Breakfast Bars

You know those cereal bars that you see in the grocery store that claim to have whole grains. Well, what they fail to mention is that they are only partially whole grain. They are mostly made with "enriched wheat flour", which is a fancy term for white flour, a.k.a. empty calories. This recipe is truly whole grain, and full of fruit.
Trying to get everyone out the door in the morning with a good breakfast is a challenge on the best of days. This recipe simplifies the question "what's should we have for breakfast?" Since I premake them, I don't have to worry about preparing something every morning. We usually eat a banana with it, and find it keeps us full for at least a few hours.

Fruit filling
3 cups frozen mixed berries
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp organic sugar cane

Crumble topping
1 ¼ cup oats
1 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
½ cup organic sugar cane
¼ tsp each cinnamon, baking soda and salt

In a pot on medium high heat, combine fruit, water and sugar cane. Cook for a few minutes, and then set aside for another few minutes, until it slightly thickens. It will still be quite liquidy.

In a medium bowl, mix together oats, flour, butter, sugar cane, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Using a muffin tin, place a layer of the oat mixture on the bottom of each cup, using only half of the entire mixture. Pour a layer of berries over top of the oats. Top with the rest of the oat mixture.

Bake on 350 for 20 minutes. Let cool completely in muffin tin before removing.

Banana Chocolate Chip cookies

The dates in these cookies provide the perfect amount of sweetness, without overpowering the flavour. I used a mini-muffin tin, but if you don't have one, just use a cookie tray like you would for a normal cookie recipe.

3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup chopped dates
1/3 cup chocolate chips
½ cup coconut
1 ½ cup oats, not instant
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
¼ cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Stir until evenly mixed. Evenly distribute batter into a mini muffin tin (one that fits 24 muffins) that has been greased. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool before removing from the pan.

Laziest of Lazy Man Cabbage Rolls (Slowcooker)

Since I love cabbage rolls, but hate the work that goes into them, I decided to try out this recipe in the slowcooker. It really can't get any easier than this! Both my husband and daughter had seconds, so I'm going to take that as a strong hint that this was a good recipe.

1 litre vegetable stock
1 24oz can diced tomatoes, including liquid
1 5.5oz can tomato paste
¾ cup brown rice
½ cup dried red lentils
1 340g bag of cole slaw, or 6-8 cups sliced cabbage
1 onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a slowcooker, and cook for 6 hours on low. Then, add about 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, and continue to cook for another half an hour on high, or until the cheese is melted. See, I told you it was easy!

Enchilada Casserole

Everything about this casserole was tasty. The sauce was very rich because I used tomato paste rather than the traditional tomato sauce, and the cocoa added so much flavour. The bean mixture was very filling, and the olives on top added the perfect amount of saltiness. I'm not sure how authentic this casserole is, but it is definitely delicious!


Bean Mixture
1 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
1 19oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

Sauce
1 5.5oz can tomato paste
1 cup water
1 tsp cocoa powder
2 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
A pinch of cinnamon

Other
3 whole wheat tortillas
1 cup cheddar cheese
About 10 Kalamata Olives, pitted and chopped (optional)


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a frying pan heated to medium high, sautee pepper, onion, garlic, cumin and salt in a little bit of olive oil until onions are translucent. Add black beans. Continue cooking for another couple of minutes.

While the onion and pepper is sautéing, combine all ingredients for sauce in a bowl, and mix until a sauce is formed. Set aside.

In a circular pyrex dish that is about the same size as the tortillas (it doesn’t have to be the exact same size), layer sauce, tortillas, bean mixture and cheese (in that order) like you would a lasagne. Top with pitted and chopped Kalamata olives if desired.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

Tapenade

If you like olives, try this recipe. It totally beats the tapenades that you can buy in the grocery store. An added bonus is that it takes no time, and any guests that you serve this to will be impressed that you took the extra effort to make it yourself. We served it on crackers and bread.

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and finely chopped
2 tbsp capers, roughly chopped
1/4 cup roasted red pepper (jarred is fine), finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil

Combine all items in a bowl, and serve. If you like a more pureed tapenade, then this can easily be pureed in a blender or with an emulsifier.

Artichoke Spread

When my husband and I were in Italy, we had an amazing meal that we talk about all the time. We went to a market and bought fresh tomatoes, cheese, olive oil, wine, arugula and a loaf of bread, and ate all of it! Seriously, there wasn't a bite left.
We often try to recreate this meal, and although it doesn't taste quite the same as it did in Italy, it always comes pretty close. We had one of these meals recently, and I decided to try something new with it. This artichoke spread was delicious on freshly toasted bread. If you like artichokes, you'll love it.

1 14oz can artichokes, liquid drained
1 tbsp olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Salt to taste

Puree all items in a blender, and spread on fresh bread.

Minestrone Soup

Since being back at work off of my mat leave, my slowcooker has also been working full time. I love coming home to a house that smells great, and having little to no prep work for getting dinner on the table. This recipe is amazingly good! The red wine makes the broth so full of flavour, and with all the beans, it is very filling.

If you have a cold day coming up in the forecast (which is almost everyday for us with all the rain we are getting), put this into the slowcooker. There is no better way to warm up on a cold day than a hot bowl of soup.

1 litre vegetable stock
1 19oz can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 14oz can lima beans, rinsed and drained
3 small zucchini, 2 medium carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 yellow onion, 2 cloves garlic, all finely diced
1 24oz can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
Salt and Pepper to taste
2/3 cup red wine
3 tbsp freshly chopped basil
½ cup whole wheat macaroni
Parmesan Cheese

Add all ingredients up to salt and pepper to slowcooker. Cook on low for 6 hours. Add red wine, basil and macaroni. Continue to cook for another hour. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Lentil Soup

The most important ingredient in this soup is the molasses. Honestly, it makes the soup! The broth has such a rich flavour. Not to mention that it is so simple to make. I have had many lentil soups, both ones that I have made, and in restaurants, and this has got to be the best one that I have had. Give it a try. You may be surprised how you like it.


