easy

Quick French Dip Sandwiches

By Cheri in Beef, Main Dish 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Quick French Dip Sandwiches

I’ve made many a homemade beef dip. Mostly from scratch. I’ve thrown it in the slow cooker, cooked it on the stove top, but nothing ever turned out quite right. My hubs is a huge fan of beef dip so, even though I failed, I had to keep trying. Wouldn’t you know, the simplest and easiest of recipes turned out to be just right. And, I won’t complain about that. :)

I figured this time around I’d leave the cooking of the beef to the experts and make it more of an assembly process. First you top crisp and airy ciabatta rolls with garlic, butter and cheddar cheese, broil till bubbly and then pile on the beef. Serve them alongside a spiced up beef broth and dinner is served. Easy peasy and crave-worthy delicious.

Quick French Dip Sandwiches

These make very hearty sandwiches. For smaller appetites you could easily stretch the meat to 5 or 6 sandwiches. Use your discretion according to your family’s appetites and the size of the rolls.

  • 1/4 cup salted butter
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 4 ciabatta rolls, split
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 can (14.5 oz) beef broth
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef

Melt butter in a small skillet, over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds, until softened. Place rolls on a baking sheet and brush or drizzle with garlic butter. Top with shredded cheese. Place under broiler and let bake until cheese is bubbly.

Place broth, salt, pepper and thyme in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower heat and toss in roast beef. Once beef is warm remove from heat.

To serve: Remove beef from broth, place on prepared rolls. Pour broth into ramekins or bowls, to dip sandwiches.

Serves: 4

Adapted from Taste of Home.

Kids in the Kitchen: Tortilla Pizzas

By Cheri in Kids, Lunch 8 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

Kids in the Kitchen: Tortilla Pizzas

I think it’s great to get kids in the kitchen early and even to arm them with recipes so that once they’re a little older, and staying home alone, you know they can take good care of themselves in the kitchen (without you having to worry about the house exploding while you’re gone).

I first came up with this idea just before we moved. Our house was becoming more and more depleted of ingredients and we had some leftover pizza toppings and an opened package of tortillas. My hubby was gone on a business trip so I wanted to make something quick for me and Max. This was the first thing that popped into my head and I must admit, I didn’t expect us to like it so much.

This is a great recipe for kids to learn to make on their own – my son had so much fun and was so proud to make a pizza all by himself. And, they won’t be the only ones enjoying it, it makes a yummy quick lunch for us adults too. :)

It’s also a great project to do to when the kids are bored out of their minds, being stuck inside all winter. Take a little extra time on lunch and watch them get excited about making their own creations and then eating every last bite.

A Few Topping Ideas

These personalized pizzas are a great way to use up those leftover scraps of veggies and meat that you’re not sure what to do with. Here are a few ideas.

Sauce:
  • pizza sauce
  • pesto
  • dressing (such as southwestern ranch)
  • salsa
  • leftover bolognese/pasta sauce
  • cream cheese
  • refried beans
Meat:
  • leftover chicken
  • sandwich meat
  • taco meat/fajita filling
  • leftover ham
  • vegetarian: beans
Veggies/Fruit:
  • bell peppers
  • mushrooms
  • green onions/onions
  • pineapple
  • corn
  • spinach
And don’t forget the cheese!

Tortilla Pizzas How-to

A step-by-step guide for the kiddos.

Step One:

Assemble ingredients and place a tortilla on a baking sheet. Top with pizza sauce.

Step Two:

Put on desired toppings – be as creative as you like. :)

Step Three:

Top with cheese. (Mom and Dad – avoid the urge to help them make it perfect.) :)

Step Four:

Place the baking sheet in a preheated oven. Bake at 450ºF (or under a broiler) until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is crisp. Make sure to keep your eye out for the “boiling” cheese! :)

P.S. If you’ve got one, you could make these in a toaster oven to be more kid-friendly.

Step Five:

Remove from the oven, cut into slices and enjoy!

Hazelnut Truffles

By Cheri in Candy, Christmas, Sweets 5 Comments Tags: , ,

Hazelnut Truffles

Truffles are one of my favourite things to make at Christmas time. They’re so adaptable and easy to make. Chocolate and hazelnut is a long time favourite pairing and I think it goes without saying that these are highly addictive. I had them stored away in the freezer and was finding myself sneaking one after every meal. I ended up having to stop eating them altogether just so I could find some restraint.

