Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thursday Things

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers!

We've been eating turkey all week (and we aren't even close to sick of it).  We had hot turkey sandwiches this week, and even bought white bread for the first time (probably ever), because there is just something about a hot turkey sandwich on white bread.


Last night we went to see "Dumb and Dumber To" in the theatre, and then visited with my brother a bit while we had some snacks at Chili's, where he is a manager. 


He and his lovely lady Jessie had some treats for us to give to our puppy niece and nephew, as well as US cash to trade us for Canadian; we are so thankful for that, because the Canadian dollar is not worth so much at the moment. 

What are you thankful for today?

Monday, November 24, 2014

Gobble Gobble Yum Yum

We got home from Saskatoon late yesterday afternoon ... and then we cooked up a turkey dinner with all the fixin's.  We enjoyed the turkey and stuffing with herb mashed potatoes, homemade perogies, carrots & parsnips, cranberries, and gravy.  I always make a giant vat of homemade gravy, because we simply need it.


We bought the turkey around Canadian Thanksgiving last month, to save for our No-Spend November, as an entire turkey will go a long way.


We're pretty excited about the leftovers that we'll be enjoying all week.


The stock is currently simmering on the stove.  We'll cool and freeze that, and have soup next week.

I hope my American readers and friends have a happy Thanksgiving!

Will you be celebrating Thanksgiving this week?  Will you be having turkey?  Who's house?  Are we invited?

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Roadtrip Weekend: Aroma

My mom's birthday is today, so on Friday, we headed to Saskatoon for a little road trip to visit her.  The weather was quite poor, but we made it safe and sound.

We always stay in the Radisson hotel in Saskatoon, and the restaurant there, Aroma, is absolutely fantastic!  We ate all our meals at Aroma over the weekend.

On Friday night we shared the perogy appetizer.


Then we shared Italiano pizza and spaghetti with meatballs.


The pizzas at Aroma are some of the best we've ever had, and I am absolutely hooked on the spaghetti. 

On Saturday morning we had breakfast in the hotel, before heading to see my mom.


We spent the day with her, and then had some hotel room snacks, before heading to Aroma to share a couple appetizers for dinner.


The rangoon appetizer was incredible.

This morning we had breakfast at Aroma again, but I forgot to snap a picture.  We were too busy visiting with the wonderful server Kelly, who's always so friendly and welcoming when we're in town.

My mom turned 58 today, but she is in a care home due to MS, which she's had for about 12 years.  She was out of all of her favourite snacks, so we got her stocked up until we'll be back to see her in December. 


Dark chocolate Kit Kat, about 50 cheese strings ... you know, necessities!

It was a wonderful weekend, and we had a great visit.  Christopher also got hit on by a bunch of the old ladies in the home ... ummm.  Hahaha!

How was your weekend?  What did you do?

Friday, November 21, 2014

Happy Friday

It's been pretty boring around these parts this week.  Some eats included fish and salad:


Polenta and salad:


And snacks of course!  We love to snack after work and visit, and then cook dinner about an hour or two later:


Before we started our No Spend November, we had two outings already planned - a joint bachelor/bachelorette party that we went to last weekend, and a trip to Saskatoon to see my mom this weekend for her birthday.  Other that that, we have been staying in, and absolutely LOVING it.  There is nothing better than a whole weekend where we don't have to leave the house at all.  December will have none of those, haha; but all the things we have going on in December will be really fun, and being busy will make our trip at Christmas come quicker.  In January though, we're being hermits.

What are you up to this weekend?
Do you have anything fun planned?

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Comfort Food

Last week we had some delicious comfort food


We made hamburger soup for the first time ever, using this recipe.  It turned out great!  We're both big fans of barely, and it added some heartiness to the soup.


Perfect for a cold winter day.

Another comfort dish - roasted chicken poutine.


We had a roasted chicken poutine when we were in Montreal in August, and it was fantastic.  We recreated it at home, with perfect homemade fries, roasted chicken, shredded cheese, and gravy


We couldn't find proper cheese curds, so we made do with shredded Monterey Jack and old cheddar. 

We layered everything in a dish, and let's just say this ...

It wasn't gross.


In fact, it was so not gross, that we plan on making it again, very, very soon.


Our eats so far this week haven't been too exciting.  I haven't slept the past couple of nights, and have very little energy, and Christopher has been working long days.  Perhaps by the end of the week I'll have something delicious to post.

How's your week going so far?

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Family Dinner

Our dear friends Mel and Steve, who also happen to be family, had us over for a comforting, heart-warming dinner last night.  It really hit the spot!


They must know us well, because they made a cheesy, baked pasta dish, with garlic bread.


And we had a perfect tossed salad on the side.


Check out that cheeseThat's love ... in food form.

What a great way to spend a Wednesday evening

 It's almost the weekend - any fun plans coming up for you?

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

What's up Wednesday

We woke up yesterday (for the first time this winter) to snow.


It's begun.

I made four loaves of bread recently, and froze a few of them.  We love homemade bread toasted on weekday mornings, and this is our favourite.


I use buttermilk in the recipe, and we had some leftover buttermilk, so we used it in pancakes on the weekend.


We had another great breakfast yesterday; Christopher made skillets with potatoes, veggies, bacon cheese and egg.


Instead of venturing out into the cold for fancy coffees (it's No Spend November after all), we've been making our own at home.


Speaking of No Spend November, we bought the big pack of ground beef, because usually you get more for your money if you buy in bulk.  We just weighed out one-pound portions, wrapped them well, and tossed them in the freezer. 


With four one-pound portions, we should be good for beef for the rest of the month.

Another cheaper meal - pasta!

 

We tried this recipe for browned butter Alfredo pasta.


Browned butter smells aaaaaaaamazing.  Also, we looooooooove pasta. 

What's up with you this week?
 Do you have snow yet?
Have you ever browned butter for a recipe?