Weekend & Eats

On Friday evening we drove to Saskatoon, and had a very late dinner at Fuzion, where we got the sweetest greeting from the lovely owner who remembers us every time we visit.  She brought out some tea for us, which was perfect, as it was a freezing cold day.

I ordered the ramen and it totally hit the spot.

This restaurant is a good place for a quick meal, and we were cozy in our hotel in no time.  On Saturday morning we ate at Aroma, the restaurant in the hotel.  I had the bagel with smoked salmon, and Christopher had a bowl of oatmeal.

We picked up perogies for my mom from Baba's, the only drive-thru perogy restaurant in the world.  This place is so good, and we always stop in for my mom when we're in town. 

When we came in they just said, "The usual?"

After spending the day visiting we grabbed a bite to eat at Samosa King.

On Sunday morning we had breakfast at Grainfields and got a breakfast to-go for my mom.

Once home again that evening we made a really, really easy chicken and rice dinner, with peas and carrots on the side.

Easiest Mushroom Chicken and Rice

3/4 cup long grain, white rice
1 cup water
1 can mushroom soup (we used a larger sized can this time to make it saucier)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
chicken thighs

Put the raw white rice into a casserole dish (that has a lid), add the water, soup and spices.  Top with raw chicken thighs.  Cover with the lid.  Put into a pre-heated oven 375 F for 45 minutes.

This meal takes only about three minutes to throw together, and you don't have to cook anything ahead of time, so it's perfect for the days that you're in a rush.  We actually made two batches, one a modified version subbing the mushroom soup for a can of coconut milk, and instead of the spices, adding a heaping T of Thai yellow curry paste, and some fresh ginger.  We did everything else the same with the rice and chicken, and then topped it with cilantro.  With the two different dishes we figured we'd have enough food for dinner on Sunday, as well as lunches for a few days.

On Monday evening I didn't get home from work until 8:00 p.m., so Christopher had dinner ready when I got home - spaghetti and meatballs.

This evening we stuffed bell peppers with cooked rice, and an Italian sausage/ veggie mixture, and then topped those with cheese.  About 20 minutes @ 375 F and they were done.

How was your weekend?  What have you been cookin' lately?

Thursday Things

Guess what!?  Christopher's band has a music video!  Check it out here.

The amazing thing about this video, was that the lead singer Steph's brother filmed it during their Halloween show at The German Club, using only one camera.  It turned out pretty great for how simply it was shot.  I didn't even notice anyone was filming!?  Incredible.

They played a big show on Friday night.

In other news, on Sunday evening we went out to an all-you-can-eat pizza/pasta fundraiser night for the NICU.

On Monday evening we took my dad out for supper to Bushwakker to have a visit.  I had a Greek chicken wrap with caesar salad.

Other eats this week included breakfast for dinner:

A giant plate of roasted veggies:

And other random eats, including leftovers from our Southern dinner on Saturday.

We don't often go out for lunch during the work week, as we always pack a lunch/ come home, but today we didn't have much for lunch stuff, so Christopher and I met up for a buffet lunch.

We're looking forward to a weekend getaway to visit my mom.

How was your week?  What are you up to this weekend?

Dinner Guests

We've had a busy weekend so far.  On Friday when we got home from work, we quickly changed, ate a little something, and headed out on the town, as Christopher's band was playing.  We got home just before midnight, and ordered a pizza in. 

On Saturday morning Christopher went to work for a while, and I started prepping for the dinner we'd be having that evening.

 

Two of our most favourite people ever, Christopher's brother Steve and his wife Mel, came over for dinner.  When they first arrived we snacked on maple bacon popcorn, and bacon-wrapped, stuffed jalapenos.

Next up was crispy polenta with eggplant and smoked cheddar, an appetizer we've been making for a while now, because we just can't get enough.

The main course also included dishes we've made numerous times, our Southern staples of fried chicken, mac and cheese, baked beans, bourbon bacon coleslaw, and cornbread.

 
Dessert was just simple apple crisp with ice cream.

Nothin' fancy about this dinner, but it is definitely comfort food.  With being out the night before, and Christopher signed up for Saturday overtime, we didn't have too much time, so we planned a meal we could make with our eyes closed.

We had a wonderful time catching up with Mel and Steve, who we hadn't seen since Christmas.  Time goes by so quickly, we didn't even realize it had been that long.

It was nice to sleep in this morning, and we've spent the day relaxing. 

How was your weekend?  What did you do?

Recent Eats

Mid-week already!  Looking back a couple of days, we had a great weekend.  For breakfast on Saturday we had bagels with smoked salmon, cream cheese, thinly sliced red onion, and capers.  This is one of our new favourite breakfasts.

It kept us pretty full until dinner when we made chicken, bacon pizza.  Other toppings included carbonara sauce, tonnes of black olives, red onion, and cheese.

A reader asked about our pizza dough recently.  Most of the time we just pick up the frozen, organic dough from KOKO in town.  It has a really short ingredient list and it turns out perfectly every time.  It takes a bit of thaw time, but then it's super easy to roll out, and it tastes great.

After our pizza we headed out on the town, as Christopher's band Lunar Lander Dance Commander was playing a show at Shannon's, an Irish pub.  A bunch of our pals came out and we had a fun evening, getting home pretty late (when we then finished off the pizza). 

For breakfast on Sunday I whipped up a veggie quiche, which I served up with some bacon on the side.

On Sunday evening we made a smoked pork shoulder, scalloped potatoes, and peas.

We ate the leftovers on Monday and Tuesday, and tonight we're having salmon, roasted beets, and salad.
 

How was your weekend?  What have you been cooking lately?

Five on Friday

1)  I was on holidays this week, and it was nice to catch up with some of my peeps that were also off.  I met up with my sister and nephew for breakfast one day.  We went to Breakfast Bistro, which moved locations a few months ago.  The restaurant is really nice, and the menu has a lot of selection, however none of us were overly impressed with our meal.

Sriracha benny

My nephew turned 10 earlier this month - can't believe it!

Some exciting news about my sister ... she's expecting!  Christopher and I will have another little nephew sometime around the end of June 💗

After breakfast we all went to my brother and sister in law's place to visit our niece Remi, who is growing so fast.  I got to snuggle a few other friends' babies this week too - lucky me!

2)  I baked a banana, chocolate chunk cake this week using this recipe.

The recipe says to bake it for 30-35 minutes.  I took it out at 25 minutes, but I think it should have come out even earlier.

3)  It was my friend Alaina's birthday on Wednesday, so we met up for a visit, a walk, and some lunch.  We ate at Lancaster, where I had soup. 

4)  The people at Starbucks sent me a surprise gift card recently to try out their new Blonde Espresso.  The Blonde Espresso is more smooth and sweet than the regular Espresso Roast, and pairs better with certain flavoured beverages off of the menu (e.g. fruit flavors), than the Espresso Roast.  It was also created to work especially well in iced drinks.  I tried it this week in both a flat white, and an almond vanilla iced latte.

It's definitely more mild than the Espresso Roast, and although I didn't try it with a fruity drink (I'm not one for fruity beverages), I could see it pairing well with those flavours. 

Thanks for the bevvies Starbucks!  It's always nice to pick up a coffee to-go when I'm on holidays and running around town, or trying to power through some cleaning etc. at home.

5)  We made a simple veggie pizza for dinner one evening this week, with carbonara sauce as a base.

Other toppings included loads of black olives, red onion, mushrooms, and a three-cheese blend.

Have you tried the new Blonde Espresso at Starbucks?

What are you up to this weekend?