It has been a long time...

I realise that I haven't updated my blog since I got pregnant.  I think I was too tired and stressed to keep up with everything, though I still kept cooking and having fun with the kids.  Now, things are a bit different because we have a sweet little baby to tote around with us wherever we go.  It makes things a bit more complicated.  Things take more planning and it definitely takes longer to leave the house but we are managing! Slowly, we are getting our groove back.

From this...

To this...

March Break Madness 2012!

Since we are still in the thick of it for illness, here's hoping we recover enough to enjoy the Spring Break!  I'm planning on keeping the time spent in the kitchen to a minimum so I've stocked the cupboards full of Kraft dinner and beans!  I'm sure there will be one rainy day that we'll stay home and I think I'll bake something fun with the kids and make a more fancy dinner.

Meal Plan:
Today: Left over baked beans with turkey sausage
Sat: Left over pasta and sauce
Sun:  Pork carnitas in the slow cooker
Mon: Kraft dinner with veggies
Tues: Baked potatoes with breaded pork cutlets
Wed: out
Thurs: out
Fri:  chicken nuggets with fries
Sat: St. Patrick's Day dinner
Sun: Duck l'orange with roasted potatoes & salad

Events: 
Mon: Maple festival and lunch at Mandarin
Tues: play date (stick close to home)
Wed: day with dad (zoo or Niagara or museum)
Thurs: Science Centre and lunch at grandma's
Fri:  TBA
Sat: Fun swim
Sun: stick close to home - walk at Jack Darling

Sicky Day

We are dealing with another bout of illness at home.  Little D was on his last day of antibiotics for his ear when it flared up again and now he is on round two.  Mr. T was feeling left out due to this ongoing illness with Little D so he has "sympathy stomach."  I had to drive to school twice to pick up each kid.  Spent the better part (two hours) of a lovely sunny day in a waiting room.  Not how I had imagined the day.  So with two sick kids in front of the TV I had some free time.  I decided to make us a nice, pick-me-up dinner.  Spaghetti with chicken meatballs, homemade sauce and a chocolate cake complete with frosting.  Needless to say we overate and that it was awesome!  Here are the recipes  (http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/10/baked-chicken-meatballs/ and  http://www.marthastewart.com/334278/busy-day-chocolate-cake)  and the pictures to drool over!

Smacznego!

The meatballs!

 Making frosting seems like such an extra bother, but it was so worth it!  The chocolaty cake and the vanilla butter cream frosting were a match made in heaven.  Plus, the cake isn't too big, so we won't be eating it for a week, which is nice, but gets a bit tedious.

Frosted cake is approved!

So good!

 My only hope is that the extra frosting will make the kids feel better again.  Wonders never cease!

No frosting left behind!

 

 

Busy Party Planner

That's what I feel like- a busy party planner, but I only plan my boys' parties.  It's just two boys but there are always at lease 4 parties plus day-of special events!  It's a lot for just one mom!  Oh cry me a river.  I am glad to do it but it does take more planning than I imagined.  Even for a party with pizza as the main feature there are still napkins, plates, hats and loot bags to buy!

So this weekend- there will be three parties back to back to back!  Friends, cousins and grandparents in that order.  And instead of baking, I am surfing the web and watching cooking shows!  Those are my little stress busters!

I am baking some vanilla cupcakes with white frosting for the kiddies.  Millionaire's bars for the cousins and a white butter cake for the grandparents.  Here is the recipe that Little D chose:  http://www.joyofbaking.com/WhiteCake.html
Let's hope it turns out.

If I survive, I will post some pictures.

Cheers!

Slightly surprised Birthday Boy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day has always been a special day for Hubby and I and now, for seven years it has been even more special because our boy's birthday is the day before.  We have so much love to give...

For his special birthday Little D requested Chinese take out- so that made it easy.  Today, the boys requested a roast turkey- I'm making a roast chicken instead.  Going all out with the works- mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted veggies and a spinach salad.  And for dessert, again, by special request, vanilla ice-cream with warm strawberry sauce.  Can't wait for the feast and the love-in.

Happy Valentine's Day!  Hugs!

The dinner that almost never happened

Yesterday was one of those days where I was running around on all cylinders.  My plans were changing from minute to minute and at one point, we were going out to dinner so that stress fell away and I focused on all the other small stuff.  All that small stuff that you are not supposed to be sweating, like dust bunnies under the bed and the spiders coming out of hiding.  In the end, I ended up back home with the boys 40 minutes before our regularly schedule dinner and I rolled up my sleeves!  I made beef-barley soup with some help from some premade broth, but I made it my own by adding veggies and making some fresh barley.  The boys and hubby love barley!  That makes me so happy!  I grew up on the stuff and never thought that it would appeal to hubby since he is actually the pickiest eater in the family. 

In the end, that little bit of effort was worth it.  I paired the soup with some fresh rye bread with butter and marble cheese.  Everyone was happy, especially my waistline and bank account!

Upside down week

My meal plan looks great for this week, but I had to make some changes.  The cabbage I picked up at the store took up too much room in my fridge so I am starting off by making cabbage rolls and opening up some valuable space there.

Cabbage rolls

1 head of cabbage- boiled and leaves separated
3-4 cups of cooked white rice
1 large onion, sauteed in grape seed oil/butter
1 lbs of ground turkey
salt and pepper to taste

Tomato paste mixed with water for sauce (3 tablespoons of paste mixed with 1 1/2 cup water with salt and pepper)

Start by making the rice and sauteing the onions.  After boiling and separating the leaves of the cabbage,  let them cool.  Mix the ground meat - you could use whatever you like, my mom likes pork- with the rice and onions and season well with salt and pepper.   I added a little parsley to the mixture because I had some already chopped.  Place one to two tablespoons of stuffing into the leaves and roll up.  Line them up tightly in a casserole dish and pour the tomato paste over the cabbage rolls so that they steam while they cooks.  Cover with a few cabbage leaves, a lid or aluminium foil and place in the oven at 350 C for 1- 1 1/2hours.

Straight out of the oven

Dinner is served

While the cabbage rolls are baking, make extra sauce for serving.

Enjoy!  Smacznego!

This batch made 18 large cabbage rolls.  I divided them up and froze the second half for another day. To prepare them, simply place in the oven for an extra 30 minutes.  Easy peasy!

Hubby and I gobbled these up, but the boys only ate the stuffing and left the cabbage.  I am OK with that.  Baby steps are necessary with some foods, especially ones that have a strong taste, texture and smell.  We've already made progress because before, the boys refused to sit at the table when we ate things that they didn't like.  We have enough for another dinner, and I am hoping that I can get them to try a bite of the cabbage.  Here's hoping!

Another meal plan

While trying to eat more healthy and getting ready for back to school, I have been on a meal planning spree.  This coming week looks good!

Mon: Soup and garlic bread with salad (potato-leek)
Tues: left over lasagna and salad
Wed: Shrimp and broccoli stir fry
Thurs: Cabbage rolls (with turkey)
Fri: Beef-barley soup with veggies and dip
Sat: left over cabbage rolls
Sun: Roast chicken with root veg.

A New Year

The gluttony of the holidays is over, though there are still a few tempting leftovers in the fridge.  Now it is time for some healthy meals.

Goals for the new year:
1. Get healthy by being more active- walk the kids to school, use my yoga ball, do Wii Fit 4 days/week, sign up for something new
2. Get healthy by eating better - go meatless more and eat more seafood, plus try some new recipes
3. Get out more- with friends and family
4. Get organised- laundry and basement!
5. Read more
6. Yell less

Recipes to try in the new year:
More quinoa!
More kale!
Sweet potato gnocchi
home-made granola bars
air-popped popcorn
more roast chicken!
more seafood


Meal plan:

Wed: Turkey breast with gravy and roasted potatoes with honey glazed carrots
Thurs: Tilapia fillets with pesto and sweet potato fries & salad
Friday: Potato-leek soup with baguette
Sat: Brunch- waffles, fruit salad, sausage and devilled eggs
       Dinner- Pizza and salad
Sun:  Turkey lasagna with steamed broccoli

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Wishing you all the best over the holidays and into the New Year!

Eat, Drink and Be Merry!!!

