Recipes - Tina Zinck, Stampin' Up! Demonstrator (2024)

Along with my love of stamping, I also LOVE cooking and baking too. Here are some of my favourite “tried & true” recipes – I hope you enjoy them!

GREEN TOMATO MINCEMEAT

My Favourite

BEET RELISH

It’s the end of August and I’ve been busy making pickles, jams and all kinds with everything from my garden. Lots of work, but I enjoy canning and it’s so satisfying to see all the beautiful jars on the shelves, waiting to be enjoyed. I just finished making pickled beets and I think I have enough that I won’t need to make anymore next summer – we’ll see though. They’re so good, I might go through them pretty fast! I also like to tuck my homemade preserves and pickles into gift baskets too. Fortunately, these beets are easy to make – this recipe HERE is similar to the one I use.

Click on the photo to enlarge

My great-grandma had a tendency to write out her favourites recipes and tape them inside her recipe books, like the one above! She found this recipe from an OLD newspaper in Winnipeg, that was called the “Free Press Praire Farmer”.

ZUCCHINI SALSA

If you have too many zucchinis in your garden and are needing a yummy recipe, give this one a try! The original recipe is from my friend George. He and I worked together years ago at “Pacific Coastal Airlines” and every fall George would bring in some of this salsa that he and his wife made. I’ve made some changes and tweaked their recipe and adjusted the salsa to my taste. This salsa is now ‘perfection’ in my opinion, and it’s a always a hit with everyone who tries it. I just made a double batch of this salsa yesterday and it issoooooDELICIOUS! I hope you enjoy it!

10 cups zucchini, shredded

3 cups chopped onions (I use Walla Walla)

3 1/2″ Cups diced red and green peppers

5 tbsp pickling salt

Combine all of the above in a large bowl, cover and let sit overnight. Rinse and drain and put into a large pot. Add the following:

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp cumin

2 tbsp dry mustard

Jalapenosor hot peppers to taste, seeded and chopped

Fresh cilantro (as much as you want)

5 tbsp lime juice

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups vinegar

5 cups chopped tomatoes

12 oz tomato paste

Bring to boil then simmer 15 minutes. Pour into sterilized jars and seal. Process in water bath 15 minutes.

INSTANT POT ICED TEA

Here’s how I make my instant pot iced tea – and it’s so easy you won’t believe it.

• I simply fill up my juice pitcher with approx. 2 litres of water and pour it inside my instant pot.
• Next, I add 4 tea bags (I use no-name black tea and save my Tetley for my hot tea).
• I put the lid on, lock and make sure the steam valve is closed. I set the pressure cook option (or manual) for three minutes.
• After it beeps I let the pressure naturally release which keeps the tea brewing.
• I then discard the tea bags, pour the tea into my pitcher and I add 2/3 cups sweetener (you can use sugar, Splenda, stevia) and 1/4 – 1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh or bottled).
• Give it all a stir and place in the fridge to chill.

That’s it, my friends! It’s so good and incredibly refreshing, especially during this HOT summer we’ve having! Enjoy!

French Dip sandwiches are one of my favourite meals – both at home and in restaurants. Over the years I have tried many recipes and after lots of tweaks I’ve come up with my own version of “French Dip” that everyone loves!

MY FRENCH DIP RECIPE:

• 1-1/2 to 2lb beef chuck roast, trimmed of fat (a roastup to 4lbs works for this recipe, and any cut of beef works – I just buy whatever happens to be on sale when I make this).

• 12 oz beef broth (I use Knorr)

• 1 package French Onion Soup mix

• One can of beer (any kind)

• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• 3 bay leaves

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tbsp dried rosemary

• 6 cups water

1. Place all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low 5 to 7 hours.

2. Use fork to break up the meat.

3. Serve on hoagie rolls and enjoy!

Notes:

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Warm Water

• 1 tbsp Olive Oil

• 1-1/4 tsp Sea Salt

• 2 tsp Sugar

• 2-3/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour

• 2 tsp Yeast

1. Place ingredients in order into bread machine and click dough cycle.

2. Once dough is ready (approx 1-1/2 hours) remove from machine and place on floured surface.

3. Punch dough down and cut into six equal pieces. Shape each piece into oval shape and place onto baking pan (I use large stoneware pan). If desired, use knife or scissors to cut slits on each roll. Cover and let rise at least 20 minutes.

4. Turn oven on to 400′ to pre-heat.

5. Bake rolls for 20 minutes or until golden.

Easiest and Most Delicious Oven Wedges Ever!

