Food Mamma

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2-ingredient chocolate magic shell

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One of my favourite things from when I was little is enjoying the chocolate magic shell on top of ice cream. You know the one: chocolate syrup that once it hits the cold ice cream becomes a hard shell.  I was happy when I rediscovered this a few months ago, adding nuts or sprinkles before the chocolate hardened.

A while back, I saw them make a homemade version of this on tv and was surprised at how easy it was. We had this tonight and it was so good! Be sure you use a chocolate that you like and you will love it!

Chocolate Magic Shell

1/2 cup chocolate, milk or dark
1 TB coconut oil

In a bowl, add your favourite chocolate and the coconut oil. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until the chocolate is melted. Let it cool a bit before pouring it on your favourite ice cream.

guacamole

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Happy Cinco de Mayo! What better way to celebrate than with some guacamole and chips. Guacamole is one of the easiest things to make and is a staple around here. It’s perfect for Taco Tuesday but also a great appetizer when people come over.

There are so many ways to make guacamole but this is how we like it. I avoid the mayo and sour cream and I prefer a chunkier guacamole. I use a fork to mash up the avocados; no processor required!

Guacamole
3 avocados
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
cilantro
1 lime
salt
hot sauce, optional

Mash the avocados with a fork. Add in the onions, tomato and cilantro until mixed. Depending on how juicy your lime is, you may just need 1/2. Add salt and hot sauce to taste.

trunch at pampa

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Looking for something a little different than the traditional Mother’s Day lunch? How about Trunch? Available at Pampa Brazilian Restaurant, Trunch is the perfect blend of brunch, lunch and tea.

I was invited to Pampa to check out what they were cooking up. This is no ordinary brunch!

Pampa has an amazing salad bar featuring fruit and charcuterie platters, fresh house breads with jams and cheeses along with 40 salads, dressings and sauces. I loved the beef carpaccio and the fresh mint dressing was amazing. I may have used that with my meat.

They also have some hot selections like french toast, brazilian crepes and eggs. Meat is carved tableside, and you can enjoy a limitless amount. For Trunch, you can enjoy Pampa sausage, leg of lamb, chicken, marinated pork loin, barbecued pork belly and my favourite, Picanha or the rumpstake. Your delicious meal will be followed by freshly brewed House Apple tea.

This is a unique experience to celebrate with the people you love. My 7 year old loved everything about Pampa, enjoying every juicy bite of meat and even eating some vegetables.

Trunch is offered every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning with a special Mother’s Day Trunch on May 7th and 8th, which will include a surprise gift for each mom. Pampa is also offering a Victoria Day Trunch on Sunday, May 22nd and on Monday, May 23rd, which will feature a unique cheese bread-making demonstration at noon. Don’t worry dads, a special Father’s Day Trunch will be served on Sunday, June 19th.  Adults can enjoy Trunch for $29.50 per guest while children aged 12 and under can dine for only $15.95 per child. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made by calling (587) 354-3441.

Cheers to all the fabulous mothers! 

ninja coffee bar (product review)

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I love the idea of being a minimalist but that’s just not me. I do love a good appliance and all those kitchen gadgets, so I was excited when the folks at Ninja sent over a Ninja Coffee Bar for me to review.

This machine has some great features! It allows you to do a Classic Brew, for when you just want a plain old cup of coffee. It also lets you do a Rich Brew and a Specialty Brew for a more concentrated brew to make those specialty coffees. My favourite feature is the Over Ice button. I usually prefer a cold drink over a hot one and this button allows you to have an intense iced coffee. It increases the concentration to compensate for the melting ice! See below for a delicious recipe for Thai-Style Iced Coffee!

The Ninja Coffee Bar allows you to choose how much or how little coffee you want it to make. You can make a cup, travel size, a half carafe or a full carafe! This ability to choose how much you want sure does save a lot of wasted coffee but also allows you to serve a crowd.

Other things worth mentioning are the drip stop, so you can enjoy a cup of coffee mid-brew; the programmable delay brew, so you can have your cup of joe waiting for you in the morning; and the clean cycle indicator, so you always know when it’s time to clean the machine.

The machine also comes with the Ninja Easy Frother so that you can froth your milk to make those specialty drinks at home. Add your milk, microwave and pump! This was a fave for hubby.

If you are a coffee-lover, this is definitely a machine that you will love! Don’t forget, coffee is great for desserts too. Just pour some over your favourite ice cream, and you’ve got yourself some affogato. Delish!

This Thai-Style Iced Coffee is so good. Love that it’s icy cold and the addition of condensed milk is a total bonus.

 

Thai-Style Iced Coffee
From ninjakitchen.com

3 Ninja® Single-Serve Scoops (or 3 tablespoons) ground coffee
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup 2% milk
2 cups ice

Instructions
Size: Cup setting
Brew: Over Ice

Following the measurement above, place the ground coffee into the brew basket.
Combine
the sweetened condensed milk and 2% milk in a large plastic cup; stir
to combine. Add the ice to the cup; set cup in place to brew.
Select the Cup size; press the Over Ice Brew button.
When brew is complete, stir to combine.

