leek Frittata

Bring the entire pan to the table and serve with a green salad or thick slices of fresh tomato.

PRO TIPS:
  • Thoroughly rinse your leeks, remove the dark green end, dry, slice thin
  • Use leftover baked potatoes
  • Frittata’s need fat to make them creamy – go for the cream
  • Remove from oven a few minutes early as the cast iron pan will retain the heat and continue to cook the frittata
  • Replace chorizo with mushrooms for a meatless Monday option

Eggs can be a tasty alternative for dinner and we try to make some variation once a week for dinner. Do you have a favourite egg dish?

 

Plum Elderberry Syrup Hand Pies

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Our Plum Elderberry Syrup Hand Pies are made using prune plums that are available usually the end of summer and as Autumn begins.

Fall has always been my favourite time of the year. From the colours, to the crisp air, to the rustic baking and home cooked meals, it makes me have all the feels.

Plum Elderberry Syrup Hand Pies
Plum Elderberry Syrup Hand Pies

This is also the time of year the fresh local prune plums are available. We grew up with a prune plum tree or two in our yard and one of my fondest memory every Fall was the Plum Pierogi’s my mom would make. Sometimes I’d try to eat twenty of them in one serving (it’s true). Of course she made other pierogi’s too, but these were and remain my all time favourite.

If you can’t find prune plums, use whatever plums are in season in your local grocery store. Plums are an excellent stone fruit to have around. They are full of antioxidants giving them their colour, they become prunes aka dried plums and are heart healthy and low in calories!

Feel Good Elderberry Syrup
Feel Good Elderberry Syrup

We are in the kitchen working with Feel Good Syrup this month to create another delicious recipe using their Elderberry Syrup. Last month we made No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls just in time for back to school lunches.

You can bake and cook with the Feel Good Syrup or you can take it by the spoonful to help with colds and the flu. We always keep a bottle on hand for those moments well feel the sick coming on as a preventative maintenance!

Plum Hand Pie Preparation
Plum Hand Pie Preparation

I’ve had hand pies in my thoughts lately plus a basket of prune plums in the fridge meant for pierogi. Thinking about the plum flavours inspired me to create these plum hand pies. Our typical hand pie recipe calls for pie dough however these plum hand pies are made using puff pastry, an easier way to go.

Plum Hand Pies
Plum Hand Pies fresh out of the oven

Frozen puff pastry is a kitchen lifesaver and ingredient you can be thaw and use in many recipes making you look like a rock star. It’s buttery, flaky and crispy when baked and an easy solution when you do not want to make pie dough. There are two sheets of puff pastry in a package which will make a total of six decent sized hand pies.

Plum Hand Pies made using Elderberry Syrup
Plum Hand Pies made using Feel Good Elderberry Syrup
In Calgary watch for Feel Good Syrup to be launching at all Blush Lane Organic Market locations. If you are not in Alberta, you can buy it online through their website.

We are working in collaboration with Feel Good Syrup on this post. All opinions, views expressed and recipe development are, as always, my own.

 

Plum Hand Pies
Plum Hand Pies

 

No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls

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No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls are full of antioxidants to help you boost your immune system while you enjoy a sweet treat.

No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls
No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls

Back to school shopping is in full swing for supplies, clothes, backpacks and school snacks. It’s amazing how much less my kids eat during summer holidays compared to when they are in school and needing fuel throughout the day. Baking snacks in advance, like these power balls, and freezing is one way to get ready for back to school before it arrives.

No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls
No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls

Elderberries are full of antioxidants, vitamins A, B and C plus are anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and are the most commonly used medicinal plants in the world. When it comes to antioxidant power, elderberry is higher in flavonoids than blueberries, cranberries, goji berries and blackberries.

Known as a treatment for cold and flu symptoms, Feel Good Elderberry Syrup can also be used when cooking or baking as a food flavouring.

No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls
No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls

No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls are a protein packed recipe you can freeze and pull out for breakfasts, pop into lunches or enjoy while out hiking or camping.

