Baklava

Baklava

Resist the urge to chop the nuts in a food processor — it makes them release more oil, resulting in a heavier baklava. I used my Pampered Chef food chopper.
Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 12 hr (includes chilling and standing)
Yield: Makes 32 pieces.

For syrup

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup water

1 lemon, halved

1 orange, halved

1 1/2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks

2/3 cup honey

For baklava

3 1/4 cups whole almonds with skins (1 lb), finely chopped

2 1/3 cups walnuts (1/2 lb), finely chopped

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 (1-lb) package phyllo dough (17 by 12 inches; about 28 sheets), thawed if frozen

Preparation

Make syrup:

Combine sugar and water in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart saucepan. Squeeze juice from lemon and orange into sugar mixture. Add fruit halves and cinnamon sticks. Bring mixture to a boil over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, then simmer 10 minutes. Stir in honey and return to a boil. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Pour through a sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl, pressing hard on, then discarding, solids. Chill, uncovered, until cold, about 1 hour.

Assemble and bake baklava:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together almonds, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt until combined well.
Generously brush a 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish with melted butter.

Halve phyllo sheets crosswise and stack sheets. Keep stack covered with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened clean kitchen towel. Lay 2 sheets of phyllo in bottom of baking dish and brush top sheet generously with butter. Continue to layer 2 sheets at a time, staggering sheets in each double layer slightly to cover bottom of dish, then brushing every second sheet generously with butter, until you have used 10 sheets of phyllo total. After brushing top layer of phyllo with butter, spread a rounded 1 1/2 cups of nut mixture over it. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons butter.

Repeat layering 3 more times.

Top with 10 more sheets of phyllo. (You will use 50 sheets of phyllo total.) Butter top and let baklava stand at room temperature to harden slightly (to facilitate cutting), 10 to 15 minutes.

Using a sharp knife, cut baklava into 16 equal rectangles, then cut each piece in half diagonally. (Be sure to cut all the way through.)

Bake baklava until golden, 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Transfer dish to a rack to cool, then slowly pour cold syrup around edges of hot baklava, in between all cuts, and over top. Let stand at room temperature at least 8 hours. (Cover once baklava is at room temperature.) Do not chill.

Cooks' notes:

• Syrup can be made up to 5 days ahead and chilled, covered.

• Baklava keeps in an airtight container up to 1 week

Random Shots

Jackie has become quite active and we sometimes have quite the struggle getting a diaper on, all she wants to do is roll over and crawl away. (Usually there is a lot of giggles involved.)

A future Tim Hortons lover?

We took Brutis to the spa, he got a pedicure, a bath, and a trim - looking oh so pretty.

Curried Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

We really liked this recipe. It is not spicy at all, just the flavour of curry. Again another super easy one to make.

Curried Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

1 large sweet potato, peeled, chopped (1/2 inch thick)

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 tbsp curry powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1 (398 ml) can unsweetened coconut milk

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add oil; heat until hot. Add chicken; cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until browned. Place on plate. Add sweet potato and onion to same skillet; cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently.

Return chicken and any accumulated juices to skillet; sprinkle with curry powder and salt. Cook 1 minute. Stir in coconut milk; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring frequently. Garnish with toasted almonds.

Tip: To toast almonds, place on baking sheet, bake at 375 for 4 to 6 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool.

Yield: 4 servings
Source: somewhere on the Internet

Smothered Chicken

One of my favourite things to do is surf the Internet for great looking recipes (it is not like I don't have enough cookbooks). I have many food blogs I frequent and my all time favourite site is Cooking light, specifically their community bulletin boards. http://community.cookinglight.com/

Here I have found countless recipes and since you are hearing from the "normal" people (not celebrity chefs) people tend to only post their tried and true recipes. I think this is where I found this one - but who knows. I find recipes, then put then into Word documents in every category you can imagine.

As I was cruising through my Entrees document (so far 85 recipes long) I came across this one and decided to try it.

Adam and I both loved it (Adam really likes barley), it is very easy to prepare and turned out great. I love the put in the pot and cook for 40 minutes - no last minute prep.

Enjoy!

