Ranch Style Deviled Eggs

Yeah, I could have put the yolks into a piping bag and made it look pretty, but who has time for that?

Whoever coined the phrase "necessity is the mother of invention" must have been familiar with my kitchen! I often start recipes only to discover I'm missing 1, or 2, or 7 of the ingredients. That's when I hop in my car and make the mad dash to the grocery store, where I invariably still manage to forget an ingredient. (Note to self: get checked out for Alzheimer's)

This past weekend was Easter and we always gather at my sister-in-law's for a big family dinner with my husband's side. Everyone brings something and this year we supplied the turkey and I made my famous Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. But Easter Sunday morning I woke up with a craving (I'm pregnant yo!) for eggs, deviled eggs. So a dozen eggs went into a pot of water on the stove and I went to get ready.

When I went to assemble the eggs I discovered that not one, but BOTH of the kinds of mayo I keep on hand were empty! Argh! I had only minutes before J lost his mind cause I was taking too long and he wanted to get on the road, so I scanned my fridge. I could scrape out about 1 tbsp of mayo but it wasn't enough, and that's when I had what Oprah calls a light bulb moment. Ranch dressing! It's white, and creamy... did I dare?

Oh mylanta, those were some tasty deviled eggs! I ate two before anyone else even got there and then heaped my plate at dinner time. All 24 of those tasty little treats were gone before the call for seconds was made.

Give these a try for your next BBQ, picnic or shower!

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Ranch Style Deviled Eggs

12 large eggs, boiled hard, peeled and halved
1 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp. Ranch Dressing
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 tbsp. chives, minced

Instructions:

1. Boil your eggs in lightly salted water (it helps with the peeling) until hard, 10 minutes, and then allow to cool or immerse in cold water.
2. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and scoop the yolks out into a bowl.
3. Mash the yolks and add the mayo, dressing, salt, 1/2 tsp of the paprika and the chives.
4. Stir the mixture until thoroughly combined. If the mixture is a little dry, add a bit more dressing at a time until it is smooth and creamy.
5. Fill the egg whites with an equal amount of the yolk mixture and sprinkle with the remaning paprika and diced chives.

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enjoy!

Amanda

A Bloggy Award... for me?!

A HUGE thank you to Some Kind of Wonder Mom (aka Vicky) for awarding me the Honest Scrap award!

The Honest Scrap Award Rules say that I must:

1. Brag about the award.
2. Include the name of the blogger who gave you the award and link back to that blogger.
3. Choose a selection of blogs that you find brilliant in honest content (see below)
4. Show their names and links and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with this award.
5. List at least ten honest things about yourself.

………then pass it on with the instructions!

Here are my ten honest things about myself:

1. I hate cleaning with the burning passion of 1000 suns.
2. I dunk 100 calorie chocolate bars in the peanut butter jar.
3. I hate when it's too quiet so our TV is on all day for background noise.
4. I don't eat shell fish, it grosses me out, they're all so ugly!
5. Most days I prefer a glass of milk to a cocktail.
6. I get my hair cut once, maybe twice a year, who has time?
7. I crazy-miss living in my hometown of Ottawa, but I love the beach where I live now.
8. I love the smell of cigars.
9. I want a tummy tuck some day... and maybe a breast lift, 3 kids is hard on the body.
10. I wasn't that impressed with Avatar. There I said it, I feel better now!

I am passing this award onto some really great bloggers that I enjoy reading and that make me laugh, think or just smile on a daily basis.

Life on the Farm in the City - Her open and honest feelings about being the newly married wife of a Canadian Soldier, and being pregnant for the first time while on her own make me laugh and cry.
Lou Lou's Views - the stories about her shopping trips make me envious and the stories about her sister make me laugh until I cry!
See Mummy Juggle - Candace and I share so many of the same feelings on various topics that we might have been separated at birth..
She let them eat cake - Maggie's such an upbeat sparkly woman who strives to make everything healthier and tastier for her family. I admire her dedication and cooking skills!
My Baking Addiction - Jamie's was the blog that inspired me to start my own cooking blog. Her photography and recipes are amazing. How she doesn't have her own cookbook by now is beyond me!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Our family Easter dinner was this past weekend and as usual I wanted to bring a dessert. My nieces and nephews all adore this cheesecake recipe so I made it again for them, cause you know, they didn't get enough chocolate already.

