The Weekend Part 2

Both of our birthdays are coming up in a couple of weeks, but we got an early birthday gift; Christopher's parents spoiled us last night, by taking us out to dinner and a show at the Globe Theater.

We started with dinner at Bushwakker.

The parents had pizzas, Christopher had a portobello burger, and I had the chicken quesadilla.

Following dinner we went to the live theater - The Globe, to see "All Shook Up."  It was absolutely fantastic!  If you get the chance to see this, you should definitely go!

We had a wonderful evening out on the town, and are very thankful to Christopher's parents for taking us for this generous birthday gift. 

Christopher and his dad:

This morning we were up early.  We had scrambled eggs and potatoes for breakfast.

Then we headed out to our friends Matt and Alissa's baby shower for their little girl Vienna.  She's so beautiful, and I tried to monopolize all the baby snuggles, but I wasn't allowed to.

I wore my new shirt that just arrived in the mail on Friday. 

"Saskatchewan:  MIDDLE OF NOWHERE else I'd rather be"

An old friend, Steve, has a very successful company called Hard Pressed (based in Saskatoon).  Both Christopher and I love the clothes!  Check 'em out here.

After the baby shower we stopped at Menchie's before getting groceries, and heading home to cook some things.

How was your weekend? 

What did you do? 

The Weekend Part 1

Last night we went out to a fundraiser supporting a friend of a friend.  We had a nice evening visiting with pals, and enjoying the tasty food.

This morning Christopher made bagel sandwiches for breakfast, with tomato, spinach, and omelette.  On the side we had truffled potatoes.  

This afternoon I made banana spice donuts, with a chocolate glaze.

The hubby will enjoy these when he gets home from the recording studio!  His new band, Lunar Lander Dance Commander is recording a song this afternoon.  I'm looking forward to hearing the finished product.  Also, his band has been nominated for best new band in Regina by Prairie Dog magazine.  If you want to vote, you can do that here (under best new act).

Tonight we're heading out on the town with Christopher's parents; we're looking forward to it!

How has your Saturday been?

It's Going to be a Great Day!

Wednesday was the first official day of Fall.  We thought it might be nice to have a comforting, hearty meal on this day, so for dinner I whipped up a big pot of jambalaya.  I prepared a lobster stock to start, and used that in place of the chicken broth in this recipe.

The jambalya was full of rice, veggies, sausage, shrimp and chicken.

The recipe made enough for our dinner on Wednesday, and then lunches for me for two days, and a huge lunch for Christopher for one day.

Last night we made a healthy, delicious celery soup.  It's so quick and easy, and really tasty.

We had a lot of fun cooking it ...

We always have fun in the kitchen.

This soup really is easy - all you have to do is chop and dump.

You can find the recipe here.

This morning I'm starting my day with some Mini Wheats, raspberries, and grapefruit juice.  I don't eat cereal very often, but I wanted something quick today.

We have a really busy, but really fun weekend ahead.  We're going out tonight, tomorrow night, and Sunday afternoon. 

What are you up to this weekend?  Any fun plans?

Ten on Tuesday

1)  There are four flavours of Lays chips available for a short time.  People can vote on their favorite to become an official new flavour.  We tried all four and liked the Scalloped Potato ones the best.

I think the US had better flavour choices than we did in Canada. 

2)  We've been loving the newer Cliff bars, with tasty chunks of chocolate in them.  I got a bunch of samples in the mail, and we've been sharing and savouring them.  Soooo good!  Thanks to the people at Cliff bar for the free samples!

3)  When I was in grade 8 we did a novel study on the book, The Giver.  Christopher had the same grade 8 English teacher as I did, and he also remembers studying this book.  It is still one of my favorites today.  Did you know there are three sequels?!  They are so good!  I read them all last year, and couldn't get enough of them.  A friend at work bought me the box set as a going away gift at the end of June - so nice of her.

If you're a fan of The Giver, you have to check out the others!

4)  Exactly 18 days from now we'll be taking off on a trip to Mexico!!  Last year we went to this resort, and we've been missing it ever since.  In February we tried a different resort, and although it was good, it couldn't compare to our favourite.  We're pumped to get away!

