Spring Egg and Asparagus Sandwiches with Bacon and Pickled Onion

Easter is over, and if you spent a lot of time dyeing eggs this weekend, you now have a fridge full of the stinky things just waiting to be eaten.  Don't worry, I have a great sandwich recipe that will help you use them up!

We love good sandwiches for dinner.  Put together with a salad or even on their own, these are really filling and yet easy to put together.  We love asparagus so it's an easy way to work more veggies into your diet, along with fresh baguette and a little bacon.

Adapted from The Kitchn

4 eggs, hard boiled
1 lb of asparagus
4 small baguettes, or 1 large one divided into four sections, each big enough for one sandwich
fresh dill
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
grainy or dijon mustard
2 tbsp red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

In a small bowl, combine the red onion and vinegar, set aside while you prepare the rest of the sandwich.

Heat up a large, heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add a little olive oil and then sear the asparagus, in batches.  You don't need to move it around too much because you want the asparagus to brown a little, but keep searing them until the asparagus is tender crisp (about 3 minutes).  Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Split the baguettes in half and toast under the broiler.  Slather each with your choice of mustard.

On each baguette, lay a handful of asparagus, a sliced hard boiled egg, then bits of the onion, bacon, and fresh dill.  Top with some fresh cracked pepper, a little salt, and enjoy!

Serves 4

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Home made Pita 'Pizzas' with Arugula Lemon Salad

Inspired by watching Food Network, these arugula topped ‘pizzas’ are amazing. We left out the traditional tomato sauce and played with all sorts of toppings-sliced and seeded plum tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, fresh basil, thinly sliced fresh sweet peppers, mushrooms, and more.  The fun of these is you can top your own, then pile lightly dressed arugula on top, fold, and eat. Warm and cheesy yet a bit peppery with a hit of lemon from the arugula, it's an incredibly delicious way to get your veggies.  I didn't include formal measurements, because you can pretty much dig through your fridge and come up with whatever toppings work for you.   Leftovers are great, but I tend to pack the pizza and salad topping separate.  Also, don't dress the arugula until you are just about to eat it or it will wilt and be soggy.

Toppings:


Smoked prosciutto, sliced
Mozzarella cheese, grated
Fresh parmesan, grated
Sliced black olives
Garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
 Zucchini, thinly sliced
Roasted peppers, thinly sliced

Arugula topping:

baby arugula (about 340 g)
Lemon
Olive oil

Pita crust:
(adapted from Andrea’s no fail pita tortillas)

2 cups flour
1 tsp sea salt ( I often use less)
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup hot water

In a bowl, stir together the salt and flour.  Cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Stir in the hot water until the mixture begins to form a ball, then turn out onto the counter and mix with your hands.  Knead about 4-6 minutes or until smooth, then cover with a tea towel and let rest.

Once you have allowed the dough to rest for 20 minutes, pre-heat the oven to 450 F.  Roll out each piece of dough into approximately 6 inch rounds, the set either on a baking stone or an upside down cookie sheet.  (yes, I know this sounds weird.  To be perfectly honest I’m not even sure why you use the back of the cookie sheet and not the actual baking surface). 

Transfer the rolled dough to the baking sheet-I can fit three at a time on a sheet.  Top with some of cheeses, and then follow with slices of proscuitto, black olives, roasted peppers, zucchini, and garlic.  Bake for about 5 minutes, watching carefully, until the bottoms are golden.  Remove to a wire cooling rack and let cool.  Allow the pan to cool before assembling the next batch of ‘pizzas’. 

Once you have baked each pizza and they are cooling, toss about 350 g of arugula in a large bowl with 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.  Zest the lemon right over top into the bowl, then cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice over top.  Sprinkle with salt and fresh cracked pepper, and toss until everything is well coated. 

Serve the pizzas with the dressed arugula mounded on top so that people can fold them in half and eat. 

Serves 4-6

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Egg Toasts-Or Rather, the Best Lunch Box Egg Salad Ever

Sometimes, I just want something simple that doesn't compromise on taste, but just doesn't mean I have to be cooking all day.

