Childhood Comfort Food

Today I planned on having a fairly relaxing day… the sun was shining again and it felt like an early spring day.  When I woke up this morning I decided to make the Breakfast Pizzert again from yesterday morning because it was so yummy.  Even my friend Rebecca tried it out this morning and enjoyed it. 

After spending the morning relaxing in my PJ’s, calling my mom to wish her a Happy Birthday, drinking a latte and listening to music, I headed out the door to enjoy some of the sun.  Unfortunately I did forget my camera and my cell phone, so no pics…sorry guys. 

I also headed to the store to pick up some avocado that I forget yesterday and a bag of dog food for Buster.  He also got a little treat today…it definitely kept him busy for at least 4 hours.  He was so cute, so I took the opportunity to snap some photos of him.

Since it’s my momma’s birthday today, I decided to make a little something that she used to make us when we were a kid.  This dish is traditional in Southern Germany, the region my parents grew up in and where I was born too.  It’s called “Dampfnudel” which literally translates to “Steam-noodle”.  In other words, these are dumplings that you cook/steam in some milk, sugar and butter.  They are then served with a rich vanilla sauce.  Definite comfort food for me. 

Looks tasty, don’t it?  I can vouch that it does… I remember having these when I went to Germany a couple of years ago.  I left them in the pan just a tad too long, but was scared to open the lid because that’s a big NO-NO when making dumplings.  Oh well.  Will post the recipe soon.

Hope everyone had a good weekend and I will see you back in the next couple of days.

With love.

Bea

xoxo

Breakfast and Dinner perfection

It felt so nice to sleep in this morning and to wake up to the sun shining and the snow all melted away.  Trevor is away this week, on a work trip and also visiting family out East, so I have the weekend to myself.  And since I finished up my report cards last night, I planned on having a fairly mellow weekend, especially after a crazy busy week. 

When I woke up this morning, I decided to try my hand at making the popular Breakfast Pizzert I keep hearing and reading about in the blogosphere.  Christin over at Purple Bird Blog made one a while back that looked really tempting.  SoI thought I’d try one out myself this morning..with no kids around and no commitments, let the cooking experiment begin

TADAHHH …….

Looks like one ginormous cookie or pancake….and it tasted oh so good. I ate it around 10:30am and my stomach didn’t even make a peep until about 4pm.  Definitely very filling.

GF Apple Pumpkin Breakfast Pizzert

Mix together all of the following ingredients

• 1/2 cup  Gluten-Free flour mix
• 1 tsp  Aluminum free Baking powder
• 2 tsp  agave syrup
• 2 Tbsp  100% pure pumpkin pure
• 1/2 grated apple
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 Tbsp  Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
• 1 tsp  Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp  Vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup  Chocolate Chips

Spray a glass pie dish and pour mixture into the prepared dish.  Stick in a 420F oven that was NOT preheated for about 15 minutes.  Allow to cool in the pie dish for a few minutes before trying to remove it. 

I found mine was a little tough to get out in one piece without breaking it, so if you eat it right out of the dish, why not?  I also drizzled mine with some maple syrup, but you can top yours with whatever your little heart desires. 

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I’m sure glad I managed to get my pizzert out of the oven in time this morning.  About 10 minutes after sitting down for breakfast, the power went out.  I had already noticed when I got up that all of the clocks were flashing, so this was obviously not the first time the power went out today.  But with the power out, it was perfect timing to get out of the house and run a bunch of errands.

I planned out my meals for the next few days, made myself a grocery list and headed over to Trevor’s house to take care of something for him.  I also made my way to the school to print off my report cards, prepare some stuff for Monday and work a bit on my class banner (pictures to come soon… you will NOT want to miss those). 

Now on to tonight’s meal… it’s DA BOMB……..

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Roasted Leg of Lamb with Smashed Potatoes and Squash

It didn’t take long at all to make the Lamb and the flavour was unbelievable….juicy, tender and very very tasty. 

Here’s what I did…….

ROASTED LEG OF LAMB

• 1 Kg  Butterflied Boneless Leg of Lamb
• 3 Tbsp  Pesto
• 2 Tbsp  Balsamic Vinegar
• 3 tsp  olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• salt and pepper to taste

To prepare the marinade, mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside while you prepare the lamb.

Trim any excess fat off of the lamb, including that large gland that is often found on a leg of lamb.  (not every piece has one, but most do… it kind of looks like a really big chunk of fat, but it’s more round and bubbly). 

Place the lamb in a dish and pour the marinade over the lamb.  Cover and place in refrigerator for a couple of hours. 

Preheat your oven to 450F.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and go get your meat thermometer.  Find the thickest part of your meat and insert thermometer.  Place the meat on the cookie sheet and into your oven.  Mine took about 20 minutes or so, but you want an internal temperature of 145F for Medium Rare. 

After you take it out of the oven, tent it with aluminum foil and let rest for about 10 minutes.  By doing so, the juices in the leg of lamb will have a chance to settle.  Then place on a cutting board and cut with the grain into desired thickness. 

Serve lamb with potatoes and vegetables and all of the good juices that came from the lamb. 

Smashed Potatoes and Squash

I used 3 medium red potatoes and a medium sized butternut squash.  Place the potatoes into a large pot.  Peel and slice your squash into large pieces and place into pot with the potatoes.  Add enough cold water to cover your vegetables.  Then boil until tender…about 25 to 30 minutes.

Drain the water and then peel the potatoes.  Add some fresh grated nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, 2 Tbsp of Earth Balance Butter and about 1/2 cup of milk.  Smash everything together until you get the consistency for mashed potatoes.  I also added about 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.

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For dessert I had a bowl of fresh fruit and some non-fat vanilla yogurt. 

So the night comes to an end with an anticipated good game of hockey.  We play tonight at 10:45pm (gross times, but it’s for the love of the game…).  I’m going to try my dandiest to not fall asleep on the couch before I have to leave..only about 1.5 hours to go.  But then again, I do get to sleep in tomorrow morning.  There will be no school visits on my agenda either.. simply a day to relax, play with the dog, enjoy some fresh air and do a little bit of cooking.  Oh…and plan out a few lessons on nutrition for my class. 

What are your plans for Sunday?  What do you do when you have a day to relax?

Hope you’re all having a great weekend.

Bea

xoxo