Overdo post

It has been way to long since I have posted anything. Life has been quite busy, starting with Christmas, which we had a wonderful time with family, then after taking 2 weeks off, it was getting back into the swing of things, and then we had a lot of company come over. First it was my cousin from Alberta, for 2 weekends, she had to work during the week near our place, and the second weekend, her brother and his family came down, and as usual, I laughed so much! It was so great to see them all, and I had so much fun. Then my cousin from Sudbury came down, it was a more relaxed weekend which was great, and we of course stopped in at Chapters. Then my in-laws came down for a visit, we did some shopping, and played cards and had a great time.

When I was shopping for presents, we do this Christmas gift exchange, and I was already on my way to Ikea to get my goddaughter a gift, so I stopped in at Terra 20 to get a few things I needed, and decided to see what they had in hopes to find something for the gift exchange and I did. I have been seeing these bento boxes here and there, and unsure if it's something I should try out, but decided this would be a pretty good gift, and the game we play can sometimes lead to getting your own gift which isn't a bad thing, so decided why not. The more I thought of it, the more I wanted to get one for myself, which I didn't get mine back, I ended up getting a Chapters gift card and home made caramel sauce, that my hubby's cousin made, and it's delicious!! So I made another stop in at Terra 20 to get a few.

So I didn't have enough room for my veggies to snack on so those are in a baggy, but to the left on top is 2 boiled eggs with half an avocado, under that is half a banana, raspberries and blueberries, next to that is a salad, and that small container is the dressing. Bento boxes are my new obsession. I tend to fill up pretty quickly so this is a good way to snack on different things during the day. Here's another bento box I put together

So this one to the top left is carrots, celery and a bit of humus, under that is macaroni salad that I made. It's brown rice pasta with chopped up celery, green onions, radishes and broccoli, and the dressing is Dijon mustard, a bit of relish and some mayo with a bit of paprika and pepper. The top right is a bit of Greek yogurt, chia seeds, a tsp. of maple syrup and blueberries, under that is a whole wheat wrap with tuna salad. My tuna salad has very thinly chopped up celery, red onion and radish mixed with half an avocado, Dijon mustard, and a tiny bit of mayo. Along the right side is raspberries.

Over the weekend I also made a banana bread and some guacamole, and cooked up some chicken for my hubby's lunch. I'm trying to stay away from meat again, except fish and shrimp because I have been getting some endometriosis pain here and there, so on Sunday night we had shrimp with aioli sauce, some of the macaroni salad, and a garden salad with an avocado dressing. Yesterday he had pork, and I had salmon with sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus. Tonight will be a vegetarian stir fry for me and he will have chicken with his.

I will try to blog more often to share more information and recipes. Next week I'm off on a girls trip, so stay tuned for the details on that! One hint, if you watch the Rachael Ray talk show, you should be seeing me in the audience!  So excited!!!

Girls trip during black Friday weekend

Last weekend I went with some friends to Syracuse. We left Friday after work, which we got quite the scare because we drove right next to a huge male deer which was taking up the whole first lane and facing our way and luckily we were in the second lane. We all saw it except Anne, and funny enough, the three of us that did see it, stared in shock and didn't say a word till after. That was a little to close for our liking and I did look back after and it looked like we may have put a spot light on the deer cause it looked like the cars behind us stopped and I didn't see the deer at all, so hopefully it make it back to safety in the woods. You know when people say it happened quick but in the moment it was sort of like in slow motion, well I know what they mean cause I got one very good look at this deer cause it seems almost in slow motion. Scariest thing ever, and let me tell you we were on the lookout for more cause I for sure wouldn't want to hit one.

We did make it in Syracuse safe and sound, and stopped for supper at the Outback, which not sure who remembers when we use to have one open here in Ottawa, but I do miss it. The bread is so good!! Here's my super

It was delicious but they cooked the steak a bit to long, and I could have asked for another but it was about 8pm or so and I was starving. We did a bit of shopping after which the mad crowd of people was done at that point. We then went to our hotel and the true shopping started on the Saturday.

Before starting our shopping we went to the Crackerbarrel for breakfast, and Anne and I shared because it's way to much food for one person. We got the french toast which tasted like cinnamon buns, it was delicious!!

We also got eggs, potatoes and bacon with these french toast and also enjoyed a delicious hot chocolate. We then went to the huge mall in Syracuse and spent many hours there, but it went by fast! I managed to get a few more Christmas gifts and some clothes for me at some very good prices. We of course had to stop in at the cheesecake factory

Anne and I bought one slice to share for later on in the evening and Samantha and her friend did the same thing. We also had to stop in at Margaritaville

We then decided to stop for a late lunch at the Outback and since we had a reservation to an Italian place for 7 pm we decided to just share a few appetizers

We did a bit more shopping after that, then went to a different hotel to change and rest up a bit before heading to the casino, it was very festive there

We then went for our reservation at an Italian restaurant, I forget the name of it but it was amazing there! She was able to reserve a table in front of the kitchen so we can see them work and it was awesome!

I of course had to get red wine, and they were very kind in giving us a free plate of meatballs sitting on a bed of ricotta, they were delicious!!!

I ordered a spinach pasta dish, it's really long round pasta stuffed with ricotta and spinach, topped with sauce and cheese

It was so good!! I had a nice take out box and got to enjoy it again, and the left overs where just as good. Anne got spaghetti which also looked good and Samantha and her friend shared the same thing I got. She mentioned how amazing it was so I had to try it and I'm glad I did. Next time we go, I would love to try the lasagna. We did also get bread, which was also really amazing.

Sunday we had the complementary breakfast at the hotel and made our way to Watertown were we did a bit more shopping and then had lunch at the steakhouse

The steak was perfectly cooked, I also had a salad with this and they have some really good bread here as well, with a cinnamon butter which is delicious! We did one last stop at Walmart to help walk off lunch a little before heading home so we can have supper at home and have time to unwind before starting the work week.

It was one amazing trip, had so much fun!! Thanks again ladies and we need to do this again!

Christmas is coming

The other day my friend and I got together to do some Christmas baking/cooking. I went to her place after she was done work on Friday, since I had the day off, and then we went out for dinner, bought what we needed, and got dough ready for the next day. We tried 3 different kinds, my mom's recipe, the crisco recipe on the container, as well as the tenderflake recipe on the box. The one that actually turned out great is tenderflake. I'm not sure what when wrong with the other two, but I'm thinking maybe I have to do it the day of but not quite sure. Really wish I would have taken then time with my mom to master her dough recipe. I will ask around and also try out a few ideas I have and hopefully I end up being successful.  Here's a few pictures of what we made yesterday

So we made a lot of meat pies, some potato pies as well which I forgot to take a picture of, apple pie (picture of Samatha's pie, mine is just the traditional full crust on top like the meat pies), pecan pie, pet de soeurs and my mom's famous recipe of oh henry bars, which I also forgot to take a picture of.

For those who haven't heard of pet de soeurs (why it's called that, I really don't know), but it's very simple, it's a very good way to use up left over dough once your done, you just roll out your dough, as square as you can, slather it with butter, add brown sugar and then roll it up fairly tightly into like a cylinder shape and then slice it up and place on a cookie sheet and bake I think it took ours about 15 min or so. Don't let it over cook cause then it will be really crispy rather then nice and moist.

Today I got busy in the kitchen again and made a butternut squash soup

This soup is so simple and delicious! I removed the skin of a large butternut squash, cut them into bite size pieces, making sure to remove the seeds towards the bottom of the squash, I added 3 carrots, some onions and garlic. I sauteed the onions for a bit, added in garlic for about a minute then added the squash and carrots and let that saute a few minutes. I then added 1/4 of lentils and some quinoa then added some stock that I made and had in the freezer (took it out a few days ago to let it unfreeze), I let it come to a boil and brought it down to medium heat and let it cook for about a half hour and let it cool down a bit. With a hand held blender I pureed the soup adding some pepper a touch of thyme and some nutmeg. You can make this soup all kinds of ways, you can roast the vegetables in the oven to add some more flavor to the soup, you can add celery as well, you can omit the grains and beans but I added some to make it heartier. You can also add milk to add more creaminess. I have once added a bit of greens pureed but that does change the color of the soup but it does add more nutrients. You can add some parsley for a bit more freshness as well or for a bit of a crunch you can add pumpkin seeds, raw or toasted. These two jars are going to be going into my freezer to enjoy another time, and I also have 3 bowls to enjoy this week.

Most of the pies went into my freezer so I have things on hand over the holidays since things can get pretty hectic. We were so exhausted and tired by the end of the day but they turned out amazing and we had fun, well except when we were disappointed with the other two dough's that didn't work out.

I really can't believe Christmas is a little over a month away. It's coming fast! I started some Christmas shopping but I do still have more to do, so will try to get that done soon to not leave it for the last minute. Hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend!

Fall

Fall is my favorite time of year, it's a bit cooler outside, the leaves are beautiful, and although I'm not a big fan of winter, I do love Christmas and having some snow on the ground.

I have been keeping busy as usual with exercise and in the kitchen. I went for a 5 km run a few weeks ago and it was such a beautiful day

Yes in October I was outside in shorts and a tank top, can't complain about that!  One breakfast I do enjoy, or even for a snack is creating my own yogurt. I don't remember the last time I had a yogurt with fruit already in it. I rather add my own to my yogurt, so for this one it's plain Greek organic yogurt, I added fresh blueberries and strawberries, a bit of maple syrup and some chia seeds

I sometimes also add in granola or nuts for some crunch. My friend and I also got really busy in the kitchen and made our own bread

One of them is oat and honey, and the other is white and whole wheat flour. We want to try to get together as often as we can to increase our skills in the kitchen by trying out things we have never made before, and these were a really good success. They were delicious!  We also decided to make our own meatballs

With some of those, we made a tomato sauce and our supper was spaghetti, with some of our homemade bread, and desert, we made an apple crumble. It was a really good supper!

The bonus is we had some left over to make more meals with them. The other weekend I did make a big pot of tomato sauce with ground beef, lots of vegetables, some herbs and spices, and let it cook in my slow cook all day. I have 3 mason jars in my freezer with extra sauce to use for another time. I also did a bit more baking and made almond cookies which are my favorite, and also made some molasses cookies since it's been a while since I made them. I lost the recipe again but thankfully my friend still had it.

This weekend my friend and are getting together again to get some pies ready for the holidays. We will of course have some meat pies, and unsure what else yet, but hoping we make potato pie, and apple pie and we will of course have to make some pet de soeur.

I have started Christmas shopping, but still a few more things to buy till it's all done. I went to my dad's yesterday, and my brother, sister in law and the kids were there to, and we planned a day to get together for Christmas to celebrate together, and looks like we agreed to come to my place to celebrate, so I'm excited to have them over, and I will have some pies all ready for our supper. Not sure if they will be as good as my mom made them, but I will be using her pie crust recipe cause it was always so good! I will post about our weekend and share pictures and recipes.

Endometriosis

I haven't talked about endometriosis in a while, and what got my interest today is Julianne Hough. I was watching the Rachael Ray talk show and she came on and mentioned she has endometriosis and talked about a website, so here it is if you want to check it out. I also found this online, which is her blog.

