Eat At Home

Hijack!

2011-03-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

I was inspired by the Oprah show to do a week of eating meatless food. Oprah and her staff did total vegetarian, but I'd like to include the milk and eggs and cheese. So I think we should try it the week of April 10th to the 17. I thought we could hijack this blog to post some of our good vegetarian finds.

Who's with me?

Jenn

Monthly Round Up

2011-02-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

Feb 23rd: Fish and Chips. I LOVE superstore. They have great products and we eat a lot of them. We really enjoyed the Haddock and Hops they have there for our fish and chips. But as luck would have it when I wanted to buy it they didn't have any. But what they did have was the blue menu fish/haddock. So I thought I'd give it a try as I usually like the blue menu stuff. In fact if you open our freezer there is a lot of blue in it, blue meatballs, frozen dinners and chicken fingers. These fish fillets will now be added to the list. They were very tasty and as the blue menu implies, they were also healthier for us then the Haddock and Hops.

Feb 24: Oma's Birthday, so we had our favorite Oma dinner, Stomput Spinazzi. A classic meal.

Feb 25: I worked, so the boys had a Sobey's chicken and I had leftover peanut butter chicken
Feb 26:

Feb 27: Appetizer Smorsgasbord. A friend of mine mentioned they did this the other day and I thought it was a great idea. So we had nachos and vegetable spring rolls. The kids thought it was great to have a meal where no utensils were required.

Feb 28: Roast Beef Dinner. This is the meal we have had the most this month. It must be winter. I love how colorful this meal is. And I love pickled beets which is my favorite thing to have with roast beef.

So the eat at home challenge is done - thank goodness. I don't think I realized anything any different then our other eat at home challenges, but it was a good way to get me back on track with taking lunches. Not eating out for a whole month is a challenge. I failed the challenge back in the middle of the month on a Saturday when I went out to lunch with my best friend from highschool and then had a girls night out and drank and ate. Other then that one day though I was good.

Did anyone meet the challenge and not eat out for a whole month?

Jenn

Carriere = FAIL

2011-02-28T06:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I definately FAILED on the posting part of this challenge. I think I fell off the bandwagon when I realized I was going out of town for a few days.

For the most part I think I did really well. The only days I did EAT out were the days I was in Montana this month, (a friday/saturday/sunday).

The drinking out was a little more difficult however. There was a night out with the girls, there was a night out with the boys and 2 suprise outings to watch the Flames. So I think I kinda failed in that regards as well. BUT then I think the last time I went to a flames game was 2?? years ago and I don't go out EVERY month with the girls/guys so it was a co-incidence it was this month. (Thats what I will keep telling myself anyways) ;)

I did like how the challenge made me think outside (my little tiny boring) the box. I made an effort to make different things this month.....homemade pizza, a fish dish, homemade potato soup...and it did make me get up and make something to eat on those days where sending Shane out to get something would have been way easier :)

and for the last day....I am making roast beef tonight, potatoes, gravy, veggies......YUM!!

There's a reason why I don't have my own blog...

2011-02-26T15:04:00.000-08:00

Please accept my apologies for falling off the face of the earth over the past 10 days. I've been a good girl and I've taken pictures of a few of my meals but I've been up to my eyeballs making wedding invitations on short notice for a very dear friend of mine so I haven't had time to blog!

Last time I wrote, I had just made a pot of soup and joked that it would last for days. I wasn't kidding! I ate soup for dinner for 5 days straight plus I had it for lunch twice and still froze 5 servings for future use!

So...next on my cravings list was a pot of homemade spaghetti sauce with some Johnsonville mild Italian sausage, some cheese tortellini and garlic bread. Oh and those are Quaker oatmeal muffins in the back with a TON of chocolate chips in them. I apologize for not getting a picture of this meal on the first day when it was plated, I was so excited to eat that I forgot to get a picture.

When I ran out of tortellini then I switched to eating up the last of the sausage. I wasn't sure what to eat with it and decided to have 1/2 a can of green beans and the last of the bread. I prefer fresh green beans but I was raised on canned beans so I like them, too. So all in all, 1 pkg of sausage, 1 pkg of tortellini, 1 baguette and a can of green beans made 4 nights of dinners for me! Mackenzie had school functions or work every day so I was eating alone!

I didn't take a picture of my dinner today because it's the same meal I had near the start of this month's challenge (scrambled eggs with minced green pepper, diced low-fat turkey kielbasa, a sprinkling of tex mex cheese and a little salsa) but I thought you'd enjoy my dessert. Anyone who knows me knows that my husband turned me into an ice cream lover. While it's not uncommon for us to have 2-6 flavours of ice cream in the house at any one time (we usually make ice cream cones to keep the portion size under control), I love fruit and yogurt parfaits equally as much! Plus, just because you're eating at home it doesn't mean that it shouldn't look like you're at a fancy restaurant! I like to get some regular use out of my wine glasses (since I'm not a wine drinker) so they're often used to serve up dessert! This is fresh strawberries with a 1/4 cup of Danone Creamy vanilla yogurt and a couple of tablespoons of Harvest Crunch granola. DELICIOUS!!!!

Days 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23... whew!

2011-02-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

Whew, here's the weekend wrap up

Thursday the 17th: Breakfast for dinner. This is inspired by a Denny's meal I once had. It's hashbrown cooked with tomatoes and bacon and melted cheese with poached eggs on top. You can see I love me some ketchup and toast with raspberry jam. One of my favorite things about breakfast food is the mix of savory and sweet.

Friday the 18: Mexican Food. We had our friends over for dinner and they are heading to Mexico in a couple of weeks, so I thought I'd serve mexican food to get them ready. I made our favorite burritos (or enchiladas, not sure the difference) and fajitas. We also had homeade gucamole and very delicious margaritas. Here are some of the recipies:

Burritos/Enciladas (I've really got to look up the difference)

I take a can of chicken ( don't judge me, it works well), black beans, some rice and some salsa and cook it up together. Then I fill shells with the mixture and put it in an oven safe pan. I spread a whole bunch of cheddar cheese on top and put it in the oven for 10 minutes to melt the cheese. I eat it with sour cream and gucamole.

Gucamole

3 avacados (if it's just Darryl and I use one, and half of everything else)
1 lime juiced
2 cloves of garlic
1 tomato chopped
pinch of cilantro (more if you love cilantro, none if you don't like cilatro)

This was the margarita mix that we used and it was really really good, it's Mr and Mrs T's, you just need to add tequila. You can buy it at Superstore or Sobeys.

Saturday Feb 19th: Mom made roast beef for dinner, which was great as usual.
Sunday Feb 20th: I worked, so leftover peanut butter chicken for me and chicken fingers for the boys.
Monday Feb 21st: Mom and Alexis cooked again. This time it was lasgana.

Tuesday: Pork chops. You can see we smother our pork chop meals with apple sauce, which is homeade from Okanogan Apples from Oma and Opa. Also I thought I'd mix some sweet potatoes in with our white potatoes to add a little nutritional value. They were really good and the kids liked the orange potatoes too.

I am looking forward to next week when I can have my Tim Hortons tea and chocolate coconut donut again!! Only one more weekend =)

Jenn

Day 22 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-23T07:35:00.000-08:00

African Nut Soup and cheesy tortillas

The only variation I did to the soup was to puree it in the food processor after cooking and I let it simmer on the stove for about an hour. It was really good and I'm not a fan of curry but it gave it some heat without being overpowering.

African Nut Soup

4 Tbsp soy sauce
1 onion, sliced
2.5 cups yams, diced in 1-in cubes
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalk, sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 cups vegetable stock
1 15-oz can chick peas
1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
2 tsp curry powder

Heat 1/2 cup of water and the soy sauce in a large pot. Add onion and yams. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add carrot, celery, and pepper. Cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes, stock, garbanzo beans, and cilantro. Add peanut butter to the soup along with the curry powder. Stir, then cover and simmer 10 minutes. Before serving puree half the soup and then stir into remaining soup.

This soup freezes well. Serve with cooked grains or whole grain toast and a green salad.

Serves 8-10.

Day 18, 19, 20 and 21 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-21T21:37:00.001-08:00

Day 18 was a write-off. We hit the Wendy's drive thru on our way out of town. I can honestly say I haven't really missed not eating out. My Jr Bacon Cheeseburger was less than stellar although I always enjoy a good baked potato. And just for a kick in the pants my first trip to Starbucks was a disaster. My tall Pumpkin Spice somehow turned into a tall White Mocha steamed milk? What the heck happened there? As I took a sip I realized right away it was lacking the Pumpkin Spice but there wasn't a strong flavour of anything...until I got to the bottom sip (couldn't let it go to waste) and it was pure White Mocha syrup. Aaron and I had a good laugh afterwards at the printout label that was stuck to it. It said "tall white mocha - ask me." Hmm. Okay, jokes on me apparently for not asking the barista.
Day 19 we had spaghetti 3 different ways at Mom's house and I forgot the pictures. Alex had spaghetti with butter and cheese, JT had his with soy sauce and cheese and the grown ups had theirs with bolognese sauce and cheese.
Day 20 was ham, mushroom risotto and asparagus for the grownups.And ham and cheese omelettes with toast for the boys.Day 21 was omelettes and toast. Again. Did you miss my green tablecloth? My omelette was cheese and tomato and a bit well done as you can see.

Day 17 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-18T10:32:00.000-08:00

Grilled ham and cheese and caesar salad. We're off to Mom's this weekend so hopefully that'll add some variety to our boring dinners, lol.

Day 16 at the Parks

2011-02-17T19:28:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago Darryl and I were watching Oprah and they did a one week vegetarian challenge. Darryl has higher cholesterol so he tries to eat healthier and meat has some of the highest cholesterol, so he thought a vegetarian challenge would be fun. So I suggest we do it at some point in March, once the eat at home challenge was done. But to get us ready for it I thought I'd try out some "fake meat". So vegetarian chili it is.....

