Appetizers & Snacks

Vanilla Yogurt and Berry Parfait | Make Ahead Mondays

March 4, 2013 by Rebecca 7 Comments

I’m thirty eight years old and I just started to like breakfast. I’m not even kidding.

The truth is, until this point, the only time I wanted to eat anything before noon was when I was pregnant. Mind you, I was pregnant for a grand total of four-point-one-six (repeating fraction) years, but the point remains. It was only then that I actually wanted breakfast. Until…

Well, until I took my fitness regime seriously. Good grief, people… getting older? I don’t mind the wrinkles, in fact, I kind of like them. I think they build character. What I DO mind is being in a body that has decided that my usual twelve-tacos-for-dinner plan is not working any more. Dagnabit.

As long as I’ve been an adult, I have exercised with far more frequency than I did as a teen (even though I was freakishly thin then) and with more intensity. I’ve done Pilates for years, albeit the kind that I do following along with a video in the den while the doors are firmly closed and locked to prevent kids and dogs from interrupting me.

In the last couple of months, though, I found that I was feeling CRANKY-peckish around nine or ten in the morning: fully two hours before I’ve ever felt like eating before (minus pregnancy) in my life.

Instead of being a doofus and fighting it, though, I’ve yielded in a healthy way. Rather than cramming a fistful of chocolates at my mouth (yes, I’ve done that) at ten-ish, I’ve stocked myself up with something HELPFUL. Every Sunday afternoon, I grab a handful of eight-ounce jelly jars, a container of Greek vanilla yogurt, some frozen berries and go to town… I make myself parfaits. There really isn’t anything more low-maintenance and satisfying than this: vanilla Greek yogurt layered with partially thawed frozen berries and so on until the jar is mostly full. Mostly full because you get the most BANG for your breakfast buck when you leave enough room to top it with a little bit of your favourite yogurt for texture’s sake.

The sweetness of the yogurt, the tart berries and the crunch of the granola? Shoo… You won’t look back.

The beauty of this -aside from the surpassing taste- is that less than ten minutes one day a week yields breakfasts for the entire week. How much less likely are you to splurge on something twelve-taco-y if you have something this delicious and appealing in the refrigerator? And the parfaits get even better as the week goes on… The berries release their juices and make the most lovely sauce that stirs into the yogurt. Geesh. I’m getting hungry now and I just ate dinner.

You don’t even have to thaw the berries before you make these parfaits. Oh sure, if you’re one of those folks who lives in a region that has fresh berries year round, by all means, make ‘em with fresh, but those of us who are still wielding the snow shovel can still experience the joy of a berry parfait with this recipe.

…And one last thing. I love Greek yogurt, my kids? Not so much. They find it too thick. If you’re in the camp of no-Greek-yogurt with my kids, make it with regular vanilla yogurt. Really! Don’t skip it for the sake of strained yogurt. I personally love the Greek stuff because I think it holds up nicely to a week’s worth of refrigeration with melting, juicy berries, by my boys all prefer it with plain old, garden variety, inexpensive vanilla yogurt. There are much bigger hills I’ll choose to die on than Greek yogurt vs. plain yogurt. Choose whatever you prefer!

If you were so inclined, and found yogurt on sale, you could easily make these (leaving room for expansion in the jar) and freeze them with lids on (and sans granola, of course)… I whip them up weekly because I find it easier than thawing, but it’s very, very freezer friendly!

Vanilla Yogurt and Berry Parfait | Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Yield: 6 parfaits

Serving Size: 1 parfait

Vanilla Yogurt and Berry Parfait | Make Ahead Mondays

Start your morning right with a Vanilla Yogurt and Berry Parfait. Less than 10 minutes 1 day a week will yield breakfasts for every morning! Creamy, sweet vanilla yogurt is layered with tart frozen mixed berries in jars and refrigerated for whenever the urge strikes. As the week goes on, the berries thaw and release their juice, flavouring the yogurt. Serve with granola or Grape Nuts!

Ingredients

For Six Parfaits:

1 (32 ounce) container Greek or regular Vanilla Yogurt
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries, unsweetened
6 (8 ounce) jelly jars with lids or dessert bowls

To Serve:

up to 1/2 cup granola or Grape Nuts for each parfait.

Instructions

Spoon about 1/4 cup into the bottom of each of the 6 jelly jars or dessert bowls. Over each of those, spoon about 2 tablespoons of frozen mixed berries. Press the berries lightly into the yogurt. Top with another 1/4 cup of yogurt, 2 tablespoons of berries and then divide the remaining yogurt between the jars over the berries. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to a week.

To Serve:

Remove the lid from the parfait and sprinkle a little granola or some Grape Nuts over the top of the parfait. While eating, sprinkle with granola or Grape Nuts as often as preferred.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/03/04/vanilla-yogurt-and-berry-parfait-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast Foods, Happy Healthy and Wise, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: Breakfast, budget friendly, family-friendly, Food gifts, kid friendly, quick and easy, Vegetarian

Cinnamon Maple Candied Almonds

February 13, 2013 by Rebecca 6 Comments

I often refer to my husband as ‘The Evil Genius’ and realized that maybe to some that sounds like an insult. Let me explain this little term of endearment. When he and I were dating, I posed a question that has probably been asked in one form or another by many geeks the world over: “If Star Wars was real life, would you be part of the Rebel Alliance or the Empire?”

I expected the answer to be a solid “REBEL!” like mine was. Instead, he cocked his head to the side, looked thoughtful for a moment and replied, “The Empire. They have better technology.”

