Welcome to my Nest!
Merry Christmas to all of you, from our crazy family. May your holidays be filled with love, laughter and your family surrounding you. Cherish the twinkle in your children’s eyes as they experience the wonder of giving and of course, the magic of too much chocolate combined with the glee of new toys and over [...]
I have never been a cobbler kinda gal. I like my fruits in crisps, the cakey topping that I usually associate with crumbles can’t hold a candle to the crunchy oatmeal topping that crisps are known for. The story that lead me to this recipe is a common one around this house. It started with [...]
Oh, yes I did! These lovelies were inspired by my first trip to the Bulk Barn, prompted by everyone on Twitter telling me how much I was missing in life by not frequenting said store. And I mean everyone. I think even Jessica Alba chimed in at one point and said “Are you crazy??” Ok, [...]
The devil made me do it. That’s the only thing that came to mind when I realized that on a day when it was about plus 28 Celsius, I was finally making the cookies that have been niggling in the back of my mind for a long, long time. I recently posted the base recipe [...]
I revisit this post every Christmas! I am making the biggest. most beauteos prime rib roast I have ever bought on Boxing Day, using the method below. I don't mess with the meat: no rubs, no flavoring nuttin'. Plain old butter to sear the meat and then a gravy made out of it's own juices. I am drooling just thinking of it! Prime is the "grade" given to the meat, most roasts are actually just rib … [Read more...]
Come along and cheat with me. Cheating is good for the soul. Let go of those crazy Christmas baking expectations and make something so delicious, so easy and so fast that you will weep with relief. I make no secret of the fact that I totally cheat with my butter tarts. I don't even pretend that I attempt to make my own shells. I buy pre-made, unsweetened no-name brand from Superstore. Which, by … [Read more...]
This is a new, last minute concoction, born out of the desire to use up some of the candy canes that my children were gifted by Valerie when we went over to her place to bake cookies. I love the easy fudge recipe that I keep tweaking with different flavors; it involves no candy thermometer, always turns out and tastes amazing. Ingredients Needed: one can of sweetened condensed milk … [Read more...]
I am hosting Christmas for the first time in....errr...come to think of it, have I ever hosted Christmas at my place? The year I was due to give birth any moment with my daughter doesn't count, I don't remember anything other than I am pretty sure it was at my old house, my mother did everything, I didn't have enough energy to lift my eyelids open and I had heartburn and was sleeping sitting up in … [Read more...]
Ok. We're all in a time crunch this week. Time is ticking away, our to-do lists are out and we are desperately trying to check off something. Anything. Just one thing off that list before the next day rolls around. If you're not, then I don't like you very much and you can stop reading this right now. Ouch, that's not very Christmas spirity of me. Let's try again. If you're not trying … [Read more...]
Apparently the look on my daughter's face sums up what she thinks of our Christmas pudding quite succinctly. For reason's that escape me, my sweets-loving daughter has the weirdest dislikes. These odd dislikes include jelly beans, gumdrops and candied cherries. Come to think of it, they all have the same consistency, so perhaps not so odd at all. The look of disgust above is from trying the … [Read more...]
These are what started the whole mincemeat baking bender I went on. This was my original idea, take my monkey bread and fill it with mincemeat. I'm not sure what goes through my mind when I start things like this. It always seems like a great idea at the time and usually I'm about 80/20 in favor of the idea working out great in the end. Not bad odds at all. This one had me wondering if it was … [Read more...]
I went a little crazy last Sunday, the ideas that had been swirling around my head for a couple of weeks finally came to fruition and a' baking I went. I wanted to try mincemeat as filling for more than tarts, since we are a mincemeat loving family. Paired with yeasty, warm breads, what could be better? Cinnamon buns are the perfect way to get a smidge of mincemeat taste into your baking, tarts … [Read more...]
With Christmas almost upon us, I am going back and bringing forth from my archives some of my more helpful or popular posts, and how to cook a prime rib roast is one of them. Prime is the "grade" given to the meat, most roasts are actually just rib roasts, which on their own are delicious. In Canada, we have Canada Prime, AAA, AA, and A. In the United States, they have Prime, Choice, Select and … [Read more...]
