Not Your Average Sheppard

Hello Sweets,

Are y'all having a wonderful weekend?  Mine is pretty quiet and that's only because I'm dealing with a lot of pain, surprise surprise :(  But none the less I am alive and smiling (most of the time), so I really can't complain right?  I know it's been forEVER since I have written a post and for that I apologize, but I have still been creating in the kitchen so I think once this post is done it will really get the ball rolling again!  So I know I gave you guys fair warning of cookie overload due to my little sisters upcoming wedding, but I thought today I'd step away from the sweets (only for a moment though lol) and get back to where my love of cooking really came to head :)

Like most little girls, my kitchen adventures started by helping mom and grandma with baking. One of my favorite things to help with when I was little was, and yes it is silly, sifting flour.  I don't know what it was but I loved the noise the sifter made with each click of the handle and I ALWAYS had to do it lol.  But it wasn't until I was about twelve years old that I cooked a meal for my family all on my own, yup no help at all :)  First I'd like to give you a little background on my family so you can understand why this was my first dish that I made :)  My grandmother in English, her grandparents immigrated here after world war one so we had typical dishes such as fish and chips, now don't get me wrong I love my grandma but she doesn't use a whole lot of spices lol I don't know if that's part of her upbringing or what but my grandfather hates that.  My grandfather is Maltese (Italy kicked Sicily and pushed Malta, seriously that's what it looks like lol), he immigrated here when he was nineteen years old, he comes from a lot of pasta dishes....obvious huh.  So naturally my mother stuck more to the English side of the cooking, but thank the Lord she used spices lol she's the one the taught me no measurements just the nose ;)  So I made a dish that she had made my entire life, Sheppard pie :), except for one little thing that I don't think she even realized.  Sheppard's look after sheep/lambs so naturally the meat in the dish is corresponding with the association, well not quite at our house because we used beef.  No big deal right?  Well funny thing happened today, it's no secret I'm a huge fan of Gordon Ramsey so I watch a lot of Kitchen Nightmares and Hell's Kitchen, and by a lot I mean all lol.  So while relaxing early I decided to watch some reruns and what happens?  He orders Sheppard's pie from this restaurant and it's made with beef, he looks at the waitress with one of his priceless looks and says "it's not Sheppard's pie, it's a cottage pie when it has beef in it".  Well you know the saying 'you learn something new every day', well I just learned something new and I'm glad I did because I wouldn't want to misinform my lovely readers :)  And I was surprised when they served it with gravy  and thought to myself jeez I think my mom invented a whole different dish, but then he pointed out it shouldn't have it lol.  Any-who here is my "updated" version of Sheppard's, I mean Cottage Pie, and I say updated because I've added some new things :)

Cottage Pie

Ingredients

1lb extra lean ground beef

2 large russet potatoes, cubed

1/2 onion, diced

1 can of corn, drained

2Tbs butter

couple dashes of milk

1/2Tbs garlic powder

1Tsp cayenne powder

1/2Tsp black pepper

pinch of salt

Directions:

1)  Wash the potatoes and cut into smaller cubes to boil, I left the skins on but you can peel them if preferred.  Place in a pot of water and boil until they become soft, or until a fork pierces them easily. 

 

2)  While the potatoes are boiling, place the onions into a frying pan and sweat them off (soften).  Add the ground beef cooking thoroughly with a little of each of the spices added and then drain the excess grease from the pan.  Place the meat and onions in the bottom of a casserole dish.

 

3)  Next you want to mash your potatoes; drain the water from the pot and add the salt, some pepper, garlic, and a pinch of  cayenne.  Add the butter and milk and mash away!

 

4)  Place the corn in a layer over the beef, and then finally the mashed potatoes.  Finish it off in the oven at 400F until the potatoes have slight color and crispiness to them.

 

There you have it, the very first meal I ever made on my own when I was young :)  I know some people like to add gravy to theirs, but if you season everything correctly you won't need it ;)  

Just so y'all are aware the cookie overload commences again tomorrow, so be prepared to see something sweet, besides me that is lol just kidding.  Until next time................

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxoxo

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

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Hello Sweets,

Well we made it to the weekend, and it is already almost over :(  I hope you all had a super productive week and hopefully you are treating yourself for working so hard.  I finally got my hair cut yesterday :D, and I am even going back to Yelp (who helped me find the hairdresser) to write her a fantastic review.  My hair is now healthy, light, and manageable once again, and she even gave me some romantic soft curls which I am loving!!