I married into the Dark Side, people, ’cause the Dark Side was cute.

The ‘genius’ part of it is pretty self explanatory. My husband is just plain brilliant. He solves problems other people can’t solve. He programs giant machines to do robotic things. He can rig ANYTHING to work. Seriously. He used to carry a golf club in an old car that used to stall at traffic lights because he figured out that three sharp raps to the upper right quadrant of the hood with that golf club would start the engine back up without him having to get out of the car. I love that man.

My sweet Evil Genius’s favourite snacks are dried fruit and nuts. Specifically, he loves raisins and almonds. He likes to munch them straight from the jar and he looooooooves to put them on salads. He would rather have a salad covered in almonds and raisins than just about anything else in the world.

And I’d rather make him happy than just about anything else in the world, so for Valentine’s Day, I made him a snack that will make his heart go pitter pat (and Hey! Almonds! Heart healthy!! Healthy pitter patting!) with joy. I made him Cinnamon Maple Candied Almonds. This simple to make treat is delicious, lasts for weeks in an airtight container, and is great for straight up snacking or garnishing salads. My darling even chopped a handful of them and tossed them into his morning oatmeal with a fistful of raisins. Happy sounds ensued.

Once the kids discovered the jar of Cinnamon Maple Candied Almonds, it was all over. My thirteen year old stood over the jar and kept dipping his big paws in repeatedly. He kept sighing happily as he ate them. When he finally came up for air, he said, “I can’t help myself! They taste like little cookies!”

He’s right, really. The rich maple syrup and fragrant cinnamon form a sweet, crunchy crust around the roasted almonds that is kind of like a cinnamon raisin cookie, but mapley. And as odd as it might sound, when tossed onto a spinach salad with crumbled bleu cheese and oil and vinegar, the roasted candied nuts stop tasting like cookies and instead provide the perfect little burst of sweetness and crunch.

Let’s talk maple syrup choice for a moment. I prefer to use a dark, strong maple syrup because it takes less syrup to impart a oomphy maple flavour. If you’re not a hard-core maple syrup fan, you can substitute dark Karo syrup or brown sugar in equal parts for the syrup.

Make a batch of Cinnamon Maple Candied Almonds for your sweetie or yourself today. Or if you’re like me and you’re feeding a bunch of snack and salad loving stormtroopers, you might want to consider a double batch. Evil is always hungry.

Cinnamon Maple Candied Almonds

Rating: 51

Cinnamon Maple Candied Almonds

Rich maple syrup and fragrant cinnamon form a sweet, crunchy crust around roasted almonds that tastes reminiscent of a cinnamon raisin cookie, but mapley. And as odd as it might sound, when tossed onto a spinach salad with crumbled bleu cheese and oil and vinegar, the roasted candied nuts stop tasting like cookies and instead provide the perfect little burst of sweetness and crunch.

Ingredients

4 cups shelled, whole, raw almonds
1 egg white
1/3 cup maple syrup (*See Notes)
1/3 cup raw or granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silpat or parchment (lightly spray the parchment with non-stick cooking spray.)

In a small bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon and salt together with a fork until it is evenly mixed.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until very frothy. Whisk in the maple syrup until it is evenly mixed. Toss in the almonds until they are completely coated with the egg/maple syrup mixture. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top and toss again to coat evenly. Spread the nuts in a single layer on the silpat or sprayed parchment lined sheet.

Bake the nuts for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, until the nuts are dry to the touch. Let them cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to break them up. When they are completely cooled, transfer them to airtight containers -like mason jars- and store at room temperature for up to a month.

Serve as a stand-alone snack, or with dried fruit or as a garnish on salads.

Notes

*If you cannot find maple syrup or aren't a fan, substitute an equal amount of dark karo syrup or brown sugar. If you use the brown sugar, whisk the egg white with a tablespoon of water. Tada!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/02/13/cinnamon-maple-candied-almonds/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, frugal gifts, kid friendly, party food, Snacks, Vegetarian

Pulled Pork Baked Potato Skins {giveaway closed}

February 1, 2013 by Rebecca 142 Comments

I think it’s only fair I warn you I may not be held responsible for the number of exclamation points I use because I. Am. So. EXCITED! I have a simple, fabulous recipe to share with you AND I have a super, fantastic giveaway, too.

Let’s start with the recipe because it’s almost Super Snack, er Bowl, Sunday. If you have leftover baked potatoes and pulled pork you’re already halfway there. It’s hard to imagine an easier appetizer unless it comes out of a box. The potatoes are halved and halved again, scooped to leave just a bit of potato behind in the skins, brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, then baked ’til golden brown and crispy around the edges. Then they’re piled high with pulled pork, a squirt or spoonful of your favourite barbecue sauce and topped with melty Monterey Jack cheese. Back into the oven for eight minutes to heat the pork and melt the cheese and then HEY PRESTO! You have the hit of the party.

Pulled Pork Baked Potato Skins

Rating: 51

Yield: 24 potato skins

Pulled Pork Baked Potato Skins

This barbecue sauced, pulled pork piled, gooey cheese topped, crispy baked potato skin is sure to keep the hungry crowds cheering at your game day party. Guaranteed to please the meat lovers in your life!

Ingredients

6 leftover baked potatoes
olive oil for brushing
salt
2 cups leftover pulled pork like this or this, or storebought
3/4 cup -at least- of your favourite barbecue sauce
1 1/2 cups, at least, shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Halve the leftover baked potatoes at the midsection of the potato and then halve those again lengthwise so you have quartered potatoes. Use a spoon to scoop away the insides of the potato to leave just about 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness of potato in the skins. Brush the scooped surfaces generously with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Lay on a baking sheet, scooped sides up and bake until the top edges are golden brown and the potato has started to crisp up.

