Cooking Trout Outdoors over the Fire

Now this was tasty!!!!  What could be better than cooking freshly caught fish on an outdoor fire in the backyard on a nice spring day?

Look what my hubby caught!

Can you believe it?  My husband showed up at the front door with this huge Trout in his hands.  I was floored.  How awesome is this...  I am so proud of him.  And what a perfect idea for a Real Women of Philadelphia entree entry.  This one is going to be exciting... I'm thinking "outdoor cooking"

Traditional French Canadian Tourtiere (Meat Pie)

This recipe is special for me.  My meme passed this secret tourtiere recipe down to my mother and my mother to me.  Was the recipe in the family longer than this?  I'm not sure.  I decided to share this very special recipe with you and the rest of the contestants on the Real Women of Philadelphia contest even though I was told the recipe was a secret.  I have to think now that if my meme were alive today, she would be so pleased to see me on "tv" sharing her special recipe with the world.  Especially now when so many young women haven't had the great fortune of being shown how to cook or simply would rather rely on pre-packaged foods.  I have to believe that she would rather her recipe be shared and loved by all.

If you have the opportunity to try this recipe, I hope it becomes one of your hand-me down treasures :)

Danielle :)

The tasty zucchini shines in this Zucchini Bake

I've got great news for you.  If you're a big fan of zucchini like me you will love this dish.  I've your not a big fan of zucchini like some people I know, you will still love this dish.  I use 3 lbs of zucchini but you can't even tell its in the dish.  Incredible!!!  Eat is as a side to chicken or steak.  Or, you could even eat it for breakfast with pancakes and bacon.  It freezes great so you can definitely make it ahead if you're having company over for the weekend.  Check out the recipe and let me know how you like it...

Squash Cup Heaven

I LOVE these squash cups.  Here is how you make them:

• 1 pound(s) of Shrimp (cleaned/ deveined)
• 1 cup(s) of Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 cup(s) of PHILADELPHIA RED PEPPER CREAM CHEESE
• 1 cup(s) of Asiago Cheese
• 4 Green Onion (chopped)
• 1/2 cup(s) of Butter
• 100 g Prosciutto (chopped)
• 2 Cloves of Garlic (minced or pressed)
• 1 pinch of Paprika
• 3 Squash (butternut and buttercup preferred)
• 1 large Onion

Steps

1. Slice the squash in half and remove seeds. Add sliced squash, face down in a shallow cooking dish with 1 inch of water and bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes (until soft)
2. Drain water from baking dish. Scoop cooked squash out of shells and place in a  bowl and set aside. Keep the shells intact and reserve for later.
3. Chop the cooking onions, green onions, shrimp and prosciutto and set each     aside.
4. Melt butter in large pot over medium heat.
5. Add in cooking onion and prosciutto and cook for approx 2 - 3 minutes.
6. Add garlic, shrimp, squash, green onions, asiago cheese and PHILADELPHIA RED PEPPER CREAM CHEESE and 3/4 of a cup of bread crumbs (reserve the remainder   of bread crumbs for later). Cook 10 - 15 minutes (stirring often)
7. Once the mixture is cooked, spoon mixture into squash shells.
8. Top mixture with remaining bread crumbs and sprinkle with paprika.
9. Bake shells on a tin sheet for approx 10 - 15 minutes (until brown) at 375      degrees.
10. NOTE: If mixture in shells are not brown (to your liking) then broil for approx           1 - 2 minutes.
11. Salt & pepper to taste
12. Enjoy!

My first side dish entry :)

This recipe is so delicious.... And it's super quick and easy to make.  I'm training right now to run a marathon this fall with a few of my running buddies.  I ended up inviting them over for dinner and wine after we trained the other night.  Well I didn't have anything planned... PANIC!!! Luckily for me I had some asparagus and prosciutto on hand and a variety of Philly cream cheese.  I steamed up the asparagus, sprinkled them with italian spices, spread them with cream cheese and then wrapped them with the prosciutto.  They made a perfect companion to hamburgers and hotdogs.  For the detailed recipe check out my Real Women of Philadelphia recipe.

Monte - Right at home in the kitchen :)

Gluten Free Feast

As promised here is the final meal:

A Homemade Chicken and Vegetable Soup with Greens and a PHILADELPHIA CREAM CHEESE dressing.