These truffles are probably the easiest ones to form that I’ve ever come across. Usually by the end my hands are covered in a fairly thick layer of chocolate (not a bad problem to have) but, because of the butter, these truffles are almost non-stick and are easily formed around a hidden surprise – a whole hazelnut.

I seem to always have trouble stirring icing sugar into hot mixtures. It’s seems no matter how hard I try or how much I sift, there are always little lumps. It was the same with these but, thanks to the nuts, it goes unnoticed. :)

Tip: If the truffle mixture starts to separate, whisk in a teaspoon of water at a time until the mixture comes together in an emulsion. I found the butter wanted to sit on top but, after doing this, it stayed together perfectly as it cooled.

Hazelnut Truffles

  • 3/4 cup icing (confectioners) sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 6 oz milk chocolate
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream
  • whole hazelnuts
  • 1 cup ground hazelnuts, toasted

Sift together icing sugar and cocoa powder; set aside.

Melt chocolate and butter in a small saucepan set over low heat. Stir in cream and cocoa mixture. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until thick and smooth. Poor into an 8 inch baking dish (glass is best); cover and refrigerate overnight (or for 8 hours).

Scoop out 1 inch balls; place a whole hazelnut in the centre, forming the chocolate around it; roll into a ball and coat in ground hazelnuts. Repeat until all of the chocolate mixture is used up.

Store covered in the fridge or freezer.

Makes approximately: 24 truffles

Adapted from Taste of Home.

Christmas Cookie Puzzle

By Cheri in Christmas, Kids, Sweets 8 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

Christmas Cookie Puzzle

This is a fun gift or activity for the child (or child-like person) in your life. An edible puzzle, to be decorated to your heart’s content and then eaten afterwards. Who says you can’t play with your food?

These are a lot of fun to make and after snapping the above photo, I let my son have at ‘er. He had a blast smearing the frosting and mixing all the colours together into an unappealing grey mass. It may not have looked very appetizing but he had so much fun and after scraping off an inch of frosting, it was still very edible. :)

You can make these as intricate or as simple as you like. It’s all left up to your imagination… or time.

The process is simple:
  • Roll cookie dough into a rectangle (you’ll want it to be a little thicker then normal for stability). Lay desired cookie cutters on top of the rolled out dough to figure out placement. Press cookie cutters into the dough, then press walnut, pecan or almond halves into the dough to create handles. Remove cookie cutters and bake according to recipe instructions.
  • Once baked, immediately re-cut the shapes with appropriate cookie cutters. Allow to cool completely before carefully removing them (it’s best to roll these out and bake them on the same piece of parchment paper so that you can pop the pieces out easier).
  • Once removed, decorate all pieces with frosting (recipe below) and allow to dry before putting the puzzle back together, to avoid smudging. Package up in cellophane to give away or eat and enjoy. :)

The frosting I used is perfect for kids. It can be made thick enough to spread or watered down just a tad more so you can put it into resealable plastic bags and pipe it on. It also dries nice and hard so you don’t have to worry about any of the pieces smudging if you are wanting to gift it. But of course, you can use royal icing if you prefer.

Sugar Cookie Frosting

7 tablespoons of milk will give you a frosting thick enough to spread, add additional milk to reach your desired consistency.

  • 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, adding more milk as necessary to get desired consistency.

Tip: If piping onto cookies check the consistency by doing the 10 second ribbon test. Drag a knife through the frosting and lift to make a ribbon. It should smooth out in 5-10 seconds. If the icing comes together before 5 seconds, add more sugar. If it comes together after 10 seconds, add more liquid. This will ensure that it is firm enough to pipe but still loose enough to flood the cookie.

Frosting adapted from Annie’s Eats.

Gingerbread Granola

By Cheri in Breakfast, Christmas 8 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Gingerbread Granola

Merry Christmas!! It’s less than a month away so I can officially say that now right? I’ve been holding off because I know so many of you had Thanksgiving to celebrate yet.

I think Canadians tend to start celebrating Christmas before Americans. Can you blame us? Our Thanksgiving is at the beginning of October and Christmas is the next big thing. What are we expected to do with all that extra time?