Divide the pork evenly between the potato shells, piling the pork into the scooped wells. Drizzle at least 1-2 teaspoons of barbecue sauce over the pork then return the pan to the oven until the pork and barbecue sauce are heated through, about 6 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and top each potato skin with at least 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese, or more to taste. Return the pan to the oven and bake just until the cheese is melted and hot.

Remove the pan from the oven and carefully transfer the potato skins to a serving plate. Serve hot.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/02/01/pulled-pork-baked-potato-skins-500-gift-card-giveaway/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The platter and plate holding my potato skins above are from MacKenzie-Childs and they make me smile just to look at them.

Are you familiar with MacKenzie-Childs? If you aren’t, it’s time you were. If you are familiar with it, then you are probably getting pretty excited right now. MacKenzie-Childs sells artisan made ceramics, enamelware, housewares, furniture and accessories, but that doesn’t even begin to cover what they really give you. Everything they have is pure gorgeous whimsy. I like pretty things but looking through their offerings made audibly gasp. Just look!

Could it be any more gorgeous? Don’t think so! And oh my word. Look at the furniture. It’s like Alice in Wonderland in a very, VERY good way.

Are you ready to find out what the giveaway is? Hmmm? To celebrate their 30th Anniversary, MacKenzie-Childs is offering a $500 Gift Card (FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS!) to purchase whatever your heart desires on MacKenzie-Childs.com or in one of their stores. How much fun is that?

We’re going to try a little something different with this giveaway. Please use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter. And if you don’t mind, let me know what you think of it below. Does it make the giveaway easier? Tougher? I’d love your feedback on Rafflecopter, MacKenzie-Childs and, of course, the Barbecue Pulled Pork Potato Skins!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, game day, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Super Bowl

Best Basic Deviled Eggs with Topping Ideas

January 31, 2013 by Rebecca 8 Comments

There are a lot of people who freak out a little when they draw deviled egg duty. Because it’s something that’s been such a mainstay of the party scene for so long, everyone knows how they’re supposed to taste and look and -let’s be honest- if your grandma, mom, or Aunt Molly didn’t share deviled egg tricks with you, the little beasts can be awfully stressful to make.

Is there anyone out there who has run to the store to buy eggs to make deviled eggs (or gone out to the chicken coop to grab fresh eggs for the project), popped them in the pan, boiled and cooled the eggs and then been utterly frustrated by the shells pulling off great chunks of hard boiled eggs? Yeah. I’ve been there, too. I’m here to tell you it isn’t your fault. Well, at least not in the way you think it is. You do not lack the ability to peel an egg, you just have eggs that are too fresh.

No joke.

If you have eggs fresh from the hen house, they will be difficult to peel at best and brain-explodingly frustrating at worst. If you have the time, you should wait at least seven to ten days before trying to boil and peel those eggs. If you get them from the store, read the expiration or sell-by date. If it is three to five weeks from now, those eggs might be too fresh to peel.

Before you throw up your hands and think all is lost, though, there are a few tricks to getting great hard-boiled eggs without a green ring that work even with fresh-ER eggs. I can’t explain why they work from a scientific stand point, but I can tell you they work for me and my one or two day old fresh-from-the-chicken eggs.

To begin with, grab the oldest eggs in your refrigerator, but we’ve already covered that.
Put your eggs in a single layer in the pan. Don’t double up. Don’t ask me why, just don’t do it.
Cover the eggs by at least an inch but preferably closer to two inches of cool tap water.
Add a hearty splash of vinegar to the water.
Bring the water to a full rolling boil, put a tight fitting lid on the pan and SHUT THE HEAT OFF. I’m not kidding. Leave it alone.
After fifteen minutes, immediately and I do mean RIGHT AWAY, move that pan to the sink. Using the lid to hold back the eggs, pour the hot water out of the pan.
Using the lid to hold the eggs in the pan, give the pan a couple of sharp shakes back and forth, up and down.
Remove the lid and let cold tap water run over them for about three minutes.
Use the back of a regular old eating teaspoon to rap the egg all over under running water then flip the spoon over and ease the tip of the spoon in between the shell and the egg. Use the contour of the spoon against the egg to pull the shell away. The water should help get all the excess pieces of shell off of the egg.
Repeat until done. The longer you wait to peel them, the tougher they are to peel. This accounts for why every jar of my post-Easter Yooper Pickled Eggs looks as though an angry two year old who lacks opposable thumbs peeled them.

Now that you have gotten the hard part out of the way, let’s talk filling. The filling itself is simple, but a few things will ensure that you have the ultimate deviled egg experience. I like to keep the filling simple and a touch retro.

Deviled eggs are not on the cutting edge of food fashion. I acknowledge that. There is something so comforting about seeing them on a party buffet table, though, isn’t there? No matter what else is out there, no matter how exotic the rest of the choices are, you know there’s going to be something you love to eat. Such is the real draw of the deviled egg.

Just because they’re retro doesn’t mean they have to be predictable, though. If you have a great deviled egg base (in my case, mayonnaise and Dijon mustard), you can keep the traditionalists happy AND it can serve as the platform for any number of strong toppings to keep things exciting. I like my deviled egg filling to be flawlessly smooth and I have a trick to share to make that happen, too. I present my magic deviled egg wand.