November - the month that never was

So this radio silence that I've been on has been because I have been sick since Thanksgiving.  It started with a bad cold, followed by a virus or two, bronchitis and an ear-infection culminating in pneumonia.  It has been a tough two months...  I have never been this sick before.  I could not eat and had a fever for almost five weeks straight.  I am still not 100% and the doctor told me it would be a good two to three weeks before I would be back to myself.  I basically lived on soup, tea and toast.  After a while, my stomach got so messed up by all the antibiotics and anti-viral that I couldn't even drink tea!  Crazy! Basically, I lost all of November.  All the things I wanted to do around the garden, the house and with cooking went up the window.  And this was going to be the year when I would be really prepared for Christmas.  I did manage to do almost all of my shopping on line, but I was quite worried that I would not be able to do anything to prepare us for Christmas.  The only positive thing has been that I lost 13 lbs!  But I have been to sick to enjoy it!
But I am feeling better, relatively speaking.

Another week...

Monday: Spaghetti with tomato sauce
Tuesday:  Pork chops with roasted veggies and coleslaw
Wednesday:  Beef tacos with all the fixings
Thursday:  Turkey pot pie with Cesar salad
Friday: Pierogi with sour cream
Saturday:  tba
Sunday: tba

It's a pretty straight forward meal plan.  I like to keep the weekend meals open to see where we are and who we see, also what may inspire us!  We're going to have friends over for brunch so I am planning that out already - definitely some kind of waffles, baked bacon, fruit salad and something eggy.  Fun!  I baked the pumpkin cupcakes again, and we are really enjoying them!  I will also make some soup so that we can have it for lunch and in case of emergencies!

Meal plan

Monday- Macaroni and cheese with spinach salad
Tuesday- Proscutto wrapped chicken with mac n cheese & broccoli
Wednesday - Salmon with couscous salad & buttered peas
Thursday- Beef barley soup with crudites
Friday - Orange chicken in the slow cooker with rice
Saturday - out
Sunday- tba

Special request: Ribs

 We've all been sick for weeks now, so to cheer us up, I've started taking special requests.  Mr. T asked for ribs.  He is such a little man!  My favourite recipe for ribs is Hubby's Kentucky style ribs done on the barbecue.  I, however, am also sick, so I could not commit myself to such an undertaking.  I decided on an easier, fail safe option: the slow cooker.  I tried a new recipe from Canadian Living : http://www.canadianliving.com/food/fall_off_the_bone_ribs_in_barbecue_sauce.php

I have made ribs in the slow cooker before, but knew that I could do better.  I liked this recipe because it included an overnight dry rub and broiling in the oven, before going into the slow cooker.  Also, I liked how it wasn't drowning in sauce because Mr. T is not a sauce loving guy.

The ribs going into the slow cooker.  The magic will happen while we are out at after school art class.

After six hours on high in the slow cooker.

 The feast awaits!  Boiled baby potatoes and baked beans to accompany the fall-off-the-bone ribs.

 A close up of the ribs - I just couldn't resist this close-up!

 A Halloween inspired creation!

One happy, though sick, foodie!
I loved this meal because, though it required a bit off effort in planning, it was pretty easy to prepare and the results were amazing.  I  put the ribs into the slow cooker in the afternoon and the meal was perfectly ready when we came home after a long Friday.  I think that I will make Friday my slow cooker day from now on.  We have an activity smack in the middle of the dinner hour and by the end of the week, it is just too easy to do take-out. 
I recommend you try this- it's good enough for company, too!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I made these the other day for a baking exchange.  Our theme was autum, but I think everyone used pumpkin in their baking!  I considered making an applesauce cake that is super moist and yummy, but wanted to try something new and different.  The recipe I went with was from Canadian Living- I don't love the magazine but their website is pretty good!  I actually used two recipes this week from them. 

Here is the link for the recipe:
http://www.canadianliving.com/food/quick_and_easy/pumpkin_cupcakes_with_cream_cheese_icing.php  

I used more cinnamon in mine and switched to light cream cheese to make things a tiny bit healthier! I also decorated them a bit differently.

I just picked up new baking soda and baking powder and it made a huge difference in how well these muffins rose in the oven.

The kids and Hubby were fighting over the beaters!  Next time I will add a dash of cinnamon and orange liquer to the frosting.

 Frosted cupcakes waiting for delivery.

The final touch to make them more festive!  These were so good that I am going to make them again for school snacks without the frosting.  Maybe I'll add some chocolate chips to make them more fun, but they were so moist and rich tasting that they don't need anythign extra done to them.

