Family Bites

This Week's Bites

Are you up to anything fun this weekend? Rob is officially on two weeks vacation, so we're feeling pretty celebratory, or at least I am now that I'll have an extra set of hands around the house next week. Tonight we're going to a Christmas party, and tomorrow I plan on wrapping presents. Next week, I've booked some work meetings and a few appointments into my schedule to take advantage of the older boys still being in school and having some extra help at home. Hurray for a little extra free time!

If you're in a reading kind of mood this weekend, here's a round-up of some of the articles that caught my eye recently:

• I love all the best-of lists that come out at the end of each year. The Washington Post recently published their 31 best cookbooks of 2016, The New York Times tested several recipes to determine the best baking books of the year and the Ottawa Citizen recently shared their top 10 favourite cookbooks of the past 12 months as well. My own list of favourites will be coming to the blog next week. 

• Speaking of favourites, I wrote about my best holiday entertaining hacks for SavvyMom. These 28 sanity-saving tips are sure to guarantee that your seasonal soirées will be a delicious success. 

• I've long heard about people making lasagna using only three ingredients: frozen ravioli, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. I have yet to actually give this recipe a try, but Design Mom recently declared her version the easiest lasagna recipe ever so now I can't wait to give it a try. Perfect for a quick weeknight dinner during the holidays!

• In the spirit of holiday baking, here's a fun map that will guide you on how to find your sugar cookie soulmate.

• Scientists say cooking and baking could help you feel better.  I don't doubt it for a second. 

• We saw Manchester By the Sea last weekend. It's definitely the best movie I've seen this year (not that I've seen many), and totally deserving of the stellar reviews and Oscar buzz it's generating. It was equally as funny as it was heartbreaking, and I can't remember the last time I cried in the theater. You should see it. 

• We have homemade cinnamon buns every Christmas morning, but this year I'm shaping them into a tree like Shauna did! 

• What the oldest people in the world eat and drink. I love how many of them credit positivity and happiness as the secret to longevity.

 

Chewy Chocolate Molasses Cookies

‘Tis the season for cookies, clementines, hot chocolate and pomegranates. Eat, and repeat. Like my Christmas decorations, every part of my merry making this year has been pared down to the very basic and most essential, and I can honestly say I’m enjoying the lead up to the holidays far more than any other year.

In place of vibrant holiday decorations, I’ve decked my halls with candles, fairy lights, greenery and a Christmas tree that’s sporting nothing more than white lights and oven-dried orange slices. My minimalist approach is mostly due to my curious, climbing toddler, but it’s also a reflection of my obsession with all things hygge (you can read more about it and this Danish word over on SavvyMom).

Saucy Cranberry and Soy-Glazed Meatballs

As I wrote on SavvyMom last week, the hustle and bustle of the holiday season doesn’t leave much time for making warm and nourishing meals at the end of a long day, does it? It doesn’t matter how many hours you log at work or in the kitchen baking holiday treats, you’re still left with children, spouses, partners and maybe even parents who need and expect a decent dinner.

How is that even possible? Don’t they know your to-do list is ten things too long right now? Just kidding, of course. But the cold, hard truth is that despite all that’s going on this month, dinner still needs to land on the table sometime between five and six o’clock each night, and ideally it will be made with more than leftover eggnog and broken cookies.

My Secret for Saving Money on Cookbooks

It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with books – cookbooks, in particular – and buy them with the same frequency as diapers, toilet paper and earphones for my teens. (Side note: what’s up with that? Why do they get misplaced SO often?) Some people have a budget for lattes and lunches or shoes and shirts, but seeing as I eat and drink at home and forget what being fashionable even looks like, I reserve my pocket money for building up my collection of books.

There is no denying the price of cookbooks has risen quite a lot in the past few years and I dare say the average price of a new purchase is around $35. Fortunately, Amazon and Chapters regularly offer discounts, and so do stores like Costco, which is where I pick up a lot of the newest titles. I shop there once a week anyway, so it’s convenient and economical. This isn’t really the point of the post though (but maybe some of you will find it helpful!), because what I really want to focus on are the books I’ve been buying for a penny. Yes, you read that right. One cent.

