I knew in the middle of it all that I needed to find a good chicken stock recipe. I’ve tried many, but none of them ever seemed flavourful enough. I wanted something simple, that I could make easily even when the house felt like it was collapsing in on itself, and something that didn’t involve an entire chicken carcass (ick!). I had a bunch of chicken drumsticks that I was never able to barbecue like I had hoped, so I went on a search and finally found the homemade chicken stock I’ve been waiting for. It’s quick (it took me 1.5 hours to make from start to finish, chopping and all), it’s flavourful (with minimal ingredients that I almost always have on hand) and it contains bones (important when making a stock with the most health benefits), with none of the messiness of dealing with an entire slimy bird. Yay!

This is the type of recipe I love making on a Sunday afternoon. Like jam, it quietly simmers in the background, perfuming your house – minimal work but satisfying and comforting results. This will definitely become a regular in our kitchen. And, if you’re looking for a feel good soup to pair it with, this Chicken Barley Soup does the trick.

I’ll be taking a break from blogging over the next couple weeks as some unexpected things have come up. I promise to be back as soon as I can. I appreciate the time you take out of your day to visit this little blog of mine and I’ll try my best to keep you updated on Facebook so you don’t feel like you’ve been left hanging.

See you soon!

Quick and Flavourful Chicken Stock

The stock should stay good for 1 week in the fridge or several months in the freezer.

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 pounds chicken backs, wings or legs, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 2 quarts hot (or boiling) water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 bay leaves

Saute onion in a large stockpot, over medium heat, with a small amount of olive oil until onions are softened. Transfer to a bowl. Add half the chicken and cook, flipping halfway through, until no longer pink. Remove to the same bowl as the onions and repeat with the remaining chicken. Once all chicken is cooked, place the chicken and onions back into the stockpot, cover and cook over low for 20 minutes, until the chicken releases its juices. Raise heat to high, pour in hot water, salt and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer (using boiling water brings it to a simmer faster), scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Lower heat, cover and let cook at a gentle simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove bones from pot with a slotted spoon (you can remove the meat from the bones and reserve it for chicken soup if desired). Drain stock through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth or paper towel. Let cool before refrigerating. Once refrigerated you can remove the layer of fat on top.

Makes: 2 quarts

Adapted from Simply Recipes. Originally from In Pursuit of Flavor.

This happens with ingredients too. Last week I started making these muffins and when it got to the part about adding the poppy seeds I scoured the house, sure I had some, but couldn’t find them anywhere. How can you make poppy seed muffins without poppy seeds? Thankfully my hubby came home for lunch and I quickly ran out to the store so I could finish what I started.

When I posted all of this “drama” to Facebook the question came up – don’t you soak your poppy seeds first? I’ve never done it personally but have seen it in several recipes. So why is it called for in some recipes and not in others? I searched and found two theories 1) soaking them makes them more digestible 2) soaking them prevents the seeds from soaking up the moisture in the baked good, causing it to be dry. I’ve never soaked them and the recipes I’ve made have always been very moist so I don’t think #2 is necessarily right. I wasn’t so sure about #1 either but for reasons that I go into detail about on a food blog, it became abundantly clear that poppy seeds (kind of like corn) do not digest well, so maybe the soaking really does help with that. Anyways, soak away or don’t soak, I don’t *think* it actually affects the outcome of the recipe.

These Orange Poppy Seed Muffins are such a nice change-up from the typical Lemon-Poppy Seed combination. Really they could be called Triple Orange Poppy Seed Muffins because they get their orange flavour in three different ways, orange juice concentrate, orange zest and orange extract. They stay moist for several days, which I love because you can never eat a whole batch in one day and also make them a great make ahead. Although it does make for a lighter flavoured muffin, I think these still taste delicious with fresh orange juice instead of concentrate and will definitely be a go-to when I’ve got an abundance of oranges on my counter.

Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

For a more subtle orange flavour use fresh orange juice instead of concentrate.

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup thawed orange juice concentrate
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon orange extract
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Beat in sour cream, orange concentrate, zest and extract.

In a separate bowl combine flour, poppy seeds, baking soda and salt. Stir into butter mixture just until moistened.

Scoop into regular sized muffin tins, lined with paper-liners, until two-thirds full. Bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Brush with orange syrup while warm.

Orange Syrup

• 2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate
• 1/4 cup icing sugar

In a small bowl stir the orange juice into the icing sugar until combined. Spoon over warm muffins.

Makes approximately: 16 muffins

Adapted from Taste of Home.

