Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Hurry Hurry! Time for Curry


Cost: $15

Prep: 40 minutes

I didn't update any further than pictures this week, but I thought I would add a bit of explanation to a couple posts.

This was a Madras curry. 2 packets + 3 chicken breasts + 1 sweet potato + 2 red skin potatoes + small head of cabbage + package of snow peas + 2 cans coconut milk. Served with rice (starch heavy, I know).

It wasn't cheap, but it made dinner for 4ish and 3 days of lunch.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Fish and Chips Redo

Cost: $10

Prep: 30 minutes (including time to batter and fry fish)

I know I know I know this isn't a terribly healthy meal, but we just love it. We get our DHA this way okay?

The cod was dipped in egg and then flour, so the "batter" is almost non-existent or simply very light. It was fried in a 1/4 cup of Canola oil.

The chips are not homemade this time. Until I get a mandolin, that is way too time consuming. We bought the "low-fat" variety though, and ate a large serving of broccoli and peas to try to balance the badness.

Breakfast for Dinner






Sunday, February 26, 2012

Celebratory Steak Night

And that, my friends, was some unexpected expert alliteration. Follow that with that fantastically fancy consonance. Look at this roll!

Back to the blog. You may be wondering whaaaaaaaaaat we could be celebrating. Well, we are preemptively celebrating that the public is going to have teachers' backs. This blog is not political, but with both Matt and I employed as public school teachers, we have had a hard week. Since this is my only platform to organize and express my thoughts, I need to seize this opportunity. If you are insulted, skip to the first picture and ignore this, but I urge you, what I say is important.

We have had a hard time with our contract negotiations for a variety of reasons, but my biggest insult has been the media. Every time I hear about the collective "us", I am told we are "striking" for a 15% wage increase. This is not the case AT ALL, and is, frankly, a fraction of truth spun so far, it is simply a lie.

Yes, a wage increase of 15% is part of what we asked for in out contract NEGOTIATIONS that were the equivalent of trying to bargain a rock or sharp stick out the baby's hand (also the equivalent of bargaining a steak out of a dog's mouth, also the same as bargaining with said steak, stick or rock), but that is such a small part. Right now, I am fighting for my rights as an employee, and the rights of YOUR children and MINE. If a parent doesn't know what is happening at his or her child's school, he or she can simply log on to the school website or pick up the phone. And if he or she is not receiving marks sent home directly by the child's teacher, a phone call or email will rectify this. We must be one of the only professions that is in the midst of strike action and ends up doing MORE work than previously.

I love my kids (ie students). LOVE. But there are certain aspects of my profession that I am not willing to just roll over and give up. It hurts me that the public, parents specifically, would believe a liar like George Abbott. My eyes are tearing just thinking about this. How can people not have our backs? How can people believe the untruths he spews? The fact that some people side with him and this terrible example of a union-busting government makes me feel like a failure as a teacher. Clearly, we are not teaching critical thinking as well as we think and hope we are.

All this being said, if certain things are stripped from our contracts, I will find a job and leave this profession, as it will simply be turned into another job--although, really, how many other jobs are out there that have no consideration of seniority? I could work at The Bay, as another teacher pointed out, and still be given shifts based on how long I have been there.

Anyway, anyway, I digress. I am emotional over this. I feel our livelihood, and therefore, our small, young family is threatened.

The smallest member of my family in disbelief over these "negotiations". 
So, we are celebrating. We are celebrating a clean, happy, fair end to these negotiations. Are we hopeful this will happen? Yes. Yes, because we have to be. What else can we be?

Cost: under $10, believe it or not. Here's to sales!

Prep time: like teachers, minimal. Here about 45 minutes.

We ate steak. What kind of steak? It was flavored. "Marinated" flavor. Just kidding. It was a burgundy pepper marinated steak. Very tasty, although I am not sure of the cut and also not willing to search the garbage for the package.

I, in a decidedly advanced move, made twice baked potatoes. We had green onions, sour cream, salt, pepper, and about a table spoon of shredded cheese (keeping it healthy on accident!). I didn't mash the filling much; my arm was tired and if you wanted it smoother, you should have done it yourself, and it was good anyways, so whatever, Complainer, whatever.

