Squidgee's Corner

Back on the road to healthy choices

2012-01-10T15:52:00.001-05:00

Bad news! I basically stopped counting weight watcher points and went back to being a crumb bum.

BUT there is more good news then bad.

When I started This diet 15 months ago I was 28 lbs heavier. And I lost 3-5 of those lbs DURING the holidays. So I am not looking back on this year as a waste. Because it was not a waste. It was steady and slow, and the kind of diet that was not stressful. I maintained too- that is a big deal for me! Do I wish I had stuck with it and lost 2x more then that. Maybe. But I'm damn proud of what I DID accomplish.

There are 3 photos today. Good choices, good choice, medium bad choice. All of which are scrumptious.

First is the indianappleous 500 chicken and apple curry from the looney spoons collection. So good. Mid range ww points, fillings, balanced and night.
Recipe will be posted some day ;)

Second- food court blues. I wanted a mozzarella burger, I got tuna on salad with an insulting sprinkle of cheese. But it was only 9 points, fresh, inexpensive and filling. Sometimes making the right choice turns out yummier then expected.

Thirdly- the not too naughty choice- homemade buffalo chicken pizza.

You will need

1 pc blue menu multigrain pizza crust
1/2 cup blue menu tomato sauce
1 cup low fat mozzarella
1/2 cup low fat old cheddar
1 lg onion diced
1 roaster chicken breast OR 1 regular
Chicken breast cooked- no skin, chopped.
2 tbsp Franks red hot buffalo
1/4 cup Franks red hot sweet BBQ
Any low fat ranch dressing
1 serving ruffled plain chips crushed

NOW

Before Putting anything on the crust, cook the onions in a sauté pan with a little olive oil or butter until Caramelized.

Preheat the oven to 425.

Spread out the sauce then 2 cheeses on your pizza crust.

Toss the chicken in the buffalo sauce and layer on. Next add the onions.

Pop that baby in the oven and cook until its bubbly and brown.

When it comes out of the oven drizzle the ranch across the top, then the BBQ in the opposite direction. Top it all off with the crushed chips and sit back and taste the awesomeness.

32 points for the whole pizza. Yeah, you heard me. Divide it by 4 that's 8pts a quarter. Shock and awe? Yeah you know it. Actually it's lower because it's low fat cheese. mine was full fat. Remove the chips (don't you dare!...ok fine go ahead) and its 8pts less.

Listen now- this pizza is delicious, multigrain, has lean protein, low Fat but it does have a decent speck of grease, carbs, sugar and salt. there are many pizzas you can make with lots of veggies and less to No cheese, the chips are unnecessary but so damn good. point is there are healthier choices- and much worse choices. This is a filthy In between for night's you want to misbehave without weeping in disgust later.

Sometimes, It's good to be bad-ish.

Here's to 2012- the year of the large black dress ;)

Seeing Rainbows

2011-08-30T10:08:00.006-04:00

Hiya! It's been a busy summer- how about you? This summer has been busier as usual- I'm surprised by how I have managed to fill every waking moment of my calendar and still have time to breath but it's been a really awesome time for us all. I am far from looking forward to being wholed up in the house surrounded by snow with 2, 17 month olds. But we will be filling our winter schedule with play dates and toddler programs I'm sure. That said- what is it I have been up to you ask? Plenty!

In the interest of not boring you with the details I will list it off super quickly!
*A week here and there at the cottage
*My birthday away in Niagra Falls
*A shopping weekend in Buffalo
*a Pampered Chef conference in Montreal
*Visiting friends from out of town x2
*Numerous Zoo trips.

So this blog post is simple, and delicious. Referring back to my beautiful weekend away with my Hubby to Niagara falls, we spent a dinner at the Rainbow Room by Massimo Capra. I love Massimo when i see him on Breakfast television, The Mom Show and numerous Food Network programs and was not disappointed in the food at this restaurant at all. I made sure to only order items what had his signature on them.

The bread basket they brought to the table while we waited was delicious. Warm rosemary foccacia bread with Hummus that was covered in Olive oil, Balsamic vinegar and hot chili flakes. Different, delicious and super impressive for something so simple. But I forgot to get a photo :(

I had what can only be described as one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten at a restaurant in my life. Top 3, hands down. What could it possibly be to earn such a place in my culinary memories? Why- the silky delicious appetizer "Warm Peaches and Cheese"- Caramelized Niagara Peaches, St. Andres Cheese, Prosciutto Di Parma, Olive Crostini, Nicoise Lettuce, Micro Greens, Peach Vinaigrette....yeah. YEAH! It was so salty and sweet, creamy and crunchy. I was seriously blown away.

My hubby Matt had the Caprese salad- Roasted Eggplants, Mozzarella “Fiore Di Latte”,
Ontario Hot House Tomato Salsa, Micro Greens Salad, Tomato Vinaigrette. He really enjoyed it and the bite I had was super fresh- the mozzarella was from another world.

Though we had planned to have 2 different entree's so that we could try 2, we couldn't do it. We both reallllly wanted to try the Fettuccini Bolognese. Classic Italian Meat Ragu, Hand Made Fettuccini, Parmigianna Regianno. Neither of us could get half way through it the portion was such a great size and it was again, so delicious and balanced. Creamy and saucy, meaty and he pasta was amazing.

The restaurant itself was simple and sleek- White linens and 360 glass wall views of the falls.
However- While the food was amazing the service was only so so. Which is too bad that Massimo can't control the service that is representing his name. The waiter was very nice, and knowledgeable but it was very slow. We spent the time between appetizers and entree's listening to an argument between the people at the table next to us because they had to take a baby to bed and had not recieved their food yet. When the 8 entrees came out they got up and left, leaving the team of waiters lost and the patrons curious. I thought that was a bit of an over reaction. I loved the food and even though the food was slow it was clearly made well, and with skill. I would eat there again if I had to wait 2 hours for my meal.

Crashy crash

2011-06-13T15:32:00.002-04:00

Hey world- I've been absent its true! This time I have good excuses!

1- I have started a career as a Pampered Chef consultant and I am having a blast!

2- I watch my nephew full time and him with my own son all day makes for an exhausted night and I totally pass out early.

3- I got into a car accident and there was a few weeks full of phone calls , physiotherapy and paperwork that took up alot of time and effort! Don't worry we're all ok!

I'll just put all that crazy behind me and get on the bloggity blog track.

Ethnic cooking- masalaaaa

2011-05-04T22:07:00.005-04:00

I know its been a while- and im sorry! Its been crazy busy and with birthdays and mother's day, plus an extra long week of strep throat its been hard to stay on all tracks.

The good news is in my absence from my blog I have lost 5.9lbs! I have lost 26 out of 55 baby lbs. Go me!

There was a small period of time where there was so much going on that I didn't real care to think about weight watchers. All I really wanted was to eat what I want, when I want. And you know what? I don't really want that freedom anymore. It obviously has not gotten me anywhere good and So I have been back on track. Do I stll love those damn cookies? You bet I do. Do I eat an entire box in just a couple days? No. And that is one of the hardest things on this new lifestyle journey. But I do want to lose weight, and I always have wanted to and I am learning that one day at a time really is the best approach. So I eat my cookies, and I have a steak or an iced cap. But I think about it first. And I plan for it. And I feel ok about it when I'm done eating or drinking it because I know I'm not undoing everything I worked for. AS LONG AS I REMEMBER NOT TO PANIC AND EAT EVERYTHING IN SIGHT!

Part of the spectrum is trying new things- and lately I have really enjoyed more ethnic foods such as Indian. I made this meal the other day and my hubby and I both went nuts for it. Sadly I don't have the completely correct measurements as I made it at supperworks, but it is definitely worth the share. I am mainly guessing!

MASALA FISH

3 servings

3 Basa fish Filets
Canola Oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 tsp Cumin Seed
1 cup crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/ tsp fresh green chilis
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup water
salt

Put the fish in a ziploc and toss half the lemon juice on it and let it sit for a wee while- rinse the fish off under cold water and dry it.

In a large, deep fry pan (that has a cover, for later) cook the onion, oil and cumin seeds on medium high until the onions are browning and cumin is fragrant. About 5 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Carefully add fish, making sure each piece is covered in sauce. Cover and simmer approx. 15 min. Stir occasionally; add a little water if necessary (internal temp. 158F/70C).

Serve over Basmati rice and with a dollop of plain yogurt and cucumber slices.

This was so mild and delicious- a serious new favourite meal.

2 parties, 2 cakes, one weekend

2011-05-03T20:38:00.003-04:00

Hiya! Just another shortish post today- A couple pictures of my most recent cakeventures. I made my son 2 cakes on the weekend for both his kid and family birthday parties- The stand alone cupcakes are chocolate, fudge filled vanilla buttercream and the red and white fondant was all cut out using my cricut cake- I was very tired, very sore and did not get to do yellow and white as I had planned. But in the end it looks more like Dr. Seuss cupcakes which is a-okay and delicious.

The second cake was cupcakes iced together- I drew out and cut the sign and all the little alphabet letters were cut with alphabet fondant cutters. They are devils food cupcakes with no filling and vanilla buttercream.

I got a message on my phone a couple days ago asking about making cakes for someone- I have not yet called them back due to toddler related pandamonium at home but hopefully there will be more cakes in the near future!

Easter Beasters

2011-04-25T15:12:00.004-04:00

oops this is my easter blog post that was accidentally left in the edit folder- better late then never!

A shot of my Easter Cupcake nests

Proof of the gigantic Easter Beaster Feast- This year there was even more veggies and fruits- I made the fancy Devilled eggs

These are the Little People Eggs from fisher price- They were absolutely perfect for my son since he is only 1 and I obviously will not be giving him chocolate. They were filled with these adorable little chick and Bunny, Easter kids, and more.

He did a really good job of finding the eggs and was really excited when he clued in and realized we were giving him things. ;)

This is my easter basket of presents- overkill...yes I know. I told my husband "I overdid it again" and his response, instead of being that I was in trouble was "With you hunny, at this point its just par for the course and I wouldnt expect less" lol. I have no intention of giving giant baskets like this always but its full of thigns I needed to get him and a couple little things. The good news is alot of these items were from the dollar store or under 5 dollars- Except Elmo- Elmo was a gift from Nana, but I felt he helped complete the basket. <3

365 days of awesome

2011-04-25T14:58:00.004-04:00

Today I would love to wish my sweet lil monkey of a baby, Miles, a very happy 1st birthday. Love you sweet bum, XOXOXO

Mini Eggs, Big issues

2011-04-17T16:52:00.006-04:00

Easter! oh lordy lord it's Easter. And as everyone knows, Easter seems to rain chocolate 100x more violently then Christmas and Valentines day combined. Why? Because unlike Santa who brings gifts with some candy, or your loved one who brings a small box to say I love you, The Easter Bunny brings you buckets and buckets of chocolate- at least he makes you work a little to find it first. Its completely overwhelming being at any store, especially Walmart and Zellers.

I have not celebrated the easter bunny visiting my house in over 15 years and have always built Easter around the Catholic reasons for celebrating but I never seem to get out of the weekend with the scale unscathed. My mother in law God bless her likes to make all us "kids" an easter basket full of chocolates and that sweet little golden bunny as a place setting for dinner. I always savour that basket-

But then comes Easter brunch. Oh yes. Easter brunch with 30 very loud, very hungry Italians. The good news is that while I am anticipating all the eats, I am realizing just how weight friendly our Easter can be. There is a sewing table in my Aunt's basement- very large...and COVERED with food corner to corner at Christmas and Easter.

While Christmas Eve is lots of fishes and fried dough balls stuffed with caulifower or CINNAMON SUGAR and so much more savoury things, our Easter is just a little bit more forgiving. With plenty of cookies and cakes but i digress. Leaving Good Friday and all its shrimp, tilapia, lingini and mussels out of the equation, our table is covered with fruit, veggies and dip, cheeses, pickles, olives and frittatas- there are usually 3 frittatas and they are each stuffed to the brim with a fresh vegetable like peppers, spinach, peas. There is spanakopita (yeah, I don't know how it got on our Italian table either but we would all be very mad if it ever was forgotten) . But in that Spanakopita is serious amounts of spinach and much less feta and fillo then one would think because it is homemade. There is a blueberry strata and thinly sliced luncheon meats. Some of which used to be handmade by my grandfather- who is in his mid 80's now and just can't do it anymore. We were spoiled to have a butcher in the family and lucky for us he was very serious about cutting off as much of the fat as possible- so lean, homemade nitrite free meat for all.

But the big thing, the one thing no one can wait for is the EASTER PIZZA. A pizza bread stuffed to the brim with pepperoni, eggs, ham and cheese in a pizza dough case. They made everyone their very own last year and because I was so very very pregnant it was the greatest day of my life. There is also tortula bread- a very dense, very yolk full sweet bread we only get Easter day too.

I don't even know where I am going with any of this I'm dreaming of the pizza. Oh yeah... Easter and chocolate and food.

This is my son's first Easter, and falls 1 week before his first birthday. I want to allow him to eat SOME sweets when he gets older- but I do have a lot of fears that he will end up like me, and I don't want that for him. I will of course let him eat what he likes when we have our family celebrations but when he get's near the table with 100 types of cookies on it, I will be carefully monitoring him. If only I had more control practicing what I preach. I am also a holiday freak and needless to say I have gone overboard- buying small gifts and things- much of which are all gifts he needs anyway- Bibs, sippy cups, toddler crayons and a colouring book, bath duck, wee toy truck, you get the hint. There is going to be no chocolate- except for a chocolate flavoured toddler cookie- I did want him to experience a first easter egg hunt so I err...asked...the Easter bunny for the toddler friendly Eggs that have little people figurines in them. I also asked the bunny to fill small carrot and egg shaped containers with Cheerios and banana and peach puffs.

I hope I can make it through Easter without a gain! Wish me luck I guess!

Dino-Mite!

2011-04-08T15:12:00.004-04:00

I got my cricut cake machine and im in love! This is my cake I made for my Nephew Jimi on his first birthday. Shortest post ever!

Fat Friday: Eggplant Caponata

2011-03-24T22:10:00.002-04:00

Whoops, it appears i negelcted my blog. cest la vie I guess. Onward....

hooray for me! I got through the last few weeks,and I enjoy seeing that I am 1.8 lbs lighter this week. I am less than 2lbs away from my first goal of 5% weight loss. The best part about this weight loss is that it proves that it is possible to enjoy your week, not feel deprived and still lose. afew Fridays ago I had movie theatre popcorn (Probably the best in my entire life) and an entire 10" wood fire oven pizza. Not to mention butter soaked edamame beans and red wine. It was a wonderful night out with the hubby and friends, and I'm glad the scale didn't bring any guilt. The following week however was different as I went out and seriously miscounted a few things.

