Honey Garlic Barbecue Sauce

Posted on 2011/09/03 by TaraChaputYIAH

3 days into the Whole 30 Challenge and I feel okay. Not great, not bad…just okay. I’m regretting my timing on this challenge because it coincided with the first day of school. I have forgotten how exhausting this routine is… get up early, shower, enjoy a quick moment of silence before waking up the clan, making breakfast, packing up lunches, rushing out the door, … The only difference is that, this year, the 3 boys are in school full time.

I admit that dropping off my 3rd child for his first day of Grade 1 was tough. I cried. I asked if he would prefer to just stay home with me forever. I offered him chocolates if he would…and he said “No way..chocolate would make me sick!”. It was a very lonely day without him.

Their going back to school just solidifies the fact that summer is over. I know plenty of people who barbecue in the winter but it just doesn’t feel right to me. Having to shovel a path through 3 feet of snow… *blah* We’re enjoying the last couple of weeks with our barbecue and now that I’ve figured out how to make my own barbecue sauce, I can enjoy it even more! Dry ribs are fine, but saucy ribs are superb!

Honey Garlic Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 tablespoons minced garlic

3 tablespoons honey

5 1/2 oz can tomato paste

1 cup beef broth

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

pinch cayenne pepper

Directions

In a medium sized pot, over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Saute the onions and garlic for 5-7 minutes, until the onions are softened and opaque. Reduce heat to medium and stir in honey and tomato paste until the honey is runny. Stir in beef broth, mustard powder, cider vinegar, salt, pepper, worcestershire sauce, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.

Simmer over low for 20-30 minutes, until the sauce thickens (to your liking). Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Coleslaw

Posted on 2011/09/01 by TaraChaputYIAH

There is at least one person in your life whose life appears absolutely perfect. Perfect house, perfect family, perfect life… They manage to juggle it all flawlessly and you can’t imagine them EVER having a bad day.

I’m here to tell you… that is not me. I’ve been called Super Mom enough times that I considered having it embroidered on a shirt but it isn’t my reality. My house has a lot of clutter, my laundry can go days without being put away, my kids can be unruly brats, and I yell FAR too much to be considered a super mom.

From the outside, it appears that I juggle a lot flawlessly but the stress and guilt I feel over not being able to do more eats at me. I push deadlines to the very bitter end and then rush to get things finished. I’m an ideas person, not a ‘getting $h*t done’ person. The reason I appear to be super is because I married someone who truly IS super. My husband works full time, has no problem taking all 5 kids to Costco by himself, does a tremendous amount of housework (yes, I am THAT lucky!), and he helps cook a lot of our suppers.

There you have it..this Super Mom is married to a Super Dad and I could never make it through my crazy days without him.

Coleslaw

Ingredients

4 cups shredded green cabbage
2 cups shredded purple cabbage
2 large carrots, shredded
1 apple, shredded (we used Gala)

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon celery seed

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together green cabbage, purple cabbage, carrots, and apple. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together apple cider vinegar and coconut milk. While whisking, pouring in olive oil in a steady stream and continue whisking until it’s combined well. Season with salt and pepper. Pour dressing over the cabbage and mix well. Top the coleslaw with the celery seed and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Garlic Dill Salmon

Posted on 2011/07/08 by TaraChaputYIAH

It’s like riding a bike.. you never forget.

Now that baby W is older, it’s time to get back out on the bike. It’s been at least a couple of years since I’ve been on a bike and I was under the assumption that, since I have been walking a lot, it would be easy. I didn’t take into account that with walking, my calves get the real workout. With biking, it’s all thighs.

Wylder cannot stay awake during any kind of movement so he’s fallen asleep every time we’ve been biking. This afternoon I gave him a snack container with homemade Lara bars (rolled into teeny little balls) and he fell asleep as soon as he finished eating them. Because I only had Adam with me for the ride, we were able to go faster and take the gravel road home. It’s been over a decade since I biked on gravel and at one point I wondered if I should just push my bike home…sleeping baby and all… (for the record, I rode home)

I told Adam that we would figure out how far we went and it ended up being almost 4 kilometres. It went fast and we had fun. We talked. He showed me how he hits jumps and leaves blackies. Exercise aside, sometimes it’s really nice to spend time alone with one of the kids…it doesn’t happen often when there are 5 of them.

