First GIVEAWAY

This morning I awoke to the smell of something cooking ... it was the steel cut oats I had put in the slow-cooker overnight. I topped them with a tablespoon of almond butter, because oats just aren't the same without almond butter on top.

I won't share the recipe just yet, because I have not perfected it. I used water instead of something more flavourful as I was worried about another type of liquid (such as almond milk) burning.

It was so cold outside today that it was really hard to leave for work. I despise the cold. I really should be living in Hawaii!

Lunch today was leftover Mexican casserole:



We still have MORE leftovers. This casserole from the BIG Cook is going to last us 3-4 meals!

I also had an orange and some cheese:





After work I did something special to take part in Jessica's Random Acts of Kindness challenge. I wrote 4 feel good messages in 4 cards and sent them to random people who's names/ addresses I found in the phone book.



It was fun!

The hubby threw dinner together while I was out buying some groceries earlier this evening. He tossed one of the dinner's I made during the BIG Cook into the oven and made some rice to go with it. We had sweet and sour pork on brown rice:



Look what I found at my local health food store!!!!!!!



I have been looking for this for AGES! It is made with coconut milk instead of dairy! I couldn't wait to dig in.



Don't worry. I grabbed a bowl.



This was the most amazing "ice cream" I have EVER tasted. The coconut taste was very present, and so "real" tasting. There were little pieces of coconut in every bite. I LOVE this flavour and also want to try the chocolate, cookie dough, etc..

I enjoyed about 1/2 cup with a fresh juice (1 green pepper, 1 grapefruit, 1 orange, 1 apple, 1/4 lime):



GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I am going to do my first Giveaway!

A Few Little Things That I LOVE

(I want it to be a bit of a surprise, but some things I will be including are: My favourite tea - Coconut Truffle Black Tea, Amazing Grass packets, a favourite bar or 2, and a few other goodies).

This giveaway is open to residents of Canada and the United States.

To enter this giveaway:

Leave a comment telling me about a few little things that you love!

I will use a random number generator to choose a winner on Sunday February 14th, and the package will be shipped out Monday to the lucky winner!

You can get an extra entry by blogging about this giveaway, and leaving another comment letting me know that you did.

A Perfect Morning

A perfect morning for me has a lot to do with smells.

The smell of coffee brewing. The smell of bacon frying. The smell of freshly squeezed orange juice, just waiting to be drunk.

A perfect morning must fall on the weekend, when one can sip the fresh brewed coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice slowly, savouring each mouthful.

A perfect morning is cuddling on the couch with the one you love, enjoying a perfect homemade breakfast.

This was a perfect morning.

Bacon and Gruyere Baked Eggs

- Fry 6 slices of thick cut bacon
- Wrap the bacon around the inside of 2 oven proof dishes
- Sprinkle diced onion, red pepper, pepper, and salt in the bottom of the dish
- Crack 2 eggs in each dish
- Top with Gruyere cheese
- Bake 20 minutes at 400F

Serve with a couple slices of bacon, fresh orange juice, and coffee.







I took the day off from blogging yesterday, but I have a recap for you ...

Saturday morning I was up at 7:00. I grabbed a glo-bar and a coffee and stumbled out into the cold. I picked up my friend, and headed to work where 4 of us ladies were going to embark on The BIG Cook. We had picked up $1400 worth of groceries the day before, and were in for an adventure. 128 meals to be made. 32 each.

We chopped, minced, diced, and laughed. We stirred, measured, and spilled. In the end ... we were exhausted.







Six hours and 128 meals later, all bagged and ready to be frozen, we didn't want to look at food again for a while. All the meals smelled SO good as we were putting them into the bags. I cannot wait to try each and every one. I have 32 in total, 16 different recipes (2 of each).





Each bag has SO much food in it that it will last my hubby and I for 3 meals! The terriyaki chicken bag, for example, has about 6 or 7 chicken breasts in it! At $350 for 32 meals, we are paying just under $11/ meal.

I got home around 2:30 and still had only eaten a glo-bar all day! I was haaaangry! I had a bowl of Annie's Mac and Cheese:



Of course last night I had to try one of the dishes we had spent the day making. We opted for the Mexican Casserole:



I topped my serving with some hot sauce and sour cream. It was excellent.



I cannot wait to enjoy the leftovers.

What would your perfect morning be like?