Smoky Bacon & Apple Grilled Cheese

Happy Sunday!  It's a beautiful day outside today, although it is pretty windy here in Alberta.  It didn't stop me from taking my black lab for a nice long walk on some of our local trails though! 

Last night Marc and went to our local artists award show put on by the artists guild where I am the bookkeeper.  The night was a blast, we had the privilege of hearing and seeing tons of local talent - including the "Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra". To Kill A Mockingbird is one of my all-time favourite books so I absolutely love the play on words the band used as their band name.  I went to school with on of the band members so it was kind of neat seeing which direction his talents took him.  We were treated to the most delicious appetizers and wine in-between acts, so this afternoon I was feeling extra fancy when I made lunch today!

I've always really enjoyed the whole cheddar and apple pairing - so it seemed only natural that a sandwich would result! 

Ingredients
- 2 pieces of bread
- 15 g sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 slices of your smoky bacon
- 1/2 medium apple*

*(I used gala because that's what I had, but granny smith would have been my first choice).

Directions

Pre-heat medium fying pan over medium heat.  

Slice bacon into 4 pieces and cook until desired crispiness.   

While the bacon is frying, slice apple into ultra thin slices.  

Layer your sandwich with apple, cheddar, and bacon.   

Wipe out frying pan and add butter to pan (I hate using bacon grease to cook with - the flavour just isn't there for me).  

Fry sandwich for 1-2 minutes per side until lightly golden brown. 

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

I've been super busy so I haven't had as much time to whip up tasty creations as I would like to.  In addition to bookkeeping, teaching, and consulting, I've also been working part time for a graphic design company.  I really enjoy all of my jobs but they certainly keep me busy.  On days that I'm working at more than one place (which seems to be more often than not lately), I sometimes don't see my house for nearly 14 hours.  If that wasn't enough to keep me busy I also decided to join a pottery class.   Here's a bowl I made, hopefully by the time I'm done with it will hold a delicious salad. 

I finally got back into the kitchen for a bit this weekend and decided to bake some cookies.  I started out making peanut butter cookies but the bananas in the fruit bowl caught my eye, and well the rest is history! 

Ingredients - 1/2 cup butter, softened - 3/4 cup peanut butter - 1/2 cup granulated sugar - 1/2 cup brown sugar - 1 egg - 1 tsp vanilla extract - 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour - 3/4 tsp baking soda - 1 ripe banana, mashed - 1 cup chocolate chips (optional) Directions Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Whip together butter and peanut butter until smooth - add sugars.  Add egg and vanilla extract.  Stir in flour and baking soda until batter is just combined.  Add mashed banana.  Drop batter onto cookie sheet in 1 tbsp balls.  Lightly flatten with your fingertips.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. 
Enjoy!

Homemade Fruit Snacks

This recipe appeared in the Hinton Voice's February 7th Edition. 

[A common favourite for kids and adults alike, fruit snacks are one of those foods that you’ll likely find in most households at one time or another.  Making homemade fruit snacks is so unbelievably easy; as soon as you finish reading this recipe you’re going to wonder why you haven’t tried making them sooner.  When I first made these fruit snacks I was half expecting something sticky and slightly firmer than jello – instead I was pleasantly surprised that what I ended up with closely resembled store bought fruit snacks.  They are even better in fact because not only can you use healthier ingredients, the possible flavour combinations far surpass the usual five possibilities.  

I remember as a kid I almost always had fruit snacks in my lunch. I would tear into the package hoping the contents were mostly made up of the orange or grape varieties.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the yellow or green kinds, mostly due to their intense artificial flavours.  This worked out well for whichever friend I sat with for lunch that day, since most of my friends weren’t quite as picky as I was.  Needless to say with five or six fruit snacks in a package, my chances of having to share a couple were pretty high. 

Fast forward to present day and I’ve gotten a lot better at sharing (and less picky depending on who you ask).  I’m still not a huge fan of yellow or green fruit snacks because I still think they bear no resemblance to real fruit.   No problem though as now I can make all my favourite fruit snack flavours at home.  Since I already have the heart shaped cutter and all, I might even make some more wild raspberry ones next week as a Valentine’s Day treat for my special someone.]

Tip:  For homemade jello, use 1 package gelatin and 2 cups of your favorite fruit juice.  For sweeter jello, add up to 1/3 cup sugar.

Ingredients

- 1 (3 oz) package gelatin, any flavour

- 2 (.25 oz) envelopes of unflavoured gelatin

- 1/3 cup water or fruit juice

or

- 2-3 (.25 oz) envelopes of unflavoured gelatin (2 for soft, 3 for firm)

- 1/3 cup of your favourite fruit juice

  

Directions

Place water or juice in a small saucepan and sprinkle gelatin overtop – let sit for 2-3 minutes to soften gelatin.   Heat over medium heat and stir until gelatin is completely dissolve (about 3-5 minutes).  Pour into molds and allow to set for about a half hour.   You can speed up the setting process by placing your mold in the fridge. 

If you don’t have a mold, pour into a small (preferably ceramic or glass) pan and let set.  Once set, remove from pan and cut into shapes using a cookie cutter or sharp knife.

- Nutritional Info (1/2 recipe using fruit juice) -

Calories - 36   Fat - 0    Carbs – 7     Protein - 3   Fibre – 1

Enjoy!

