Join Me in My Addiction!

Thank you for visiting my blog...and for allowing me to share with you my addiction. I love to collect recipes. I love to read cookbooks. I have been collecting recipes for as long as I can remember, and on any given day there are one or two (or more!) cookbooks residing on my nightstand!

This blog is chronicling my adventure as I fulfill my resolution of trying (at least) one new recipe each week. I hope that you enjoy!

I invite you to join me in my journey, simply by clicking the "Join this Site" link below. And please feel free to comment on any of the recipes, and pin away. Thanks, I look forward to sharing with you!

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #31

Hello friends! Happy Sunday to you!

It's been a busy busy week at our house.  Between sick kids, me fighting a cold, work (mine and the hub's day jobs), hub's business, hockey, PAC meeting, playdates, me falling alseep at 8 pm on Friday night, laundry, yard work, cooking and baking...well, the week just FLEW by!  I am hoping for a more restful Sunday (after grocery shopping, that is!) - hopefully a trip to the pool with the family :-)  And planning to prepare a roast for Sunday dinner, yum yum!  I'm looking forward to a short work week (pro day at school so I am taking the day off to hang with J-man) followed by (Canadian) Thanksgiving long weekend!  My parents are hosting Thanksgiving dinner next weekend, and my Mother-in-Law arrives on Thanksgiving Monday for a 4 day visit - I am looking forward to all the fun!  It's too bad that my Father-in-Law can't make the trip this time, hopefully next time.

OK everyone... It's time to share your fabulous recipes HERE for Scrumptious Sunday #31!

Don't forget, all featured recipes will be shared on my blog, and on my Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages!

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes

Perfect quick meal for the family!  My boys LOVE these Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes
Why oh why did I not think of these?    I love Chicken Pot Pie, but have never ever made it.  Weird, I know.  I don't know why I haven't really tried.  Just never have.  Well, until now.  I came across this post for Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes over at tablespoon which totally spoke to me...a great way to shake up chicken, and get the vegetables too - all in one neat little package.  Called cupcakes.  And this girl LOVES cupcakes!  Not to mention, also totally appealing to my boys too :-) 

Here is the recipe that I used:

1 1/2 cups cooked, diced chicken
1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup
2 cups of fresh, diced vegetables (I used carrots, broccoli, peas, onions)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can Pillsbury Biscuits

Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes brought to you by Addicted to RecipesIngredients for Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 400F.

Cook your chicken, cool and dice.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, soup, fresh vegetables, cheese, basil, thyme, onion powder and garlic powder.

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.  Roll out the Pillsbury biscuits and place one biscuit into each cup.  Press the biscuit into the bottom of the cup, and up the sides.

Evenly spoon the chicken mixture into each of the cups.  I filled mine very full (trying to cram in as many vegetables as I can LOL!), but you may have some leftover.

Bake the cupcakes for 12-15 minutes.  Once done, remove from oven and allow to rest for about 3 minutes before removing from pan and serving.

A fan favorite! Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes


VERDICT:
As I suspected, these were a huge hit with my boys.  Easy for me to prepare, expecially on a busy work night, and because it was something "different" and fun-looking (umm hello, cupcakes!) they were consumed rather quickly....and a few nights later when my hubby made dinner, he made them all over again!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Fried Green Tomatoes - Guest Post by Tracy from Busy Vegetarian Mom


Hello again.  Tracy from Foodie Friends Friday here.  I am back this week with my original blog "Busy Vegetarian Mom". 

This blog I started to help keep my family on track with our new diet after taking a health class (CHIP) to help reduce my husbands cholesterol.  I didn't know then that the only source of cholesterol is animal fat.  To eliminate cholesterol, you need to switch to a Vegan diet.  Easy? Well, not as hard as I thought. 

Along our journey we came up with a lot of new recipes and answers to a lot of questions most beginners have, so I thought the best way to record them would be to blog it.  Then just maybe, someone else would find it useful too.  I guess the info was valuable as I do have a lot more followers that I thought I would.  That just motivates me to keep on track and keep bringing new recipes. 

