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green tropical smoothie

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We have been enjoying our daily smoothies and I have been having fun coming up with some tasty combinations. Today was a good one and I could not wait to share.

The spinach smoothies haven’t been a favourite for the boys…until today. Today, they wanted more! That is a huge win. The greens combined with the tropical flavours of pineapple, banana and coconut worked really well together. The pineapple added the sweetness and the banana and coconut milk the creaminess. The coconut milk also made it dairy free so even hubby could enjoy it.

This tropical concoction will allow you to escape to somewhere warm, even if just for a minute.

Green Tropical Smoothie

1/2 cup pineapple, cubed
1 banana
1/2 cup spinach
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water
ice

Place all the ingredients and blend until smooth.

berry banana smoothie

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With all the smoothies we have been experimenting with, one thing has been clear – Q’s not a fan of the green ones. They may taste great, but the colour to him is just off putting. Z on the other hand will drink anything, he’s more about the taste than the visual appeal.

This berry banana smoothie is a hit with everyone. The blackberries and strawberries along with the banana make a great combination. The banana along with some yogurt and milk make this drink super creamy and so delicious.

Berry Banana Smoothie

1/2 cup blackberries
1/2 cup strawberries
1 banana
1/2 cup yogurt
1 cup milk
Ice

Blend until smooth.

banana, strawberry and clementine smoothie

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Our smoothie kick continues! Q loves the combination of strawberries and bananas so that’s the flavours we went with today. I added a clementine for some citrus zing and added milk and yogurt to make this creamy concoction.

For some more smoothie inspiration, check out this board on Pinterest.

Banana, Strawberry and Clementine Smoothie

1 banana
1/2 cup strawberries
1 clementine
1/2 cup yogurt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup ice

Blend and enjoy!

scalloped potatoes

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One of hubby’s favourite sides is scalloped potatoes. For some reason, I always thought it would be more time consuming than mashed potatoes so it was never a priority for me to make. This year, I thought I’d give it a whirl with this recipe from Canadian Living.  I didn’t realize how easy this was! I used lactose free milk which was cooked with garlic and thyme and poured onto thinly sliced potatoes. It didn’t take long to prepare and the resulting potatoes were creamy and perfect for our Sunday Supper.

Scalloped Potatoes
Adapted from Canadian Living

1.5 pounds potatoes, sliced
1/4 cup butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp thyme, chopped
salt
pepper
2 1/2 cups milk

In saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; cook garlic, stirring, for 1 minute. Add flour, thyme, salt and pepper; cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Gradually whisk in milk; cook, whisking constantly, until boiling and thickened, about 8 minutes.

Arrange the potatoes in a baking dish. Pour sauce over top, allowing the sauce to completely cover the potatoes.

Cover and bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Uncover and bake until lightly browned and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. 

lavender lemon curd

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It’s the time for giving and there’s nothing better than giving something that you have taken the time to make. Around here, we do a lot of baking. From cookies to tarts to Christmas crack, there is something for everyone.

If you’re looking for something a little different, this Lavender Lemon Curd is the perfect thing! Lavender and lemon make a great combination and they work well together in this luscious curd.

Either on it’s own or paired with some shortbread, the floral citrus curd will definitely stand out. We love to eat it with fresh baked scones. This homemade gift is sure to please any citrus lover on your list!

Lavender Lemon Curd

3 lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp lavender
1/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
4 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Using a carrot peeler, remove the zest of 3 lemons, being careful to avoid the white pith. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the sugar and lavender and pulse until the zest is very finely minced into the sugar.

Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.

Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or just below simmer. Remove from the heat and cool or refrigerate.

choco banana nut muffins

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My first instinct when I see a bunch of ripe bananas is to make banana bread. I decided to change it up a little today and make some muffins. It’s always nice to have something baked for school lunches or for an afternoon treat.

These muffins feature bananas and are complemented with chocolate chips, coconut and pecans. It made the perfect after school snack!