Yes. My magic wand is a potato ricer. It makes the silkiest work of squishing egg yolks outside of forcing all the business through a fine mesh sieve. I don’t pull a restaurant paycheck anymore, so I’m NOT going to be the girl working egg yolks through mesh. The ricer does the job beautifully and with far less effort and cleanup.

Once you’ve blended the yolks in with the mayonnaise and Dijon mustard, you can opt to spoon the filling or pipe it into the egg white halves. I pipe because I like the look of it.

I leave some of them plain for the old school crowd and then go to town on the others. Green olive tapenade, spicy chili crisp (or chili garlic sauce), candied jalapenos and bacon jam are some of my favourite things to throw on top of deviled eggs. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s fun to look at a platter and have an array of colours and flavours staring back at me.

So talk to me. Have you ever had a panic moment over hard-boiled eggs or are you an expert? If you are an expert, do you have any hard-boiled egg tips to share? What’s your favourite deviled egg topper or recipe?

Best Basic Deviled Eggs with Topping Ideas

Rating: 41

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Best Basic Deviled Eggs with Topping Ideas

The best deviled egg is a perfectly cooked hard-boiled egg filled with a creamy classic filling and then topped with imaginative goodies. This recipe gives you the technique for the perfect boiled egg, how best to peel them, AND a list of great toppers.

Ingredients

To Make the Deviled Eggs:

12 chicken eggs
splash of vinegar
1/4-1/2 cup mayonnaise
1-2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
salt and black pepper to taste

Topping Ideas:

Green olive tapenade
Bacon jam
Spicy Chili Crisp or Chili Garlic Sauce
Sriracha
Candied Jalapenos
crumbled crispy bacon
roasted red pepper strips
roasted red pepper spread
minced green onion or chives

Instructions

Place eggs in a single layer in a heavy pot that has a tight fitting lid. Cover the eggs by 1- to 2-inches of cool tap water. Add a splash (a tablespoon or so) of cider vinegar to the pan. Place the pan over high heat and bring the water to a full rolling boil. As soon as it hits the full rolling boil, clamp the lid in place and shut the heat off completely. Let the eggs stand, undisturbed for exactly 15 minutes.

When the 15 minutes have passed, carefully carry the pot to the sink and use the lid to hold the eggs back while pouring off the hot water. Give the pan a couple of sharp shakes back and forth and up and down to break the shells a bit. Let a stream of cold tap water pour over the eggs for about 3 minutes.

Working with one egg at a time, use the back of an eating teaspoon to rap the egg all over and break the shells into tiny pieces. Flip the spoon over, hold the egg under a thin stream of cool water and ease the tip of the spoon between the broken shell and the egg. Use the contour of the spoon to pull the shell away from the egg. The running water should remove any leftover shell fragments. Lay the peeled egg on a clean towel.

Repeat with the remaining eggs.

Slice the eggs in half lengthwise and pop the yolks into a bowl (using a spoon to help if necessary.) Either smash the yolks with a fork or potato masher or force through a potato ricer, like I do. Mix 1/4 cup of mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard into the squashed yolks with a fork or whisk until smooth. If you'd like the filling to be creamier, add the mayonnaise 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition and adjust with the remaining Dijon mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pipe or scoop the filling into the egg white halves. Serve immediately -topped as desired- or wrap before topping and refrigerate until it is time to serve.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/31/best-basic-deviled-eggs-with-topping-ideas/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, game day, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Snacks, Super Bowl

Cheeseburger Bites for Super Sunday {giveaway closed}

January 26, 2013 by Rebecca 139 Comments

If there is one immutable law in this house, it is that finger food is always going to disappear like David Copperfield. Anything that is bite-sized, little, on a stick or otherwise easily portable, or shove-into-the-mouth-able is going to be an easy sale.

With Super Sunday—the crowned jewel of the snack food calendar—right around the corner, I’m assembling my master plan for feeding my football-crazy crew keeping them happy, whatever the outcome of the game. We have some tried and true recipes that cannot be left off of the menu (chicken wings, soft pretzel wrapped smoked sausages, dill pickle dip, and more…), but each year we add a fun new recipe or two to the rotation. This year’s star addition is Cheeseburger Bites from the Land O’Lakes Big Game Recipe Collection of simple, crowd-pleasing recipes.

I made this recipe to have on hand for the webinar I co-hosted with Amber from the Land O’Lakes test kitchen this past Friday. A girl has to keep her energy up while she’s chatting up a virtual room full of fabulous bloggers, right? Hi. I’m Rebecca, I’m a stress eater.”

Here’s the point. I made them, put them on the counter, and found five little men at my elbows giving me the usual shake-down: “What’s that?”, “Is that meat?”, “Can I eat one?”, “Can I eat four?”, “Can I eat all of them?”

Before I knew what had happened, three-quarters of the platter was empty.

I only had a handful of Cheeseburger Bites and a bowlful of dark chocolate chunks and pretzels in my lap to sustain me. Poor me.

Cheeseburger Bites for Super Sunday {Giveaway!}

Rating: 41

Cheeseburger Bites for Super Sunday {Giveaway!}

Crispy, simple wonton cups filled with melty, cheesy good cheeseburger filling. Garnish with chopped pickles and sesame seeds for a super Super Bowl (or any game day!) treat.

Ever so gently adapted from and with thanks to the Land O'Lakes Test Kitchen recipe

Ingredients

36-48 wonton wrappers trimmed to 3-inch squares
nonstick cooking spray
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup finely minced or grated onion
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced or pressed (or 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper, preferably freshly ground
1 cup finely chopped dill pickles, divided
1/2 cup milk
14 slices Land O Lakes Deli American
toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack positioned in the middle of the oven.