Smothered Chicken & Barley

1 tsp ground cumin
¾ tsp chili powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp dried mint flakes
¼ tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp crushed chili flakes
4 boneless chicken breasts
½ tsp olive oil
1 ½ cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 tbsp Soy sauce
3 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 ¼ cup uncooked pearl barley
1 (398 ml) can diced tomatoes
6 tbsp chopped green onions

Combine cumin, chili powder, cinnamon, mint flakes, garlic powder and crushed chili flakes in a small bowl. Rub the chicken with half the mixture.

Heat oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for 1 minute on each side or until chicken is browned. Remove chicken; set aside.

Add onion, red pepper and Soy Sauce to skillet; cook over med-high heat 3 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned. Add chicken broth, barley, diced tomatoes and remaining spice mixture. Stirring well. Add chicken to skillet, nestling into veggie mixture. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer for 40-50 minutes or until chicken is done and barley had reached desired tenderness.
Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

Source: somewhere on the Internet

A Night Away

This past weekend we went away for a small holiday. We dropped Jackie off at Adam's Mom's place. This was my first night away from her and our first night away together.

Jackie was an angle for Grandma and Grandpa, she napped well, slept even better at night (she blessed them with 12 1/2 hours sleep).

Adam and I got a hotel room in Canmore, went out for dinner and then I got lots of sleep. Not that I usually have a problem in this department, but it was nice to wake up when I wanted to not because she has woken up.

We went for dinner to Murrieta's, the Calgary location is where we had our first "big" date.

We had a great time and didn't miss her at all. I know if we had been gone longer I would have, but for only one night - it was a nice little get away.

The Babysitters

Hanging in the hotel

A perfect little cake for two... or one

Available only in the month of January, Pampered Chef has this super cute little heart dish on special for only $12.00 CAD.



It makes a wonderful little cake for two or just for one. This is the perfect Chocolate quick fix!

A Little Cake for Two

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 box instant chocolate pudding

Empty the cake and pudding mix into a large mixing bowl. Mix well then pour into a large Ziploc bag.

½ cup cake / pudding mix
1 egg
1 TBSP water
1 TBSP olive oil

Whisk together all 4 ingredients in small bowl. Pour into heart dish and microwave for 1 ½ minutes on high.

Enjoy!

Dress it up:
Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on tip before putting into microwave – this will give you a “molten” centre.Serve with fresh berries and whipped cream, or for that quick fix – Cool Whip

** Contact me today to order your Simple Additions heart dish; you can order as many as you want, but only until January 31.

Scarlett's Birthday Party

We were invited to our good friends Starr and Cory's daughter's 2nd birthday party.

It has been wonderful seeing her grow up these past few years and we will really miss the whole family when they are gone, but for now we helped Scarlett celebrate her cupcake birthday party by eating one... or two....

Jackie all dressed up for the event!

Scarlett getting some help from older brother Ace.

Yummy!

New Toys

I have always known that the inevitable would happen, we would spend all kinds of money on the latest toy. The toy that is suppose to make your 1 year old suddenly start reading the New York Times, and they would find the box WAY more fun to play with.

I also knew that pots and pans make wonderful toys, but I never really thought these would be the best toys ever.

Yes, that is right, the dog dishes are the best toy in the world! Oh, the water! How fun the water dish is, poor Brutis - it is constantly being moved up onto the counter since Jackie thinks it is her own personal splash park.



The second favourite toy is the pantry, our pantry door has a full length rack on it - the lowest rack is just the right height.

Greek Tortellini Salad

Made for lunch today - a very tasty and very easy salad to prepare. This is my favourite kind of food - make ahead and serve when needed, also nice and easy to eat while on a road trip.

Enjoy!

Greek Tortellini Salad

Dressing
1/3 cup fat-free Italian salad dressing
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp liquid honey

1 lb (454 g) cheese-filled tortellini
1 ½ cups peeled, diced English cucumber
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
¾ cup chopped bottled roasted red peppers
¾ cup crumbled light feta cheese
½ cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup minced red onions
2 TBSP minced fresh oregano leaves
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

To make dressing, whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cook tortellini according to package directions until tender but firm. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain again. Transfer tortellini to a large bowl.