I'm sorry I didn't get this post out last night but sometimes things don't always go according to plan, but I didn't want to keep this gem from you any longer (pain or not).  I have known for a long time that I'm not like most people, actually I am very unique and sometimes even weird lol Nathan can confirm all of this.  Well when I was little, one specific eating habit confirmed this every year, actually a few different times a year lol.  How many of you like chocolate?  How many of you love chocolate?  Most people do, and when you get it as a gift you're pretty excited right? lol  Well I have never been too thrilled upon opening (I know I know, it's the thought that counts).  Now my family learned very quickly that if they wanted to get me chocolate that it should be white or I wouldn't eat it, but still many times my mom would forget and I would end up with plain milk chocolate.  After years of throwing it away it dawned on me, why was I not eating this chocolate in the same sense of the chocolate bars that I buy?  So the next Christmas and Easter I received more plain chocolate, I then marched into the kitchen and grabbed the peanut butter out of cupboard and started dunking the chocolate.  Lol I know this will seem weird to some and gross to others, but for a peanut butter lover such as myself it was the perfect solution and I don't know why it took me so long to figure it out.

So it's probably fairly obvious what my favorite chocolate bar is (although it's cups not a bar), Reese's Peanut Butter cups.  I've made chocolate peanut butter squares before and they are quite delicious, but as soon as I saw this recipe (although I am not sure where I saw it :/ sorry) I had to make it because it looked to die for.  So let's not waste any more time and get a little "nutty" in the kitchen lol (see what I did there).

Brownie Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients

3/4C sugar

1/4C butter, softened

1 Tbs water

1C semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus 1/2C for garnish

1 large egg

1/2tsp vanilla

1C all-purpose flour

1/4tsp baking soda

3/4C milk chocolate chips, plus 1/3C for garnish

3/4C creamy peanut butter

only the best chocolate for my man ;)

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray or grease 12C muffin tin.  In a medium microwave safe bowl, combine the sugar, butter, and water.  Microwave on high for about 45 seconds or until the butter is melted.

2)  Stir in 3/4C of the semi-sweet chocolate chips until melted.  Stir in egg and vanilla, mix well.

3)  Add the flour and baking soda, mix well but do not over mix the batter.

4)  Allow the batter to cool to room temperature (this won't take very long, maybe a few minutes), then stir in 3/4C of the milk chocolate chips and remaining 1/4C of the semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Spoon batter evenly into the muffin cups.

5)  Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly wet.  After the brownies are out of the oven wait for the centers to fall, this will happen upon calling (if not tap the center with the back of a teaspoon to make a hole for the peanut butter).

 left is from straight out of the oven, right is the brownies centers fallen

6)  Place the peanut butter in a small microwavable bowl, microwaving on high for 45 seconds then stir.  While brownies are still warm spoon about a teaspoon full of peanut butter into the center of each brownie.  Top with the remaining chocolate chips (I combined them into a single bowl and sprinkled a combination on each "cup").  Let cool completely in the pan.

There you have it, a very yummy but not too healthy lol treat that anyone will enjoy.  Nathan isn't much of a fan for the peanut butter chocolate combination, but he definitely enjoyed this little cup of goodness.  Here is some up close pictures so your eyes can convince you if the sheer description hasn't convinced you yet :)

Don't they look yummy!

So there is the sweet treat for tonight, tomorrow I'll be creating both something old (but with some new twists), and something very new (as in never tried anything like it).  One will be sweet and the other savory, so you must come back to see the surprises.  My single hint to you is; it's both the most important and best meal of the day ;)   Until next time..................................

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Candied Bacon, Need I Say More?

Hello Sweets,

Well you've made it to the middle of the week :) in a couple of days it will be the weekend again!  Do you have any fun plans considering the unseasonable weather (my Ontario friends)?  So far for me it sounds like it will be a nice quiet weekend, maybe a visit with my favorite little man Miguel (my nephew), which is always a blast.

Lately I've been feeling very blah -_- and frankly I don't like it, so today I decided to get back to my passion and create a recipe from scratch :)  Over the next three posts I will be doing one recipe (three total) and on the final post you'll be able to see the final product.  Now I won't be telling you what I'm making now, but I'm going to treat it sort of like a puzzle :)  With each recipe I want you guys to try and guess as to what is being put together, and I am sure you'll be in the right ball park once you have tomorrows post to combined with today's.  If you think you know what I am making please leave a comment below, I love hearing from all of my lovely readers.