I make these often because they’re super quick and simple to do. They are perfect served alongside my French Dip, as well as BBQ steak and hamburgers.

The Best Lemon Loaf

This is SO GOOD. Sometimes simple recipes, like this one, are the best. I grew up on this loaf and I enjoy it as much today as I did when I was a kid.This lemon loaf is delicious with a cup of tea and shared with a friend.

My Tips:

• I use BUTTER in this recipe, not margarine. In fact, I only ever use butter in ALL my cooking and baking. I think it’s been at least 25 years since I last bought margarine. I just prefer butter –it’s healthier for you and it makes everything taste better too.
• Use FRESH LEMONS. I don’t recommend using bottled lemon juice. The fresh lemons in the recipe are a game changer. I also use some of the lemon zest in the glaze as well, which adds extra zing and also makes the loaf look extra pretty too.

Delicious Caramel Popcorn

This sweet treat makes a fabulous gift!

Ingredients:

• Two
  bags of plain Microwave Popcorn

• 1
  Cup Butter

• 1/3
  Cup Corn Syrup (I’ve used both light and dark, with great results!)

• 1
  Cup Brown Sugar

• 1
  tsp Sea Salt

• 1
  tsp Vanilla

1. Preheat
   oven 300′

2. Pop
   two bags of plain popcorn. Place in large bowl, then move by hand to
   a roasting pan, making sure to leave any un-popped kernels in the
   bowl.

3. In
   saucepan, combine butter, corn syrup, brown sugar and salt. Stir
   until boiling, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla
   extract.

4. Pour
   caramel over popcorn, stirring well to cover. *See note below.

5. Place
   roaster pan (uncovered) in oven and bake 30 minutes, stirring every
   10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and once popcorn has cooled package in airtight container.

*If
desired, add additional 1 tsp sea salt & mixed nuts to popcorn
before baking.

I
love making bread. I’ve always found it incredibly satisfying – and
somewhat magical – that a few basic ingredients can produce something
as wonderful as bread. Making bread is also very calming and
therapeutic to me: going through the motions of adding the
ingredients, mixing them, kneading the dough, shaping it and then the
scrumptious smell while the bread bakes, and ultimately enjoying the
end result.

I was fortunate to have grown up on fresh bread – my mom
made four loaves every Saturday. As a kid, I kind of took it for
granted – wishing for store-bought bread (which she only used for
turkey stuffing!). Once I got older and moved out on my own
though, I realized how very LUCKY I was to have had that homemade
bread that my mom lovingly made for us every week. Soon I began making
my own, and that’s when I fell in LOVE with bread making.

I often
make the traditional old-fashioned white, whole wheat, or cinnamon
raisin bread. My dinner rolls are something that I make weekly and they’re
always requested for family gatherings and special meals.

Once a month
I have my girlfriends over for an evening of pizza and crafting and
nothing beats using homemade dough for the crust – it makes the best
pizza ever. If time is short, I’ll use my bread machine to make bread
dough, then I’ll shape it and bake it in the oven. The “Overnight
Bread” recipe I’m sharing with you today is another favourite of
mine.

I
love this overnight bread for a few reasons:

1. It’s
   super-duper mega quick to put together.

2. It
   only requires 1/2 teaspoon of yeast.

3. It
   takes less than five minutes to throw together.

4. Let
   it sit overnight and it’s ready to bake in the morning.

5. It’s
   perfect for toast, sandwiches, or as a side for soups, stews, pasta
   dishes, etc.

6. It
   can be customized based on the flavours you want, based on what you
   add to the dough (ie: a bit of cinnamon, sugar and raisins for
   raisin bread; Italian Seasoning for a savoury bread; grated cheese;
   nuts and dried fruit, etc).

7. This
   bread is perfect for gift-giving! Tuck into a basket with a couple
   jars of homemade jam & jelly; artisanal cheese and chutney; a
   bottle of local honey. If you’re a stamper like me then, of course,
   you’d want to create pretty tags and a card to pull it all together.
   What a fabulous gift for any holiday or occasion!

I
created my first-ever ‘cooking’ video to show you how easy this bread
really is to make:

OVERNIGHT NO-KNEAD BREAD RECIPE

This “Overnight Bread” recipe is one I’ve made for years. There are all kinds of different recipes for this no-knead, overnight bread – and I’ve tried a few – but this is the best version I’ve come up with that I LOVE!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3
  cups All-Purpose Flour

• 1
  ¼” teaspoon Sea Salt

• ½”
  teaspoon Yeast

• 1
  ½” Water (room temperature)

• 2 – 3 teaspoons Cornmeal

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat
   oven 410′ and place enamel dish with lid (ie: dutch oven or even
   a covered stoneware dish) inside the oven for approx. 20
   minutes.

