Meal Plan Monday

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great last week!

The kids and I are camping for part of this week, so our meal plan is a little different. I'm curious to know what your favourite camping meals are? I'm always looking for new ideas, would love if you shared!

We are fortunate that we have an RV, so our camping meals are a lot like our meals at home. We dry camp (no hook-ups), but having a kitchen available makes things easy for meal planning. Where we live it is not uncommon for there to be fire bans during camping season which limits our campfire cooking, however this year, we have (yet) not had a fire ban put in place.

You'll notice that these are relatively simple meals with a lot of repeats...easier trailer packing and it's corn season so we are eating corn on the cob like it's going out of style :)

Here's my plan for this week:

Sunday - Steak, corn on the cob, caesar salad

Monday - Ribs, corn  on the cob, caesar salad

Tuesday - Souvlaki, grilled pita, corn on the cob

Wednesday - Hamburgers, corn on the cob

Thursday - Probably pizza as we'll be getting home from camping, flipping the trailer for our next trip, and getting the house ready for company :)

I haven't made any plans beyond Thursday as we have company arriving Thursday for a family wedding this coming weekend.

Have a great week!

Meal Plan Monday

It's been a long while! I've still been reading, collecting and trying new recipes, I just haven't been updating the blog. I've missed it, but, well, life got hectic and something had to give, for a while. My at-home meal planning also fell off the wagon a bit over the last while (I'm a bit of an expert when it comes to meal planning for our camping trips...we recently got back from 10 days away and the only thing we ran out of was eggs, which I knew we would but also knew that there was a grocery store near to our campground), but at home, especially in the summer, I tend to slack off. With back-to-school, back-to-work and hockey season right around the corner, it's time to get into the routine again. I'm back to work for a week, so I figured no time like the present to start the plan. Be patient, I do still have a few weeks of holidays booked before we go back full-time, but this is a start! Here's our meal-plan for the upcoming week:

Monday - Taco Casserole (recipe coming soon...if it's a success!)

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - Grilled chicken, Caesar salad

Thursday - Butter chicken, jasmine rice & naan

Friday - Social gathering with friends...not sure what's on the menu yet!

Happy planning for the week!

Meal Plan Monday

Hello friends!  How was your weekend?  Ours was great!  I think it is safe to say that spring has sprung around here - yippee!  I am anxious to get out in the garden, but I have been battling some hand issues since the start of the year that have been holing me back from some of my regular activities.  Good thing for helpers in the kitchen (even grating cheese causes me a fair bit of pain).  Slowly but surely whatever is going on with my hand is healing, but man is it frustrating!  (and YES, I have been to the Doctor and physiotherapist about it).

Enough of me griping!  LOL Here is this week's meal plan:

Sunday: BBQ Pork Chops, Spaghetti Squash Casserole, Kale Salad

Monday: BBQ Chicken, Spaghetti Squash Casserole, Caesar Salad

Tuesday: Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes, Kale Salad

Wednesday: Salmon, Grilled Vegetables, Kale Salad

Thursday: Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo (I finally found a homemade Alfredo sauce that I like...recipe coming soon!) and Caesar Salad

Friday: Take out! (Our son's hockey playoffs are this weekend and after his 4 pm game I am volunteering at the raffle tables...so no cooking for me!) 

Saturday: Undecided!

Have a great week everyone!

Flash #Giveaway! Kellogg's Innovation Prize Pack

Happy Sunday everyone!  

I hope that all is well with you!  It's another beautiful day here, the sun is shining, it's wonderfully warm, and my oldest is gone to hockey.  Yup, hockey.  Fall is around the corner and with fall comes a world of new things, including this new product line-up from Kellogg's!

And, guess what?!  One lucky Addicted to Recipes reader is going to win a fabulous prize pack like this one from Kellogg's valued at $50!  Enter via the easy Rafflecopter below. Contest open to Canadian residents only...and is open for TODAY only!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Easy Sticky Honey Sesame Drumsticks

I'm always looking for an easy dinner to make for my boys, especially now that we are into the hot days of summer (record breaking heat wave last week!).  I saw this recipe in Canadian Living, and figured I needed to give it a try.  I did modify it to suit my plans - here is the recipe:

Easy Sticky Honey Sesame Drumsticks (source: Canadian Living, August 2013)

8-10 chicken drumsticks
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
6 cloves garlic, minced
Sesame seeds (for garnish)
Green onions, sliced (for garnish)

In a bowl, whisk together the honey, sesame oil and soy sauce,  Add in the minced garlic and whisk again.  Pour the mixture into a resealable bag, add the chicken.  Seal the bag and put into the refrigerator.  Allow the chicken to marinate for at least 2 hours.  I put ours together in the morning and let sit in the marinade all day.

