I have a Confession…

As I have mentioned in many posts, growing up there was not much baking in our house.  Mom can cook a fantastic meal but does not like to bake.   Mom’s Rice Crispy Squares are one of my/our family favourites and Mom made them quite a lot.

Your probably thinking, Really? Rice Crispy Squares? How simple and boring! Someone who loves to bake and create and one of her favourites is Rice Krispies  Squares.  If you are thinking that, then you have not had my Mom’s Rice Krispies Squares.  They are to die for!!!  I don’t know how she does it, but NO ONE’S stand even close to her’s.  She uses the same ingredients that the “original recipe” on the box calls for, but in different proportions.  They are so ooey and goooy and heavenly delicious.

I will always remember the commercial they had in the early 90′s advertising that Rice Krispies Squares were so simple, but so good.  The woman would through flour all over herself then emerge from the kitchen looking exhausted!

Confession time…

I have made many complicated, delicate, time-consuming and detailed desserts, BUT, to save my life, I can not make a good Rice Krispies Square! Sounds stupid right? Anyone can make Rice Krispies Squares! WRONG!!! I can’t!  I have followed the recipe, I have done my own version, I have even watched and taken notes from Mom and they still turn out horrible!  They always taste horribly stale, dry, old, you name it, yuck!  Four ingredients and I mess it up.

Today I had a request for some Rice Krispies Squares to use up the Giant Campfire marshmallows we had.  I packed up all 4 ingredients (marshmallows, butter, vanilla and Rice Crispies) and headed to Mom’s and asked her to make them for me.  Each time I ask her she laughs at me, But, I seriously cant make them taste right.

Here is Mom’s Rice Krispies Squares

This is my favourite part.

Cleaning out the pot and wooden spoon and eating the warm gooey left overs!

Perfect every time!

Anyone else have something that is so easy that you just cant master???

My Birthday Cake

I must start off by saying how much I love my birthday!!!  Ever since I was little I have loved my birthday, not just my birthday but anyones birthday.  It is your special day and I think you should embrace it!  I usually start announcing it in mid April.  I don’t do it looking for gifts or to be waited on, I just really like the day.

Usually it is me making the birthday cakes, but I REFUSE to make my own!!!  I would go cake-less before I would make my own cake.  Growing up I can remember Mom making ‘money cakes’.  Baked inside the cake was nickles, dimes and quarters (loonies and twoonies were not invented yet, Yes, im from Canada)  were wrapped in tin foil.  We would all be so excited to see who would get the most money in their piece.   Then we moved on to the Baskin Robins ice cream cakes.  My personal favourite was World Class, a blend of vanilla and chocolate, with fudge icing, OMG was it good!!!  The fudge icing was the kicker, I’m not even sure if they have them anymore.  From there I moved on to having brownies, not jut any brownies, Loretta’s home-made brownies with her homemade icing.  They are freaking phenomenal!!!  I have made them in the past and they are not anywhere as good as when she makes them.

People would always say, I’ll buy you a cake, it will look nicer!  I always say NO!  I don’t care what it looks like, the fact that someone takes the time to make me a cake is so much more important.  This year Mom was on cake duty.  I picked out the kind, Duncan Hines Spice Cake with my homemade icing and provided the recipe.  My only request was that it was a layer cake.  I much prefer the icing to cake ratio in a layer cake then in a slab cake.  Cake without icing or with not enough icing is just wrong.  I don’t think it is possible to put too much icing on a cake.

When I arrived to Mom and Dads for my Birthday Dinner ( a lovely ham dinner with roasted potatoes and green beans, my favourite!!!) the cake was sitting on the kitchen table, it was beautiful!  It was just what I asked for, a layer cake with lots of icing.  I loved it!!  Mom did an awesome job!  I think the first thing she said, after Happy Birthday, was ‘my god, I’m not a baker! That was a lot of work, you should have seen the mess I was in’.  I just laughed because it is so relaxing for me, I love to bake.  Mom is more the “cooker”, she can make anything and it tastes good.  There was only 3 meals in my entire life that she made that I did not enjoy.

After eating my delicious birthday dinner it was time for cake.  It was delicious!!  I loved every bit of it, especially that it was made with love from Mom.  Even though I know she does not like to bake, it meant a lot and I loved it!

Thank you for another wonderful Birthday!!!

