March's Book of the Month...

I love to read anything really from textbooks, magazines to novels and even camera manuals ;) With the pressures of everyday life as a mom of 2, the last couple of weeks found me with very little time and interest in taking on a new book. But when my sister lent me this book I immediately placed it on my bedside table as my next read. Little did I realize that 6 weeks had passed and I still hadn't picked it up...

So when I finally got around to it, I was hooked and would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants an easy read and a good laugh...

Sophie Kinsella's Remember Me?

Anyone else read it? What did you think?

Leftovers in a Pie...

With so many leftovers from last night’s Slow Cooker Pot Roast, I was excited once again to revisit my Canadian Living Special Issue magazine… With 3 options for these leftovers, I decided to select The Shepherd’s Pie recipe on page 46. Now if leftovers could taste like this all the time, I’d be in heaven and have way more time for myself. This recipe was definitely a keeper for our family, hope you think so too…

Canadian Living Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients:

1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp (5 mL) dried thyme
2 tbsp (30 mL) all-purpose flour
4 cups chopped cooked Sirloin Tip Oven Roast
1 cup Porcini Mushroom Jus (recipe below)
1 bag of small potatoes (454 g)
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
1 cup (250 mL) milk, warm
4 tsp (20 mL) butter, softened
1/2 tsp (2 mL) each salt and pepper
1 cup (250 mL) leftover peas & corn

Directions:

In large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; cook onion and thyme, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle with flour; cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add beef, jus and ½ cup water; simmer for 2 minutes. Spread in 8-inch square glass baking dish.

In saucepan of boiling salted water, cover and cook potatoes (with skin, chopped in ½ ) until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to dry saucepan; mash together with warm milk, butter, salt and pepper until smooth.

Scrape beef mixture into 8-inch (2 L) square glass baking dish. Cover with shredded carrots, peas and corn; spread mashed potatoes over top. Bake in 400°F (200°C) oven until filling is bubbly and potatoes are golden, about 40 minutes.

Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours; add 20 minutes to baking time.

Porcini mushroom Jus:
1 pkg (14 g) dried porcini mushrooms
1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Pinch dried thyme
Pinch salt
1 tbsp (15 mL) brandy or sodium-reduced beef stock
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) sodium-reduced beef stock

Preparation:

Soak mushrooms in 1 cup (250 mL) boiling water for 20 minutes. With slotted spoon, remove mushrooms and chop. Strain liquid and set aside.

In saucepan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat; fry garlic, thyme, salt and mushrooms until softened, about 2 minutes. Add brandy; cook, stirring, until no liquid remains.

Add stock and reserved pan/mushroom juices; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 8 minutes or until reduced to about 2 cups (500 mL).

Note: I ended up using all of this jus in my Shepherd’s Pie as it was that yummy :)

Enjoy!

A Birthday Party on a budget...

This weekend I was determined to host a dinner party for 11 guests at our place, to celebrate our special friend’s birthday but I was hesitant to spend anymore than $40 to do it. In the past I’ve never really had a budget and usually found myself stepping into the grocery store and coming out with more than $100 worth of groceries, some of which never got used but this time it would be different. I would schedule and plan out each component of the meal and head to the store only once with my list. I’m proud to say it worked…
Our Birthday Menu consisted of:

Roasted Garlic - Garlic Bread
Helena’s Meat Lasagna
Baked Ravioli in Alfredo Sauce
Caesar Salad
Fresh Fruit Tarts
Ice Cream Birthday Cake (my gift to the birthday boy)

Some of the above are my tried and true favorites but I did try a new recipe that I created from a variety of different recipes I found online and this one was a favorite among all of our guests. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did…

Baked Ravioli in Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients
3 pkg.frozen Four Cheese Ravioli, cooked, drained, as per package
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ small red onion, minced
½ tsp minced garlic
1 package of sliced mushrooms
2 cup heavy cream
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Romano cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese
2 tablespoon bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 400º F. Grease an 8-inch-square baking dish.

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil then add salt. Add ravioli and cook for 8 minutes to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallots, garlic. mushrooms and saute until tender. Add heavy cream and cheese, and bring to a boil. Cook until sauce has reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in pasta. Pour into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle cheese and bread crumbs over pasta mixture; cover with foil.

Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake for additional 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Frugal dinners and yummy leftovers...

..who would have thought...

My husband and I are really trying to make healthier and more frugal choices for our meal. Some months we can rack over $800 on grocery bills and dining out… Lord, forgive us for the amount of food that some months we may throw out due to spoilage or lack of time and ideas as to what to do with all of the food in our fridge.

So during a grocery store run for little essentials, I came across a Canadian Living Special Issue: Make Ahead Meals: Cook Now, Save Time Later. So this month this little magazine of 96 pages will be my inspiration.