Using only 7 ingredients, they are loaded with nutritional foods like elderberry syrup, chia seeds, nut butter, hazelnuts (also called filberts) and dried cherries. This combination of super foods offer immune boosting antioxidants, protein, fiber and healthy fats.

Ingredients for the no bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls
Ingredients for the no bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls

Teaching our kids to make healthy choices is easy when you have great ingredients to work with. For more inspiring healthy recipes or back to school snacks check out our Date Energy Balls, or Pepperoni Pizza Muffin recipes.

No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls
No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls

We are working in collaboration with Feel Good Syrup on this post. All opinions, views expressed and recipe development are, as always, my own.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

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The holidays are busy whether you are expecting guests or plan on traveling during the season. One of the best things I can do to prepare my family for an influx of visitors in our house or even our family heading out on a road trip, is to make a batch of muffins to freeze, having them ready to go for any occasion. Muffins tend to freeze well allowing you to pull them out when guests arrive, or for lunches and snacks as needed.

Muffins were not something we ate growing up. In fact it wasn’t until I was a teenager that my mom started to cook more and became really good at cooking. She changed her own diet to eat healthy, incorporate whole wheat flour into her baking and she started eating better, which meant everyone ate better!

When I finished school I moved to Vancouver and can fondly recall many drive buy coffee and muffin trips while en-route to some big adventure. When my children were born I started making their food from scratch. Muffins were an easy way to get a healthy bite into them, especially mini muffins, and so I would make them regularly as they were requested often. One trick I like to use when making muffins is to combine half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour. It makes me feel good knowing I am able to gets some extra nutrients into my family without them knowing. These Blueberry Cardamom Muffins quickly became a family favourite.

My mom recently passed away suddenly and I’ve found myself looking back at many of her recipes including ones we made together. This Cranberry Orange Muffin is reminiscent of our times spent in the kitchen together baking.

 

Baking with whole wheat products has been a part of my life for such a long time. That’s why for this post I’ve partnered with Life’s Simple Ingredients to talk about wheat and why it’s important. The memory of my mom, her switching up her food routine back in the 80’s and 90’s after consulting a dietician to include wheat and whole grains, and sharing those changes with us is something I will always remember and continue doing with my own family.

There are many ways to incorporate wheat and whole grains into your daily diet. Some include having whole wheat bread, buns, bagels or wraps on hand for a quick, easy lunch or dinner when dinner is rushed due to kids activities. One of my favourite quick lunches is a whole wheat wrap with hummus and lots of fresh veggies, feta or goat cheese and hot peppers!

Enjoy whole grain cereals at breakfast. Change up your pasta routine by choosing the whole wheat variety or try making some whole wheat couscous, which essentially is tiny pasta. If using whole wheat products is new to you, start small. Buy some whole wheat flour and the next time you make muffins use half and half like I do. They really do taste better!

Wheat has been fueling our lives for centuries and is a reliable source of many benefits. So many reasons to include it in your diet and here’s some more facts that may surprise you!

Benefits of Whole Grain Whole Wheat

      • Whole grain wheat provides several grams of protein per serving.
      • The best thing about fibre is it helps you feel full longer which essentially stops the cravings and reaching for a snack. Equally important is how fibre aids digestion keeping bowel movements regular.
      • Sometimes I forget about the minerals in whole grain wheat. There is zinc, iron, magnesium and manganese all important for bones and immune building.
      • Whole grain wheat is high in B vitamins, including niacin, thiamin and riboflavin which help boost metabolism. Folate is another essential vitamin for the body.
      • The buzz word of the century is Antioxidants and for good reason. Phytic acid, lignin and sulfur compounds in whole grain wheat act as antioxidants, which as we’ve all heard are good for your body.

It’s healthy, it’s nutritious and worth learning more about. These Pepperoni Pizza Muffins are one of the most popular recipes here and they include whole wheat!