It was okay... the tomoto/chili powder over powered the fake meat taste.

Till Next Time

Jenn

Day 16 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-17T06:36:00.001-08:00

Has anyone else noticed but all of my dinners look really yellow? I think we need to add more coloured veggies like broccoli and carrots to jazz these up a bit. Last night we had corn, ricearoni and some kind of fish that Aaron baked in the oven.

Day 15: Peanut Butter Chicken

2011-02-16T19:11:00.000-08:00

I know the title may sound crazy but this is such a delicious dinner. I'm sure it's not the healthiest dinner but I LOVE it. It's kind of a smorgy meal (made up from different recipes and what I have on hand), but the peanut sauce comes from a cook book and it's meant as a dipping sauce, but I really like it this way.

Here's the recipe:

Chicken breasts, cut and cubed. I cook mine in sesame oil for this recipe, but any oil will do.

Then I add the peanut sauce. If you are cooking for 2-3 people just make one of these, if you are cooking for 4 or more double it.

1/3c. of peanut butter ( I use crunchy, gives the meal good texture)
3 tbsp of corn syrup
2 tbsp of rice vinegar
1 tsp of fish sauce (if you don't have this it's not the end of the world, I've made it with and without)
1/2 c. of coconut milk
2 tbsp of lime juice.

Heat the sauce till it's bubbly. =)

Then add what ever vegetables you have around. Again I recommend ones that are lighter in flavor, like mushrooms and zucchini (not brocolli) or carrots or cauliflower.

The last must part is to serve it with coconut rice. I use the cheater way of making coconut rice, which is making instant rice but using coconut milk instead of water. It's easy and tastes great.

February 15th & onward for a few days!

2011-02-16T15:27:00.001-08:00

Like Jenn, I'm a planner. I look through the grocery flyers every week with great anticipation then systematically compare what's on sale with what I have on hand already and plan a menu and a grocery list for the week that works as economically and conveniently as possible. I have a "message board" near my kitchen with a magnetic white board, peg board and slots and I usually have a running list of the dinners that are possible with the groceries we have in the house.

The one hitch in the system in recent months is that consuming the food seems to be more challenging than planning and preparing it. Mackenzie and I are often hungry at different times and craving different foods. So, when I cook I tend to cook enough for several days so it can be taken for lunches and reheated for dinner when the spirit moves us.

I've tried new recipes in previous Eat At Home Challenges such as this Italian Wedding Soup (http://eatathomechallenge.blogspot.com/2008/09/day-4-at-campbell-household.html) and although the recipe I made this week was also a meatball soup it was easier to make and just as tasty.

So here's Campbell's Hearty Italian Meatball Soup... (recipe can be found here).

Day 15 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-16T07:04:00.000-08:00

It was surf n turf night at our house. Aaron bbq'd lobster tails and steaks for the boys and I stirfried my steak with some mushrooms and was in charge of the creamed corn and homemade mac and cheese. This is Aislynn's alltime favourite food and the boys were really excited to try it but didn't like it that much unfortunately. I thought it was yummy so I can foresee I'll be eating a lot of leftovers in the next couple days.

Day 14 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-15T07:59:00.001-08:00

What was supposed to be fish and rice turned into a quicker version with fishsticks and french fries. Aaron didn't remember to take out the fish to thaw....maybe today he'll remember, although that would throw off Taco Tuesday, lol.

Day 10 to 14 at the Parks

2011-02-14T20:08:00.000-08:00

I'm a planner. Especially when it comes to meals. I make a list of what we are having each week and make the grocery list based on that. Anyone who's been to my house in the last couple of years knows the calendar on my fridge which has our dinner listed every day on it. Here is what our dinner list looked like for the last couple of days.

Wednesday: Homemade Pizza. We use to buy the frozen ones, but I really like our homemade pizzas. Again takes a little more planning, but worth it in my opinion.
Thursday: French Toast. This is becoming a weekly tradition for us. We love it and it reminds me being a kid because my mom use to make it all the time for us.
Friday: Leftover green curry chicken for Jenn, Salmon for the Boys. I threw up Salmon a couple of years ago and still haven't been able to really enjoy it.
Saturday: Tammy's Roast Beef: It was delicious and she served it with mashed Sweet Potatoes rather then regular potatoes and it was good. I don't normally like sweet potatoes, but I was pleansantly surprised.
Sunday: Steak. Darryl. cooked. it. perfection.

Monday: Chicken Souvalkis: On Valentines Day I made Darryl one of his favorite dinners. Why because I'm awesome.

One of my biggest challenges this time with the eat at home challenge is lunches. That is probably where I eat out the most is when I'm at work because I go somewhere different most days. I'm not sure if there will be a fridge or a microwave. So today I was looking in the fridge and I didn't have anything obvious for lunch. No lunch meat, no frozen dinners. So I came up with quesidillas. The other part I've come to realize that is a big part to bringing lunch is lots of these little containers. I was using sandwich bags for a while but it seemed to cause lots of waste.

Till Next Time

Jenn

February 13th @ The Campbell's

2011-02-14T13:17:00.001-08:00

Mmmmm...WAFFLE NIGHT!!! Jenn and Darryl get full credit for this dinner even though I made it. They first introduced me to the joys of home-made waffles a few years ago at their house and then the next time they came home to Ontario, they brought me a waffle maker of my very own!

I enjoy cooking and I enjoy quality tools and appliances to accomplish the preparation of a good meal. I have a professional-grade Kitchen Aid stand mixer but as much as I love my mixer...it will never hold a place in my heart the way my waffle maker does!!!!!!!

I apologize for the picture...I dove into eating this thing of beauty before I remembered to take a picture of it. I've donned my waffle with some Danone Creamy Vanilla Yogurt, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, some whip cream and a sprinkling of icing sugar.

Oh, my gosh...just writing about it makes me want to have them for dinner again tonight! YUM!

Day 12 and 13 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-13T22:13:00.000-08:00

We fell off the wagon this weekend :o( Saturday night I had drinks and shared nachos while bowling and today we went to Boston Pizza for lunch after walking around the zoo. The upside was that we used a gift card and were only out of pocket $5. Woo hoo!

Here's Saturday night's dinner of Roast beef, mashed potatoes, corn and yorkshire pudding (my fave).And here is my Sunday night dinner. Everyone else had leftovers but me, I don't really enjoy leftover roast beef unless it is in sheperds pie but the boys aren't crazy about it. This is Banana Nut oatmeal and it was delicious! Tastes a lot like a Banana Nut muffin - imagine that, lol.

Day 10 and 11 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

Day 10 was pasta and garlic/cheesey shrimp for the boys and pasta with bolognese sauce for moi.

Day 11 is a soup, salad, bread night. Yes onion soup mix can be used for things other than sourcream chip dip. It wasn't as tasty as the Olive Garden. Mmmm. Olive Garden...I'll be seeing you in March ;o)

Day 9 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-10T13:09:00.000-08:00

There is one thing I do not do well: BBQ.

Aaron was off today and could barbecue in the daylight so voila we had steak, mashed potatoes with cheese on top for Alex and garden salad from the bag. The boys have karate Monday/Wednesday at 6 so dinner seems to have as many shortcuts as possible sometimes. I keep forgetting to take before pics which is why everything is half eaten with a boy in it, lol.

Day 9 - Carriere Household

2011-02-10T05:58:00.001-08:00

We had breakfast for dinner tonight. Growing up we had this occasionaly so I guess I never thought it was weird or different. I remember the first time I made this for Shane..............he looked at me like I had two heads. But he enjoys it now :) ... there is a sign in my kitchen that says "Todays menu two choices..........take it............leave it"

oh I made blueberry buckle this afternoon as well..........so Yummy :)

Day... I don't know I think 7 and 8?

2011-02-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

Last night we had perogies and bacon with a beautiful salad. I have a secret love affair with bacon, it calls my name, it tickles me in just the right place, it never lets me down! So whenever I get to cook with bacon I do.

Tonight is meatballs in mushroom soup, rice and peas. I love meatballs, these are Bison meat balls. Bison is my meat of choice these days, when the price is right of course.

I have also included a picture of my Tim's like Hot Chocolate Supreme. I actually think I like mine better, plus I use the light syrup and the light whip cream.

Day 9 @ The Campbell's

2011-02-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

Hooray! I cooked a quick meal! Last night while rummaging through the freezer for something sweet, I found a couple of chicken breasts that I had already cooked. That takes care of the two most time-consuming steps of making dinner (thawing and cooking) the meat. So...then I went looking for something to match up with it. I found a Knorr Sidekick called Singapore Curry Noodles and found some broccoli in the fridge and voila...an idea came together!

This is what I started with and this is how it ended up!

Plus, I cooked everything in one pot so not only was it quick and easy but clean up was a cinch!

Lori

Day 8 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-09T07:04:00.000-08:00

Have I ever mentioned Taco Tuesday? Well here it is again...the only thing that's different is Aaron was in charge and added cherry tomatoes to the options and forgot the lettuce. We really like to change it up don't we? That was sarcasm, ha ha. Everyone seems to have a sore throat lately so we've been drinking a ton of gingerale. Whether or not it's really helpful I don't know but I figure it's worth a shot.

Day 9 will be more exciting - I promise.

Days 7 + 8 - Carriere Household

2011-02-09T06:58:00.000-08:00

Day 7 - Pork chops potatoes and beans

Day 8 - Stuffed (broccoli and cheese) chicken breasts, fried potatoes and peas

Hmmmnnnn......I see a trend. Meat and Potatoes all the way!!! Jenn wouldn't like eating here...nothing unusual at this house...haha

Days 5 Through 8 @ The Campbell's

2011-02-08T21:36:00.000-08:00

I hate to admit it but I've had a much harder time with the Eat At Home Challenge this time around. After some reflection, it seems that I only cook about twice a week. I use the term "cook" loosely. Lately...cook = reheat. Ugh. In between "cooking" we're trying to eat up the leftovers so we're not throwing out so much food.

