Month: January 2013

Hearty Casserole (AKA: The Best Casserole in the Entire World)

Claudia's Cookbook - Hearty Casserole 17

It’s been extremely cold here in Winnipeg over the past 4 days. Like, seriously cold. I’m talking -40 degrees celsius cold! We had our car not start and require boosting twice in two days. We might now be on a first name basis with Dr. Hook Towing (thanks guys!). I completely admire people who can continue to eat healthy when it’s freezing outside. I totally crave comfort food, such as soups, chilli and this amazing casserole. Okay, so I not only crave comfort food when the weather is terrible. I also crave it when I am sick – like last week when I hurt my back and managed to eat my body weight in chicken fingers and fries. Don’t judge me – you’ve totally done this too.

I completely fell in love with this casserole a couple years ago when my fiancĂ© made it for me on one random weekend. It’s the best casserole in the entire world. At least, in my humble opinion it is. I convinced him to make it again, only this time for the purposes of teaching me (and my loyal blog followers) the secret to its deliciousness. Needless to say, I soon realized this recipe is extremely simple, which is perfect on days when all you want to do is hide under the covers and hibernate.

(more…)

Rolo Cheesecake Brownies

Claudia's Cookbook- Rolo Cheesecake Brownies 19I apologize for the lack of posts over the past few weeks. It’s been rather hectic over here. First, we were hit with a terrible winter storm here in Winnipeg. They called it a blizzard in the forecast, but it actually didn’t reach blizzard proportions. It was close though. Then a couple days later, I somehow managed to hurt my back taking down our Christmas tree. Yeah, don’t ask. Needless to say, it rendered me useless and confined to the couch for the better part of a week. Today is the first day I can honestly say I feel much better and am able to move around without shrieking in pain.

The storm and the hurt back taught me a very important lesson about myself: I really dislike being cooped up in the house for days on end. I guess it would have been okay if I was able to stand long enough to get my bake on. Sadly, I wasn’t able to until last night. I wanted to make sure my resurrection into the food blogging world was a good one for you. I think I hit it out of the ballpark with these Rolo Cheesecake Brownies! They are rich and super delicious. They have the perfect balance of sweetness with the salted caramel and dark chocolate. Not to mention the cream cheese and rolo candies! You will not be disappointed when you try this recipe. Best of all – it’s crazy easy!

(more…)

Cheese and Caramel Popcorn

Chicago Mix Popcorn 20

My best friend Denise is infatuated with Garrett Mix popcorn. Like, obsessed! When we went to New York City this past November, she bought two jumbo bags for herself and carried them onto the plane. One jumbo bag could probably fit a small child, I kid you not! I don’t blame Denise for her love of this popcorn. It’s seriously delicious. I often wonder if they lace it with something because it’s beyond addictive. So much in fact that I felt the need to replicate it in some way. I can honestly say, this recipe is not as good as Garrett’s, but since I don’t live anywhere near the closest store and refuse to pay the shipping costs, this recipe is a solid solution to my cheddar/caramel popcorn cravings.

(more…)