Baked Gnocchi

We're in the middle of one heck of a heat wave. 38-40˚C (that's 100.4-104˚F for my American readers) everyday now for a week. The humidity is wilting, the heat, oppressive. Thankfully my darling husband, foreseeing me being super uncomfortable this summer should the temperature skyrocket (I'm in my 3rd trimester now), bought me central air 3 weeks ago. He really does love me. So I've been coping with the heat fairly well. But the temperature certainly changes how we eat. As it gets hotter you tend to want to eat lighter. Simple salads and cold dishes tend to be what we all crave when the mercury rises... unless you're a pregnant gal and you have A/C. Then you want crazy things like baked pastas.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been trying to cook better for my hubby, really watching every single ingredient I cook with for cholesterol, sodium and fat. I love Gnocchi, as does he, so when I found myself craving pasta this week I headed to the refrigerated section of the grocery store (it's too hot to make gnocchi from scratch!) and picked up a package of gnocchi to read the label. 0 mg cholesterol, low in sodium, low in fat, low in calories... I was thrilled!

In 40˚ weather I made my Baked Gnocchi. I'm crazy, I know. But really it's quite a light dish (as gnocchi goes) and served with a generous side salad we felt satisfied and not like we had eaten a big heavy meal. You could certainly just make this stove top and not turn on your oven, or "bake" it on your BBQ, any way you choose to make it I hope you give it a try cause it's incredibly tasty!

Look at all those Bocconcini pearls. Little balls of cheesy goodness.

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Baked Gnocchi

2 pkgs of premade Gnocchi (I use Maestro but any will do)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
5 fresh basil leaves, jullienned
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1 500ml container Bocconcini Pearls*
2 c baby spinach
1/4 c shaved parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil and add the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent.
2. Add the tomatoes, Italian seasoning and salt & pepper. Continue to simmer over med-low heat while you cook the gnocchi.
3. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and add the gnocchi. Cook just until the gnocchi rise to the surface of the water and drain immediately.
4. Add the gnocchi, bocconcini and spinach to the tomato sauce and stir to incorporate. (you can continue on the stove top here if you wish heating over low until the bocconcini pearls melt.)
5. Pour pasta into a greased (Pam) casserole dish and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.
6. Bake at 350˚F for 20 minutes or until the bocconcini melts.
7. Serve alongside a salad for a light and healthy meal!

* If you're unfamiliar with Bocconcini it's just small balls of fresh mozzarella. I've tried using shredded mozzarella and the larger Baby Bocconcini but I find the pearls to be best because they don't overpower the gnocchi or make it too chewy. Bocconcini Pearls can be found in the deli section with the other specialty cheeses.

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enjoy!

Big Changes at the Best Mom House

If you follow my blog you know I love food. I love chocolate, butter, cheese, peanut butter... you get the picture. My family eats well. I offer a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, meats and pastas. I try to keep it as healthy as I can but when a recipe calls for a cup of butter I don't shy away.

My wonderful husband had a physical for the first time in years (since I met him I think!) and his blood work came back with bad news. He has really high cholesterol. High enough that our doctor wanted him on Crestor® immediately. I felt terrible. Did I do this to my husband? Did I force him onto a medication that he has to take for the rest of his life so that his arteries don't block, so that he doesn't develop heart disease, so that he doesn't die of a massive heart attack or stroke? Turns out high cholesterol is hereditary and his mom had it, but what I was doing in the kitchen certainly didn't help.

This is why I've been MIA from posting for the past few weeks. As soon as we got the call I was online researching what he couldn't have anymore and what foods would help his medication reverse the damage we'd done to his arteries. All his favourites had to go: chips, peanuts, bologna, butter, hot dogs; others we had to cut way back on: red meat, cheese; and some we were able to find substitutions for that he found to be just as good: switching from 2% milk to 1%, almonds instead of peanuts. I've become a pro at reading labels, scouring the contents for the amounts of cholesterol, calories, fat and the biggie, sodium. I've incorporated cranberry, flax seed and pomegranate into his everyday diet. His daily veggie/fruit intake has quadrupled. And the best part: our whole family is eating better.

