twas the week before christmas (week)...

...and all through my kitchen, a mama who didn't feel like blogging all week was scouring through the freezer, looking at leftovers with hopes of reinventing them into totally new meals to use up before heading out of town for christmas.

i just like the idea of using up those freezer leftovers, and the produce before we bundle up, pack up, and head down to my parents' place for a quick few days over christmas.

so mostly leftovers, and items from the last big grocery shop 2wks ago...

my list of dishes with recipes and pics in the links...and some on here - adding pics as they differ from the links...(yeah that didn't make much sense, but here is the food...




breakfast
omelette- cheese and pesto
yoghurt and fruit
fruit salad
breakfast muffins/cakes

snacks/lunch
watermelon
canteloupe
rice cakes with hummus
apples
bananas
pears
gluten free crackers with hummus
veggies and dip
doritos - cheeseburger flavour
salads

suppers
- for the bubs - another rice variation - a few tbsp pasta sauce, tsp curry powder, tsp of cumin (started with one cup of uncooked basmati rice)
- chili over rice - another week with chili from the freezer (mashed down a bit for the boys
- acorn squash and potato soup (this lasted for several meals for all 4 of us - except i subbed with a butternut squash and added 3 sweet potatoes - so adjusted some of the spices for the additions
- supper at our friends - soup and salad

- slow cooker beef leftovers and leftover peanut sauce and added rice noodles and cilantro and a bit of soy sauce

- same slow cooker beef leftovers and made a quick fried rice with 3c cooked basmati rice, 3tbsp each of soy sauce, fish sauce, chopped green onions, cilantro and a tablespoon of sugar.
- leftover tomato coconut curry

- yellow bell peppers stuffed with chili over rice - and added layers of shredded cheese and jalapeno slices quick and easy chili rellenos in a 375 oven for about 20mins.









i share my weekly meal plans at orgjunkie.com - you can find hundreds of meal plans on menu planning mondays there...helped me get back into meal planning.

soup and rice week

easy and delicious - one pre-made sheet of butter puff pastry, 2 ripe pears and one apple peeled and sliced fairly thin, 1 tsp sugar, .5tsp cinnamon, 1tbsp lemon juice --- preheat oven to 375 --- in a bowl, toss pear, apple, lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon --- place mixture in centre of puff pastry, leaving about an inch free all around so that you can now pull up the sides and make it kind of like a packet with a slight opening --- a little bit of cooking spray on the cookie sheet and a bit on top then into the oven for about 20min and done!

it ended out being a very soup and rice filled week. hmmm, stick to your gut and hearty, wholesome, slurp-worthy food - yep christmas is coming...
- not an exclusively gluten-free week (for me...mostly yes, but i did have a few bites of a pear apple galette i made - and had the heartburn and bloating to prove it).
my list of dishes with recipes and pics in the links...

breakfast
omelette- cheese and more cheese
yoghurt and fruit
fruit salad
breakfast muffins/cakes

snacks/lunch
breakfast muffins/cakes
canteloupe
rice cakes with hummus
apples
bananas
pears
gluten free crackers with hummus
veggies and dip
leftovers - one of the scores from the freezer was finding some sancocho (fish stew) that i forgot i had frozen
salads
apple-pear galette (see the top of the post)
suppers
phyllo nights - leftovers from last week - phyllo for everyone...but me
for the bubs - rice with carrots-peas
for the bubs - another rice variation - a few tbsp pasta sauce, tsp curry powder, tsp of cumin (started with one cup of uncooked basmati rice)
chili over rice
acorn squash and potato soup \(this lasted for several meals for all 4 of us)
christmas party for dh's work - kids included - we brought a big salad for the buffet of food going on

i share my weekly meal plans at orgjunkie.com - you can find hundreds of meal plans on menu planning mondays there...helped me get back into meal planning.

potato squash soup - with an asian spin

will have to add a photo later for this simple - simply delicious really - soup

ingredients
6 white potatoes - boiled, peeled and broken into pieces
1 small-ish acorn squash - first baked whole in the oven at 350 for about 50min then seeds scooped out and just scoop out every bit of squash goodness.
1/2c green onions
8-10c water
2tbsp chicken base
2 pho bo bouillon cubes
1tbsp garlic powder
1tsp onion powder
1.5tbsp cumin
.5tsp mexican chili
.5tsp paprika

i used a pot that holds 6L - about 1.5 gallons)
10-12c water (lost count...bad recipe writing...bad)
then all the spices and base and bouillon cubes in the boiling water until nicely dissolved
add the other ingredients
keep on medium for 10min or so
then break out the hand blender to blend it all (i left a few chunks unblended for that home-ier feel - at least it is to me, perhaps chunks annoy others - don't know - but going with home-ier feel)
another 5 minutes

done!

