Homemade Caesar Salad

Have you ever been to one of those restaurants where they make the caesar salad right at your table. It always tastes so good and they make it look easy. I used to make caesar dressing from scratch when I worked in a kitchen in high school but have never tried it at home.

Obviously I had to leave anchovies out since Joey would be eating this and he hates seafood.

Pepper Added by Joey - he adds a ridiculous amount to every salad.

Ingredients
Homemade croutons
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons mayo
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
romaine lettuce
bacon
3 mushrooms, sliced

1. Wash and dry the romaine lettuce. Rip into bite sized pieces.
2. In a large bowl add pressed/finely chopped garlic, lemon juice, dijon, worcestershire, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine.
3. Gradually whisk oil into mixture.
4. Whisk in mayo.
5. Add half the parmesan cheese and stir to combine.
6. Add lettuce, bacon, mushrooms, remaining cheese and crutons to the bowl. Toss to combine.

Cheesy Vegetable Pot Pie

The recipe I had from Kraft Canada called for chicken but I was lazy and didn't want to defrost and cook it so I left it out and add in extra vegetables instead. I really enjoyed the taste of this pot pie and the topping made it so frickin good. Now reheating it was an issue because it makes the top a bit soggy but it still tasted good.

Pepper added by Joey - I don't think any. Holy moly.

Ingredients
1.5 cups broccoli
1 cup carrots, sliced
1/2 cup mushrooms, quartered
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup red peppers
1/2 cup green peppers
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 cup cauliflower
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can crescent dinner rolls

1. Cook broccoli, carrots, potatoes and cauliflower in microwave for a few minutes (I did 4 minutes for each).
2. In a bowl mix all vegetables.
3. Add shredded cheese and cream of chicken soup. Mix well.
4. Grease a baking dish and add in vegetable mix.
5. Unroll dough and place over top of vegetables (don't put over sides of dish).
6. Bake in a 375F oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top is browned and pie is bubbling.

Strawberry Lemonade

Strawberries are finally in season. I love this time of year! It has been hot lately and nothing goes better with a hot day then a tall cold glass of lemonade. Add some strawberries to the mix and yum yum yum. When I make this again I will cut back on the amount of sugar. It was too sweet for my liking.

Pepper Added by Joey - None. Although word around the campfire is that strawberries and pepper go well together.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon lemon peel

2 cups sliced strawberries

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 cups cold water

2/3 cup lemon juice

Ice cubes

1. Blend lemon peel and strawberries in a blender.

2. Add sugar and 1 cup cold water. Continue blending.

3. Strain through a sieve into a larger pitcher.

4. Stir in lemon juice, 2 cups cold water and ice cubes.

Oreo & Chocolate Pudding Pops

I love fudgesicles. I do not love the cost of them. When making these pops I was supposed to use dixie cups but can you believe that I could not find any? So we improvised and used little plastic bowls.

Pepper Added By Joey - what makes you think he is even getting within 2cm of these??

Ingredients

1 package of chocolate instant pudding
2 cups cold milk

6 Oreo cookies

1/2 cup Cool Whip

1. Mix the pudding mix and milk for 2 minutes.

2. Place Oreo's in a sealed bag and crush with a rolling pin.

3. Add cookies and Cool Whip to pudding mix. Mix well.

4. Spoon into whatever container you are using. If you are using dixie cups then place a popsicle stick in the center after filling the cup.

5. Freeze for 5 hours.

Bocconcini Roasted Veggie Salad

What I like about summertime is that anything you make can be changed up so easily by just adding in different ingredients. This is especially true with salads. If the price had been right this week I would have added red or yellow peppers and some asparagus.

I liked this salad both warm and once it had cooled.


Pepper Added by Joey - it is veggies so of course he added some

Ingredients
10 cherry tomatoes
1/2 large green pepper, cut into chunks
1/2 red onion, cut into chunks
5 bocconcini, halved
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
3 tablespoons minced basil
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

1. In a bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt and pepper.
2. Brush some of the mix onto the veggie pieces.
3. Grill the veggies (in a BBQ basket) until soft but still with a bit of a crunch.
4. Add parmesan and bocconcini to the dressing.
5. Add grilled veggies to the dressing. Stir to combine.

Turkish Chicken

Does this picture make me look flat?????

It has been a long time since I cut and butterflied a whole chicken before. I am a bit rusty at it but managed to get the back bone and breast bone out okay. This style of cooking was a bit of work at first but once it was on the grill it was easy peasy. I loved how juicy the chicken was but at the same time the skin was crispy. I got this recipe for Chatelaine.

Pepper Added by Joey - I don't even remember seeing him reach for it

Ingredients
1 whole chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cumin
1.5 teaspoons paprika
1.5 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon turmeric

1. Locate the back bone on the chicken and using a sharp knife cut on either side of the bone to remove.
2. Open chicken up and expose the breast bone. With a small sharp knife run a line down either side of the breast bone. Then run your finger along this same line gently removing the breast bone from the meat. It may not be simple and easy to remove. We had some sections that were more difficult and required the scissors.
3. Trim away any additional skin or fat that may be around the neck area.
4. Rinse and pat dry.
5. In a bowl, mix oil and all the seasonings.
6. Rub the mix onto the inside and outside of the bird.
7. Place chicken skin side up onto a BBQ (we did medium heat on the side the bird was not on and medium low on the side it was on).
8. Wrap a brick in tinfoil and place on top of the chicken.
9. Allow to grill for 20 minutes. Turn chicken and put the brick back on top.
10. Allow to cook for an additional 25 minutes (or until the breast reaches 170F).
11. Remove from the BBQ to a cutting board and cover with tinfoil for 10 minutes.
12. Cut into 4 pieces.

Boston Cream Pie (cake???)

I have been holding onto this recipe from Krafts What's Cooking Magazine for awhile. Joey had commented on it a few months ago so I decided it would be a good option for his birthday cake.

It tasted like a boston cream donut. Need I say any more?


Pepper Added by Joey - He would not live to see his next birthday if he added any

Ingredients
2 round yellow cake layers
1 cup cold milk
1 package of vanilla instant pudding
1.5 cups thawed cool whip
2 squares semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons butter
1.5 cups cups icing sugar
4 tablespoons cold milk

1. Use your favourite yellow cake recipe to make the 2 round layers. Allow to cool completely.
2. Trim up the cake to ensure that the tops and bottoms are level.
3. Beat together the cold milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in cool whip and let stand for 5 minutes to thicken.
5. Place bottom cake layer onto cake plate. Spread the pudding mixture ontop. Place top cake layer ontop of the pudding mixture.
6. Microwave the chocolate and butter on medium heat for 2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is melted.
7. Add icing sugar and cold milk. Mix well.
8. Spread over the top of the cake.
9. Refrigerate for at least an hour.