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File this under: BBQ Ideas. Sub-head: crunch!
Click here for BBQ recipes that would go great with these salads.
Apple-Cheese and Toasted Walnut Salad
Honey-Lime Berries and Greens
Corn And Black Bean Salad
File this under: BBQ Ideas sub-head: Yum!
Easy grilling recipes for your family or even a larger crowd.
Glazed Beef Tenderloin with Herbed New Potatoes
Grilled Salmon with Sugar Snaps and Corn
Grilled Bacon-Cheeseburgers (Crowd Size)
These homemade granola bars are easy, full of fibre and ready in under 10 minutes! Get the kids in on the activity by having them measure, pour and stir. Great for after-school snacks (and even crumbled on yogurt for breakfast!).
Stir 2 cups of rolled oats with 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp ground flax seed, 1/4 cup wheat bran, 1/4 cup raisins, 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips.
In another bowl whisk, 1 egg, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup melted butter, 1 tsp vanilla. Stir into oat mixture.
Line a 9 in square glass baking plate (or a glass pie plate will do!) with parchment paper. Pat oatmeal mixture, into an even layer, into plate.
Microwave, uncovered, on high, 6 minutes. Cool before cutting.
Recipe adapted from an old Chatelaine recipe
It’s coming! It’s coming! Mother’s Day and the required brunch is upon us. Here are a few foodie ideas to get your Mother’s Day Brunch on.
Ingredients:
1 box frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain 1/3 cup (75 mL) garlic-and-herbs spreadable cheese Additional freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if desired 1/4 cup (50 mL) shredded mozzarella cheese 1/4 cup (50 mL) shredded Italian cheese blend 3 tbsp (45 mL) freshly grated Parmesan cheese 2 tbsp (25 mL) finely chopped shallot or onion 1/4 tsp (1 mL) garlic powder 1/8 tsp (.5 mL) pepper 1 can (8 rolls) Pillsbury* Original Crescents or Pillsbury* Multugrain Crescents 24 paper-thin slices (about 4 inch diameter) smoked ham
Method:
Not so waffle-icious. I re-read the manual, measured well and timed by watch. The later waffles were much more waffle-y.
Makes you crave n’est pas?
The Hamilton Beach Waffle Baker is GREAT. More than just making breakfast it became an activity to do together (someone mixed, someone poured, someone flipped, someone watched for the light). It connected us – and how often can you say making brunch connects your family?
Think waffles are just for Sunday mornings? Think again. And then stop thinking. And get one.
Your family will thank you.
Homemade Cupcakes – with a twist. Check out these awesome ideas for your next birthday party!
Cookie and Cone Birthday Clowns
Just Bugging You Cupcake Cones
Let's Party Cake
Frosted Cupcake Cones
TIP: You CAN bake ice cream cones – just fill each cone 2/3 full of cake batter – stand on cookie sheet – and bake 20 min.
For the recipes to each of these awesomtastic cupcake ideas click on the picture or surf over to homemade cupcakes.
I was recently invited to a webinar put on by Food & Consumer Products of Canada about family nutrition and most importantly – how to read nutrition fact labels (example over there on the right).
How do I read Nutrition Facts? If the percentage is under 5 it has very little of what you need nutritionally. If it has a percentage greater than 15 it has a lot of the nutrition you need. 
Use the Canada Food Guide (see chart above or download a full copy free HERE) to help make smart decisions about what foods to buy and serve your family. Honestly, I have a colour copy of the food guide taped inside my cereal cupboard for quick reference for me (and the kids).How to make cake pops…Step 1 – Get a cake
Cake (homemade or store bought). I used a 9x13 homemade chocolate cake
1/2 tub of frosting
Step 3 – using your hands or a food processor blend the cake into a sand-like consistency. Add 1/2 tub of frosting and blend together.
Frosting and cake mixed
Step 4 – roll the cake and frosting mixture into balls (about the size of a Tim Bit) and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Pop them in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up.
Step 5 – using lollipop sticks (available at Bulk Barn) and melted semi-sweet chips (aka chocolate chips) fasten the sticks into the cake balls. TIP: dip the stick in the melted chocolate and then stick into the ball – the chocolate will harden and fasten itself to the cake.
Step 6 – swirl the cake pops in chocolate. Many sites recommend using florist foam to stick the pops into to allow them to dry upright (leaving a perfectly rounded cake pop)…I…having no florist foam…simply put them back on the parchment lined cookie sheet to dry – so they weren’t perfectly rounded…neither am I quite frankly 
They taste like chocolate truffles and are addictive. And yes, I made them with the kids!
4 weeks before: Decide and book venue (at home, movie theatre, restaurant, play place.) Decide and book entertainment (mom-led crafts and games, performer, jumping castle, sport).
3 weeks before: Decide on invitee list (appropriate to venue location). Menu (order pizza? make waffles? grilled cheese sticks? mini sliders?)
2 weeks before: Send out invitations. Include both a phone number and email address for easier R.S.V.P.s
1 week before: Order cake (or purchase ingredients to make). Purchase loot
Day before: Confirm venue and entertainment. Confirm menu. Get your cake on. Prepare your loot bags (maybe THESE or THESE)
Day of: Breathe. Breathe deeply. 
What a cool craft/baking with kids activity! This Flowers for the Teacher recipe is neato. I also think this would be a great activity to usher in spring (or at least usher in the a Sunday afternoon in spring). And the Mother’s Day table could use a center piece!
Ingredients:
1 pouch (496 g) Betty Crocker* Sugar Cookie Mix (or Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix or Oatmeal Cookie Mix) 1/2 cup (125 mL) butter or margarine, melted 1/4 cup (50 mL) flour 1 egg 20 wooden sticks with rounded edges Decorating gel (any colour) Candy decorations (as desired) Sliced almonds Small planters pot Floral foam Green pipe cleaners Mini-chocolate chips
Method:
Meals can get redundant (and boring) really quickly – well, in my house anyway. Pasta night. Steak night. Chicken night. Same ol’ same ol’ here.
I’m on the look out for some kid friendly meals that might have a yum factor for us adults. I stumbled on Top 10 kid-friendly March Break Meals (insert A-Ha moment here…and not the 80s band type of A-Ha moment).
Oven-Fried Chicken Tenders and Family Favourite Macaroni and Cheese might just be the switch ups I need. Yes, still pasta and chicken – but kid friendly.
I am guilty to catering to the tastes of my kids when it comes to cooking dinner. But I want dinner to be a pleasant experience rather than a war of “try it” “eat it”. The dinner table should be a happy place n’est pas?