Most of our recipes are "Vegan" (no animal product), but I call us "Vegetarian" because we do still eat "egg beaters"/Egg Whites and Fat Free Cheeses from time to time.  Regardless of the label, I have done all I can to substitute the "bad" foods with "good".  For instance, replace milk with soy, almond, coconut or rice milk.  Replace eggs with flax seed or "egg replacer".  Sub regular flour for whole wheat or oat flour. Sub applesauce for oil.  Replace sugar with natural or sugar free substitutes, and cheese with a vegan cheese substitute.  Doing this we reduce the fats and sugars and produce ZERO Cholesterol!

Please do come over to my blog at Busy Vegetarian Mom and check out all of my recipes.  You will definitely find something you like. I have recipes from Breakfast to Dessert, a little healthy something for everyone! 


Today, I really debated what recipe to bring you and I finally settled on this one.  It is not as "healthy" as I would like...If you were really good, you would bake these instead of pan fry!  My hubby LOVED it and it is really just a fun recipe for summer (fall).  I hope you enjoy.

Fried Green Tomatoes with Plum Jalapeno Sauce



or try it stacked with Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (not a healthy choice but yummy none the less)


Ingredients:

Sauce:
  • 2 Cups Plums (peeled and chopped)
  • 1/2 Cup Water
  • 1 1/2 TBSP Jalapeno (canned/jarred-about 4 slices)
  • 1 packet of Truvia
Tomatoes:
  • 3 Green Tomatoes Sliced
  • 1 Cup Egg Substitute (Egg Beaters)
  • 1/4 Cup Soy Milk
  • 1 Cup Panko Crumbs
  • 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1 tsp Mexican Paprika
  • 1 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder

Directions:
  • Start sauce: Add all sauce ingredients into a small saucepan.
  • Stir. Bring to boil and simmer until reduced (about 15 minutes). 
  • Add a bit of water (stir) to thin before serving (about 1/2 Cup).
  • If necessary, use a hand mixer to smooth the sauce. 

  • Prepare Tomatoes: Make egg mixture in a small pan with eggs/milk.  In a separate pan, combine panko, flour and seasoning.
  • Dip your sliced tomato into the egg mixture then place in panko mixture to coat.
  • Place in small frying pan (med heat) with small amount of canola oil and brown on each side (approx. 2 minutes per side)
  • Remove tomatoes and place on paper towel and dab off excess oil.


Serve it up however you like! I hope you LOVE it too!


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Pesto

Would you believe that I have never made pesto before?  It always sounded so "foreign" to me...just the name sounded complicated.  Boy was I WRONG!

I had an abundance of basil this year (we love our basil!) and I wasn't sure what to do with it.  I do have plans to freeze some for winter use, but I wanted to use up some of the fresh basil too.  Enter the idea of pesto.  Pulled out some cookbooks just to read what goes into a basic pesto, and came up with my own variation.  Simple, basic.  Some of the recipes called for pine nuts, but with a nut allergy in the house and a baby who hasn't been exposed to many nuts, I opted to leave those out.  And especially since I fed my allergic husband alder smoked salmon and apparently he is allergic to alder...I'm on heightened awareness.  Yikes...bad wife.  Though in my defense, I didn't know about alder trees, I only knew about birch trees!

Onto the pesto...

2 cups basil
1/4 cup parsley
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, fresh & grated
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil

In your handy-dandy food processor, throw in your basil and parsley.  Chop away!  Crush your garlic and add it to the processor.  Add in the cheese.  In a measuring cup, measure out your olive oil and lemon juice, stir to mix, and slowly add to the processing basil/parsley/garlic/parmesan, until a nice "paste" forms.

Just like that...easy.  it takes longer to wash the food processor than to actually make the pesto!