2. In
   a large glass measuring cup or bowl, add flour, sea salt and yeast
   and mix well.

3. Pour
   water into the flour mixture and stir until dry ingredients are thoroughly combined. Dough will be wet and sticky – don’t worry,
   that’s okay!

4. Cover
   bowl with plastic wrap and let sit on counter overnight (or at least
   12 hours).

5. Once
   dough has risen, remove the plastic wrap and place dough onto a
   lightly floured surface. Sprinkle a bit more flour over the dough
   and shape it into a ball.

6. Take
   hot dish out of the oven and lightly cover bottom with cornmeal.
   Place ball of dough inside the dish, cover and bake 30 minutes.

7. After
   the bread has been baking for 30 minutes, remove the lid and
   continue to bake another 15 minutes.

8. Remove
   bread from oven and place the bread on a rack to cool.

This bread is scrumptious toasted, or for sandwiches, as garlic bread, or as a side for soup, stew and other main course dishes. Enjoy!

Five Flavour Pound Cake

I remember the first time I had a piece of this cake. It was over 20 years ago and I’d been invited over to a friend’s house for a visit. When my friend served me a slice of her cake, I could instantly smell all kinds of delicious aromas – lemon, coconut, butter, rum, vanilla and almond! It was LOVE at first bite. Now I reserve making this cake to only once or twice a year, to avoid the temptation of eating it all! I hope you’ll enjoy this as much as I do.

1 1/2 cups of butter

3 cups of sugar

5 eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

1 tsp each of the following:

Coconut Flavour

Rum Extract

Vanilla

Butter Flavour

Lemon Extract

Pre-heat oven to 325′. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light fluffy. Add eggs, one at time, beating until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In glass measuring cup, combine extracts with milk. Add flour to creamed mixture alternatively with flavoured milk, beginning and ending with flour. Spoon batter into a greased 10″ tube (angel food cake) pan. Bake 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 hours or until cake tests done (I use a skewer to poke into the cake – when it comes out clean the cake is ready). Cool in pan on wire rack at least 10 minutes. Turn cake out of pan & flip right side up again. Place waxed paper under rack, to catch drippings from glaze, which you’ll want to pour on while the cake is still warm…

Glaze:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp each:

Coconut Flavour

Rum Extract

Butter Flavour

Lemon Extract

Vanilla

Almond Extract

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and stir over medium until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and drizzle over hot cake. Let cake cool completely.

*** This cake is even more delicious the second day, as those flavours really work their magic. This cake is moist and beyond scrumptious. Make a tea and enjoy this yummy treat!

Recipe adapted from “Watkins Keepsake Cookbook.

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Ham & Cheese Quiche

This is my very favourite quiche and everyone I serve it to just loves it! You can change it up by adding bacon instead of ham, using swiss cheese instead of cheddar, and adding veggies of your choice. I like to serve this yummy quiche with fresh green salad and rolls.

One pre-made pie crust, uncooked

(I use my own butter pastry recipe)

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup diced ham

1 cup fresh spinach

1/2 cup onion

2 tsp butter

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

1 tsp seasoning salt (I use Lawry’s brand)

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Pre-heat oven to 375′. In a pan, saute onion in butter until soft. Add spinach and cooked two minutes and set aside to cool. In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add cream, salt & pepper and mix until well blended. Stir spinach and onions into the eggs. Sprinkle ham and cheese onto the bottom of pie crust. Pour egg/spinach mixture over the ham and cheese. Bake 35-45 minutes or until the centre is set.

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If you’re looking for a scrumptious muffin, this recipe is for you. I’ve been making these muffins for years and they’ll be on the rotation at my Coffee & Card classes. The cream cheese filling in the middle is a delightful surprise. These muffins are truly delicious! ENJOY!

1 tsp vanilla

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon peach juice
1 teaspoon almond extract

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Muffins: Dice drained peaches to size of peas. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In separate bowl combine eggs and oil and vanilla. Then whisk in the milk. Combine egg and flour mixtures. Then fold in diced peaches.

2. For filling: beat cream cheese, sugar, peach juice and almond extract. Fill greased muffin tins half full of batter. Drop 1 teaspoon of the filling into each muffin cup of the batter. Top with 1 1/2 tablespoons more batter.

