Weekly meals March 18 – March 22

Meal updates from last week:
We really liked the teriyaki beef bowls as well as the chicken kebabs.  I didn’t love the chicken burrito bowl, but I think that it was because I used chicken breasts and I found them very dry.  If I made this recipe again I would use thighs instead.  This weekend we stuck around home, I took my son for a dinner date on Friday, Saturday I made spicy rigatoni and Sunday we grilled chicken, smokies and had potato wedges and salad.

This week is busy with activities and work, Friday is the beginning of our spring break and we are all very excited for some down time.  We will be eating at home Sunday-Thursday, I work late Thursday so it will be takeout for the kids.

• Smashed Banh Mi tacos from @cheftomwalton I made these a month ago and we LOVED them.  Everyone agreed that they were even better tonight!  You can access this recipe on his IG account.
• Air fryer tofu from @pinchofyum I will serve this with some steamed rice and broccoli.  My daughter is not a fan of tofu, so when we eat it I made her eggs for dinner.
• Chicken gnocchi soup from @thewoodenskillet, with a blast of winter heading our way, so I am making some comforting soup for dinner.
• Takeout

Last week I did some Easter baking as I was getting the itch.  I made some mini egg oatmeal chocolate chip cookies as well as a carrot banana bread with cream cheese icing (recipe on her IG feed).  Here are a few other recipes I found this week: lemon poppyseed muffins, chocolate raspberry cheesecake, citrus cake, shrimp sushi cups, chicken and feta baked meatballs and sheet pan halloumi with avocado and citrus. There is not a grocery list this week as it is a short one, we will both be back after the Easter weekend.

Happy Easter,
Sara

Weekly meals Jan. 29 – Feb. 2

Meal updates from last week:
Everything we ate last week was great!  We especially liked the vermicelli bowls and the burritos.  The kids LOVED the goulash and the shrimp bowls came together in no time9I used store bought tempura shrimp).  I will be making the burritos again soon as they make a lot and are a great lunch meal.  We ate ours with sliced avocado, sour cream, salsa and hot sauce.  This weekend we had takeout Friday night and then went to the new Earl’s at South Centre on Saturday, the food was excellent.  Today we skied and then grilled burgers and smokies for dinner.

We will be eating at home Sunday-Thursday this week, Friday my husband and I are off for a ski weekend.

• Grilled beef burgers and smokies with tots and house salad
• Loaded Greek potatoes from @teachertastes, you will find this recipe on her IG account
• Asian ground turkey bowls from @slenderkitchen
• Spinach pesto pasta from @inquiringchef, I will serve this with a house salad
• Ginger dill salmon from @nytcooking, as always you need a subscription for their site, but I have found a similar recipe here.

I don’t think that I will bake at all this week as it is a busy one, but it seems that I have been saving a lot of dessert recipes!  Oreo brownies, meyer lemon pudding cake, peanut butter chocolate bars and small batch cupcakes.  Shop using my  grocery list 3 24

Happy week,
Sara

Weekly meals Oct. 30 – Nov. 3

Updates:
Last weekend my husband and I were in Nashville for three nights.  We had a wonderful time eating, drinking and listening to amazing music.  The highlight meal of the entire weekend was Noko, an Asian inspired restaurant in the east-end.  We ate at many other places, but for me this meal that the absolute best, so if you’re in Nashville make a reservation at Noko.  When we arrived home it was so cold and snowy, we spent the whole week trying to get back into the swing of things.  This weekend we had dinner with friends Friday and then I was inspired to cook a recipe that @whatsgabycooking posted for her 30 minute meals for thirty days.  I cooked from day #4, you can find the details on her IG account.  Tonight we had friends over for chili, buns, salad and rhubarb cake.  It was simple and early night, just the way Sunday night should be.

This week we will be eating at home Sunday-Thursday, we have all of the activities this week and have no weekend plans.

• Chicken shawarma wraps from @mediterranean.diet.plan you can find this recipe on their IG account.
• Butternut squash pasta with bacon and parmesan from @nytcooking if you don’t have a subscription then you can find a similar recipe here.
• Turkey meatball vegetable soup from @skinnytaste
• TBD, I don’t have a plan for Thursday, I have some ground beef and shrimp in my freezer, so either a egg roll bowl or shrimp stir fry.  No plan is not usually my MO, but I couldn’t make a decision about what I wanted to make, so it will be a game time decision.