I know what you're thinking... "oh no! This blog is going all health nut!". Not quite. My dear husband is not a dessert guy, opting to have seconds instead of cake since he was a kid. So desserts were never an issue (except for cookie dough, the guy can eat a whole bowl of it!) so desserts are staying! Also, I plan to work a monthly "treat" food into our dinner rotation once we get the okay that his numbers have come down. Something that might be a bit decadent, like something made with real butter perhaps. But for the most part I'll be making meals that are good for you AND extremely tasty!

I hope you take this opportunity to follow along and make some changes in your family as well so that one day you don't get a call like we got, or worse. Happy healthy eating!

Coconut Rum Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I have been a busy, busy girl lately! On top of being a wife, mother and domestic goddess (and oh yeah, pregnant!) I'm also a graphic designer. This summer has found me loaded with jobs. Baking has been pushed aside for more pressing chores like wedding invitations for excited brides. But the hormones haven't stopped making me crave baked goods so I've had to become stealthy in the kitchen. It's all about fast and easy these days... but also tasty!

I bought a pineapple on sale with the idea that my girls would gobble up it's juicy goodness, but I was sadly mistaken. They did eat some, but at the rate they were going it would have been mush before they finished it. So I needed to use it and FAST. I would have eaten it as is but the heartburn would have killed me! So I thought back to my childhood (ahhhh nostalgia) and remembered fondly my grandma's pineapple upside down cake. It was sweet and moist and so delish.

I'm still craving coconut, and pineapple and coconut go so perfectly together. Just thinking about it made my mind wander to tropical drinks by the pool... wait, tropical drinks... coconut rum! Yes! A little rum in the cake, even when pregnant (because the little bit of alcohol would be negligible after baking and spread throughout an entire cake), would be awesome thought I. And I made it so.

This cake is super easy and tastes like a vacation in your mouth! Using a boxed cake mix cuts wayyyy down on prep time so this cake is perfect for last minute BBQs or satisfying pregnant lady cravings!

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Coconut Rum Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1 vanilla cake mix
eggs
oil
water
1/4 c. coconut rum
2 tbsp butter
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 c. pineapple, diced (if using canned, drain & discard the juice)
1/2 c. coconut, toasted

Instructions:

1. Prepare your cake mix as per your brand's instructions substituting 1/4 c. of rum for 1/4 c. of the water.
2. Dot the butter around the bottom of a 8" x 8" pan and sprinkle with the brown sugar.
3. Spread the pineapple over the brown sugar & butter in an even layer.
4. Cover with the cake batter and bake at 350˚F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then place a plate or platter over top the cake pan and invert to release the cake.
6. Sprinkle with the toasted coconut and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

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enjoy!

The Gourmet Pregnancy - Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is.... *drumroll*....



Congratulations Michelle! Your cookbook is on it's way!

Book Review & Giveaway - The Gourmet Pregnancy

I was contacted a little while ago by someone I follow on twitter and she asked me if I would be interested in reviewing a cookbook. I was absolutely flattered that someone would want my opinion and so I jumped at the opportunity. I was told the cookbook was called The Gourmet Pregnancy, which was perfect considering my belly has reached epic proportions!

Seriously? I'm only 22 weeks along, this is scaring me!

Pregnancy is a time you battle with food. Either it's making you queasy, or you just can't get enough of it. You crave the weirdest things and hate your usual favourites. And then there's the "forbidden" list. The foods you just shouldn't eat, which inevitably, makes you want them for the whole torturous nine months. (I'm dying for a sushi roll and a caesar!) The author of The Gourmet Pregnancy, Leah Douglas, struggled with what to eat when she was pregnant also. She found that there were so many conflicting opinions on what was safe and what wasn't that she wanted to create a cookbook that would make meal planning easy and worry-free. She partnered up with a doctor to make sure that the recipes included were not only tasty, but met the nutritional needs and restrictions of pregnant women.

