Welshrogue

I will name a yummy sandwich after you. I will take a picture of this sandwich I have created so you can share your namesake with your friends and family, I will also give you the recipe for this sandwich so you can share how amazing you really are. I will take any special dietary concerns into account! In case you don't know I went through school to be a chef and passed with flying colours, however I didn't write the ministry exam to actually get my cooks trade papers. So for me this is an amazing opportunity to share my love for food in another way. AND THIS IS THE FINISHED PRODUCT... The start of an exciting sandwich making career??? The art280 sandwich The art280 is a sandwich encompassing the tastes of 4 friends. sky likes crispy things sarah likes spicy things mackenzie like walking on the beach benny likes watching pro football I had a number of different ideas as to how to incorporate these themes into a sandwich that would reflect these individuals.( Unfortunately people frown upon killing sea gulls while others are enjoying the beach so I will have to save that idea for another time...) The runners up included a hot dog (beach and football) covered with chili (football tailgate, spicy)  further topped with crushed doritos (football, spicy and crispy) and finally Jalapano jack cheese (spicy), and a very close first runner up to the sandwich I made was a thinly sliced bbq'ed steak (football tailgate) sandwich served on a cornbread bun (often served at clam bakes at the beach) smothered in a zesty chipotle bbq sauce(spicy), with French's french fried onions perched on the top! (crispy) But the sandwich that started out as little more than a few ingredients in my pantry and forevermore shall be known as The art280 sandwich is a sandwich consisting of toasted pumpernickle rounds (crispy) topped with a smidge of miracle whip and then a freshly prepared salmon cake (beach) garnished with a bed of spring mix lettuce and a second salmon cake which is further topped with a spicy mango chutney (spicy) finally this awesomeness is then topped with kettled cooked chips (great when watching a football game and for extra crispiness)  the final piece comes into place when the second piece of toasted pumpernickle that has a light speading of miracle whip on it is ever so gently lowered into place. I opted to make this a "hot" sandwich, but if you prefer your sandwiches chilled a tasty salmon salad could have been used in place of the salmon cake. The salmon cake you will need 1 can of salmon drained and cleaned (unless you like the salmon bones and stuff) 1/4 of a cooking onion minced (or 1 green onion thinly sliced) 1/4 of a red pepper minced salt and pepper 1 tbsp. flour approx 1/4 c. of crackers crushed fine. 1 tsp parmesan cheese pinch of red pepper flakes two eggs beaten Combine the first 4 ingredients and mix. sprinkle with flour and then add the cracker crumbs, parmesan and pepper flakes. Mix once again and slowly add the beaten eggs until you get a mixure that binds together well. Fry the salmon cake in a non stick pan over medium heat for approx. 5 mins per side. Enjoy it on The art280 sandwich.

My husband is a firm believer in the Jamie Oliver school of though, that kids should be able to cook 10 meals before they leave school. I am a firm believer that they need to know waaaaay more than that! So I decided the to most who haven't attempted if before.....but honestly its the simplest thing! and cheap too! I explained to my boys that pasta only has 3 ingredients (at least this recipe) 3 eggs, 2 cups of flour an 1 half of a tea spoon of salt....get it 3 2 1!

So Dylan tells me while we are standing by the fish counter that he would like to have muscles...I mean mussels, for supper. So I go ahead and ask for about a pound (that's 454g for the under 35 crowd!) I haven't made mussels since I was in school. My husband doesn't like them and I just can't be bothered to do them for myself. but hey its only a couple of bucks and Dylan is adventurous with his food, and I want to encourage that as much as possible.

We get home and Dylan and I wash our hands. I dump the mussels out into a bowl and I show Dylan how to de-beard them (most of them were really clean though) and told him to make sure they were all shut tight. He busied himself with that task as I minced garlic, chopped onions, and diced some red pepper. I heated some olive oil in a skillet and sauteed the prepared veggies and when it was nice and hot I dumped in the mussels, added a good glug of white wine, some salt and pepper and popped the lid on it.

Dylan got mad because I put "booze" in his food, and he was concerned that the mussels were going to get drunk! At that point I took a big glug of white wine and almost wish I would too... *lol*

After I convinced him that the booze magically disappears, about enough time had passed so that I could serve up the mussels. (I would have finished them with a touch of 35% cream, alas I had none *pout*)


Well they almost look good enough to eat!!!

(except for that one...no, not that one, the one beside that, ya, that one, it looks like its looking at me and that is just not cool!)

I told Dylan not to eat any that weren't opened, but would he eat any at all?

So the moment of truth was at hand. Was Dylan still as curious about eating them when he saw them cooked?