So I know the title of the post tells you exactly what I made today, but honestly what more can I really say about candied bacon lol.  I had never made this before, but since I wanted a completely original Canuckette recipe, I decided to try my hand at it.  I did a little research since I knew I'd be making it in the oven, which is completely foreign to me lol.  I still make bacon the old fashion way  in the frying pan.  Do you ever find that when you think it's an easy straight forward recipe, then you look online for some basics and it seems like everyone does it completely different, and with random ingredients?  Well that is how I felt lol but I felt confident that I had the general knowledge to move forward in my quest, so I went ahead with it and now you will too ;)

Canuckette's Candied Bacon

Ingredients

bacon

dark brown sugar

cinnamon

black pepper

allspice

 

the allspice was a last minute addition, and a good one at that!

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 325F.  Line a baking pan with tinfoil (sugar drippings are very hard to clean of a pan), place a wire rack on top and spray very well with cooking spray.  Line bacon across the wire rack.

 

2)  Sprinkle a pinch of pepper and allspice over top, then lightly dust with cinnamon.  Completely coat with brown sugar, make sure to press down to get the sugar to stick and not fall off when you flip to do the other side.  Flip over and repeat.

3)  Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the bacon is a darker brown.  Remove from oven and move to a plate to cool.

4)  Cut into smaller pieces and enjoy on top of many dishes or as a small snack!

the sugar gives it a shimmery look

I am so glad I finally made this (thanks for putting the idea in my head Dave!) because it is the perfect balance of salty and sweet.  Let's just say that everyone who has tried it thinks it's delicious :)

It is killing me to not share the surprise of the final delicious treat, but the mystery is half of the fun right?!  Now I have to go do some more research for tomorrows recipe because I will be giving you yet another Canuckette original, and I am super excited.  What I will tell you is that I'll be utilizing my Canadian roots with tomorrows creation ;)  I am also glad to report that in the time it took to write this post I am already feeling a little better :)  Until next time...............

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

 

Coo Coo for Coconut!

Hello Sweets!

I hope everyone got through their manic Monday without a scrape :)  I got some wonderful news today, my grandfather who is from Malta (small country off the coast of Sicily, off the coast of Italy), told me that my grandmother has requested that he makes some of his famous pastizzis.  For those you who aren't aware of what they are, they are a savory appetizer type pastry filled with either ricotta cheese or meat with peas, and I LOVE them!!!  Now not only is he going to make them from scratch (dough included), but he is going to teach me how to also :D EEEKKK, which also means my grandfather is going to make his blog debut (he won't know what that is which makes it even cuter).

So as I told you all yesterday I had this fresh coconut and didn't know what to do with it, but alas my lovely roomie Tereza suggested that I make some yummy macaroons :)  This was my first attempt at them and I can confidently say that it was yet another success, I wasn't all to worried about them but with every new recipe you try there is that little voice that tells you to watch them diligently just in case, and this was no different.  Now let me tell you one thing about my crazy little coconut, shaving the meat off is no easy task, it probably took me about an hour and a half, but as we enjoy our little tastes of heaven macaroons it was well worth the effort.  Now lets get to the yummy recipe why don't we :)

Fresh Coconut Macaroons (via All Recipe)

Ingredients

1 1/2C fresh coconut

1/3C soft brown sugar

2Tbs whole wheat flour

1 pinch salt

2 egg whites

1/2Tsp vanilla

Directions:

1)  Mix the freshly grated coconut, sugar, flour, and salt.

2)  Mix the egg whites with the vanilla (no need to beat), then add to mix.

3)  Drop heaped teaspoons of the mix onto a non stick pan.  Bake at 325F for 22-24 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 9-12 macaroons, and don't forget to enjoy these yummy delights :)

Now for those of you who don't know how I got into the blogging world, it was the lovely Miss Sarah over at My (mostly) Healthy Life.  She blogs about fitness, health, paleo food, and fashion among other things.  She does these fun giveaways for different things, I won some yummy allergen free mixes recently from her and the lovies at Allergic Solutions, and now she has partnered up with Push Pump Progress to do a Frosty Fitness Challenge.  For the next five weeks there will be a different goal each week, with fabulous prizes for the winners and some other achievement acknowledgements.  This weeks goal is to run (or walk in my case) as close to 20kms as possible, now the important thing is to have proof pictures so they can see your progress and I am going to share my progress with all of you.  Now I have to listen to my body, which is why there are three pictures of distances, but none the less I am going to give it a try :)

I'm proud of my 2.63 miles

I encourage all of you to join in on the challenge, it's always easier to do a challenge with friends :)  Until next time.........

