Dinosaur Cake

Jaxson's 3rd Birthday cake. I only had to make two round cakes:) I went on the Wilton website and used their recipe for buttercream icing. Used Toblerone chocolate for the spikes.

Couscous

This is an excellent couscous recipe and really easy:)

2 cups couscous

4 cups chicken stock (for the vegetarians just use vegetable stock)

4 tbsp of olive oil

1/4 tsp tumeric

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

2 cups chopped up zucchini

1 cup chopped carrots

1 onion (chopped)

2 tbsp lemon juice

1. In a pot bring bring the stock, olive oil, cinnamon, and tumeric to a boil.

2. Add the couscous and boil for 1-2 min or until the liquid has been absorbed.

3. Remove from heat and fold in raisins, zucchini, carrots, onions mix well.

4. in a small bowl mix together lemon juice and 2 tbsp of olive oil....pour this over couscous and toss to coat. Cover and refridgerate overnight (for best taste)

I'm serving this with maple glazed salmon and broccoli tonight.

Beer Battered Fish

Save On had a deal on Cod, buy one get one free. So I bought some and made my own Fish n Chips (without the chips) dinner. This dinner comes with calories I'm sure..but for a once in awhile meal it was really good!
I mixed about one cup of flour with one can of beer. Then coated the fish and fried it in a good amount of oil.
The fish cooked really fast, so have everything else ready before you cook the fish.
I served it with corn on the cob, salad, and of course tartar sauce :) Both boys ate like they were starving!

Ribs

1.)Cut the ribs into separate pieces then brown them under broil for 10-20min. While these are browning you can make the sauce.
2.) Throw everything into a big casserole dish and cook them at 300 degrees for 2.5hrs.

Sauce:
1 medium onion
1/2 c. water
2 TBSP white vinegar
1 TBSP worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp lemon juice
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 c. chili sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika

Instructions:
Brown onion in 1 TBSP oil.
Add all ingredients and simmer for 20 min.

This is my Gram's recipe...so I grew up eating these ribs....so yummy! My brother uses this recipe in his restaurant also:)

Cheese Bread

1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup cheese (strong cheese is better)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vege oil

Mix all together put in loaf pan and cook at 375 for 34-45 min.

This was super easy and quick both boys liked it:)

Mac and Cheese

So I made Mac and Cheese tonight...the usual cheese sauce recipe:

a little butter
a cup or so of milk,
a little four
alot of cheese:)

This time I added to the cheese sauce almost half a head of pureed cauliflower. I did this because I needed to use it or throw it out. I wasn't sure of the nutritional value of cauliflower (I figured it's a white vege...can't be much to it). So I did a little internet searching and found out this:

Health & Nutrition Benefits of Eating Cauliflower

* The allicin in cauliflower is known to promote a healthy heart and reduce the risk of strokes
* Cauliflower contains selenium and vitamin C, both of which work together to strengthen the immune system.
* Cauliflower has been associated with the maintenance of a healthy cholesterol level.
* Being rich in folate, cauliflower is known to help improve cell growth and replication. Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant would benefit from this.
* The high amount of fiber in cauliflower improves colon health and can even help prevent cancer.
* Recently, it was found that cauliflower contains ‘indole-3-carbinol’, a substance that can prevent breast and other female cancers.
* The glucosinolates and thiocyanates, present in cauliflower, increase the ability of liver to neutralize potentially toxic substances.
* Cauliflower acts as a blood and liver detoxifier.
* Sulforaphane, a substance in cauliflower, can remove cancer causing chemicals and also stop the spread of cancer cells, even in the later stages of their growth.
* Researches have suggested that cauliflower contains certain phyto-chemicals that might help reduce the risk of some hereditary cancers.

The people suffering from the following ailments can benefit from cauliflower:

* Arthritis
* Asthma
* Constipation
* High Blood Pressure
* Kidney and Bladder Disorders

So if you want to add a little vege without your kids or husband knowing...why not add it...it's cheap and as it turns out it does have some health benefits:)

Rainy Day project....

The Rain came and the finger paints came out, a little messy, but ended up with a framed end product:)

Homemade Pizza Pops

hi all,

made these home-made pizza pops I found on a blog I think. They were yummy.

Healthy Treat for Today: Homemade Pizza Pockets

These Pizza Pockets are a perfect treat that you can make ahead put in the freezer…then throw in the oven at lunchtime.


Crust

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 t. sea salt
1 cup melted butter
1 cup plain yogurt

Stir ingredients together until thoroughly mixed.

Pizza Sauce

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 1/2 t. oregano
1 1/2 t. basil

Stir together and simmer for a few minutes.

Pizza Pocket Fillings

Grated mozzarella or white cheddar cheese, cooked hamburger, pepperoni, olives, peppers, mushrooms

To form a Pizza Pocket

Roll a small ball of dough into a circle. Place one tablespoon of pizza sauce in the center. Put in a small amount of your choice of toppings. Fold the dough in half. Use a fork to pinch the edges together.

