Home | Archives for Suzy Homemaker | Recipes

Mango Spinach Smoothie

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I honestly have no idea how I came to love spinach smoothies. For the most part I’m completely anti-green when it comes to drinks. I prefer red. Ultimately though, I guess it’s the fact that no matter what you just can’t taste the spinach in a spinach smoothie. That’s why I love this Mango Spinach Smoothie.

mango spinach smoothie

And just in case you doubt the power of spinach you can find eleven reasons why it rocks right here.

Mango Spinach Smoothie

3 cups of baby spinach
1 1/2 cups of Vanilla Almond Milk
1 cup of frozen mango
1 frozen banana, in chunks
1 tbsp of Chia & Flax Seed Powder (optional)

mango spinach smoothie

Place all ingredients in the blender and you know, blend. Serves 2.

mango spinach smoothie

Still want more green? Try this Pineapple Spinach Smoothie or this Spinach Smoothie with Peanut Butter.

Print Friendly
Filed Under: Breakfast, Healthy Drinks, Slider, Smoothies, Suzy Homemaker, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Chocolate Stuffed French Toast

May 15, 2013 By 3 Comments

Yesterday morning I made Chocolate Stuffed French Toast for my children……on a school day. I mean seriously, how impressive am I? I am owning the mother of the year title this year through that one simple act alone. Just think about it? Chocolate cream cheese slathered between two pieces of french bread then dipped in egg and fried golden brown. You can almost hear the choir of angels singing, can’t you?

How did I pull off this extraordinary feat on a Tuesday morning? First, I made Strawberry Raspberry Sauce the night before. Then I played Candy Crush for two hours and went to bed. The following morning I followed this easy recipe.

chocolate stuffed french toast

Chocolate Stuffed French Toast

12 slices of day old Italian bread
3 large eggs
1 cup of whipping cream, half and half or whole milk
6 tbsps of Philadelphia Chocolate Cream Cheese
3 tbsps of butter

Chocolate stuffed french toast 1

Spread 1 tbsp of Chocolate Cream Cheese over 6 slices of bread and top with remaining 6 slices. Whisk eggs and cream together in shallow dish. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in heavy skillet. Dip two sandwiches on both sides in egg mixture and cook in pan until golden on both sides. Repeat two more times. Makes six sandwiches.

Serve with Strawberry Raspberry Sauce drizzled over top.

chocolate stuffed french toast 2

Receive accolades and undying devotion from your children.

Pleasantville Note: This makes a sandwich, so this Chocolate Stuffed French Toast could also be sent to school for lunch. Mother-of-the-year. Just sayin’.

Print Friendly
Filed Under: Breakfast, Desserts, Lunch, Slider, Suzy Homemaker, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Strawberry Raspberry Sauce

May 14, 2013 By 4 Comments

How many ways do I love this Strawberry Raspberry Sauce? Well, how about on top of pancakes, with French Toast, stirred in with yogurt, poured over vanilla ice cream, used in an Eton Mess, blended in a smoothie, or used as a dip for cinnamon tortilla chips? The point I’m making is that this Strawberry Raspberry Sauce is incredibly versatile and as you’ll see below, very easy to make.

strawberry raspberry sauce 1

Strawberry Raspberry Sauce

2 6 ounce packages of raspberries
1 12 ounce package of strawberries, quartered
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp framboise liqueur (optional)

strawberry raspberry sauce

Pour raspberries, sugar and lemon in a 10 inch pan. Crush the berries with the back of a fork and bring mixture to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes until mixture becomes syrupy. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Stir in quartered strawberries. Cover and refrigerate until very cold.

Print Friendly
Filed Under: Desserts, Recipes, Slider, Suzy Homemaker, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Nutella Raspberry Smoothie

May 8, 2013 By 4 Comments

My ten year old daughter is a chip off the old block. She loves being in the kitchen, possibly even more than I do. Last week she made this Nutella Raspberry Smoothie which she found in an internet search and then modified to make it her own. I watched with a raised eyebrow because I wasn’t sold on how this was going to taste, but to my delight, it’s wonderful.

nutella raspberry smoothie

The ingredients are simple and if you don’t have almond milk, you can definitely use milk. Encourage your kids to join you in the kitchen and come up with their own smoothie concoctions!

nutella raspberry smoothie ingredients

making nutella raspberry smoothie

Nutella Raspberry

1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup vanilla almond milk
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/3 cup Nutella
3 tbsps wheatgerm

Place all ingredients in blender and mix until well blended. Garnish with a few frozen raspberries.