oh, i love homemade soup and this was a cheap and easy soup that lasted for 3 full meals for all 4 of us (i just added 1.5-2c water each time i reheated) - the pho bo cubes added that lovely asian flair but am sure subbing a bit of garlic powder, cumin, lemongrass powder and some pepper would have done the trick too. it could also be easily adapted to have more of a mexican spin, or none at all - the heartiness of the potato and squash make spices belt out in song! ugh, a bit over the top as i write this at 341am - not able to fall back to sleep after the 1yr old's late night waking.

the boys loved this soup - but they love a bit of asian flavours to begin with. the 3.5yr old had a full adult serving bowl of it...success!

crafty mama...

...apparently not me.
but we did have fun with a few cardboard boxes - courtesy of some online shopping
broke out the sidewalk chalk and "made" a train
the 3.5yr old couldn't wait to get in the box and eat his pizza
didn't even finish our oeuvre d'art
so i took a bungee cord to attach 2 cardboard boxes
used a funnel for steering
and a bike pump as the whistle

yeah, i know, stick to cooking
but this train has actually gotten a lot of use.

really isn't hard to please a 3.5 and 1 yr old.

Phyllo and Rice Week

sugar cookies made with the boys

i know i speak a lot about using what i already have. it is true though as i often buy things in bulk, or i will think i have time to try out some decadent recipe...and then it does not happen.
this is how phyllo and puff pastry ended up in my freezer. so i built a few meals around that...not gluten free so i had a lot of leftovers this week...but the boys all seemed to enjoy the phyllo surprises.
plus - made lots of cookies with the boys this week...my 3.5yr old proudly rolled dough and cut out shapes and letters.

my list of dishes with recipes and pics in the links...

breakfast
omelette- cheese and more cheese
yoghurt and fruit
fruit salad
breakfast muffins/cakes

snacks/lunch
cookies with frosting (recipe at the bottom
breakfast muffins/cakes
canteloupe
rice cakes
apples
bananas
pears
gluten free crackers
veggies and dip
leftovers
salads

suppers
phyllo nights - phyllo for everyone...but me
lemon chicken over rice
for the bubs - rice with carrots-peas
chili over rice
from the freezer - spaghetti sauce and rice pasta
leftovers and salad

i share my weekly meal plans at orgjunkie.com - you can find hundreds of meal plans on menu planning mondays there...helped me get back into meal planning.

phyllo phyllo and more phyllo

for all of the different takes i used
2 sheets of phyllo
...lazy me i just sprayed them with cooking spray
and in a 350 oven for 10-15min

version 1
spaghetti sauce
2tbsp parmesan
.25c sliced marble cheddar

version 2
baby food jar as pictured
.25c sliced marble cheddar

version 3
premade buffalo chicken tenders
.25c french onion dip
some just-expired fun-cheez (2 small packets)

all were eaten - the baby food one was a hit with the 3.5yr old - go figure - looked disgusting in the jar - not sure why my husband bought it...and now it is used up.

hmmm have no idea where the golden after photos are...on the to find list.

sugar cookies with frosting

i used this recipe from allrecipes (only modification was using turbinado instead of white sugar so i had to melt that with the butter). it is a great recipe for those like me who are not really into baking much, and need a forgiving recipe.

the frosting recipe is in this blog post

i am leaving it to the pictures to speak for themselves on this one since it is not my recipe so no ingredients to write out...

lemon chicken

i have a recipe for katie couric's lemon chicken cut out of an old issue of good housekeeping.
on it's own, it's an okay recipe but i find it a bit bland. i use it as a base, but change the recipe a lot. i forgot too that it calls for wayyyyy too much liquid so less is more - or do like i did and wait for it to reduce.
the results are good though

the recipe as i alter it...
2lbs of chicken breast cut into strips about 1 inch thick
3tbsp butter and about the same of olive oil
1/4c potato starch (or other heavier gluten free flour
3c chicken broth (should cut this down in half next time
1/2c lemon juice
4tbsp corn starch
3tbsp turbinado (sugar)
1tbsp garlic powder
sriracha sauce to taste

dredge chicken in flour and in wok with the butter and olive oil until cooked (i do it in two batches)
remove chicken
add all the other ingredients in wok, including leftover flour from dredging and whisk that and the cornstarch
put chicken back in with all of the liquid and simmer on low until sauce reduces and thickens

serve over rice.

