cook Archives - Mommy Kat and Kids

Meal Planning Tips and an Easy Recipe from Unilever and Expert Sandi Richard

July 2, 2014 by Kathryn 63 Comments

I have been fascinated by the concept of meal planning for a few years now. I have repeatedly heard that it is one of the best ways to save money on the grocery budget and I know it must be a huge stress saver as well to not have to worry about what to make for supper each day. But I have to admit, I always thought the process was far too complicated for me to be able to manage.

Then Unilever, the makers of numerous dinnertime favourites including Hellman’s, Knorr and Ragu, gave me the chance to chat with expert meal planner Sandi Richard and I had high hopes that her advice might help me to finally figure out this concept and start enjoying the benefits of meal planning. Luckily for me, Sandi understands that busy parents don’t have time for a complex and confusing system when it comes to meal planning. The process should start, she says, with a simple sheet of paper (you can download a blank “Eat Sheet” on her website) and a family meeting.

Sandi was full of practical tips and the first one was that only five meals per week should be planned. She said there should be one day when parents can feel fine about ordering out and one day when eating grilled cheese and soup is acceptable, so five meals can take a family through the week without a problem. To decide on those five meals, she suggests just using a blank sheet of paper and filling in each of the meals. But to make the process work, getting input from the entire family is crucial! [Read more…]

Broccoli Salad Recipe for Sobeys Food Revolution Day #BetterFoodForAll #PotluckChallenge

May 20, 2014 by Kathryn 58 Comments

Friday, May 16, was the third annual Food Revolution Day, an occasion created by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to help teach children about the joy and importance of cooking with real, wholesome ingredients. This year, Sobeys teamed up with Jamie Oliver to host the country’s biggest potluck, the Potluck Challenge, through the Better Food for All website and I was so excited to be a part of it!

The mission was simple. Host a potluck for Food Revolution Day, Tweet and Instagram pictures from the event using the hashtags #PotluckChallenge and #FRD2014 and for each hashtag mention, Sobeys would donate $1 to Children’s Aid Foundation’s Cooking Toward Independence project. This initiative teaches children in the child welfare system how to cook so that when they reach adulthood, they have the skills they need to prepare nutritious meals for themselves. I’ve always taken for granted the cooking skills I learned from my mother when I was younger but since learning about this program, I’m so grateful that I had her in my life. Thanks to Sobeys and Food Revolution Day, now other children will have a chance to develop the same essential skills!

I shared a few tips for hosting a potluck a few weeks ago, and I took advantage of every one of them when Food Revolution Day arrived and it was time for my own potluck. I decided on an outdoor barbeque potluck, so as host I provided burgers and fixings while guests brought salads and desserts. But I couldn’t resist also whipping up one of my favourite potluck recipes, Broccoli Salad! [Read more…]

Treat Yourself to this Delicious Messy Fries Recipe with the Philips Airfryer

May 13, 2014 by Kathryn 43 Comments

A few weeks ago I received the Philips Airfryer to review and while I was excited about being able to enjoy crispy fried food without all the fat, I have to admit that I was pretty sceptical it could compare to my traditional deep fryer. Then I heard from readers about how much they loved the Airfryer and I started to believe that tasty deep-fried taste without tons of fat really might be possible.

After just a few uses, I was sold. The Airfryer uses cycling hot air to crisp up foods without the need to submerge them in oil and the results really are amazing. I’ve found that the Airfryer works best for foods that already have oil added to them in some form. Popcorn chicken, store-bought spring rolls and frozen French fries have all cooked beautifully in the Airfryer with no added oil at all. Even better, because of the basket’s mesh design, the foods actually lose some of their added oil while cooking!

I’ve been having a great time whipping up some of my favourite treats using the Airfryer and so last weekend, I decided to make one of my favourite indulgent deep-fryer recipes for supper: Messy Fries. These loaded poutine-style fries used to be one of the top menu items at the local bar when I was younger and I loved them so much that I started making my own version at home. A plate of fries loaded with chopped lettuce, tomato, green onion, two kinds of cheese and gravy, they certainly live up to their name! But with the Airfryer, I was able to eliminate a whole bunch of added fat when enjoying this treat! [Read more…]

Tasy Fried Food Without All the Oil with the Philips Airfryer #AirfryerIt

April 7, 2014 by Kathryn 75 Comments

I love to cook, and I use almost any different cooking technique I can when I’m in the mood to get creative in the kitchen. It was about five years ago that I bought a deep fryer for the first time and I have to admit, as somebody that eats a fairly healthy diet, I was surprised by how quickly it because an essential in our household.

