Ree’s Fruit Salad with Orange-Vanilla Syrup
I made this the first time when we had friends over for brunch a couple of years ago and it’s been a go-to fruit salad for me ever since! The Pioneer Woman is one of those Food Network chefs that I love to watch. I could have her playing in the background all day on my TV. Her kitchen is a dream and her voice is so inviting. She does make many ‘meat and potato’ dishes, which aren’t always for me, but after all, she’s cooking for cowboys! Even still, I trust her cooking. I think there was one in all the many that I have tried that didn’t cook according to her recipe.
I have made this salad both with and without the mint. It’s good either way. Mint can be a tricky herb. Too much could ruin this salad. I think my preference is to omit the mint, but should you want to add some, use it more as a garnish than an ingredient in this salad.
The simple syrup for this recipe really transforms the fruit. I also like that it is largely a berry fruit salad, in addition to the grapes. I’ve not experimented with other fruit, but I imagine any fruit would work well with this syrup. My daughter is not a fan of orange, but she still enjoys this salad. The syrup also adds a nice sheen to the fruit. It’s really yummy and such a nice addition to your brunch menu.
Enjoy!
Ree's Fruit Salad with Orange-Vanilla Simple Syrup
Ingredients
Orange-Vanilla Syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- Zest and juice of 1 orange
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste*
Fruit
- 2 pints strawberries hulled and halved**
- 2 pints blueberries
- 2 cups green grapes halved
- 2 cups red grapes halved
Instructions
- Place the sugar, 1 cup water, orange zest, juice and vanilla bean paste in a small pan and stir to dissolve the sugar. Then bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes to thicken. Set aside to cool completely. Pour over fruit and stir often to toss the fruit in the simple syrup.
Notes
**Original recipe calls for 4 pints of strawberries. I find 2 is plenty. If you have a really large party to serve, go for 4. Adapted from Pioneer Woman
Jamie Oliver’s Spinach Salad
My husband discovered this salad years ago when he was making me dinner. I was skeptical at first because the dinners he’d made for me before this time were…let’s just say, not what I would make. 🙂 The first bite of this salad and I was so pleasantly surprised! It’s sweet, but surprisingly, not too sweet. The almonds give it a really nice and needed crunch. We’ve since made this for my family and it has become an all-around favourite salad to make!
This salad is more of a ‘summer salad’, but as it’s one of my mom’s faves, I’ve made it several times already since I’ve been home taking care of her.
I, typically, serve this salad with barbecued chicken breast, but it can go with pretty much anything. Don’t be intimidated by the amount of sugar in this recipe. I know it’s a lot, but it’s not a salad you’ll have every day, and it’s a salad kids love because of the sweetness. A great way to get them to eat lots of spinach!
Enjoy!
Jamie Oliver's Cranberry Spinach Salad
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3/4 cup almonds blanched and slivered
- 1 pound baby spinach
- 1/2 to 1 cup dried cranberries*
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds toasted
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons onion minced
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup avocado oil**
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and let cool.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and avocado oil.
- In a large bowl, combine the spinach with the toasted almonds and cranberries and toss with the dressing.
Notes
**The original recipe uses vegetable oil, which is fine to use if you can't find avocado oil.
Make-Ahead Cinnamon Buns
Okay, so these are indulgent, but such a treat to wake up to on a special, lazy, morning with family. The BEST part about these buns is that most of the work happens the night before!
Important to note that this dough must rise for 1.5 to 2 hours before it can be rolled out, so don’t start preparing these too late the night before. I have made the mistake in the past of deciding to make something later at night and realizing the recipe needs to chill for so many hours in the fridge before moving on to the next step. Bah!
I like to add raisins to my cinnamon buns, but you can also add pecans if you like that kinda thing.
I first saw Valerie Bertinelli make these on her show for Christmas morning, and I thought it was such a nice idea! We’ve tried to do a big breakfast on Christmas morning, but it takes so long and with all the food we have to look forward to for dinner, it’s too much of a production to have a big breakfast and then a big dinner. Having something comforting and tasty like this that takes little effort in the morning is perfect!
I highly recommend you make these. Your family will love you all over again! 🙂
Make-Ahead Cinnamon Buns
Ingredients
For the dough
- I cup warm whole milk
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 .25 oz package active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs
- 4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- vegetable oil for the bowl
For the filling
- 6 tablespoons salted butter softened, plus more for the baking dish*
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup raisins optional
For the icing
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons of milk plus more as needed
Instructions
For the dough
- Combine the milk, sugar, melted butter, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment and stir to combine well. Add the eggs and stir until well mixed. Add the flour and mix on medium-high speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Transfer the dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let stand in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Punch the dough down and lightly flour a work surface. Lay the dough out and roll the dough out into an 18-by-12-inch rectangle.