I ended up going 18 points over my bonus. Leaving me the deepest in the red I have been to date. I gained .2lbs which was really not enough to panick over, just be cautious of. I was however being really behaved all this week and trying to stay on my feet and moving. I only lost 0.3 lbs but I am working toward at least a 1lb lost come friday. I haven't been eating great, and I havent been eating badly. Nothing fried, but there has been probably too much butter, and too much chocolate, with not enough fruit. I'm not really sure why, I just am finding it hard this week to control some cravings. I havent run out of points, I still have half my bonus. But im making shit decisions. And im not really feeling lettuce. But every day is a learning curve.

Here is a new recipe for Eggplant Caponata. It's tasty, it`s sweet, it`s tart, its not very high in points and cooks in under ten minutes to boot. You're gonna love it.

EGGPLANT CAPONATA

1/4 cup diced onion
1 cup frozen grilled eggplant
1 cup diced tomatoes with juices
1/3 cup roasted red peppers
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp capers, drained
1 1/2 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
3 cups cooked rotini
shredded mozzarella

Cook pasta according to your basic pasta rule- salted water, until al dente- usually about 8 minutes. While pasta is cooking, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large frypan. Sauté onions over medium heat, approx. 5 min. Add all remaining ingredients except the mozzarella. Cook until well heated through. Serve over pasta, topp with however much mozzarella you fancy. Finish it with a drizzle of fresh extra virgin olive oil and enjoy the delicousness.

Entertaining on a diet

2011-03-20T10:11:00.004-04:00

Now it's important to remember that while I did title this post "Entertainment on a diet" I am in fact not on a diet. I am a weight watcher. But it was a better sounding title.

I am always happy to entertain friends for lunch, dinner, cocktail hour, any occasion. But being so tuned into trying to eat better it can get a little crazy trying to stay within points range.

The other day I entertained a girlfriend for lunch who is also trying to keep tabs on what she eats. I decided to make a spread based on the things I had in my fridge that I eat everyday, with one treat in the mix.

I served...

Rice crackers
Weight Watcher Pretzel Thins
Ryvita Multrigrain crackers
Salted Almonds
Goat Cheese
Hummus
Chili pepper jam
Veggies
Dip- low fat ranch with yogourt to stretch it out
Pita bread
Smart pop popcorn
Cheddar cheese
Strawberries and Grapes
Homemade Lemonade- The treat.

With all the little finger foods we ate slowly while we chatted and since I had weighed all the cheeses and dips before hand, I was able to track how many points I was consuming.

Lunch was delicious, snacky, and guilt free. Not to mention, half of the food was left over.

Feeling Pickled

2011-03-20T09:58:00.008-04:00

It's a bloggin miracle- I can suddenly put pictures up no problem. Sweet.

Well I had my weigh in Friday morning, and I did not do well, but I did not do badly. I went to the weigh in knowing I had a week that was far from perfect, so to see that I had not lost was far from a suprise. It was something I was prepared for. The good news about it, is that I only gained 0.2lbs, therefore I technically gained barely anything. I learned my lesson and so I move forward.

Then I went to the movies...Got movie popcorn that was the greatest I've ever had. Still drooling. Then we had dinner with friends at a wood fire oven pizza restaurant where I ordered a 10" pizza with bocconcini, prosciutto, onions and spinach. They forgot the spinach and I ate the whole thing- But when I got home to track my points I just put in all my points and bonus points- So if i did over estimate then at least I wont use ALL my bonus points on top of the pizza. The wine was a delicious touch ;)

I really should have had the margherita pizza- next time.

This week I made my own pickles- yay! yum! These particular ones are not the kind you put on the shelf for months and years- You make them and put them in the fridge to munch for a couple weeks then make a new batch. I got the recipe from Rachael Ray, and i changed it a bit to fit what I had at home.

Quick Pickles

1/2 cup white vinegar, eyeball it
2 rounded teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon salt
1 clove cracked garlic
1 teaspoon dried dill or 2 tablespoons fresh dill leaves, chopped or snipped
1 bay leaf
4 kirby cucumbers, cut into 1-inch slices on an angle

Preparation

Heat small saucepan over medium high heat. Add vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, salt, and garlic to the pan and cook until it begins to simmer and sugar dissolves. Toss the dill, bay leaf, and sliced cucumbers together in a heat-proof bowl. Pour the simmering liquid over the cucumbers and stir to evenly coat. Allow to cool to room temperature or chill before serving.

Fondant button brownies and fishy mcfish...though not at the same time

2011-03-17T18:05:00.003-04:00

Well it has been 6 days and I was finally able to get pictures up. Fat friday is once again way late, but hey!

Before I get into the healthy, allow me to start with the not. For my aunt’s birthday I made her Chocolate Brownie cupcakes with handmade fondant decals. They were delicious, and dense in that rich creamy dreamy way. They were roughly 10 points each, well spent. Here are a few shots of them and the decals. My Aunt loves to sew so I made her some buttons.

They were so beautiful and I splurged on the fancy cups since it was her bday and I <3 Her. Sadly they tumbled 3x on the way to her house and were so squished and sad I was pretty sad. I won't be using the cupcake caddy again. The sides aren't high enough to support and kind of sideways tilt.

Onto the healthy!

My weigh in was A+. I lost 2.0 lbs. I was just shy of my 10 lb mark and I’m excited to MAYBE get the badge for it at the next weigh in. I’ve used all my bonus points and then some this week due to some poor choices and bad calculating. I will be happy with maintaining the same late but we will see.

Month 1: 6.2 lbs
Week 1: 1.4 lbs
Week 2: 2.0

Total: 9.6 lbs

Total baby weight lost- 17.6 lbs

This week I am talking about choosing fish for dinner. Growing up, I highly disliked fish. With the exception of tuna covered in mayonnaise and fish n chips smothered in vinegar and tartar I never used to touch it. Salmon was especially disgusting to me as I was insistent it tasted like metal. But just like alcohol, as I got older I learned to like it more. I still don’t like crustaceans with the exception of well cleaned non jumbo shrimp.

In my Weight Watcher meeting recently we were talking about Salmon and how it is higher in points then most fish and lean meat. But no one can argue the health benefits of eating salmon. There is a meeting leader who swears she loses the most weight on the weeks she eats Salmon at least once. So I tried it and looky looky, I lost 2 lbs.

I made a basil and garlic crusted salmon and it was yummy. I made a supperworks dish called Cornmeal Crusted basa, which had a pineapple salsa (sans Cilantro, yuck)

For the Basa, I can break it down for you without having to do the whole recipe layout. Take a white fish filet, dip it into cornmeal and sesame mixed in a bowl. If I had to give you a ratio of how much cornmeal to sesame, I would tell you 80% cornmeal, 20% sesame. Broil the fish until well done, 8 minutes-ish. For the pineapple salsa, just mix together green onion, red peppers and crushed pineapple. Fruity fruity yum yum.

Basil Garlic Crusted Salmon

2 Salmon filets

A bunch of fresh Basil (1/2 cup)

2 cloves garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1/8 cup Parmesan, grated

Blend all ingredients (But not the filet!) together in a mini chopper or pestle n mortar. Spread over the salmon filets and bake at 375 until done. Roughly 20 minutes. Check for doneness before you take it out.

I served mine with a salad made up of lettuce, cucumber, orange segments and a orange juice vinaigrette. I also served it with rice and steamed carrots tossed with cinnamon.

2 seriously fast, seriously easy and seriously delicious meals to make you feel fed. The smart way.

Fat Fridays- A pizza, a Salad, a happy tummy.

2011-03-07T21:09:00.004-05:00

Fat friday, 4 days late. I have been trying to add photos to this silly blog for over a week. And I am not impressed. Today I finally got these two photos up on what feels like a fluke. When I went back to some old posts to add photos the same problem occured. I am seriously considering starting a new blog somewhere else and exporting this one. Ugh.

That off my chest, Friday was my weekly weigh in and I was quite happy with it. I finished the first week of the second month and I lost 1.4lbs, to a total of 7.6lbs since joining monthly pass. I am .3lbs away from breaking into the next set of tens. Hopefully I will also break into my 10lbs. It's something to look forward to. So

Month 1: 6.2 lbs
Week 1: 1.4 lbs
Total : 7.6lbs

Another happy thought is that I have already lost 16 of my 58lbs of baby weight without struggling and that makes me even more excited.

This week i'm focusing on 2 different ends of the lunch spectrum. Salad, and Pizza.

I have never been a huge salad fan but over the last year I have been learning to enjoy them. However there is alot of sticker shock when it comes to restaurant salads as they can sometimes have alot of hidden calories. When I make a salad I try to keep the dressing low in points but big in size. I also like alot of vinegar so I thin and stretch out the dressing by adding some. I can't eat just lettuce so I try to pile in as many crunchy and delicious things as possible.

This is my chicken pear salad. Its huge, it's tangy, sweet and filling, not to mention balanced. This is my go to salad on days where I know I need to get more greens in. Make sure you pick one of your bigger bowls when you make this!

CHICKEN PEAR SALAD

2 generous handfuls of leafy lettuce- Mine was romaine and spinach
1 pear, any type diced into cubes
1/8 cup dried cranberries
1 tbsp walnuts, roughly chopped
30g cheddar, diced small
Cucumber, cut into discs and halved
2oz chicken breast, cleaned and cubed
Hot sauce
salt and pepper
1 tbsp dijon
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp low fat sour cream
cider vinegar- your pick how much

cook the chicken in a fry pan on medium high until well browned and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. add a few shakes off hot sauce to the pan and saute for a minute before removing chicken from heat.

Whisk together dijon, olive oil, sour cream, vinegar and more salt n pepper in a small bowl. Layer rest of salad ingredients together in a bowl, topping with chicken and dressing. Total points value, 10 pts.

Now the day after my salad I find myself feeling like i need a carb. I'm starting to feel like I am craving something a little less resposnsible. What better way to flfill the need without ruining everything or using up all my bonus points for the week? PITA PIZZA.

This is a go to pizza I make for the hubsters and myself. And when my son is old enough to eat pizza, I am hoping this will be the only kind of pizza he knows. Or as he gets older, at least prefers.

PITA PIZZA

1 Weight Watchers pita (Or any pita of choice that is 4pts or under)
1/4 cup marinara sauce
15g part skim mozzarella
5-10g goat cheese or feta
5 turkey pepperoni
mushrooms
peppers

Turn oven on to 375F. Spread all ingredients on the pizza in your favourite way. Bake until melty and serve with salad or veggies and dip. Points total? 7! 7 points for a pizza. And 10 for a salad. Who'da'thunk.

Tips to filling your life with fun

2011-03-02T16:33:00.000-05:00

Found this on the weight watchers site yesterday, and enjoyed the tips. I though sharing it would be fun for all 4 ppl who follow this ;)

Want to energise your mind, body and soul? These 24 innovative ideas are guaranteed to fill your life with challenges and fun.

1. Take an evening class.
Have you always wanted to write an award-winning screenplay, whip up Celtic bracelets or speak French like a native of Provence? The time is now! Call your local community centre and sign up for a noncredit course.

2. Get a makeover.
Fancy yourself a redhead? Ask your hairdresser for a dye, or try a semipermanent rinse at home. And what about your makeup? Book an appointment with a department store cosmetics specialist, and leave looking like a new person.

3. Spend quality time with your parents.
Banish pizza and videos and go out with Mom and Dad for dinner and a movie.

4. Find a blast from the past.
Stop wondering what happened to your best friend from primary school—track him or her down and find out. It could rekindle a great friendship!

5. Clean out your wardrobe.
Be brutal! If that dress clings in all the wrong places or that jacket looks like a tent since you lost weight, bag them for charity.

6. Put your hand up.
Give something back to the community by volunteering to help a charity. Deliver meals to the elderly with Meals on Wheels. Sign up as a Red Cross volunteer. Help your local Humane Society by cleaning, feeding and walking stray dogs.

7. Spice up your social life.
Spend a night at a karaoke bar or theme park or line-dancing with a group of friends, and tighten your stomach muscles with all the laughing you'll do.

8. Formalise your weight goal.
Set on reaching a certain weight by your niece's wedding or your partner's 40th? Then try strategies to motivate yourself. List 10 things you'll enjoy when you're slimmer. Take two more walks a week. Drink one more glass of water per day.

9. Trace your family history.
Who knows, you may discover some interesting skeletons in the closet or a famous long-lost ancestor. Local genealogical societies are a great resource, and a lot of information can be found online.

10. Create a fragrant garden indoors.
Go on a shopping spree for scented candles, soaps, essential oils and potpourri. Want to be more hands-on? Hit the crafts shop and snap up some "how to" books on candle-making and soap kits.

11. Overdose on fresh air.
Head to the park, but don't languish on a picnic blanket—get moving! Ride a bike, feed the ducks, throw a Frisbee, walk your dog, play a game of tag or rent some inline skates.

12. Absorb more culture.
Art and history can be good soul food—spend an afternoon at a gallery or museum catching the latest exhibition. Can't be bothered fighting the crowds? Then check your local paper for smaller exhibitions at libraries or community centres.

13. Decode your dreams.
Was that snake you dreamt of an omen of danger? Keep a dream diary by your bed to record your dreams right when you wake up. Then discover what your subconscious is telling you with a dream analysis book or by looking it up online.

14. Feel young again.
Mickey Mouse in Fantasia, Thumper in Bambi—recapture the wonder you felt watching them by spending an afternoon at the movies and seeing the world through a child's eyes. If you don't have kids, offer to take your sister's or friend's kids—they'll love you for it.

15. Sit around a campfire.
Tell ghost stories, roast marshmallows and bellow old campfire favourites. The warmth of friends and flame will relax and mesmerise you.

16. Go bazaar.
Bright scarves, the smell of fresh flowers—at open-air markets your senses will get a complete workout. Better still, you can save time with diverse one-stop shopping by picking up ingredients for tonight's dinner, buying a new outfit, choosing a rug for the kitchen and purchasing some new house plants.

17. Plan the ultimate party.
Make it an evening of wine-tasting, a literary occasion, a "fortune-telling" night (organise a psychic to come and give readings) or a beauty session where you and your friends give each other manicures and pedicures while sipping champagne.

18. Redecorate your bedroom.
Large, black, square candles atop a bed of cloves on square saucers provide a touch of the Orient. Or try mosquito netting hung from a ring above your bed. The only limit is your imagination—so decide what ambience you want to create, then go for it.

