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Chicken Taco Salad

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Here’s another great recipe idea for leftover roast chicken – our Chicken Taco Salad!

Chicken Taco Salad
Chicken Taco Salad

This remains one of those recipes we have made regularly in our house. We have decided documenting all the recipes we make on the fly will help the kids down the road and myself for when I go senile and can no longer easily remember recipes easily!

Use leftover cooked chicken in this Chicken Taco Salad
Chicken Taco Salad

Here’s the deal – whether you are buying already roasted rotisserie chicken which I like to do since it’s a time saver, or roasting at home, buy or cook two at a time.

This allows for roast chicken leftovers which are one of my favourites and the perfect canvas for many leftover chicken recipes.

Assemble all your salad ingredients for this Chicken Taco Salad
Chicken Taco Salad Ingredients

Since we are definitely experts at using up leftover roast chicken, here’s a few tips to remember.

PRO TIPS

  • As soon as chicken is cool enough to handle remove legs, wings and all meat from carcass.
  • Save carcass and make stock, freeze for later or break down and compost.
  • Separate legs and wings from loose boneless breast meat and refrigerate or freeze in separate packages.
  • Legs and wings can be used in soups or taken on picnics.
  • Use boneless meat in salads, soups, sandwiches, casseroles, Mexican food and more.

The nice thing about a chicken taco salad is you can add whatever you like. Like red onion, add it. Want pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream or salsa on your taco salad – go for it. Jalapenos? Now your talking.

Chicken Taco Salad
Chicken Taco Salad with dressing drizzled on top.

This is why we serve our chicken taco salad family style. Everyone gets to make their own variation.

I had some leftover corn tacos in the refrigerator so I cut them into thin strips and fried them. These are the fried strips on the salad.

If you do not feel like cutting up corn tortillas and frying them, use broken tortilla chips, Doritos, Fritos, whatever crunchy taco chip floats your boat.

Like this recipe? Check out our other Taco Recipes:

Instant Pot:  Instant Pot Chicken Tacos

Vegetarian: Lentil, Roasted Butternut Squash and Black bean Tacos

Pasta: Taco Pasta

Red Snapper with Green Beans

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Make this fresh Red Snapper with Green Beans and a jalapeno mint drizzle in 30 minutes or less.

Red Snapper with Green Beans
Red Snapper with Green Beans

Growing up in the small town of Terrace, B.C. my dad used to go fishing regularly.

He and his friends would go out ocean fishing once or twice a season and bring home everything from halibut, red snapper, ling cod, heck there was even an octopus in the kitchen sink once. My mom made a Portuguese soup with that octopus if I recall correctly.

Truth is we never knew what he was going to come home with but mom my was always ready for a fish feed.

Red Snapper witih Green Beans
Red Snapper with Green Beans

Red Snapper is a firm fish, like halibut or cod, that will hold it’s shape nicely when cooked. Expect a nice flavour with this fish.

Living in a land locked Province it’s hard to find fresh fish. When you do manage to get your hands on some, you will want to cook it within a day or two.

We wanted a simple meal so we mixed our steamed green beans with thinly sliced red onion, scallions and mint, topping it with a lime jalapeno drizzle before adding the pan seared snapper.

Replace green beans with grilled or roasted asparagus, or serve with a robust salad.

Red Snapper without scallions on top
Red Snapper without scallions on top

PRO TIPS:

  • Unless the fish has been boned, assume it has bones that may need to be removed. Use clean needle nose pliers and take your time removing bones.
  • This is a great fish for fish and chips
  • A versatile fish, it lends well to quick marinades, roasting, pan searing, grilling and hearty fish soup
  • Can be cooked as a whole fish or fillets
  • For this recipe we used skinned fillets however skin on will also work. Start by searing your fish skin side down.

Do you have a favourite fish memory or fish you like to cook with?

 

How to Make Labneh

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Thick spreadable strained yogurt is topped with extra virgin olive oil and some spices to create Labneh, a delightful any time dish.

