Home Again

It was difficult coming home from Mexico, especially since our Monday back to work looked like this:

But, we were excited to get back into the kitchen and eat home cooked meals.  Before that though, on the Saturday evening that we arrived home, it was 9:00 p.m., and we had an empty fridge, so we picked up from China Doll.

On Sunday we loaded up on veggies and other groceries, and have made some nice dinners since.

We've also been enjoying the coffee that we bought on vacation:

I ate a lot of eggs, bacon, etc., for breakfasts while away, and have been craving lighter breakfasts since being home.

As I look out the front window this morning, it appears as though Spring may finally be here.  We have a few things to do around the house and yard, and then we're going to settle into the patio chairs for a nice looooooong (wishfull thinking) Spring and Summer.  The countdown is NOT on for our next vacation, as that is near the end of summer, and we don't want to that to come any time soon.

How is your week going so far?  

Do you have any vacations coming up?

Mexico Highlights

We spent Easter and the week following at the best resort we've ever been to - Now Amber/Secrets in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico.  The best things about this resort were:

•  How small it was; all a la carte restaurants were an elevator ride away, and the pools and beach were just a few steps beyond that (numerous pools, swim up, infinity, etc.)

•  The food was incredible, and there were about 6 a la carte restaurants, none of which required reservations, had a visit limit, or a wait to get in

•  24 room service (food and drink) - completely all-inclusive

•  No bracelets 

•  Dance club (similar to the ones at home) and outdoor movie theatre

•  Premium liquor (Grey Goose, Jack, Crown, etc.).

•  Legit coffee shop with espresso drinks, pastries, sandwiches etc., all included

We left the resort a few times, to golf, go to a candlelit dinner ocean side, and to buy some goodies in town.  The golf was at an incredibly beautiful course.





The weather was perfect every. single. day.  We loved this trip. 

Now back to real life.  Oh, and snow.

Start of our Holidays

We were pretty pumped as we drove away from work last Thursday, as we were officially on holidays for 10 days!!  We started them off with catching up with Christopher's old high school pal who was in town for Easter.  After the boys indoor golfed, we visited at home, and then ate some junk at Western Pizza:

The lasagna from generic pizza places makes me really, really happy.

On Good Friday we enjoyed breakfast at Wild Sage.  It was nice that they brought us out some fruit and a mini smoothie before our order came:

I had my usual "manly" breakfast, and Christopher had his typical fruit and yogurt:

After breakfast we were on the road to see Black Sabbath in Saskatoon! 

When we got to Saskatoon we dropped our carpooling pals off downtown, and visited with my mom for a bit.  We then met up again for dinner at Amigos.  This was our first time eating at Amigos and we thought it was FANTASTIC!  We will be going back again.

The concert was incredible.  Ozzy is an entertainer for sure, and even though he looked a little frail, his voice was as strong as ever. 

We had to drive home immediately after the show on pretty bad roads.  Fortunately we were in Christopher's Dad's fancy new vehicle that had all these special features to help keep us on the road.  We got home at 3:00 a.m., and then set our alarms for 6:00 a.m., as we had a flight to catch!!

How was your Easter?  What did you do?  Did you see family?

Sesame Chicken with Fennel & Orange Salad

Spring has sprung!!  The salad on the cover of Canadian Living magazine (on shelves today) is perfect for spring.  I had never had raw fennel before trying this dish, and I thought it blended perfectly with the red cabbage, orange, and creamy dressing.

This salad is beautiful, but it's also full of a variety of flavours and textures.  The orange with the sesame chicken is a perfect match.

This dish took very little time to prepare, and besides the fennel and cabbage, most of the ingredients included things that we have on hand all the time. 

Now that we can grill and eat outside, I envision many more meals like this one in the future.  You can find the recipe in the May issue of Canadian Living magazine, or on their website here.

Do you like fennel?  Have you tried it raw?

* This is sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.

What's Up Wednesday

We've been eating a lot of leftover ham this week ...

In other news, I thought spring was here, but I woke up to this:

Gross.  Thankfully, my bags are packed, and we're headed to soak up some tropical sun very soon.

We shared a giant omelet for dinner this evening (we were trying to get rid of the eggs, mushrooms, and other veggies in the fridge).

Fun times are ahead - holidays start tomorrow around 4:00!!

What's up with you this fine Wednesday?

Rest of the Weekend

After the ham dinner on Saturday, the rest of our weekend was just as great!  We saw Day Trip play a wicked show!  If you don't know this band, check 'em out.

We also went out with family/friends Mel & Steve for dinner to Thai Basil.  We shared some tofu to start:

Then we had the Singapore noodles and the salted crispy chicken (which is insanely good):

So far the week is off to a great start, and this evening I packed for Mexico!!  We're getting pretty excited!

How's your week going so far?

Dinner Guests: Early Easter

On Saturday evening we had Christopher's parents over for an early Easter dinner, as we will not be around over Easter. 

We started with some cheeses, and homemade shrimp fresh rolls:

Next up was a creamy batch of clam chowder soup:

The main course included fresh dinner rolls:

Roasted broccoli (with parmesan, olive oil, orange zest, and fresh basil):

Spinach salad:

Ham (bone-in):

And cheesy potatoes:

We served the ham with two homemade sauces, an apple sauce, and a mustard sauce:

Dessert included a red wine chocolate cake (with whipped cream):

And double chocolate merlot cookies:

What are your plans for Easter?

If you are cooking an Easter dinner, what will you be making?

How was your weekend?  What did you do?