It's Christmas Time!

Today I decided to put a dent into my Christmas baking.  I am now absolutely exhausted but I have to share some delicious recipes with you guys!  I know most families have Christmas traditions, and gum drop cake is one of my families favorites.  My mom has made gum drop cake since about forever, and I decided to make my own version of it.  I also made some macadamia nut brittle and mushroom perogies, and I will be sharing those recipes as well.



For gum drop cake, you will need:

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
juice of one clementine
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup warm milk (I used soy milk)
3 1/2 cups flour
1 pound gum drops

To start the process of making this cake, I usually cut all the gum drops in half and flour them so they don't stick together the night before. It just usually takes a while, so I get one step out of the way the night before and then I just keep the gum drops aside until I need them.

When you are ready to start making the cake, make sure the eggs are at room temperature.
Beat sugar and butter together until creamy and smooth.
Add eggs and beat until combined.
Then add juice of the clementine and vanilla and baking powder, mixing well.
Alternate milk and flour, mixing between each addition.
Once everything is combined, fold in gum drops.
Spoon mixture in a greased and floured bundt pan.
Bake at 375F for 10 minutes, and then lower heat to 350 and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.
Let cool 10 minutes on a rack, and invert and let cool completely.



I hope everyone enjoys this cake as much as I do! It is the favorite cake from my childhood, for sure!

Sorry about the flash! The lighting is so bad in my kitchen!

For macadamia nut brittle, you will need:
(I got this recipe from Nigella Lawson's Christmas Bites)

175 ml water
200g sugar
100g macadamia nuts, quartered

Put water and sugar into a saucepan, swish around once and put over high heat.
Bring to a boil until golden. (Nigella says this takes only 10 minutes, it took me 24 minutes)
Swish in macadamia nuts and pour onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Let harden and break into pieces.
Enjoy!

For mushroom perogies, you will need:
(I got this recipe from my Candice Kumai cookbook, Pretty Delicious)

For the dough:
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp water

Mix dry ingredients into a large bowl.
Mix all wet ingredients into a bowl or large measuring cup.
Gently incorporate wet ingredients into the dry, and you will probably need to add tons more flour, because I did.
Sprinkle flour on your surface, and knead the dough for 4 minutes, flouring it as you need to.
Put dough into another bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and let rest.

For the filling:
1 cup potatoes, mashed
olive oil
half of an onion, thinly chopped
3/4 cup mushrooms, cut into small pieces
salt and pepper

Fry onion in frying pan with oil, about a tbsp or so.
Once beginning to brown, add in mushrooms and cook 2-3 minutes.
Stir mushroom onion mixture with potatoes and season with salt and pepper.

To assemble:
Keep a small bowl of cold water on the counter next to you, and a cookie sheet dusted in flour as well.
Cut dough into 4 pieces.
Roll out one section on a floured surface.
Use a round cookie cutter or glass to cut about 3" circles.
Put a spoonful of filling in the middle.
Dip your fingers into the cold water and dampen one edge of the circle of dough.
Fold and press edges together until well sealed.
Place on cookie sheet dusted in flour and continue the process.
Chill in fridge for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Boil in salted water for 8 minutes, ten perogies at a time.
If you like them fried, fry them in olive oil after they have been boiled.
Serve with sour cream, salsa, or whatever you like to eat your perogies with.
Enjoy! They are so delicious! Also, I made 25 perogies from this recipe.

I will be adding more Christmas favorites as I make them in the next 2 weeks! I hope everyone enjoys these recipes!

Until next time,

Jacqueline

Big Vegetarian Burritos!

I got the inspiration for these delicious burritos from watching The Schuerman Show on youtube.  Sam is a beauty guru and her husband, Jay is a food enthusiast and they have a little man, Phoenix.  They post daily vlogs of their life and always seem to be eating something delicious!

A while back I had come across the episode where they had eaten these huge burritos and wanted to make some of my own.  I hope you enjoy this delicious recipe, and feel free to add or create your own kind of burrito!

