Farewell November. I'll miss you.

Treats from cuzzie Margo - they make my kitchen!!

'Twas the night before December 1st. 

The house is semi decorated, the lights are all a glow.

I've been drinking iced tea to quench my thirst. 

The candy jar is full of chocolate, I have been saying 'no, no,no'.

Oh my. Can you tell it's been a long day?

I ended up staying home from work today - I was so bagged last night, and I think that I was too tired to sleep - ever have that happen? Anyways - it was a treat to have a bit of a sleep in. I spent quite a bit of time with Jules today - she is doing better. Still lots of pain and still issues with the bandages - but she has an appt. with the doctor on Thursday - so hopefully he'll set things straight.

I spent a big chunk of the evening trying to decorate the house. I'm almost done - still lots to do before my brother and his kids come for the weekend. Stress! Oh god - Halloween costume sort of stress. It's going to be a great visit, I just want to make sure that everything is organized for when they are here. They always stay with my mom, so I am looking forward to having them stay with us.

I thought that I would share one of my favourite Christmas decorations. I found this little tree at SuperStore about 4 years ago - and wasn't sure what to do with it. I decided to put it in the kitchen, and decorate it with little balls and mini cookie cutters. Since it's in the kitchen - it seemed appropriate. So, it sits in the corner - and I love it! 

On Friday when Chris was looking through my new Cooking Light cooking magazine, he came across a recipe for roast and potatoes - and he was a little 'colicky' because I don't make roast for him. So, I promised that I would make him on Sunday. And that's what I did. I didn't follow a recipe - I had an idea of how I wanted to make it. I have to say, that although I don't eat red meat, I had tastes of it and it turned out to be deeelish!

Roast Beef Sims Style

2 - 1 3/4 pound Top Sirloin Roasts

4 cups of potatoes - I used fingerling potatoes - no peeling or chopping

2 bunches of small carrots - peeled and cut into halves lengthwise

Fresh thyme

Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

Olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 400.

In a large roasting pan, add vegetables, and fresh thyme sprigs. Drizzle with olive oil - maybe 2 tbsp, kosher salt and pepper. With your hands, toss it all up and ensure that everything is coated. Add to the pre-heated oven and bake for 30 mins.

While the vegetables are cooking, you can prep your roasts. Pre-heat a cast iron skillet, or whatever type of skillet you like to use. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil. Pat the roasts with a paper towel to dry them off. Season one side of each roasts with kosher salt and pepper - place that side down in the skillet. Season each of the other sides just prior to putting that side down in the skillet. Don't forget each of the ends. Basically brown each side. By browning each side, this will ensure that all of the juices stay inside while they are cooking. This should only take about 10 minutes.

After the 30 minutes are up, place the roasts in the roasting pan with the vegetables. We cooked our roasts for about 45 minutes. During this time, we added 1/2 cup of water twice - at about 15 minutes each time. 

When the meat is as rare or well done that you like it, remove it from the pan, place on a plate and cover it with aluminum foil. Let all of the lovely juices sit inside before slicing it. 

To make the gravy - so super easy. Remove the potatoes and carrots from the roasting pan. Pour the meat juice into a small sauce pan. Heat at medium heat. In a measuring cup, add two tbsp of flour and about 1/2 cup of the juice from the meat. Whisk vigorously. Add this to the saucepan and whisk to prevent any sort of clumps. And that's it - so juicy, so delicious.

So, on this last night of November 2009 - I can't believe how time has gone by so fast. I just know that December is going to come and go so fast. Parties, presents, visiting with friends and family, lots of goodies, time off, and so much more. I hope that I can soak it all in and enjoy all of it. 

Good night.

Loves.

Enjoy!

Up Update.

Day 2 of Jules' recovery. Bless her heart - she is doing well. It was a bit of a long night - and a bit of an early morning - but I can't complain as I don't have 2 major wounds on my body that will take some time to heal. We had to head to Emergency this AM - and spent 'some' time there - her bandages were covered in blood and I was nervous about taking them off to replace them - so after a call to 811 (they are fabulous there) we headed to Emerg - and after a wait, her leg bandage was all cleaned up. 

I will be so happy once she heads back to the Surgeon for an appt to take off all the bandages and then have them changed on a daily basis. 

I know that my mom is loved (not just by me and my family) but all of her neighbours have been so fantastic - they have been dropping by bringing flowers, plants, cards and worrying about her. It's been nice for her, but also for me to see. It is reassuring for me to know that she has support nearby if needed. Her sister is visiting for a couple of days - which we will be a huge help.

Throughout the past couple of days, I have been doing what I like to do best - cook. Last night I made a couple of baked spaghettis. I wish that I had taken a picture. I love baked spaghetti. It's a super easy dish, and freezes nicely too. I made this at my mom's so I didn't have all of the spices that I normally did - but it turned out delicious. Try and envision it as I write up the recipe. This recipe made enough for 2 large casserole dishes.

Baked Spaghetti

Pre-heat the oven to 400

1 and a half boxes of whole wheat spaghetti - cook to el dente 

3 lbs of ground chicken

1 large onion - chopped

2 large peppers - chopped

1 small zucchini - chopped

2 cups of mushrooms - sliced

3 cloves of garlic - minced

2 (small) cans of diced tomatoes

2 large jars of spaghetti sauce - try and find flavours that you like - Healthy Choice makes some delicious brands

Grated cheese - enough to cover the top of the dishes 

In a large skillet saute the onion with a sprinkle of kosher salt (Jules has kosher - heyoh!). Saute until translucent - about 8 minutes. Add the ground chicken. Cook for about 10 minutes and then add all of the fresh vegetables and garlic. Continue to cook for about another 5 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes and add any spices that you like. I added dried basil - it made the dish really fragrant. Then add one of the jars of tomato sauce. When the sauce is at the consistency and the taste that you like, the dish is almost ready. I like to add a pinch of sugar - it helps take some of the acidity of the tomatoes away. 

Use the other jar of spaghetti sauce (right from the jar) to cover the bottom of the casserole dishes. Then add the spaghetti to the dishes - evenly distributed to both dishes. Then top the spaghetti with the spaghetti sauce. Cover the spaghetti sauce with the shredded cheese. Then spray some cooking spray* on a piece of aluminum foil, and cover the dishes with the foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes. 

*Cooking spray - something that I never have in my kitchen - but one of those treat type of things that moms always have.

And that's it. It's a delicious dish - kids will love it.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the roast beef dinner that I made tonight - a quick trip home to make Chris his favourite feast that I never do.

Loves.

Enjoy!

Good end to a stressful day.

Jules update: All went well. She is recovering nicely in the hospital overnight, and is set to hopefully go home nice and early tomorrow morning. It was a bit of a long day waiting for news, but happy that it all went well. Thanks to everyone's well-wishes - it means a lot.

Shopping and dinner with the boys was fantastic. We had a great time. They got what they wanted (I hope) and we had a great dinner. Callum had a FULL rack of ribs - not sure how he downed them all, but he managed. 

And now for the best part of the night, Callum is having a sleep over. We should probably be in bed soon, but whatever, we're going to stay up as late as we can - watch tv that we shouldn't, eat so much chocolate and run around the house with scissors. JUST KIDDING!!! But we will have time.

To show how much fun we have been having (Chris included) I posted some pics (thanks to Tracy for showing me that I had this feature).

Loves.

Enjoy!

Our Jules.

What do you see wrong with this pic? Cooking Light - 3 magazine purchase this week!!! Yipes. 

Where oh where has my baby* been?

*=Me.

Ok, Wednesday night - I went to post my new Mushroom Soup recipe and corn bread muffins - and I couldn't connect to the world wide web. Last night - too busy hanging with my beau and going to bed at a time that school kids go to bed - 9:15. Whaddup with that?

And... what am I writing mid-morning for? Crazy!! Don't worry, I'm not at work slacking off. 

Today my mom, the lovely and so generous Jules, is going in to have a malignant melanoma removed off of her back. It's going to be not a very serious operation, in the sense that she will just have to spend the one night in the hospital, but the incision on her back and the recovery, I think, will be quite a bit for her to endure. I know that she will make it through, she is a strong woman - and she just needs to remember that.  The surgeon will test her lymph nodes and bones to see if anything has spread.

She was told that her surgery was for 8 AM this morning and that she needed to be there for 6. They failed to let her know that the actual surgery wasn't until 11:15 and that she didn't actually need to be there until 8:45. Neat. Thankfully there was a Starbucks nearby - so we took a nice walk - for some crisp fresh air and something to warm me up. Jules was wearing some black slip on, open-toed sandals with white socks. Oh. When I picked her up - I had to comment - who wouldn't?? So when we were walking - and trying to rush across the street - she was yelling 'don't run, my shoe will fall off and someone will drive over it'. I just about wet them - can you just see it?

Anyways - Chris and I will sit at home, try and keep busy (me more than him - his idea of keeping busy is watching 'Band of Brothers'), walk the pups - and wait until 3 when we can go and see her. I miss her. I don't like not being able to call her anytime of the day and talk about nonsense and expect her to listen. Must keep busy. Must interrupt Chris' movie and talk about anything.

Ok - let's move on to other things. Wednesday night - homemade mushroom soup. I love mushrooms - raw, sauteed, baked - you name it. And for some reason, when I am at the Root Cellar and I see packs of fresh button mushrooms and sliced mushrooms and they are 2 for $5 - I feel it necessary to buy 2 of each. Not sure why. Anyways - I did that this week and realized that it was quite a bit of mushrooms. So, soup it was. I also 'doctored' up a box of Organic Corn Bread muffins with shredded cheese and hot pepper flakes. 

Mushroom Soup Sims Style

1 large onion - thinly sliced

7 cups of mushrooms - either sliced, or button mushrooms that have been quartered

2 tbsp of flour

3 cloves of crushed garlic

5 cups of stock - I used low fat, low sodium chicken stock

Fresh thyme - around 2 tbsp

Sour cream for garnish

In a large pot, saute the sliced mushroom in olive oil with pinches of kosher salt. Saute for about 8 mins. Add mushrooms. Continue to saute over low-medium heat for another 15 minutes. Add garlic. Then add the flour and mix so that the flour is coating the mushrooms. Add in 2 cups of the stock and stir. It will slightly thicken. Then add the rest of the stock, and let it simmer for about another 30 minutes. Before you blend it all together, add the fresh thyme and some fresh cracked pepper. Then with a hand blender or a blender, blend the soup all together. Serve it warm with a dollop of sour cream on top. I am confident that you will love this.

For the corn bread muffins - I used a box of organic mix that I picked up at the Superstore. I added a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and crushed pepper flakes - how ever much you like. I used my big muffin tins - so instead of making 12 it made 6 large ones. And let me tell you, they were delicious. I think that you could definitely use the same measurements - 1 egg, 1 cup of water and 2 tbsp of vegetable oil with just regular corn meal to make the same recipe. That is definitely on my list to try. So good.

Well - that's it for me for now. I have plans this evening to take out C&C and spoil them and treat them to dinner - Moxie's - Callum's choice b/c 'they have chicken wings' - whatever he likes - it's their night.

Alright - please keep positive thoughts for my mom. 

Loves.

C.

Happy Monday!

I'm around. Not sure where the time has gone from last 'How to cook a frozen pizza' for dinner night. Always amazed at how time does really go by so fast. 

Last night we were over at my sister's for dinner. Her and the boys are going to Australia for Christmas, so we did a little sort of 'Christmas Eve' dinner in November. Debbie usually does Christmas Eve dinner - we eat appy's, clam chowder, my mom's amazing baking and chocolate (well mostly just Debbie and I eat the chocolates). So we did that type of meal last night. So good. Such a treat to not have to cook dinner and visit. Jules did their Christmas presents - spoiled them. 

I am so proud of my nephews. They have turned out to be such amazing, young men. I feel truly blessed to be a big part of their lives, and I am really going to miss them this Christmas. I am taking them out on Friday night - we'll shop for a Christmas prezzie for them and then go to dinner. It should be a fun night. 

Not too much to report. I haven't really been cooking - not sure what we've been eating. Tonight was a pasta dish, very similar to what I made HERE - it just wasn't baked, it hand ground turkey sausage, and bow tie pasta. It was quite beautiful and reminded me of Christmas - red pepper, pink swiss chard stems and green swiss chard leaves and then little bow tie pasta - I should have photographed it.

I have a new favourite song - Alicia Keys and Jay-Z - Empire State of Mind - I love Alicia Keys voice. 

Alright friends - that's it for me. I have to read my book club book before Wednesday and I am on page 2. Help!!!!!!

Loves. 

Enjoy!

How do you build an American Quilt?

Remember how I was elated by having such a wonderful day yesterday? It was probably b/c of the extra caffeine jolt that I had during the day. Well  you know what - payback's a bitch. That caffeine came back last night and kept me awake - that and my ongoing saga with WestJet. Without getting into too much detail - b/c I haven't been able get a hold of them via phone during the day - I thought that I would try calling them in the middle of the night if I had to use the loo*. Well - I did and after over 3.5 hours being awake at 1 AM - a good day turned into a long night without a lot of sleep. 

* = at least twice a night. 

Writing this blog, and posting what I'm cooking up each night for dinner - on the rare occasion causes me a bit of angst. Sometimes I really don't feel like making dinner. And sometimes I worry that I am may be posting a dinner somewhat unhealthy, unimaginative, unentertaining dinners. Well tonight, I knew what we were going to have for dinner when I woke up this morning (my official wake up - not the 1AM wake up) - it would be a frozen dinner kind of night. 