Egg salad has always been the last thing you want in a lunch box. It smells funny, it makes the bread soggy, all that mayo is a problem if it's not kept cold. Then I discovered this recipe for egg salad, and now I'm in love with it all over again. I'll probably take some in my lunch back to work this fall.

Adapted from Super Natural Every Day

2 tbsp plain yogurt, or more if you wish. I used Greek yogurt because it's so thick.
salt and fresh cracked pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill or chives, and a small pinch of fresh thyme (I used 1 tbsp each dill and chives)
4 slices artisan bread
unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, peeled
4 large hard boiled eggs, cooled


In a bowl, mix together the yogurt, salt and pepper, then herbs. Set aside.

Toast the bread. When it's nice and golden, butter it very lightly and rub with the garlic clove. Set aside.

In a bowl, coarsely mash up the eggs. You want some texture so leave some pieces bigger, some small, etc. Gently mix in the yogurt mixture. You don't have to use it all, but mix in enough to get it where you like it.

Mound the egg mixture on the toasted bread and serve immediately.

**If you are making this for lunches, pack the egg mixture separately from the bread and include a spoon. This way your child can mound the egg mixture into mini pitas, naan bread, crackers, etc. No more soggy bread!

Serves 2-4

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Road Trip Food: A How-To, With Recipes!

This summer I was on the road for 32 days, covering ten states, in three different vehicles, and went over 15,000 kms. While it was loads of fun and I enjoyed every second, there also was one major challenge.

The food.

Road trip food is generally not that great, I'll admit. You end up taking just whatever you can get, and after awhile all the restaurant menus begin to blend together. Even though we vowed not to eat fast food, by about the 15 day I was ready to chuck a restaurant menu across the room and wail in protest.

Plus I was really, really sick of bacon.

How did we survive that many days on the road? Each trip was unique, as it was by a different vehicle and had different travel companions-so I'll break it down for you, by the trip.

Family Vacation

Vehicle: car
Travel companions: My husband (ultra picky) and teenager (ultra adventurous)
Destinations: Montana, Oregon, Colorado, South Dakota, Utah, Idaho, and more. The trip was to spend time 4x4ing in Utah, gold pan in South Dakota, and spend lots of family time together.
Plan of attack: Eat at hotel breakfast bars, pack our own lunch and snacks, eat dinner at restaurants.

This vacation was where I cooked the most. We loaded up on dry goods like cereal, crackers, hummus, and more before we crossed the border into the USA and hit a grocery store for more perishable items. I had packed a bag with a tupperware that contained all the hotel room cooking items I'd ever need: a peeler, small cutting board, knife, ice cream scoop, wine bottle opener, can opener, small jar with lid for making salad dressings, a few measuring spoons, salt and pepper). In the bag I also had a great plastic colander and single serving sized containers with lids.

What did I cook?

Road trip chopped salad:

1 egg per person (we snagged hard boiled eggs from the breakfast bar that morning)
lettuce, washed, dried, chopped (or torn into small pieces)
sweet red pepper, seeded and sliced
cherry tomatoes, sliced in 1/2
cheese, sliced
sprouts, chopped
green onions, chopped

Dressing:
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Chop up all the veggies (leave out the egg, tuna, cheese) the night before and toss in the large tupperware that you are storing all the cooking utensils in. Divide into smaller single serving containers and put in the fridge. Grab the eggs in the morning at the breakfast bar before you leave and put in a single serving container. Pack everything in the cooler.

**be careful-hotel fridges notoriously freeze everything!

Make sure to pack the olive oil and balsamic close to where you can grab it when you pull over at a restaurant and want lunch, along with a small jar, the lid, and a tablespoon.

When you are ready to eat, dump the salad onto a picnic plate. Add the eggs and cheese slices. To make dressing, shake 3 Tbsp of olive oil with 1 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar, plus a little salt and pepper. Drizzle over top.



Chick pea salad

19 oz can of chick peas
can of tuna (no drain is wonderfully easy)
cherry tomatoes
chopped fresh basil (would be nice, I didn't have any)
shredded carrots (you can do this with the veggie peeler OR buy them pre-shredded)
green onions, chopped

Dressing:
Shaken in a jar...

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Toss everything in a bowl, drizzle with the dressing. Season to taste. Then divide into single serving sized containers with lids.

(Makes 4 servings)



Veggie Sandwiches
The problem with sandwiches when you are traveling is that mayo is hard to keep cold. Give your sandwiches some 'sauce' by mashing up avocado into them instead.

bread
avocados (2, for 4 sandwiches)
lime
salt and pepper
cucumbers
sprouts
sweet peppers
carrot, shredded
sliced cheese (we loved pepper jack in this, lots of flavor!)
Thinly sliced red onion

Slice the avocado in half, take out the seed in the middle, then spoon it all out into a bowl and mash. Slice the lime in half and squeeze in the juice, and add some salt and pepper to taste. You cold also add chopped garlic and a little jalapeno if you want some spice.

Spread the avocado mixture on a piece of bread, then begin layering the other veggies. Spread more avocado on another piece of bread and sandwich together. Wrap them well and keep in the cooler until ready to eat.

Restaurant recommendations:

La Parilla, Bozeman, Montana

The Rusty Moose, Spokane, Washington

Greg's Grill, Bend, Oregon

The Peace Tree Juice Cafe, Moab, Utah


Romantic Bike Vacation for Two

Vehicle: motorcycle
Travel companion: my husband
Destinations: Washington, Oregon, California (specifically the Gold Rush Trail, or Highway 49 in California and the Redwood Highway on the way home)
Plan of attack: eat at hotel breakfast bars, strategic ordering at restaurants

This trip was the most difficult, mostly because we couldn't carry any food on the bike and were completely at the mercy of restaurants. We employed a lot of strategic ordering, to the point where we'd ask how big items were, and had no difficulty asking for sauces on the side, fruit/salad instead of fries, half orders, and would resort to the seniors/kids menus if we needed too. Also sometimes getting an appetizer instead of a full meal is a great option.

Favorite stops:

Starbucks coffee, for their hummus and chicken bistro boxes and keeping us in coffee all summer

John Barleycorns in Portland, Oregon for the best cold turkey sandwich I ate the whole summer

Black Bear Diner, because they so graciously made me something with a ridiculous amount of requests (a delicious 2 egg omelet with veggies, fruit, and dry toast)


Girls Only Road trip

Vehicle: Chevy Traverse
Travel Companions: Tracey, Nicole, Alexis
Destinations: Washington, Oregon, California to go to Blogher 2011 in San Diego.
Plan of attack: visit Trader Joes along the way and not visit a restaurant the whole trip

As far as restaurant free vacations go, THIS was the most successful. Appointed the Director of Noms for the duration of the trip, I was expected to provide cookies, and wrangle the food for the 4 of us. While at first I planned to cook, things gravitated in a different direction. Instead we all settled on grazing, which turned out to be wildly successful. Eating this way rather than in a sit down restaurant required a little time and forethought, but I think that all of us felt well fed and happy. The extra bonus was the ridiculous amounts of money we saved-for 7 days, we spent just under $60 each on food for four people. Crazy, huh? Plus it was ridiculously good food. I plan to employ this strategy more with my family on our road trip next year.

Any and all of this was consumed on our trip, all from Trader Joe's stores:

-morbier cheese
-brie
-smoked gouda
-cambonzola cheese
-crackers
-kalamata olives
-jarred bruschetta
-prosciutto
-pepper salami
-garlic naan, whole wheat naan, and mini pitas
-cherry tomatoes
-grapes
-nectarines
-guacamole (Trader Joes has a cool guacamole kit, with everything you need to make fresh guac yourself. They were very handy!)
-mini carrots
-snap peas
-olive tapenade
-cream cheese (tip: naan bread slathered with cream cheese, topped with tapenade = yum)
-hummus
-peanut butter stuffed pretzels
-trail mix
-Fage yogurts
-chocolate caramel wedges
-bottled green tea (iced)



A few days, we bought individually packaged pre-made salads, which are all fresh and come with a dressing that has only real ingredients, then supplemented them with the cheeses and meats. Trader Joes does this wonderfully, and we enjoyed just nibbling all the tasty goodness.



We had a great plug in cooler which helped enormously-not just with being able to keep the food cold but protect it from overzealous hotel fridges. Packing along our food not only saved us money but some of the most fun of the trip was stopping at various locations along the road for a picnic. There aren't any Trader Joe stores in Canada, but you can likely replicate this by stopping at other local grocery stores. I highly recommend mapping out your trip and then researching via Google maps the stores along your route, so you don't get lost and waste time looking for them (although we still did a few times).

All in all, it was a delicious trip. I even did a final shop at Trader Joes to bring a bunch of the tasty goodness home to my family.

Happy travels!

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Roasted Tomato and Avocado Sandwiches

Last weekend when I was at Windermere Secondary, Chef John Bishop talked about slow roasting tomatoes, and how wonderful they are on toast or in sandwiches. Over the course of the week I kept finding articles about this very thing-in a Jamie Oliver magazine, on various food blogs, and that was it-I just HAD to make my own. These open faced sandwiches are really delicious, and as spring turns into summer and you get the chance to pick up some produce at the farmer's market, I highly recommend that you try them.

My teenager loved the roasted tomatoes-the flavor becomes very concentrated, but is also balanced out nicely with the creamy avocado and salty cheese. We splurged and went with a high quality goat's feta, which made things extra delicious.

Adapted from Jamie's Recipe Yearbook 2010

4 plum or 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
olive oil
bunch of basil leaves
1 lemon, halved
3 ripe avocados
4 slices of sourdough bread
150 grams of feta cheese
4 handfuls of arugula (rocket)

To roast the tomatoes (which can be done earlier in the day or the night before)

Preheat oven to 300 F.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper to make your clean up easier. Cut the tomatoes in half and place them in a bowl, then drizzle with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Place in your prepared pan, cut side up, and roast in the oven for about an hour and a half for the cherry tomatoes, more for the plum. I used plum tomatoes and roasted them closer to two hours, until they were almost browned a bit on top, sticky, and dried out.

Allow to cool to room temperature and put in the fridge if you are using them later.

When you want to make your sandwiches, pound up the basil and a pinch of salt with a morter and pestle until it forms a paste, then add some olive oil and squeeze 1/2 a lemon over top to loosen the mixture up a bit. I don't have a morter and pestle, so I gave it all a whiz in my food processor. The result was a little more chunky than I'm sure the original recipe intends, but it worked okay. Set aside.

Halve, peel, and scoop out the avocados into a bowl, then mash them gently. Sprinkle in a little salt and pepper, then squeeze the juice from the other half of the lemon over top and mix together.

Toast the bread until it's just golden. Mine went a bit too hard-but you want it toasted enough so it can stand up to the toppings and not go completely soggy.

Spread the avocado paste over the toasted bread. Top with the roasted tomatoes-because I used plum tomatoes, I cut them in half and fit 4 pieces on each slice of bread. Then I put a small handful of arugula on top of the tomatoes, drizzled it all with a bit of the basil pesto, and topped with some feta.

This is a knife and fork sandwich, because as you eat it can become a little messy! Kevin and John both continually exclaimed as they ate how much they LOVED them. Now-my husband rarely ever raves about food, but he loved these, so that tells you how yummy and fresh they are.

Makes 4 sandwiches

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Montatuna Sandwich

Looking for a twist on a tuna sandwich? This one has a lot of flavour without you having to do a whole lot extra. We especially liked it as a nice change from the same old boring tuna sandwich, served with fresh veggies and dip. Drop by Clover Leaf for more coupons and dinner ideas.

Adapted from Clover Leaf.ca

2 cans Clover Leaf flaked light tuna-dill and lemon flavour
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 egg
1 tbsp butter

Crack the egg into a shallow bowl or pie plate. Beat lightly with a fork. Melt the butter in a fry pan.

