Okanagan Fun!

So like I said I have company until Tuesday so I have been a busy bee here in the Okanagan taking my family site seeing and having fun. Here is a little slide show of what we have to do in Kelowna it is absolutely amazing and beautiful! Everything shown in these pictures has cost zero dollars! It was all completely free all we needed to do was bring sun block, snacks, and water! We had an amazing time!

My Favourite Recipe! Sausage, Gravy and Perogies!

We all have our favourite foods and recipes. My favourite recipe is one of the only things my mother handed down to me that's worth anything. I have tweeked it here and there with seasonings and style and it is perfect. It is farmer sausage with a cream gravy drizzled over delicious perogies. Here is the recipe:

1 package of Farmer sausage (Winkler is a good one)
1 500 ml carton of whipping cream
1 package of your fave perogies
onions (optional)
salt, pepper, garlic powder

1. Brown the sausage on med heat until it is cooked through. At this stage if you like add some chopped onions do so. Then pour in the whipped cream and let it simmer, stirring occasionally.

2. Boil your perogies, I like mine crispy and not soggy but I don't like pan frying them because it takes too long so when my perogies are done and floating in the boiling water I place them on a baking sheet and brush them with margarine and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then pop them in a 350 degree oven for about 5 mins on each side. 

3. After about 20 mins of a steady simmer your whipping cream gravy should be thickening to a nice consistency. Put your perogies on a plate then pour the sausage and gravy over top. Serve with your favourite veggies. 

This recipe is delicious on egg noodles and rice as well. Its a super fun recipe and very versatile you can play with seasonings and add ins. Its not for those on a low cal diet that's for sure. I think one day I am going to try and make homemade perogies. I think this dish would be even better with homemade perogies!

Coconut Oil Brownies

And I am still learning how to use coconut oil so this morning before the house gets hot by the crazy hot Okanagan sunshine I made some brownies. Here is the recipe for you:

• 5 tablespoons canola/veg oil
• 5 tablespoons coconut oil (unrefined!)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

 Melt the oils, sugar, salt and cocoa powder together. Do this by combining them all in a bowl and throwing it in the microwave for a minute. Once it's nice and hot, mix it together until it's very well combined - you don't want to see any lumps. It'll be pretty grainy at this point! Line your pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil and preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Mix in the vanilla, eggs and flour. Pour into a pan and spread with a spatula then bake for 30 mins. After 30 minutes is up, pull it out of the oven, and check the doneness with a toothpick. You should see a little crumb on the toothpick, and the top should be matte and starting to crackle a little.
Let the brownies cool on a wire rack until the pan is cool enough to handle, and then use the foil/parchment paper to pull them out and let them cool for a little longer. (You really do want to cool there for a long time if you want them to cut nicely... otherwise, just go for it. Eat them with your hands if you must!)
Once they're cool, cut them into small squares and serve!

I got this recipe from instructables.com here!