Today I start with a recipe from page 45: Sirloin tip Oven Roast with Porcini Mushroom Jus … This basic recipe was to provide for at least another 4 recipes that would use leftovers but of course I had to make a little change to accommodate for my lack of time, placed it into the Slow Cooker with all of my vegetables for a one pot dish…

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Ingredients
3 pounds outside round roast
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp each dried thyme and pepper
1 packet dry onion soup mix
1 cup beef stock
3 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
12 mini white potatoes
1 stalk celery, chopped

Directions

Mix the garlic, oil, thyme and pepper. Rub over top and sides of roast. (Will do this next time: Brown on all sides in a large skillet over high heat)

Place onions in slowcooker. Mix onion soup mix with beef stock and add to slowcooker. Place roast in the slowcooker and sprinkle remainder of ingredients around the roast.

Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 6 hours.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures this week but couldn't seem to capture a picture before we all dug into the yummy meals...

Picture of the Week

After having lost my first DSLR camera at the airport on our way back from our Mexican vacation last year, I made a pact with myself when my hubby surprised me with another DSLR camera (Nikon D60) that I would learn how to use all of its features (aside from the Auto feature :)

It's been a year on my own with very little improvement and so I decided to take action out of my hands and enroll in a course... If that's not motivation to get out and do it I don't know what is...

Now I'm learning how to use my camera and taking LOTS of pictures. So I've decided to share them with you by posting them right here. In addition to the photo I'll also indicate details in case you want to replicate the photo with your own camera too.

Enjoy!

Title: My protogee
Setting: Aperature Priority
Lighting: Natural
ISO: 800
f5.3
Shutter Speed: 1/6

I'm such a fan of Katie's Good Things Catered blog and I was so excited to try these recipes when I saw them on her blog... I just love mushrooms and poppyseeds yum!! (just not together of course...hehehe...) The tart has now become one of my hubby's favorite side dishes. The poppy seed loaf was very moist and although everyone loved it, I think I would use a little less butter next time and make them into the mini loaves as directed in the recipe.

Wild Mushroom, Caramelized Onion, Bacon and Herb Tart

Ingredients:

1/2 recipe pie dough
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
8 oz. wild mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
6 strips cooked bacon
1 garlic clove
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp herbs de Provence
3 oz. Camembert, diced small
1 Tbsp beaten egg

Directions:

-In medium saucepan, over medium low heat, add butter to melt.
-When pan is heated and butter is melted, add onions and stir to combine.
-Cook onions down, stirring occasionally, until beginning to turn golden brown, about 15 minutes. -Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment.
-Add mushrooms to onions and cook until browned but not burned, an additional 10 minutes.
-Add balsamic vinegar and stir to combine well.
-Add bacon, garlic, salt, pepper and herbs and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
-Remove from heat and set aside.
-Roll out dough to a rough 12" round.
-Place onion mixture in center of dough and spread out evenly, about 1.5" from the edges.
-Scatter Camembert around edges of onion mixture and fold dough edges into tart, pleating for presentation and leaving the center open.
-Brush edges of dough with beaten egg and place in oven to bake.
-Bake tart until edges are golden brown and tart is heated through, about 25-30 minutes.
-Remove from oven and let cool to just warm before cutting and serving.

Lemon Poppy Seed Mini Loaf

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening
2 c. granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temp
2 c. buttermilk, room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of 2 large lemons
2 Tbsp poppy seeds

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare mini loaf pans (or 1 large loaf pan)
-In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, lemon zest, poppy seeds and whisk to combine; set aside.
-In medium bowl, combine buttermilk, vanilla, lemon juice, and whisk to combine; set aside.
-In bowl of stand mixer, add butter, shortening, and sugar and beat on high until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
-Reduce speed to medium and add eggs, one at a time, combining thoroughly before adding the next.
-Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in three parts alternating with milk mixture, starting and ending with flour and mixing until incorporated.-Scrape batter into pans and spread evenly.
-Place in oven and bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean, about 30 minutes (or 45-55 for a large loaf).
- Makes about 8 mini loaves

Enjoy!

Turkey and maple syrup...what a combination!

I know there are so many recipes out there for turkey but being a stickler for sticking to something that is tried and true, I've always had a hard time deviating from the recipe that I've always used. Although I was so glad to come across this recipe in an email I had received. I had never tried basting a turkey with maple syrup but being Canadian, I knew I had to try it... This recipe was a hit at our family gathering and perhaps our new family favorite...

Maple-Roasted Turkey with Smoked Bacon and Stuffing

Cook Time: 4 hr 30 min

Ingredients:
4 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
½ chourico, diced
3 packages of stuffing (2 packages of seasoning)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1 (12 to 14 pound) PC Real Butter basted turkey
1 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup hot water
8 strips smoked bacon
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 lemon, juiced

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and remove the top rack.