BBQ Thanksgiving

This year Thanksgiving was unseasonably warm, 28 C with the humidity! Usually Thanksgiving dinner means the oven is on all day, pots are steaming away, house is full and HOT!!!  We wanted to enjoy the beautiful weather, but still enjoy our wonderful thanksgiving meal, without having the house 40C!  Mom had the fantastic idea of cooking the meal on the BBQ’s.  Nothing unusual for us, Mom has 2 BBQ’s  and cooks on the BBQ all the time, I don’t think there is a food  she has not BBQed.  Back in our boating days she would be sitting under a wee umbrella cooking up breakfast, or a fantastic dinner.  So if anyone can master an entire Thanksgiving dinner on the BBQ, it’s Mom!!! The only thing not cooked on the BBQ was the biscuits I made.   The photos are not the best, it was on my phone, forgot my camera.

The menu

Glazed Ham

Scalloped Potatoes

Green Bean, Sweet Potatoes and Corn

Another amazing Thanksgiving dinner, everything was delicious.  Thanks Mom!!!

Seven Layer Salad

I’m sure you first thought is SALAD?? really? she’s posting about vegetables? I know its rare but this salad is amazing!

As long as I can remember this was always a staple at big meals at my Nana and Pops.  I used to hate it but grew to love it!  Mom now makes it every once in a while so this time I jumped in on the opportunity to share it.

It doesn’t look like much, and really when you read the ingredients you will probably think, ewwww!  Let me tell you its Awesome!  It is a little tedious to make with all the chopping and slicing so don’t just make one, we made 6 with this batch.  It’s a good excuse to share your goods.

Nana’s Seven Layer Salad

Ingredients

• Carrots
• Onions
• Green Peppers
• Celery
• Romaine Lettuce
• Water Chestnuts
• Frozen Peas
• Hellmann’s Mayo (it must be Hellmann’s!)
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese

1. Finely slice all veggies

2. Chop the lettuce

3. Grate cheese

4. From here you just layer the ingredients.  The middle order does not really matter but always start with the lettuce

5. Now layer your veggies. Press them down between each layer, get as much in as you can.  As I said it really doesn’t matter the order, but try to separate the colours especially if you have a glass bowl, looks nicer.

***Always end with the Peas**

***and YES put the peas on FROZEN right from the freezer***

6. Spread the Mayo. Now you have to trust me on this one, you must use Hellmann’s Mayo.  It does not turn out with anything but.  Trust me we have tried.  As a rule I don’t like Hellmann’s, always use Miracle Whip but it doesn’t work here.  Don’t be cheap and get the no name “salad dressing type” it must be Hellmann’s.  There I think I got my point across!

Spread it right over the frozen peas.  Works best by  putting a huge dollop in the middle and working out.  Just like icing a cake.

7. Layer of grated mozzarella cheese, don’t be stingy, pile it up, its ok if it goes over the top of the bowl.

8. Sprinkle parmesan cheese

Done!

Now here is the kicker, you can’t eat it for 24 hours!!! I know torture!  All that work and you have to wait.  Trust me it’s worth the wait.

***Very important cover with Tin foil or aluminum foil*** not plastic wrap.  I have no idea why, but that is what Nana said to do, so that’s what we do.

24 hours later…..

As good as I remembered.  The longer it sits the better it gets.  You simply must make it!

Thanks Mom!

Seafood Extravaganza!

This New Years we were spoiled by my Mom, she made us all an amazing seafood feast that was way better than anything a restaurant could offer.

The evening started out with Shrimp Tempura

These were very good, nice and crispy yet very tender, done to perfection!

Next we had Shrimp/Scallop Gratin.  Mom and I do not like scallops so ours were just shrimp, but the guys had half shrimp half scallops.

Look at the size of those Shrimp!

Next was the grand finally! Lobster tails and Crab legs

Look at the size of those tails!

It was an amazing dinner! She totally outdid herself!

Thanks Mom!!

Our Christmas Feast!

One of the best parts of Christmas is getting to share a wonderful meal with your family.  Every Christmas day Mom puts on a fantastic meal, but this year she out did herself!  Usually I am all about the turkey dinner, and not many people in my family like turkey so I don’t often get it (and i tend to complain).  This year Mom decided to cook a Crown Roast of Pork.  One word “WOW” It was absolutely amazing! It was the best meal I have had in a long time.  I told her to forget the bird, this would be my meat request from now on.

The rest of the dinner included roasted potatoes, corn, green beans, turnip/carrots, biscuits and Grammas famous homemade dressing.

Unfortunately I was to interested in eating the plum pudding and White Sauce (that I perfected this year) and forgot to take a picture of it.

Excellent meal as always Mom!