Coconut French Toast w/ Coconut Syrup

Always a fan of coconut, I'm constantly looking for new ways to use this delicious ingredient.  While unpacking groceries from a recent trip to Costco I realized that I may or may not have a *slight* addiction to coconut.  

Having this many coconut ingredients in my house, I knew I wanted to come up with something that would showcase as many of these delicious coconut ingredients as possible.  This recipe is the tasty results.  Ingredients - 1 loaf of french bread, sliced - 1 cup coconut milk, well shaken - 5 eggs - 1 tsp vanilla extract - 2 tbsp coconut flour* - 1 tbsp coconut sugar* - 1/8 tsp baking powder - dash of sea salt Syrup - 3 tbsp coconut oil - 3/4 cup coconut milk, well shaken (should be the remainder of the can) - 1 cup coconut sugar*  - 1/2 tsp vanilla extract - flaked coconut for garnish (optional) * can be substituted with other flours & sugars, I just used coconut because I had it on hand and figured it would make the recipe more coconut-y.  Directions Pre-heat large frying pan over medium heat.  Whip together coconut milk, eggs, and vanilla extract.  Whisk in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Dip sliced french toast into mixture coating both sides evenly.   Cook toast in frying pan for 2-3 minutes per side, until toast is golden brown. Sauce
Melt coconut oil in saucepan set to medium heat.  Add coconut milk and sugar - stir until sugar is completely dissolved.   Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. 

Enjoy!

Oven Baked Hard "Boiled" Eggs

I've been working quite a bit lately so needless to say I'm all about any idea to make my life easier.  Both my husband and I enjoy hard boiled eggs for lunch - whether as apart of salad, egg salad sandwiches, or simply on their own, we tend to go through a lot.  Baking the eggs is so much simpler than boiling them - never worry about another broken egg again! 

Ingredients - eggs - ice water Directions Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Place desired amount of eggs eggs in a mini muffin tin and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Immediately transfer eggs to an ice water bath and let cool for 10-15 minutes.

Transfer back to egg carton and store in fridge. 

Enjoy!

Coconut Rice

Last summer I had coconut rice for the first time while having lunch in Jasper with my Uncle & his family.  I had this amazing Thai dish that consisted of coconut rice topped with chicken and stir fried veggies with a sweet chilli sauce.   This rice tastes exactly like the rice in that dish!  It not only makes a great base for stir fry, it would also be great as a side dish.  I can't wait to try this paired with creamy curried chicken! 
Ingredients - 2 cups basmati rice - 1 can lite coconut milk (I like Thai Kitchen the best) - 1 1/4 cup water - dash of sea salt - 1-2 green onions, finely chopped Directions Place rice in a mesh strainer and since under lukewarm water.  This will help to remove any access starch so that the cooked rice doesn't become sticky.  In a medium saucepan combine rinsed rice, coconut milk, water, and a dash of sea salt.   Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Once boiling, cover and reduce heat; cook rice for 15-20 minutes until all of the moisture has been absorbed.  Fluff rice with a fork and sprinkle with green onions. 
Enjoy!

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

I have been wanting to post this recipe for awhile, but I knew it would be the perfect January recipe for The Hinton Voice so I held onto it! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! This recipe appeared in the Voice's January 3rd edition.

[Like the majority of people, I’ve always had a sweet spot for chocolate.   Normally I have no problem with this, but around the New Year it tends to interfere with my resolutions.  Resolutions that inevitably involve eating healthier.

The New Year is always a clean slate, a fresh start to try something new with all the best intentions to stick with it.  The month of January is always the hardest the part.  I read somewhere that it takes 21 days to break a habit, so I figure that if I can just get past that mark - by the fourth week, I should be well on my way to achieving my goals. 

A firm believer that everything is okay in moderation, dessert isn’t something that I like to compromise on.  I’d rather have a few bites of a real dessert rather than a full serving of a supposedly “healthier” watered down version of the original. With this dessert, I don’t feel like I’m compromising on flavor at all.  If anything, the addition of the avocado adds more body and richness to the dish.

Apart from being delicious, avocado’s are full of antioxidants and disease fighting compounds such as Vitamin E.  They also contain good, heart healthy fats that promote the reduction of cholesterol.  These fats make avocado’s extremely filling, which will help you get to your next meal without feeling hungry in between.

This is a recipe that’s healthy without tasting like it – everyone who has sampled it so far was fairly surprised after eating it that it’s main ingredient was avocado (this means you can probably even sneak it past your kids!).  Finally, a dessert you can feel good about eating.]

Ingredients

- 1 ripe avocado

- ¼ cup cocoa powder

- 3 tbsp maple syrup (or liquid honey)

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 6 tbsp milk of choice

For garnish:

- shaved chocolate

- raspberries

Tip:  When buying avocado’s look for firm, bring green skin with a glossy exterior.   Keep refrigerated until a few days before you plan on using it – then ripen in a fruit bowl at room temperature until the flesh has darkened, and has lost its glossy exterior.

Directions

Combine all ingredients together in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Garnish with shaved chocolate and fresh raspberries.

Recipe makes 4 servings. 

- Nutritional Info (per 1/3 cup) -

Calories - 93   Fat - 4    Carbs – 11     Protein - 3   Fibre – 2

Enjoy!