Food

Super Easy Chicken and Barley Soup – #52soups

February 6, 2016 by danawyyc Leave a Comment

My kids have been a little resistant to soup. My oldest is sure that anything called soup must be terrible. He’s started to make a little progress and is now sometimes willing to try soup so I’ve been trying to make some that I think he might like. Nothing he can’t identify in it, not too spicy and definitely no onions! This soup is also ridiculously easy. You don’t even have to chop anything. And it’s pretty good too.

Super Easy Chicken and Barley Soup - #52soups

Ingredients

Tetra pack of Chicken Broth (about 4 cups)
2 cups water
½ cup pot barley
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp dry thyme
1-2 chicken breasts cooked (leftover rotisserie chicken is nice, or you can poach it in the broth)
salt and pepper

Instructions

In a large pot bring the broth, water, garlic and barley to a boil.
Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until barley is cooked through (about 40 minutes depending on the kind of barley you use).
Add cooked chicken, frozen mixed vegetables and bring back to a boil.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add hot sauce (I like Chili Lime Cholula) if desired.

Notes

Inspired by a Pretty Life in the Suburbs Chicken and Rice Soup. Her recipes are awesome. Go check out her blog.

Frank’s Buffalo Chicken Soup with Roasted Cauliflower – #52soups

January 26, 2016 by danawyyc Leave a Comment

I love Frank’s Buffalo Wing sauce so I was really interested to see how that would translate into a soup. I used roasted cauliflower to thicken the broth, but you could also leave it out and have a thinner broth, or thicken it with something else like white beans or potatoes. I left the celery and carrots fairly crunchy, if you want them to be softer than you can just saute them before adding them to the soup.

Frank's Buffalo Chicken Soup with Roasted Cauliflower - #52soups

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts cooked (cut up or shredded)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 onion (diced)
4 stalks celery (chopped)
4 carrots (chopped)
1 tetra pack of chicken broth (900 ml)
1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)
½ cup (or more) Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce or Frank's Red Hot
¼ cup of Ranch Dressing
blue cheese (optional)

Instructions

Toss the cauliflower with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 400F for 20-30 minutes. Cauliflower should be starting to brown. (this step can be done ahead - just refrigerate the roasted cauliflower.
Melt butter in a large pot and add a couple TBSP of butter to make a roux.
Stir for a couple of minutes and then add the diced onion. Cook for a couple more minutes.
Add in the chicken broth and cauliflower and heat to a boil.
Use an immersion blender to puree (or you can mix up the cauliflower with some broth in a magic bullet or blender).
Add the carrots, celery and chicken to the cauliflower mixture and bring back to a boil.
Add the hot sauce and dressing and mix well.
Top with blue cheese, or a drizzle of ranch dressing.

Notes

Adapted from The Cookie Rookie
3.2.2925
Toss the cauliflower florets in the oil along with the salt and pepper, arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet and roast in a preheated 400F/200C oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.

Chilean Cazuela de Ave – Chilean Chicken Soup – #52soups

January 17, 2016 by danawyyc 1 Comment

This soup is part soup and part stew. You are traditionally supposed to eat the broth first and the large pieces last. If you would like something more soup like you can cut up the meat and largest vegetables. I’ve created a much quicker version of a soup that would often be gently boiled for hours.

This was a definite winner at our house. My kids aren’t big soup fans but my daughter loved the chicken, carrots and corn on the cob and my son loved the chicken, potatoes and corn on the cob. My baby is 12 months old and thought the whole thing was wonderful.

I tested this out using skinless bone-in-chicken thighs and butternut squash as well as cut up chicken breasts and sweet potato. I try to like cooking with bone-in-chicken but I am still not a fan, if you do just make sure you skim the fat off the top of the broth. I don’t have ready access to pumpkin but I found both the butternut squash and sweet potato both worked well.

Chilean Cazuela de Ave - Chilean Chicken Soup - #52soups

Ingredients

6-8 pieces of chicken (cooked or raw)
6 cups of chicken broth or a mixture of water and broth
6-8 pieces of butternut squash, pumpkin or sweet potato
2 leeks (or other onion) diced and washed
12 baby potatoes
6 cobs of corn (you can do more if you are cooking them seperately)
parsley, oregano and cilantro
heat of choice (hot sauce etc)
green beans (trimmed and cut in half)
6 carrots (peeled and cut into large chunks)
cooked rice (if desired)

Instructions

Heat some oil in a large pot. Add the leeks and cook until they soften a bit.
Add the broth and water, chicken and the rest of the vegetables except the green beans.
Add a few springs of the herbs on top - if you tie them together with a string they will be easier to take out at the end.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 25 minutes until the veggies are soft and the chicken is cooked through. If you are using a fattier cut of chicken be sure to skim the fat off the top as it is cooking.
Add the green beans and cook for 10 more minutes.
Serve by spooning each bowl with a piece or two of chicken, a couple of baby potatoes, a piece of whatever orange vegetable you are using, and several carrots and green beans. Then fill the bowl with the broth. Add a spoonful of the cooked rice (optional).
Top with hot sauce and a bit of cilantro or parsley.

