eggs

Hatching Devilled Eggs

By in Appetizers, Easter, GF Sides 7 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

hatching devilled eggs

I’ve got one more quick bite to share with you in case you’re looking for a last minute idea to round out your Easter menu. Devilled eggs are just one of those things that coincides with Easter. All those colourful Easter eggs need to be put to good use! I decided to dress them up for Easter by slicing off the tops and giving them jagged edges to look like a hatching chick. It’s very easy to do but you do need to be gentle as the egg whites are quite fragile. So don’t try to do anything too fancy! I think it’s such a cute presentation and makes a classic just a little more special. Follow the how-to below with your favourite devilled egg recipe or use my lightened up version below.

I hope you all have a fantastic long weekend! Happy Easter!

hatching eggs how to

How to Make Hatching Devilled Eggs

If needed, cut a small slice off of the bottom of the hard boiled egg so that it will stand up straight. Turn it on it’s side and slice off the top portion of the egg. Using a small spoon, gently loosen and remove the egg yolk from both portions of the egg white. Reserve the egg yolks for the filling. With a sharp knife, carefully cut jagged edges into the top and bottom halves of the egg whites. Don’t make the cuts too deep or it will weaken the structure and the egg whites may not hold together when the filling is added. Once all the egg whites are ready, mash the filling in a medium-sized resealable bag until smooth. Snip of the end of the bag and pipe into the bottom halves of the egg whites, cover with egg white tops. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.

Lightened Up Devilled Eggs

  • 12 hard boiled eggs, shells removed
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
  • 2-3 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper

Slice eggs in half, remove yolks. Place yolks and remaining ingredients into a medium-sized resealable bag. Seal it up and mash the mixture in your hands until smooth (this part is fun for kids!). Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Snip off the end of the bag and pipe the filling into the egg whites. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to one day ahead.

Filling adapted from Food.com

Three Easy Valentine’s Day Breakfasts

By in Breakfast, Valentine's 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

valentine's day breakfasts

I know some people king of have a thing against Valentine’s Day – that it’s a hallmark holiday. But, I think February would be awfully dreary without it. A day set aside to celebrate love? Why not? Count me in! Besides, I don’t go out and buy stuff for Valentine’s Day, I make it myself (it being FOOD). Which, in my opinion, is one of the best ways to show that you love someone – make something.

And what better way to kick off a day of love then with an extra special breakfast. Even if the rest of the day, you all head off in different directions, a special breakfast brings you together at the start of the day, guaranteeing some time well spent enjoying each others company.

In light of that, I’ve got three delicious recipes for you today. They’re all uber simple and easy to make. And, they’re all different enough that hopefully you’ll find one here that brings a smile to someone you love.

P.S. For more Valentine’s Day recipes head here.

Egg in a Heart

egg in a heart

For a savory treat take a favourite – egg in a hole – and switch it up with a fun heart shape. It’s so easy to make and should satisfy any toast and egg lover.

If you don’t have a heart shaped cutter you can use a sharp knife to cut the shape. It’s probably obvious that, that’s what I did in the photo above, because for some strange reason I still have yet to buy a heart shaped cookie cutter. But, I personally like it when things look a bit rustic (and homemade) so I’m fine with it. Plus they still made my kids happy and that’s all the matters, right? :)

Egg in a Heart

  • 1 slice bread
  • butter
  • 1 egg
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • dried parsley, optional

Cut a heart shape out of a slice of bread. Place a nob of butter into a skillet that has been preheated over medium heat. Once melted add bread, along with heart shaped cut out. Break egg into the centre of the hole, season with salt and pepper. Once the bottom is toasted and browned flip the bread, egg, and cutout. Cook until bread is toasted and egg is cooked as desired. Sprinkle with a bit of parsley, to serve.

Serves: 1

Sweetheart Smoothies

sweetheart smoothies

This two-layer smoothie is so luscious, it just tastes like a special treat. It’s starts with a layer of creamy strawberry smoothie and is topped with another layer of raspberry. It doesn’t make perfect layers but when you swirl them together with a straw it creates an ombre effect – so gorgeous! The taste is so decadent, the mouth-feel so smooth, it kind of feels like dessert for breakfast.

Sweetheart Smoothies

Strawberry Layer
  • 1 cup frozen strawberries
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
  • 1 tablespoon liquid honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Raspberry Layer
  • 1 cup frozen raspberries
  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
  • 1 tablespoon liquid honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Place all ingredients for strawberry layer in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into 2 large, or 4 small, serving glasses. Immediately fill blender with raspberry layer ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour over strawberry layer. Swirl with a straw, if desired, to make an ombre effect. Serve immediately.