Lightly spray mini-muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray. Gently press one trimmed wonton square into each muffin cup.

Place pan in the center of the oven rack and bake for 5-10 minutes, watching carefully as they burn easily!

Immediately turn the wonton cups out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. While they cool, turn your attention to the filling.

Add the minced onion, garlic, and black pepper to a small frying or sautee pan. Use your hands to break up the ground beef over the onion and cook over medium heat, breaking the beef down into very small pieces with a sturdy spoon, until it is cooked through and browned. Tear up the slices of American cheese and add them to the pan along with the milk. Continue cooking, stirring to help the process, until the cheese is completely melted and the mixture is creamy. At this point, you can remove some of the mixture for anyone who is not a pickle fiend. To the remaining cheesy beef mixture, add about 1/2 cup of the chopped pickles and stir them in well. Spoon the mixture into the wonton cups and garnish with the rest of the chopped pickles and a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.

Serve immediately.

Notes

I made a couple of tweaks to the original Land O'Lakes Test Kitchen recipe to suit our family's tastes. Instead of lettuce, we garnished the cheeseburger bites with additional chopped pickles. Because of this added salty component, I omitted the salt called for in the recipe. Additionally, I upped the cheese, because really? How can you go wrong with more cheese? And for no reason other than that I love my cheeseburgers with a hint of garlic and a belt of black pepper, I added garlic and increased the amount of black pepper. We loved it!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/26/cheeseburger-bites-for-super-sunday-giveaway/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Lack of snacks for me aside, the webinar was a hoot. It was my first time on the co-hosting end of one and I have to say it was a real treat to get to interact with so many talented people from the blogosphere.

I really showed my true nerd colours and I admitted to “MacGyvering” my way through dinner parties by using a garden-variety heating pad disguised by a not-yet-ruined-by-boys hand towel to keep a platter of hot appetizers warm. Yeah. I did that. And not only did no one tell me I was nuts, someone actually told me it was a good idea.

My word, you people are the whole package.

Speaking of packages, participating bloggers were given a sweet prize package to give away to readers, self included! These prize packages -I think you’ll agree- are pretty darned fabulous.

One large serving platter, one Emile Henry pizza stone and one coupon for
Land O Lakes^® Deli Cheese and one insulated shopping bag. As Amber from the Test Kitchen shared with us, she uses the insulated grocery bag to carry hot appetizers to friends’ parties. BRILLIANT!

Would you like to win one of these packages for yourself? Here’s how to enter!

MANDATORY ENTRY: Leave a comment here sharing your favourite munchies for game day or any occasion. If your family is insane over the dish, maybe you could even leave some instructions here. Hint hint…

OPTIONAL ENTRIES (Be sure to leave a separate comment for each method you use so you’re sure to get credit for each one.)

Subscribe to Foodie with Family using the handy-dandy “Subscribe to my blog” button in the right hand sidebar then let me know in a comment!

The Pick Giveaway Winner plugin chose ‘seas’ as our winner on Wednesday, January 30, 2013. Please check your email for details!

Hungry for more chances to win? Visit any of these fantastic bloggers who participated in our webinar to enter their giveaways!

Remaking June Cleaver

She Scribes

Being Alison

Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Land O Lakes^® Deli Cheese. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: Big Game Snacks, budget friendly, family-friendly, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Super Bowl

Earl Grey Raisin Scones with Sticky Lemon Glaze | Downton Grub Files

January 12, 2013 by Rebecca 23 Comments

The body of this post and the printable recipe do NOT contain SPOILERS, however, I cannot make any promises about the comments section. If you are not caught up on Downton Abbey (Episode 1 of Season 3 as of this writing on January 12th, 2013), you may not want to read comments. I also ask -No, I BEG and PLEAD- that our friends overseas (or those who somehow saw all of Season 3 already) refrain from giving away what happens in any episodes past where I am!

Whoopsie! Forgot to include how MUCH cream in the ingredients list. It is fixed now!

I am an unapologetic anglophile from television programs to music to art to literature to food.

It is an idea that started with a simple question on the Foodie with Family facebook page…

“Are there any Downton Abbey fans here?”

In sixteen hours, more than seventy people ‘liked’ the post and there were twenty four comments. I knew I wasn’t the only mega Downton Abbey fan out there. Obviously. I hear internet chatter. I read newspapers. I see the news. I know it’s a big deal. What I didn’t know was how many Foodie with Family readers would be interested in me blathering on about how on Sunday the children are duct taped into bed after I rush home from taking my eldest to youth group at lightning speed just so I can see the Dowager Countess, Lady Grantham, Lady Mary, Sybil, Edith, week-ends, Mr. Bates and Anna, the abhorrent Thomas, Mr. Carson, Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Pattimore, Daisy, Mrs. O’Brien, upstairs and downstairs, and lush costuming.

OH, THOSE COSTUMES. The dresses! The DRESSES, I tell you!!!!!!

Yes, I record it on the DVR, but if you have to ask that, you’re not getting my point. I want to watch it the very second it’s airing on PBS. I don’t want to wait one fraction of a second to get my weekly Downton fix.

More than I want to dress like Lady Mary, do something jolly with my hair like Edith, or just plain LOOK like Sybil from time to time, I want to be as witty, incorrigible and stalwart as the Dowager Countess Violet. Every time she speaks, I hush the imaginary people in the room with me. Imaginary, because I DO NOT allow anyone in the room with me lest they should talk over, wiggle, or otherwise interrupt my show.

