Baked Blueberry French Toast - A Mother's Day Treat

This year was my very first Mother's Day!  Both my husband and my daughter did a fabulous job of making me feel extra special, I don't think I changed a single diaper that Sunday!

In addition to being spoiled myself, we hosting a Mother's Day brunch since both of our mom's (and my husband's Grandmother) are in town.  We ended up with a total of 16 adults and 2 kids! But that's how my family rolls, the more the merrier.

Fluffy Cheddar Cheese Bread

When I was younger my Grandma always had fresh bread at her home waiting for us when we came to visit.  It was the best thing to have for breakfast; we would toast it and then slather it with butter and peanut butter and just chow down!

Sadly back then I had no interest in baking other than the occasional batch of cookies.  Now that I can appreciate how delicious homemade baking really is, I regret that I never took the chance to learn how to bake from my Grandmother.  Luckily my husband's grandmother lives right down the street from us (how lucky are we?) and she indulges me with my random questions when it comes to the baking basics.

Apple Cinnamon Rolls

**In preparation for the arrival of our little one, I have prepped some posts in advance.  As soon as our lives have some semblance of order (hah!) I will get back to my regular posting and be able to respond to any questions/comments you may have :)

'Tis the season for company!  And what company doesn't love some warm Apple Cinnamon Rolls coming out of the oven as they wake up or walk in the door?

I make these Cinnamon Rolls very often around here.  I am pretty sure they are the main requirement in my husband's diet.  Not too long ago I had a pile of Granny Smith apples staring at me on the counter so I figured I would add some variety to our favourite baked item.  

{Skinny} Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones

Hello everyone! Today I am rocking it out at 39 weeks...and yup that means there is still no baby.  Yeesh, the kid is really taking their sweet time, aren't they?  So keep the 'boy' and 'girl' predictions coming (currently 'boy' is in the lead!)

I know the 'average' pregnancy is 40 weeks and that most first pregnancies result in babies AFTER the 40 week mark, but a person can hope for a bit of an earlier appearance, right?   Right!  So I am keeping my fingers crossed that we finally get to meet this busy little baby in the next few days instead of maybe two weeks from now :) I don't know if my body can take another two weeks of waddling! It's an attractive look, trust me.

Bread for Burundi

Yesterday I was lucky enough to attend a fundraiser called Bread for Burundi with some of my 'newly' acquired family members.  We attended a bread making class at the amazing Treestone Bakery which is owned and run by Yvan Chartrand, and all funds went towards the development of education and the ability for families to become economically self-sufficient in Burundi, Africa.  (If you want to learn more about where the funds went, feel free to check out www.dufashanye.org!)

Our Favourite Cinnamon Rolls

While I still love everything that Ree from thepioneerwoman.com cooks, I think we have found a new cinnamon bun recipe that we enjoy just a little bit more than her famous cinnamon buns. I'm so sorry Ree! It's nothing personal, if everyone liked the exact same things then life wouldn't be interesting, right?

This new recipe I found on sweetapolita.com and we have adjusted it over the last few months to suit our tastes.  I whipped these up for our Christmas brunch and they were a huge success! Everyone had one on their plate, I don't think I have ever seen a dozen cinnamon buns disappear so quickly.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

While my Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins will always be a favourite with my husband, sometimes it is nice to mix things up a little bit when it comes to using up those old bananas.  


This quick bread is perfect, it comes together quickly and bakes up into the perfect loaf of banana bread.  This recipe is a bit denser than that for the muffins, so it is perfect for slicing and eating as dessert or taking with you for breakfast on your commute.

This recipe is from the Company's Coming Mostly Muffins cookbook, and I can't get enough!


Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 medium or 2 large)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chocolate chips

1. Grease a loaf pan and preheat the oven to 350 F
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt
3. In a second bowl, cream together the butter and sugar
4. Add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture and mix well
5. Add the mashed banana, lemon juice, chocolate chips, and vanilla to the other wet ingredients and again mix well
6. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet ingredients
7. Stir until all of the batter is just moistened, and then pour into the prepared loaf pan
8. Bake for 55 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the loaf
9. Let cool for about 10 - 15 minutes, then remove from pan and set on wire rack to cool completely
10. Enjoy!

Panini's with Focaccia

Remember that delicious focaccia I had made in my food processor a while back? Well, we are completely hooked on the stuff, it is delicious! It is perfect as a side for dinner, and it makes awesome sandwiches too.


We have recently discovered what amazing panini's it makes as well! The density of the focaccia, along with the flavour, is perfect for a grilled panini at home.


