Watermelon Ice Cream

Just 3 ingredients and no ice cream churn needed!

6 cups cubed and frozen watermelon
1 can sweetened condensed milk (300 ml or 10 oz)
2 tbsps lemon or lime juice

Makes 7-8 cups

I had this watermelon that was probably a little past it's prime. Taste was there but it was getting a bit soft. No one wanted to eat it, soooo........ I froze it.

I started by defrosting this big slab of frozen watermelon for about 15 minutes until I could break it apart.

Because I don't have a big heavy-duty blender I used my food processor and blended in small batches. First blending some of the watermelon with some of the condensed milk and the juice.

Then blending watermelon alone and mixing it all together with any remaining condensed milk.

If you want a smoother consistency then blend it all together, but I wanted some bits of watermelon in mine.

Pour into a freezer-friendly container with lid and freeze until firm.

Then defrost 15-20 minutes, scoop and serve

Original recipe from: https://macthelm.blogspot.ca/2016/05/no-churn-watermelon-sherbet.html

Zesty Yogurt Dip with Fruit Platter

This was a lot of fun to arrange. I started with a bunch of my favourite fruits...pineapple, mango, papaya, kiwi, oranges, berries and melons.

Then I mixed up this dip:

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1  1/2 tbsps honey
1/4 tsp lime zest
1 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsps cream cheese

Makes 3/4 cup

In a small food processor add some of the yogurt with the cream cheese and process until smooth. Then gradually add the rest of the yogurt and remaining ingredients.

I cut the top off the pineapple for interest on the platter and used the bottom as a bowl for the cherries. Half the cantalope became the container for the grapes and I kept the peel on some of the fruit, like pineapple, orange, kiwi, watermelon, for texture and visual interest. But also being practical, the peel makes the fruit easier to handle. I peeled the kiwi 2/3 around leaving the peel attached.

And aren't the honeydew hearts a cute feature!

Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

Such a lovely meal with so little work. In my humble opinion...restaurant quality.

6 chicken thighs, bone-in
2 tbsps olive oil
14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
3 tbsps tomato paste
2 tbsps paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch hot pepper flakes
1 large onion, sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes
2 small carrots, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1  1/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup red wine
8 oz spaghetti

Serves 4-6

Mix the drained diced tomatoes and tomato paste together and spread evenly over bottom of slow cooker. Top with sliced onions.

Salt and pepper the chicken thighs then in a skillet lightly brown both sides in olive oil. Sit the thighs on top of the sliced onions in the slow cooker.

Add broth and wine to the skillet to deglaze, then stir in the seasonings.

Pour or ladle this mixture over the chicken

and add the carrots, cherry tomatoes and garlic.

Cover and slow cook on low for 6 hours.

When the time is almost up cook spaghetti and drain. Remove chicken to platter. Toss the spaghetti in the sauce then plate with the chicken.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the chicken thighs didn't fall apart in the slow cooker, but the meat fell right away from the bone when eating it. Perfect!

One Pot Tomato Linguini

One pot and about 15 minutes is all you need. 

1/3 cup lightly packed, sliced sundried tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsps butter
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
8 oz linguini
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup parmesan
a handful or two of cherry tomatoes, halved

In a large pot melt the butter on medium heat and add minced garlic. Cook 1-2 minutes until just slightly golden.

Break the linguini in half by wrapping it in a dish towel before snapping in the middle. Otherwise you'll have pieces of linguini flying all over the place!

Add broth, milk, sundried tomatoes, linguini and black pepper to the pot. Make sure the linguini is covered by the liquid. The reason for breaking it in half.

Bring everything to a boil, stir once, then reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer 10-12 minutes stirring halfway through.

Remove the lid and stir in the cherry tomato halves. Simmer to thicken a couple of minutes.

Serve with parmesan cheese and more black pepper.

From https://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/11/one-pot-creamy-sun-dried-tomato-pasta/

Berry Peary Smoothie Bowl

What a refreshing summery bowl of goodness! Alright, it looks like summer is never going to come, but right here, right now, it's summer in my kitchen!

Smoothie for 2 :

3/4 cup frozen strawberries
3/4 cup frozen blueberries
1 frozen pear
1 frozen banana
1  1/2 cups plain yogurt
2 tbsps honey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsps ground hemp seed

Toppings:

coconut
ground flax seed
chia seeds
pumpkin seeds
mango slices
kiwi slices
strawberries
oats

Whirl the frozen berries, pear and banana in your blender to chop. I had a frozen Bosc pear whose skin is naturally light brown and upon freezing became more brown, so I peeled it. But if you aren't afraid of making a weirdly brown smoothie then by all means don't peel your pear.  As you can see the banana is still in the skin. That's how I freeze my bananas, peel and all.....but I did remove this one before whirling. Apparently banana peel is a good source of nutrition, but I haven't tried it yet. 

Next add the yogurt, honey, vanilla and hemp seeds.

I've got to tell you about this yogurt. It's Halal 3% fat probiotic plain yogurt. Nice and thick like Greek yogurt, which of course you could use as well.  I saw this yogurt in the grocery store, regularly priced at $2.79 for 750 ml but it was marked down to $0.25!!  Then an additional 30% OFF and there were still 6 days left before the expiry date !! So it only cost me $0.17....I love a good sale!

Anyways, once everything is blended together pour into serving bowls and top with your favourite things!

I sure hope the sun comes out soon!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

This one is a good make-head veggie dish!

1 lb brussels sprouts
1 large sweet potato, cut in 1" cubes
1 large carrot, cut in 1/2" slices
2 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
Pepper to taste

1 tbsp red wine vinegar


Trim stem end off brussels sprouts and leave whole or, if you have larger ones, cut them in half.

Toss sprouts, sweet potatoes, carrots and garlic together with olive oil, cumin, garlic powder, thyme and pepper.

Spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast in a 400F oven for 40-45 minutes.

Remove from oven and toss with red wine vinegar if serving immediately.

Or to prepare ahead of time, which works really well, cook the veggies and then cool. Do not add red wine vinegar. When ready to serve spread out on a baking sheet and pop in that 400F oven for only 5-10 minutes. Now toss with red wine vinegar and serve.


From  http://thefoodcharlatan.com/2015/11/23/roasted-sweet-potatoes-and-brussels-sprouts-recipe/

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Potatoes

All the spanakopita flavours...

4 russet potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cups fresh chopped spinach
3/4 cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
1/3 cup cream cheese
1 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided

Heat oil in a skillet and add onion and cook 2-4 minutes. Add spinach, garlic and oregano and cook an addition minute or two.

Bake potatoes your usual way and once cool enough to handle cut in half and scoop out, leaving about 1/4" of potato on the skin.

Mash the potatoes with cream cheese and the seasonings, then stir in the spinach mix and 1/2 cup feta. Fill the potato skins and top with remaining feta.

Place in a baking dish and bake in a 375F oven for 25-35 minutes.

Original - http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/251250/spanakopita-loaded-potatoes/?crlt.pid=camp.EB7bF1QzLTKs