Camping-themed Baby Shower

In May one of our closest friends gave birth to an insanely cute little boy, Emmett!  This little dude is so awesome; we couldn't be happier for the new parents.

My friends and I eagerly waited until we could throw little Emmett and his mom a prime baby shower.  Since our friends spend almost every weekend in the summer camping all over Alberta, we decided that a camping-themed baby shower would be perfect!

We served all sorts of camping themed food such as mini burgers and mini hotdogs

Marinated Feta and Roasted Peppers

How about something fresh and easy for your summer BBQ's? I am all about the easy (but tasty!) dishes these days, and this marinated salad totally fit the bill.  

A couple weeks ago we had a Greek-themed dinner at our house (more tasty recipes to come!) and we put out this salad as part of the appetizers and to enjoy with dinner.  This salad was delicious on it's own, and also great spooned on top of some fresh bread that we had put out.

Sweet and Spicy Pork Tenderloin with Mango Salsa

I have no experience with cooking pork tenderloin, but when I saw this recipe on skinnytaste.com it immediately went on the menu for that week!


This is an incredibly easy recipe, and the pork tenderloin came out super juicy and flavourful. When topped with the mango salsa you will find yourself wolfing the meal down! 

Baked Avocado Fries with Wasabi-Lime Dipping Sauce

After a week of sweets, how about we have something that is light and tasty? 


These avocado fries are amazing!! They are coated in panko bread crumbs and baked in the oven (instead of fried), then served with a lightened up dipping sauce that is incredibly addicting.  These are fantastic as a side dish, after work snack (or school!), or even as an appetizer.

Pear Carpaccio, Toasted Pecans and Parmesan Salad

I stumbled upon this recipe while looking for new salad ideas last week and it just looked so delicious! Right now pears are so juicy and this seemed like a great way to incorporate them into a quick weeknight meal.


While the original recipe looks amazing, I had to make a lot of changes based on what was available at our local Italian market as it was way to cold outside to truck on over to the grocery store for the remaining ingredients.  In the end what resulted was a delicious and light salad that is simply fantastic!

Sun-dried Tomato Hummus

While I am excited to post the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing, I figured that some people might need a bit of a break from this pumpkin madness.


I absolutely love hummus. It is so easy to whip up, perfect for a snack or to bring as an appetizer, and it is incredibly versatile when it comes to what flavours you can add to it.  I have made the Chipotle Hummus a few times now so I wanted to try some other variations. Sun-dried tomatoes are a wonderful way to add some variety to your hummus!


I based this recipe off of this one that I found at allrecipes.com. That site has not disappointed me yet!

Sun-dried Tomato Hummus

• 1 large clove of garlic, chopped
• 1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas) drained
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 jar sun-dried tomatoes (210 mL jar, drained)
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 - 3 tbsp olive oil

1. In your food processor add the garlic, chickpeas, tahini, and lemon juice
2. Pulse the mixture until it is fairly smooth
3. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and the dried basil and pulse until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper
5. Add olive oil until your desired consistency is reached (I usually add about 1 - 2 tbsps)
6. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve
7. Enjoy!

Spinach Salad - Our way!

This is one of my favourite salads. We used to have it often when I lived at home, and I still love to make it as a quick and delicious side for lunch or dinner.  I made it twice in one week recently since we love it so much!


I started a garden this year, so I was lucky enough to have some fresh spinach available for this salad. That is, I had fresh spinach available until my dogs discovered that what grew in that particular area was edible!

The spinach is topped with sliced mushrooms, crumbled bacon, a sliced hard-boiled egg,a little bit of grated cheddar, and finished off with a drizzle of French dressing. I have yet to find a great home-made French dressing, so we still use the tasty Kraft version :)


And Voila! A delicious family favourite.  I hope you give it a try and love it as much as my family does!


This recipe makes 6 side salads.  Recipe source? My folks!


Spinach Salad

• 1 bag baby spinach (or enough to fill a medium salad bowl)
• 6 hard-boiled eggs
• 12 small mushrooms
• 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
• French dressing

1. Separate the spinach amongst 6 salad bowls
2. Slice up a hard-boiled egg on top of each bowl of spinach
3. Slice up the mushrooms and distribute amongst the bowls
4. Add the crumbled bacon and grated cheddar, and then drizzle with the French dressing
5. Enjoy!

My favourite hummus (right now) and an exciting trip!