To learn more about Alberta wheat products, visit the Life’s Simple Ingredients website. You will find delicious recipes and inspiration, information about wheat and features on local Albertans.

This post was sponsored by the Alberta Wheat Commission’s Life’s Simple Ingredient campaign. All opinions and views expressed are, as always, my own.

Hot Chocolate Waffles

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Food hacks are everywhere these days. On food shows and in my social media feeds with captions like “55 food hacks that will change your life”, or “39 food hacks that will change the way you cook”. I’ve never understood why I would need so many but captions sell right?!

Hot Chocolate WafflesI came up with a food hack by accident. One day while making Nanaimo bars, I ran out of cocoa, substituted hot chocolate powder instead. Hot chocolate powder! It worked. So well in fact I used it again in these delicious hot chocolate waffles.

The kids poured maple syrup, chocolate syrup, whipping cream and powdered sugar on these bad boys. Spring Break Food.

Super Cool Food Hack: Use hot chocolate in place of cocoa powder for all the things. Or at least two.

 

 

 

Baked Apple Pancake

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The first time we had this baked apple pancake we were hanging out in the Okanogan in B.C. The people we were staying with made breakfast and this was one of the items they served. It was so good I immediately asked for the recipe, wrote it on a recipe card (over 10 years ago people, internet was still blooming) and tucked it away into my little black recipe box.

The little black recipe box made an appearance recently over the holidays, the Baked Apple Pie remade and much to my surprise absolutely adored and inhaled by my two little kids. I added a few of my own touches to the recipe and will be making it again soon using other fruits like pears, plums, summer stone fruit, even grapes.

The really cool thing about this pie is it puffs up while baking and settles back down once it comes out of the oven. Let everyone see it as it comes out of the oven for the ooohs and aaahs. Serve it with a sprinkle of icing sugar and some maple syrup.

Baked Apple Pancake

Raspberry Mango Swirl Smoothie Bowl

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The smoothie bowl breakfast trend continues to be the gift that keeps on giving. They are still all over instagram and this trend doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. The best thing about a smoothie bowl or smoothie in general is almost anything goes. Your favourite fruit, pick a healthy liquid (juice, cold tea, milk), bananas help thicken, vegetables like avocado and spinach, nuts, spices (we put cinnamon in every smoothie), chocolate – yes chocolate! The combinations are endless and you could have a smoothie a day plus get in several servings of much needed fruits and vegetables.

This raspberry mango swirl smoothie bowl combines two simple and easy to make smoothies. Frozen raspberry with orange juice and banana and frozen mango with orange juice and banana. Each have some added ice for thickness and some cinnamon for the antioxidants.

 

Yogurt Drop Scones

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Since I was small child I have loved cookbooks. Most likely because my mom had cookbooks I could peek at (Joy of Cooking, Five Roses Cookbook) and secondly because I’d been watching PBS Cooking Shows on Saturdays since the 70’s. When I moved away from home and to Vancouver, I would always fly home for Christmas. It was then my mom always had some cookbook or cooking wares item under the tree for me. My suitcase went home full of inspiration and my cookbook collection slowly increasing in size.

This year I joined in on a cookbook of the month club. I have been enjoying discovering new cookbooks through this club and trying new recipes, several I will make again. The cookbook for September is Mamushka, A Cookbook by Olia Hercules. This book shares recipes from Ukraine & Eastern Europe and is a cookbook I would have never found on my own. I’ve enjoyed several recipes from this book and will be sharing a few on the blog.

Olia’s scones recipe is what we would call small pancakes. This recipe makes a small batch so you will need to double it if you are feeding a family of four. Or a teenager. I’ve never played with Kefir before and was thrilled to find it locally for this recipe. These scones/pancakes were simply delicious and with only five ingredients in this recipe, one I will make again.

Olia calls these one of her most favourite recipes of all time, ones he makes for her son often as her mom did for her.

 

Cherry Bomb Smoothie

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Here’s a quick smoothie so simple you’ll read the recipe and say geesh why didn’t I think of that. Or maybe you already have. It’s these simple recipes that require very little thought or prep that are so enjoyable.