The other night I took a trek out to Superstore and I picked up some good finds. I found some 'Blue Menu' pizzas - that looked relatively healthy - and easy. So tonight's dinner is dedicated to those nights when you just don't feel like cooking - when you want a treat - when you don't want to wash a whack of dishes and when you want feel like you're ordering in at 1/4 of the cost.

How to Cook a Frozen Pizza

When I thought of this tonight - as I was heating up the oven - I thought it was so funny (I guess that is what a lack of sleep will do to you) I thought that it was a title like 'How to build an American quilt). Oh my.

Superstore's Blue Menu - 'healthier' options. 

Roasted Vegetable and goat cheese & Roasted chicken, red pepper and goat cheese.

Check the pizza box for baking instructions - read thoroughly.

Pre-heat oven to temperature stated on the package.

Remove the pizza from the box.

Remove the pizza from the plastic packaging and off of the cardboard.

Take a look at the masterpiece before it's ready for the oven.

Place them in the oven and bake according to the instructions.

With a sharp knife - slice the pizza to the size that makes you happy.

Serve it up.

Must eat pizza.

For a more healthy version - check out my summer pizza recipes.

Keep your eyes and ears open - the weekend is coming!!

Loves.

Enjoy!!

Welcome to the clan, little one.

On this wickedly wet and windy Wednesday, there is very exciting news - my cuz Marsha and her husband are proud new parents to a wee baby boy! Congratulations!!!! Mom and baby are doing well. I actually had a dream the other night that she had a baby boy. And just before I found out she was pregnant, I had a dream that she had just had a baby girl. Psychic? Well maybe just a bit. Wink. Anyways - welcome to the world you little bundle of hope, joy and love. We are so proud to have you as a member of the family.

Great day today! Not sure what it was - perhaps the lack of rain? Perhaps b/c they didn't have any Passion Tea at my local Starbucks so I had a non-fat, half-sweet Caramel Brulee Latte - the caffeine might have given me the buzz that I was needing. If you have a chance to try one - I recommend it. Oh god - don't look at the calorie count - thankfully I did the half-sweet. 

The pups and I have been having great walks around the hood lately. I need to do a day walk and bring my camera with me - and capture some of the great shots that I am seeing. Tonight's walk was exceptional. Even though there is a wind warning in effect - and half way through the walk I realized that falling branches or roof shingles could fling off and hit me in the head - I was very excited to see Christmas lights slowly going up on the neighbourhood houses. I LOVE Christmas lights. I love how they flicker, I love how they can make the worst house on the street look like a million dollars, I love the colours, I love the anticipation of the Christmas season among us... oh how I love. 

When I was 12, I came home one very snowy night after being at Gail Dray's for supper. Her dad drove me home, and as we turned onto our street, I saw the most beautiful house on the street. It had alternating blue and red Christmas lights going around the front and sides of the house. The large pine tree on the side of the driveway was lit up with multi-coloured lights. It was amazing. And best of all, it was my house. I seriously thought it was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen. I am not exaggerating when I say - that I can remember that night like it was yesterday. And as I write this, I have chills remembering how proud I was to have the most beautiful lit up house on my street. My dad had spent a good portion of the day switching up the lights and stringing them.  It was pure art.

I am not sure if my dad ever knew the impact of that winter night. I hope he did. It was so special for me. I think that because of that night, and because I can remember it so clearly, that this is why I love all the lights at Christmas. It's also probably why, when I drive through town and see houses lit up, or walking through my neighbourhood and see the colourful lights - they bring tears to my eyes. And as I write this, and I picture my old house's lights, and think of my dad surprising us, I have tears in my eyes. 

See Christmas - you do this to me every year.

Tonight's dinner was a Slow Cooker special. Chris was home today, so I hooked the 'ol girl (or is it a boy) up and started dinner at 7:30AM - to have it ready for me when I got home. 

Slow Cooker Pork Sirloin

5 pork sirloin (steaks) - cut in half - season with kosher salt and pepper

1/2 bottle of Diane's Original BBQ sauce 

1/4 cup of sweet chili sauce - if you don't have any on hand - omit it - no worries

Dashes of hot sauce - how hot do you like it?

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce  

3 cloves of garlic - peeled and coarsely chopped

Add all of these ingredients together, place them all in the slow cooker turn it on and let it do all the work for you.

I served the pork with rice that I 'doctered' up.

I had left over rice that I put in a pot and then added the juice from the slow cooker. I then added a can of white kidney beans, corn and peas. It turned out to be a hearty dinner.

Well that is it for me for tonight. I hope that you dream of Christmas lights - and they trigger happy memories for you.

Loves.

Enjoy!