For the filling
- Butter a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish. Spread the softened butter evenly all over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border, then sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle raisins, if using. Roll up the dough and press and crimp the edges to seal. Cut the dough into 12 slices and arrange them in the buttered baking dish. If you want to bake them the same day, cover with plastic wrap and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Otherwise, refrigerate overnight; take out of the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the cinnamon buns until puffed and golden brown all over, about 25 minutes.
For the icing
- Put the icing sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in the melted butter, vanilla and milk Whisk until smooth. Add additional milk, about 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed to achieve the right consistency. Drizzle the icing over the warm cinnamon rolls. Serve warm.
Notes
Ina’s Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins
It’s been a while since I’ve written, even though I think about this blog all of the time. I take pictures of almost everything I make and then I never seem to have the time to sit down and post about them.
Life has taken a turn recently, and so quickly. I’ve found myself on leave from work and back home to help take care of my mom, as she is very ill. So far, her appetite has been amazing, so I have been cooking up a storm, making sure she has whatever she wants on hand. All my cooking has brought me back here.
These muffins are easy, fresh and light.
Something I have never done with these muffins is gotten all the ingredients to room temperature. The buttermilk ALWAYS ends up being colder than the cooled melted butter, and that butter gets chunky once stirred in. Not to worry! I’ve had no issues with the batter.
This recipe makes 2 dozen muffins. As you can see, 2 muffins are already missing from this pic! 🙂
I really hope you make these. They are one of our go-tos.
Ina's Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1/4 cup butter, melted My preference, generally, is to bake with salted butter. But, use whichever works best for you.
- 1.5 teaspoons grated lemon zest When using the zest of a lemon, buy organic lemons, so that you aren't consuming any pesticides sprayed on the fruit
- 2 large eggs The original recipe calls for extra large eggs. It won't impact this recipe at all to use large eggs.
- 2 cups fresh blueberries 2 half-pints
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with muffin liners.
- Measure out and mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, cooled and melted butter, lemon zest, and eggs.
- Make a hole in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well of dry ingredients. Mix with a fork until just blended.
- Fold in the blueberries into the batter. Don't over mix!
- Scoop the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups, filling them 3/4 full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes
Cookie Dough (flourless) Muffin Bites
A friend of mine from Sherry Thacker’s 6 week challenge – actually she was my amazing coach throughout my 6 weeks! – posted this recipe on Facebook and I made it that very same day! The trouble is, I made it all wrong! I like the blogger who posted this recipe. I’ve followed her in the past, but I found her page busy this time and I had trouble following the recipe. So, I messed it up! But, they turned out to still be tasty, in the end. Enough that I made them again (the right way) and have been making them ever since!
You MUST make these and keep them in your freezer! They really do taste like cookie dough, right out of the freezer! They are my little Sunday early morning treat, and I love them.
The original recipe calls for store bought (sugar added) peanut butter. I did use JIF on my first go at this recipe and it was good. The second time I made them I used natural peanut butter, and there was no difference in flavour (or sweetness, which is weird). Don’t waste your calories using the store bought, sugar laden peanut butter. The honey in this recipe does the trick for the sweetness (as does the chocolate chips) and they taste so good! You’ll feel even better knowing you’re using a natural peanut butter!!
I did make a batch of these using almond butter instead of peanut butter. It was interesting how different the consistency and texture was. I didn’t like them as much as the peanut butter variety when at room temp, but I’ve liked them from the freezer much the same.
If you don’t own silicone mini muffin pans, you need to buy them now. 🙂 They work brilliantly for this. I wouldn’t trust getting these little guys out of the metal pans. As you can see, I filled them generously. They don’t puff up too much, so don’t be shy. I added some chocolate chips on top for effect, but you really don’t need to.
Enjoy!
Cookie Dough (Flourless) Muffin Bites
Equipment
- Blender (or food processor
- Non-stick mini muffin pan
Ingredients
- 1 medium ripe banana
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup almond butter Can also sub for natural (no sugar added) peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt to taste
- 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips Plus more for sprinkling on top, if desired.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray mini muffin pan with nonstick spray.
- Add all ingredients except the chocolate chips to the blender and blend until combined well.Â
- Remove the mixture into a bowl and stir in the chocolate chips.
- Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, drop a mound of batter into each prepared muffin cup.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the tops are set and ‘springy’. Allow muffins to cool slightly in the pan, before removing them.
The BEST Granola!
It’s a SNOW DAY today! Snow days in Toronto NEVER happen! In my 14 years of teaching, this is my first! It’s an exciting day. To celebrate, I made more of this amazing granola!