I got this recipe from Kraft years ago, but recent searches for it on their website fail to find it. Weird. Anyways, I have mentioned before how much I love chocolate and peanut butter so I won't bore you with that again, but seriously, this cheesecake is TO DIE FOR. It's very rich and creamy and tastes like heaven.

I like to garnish it with chocolate covered peanuts, peanut butter cups or, since it was Easter, I put some Reese Eggs on top. Give it a try for your next dinner party or book club meeting!

(Sorry about the less than stellar picture, The kids dug into it so fast I didn't have a chance to take any pretty pictures, I shot this one with my iPhone as the vultures were coming back for seconds!)

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Kraft

2 pkgs cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. smooth peanut butter
2 eggs
1 9" graham pie crust
4 squares Baker's chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp heavy cream

Instructions:

1. Beat the cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter until combined.
2. Add the eggs one at a time mixing in between.
3. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and bake at 350˚F for 30 minutes or until the centre is set.
4. Heat cream and chocolate over low heat until the chocolate has melted.
5. Pour the chocolate ganache over top the cooled cake.
6. Top with whipped cream, chocolate covered peanuts, melted peanut butter, peanut butter cups or anything else you like!

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enjoy!

Amanda

Cheesy Baked Penne with Roasted Veggies

I think I was Italian in a former life. Pasta calls to me. If I could have it every night without my husband rolling his eyes and saying "Pasta, again?", I would.

I'm always looking for new ways to dress up noodles so I watch a lot of Bobby Flay and Mario Batali and Giada DeLaurentiis on the Food Network. One afternoon Giada was on and she made this incredible baked pasta dish full of roasted veggies. I was licking the TV screen by the time she pulled it out of the oven. I rushed right out and got the ingredients. Then, being me, I added some of my own and changed some quantities and what resulted was A-MAZE-ING. My husband had seconds... and then thirds, both my kids ate it up like I hadn't fed them all day, and I felt like I really gave my family something nutritious and satisfying for dinner.

More cheesy than saucy, this pasta bake is full of veggies and the recipe makes enough for leftovers. It's easy, it's filling, it's vegetarian (I snuck that one by my husband!) and it's delish!

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Cheesy Baked Penne with Roasted Veggies adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis

1 red pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch wide strips
1 green pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch wide strips
1 yellow pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch wide strips
2 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 summer squash (yellow zucchini), quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup mushrooms, quartered
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried Italian herb mix or Club House Roasted Garlic & Peppers Seasoning
1 pound penne pasta
1 jar (3 cups) marinara sauce (store bought or homemade, I use Classico Garden Vegetable)
1 cup grated fontina cheese
1/2 cup grated smoked mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/3 cup for topping
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. On a baking sheet, toss the peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onions with olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and dried herbs. Roast until tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for about 6 minutes. Cook to just under al dente since you will be cooking the pasta a second time in the oven.
4. In a large bowl, toss the drained pasta with the roasted vegetables, pasta sauce, garlic, cheeses, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Gently mix, until all the pasta is coated with the sauce and the ingredients are combined.
5. Pour the pasta into a greased 9 by 13-inch pan. Top with the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan and butter pieces. Bake until top is golden and cheese melts, about 25 minutes.

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enjoy!

Amanda

Mediterranean Risotto with Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese

This was supposed to be my Valentine's Day Post. A semi-fancy dinner for the loved one in your life. However, if you follow me on twitter you'd know that just before Valentine's Day I found out I was pregnant with our 3rd little one! A fabulous Valentine's present for sure, but it's come with some unpleasant side effects, like extreme exhaustion, a queasy stomach and an aversion to almost everything food related. Not great for a food blogger!

I've wanted to post this recipe weeks but just looking at the pictures made my head spin. Thanks to a life-time supply of Peppermint gum I'm able to sit here and write about one of my family's favourite dinners.

My local grocery store has a little magazine they put out a few times a year and usually the recipes in it involves some sort of frozen, partially prepared, or unhealthy food item so I rarely give them more than a 2nd glance, but last spring they had a recipe for risotto that caught my eye. The pictures look sooo tasty and I'd always wanted to try making risotto.

