Friday, July 23, 2010

What's a girl to do on a rainy Ottawa day?  I have 2 boys fighting already this morning and it's my last day off.....mmmm what to do, what to do?  I sense a culinary expedition in our future.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

So our trip to the museum was amazing.  It recently re-opened after what seemed like years of renovations.  Lots to see and plenty of interactive stations for the kids.  The boys loved it.

There were a few drawbacks to our experience though.  Parking is an issue.  It is downtown after all, so it's to be expected.  But one thing I have learned as a mom is just to pay for the parking at the venue.  It saves driving around and around with two anxious kids in the car.  The unfortunate part about the museum parking is, its small.  We arrived mid afternoon on a cloudy day,  and it was busy.    We turned into the parking lot and got stuck in line waiting for cars to exit before cars would be allowed in.  What seemed like a huge mistake actually resulted in only a 7 minute wait.  This gave the kids time to eat their snack before going in.  Hoping to prevent the whining and complaining and begging for food once we were inside.  

All in all it was a good day.  We spent 4 hours in the museum and closed the place down.   Then rushed home for homemade pizza.   Oh and to prepare our breakfast for today.   Confused?  Well the recipe I am about to share has to be prepared the night before.  So that's what we did.  The boys are enjoying the fruits of their labour as I type this.

So I have to share this recipe because it's a great little "go to" number if you have over night guests.    The recipe serves 6, but since these were for my two boys only, I cut the recipe in 1/4. (Not sure if that makes sense)


Anyway, let's call these little beauties:

Bacon and Egg Melties

12 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
1 cup of mayo
12 slices of crispy bacon, crumbled
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
6 whole English Muffins, split

Combine eggs with all ingredients.  Fold together gently.  Cover and store in the fridge overnight.  Spread on English Muffin halves.  Then broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Serve immediately

Once again a big thank you to The Pioneer Woman for a fabulous recipe.

If you guys haven't already, you have to check out The Pioneer Woman blog.  It's my favourite.  Most of my recipes originate from there.   I think she is fabulous!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

It's been so long I don't even know where to start.   I do have a few recipes to share, about 3 movie reviews and probably lots of bitching and whining.  Perhaps though, I shouldn't even go there!  

So first things first, the countdown is officially on for my vacation.  16 more sleeps and I will be boarding a plane for some sun and surf....and good old fashioned girl time.  We all need that from time to time don't we?  I am usually don't get any.  I live with all men, I work with all men....some may think I am lucky, and I suppose I am, but really I am in need of some girl time!

The diet is not going well and the money saving is going even worse.  Oh well, maybe if I stop worrying about it so much, things may change.  I am an emotional eater after all.

 I stress, therefore I bake!

So what's been going on around here?  Well, let's see.  There's been work....and that's where the bitching and whining comes in....so that's all I will say about that.  

We took a weekend trip to Niagara Falls which was amazing.  I will provide a review on that later for anyone planning a trip.

The boys have been busy playing in our pool.  Now before you think this is anything fancy, it's far from it. But is serves the purpose and it's totally awesome.   After our A/C broke during the heat wave that we had, we ran to Canadian Tire and purchased an inflatable pool.  It's 12' in diameter and about 3' deep.  It has a filter and you have to look after the chemicals.  The kids have been in it everyday while I sit on my sun lounger trying hard to get my lily white legs, brown!  I feel like I am on vacation already!

Other than that, so far our summer has consisted of Nintendo DS and playdates.  I didn't sign the kids up for anything this year.  Actually I am fibbing...swimming lessons start next week.  My 9 year old is still mad at me for that.  He already knows how to swim.....what was I thinking!  Usually, our summers consist of soccer and swimming.  This year I decided against soccer.  What with shiftwork and hubby away, it's just too difficult to get both boys to each practice and game.  Last year they had to take it turns who had to sit out.   I didn't need the fight this year!   Anyway, before we know it, hockey will begin again....and that's really where our hearts are... in a freezing cold arena!

It's an overcast and ugly day today, so if we can actually put the DS down, we are going to go to the Museum!

P.S.  I will be doing movie reviews this week for Toy Story 3, Grown Ups, Despicable Me and Shutter Island, oh, and sharing a couple of great recipes.

Have a great day everyone!