Twice Baked Cheddar Potato Casserole

I found this recipe in "Taste of Home" magazine and had to give it a try as with the cooler temperatures, it is the perfect rib-sticking side dish!  Not only did my family enjoy this casserole, but we loved nibbling on the potato skins sprinkled with pink Himalayan salt!!!

TWICE BAKED CHEDDAR POTATO CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

8 medium baking potatoes

1/2 cup butter, cubed

2/3 cup sour cream

2/3 cup 2% milk

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled, divided

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

4 green onions, chopped, divided

• Preheat oven to 425F.  Scrub potatoes; pierce several times with a fork. Bake 45-60 minutes or until tender.  Remove from oven; reduce heat to 350F.
• When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut each potato lengthwise in half.  Scoop our pulp and place in a large bowl; discard shells.  Mash pulp with butter, stir in sour cream, milk, salt and pepper.
• Reserve 1/4 cup crumbled bacon for topping.  Gently fold remaining bacon, 1 cup cheese and half of the green onions into potato mixture - do not over mix!
• Transfer mixture to a greased 11" x 7" baking dish.  Top with the remaining cheese and green onions.  Sprinkle with reserved bacon.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.
• ENJOY!

Easy Carrot Salad

Lately I have had an abundance of carrots in my CSA boxes from Cooper's.  While I have been using quite a few in the slow cooker for roast suppers, there were still some hanging around in the crisper.  So I created this salad last night and it was delicious ~ it is a traditional carrot salad with the addition of tomato and cilantro!

EASY CARROT SALAD

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized carrots, peeled and grated

1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used goat yogurt)

1/2 cup sour cream (I just used goat yogurt)

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1/2 tsp salt

Handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Freshly ground black pepper

• In a small bowl combine the first seven ingredients (carrots to salt).
• Cover and refrigerate until chilled
• Remove from fridge and garnish with cilantro and pepper just before serving.
• ENJOY!         

Rhubarb Sour Cream Pie

RHUBARB SOUR CREAM PIE

Ingredients:

1 - 9" unbaked pie crust (deep dish is preferable)

4 cups chopped fresh rhubarb

1 free-range egg

1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar

1 cup sour cream

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup each of all-purpose flour and brown sugar

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

* Heat oven to 450F.
* Press pie crust into a 9" pie pan.
* Spread rhubarb in an even manner over the bottom of the crust.
* In a medium sized bowl, whisk egg, white sugar, sour cream and 1/3 cup flour until smooth. Pour over rhubarb.
* In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup flour and brown sugar. Stir in melted butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the top of the pie.
* Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F.
* Continue to bake for 40 minutes, or until edges have puffed, and topping is golden.
* The centre might be still somewhat jiggly, but once it is cooled completely it is perfect to slice and serve!
* ENJOY!

Chicken and Black Bean Burritos

This is a fantastic recipe that is so easy to pack and freeze - it was a regular dish in our house when we had a 2 year old and a newborn in the house!  Now I make these as a convenient go-to dinner when all inspiration fails me (and I know that these 'freezer treats' aren't packed with preservatives, sodium and other things that I can't pronounce!)

CHICKEN AND BLACK BEAN BURRITOS

Ingredients:

1 tbsp EVOO

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1 sweet red bell pepper, chopped

1 can (19 oz/540 mL) of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup salsa

8 large whole wheat or flax soft tortillas

2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup light sour cream

• In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; fry onion, garlic, salt and pepper until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add chicken, jalapeno, red pepper, beans and salsa; cook, stirring, until chicken is no longer pink inside.  Approx. 10 minutes.  Let cool.
• Spoon about 3/4 cup of the filling down the centre of each tortilla; sprinkle each with 1/4 cup of the cheese. 
• Fold in bottom edge, then sides; roll up.  Place, seam side down, in a greased 13" x 9" glass baking dish.  Sprinkle remaining cheese over top.
• Bake in a 400F oven until golden and hot, and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.  Serve with sour cream.