My husband likes to sit in the other room with the door closed and laugh at me as I yell at the t.v. (Thomas, Mrs. O’Brien, and the former Mrs. Bates, I’m looking at you…), swoon (Oh hello, Lady Mary and Matthew, Anna and Mr. Bates. Yes. You all make my heart go pitter patter.), and otherwise sigh, moon, and mope when episodes conclude. After listening to me watch the conclusion of Season 2, he asked, “Is that what I sound like when I watch football?” My response included something intimating that if football had dresses like that I’d watch it, too.

I was late to the Downton party because of a fun little personality quirk where I deliberately avoid trying anything large crowds of people love. Yeah. That’s working out really well… So far, I can add Harry Potter books, Downton Abbey, and So You Think You Can Dance to that list.* The ONLY advantage to having taken so long to discover the series (midway through Season 2) was that I got to park myself on the couch for an indecent amount of time and watch Season 1 in one sitting.

*To be fair to myself, I can also add the Twilight books, which -after reading- led me to conclude that my personality quirk might actually be useful in some ways. To quote Snorg Tees, “Real men don’t sparkle. Real men defeat dark wizards!”

I quickly discovered that I really couldn’t get through an episode of the show without something to eat since so much of it revolves around time spent at the dinner table or in the kitchen. Since I love a good theme, I decided to stock myself with British Isles treats to nibble while slowly and inexorably becoming part of my furniture. And here’s where my idea came sidling in like Mr. Carson in the dining room. Why not post a little of the grub I made to sustain myself during my Downton Abbey marathon sessions? Just as quickly as the thought was hatched, I could almost hear the Dowager Countess saying, “What IS grub?” The Dowager Countess is apparently my grammatical conscience.

Today is my first contribution to the Downton Grub Files and it’s a doozy; Earl Grey Raisin Scones with Sticky Lemon Glaze. These moist, flaky scones are packed with Earl Grey soaked raisins and a touch of lemon zest and topped with a sticky, absolutely, unequivocally un-Downton finger-licking, Sticky Lemon Glaze. Every time you bite into one of the juicy soaked raisins, you get a little subtle pop of Earl Grey tea. I’m pretty sure Mrs. Patimore would be a-okay with slurping the glaze from your fingers, so go for it.

Tune in every Saturday while Downton Abbey airs for a great new classic British fare recipe to eat while you watch on Sundays! Who’s your favourite on Downton? What moments made you GASP? Cry? Scream at the television? (Come on, I can’t be the only one who did it!)

Earl Grey Raisin Scones with Sticky Lemon Glaze | Downton Grub Files

Moist, flaky lightly lemony scones studded with Earl Grey soaked golden raisins are perfect to nibble while watching Downton Abbey or just because you can.

Ingredients

1 cup golden raisins soaked in 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) hot, extra-strong Earl Grey tea for at least an hour
4 cups (1 pound 1 ounce, by weight) all-purpose flour (preferably King Arthur all-purpose or Galahad flour.)
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
8 tablespoons (1 a stick of butter or 4 ounces by weight), very cold and cut into 1/4-inch cubes, divided
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
zest of one lemon, divided
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper and set aside.

Pour the raisins and tea into a fine mesh strainer and let drain thoroughly.

Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add about 1/2 of the cubed butter and work in with a fork, two knives, a pastry cutter or your fingers until the mixture resembles lentils. Add the remaining butter and work in, leaving some slightly larger pea sized -or even larger- flakes of butter.

Add half of the lemon zest, and the drained raisins to the flour, then toss through gently until evenly distributed, taking care not to mash it in. Add 1 1/2 cups of the cream, sprinkling it over the top, then tossing to combine. Pick up a small amount of the mixture and try squeezing it gently together. If it crumbles, or if there are dry crumbs in the bottom of the bowl, add more cream -1 tablespoon at a time- until you have a mixture that holds together as a shaggy dough when squeezed gently. Use a bench scraper or spatula to gently fold the dough in on itself until it forms a shaggy mass you can turn out onto a very lightly floured surface.

Divide the dough in half and gently pat out the dough into two 7-8 inch discs that are about 3/4 of an inch thick. Carefully transfer the discs to a parchment lined baking sheet. Use a bench knife or Chef's knife to cut each disc into 8 wedges, cutting straight down and not sawing back and forth to help it rise higher in the oven. Gently separate the wedges so there is a little space between them.

Whisk together the remaining lemon zest, the lemon juice and the sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Lightly brush the tops of the unbaked scones with the glaze.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the scones are puffy and golden brown on top.

Spoon any leftover glaze on the hot scones and spread it over the tops. Let cool 'til comfortable to handle!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/12/earl-grey-raisin-scones-with-sticky-lemon-glaze-downton-grub-files/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Bread, Downton Grub Files, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: Breakfast, budget friendly, dessert, family-friendly, quick and easy, traditional food, Vegetarian

Lemon Dill Spreadable Cream Cheese and the FwF Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich | {GIVEAWAY CLOSED}

January 11, 2013 by Rebecca 36 Comments

Update: The winner of the Sam’s Club giveaway is Barbara N. Nice start to a Monday, eh, Barb? Check your email for details.

I have to tell you that I have a list of kryptonite foods -foods against which I have absolutely zero self control- and today’s post contains seven of them in one form or another. In other words, this is pretty darned close to perfection in my book.

