Weekly meals August 31 – September 4

Meal updates from last week:
The vermicelli salad with pork was amazing!  The recipe says to skewer your pork onto lemongrass stalks, but I couldn’t find any so I grilled the tenderloin right on the BBQ.  The marinade for the pork made the meat so tender.  The chicken shawarma bowls were a bit of a miss, only because I added feta on top of the salad not realizing that it had gone bad!  So I had to take all the lettuce out and rinse then vegetables.  I was so mad!  I also made some tzatziki and added it to the top of the salad.  I never made the mushroom ramen as I took the kids out to eat.  Friday night we ordered the family feast from @thegoose, it included a whole roasted chicken, fries, roasted veggies and a large kale caesar.  I decided to add another side of roasted beets.  For dessert I made a skillet chocolate chip cookie!  It was massive and thick, topped with vanilla ice cream, it was the perfect dessert!

This week is a BIG one!  Everyone will be back to school, child care and work.  I cannot believe that it has been almost 6 months since the last in-class learning!  It is not a full week for anyone, as students are being staggered into classes.  Summer baseball is also coming to an end, we are so thankful that our son got to participate in an activity this summer.

We will be eating at home Sunday-Thursday, this weekend we are heading to the mountains for some family time, and to celebrate my mom’s birthday.  Slight curveball this week, I have asked my son and husband to plan and cook dinner one night.  We will see how that goes?!

• Classy chicken from @bestofbridge starting the week off with a family comfort recipe, just to ease the back to school nerves.  Served as always with egg noodles.
• BLT salad with buttermilk dressing from @marthastewart another family favourite, my kids LOVE the croutons and could eat just those for dinner!  I have some leftover corn from last week, so I am going to add it fresh to the salad.
• Greek turkey burgers from @skinnytaste we will have some tots and a simple salad on the side.
• Minestrone with kale and sausage from @foodnetwork this soup is one of our favourites, I am going to use some leftover spinach instead of kale.
• This meal will be planned, shopped and prepared by my husband and son.  I will report back to let you know what they made.

There won’t be a lot of time to bake this week, I have a ton of bananas in the freezer as well as a zucchini in the fridge.  I was hoping to make a lemon zucchini loaf from @twopeasandtheirpod, but it all depends on how much time I have.  Back to school meal planning made easy with grocery list 137

Stay safe and happy back to school,
Sara

Weekly meals July 27 – July 31

Meal updates from last week:
Our favourite meals from last week were the shrimp bowl, and  the chicken and peach skewers.  I haven’t had a lot of luck making coconut rice, I find that it never tastes that coconuty, this was the same for this recipe.  I LOVED the grilled peaches with the chicken they turned out so well.  We also really liked the peach pecan crumble, my son finished off the entire pan.  I ended up making a simple charcuterie on Friday night, all ingredients were bought from the @italianctryyc and it was amazing!  We had peaches, prosciutto, basil, focaccia, olives, tomatoes and burrata.  Flavours were outstanding!  Saturday night we went out for dinner to a local spot that has just reopened called The Goose, food was so good, and you can sit on their patio social distance style.  If you live in the SW then check it out.

This week we will be eating at home Monday to Wednesday, we are going out of town for a few nights and will be back at the beginning of the weekend.  Next week is our daughter’s birthday and she has requested a Paw Patrol cake (insert scared face here!).  I am going to bake the pieces of the cake tomorrow so that it is done, and then will freeze it.  I find that icing a mostly frozen cake is much easier as you don’t get so many crumbs.  As always I will be using our favourite chocolate cake recipe with pudding frosting.

• Baja grain bowls from @howsweeteats I made these tonight and they were amazing!  There isn’t any protein with this recipe so I bought some frozen tempura shrimp, baked them off and served them on top of the rice.  They were a great accompaniment to the bowl.  I really liked the dressing and would make it to serve on a salad.
• Grilled chicken, vegetable and avocado salad board from @weelicious this is a new recipe from Catherine that sounds amazing!  I’m not going to be using eggplant as it is not a favourite in our house, instead I bought a yellow and green zucchini.
• Roasted sausage tomato and peach supper from @thedaleyplate since it is peach season I need to take advantage!  I went to the Farmer’s Market on the weekend and stocked up on peaches, so I am ready to cook and bake with them.

I am not sure what the cooking plan is while we are away, but here are a few other recipes that I have on my must-try list:
Grilled salmon with citrus salsa
Coconut lime chicken
Zucchini ribbon pizza with chicken
Buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake

The grocery list will return next week.