I used heart-healthy coconut oil to ensure that the food I created was as healthy as possible, but I’m still always open to finding a better way to get the distinctive fried flavour I love without all the fat. Right now I save deep fried dishes for an occasional special treat, but if I can make that tasty country-fried chicken or poutine a little more often, I’d be all for that!

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Help Your Child Gain Kitchen Confidence with OwlKids Books Starting from Scratch by Sarah Elton-Giveaway

March 3, 2014 by Kathryn 47 Comments

I started helping my parents in the kitchen when I was about five years old. From baking cookies with my mom to making pancakes with my dad, if there was something tasty getting made, I was there lending a hand. As soon as I learned to read, I started reading recipes and cooking on my own. And by the time I was about twelve years old I was making pies and fudge by myself. Now my oldest son is getting to the age that he can start working in the kitchen too and I can’t wait to help him learn how to cook his own culinary creations!

So when I was recently offered the chance to review a new cooking book for kids, Starting from Scratch: What You Should Know About Food and Cooking by Sarah Elton and published by OwlKids Books, the timing couldn’t have been better. This book is no simple compilation of kid-friendly recipes…it is a complete and incredibly detailed guide to cooking that breaks down the process piece by piece so that children can feel confident in the kitchen even without a recipe. I sat down to read through it before giving it to Zackary and I was so impressed by how much information the book contained.

The book starts off with a chapter on taste, followed by a chapter that explains different cuisines. From there, the book explores the science behind cooking, the math concepts needed for recipes and the preparation process. I loved the idea of broadening a child’s mind about what food can be through explanations that included a look at the science behind food as well as an exploration of food geography and basic health and safety concepts. [Read more…]

The Ninja Ultima Blender Has All the Power and Versatility a Home Cook Needs

December 12, 2013 by Kathryn 26 Comments

One of the easiest ways to eat healthier is to prepare food at home, and now Ninja blenders are taking that concept to a new level by making it easier than ever to prepare all kinds of healthy and delicious foods at home. Recently I received the Ninja Ultima Blender to review and I could tell that it would become a kitchen essential in no time.

The Ninja Ultima has a few features that set it apart from the competition. One of the best and most original features of this blender is dual-stage blending that features both total crushing blades at the top for crushing fruits, vegetables, nuts and ice, and high-speed cyclonic blades at the bottom for liquefying ingredients. The pro-variable speed means that the blender is capable of everything from gentle blending to nutrient-complete juicing. No wonder it’s such a sought-after kitchen appliance! [Read more…]

Home Cooks Will Love Woll Diamond Plus Cookware and PushPan Bakeware from Pangea Sales

December 12, 2013 by Kathryn 180 Comments

New kitchen essentials are a great gift for anyone that loves to cook or bake, and since top-of-the-line products can be pricey, it’s a great way to treat a loved one to quality cookware that will be loved for years. Pangea Sales Inc. is an Ontario-based distributor of high-quality and unique cookware and bakeware at discount prices including the fabulous Wilkinson PushPan bakeware and Woll Diamond Plus cookware. I recently received the Wilkinson 9” PushPan and the Woll Diamond Plus 9.5” fry pan to test out myself and I couldn’t wait to get into the kitchen.

I have been lusting over Woll Diamond Plus cookware for some time so I was especially excited to try out the fry pan. I have a love-hate relationship when it comes to cookware. I love the convenience of non-stick, as long as it’s a variety free of PFOAs, but I hate the fact I can’t use metal utensils with it. I invariably end up forgetting in the bustle of cooking, using metal on the surface and ruining it. On the other hand, as much as I love the durability and convenience of stainless steel, I hate how some foods stick to it so badly.

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Cook Like a Professional with Knives from Cooking with Cutco-Giveaway

September 11, 2013 by Kathryn 168 Comments

I love to cook and it’s something that I’ve been doing since I was old enough to knead bread dough with my mother and flip pancakes with my father. I was incredibly lucky to have parents that were willing to let me help in the kitchen and talented home chefs with knowledge to give. From my mother, I learned the logical process of following a recipe and the importance of exact measurements, essential skills for successful results when baking. From my father I learned the magic of randomly throwing together favourite ingredients to create a dish that was delicious and original. But something neither one taught me was the difference that proper kitchen equipment can make.

As a result, when I first moved out on my own, I bought a cheap non-stick cookware set and used it for almost a decade after. I eventually switched to a cheap stainless steel set that still wasn’t especially impressive. But finally I realized that sometimes, great food requires great equipment, and so I invested in some essentials including a fabulous set of cast iron frying pans and a set of copper saucier pots. My knives, however, were the same cheap ones that I bought along with my non-stick cookware and I was becoming more and more desperate for a really good knife. (Especially since the ones I had were starting to break!)

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