disclaimer… this meal is not very healthy… unless you are a pro-athlete and burning insane amounts of calories per day you should not eat like this all the time… but it’s harvest time… the time of year that farmer’s finally make money and gain weight… (or this year just gain weight) and we get to eat dessert at home – that is if there is enough… I for instance have gained 5 pounds so far… I feel like it is an instinct from way back when the settlers (and I’m purely imagining all of this… no homeschooling going on around here) would try to gain weight and a layer of body fat for protection from the harsh Canadian winters… I am just instinctively following suit… it can’t be controlled when it is your heritage… 
the salad is decent for you… if you want to stay away from the pasta… the gluten… the energy… then just omit the pasta and put it on romain lettuce instead… 
Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
For the Dressing:
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 tbsp parsley
- 2 tbsp minced red onion
- 1 tbsp minced red pepper
- 1 tbsp minced garlic clove
- 4 tsp lemon juice
- 4 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup crisco oil
For the Salad:
- 1, 500 g bag Garofalo Gemelli Pasta, boiled
- 2 containers cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 2 cucumbers, diced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 500 g Feta cheese, cubed
- 2 red peppers, diced
- 2 yellow peppers, diced
- 2 cans black olives, drained and chopped
Directions:
- in a salad dressing shaker, add all the ingredients for the salad dressing and shake well
- in a large bowl add all of the salad ingredients
- pour dressing overtop and chill for at least 3 hours before serving
now we move on to the good stuff… true story… when the farmer and I were first married… at the ripe old age of 20… we would split a pan of these breadsticks (I have doubled this recipe but you can imagine it’s more than two breadsticks each) while watching Ally McBeal and think we were living the dream… found out it was the dream… in your 20’s eating whatever you want and your body just being like ‘keep it coming… eat more… good idea… I can handle it’ …. then your 30’s hit and you have to eat half of one breadstick and run 4 miles to keep the muffin top at bay… not sure what 40’s will have to offer but at this rate I’ll only be able to smell the food…
Golden Italian Breadsticks
Ingredients:
- 5 cups flour
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp instant rise yeast
- 2 cups warm water
- 4 tbsp canola oil
- 1/2 cup Golden Italian Dressing
- 1 bag or 320 g Italiano Grated Cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmeson Cheese
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Directions:
- mix flour, sugar, salt and yeast till combined in a Bosch dough mixer or a mixer with a dough hook
- add warm water and oil and mix for around 5-7 minutes until well combined
- turn into a greased bowl and cover with a tea towel and let rise till it has doubled it’s size, around 45 minutes
- line a 18×12 baking sheet with parchment paper
- dump dough out onto baking sheet and press out with hands to the edges of the pan
- spread with a spatula the golden Italian dressing over the dough
- sprinkle the grated cheese
- top with the seasonings
- bake at 425 degrees for 16 minutes or until golden brown
- let cool and slice into breadsticks
- wrap in tin foil to put in supper bags
I made this casserole so many times… have it ready for after a football game, take to a potluck or after a long day at an initiation hockey tournament …
Perogy Casserole with Deer Sausage
Ingredients:
- 2 packages perogies (Baba’s Homestyle Perogies 3 kg)
- 5 yellow onions, sliced
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 4 green or red peppers, sliced (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups 1% milk
- 3 cans mushroom soup
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 2 packages deer sausage (I used 1 package cheddar smokies & 1 package hot Italian smokies), cut up 1” thick
Directions:
- turn oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9×13 pans
- drop frozen perigees into boiling water and remove with a strainer when they float – I did one package at a time
- put into greased pans
- saute onions and peppers in butter and then pour over the perogies
- whisk soup and milk together and pour over perogies
- put sausage in with the perogies and then sprinkle with cheddar cheese
- bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling
hint for serving this cake… small portion size as it is dense, sweet and could send a farmer into a slumber that might cause a combine to be driven into a slough…
Chocolate Zucchini Coconut Cake
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 2/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, at room temperature
- 3 cups grated zucchini
- 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
For the Icing:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups icing sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp coconut extract
- 1/2 cup toasted coconut, to sprinkle on top of cake
Directions:
- preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9×13 pan
- whisk dry ingredients for cake
- in a mixer add butter, coconut oil and sugar and beat until smooth
- add eggs and vanilla and beat, then add yogurt
- mix in the dry ingredients
- fold in zucchini, coconut and chocolate chips
- pour into the pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean
- for the icing, beat butter until smooth and then add icing sugar
- add the coconut extract and beat until smooth
- spread the icing and sprinkle the cake with the toasted coconut
i feed a farmer 