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxoxo

A meal to cure my home sickness :)

Hello Sweets,

Well sadly it is Sunday night, and that means the weekend is over :(  Last night I went to see the movie "Flight" with Denzel Washington by myself, and I must say the movie was fantastic, and seeing the movie by myself was quite empowering.  I never thought I would be comfortable seeing a movie by myself, but Nathan encouraged me to give it a shot, and I'm glad I did (he is usually right lol).

In yesterdays post, I talked about how I was thinking of maybe doing a biscuit recipe, and then after I posted it, my roomie Tereza told me she had bought some steaks for me to cook for her son and I (she prefers chicken over red meat).  So I decided to include the steak in my biscuit post, and it sort of worked out for the best, because as I am sitting here typing, I'm in my Texas Longhorn sweatshirt and slippers being homesick, and yes I think of Texas as my real home, because that is where I am most comfortable.  So for dinner tonight I baked some fresh southern inspired biscuits to go with my yummy steak and baked potato.  I was more excited than normal to make steak for John (Tereza's son), because this time he was willing to try it with a little pink in the middle (normally had to be thoroughly cooked).  I am very proud to announce that not only did he like the "medium" cooked meat, but I didn't scrape off the seasoning, and I didn't hear a peep out of him, other then to say he liked it and thank you.  Nothing gives me more pride then when a child likes what I make, they are some of the hardest taste buds to please :)  Now on to my southern meal that helped with my homesickness.

Southern Biscuits(courtesy of my Aunt Jan)

Ingredients

2 1/4C All-purpose flour

3/4Tsp Salt

1Tsp Sugar

4Tsp Baking powder

1/3C Butter, very cold

1C Milk, very cold

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 450F.  Place flour, salt, and baking powder into a mixing bowl and combine.

2)  Cut butter into small pieces (pea size), add to mixture and blend with a fork, pushing into the butter pieces.

3)  Add the cold milk, toss together gently until it is barely mixed.

see the butter chunks

4)  As soon as the dough starts to hold together, place it onto a lightly floured counter.  Gently "knead" the dough a few time until it is a cohesive ball.

pre-kneading

5)  Roll the dough into a rectangle 1/2-3/4" thick, all depends on how tall you like your biscuits.  Cut into 2" circles, I used a drinking glass and twist when applying pressure to severe from the dough.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.

the kneading breaks the butter down to even smaller pieces

6)  Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Butter and eat while warm, and enjoy!

a house that smells like fresh biscuits, so good

Canuckette's Steak Marinade

Ingredients

1 can of Cola

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder (use fresh if you have it)

Red Chili flakes

Your favorite cut of steak

Directions:

1)  Pierce the meat with a fork to allow the marinade to really soak into the meat.  Add the cola first as to not wash the spices off, then add your seasonings to your pallets preference.  Do this on both sides, then top up the cola so the meat is almost completely immersed in liquid.

2)  Place in the fridge overnight to get a really juicy piece of meat, or very least a couple of hours.

3)  Preheat your oven to 350F on broil, place the excess liquid in the bottom half of the broiler pan along with some water.  Place in the oven for about 15 minutes (depending on your cut/cooking preference).  

4)  Remove and serve with your favorite side dish, and most importantly enjoy!

So yummy with my fresh baked biscuit

So my roomie brought me home a fresh coconut today from the grocery store, and I am not sure what I want to make with the meat but I did enjoy a small glass of coconut water, mmmm!  

haven't had a fresh coconut in a while

So while I take tonight to research a new yummy recipe I decided to do the hard work of getting the meat out of the hard shell, and found an amazing and super easy way to get it out :D  First I hammered a nail into the "finger" grooves to remove the juice.  This is the softest part of the coconut so if you want the juice, this is the place to go.  Then I wrapped the coconut in a kitchen towel and took a hammer to it out back to break it open, I then placed it into a pot and boiled it for 5-10 minutes.

my coconut bath

This allowed the husk to slowly start to pull away, then you soak it in cold water for about 5-10 minutes.  Then all you need to do is pry the meat off by wedging a butter knife between the shell and the meat, and tada!! it just pops off super easy :)

So proud of myself

Now all that's left to do is figure out what to do with it, and I'm not going to lie, I am very excited to do something new and out of my comfort zone.  Until next time.........

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo