Category: Recipes

Thanksgiving Ideas Roundup!

Published on by Bobbi-Jo G.Leave a comment
I love Autumn, and one of the reasons is…THANKSGIVING! In Canada, we celebrate in October so we get to fill up on turkey even earlier! Today I’m sharing just a few of my favorite FALL finds with you. I hope they inspire you as much as they have me!
Our Best Bites shares some absolutely ADORABLE Oreo Turkeys. It’s *almost* a shame to eat them!
How about something fun for little fingers to do while waiting for dinner? Check out these free printable placemats from Tomkat Studio!
Simply Vintagegirl has the right idea with a gorgeous (and purposeful) THANKFUL TREE! Have everyone write something they are thankful for on each little tag. I love this idea. You could also use the same idea for a Christmas advent calendar!
Have you seen this idea around? Dip colorful leaves in wax to preserve the color! This can be used in SO many ways for Autumn and Thanksgiving decorating.
My husband LOVES Trifle, so he would go nuts for this Pumpkin Gingerbread variety! What a great twist on the traditional pumpkin dessert.
And, of course, I love me some word art. This amazing Autumn Subway Art is a free download from Hopscotch Studios. LOVE!
I hope this inspires you, and a happy Thanksgiving weekend to my fellow Canadians!

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Italian Wedding Soup – Watch Out East Side Marios!

Published on by Bobbi-Jo G.9 Comments
Have you ever tried the Italian Wedding Soup from East Side Marios? I have. I love it. It completes me 🙂 It is a simple soup with meatballs and tiny pasta that just makes my taste buds sing and dance!! I loved it so much that I immediately went about trying recipes to find one that I could make from home and still love as much as if it came right from the restaurant. Sure enough..I found a recipe that I loved, tweaked it to my liking, and now I’m sharing it with YOU! You will NOT be disappointed 🙂
First, we’ll make those delightful little meatballs that put this soup over the top!
 
Italian meatballs:
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup breadcrumbs (I use whole wheat – just toss a piece of bread into a food processor)
2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
In medium bowl, combine beef to onion and shape into small meatballs. I make them pretty small – about an inch around. You want them small enough to easily eat in a spoonful of soup. Bake 350 for 20 minutes or so. We’ll be boiling these in with the soup as well, but we want them mostly cooked through so they will hold together. I usually double the meatball recipe and freeze half to put over spaghetti on another night.
Soup
6 cups chicken broth
2 cup spinach, chopped (I use frozen, thawed and liquid squeezed out)
1 cup dry small pasta like orzo or other tiny noodles
¾ cup diced carrots (opt. – but I like them in there)
prepared meatballs
dash of onion and garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
In large stockpot, heat broth to boiling and stir in everything else, except pasta. Cook pasta separately and add in at the end. Simmer soup for 30 minutes. Add pasta and cook for 5 more minutes. Serve warm.
I absolutely ADORE this soup, and so do my kids. If they only knew how much spinach they were getting with each mouthful…Mwa ha ha ha ha! Oh, I love sneaking healthy tidbits in delicious meals. HA! Give this a try and let me know if you like it!

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"Tony Roma’s" Ribs Recipe

Published on by Bobbi-Jo G.3 Comments
Do you want to taste some mouth-watering, fall-off-the-bone goodness? If the answer is YES, you’ll want in on this recipe I nabbed from a friend in the States who BBQ’d up some smokin’ hot ribs for us while we were down there visiting. I finally got the chance to try the recipe myself, and let me tell ya….MAJOR  yummo happening here. Of course, if it works for ME I want to share it! So, here we go 🙂
You’ll need:
4 lbs baby back pork ribs, or pork spareribs
Barbecue sauce for coating (use your own, or use the recipe below)
Tin foil
24 hours before you should take defrosted ribs and cut them into four pieces that will fit onto a plate. Coat the ribs, front and back, with the BBQ sauce. Be liberal with it! Wrap each piece of ribs into it’s own piece of tin foil, and wrap it tightly. You can now place the ribs in the fridge for 24 hours. This will really get those flavors infused into the meat. YUMMO!
The day of, preheat the oven to 300 F. Place the ribs in the oven, right on the rack, with the seam of the tinfoil facing upward. You are going to cook these babies for 2 hours at this lower temp. This will really let that meat fall right off the bone. Oh, mercy!
Remove from the oven and slather even more BBQ sauce on these babies. Make sure to save some to put on right before serving, too. Now you are going to grill those ribs for about 2-4 minutes on each side – just until you see several spots of charred, blackened sauce. Be careful not to burn!
DONE! Right before serving, slather more BBQ sauce on these and prepare to get messy! We loved these and I hope you will, too! 
Here is the BBQ sauce recipe you can make yourself:
1 cup ketchup                                                 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 cup vinegar                                                  1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 cup dark corn syrup                             1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1. Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan over high heat. Use a whisk to blend the ingredients until smooth.
2. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered.
3. In 30-40 minutes, when the mixture thickens, remove it from the heat. If you want the sauce thicker, just cook it longer. If you want it thinner – add a bit more vinegar. 
Happy grilling!

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