Disclaimer – Ninja provided the Ninja Coffee Bar for review. All opinions are my own.

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clean out the fridge beef stir-fry

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Sometimes I’m overly optimistic and I buy way too many vegetables. I plan meals that don’t come into fruition and sometimes these healthy morsels seem to get forgotten in the fridge. Stir-fries are the perfect dish to clean out your fridge and make use of all those veggies before they end up in the compost bin.

Yesterday, I went to the grocery store yesterday just to buy the beef. I was determined to use up everything that was in my fridge. Sadly, the red peppers didn’t make it, but I did manage to save the broccoli and the carrots. I even used up the half bag of salad that was in the fridge – the cabbage and the carrots, even the pumpkin seeds, were perfect for a stir-fry.

I dredged the beef in a flour mixture because I wanted the pieces to be a little crisp but you can totally skip that step. For the sauce, I sometimes just make a mixture of the sauces that are in the fridge, using up the last drops. This time, I made a slight variation to the sauce from the Mongolian Beef recipe, which was so delicious.

Mamma used up the veggies, the kids at the veggies, it was a good day!

Beef Stir-Fry

1 pound beef, cut into strips
1/2 cup flour
2 TB cornstarch
salt
pepper

vegetables

2 tsp oil
2 tsp ginger
2 TB minced garlic
1/2 cup soya sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TB corn starch
2 TB water

In a small saucepan, combine the first six sauce ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil. Combine the corn starch with the water and add to the sauce ingredients. Let simmer until thick.

Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Dredge the beef in the flour mixture and pan fry. This can be done in batches. Keep aside. Drain the oil from the pan and add in any vegetables. Once they are almost cooked, add back the meat and add the sauce. Perfect with rice!

marathon mouth, the ebook

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I think the best part of any road trip is discovering the food on your journey. When we travel, checking out the local eats is always high on our priority list.

My friend Bill Corbett has an amazing food blog called Marathon Mouth. His blog highlights great roadtrip eats in the Western US and Canada. Besides the bright pictures of the food and places that he has visited, Bill provides personal tidbits about the restaurants, owners and the food.

Bill has released his fourth book, Marathon Mouth, which highlights nearly 900 cafes, diners, coffee shops, bakeries, food trucks and brewpubs. He gives his suggestions on where to eat  and even provides links back to the various establishments. This book is a must-have for planning your next trip!

Click here to find out more about where to buy the ebook or buy it from Amazon.ca here (affiliate link). 

back to the dinner table with canada beef

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A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to the Canada Beef Centre of Excellence for the Canada Beef Family Dinner. The evening featured the launch of the new Canadian Beef brand, a burger cookoff and some delicious beef eats themed around the Family Dinner.

We filled our bellies with beef short ribs, beef sliders, roast beef with barley and beef tacos while we watched local food personalities compete in a burger cookoff. We were also treated to a performance by Canada’s country music superstar, Paul Brandt who is featured in Canada Beef’s latest video. It was a great evening with foodie friends and Canada Beef.

Growing up, both my parents worked hard during the day. Dinners were the one meal that we could spend time together and catch up on everyone’s day.  We would all rush off to evening activities but not before having a hearty meal with our loved ones.

Now that I have my own kids, eating dinner together remains an important part of the day. It’s a great way to find out about what’s going on when we aren’t together. Sometimes all it takes is a delicious meal with all of us on the table to get the little guy to open up about school and friends and life as a seven year old.  The days we have activities in the evening, just means we eat earlier or later but still together.

Food is always the center of any kind of celebration. I love how it brings people together, and provides an excuse to spend time with the ones we love. When thinking back on these family dinners, Canada Beef plays an important role. From pot roasts for Sunday suppers to juicy steaks for birthdays, food is as big a part of the memories as the moments we spend with each other.

Looking for ideas to incorporate Canada Beef into your family dinner? Mexican Pasta Shells and Taco Casserole make the perfect weeknight meal.

Weekends are perfect for slow cooked meals like Pot Roast or Slow Cooker Beef Ribs. Get more inspiration and tips with Canada Beef’s The Roundup app.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for the #makeitCDNbeef influencer program. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

strawberry burst

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It has been an amazing April so far while we have enjoyed an early summer. In fact, we broke a 100 year old record yesterday with temperatures climbing to 28 degrees! Needless to say, most people were outside, enjoying the patios or having drinks on their decks. While we bbq’d up some jerk chicken and lamb chops, we enjoyed this refreshing drink – strawberry burst!

This is the perfect drink to cool off on a hot day and great for parties. It’s nice to have some fun drinks for those that don’t drink alcohol or for the responsible DDs.

Fill your glass with ice and Sprite, or your favourite lemon-lime soda, add 3 TB of crushed strawberries and a squeeze of lime. Cheers!