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a baking dish (parchment paper or tin foil) and place the chicken in the dish.  Pour the marinade over the chicken.  Place in oven and bake for abut 25 minutes (or until the chicken juice runs clear).  When done, remove from oven, put chicken onto a serving dish, garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.  Serve and enjoy!

VERDICT:
This is an EASY recipe, perfect for hot summer days (as long as you have a/c in the house!).  The flavour is nice, and the drumsticks are a beautiful golden colour when cooked.  We enjoyed these, and will make them again!

Throwback Thursday - Strawberry Lemonade

We are in the midst of a heat wave here, record setting temperatures!  Yesterday, it was 44 celsius in our back yard (that's 111 F!).  I love the heat of summer, though not the fires that come with the heat.  Here's hoping for some rain (lightening free) to help our forest fire fighters in their battles around the province.

Today's Throwback Thursday recipe is for Strawberry Lemonade.  Love making fresh lemonade for my family...check out the recipe here!

Mom's Peanut Butter Bars

Growing up, my Mom often made us great treats for dessert.  Whether it was her chocolate chip cookies (secret family recipe!) or her cinnamon buns, we were lucky to have a Mom who liked to bake.  Another of our favourites were her Peanut Butter Bars (think Reese Peanut Butter Cups, but homemade) - she's been making these for us since we were kids.  It's easy to make, no baking required.  I used natural peanut butter and it turned out the same as using regular peanut butter.

Peanut Butter Bars (Source: My Mom's Recipe Binder)

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup butter, melted
1 - 1 1/4 cups peanut butter
1 3/4 cups icing sugar
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

In a large bowl, mix together the graham crumbs, melted butter, peanut butter and icing sugar.  Press firmly into a wax paper lined 8x8 or 9x13 pan (depending on how thick you like your layers - bigger pan = thinner layers).  Put into the fridge to start to set, about 10 minutes.  Remove from fridge, melt chocolate chips, pour over the peanut butter layer.  Return to the refrigerator, allow the chocolate to start to set, approximately 10-15 minutes.  Remove from the fridge again, cut into squares (must do this now, or once the chocolate is completely set it will crack when you try to cut the bars later).  Keep refrigerated.  These also freeze well.

VERDICT:
These are a long-time favourite treat of mine!  Super easy to make.  As mentioned, I made these using natural peanut butter this time, and they turned out the same as using regular peanut butter - yay!

Meal Plan Monday

Ahhhh, the dog days of summer.  They are upon us now. I am on holidays. Which means in moments of silence (eg, when the toddler is napping), I have a few minutes to work on some posts.  I've been trying new recipes all along, even though I haven't been posting frequently.  Here's hoping I can get back into the swing of things now that life has slowed down!

I still prepare a weekly meal plan - it is SO helpful for us.  Here is this week's plan:

Sunday: Steak, Salad, Grilled Beets

Monday: Homemade Hamburgers and Salad

Tuesday: Pork Chops, Dawn's Baked Beans, Salad
 (in case you hadn't noticed...we have salad with every dinner)

Wednesday: Pork Kebobs, Leftover Baked Beans, Salad

Thursday: Soft Tacos (with Homemade Taco Seasoning), Salad

Friday: Grilled Salmon, Grilled Vegetables, Salad

Saturday: Clean out the fridge night! (leftovers!!)
 
Enjoy your meal planning!

Meal Plan Monday

Hello friends! It has been a while.  Life outside of Addicted to Recipes has been rather hectic.  Spring as sprung, and we are on the go non-stop - between our jobs (hubs and I both work full-time, plus we own a business, plus I've been working a lot of overtime...20 hours of OT last week), our kids (both active in swimming, guitar, tennis, hockey and more), and our hobbies (gardening, camping, sports, etc)- I just haven't been on my computer much to put recipes to posts.  Things should start to settle now that we are heading into summer...lots of vacation time coming for this girl!

