Ah, November. It’s a time where I find myself “getting real”. Summer is long gone, Thanksgiving is over (at least here in Canada), and the excitement of Halloween and candy everywhere is slowly fading like my sugar coma. I now start to pay attention to all those Christmas displays that have been slowly popping up since September. Now they are in full force – the holiday season is only a mere 52 days away you know. (more…)
I can’t believe it’s already the end of October. Where did this year go? I don’t think I’m ready for winter. Where I live, winter lasts about 6 months and is brutally cold. Today, I see the leaves all on the ground right and breathe in the damp cold air and I long for the days a mere 2 months ago of hot sun, warm wind and drinks on the patio. (more…)
If you were following our posts on our Facebook page last night you would already know that we are celebrating Thanksgiving here in Canada this weekend. Our family dinner was actually yesterday and I’m still full from all the delicious food that Claudia made. I mean, look at that turkey above! I’m excited for my lunches over the next few days which will consist of all the delicious leftovers.
It would not be Thanksgiving in our house without Cabbage Rolls. Claudia decided to make an entire roaster full! When I asked her why she made an entire roaster full when she was only cooking for 6 people, she replied “Well, why not?!”. I love my mother! You can find our delicious Cabbage Roll recipe by clicking here!
While Claudia and I were preparing dinner, I learned yet another valuable food lesson. She always uses potato water mixed in with the turkey drippings to make her gravy. It gives it a little added flavour rather than using just regular water. Brilliant, right? It blew my mind anyways.
We finished off the evening with the Claudia’s delicious Pumpkin Pie, and the standard family debate: whether pumpkin pie should be served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. I take ice cream every single time. There is nothing better in my opinion.
Whether you are celebrating this weekend, or in a few weeks, Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!
Reason #852 why I love being on vacation: I have the time to meal plan and grocery shop.
This past week I have been enjoying my vacation immensely. I’ve actually been to the grocery store 3 times in 3 days. I love it. I also finally have the time to look through all those cookbooks that I own and am able to meal plan some healthy dinners. This is huge people, huge. This recipe is one of my all-time favs in the healthy department. These Quinoa Burgers are so simple and insanely delicious. Even my Dad loved them. Again, that’s huge! They are filled with warm flavor and crisp veggies. They are also very light. My Dad liking “hippie food” is your biggest reason to try this recipe out in a hurry.
Tonight I participated in my last TRX training class. It was a little bittersweet for me. The 10 weeks of classes totally kicked my butt on multiple occasions. I won’t miss the weeks where I couldn’t walk properly for 5 days after. However, I will miss the huge sense of accomplishment after each class was over. It was also extremely gratifying to notice progress from week to week. I realized halfway through the sessions that I no longer felt dizzy…or the urge to roundhouse kick the instructor for following up our gruelling strength training exercises with the likes of burpees.
I find being on a healthy eating plan is way easier than being on an intense exercise plan. Maybe it’s because I was never a true fan of exercising for the sake of getting in shape. As a kid, my parents decided to put me in a ton of team sports. Therefore, at a very young age, I didn’t correlate sports with actual exercise. Sports meant fun times with friends and perfecting my stick-handling and batting skills. The fact that sports were actually good for me physically was a total added bonus. But I digress…
Don’t get me wrong – clean eating, although easier, can get pretty damn boring. I am always looking for ways to add flavour and spice but not calories. This recipe is perfect. It is absolutely delicious. The amount of veggies creates a great texture, paired with a spicy (but not too spicy) sauce and fluffy quinoa…you simply cannot go wrong with this dish. I Instagramed this dish a few weeks ago and had multiple request for the recipe. So here it is!