On to supper… I love finding new ways to make salmon. We were in a bit of a salmon rut for a while and, even though everyone enjoyed it, I was needing something different. The flavours really came through well and we cooked up some asparagus and grilled eggplant to have with it. My little salmon addicts loved it as well!

Garlic Dill Salmon

Ingredients

6 salmon fillets (approximately 1″ wide)

6 teaspoons minced garlic

3 teaspoons dried dill

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil, to coat the fillets

1 lemon, zested and juiced

Directions

Preheat grill to medium heat.

Rub olive oil over fillets and set onto a foil tray. Sprinkle salmon fillets with 1 teaspoon of garlic per fillet. Rub over the salmon. Sprinkle the fillets with dill, salt, and pepper. Over the fillets, zest the lemon and then squeeze the juice on top.

Set the tray on the grill and cook for 10-12 minutes, until the salmon is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork.

Recipe adapted from Everyday Paleo.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Posted on 2010/07/31 by TaraChaputYIAH

The kids get to pick their birthday suppers and Gavin picked pizza…with a little help from his big brothers. I was happy since I’ve been wanting to try out this Barbecue Chicken Pizza recipe for a while. I had a bit of a panicked moment when I realized that it was 11:30, we were getting to leave for the afternoon, and I hadn’t even made the pizza dough. I frantically scooped flour and sprinkled yeast onto warm water..not even really reading the instructions while I rushed through. It was such a great relief to see that once the dough was mixed, I could just leave it!

When we got back from our afternoon outing, the dough was beautiful. It was fluffy and so easy to form into a crust. I even attempted a pizza dough toss..a la Italian pizzeria..except that’s really not an easy move at all. I set it back onto the pan before I had to enforce the 5 second rule. Look at how pretty that crust is! I baked it at 500° for 10 minutes before I put the toppings on; I think it definitely worked in my favour because the crust was crispy on the outside but still chewy on the inside. Next time I make this I’m throwing some bacon on it. And maybe some spinach. Mmmmm….bacon and spinach…..

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Makes 1 pizza

Ingredients

1 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cups cooked cubed chicken

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons chicken and rib BBQ sauce

8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thin

1/4 of a large red onion, sliced thin

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

Directions

Sprinkle yeast over warm water and let sit for a few minutes. In the bowl of a Kitchenaid (KitchenAid KSM150PSWH Artisan Series 5-Quart Mixer, White), mix flour and salt. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low and drizzle olive oil slowly into the flour mixture until just combined. Switch to the dough hook and add the water/yeast. Mix on low until the dough comes together and starts climbing the hook.

Coat a large mixing bowl with a bit of olive oil and form the dough into a ball. Coat the dough in olive oil, place in bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set it someplace warm and draft free for 1-2 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 500°. Take half of the dough; form into one 15″ pizza crust and bake it for 10 minutes each, until golden brown. Bake the other half of the dough and make yourself another pizza with different toppings.

Toss 1/2 cup BBQ sauce with cubed chicken. Spread 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce over pizza crust. Lay mozzarella slices over top, sprinkle chicken over the mozzarella, and top with onions and mushrooms. Bake at 500° for 15-17 minutes; until cheese is bubbly and browned.

Chili Lime Shrimp

Posted on 2010/07/20 by TaraChaputYIAH

We haven’t had shrimp since…I have no idea when! It’s not something I think to make regularly but when we do make it, it goes over well. Shrimp takes on marinade wonderfully so I can toss it into the marinade at the last minute if I’ve forgotten to prepare it.

The kids are always inquiring as to what type of meat we are eating. Adam asked “So what does shrimp grow on?”. “It’s an animal, Adam.”. “What kind of animals IS shrimp? Walrus?”. *insert blank stares and then uncontrollable laughter* He did end up giving it 2 thumbs up and there was quite a demand for the last 2 shrimp tails so I would say it was a raging success!

Chili Lime Shrimp

Serves 5

Ingredients

5 bamboo skewers, pre-soaked

40 frozen shrimp tails, peeled and deveined

2 limes, zested and juiced

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Directions

Let frozen shrimp thaw in a bowl of cold water while you prepare the marinade. In a small bowl, combine lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, chili powder, salt, and garlic. Put thawed shrimp into a large ziploc bag and pour marinade over top. Seal the bag and allow to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes to 4 hours.

Heat one side of the grill to medium heat. Skewer 8 shrimp per bamboo skewer and lay on the unlit half of the grill. Cook 3 minutes per side, until shrimp is pink and cooked through.