This recipe isn’t completely new, if you’ve been following me for a couple of years you may recognize it. I created the recipe about two years ago when I was writing for Smithfield, but I’ve never actually posted the recipe on this blog. We make it so often I thought it deserved a proper post here. It’s my absolute favourite way to eat pork chops and it comes together so quickly but looks so special. The chops are covered in a homemade cajun spice mix, grilled until smoky, succulent and spicy. Then they get draped with a quick and flavourful creamy mushroom pan sauce. Every time I think of them my mouth just starts to water. My hubby isn’t a fan of mushrooms but he loves this pairing just as much as I do.

I prefer the bone-in pork chops because they have more flavour but feel free to use boneless if that’s what you prefer. Also, when I don’t have access to a grill I have done them on the stove top. They are still absolutely delicious this way so if you don’t have a grill don’t let that stop you from making them.

Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go give my Mom another hug. :)

Cajun Grilled Pork Chops with Creamy Mushroom Pan Sauce

Cajun Grilled Pork Chops

• 4 bone-in pork chops
• 2 tablespoons homemade cajun seasoning

Rub pork chops liberally with Cajun seasoning and grill over medium heat for 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

Creamy Mushroom Pan Sauce

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup cream cheese spread

Saute mushrooms, onions, garlic and Cajun seasoning in oil over medium heat until softened. Add chicken broth and cream cheese. Stir until smooth. Serve immediately spooned over pork chops.

I’ve taken the original recipe, subbed a portion or the white flour for whole wheat flour and wheat germ, and upped the baking powder a bit to make up for the heaviness of the whole wheat. My family loves whole wheat bread so I don’t really know why it took me so long to try this. So far I’ve used the mix for pancakes and biscuits – they were both delicious. Although I haven’t tried it in my other baking mix recipes, I’m fairly confident this will work, as the original, and be able to be substituted in any recipe that calls for bisquick or other baking mixes.

To get more tips on making it healthier and links to recipes, you should definitely scour the original post and comments. I love when readers chime in with their adaptations and recipes and there are plenty of good ideas to be found. I received an email from a reader, Elizabeth, who said “I am on a reduced salt diet and pancakes, waffles and biscuits are loaded with sodium. I changed your recipe just a little and got a great tasting alternative. I used unsalted butter, sodium free baking powder and half the salt. It is wonderful!” So, feel free to tweak these recipes to your liking and make them suitable for your family. Many people have also used the original recipe and subbed all of the white flour with white whole wheat flour and it sounds like it was a great success.

I’ve made the mixing process a bit easier by doing what has become the norm for me – grating in the cold butter rather than cutting it in with a pastry blender. This works great for me but feel free to go the normal route if you prefer.

For more recipes to use this mix in, head over to the original Homemade Baking Mix post.

Whole Wheat Baking Mix

• 2.5 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups white flour
• 1/2 cup wheat germ (or additional whole wheat flour)
• 6 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter (salted or unsalted), cold

Mix together flours, wheat germ, baking powder, sugar and salt. Quickly grate in butter (using a cheese grater), in a couple additions, tossing with flour to coat the butter so it doesn’t stick together. Store in the fridge (for as long as the butter stays good for), or in the freezer for longer storage.

Drop Biscuits

Mix together 1/3 cup of milk for every 1 cup of mix. Drop onto un-greased cookie sheets and bake @ 450ºF for 10-12 min.

*Add any additional ingredients you wish such as cheese or herbs before adding the milk.

* 1 cup of mix will yield about 6 biscuits.

Pancakes

Mix 2 cups of mix with 1 cup milk and 2 eggs. Cook on hot griddle.

*As with the biscuits you can add any flavouring or other ingredient you would like, such as chocolate chips or blueberries.

I think part of my problem is that I’ve been feeling this self-imposed pressure to make more complicated dishes. I see all of these inspiring people, with kids, making fabulous involved meals day in and day out and I felt like I needed to step up to the plate. But, after a few attempts at more complicated recipes that ended in failure I was brought down a bit and feeling a little like a farce.

Then I was reminded of something I’ve known for a long time – I just need to be myself and not try to live up to other people’s expectations. I’m not a multi-tasker. Making a complicated and involved meal while my kids run around my feet, means that either the kids will destroy the house, that dinner will be a flop or that I’ll be so stressed out by the end of it all that I’m sitting on the edge of insanity. Or, all of the above. That’s why I like to keep dinner-time simple. Why did I forget this?! Simple = delicious in this house.

