Thanksgiving...without the turkey

...well, I kinda look like a turkey without my glasses here holding my baby niece... my eyesight is failing, anytime I need to see something up close I have to take them off...and Stephanie wants to pull them off too!

Back to the real story... I am a little late in sharing with you our Canadian Thanksgiving Celebration, however, it's perfectly timed with the American Celebration... so there! Our parents were away this Thanksgiving so I thought I would host my sister at my home... but then realized I couldn't because I was going through a whirlwind of renovations (more on that later)... so in the end Julie and her family invited us over for a lovely 'non-traditional' Thanksgiving dinner.

Stephanie was excited!

Brent was like... this ain't no turkey... you are right! It's a bunch of Rotisserie Chickens in a fancy dish!

You can't serve Rotisserie Chickens without St-Hubert sauce... it's a must!

We  had some rice and a nice salad with pecans too!

I made and brought over some healthy mini apple tarts.


...and some mini pumpkin pie tarts ( I don't like these but Brent LOVES them) ... stay tuned for the recipes.

Nice Nails- Fearless Fog

With the fall weather and those foggy rainy days, I thought I would share with you a weather-inspired nail creation.

The actual name of this Sally Hansen is Fearless Fog, it's just perfect for hurricane season! Thank you Sandy! Of course, I couldn't just leave my nails plain, I had to add some rockstar sparkle on the tips in a cascading shape!

Amazing Adventure in PC

Port Credit that is! Melanie and I enjoyed a beautiful Fall time walk by the lake. Did I mention we LOVE the wind and the waves and the water???

And cabbages that you plant in your fancy fall arrangements!

... and street signs that tell you exactly where you are.

... and the sun kissing our face!

...and the wind tickling our hair!

...and the love and gratitude we feel we are enjoying God's beautiful earth!

...and nifty wall graffiti.

... and the sun playing peek-a-boo behind glorious fluffy clouds.

... oh, and this one is good... the birds leaving heaps of poop marks trickling down the roofs of these million dollar townhouses right on the water. LOVE IT!

Soupy Sundays- Sweet Potato Pear Soup and much more...

It's a great time of year for warm and delicious soup. So let me introduce you to this creation.... Sweet Potato Pear Soup!

This recipe kind of was a fabrication of all yummy fall tastes.

Peel and chop 3 pairs and 3 sweet potatos.

Chop an onion, and brown it in some olive oil- add some cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste. Take your chopped fruit and veg. and put them in a stockpot with about 6 cups of chicken stock and a bay leaf. Boil until the sweet potatos are fork tender. Then take your hand blender and whizz it all up-  actually, since I can't perform that task because of a carpal tunnel issue, I asked my sweet husband to blend and he didn't know there was a bay leaf, so it had a crushed bay leaf in there... true story.


A girl can't live on soup alone, so I served it with a spinach salad bombarded with nectarines and toasted almonds... we love toasted almonds at my house!

Oh and this giant foccacia loaf, but I shared...

Here's a final photo with a pit of parsley and if you look close- crushed and pureed bay leaf.

Bread with butter, a close up.... the bread must be fresh and crusty and the butter must be cold!

This is our fave... spinach salad with fruit and balsamic vinaigrette. May all your fall dinners be colourful and sweet!

Nice Nails- Halloween Style

This is was my Halloween Costume. Halloween socks and scary spooky nails.

I painted my nails orange and then put a top coat of black crackle. Spooky and gross don't you think???

Happy Halloween- here's my treat!

If you follow me on Facebook, you probably have seen this picture. But for those of you who haven't seen it... Here is my treat for you, and me, on Halloween. My treat is that I am wearing a belt. What a treat it is! I have not worn a belt for over 14 years I calculated. And last week, I had the pleasure of wearing a belt and a new tight fitting sweater.

Thanks to my friend Kim at work for taking this picture. When I shared the belt story with her and noted that I needed to put this up on Facebook she took my new little Galaxy 2 and took some photos. She even said to take off the top sweater because it made me look bigger. She took another photo without the sweater, showing off my smaller curves even more, but it turned out fuzzy.

Let me tell you, on this day, I felt like a 'super style hero', I was all in gray with my new black belt, belting my gray pants that are already too big and wearing the loveliest of 'argyle' sweaters. My mom had just returned from a vacation to the US and she had purchased this sweater for herself, but I was over at her home combing through her closets for clothes that no longer fit her- as she is slimming down herself- and we stumbled upon this new one and I thought it would be too big for her and it fit me perfectly. Thanks again Mom, you made me feel like a queen!  You know, deep down inside, I think we all want to be noticed for the right reasons: for being kind, loving, and looking good! So when people come up to me and say, 'You know where I really am noticing it now... in your shoulders', it makes my inner and outer self just beam with joy!  Sometimes when days are hard and nothing seems to go your way, it's nice to know people notice your efforts. That's all the warm and fuzzy things I have to say!

Fall time means Applesauce bread!

So check out my new Fall discovery- Applesauce bread. Thanks to my dear friend Janice who mentioned this was her favourite 'bread' to make in the fall. I did some research and found a lower calorie/fat/sugar bread and tested it out.... and it's a Winner!

Tasty & Healthy Applesauce Bread

Adapted from Food.com

 Serves: 12, Yield: 12 slices

Ingredients

        1 egg

        1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

        2 tablespoons vegetable oil

        1/2 cup brown sugar ( firmly packed)

        2 cup whole wheat flour

        2 teaspoons baking powder

        1/2 teaspoon baking soda

        1 teaspoon salt

        1 teaspoon cinnamon

        1/4 cup raisins

        1/4 cup walnut pieces (or pecans)

Directions:

    Preheat oven to 350°F Grease a loaf pan.