My husband loves granola, even more than my kids. I’ve always had intentions of making it, so they could have a homemade variety, but I never found one that really motivated me to make it. That was until this recipe showed up in my email.
When I read how simple it was, and how natural the ingredients were, I knew I had to make it! I actually went out during my lunch break to get the ingredients, so that I could make it that very night!
My second batch turned out darker than my first, but that’s okay! Still tastes just as good. And I actually think it’s supposed to be this colour more than my first picture.
This granola is really good with some yogurt and fresh berries. I often eat it plain or with just berries and/or grapes. It’s sooooo good.
The original recipe calls for 1 cup of walnuts and 1 cup of sliced almonds, but I’m not a big fan of walnuts, so I just doubled the amount of almonds. You could do any nut in here. You could also add chia seeds, dried cherries/cranberries or anything you want. I like to keep it simple.
Enjoy!
The BEST Granola!
Ingredients
- 5 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 cup good olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 cups sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or a silpat sheet.
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, syrup, olive oil and salt. Toss well to coat evenly. Spread the mixture on the baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through (at the 15 minute mark) to ensure the oats get evenly coated.
- Remove the tray and stir in the almonds.
- Bake for another 30 minutes, stirring halfway through again.
- Cool completely on tray.
- Can be stored in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks (but it won’t last that long! :))
Flourless Black Bean Brownies!
I have neglected this blog for FAR TOO LONG! Life has been crazy busy, and I just couldn’t fit this in. That changes TODAY! I realized that I started this blog because of David. This blog will be something my kids will always have to remember me by when I’m no longer around, so it needs to be a priority. Plus, I take (albeit mostly crappy) photos of my food alllll the time in anticipation of posting, so I have a lot to catch up on! These brownies were a good one to start back with because they are sooooooo good and pretty good for you!
I started Sherry Thacker’s 6 week Challenge on August 1st, 2018, and it has honestly changed my life. I lost a whopping 40 lbs over the course of 3-4 months! Every recipe I make, I think of Sherry’s Challenge and if it lines up with what’s healthiest for me. These brownies have 3/4 cup of sugar in them, so let’s be clear, they aren’t entirely in line with the keto/paleo plan that I follow. But, they are better than many other brownie recipes that are loaded with sugar, flour and chocolate. And, in moderation, they are a great option for something sweet!
You would never know there are black beans in these brownies. That’s one thing I love about them so much! Who discovered this?! Something else that I pay closer attention to since following Sherry Thacker’s Challenge is using quality ingredients. For cocoa in this recipe, I use this:
My husband swears by the Bulletproof products. Of course, you don’t have to use this, but I appreciate knowing that there are good quality ingredients in this recipe.
Let’s get to these brownies!
Flourless Black Bean Brownies
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon avocado oil If you don't have avocado oil, use any neutral oil, like vegetable oil.
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk If you don't have almond milk, use dairy milk.
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coffee or instant coffee This is optional. I don't add this because of my kids.
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Spray a 9X9 pan generously with cooking spray and line it with parchment with an overhang, so you can lift it out easily like this!
- In a food processor, blend all of the ingredients, except the chocolate chips until combined. Pour into a bowl.
- Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
- Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared dish and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips.*
- Bake the brownies for 30 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean – keep in mind that if you poke through a chocolate chip, the toothpick will never come out clean. I found 31 minutes worked well.
- Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting. Wash knife after each cut because these are ooey gooey and you will lose half your brownies on the knife! 🙂
Notes
My Favourite Macaroni and Cheese
A friend of mine had asked me a while ago if I had a go-to recipe for a gooey, tasty mac n cheese. At the time, I hadn’t, but I told her when I find it, I would let her know! Mac n cheese is one of my husband’s favourite side dishes. I’ve tried out so many different recipes – with squash, with one type of cheese, with many varieties of cheese. You name it! None of them were all that great. I often found them so heavy, that you didn’t need a lot in a serving, which meant tons of leftovers, which I didn’t find worked well the next day.
Over the Easter weekend this past year, I was looking to add a new side dish to my mom’s spread, as she always serves the same things. All great things, mind you, but I like trying new recipes, and what better time when there are lots of people around to try them out!
I came across this macaroni and cheese recipe and what I liked most about it was that the original recipe included ham! I thought this was perfect, as my mom was serving ham! So, I decided to omit the ham from the recipe and trusted that it would be the perfect accompaniment alongside the ham my mom was serving with our Easter dinner.
This dish is really easy to prepare. There’s really not that much in it. But, it had much more liquid than any other mac n cheese I had ever made. I will tell you, I was concerned about this at first. But, I put my trust in the chef who created this recipe, and carried on.
