New Year's Resolution Recipe #9: Beer Can Chicken

Or do you call it "Beer Butt Chicken"?
Either way, I've been meaning to make this for about 15 years and finally got around to it.
15 years is a long time to forget about a recipe and think to do it randomly some Friday night!
Why 15 years?  Well, I once dated a guy named Simon (way back when I was about 15) and his dad told me all about beer butt chicken and I am pretty sure I let out the most ridiculous and not-so-lady-like snort.
I quickly recovered and I never did get to try out that chicken dish and every now and again it floated to my mind and quickly dissolved again.

Anyways, for the sake of something "quick" and not requiring a lot of prep time - I decided to Google search "beer can chicken" and found a variety of recipes!
Whew - it's not some weird dish made by Canadians.

I knew I had a whole chicken that needed to be cooked and I looked online and found that most recipes are for grilling the chicken on a barbecue.
I don't have one and saw some recipes were oven-friendly.
I also don't have one of those fancy wire things to support the chicken upward - I just shimmied the chicken onto the can.

• Pre-heat oven to 200*C.
• Rinse your chicken all over and inside out.
• Pat it dry with paper towel - or else your dry rub won't stick!
• Open a can of beer (I used Carlsberg - since I don't know crap about beers and which is best for inserting into a bird) and pour about 1/4 of it into your baking dish/pan you're going to let the chicken cook in.
• Shimmy that bird onto the can of beer.  (Some people remove the tab - I didn't because nobody told me and I didn't see it online until someone mentioned it after the fact.  I don't know why - but if you want - I guess you could!)
• Rub your spices all over your chicken.
• I used whatever was on my shelf that sounded alright with the word "chicken".  A lot of pre-mixed spices, dried mustard powder, chili powder etc.

• Rub your spices all over your chicken.

• Drizzle some olive oil into your pan if you want.
  Look at "Carl" getting his tan on!

• Let your chicken hang out in the oven for about 1.5 hours or until cooked well based on your meat thermometer. (75*C or 165*F)

• Loosen the chicken from the can and slice it up!
  This is what the can looked like after.

I don't recommend drinking the beer that's left over.

So was it worth a can of beer?  Sure!

I found that it cooked the chicken evenly and because the chicken was propped up - the chicken was nice and crispy and the beer flavour was very subtle.

It was juicy and well received by our guests!

I served this with mashed potatoes, green beans and thyme dinner rolls I made my bread machine whip up for me (I had to bake them) last minute.

Definitely something I'll try again!

:)
BIMU

PS Originally posted here.

New Year's Resolution Recipe #8: Stuffed Brownies

I love Pinterest.  I've had an account for years but only really got into it the past 6 months or so?
I always joke that some people do face masks and stuff before bed time - me?  I scroll through Pinterest! :)

So what's something I keep seeing?

Stuffed brownies.

Sometimes known as "Sex in a pan" (I think it depends on how many or what kind of ingredients you put in it) or Oreo-stuffed brownies or as I saw them: "I'm going to go the gym tomorrow - just one more portion" brownies.

I apologize now that my photos aren't so great - I was in a rush between trying to make the darn things and fighting the kids off and protecting the cookies and the mixing bowl from the kids.

It's fairly straight forward:  You bake brownies and layer something in the middle.
I tried to go for "portion control" and used a cupcake/muffin tin but found they overflowed a bit much and they were baked a tad too long (22 minutes at 175*C) and a bit dry.  Which made me ridiculously sad!
I think in future for cupcake pans - and with a ready to eat center - I'd aim for 15 minutes at 175*C instead.

I went a little gutsy and decided 2 Domino cookies (Finnish version of Oreo's) with peanut butter sandwiched in between was a brilliant idea.

It is but it isn't because it was too tall and there wasn't enough brownie batter encasing it's chocolate/peanut buttery goodness.

But I ate it anyway.  It wasn't easy to cut cleanly that's for sure - but you know - it all gets chewed up anyway.

I've since tried this again with a rectangular pan and decided to say "screw you!" to neat and tidy portion controls and this was the result:

Served with home-made Cookie Monster Ice-cream (another Pinterest find!).
It's a no churning/no ice-cream machine involved kind of recipe too.  Yee haw.

It wasn't over baked and I know you can't see the cookies - but they're in there.  And I opted to mix in a couple monster-sized dallops of peanut butter into the brownies batter to save me some time! :) 

BIMU

PS Originally posted here.

PPS Brownies recipe is from my very first cookbook: "Company's Coming: Kids Cooking" book - yep a good ol' '90's classic!  But I'm sure your favourite brownies recipe will do just fine! :).

Teaching Life Skills to an ASD Child

Unless you're on the spectrum or have another disability, I think we often take the simplest of tasks for granted.

Getting dressed, serving yourself food, cooking, reading, writing, talking, using the bathroom, driving, going on a bus, controlling our own bodies.

I recently made a video about how excited I am that the V-Man is interested in cooking and now he helps to set the table!
I don't want my kids to be 100% completely dependent on someone else because basic life skills are important.

And if giving him a small task makes him happy and uses up some of his extra energy-then why not?
Already, the things the V-Man has been trying to do as an independent little boy have far exceeded my expectations, his therapists and his teachers and caregivers at his overnight care.

I've made another video about dissecting why he was opening and closing cupboard doors. It wasn't because he was genuinely trying to make us go insane but because he wanted to help. He wanted us to put the dishes away and he knew the cupboard doors close after they're all dry and put away. Or when it's time to eat-the cupboard doors are supposed to open so we can get plates.

The other day he was hungry.  When he's hungry- he yells, he cries and sometimes hurts himself. V-Man can also be destructive and start ripping things or throwing things when he's upset. (Internally I want to do the same when I feel famished!)
I was cooking and supper was almost done and I could've used an extra hand but of course Hubster was separating the younger two from one of their fights, while also dealing with the V-Man's tantrum about to turn volcanic.

"Hey! V-Man-come help Mommy please!" I shouted and I don't know if he heard my voice or the opening of the cupboard doors...(my brother and I were the same in regards to hearing Pepsi being opened as kids...)

He came running. Then I had to think fast about what to give him to do since he already stirred the stir fry independently...
I handed him three IKEA plastic plates and told him to please put them on the table. I held my breath and hoped he didn't toss them in the floor or in the garbage (a new trend)- he didn't.
He not only put it on the table, he looked at me and I cheered him on and complimented him like there was no tomorrow.
He smiled and ran around for a few seconds and I handed him spoons and cups and he was thrilled to help set up the table!

So now, we are able to create some sort of pattern for him in regards to meal times and give him something to do that'll burn up energy and give him time to practice his life skills. And also give me that extra 2 minutes to finish cooking supper!

In terms of what else he's doing- he loves to take the laundry basket to the bathroom when the wash is done and gets very excited about us putting the laundry in the basket. He also enjoys handing the laundry to us while we hang it but sometimes drops it or gets going in his own rhythm so quickly that we cannot keep up with him throwing ten pieces of laundry at us.
But it's a start.
There's also the dish washer - he likes to take things out and hand it to us (or open and close those cupboard doors).

Every morning he picks his own clothes out for the day and is able to un-dress himself and helps get his own clothing on himself.
He also enjoys carrying his bag down to the taxi and when we go grocery shopping he likes to put things in the basket, carry it around (or drag it by the handle if it has wheels) and put the groceries on the conveyor belt.

These are things I could not believe would ever happen as of a year ago.
But they're happening and we're trying to respect his limits but also try and push them a bit more every day.

What's next that he could learn?
Potty-training - that's going to be the hardest, most frustrating for both parties and exciting AF once he gets it.
More cooking - right now he randomly stirs stuff but it would be nice to get him to try baking and pouring ingredients into a mixing bowl for example.  Knives - can wait.
Crafts - He does enjoy drawing but also likes to draw on the table sometimes.  So we're working on that.

:)
BIMU

New Year's Resolution Recipe #7: Perogies/Valentine's Day Dinner

Today is Valentine's Day (or friendship day in Finland) and I thought since we didn't even bother trying to get a sitter - we'll celebrate my birthday, Valentine's Day and our anniversary all in one dinner date at another time.

However, I wanted to do a little something and thought we could spoil ourselves once the kids were asleep tonight (and I'm back with the dogs) with a delicious dinner of steak and shrimps (those would be for me).
I didn't want to have rice with it and I didn't want to have mashed potatoes or baked potatoes either.
Salad is out of the question as my husband has a digestive condition (Crohn's) and for the life of me - I had a hankering for some perogies today!

In Canada (where I'm from) - I used to buy them every couple of months frozen and they would be a nice late night snack during movie night or a different side dish with a meal.
Obviously not the healthiest option of course...I even remember Boston Pizza having a perogy pizza and I was in love!

I can't get frozen ones here - as far as I know - so obviously the next step is to make my own.
I started with a Google search and found this recipe.
Stupid me - I for some reason thought that "20 servings" meant portions for 20 people.  It was a long night last night with the kids and my husband constantly waking me up with his snores or shaking from running in his sleep or something...

Anyways, I downsized that recipe above for "2 servings" and got such odd numbers and the dough didn't work out - so I dumped in more flour and it magically turned into a proper dough! :)

I just mashed potatoes up with spices and shredded cheese.
Next time I'll add crumbled up bacon! :)

For some reason I can't rotate this photo - but you get the idea.
Top: First attempt aka "I have no idea what I'm doing".
Bottom: Several attempts later...aka "Holy crap it looks like a perogy!"
Words of wisdom: I didn't roll the circles out very thinly in fear of them bursting while cooking.  I did flatten them a bit more and stretched them a little with my hands.  I used about a heaping tea spoon for filling and sealed them with water and once they were all done - used a fork dipped in flour to press down the edges.

There were actually 36 of these puppies ready!  I couldn't freeze them as it was suggested (to prevent bursting during boiling) - so I did the next best thing.  I layered them in a bowl with a light dusting of flour and parchment paper/baking paper then covered with a towel and tossed them onto my frosty balcony for a few hours until we were ready to eat.

I have to say I was annoyed (but perhaps it's obvious) that the recipe just says to boil them in lightly salted water and once they float to the top, remove with a slotted spoon.
I'm annoyed because what the recipe doesn't say - and I'm going to share with you - is that you should put a bit of oil in the boiling water to prevent those perogies from sticking to the bottom - and they're going to anyway.  It's possible that the salting of the water will prevent sticking - I just went with oil to be safe.
I couldn't figure out why some weren't floating and it turns out they were sticking anyway!  Luckily I got it in the nick of time and they floated and nothing burst in the pot!
And there should so be a "step 5" - heat a pan with a generous dab of butter and fry them suckers on both sides until golden and crisp.

Again - probably obvious because of the photo posted on the top of their site, but they certainly didn't look just boiled and removed with a slotted spoon to me. ;)

Here was the final result:

Perogies, surf and turf with fried onions and mushrooms and a side of caramelized carrots (boiled in water until tender, drained then cooked in browned butter with a few tablespoons of brown sugar).

We had a feast at home and watched Scandal while the kids slept and the dogs stared at us - waiting and drooling.  Yes, I'm a sucker and gave them some fat from the steak.

Perogies are well worth the time and effort and a few small potatoes goes a long way!

Happy Valentine's Day.

BIMU

PS originally posted on 2 Hookers 2 Kitchens

New Year's Resolution Recipe #6: Princess Cake

Last weekend I had the joy of celebrating my daughter's 2nd birthday party.
I love prepping for birthday parties - I actually don't find it stressful but find it really fun!

Anyway, the theme was cupcakes...kids decorate their own cupcake and that saves me a bucket load of time! :) And because she's so young, she doesn't care about games-they all just run around and wear themselves out!

Well, super last minute - like 2 days before the party itself and I'm in the grocery store- I decided I wanted to try making one of those Disney princess Barbie cakes.

You know the kind - maybe you had one as a kid - where you bake a cake, shove a Barbie doll in the top of the cake and frost the heck out of it.
Instead of doing a layered cake and shaving it to a dress-shape - I used my favourite cupcake cake pan from Tiger and figured it looked alright!

I used Martha Stewart's Buttermilk cake recipe from her book, "Cakes" (Book Depository Affiliate link) and regular buttercream frosting with Wilton's colourings in teal green and leaf green.

First of all - did you know Ariel is super tall without her fins?

I had to cover up her bottom with some extra frosting...

And if you're wondering about how to pack your Princess Cake - I put her in an Ikea food container with a bottle of maple syrup to support her.  A foil tent on top  - both in front and behind.

Ariel showing off her leg...so scandalous!

Anyway, the birthday girl was pleased as punch about the cake and for my first one - I'm impressed too.

Sure, I could've smoothed the frosting better and used a much lighter green frosting but anyhow, I used this video tutorial and it was a huge help!

Our friends liked the taste and flavour of everything and the vanilla buttercream went great with the buttermilk cake inside (a first for me!).
We can't buy actual buttermilk here - in Finland there's an equivalent called "Piimä" but we don't drink it so instead I just saved the money and used regular milk with a hefty splash of vinegar!

In the treat bags I stuck in a mini Kit Kat bar or mini Smarties and a glow in the dark shape that can be stuck on a child's wall with sticky tack.  And on the side a mini play-dough.

I think it may be my daugher's new thing as she got a plushy version of Princess Ariel as well (we already have the movie) and was ecstatic.

That and Barbies are hella expensive!  But anyway, it was fun and I'll practice frosting more :).

BIMU

PS originally posted on 2 Hookers 2 Kitchens