2 cups brown lentils
1 litre vegetable stock
2 carrots, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 ½ tbsp molasses
2 cups water
3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
Freshly grated parmesan cheese to top

Add all ingredients, except basil and cheese, to a large pot and cook for about an hour on medium/high, or until the lentils and vegetables are soft. Puree until smooth.
If you want to do it in the slowcooker, add all ingredients except basil and cheese, and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.
Top with fresh basil and cheese, whether it is cooked in the slowcooker or the pot.

Chocolate Pudding

This pudding takes literally 5 minutes to make. Seriously! That includes clean-up too. And, it is loaded with protein, which is an added benefit,not to mention it is also high in antioxidants. For a light dessert, it is quite rich though, so a little goes a long way. One recipe of this will feed 3-4 people a small amount. It won't look like you are eating a lot, but trust me, with how rich it is, it is more than enough.

1 pkg soft or silken tofu
1/3 cup pure cocoa powder
1/3-1/2 cup agave syrup
1 tbsp vanilla

Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Chill in the fridge before serving, or serve at room temperature. That's all there is to it!

Vegetable Dip

I made this dip up on a whim, and am really happy with how it turned out. My daughter loves this with crackers, but it is also great with raw vegetables as well. It is high in protein and loaded with vegetables, making it a great, and filling, snack.

1/2 cup light cream cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup raw carrots, roughly chopped
1/2 cup roasted red pepper

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Store in the refridgerator.

Eggs with blue corn chips and salsa

My daughter loves eggs! So, I tried out this recipe, and not only did she love it, but so did my husband and I. It was pretty easy to do, and a great weeknight meal. I made it for dinner, but it would be a great dish for a brunch or a heartier breakfast.
If you like things spicier, I would add a chopped up jalapeno or hotter salsa, but since I was making it with my daughter in mind, I didn’t use the spice.

1 onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cups blue corn tortilla chips, crushed up
2 whole eggs
8 egg whites
¼ cup skim milk
1 3/4 cups mild salsa, use hotter if you like it
1 cup cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese

In a large pan, sauté onions over medium/high heat with olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. While onions are cooking, whisk together eggs and milk in a medium bowl.

Once onions are cooked, add chips to the onions. Pour egg mixture over top. Cook for a few minutes, or until eggs are scrambled. Add salsa and cheese. Continue to cook for a couple of minutes until the cheese is melted.

White Bean Dip

This is great served with veggies or crackers, and only take a few minutes to prepare. An added bonus was that I gave it to my one year old on top of crackers, and she couldn't get enough of it.

1 19oz can white beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup light cream cheese
½ cup roasted red pepper, jarred is fine
1 14oz can of artichokes, liquid drained out
¼ cup sundried tomatoes

Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender. Blend until purreed. Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours before eating.

Simple Lasagna

This is an easy lasagna to make and makes for great leftovers, although with how good it is, I’m not sure how much you will have leftover. When I made this, everyone had seconds, and there was only a little bit left for lunch the next day, and that was for 4 adults and 2 toddlers. Delicious!

12 whole wheat lasagna noodles
2 cups Ricotta cheese
2 cups cottage cheese
2 pkgs. Frozen spinach, thawed
4 cups marinara sauce, jarred is fine, but homemade is even better. I have a recipe under pasta if you want to try to make your own.
1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, grated


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cook noodles according to package directions.

While noodles are cooking, squeeze excess water out of spinach into the sink. This is very important, otherwise the lasagna will be too watery. Place spinach in a bowl once the liquid has been drained. Add ricotta and cottage cheese to the bowl. Mix well.

In a very large, rectangular pyrex or corningware dish layer ingredients starting first with marinara sauce, followed by noodles and then spinach mixture. Top with the mozzarella.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown.

Rice Cooker Macaroni and Cheese

No, there isn’t a typo, and I didn’t mean slowcooker. This really is macaroni and cheese done in the rice cooker. Sounds crazy, but this recipe is unbelievably good!

Not only does it taste great, but it is easier than making macaroni and cheese out of a box. Well, maybe not that easy, but pretty close. If you try no other recipe on this blog, try this. You won’t be disappointed.

2 cups whole wheat macaroni
2 cups vegetable stock
1 ¼ cup cheddar cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup skim milk
2 cups chopped up broccoli florets
Salt to taste

Put macaroni and stock in rice cooker. Cook for 15 minutes. Add all other ingredients. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes. That's it! Seriously, the pasta comes out perfectly cooked, and the broccoli is tender but not overcooked.

Next time, I am going to add 1 cup of frozen peas as well.

Baked Veggies

These veggies are fantastic! If you have kids who don’t like veggies, try this recipe. The bread crumbs and cheese are perfect for hiding the fact that they are eating vegetables. Everyone in our household loved these. And, they don’t take a huge amount of time/effort, so they are great for a quick weeknight meal.

2 cups whole grain bread crumbs
½ cup Asiago or Parmesan Cheese
2 cups buttermilk
1 bell pepper, diced
½ red onion, diced
1 small zucchini, diced

Preheat oven to 425.
In a bowl, combine bread crumbs and cheese. In another bowl pour the buttermilk.
Taking a few vegetables at a time, first put them into the buttermilk, then into the bread crumb mixture. Once they are coated with the bread crumbs, place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Broil for the last couple of minutes if you prefer a crunchier texture.