#CanadianCookies Amusing Treats

Did you know Canada.. I would love to introduce you to another one of our #CanadianCookies twitter party sponsors - Amusing Treats!

In business since May of 2009, Amusing Treats makes delicous brownies and cookies with your company logo, picture, wording and more. Imagine getting a party invitation on a brownie, how AWESOME would that be?

Owner Sharon Muse has been baking for the last 20 years to perfect her treats. Her brownies and sugar cookies are made from scratch in small batches to ensure perfection. Brownies are individually hand cut then dipped in white chocolate and topped with your image on edible icing paper. The sugar cookies are hand rolled and covered with a delicious homemade fondant then topped with your edible image.

We recently tried them and everyone in the family absolutely loved them! They were very fresh, tasty, lots of fun to have the picture on top - these would be a really special treat for any occasion!

One lucky Twitter party goer will win a dozen of her custom brownies or cookies - what a treat!!

Bungee Lunch

Did you know Canada.. with the school year just started how many are already struggling with lunches?? What to send? How much? Nothing fits in the darn lunch bag!!

Well, we have found the solution in Bungee Lunch by greenCAPP!! Perfect as our first introduction in our Holiday Gift Guide, this would be perfect for any school age child in your life!!

Bungee Lunch is an expandable lunch bag, made of a durable cotton bag and a reusable BPA-free plastic shell. I love that the bag expands to hold as many food containers as you need to pack a complete and nutritious lunch for your family.

Available in a range of awesome colours and designs these will be a big hit with kids of any age!

We have been using our Bungee Lunchbag for lunch trips in the car, taking snacks after hockey practice and lunches! I absolutely love that it can expand to fit food containers, drink containers and more. Never again will we have to use baggies because I couldn't fit separate containers in the lunch bag, and if my kiddos are anything like yours, we all know they do not like food touching!!

I've found this perfect for kids with balanced day lunches as they need their lunches split up, have 2 drinks, separated snacks, etc.. this means less confusion for the kids and easier on Mom!

Another fabulous feature is the lid that fits snuggly into the top panel of the lunch bag. Its four rounded extended corners allow it to stay firmly attached to that portion of the lunch bag. This allows the lunch bag to expand if necessary. The hard liner also helps protect food from being crushed, easy to clean to can be removed and used as a tray.

Just in time for the Holidays we also have a chance for two of our lucky readers to win a Bungee Lunch!!  Giveaway has ended, congrats to our winners!

Recipe: Butter Tarts

Did you know Canada.. Butter Tarts are a Canadian favourite, in fact, considered one of only a few recipes of genuinely Canadian origin. The earliest published Canadian recipe is from Barrie, Ontario dating back to 1900 and can be found in The Women’s Auxiliary of the Royal Victoria Hospital Cookbook - how cool is that! You won't see any crazy raisins or walnuts in my recipe either, just pure Butter Tarts baby! ;-)

Butter Tarts

Ingredients
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1C corn syrup
1C sugar
1/4C melted butter
1t vanilla
24 frozen tart shells (yes, yes, many of you are fancier than me and can make your own tart shells)

Directions
Combine ingredients. Pour filling into tart shells - 1/3 full. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Photos
Everyone was very interested in this Great Canadian Treat, so I've made them this morning and want to share the process with you!

gather your simple ingredients, find the corn syrup by the maple syrup at the grocery store..

lightly beat your eggs ( I'm really not 100% on what that means, I just wisked them a bit :-) )..

melt your butter in the microwave or on the stove..

combine all ingredients..

mix it all together..

lay out your frozen tart shells and let them defrost for 5 minutes or so, or get fancy and make your own (I can not help you with that!!)..

fill your tarts with the mix, I know the recipe says fill 1/3 full but I just filled them using all the mix, do NOT try to fill them to the very tippy top though or you will have a very terrible oven mess..

after 25 minutes they were out of the oven..

and look (and taste) delish!!

#CanadianCookies DK Canada

Did you know Canada.. I wanted to introduce you to one of our sponsors for our #CanadianCookies Twitter Party!!!

DK Canada is the visionary publisher renowned for pioneering a distinctive, highly visual style in its books for adults and children. In the past we've showcased their Eyewitness Travel Guides, Rough Guides series and Pregnancy books. Keep an eye on our 2011 Holiday Gift Guide section where we will be showcasing some of their fantastic books that would make perfect gifts!

During our #CanadianCookies Twitter Party one lucky party goer will win a copy of DK Canada's fabulous Illustrated Step-by-Step Baking book!

As you know, I am a HUGE DK Canada fan, their books are beautiful! Filled with gorgeous images, easy to read and family friendly, they are a company you can always trust to provide quality books no matter what you're looking for.

Every area of baking is covered in Illustrated Step-by-Step Baking, with 350 recipes covering a huge range of sweet and savory classics including quiches, pies, breads, and cookies. Classic recipes such as quiche lorraine and New York cheesecake are demystified and presented in a clear and accessible step-by-step format.

One lucky party goer is going to be very happy, perfect for the upcoming Holiday Season!!

Recipe to Riches: Chicken Grenades

Did you know Canada.. I hope you all watched Recipe to Riches last night! If not, be sure to catch a repeat either on the Food Network or on Global Saturday night. Remember, each week three Recipe to Riches contestants compete in one of seven food categories. To win the evening and the national stage they have to demonstrate that their recipe is the one that can best be scaled and marketed. The winners of each segment then compete in the season finale for the grand prize of $250,000 – the largest prize ever awarded on Canadian television.

Today we are featuring the winning recipe from last night's episode: John Grass' Chicken Grenades! I think at the end of the season this will still have been my favourite episode, I LOVE appetizers! I could make a whole meal out of them! And this one is to die for, trust me, this is your new go to recipe!! I know on last nights recipe they really promoted it as a guys food, well my guys LOVE it but so do I!!

First step is to make the spice mixture, I got all the spices together (I admit I had to purchase a few, there was no chipotle chili pepper powder or dried thyme leaves in my cupboard)..

Then gave it a quick mix and set aside (this made much more than I needed, able to keep the rest for next time!)..

Cut up the chicken into slices..

Sprinkled a baking sheet with the spice mixture..

Layered the bacon, chicken, cheese and jalapeno..

Rolled them up..

Got them on a cookie sheet..

While they were in the oven I got the 2 jellies out, microwave them just before you need them..

Brushed on the jelly mixture after 20 minutes of cooking..

Popped them back in for 10 and we were ready to go..

And guess what, they were so delicious, we're already making a second batch!!!!!!

I promise you, you will DIE for these! I made a few with no spice for my young boys and they inhaled them, so happy to find a recipe everyone will love!! So easy to make too, just layer, roll and cook. Will you be purchasing it this weekend or trying the recipe yourself?? Don't forget to check out the Chicken Grenades recipe on the Food network website.

Holiday Gift Guide!!

Did you know Canada.. Welcome to our Holiday Gift Guide!!! Over the next few weeks we will be introducing you to our picks for this coming Holiday Season!! We're showcasing Canadian companies, small businesses, those PEOPLE we want you to support this Holiday Season.

We've got ideas for Mom, Dad, kids, friends and more!!

Got a product you'd like us to showcase?? There's still time to join!! Send us a note at didyouknowcanada@gmail.com

Let's get the gift ideas started!!!

Canadian History Tunes

Did you know Canada.. we wanted to share a great new site with you: Canadian History Tunes on HomeSchoolBeaver.com!!

HomeSchoolBeaver.com is home of Canadian History Tunes, a CD of 25 original songs to help students of all ages learn about some of the most important events and people in Canadian History, including all the Canadian Prime Ministers up to Stephen Harper. Created and performed by a certified teacher who is also a professional performer and now a homeschooling mom.

Just one song a week and by the end of 25 weeks, your child will have memorized a whole Canadian History timeline!

Perfect for any school age child in your life - would make a great stocking stuffer for the upcoming Holiday Season!!

Recipe: Skor Toffee Squares

Did you know Canada.. here is my first recipe to share with your during our #CanadianCookies hop, I hope you enjoy!! This is a huge family favourite around here! The best part is that you can whip it up from start to finish in 15 minutes! Perfect for that surprise holiday visitor or running out to a holiday party after work.

Skor Toffee Squares

Ingredients
1 Box Ritz crackers, crushed (or saltines)
1 Can Eagle Brand
1 Pkg Skor toffee bits

Directions
Mix the ingredients & put in an 8x8 pan. Bake at 325 until slightly brown, about 8-10 minutes.

#CanadianCookies Blog Hop

Did you know Canada.. welcome to the first in a series of posts to start off #CanadianCookies!!

We'd like everyone to join us in a Blog Hop!

Dig out Gramma's recipe book, search the web for your favourites, what is YOUR Holiday treat speciality??? I'll be introducing you to some of my favourite recipes and would love to read about some of yours!

Write a post and link up below so we can share our best recipes and wow our families this year!! Use the hashtag #CanadianCookies when promoting your post on Twitter so we can find you there as well.

Remember to check out your hosts daily (Did you know Canada and Multi-testing Mommy) we'll be sharing tips, tricks, recipes and more for the next 2 weeks! Be sure to join us for our upcoming twitter party as well!!

Link up here and be sure to check back for new treats daily:

Paint Roller

Did you know Canada.. Norman Breakley, of Toronto, revolutionized the paint and decorating industry in 1940 with the invention of the paint roller. Which of course helped introduce the era of do-it-yourself home decorating.

Unfortunately for Norman, he was able to produce his invention in large enough volume to profit from it before others made small changes to the paint roller's design and were then able to sell it as their own invention.

But, we are very proud of Canadian Norman Breakley, all of our backs and arms thank him as well I think! ;-)