It took us 4 days to finish off the pasta I made last week and then we've been eating chicken wings and pizza since Sunday's Super Bowl game.

I've given tomorrow's dinner some thought and attention so I hope to have another blog entry with a picture this time.

Wish me luck,
Lori

Green Curry Chicken

2011-02-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had one of my favorite meals. I'm not really a meat and potatoes person. Darryl and I both grew up in meat and potatoes families so we love to try all different kinds of foods, Thai, Indian, Chinese, Japanese etc. Tonight we had Green Curry Chicken.

It's quite easy as I use Green Curry sauce and make it like a stir fry. One thing I find is that I use pretty mild vegetables like: cauliflower, mushrooms and zucchini. We served it over basmati rice, although usually we use coconut rice. Also as a side note its fairly spicy, even though I don't add the whole jar. But I take the kids stir fry out before adding the sauce for Darryl and I. I don't have a picture of dinner as we ate it before I remember. But I do have a picture of the leftovers.

One thing I've been trying to do more of is make extra of the dinner so we can have a couple of lunches from the dinner. We always use to buy a bunch of frozen lunches, as Darryl eats one every day for lunch. But I've been paying more attention to the amount of salt in canned and frozen food. There is lots so I think it's healthier for us to make extra and make our own "frozen lunches".

Jenn

Day 7 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

Is it me or does this look a bit on the BORING side? We had baked chicken breasts, french style green beans and jasmine rice last night for dinner. We eat a fair amount of chicken around here, and mostly just breasts. Every time I attempt cooking drumsticks in the oven I seem to have a house full of smoke - what am I doing wrong???

Day 5 lasagna and Day 6 Roast Chicken

2011-02-08T08:49:00.000-08:00

Day 5: So after hosting a big brunch, full of sausages, bacon, eggs, hash browns... the work, I decided to make a huge lasagna for supper! Cottage cheese and spinach stuffing, asparagus and french bread. man it was great, too bad Husband said it smelled bad and decided, based on the smell, that he didn't like it. I'll mark it down as another one of his "I don't like it much so I'll just sit here and pick at it a bit" meals. It was soooo good, kinda a good thing he hated it, now I have left overs for when he's not around;)

Day 6 was a roast chicken, brown rice (for me as Husband hates brown rice), and a beautiful salad. I forgot to take a picture. It was awfully tasty. I did a flat chicken a couple weeks ago, so good and very neat, no back bone so it cooked fast. It was delicious, I should splurge again and get another one.

Day 6 - Carriere Household

2011-02-07T06:34:00.001-08:00

Day 6 isn't really even worth a post......Chicken fingers, french fries and peas :) and I forgot to take a picture BUT I'm pretty sure every one can use thier imagination with this one.

Day 6 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

We dined at the Brownriggs for Superbowl Sunday on some homemade pizza, wings, chilli and of course lots of snack food!!!
I'm happy too Jenn that eating other peoples homemade cuisine is in the rulebook :o)

Weekend at the Parks/Brown

2011-02-06T19:55:00.000-08:00

Thank goodness you can eat someone else's homemade food. Really thank goodness I made up the rules. =)

Mom made us dinner two nights this weekend =) The picture above is a delicious turkey dinner. She also made the boys (all three of them) Shepards Pie one night. The third night I made spagetti and meatballs which was kind of a cheat. The meatballs are not homemade like Lesleys, they come from a box. The sauce also came from a jar. But it was an easy dinner to make while watching the Superbowl.

Hope everyone's weekend went well.

Jenn

Lips and ... well ... you know...

2011-02-06T16:38:00.000-08:00

I am so not above having hot dogs and fries for supper. Actually these days I am kind of craving them;) Weird, but good. So here you have it, "Order up!".

Day 5 - Carriere Household

2011-02-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

Stirfry - another staple around here. I insist it has to be made with Safeway's Spicy Ginger Sauce....its the only thing I go to Safeway for but it is worth the extra trip.

Day 5 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-05T22:11:00.000-08:00

We had roast chicken, mashed potatoes/gravy, peas and carrots and stuffing for

dinner tonight. Dad did the cooking, I did the cleaning and Kathryn brought homemade pineapple cheesecake for dessert. It was soooooo good - I had two HUGE pieces...and there's one piece in the fridge just calling my name right now.

Off to the Ski Hill Tomorrow

2011-02-05T21:02:00.000-08:00

We are going to be going skiing tomorrow so I will be packing a lunch to take, so we don't get tempted by the burgers and fries. I bought some turkey sub meat and sub buns to make sandwiches ahead of time. I also plan on heating up some tomato soup to put in the thermos. I have carrot sticks and red peppers for my vegetables and have fresh pineapple and some apples for dessert. I noticed the last time that I was there that they have hot water available so I think I'll take some tea bags to make a cup of tea for the ride home. Should be a great day.

Day 4 - Carriere Household

2011-02-05T05:53:00.000-08:00

Leftover day! I had 1 chicken breast left over from shake and bake night and there was 3/4 of a t-bone steak left over from steak night, so fajita's it was :)

I made 1 chicken for me, cut up chicken, red peppers, green peppers and green onions...with cheese whiz (I know, I know) slathered on the inside. For Shane I did the same combo of meat and veggies but put balsamic vinaigrette for his sauce. Very yummy. And a plain romaine salad with the juice from 1/2 lemon and little bit of light sauce. (I find the lemon juice really adds alot to a plain salad)

And for a dessert while playing cards later in the night I made us both decaf carmel mochas and they turned out VERY well :)

Day 4 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-04T20:15:00.000-08:00

We have company this weekend - Nannie and Papa :o)

Tonights dinner was spaghetti with homemade meat sauce, homemade meatballs which I make ahead of time and freeze. We love meatballs but only homemade meatballs so I find that making a huge tray of hamburger at once a big time saver.

February 4

2011-02-04T19:47:00.000-08:00

24 Hour Salad on plate

24 Hour Salad in bowl


Pot roast, potatoes and sweet potatoes

So tonight we had another staple of mine, pot roast potatoes and sweet potatoes. Of course with a side of 24 hour salad. So good and so easy!

Day 2, 3 & 4 @ The Campbell's

2011-02-04T18:29:00.000-08:00

So far, so good! On Day 2, Mackenzie and I cooked a pizza that we had in the freezer from Costco. I know that's not the healthiest dinner, nor would it really be considered "cooking" but for the past few months, pizza seems to be the only food she craves so it's better than if she didn't eat at all! Either way, it was cooked in our oven so we went with it!

On Day 3, I cooked my FAVOURITE pasta dinner! I've been making this recipe for at least 15 years now. It was an adaptation from a dish at a restaurant called Oscar Taylor's that Ian and I used to frequent in our early years.

Grilled Chicken & Penne Pasta

3 or 4 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (grilled & sliced thinly)
1 large clove garlic (peeled & minced)
4 tbsp (1/4 cup) flour
1 1/3 cups milk (I use skim but 2% would make a creamier sauce)
2 cups crushed or diced canned tomatoes (I cheat...I use the whole 28oz can)
1/4 to 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (the powdered kind...if you're using the real thing, you might want to use less)
1 tsp thyme (the dried kind), (if using ground thyme use 1/4 tsp)
1 tsp basil
1-2 cups uncooked penne pasta (cook according to package directions)
2-2 1/2 cups broccoli

1. Grill, bake, bbq or pan-fry chicken breasts until done. Slice thinly or cut into cubes. (Note: A package of the pre-cooked, pre-sliced chicken from Costco makes a quick short-cut for busy nights)
2. Put chicken and garlic in a large (wok-size) non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Cook 1-2 min (don't let the garlic burn).
3. Add canned tomatoes & herbs.
4. Combine flour and milk in a small bowl with a whisk to prevent lumps. Slowly whisk the milk/flour mixture into your sauce.
5. Bring to a boil slowly, stirring frequently as sauce starts to thicken.
6. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Reduce heat to low or medium-low, cover and simmer.
7. Cook pasta according to package directions.
8. Cook broccoli separately or add it in to the pot with your pasta 2-4 minutes before the pasta is done.
9. Drain pasta. Toss pasta and broccoli in with the sauce.
10. Serve with grated Parmesan and/or fresh ground pepper.

Since I haven't been cooking very often in recent months...I doubled the recipe and froze 10 small containers for my lunch! YUM! Note: I often double the garlic and basil in this recipe...just personal preference.

Day 4: Leftovers from Day 3...woo hoo!

Lori

P.S. The picture shows a lunch-size Corel plate. I had used Italian Sausage/Asiago Tortellini instead of penne so I was only able to eat half...very filling.

Brown update

2011-02-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

So far so good. Yesterday George and I went skiing at Nakiska. It was a great day. We brought our lunch with us. Turkey subs, carrot sticks, fresh pineapple and toughies (cookies). When we got home we enjoyed Sloppy Joes, that I had made last week and froze. It a great recipe from Cooking for the Rushed. It's nice to have stuff in the freezer to pull out when it's been a busy day. Today Lucas, Nathan and Darryl were here for supper. The boys like mashed potatoes, so I made a Shepard's pie. I usually don't have beef to days in a row, but made an exception for the boys. For dessert we had fresh pineapple and Stonyfield organic vanilla yogurt.

I want some baby back, baby back, baby back ribs...

