Week 26 - Oh Canada!

Printable Version of Meal Plan and Grocery List

Canada Day is just around the corner so I wanted to pay tribute to this great country and one of my favorite holidays!!  I'm featuring meals using some of the best known Canadian ingredients...  blueberries, maple syrup, cheese, beef, lobster and mussels to name a few.  What are your favorite Canadian foods??  Admittedly, some of my ingredients were imports (gasp!), but hey... the 4th of July is just around the corner too.  Why not celebrate both, eh?!


Watermelon Maple Leaf - an easy treat for a July 1st BBQ!

Recipe Quick Links

Overnight Oats, Kath Eats

Wild Rice and Lentil Salad, Canadian Living
Whole Wheat Pancakes, All Recipes

Watermelon & Feta Salad, House of Fifty
Lobster Cobb Salad, Chuck Hughes

Week in Review

Monday

Breakfast - Overnight Oats - I'm highlighting this one because I tried a new flavor combo that was so delicious!  I used Coconut Yogurt instead of plain, and my add-ins were diced mango and a couple of tablespoons of shredded coconut.  I skipped the added sweetener because the coconut yogurt is definitely sweet enough!  mmm, mmm, mmm.... note, I've been using steel cut oats which I find turn out chewy instead of mushy.

Lunch - Wild Rice and Lentil Salad - I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe.  These aren't always flavors that appeal to me but I didn't overdo the dressing and found it to be a perfect lunch salad.  And did you know that Canada is well known for its wild rice? 



Photo by Jeff Coulson/TC Media via http://www.canadianliving.com


Supper - Mussels with Corn on the Cob.  I've been craving mussel's lately so I was really excited for supper this night.  But I decided to get adventurous and steam them with beer and it kinda ruined it for me.  When it comes to shellfish I'm a Plain Jane kind of girl.  Here's a good reference for preparing mussels.  The corn on the cob was delicious of course... nothing says summer like corn on the cob!

Tuesday

Breakfast - Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes.  Another breakfast shout out, because - a) I used blueberries and maple syrup in honor of Canada.  And b) I found an excellent pancake recipe.  I made them the night before for a quick and easy mid-week morning treat.  I had leftovers as a work snack on another day.

Lunch - Dave and I both had lunch plans so no packed lunches this day!

Supper - Chicken and Watermelon & Feta Salad.  It was HOT out so this was an awesome summer meal.  Dave liked it but didn't think it was very Canadian (he was waiting for juicy beef burgers with Canadian bacon).  It might not have been but the feta was from Quebec!  I love me some Canadian cheese!  Ultimately this was just a perfect summer salad.  I was planning to barbecue the chicken but didn't feel like standing in front of a hot grill.  I opted to slice it and cook it in a frying pan with a little coconut oil.  I thought this would be the quickest method and it actually went really well with the salad.



Watermelon and Feta Salad
"That sure is a nice looking salad!", said Marin

Wednesday

Lunch - Montreal Style Smoked Meat Sandwich.  I bought a package of smoked meat (in the deli section) and had it on dark rye bread with mustard and a slice of swiss cheese.  Delicious!  So good in fact that Dave actually emailed me at 11:30 to say how good it was and I replied "I know" because apparently neither of us could wait until noon to eat them.

Supper - BBQ Steak with Potatoes & Brussel Sprouts.  So beef and potatoes are classic Canadian foods and I really wanted to have fiddleheads to round out this meal but at the three stores I shopped at this week I didn't come across any.  I think it's just past the season.  We had brussel sprouts instead because last week when I took Marin grocery shopping she really, really wanted them because they were "so cute".  However, when she saw them on her plate she wasn't so thrilled.  Not one of Dave's favorites either.  Oh well, more brussel sprouts for me!  Steak and potatoes were both done on the BBQ.  The sprouts I boiled and dressed with a little butter and salt.

Thursday

Lunch - I had a work lunch so Dave got the last Smoked Meat Sandwich.  Have to admit, I was a little jealous.  I thought of taking a bite out of his sandwich just to be funny but I figured I wouldn't be able to stop at one bite and that would be counter productive.
 

Supper - Turkey, Bacon, Apple and Swiss Panini's on Rye Bread with Spinach Salad.  Confession - this was supposed to be 'back bacon' which is often referred to as 'Canadian bacon' but I ended up grabbing the regular stuff because I wanted it to use in tomorrow's Cobb Salad as well.  This would allow me to cook enough bacon for the two meals and trim my grocery list.  But you know how this story goes, right?  We ate the extra bacon.  Who knew Marin would love 'steakon' so much??  So maybe not overly Canadian but a great summer meal that doesn't require turning on the stove!  I made the panini's on the George Foreman Grill but you could use a frying pan in a pinch.  I spread button on the outside of the bread and a little inside.  The salad was spinach, apples, bacon and cheese with a dressing made of equal parts maple syrup and mayonaise.  Easy and really good!

Friday

Lunch - Lobster Cobb Salad.  A Canadian themed week, put together by a Nova Scotian, would not be complete without lobster!  Typically we like to chow down on this crustacean in the comfort of our own home where we can roll up our sleeves, suck the juice out of the shells and dig into every little crevice.  Not a pretty picture, but there is truly no dainty way to accomplish this task!  I bought this tasty little fella at the local grocery store.  If you're not from a place where lobster are readily available then I'd suggest substituting the lobster for shrimp or even chunks of tuna. 

Lucy the Lobster

Supper - Poutine!  We're actually going to be on the road heading to the beautiful Cape Breton Island for the weekend.  But around here most fast food chains sell Poutine so I'm sure I can find a plate of it somewhere along the way.

If you're interested in making the Maple Leaf Watermelon treats (no, I didn't hand carve them), it's this easy...  oh, and thanks for the cookie cutter Krista and Happy Anniversay to you and Chris!

Tip #1:  Make sure your Watermelon slices are thinner than the cookie cutter.
Tip #2:  Use the scraps in the Watermelon & Feta Salad!

And in some non-food related business I want to give a shout out to my friend, Wendy Owens Abbott, who has recently released her debut CD and is having a CD release party this weekend in Halifax.  I've been lucky enough to hear her sing on a number of occasions and can tell you that her voice is as beautiful as she is!  An amazing talent!  Check her out... http://wendyowensabbott.wix.com/wendyowensabbott#


Happy Canada Day!

Sandra

Week 25 - A little of this and a little of that...

Printable Version of Meal Plan and Grocery List

We were away on the weekend so I had planned to pick up just enough food to get us through Monday and then go for the main order Monday night.  But at the last minute I threw together a really quick meal plan and did a whole grocery order on Sunday.  I was able to make do with the food I bought but found I made a lot of adjustments to the plan this week, just to suit my taste buds and mood with the sun finally shining!!!  Could it really be??  Summer??

Recipe Quick Links

• Overnight Oats, Kath Eats
• Cauliflower Rice, Kalyn's Kitchen
• Salmon Cakes, Source Unknown
• Kale Salad, Marin Mama Cooks
• Honey Soy Marinade, Best Recipes
• Chinese Chicken Salad, Weelicious
• Breaded Pork Chops, All Recipes
• 7 Grain Pilaf & Orange Salad, Zoe Cuisine
• Chocolate Avocado Pudding, After Dinner Dance (This is a must try!)
• Chickpea Burgers, Marin Mama Cooks

 

Week in Review

Monday

Lunch - Ham, Havarti & Triscuit "Lunchable" with Veggies & Ranch Dip.  Feels like it's been awhile since I've made this type of lunch.  It was the perfect no-cook meal to throw together after being away for the weekend.

Supper - Salmon & Cauliflower Rice.  I've been seeing recipes for cauliflower rice everywhere lately and was pretty curious.  I've mashed, steamed and roasted cauliflower, I've tried the cauliflower pizza crust (really good!) and just like cauliflower in general so I was actually a tad disappointed with this recipe.  I might not have cooked the onions enough and I don't think I got the right consistency with the cauliflower either - it ended up being more of a puree as she cautions.  I also skipped the sumac because I was actually following a very similar Chatelaine version of this recipe.  The salmon was good though.  I just seasoned with salt, pepper and a spritz of lemon and then baked it in the oven at 375 until done.  I really enjoy salmon so sometimes find less is more.  Marin gobbles up fish too, it's always an easy sell.  I remember not liking fish as a kid so hopefully that doesn't change.

Tuesday

Breakfast - Overnight Oats!!!   I'm finding that opening the fridge in the morning to find a jar of this yumminess waiting for me is the perfect start to the day!  I'm hoping it's going to start motivating me to get up at 5:30 for run!




Overnight Oats

 

Lunch - Salmon Fishcakes & Kale Salad.  I had this Kale Salad on the menu for later in the week but it was on my mind since I watched Jackie's video tutorial over at Marin Mama Cooks so I just couldn't wait and bumped it up.  Go watch the video... I've made this salad a few times now and really love it but realized I wasn't massaging my kale enough.  Unfortunately around here you have to take what you can get with Kale and this week it wasn't the best but I still really enjoyed the salad.  Then I turned my leftover salmon into super easy fishcakes... I didn't follow a recipe.  The Bachelorette was on and I needed to get lunch made fast!  I mashed potatoes, added some of the leftover cauliflower rice & salmon, an egg, breadcrumbs, dill... measured nothing.  Formed them into patties, coated them in panko and fried them up.  If you're more of a recipe follower I have my favorite fishcake recipe typed out in the "Patty Cake" week.

Supper - Honey Soy Chicken Burgers with Asian Slaw.  This was a bit of a recipe shuffle too.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day so a barbecue was a must and burgers were on my mind.  I marinated the chicken cutlets and cooked them on the barbecue (well, Dave actually did that step).  Then served them up on toasted English Muffins with that yummy Peanut Dipping Sauce from last week.  I would have liked to have added lettuce and tomato but I wasn't planning on burgers so I didn't have any.  On the side I made the Weelicious Chinese Chicken Salad, without the chicken.

Wednesday

Lunch - Chinese Chicken Salad.  I chopped up the leftover chicken and threw it on the leftover Asian Slaw.  Easy.  Which freed up my evening on Tuesday to enjoy the sunshine!  Of course what I did instead was clean out the upstairs closet and a heavy box fell on my head... luckily I escaped with just a very minor injury!  I take this as a sign that I should clean less and cook more!  By the way... this chicken was delicious cold the next day!  I actually preferred this meal as leftovers.

Supper - Breaded Pork Chops with Veggies and Dip.  These pork chops are quick, easy and tasty too.  I had planned on roasted veggies but I got home late and was short on time so we had raw veggies and dip instead.   And for dessert - Chocolate Avocado Pudding.  Decadent!

Thursday

Lunch - 7 Grain Pilaf and Orange Salad.  I've made this before and I'll make it again!  The feta, the nuts, the fruit... mmm, mmm, mmm.  I was low on grains so I made this with all quinoa.  Bulgar would have added a nice texture.




Quinoa and Orange Salad

    

Supper - Chickpea Burgers & Greek Salad.  More from Marin Mama... sometimes I feel like her stalker but I get lost in her blog and have loved all the recipes I've tried.  This is at least my third batch of these burgers... so tasty!  And since we greeked them up with the Tzatziki I served them with a side of Greek salad.  I was actually wanting some lemon roasted potatoes but it was too warm to turn the oven on for 45 minutes. 

Friday

Lunch - Chickpea Burgers & Kale Salad.  Leftover Friday!

Supper - Spaghetti & Meatballs.  I'm getting the plan out early today because we're having Dave's family over for Spaghetti tonight.  This was a staple in thier house so we're looking forward to the feast.  Dave was making the meatballs this morning, I'm tossing up a big Caesar salad... some garlic bread and a DQ Ice Cream cake to celebrate all the June birthday's (2 brothers & 2 nephews).  It looks like the weather is going to cooperate so we can sit outside and maybe fit in a few games of Bocce and Washers too!

Happy weekend everyone!

Sandra

Week 24 - Everyday Potluck

Printable Version of Meal Plan and Grocery List

Have you ever noticed when you go to a potluck that everything tastes so good!  So why don't we just cook like that all the time?  The thing with potluck food is that it's typically something you can big-batch, has global appeal for picky eaters and travels well... perfect for everyday!  So all the lunch/supper options this week are potluck friendly.  Just in time for all those summer barbecue's!

Recipe Quick Links

Fish Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa, Canadian Living
Honey Garlic Meatballs, Edesia's Notebook
Avocado Corn Salad, Sobey's Inspired
Thai Chicken Skewers with Peanut Dipping Sauce, Life's on Fire
Lemony Red Pepper and Asparagus Salad, Canadian Living

Week in Review

Monday

Lunch - Quinoa Lentil Salad.  This recipe came from my sister, Jo-Anne.  She brought it to a family BBQ a couple of weeks ago.  She likes to make the base (quinoa, bulgur, lentils, feta and dressing) in a big batch on the weekend and then she just adds the veggies as she goes through the week.  The lentils in this salad make it a filling lunch.  I prepared 1 cup of quinoa (reserving enough for breakfast later in the week), 3/4 cup bulgar and 1 cup of lentils.  This made generous servings of lunch for Dave and I for two days.  I added tomato and cucumber to our individual servings.

Dressing for Quinoa Lentil Salad
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp mint
1 tsp dill
Salt & Pepper
**Note: I made the amount of dressing as described here but found it to not be enough, so I made more based on 1/8 cup olive oil.  How much dressing you need will depend on how much salad you make and personal taste.

Supper - Fish Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa.  I made these a few weeks ago and they are so good!  I will say I made one mistake this time... I got lazy and bought corn tortillas instead of making them fresh.  It really did make a difference.  I think these would be awesome for a potluck.  When I make my own corn tortillas they're typically pretty small so you could have a platter with a stack of tortillas, crumbled fish, and the salsa and yogurt in dishes.  I think it would look really pretty and impressive and one little taco would be just right size when you're taking a little bit of everything. 

Photo by Jim Kim/TC Media, via http://www.canadianliving.com

Tuesday

Lunch -- Quinoa Lentil Salad.  I didn't switch it up, this was an exact repeat of Monday's lunch.  It was really nice to have something easy to pack on Monday night!  My sister will big batch this to have more than twice in the week.  For me two times of anything is typically enough... by the third day it's lost it's appeal.

Supper -- Honey Garlic Meatballs and Rice.  Ever been to a meatball free potluck?  Nope, me either.  I've never made honey garlic meatballs so I browsed Pinterest looking for a recipe.  I typically stay away from ketchup based sauces because, well... they're just too "ketchup-y".  But it seemed like every recipe I found for honey garlic sauce was this recipe.  Given it's popularity I thought I'd give it a try.  The verdict?  It was too "ketchup-y"!  I was looking for a bit more honey and bit more garlic.  When I said I wasn't crazy about it though Marin said (with a full mouth of food) "mmmm... I think it's perfect already".  So it got the kid stamp of approval.  If anyone has a meatball recipe they'd like to share I'm still looking for "the one".

Wednesday

Lunch - Dave didn't need lunch and I had a lunch date with my bestie!

Supper - Fajita Chicken Stirfry and Avocado Corn Salad.  I was planning to barbecue the chicken but it was raining cats and dogs so at the last minute I decided to do up the chicken as if we were having fajitas... chicken, peppers, onion, Mexican spice blend and salsa.  This is the second time I've had this Avocado Corn Salad on the menu and I made it for our family gathering last weekend as well.  This is best with grilled corn but I've made it plenty of times using frozen corn and it's still really good.  The last time I made it I skipped the salsa and hot pepper in consideration of some dietary constraints and actually preferred it that way so I skipped them again.



Photo from Sobey's Inspired - http://www.inspired.ca

 

Thursday

Lunch - Honey Garlic Meatball Pita Pizza.  I used up the leftover meatballs on a pita pizza, using the honey garlic sauce in place of pizza sauce.  It was pretty good.  I like when I can reinvent leftovers.

Supper - Thai Tofu Skewers with Peanut Dipping Sauce with Basmati Rice.  I think these would be great for a summer barbecue as an alternative to meat.  This recipe is from the cookbook "Life's on Fire - Cooking for the Rushed" but substituting tofu/veggie skewers for the chicken.  The recipe is copied out in the Week 6 file (linked above).  I mentioned this cookbook a few weeks ago and this is by far the recipe that I've made the most.  I think the Tofu version turned out great but then again, anything dipped in this peanut dipping sauce is going to be good.  I could eat have eaten it by the spoonful.  And you might not think of Tofu as kid-friendly but in our house it most definitely is!  It was one of Marin's first finger foods and she's always loved it.  I find this recipes needs a pretty plain side so we had it with basmati rice.

Friday

Lunch - Lemony Red Pepper and Asparagus Pasta Salad and Deviled Eggs.  Pasta Salad and Deviled Eggs - two more potluck classics.  I first tried this pasta salad at a girls night potluck and instantly fell in love with it.  It's really light and full of flavor, the perfect summer pasta salad.  This made enough for 2 days so we'll clean up on it on the weekend.  And confession time... I left deviled eggs in the menu because of the theme, but I was too lazy by the time I packed our lunches so we just had plain boiled eggs.

Photo by Joe Kim via http://www.canadianliving.com

Supper - Layered Nacho Dip.  Saving the best for last!  Isn't this always the first thing to go?  And is it just me or do you usually eat it and think "mmm... I could totally park myself in front of this dish and make a whole meal of it!".  Well we did... and this isn't the first time either!  Dave was regrettably out at a staff party but Marin will be super happy with this one!  I blend equal parts of cream cheese and sour cream, topped with salsa, optionally some veggies such as tomatoes, peppers and avocado and finally a layer of shredded cheese.  Easy peasy and delicious! 

Happy Father's Day weekend!

Week 23 - "Pin"spiration

Printable Version of Meal Plan and Grocery List

We had another busy weekend so I decided to not bog myself down with a theme.  I got up super early on Sunday morning, made a coffee and did a one-stop shop visit to Pinterest to throw together a quick meal plan and grocery list for the week.   I threw in a few stand-by’s too.  Sometimes you just need to not over think things!

Recipe Quick Links

Chinese Chicken Salad, Weelicious
Tex-Mex Rice Cakes, Weelicious
Grilled Portobello Burger, 52 Weeks of Meal Planning
Kale Salad, Marin Mama Cooks
Grilled Romain Hearts, Key Ingredient
Crispy Sweet Potato Fries, Foodvee
Overnight Oats, The Yummy Life

Snack spotlight - Fig Bars

You might have noticed these in my snack list recently.  I found these treats at Costco last month and we're on our second huge box.  They're certified Non-GMO which is great... but mostly they are just really, really tasty!  And convenient.  If you like Fig Newtons, you'll LOVE these!


Nature's Bakery Fig Bars



Week in Review

Monday

Lunch – Chinese Chicken Shrimp Salad.  I didn’t think I was going to rant and rave about this one but I have to say the dressing for this recipe is awesome.  I’m a huge fan of salad dressings, I used to have a fridge full of them.  The problem was I could never go through a whole bottle so I was forever throwing them out.  So stumbling upon this Asian Sesame dressing was a big deal for me… and it uses ingredients I always have on hand.  I was actually all chickened out from the weekend so I substituted shrimp for the chicken which worked well and I used coleslaw mix to save some prep time.

Supper – Goat Cheese Portobello Burger.  This is one of my own recipes, something I came up with trying to use up odds and ends in the fridge one night.  The last time I made it (Week 5) I used the indoor grill, this time I roasted the vegetables in the oven because it was raining out.  Always good but highly recommend grilling the veggies on the barbecue – it just adds a little something extra. 

Tuesday

Lunch – Chinese Chicken Shrimp Salad.   Dave didn’t need lunch so I used up Monday’s leftovers.  I added some cashews this time and enjoyed the extra crunch.

Supper – Salt Cod Fish Cakes & Asparagus.  I prepped these the night before so when I got home I just had to fry them up a bit.  We make a very basic fish cake – I boil the cod with fresh water at least twice, drain and mix that with mashed potatoes, an egg and minced onion.   They were pretty wet so I think refrigerating them overnight ending up being a good thing.  Just before frying I coated them with breadcrumbs to give them a little crunch.  We had simple asparagus on the side.  I just cooked the asparagus in a frying pan with a small amount of oil until they were done but still crisp.  I crumbled some feta on top, pepper and a squeeze of lemon over the whole plate.  Totally enjoyed!

Wednesday

Lunch – Tex-Mex Rice Cakes.  This is a super easy recipe and I really enjoyed them.  This is a good basic recipe that you could easily customise with different veggies, cheese and spices.  Next time I think I would add a little Mexican Spice Blend for some added kick and perhaps even some black beans.  I do think these would be best eaten fresh out of the pan instead of reheated the next day, but still a satisfying lunch.  They'd make an excellent toddler food as well!

Tex-Mex Rice Cakes

Supper – Marin & Mommy night out.  Dave unexpectedly had to go out of town this week so I pushed the Lasagna I had planned to Friday and I took the night off.  Marin and I headed up to Cafe Brea, a new cafe that opened in our neighborhood that I've been wanting to try.  It's not really a supper place so it was nice and quiet and perfect for a date with my little monkey... kind of felt like we were girlfriends, going out for coffee.  We had some healthy stuff but made sure to save lots of room for treats!  Afterwards we headed to a local kids book & toy store - Marin thought it was the best store EVER!



Marin at Cafe Brea



This is what Marin thought of our date... or maybe it was the cupcake.



Thursday

Lunch -- Leftover Fishcakes and Kale Salad.  There was just enough leftovers from the fishcakes for one, so I held off on them until today when Dave was going to be out of town.  I had them with a side of kale salad which was perfect.  This salad is so simple yet so packed with flavor - love it!

Supper -- Grilled Chicken & Romaine with Sweet Potato Fries.  OK, I had to try it but I'm going to admit, I just don't get 'grilled lettuce'.  The Caesar dressing was good but I don't like my lettuce warm.  Maybe I did something wrong, maybe my lettuce wasn't crisp enough to start... I don't know.  But I doubt I'll try it again.  I also had high hopes for the fries but they didn't really turn out either.  I think I didn't add enough oil.  sigh... such a mediocre meal.

Friday

Lunch -- Tex Mex Rice Cakes.  Again.  Because I delayed the lasagna I had a couple of lunches to make up.  I had extra rice and really likes these the first time so I made them again.

Supper – Easiest Lasagna EVER.  I had originally planned the lasagna for Wednesday to get us through the rest of the week but having it on Friday is nice since I prepped it on Thursday.  All I have to do for supper is stick it in the oven and we'll have leftovers for the weekend!  I used pasta “sheets” for the first time and I’m never going back.  They were so easy to work with!  This lasagna came together in about 5 minutes...

Here's my layers:
Sauce (straight from the jar)
Noodles
Sauce
Cottage Cheese (mixed with egg & parmesan)
Shredded Mozzarella
Noodles
Sauce
Spinach (frozen, thawed and water squeezed out)
Cottage CheeseNoodles

Sauce
Shredded Mozzarella

I measured nothing.  We'll see how it turns out.



Cutting the pasta sheets to fit the pan



Pasta Sheets waiting for the next layer