Currently

Posted in Currently by

Reading // Nothing. How awful is that? I haven’t actually read anything since well, I don’t even know. I bought Kyle American Sniper for his birthday, so I’ll probably read that when he’s done, but I’ve been so busy/tired lately that I can’t find it in me to read anything new. Shame on me.

Watching // While my brain can’t function enough to read a book, I have been leveling up on my couch-potato status and getting in plenty of TV time. Other than Gilmore Girls on Netflix (I’m finally on Season 5), I have The Walking Dead, Grey’s Anatomy, Glee (only because I feel like I should finish out the series), and The Voice set to record on our PVR.

Listening to // Lots of Maroon 5 as I get pumped up for their concert at the end of the month! They did a pretty awesome cover of Macy’s Playground’s “Sex & Candy,” so that’s been stuck in my head, as well as “Lost Stars.”

Loving // Isla’s excitement for her baby sister. While I’m more than certain that they’ll have the usual sibling rivalry down the road as they both get older, Isla loves to kiss my tummy and give it hugs. She’s even been practicing giving her dolls bottles, which is pretty friggin’ cute.

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Thinking // About how prepared and how NOT prepared I am to have two kids. Prepared because we have everything we need to accommodate a newborn (crib, clothes, etc.), but not prepared because OMG I’M GOING TO HAVE TWO KIDS. Clearly I’ll adjust, but it’s so surreal to think about it. We still have to find Isla a “big girl” bed, dresser & nightstand, and then I have to touch up the paint in her old nursery before we move the crib and such back in …. NOT PREPARED.

Needing // More sleep. I’ve been feeling super drained lately and right now all I really want to do is put my head down on my desk and have a power nap. Fun fact: Yesterday my mom took Isla for the afternoon and Kyle and I had a 2-hour nap. I’m not even joking. It was the best thing ever.

Anticipating // A chaotic week at work since it’s my last week here. I have a lot of projects on the go, so hopefully I can wrap them all up before I’m done Friday!

Looking forward to // Prenatal yoga on Thursday (my first class since before Christmas!), and then Maroon 5 at the end of this month! (Which will also include a little shopping at lululemon, Old Navy, and IKEA!) I also have a mani/pedi appointment the day before I go to the concert, so I’m definitely looking forward to some pre-trip pampering!

What’s going on in your life, currently??

Meals of the Week v.1

Posted in Food, Meals of the Week by

I’ve found that one of the biggest challenges I’ve had with going back to work is having the energy to make dinner when I get home. Some days I’m just plain ‘ol DONE and if Isla is being especially cranky? Oh boy. Like last Thursday I had grand plans to fry up some chicken with all the trimmings, except I had a horrible headache, so I ended up barbecuing the chicken, boiling some pasta and pouring Alfredo sauce mix out of a pouch and into a pan of milk.

Anyway, this week I thought I’d document my weekly meal creations. I ended up trying a new recipe, leaning on a couple go-to’s, and taking advantage of the nice weather we’ve been having and using the barbecue. (Hello, less mess afterwards to clean up!) When it comes to dinner, Pinterest is my best friend!

Monday: Spicy shrimp pasta w/garlic tomato cream sauce

I decided to try out a new recipe I found on Pinterest last week – Spicy shrimp pasta in garlic tomato cream sauce. It was SUPER easy to make but it was lacking in the flavour department. (I did cut back on the red pepper flakes because Kyle and Isla don’t do spicy food.) The taste reminded Kyle and I of Lipton Sidekicks and besides the shrimp, Isla didn’t want to eat it. (I don’t know if it was because she was sick, or if she genuinely didn’t like it.) Either way, it would’ve been better as a side instead of an entire meal.

Tuesday: Baked meatballs in mushroom “sauce” w/rice

No photo because I totally forgot…

This is one of my “go to” meals and it varies from being baked in the over or just done on the stove with tomato soup. On the stove is faster, but Tuesday is my day off work so I went with the more “labour intensive” version. There’s no recipe since I just have it in my brain, but I usually just add salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, an egg, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce to the ground beef. I sear the meatballs a little bit in a pan, then pop them into a casserole dish with 2 cans of mushroom soup and some sliced up mushrooms and celery. It goes into the oven for about an hour at 350°F and gets served with rice when it’s done!

Wednesday: Fried chicken

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Fried chicken can be safely categorized as a comfort food for Kyle. His grandma made it all the time for him when he was a kid and I’m proud to say that I’ve mastered making it. While I’ve put my own twist on it, I think his granny would approve! I pounded out the chicken with a meat mallott and then dredged the breasts in flour mix that has salt, ground black pepper and a touch of cayenne pepper. After it’s coated with flour, it’s dipped into an egg wash (one egg is usually just enough for 3-4 decent sized chicken breasts), and then into panko crumbs. I used to use just crushed up soda crackers, but the panko adds an amazing crunch. I fry it up on both sides in vegetable oil for about 10 minutes a side on medium-high heat, and it’s done! (FYI a splatter guard is very handy keeping the hot oil in the pan!) The standard side dish for this one is mashed potatoes. Comfort food at its finest!