2011-02-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

Tonight I forgot a picture but rest assured we did eat at home. We actually entertained with the neighbours. baby back ribs, rice (you will see rice a lot), and a beautiful salad. I even made a 24 hours salad to help with lunch and supper tomorrow and Saturday. This 24 hour salad is one of my fave so I thought I would share:

3 cups ice berg lettuce chopped in a bowl
Sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and sugar
Slice an layer 6 hard boiled eggs on top of the lettuce and sprinkle with a little more salt to taste

Layer in order:
10 oz pkg of frozen peas thawed
16 oz pakg of bacon (cooked crispy and crumbled)
2 cups shredded cheese swiss, mozza, cheddar or havarti what ever you like best or a mixture
1 cup mayonnaise spread over the top
Garnuch with green onions if you like, seal and chill for 24 hours.
Serves 12 - 15 people!!!
360 cals per serving, if you care I don't:)

Day 3 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-03T20:23:00.000-08:00

It was Beaver night and I had a lonnnnnnng day at work which I'll blog about someday but I'm just too tired tonight. As tempting as it was tonight to get takeout I didn't cave. We kept it simple with Lipton's Chicken Noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. I always scramble 2 eggs and add it to the soup when it's boiling. It adds extra protein and bulk to the soup and takes on the chicken soup flavour. This is a huge fave with the boys!

Day 2 and 3 at the Parks

2011-02-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

Things have been going well for us for the Eat at Home Challenge. Although today I locked my keys in the car after work and it would have been really easy to get take out rather then making food, but we still came home and made food. Yesterday we had a favorite. Tonight we had BBQ chicken (because I love BBQing in Februrary).

I hard boiled some eggs earlier this week and that helped with mornings too.

Jenn

Day 3 - Carriere Household

2011-02-03T18:30:00.000-08:00

STEAK......YUM :)

Day 2 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-02T20:17:00.000-08:00

Garlic shrimp and spaghetti night! I don't eat seafood and am not even really sure how to cook most seafood so I'm always up for new recipes. My girlfriend Christine once said this was a fave with her kids so I thought I'd make it for the family and they LOVED it! I had some frozen spaghetti sauce for my spaghetti.

And like the other ladies I stocked up for the challenge as well. I have a fresh bottle of Starbucks Vanilla Syrup and Cinnamon Dolce Syrup.

It was a good day!

2011-02-02T19:28:00.000-08:00

Well here we go. I tend to make a lot of fish, mostly salmon because, to be honest, I don't know how to cook many other types of fish. I tried to make homemade fish and chips once and my house smelled like rotten, fried fish for about a month or two (I was two months pregnant when this happened so you can just about imagine how much fun that was). So here you have it, salmon fillets with dill, salt and pepper, garlic and a bit or orange juice. Easy to make in the oven or on the bbq. A staple for me is also rice and carrots, nothing fancy but it was very good.

Day 2 : Carriere Household

2011-02-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

As you can see.......I stick to the basics. I consider myself a pretty picky eater therefore meat and potatoes or pasta is usually on the table at this house.

Tonight we had shake and bake chicken. I took a picture of Shane's plate ... he had drumsticks I always cook breasts for myself ... again cooking more than we need ... so there are leftovers for lunch tommorow.

oh and we had freezies for dessert :)

Because of my "pickyness" we don't really eat out that much but I do have quite the sweet tooth...Dairy queen commercials are killers, as well as the new tim hortons/mcdonalds commercials for the new caramel mochas. So I treated myself this morning (at superstore) to a new tin of hot chocolate, caramel sauce and whipped cream...I like Mellisa am going to try and re-create a yummy treat.

Day One at the Browns

2011-02-02T09:33:00.001-08:00

I am really looking forward to this challenge. I participated last time and enjoyed seeing everyone's ideas and receipes. As some of you may know I work 12 hour shifts so I need to take all my meals with me. This means I have to be plan in advance. On the days that I work George usually eats leftovers or something out of the freezer. So yesterday George had left over beef sausage, mashed potatoes and peas. It's a family favorite the rest of us have applesauce with it, but George is not a big fan on fruit on his meat. I had an Asian Chicken Salad. I received a coupon in the mail from Kraft a few weeks ago for a free box of their sizzling salads dressing. This is a great salad, I cooked up enough chicken to have it for supper the three days that I am working this week. It's also really good in the Weight Watcher points department ( I am following the program online). I cooked three boneless chicken breasts in the cooking sauce and store in the fridge. Then in the morning I fill a large plastic container with spinach, mushrooms, bean sprouts, a small container with 3 ounces of chicken and take a Delmonte mandarin orange segments, the dressing goes in another small container. Then at work I heat up the chicken and put it on the spinach along with the oranges and put the salad dressing on top. Better that what you get in a restaurant and its 6 WW + points. I highly recommend it. I haven't tried the other flavours, but if any of you have I'd love to know what you think.

It's a New Day!

2011-02-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

Well day one was a bit of a blunder, I'm gonna write it off. So here's to a new Day One for the Piche house hold;) Groceries are bought, menu is made for the week, chicken is cooked for my sandwiches for the week. I sound prepared but Tim's will be my weakness, but I will figure out how to make hot chocolate that will taste similar to their Hot Chocolate Supreme , either that or I will loose 10 pounds this month, I guess it's a win win;)

3...2...1...GO!!!

2011-02-02T06:45:00.000-08:00

I'm delighted to say this is my 3rd Eat At Home Challenge (Jenn...correct me if I'm wrong). The first time I participated, I put great effort into planning delicious meals, trying new recipes and re-kindling a love of cooking and food. The second time we participated, I slacked off a bit. I didn't blog as much, I didn't try many new things but we did eat at home. Most of our meals that month were tried and true favourites...grilled cheese, beef stew, chili, etc.

We don't eat out at "sit down" restaurants very often to begin with, so that doesn't feel like something we're missing out on but my daughter now works at McDonald's...so for our third run at the Eat At Home Challenge the tough part will be going without the Grilled Chicken Pesto McMini sandwiches and Fruit & Yogurt Parfaits that I've developed such a love for at McDonald's. Really...as far as McDonald's goes...my two favourite items there really aren't "junk food" but they definitely aren't prepared at home so I'll have to see if I can re-create them in my own kitchen!!!

The other variable this time around is that I'm cooking for two, not for three. That doesn't seem like much of a difference but I went from spending $70-80 week on groceries to $70-80 every 3 or 4 weeks. I seem to throw out more food now than we actually eat. So...I definitely haven't mastered this new situation yet but hopefully this month's Eat At Home Challenge will force me to put some thought into how I can make this work better.

Yesterday, Tuesday, February 1st, was our first day in this challenge and Mackenzie and I got off to a pretty unimaginative start. She had leftovers and I scrambled up 2 eggs with some green pepper, diced bacon, fresh ground pepper and some tex mex cheese. Served on a small plate with a scoop of salsa...it was quick, easy and tasty but definitely something that didn't require a lot of thought. We'll see what I come up with on Wednesday.

Good luck everyone!
Lori

Day One: The Parks

2011-02-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had one of my favorite dinners, Scallop Casserole. My mom use to make it and it has been a favorite of mine forever and luckily the kids really like it too. Here's the recipie:

A bag of scallops
1 can of mushroom soup
1/2 c of milk
Pepper and Curry (add as much flavour as you like)
1 c. of cheddar cheese
1 can of french green beans
1 c. of soft bread crumbs

Cook the scallops (add to boiling water for 3 minutes). Drain the scallops. Cook the mushroom soup, milk, pepper, curry and 1/2 c. of cheddar cheese. Just heat enough to melt the cheese. In a casserole dish: put the scallops at the bottom, green beans on top of that, and soup mixture on top of that. Mix the bread crumbs and the rest of the cheese and add that to the top. Cook in an oven at 425 for 15 minutes and serve over egg noodles.

Day one for the eat at home challenge is going well for me. I bought a lot of groceries today. I also bought some Tim Hortons green tea to drink at home, although it's not quite the same with out a toasted coconut donut. Next I'll have to learn to make those. =)

Jenn

Day 1 - Carriere Household

2011-02-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

Nothing fancy for dinner tonight. We eat alot of spaghetti, I usually make a huge pot of sauce since it freezes so well.

Shane also likes leftovers so this always gets me out of making his lunch for the next day as well!

Day 1 at Chateau Beck

2011-02-01T17:03:00.001-08:00

It's Taco Tuesday - you are forewarned that you will see a pattern over the next month. But let's face it, they're quick, easy, and my kids enjoy making their own. You'll note that JT is actually eating left over pasta, he had a fever today and not a huge appetitite so we skipped the hot and spicy and went with something a little more bland.

Park Round Up

2010-04-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well it was a semi successful Eat at Home month here at the Parks. Last time we did this I didn't eat out once, but this time it seemed like closer to once a week. A big part of that was how much I was working and sometimes I just didn't bring myself enough food for the whole day. I know excuses, excuses. There was also some friend "stuff" that got in the way of eating at home. But I didn't eat out for the convenience of it this month.... which is something for me.

We had a lot of our typical meals over the last couple of weeks. Although one March tradition that we only do once a year was boiled dinner. I find it a challenge to find corned beef at other times of the year but it's always around during St. Patrick's Day. So we boil carrots, potatoes, cabbage and corn beef together for the day (although dont' add the cabbage until the last 20ish minutes). It is a very tasty although sounds a little boring. That night we also had a really delicious dessert, banana bread with rum sauce and caramel. Here are the directions to the rum sauce. It was very very good.

Here is the rum sauce recipie:

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons white or dark rum (I used dark and spiced)

Directions

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix together the sugar and cornstarch, and stir into the butter. Pour in milk, and cook stirring frequently until the mixture begins to boil. Continue cooking until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in rum. Serve warm.

And here is the banana bread recipe

Ingredients

Makes 1 loaf

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.
Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

Most of my recipes I get from allrecipies.com or the kraftfoods.com website.

Jenn

My best yet

2010-04-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

And as a finale' here is my best creation yet. Turkey Burgers and Yam Fries. The burgers were delicious. Company worthy for sure. Also, one of our meals this week consisted of homemade chicken fingers. Those were good too.

Salmon Anyone?

2010-04-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

Salmon on the BBQ in foil and parchment....mmmm. The side is spaghetti squash, peas, green pepper, and red pepper in a cream sauce. Very good and garlicky. These are my leftovers I had for lunch since I had forgot to take a picture the night before.

