Proctor and Gamble FREEBIES!!

Yes that's right, it's that time of year again - Spring freebies from Proctor and Gamble! I just ordered some for my mom and I. They have lots to chose from! I got Herbal Essences shampoo/conditioner, Puffs tissues, Cover girl sample, Pringle sticks, Scope mouthwash, Cascade dish washing tabs, Head and Shoulders, and my mom got the febreeze sample. This comes in a large box and it's like Christmas!!

Please go sign up to get yours today!! It's going fast! Here's the link: Samples

Molasses Buns Recipe

As promised, here is the recipe for Molasses Buns which are a Newfoundland tradition. My Nan makes these, and they are fantastic!! I love them! I hope you love them too. I'm making them for my potluck tonight, hope they all enjoy them too!

Ingredients

1 cup margarine

1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup molasses

4 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp all spice

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp salt

About 1 cup warm water

How to Do It 

Cream butter and sugar together, add eggs then molasses and beat well. Mix all spices plus the baking soda in flour, then add to mixture. Pour water over mixture until you can see that it's moist. Work into a ball and cut into small patties. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

This week's meal plan (Subject to change)

Sunday: BBQ steak, roasted sweet potato, balsamic mushrooms, Parmesan zucchini spears, and garlic bread

Monday: Potluck so I have no idea! I'm making Molasses buns, a NFLD tradition! Stay tuned for recipe and photo!

Tuesday: Beef stir fry with leftover steak from Sunday's supper. See recipe Beef and Zucchini Stir Fry

Wednesday: Chicken fajitas

Thursday: Invited out to supper, will make a dessert though and I will post that!

Friday: Potluck birthday party! Still not sure what I'm bringing yet but I'll post it once I do!

Saturday: Roasted beets (balsamic vinegar, orange juice and olive oil),  herb-roasted red potatoes (basil, oregano, olive oil), sauteed green beans and corn with garlic and ginger, and stuffed chicken breasts.

Our Meal Plan

I know it's the middle of the week already but I thought it would be helpful for future meal ideas to post this.

Sunday: Chicken and Jiggs Dinner (SO yummy!)

Monday: Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

Tuesday: Homemade hamburgers, roasted red potatoes and spinach salad

Wednesday: Chicken ginger stir fry with multi-grain baguette and balsamic dip (I totally experimented here!)

Thursday: Fresh pasta with homemade pasta sauce and garlic bread

Friday: Homemade pizza with homemade pizza sauce

Saturday: Weight Watchers Linguine Chicken Alfredo 

Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

I made this yummy dish for our Monday night potluck and it was a hit! I really enjoyed it also, it had a really nice smooth flavor.  Here's the source. I forgot to take a picture, but you can see it on Kraft's website. Enjoy! 

What You Need

1-1/2 cups multigrain penne pasta, uncooked

1 pkg. (283 g) fresh baby spinach leaves

1 lb. (450 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

1-1/2 cups (1/2 of 700-mL jar) pasta sauce( I used organic tomato basil)

1-2/3 cups (1/2 of 796-mL can) diced tomatoes, drained (I didn't use)

1/4 cup Light Cream Cheese Spread

1 cup Part Skim Mozzarella Shredded Cheese, divided

2 Tbsp. Parmesan Light Grated Cheese

Make It

Heat oven to 375ºF. Cook pasta as directed on package, adding spinach to the boiling water for the last 1 min.
Meanwhile, heat large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add chicken and basil; cook 3 min. or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring frequently. Add pasta sauce and tomatoes; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 3 min. or until chicken is cooked through. Stir in cream cheese spread until melted.
Drain pasta and spinach; return to same saucepan. Add chicken mixture; mix lightly. Stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Spoon into 2-L or 8-inch square baking dish.
Bake 20 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Bake 3 min. or until cheese is melted.

Homemade Bread Recipe

I made this a couple of months ago but my goal is to make whole wheat or multi grain bread next time! This was very yummy though but white bread does not agree with my tummy! Here is the source for the recipe and I can't copy and paste too well so you'll have to check it out, sorry! Here's the result though!!

Little tidbits that I forgot to include!