19. Get the team spirit.
Want to have fun, make friends and burn calories all at the same time? Then sign up for a team sport such as basketball, soccer or ice hockey.

20. Make your own greeting cards.
Enjoy the artistic challenge of design using coloured cardboard decorated with anything from rose petals or leaves to watercolours combined with ink.

21. Save at the sales.
Tired of the frantic, last-minute dash to find birthday presents? Banish the panic factor by buying gifts for friends and relatives well in advance at mid-season sales.

22. Breakfast in style.
Pack a scrumptious breakfast, then take it to a scenic spot such as the beach or a local park.

23. Be a dancer.
But don't play it safe. Instead of ballroom dancing, try Latino, Irish, belly or tap dancing. It will do wonders for your waistline and your coordination.

24. Consult on colour.
Should you buy that fabulous jacket in taupe or cream to best suit your complexion? Ask a colour consultant (go to the department store to find one).

Cupcakes how I love thee

2011-02-26T16:06:00.009-05:00

The other day I made cupcakes to bring to a bridesmaid get together for my friend Shannon. I decided to try something new and whilst looking through one of my many cupcake cook books my hubbsters made a comment that the last banana was over ripe for his liking.

If that banana is too ripe to just eat, then surely its perfect to freeze for banana bread. Then I thought about the 10 other frozen bananas I have waiting for purpose. Lightbulb! Surely BANANA CUPCAKES would be a delicious new recipe to try.

I looked up a recipe online and found one by the Queen herself, Martha Stewart and had a honey cinnamon buttercream. I thought that sounded all kinds of awesome and so,

Banana Cupcakes With Honey Cinnamon Frosting

Makes 12

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas), plus 1 for garnish (optional)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Spread tops with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting. Just before serving, peel and slice banana into rounds, and place one on each cupcake, if desired.

Honey Cinnamon Frosting

1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat confectioners' sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes

The icing was a keeper. The cupcakes looked good, I had a miniscule bite from hubbie's. Reviews were great- 9pts a cupcake!

Fat Friday- a small but significant weigh in

2011-02-25T22:28:00.001-05:00

Well its fat friday- also known as weigh in day. Today's weigh in concluded the first month of the diet. This week was AWFUL and TASTY. I'll start with my Weigh in.

Week 1- 2.6 lbs
Week 2- 1.0 lbs
Week 3- 2.4 lbs
Week 4- 0.2 lbs
Total Loss in first month- 6.2lbs

Now, I could complain that I only lost 0.2 lbs. However if you look at the physical size 0.2 takes it is the size of a box of Irish Spring soap. Did I feel disappointed I didn't lose a larger number? Yes. Am I discouraged? No.

My week was jam packed with family and work functions. 4 days in a row where I had zero control over my dinner.

Saturday- My brother in law makes dinner for a family birthday party. Ravioli and sausage lasagna, extra cheese. Garlic bread, and caesar salad with croutons and bacon. Plus cake.

Sunday- Hubby had a work function at a local Italian restaurant. This was mainly my fault but there is a reason we have bonus points. I had 2 glasses of wine. I only needed 1. I had 2 cups of coffee and nutella icecream. I just needed one coffee, no dessert. I could have ordered wood fired pizza or hand tossed pasta. But I didn't. I ordered Blackened tilapia with Potatos and Veggies. Delicious. But the veggies were smothered in a butter sauce. I enjoyed my night, but felt like I cut it close and did eat too much.

Monday- Family day get together with the grandparents and my parents and sister's fam. My Nonna made home made Gnocchi. Which I haven't had in forever. It was amazing, as always. Luckily for me my nonna still made lots of veggies and chicken, and rabbit. I didn't eat the rabbit. eek.

Tuesday- now, this is the greatest accomplishment for me in a long time! I made banana cupcakes with honey cinnamon buttercream. I had a wee taste of the icing, and i took what can barely be considered a bite from my hubbies serving, to make sure they were good. I took them to a bridesmaids get together. I didn't have one. NOT ONE. I wish I had but im already over it. It's been a long time since I was able to walk away from a pastry. The food that was available to me was pita chips, doritos, and lots and lots of pre fried Asian potstickers. Spring rolls, dumplings, etc. All yummy. And I did eat them but it was really very hard to guess the amount of points and what was available online seemed way too low in point value. From now on, I'm going to make a point out of being the person who brings a veggie plate- or at least asks the hostess if someone is bringing one.

Seeing as I had such a giant week of food, it goes without saying that I ran out of my bonus points pretty early. I did get through the week ok. Looking back on the week I realize that I didn't drink water really at all, the whole week. So not good. I can't say I have ever been very good at water consumption or even liquid consumption my whole life. I'm working on it. Today I have had 3 cups water, a tea and a coke zero. It's a start. So im not shocked I only lost 0.2lbs and ruined my average of 2 lbs a week. I'm just glad I lost something as opposed to nothing, and didn't gain. I think a gain this early in the gain would hinder my confidence and send me into one of my messy eat everything in site cause im upset spirals. But This week i'm gonna rock it. MMM HMM.

Damn you blogger

2011-02-24T16:06:00.001-05:00

I've been trying to blog all week and no photos will upload. Frankly, this is far from cool. I had 3 different blogs to put up and am fully unimpressed. Growl.

Fat Friday Week 3

2011-02-18T17:41:00.003-05:00

Thanks blogger for taking a day to work properly enough to post pictures. Fat Friday post is being posted on salvation saturday instead ;)

I just had my 3rd week weigh in. As previously stated im going to be posting my weight loss on said weigh in days and maybe talk to myself about it ;)

Today was an awesome weigh in. I lost 2.4lbs and surpassed my first 5lbs, for a total of 6lbs in 3 weeks. Since my baby gain I have lost 12lbs.

Week 1- 2.6 lbs
Week 2- 1.0 lbs
Week 3- 2.4
TOTAL 6.0lbs

I'm really happy with the results, considering it was a very big week with Valentines day and eating more chocolate than I should. Thanks Christmas, my chocolate stock is still charged. *shame face*

It's important to remind myself that just because I lost a significant amount of weight the same week I felt like I overate, I can't continue to eat too much junk. That's a pitfall for me and its something im trying to work out and teach myself to use as a treat only.

I have been concentrating on making different meals at dinner as much as possible, and I have cut pasta down from 2x+ a week to once every 2 weeks. That wasn't as hard as I originally worried it would be. Then again, I haven't been to NONNA's house for Sunday dinner in a couple weeks either. Shame Shame. My favourite daily snacks right now are

Cheese
Hummus
Rice Crackers
Apples
Dark Chocolate
Walnuts
Cheerios

It's not uncommon to lose interest in a diet when you have the same meals over and over. I have been eating essentially the same lunch every day, and I change it up once or twice a week. But I'm pretty contented on that front. Breakfast is the hardest part of the day for me because I don't really care for it, and tend to find alot less variety. Thereore, I tend to bomb at breakfast. But im trying my hardest!

Recently I made a feta and turkey omelette with Sundried tomato vinaigrette inside- and treated myself to some toast and jam. I make sure to get my fruit in the morning!

At lunch my go to thing is what I call a "Yummy plate". It's a mix of raw veggies, dips and spreads, crackers, cheese, and sometimes fruit. Its all the same things, but always different...yeah... On days when i'm not really into it or want to leave it as a snack, I make something I haven't had in a while. I also try to make the plate look fun.

Changing it up with some Roasted Tomato soup and Grilled Cheese with Veggies. Or a Greek chicken Salad.

Valentines BBQ

2011-02-15T11:58:00.009-05:00

Valentines day! Chocolate! Candy! Dinner out! Oh Goodness what will this do to my diet?

For our valentines day I specifically asked for NO CHOCOLATE AND CANDY. That was hard. Because frankly, while Candy hurts my teeth and was an ok pass up chocolate is one of my favourite things on the planet. But seeing as how we're trying very hard to turn a healthy leaf I opted to let the chocolate go. Besides, I have a bag of chocolate in my pantry from Christmas still. ;)

While weening off my chocoholism i'm only human and still want to enjoy my time with the hubsters. That said, we decided to go out for KOREAN BBQ! For anyone (of all 4 of you who read this) that have never been to Korean BBQ, let me break it down for you.

Table + BBQ GRILL = BBQ GRILL TABLE. You order all you can eat, and order individual items you like to eat. Its sushi rolls, kimchi, radish, tofu, salad, miso soup, and all kinds of meat, seafood and veggies. Short ribs, chicken, sliced beef, salmon or bass filet, shrimp, pork, calamari, pineapple, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini the list goes on!

Most items are served to you raw- thats right, raw. Now before you start rambling on about "When I go out to pay for dinner im not going out to cook it myself" relax a little, have some fun!

You place the meat and veggies on the grill and flip it and cook it as you like. Everything is cut considerably thin so it cooks fast. With the exception of the fish flet which is a full filet and takes longer. But not by much. This way, you are not stuffing your face all at once. You are talking time, eating slower, and most importantly; making dinner time last and conversing with your company.

I had my first taste of Plum Wine and it is a wild new favourite. I'll probably get it everytime I eat Sushi or Korean or Thai!

The best part of this whole delicious experience is the points value. The veggies and Fruit? Zero. The radish? Zero. The salad? 1 pt. The wine? 6 pts. The beef, short ribs, Chicken and Fish? Basically 1-3 pts a piece. My dinner was awesomesauce. The downside is that I definitely go way over on my meat intake for the day but alas. It's a treat night out for a reason. We also had greentea ice cream. So good. mmm.

I highly suggest Korean Barbeque for a night out, a new experience and delicious food.

WW week 2

2011-02-11T22:01:00.002-05:00

Since switching from online to monthly pass with weight watchers, i had to restart my loss chart. That sucks, because it would say i've lost over 10lbs. But hey! i've decided to do "fat fridays' where i blog this weeks weigh-in results. Granted im into week three but its never too late to start!

Week 1- 2.6 lbs
Week 2- 1.0 lbs
Total loss- 3.6 lbs

I was off to a great new-start and have been really good about eating all my fruits and veggies. I havent worked out much but I do alot of baby wrangling ;) I need to work on my water, whivh is showing some progress. I managed to cut my coffee down from 2-3 a day to just 1 or sometimes 0 a day. I'm also obsessed with rice crackers, hummus and kraft Asian Sesame Dressing as a veggie dip.

Keeping it short tonight- straight into recipe talk.

I've been watching Kitchen Boss everyday since it premiered. Is Buddy Valastro chef like? no. Is he enjoyable to watch? yes. Does he make lots of familiar and comforting Italian family recipes? Very yes. However, he uses an unappologetic amount of oil and frying is a big theme. But there are still loads of simple, hearty and moderatly healthy dishes.

Recently he made Pasta lenticchie. It looked great and it made me crave it as my mom and nonna make it too. It was also pleasingly low on the pointsplus totem pole. Pasta Lenticchi is a Lentil and pasta soup.

PASTA LENTICCHI

INGREDIENTS

2	slices extra-thick cut bacon, cut into dice (I left this out as i didn't have any)
1	small onion, chopped fine
1	stalk celery, chopped fine
1	carrot, peeled and chopped fine
Salt
2	plump cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1	cup brown lentils
1	14.5 ounce can plum tomatoes with their juice, cut or torn into pieces
5	cups water
Chunk of parmesan rind (optional)
1	cup cooked al dente, drained and rinsed ditalini or other small pasta shape
2	Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
For serving:
Best-quality fruity olive oil
Grated parmesan
Coarse grindings black pepper

PREPARATION:

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the bacon pieces and stir to coat in the oil. Allow to cook until softened, translucent and some fat is rendered.

Add the onions, celery and carrots, stir to coat. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and sauté until softened. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. Tip in the lentils and stir to coat.

Add the tomatoes, their juices, the water, a pinch of salt and optional parmesan rind. Bring soup up to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are just about fully tender, 20-30 minutes. Add the ditalini and cook an additional ten minutes until the pasta is cooked to taste. Correct seasoning with salt.

Serve in bowls with a drizzle of good olive oil, grated parmesan and black pepper.

*On the show he cooked his pasta separately and then just poured them in after draining- thats the way i did it although it was the first time i did it this way. My whole life it has been done the way the instructions say- cook the pasta right in the soup!

Veggies Undercover

2011-02-02T14:43:00.010-05:00

my son is still very little and only at the beginnings of learning to eat- so far he eats everything we give him and we keep our fingers crossed that he will continue to be such an easy eater. Whether he eats everything he is given or puts up a fight we still want to encourage a healthy eating lifestyle. Are we good at this ourselves? No...not really. But we are learning one day at a time. I feed him 100X better than I feed myself, so i find much comfort in the fact that he eats so well and in a wide range.

My sister and I have both recieved both Jessica Seinfeld cookbooks the past two christmases and have been making the recipe's in it. Jessica focuses on quick and healthy recipes that are kid friendly and make use of vegetable puree. We make these recipes so that we get more veggies for our adult selves, get used to using the purees and hell, it's yummy.

Recently I made the Chicken Enchilladas from Double Delicious. They were really great!

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Nonstick Cooking Spray
1 tbsp olive oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breast cubed (3/4lb)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup sweet potato puree OR carrot puree
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
1 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar or past skim mozzarella
6 (9 inch) whole grain or whole wheat flour tortillas
1/2 cup spinach puree
1/2 cup tomato salsa

Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 9x12 " baking dish with cooking spray. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with garlic powder and pepper. Cook the chicken 4-6 minutes. Stirring occasionally until it is cooked through and no longer pink in the centre. Off the heat, mix the sweet potato puree, sour cream and half of the cheese into the skillet.

Fill each tortilla with the chicken mixture and roll up. Place seam-side down in the prepared dish. Dot the tops of the enchiladas with the spinach puree. Spoon the salsa ocer the enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake until the cheese melts and filling is hot- 35-40 minutes.

Diet? What Diet?

2011-01-31T22:02:00.009-05:00

Well I havent mentions Weight Watchers in a while, which is because frankly I blew it off. That is the bad news. The good news is, I maintained. If I hadn't blown it off I could have potentially lost over 20lbs by now. Too bad for me, i'll have to remember that when I feel like falling off. I have a long ways to go, and in some ways I wasn't entirely ready to fully commit. I'm not always sure I am now. One day at a time. I came out of Christmas only 1lb heavier- and I give myself a pat on the back for that!

I restarted my WW treck a few days ago and am trying to have fun with it and not fall into boredom with the dishes. I went shopping and spent 90% of my time in the outside sections gathering up as many fruit, veggies, lean meats and dairy I could think of. I took my calculator with me so that when I was in the centre isles and something caught my eye I could see how much it was worth. I found myself in the cookie aisle- I turned around and avoided the torture. I found a few things I have never cooked with before and will be experimenting with them for the next couple weeks.

