Happy Valentine's Day!

I was on snack duty for preschool for Valentine's Day. I went through a variety of ideas, but of course it HAS to be cupcakes!

I was trying to come up with something fun, but decided to stick with the classic chocolate cupcake, and then for icing, I decided to come up with a strawberry jam buttercream. There's one kid in the class that has a red dye allergy, so I had to not include anything pink or red.... but a natural pinkness would be perfect.

I also decided to try a trick I saw on pinterest:

Source: flickr.com via Tamara on Pinterest

Heart shaped cupcakes!

Here's the result:





I made a strawberry jam buttercream once before, but it wasn't this perfect. I used that one to top a peanut butter cupcake (and it was a delicious combo), but I think I perfected the recipe this time!

Strawberry Jam Buttercream Icing

1/4 cup butter
1/2 bag of icing sugar
3/4 cups strawberry jam (used my homemade jam from this last summer)
3(ish) Tbsp milk

Using a hand mixer (or you could use a stand mixer), thoroughly mix the butter and jam. Add icing sugar and milk until you have reached the desired consistency. I'm not exactly sure how much milk I used, but I did use half the bag of icing sugar, and just splashed a bit of milk here and there.

Super simple... just buttercream with jam in it.... maybe it was the difference between store bought and homemade preserves.... or maybe I just had the proportions better this time, but it was DELICIOUS... like lick the bowl out delicious.

Cream of Broccoli - Cheese Soup

This recipe is one from Weight Watchers - Simply the Best Cookbook.



Cream of Broccoli-Cheese Soup

1 onion, chopped
4 cups chopped broccoli
3 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cups skim milk
3 packets low-sodium instant chicken broth and seasoning mix
1 carrot, shredded
3/4 cup shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper


Spray a large sauce pan with nonstick cooking spray; heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring constantly, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli, potatoes and 2 cups of water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to a blender. Puree, then return them to the liquid. Add the milk, broth mix and carrot. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring as needed until the carrot is softened, about 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat; cool about 1 minute. Add the cheese, sage and pepper; stir until the cheese is melted.

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Review: TASTY! we really enjoyed this soup. The only thing I might change next time is either cook and puree the carrots with the rest of the veggies... or throw some extra chunks of broccoli and potatoes in after pureeing, so there are more chunks. The only chunks being carrots was kinda weird... so I'd like either more or less. The soup itself was delicious and had great flavour, and my suggestions are just totally personal preference.

I didn't get a chance to make my own buns that day, so ended up scoring some clearance ones at the store to accompany our soup.

Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

We love curries, so delicious. I was excited to try this super easy crockpot recipe.



Recipe from Kraft, in my What's For Dinner magazine (fall 2011).

Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

10 bone-in chicken thighs (skin removed)
1 jar thick and chunky salsa
1 chopped onion
2 Tbsp curry
1/2 cup cream cheese spread

Place chicken ini slow cooker. Combine next 3 ingredients, and pour over chicken. Cover with lid.

Cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours or on HIGH for 5 hours.

Transfer chicken to platter; cover to keep warm. Add cream cheese spread to slow cooker; whisk until cream cheese is melted and sauce is well blended. Spoon over chicken.

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Review... rather flavourless.... I think it would have been better with more different indian spices. Doubt we will make it again... our favourite chicken curry is still this one: Chicken Curry

Hawaiian Turkey Stirfry

Here is a Weight Watchers recipe. It's from the book Weight Watchers' Simply the Best : 250 Prizewinning Family Recipes I used chicken instead of turkey, since that's what I had on hand.

Hawaiian Turkey (Chicken) Stirfry



1 tsp canola oil
2 carrots, julienned
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 onions, chopped
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups cubed cooked skinless turkey breasts (or chicken)
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 20-ounce can unsweetened pineapple chunks (with juice)
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp dried sage

In a large skillet, heat oil. Add carrots, celery and onions. Cook, stirring as needed until softened (6-8 minutes).

In a small bowl, combine the flour with 2 Tbsp cold water, mix into a smooth paste. Gradually add chicken broth, and mix until smooth. Pour into the skillet, cook stirring constantly until the mixture boils and thickens (2-3 minutes). Stir in the turkey, mushrooms, pineapple and it's juice, thyme and sage. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until heated through (3-4 minutes).

Serve on top of rice.

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I had high expectations of this recipe... I love pineapple, carrots, celery, and pretty much everything in it. It was good, but bland. I did have to add a little extra broth, just to give it more moisture. I think I adding some teriyaki sauce would make it a super yummy recipe, and compliment the existing ingredients. I did like that it was healthy (but what stir fry isn't, that isn't overloaded in sauce). I think I will try it again, but with some tweaks.

February Meal Plan

Here we go.. jumping back into a meal plan and lots of new recipes.

* a new recipe to me - will share them

1 - Hawaiian Turkey Stir-fry*, Rice
2 - Slow Cooker Chicken Curry*, Rice, salad
3 - Tuna Melts, raw veggies
4 - Cream of Broccoli and Cheese Soup*, buns
5 - Roast beef, yorkshire puddings, roasted veggies
6 - Green Spaghetti
7 - 15 Minute Chicken and Rice*, salad
8 - Beef Taco Bake*, salad
9 - Eggs, turkey bacon, diced potatoes
10 -Quick Chicken Curry*, Salad
11 - Pizza, raw veggies
12 - Waffles, fruit
13 - Southwest Easy Oven Chicken*, salad
14 - Tacos
15 - Creamy Chicken and Spinach*, veggies
16 - Baked Mac and Cheese*, veggies
17 - Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken*, rice, salad
18 - Savoury Chicken Bundles*, salad
19 - Black Bean Enchiladas*, salad
20 - Soup, grilled cheese sandwiches
21 - Crockpot Cheesy Chicken and Potatoes*, veggies
22 - Take Out
23 - Make Ahead Unstuffed Shells*, salad
24 - Hot dogs, potato salad
25 - Balsamic Pork*, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies
26 - Tuna macaroni
27 - Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole*, veggies/salad
28 - Baked Butter Chicken, rice, veggies
29 - Spaghetti and meatballs, veggies/salad

Travelling

We travelled over Christmas, and were away for almost 4 weeks! It was nice to get away, but I guess it's time to start meal planning and cooking again. We got home on Jan 15th, and have been eating from the freezer/pantry mostly since we got home.

I'm working on my February meal plan this weekend, and will be posting on Monday. Time to get back to the food blog, and getting our meals organized and budgeted again.

Christmas Baking Blitz

I don't have much time for Christmas baking this year (one of my favourite activities). So we decided that this morning would be my only baking time. SO I stuck to simple, fast and easy recipes this year and did it in 3 hours.

Peanut Butter Blossoms (previously blogged)


Oreo Pops

Thought these were a great idea, but make sure you get the double stuffed Oreos, or they won't work (I didn't, and ended up having to combine 2 Oreos for each, so didn't make too many of them)

-Double Stuffed Oreos
-White Chocolate Chips (or Melts)
-sprinkles, or crushed candy canes
-lollipop sticks

Melt the white chocolate in the microwave. Power level 50%, for 1 minute, then for 30 secs at a time until melted (stirring between each).
Put Oreos on stick, dip in melted chocolate, and dip in sprinkles (or just sprinkle them on top). Lay on wax paper until dried (put in fridge if you want them to harden faster)

Simple and easy treat!

Since I didn't buy double stuffed Oreos, I quickly decided to just dip the cookies:

White Chocolate Dipped Oreos


Same as oreo pops, but skip the stick. Dip halfway in melted white chocolate, and then dip in sprinkles, and lay on wax paper to harden (I put the wax paper on a plate and put in the fridge). Delicious, festive and super easy!

Candy Cane Rice Krispie Squares


-1/4 cup margarine
-1 pkg of marshmallows
-1 tsp vanilla
-6 cups Rice Krispies
-1/4-1/2 cup of crushed candy canes

Melt margarine in a pot on the stove. Add marshmallows and stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat, add vanilla, Rice Krispies and candy canes. Stir until mixed, and dump into a greased 9x9 pan. Using a greased spatula, press down on the top to flatten. Let cool, slice and serve.

These are super yummy. I was on a "add crushed candy canes to everything" kick a few years ago, and created this yummy variation! Scrumptious, and always devoured!

Saltine Toffee

-Saltine Crackers

-1 cup butter

-2 cups brown sugar

-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Line cookie tray (jelly roll type... with edges) with tin foil, and spray with non-stick spray

Lay the bottom of the tray with saltine crackers... closely together, as few gaps as possible.

Melt butter and sugar together over medium heat on the stovetop.

When mixture comes to a rolling boil let boil for 2 minutes, stirring.

Pour mixture over crackers.

Bake in oven for 10 minutes (it will bubble up all nicely)

Remove from oven... let stand for 2 minutes.. then sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Spread the chocolate evenly over the top as they melt.

Sprinkle peanuts, or crushed up saltines on the top.

Put pan in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Break it up and enjoy!


as well as Peppermint Nanaimo Bars (which I'll photograph and blog tomorrow).

I couldn't have done it without help:


She's a good helper! She dipped cookies in chocolate and sprinkles, crushed up saltine crackers, laid out saltine crackers, rolled the pb blossoms in sugar and placed them on the pan, as well as "kissed" the cookies when they came out of the oven. Plus a variety of other little tasks.

Julia helped too... kinda. At least she was in the kitchen with us: