Weekly meals May 2 – May 6

Meal updates from last week:
We LOVED all recipes from last week!  I haven’t made the spring roll bowls in a long time, and they did not disappoint, it is an amazing recipe, a MUST make.  Everyone really enjoyed the sloppy joes, it was the best recipe for them that I have made, and I will make it again soon.  The pork was juicy and flavourful, and the steak salad was so good.  I used flank steak in the recipe, but the star of the recipe was the dressing.  This weekend we ate at the First Street Market on Friday and went out with friends to Roy’s Korean Kitchen on Saturday.  If you have kids the market is a great dinner option, so many different food choices.  Tonight, I thawed some meat sauce that I had in the freezer, boiled pasta and made a simple green salad.  With very minimal food you have to make do with what you have!

This week we will be eating at home Sunday-Thursday, we have kid sport every night this week except Friday.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful, so I will take advantage of that and grill most of our meals.

• Ground turkey stir fry from @budgetbytes I will serve this with steamed rice
• BBQ chicken skewer salad from @thedefineddish
• Greek burgers from @savorytooth on the side I will serve fries/tots and baked beans.
• Spolumbo’s Italian sausages and blueberry broccoli spinach salad from @peasandcrayons

Oven update, we have one of the parts for the oven, we are still waiting on two more and are hopeful that they will arrive by the end of the month.  Things are looking more positive when it comes to the oven!  However, as with most weeks there won’t be any baking, and with all of the kid’s activities I won’t have any time.  Grocery List 15 22 to make grocery shopping easier!

Stay healthy,
Sara

Weekly meals April 25 – April 29

Meal updates from last week:
As always everyone enjoyed the Thai noodles with broccoli, my son ate three bowls at dinner and my husband took the leftovers for lunch.  This recipe is so versatile, and the noodles are good eaten warm or cold.  We also really liked the creamy enchilada soup, it made a large amount and I took it for lunch all week.  The drumsticks were good, but I didn’t love the broccoli salad.  I found it too salty, and as I imagined my kids didn’t like it at all.  This weekend we ordered A1 Cantina on Friday and hosted friends for dinner Saturday.  I made steak skewers with parsley sauce, potato wedges and sauteed mushrooms.  Sunday we went to friends for chicken parmesan dinner, that was purchased at Lina’s Italian Market, it was delicious!

This week we will be eating at home Monday-Thursday, outdoor activities begin this week despite the weather not looking great.  May and June are going to be very busy months, there will be lots of simple dinners during these months.

• Spring roll bowl with grilled chicken from @littlebrokenblog this is one of my all-time favourite bowl recipes!
• Healthier turkey sloppy joes with homemade sauce from @ambitiouskitchen I will serve this with buns and a green salad.
• Pork tenderloin from @eatwell101 on the side I will serve steamed rice and green beans.
• Skirt steak taco salad from @nocrumbsleft I will be using flank steak for this recipe.

My no oven woes continue!  One of the parts my husband ordered will be here this week, but what we don’t know is if someone can come and fix it.  With that being said, there continues to be no baking in our house.  I am hoping with the arrival of this part there is light at the end of this very long tunnel.  I found two air fryer recipes that I am going to try in the coming weeks: pizza pockets and chicken sandwich.  Shopping made easy with grocery list 14 22

Stay healthy,
Sara

Weekly meals April 18 – April 22

Meal updates from last week:
We enjoyed all of the meals from last week, I especially liked the honey garlic meatballs as well as the sheet pan chicken pitas.  The veggie burrito bowls were good, except I forgot the black beans so I was a little hungry without the extra protein.  This weekend did not go as planned because many people who we were to spend time with got sick with COVID.  We still enjoyed our long weekend, and got to spend time with a few friends and our little family.  Friday we went for a hike and had a BBQ and then ordered pizza takeaway for dinner.  Saturday we ran errands and then went to friends for pulled pork tacos.  I took a simple pineapple salsa that we added to our tacos.  Sunday we had our egg hunt and a croissant french toast bake for breakfast. Then we enjoyed a family dinner with just the four of us.  I served a maple glazed baked ham (done in the air fryer), cheesy scalloped potatoes (cooked on the BBQ) and a simple green salad with Dijon vinaigrette.  I chopped fresh fruit and veggies for the kids and opened a jar of pickled beets.  It was not the Easter dinner that I had planned, but it was still very nice.

This week we are eating at home Sunday-Thursday, we don’t have any plans this weekend, but are hoping for some warmer weather.

