Category Archives: Life

Tea Sandwiches

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I’m already thinking about cold tea sandwiches during the hot months, and we barely got out of a surprise frost day yesterday. (snort) But, yeah… cute, tasty tea sandwiches are lovely any time, but I really want to eat them this week. I might have to make some this weekend.

L – R: Deconstructed BLT, Radish Crown over cream cheese, Cheese & Sausage with a spicy mayo, and the classic Cuke in butter.

These tiny sandwiches are very tasty, but they are also very artistic when you them all laid out perfectly on a platter. I cannot resist these babies. I want them. I want them right now!

51 More 30-Min Meal Ideas

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If you’re like me, you think about food a lot. Recipes, especially. But for all of the recipes I have, I still struggle with easy dinner ideas every single night. I’m just as burnt out like the rest of you from trying to figure out meal ideas. So, here are 51 more that may be new to you ideas to keep in your back pocket.

Some of these look so delicious. I can’t wait to try a few of them this week.

Week Round Up

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I was busy at work this week with the Easter rush. In addition, I woke up one morning with a crazy whiplash like pain on the left side of in my neck that ran down into my back, so it was hard to do anything when I wasn’t being paid to. All I wanted to do was sit or stand still until the pain went away eventually.

As a result of my immobility, we ended up eating a lot of quick things like chicken patties that I could give the McDonalds treatment to using my DIY McChicken sauce (1/2 C mayo + 1/2 teaspoon onion powder) and topping them with small tears of lettuce.

We also ordered in Swiss Chalet one night, and turned that Quarter Chicken dinner into chicken poutine on the fly by topping the fries with some grated mozzarella from my fridge and laying down the very hot Swiss Chalet dipping sauce to melt it.

At one point this week, this A&W coffee made up my dinner meal. I know, I know. Ugh.

A few nights ago I cooked some pan fried pizzas using some naan I had kicking around that needed to be used up. I bought some sauce (I really didn’t want to stand in front of a stove that night) and pepperoni. I added a few bits and bobs of veg and smothered each pizza with the last of the cheddar and the pepper jack cheeses. It went into the pan one at a time, and covered for up to 8 mins to crisp up the bottom and to melt the toppings.

Last night we uncovered the bbq smoker for the first time this year. It took us awhile to remember how to cook meat and in what order, but we got there eventually. I started with baked potatoes in foil as the temp started to rise from 200 up to 400. At that point, the chicken thighs were added to the grill. A bit later, the steaks went on.

Why do I think of The Ponderosa Steak House when I look at these steaks? *drooling*

 

The Future of My Hair

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My hair is now long enough I can cut off the lion’s share to donate for wig making that benefits cancer patients, so how is the time I have to figure out what I want the rest of my hair to look like. I have narrowed it down to two looks, and I can’t decide which one I want.

If I go shorter first, I can donate more, but I’m not really suited to too short. Hmm.

I have a feeling I will have to start with this above one, and then grow it out to the below one. The below one I love the most on me, but the donation cut may necessitate the first one. We’ll see. *fingers crossed*

 

Old Timey Cake Mixes

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I may not like flour-based birthday cakes, but I do love the old timey cake flavours and the artwork on the boxes back when I was a kid. Let’s take a trip down memory lane. 🙂

I think, over my lifetime, I have eaten a slice of every one of these cakes at some point. A few of them are classics home bakers still scuttle back to a few times a year, but the decadent ones are huge throwbacks. They only get made when someone is feeling hardcore nostalgic, or bought from a good bakery when basic cakes won’t cut it.

I remember this Raspberry cake mix like it was yesterday. My aunt bought it to make at our house for one of her daughter’s birthday the year it came out, and she loved pink so it got paired with pink frosting. I can’t remember if I liked it or not, but I remember the standout look of her final cake most of all. And how tickled pink (yes, I went there) my aunt was with her creation.

My mother bought these two often. Every birthday cake was one of these mixes, and decorated by my mother to her tastes. I ate way too many slices of birthday cake in my lifetime given how many siblings I have, so I would never make one of these today.

I’m surprised so many cake flavours endure. They really do. I see the Butter Pecan and the Chocolate Fudge boxes in the grocery store all the time. They wouldn’t be on the shelves if they didn’t consistently sell. Shelf space is like a hairdresser’s chair – it’s there for paying clients only.