Add cucumber, tomatoes, red peppers, feta cheese, green and red onions, oregano, and pepper. Mix well. Add dressing and toss again. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Yield: 4 servings

Source: Eat, Shrink and Be Merry by Janet & Greta Podleski

Mexican Lasagna

I made this last night for dinner, we liked it a lot, but if you like a bit of spice, you might want to add some more heat. There wasn't much heat at all.

I contemplated doubling the tortillas, but didn't and although it might be nice, both Adam and I thought it might dry the dish out too much to do that.

Overall a very tasty recipe, and quite easy to prepare (I made it up while Jackie napped, then just threw it in the oven when needed). I think it would freeze well, but it would have to be completely defrosted before cooking.

Mexican Lasagna

1 ½ pounds (680 g) extra-lean ground beef
1 cup diced red onions
1 cup diced green pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup diced tomatoes
½ cup frozen or canned corn
1 ½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
2 cups your favourite tomato pasta sauce
1 cup medium salsa
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
4 large or 8 small whole wheat flour tortillas
1 ½ cups packed shredded light old (sharp) cheddar cheese
¼ cup chopped green onions
1 cup light sour cream

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 9 X 13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large, non-stick pot or skillet, cook ground chicken, onion, green pepper and garlic over medium high heat until meat is no longer pink. Break up any large pieces of chicken as it’s cooking.

Add black beans, tomatoes, corn, chilli powder and cumin. Cook and stir for 2 more minutes. Add pasta sauce, salsa and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro and remove from heat.

To assemble lasagna, spread 1/3 sauce mixture over bottom of casserole dish. Top with ½ of the tortillas, overlapping and cutting them as necessary o fit. Top with 1/3 sauce mixture, followed by ½ the cheese. Cover cheese with remaining tortillas, followed by remaining sauce. Sprinkle remaining cheese over sauce and top with green onions.

Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes. Let lasagne stand for at least 10 minutes before slicing for easier serving. Top each piece with a dollop of sour cream.

Hint: If you prefer, you can substitute extra-learn ground beef for the ground chicken and Monterey Jack cheese for the cheddar cheese.

Yield: 8 servings
Source: Eat, Shrink and Be Merry by Janet & Greta Podleski

New Year's Resolution

I am not a big fan of making New Year's Resolutions, but this year I have one; I would like to blog more of my cooking adventures. This means actually getting a photo before we devour dinner, but I will do my best.
The plan is to blog at least one meal a week, this will also challenge me to not be lazy in my dinner making. I have lots of ambitions and lots of recipes to try, but some times lack the energy, and some times making certain recipes with a baby in my arms just does not work.

Stay posted (tonight we had pizza - not post worthy since I didn't make it).

Year in Review: 2007

I look back over the last year and think about what happened and really the only thing I can think of is when Jackie was born. Not that this is the only thing that happened in the last year but it seems like the whole year was about her. January to March - the lead up to her, getting all the baby gear, getting her room set up and organized.

Then once she arrived nothing else mattered. Our whole lives were only about her. We lived at the beginning in 3 hour stretches (the time between feeding). We tracked diapers (both kinds), we analyzed the cries. Is it a cry of pain? Hunger? Gas? Oh and then the teeth - I learned that I can explain everything "because she's teething".

We definitely conquered a lot of ground in the past year and look forward to what 2008 will bring, stay posted.....

Christmas 2007

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We started on the 22nd with the Nadeau family at Blake and Karen's house where we spent the afternoon socializing, opening gifts, snacking and sipping a glass of wine or two.

Jackie got lots of great gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Nadeau and Mom and Dad - below is her opening a gift from us.

Anyone remember this old toy - well I found a few items that Fisher Price has brought back - funny - I bet this is the only time she will see a phone shaped like this.

The Turkey - Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the Turkey. Blake and Amy did a wonderful job on the whole meal including a beautiful bird.


We then left on the 24th for Canmore, where we stayed a few nights and once again enjoyed spending time with family, drinking more than a few glasses of wine and ate lots of food.

Jackie trying on the Santa hat.

Adam was Santa that morning - handing out the gifts. You might notice, we started the first thing in the morning gift opening tradition - my sister Amy came out with us and when Jackie and I woke her up - she came up stairs saying: "What time is it?? It is still dark out!" - oh, the life of a student...

