Grilled Brie & Fig Sandwich

So easy and so yummy!  It is like a little slice of heaven.

Grilled Brie & Fig Sandwich

2 pieces of FRESH french bread (I love the Cobbs french bread sliced thick).
Fig Spread or Jam (I love the St. Dalfour)
1 Brie Cheese
Butter, softened

Warm up a heavy fry pan or pannini maker.

Trim the rind off of the cheese and cut into 1/4 inch slices.

Spread about a tsp of fig spread on to the two pieces of bread.  Put four pieces of brie in between the two pieces of bread, jam side in.  Butter the outside of the sandwich and place on the pannini maker for about two minutes (until cheese melts and the outside is golden and crispy) or do the same using a fry pan.

Yummmm!

Project AmeniT's

Before the Slave Lake Crisis, I put out a post about a charity thing I was doing called "Project AmenitT's".  Now that everything has settled down and HipKid's is done until October, I thought I would put into motion.

As you may or may not know, my work back ground is in hotels.  I LOVE hotels.  Whenever I stay at one I always bring my own shampoo, conditioner, body wash, ECT.  Then I started to think, while I may not be using it, someone else could.  From that point on I cleaned out my hotel room of the soaps and such and collected it.  My thought was to make "Stockings" at Christmas for people in need, (men, woman, children, & infants|) filled with amenities.  Ivan can vouch for me, I almost filled up the entire cabinet under our master suite sink with amenities!  Once the Slave Lake Crisis happened, I gladly packaged everything I had and sent them there.

So my request is that you start saving these things for me and hopefully by late November we will have a ton of "stockings" to give out and make someones Christmas just a little bit brighter.

Here is a little of things, but not limited to, of the things I will be collecting.  Please keep in mind, that I need them all to be "travel" size and I am collecting for all sexes and ages.

• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Soap
• Body Wash
• Tooth Paste
• Tooth Brush
• New Socks of all sizes
• Razors
• Shaving Cream
• Baby Toiletries (soap, diaper cream, shampoo)
• Individually Packaged Wipes
• Kleenex
• Tampons / Pads / Panty Liners
• Chap Stick

I will keep you posted as to what we are getting a lot of and what we need more of......any progress we make.

Thank you so much!
Tania

Black Bean Soup with Hot Italian Sausage and Spinach

One of the hockey mom's made this soup for a skating party last year....it is so yummy and filling!  Thank you Fiona for this recipe.

Black Bean Soup with Hot Italian Sausage and Spinach

1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 lb hot Italian sausage cut into 1/2 " pieces
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1 can (540 ml) tomatoes (un drained), chopped course
1 1/2 cups chicken stalk
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp chopped, drained, sun dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil)
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 bunch spinach, chopped course
salt and pepper

In a large heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add sausages and saute for 5 minutes or until cooked.  Remove sausages and set aside.

Add onion and garlic to sauce pan, saute about 3 minutes or until tender.  Stir in tomatoes, stock, beans, sun dried tomatoes, oregano, thyme, and sausages;  bring to a boil.  Add spinach and cook for about 1 minute or until wilted.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Candied Pecan & Blue Cheese Salad

This is another one of my favorite, quick, easy, and freaking delish salads.  This is so good and the presentation is amazing.  I actually don't even use the dressing below unless I am entertaining, it is so good just on it's own.  Enjoy!

Candied Pecan & Blue Cheese Salad

10 cups mixed greens
3 medium pears cored and sliced thinly
1/2 candied pecans (see recipe below)
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (I always use more!)

Place your greens on a large serving platter. Top with pears, pecans, and blue cheese.  If you prefer to do individual serving, toss all ingredients in a large bowl and then add the dressing just before serving and divide equally into 8 servings.

Dressing

1/4 cup pear nectar
2 tbs vegetable oil
2 tbs white wine vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp black pepper

For the dressing, place all ingredients in a screw top jar and shake well until combined.  Dress salad just before serving.


Candied Pecans

1 1/2 cup pecan halves
1/2 cup brown sugar

In a heavy bottom skillet, place nuts and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar melts and sticks to the nuts.  Remove from heat and let cool, give them a stir every couple of minutes until cool and / or ready to use.

Helpful Hint

Double the candied pecan recipe above and store half in the freezer for up to two weeks.  They compliment almost any salad.

Girls Club

Some months back one of my great friends asked if I wanted to be in her girls club, some people call it the "Time of the Month" club.  I had no idea what this was.....here is how it works:

You invite 11 girls to join your club, for a total of 12 girls.  You all meet once a month, we meet every second Tuesday of the month, for a total of 12 months. Each girl brings a pre determined amount of money, we do $40.00, and puts it into a pot.  All the girls write down their names on slips of paper, and at the end of the night, someone draws a name.  That name is the winner of the pot.  The winner of the pot host's the next meeting.  The money must go towards something just for them...clothes, art, shoes....NO ONE ELSE.  You also have to show everyone what you got at the next meeting.  Once someone wins the pot, they can not enter their name in the draw again, but you do have to pay every month  This allows everyone to win.

We like to meet in the evening after the kids are asleep, around 8 pm ish.  We started out doing a pot luck, everyone brings a munchie, but we had way too much food.  We then just asked half the girls to bring food at a time, and alternated every month.

This is such a great thing.  You get to hang out with your friends, meet new ones, talk about ANYTHING.

I say, start a group today.  If you do, I want to hear about it!

To all the ladies in my group, thank you for the laughs, the advice, and support!  You all rock!

Creamy Coconut Rice Pudding

Do you ever make rice for dinner and find that you have a ton left over?  I had that problem until I found this FANTASTIC recipe that uses cooked rice.  I am not kidding, you will thank me for this one later, it is just that good!

Creamy Coconut Rice Pudding

3 cups cooked rice (brown or white, I use basmati)
1 can coconut milk plus white milk to total 3 cups
2/3 cups sugar (you can cut this to 1/2 if you don't want it too sweet)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 finely shredded non sweetened coconut
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients above in a heavy bottomed saucepan.  Bring to a soft boil, then down to a simmer for 20 minutes....stir often.  It should still be soupy.  Remove from heat.  I stir every couple of minutes while it is cooling to keep from getting that milky film that puddings often get.  Serve warm or cold.

Variations:

Do not add the coconut in above.  While the pudding is simmering, toast 3/4 cups non sweetened coconut in a dry skillet over medium low heat just until edges start to turn golden.  Remove from heat.  After you put your pudding into serving dishes, sprinkle with toasted coconut and a little cinnamon.

You can also stir in the zest of one lemon or lime after you have removed the pudding from the heat.

Helpful Hint:

Once the pudding is cool enough, keep a piece of saran wrap over the pudding....pressing the saran wrap down until it touches the pudding (no air will should be between the saran wrap and pudding).  This will protect it from getting a film.  Store in the fridge this way as well.

Easy and fast Ham & Cheese Frittata

On days like today where we have to have eaten and be out the door by 5:30 pm to be at a game or practice....I like to make a quick and yummy meal like this one.

Ham & Cheese Frittata

6 eggs
1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced ham steak (I usually go to the deli and get about two thick slices of good quality ham)
1 plum tomato, diced
1/2 a yellow pepper, diced
1 large green onion thinly sliced

Pre heat oven to 350.  Lightly oil or butter a 9-in pie plate.  Whisk eggs with oregano and 1/8 tsp pepper in a large bowl.  Stir in cheese, ham, tomato, pepper, and onion until combined.  Pour into pie plate and evenly distribute vegetables.

Bake in the centre of oven until frittata is golden around the edges and firm when jiggled, about 25-30 mins.

I make this a whole meal by adding a simple green salad and a bun.

Great Idea:

Use the left over frittata for Denver Sandwiches the next day!