Huevos Rancheros

This meal is two of my favourite things all mixed up together! Breakfast for supper? Amazing! Mexican food? Love it!  I can't wait to also serve this for breakfast very soon.

I found this recipe over on skinnytaste.com and it was so quick to make. I am ridiculously excited to have it again for supper tomorrow with the leftovers!

This recipe makes four servings, and is delicious served with some fresh avocado.

Huevos Rancheros

• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/4 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 1 tbsp green chiles, diced
• cooking spray
• cumin, salt, and pepper (pinch of each)
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup lettuce or mixed greens
• shredded cheese
• four 6" corn tortillas

1. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, and then add the red onion and green pepper
2. Cook the onion and pepper for a couple minutes, and then add the tomato, green pepper, jalapeno, and green chilies
3. Cook all of the vegetables together for about 3 minutes, seasoning to taste with the cumin, salt, and pepper. 
4. Remove the vegetables from the pan, and place them in a covered bowl (to keep them warm)
5. Lightly spray the pan with the cooking spray, and then place a tortilla in the pan. Give the tortilla a quick spray and then cook on both sides until bubbly and it starts to become crispy. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and set aside
6. After all of the tortillas are cooked, use the same pan and cook the eggs until sunny-side up, or until they are cooked how you like them best :)
7. Place each tortilla on a place, and then top each one with one egg and then with the tomato mixture, lettuce, and cheese
8. Enjoy!

Nutella Granola Bars

A few weeks ago this delicious granola bar recipe popped up in my inbox from La Fuji Mama.  It looked like the perfect thing to bring as a snack for the busy days at work!


I whipped these up with the dried fruits that I had in my cupboard, and while I will admit that they were fairly sweet, I absolutely loved them.  My husband thought they were a bit too sweet as a granola bar or for breakfast, but I thought they were just right.


This makes a whole 9" x 13" pan of granola bars, so it will easily last you the whole week. I found these quite filling, and they really gave you some fantastic energy to make it through the 'wall' we all sometimes hit in the afternoons.

These are best if stored in the fridge instead of on the countertop. They can get quite soft and they are delicious cold.  Please feel free to substitute the fruits and nuts for whatever you happen to have on hand!


Nutella Granola Bars

• 2 1/3 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup dates, chopped
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2/3 cup Nutella
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup butter (melted)
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1 1/2 tbsp water

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line your 9" x 13" pan with parchment paper.
2. Lightly spray the lined pan with baking or cooking spray and set aside
3. In a large bowl mix together the rolled oats, sugar, whole wheat flour, salt, raisins, dates, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, almonds, and quinoa.
4. In a second bowl, whisk together the nutella, vanilla, butter, honey, and water
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix well
6. Press the mixture into the pan, forming a nice firm layer
7. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes, until the edges darken
8. Let cool, and then refrigerate for about half an hour before cutting.
9. After they have set in the fridge, cut up the bars and store in a plastic bag (or airtight container) in the fridge
10. Enjoy!

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo!

Our May hostess, Denise, of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need, from creole spices, homemade stock, and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.

Here it is, my very first Daring Cooks challenge: Gumbo!!

Even though they give us an entire month to cook up the new challenge, I procrastinated.  I procrastinated hard. 

So why did I put it off until the very last free night before ‘posting day’?

It wasn’t because it seemed like a lot of work, I enjoy that part.

It wasn’t because it was a brand new dish, because that is why I joined in the first place.

But it was rather because I was afraid that I just wouldn’t like it.

Weird, right?  I mean, I love veggies, chicken, sausage, and soup, so why wouldn’t I be all over this? I think it was because of a couple factors that struck me right at the beginning.

1. It said to chop up an entire chicken into 10 pieces. I have never attacked the whole chicken before, and the thought of little bone shards in my gumbo terrified me
2. They kept the skin on their chicken in the original recipe. Ugh, I could not come to terms with adding that much… well, that much grease to my dish
3. The chicken was placed in the gumbo with the bones attached to the meat. Bones in my soup? Weird, right? And kinda grody too

But I decided to suck it up. With the amazing reviews this recipe was getting from other participants, I knew I had to get over it and get cookin’!

Instead of attacking an entire chicken and making enough gumbo to feed the whole neighborhood, I decided to halve the recipe and just bought a few chicken legs, thighs, and breasts to throw into the gumbo. I cut all of the skin off of the thighs and legs (I just couldn’t add it with the skin!) and cut the chicken breasts in half to get more uniform pieces.  I then seasoned the chicken with my home-made Creole spice (side note: This stuff is fabulous! I plan on using it to BBQ throughout the summer) and threw any extra chicken in with some seasoning and froze it for later.

