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hazelnut nutella cookies

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Q was home sick for a few days last week. It seems like something nasty is definitely making its rounds.  While most of his time involved naps and movies on the couch, we also managed to squeeze in some cookie making. I love chatting with Q while we are busy making something delicious. You can learn a lot from a six year old in the kitchen while they are distracted with stirring and measuring.

I had noticed a bag of hazelnuts sitting in the pantry just waiting for something tasty. I decided that these roasted would be perfect with some chocolate chips in cookie form. We decided a swirl of Nutella would be nice too.

We roasted the hazelnuts in a 350 degree oven just until we could smell the oils. I got a little distracted though, and almost burnt the lot! The nuts that we were using had skins on them so I dumped them into a tea towel and rolled them around until they were peeled. I chopped the nuts while Q measured out the sugar and flour. Once the batter was done, we took a big spoonful of Nutella and did a rough mix so that it was swirled through.

The cookies turned out amazing! The nuts and chocolate made them chunky but the cookies were soft and chewy.  They were a great afternoon snack with a cold glass of milk.  The toasted nuts added a great crunch and flavour. Even hubby, who normally stays away from the sweet stuff, enjoyed a few!

Hazelnut Nutella Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup hazelnuts, roasted and chopped
1 TB Nutella, heaping

Cream the butter and the sugars. Add the egg and vanilla. In the center of the mixture, add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until combined. Add the chocolate chips and nuts and mix until incorporated. Roughly mix in the Nutella. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Makes approximately 2 dozen.

my little foodie and his ultimate grilled cheese

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I can’t believe my little guy is six today! It’s been amazing to watch
him grow. There have been so many times that I have wanted to press
pause, making time go a little slower. But here he is in grade one, a
little man.

He has grown to be kind, loving and the best big brother ever. He has
also grown into quite the foodie. For his birthday dinner today, it’s
no surprise that he wants to go to his favourite restaurant Kinjo for
sushi.

At a sleepover recently at his cousin’s house, they were discussing
dinner and his request was duck. His cousins looked at him in disbelief,
happy to be eating the pasta they were served.

He loves coming up with creations like his bedtime snack a couple weeks
ago – French bread with Boursin, studded with pistachios.

He does love a good grilled cheese. When I asked him what the ultimate
grilled cheese sandwich would be, this is what he came up with.

French bread enveloping Boursin, Brie and Mozzarella. It was a good
combination and our one trial sandwich was not enough to fill our
bellies.
The Brie and mozzarella made the sandwich ooey gooey and the Boursin added an extra level of flavour.

Happy Birthday Q! Love you to the moon and back, a million times!

meatless monday: lemon and garlic pasta

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Lemon and garlic, they are a pair that go so well together! Last week, when I needed something quick for dinner but didn’t want to skimp on the flavour, this pasta did the trick.

The sauce came together while the pasta cooked and dinner was on the table in no time. It was perfect with a crusty baguette and was a light dish. Just add some shrimp or chicken to please the non-vegetarian people in your life!

Lemon and Garlic Pasta

3 cloves of garlic
2 TB white wine
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes
1/2 pound of spaghetti, or any other pasta
salt
pepper
olive oil

Cook the pasta according to the box.

While the pasta is cooking, heat some oil and saute the garlic. Add the wine and lemon along with the cherry tomatoes until they start to pop. Once the pasta has been cooked, add to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Super quick and super tasty!


roasted pumpkin seeds

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We love Halloween around here! It’s a fun time of the month and it’s a day we all look forward to. We spent some time on the weekend carving our pumpkin. Q was reluctant to get his hands dirty but once we started pulling out the pumpkin guts, he had fun. The best part of pumpkin carving is of course the seeds! Roasted and salted, they are perfect for munching on.

There are so many variations on how people roast the seeds. This is how we do them at our house.

Once you pull out the seeds from the pumpkin, rinse them so that you get all the pumpkin off. I usually do this in a colander.

Once washed, place the seeds between paper towels, getting them as dry as you can.

Put the seeds on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 to 30 minutes. Take them seeds out when they get a little toasty and brown. Salt and enjoy!

 

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glad fresh food challenge

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Earlier this month, our family participated in GLAD’s Fresh Food Challenge. The folks at GLAD sent us a few things to get us started like freezer bags, clingwrap and zipper bags.

It was astonishing to find out the statistics about food waste in Canada:

The typical Canadian household spends $5,572 per year on grocery food items, including $465 per year on fresh fruit and vegetables
On average, 13% of all food is thrown out, resulting in $725 worth of food items ending up in the garbage. This is the equivalent of two months’ worth of groceries.
The average Canadian wastes over $175 per year on produce spoilage.

To keep us on track to avoid throwing out food, it was important to keep track of leftovers. If things could be frozen, they were placed into freezer bags, labelled and put in the freezer. For example, when I made Shepard’s Pie, I had made too much meat.  The extra meat was bagged and frozen right away and is ready and waiting for another quick dinner.

Cookies were packed in the freezer bags, keeping them fresh for school lunches. Items like meat and lamb were wrapped in press and seal and then placed in freezer bags. This kept them from getting freezer burn and less likely to be tossed out.

These little tips can be used all the time to ensure food stays fresh and there is less waste:

Disclaimer – GLAD sent me products to help with the challenge as well as compensation. All opinions are my own.

the great canadian beef cookout (#ExperienceCDNbeef)

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One of my favourite events that I attended this summer was one involving
Canada Beef, Karisma Hotels in Mexico and Jackson Family Wines. It
was a fabulous event in the garden of Rouge Restaurant learning about this partnership, highlighting Canadian beef in Mexico and enhancing beef and wine pairing knowledge.

Launched in January 2014, Karisma Hotels & Resorts’ inaugural Canadian Beef Culinary Series, by Karisma, invites guests to relish the taste of Canada’s top culinary talent and best cuts of prime beef while enjoying a Gourmet Inclusive® vacation in Riviera Maya, Mexico that is as delicious as it is unforgettable. 

We were spoiled with delicious creations by the talented chefs Michael
Allemeier and Paul Rogalski.

The dishes were stunning to look at and
even better in my belly. Here’s a look at what we tried:

Beef Tataki with Vegetable Yuzu Salad

Oxtail broth, Roasted Garlic and Bone Marrow Pearls  

Top Sirloin with Watermelon, Feta and Lime

Smoked Brisket Sticky Buns

Manhattan Strip with tortilla Fried Avocado

Beef Cheek Arancini, Blue Cheese Cream  

The evening included a seminar by Jackson Family Wines and how different wines paired with different beef.

The best part of the night was a giveaway – a week’s stay at Karisma
Hotels in the Mayan Riviera, enjoying their gourmet inclusive experience. I was ecstatic
when I won!! We are so looking forward to a relaxing getaway and
delicious food. Less than two months away and the countdown has begun!