Stuff in my mailbox!

I love it when things-that-are-not-bills show up in our mailbox.  There's one Friday in the month that is usually a good one; that's when my Food and Wine and Good Food magazines show up and I sit down with a glass of wine and flip through them for a couple hours.  It's a pretty good way to end the week.

But yesterday, on a Monday, I got a couple packages that yes, I paid for, but it's still a nice little surprise to see that little red key that means something was too big to fit into the normal mailbox.

First package:

 

Perfect Fit protein powder from the Tone it Up girls.  Gotta admit; I'm a sucker for anything that ships to Canada and I'm always looking for something natural to put into a smoothie so I figured I'd give this a try.

 

Race kit from Jessica at Virtually Running for Gold,  Proceeds going towards the St. Baldrick Foundation.  I honestly thought it was just the medal (and donating to a good cause), but to get stuff as well?!  I was happy happy indeed. 

 

And then, I got an email saying my StrideBox is on it's way.  AND my next wine shipment is in April.

 

Get to look forward to more stuff in the mail

2012 - A year in review

I love looking back on the year and reflecting on what has happened.  Problem is, as I get older, I need some visual reminders of what exactly went on :)  Sadly, our picture taking was at a minimum this year (no x-mas pics at all...what a shame), but here's what I got anyway.

 

 

Pre-show drinks (and dinner, not pictured) at the beautiful Palliser Hotel.  My sister and I have seasons tickets to Vertigo Mystery Theatre and meet up at the hotel before the show.  We had such a good time last season that we convinced my husband and our mom to join us this season.

 

Crabapple trees in bloom.  Except for the three days of the year that they're in bloom, I HATE these trees.  Every bloom means an apple...and there's a ton of them (some are still on the trees now...gonna be gross when it thaws).  I did make crabapple jelly with some of the fruit in the fall...so I guess there's that.

 

We took our good friend Morgan to California with us on vacation.  She was a trooper and her and Jet did really well together for the week (it wasn't without it's crying, temper tantrums, sulking and screeching...but in retrospect not all that bad). 

 



 



Disneyland continues to rock our world. 

 



 

Saw a ball game...or two.

 

And I shopped at Trader Joe's for two dollar wine.  TWO DOLLARS!  That alone makes me come back to California every year.  I also bought lots of clothes.

 



 

Then there was Little League.  And it was cold.  And windy.  And I hated every game and practice. Adam coached and I got to "help", that might have had something to do with the hate.



 

Calgary Stampede!  This was at the parade, timestamp 9:23 am.  By the time the longest parade in the world was over (4 hours later) Adam and I had consumed far to much and then had to meet up with my family for mom and dads anniversary dinner.  Jet was bored within minutes of getting there.  He played games on my phone the entire time.

 

Same day...in the hotel where mom and dad were staying.

 

 

Next up, flag football season!  At least it was warm-ish for these games and practices.  Jet's team won again...triple overtime.  I'm sure the ball of nerves that I had while watching will get better as he gets older...right?

 

 

Cruise time!  This was in the Air Canada lounge in Toronto.  $35 unlimited food (appetizers) and booze, plus comfy seats and not a bunch of noisy people.  An excellent way to spend our three hour layover.

 First look at the new Disney Fantasy.  Beautiful ship, loved the look and feel of it. 

 

Jet on the ride to the boat.  For whatever reason he refused to take off this sweater, and it was HOT in Florida (even by normal standards I'm told).

 

Jet relaxing on the balcony.  Adam was the one who wanted this the most, and he did spend the first two evenings having a drink and lounging but then he didn't really use it again.  I liked having the option to hang out there, but I'm not sure it was really worth the money.

Tea and after dinner treats at Remy, the adult only restaurant on the Fantasy.  This dinner was fantastic, totally worth the extra money ($75 for dinner and $100 for wine pairings).  I've never seen so many different types of flatware...and the service (and the food) was superb.

It was also on the cruise that Adam discovered his love for Champagne.  And I discovered my love for really good, really expensive (for me) Champagne.  $30 a glass Champagne.

Christmas presents!  Sadly, not for me this year, but for my sister.  I couldn't even squee in glee over getting the box because she'd totally know what it was and who it was for.  Next year there's talk we'll spend the holidays in London.  The fun London, not the fake Ontario London either.

And that's about it for pictures.  I also got back into fitness, started running and convinced myself to try a half-marathon.  More on that next year.