Now, just because it's called The Gourmet Pregnancy doesn't mean that everyone won't enjoy these recipes! There is something for everyone in this cookbook from soups and sandwiches to burgers, pizzas and seafood dishes. And the desserts... oh lord the desserts, I read over each recipe like I was studying for the SATs! There is a picture with every recipe which is always something I look for in a cookbook (we eat with our eyes first!) and the photography is gorgeous.

I received the cookbook in the mail the day before the Canadian May Two-Four Weekend (or as it's officially know, Victoria Day Weekend) and we had guests coming to visit. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to make some of the recipes for my guests and treat them like guinea pigs. We flipped through the book and picked out a few recipes we wanted to try.

So here are the judges:

Phil - my husband's best friend, he's a Doctor (bonus!) and a health nut/runner
PJ - Phil's wife, a now stay-at-home mom to their adorably impish son Kieran who is also very health conscious
Jason - my husband, a lover all things junk food and picky eater when it comes to "green stuff"
and Me - pregnant, stay-at-home mother of two who will eat just about anything these days!

We tried 3 recipes which I will share in separate posts along with our reviews. We graded them on my patented cupcake scale:








White Peach Bellini










Mild Curry Chicken Pizza on Naan








Cherry and Fresh Mint Tart with Rustic Vanilla Shortbread Crust





And now for the GIVEAWAY!

The good folks over at Wiley and I would like to give away a copy of The Gourmet Pregnancy to one of my luck readers. To win, simply leave a comment telling me either

a) What your biggest pregnancy craving was/is, or
b) if you've never been pregnant, what your favourite food is.

The Rules
1.) Open to Canadian and continental USA residents only.
2.) One winner will be chosen on 05/06/10 by using random.org.
3.) Make sure that I have a way to contact you when you leave a comment; either through your blog or an email.
4.) I will contact the winner via email or commenting on the winner's site.
6.) You have until 05/06/10 to claim the giveaway, or I will have to choose another winner.

enjoy!

White Peach Bellini - The Gourmet Pregnancy

For our first recipe we tried from The Gourmet Pregnancy was the White Peach Bellini. A simple drink using fruit, ice and a bit of flavouring. It was so good on a hot spring morning alongside our eggs. This will be a repeat recipe in my kitchen for sure!

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White Peach Bellini

2 ripe, white peaches
1 lemon, juiced
2 tsp grenadine
1 c crushed ice
1 tsp pure orange extract

Instructions:

1. Peel peaches and remove the pits. Chop into quarters and place in a blender.
2. Add the lemon juice, grenadine, ice and extract and blend until smooth.
3. Pour into a large wine glass and enjoy!

Review: Phil and PJ both said it was refreshing and not too sweet which they loved. Jason didn't have any cause he hates peaches. I loved it, peach is one of my favourite fruits and I thought it was a great summery drink. We gave it 4 cupcakes!

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enjoy!

Mild Curry Chicken Pizza on Naan - The Gourmet Pregnancy

For our 2nd recipe from The Gourmet Pregnancy, we tried the Mild Curry Chicken Pizza on Naan for lunch. The recipe calls for you to pan sautée chicken breasts, but the night before I was making chicken breasts for the girls for dinner on the grill so I threw a few extra on for the pizza. It was excellent! I also cooked the pizzas on the grill (it was far too hot to turn on the oven!), as the toppings were already hot all it needed was 5 minutes on low for the cheese to melt and the naan to heat through.

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Mild Curry Chicken Pizza on Naan

1 tsp vegetable oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cloce garlic, minced
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp mild indian red curry paste
4 pieces naan
1/2 c fresh spinach, finely chopped
3 1/2 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add chicken, browning one side for about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Flip chicken and add the onion and garlic and continue to cook until the other side is browned.
4. Remove the chicken from the pan and cut into thin slices then return to the pan to finish cooking.
5. In a small bowl, combine the tomato paste and curry paste. Spread on the naan.
6. Top the naan with the chicken & onion mixture, spinach and cheese.
7. Place on a baking sheet and broil for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
8. Sprinkle with the pepper and enjoy!

