Easy 3 Ingredient Cranberry Sauce

Last thanksgiving we discovered a most terrible thing. The canned cranberry sauce was some how missed on the last grocery shop before the holiday and if your anything like my family, thanksgiving dinner is ruined without the cranberries. 

Discovering half a bag of frozen whole cranberries, leftover from these amazing scones I had made, sent me to the Pinterest to figure out a way to make our own sauce.

Being a family of 3 and just having half the called for cranberries on the outset, I have only ever made half the recipe. And trust me, it's a good one.

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup orange juice (you can use water, but I love me some OJ)
1/2 white sugar

Directions:
Put everything into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the cranberries start splitting open and the liquid thickens. 

Cool completely before serving--meaning you can make it the day before and store in the fridge. 

Next time you are in need of cranberry sauce, I highly recommend making your own. It's super simple, super delicious, and you can even get that fun out of the can shape if you store it in an old tin can.

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Leftover Turkey Soup

The first time I ever tried to make Turkey Soup following my first-ever-all-made-by-me Thanksgiving dinner I realized too late that I needed the carcass as the key ingredient for it. Big oops. Won't make that mistake again.

With some trial and error (and tips from my wise mother) here is a very simple recipe I use for making Leftover Turkey Soup.

Needed:

Turkey carcass

celery

carrots (optional)

onion

salt and pepper

celery seed (optional)

chicken broth (to taste)

soy sauce (optional)

1. Combine first 6 ingredients into a large pot and boil on medium heat for a few hours or until the meat starts falling off the bone. 
2. remove bones and manually remove remaining meat from bone and add back into the stock. 

3. Taste and stock and add bouillon and or soy sauce if more flavour is needed. 
4. Continue simmering for a couple of hours. (Add more water if too much has evaporated. If you do, definitely use a bouillon cube)


(These are old pictures from an earlier blog I once had. But it doesn't make this soup any less delicious)


If you do try making Leftover Turkey Soup yourself  do leave me a comment below and tell me how it went! I'd love to hear.

The Turkey Comedown: Turkey Pot Pie

I like recipes, and cooking, and eating, don't you? Since I've been back in Canada, I've had more opportunities to bake. Although I'm not the greatest baker, I have been deprived of doing anything of the sort for 2 years,  which means now I just can't stop myself. I haven't heard any complaints though. 

All that to say, I want to start posting recipes of things I make (on a semi regular basis) onto my blog. Since it is MY blog, I can do what ever I like, but I do hope you'll like this addition.

I love sharing, so if you are ever in the sharing mood do drop me a line with a recipe of yours, I'd love to try it out.

Turkey Pot Pie

When I get tired of turkey leftovers this is my favourite thing to have after Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey Pot Pie. Nom nom.

Needed:

Pie crust (I used a deep dish kind and it was a 2 pack so the other bottom became a top).
4 tbs butter divided
1 small onion, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, diced
3 tbs dried parsley
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
2 cubes chicken bouillon
2 cups water
3 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups cubed turkey
3 tbs all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 425 F and melt the crust (easier to mold together)

2. Melt 2 tbs butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add the onion, celery, carrots, parsley, oregano, and salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the veggies are soft. Stir in the bouillon and water. Bring mixture to a boil. Stir in potatoes and cook until they are tender but still firm.

3. In a medium sauce pan melt remaining 2 tbs butter. Stir in the turkey and flour. Add the milk, and heat through. Stir the turkey mixture into the veggie mixture and cook until thickened. Cool slightly and pour into the shell. Put top crust on. Make 4 slits in top to allow steam to escape.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 min Reduce oven to 350F and continue baking for 20 min or until golden brown.

5. Let cool a bit before serving

I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. Just too darned excited to eat it up.

(these are old pictures as this is a post from another blog I used to do. No need to worry about that, just stick some of this in your pie hole and enjoy it).

If you do try making turkey potpie yourself  do leave me a comment below and tell me how it went! I'd love to hear.

Holiday Treats: 2013

I enjoy cooking and creating treats in the kitchen and I just don't feel like I have the same creativity and freedom to do so while living in London, for one reason or another. So while I'm home for the holidays and as my annual Christmas presents to friends and family I am baking up a storm in my parents kitchen. There are challenges with this as they are in the midts of kitchen renos and still it's only a half functional room on it's way to fabulous.

Last Christmas I baked some great treats, most of which I tried to recreate this year with a few new things I came across over the year.

I started with Peanut Butter Fudge, last year I had my Grandma's recipe which worked out perfectly, however, that recipe card is safely tucked away in my room in England so to the Google machine I went and found something that sounded similar. Two attempts were made at this. Last years was better.

I felt like I might have been off my game a bit. I shook it off and attempted treat #2.

I was looking forward to making again the salted toffee. My first try this year was a failure as i second guessed the timing and burnt the first batch along with my finger. It eventually turned out great despite what my mother says about chocolate ruining everything.

