It's Saturday, I've got 4 bunches of (74¢/bunch!!) broccoli, and 20 minutes....what to do??

 Broccoli is on sale!!!! my goodness, at 74¢ a bunch, who wouldn't buy 4? I know what you are thinking...what in the world are you going to do with that much broccoli? Seriously...

no, my kids aren't going to be pooping green...I have another plan.

now, i know you have seen them...those bags of frozen broccoli fleurettes and stems (which usually ends up being more stems than broccoli) for $3.50 a bag in your local grocery store. $3.50?! is it magic broccoli? will it make my kids love it? will it pay my mortgage. no...it's just broccoli. SO i make my own.

yeah, yeah, yeah...i've heard it before..."well it's nice if you have all day to do stuff like that". Zip it...it takes 20 minutes. and lets be honest...you spend 5x that much time on facebook a day, so let's not go there. all you have to do is cut the fleurettes off you broccoli, take the sad looking stem, peel it with a veggie peeler and cut that up too. get all your cut up broc in a strainer, wash it, put it in boiling, salted water till it turns bright green - which is about 10 seconds - take it out with a slotted spoon, place it on a wax paper lined cookie sheet, let it cool, put it in the freezer till frozen, transfer to bags and voila. done.

that wasn't so hard...was it? well, lets put it this way...i got 4x the amount that you get in that measly bag from the grocery store that you pay $3.50 for, for $3.00. that is what...80% savings? i don't know, i'm not good at math...i'm good at saving money on food.  :)

so, next time you see broccoli on sale, buy a whole lot, let your kitchen smell like broccoli for the afternoon, and have fresh, homemade frozen broccoli for all your broccoli cooking needs.

cheers.

the A,B,C's of cooking

ok, so, it's been a long, hard winter, and all i want to do is turn up the music, open all the windows, and dance around my kitchen, while cooking up a storm, and making the neighbourhood smell delectable. yes, i am that house...when you smell chocolate chip cookies while walking down my street...it's me. :)

so, now i have received a new idea. i actually got this idea from a magazine, in an article called 50 guilt free resolutions. they are all awesome, but one in particular caught my eye. # 15...Eat your way through the alphabet. so, for example, A could be Alaskan King Crab, or Angel food cake. B could be Bakalava, C could be Cream of mushroom soup or Coffee cake...you get the point. anyway, i thought this would be a fun way to mix things up, and maybe try things that i have never cooked before, or maybe it may be a fun way to get my kids to try something they have never tried before! here's hoping...not sure when the first letter will be...i'll keep you posted!

Fiesta Corn and Potato Chowder

Hey all! Ok, so i discovered a great little blog by a great little gal. she seems to love soup almost as much as i do, so i have to love her!! the blog is called "Poor Girl Eats Well", and I love her thrifty, yummy looking recipes!! unfortunately, living in niagara, i don't have access to the stores with the insanely cheap groceries, but none the less, her recipes look delish. most of them are vegetarian, although she says on her blog that she is an omnivore, but meat is too darn expensive. i agree...and am trying to eat more veggie my self, so this website is a blessing in so many ways!!

i tried one recipe this weekend, and was blown away!! it was so yummy!! so, instead of re-posting, i'll attach a photo (hers...not mine...although, mine looked exactly the same!!) and i'll have a link to her site and her recipe.
i hope you get a chance to try this out. it really is easy, cheap, and delightful!!

Link:
http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/2010/11/recipe-fiesta-corn-potato-chowder.html

have old bread crusts?

tip of the day: DON"T THROW THOSE OLD BREAD CRUSTS AWAY!!

we all have them. the crusts of bread that no one wants to eat, or the buns that are just a bit too stale to eat, but not moldy yet. we all feel bad just putting them in the compost, so what do you do with them? 

I come from a lifestyle of "Waste not, want not", so here's my solution.

MAKE CROUTONS!

it's so simple! just save up all your crusts and old bread and buns in a bag in your freezer. when the bag is full, take them out, thaw them, cut them into crouton sized pieces, place them on a cookie sheet, drizzle with oil of your choice, and sprinkle with seasoning. i favour onion powder, garlic powder, salt and parsley. no measurements, just go for it!! it's all personal preference, and it's all yum! 

once everything is on them, use your hands to blend them all up, and put them in a 250-300 degree oven for 30-45 minutes until totally dried up, crisp, and snackably yummy!! you will NEVER want to eat store bought, rock hard, croutons ever again!!

ok, ok...i never said i was perfect. lol!

so, since november 25th, i haven't posted squat. not that i haven't been cooking up a storm. hey, it's been christmas hasn't it? i just haven't had the time to post lately. *sigh* i'm sorry. i'll try harder.

in an attempt to have at least ONE thing to post every or every other day, i'm going to give little tips and tricks to try in your own kitchen. things to help you in your everyday cooking, or kitchening.

tip of the day:

when waiting for a yeast dough to rise, put the bowl in the oven (not turned on) with the light on. it makes the perfect warm and cozy place for your yeast to expand.

ok, now i don't feel so guilty

happy cooking!

cheers.

Mom Veenendaal's Old Fashioned Sunday Soup

Hey all! ok, so this one is a special request. I recently made a pan of soup for friends of ours who were blessed with a newborn, and who probably have better things to do than to worry about dinner. They requested the recipe of this soup, and I am more than happy to share our families secret sunday soup recipe! (just don't tell my mom...) :)

PLEASE NOTE: the photos are of a DOUBLE batch that i made...so, it's not going to be that huge of a pot with the recipe i have down. just thought you should know. :)

Since this recipe was put together by my mom, my original recipe was based around the ingredients that she had on hand...and those consisted of things from Ramaakers Dutch Imports in St. Catharines. Since I don't get down there as often as I should, I had to adapt this to things you could find in regular grocery stores...so although my recipe looks like this...

 I will give you the alternate "normal" version of this recipe. :)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef made into meatballs

(to do this, i add salt, pepper, 1-2 eggs, and enough bread crumbs to absorb excess moisture. you can also add any spices and herbs you may like in your meatballs)

 ok, so i made a DOUBLE batch, remember...this is over 100 meatballs. :) i found using a melon baller worked amazing for shaping these little guys.

• 4 large beef boullion cubes

(I get my boullion at bulk barn, and they look like this:

   so add the equivalent in whatever beef boullion you may use)

• pepper and all spice to taste.

(I have added photos of what i added to my double batch of soup...it is not an exact science, just add whatever you think you would like)

 allspice

pepper

•2 packages dried/dehydrated vegetables (NOT SOUP MIX...that comes later)

(i, again, use bulk, so i measure each "package" as a handfull as shown below)

•1 package of vegetable soup mix

(I have used many...with this batch, i used Knorr)

•1.5 cups Vermicelli noodles (or whatever other small noodles you may like in your soup)

HOW TO:

•fill a 5 quart pan 3/4 full with water

• Bring to a boil and add meatballs 1 at a time, so they don't stick together. stir occasionaly while adding meatballs

• Add boullion, pepper and allspice

• Add dried vegetables and bring back to a boil

• Put back on simmer (lowest setting)

• Cook 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally

• Add vegetable soup mix and return to boil

• Add noodles and return to boil, stirring

• simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring regularly, and serve, or put in fridge and reheat as needed. 

(if you put it in the fridge, you will notice a thin layer of fat sitting on the top of the soup when you take it out of the fridge. you can either reheat with this in it, or you can remove before reheating.)

*freezes well too!*

Enjoy! any questions...don't hesitate to ask!

cheers!

Where the magic happens...the Kitchen that is...

so, since i haven't been as loyal as i want to be with this (cut me some slack...i'm busy with christmas orders! lol!) i'll post some photos i've meant to for a while. i'll bring you on the photo tour of my kitchen. my vintage, 70's inspired, wasted space kitchen. yes...i totally designed it that way. lol! No, actually, since moving in to the house, this is the one room we haven't touched, other than replacing the fridge, and a light above the sink. but i digress....

Here we have my art wall. I am such a proud mommy when it comes to my kids artwork, and i HATE the walls, so 2 birds, one stone my friends! wallpaper that is free, and meaningful!

 the chill chest. one of my favourite places to get inspired. sometimes whatever is left in here becomes something new for the table!

it usually looks like this...full to the gills. when it starts looking like a bachelor's fridge, i am concerned. lol!

 this is red. she is my favourite appliance in the world. :) i (we...i mean WE) received her for a wedding gift from my cousins, and i couldn't have asked for a better gift! she looks at me while i'm in the kitchen, just daring me to try a new recipe, or to use her for grating, grinding or making dough. i love this machine...and the fact that she is my favorite colour is just the cherry on the sundae!

my bread machine was a gift from my mother in law...she said she never used it and asked if i would like it. of course i said yes ! i don't use it as often as i think i should, but its there...

 the oven. it's nothing fancy, and it usually has more splatter on it, but you get the idea. it works, and that's all i can ask for. i really should clean the inside, but...

 our convection/toaster oven. this little trooper is the general of my kitchen. he's a tough cookie, and he replaced 2 appliances. we decided to get rid of our microwave about 3 or 4 years ago, and though that this guy would do a great job of not only replacing that, but also our toaster. we love this little guy, and will replace him with a fancy schmantcy new one when he bites it. i've made everything in him from toast to cookies to a chicken...he's awesome! and in the summer when you don't want to heat up the whole kitchen with the oven, this little guy is stellar!!

my spice rack/baking ingredient cupboard. i totally can't take credit for the idea of the spices in the jars...that i ripped off of michael smith. chef extrordinaire from P.E.I (only the best place on earth!) although i don't quite have the walk in pantry that he does in his home (covet!!) i've done my best with my little space i do have, and i think it works amazingly well! i have almost everything in here that bulk barn does, and i love just opening it and wondering what i'll make today...

so there you have it...my kitchen. it may not be much to look at, and it may not have every new fangled gadget in it, but it is exactly what i need to cook and experiment with new ingredients and recipes. my family seems to like what comes out of it, and quite frankly that is what is important. i have a great time in my kitchen, and i'll continue to share what i learn and what i love with all of you. thanks for humoring me. it's appreciated. 

cheers!