Labneh
Labneh

Labneh is all the rage these days and so it should be. It’s healthy, simple to make and a tasty addition to any potluck or afternoon snack arrangement.

In the 90’s my mom used to strain yogurt. I would fly in from Vancouver for a visit only to find a strainer full of yogurt in a cheese cloth hanging out in the fridge for the sole purpose of making it thicker to consume.

In those days you could not buy Greek Yogurt and my mom was on a healthy kick.

Labneh in it's cheese cloth
Labneh in it’s cheese cloth

I flew home to Vancouver and tried straining yogurt a few times myself using it on bagels and for dips. Then I forgot about it.

An experience with mezze, cookbook club cookbooks, a local cafe selling labneh (that has since closed) and restaurant outings reunited me with labneh reminding me how much I loved strained yogurt.

Labneh
Labneh added to a serving dish

I often wonder if my mom knew she was making labneh but didn’t really know it was labneh? She’s no longer around to ask so one will never know.

PRO TIPS:
  • You can use whole fat plain yogurt or 2 % plain yogurt, they both work
  • Use any combination of herbs and spices to top the labneh with or try sliced scallion, pistou, shallots chopped fine, chopped roasted garlic
  • Instead of cheese cloth I have used unbleached muslin fabric that I use to sew with
  • You can blend labneh, like cream cheese, with olives, sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers to make it more flavourful
  • The cafe near our house sold labneh balls. Take small spoonfuls of your labneh and roll into small balls. Then marinate/store in olive oil before serving or roll in a variety of fresh chopped herbs and spices.

 

 

Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas – 30 Minute Meal

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Meals come together quickly when you use the broil feature in your oven to make these simple Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas.

Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

These fajitas can be on the table in 30 minutes or less when you prep things in advance or get the gang to help with dinner preparation. Once dinner prep is done, it’s as simple as preheating your oven, tossing items onto your baking sheet and selecting broil. In about 12 minutes you are sitting down to eat dinner.

Serve with bowls of your favourite taco or fajita fillings like grated cheese, jalapenos, banana peppers, guacamole, sour cream even salsa.

We make up our own seasoning for the chicken however buy a pre-made taco or fajita seasoning to save time or if you don’t have all the spices available.

PRO TIPS:

  • Change up your onions by using white or yellow instead.
  • Use whatever peppers you love.
  • Cut everything the same size to ensure even cooking times.
  • Warm flour tortillas before serving.

Warming Flour Tortillas

On the Stove: turn your burner to medium, toss one on, watch it, after a few seconds flip it with tongs and set onto a plate. Do this with all of them and keep them covered under a dish towel until ready to serve.

Microwave: Add a few tortillas on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave in 30-second intervals until they are warm. Repeat in batches of until all your tortillas are warm keeping them under a dish towel until ready to serve.

Oven: In a 350F pre-heated oven, wrap tortillas in foil, place on rimmed baking sheet and put on lower rack in oven until warmed through (about 15-20 minutes) while your fajitas cook.

Let’s get cooking!

 

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.

Iceberg Wedge Salad with Bacon

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A salad needs only a few ingredients and a fantastic dressing to make it a salad and this Iceberg Wedge Salad with Bacon offers all those things and more.

Wedge Salad History

The history of the Wedge Salad has been found to date back to 1916 in a book called “Salads, Sandwiches & Chafing Dish Recipes” by Marion Harris Neil. Iceberg lettuce was a very popular item in those days, most likely super cheap and a good canvas for adding flavours. With fewer ingredients to cook with in those days Marion’s recipe is simply Roquefort cheese and hard boiled eggs with a light dressing. In the decades to follow the wedge salad became a delightful and popular starter course to order when dining out.

Wedge Salad with Bacon
Wedge Salad

The traditional classic wedge salad of the 1970s could be found in many steakhouses and would always be laden with blue cheese dressing, crispy bacon, and hard boiled egg all on top of an iceberg lettuce wedge.

