Seeing Red

Hello Sweets,

I'm going to apologize upfront because this post is going to be very short.  I'm entirely too mad and upset to really focus, and it feels like I just don't have it in me.  I'm not about to air my dirty laundry on my blog, but I am not about to force myself to lie consistently throughout my post.  Y'all deserve a better read than a woe is me tale of frustration.  I will say it's times like these I'm glad I'm off work and live alone, I don't hide my emotions that well :(  I hope if I try painting that it will get me back in a positive mind space, I really don't like feeling this way.

Enough about my problems, y'all come here to read about all sorts of treats and I'm not about to let y'all down :)  I said yesterday that I was stepping back from the sweets today, and I am delivering that promise!  When I came across this recipe on the Mr.Food website, I knew I had to try it and that I would most likely love it.  Yesterday I attempted this recipe at dinner time, and I now have another great way to make potatoes.  Although my title seems to represent the turmoil and frustration I'm currently going through, but as y'all will see in the pictures it's a reflection of the final product.

Lone Star Fries

Ingredients

1Tbs paprika

1tsp chili powder

1tsp salt, divided

1/4tsp black pepper

6 potatoes, skin left on

2Tbs olive oil

 

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 425F.  In a large resealable plastic bag; combine paprika, chili powder, 1/2tsp salt, and pepper.

 

 

2)  Cut each potato in half, then each half into 4 flat wedges.

 

3)  Add olive oil and potatoes to seasoning in the bag, close tightly and shake to coat well.

 

 

4)  Spread potatoes in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet.  Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until fork tender.  Sprinkle with remaining salt and serve immediately.

 

They're so yummy, with their crispy outside and subtle spice.  I think I am going to make a kicked up version of these next time, with extra extra spice!  I find that we usually do potatoes the same way over and over, but this is a great way to change it up.  I'm always looking for new potato dishes to keep things interesting, and these will definitely be put into the rotation :)

I wish I could say that this post took away my frustration, but that would be a lie.  However, it did take my mind off things for a little bit.  Hopefully the painting will work a little better, if not I will dive into funny movies.  I do after all have a Will Ferrel special on my dvr :)  Until next time...

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Not Your Average Country Pumpkin!

Hello Sweets,

Guess what this smarty pants did this morning, I fell down the dang stairs :(  Yup queen of balance herself fell from the very top all the way to the bottom, all with a glass in my hand.  Ironically the glass made it down unscathed, me on the other hand, I'm bruised all over my left side.  Some are even raised.  Ah well what am I going to do right?  Thankfully I was already scheduled to see my doctor this afternoon, but I hadn't done any serious damage to myself besides my ego :p  Well that, and my toush hurts....a lot lol.

Yesterday I promised a trip back to the American Thanksgiving, with a sweet little treat to make the whole thing worth while!  There are staples to every Thanksgiving meal, turkey and mashed potatoes are obviously number one and two.  But that's where all roads take different turns, every family has their own special recipes, whether it's with the main meal or with dessert.  However there is always one dessert that is almost always present at any Thanksgiving meal, pumpkin pie!  Most people don't bake their own but instead buy it, but we all know that is not my style.  I personally don't particularly care for pumpkin pie so I made a coconut meringue pie for Nathan and I (and a few other family members thoroughly enjoyed it lol), but Nathan's mother and Granny both like pumpkin pie so I was going to make it for them.  In true Canuckette form I couldn't just make a traditional pumpkin pie, I had to jazz it up and make it extra special.  Trust me when I say this, it is worth the work and it tastes even better then your regular old pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin Pie Spectacular

Ingredients

(filling)

 2C gingersnaps, crushed

1C pecans, chopped

1/2C powdered sugar

1/4C butter, melted

1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2C sour cream

1tsp cinnamon

1/2tsp vanilla

1/4tsp ginger

7 thin ginger cookies, halved

(streusel)

 1/2C light brown sugar

1/2C flour

1/4C butter, firm

1/4C pecans, chopped

 

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350F.  Fit pie crust into a 9" deep dish plate; fold edges under and crimp.

2)  Stir together; crushed ginger snaps, pecans, powdered sugar, and butter.

 

 

3)  Press into bottom of pie crust and 1/2" up the sides.  Bake for 10 minutes, cool completely on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

4)  Stir together; pumpkin puree, milk, eggs, sour cream, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla until well blended.

  

 

5)  Pour into prepared pie crust.  Place on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet, baking for 30 minutes.

 

6)  Mix the streusel ingredients together, and sprinkle edges of the crust.

 

I had a little extra pie dough, so I created a cute little pumpkin :)

  

7)  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until set.  Shield edges with tin foil for the last 25-30 minutes if necessary.

 

 

8)  Insert ginger cookies around edges of crust.  Cool completely on wire rack for one hour. (I chose not to add the extra cookies, it was too pretty to add anything else).

Look at those lovely layers!

Perfectly set!! Love it when it all works out

  

This was my first and only attempt I've made at a pumpkin pie, and I am so glad that it turned out perfectly!  The layer of sweetened pecans and ginger snaps give the pie a whole new dimension, dare I say even a more grown up twist to the traditional Thanksgiving dessert :)

My lovely Thanksgiving day duo

  

In addition to these two lovely sweets, I also was in charge of the gravy, potatoes, and another dinner accompaniment.  Yes I know I'm being very secretive about what it is, but that's only because I haven't blogged about it yet and I don't want to spoil it for y'all!  Y'all know that's how I do this lol, but only because I love y'all so much.

Since I have about one more week left before I have to move to my new place *happy dance*, I really need to finish up my packing.  I don't have much left to do, but I'd rather finish everything I am not using before, so that way I am pretty much done and nothing is left but my daily items.  Ah the joys of moving, worse part is the packing!  Remember to check back tomorrow for another Thanksgiving addition :)  Until next time....

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

A Whole Heart Again

Hello Sweets,

I know I've been missing for the last few days, but I have a good reason this time (although I think all of mine are valid lol).  I'm back home in TEXAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yup I am just that happy, no scratch that and make it ecstatic lol, to be back in the arms of my one true love :)  I even traveled to the Toronto airport in the wee hours of the morning to catch a flight at 6:45am, and I am not a morning person most likely because I don't sleep very well.  However with that being said, although I was extremely exhausted (like giggly tired) I found myself smiling and in a very very good mood even dealing with customs and security.  I guess when you are that excited to be reunited with someone you don't care how long or how far you have to travel, as long as they're there when you land.  

Today's post is just a share of photo's that was my incredibly early and a little long journey from Ontario to the great state of Texas!  Our second anniversary was yesterday, but we are celebrating our dinner tomorrow (thank you unpredictable health :p).  Instead of going out to a restaurant we've decided to make our own special dinner, everything is being made from scratch right down to fresh bread.  So over the next couple of days I will be sharing the new recipes and show you the completed romantic meal :)  I will also share with you the activity we chose to do for our date as well.  In the meantime we are going to travel from Canada to the wonderful south that is Texas ;)

 

 Goodbye Toronto!! Looking pretty in pink :p

 

 Love looking out the window and seeing nothing but fluffy clouds

 

 Over the Midwest, with the sun at my back

 

My lovely first class breakfast (mimosa not pictured), and it tasted very good!

 

 Why hello Texas!  Home of American Airlines, and their fancy new planes.

 

 Both are tired from very long days, but couldn't be any happier!

I know this is a short post, but with my shoulder experiencing some extra random pain this is what I could muster up lol.  Tomorrow's won't be crumby (clue!), but it will be new and sweet which is really hard to beat lol sorry I had too!  Until next time.....................................................

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxoxoxo

The Final Straw....berry ;)

Hello Sweets,

I know I've been MIA that last couple days, but I am super busy lately.  Between spending time with family members, to trying to get organized and packed.  Yup that's right in just two short days I'll be with the love of my life once again, I will have already landed and will be enjoying the Texas sun :)  So Tuesday's post maybe just be a quick check in as I will most likely not be cooking that night, but who knows maybe Nathan and I will collaborate for a dinner. Eeekk, I can hardly wait it already feels like it's been months lol.

So this is it, the last tiny tart post lol and for my grandmother this is her favorite.  You remember that sneaky squirrel who was stealing our raspberries?  Well he also like strawberries, which made my grandmother very unhappy lol.  I haven't had too many strawberry pies that I enjoyed, but I also hated strawberries sprinkled with sugar as a kid lol.  I like fruit all on its own, but I wasn't going to let my personal preference get in the way of a new endeavor.  However, with that being said I was quite careful in selecting a recipe that really let the sweetness of the strawberries shine through.  With minimal sugar I was able to achieve exactly what I set out for, and considering these were gobbled up pretty quickly I think it was a good choice.

Strawberry Pie Filling

Ingredients

5 1/2C strawberries, washed/cored and quartered

1/2C sugar

3Tbs cornstarch

Directions:

1)  Place strawberries in a large bowl.

 

2)  Whisk together sugar and cornstarch to combine.

 

3)  Toss with strawberries until evenly coated.  Allow to sit for five minutes prior to adding to your pie pastry.

 

Same as with the earlier tarts, place a spoonful into each pastry cup.  Baking at 325F for 15-20 minutes, allowing to cool on wire rack before serving.

 

I know this post is on the short side, okay the really short side, but I still have more packing to do.  I also have a couple of letters I need to write and I have some thoughts swirling around in my head that I want to give a few minutes of my time.  Until next time.....................................................

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxoxo

Homeward Bound

Hello Sweets,

I know I've been MIA for a few days, and that's because I'm off to see my soul mate!! So I've been very busy trying to get everything in order so not much creating has happened, but y'all know how much I love spoiling my man's pallet, so I know I'll have lots to write about :)

But in the mean time, I realized I didn't share my Easter weekend meal with all of y'all!  I'm not sure what your holiday meals are like with family but mine is a little different, for reasons I won't delve into, but basically I eat my meals with my grandparents each holiday and we have a nice intimate meal.  Well I have watched my grandmother cook our meals year after year, and slowly but surely she has allowed me to help her more and more.  Since her health has started to decline, she has given me the reins completely (and that's not easy for her lol), and on this Easter Sunday dinner was mine to make from the entire dinner to my homemade dessert (recipe will be included in a later post).  Even though she let me make the dinner she couldn't help but try and assist, and since I love her so much I told her that she could help me by sitting and relaxing ;) after all she has taken care of us for years, now its our turn.

So for our dinner, since it was only three of us, our meal was simply made and delicious :)  I made us some very succulent chicken breast that was simply seasoned and not over complicated, and paired it with home styled mashed potatoes and a fresh garden salad.

 Our salad was made up of ice burg lettuce, carrots, romaine lettuce, baby spinach, and cherry tomatoes.  We topped it with a zesty Italian based dressing that gave it a bit of zing without a whole lot of calories :)

 I roasted our chicken breasts in garlic, crushed red peppers, black pepper, and a little bit of olive oil.  It was only in the oven for about 20-25 minutes at about 400F, the end result is a very flavorful and moist piece of chicken.  The home style mashed potatoes are just a simple and tasty, by leaving the skins on and mashing them with butter, garlic, pinch of salt, pepper, crushed red peppers, and milk to make them creamy :)  If you do the potatoes just right your guests won't need to add any butter or seasoning to them!

This delicious dessert is best served hot right out of the oven with a side of vanilla ice cream.  I won't get in to great detail right now because I have a complete post with recipes and pictures coming soon, but what I will tell you is that it's a crunchy wholesome dessert with some fresh sweetness to it :) I know I know, I'm teasing y'all but trust me it will be worth the wait!

Since it's Nascar Sprint Cup weekend, I'll have a few updates for everyone showing pictures from our weekend and maybe even a recipe or two ;) and for the delicious treats that aren't mine I will be teasing your taste buds with some delicious pictures and tantalizing descriptions.  Until next time..................................


Stay sweet,




Jennifer xoxoxo

If Once Is Good, Twice Is Better!

Hello Sweets,

I hope y'all are having a wonderful weekend, spending time with those that are dearest to your heart and activities that feed your soul!  I am conflicted about my weekend.  On the one hand I've finished all my errands (with the exception of picking up a few groceries), but on the other hand I've only slept about 6 hours in the last three days :(  I am at the point where I am tired and awake at the same time, lol oh the trials and tribulations that are my life.

So since I've got the jitters I thought I would write up a quick blog and see if I can relax, maybe even to the point of sleep lol.  This is yet another post that was made during my last visit to Texas but alas it didn't get written, that is until today!  I promise this will be a delicious recipe and I encourage everyone to try it, it has definitely become a staple in my recipe box!  So as you guys know every time I am in Texas we have steak at least once, and I mean EVERY time.  Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining, and my next favorite part of that meal is whatever type of potatoes are on the side (yes I love me some carbs lol).  For a little while now I've been making that dish, we've hard traditional mashed and country mashed (skins left on).  I don't know too many people who dislike baked potatoes, I whole heartily agree if they're not cooked very well they aren't the best, but I love them so much I take great care while baking.  This time I decided to do something that I've wanted to try but just never have.  The only time I've actually had them this way is in a restaurant.  So are you sitting there thinking "just tell us already!!", lol today's post is about the super yummy twice baked potatoes Canuckette style!  Let's not dilly dally any longer, let's get to the meat and potatoes of the post (lol yea I went there).  I also just want to add, in case Dad, now known as "the Captain" reads this particular post, I'm sorry to tell you but you like garlic lol because you loved these potatoes :)

Canuckette's Twice Baked Potatoes

 Ingredients

Russet potatoes, 1 for each diner

Extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes
garlic
bacon, cook prior allowed to dry and chopped
fresh chives
butter
milk

sorry for the lack of pictures I had a lot going on :(

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 400F.  Wash potatoes, making sure to really scrub the skins clean of dirt.  Poke the potatoes in several places, this is so the potato doesn't explode in the oven.  Rub the potatoes with olive oil, lightly season with salt and pepper.  Place on the middle rack and bake for an hour 15 minutes, or until they are cooked thorough (they'll give a little when pressed).

