Date Squares

Dunno about you, but I'm ready for this week to be over!! Nothing dramatic happening, just really looking forward to some lazy times on the weekend! Since this has been, and continues to be, a rather drawn out week, I think I... sorry WE, deserve a delicious treat! And at the moment, I would love nothing more than a warm, fresh outta the oven date square - the proper comfort food. Using my momma's recipe, I whipped these up for my visiting fam a little while ago and am wishing I had some more, they're just sooooo tasty!!

Felafels!

This past summer, I created a list of 'foods to try'. Between Facebook's 'Food List Challenge' and my own little list, I've tried several new dishes and discovered there are many foods I had never tried that I really enjoy! Felafels are on that list. After giving them a-go at Extreme Pita, I got all brave about it and decided to try out the Looneyspoons recipe I had. As usual, the Looneyspoons did not disappoint! I should also mention, I wasn't the only one who enjoyed... my husband - self-proclaimed meat eater - absolutely loved them! He said, and I quote, 'I would eat these any day of the week!' This coming from a man who cringes when we plan our weekly meals and I get to a meat free meal! So I encourage everyone to give these a try, great idea for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike!

Shepherd's Pie

When I started writing this post this morning, I was supposed to be in a car, enroute to the Ferry terminal, to hop a Ferry to Fogo, for the long weekend. But guess what?! Fogo was a no-go :(

In typical May 2-4 fashion, mother nature decided to throw us for a loop. We've been pretty lucky weather-wise to date - this would have been our 4th annual May 2-4 group trip - and we've only had one bad year until now! I guess it's 50-50 at this point!

Last year was a beautiful weekend, we skipped rocks in the ocean, flew a kite, lounged in a hammock and had bonfires both nights we were there. Soooo I guess we should have expected a little adverse weather this year, cuz ya can't have it perfect all the time - this is Newfoundland after all! But I mean this? this is a bit extreme!

20-35 cm of SNOW expected to accumulate by Sunday morning

For any of you unaware, Fogo is smack dab in the middle of all that red business and requires a 1 hour 15 minute ferry ride. Ergo, Snowfall warning + Marine wind and high waves warning = cancelled trip :( Sadness... In any case, we'll still be celebrating May 2-4 in town, no need for the weekend to be a total flop!

Now, with all that off my chest (sorry for the extra long intro this time, I'm clearly dealing with some things today lol)... let's get down to the deliciousness of this recipe!






I know right?! Looks nommerz! Very simple and very tasty. 

Italian Chicken Casserole

First of all, let me give props to Aaron & Jill of 'Our Story' blog for conceiving this deliciousness! I first came across this recipe on Pinterest and couldn't wait to try it. Sure I've had artichoke before... mushed together with spinach in hot-dip form, but I had never purchased or cooked with it! And, I must admit, I enjoy a recipe that forces me to cook with new ingredients!

This recipe was super tasty, and considering I ate it 3 days in a row as leftovers, (when I'm not a big fan of leftovers) is a testament to how good it is. I've made a few small adjustments to the original recipe, turning it into more of a chicken casserole vs. a chicken bake. But, it's delicious either way! 

Happy 1 Year Blog Anniversary to Me!! :)

source of photo can be found here.

Yesterday I celebrated the 1 year anniversary of my very first blog post! It's pretty hard to believe a year has whipped by already! To date I've had over 20,000 views on over 100 posts, and I've created a mini blog community on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram! I have to say, it's been a great year of food and I'm absolutely loving the blogging world! So thank-you to all my followers and fans who make this fun to do! :)

Cheers, to many more years of My Food Infatuation!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts & Bacon!

Oh so tasty!

Who doesn't love brussel sprouts?!?! Okay.... most people! I was actually one of the those people until I tried this recipe and realized how good they taste roasted!! Maybe the bacon has something to do with it? Either way, they're delicious! You have to trust me on this, I really 'hated' them until I tossed them in the oven, now I can't stop eating them!

Tacos!