The Sick Days of Autumn

Flu season has just started and we're already crazy sick. That means only comfort food for us this week. After a tough night with Little D who had a fever and upset tummy, it was time to call in the soothing powers of oatmeal. He loves it, but we're still working on Mr. T...

Apple and Cinnamon Oatmeal

2 cups water
1 cup large flake oatmeal
1/2 apple, grated
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
maple syrup to taste
golden raisins to taste
milk
(I also sneak in a teaspoon of ground flax, ground chia and wheatgerm when no one is looking.)

Cook the oatmeal with the grated apple.  Add cinnamon and vanilla to the pot.  Spoon into bowls and top with raisins, maple syrup (the boys like to see how much I put on) and milk.

It's like a hug in a bowl on a cold fall morning.  I could eat oatmeal everyday.  Sometimes I substitute in some peaches and it tastes pretty close to the peaches and cream prepackaged ones that the kids love, but have half the sugar and way more nutrients.  We've been gradually moving towards the healthier, whole grains out there.  We started with the instant and moved on to the large flake.  Next step is steel cut oats, which I really enjoy but the kids and Hubby find have too much "bite."  Slow and steady- I'll have them eating it yet!

Another week

Monday: Pierogi with sour cream and baby carrots
Tuesday: Veggie soup with toast and salad
Wednesday:  Beef and broccoli stir fry (+ baking day!)
Thursday:  Prosciutto wrapped chicken with roasted potatoes and peas
Friday: Shrimp with quinoa and fruit salad
Saturday:  out to dinner
Sunday:  tba

I'm participating in Trail of Crumbs and am searching the web for a pumpkin dessert.  I think cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting- there are so many choices...

Beef-broccoli stir fry with rice and quinoa.

An uninspired meal plan

I've been searching the web all day for inspiration without success.  Yesterday was a quick pasta dinner at 7pm after a busy afternoon of after school activities.  Many of the blogs I visit had very uninspired meal ideas for this week.  But, after a quick visit to the grocery store today I've nailed it down.  It doesn't help that I've been fighting a bad cold for two weeks (I finally caved and am currently medicated).  I hate it when I have something that chicken soup can't heal.... 

Monday: Pasta shells with tomato sauce and spinach salad
Tuesday: Panko Pork Chops with boiled baby potatoes and carrots and peas
Wednesday:  Chicken korma with rice pilaf and cauliflower-potato curry
Thursday:  Garlic-butter shrimp with quinoa and sauteed spinach
Friday:  Beef-barley soup with toast
Saturday:  An anniversary feast -TBA
Sunday:  Meatloaf with mashed potatoes

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving long weekend came and went.  It was a low key holiday for us this year since we only saw one side of the family.  Nonetheless, I had to made a turkey!  Any excuse available, I like to have a turkey in the house!  There are so many possibilities!  I made it for the Saturday and we had dinner ready for the next three days!

I got a $20 turkey!  ($1.99 / pound at Metro and I got the second last one for that deal!!!)  We got one Thanksgiving feast out of it, hot turkey sandwiches (twice), two pot pies and soup!  Now that was a bargain!  It was the fist time I bough a regular turkey, as in not pre-basted, and it turned out very moist, though I noticed one side of it was more thoroughly cooked than the other, and I did turn it occasionally.  I think- gasp!- my oven is acting up!

This is the recipe I use for my pot pie, thought I use some homemade stock and half and half cream instead of the canned soup.
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/grams-chicken-pot-pie-108134.aspx
I've prepared it and it's sitting in the fridge waiting to get popped into the oven.  It's a busy day so I had to plan ahead.  Very looking forward to these left-overs!

Turkey pot pie just out of the oven.

A Day at the Peach Farm

First things first, there was the taste test.

Beauty

Little D. using a step stool to reach the high spots

We couldn't stop picking!

The tractor ride back to the homestead.

The bounty!

Hamming it up!

A chicken wrap for dinner!

All in all, we picked close to 35 lbs of peaches and nectarines.  They were heavenly!  I made a pie, a crumble and a cobbler.  To Die For!  So good.  I know I took some pictures and am searching for them now.  I also froze some sliced up fruit for smoothies and a winter time peach pie.  We're already getting excited fo apples season!