Wedge Salad with Bacon
Wedge Salad with Bacon & Pistachios

In the last ten years the wedge salad has begun to make a comeback popping up on menus all over the country. Many recipes stick true to the traditional wedge salad ingredients, however at Bakersbeans we see no point in following tradition and as always love to put our own spin on recipes.

A wedge salad, like any bright green salad can be dressed up or dressed down however you choose. Adding beans, nuts, chopped vegetables or fruit, different cheese, salad dressings, even protein changes the game and gives you a new fresh salad every time you make it.

I’ve been playing with my food aka wedge salads for the past month. We decided this week will be wedge salad week in our house. One head of iceberg lettuce can make four meal sized wedge salads, therefore stay tuned for three more wedge salads this week!

Pro Tips:

  • Leave the stem on, slice a thin piece off the bottom and eat around it. Keeping the stem on helps hold the wedge together.
  •  This recipe makes enough for one wedge. Double ingredients for more wedge salads.
  • Sprinkle a little water on your leftover lettuce head and use plastic wrap pressed against the cut side of the lettuce head and wrapped around it to stop it from turning brown.
  • If you do not like to cut into your salad, simply cut up the salad, toss everything currently on your plate and boom you have a regular plated salad.

This salad is a knife and forker and currently one of our favourites. Be sure to check out our other wedge salads: BLT Wedge Salad and Greek Wedge Salad.

What is your favourite salad?

 

 

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese

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I recently met with the owner of a local grilled cheese restaurant who approximately one year ago closed her former location with intentions on opening in a new hood. It took some time, but finally the opportunity came in the perfect cozy little package. Almost ready to open, she still had to write the menu on the board, get her liquor license and complete a few other tasks, but without a doubt, she was ready to rock in roll.

Around the same time I stopped in to check out the new digs, I came across a photo of a jalapeno grilled cheese I had made once upon a time. There are many of those once upon a time photos that never got matched up with a recipe. Suddenly I wanted grilled cheese. And jalapenos. So it happened and here it is in all it’s glory. Important to note I use mayonnaise to “butter” my bread. It works just as good as butter and is cheaper.

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese

 

Dublin Coddle

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A Dublin Coddle is a one pot dish originating in Dublin, Ireland. Typically leftover pork sausage, ham, bacon, potatoes and onion are tossed into a heavy pot, topped with stock, covered and baked for a couple hours to blend the flavours and cook the potatoes.

Dublin Coddle
An Irish Stew – Dublin Coddle

While channel surfing one night, You Gotta Eat Here, the Canadian version of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, caught my eye. The crew and host were filming in Dublin, Ireland and featuring a Chef making a Dublin Coddle. I was very Intrigued, it looked so good. The Chef used ham hock, a couple different pork sausages and bacon. He said pork was the main ingredient and his Dublin Coddle had four variations of pork products.

A Dublin Coddle dates back to the 1700s and is traditionally a dish eaten during the colder months using up leftovers in the fridge. The name ‘coddle’ is most likely derived from caudle, which comes from the French term meaning to boil gently, parboil or stew. Or so the research indicates.

Dublin Coddle
Dublin Coddle

This stew reminds me of another stew I use to make on the stove consisting of smoked sausage, potatoes and carrots. A very simple dish yet the potatoes cooking down in both provide a creaminess to the stew without adding any dairy products. I also use a dark ale, stout or porter in this coddle.

PRO TIPS:

  • Dark beer adds depth and flavour to slow cooked dishes. A light beer will not offer the same flavour.
  • Have crusty bread or Irish Soda Bread on hand to mop up the broth.
  • Great dish to make while camping. Prepare what you can in advance, keep cool until ready to cook in a heavy bottom pot with a lid.
Dublin Coddle
Dublin Coddle

Try this stew on St. Patrick’s Day – our kids loved it! Serve with Irish Soda Bread and beer!