For the veggie, I steamed asparagus, then sauteed it in garlic, pepper, and butter. How much butter? The amount that got stuck on my knife three times. Measure that, sucka! It was delicious.
Deliciousness cooking.

So, here's to hope! And here is to the last time in a long while we are able to afford steak.



Chaos

I am in the throes of cooking dinner and wanted to point out that I live in chaos. Often in my photos I'm sure you see evidence of this. Tonight, it is the plate instead of the drip tray. Where is the drip tray? I don't know. Maybe in someone's bed, or the couch, or a toy box, or maybe it got recycled. We make due, don't spend a lot of time, and move on.

So, yesterday, it was a laundry basket beside my plate. Once, I did laundry. That's it, just once. Another example of the chaos.

But you know what? Sure, our house isn't as clean as pre-baby, but it is fuller and louder and stinkier and happier and a million other "er"s that are more important to us than "clean".

Cheap Chicken Lunch Fo Dayz Yo

We are working on being better with meals other than dinner. It is difficult for me especially, as my schedule changes day to day and we have a FANTASTIC cafeteria (like, truly fantastic--steak, scalloped potato, and cauliflower for $5.50 fantastic).

We picked up a rotisserie chicken yesterday that was marked down. We buy marked down meat all the time, either to use immediately or freeze. It saves a significant amount of money. The only problem from this, historically, has been that a portion of this either spoils or is forgotten about.

Regardless, we bought this rotisserie chicken. Those cold chickens are fairly small, but look how much meat you can get off one. (That was minus 1 leg, and I don't bother with the wings; it just isn't worth my time.)

That meat made 6 sandwiches (5 pictured, but there was just so much more, we added a whole sandwich and stuffed the rest). We probably could have made 8 nice sized ones.

Eight sandwiches and the protein only costing $5.50?! That is a great price point. Deli meat, even at its best sale price, cannot compare, especially not when comparing nutrition. We generally only buy the "natural" meat, but now are hearing that it is not any better than the old nitrate loaded variety. Using REAL unprocessed meats is more comfortable for me. I don't want to feed my family crap.

You could make chicken salad with this; Matt was disappointed that I didn't. I prefer to take bread, lightly mayo both pieces, add a touch of salt and pepper, and put finely chopped chicken in the middle. I think it really saves on calories to not make traditional mayonnaise-loaded chicken salad.


So, we made lunch for today and tomorrow for the three of us (Charlie only gets 1/2 a sandwich per meal) and a sandwich for the grandparent tomorrow. Add in the minimal cost of mayo, salt, pepper, and bread (we like the cheap white crap, sue me, I'm a hypocrite), and it is still under $7 for 7 lunch entrees.


I love these sandwiches. My mom would send me to school with this as a kid if there was left over chicken. It is so simple and easy. The taste is clean, and the calories are low.


Boys' Night


Boys' Night

Cost: $10

Prep time: none

Charlie and Dad had a big rectangular pizza from Thrify's. Matt was a little bitter that I went out without him, so I made sure to buy something that was sort of a treat for him--as well as quick for me to make--to soften the blow. Charlie had his with a side of mixed veggies for good measure.


Girls' Night

Girls' Night


I joined a ladies' restaurant club with a few of my girlfriends. Last night was the first time I had the opportunity to join them.

We went to Bin 4 Burger Lounge. Wow. Am I glad we had a reservation. It was 6:30, and there was an hour wait for couples, and an hour and a half plus for more...and we were a 6, so we probably would have been elsewhere if it wasn't for forward thinking. Frankly, I am surprised they take reservations at all since they are so busy.

The decor and ambiance are whatever. Nothing special. We were tucked in the far corner, and it was way too warm in there. BUT, the service was faultless, especially in such a busy environment, and they did not try to rush us, despite the huge line.