Choco Banana Nut Muffins

1/2 butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup pecans

Cream the butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix. Add the flour and baking soda and mix until incorporated. Add the remaining ingredients until well mixed. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes.

pumpkin cinnamon rolls

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I don’t cook often with pumpkin but for some reason, I got it in my head that I had to make some pumpkin cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon rolls are one of Q’s favourites so he was totally on board and couldn’t wait to help.

I loved working with this dough – so smooth. It was easy to roll out and then cover in butter, sugar and spices. The house smelled amazing as they baked and we couldn’t wait to smother them in cream cheese icing before digging in. Q loved these, saying that these may be better than the original.

 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

2/3 cup warm milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 TB ground cinnamon
1 TB all spice
1/2 cup butter, softened

Microwave the milk for 45 to 60 seconds. Then, dissolve yeast in warm milk in a large bowl. Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, pumpkin and flour. Mix well. Allow the dough to come together with the dough hook of the mixer.

Put the ball of dough into a bowl that is sprayed with cooking spray.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for roughly 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.

In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, all spice and cinnamon. Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a rectangle.  Spread the softened butter on the dough and then sprinkle with the sugar and spice mix.

Roll up the dough starting with the longer side and cut into rolls. Place the cinnamon rolls in a lightly greased rectangular pan. Let the rolls rise another 30 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degree.  Once your cinnamon rolls have risen, bake them in the preheated oven until golden brown, approximately 18 to 20 minutes.

Eat warm as is or with some delicious cream cheese frosting.

1 cup warm milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened

Microwave the milk for 45 to 60 seconds. Then, dissolve yeast in warm
milk in a large bowl. Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and flour. Mix
well. Allow the dough to come together with the dough hook of the mixer.

Put the ball of dough into a bowl that is sprayed with cooking spray.
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place
for roughly 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.

Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a 16 x 21″ rectangle.  Spread
the softened butter on the dough and then sprinkle with brown sugar and
cinnamon.

Roll up the dough starting with the longer side and cut into 12 cinnamon
rolls (or more smaller rolls, if you prefer). To even out the
rectangle, I cut off all the edges and the scraps made an additional 12
mini rolls.

Place the cinnamon rolls in a lightly greased rectangular pan. Let the rolls rise another 30 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degree.  Once your cinnamon rolls have risen, bake
them in the preheated oven until golden brown, approximately 18 to 20
minutes.

Eat warm as is or with some delicious cream cheese frosting. – See more at: http://www.foodmamma.com/2012/05/after-discovering-last-month-qs-love-of.html#sthash.4jLTxXmR.dpuf

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beef pot roast

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Life is busy. Our days are spent running from one activity to the next. We try and keep Sundays free, a day to spend at home and putter around the house. Sundays seem like the perfect day to have something cooking for a few hours, filling the house with aromatic smells.

Yesterday we spent our Sunday enjoying the smells of a roast while we hung around the house. Cooked alongside lots of veggies and topped with a creamy gravy, this pot roast gives a sense of comfort. The perfect Sunday Supper.

We love beef around here. Since we love it so much, I felt I had to enter the Canadian Beef Blogger Ambassador Contest. I am up against 9 other competitors and would love your votes. Thanks for your help! Click here to vote.

Beef Pot Roast

1 small roast (3 to 4 pounds)
3 carrots, cut into chunks
2 onions, cut into large chunks
handful brussel sprouts, halved
1 pound mini potatoes, halved
6 cloves garlic
1 cup red wine
4 cups beef broth
salt
pepper
thyme
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Heat oil in a pot on the stove. Add the onions and cook for a couple minutes. Remove and place on a dish. Add the carrots and brussel sprouts. Cook until there is a bit of colour. Remove and place with the onions.

Coat the roast with salt and pepper. Sear on all sides until there is a nice crust. Remove from the pan. Add one cup of red wine to deglaze the pan and scrape up all the bits. Place the roast back in along with the vegetables (including the potatoes) and cover with beef broth. Add a couple sprigs of thyme, throw in the garlic and place in the oven for approximately 3 1/2 hours.

