Jun
27
2013

Perfect Oven Roasted Chicken with Gravy Recipe

Roast Like a master

Perfect Oven Roasted Chicken with Gravy Recipe

Sometimes the basics can be confounding. I get lots of questions from readers about roast chicken. How come my chicken is too dry? Why is the skin is so rubbery? How come my chicken is raw on inside while it's burnt on the outside.
 
Roast chicken with gravy should be an easy go-to recipe on every home cook's repetoire. It's easy to make, cost effective and feeds a crowd! Roast chicken goes with just about any side dish you decide to make and can be dressed up for a nice dinner or dressed down for simple weeknight dinners. Leftovers are great in wraps or chopped up for chicken salad the next day.
 
Perfect Oven Roast Chicken with Gravy Recipe
Serves 4-6
 
Ingredients:
 
2 whole chickens (about 1 1/4 kg each)
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons ground pepper
2 thyme sprigs
2 rosemary sprigs
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
 
Preparation:
 
 Season the cavity of both chickens with salt and pepper. Place 1 sprig of thyme, rosemary and a bay leaf in each chicken.
 Rub the skin of both chickens with oil and tie legs of each chicken together with butcher's twine.
 Place chickens breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan.
 Roast at 400 F for 40 minutes, basting every 10 to 15 minutes. Scatter the carrots, onions and celery around the chicken and continue to roast for another 30 to 40 minutes until a thermometer inserted into the thigh reads 180 F.
 Remove the chickens from the pan and allow to rest. Place the roasting pan on the stovetop and cook over Medium-High heat until the vegetables are browned. Pour off the liquid until all but 2 tablespoons are left.
 Add the flour and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Whisk in the chicken stock until smooth.
 Simmer for 20 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste. Strain gravy through a sieve and discard vegetables.
 Cut chickens and serve with gravy. Enjoy!
Jun
24
2013

Family Cooking in an RV: Tips and Recipes

Yes! You Can have fun with on-the-road cooking

Family Cooking in an RV: Tips and Recipes

To tell you I didn't know a lot about RVing before I took one for a weekend recently with my kids would be a massive understatement. When I arranged to pickup my RV, arranged through Go RVing Canada, I was floored to discover that the Toronto Camping Centre was on Highway 7, literally four minutes from my house. I have probably passed it 1,000 times on my way to and from hockey and never noticed all of the RVs out there. However, with over 1 million RVs on the road in Canada this clearly puts me in the minority.
 
 
Canadian families have clearly discovered the many benefits of RVing and the adventures that lie ahead on the open road. Starting at $6,000, there is an RV for every family budget. Studies show that it is up to 78% cheaper to vacation with an RV versus a regular vacation. On top of the economic benefit the RV lifestyle helps families untangle their busy individual lives and “unschedule” to enjoy quality family time with all the modern technological conveniences of being at home.
 
The RV we took for the weekend was by no means the biggest or fanciest on the lot and was fairly modest in price. However, it still had a full kitchen with a double sink, gas stove-top, fridge/freezer, microwave, dining area and kitchen storage! The convenience of being able to make home cooked meals on the road was fantastic. Again, it allowed for economic meals that didn't cost a fortune despite being on vacation AND we were eating together as a family around a dinner table just as we would at home. 
 
Picking up the RV was super-easy. I got a quick tutorial on all of the bells and whistles and we were soon hitting the road. My kids had SO much fun with our RV, I could barely pull them out of it when it was time to return it. The excitement of the open road, a camping atmosphere, and spending time together meant we had a weekend of laughs and great memories. For me personally, it was a great experience to think about food preparation a little differently than normal. Sure our RV had a full working kitchen in it, but space and time are all a little bit compacted when on the road.
 
Below I've included some tips and recipes for cooking for your family when RVing. You can find lots more ideas on the GORVing.ca website or on their Facebook page

 

Tips for cooking in an RV

 
  Choose food that can stack on top of one another. For example: instead of taking bag of chips take chips that are in cannisters to save space.
 
  Don't leave cups full of water on counter tops when you start to drive. We may have learned this the hard way. Twice.
 
  Look for dual-purpose kitchen items. For example, plastic milk cartons can also be used as a juice container.
 
  Pack what’s needed for each meal only. Use multi-functional kitchen tools that can be used for multiple meals. 
 
  Plan ahead. You can make sauces, stews, and other side dishes ahead and have them ready to go in the fridge or freezer. Only do what you need to do in the RV and do the time consuming stuff ahead of time! This means more time for fun!
 
  Transport meat and vegetables in freezer bags with their marinades. When you're ready to cook, they're already marinated, which saves you another step along the way.
 
  Minimize your cooking apparatus (pots, pans, spoons etc.) and base your meals around what is convenient to cook with those items.

 

RV Campurritos Recipe

Ingredients:
 
8 eggs
1 lb. sausage or veggie ground round
1 yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 med. potatoes, chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
4 green onions, chopped
3 T parsley, chopped
8 or 9 tortilla Shells
Salt and pepper to taste
Salsa and/or hot sauce
Tin foil for wrapping
 
  Chop potatoes and boil until soft. Chop green onions and set aside. Crack eggs and cook over low heat until you have soft, scrambled eggs. 
 
  Saute yellow onions and garlic in 2 T olive oil until fragrant. Add sausage to onion mixture and cook all the way through.
 
  In large bowl combine sausage mixture, scrambled eggs, potatoes,  cheese, green onions, parsley, salt, and pepper.  
 
  Divide ingredients into 8 or 9 tortilla shells. Roll and wrap in tin foil until ready to eat! Serve with salsa and hot sauce. 
 
Serves 4

 

RV S'mores Recipe

Ingredients:
 
4 graham crackers, broken into halves
2 45g HERSHEY Milk Chocolate Bars, broken into halves
4 marshmallows
 
  Place 1/2 of a HERSHEY’S® 45g Milk Chocolate Bar on graham cracker half.
 
  Carefully toast marshmallow over RV cooktop (supervise the kids if they’re doing this).
 
  Place over chocolate. Top with second graham cracker and gently press together.
 
Serves 4
 

 

After a hectic year trying to balance your family’s schedules, it’s time to relax, unwind and unschedule some quality time with your loved ones. 
 
Enter the world of freedom by taking an RV vacation. With an RV you can go where you want, when you want, and escape the harried life of schedules without giving up the conveniences of home.
 
To find out how you can spend quality time with your family and turn every getaway into a hassle-free escape, go to http://gorving.ca
Jun
21
2013

Grab 'n Go Cheddar, Bacon, And Chive Biscuits

Lovin' from the Toaster Oven

Grab 'n Go Cheddar, Bacon, And Chive Biscuits

This biscuit recipe makes for an island of tranquility in the stormy chaos that is a weekday morning in our house. I have one child who gets up at the crack of dawn wanting to colour, skip, get dressed, and celebrate the day; I have another who clings to his pillow and every last moment of sleep he can possibly squeeze out; and finally one who is so busy making herself look just right that she couldn't possibly have time to sit down and eat breakfast in the morning ("I'm very busy Daddy don't you know?").

So any recipe that my kids love and is ready to throw in the toaster oven is a winner in my books.

This recipe is also super easy to play around with based on your children's likes and dislikes. I'll generally whip up a batch on a Sunday night, and then cover and put in the fridge for easy to make breakfasts for the next number of days. When I get downstairs in the morning I toss a few in the toaster oven and then get busy making lunches. 20 minutes later these delicious and savoury biscuits are ready to grab and go. Perfect for kids bustling out the door to school or camp. Give them a try and see what your crew thinks.

 
Cheddar, Bacon, and Chive Biscuits
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients:
6 slices bacon/veggie bacon
3 3/4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking sodas
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled, unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
2 cups coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
1 3/4 cups chilled buttermilk
 
 
Preparation:

 Cook bacon according to instructions then chop coarsely.

 Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in processor, blend for 5 seconds.

 Add butter cubes and blend until coarse meal forms, about 30 seconds.

 Transfer flour mixture to a large bowl. Add cheddar cheese, fresh chives, and chopped bacon; toss to blend.

 Gradually add buttermilk, stirring to moisten evenly (batter should be sticky).

 Cover and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

 
 

To bake:

 Preheat toaster oven to 425 degrees F. Line toaster oven tray with parchment paper.

 Using lightly floured hands, drop generous ½ cup batter for each biscuit onto prepared baking tray, spacing batter about 2 inches apart.

 Bake biscuits until golden and toothpick comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 
Adapted from Bon Appétit