5)  I've been hooked on turmeric tea lately.  We've been trying to incorporate a lot of turmeric into our diets, both for the delicious taste, and the incredible health benefits. 

6)  Christopher made a tasty breakfast both Saturday and Sunday.  He loves making me breakfast, and I don't mind one bit!

7)  Each week we plan our dinners for the week, and then make a list and buy groceries for those meals, in addition to any other grocery items we need.  We also plan for lunches.  On Sunday evening we made a big batch of Asian noodles so that we'd have lunches for Monday and Tuesday.

This noodle dish is one of our go-to lunch ideas, because it is easy, and sooooo delicious - especially with some sriracha on top.

8)  Sunday was such a beautiful day.  We sat outside all afternoon in our backyard, and then grilled up some ribs for dinner.

9)  Last night we roasted portobello mushrooms, topped those with saganaki cheese, and enjoyed that with a side caesar salad.

10)  For dinner this evening, we met up with family, Victoria, William, and baby Elizabeth at an Irish restaurant in town, Shannon's.  Christopher's corned beef dish was absolutely fantastic.

My shepherd's pie was not great.  It needed gravy (or something saucy) within in it.  It was really dry.

How is your week going so far?

What we've been up to ...

Happy weekend friends!  We've been keeping busy around here this past week.  We've eaten a lot of delicious things, including leftover meatloaf and mac and cheese:

Chicken salad:

Veggie pizza:

Fish and rice:

And an old favourite, cream chicken:

We made an aromatic chicken stock:

We then used the stock to make chicken noodle soup.

I made six loaves of bread for the freezer, and a pan of puffed wheat cake for Christopher.

On Friday night we went to the German Club where Christopher's new band, Lunar Lander Dance Commander, had their first gig!  He's playing bass in this band, which was really cool to see.  He's always played drums, but in November he decided to play around with the bass, and he's really been enjoying it. 

We were super excited that we had nothing to do Saturday and Sunday, except relax at home.  On Saturday evening we had pork chops, caesar salad, and garlic bread for dinner.

We were thinking about getting steak, because we never, ever (like once a year) eat steak ... but the pork chops caught Christopher's eye.  We're totally not steak people.  We've been together for 3.5 years, and have only cooked steak once in that time ... and it was because we had nothing else in the freezer and needed dinner.

This morning we were up pretty early, and Christopher made a lovely breakfast.

We're looking forward to chillin' out at home for the rest of the day.  It's so nice outside, so we're thinking snacks, bevvies and visits in the backyard.  We also have a tasty BBQd dinner planned for tonight. 

We're going to enjoy our lazy weekend at home, because next weekend we'll be busy with a lot of fun activities out on the town, including a fundraiser dinner, dinner & a Globe Theater show with Christopher's parents, and a baby shower with our pals!  We're looking forward to all of it.

How was your week?  What did you get up to this weekend?

Li'l Oliver - Olive Snacks

I got a fun package in the mail the other day!

The people at Sardo offered to send me some free samples of their Li'l Oliver olive snacks. 

Since I absolutely love olives, I jumped at the chance to try these.  Also, it was perfect timing, as I was getting back into the routine of packing my lunch each day.

I like the little "Did you know ..." facts printed on the box tabs.

Li'l Oliver olive snacks are pitted, pre-packaged green or black olives, with no artificial colours or flavours, no added sugar, no gluten, trans fat, or cholesterol.  Each pack is only 20 calories, with less than three grams of fat, and one gram of carbohydrates.  They make a perfect addition to a healthy lunch for big kids and little kids alike (especially if your kid is like my adorable nephew - he has loved olives since he was a baby).

Did you know that olives are technically a fruit!?  Two of the Li'l Oliver packets equals about one serving of fruit.

 

What makes this snack even more fun, is that they come with stickers!

To learn more about Sardo products, or find out where to buy L'il Oliver olive snacks, check out Sardo's webpage, or visit them on Facebook.

I will definitely continue packing these in my lunch.  They go great with a bit of cheese too!

Do you like olives?  What is your favourite type of olive?