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Tag: Recipe

  • Recipe: Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf with Lemon Glaze

    Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf with a Lemon Glaze
    This is the first time I tried making this type of cake/loaf, and let’s just say that it will now be one of my favourites. I got the base recipe from my Robin Hood Home Baking cookbook and did a few tweaks. You’ll only need one lemon for this recipe, but it sure packs quite the punch in flavour!

    Ingredients:

    Loaf
    1/3 cup butter, softened
    1 cup granulated sugar
    1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
    2 eggs
    1/2 cup milk
    1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (about half a lemon)
    1 1/2 tsp baking powder
    1 tbsp grated lemon zest (about one lemon)
    1/2 tsp salt
    2 tbsp poppy seeds

    Lemon Glaze
    1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (about half a lemon)
    1 cup confectioner’s sugar
    1/2 tsp vanilla

    Directions:

    1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
    2. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and lemon juice. Combine well.
    3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, lemon zest and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk, beating lightly after each addition. Stir in poppy seeds and spread into a greased 9-inch loaf pan.
    4. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Remove from oven and let cool for about 15 minutes before removing from the pan and onto a lined wire rack.
    5. While the cake is cooling, prepare the lemon glaze by mixing the juice of 1/2 lemon in aLemon Poppy Seed Loaf bowl with the vanilla, then gradually adding the confectioner’s sugar until well-dissolved (if mixture is too stiff add some more lemon juice or a drop of water).
    6. With the loaf still warm, spread the glaze mixture over the top so that it gently drips down the sides of the loaf (this is where lining your counter with paper town or parchment paper below your wire rack will come in handy).
    7. Cool completely (glaze will harden) and serve.

  • Recipe: Three Cheese Spinach-Artichoke Dip

    Cheesy Spinach-Artichoke Dip

    I love making this dip whenever I have friends over.  It’s easy to make (just pop all the ingredients into a crock-pot a couple of hours before your gathering), and it tastes great with anything (tortilla chips, pita bread, baguettes, even baby carrots).

    Yield:
    10-12 servings

    Ingredients:
    1 – 250g package of cream cheese
    1 – 175mL jar of marinated artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
    1 – 285g package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
    1/4 cup sour cream
    1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
    1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    2 cloves garlic (minced)
    1/4 tsp salt

    Directions:

    1. In a large bowl, mix the the cream cheese with the sour cream with a wooden spatula until well blended.
    2. To the mixture, add in the cheeses, garlic, salt.
    3. Fold in the artichokes and spinach.
    4. Pour mixture into a pre-heated crock-pot/slow cooker, cover and cook on HIGH for about 2 hours.
    5. Serve with slightly toasted sliced baguettes, pita bread, white corn tortilla chips, your favourite veggies or crackers.

  • Recipe: Banana-Apple Crumble Muffins

    Banana-Apple Crumble Muffins

    I usually don’t like eating bananas when they are too ripe, so when I remembered I had a couple of ripe bananas in my kitchen the other day, I decided to make a batch of banana muffins from scratch. I also wanted to make this batch a little different so I added an apple to the recipe, used sour cream to make the muffins soft, along with a brown sugar topping and ended up with a dozen tasty treats! Since I added the apple, I was also able to cut down on the amount of sugar that’s usually called for in regular banana muffin recipes. Feel free to substitute the oats for granola for the crunch topping, or omit the nuts.

    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Servings: 12 medium-large muffins

    Ingredients:

    Muffins:
    1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    1/2 cup white sugar
    1/3 cup butter (melted, at room-tempurature)
    2 large-sized bananas (ripe)
    1 apple (peeled and diced)
    1 egg, lightly beaten
    1/2 cup sour cream
    1 tsp. vanilla
    1/2 cup chopped walnuts
    1 tsp. baking powder
    1 tsp. baking soda
    1/2 tsp. salt
    1/2 tsp. cinnamon

    Topping:
    1/3 cup packed brown sugar
    1/3 cup Quaker Oats
    1 tbsp. flour
    1/2 tsp. cinnamon
    1 tbsp. butter (melted, at room-temperature)

