Pumpkin Pie

I didn't have time to make my own crust, but the frozen one was pretty delicious. I used a bit of leftover fondant to make the pumpkin decoration. 

Ingredients
1 frozen pie shell (premade)
1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin puree
1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice (1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 tsp ground ginger, 3/8 tsp ground cloves, 3/8 tsp nutmeg)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 F.

Whisk together eggs, pumpkin puree, sweetened condensed milk, spices, and salt in a bowl.

Add pumpkin mixture to frozen pie crust (do not defrost). Use foil to create a sort of cover for the crust to keep it from burning in the oven.

Bake for 15 minutes, then lower oven to 350 F and continue cooking for 30-40 minutes (or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean).

Allow pie to cool for 2 hours. Pie should be refrigerated after 4 hours.

Mini Red Velvet Birthday Cake

Though it's only a 6-inch cake, it goes a long way since it's three layers high! I used Wilton gel food colouring mixed with white fondant to make the decorations.

Ingredients
Cake
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used unbleached)
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup almond milk (or use regular)
2 tbsp red food colouring
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp baking soda

Cream Cheese Icing
4 cups icing sugar
2 sticks light cream cheese, room temp.
2 sticks butter (1 cup), room temp.

Fondant Icing
1 tsp vanilla extract
7 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
6 cups icing sugar, sifted
1-2 tbsp water
1/4 - 1/2 cup shortening

Instructions
Cake
Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.

Beat butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add eggs and beat until completely mixed. Add vanilla and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup, stir together buttermilk and food colouring. On low speed, alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture, in three additions.

In a small cup combine vinegar and baking soda. Allow mixture to fizz then quickly fold into cake batter. Quickly pour half of batter into a 6 inch round 3 inch high cake pan.

Bake for about 50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and dry. Allow to cool completely before slicing the top of the cakes off to create a flat top using a bread knife. Then slice the cakes in half horizontally to create a total of 4 layers. At this point, you can freeze the cake pieces to use at another time by double wrapping them tightly in saran wrap, then covering with tinfoil.

When ready to ice and finish the cake, allow cake pieces to defrost completely before moving ahead.

Then ice, making sure to put extra icing between the layers of cake to keep them moist and decorate with fondant or icing as you please.

Cream Cheese Frosting

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth. Add sifted icing sugar; beat until smooth.

Fondant Icing

Decorate as you like and enjoy a most delicious cake!


*Credit to http://www.joyofbaking.com/RedVelvetCupcakes.html

Homemade Chili Sauce

So far, I have used this sauce atop of chicken enchiladas, but it would be delicious for a variety of other things such as tacos and burritos. Makes enough for one pan of enchiladas (about 3 cups).

Ingredients
1 (6oz) can tomato paste
3 cups water
2 tsp cayenne powder
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 - 1 tsp salt
2-4 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp onion powder

Directions
Combine tomato paste with water in a pot over medium heat. Stir continuously for about 5 minutes.

Add cayenne pepper, chili powder, salt, cornstarch, and vinegar. Stir together.

Heat the mixture to boiling and continue to stir for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Let sauce cool, then put in a sealed container and keep refrigerated for a couple of months.

Baked Chicken Enchiladas

Enchiladas are a great way to use up extra chicken left over from another meal. They are also just as tasty the next day reheated for lunch. Serves 4-8 (one enchilada for dinner was plenty for me, while Mike needed two to fill up).

Ingredients
3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 tbsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 large can diced tomatoes (no salt)
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp chili powder
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup corn
1 tsp garlic powder
8 (10 inch) whole wheat flour tortillas
3 cups chili sauce

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Line a baking pan with tinfoil and spray with cooking spray. Bake chicken in oven for approximately 40 minutes, or until no longer pink. Drain excess fat and liquids from pan. Remove chicken from pan, shred and return to skillet. Add 1 cup of cheese, parsley, oregano and ground black pepper. Heat until cheese melts. Stir in salt, tomatoes, water, chili powder, green pepper, and garlic powder.

Continue cooking on medium high until the liquids are reduced by half.

Roll even amounts of chicken mixture into tortillas. Arrange in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Cover with chili sauce and remaining cheddar cheese. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Cool about 10 minutes before serving.

Ground Beef Curry

A quick and easy meal that's easy on your wallet. Feel free to add whatever veggies you have on hand, such as fresh tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower etc. Serves 4-6.