 

Broken Glass

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A popular potluck item for decades, Broken Glass is an easy, pretty and show stopping jello dessert to make for your guests or with your kids.

Broken Glass
Broken Glass

We’ve taken this treat to potluck gatherings, class activities and enjoyed them as snacks at home. You can colour code it to a birthday party theme, bridal showers, picnics, or any kind of holiday celebration. Simply pick your favourite jello colours and follow the instructions.

One of my closest friends mom’s made it once for our little girls 2nd birthday party. She made it rainbow coloured and it was such a special treat for us I had to recreate what she did and make it for Valentine’s Day.

Broken Glass
Broken Glass

Plan in advance of your event as you will need two days to let the jello set up. I have little cookie cutters that I like to use to cut smaller shapes and a few in the shapes of hearts.

I used the heart shaped cutters instead of cutting cubes to make jello hearts. When adding them to the casserole dish they went in just before the milk and were selectively placed. To ensure I had an equal mix of red to white I used only 2 small boxes of jello. You could use more however I like the white to show through.

Broken Glass
Broken Glass

The instructions are fairly straight forward to make this dessert. Give yourself time and have fun! Do you have a favourite Valentine’s Day treat you like to make for your family?!

 

Ras el Hanout Hummus

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Ras el Hanout is an aromatic spice blend common in Moroccan cooking. The name in Arabic means “head of the shop,” and literally refers to the best spices a store has to offer.

It’s a spice blend gaining popularity and becoming more mainstream in kitchen pantries. One interesting fact about this spice is no two Ras el Hanout spice blends are the same. What does this mean? Many will include cardamom, nutmeg, anise, mace, cinnamon, ginger, various peppers, and turmeric. But every company that creates this blend has their own secret combination. In fact they could use up to 30 of their own best spices to create their own blend. To add to the mystique, the list of traditional ingredients has been said to even include hashish and Spanish Fly.

 

Ras el Hanout Hummus
Ras el Hanout Hummus

 

I’ve had this little spice gem in my spice pantry for the last couple of years. It still carries a strong and lovely smell and tastes equally delicious when added to any food. I started adding it to roasted chick peas and that’s what brought us to making this recipe.

The flavour of this hummus enhances as it sits in the fridge. Eat it with with pita, in wraps, with fresh vegetables, even on crispy crackers. Start your kids young eating hummus with their fresh veggies, a healthier option instead of ranch dressing. If you are into trying some new hummus recipes do check out my Cilantro & Black Pepper Hummus and Roasted Jalapeno Hummus.

What’s you favourite flavour of hummus and how do you like to eat it?!

 

 

Roast Turkey Pho

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Back in the 90’s Robson Street was Vancouver’s outdoor shopping mall with great restaurants and cafes as well as all kinds of high end stores to tickle your fancy in. It was a seen and be seen place to be. In fact it still is. Walking up and down Robson every time I go to Vancouver to visit brings back vivid memories of the time spent living there. At one point I lived in the West End so merely a hop skip and jump over to Robson Street to take it all in.

I was a part time Gapper back in those days, and my time working at The Gap on Robson was extremely adventurous, it was an experience. I ate out a lot (single in the city) and one of my favourite little stops was a little hole in the wall cafe on Robson Street. This eclectic little place served up the best soup I’d ever had and I would visit whenever a cold struck. This soup was Pho, pronounced Fuh. Pho is not the same as Ramen, which is darker and richer cooked entirely from pork bones, but rather traditionally made from beef and scented with star anise, cinnamon and ginger.

Roast Turkey Pho

Pho is an anytime soup but most comforting in the Fall and Winter on those days you need a bowl that hugs you back and some comfort food. The most important component to a Pho is the broth. Enjoyed in a restaurant, Pho broth is typically simmered for hours on end resulting in a delicious tasting broth with many levels of flavour. For this Roasted Turkey Pho Broth I can honestly say my turkey stock simmered for 4- 5 hours. Was left to sit for several hours while it cooled and then further cooled in the fridge with all it’s aromatics and turkey bones for up to two days. The result, the best tasting turkey stock I’ve ever made.