Since we don't own a panini press (I have no idea where we would store it, but how awesome would it be to own one?) we use our George Foreman grill to make ours.  It works awesome! If you don't have a foreman grill you can also use a skillet and place a heavy pan on top in order to smush the sandwich.

This particular sandwich was so delicious.  We used leftover buffalo chicken dip (the image of health, that's what this particular sandwich is) and cucumber slices.  Oh man, this sandwich was good!


The outside of the sandwich crisped up to panini perfection, and the rest was warm and tasty.  


Here is the link to the focaccia recipe where I originally found it over on hotpolkadot.com, and here is the link to when I had first made it myself.


I hope you enjoy your panini's!

Whole Wheat Garlic Knots

You know those recipes that pop up in your inbox, or you see them on twitter, or you see them while stalking reading your favourite blogs, and you instantly know that you have to have them in your life, as in now?


I had TWO of those recipes hit me yesterday. TWO! Oh man, I knew I was in for a busy evening!

So if two recipes hit me, why am I posting this particular one first? Because I saw it first, and I made it first (the other is a dessert, I will be posting it soon!), and then I took pictures of it first, and uploaded those pictures first, so it made logical sense and kept me from choosing a favourite :) because trust me, you can't choose a favourite between them!

Speaking of pictures, how many people edit their pictures before posting? I used to edit mine in the first few months of my blog last summer when I was using a point-and-shoot, but then when I would look back on them they just looked strange (too warm, too cool, washed out, etc.). So I haven't edited my pictures much since then. If I do, I just use the 'enhance' function on iPhoto (that is the only photo-editing software/tool that I have currently).  Often that isn't even a very good option so I usually end up posting them as-is, in their raw picture glory.  

For example, I know my Margarita Cupcakes and Pina Colada Cupcakes photos are a little on the dark side, but when I clicked on 'enhance' the cupcake liner colours blew out into this strange situation so I quickly hit 'undo'!  So then I tried to brighten them up, and that was a whole different disaster.  So dark boozy cupcake photos they remained.

At least the cupcakes still look tasty, which they definitely are!

Margarita and Pina Colada Cupcakes - dark picture but delicious cupcakes!

So now I am wondering, should I look into investing in some real photo-editing software? If so, how am I going to figure it out? Are they user-friendly for people who think their computers should know what they want? Oy, too many questions. Maybe there is somewhere I can take 'food photos and editing for dummies' in the city...

I'll keep pondering the picture questions, and you can make these ridiculous garlic knots. Or if you are in a dessert mood, wait for my post tomorrow for some ridiculous dessert heaven from Amy at Do You Know the Muffin Pan? It is an epic dessert my friends!


These garlic knots are from the lovely Joy at joythebaker.com, and they are everything I love in bread. Whole wheat, buttery, garlicky (<- that's a real word too, spell check didn't even correct it!), and in a funky shape.

This recipe makes about 10 addicting garlic knots.


Whole Wheat Garlic Knots

• 1 pkg active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• For the garlic butter mixture
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. In a small bowl dissolve the sugar in the warm water and sprinkle in the yeast. Let it sit for 5 - 10 minutes until foamy
2. While the yeast foams, whisk together the whole wheat flour, regular flour, and salt
3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the olive oil and foamy yeast mixture
4. Mix everything together with a fork, and then knead for about 5 minutes until a soft dough forms
5. Grease a large bowl with some olive oil and then place the dough in the bowl and make sure it is covered in a light layer of the olive oil
6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and then a tea towel
7. Let the dough rise in a warm spot for about 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until it has doubled 
8. After the dough has risen, lightly flour a flat surface and roll the dough out into a 10" x 10" square
9. Cut the dough into 10 strips (a pizza cutter works perfectly!) and then tie each strip of dough into a knot
10. Tuck the ends of the dough around the knot, and place them on parchment lined baking sheets
11. Cover the knots with the kitchen towel and let them sit for half an hour
12. While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 400 F
13. In a large bowl mix together the garlic, butter, olive oil, chives, and salt
14. After the dough has rested, bake for 15 - 18 minutes or until they are a beautiful golden brown
15. Throw the warm knots into the garlic butter mixture and stir or toss to coat the knots
16. Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Pot Pie with Chive Biscuits

So in spite of my last post, the weather has decided to become cold, dreary, and wet these last few days. Definitely not prime BBQ weather!


But, I'm not complaining.  Everything is becoming so green and the flowers are starting to bloom!  I think it's finally time to plant my garden and flower beds and get some colour popping up around my house.  You have no idea how jealous I am of the people who have started their gardens a few weeks, or even months, ago! We usually wait until after May Long here because every time we plant before the May long weekend we get at least one night of freezing temperatures.  And yet, many of my friends insist on camping during the May long weekend every year! I guess we are a hardy bunch, us Canadians :)

With the momentary return of layers and light scarves, we were in need of some serious comfort food.  This particular recipe had been stuck in my head ever since I had seen it on joythebaker.com, and this weather was calling it's name!


