This simple trail mix recipe is a great way to curb your hunger until the real food comes.

Are you always hungry before meal time? Are you always trying to sneak a roll, biscuit or a little snack before dinner? Are your kids tugging at your shirt sleeves after you get home from school or work?

If so, I have a snack pack for you! This simple little treat in a jar or bag can keep everyone smiling. Trail mix is an ideal snack food on the trail, before meal time or for afternoon or evening snacks. It is lightweight and easy to store, very energy rich, providing quick energy from the carbohydrates in the dried fruit and/or granola, as well as sustained energy from the mostly mono- and polyunsaturated fats in nuts.

Every now and again it is time to let loose and give yourself a break. This quick and easy recipe is great to have around and is very versatile. I have used it at dinner parties before chicken winds and bruschetta or for kids birthday parties or even sitting down watching the Jays game on TV. The combination of sweet and salty just makes you want more.

Ingredients

• Small Pretzels (1 Cup)
• “O”-Shaped Toasted Oat Cereal (1/2 Cup)
• Roasted Almonds (1/2 Cup)
• Candy Coated Chocolates (2 Tbsp)
• Raisins (2 Tbsp)
• Cashews (1/4 Cup)

Method

Put all 6 ingredients in a bowl. Using mixing spoons to toss until combined. Makes about 2 1/2 cups. Store any unused portion in an sir tight container or ziploc bag for later. Obviously without being to sharp in math if you want to make a large batch for a bigger crowd you can just multiply each ingredietn accordingly.

I really hope you enjoy it and if you have any other ideas for what you like to add to your trail mix - I would love to here from you.

Our society has forced alot of us to eat on the run or have very little time to prepare meals.  Whether your in the corporate world, busy parents with kids or just plain busy - having tips to prepare healthy quick meals is a big help.  I put together a few simple ways to be effective and cost efficient that you can try when preparing your next meal.

1. Prepare Food Immediately from the Grocery Store

Whether your chopping green peppers for stir fry or seeding and slicing a cantalope - Doing this right way and storing in ziploc bags can save you valuable time during meal preparation and also allows you to make healhier choices when you have a huge munch on.

2. Make a weekly meal plan

Check family members’ schedules before deciding which nights to cook. To increase family involvement, ask everyone to pick and schedule one family meal a week. Having a plan also makes writing shopping and “to do” lists easier.

3. Cook once, eat twice

Double favorite recipes, freezing extra servings in easy-to-thaw portions. Freeze extra cooked chicken breasts for quick salads, quesadillas, enchiladas, and soup.

4. Streamline shopping

Keep a running grocery list of items needed by category, such as breads, meats, and produce to reduce “emergency” trips for missing ingredients.

5. Get children involved in making dinner

Besides benefiting from the obvious creative aspects of cooking and the boost to their self-esteem, there are the more practical bonuses of developing math skills and learning how to eat well. Also if they are helping you with meal time - then you are not being distracted and things will move quicker.

6. Time is money

Take help where you can get it. “Sometimes it’s worth the added cents to choose raw deveined shrimp over shrimp you have to clean, or chicken cutlets over the breasts you would have to trim and split,” I also uses canned foods, such as beans, tomatoes and stocks, because of the time savings in certain situations.

7. Plug in the Slow Cooker

Although it might seem like a contradiction, slow cookers actually make quick work of getting a meal on the table. Just toss the ingredients in the cooker in the morning, and dinner is ready when you get home.

8. Keep your pantry stocked

The pantry being the building blocks of fast meals: basics such as pastas, rice, broths, stocks, canned tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, and canned beans.

Well as most of you know by now - I like to keep things simple when it comes to food. The odd time I go all “chef like” and kick it up a notch but most times I tend to stay pretty regular and simple. Last night was no exception. I was sitting at the office wondering what to make for supper - debated some roasted salmon, some olde fashion spaghetti and then a thought rolled in my head from a commercial iI heard on the radio. Two for One Sirloins at Sobeys!

That was all my little brain needed - as I packed up may bag and headed home, all I could think of was sizzling steak on the barbecue. Some other thoughts creeped along side as I wondered what I could make with the steak. Being on PEI, and being somewhat of a meat and potatoes boy one side dish was pretty easy… potatoes.  Too add a little more health to the meal I thought lets steam a little cauliflower and broccoli.  When cooking vegetables - I pretty much always follow the technique for perfectly cooked vegetables as the results speak for themselves.

So I quickly made my way home with two delicious pieces of sirloin steak.  I say hi to the family and then march out to fire up the barbecue.  I turn the barbecue on to high heat to warm up the grill and prepare the meat to sizzle. 

Preparation

Getting back to the simple things in life - I just take olive oil and rub a small amount on both sides of the meat and then follow it up  with some fresh black ground pepper.  I do not salt the meat as it tends to tense up the meat and extract the natural juices ( which we do not want to do )

• Bring Steaks Out of the Cold: Have steaks at room temperature before grilling.
• Check the Oil: Lightly oil the grilling rack before putting steaks on (it keeps meat from sticking and cracking while keeping the natural juices in).
• Get the Grill Hot: Preheat grill to 600 to 800 degrees F and keep it at this temperature for 30 to 45 minutes before putting steaks on.
• Avoid the Flip-Flop: Only flip once after five minutes of grilling.
• Ditch the Fork: Use tongs or a spatula (A fork allows juices to spill out).
• Don’t Perform Surgery with a Serrated Knife: To see if steak is finished, press on it with the palm of your hand. It will feel spongy when rare, have some resistance when cooked to medium and be firm when well done.
• Rare: Squeeze the pad at the base of your thumb. It should feel spongy and feel very little resistance.
• Medium: Press on the middle of the palm of your outstretched hand. It should feel firm.
• Well Done: Squeeze the base of your small finger. It should feel firm with no give.
• Give it a rest. After grilling, give the steak a rest for a couple of minutes to let the juices redistribute before cutting into it. A drizzle of olive oil or a pat of butter gives the steak a handsome sheen and spectacular flavor and finish.

While the steaks are resting i grab the potatoes , add some butter and spoon up some fresh vegetables and relax with the family and enjoy an old classic summer meal.

Growing up with a mother and grandmomther who loved to bake - it was evident I was going to have the same passion when it comes to pastries and a sweet tooth.

Below I put together some simple tips to take to your kitchen the next time you decide to throw some flour on the counter top to ensure a delicious fruit pie.

Keep in mind I just added a few of my favorite flavorings - so feel free to switch it up and try your own twists.

Pie Chart for Double-Crust Fruit Pies

5 Steps to Perfect Pies

1. Line 9 inch (23 cm) pie plate with pastry.

2. In a large bowl, combine prepared fruit, sugar, flour, 1 tbsp lemon juice and flavoring

3. Fill pastry shell with fruit mixture; dot filling with 1tbsp of butter

4. Moisten edges of bottomw crust. Cover with top crust. Trim and flute edges. Cut steam vents. Brush top with milk or cream; sprinkle lighty with granulated sugar.

5. Bake in 425 degree (220 C) oven for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 45-60 minutes longer or until fruit is tender, filling in thickened nd crust golden.

You can also freeze well-wrapped unbaked pies or up to 4 months, with the following changes: increase the amount of flour in each pie by 1 tbsp and don’t cut steam vents until just before baking. Bake still-frozen pies in 450 degree oven for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 375 degrees for up to 60 minutes longer or until filling in thickened and crust in golden brown.

If you don’t have time to bake pies now, you can freeze fruit without sugar in the quantities needed for pies (see pie chart), then thaw just enough to separate; make pies following the 5 steps to Perfect Fruit Pies, increasing flour by 1 tbsp, then baking for up to 60 minutes. If fruit has been frozen with sugar, subtract the amount of sugar in the fruit from the amount of sugar you add to the pie.

Growing up as a child, my mom used to prepare a tuna casserole that was one of my favorites to see at the dinner table. Chunky white tuna, crunchy green peas, a rich cream sauce and my favorite, fresh regular potato chips. Sounds a little strange I know but when you try it you’ll know what I mean. The texture combined with the flavors make this classic a must have in the family cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1 Can Mushroom Soup
• 1/2 cup of Milk
• 1 8 oz Can of Chunk White Tuna
• 1 Cup Crushed Potato Chips
• 1 Cup of Peas

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 Degrees.  Mix above ingredients in greased casserole in the order listed. Top with 1/4 cup of crushed Potatoe Chips.  Bake 25-30 minutes.

As you can tell by the simplistic recipe and ingredients, this tuna casserole is very economical and can easily feed a crowd. This is a great potluck dish or can even be used in a pinch when you are at the end of your grocery cycle.

A couple of tips:

• I find frozen peas work best unless you have access to garden peas(stay away from canned peas)
• For the potato chips, I like to use ruffles (something thick for more texture)
•  A great addition to this recipe is a short pasta of your choice. (i tend to use macaroni, penne, rotini or fusilli)

Drink recommendation:

To top of this classic, a large glass of milk is a great companion.