There was only one thing to do at this point, try to make a pho soup in stead of your basic turkey noodle soup to use up the last of the 15lb roast turkey. While shopping for ingredients for my turkey pho, I discovered Campbell’s offers a new product, Pho Broth. So I did what any virgin pho maker would do and bought a pack, you know just in case the turkey broth was lacking in flavour. After straining the turkey broth and getting 6 cups of intensely flavoured broth, I decided to add in the package of pho broth to make approximately 8 cups. I just knew it was going to be good.

This quick version of pho is layered with each ingredient giving you the full restaurant experience.

Create your Pho Bowl

Rost Trukey Pho w/ingredients

When you make this recipe you must get your soup bowl ready and start with the cooked noodles, gingerly placing on the bottom of the bowl. Ladle in your hot broth gently moving around the noodles with chopsticks to ensure they are not sticking together. The next layer is the turkey breast, add a good heaping spoonful. At this point you add whatever toppings you prefer that are available. We eat family style here so it makes sense for each person to customize their pho.

Looking for other ways to use up leftover turkey? This soup is very popular and quite tasty: Turkey, Bacon & Corn Chowder.

 

 

 

 

 

Smoked Salmon on Pumpernickel Rye

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Smoked Salmon on Pumpernickel Rye comes together quickly and is easy to prepare in advance or when you arrive at your gathering when you have your ingredients prepped and ready to go.

Smoked Salmon on Pumpernickel Rye
Smoked Salmon on Pumpernickel Rye

Coming from the Pacific West Coast, I’ve eaten my fair share of smoked salmon. Even freshly smoked then canned via my momma. As a child my dad would catch river salmon and smoke it regularly. I craved it. When I moved to Vancouver I had a hard time eating smoked salmon that was not his. Eventually lox and cream cheese on bagels won me over and I let go of that craving. But it still resides in my thoughts as a taste I will never forget.

Smoked Salmon on Pumpernickel Rye
Smoked Salmon on Pumpernickel Rye

Did you know this recipe’s origins are German? We were asked to bring an appetizer to a recent family gathering or celebration of cultures. Since we have a Spanish student living with us, I wanted to hi-light some Spanish food. But he’s 16 and we couldn’t get it together in time.

I reached out to another former student from Germany, one who has become a second daughter to us. I am partially German with relatives living in Germany so I was intrigued to see what she would suggest. She sent me pictures of lox on Pumpernickel German Rye Bread and advised it’s very popular in Germany. I clearly had no idea! This was a dish I could get behind and off I went to find pumpernickel rye and lox.

Pumpernickel German Rye Bread is a heavy, dense and simply flavoured bread. Lox is sold everywhere here but as a touristy item. Fortunately thanks to twitter I located some that was both a decent price and delicious. The bread came from the European deli.

What I put together really didn’t look much like the photos she sent me but more based on my memory of lox on bagels with cream cheese. And the best part of it all, our Spanish student helped me assemble these German appetizers and did his share of eating them. I expected nothing less from a growing teenager.

 

 

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Wings

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Mix, marinate if time allows, turn on your crockpot and let these Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Wings cook while you prepare the rest of your meal!

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Wings
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Wings

Why the Slow Cooker?

When I fry the wings I tend to do it outside on the burner of our BBQ to avoid grease splatter all over my kitchen. I’m avoiding purchasing a deep fryer as it’s another appliance I do not have room for! Can any one else relate?

As a chicken wing lover I do prefer my wings to be crispy vs fatty. These slow cooker wings are finished in the oven at high heat ensuring a crispy finish.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Wings
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Wings

Other Ways to Use Chicken Wings

Besides eating them of course?!

