Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Roast Chicken, Potatoes and Beets
If you’re looking for a classy dinner that’s easy and cheap, then this meal is the perfect solution. I normally cook with boneless and skinless chicken, but it seems to be really expensive lately, so I decided to try bone-in and skin-on chicken legs with thighs. They were much cheaper, and I was very impressed at how moist and flavourful they were when roasted. The skin keeps the moisture in and the bones provide flavour. You do have to work around the skin and bones while eating it, but I really didn’t mind doing that because the meat was so yummy! This is so easy to throw this together too. It makes a perfect Sunday night dinner when you want something a little special with limited effort. I put the oven on 450F to begin with so the skin gets nice and crispy to hold in the moisture, then reduce the temp so the chicken doesn’t get overcooked. Keep a close eye on it and use a meat thermometer because the cooking times will vary depending on the size of your chicken pieces. Miraculously, everyone ate all the food on their plates, even Cole. I have proof! You can see him here in the background digging into his plate.
Roast Chicken, Potatoes and Beets
5 chicken legs with thighs attached
2-3 beets, sliced
3 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
1 onion, cut in large slices
olive oil
Spices: rosemary, paprika, garlic powder, seasoning salt, pepper
Preheat oven to 450F. Place potatoes and beets in the bottom of a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with spices. Place chicken on top, and tuck onion slices in between the skin and meat. Sprinkle with spices. Bake for 5 minutes at 450F, then reduce heat to 400F and bake for another 35-40 minutes, or until juices in chicken run clear and vegetables are tender.

Monday, November 21, 2011
Pumpkin Enchiladas
Enchilada Filling
500 g lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can (4 oz) diced green chilies
1 can (19 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
10-12 large whole wheat tortillas
1 cup grated light mozzarella cheese
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Spiced Apple Cookies
I love the fall. I love watching the leaves changing colours, smelling the crisp morning air, wearing cozy sweaters, cuddling up with a warm cup of tea, and best of all I love baking in the fall. These spiced apple cookies are the perfect fall treat, with sweet and juicy apples and a comforting blend of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. I made these one Sunday afternoon when we had Cole's new friend from school over for a playdate. The kids devoured them and kept asking for more. Tony was teasing me because I just had to put flax seeds and chia seeds in them. I can't help myself! I'll take any way that I can to get added nutrition into the foods they eat. These do have a fair bit of sugar in them, so I still consider them a treat, but there are a lot of healthy components to them as well, like oats, whole wheat, flax, chia, and of course apples. I like that you can leave the skins on the apples for more fibre, and frankly it's just a lot easier than having to peel them. I can see these cookies becoming a fall tradition in our house.
Spiced Apple Cookies
Adapted from The Naptime Chef
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
2 tbsp flax seeds (optional)
2 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups unpeeled apple, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Beat in egg and milk.
In another bowl, combine flours, oats, seeds, baking soda, spices and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix on low until fully combined. Fold apples into the batter.
Drop heaping spoonfuls of batter onto a greased cookie sheet, spacing them about 2" apart. Flatten the tops a little with your fingers or a fork.
Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned around the edges.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Gnocchi and Chickpea Skillet Dinner
Homemade gnocchi can be a lot of fun to make but it's also time-consuming, so sometimes I like to just buy the prepackaged kind. It makes a quick and tasty addition to so many meals, like this skillet dinner that I like to make. You can pretty much throw in whatever veggies and meat that you have on hand, and it's ready in no time, so it's perfect for those busy weekday dinners. Of course, you can use homemade gnocchi for this as well if you have the time. I often freeze a portion of my homemade gnocchi, then I can just pull them out and boil them as you would with fresh or packaged gnocchi. Unfortunately, Cole is not a big fan of gnocchi (he doesn't like perogies either so I guess it's something to do with potatoes), but he just picks those out and eats everything else. Both my boys love chickpeas, which is great because they're so good for you. They add protein and fibre to this dish. You can leave out the bacon if you want to make it meatless.
Gnocchi and Chickpea Skillet Dinner
1 16-18 oz package of gnocchi
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 strips turkey bacon, diced
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 small head of broccoli crowns, chopped
1 can (19 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Cook gnocchi in boiling water until they float to the top, then drain and set aside. In a large non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Saute garlic for 1 minute. Add gnocchi and bacon, and cook for 5 minutes until they begin to brown slightly. Add remaining ingredients, cover the skillet, and cook for another 15 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.

Sunday, November 6, 2011
Cranberry Sauce
Canadian Thanksgiving has already come and gone, but I'm posting this great recipe for homemade cranberry sauce in time for American Thanksgiving, and of course it's perfect for Christmas too. I always bought canned cranberry sauce for the holidays because I thought making my own sauce would be too much work. Then this year when I was grocery shopping for our Thanksgiving dinner, I picked up a bag of fresh cranberries. On the back of the bag was a recipe for cranberry sauce. It seemed to simple and easy to be true. So I gave it a try, adding my own little touches to it, and it really was as easy as it seemed. I can't believe I haven't been making it myself all along. Everyone at dinner seemed to be impressed with it, and had no idea what little effort it took on my part. I used the leftover sauce to make cranberry sauce muffins the next day, which were really yummy too. I could see them being a great breakfast on Boxing Day.
Cranberry Sauce
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 12 oz pkg fresh cranberries
1 tbsp orange zest
1/4 tsp cinnamon
In a medium saucepan, combine water and sugar. Bring to a boil, then add cranberries. Bring to a boil again, then reduce heat to a gentle boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until mixture thickens. Stir in zest and cinnamon. Allow to cool, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Chocolate Chia Pudding
Remember Chia Pets? "Ch-ch-ch-chia!" Well it turns out those little seeds that grow 'hair' on silly clay figures are actually really good for you. Who knew? They can help balance blood sugar, promote weight loss by helping you feel full longer, and are the richest plant source of omega-3 fatty acids. My family doesn't like fish that much, so I'm always looking for other ways to add omega-3 to our diet. I've been sneaking ground flax seed into a lot of things, and I give the kids omega-3 gummies with fish oil in them. On the bottle it notes that 2 gummies have 30 mg of omega-3. When I looked at the bag of chia seeds I found that they have 2900 mg of omega-3 per tablespoon. What a difference!! Now I just have to find a way to get my kids to eat them. I tried this chocolate pudding on Bennett, but unfortunately he didn't like it. I even tried topping it with whipped cream, but he meticulously skimmed the whipped cream off the top of the pudding in order to avoid eating any of the seeds. I haven't tried it on Cole yet, but I'm hoping I may have more success because I think he'll at least enjoy making it. This is a fun recipe to make with kids, because the chia seeds form a gel around them almost magically to create a pudding. It reminds me a little of tapioca. I'd have to say I like tapioca better, but chia pudding is something I could get used to, especially considering the health benefits. I plan to experiment more with chia seeds until I make something the kids both really enjoy. If you have a great chia seed recipe, please share!
Chia Chocolate Pudding
1/4 cup Chia Seeds
3/4 cup milk
1 heaping tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Mix ingredients together in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir it up, then place in the refrigerator for about an hour to allow it to thicken up. Then enjoy!