Notes

Adapted from Eat Wine and Blog

Hosting Thanksgiving dinner for Tired Moms – 4 Tips to Cut the Effort not the Taste

October 16, 2015 by danawyyc 1 Comment

I love hosting our big family meals. Both my husband and I have fairly small families so we are able to fit both sides comfortably in our small house. I find hosting thanksgiving dinner to be a little overwhelming though, particularly with a baby and two small kids. But over the years I’ve figured out a few things to make everything a little easier and less stressful.

1. Instead of cooking one big turkey cook two smaller birds

Getting the timing right is one of the hardest parts of meals like Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. My biggest stress reliever has been to cook two turkeys. I cook one the night before and put the drippings in the fridge. This way even if the day of turkey is late, we can still eat on time. After the drippings have been sitting in the fridge overnight, it is easy to take the fat off the top and you don’t have to wait until the last minute to make the gravy.

2. If you are going to try something new, pick something easy

I have heard over and over again to not try out new recipes for the first time on Thanksgiving. But I do it every single time and more often than not it works out. I highly recommend that everything is not riding on your new recipe though. Try out a new side dish or vegetable. If it doesn’t work out, you can just abandon it and there is no harm done. This year Echelon foods offered me a bacon wrapped turducken to try out. It is a deboned chicken, inside a deboned duck inside a deboned turkey stuffed with sausage. Since I made a turkey the night before, I felt confident in trying something new and looking over the directions, it could hardly be easier. It was a lot of fun to try and all I had to do was defrost and stick it in the oven. The flavour of the stuffing really affects the taste and aroma of the meat so make sure you pick something you like if you want to try it too.

3. Don’t try to do everything yourself

Even though I’m hosting, we share the work. My mother and sister in law take care of the cooked vegetables, my mom handles the salad and pickled vegetables and my brother is always good for a last minute trip to the grocery store or some help in the kitchen right before dinner. I always make sure someone is available to come over early to help me with the kids while I am finishing up in the kitchen.

4. Don’t be afraid to take some short cuts

Not everything you are doing needs to be 100% from scratch every year. Figure out what is important and what isn’t for your family. I have a friend who grabs gravy from KFC and many people will grab a pouch from the grocery store instead of making it from scratch. I had tried many different stuffing recipes but found my husband always like Stove Top Stuffing best. So now I just make that instead of spending time trying to make my own stuffing. Sometimes I make it straight up, but I also like to add things to it so it feels homemade even though it only took a few minutes to make. This year I modified my friend’s family recipe for sausage stuffing – it was super easy, fast and good too! Check out the recipe below.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Super Easy Sausage Stuffing

Recipe type: Stuffing

Ingredients

3 Boxes of Stove Top Stuffing
1-2 tubes of sausage meat (Maple Leaf sausage meat is what my friend recommends)
a couple stalks of celery
an onion or two
butter for the Stove Top

Instructions

Cook up the sausage meat, drain and crumble. This can be done the day before.
Chop celery and onion and saute until onion softens.
Cook Stove Top Stuffing according to package directions.
Mix together.

Those are my best tips! What do you do to keep Thanksgiving manageable?

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post but Echelon Foods provided me with a Turducken for review.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps – Easy Meals

May 27, 2015 by danawyyc Leave a Comment

I was having one of those days where I had no idea what to make for dinner. I had some left over roasted supermarket chicken but what stuck for what to do with it. I looked around the chicken and threw this together. It’s pretty easy to have the stuff for it on hand and it tastes way better than leftover chicken and whatever you have around the house usually does.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps - Easy Meals

Ingredients

soft tortillas
chopped carrots
leftover chicken
chopped celery
handful of spinach
ranch dressing
Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce

Instructions

Mix ranch dressing and the Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce 1 to 1.
Put chicken, carrots, celery and spinach on the tortilla.
Drizzle the Ranch-Frank's dressing on top and roll the wrap closed.

The Nanton Candy Store and the Mainstreet Cafe – Calgary Day Trips

April 1, 2015 by danawyyc Leave a Comment

Gordie was off for Spring break last week so my mom and I decided to take the kids on a little adventure. My mom thought it would be fun to take the kids to the Nanton Candy Store. Nanton is about an hour south of Calgary which is a great distance for a day trip with kids. Long enough to feel like you’re going somewhere but short enough so that long before anyone is getting really antsy you are already there.

The Nanton Candy is located along the highway just South of the Bomber Command Museum, Big Sky Garden Railway and the Miniature Museum. The Candy Store also has a small antique shop at the back and in warmer months Nanton Ice Cream is open right next door.

Inside you will find retro candy, import candy, novelty candy, tons of bulk bin candy and more.

The kids were totally over whelmed with the the choices. Nicky ended up picking a pack of ‘princess’ candy with candy necklaces and bracelets, strawberry marshmallows in the shape of hearts and an Elsa (Frozen) Pez dispenser. Gordie picked a plastic toy screw driver with candies in the handle and a planes Pez dispenser. We also got some salt water taffy, some bulk licorice and a few other things.

It was not the cheapest trip! All of the candy was really nicely laid out and the staff were friendly and helpful. The candy I had was all really fresh too. They also have an online store and will ship anywhere in Canada! (http://www.nantoncandy.com/)

We also stopped for lunch while we were in Nanton at the Mainstreet Cafe. The restaurant isn’t huge but it’s a cute space that was previously a doctor’s house and office. The food is simple consisting primarily of things like breakfast dishes, soup and sandwiches. It has a casual atmosphere which is perfect when you are taking two little kids and a baby. The kids split a breakfast meal with ham, hashbrowns, scrambled eggs and toast. My mom had sweet potato soup and I had a BLT that I seem not to have photographed. The food was exactly as advertised and I would happily eat there again.

Have you been to Nanton? What do you eat while you are there?

12 Easy Meals That are Great for One or Two (or more!)

December 15, 2014 by danawyyc 1 Comment

I love cooking but when I’m sleep deprived it’s the last thing I feel like doing. With two small kids and another one on the way, that hasn’t been an inconsequential amount of time over the last 6 years. A couple of months ago when I was feeling particularly exhausted, I reached out to my network of friends and bloggers to ask for recipe suggestions. Not for amazing jaw dropping but time consuming recipes but for recipes that are barely a recipe at all. The kind of thing you throw together for your family when you’re almost too tired too cook.

I’ve been working through their suggestions and along with a few of my own, here is the first installment. These recipes (and the ones still to come) have saved my family from many days of subsisting on only ichiban and macaroni and cheese. The recipes below are easily scalable so whether you need to make yourself a quick lunch or feed the whole family dinner you’ll be done making dinner in snap.

1. Sriracha Tomato Soup

This is one of my personal favorites. Heat up a can of condensed tomato soup with an equal amount of water. Pour into two oven safe mugs and add a squeeze of lime juice, a drizzle of sriracha and crushed saltines. Top with shredded cheese and broil until the cheese is melted.

2. Pita sandwiches

Although it isn’t much to look at, I could eat this over and over again for lunch. Although you could do endless variations, my favorite is whole wheat pita with hummus, ham and feta cheese.

3. Quesadillas

Kim from Truth and Tonic recommends Quesadillas. They are great for lazy meals because you can use whatever you happen to have in the fridge. I made a pizza inspired one with salsa, pepperoni, red peppers and mozzarella cheese. You don’t need anything special to make them, you can just heat up a non-stick pan (dry is fine) and place the quesadilla on top until the cheese starts melting and the tortilla gets crispy.

4. Baked Sweet Potato with Salsa and Chicken

This takes a little extra time but very little effort. Make a few holes with a fork and bake a whole sweet potato in the oven at 350F for something between 30-60 minutes depending on the size of your sweet potato. You’ll really want it soft in the middle so it’s better to over cook it a bit than under cook it. You should be seeing sugar start to bubble through the fork holes. When it’s cooked, cut it in half and top with green (tomatillo) salsa followed by shredded chicken and then red salsa. You can put greek yogurt, sour cream or cheese on top of that if you want.

5. Cheesy Baked Chicken

This works best with partially thawed chicken. Split a chicken breast open layer with cream cheese, a slice of ham and cheese. Sprinkle with seasoning – cajun or ranch are both nice. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is cooked thoroughly to 165F.

6. Throw Together Wraps

My friend Danielle likes making wraps. She says “ The kids love it. We buy tortillas and then use any veggies & left over meat in it with a bit of creamy dressing. I made some with leftover pulled pork, lettuce, red peppers, avocado and creamy cucumber dressing.

7. Egg Scramble

Merry from Merry About Town recommends a messy egg scramble. She has a recipe up on her blog that looks delicious, but you can also just throw together whatever you have in the fridge. I used green onions, tomatoes, red pepper and a little bit of cheese.

8. Omelettes

Raj from the Primal Desire and Melissa from Food Bloggers of Canada both recommend scrambled eggs or omelettes. They both like using whatever leftovers and veggies are in the fridge. Melissa likes adding some sweet thai chili or hoisin sauce. I made my omlette with red and yellow peppers, ham, cheese and shredded leafy greens.

9. BBQ Chicken Melts

Anna from Hidden Ponies‘ favorite quick meal is BBQ Chicken Melts. I made a variation on her recipe on toasted English muffins. I just tossed the leftover chicken with barbecue sauce, topped with cheese and put it in the toaster oven to melt the cheese.

Chicken BBQ melts - easy meals- talkinginallcaps.com

10. Eggs in Sauce

Another great egg option is to cook eggs in tomato sauce or salsa. You can either bake them in individual ramekins or in small casserole dish in the oven or poach them in a skillet on the stove.

Eggs in Sauce - easy meal ideas - talkinginallcaps.com

11. Huevos Rancheros

The thing I love about Huevos Rancheros is that it feels like you’ve put in a lot of effort but really you haven’t. There are a million different ways to make it so don’t be afraid to modify it for your tastes and what you have on hand. I took a toasted tortilla and topped it with a fried egg with salsa, black beans and avocado on the side. You can also add refried beans, tomatoes, cheese or whatever else you’d like.

Huevos Rancheros - easy meals - talkinginallcaps.com

12. Hot Tuna Melt

Elizabeth at Rolling Spoon made a delicious looking Hot Tuna Melt. I simplified the recipe a little, mixing the tuna with a tiny bit of mayo a squeeze of sriracha and chopped celery topped with cheddar cheese on toast.

Tuna Melts - easy meals - talkinginallcaps.com

What do you like to make when you barely feel like cooking?

Kid Approved Enchiladas – Cooking With Kids

October 10, 2014 by danawyyc Leave a Comment

I think my kids are generally pretty good eaters, but they are not the most adventurous. I was going to make enchiladas for my husband and myself but knew there was no way the kids were going to eat them. Gordie doesn’t like anything spicy and the kids are both suspicious about food where the ingredients seem hidden and mysterious.

So I decided to see if I could make enchiladas that the kids would eat and to let them help me make them so they would know exactly what was in them.

Although the pictures look fairly serene, I find cooking with two young kids to be a little chaotic and often just on the edge of disaster. This is more problematic with baking, if you end up spilling your bowl of ingredients on the floor, all your measurements are off. With cooking, aside from a mess and some lost food, the risks are low.

Enchiladas are perfect for little hands to help make because all of the cooking is done in the oven. You can prepare them where ever works best for you. In our house we do a lot of floor cooking. Our kitchen is fairly small and has very little counter space. It’s just not conducive to having extra help. The other benefit of floor cooking is that I just need to clean the floor afterwards – not the floor and the counters and maybe the cupboards too.

Gordie (5 years 0ld) grated the cheese and Nicky (2.5 years) and Gordie both helped fill the enchiladas and drizzle the ‘sauce’. In the end, I wasn’t totally sure it would work, but both kids happily ate an enchilada for dinner and then other for lunch the next day. I am definitely calling it a success.

Although these enchiladas are pretty different from what you would get at a mexican restaurant, it’s still a step in the right direction. Sometimes expanding the ‘acceptable’ for little kids can take a few compromises. Now that the kids have decided that this presentation of food is okay, at some point we can start experimenting with different kinds of sauce, different kinds of meat and adding some veggies they like.

Kid Approved Enchiladas - Cooking With Kids

Ingredients

1 package small whole wheat tortillas
Cheese
Ketchup
Cooked ground beef

Instructions

Line a casserole dish with ketchup.
Lay a tortilla on a flat surface and top with a small scoop of cooked ground beef and shredded cheese.
Squeeze a little ketchup on top.
Roll the tortilla keeping the ingredients inside and lay in the casserole dish seam side down.
Repeat for as many tortillas as you want to make.
Squeeze ketchup on top of the rolled tortillas and sprinkle with cheese.
Bake at 350F until the cheese is melted and the edges of the tortillas are crispy for 20-35 minutes.

10 Great Fall Harvest Salads

September 26, 2014 by danawyyc 12 Comments

1. Roasted Sweet Potato and Cranberry Salad

Nothing says fall to me like sweet potatoes. This salad is a little bit sweeter than your average salad but it packs a big nutritional punch. It keeps well in the fridge and is a great salad for Thanksgiving dinner or a potluck.

2. Bacon Roasted Potato Salad with Kale and Tahini Dressing

Roasting is a lot more appealing with the arrival of cooler weather. This is one of my favorite salads of all time – it’s great still warm but still excellent the next day.

3. Shredded Yellow Beet, Carrot and Apple Salad with Orange Ginger Dressing

Lighter colored beets are a little easier to work with, but you can use any color in this lovely fall salad. I had no idea that you could eat beets without cooking them first.

4. Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Prosciutto and Almonds

Still have too many zucchini on your hands? Try this raw zucchini salad. This salad is sure to impress. The prosciutto and almonds make the salad taste rich but it’s still light enough for a starter salad.

5. Kale Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

Bacon and kale are amazing together. If you would normally shy away from raw kale, this salad may change your mind.

6. Roasted Yellow Beet Salad with Feta

Roasted beets gives them a sweeter, rich flavor. Use up some extra beets by pairing them with goat cheese and balsamic vinegar. Any color beet will do.

7. Roasted Parsnip and Carrot Salad

You might not normally think of adding roasted vegetables to your leafy greens but it’s a winning combination.

8. Butternut Squash Salad

Butternut squash, white beans and tahini dressing come together in this sweet and filling salad. It’s a perfect way to use up some leftover roasted butternut squash and can even make a lovely light lunch.

9. Brussels Sprouts Coleslaw with Candied Nuts

Although this salad uses candied nuts, it would be also be great with bacon instead. Quickly boiling the Brussels sprouts softens their flavor as well as their texture.

10. Kohlrabi and Carrot Salad with Asian Dressing

Have you ended up with some kohlrabi you don’t know what to do with? Although they are good peeled sliced and sprinkled with a little salt, they make an excellent asian flavored side dish in this easy salad.

Salad #52 – Healthy Taco Salad

September 21, 2014 by danawyyc Leave a Comment

I’m a big fan of taco salads. I find the ones that you can get at a restaurant tend to be really high in calories though. Taco Salads don’t have to be in order to be filling and delicious.

Increase the nutritional content by swapping the traditional iceberg for romaine lettuce.
Reduce the meat but none of the taste by making it into a dry chili with salsa, tomatoes, red kidney beans and spices.
Or swap the ground beef for lean ground turkey.
For creaminess, add avocado or just a tsp of mayo or sour cream to the chili.
Use a small amount of a strong cheese like old cheddar.
Crush just a tortilla chip or two for crunch.

Salad #52 - Healthy Taco Salad

Recipe type: Salad

Ingredients

Romaine lettuce, ripped into bite sized pieces
Cooked ground beef
Chopped tomatoes
Red kidney beans
Salsa
Taco Seasoning
Avocado
Old Cheddar, shredded
a tsp of mayo or sour cream (optional)
A couple of tortilla chips (optional)

Instructions

Mix up the ground beef, chopped tomatoes, red kidney beans, salsa and taco seasoning. Heat in a frying pan until cooked through or just mix cold.
Layer your salad starting with the lettuce then add the dry chili and top with avocado, cheese, and optional ingredients.

Healthy Taco Salad - talkinginallcaps.com

Did They Eat It?

Stephen: It was good.
Nicky (2 years old): Liked the meat, beans and peppers.
Gordie (5 years old): “Too spicy!”
Dana: I love this salad. I like adding just a little bit of mayo for some creaminess.

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Food

1. Instead of cooking one big turkey cook two smaller birds

2. If you are going to try something new, pick something easy

3. Don’t try to do everything yourself

4. Don’t be afraid to take some short cuts

1. Sriracha Tomato Soup

2. Pita sandwiches

3. Quesadillas

4. Baked Sweet Potato with Salsa and Chicken

5. Cheesy Baked Chicken

6. Throw Together Wraps

7. Egg Scramble

8. Omelettes

9. BBQ Chicken Melts

10. Eggs in Sauce

11. Huevos Rancheros

12. Hot Tuna Melt

1. Roasted Sweet Potato and Cranberry Salad

2. Bacon Roasted Potato Salad with Kale and Tahini Dressing

3. Shredded Yellow Beet, Carrot and Apple Salad with Orange Ginger Dressing

4. Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Prosciutto and Almonds

5. Kale Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

6. Roasted Yellow Beet Salad with Feta

7. Roasted Parsnip and Carrot Salad

8. Butternut Squash Salad

9. Brussels Sprouts Coleslaw with Candied Nuts

10. Kohlrabi and Carrot Salad with Asian Dressing

Did They Eat It?

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