Here's to a Happy New Year!

Without stove for the week

Friday evening I got home from work, did a fantastic workout and, once done, turned on the oven to make our traditional Friday Frozen Pizza dinner.  Then, upstairs to shower (it was that good of a workout) and just as I was about to step under the water I heard a loud POP! (and I may have seen a flash of light...but that could also have been my imagination). 

So, half dressed, I go and check it out.  It didn't actually explode, but tripped the breaker.  Odd.  Flipped the breaker back to on and then the stove started beeping like when you turned the timer on. 

But I hadn't done that.

It was cycling through it's test program (I presume) and would. not. stop. beeping.

Off, goes the breaker to stop the noise and then I realize that we're without oven (and range...since OMG! the beeping!) until either a) hubby fixes the damn thing, or b) we buy a new one.

Saturday we do some research and fixable, but no guarantee it will work.  So I'm the proud owner of a new convection range.

However,

It won't be at my house until Thursday.  That's a lot of days without "proper" cooking.

So far we've:

 - Ordered pizza

 - Went to a friends house for dinner

 - Made Thai curry in the crock-pot (with microwaved rice)

 - BBQ'd in the snow.

Not sure what's on the menu today and tomorrow.

Menu Plan Monday - Nov 19

Well, my plan for last week kind of, sort of, worked out.  We had a ton of leftovers that we had for dinner yesterday in an effort to clean out the fridge.  I've also started accumulating pantry and freezer things again, so it's time to "Eat from the Freezer/Pantry".


For this week:

Monday - Pasta and Alfredo Sauce with salad. The boy requested this.  Actually he requested pasta with butter, Adam and I will have the sauce.

Tuesday - Fish and Chips.  Adam requested this.  I might have fish and butternut squash.

Wednesday - Chicken Thighs, broccoli and noodles.  One thing from the freezer down!

Thursday -Ham steaks, potatoes and veggies.  Two things from the freezer down!

Friday - Pizza party! 

Saturday - Split pea and ham soup.  Possibly with potato skins that we bought from Costco on Saturday (a weakness of mine).   The peas have been languishing in my cupboard for a while...time to do something about them.

Sunday - I had pork tenderloin written down, but my sister reminded me it's Grey Cup Sunday and if we're watching it at our place.  If this is true I'll make chili.

Baking up a Storm

Today was filled with baking, something I haven't done in quite a while.  It was fun, but after 5 hours on my feet, I'm beat and just want a cuppa with a variety of my wares of the day :)

First up, Banana Bread from Friday:

Jet and I made this together when we were home on Friday.  He measured out the flour and other dry ingredients, but cracking the egg was his favourite.

Then today...

 



 Mock Marmalade from the BBC Good Food Magazine.  Adapted from Wartime Farm (which I totally want to get my hands on).  I had to reboil this since I didn't follow directions the first time and it never set.  Fingers crossed it's still good.

 

 

Also from Wartime Farm (via Good Food Mag); Gingerbread Cake.  But you have to wait a couple days before eating it.  

 

 

From The 1940's Experiment Gingerbread Cookies.  They didn't brown up as much as I thought they would, but they taste good.

 

Icebox Cookies from Canadian Living.  This makes A LOT.  I split up one batch into candied cherries and lemon cranberry.  There's still a ton of dough in the fridge for another time.



Menu Plan Monday - Nov 12, 2012

I haven't done a menu plan in quite a long time, and it's shown.  We've slowly been slipping into the world of stopping at the store after work to pick something up (and usually it winds up being pizza) even though we've got a freezer full of stuff.  It just happens to all be frozen because I couldn't be bothered to take something out the night before.

So here's the plan for this week.  It's nothing fancy, in fact, I think it's the complete antithesis of fancy.  But it's what I've got time for.

Monday - Chicken (roasted in the oven with seasonings), salad, pasta side dish.

Tuesday - Italian Sausage, mashed potatoes, sauteed peppers and zucchini. Don't know how I'm going to cook the sausages, since we're out of propane for the BBQ (and it's covered in snow, but that's easy to fix)

Wednesday - Beef Tacos.

Thursday - Jet's birthday dinner.  He gets to choose where we go, and since he's 8 he'll probably choose McDonalds.

Friday - Bacon wrapped steak (pre-made from Costco), baked butternut squash, salad.

Saturday - Out for dinner.  Baseball camp and then off to a friends house to watch the UFC fights.

Sunday - Not sure what I'll be in the mood to cook.  Maybe a roast with trimmings.  Could be soup and some home made french bread.

Bits and Bobs

No work out today.  After all my blathering yesterday too :)  We're in the middle of our first real snow storm of the season so we're having comfort food, looking through flyers for Christmas gifts and inviting people over to our place for x-mas eve.

I need to come up with a menu and take the 24th off.  Kind of looking forward to it.

Dinner was an eclectic combination of raw veggies, steamed broccoli, perogies (fried in bacon fat and DELICIOUS) and chicken breast topped with mozzarella cheese tomatoes and basil.  All very yummy :)

Very envious of everyone running the Wine and Dine Half Marathon at Epcot this weekend.  Perhaps next year...

Crockpot Wednesday - Chili

I don't usually use the crockpot during the week because we're gone for at least 10 hours and my crock doesn't have a timer. Maybe I'll splurge one day and get a "fancy" one.

Tomorrow is Kick-Off for football and we're having a few friends over, what better to have then Chili and home made buns?

So, here's the most difficult, sodium laden Chili recipe evah. Seriously.

1 package ground beef, cooked and drained

2 19 oz cans Aylmer Tomatoes (Chili seasoning Accents)

2 14 oz cans Heinz Chili Style Red Kidney Beans

2 14 oz cans Heinz Chili Style Pinto and Red Kidney Beans

1 tsp Chili powder

1 tsp Chipotle Chili powder (I use the Epicure Selection ones for both)

Toss everything in a crock pot, give it a stir, cook for a while.

I have no idea why people like it but they do. I like it 'cause it's simple :)

Buns are from Tasty Kitchen using the bread maker.

Menu Plan Monday

Happy Labour Day! We're celebrating by watching an Original Series Star Trek marathon (currently Amok Time is on). And I'm knitting a bit while watching so maybe by the time the colder weather comes around I'll have a blanket done.

I didn't do a menu plan last week which turned out good because I didn't really cook alot, not sure what we ate actually :)

So for this week,

Monday: Tacos with homemade Guac and Pico de Gallo

Tuesday: Chicken Roll ups (flattened chicken breast, spinach and swiss cheese on top. Roll up and bake in the oven. Recipe is from my moms Herbal Magic cookbook)

Wednesday: Quasidillas using leftovers from Monday

Thursday: Chili for football kickoff, with home made buns

Friday: Leftovers

Menu Plan Monday - Phoning it in

I'm really taking the easy way out this week, phoning it in so to speak :) I didn't make it to the frugal grocery store on the weekend and I couldn't justify buying the same thing for dollars more at Safeway so it's a kind of eat out of the pantry and freezer week.

I did, however, do a mini review of last week since there were so many new things that I tried.

Monday: Leftovers. I'm going to toast the remaining baguette and put warmed up risotto on it. I'm going to make Adam and Jet fend for themselves.

Tuesday: Ham and Cheese Quiche. Need a quick dinner than can be reheated when we get home.

Wednesday: Steak and Potatoes. Because it's EASY.

Thursday: Pizza or maybe take-out because it's our last ball game.

Friday: Fish for friday. Chili Lime Orange Roughy, and rice or noodles.

Saturday and Sunday we're playing ball. Which will probably include drive-thru.

Meal Plan Review

Because I made a whole bunch of new stuff this week, and for lack of anything else to blog about, I thought I'd review the new recipes from this weeks menu plan.

Country Fair Chicken is reviewed here.

Tater Tot Casserole Quick and basic, tasted pretty good too. Only problem was, I didn't have Tater Tots so I went out and got some. Turns out the reason why we don't have Tater Tots in the house is because it gives me fierce heartburn. So...will know for next time.

Shepherdes Pie Wow, that was a ton of work. And it didn't have enough salt or pepper. If there's ever a time where I've got potato leftovers I'll make this again.

Risotto Today's dinner, because Jamie Oliver said it would be good. I liked the process of making it, but didn't taste all that good by itself. I think I used to much cheese and a bit too much wine. And it's debatable if I cooked the onions enough.

However, it tasted pretty good on slices of baguette.

Now I have to figure out something for this week. And finish all my laundry.

Country Fair Chicken

This was actually pretty good. Nice and simple the way that I like my food.
I have no idea why it's called Country Fair Chicken, but whatever. I got the initial recipe from E-Mealz, but then I also looked online and modified it a bit.

Country Fair Chicken

2 or 3 chicken breasts chopped up
3 or 4 medium potatoes sliced
3 or 4 carrots chopped roughly
1 onion chopped
3 Tbs olive oil
1 package of herb and garlic soup mix
1/2 cup chicken broth

Chop everything, toss with oil, add soup mix and toss.

Pour into casserole dish, add chicken broth

Cover and cook in 350 degree oven for 1 hour, remove cover for the last 15 minutes.

Notes:
I didn't have this soup mix so I used a herb marinade; it was very peppery. Probably shouldn't do that again.

I used a cup of broth because that's how much was in the container. It wasn't detrimental.

Could probably use another veggie, like celery in really big pieces.

But all in all quite good and easy to throw together. Just have to find the right spices to replace the soup mix.

menu plan monday

Monday already?! I'm not sure how well this weeks plan will work out because I'm a bit under the weather and all I want to do is order take-out.

Monday: Pizza.

Tuesday: Country Fair Chicken. Pretty much just cut up chicken, potatoes, carrots and onion tossed in olive oil and spices. Put in a casserole dish and add some chicken broth, cover and bake for an hour. I have a real recipe that I'll add if it works out.

Wednesday: Sausage and Perogies. Adam requested it, and it's super easy so I'm all for it this week.

Thursday: Tater Tot casserole. Except I don't have tater tots or green beans in a can, but I do have hash browns and frozen green beans. I'm sure it will all work out.

Friday: Steak sandwiches with bruchetta and extra old cheese. Sliced steak on toasted french bread topped with strong cheese and bruchetta. With a good red wine if I'm feeling better.

Saturday Shepherds Pie. I was going to do this for Friday, but it seems like more work than I usually want to put into Friday dinner.

Menu Plan Monday - Aug 10

Menu Plan Monday



We've got a busy schedule at the start of the week, so I had to find stuff that won't take long to cook but can also be eaten a couple hours later after we get home. I've got a bunch of lettuce and salad left over from the weekend, so we'll be eating that for sides for a few days too.

Monday: Chicken and rice wraps. Actually frozen left overs from the last time I made them, but it would have been just as easy to make from scratch.

Tuesday: Anniversary. Don't know if it'll be sit down or drive-thru, but I'm not cooking on my anniversary.

Wednesday: Omelet Using some more of the spinach I got from mom.

Thursday: Tuna Cakes I saw a similar recipe in a London grocery magazine last year and Adam won't be home for dinner on Thursday I think it's the perfect time to give them a try.

Friday: Herb de Provence Chicken I have bone in chicken in the freezer, a jar of Herb de Provence I've never used and Friday off from work. Should be interesting.

Saturday and Sunday are unknown to me.

Food Notes

Having a rough time with cooking this week, and it's only Tuesday.

1) Meal Planning doesn't do much good if I don't take stuff out of the freezer. Luckily the steaks for today were individually packaged in plastic so I could easily defrost them in a sink of lukewarm water.

2) The cake from yesterday cratered in the middle. I didn't expect it, but a little research showed that I live at high altitude (which i knew but don't really compensate for) and I should have either increased the baking temp, decreased (?) the leavening (don't know what that is), increased the flour and/or done something with the liquid. The result is a very yummy cake which didn't rise as much, and got kind of mushy in the centre because of the big crater.

3) Cooking ribs requires heavy duty foil. And I don't really like ribs.

4) Moms garden is a victim of a massive storm that passed through on the weekend. So I probably can only sponge potatoes and carrots.

Menu Plan Monday - August 3

Back on track for Menu Plan Monday

Going to try and use most of the veggies I pilfered from Moms garden yesterday. Also looks like rain all week so I don't have to worry about keeping the house cool like others :)

Monday: Ribs from Alton Brown. I stocked up a while back and got slabs for $5 or less, but I have a sneaky suspicion I have no white wine or apple juice for the brine. Probably potatoes and green beans for sides.

Plus this cake

Tuesday: Steak and potatoes and some other vegetable.

Wednesday: Spinach quiche. For reals this time.

Thursday: Chicken nuggets and home made fries.

Friday: Baked Parmesan Roughy that I didn't make last time.

Not sure what Saturday or Sunday will bring.

Now I'm off to do laundry, clean the kitchen and bake a cake.

First Harvest

Because I didn't have enough family time at the parade yesterday, and because the boy was still at Mom and Dads, I went back out with the (secondary) purpose of picking strawberries at the u-pick place down the road. I didn't realize it was so late in the season though, so the pickings were slim and tiny.