In a saute pan, melt 4 tablespoons butter, add the onions and chourico, cook and stir for 15 minutes until soft and golden. Remove from heat. Put the cornbread in a large mixing bowl and scrape the sauteed onion mixture on top. Add the packages of seasoning, egg, heavy cream, and just enough chicken stock to moisten the stuffing without making it soggy (about 1/2 cup.) Toss well to combine.

Remove the neck and gizzards from the inside of the turkey and discard. Rinse the with cold water, pat dry. Sprinkle the cavity and skin liberally with salt and pepper. Fill the bird with the stuffing without packing too tightly; cook the remaining stuffing separately in a buttered baking dish. Truss the turkey; place it on a rack in a large roasting pan with remaining chicken stock and wine, and put into the oven.

Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and hot water to thin the glaze out a bit; use this to baste the turkey every 30 minutes (starting at the 1 hour mark). The turkey should take about 4 ½ hours to cook. If the legs or breast brown too quickly, cover with foil.

About 2 hours into cooking, shingle the strips of bacon oven the turkey breast to cover; continue to roast and baste. The turkey is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meatiest part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F (the thigh juices will also run clear when pricked with a knife.) Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes before carving, so the juices can settle back into the meat.

Skim off the excess fat from the pan drippings with a spoon and place the roasting pan over 2 burners set on medium-high heat. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up brown bits stuck to bottom of pan. Whisk the flour into the drippings, stirring as it thickens to prevent lumps. Add the remaining chicken stock and bring to a simmer; season with salt and pepper and hit it with a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten the flavor. Simmer for 5 minutes and then strain to remove any particles.

Enjoy!

Note: Please be careful as the turkey may look ready visually because of all of the sugar in the baste the skin darkens very quickly but that is not a direct reflection on whether the turkey is cooked on the inside. In this case, a thermometer reading is imperative!

Nutella Frosted Brownies

This brownies were quite the hit at my husband's birthday party. I don't remember where I found this recipe but we're lovers of Nutella so I knew I had to try it... The only change I made to the recipe was instead of swirling the Nutella with a toothpick, I placed batter into the muffin tin, added the spoonful of Nutella as is and then added more muffin batter on top... It was quite the chocolate-y suprise when you bit into the cupcake...


Nutella Frosted Cupcakes

Ingredients:

10 tbsp (140 grams) butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups (200 grams) sifted ap flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder Nutella, approx. 1/3 cup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.

Cream together butter and sugar until light, 2 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated. Don't worry if the batter doesn't look smooth. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder until batter is uniform and no flour remains.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin liner with batter. They should be 3/4 full, if you're not using a scoop. Top each cake with 1 1/2 tsp Nutella. Swirl Nutella in with a toothpick, making sure to fold a bit of batter up over the nutella.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12

Enjoy!

I'm Back...

Okay I'm back and this time its for good...After a long hiatus, ending work, starting maternity leave, having a little baby, our new house being delayed again, family challenges along the way, its time to start getting this blog back up and running!

But we're going to do things a little differently this time around, I will promise the following:

1. To bake a recipe once a week
2. To make a filipino dish once a week
3. To make a portuguese dish once a week
4. To incorporate my latest hobby of photography by including a favorite pic in the blog, and
5. I'll include tips that I've found very helpful or touch on any recent projects that I'm working on and what my progress is with them...

and so this list will guide me along the way over the next couple of weeks and I'll revisit it later on and see if its working or not :)

In the meantime, let's get this party started...

Helena :)

Back Again... :)

The last couple of weeks have not seen the arrival of our new baby yet but at the same time neither did my desire to start cooking too! But having started mat leave, its about time to stat getting back into the swing of things... So I start with something close to my heart and especially sweet. I was offered a recipe from my cousin, tweaked it with some others I found on websites and came up with the following:

Chocolate Macaroon Brownie

Brownie:
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 cup baking cocoa
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
½ cup chopped nuts

Filling:
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
3 cups flaked/shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract

Icing:
¼ cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar)
½ cup baking cocoa
¼ cup milk
¼ cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

Combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In large saucepan, melt butter. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa until smooth. Blend in eggs, sugar and extracts. Stir in flour mixture and nuts.

Pour into a parchment lined 13 in x 9 in x 2 in baking pan.

In small bowl, combine condensed milk, coconut and vanilla. Spoon over brownie base.

Bake at 350o for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the centre comes out clean.

For icing, in small bowl, combine sugar, cocoa, butter, vanilla and enough milk to achieve desired spreading consistency.

Spread over filling. Sprinkle with nuts (optional). Cool in pan. Cut into bars.

Enjoy! (I know we did!)