Simple and Satisfying

Not all dinners need to be prepared in advance to avoid utter exhaustion. Some dinners can be whipped up in a flash and thoroughly enjoyed.

This dinner is one of those dinners and I have to say that it may be simple, but it’s also extremely satisfying. It’s creamy and good for you, all at the same time. You’d never know that I used skim milk and no cream!

Just don’t tell your friends that it only took one pot and 20 minutes to make, because they’ll all want the recipe and then the secret will be out.

Egg-cellent Idea!

This time of year you see a lot of pastels – pale pinks, baby blues, butter yellows, and spring greens. And I am not just talking about what people are wearing or flowers in gardens; I am talking about kitchen crafts.

Using eggs to get crafty in the kitchen is great because there are so many directions you can go:

- You can boil them and paint them, with the fun of eating strange coloured egg salad sandwiches after your project is finished.

- You can carefully breakaway the top of an egg, remove the egg white and yolk, fill the egg shell with a melted wax, stick a small candle into the still hot wax, and lay your creation over an egg cup for a unique holiday candle centerpiece. 

- Or, you can gently poke pin sized holes into either end and blow the egg white and yolk out one end before painting the egg shell, making your painted egg projects last longer.

The only problem with most of these projects is that you always have tons of leftover eggs, and scrambled eggs get old fast. So, here’s a fun spring recipe for a new take on a bread pudding. It uses a lot of eggs and tastes so good that you’ll wish you decorated more eggs! 

Not Just For The Birds

Once upon a time, North American’s used the small, round, yellow grain called millot as a bird food. They didn’t eat it, even though it was protein rich and very healthy. African’s have always known better and eat the grain daily.

Today, North American’s eat millot. It’s eaten like rice pilaf or couscous and the mild, sweet flavour is very tasty.

I love indulging in a new grain because rice can get boring. And a new grain that pairs perfectly with cheese – well I think that millot and I are match made in heaven.

Quick as a Bun

Everyone knows that the Easter Bunny is very quick. He runs around and delivers chocolate to all the little boys and girls of the world, all in one night.

And he doesn’t just place one basket of treats on the floor of each home either. Instead, he hides chocolates all over everyone’s homes. And I think that this year the Easter Bunny deserves a break.

At least a break from cooking something time intensive.

Today’s recipe is barely a recipe, but it is delicious and suits Easter perfectly.

So enjoy your egg hunts and don’t worry about what you’re going to make for dinner for the holiday because this recipe is as quick as a bun.

Luke's Super Sweet Twenty-Six

My Sweet Sixteen party was a night to remember. But not in the best way imaginable…

I had chosen a Barbie cake, you know the one where the cake is the Barbie’s skirt and then the baker puts an actual Barbie on top covered in icing?

Well, when the bakery made a slab cake and put a tiny Barbie in the corner instead of my special Barbie cake, I made myself into a super un-sweet person.

They realized their mistake and they not only gave me the slab cake for free, but they also gifted me with a dozen of roses. I should have taken the roses and the cake and smiled because everything was free, but I didn’t. I pouted.

That’s right, I pouted. But that was a long time and enough about me. 

Now it’s time to celebrate Luke’s Super Sweet Twenty-Six. Happy Birthday Sweetie! 

Here’s my Lemon Almond cake recipe; it’s sure to knock your socks off!

A Honey of a Meatball

Meatballs are like the chameleon of food because they can act amazing in so many different styles of cooking.

There’s the obvious choice of pairing meatballs with spaghetti and tomato sauce, my brother’s choice of stuffing them with cheese and rolling them with rice, the Italian wedding choice of serving them in soups, and the Hawaiian way of serving them with pineapple for an appetizer.

Meatballs are delicious in all of these ways and more. For instance, meatballs are also great served with a sticky sauce and rice.

Today’s recipe is a simple sticky sauced meatball meal that’s great to put together on a weeknight. But, the best part of this meal is that it doesn’t taste like you through it together on a weeknight.

It tastes special and delicious. Here’s my Easy Honey Garlic Meatball recipe!

Snap, Crackle, Pop

I recently went to a cooking class and learned about the difference between buying pre-ground spices and grinding them yourself. The chef passed around a small container of pre-ground cumin seed and everyone thought it smelled delicious. 

Then he brought out some cumin seeds and brought them to life. That really made everyone smile and now I will ever seek out pre-ground cumin again. 

Want to toast your own cumin? It’s easier than you think and it smells a million times better than the pre-ground “dust”. 

First, put a small dry frying pan on high heat and put in the amount of cumin seeds you want use for your recipe.