We use chicken wings to help make our gravy when roasting a turkey. Roasting the wings with aromatic herbs and vegetables provides a depth of flavour to the gravy. Another use is to toss them into soup, like chicken noodle soup.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Wings
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Wings

Since these wings slow cook in the crockpot, they end up incredibly moist and practically fall off the bone. Putting them under the broiler for a few minutes makes them crispy on the outside yet they remain moist on the inside.

Looking for other chicken recipes?

Thinking about buying your own slow cooker?! Check out 10 Best Slow Cookers of 2019, According to Appliance Experts.

 

Apple Sponge

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There are only so many days in a month and when you have over half a cookbook flagged with recipes to try, the struggle becomes real. Plus kids, activities, events to attend, life in general! But I’m determined and so I made my way through a good handful of recipes from Olia Hercule’s cookbook Mamushka.

The monthly cookbook club I belong to allows you to try any recipe you want and share it to Instagram. There are no other requirements besides check out what others in the club are making. I have found through this process this year there are several recipes I would make again. This being one of them.

This Apple Sponge contains no rising agent. You create height by beating air into the eggs. The cake was moist and using Fall apples harvested at their peak makes it the perfect Autumn dessert. I added salt to the recipe to enhance the flavour but that’s entirely your choice.

Olia’s mom would make this whenever they had a craving for something sweet, calling it biskvit (“a sponge”).

 

 

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.

 

Sweet Red Chili Glazed Chicken with Salad

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Summer days can be hot leaving us with no interest in cooking a big meal. Simple, light and easy meals like our Sweet Red Chili Glazed Chicken with Salad are how we get through summer!

Sweet-Chili-Chicken-v2

Leftover sweet red chili sauce, grilled local corn and fresh in season asparagus become the canvas for this salad. We whipped up a cilantro dressing which complemented the salad nicely. If you do not like cilantro, use basil instead.

 

This meal may seem labour intensive but it’s really not. First thing get your lettuce cleaned and corn/asparagus ready for the grill and BBQ them. Grill chicken next. While it’s cooling a bit get your dressing ready. Finally finish off the chicken and assemble. The first time I made this dish I admittedly kept two of the chicken thighs out of the glaze as I thought the kids would like it. Boy was I wrong. They devoured all the glazed chicken and LOVED it!

 

Here’s how we did it.

 

Italian Sausage, Zucchini and Bocconcini Pasta Salad

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Summer fresh grilled veggies with fresh basil and bocconcini is favourite dish around here when it gets to hot to cook. Leftover veggies are an easy addition the next day to any dish, like these Grilled Veggie, Pesto & Bocconcini Pizzas.

Today we jazzed up our grilled veggies with bacon, grilled Italian Sausage and lots of fresh garlic. It was a hot one so making something easy and cool for dinner was right up our alley. If you have a side burner on your grill you could also cook the bacon and pasta right there to avoid your oven all together.

In our family we have some who don’t like peppers, some zucchini and some bocconcini cheese (insert gasp). Since I don’t cater to anyone’s likes or dislikes when I make a meal, I always tell them to pick out what they don’t like and eat what they do.

This would be an easy dish to partially prepare in advance and take camping. Make your dressing and store in a sealed jar. Cook all veggies and store in the fridge in a sealed container. Cook the rest when you are there and assemble.

 

Italian Sausage, Zucchini and Bocconcini Pasta Salad
Italian Sausage, Zucchini and Bocconcini Pasta Salad

 

 

Chimichurri Sauce

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Chimichurri Sauce is a fresh and flavourful, uncooked green condiment perfect served alongside dishes like grilled meat and vegetables.

Use Chimichurri Sauce as a table condiment for grilled meats
Chimichurri Sauce

The first time we learned about this sauce was from friends traveling through Argentina and down to Peru. Since my husband loves garlic we’ve tried it different ways, slightly changing up our chimichurri sauce every time we make it.

Some time ago I shared the version we were currently making here with grilled steak: Grilled Steak with Chimichurri Sauce.