I don’t have baking plans this week. although I did see a post by @weelicious for oatmeal bars that looked delicious!  Soups, salads and bowls seem to be creeping into my IG feed, so here are a few I’ve got on my list: lasagne soup (IG recipe), harvest salad (IG recipe), butternut squash quinoa salad, hibachi chicken bowls, sweet potato burrito bowls and chopped broccoli salad.  Make grocery shopping easier with grocery list 25 23

Have a great week,
Sara

Weekly meals July 31 – August 4

Meal updates from last week:
We really liked the chicken salad and LOVED the crispy zucchini with spaghetti.  The kids tried the zucchini, they didn’t love it, but my husband and I finished off the entire pan.  I didn’t have a chance to make the tofu, so I will save that recipe for another week.  This weekend we went camping with friends, we all contributed to tacos on Friday night, Saturday morning was eggs, sausage, bacon with fruit.  Lunch was simple: cheese, meat, crackers, veggies, hummus and fruit.  Dinner Saturday was grill your own meat and bring a salad to share, I made a watermelon peach salad that was amazing!  Sunday night we went to my parent’s for dinner where my dad grilled wagu steak and my mom baked potatoes and carrots, I took the watermelon salad it was just as good the second night!

This week we are eating at home every night, and then leave for a family trip Sunday.  I am going to try to eat through everything we have in the fridge and I based many of my proteins on things that I had in the freezer.

• Grilled chicken with pepperoncini garlic butter from @pinchofyum I made this chicken tonight and served it exactly as the recipe calls and it was AMAZING!  I added some grilled pita on the side.
• Creamy shrimp pasta with corn and tomatoes from @pinchofyum I have some shrimp in the freezer and corn from last week that needs to be used, so what better way than a summery pasta.
• Crispy tofu bowl from http://www.heykimletseats.com I need to use the block of tofu from last week and my son loves when it’s served crispy style.
• Homemade pizza with ingredients from Lina’s to celebrate my daughter’s 7th birthday.  She has requested cheese, but there will be other toppings on offer as well.  I will be serving a house salad as well as chocolate cupcakes for dessert.  The cupcakes will be beach theme, some with candy crabs and some with bears sunning on the beach.

The only baking this week will be the cupcakes and frosting for my daughter’s birthday.  I decided to wash and freeze all of the blueberries that I got last week, there just hasn’t been time for baking and it has been too hot to turn on the oven!  Here are some other recipes that have caught my eye: tortellini pasta salad (on Kalememaybe IG), air fryer egg rolls and zucchini muffins.  This will be the last grocery list 19 23  and meal plan for a couple of weeks as we will be away.  Stay tuned to my IG account for all of the vacay eats!

Happy summer,
Sara

Weekly meals Oct. 31 – Nov. 4

Meal updates from last week:
The sheet pan chicken drumsticks and broccoli were delicious, we also enjoyed the creamy chicken noodle soup.  I didn’t get a chance to make the burrito bowl as I took the kids out to eat.  I will be making the Waldorf salad again, the pear dressing is amazing!  This weekend we had friends over to carve pumpkins Friday night, I made a super simple Mexican layer dip and we ordered pizza.  Saturday we went to Inglewood for lunch, and made pasta inspired by this recipe for dinner and tonight we ate out after taking kids to a Halloween party.

This week we will be eating at home Monday-Thursday, we don’t have any weekend plans save for kids activities.

• No bean turkey and sweet potato chili from @skinnytaste this is the perfect pre-trick-or-treating meal.
• Slow cooker pork carnitas from @skinnytaste I will eat mine as a bowl and serve the kids in tacos.
• Chicken finger salad from @nocrumbsleft this recipe is from her site, but I will be making mine closer to what she just posted on her IG feed.  Head to her feed for more inspiration.
• Blackened air fryer salmon from @skinnytaste I will serve this with steamed rice and roasted veggies.