• Thai noodles with chicken and broccoli from Anne Lindsay.  As always I will serve this as a meatless meal, I simply add more veggies to keep everyone satisfied.
• Creamy chicken enchilada soup from @healthyfitnessmeals
• Naan bread pizza topped with our favourites: salami, mushrooms, peppers and mozzarella cheese.  I will make a simple green salad and veggies for the side.
• Grilled BBQ chicken drumsticks from @cookathomemom with Asian broccoli salad from @alphafoodie, I know the kids will love the chicken but I am not sure about the broccoli salad.  I will also make some fries.

I was planning on making a carrot coffee cake last week, but with only us celebrating Easter I didn’t think that we needed more treats.  I did make some peanut butter confetti squares last week, that we took on our hike and I also dropped some off for our sick friends.  There will be no baking this week, my husband found a local company and ordered the parts for our oven, one will be here soon and the others are on back order!  Who knows if I will have an oven this summer.  I do have to confess that making the scallop potatoes on the BBQ was a breeze.  I turned it to low and cooked them for 35 minutes, they turned out so well!  Short grocery list 13 22

Stay healthy,
Sara

Weekly meals April 11 – April 15

Meal updates from last week:
We really enjoyed all of the meals from last week, the kids gobbled up the soup and I loved the chicken Milanese and the shrimp bowls.  I will be making all three recipes again, I didn’t get a chance to make the chicken thighs as Thursday night was too busy.  Instead, we had breakfast for dinner.  Friday night we went to friends for dinner, I took a Greek feta dip with crackers, veggies and some hummus.  Saturday night we had an early and super simple dinner of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Tonight we decided to go to Brown’s for family dinner.  This week we will be eating at home Monday-Friday, we have some tentative Easter weekend plans, and will host a small dinner on Sunday night.

• Hamburger soup from @bestofbridge this is the perfect meal for the beginning of the week as we will have leftovers for lunch all week long.
• Honey garlic meatballs from @halfbakedharvest I cannot wait to try this recipe!
• Sheet pan chicken pitas from @pinchofyum I am going to try this recipe using the air fryer
• Veggie burrito bowl from @supperwithmichelle

Friday we are going to spend time with friends and have lunch together, dinner will most likely be takeout.  Saturday we don’t have plans and Sunday I am hosting a small Easter dinner.  I will cook the ham in the air fryer and then make some scalloped potatoes on the BBQ.  My aunt is bringing a veggie or salad dish, for dessert I am going to serve carrot coffee cake from @pinchofyum.  Still no oven, and not oven update!  Currently, I have my mom trying to source my ignitor part in the US.  We will see if that will possibly work, as we have no other options, save for waiting and waiting and waiting!  Happy shopping with grocery List 12 22

Stay healthy,
Sara

Weekly meals April 4 – April 8

Meal updates from last week:
Loved the honey lime chicken skewers, and the turkey meatballs that I turned into patties.  I ate the patties for lunches, we even ate the last of them today.  As always I love a spinach and berry salad, it was the perfect side for those BBQ chicken drumsticks.

I am so happy that last week is over!  Three birthday celebrations in one week is a lot.  We had a party Monday and I baked funfetti cupcakes for the birthday girl, I used my go-to icing of cream cheese, vanilla pudding and cool whip to top them.  Friday we celebrated my gramma’s 90th birthday, we ordered food from @homebydavid, I made two cakes (chocolate zucchini and lemon) I also ordered a carrot cake from @prettysweetyyc.  Saturday we had another party, but thankfully I didn’t have to bake anything.  Saturday night I met an old friend for dinner at Fonda Fora, we shared the guacamole, beet citrus salad and mushroom tostadas.  The food was delicious.

This week is much quieter than last week, we will be eating at home Sunday-Thursday there are no weekend plans except basketball.

• Grilled beef tenderloin, baked potatoes, sauteed mushrooms and the Sunday salad from @nocrumbsleft
• Chicken Milanese with Mediterranean salad from @skinnytaste
• Minestrone with kale and turkey sausage from @foodnetwork
• Baked crispy shrimp with dynamite sauce from @cremedelacrumb I will serve these in bowl form, and will add in some diced cucumber and steamed edamame.
• Thai chicken thighs from @damndelicious I will make a simple salad for mine and some buttered pasta for the kids.

We are still waiting on our oven ignitor and haven’t really had any positive updates in the last week.  My husband will continue to call this week, and all I can do is hope for the best!  I did a lot of baking last week, so there won’t be any baking this week.  Grocery List 11 22

Stay healthy,
Sara

Back from a break

Updates:
We arrived home today from an 8-day family vacation in the sun.  It felt wonderful to be away with the kids, relaxing, spending time in the pool and not much time in the kitchen.  We stayed in and cooked most nights, but went out and were invited out a couple of times.  I never turned on the oven, instead we used the BBQ for all of the cooking.  I made lots of snack platters and charcuterie lunches because we were eating poolside.  Now we are home and it is back to reality, work, lunches and planning and making dinner.