VERDICT:
Easy and tasty!  If I knew then what I know now...we would have been making pesto for ages!  So good!  And I'm already thinking about what kinds of variations I could try! And what a beautiful, fresh looking green!  Not bad for an unedited iPhone picture!

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Monday, September 24, 2012

You'll Find Me Over at Close to Home!

Hello everyone!  Happy Monday to you!  Today is a busy day here at Addicted to Recipes, not only am I sharing a recipe for Hickory BBQ Ribs and hosting a fantastic giveaway for a Club House prize pack and $50 gift card, but I am guest posting over at Close to Home!  Please come on over and check out Maria's blog...I think you will enjoy my recipe! Here is a teaser :-)

Club House Hickory BBQ Ribs & Giveaway!

I just HAVE to tell you how darn excited I am...I got home from work a few days ago and found a box on my front door step containing Club House seasoning packages for me to try!  I knew that I was getting a package, but I had no idea how much fun was going to be inside that box!  My husband was super excited too...he got into the box before I even had a chance!  LOL...good thing he's cute :-)

Having recently returned back to work after my maternity leave, juggling that full-time job, husband, two kids, school, daycare, hockey, swimming, laundry, eating, blogging, sleeping...you get the picture...I am looking to find some easy weekday meal solutions for our family (and still keep my resolution to try new recipes).  This box of seasoning packs couldn't have arrived at a better time, and the packs have provided us with some inspiration to shake up our Monday-Friday dinners with new flavours and ideas without taking a lot of prep time.  Of course, this package immediately raised a little dilemma for me...what to make first?! 

Well, because my boys are BIG TIME meat eaters, and because I hadn't made ribs for them in a while, the "Hickory BBQ Ribs" Flavourful Recipe Mix caught my eye.  As the ribs do take time to cook (and because we eat dinner pretty early in the evening) I opted to wait until the weekend to try out the seasoning.  Boy were my boys excited when they learned that ribs were on the menu!  I stuck true to the recipe on the package as when it is my first time trying a new recipe I usually do.  Here is the recipe:

2 lbs pork ribs (thawed)
1 package Club House Hickory BBQ Ribs Flavourful Recipe Mix
1 cup ketchup
Water

Make BBQ sauce by mixing the ketchup and seasoning pack together.  Allow the mixture to sit for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F.

Prepare a roasting pan, with a wire rack on the bottom, by filling with 1/4 inch of water.

Spread 2/3 cup of the BBQ sauce on all sides of the ribs.  I put a little more on the meat side (makes more sense to me!).  Place the ribs meat side up on the rack in the roasting pan.  Cover (with lid or foil - I opted for foil), and bake for 1 1/2 - 2 hours (depending on your ribs).  Turn the ribs about halfway through.  After baking, remove the roasting pan from the oven, flips the ribs again so that they are meat side up again, and baste with the remaining BBQ sauce.  Return to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes, uncovered.

Really, that's it.  A few key ingredients, and put the meat in the oven.  How much easier can it get?  Then all I had to "worry" about was the sides to go with the meat (which were potatoes and fresh picked green beans). 

VERDICT:
As I suspected, my boys REALLY liked the ribs.  Even the baby was chowing down! (and he's usually on the fussy side).  It was a finger-licking saucy goodness for them!  I enjoyed the flavours - I must admit, I thought that these mght taste rather "ketchup-ey" but they did not, not at all.  I was pleasantly surprised! There was a nice, smoky flavour about them that I enoyed.  Thanks Club House for making my meal prep so easy!