Besides making my niece a koala birthday cake I don’ have any baking plans this week.  I did find a recipe for carrot inspired breakfast cake something that my son is always asking me to make.  It will be one of those, only if I have time.  As always I will be using my go-to chocolate cake recipe and create a koala using a knife, icing and decorations.  Shopping made easier using  grocery list 32 22

Stay healthy,
Sara

Weekly meal plan July 11 – July 15

Meal updates from last week:
We enjoyed all recipe from last week, I used chicken breasts in the Asian chicken recipe and they turned out great.  My son and husband loved the chicken tacos, I tried to fry the tortillas in cheese as the recipe suggested but it didn’t work out.  I opted to leave the cheese off the outside and only added cheese to the inside.  I decided to make the chicken drumsticks and the Shanghai salad on the same night, so I didn’t end up making the crispy tofu.  I will save that recipe for another day.  This weekend we ate out Friday and Saturday night!  Friday we went to Lonely Mouth with friends and Saturday night we had tacos at A1 Cantina.  The food at Lonely Mouth was excellent, I would highly recommend trying it out.

This week we will be eating at home Sunday and Tuesday, Monday we are going to friends and Wednesday we are leaving for a short trip.  I will be planning a couple of meals to cook while we are away.

• Grilled beef tenderloin, sauteed mushrooms and green salad with lemon vinaigrette.  We ate this meal tonight with my parents after golfing this afternoon.
• Spring roll bowl from @littlebrokenblog this is my all-time favourite bowl recipe!
• Sub sandwiches as we will be on the road, I will serve these with some raw fruit and veggies and some plain chips.
• Greek feta zucchini turkey burgers from @skinnytaste we will eat these with a Greek salad.
• Summer pasta primavera from @onceuponachef

I baked some strawberry rhubarb muffins last week that turned out so well!  This week I will be making some lemon sugar cookie bars to take when we go to friends for dinner, but other than that I will not be baking.  We are approaching the busy birthday season, my son has asked for this hot fudge sundae cake.  I will not be making the ice cream, but I will make the cookies for the crust and crumb layer.  I will make this for his actual birthday, and serve something else for his friend party.  My daughter hasn’t decided what kind of cake she wants for her birthday.  I won’t be making a grocery list this week as it is a short one, we will get back to regular programming 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

Weekly meals Oct. 11 – Oct. 15

Meal updates from last week:
Our faves from last week were the hummus bowls with chicken shawarma and the glazed pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes.  The kids enjoyed the chicken and bacon quesadillas as they got to choose their own fillings.  It was a great weeknight meal that came together quickly.  This weekend we ordered sushi takeout Friday, went to friends for chili on Saturday (I took fig and prosciutto goat cheese dip) and had a very small Thanksgiving feast Sunday with family.  Our Thanksgiving menu included: roast turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, honey butter carrots, Brussels sprouts and pumpkin pie.  It was a small gathering, cozy and delicious!

This week we will be eating at home Monday-Thursday, we don’t have any weekend plans.

• Creamy chicken noodle soup from @twopeasandtheirpod I made this tonight and used leftover turkey that I brought home from my aunt’s house.  It turned out so well, I served this with some cheese buns for dipping.
• Tex-Mex chicken chopped salad from @lifeinthelofthouse we need a dinner salad after our weekend of eating!
• Thai coconut soup with tofu and rice from @pinchofyum a good friend of mine said that this soup was amazing and I needed to make it.  I am omitting the tofu and going to add in some snap peas and cauliflower.
• Butternut squash pasta with bacon and parmesan from @nytcooking this recipe is only available to those with an account, but I did find a similar recipe here.

I did a small amount of food prepping today and boiled some eggs for my breakfast.  I also made a batch of pumpkin muffins, a recipe from @cookieandkate that I have shared many times.  It is a one bowl recipe and only uses olive oil and maple syrup.  I like to add in mini chocolate chips for added sweetness.  I don’t have any plans to bake this week, but I did get a large box of apples.  I was thinking of making a baked apple oatmeal or some apple muffins.  Whatever I decide to make with the apples I will share my recipes next week.  Finally grocery list 21 30 is back!