Gravy

Remove the roast and cover with foil. Remove the vegetables. In a small pot, melt 2 TB butter and add 1/4 cup flour. Slowly add the drippings from the roast and stir until smooth.

yyc pizza week + blogger challenge

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Starting on Friday, it’s everyone’s favourite week – YYC Pizza Week! What better way to support Meals on Wheels than by stuffing your face with delicious pie at participating restaurants. With so many options to choose from, you could technically have pizza for every meal – all for a good cause, of course.

I was happy to participate once again in the Food Blogger Pizza Challenge. We were supposed to pick two out of the four ingredients from The Italian Store to come up with our creation. The four ingredients were: fig spread, homemade pesto, ricotta, pitted assorted olives.

I chose to use fig spread and ricotta and Hubby helped in creating the Fiery Fig BBQ Chicken Pizza. The fig spread was used in creating the fiery bbq sauce. Made with the spread, poblano peppers, ketchup, balsamic and spices, the sauce was tangy and sweet and oh so good. We literally licked the pot clean.

I topped the pizza with cheese, bbq’d chicken and red onions. Once out of the oven, I topped the pie with ricotta fresca, which added a creamy, cool component to the pizza.

The pizzas from all the challengers will be posted on Friday where you’ll have a chance to vote. Be sure to visit a participating restaurant next week and support Meals on Wheels!

Fiery Fig BBQ Sauce

1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 TB fig spread
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 poblano pepper, roasted
salt
pepper
oil
sriracha, as hot as you like it

Heat some oil in a pan and add the onions and garlic. Add the ketchup, vinegar, fig spread and spices and cook for a few minutes. Add the mixture to a blender along with the pepper and sriracha. Blend until smooth. Enough for one pizza.

canada beef and karisma resorts

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I first learned about the Canadian Beef Culinary Series last year, when I attended the Canada Beef & Karisma dinner at Rouge restaurant in Calgary. It was there that I sampled amazing beef dishes created by Chefs Allemeier and Rogalski and learned about Karisma resort. It was also there that I won a stay at the hotel in the Mayan Riviera, which turned out to be one of our favourite vacations (Part 1 | Part 2).

I was excited to be invited this month to the Karisma Influencer and Media event held at the new Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence which opened earlier this year in Calgary.

We were fortunate to be treated to a four course meal made by the talented chefs at Karisma Hotels featuring Canada Beef.  With Jeroen Hanlo, VP of Food & Beverage Operations at Karisma Hotels, the chefs kept us entertained and well fed all evening. 

We first toured the amazing centre – fully equipped with a consumer kitchen, commercial kitchen as well as the beef fabrication room. We learned a lot from Marty Carpenter, the Centre Director and Abe van Melle, the Centre Technical Manager.

The evening started out with a tasty bite – beef tartare with habanero aioli. The platter was beautiful arranged with flowers and the beef was served on potato chips.

Our first course was Canadian AAA Spice Rubbed Tri-Tip, Baby Beets, Blue Cheese, Chantrelle Mushroom prepared by Chef Florian Durre, Executive Chef and Elorado Royale.

Our second course was Canadian AAA Petit Tenderloin, Yucatan Sauce “Chimole” prepared by Chef Jonaten Gomez Luna, Executive Chef at La Chique.

Our main course was the Canadian AAA Aged Rib-Eye, Black Corn Truffle, Creamy Sweet Corn  with Traditional Mole and Tamarind. The rib-eye was my favourite cut, soft like butter. This course was prepared by Chef Francisco Perez, Executive Chef and Dorado Seaside Suites.

The final course was an amazing sight. The chefs prepared dessert using liquid nitrogen! The nitrogen was used to make creamy rhubarb sorbet as well as icy beads of carrot juice. This along with some coconut sponge, yogurt foam and cotton candy made for a flavourful dessert with lots of textures.

It was a fantastic evening, combining a couple of my favourite things – beef and Mexico!