I will let you decide...

I wasn't very hungry but the kids were clambering for food. I hadn't taken anything out from the freezer so I knew it would be something quick and easy!

Pillsbury pizza dough in hand I had to figure out what I had on hand for pizza toppings. Then I remembered seeing a meatball pizza in a Panago commercial, and I always have frozen meatballs in the freezer. I popped a few meatballs in a frying pan and added some water to heat them up and defrost them.

I quickly rolled out the dough baked it till golden, added sauce, meatballs and cheese. I put it back in the oven for about 10 minutes then broil for about 5 to get the cheese bubbly.

And that was supper!

For excitement *sarcastic roll of the eyes* I made meatloaf for supper Monday. We don't often have meatloaf in fact my husband of 11 years looked at me quizzically, and asked me if he had ever had meat loaf. I didn't know what to tell him except..."uhhh I dunno" and I shot him a quizzical look back.

I did a basic ground beef, minced onion, bread crumb, egg, milk type deal and seasoned it with steak spice. To add a little pizazz I then covered the meatloaf with strips of bacon and baked it at 375F for about 50 mins.

It was O.K., not bad, not great.

I think some cheeze would have really helped things along in the flavour department, but I found the bacon in combination with the ground beef was already quite greasy, so I think the cheese might have made it worse. Maybe a variation of this meat loaf could be made by adding cooked and cooled bacon bits and cheddar cheese mixed in with the ground beef and cooking it as a loaf that way, or even making bacon cheeseburger meat balls that you could cook in a Pillsbury crescent roll wrap thing, to make little finger food appitizers.

We had fries and gravy and some corn to round out the meal. Let's just say Monday is a day better off forgotten.

On the weekend I was wandering through the Wal-mart grocery isles when I spied something called "organic batter blaster".

Now I am not on the organic wagon, in fact I think shopping locally is far more important than buying organic, but what caught my attention is that this is a pre-made pancake batter in what appears to be a whipped cream aerosol can. It was $4.97 which would buy a lot of dry pancake mix, but my inner child got the best of me, and I bought it.

Sunday morning arrived with a shout out to the kids "Who wants pancakes???" Immediately my eldest ran to the freezer, because that where pancakes come from in our house, but I said "no, today we are going to make these..." proudly holding my aerosol batter. Both kids looked at me as if I were off my rocker (for not the first or last time I'm sure) and I proceeded to heat the pan and squeeze dollops of soon to be pancakes in the pan.

It was easy to control the flow and was pleasantly mess free, which is not the case when I make pancake batter myself and attempt pouring it. They tasted good...like pancakes even, but I wondered how many it would make.

I ended up making pancakes for myself and the kids on two occasions and I think that is reasonable.

Overall it was fun, it tasted good, and it saved time and mess, but the price might put some people off.

Check it out for yourself here BATTER BLASTER.

It seems in most British households that a Sunday roast is a must and although I was born and raised in Canada this is a tradition I have certainly kept. Sundays in our house are what as known as Family Day. My mom, my husband's parents, and the four of us can be found at my place at around 4pm, often times our good friends Val and Donnie can be found here as well, and sometimes their family too!

This Sunday I made roast leg of Lamb. I don't make lamb often, I do enjoy it, but its not something I would like to eat day in and day out. We had mint sauce with our lamb, its a must! And I have to admit I do go crazy on the veg, baby new potatoes, baby carrots, cabbage, broccoli and peas. I like to think it makes up for the rest of the week when I know I won't get as much vegetables as I should.

If you have never had lamb, don't go to the expense of buying it if it really isn't in your budget. Its an acquired taste, and a bit costly if you don't end up liking it.

I roast my boneless leg of lamb in a 400F oven, lightly coated with olive oil, garlic, and rosemary. 20 minutes per pound and about 15 minutes to settle. Lamb is usually served to a medium doneness, but if you like it more or less cooked I guess its up to you. I make gravy from the drippings by adding a splash of wine to the roasting pan to loosen all the yummy bits, and then thickening it with either cornstarch or flour.

We had a bit of lamb left over so I think I will search for a Moroccan lamb dish to make later on in the week. I will let you know how it goes!

My youngest son Dylan also loves to cook, and eat, because of this I find he challenges me to try cooking new things. My husband Nathan and my eldest son Rhys do not quite share the adventuresome side that Dylan and I have, so I do have to make concessions some of the time.

I'd like to think I come up with some pretty tasty meals, and I thought you might enjoy them too. I don't usually buy "exotic" ingredients and I do try to keep costs pretty low so this blog should be a hit with real life families, college students, and anyone who wants a guiding hand while easing into a larger food repertoire.