*Freezing Instructions:  After sprinkling with remaining cheese, let unbaked burritos cool for 30 minutes.  Refrigerate until cold.  Cover and overwrap with heavy-duty foil (or wrap individually in heavy-duty foil) and freeze for up to 1 month.  Bake from frozen, loosely covered with foil in 400F oven until golden and hot, and cheese is melted.  Approx. 25 minutes.

Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

For my Dad's birthday on August 17th, I wanted to create a cake that would be memorable...and boy, was a giant cupcake just the ticket!!! I bought the cake pan from Zehr's and used a recipe from Anna Olson's "Sugar" cookbook. It was absolutely DELICIOUS!!!!

ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE ICING

Ingredients

Cake:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup golden brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup water

4 oz (125g) unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 tsp espresso powder

1 3/4 cups cake & pastry flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sour cream

Icing:

4oz (125g) cream cheese, room temperature

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour 2 - 9" cake pans (or in my case, one giant cupcake pan!), shaking out excess flour. cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
• In a small saucepan stir water, chocolate and espresso powder over low heat until melted. Allow to cool slightly before beating into the butter mixture.
• Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and stir into batter alternately with sour cream. Divide evenly between the two pans and bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean. Allow to cool 15 mins. in the pans, then turn cakes out onto a plate to cool completely.
• Beat cream cheese until smooth, then stir in the sugar and vanilla extract. Ice both the centre and top & sides of the cake.
• ENJOY!!!!

Yummiest Mac & Cheese!

Today after my riding lesson I really felt like something filling and homemade...basically comfort food! So I decided to make my macaroni and cheese! This is not only super-easy, but kid-friendly too (I made it just the other night for Hayden, India and Devon!) There is no baking required unless you like to have the cheese form a crispy coating on the top like in the photo (then just pop it in a 350F oven for 15 mins!)

RANCH STYLE MACARONI & CHEESE

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, cubed

2 envelopes of ranch salad dressing mix

1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion salt

1 cup cubed cheddar cheese

1 cup cubed mozzarella or Monterey Jack (for zip!)

1 cup sour cream

16 oz elbow macaroni, cooked until al dente

1/2 cup crushed Premium Plus crackers or panko bread crumbs

Grated cheddar and Parmesan Reggiano

• In a large pot combine the first 8 ingredients (milk to mozzarella) over medium heat until cheese is melted and mixture begins to thicken.
• Fold in the sour cream. Add the macaroni and crackers. Cook until heated through, stirring frequently to prevent it sticking.
• Top with a light dusting of grated cheddar and Parmesan Reggiano cheese and either serve or put into a 350F oven until cheese has melted and is golden brown.
• ENJOY!

Maple Tree Cake

Another one of my 'experiments' that turned out really well! I decided to make this cake for Saturday's dinner with Dave, Siobhan and the kids - it was relatively easy except for the fact that my cake pans were too large so I ran out of icing and had to press Skor pieces around the edge! A perfect fall cake as it has the woody and sweet flavour of maple syrup as well as dried fruits on top!

MAPLE TREE CAKE

Ingredients:

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 cups sour cream

2 tsp maple flavouring

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

Dash of salt

1/2 cup chopped pecans

FROSTING:

1/4 cup butter, softened

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp pure maple syrup

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup peanut butter chips (could just as easily use butterscotch)

2 tbsp dried cranberries

2 tbsp golden raisins

2 tbsp chopped dried apricots

2 tbsp chopped dried apples

• In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar. Add sour cream and maple flavouring. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; add to sour cream mixture and mix well. Fold in pecans.
• Pour into 2 greased and floured 9" round baking pans. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near the centre comes out clean.
• Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
• For frosting, in a bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar. Add syrup and mix well. Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake.
• In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate and peanut butter chips; stir until smooth. Transfer to a pastry or a heavy-duty reusable plastic bag; cut a small hole in the corner of the bag. Pipe a tree and branches on top of cake. Combine dried fruits and sprinkle around tree base and at ends of branches to resemble fall leaves.
• Serve & ENJOY!