This is such a great, easy recipe for ‘fried’ rice that’s actually baked.

I love that it makes enough for leftovers or to feed a crowd at a potluck.

Use the leftovers with a fried egg for an even easier, and very tasty second meal.

Enjoy!

Baked Wild Rice: Ingredients

2 cups wild rice (or brown rice)

3 1/2 cups of broth (chicken or vegetable.  Or, use a combination of water and broth)

1 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp onion powder

2 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 green or red pepper, chopped

1 cup chopped mushrooms (optional)

dash of pepper

Directions

1-In a casserole dish, combine all the ingredients and stir. Cover with lid.

2-Bake at 350 degrees celcius for 45 minutes.

3-Stir and continue to bake for an additional 20 minutes (or until rice is cooked through)

Looking for ideas to pair it with?

How about:

Halibut with an orange sauce

Maple Salmon

Brown Butter Scallops

Pork Tenderloin

This (or a variation of it) has been in my family for a long time.  My grandmother used to make a giant roasting pan of stew when the whole family would go for a visit (although she would make biscuits with hers).

To this day, it’s still a yummy, hearty, warm meal that I’ve changed into a slow cooker recipe to make it easier on busy days.

Serve it with fresh bread maker whole wheat flax bread.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew: Ingredients

1 package beef stew meat

8 cups of tomato juice, tomato sauce or V8 juice

6 red potatoes, washed, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 tbsp tapioca

pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into slow cooker.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high 4-5 (or cook until meat is cooked through and vegetables are tender).

Can be frozen for future meals too.

Enjoy!

Still one of my favourite recipes, easy to make and can feed a huge crowd if I need it to.  My family loves it, and even the kids eat it!  I pair them with mashed cauliflower or mashed potatoes.  Enjoy!

While I’m making enough to serve 8 tonight, the recipe below is for 4.

Saucy Slow Cooker Ribs – Ingredients

• 2 racks of back ribs (Superstore has them on sale for about $6.50 each right now, but other times you can get them for even less!)
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 tbsp Flour

1-Cut each rack of rib in half, place in crock pot.

2-In saucepan, warm through rest of the ingredients.

3-Pour over ribs.  Set on high for about 3-4 hours, or until meat is cooked and falls off the bone.  For best results, baste or spoon sauce onto top ribs often.

**NOTE: The above proportions listed for the sauce are approx.  I don’t really measure any more – but taste it.  If you like it a bit more sweet, add extra brown sugar and molasses.  Like the tartness?  Add a bit more vinegar.  There’s no wrong way!

originally posted on www.bitofmomsense.com

by Ezmy

I do so love soup in the winter. There is just nothing better than staying in with a good glass of something red, a gigantic loaf of crusty bread, and a big bowl of hearty soup. Especially when the whole family has a cold they just can’t seem to shake…

For the Dumplings:

2 heaping tablespoons of cornmeal

2 heaping tablespoons of all-purpose flour

¼ cup softened or melted butter

water to dough-i-fy

salt and pepper (and maybe a little cayenne – get creative!)

Mix the flour and butter together, then add the spices and enough water to make a stiff dough (I believe I used about ¼ cup but add it slooooowly). Roll the dough into 1.5 inch balls and set aside.

For the Soup:

1 onion, finely sliced

2 carrots, chopped

1 medium-sized butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and chopped

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 cup frozen or fresh broccoli

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 tablespoon dried thyme

olive oil

4 cups vegetable stock

1 tin of coconut milk (or if you aren’t a fan of coconut milk, add ½ cup homogenized milk)

salt and pepper to taste

2 dried chilis, minced, or some cayenne pepper

In a large pot, sauté onions in a good glug of olive oil until softened, then add the carrots, coriander and thyme. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, sweet potatoes and squash, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and turn heat to between low and medium, and cook for 15 minutes, shaking the pot around regularly. Stir in the vegetable stock and bring to boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to between low and medium, place dumplings on top, cover and let simmer for 35-40 minutes (time to go fold laundry!). Now stir in milk/coconut milk and the broccoli and let simmer for another 10 minutes (time to set the table!). Turn off heat, pop into bowls and top with chilis/cayenne pepper (add as much or as little heat as you need – myself, I like serious heat on those cold winter nights).

Serve with crusty bread, mixed greens and a nice glass of wine. Enjoy!

Ezmy blogs about her day to day goings on at ‘ezmy’. For ridiculous updates about stay-at-home mum-ing, follow Ezmy on Twitter: @ezmytweets.

As I am preparing my ‘gifting’ baking – the treats I make to give away – I made this easy and sweet chocolate bark.  It looks pretty and festive and tastes divine.

Ingredients:

White chocolate Wafers (about 2 cups)

1/2 cup-3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup-3/4 cup chopped, unsalted pistachios

Directions:

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate for 1 minute.  Stir.  Continue to heat for 30 second intervals and stir to help melt.

When the chocolate is melted, add chopped pistachios and cranberries.

Pour over baking sheet lined with wax paper.  Spread evenly. Allow to harden.

Break into pieces when fully hardened.  Package up or serve and enjoy!

This recipe is a tradition in my house, and for the first time my grandmother’s hand cookie press wasn’t working this year.  It made me very sad that I could use it (and get my usual cookie shapes) but instead I rolled the dough into a tube shape, let it firm up in the fridge and sliced it.  It was easy to do and the results are still tasty.

Enjoy!

Buttery Shortbread

*adapted from recipe originally posted on www.bitofmomsense.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup butter

1/2 cup corn starch

1/2 cup icing sugar

Food colouring (optional)

Directions

1. Combine ingredients until well blended into dough. Add food colouring of choice (optional). (the dough shouldn’t be dry – mixer does a good job of the dough)

2. Use cookie press to add to cookie sheet in desired shape.  If you don’t have a cookie press, roll dough into a tube/snake shape and wrap with cellophane wrap.  Put in fridge for 30 minutes or more then slice about 1/2 cm each.

3. Bake 300 degrees for 10-12 minutes (depending on size).

For those of you drooling looking for a new kitchen appliance to use, check out this giveaway on our ‘mother’ site, A Little Bit of Momsense.

Win 13-Cup KitchenAid Food Processor

Sometimes comfort food is also inexpensive.

This was a recipe we had growing up – it was simple, ingredients were almost always on hand, and it was rather inexpensive.  Now, I still make it and love it.  Enjoy!

~Rebecca

It’s the time of year when pulling out the bread maker is a must! Try this recipe and see if you can avoid eating it all in one sitting.

After attending Blissdom Canada earlier this month, one of the sponsors, Kraft Canada, gave out bags of their little Kraft caramels.

This is how I decided to use them:

For the chocolate cake, I used this 5 minute cake-in-a-mug recipe.  It made a tall mug that I cut for each guest.

To make the caramel, I microwaved some caramel squares and milk for about a minute, and stirred.  I drizzled that on the cake.

The ice cream is from local ice cream maker La Cigale in Chelsea, QC.

A perfect dessert!