Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I'm always trying to find something that is semi healthy for the massive muffin consumption that happens in my house. Ms. Ladybug requires a coffee and muffins every time she steps foot in the house, so there's always a supply waiting. This is a pretty low fat, low sugar option with lots of hidden apples, so I don't mind her or the kids "pigging" out.

Freezer Meals: Big Cook Summer 2014

This summer I'm going to try not to use my stove or oven to make dinner. Lets see if that works, I'm planning to just use my slow cooker and grill, so I guess that means I need to do another big cook.

Today Lady & Bug were spending the day with Nana & Papa Ladybug, so I had some time to get a Big Cook done. A little leisurely grocery shop with a coffee and then it was getting down to work!

I seem to be going with themes lately, and this Big Cook is all about food from hot countries just in time for the hot weather of summer. As many of you know, Daddy Ladybug and I love to travel and my favourite part of travel is the food (of course!). I try all the local specialties I can find (except the bugs - that's Daddy Ladybug's thing) and I'll try to take a cooking class if it's available. One of my favourite activities is to go to the local market and check out what kind of food they sell - looks so different from our supermarkets! Once I'm home I try to recreate the dishes - sometimes successfully, and sometimes I have to go hunt down a neighbour to find out what's really in those dishes! 

At home I check out the local market too. On my shopping trip this morning I discovered another great way to make Big Cooks easier, a jar of peeled garlic! Perfect for this big cook day - I almost used the whole jar.

Mmmm....Garlic!

I started with my beef dishes: Simba Stew (Inspired by South/East Africa), Salsa Verde Beef (Inspired by Mexico), Vietnamese Beef (recipe from a Cooking School in Hoi An), and Grilled Pineapple Ginger Beef (Inspired by China). 

Then it was onto the chicken dishes: Chicken Shawarma (Inspired by a delicious sandwich I had in Cairo), Thai Red Curry (recipe from cooking school in Bangkok), Greek Chicken (Inspired by Greece), Lime Chicken (Inspired by Costa Rica) and Butter Chicken (Inspired by India). 

Meals made in this Big Cook:

• Simba Stew
• Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Beef Tacos
• Vietnamese Beef
• Grilled Pineapple Ginger Beef
• Slow Cooker Chicken Shawarma & Garlic Sauce
• Slow Cooker Red Thai Curry
• Greek Chicken
• Limey Chicken
• Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

I tripled each of the recipes so if you're counting that's 9 different recipes and 27 meals in about 3 hours. So satisfying! The freezer is full and I have about 2 months of summer oven/stove free meals ready to go. 

Bring on the heat!

~Adel~

If you're looking for more freezer meal ideas, try my Freezer Meals page for Big Cooks and freezer friendly meal ideas.

You might also like: 

Simba Stew

I'm always looking for new flavours and travel has been a great way to discover new spice combinations. 

New isn't always easy when you've got kids, but I can usually get my kids to eat something new or different if I call it something cool, even if it's not the prettiest looking meal.

Simba would probably love this African inspired dish!

Simba Stew

2 lbs Steak, cut in thin strips

5 cloves, Garlic, minced

1 Onion, sliced thin
4 Potatoes, cubed (optional)*
3 Carrots, 1 inch chunks (optional)*

1 & 1/2 tsp Cumin

1/4 tsp Allspice

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Pepper

796 ml can Diced Tomatoes (28 oz)

2 Tbsp Greek Yogurt

*I usually make this dish with just the shredded or cubed meat on rice with chapati, but if you add the potatoes & carrots, it becomes a stew, good both ways.

Slow Cooker Instructions: Combine all ingredients except greek yogurt in a slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Stir in greek yogurt before serving. 

Serve with rice or your favourite flatbread. 

Freezer instructions: Combine meat, garlic, onion, spices and tomatoes in a freezer bag and freeze. To use, place in the fridge 24 hours before cooking to defrost. Add contents of bag to slow cooker and follow cooking instructions above.

Another great summer slow cooker option.

~Adel~

Grilled Pineapple Ginger Steak

I love the combination of the sweet tangy pineapple and ginger with beef. Perfect for the BBQ, but also delicious in the slow cooker.