We all partook in the Dine Around menu. (I'm sorry; there are no pictures, as it was just too dark for my little camera phone.) Five of us had the pork and chorizo lettuce wraps. We all seemed to agree that these were tasty, especially the butter lettuce. I didn't particularly care for the sauce (hoisin?) because it was too sweet and thick as a pairing, and I would have preferred something more vinegar based. One of our party had the bruschetta, which looked fresh and satisfyingly large.

For the main, three of us ordered the Sweet Corn Chicken Burger. It was lovely. The goat cheese was a really great pairing with the chicken, very delicate and creamy in flavor and texture. The cilantro was what got me though. I will remember this for next time we do at home burgers or chicken sandwiches.

Two ladies ordered the mushroom and beef burger. They spoke highly of the beef patty, although some "order envy" was expressed over the chicken burger, as it was felt that the beef was very close to something that can be made at home.

The last member of our party had the chick pea burger. She said it was great, with a fantastic blend of flavors.

Most of us had fries as our side, and these too, were very good. Anyone on Urbanspoon who didn't like their fries should try again. I had the basil aioli, and that was beautiful. My only complaint about the fries is that I clearly had the dregs of the basket. I didn't have ANY that were longer than an inch, and I had a lot of other/non-potato deep fried matter mixed in with mine. I didn't really mind, but I think it is worth mentioning, as I know this would really bother a picky person (ex. my brother).

The desserts were very good. We somehow divided 2 by 2 by 2. The lemon tart, I was told, was full of flavor and rich. It definitely did not look like Sherriff lemon filling! The creme brule looked creamy, and despite it being a very small portion, one member could not manage to finish it. I had the chocolate torte. It was very nice, rich, and full of flavor. The only downside were the nuts it was served with were so hard I feared breaking a tooth--so I ate carefully, but of course still ate it.

We all agreed that Bin 4 was well worth the trip. We had a great time.

Bin 4 Burger Lounge on Urbanspoon

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Weekend Leftover Breakfast

This is from last weekend, but I just wanted to share this idea for using leftover slow cooker ingredients. This easily could be paired with a side salad and served as a dinner.

I sauteed the leftover potatoes on the skillet, fried up some eggs, and toasted some focaccia bread. Seriously, focaccia bread is the best thing to happen to eggs since chickens.

We are going to try, eventually, to have a meatless night. We eat too much meat and can save some money this way. Not yet though. This week we eat steak. Stay tuned for meal plans.


Flying Otter Grill

As Matt and I continue our weekly Dine Around adventure this month, we are trying to go to new places that are off our usual grid. There are a few staples we go to and are willing to pay full price (Ferris's, a couple sushi places, a couple pho places) and a few we are not (Nando's for example). Dine Around gives restaurants a good chance to put their best foot/food forward and let us us decide if we are willing to go back.

So, last night we dined at the Flying Otter Grill. I have nothing but great things to say about our experience.

The location is beautiful. I wasn't paying attention when we walked out though, and I am sure I could have walked right off the dock, but I didn't, clearly.

The staff was fantastic too. All the waitresses/hostesses working did a great job. Our waters were filled 3 + times, and the server was honest. I asked her if it was crazy to order extra appetizers on top of the Dine Around menu, and she said that the appies with the dine around are small, but if we ordered extra there would probably be something we couldn't finish. Very true.

The food was fantastic. We both agreed it was the best $20 Dine Around menu we ever sampled.
Oops! We ate the appies before snapping a photo, AGAIN!

The Flying Otter also seems to have great specials. We started by taking advantage of the 2 for 1 appie special. We tried the poutine and 10 Jamaican jerk wings. The jerk sauce was nice, spicy, but not over-powering, and the bacon was a great addition. We'd like to go back on a Thursday and try out the steak special ($10.95 for steak, prawns, baked potato and salad).

Now, the Dine Around. I had the calamari to start. I could have eaten this all night. Seriously. Every time someone else got it, I started to salivate again. Matt ordered the salad with candied bacon and capers. Wow. It was special, creative, and unexpected.