Why is this smoothie called cherry bomb you ask? Well cayenne. If you like heat then you can add more affer your first sprinkle. Keep adding until you get the buzz in the back of your throat. Omit all together if you would like to avoid heat. It’s delicious with or without but the cayenne is essentially what gives this smoothie it’s name: Cherry Bomb. Plus cayenne is good for you.

 

Cherry Bomb Smoothie
Cherry Bomb Smoothie

Homemade Sausage Patties

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I remember my sister in law serving up sausage patties while we were all out camping one summer. They were these perfectly formed sausage shaped coins (twoonie sized for my Canadian readers) purchased from the local Costco as an easy to cook main to accompany breakfast eggs or a dinner salad. I thought they were pretty cool and was left wondering why I didn’t think to bring something so convenient and easy.

These patties have the delicious addition of roasted garlic. If you can roast your garlic the night before or earlier in the day so it’s ready to go. They are an easy dinner served with green apple & jicama slaw, eggs, a light pasta or a salad. If you have time prep the ingredients the night before allowing the pork to infuse the flavours overnight.

A simple and healthy meal you can have on the table in less than 30 minutes.

 

Homemade Sausage Patties
Homemade Sausage Patties

Berry Orange Smoothie Bowl

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Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and this year it falls on a Sunday. We created this Berry Orange Smoothie Bowl a couple months ago and thought it would be perfect for Valentine’s Day! It’s loaded with healthy goodness and has some extra zing with added orange zest and fresh mint. The kids love this combination.

We tend to celebrate Valentine’s Day with food and as a family. I’ve never been caught up in the day, and the need for romantic things, but I enjoy more the time spent together (with all electronics off), watching the kids delight in making up cards for their friends and baking some delicious treats. After all food is love or is that love is food?

Our favourite thing to do on Valentine’s Day is to fondue. Some people think fondue went away and make a big deal about it coming back. Actually it never left the building. Back in the 90’s I would swap ideas with friends out East who put on big fondue parties. I picked up lots of great tips and tricks for dips and still have the email print out of her recipes!

The next decade I started blogging and hearing about different ways to fondue. Back in the day it was more oil fondues but we’ve been doing broth for the past 14 years. So from what I’ve seen, it’s never stopped or slowed down. We love it and make it a tradition to fondue on Valentine’s Day. Now the kids are older and we don’t have to worry so much about  them burning themselves or getting tangled in all the cords. This year we have invited over my single mom friend and her two kids. Our International Student from China will also get to experience fondue for the first time. We do broth, cheese and chocolate. I’m getting quite excited thinking about it.

Valentines Blog Hop
Valentines Blog Hop

This year I’m participating in a Valentine’s Day Blog Hop Recipe round up with local food bloggers. Be sure to check out their blogs to see what’s cooking in their kitchen this Valentine’s Day and Family Day Long Weekend here in Alberta. They are Merry About Town, Food Mamma, Dish N The Kitchen, and Edible Life in YYC.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you, however you choose to celebrate!

 

Mango Coconut Smoothie

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January is typically about smoothies for me. Trying to eat better following December’s eating palooza of treats, fatty foods and alcoholic beverages. By the time New Years comes around I’m feeling it and need a healthy kick. Enter smoothies.

Versatile and delicious, anything goes right. You don’t have to put a lot of thought into them. Juice, coconut milk, even water can be the liquid that loosens it all up. Keep some frozen berries or fruit on hand. Add in cinnamon, or not. Play a little and find a combo that works for you.

I was low on supplies when I made this. I alway try to have coconut milk on hand and some form of frozen fruit. Every thing else is bygones.

 

Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl

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Most of you know I adore smoothies and have been making them since as far as I can remember…the 90’s…80’s? Don’t judge me, my memory is not the best at times! My kids love them and I have even managed to get my husband drinking them (and hiding all kinds of goodies inside).

Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl
Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl

I admittedly am not a leader and never have been. I don’t jump on band wagons to be the first to do, try or make things…nor do I have to get the latest and greatest item. I choose to take a different approach rather, and that is observe. I’m a huge people watcher and love to watch how things play out. I’ve been observing the smoothie bowl trend for awhile now and never had any interest in making one since I prefer to drink my smoothies vs scooping them up with a spoon.

Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl
Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl

But sometimes curiously gets the best of me and I bite. So I bit, twice for a magazine. This is the first of two recipes I created for an article. I’ve seen pictures of smoothie bowls come through my feeds and honestly never liked the looks of many of them – the lines of toppings across the smoothie – not my thing. So I tried a different approach with mine and topped it with a quick fruit salsa, making it pretty and simple.

When it came time to test them after all the photographing was done, I spooned, I scooped and honestly I quite enjoyed the experience. I even strawed this party in a bowl, for one.

Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl
Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl

I may or may not be converted now. Which do you prefer, smoothie bowls or smoothies in a glass/cup?

 

Blueberry Mango Smoothie Bowl

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I’m not one to jump on a bandwagon. Never have been, never will be. Instead I view myself as an observer. I like to sit back, watch and see how it all unfolds. Over time. Cautious. Curious. Quiet. Discrete. A people watcher. Have always loved the bars for that very thing.

The smoothie bowl craze has been going on for a while now. And I’ve never really got it. I’ve been making smoothies since the 1990’s (yes it’s true) and the kids simply adore making them. What a great way to get extra good stuff into them. And then it hit me. Why not give it a go. Pour your damn smoothie into a bowl and add toppers to make it all pretty. Can’t be hard. Sounds pretty simple really. But I kept thinking about why would I want to eat my smoothie with a spoon when I’m a straw gal? So curious got to me and I did it. Made 3 of them in 6 days actually and ate my way through that damn bowl.

You know what I liked about it? Well it was a normal smoothie first off, but it had texture, chewy texture from the toppers and I found this uber cool. And I kind of liked eating it with a spoon. Who knew?! I might be a smoothie bowl convert. Maybe.

 

 

 

Banana Orange Honey Muffins

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It might be hard to believe but our Banana Orange Honey Muffins are made without sugar and without eggs!

We try to use less white sugar and find suitable replacements. Honey or maple syrup are our go to when replacing white sugar and we almost always have success.

To make these muffins I added leftover orange honey and mashed banana instead of sugar. They turned out really good with just a hint of orange, and now I’m not so afraid to replace sugar with honey in other recipes!

No worries if you don’t have honey or maple syrup on hand, use 1/2 cup white sugar in replace of the honey. Adding orange zest and juice adds to the flavour especially if you do not have orange honey, which I usually do not!

Banana Orange Honey Muffins
Banana Orange Honey Muffins

Let me know what you think of these muffins in the comments if you make them. They are super moist, tasty and great for snacks and breakfast!

 

Berry Lentil Smoothie

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Smoothies and lentils are not two words you would normally find together. I’d never heard of a smoothie being made with lentils before so when a Canadian Lentils Contest came round for Canadian Food Bloggers, I decided to make smoothie made with lentils and enter the contest.

I didn’t win the contest but I won my kids over as they had no clue their smoothies were made with lentils!

It’s important to use cooked lentils in this recipe as they are soft and puree easily. I add everything into my blender or container at once. We enjoy our smoothies thick like milkshakes as they tend to melt quick. Adding smoothies is a great way to get an added protein boost.

 

Orange Waffles

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Recently these orange waffles have become one of our favourites for breakie. We go through stages. We’re crazy like that. We’ve been on a waffle kick for a couple months now. The waffle maker has been taking up permanent residence on the counter. Might need to move and dust under it soon.

A while back I attempted for the first time ever, chicken & waffles. Surprised everyone, as it was a huge hit. I’ve had requests to make it again. Now that I can cook on the BBQ and not smoke up the house with the chicken, I’m excited to cook up another batch of chicken and waffles. Mmmmm.