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Review: We all thought this was delicious. We wanted a light lunch as we had early dinner reservations and this was perfect. Phil and PJ loved the curry flavour and Jason was too busy eating for me to get anything more than a thumbs up out of him. I loved the chicken and onion and monterey jack combination. I also loved how quick and easy this recipe came together, the whole lunch took me about 15 minutes to make. We gave it a score of 4.5 cupcakes!
(It would have been a 5 but Jason never gives out a perfect score... he's weird!)

enjoy!

Cherry and Fresh Mint Tart with Rustic Vanilla Shortbread Crust - The Gourmet Pregnancy

For our final recipe from The Gourmet Pregnancy we enjoyed the Cherry and Fresh Mint Tart with Rustic Vanilla Shortbread Crust. The title is a mouthful and so was the dessert! The crust was heavenly, so light and crumbly and buttery and it was the perfect base for the minty cherry filling. I can see doing this recipe several times and switching up the fruit to strawberries, raspberries or peaches.



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Cherry and Fresh Mint Tart with Rustic Vanilla Shortbread Crust

Crust
1 c butter
1 tsp pure vaniall extract
1/2 c icing sugar
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

Filling
1/4 c chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 c water, boiled
3 c cherries, halved and pitted
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
Instructions:

1. To make crust, cream the butter and vanilla. Add sugar and blend well.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and cornstarch and add to the butter mixture and whip with a hand blender until well blended.
3. Transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet and press with your hand to make a relatively flat and even 8 x 12" rectangle.
4. Roll up the edges to about 3/4" for a rustic-looking crust.
5. Prick base all over with a fork and bake in a preheated 325˚F oven until just golden, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
6. To make filling, place mint in a heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over top. Muddle the mint with a spoon or pestle crushing it into the water. Let stand for 10 minutes.
7. Once the water is cool pour the mint mixture into a saucepan and add the cherries, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla and mix well.
8. Cook stirring often over medium heat until the cherries soften and the mixture becomes thick and glossy.
9. Spread cherry filling evenly on the crust. Let cool completely and serve.

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Review: Once again my husband didn't have any because cherries "aren't his thing" but Phil, PJ and I weren't sad about it, more for us! We all agreed the crust was amazing, definitely the star in this recipe. Phil and PJ both liked the cherry/mint combination and liked how impressive the dessert looked for how easy it was to make. The mint/cherry combination left me a little perplexed. I've never had minted fruit and I wasn't sure if I loved it. I think the next time I make this I will take the muddled leaves out of the water before making the cherry filling as I personally found the leaves to be over-powering in the tart. But the bites I had without any of the mint leaves were excellent! We gave this recipe 3.5 cupcakes!





enjoy!

Weekly Meal Plan - May 17-23

As I said in my last post, this weekend I asked twitter what they'd like to see more of on my blog. I got some great requests and suggestions. One of them came from @jyetman. She read the post I did a while back on Meal Planning and wanted to see my meal plan every week. As a busy working wife and mother, having a plan to follow that had recipes to go with it is something she could really use. And I'm sure she's not the only one!

So I'm happy to share my family's meal plan with you all if anyone wants to follow it.



I base my week around our schedule and my shift-working husband's hours, so feel free to switch meals around (or for easier options for your lifestyle, like take-out pizza as opposed to homemade) so it better suits your schedule. I'm going to post a PDF of this week's schedule as well as a PDF of a blank meal plan that you can use if you want to move meals around or simply create your own!

I have some of these recipes up already and I'm working on getting the missing ones posted.

This Week's Plan (for download or print)

Blank Meal Plan (for download or print)


This Week's Recipes:

Chicken Parmesan
Pork Tenderloin - will post soon
Pizza Sauce
Roasted Chicken (if you don't have a beer can bbq roaster, this is delish!)
Risotto (with pictorial!)
Lasagna - will post soon

I hope this will help some of you get organized to beat the dinner time rush, inspire others to try new recipes or have more variety, or simply provide a glimpse into what meal time is like at our house!

enjoy!

