Summer 'To-Make' List

Here's a list of summer must makes! I'm loving all the berries that are in season right now. We are enjoying our fair share of crisps topped with vanilla ice-cream around here these days! Enjoy...

Nectarine and Strawberry Crisp

Strawberry and Cream Cake

Raspberry and Lemon Curd Tart

Blackberry Pie Muffins

Raspberry Crumb Breakfast Bars

Easy Apple Cake

Rice, Asparagus and Avocado Salad

Avocado, Mango and Strawberry Lentil Salad

Chickpea Salad with Feta and Heirloom Tomatoes

Mini Turkey Burgers

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie

Creamy Grape Dessert

S'more Cookie Bars

Rhubarb 'Big Crumb' Coffee Cake

Chocolate-Dipped Frozen Banana Bites

Avocado, Mango & Strawberry Lentil Salad

Internet, it's been a long time! The huz and I took three weeks off, traveled to five European countries, ate a lot of delicious food and had a fabulous time. We are trying our best to fight jet leg and adjust to reality again! I'll share some images from our trip and the incredible food we ate in some future posts.

In the meantime, Vancouver is being good to us and the sun is shining. I love this time of the year!

This salad was so easy to make and is perfect for a warm summer night. I had purchased some precooked lentils (from Trader Joe's) that I put into a salad bowl and added chopped avocado, mango and strawberries. I drizzled a couple tablespoons of balsamic vinegar on the salad and tossed it lightly until everything was nicely coated.

I highly recommend this salad after you get your fix of daily vitamin D! I hope you've been having a great summer!

Friday Favorites

1) My crazy hot huz. He sure is easy on the eyes.
2) Toms + Books + Sunnies
3) Ice-cream dates.
4) Saturday morning waffles. Love.
5) New family members (not mine)! We welcomed two cousins into our family this week. Adore!
6) Canucks candy apples. Amazing.
7) Weekend away to celebrate our anniversary.
8) Watching the huz golf and sneaking pics.
9) I'm still proud of this baby.

Oreo Pudding Cookies

Dear all cookies (other than the one pictured above),

The huz has replaced you and he doesn't seem one bit sorry about it. 

Love,
The faithful dysfunctional dieter (who will still happily consume you)

These cookies are chalk full of everything sinful; Oreo pudding mix, Hershey's Cookies N Cream Candy Bars, chocolate chips and they taste ahh-mazing!

I've made three batches in two weeks. Three. 

Oh, my poor thighs.

I realize that is downright embarrassing and I should be ashamed, but I'm telling you out of love and only to encourage you to bake them too. 

I'm pretty sure this is where the saying, 'Lord, if you can't make me skinny, make my friends fat!' comes in. Ha!

Love,
The faithful, always hungry and always eating cookies dysfunctional dieter


Oreo Pudding Cookies
Adapted from: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients

1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (4.2 ounce) package instant Oreo Pudding mix
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Hershey's Cookies N Cream Candy Bars broken into small pieces (I used 2.6 ounce King Sized bars)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Note: I found Oreo Pudding mix at my grocery store but I also saw it at Walmart and Target.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in pudding mix until blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix to combine. Stir in cookies n' cream pieces and chocolate chips.

Using a cookie dough scooper, place golf ball sized dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 7-8 minutes. You do not want to overbake these! Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before moving to a cooking rack. Store in air-tight container.

Brie & Apple Panini

I love my panini maker. Anything that can turn a ho-hum sandwich into an impressive meal has a golden spot on my kitchen counter.

The melted cheese, buttered bread and crispy edges created by the panini press make for a delicious treat.

I slathered both sides of my whole grain bread with tzatziki sauce and mango chutney and placed thick slices of brie cheese and thin slices of a tart granny smith apple in the centre.

I was in panini heaven.

It's a good place to be.

Note: If you don't have a panini maker you can create the same effect with a grill pan, press, skillet, etc. Spread a very thin layer of butter on one side of each slice of bread. Place the butter side down on the pan and cook for a couple of minutes until golden brown, flip over and when the cheese begins to melt take it off the pan and enjoy.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Dysfunctional Dieter's Dictionary Definition of Snickerdoodle Bars:

Dreamy, cinnamon-sugar topped, warm, melt in your mouth, gooey, cake-like bars.

Slightly cracked surface with the perfect amount of cinnamon to make your home smell like the heavens descended and landed right in the middle of your kitchen.

A great one will manage to be both crisp at the edges and soft, nearly to the point of cakiness, in the middle.

You're going to want to make these. Soon. Like, tonight.

You can thank me later. Enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Blondies
Adapted from: Arctic Garden Studio

Ingredients

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks / 1 cup) unsalted butter, softened to cool  room temp
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup (lightly packed) brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping
2 tablespoons granulate white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9x13x2 inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper and butter paper.

Mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.

Add the flour mixture and mix until the flour is just incorporated. The batter will be thick like cookie dough.

Scrape batter into your prepared pan and spread evenly. I used an offset spatula to make the batter even and smooth.

Make the topping by combining the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar topping evenly over the top of the batter.It will look like a lot, but trust me it is perfect.

Bake 20-25 minutes or a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool slightly before cutting (or as long as you can stand).

Spice-Rubbed Turkey

The huz and I cooked our first turkey this weekend! We figured we had to bite the bullet at some point and I wouldn't be lying if I said we needed the extra freezer space.

I was so impressed with how it turned out! We stuffed our turkey with onions and apples and both ingredients kept the turkey moist and left a subtle apple flavor. We've been enjoying the leftovers and feel that we may be ready to actually invite people over to enjoy the next one with us.


Spice-Rubbed Turkey
Adapted from: Butterball

Ingredients

2 tablespoons dry mustard
2 teaspoons ground sage
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
1 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (12 pounds) Butterball® Frozen Whole Turkey , thawed if frozen
4 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Combine mustard, sage, garlic powder, marjoram, thyme, paprika, 1 teaspoon of the salt, 1 teaspoon of the pepper and nutmeg; set aside.

Remove neck and giblets from body and neck cavities of turkey. Refrigerate for other use or discard. Drain juices from turkey. Pat dry with paper towels. Turn wings back to hold neck skin against back of turkey. Place turkey, breast up, on flat roasting rack in shallow roasting pan. Brush turkey with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil; sprinkle with seasoning mixture.

Bake 3 hours, or until meat thermometer reaches 180°F when inserted in deepest part of thigh. Let stand 15 minutes before carving.