book club 35 - Bridesmaid for Hire by Meghan Quinn

 2024-35

 

3 recent recipes

 

 smores cupcakes

egg sausage breakfast taquitos

 puff pastry costco chicken bake

 

book club 34 - A Light in the Forest by Melissa Payne

 2024-34

 

even more bread by The Mister

 

Matheson Food Company

 We first heard of Matty Matheson from the show The Bear, and then after googling him, I started following him on the social meeds.  I was super excited to discover that he had started his own line of food products, Matheson Food Company, and once I saw the packaging, I was obsessed and determined to get my hands on some.

Luckily that was not difficult, as his products are sold at Wal Mart, so we picked up his mac and cheeses - Original, Cracked PepPep and Creamy Smoky Mac.

 

 

SOOOOOOOOO gooooooooooooooood.  We love them all and I love the small noodles.  Adorable.  

We've also tried one of his dressings, the Italian, which is also delicious.  

You can visit his website to see all the available products and some recipes too.

book club 33 - The Never King by Nikki St Crowe

 2024-33

 

what i ate - sushi from sushi plus

 

book club 32 - Stardust by Neil Gaiman

 2024-32

 

grocery shop - fresh co june 29

 

onions, cilantro, corn tortillas, strawberries, cookies, rice, butter, fruit snacks, creamer, drinks x a billion, kielbasa, puff pastry, cream, chips x 5, pork sausages, eggs, clamato, cinnamon rolls, dill pickles, bouillon, crackers, cup of ramen, ketchup, milk

$154

something i like - Brynn's Bakery

 Now that I am back downtown for work now (sob), occasionally I venture out for a walk and recently made my first visit to Brynn's Bakery on Victoria Street.  It is teeny tiny and full of delicious smells.

Brynn's started as a stand in the weekly farmers market and now excitingly has their own storefront.  

They have squares and sweet buns and cookies and brownies and breads - the bread are on rotation, but the basic sourdough is always available.

My first visit I picked up a loaf of the sourdough for The Mister and as a treat, I picked up 2 jeweled brownies for me and my bestie at work.

The brownies are pretty big, so I figured I'd have a couple of bites and take the rest home to the fam.

 I ate that whole brownie and wished I had another.  Dang.

A couple of weeks later I took The Mister and The Girl there, and while The Girl picked out 2 cookies for herself and her brother - one delicious chocolate chip and one hearty and flavorful peanut butter - I said to The Mister - oh look at these jeweled brownie!  I wonder if they are good? 😉

brynns bakery

book club 31 - Greenwood by Michael Christie

 2024-31

 

3 new books!

 

book club 30 - the darkest temptation by danielle lori

 2024-30

 

sunday dinners and other dinners too

 Part of one of our dinners for a hockey night in Canada

Bahn Mi smash tacos

Peanut butter-almond flour-oat flour-chocolate squares

Honey butter corn

 

Crispy smashed potato salad

lunch at my desk - can't go wrong with a sandwich

 turkey bacon club from Tim's

book club 29 - My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

 2024-29

 

book club 28 - All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata

 2024-28

 

pro tip

 when summer is approaching, swap out the chocolate in your candy dispenser for something lighter - like jelly beans.

spotted sign

 

grocery shop - 3 trips to costco

not sold at costco - the northern lights in our backyard last month
 

april 26

pop, cinnamon toast cereal, strawberries, grapes, pico de gallo, queso dip, brie, fig truffles, doritos, miss vickis bbq chips, popcorn, mozzarella, a book, dishcloths, frozen bbq chicken pizza, eggs, quiche, hat, socks, laundry soap, heavenly hunks, tortillas, pizza kit, swiss rolls

$295

may 3

tortilla chips, greek yogurt, cinnamon toast cereal, mini pancakes, garlic seasoning, 2 books (one for moi, one for the girl), bagels, frozen chimichangas, blueberries, cheese puffs, salt and vinegar chips, strawberries, mango juice, biscoff spread

$161

may 8

juice boxes, lettuce, book, cucumbers, tomatos, strawberries, popcorn, heavenly hunks carrot cake, mini pancakes, shrimp and orzo salad 

$104

 

egg bites

 

grocery shop - fresh street market, april 14

 

peanut butter, clamato, popcorn twists, ice tea, coffee creamer, 2 cream cheese, juice, whole chicken, pork chops, romaine, crumpets, pizza bagels 

$76

lunch at my desk - a little charcoot

 

very good dinner - one pot chicken

 

 

Just look at how scrumptious that looks!  Easy too, and only a handful of ingredients needed.

The dinner was based on BBC Good Food's One Pot Garlic Chicken.  I made 2 changes - softened some minced onion and garlic in the pan before adding the chicken, and increased the stock by half - you know I like things soupy.  Serve with rice and peas for a fabulous dinner.

3 out of 4 family members enjoyed it, so hopefully we'll remember it and have it again.

book club 27 - Undone by Karin Slaughter

 2024-27

 

book club 26 - Everyone in my family has killed someone by Benjamin Stevenson

 2024-26

 

book club 25 - Does It Hurt by H.D. Carlton

 2024-25

 

book club 24 - The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J Maas

 2024-24

 

book club 23 - audiobook - Born of Water by A.L. Knorr

 2024-23

 

book club 22 - Sustainable Minimalism by Stephanie Marie Seferion

 2024-22

 

book club 21 - The Lover by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

 2024-21

 

book club 20 - Shutout by Avery Keelan

 2024-20

 

DIY - Coffee creamer

 I unfortunately developed a habit over the past few years of liking iced coffee.  I might have mentioned in the past that I've never liked coffee, and it's true, I find it so bitter.  But add enough sugar and cream and ice and I'm all over that bad girl.

Which of course, is not good for you.  But that is beside the point right now.  This point is that it's not good for you, AND expensive AND full of additives to use commercially prepared coffee creamers, even though they are 1,000% delicious and come in all sorts of fun flavors.

BUT - you can also make them at home!

I did some googling, and there are basically 3 different bases you can use - condensed milk, cream, or coconut milk.  Then, add stuff - vanilla, cocoa powder, different extracts.

I made a coconut milk vanilla and maple syrup creamer and it was pretty tasty!  You have to blend the heck out of it to break up the creamy solids of the coconut milk, but if you get a glop of that in your cup, there are worse things that could happen.

lunch at my desk - Mucho Burrito again - chicken quesadilla

 

3 really really good (and easy) desserts - Giant Chocolate Cookie, Biscoff Cheesecake and Double Chocolate Brownies

 

Sometimes I let my family pick out desserts they'd like to try for Sunday Dinners.  Mostly I don't, because I usually want to make something fast and hopefully cheap.  But The Girl picked out the giant chocolate chip cookie pictured above, and it was a winning move.  Baked just enough so it stays gorgeous and soft and chewy, it's super easy and delicious.

giant chocolate cookie with cacao nibs and flaky salt

Then, of course, it was  The Boy's turn to pick and he went with a traditional brownie.  So similar to his sisters pick, ingredient wise, and even taste wise, but different at the same time.

lee lees double chocolate chunk brownies

Lastly is THE BEST cheesecake possibly ever.  I would have to really really think if it's better than my mom's.  For now let's call it different, but just as good.  It's from Fitwaffle - 5 Ingredient Biscoff Cheesecake.

Base:

200g Lotus Biscuits, finely crushed

60g unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

500g cream cheese, room temp

150g Biscoff spread

100g icing sugar

Topping:

200g Biscoff spread, melted

2 Lotus biscuits, finely crushed

Tin size: 8x8”

 

Mix your crushed cookies and melted butter, and set aside 2 TB of the crumbs.  Please the rest into a parchment lined tin and press down firmly.  Refrigerate the tin while you beat together the filling ingredients until smooth.  Pour over the crust and smooth down.  Pour the melted biscoff over the top and sprinkle with crumbs.  Refrigerate at least 3 hours, until firm.