Back in Action...

Oh my goodness friends, it's been a while!  When I posted last Noah was home sick with the flu.  That stuck with the poor kid for 2 days.  Then Sarah got it, then I got it.  UGH.....fun times were NOT had!  We all seem to be back on track now, though.  Needless to say, my meal plan pretty much went out the window last week. So did hockey games, dance class and Zumba.  Eeek!  Looking through the photos on my camera I seem to have some from last week and all from the week before so this will be a bit of a hodge podge post.  So 2 weeks past the plan looked like this:

Turkey sausage, sautéed red peppers, green beans and millet.....

Roasted turkey breast, peas, polenta ans some smoky peach chipotle dipping sauce......

Lasagna, for the fam.  I had eggs on toast with mortadella.....

Thursday was pork chops, corn and basmati rice.....

And Friday was baked salmon fillets with broccoli and quinoa...

Pretty good week!  I've got to admit, I don't eat pork chops much and Thursday's dinner reminded me why.  I just don't like them!!  Guess I thought I'd give them another shot, but I won't be eating them again any time soon.

I don't even remember what last week was suppose to look like!  Here's what I got pictures of:

Noah had an out of town hockey game on Tuesday and I always try to get some sort of pasta into him before a game.  This is brown rice pasta which is always what I prepare for myself.

Whoa....dark photo!  This was Wednesday's dinner, which we ate late.  Well, 7pm is late for us!  We were out for this again...

 ....but over my lunch hour I put chicken thighs, sliced mushrooms, 2 chopped red bell peppers and a can of tomato sauce in the crock pot on low.  When we got back the kids ate theirs over leftover pasta while Jason and I had ours over quinoa.  It tasted SO much better than it looks!  I'm certain we had turkey sausage again on Thursday, but there doesn't seem to be any photo evidence!  Friday we decided to go out to dinner, but my camera was sitting pretty on the dining room table.  DOH!

I got some cool mail last week, too!  First up we have some Method dish and hand soap:

I haven't tried either yet, but I can't wait to get them started.  Method is one of my favourite brands of hand soap and I'm eager to try the dish soap.  These have seasonal scents, too!  Frosted Fir and Candy Cane!   Thank You, Method!!!  I also received my FREE Gevalia coffee for our Tassimo.

Somehow I managed to get to their Facebook Page before supplies were out! Too bad I'm blogging from Blogger right now and can't figure out how to rotate this picture!!!  Anyhow, this coffee is STRONG, but good.  I'll definitely buy more when I run out.

So, I think that's all I've got for now.  As always, you can check my meal plan out on my Facebook Page.....What's your favourite meal been this past month?  Or is it something that you will be eating over Thanksgiving?

Bye for now!!

Four Meals In, One Out

Hi everybody!  How did your week go?  I see that some of you have snow already!  YUCK!  I sure feel for you.  I haven’t seen any white flakes yet, but I’m sure it won’t be long now.  Did anyone attend a Halloween party this weekend?  My kids are excited for the “big” day tomorrow.  I’ll be spending part of this evening getting their costumes ready for school tomorrow.  Noah’s class is having a little party and Sarah (being in grade 7) will be going to an afternoon dance at the school. 
I wanted to make sure I popped by to post last week’s meals.  Can I just day that I’m SO glad I got back into planning dinner for the week?  It’s one less thing to worry about each night when I get home.  Two thumbs up, for sure!  So Monday was soup & grilled cheese night.  I made the broth in my crock pot using the chicken bones that I have from our beer butt/roasted chickens so all I had to do when I came home from work was strain it into a pot, add a can of diced tomatoes (with the juice) and chicken from the bones.  Instead of grilled cheese I toasted a slice of rice bread for dipping.
On Tuesday I had the time to roast a chicken which is a rarity through the week at this house!  I also made peas and quinoa to go with it: Can I just say that it’s getting dark so much sooner lately?  Good thing next Saturday we change the clocks!  On Wednesday I grilled turkey sausage with bell peppers and onions.  I also sautéed mushrooms, garlic and Mache as another side.  Quinoa made another appearance on my plate while the fam ate mac n cheese with theirs. Thursday was another busy night so I dug into the freezer for some pulled pork that I had made in the crock pot previously and froze without sauce.  I just warmed it in a pan with a bit of broth and hickory flavoured BBQ sauce.  It was delicious served over a toasted rice bun smeared with avocado hummus: We went out with friends for dinner on Friday, but no pictures.  It was a real informal meal of burgers and salad.  Perfect for the end of a busy week!  Some of the leftovers were eaten as is within the next few days while some were transformed a bit.  I used some of the roasted chicken to make an awesome sandwich with vegetable antipasto, Mache and cassata cheese…. Some of the (sauce less)  pulled pork went back into a sandwich with roasted red pepper, basil pesto and mozzarella cheese: Delicious!!  On Saturday we went to Subway for lunch.  It’s the first time I’ve been since going (mostly) gluten free.  I went with a turkey sub in salad form which ended up being fabulous!
And lastly, tonight’s dinner.  I baked salmon fillets and served them with brown rice and mixed veggies:
A lovely Sunday dinner, even though it’s not pot roast!  HAHA!  Check out next weeks plan over on my facebook page……
Have a great week, everyone….
Bye for now!!

It’s About to Get Crazy!