Lay Pizza Pockets on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze for about one hour. Pop them off the cookie sheet and put them into a freezer bag…and back into the freezer.


Bake your Pizza Pockets

For frozen Pizza Pockets, bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. If the Pizza Pockets are thawed, bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

I love the convenience of this nutritious ”fast food”! Serve them with fruit and veggies(God’s fast food!)…and you’ve got yourself a quick and easy lunchtime treat!!

I didn’t make it entirely with brown flour as I find sometimes can be too strong.

L.

Thai caramelised chicken

diced up chicken breasts or thighs
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/4 cup and it was still yummy)
2 small red chillies (less if you don't want spicy)
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice


put soy, sugar chillies, fish sauce, lime juice in frying pan over medium heat and cook until it thickens. Put the cut up chicken in the pan and cook until done.

This was really good, I served it with rice and broccoli. The recipe called for pork, so I'm sure pork would taste good also!

heidi cooks.... shocking!!!

so i was feeling creative yesterday and made up a yummy dinner. don't know what to call it but i felt like Shepard's pie and tacos so this was my creation....
ground chicken browned with taco seasoning then mixed with black beans, corn, peas, salsa and cheese. then pour the chicken & veg mix into a lasagna dish and pour prepared cornmeal muffin batter over top and cook at 350 for 30 minutes. then we put sour cream and salsa on top. very messy but we all including Bayli loved it.

Dinner Plan For May 2-May 9

hi guys,

here is my dinner menu for the week.

Sunday: Beef Stew

Monday: Fiesta taco casserole

Tuesday: Pasta primavera

Wednesday: Black Bean Soup

Thursday: Asparagus and Chicken Casserole

Friday: Home made pizza. Deli ham is on sale.

canned tomatoes are on sale at save on.

Asparagus is on sale, so I will use it in 2 meals this week. the primavera and the casserole.

The broth is also on sale at save-on, so I will get some extra.

Have a great week all,

L.

Couponing is Fun

okay,

so miss kelly has not kind of, but full on got me hooked on coupons. She has even given me some to get my momentum going.

I have to say that I am a beginner couponer. There are women in this blog land who have it mastered as evidenced by their receipts and pantry photos.

I went to Save-On tonight to see what I could do. They had that coupon machine, where you swipe your save-on card and coupons come out. I took full advantage of what it had to offer which resulted in amazing deals. I often feed Clarky fruit out of a can, but I rinse the syrup off of it first. The Save-on brand were 2.80, but the coupon was for 99 cents. I got 4. Another good deal was the cascade for dishwashers. they were 5.99 on sale and there was a coupon for 1.50 off. I had a couple of meat coupons from the weekly flyer 10 off chicken, and buy one, get one free meat skewers.

Anyways, my bill was $ 100.40, but with all the coupons I had it came to $65.86.

I saved $34.54! How Exciting.

This couponing business takes time. I didn't have my kid tonight so I had time to ponder in the supermarket and stop in the isle to fiddle with my messy lump of coupons.

until next time....

Lisa

Pancakes with Yam

These pancake are so scrumptious! And the yam gives them a sweet flavor:)

So I have the book Deceptively Delicious. There is controversy over this book because some say you're lying to your kids (don't we all at some point) and some say that it's not making them eat their veges etc. Anyway, I don't have issues with Jaxson eating fruit or veges but I thought what's the harm in putting a little extra nutrient in something that I was already going to make:) So here is the recipe from the book:

1cup water
1/2 cup pureed sweet potato (or yam)
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 cup pancake mix (I use whole wheat and they're still yummy)

Dinner idea

So in the 12 years I have been with Pat I have not BBQ'd myself ever! I've never turned on the BBQ, or put any food on it. Pat has been the one to always BBQ. Kinda pathetic once I actually say it out loud. Tonight I decided to do it all:) I made: Beer butt chicken, with roasted baby potatoes and pan fried asparagus.

I stuck a can of beer up the cavity of the chicken and cooked it on a low heat for 1 1/2 hours on the BBQ.

Just another idea for the BBQ season :)

Savings!

So I have made it kinda known that I have gotten into couponing. Well I budget our little family $100/week for groceries (this includes diapers and paper products). Tonight I went to superstore (with coupons in hand) and got all this plus a jumbo pack of Scott papertowels (I forgot to add it to photo). I spent $47.00 for these groceries for the week. My coupons gave me $25.oo off my bill tonight! If you're looking to save money this is a great way!

This weeks dinner

Hey friends,

I thought that I would post my menu for the week for some ideas:

Monday: meatball and mushrooms

Tuesday: shepherds pie

Wednesday: fried chicken with rice and zucchini

Thursday: I am looking for a turkey burger recipe

Friday: Delissio Pizza's are only $6 at Save-On this week.

On Saturdays, we eat whatever, and on Sunday, hmmmm.

Sunday: Ribs. They are also on sale at Save-On.

I am hoping that this will stay within my one hundred dollar budget this week.