First...  I brought my chicken stock to a boil.  Then I added some chopped carrots, celery and red cabbage.  I let that boil for about 10 minutes.  Then I added the cooked chopped chicken (leftovers from last night), shaved zucchini noodles and chopped parsley and cooked for another 5 minutes.  You may be scratching your head here asking... what are shaved zucchini noodles?  Well, it's pretty simple.  All you have to do is take a zucchini and shave it lengthwise with your vegetable peeler.  You can leave the pieces long like fettuccine noodles or cut them up like egg noodles.  They are a great substitute if you have a gluten free eater in the house of if you're trying to watch your carbohydrate intake.

Zucchini noodles have the same sort of consistency as regular white flour noodles so really you won't notice too much of a difference.

I'm trying to incorporate a lot more raw veggies into my diet.  I've been reading a lot of information about how  50 percent of our daily food intake should be raw in order to keep your body healthy and properly nourished.  That certainly hasn't been the case for me in the past so I'm doing my best to try out new recipes involving more raw foods.  

Here I have some chopped carrots, celery, red cabbage, zucchini, parsley, dandelion greens, romaine lettuce and PHILADELPHIA light garden vegetable cream cheese.

Add the chopped carrots, celery, red cabbage, zucchini, parsley and dandelion greens to the food processor.  Add just a splash of water (just enough to get the veggies processing).

Then add the PHILADELPHIA light garden vegetable cream cheese.  Add to taste.  I like it nice and creamy so I add a lot.

I like to add in crushed flax seed.  Add some to the food processor.  Once the mixture is processed and you like the texture and taste, simply dollop onto your ripped lettuce leaves and voila!  You're ready to eat :)

And here you have my Homemade Chicken and Vegetable Soup with Greens and a PHILADELPHIA CREAM CHEESE dressing.  I hope you enjoy it just as much as we did :)

Chicken soup for the soul

This morning I'm making homemade chicken stock from our leftover roast chicken dinner last night so that my hubby and I can have chicken soup for lunch with a surprise PHILADELPHIA cream cheese side dish (I'll keep you guessing until lunchtime).

My chicken stock never seems to be the same way twice.  I generally just use what's in my fridge.  This time I used about 5 cloves of garlic, 1 red onion, a handful of red cabbage, a handful of parsley, some baby carrots, beet greens, celery, salt/pepper and dried sage. I also like to add a chicken bouillon cube.

Do you ever use beet greens?  They are chocked full of calcium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus.  They also contain vitamins A, B-complex and C.  Definitely a winner in my book.  Not sure how else to use them?  Try juicing your raw beet greens.

Just for you

Just a little something to brighten your day :)  Hope you have a good one!

Honey I want a "stick to your ribs" supper tonight

After a long day of working outside (it's pretty wet, cold and windy here today) my hubby phoned me late afternoon and said: honey could you please make a "stick to your ribs" kind of supper? Well that's what he got.  A roasted garlic chicken with carrots, cauliflower, red onion and red potato with a PHILADELPHIA onion and chive cream cheese gravy and homemade biscuits.  He was in hubby heaven :)

In Gardening Mode

As you can tell, I couldn`t just put the cream cheese in the fridge...  It was just too tempting.  So I made myself one of my favourite snacks... a munchie plate :)  Carrots, cucumber, almonds and Triscuits with Philadelphia Cream Cheese (garden vegetable and roasted red pepper and a nice cup of Dandelion Root Tea.   

And now I`m going to spend a little quality time with my seeds. This year I`ll be growing all sorts of new fruits and vegetables so I really need to do a little homework before I get started.  Things have been pretty hectic for me lately so I think I`m already a bit behind but that`s fine.  

This year I ordered seeds online for the first time.  I ordered from Greta`s Organic Gardens, Tree and Twig, William Dam Seeds, Acorus Restoration and The Cottage Gardener.  My sister is taking horticulture classes and heard through the grapevine that these companies were really well respected.  I`ll have to update you soon on what I`m planting and how it goes.

Happy Cooking (and growing),

Danielle

I love a Philly sale!!!

After work I headed to the Real Canadian Superstore and Philadelphia Cream Cheese was on sale!!!  I was so happy (as you can tell from the pic I stocked up).  Now I'm all set for my next round of video recipe submissions for the Real Women of Philadelphia Contest.  I think I've figured out what I'll be making.  Give you a hint:  these recipes will include pineapple, strawberry, spinach, roasted red pepper, chive & onion, herb & garlic, garden vegetable and the light sundried tomato & basil cream cheeses.  LOL and they won't all be in the same recipe ;)  Promise.. 

Philly Strawberry Delight Appetizer Recipe by the Cream Cheese Party Queen

Oh how I love you Strawberries

Strawberries are heaven to me.  Just thinking of taking a bite out of a fresh, juicy homegrown strawberry makes my mouth water.  Unfortunately, we still have a few more months to go before my container garden is bursting with strawberries so off to the market I went to buy myself a few pints.

Strawberries are a great way to nourish your body with fiber, antioxidants, manganese and vitamin C (among other things).  And, you don't have to just use them for dessert either.

Check out one of my submissions for the Real Women of Philadelphia Contest (appetizer category).  I call it my Philly Strawberry Delight.  These make a great appetizer paired with your favourite Canadian sparkling wine and served up at a garden party, bridal shower or even next weekend at your Easter celebrations.

I hope you love them just as much as I do.  You can also make the mixture ahead of time and freeze.

Happy Cooking,
Danielle

Creamy Cauliflower Philadelphia Dip Recipe by the Cream Cheese Party Queen

Wow the competition is good!!

I am so impressed.  The submissions for the Real Women of Philadelphia Contest are good!!!  Congrats to all the ladies who have submitted :)  It sure looks like I'm going to have to start getting even more creative here.

I'm very passionate about healthy cooking.  I like incorporating healthy fruits and vegetables into my recipes.  My Creamy Cauliflower Philadelphia Dip uses a whole head of Cauliflower.  Cruciferous vegetables (including cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, collards, kale, brussels sprouts etc.) provide us with phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals and fiber... all of which are important for a healthy body.  And, let's face it - not everyone is a big fan of these types of vegetables (especially our kids).  Did you know that it's recommended that we each have several servings of these vegetables per week?  Having a handy list at our fingertips of recipes that include these vegetables is a great way to ensure that we get our body's requirement.  And it's certainly a plus if you can mask the taste.  I think my Creamy Cauliflower Philadelphia Dip does just that!  You'll have to let me know your thoughts.

Learn more about the health benefits of cruciferous vegetables.

Happy Cooking...

Danielle (The Cream Cheese Party Queen)

Philadelphia Jalapeno Pinwheels Appetizer Recipe by the Cream Cheese Par...

What to do... What to do

Well I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what I'm going to make for my next submissions.  I have tons of recipes already but are they worthy?  Are they creative enough?  I will just have to pick a few and go with it.  Keep your eyes peeled this week for my newest entries.

In the meantime you might want to try these Philadelphia Jalapeno & Cheese Pinwheels.  I entered these last week in the Real Women of Philadelphia Contest for the Appetizer category.  They are so delicious and remember you can always make the mixture ahead of time and keep them in the freezer.

Happy Cooking,

Danielle

Real Women of Philadelphia

I'm so excited about the Real Women of Philadelphia contest www.realwomenofphiladelphia.ca.  Last week my sister messaged me about the contest and said "you have to do this... you're the cream cheese party queen.. everyone loves your recipes".

So I checked out the website.  Anna Olson is the spokesperson and I love her style of cooking.  Have you ever tried her Rhubarb Tart?  http://ow.ly/4DRKW - it's delicious and made with cream cheese!!

PHILADELPHIA cream cheese is looking for the next great cooking stars to be crowned the Real Women of Philadelphia.  The four winners will host the www.realwomenofphiladelphia.ca website by starring in their own cooking videos, participating as a contributing editor within the community and contributing to an online cookbook and each winner will receive $20,000... yes I will say it again... $20,000 bucks!!

It's an 8-week cooking competition.  Each week you are invited to submit videos of you making your most creative recipes that use Philly cream cheese in one of four categories: Appetizer, Side Dish, Entree and Dessert.  There will be two rounds of each category.  And you can participate in whichever categories/weeks you want. No need to participate in all.

We'll I was in!!!!

I signed up and we spent the whole weekend putting together the videos.  We had a riot!!!!  First of all, I've never really been on camera before so you can just imagine the amount of laughing going on.  I definitely have enough footage for a blooper reel.  I have to say it was a great way to spend some quality time with my sister while cooking and eating our way through the weekend.  By the end of it all we had shopped, prepped, cooked, filmed, edited and uploaded three videos for the first week of the contest (appetizer week).

For more info about how the contest works check out: http://ow.ly/4DS8b.

Also check out my entries and let me know what you think :)  http://ow.ly/4DS7j