My current (current because it changes from time to time) kryptonite foods list is:

Cream Cheese
Dill
Lemon
Smoked fish (in general)
Smoked Salmon (specifically)
Bagels (in general)
Everything Bagels (specifically)
Pumpernickel
Pumpernickel Everything Bagels (Black Russian bagels) Fuggedaboudit. That’s as good as it gets.
Biscuits
Gravy
Feta
Garlic-stuffed kalamata olives

Living as far out as I do, it’s not often I can lay my hands on some of those ingredients, so when I do, I go a bit nutso. For example, that lady who was frantically stuffing all the Black Russian bagels in the bin into her bakery bag at Wegman’s? That was me. And the gal at Sam’s Club who was desperately clutching the packages of smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, fresh dill, lemons and a boneless leg of lam? Yours truly. I can’t help myself. The lamb just sounded goooooooooood.

Bless Sam’s Club for carrying everything but the bagels. (And they DO have bagels… just not the Black Russian variety.)

Do you like flavoured cream cheese? I am insanely devoted to it. I love the creamy, rich cheese when it’s completely infused with herbs and citrus, garden vegetables and garlic, chives, or -for something completely different- a little maple syrup and cinnamon. Here’s where I twitch with desire a bit… My all-time favourite version of this concoction is a light lemony cream cheese studded with chopped fresh dill, parsley and green onion. HOLLA!

I’m sorry. Sometimes I lose my head over cream cheese. It’s a sickness. I’m working on it.

Here’s the beautiful thing of it; although I could probably easily eat an entire batch of it myself in one sitting, (Hangs head in shame.) I cover it tightly and pop it into the refrigerator where it will last (improving daily) for about one week. I can’t promise that I am above walking past the fridge, throwing the door open and scooping my finger through the bowl from time to time. Remember, cream cheese=kryptonite.

I have good news, though! This is the time of year that many folks are resolved to eat better than they did in the previous year. If you’re in that camp, you can easily substitute Neufchâtel Cheese (commonly sold by major brands as Low-Fat Cream Cheese or 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese) for the regular full-fat cream cheese without sacrificing any of the quality, flavour, or smooth creamy texture you want. Big old win!

It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that the Lemon Dill Spreadable Cream Cheese goes beautifully on my beloved toasted Black Russian bagels topped with flaked smoked salmon, capers, and a pinch of fresh dill, natch.

But that’s not all it’s great on; it is the be-all-and-end-all on a roasted turkey or chicken breast sandwich with baby spinach and black olives, or as a dip for vegetable sticks, or spread on toast all by its lovely self. Get creative! Spread it on a bun for a grilled turkey burger or on a flat bread for a lamb wrap. The fresh, light, creamy, dilly cheese goes just about anywhere!

Lemon Dill Spreadable Cream Cheese and the FwF Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich | {GIVEAWAY!}

Lemony, light, studded with fresh dill and other herbs, this refreshing spreadable cream cheese is fantastic on the FwF Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich or smeared on a chicken sandwich, bagel, turkey burger, or used as a dip for fresh vegetables.

It can easily be made with 1/3-less fat cream cheese (Neufchatel cheese) lightening up the fat content in the recipe for those with dietary restrictions.

Ingredients

For the Lemon Dill Spreadable Cream Cheese:

8 ounces of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
zest of one lemon
juice of 1/2 to 1 whole lemon, to taste
1/3 cup minced fresh dill weed, lightly packed
1/4 cup minced fresh flat leaf or curly parsley, loosely packed
2 tablespoons minced green onions, green part only
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the FwF Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich:

1 pumpernickel everything bagel (Black Russian bagel) or your preferred savoury bagel
1 teaspoon softened butter
2 to 3 tablespoons Lemon Dill Spreadable Cream Cheese
1/4 cup flaked or 2 thin slices smoked salmon
5 to 10 pickled capers, drained
fresh dill, to taste

Instructions

To Make the Lemon Dill Spreadable Cream Cheese:

Add the cream cheese, lemon zest, juice of 1/2 a lemon (to start with), dill weed, parsley and green onions to a mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.) Mix with a hand mixer on high (or on high on the stand mixer) until the cream cheese is fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Taste the cream cheese and add more lemon juice, if desired, along with salt and black pepper to taste. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on high an additional 30 seconds, or until everything is fully incorporated. Scrape the contents into a container with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate for at least an hour before using and up to a week.

To Make the FwF Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich:

Slice open the bagel and spread 1/2 a teaspoon of softened butter on each cut surface. Broil under a hot broiler just until the butter is bubbly and the bagel is toasted on top. Remove the bagel from the oven and let cool until it is comfortable to handle.

Spread about 2 tablespoons of the Lemon Dill Spreadable Cream Cheese on the bottom half of the bagel. Layer on the flaked or sliced smoked salmon, as many capers as you'd like and fresh fronds of dill, if desired. Top with the top half of the bagel and enjoy!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/11/lemon-dill-spreadable-cream-cheese-and-the-fwf-ultimate-breakfast-sandwich-giveaway/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Now a giveaway!

Sam’s Club contacted me before the holidays offering a giveaway to one of my readers. With all that went on around here, the post didn’t happen. Sam’s Club has graciously offered to let me do the giveaway in spite of the fact that I didn’t get the post up in time. I am grateful, because I’m a big fan of Sam’s Club. With such a big family to manage, Sam’s Club is the go-to place for paper products (paper towels, toilet paper, etc..) and mega packs of juice boxes. I love the selection of fresh meats (and the price is always competitive), produce and dairy products. Thank you Sam’s Club! So what are we giving away today? A Modern Cocktail Holiday Mixer Party Pack! Sam’s Club says, “This fun, non-alcoholic drink mixer pack will turn the average consumer into a modern day mixologist. The Modern Cocktail Holiday Mixer Variety Pack contains our top selling holiday mixers to include 4 Margarita Mixers, 4 Martini Mixers, 4 Berrytini Mixers and 3 Champagne Toppers. The pack also contains salt and sugar crystals to finish off any premium cocktail.” All you have to do is add liquor!

