April 22, 2010
I must confess: I don’t always have the time or the energy to start cooking supper when I get home after a long day. I often prefer to have a light supper when I’m that busy/tired but my husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. So I decided to let him choose his 4 favorite recipes (that froze well) and made them all one Saturday morning. As you can see above, it made quite a few meals that were easy to freeze, and reheat in the microwave. My husband was very happy with these as they made great grab and go lunches too.
Another great advantage of this kind of make ahead cooking is that very little food goes to waste. You buy only what you need to make the recipes, and you use everything up! We could have used re-usable containers but the rinse and recycle containers pictured above were great for even more time saving cleanup. I purchased these disposable (yet recyclable) containers at Provigo Warehouse and they were about 26$ for 50 containers with lids.
These were the meals that I made and froze:
Cheesy Shrimp and Rice
Turkey Chilli Con Carne
Basic Meat Lasagna
Shepherds Pie
Posted in Pasta, Meat, Miscellaneous 
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April 20, 2010
At the office where I work there are several of us who love to cook. I especially love to bake, and tend to favor time-tested old-fashioned methods, recipes and ingredients when I can. One day while tooting my own horn about my cake baking abilities a fellow co-worker overheard me challenged me to a bake-off. I returned the challenge with an item I felt confident I could bake blindfolded: cupcakes, and let him choose the flavor. He chose lemon. And so the ‘bake-off’ took place - he being the more avant-gard cook with little to no baking experience, and myself the traditionalist with a penchant for cakes, and especially cupcakes. Our fellow employees served as very willing judges and the above cupcakes were victorious.
You simply can’t go wrong with the recipe for Billy’s Vanilla Vanilla cupcakes. I tweaked the basic vanilla slightly with a 1/4 tsp lemon essence, some freshly grated lemon zest, 1/2 tsp lemon juice, a drop or two of almond extract, and one drop of yellow food colour. You should omit the vanilla essence in the recipe and add a pinch or two more of flour to balance the extra liquid ingredients. For added ‘bling’ I sprinkled yellow decorative sugar on the icing swirls and placed thin slices of lemon that I had patted dry with a paper towel. Yellow cupcake papers also aided in the total yellow experience, but I learned that if you want the colour of the cupcake papers to actually show once the cupcakes are baked, double them up.
In my opinion, the lemon buttercream icing was the best part. I used the ever popular New York City’s Magnolia Bakery buttercream icing recipe. Though many believe this may not be THE carefully guarded secret recipe, it sure does it for me. To the recipe below I added 1/4 tsp lemon extract, the juice of 1 lemon, and 4 drops yellow food
colour.
Magnolia’s Buttercream Icing
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistancy. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food colouring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Posted in Desserts, Cakes & Frostings 1 Comment »
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April 18, 2010
This salad not only looks amazing but it tastes surprisingly great! Healthy and light, it’s a perfect healthy lunch on a spring day. I bought frozen shelled edamame (soybeans) which I let defrost overnight in the fridge, along with the frozen cooked shrimp. If you’re looking for a quick and easy low-fat meal, this salad is a great option.
From: About.com Low Fat Cooking
Prep/Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Per serving: Cal: 284, Fat: 9.2g, Fib: 7.9g, Prot: 28.2g
Ingredients:
6 cups baby spinach
3/4 pound cooked shrimp
3/4 cup frozen edamame (soybeans),thawed
1 14-ounce can water-packed artichoke hearts, drained
3 vine-ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
For the Citrus Dressing:
Juice of 1 medium orange
Juice of 1 large lemon
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp water1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
Directions:
Wash and dry spinach leaves. Arrange in 4 bowls or on 4 salad plates. Arrange shrimp, edamame, artichoke hearts and tomato wedges on top. Combine dressing ingredients in a small jar and shake vigorously until blended. Drizzle over salad just before serving.
Posted in Fish & Shellfish, Salads & Dressings No Comments »
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