Mom and I both came back with a pail each of strawberries and one pail for her of Saskatoon berries.

Then I raided her garden for this:



Potatoes - two plants worth, and it was a lot.

Spinach - I did not know that's what it looks like. Washed it, dried it and then put it into freezer bags.

Strawberries - from the u-pick place. Washed and hulled the tiny little guys, flash froze them and put hem into freezer bags for later. Then I went and bought the ingredients, pan and toy (for the boy) for PW's Strawberry Shortcake Cake which looks beyond awesome.

Green Beans - Only a handful were ready, but there's a whole row in her garden and I'm the only one who eats them, so I'm getting a head start on them.

What I didn't take with but ate a whole bunch of anyway:

Peas - Love 'em to death. They're like bacon to me; I don't think I could ever get full or sick of them.

Raspberries - They're not quite ready yet.



And then one of us was so tired they fell asleep on the half hour drive home, and then he slept on the couch for another hour after that.

Next up; what to make with all this good food. But now; watching Merlin. ASH is still a hottie.

Menu Plan Monday - July 20

Menu Plan Monday

This weeks challenge is to find meals that will use up the perishables and not have a ton of non-freezable leftovers before we leave for vacation on Friday. Too bad I wasn't thinking this way when I bought groceries on the weekend, I blame the bliss of solitary shopping for the amount of fruit and veggies that I came home with.

Monday: Chicken and Rice Wraps and corn on the cob. Strawberries and whipped cream for desert, yum.

Tuesday: Chili and a salad.

Wednesday: Chicken fingers from PW . I'm embarrassed I needed a recipe to figure this one out, but they're wonderful. Made a bunch on the weekend and froze them for nights such as this. Fresh veggies as a side.

Thursday: Baked Parmesan Roughy. I bought some (a box) of frozen fillets at the farmers market last week (putting aside the fact that frozen fish from New Zealand goes against what a farmers market should be) and this looks pretty tasty. Or, if I have a million loads of laundry to do and tons of running around to get ready we'll have pizza.

Friday: Waiting for the plane, California Dreamin'. Since the options are Tim Hortons or Harveys it'll probably be Tim Hortons.

Chicken and Rice Wraps

I found this recipe a while back when I thought that Once a Month Cooking was something that would save me time during the weekdays (it doesn't for me, not really). We liked this because it's simple, tastes mild (good for the boy) and makes a ton of leftovers.

Chicken and Rice Wraps

1lb chicken, cooked and shredded
2 c water
1 c mild salsa
1 pkg taco seasoning
2 c instant rice
8 - 12 tortillas (fills way more than that)

Combine Chicken, water, salsa and seasoning together

Bring to a boil

add rice and simmer for 5 minutes.

Put into a tortilla with some cheese and eat! Freeze assembled tortillas wrapped in foil and put into a baggie. Or, if you're like me, freeze the filling in smaller quantities and fill after.

I'm pretty sure you could use regular rice, boiling for 20 minutes with a closed lid. I'm also going to add some black beans because I like the texture it adds.

Menu Plan Monday

I've been doing a weekly meal plan for a while now, it's helped cut down on the expense and calories of drive thru/restaurant dinners and it has the added bonus of leftovers (sometimes) which I can take to work for lunch and cut down on the expense and calories of whatever is available at the office.

This week, however, is the first time that I've needed to have a plan. My husband and I are playing on a softball team together and this week we play Tuesday and Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:00. I was told it was once a week, or I'd never have agreed to participate but that's neither here nor there. So those two days have either got to be quick or we'll wind up having KFC like we did last week.



Monday: Chicken Pot Pie. Recipe from e-mealz which was so embarrassingly easy I should have known how to make it myself.

Tuesday: Leftover Chili. Made a huge (barely fit into the crock pot huge) batch of it on Sunday and it will do for lunches a couple days this week and I'll probably freeze a bunch too.

Wednesday: Leftover Pot Pie. If there's any left. Otherwise it's Pizza Pops or something just as frozen and processed.

Thursday: Fish and Chips for hubby and the boy. Grilled veggies for me, and if I'm feeling really ambitious I'll make some risotto, yum.

Friday: Pizza.

Saturday: I have a feeling we won't be home for dinner on Saturday, but if we are it will be Chicken-something.

Want to join in with your own Menu Plan? Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie.