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Yogurt and fruit muslei

Here is a great and easy light lunch for kids.

You will need frozen fruit,

yogurt and

granola.

I use a small mason jar with a screw top lid. It is

pressure treated glass, safe and easy to open and close.

Fill the jar 1/3 of the way with frozen berries.

Top off the rest with yogurt. I use plain yogurt and then

I add a touch of maple syrup to the top. It not only tastes

great but looks good too.

You can now add the granola to the top or in another little bag or container.

One will be less crunchy than the other, similar to a muslei.

It is also fun for the kids to assemble the lunch themselves. Mix in the

granola or watch the yogurt blend with the colorful fruit.

A tasty, fun and nutritious lunch!

Chicken and Tomatoes

Here is another yet amazingly easy and tasty chicken recipe.

This requires one small can of tomato paste, spices and minced garlic.

I use a roasting pan for this dinner, it takes about 35 minutes or so to bake and about 15 minutes prep. time.

For this dinner you will need:

Vegetables for roasting -

To make it easy I use potatoes, tomatoes, whole onions and whole heads of garlic.

Chicken pieces - preferably with the skin on (you do not have to eat it but it will keep the chicken moist)

1 small can of tomato paste

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1/4 tsp pepper

3 - 4 cloves minced garlic

2/3 cup of water

Mix the tomato paste with the spices, garlic and water to make a baste.

Place the chicken and vegetables (you can use small whole potatoes) in a roasting pan.

Drizzle all with olive oil just enough to coat the top. Broil all this for 10 min.

Reduce the oven to bake (350-375) and baste chicken and vegetables with sauce.

Do this once or twice more until ready. Usually at 10 minute intervals.

You will love the flavour of the whole onions, garlic and tomatoes!

So easy to prepare.

Add a salad and your dinner is complete!

Best Chicken Ever

I made a chicken that was finger licking good!

The best part of it are the ingredients - there are three.

That's right three ingredients.

In fact the best chicken recipes I know are simple.

I will share them with you so you can rotate the chicken

dinner dishes and they will all taste fantastic and yet different from one

another.

Today's recipe has 3 ingredients: lemon, salt and pepper.

Take a great chicken, preferably a farm raised free roaming chicken.

You can roast this chicken whole or use chicken pieces.

Either way set the chicken in a dish and use a generous amount of salt to shake on the skin.

Yes skin.

Leave the skin on, it will enhance the flavour and seal in the juices.

You don't need to eat the skin but try resisting. Just one bite.

Sprinkle on some black pepper and then squeeze the juice of a lemon on the chicken. Use enough lemons to cover all pieces or the entire chicken (one to two lemons).

When I use a whole chicken or even one cut up in pieces, I will use a shaker to just cover the skin with a thin coat of salt, then shake less pepper and finish with the lemon.

Roast the chicken in the oven until done. If not using convection cover the chicken then uncover the darken for the last 10 minutes. A whole chicken usually takes about 45 minutes to bake. I begin by roasting (450) for 15 minutes then reducing the oven to bake (375) for the last 20 to 30 minutes. If using a roasting pan you can add whole onions and garlic to the pan, they taste so sweet when roasted.

Eat Well

Be Well

Enjoy!

I had a snack

Are you ever curious about people's food habits?

I admit I am. I check out grocery carts and try to imagine what's for dinner.

I am always preparing something in the kitchen and with a family of 5 , our house is active.

What I am trying to say is that seldom (o.k., maybe at night when I find the energy to get rid of the evidence of a busy life) does my kitchen have the 'no one lives here look' or rather that 'so tidy leaving for a holiday feel'.

I thought I would share with you my snack idea for today.

And since I am interested in what others prepare for themselves and their family day in, day out, I thought I too would share.

The other thing you ought to know is that I don't like to take my time in the kitchen, although from the hours I spend in there you would never know that.

Anyway I had a great snack.

Buttered toast and avocado. Take an avocado and cut in half lengthwise. With a knife tip slice into the avocado (pit out, skin still on) vertically and then horizontally. You now have little cubes in the avocado half. Sprinkle salt, pepper and add lemon juice. Use a spoon to scoop and eat - don't forget to take a bite of that buttered toast!

A very good snack indeed.

I love Mexican food ...

I could eat Mexican food all day, day in, day out.

In fact, when there is nothing to eat in the house - there are always tacos.

I found a steal of a deal. 100 organic fresh tasting yellow corn tortillas for under $3.00!! So when all else fails, I pull out a couple of tacos from the freezer and begin. I keep the tacos in the freezer (which is how I buy them) in a sealed bag. They do not dry out and can last for a few months. There is a secret to preparing them. I learnt this the first time I heated one up for a friend who just spent the winter in Mexico. I got my wrist slapped.

So he showed me how to make them right!

You take two tortillas - always two and don't ask me "what happens if you only want one"?

because I will reply - "you can never eat just one"!

The only pans I use are cast iron, they hold heat extremely well and evenly.

I also have a little 8" pan that is the perfect size.

Heat up the pan and add a touch of oil. When the pan is hot I add the two frozen tortillas and reduce the heat to medium low. I add a tsp of water to the pan and then I begin to flip. You

turn over both and then flip the top one. Turn both over again and again flip the top tortillas. In this way both sides heat up. The longer you warm it the crispier it gets. More drops of oil will make it slightly toasted. A few more drops of water and the tortilla softens.

The tortillas are usually pulled out in order to finish some leftover chicken. In fact almost always, when there is leftover chicken it goes in a tortilla.

Before I begin the warming up process I neatly lay out the fillers. Anything goes: leftover chicken (i shred mine), scrambled eggs, lettuce, avocado, peppers, onions, cheese and salsa.

We use different combinations, they are made and eaten right on the spot. A softened tortilla goes into the pan, filled, folded and flipped until the centre heats and melts.

Remember the cilantro and hot sauce!

Eat well,

Be well