    Directions:

    1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
    2. For the topping: in a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, oats and melted butter with a spoon, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
    3. For the muffins: In a medium-sized bowl, mash bananas with a fork or potato masher.
    4. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the diced apples to the bananas. Then add the melted butter, vanilla, beaten egg and sour cream to the banana-apple mixture until blended.
    5. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
    6. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in chopped walnuts, being careful not to over-mix.
    7. Pour batter into a lightly greased or lined 12-cup muffin pan, about 3/4 full.
    8. Sprinkle a small amount of the the sugar-oat topping on top of each banana-apple muffin.
    9. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.
    10. Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before removing. Eat and enjoy!

  • Recipe: Low-Fat Mexican Flan

    Mexican FlanI’m really lovin’ this Mexican food! I tried to make flan for the first time a couple Saturdays ago and it came out tasting delicious! There’s a bunch of different variations of flan recipes out there, but using my best judgment, I think the following ingredients make for a great-tasting, and low-fat-as possible flan dessert.

    Ingredients:
    2 whole eggs
    4 egg whites
    1 can (300mL) low-fat sweetened condensed milk
    1 can (370mL) fat-free evaporated milk
    1 cup sugar
    1 tsp cinnamon
    1 tsp vanilla extract

    Equipment:
    1 8-inch round glass/silicone dish
    1 roasting pan (large enough for the 8-inch dish to fit in)

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    2. Pour sugar into a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir constantly to prevent burning until the sugar is liquefied and golden in colour. Quickly pour the caramelized sugar into the glass dish, swirling around the sides to coat the surface evenly. Set aside.
    3. In a large bowl, beat egg whites and egg yolks. Beat in the condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla and cinnamon until smooth. Pour egg mixture into the caramel-lined glass baking dish.
    4. Place the baking dish in the roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with boiling water (enough to cover halfway up the sides of the glass dish). Bake for about 1 hour until the centre is just set. Cool for an hour on a wire rack, then chill in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
    5. Run a knife around the edge of the glass dish and invert the flan onto a serving platter to unmold.

  • Recipe: Chicken and Bean Baked Burritos

    Chicken and Bean Baked Burritos

    Wow. This has got to be one of the most delicious Mexican dishes I ever cooked up to date! I never made burritos this way before, but thought I’d give it a try last night and they came out tasting great. I tried to make this meal as healthy as I could by using extra-lean meat and fat-free refried beans.

    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 45 minutes
    Yield: 8 Burritos

    Ingredients:

    450g/1lb package of Extra Lean Ground Chicken
    1 can of Refried Beans (approx. 400mL)
    8 8″ Flour Tortillas
    1 1/2 cups Shredded Cheese (cheddar, Monterey Jack, or mixture)
    1 Onion (chopped)
    1 Tomato (chopped)
    1/2 teaspoon of Cajun Seasoning (or a blend of salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper)
    2 Cloves Garlic (minced)
    1 teaspoon of hot sauce (optional)
    1 tablespoon of lemon juice (optional)

    Directions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
    2. In a large saucepan on medium heat, brown the ground chicken for about 10 minutes or until no longer pink. Drain off the excess liquid from the pan
    3. Add the chopped onion and garlic to the ground chicken, then sprinkle in the Cajun seasoning and cook for another 5 minutes until the onions are soft.Chicken and Bean Baked Burritos
    4. To the chicken mixture gradually add the refried beans, chopped tomato, hot sauce and lemon juice, blending well with a large spoon. Cook on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
    5. While the chicken and bean mixture simmers, line a 9 x 13″ baking pan with parchment paper (or just lightly oil a casserole dish).
    6. Line the center of each soft tortilla with a large spoonful of the chicken-bean mixture. Carefully fold up the sides into a roll and place in the baking pan. Continue until each tortilla is filled and lined up next to each other.
    7. Sprinkle cheese on top of the rolled-up burritos, and bake uncovered in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is nicely melted.
    8. Serve with chopped lettuce, salsa and sour cream.