This week we will eat at home Sunday, out for a kids birthday party tomorrow and then home dinners Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Friday it is my grandma’s 90th birthday celebrations, which is being catered by @homebydavid.

• Grilled chili honey lime chicken and sweet potatoes with avocado salsa from @halfbakedharvest the weather is beginning to change and without an oven grilling with be my method.
• BBQ chicken drumsticks with berry spinach salad from @littlebrokenblog I will also make some waffle fries or tots.
• Greek turkey meatballs from @skinnytaste with Greek salad, hummus and warmed pita or naan.
• Beef lasagne, kale salad and focaccia from @homebydavid I am baking two bundt cakes: one lemon and one chocolate.  I also ordered a birthday cake (carrot) from @prettysweetyyc

No oven parts and no oven update.  We will see what they have to say when we talk to them this week.  I will make the batter for both cakes and then bake them elsewhere as I cannot fit a bundt pan in the air fryer.  Other than the cakes there will be no other baking this week as it is too busy!  This week’s grocery list 9 22 is a short one.

Stay healthy,
Sara

Weekly meals Mar. 14 – Mar. 18

Meal updates from last week:
Our favourite recipe from last week was the lemon chicken soup, it was delicious, full of flavour and easy to make.  The kids enjoyed the meatball subs, loved the buttermilk waffles and my son thought that the club sandwich was amazing.  I made a buffalo chicken salad loosely following a recipe from @halfbakedharvest.  I made the chicken following the recipe and it was so good!  This weekend I had a family obligation Friday night, so ate some leftover takeout pizza from Lina’s Italian Market.  Saturday, my husband was out so I made some shake and bake chicken with green beans and coleslaw.

This week we will be eating at home Sunday-Thursday and then we are off for a family holiday.

• Skillet lasagne from @houseofyumm I served this with a green salad.
• Blackened chicken chopped salad from @howsweeteats
• Smoky chipotle turkey burger bowls with sweet potato fries from @playswellwithbutter this recipe sounded very interesting and I cannot wait to see what it is like.  I will give the kids the option to eat theirs in a bowl or in a bun.
• Shrimp tacos from @littlebrokenblog my daughter is not a fan of shrimp so I will make her a veggie quesadilla.
• Dinner at the mall as we have an appointment later in the afternoon and then basketball.

Still no oven and no part update either!  We were lucky to receive some amazing baked goods from my aunt this week.  She made us buttermilk banana bread and pumpkin muffins.  I won’t be baking this week, but there’s lots of baking planned for latter March and April.  I will be baking cupcakes for my bestie’s daughter, and decided to make two bundt cakes to celebrate my gramma’s 90th birthday.  There will be around 25 people, so I decided to make a chocolate and a lemon and serve vanilla ice cream on the side.  Shopping made easy using grocery list 9 22

Stay healthy,
Sara

Weekly meals March 7 – March 11

Meal updates from last week:
I loved the Greek souvlaki, and the sausage and pepper skillet was an absolute hit!  I mentioned in my IG post that I subbed day old rice for the cauliflower rice as my kids are not a fan.  The entire skillet was gobbled up.  My son son has asked that I make it again soon.  Picadillo was also hit with the kids, I made theirs into tacos and ate mine as a Mexi-salad.  This weekend we went to friends on Friday and I took raspberry tiramisu, I have have made this recipe before and it is so delicious.  Saturday we tried out the new restaurant, Surfy Surfy, and it did not disappoint!  It is Mexican with a California twist, we ordered almost all of their tacos (chicken, fish, al pastor, beef), my son had a brisket burrito and my daughter ordered a roasted corn quesadilla.  For dessert we had an order of potato churros.  It has been only open for a week, but everything ran smoothy and the food was amazing.  We will be back again very soon.

This week we will be eating at home Sunday-Thursday, we don’t have any weekend plans for the first time in a long time.  We are slightly less busy with some kid activities ending and some just beginning.