We have a tradition in our house of decorating for Christmas on the 24th of November. Of course, I start listening to Christmas music (my current favourite is Michael Bublé) far before that, but I have to hold off on decorating because I don’t want all those warm fuzzy feelings to be worn out by the time Christmas gets here.

I wanted to do the same for the blog so I forced myself to wait before sharing these yummy recipes with you. Now let the Christmas recipes begin!

Just the word “Gingerbread” conjures up warm fuzzy feelings in my soul. I can just hear the Christmas carols, see a fire flickering in a dimly lit room with the smell of spices wafting in the air and a mug of hot cocoa warming you up from the inside out. It’s amazing how food (or even the thought of food) can do that.

This Gingerbread Granola is a great way to start off the day with a Christmas-y feel. Molasses, cinnamon, cloves and ginger – all the flavours are there. But this is one gingerbread that you don’t have to hold back on. It’s healthy and wholesome with no added sugar. It’s also a breeze to throw together.

The perfect start to a cold and snowy day.

Gingerbread Granola

You can bake this in one large baking sheet but you’ll need to stir it more often and bake it longer, to make sure every piece gets crisp.

  • 1/3 cup molasses
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup coconut
  • 1 cup walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts, chopped
  • 1/2 cup raisins

Whisk together molasses, oil, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves until well blended. Stir in oats, coconut and nuts until evenly coated. Spread onto two large rimmed baking sheets. Bake at 325ºF for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until oats are golden brown (if cooking both sheets at once, swap positions half way through baking time). Remove from oven and stir in raisins. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes approximately: 10 cups

Shortcut Potato & Cheese Perogies

By Cheri in Main Dish, Pasta, Pork, Thanksgiving 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

Shortcut Potato & Cheese Perogies

Potato and Cheese Perogies have got to be one of my favourite comfort foods and homemade is THE best! But, they’re so much work. You spend all afternoon making them only to have half of them eaten at dinnertime.

I used to get together with my sister-in-law and we’d make big batches of cottage cheese perogies together. That definitely made the whole experience a lot more fun and worthwhile, but it’s still not something I would want to do every week.

I grew up with homemade perogies and I honestly don’t know how my mom did it. Three growing boys and one growing girl (with an appetite to rival the boys). Yikes! It must have been like slave labour. And yet she did it. And, every week she would bake fresh buns and bread out the wazoo. How did she ever find time to make homemade pizza pops on top of it all? She was (is!) wonder woman, I tell you.

I came up with this recipe one day when I was really craving homemade perogies but I didn’t have the time or energy to conquer them. You can use this same method with any of your favourite perogi fillings.

All you do is cook up some cannelloni, cut them in half, pipe in some filling, cover and bake for 20 minutes, top with your favourite toppings, bake a little longer, and you’ve got yourself some homemade perogies!

Since my favourite filling is potato and cheese, and since many people will be looking for ways to use up their Thanksgiving mashed potatoes, I thought I would head in that direction this time around. I topped mine with an easy Ham and Garlic Cream Sauce. Heavenly.

Now you can have homemade perogies on a weeknight, made from scratch, and your children will think you’re wonder woman. ;)

Note: I like to keep the peel on my mashed potatoes when I make them just for us, because that’s where most of the nutrition is. If you do the same, know that those potatoes will work fine in this recipe.

Shortcut Potato & Cheese Perogies

The perogies will only be as good as your mashed potatoes, so make sure they’re well seasoned and delicious before you begin.

Filling
  • 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes, warmed
  • 1 cup grated cheese (cheddar is yummiest)
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Pasta
  • 12 cannelloni, cooked according to package directions and cut in half width-wise.
Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 cup chopped ham

Mix together filling ingredients. Place in a large resealable plastic bag. Snip off the corner of the bag and pipe the filling into each cannelloni half, until full. Place, in a single layer, in a 10 cup casserole dish and cover with foil. Bake at 350º F for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile make the sauce: Melt butter in a small saucepan, add garlic and cook for 1 minute until softened. Add cream, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes to reduce.

Once the filled cannelloni are done baking, remove from oven, sprinkle with ham and pour sauce over all. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly.

Serves: 4

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