Food Review

It has been a while since I wrote a food review, so I thought I would take the opportunity to do it this week since I won't be doing a menu plan. Sorry, but my husband is off this week and we will be out & about, going to the cottage for a bit , etc...

Mediterranean chicken stew with couscous (from Today's Parent) - it was really easy to make but didn't wow me. Hard to say if I would make it again or not.

Lazy perogy casserole (from Today's parent) - again, this was very easy to make compared to making home made perogies. It did taste a lot like perogies, but I'd have to say that I prefer the real deal.

Japanese grilled chicken - definitely a winner. Easy to make - you marinate it in the morning and then just BBQ it at dinner time. I have made it for my family and for other people and everyone really seems to like it. I serve it with sticky rice and sesame asparagus.

Cheater souvalki - another winner for sure. Marinate it over night and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes. SO easy. I have a recipe for "real" souvalki which is really good too, but this is something very simple to do if you don't feel like using your BBQ.

Jerk chicken (from Emeril) - this way tasty....I love Jamaican food. Too spicy for the kids though.

Chicken Parmesan (from Everyday Italian) - this was really good and I will make it again. You don't bread the chicken, so it is a lighter version of the classic recipe.

Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Sauce- sorry Martha, we weren't a big fan of this one.

Swedish Meatballs (from Emeril) - look out Ikea! These were really good although a little bit time consuming.

Chicken Spezzatino (everyday Italian) - this was a good and easy recipe. Unfortunately, I have some bad memories surrounding this dish - the kids and I has stomach flu right after I made this and seeing the partially digested version of this recipe has put me off.

The origin of chocolate milk

This weekend I took the kids to my mom's cottage since my husband was working. On Saturday, my mom and step-dad took the Love Bug out with them to do some errands while the Missus slept (to give me a break). While they were out they passed some cows.

My step dad said to the Love Bug "Look at the cows. Those white cows make white milk."

The Love Bug said "Ya."

Then my step-dad said "And brown cows make chocolate milk."

The Love Bug looked at him and said "No Zaidie. Chocolate milk comes from Starbucks!"

Too cute!

Menu Plan - week of June 23rd

This week I am going to try out a few new recipes from my latest cookbook "eat, shrink and be merry". I have watched the show on the Food Network and decided to see how the book is. What can I say...I love buying new cookbooks!

Monday - pasta with meat sauce

Tuesday - From new cookbook - Chicken Pandemoniyum (chicken & wild rice skillet meal with grated parmesan) and green beans

Wednesday - chili, buttermilk biscuits (as per my hubby's request)

Thursday - Dilly beloved from new cookbook (baked chicken with maple, mustard, lemon & dill) with roasted potatoes and asparagus

Friday - steaks on the BBQ, butternut squash risotto and salad

Saturday - chicken and black bean burritos with a green salad

Menu Plan - week of June 16th

Sorry, it is a day late. Just didn't feel like blogging yesterday...

Monday - Ham steaks, eggs, toast & fruit (the Love Bug wanted breakfast for dinner)

Tuesday - pasta with bolognese sauce & salad

Wednesday - Chicken with Apple Gravy, Cheesy Rice Pilaf with Peas and Green Beans

Thursday - Cross Cut Roast Beef stew with mashed potatoes (this is one of my hubby's favourites. I have been putting off making it because it has been too hot to have the oven on for hours, but he really wants it)

Friday - steaks on the BBQ, rosti potatoes (recipe from Canadian Living Cookbook) and corn on the cob

Menu Plan - week of June 9th

I am keeping it easy again this week because the hubby will not be joining us for dinner for half of this week. And, it is summer so I would rather be doing other things than trapped in my kitchen!

Monday - pizza and fruit for dessert
Tuesday - grilled ham & cheese sandwiches, fruit
Wednesday - Chicken tetrazzine, salad
Thursday - it is my anniversary so hopefully we will be going out or ordering in!
Friday - sausages on the BBQ, corn on the cob and salad
Saturday - Mushroom pork medallions, rice pilaf & asparagus
Sunday - Father's day - I'll have to ask my husband what he would like for dinner - probably steaks knowing him!

17 months old

I feel like the Missus is doing so many new things every day right now that it is hard to keep track of everything. And, because she is sooooo busy, I find it hard to find the time to blog about it. I'll do my best to capture my active 17th month old.

-she is now putting two or three words together in mini-sentences

-she will say "bwess you" if she hears someone sneeze

-she is a complete parrot and copies everything she hears

-she is a daredevil and will climb anything she can find...for example, I constantly find her sitting in the middle of the kitchen table! She will put out a chair, climb onto it and then climb onto the table. She LOVES to do this if anyone has left food on the table in particular.

-that brings me to another point...she eats constantly! She is definitely more picky than she used to be, but she prefers smaller meals with LOTS of snacks in between. Which is really a healthier way to eat anyway...smart girl ;)

-she loves music and you will often hear her trying to sing along to the radio in the car. Her favourite kids songs are "ring around the rosie" and "wheels on the bus". She will sing a few of the words and do the actions.

-she is still a dancing machine - I can't wait to put her in a tu tu for dance classes! I'm not sure how old she needs to be to start though...

-the Missus fits right in at the Love Bug's nursery school. The other kids are used to her now. She will walk in with the Love Bug and I in the morning like she belongs there...pull up a chair and start colouring.

-she loves bouncing balls. She will pick it up and say "ball..bouncy bouncy" and kill herself laughing.

-she loves her "babies" such as dolls and stuffed animals. If we ask her to find her baby she will go get it and give it big hugs. She also like to feed the doll a bottle and give it medicine.

-the Missus likes to pretend making things in the play kitchen and will bring me cups of tea. I'm looking forward to when my kids can do this for real!

-right now she is getting 4 teeth, including two molars. So, she has been a bit cranky at times and it is more difficult to brush her teeth. She will grab the toothbrush away from me and say "mine" "bwuss" and brush her own teeth.

-last, but not least, she knows most of her major body parts...and her favourite is her belly button.

Menu Plan - week of June 2nd

Monday - chili (I know it was hot out today, but my husband loves chili and we haven't had it in a few weeks).

Tuesday - banana buttermilk pancakes & fruit (my husband is eating out...so breakfast for dinner).

Wednesday - Mediterranean chicken stew and couscous (I didn't get a chance to make it last week because we had leftovers).

Thursday - BBQ's steaks, risotto and salad

Friday - I am cooking for my family at the cottage. I am looking for a terriaki chicken recipe - and will probably make some sticky rice and sesame asparagus.

Hey, it looks like a pretty easy week for me...NICE!