Grilled Pineapple Ginger Steak

2 lbs Beef Steaks

1 can Pineapple & juice

2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

2 Tbsp Cooking Oil

4 cloves Garlic, minced

1 Tbsp Fresh Ginger, minced

Grilling Instructions: Place meat in a marinating dish. Combine Pineapple, juice, soy sauce, oil, garlic and ginger in a bowl and pour over steak. Cover and marinate for at least 2 hours (more is better). Grill on medium heat as desired. Serve with rice or chow mein noodles. 

Freezer Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a freezer bag and freeze. To use, defrost in a fridge for at least 24 hours.

Slow Cooker Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 4 hours. Slice meat thin and serve over rice.

Yum. Happy Grilling!

~Adel~

Slow Cooker Thai Red Curry

Cooking school in Thailand is one of my favourite travel experiences and this is a variation of one of the meals we learned - of course adapted for the slow cooker and an attempt to add measurements (my hastily jotted down notes are just a list of ingredients). I've also replaced peppers with carrots and potatoes because that's the way my favourite Thai place makes it!

Thai Red Curry

2 Chicken Breasts, cut in thin strips

1 Tbsp Red Curry Paste*

1/2 cup Chicken Broth

1 Tbsp Fish Sauce*

1/4 cup Lime Juice

2 Kaffir Lime Leaves (optional) *

1 Onion, sliced thin

2 Potatoes, peeled and sliced thin

3 Carrots, peeled & sliced

10 Mushrooms, quartered

1 can Bamboo Shoots (optional)

Thai Red Chilies (optional for heat)*

1 can Coconut Milk

Cooked Rice

Lime

Basil

Combine chicken, curry paste, broth, fish sauce, lime juice, lime leaves, onion, potato, carrots, mushroom, and bamboo shoots in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2. Add coconut milk, replace the lid, and cook for another 1/2 hour. Stir well before serving. Serve with rice, and add lime and basil to taste.

Freezing Instructions: Combine chicken, red curry, broth, fish sauce, lime juice, lime leaves and onion in a freezer bag and freeze. To use, defrost for 24 hours in a fridge and empty contents of the bag into a slow cooker. Add potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots and follow cooking & serving instructions above.

A little taste of Thailand from the slow cooker.

~Adel~

* May be hard to find in your local grocery store, but usually found in the Asian foods isle with Thai or Vietnamese ingredients. If you can't find them, try an Asian Grocer. Kaffir lime leaves are difficult to find here, I can usually only find them at an Asian grocery store and they only have them frozen (so check the freezers).

Slow Cooker Chicken Shawarma & Garlic Sauce

I remember my first Shawarma and it's something I'll never forget! It was a Shawarma (shaved, slow roasted meat) on a bun with delicious white sauce and veggies in a little place in Cairo, I didn't know food could be that good! I haven't had one like it, they're usually served in pitas or on rice around here (still very very good).

So, of course I'm gonna try my hand at making a slow cooker version - knowing full well that it will never taste as good as something slow roasted on a spit but I'm sure gonna try!

Slow Cooker Chicken Shawarma

8-12 Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs, cut in thin strips

3 cloves Garlic, minced

1 onion, sliced thin

1/4 cup Lemon Juice

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1 tsp Salt

2 tsp Curry Powder (I have also used Epicure's Mango Curry Seasoning)

1 cup Greek Yogurt

In a slow cooker, combine chicken, garlic, onion, lemon juice, olive oil, salt & curry powder. Cook on high for 3 hours. Add greek yogurt and serve on rice or in a bun with tomatoes, cucumber, garlic sauce, and hot sauce (optional).

Freezer Instructions: Combine all ingredients except yogurt in a freezer bag and freeze. To use, thaw for 24 hours in a fridge and empty contents of bag into a slow cooker. Follow instructions above.

If you would like a more authentic crispy chicken, try removing the chicken from the slow cooker once it is done (before adding the yogurt) and pan frying the meat in butter, olive oil, and a few scoops of the remaining sauce until the chicken browns. Add the yogurt just before serving. It tastes almost real, plus the juices left in the pan are amazing on your rice or for dipping bread or pita!

Garlic Sauce (for the top)

3/4 cup Greek Yogurt

1/4 cup Mayonnaise

6 cloves Garlic, minced

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Dried Mint

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Combine ingredients in a bowl and let sit for about an hour before serving. Spread as a condiment on both sides of the bun or pita before adding the chicken and veggies in a Shawarma Sandwich or pour on top for an amazing flavour kick. (Just don't plan to get close to anyone else for the rest of the day!!!)

So good, I think I might make it again for dinner tomorrow!

~Adel~

10 Great Meals for Camping with Kids

It's officially the kick off to the camping season this year. The line of campers impatiently waiting to escape the city is growing with each hour, so if you're caught in traffic, here's something for you! 

Camping food seems to get a free pass when it comes to nutrition, it's fun, tasty and easy. In my experience, you can get kids to eat more if they help make it, so this is a great chance for them to be involved. The best part is that there's usually little work involved for the cook! A fire, a stick, a grill, and some tin foil are about all you'll need!

If you're not out camping, your backyard BBQ works just fine.

I've put together some ideas that I remember from my childhood, years of working at summer camp, and things I've tried as an adult (but wish my parents knew about it when I was a kid).

Eggs in a Bag

1 small zipper freezer bag

Boiling water & pot with lid

2 eggs per person

omelette toppings (cheese, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms)

salt & pepper

Add 2 eggs and desired toppings to a zippered freezer bag (not sandwich - too thin). Close baggie and place in boiling water and cover for 8-12 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. Season with salt & pepper as desired and pour out of baggie onto a plate or eat right out of the bag.

A quick and easy breakfast.

Pancakes
1 cup Flour
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt

Combine this mix in a plastic zipper bag and take with you.
Add:
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Milk
2 Tbsp Oil

Stir until moist but lumpy. Cook for 2 minutes/side on a hot griddle or skillet.

Serve with Syrup, fresh berries or whip cream for a delicious breakfast!

Piggies in a Bannock Blanket

Make 1 Bannock Recipe (see below) and wrap Bannock around smoked link sausage or hot dog wieners. Using a stick or a grill over fire, cook until meat starts to bubble and dough becomes golden brown (and probably some black) and puffy. Meat should be cooked through.

Serve with Ketchup or Mustard as dipping sauce.

Walking Tacos

 nacho cheese or corn chips (individual bags)

cheese

chili or taco beef or refried beans

tomatoes & lettuce

sour cream, salsa & guacamole

Before opening crush the chips a bit & cut off the top part of the bag. 

Top with meat, cheese and any other toppings you'd like and use a fork or fingers to eat!

Bannock Mix

2 cups Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 cup Powdered Milk
*Add 1 cup Water when making

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a zipper bag and you've got a great bread option when camping. All you have to do is add the water, mix well and fry in a couple Tbsp of oil or fat or roast on a stick over an open flame. Top with Jam, peanut butter, cheese, butter, honey, or your favourite bread topping for a delicious easy camping bread.

Baked Potato  
Poke holes with a fork in a baking potato (russet is great). Wrap in foil and place over hot coals for 30-50 minutes (depending on size).

Let sit for 5 minutes and serve with bacon bits, tomato, green onions, cheese, chili, sour cream, butter, mustard...anything you want!

Hobo Packets

Combine your favourite ingredients in a double layer of aluminum foil (don't forget to use cooking spray) and cook over hot coals for 20-40 minutes (depending on the size and ingredients).

Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Traditional Hobo Packets include meat, potatoes, onion, carrots, butter & salt/pepper.
Be creative and use ingredient like ground beef patties, steak, chicken, sausage, carrots, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, bacon bits, eggs, peas, broccoli, cheese, pineapple, mango, lemons, limes and any seasoning or sauces you'd like!

Campfire Mac & Cheese

1/ 2 cup Partially cooked macaroni
1 tsp butter
1 Tbsp Milk
1/4 cup Cheese, grated

Combine ingredients in an individual foil pie plate and mix well. Cover with a double layer of foil and cook over hot coals for 10 minutes. Stir well and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Pina Colada Banana Boats

Cut a V in the top of a ripe banana and scoop our some of the flesh. Line the V with marshmallows and top with crushed pineapple, coconut flakes and dark chocolate chips.

Wrap in aluminum foil and cook over hot coals for 10-15 minutes until marshmallows are melted.

Eat with a spoon.

Nutella S'mores

Graham Crackers

Jumbo Marshmallows

Nutella

Spread nutella on two graham crackers. Toast marshmallows over fire with a stick until golden and melty. Sandwich melty marshmallow between nutella'd graham crackers and serve warm.

Watch out for the  gooey deliciousness that squeezes out the sides!

So if you're still trying to figure out what to make this long weekend, here's 10 great ideas that my kids love and I'm sure yours will too.

Happy Camping!

~Adel~

Want more camping ideas? Check out my Camping with Kids page!

Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Beef Tacos

Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Beef Tacos

2 lb Beef, cut in strips

1 cup Salsa Verde*

1/2 cup Beef Broth

1 Onion, sliced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

2 tsp Tex Mex Seasoning
16 Easy Grilled Flour Tortillas
Taco toppings as desired

*Salsa Verde is a green salsa that can be found in your hispanic food section of the grocery store with other salsas. In mine, there's only one kind available and it's spicy, but you can usually find mild as well.

Combine ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8. Shred beef if desired and serve on rice or tacos with your favourite toppings.

Delicious with a little bit of spice that just leaves a tingle!.A great summer slow cooker freezer meal!

~Adel~

.

Easy Grilled Flour Tortillas

When it's hot outside the last thing you want to do is stand over a hot stove or oven!

I've started making much of my summer flatbread on the grill instead of in the oven or on the stove. It gives it a nice grilled flavour and I can enjoy my backyard  for a few seconds while I wait to flip them!

Of course you can still use this recipe and cook them on a pan on the stove if you want.

Easy Grilled Flour Tortillas

4 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 & 1/2 cup water

1/3 cup Oil (I use Olive)

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Add water and oil and mix until combined. Turn onto a floured surface and knead about 10 times until dough is soft, add a little more flour or water if needed. I use my mixer to make this process even faster.

Let dough rest for 5-10 minutes and divide into 16 equal portions. Roll each ball out into about 7" circle and place on medium grill for 1 minute per side. Brush with oil before grilling if desired.

Stop buying tortillas & make your own, it only takes a few minutes and tastes way better! Beat the heat and make Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Beef Tacos or Salsa Chicken Tacos for a delicious meal without heating up your kitchen!

Now I'm ready for Taco Tuesday!

~Adel~

Raspberry Peach Sangria

It's sunny again!!!

Today Daddy Ladybug and I went out to celebrate our 10 year anniversary at our favourite local restaurant and I had one of my all-time favourite drinks, their Sangria. I love it so much that of course I have to come home and attempt to replicate it. 

So here's my version of Cactus Club's Sangria.

Raspberry Peach Sangria

1 Bottle Red Wine (Cab Sav or Malbec make it good in my experience)

1 can Lemon-Lime Soda (7-up or Sprite)

1 cup Raspberry Juice

1 cup Raspberries (fresh or frozen)

1 Peach

3 oz Peach Liqueur

2 oz Raspberry Liqueur

Ice

In a small bowl, muddle raspberries for a few seconds to let the juice out. Pour into a serving pitcher or jug, add wine, soda, juice, fruit & liqueurs. Stir well and let sit for about 1 hour before serving over ice.

Now to find a good book and sit on the deck!

~Adel~

Jam Lattice Bars

Mother's Day.
It is a special day for me, I was born on Mother's day - the first child and grandchild in my family (on both sides) to top it off, it was also my grandparent's anniversary that day.

Now that I'm a mother, it continues to remind me of where I came from and the long line of women who came before me.

Me & my grandma, great-grandma & mom at my grandparent's 25th anniversary a few days after I was born.

Today, I'm honouring my mother and all the women who came before her.. 

Grandma Ladybug is a wonderful baker (from a long line of wonderful bakers). If you know her, you've probably been blessed with some baking! She routinely brings baking to the older people in her community and bakes up a storm for every church function. If she's coming to visit, she probably has an armful of baking with her. 

Grandma Ladybug is one of my favourite people in the whole world. I love my mom, she is incredibly generous, kind, helpful, strong, hard working and though she has not had an easy life, has remained joyful and positive through it all. I've learned a lot from my mom and I'm honoured to be her daughter!

In honour of Mother's Day, I've made one of my favourite recipes that my mom makes. 

Jam Lattice Bars

2 & 1/2 cups Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt

1 cup Margarine or Butter

3/4 cup Sugar

1 Egg

1 tsp Vanilla

2 Tbsp Milk

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

2 cups Jam (any kind - I used Strawberry)

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together. Cut in butter (with a pastry cutter). Mix in sugar. In a separate bowl, combine egg, vanilla & milk & cinnamon. Pour into butter mixture and mix or knead until all ingredients stick together in a solid ball. 

Cut dough in half. 

Roll out one half on a floured surface and place on bottom of a greased cookie sheet. Spread out and patch as needed. 

Spread jam on top of the dough and spread evenly to cover the entire pan.