To make this recipe, you will need:

A little olive oil, plain not extra virgin
1 large onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 jalapenos, chopped (If you want less spicy, add one or no spice don't add any at all, your choice!)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
A little salt
Tortillas
Any toppings of your choice, I used:
Tomato
Avocado
Sharp cheddar
Salsa
Sour cream


Heat oil in a large frying pan; I used my deep one, this recipe makes leftovers! (Unless your feeding an army!)
Preheat oven on a low broil.
Cook onion, red pepper and jalapeno pepper until soft, about 6-7 minutes on medium heat.
Add beans and corn, season with salt and heat through.
Heat your tortillas up a little, either in the microwave or in the oven before you preheat it. This makes them a little bit easier to work with.
Place tortillas on a baking sheet.
Spoon some of the veggie mixture into the heated tortilla and sprinkle with cheese.
Broil for 1 minute or less, until cheese is melted.
Top with all your goodies and enjoy!

Mark felt the need to take a picture of me, so I added it!

I love the gorgeous colors of everything mixed together!

I hope everyone enjoys this healthier version of a meat burrito. Using all veggies gives that extra fibre and vitamins that we need and so many less calories than some greasy meat!

Also, if you would like to check out The Schuermans, click here.

Until next time, 

Jacqueline

Greek Stew with Pasta

Today I made a delicious, hearty stew.  I was watching Nigella Bites the other day, and she was making a Greek stew, with lamb and added some macaroni.  Of course, Mark doesn't like lamb, so I substituted with pork and made some of my own changes as I went along.  It was super rich and delicious and we savoured every bite.  I hope you all enjoy this as much as we did, and make any changes you want as you go along.

For this recipe of Greek Stew with Pasta, you will need:

Olive oil
1 small package of pork stew meat, or lamb, about 1/2 a pound.
1 large onion
4 cloves of garlic
2 celery stalks
A few carrots, peeled and diced or 2 handfuls baby carrots cut in half.
1 can of tomatoes, whole or diced, whatever you prefer
A little swish of water, to rinse out can
1 cup red wine
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup macaroni or any small pasta
Crumbled feta cheese for the topping

Finely chop or blitz onion, garlic and celery in a food processor.
Heat olive oil in a pot.
Dry off meat and brown it in the oil.
Set browned meat aside.
Soften onions, garlic and celery in oil from the meat.
Once soft, add the meat back in.
Add the carrots, tomatoes, water, wine, more water, oregano, salt and pepper.
Simmer for 2 hours on a low heat.
Turn up the heat to a boil and add pasta, let cook 10 minutes until pasta is al dente.
You may need to add more salt and pepper here.
Serve with a sprinkle of feta cheese.
Enjoy!

Until next time, 

Jacqueline

Mushroom Pizza Extraordinaire!

I have something super tasty to share with everyone today.  I had been planning on making my noodle-less lasagna for supper, but as we walked around the store I decided on making portobello mushroom pizzas.

This is such a versatile meal. You can use ANY ingredients you want to. Feel free to have imagination with this.

For this recipe, I used:

-4 large portobello mushrooms, without gills and stem. (save the stems and use them as topping!)
-Pizza sauce
-Red pepper
-Jalapeno pepper
-spicy salami
-marble & parmesan cheese

Heat oven at 350F.
Place the portobellos on a baking sheet, and bake for 5-6 minutes.
Once out of the oven, get ready to fill them up with all the goodies you want.
I poured in the sauce and got my mushrooms stuffed with the stems, that I saved and chopped up, all my peppers, a little bit of shredded salami and topped with some marble & parmesan cheese.
Bake these guys for 10 minutes or so. You can also broil them at the very end to get them bubbly!

These pizzas are literally going to save you hundreds of calories without sacrificing flavour! Enjoy the recipe, and don't forget to get creative! 

Until next time, 

Jacqueline