And now...the best part (for you)!  I have for one lucky winner a FANTASTIC PRIZE PACKAGE from Club House!  Seriously...amazing.  The winner will receive a Club House Prize Pack AND a $50 Gift Card!  How AWESOME is this prize?!  The Fine Print:  THIS GIVEAWAY IS OPEN TO RESIDENTS OF CANADA ONLY (sorry friends!).  I will contact the winner by email, and the winner will have 24 hours to claim the prize.  If the winner does not reply within 24 hours, a new winner will be drawn.  The winner will receive their prize pack approximately 4-6 weeks after the draw is made.  Other blogs will be running giveaways as well, you may enter on all the other sites, but you may only win one prize pack.  Now for the FUN!  Here's the Rafflecopter to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**Disclosure - I am participating in the Club House Flavourful Recipes Mixes Blog Tour by Mom Central Canada on behalf of McCormick.  I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion.  The opinions on this blog are my own.**

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Sunday, September 23, 2012

Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #30

Hello friends! Happy Sunday to you! We are enjoying another AMAZING summer-like weekend here! Though there was time spent at the rink (hockey practice)...must mean that (though I am in denial)...fall is slowly coming.

OK everyone... It's time to share your fabulous recipes HERE for Scrumptious Sunday #30!

Don't forget, all featured recipes will be shared on my blog, and on my Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Scrumptious Sunday #29 - Features

Hello everyone! I sure hope you've had a great week!  Mine was a little crazy.  I didn't get to write my "Features" post on Thursday night as I normally do as I had to work late.  By the time I got home, I was pooped!  I had intentions to write it late this afternoon (after work/school) but then there was a brush fire (which at one point was rank 3) that broke out very close to our home, and we spent a few hours nervously watching the fire tankers and helicopters battle the fire.  That was a little nerve-wracking (just recently a town very close to us had a bad forest fire that saw many people evacuated) and in 2003 our city was affected by a serious fire (61,000 hectares burned, over 230 homes lost, 30,000 people evacuated, and thousands more on alert)...the threat of forest fires weighs heavily on many of our minds here, and I have always had a fear of fire.  Fortunately as of this evening the fire is 100% contained and I'm now ready to get down to business!

I am loving all of the fall themed recipes that are appearing.  You sure are making me think about all the goodness to come over the fall and winter months!  Though I am still in denial that today is the last "official" day of summer.  We are setting records here with our summery weather (and therefore increased forest fire risk) - even the trees are in denial that the season is changing (aka, the leaves aren't changing yet!). 

If you are featured, please grab a BUTTON!



I was featured, I was Featured by Addicted to Recipes






Congratulations to this week's features!

Lavender French Toast from Tartine & Maple


Game Day Fire Cracker Shrimp from CW's Cafe Today


30 One Step Crockpot Meals from Semi-Homemade Mom

Maple Glazed Oatmeal Cookies from Chocolate, Chocolate and More


Raspberry and Cream Cheese Turnovers from Flour Me With Love


All of these recipes will be pinned to my Pinterest account, posted on Twitter, and shared on Facebook!

Just a reminder, this week's Scrumptious Sunday Link Party goes live Saturday - at 8 pm PST. Can't wait to see what you bring to the party!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Summertime Pasta with Tomato & Basil

My most favourite cookbook series is the Whitewater Cooks series.  A very dear friend introduced the series to me, and she has given me two of the books as gifts.  My husband bought me the other.  The recipes are great, the photos are lovely, and the books are just beautiful.  The author is from British Columbia (the province where I live) and she uses ingredients that we can easily find, even people who are from smaller towns.  It's great! 

Last summer we had an abundance of tomatoes in our garden.  Last year was a stellar tomato crop, our little garden gave us over 1500 cherry tomatoes (4 different varieties)...I stopped counting at 1500 (yes...I counted, I couldn't believe our crop!).  Everyone had a gazillion tomatoes, so I wasn't able to share our bounty as much as I would have liked.  I turned some into salsa (YUM!) and we ate a lot of salads with tomatoes.  Then I found the recipe for Summertime Pasta in the Whitewater Cooks book.  And it became an instant favourite!  Here is the recipe (it is SO EASY):

½ cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced or minced (or more if you love garlic)
2 cups cherry tomatoes cut in half
Sea salt (to taste)
Fresh pepper (to taste)
Fresh basil, chopped (to taste)
1 cup asiago cheese
1 package spaghetti or other thin pasta


In the morning, cut cherry tomatoes and chop basil, put into a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste (we use Epicure’s Chili Garlic Sea Salt and the 4 Pepper Blend). In a frying pan over medium low heat, heat olive oil. Add garlic to the olive oil. Cook for about a minute, just long enough to infuse the garlic and oil. Transfer oil and garlic to the bowl of tomatoes. Cover with plastic wrap and let the mixture sit at room temperature all day.

