Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Pinterest Recipe Wins

For a variety of reasons, M and I started eliminating gluten and dairy from our diets. It's not nearly as difficult as one would imagine, although if you have an allergy versus just a preference, that's a different story.

Finding meals to prepare was challenging in the beginning but there are so many resources out there, it's easy to find meal ideas and substitutions. I thought I'd share my recent favourites. All of these recipes are on my pinterest board "Recipes I've Made and Loved", but I linked to the original sources for your viewing pleasure.

Find recipe here.
Yes, really, this is the best pulled pork I've ever made! It doesn't use any barbeque sauce, which is nice since that's often filled with high fructose corn syrup. The meat turns out tender and has great flavour. Usually I use a pork tenderloin from Costco because I have it on hand the most. If you have a kitchen aid mixer, remember that you can shred any type of meat in it in a matter of 30 seconds. So easy! And if you like pickles, these easy fridge dills are incredible paired with the pulled pork.


Find recipe here.
Pizza Spaghetti Pie. Me likee. So simple, so tasty. It uses a spaghetti squash as it's base, which I love, because the more veggies, the better. This is an easy dinner to prepare early in the day and then pop it in the oven an hour before you want to eat. I find it's even better if you add your favourite pizza toppings - mushrooms, peppers, etc.


Find recipe here.
What is it about avocado that makes the world a better place? This is such a delicious lunch choice or side dish. I was gifted some flavoured olive oils and balsamic vinegars for Christmas, so I use those as the dressing over quinoa, spinach, avocado and tomato - and it's amazing, every single time.


Find recipe here.
Pair this orange glazed brussels sprouts and butternut squash dish with a protein and it makes a perfect dinner. I can't wait to make this again. Make extras because you won't want to share.

Enjoy!

Sunday, December 22, 2013

The Big 3-2

Wow, I actually titled this post "The Big 3-1" until I thought for a moment and realized I'm older than I knew. Hmmm. So yes, at the beginning of December I turned 32 big ones. I had a super busy week leading up to my birthday and hadn't really made plans until I opened my front door and my parents were standing there! They came to help celebrate and best of all, they came bearing pie, the one request I had mentioned to my husband this year!


We had pie the night before my birthday because who in their right mind can resist my mom's homemade cherry pie, certainly not me! On my actual birthday, the hubs took me out for a lovely dinner at MK where we indulged in the tasting menu, a real treat.

But first, a photo of us getting ready to go out.. always a photo when my ma's around! 

And now, cue the crappy iPhone food pics!
Amuse-Bouche: Ceviche
Course 1: Chicken consomme with black truffle dumplings
Course 2: Scallops. The best I've ever had. Melt in your mouth.
Course 3: Bass with roasted parsnips
Course 4: Squab, foie gras, and MK's famous truffle fries
Course 5: Goat cheese
Course 6: Dark chocolate tart
The meal was fantastic and it was so nice spending a night out with M, in non stretchy waist band pants. Thanks to my parents for making that possible with their surprise visit! I'm looking forward to a great year ahead. The best is yet to come.


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

A Pinterest Challenge


Sisters Share It All: Pinterest Challenge
I'm back with another Pinterest inspired post! I'm on a roll with two in a row! This time I'm joining a six week Pinterest challenge that I saw over at Everyday Reading. The point of this challenge is to do six things you've pinned over a six week period. Sounds doable! Here are my six choices:

                                                                                                      Source: wholeliving.com via Jill on Pinterest
1. Creamy cashew dip. I've read rave reviews about it. I have all of the ingredients, now just need to find the time to make it!

                                                                              









                                                                                                      Source: foodvee.com via Jill on Pinterest
2. Baked banana chocolate chip donuts. Healthier than regular donuts. I wonder if they'll taste as good? I see these in my future one weekend morning. 


                                                                                        Source: simplysugarandglutenfree.com via Jill on Pinterest
3. Broiled grapefruit. It's been described as a "sweet, tangy, bruleed masterpiece for your taste buds". We shall see! 




                                                                                               Source: osxdaily.com via Jill on Pinterest
4. This pin shows how to put your iPhone into kid mode. I desperately need this, especially during those long car rides where I throw my phone back to Little m to get her to stop crying and then find out she's written an email, phoned someone, and liked someone's post on Facebook. 


                                                                                         Source: modernparentsmessykids.com via Jill on Pinterest
5. An alphabet book for Little m. I actually started one many months ago and then stopped halfway. This will probably be the pin most difficult to complete as it takes planning in order to take appropriate photos plus time to design the book. I think she'd really love the finished product. 








                                                                                                           Source: make-it-do.com via Jill on Pinterest
6. My mattress needs some serious cleaning thanks to my schwetty husband. I'm hoping this baking soda trick will be helpful in defunkifying it a little.

See you back in six weeks with an update on how things went! 

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

What's Cookin? (v.2)

I've recently been putting a huge effort into meal planning and making better choices for my family. I say huge effort because it's true - finding recipes that are somewhat healthy, picking up the necessary groceries, and then actually executing and preparing - it's a lot of work! I often start making dinner during Little m's nap time because cooking with a little ankle biter is not exactly fun.

Here are a few meals that I've made recently that turned out quite well - all from Pinterest of course. If you're not following me on there yet, what's your excuse?!




                                                                        Source: peasandthankyou.com via Jill on Pinterest

This is truly one of my favourite recipes to make for dinner. Even the husband gives it two thumbs up. It's basically a healthier version of lasagna that's made with zucchini instead of pasta noodles. I've made this multiple times now and it never disappoints. The cheese on top gets all crusty - so good!


                                                                               Source: bevcooks.com via Jill on Pinterest

My sister from another mister put this recipe for Thai Coconut Chicken Curry on her Facebook page and raved about it, so I had to give it a try. I liked it but it wasn't spicy enough for me so I'd definitely add more red curry paste in next time. The hubs said he would have preferred chunks of chicken rather than shredded so I may try that as well. Overall, it was pretty good!


                                                                 Source: wendyweekendgourmet.com via Jill on Pinterest

I made quite a few changes in this recipe for Chicken Tortilla Rollups. First off I cut the amount of cheese back by half and then used a lot less Greek yogurt because I ran out. I also just made regular guacamole to go with it rather than the avocado crema that's in the original recipe. I found these rollups to be a bit bland for some reason. Maybe it's just my palette but it could have used something to spice it up. Now that I think about it, the recipe called for serrano peppers and I didn't have any, but they would have given it the extra kick I'm sure. I would make this again!



                                                                         Source: doughingrogue.com via Jill on Pinterest

Copycat Whole Foods Detox Salad - my favourite recipe all week. It's as healthy as healthy gets and so simple, yet so tasty! It's basically a bunch of veggies chopped up in the food processor, some seeds, raisins, and then a light oil (only 1T) and lemon dressing. This takes a bit of time to prepare but I halved the recipe and still came out with four lunch servings. I really can't wait to make this again.


                                                                    Source: pinterest-yummies.blogspot.com via Jill on Pinterest

This is a recipe for oatmeal in the crock pot. I made this on Friday night and it was great waking up the next morning and having breakfast already prepared. I don't ever add sugar to my oatmeal so I cut out almost all of the sugar that was called for and added raisins instead. I wouldn't make this particular recipe again but I would look for something similar to try. Same same but different.

Bon Appetit!  

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Munchkin Meals (Volume 1.)

As Little m is getting older she is also becoming pickier with what she wants to eat. I used to be able to feed her ANYTHING and it would be gone in minutes. Now, she karate chops me when she sees me coming with a spoon. She spits her purees out. Her once beloved fruits like blueberries and mangoes are tossed overboard for the doggie. Her pediatrician told me, "Food before one is just for fun." I agree, BUT things can become frustrating when the wee babe sits in her highchair screaming and swatting at the foods she used to like but no longer does, for reasons unknown. That's not fun for me or her.

What I need are ideas. It was perfect timing when Brittany at A Healthy Slice of Life came up with the Munchkin Meals link up. Mama bloggers are showing what they're feeding their babies and from this I am hoping to find several ideas for future meals!

For breakfast, I recently found Little m's new fave - pancakes! I make a big batch of wholewheat pancakes and add the frozen pureed fruit that Little m no longer wants to eat. So far I've tried blueberry and banana and both were a hit. She loves being independent and feeding herself like a big girl, so now I just give her a whole pancake instead of bite size pieces. I do my best at every meal to include some proteins and carbs and fruits or veggies, but well, it's a work in progress.
After finding out that she wasn't allergic to them, another hit at breakfast time has been eggs. I made a spinach and feta omelet for her one day, which she wasn't a huge fan of, but she devours eggs when they're hard boiled, scrambled, or fried over-medium.
Some days I feed Little m lunch but most days it's more like a snack before her afternoon nap. And it's almost always babybel cheese. She can't get enough. When she sees the little red package she can't contain her excitement. These are great as snacks on the go as well and I'll just toss one into a little cooler bag before I leave the house if I know she'll get hungry while we're out. Other favourite snacks include hummus, Aussie Bites (from Costco), and dried mango (from Trader Joe's), which is awesome because it keeps her occupied for at least 20 minutes.
For dinner, I basically feed her exactly what we are having. She loves most meats, rice, and one of her favourite dinners is chicken tortellini covered in tomato sauce, as shown below. Some of the veggies I can get her to eat are peas, broccoli, and edamame.

So there you have it, Little m's mealtime eating at 9-10 months of age! I'm lucky I have a fairly good eater!


Saturday, February 11, 2012

What's Cookin?

Like many people, I am utterly addicted to Pinterest. It's so handy for looking up recipes and finding dinner ideas. I see what I have in the kitchen, plunk it into the search button, and magically up comes millions of pretty pictures and recipes. One of my goals this year is to make meal plans and stick to them. It's difficult to find the time to cook with Little m, but if I have a plan it's somewhat achievable. Without a plan, dinner all too often ends up being pb&j.

Here are a few entrees and sides I have planned for the upcoming week:

1) Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Source: skinnytaste.com via Jill on Pinterest

2) Massaged Kale Salad

3) Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

4) Mexican Lasagna

5) Roasted Green Beans
Food porn at its best! What's for dinner at your house?

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Date Night(s)!

My parents were visiting this weekend and baby girl is somewhat proficient at taking a bottle now, so you know what that means? Date night!

On Thursday night, the husband and I headed to Gyu-Kaku, a Japanese BBQ place just off the Magnificent Mile. My parents actually gifted us a Groupon to this restaurant, and our first date night since Little m was born was the perfect excuse to use it.

I started the night off right by ordering a lychee shochu, which was quite tasty.
Notice the pinky? I'm fancy like that.

We ordered the prix fixe for our meal, and were served miso soup, salad, and a tuna volcano (basically a rice ball with spicy tuna on top) to start.
M took a picture of me taking the picture!
Our main meal included bibimbop, plus veggies and four different meats to grill on the bbq.
The food took between 1-4 minutes to cook and there were three types of dipping sauces to try. The filet was my favourite, mmm mmmm good.
And for dessert - smores!
I had dark chocolate and M had milk chocolate. Just like being at the campfire!
Overall, our meal was very good! Tabletop cooking is a fun experience, although I feel that it makes the meal a bit chaotic. You want to eat the food while it's hot but you're also concerned with putting more meat on the grill and flipping it at the appropriate times. You can't just sit back and relax! Well, I guess you could take your time eating and cooking, but we're piglets and like to eat eat eat!

Little m was so well behaved with my parents that we went out to the movies on Friday night for Date #2! It was so nice to get out, have a break from baby, and spend time with the husband!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Marine City Fish Company

Back a few weeks ago when I was visiting my parents, we went out for lunch/dinner/linner at Marine City Fish Company to celebrate my brother and sister-in-law's eleventh wedding anniversary. I feel the need to write a blog post about it because man, was our meal ever delicious!

We rode the ferry from Sombra, ON to Marine City, MI which is something I haven't done in ages! Pictured below is the small ferry, but there is also a bigger one that runs back and forth.
It's a short ride, but fun nonetheless, especially for kids.
We ordered two appetizers to start. Thinking about the Fish Company Spread, shown below, still makes my mouth water. It was heavenly. It's a mixture of smoked salmon, onion, and herbs, served with baguette crackers. A party in my mouth.
The second appetizer was Smoked Fish and Cheese, which consisted of smoked salmon plus dill havarti and asiago cheese. Very nice as well.
For my main entree, I'm pretty sure I ordered perch, which I didn't take a picture of because I was too busy devouring it. I did capture my bowl of clam chowder though, which was quite possibly the best I've ever had. In my whole life. That's big.
The food at this restaurant is quite reasonably priced and if you're a fan of fish, this is a place you must try if you're in the area!

Sadly, I rarely cook fish at home because it's too stanky, but I do enjoy when someone makes it for me! Don't even talk to me about my love for sushi, or I'll want to make a trip to Toronto where you can actually find good, cheap stuff. What say you? Are you a big fish eater?

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Doughnut Vault

Remember this post where I mentioned wanting to go to the Doughnut Vault? Well, a few weeks ago when my parents were visiting Chicago, we got up early to stand in line for what turned out to be pretty darn delicious donuts!

We drove the fifteen minutes to River North, easily found street parking, and claimed fifth spot in line at 8am. The Doughnut Vault opens on weekdays at 8:30am so we didn't have to wait too long and by the time half an hour passed, the lineup was winding around the corner.
Here we are, in the bakery, or shall I say hole in the wall. This little alcove is quite truly the entire place. It can hold four or five people total - you step up to the counter, order, and get out quickly!
We ordered one of each donut plus two coffees, which totaled $16. Expensive but do I dare say worth it?
Starting in the top right corner and moving clockwise we have pistachio, vanilla, chocolate, a 3-piece stack of gingerbread, and buttermilk old fashioned. I was extremely surprised at the hugeness of these donuts, but I guess we are in America after all!
My parents and I decided to cut each donut into four because the plan was to bring M the leftovers at work. Yes, I brought my own knife and it was the best decision ever.
We decided that a quarter of each donut was way too much, so we ended up eating an eighth and here is what we were left with after filling our bellies to the max...
That's a lot of donut leftover!

We took a nice walk (not nearly long enough to burn off those calories!) along the river to M's work and dropped the leftovers off to him to share with his colleagues.

Now, for my favourite? Hmm, all of them were truly delectable, but the pistachio was so unique tasting that I'm leaning toward that one simply for its creativity! I just asked M what his favourite was and he said vanilla (why? because it tasted good). Men! Overall, I would highly recommend trying a donut at this place at least once! Would I go back? Not likely, simply because I don't eat donuts very often, but I could be swayed if someone visiting had a big craving for donuts and really wanted to go!

PS - I just looked at the Doughnut Vault website and saw they posted two pictures of my parents and I filling our faces. We're famous!