2)  Remove the potatoes from the oven and drop the oven temperature down to 350F.  Once the potatoes are done allow them to cool slightly.  Slice the top quarter of the potato off  making it a potato canoe if you will lol.  Empty the "insides" of the potatoes into a bowl, be careful no to hallow out the potatoes too much or they will collapse.  Season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, some of the bacon and garlic, then mash (or beat with an electric mixer for creamier potatoes) the potatoes with butter and milk, until your reached desired flavor and consistency.

*side note*  Nathan's dad has this crazy little spoon, it's super tiny and looks like a trowel with jagged edges.  Makes for the best digging tool, not too big and very precise!

3)  Once you've completed the mashed potatoes spoon back into your potato canoes, at this time you can top your potatoes with more bacon, chives, and cheese or you can add after.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until heated thoroughly.

These are so delicious, adding the olive oil all over the outside give a slight crispiness to the skins.  If you are careful enough you can discard the tops, or for a more dramatic presentation use them as tiny lids.  To be perfectly honest these were distractingly good, which is the reason there wasn't a final picture.  You can add or change any of the spices or even the type of oil.  What I can give you is a direct quote from Nathan about how delicious these were; "Uh, yeah, these are definitely the potatoes to be used with my steak EVERY TIME you're here. "

Well there you have it, I am officially back in my blog swing :) and it feels great.  I still have some sweet treats coming up so don't forget to check back because this girl is going to keep on writing as it puts a smile on my face.....lol I really do have one right now!  Until next times............................

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

A Dinner Built By Two

Hello Sweets,

Only one more day to the weekend, for me that means absolutely nothing as I have been off work for some time, but I do realize to the rest of the world it is something we all count down to.  I was so excited to have my hair cut (much needed too) today, but our dang alarm didn't go off and thankfully the salon was very understanding and was able to reschedule me for tomorrow.  We are setting multiple alarms tonight to ensure this does not happen again, not to mention Nathan is going to use the time to get his haircut too!

So as I mentioned yesterday, Nathan was grilling steaks for dinner tonight and it would be the topic of tonight's post, but then we decided to make it a joint meal.  Now I'm not crazy which means he was still in charge of the meat but I wanted to make some killer mash potatoes, and since they taught me how to make sweet corn, I decided that would also be part of the meal.  I was even daring enough to whip up a new dessert while cooking everything (now maybe that's a little crazy), but you'll have to come back tomorrow for that one since I'm giving you three tonight (spoiled) lol.  Now tonight's recipes are the kind that don't have precise measurements, they're the type of recipes that use all of your senses and force you to taste as you create, making the appropriate adjustments as needed.  Since there are so many recipes going on here tonight I'll keep the chatter short and get to the "meat and potatoes" of the post ;), do you see what I did there lol?

Nathan's Amazing Steaks

Ingredients

3 rib eye's

1 btl steak and chop marinade

coarse black pepper

garlic, minced

meat tenderizer

Worcestershire sauce

seasoning salt

Directions:

1)  Start by piercing the meat with a fork evenly and then seasoning the meat with the tenderizer, lightly coating each side of the steak.   Apply a coat of seasoning salt, then pepper, then place the steaks in a large freezer bag.  In between each steak and the side of the bag place a dollop of the minced garlic and add a little more coarse pepper, then pour an entire bottle of the steak and chop marinade into the bag (add a small amount of water to the empty bottle, shake and empty into the zip lock bag).  Finally add a few dashes of the Worcestershire sauce and place in the fridge overnight (flipping once when you get up).

2)  Grill them on medium low, while they are on the grill apply the remaining marinade over top of the steaks as needed and reapply the same seasonings as the night before as preferred.  Grill to your preference (medium rare takes about 12 minutes).

Canuckette's Crazy Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

3 large potatoes

milk

fresh chives, chopped

roasted garlic, minced

 butter

sea salt

coarse black pepper

red pepper flakes

sorry potatoes were already in the pot :/

Directions:

1)  Boil your potatoes until a fork can pierce them with ease, the smaller you cut them up the faster it will happen.  Once they're soft drain all the water from the pot, add all remaining ingredients and mash away! (I always hold back on the milk, it's easier to add than remove right)

 

Sweet Corn

Ingredients

1 can corn

1 Tbs (approx) sugar

salt

pepper

butter

Directions:

1)  Combine all ingredients in a microwave safe dish, and microwave for 5 minutes.  Stir once done (careful as it will be very hot), and serve.

