Hurricane Quiche

Well, we're fairing pretty well here with Hurricane Bill blowing through the area. They're forecasting winds up to 100 km/hr and rain fall amounts between 90-140 mm. They also say that since we're supposed to get the height of the storm here at high tide, the waves may get up to 50 feet high. Crazy! The beaches are all closed down now, it's amazing to me that earlier you could actually see parents on the news taking their kids to go see the surf as a family event even with the warnings of how unsafe it was! What are people thinking? Seriously!

We haven't lost power here yet, but we still might. I have a large flower bed in front of my walk-way that I added miracle grow to the soil this year. So, instead of my Impatients only growing to about 6 inches tall, they've grown to about 1 1/2 feet tall and are so beautiful and full. That's amazing stuff! lol :) Unfortunately, a lot of my flowers have been blown flat now, though. :(

The power is out in most areas around around us. I've heard reports of it being around 22,000 homes across the province that are without power but they feel it's going to be up again later tonight. Just in case, I decided to do some baking to get supper ready in case I lost use of the stove. I've had a craving on for some quiche, so that's what I baked. I also cooked up some other things to keep on hand, just to have ready.

We've just been downgraded from a Hurricane watch to a Tropical Storm warning, so I think the majority of the storm is past us now with not a whole lot of damage. Just a fair bit of rain to still come but the winds are subsiding. It'll be interesting to take a drive later on to see just how bad it got around us, though.

Anyway, here's my recipe to share with you in case you have a craving on for some quiche, too! :)

Julie's Cheesy Bacon Quiche

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Crust:
2 1/2 cups Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Sugar
6 tbsp. Cooking Oil
3/4 cup + 1 tbsp. 2 % Milk

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add cooking oil and using a pastry blender, blend until it's the consistency of corn meal. Using a wooden spoon, stir in milk until it forms a ball. When it has nearly formed a ball, I work it with my hands rolling it around the bowl to fully incorporate the dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 1/2 to chill. In the meantime, you may prepare the filling and egg mixture below.

Filling:
1/2 med Green Pepper, chopped
2 green Onions, chopped
4 slices of Bacon, cooked and chopped (I use real bacon that already comes pre-cooked and chopped)

1 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Sauté green pepper for a 2 minutes until tender crisp, add green onions and continue to cook for 2 more minutes. Add pre-cooked bacon and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat.

Egg Mixture:
6 large Eggs
1 cup Milk
3 tsp. French Onion Dip Mix (Victorian Epicure) - no salt added
1 tsp. Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
pinch Salt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Mix the above 6 ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.

Roll out your pie crust on a floured surface and place in a 9" pie plate. Fill with egg mixture then add shredded cheddar cheese and bacon veggie filling. Bake in oven on middle rack for approximate 35 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle of your quiche comes out dry.

Enjoy!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Icing

I made this tonight for our crafty get together. I love anything with pumpkin, so I thought I'd share these. I normally make them with a cream cheese icing, but I decided to go with a chocolate icing tonight instead and I quite like them this way for a change. Yummy! :)

Pumpkin Muffins

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

dash of cloves and allspice

1 tsp. baking soda

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup oil (I use canola)

1 can canned pumpkin (15 oz size)

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda together. Gently mix in sugar. In large mixing bowl, beat 4 eggs until foamy. Add oil and canned pumpkin. Mix until combined. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients. Do not overbeat. Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup, fill nonstick muffins tins and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Recipe yields 15 muffins.

While pumpkin muffins are baking and cooling, you may prepare the chocolate icing for the filling and the topping as shown below.

Chocolate Icing:

2 tsp. instant coffee (optional)

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups icing sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1/4 tsp. salt

8 tbsp. margarine

2 tsp. vanilla

Combine all ingredients and add a dollop to each pumpkin muffin after you've taken the top off. Spread the icing to cover the bottom part of the muffin, place the top of the muffin back on and pipe a little dollop on top.

Enjoy! :)

Cranberry Granola Crunch

I found another very yummy recipe that I had to share. A friend of mine asked for the recipe, so I thought I'd use my recipe card stamps to make a copy for her. I got this recipe out of this months copy of Reader's Digest magazine (a Canadian publication). We're big fans of granola here in our house, as you can see from the recent granola bar recipe, as well. Granola is so yummy on ice-cream or frozen yogurt or the best layered in a cup with vanilla yogurt and fresh fruit. Yummy! :)

Here's the recipe directions.
This is what the granola looks like when it's all cooled and broken up into chunks.
I'll be back later tonight with something crafty to show you. I've been busy lately tidying and organizing my house. Jim came home today and said "Jules, the house looks really nice, you're not nesting. are you?" To which I immediately said, "Bite your tongue!" You see, we're supposed to be done having kids! lol :) I'm really just trying to rid myself of my pack-rat ways. To be truthful, I quite proud of myself. I'm throwing away stuff that I've been keeping around for years. I guess it's about time and I do agree the place looks better now. lol :)

Time to go have supper, thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Ok, this is the last post for today and I have to go get ready to go since I got called in to work again tonight. Alas, no crafty time again tonight... Boo Hoo! lol :)

I just wanted to share the recipe for the Pumpkin Cupcakes that I made for a little treat when the girls came over the other night. They were yummy, but I think I would have added more cinnamon than they called for and perhaps even a wee bit of nutmeg. Darn, I guess I'll have to make some more....twist my arm! lol :) I got this recipe from a crafty blog a while ago, but unfortunately I can't remember who I got it from...sorry! :( Thanks for the recipe, though! :)

Pumpkin Bars / Pumpkin Cupcakes

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar (I used 1 1/2 cups Splenda instead)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup oil (I used Canola)

1 can canned pumpkin (15 oz size)

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda together. Gently mix in sugar. In large mixing bowl, beat 4 eggs until foamy. Add oil and canned pumpkin. Mix until combined. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients. Do not over beat. Pour into greased sheet pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. (I baked mine for 18 minutes). If you are doing the mini cupcakes like I did, bake for about 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

While pumpkin bars are baking and cooling, have butter and cream cheese come to room temperature. My MIL always doubles the frosting recipe ... and I did as well. You definitely need a doubled batch of this frosting to cover all the pumpkin bars!

Frosting

3 ounces light cream cheese

3/4 stick butter or margarine

1 tsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth (no lumps). Add milk and vanilla. Slowly incorporate powdered sugar. Spread on cooled bars. Cut into bars. I like to put a candy corn in the center of each bar. Store in refrigerator as there are items in this recipe that require refrigeration. (And you might want to put aluminum foil over the top of the pan to keep the frosting soft. Lightly spray your aluminum foil with cooking spray to keep the frosting from sticking to the foil.)

Enjoy! :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Chocolate Brownie Bites

I had to share this very simple, yet VERY yummy recipe that I made this afternoon with ya all! :) Chocolate is my weakness and I wanted to make a little treat, but this is only a half-devilish treat as it uses Splenda sweetener, so it makes it more enjoyable to know that you're not adding a ton of sugar to your body! I also actually used Becel margarine instead of the butter, since I was out of real butter and they turned out just great. Bonus...less fat, too! lol :)

Chocolate Brownie Bites

24 mini paper liners

1/2 cup (125 ml) Butter, melted
1/4 cup (50 ml) Chipits Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, melted
1/4 cup (50 ml) Cocoa Powder
3/4 cup (175 ml) Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
1/4 cup (50 ml) Splenda Brand Brown Sugar Blend
2 Eggs
1 tsp (5 ml) Vanilla
1/2 cup (125 ml) All-Purpose Flour
1 tbsp Instant Espresso Powder or Granulated Instant Coffee, optional
3/4 tsp (4 ml) Baking Powder
1/4 tsp (1 ml) Salt
1/2 cup (125 ml) Chipits Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat Oven to 350 F (180 C). Line mini muffin cups with paper liners or spray 9" x 9" pan for Brownie Squares.
2. Combine first 7 ingredients in medium sized bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Stir until combined. Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full or pour evenly into 9" x 9" baking pan.
3. Bake muffins in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until set or bake squares for 20-25 minutes or until set. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy! :)

Ice Cream Cake

I made this ice cream cake the other night when I had some of the girls over to stamp and a they wanted the recipe for it, so I thought I'd post it here in case anyone else was interested, as well. It's a super easy cake to make and very yummy. :) The top picture is a slice of the one I just made, and the pic of the whole cake above is one I made last year, but I used sliced almonds instead of slivered almonds. Either as yummy. For the whole cake, I used Vanilla ice cream and for the one I just made, I tried using French Vanilla frozen yogurt, I liked it just as well, and a lot less calories, so that's good. Hope you like it! :)

Well, I'm heading into crafty land to create something...I'll be back later tonight or tomorrow to post it.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Here's the recipe:

Julie's Ice-Cream Cake

2 cups flour
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup rolled oats
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup margarine, melted

1 bottle (250 ml) butter scotch / caramel topping
2 litres vanilla ice-cream/frozen yogurt
3 tbsp. sliced or slivered almonds

~Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Take ice-cream or frozen yogurt out of freezer to partially thaw.
~Stir together first 5 ingredients, arrange crumble mixture onto a 9” x 13” baking sheet.
~Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
~Add ½ of crumble mixture to bottom of large spring form baking pan.
~Drizzle on ½ of butterscotch topping, then 2 litres of vanilla ice-cream; spread smooth.
~Add remaining ½ of crumble mixture over ice-cream.
~Drizzle on remaining ½ of butterscotch topping over crumble mixture.
~Sprinkle sliced almonds over top.
~Freeze overnight to firm up again.
~Remove from freezer about 15 minutes prior to serving. Use a sharp knife dipped in boiling hot water, then dried, to cut the cake for a nice clean cut.

Enjoy! :)

Almond-Orange Biscotti Recipe

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Our New Year's was very quiet this year. We went to my hubby's parents place in New Brunswick and visited with his brother and sister-in-law til about 10:30 PM, then we got it in our heads that we would drive the 45 minutes to town to go for some Chinese food...a tradition that we used to do here in the city before we had kids. Well, apparently we forgot that we were in the sticks, cause not one restaurant was open! Well, we found Boston Pizza was open, this was at 11:30 PM, but not one car was in the parking lot except a few that obviously belonged to staff since they were all covered in snow from the snow earlier that day. We opted not to go in...especially after seeing the movie 'Waiting' and seeing what some waiters do to people that comes in close to the end of shift. LOL :) So we just ended up going back home and having a snack and watching tv for a bit before we called it a night. I did buy a really nice dress for New Year's that I didn't get to wear, so we're gonna get a sitter soon and go out anyway. Just have to decide where I want to wear a red, backless, floor length evening gown! I'm thinkin' I'd be overdressed for night at the movies! lol :)

I've had a few requests for my recipe for Almond-Orange Biscotti cookies that I make for my Father-in-Law, so here it is if you'd like to try it for yourself. I used to be a pastry chef at a restaurant in Halifax and I got the recipe there. It's super yummy and great for dipping in your tea or coffee. I'll make some more soon and I'll add a pic of it on this post for you to see.

Almond-Orange Biscotti

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tbsp. grated orange peel
3 large eggs
1 tsp. almond extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat sugar, butter, orange peel, almond extract and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt and almonds. Shape half of the dough at a time into 10" x 3" rectangles and set onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool on the cookie sheet for 15 minutes.

Cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices and place slices, cut side down, on the cookie sheet. Bake for about another 10 minutes longer, remove from oven, flip the pieces over so the other cut side is facing up and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Cool on a wire rack.

These also freeze very well, if you'd like to save some for later, just thaw as you need them.

Optional: Top with melted bittersweet chocolate.

Enjoy! :)

Ladybug Bonanza

Well, we had Natalia's 4th birthday party yesterday and I think all the kids had a great time playing. I know my girls had a blast! After the party I grabbed a quick bite to eat for supper and ran out the door to work. I got my shift done and they actually let me go an hour early since it wasn't very busy. We got our first snowfall/storm actually yesterday. It was getting rather miserable out as my shift went on and fewer and fewer people were out in it...so that was good for me, as I a bit sleep deprived, I got to come home and relax! lol :)

This is a pyramid of all the ladybug treat boxes that I made up for all the kids. Sorry for the bad pic, but I took it at about 2 AM in the morning, the day of the party! Yes, I'm a procrastinator! lol :)
These are the four ladybug cakes that I made. They were fun to make and I think everyone got a kick out of them. :) I used two cake pans that are normally used to make two halves of a soccer ball/basket ball etc. cake. But, instead of icing the two flat pieces to make a ball, I just laid the cake with flat side down, iced it and added red crystallized sugar. I took apart ALOT of mini Oreo cookies, removed the white cream layer in them and iced them with my icing so that they would stick to the red sugar. I added the black shoe string licorice for the wings in a figure 8 design and ta-da you have a ladybug body. For the head, I used my Creative Memories Cutting Template and cut out a piece of black cardstock and added the googley eyes. Done! Natalia absolutely loved them, so mission accomplished! :)
This is the Mexican Layered Dip that I made for the adults to snack on. It's so easy to make.
Mexican Layered Dip

8 oz pkg. light cream cheese
2 tbsp. fat-free mayo
3/4 lb. extra lean hamburger
1 500 ml. bottle mild salsa
1/2 sm. head iceberg lettuce, finely chopped
250 gr. cheddar cheese, shredded
3 green onions, chopped
black olives, seeded and chopped, optional

Cream together softened cream cheese and mayo. Spread on bottom of large dip bowl.
Cook hamburger, cool, layer over top of cream cheese layer.
(I cook my in a Tupperware Microwave Cooker which cooks the beef on a slotted rack and all the fat drips through to the bottom so you get rid of the extra fat. Otherwise, I would fry and rinse and drain the beef.)
Pour salsa over top of hamburger layer.
Chop up lettuce and layer on top of salsa layer.
Shred cheddar cheese and sprinkle over top of lettuce layer.
Sprinkle chopped green onions on top of cheddar cheese.
Finish by sprinkling on black olives, if desired. I normally don't add these for gatherings as I don't know if everyone likes them....although I could eat the whole can, I think! lol :)

Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy! :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Nacho Chicken Dip

We had a BBQ to attend tonight at one of Jim's work buddy's with a bunch of people from his Dept, so I thought I would take something...figured I should try to make a good impression as I didn't end up knowing any of them but one person! Anyway, it was a good night and the girls had a lot of fun running and playing outside. A few other littles arrived and they got to play the 'Mother' to the toddlers. lol :) Oh, my 'little Mothers,' they're so cute!

This is what I took and it went over very well. :)

Nacho Chicken Dip

3 Boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts
1 can half-fat Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup Cheddar Cheese, lite, shredded
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, lite, shredded
1 tbsp. Southwest Chipotle seasoning

Cook the chicken and run it through the food processor until it's minced. Combine with cream of chicken soup, shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese and Southwest Chipotle seasoning. Heat in microwave until cheese is melted and serve with tortilla chips. Yummy! :)

Enjoy! :)

Yummy Raspberry Coffee Cake

I've had so many requests for this recipe that I mentioned from a few posts back, I asked my friend, Kelly for it. Here it is, it really is great, give it a try and let me know what you think!

Raspberry Coffee Cake

Almond Streusel (see below)

2 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup stick margarine or butter, softened

1 cup milk

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. salt

1 large egg

½ pkg. (about 8 oz size) *Almond paste, finely chopped

1 cup fresh or unsweetened frozen (thawed and drained) raspberries

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Grease bottom and sides of a medium springform pan, with shortening.
2. Prepare almond streusel; set aside.
3. Beat remaining ingredients, except almond paste and raspberries in medium bowl with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
4. Spread half of the batter in pan. Sprinkle with half each of the almond paste, raspberries and streusel. Repeat with remaining batter, almond paste, raspberries and streusel.
5. Bake about 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

Almond Streusel

¼ cup firm stick margarine

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

1/3 cup slivered almonds

Cut margarine into flour and sugar in medium bowl, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until crumbly. Stir in almonds.

*Note: You can buy Almond paste at the Bulk Barn. It’s located in the candied fruit section and comes in a baggie. You just need to cut it up.

Enjoy! :)

Thai noodle night

Jim absolutely loves Thai food, and since he returned from British Columbia 2 years ago from a work trip, it has been my mission to re-invent a Thai noodle dish that he got at a wonderful little place called, The Noodle Box. I think he ranted about these awesome noodles for months. Finally I decided to try making them. Albeit, my recipe isn't spicy enough, but it is yummy. I'm not a Thai cook, any suggestions as to what to use to 'spice' it up a bit, would be helpful. Preferably a homemade spice mixture rather than a processed one, as I'm on a low fat/low sodium plan and I can't eat processed foods. I know someone will come through for me! lol :)

Almond Thai Chicken

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked then shredded

2 tbsp. almonds, sliced

3 celery stalks, chopped on the bias

2 carrots, chopped on the bias

1 cup raw white onion, diced

2 cups raw bean sprouts

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 ½ tsp. ground ginger

1 tbsp. Low-sodium soy sauce

4 garlic cloves, minced

nonfat cooking spray

2 cups Thai noodles, cooked

1. Cook chicken, shred, set aside.
2. Spray large skillet with cooking spray. Add onion and cook 1 –2 minutes; add carrots and celery and sauté over high heat 1 –2 minutes.
3. Add chicken, garlic and ginger to pan and sauté over med-high heat, until chicken is no longer pink.
4. Add broth, bean sprouts and soy sauce and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer.

Stir in cooked Thai noodles. Once liquid has evaporated and chicken is cooked through, add sliced almonds. Serve immediately.

(I used diced pork tonight instead of chicken and it was good, as well.)