3. For topping: mix cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle over muffins. Bake in a preheated oven at 350° for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Makes 24 muffins

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Growing up, my parents owned a very popular ceramic shop in the Comox Valley. My dad would come home from work and pour molds and fire pieces in the kiln and my mom taught classes in the evening. We lived out in the country on a couple of acres, and my dad built the ceramic shop on our property, next to our house – which made it really convenient for my parents to keep an eye on my brother and I! Every summer there would be big seminars, in which teachers from Seattle and Portland would come and teach techniques at my parents shop, like the “Dresden Lace”. There would be RV’s parked in the yard and people from far and wide would fill up the shop for these exclusive classes. Even for us kids, it was so much fun, meeting our parents friends, and having a house full of company. My mom would put the two leafs in the dinning room table, making it massive, and cover it with her lace tablecloth. Soon the table was loaded up with food for lunch: homemade buns and pickles, cheese plates, spiral ham, salads, and always, her party beans that would be simmering in the crockpot. I now do pretty much the same thing when I hold my special events.

The recipe for my mom’s beans (above photo) is well stained from many years of use. These beans are always a massive hit. I know my mom’s recipe says to simmer on the stove 30 minutes, but my mom and I always simmer them on low in the slow cooker. These beans are also better the second day, so I always I put them in the crockpot the day before I need them for my meal. Sometimes I uses black-eyed or yellow-eyed beans in place of the lima beans. Also, ground cloves work instead of whole – just sprinkle a dash or two into the beans, but be careful as too many cloves will be overpowering. Less is best, but the cloves make the seasoning of these beans unique. You can also add less onions and green peppers if you wish. Sometime I ‘cheat’ and use canned mushrooms (whole and also sliced) instead of fresh. The flavouring from the bacon is a must. Try not to think about all the corn syrup in these beans – sometimes you just gotta turn off the ‘nutrition’ channel in the brain and just ENJOY! I hope you find these beans as delicious as my family, friends and I do!

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PARTY RECIPES:

Polar Express Hot Chocolate

Rich and divine. I only make this on special occasions – when you see the ingredients you’ll know why! Super delicious!

Luscious Slush Punch

When I need to make punch for a stamping event or special party, this is my go-to recipe. It’s always a hit and everyone LOVES it! The only change I make to the recipe is cutting the sugar back to 1 cup – any more would be way too sweet. This punch is delicious!

Festive Layered Nacho Dip

Everyone loves this and there’s never any leftovers!

Pesto Chicken Bundles

These are rich but super delicious – always a big hit for parties!

1 cup cooked chicken

8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup prepared pesto

1/3 cup sundried tomatoes

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

2 packages crescent rolls

3 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350. Mix chicken, cream cheese, pesto, sundried tomatoes and salt together (I use my food processor, which creates a ‘pate’ texture, but you could hand mix for a chunkier texture). Add in milk for mixture to combine easily.
Unroll crescent rolls, pressing seams together. Cut into squares and place a teaspoon of mixture in the center of each and wrap the dough to create a little bundle. Place on stoneware or cookie sheet and bake 10-15 minutes, or until puffed and lightly browned on top.

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One Hour Bread

This bread is sooooo good and soooo easy and quick to make. It’s perfect for sandwiches, toast or to have alongside some soup, stew, etc.

Instead of placing in a bread pan, you can turn this into French bread but rolling it out longer and baking it on a stoneware pan (I sprinkle the pan with a light dusting of cornmeal first, then place the dough, let rise, then bake). On with the recipe:

Preheat oven to 375′

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar (or honey)

1 1/2 Cups Warm Water

Mix all together. No need to wait for yeast to proof. Then whisk in 1 cup of flour. Next, gradually stir in 3 cups of flour (add more or less until dough comes together and is no longer sticky). Knead and shape into roll. Place in greased bread pan (or place on stoneware baking pan, with a little cornmeal sprinkled on pan). Let rise. (If you wish to have a second rise, you can, but I find the bread turns out perfectly with just the one rise.). Bake for 20 minutes.

Cool on rack – brush top with butter, if desired, for a soft crust.

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For years I had been searching high and low to find a recipe for chow mein that was similar to what I was used to back home (Vancouver Island). Did you notice I wrote that in past tense? That’s because I FINALLY got it mastered and it’s about as close to what I’ve been looking for as I’ll ever get. Now when I crave chow mein I can pull out my wok and have it made and on the table in minutes (and at half the cost!). I buy the dry chow mein noodles from the International section in my grocery store for $1.99 and I’ll get two meals (serving 4 each) from that. You can also add chicken, shrimp, pork or whatever you wish too. I like to make sweet and sour chicken to go with my chow mein, and I use this delicious recipe HERE .