And here is what your dinner will look like if you choose to make it :)

Nathan and I are both super stuffed, but at the same time wanted to go back for more because it was just so dang good lol.  You can play with different spices and make the boring into something exciting, I bet if you serve these mashed potatoes people will be asking what your secrets are.

Well I think three recipes is enough for you to read and me to write in one night, but make sure you come back tomorrow to see what new dessert I made.  I'll give you a hint, it's a cleverly modified chocolate treat you can buy at any convenience store.  Until next time...........................................

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

A "Corny" Sweet Success!

Hello Sweets,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and spent today relaxing on the final day of the weekend :(  My weekend was not too bad, health wasn't a complete blockade (yay for small triumphs lol) and I went right back into the kitchen to create some things I've been  envisioning in my head for what seems like days now.  Now the one thing that my weekend did lack was sleep, and I don't mean only got a few hours or was restless, but actually have only gotten about 7 hours since Thursday night O_O.  Needless to say that today I am a goofy, giggling, zombie just trying to push on through with hopes of a full night sleep tonight (fingers crossed).  Now I am sure you're all wondering why I didn't have a cat nap this afternoon, and the reason is because I made plans to see my grandparents and hate breaking promises to them.  We needed to have a little quality catch up :)  Then when I got home I had to create my final recipe of the "chili" chapters (damn should have thought of that with the first post, lol oh well), and now it's dinner time and I'm afraid that if I fall asleep now I'll awake in the middle of the night lol.

So I am sure you've all been speculating on what the final chapter is, and I've got a pretty good idea that the title may have cemented your guesses :).  If you guessed cornbread you're the grand prize winner...........of the guessing game lol your big prize is my thanks and a smile!  Now I've eaten chili all my life, cornbread however is fairly new to me as it is not common at all where I am from, but that doesn't mean I had never tried it, but when I had it for the first time at Nathan's house I really fell in love with that starchy little devil.  Contrary to what I've had at home, Texas cornbread is moist, sweeter, and has great texture (drools).  When Nathan's dad made chili for us right before I went home, I offered to make some from scratch (they use a box, fore shame!) but he was worried it wouldn't be sweet enough, so in the words of Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother - TV series) "Challenge Accepted!".  From then on I've had this burning determination to find the perfect recipe for scrumptious cornbread, and then I stumbled upon a fabulous little web site (obviously a fellow kitchen creator) called A Sweet Pea Chef (love the title too) and there was the start of my great cornbread :)  So I drew inspiration from her recipe and made a few "Canuckette adjustments", to make exactly what I was looking for.  And now I'm going to share it with all of you!

Canuckette's Sweet Cornbread (inspired from A Sweet Pea Chef)

Ingredients

1C all-purpose flour

1C cornmeal, yellow

1/2C granulated sugar

2 1/2Tsp baking powder

1 Tbs brown sugar, dark and heaping

1 Tsp salt

1 egg

1C half and half (the lightest you can find, mine was 50% less fat than original)

1/3C vegetable oil

1/2C creamed corn

3Tbs honey, melted (give or take)

Directions:
1)  Preheat the oven to 400F, and grease (I used coconut oil, so no flour was needed) either a 9" round cake pan or a 12 cup muffin tin.

2)  Combine all dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, both sugars, baking powder, and salt) in to a large bowl and set aside.

3)  In a separate smaller bowl, combine all the wet ingredients (egg, cream, oil, creamed corn but not the honey).

   

crazy looking layers lol

4)  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly, but be careful not to over mix.  Drizzle the melted honey over top of the batter, doing your best to evenly distribute.

 

 

This was when I decided to add the honey for a little bit of sweetness on top :)

  

5)  Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

   

yummers!!

I'm so glad I foraged down this road, specifically because I am not sure how much more I can improve on this recipe, it's honestly that good!  Normally I don't like to toot my own horn, but TOOT TOOT lol.  If you love or even like cornbread then you definitely need to try this recipe, and if you aren't sure if you will like it try this recipe because it's the best I've come across yet!

Well I can barely keep my eyes open as I  finish up this post lol.  That last paragraph took me almost 15 minutes to write because my mind was trying to shut down lol, so it looks like I may be going down for a cat nap after all, and hopefully not all night.  Make sure to come back tomorrow for a simple and refreshing way to forget we are in the middle of winter (if only for a moment).  Until next time..................................

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo