Sunny Beet Salad

I lovelovelove the vibrant colours of these red and golden beets! Many of the beet salad recipes I have seen use an orange vinaigrette, but I saw the peach schnapps sitting there and thought...Why not?

1 lb small to medium sized beets
1/2 tsp salt (to salt the water)
1 green onion, sliced
1/2 small orange sweet pepper, cut in chunks
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp peach schnapps 
(alternatively all OJ or all peach schnapps!)
1 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
a few grinds of black pepper
1/4 tsp dry mustard
pinch sugar

Start by bringing the beets to a boil in just enough salted water to cover. They can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes to cook. A fork should easily pierce them. Remove from heat, drain then cover with cold water.

Cut the green onion and sweet pepper. Set aside.

Combine the remaining ingredients for the dressing. I did half OJ/half peach schnapps.  Next time...full on peach schnapps! Now get back to the beets! 

Ok, so now that the beets have cooled enough to handle them drain and remove the peels. Wearing gloves saves having ugly red hands for the next few days.

Quarter the beets and add the green onion and sweet pepper, then toss with the dressing.

Sweet and earthy and next time I think I might just add a sliced peach to the bowl too.  What do you think?

Butterflied Portuguese Chicken and Potatoes

Butterflied (or spatchcocked) simply means cutting out the spine and flattening the chicken for even cooking. Portuguese simply means delicious! 

1 - 3 lb whole chicken

Marinade:
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp chili flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
pinch saffron
2 tbsps olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt

2 large potatoes
1 small turnip
2 tbsps olive oil
2 tsps thyme
1 tsp salt

I used a sharp pair of kitchen scissors to cut the spine out. I suppose a sharp knife would do but I'm no pro so scissors it is!  Turn the chicken over and press down on the breast bone. I used 2 metal skewers through the meaty parts to keep the chicken lying flat while cooking.

Mix marinade and brush half of it all over the chicken reserving the rest for later. I actually used a mortar and pestle for the job of combining the marinade ingredients. It worked well. Refrigerate 4-5 hours or overnight.

Spray a large baking pan with cooking oil. Thinly slice both the potatoes and turnip. (Yep, sneaking in those turnips again!) Toss with olive oil and seasonings and spread out in pan. Brush on 1 tbsp of the reserved chicken marinade.

Lay the chicken, skin side down on top of the veggies. Brush with some of the marinade and into a 425F oven for 20 minutes. Flip it over and baste again. (Not very pretty!)

Bake an additional 25-30 minutes.

Let the chicken rest 10 minutes before removing the skewers and serving.

Oh, and have a look at those potatoes and turnips!

Adapted from: http://www.littlekitchenbigworld.com/portuguese-peri-peri-chicken

Greek Seafood Pasta Salad

This is a very versatile salad...use any pasta, trade different veggies in and out, different seafood, olives or not. The choice is yours!

And this recipe makes enough so you can pack some for lunches the next day as well!

3 cups medium shell pasta
227g lobster, crab or seafood flavoured pollock (about 1 cup)
2 small sweet peppers (red, green, orange, or yellow) diced
1 medium tomato, diced
1/3 of an English cucumber, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
some chopped spinach
kalamata olives if you have them

Dressing:
2/3 cup olive oil
2 tsps basil
2 tbsps parmesan
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp dried tomato flakes
3 tbsps vinegar
1 green onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp oregano
pinch sugar

Cook, drain and cool the pasta. Set aside.

Combine all the dressing ingredients in a food processor.

I found these dried tomato flakes at a bulk store. They add a rustic tomato flavour to the dressing. 

Once the dressing is processed pour it over the pasta, veggies and your choice of seafood.

Add the feta and spinach and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

  
I could eat this all day long!

Best Balsamic Grilled Vegetables

These veggies will go well with anything you are grilling! A little char makes them tangy-sweet...just so yummy! 

2 sweet peppers (I used red and yellow)
1 small onion
1 medium zucchini
1/2 cup balsamic salad dressing
Salt, pepper, thyme and fennel seed

Cut the peppers in large pieces. Quarter onion and separate layers. Cut zucchini in half then slice in 1" chunks. Toss with salad dressing and sprinkle with seasonings.

Marinate at least 4 hours to let the flavours blend.

Heat the barbecue to about 400F.

Have your grillmaster 😉 spray a grill basket with cooking oil and toss in the veggies.
Grill on direct heat for 20-25 minutes.

This recipe served just 2 because it was too good not to have seconds!

This time alongside pepper steak.

Paprika Chicken

Not sure why it's called Paprika Chicken, lots of other seasonings going on here!

Ingredients:

4 chicken legs, split

4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cumin
2 tsps parsley
2 tsps oregano
Salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil and add the garlic with all the seasonings. Cook just until garlic softens.

Spoon over chicken pieces coating all sides in a 9 X 13" baking dish. This should be cooked right away. If you plan on making it later, cool the sauce before putting it on the chicken and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Place in a 425F oven for 45 minutes, basting with juices a couple of times.

Juicy perfection on a mound of mashed potatoes.

Pork Roast with Sliced Turnip

This is a pork and turnip recipe but my goal was really to find a way to make turnip that everyone liked. Because you know....turnip isn't a family favourite.

2 lb boneless pork loin 
1 small turnip
Mrs Dash table blend seasoning
1 tbsp olive oil
dash of vinegar

Grease a 9 X 13" baking dish. Sprinkle Mrs Dash all over the roast and sit it in the center. 

Using a mandolin, slice the turnip very thinly. Toss the slices with olive oil and vinegar then arrange around the roast. Give them some Mrs Dash as well.

Into a 350 F oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour and those turnip slices will be browned to sweet perfection...trust me  ; )  they're good!

Rustic Garlic Gravy Chicken

After making Penne with Garlic Gravy the other day I thought wouldn't that gravy be good with chicken.  I was right!

It's basically the same sauce with just a couple of adaptations.

Ingredients:

4 chicken legs, split
2 cups chicken or turkey broth
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
10 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour
2 tsps thyme
salt and pepper

Heat 1-2 tbsps of olive oil in a large skillet. Salt and pepper the chicken then brown on all sides, cooking for 8-10 minutes.

Remove chicken to a 9 X 13" baking dish.

In the same skillet and with the remaining fat, add all the garlic. Cook just to soften, about 1 minute, then add the broth, lemon juice, butter and olive oil. Whisk in the flour and cook until slightly thicken, again about 1 minute. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with thyme.

Place in a 400 F oven for 30 minutes. Spoon some sauce over the chicken halfway through the cooking time.

Enough garlic to keep the vampires away! But everyone else will come back for more!

  
And here's the link to my Penne with Garlic Gravy:

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2018/05/penne-with-garlic-gravy.html

Make Ahead BBQ Pork Ribs

When you have company coming and don't want to be caught up in the kitchen these make-ahead ribs are ideal!

Ingredients:

8 lbs pork ribs
2 cups orange or pineapple juice
1/4 cup molasses
2 bottles of your favourite barbecue sauce

Stack the ribs in a slow cooker, some laying down and others leaning on each other. As you can see I had 2 cookers going to accomodate all the ribs. If you only have one then this step will be done twice.

Mix the juice and molasses together and pour evenly over the ribs. Pour cold water in, enough to nearly cover.

Put the lid on the slow cooker and set it on high for 3  1/2 hours.

They should be fully cooked at this point. Remove the ribs to pans placing in a single layer. Pour one bottle of sauce over ribs while warm slathering both sides. Cover pans with foil and refrigerate overnight. 

The biggest part of the work is done!

The next day take the ribs out of the fridge about an hour before you want to eat. 

Then heat the barbecue and give them a quick grill on both sides using the 2nd bottle of BBQ sauce to baste. Once they are heated through your mess of ribs are ready!

Perfectly cooked ribs every time! The meat stays on the bone while grilling then comes easily away from the bone once you dig in!

Makes me want to have some right now!

Serves 6-8 with some leftover!

Penne with Garlic Gravy

This recipe really does make a lovely garlic gravy. I expected it to be more of a garlic and oil (aglio e olio) thing, but no...it has a gravy-like consistency that coats the penne without it swimming in sauce!

Ingredients:

1  1/2 cups cooked chicken
1 cup cooked broccoli
1 cup cherry tomatoes
2 cups penne pasta

Garlic gravy:
2 tbsps butter
1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsps flour
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsps basil and/or oregano
salt and pepper to taste

While the penne cooks prepare the garlic gravy.  Heat a large skillet with butter and olive oil to medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant and soft. Whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute. Next add the chicken broth and seasonings and simmer until thickened.

Add the cherry tomatoes. Cook 2 minutes, puncture the skin, then cook until slightly wrinkled.

At this point it already smells great!

Spoon in the broccoli and stir together. 

The penne must be ready by now...drain and toss with the sauce. Add the chicken near the end. We usually have some kind of cooked chicken in the fridge. This was leftover portuguese .

Serve with parmesan cheese.
Serves 3-4

Original recipe:
http://godofscrumprecipes.tumblr.com/post/21100317594/spaghetti-in-garlic-gravy-with-herbs-and-lemon

No Bake Honey Date Balls

My nearly 90 year old Mom made these! She made them while a pot of homemade soup simmered on the stove. Her secret to a long life... keep active, don't bitch and moan about your problems and when you wake up in the morning be grateful and say "it wasn't my turn today!"

She used this recipe from our good old Five Roses Cookbook.

Ingredients:

1  1/2 cups chopped dates
2 cups chopped nuts
3 tbsps liquid honey
1 tbsp lemon juice

Chop the dates and nuts finely or use a grinder.  Roll into balls. Roll in chopped nuts too if you like.

Keep refrigerated
Makes 2 1/2 dozen 1" balls

Then she gave some to me because apparently I don't make enough sweets myself ; )   Thanks Mom!

Coastal Deco Mesh Wreath

Wishing I was at the beach...

What you need to make this wreath:

wire wreath frame
deco mesh
glue gun
twist ties or pipe cleaners
needle and thread
knotted rope, shells and driftwood

I started with the frame and mesh, just bunching the mesh and tying it every so often with pipe cleaners. I know, I should have used green ones but I had white ones. No worries, they all got covered in the end. If using any ribbon, tie it in and around the mesh.

Once I had my base of deco mesh secured I laid out everything that I wanted to attach right on the wreath to get an idea of the layout.

I used a needle and thread to secure the knotted rope in place.

Then started gluing the driftwood into place.

I was a little concerned when gluing onto the mesh. I thought the hot glue would just melt the mesh, but it was fine.

Be sure to glue the shells in well so they don't flop over when the wreath is hanging up.

And that's it....

the coastal wreath is ready for hanging!