At dinnertime, cook and drain your pasta. Add the pasta to the tomato mixture and toss to combine. Serve with freshly grated asiago cheese. If you find asiago cheese too strong, try a different cheese, such as parmesan or mozzarella.

We usually serve the pasta with a grilled chicken, makes for all around nice, healthy meal.


VERDICT:
This dish is a HUGE hit in our house, and I can see it being made regularly over the next while with the tomatoes being harvested.  And it is so easy to make - start it in the morning, let it sit all day, cook up some pasta and grill some meat and dinner is done, just like that!

Did you know that you can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter?!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Vegan Hashbrown Crusted Quiche Lorraine - Guest Post by Tracy from Foodie Friends Friday

Hello, let me start by thanking "Addicted to Recipes" for the opportunity to guest post today and introduce myself. My name is Tracy and I write 2 blogs: Busy Vegetarian Mom and Foodie Friends Friday. We will talk about my Vegetarian blog another day. Today I want to tell you all about Foodie Friends Friday.

I started this little blog when I found that blogging was more than just a little hobby. I had met so many wonderful food bloggers in the few months since I started that I wanted to start a webpage that food bloggers could connect, network, share and grow. I quickly found others who shared the same passion and goals and a few grew into many. We now consistently have 10-15 foodies co-hosting our parties.

What party you ask? Well, we found that the best way to support each other and other food bloggers was to co-host a linky party every week. Every Thursday at 6pm PST our Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party starts and continues until Sunday 3am PST. At that point is switches to the voting round. Everyone is allowed to come back and vote for their favorite 3 recipes on Sunday until 6pm PST. The Top 3 Voted Recipes and the Top 3 Most Clicked Links all get a "brag button" to put up on their blogs and a permanent link on our "Page of Fame"! The top 30 voted recipes are also organized with permanent links on the website.

We have recently started working with weekly sponsors for our parties as well. Each week, randomly picked recipes receive a "sponsor gift" just for linking up! We have some amazing sponsors in the weeks to come, you really should drop by. We are going to try and get some giveaways in there for you non-bloggers who come by to check out all the recipes every week as well. Take a peek at our next several parties:


THIS WEEK-September 21st Vegan Challenge Sponsored By: Daiya Vegan Cheese. Link up your favorite vegan & vegetarian dishes. 6 Coupons for FREE CHEESE to give away!



September 28th Sponsored By: Mustard Seed Dreams. Gift: 3 Kitchen Canister Label Sets.

October 5th Sponsored By: The Love Bug Collection. Gift 3 Headbands/tiebacks

October 12th Sponsored By: Clean Mama Printables. Gift: 3 Kitchen Organization Label Sets

October 19th "Freaky Friday Halloween Party". We have 5 Sponsors giving away 12 Gifts!


October 26th Sponsored by: Cotton Commotion. Gift 2 Crockpot Carrier Bags


Now, I don't normally post any of my own recipes in the Foodie Friends Friday posts. Just the review of the past weeks winners and our co-host list. But today, I am going to share one of my personal recipes! I am vegetarian but I'm sure a lot of you are not so I thought I would share something everyone will love.



Vegan Hashbrown Crusted Quiche Lorraine

You can make a few easy substitutions in ingredients if you don't want to try out the healthier version
I am posting and use full real eggs, real milk and bacon instead!




Ingredients:
  • 6 Hashbrown Potato Patties (cooked)
  • 1/4 C. Red Onion (Diced)
  • Vegan "Bacon" -cooked (I used Morning Star)
  • 1/2 C. Daiya Vegan Cheddar Cheese Shreds
  • 1/4 tsp.Parsley Flakes
  • Dash Chili Powder
  • 1/4 tsp. Paprika
  • 1 1/2 C. Egg Beaters (egg whites)
  • 3/4 C. Soy Milk



Directions:
  1. Cut your hasbrowns in half diagonally and place into round pie dish.
  2. Layer onions over hashbrowns.
  3. Mix remaining ingredients together in a bowl.
  4. Pour over onions and hashbrowns in pie dish.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 35-40 minutes or until egg is cooked thru and set.





Allow to set for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.


Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Lunch Box Link Party

Hello everyone! 

THANK YOU so much for joining me at this SPECIAL link party!

We are all into the swing of school now...which means that many of us are in the swing of making lunches nearly every.single.night.  I'm all about variety in my kids' lunches, or at least shaking up their usual with a new twist, and sometimes I get stuck for inspiration.  So I am looking to YOU, my blogging friends, to share YOUR fantastic lunch ideas for school!  I can't wait to see all YOUR fun recipes and creative ideas!

I will be tweeting and pinning many of the recipes and ideas that you share...so please link up!  I'd love it if you spread the word about this party.  Thanks so much!

PS - This week's Scrumptious Sunday recipe link party is still up and running, if you have other recipes to link up, I invite you to do so!


Monday, September 17, 2012

Peach Shortcake Muffins

Oh how I LOVE peaches.  Just love love LOVE them.  They are one of my most favourite fruits.  I am so lucky that we live in a beautiful peach producing region.  Each summer we are able to purchase wonderful, juicy peaches from the orchards that surround our city.  So so lucky!

Last summer, I totally did not get my fill of peaches. I'm not into canning (plus, last summer I had a newborn...my hands were full!) - I prefer peaches when they are fresh.  We bought what seemed like tonnes last summer, but alas, it wasn't enough as I have been craving peach season ever since.

My parents were away earlier this summer, they were camping south of our city, and did me the ever so kind favour of bringing us back a case of the early peaches, as the fruit is always ready earlier a few hours south of us. That first case was so very good, and I am just waiting for the signs to go up at the local orchards letting me know I can get more peaches.

I had just a few peaches left from the first case, so I decided to bake some muffins.  I didn't have enough for a pie, otherwise peach pie it would have been. Instead, I went with Peach Shortcake Muffins, from the Robin Hood Baking Festival baking brochure from 1996.  Yes, 1996.  No, I am not a hoarder.  I collect recipes!!  Here is the recipe:

MUFFIN:
1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
6 tablespoons butter or margarine (softened)
1 cup milk
1 2/3 cups coarsely chopped peaches

TOPPING:
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and ginger.  Cut in the butter or margarine with a pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly.  Add in the milk and peaches.  Stir to combine, but do not overstir.  Spoon into prepared muffin cups (greased or lined).  Sprinkle with topping.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until set and golden.

Note - Canned peaches may also be used.  And, try substituting other fresh fruits for the peaches, such as strawberries!

VERDICT:
So delicious!  I just love these muffins!  So does our 1 year old, he's a big "bread" kid, and these were a hit with even the littlest man in our family!

Did you know that you can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter?!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #29

Hello friends!  Happy Sunday to you! I sure hope that this past week has been fabulous.  We are enjoying amazing autumn weather, I always forget what a beautiful month September is!

OK everyone... It's time to share your fabulous recipes HERE for Scrumptious Sunday #29!

Don't forget, all featured recipes will be shared on my blog, and on my Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages!

Just a reminder...on Tuesday September 18, I will be hosting a special link party - I'm looking to compile a great list school / lunch box ideas for my oldest son! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Saturday, September 15, 2012

You'll Find Me Over at Here Comes the Sun!