Breakfast

2010-04-01T11:05:00.000-07:00

Although, it hasn't been frequent posting....I have still managed to keep up with March Eat At Home Challenge(I think) and had fun doing it. Here are some posts. I have thought about posting but it's been crazy around here.

You can't really tell but this is my homemade breakfast. Sunny Boy hot cereal(it's my favourite), a mini orange, and a homemade strawberry margherita sans alchohol. This kids love them(the margherita's that is).

Windy City Pizza

2010-03-28T22:20:00.000-07:00

I have tried tons of different eating plan and programs, but there are a couple that I like more than the others. I like the GI Diet and the Eat Clean Diet. I recently discovered the Clean Eating Magazine. It has lots of great good for you recipes. I thought that I would try making the Windy City Pizza. It like a Chicago style pizza, which always reminds me the first ski trip that George and I took together. I thought that it turned out really well and it also has a ton of veggies in it. So here is the recipe

1 (8 oz.) extra lean turkey sausage (I used Tailgate Mild Italian that I bought at Coop)

2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

1 medium yellow onion

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 green pepper, thinly sliced

1 ½ c. mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/8 tsp. sea salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. corn meal

1 (1 lb.) whole wheat pizza dough (I made my own)

6 oz. low fat mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided

1 c. tomato sauce (I made my own pizza sauce)

1 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut a slit along the length of the sausage and discard casing. Place sausage into bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a medium sauté pan over medium high heat. Add onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add peppers and mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer mixture into a bowl.

Return pan to burner over medium-high heat. Add sausage meat and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 4 minutes. Place sausage onto a paper towel lined plate. Brush inside of a 12 inch deep dish pizza pan with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Roll out dough to 14 inches in diameter. Place dough into pan and press to sides and bottom of pan gently, stretching dough 1 ½ inches up the side of the pan.

Sprinkle half the mozzarella over bottom of crust. Evenly layer sausage, then sautéed vegetables onto crust. Pour tomato sauce evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Place pan in oven and bake for 20 -25 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into 12 wedges. Sprinkle each slice with ¼ tsp. oregano and serve immediately. Makes 12 servings.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 186, Fat: 9 g., Carbs: 17 g., Protein: 10 g.

It's embarrassing how badly I've been posting!!!

2010-03-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

I can't really remember what we ate last week. Hmm. Nope, it's not coming to mind. I do know that we bbq'd steak and had shrimp and caesar salad last night, the night before I think we had...grilled cheese sandwiches for a quick and easy dinner before karate and Sunday was roast chicken at Aaron's mom's house. Tonight is leftover night. Oh wait, Saturday night was Open Sesame with Andrew and Leanne to celebrate the March babies. Leanne's the odd one out with a Feb birthday but that's besides the point. And oh yes, the McDonald's Friday night was unpleasant all around but I won't go into details. I do distinctly remember telling Jenn "that will teach me for eating out during Eat At Home Challenge month".

This Week

2010-03-19T06:56:00.000-07:00

I am definitely have some trouble with the challenge this month. I think a big part of it is how much I am working. Often I'll work all day at one job and go in the evening to another. But in the words of Mackenzie "fail". I did not do as well this time as I did the time before. Although we have been doing a lot of eating in and last night we almost gave in and went to McDonalds, I ended up having breakfast for dinner instead. So here has been our dinners over the last week:

Fri: Breakfast sausage mashed potatoes and peas

Sat: Mom made us dinner
Sun: Seafood Pasta in a rose sauce
Mon: Sweet and Sour chicken
Tues:Hamburgers (it was spring like weather here so we've had hamburgers twice this month)
Wed: Fail night, but had to eat hospital food...
Thurs: Breakfast for dinner

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Half way there and doing good.....

2010-03-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

Here we are, half way through the month of the challenge. It has been fun. I like this. Keeps me motivated. I get in these food lulls. It's hard to please all the palates, the pocket book, and the schedule most times so this little challenge has given me a boost.

Thursday March 11, "Special Spaghetti"...that is our made up name for our made up recipe

Cilantro haters will not like this recipe but they could alter it if they liked. Cilantro is a hater or lover type of food. Luckily in our house we have 4 lovers which is good for me becuase I love love it.

1/2 pound sundried tomato Catelli spaghetti
1 bunch of cilantro(washed thoroughly & roughly chopped)
1/2 jar of green stuffed pimento olive sliced in little rounds
1/2 bunch of green onions chopped
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 clove of garlic crushed
1/4 cup leftover white wine or red wine(white is the best)
1/2 pound of bacon fried, drained, and chopped

Cook the garlic with the oil just until soft and fragrant. Then add the olives, onions, & cilantro. Let it cook down on low for about 5 minutes. Add the wine. Let simmer another 5 minutes then add the bacon. Pour over top of the spaghetti and serve with garlic toast or fresh bread.

Friday, March 12...we went to Jon's parents for dinner and it was delicious. I made a beef barley soup(homemade) to contribute to the fried chicken(Jon's Mom makes great fried chicken) and salad and bread. What a great dinner. I was stuffed.

Saturday, March 13.....we had homemade hamburgers and chips. Great burgers. I love homemade burgers.

Sunday, March 14....lunch was great. I will post a photo when I get some batteries for my camera. It was a chicken salad that I made with a peanut lime dressing over top of berries, avocado, and spinach. For dinner we went out for Tyrone's birthday. It was paid for so technically I didn't cheat although getting it paid for was not the intention. We went to Red Lobster and I had the blackened salmon. It was delicious. Jon had lobster. Connor had KD and Elliot had chicken fingers.

Monday, March 15.....grilled cheese and soup.
Tonight, Tuesday March 16.....We are having sloppy joes. The kids love them. So does Jon. Me, they are okay....good thing I had that salad on Sunday.

My First Food Blog Post

2010-03-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

Jenn asked me to participate in this blog. I figured that I better actually get busy with it. This was not really the best month for me as I was on vacation last week. I do enjoy cooking and trying new recipes. The only thing that I don't really like is cleaning up after. I am a big fan of the food network especially Michael Smith. For my birthday Jenn bought me his cook book "The Best of Chef at Home". I have tried a bunch of different recipes and they have all been good. He encourages his reader to freestyle his recipes, allowing us to use our imaginations or leftovers from the fridge. One of my favorite recipes is Orange Ginger Beef. On Saturday we had Jenn, Darryl, Lucas and Nathan over for dinner. I did freestyle it as the first time I made it according to the recipe and found it to be a bit soupy. Here is the original recipe:

Orange Ginger Beef

a splash of vegetable oil
1 lb for stewing beef (I use round steak and dice it myself)
a sprinkle of salt and pepper
2 onions peeled and chopped
a small knob of ginger, thinly sliced (I have no idea what a knob is I used about 10 thin slices)
one 10 oz can of beef broth
1 cup of orange juice
1 cup of orange marmalade
a generous splash of soy sauce
1 tablespoon five spice powder
another sprinkle of salt and pepper
10 oz bag of baby spinach
a handful of bean sprouts
1 bunch of green onions (I always seem to forget to add these)
a handful of cilantro leaves ( don't use, I hate cilantro)

Preheat a large pot over medium high heat and then splash in enough vegetable oil to thinly coat the bottom. Season and then sear the meat until it is evenly browned on all sides. Searing the meat first adds lots of rich carmalized flavors before adding the liquids. Remove meat and set aside. Add the onions and ginger to the ban and stir for a few minutes. Then add the meat back. Add the broth, orange juice and marmalade, soy sauce and five spice powder. Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat for lowest setting that will maintain a simmer. Place a tight fitting lid on the pot to contain the tenderizing steam. Simmer for about an hour Taste and season the broth. Divide the spinach and bean sprouts evenly among four - six bowls. Stir the green onions and cilantro into the broth and then spoon onto spinach and sprouts.

I free styled it by using a bit of cornstarch and water to thicken the sauce and then stirred in the spinach and bean sprouts. I served it with rice.

Tonight we had chicken cooked with mushrooms, mashed potatoes and green beans. I found a recipe for a fruit crisp type dessert so I made that tonight for dessert. Sorry didn't get a picture.
I used frozen blueberries tonight but I think you could used the mixed berries as well. What I liked about the recipe is that you could make individual servings and how ever many you want. So I filled each ramekin with frozen blue berries almost to the top. Then I mixed some 1 tsp of corn starch with 4 tsp of water and divided it equally between the two ramekins. (If you were making four you would double the starch and water) I put a little bit of honey on each ramekin. Then I sprinkled granola on top and put in a 375 degree oven for about 35 min. I put the ramekins on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper so I wouldn't make a mess in the oven. Then I served it warm with a scoop of ice cream. Yummy !!!!!

Still holding out!

2010-03-11T12:20:00.000-08:00

Last night the boys had homemade pepperoni pizza and I was nursing a sore throat so I just stuck to soup.
Tonight we're cleaning out the fridge and will most likely have breakfast for supper. The kids love it and Aaron's been dying to make his sugary bacon. He had it at Chris's and is now addicted. WARNING - THIS IS NOT A HEALTHY CHOICE - AT ALL. He shake and bakes a pack of bacon in brown sugar, then threads it onto skewers and bakes it in the oven on a cookie sheet to catch the fat. He's also drizzled maple syrup on it while baking as well. Like I said, not exactly a healthy choice. I haven't actually tasted it before. I've made it for company and everyone loved it but haven't tried it yet. Not a huge bacon fan.
Tomorrow night we are having bbq burgers at home before heading to Banff. We're definitely eating Aardvark Pizza for supper Saturday night and going to the St James Old Irishe Pub for lunch on Saturday - they have baby yorkies with roast beef baked inside them that are to die for. We'll probably bring a snack for Sunday breakfast and then we're back on track with our eating at home.

Some Catching Up

2010-03-10T15:41:00.001-08:00

This is Pork Tenderloin in a healthy(for real) cream sauce. Recipe posted.

Taco Soup....recipe to come later. It is very good. Very vegetarian & very high in fibre. Not Jon's fav.

Other items on the menu have been:

Saturday night we had BBQ Ribs, Rice, Carrots

Sunday we had a delicious brunch for my mom's birthday and it included sausage/bacon/hashbrown casserole/sticky pull apart cinnamon buns/fruit salad & for dessert snickerdoodle cupcakes.

Blackened Steak Salad for dinner(it was okay)

Monday night was Fajita's

Tuesday was the Pork Tenderloin dish(recipe below)

Tonight....Pyrogy's

Cream Sauce(you can make this and add whatever meat you like or another thing that is tasty in it is spaghetti squash)

One can of fat free evaporated milk

4 cloves of garlic pressed

1 green pepper diced

1 red pepper diced

1 onion diced

Lot's of fresh ground pepper. When you think it's enough put more.

Dash of salt

I used Pork Tenderloin but you can use chicken too.

Fry the meat, peppers, onion in a bit of olive oil and the garlic. Add the milk when all of that is cooked. Let it thicken up a bit and serve hot over noodles. We have used linquini & rice fettucine before. Both are good.

Day 10 and holding!

2010-03-10T06:25:00.000-08:00

I've been terrible at posting - I tried posting on Monday but coincidentally someone else was posting at the same time so when I hit publish it lost my whole post and said to try again later. Obviously it wasn't a huge priority to re-cap...

We've been successful at not eating out although that will change on Saturday when we go to Banff.

What have we been eating?

Hmm...sandwiches Friday night before going to Mom's, Beef Rouladen Saturday at Mom's, BBQ steak Sunday night, I can't remember what Monday's dinner was... and of course Taco Tuesday last night.

Cabbage rolls and perogies were Monday night -just had to open the fridge and look for leftovers, ha ha.

Aaron has salmon on the menu tonight.

Weekend at the Parks

2010-03-08T21:27:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

Well I had a day last week where I ate out. Everything was paid for me, so I saved money that way, but I still failed on this month's challenge. ALthough I'm glad I haven't gone to McDonalds or Wendy's. On a good note I have a couple of pictures and cool ideas.

Tonight for dinner we had Spanish Rice, which I know is also a Campbell favorite. It's Spanish rice a roni and you add ground beef to it. Put a little cheese on top and eat it with nacho chips. It's fast and good. The hardest part is finding the spanish rice a roni.

Last night it was nice enough to barbeque

So we had hamburgers with my favorite flat buns from superstore. (and they are whole wheat). We also had some beets with it, homemade from the garden last summer and some cauliflower. The cool park about the cauliflower is that I had some pesto in the fridge from a meal a week ago and put a dollop of that on. It was delicious.

We also had fish and chips last week.

They are also an easy favorite and the kids eat them and it's a good way to get fish in the diet (even if it is batter coated) My favorite fish brand is haddock and hops from superstore.

How is everyone else doing?

Jenn

Day 5

2010-03-05T07:34:00.000-08:00

Success again......taco's(a.k.a. rollies the kids call them). I had mine as a taco salad with avocado. Bad photo since I forgot to take one when the food was hot.

March 4, 2010

2010-03-04T13:56:00.000-08:00

Day 1.....Smokies and Tortellini(Connor & Jon's fav)
Day2...yahoo! It's grocery buying day today....and failed tonight. I got taken hostage by the rest of the fam including the grandparents because we were out for Connor's hockey game and they wanted Pizza. Jon says it's eat out month next month..."a couple of him and his guy friends decided" is what he told me.
Day 3..success, roast beast/potatoes/carrots/yorkshire puddings...no photo's.

Day 3 and so far so good

2010-03-03T07:34:00.000-08:00

I honestly think my body and taste buds were looking forward to this challenge! We did eat out 3 times this weekend, Jack Astor's for a lovely sit down dinner and then 1 trip through McDonald's drive thru and 1 trip through the Wendy's drive thru. I didn't even enjoy the Wendy's -that's got to be a sure sign of too much take out.

Day 1 we had BBQ chicken, rice-a-roni and salad. Nothing fancy but tasty and zero leftovers. Day 2 was BBQ pork cutlets, rice vermicelli and vegetables. I'm the only one who'll eat cooked veggies so I had steamed broccoli and the boys had raw broccoli and carrots. No leftovers! I'm not a huge fan of leftovers, unless it's pasta, that doesn't seem to lose any flavour or get a weird texture after being refrigerated unlike some other stuff...like steamed broccoli - not so good the second day.

Tonight it's soup and grilled cheese.

First Post for March 2010

2010-03-02T20:06:00.000-08:00

SO how is everyone doing on your first couple of days? Mine have been okay. Yesterday was a bit of a challenge as I was away from home. When you are close to home you can always come back home for food, but when you are far it takes some good planning in advance.

The other part I forgot was a challenge was remember to take pictures of the food before I eat it. Last night was a classic spagetti and tonight was pork chops. One thing I have been doing more of is baking. Our favorites have been chocolate chip cookies. We just use the recipie on the back of Chipits bag, but with a couple of modifications.

Here's our recipie:

1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup of shortening
1 c. of brown sugar
1/2 c. of white sugar
2 eggs
splash of vanilla
Mix all of this together

2 cups of flour
a couple of shakes of salt
1 tsp of baking soda

Mix that in. Then add 2 cups of chocolate chips.

Bake in oven at 375 for 10 minutes for the first batch and 9 minutes for each batch after.
Makes about 4 dozen and they are delicious.

Any other updates?

Jenn

Chicken Pasta "Bake"

2009-03-04T19:39:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have ever cooked with me, you know I like to "smorgy" my food. I take a recipie and kind of modify it to my own preferences. That's what I did with this recipie. Orginally from the Kraft website, it is meant to be put together and then baked in the oven. I tried that and I didn't think it really made a difference and just dirtier another dish and made me wait longer. If you'd like to use the orignal recipie here it is. And here is what I do again I kind of smorgy it, so if you want to use 3 chicken breasts rather then 2, it won't really matter. Or the brocolli if you use whatever you have is fine (brocolli wasn't in the orginal recipie)

1/2 package multigrain penne pasta( or rotini or any sort of noodle that size)

1/2 c. of frozen spinach
1/2 c. of brocolli

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1-1/2 cups (1/2 of 700-mL jar) pasta sauce

1 tablesppon PHILADELPHIA Light Cream Cheese Spread

1 cup KRAFT Part Skim Mozzarella Shredded ( or marble or cheddar, whatever you may have)

Cook pasta as directed on package, adding spinach to the boiling water for the last 1 min.

Meanwhile, heat large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook.until chicken is no longer pink, stirring frequently. Cook brocolli. Add pasta sauce ; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 3 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

Drain pasta and spinach; return to same saucepan. Add chicken mixture; mix lightly. Stir in cream cheese spread and mozzarella cheese until melted.

I surprisingly don't have a picture of this meal, so I'll have to add one once we have it as leftovers.

Jenn

Sausage Soup

2008-10-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

Tonight we tried out a new recipe and it was DELICIOUS! I got it from my favorite online recipie site, All Recipes. I enjoy sausage and I find it adds a little "pizazz" to my cooking.

Here it is:

INGREDIENTS

3 sausages (I use Mild Italian)
2 clove garlic, minced
2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
1 cup sliced carrots
1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained
1 small zucchini, cubed
1 cup spinach (frozen)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup of pasta

DIRECTIONS

I like to boil my sausage to get rid of alot of the fat, so boil them first. Then throw it in a stockpot or Dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic. Stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, beans, spinach and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for atleast 30 minutes.
Cook pasta as per directions
Add zuchinni and the cooked pasta for 10 more minutes.

I'm finally handing in my review...

2008-10-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you can imagine what kind of a student I was in school...keen at the beginning of the year but a slacker towards the end, lol.

We survived the month with a single trip to McDonald's. That's pretty amazing in our household.

I didn't realize until the challenge was on just how much we were eating out. The boys and I would go to Tim Horton's for bagels once every weekend and there were usually 1 or 2 nights per week when we seemed strapped for time and we'd normally grab take out but the challenge forced us to make a back up plan. I think soup and sandwiches were a staple for these occasions.

I also realized just how boring my cooking is. I stick with what's tried and true for our family but I have tried Lori's Italian Wedding Soup and Jenn's Hoisin Sauce.

Thanks Jenn for the challenge. I'm sure we saved $200 easily. If I figure fast food is about $25/30 each time and Starbucks about $25 a week...sigh....that's right...a lot of wasted money.

Wrap up at the Campbell's

2008-10-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

Well...I admit it. I'm a horrible person. On Friday, I gave up on being creative and trying new recipes plus taking pictures of our meals just 5 short days before the end of the Eat @ Home Challenge. Now, don't get me wrong...we kept up with the challenge until the last day but we spent those last 5 days repeating some of the meals we'd had earlier in the month and we dug some leftovers out of the freezer which was not exciting but we did eat at home.

This challenge has taught me a few things:

1. Although I love to read blogs and I love to put my thoughts in print, I don't think I have the dedication to be a blogger. Between bargaining with my teenager for time on the computer and the time involved to download pictures, I just don't do a good job of getting blog entries ready in a timely fashion. Kudos to all of the bloggers out there...you're truly amazing!

2. I love number crunching, so budgeting and making my grocery money go as far as possible has always been a big priority for me. Especially in this day and age with the fast-rising cost of food, fuel, utilities, etc...there is very little we have control over with the exception of what the money experts call "consumables". This challenge has reminded me that you can get so much more food for your money at the grocery store than you can if you're eating out.

3. We have a family of 3, so I really only need to cook 4 nights per week because if I cook any more than that, we can't possibly keep up with eating all of the leftovers! I even fed some of the leftovers to my two wiener dogs!

4. I really do love to cook and although I'm not an adventurous cook when it comes to flavours from other parts of the world, it's still extremely satisfying to sit down to a meal that tastes gourmet and looks really appealing.