Today is a very exciting day! Around lunch-time I board the first of 3 planes that will take me to sunny San Diego for the BlogHer '11 conference!  This is my very first blogging conference and I cannot even describe how excited I am.

Follow me on Twitter! @naked_cup_cakes 

I am bunking with the awesome Amy of Do You Know the Muffin Pan? who was kind enough to offer to let me stay at her place. :)  How lucky is she to live in San Diego?  We are going to tear BlogHer '11 up!


I can't decide what I am the most excited about: meeting in person the wonderful people that I have met online, the huge array of sessions, the parties at night, the expo, etc etc. I think this whole weekend will be an amazing experience.

I cannot wait to share my experiences with you, hopefully as the weekend progresses. If I don't find that I have a lot of time to jump on the computer, please feel free to follow me on Instagram where I will be posting photos (you can find me: @nakedcupcakes or Hailey Elliot). I have no idea if I will have any free time over the course of the conference :)

I think some people might be blogging during the sessions, but I am more of a pen and paper kind of girl, so I might not be lugging around the ol' laptop.


Here is my favourite hummus recipe that I have been chowing down on this week! It comes together super fast, and is a great healthy snack (or supper while you are packing!).

Chipotle Hummus

• 1 can (19 oz) chickpeas, drained and liquid reserved
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• scant 1/2 tsp salt
• pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 - 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1. Place all of the ingredients (except the reserved liquid from the chickpeas) in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth
2. Add the reserved liquid until the desired consistency is reached
3. Serve with crackers, pita chips, vegetables, etc.
4. Enjoy!

I was fortunate enough to receive this Blog on Fire Award from Kelly at Eat Yourself Skinny!  I feel so lucky to be counted amongst the other amazing blogs that she passed this award onto.  Now it is up to me to pass it along to 10 amazing blogs that have made an impression on me.  

1) Amy - Do You Know the Muffin Pan?

2) Rachel - The Avid Appetite

3) Sukaina - Sips and Spoonfuls

4) Erica Lea - Cooking for Seven

5) Kay - The Church Cook

6) Gina - Skinnytaste

7) Jamie - My Baking Addiction

8) Lindsey - Hot Polka Dot

9) Katrina - In Katrina's Kitchen

10) Darla - Bakingdom

For those of you listed above, now it's your turn!  Pass this Blog on Fire Award to the 10 blogs that have influenced you!

Egg Salad - Pockets and Sandwiches

If there is one thing that everyone has had at one point or another, it is egg salad sandwiches.  I personally love them, and every time I whip one up I wonder why I don't have them more often.


Here is a quick and easy way to use egg salad as a cute appetizer, and how to use the leftovers as a delicious lunch the next day!

For the Egg Salad Pockets I lined each half of a mini pita with some mixed greens, and then filled them up with the egg salad.  These were great as an appetizer when we had a BBQ the other day, they were nice and cool on a hot day!  The next day we cut up a baguette to make sandwiches, and filled them up with some bacon and egg salad, delicious!


Here is how I whip up my egg salad. I know everyone has their own preferences, but I like to go light on the mayo and mix up the spices to give it different flavours.


Egg Salad

• 8 hard boiled eggs
• 2 - 3 tbsp light mayo
• 1 tsp honey dijon mustard
• 1 celery stalk, diced thin
• 2 green onions, diced thin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

1. Peel the hard boiled eggs and give them a quick rinse
2. Roughly chop up the eggs, and mix them with the celery and green onions
3. Add the mayo, dijon mustard, vegetables, salt, pepper, and paprika
4. Mix well, and adjust seasonings or amount of mayo if like
5. Enjoy alone, or in a pita or sandwich!

Light Potato Salad - Daring Cooks

Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana!

If there is one thing that goes with any BBQ in the summer, it is potato salad!  I love both creamy potato salads, and dill potatoes, so I decided to combine the two and make a creamy dill potato salad. Yum!

I decided to use light sour cream instead of mayonnaise and it worked out really great.  With the addition of dill I didn't miss the 'tang' of the mayonnaise at all.

I also lightly sauteed my other vegetables in order to ensure that all the flavours would meld really well together. My husband gave me the thumbs up to make this again!