To be perfectly honest with you, this dish is insanely delicious! I halved the recipe because there are only two of us and the leftovers did not last nearly long enough.

I substituted the vegetables for what I had in the refrigerator so I ended up using carrots, asparagus, onion, and red bell peppers. The flavours of these vegetables went perfectly with the rest of this dish! Also, for the milk and cream cheese I had 1% milk and light cream cheese on hand and they ended up working great.  It was thick and creamy and warm and comforting...

And the biscuits? Oh man, the biscuits are wonderful.  Her addition of chives and black pepper to these biscuits is pure genius.


For the chicken I discovered that at my grocery store you can buy half of a rotisserie chicken! How perfect is that?


But enough talk (type?), let's get to this recipe! This makes about 6 biscuits, so about 3 - 4 delicious servings.


Creamy Chicken Pot Pie with Chive Biscuits

• Biscuits
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 3 tbsp chopped chives
• 2 tbsp cold butter
• 2 ounces cold cream cheese (1/4 of a block of cream cheese)
• 6 tbsp cold buttermilk
• Creamy Chicken Pot Pie
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• dash ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 large carrot, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 6 spears asparagus, diced

1. To make the biscuits whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, pepper, and chives
2. Cut up the butter and cream cheese into cubes and then work it into the flour mixture with your hands until it resembles coarse crumbs
3. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the cold buttermilk. Mix until the batter just comes together and then knead on a flat surface until the dough is about 1" to 1 1/2" thick
4. Cut out biscuits and place them on a plate and stick them in the refrigerator until needed
5. Preheat the oven to 400 F and make sure all of the vegetables are diced and the chicken is shredded
6. Melt the butter over medium heat and then whisk in the flour for about a minute
7. Turn the burner to low and then pour in the chicken broth, whisking until all of the flour is mixed in
8. Add the milk and the cream cheese, turn the burner back up to medium, and whisk until smooth
9. Continue whisking until the mixture is nice and thick
10. Add the shredded chicken, lemon juice, and dash of nutmeg. 
11. Season with salt and pepper
12. Set aside while you cook your vegetables
13. In a small frying pan or skillet heat the olive oil and then add the onions.
14. Saute the onions for a few minutes and then add the garlic powder and the remaining vegetables
15. Cook all of the vegetables for a few more minutes and then dump them in with the creamy chicken mixture
16. Stir and pour into a 9" x 9" pan
17. Place the biscuits on top of the chicken pot pie and place in the oven
18. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until the biscuits are a nice and golden colour
19. Enjoy!

Focaccia Bread

I first saw this recipe on hotpolkadot.com, and couldn't believe that I could make Focaccia Bread in my food processor!  I already love my food processor, and if it could also make delicious bread that would be beyond amazing!

The recipe originally came from The New Food Processor Bible, I think I need to get my hands on this soon!

The dough comes together so incredibly quickly.  All that is left after that is the rising time and then to brush it with some extra flavour and then bake.

If you are looking for delicious warm bread to serve with dinner, or to make awesome grilled sandwiches with, definitely give this a shot soon.  If you have never worked with yeast doughs before, this is definitely a great way to start!


Focaccia Bread

• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp basil 
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 warm water
• For the top of the bread:
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• basil to taste
• thyme to taste
• rosemary to taste
• salt and pepper

1. In a small bowl dissolve the sugar and 1/2 cup of warm water
2. Sprinkle the tablespoon of active dry yeast over the sugar and warm water, and let stand for 10 minutes (until it is nice and foamy)
3. Set up your food processor with the dough blade (usually the plastic blade), and add the flour, salt, basil, thyme, rosemary, and olive oil. Pulse to mix.
4. Give the yeast/water mixture a stir and then mix it in with the other ingredients in the food processor.
5. Turn the food processor to 'on', and then slowly pour in the 3/4 cup of warm water
6. When the dough becomes solid, let the food processor continue for about 30 seconds to knead
7. Remove the dough and knead it for another couple of minutes on the counter until it is nice and smooth
8. Grease a large bowl, and place the ball of dough into the bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise until it has doubled (this took me about one hour)
9. After the dough has risen, punch it down and then place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
10. Shape the dough into a large oval, and then let it rise (while covered with a kitchen towel) until it has doubled again (this takes about 30 - 45 minutes)
11. After the dough has doubled a second time, mix together the olive oil and garlic in a small bowl
12. Make small indentations in the dough with your finger all over the surface, and then brush it with the olive oil/garlic mixture
13. Sprinkle on the basil, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper all over the surface
14. Preheat the oven to 375 F
15. Bake the focaccia bread for 25 - 30 minutes until it is a beautiful golden brown
16. Enjoy!