5. Lastly, although I'm glad the challenge is over (whew!...the pressure is off!) it wasn't as hard as I thought and I'm curious to see what Jenn has in store for us next!

The Last Day

2008-09-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

YEAH for all of us. Today is the last day of the Eat at Home Challenge. I am so excited to eat out tomorrow. Although not as excited as I thought I would be. It is true that it takes about 3 weeks to form a habit. For the first three weeks of September it was hard. Hard to plan, hard to not give into it.... But in the last week it has been easier. I don't need to "plan" now or be conscious about not eating out.

There have been many benefits to this month. I have lost some weight (although that may be from breastfeeding) and saved lots of money (which I have enjoyed spending at Etsy). It's great because the whole point was to not lose weight or save money. The point was to see if I could do it. Could I go a whole month? And yes I can.

Tonight we had honey garlic chicken, teriakyi noodles and frozen vegetables. Chicken is just marinated in honey garlic sauce (I like the VH kind) Teryiaki noodles are just a Lipton sidekick.

Tomorrow I can't decide, Swiss Chalet or Chinese Food??

Jenn

Day 27 and 28 at the Parks

2008-09-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Well on Saturday we had roast beef, which was pretty good, but as usual if I spend alot of time making something I forget to take it's picture.

Then last night we had shrimp and pasta sauce. With salad on the side. Darryl and I are kind of funny with salad. If I buy it, we usually will eat it with some of our dinners. But if I don't buy it, we don't eat it, and don't really miss it. Healthier to have the salad, but cheaper not too. Which one wins out??

Jenn

I've found a few minutes to catch-up

2008-09-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

I can't remember how far back I need to go...Hmmm...
Wednesday was leftover Mexican casserole. Thursday was soup and grilled cheese (Beaver night starts at 6 so it has to be quick and easy) Friday was perogies and sauerkraut I think. Saturday we had dinner at a lovely wedding reception. Roast beef, chicken with asparagus and hollandaise sauce, new potatoes...yummy! Sunday was leftover Rice a Roni from Saturday's lunch and
BBQ hamburgers but I think I'm missing the pic for that one.

Now that I've looked at the pics I realize that I forgot that Wednesday was the Lazy Lasagna recipe from the Big Cook. Everything else is a bit of a blur from this past week.

I'm counting down to the 1st of October

:o)

Eat at Home: Day 26

2008-09-26T22:32:00.000-07:00

There is a little part of me that will always be Catholic. From about 12 to 18 I went to a Catholic church, we lived with my Grandma who was raised Catholic. I like to be on my knees if I am going to pray and I like to take communion if I ever go to church and I think fish on Fridays is a good idea. Tonight was fish and chips. My favorite brand is Haddock and Hops from Presidients Choice. I like the batter and the taste, plus there is not too much grease on the pan when they are done cooking.

Jenn

Day 25 at the Parks

2008-09-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had our favorite salmon dinner.

Jenn

Day 23, 24 & 25 at the Campbell's

2008-09-25T17:28:00.001-07:00

On Day 23, we had breakfast for dinner. This is a regular meal for us with some minor variations. It included a special treat this time...peameal bacon. Yum. We also had toast with raspberry jam but I forgot to include it in the picture.

On Day 24 we made one of my all time favourite Kraft What's Cooking Magazine meals. It only takes 5 minutes to throw everything in the pan and then you can get on with other things while dinner cooks!

Easy Ravioli Bake

1/4 cup Kraft Zesty Italian salad dressing
1 can of beef broth
1 can/jar of spaghetti sauce (680-700ml)
One 19 or 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
Two 350g packages of fresh ravioli or tortellini (we use one beef and one cheese & spinach)
1/2 to 1 cup mozzarella cheese

In a medium sized roasting pan or oven proof "dutch oven" (make just 1/2 the recipe if you don't have a pan/pot big enough), combine the first four ingredients. Add in the ravioli and/or tortellini. Voila! Cover with lid or foil and bake at 375F for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle cheese on top and place back in oven with lid off for another 5-10 minutes. Enjoy!

Tonight (Day 25) we had leftovers from last night. Only a few more nights to go with the Eat @ Home Challenge and what I've discovered most is that taking pictures, downloading them to the computer and creating my blog entries was actually harder than eating all of our meals at home! Jenn...I've always LOVED your blog and all of the wonderful things it has done for our long distance family relationship but I have a whole new respect for the sheer amount of work involved in creating it day in and day out. I can't thank you enough.

Day 24 at the Parks

2008-09-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

6 More Days Left!! In a week from now I may be eating...... Wendys...... or Swiss Chalet...... or Chinese Food..... I've learned some things from this month, but more on that later.

Tonight's dinner was fajitas. There are a couple of things that "make" fajitas for me. The first is having good steak. I always like it if there is leftover steak. The other thing I quite like is Bullseye barbeque sauce. Our fajitas have beef, cheese, tomato, rice, black beans (if we have them around) and sour cream. Dad will also be happy to know I use whole wheat shells.

Now that the month is almost over I am getting good at remember to take a picture. Even Lucas is getting into it and wanted to include a picture of Nathans dinner.

Jenn

Day 23 at the Parks: Sweet and Sour Chicken

2008-09-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

Today Darryl made us grill cheese for lunch. Darryl asked which shape Lucas would like. Lucas was pondering between triangles and rectangles. Darryl asked if he would like a fish - Sure! Lucas said with lots of enthusiasm. So here's a goldfish grill cheese sandwich.

For dinner we had our favorite: Sweet and Sour Chicken (or pork)

If you are using chicken cook that first.
Add to the pan:

1/3 c of vinegar
1 can of pineapple
2 tbsp of ketchup
3 tbsp of brown sugar
Cold water mixed with cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

Cook till it's warm and thick.
Serve over rice.

I highly recommend it.

Jenn

Day 22 at the Campbell's

2008-09-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

Oops! Change of plans...we ended up having the other Delisio pizza that was in the freezer for dinner on Monday so that we could run out and complete some errands and a little visiting. This one was the 3-meat variety which wasn't as good as the Spicy Chicken one from Saturday night BUT.....after years of trying to convince Mackenzie to try sausage, she finally did and she liked it! So, overall it was well worth it.

Tonight (Day 23) will be breakfast for dinner. Peameal bacon, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns and toast. Yum.

Day 23 at the Beck's

2008-09-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

Tonight was leftover Mexican casserole night. I did take a picture but I'm too tired to post it. I've been busy attempting to make 40 beaver scarves by Saturday. It's not going well. At all. I can foresee that we'll be having a quick and simple dinner tomorrow night so I can get back at the scarf making...shudder shudder...

Day 22 at the Parks: Chicken Chow Mein

2008-09-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight dinner was me trying to blend a stirfry that we had at Lori's house and a recipie that I found online. Unfortunaly I couldn't find fresh noodles which would have made it better. But here is the recipie:

Chicken
Vegetables

Stirfry together. Add 1/4 cup of oyster sauce, 2 tbsp of sesame oil and 2 tbsp of soy sauce. Pinch of ginger and garlic.

Boil noodles (or if you can find fresh noodles use those) add them to the dinner with 1/2 c. of chicken broth.

It was quite good. Even Mom and Dad enjoyed it ( I think, Dad was finished first)

For lunch we have our new favorite thing: Perogies

These are the no name Superstore kind with bacon and sour cream. Darryl jazzed them up with cheese today.

Jenn

Day 20 & 21 at the Campbell's

2008-09-22T14:03:00.001-07:00

On Day 20 (Saturday) we tried a Delisio Spicy Chicken pizza. Now, I have to say right off the bat that I'm not a fan of rising crust pizzas but we do try to keep one on hand for nights when we're in a hurry for dinner. We had never tried the Spicy Chicken one before and I can honestly say that it's totally changed my opinion...it was delicious!

On Day 21 (Sunday) we had our new favourite dinner...waffles!! (Thanks Jenn!) This time though, we had them with fresh strawberries, a sprinkling of sugar and whip cream. Have I mentioned that I LOVE WAFFLES?!!!

Monday night will be breakfast for dinner...pictures to come!

Day 21 at the Parks

2008-09-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had dinner at our friends house to celebrate the selling of their house. Tammy made fetticine alfredo and blueberry pie for dessert, so I have no recipe. But because we were eating at someone's house I remember to take a picture.

Jenn

Day 19,20 and 21 at the Beck's

2008-09-21T18:20:00.001-07:00

Friday night we had the same old same old fish/orange recipe. Eventually I will venture outside the box and try some of your recipes. But, I hadn't grocery shopped so we made do with what we had. Basa fillets, caesar salad and steamed jasmine rice. I don't think I could live without my steamer. I bought the Pampered Chef microwave one but could never get the right time/measurements and it was always dried up into a rice cake looking thing so I went back to the tried and true steamer. It does take an hour but it tastes great and is

easy to clean.

I have no picture for Saturday because we didn't eat home cooked food. We were at a birthday party and didn't even stay for dinner. I had booked myself for something in the evening but Aaron seen how flushed I was and called crocket (that's code word for hometime) so I could have a rest first. That being said the Beck's had McDonald's for dinner and you know what?

1. The boys weren't even excited about the idea of a Happy Meal

2. Aaron and I had a hard time deciding what to eat

3. No one really enjoyed themselves.

That being said. It was totally not worth FALLING OFF THE WAGON!!! I hope Darryl enjoyed Phil's more than we enjoyed our McDonald's.

And tonight I tried another recipe from The Big Cook cookbook. It's a Mexican casserole. You mix cooked ground beef with onion, can of cream corn, can of tomato soup, can of red kidney beans, 1/2 cup of chilli sauce, 2 tsp chilli powder and a dash of worcestershire sauce. You layer this mixture with corn tortillas in a casserole dish and bake in the oven for about an hour. It was simply delicious! We served it with tortillas chips to entice the kids to try something new.