The orange flavour in these waffles is light but memorable. We almost always have to have them with maple syrup, whipping cream and a little orange zest for good measure. Important to note this recipe only makes 6 individual waffles and if you end up loving them as much as we do, you will need to double the recipe. Just sayin.

 

Grilled Cheese Wafflewich

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You won’t believe how easy these Grilled Cheese Wafflewich’s are to make. We experiment a lot with our pie irons when we go camping and are assembling quite a collection of these fantastic camping cooking tools. One of my favourite things right now to make with them is pie using canned pie filling and some dough I bring along and mix up on the spot. Treats on the fire.

More favourites include making pizzas in the pie irons and of course grilled cheese sandwiches. I love to grab leftover hamburger buns, or any kind of bread I can squish in and make a grilled cheese adding anything I can find. Breakfast sammy’s this way are equally fantastic using ham or bacon, scrambled eggs, cheese, veggies and the beat goes on.

We haven’t been camping yet this year but have four trips planned for the summer. I can’t wait. Until then the urge hit this weekend for one of the pie iron grilled cheese sammy’s so I pulled out the waffle maker. Plus I had some burger buns to use up. And some bacon.

The husband and the boy loved it. The girl was gone for the night so didn’t get to partake.

Make any variation you like, using regular bread or buns that are squishable. You will not be able to press a bun that is too firm (ie: pretzel bun) in either the pie iron or waffle maker.

 

Roasted Garlic & Sausage Casserole

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This year I was asked to be part of The Great Cream Challenge 2014. This cross Canada recipe challenge pairs 3 Canadian Food Bloggers against each other in a special monthly cooking challenge. At the beginning of the year you pick three challenges (one per month) to participate in using real cream, and then let the recipe testing madness begin.

My first challenge was in January and called The Slow Cooker Challenge. I made a Dulce de Leche Bread Pudding and came in 2nd out of 3 bloggers. It was a ton of fun.

My second challenge quickly followed and this Roasted Garlic & Sausage Casserole, was my recipe submission for April’s The Family Brunch Challenge. A little more labour intensive with a few extra steps, but it is well worth it and perfect for a special Mother’s Day or Father’s Day Brunch at home. This time I placed…..2nd out of 3 bloggers! Foiled again ha ha but at least I lost to another Alberta Food Blogger. My 3rd and final challenge is coming up in June, so who knows, maybe third times a charm? I’ve had a great time either way and loved the friendly competition with my fellow food bloggers.

To save time you can cook up your sausage, potatoes, roast your garlic, and toast your bread cubes the night before. Assemble all the next morning and Bob’s Your Uncle. Or Fred.

Either way family breakfast casseroles started with my mom and this family breakfast casserole is a fun tradition I have continued with my own children. This version has some roasted garlic, fresh tomatillos, and is topped it with cooked bacon and fresh eggs.

It’s definitely luxurious, but then everything in moderation, right?

 

Waffle Cone Fruit Salad

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A fun treat for the kids any time of the year. During Winter you may be limited to using whatever fruit is available in your grocery store. I know we definitely are here as certain out of season fruit that has been shipped in from afar, tends to taste bland and not good. In Summer fresh fruit can be found everywhere.

I’ve been making this waffle cone treat for the kids for years. When I make my fruit salad, the only thing I add in sometimes is fresh, thinly sliced mint. I enjoy the full, sweet flavours of the fruit and don’t feel it needs a dressing. I’ve taught my kids to enjoy these simple flavours as well. If you need to have a dressing with your fruit salad, by all means use your favourite. Or even mix in a little yogurt. You can also buy the mini cones and make small versions of this treat for those “mini” hands.

This recipe is incredibly simple and can be used in many ways: great for birthday parties, an alternative to the constant request of “can I have an ice cream cone”, good camping treats, a quick breakfast with a side of yogurt, make it for lunch with some cheese & crackers on the side, add a small dollop of whipping cream on top, make it for game day or bring to a potluck.

