Food Mamma

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sandwiches

chicken salad

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Every couple of weeks, I always try and pick up a rotisserie chicken on my shopping trip. The rotisserie chickens are so versatile – you can eat them as is or use the chicken in so many ways. From sandwiches, to soups to stock, one chicken can go a long way!

One way to use the chicken is to make chicken salad. The creaminess of the mayo, the crunch of the green onions and that distinct kick from the Dijon make this the perfect lunch. Sandwiched between bread or scooped up with crackers, its a great way to use leftovers.

Chicken Salad

1 cup shredded chicken
1/4 cup mayo
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp oregano
1 green onion
salt
pepper

Sweet and simple – put everything into a bowl and mix.

Homemade Donair Meat

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Love donairs as much as we do? Homemade donair meat is super easy and very tasty. Impress your friends by making it at home.

We love donairs around here so when I saw this recipe last year for donair meat, it was definitely something I wanted to try.

Making this is easy. I just toss all the ingredients into my mixer and let the hook do the kneading for ten minutes until everything is incorporated.

The meat is then formed into a loaf and baked off. Once sliced, I fry up the meat in a pan before stuffing it into pitas. This step is totally optional. Q loves this so much, he is content just eating the meat by itself. He also asks for donair sandwiches, happily taking it for lunch.

Homemade Donairs

For dinner, we stuff it into a pita with some lettuce, onions and tomatoes. Topped with a garlicky dressing, it tastes just like from a restaurant! A quick version of donair sauce that we use is sour cream, agave and garlic. So yum!

Not Just For Pitas

The meat is pretty good on pizza too. Check out this donair pizza I created for pizza week last year.

Homemade Donair Meat
Adapted from All Recipes

1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp flour
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 pound ground beef

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, place the ground beef and then add the salt, oregano, flour, black pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder.

Using the kneading hook, knead the mixture for ten minutes.

Form the meat into a loaf, and place it on a broiler pan or baking sheet.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, turning the loaf over about half way through. This will ensure even cooking. Serve, or allow the meat to chill before slicing and reheating.

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!

beef ribs with blueberry bbq sauce

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Fall is here! You can feel the chill in the air and see the leaves changing colour.  It really is a beautiful time of year.

I’m still holding on to summer though, and thinking about how we took advantage of all the summer fruits in our meals. We tried to use them in as many things as possible.  Blueberries were used in one of my favourite recipes this summer – blueberry bbq sauce!

I think it was all the yummy BBQ I smelled but it was at the Stampede that I thought I wanted to incorporate blueberries into a bbq sauce. Hubby indulged me and we went right away to stock up on blueberries so that I could play in the kitchen. We also stocked up on ribs, thinking it may be a good vehicle for the sauce.

A little mix of sweet and savoury, this bbq sauce turned out better than I had imagined. It tasted really great in an ooey gooey grilled cheese sandwich. It went amazingly with the big beefy ribs that were cooked in the slow cooker until they were tender and then finished off on the grill. 

I froze some blueberries just so that I could enjoy this sauce later in the year.

Bluberry BBQ Sauce

1/2 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint blueberries
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 TB coriander
1 TB cumin
1/2 tsp sweet paprika

Heat olive oil in a pan
over medium heat. Cook the onions and garlic until softened.Add blueberries, sugar, vinegar, ketchup and spices and stir to combine. Simmer until the sauce is slightly reduced. Let cool slightly and and then puree in a blender.

Slow Cooker Beef Ribs

Cut a rack of beef ribs into pieces. Smother each rib with the bbq sauce and place in a slow cooker. Add enough water to cover the ribs and let them cook on low for eight hours until the meat is almost falling off the bones. Glaze each rib with more bbq sauce and cook on the grill until they are nicely charred and the sauce is caramelized.

a delicious way to start the morning: fried egg sandwich from cafe mauro

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We’re less than a month away from our big office move.  I know many of my co-workers will miss Cafe Mauro, which is located in the lobby of our building.  Everyone raves about Sal’s sandwiches – the bocconcini sandwich served on top of focaccia or the chicken parmesan on toasted baguette.  My favorite meal though at Cafe Mauro is breakfast; in particular the Fried Egg Sandwich.

Nestled between two pieces of toasted and buttered sourdough bread are juicy tomatoes, the fried egg and provolone cheese.  Its a simple sandwich but so delicious, and a great way to start the day.

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brie and chocolate…a decadent combination!

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I had the perfect sandwich yesterday.  Brie and chocolate!  Now I know some may never accept such a combination but it definitely deserves a try.  The creamy, rich brie paired with the sweetness of chocolate, then grilled to perfection – the perfect sammy for fans of sweet or savory.  Top it off with a tall glass of milk and you’ve got the perfect snack!