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Lemon Roasted Potatoes with Parsley Pistou

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Fire up the barbecue, grill your favourite protein and add these Lemon Roasted Potatoes with Parsley Pistou to complete the meal.

Lemon Roasted Potatoes with Parsley Pistou
Lemon Roasted Potatoes with Parsley Pistou

A good roasted potato is an easy dish to make and goal to achieve. Roasted potatoes compliment any meal whether it’s a holiday dinner with roasted turkey or simple grilled chicken.

Sometimes when the boys are away we like to have them as our main meal topping them with a fried or poached egg or even fresh made Pico De Gallo,

Lemon Roasted Potatoes
Lemon Roasted Potatoes

For this recipe we roasted our potatoes with lemon and topped them with a fresh made parsley pistou. They became one of the sides to our roasted ham dinner.

A Pistou is a French sauce served cold made from garlic, basil, olive oil and of course parsley. It’s similar to a pesto without the nuts.

Try it on any roasted vegetables, grilled meat or fish, even egg dishes.

 

Brussels Sprouts with Candied Walnuts

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Fresh produce in the winter time was limited where we grew up. During the holidays my mom would buy frozen brussels sprouts to cook up with our turkey. Her cooking method of choice was to boil and serve as is. I found them lacking in flavour and tough to swallow so I avoided whenever possible. Brussels sprouts entered my life again in the mid 90’s while living in Vancouver. I was able to experience them sauteed, crispy and full of flavour, and I was hooked. Husband also grew up eating them boiled but with a little encouragement, my simple tastes man has learned to love them sauteed as much as I do.

Lately the trend is to cook your brussels sprouts with bacon or pork of some sort. The added fat gives the sprouts a burst of flavour, but I was looking for something new when I created this recipe. I was also looking to make it gluten free for a magazine. I love to saute my brussels sprouts in sesame oil and decided to add some nuts. Toasted some walnuts in a pan, added a splash of maple syrup at the end, and ended up with candied walnuts that were insanely delicious. The dish started to come together. We are lucky to live where we do where relatively fresh produce is more readily available in the winter time. This year I noticed brussels sprouts in the stores all year long and I definitely made it a point to eat them regularly.

This recipe was one of three I made for the magazine. We also created Roasted and Fresh Carrots with Lentils and Lemon Roasted Potatoes with a Parsley Pistou. Any of these dishes pair well with a big Thanksgiving, Easter or Christmas Dinner.

 

Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Nanaimo Bars

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We have been testing recipes using Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Spread and came up with these fabulous Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Nanaimo Bars.

Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Nanaimo Bars
Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Nanaimo Bars

I’m beyond excited and fully wearing my fat pants. Why you ask? Well since the product arrived, truth be known, I’ve been diligently taste testing it every day, with a spoon, to ensure it hasn’t gone bad. I do what I have to for the people. Reese Peanut Butter Cups are one of my favourite indulgences and I’ll let you in on a little secret – Reese Peanut Butter Cups taste amazing squished into a S’more.

Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Nanaimo Bars
Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Nanaimo Bars

Nanaimo Bars are a dessert served mostly around the holidays and a recipe I know like the back of my hand since I helped my mom make it growing up. The good old Canadian Nanaimo Bar is a Canadian favourite and honestly they can be made any time of the year. Like summer. The Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Spread was the perfect change up for our usual Nanaimo Bar Recipe, they are simply delicious.

Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Nanaimo Bars
Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Nanaimo Bars

What ways do you enjoy Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Spread?!

This post is sponsored by Hershey’s Canada and I’ve been compensated monetarily and with product to create a new recipe.

 

Festive Mars Bars Squares

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I am apparently a Mars Bars Squares Virgin. Who knew these delicious treats existed. I learned about them last summer on our way out of town on a camping trip. It always seems to take us soooo long to pack up no matter how many lists, and how efficient I am at getting things ready in advance. We can’t win. So by the time we get out of town we are exhausted by over excited kids and packing up…hence ready for a drink. But we are driving and have to wait for a beverage. So on this particular outing, we opted for coffee instead.

I checked out the GPS and there was surprisingly one on the way to our camping destination. So we stopped at at little place called Latte Da for our cuppa joe and were thrilled to find sweet treats available to. The folks in this little cafe were very friendly and when we walked in, they just so happen to be bringing out this huge platter of, well Mars Bars Squares. Intrigued, we bought a couple and devoured them before we left the cafe. Spectacular. A delicious tasting bite. I asked how they were made and Laurie, the  owner, graciously shared her recipe with me.

I went on to make these a couple times over the summer and then while thinking about my Christmas Holiday Baking Round up, the thought came to me to make them again…but with a little candy cane twist.

 

Festive Mars Bars Squares
Festive Mars Bars Squares

 

Gingerbread Dip

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In preparing for our annual Ladies Wine Night & Cookie Exchange I was well, unprepared. There I said it. Sick, bake sales and other life stuff slowed me down.

Our cookie exchange night is something I started 4 years ago. It’s a fun night for us moms/ladies to have a fun evening without kids. We typically all bring a bottle of wine, some bites to share and in this case a dozen cookies per attendee. Since I hadn’t given the night much thought, I started thinking about a cheese ball a friend use to make back in the 90’s. Simply made with cream cheese, butter and cheese. Tasty but not so healthy. As I was thinking about the cheese ball I was eating one of my Orange Gingerbread Cookies. See where I am going with this? Somehow an AHA moment happened. And the 2 ideas collided.

I used the spice list from my gingerbread cookie and started measuring and adding to taste, carefully writing down quantities. Didn’t want it to sweet. Didn’t want it to molasses-e. In the end it turned out delicious despite my suspicions it might not. I always like more feedback when I create a recipe, so I needed me some taste testers. The only ones available were Luisa, our German student and the ladies who were coming over that night. They are always pretty keen to taste my food. Thankfully. In the end, everyone who likes gingerbread liked it. One discovery that came after the fact…if you let it sit a day or two in the fridge, the flavour somehow improves.

This dip in all fairness is a little rich. Not something you could eat tons of but definitely an enjoyable addition to a table filled with goodies. I tried it with veggies and no go. Apples didn’t really cut it for me either. Plain crackers/crisps or macaroons/shortbread did work and tasted really good. This recipe is a keeper.