Another form of food I have been working with is SUPPERWORKS. Supperworks is awesome! It is a meal assembly business that features monthly menu's. You select what you like, and want to make. You show up, they give you an apron and you go around a prep kitchen putting together meals with pre washed, cut foods etc. Then you freeze it all and as you need them you take them out and bake-slowcook- saute as directed.

I have found that by using this service I ...

A) have something just for me that is fun and relaxing

B) Get time to myself OR get time to bond with family or friends that come with me

C) have more homecooked, healthy balanced meals ALOT more often. Especially since baby arrived.

D) Have better use of my grocery budget as I am using exactly what I paid for with no wasted foods that expire etc.

When I got home from the store I was starving! Luckily hubby was home to play with baby while I whipped up some deliciousness. What I came up with was delicious and felt nothing like diet food. It was incase you cant tell from me saying it again, DELICIOUS.

CHICKEN AND CHEDDAR TOSTADA

(I dont know what constitutes a tostada besides the giant chip...)

2 Tostada Chips
3oz chicken breast, cut into small cubes
granulated garlic
salt
pepper
1 tsp Olive Oil
4 tbsp marinara, divided
2 oz old cheddar, grated, divided
1 tbsp crumbled feta, divided

cook chicken in olive oil with spices until cooked. Layer remaining ingredients onto both chips with chicken under the cheeses.

Chip, Marinara, Chicken, Cheese.

Broil on middle rack until melted. Yum! Simple! fast! I had mine with fresh veggies and my other new obsession- Kraft Asian Sesame dressing. The Tostadas worked out to 4.5 pts each and the dressing was 2pts. Thats 11 pts. 4.5 each tostada and 2 for the dressing. Tomorrow I will probably make it again! i need to incorporate more veg though!

Cupcakes Galore

2011-01-27T21:10:00.006-05:00

A small post from a tired mama.!!!!

Hey all. I wanted to get back to my sad lil blog that has been missing me. My son is 9 months old and a wee handful. He`s so sweet and fun but he`s also teething which makes him in need of LOADS of mommy attention. So when you are following a lil cruiser around all day trying to stop him from bashing his head on coffee tables and finding things to shove in his mouth, you dont get so much done.

THAT SAID! I have concentrated on cupcakes for celebrations recently and there have been 3 specifically. Miles' baptism, my grandmothers 80th and a friends babyshower. Here are photos of all three endeavours.

The Baptism Cupcakes

The 80th Cupcakes

Baby shower- Quilted Buttons and Giraffes

I'm sorry this is such a boring ass post! and im sad half of these photos are blurry but that's ok!
I'll post more of my weight watchers recipes soon! Promise!

Chowdah

2010-10-20T15:16:00.005-04:00

Well its week 4 on weight watchers. 8.8lbs- victory! Last time I did this diet I lost 15lbs the first month. But I was 17, and at the gym everyday and age can make a big difference. Still Im pretty happy. Will I be able to lose 30lbs by christmas? Who knows! But as long as i keep losing at least a lb a week, I can stay motivated and not be mad at myself. Matt has lost over 10 since he started WW, 15lbs overall.

ACTIVITIES

Baby and I have been attending "Diaper Swim" at the local community centre. Its AWESOME. I've only been once because baby got a cold and we havent been able to go back but I plan to make it a 1-2x a week thing. Its basically a mommy and me water aerobics for moms. Your baby sits in a giant fish shaped flutter board with toys, attached to a rope that you hold onto. Its so cute and Miles really loves it. He laughs and giggles and has a great time. I go with my sister, and if she didnt go I wouldnt. I dont 'do' public swim so for me this has been a big step. When i have lost enough that I am comfortable being in a class with lost of people (this program only has a couple ppl currently) then we will sign up for baby swimming lessons. Maybe in january.

Another trip to the farmers market proved delicious. This week for less than $40.00 I purchased

Cauliflower Broccoli Brussel Sprouts Red Peppers Apples Carrots Sweet corn Farmers Strip Bacon Mild Italian Sausage Asiago Ciabbata Bread

unfortunately some greedy gus bought ALL the ham steaks the farmer brought so I had to buy my ham at the grocery store...but thats ok! I've done my best to utilize all these ingredients this week- except the bacon which im saving for the weekend.

I made Winter Chowder with the brussel sprouts it was awesome possum. I made sausage, peppers and potatoes (a fam fave), and cauliflower mash. I still need to use the broccoli and carrots. Soon, soon. Here is the recipe for the Winter Chowder, which I found in Taste Of Home's Heart warming Soup Edition. Slightly modified, as always.

Winter Chowder

3 Medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4" pieces
1 chopped onion
3 cup Chicken stock (Recipe called for one...yeah NO)
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 shakes hot sauce of choice
1/2 Cup fully cooked, cubed ham (I used fat free blue menu)
1 cup fresh or frozen brussel sprouts, quartered
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup monterey jack cheese

In a large saucepan, saute potatoes and onion for a couple minutes using cooking spray OR you can add a lil EVOO and butter. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and let boil for 10-12 minutes. Do not drain, mash up potatoes. it will be chunky and thick. If this bugs you, puree it and add an extra amount of stock. Stir in all the seasonings.

While the potatoes are boiling, heat a large nonstick skillet and spray with non stick spray. Saute ham and brussel sprouts for 5-6 minutes or until sprouts are tender. You can add a bit of broth here once ham is browned to aid in cooking the sprouts.

Stir sprout and ham mixture into the potatoes. Add milk, bring to a boil and then reduce heat; Simmer, uncovered for 5-6 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Gradually stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese; cook for 2-3 minutes. Serve up the soup with the remaining cheese and if you want some colour- add chives.

This was DELICIOUS. Not gonna lie, it was a gassy house afterwards but hey, thats the danger in potatoes and sprouts. Next time I will probably leave out one potato so its not so thick, and add something like dill or chives.

Only 4 pts a cup to boot!

Bonus picture- I had my second cake decorating class which conveniantely was a morning after i had zero sleep. Therefore, I got tired and hasty and rushed through my cake. so its...not to speck but still cute. Voila, my wilton cupcake transfer cake.

2 diet friendly soups

2010-10-06T20:10:00.003-04:00

First off- Weight Watchers week 2 is over and im down 6.5lbs. Not too shabby. The best part of this is that I am not feeling deprived and Im not having my usual psycho grease and chocolate freak outs. Go me! I am losing at a perfect pace, and I have eaten Tiny Tom Donuts and a froster from Macs milk- I just learned how to moderate my treats.

Secondly- Miles is over 5 months old now and started cereal this week. He made some truly disgusted faces on day one but now he is into it, can eat from the spoon, opens wide and swallows well. We're just a couple weeks away from first veggies. Baby food blogs are not too far away now.

This was soup week at home. Its been pretty dank and chilly, and I havent had alot of time to cook because the little man is at that 'hold me love me play with me' stage of infancy. I find soups quick (mostly) and alot easier to walk away from when someone else needs attention. I made 2 soups. One just for us and one for company on saturday night. Both were cheap, easy and cost minimal amounts of points.

APPLE AND ACORN SQUASH SOUP

All organic or farmers market ingredients. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of the final puree

2 apples, unpeeled, cored, cut in half
1 medium acorn squash, cut in half
2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
4 cups (1 L) chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley, optional

Preheat oven to 400° F (200° C). Place apples and squash upside down in a shallow pan with 1/4 inch of water. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove apples and set aside. Flip squash over. Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Broil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In saucepan, heat remaining olive oil. Add onions and sautee for 5 minutes. Add garlic and sautee for 1 minute. Add chicken stock, apple and peeled squash. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Puree in blender to desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve topped with freshly chopped parsley.

I added milk and flour to thicken the soup- gave it that teeny little bit more richness and creamyness.

BROCCOLI CHEDDAR CONFETTI SOUP

This one I made up a while ago, and used to have alot of butter and whole fat cream in it. This version is butterless and uses lower fat cream- its not as rich but its really delicious and chock full of daily vegetable servings.

1 large onion diced garlic clove, minced or thin sliced
2 carrots diced
1 celery stalk diced
1 potato peeled and diced small or shredded
2 reg or 1 large head broccoli- Stems peeled and diced, florets in a separate bowl
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp flour
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half cream
1 cup shredded old cheddar

In your fave soup pot saute the broccoli stems and carrots in half olive oil for 5-10 minutes. Add onions and saute another 5 minutes- adding the rest of the olive oil with it. Add the potatoes and saute for a few minutes then add flour and cook off another couple minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil- add florets. Continue boil while it thickens then add cream. Use an immersion blender and blend to desired consistency- stir in cheese until incorporated. Simmer until ready to eat. The longer you leave it the thicker it will get and the more intense the cheese flavour will be. Season with salt and pepper to taste. There you have it. 2 delicious, nutritious soups.

Tilapia for 2

2010-09-28T13:27:00.004-04:00

Well its WW day 7, and Im doing my best to have fun with it. So far so good. I felt the familiar urge to cheat, to overeat, to spend all my points on cookies but I overcame them. I had a sweet snack that cost me to only be a half point over budget as opposed to day one, when I was 20 over. I feel this week has been a great success, and the scale peeks i've taken prove it. Matt has lost 9lbs- 7 on his own and 2 on ww as he only signed up saturday afternoon. Good for us!

I've been documenting my foods- not lunches and breakfasts cause its like, eggs, breakfast wraps, cereal, fruit smoothies, salad and weight watchers frozen entrees. I do still try to get creative and put real effort into making and eating breakfast- for me, thats a huge change. I used to wait until I felt sick then eat a pile of cookies to get something fast...then when I get over feeling sick from the cookies I eat some other crap...and then starve until dinner- with crap snacks inbetween.

Last night I made an awesome meal- it should only take about 2 hours (an hour of that is an hour of baking tomato) start to finish but with Miles being a snuggle bug in need of constant mom attention it got pretty hairy. It took me more like 4 because I had to do things in pieces.
Which is why I started 2 hours earlier than I wanted to~

ROAST CHERRY TOMATO TILAPIA
With Parmesan Brussel Sprouts and Lemon Couscous

16 oz raw tilapia, 4, 4oz filets
Flour
1/2 cup chicken broth, low sodium pref
2 1/2 cup(s) grape tomatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
5 clove(s) garlic clove(s) smacked open
2 Cups Brussel Sprouts, Halved
2 tsp parmesan
1 cup Whole Wheat Couscous
2 cups chicken broth
1 fresh lemon, halved

Toss the Tomatoes in the Olive Oil, balsamic vinegar, dill, oregano and 3/5 garlic cloves. Put in a shallow baking dish and bake at 375 for 45-60mins- until flat and melty. Remove- You can keep it as it is or puree it into a smooth sauce with an immersion blender.

While sauce bakes, Dredge the Filets in flour and set aside. Steam the brussel sprouts until just before fork tender. In a saucepan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp margarine, with the 2 remaining cloves of garlic. as soon as it seems hot and there is the aroma of garlic, add the brussel sprouts and let them saute. When browned to your liking remove and cover with parmesan.

Bring the 2 cups of chicken broth to a boil and add the cousous- lower to a simmer and cover- fluff in about 5 minutes and remove. Add lemon juice from one half.

When all is just about done, cook the filets- using the 1/2c chicken broth to help steam the filets and stop them from getting too brown before they are fully cooked. **Dont add the broth until both sides have browned or there will be no delicious brown crust for you!

When everything is done, put it on a plate together nice nice, with the sauce on the fish- finish with lemon juice.

WW point breakdown
Tilapia with sauce 4 pts per serving
Brussel sprouts 2 pts per 1 cup serving
Couscous- 3 pts per cup cooked

Total Points- 2 Filets each= 13 Points
If you just have one filet then its a yummy 9pts..But we are hungry folk lol

Farmers Market Institution

2010-09-26T11:19:00.005-04:00

Well, incase you may have seen from my very recent blog post- My husband and I have joined weight watchers. Why? Aside from the fact that we are definitely way overweight, I have extra baby weight on me thats become hard to adjust to. We both need to be healthy for our son and children to come. We both need to be able to play with them and keep up with them- expecially the keeping up with them...waddling after an angry two year old running around a mall is something I dont want to do! Not to mention, we want to be there to see them off to college, at their weddings, meet our grandbabies. You know,we want to live.

Ive done weight watchers before, when I was in highschool- ten years ago! It was a great diet but off to college I went AND poof I put it all back on PLUS oh.... another 40 lbs. Now, I have yo yo'd alot...more than anyone should. 30 lbs down, 40 back, over and over. so unhealthy! Weight watchers is the best fit for us and so, we continue forward. We like it because it teaches change of habits, as opposed to dieting. As Jennifer Hudson in her new awesome bod says, "I'm winning with weight watchers'.

I will have to eat a number of the SMARTONES weight watcher frozen meals. If i want to start getting to eat during the day (used to eat alot of cookies) as infants=starvation. But they are actually pretty decent so...

I also went to the farmers market saturday and bought all kinds of beautiful farm fresh things. For 19.50 I bought...

6 ears of sweet corn

16 Gala Apples

2 lbs of Brussel Sprouts

2 large spaghetti squash

1 acorn squash

1 large onion

I also bought pickled beets from a woman who just had breast cancer surgery and lost 4 weeks of market days. They were expensive, 9 dollars a small jar but she's had a rough summer and I wanted to support her best i could. She had sandwiches and soups and jams and jellies of all types.

My goal for the week is to take all the beautiful farmers market foods and create beautiful low point, healthy dinners with them. I also have lots of veggies left over from my Grandmothers birthday party- So I will use them up to. Waste not want not- My wallet really wants me to learn that lesson.

I plan to blog all my new recipe attempts as blogging, writing, and keeping track of everything is the best thing to help me from my usual afternoon *MUST EAT EVERYTHING IN SIGHT* freakouts.

My ideas for this are-

Tomato Soup with Corn Fritters

Spaghetti Squash Marinara with Chicken

Parmesan Brussel Sprouts

Steak with Roasted Corn and Black beans

Roasted Grape Tomatoes and Tilapia

Roasted Zucchini

Baked brown Sugar Apples

Matt will really appreciate this as he works night, and its been sandwiches and granola bars for 2 weeks and hes gonna lose it soon lol. What can I say, Babies take up alot of time and if he is in a bad mood, my kitchen has to fall to the wayside.

Wish us luck!