Now that I’m embracing this fact once again, I’m hoping the mojo finds it way back soon. Hello, Quick Ham and Cheddar Quiche, I’ve missed your simplicity.

P.S. It probably goes without saying but I’m going to say it anyways, this is the perfect way to use up that Easter ham!

Quick Ham and Cheddar Quiche

This can also be made in a 9-inch pie plate but you will need to increase the baking time.

Filling

• 1 cup chopped ham
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 3 large eggs
• 1.5 cups milk (I like to use whole milk for this)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Add the ham and green onions to a small pre-heated skillet with a bit of oil. Cook until the ham crisps up a bit and the onions are softened. Sprinkle evenly over prepared crust.

Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour over ham and green onions. Top with cheese.

Bake at 400ºF for 30 minutes or until set in the centre. Let cool 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

No-Roll Pie Crust

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons milk

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a 9×13 baking pan. Stir in oil and milk until evenly combined. Crumble over the bottom of the pan and press down to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Fill and bake as directed above.

Serves: 6

No Roll Pie Crust adapted from all recipes. Filling adapted from Tartelette.

I know blueberries aren’t really in season right now but they were on sale and so delicious I couldn’t pass them up. If you don’t have access to fresh blueberries I’m sure you can use frozen. I use frozen blueberries often in my blueberry sour cream muffins and they turn out great every time. You’ll want to put them in frozen and work fast. If the blueberries thaw while you’re still working with the dough, the juices from the thawing berries will turn the dough an unattractive grey colour.

Scones are best served warm so you don’t want to bake them too far ahead of time. If you want to make them ahead you can get them ready for the oven and then freeze them, completely prepared on the baking sheet. Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the baking time.

Happy Easter everyone!

Blueberry Streusel Scones with Sweet Lemon Butter

Blueberry Scones

Refrigerate the dough any time it has to sit and wait – this will make sure the butter stays nice and cold.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest in a large bowl. Using a cheese grater, grate half the butter into the flour mixture. Toss with fingers, to coat, then grate in remaining butter. Toss with fingers until evenly combined. Toss in blueberries.

Mix together egg, milk and vanilla. Gently stir it into flour mixture, with a fork, just until everything is moistened. Turn it out onto a well floured surface. Knead 5-6 times or until everything incorporates together. Making sure there’s a good layer of flour underneath so that the dough doesn’t stick to the surface, shape the dough into a rough ball and flatten it into a disk (I made mine about 7 inches). Brush the top of the dough with a bit of milk; sprinkle streusel topping over all. Cut the dough in 8 pieces, forming 8 triangles. Transfer pieces to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake at 400º for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve with lemon butter, if desired.

Streusel Topping

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch salt
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Mix together ingredients until well combined.

Lemon Butter

You can use fresh homemade butter for this recipe, if desired.

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup icing (confectioners) sugar

Beat together all ingredients until well combined. Serve immediately or make ahead and refrigerate.

If making ahead, remove from fridge 1 hour before serving to soften.

Makes: 8 scones, 1/2 cup butter

Scone recipe adapted from Running with the Devil(ed) Eggs via Tasty Kitchen Blog.

I have to be completely honest, I’ve never tried a true hollandaise sauce before. Crazy, I know. So, I can’t really comment on how this compares to the original but, from what I’ve read, this method of making hollandaise, although less traditional, is just as delicious. It may be slightly less luxurious, as most “easy” recipes are, but the end result is a tangy and silky sauce that’s quick to prepare and is pretty much fool-proof.

I used my food processor because my blender broke last week, but I noticed that quite a bit of egg yolk got stuck to the bottom so I don’t think my sauce got quite as thick as it could have. My advice would definitely be to use a handheld or regular blender to get the best results.

Unlike a more tradition hollandaise you don’t cook the egg yolks before adding the butter in this recipe, but there’s no need to worry, the heat of the butter should cook the egg yolks. If you’re still nervous about it feel free to use pasteurized eggs.

Asparagus with Easy Hollandaise Sauce

• 2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

Steam or boil asparagus until crisp tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile make hollandaise: Blend egg yolks, water, lemon juice and salt in a blender until frothy. Melt butter in a small saucepan until bubbly; do not brown. With the blender running, gradually drizzle in hot butter. Blend until mixture is thickened and emulsified.

Plate asparagus and top with hollandaise.

Serves: 6

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

This is the perfect project for toddlers and preschoolers because although their not quite adept enough to pipe sensical decorations onto cookies, they can decorate these cookies easily and have them turn out beautiful. They can choose the colours they like or mix and match them like Max did. They can have complete freedom and you’ll know the end product will add something special and delicious to the Easter table.

