Weird & Wonderful Wednesday

Will this be a weekly feature?  Maybe.  But probably not.  I didn't even post once last week so that tells ya a lot.  Will it be weird, yet wonderful?  I think so.  Is it Wednesday - for most of the world, it is.

I wrote about these fantastic roasted potatoes a couple of weeks ago and had some leftover which inspired my wacky creation.  However, in the interest of food safety, I must be clear that these posts (though I would like to be more up to date) are not in real time.  I ate the potatoes the day after making them, not a week and a half later.  Though I'm sure a few days old wouldn't hurt.  As my mom used to tell me when I frantically called her with food age questions, "Is it green (and shouldn't be)?  Does it smell bad? Then I'm sure it's fine."  Those are definitely words to live by when cleaning out the fridge for weird and wonderful leftover meals.

Here's what I made:

I quickly fried up the potatoes and reheated some spaghetti sauce and then layered everything together (a little sideways so the potatoes didn't get soggy from the sauce) : potatoes, spinach, sauce and crumbled goat's cheese on top.  It was delicious.  I'm not sure I'd purposely set out to make this from scratch but the next time I have these items in my fridge I will give it another go.  All things I love in one bowl (not the spinach - that was for a bit of greenery - I don't dislike it but I wouldn't say I loooooove it).

Tell me - what's your weird and wonderful creation?  It doesn't have to be made on a Wednesday (this wasn't).  Something you thought might be hit or miss but was a straight up hit from the start...

Cheap as Chips

"Potatoes are cheap as chips", a friend once said.  Well, yes, for obvious reasons.  As children we were raised on the potato staple.  How else was my mother to feed 4 children with hollow legs on a budget?  Potatoes can be used in such a variety of ways; just yesterday I watched a television chef make a creamy white sauce from leftover mashed potatoes.

I will eat potatoes in any form but I have to admit, I sometimes will make chips or roasted potatoes purely to have a little a lot of ketchup go along side them.  My dad used to ask me if I wanted some fries with my ketchup.  I still like ketchup and I'm not afraid to say it!

These potatoes are great whether you're a ketchup lover or not.  It's an adaptation of my mom's recipe; something she made a lot for us as children.  All you do is chop your potatoes into small cubes (about an inch or so in diameter), place them in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with oregano and salt and pepper and pop them in the oven for about half an hour at 200°C or until golden and crispy.

Until recently, I thought my mom was the whizz in the kitchen - and then she watched me make mashed potatoes.  I cut all the potatoes into small chunks so they cooked faster and she was impressed; she'd always boiled them whole.  I'm so glad I can make my mother proud in the kitchen with the little things.

Peanut Butter Blueberry Smoothie

I remember the first smoothie I ever had.  My mom used to make them for us as a quick breakfast before school.  She would put milk, vanilla, banana and a raw egg.  They were delicious.  Today I would substitute the raw egg for vanilla protein powder but I don't think there's anything wrong with raw egg - though why we weren't allowed eat the raw cookie dough still evades me.

A quick and easy breakfast that can get all four food groups involved, I practically live off them.  I keep frozen fruit on hand and stick bananas that are starting to brown in the freezer (though sometimes I use those for banana bread) and I always have yogurt and milk in the fridge.  A combination of anything will do - just blend and drink!

After a night out on the town last year, a friend made me a smoothie that she dubbed a hangover cure.  It wasn't magic, let's face it, but it helped.  Though I was dubious about one of the ingredients - peanut butter.  I love the stuff but I wasn't sure how it would work in a smoothie.  Let's just say - it works.  It really works.

Inspired - I made this one for myself.  I had some blueberries in the fridge, a tablespoon or so of peanut butter, a cup of milk (you could use plain or vanilla yogurt) and a frozen banana and blend, blend, blend - I use a hand blender.  It's thick, creamy and because of the frozen banana, just the right amount of cold.  Get ready to start your day off right!

Something For The Long Weekend

French toast, or as it's known here, eggy bread is one of my favourite weekend breakfasts.  Not so much for the other half.  So when he's not around, I take full opportunity to make it.  And, depending on my sugar needs, I'll top them with brown sugar and maple syrup or jam or icing sugar, just depends on my mood.  While I was in Canada, I whipped myself up this delicious treat:

I was about to dig in when my cousin sort of screeched, "Aren't you going to take a picture of it??!"  So here is my very selfish and indulgent morning breakfast.  And I only felt a little bad that I hadn't made any for anyone else, but as they say "you snooze, you lose".  I was on British time and the rest of the house was on normal sleep in Canadian time. Oh well.

Have a Happy Easter and enjoy your weekend!

Peanut Butter Banana French Toast for 1

1 egg
a splash of milk
sprinkle of cinnamon
3 slices of bread
peanut butter
1 banana
maple syrup
butter or oil for frying

Whisk the egg, milk and cinnamon together in a bowl large enough to lay 1 slice of bread into.  Dip either side of the bread in the egg mixture making sure all of the bread has been coated.  Fry for a few minutes on either side until golden brown.  

Spread peanut butter on one side of each of the French toast slices, top with banana slices and layer each piece of bread.  Pour over desired amount of maple syrup - for me, that means a lot!

Smoked Salmon Spaghetti

I may have mentioned once or twice (or three times) how much I like leftovers.  I like the challenge of turning one meal into something completely different, though sadly, not being able to replicate it ever again, because the same ingredients might not be available and I never ever write things down.  Until now.  Blogging about what I've made ensures I have a written record of my latest creation. 

About a month ago, I threw a dinner party for some girls I used to work with.  I had quite a few leftovers since I only used a little of the salmon to make the blinis and made an entire tray of roasted Mediterranean vegetables.  What followed was a dish so simple I'm surprised I haven't made it before.  I fried a little garlic and onion in some oil, tossed in some of the vegetables and the smoked salmon and threw in a few green olives.  Mixed with some whole wheat spaghetti, this was absolutely divine.  For something I just threw together it felt like I was eating in a restaurant; one where the dress code is very lax and so is the health code - think track pants and two dogs sitting next to me.

I won't be waiting for leftovers to make this again.  

Baked Courgette/Zuchinni Sticks

I mentioned last week that I was in Canada, helping my mom out after her hip replacement.  I can say that she is doing amazingly well; 2-3 weeks ahead of average recovery rates!  By the time I left she was using a cane and doing most daily tasks on her own.  It's incredibly easy to take bending at the hip for granted; there are so many things you can't do if you can't bend or twist at the hip.

While I was there I did a few things to try and help out, like clean out closets, rearange the entire basement which involved the treadmill going across the room and back to it's original position and have the final result end up with the television moved 3 inches to the right and the buffet moved across the room; which my cousin and I found funny but my brother did not.  I also gave the fridge a little clean out, since my mom wouldn't be able to bend down to the crisper drawer anytime soon.  I now know where I get my condiment obsession from!

I came across 4 cougettes in the vegetable crisper and wondered who had ratatouille plans?  Really, what else does one do with courgettes.  I would only buy them if I had an intended recipe to include them in but I later found out that they are a great snack for diabetics (which my mom is - diet controled) but only after we used them all to make a few dozen baked courgette sticks.

Sidebar: I'm using "courgette" because it's what is said in England (for a country who aren't big fans of the French they sure use a lot of their words - and vice versa).  In North America they say "zuchinni".  If you want to read more about it (facinating stuff here) check out this page.

These were healthy and quick to make.  Especially since I had little to do with making them.  I cut the courgettes and probably barked a few orders to my younger cousin.  She did the dipping and the baking and I helped out with the eating.  They went really nicely with a tatziki dip but I liked the warm marinara sauce best.

Baked Courgette Sticks

1 cup Italian breadcrumbs (or substitute with plain breadcrumbs and add some italian seasoning)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 courgettes, cut into sticks
tatziki or warm marinara sauce for dipping

In one bowl, mix the breadcrumbs (Italian seasoning if using) and parmesan cheese together.  In another bowl, whisk the egg.  Dip each courgette stick into the egg and then into the breadcrumbs mixture.  Lay the coated courgettes on a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.

An Unofficial Pinterest Challenge and Ooey Gooey Goodness

I have been following the goings on over at Young House Love for a few years now.  Along with Bower Power, Decor and the Dog and The Remodeled Life they hosted an unofficial Pinterest Challenge; take something you've pinned, put your own spin on it, blog about it and link up.  Well, I've made a few crafts I've pinned but had only drooled over the recipes.  So, I read the post, took a look at my Favourite Recipes board, had a quick scan of my pantry and 10 minutes later my challenge  began.

I first began by challenging myself not to leave the house in order to make what I wanted - no going to the grocery store to pick up missing ingredients.  That would involve dressing.  And running a brush through my hair.

This was my inspiration:

Image from The Bite Sized Baker

                         
I had the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies - only just.  I had exactly the right amount of flour needed.  Phew.  I made chocolate chip cookie dough.

I also had Carnation Caramel - or so I thought.  I had picked up regular old condensed milk.  The challenge became more intense.  I opted not to boil the can in a pot of water for 3 hours because I didn't want to wait that long and couldn't face the challenge of cleaning condensed milk off the ceiling when said can exploded.  Instead, I stood by the stove, constantly stirring the milk until it became caramel.

After half an hour it still looked the same.

Forty-five minutes later it stated to look like caramel.

An hour later I was satisfied with what I had and a little fed up.  Always, always, read the label carefully and know what you're buying.

How could I put my own spin on this?  Well, I made the bloody caramel from scratch - wasn't that personal enough?!  I really needed to get these made; I was getting hungry and grumpy.  The two feelings go hand in hand.  I grabbed a package of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips I had brought over from Canada on my last visit in October.  And then I began to layer.

I was pretty impressed with myself.  I had completed the challenge and I was still in my pyjamas.  I'm not even going to tell you what time it was.  I still needed to blog about it and link up to the post over at YHL but I'd get to it.  Sure.  I'd get to it.

Then I flew home to Canada for my mom's hip replacement and completely forgot about it (she's doing great by the way).  Challenge not completed.  But, I did make caramel from scratch and gave several people in my neighbourhood a major sugar high when I realised I would make myself sick if I ate anymore and posted a picture on Facebook asking those who wanted some to come and get 'em!

Make these - they're awesome.  Just be sure to have a lot of people around to help you eat them.

Chocolate Chip Cookie and Caramel Peanut Butter Chip Bars AKA Ooey Gooey Goodness
Adapted from The Bite Sized Baker

For the chocolate chip cookies either make your favourite recipe or follow this one adapted from the Joy of Baking:


1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

For the filling:
Carnation Caramel Condensed Milk
Peanut Butter Chips

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars.  Whisk in eggs one at a time and add vanilla.  In another bowl, whisk dry ingredients together.  Slowly add dry mix to wet mixture until fully incorporated.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Add half of the cookie dough to a square non-stick baking pan (I used a silicone pan) and flatten to cover the bottom of the pan with dough.  Bake at 190 degrees Celsius for 8-10 minutes.  

Remove from the oven and pour the caramel over the cookie base.  Sprinkle peanut butter chips to cover the caramel and add the rest of the cookie dough by placing dollops over the top and gently spreading it out to cover the chips.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cookie top is golden brown.  Allow pan to fully cool on a wire rack before slicing into bars.

Option:
If you can't get your hands on peanut butter chips try adding a 1/4 cup of peanut butter to the caramel and top with chocolate chips instead.  I haven't tried this but would have had I not had any peanut butter chips available.