Helpful Daddy

Burt's Bees Natural Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin - Bzz Campaign

2012-02-17T10:21:00.004-04:00

Check out the Bzz Campaign for Burt's Bees Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin - you can get free products by writing reviews and sharing your experience with products. There are tons of campaigns at any given time. You can choose what campaign is of interest to you and participate!

White Chocolate Brownie Cake

2011-11-18T15:13:00.000-04:00

This post was meant to go up in July, but alas, it's here now.

I needed a simple birthday cake idea for my 2nd daughter's first birthday party. It needed to be simple. We were going to the U2 Concert in Moncton, NB, Canada the next day and then were having the birthday party on July 31, 2011, the very next day. It takes 2 1/2 hours of just driving time to get home from Moncton and it took a long time for 80 000 people to get down from Magnetic Hill and on the road. We were exhausted the next day, that's for sure.

I went on my Sweet Treats board on Pinterest (which any of you should join, because it's FREE and amazing - you can follow me, just click on the "Follow Me on Pinterest" button on the top of this blog) and found the White Chocolate Brownies Recipe that I've wanted to try for some time now. This was the perfect excuse! The recipe was found here and I just doubled it to make more of it, so I could put it in a round form to make the cake. The recipe below is adjusted for my cake, but you still have to double it!

Prep Time: 15min

Cook Time: 33min

Ingredients
125g butter, chopped
250g white chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs, lightly beaten,
1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted

Use a 9 inch cake pan. Generously spray with non-stick baking spray or line with paper cases. The oven should be preheated to 160 C (325 F).

1. In a microwave safe bowl heat the chopped butter on high for 30 seconds. Stir, then repeat for another 30 seconds - the butter should be melted. Add the white chocolate and heat for another 30 seconds. Remove and stir until blended. You may need a further 20 seconds. Stir until smooth. Cool slightly so that you do not cook the eggs when you add them.
2. Add the brown sugar and the beaten eggs. Stir through.
3. Add the sifted flour and stir through until smooth.
4. Bake in a preheated oven set to 160 C (325 F) for 33 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a cake rack to cool completely. Lift out carefully.
6. Store in an airtight container for one week. The white chocolate brownie cake can be frozen for up to two months.

I thought the cake turned out quite nicely but it was very dense. If you make Brownies, they might be less dense, but I'm not sure. I guess I'll just have to try it sometime! :)

For the decoration of my little girl's first birthday cake, I used Dr. Oetker Ready Rolled Marzipan, that I picked up at our Specialty Food Store in Bedford, NS called Pete's Froutique. They only carry it around Christmas time. If you're lucky enough to live in the UK, you can buy it online here or they might carry it in Tesco etc. You can google how to make Marzipan, too - it's quite simple. Here are the instructions from the Ready Rolled Marzipan on how to put it on the cake:

1. Turn cake upside down for a smoother surface and place onto cake board.

2. Use a knife to thinly cover the cake with cool boiled jam (I used Raspberry jam).

3. Roll out marzipan (this was not part of the instructions, as it was already rolled).

4. Carefully fold disc in half around inner tube (or on your rolling pin).

5. Holding the ends, lift disc, placing it over the centre of your cake.

6. Smooth marzipan over top of the cake and carefully pull out folds while smoothing down sides.

7. For a perfectly smooth finish, cut out any folds with a knife and mooth the joins tongether until they blend.

8. Trim off excess around the bottom of the cake with a sharp knife to give a smooth finish.

9. Smooth surface with palm of your hand.

I had purchased a Carebear Edible Image from Ebay months ago and was ready to use it. Unfortunatley it wouldn't come off the baking paper it was on (even though it was supposed to easily come off), so I really wouldn't recommend it. I just stuck it on the cake, decorated over the torn spots that happened when we tried to pull the image off, took some pictures and then took the image off again and enjoyed the cake. :)

If you try to make your own marzipan and roll it, please drop me a line and let me know how it turned out. Let me know if you ever try the White Chocolate Brownies, and be sure to refer to the original Brownie recipe in the link above, as I've left a couple of ingredients and steps out for the cake!