A letter to my Fat molecules

2010-09-26T10:24:00.004-04:00

Dear Baby Weight,

I acknowledge the concept that all women gain weight during pregnancy. However, I must respectfully decline your attempts to move in to my neighbourhood permanently. While I do appreciate you opting not to show your face around while I was pregnant, you bold move to pile in 30+ lbs as soon as my son was born was both insulting and annoying. While over the years we have been decent frenemies, I just cant stand you anymore. Please meet my new friend Weight Watchers, she's here to take your place, and kick your ass to the curb. infact, in the 4 days I have known her, she has already managed to shed 3lbs of you. While I am at it, I will be adding your cousins- college and teen weight out on their asses as well. I hope you all have a nice dominion of hell to go to together.

Much unlove,

Angie

PS- please inform Matt's sympathy weight that WW if coming for it too- Incase they are wondering where that 7lbs of them disappeared to.

Sweet and Delicious Lemonade

2010-09-14T20:05:00.009-04:00

NEW INTERNET! DECENT INTERNET!

The possibility to blog and it not take 3 hours an update = <3>

Lately I have had a real sweet n sour tooth. What can be considered a delicious summer (or given the time of year, end of summer) drink? LEMONADE!

Not only delicious to make for yourself, it's awesome for guests. Its something thats both fast and easy and says "I want to treat you real nice" without blood sweat and tears.

one of the so called cardinal rules of lemonade is to always use fresh lemons. But you know what? Ain't nothing wrong with mixing ready to go lemon juice with some fresh lemons. Like when for example? Like when you realize you only have 2 lemons left but have a full bottle of Realemon. Booyah!

Lemonade tip #1- 1 large lemon contains roughly 1/4 cup of juice.

Lemonade tip #2- pink lemonade is simply lemonade with Grenadine. Easily added, easily left out.

Lovely Lovely Lemonade

* 8 lemons and 1 more for decor
* 1 cup of sugar
* A splash or two of grenadine syrup
* 1 pinch of salt
* Lots of cool, clear water
* Lots of ice cubes

Start by taking out the pitcher you plan to use to store and serve this refreshing deliciousness. I use a 2 quart stone or plastic pitcher- you can do this with a punch bowl for larger parties too. (In fact, I started making lemonade because I had a beautiful pitcher and was getting aggravated trying to figure out when to use it)

The first time I made this recipe I zested all the lemons and it made for a chunky drink. DONT ZEST THEM ALL- keep it to a minimum, 2 or 3 maybe. Zest is for maximum fragrance and strong lemon flavour so do the math.

1. using a small bowl zest SOME lemons. Juice the living life out of 8 of the lemons, reserving the 9th. If you dont have that many- refer back to helpful tip #1.

2. Whisk in the sugar and salt. They won’t dissolve perfectly in the juice but will in the water.

3. Fill a two-quart pitcher halfway with ice cubes. Add the lemon syrup and top up with cold water. Stir in grenadine syrup until you like the color, or leave it out.

4. Slice up the reserved lemon thinly and place in the water for visual effect- and just a pinch more lemon flavour!

The recipe I had said to serve immediately. I have made it ahead just before guest arrive and then kept the leftover in the fridge. It tastes fine to me the next day. But then your ice is melted. If you need to make it ahead I would suggest either just doing the lemon bit and adding the sugar and water upon serving time or make the sugar and keep it in the fridge. I dont suggest making it the day before, to be safe.

ENJOY! This recipe is short and sweet (n sour ha) so dont be fooled by my huge bloggy jargin of over explanation. I hope you like this recipe as much as me, and I hope when my son is old enough to do the lemonade stand thing, I can whip this up for the neighbourhood.

Tarragon Dream!

2010-07-20T16:07:00.009-04:00

So, I love pot pies. But it's one of those things that I always felt was a little time consuming and never really had to energy to try to make it from scratch. Sometimes I just have no interest in trying to play around with phillos and Puffs. I was watching Rachael Ray, and she made a chicken pot pie that had guess what? POLENTA for a crust.

DAMN! I fricken LOVE Polenta.

I make it and put sauce on it like pasta and it makes me happy happy happy. So seeing a recipe for a pot pie that not only has a new, delciously intriguing crust on top, but takes less than 45 minutes to make, I realized the time was nie...nye? Sp? anyone? Moving on.

I headed out and got the ingredients for this recipe and it was, seriously, delicious. and hearty. and heart warming. and it made my cheeks dance. And I did it all with an infant in the room. I loved it so much that when I realized at the end of the week that I still had almost all the ingredients still in my fridge I made it again! HEAVEN!

So here it is, I highly recommend you try it out. Rachael Ray's Tarragon Cream Chicken Polenta Pot Pies. Damn!

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 ribs celery with the greens, chopped
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 cups chicken stock, divided
1 cup cream, divided
1/2 cup quick cooking polenta, plus more, if needed*
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
6 sprigs fresh tarragon, stripped and chopped, 3 to 4 tablespoons
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

In a deep skillet heat 2 turns of the pan extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and lightly brown, 3 minutes, add carrots, onions, and celery as you chop. Season with salt and pepper and cook 10 to 12 minutes to soften.

Preheat broiler. Set rack in middle of oven.

Bring 1 cup chicken stock and 1/2 cup cream to a boil, stir in polenta and whisk, 3 minutes. Turn heat low, stir in Gruyere cheese and reserve.

*Cook's Note: You may need up to 3/4 to 1 cup of polenta to fill the tops of your soup bowls or use some more of the remaining stock.

Scoot meat and veggies off to side, melt butter and combine with flour 1 minute. Whisk in 2 cups stock and combine, stir in 1/2 cup cream and bring to a bubble.

Stir in Dijon, tarragon, peas and adjust salt and pepper and transfer to soup bowls. Set soup bowls on baking dish. Form tops to your pot pies with the polenta and cheese mixture. Set under broiler and brown 2 to 3 minutes.

PERSONAL TOUCHES AND NOTES- 1. I used the instant Polenta- it takes 1 minute...not sure if Rachael used it too as she did say instant- but hers takes 3 mins...??? You basically whisk as you pour it into the liquid and it instantly is ready.

2. I used gruyere the first time- it made the meal more expensive weighing in at $8.00 a cup. Second time around I used a mix of mozzarella, Parmesan and Asiago, as that's what I had in the fridge. Booyah. It was amazing.

3. I used less celery cause im not a fan of chunks of it cooked and replaced it with more carrots.

4. I only had 2 ramekins and then a small casserole round so I made 2 individual pies and one larger.

There you go ENJOOOOOY IT. Thanks Rachael- you kick serious pot pie innovation ass.
I leave you with this Miles photo of the week- now almost 3 months old, he's smiling and giggling and melting hearts around the world.

Sexy Surf N Turf

2010-06-15T22:24:00.007-04:00

Miles Photo of the week

now that this moment of cute is out of the way!

I had a massive hanquering for steak the other day. But not just any steak; roasted red pepper and goat cheese topped steak much like I had at THE KEG recently. So out I went to the grocery store where I picked up 2 juicy boneless Angus ribeyes. As I left the meat counter I passed the fish counter and spotted some delicious looking jumbo shrimp and thought to myself..."hmm...I should treat us new parents to Surf N Turf". So I grabbed some of those delcious crustations and away I went quickly prepping dinner to indulge in. I didn;t get far into the start of this when the baby was in need of hugs. My mom was nice enough to watch the wee one while I cooked. It was pretty simple, very fast and most importantly- DELICIOUS.

Red Pepper Sauce

1 jar roasted red peppers- drained and chopped
1/2 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a pan and add enough Extra virgin Olive Oil to coat the bottom- toss in the onions and sweat for a few minutes then toss in the garlic- let cook for just a minute and then toss in the peppers. The peppers will already be incredibly soft so really at this point all we are doing is working the flavours together. Let them melt down for a few minutes and then reduce heat and add the whip cream. cook it down until the cream is mostly reduced. Remove from heat and let sit a few minutes.

Using an immerison blender, blend until creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste- If you find the peppers are very sweet stir in the vinegar a tbsp at a time, tasting after each until you find the right amount of vinegar needed to cut the sweetness down. Serve over your steak with a big slice of room temperature Chevre (Goats Cheese). Its so tangy and delicious!!!

The Shrimp were simple- all I did was make a brown butter (Melting butter and heating it until the foam cooks off and it turns brown and the flavour is intensified) .
I tossed the shrimp in and just cooked them in the brown butter until cooked through- less than 5 minutes.

I served this with a baked potato and asparagus spears- of course you get the choice to do whatever starch and veggie you choose. The possibilities are endless! We were so happy to have a little Keg dinner at home. It's not true that you can't make decent food with an infant. It just might take longer. xo.

Baby and Bananas!

2010-05-28T10:49:00.004-04:00

HAI! i'm back! I had a baby! So if you discover my grammer or general language skills suck in this post- I have the baby brain. And FYI this editting never works smoothly for me so today its showing my spaces are all messed up in the preview. cest la vie I guess.

Miles Albert

April 28th 2010

6lb 6oz

Like I mentioned in my last post (yes I know how long ago that was- for shame) I did say that I am going to hopefully be updating more on account of my maternity leave- Voila! It's a start. Now the hitch is that I find it hard to cook ANYTHING these days so when I get to, its a good day. And if im not too rushed or frazzled to remember to take pictures, thats a greater day. After that I need to then find the time to be hands free and not fall asleep So it takes longer between posts. So hoorah! I'm Blogging right not!

Think of this post as a warm up for what is to come. Even if I fail epically at cooking, I do have definite back log on photos of food i've made and never blogged about.

Today's post is a shout out to a blogger new to the 'hood'. Ky's Kitchen is new and run by my... Common Law Cousin? Cousin Of The Future? Cousin's Girlfriend Kylie. She posted this recipe the other day for Chocolate Banana Bread Muffins. I decided to try it out as I've been meaning to put the banana's in my freezer to good use. They were so yummy and really easy and fast. How yummy and fast? I have a 4 week old- so they must be quick for me to have even managed to get through them in one go- and taste- lets say I made 12 smallish ones yesterday, and there is one left after my husband and I had a day with them. *Shameful*

Click on Ky's Kitchen above to read her blog (you should it's got yummy things on it)

Kylie's Chocolate Banana Bread Muffins
(Recipe belongs to Ky's Kitchen)

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, soft

3 bananas (ripe)

2 eggs

1 tsp soda, dissolved in 1 Tbsp cold water

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

as many chocolate chips as you want!!!

Heat oven to 350
Combine and mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
Place batter in a greased bread pan (bottom only) or in muffin tins.
Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

*I used 1 cup chocolate chips and it was pretty good and chocolate full- next time ill push it to 1.5 cups!. Also, I added a walnut halve to the top of each for fun, and they were just passing very brown at 40 mins. turns out my oven is crazy- they only needed maybe 35 max on my skanky oven.

try these! SHOUT!

Asparagus Quiche And A Nursery

2010-03-30T16:19:00.005-04:00

Well, i'm officially on maternity leave and frankly, Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I have been a busy bee both in the kitchen and in my nesting while I get ready for baby (25 days to go!) Now that I am not at work all day and exhausted and unwilling to try anything too unfamiliar or time consuming, I have had lots of time to get things done. I also finally have cable, after 2 years of being without it. What does this mean? FOOD NETWORK! I have been having fun trying new things, and aimed to do at least 2 new recipes a week.
So far so good!
I have gotten the babies nursery to an almost complete state, and preparing for him is about done too. We kept it neutral and animal themed. Matt's computer and some music equipment is still in the room for now but hopefully we will find another cozy space for it all soon.

I got this recipe for Asparagus White Cheddar Quiche from Food Network's Big Daddy Aaron McCargo.- and it looked easy and awesome on his show. Sure there are more than a few steps, but it was easy and relaxing to make. I tried my hand at it for a lunch with a girlfriend and my hubby, and everyone was in taste bud heaven. Sooooo good. Thank you Big Daddy!

ASPARAGUS CHEDDAR QUICHE

Ingredients

1 (11-inch) store-bought pie dough
3 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
Pinch cayenne
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped chives
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 eggs
1 cup heavy cream (It was really creamy, I suggest trying 3/4)
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded white Cheddar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Roll out pie dough and mold into an 11-inch pie dish, crimping the edges to make ridges. Pierce the dough with a fork several times. Bake in the hot oven until slightly browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees F.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the butter, onions, asparagus, cayenne and garlic. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes until the asparagus is soft and mixture is fragrant. Remove from the pan to a bowl and let cool.

In a large bowl, add the chives, Dijon mustard, eggs, heavy cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Whisk together until well combined. Add the asparagus mixture to the pie shell, then pour in the egg mixture. Top with the Cheddar and bake until the eggs are set, about 35 minutes. (Mine took 55 minutes) Remove from the oven, cut into wedges and serve.

More excuses and Mac N Cheese.

2010-02-23T17:27:00.006-05:00

oops....massive fail on the keeping up to date. it feels like every one of my blogs in the last year have been sparatic and appologetic with empty promises to stay up to date. They aren't purposefully empty as much as I am scatterbrained and half the time I forget my blog exists. But this time my reasons are legitimate! Lots of changes have been going on in my little life up here, and they have definitely been a cause for distraction.

1- Finally got into the apartment! We couldn't be more pleased, I finally have my kitchen all to myself and am slowly still putting it together. There are boxes of missing things but im hoping to dig them out eventually. I need my mandolin and my salad spinner, and all my fancy tongs! boo.

2- I'm baking a bun in the oven right now, and I don't mean in the literal food sense. Being pregnant and trying to work, get my place in order and plan for baby has definitely taken up alot of my free time. Only 8 weeks to go before he gets here!

Hopefully when baby does arrive, and I know I must be kidding myself, I will have more time to blog. Even though I have no time now, and having an infant will definitely slow down my cooking, time to take pictures of it, and time to put it online, I may still really want to have something to do during nap time. Here is hoping! It will also add baby food to my culinary repertoire so im looking forward to new fun food thoughts brewing up in my brain.

FOOD! I have tried before to make stovetop macaroni and cheese. I thought it would be easy, and it should be. But the other times I made it, I botched it. I was scared it was sour and I over scorched the milk, and everytime I would add the cheese directly to the beschamel it would separate. pfft. I don't know how and yet I do know how. This time I tried a different technique other than just tossing the cheese right into the beschamel and according to the tastebuds of both myself and my husand, BINGO!

STOVETOP MACARONI AND CHEESE

(Photo from google images, couldnt find my camera...I know I know )

For this recipe, the only number you really need to remember is 2.

2 cups dry elbow macaroni
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups milk
2.5 cups (or 3) grated cheddar- you choose the grade, I used old. blends are nice too.
salt and pepper

In a pot, boil well salted water and add macaroni. Cook to al dente and drain.