this is pretty good and a bit more of an asian twist. it's not sugary sweet like takeout, more mellow, but in the past i have made it more takeout-ish by jacking up the sugar, more cornstarch and adding soy sauce and a bit of rice vinegar. decent. not stellar but good, especially over a fragrant rice like jasmine.

for the boys - latest rice hit combo

not the most clearly written title for a simple rice recipe. but sometimes simple recipes are best!

and the photo was a bit sad so thought it could do with being dressed up...

this was a huge success with the 3.5yr old and the 1yr old.
i know i have written in the past of hiding veggies in food and rice is proving to be an easy way to do it.

so for the recipe
i prepped 1c worth of jasmine rice in beef broth
with 1 jar of pureed carrots/peas as in the pic
1/2 tsp minced garlic

and the boys both had a huge bowlful - the 3.5yr old's constant comment - "delicious' between shovelling in mouthfuls of rice.

the thing is, this is the only way we use jarred baby food - the 1yr old has always eaten some form of the food we do, so i buy jars solely for the purpose of adding veggies to recipes for the boys.
easy easy easy
loving simplicity

cold weather food week

was a bit of a busy week - am just home from a weekend of doing a fantastic course so am posting like mad to get my weekly menu up. this one was kind of a take on comfort food - a few items with a twist - an asian style fish stew and a shepherd's pie done a bit differently.

my list of dishes with recipes and pics in the links...

breakfast

omelette- pesto cheese
hard boiled eggs and toast
yoghurt and fruit
fruit salad
breakfast muffins/cakes

snacks/lunch

breakfast muffins/cakes

watermelon
rice cakes
apples
bananas
coconut rice crackers
veggies and dip
leftovers - lots and lots of leftovers
salads

suppers

thai/vietnamese - inspired fish stew
almost shepherd's pie with salad
bbq chicken and sweet potatoes
chili over rice
from the freezer - spaghetti sauce and rice pasta
takeout pizza - donair, bacon and tomato for the guys, salad and leftovers for me
leftovers and salad

i share my weekly meal plans at orgjunkie.com - you can find hundreds of meal plans on menu planning mondays there...helped me get back into meal planning.

breakfast muffins/cakes

i am not a huge fan of using tapioca flour as my main gluten free flour but that's what i had and bad me i didn't put it after beer on my grocery list...so a nice, tasty, fat-filled frosting made up for that (just a little goes a long way)

3 bananas mashed, 1 egg, 1c tapioca flour, 1/2c bobs gluten free mix, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4c water, 1/2tsp cinnamon, 1c turbinado sugar, 1tbsp butter - all mixed in a bowl and a 350 oven about 20min.

similar ingredients to above just used a chopped apple instead, added 4tbsp of my homemade caramel sauce and a bit more water.

homemade icing to cut the taste of tapioca flour (it's really starchy but the only gluten free flour i had other than a tiny bit of bob's mix) so - 1/4c shortening, 2tbsp homemade caramel sauce, 1.5c icing sugar, 1tsp vanilla, 3tbsp table cream all whipped up...yum!

almost shepherd's pie...

...i say almost because i didn't have all of the traditional ingredients on hand, so i made do. here we go...

ingredients
3 sweet potatoes mashed
1 can french yellow string beans
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 tbsp minced garlic (because i like garlic
1 onion coarsely chopped
1.25lb lean ground beef

- i browned the beef, added the onions in when the beef was browned until they softened, then drained the fat
- i mashed the sweet potatoes with 1/4 of the mushroom soup and 1/3 of the tbsp of minced garlic
- i mixed all of the other ingredients together

--- then in a greased casserole dish i pushed a thin layer of the sweet potato mix on the bottom, then all of the other ingredients mix, then topped with the rest of the sweet potato mix
350 oven for about 30 min

--- that easy. my 3yr old liked the meat/veg mix, the 1yr old liked the whole thing. this was made really as low in fat as possible but it tasted really hearty - i am making this creation again - definitely a cooler weather dish

thai/vietnamese inspired fish stew

oh i just wanted some soup today. i paid for having a bit of delicious pizza from our fave pizza place and was crampy and had hearburn for hours after (i know this when i indulge but it is really that good). so soup seemed like a perfect cure...and it was.

i think i have mentioned i live in chinatown and often end up trying lots of new ingredients. so i knew i had fish in the freezer and coconut milk in the cupboards and some vietnamese pho bouillon cubes kicking around - good start...here's what i decided to use (and had on hand)...