Stay healthy,
Sara

 

Weekly meals June 29 – July 3

Meal updates from last week:
My meals didn’t go as planned last week, we decided to go out for our first restaurant dinner since COVID.  Our son had golf lessons and then we went to Brown’s Social House,  there were very minimal patrons, but food was really good and service was great.  I loved the watermelon salad that I made last week.  Our favourite meal was the Mexican pizza, it was a hit with the kids and so easy to make.  I never made the strawberry salad, but I did make the couscous salad with lime basil vinaigrette.  I was going to substitute brown rice instead of couscous but I ended up leaving it out and added some avocado.  It was amazing!  I served the salad with marinaded grilled chicken thighs from @littlebrokenblog

This week I am taking a break from my traditional recipe searching, and listing our favourite family meals.  I will be back next week with all new recipes for you to try.  For now give our tried and true recipes some love!

• Classy chicken
• Thai noodles with chicken and broccoli
• Turkey pesto meatballs
• Muffin Cups
• Beef burritos
• BLT salad
• Hamburger soup
• Crispy sheet pan gnocchi with sausage and peppers
• Gilled spolumbos with tater tots and green salad
• Boiled raisin muffins
• Maple-sweetened banana muffins
• The best ever chocolate cake with pudding frosting

Happy cooking and Happy Canada Day!
Sara

 

Weekly meals June 22 – June 26

Meal updates from last week:
We enjoyed all meals from last week, and almost all were from @skinnytaste.  Our favourites were the buffalo chicken salad and the Asian noodles with chicken.  My kids devoured the noodles, and both went back for seconds.  We also loved the crispy shrimp bowls, I have made this recipe before and it doesn’t disappoint.

This was the first week in a long time that we haven’t done takeout and that’s because we ended up going camping for the weekend.  We went with another family, so we divided the grocery list and meal prep so it would be easier.  Here was our menu:

Friday: grilled Spolumbos sausage, corn on the cob, roasted potatoes with onions.  Everything was cooked on the outside stove and on the camp fire.  We made s’mores using the celebration cookies that already have the chocolate on them.
Saturday:
breakfast: all the berries, yogurt and granola.  The kids ate cereal and fruit.
lunch: wraps with meat, cheese and all of the veggies.  We also had hummus and more fruit.
dinner: taco salad, the meat was precooked so only needed to be heated and added a can of corn.  Served with lettuce, a salsa of avocado, tomatoes and cucumbers.  Topped with sour cream, cilantro, cheese, hot sauce and chips for dipping.  Kids got to make s’mores cones, fill waffles cones with marshmallows and your choice of chocolate.  Wrap with tin foil and warm over the fire.  Marshmallows will be soft, and chocolate will be melted.  These are so good!
Sunday:
breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, fruit and bread with peanut butter as we didn’t have a toaster.

We had an amazing time and the food was so good!  It is much easier to divide the shopping and the meal prep especially when there is more than one family.  Just because you go camping doesn’t mean that you only have to eat hot dogs, be creative, plan and eat well!  For Father’s Day we had the beef keftas from @amandafrederickson served with grilled pita, Greek salad, hummus and tzatziki.  For dessert there was peanut butter pie from @pioneerwoman and my gramma’s apple pie.

This week we will be eating at home Monday-Thursday, we don’t have plans for the weekend, but I would imagine that we will do takeout one night.

• Grilled chicken thighs seasoned with cajun seasoning and topped with bbq sauce, tater tots, baked beans and an arugula watermelon salad.
• Couscous salad with lime basil vinaigrette from @pinchofyum I will serve this with some sautéed shrimp.  I don’t plan on using couscous for the salad as we don’t love it in our house, instead I will make some brown rice.
• Mexican pizza from @estaceydos to supplement this meal I will add some avocado, sour cream and shredded lettuce.
• Strawberry spinach salad with chicken and avocado from @foodiecrush loving a dinner salad especially as the weather gets warmer.

I don’t have any plans to bake this week, but that hasn’t stopped me before.  I have a few bananas that are getting spotty, and I have been thinking about making some protein balls so stay tuned!  There isn’t a grocery list for this week as I am a day late, it will be back next week.

Happy cooking,
Sara

 

Weekly meals June 8 – June 12

Meal updates from last week:
Every meal from last week was great!  I didn’t end up making the sushi bowls, but I will be making them in the near future.  Both pork dishes from last week were great, the sliders with grilled pineapple were delicious.  The pork tacos were outstanding.  The pork brought a different flavour to the tacos, paired with the apple slaw it was a perfect combination.  We also really liked the mango salad.  I will make any and all of these recipes again soon.

On Friday night we ordered takeout from Brown’s Social House, this has been the best takeout that we have gotten since COVID began.  Some of the dishes were tired were: crispy ramen, Szechuan beef bowl and southwest bowl.  All dishes were great.  Saturday we spent the day riding bikes and then had salmon, roasted potatoes, Brussels sprouts and creamed spinach for dinner.  I also made a strawberry rhubarb crisp and some mini chocolate chip cookies.  

This week we will be eating at home Monday-Thursday, we have no plans for the weekend we will see as we get closer.

• Slow cooker chicken tortilla soup from @gimmesomeoven I will serve this with diced avocado, plain yogurt and tortilla chips.
• Sausage and greens sheet pan dinner from @epicurious I have made this sheet pan dinner many times.  I won’t be using greens, instead I bought some asparagus.
• Cobb salad from @foodnetwork you know how I feel about a dinner salad!
• Crispy honey garlic cauliflower bowls from @lindsaypleskot I am not sure if my kids will enjoy the cauliflower, but I am still going to give these a try!

I bought a ton of blueberries at the grocery store with the intention of making a batch of muffins.  I am not sure what recipe I will use, but I still have some buttermilk left in the fridge.  There isn’t a grocery list this week it will be back next week.

Happy cooking,
Sara

 

Weekly Meals May 25 – May 29

Meal updates from last week:
We really enjoyed the Greek chicken thighs with Greek salad, hummus and pitas, but our most favourite meal from last week was the pad Thai, it was outstanding!  I purchased the shrimp from the Calgary Farmer’s Market, they were huge and added so much to the dish.  I didn’t have a chance to make the Mediterranean linguine, I will let you know when I try it out.  This weekend we ordered food from Cactus Club and Mercato Mission, the food from Mercato was outstanding!  We ordered a simple pasta with tomato sauce, grilled pork ribs and sautéed green beans with shallots.  I would order from them again soon, and they also do pizza takeout.

This week we will be eating at home Sunday to Thursday, we will probably do takeout or BBQ on the weekend.  The weather is supposed to be really nice this week, so I am going to try and use the grill a lot.  Tonight we had elk burgers, coleslaw, baked beans and corn on the cob.

• Chicken gyros salad from @smittenkitchen this salad sounds delicious, and as always my kids will eat all the components minus the lettuce.
• Minestrone with kale and turkey sausage from @foodnetwork I have made this soup many times before, and it has been gobbled up by all!  When I use sausage in any recipe I always buy Spolumbos sausages.
• Spring roll bowls with grilled chicken from @littlebrokenblog you know that I love a one bowl meal!
• Chicken caesar burgers from @iowagirleats I haven’t made these in a long time, they are so easy and packed with flavour.  I will serve tater tots and a green salad on the side.

Last week I made a batch of good morning protein cookies from @weelicious they were really good, and a great snack to have on hand.  I ate one smeared with peanut butter for breakfast on the weekend.  I have a few spotted bananas that need to be used, so I think that I will try to make some muffins.  One of my favourite banana muffin recipes is from @cookieandkate they are a one bowl recipe and you can choose to add chocolate chips or blueberries.  Shop safely with Dinner List 130

Happy cooking,
Sara

Weekly meals April 13 – April 17

Meal updates from last week:
Two meals from last week were a huge hit, the blackened salmon with goddess sauce and the minestrone soup.  My kids loved the soup so much that they asked me to make it again this week!  When they ask for a meal again, I will ALWAYS make it.  We also liked the bbq chicken with pineapple salsa, it was the perfect meal to enjoy on the nicest day last week.  Today we enjoyed celebrating Easter, I made some bunny cinnamon buns and a quiche for breakfast.  We relaxed this afternoon and then enjoyed a lovely meal together.  I served brown sugar glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans and pickled beets.  For dessert we had a slice of lemon curd blondie bar with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This week, just as last week, we will be eating at home Sunday to Thursday.  We have been ordering food for dinner on Friday and Saturday, and I can’t see that changing this week. Homeschooling and working from home continues, we are hoping that the weather improves this week so we can get outside and enjoy some sunshine.

• Shrimp vermicelli bowl from http://www.cooksmarts.com
• grilled chicken skewers from Simple Dinner by Donna Hay, I will serve these with a Greek salad and some grilled pita.
• Minestrone with kale and turkey sausage from @foodnetwork if time allows I will made some homemade buns to have with our soup.
• Tonight’s meal will be a game time decision, I have frozen pizza dough and all of the toppings, some frozen turkey burgers and hot dogs or al of the ingredients for classy chicken.  We will see how we are feeling by Thursday.

I baked a banana bread, lemon curd blondie bars and made granola last week, so I’m not sure that I will be attempting any baking this week.  I did buy a big bag of Meyer lemons, so there may be a lemon loaf in the works, but we will see how much time I have.  I am having technical issues with my word program, so the grocery list will be back next week.

Stay healthy, stay safe
Sara

Weekly meals April 6 – April 10

Meal updates from last week:
As I mentioned last week, the flank steak was amazing as was the salsa verde.  Recipes that we liked from last week were the spicy pork soup, turkey chili and the chicken fried rice.  My kids really enjoyed the chili and the fried rice.  I also had the chance to make my gramma’s boiled raisin muffins as well as a banana bread from the Fraiche Food, Full Hearts cookbook.  We had takeout on Friday and Saturday night both brought to our door contactless by Doordash.  We ordered from Una Pizza and Wine as well as Globefish Sushi,  both meals were very good, and even better that I didn’t have to cook!

This week will continue to look like the last two, kids are home, I am home working, but my husband will also be home as he is taking a week off.  School work will be done, crafting and lots of outside time as it looks like the weather is going to improve.  As we look toward Easter weekend I will share with you some recipes that I am going to try.

• Thai noodles with chicken and broccoli from Anne Lindsay, this is a family staple and my son asked for this tonight.  I decided to double to sauce and cooked more pasta than normal so that we would have lots of leftovers.
• Spicy shrimp tacos with garlic lime cilantro slaw from @pinchofyum I have made these before and they are very good.
• Sheet pan blackened salmon bowl from @halfbakedharvest this recipe calls for roasted potatoes along with rice, but I am going to omit the potatoes and just add extra veggies.
• Minestrone with kale and turkey sausage from @foodnetwork we’ve been on a soup kick the last couple of weeks so why quit now?!  If time allows I might try to make some homemade buns to have with the soup.
• BBQ dry rubbed chicken with pineapple salsa from @bakedbyrachel we will eat this with asparagus and some simple butter pasta for the kids.

I cannot believe that Easter is this weekend!  With everything that has been going on in the world it has been hard to focus on big celebrations, knowing that we won’t be spending them as we traditionally would.  I have some baking plans for this week: carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and lemon curd blondie bars.  We are not sure what Easter dinner will look like, but it would be nice to have some desserts to enjoy and drop off to friends.  I am also going to prep the crust for a quiche to eat on Easter Sunday along with some bunny cinnamon rolls from @thebakermama.  I will keep the quiche simple, maybe just ham and cheese with a little spinach.  We will enjoy this meal after the kids hunt for eggs on Sunday.  For Easter dinner I haven’t made any decisions, possibly a small ham with some potatoes and a citrus salad.  When I have a menu planned I will share it with you.  Eggs will also be dyed this week in preparation for the bunny!  My kids and husband devoured the energy balls and granola I made in the last two weeks, I have all of the ingredients for round two, so if time allows I will also make those.  Hoping that everyone is safe and healthy, enjoy another grocery list 125

Happy Easter,
Sara

 

The new normal

I realize in this time of uncertainty that we are trying to all go about our lives as ‘normal’ as possible, but the reality of the situation is that life is so different.  I needed to take a few days and think about how I was also going to change now that life is different, I am spending so much time at home, and my job as a teacher is changing by the minute.  I’ve decided that I would continue to post my weekly menu as people will still need to eat!  I will also be sharing some different activities that I plan to work on with my kids age 3 and 9.

Meal updates from last week:
Three of the recipes from last week were amazing!  The shrimp BLT, chicken cacciatore and spicy ramen were all outstanding.  The shrimp were crispy and crunchy, paired with the salty bacon and creamy dressing.  The cacciatore came together so quickly, we ate it over egg noodles, and there were tons of leftovers for lunch (this is a great recipe to make a freeze).  I LOVED the ramen recipe, I added mushrooms and spinach to the bowl, and next time would even toss in some tofu.