Amanda's Chicken Parmesan

I may or may not have a cheese addiction. And by "may not" I mean I totally do. This weekend I asked my twitter peeps what they'd like to see more of on my blog. I got some great requests and suggestions. One of them was for more pictorial posts for those not so adept in the kitchen (thanks @Avalea!), and another was for me to post my weekly meal plan (as per my meal plan post) every week so that some hard working moms could follow it. I'm always happy to oblige.



This is one of my favourite pasta recipes. I LOVVVVVE Chicken Parmesan. Noodles, breaded tender chicken breast, and cheese... mmmmmm. Comfort food at it's best. I have a pretty busy week ahead and I wanted to start it off right with this dish. It sounds complicated but it's pretty simple.

(Please excuse the pitiful photography, my kitchen is pretty dark in the evenings and I haven't mastered the fine art of cooking with one hand and shooting with the other yet!)

Start by placing your chicken breasts (one at a time) between some plastic wrap and pounding the living daylights out of it until it's an even thickness. This ensures even cooking, also, it's a great stress reliever after a hard day.
Ignore that sticker on my mallet, that sucker just won't come off!

Next, pat your chicken breast with some paper towel to dry them off. Wet meat doesn't bread well.

Now you're gonna need to set up a little breading station. In one shallow dish you'll need flour, which I season with some sea salt & freshly ground pepper. In the 2nd you need some eggs that are lightly beaten and in the 3rd, bread crumbs. I like to use seasoned Italian bread crumbs to which I add a little hot pepper flake action. Piccante!

Now to bread, don't worry, you can do this. First put your chicken in the flour turning to coat both sides. This gives the egg something to stick to. Then dredge the floured chicken in the egg mixture. Then move your floured/egged (is that a word, egged? it is now) chicken to the bread crumbs. Place in the bread crumbs and press down lightly to get the bread crumbs to really stick to the chicken, Then flip it over and press down again.

Heat a little extra-virgin Olive Oil in a skillet and brown your chicken cutlets until golden. They're not fully cooked yet, but don't worry, they'll finish in the oven. I'm not trying to get anyone to eat under-cooked chicken!

Transfer the chicken to a baking dish and cover with your favourite pasta sauce. Homemade or bottled, your call. Then top with some shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Mmmmm. Cheese.

Bake at 350˚F for 20 minutes. In the meantime cook some of your favourite pasta to al dente.
Top your cooked pasta with more pasta sauce and a cheesy, saucy chicken cutlet. Now mangi!(that's supposed to be eat in Italian, hope I got it right!)

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Amanda's Chicken Parmesan

4 chicken breasts
1/2 c flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c seasoned Italian bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c shredded parmesan
3 c pasta sauce, your favourite
4 c cooked pasta, your favourite, I enjoy spaghetti or buccatini with this

Instructions:

1. Start by placing your chicken breasts (one at a time) between some plastic wrap and pounding it until it's an even thickness. This ensures even cooking.
2. Pat the chicken breasts with paper towel to dry them off.
3. Set up a little breading station. In the first dish put the flour, seasoned with some sea salt & freshly ground pepper. In the 2nd put the eggs and lightly beat. In the 3rd put the bread crumbs and add the hot pepper flakes. stirring to mix.
4. One at a time, put the chicken in the flour turning to coat both sides. This gives the egg something to stick to.
5. Then dredge the floured chicken in the egg mixture.
6. Then move the chicken to the bread crumbs. Place in the bread crumbs and press down lightly to get the breadcrumbs to really stick to the chicken, Then flip it over and press down again.
7. Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet and brown the chicken cutlets until golden.
8. Transfer the chicken to a baking dish and cover with the pasta sauce. Then top with the shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
9. Bake at 350˚F for 20 minutes.
10. In the meantime cook some of your favourite pasta to al dente.
11. Top the cooked pasta with more pasta sauce and a chicken cutlet.

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enjoy!