Risotto can be intimidating. It's a seemingly tricky dish that, if you watch Hell's Kitchen, you'd think is impossible to get right (those chefs screw it up almost every episode!). But there's no need to be scared to try it, as long as you keep an eye on it, this dish will turn out perfectly, every time!

I'm trying something a little different with this post as I suspect some of you would appreciate some step-by-step instructions with this recipe. So taking a page from The Pioneer Woman (not that I do her any justice, I still need to master the art of taking pictures of food through steam!), I've taken a ton of pictures in hopes this will help you to try making this tasty dish. Fear not the risotto, you can do it! (The recipe with quantities will follow the photo tutorial)

Start by melting some butter into some extra-virgin olive oil

Brown some quartered mushrooms in the butter/oil combination

Add some diced red onion and sauté for about 3 minutes

Add the arborio rice and stir to combine. I like the cook it for a minute or two to develop the nutty flavour of the grain.

Add 2 cups of boiling water and 1 tsp. of sea salt and stir and then cover.

In the meantime, brown some chicken breasts in extra-virgin olive oil.
Okay, they're not quite brown here, I like to keep them a little pale, they look fancier that way.

When the water is almost all absorbed add another cup of boiling water and stir and cover. Keep a close eye on the risotto now, stirring every minute or so and adding a little more boiling water until the rice is tender. Tasting is encouraged.

When the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked fully it'll look like this... yum!

Add some spinach that's been julienned

... and some roasted red peppers. This is the product that inspired the recipe, if you want to save time by all means use it or a jar of roasted red peppers chopped up works as well. If you're feeling a little extra ambitious, roast your own red peppers! Not sure how to do that? I'll tell you how after this recipe.

With the red peppers add your balsamic vinegar (not pictured, hey, I'm new at this!) and give it a good stir.

Crumble in your goat cheese and stir lightly to mix. Slice up the chicken breasts and serve over top the risotto for a fancy meal for two or a family meal on a regular ol' Tuesday night!

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Mediterranean Risotto with Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese adapted from sobeys.com

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp butter
2 c. white mushrooms, quartered
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 c. arborio rice
1 tsp sea salt
2 c. boiling water
1 c. fresh spinach, julienned
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 c. Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade or roasted red pepper, diced
1/2 c. goat cheese, crumbled
4-5 chicken breasts
2 tbsp herbs de provence or a Mediterranean spice blend (thyme & oregano work in a pinch)

Instructions:

1. Melt butter into the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot.
2. Add the mushrooms and cook until browned on all sides.
3. Add the diced onions and stir and cook for about 3 minutes or until the onions start to soften.
4. Add the rice and stir to mix. Cook stirring frequently for a minute or two.
5. Add 2 cups of the boiling water and stir and cover immediately. Quickly stir every 2-3 minutes recovering the pot after each stir.
6. In a frying pan brown chicken breasts sprinkled with herb mixture until cooked through.
7. Add more water as the rice absorbs the liquid until the rice is tender.
8. Add the spinach, red peppers, balsamic vinegar and stir to combine.
9. Crumble goat cheese into the risotto and stir lightly.
10. Slice the chicken breasts and serve over the risotto immediately.

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Enjoy!
Amanda

How to Roast a Red Pepper

Turn on the broiler and place red peppers directly on an oven rack at the highest level in your oven.

Turn the peppers around as they blacken so every side becomes dark.

Once blackened on all sides remove the peppers from the oven and place into a paper bag and close for about 2-3 minutes. The steam helps loosen the skin for easy removal.

Remove the charred skin by peeling or scraping it off with your fingers or a spoon. Using a knife cut around the top of the pepper and remove the center with all the seeds.

And voilà! Perfectly roasted Red Peppers, perfect for sauces, soups, your antipasto platter or a really yummy risotto...

Chocolate Bran Muffins

I had babies. I got big with both of them. REALLY big. 'People would stop me and ask me if I was carrying twins' big. After I had them I turned to an internationally recognizable weight loss company to help me with my weight watchin' (wink wink).

