Merry Merry Christmas!!

What's Christmas without a turkey on the table? This is my first EVER turkey. My cousin told me the secret to a moist turkey is bacon so I decided to give it a try. I'm a true believer now!! Slow cooking and bacon is definitely the way to go.

Anyway, wishing everyone in foodie world a very merry Christmas and a happy, happy new year!!! Eat well and drink lots for the new year.

Fabulous Give-Away!!

I'm so excited!! Screamin' Mama is hosting a contest.

FabulousSavings.ca is a fantastic online Canadian coupon and discount site. They have been so generous and have offered up a $50 Walmart Giftcard to one of my loyal followers!

What a perfect gift just before Christmas! So if you are a Canadian and would love to win the $50 giftcard then hurry on over and enter. The contest will last for two weeks and will end on Tuesday, December 21st at noon.

Good luck and happy happy holidays!!

Who Who's Birthday? - Owl Cupcakes

It's another birthday for my daughter and son born one week apart. They always get ripped off because they have to share their birthday parties. I'm lucky because I only have to prepare once. It's getting hard to think of new ideas for their birthday cakes since Dora and Power Rangers are too baby for them now.

Luckily my sister gave me "Hello, Cupcake!" by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson as a thank you gift one time after making her daughter's cake. I browsed quickly through it to get some ideas and picked one of the easier ones this time

Owl Cupcakes

These cupcakes were quite simple to make.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake Mix
Chocolate Canned Icing
Oreo cookies
Yellow Smarties
Heart shaped sprinkles

Microwave the Oreo cookies for 15 second to soften the creme to make it easier to separate. Cut the Oreo cookie side without creme with a serrated knife into thirds. Using the rounded edges for the ears.

Frost the cupcakes thinly with icing. Place the Oreo cookies with creme for the eyes and the Oreo cookie thirds for the ears on the cupcakes. Ice feathers for the ears and around the eyes. Place Smartie sideways for the beak. The book uses brown Smarties for the eyes but since I didn't have enough I just iced eyes with the brown icing and found some heart shaped sprinkle to place in the middle. Voila!

I made a one layer cake and placed the cupcakes around. Here is the final product.

Hot Chicken Sandwich

When I was a little girl my dad used to make us a hot chicken sandwich for lunch. What a great and tasty variation of the leftover chicken sandwich. I haven't had one of these sandwiches in about twenty-five years. I don't know why I suddenly had a craving for this but as my family ate their chicken with rice, I decided to re-visit an old childhood favourite. It was delicious!

I roasted my chicken with the usual seasonings of Montreal Steak Spice and Garlic Plus. I made my homemade gravy with the drippings and roux and used Wonder Bread as my base. I think this will become one of my family's favourites too since the kids kept begging for bites off of my plate. Next time we'll all be having the traditional hot chicken sandwich.

Another Birthday Celebration!

Another birthday celebration and this time I offered my place and my cooking skills. I slaved over the stove for over six hours and here are the fruits of my labour.

Chocolate Cupcakes - love Duncan Hines Mix and Icing Sweet Cornbread

Butternut Squash Soup Roasted VeggiesPrime Rib RoastMy friend Mark made his special Vancouver Crab DishBanana Nutella Waffles with fresh Whipped Cream

Strawberry Waffles with fresh whipped cream and chocolate sauce

My friend Jerry's Banana Bread

Halloween Cupcakes

I just spent three hours making cupcakes for my three kids' Halloween parties tomorrow. I didn't think it was going to take so long. I like to use Betty Crocker cake mix and Betty Crocker canned icing. I didn't plan appropriately and discovered at the last minute that I didn't have black colouring for my icing. Darn!

Here are my "masterpieces"...

Mini Jack-o-lanterns

Spider webs

Spooky faces - I decided to do these as exhaustion set in...I couldn't bear to spin another web...

I really hope they remember the labours of my hardwork as they devour these in less than ten seconds flat...

What happens when you don't read instructions...

I was in such a rush on the weekend and in my haste I didn't read the instructions on my Pillsbury Pizza Crust properly. It was a last minute attempt to prepare some sort of lunch for the family before heading downtown to my sister-in-law's for a belated Thanksgiving Dinner. I grabbed the Pillsbury Pizza Crust and cracked it open just like their crescent rolls. I've never used this pizza dough before so wasn't too careful and ripped the dough in half. This is when I tried to read the instructions off of the ripped wrapper...trying to piece it all back together. I was completely confused. I decided that I would just squish it down, add the tomato sauce and a cheddar/mozzerella mix of cheese and hope for the best. It's not too pretty but still edible. I'll know better next time....

Waffles, Waffles and more Waffles!!

I've been loving my waffle maker. I've been dreaming waffles all week. Waffles for breakfast, dinner and dessert. I'm still using Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Pancake Mix following their directions for waffles. It's so easy to whip up a couple extra batches of waffles, throw them in the fridge and then toast them up nice and crisp. I've been sending waffles home with my best friend, making extra for my parents and even brought my waffle maker to my friend's house for dessert. Here are some of this week's waffle masterpieces.

Simply Sweet - Peanut Butter and Sweetened Condensed Milk

Bacon and Eggs with Peanut Butter, Condensed Milk Waffles

Chocolate Fudge Ice cream and bananas

Canned Apple Pie Filling with French Vanilla Ice cream

This is this week's stash of waffles for breakfast.

Easy Carve Ham to Hambone Shlop!