Ingredients
1 onion, finely diced
splash of olive oil
1 - 2 pounds ground beef (whatever you have)
1 can no-salt diced tomatoes, drained
2 bell peppers (I used 1/2 yellow, 1/2 orange and 1 green)
2 carrots, chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 can tomato paste

Directions
Preheat olive oil in skillet over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add onions and saute for about 5 minutes, or until translucent.

Add ground beef, stirring occasionally. Cook for about 8 minutes, or until about half the meat is cooked (browned). Stir in spices, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, and carrots; continue cooking for about 20 minutes.

Stir in peppers and cook for another 10 minutes or until vegetables are at the desired consistency. (I tend to prefer my veggies slightly crisp. If your curry sauce is drying up, add some of the liquid from the canned tomatoes. Enjoy!



*Recipe credit to: http://www.fatsecret.com/recipes/beef-curry/Default.aspx

Baked Lemon Garlic Tilapia, Sweet Potato and Carrots

This meal makes for a great packed lunch the next day (see above).  Serves 4-6.

Ingredients
4 tilapia fillets
1 cooking onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 carrots, chopped
1 sweet potatoes, chopped
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried rosemary
3-4 tbsp lemon juice
few splashes of orange juice
black pepper to taste
olive oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Using paper towels, pat dry fillets then season with pepper and a few drops of lemon juice. Set fish aside in the fridge for about an hour.

Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add potatoes and carrots and boil for about 10 minutes, or until partially cooked then drain water and set aside.

Place a drizzle of oil in a baking pan and place fillets in pan. Cover with onion, garlic, carrots and potatoes. Season with pepper and parsley. Add olive oil, lemon juice and orange juice.

Cover pan with foil and cook for 30 minutes.

Sesame Bagels

A good friend of mine has been making her own bread and bagels for some time now, which inspired me to do the same. Thanks Maria, for the inspiration and perfected recipe! Makes 8 bagels.


Ingredients
2 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
1 tbsp brown sugar or molasses (I used molasses)
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup warm almond milk or any sort of milk works here (microwave for about 40 seconds)
3 1/2 cups bread flour (extra for kneading)
1 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 tsp baking soda
sesame seeds

Directions
Add sugar/molasses and yeast to milk. Do not stir. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes, then stir yeast and sugar mixture, until it all dissolves in the liquid.

Combine the flour, flax seeds, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture.

Pour about half of the remaining warm water into the well. Mix and stir in the rest of the water as needed. (You may need to add anywhere from a couple of tbsp to about 1/4 cup of water to result in a moist and firm dough.)

On a floured countertop, knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. (I used my stand mixer with the hook attachment.)

Lightly brush a large bowl with oil and turn the dough to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Let dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size. Punch the dough down, and let it sit for another 10 minutes.

Carefully divide the dough into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball. Coat a finger in flour and gently press your finger into the centre of each dough ball to form a ring. Stretch each ring to about 1/3 the diameter of the bagel and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Place dough rounds on cookie sheet and cover with a damp kitchen towel; allow to rest for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 F.

Add baking soda to a large pot of water to boil. Reduce heat. Use a slotted spoon to lower the bagels into the water (or, like me, you could just gently place them in the water with your hands - carefully). Boil as many as you are comfortable with. Once bagels are in, it shouldn't take long for them to float to the top (a couple of seconds). Let them sit there for 1 minute, and then flip them with rubber-coated tongs to boil for another minute. I used a stiff spatula to remove them from the boiling water. (Extended the boiling times to 2 minutes each, if you prefer a chewier bagel.)

Dip one side of each bagel into sesame seeds and the other into cornmeal and place cornmeal side down onto a lightly oiled baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown, then cool on a rack.

They don't stay fresh for long, so after having one after baking and/or the next day, I pre-sliced them and froze them in a sealed freezer bag.

Though it takes a bit of time, making bagels was very do-able!


*Special recipe credit and thanks goes to my friend, Maria, who has become a bagel-making master!

Roasted Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin

This was possibly even more tasty the next day after it had time, overnight to sit in its juices. I would also recommend this tenderloin on a sandwich. Serves 6-8 people.

Ingredients
2 pork tenderloins
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 F.

Mix honey, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar an oil in a measuring cup.

Place tenderloins in a baking pan, lined with foil and cook for 15 minutes.

Remove meat from oven and reduce oven to 350 F. Pour sauce over the tops of the tenderloins and place meat back in the oven for 45 minutes, basting occasionally with sauce.

Remove meat from oven and allow to sit for about 10 minutes before carving to allow time for the pork to absorb juices. I served a small dish of the glaze on the side of each serving to dip.



*Recipe credit to: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/honey-glazed-pork-tenderloin/detail.aspx