But the best part is the kids can be involved in making this enjoyable treat.

 

Candied Bacon

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Wanted to play with bacon one day so I decided to try making a candied bacon. That’s the problem when there is a package of bacon in the refrigerator, it demands to be made into something. Since I’ve heard so much about candied bacon and chocolate dipped bacon, I decided to pick one and candied bacon it was to be.

I figured there would be brown sugar and possibly maple syrup in the recipe, but since I had never made candied bacon before I took to google to discover how it was done.

The reason behind my bacon madness today? I was testing out a brown sugar baked brie and thought it would be the perfect topping to finish it off. Now that I’ve discovered candied bacon I’m hooked and sorry it took me so long to make this delightful bite. There are so many recipes this would be good in, and as such, appears to have enhanced my love affair with bacon.

Try it in salad (ie: Cesar salad), with pasta (sprinkle it on a Pasta a La Carbonara – drool) or even sprinkle some on a beef stew or beef chili before serving.

 

Pumpkin Pancakes

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Autumn always brings a harvest of delicious produce, and admittedly it’s my favourite time of the year. I love experimenting with pumpkin, and watching the kids try pumpkin recipes I’m testing and love it. One of my favourite go to Fall cookie recipes is my Pumpkin Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are delightful. The combination of chocolate, and pumpkin is sinfully delicious. I decided to take this combination, and make pancakes for the minions one day for lunch. They kept asking for more.

Using my Basic Pancake Recipe, I added in some pumpkin, and chocolate chips. I doubled this recipe, and made two sizes, regular pancakes and dollar size. Once cooled down you can separate them with parchment or wax paper, carefully place them into a freezer bag, and store them in the freezer. Breakfast and/or brunch is ready whenever you need them.

My boy was curious when he heard they were pumpkin pancakes. He then went on to eat 6 of them. Sigh growing I suspect. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

 

Blueberry Cardamom Muffins

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Everybody has a blueberry muffin recipe. Blueberries with lemon glaze, orange zest, cinnamon, white chocolate, nutmeg, nuts, anything seems to go. When I created these muffins I was looking for a quick way to use up my BC blueberries. Using the muffin method recipe we were taught in high school (ha ha ha, it’s true), I decided to try adding in coconut & cardamom to see what kind of flavour we could achieve.

Using cardamom was something I had heard used in pancakes from an old colleague. It appeared to be a spice gaining popularly so trying it in muffins seemed legit. It was an unusually cool Fall day in August, which made it feel right to whip up a batch of muffins and smell up the house.

This recipe makes approximately 16 large muffins.

 

Crepes

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Crepes in our family is a 40 year strong tradition. I grew up eating crepes. My mom cooked them mostly when strawberries were in season and they were one of my favourite breakfasts. I’m sure I must have bugged her to make them all the time. She would serve them with a cooked strawberry sauce, fresh strawberries and sour cream. Sometimes, if we were lucky, we would get whipping cream or cool whip as it was popular back in the 1980’s.

The past decade has seen an explosion of Crepe Cafe’s. From Robson Street in Vancouver to Market Mall in Calgary. I love trying the sweet and savory options and then coming home and experimenting! The kids tend to stick with the sweet variations but we get kind of crazy with our add ins. Husband too, he’s gone as far as breakfast sausage and peanut butter. Did I mention we are crazy? Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, I grew up eating breakfast sausages with peanut butter and it’s actually very tasty!

Several years ago I invested in a good crepe pan and crepe making has become much easier. Most of the time I follow the path of my mom with my own flair added in. Toppings include some sort of cooked citrus infused berry sauce, fresh fruit, jam, peanut butter, nutella, chocolate chips, cinnamon sugar, marshmallows (s’more crepes are delicious) and once in awhile I even whip up some fresh cream.

Here is the crepe recipe we use. This recipe makes up to 24 crepes, but most in our family eat 3 each at a serving. The rest get frozen for next time.

Recipe published July 2013