Mom, the Lunch Lady

 These Easy Homemade Kaiser Rolls are so simple to make and are perfect for grilling season and sandwiches throughout the year. They have a wonderful crust and pillowy soft center.  Jump to Recipe We are aching for warmer weather here in Ontario Canada, dreaming of BBQ burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, grilled peameal bacon. Winter seems to last longer and longer every year, making us crave summer and cookouts.  I have made  Burger Buns  at least a dozen times last summer, but sometimes I like to try something new. Since we are now in 2nd winter here in Ontario, I took advantage of the latest snow storm and baked up some yummy rolls to go with our peameal bacon. Peameal is a cured pork loin, which is crusted in corn meal. That is what us Canadians call, Canadian bacon. We love eating our peameal in sandwiches, so I decided to look for a Kaiser recipe that I could make at home. I found  this recipe  over at Fleichman's Yeast's Bread World. I liked th...

With the start of 2022 tomorrow, I thought I'd take the time to look back at the past year and share the 10 Most Popular Recipes of 2021. This year has brought a lot of new recipes, experimentation with healthier options and tons of baking. Keep reading to see what everyone has been enjoying from my blog. Do you have a favourite? This top 10 post has always been a favourite of mine to write. Even when I first started blogging 12 yrs ago, I always enjoyed looking back and seeing which recipes my readers seem to gravitate towards. Would it be desserts, or savoury dishes? Healthy or Indulgent? I never get tired of seeing which recipe has been a hit, at the end of each year. I am often surprised as to what recipes are a hit, many times you guys surprise me and a recipe that I didn't really anticipate being extremely popular, takes off and has thousands of views. While other recipes I'm sure will be a total winner, fall flat. So, it's always fun to see what y'all are int...

 Got too many zukes in your garden? This Savoury Cheddar Zucchini Quick Bread is a deliciously simple way to use them! Jump to Recipe It has been hot and humid here in Ontario lately. The result is our garden has burst to life. Our tomatoes still need to ripen, but our cucumbers and zucchini are abundant. The kids and I went away last weekend and I forgot to ask my SO to harvest the garden while I was gone. Needless to say when we went out on Tuesday, we found a HUGE zucchini and many cukes begging to be picked.  Since large zucchini tend to have bigger seeds, I knew I wanted to use this one for baking. I simply use a spoon to remove the seeds (similar to removing cantaloupe or squash seeds), then I grate up my zucchini, using the large side of my box grater. This baby yielded 5 cups of grated zucchini! My daughter asked if we could make my Old Fashion Zucchini Cake , and I wanted to try making a lemon zucchini loaf. However we got side tracked by a zucchini cheddar bread we s...

 This savoury quick bread is made without yeast and is a snap to put together. Packed full of delicious sweet sundried tomato flavour and salty asiago cheese; this is the perfect addition to a brunch, or a nice hearty soup. Jump to Recipe Sunday was Fathers Day here in Canada and we celebrated with my SO's family. It also happened to be the Italy VS Wales game for the Euro Cup, so we all got together to watch. Since the game started at noon, I decided to bring the fixings for a quick Sunday brunch. I baked this gorgeous quick bread before leaving and brought everything needed to make a crustless quiche and breakfast links.  Brunch was so delicious, but the star was definitely this quick bread. Beautifully fluffy with a flaky exterior, this bread is studded with sweet sundried tomato pieces and salty asiago cheese. Everyone really enjoyed this flavourful bread and my SO's Nana even took some home. It was the perfect pairing to my caramelized onion and mushroom crustless quiche ...

 Fluffy fresh rolls in 30 minutes, from start to finish? So simple to make and wonderfully delicious, these rolls are a perfect addition to any meal! Jump to Recipe Is there anything better than the smell of fresh baked bread? Walk into any bakery and once you smell that fresh bread, you can't help but want to buy a loaf. Warm bread out of the oven with butter, is heaven for me. It takes me back to my childhood, where my Mom would often make fresh bread to go with our dinner. Those nights were special and anytime I smell bread baking, I think of coming home from school to the smell of yeasty bread dough. While I love the ease of going to our local bakery and picking up fresh baked bread, there is just something amazing about the smell of fresh baked bread permeating the house. With today's busy schedules, it is sometimes difficult to get dinner on the table, let alone make anything extra such as fresh bread. What I love about these 30 minute rolls, is that they take a short tim...

 Self rising flour and fat free Greek yogurt is all you need to make these 2 ingredient bagels. Top this popular Weight Watchers dough recipe anyway you like, and enjoy your 3 point bagels! Jump to Recipe It's been 4 weeks since I embarked on my Weight Watchers journey. I really wasn't sure how I would do trying this program, or if I could even do it. As someone with Crohn's Disease, I've never been able to eat a large amount of fruits and veggies. For the past 28 yrs, I've been avoiding eating too much fruit, veggies and nuts. Add in an ostomy, and it's double jeopardy. There are so many times when I think I've eaten well during the day, only to be bed ridden the next day, in excruciating pain. Hence my reluctance at doing the program. That being said, I decided to try it for 1 month free of charge thanks to an invite from my SO's mom. The first week was tough. I was placed in the blue group, which focuses a lot on fruits and veggies being 0 points. By ...

This crusty and fluffy Italian favourite is topped with melty mozzarella cheese, fresh tomato and basil. Serve it as a tasty appetizer, or an elegant side to a salad, this focaccia is sure to be enjoyed by all. Jump to Recipe I've always loved Italian food, which was difficult when I was little, since my dad was not one to eat herbs and spices and he dislikes garlic. But I remember mom buying pizza for us to eat on Fridays, and jarred pasta sauce for us to enjoy when dad worked afternoon shift. I remember visiting my older sister, after she moved out and enjoying manicotti, lasagna and alfredo pastas. Once I moved out on my own, I became more adventurous in my culinary undertakings and started to read more Italian recipes.  I've never been brave enough to try making homemade pasta, but I fell in love with bread baking many years ago. I love making soft fluffy dough and turning it into something comforting and delicious. It wasn't until a few years ago, that I tried my hand ...

 This easy to make homemade pizza is topped with tender slices of sweet potato, chickpeas, spinach and rich caramelised onion. It is a healthier take on traditional pizza, that will leave you satisfied. My family is crazy for pizza. I'm sure if they could, my son and my SO would eat pizza everyday. There is just something about a nice chewy crust, tart tomato sauce and salty cheese, that just tastes like heaven. While I enjoy a good slice of pizza, I also love to make non traditional pizzas and rarely order traditional pepperoni and cheese for myself. This pizza came about when I wanted something a little different during our homemade pizza night. Since I am not a big meat eater, I decided on a meatless pizza. This recipe can easily become vegan, by using your favourite vegan cheese, rather than mozzarella. I've always been a fan of sweet and salty flavour combinations, so I love sweet caramelised onion with cheese. I knew I wanted onions as my base and since I had a leftover b...

Homemade garlic Parmesan knots are soft, fluffy and fool proof. They come together in under 30 minutes- there's nothing easier than that! It's soup season! I love when the cold weather hits, it gives me a reason to make soup! As much as I love soup, I also LOVE to make something to dip into my soup. Sometimes it's as simple as a toasted bagel, or a grilled cheese; but once in a while I love to make fresh bread or rolls. My kids are always excited when fresh bread hits the table and by the next day, the loaf or rolls have been thoroughly enjoyed. These rolls are something simple I have been able to teach them how to make.  There is just something so intoxicating about fresh bread. Maybe it's the buttery yeasty smell as it's cooking. Maybe it's the pillowy soft, chewy texture that makes me want to eat several at one time. Fresh bread is just so different than store bought loaves, and it just seems to make meals that much more special. Some of my favourite childho...