Thursday: BBQ’s Italian sausage w/homemade BBQ sauce

No photo because I forgot (again) …

I’ve had a hankering for something nice and saucy, so I figured I’d toss some mild Italian sausages onto the barbecue for dinner and douse them with homemade barbecue sauce. We used to buy bottles of ‘cue sauce at the store all the time, but they’d either expire or we’d use a whole bottle in one go and it would be almost a waste of money. (We like sauce, what can I say?)

Last summer while on Pinterest I came across this recipe for homemade sauce and let me tell you – it’s SO good! I let it simmer for about an hour and it has the best consistency ever.

Anyway, all I really do is boil the sausages for 10 minutes or so before tossing them on the grill for another 15-20 minutes. I served them up with carrots and rice, and it was the best ever. In fact, I can’t wait for lunchtime today because that’s what I brought with me to work.

Friday: Night off!

Lucky me, I get the night off from cooking since it’s Kyle’s birthday tomorrow, so we’re heading to his mom’s for a family birthday dinner tonight. In my mind, any night I don’t have to cook is a good night! Roast beef with all the trimmings is what’s on the menu.

 

I think the smartest thing I do when it comes to cooking dinner every night is to sit down and plan my “menu” for the whole week before I head out grocery shopping on Sundays. If I don’t plan what I’m making I definitely end up making crap food, or at least food that’s not as healthy as it should be, such as the packaged Alfredo wonderfulness from last week.

What was your favourite meal this week? How do you plan dinners?

Weekend Update

Posted in Weekend Update by

Let me just start off by saying that I’m shocked by the ridiculously amazing weather we’ve been having in BC lately. I’m loving the sunshine and feel so bad about those of you back east who are experiencing a deep freeze right now!

Friday
Kyle picked up an overtime shift at work, so Isla got to hang out at Grandma’s house for an extra day this week. She certainly didn’t complain as she really enjoys going there during the week while I’m at work! I was feeling super lazy when it came to cooking but had a big batch of leftover chili frozen in the freezer, so dinner was as easy as pulling it out in the morning before work and tossing it onto the stove come dinner time. You know how something taste better as left overs? This chili definitely lands in that category!

Saturday
Saturday has a bit of a back story: A couple weeks ago I thought of a grand idea of inviting one of Kyle’s friends up as an early birthday surprise (said friend has to work on his actual birthday). We had it all planned out for them to go to the gun range and Kyle didn’t know what was going on. Well on Tuesday Kyle comes home from work and says to me that there’s a major shut down at work and there’s a good chance of overtime on the weekend. I suppose my face said it all, because I ended up having to spill the beans Cullen coming to visit. It worked out so that Kyle didn’t wind up working OT, but still – surprises are NOT my forte!

That being said, we had friends come stay with us Saturday! Kyle and Cullen went to the gun range while I wandered around Costco with my mom & step-dad for part of the morning, and Clara (Cullen’s SO), tackled her to-do list on her own. Isla had actually woken up that morning with a snotty nose and a fever, so other than Costco, most of the day was dedicated to making sure she got enough rest and that her fever didn’t climb too high.

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We/Kyle tossed burgers on the barbecue for dinner (again – warm weather perks!) and Clara had baked delicious raspberry-strawberry filled chocolate “zombie” cupcakes to celebrate Kyle’s early birthday! They were SO good!

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I ended up going to bed early because I wasn’t feeling great and was tired from waking up at 6 a.m. (Boo to my inner alarm clock.)

Sunday
It was a rather “normal” Sunday, with the exception of Isla sleeping until 9 a.m. Normally she’s up around 7-7:30 but since she’s sick and was up for an hour around 3 a.m., she needed the rest. I was up at 7 anyway, Kyle got up around 8, and everyone else emerged around 9. We had a laidback morning and I eventually headed to Jysk for a curtain rod and to the grocery store for my normal Sunday shopping routine.

Cullen and Clara headed home around 2pm, so Kyle, Isla and I decided to get some Vitamin D and headed out into the yard. Isla was feeling pretty good (seriously – nothing slows this kid down!) and she jumped on the trampoline for a while before the sun was hidden behind the trees and the backyard lacked sunlight. We went for a little stroll through the neighbourhood before coming into the house, where Isla watched a movie and Kyle and I just chilled before making dinner. (Butter chicken!)

Showing us the "Gun Show!"

Showing us the “Gun Show!”

I skipped watching the Oscars and we watched The Walking Dead instead. I’m not sure how I feel about this season so far, but I’m interested in seeing how everything pans out.

That’s pretty much my weekend in a nutshell! Nothing overly exciting, but it was still really enjoyable! Isla’s still got a bit of a fever but she slept a LOT better last night than the night before, so I think she’s getting better. Next weekend should be just as good since it’s Kyle’s ACTUAL birthday on Saturday and we have more company coming to visit us!

How was your weekend? Are you having awesome, awful or just mediocre weather?