Here is this week's meal plan:

Sunday - BBQ Pork Chops, Dawn's Baked Beans, Salad

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Soup & Sandwiches - my hubby and I are taking a pottery class together on Tuesday, so we'll need a quick dinner before we head to class 

Wednesday - Soft Tacos with Homemade Taco Seasoning

Thursday - BBQ Chicken, Salad, Grilled Vegetables

Friday - Homemade pizza

Saturday - Steak, Potato Salad, Asparagus

Happy Meal Planning!

Meal Plan Monday

Hello friends! It's been a while since I have posted - life has been busy...spring has sprung and we are into cleaning mode and spending time outside.  I'm still doing my meal plans every week, but just haven't been great at posting.  But here is this week's plan:

Sunday - Curry Chicken and Rice

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Beef and Peppers stir fry

Wednesday - Soft Tacos with Homemade Taco Seasoning

Thursday - Creamy Ham and Potato Soup

Friday - Spaghetti & meat sauce

Saturday - Pizza night!

Happy planning!

Meal Plan Monday

Hello friends!  Happy Monday to you!  How was your weekend?  Ours was lovely - it's SPRING!  Yippee!  Though that does mean it's time for spring cleaning...I don't always hear YIPPEE when I write out that daunting to-do list! 

I hope that your weekend was wonderful.  I've got this week's meal plan ready, hopefully you will find some inspiration here!

Sunday - Drumsticks, Dawn's Baked Beans, Salad

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Salmon, Rice and Peas

Wednesday - Soft Tacos (with homemade taco seasoning)

Thursday - BBQ Chicken, Grilled Vegetables 

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Steak, Baked Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus

Have a great week!

Throwback Thursday

It has been a quiet week here at Addicted to Recipes.  The kids are on spring break (for 2 weeks!) and we've been enjoying some extra time with them (meaning a few later nights, staying up reading with the oldest since he doesn't have school in the morning) - and at work, it's been very busy with year end, number crunching and reading way too many spreadsheets.  I've also been catching up on MasterChef Canada episodes, did you see that creation for Nanaimo Bar Periogies this week?  Wowzas!

I know I recently shared this Throwback Recipe for Nanaimo Bar Ice Cream Cake, but given I'm now craving Nanaimo Bars after watching MasterChef, I just had to share it again!  The link to the original recipe is via the title.  Enjoy!

 

Nanaimo Bar Ice Cream Cake

Throwback Thursday

Hello friends! Welcome back to this week's Throwback Thursday.  Today I am sharing a favourite from last summer.  Oh how can't wait for summer to come and to make these!  Link to the original recipe is in the title below.

Cajun Halibut Burgers

Enjoy!

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

My boys are big fans of pulled pork.  You've seen the recipes that I have posted for Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork (my hubby loves this one) and BBQ Pulled Pork.  And we all know that I like trying new recipes, so when I came across this recipe over at 100 Days of Real Food, I thought I should give it a try!  Here is the recipe:

Approx. 3 lbs of pork (loin, shoulder, roast), halved
3 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and halved

In a bowl mix the spices together (paprika, salt, black pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, thyme).  Add in the honey, the red wine vinegar and the olive oil, mix well to make a paste.

Line the bottom of the slow cooker with the halved onion.  Lay the pork on top of the onion.  Spoon the paste over the pork - there will be way more paste than pork, and that's OK.  The extra paste will run down along the bottom of the crock pot and the onions will love that flavour. 

Cook for 8 hours on low, after 8 hours, shred the pork with a fork.

VERDICT:
This one is another hit - it was very tasty.  We turned ours into sandwiches (of course!) and served with coleslaw.  Added bonus, an easy list of ingredients that are standard stock in our pantry.  Will certainly make this again.

Meal Plan Monday

Hello everyone! I'm a little late in posting this week's meal plan - after a very busy weekend at the rink (playoff tournament for our oldest son's hockey team)...and then said son ended up being sick last night, obviously the priority was to support and care for our little guy.

He's having a rest right now, which means that I have a chance to pop on and share this week's plan.  Here it is!

Sunday - Southwestern Chicken Chili

Monday - Leftover Southwestern Chicken Chili

Tuesday - Balsamic Roast Beef and Mixed Green Salad

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Curried Cauliflower Soup (recipe coming soon!) & Salad

Friday - Butter Chicken

Saturday - Leftovers

Have a great week!