    Mix beaten egg with applesauce, oil, sugar, cinnamon and salt, and combine thoroughly.

    Stir in flour, baking soda and baking powder; mix well.

    Stir in raisins and walnut pieces.

    Pour into well-greased loaf pan and bake at 350° for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.

    Let it rest in pan for 10 min., then turn out and allow to cool on rack.

Per serving: Calories 169.8, Total Fat 4.5g, Sugars 10.5 g, Total Carbohydrate 30.2g, Dietary Fiber 2.1g, Protein 3.4g

OH, BUT WAIT....
I couldn't just follow the recipe, I doubled the recipe and...

For one bread I  used currants, shredded coconut and walnuts...

... and for another bread I used chopped pecans, dried cranberries and dark chocolate chips.

... and then, when all was said and done... I enjoyed a small slice with my Mickey Mouse Coffee!

Pork Tenderloin- Easy and Elegant

Isn't that a lovely picture. What's even lovelier is that my husband made it for me and had it ready when I came home from work. I just love his use of the tools he has available to him.... the internet! Seriously, he typed into a google search 'easy pork tenderloin' and this lovely recipe came up. It really was easy- just 2 ingredients- and it was delicious and moist. Thanks honey, it was indeed 'elegant'.

Easy and Elegant Pork Tenderloin

Courtesy of http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-and-elegant-pork-tenderloin/

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

 2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs

 1/2 cup olive oil

 2 pounds pork tenderloin

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Mix bread crumbs and olive oil in bowl to reach consistency that would be moist enough to stick to the meat when pressed. Place pork on a shallow cooking sheet. Press the crumb mixture onto all sides of the meat until there is no pink showing, usually 1/4 inch thick.

 Bake for at least 35 minutes until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F or until there is no pink when the pork is cut. Let the pork rest for 10 minutes, then cut into 1/2 inch slices.

Apple-Raspberry Oatmeal Crisp

Here's another.... 'I promised' recipe. This one was really delicious and a little decadent. Sorry, no nutritional details, but do enjoy and eat in 'moderation'.  It's awesome with the raspberries! And with the lack of apples we have this year, you need to fill up your apple crisp with other fruits this year.

Apple Oatmeal Crisp

Courtesy of : Michael Smith

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/print.html?dishid=12878

Yield : 6-8

Ingredients:

Filling

•unit 6-large or 10-medium apples, un-peeled, cored and chunked

•1 pint raspberries

•1/2 unit lemon, juiced

•1/4 cup flour

•1/2 cup sugar

•1 teaspoon baking spice

Topping

•1 cup flour

•1 cup rolled oats

•1 cup brown sugar

•1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

•1/2 cup melted butter

Directions

Filling

1.Preheat your oven to 375ºF. Turn on your convection fan if you have one. Lightly oil a 9 by 13-inch pan.

2.In a large bowl toss the apples, raspberries, sugar, flour and lemon juice together. Toss in the baking spice of your choice. Transfer to your baking pan.

Topping

1.Whisk the flour, oats, sugar and nutmeg together, then add the melted butter and crumble together with your fingers. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, 45 to 60 minutes.

Nice Nails- Fuchsia and Dots Galore

This is seriously my favourite nail design ever! I call it Fuchsia and Dots Galore. I love dots and using these multiple colours was so much fun....imagine the possibilities with so many nail polish colours out there in the world!!!!

And here you are.... Ta da! Imagine decorating your nails for all the fun Holidays like Halloween, Christmas, Boxing Day ????

Here I am making use of that lovely Zoya gift set I purchased for myself for my birthday. The colour names escape me, but you could use any colour you wish to have your own fun!

Sticky Chicky

Here you go, the Sticky Chicky recipe I promised. It comes from some of my favorite cookbook authors. I just love their books and kitchen and nutrition tips.

Sticky Chicky

Adapted from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry by Janet and Greta Podleski.

Ingredients:

16 boneless skinless chicken thighs

 Sauce

1/2 cup barbecue sauce (hickory flavoured is nice)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup liquid honey

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon water

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange chicken thighs in pan in single layer.

Whisk together sauce ingredients (barbecue sauce through cumin) in a medium bowl. Pour evenly over chicken. Turn pieces to coat both sides with sauce. Bake, uncovered, for about 40 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center.

Remove chicken from pan and keep warm. Carefully pour sauce from pan into a small pot. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Combine cornstarch with water and mix until smooth. Add to sauce. Cook until sauce is bubbly and thickened, about 1 minutes. Serve hot chicken with extra sauce on top.

Calories  394.8,  Fat 3.5 g, Carbohydrate  32.5 g, Dietary Fiber  1.2 g, Protein  55.9 g, sugars 25.8 g

 

Lovely Poncho Dinner Party

We have been busy, you know, but never too busy to share a nice meal with my family. For this special occasion my daughter and I got out our matching ponchos!

We picked these matching ponchos up at a great sidewalk sale in the summer at one of the stores I will 100% support once I am able to fit into all their clothes. It's called FUEL, and it is fun and different, it feels like Montreal in there. Anyways these ponchos were the only thing that would fit us and they were 80% off.... so you know we had to get them!

This is the cool tag/designer that came with it. Pink Martini collection with the little pink car to match.

My mothere, aka, Gourtmet Goddess made a delicious dinner.

Sticky chicky from the Looney Spoons- recipe to come.

Some delicious beans and peppers stirfried with love.

Here's my plate, look at those cute little fingerling potatoes... so cute, eh?

For dessert, she made the yummiest desert. A berry crisp she saw on Chef Micheal Smith's new cooking show (much less annoying than the other show in his home)!

 Apple berry deliciousness.... recipe to come.... stay tuned!