• Classy chicken from @bestofbridge I served this with buttered egg noodles and a wedge salad with buttermilk ranch dressing.
• Club sandwich from @nocrumbsleft on the side we will have raw veggies.
• Lemon chicken noodle soup from @littlebrokenblog the weather is taking a bit of a dip, so I thought a big pot of soup would be the perfect meal.
• Meatball subs from @foodnetwork I found this recipe, but think that I will simplify this weeknight meal by using Italian sausages.  If you take the meat out of the casing and form them into meatballs it saves a lot of time.  Then I will cook in a skillet and add some marinara sauce, add the meatballs and sauce to rolls and top with parmesan.
• Breakfast for dinner for the kids with some buttermilk waffles from @ambitiouskitchen, for myself I am going to make a buffalo chicken salad.  I found two recipes, but I can’t decide between this one or this one.  I will keep you posted.

Still living without an oven, but there was some hope last week as my husband spoke with someone who thought the part would arrive in the next 5-6 days.  We will find out more tomorrow when we speak with them again.  Fingers crossed this it gets here this week!  That being said, there won’t be any baking this week, I am very hopeful that some baking will happen by the end of the month.  Save time at the store by using grocery list 8 22

Stay healthy,
Sara

Weekly meals Feb. 28 – March 4

Meal updates from last week:
We enjoyed all of the meals from last week, I especially liked the fried rice and tropic-cobb salad.  I’ve made the Zuppa Toscana before and it is a hit with the kids.  This weekend my husband and I got away for three nights to Scottsdale.  It felt wonderful to travel again, we enjoyed the sunshine, relaxation and some great food.  Here is where we ate while away: Tocaya (quick and easy Mexican dinner), The Green House (lunch of appies and some wine), Shake Shack and The Capital Grille (an amazing steak dinner with all of the sides.  On of the other nights we ate at the hotel, which was The Westin Kierland, a beautiful resort with all of the amenities.  It would be a perfect place for a family vacation the pool area was amazing with a lazy river and surfing!  We arrived home today, so dinner tonight was super simple.  The meal plan this week will be short as I have already missed one night of cooking.

• Leftover hamburger soup for the adults, and pancakes with fruit and yogurt for the kids.
• Greek souvlaki from @healthyfitnessmeals I will serve a Greek salad and warmed pita on the side.
• Sausage, pepper and cauliflower fried rice from @eatwell101 I will be using brown rice instead of cauliflower rice as my kids don’t really like it.
• Turkey picadillo from @skinnytaste I will make mine into a salad topped with avocado, for the kids they will use tortilla chips for dipping with some raw veggies on the side.  If you haven’t made this recipe before it is a must!  So simple and very versatile, can be used in tacos or even served with rice or pasta.

Still no oven and no update either!  The baking drought will continue until it is fixed.  I am really hoping for a part update some time this week, but I won’t get my hopes up as I don’t want to be disappointed.  I made some almond butter energy bites last week that were pretty good, I wanted to try a recipe that didn’t use peanut butter.  As it is a short meal week there isn’t a grocery list, it will be back next week.

Stay healthy,
Sara

Weekly meals Feb. 21 – Feb. 25

Meal updates from last week:
Our family favourite BLT salad and hamburger soup didn’t disappoint, and the weeknight chicken stir fry was delicious.  I decided not to make the chicken parmesan, instead I made the kids buttermilk waffles and for myself a hash brown and veggie skillet topped with fried eggs.  This weekend we had friends for dinner Friday night, I made tacos with all of the toppings (I was inspired by a recipe from @halfbakedharvest).  Saturday night we went to friends for dinner and I took lemon zucchini cake with cream cheese icing for dessert.  Tonight we hosted my husband’s mom and partner for dinner, I will share our meal below.

This week we are eating at home Sunday-Thursday, and then my husband and I are away for three nights.  We are still busy with kids sports and activities, and the weather has taken a turn and winter is back with a vengeance!

• Weeknight bolognese from @inagarten I served this with a green salad and some warmed focaccia that I bought from @linasmarket
• Greek lemon oven roasted chicken thighs from @thesaltymarshmallow I will serve this with pita, hummus and a Greek salad.
• Tropi-Cobb salad from @epicurious as always my kids will eat all of the salad components.  I usually add a carb for them in the form of rice, pasta, pita, tortilla or bun.
• Zuppa Toscana from @saltandlanvender the perfect soup for this freezing weather!
• Fried rice from @gimmesomeoven for added protein I will saute some shrimp.

Although I am still without an oven I decided to bake banana bread, it worked out better than the lat time I baked.  I kept the temperature lower and baked it for longer, that way it didn’t get too brown, but still cooked through.  I will not have time this week to bake, but might find time to make another batch of protein balls.  They are the perfect after school snack served with a piece of fruit.  There is NO oven update, I am hoping to hear something this week, so please keep your fingers crossed!  Organized shopping with Grocery List 7 22

Stay healthy,
Sara