For the mains, Matt had the steak with potato croquettes. It was fantastic, but the highlight was the asparagus that came with it. Oh. My. God. No idea exactly what they did to it, but I could tell it involved something with a lot of butter, and it was one of the best veggies I have ever eaten.

I had the salmon wellington. By this point, I was really full (as predicted), and managed just over 1/2. The mashed potatoes and red chard were well done, although red chard is not really my cup of tea. I ate a little more than usual, because Daddy Matt gave me the old, "Do you know how good that is for you?" Anyway, the salmon was very well done, and the pastry on it was crispy and flakey.

Desert was a highlight. I had the lime tartlet. Divine. Matt had the tempura bananas and, although it looked like a turd, it tasted fantastic and was a HUGE portion.

The tables to our left and right did not have the Dine Around, and what they ordered looked great too (Tuna Salad and Surf and Turf to my left, Burger and fries/Wrap and salad to the left), and they raved about the food as well.

We will try the Flying Otter again, next time for breakfast. They seem to have a few choices for bennies, and I just can't resist!







Flying Otter Grill on Urbanspoon

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Failure

Because we ate tonight's dinner last night, I slipped back to our old ways tonight. It was a Mattless dinner, so it had to be quick and easy.

And it was awful.

I cooke up some turkey sausages from the freezer, but 6 small sausages no longer are enough for the three of us.

I cooked up some peroggies (how the heck do you  spell that? My spell check is failing.). Meh. I'm just not a fan. These were so tough, I think they must have been old. The sour cream was Charlie's favorite part though.

And I steamed up some broccoli, but it was cold by the time we sat down.

Charlie was happy though. He also ate a HUGE serving of kraut, but the smell sent me gagging.

Let's just forget this hiccup of a meal and pretend it never happened.


Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Dinner: Take 2

Cost: $15 ($6 of that going to the disaster dinner)

Prep: 30 minutes

So, in that last post, what was supposed to be pork chops in mushroom gravy, well, wow! It was the best thing I ever tasted! Yum yum yum.

Not.

Who would even try that? The answer is the dog. But since we don't have a dog, the answer is no one. At one point, I lifted it up, turned my head to the side, and put it on the back deck for Matt to deal with later. He asked what I was doing, and I responded, "Seriously, if I look at that one more time, I am going to puke." And seriously, I was serious. I did gag a bit.

I'm not sure what happened. I had even "consulted" a recipe. I think the milk curdled. Uh. I need to stop talking about this. It was so so so so soooooo gross.

Okay, so we needed a new dinner plan. Instead of thinking on the spot, we made tomorrow's dinner instead. Luckily, last night I pulled out the chicken breasts to defrost, so those were mostly ready.

I toasted up some pita bread, grabbed some tomato sauce (and bbq sauce on Matt's), cut up the chicken breasts and peppers, torn up cilantro, grated mozzarella, sliced green olives and artichoke hearts, washed the spinach, and combined. The mini-pizzas were baked in the oven for 10 minutes, broiled for 2, and served.


We ended the meal full--well, Charlie needed an entire banana--but now we have no plan for tomorrow. Oh well!




Dinner, Currently Failing

Blech. Who would eat this? Something is rotten in the state of my kitchen.


Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Mmmmmeh Soup

Cost: Around $7

Prep time: 30 minutes

I followed a recipe today! Yay!

I used the "Fix-It and Forget-It" book again. The recipe was for Curried Pork Soup. I "substituted", ie made crap up, that I didn't have in the cupboard, which may or may not have been a good idea.

Yesterday I measured the spices into a tupperware bowl, soaked the beans, cut up the meat, cut up the veggies, and measured out the water. This morning, at 7AM, I combined it all in the crock.

The house smelled delicious.

The soup looked delicious.

The soup tasted...meh.

You can see in the pictures that you are supposed to stir in spinach just before serving. That was tasty. BUT the pork was SO dry. The beans were way too hard. The soup was just generally too spicy.

I didn't have paprika, and I used some sort of mixed spices which made this WAY too spicy for me. Matt liked it though, but he can handle more spice.