Linking up with Skip to My Lou

ING Direct Promotion

2011-11-18T09:23:00.001-04:00

First of all, to learn more about ING Direct, please check out this older post of mine. ING Direct has a promotion on right now until December 31, 2011. If you sign up with them, you get $50, instead of the regular $25. If someone refers you to them, for example me, and you give ING my Orange Code, I will get $50 as well. So the Math is easy. If you sign up, you get $50. If you then get your spouse to sign up and she provides them with your orange key, you get another $50 and she gets $50 and so on. You can refer as many people as you want, up to getting $2000 in bonuses.

The great thing with this is, that if you decide in a couple of weeks that you don't like ING, cancel the account, but keep the cash. :)

Just in case someone would like to sign up, but does not have anyone to be referred by, I would be happy to give you my orange code and earn $50 (just leave me a message below). Go to their website to check them out:

http://www.ingdirect.ca/en/

ING also has Kids Savings Accounts. As far as I know they give the most interest for Kids Savings Account out of any bank right now and there are, as always, no fees. Your child also gets $25 (maybe it's also $50 currently, but I couldn't find the information on line) for signing up.

FREE Kleenex Brand Share Pack

2011-11-18T09:16:00.001-04:00

The SOFTNESS WORTH SHARING by KLEENEX is back again. This is very exciting! Send a cute FREE Travel Pack of Kleenex to someone you know - or yourself. :) If it's the same as last year, you get to do it once a day! These small packs are perfect to keep in the glove box of your car, purse, backpack or diaper bag. Enjoy!

Here is the website:
https://www.kleenex.com/softnessworthsharing?wt.mc_id=email_knx_SWS-Newsletter110911

Thumb print Birthday Card

2011-08-27T16:49:00.001-03:00

Since I did not have a birthday card for my gorgeous god daughter, I figured, Olivia and Lexie could make her one using their thumb prints. I think home-made cards are a lot more special anyway, especially when they come from little ones. :) We ended up making two cards, one for my god daughter's little brother as well, as their birthdays are only a month apart.

I actually bought the card stock paper - pastel at the Dollarama for $1.50. It comes in a package of 100 with the following colours: yellow, green, blue, pink and purple. I also bought the ink pads at the Dollarama - I got blue, yellow and purple. I love using those, as it's SO easy to clean your baby or toddlers fingers, hands or feet. You just use a wipe after using it and it's a no mess clean-up.

Making birthday cards does not get any simpler than this. We used Olivia's thumb prints for the big balloons and Lexie's thumb prints for the little balloons. Then I drew a string on each of the balloons and drew some easy birds for a little bit of life to finish up the birthday cards.

Linking up with Skip to My Lou

Spaetzli with Pork and Sauce

2011-08-26T08:43:00.002-03:00

Prep and cook time (meat and sauce): about 40 minutes
Prep and cook time (everything): about 1hr, 15 minutes

First off , before I really get into this, the prep and cook time for everything might be high. I am not the best multi-tasker. The time I indicated is me doing the spaetzli first, they moving onto the other stuff. See the alternatives at the bottom that can speed things up some.

Oh wow! I has been ages since I have posted a recipe. The laziness is just completely uncalled for. I have had the pictures for this recipe for months now, and yet, it is just now that I am deciding I can post it. My title for the recipe is fairly self explanatory; Spaetzli with Pork and Sauce. The recipe for the Spaetzli can be found here. It is dead easy to make. I believe for this current recipe, I had some frozen in the freezer. Anyway, the pork recipe I have to give some credit to my mother in law, who's similar recipe was the inspiration for this one. Here is what you will need:

2 Pork Tenderloins
1 large onion, diced
2-3 carrot, sliced thin
2 cups chopped broccoli
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
3 tsp of flour (or corn starch)
2 Bay leaves
2 generous pinches of sage
3-4 cloves
Salt and Pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Preheat skillet or pot to about medium heat. Remove the silver skin from the tenderloins while the pot is heating up. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Put the EVOO into the pan, and then cook the meat - about 7 minutes a side or until done. While the meat is cooking prepare the veggies. When the meat is done, remove it to a plate for the time being. In the same pot, add a little more olive oil and toss in the onion, garlic and carrots. Saute for a few minute to help remove the stuff stuck to the bottom from the meat.