400g (just under a lb, a lb is 454g) mahi mahi from frozen
3 vietnamese pho bouillon cubes
1 can coconut milk
dash all spice
1tsp frozen chopped lemongrass
1c frozen corn kernels
1/2c chopped green onion
1/2c chopped cilantro
6-7c water
1/8 package thai rice vermicelli noodles

optional to add to individual bowls - chili garlic

bouillon cubes and water first and stir once in a while until dissolved
add everything except the noodles and cilantro
simmer until mahi mahi is cooked and break apart into small pieces in the pot
add noodles - simmer 5 minutes
add cilantro - simmer 2 more minutes
then serve

this is where i add the chili garlic sauce (it's super spicy but i love spicy asian soups) - i tried it without and was great less spicy.

hilarious - my 3.5yr old was given a piece of leftover takeout pizza and asked to have the soup instead. soup trumps pizza...pretty amazing.

a few family faves and kid-friendly recipes week

the past week just flew by
i've taken on the task of finally editing some of my family photos - from january onwards (yes, i did fall desperately behind on this one), so given the nostalgia of looking at photos from the newborn stage, i relied on some family favourites and wanted to post some of my go-to recipes/simple modifications for the boys
now...
my list of dishes with recipes and pics in the links...

breakfast
omelette- pesto cheese
hard boiled eggs and toast
yoghurt and fruit
fruit salad

kid-friendly recipes - breakfast and snack ideas
snacks/lunch
a lot of cantaloupe and watermelon
apples
bananas
coconut rice crackers
veggies and dip
leftovers - lots and lots of leftovers
salads
sorbet

kid - friendly meals

suppers
easy oven chicken and sweet potatoes
pad thai noodles
bbq chicken and sweet potatoes
from the freezer - slow cooker tostada lasagna 
from the freezer - chili over rice
from the freezer - spaghetti sauce and rice pasta

i'm in the unusual position of needing to use up some of the extra meals i have in the freezer - a freezer full of meals - never thought THAT would be an issue!
i share my weekly meal plans at orgjunkie.com - you can find hundreds of meal plans on menu planning mondays there...helped me get back into meal planning.

kid-friendly recipes - part two - a few meal ideas

my boys are pretty good at eating what we do - so several of these have basic modifications for self-feeding (in particular for the 1yr old - we did baby led solids with him so he has been mostly feeding himself since 6.5mths)

so when we had spaghetti this week, it was easier to serve with rice for the 1yr old, those sorts of modifications. and when nothing works, often a bowl of oatmeal with agave or banana or pear or apple sauce will work.

this is slow cooker chili from this week

from tonight's meal - my 3yr old polished off a chicken breast cut into strips

sweet potatoes from this week - my 3yr old helped make the letters - the one year old ate the pieces

argh the uploader won't load this right - tried 3 times - grilled cheese - added sweet potato puree in there and garlic and havarti.

kid-friendly recipes - part one - a few breakfast/snack ideas

most of the time, i try to just make food that my boys - 3.5 and 1, will eat as well.
sometimes it doesn't work,
sometimes i have leftovers that won't work
sometimes i just want the food to be easier to manage
or prettier to look at...

i have a gluten free mix and added thawed frozen blueberries, served with a bit of agave on top for the 3yr old, as is for the 1 yr old.

omelette with pesto, garlic and parmesan cheese - the 3yr old helped make the shapes - the extra bits were gobbled up by the one yr old.

omelette version 2 - pesto, shredded cheddar, garlic and a dash of mexican chili spice - used rice shapers - pressed as much as possible in, and then was able to make slices for the 3yr old - 1 yr old ate the ends, pieces.

typical veggie/fruit tray for the boys - even the 1yr old likes dipping.

i like my eggs like this too ;)