When the pasta is about 4 mins into cooking, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium low. as soon as it is just melted, whisk in the flour and stay with it. let it cook for a moment to cook off some of the flour taste. I turned it down at this point because I usually end up scorching my milk. Slowly add the 2 cups of milk, whisking constantly. DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE! You are stuck to the stove now but it's ok it only takes about five minutes. (its ok to walk away for a second to drain your pasta of course, just turn it down to low and try to be quick)

Turn up the heat to just under medium low and whisk constantly until it starts to just bubble and thicken. Add your salt and pepper (and even garlic salt) now.

Add the macaroni, and mix together with a spoon, tossing until it is obviously considerably hot (again, dont turn it up we dont want to scorch). Remove from heat and pour in the cheese. stir it vigorously until it is fully melted and you are ready to eat.

Doing it this way and adding the cheese at the end is a tip I got from Sandy Richard of Food network Canada and this was the best and creamiest way I have ever gotten it to turn out. Thanks Sandy!

Possible Variations-
*add ham in small bite sized chunks. Serve then or put all in a casserole dish, cover with crushed croutons or a favourite casserole topping of your choice and bake.
*Some recipes tell you to add mustard powder to your beschamel....haven't tried it yet. You choose!

Ham Broccoli Braid- I return to my blog

2009-09-30T10:53:00.007-04:00

Blogging world! Or Should I say one follower- ha ha. I am back. For how long, I do not know. But I do have the goal to get blogging more as a form of company, as I am working nights right now and my hubby is asleep ten minutes after i get home. Therefore my usual entertainment is down for the count. We are believe it or not, STILL WAITING ON OUR KITCHEN AND APARTMENT. But it is literally, this time, 6-8 weeks away. 4 weeks ago i was told 6 weeks, no surprise here. I've waited 2 years I suppose I can handle 1-2 more months. As long as I am fully moved in for Christmas, I won't bite yet. That said, today's recipe is a home made one so Dave, you will be happy about that.

HAM AND BROCCOLI BRAID

This is my mother in law's recipe that she introduced me to. It may be from pampered chef, I'm not sure. either way, easy, cheesy, delicious.

• 2 cups cooked ham, chopped
• 1 cup chopped fresh broccoli
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, combine ham, broccoli, onion, parsley, mustard and cheese. Stir well.

Unroll crescent roll dough, and arrange flat on a medium baking sheet. Pinch together perforations to form a single sheet of dough. Using a knife or scissors, cut 1 inch wide strips in towards the center, starting on the long sides. There should be a solid strip about 3 inches wide down the center, with the cut strips forming a fringe down each side.

**For me, the dough came out of the can like it hated me and the perforations refused to stay together so I had to get to pounding it back together, and just sort of winged it**

Spread the filling along the center strip. Fold the side strips over filling, alternating strips from each side. Pinch or twist to seal.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until deep golden brown.

When In The Big Apple...

2009-01-31T12:58:00.003-05:00

After a couple weeks of forgetting about my blog I'm back again. I've misplaced the camera so I haven't had a chance to take any shots of anything i have made this week. So today I will pick up on my Honeymoon food streak.

I waited 23 years to see New York City and I had 3 separate trips canceled almost last minute. Needless to say at this point I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to see and do. A small culinary adventure point we had made for ourselves was to hit up a few of the popular stands and try the famous treats of the city. It was so much fun running around seeking them out. The only place i wanted to go to that I never made it to was the A. Carnegi Deli and B. Katz Deli. I was down for either or but ended up getting to neither. A late night walk to the MAXIE deli on the last evening was in order to get the long awaited, New York Corned Beef On Rye.

Here We Go!

1. First Stop- The Black And White Cookie!

Seinfeld had it right, this cookie is neither a cake, or a cookie. But eating it cautiously, black and white icing at the same time makes for one hell of a yummy treat. We picked these up in Times Square at the Roxie Deli.

2. New York City Pizza- The best!

We didn't make it to the 11th street Rays, which I'm told is the "real" one. But the one in Times Square and just around the block was A.O.K scrumptious. Very cheesy, very greasy. Just like it should be.

3. Corporate Juice Pimps

They make one hell of a smoothie. Jamba juice was a place we stopped in more than once as my husband has a serious smoothie lust. The first time I had a peachy smoothie. It was nice but it didn't blow me to the moon. They were handing out samples that day of a very delicious little smoothie I tried on the next stop in. No idea what it was called but it has strawberries, Bananas, soy milk, oatmeal and peanut butter. It was awesome. I'm not a big smoothie drinker..or in this particular case eater. But I plan to figure this one out at home.

4. The New York Hotdog and Drink Combo- Grays papaya

When I was much younger I saw the Movie Fools Rush in. In it Matthew Perry tells Salma Hayek that his favourite part of New York is Grays Papaya Hotdog, and for his birthday she has a box of hot dogs sent to him in Nevada. Since then I really wanted to try them and this famous Papaya juice. We took a considerably longish walk to the nearest Grays papaya stand and got the recession special. 2 hot dogs and a medium drink for $3.99. Not bad. The juice was delicious and even creamy. The Hotdogs were fabulous. The restaurant was open, and covered in garbage that had fallen out of the over full bins. Maybe next time we can hit the more uptown location.

5. The New Yorker Sandwich- I think... Corned Beef On Rye.

This sandwich was big. So big. So juicy. I had to take half of the Beef out because trying to get my mouth around it was giving me lock jaw. I was disappointed my first NYC CBOR wasn't from KATZ or CARNEGIE but it was still delicious. Hubby didnt have one due to 2 weeks of rich eating leaving him at maximum capacity. Next time, we will make it to KATZ.

There you have it. I think we did pretty good in our treat adventure. Of course you can see we ate terribly but hey, how often do you get to have a tiny culinary adventure?

The other restaurants we ate it were:
Bubba Gumps- good fun, great waiter
SWIZZ- adorable little fondue restaurant
Roxie Deli- overpriced but delicious breakfast
Heartland Brewery- Fun tiny beer sampling restaurant- food not awesome
The Met Basement Cafe- awesome fun selection- delicious coconut cupcakes

Lickety Split Pea Soup

2009-01-12T20:08:00.005-05:00

There is an awesome little shop just around the bend from me called The Bean Ladies. I first became familiar with them at Kempenfest, then the Canadian National Exhibition, then at the Barrie craft show all in a few months. They sell awesome roasted soy beans in all kinds of awesome flavours, along with pre mixed soups.

I shopped there for some stocking stuffers for some fam and friends at christmas and picked up a soup for myself. Lickety Split pea Soup! It was fast, easy and pretty tasty. Very thick but we like that. Next time I stop in I'll grab this again and maybe try one of their other soups.

Lickety Split Pea Soup

1 Package Bean ladies Lickety Split Pea Soup
1 Cup cooked Ham, cut into bite sized bites
1 medium onion, finely diced
1/2 cup carrot, finely diced
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
6 cups water buttered croutons
sour cream

This recipe can take one hour in a pot on the stove or 5 hours in the slow cooker on high- whichever way you like. Rinse the mix of peas and lentils well and place in your pot with the ham, carrot, celery, onion, water and seasoning pack (included in the package).

Stovetop Method: Bring to a boil and simmer for one hour
Slow Cooker- Cook on high for 5-6 hours (mine took 5.5)

When soup is finished garnish with buttered croutons and a dollop of sour cream. We added a multigrain tomato sandwich because we are beats. This was so easy and nutritious and all in all a good little comfort food.

Next Post: New York food adventures

Top Five Honeymoon Dinners

2009-01-10T22:45:00.004-05:00

I got married in June and for a honeymoon we chose to take an Eastern Caribbean cruise from New York. The Caribbean Princess has a really wonderful Italian chef who's name escapes me today. This is Hubby and I's list of the top 5 non dessert dishes we ate.

#5: Pot Aux Roux?

The hubby chose this dish as his main on seafood night. I'm not a huge crustation fan but he is, and he was ecstatic with this dish.

#4: Steamed asparagus with Hollandaise sauce and pancetta

This was really nice. It was decadent and savory, I will definitely be imitating this one day.

#3: Cocoa Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Champagne Risotto and Ratatouille

This pork was so tender and sweet, the cocoa was such an awesome ingredient to use, I have only ever seen recipes that involve cocoa and meat. What a treat! The risotto was so perfect, so sweet and my first taste of ratatouille was even more exciting then imagined. The movie seems to have really boosted it's popularity.

#2: Shrimp Diavolo

Shrimp simmered in a hot pepper and tomato based sauce with both tasty and adorable polenta and your everyday steamed broccoli. This year is my first year enjoying and actually ordering shrimp

#1: Garlic and Goat Cheese Souffle

The most amazingly delcious,tart and garlicy thin I have ever had the pleasure of eating. This souffle was featured on the Chef's showcase menu. It was so good that all we both could think about for days was this delicious masterpiece. As God is my witness, I will make this one day. I will never be able to live in a world where I don't get to eat one of these annually!

Cakes For All

2009-01-09T22:11:00.005-05:00

3 posts this week! Score! Just a small picture full blog featuring a few cakes I've banged out. I am by no means a cake decorator of professional sense but I like to play around. Hopefully I can take some classes in the next year to help me step it up a notch. In the last year I have made a few cakes I have been considerably proud of. One from this pile is from 4 years ago and my first bachelorette cake ever.

Cake One: The Dick Cake

I
made this cake for my big sister's bachelorette cake. I was made fun of for this one, as I drew it freehand and managed a vein texture. This shot is before the writing was piped on, as i screwed it up.

Cake Two: The Boob Cake

I made this cake for my buddy Jeff's birthday. I was pleased as punch when I went to the Bulk Barn because they always have so many colours of dye. I found fleshy colours and it really made the cake.

Cake Three: The Baby Cake

My Friend K.T's son turned one and she trusted me enough to ask me to make his cake. I made this Elmo cake. I was really busy at work that week so to save some time and frustration I commissioned an UN-DECORATED cake with cream filling from Costco. I'm not sure how but I messed up his nose a bit. Elmo has an oval nose and I Sort of made the top of his nose go into the eye as opposed to over it. Eh, it was still a damn cute cake!

Cake Four: The Cup Cake

For Christmas last year my Aunt bought my sister and I both these Wilton cupcake-cake mold. It was super cute and the possibilities are endless. I actually used the top piece mold 2x to craft my boob cake!

Next Blog: The cutest and craziest cupcake book I have ever seen.

Sugar High Ham

2009-01-07T11:04:00.006-05:00

Two days, two blogs. What a role!
Matty and I had most of the family away during the New Year break and so the kitchen was available for play time. One thing we never really made in our house was glazed ham. Perhaps this can be contributed to the whole being Italian thing as we tend to be chicken and beef and *sigh* lamb and rabbit people. But whenever someone had us over for dinner and made us Glazed Ham I was always excited for the change.
I had leftover pineapple from the new years pizza and so I referenced some "how-to" glaze recipes online and spun up this ham glaze. In the end, this was really nice but maybe a little too sweet. Next time I may need to hit it up with some vinegar to knock it back a peg. I served it with my cheesy cauliflower mash which was delicious and considerably nutritious, sweet potatoes and grilled tomato. I felt pretty good about it, next time more leafy greens needed.

SUGAR HIGH HAM

1/2c Brown sugar, packed
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tbsp Frank's Red Hot
1/4c Pineapple Tidbits
1/2c Pineapple juice (from can)
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp prepared garlic
Salt & pepper to taste
1/4c Coca Cola
2-4 lb cooked ham

Mix all ingredients discluding the coca cola and ham (of course) in a container and whisk together. Can be used immediately but if you have a couple hours to let it sit, you should give it a whirl.

Cut small diamonds into the ham and rub the garlic into it, pushing in as far as you can. Be careful not to tear it open. Stab the ham 6-8 times with a toothpick as long as possible and pour over coca cola.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour sauce into a saucepan and bring to a quick boil. Reduce heat to medium low and let simmer and reduce by half, about 15 minutes. Pour half of the hot glaze over the ham, letting it drip from the top down the sides.

Bake for 30 minutes, uncovered. Pour remaining glaze over ham and bake for another 30 minutes until golden and sticky looking.

Remove ham and let it rest, covered for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Easy, just takes a little while to cook!

Cauliflower Mash!

clean and cut up a head of cauliflower into small florets. Steam until just more than fork tender. Mix with butter- 1 tsp garlic salt - 1/4 c grated cheddar and mozzarella mixed-pepper to taste. Mash up the cauliflower and mix well until it becomes numerous small bits but stop before you get to a mashed potato consistency. This is meant to be pretty chunky. Enjoy!

Next Post: Christmas Breakfast? Something from last year? Naughty cakes? Stay tuned!

Happy New Year! A Foodsie Resolution

2009-01-06T18:04:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year! Seeing how it is that time of the year where you are supposed to make a resolution, I made a couple small ones. I didn't set one huge unsustainable goal, instead I set a few small personal notes for myself.

1. Attempt to tidy up a little more everyday, because the hubbster and I tend to let the apartment get away from us. Who wants to spend their whole Saturday off cleaning?

2. Cook Cook Cook! We're currently waiting out the building process of our apartment and staying in a loft apartment, sans KITCHEN. With only a microwave, a rice cooker and a bar fridge to keep some milk and condiments cold, we eat out more than we like to admit. We can however have access to a kitchen off and on so I have managed a couple New Years recipes. My resolution was to cook more, eat out less, try new things and eat healthier.

I started a kitchen journal and so far so good. (Thank's for the tip Michael Smith!) In it i made a list of things I really want to try to make this year. Here goes!

Polenta- Pad Thai - Butter Chicken - Sushi - Roast Chicken - Pizza Dough - Pasta Noodles - Borscht - Miso Soup - Yorkshire Pudding - Brownies - Red Velvet Cupcakes - Green Tea Cake - Buttercream - Pie Crust - English Trifle and more!

The list in my head is much bigger of course, but these are just what stood out in my mind. They also give me more blog goals, as I will post whenever I get through one.

On New Years I only had 6 guests, 8 including us. I kept it easy and pretty quick.

The Menu:
Meat Lovers Pizza- Bacon, Pepperoni and Ham
Hawaiian Pizza- Pineapple, Ham and Pepperoni
Family Cheeseball- delicious tradition!
Veggies & Dip- Roasted Garlic and Cheddar by DEB'S DIPS

***Next Blog: Sugar High Ham and Cauliflower Mash - Stay Tuned!

A wedding day Rundown

2008-11-13T17:45:00.006-05:00

I just reformatted my blog page, and switched it from a dark blue background to a creamy colour. All my text in the other 57 posts are bright pinks, blues, tangerines.... a horror to the eye really when i think about it. But this page gets to play with ALL colours. If the look of the page doesn't make your eyes bleed, that's a good day.

My last blog wave was back when I was planning my wedding and right before things got HECTIC. I'm talking, living out of a suitcase cause my house is a big wooden box still and I'm planning a wedding for 250 people. But seeing how everything went so swimmingly and I am finally getting more settled in my newly married life I can get back to blogging...for a while at least. So here are just a few shots from the wedding to give you an idea of the day. It was sunny, we were on top of the world and I have never danced so much in my life.

The Hairdo

The Ladies Help Me Prep- Just thought it was a nice shot

The Ladies in a row

Happy Over Eccentric Newlyweds in the limo

A decent shot of my dress without using a photographers shot

Our First dance was gonna suck because we are not the most compatible on the dance floor together. But we are musically compatible and so we did a first song instead of a first dance. My Husband Matt played Guitar and I sang Jack Johnson's "Better Together"

That's it for today I'm thinkin. ciao!

Can It Be?

2008-11-12T15:30:00.005-05:00

ok, im in a new house. my wedding has already 6 months come and gone. in fact, my blog has not been updated in like, 10 months or sumn! insane! the reason i strayed away? my blog was being a pain in the ass! im not exceptionally tech smart, i have a husband who fixes everything for me. But this blog was becoming so hard to do. My net, my laptop and more all made it very hard for me to upload pictures, or even to drag and drop. it owuldnt let me drag, the nightmares i was having. and i got pissed and gave up for a little wee while...10 months wee while.

but i am on a new computer, with a proper mouse, in a new home with shitty country internet but i'm going to give this another try. I really love doing this blog and i love reading other foodies blogs.... and i just want to learn how to make a decent one! lol

to test todays little entry, a photo! This smoggy, grey, finger smudged photo is believe it or not, a sight that made me almost cry. This is my shot of the NYC city skyline as our plane landed in LaGuardia. I waited my entire life to soo the big apple, and 3 separate attempts prior to this FAILED. so when you finally get to see something you always wanted to, you get...well... HAPPY!

now to test photos again....i added only one photo and it did not allow me to drag it down without dropping it in the middle of some text....i dont get it there is sooooo much white unused space on the screen why cant it be more open? *sigh*

ok...drag and drop didnt work...bastardo. however, i switched over to html and took a guess at what could happen if i cut and pasted all that jargin that represents a photo and that worked out to my favour....feeling better! This shot is one we took of the pond in Central Park, it was a gorgeous day!

now that the shoot the shit trouble shooting blog is done, let's see how i can get a years worth of back bloggin up hahahah. look out!

Lion Man tries on suits

2008-01-21T15:49:00.000-05:00

Matt took 2 years to agree to grow his beard back! Which i love!~ But now he has a big beard and his hair got long, and he hasn't had a chance to get it cut! So I have started teasing him.

We went to pick out the very dapper sexy suits for our wedding. Matt looked like Lion Man from these car commercials these days. He was so furry and unkempt in the hot suits We had to take pictures to laugh at. I know when he is all clean and unkempt it will be even hotter than it is now! weeeee...

First we tried on a chocolate brown suit with a couple different ties. SEVENTIES MUCH? it was awesome for like a night out or sumn to be silly but not for a wedding. 8 groomsman in brown= shit parade?

We tried on the brown suit because I was hot for this brown tie! it looked hot but the suit didn't work for the wedding. And the tie didnt work with out final suit choice!

The final suit choice is sweeeet. this is it here! Matt is making a silly goodball face!
OW OW what a sexyyyy suit.

Thats it for the suits! I am planning to make covered button boutenniers! what fun!

Thats a spicy pasta (and a sexy dress!)

2007-12-04T23:44:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!

Lot's of crazy things going on in my little corner of the world! I've been so good at staying on top of this wedding planning,working full time as a cook and then a baker, getting ready to move, and more that my poor blog had to take a backseat for a bit. Not because I don't love it, or whoever out there reads this but because I just am too wrapped up!

So this week I shall bring you a sexy, spicy new pasta I tried out on matt recently. 2 spicy italian sausage (yay for meat counters)I hadn't had pasta in weeks and being that I'm an Italian girl who's spent her life eating pasta 2x a week, i needed a hit.

I was thinking about a soup I saw rachael ray make that had sausage in it and i thoughts mmmm. But it was a thick soup (she calls it stoup, its adorable) and when i was trying to come up with recipes i wanted the ground sausage. I also wanted pasta....why not try a twist on bolognese? but i need veggies in me today...peppers? peppers are boring! cubanelle peppers?

Long, shiny, different... i'll do it!

So matt documented as i cooked this up....

SPICY SAUSAGE AND CUBANELLE BOLOGNESE ON RIGATONI

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 hot italian sausage, removed from casings
1 cubanelle pepper, diced
1 lg can crushed tomatoes
1 sm can diced tomatoes (I live by Aurora)
1/2 cup of warm ro room temperature water
salt and pepper
garlic salt
Olive oil
350 grams rigatoni

In a hot large sized sauce pan (or just your fave pot you know can handle a litre ...ish or 2) brown the sausage, breaking into chunks. halfway through browning toss in the onions and sweat. When onions are translucent and sausage is brown toss in the garlic. Stir about for a minute to release oils and flavour and add the peppers. If looking dry, add a turn of the pan of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to flavour. Cook until peppers are browning and starting to soften.

Add all your tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 35-40 minutes until sauce has thickened and peppers are mega soft.

Mix with rigatoni, and enjoy the pockets of yummy sauce in the pasta.

MMMMM. It was really good but i didn't break up the sausage as much as I would prefer! We gave it 4/5 and docked it the 1 point for a sometimes status as opposed to often and always status lol.

WEDDING NEWS!

Well the bridemaids are singing as they all got to see the dress we chose for them. It's very gorgeous when you see it upclose and personal. And the colour we tried it on in (and ordered it in) is COOLWATER. a very light blue green pastel. gorgeous!

unfortunately this dress shot is pink. When i get the shots from the ladies of the real dress I will post it!

2007-10-30T14:30:00.000-04:00

Dress Shopping Easy as 1, 2 ,3

2007-10-05T17:10:00.001-04:00

About 2 months ago i had a day off from my then busy work schedule. I didn't feel like sitting at home, or cleaning. I couldn't decide if i wanted to watch a movie or listen to music. I couldn't sit down and i wouldn't stand still. I was going stir crazy! So after managing to flip through a page of a bridal mag and a quick glance at the calendar i figured " today might be a good day to go check out a few of the local bridal shops. " So i called up my Bridesmaid Kristin and we headed out on the town. We started at Elmwood Brides, a beautiful old house with different levels and rooms full of bridal goodies.

My main goal for this excursion was to check out dresses for my bridal party and get a better idea on what colours are available. But what self respecting bride-to-be can walk around in
a shop and NOT peruse the dresses? Being that i'm a rollie pollie ollie I thought my chances of a decent sexy dress would be pretty frustrating. Elmwood had a large rack for the plus sized gals but a lot of them were TOO plus and a few were just scary. Amidst all the dresses i got really full of butterflies and next thing I knew, i was pulling an armful of dresses in my size off the rack.

Dress #1 I tried my first dress and of course got all full of happy emotions and perhaps there was a tear or 2. It really was very pretty. It fit almost perfectly except my buzzies were a little too small for it. Big problem! 8 foot train on a 5 foot girl. moving on...

*~This is a shot of the first dress. NOT MY DRESS! Can you see how short I am now? hehe. But in this shot you can't see the huge train.~

Dress #2 didnt fit at all. 2 sizes too big, it was oddly shaped for someone who looks like me and i didnt even need to do it up before expelling it to the rejects hook. And another...

Dress #3 was very pretty, very comfortable with the kind if tummy hiding capabilities i wanted but it felt a little prom-tastic and i wasn't sure it was quite me.

Dress #4 Then kristin held up the last dress i had nabbed. I hadn't look at it just it's tag. She had it all bawled up so i could get into it. I slipped my head through the top and felt it hug my body as kristin got to work on what i then realized was a different back then i was originally looking for. I stared at myself in the mirror and realized what an AMAZING dress i was wearing. and it fit. I mean it FIT...PERFECTLY. I was amazed and how small my waist was, how well it complimented me and well at just how damn gorgeous it was. The only fault it had was a small train on the back that still proved a little too long for little 'ole me. Of course, i paid the extra cash to order it with a small train and plan to have it altered further when it comes in. I wish i could show you or give you the details but of course this is a TOP SECRET DESIGN. Can't give anything away until those big doors open at 1:30, 8 months from now.

I did go to a couple more shops. The service wasn't as good as Elmwood, the dresses weren't as good. Most places had tiny dressing rooms and a big room in the middle of the place to look at yourself in. NO THANKS.

When i told my mother i had found my dress she suggested i hold off and go to Buffallo. Try on more in a boutique that has blowout sales and all that jazz. But when she came to see the dress and on me all done up she didn't say another word about looking for another one.

How EASY was that? it was easier to pick my dress than it was to pick my DJ! The picture to the left is as much of the dress as anyone not in the female side of the wedding party gets to see! sorry peeps! I have to find a tattoo cover up at the request of the entire family.....even though Matt and I would really rather it was left out in the open. After all, it's who I am.

But don't worry I didn't forget to look at bridesmaids dresses~ I'm going with a nice cool blue. Although i wont know the exact shade until the ladies see all the choices. My 2 favourite dresses!

both will be in the blue, though the dress in brown comes in a gorgeous ice blue and its my favourite with a big lead!

Well that is my ramble ramble. Hope it satisfied any wedding news cravings some of you have been having :P I know I've got a long and short 8 months to satisfy all mine!

Garlic Is Great!

2007-09-24T00:03:00.000-04:00

Oh my! its been months since my last post! This kind of apologetic opening is becoming a habit! I shall have to spend less time reading bridal magazines and recipes, and more time with my blog!

So here I go! My first visit to a farmers market! a few weeks ago Matt was playing the guitar in a children's festival at Fairy Lake.

I headed over to see him to find that his performance had been delayed for a couple hours. Not wanting to just go home, and with time to spare before I had to go to work we set off across the street. There appeared to be tents and music and we realized that it was the GARLIC IS GREAT festival and farmers market. I had no money but i was mega excited as I held Matt's hand and dragged him around the stands. We didn't get long but I was feeling really happy surrounded by some beautiful food.

We lined up at the small trailer that serves food. They had a big lineup and a considerably large menu for such a small space. Bacon sandwiches, burgers, fries, eggs sandwiches, and specials of the day! that day they were featuring waffles and cajun corn fritters. Matt got a Sausage on a Bun and I opted to try the corn fritters. They sounded intriguing.

They were actually really really good and not overly greasy. I plan to try my hand at the recipe in the near future. They came with a spicy mayonnaise, an awesome edition.

We took a look at a few stands. There was sushi, knife sharpening, Heirloom tomatoes, the potatoes that are heirloomed but im too tired to remember the proper name for them. I laughed the hardest at a tent called "Big Ass Garlic"

They had lots of garlic wreaths, different garlic types and spreads. They had a donkey for their symbol.

All in all it was a fun 30 minutes jaunt around a parking lot and i look forward to hitting it up on a day where i have both time and money. The great news? When we move to the new house there is a farm market open daily, 2 blocks from us. Oh am i ever excited about living in the country!

coming soon: A post about food!? really? no way!

Bridesmaid News: Second Edition

2007-06-16T11:54:00.000-04:00

Ok so, yes. its true. I havent updated this blog in 2 months. BUT WHY ANGIE WHY! because friends, I got a new job in a kitchen. I eat, i sleep, i cook. I also you know lurk around on facebook so...BLAME FACEBOOK AND ALL ITS GLORY! But I have a day off, first in a week and I am using some of that time to get a blog entry in. Ha-haa.

So today i thought since many people i dont get to see or talk to as much as i like have been asking me about the wedding, I will do a wedding entry.

Now a few blogs back i introduced my bridal party and wrote a little poem. That was part of something i do by monthly called "The Bridesmaid News" which is just me talking about random wedding stuff and updating the ladies. I didn't however post the whole thing cause it was 8 pages long. So today you get an edited down version of the second edition!

THE BRIDESMAID NEWS

Welcome to the 2nd Official Edition of the Bridesmaid Newsletter! I’m sitting comfortably on the couch feeling bridal and giddy! I’m watching Grey’s Anatomy and my 2 very favourite characters have just been proposed to at the same time! So thus par, I am very in the mood to start today’s edition!

This week marks the ONE YEAR count down to the wedding! Which means that the wedding has moved from “Next Year” status to “UNDER A YEAR” status! Matt and I are PUMPED and can’t imagine what we are going to do to make this year pass both swiftly and comfortably! But considering how well paced this last 6 months went I think that wish just may come true!

So what have we been up to? Well not oodles and oodles of full on bridal planning…yet. But things are going steady and smoothly and I’m enjoying the ride.

We officially booked with our DJ last week! We went with Flashpoint DJ’s. I met them at the Bridal Show and won free bubbles! But when I got in contact with them they traded me the 50 dollar bubbles for 150 dollars off the total package. They sent me this 10 page survey where they ask all about us and where we work, what we listen to, how we met, if any parents will not be at the wedding and why. Then they list off like 300 songs and they want you to pick what you like, what your friends like, how many people of what age group there are, did we pick music for everyone or just our own tastes. WHEW! And that’s like half the questions. But it’s been interesting trying to agree on certain songs… *Cough* Hot in Herre *Cough*.

The DJ has also asked us to select an MC from the people we know to ensure proper name pronouncement and to give the night a more personal touch.

So the MC for the wedding will be SHANE Wooo!

Shane is also a member of the wedding party and one of our dearest friends. (Well you’re all our dearest friends that’s why you’re in the wedding!) Shane is an Actor, currently in school at York U! He keeps me so entertained and he’s just awesome! We didn’t think twice about whom to ask to do us this honour!

THANKS SHANE!

As far as selecting people goes we haven’t a clue what we are doing for our ceremony. We don’t know if we’re writing our own vows, how we want to go about music (family or church guy or regular pre recorded wedding jive). But what we did decide was to ask our friend Tom to read the first passage for us! Tom moved away to BC on us and we wanted to be able to include him in the day. Naturally he was very touched and accepted! It just wouldn’t be the same without our good old Tommy Thompkins.

THANKS TOM!