Tina’s West Coast

Chow Mein

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EASY & DELICIOUS DINNER ROLLS

These rolls are quite simple to make and very, VERY delicious. You’ll have homemade rolls in no time, with this recipe. I make at least two batches of these rolls EVERY week. Sometimes three. I know the recipe by heart – they’re absolutely the BEST dinner rolls ever!

In a bread machine, add the following ingredients (in order):

Set machine to dough cycle. Once complete, punch dough down on lightly floured surface. For regular size rolls, cut dough into 12 equal pieces (or more, if you prefer them smaller). Place balls of dough in greased 9″ x 13″ baking pan. Cover with clean cloth/dish towel and let rise until almost doubled in size. Bake at 350′ for about 15-20 minutes (when you can smell them baking and the tops have turned golden, they’re ready). Turn buns onto wire rack and let cool slightly before you, your family, friends and entire neighborhood devour them all. They are THAT good. Store in plastic bag with a twist tie to keep rolls from drying out. If they even last that long. Enjoy!

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HONEY MUSTARD CHICKEN

This is one of my favourite recipes. It’s great because you don’t need many ingredients, it’s impressive enough for company and it’s quick and easy for those busy nights. I make it often. The first time I had this Honey Mustard Chicken a friend had made it for me – this recipe is her’s, with a few tweaks of my own. This chicken goes well with potatoes or rice and a nice vegetable. Enjoy!

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1/4 cup honey

2 tsp crumbled dried rosemary*

Pinch salt and pepper

2 1/2 lbs chicken pieces (I like to use 4 boneless breasts)

Combine all the ingredients except the chicken and set aside. Place chicken in foil lined baking dish. Brush with half the mustard mixture. Bake at 400′ for 20 minutes. Turn chicken over and brush with remaining mustard mixture. Bake 15 minutes longer or until chicken is done.

*use curry instead of rosemary – it makes a nice change.

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Christmas Strudel

I wanted to make a quick dessert to use up some of my homemade green tomato mincemeat and I came up with this delicious strudel. Super easy and fast to put together but oh so impressive. This recipe has no specific measurements as I just made it up as I went…

Ingredients:

Package of Filo Pastry, thawed

Melted Butter

White Sugar

Cinnamon

Peeled and sliced apples

Favourite mincemeat

Icing Sugar

• On large baking sheet (I used my large Pampered Chef Stoneware Bar Pan), lay out one sheet of filo pastry. Brush melted butter on top. Repeat for a total of five sheets of pastry.

• Spread desired amount of mincemeat on top of filo base.

• Toss sliced apples with sugar (if your apples are a sweet variety you won’t need a lot of sugar), as well as some cinnamon and 1tsp vanilla. If desired you can also add a splash of whiskey, rum or brandy.

• Add 1 heaping tablespoon of flour to apple mixture and spread evenly over mincemeat.

• Cover with five sheets of filo, brushing butter on each layer.

• For top, tear pieces of filo and lightly scrunch up and place on top of strudel – continue until top is covered.

• Mix cinnamon in with white sugar and sprinkle over strudel.

• Bake at 400′ approx. 30 minutes or until top is browned.

• Let cool slightly before serving.

• Dust with icing sugar and serve with ice cream or Bird’s Custard.

**You can also add nuts to the filling**

This strudel is DELICIOUS! Enjoy!

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Swedish Pancakes. My Grandma and Grandpa Erickson started this tradition – I’m not sure if it goes back to their parents or not. But to this day my family still makes them. Here is the recipe for “Swedish Pancakes“, our family’s traditional breakfast on Christmas morning:

These recipes are part of my Christmas Recipe Booklet:

You can find the video to make these on my November 8, 2014 blog post.

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Here is one of my best recipes. These scones are so quick and easy to make and are absolutely delicious! Growing up I watched my Mom bake scones at the drop of pin, if we had someone show up unexpectedly for coffee. I was always so impressed at how quickly she could do that. And depending on the time of day, you can make these scones sweet with grated lemon zest and raisons added to the dough, and served with a cuppa. Or, if it was later in the day and you wanted something savoury you could add grated cheese, ham, jalapenos, etc. These scones are great for quick appeys too – just make them small and add your topping of choice. No matter how they’re made, they’re versatile and scrumptious. Tucked in basket with tea and a jar of jam, my ‘Favourite Scones’ make a wonderful gift for a friend too! ENJOY!

***Recipe created using MDS “Recipe by Design” digital download***