Good morning everyone! 

Today I am excited to be guest posting over at Here Comes the Sun!  Pop on over to see some ideas to start building your own bento boxes!  Don't forget...this coming Tuesday I will be hosting a themed link party, where all of YOU can share YOUR FABULOUS lunch box ideas!  Until then...head on over to Kelly's blog!  And be sure to explore over there, she has some great contests running now too!

Friday, September 14, 2012

Scrumptious Sunday #28 - Features

What an amazing week!  All around...well, other than the baby's cold, it really has been a good week.  Our oldest started his full days of Kindergarten this week - and he LOVES it!  I am so happy, though I never really had any doubt.  He loves to learn and loves to interact with other kids.  By the end of the summer he was SO ready for school.  Don't get me wrong, he had a FANTASTIC summer, I was still home on maternity leave for the first half and for the second half he spent his days with friends and with his Grandparents, but I think he was ready for the structure of being back in the classroom, and of course, the learning :-)

Speaking of amazing...so many awesome recipes and tips linked up this week.  Thank you SO MUCH!  Here are this week's features!

If you are featured, please grab a BUTTON!



I was featured, I was Featured by Addicted to Recipes







Pizza Muffins from A'Casarella


Broccoli Salad from Don't Waste the Crumbs


Buffalo Wing Hummus from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks


Sweet & Salty Chewy Bars from Atkinson Drive


Pecan Tassies with Caramel Drizzle from The Better Baker


All of these recipes will be pinned to my Pinterest account, posted on Twitter, and shared on Facebook!

Just a reminder, this week's Scrumptious Sunday Link Party goes live Saturday - at 8 pm PST. Can't wait to see what you bring to the party!

You'll Find Me Over at Tales of a Ranting Ginger

Hello!! How is everyone's Friday going?  It's amazingly beautiful here today...but alas I am inside with the baby, seems he's picked up an icky cold this week :-(  On the bright side, I've enjoyed all the extra cuddles, even if he has been grumpy.

Have I told you about my latest blogging fun?  I'm the newest contributor over at Tales of a Ranting Ginger.  Once a month you'll see my recipes posted over on her site...be sure to check it all out!  Kim's site is full of tips and fantastic giveaways!  I'm excited to be part of her fun!

Having said all that, be sure to pop over and check out my recipe post for September, it's live now!  Here's a sneak peek!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Baked Chicken Fingers

Chicken fingers...what kid doesn't love them?  I think we've all had our "love" of chicken fingers at one time or another in our lives.  And so often they come to us processed and frozen.  I thought it was time to give it a go to make my own at home.  I did a little searching online and found lots of recipes, and the recipes all called for items that pretty much already had on hand.  Duh! Had I thought about it sooner, then maybe I would have figured it out sooner :-)  I based what I did on the recipe I found over at Smells Like Home .  Here is my version:

1 1/2 cups Panko
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Pepper (to taste)
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon Dijon or whole-grain mustard
1/4 teaspoon thyme
Cooking spray
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 425F.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

In a shallow dish (I used a pie plate), mix together the flour, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg whites, water, mustard and thyme.

Put the panko into a second shallow dish.

Line up your dishes: 1) Flour mixture, 2) Egg mixture, 3) Panko 4) Cooking sheet.  Working in order, piece by peice (or whatever methods works for you), dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, dip in the egg mixture, coat in the panko, put on the cooking sheet.  Repeat the process until all the chicken is done.  Spray the coated chicken (lightly) with cooking spray.

Bake for 15 minutes, remove the cooking sheet, flip the chicken fingers, and cook for another 10 minutes (or until the chicken is cooked through).

VERDICT:
These were a huge hit, as expected.  And much easier to make than I thought!  Yay!  I did cut the pieces of chicken a little too big for my first try, so next time I will make smaller pieces.  But these were well received by my boys (young and old!). Woohoo!

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