Now the most exciting bit of all! THE HONEYMOON! We have officially booked our honeymoon and we’re ready to rock! We booked this early so that we could receive lower rates where possible and because well, we basically picked out our honeymoon 2 years ago. So where are we taking our love adventure!? An itinerary if you will~

In the interest of being able to party all night at the wedding and not having to rush away we are starting our honeymoon on the Monday, June 9th, and are leaving for NEW YORK CITY! We’ll be in the big apple for 5 days and are boarding the Caribbean Princess Cruise Ship on Friday June 13th. Am I feeling superstitious about the cruise leaving on the 13th? Nope! We’ll be taking this lovely boat with our balcony room (breakfast on the ocean, oh yes) through the Caribbean and around the Bermuda triangle. AHH!

We’ll be visiting The West end of Bermuda, San Juan Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and The Grand Turks! I’ve only been to St. Thomas and our boat is the same boat I was on last time. This will be Matt’s first cruise and I’m so happy to get to be the person he goes on his first one with! I tell him tales of food unending, movies under the stars, falling asleep to the sound of waves, and OH how much fun we will have! This will be our first vacation outside of Ontario together!

New York will be amazing! It’s not possible that it not be anything but spectacular when you’ve waited as long or tried as hard to get there as I have! The anticipation is giving me heartburn I think! We’ve agreed to see 2 Broadway musicals, the museum, a nighttime boat tour of the islands, and to get a mile high corn beef on rye from the Carnegie Deli. But nothing is getting booked for a least another 6 months!

We have had some wonderful luck with our hotel. Since we are booking through our Cruise line instead of by ourselves we are getting a 4 star Sheraton Towers King Room for 300 dollars LESS than the usual nightly rate. Naturally we really appreciate that perk, as it made a huge difference in the location and star rating we could originally afford.

Being that it’s our Honeymoon I have agreed to do certain excursions I would NEVER agree to do for anyone else. I, Angie the woman who can’t so much as put a toe in ocean water (but loves cruising go figure) ….is getting into a submarine…and delving over 80 feet into the ocean. OH…MY…GOD! But I’m actually feeling pretty excited and thinking HEY WHY NOT! The brochure even said they give you a special paper that commemorates the occasion! We’ll only be in St. Thomas together once why not make it interesting. This is what I traded Matt to get out of SCUBA DIVING! It seems like a pretty good switch!

in Bermuda we’re taking a ferry tour and hiking through some cool old caves. This is also a Matt chosen adventure. What can I say he’s a Cave Man. Hee! We also will stop in at an aquarium and see what the crazy fish are up to! San Juan looks like the place to shop for great coffee and take a small walk on the beach. I’ll be happy to have a nice shopping day! Mind you…New York will be the main focus of that project.

And Finally Grand Turks. This is the Cruise Excursion we’re the most excited about! We’re taking a Dune Buggy tour around the island beaches, through caves, and stopping on a beach for a Lunch and sun session. Matt and I will have our own Dune Buggy and will convoy with several other buggies through places you can’t really go by car! Though I should mention that all of these excursions aren’t listed for next June just this summer so we’re just hoping they will still be running when it’s our turn!
It’s going to be such a wonderful end to the long year of planning and excitement, and an amazing start to a wonderful marriage!

Whew did I ever talk a lot today! I should have left something to talk about in the next one! I guess that means I just have to do a little more planning! Thanks for reading! I leave you now with the photo of the day!

Tune in for the next bridal newsletter. Same Bride time, same Bride Channel!

DUN DUN the first chocolate chip cookie!

2007-04-05T13:43:00.000-04:00

Ok... I will say it. I Confess. I....Angie....Am a COOKIEHOLIC.

So i was watching an amazing movies i've watched like 10x over Stranger Than Fiction... And there is a baker in it who makes Will Ferrel chocolate chip cookies because he's never had a cookie that wasn't store bought before.

So i realized...I have made cookies before. Sugar cookies and gingerbread and such during the holidays. Most of my cookies are from a pre mix! But I have never, i repeat NEVER made the classic. Chocolate Chip cookies from scratch. Sure i've made the cut it off a loaf or just set the pre moulded out. But come on. Is it really the same? Does it have the same love?...well im sure it does have the same love cause you still took some time to make something special. So here we go. I looked up the most classic recipe I've heard of. The NESTLE TOLLHOUSE chocolate chip cookie...FROM SCRATCH!
You can thanks Phoebe Buffet for that one.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

Directions: PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. I was so excited makin these that I didn't take any pictures of any of the mixture with the flower and chips or even a presentation shot! MY BAD!

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

I even made a big cookie i just patted down and shaped with the dough that was left after 2 sheets of cookies.

These were a little bumpy but MAN they were YUMMY! My girlfriend Holly and I made them together and ate them with milk during the scene from Stranger Than Fiction. Sometimes, its just fun to be a kid.

Bridesmaids News: First Edition

2007-03-26T23:33:00.000-04:00

Well I'm ending a small week long wave of wedding fever! Boy that was a hard one hahaha.Anyways I've been meeting up with a few of my bridesmaids and also haven't seen one or two in a wee while. I was reading the ever fabulous and best magazine out there, Martha Stewart Weddings where I read a tip that suggested creating a Newsletter you would send to your bridesmaids every couple of months updating them on the progress. I thought this was a great idea for me to do (naturally with my own spin on it) and it helps buffer the time between now and when I can do the heavier planning. So I thought in today's blog I would introduce my wedding party and another fun thing or two.

My Leading Ladies

Big Sis!

Nikki is my big sister and my Maid of Honour. I was her maid of honour too and since she is married we have to call her the Matron of honour. This lady is going to have one easy ride!

Good Golly Miss Holly!

Holly is one of my best friends from college. She was also my college roomie and the very first person I talked to in class when i was the next chick who joined the program late. Yay Holly!

Holly is also a paramedic so I know im in good hands at my bachelorette !!!

The Other Sister!

Andrea is my other sister as we've known each other forever. Our moms were best friends in highschool and our dads went to college together. We consider each other family even though we have no blood relation. Andrea will be crafty help during the wedding countdown as she's just finishing school to be a teacher and knows all the fun stuff!

My Personal Papparazzi

Kristin is another of my best friends. We never went to school together but we did work at shoppers and superstore together. Kristin works in photography and is never without her camera! I know she'll be giving me albums worth of great pictures through the whole process! She can't control herself! :P

That's Choreography

Cassie is my 3rd cousin. But on my dads side I don't have any first cousins and so i just think of everyone as my first cousins. Cassie is also my Godsister so she was just meant to be in the party! Cassie is a sassy dancer so I'm hoping she'll show me how to pop a slide or sumn like that. haha

Flying Free Tenacious Lee

Melody is another of my best friends from college. Shes spunky! We were never roomies but we practically lived together for a little while there. Melody is my laptop buddy and she's always more than happy to see what i'm cooking for dinner. hee hee

The Tan Queen

Emily and I go all the way back to grade 9 which is going on 9 years now crazy! If you get us going we can quote most of high fidelity and dirty dancing in very weird voices. Emily is the Tanning queen and she best be helping me with my colour! lol.

I read a poem my mom wrote when she invited her bridesmaids over to work on wedding stuff in the 70's. I thought it was cute and so I wrote my own as a startup to the newsletter! So to end, I leave you with this...

We've gotten engaged and the wedding's next year
I'm told to look out, it'll quickly be here!
Will this year come and go so fast?
Already three quick months have passed
The ring i've got, and a date indeed
And now my dear friends help i'll need
To get this wedding on the go,
To marry Matt, I love him so!
I love so much and love is heaven
How many maids? Why, I've got seven!
The groom has surely followed suit
He's picked out his own seven brutes
Some you may know and some you will soon
You'll all be old friends by next coming june
My big sister Nikki can help with my dress
Will Kristin take pictures of all of the mess?
I've got Cassie to show me a dance move or two
And Holly? For freak outs, im counting on you!
With Andrea's help i'll be done in a jiffy
And Emily's tan smarts will help me look spiffy!
And last but not least, im hoping that Mel,
will help with the secrets and SHH please don't tell!
Thank you all for accepting our favour of you
you'll be in my heart always, it's really quite true!

mmm legumes

2007-03-11T23:27:00.000-04:00

wow long time no blog! BLAME BLOGGER! talk about having tantrums! haha it took me weeks to get anything going! the lost drafts! the tragedy! i can hardly bare to think!

so todays recipe comes from my family. We heartily enjoy our thick italian soups (thick enough so lets call it a stew) and so thus par, here it is. My favourite winter night stew, our family recipe,

PASTA FAGIOLE!

This stew/soup is great for a winter night, a vegetarian day in your weekly healthy eating schedule, or hey, just a sweet ass comfort food packed with superfood goodness!

we always seem to serve it with homemade plain tomatoe pizza or bread. its easy, its done in an hour and its filling.

INGREDIENTS

1 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 lg clove garlic, minced
1 large scoop of tomato paste (i put mine in spoonfuls in a container and freeze it)
1 can 3 bean medley, drained
1 can white kidney beans, drained (you can do 2 kidney if you dont like the mix)
6 cups hot water
2 tbs beef bouillion powder (bulk barn)
3/4 cup small elbow or shell pasta (flour or whole wheat)
salt
pepper
grated parmigiano or romano cheese

DIRECTIONS

turn water on to boil in tea kettle.

In a medium-large stock pot, saute onions in olive oil until just tender, about 5 minutes. add garlic and cook another minute.

Add tomato paste and stir until blended with onion, then add all beans. Stir for a minute.

Pour in all 6 cups of water (if it hasnt quite boiled yet, its not a real issue) and beef bouillion.

Cover and reduce heat to medium low and stir more than occasionally for 30 minutes or until water reduces and stew thickens.

Stir in the pasta and stir continually until the pasta is cooked through, about 8 minutes. **careful! i find my pasta sinks and sticks to the bottom if i dont stir lots! annoying but tasty!**

Serve with parmigiano and a bread or pizza you like to dip, ENJOY!

Be My Valentine

2007-02-12T12:29:00.000-05:00

HEY ALL!

Been a while! I feel like such a bad blogger mommy. Tisk Tisk! I havent blogged any food in a wee while and don't worry! They are just around the corner!

This blog however comes with a little Romantic Spice! sssssizzle.

This is my VALENTINES DAY BLOG!

Now, Matt and I both work until 9 on wednesdays and since valentines day falls on a wednesday this year, we celebrated early.

A run down! This was our 4th Valentines together, and we dont really do presents much on this date. Or flowers or that jazz. We tend to just do something we dont do too often.

One year we were in London (ON) and Matt took me to see RENT. Another year we ordered a pizza and holed up in a hotel and watched cable. Another year we just went to a movie and i made dinner. THIS YEAR we had loads of fun!

We drove down to VAUGHAN and stayed in the COURTYARD MARRIOTT.

The sweet thing about the Hotel's location is that it sits in the middle of a busy busy fun zone! We were walking distance (and i mean just across the parking lot) to IKEA and places like DAVE N BUSTERS and boston pizza, mini putt and more.

A run through. We went out for the day and grabbed some falafel and chicken wraps at Extreme Pita. As you can see im content and excited for our journey! Matt, jack bauer resembled, is pumped! WE DONT HAVE TIME!

We hung out in the hotel, and i was very excited about the cool tub! I even took a picture of it so that you could see how fun it was to watch fill up! Its like a little waterfall!

After much lazing we worked our way out into the cold and walked over to IKEA, conveniently, a 3 minute walk across the parking lot. We did the usual walk through, discussing different ideas for the apartment we are building and getting really excited looking at all the different set ups. We bought our spice jars that i have been eyeing and oggling for over 2 years. I promised i wouldnt buy them until we were engaged if they still had them. They do still have them and thus far! HURRAH! hahaha.

After our jaunt through the furniture wonderland we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our dinner reservations. We headed out to IL FORNELLO, an italian restaurant in richmond hill where they make stone baked pizzas and such. It was rather tasty!

I had an Amaretto Sour and Matt kept to the sober lane with a coke.

Bruschetta With Cheese, as a shared appetizer (which we found was 4 tiny crostinis but oh well)

Matt had the Spaghettini Primavera with grilled chicken and I had the Veal Marsala with fettucine.

We had some chocolate lava cake and tea for dessert! It was like eating harder pudding cake...twas delightfully sinful!

After that we headed back to the hotel with the intentions to go to Dave N Busters (the adult chuck e cheese) and found that the parking lot was very full and there was a lot of people cramming in. Instead we sat on our porch and watched people screw up driving their fancy cars in the parking lot.

We had ourselves a wee bath with some cherry strawberry wine (shhh secrets) and settled ourselves to sleep with a hotel ordered movie...the uber romantic...always funny, never boring, TENACIOUS D AND THE PICK OF DESTINY. hahaha.

The next day we sat in bed and watched OBAMA make his presidential candidate announcement, which was the first time in my life i was interested. If i was american i wouldn't hesitate to vote Obama for president. He said everything i have waited to hear a candidate say and he brought tears to my eyes!

We packed up, checked out and headed over to Dave n Busters where we had lunch. Now, I have been to Dave N Busters but matt never has. So that was fun!

Here is matt waiting at our table for his lunch, uber excited by his environment!

Here i am, also uber excited!

We played a bunch of games and had a blast being young adults! lol. It was tons of fun and we kept a card with our points on them for next time!

This Valentines Day gets a rating of 10 stars of 10!

I love you matty, thanks for a great weekend!

a stroll through our future home

2007-01-25T16:55:00.000-05:00

Matt and I took a walk along the 3 acre property we will be moving onto when we get married next year. It was really quite pretty and we found there was even more forest and trail on the property than we originally realized. One of the best things we found was a wooden gazeebo and a fire pit. I had my camera with me so we snapped some shots. Since i rolled out of bed and got in my car i wasnt all primped.

Matt however looks hot all the time so... his pictures are better.

I was bored so i played around with the focus and stuff...I dont care if you dont think its cool, cause i do lol. lol. lol.

bridemaid dress ideas

2007-01-18T16:57:00.000-05:00

ok ladies here it is. my number one running dress. i love the shade of green, i love the dress pattern. Very close to what i was originally working toward! Basically, i would kill for this exact dress and shade...did i save the clipping properly...no...did i lose the info on where to get these dresses....yes...so...lets see if i can or cant convince my aunt to do them for me...
I've always liked green, never LOVED IT...i dont need to over accessorize the green...though slowly i have been finding i have a green phone, fluke...green purse..fluke...and a favourite green sweater...also fluke. 2/3 of those bought and chosen for me.
But now i loveeee it...non caps...cause its up there with purple, pink and blue. So green has moved into my "i like it so much that i still cant pick a favourite colour" catergory! yay yay!

Take that ladies!