Add the chicken stock, broccoli, and herbs and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until the carrots are to the desired tenderness. While the sauce is simmering, slice the meat into 10cm (~1/2") slices. Make sure that you keep any of the juices that come out of the meat while cutting it - we will add it to the sauce for more flavour. When the stock is done cooking, whisk the flour into the the heavy cream and add to stock and keep stirring until it is incorporated. Add the meat back to the sauce to warm back up again. Serve over the spaetzli with some shredded cheese.

-Note, it goes without saying, but don't eat the bay leaves of cloves.

Alternatives:

-As always you can reduce the calorie and fat content by replacing the heavy cream with evaporated milk

- If you aren't down with the home made spaetzli, you can buy pre-packaged stuff that cooks like pasta

- You can also use pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes.

-Add any other veggies you like to jazz it up.

That's all for now

-d
o_0

Linking up with Skip to My Lou

Graham Cracker Ice Cream Sandwiches by Jessica Seinfeld

2011-08-10T14:53:00.002-03:00

I figure I should post the Graham Cracker Ice Cream Sandwiches by Jessica Seinfeld from her cookbook Deceptively Delicious before the summer is over, so here is the recipe:

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 120 minutes

Makes 8 sandwiches

*2 cups lowfat plain yogurt

*1 cup sugar

*1 cup lowfat (1%) buttermilk

*2 tablespoons lemon juice

*Grated zest of 1 lemon

*16 lowfat graham crackers, broken in half (32 squares)

*Shredded coconut (optional)

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Transfer to a small bowl, cover, and freeze for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the mixture starts to thicken.

2. To form the sandwiches, scoop out and then press about 1/4 cup of the semifrozen yogurt mixture between two graham cracker squares. Wrap each in waxed paper and freeze 30 minutes, or until firm.

3. If using coconut, put some on a plate and dip all four edges of the sandwich to coat.

I have to be honest, I liked these, but didn't love them, but it's probably because I don't love lemon. If you love lemon and like a healthy snack, this is an excellent, easy and quick way to make your own! Let me know what you think of them, if you try them out!

Linking up with Skip to My Lou

Yoda Ears

2011-08-05T22:00:00.005-03:00

To Andrew's Mum and sisters: yep, that's how long Andrew's hair is now!

I can't help myself and have to share this. Tonight, Olivia figured that Daddy needed "Yoda Ears" (the general public would call them pig tails), too. This is what Olivia came up with, after brushing Daddy's hair - well ok, I helped a little...

These are Olivia's Yoda Ears.

...and since we are talking about Yoda. Here's another visual. :)

Emerson - Mommy's Nose is Scary!

2011-08-04T19:37:00.004-03:00

Our little girl was allowed to watch some Heidi and Care Bear songs on You Tube tonight and also found this video. It's so cute, I just had to share it here. Enjoy! :)

Fun Family Crafts - Website

2011-08-04T12:41:00.003-03:00

Check out this awesome site Fun Family Crafts that we are featured on! It's a really neat site where you can take 30 seconds to sign up (login name, password, e-mail address required), so that you can have your own Craft Box on the site and store tons of cool ideas to make later. I already found some easy to make Smurf Cookies, so exciting!

Outside Storm Pictures

2011-08-02T20:49:00.001-03:00

Just a quick post from me today (someday, I will get around to uploading another recipe, I am just so lazy). We are currently having a good ol' fashion summer thunder storm. It is a beautiful and wonderfully aural spectacle. At one point during this storm, the clouds started to thin, and the sky turned this bizzarro colour that I hope the pictures give justice.

No, these have not been doctored to look like sepia, this is the actual colour.

That's all I got for now. Something more substantial soon.

-d

o_O

Hi Mr. Spidey

2011-07-31T22:26:00.000-03:00

Just trying to catch Mr. Spidey.

Face Painting, Balloon Animals & Cotton Candy

2011-07-26T21:12:00.024-03:00

Daddy took his little girl to Best Buy the other day, as they had their Grand Opening. To their surprise they had Face Painting going on, someone was making Balloon Animals and they were giving out Cotton Candy. Olivia turned into a little Butterfly, got a Puppy on a Leash Balloon Animal and a small bag of Cotton Candy, all of which she was very excited about.