Makes: 2 large or 4 small servings

Strawberry Heart Pancakes

strawberry heart pancakes

Strawberry pancakes in the shape of hearts may sound like a lot of work, but I promise, it’s not. To make the hearts you simply put the batter into a ziploc bag, snip the end and pipe heart shapes onto a preheated skillet. And, these light and tender pancakes have only one extra step to regular ones – pureeing the strawberries to put in the batter. See? What’d I say? Easy peasy.

I chose to use frozen berries since the fresh ones at the store are so expensive and bland this time of year. I also chose to puree them because I find that chunks of strawberry tend to give pancakes a still-raw texture wherever the strawberries are. Definitely not the case here. The strawberry flavour is quite subtle but they do lend the pancakes such a pretty shade of pink, and when served with a spoonful of warm strawberries on top, it tastes like strawberry pancake heaven.

Strawberry Heart Pancakes

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 heaping cup frozen strawberries, thawed
  • 1/2 cup milk (approximately)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 large egg
  • thawed strawberries (warmed) and maple syrup, to serve

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Place thawed strawberries into a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour strawberry puree into a liquid measuring cup, add milk to equal 1 cup total. Whisk in oil, egg and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until evenly moistened (lumps are fine).

Preheat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Spoon in 1/4 cup batter. Allow to cook until edges have set and bubbles pop on top. Flip over and cook until browned on other side. Place cooked pancakes on a plate and put in an oven turned to the lowest setting, to keep warm. Continue with remaining batter.

Serve with additional thawed strawberries and maple syrup, if desired.

To make heart shaped pancakes: Pour batter into a zip top bag, push out excess air and seal the top, snip of a corner of the bag (alternately you could use a pastry bag with a round tip). Squeeze the batter into heart shapes, filling in the centres as you go. The batter will be quite runny so you will need to turn the bag upside down to stop the flow (I put mine upside down in a cup while I wasn’t using it). Cook as instructed above.

Makes approximately: 9 pancakes

Breakfast Wafflewich

By in Breakfast, Lunch 8 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

breakfast wafflewich

Max’s favourite breakfasts are toast and eggs or oatmeal. He’s gotten so good at helping me make these things that he knows just what to do and how to tell when his eggs or oatmeal are done. I love making breakfast with him but I was getting a little tired of the same old, same old. So, I came up with these sandwiches to switch things up a bit and help add some veggies to our favourite breakfast. They were a hit! He ate an entire sandwich himself and then asked for another.

You can sub out the veggies in these for whatever veggies you prefer. Tomatoes won’t be super tasty for too much longer so we might swap them out with some roasted red bell pepper, sautéed mushrooms or green onions. Feel free to mix and match to your delight.

I kept it light on the condiments because we were having it for a weekday breakfast but if we made these on a weekend (a.k.a special breakfast) we might just spread the outside with butter to make it more grilled cheesesque or add some mayo to the inside to make it more like a breakfast BLT, and while we’re at it we might even swap out the the ham for bacon! But for an everyday/weekday breakfast we’ll keep things a little healthier as described below.

I love that this breakfast looks like a waffle but tastes like a panini. It makes it great for grabbing on the go and so much fun for kids.

Breakfast Wafflewich

If desired you can spread the bread lightly with butter to give it a grilled cheese effect.

  • 4 slices soft wheat bread
  • sliced cheese
  • 4 slices deli ham
  • 2 fried eggs (firm yolks)
  • 4 slices tomato
  • 1 handful baby spinach

Preheat a square-style waffle iron. Divide toppings between two slices of bread, starting with a layer of cheese and ending with one more slice of cheese (to act as glue). Top with remaining bread. Place in preheated waffle iron and press down firmly to create a waffle impression. Allow to cook 5 minutes, pressing down occasionally if needed, until bread is toasted and cheese is melted. Serve warm.

Makes: 2 sandwiches

Soft Bird’s Nest Sugar Cookies

By in Cookies & Bars, Easter, Kids, Sweets 8 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

soft birds nest sugar cookies

I love making things with Max in the kitchen, but if the project is too intricate or involved I find myself getting more stressed out then I like to be. I want us all to enjoy our time in the kitchen together, I want to foster a love for the kitchen, not memories of a stressed out mom. That’s why I love planning projects like this that are easy for him to help with, don’t make a ton of mess and look great no matter how tiny the hands are that made them.

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. Im 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.

Three No-Bake Easter Treats

By in Candy, Chocolate, Cookies & Bars, Easter, Sweets 81 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

No-Bake Easter Treats

Holidays are all about getting together with family and friends, making memories and eating good food. The oven is jam packed with roasting hams and tasty casseroles. It’s nice to get a few things done before the big day as well as give the oven a much needed break.

Make sure to keep your meals simple so you can truly enjoy this Easter holiday. Nothing is more disappointing then working so hard that you’re not able to enjoy the holiday itself.

These recipes will help to make your lives a little easier and keep the kids busy while you make some last minute preparations in the kitchen. They are simple, quick and best of all, tasty. Freeing you up to do more important tasks and having one less thing to make the day stressful.

I made these Chocolate Dipped Rice Krispie Eggs for the first time last year when I went back to spend Easter with my family. It was my Mom’s brilliant idea and they were such a big hit (especially with the kiddos) that I knew I had to share them with you. They can be packaged into colorful egg cartons to give away as gifts or serve them in egg cups for an extra special breakfast treat (I won’t tell).

These ones were made with the leftover Strawberry Marshmallows I had stored away in the freezer. That brought them to a whole other delectable level. Chocolate dipped strawberry anything is a winner in my book!

Kids can: Dip the eggs in chocolate and sprinkles.

Chocolate Dipped Rice Krispie Eggs

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 40 large marshmallows (5 cups mini or 250g)
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 6 cups rice krispies
  • 6 oz. baking chocolate
  • sprinkles
  1. Melt butter and marshmallows over low heat. Stir in vanilla. Remove from heat and add rice krispies. Stir until equally incorporated.
  2. Using a greased 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop out some of the mixture and form into an egg. Set aside and repeat until all of the mixture has been used up.
  3. Melt chocolate. Dip the tops into chocolate, then into sprinkles.
  4. Store covered at room temperature for up to two days. Freeze for longer storage.

Makes: 24

* If you don’t want to go through the work of making the eggs. You could put the mixture into a greased 9×13 pan. Once it has set up, cut into bars and dip away. Still festive, less work.

* Dampen your hands with water before forming to stop the mixture from sticking to them.

Print recipe

My mom made these Un-Baked Cookies often when I was growing up, so they hold a certain youthful charm that puts me in the Easter mood. The idea to make them into nests came from an entry in a Taste of Home competition last year. I thought it was such a cute idea that I just had to adapt it with my mothers recipe.

Kids can:  Fill the nests with coconut and eggs.

Un-Baked Cookie Nests

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 4 Tbsp. cocoa powder
  • pinch salt
  • 1 cup coconut
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • mini chocolate eggs and coconut, for decorating.
  1. Bring sugar,  milk and butter to a boil in a saucepan. Simmer 3 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients until well incorporated.
  3. Spoon into lightly greased muffin cups (or use un-greased silicone muffin cups for easier removal). Using the back of a spoon press the mixture down in the middle and up along the sides, forming a nest. Allow to harden.
  4. Using a knife, loosen the edges and gently pop out the nests.
  5. Store covered at room temperature for up to two days. Freeze for longer storage.
  6. To decorate: sprinkle with coconut and fill with mini eggs.

Makes: 12 large

* For a super cute alternative you could form these in mini muffin cups.

* If you would like to tint the coconut a certain color simply place it in a resealable plastic bag along with a few drops of food coloring. Massage and shake until evening distributed.

* You could use jelly beans or chocolate covered almonds for a different variety of eggs.

* To make the regular cookies simply drop the mixture by spoonfuls onto wax paper and allow to firm up.

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Lemon sings of spring and sunshine, reminding me of the new life around the corner and making it the perfect Easter accompaniment. These lemony truffles are a cinch to make and have such a wonderful velvety texture. Packaging them into pretty boxes turns them into the perfect hostess gift.

Kids can: roll into balls and coat in icing sugar.

White Chocolate Lemon Truffles

  • 1 cup white chocolate
  • 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 3 Tbsp. heavy cream
  • pinch salt
  • 1 tsp. lemon extract
  • icing sugar, for dusting
  1. Melt chocolate, butter and cream over a double boiler or in a microwave. Stir until smooth.
  2. Stir in salt and extract. Allow to cool slightly before covering with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm enough to handle.
  3. With a melon baller or small spoon scoop out mixture and form into 1 inch balls. Toss with icing sugar to coat.
  4. Store covered in the fridge for up to one week. Freeze for longer storage.

Makes: 24

* Using unsalted butter allows you to control the salty flavour of these truffles. The pinch of salt helps to cut through the sweetness of the white chocolate. If you decide to use salted butter make sure to omit the pinch of salt called for in the recipe or they will be far too salty.

* If you want to amp up the yellow color, stir in some yellow food coloring along with the extract and salt.

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What simple recipes do you include in your Easter menu to help de-stress the day?