This week is the beginning of a different kind of living, so with that being said we will be eating at home for the foreseeable future.  I know that it is Tuesday, I will share the recipes I have already cooked this week, as well as what I have in my freezer and pantry for ‘just in case’.

• Hamburger soup from @bestofbridge we ate this with buns and tortilla chips.  This is a great pantry staple recipe.  If you feel like adding any extra frozen veggies that would be a great idea.
• Smoky pork tenderloin with sweet potatoes from @cookinglight I served this with some steamed green beans, but baked beans would also work very well.  This is another good pantry recipe, as it requires very little ingredients.
• Bangers and mash, as today is St. Patrick’s Day I am trying to bring the Irish to us.  I will grill spicy Italian sausages as well as hotdogs (for the kids), then serve them alongside some mashed potatoes and a simple green salad.  If you were going to go really traditional then peas would be your side dish.  Find inspiration here.
• Ground turkey teriyaki rice bowl from @yellowblissroad I will serve this with steamed rice and cauliflower rice.
• Spicy sausage and kale soup from @thefeedfeed I will being using mild sausage as my kids don’t like spicy.

Usually at this point I would share that we will be doing takeout or going out for dinner, but I guess that is all uncertain at this time.  We may take advantage of Doordash or Skip the Dishes if they are still available, but if not then we will continue to cook and eat at home.  Here are a few things that I have in my freezer: bread, bagels, cheese buns, ground turkey and beef, sausages, hotdogs, chicken breasts, broccoli, edamame, corn, pizza, pirogies, mixed fruit and the most important ICE CREAM!  In my pantry I am stocked with beans, tomatoes, soup, chicken stock, pasta, macaroni, crackers, granola bars and lots of cereal.  I also have baking essentials as my kids love to bake and I have a feeling we will be doing it a lot!

For the kids:
Today all of our morning activities were themed around St. Patrick’s Day, my daughter (3) did some print making with the bottom of a red pepper dipped in green paint.  She made different patterns with the pepper.  Then she traced the letter S with cheerios.  We talked about words that start with the letter s.  My son (9) created a 3D shamrock using paper strips, essentially you make them into hearts and then attach them altogether.  He finished the morning with a word search and a word scramble.  Then we headed out for a walk and some sunshine, after lunch my son did origami and my daughter napped.  It is my daily goal to keep them as far away from the t.v. as possible.  I have ordered a JUMP math book for my son, so that we can continue his math skills, I also ordered a book that he is studying in class.  We will have some daily book club together.  This is how far I have come with a plan for moving forward, but I will continue to share recipes and learning activities with you.

Stay safe and healthy,
Sara

Weekly meals March 2 – March 6

Meal updates from last week:
We really enjoyed the chicken piccata as well as the Korean chicken.  I loved the tofu stir fry, my son didn’t like the sauce but ate all of the tofu.  My daughter didn’t even try the tofu this time?!  The balsamic salad was a perfect side dish for our grilled sausages, I tweaked the recipe a little bit as we ran out of blackberries.  I ended up using blueberries and raspberries, and made the dressing with some blackberry balsamic instead of blending whole blackberries.  I don’t think that it made a huge difference in the taste at all.  We spent the weekend away in the mountains with friends skiing and enjoying some down time.  On Friday night dinner was waiting for us when we arrived, it was a bowl of chicken enchilada soup, such flavour and so delicious.  Saturday night I made a sheet pan of sausage, peppers and gnocchi. This is a recipe that I have shared before, so simple and so good, it also makes great left overs.

This week we will be eating at home Sunday-Thursday, Friday we are going out for dinner with friends, Saturday we don’t have any plans.  The weather is beginning to change and we are starting to think about spring sports and spending more time outside!

• Soy-glazed chicken with pickled cucumbers from @nytcooking if you cannot access this recipe from the link then you can set up a free trial with their site.  Sometimes you can access recipes through their Instagram account.  I will serve this with steamed rice.
• Turkey and roasted red pepper hummus patties from @thedaleyplate we will eat these with fries and a Greek salad.
• Mexican quinoa salad from @eatingwell with grilled garlic-lime shrimp.
• Tacos from @melskitchencafe I will serve these in soft shells with all of the fixings.

I don’t have any plans to bake this week, but I did have a chance to make a batch of banana blueberry muffins last week.  I also picked up a box of spring Rice Krispies and a bag of marshmallows because I just couldn’t resist and I  know my kids would love to help make them.  Get ready to shop with grocery list 121

Happy cooking,
Sara