Every time Daddy says he's going to Best Buy now, Olivia wants to go with him. As Daddy and daughter were walking towards the front door a couple of days ago, Olivia told Daddy she wanted a Balloon Puppy. Poor girl was disappointed to hear that the fun activities were only a one time deal.

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

2011-07-25T18:26:00.006-03:00

I decided to make Cookies & Cream Cupcakes for my daughter's first birthday. I've had them on my Sweet Treats board on Pinterest (feel free to follow me!) for a little while and was really excited to try them. I think cupcakes are perfect for a first birthday. I found them on this great blog here but the actual recipe is here.

Makes 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

8 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 2/3 cup sugar

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup milk

20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (I quarter them)

Frosting:

Check out my Awesome Frosting Recipe.

Decoration:

Oreo cookie crumbs

24 Oreo cookie halves (I quarter them)

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line the walls of two cupcake pans with 24 paper liners. Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients.

Gently fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with Oreo crumbs and garnish decoration with Oreo halves or quarters.

These cupcakes turned out absolutely delicious. My favourite part of them was the bottom (half the oreo cookie with the cream part on it). I will definitely be making them again!

Linking up with Skip to My Lou

Upper Clements Park

2011-07-23T23:39:00.008-03:00

We took the girls to Upper Clements Park today, along with two of my sister's families. This was Olivia's second time at Upper Clements Park in the Annapolis Royal (the Valley), Nova Scotia, Canada and Lexie's first time. Olivia was shy of 4 months old the first time we took her, so this time, the experience for her and us was completely different.

While waiting for the rest of our crew to arrive, Daddy took Olivia to one of the playgrounds. Andrew couldn't stop telling me on the drive home, how he loves seeing Olivia's eyes light up when she sees a playground and she just gets to play as her little heart desires.

We walked a bit down the road, where there were two big towers. Daddy and Olivia went up the first tower and walked across to the second tower. Olivia certainly is not afraid of heights - she crossed the whole way, walking all by herself and had fun in doing so.

Lexie is standing up just behind the pony! :)

Next, we went to the Carousel. Daddy stood by Olivia while she was on the pony that was pulling Mami and Olivia's little sister. It was Lexie's very first time on a Carousel and she was alright with it. Olivia on the other hand, kept squeeling with joy, and people kept smiling at her.

I'm not sure why I thought it was a good idea to take Olivia on the Ferris Wheel. Maybe because I thought that it is one of the rides I wouldn't feel sick afterwards, as it's just high and not round and round and round. Boy was I wrong.

It went quite fast, which I did not expect. Olivia was fine the first round, as we went up slowely and then stopped, to load the next people.

Even when we were right at the top, she was fine, pointing down to Daddy. This went on about 6 times, until all the new people got on. Then, once the ride started going fast, my poor, little girl started crying. I really don't think she expected the "Butterfly in your stomach" feeling when the ride really took off. We had to endure two more rounds and then got let off. Luckily, as soon as we got out of the Ferris Wheel, Olivia was fine, running over to the Trucks.

Now the Trucks...she loved! Mami took Lexie on a truck, too, which was Lexie's second ride. She seemed to enjoy it, as she kept standing up in my lap and hanging on the front with her hands. Olivia kept going back on the Truck ride. I personally think she looked cutest when she rode in the front and with her cousin Lily.

Shortly after, Tante Karin took our big girl on a plane. Thank Goodness, my sister volunteered to take her. I know I probably would have thrown up afterwards! Olivia enjoyed the plane ride with Tante Karin.

It was time to get some grub - we went up to the little restaurant and while Daddy & Olivia went to yet another fun playground, Lexie & Mami went to get some food. It was about a 25 minute wait and once I got the food, I took it outside to the picnic table by the playground. I took a look to the playground, to wave hubby and daughter over and during that second, a nasty seagull dove down onto the table to attempt the abduction of our food! Unbelievable!

