Cranberry Lemon Muffins

This recipe doesn't take much time and can probably be altered with different fruit and flavorings if you wanted.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

3 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil or unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp lemon extract

1 cup cranberries (I used dried, but you could also use fresh or frozen)

1/3 cup slivered almonds

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, beat the eggs, milk, oil/applesauce and extract. Stir into dry ingredients until moistened. Fold in cranberries.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full; sprinkle with almonds and a few cranberries. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Makes about 16 muffins.

Sausage Tortellini Soup

I think soups are one of my favourite things to make. There are so many different kinds and they are super easy to freeze to save for another day. Here's a new one that is quite nice for a cold winter day.

1 lb Italian sausage (casing removed)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsps fresh basil, snipped
1 lb cheese tortellini (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese

Brown Italian sausage in a large pot and break into small chunks. Drain and set aside.

In the same pot, saute the onion, carrots, garlic and basil in the oil over medium heat for a few minutes. Whisk in the tomato paste, chicken broth and water. Heat about 10 minutes on medium high heat.

Add the sausage and tortellini. Cook about 8-10 minutes until tortellini is tender. Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese.

Serves 6.

*From http://www.shugarysweets.com/2014/01/sausage-tortellini-soup

Chocolate Banana Pudding Bread

What's a good way to spend a snow day? Baking! We've got a blizzard going on and with the roads being so bad (some even closed), I decided to bake this delicious looking dessert bread I found on Pinterest awhile back.

For the banana dough:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg banana cream pudding (just the dry mix)
1 ripe banana
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup applesauce

For the chocolate dough:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg chocolate pudding (just the dry mix)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
6 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bread pan with cooking spray.

You are going to need 2 large bowls and 2 smaller bowls. In the 2 large bowls, combine the flour, baking soda, sugar and pudding mixes for each respective dough (one for banana and one for chocolate).

In one small bowl, mash the banana, add the egg, butter, vanilla and applesauce. Then fold into the dry ingredients for the banana dough.

In the other small bowl mix the eggs, butter, vanilla and applesauce and fold into the dry ingredients for the chocolate dough.

Alternating between the banana and chocolate dough, drop by spoonful into the bread pan. You can also run a knife through the dough to give it a marbled look.

Bake for 60 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.

*From http://www.wineandglue.com/2013/10/chocolate-banana-bread.html 

Turkey Pot Pie

We've been having a serious cold snap here, so I figured some warm comfort food is just the thing to warm me up from the inside. This is a delicious dish and you can use up your leftover turkey from Christmas!

2 tbsps unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, diced

3 carrots, peeled & diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 tsp thyme

salt & pepper to taste

3 1/2 cups shredded turkey (or chicken)

1/2 cup frozen corn or peas (whatever you have on hand)

1 tube of refrigerated biscuits

Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion, carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender. Stir the flour into the veggie mix until veggies are coated. Gradually stir in the chicken broth, milk and thyme. Stir constantly until thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the chicken and corn. Season with salt & pepper.

Pour this mixture into a greased 9x13 dish and bake 15 minutes at 400F. Then lay the refrigerated biscuits on top of the chicken mixture. Bake for another 15-17 minutes until the biscuits tops are golden brown. Let sit 5 minutes and then enjoy!

**Note: I took the easy way and used refrigerated biscuits. You could also make your own biscuits from scratch. **

*Adapted from http://damndelicious.net/2013/12/23/biscuit-pot-pie/

Oreo Truffles

This is probably the easiest truffle recipe out there, and so good!

36 Oreo cookies, finely crushed (one standard package)
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 pkg (8 oz) semi-sweet baking chocolate, broken up and melted

Mix the crushed Oreo cookies in with the soft cream cheese (you can reserve some crumbs for garnishing if you wish). Shape into balls and place on pan or baking dish. Refrigerate for at least one hour or until firm.

Melt the baking chocolate in a double-boiler. Once the chocolate is smooth. Dip truffles into the chocolate. Don't leave in too long or the truffle could fall apart. I found it easiest to place the truffle on a fork and lower into the chocolate and then use a spoon to spoon chocolate over the top. Once coated, place on a wax paper covered pan and repeat. Make sure to garnish before the chocolate coating hardens. Keep refrigerated.

Merry Christmas!

*From http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-oreo-truffles-95085.aspx

Fettuccine Primavera with Asparagus & Zucchini

220 g fettucine, uncooked
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb fresh asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
1 small zucchini, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 of a 250g tub of dill cream cheese product (about 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 green onions, sliced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in pan on medium-high heat. Add asparagus, zucchini and garlic. Saute 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Move veggies over to the side and add the cream cheese and chicken broth. Cook and stir 3-4 minutes until cream cheese has melted. Add green onions, lemon juice and cooked fettuccine, stir to coat. Sprinkle with black pepper.

*From http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/fettuccine-primavera-132484.aspx

Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup?

Please don't let the picture fool you, this tastes a lot better than it looks. And it was supposed to be a soup, but ended up being quite thick, so not sure, maybe its a stew? I guess if you shortened the simmering time it wouldn't end up being quite so thick.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup onions, chopped
3/4 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
2/3 cup corn
1/2 cup flour
5 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 1/2 cups wild rice (or wild rice blend), uncooked
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp thyme
3/4 tsp dry mustard powder
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/2 tbsp dry parsley
1 1/2 cups cream (I just used 1% milk cause that's what I had and it worked fine!)

Melt butter over medium heat in soup pot. Stir in the onions, celery, carrots and green pepper and saute a few minutes until tender crisp. Add mushrooms, corn and flour. Stir until well combined. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir in the chicken, wild rice, all the seasonings and the cream/milk. Simmer until done, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours (or less if you don't want it too thick).

*Adapted from http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2013/10/wild-rice-blend-soup.html