I added the legs and thighs as-is (well, skinless, but with the bones) as per the original instructions.  It actually worked out really well! The chicken becomes so tender that it falls right off of the bones!  Whew.

I made this on Monday night, but didn’t whip up any rice until Tuesday night.  As a result, my first bowl was rice-less and I can definitely see the need for rice in the dish.  Don’t get me wrong as it is wonderfully delicious by itself, but the addition of rice makes it a full and fantastic meal!

Would I make this again? Definitely!  It was extremely tasty, and very filling.  It reminded me of a stew or another fall/winter meal though, so I probably won’t try it again until the weather cools off.  We are finally breaking 20 degrees (Celsius) here, so BBQ and fresh salads just seem more appropriate :)

Here is the halved recipe, it made enough for about 6 - 8 full bowls!

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 large onion, diced
• about 2 lbs chicken  (thighs, legs, breast)
• 1 tbsp Basic Creole Spices (recipe below if you want to make it yourself)
• 1 lb smoked sausage, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 orange bell pepper, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• sprinkle of thyme (or 1 sprig), approx 1/4 tsp
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 ounces Mundare sausage, diced
• 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper, to taste
• hot sauce, to taste
• 3 cups of cooked rice (to serve it with)

1. Prepare the Basic Creole Spices (if you want to make it yourself)
2. Season the chicken with about 1 tbsp of the Creole spices and set aside
3. Slice and dice everything before beginning to make the roux. You will have to watch the roux very carefully so it makes the dish much easier to make if everything is ready at the start
4. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
5. Add the flour, and whisk constantly until the roux is a nice deep brown (this took me about 15 minutes)
6. Add the diced onions, and stir with a wooden spoon for about 10 minutes over medium-low. 
7. When the roux is a glossy dark brown, add the chicken and stir
8. Stir the chicken and turn the pieces until they are beginning to brown on all sides
9. Add the smoked sausage and stir for a couple of minutes
10. Add the celery, bell peppers, tomato, and garlic and stir for about 5 minutes
11. Sprinkle in the thyme, pour in the chicken stock, and add the bay leaf
12. Bring the gumbo to a low boil, and then turn down the heat until it simmers
13. Let the gumbo simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you left the skin on the chicken, you will want to skim the fat off every once in a while
14. Add the Mundare sausage and the Worcestershire sauce.
15. Add some salt, pepper, and tobasco to taste
16. Stir, and then let simmer for 45 minutes again while still stirring occasionally. The gumbo will start to thicken up beautifully!
17. Remove the bay leaf before serving, and serve over rice 
18. Enjoy!

Basic Creole Spices

• 2 tbsp celery salt
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice

1. Whisk all of the spices together in a bowl
2. Store in a airtight container or spice jar
3. This will store well for about 6 months :)

Pineapple Cupcakes with Coconut Pineapple Icing

This is the delicious (and shhhhh it is very easy!!) dessert I served after our Cinco de Mayo meal last week.


This recipe is from skinnytaste.com, and it seriously seemed way too good to be true. Not only was this a healthier version your everyday cupcake, it also had very few ingredients, and they were the perfect ending to a fabulous meal of Mexican food!


One thing I will definitely admit, I am not above using a box mix to produce a delicious dessert :) If it works, it works!

All the cupcakes require is a box of cake mix, and a can of crushed pineapple! How perfectly simple, right?  The original recipe called for a 20 oz can of crushed pineapple, but I accidentally used a 14 oz can and it still worked amazing.

The icing takes a total of 4 ingredients, and was so delicious! It was sweet and refreshing at the same time.  Again, I accidentally used a 14 oz can instead of a 20 oz, and it was still a wonderful icing :)


I am definitely making these again!


Pineapple Cupcakes

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 can (14 oz or 20 oz) crushed pineapple (with the juice)

1. Preheat the oven according to cake mix instructions and fill 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners
2. Combine the cake mix and the whole can of crushed pineapple in a bowl and mix well
3. Fill each prepared muffin cup 2/3 of the way full
4. Bake according the the cake mix directions
5. Let cool completely before frosting

Coconut Pineapple Icing

• 250 g cream cheese (1 package) (I used light)
• 20 (or 14!) oz can crushed pineapple (juice drained)
• 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup sugar

1. Make sure all of the juice is drained out of the crushed pineapple 
2. Mix together the cream cheese, crushed pineapple, coconut, and sugar until well combined
3. Spread on top of cooled cupcakes
4. 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!