Buffalo Chicken Dip {and a Margarita Fruit Dip!}

I have made this dip four times in the past month.  My kids shovel it back with nacho chips, and it tastes great in a wrap with some avocado slices.  

Buffalo Chicken Dip.

We made it at a Pampered Chef party I hosted earlier this summer.  It's no secret that I love their products, and hosting a party is a great way to check more of their items off of my wish-list for free...or super cheap.  Plus, it's an excuse to eat and drink with friends.  Win win.

We took turns chopping, shredding, measuring, and stirring.

The next generation of home cooks was there too.  I love these girls.

Half a cup of hot sauce went into this dip!

And cheese.  Lots of melty cheese.

We also made a Margarita Fruit Dip.  With tequila.

You can have that recipe too.  You're welcome.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2-3 boneless chicken breasts (I use 3)

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup Ranch dressing (Renée's Buttermilk Ranch is my favourite)*

1/3-1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce (depending on how hot you like it!)

1 1/3 cups shredded cheddar (or Tex Mex, or Monterey Jack... or any combination)

Cook and finely chop chicken.  I season and steam mine in my new Pampered Chef RockCrok.  Use whatever preferred method you have for moist and tender chicken that will be easy to chop into small pieces.  You don't want to break a chip trying to scoop up large a piece of chicken.  

Mash the cream cheese.  Add the Ranch dressing and whisk together.  Stir in the hot sauce and shredded cheese, combine well.  Microwave for two minutes to melt the cheeses.  Add the chopped chicken, stir, and microwave for one more minute.  Stir and serve with nacho chips.

*I've tried this with blue cheese dressing too...delicious!

Margarita Fruit Dip

I tub (250 g) of spreadable cream cheese

1 fresh orange

1 fresh lime

2 tbsp tequila (optional)

1/4 cup of icing sugar

1/2 cup whipped cream or cool whip

Zest and juice the citrus fruits.  Process the cream cheese, icing sugar, fruit juices and tequila until smooth.  Stir in one tablespoon each of orange and lime zest, then fold in whipped cream.  Serve with strawberries, pineapple, or any other fresh fruit.

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Lately

Instagram lately.

We've been eating a lot of these Taco Chicken Bowls lately.  Ingredients we all like, and crock pot easy.

I hosted a Pampered Chef party a while ago and I am in love with all the products I received.  The RockCrok is amazing, as is the microwave egg cooker...which is actually a piece of stoneware.  I had no idea that stoneware could be used in the microwave.  I've never been big on cooking in my microwave, but now I'm looking at my stoneware collection in a whole new way.  And the dish we prepared was so good that I've made it three times since.  I'll be sharing it here soon.

Summer is slipping by, the weather has been amazing and evenings have been perfect for sitting outside with a book.  I'm reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.  I think I may have already read a couple of books from this series, the first book was published over 20 years ago, but the eighth book has just come out and OCD me needs to start with book one and read the series in order before I can even look at book eight.  Are you on Goodreads?  I'm finding it a great way to keep track of the books that are on my 'to read' list.  Although, the way that list seems to be growing it might take me a lifetime to read them all!

I've been pinning some good stuff lately.  I love Fig Newtons, and these look like a yummy homemade version.



I need some of these to get a handle on the never ending paper that piles up on my kitchen counter.  Are they pretty or what?

And when I grow up I want to have a beach house just like this one.

Happy Weekend!

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They're Back, and Zucchini Pasta

They're back!  

Someone (iphone challenged hubby) didn't realize he was taking pictures with a filter.  So here is London in all of its gloomy yellow-cast glory.  Thankfully there were hundreds of photos taken with my camera (which came back in one piece, hallelujah!), and I think I can edit these to improve the lighting and the colouring.

While the boys were away, my girl was also away, off to the States to celebrate the college graduation of a special someone in her life.  I had an entire week to:

Do less laundry.

Worry that they were all safe in their travels.

Creep their social media to see what they were doing.

Cook smaller portions.

I tried something new, and everyone that was home seemed to like it.  Zucchini 'pasta'.

Healthy and ridiculously easy.  I used a julienne peeler to shred the zucchini into ribbons of  'pasta', steamed it with garlic, added a little seasoning, and served it with some chicken.  

The taste is mild, the texture is good, and it makes a great pasta substitute.  I first tried this at a Pampered Chef party I recently went to.  They served it with chicken and a bruschetta type mixture that they mixed in with the steamed zucchini.  I opted to skip the bruschetta mixture as most of my kids don't like tomatoes, and just served the seasoned zucchini with the seasoned chicken.  This zucchini 'pasta' is very similar to the spaghetti squash that we also enjoy as an occasional substitute for pasta. 

The Miracle of Spaghetti Squash

Zucchini Pasta with Bruschetta Chicken

6 medium sized or 4 large zucchini, washed

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

Additional seasoning to taste,  I used a bit of pepper, oregano, cumin, and some red pepper flakes

Using a julienne peeler, run it lengthwise along all sides of the zucchini to create ribbons of 'pasta'.  Keep peeling until you get to the middle, seeded part of the zucchini.  Stop there.  Toss your zucchini ribbons with minced garlic, then steam the zucchini until it is tender yet still slightly firm, just like al dente pasta.  You don't want it to be too soft or it will become mushy.  Drain any liquid that the zucchini has released.  Toss steamed zucchini with olive oil and seasoning. 

Bruschetta Chicken

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt, pepper, oregano (or Montreal Chicken Spice if it's available where you are) to taste
1 tbsp olive oil

3 cups diced fresh tomatoes (I prefer Roma tomatoes)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup (small handful) fresh basil leaves, torn

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Season chicken and heat oil in a pan over medium heat.  Cook chicken breasts for 5-7 minutes on each side until cooked through.  Remove from pan and shred chicken or cut into bite sized pieces.  Set aside.

Toss together the diced fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil, and Parmesan cheese in a medium bowl.  Combine the tomato mixture with the chopped chicken.

Serve the Bruschetta Chicken on top of the Zucchini Pasta.  Garnish with additional Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

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Weekend in Photos

It would seem that my camera has been on vacation, lounging around in its bag for almost three weeks.  With the exception of a few Instagram shares, I've been a photo-a-day slacker.  There are, after all, only so many photos one can take of snow.  And dirty vehicles that probably haven't been clean since October.

Our hockey schedule was light this weekend, so I was able to spend some quality time in the kitchen.  While the Olympics played out in the background, my beloved stones got a work out.

There was homemade pizza, chicken & broccoli stuffed buns, and a chia seed pudding experiment.  Pizza buns, which disappear in minutes after coming out of the oven.

Dogs underfoot, hoping I'll drop something.

Shopping and reading.  

Hockey.

And more snow, just because.

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Oven Baked French Toast

I teased you with some beautiful French Toast a few weeks ago.  As promised, here is the recipe.

This French Toast is baked in the oven and can be prepared ahead of time, easily put together the night before for an effortless breakfast the next morning.

Breakfast is my favourite meal, and we take time to put together big breakfasts on the weekend.  Pancakes, bacon and eggs, waffles, French toast.  Usually with home made hash brown potatoes on the side.  And fruity smoothies to drink.  All this is in stark contrast to the rushed and disconnected breakfasts that happen through the week.  A quick bowl of cereal, find a missing textbook. Yogurt and a piece of fruit, pack lunches.  A slice of toast, sign a form. A granola bar, feed the dogs.  It's all rush, rush, rush.  Ten minutes left... did you brush your teeth?  What's going on with your hair? And where's the form I just signed?? 

I've made this French toast weekends and weekdays.  It's a Pampered Chef recipe, from their Stoneware Sensations cookbook, which has a few of my other favourite recipes in it.  It doesn't take long to put together.  Pop it in the fridge overnight and you'll only need half an hour in the oven the next morning.  Enough time to set the table and brew some fresh coffee.

The sliced strawberries are optional, but oh-so-good.  As is the icing sugar.  The maple syrup is a must.  French toast and maple syrup go together like, well, French toast and maple syrup.  Start with a loaf of French bread.  Preferably not a fresh one.  I love a fresh crusty loaf as much as the next person, but this is easier to work with if it's a day old.  If you're using a skinnier baguette, slice diagonally for larger slices.

Gather your ingredients.   The recipe calls for milk, but I had a some leftover cream so I used half cream and half milk.  I have a great shaker which I like to use to mix up the ingredients, but it works just as well whisked up in a bowl.  And yes, that's the milk...in a bag.  Does anyone outside of Canada buy their milk in bags?

Arrange your bread slices in a single layer and pour all that goodness over them.   I sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar before I put it in the oven.

It puffs up nicely in the oven.  Light and fluffy, with a slightly dense, almost custard like centre.  Just the way French toast should be.

Oven Baked French Toast

1 loaf (8 ounces) French bread

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

3 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

Cinnamon and sliced strawberries optional.

Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.  Cut bread into 1 inch thick slices and arrange closely in a single layer in the prepared pan.  You may have to manipulate them to fit.  Whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Pour over bread.  Cover and refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Sprinkle bread with cinnamon, if desired.  Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with toppings of your choosing.

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