In a bowl, mix the tuna with mayo and then spread on two pieces of bread. Top with the other pieces of bread to make 2 sandwiches. Gently dip the sandwiches in egg, turning to coat both sides before placing into the frypan. Cook until both sides are browned. Serve immediately.

Makes 2 sandwiches

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Pesto Chicken Wraps

Over the weekend, a photographer from the Globe and Mail was here to take photos of Jake and I with a typical lunch

Photos! Me! Jake! Is the kitchen clean? What food do I make? How's my hair? Why didn't I make Jake get a haircut, even though he insists that his girlfriend says his longer hair is sexy?

There is nothing like your lunch packing skills being put on a national stage to make one wildly self conscious about their cooking/lunches. What do I make? Will it look okay? Taste okay? Photograph okay?

So like I normally do, I came up with a new lunch item, on the spot. No recipe, just something I made up the night before. Because I'm stupid adventurous like that.


We love wraps. They don't go soggy like sandwiches, are easy to eat, and we come up with all sorts of wild fillings. At Mimi's Cafe near Disneyland in California, they serve a really delicious pest chicken ciabatta sandwich that is like a zillion calories and the size of my dinner plates. (well not really, but close) Those flavors are what inspired this combination and ultimately, a really delicious wrap.

one boneless chicken breast half, cooked and chopped
jarred pesto
a bit of mayo
grated carrot
sliced sweet peppers
pea shoots
mashed avocado

In a bowl, mix the chicken breast with just a bit of mayo and pesto to give it a bit of sauce. I don't like really saucy items, but I wanted it to just have a little dressing in there. Zesting a lemon over it might be really delicious too.

Layer the ingredients on a whole wheat tortilla as pictured above. Fold over the sides and roll up. If you are packing this in a lunch, wrap it in cling film. Don't worry about the avocado, mine sat in the fridge all day and still didn't turn brown.

Makes 2 wraps.

See? Wasn't that easy?

Now I just hope I don't have pesto in my teeth in those pictures.

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Veggie Lovers Sandwich

We are very big on veggie sandwiches in this house. I know I've blogged about these a few times before, but this time we used Big 16 Bread by Silver Hills Bakery. I've had Squirrelly bread before, but to be honest it was pretty expensive and so I stopped buying it in favor of our local bakery bread.

Now, I'm a bit torn. We like our local bakery bread, even though it's often too soft to make thick sandwiches like this with. When Hubs saw the bag of Big 16 bread, he grabbed it and read everything printed on the bag; from the ingredients (I can pronounce EVERYTHING) to the nutritional info (almost no sugar!).

In a nutshell, this bread is damn healthy. It's thick and sturdy, and holds up well to all the stuff we shoved in this sandwich. I was thrilled that Silver Hills had sent me a coupon for a free loaf, because it showed me that this bread is really good, and perhaps the best thing for Hubs. We'll be buying some every week.

Onto the sandwiches! The measurements are not exact, but I'll tell you what we did in general.

1 avocado
cream cheese
2 slices of bread per person
2 carrots, peeled and grated
thinly sliced red onion
thinly sliced sweet bell pepper
pea shoots
thinly sliced mushrooms
thinly sliced cucumber

In a bowl, mash the avocado. Squirt a little lime juice over top and mix in salt and pepper to taste. Spread on ONE side of the sandwiches. Spread cream cheese on the other slices of bread. Layer, on the cream cheese side, cucumbers, mushrooms, carrots, peppers, and red onion. On the avocado side, top with pea shoots. Put the sandwiches together. Cut in 1/2 and eat!

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Chicken and Asparagus Sandwiches with Proscuitto

Bon Appetit has become one of my new favorite food magazines. I still like Canadian Living, but the recipes in Bon Appetit? Amazing. There's so much variety, such great things to try, that it's like finding a treasure trove of foodie goodness every time I buy one.