Jackie (with lots of help from Adam) put together a wonderful photo album for me - it has pictures from the minute she was born to a few days before Christmas.

The front is engraved saying: "You're the best Mom ever I Love You Mommy ~ Jacqueline"

Jackie and Brutis playing with the toy Santa brought for Jackie.

Reading books together. Amy gave Jackie a copy of the Robert Munch book "I Love You Forever". Funny things happen when you have a baby - suddenly I can't read it without crying, if you have not read the book it is a great one.

Grandma Hill and Grandpa Eric gave Jackie her first baby grand piano, she is enjoying it a lot.

Crawling

She started crawling on Monday December 17th!

She really needs to work on her technique - once I get a picture you will all understand, but one leg is not bent - therefore she looks like she has that leg in a cast....

So far, she enjoys being able to crawl after Brutis when he is chewing on a bone.

Practice Session

The other day we had a little practice session with Jackie, I think she will do just fine!

Family Photo Shoot

Our good friend Starr Mercer came over a few weeks ago to do our family photo shoot. I wanted to do an outside shoot, but due to -20 weather, we were confined to bring inside. Everyone that is on our mailing list should have received our family photo by now, here are some more of our favourites.

Thanks again Starr for doing such a great job!

Christmas

(Should I tell her this is not her gift - don't worry Kristi, she did not rip the paper.. yet)

Christmas, only 8 days away and I feel like I am 6. I have not been this excited for Christmas since then. I am so excited since this is Jackie's first Christmas, I am excited about all the traditions we are starting, all the things I want her to look back at 28 years from now and have great memories of Christmas.

All the little things that I am excited about:

* Jackie getting her first gift from Santa

* Adam and I getting to be Santa, even though her Santa gift this year is already under the tree (she is just too young to be able to read or pay attention to shapes and types of wrapping paper), but in later years it is us putting a gift under the tree after she has gone to bed.

* The food! I have so many fond memories of my Mom's Christmas baking, especially things that were made exclusively for Christmas.

* Christmas morning! The Christmas tradition I grew up with was opening our gifts Christmas eve, but we are going to go with the Christmas morning tradition. To much of Adam's sister's discontent, we have not yet done a Christmas morning gift opening, it is hard to wake up early when there are no kids, but we are starting this year.

* Family! I grew up far away from most of my parents family, I look forward to each year as we are all able to get together, and Jackie has lots of aunts and uncles, grandparents and close family friends close by.

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.


Editing to add:
Before I was a Mom
I never would have cried every time I read this!

A Jackie update

Well our little princess is now 9 months old, and changing everyday.

She got her third tooth on December 6th - almost 4 months after her 2nd came in.

She is sooooo close to crawling, but the latest change happened yesterday (December 16th), she pulled herself up to a standing position. Below are a few photos I got after she pulled herself to standing with the stool.

A new place to explore

As Jackie gets more mobile we will have to keep an eye on this one. Yesterday she discovered Brutis' kennel, she did not try and get inside, but I know this is going to happen some day.

Santa

Jackie's first photo with Santa. I absolutely LOVE it. She did not cry, which I was fully prepared for, but I think she was captivated by the beard.

This Santa is at Southcentre Mall. He is the same Santa every year and I have been told people come from hours away to have their kids photo take with him.

Christmas Tree

Jackie loves the Christmas tree. Okay, she loves the ornaments.

I sit her under the tree and she loves to reach up and pull an ornament off to play with. (Don’t worry, I got safe ornament hooks – plastic, not metal with poky ends.)

Since a few ornaments have some sparkles, that sometimes means a sparkley baby.

I can move backwards

We are still not crawling (I am NOT complaining), but she has started to move herself backwards, unfortunately that means she sometimes gets herself stuck.

Stockings Hung with Care...

This is the first year we have hung stockings in our house. Normally we do stockings at Adam's Mom's house when we celebrate Christmas there (instead of making her fill them all, we all contribute to every ones).

But this year I wanted to start hanging them in our house, even though Christmas morning will not be done here.

Any guesses which one is Brutis'? Jackie's is the blue one.