Who doesn't love a good taco... or 2... or 3?! They're super yum, quick to fix and fun to build! Me mudz, a.k.a. me mudder, a.k.a. my Mom, was visiting a while ago and she happens to be a big taco fan. Since I had all the ingredients on hand to make homemade tacos, I whipped out the recipe book and cracked to it! Not only are these simple to make (just as few steps as the boxed variety) they're made in your kitchen so they're mystery ingredient and preservative-free! Well... everything but the taco shells, but you can't have it all, all the time! ;)

Anywho, this delicious recipe hails from The Joy of Cooking cookbook. My mom has been known to be picky about her tacos (just ask taco and his other brother taco...), but she really enjoyed this version. Definitely something I'll be having again very soon!

Baked Mini Cadbury Creme Eggs!!!

I'm SO excited to share my latest food epiphany with you! Not near as excited as I was to eat it, but excited nonetheless! ;)

In a serendipitous moment late last week, while daydreaming about Easter treats and deep-fried Mars bars (like ya would), a magical thought process entered my brain and produced the concept for 'deep-fried' creme eggs. So last night in a delicious, and at times, dangerous test kitchen, I tried out a couple of different ways to prepare the bundles of deliciousness. I had already determined the basics of wrapping and securing the eggs within the phyllo pastry, but whether they would be deep-fried or baked was still to be determined... that was until I basically smoked out the house and nearly caught the kitchen on fire while frying the bundles in fat on the stove (be safe friends, do not try this at home unless you really know what you're doing!). Needless to say, the baked version won out. With that said, even if I did own a deep-frier, I would still recommend the baking method, just because the phyllo pastry is so fragile and so delicate that in the few tests I did in the hot fat, it took less than a minute to brown and start to burn.

Anywho, with all that excitement/embarrassing info divulged (I like to keep it real in my food diaries), let's get to instructing you on how to make these delicious treats at home!

WARNING: YES! It tastes as good as it sounds! And YES! you will experience multiple foodgasms as you consume them. These are wicked-awesome-good!

Eggs Benny

After a week out of province (with a very slow internet connection), followed by a week of sickness (curse you stupid cold!), I'm finally, FINALLY on the mend and in a blogging mood again!! And since I posted the above image to my facebook close to 2 weeks ago now, promising the miracle recipe soon, I figure that's where I should start!

If you've been following along with my Instagram, you may have seen a post or two about Eggs Benedict. It's been a big year in Eggs Benny for me, I've graduated from first taste, to first attempt at home, to first mastered dish (a.k.a I accomplished a sauce that didn't separate!). You can view the word 'mastered' very lightly in this particular case, but I've experienced many trials and tribulations with this finicky sauce, so I feel I've overcome mountains!! In any case, I can honestly say I've tried many methods, with depressing results, until this blender method changed my life! Ok... so that may sound a tad over-dramatic, but when you know with certainty that you're not going to ruin your sauce, and have to start over again - waste another 3 eggs and a stick and a half of butter - you're not nearly as anxious when preparing it! Shout out to Simply Recipes for the tip!

Anywho, on with the recipe! Since I've also made this several times, I've established a rough timeline of how to prepare the other aspects of the eggs benny dish, so it's all nice and warm when you put it together. If worst comes to worst, heat everything in the microwave for a few seconds before adding the hollandaise, or preheat your oven to a low temp and leave your ingredients in there as you prepare them!

Guacamole

I often find myself proven wrong by my husband. I'll say things like 'Mmmmm we should pick up some salsa on the way home, we've still got those chips in the cupboard', to be met with 'we've got the ingredients home, I'll just make some', to which I typically respond 'but you've never made it before? how do you know we have the ingredients home?' to which he responds 'it's just this and this and this and that' which is always followed by an 'alright... we'll see'. Anddddd then I eat my words! This has happened with Salsa, Pumpkin Spice Lattes and a slew of other recipes including this one. To be honest, I don't even question him anymore. If he says he can make it, he can go to town, I'm sure it will taste the same, if not better than the food in question. This recipe has received rave reviews from our friends and he's even been told, it's second to none. It's sooo good!