What is Chimichurri Sauce

Chimi sauce, as it’s known in Argentina, is a mashup of garlic, tangy red wine vinegar, spicy if you like, green condiment that is simply delicious on grilled meats. It can also be used to marinade meat before cooking or added to ingredients for a flavour burst.

It pairs nicely with cooked fish, grilled vegetables and skewered baby potatoes. We also enjoy it crostini or grilled baguette.

Chimichurri Sauce with grilled potatoes
Chimichurri Sauce with skewered baby potatoes

Like many cuisines chimichurri sauce can vary by family and region although they all seem to have have the basic traditional ingredients in the sauce: parsley, oregano, oil, vinegar and garlic. Other ingredients include citrus, other herbs and a spicy element.

In this version I have opted for less garlic and finished the sauce with red pepper flakes and pink peppercorns. Oh PS – it’s also delicious on baked cheese!

Chimichurri Sauce on baked cheese
Chimichurri Sauce served on baked cheese

Want to give chimichurri sauce a try?! Here’s a few tips to help get you started.

PRO TIPS

  • Use red wine vinegar in this recipe. Other vinegars will not offer the same tang.
  • Chili flakes are optional. Don’t like spicy, leave them out.
  • Love garlic, add more.
  • Add more salt if your palate says so.
  • Hand chop your parsley. It’s therapeutic and turns out better.

Healthy Road Trip Snacks for Kids

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It’s no secret we camp frequently in the summer and road trip or travel all year round. There are many great day trips to take from Calgary, in fact I wrote about it here 10 Day Trips from Calgary. With families in BC, Manitoba and Saskatchewan it’s fair to say we’ve traveled the four Western Provinces up and down and back again. From the time our kids were babies we were strapping them into their car seats and hitting the road ready to experience the next big adventure.

When the littles were babies I made my own baby food. It made sense to pack a small cooler full of healthy snacks for them. Washroom breaks or gas stops make it easy to purchase something on impulse and that’s why we always try to have a cooler packed with snacks ready to go.

In your cooler include a zip up plastic bag filled with wet wipes or napkins, plastic cutlery, a travel safe knife and old grocery bags for garbage.

1. Fresh fruit. Cut up and/or washed fruit and berries in a plastic container

2. High fiber and low sugar cereal like Cheerios

3. Terra or other brand Veggie Chips

4. Cheese sticks

5. Rice crackers or other healthy crackers

6. Rice Cakes in plastic bags with Nut Butter

7. Home made popcorn (I also put this in the kids lunches)

8. Pretzels mixed with dried fruit or nuts

9. Granola bars or Energy Bites

10. Yogurt tubes

11. Fresh veggies

12. Mini homemade muffins or Pizza Muffins

13. Applesauce cups (don’t forget spoons)

14. Preservative free healthy sausage with cut up cheese and crackers

15. Juice boxes, bottled water or infused bottled water

16. Hummus with crackers, pita or veggies

 

 

 

Aiden’s Gouda Fruit Salad

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My kids love to get into the kitchen and create things. More often then not they announce what they want to make without checking on ingredients first. This salad was the exception as we just so happened to have all the fruit available. Aiden’s Fruit Salad is made by my son Aiden and on this night accompanied quick sandwiches before a busy activity evening.

A fruit salad can include any fruit you want. We never add a dressing or drizzle of honey to our fruit salads as we let the sweetness of the fruit speak for itself.

Aiden's Gouda Fruit Salad
Aiden’s Gouda Fruit Salad

 

 

Greek Pasta Salad

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A family favourite that has stood the test of time (almost 20 years) will soon be your new go to pasta salad. This Greek Pasta Salad combines Greek salad and a pasta salad for a winning combination!

Greek Pasta Salad
Greek Pasta Salad

Back in 2002 I used to play on a local softball slow-pitch team. I was fairly new to Calgary and looking to get out and meet people. The same year I also joined an indoor soccer team and billiards team. It was around then I met my husband, through work of all places, and life was forever changed.