Roll out the other half of the dough and cut long strips to use as lattice on the top. Lay down strips in a criss-cross pattern to create a lattice effect on top of the jam.

Bake at 350F for 20 minutes, top will be slightly golden brown. Sprinkle top with sugar and allow to cool before serving.

Happy Mother's Day!

~Adel~

Camping Spices

Camping season is getting close! I'm just itching to go, so it's on to planning and trying new ideas to see what will work for us this year. The camping bins have been re-organized and the packing list is in the process of an update. 

My kids are a year older now and some of the things we couldn't do last year are now possible with the development of some basic (and I mean basic) listening skills and reasoning abilities! I can't wait for the first planned trip of the year in June. Maybe I'll be spontaneous if there's a nice week before then.

Anyway, enough babble about camping...my northern and eastern Canadian friends are tuning out as they are still dreaming of seeing the grass poke out of the snow, I'm sure camping seems like a pipe dream at this point! Sorry!

Here's something I've been working on to reduce the amount of things I have to take with me.

Camping Spices

 I've emptied a Wilton Sprinkles container and re-filled each section with a different spice. It's not terribly easy to get the spices in - it required a very small funnel (or you could use a small piece of paper rolled into a tube instead), but the end result is fabulous. There's just enough spices in one section for a week camping, which is probably the longest we would go at any one time.

I have two, the first one I made with mixed spices (shown) like greek, taco, italian, Old Bay, garlic powder & BBQ seasoning, and one with regular spices/herbs like seasoning salt, oregano, basil, onion powder, parsley & thyme. I think I might make one more for the other spices that I don't use quite as often, but are nice to have around: cumin, paprika, cayenne, rosemary, dill, and chili. Just gotta make few more cupcakes to use up those sprinkles.

These containers are great for spices because they pour nicely to fill a measuring spoon or sprinkle seasoning if you do it carefully.

So there's another camping trick from my bin, hope it works for you too!

If you want more camping ideas, check out my Camping Page for a great packing list of what to take when you're camping with kids, my 2013 camping menu, 10 Great Meals for Camping with Kids, help with organizing camping stuff and more!

Happy Dreaming!

~Adel~

Breakfast Bake

Ms. Ladybug joins our family for respite several days a week and this morning she was with us for breakfast so I decided to try something different.

Breakfast is usually a rotation between cold cereal, oatmeal & pancakes in our house - Lady & Bug are pretty much set in stone on that one, so change is difficult, but here's something we all enjoyed.

Breakfast Bake

3 cup Potatoes, cubed

1 pkg bacon

1 pkg Breakfast sausage

1 cup Mushrooms, sliced

1 Onion, diced
2 Tomatoes, diced

3 cup Cheese, grated

8 Eggs

3/4 cup Milk

2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning

1 tsp Dry Mustard Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper

Boil potatoes in a pot of water for 10 minutes, drain & add to a large bowl. Fry bacon and breakfast sausage, drain any grease & add to the bowl with potatoes. Fry mushrooms & onion in remaining grease from frying meat, drain and add to bowl along with tomatoes & cheese.

If you want, you can reserve some bacon and cheese for the top.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, milk, italian seasoning and mustard and mix well to break up egg yokes. Add to other ingredients and mix well.

Pour mixture into an oven proof dish and bake uncovered at 350F for 40 minutes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Happy Breakfast.

~Adel~

My First Garden

This year I decided to work on my yard and plant a garden. 

My mom is an amazing gardener and I grew up planting, weeding, watering, weeding, watering, weeding, watering...and finally harvesting, so it's kind of a natural desire to have a garden of my own. Until now we haven't lived in a place where I could have a garden, so this is my very first garden!

I have no idea what I'm doing, but I've done a lot of research, quizzed Grandma Ladybug (who is learning to garden in a different climate after recently moving to the "wet" coast too!), scoured pinterest for ideas and inspiration, and just went with my gut for a little trial & error.  So...we'll see how this goes!

I decided to go with square foot gardening.

I had to build a garden box, so in true Adel form, I got very excited about the opportunity to go buy power tools! Daddy Ladybug sometimes wonders who he's married to. 

The garden box was built (4x8 ft) & filled with beautiful soil, the squares were measured out and marked with string, and a trip to the local nursery was in order to find a few plants to transplant & seeds. I decided to go with a mixture of transplants and seeds. 