It would seem that the secret to my cooking was that if I had never made the recipe before, it would turn out perfectly as it should, however, 2nd time around everything has been going pear-shaped.  With this in mind, I pulled the ingredients together for a new treat for #3.

Chocolate Caramel Brownies. I had similar ones at the Bloggers Afternoon Tea and when I found this recipe I had to try it. The caramel has saved this one. It tastes very chocolaty but don't expect it to melt in your mouth like a good brownie should. Next time I think I'll just try using a brownie mix for the base to make things easier.

Crestfallen but with the encouragement of my mother, I attempted my last treat the Cranberry Shortbread. Thankfully this worked. Perfectly.  And on the first try...for the 2nd time.

All in all, my Christmas baking was a struggle this year. Good thing there is enough holiday treats floating about at this time of year that I can console my misery with sugar.

Need any ideas for holiday cooking? Here are 27 cookies to bake.

Did you try any holiday baking this year? 

Fun travels!

How to Eat Alone

How to eat in a restaurant alone. This may seem like a very simple statement and even easier action to some, while others will understand how this seemingly simple idea creates complete anxiety; consuming food seated at a table for one. EEK! The very thought of it used to give me indigestion.

Then one day I decided that I wasn't going to let this hinder me anymore and forced myself to eat an entire meal in a proper restaurant (McDonald's and Starbucks don't count) no matter how much heart burn and awkwardness was suffered. And you know what, it wasn't that bad. You can do it too (you know, if you have issues with this idea too), here are some tips on how you can do it too.

Bon appetit!

Light lunch enjoyed alone at a museum cafe

1.         Bring a Distraction

This could be a good book, some paperwork, or probably the most popular, social media on your phone. Short of these kinds of things you can always turn  your attention to the people around you. People watching is great entertainment. Create an amusing story line and dialog for an interesting couple; a game my mother and I used to play when I was a kid.

2.         Ask the Waiter for most popular item

then order it. When travelling, this can be a fun way to experience a culture as express themselves  through special culinary dishes. You could very well be missing out by avoiding a dish that's a 'bit different'. By opening yourself up to new foods you just might discover something new and exciting, and even tasty! Yum. The plus side about doing this on your own is that if you don't like it, there's no one there to judge you for being a picky eater. Except the waiter, they will judge you. They're always so judgy.

3.         Order one of everything

As a solo patron this will be unexpected. Cause further confusion by pulling out a small notebook and act as if making disconcerting notes in it after every bite. Chew with purpose. They might think you are a food critic and want to impress! Or a professional competitive eater on training. 

4.         Pretend you aren’t actually alone

Ask the waiter for a second table setting if it isn't already laid out, order food and drink on behalf of your 'friend', chat in hushed whispered tones pausing every once in a while to allow time for your 'friend' to answer. How can one be bored when one can entertain oneself? That's what life is all about.

5.         Don’t Stress

Don't stress about your table for one. Take a moment to look around the room. Notice the people at the surrounding tables. Breath in the smells of your delicious food. Mindfully eat.
But honestly, just relax, no one is really noticing you...unless you are following tip number 4.

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Christmas Treats: 2012

Today I'm talking about food. Since I've been travelling aka living out of a suitcase, I've mentioned before that I miss cooking. As I'm home for the Christmas holidays (yay! 3 weeks home with my puppy) I decided that I wanted to make a special Christmas treat a day until Christmas day.
(click through some to see the original recipe).

1. I started off simply and I made holiday Rice Krispy Treats. Seeing the red and green made me nostalgic and craving these tasty treats.

2. Oyster Crackers, my grandma used to make these for me when I visited and I could never get enough! I attempted these in the summer, but got distracted and burned them all. similar recipe

3. Peanut Butter Fudge. Again a recipe from my grandmother. She passed away late last month and it's nice to still have her part of this Christmas.

4. Cranberry Shortbread my mum insisted they should be in squares, but I like to go outside the box...or rather follow the recipe exactly.

5. Chewy Molasses Cookies this was a big hit with my family. They were sorry to have to share them.

6. Homemade Toffee, like a Skor bar. Can't stop eating this.

7. Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies to be completed....

8. ??? Any holiday treat suggestions?




If you do try making any of these holiday treats yourself  do leave me a comment below and tell me how it went! I'd love to hear.

I miss cooking

Moving around as I have been and living out of a suitcase makes one feel unsettled and unconnected. While I was temporarily settled in Cambridge, it was nice to be able to actually cook a meal for myself that was more than just prepackaged food or pasta and sauce. It helped me feel a little bit in control, if just for a short while.
For the big cooking extravaganza I decided to make Spaghetti Squash Lasagna (recipe found on SkinnyTaste.com). Finding Spaghetti Squash in Cambridge proved to be more difficult than I anticipated. They love a butternut squash but few have even heard of the spaghetti cousin. After 3 large grocery stores, several produce stands and a convenience store I found one at a health food store right by my house.

It was cheesy and healthy feeling (I added more veg to it, just cause), but didn't remind me of a lasagna at all, that said, I would totally make it again.

{source: skinnytaste.com}

Fun travels!