Chicken and Kale Carbonara

It’s no secret that I love myself a good meal plan. I feel like my whole week is set up for success if I start Monday morning knowing exactly what I’m going to be putting on the table for dinner all week. Sometimes I even go so far as to plot out what Rob and the boys will take for their lunches – this usually involves ensuring there are a lot of leftovers from our dinners – AND I even do a rough sketch of what I’ll feed Matthew all week so I can be sure I don’t default to scrambled eggs and broccoli too often. Some weeks I’m only about seven breakfasts away from having all 21 meals planned, and that’s when I know I’ve taken things a little too far.

Then there are the weeks in which I plan nothing for any meal. That’s been the case for the past month. Once Thanksgiving passed I kept “forgetting” to meal plan, and then I was grocery shopping almost every day, and never knowing what to make or what would land in the lunch box the next day. Most of the time, living like that is such a waste of my mental energy, but sometimes it’s exactly what I need to jump start a winning dinner idea the whole family loves.

Sour Cream Pancakes with Roasted Apples

I’ve been making one of two pancake recipes for years. The first is a classic puffy buttermilk pancake made from a recipe that’s so simple to create I memorized it after the third time I whipped them up. The second is the one I make when I’m feeling extra healthy and want to add a boost of whole grains to the kids’ diets. Both are beloved, in regular rotation, and sufficiently satisfy our pancake cravings so I wasn’t looking to add another recipe to our collection. That is, until I read Julia Turshen’s new book, Small Victories, and her description of sour cream pancakes topped with brown sugar-roasted fruit.

I could go on and on about all the things I love about this book – and I will soon! – but at the top of my list is the fact that each recipe is both clever and creative, and uses as few ingredients as possible. Case in point, these pancakes require seven basic pantry and fridge items that I’m sure you have on hand. Flour? Check. Eggs? Check. Apples? Check. The sour cream might be a bit of stretch for some, but you can just as easily use yogurt in its place, and I’m willing to bet you probably have at least one of the two in your fridge, right?

I’ve put my own spin on this satisfying breakfast to make it both seasonally appropriate and to make use of the ingredients I had in my fridge, but as Julia instructs in her book, you can use almost any fruit, including bananas, which take really well to roasting. I’ve been in a bit of a breakfast rut lately – my boys are partial to eggs and toast or cereal on weekday mornings – but these pancakes left me inspired and craving a few new options to our morning meals.

Sour Cream Pancakes with Roasted Apples

Adapted from Small Victories

• 2 apples, cored and thinly sliced
• 4 Tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp. fine sea salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
• Unsalted butter, for cooking
• Optional: plain yogurt and maple syrup, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. In a small baking dish, combine the sliced apples with 3 tablespoons of the brown sugar and toss to combine. Roast, stirring occasionally until the fruit is soft and slumped and the sugar caramelized, about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

3. Crack the eggs into a medium mixing bowl and add the sour cream and remaining tablespoon of brown sugar. Whisk until smooth and combined.

4. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the sour cream mixture. Stir with a rubber spatula until just combined.

5. Set a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and add a tablespoon of butter to the pan. Swirl it around to evenly coat the bottom of the skillet. If you’re using a griddle brush the butter over the surface.

6. Pour the batter into the pan in ¼ cup increments to make pancakes that are 3-4 inches in diameter; cook as many as you can comfortably fit into the skillet.

7. Cook pancakes until small bubbles begin to form on the surface and the undersides are golden brown, 1-2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until the second side is nicely browned, about another minute or so.

8. Transfer pancakes to a plate and continue making them until you run out of batter, adding more butter to the pan as you go. Serve pancakes immediately and top with roasted apples, plain yogurt and maple syrup, if desired.

Lasagna Wonton Cups

I’ve been waiting months to point you in the direction of this recipe. Easily one of my crew’s favourite dinners of late, I suspect your family will enjoy it just as much. We tested these a few times back in the summer, and have secretly enjoyed them ever since, impatiently waiting for the recipe to publish so I could let you know all about them.

Wonton wrappers are inexpensive, versatile and worth a little storage space in your kitchen. Used for so much more than dumplings, they can be stuffed with sweet and savoury fillings, topped like a pizza or layered with meat and cheese to create these little lasagnas that also happen to be the easiest ones you’ll ever make.

The convenient toddler-sized single serving portion is perfect for small-ish stomachs, but I happen to know that the big kids are also happy to eat a few of these for dinner along with a hearty side salad. The fact that they pack up well for the lunchbox is an added bonus, and definitely one worth mentioning.

The meat sauce portion of the recipe makes enough for a double batch so you can make extra and freeze them, or store it in the freezer for another dinner on a different day. Head over to SavvyMom to get your copy of the recipe... and don’t forget to let me know if you decide to give them a try.

10 Things You Can Do to Prep for Thanksgiving

This week – the one leading up to Thanksgiving - is one of my favourites of the year. I intentionally clear my calendar so I can spend several days prepping the big meal, organizing activities for the kids, adding a little festive décor to the house, and planning far too much food for our larger-by-the-year crowd. I’ve learned a lot about cooking this meal over the years and have a few ideas to help us all feel completely in control. Here are my suggestions:

1. Find Butter on Sale

If I’m really on the ball I’ll start looking for good-quality butter on sale in the weeks leading up Thanksgiving. When I find it I stock up and put anywhere between six to ten pounds in my freezer because Thanksgiving is not the time to worry about calories and cholesterol. I don’t know what it is, but when I’m low on butter I start to feel twitchy and the surplus keeps me calm while cooking a big meal. If I’m not thinking ahead, and only notice my butter supply is low a few days before the holiday (gasp!), I just type the word into my favourite flyer app, source the best product/price and hop in the car in search of my holiday meal’s best friend and ultimate flavour booster.

2. Make Cranberry Sauce

Homemade cranberry sauce couldn’t be easier or more economical to make so please don’t tell me you buy the kind in the can. Instead, take 10 or 15 minutes tonight (yes, TONIGHT!) and make a batch. It will keep well in the refrigerator until you need it on Sunday or Monday. It’s these small steps taken over the course of a few days leading up to the holiday that make cooking this meal so much easier than you might expect. When I’m out buying my butter tonight I hope to see a few of you in the grocery store with a bag or two of cranberries in hand. (Side Note: Apply the same make-ahead philosophy to your side dishes by examining them for tasks that can be completed in advance - like blanching veggies and toasting nuts.)

3. Make Pie Crust

Ditto for the pie crust. Even if you haven’t completely decided what kind of pie you want to make for dessert (hand raised!) stashing a few discs of frozen dough in the freezer will make your life easier and make you feel like the domestic goddess you are. Having said that, if you want to go the store-bought frozen pie dough route feel free. No judgement here. For real.

4. Plan Your Menu

I can’t emphasize this enough. If you are hosting Thanksgiving dinner this weekend and you don’t know what you’re making stop reading right now and go plan your menu. Just kidding. Don’t stop reading. But do start thinking about what you’re going to serve your family and friends, and try to have a plan in place before the end of the day.

Tiger Shrimp and Noodle Salad

As you might recall from last week, we’ve been test driving the Philips Airfryer for the past month, making homemade French fries and trying out some of the recipes created specifically for this small appliance.

Recently, I selected one of Gordon Ramsay’s creations, a Tiger Shrimp and Noodle Salad that I felt certain would win the approval of my boys. If you aren’t accustomed to eating with males - and I wasn’t for the first twenty years of my life – you should know that they definitely consume food differently than us ladies do. While many gals I know could happily eat salad for more than a few meals a week, I’m confident the same can’t be said for a bunch of boys. In my experience they do like salad, but it needs to include a little something’ somethin’ in order to be both palatable and filling.

One-Pot Harissa Quinoa and Chicken

I'm still trying to decide how I like to read magazines. For years, I've been a consumer and collector of the paper ones, but in the spring I decided to give the digital versions a try and signed up for Texture, a Netflix-like subscription service that provides access to almost every magazine imaginable. The pros? At the top of my list is definitely the fact that it gives me the ability to read any magazine I want, whenever I want, including back issues.  It's also convenient to load up an iPad with reading material for road trips or time spent waiting somewhere for someone (i.e. the doctor's office, etc.).  There is no denying that digital magazines are also an eco-friendly solution to minimizing the piles of paper that quickly accumulate in a house with five people. The cons? I really miss reading paper magazines.

I don’t know about you, but I have files and folders of recipes culled from magazines over the years. This is one of the biggest benefits of reading a paper magazine. I still love tearing out inspiring images and sticking them in a binder or slapping them up on the pre-Pinterest bulletin board I keep over my desk. I find it so hard to do this with digital issues. I haven’t come up with a great system for saving recipes, and I also don’t want to shove another device under the boys’ nose whenever I want them to read a story or article of interest. There’s just something so endearing about seeing everyone sit around the table with a cup of coffee (milk, water, etc.) in hand flipping through the stack of magazines and newspapers in front of them. I cherish those mornings, and find that reading magazines digitally has changed how we interact.