December is here, snow is coming to some parts of the province while others have been enjoying it already.  It is a busy month with holiday parties, potlucks and gatherings.  This is one of my favourite times of year (and can be extremely busy and stressful, but nevertheless one of my favourites) as I love to entertain and cook for my family and friends. 

I have started new traditions with my family and continued old ones as well.  One tradition is making cookies with my daughter; I have included a top 5 cookie list below.  An older tradition is gathering with my girlfriends for an evening with just the girls to laugh, remember years past and share stories about our families, accomplishments and failures!.  We tend not to get together as often as we should, but we always make time in December. Of course, food is involved and everyone must bring a dish.  I have listed my top 5 websites that have great recipes.

And I have included my top 10 favourite recipes.  For most people, we have a 10 recipe rotation, our standards, our go to recipes for when we are in a pinch and we know exactly what we need to buy at the store.  No lists needed!

I work with a great team that comes up with the recipes and some I love more than others but here are the ones that are now part of my home and are in my recipe data base for everyday meals and entertaining! 

Happy Holidays from everyone at Be Well

Top 5 Foodies Site

1. www.canolarecipes.ca – for all of the great Manitoba canola recipes
2. www.canolainfo.org – a great range of delicious recipes
3. www.foodmanitoba.ca  – if you miss any of the recipes from Great Tastes of Manitoba TV show, you can find them here as well as links to all of the commodity groups and there website
4. www.allrecipes.com
5. www.epicurious.com

Top 5 holiday favourites

1. Komash

2. Maple Caramel Popcorn

3. Betty’s Gingersnaps

4. Chocolate Dipped Fortune Cookies

5. Sweet and Simple Canola Cookie Roll-outs 
Bonus recipe: Honey Peanut Butter & Chocolate Popcorn (see picture)


My Top 10 favourite recipes from www.canolrecipe.ca

These 10 recipes are now in my everyday cooking and when I entertain.  They are easy and I try to keep the ingredients on hand.  I enjoy them all, I hope you do as well. 

Eat These 10 recipes are now in my everyday cooking and when I entertain.  They are easy and I try to keep the ingredients on hand.  I enjoy them all, I hope you do as well.  

1. Capicolla and Mushroom Fettuccini – This recipe is more for entertaining in our household, but a great take on a classic.  It has a really nice flavour, easy to make and has some zip from the capicolla meat. 

2.Classic Pasta Dough – It is so easy to make pasta dough, I really should do it more often.  The taste is so delicious and becomes more versatile for ravioli or just noodles.  My daughter loves this and it reminds me of my grandma. 

3. Grilled Fish Tacos with Citrus Slaw –if you have never had fish tacos, this is the recipe to try.  You garnish with lime, cilantro, green onions, avocado, tomatoes – so many wonderful options – this is one of my all time favourites. 

4. Ginger Shrimp with Gai Lan –I love gai lan and you can find it at Young’s Markets, Superstore and at the some farmer’s markets.  There is a company called Wenkai Oriental.  He is a local grower located in Elie, MB  My family is not crazy about Gai Lan, but I just love it!

5. Manitoba Fall Favourite Stew – This is a version of my mom’s stew.  A great winter classic!

6. Mediterranean Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Whole Wheat Couscous  -- Roasted Vegetables makes any dish pop!  Their flavour is wonderful and creates a depth and really adds a nice touch to this dish.

7. Veggie Chilli — In 30 minutes, you have dinner or lunch with this recipe and works great the next day for lunch.  It is nice and hearty!

8. Zesty Chicken Wrap – We all need a great chicken wrap recipe and this one fits the bill. 

9. Thai White Fish Cakes - I love fish and here in Manitoba we have so many choices from our lakes and rivers.  The fish cakes works well with trout, pickerel, perch and hopefully, you have a fisher in your family to supply you with great, fresh and local fish but if not, any white fish from the store does the trick in this recipe.

10. Sweet Potato Biscuits – For some nights, biscuits are just what are in order, and these are a simple 8 ingredient recipe.  Easy to assemble and make sure you eat them warm!

Be Wel…Ellen