Although my endo is a lot better since my hysterectomy, I am hit with some pain from time to time so I try to watch what I eat to help prevent pain. One way is by making my own food with cooking and baking. Today I got busy in the kitchen with making snacks. I made a dip for veggies, baked a banana bread and put together my own snack. I have bought these peanut butter and rice crispy balls, and they are simple but so delicious, I'm addicted to them!  I don't go downtown very often so I asked someone working there what were the rice crispy they add in there cause they are made at that store and sold and she told me the rice crisp from Nature's Path. It's not as healthy as the brown rice puffs but they add the crisp which the brown rice puffs don't. So I finally took the time to attempt making my own since I don't have the exact recipe and I think I succeeded.

I didn't measure at all, I added about a cup or so of natural peanut butter, meaning the only ingredient is peanuts, added about a tablespoon of maple syrup, a handful of cacao nibs, but you can add chocolate chips, I thought I would change it up, and then the rice crisp until everything combines good and then form balls, I was able to make 15 of them. I tried it, it tasted good but will taste better once they have been in the fridge a while. I prefer to eat them when they are nice and cold.

The trick with making healthier recipes is by swapping the unhealthy ingredients for healthier ones. Like the recipe for the banana bread I use spelt flour instead of white flour and swap the brown sugar for coconut sugar. I love having snacks on hand so it's easier to grab those then end up getting something unhealthy. If you are suffering with endometriosis, food also plays a big role. I saw a naturopath and she helped me find out what caused my pain, which was dairy, meat (except seafood) and wheat, although wheat isn't a strong reaction I still try not to eat to much of it.

Summer

As per my last post I mentioned we were going on vacation to Sudbury for our 2 weeks off. The trip to Sudbury was great! His sister's wedding was beautiful, saw family, and got to spend a bit of time at camp

I also had the opportunity to go blueberry picking

I went with my father in law and the trail was narrow but I really do love this view, it's so pretty! At the start the mosquitos were bad but then they left us alone more and we picked quite a few. We brought a picnic and took a break to eat and then got more.

They weren't big but they weren't a bad size. Tried to leave the really small ones there so they can keep growing.




It took us about 3 hours to pick 5 and a half medium zip lock bags, plus about 8 cups, which were used to make 2 blueberry pies

We had one of the pies for our dessert after supper and then brought the other one home along with all the blueberries. I wanted my in laws to take half but they insisted on us bringing them all home with us so we did and I gave one bag to my dad. I froze most of them and used some to add to cereal and yogurt for breakfast, I also made a raw blueberry dessert, and added some to pancakes when my cousin from Alberta was down. She stayed with us last weekend but now she's back home.

We did come home earlier to spend time with my cousin, and also to have time at home before going back to work. It gave me the chance to do some laundry, get some groceries, which I went to the market to get fresh fruits and vegetables. I have been enjoying snacking on peaches and nectarines and with some of the vegetables I made a salad for my lunch

I cooked up 1/4 cup of quinoa in some water, I added fresh corn, just cut it off the cob, and roasted some yellow and red beets, and added sliced radishes. I also added some red kidney beans and for the dressing I put about 2 tbsp of Dijon mustard, a big slash of apple cider vinegar and some olive oil, and added a bit of honey, 1/2 a tsp and also a bit of grated ginger and some pepper.

Something I made today is a recipe I saw on Facebook called floureless peanut butter, chocolate chip mini blender muffins

We both tried one and they are really good!  Here's the recipe:

1 medium ripe banana, peeled
1 large egg
heaping 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used the all natural, meaning peanuts are the only ingredient)
3 tbsp honey (agave or maple syrup) - I used maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt, optional
heaping 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips - I used regular and it was dark (71%)

Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare mini muffin pan by spraying cooking spray or grease and flour the pan (I used coconut oil) in blender (I just mixed it all in a bowl). Add in first 7 ingredients and blend on high until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add chocolate chips and stir by hand.

Using a tbsp or small cookie scoop form rounded 1 tbsp mounds about 3/4 full

Bake 8-9 minutes or until tops are set. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes.
Keeps at room temp up to 5 days or in freezer up to 4 months

They will be a delicious snack! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Update

It's been a very long time since I have done a post, but it's been a really busy summer so far. Here's an update on what I have been up to.

So things started off with my hubby's 40th birthday party

So it was suppose to be a surprise, but it was leaked out accidentally the night before, but there was still an element of surprise, he didn't know the details, and it made it easier to get him there. Lots of family and friends came, and it was a really great turn out. The cake above was bought at the Cake shop, it incorporated his two favorite things, beer and the Sens. The food was good, I made his favorite, guacamole and dip for vegetables, the music was amazing and it was a fun night. I of course got a lot of help from friends and family which was very much appreciated!

Then there was dessert fest, which I went with my nieces, my good friend and her daughter

We had a good time and got to see and try many desserts. It was better organized this year, they had take out boxes which I did bring back some dessert, and they were better placed because last year they were all to close together so it made it hard to get through the crowd, so this year they spaced out everyone better so it was easier to walk through. They even had a really big turtle and a small hedgehog.

For Christmas my hubby got me season tickets for the Red Blacks, in case you don't know who they are, it's football. I'm the type that loves to play sports but not so much watch unless it's live. We sit near friends and have a good time. I got to even take a picture with two of the cheerleaders

I know I look really short, but they do have high heels on, but even then I'm still short. I also look a bit stiff in the picture, not sure why, but it was cool to get to take a picture with them. I have only been to 2 games so far. We missed one because for his birthday I got him tickets to see the Red hot chili peppers here in Ottawa, so a few friends took our tickets and we went to the concert. We had a good time. The following game his cousin came down from Sudbury so he took my ticket to go watch, so I had a nice quiet evening at home.

My hubby and I also play baseball and we had a tournament weekend, and this week we played twice to make up a game. We play tonight as well, which the way it works we can play any day between Sunday and Friday, but always at 6:15 pm. I spent a day in the market one day with a friend, she moved downtown months ago, so helped her with a few things and got some fruits and veggies in the market and took a walk along the canal. Been getting back into running, and still taking some spinning classes once a week and going for walks and biking. I had gotten a panini press, well it's a cast iron lid to use with my cast iron pan, and I love it. I have made a few different ones and I still had some pizza dough in the freezer so took those out and made one Thursday night and made another last night.

Another fun thing I did last weekend, my cousin came down from Sudbury, and my nieces slept over Friday night so that Saturday morning we headed to Navan to do foam fest. It's 5 km with obstacles in between, it was lots of fun. We got dirty, it was a great workout and so much fun! Took us about an hour and a half to get through it. Here's a few pictures

My cousin's husband came with my god daughter, and he took quite a few pictures of us. We got all cleaned up as best as we could, went to visit my brother for a bit, and once home we cleaned up even better. My cousin and I went to do a bit of shopping, got Panera for supper, and watched some movies. Sunday my cousin and I were booked in for a massage at Le Nordik, and it was so amazing. Good way to relax and help those sore muscles. We then had some lunch and we shared an appetizer

It was a total of 4 toasts, topped with some white sauce, mushrooms, cashews, green onion and a few slices of tomatoes. It was delicious!!  I then had a steak with roasted beets and carrots, and some potatoes, which was also really good! My cousin had pasta with pesto. She let me try it and it was really good as well. We then drove home so she can head back home to Sudbury. It was so great to spend some time with them.

This weekend is more quiet, so I'm catching up on a few things around the house. Next weekend we are off to Sudbury for almost 2 weeks. We will most likely do some camping and my sister in law is getting married. I'll of course try to see friends and family and we are headed back home a bit earlier because my cousin is coming down from Alberta, so there will be a pizza night and we will play cards!  I really can't wait!! So it will be a while until I post again, but once I get the chance I'll share another update.

I have a few new recipes I want to try out, so will try not to forget to get more pictures, and share those recipes since it's been a while since I have put up recipes. Hope everyone is having an amazing summer, even if your getting a lot of rain like we are.