effortless 3 ingredient baked apricot chicken

While looking for a quick easy new chicken recipe on www.allrecipes.com in the top 20 rated chicken recipe section, I stumbled across Baked Apricot Chicken, based on the rave reviews I thought it was worthy of trying and worthy of blogging about because it was soo simple and practically effortless. When I first read the ingredients (all three of them plus the chicken) I thought yuck, sounds kinda gross.  But honestly, this trio really worked.  It was yummy!!! I will be making this again, try it out and let me know if you agree.

Ingredients

Chicken Thighs
1 Cup Apricot Jam
1 Cup French Dressing
1 Pack Onion Soup Mix

Directions

Mix jam, dressing and soup mix in a bowl, pour over chicken and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

the 3 simple ingredient sauce

the yummy sticky gooey apricot chicken



mmmeat and bread

This week we ventured to "Meat and Bread" for lunch, this place has been the talk of the town, number one on Urbanspoon for weeks now, maybe even months so it has been on the top of my list of spots to check out for a while.   The cool, hip eatery was packed with downtown business types and Gastown artsy types lined up to the door.  All the sandwiches are assembled right before your eyes in a nice open area.  They have 4 sandwiches on the menu, the Porchetta, Meatball, Grilled Cheese (with caramelized onions YUM) and the daily special.  Next time I will try the daily special, it's usually a nice braised lamb.  They also have a soup of the day, a salad, and an ice cream sandwich with pieces of chopped bacon in it!!  That's right, a bacon ice-cream sandwich, and yes I tried it and quite enjoyed it's sweet and saltiness.  I had the Porchetta, because I was told it's the most popular.  I loved the tender roasted pork combined with salty crispy pork skin accompanied with a nice salsa verde which consisted of chopped fresh herbs and olive oil. Oh and the in house mustard was super delish!

Overall, Meat and Bread was pretty damn good, will I go back, yes. 
Meat and Bread is located at 370 Cambie http://www.meatandbread.ca/

The sandwich assembly line and the delicious house made mustards

Cutting up my Porchetta

The Sandwiches, Meatball in the middle (don't worry they weren't all mine, I was with 2 other foodies.

My Porchetta

Bacon Ice-Cream Sandwich in Pizzelle

"pehn"nomenal take out

Last night I had an insatiable craving for my favorite chicken wings so I packed up my 15 month old, got into my car and drove to Chinatown to grab some "Phnom Penh" take out.  The entire ride down I couldn't get those yummy wings off my mind.  Oh how I longed for them, crispy, salty, peppery, garlicky, highly addictive... traffic was heavy due to people heading to the Canucks game, but I got there in time so that my food wasn't just sitting there getting cold waiting for me.  I paid the lady, asked for some extra lemon dipping sauce (amazing) and was on my way, Sophia in one arm and take-out in the other. To keep my wings crispy, I left the top of the wings container open so they could breath and not end up all soggy when I got home.  I cranked up the heat and turned on my heated seats to keep my food nice and toasty (not only do they keep your bum warm they come in handy for keeping your food warm too).  I took all the back roads home.  Those wings smelled so good that at one point I entertained the idea of just eating them as I drove, but I stopped myself as I knew that my hands would just get all greasy making a big mess in my vehicle.  Finally I pulled up, grabbed my child and food, ran into my home, put her down and my food on the counter, ripped my jacket off, washed my hands...and it was showtime!!!
Eating those wings was so satisfying, they were just as amazing at home as they were when I had them in the restaurant.  We also got the "Lu-lac beef" on rice and the Vietnamese style pork chops, both excellent

Phnom Penh is the real deal, Cambodian/Vietnamese cuisine, It's no wonder Anthony Bourdain loves this place.  You must go!!!  They are located at 244 East Georgia Street, Vancouver B.C. 604-682-5777

Lu-lac Beef

Vietnamese Pork-Chops

Deep Fried Chicken Wings







"cake boss lady" spotlight on a local business

Not only are her cakes pretty they are extremely yummy.  I'm talking about local cake artist (she truly is an artist) Shaleena.  We were great friends in high school, lost touch, but connected after many many years and to my delight I discovered she baked cakes, delicious all natural taste sensational cakes.  For my daughter's first birthday, I ordered her triple chocolate with chocolate buttercream and I tell you, it was the most moist and chocolaty, not too sweet but perfect tasting cake I have ever had.  To this day, she will not divulge any of her "secret" ingredients.  I do know she uses organic flour, cane sugar, and quality stuff with no fillers or crap that you can't pronounce.  The finished product, an old fashioned, totally scratch, made with love, I want seconds and thirds cake.  I also tried her Vanilla Bean cake, WOW, soft and moist with specks of real vanilla bean in the icing.  If you want a cake that tastes and looks out of this world, contact Shaleena at "Sweet Catastrophe Cakes" www.sweetcatastrophecakes.webs.com her email is cakemaniacs@shaw.ca

Below are only a few of some of my favorite cakes she's done.  From life size electric guitars to over sized replicas of bottles of booze she's created alot of crazy cool stuff for her clients.  Look out "Cake Boss" because here comes the "Cake Boss Lady".

 This has to be my favorite because it was my daughter Sophia's first birthday cake

 Ni Hao Kai Lan!  Very impressive work with gum paste

Baby Chuck Taylors 

 Edward Cullon Twilight cake freehand

Wonderwoman freehand

local artist, very cool abstract art

If you're looking for some cool, local abstract art for your home that is not outrageously priced, I recommend you check out local artist Katie Napier at http://www.katienapiergallery.com/.  We recently picked up a painting from her titled "Abstract Silver 3" on sale.  She's a very talented artist and a sweet young mom located in the North Shore.  She will also do commission pieces if you want something a bit more personalized.  Check out her site as she has some great stuff, very modern and I love her use of colors.  She puts some of her pieces on sale from time to time, so even more reason to visit her site!

I love painting and in the past, took some lessons here and there, her work has inspired me to maybe pick up a brush again and see what my creativity can produce, I may just paint a few pieces of my own. 

"Abstract Silver 3", by Katie Napier

Close up of "Abstract Silver 3"





nothing interesting to blog about...

Hello my dear and loyal followers!  I haven't posted in a few days because I pretty much have nothing interesting to blog about at the moment.  I didn't want to blog just anything for the sake of blogging so I'm blogging about not blogging until I have something blogworthy to blog about.  Yep, I really don't have anything interesting to say, as I sit here, I'm thinking hmm...maybe I can blog about something, I can't.  I made a pretty lame dinner tonight, taco salad kit out of the bag, browned some ground meat and added some beans, it was pretty good though, quick, easy and minimal effort.  Stay tuned, hopefully I get rid of this bloggers block soon.

review for romer's burger bar

I've been meaning to review Romer's Burger Bar for a while, tried it a few months ago.  Romer's is the creation of executive chef Jim Romer, and serves "real" food that is locally sourced, "all natural" and pretty darn good.  When I hear "all natural", "free run" and "wild" I become excited about the food I'm about to eat.

I had the "Green Chilli Chicken Cheddar Burger" consisting of lemon griddled free-run chicken breast, house-made green chili sauce, fresh avocado, minced red onion, plenty of cheddar, Habanero Pepper Verdelait.  I "made mine green" and had the iceberg head lettuce bun, a low carb alternative to the Brioche bun, which I'm sorry I didn't try, because the how can you review a bunless burger?  The chicken was grilled to perfection, nice fresh crisp ingredients but I really didn't feel as I was eating a burger so I need to go back.

My other half ordered the "Righteous Rib", consisting of all-natural beef, thick-sliced applewood bacon, braised short ribs, sweet onions, Gorgonzola garlic sauce, fresh thyme leaves.  Sounds and looks amazing, but his exact quote, "The meat tastes too clean".  He appreciates the greasy artery clogging mystery meat burgers instead I guess.  Although, I do understand what he meant, as many people do appreciate a bit more grease and fat content in their burgers perhaps?

Overall, this place has a great menu, with 11 burger options to choose from, and I love options.  I liked the olives and pepperoncini that were served with the burger and the fresh cut fries with dip (order separately)were very good.  I want to go back for "The Magic Mushroom", "The Ultimate Kobe Classic" and "The Man's Man Burger" even though I'm not a man, nor a man.  And no, I will not order these all in one day, so I guess I'm going to have to go back 3 more times.  Oh and I must also try the "Drunken Doughnuts" served with a lovely trio of dipping sauces - Kahlua Nutella, Limoncello and Maple Whiskey.  I heard they were awesome! I will post my revised review after I try a few more menu items, but so far a great experience.

Romer's Burger Bar is located at 1873 W. 4th Ave. (at Cypress) Vancouver, BC, V6J 1M4
Check out their menu and philosophy at www.romersburgerbar.com

"Righteous Rib Burger"

 "Green Chilli Chicken Cheddar" on a Lettuce Bun



best lemony greek potatoes recipe

This side-dish is too good so I must share, made them last night and want them again tonight!!  Had them for the first time at my sister in law's one summer and have been making her recipe ever since.  Everyone who tries them ends up phoning me for the recipe, over and over because they usually don't write it down (ha ha) so I'm posting on my blog.  Trust me, you're gonna love them!  Especially if you're a fan of lemons!

Best Lemony Greek Potatoes

Ingredients

4-5 large yellow or white potatoes cubed
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of 3 lemons
2-3 cups chicken stock (I usually use 2 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon dry oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
salt (according to your preference) you can also add garlic powder if you wish

Directions

Bake uncovered at 500 for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  You will know they're ready when all the liquid has disappeared and the potatoes are crisping up in the olive oil.  I usually add more salt at this stage.
The potatoes should be very soft on the inside, with a nice bit of crisp on the outside.  Yum!

Before I popped them in the oven

After just a little over 90 minutes or so...YUM!!!



the best waffles out of a box EVER

Just had a deliciously decadent out of the box straight into the toaster waffle this morning that is just too good that I have to give them a plug.  You seriously must try these "authentic Belgian waffles", they're like a dessert, no need to add syrup to these. I'm talking about the "Chocolate Chip Liege Waffles" from Patisserie LeBeau. They're locally made here in Vancouver, and contain all natural ingredients.  You won't be disappointed.  They're buttery, chocolaty, with nice bits of rock sugar crunch, yum!  My daughter is having one for a breakfast treat this morning, as I look over at her, I see that she's loving it.

Apparently the bakery, "Patisserie LeBeau" in Kits has been around since 95', and is super popular with people lining up on Sunday mornings for the "Brussels Waffle".  How did I not know about this place?  I'm going to have to check it out soon.  You can buy these yummy waffles at Stongs Market, Whole Foods, Nester's, Choices, and Capers.

lemon pancakes...

OMG!! Hillarious and oh so amateur!! I've been looking for this video and just found it minutes ago, literally!  So uncomfortable to watch!  Five years ago I did a small promotion job for T-Fal pans.  Someone came to my home and filmed me making the recipe provided and I even got paid.  It was for the realmeals.tv site.  This was the first take, and she said it worked, but when I look at this I cringe!  I looked so nervous and my pancakes looked so shitty.  But honestly, they tasted delicious.  Seriously try them, the recipe is all in the video.  Oh my god, and what was with my grammar? "I'm just gonna put my oven on." Towards the end it gets even more ridiculous, I mention how my husband doesn't help me clean! Aaaahh!!  If you can't view the video through the link below try this one http://www.watchmojo.com/tv/5min/TV360/215138824/



http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Make-Lemon-Pancakes-215138824