This week asparagus was on sale and I bought not one, but TWO pounds of the stuff. So it makes your pee smell funny-it's good for you, right? Might as well eat it while it's available! These sandwiches were delicious. The creamy, tender chicken, crunchy asparagus and salty prosciutto was just divine. For some reason, even though I followed the recipe exactly, we ended up with PILES of filling. Probably too much. Part of me just couldn't resist the towering sandwiches that demanded to be eaten with a knife and fork. Perhaps the bread pieces were supposed to be bigger but nevertheless, they were amazing.

Adapted from Bon Appetit, June 2010

1 lb slender asparagus, with the woody ends snapped off
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 plain Greek style yogurt
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
4 cups bite sized cooked skinless, boneless chicken (leftovers from a bird would be good)
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
non stick spray
6 thin prosciutto slices
six 1/2 inch thick slices of rye bread, lightly toasted (don't butter them. Just toast)
2 green onions, thinly sliced

In a bowl, mix the mayo, yogurt, lemon juice, dijon and a little salt and pepper together. Set aside.

Cook the asparagus in a pot of boiling water just briefly until they turn bright green and are tender crisp. (about a minute or so) Drain and immediately rinse them under cold water. Chop them into 3/4 inch pieces, keeping the tips whole. Dry them well. (I put them on a pan with some paper towel) Set aside.

In a large bowl, gently mix the mayo/yogurt mixture, chicken, chives, and asparagus pieces together. (you can cover the bowl with cling film and chill for up to 6 hours now, if you need to)

To assemble the sandwiches, toast your rye bread. Allow it to cool. Spray a pan with the non stick spray. Turn the oven on to 375 F and gently arrange your slices of prosciutto on the prepared pan. Bake them until the prosciutto is crispy-about 15 minutes. Allow them to cool.

Heap the chicken filling on the toasted rye bread, then top with a slice of the crispy prosciutto, and sprinkle with green onions.

Dig in!

Makes 6 servings

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Steak and Mango Wraps

I saw this recipe a long time ago in one of my issues of Everyday Food, and was intrigued at the the thought. Tender beef, paired up with mango? And spinach? Mmm.... interesting. Since we rarely eat beef, this was tagged as a must try, but quickly was pushed aside for something that everyone in the house would eat. This week as I browsed the aisles at the grocery store, I came upon New York Striploin steaks on sale, and suddenly, I remembered this recipe. I snatched them up, brought them home, and gently cooked those babies up.

You all might think I'm a whiz in the kitchen, but I've only JUST figured out how to make a good steak. The rule of thumb, I'm told, is to cook that baby until it has give like the meaty part of your thumb (in your palm). THEN it's medium, and you take it off the heat and allow it to rest.

Adapted From Every Day Food

1 Tbsp dijon mustard
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
1 sweet red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into thin strips
1 mango, peeled and cut into thin strips
4 (10 inch) whole wheat tortillas
4 cups spinach, trimmed, washed and dried
1 lb of cooked beef, very thinly sliced, room temperature (I grilled up some steak and seasoned it with Montreal Steak Spice)

In a bowl, whisk together the mustard, lime juice, olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside. Toss the onion, red pepper, and mango together and then drizzle the dressing over top. Toss again to evenly coat.

Divide the spinach between the four tortillas. Top with the mango mixture and beef, then roll up.

Makes 4 wraps

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Southwest Turkey Burgers

I have come to the conclusion that turkey burgers don't photograph well. That baby was cooked, I tell you, and she still looks pink! PINK! I found this recipe while cruising the internets, looking for a burger recipe that Hubs and Jake would eat. Being all inspired like from last Friday when I made buffalo/beef burgers with a friend, I was still in burger mode and these satisfied my craving.

Home made burgers are the best. You can control what is topping them or going in them, and tailor them just to your needs. What's not to like?

Adapted from Rachael Ray

1 lb ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 red onion, minced
2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme (1 tsp dried leaves)
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, or parsley
1/2 small sweet bell pepper (any color), chopped finely
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (I used 1/4 of a pepper)
several drops of hot sauce (I omitted this)
2 tsp Montreal Steak Spice

In a large bowl, mix together the garlic, onion, thyme, cilantro, bell pepper, jalapeno, hot sauce, and steak spice. Add the turkey and with your hands, moosh it all together until it's blended through. Shape the mixture into 5 patties.