Greek Pasta Salad
Greek Pasta Salad

During our ball season, our team did a few weekend tournament camping trips that included lots of beverages. Meals were potluck style and it was around this time someone from work introduced me to Club House Pasta Salad Dressing Mix.

So every camping trip that followed I would precook the pasta, store it in a zip lock bag, chop up a bunch of vegetables, store them in a plastic bag, mix up the dressing and keep it in a sealed jar and wrap up some feta as the finishing touches.

Greek Pasta Salad with cucumber water
Greek Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is also a hit at potlucks and barbecues. Here’s a few tips to help get you started.

PRO TIPS

  • Do not rinse pasta after cooking. This is an old wives tale. Drain pasta and spread pasta on a baking sheet to let cool down.
  • Do not add oil to the pasta water. Simply not needed. Make sure it’s salted however.
  • Pre-chop all veggies.
  • Pre-make your salad dressing.
  • Take this salad anywhere and be prepared to be asked for the recipe.

Like this salad idea, check out a few of our other favourites:

 

White Chocolate Lavender Brownies

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Every summer we visit Kelowna and the Okanagan Lavender & Herb Farm. We love to wander the gardens and stop in the cafe to enjoy a lavender infused treat before we leave. We also drop into the little store they have and I always pick up some cooking lavender (or food grade culinary lavender) to play with at home. This is how this recipe came to be. Rummaging through my baking box in the pantry for white chocolate, I discovered the lavender. Having never heard of lavender brownies before I thought dang this could be good. The flavour is very subtle, but 3 out of 4 of us can detect the lavender in the brownies however next time I might try adding a little more. If you can’t get your hands on lavender, just leave it out.

White Chocolate Lavender Brownies
White Chocolate Lavender Brownies

These brownies are simple to make and easy to eat.

 

White Chocolate Lavender Brownies
White Chocolate Lavender Brownies

Cinnamon Butter Cake

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Lately I’ve been going through old small town cookbooks where my mom inspired myself and so many of her family members to submit recipes to the annual cookbook collaboration. I have two of them dating back to the 90’s and as I go through these books carefully page by page, I can’t help but smile when I see an Aunt or a friend with a recipe I so fondly remember. I also have several recipes posted from my Vancouver days where I dabbled with cooking constantly.

Who also has these kinds of books? Please share in the comments!

I often wonder the history of some of these retro recipes. So many of them where taken from early early cookbooks and changed up a bit to become Grandma’s or Mom’s recipe. I recall being at a food blogger conference once where a representative from Random House Publishing said exactly the same thing. Every recipe starts from a book somewhere. While I don’t believe “every” recipe does starts from a book since I’ve whipped up my own from scratch, I’m sure there are many that had a helping hand.

This is one of those retro recipes I took from the book and changed up to suit my tastes. I’ve never heard of it before so I was excited to give it a go. It’s a butter cake but I added a ton of cinnamon into the glaze because why not? Cinnamon has health benefits so I needed something to make me feel better after all the, well, butter!

 

Cinnamon Butter Cake
Cinnamon Butter Cake

It’s moist and perfect with tea or coffee.

 

 

Cinnamon Butter Cake
Cinnamon Butter Cake

 

Watermelon Berry Popsicles

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Stay hydrated and cool off on a hot summer day with homemade popsicles. With just a few ingredients and a little time, you can have healthy popsicles any day of the week!

I’ve been making these popsicles, minus the coconut milk, since the kids were toddlers. For a new spin I added coconut milk.

Popsicles, like smoothies, can be made using a variety of ingredients. Add in fresh herbs, dairy free milk or yogurt, fruit slices, cold brewed tea, chia seeds, nut butters and more. Make them as simple or complex as you like but be sure to make extra as they won’t last long.

These Watermelon Berry Popsicles have only 5 ingredients and a small pinch of salt as an added flavour enhancer. Best made the day before you plan on eating them.

Watermelon Strawberry Popsicles
Watermelon Strawberry Popsicles