Sausage in a Bun Cookout

Cost: $18

Prep: 30 minutes

The cost of this dinner was higher than usual because we had our good friends the MacLellans over to eat (so 6 instead of 3).

We barbequed some nice sausages: honey garlic and bratwurst. We ate these like a classy hot dog.

I made two salads to go with dinner. The first was a simple Caesar. THe second was an awesome pasta salad. It was tortellini, yellow peppers, green onions, and a balsamic vinaigrette. I wish I had a better picture, as it was also very beautiful!

Garlic Prawn Fettucini

Cost: $14

Prep: 15 minutes

This meal was expensive because I essentially made nothing from scratch. it was actually very quick, also for this reason.

It included:

• frozen cooked prawns
• Compliments fresh fettucini
• Olivieri garlic and herb cooking cream
• green beans

It was a nice dinner, and there was more than enough for lunch the next day plus a serving of prawns as a late night snack for Matt later in the week.

Canada Day Turkey Burgers

Happy Canada Day!

We had a completely awesome, perfect day today. It left me barely able to move by 3PM, but I enjoyed myself immensley.

We left for the day at 8:40AM, in a rush trying to make it for the start of the bike parade on the Gorge. We were a little behind, so Matt took Charlie on his decked out bike to catch up while I waddled behind, and caught up quite a ways later.

At one point, I told Matt I couldn't keep up. Matt responded that I should take bigger steps. I told Matt that if I took bigger steps, this baby would fall out. But I managed. I did. It was fine.

We intended to get the pancake breakfast at the Craigflower end, but when we got there, the line was SO long. So instead Charlie played with his friend Ainsley and then his cousins Mike, Emma, and Keira while waiting for his best buddy Steele to show up.

Chuck and Ainz of their decked out bikes

At about 10:30, we left the Craigflower side and began our walk. We reached Gorge at about 1PM because there was a lot to see, do, and eat.

The first food stop was to see Carlos at Don Carlos Tamales. Matt has literally been looking forward to this all year. We ordered 2: chicken and veggie. I was supposed to only eat 1/2 the chicken one, but I didn't care for the veggie one, as it tasted like mashed potatoes to me, so I ate the entire chicken one. These are the best tamales I have ever had. Seriously. These are as good, if not better than anything we have ever managed to get in Mexico. And Carlos and his wife, also a teacher, are simply good people. If you see this stand, check it out. Eat here. I think he is usually at the Moss Street market.

Out next food stop was to share a sweet potato tornado. I am not sure who the vendors were who were serving these as well as langos, but it was a treat!

Then, we stopped for some fruitsicles. It turns out we are beyond the stage of not being able to give Charlie his own treat. He ended up stealing mine, as we all ended up sharing. I had the pineapple/coconut, and Matt had the lime/cream. These were more like a popsicle than the deliciousness at Fruition, which had a much nicer texture.

Look how impressed he is to share MY popsicle with me

The next food stop was Spaghetaboutit (spelling?). It was like Italian/diner food. We had the crispy gnocchi to start. Very good. Matt liked the sauce, but I thought it tasted like Chef Boyardee, which, coincidentally, is what Matt's Italian grandmother called all jarred sauces.

We also had a deep fried Mars bar here. It was pretty much the best thing I have ever eaten in my entire life.

The last stop was to buy a couple of buns for dinner at Fairways on the way home, but we finished off our 3 hour lunch with a big pint of raspberries on the way home.

Charlie was a really good boy, especially considering he was on his bike almost the entire time, missed his morning nap, and was out of the house from 8:40AM-1:30PM. When we got home, Charlie had a nap from about 2PM-4PM. I basically didn't move the entire time.

Then, dinner was upon us. Luckily for us, we ate the (now cold) tortellini Matt had made for him and Charlie while I was partying the night before. It made a nice pasta salad of sorts and contained peppers and chicken. He also cooked a few turkey burgers (2 for him, 1 for me, 1 for Charlie) on the grill, and I prepared the buns and vegetables (onion, lettuce, pickles). It was a light, easy dinner on a hot day when we were exhausted.

We finished it off with cherries, 1 that looked like testicles, and 1 that looked like a butt (it rolled in the photo). Charlie finished his dinner off with his favorite snack food: roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds.

Pasta, Prawns, and Psalad

Cost: $12

Prep: 20 minutes

The goal for tonight's dinner was to clear room in the freezer. I took out the tortellini and prawns as they were awkward shaped and could be eaten together. (Although, if you ask my dad, everything goes together including fish sticks and spaghetti).

The prawns were sauteed in butter and garlic, and there were way too many to eat so Matt got a nice lunch!

BBQ Chicken Breast and Broccoli Alfredo

Tortellini a la Veg

Prep: 20 minutes

Cost: $10

I tried to get Charlie to help me make dinner, but he did this instead.

So, I got out all the Costco sized ingredients: broccoli, asparagus, and tortellini.

Well, the tortellini wasn't from Costco; it was Compliments brand from Thrifty's. It tasted just like the Olivieri one, but the package is like 300 grams more. We still haven't decided if it was too much, as there is still some in the fridge and it has been 4 days. We MAYBE ate 1/2.

Anyway, I heated up a can of tomato sauce, steamed some of the veggies and boiled the pasta. I added the small bits of broccoli and sauce to the pasta.

We ate it with a large helping of parmesan and a side of asparagus...well, I ate a bit of asparagus and then it made me gag. Oh well!

Charlie was a fan. He has taken to signing and saying "more", and this meal got many "mores".

Prawn Fettucini with Greek Salad

Cost: $12

Prep: 40 minutes

This dinner was expensive, and there was a lot of prep, but it was so good and oh so worth it!

I started by making a Greek salad. we already had the green pepper at home, and while at the store, we noticed black olives, tomatoes, feta, and cucumber were all on sale. However, anything with this many ingredients adds up.

Prawns were also on sale. $1 per pound. The only thing that annoyed me was the ones we bought (from the seafood counter) were still kind of frozen, and by the time that I was cooking, there was about 5 ounces of water in the bag, and I hate that I paid for that. Add another tick to the "Reasons to Stop Shopping at Thrifty's" list.

Anyway, I cleaned the prawns.















I lightly cooked the prawns in a bit of olive oil.
















I added 3/4 of a Garlic Philadelphia cooking cream.

















While I was doing this, I cooked up some Oliveri fettucini noodle. They came in little nests, which looked cool, but something about this made them stick really bad while cooking. Although it tasted good, I'm not sure that this is a product I will buy again (although I do have more to use up).

Anyway, everyone enjoyed this meal, including Charlie who made a solid attempt to eat off his big boy plate. However, it turns out that Chuck is not a fan of prawns. Who's child is this? Just kidding; we will love him despite his short comings :)

BBQ Pork Steak

Cost: $10

Prep: 15 minutes

Another night, another chance to barbeque. We had a giant package of marinated pork shoulder steaks, of which we only ate 1/2.

We kept it simple otherwise: sour cream noodles and steamed broccoli.

3 Awful Things Together on a Plate

Cost: $10

Prep: 10 minutes

Another sucky dinner. What is wrong with me?

It had to be quick, as I had yoga, but these 3 lame things together made a lame dinner.

We had lame bagged salad. Too lemony.

We had lame steaks. Too tough.

We had lame pasta. Too soggy.

Th pasta was the biggest problem. It was supposed to be spinach and cheese tortellini, but while it was cooking EVERY SINGLE pasta spilled its contents, filled itself up with water, and became awful.

See that plate? That is what I DIDN'T eat.

Quick and Plain Pasta

Cost: $5

Prep: 10 minutes

We went to the grocery store at 4:30 and didn't make it back in time to have a real dinner, so I threw together a quick pasta meal.

This was tortellini with parmesan, light sour cream, and tomatoes. Easy, but not great healthwise. Oh well, a failure once in a while will be fine. We did eat a bunch of mango for dessert.

On another note, look how old Charlie looks. And, if you look at the header, he is wearing the same outfit as last summer.

Creamy Noods

Cost: $8

Prep: 20 minutes

The pork was simply marinated pork from Thrifty's, and the pasta was just Cattelli Smart. The broccoli was simply steamed before being mixed in.

The added flare to this meal was a new product, Philadelphia Cooking Cream. It was on sale for less than $3 at Walmart. I have to say though, I wasn't a fan. It was way too thick. Granted, there were no directions on the package, so I may have prepared it wrong.

Scallops a la Mom

Cost: $10

Prep: 45 minutes

Although this is one of the costlier and more labour intense meals I make, it is also one of the most delicious.

The scallops were not a bad price, as it was a buy 1 get 1 sale. One bag was $9.99, so each bag works out to about $5.

Here is how I made it:

I looked up alfredo sauce. I got out the closest ingredients I could. I did whatever I wanted.

I melted a large pat of butter. I added a cup and a half of milk. I crushed in lost of garlic. It simmered.

I melted in some onion cream cheese. I spilled in much more parmesan than I intended to use. I stirred.

It simmered.

Then, I boiled water. I added some Cattelli Smart pasta (the only box that was in the cupboard, much not have been on sale for a while). When the pasta was 2 minutes away from being cooked, I added 1 large finely chopped red pepper.

Then, I poured the sauce into a jug so I could cook the scallops in our single frying pan.

I had rinsed and dried the scallops this time, but it didn't seem to make a difference.

I heated the pan again with a bit of olive oil, then cooked up the scallops and put them on top the pasta/sauce.

Then I mixed it together and ground some fresh pepper on top.

I don't usually let Matt in on how I make his favourite meals. It gives him more incentive to keep me around.


But, oh well, this one can slip. It appears to be one of Chuck's favorite meals too. He especially loves the scallops. He has advanced (and expensive) tastes--his favourite food, after all, is cocktail onions...

Tiny Pork Meal

Cost: $7

Prep: 10 minutes

As this was a few days ago, I remember very little of this meal. I do remember thinking, "If I see steamed broccoli again, I am going to scream." Later, I thought, "If I eat any more steamed broccoli, I will puke." But it is so hard to make nutritionally valuable veggies that do not take a ton of time. I should research something new. Matt was also so bored with it, he tried chili sauce on some (thumbs up) and pork rub on the rest (thumbs down).

The side dish with an unremarkable pesto Sidekick. The meat were surprisingly decent think cut pork somethings from Walmart. I don't remember what the flavour was supposed to be, but it was quite spicy.

Baby Cracks Comeback

Cost: $7

Prep: who remembers?

Baby crack, aka corn on the cob, made a comeback tonight. Charlie didn't seem to notice that the pieces were smaller and not as good as before.

We paired the corn with a kind of hodge-podge meal. A little bit of pasta with a sour cream and parmesan sauce, honey garlic sausages (the "Naturals" brand, VERY VERY greasy), steamed broc, and toxin green coleslaw.

Trying to eat corn on the cob with a fork