The temps around here have become much cooler and the skies dreary since September arrived.  I’m just not a fan.  Summer with all its heat and sun is definitely more my style.  September also brought this with it: Yes, hockey season is upon us again.  Noah was so pumped to be back on the ice.  His enthusiasm for the game makes sitting in cold rinks doable.  His soccer season will officially wrap up on September 17, although they will still practice indoors each Sunday from October to January.  Sarah’s dance classes start back up tonight, as well.  She’ll be dancing the winter away doing hip hop, jazz and modern…..so 2 nights a week.  What does all this mean?  That things will be getting crazy around here again very soon!  In anticipation I spent the long weekend mostly in the kitchen preparing freezer friendly meal starters.  The crockpot was put to use making homemade chicken stock (from bones I save throughout the summer from our many beer butt chickens) and pulled pork (frozen minus the sauce).  I also made a BIG pot of homemade marinara sauce and some roasted peppers.  The peppers are a cinch for me because I have a gas stove so I just use the stainless steel BBQ tongs and hold the peppers over the flame until they char.    Then I place them in a bowl and cover with a lid for about 5 mins. The skin peels off like a dream using this method!! 
I either freeze them as is or with some chopped garlic and olive oil.  YUM!  I also tried a new (gluten free) granola recipe that’s just awesome! This one is bursting with chocolate peanut buttery goodness!
I particularly like it sprinkled over vanilla ice cream or mixed with Greek yogurt  :)
Last night Noah’s hockey team got together to do a biathlon which they raised money for to put towards the team’s budget.  The boys had to run 1km (2.5 times around the track) and bike for 2km (5 times around).  Here are a few pictures I took…
I wanted to run with him but was told a very firm “NO!!”  HAHA!  I’ve been doing OK with this gluten free business that I’m trying out.  I learned pretty fast to make sure I have snacks packed if we’re going to be out for a bit or things can get tricky.  I’m sure there’s still some gluten sneaking into what I eat, but the main culprits have definitely been eliminated.  And I’m quite certain that the gluten police won’t be showing up any time soon.  Overall I have been feeling better; my tummy is upset less often and the bloating has almost disappeared.   It’s only been a month or so but these little changes are enough to keep me going.  Here are a few examples of meals I’ve been enjoying: Buckwheat bread with almond butter and blueberry jam. The Canadian Maple Forest is my favourite flavour yet! Brown rice spiral pasta. Pork chop, basmati rice with homemade marinara sauce. Grilled salmon with zucchini and tomatoes. Kettle corn is one of my favourite snacks!  Truth be told, I’m not much for “regular” popcorn, but kettle corn is a whole different story!  :)
So. I’m sure you’ve noticed that my blog looks different.  Yeah….that was an accident and I’m not too happy with it!  :(  I was fiddling around with templates and and for some reason hit the “apply to blog” button.  I’m definitely not techy enough to figure out how to get my old look back, though.  BOO!  C’est la vie, I suppose!
Have you ever changed something with the look of your blog that you weren’t happy with??
Bye for now!!

A Few Gems

I feel like I’ve been gone forever again!  LOL  My blogging “schedule” has certainly become anything but routine.  I just can’t seem to bring myself to sit down with my laptop when the weather’s been so nice!  To be honest, I use to prepare most of my posts from work, but extra responsibilities (which were obviously needed) have prevented me from doing that.  I do have a few things I wanted to update you all on, though.  Like some new (to me) eats!  Last Sunday we made the hour long trip to Whole Foods (and Lululemon) where I picked up a few gems. 
These 365 coconut frozen fruit bars are officially my favourite summer treat!  Not only are they pure coconutty goodness, but they’re chalk full of coconut pulp!  YUMMY!! I know some may dislike pulp, but I dig the texture of it….always have.
I L-O-V-E SOL burgers and these rice & mushrooms patties are no exception.  Jason actually found these and put them in the cart.  A year ago that NEVER would’ve happened!  LOL These Green Cuisine tempeh burgers were also a find at Whole Foods.  I love the texture that tempeh has!  I mostly enjoyed these done up on the BBQ then served on an Ezekiel English muffin with goat gouda, spicy mustard and lettuce. These Gardein Tucson breasts were a HIT with Jason and myself.   I’ve wanted to try Gardein for some time now, but just can’t justify the cost.  When I caught these on sale a few weeks ago, I snatched them up.  I served the “breasts” over a bed of WW couscous for a quick, delicious meal.   Even Jason, who is a total meat & potato kinda of guy, gave them a thumb up.  We’ve really been minding our plates lately.  Lots of fresh fruit (and veg), salmon, meat “alternatives” or poultry (the sausages in the following photos are all turkey sausages), quinoa and couscous perked up with various veggies and cheese.  We’re slowly moving to a “diet” (HATE that word) that is as local and fresh as possible which is SO much easier to do in the summer months.
The beans you see ^^^ there are fresh from my garden.  As in, pick’em, wash’em gently steamed’em, ate’em!
Here’s a look at how my other plants are getting on: Everything is later than usual due to cold, wet weather in May & June, but things are starting to pick up!
We have been enjoying some treats, too!  Noah was at a sleep over last weekend so Jason, Sarah and I tried out a local “hole in the wall” type   Italian restaurant.  I find restaurants that are very unassuming usually have the BEST food and Pauli’s was no exception!  We loved our meal!
Sarah’s Orangina brought me right back to Italy and my roasted onion, goat cheese, prosciutto pizza was to die for!  Jason ordered a chicken parm dish with a side of pasta which he inhaled.  All their sauces, dough’s, pasta, etc are homemade, on site.  The way it should be, right?  ;)
On to some non food goodies!  I wanted to show you a shirt and pair of shoes that I snagged at 50% off this past weekend! LURVE!!!  The shoes are super cute and very comfortable and the shirt is in my fave colour!  SCORE!  And last week Jason and I attended an awards assembly at the school to see Noah receive a HEART award for cross county: Sarah also got a Win It award which is given for having a good attitude.  I think they got the wrong kid.  ;)  LOL  So proud of them both!  
So I think I’ll stop here.  I have a few other fun posts planned and a review coming later this week, so you’ll be seeing me more frequently….I promise!!
Bye for now!!