Stay healthy,
Sara

Weekly meals August 20 – Sept. 3

Meal updates from last week:
We all really liked the sloppy joes, and three out of the four of us loved the teriyaki salmon bowls.  Although my daughter doesn’t like salmon, that doesn’t stop me from making it for the rest of us.  I also hope that one day she will actually like it!  This weekend we went to the mountains and enjoyed some family time as well as amazing food.  

This week marks the beginning of school for both my kids and a more normal work schedule for me.  We will be eating at home Sunday-Thursday, we don’t have any plans for the long weekend, but the weather is looking pretty good.  Last week I sat down with the kids to talk about school lunches and what they would like to have this year.  I wrote all of their ideas down, and here is the list:

• mini bagels with cream cheese
• sandwich with cheese and pickles, add ham for my son
• cheese buns with jam
• mini pancakes
• hard boiled eggs, cheese and fruit
• croissants with ham and cheese
• pinwheels (cream cheese with salami)
• cheese, pretzels and pickles
• salami, cheese and crackers
• waffles with jam

This is just a list of the main part of their lunches.  They will also take two different fruits, granola bar, apple sauce, muffin (sometimes) and a small treat (I like to send mini aero bars).

• BLT salad with buttermilk dressing from @marthastewart I made the kids some BBQ drumsticks to have as their main.
• Halloumi fajitas from @howsweeteats I haven’t used halloumi since living in Australia 15 years ago, but I came across this recipe was very intrigued.  I’ll let you know how they taste.
• Sausage and pepper pasta from @tasteandtell we love sausage and who doesn’t love pasta?!
• Breakfast for supper as this will be my first day of school with kids, I’m thinking of making either pancakes or waffles with fruit.
• Spiced chicken meatball bowls with whipped feta from @yestoyolks I will add some warm pita for dipping.

There won’t be time for baking this week as it will be so busy.  I still have a lot of blueberries and some brown bananas, but I might have to freeze both until later in the month.  My freezer currently has banana muffins, banana loaf, chocolate zucchini muffins and carrot zucchini muffins so that will take us through the first three weeks of school/after school snacks.  Shopping made easy with grocery list 21 26

Stay healthy,
Sara

Weekly meals June 14 – June 18

Meal updates from last week:
We started the week with some family favourites (Thai noodles and hamburger soup), and as usual they were a hit!  My husband and I loved the tahini marinaded chicken thighs, and I didn’t get a chance to make the salmon bowls as one night we ordered pizza.

This weekend we went camping, and spent some time with friends and family.  We always eat very well when camping.  Here was our menu:

Dinner, caprese pasta salad with grilled sausages and baked beans
Breakfast, apple breakfast cake, yogurt, granola and fresh fruit
Lunch, build your own wrap with all of the fillings, carrots with hummus and chips
Dinner, Korean beef bowl with brown rice and veggies
Breakfast, eggs, bacon, toast and fruit

Needless to say we ate well and came home filled with many memories.  This week is a busy one with kid activities almost every night, we will be eating at home Sunday to Thursday.  This weekend we are heading to the mountains.  Summer is getting so close and everyone is getting excited!  

• Grilled chicken thighs with tots and berry spinach salad.  We ate this last night as I didn’t have time for a shop and this is what I scrounged from the fridge.
• Asian salad from Andie Mitchell’s cookbook with Asian sauteed shrimp from @weelicious we just had this for dinner and it was awesome!  It is a mix of recipes, but all of the flavours worked really well together.
• BBQ chicken bowls with sweet potatoes and slaw from @40aprons this is one of my new favourite recipes and it is so easy to make.  The perfect meal for a soccer night!
• Beef and bean taco salad in a tortilla bowl, both recipes from @cookinglight
• Beijing pork tenderloin from the Looneyspoons cookbook, we will eat this with some brown rice and broccolini.  

With the warmer weather I don’t have plans to bake.  I harvested some rhubarb and also have some spotted bananas, but I think that both will have to wait until next week.  My computer isn’t cooperating with me tonight, so for that reason there won’t be a grocery list.  Hopefully it will be back to original programming next week.

Stay healthy and safe,
Sara