Southwestern Chicken Chili

I've shared with you a recipe already from the Best of Bridge Volume 3 (check out the recipe for Brie with Sun Dried Tomatoes here) - and today I am excited to share yet another recipe with you.  Now first, anyone who knows me is thinking, chili? You? You hate chili... which is true.  I have never liked chili.  But, in true Addicted to Recipes fashion, I was looking to try something different, and came across this recipe.  So I made it, and for the most part, I liked it! (it was just those darn kidney beans that I could have done without).  Here is the recipe:

Southwestern Chicken Chili

Make it a meal with a salad and crusty rolls

2 1⁄2 lbs chicken breasts (I used boneless, skinless)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder (use all of it!)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons ground coriander (I substituted tarragon)
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 28-oz (796 mL) can tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons  lime juice
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 12-oz (341 mL) can corn kernels, drained
1 14-oz (398 mL) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 14-oz (398 mL) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. In a Dutch oven, brown chicken in oil. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are soft. Add chili, cumin, oregano, coriander, salt and pepper. Cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add carrots, celery, tomatoes, tomato paste, lime juice and sugar to chicken mixture. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 1 hour. Add corn, kidney beans, chickpeas and green pepper. Simmer 30 minutes more.  Serve and enjoy!

-----------
Excerpted from The Complete Best of Bridge Cookbooks, Volume 3 by The Best of Bridge Ladies © 2013 www.robertrose.ca. Reprinted with publisher permission.

Kellogg's New Product Line-Up - and GIVEAWAY

The days that we come home to the big red box sitting on our doorstep are always fun days.  Just before we left on holidays, we received a box from Kellogg's containing samples of their new products:

• Kellogg's TO GO Breakfast Shakes in Chocolate and Vanilla
• Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Fruit Crunch Bars in Strawberry and Apple Cinnamon
• Special K Chocolately Red Berries Cereal
• Special K Protein Morning Shakes in Cafe Latte and Mocha
• Special K Pastry Crisps in Cookies & Cream and Chocolately Caramel
• Special K Cracker Chips in Salt & Vinegar

My hubby was eyeing up the Cracker Chips right away, he's a fan of salty, crunchy treats.  Me, I'm more of a sweetheart, and the Pastry Crisps will be making their way into my food stash at work the office.  Hello, chocolate!!  The kids are happy to see the Nutri-Grain bars as these make their way into the treat bag for those days at the rink (which will be continuing well into spring as our oldest has now decided to play spring league hockey).

How would you like to win your own pack of new products from Kellogg's?  The contest is open to Canada only, enter via the Rafflecopter below.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Throwback Thursday

This weekend mark's our 8th wedding anniversary!  Time goes by so quickly, it feels like just yesterday that we were in Vegas getting married (yes...a Vegas wedding...and it was SO FUN!) Yet, when I sit down and look at the pictures and think about all the good times (and some challenges) - we've really had a wonderful 8 years of marriage.  I'm lucky to be married to such a great guy!

So, in the spirit of love and anniversaries, this week's Throwback Thursday recipe is one of my hubby's favourites...

 

NANAIMO BAR ICE CREAM CAKE

 

 

 

 What is your partner's favourite dessert?

Salsa Turkey Meatloaf

Me and meat loaf.  I've said it before and I will say it again, never been a big fan.  But my boys love meatloaf.  So, in Addicted to Recipes fashion, I keep trying new recipes, in hopes of finding one that will turn me on to meatloaf.  Here we are with a new recipe, Salsa Turkey Meatloaf.  It's another recipe from the binder - no idea where the recipe came from.

Salsa Turkey Meatloaf

2 eggs
3/4 cup salsa
3/4 cup panko
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a bowl, beat the eggs.  Add in 1/4 cup salsa, the bread crumbs, onion, green pepper, chili powder, salt, thyme and pepper.  Mix in the turkey.

Pat evenly into 8 x 4 inch pan.  Cover with the reserved salsa (1/2 cup).  Baked for 1 hour 20 minutes, or until meat thermometer registers 185F.

Remove from oven, sprinkle the cheese on top, bake again until the cheese is melted.  Remove from oven, let stand 5 minutes, drain off fat, and serve.

VERDICT:
I made this for my boys for dinner on a night when I had plans with girlfriends.  I came home to a very happy husband...and zero meatloaf left in the fridge.  When my sons got up in the morning, both told me how much they liked their dinner.  Score!

Throwback Thursday

Hello friends!  This week for Throwback Thursday I am looking back at a special treat that I made for Valentine's Day a few years ago.  This was a rich, delicious meal that my hubby and I both enjoyed. 

LOBSTER FETTUCINE!

Are you making anything special for your Valentine?