I learned a lot about my body and what works and what doesn't. What didn't work: trying to cut chocolate out of my life. BIG mistake. I lasted about a day. One long, cranky, bitter, long day. After that I knew I needed to give myself what I craved, but to do it in a way that didn't involve eating a king size chocolate bar. Floating out there on the weight-loss message boards was a recipe for bran muffins, chocolate bran muffins. I've never been a fan of bran muffins but they sold me on the chocolate and low-cal part.

I have no idea who invented these tasty little fudgey muffins but thank you whoever you are! Not only are they great for those who are looking for a low-cal/low-fat snack, they're great for anyone! Loads of fibre and yummy chocolate, a great quick breakfast or a snack on the go. If your kids are a little turned off by the bran texture throw in a handful of chocolate chips and you won't hear any complaints! Also, these are great to make with your kids. When you add the baking powder to the moist cereal it's almost like a science experiment, the mixture begins to bubble and expand and... well, I don't want to ruin the fun, you'll see.

Give these super simple and very nutritious muffins a try, I guarantee you'll never buy a bran muffin from a coffee shop again!

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Chocolate Bran Muffins

3 c. All Bran cereal (the stick kind)
2 1/2 c. water
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 box Betty Crocker low fat Brownie Mix

Instructions:

1. Place cereal in a large bowl and add the water.
2. Allow the mixture to sit until the water has been absorbed by the cereal. Mix lightly to make sure all the cereal is moist.
3. Add the baking powder and stir to combine. Allow to rest for a minute or two.
4. Add the brownie mix and stir only until combined.
5. Bake at 350˚F for 20 minutes or until set.

Tip: to turn these yummy little treats into a dessert, top with a bit of icing!

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Coming Clean

I was talking to Christy of Beach Brights fame and she mentioned that her pantry had become a hoarders delight. It was messy and disorganized. I chuckled with her about how it would be fun to do a post on tidying up her pantry, and that's when it hit me, my own pantry was... well.. let's just say it looks like Gremlins attacked it at 12:01am. Nothing was on it's "right" shelf, I knew I had duplicates of some stuff but couldn't find them, and it was so crammed I had overflow onto my very precious counter space.

I know, shocking right? How do I cook like this? I can tell you it took longer than it should to make a lot of my recipes cause I was hunting for stuff.

Now, I live in a house with 2 kids under 4, an 18 year old boy and a husband, all of whom have never understood the term "put it back where you found it" so essentially I had given up. It was an open the door, throw it in, and close the door super fast kind of situation.

Inspired by Christy, I set out one night, while watching Grey's Anatomy to organize my pantry. I'm a happy cook now... and if I see anyone putting something back where it doesn't belong... no dessert for them for a week!



Head on over to

to see how Christy did with her pantry!

Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos

If you read my previous post (does anyone actually read them or does everyone skip down to the recipe?) you'd know I'm whipping up snackies for my husband's annual Superbowl par-tay. Every year he can expect the same staples: Chili, meatballs, nachos, and something with bacon. I wanted to make something no one had ever had before! Some new! Something exciting! Something with so many calories it just HAD to be the greatest superbowl snack ever!

Enter the Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Jalapeno. I was cruising allrecipes.com looking for inspiration and came across this recipe and it jumped off the screen at me. I had intended on making it as per the posted recipe but upon tasting the sausage mixture I made some adjustments and the result was deliciousness in my mouth (as you can see from the picture below)!


A little tip on working with jalapenos: WEAR GLOVES! I live in a cold dry climate in the winter and my hands get cracked from all the hand washing and dishes I do, jalapeno juice and cracks/cuts do not mix! WEAR GLOVES when seeding and deveining the jalapenos and wash your hands thoroughly after too just in case. That jalapeno oil is lethal stuff!

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Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos adapted from allrecipes.com

1 lb (5) ground mild Italian Pork Sausage, removed from casing
1 (8 oz.) pkg. Cream Cheese, softened
1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 lb large fresh Jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1/4 c. Ranch Dressing
1 tbsp. Clubhouse Roasted Garlic & Peppers seasoning mix
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Instructions:

1. Crumble sausage in a skillet and cook over medium heat until evenly brown. Drain grease.
2. In a bowl, mix the sausage, cream cheese, ranch dressing, seasoning and Parmesan cheese.
3. Spoon about 1 tablespoon sausage mixture into each jalapeno half. Arrange stuffed halves on a cookie sheet.
4. Bake 20 minutes in a 425˚F oven, until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve with Ranch dressing.