I found some fun Red potatoes & some German Butter potatoes already growing at the nursery and decided to try them, along with some Yukon Gold that I planted from seed. I was a little late planting peas, so I got those transplanted too. Carrots, peas, squash, cantaloupe, lettuce, onions, green onions, potatoes, beans, tomatoes (not planted out yet) so far, still a few spaces for some more. Got any ideas?  I'm planning to put an herb garden in containers on my patio.

See that little green thing in the middle of the picture, it's my little carrots...they popped through the soil this morning!

I planted some berries (raspberries, strawberries, black berries and blueberries). Laughing that there is a massive infestation of blackberry bushes on the other side of the fence that we are constantly battling, but they don't produce much in the way of berries, so I'm growing my own tame ones on our side of the fence!

The grass needed some help too, so I got 3 yards of soil to top-dress and re-planted. It's already growing after a week of heat & sun and now some rain...lots of rain!

Now just waiting for it all to grow. Gardening requires some patience!

~Adel~

Raspberry Black Forest Cake

Today I was craving Black Forest Cake. I love Black Forest Cake, but it's not a favourite of anyone else in my house, it's the cherries, so I decided to make a raspberry version with a lighter, fluffier cake, and whip cream frosting.

It turned out really nice so I decided to share.

I'm not much of a cake decorator as you probably have already guessed from previous posts so don't be expecting a fancy cake, but it does taste really yummy!

Raspberry Black Forest Cake

1 Chocolate Cake* made in 2 round pans

1/2 cup Raspberry Liqueur (optional)

3 cups raspberries (plus a few extra for decorating)

3 Tbsp Sugar

3 Tbsp Raspberry Liqueur (optional)

1/4 cup Water

1 Tbsp Cornstarch

3 cups Whipping Cream

1/4 cup Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla

Dark Chocolate Shavings

*make this chocolate cake recipe in 2 round pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. You can also use your favourite chocolate cake recipe or use a Chocolate Cake mix.

Cut round cakes in half horizontally with a long knife (carefully!) or a piece of floss.

Optional: Pour a few tablespoons of Raspberry Liqueur over each piece of cake and let sit for about 1 hour to soak in.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, mash raspberries with a potato masher or fork. Add 3 Tbsp Sugar, 3 Tbsp Raspberry Liqueur (optional) and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add water & cornstarch to thicken syrup. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, combine whip cream, sugar and vanilla on med-high with a mixer until it forms peaks (about 3 minutes depending on the temp. and your mixer).

Once all the elements are ready, it's time to assemble the cake.

Place one of the cake slices on the serving platter and spread 1/3 of the raspberry sauce, top with a few heaping Tbsp of whipping cream and spread evenly. Add the next layer of cake and repeat until the top is on. Cover the cake with whip cream and decorate with chocolate shavings and raspberries as desired.

Like I said...not a cake decorator!

A nice light and fluffy tart raspberry option to the classic Black Forest Cake.

~Adel~

Honey Garlic BBQ Sauce

It's been hot the past week and the BBQ's been going, so I thought I'd share one of our favourite BBQ sauce recipes!

Honey Garlic BBQ Sauce

1/2 cup Honey

1 cup Ketchup

1/4 cup Soy Sauce

8 cloves Garlic, minced

Mix together and use as a BBQ sauce or pour over chicken or ribs in the slow cooker or oven. 

I use it as part of my Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken recipe.

Quick, easy & delicious!

~Adel~

Pizza Subs

Daddy Ladybug has been working on perfecting one of his favourite lunches, so I thought I'd share it!

Pizza Subs

6 Submarine Buns

Pizza Sauce

Sub Sauce (I use Maple Leaf Ezee Sub Sauce) or Zesty Italian Dressing

18 slices Pepperoni Sausage

18 slices Salami Sausage

18 slices Ham

2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, grated

Italian Seasoning

Slice sub buns horizontally (leaving it hinged on one side) and open. Place open on a baking sheet. Spread pizza sauce on both halves and squeeze a bit of sub sauce or italian dressing on each side. Place 3 slices of each kind of meat on each sub. Top with mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with italian seasoning. Bake in a 350F oven for 10 minutes or until cheese gets bubbly and starts to brown. Fold closed, slice in half, and serve. 

Delicious hot or cold. I wrap any leftovers individually in the fridge and save for snacks or lunches. Can also be done on the grill if you don't want to use the oven. Add other toppings (mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, pineapple) if desired - my family likes them plain!

~Adel~