Mini Jumbo Pretzels

OK, I realize that the title leads to a bit of confusion, so let me explain myself. The original recipe was for jumbo soft pretzels, you know those huge ones you get at hockey or baseball games with the large salt crystals on them? Well, those seemed like too much of a commitment for a snack (for me at least), so I made them half the original intended size, hence the 'mini'!  This worked out awesome; I was able to get 16 pretzels out of the batch, and their size is perfect for a hardcore carb craving!


I found this recipe on joythebaker.com where there is also an awesome 'how-to' video for making these.  

The recipe was really easy to follow, and the outcome is amazing! The recipe originally makes 8 large soft pretzels, but I prefer the size of the pretzels when it is used to make 16. It is totally a personal preference though!

You can easily customize these based on what you have in your cupboard, or based on what you are craving that day.  


I sprinkled some of my pretzels with sesame seeds:

Some with coarse salt:

And the last few I topped with brown sugar and cinnamon, so that they were more of a sweet snack!

OK, I realize this isn't necessarily the most attractive pretzel, but it sure was tasty!

All three versions turned out delicious!  These pretzels have the perfect soft and chewy texture, I am not even going to tell you how many I ate the first day.


Mini Jumbo Pretzels

• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (I used hot water from the tap)
• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (or one package)
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 1 egg
• sesame seeds, salt, seasoning salt, etc for toppings

1. Mix together the warm water and sugar, then sprinkle the yeast on top
2. Let this sit for about 5 minutes to let the yeast start to foam.  If the yeast has produced no foam, then discard and start again
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt
4. Carefully add the water/yeast mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix until a dough forms (I had to use my hands for most of the mixing)
5. Knead dough on a floured surface for 5 - 10 minutes (or until very elastic)
6. Place the ball of dough into the bowl, cover, and let rise for about 45 minutes (or until the dough has doubled in size).  My kitchen was quite warm and it only took 35 minutes.
7. While the dough is rising, cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper, and then spray the parchment paper with cooking spray
8. After the dough has risen, cut the dough into 16 equal pieces, and set aside
9. Take the first piece of dough, and roll it into a rope about 12 - 15 inches long (If you are making the regular jumbo pretzels, cut the dough into 8 pieces and roll each into a rope that is approximately 24 inches long)
10. Twist the dough rope into a pretzel, and place onto a prepared baking sheet
11. Repeat with the remaining 15 (or 7) pieces of dough
12. Once all pretzels are formed, let them stand for about 20 minutes
13. While the pretzels are setting, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, and preheat your oven to 425 F
14. When the pretzels are ready to be boiled, sprinkle about 1 tbsp of baking soda into the water
15. Drop 4 - 5 pretzels into the water at a time, and let them boil for 45 seconds to a minute. Flip each pretzel, and let the other side boil for 45 seconds to a minute as well (If you are making the regular jumbo pretzels, boil for about 1.5 minutes/side)
16. Remove the pretzels from the pot, and place back onto the baking sheet
17. Repeat until all pretzels have been boiled
18. Whisk the egg in a small bowl, and then lightly brush each pretzel with a bit of the egg wash
19. Sprinkle the toppings of your choice onto each pretzel, then bake until golden brown
20. My 'mini jumbo' pretzels took about 20 minutes to bake, and the original recipe states that the regular sized pretzels will take about 35 minutes to bake
21. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread

Keeping in theme with my current obsession with pumpkin recipes (like the delicious pumpkin cupcakes and the wonderful pumpkin cream cheese muffins), I found this recipe on allrecipes.com.  It had more than 3700 reviews, and still maintained it's 5-star rating! 


This recipe makes two pumpkin loaves, and is absolutely delicious.  The only modification I made was to substitute the oil with margarine and apple sauce.

A bonus is that this recipe freezes really well, if the second loaf even makes it to the freezer!


Pumpkin Bread

• 2 cups pureed pumpkin
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup softened butter or margarine
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp ginger

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease & flour two loaf pans
2. Mix together the pumpkin, eggs, applesauce, margarine, water and sugar 
3. In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet, and mix well
5. Pour half into each pan, and level the batter with a spatula or spoon
6. Bake for 45 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick (or skewer) comes out clean when inserted into the center of a loaf
7. Let cool for at least 30 minutes, then the loaves should easily come out of the pans
8. Enjoy!