The original recipe calls for this dish to bake for 20 minutes at 450. Guess what?? This wasn’t long enough!!! The dish was still way too loose.
You can see from the picture above, that the top hasn’t browned enough. So much for trusting the chef!! I decided that I couldn’t keep the oven at 450, or the top would get too brown before the inside had a chance to solidify. I turned the oven down to 300 and let it bake for another 30 minutes. The results were perfect!
See??? Ooey gooey perfection. This behaved more like a scalloped potato (minus the potato!) recipe than it did mac n cheese. Which I thought only added to its appropriateness for Easter dinner.
You should make this. Kids love it and it has a slightly more sophisticated feel to it than some other mac n cheese recipes, which is nice for adults. Enjoy!
My Favourite Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- Butter for greasing dish
- 1 package of broad egg noodles
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups packed grated Fontina
- 3/4 cup packed finely grated Parmesan
- 3/4 cup packed grated mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Butter a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and set aside. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling, salted water for about 5 minutes. Stir frequently as the noodles will clump together. Don't overcook them as they will continue to cook in the oven later. Drain well, but don't rinse.
- Whisk together the cream, milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup of Fontina, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, and 1/2 cup of mozzarella. Add the noodles and toss to coat. Transfer this to the baking dish. Top noodle mixture with the remaining cheese, spread evenly.
- Bake for 20 minutes, uncovered, at 450 degrees F. After this, turn the oven down to 300 degrees F and continue baking for 30 minutes or until the top has browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Mom’s Honey Soy Chicken Wings
My Dad is a classical pianist. We grew up going to the symphony. When my Dad would have a recital, we often held the reception back at our house. It was always a packed house, and myself and my four siblings helped in the kitchen or as servers. Always on the menu were my Mom’s honey soy chicken wings. They were popular. My favorite, for sure.
They cook over the stove top, which I’ve always liked. But, I am liking it less nowadays. They take a little more time than those that cook in the oven. But, they are super easy, tasty and worth the time!
The recipe is super simple. Only 3 ingredients! Soy sauce, honey, and red wine.
You want to add equal parts honey and soy sauce to a medium/medium hot pan and use the wine to cut the sauce when it starts to get too gummy. I use a 1/4 cup each honey and soy sauce.
This picture is a good example of needing to add some wine. The honey and soy sauce will caramelize and adding a splash of wine will loosen it. Use the wine to loosen the sauce as often as you need until the wings are cooked.
These babies are done and ready to serve! Enjoy!!
(Source: Boss of the Apple Sauce)
Yummy Chicken ‘Stroganoff’
Guys, this dish is a new go-to!!! It’s soooooo satisfying to the palate, but so easy!!! Just account for the cook time, and this is a great weeknight meal!! A perfect Sunday dinner, though.
I’m still working on my photo quality. Don’t judge this dish on my poor picture-taking! It almost looks like a stroganoff, which in some ways, it is. But, also, not. The original recipe calls for sour cream, but I used plain yogurt, as that’s all I had. It was soooooo goood!! My 4 year old had seconds!!! The mustard flavor is really secondary. So, don’t be scared off if you hate dijon.
I’m in love with my newest Le Creuset pan. Look how good the chicken looks inside of it! I’m biased…
For the noodles, the original recipe calls for ‘super noodles’, and they sound delish! But, I didn’t have chicken bouillon on hand, so I couldn’t do them. I simply added butter and parsley to my egg noodles and that was plenty good! Although, I do plan to try the original method, if you don’t have all of the ingredients for the noodles, don’t let that stop you from cooking this chicken!
I PROMISE you will enjoy this dish.
Yummy Chicken 'Stroganoff'
Ingredients
- 6-8 chicken thighs boneless and skinless
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 to mato chopped, juice and seeds removed (I used a beefsteak tomato)
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt
- *Buttered egg noodles with parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat and brown chicken on both sides, working in batches, if necessary, so that the chicken doesn't steam. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Add remaining oil to the same pan, and sauté the onions till translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook down for about the same amount of time. Stir in the garlic and cook for one minute, stirring often. Add in the tomato and flour, and cook for about 1 minute, to cook off the flour flavor. Add the dried tarragon. Deglaze the pan with white wine, allowing it to cook, so that the alcohol can burn off. Return the chicken to the pan, and add your chicken stock. Cover, and place in the oven for 45 minutes (30 minutes covered and 15 minutes with the lid removed).
- When finished, remove the chicken from the pan and add the mustard and yogurt, and whisk until blended. Return the chicken to the pan, and spoon some of the sauce over the chicken, so that it is well coated. Serve with butter and parsley noodles.
- Enjoy!
Notes
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