To enter, just leave a comment below telling me how your holidays were. Did you get to see family? Did you stay home hunkered in? Talk to me!

The winner will be chosen at random and notified by next Monday, January 14th, 2013.

Disclosure: This contest is open only to US Residents due to shipping restraints. Sam’s Club provided a membership and covered my food costs for the recipe, and is providing the prize to the winner, but all opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast Foods, Component Foods, Condiments, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: Breakfast, family-friendly, kid friendly, quick and easy, Snacks, Vegetarian

Ranch Bake-In-Slices Bread

January 4, 2013 by Rebecca 16 Comments

This is going to be a little crazy all over the place, so please bear with me, but I have a lot of ground to cover.

First -and most importantly- my entire family thanks you for all the condolences and expressions of support you’ve shared with us after the loss of Val. It means more to me personally than I can possibly say to know that you all are thinking of and praying for us. As weird as it feels to get back to doing normal, every day things, it really does have to happen, so here I am!

Next, I hope you’ve noticed the pretty new dress Foodie with Family is wearing. It was a while in the making, but I love the new look. There are a couple of little upgrades and tweaks I wanted to point out to you that will -hopefully- make hanging out here and menu planning a little easier and more pleasant.

If you hover your cursor over the “Recipes” tab directly below the header, you will see three options. Clicking on Recipes will -as always- take you to my recipe archive page where every single recipe (hopefully!) that has ever been on Foodie with Family can be found in one handy-dandy page. Clicking on Shopping List will allow you to put ingredients from our recipes onto a -what else- shopping list! courtesy of Ziplist. (Those are the same nice folks who created the plug-in that I use to provide printable recipes here.) Directly below that is the Grocery Deals option. This nifty function -again, courtesy of Ziplist- allows you to specify which grocery chains are near you and see what the advertised sales are in your area. I encourage you to to play around a little bit with those options. Hooray for streamlining the menu planning process!

We have pretty new (and much, much more user friendly) options for subscribing to Foodie with Family via RSS or reader, send me an email or follow me on Twitter, and Facebook. Please join me in any or all of those. I do so love your company.

In the sidebar, there is a more fwf section featuring some older posts that you just might find a.) interesting, b.) hilarious (it’s a process, right? Tell me I’ve grown.) and c.) delicious.

Now, I know there are bound to be hiccups here and there as there always are with changes, so I hope you all will let me know if you find a broken link or wonky image anywhere. I do love my new look, though. What do you all think?

Finally, there’s this bread. Oh, this Ranch Bake-In-Slices Bread is the bees-knees. It’s bread that’s baked in such a way that no slicing is necessary afterward. Why bother? Well… Lemme tell you. Most folks know you’re not supposed to slice hot bread because it ruins the texture of the rest of the loaf, right? This loaf is superior BECAUSE YOU CAN EAT HOT SLICES OF BREAD WITHOUT WAITING FOR IT TO COOL. That’s where you hear angels singing, right? Of course, there’s more. There’s the fact that it’s brushed lavishly with butter and sprinkled with Ranch dressing mix before being stacked deck-of-cards-like into the also lavishly buttered bread pan. And there’s also the fact that you can make this with homemade or purchased bread dough… There’s the perfection of a sunny-side up egg on top of a slice. Or the fact that grilled cheese sandwiches made on slices of this bread are pretty much the best tasting things ever, if a little funny looking. I’ve sopped soup, sauce and egg yolks with slices of this. Take your pick. Any one of those is reason enough for me.

My favourite, though, is simply turning the freshly baked loaf of pre-sliced bread out onto a cooling rack and peeling back then inhaling the heel pieces. Yes. That is comfort food writ large, folks. Happy sigh.

Ranch Bake-In-Slices Bread

Ranch Bake-In-Slices Bread is a wonderfully versatile snacking bread that bakes itself into slices. Eat hot straight from the oven, sop up soup, stew or sauce, or use to make the most spectacular grilled cheese sandwich this side of heaven.

Ingredients

1 pound sandwich bread dough (homemade like this or purchased)
1 stick (4 ounces by weight, 8 tablespoons) of unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for buttering the loaf pan.
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoon of dry Ranch salad dressing mix
1 teaspoon dried dill weed

Instructions

On a clean, lightly floured surface, roll the bread dough out into a rectangle that is about 1/4 of an inch thick. Pour the melted butter over the rectangle and use a pastry brush to more or less evenly distribute it. Sprinkle the dry Ranch dressing mix and dried dill weed over the dough. Cut the dough into pieces that are roughly the size of a playing card.

Butter a standard loaf pan and prop one end up on a box of toothpicks or something similar so that the pan tilts up at on end. Stack five pieces of the dough at a time and place in the pan, starting at the lower end so gravity holds it in place. Repeat until you've added all of the dough to the pan. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes at room temperature.

While the dough rises, preheat the oven to 350°F. Uncover the dough and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the top of the bread is deep golden brown. Let the bread rest in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a plate or cooling rack. Eat immediately or store wrapped with a clean towel at room temperature.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/04/ranch-bake-in-slices-bread/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com