That being said, even Charlie liked it. He had his pureed, and it was thick enough that he had his own bowl and spoon and could manage to feed himself (although, my God, what a mess!). My favorite part, however, were the crescent rolls (last of the Christmas stock).


Dad's "Crap" Stirfry

I just realized I didn't post yesterday. Probably because I didn't cook; it was Matt's chance to take a turn. He may have overestimated how much we needed and now may or may not be eating this every lunch for the rest of the week.

He made a stir-fry. In our university days we would make stir-fry all the time. We always called it "Crap Stir-fry" because we would just throw in whatever crap was in the fridge.

This time, it was a real stir-fry but with "crap" sauce: bits of every bottle of sauce in the fridge.
The great thing about this dish is that you can really get a lot of veggies in there. Carrots, green pepper, yellow pepper, broccoli, cabbage, and bokchoy joined noodles (weird noodles, like Mr. Noodles minus being deep fried). We also cooked four chicken breasts, two for the stir-fry and two we froze for Thursday's pizza.

Charlie was a big fan, both of eating it and putting pieces of it in his hair. That is how he shows us he approves of his meal (so far, clearly, his favorite is sour cream, which he likes to comb through his hair with his fingers).


Sunday, February 19, 2012

Weekly Plan 2

Yesterday, Matt and I did the weekly shopping. This week, we did all the shopping in one locations, rather than go to a green grocer. This did increase our overall bill by about $20, and we are also still using many of the veggies and fruits we purchased on our excursion last Sunday (this Sunday we went to look at Craigdarrock Castle and play at the park instead). Overall, we spent $150 for this weeks groceries, and we still need to go out and buy a few more things.

I did the meal planning yesterday while Charlie napped. I am a little discouraged because it feels like a lot more work than what we were doing--ie nothing, and failing at it I might add--and I am doing it by myself for the most part. As a mom of a busy baby boy, I feel my time is very precious, and there are dozens of roles I play both in and out of the home, and I am questioning adding another job to my list.

Matt and I talked tonight, and he will try to help more. But sometimes, he just doesn't get what goes into a "meal"--he once made himself lasagna, mashed potatoes, and stuffing, which is way worse than the time my dad made fish stick and spaghetti.

So, here is what we will eat this week:

Sunday: Fish and chips (done, blogged even!)
Monday: Chicken noodle stir fry
Tuesday: Pork and lentil soup? (question as to if it will be a soup, slow-cooker)
Wednesday: Pork chops and mushroom gravy (going to try it in the slow-cooker, too)
Thursday: Left-over chicken, spinach, and artichoke mini-pizza
Friday: Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa
Saturday: Mom's not eating with the boys, but will make them pasta before she goes to a meeting of the Ladies' Dining Club she joined

Snapper that up!

Cost: $13 ($7 fish, $3 yams, + spinach, peas, condiments)

Prep time: 45 minutes-1 hour, the chips are slow going

This is not a healthy meal, but it is part of our overall health plan to eat healthier. We are incorporating more fish, at least once a week. That being said, I did try to make a healthier version of traditional fish and chips.

I can make two fish dishes: baked salmon and fried fish. Red snapper was on sale this week, so we bought 2 large fillets. I lightly floured these and fried them in canola oil.

I made yam chips instead of traditional fries. I cut up yams in thin rounds, lightly coated with olive oil, and broiled in the oven.

For veggies, we had a big bowl of frozen peas and spinach salad--which I couldn't eat because there was a snail in one bowl that I picked out but disappeared before we ate it, and I just could not risk eating it myself.

Family dinner

Another slow-cooker day! It was nice not to have to take too much time away from being a family to make the evening meal today.

I made a slow-cooker pork roast today. I used a recipe from the "Fix It and Forget It" cookbook my friend Jamie lent me. Although I did not have all the ingredients, the recipe was called "Savoury Pork Roast".

The recipe called for simple ingredients: onions, bay leaf, and soy sauce along with the roast. I didn't have a bay leaf, and I accidentally spilled far too much soy sauce in. I also added carrots and potatoes.