I forgot to include a photo of the granola bars I made a few weeks ago. They are SO yummy and you can make them as healthy (or unhealthy) as you would like. 

Granola Bar Recipe

Here is the little Valentine's gift I made for my fiance. It was so yummy, not the best looking but it was much cheaper then going to the store that makes these!

Here's how I did it!

Things you need:

Strawberries

Pineapple

Cadbury milk chocolate bar

Kale (the green stuff)

Kabob sticks

Tea pot (or vase)

Paper towels

Cookie sheet

Parchment paper

First, I washed and then dried the strawberries and placed them on the cookie sheet lined with more paper towels. And do not remove the stocks, just wash and dry them very well.

Next, I cut the pineapple up and carved it into the somewhat of a heart shape. You could use a cookie cutter but I opted not to. I placed the carved pieces in the fridge covered in a bowl.

Then, I melted the chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals making sure not to burn it. Once melted I dipped the strawberries in the chocolate making sure to cover everything except a little red and the stock. Once dipped, I placed them on the cookie sheet now covered with parchment paper. After all strawberries are dipped, place in fridge until chocolate is harden completely (about 2 hours).

Once the strawberries are ready you can arrange the fruit in the container of you liking. Be sure that you plan to give or serve this in a short while otherwise just keep the fruit the way it is until your ready. I basically stuffed the kale into the tea pot and stuck the kabob sticks with the fruit into it. It was very yummy! Enjoy!

Chicken Delight

This is a meal I made for our potluck on Monday night! It's so yummy and so simple to make. It's my fiance's mom's recipe but I will post it here, I make a few changes. I have this recipe cut down to make for 2 people but you can easily make more by doubling or tripling.

2 Chicken Breasts

1 cup of Ketchup

1 cup water (or 1 can of mushrooms plus liquid)

2 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp of Molasses

Dash of paprika

1 chopped onion

1 chopped bell pepper

Sautee onions and bell pepper. Boil remaining ingredients. Pour over chicken and bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes.

Garlic Fingers Recipe

This is something very simple to make and I haven't quite mastered it yet. I won't include measurements because it depends on the size of garlic fingers you make.

Ingredients (This is for 1/3 of a large square pizza pan)

Pizza dough (see recipe in blog)

2-3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil

3-4 cloves, crushed garlic

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Bacon bits (optional)

1-2 tsp basil (optional)

In a small bowl, mix olive oil, garlic and basil. Brush mixture onto dough evenly and sprinkle with bacon bits and cheese. Bake at the same temperature as you would your pizza, about 425 C. Cut into fingers and ENJOY!!!

Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread = Yummy!

Source

I've been wanting to make this for a long time and decided it would be nice to try today since I have cream cheese in our fridge. I made a few changes, first off I halved this also. I didn't have icing sugar so I blended up some white sugar until it was a powder. Hopefully it tastes the same. I will post a picture soon. I think next time I would like to make the biscuits from scratch. The ones, Pillsbury, that I have seem to have little white bits in them and I have no idea what that is!! Also I didn't have the pan recommended so I used a 8" round cake pan. The bread is just one layer but that's fine, I didn't want to make too much because I know this is high in calories!

Ingredients

Biscuits

2 cans (340 g each) refrigerated country biscuits

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, melted

Icing

125 g (1/2 of 250-g pkg.) Philadelphia Brick Cream Cheese, softened (I used the one in a tub instead of the brick kind)

1/2 cup icing sugar (or 1/2 cup white sugar blended to a powder)

1 Tbsp. milk (I used 1 tsp of vanilla instead)

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut each biscuit into quarters.
Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add biscuit pieces, in batches; toss to coat.
Place half the biscuit pieces in greased 3-L fluted tube pan or 10-inch tube pan; drizzle with half the butter. Repeat. Sprinkle with any remaining cinnamon sugar. Bake 40 to 45 min. or until toothpick inserted near centre comes out clean and top is golden brown. Cool in pan 5 min; invert onto plate. Remove pan.
Beat remaining ingredients with mixer until well blended; drizzle over warm bread.

This is VERY tasty! Kind of like cinnamon roll meets tea biscuit! I'm impressed with my icing too!