Day 19 and 20 at the Parks

2008-09-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

So Darryl is totally off the wagon for the eat at home challenge. But I am still on and finding it easier and easier. Darryl's best friend (who use to live with us) is here and they went to our favorite breakfast place. Get your fill at Phil's. But I had already had breakfast and was not cheating when there is only 10 days left. What should we do for completing the challenge? Is there a big reward (although I have lost 5 pounds, that could be a good reward)

Tonight for dinner was steak, rice and asparagus. Last night was hamburgers and potato salad. No pictures of either. Maybe next months challenge would be to just take a picture of all the meals. =) We had asparagus tonight because we were discussing asparagus pee last night. Ahh stinky asparagus pee.

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Day 16, 17, 18 & 19 at the Campbell's

2008-09-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

This week was a whirlwind of after-school and evening activity which is not typical for us but we managed to keep up with the challenge.

Day 16...The weather was beautiful: warm with a cool, autumn breeze. I took advantage of the weather so I could cut the grass and Mackenzie was kind enough to cook dinner. We ended up having Swanson Hungry Man "tv dinners" but they were prepared and eaten at home! Using the oven unsupervised is still a fairly new skill for Mackenzie so we're delighted whenever she helps out in the kitchen.

Day 17...I tried another new recipe from my Kraft What's Cooking magazine. This one was a winner!

Smarter Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken
300g fettuccine, uncooked
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut in strips)
1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 tsp flour
1/3 cup (1/3 of a 250g tub) of spreadable light cream cheese
3 tbsp light Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta as directed. Meanwhile, heat chicken in non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Remove chicken from skillet, set aside. Mix broth with flour in the skillet using a whisk. Stir in cream cheese and 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese. Cook, stirring CONSTANTLY until sauce thickens (about 2min). Add chicken back in. Drain pasta and place in a large serving bowl. Pour sauce/chicken mixture over top and add remaining Parmesan cheese.

We made this without the nutmeg and added some broccoli as well. It was delicious and very easy to make this alfredo sauce from "scratch".

(This picture was rotated in iPhoto but refuses to import into Blogger in the correct orientation...Argh!)

Day 18 & 19...LEFTOVERS! We have had another night of fettuccine alfredo and spaghetti squares (mock lasagna) from Sunday night. So far, so good!

Day 18 at the Parks

2008-09-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

There is no picture of dinner tonight, as I was having my hair done. Picture to follow on the other blog. But it was a cooking day.....

First my mother brought over some apples, so we boiled them and made some applesauce. No real recipie for it. Boil the apples with a bit of water
and run them through a "puree-er".
Voila, applesauce. I'm sure Nathan will be eating lots of it.

After that we made some of our "famous" chocolate peanut butter rice crispie square. Half for us and half to take to a neighboor who just had a baby.

Recipe for those are:

1/4 c. of peanut butter and 6 cups of marshmellows

On low heat mix those till the marshmellows are melted.
Take off heat.

Add 6 cups of rice crispies.

Put in a greased pan.

Melt some chocolate and pour on top. And voila! Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispie Squares.

Day 18 at the Beck's

2008-09-18T19:38:00.001-07:00

Tonight we had Cheesy Chicken Penne. Fairly quick and easy - 2 pre-requisites here for most dinners it turns out.

Anyways, you chop up and cook some boneless chicken breasts, add 1 can of reduced fat Cream of Mushroom soup, 1/2 cup of milk and about 2 cups of shredded cheese. Cook it on the stovetop for about 20 minutes. Served on penne pasta with caesar salad on the side. Yummy!

We're still on board...I promise!

2008-09-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

Hi there,
A quick update from the Campbell's. We are still doing great on the Eat @ Home Challenge and I do have pictures for this week...I just haven't had a moment to spare to get them uploaded to the computer and write my blog entry. We've been shopping for our daughter's first electric guitar (man, oh man...it's more complicated than we thought!) plus there have been football games at school, meet the creature night (Oops! I mean TEACHER) for the first time at high school and the return of some of our favourite TV shows so I'll have to make sure I get some computer time tomorrow.
I promise that before bed on Friday night, I'll get all caught up!

Day 17 at the Parks: Frittata

2008-09-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

One of the recipes that I have been experimenting with and that is a good one for Meatless Monday is fritatta. Which is basically a quiche but with no crust. My recipie is:

6 eggs
Some milk (maybe 1/4 cup)

Whisk up those two things. Then add to a greased pan

Fillings: this can be anything you would put in an omelet. Ours usually includes spinach, cheese, tomatoes and mushrooms.

Add those things over the eggs (it will mix in that's good). Put in a preheated oven 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

It's a dinner that looks beautiful, tastes great and you don't have to worry about the flipping like an omelet. This would also be a good brunch. Usually it turns out like this:

Except tonight I did not have the best grip on the pan and it fell in the bottom of the oven.......

Damn the eat at home challenge. Now I have to find something else to eat for dinner. Luckily we did salvage some and fried it in a pan....

Jenn

Day 17 at the Beck's

2008-09-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went all out and had BBQ pork loins, I don't think they were the tenderloin but they were boneless. Anyhow, Aaron BBQ'd and I steamed some frozen veggies, made Chicken Rice-a-Roni and glopped on some applesauce to dunk my pork in. I am not a huge pork fan, can you tell buy my proportions?

Day 16 at the Beck's

2008-09-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

We've been cleaning out the freezer in prep for The Big Cook and I came across a hutterite chicken from my MIL so that was dinner tonight. I tried a recipe from The Big Cook book, I think it was Lemon Roasted Chicken. It was good but I overcooked the chicken so everything was a bit on the dry side. The chicken was so dry in fact that there was no freaking gravy. Therefore I skipped the mashed potatos. I baked a sweet potato but it burned on the bottom and didn't taste so hot so we did corn and caeser salad as a backup. Some days I think I'm just not meant to cook. These are the days where we would normally have take out. Aahhhh....these are the days of our lives aren't they....

Day 15 & 16 at the Parks

2008-09-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday. Unfortunalty we didn't get a picture of the wonderful dinner Darryl made of steak, corn on the cob, potatoes and corn. But I did buy the ingredients for my favorite breakfast. This breakfast comes from our life changing trip to Europe Darryl and I took before Lucas was born. This is what we have for 5 mornings in a row. In Paris they also had delicious hot chocolate.

So my favorite breakfast is: crossaints with soft cheese (Vache qui rit) and jam. And yougourt with fruit. Crossiants and cheese, not the best for your arteries, but delicious!

Tonight we tried a new recipe. Beef and Broccoli Stirfry

I tried to find the jasmine rice that Lesley loves, but Superstore doesn't sell the Uncle Ben's kind. So I'll have to check at the other stores. This was quite a good. If you have Oyster sauce on hand I would recommend it.

Jenn

Day 15 at the Beck's

2008-09-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

This challenge has pointed out to myself that I am a very borrrrrrrrrrrring cook sometimes. Okay, almost daily right now.

Tonight was karate for the boys at 6:30 which I thought started at 6 so we had toasted bagels with cream cheese and veggie soup for dinner. That is indeed a Diet Dr. Pepper, I didn't even bother to pour myself OJ. Shame on me!

Day 13, 14 & 15 at the Campbell's

2008-09-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

I'm quite proud of myself. We were on the run this weekend but I managed to try two new recipes!

Saturday (Day 13) was Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie from the new fall issue of Kraft's What's Cooking Magazine. It was pretty simply, very rich and very flavourful.
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream, divided
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (thawed) or fresh veggies (suggestions: carrots, green beans, peas, corn, etc)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup all-purpose baking mix
3 tbsp milk

Heat oven to 375F. Mix & 3/4 cup of sour cream. Stir in cheddar, chicken & veggies. In a mixing bowl, combine baking mix (eg. Bisquick) with 1/4 cup sour cream & milk. Drop by tablespoons on top of chicken mixture. Bake uncovered for 35 min or until biscuits are golden brown and mixture is hot and bubbly. YUM!

On Sunday (Day 14) we tried another Kraft What's Cooking recipe called Spaghetti Squares. It takes spaghetti with meat sauce and makes it into a mock lasagna.

300g of spaghetti, cooked and drained
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 jar (700ml) spaghetti sauce
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter or margarine
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 350F. Cook and drain spaghetti. Brown ground beef. Drain. Add spaghetti sauce to drained ground beef and heat through. Place cooked/drained spaghetti in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Toss with margarine, beaten eggs and parmesan cheese. (Note: if noodles have cooled, melt the butter). Spread the cottage cheese over the noodle mixture. Cover with meat sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese. (Note: we doubled the amount of mozzarella cheese).
Place in oven and heat for 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

This was good but could have used some garlic, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. The kids might think it's pretty fun but our family decided that for the work involved, we'd rather have real lasagna. It was good though.

Today, Day 15 will be left over day. We'll be cleaning out the fridge to make room for fettucine alfredo tomorrow (with shrimp or chicken...we're still undecided).

Days 11-14..... at the Parks

2008-09-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

Don't Worry Lesley we have been horrible about taking pictures too. =). I did remember last night though becuase I wasn't making the meal. I am finding the challenge to be quite challenging..... Yesterday I had some retail therapy for my birthday and it took alot of restraint not to get anything. But I did it, and spent the money on clothes instead. =)

Friday's dinner was spagetti. Pretty basic, although my favorite Classico sauce is what makes good sauce to me. I add some garlic and mushrooms to it (along with ground beef).

Saturday was BBQ'ed chicken. I marniated the chicken with Orange Sesame Dressing. I bought the dressing for the commerical, thought it looked great. But it was not! Atleast not on salad, but it is quite good as a marinade.

Last nights dinner was Lamb, which my Mom made for my birthday. She buys the chops from Costco and just adds a little salt before BBQing. Mashed pototoes, carrots, BBQed cherry tomotoes and beets. Delicious! Beets are my new favorite vegtable. I'm loving them. So mom and dad were sure to get me a bottle for my birthday.

Jenn