One would assume that I had the meals all planned out with my mother weeks ago, the ingredients ready to go and things will run as smooth as a hot chocolate with Frangelico goes down on a cold winter's day. Not so much. We like to fly by the seat of our pants most holidays. True, we have the turkey. I am fortunate enough that my mom teaches on a Hutterite colony down by Calgary and we get … [Read more...]
Just a quickie recipe tonight, things have been crazy with the kids Christmas concert- two performances in one day- helping out with the fundraising for said concert and getting ready to have a few folks over at my nest tomorrow afternoon. Add in a bunch of snow making the streets cruddy, forgetting early dismissal at school yesterday and being 40 minutes late picking up my son and my daughter … [Read more...]
Calling these mere hazelnut truffles doesn't quite cut it. It doesn't even begin to describe how the inside of each beauty is a melt in your mouth smooth chocolate experience, flavored with a hazelnut liqueur. The outside crunch of toasted hazelnuts adds a texture that makes these perfect. I am crazy about hazelnuts and a smooth hazelnut chocolate tops my list. These are essentially a … [Read more...]
What I love most about Russian Tea Cakes is they are basically a shortbread that you can add your favorite nut to, then roll in icing sugar. Is there anything that you can possibly find wrong with the above sentence? Nothing. This is all good. Shortbread+hazelnuts=where have you been all my life? Ingredients Needed: 1 cup of butter 2 cups plus one tbsp of flour 1 tsp of vanilla … [Read more...]
I finally got around to using a bag of Mint M&M's instead of snacking on them It's very unfortunate they come in such small bags. I think. Perhaps it's better they come only in these small bags, less snacking and more baking happens. Or at least that is what I am going to tell myself. This is the easiest fudge ever, I have been making one version or another for years. This is the … [Read more...]
I have deviated far from my usual modus operandi at Christmas time, which involves me and the Reuse Center for an hour or so, picking through the cookie tins that have been donated there. I had the lovely experience of being alone in a Michaels store a week or so ago meaning I actually had the time to pick around and see what they had in stock, rather than shouting "Don't touch that!" or "Oh my … [Read more...]
This biscotti was a hit last year, so I thought I would bring it back from the archives. I will be doing a few Recipe Rewinds before Christmas, since the Christmas recipes are so popular. The candied cherries and fruit in this are lovely and don't be scared if you don't like fruitcake. This reminds me of the fruited bread that one can find in Co-op stores, just a slight enough taste to enjoy, … [Read more...]
Otherwise known as "Don't Answer the Door While They Are in the Oven" biscotti. Bah. I'll get to that later. The ones that did turn out are delicious, just perfectly crispy and were so much fun to decorate. The ones that didn't taste great but are far too browned to give away to anyone. And I didn't decorate those, they can be chomped down by the family in their bare, over-baked … [Read more...]
Christmas baking testing time has arrived! The good news is that I am testing these in time for your own Christmas baking. The bad news is that my hips do not need the extra calories. Nor do the girls at my work or the men at my husband's place of employment. And I have a hard time deciding what is going to "make the cut." Homemade red wine? Always makes the cut. Whipped shortbread? … [Read more...]
The best ever shortbread. No really, I don't like the traditional hard shortbreads very much at all, in fact. This is the only kind of shortbread I have ever known in my baking life, to be honest, it's another of my grandma's traditional recipes and no one in my family has ever bothered to make the hard, hockey puck kind of shortbread that I hear is out there. Yes, I am 100% a shortbread … [Read more...]
This is the loveliest idea for pictures we have done ever; we took a beloved, traditional recipe and made it together as a family, while my friend Rebecca memorialized it for all eternity in pictures, she's another of my oh-so talented phot0grapher friends. You can take a peek at her work at Rebecca McKay Photography. I can't think of anything that makes for better pictures to send to family … [Read more...]
I love my kids, my husband and chocolate.
The order depends on when you ask.
Welcome to my nest!