I am happy to say that this recipe was from: Me! :)

Light and Creamy Dill Potato Salad

• 1 lb baby red potatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 small red onion, diced
• 2 green onions, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 3 tbsps chopped fresh dill
• 2 tbsp light sour cream

1. Wash and quarter the potatoes and boil until soft (about 10 minutes)
2. While the potatoes are boiling, heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat
3. When hot, add the vegetables and stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes
4. Add the fresh dill, give it a quick stir, and then remove from heat and pour the vegetables into a large bowl
5. When the potatoes are soft, drain and let cool
6. When the potatoes have cooled to room temperature, stir the sour cream in with the vegetables
7. Add the potatoes and toss until coated
8. Refrigerate until ready to serve
9. Enjoy!

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!

Baked Onion Rings

Here is a quick and easy side dish that is perfect for a weeknight dinner! 


I really like onion rings, but usually they are dripping with grease after being deep fried, gross!  After I saw these on skinnytaste.com, I was so excited to see a light and healthy alternative.

These come together with only a few ingredients, and one onion can produce a ton of onion rings.


Give these a try instead of the classic french fries on your next burger night!


Baked Onion Rings

• 1 medium onion, sliced into 1 cm thick rings
• 2 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs
• salt 
• cooking spray

1. After the onions are sliced, place them in a bowl with the buttermilk and let them soak in the refrigerator for about 1 hour
2. After the onion rings have soaked, preheat the oven to 450 F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper
3. Mix together the Panko bread crumbs, seasoned italian bread crumbs, and pinch of salt in a bowl
4. Dip each soaked onion ring (one at a time) into the bread crumb mixture and then place onto the prepared baking sheets, making sure none of the onion rings are touching or overlapping
5. Quickly spray all of the finished onion rings with baking spray and then bake for 10-12 minutes or until a light golden brown
6. When golden brown, place in a serving dish and serve with dinner!
7. Enjoy!

Potato Leek Soup

After so many sweets this week, I think it's time for something on the savoury side! 

This is a really simple and delicious soup that you can easily serve as a main course, or makes an amazing starter soup as well. 

A bonus is that this is a thick and creamy soup, without the cream! If you are making this ahead of time, you will probably want to add more chicken broth when you re-heat the soup, I found mine got quite thick as it chilled in the refrigerator.

This recipe is from allrecipes.com, give it a try! This makes about 4 bowls of soup.


Potato Leek Soup

• 2.5 pounds white or russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• I left the peel on my potatoes, personal preference :)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 leek, bulb only
• 1/4 cup butter (I used vegan butter, but any kind will work)
• 1/4 cup white wine
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil the potatoes in the chicken broth until soft, and then set aside
2. When potatoes are soft, puree them in a food processor until smooth 
1. You may need to do this in batches. If the potatoes are too thick, add a bit of the chicken broth to thin them out and make them easier to puree. Add the puree back to the chicken stock
3. While the potatoes are boiling, half the leek lengthwise and and soak in cold water to clean
4. Slice the leek halves in very fine slices, and then saute in the butter in a saucepan until transparent
5. Add the white wine to the leeks, and then let simmer for about 3 minutes
6. Add the sauteed leeks to the pot containing the pureed potatoes and chicken broth
7. Stir the soup over medium heat, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper
8. If you want a thinner soup, you can add more chicken broth until it is how you like it
9. Serve as is, or you can top it with chives, cheese, bacon, etc!
10. Enjoy!

Chipotle Corn Salsa

Even after two weeks in Mexico, I still hadn't had my fill of Mexican-inspired food. I found this Corn Salsa recipe on skinnytaste.com, and it looked delicious!


This was incredibly quick and easy to make.  This would be an amazing side dish at a summer BBQ, wrapped up with meat in a burrito, layered in a taco bowl, served as an appetizer with nacho chips, or as a layer in one of those Mexican layer dips!

If you need a quick and easy side dish, I definitely recommend that you whip this up!  If you would like more spice, you can add more chipotle chilli powder or leave the seeds in the jalapenos.


Chipotle Corn Salsa

• 4 cups cooked corn (I used peaches & cream corn kernels)
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced
• 2 green onions, diced
• 1 - 2 jalapenos (seeds and membranes removed), diced
• juice of 1 lime
• chipotle chili powder, to taste (I used about 3/4 tsp)
• salt and pepper

1. If the corn is frozen, cook as per package directions and drain
2. Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl
3. Cover, and place in the fridge for at least one hour before serving (to let the flavours meld)
4. Enjoy any way you like!