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enjoy!
Amanda

One Bite Potato Skins

It's Superbowl Weekend! Yippee. Can you feel my enthusiasm? I am a girlie girl, football does not appeal to me in the least. (I know, men with nice rears in tight pants, I get it, still not watching.) My husband goes to a party every year at a friend's house (Thank Jeebus!) so I'm spared the day long analyzing about a game that hasn't even happened yet on the sports channels, the belching and the cloud of testosterone that fills the air on days such as these. But like a dutiful wife, and also cause I feel for the poor woman who does have to put up with the aforementioned items, I send along some snacks to keep the men-folk from rioting when their team is tanking.

This year my husband picked potato skins. I made them a couple of years ago and the guys loved them. The only complaint was that they were very filling (I made them using gigantic potatoes cause as we all know in man-world, bigger is better, right?) and with all the food that everyone brings, half of them were left behind cause they wanted a little bit of everything.

This year I got smart. I made tasty little one bite skins that they can pop into their mouths between spoonfuls of chili and mouthfuls of nachos. These work great for your little football fans too. Cheesy, bacony (is that a word?), and crispy, these will be a hit at your Superbowl party, or with a chick flick, which is what I'll be watching at kickoff time!

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One Bite Potato Skins

1 lb. Petite/Mini/Baby potatoes (I used yukon gold, but russet or white would be fine)
1 tsp olive oil
8 strips bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
4 tbsp. light cream cheese
2 tbsp. half and half or milk
1/2 c. shredded cheese (I use marble cheddar)
2 green onions, diced
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Prick the potatoes and arrange in a single layer of paper towel in the microwave and cook on high for approximately 3 minutes or until fork tender.
2. Cut potatoes in half length wise and scoop out inside leaving a bit to give the skins some stability.
3. Place hollowed out skins on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Place in a 350˚F oven for 10 minutes.
4. In a bowl, mix the potato, cream cheese, cream and salt & pepper until combined and smooth.
5. Stir in the cheese, bacon and onion and combine.
6. Remove the skins form the oven and fill each one with the potato mixture.
7. Return to the oven for 10 minutes or until potatoe mixture is heated through and cheese has melted.

Serve with sour cream, salsa or ranch dressing to dip in.

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enjoy!
Amanda

Hashbrown Bake

Sometimes you just need a big ol' bowl of comfort food. That time was this week for us. My kids were sick and my husband and I were on call 24/7 for days and days. We were tired, drained and needed some TLC for ourselves. I pulled out my trusty recipe cards (I know, so retro) and stopped flipping when I came to this recipe.


Originally called "Hashbrown Casserole"(a very popular recipe as I discovered upon googling it), I changed the name to Bake cause I've been told the mention of the word "casserole" can incite riots at the dinner table. This (shhh!) casserole is creamy and cheesy and fills you up with warm, gooey, yumminess. I usually serve it alongside Honey Baked Ham (a tradition in my Husband's family), but it would be great with steak or chicken, or as an addition to your brunch table as my sister is fond of doing.


It's quick and easy to assemble, and is always met with smiles at dinnertime. Give it a try and see what your family thinks!

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Hashbrown Bake recipe from my lovely sister-in-law Cindy Friolet

1 bag frozen country style hashbrowns (I use McCain)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 c. light sour cream (a small container)
1 med. onion, diced
1 c. shredded cheese (I use marble cause it's what I always have on hand)
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. crushed black pepper
1 stick (1/2 c. ) butter, melted
1 c. seasoned bread crumbs (You can also use cornflake crumbs)

Instructions:

1. Combine the soup, sour cream, onion, salt and pepper.
2. Mix in the hashbrowns and cheese and mix to thoroughly combine.
3. Pour mixture into a greased oven safe dish.
4. Mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs and crumble over top of the hashbrown mixture.
5. Cover and bake at 350˚F for 1 hour. Uncover and cook an additional 10 minutes to allow top to brown.

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Enjoy!

Amanda