We topped our’s with candy coated chocolate covered almond eggs (wow, that’s a mouthful!) which I thought were the perfect complement to the coconut topping. When I made these I figured they would be just for looks but they were actually really delicious. This is one case where the toppings aren’t just there for show, they actually add something special to the flavour of the cookie.

The coconut topping is just shredded coconut that has been dyed with food colouring and water. I used liquid food colours but you could also use gel colours, although you may need to add a bit more water to make it the right consistency to coat the coconut. My favorite colour was definitely the purple and I’ve included the instructions below on the amounts of liquid colour I used to achieve the colour. The other colours are much more straight forward – just one or two drops from the average four-pack of liquid food colouring.

These are so tasty and so fun, I know I’ll be making them again next year. I’m pretty sure we just found a new Easter tradition. :)

Soft Bird’s Nest Sugar Cookies

Just FYI, I had a lot of leftover frosting. But, I don’t think half the frosting would be quite enough. Better to have too much then too little right?

Soft Sugar Cookies

• 1.5 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 4.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Beat in vanilla.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Slowly beat into butter mixture, just until combined. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Scoop 1/4 cup amounts of cookie dough, roll each into a ball and flatten slightly. Place on parchment-line baking sheets 2-3 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or just until set; do not brown. Let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes before removing to cooling racks or paper towel to cool completely.

Frosting

• 5 cups icing sugar (confectioners sugar), sifted
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 7 tablespoons milk

Mix together all ingredients until smooth.

To Decorate

• 1 cup shredded coconut
• food colouring
• water
• chocolate covered almond eggs, chocolate eggs or jelly beans

Place 1/4 cup coconut into four ziploc bags. In a small bowl add 1/4 teaspoon water and desired food colouring, swirl to combine. Pour into one of the bags, seal and shake until the coconut is evenly coloured. Rinse the bowl and repeat with remaining colours. (To make the purple, use 3 drops red and 2 drops blue of liquid colour.)

Top each cookie with frosting, a good sprinkling of coconut and chocolate eggs.

Store, covered, at room temperature.

Makes approximately: 2 dozen cookies

Decoration inspired by Betty Crocker. Recipe Adapted from Annie’s Eats, originally from Hostess with the Mostess.

“Pavlova’s are a perfect Easter dessert for so many reasons. 1) The majority of the work can be done a couple of days before serving. 2) You can make individual servings or one large dessert. 3) You can top it with whatever variety of toppings you like – or even serve it buffet style with a variety of topping and everyone can customize their own.”

Get the recipe and tips on Simple Bites.

When I saw rhubarb at my local grocery store I cleared out the shelves immediately. Sorry to anyone who may have been looking for some! I’m so done with apples, oranges and pears. I love them. But, I’m ready to move on… until fall when I’ll be craving them again.

If you’re able to find rhubarb in your area, and if some greedy booger hasn’t stolen them all already (again, sorry!), then please make this drink ASAP. It would be such a fun drink to serve guests in celebration of spring or Easter. The refreshing flavour of lemonade with the added oomph and fruity-tart flavour from rhubarb, mellowed out with vanilla bean – it’s spring in a glass. And, it’s such a pretty pink hue, it would fit right in at a little girl’s b-day party or baby shower. Just double, triple or quadruple the recipe for a crowd.

Now, on to what I know some of you are waiting for… the winner of The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from my Frontier is Ashley who said, “Strawberries are my favourite!” Congratulations Ashley! I’ll be e-mailing you shortly for your mailing address! :)

Thanks so much for all your entries. I loved reading what all of your favourite spring produce is and the clever ways you serve them up!

Sparkling Rhubarb-Vanilla Lemonade

If you don’t like the look of vanilla beans in this drink you can substitute it with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, stirred in after it’s been removed from the heat.

Rhubarb-Vanilla Lemon Syrup

• 4 cups chopped rhubarb
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 strips of lemon peel
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeded

Place all ingredients in a medium-size saucepan. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely before straining through a fine mesh sieve. Store, covered, in the fridge until serving.

To Serve

• 1 part rhubarb-vanilla lemon syrup
• 2 parts sparkling water, chilled

Stir together syrup and water. Serve over ice.

I ended up with 1 1/3 cups syrup so I added 2 2/3 cup sparkling water which is equal to 4 (1 cup) servings.

Makes: 4 servings

Inspired by: Donna Hay Magazine, Oct/Nov 2011