Last Sunday I made an easy carve ham from Costco. It was delicious and so easy. I usually place the entire ham in a huge pot, bring it to a boil and let sit for a couple of hours...bringing it back up to a boil every half and hour and then turning off the element. It keeps the ham nice and juicy and you don't need to have the oven on for three hours. Then I took the juice from one can of pineapple rings and one cup of brown sugar and reduce down until syrupy. Baste the entire ham and place the ham in the oven for about half an hour at 375F. So yummy!!

Served with the pineapple rings and some corn. Gravy made from the boiled ham water, Montreal steak spice and roux. My kids could just eat steamed rice and gravy if I let them...but I don't.

By the middle of the week we are so tired of eating ham sandwiches, ham and eggs and ham fried rice. There was still so much ham left so I made hambone soup. Super easy I just sauteed some onions, carrots and garlic and then add the ham. I cover with water and simmer for two hours. I like to add pasta or rice so that it's a one bowl meal. Below is what happens when hubby comes home two hours late from work. It's hambone shlop! No more soup...just wet rice, ham and carrots. Oh well...he's the one eating it...still tasted good though.

My new best friend...the Oster Waffle Maker

A couple of months ago I got my first hand look and taste of homemade waffles and ever since then I've been lusting after my very own waffle maker. I've looked around but since I'm on a spending freeze this year I convinced myself I didn't need to buy another small appliance. However, this weekend, we went to Target in Buffalo and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this Oster waffle maker for only US$20!! Cheap!! I HAD to buy it!

I used it the very next day and was so happy when my waffles came out perfectly. I used the Krusteux Buttermilk Pancake Mix from Costco and followed the instructions for waffles. They were crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. They were just as good as my friend's homemade waffle batter.

Isn't it so cute?

My first attempt at homemade waffles.

Today I tried the Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Pancake Mix and they turned out even better...so light and fluffy. After trying my friend's homemade waffles and two mixes, I think I will stick to the ease and convenience of the store bought mixes.

Littlest Pet Shop Cake/Froggy Themed Cake

It was a double birthday party at my friend's house. She had a girly party for her six year old in the afternoon and then a dance party for her eleven year old in the evening. Of course I was in charge of the cake so here are my creations for the day.

Littlest Pet Shop Beach Party

These were made similar to the Teddy Beach Cupcakes. Sand was made from crushed graham crackers and fruit roll-ups were used for towels. I think the little parasols make the cake so much more fun.

Looked great all lit up with candles!

Hoppy Birthday Frog Cake for the big boy!

Happy birthday Zoey and Holden!! The kids had a great time and everyone thought the cakes were so cute.

Who says camping has to be rough?

Our family went camping this weekend with five other families. Great weather, great company and amazing food. As I packed for the weekend my husband commented about all the comforts of home that I was bringing along...such as rice cooker, electric griddle and butane stove. I explained to him that since there would be electicity on site that we didn't have to really rough it. Sleeping in a tent is rough enough.

Here are some photos of the delicious food.

BBQ Wings

Adult "juice" boxes

Thai Green Chicken Curry
Hamburgers
Nutella Banana Campfire pies (kinda like grilled cheese without the cheese)

Open faced smores

Unfortunately I forgot to take pics of the BBQ ribs, chicken souvlaki and pulled beef...I was too busy devouring these to even remember to take some photos.

Weekend with the girls!!

What a weekend!! The husbands and boys went camping and the wives hung out together at my sister's place. We had so much fun!! It was like a three day pajama party!! We shopped...we cooked...we ate. What more can a girl ask for?

We did manage to go out for sushi the first night and then fish and chips for lunch the next day. However what I enjoyed most was cooking together. That's the time we really bonded as we chopped, sliced, fried and assembled our delicious dishes. I loved watching the women cook in their own unique styles. One girl loved to slice up everything into pretty bowls...for her it was all presentation. Another just slapped everything together...voila! But no matter how it was prepared everything was delicious.

Here are a few of the yummy dishes cooked up by some very yummy mummies

Make your own omlettes...here was a mixed veggie, spinach and cheese omlette.

Dinner was corn on the cob, butter chicken and korean short ribs.

Keira is waiting to make her own crepe...hmmm...what to choose!

My creation was banana, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Simple but yummy!

"A Day at the Beach" Cupcakes

My friend is throwing a birthday bash tomorrow at the beach for her two year old daughter. When she asked me for party ideas I suggested doing beach themed cupcakes. It wasn't a complete surprise when she asked me to make them for her. I took up the challenge and here is the completed project.

Teddy Grahams dressed in bikinis lying on fruit roll-up beach towels on graham cracker sand with a drink umbrella for shade.

Happy birthday Maya!! Hope it was a good one!!

Mr. Greek's Mediterranean Grill - Toronto

I've been so busy lately with friends in town from Hong Kong and Seattle. Busy means eating. I'm so exhausted from late nights going for bubble tea or late night coffees. It's been a week long marathon of food. There is one meal that we must have when my friends come home and that's Greek food. We managed to make our way down to the Danforth for our fix of souvlaki. I had the Original Pork Souvlaki with a side of fries and Greek salad. Delicious as always!

Potluck Pool Party

The best part of summer is potluck pool parties at my house. My friends and I love to get the kids together to swim and then eat together. I love trying new foods.

Here is what was on the menu tonight.

Biryani Rice - my friend's version since she knew I was craving this.

Chicken in Tandoori Sauce
Costco Mild Chicken Wings

Korean BBQ Short Ribs

I love everything CUPCAKES!!

I love everything cupcakes! I found this cute fabric button on Etsy and had to share it with you. It can also be made into a magnet. I love how it's handmade and unique.

I especially love that she has a "No thank you" button for those allergic to peanuts.

Check out her site and see what other cool buttons and magnets she has for sale.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28544781