I may have a food blog, but I am definitely not the best cook in my house. If you haven’t already noticed, I am more of a baker. I love to bake! Cooking? Not so much. Part of the reason why I find cooking a little frustrating is because I am one who likes to follow a recipe. Precise measurements and ingredient lists are something I can get behind. I have learned that the best chefs are the ones that can take any ingredients you have in your house and come up with an amazing dish. They love to improvise because they understand the elements of cooking and flavour profiles. I am not so smart in this department. My fiancé, on the other hand, is a genius! He is truly at home when he is food experimenting in the kitchen.
One evening a few months ago, this delectable rib dish greeting me when I came home from a long business trip. The house smelled absolutely amazing when I walked in. A rich, savoury warmth that lingered for a day after we dined on this meal. The meat was beyond tender. It literally slid off the bone. I was in shock – this recipe is so easy! Surely this had to be a joke? Lucky me (and you), it’s not! I guarantee you will love this recipe. Even though I am not a huge meat eater, I still can’t stop thinking about these ribs.
A couple years ago I was on the hunt for a really great mac and cheese recipe. The first thing I did was do what most people do, search Google. It brought up a lot of recipes that touted “the best mac and cheese recipe ever” title. I didn’t know where to begin. All of them looked great and I couldn’t narrow the search results down far enough to the point where I wouldn’t be making and eating mac and cheese for weeks. I then surveyed my former coworkers. That’s where I was introduced to this beauty of a dish. After scanning the ingredients and seeing that it used 3 different cheese, crunchy panko breadcrumbs and penne pasta (my absolute fav!), I knew this would be a serious contender. My former coworker was right – this is by far the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had. I’ve made it three or four times since discovering, and it’s a big crowd pleaser. I’m confident you will feel the same way.
It’s been extremely cold here in Winnipeg over the past 4 days. Like, seriously cold. I’m talking -40 degrees celsius cold! We had our car not start and require boosting twice in two days. We might now be on a first name basis with Dr. Hook Towing (thanks guys!). I completely admire people who can continue to eat healthy when it’s freezing outside. I totally crave comfort food, such as soups, chilli and this amazing casserole. Okay, so I not only crave comfort food when the weather is terrible. I also crave it when I am sick – like last week when I hurt my back and managed to eat my body weight in chicken fingers and fries. Don’t judge me – you’ve totally done this too.
I completely fell in love with this casserole a couple years ago when my fiancé made it for me on one random weekend. It’s the best casserole in the entire world. At least, in my humble opinion it is. I convinced him to make it again, only this time for the purposes of teaching me (and my loyal blog followers) the secret to its deliciousness. Needless to say, I soon realized this recipe is extremely simple, which is perfect on days when all you want to do is hide under the covers and hibernate.
I cannot believe that Christmas Eve is tomorrow. Where does the time go? I’m not gonna lie…I’m pretty darn excited. The copious amounts of delicious food, gift exchanges, and the celebration of family and friends is what I love most about this time of year. (more…)
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending an event which celebrated the 6th anniversary of a fantastic local business. Half Pints Brewing Co. is a Winnipeg-based, independently-owned craft brewery. Its motto: Quality, not quantity.
In true style, the anniversary party was held at yet another terrific local business, Elements Restaurant. Each course in the 5-course meal was paired with a delicious Half Pints brew. We even had the opportunity to taste the rare Humulus Ludicrous, which is an intensely hoppy ale, and the brand new Noche De Los Alebrijes, a malty, chocolaty Oaxacan dark lager, which I surprisingly adored (I’m more of a wheat beer fan). Below are some of the food and beer pairings from the event:
Course #3 – Duck breast with Half Pints glaze, green beans, carrots, wild rice and a poached egg. It was paired with the delicious Humulus Ludicrous.
Course #4 – Lamb chop with grilled veggies, tomato and white beans. It was paired perfectly with the Noche De Los Alebrijes.
Course #5 – Almond Joy. It was made with a salted almond crust with decadent dark chocolate, topped with toasted coconut. It was paired with the robust Stir Stick Stout.
A huge congratulations to Half Pints on a successful event, and even more important, a successful 6 years!