To cook, heat a little olive oil in a pan and fry them up on medium high until they are no longer pink in the middle and cooked through. We served them in whole wheat kaisers with Cheddar cheese, tomato, lettuce, and a bit of mayo. You could try them with some bacon and pepper jack cheese, or omit the bacon and slather on some avocado. Yum!

Makes 4 burgers

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French Onion Burgers

Topped with Swiss Cheese and a bit of red onion, these are one of Jake's favorite kinds of home made burger. I often make them ahead and freeze the patties on a wax paper lined cookie sheet, then pop them in a zip lock to save for another day. Usually I thaw them in the microwave before cooking on my stove top. Yummy!

Adapted From Canadian Living (honestly I can't remember the issue)

1 egg, beaten
1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 onion, grated
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp wine vinegar

In a large bowl, mix together the egg, dry bread crumbs, salt, pepper, onion, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar. Mix in the ground beef. Shape into four patties (I usually get five because I make smallish burgers) and place on greased grill over med-high heat. Cook, turning once, about 10 minutes or until thermometer inserted in center reads 160 F.

Slip onto buns and top with Swiss cheese and and slices of Spanish onion.

Makes 4

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Chicken Pitas

This is another really quick, easy dinner that older kids could make. Just whip up some tiny spiced chicken patties, then stuff them into pitas with veggies and a drizzle of tzatziki. I get frustrated trying to find good pitas here, because the ones that I buy tend to fall apart. Jake suggested I try wraps next time instead-maybe that would work. At any rate they were really yummy! The patties can be made a day ahead, even. I haven't tried freezing them, but I'm pretty sure you could do that too.

Adapted from Every Day Food April 2010

1 lb ground dark meat chicken (I used turkey)
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten (I just used 1 whole egg)
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (if you don't like it spicy, just reduce this. I used 1/4 tsp)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp olive oil
pita pockets
sliced tomatoes, cucumber, and lettuce
tzatziki

In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, onion, parsley, garlic, salt, spices, egg whites, and chicken. Mix well. Set aside.

Line a baking sheet with foil, and brush with 1 tbsp of olive oil.

Divide the chicken into 8 portions and form into slightly oval, flat-is patties. Set on the baking sheet. Drizzle them all with the remaining tbsp of olive oil.

Now, heat up your broiler. Place the rack at the highest spot and turn in on. When it's good and hot, cook the patties until they are browned...about 4 minutes or so, and turn to cook the other side. When they are cooked through, remove and let cool.

Serve two patties per pita, stuffed with cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce. Drizzle tzatziki over top and enjoy!

Serves 4

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Have a Jerk For Dinner: Jerk Chicken Burgers

A long time ago Jake begged me to buy a bottle of Jerk marinade for chicken. Whoooee! Was it spicy! We could barely eat it, but tonight it really came in handy. My original recipe was going to be these fantastic eggplant basil burgers, but when I went to buy the eggplant, there was none. Not an eggplant to be found.

So instead we had these spicy, succulent, delicious burgers. Yummers! The good thing is that while they had lots of flavor, they didn't make anything over the top spicy and we could actually enjoy it. Now I know where my marinade is going!

Adapted from Canadian Living BBQ Best Summer 2006

1 egg
1/2 cup finely diced sweet red pepper
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tbsp jerk BBQ sauce (or 1 Tbsp jerk marinade)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp dried thyme
pinch allspice
1 lb lean ground chicken or turkey
buns
slices of cored fresh pineapple ( I didn't have fresh so I used canned. Not the same)

Grab a large bowl, and lightly beat your egg in it. Add the bread crumbs, peppers, jerk marinade/sauce, soy sauce, garlic, thyme, and allspice. Mix it together. Toss in the ground turkey and using your hands, squish it around until it's all mixed through.

Shape the meat into four patties and place on the grill. I used a skillet, and it worked just fine. Cook, flipping once, until the center temperature is 185 F/85 C.

I toasted up some buns, added lettuce and bits of pineapple, and we ate them. If you are BBQing, you could put the pineapple on the grill to get it all smoking and tasty before you top your burgers with them.

Makes 4.

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Kid Friendly: Pizza Bread

The other night I just didn't feel like cooking. Besides being Monday, it was the first day back from Spring Break and I just couldn't get into the groove of cooking anything. So I reverted back to a staple that I used to make in my childhood.

Pizza Bread.

This is so easy, and so yummy, that your kids could make it. Basically all you do is this:

Get a loaf of french bread. split it in half, or if you want to make individual ones, cut it into thick slices.

Toast the bread under your broiler. Don't butter it.

Slater with pizza sauce.

Top with all the pizza toppings you love. Or have the kids do their own. In the one above I put a bit of cheese, then some chopped red pepper, sliced mushrooms, diced bits of turkey pepperoni, and more cheese.

Bake at about 450 F for a few minutes. Make sure to watch it carefully so that it doesn't burn on you.

Remove from the oven, let cool, and cut into slices. I served it with veggies and dip.

Oh, it was yummy. I might even make some ahead to tuck into Jake's lunches.

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Prosciutto Arugula Toasts

I love watching Food Network. One day, right before dinner, Jake decided to watch some Italian themed show and there I was, drooling, ready to lick the screen. I don't remember the name of the show but I took one of the ideas and adapted it for here.

The premise is so easy-crusty Italian bread, topped with prosciutto and then arugula dressed with a bit of olive oil and lemon, topped with shavings of Parmesan. Jake and I snarfed these down, because they were SO good. Quick, too! The original recipe called for pizza dough, which you bake in serving sized rounds like a wrap. I used some Italian bread instead.

To make your own at home you will need...

-slices of Italian bread (about 1/2 inch thick) we used two each, since they weren't that huge
-prosciutto (125 grams served Jake and I with a bit left over)
-tub of arugula
-lemon
-olive oil
-salt and pepper to taste
-block of Parmesan cheese

Toast the bread. DON'T butter it, just toast it dry. Why? The fat from the proscuitto melts and adds fat to the sandwich anyway, so you don't really need to add more. While the bread is warm, layer on some proscuitto. Set aside.

This is where you get to eyeball it a bit. I took a couple handfuls of arugula and drizzled a small amount (maybe a few teaspoons) of olive oil over it, then cut the lemon in half and squeezed in the juice. Toss. Add some salt and pepper to taste.

Mound the arugula over the prosciutto. Then get out your block of Parmesan and shave bits over top. Serve two toasts per person, and something like oven fries or some veggies and dip would make a nice accompaniment.

Delicious!

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Veggie Focaccia Sandwiches

I love a good dinner sandwich, and when you find a bakery that has amazing bread, how can you resist? This isn't so much as a recipe, but a guideline.

-Find a bakery that makes a good foccaccia. I toasted and buttered ours. On the bottom I slathered it with store bought hummus, but another time we tried mashed avocado and it was delicious!

-layer in sliced cucumbers, grated carrots, thinly sliced tomato, and some really good cheese. Some store bought pesto on the top half of the bread adds a lot of flavor, too or you could add some fresh basil leaves.

Then just try to wrap your mouth around that baby.

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Fajita Burgers

I was never really a fan of home made hamburgers, until I tried this recipe. I like to smoosh up some ripe avocado and smear it all over the top bun before layering on the lettuce and onion, or sometimes a bit of spicy salsa as well. They are really, really delicious.

Adapted from Canadian Living

1 egg
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lb lean ground beef
1 sweet red pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp chili powder

Mix the egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, red pepper garlic, lemon juice and chili powder together in a large bowl. Mix in the ground beef. Shape into four patties and grill over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until thermometer inserted into the center of the patty reads 160 F. I often cook these on the stove top instead of the BBQ and they are just as good.

Slip into buns (or try tortillas) and top with salsa and slices of avocado. Sometimes we have tried various kinds of salsa or spicy cheese too, and those are tasty.

Makes 4 burgers.

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