I paired the roast with steamed green beans, zucchini with butter and parmesan, and Pillsbury crescent rolls (leftover from Christmas-time--must use up). Using the drippings and soy sauce from the bottom of the pot, I made a surprisingly good gravy. Little cups of apple sauce completed the spread.

My parents, even my mom who is a fantastic cook, gave their approval! So, I guess I can safely say week 1 was a success.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Weekend Treat: Shine Cafe

For our treat this weekend, we joined another couple + baby at the Blanshard Street location of Shine Cafe. It was not busy when we got there (8:30AM--oh how our lives have changed), and the waitress was very attentive then and throughout of meal.

I had a benedict. I think it was called the Veronica (or maybe the Vanessa?). Great bacon, feta, tomato, perfect medium eggs, and fantastic hollandaise. I love hollandaise. If it were a fruit cup and I were Pee-Wee, I would marry it. The rosemary hashbrowns were delicious, too.

Matt had an omelette with bacon, peppers, caramelized onions, and cheddar. He had the hasbrowns and corn bread as his sides. The corn bread was very crumbly and tasted perfect.

Shine Cafe inspired me to make family breakfast tomorrow. We'll see if I can do anything that even compares.


Shine Cafe on Urbanspoon

Dine Around Town Victoria: James Bay Inn

Date Night! We have been saving up our time, favors, and money to fully enjoy Victoria's Dine Around Town. Last year, we went out at least 3 times during the month, 2 of which we were not impressed with.

So, this year, we came up with a system to select our ventures. The first place we wanted to try was the JBI Pub, a place we figured out we hadn't been to in 7 years.

The babysitters came on time, and we went for an early dinner. That being said, I'm glad we had a reservation (pub + Friday night = drinkers drinking...and drinking...and yelling...and being generally sketchy...)

Anyway, back to the important part: the food. I apologize in advance for the dark pictures. I'm not even sure there is a point in posting them, but whatever, it's done.

I started with the coconut curry mussels. There were 8 and the brother it was in was good good, it was hard not to drink. Matt had the halibut tacos, and these were okay, but the halibut was a but dry--but at least it was plentiful. There are no pictures of this as we devoured it.

For our mains, my choice was the winner. I had the sole stuffed with spinach, feta, and shrimp served on a bed of rice pilaf with lobster infused hollandaise. Matt had the braised short ribs served with stupidly good red-skin mashed potatoes. Both entrees were served with interesting vegtetables: green beans, yellow beet, anise, parsnip, and squash. We both appreciated the change from the usual broc-cauli-carrot mix you almost always see.

For the finale, I had the mini cheesecake. It was small, but the name told me it would be. It had a nice blackberry compote. Matt's dessert was not something I care for: bread pudding with berries in it. He liked it, but I thought it was gross, as I always do with this.

We left with full bellies, not uncomfortable, but satisfied. And for around $50, tip included (the waitress was very efficient), for a 3 course meal, it was a good value.



JBI Pub on Urbanspoon

Friday, February 17, 2012

Mexican...again



Cost: around $6, mostly leftovers

Prep time: 30 minutes

Why, oh why, did we have Mexican 3 nights this week? That was a bad call. I tried to make it different, but because I was attempting to use up what was leftover in the fridge, whoomp-wha, that didin't really happen.

During Charlie's afternoon nap, I prepped the veggies (for with the meat, pepper and onion, but also for on the meat, cilantro and lettuce). I also loaded the rice cooker with rice, beans, and salsa, which is my new recipe for Spanish Rice that I made up on the spot. 

And since Matt is home later on Thursdays (we had already started eating by the time he was home),
all that was really left to do was warm the tortillas (corn this time, Thrify's brand, and they are HORRIBLE) and the taco filling, as well as get perishables and drinks on the table.
Charlie and I managed to eat, but I wasn't impressed by my choice of a third night of Meixcan this week. Monday's meal was much better, although the taco filling for this decent. Charlie, however, was VERY happy. He ate himself stuffed, rubbed sour cream in his hair, and shredded a tortilla like he worked at a paper factory.