When I was a kid my mom would shop at a grocery store called Co-op which is a big brand in Western Canada. I remember the bakers in the bakery department would put out warm, freshly fried doughnut holes that were covered in cinnamon sugar for the customers to take. My sister and I would…
Spicy Avocado Sandwich Spread
Avocados are definitely trendy these days and there are a tonne of recipes out there on unique ways of using them in everything from dessert items to fancy toast. This spread is an excellent use of these delicious and healthy little fruits. It’s important to make sure you use ripe and unblemished avocados, the result…
Spicy Chicken & Bacon Wrap
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the best dinner to make for a family or a large group are the ones that people can customize. As a mother of three kids and a member of a large extended family, I know that everyone likes things a bit differently and whenever I get…
Apple Chutney
The devil is in the details when it comes to simple food turned awesome! I love to make simple meat dishes and add a great sauce or relish to bring them to life. A chutney is essentially a relish, it’s a bit sweet and a bit sour and combines fruits with vegetables like I’ve done…
Pork Schnitzel with Apple Chutney
Oh fried food…I love you so much which is why I know my treadmill so well. This is one of those recipes that I take out when I have to feed a crowd on a budget. Giving a guest a piece of meat as big as their head usually makes them feel like they had…
Coconut Almond Cookies
I love the texture that coconut gives to baked goods, I try to come up with new and interesting ways to use it to get that “stick to your teeth” sort of chew that I like so much. Coconut and almonds are good buddies and they compliment each other really well but you can certainly…
Perfect Sandwich Bread
I know we are all trying to watch the carbs, the gluten and the “white” foods but for real, bread is my thing and I just gotta have good white bread to dip into marinara or make a great sandwich or to eat straight from the oven while I hide in my pantry. I have…
Balsamic Onion & Tarragon Dressing
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about great food vs. good food it’s details… great Chefs make foods that have layers of interest to them. They will marinate meat and then add the cooked meat to a flavorful side and then top it with dressed greens and finish it with a sauce. Layers and layers…
Chicken Burger with Balsamic Onion & Tarragon Dressing
Spring is here and burger season is about to explode. I love to grill and I love to make burgers. These burgers are made with the dark meat from the chicken to keep them from drying out and they are incredibly flavorful with herbs and dijon mustard. They are not heavy like a beef burger,…
Easy Vanilla Frosting
Just like my Easy Chocolate Buttercream this recipe is a bit of a cheater. I buy good quality pudding from the refrigerated section of the grocery store and whip this up in about five minutes. It comes together like magic and the result is a fluffy, light, not too sweet vanilla buttercream. This icing will color…
The Very Best White Cake
I love to look through old cookbooks and magazine clippings of recipes; one of my favorite possessions is the cookbook my Grandma left me. It’s a hardcover notebook with a red cover and inside is a collection of handwritten recipes and clippings from Good Housekeeping or the local newspaper. Some of the recipes are named…
Easy French Baguette
It is incredibly satisfying to make your own bread, there’s really nothing else like it… it’s not basic or elementary, it seems advanced somehow and therefore, more of an accomplishment. I don’t claim to be an artisan bread maker or even a classically trained Pastry Chef, I am a classically trained Chef who loves to…
Sausage & Peppers Farfalle
This meal is so simple it’s silly, I can honestly say, this is a family favorite! This is a great example of something I will make if I’m crunched for time and I want something quick, easy and that everyone likes. I am serving the sauce on Farfalle or “bowtie” pasta but of course any…
Classic Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies
What can I say about a classic Chocolate Chunk Cookie, it’s just good… This is a recipe I’ve used for years and even though I will create new ones and try other recipes that I find here and there, this one is fool proof and reliable. I don’t know about you but I hate it…
Cilantro Lime Dressing
When I was a kid I don’t think it even occurred to me that one could make their own salad dressing, to me it was just an item in the grocery store that came bottled; it would be like making your own mustard as far as I was concerned. I have since converted my mind…
Southwest Chicken Bowls
For those of you who love to go to Freshii or Chopped Leaf but you just don’t want to spend $10+ per person, this is the recipe for you. Anyone with kids knows it’s next to impossible to please everyone every night with dinner and still put a healthy meal on the table. The meals…
Triple Chocolate Zucchini Loaf
It seems like every week I have a leftover ingredient that I need to use and, inevitably I make a loaf cake. This is not a bad thing, in fact it’s a great thing because it allows me to use ingredients rather than waste them and it gives me a dessert/lunch box item for my…
Cheesy Herbed Flatbread
Whenever I have people over, I like to have a lot of appetizers and little bites to offer, it’s important to organize it so that not all appetizers are time consuming or you can get overwhelmed. These flatbreads are a really great way to add interest to the table, they can be customized and topped…
Raspberry Cheesecake Sandwich Cookies
There are cookies and then there are cookies… we have all made them; chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin blah, blah blah but when we want an oreo or a fudge-o or any kind of sandwich cookie, we all go to the store, right? Well stop doing that and start making these bad boys. This is an…
Awesome Sauce
This is an awesome sauce, it has incredible balance between salty, briny creamy and bright, it goes perfectly on fish for fish tacos or my breaded cod fillets. It would be a perfect topping on a po’ boy sandwich or a lobster roll. This is even a great base for a tuna sandwich; basically anywhere…
Cracked Pot Kitchen 