Serve to your family.

nutella raspberry smoothie drink

Print Friendly
Filed Under: Healthy Drinks, Recipes, Slider, Suzy Homemaker

Banana Crunch Muffins

April 29, 2013 By Leave a Comment

These Banana Crunch Muffins are a favourite of mine because I like a little crunch in my muffins. Plus they have just a hint of cinnamon in them. These are delicious warm, but also freeze beautifully. Wrap these Banana Crunch Muffins individually for snacks or school lunches.

banana crunch muffins

Banana Crunch Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

3 medium very ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup low-fat granola

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12 standard muffin tray with paper liners.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; set aside. In a medium-size bowl, combine the eggs, light-brown sugar and melted butter. Whisk until smooth. Add mashed banana and vanilla. Pour banana mixture into well in dry ingredients; stir until just moist.

Divide batter evenly in muffin tray. Sprinkle granola over muffins and gently press into batter. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in tray 5 minutes then remove to cooling rack.

 

 

Print Friendly
Filed Under: Breakfast, Recipes, Slider, Snacks, Suzy Homemaker, Uncategorized

Pig Picking Cake

April 24, 2013 By 1 Comment

I know, I know, you’re thinking what the heck is a Pig Picking Cake? Well, first I want you to set aside any hang-ups you may have about a cake that is not entirely made from scratch. Next, I want you to imagine for a minute that you are about to taste the best cake ever invented. Pig Picking Cake, as far as I can surmise, came from the Southern States and it’s a flavourful explosion of butter pecan, mandarin oranges, crushed pineapple and Cool Whip. That’s right, Cool Whip.

pig picking cake

It’s because of the Cool Whip in it that I also call this my Mad Men cake. Cool Whip became a household name in 1967 and so this cake, obviously, was the brainchild of some repressed 60s housewife. More Betty Crocker than Betty Draper though if you know what I mean.

I have seen this cake devoured by friends and family for over 20 years now. Just trust me on this one.

Pig Picking Cake

1 box Butter Pecan Cake Mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 10oz. tin mandarin oranges
1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple
1 1/2 packages Jell-o Vanilla Instant Pudding (4 serving size)
1 1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip

pig picking cake

Grease and flour two 9″ cake pans. Preheat oven to 350F. Beat cake mix, vegetable oil, eggs, and the juice from tin of mandarin oranges in large bowl on low speed for 30 seconds and then beat on medium speed 2 more minutes, scraping sides of pan occasionally. Stir in oranges and nuts. Divide evenly between two cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool ten minutes in pan. Remove from pan and cool completely.

While cake is baking, stir together crushed pineapple in juice and 1 1/2 packages vanilla instant pudding. Fold in Cool Whip and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When cake and frosting are cool, assemble cake. Decorate top with mandarin orange sections and mint leaves.

pig picking cake 2

Print Friendly
Filed Under: Desserts, Recipes, Slider, Suzy Homemaker Tagged With: , , , , ,

Nutella Brownies – Best Brownies EVER

April 17, 2013 By 3 Comments

Really? Do I have to convince you these Nutella Brownies are delicious? You know they are. I mean, they have Nutella in them, and chocolate chips and nuts!! Who doesn’t love nuts in their brownies?

These brownies really shouldn’t be shared with the kids though, right? I mean, would they really appreciate them? Nah. I think these are a perfect ending for a dinner party. So how to serve these bad boys? Well, you could go classic with a little Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream or try them with a drizzle of salted caramel.

nutella brownies best brownies ever

Nutella Brownies

4 large eggs
1 large egg white
1 725 g container Nutella (or let’s be honest any chocolate hazelnut spread will do)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (or pecans, or mix it up)

nutella brownies

Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl or stand mixer, beat eggs until light and frothy. Blend in Nutella, butter and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to chocolate mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Spread mixture into buttered 13×9″ baking dish and bake in centre of oven for 30 to 40 minutes; brownies will appear slightly underbaked in centre. Let cool. Then, and this part is hard, REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT. Cut into squares.

Watch the kids though, because these disappear fast.

nutella brownies kids

Print Friendly
Filed Under: Desserts, Recipes, Slider, Suzy Homemaker, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Buffalo Chicken Balls with Blue Cheese Dressing

April 12, 2013 By 2 Comments

Buffalo Chicken Balls are my new favourite party food and I haven’t even served them at a party yet. But I’m going to!

For our regular weekly dinner at my Mom’s house this week, she tried these Buffalo Chicken Balls with Blue Cheese Dressing from a recipe she found in The Ottawa Citizen, which in turn was from Bon Appétit. The readers of Bon Appétit had voted this their favourite recipe through online voting. I can see why. These are absolutely delicious. The recipe says it makes about 40 balls but my mom got 32 out of it. If making for a party, I highly suggest you make a couple of trays because five of us cleaned these out! Highly addictive.

buffalo chicken balls blue cheese dressing

Buffalo Chicken Balls with Blue Cheese Dressing

Chicken Balls

2 tbsps vegetable oil
4 tbsps unsalted butter
1/3 cup Frank’s Redhot Sauce
1 pound ground chicken
1 large egg
1/2 celery stalk, minced
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp salt

Blue Cheese Dressing

3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

mini buffalo chicken balls

Make blue cheese dressing up to one day ahead of time. Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl, whisking thoroughly until combined. Small lumps of blue cheese are expected. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 425F. Drizzle vegetable oil in a 9×13 inch baking dish and use your hand to coat the entire surface; set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine butter and hot sauce and cook over low heat, whisking until butter is melted and fully incorporated. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool for 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the hot sauce mixture, ground chicken, egg, celery, breadcrumbs and salt; mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated. Roll the mixture into 3/4 inch balls, making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place balls in the oiled baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly, in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into centre of a meatball should read 165F. Allow meatballs to cool 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with Blue Cheese Dressing.

Print Friendly
Filed Under: Appetizers, Recipes, Slider, Suzy Homemaker, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Oven Fried Chicken – In It’s Birthday Suit

April 9, 2013 By 5 Comments

I love my Mom’s oven fried chicken. First, she removes all the skin and still serves up this incredibly crispy, juicy chicken that is way better than it’s deep fried alternative and has a lot less fat. It’s delicious hot. It is also excellent cold and is a perfect make-ahead picnic food, served with a classic Macaroni Salad of course.

This recipe calls for eight legs and eight thighs but you’re going to want to double or triple, heck quadruple it maybe, if making for a crowd. If you make this through the week plan to have it for supper and then send everyone with cold chicken the next day for lunch.

oven fried chicken

Oven Fried Chicken

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dry mustard
8 chicken legs and chicken thighs
1 tbsp vegetable shortening

Preheat oven to 375F. In a pie dish, mix flour, 1 tsp (5ml) of the salt, the garlic powder, paprika, pepper and mustard. Rinse chicken and remove skin, sprinkle chicken with remaining teaspoon of salt and then coat chicken in flour mixture. Grease rimmed baking sheet well with vegetable shortening and place chicken on sheet. Bake in oven, basting occasionally with pan drippings. Tilt pan to get drippings if need be or add a tad more vegetable shortening if not enough drippings. Baked until golden and juices run clear about 1 hour.

oven fried chicken naked

Print Friendly
Filed Under: Lunch, Recipes, Slider, Supper, Suzy Homemaker Tagged With: , , , ,

Classic Broccoli Salad

April 4, 2013 By 6 Comments

Spring is here and it’s salad time. Time for Dill Potato Salad, Green Goddess Dressing, Macaroni Salad, Chicken Salad, and this Classic Broccoli Salad which will knock your socks off.

Even those with severe vegetable phobias have been known to squeal with delight at the sight of this broccoli salad. Dibs for seconds happen before the first plate is handed out. I suspect it’s the magic ingredient bacon that does this, but really the combination of all the flavours in this salad make it divine. I have seen recipes for broccoli salad that add raisins, but I’m not a raisin lover and as such they don’t land in my salad (see below). You can however add sesame seeds for some crunch if you’d like or sliced almonds. This salad is also best if made a day ahead so that the ingredients really mix, which makes it an ideal salad for all the parties and barbecues you’ll be throwing this summer. Right?

classic broccoli salad

Classic Broccoli Salad

2 heads broccoli, washed and chopped into bite size pieces
1/2 of large red onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tbsp vinegar (white or cider)

Mix the broccoli, red onion, cheese and bacon together in a large bowl. Whisk together mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar and pour over broccoli salad. Stir well to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight. I say this serves between 8 and 10, but if you hear someone squeal with delight upon seeing it, it’ll probably be less.

broccoli salad

Unknown

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Print Friendly
Filed Under: Recipes, Salads, Slider, Suzy Homemaker, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , ,
«Older Posts