First, Gotte Babsi and Malcolm (soon to be uncle, oh yeah!) took Olivia on the Antique Cars and Olivia had so much fun, that we decided to take a family ride in the Antique Cars, with Lexie and Mami hanging out in the back, while Olivia steered and Daddy pressed the gas in the front. Good times. Then we navigated up to the Kiddie Bumper Boats and the Ball Pit.

The Kiddie Bumper Boats were really sweet and kind of fun for Lily and Olivia, even though I think the boats were kind of tricky to steer. The girls mostly went in circles.

The Ball Pit was most fun for all the kids, whether they were one year old or over 3 - they all loved it!

Our last stop was at the Kiddie Wading Pool. Olivia and Lexie both enjoyed the water and Olivia actually went under water fully, her whole head and everything, for the first time, I think. We've only been in a pool one other time, when she wasn't even a year old. Other than that, she's been in the tub and in her Oma and Opa's Lake.

I wasn't sure why the guys suddenly started laughing behind me, but when I turned around, I realized why. Needless to say, I had to take the above picture. Not sure what Lexie was trying to do with the food!

Our biggest girl sure enjoyed the treat of her Birthday Party ice cream at the end of the day. She had to wait many, many hours to get it. Needless to say, I don't think she very much minded the wait, as she had a great day at Upper Clements Park this year!

We really enjoyed the day with the kids and relatives. However, we both decided that next time we wouldn't get Premium Bracelets for ourselves again. Maybe we'd get one, or just a Basic Bracelet, as we paid $25.50 plus taxes for one Premium Bracelet and only went on 2 premium rides. It was not worth it. We did get a 25% discount off of one Premium bracelet (CAA). Kids under 2 years are free to go on Kiddie rides, so we didn't have to pay for Lexie but the Basic Bracelet for Olivia cost a wooping $22 plus taxes.

However, seeing how much Olivia enjoyed her day, it was well worth the money. We were at the Park from 11am - 6:30pm and both of the kids fell asleep in the car pretty much immediately on the way home. Hubby and myself had a nice and quiet 2 hour drive back. We could actually talk to each other, uninterrupted - it's a luxury these days! These last two pictures were taken hours after our kidlets had been transfered to bed, the same night. They were exhausted alright!

More of Metallica

2011-07-23T23:24:00.001-03:00

Sylvia mentioned in a post a few days ago that for our anniversary (which was the 20th - 5 freaking years!) that we indulged ourselves in a little heavy metal mayhem that is Metallica. This concert marked my fourth Metallica show, and Sylvia's second. I myself got into Metallica back when I was 14, when one of my best friends introduced me to their older stuff (as I was familiar with only the Black Album at the time). Sylvia has liked them for quite some time too, but swears that it wasn't me who got her into them...which may be correct, but I think that I pushed it a little more. Whether it be from me or not, their song Nothing Else Matters is special to us as it was our first dance song at our wedding (now THAT is love - my favourite band as our first dance song.)

So anyway, on with the concert. The concert was called Rock the Hill, which is apparently supposed to mark the first of an annual event, and also featured the likes of Death Valley Driver (local band who won a battle of the bands), Matt Mays, Protest the Hero, Seether, and Coheed and Cambria (all of which, surprisingly, I haven't seen before). All the bands were fantastic. Seether was a real stand out, because I wasn't too sure what to expect, but they had a fantastic set. They were a true warm up act, as the whole crowd really got into them.

I was also all stoked to see Coheed and Cambria. Their set was balls to the wall fantastic. I got really into the set. They were all business. They came out and played the hell out of an hour. The crowd got pretty intense when they came on, because everyone started to surge forward, likely to get up close for Metallica. I was surprised though with how many people I talked with afterwards that have never heard of Coheed and Cambria, and most weren't very impressed with the set. Me - I really want to see them where they are the headlining act.

Finally, the time had come for Metallica to hit the stage. They played a blistering 2 hour set which left me with no voice and a ringing right ear - just like old times. The only thing I thought was surprising was that they didn't play Battery, but I guess that is OK because they did play Hit the Lights. It was amazing. I could do it every week and never get tired of it. All in all, it was a great time. I can't wait to see them again.

-d

O_o

Pretty Flowers

2011-07-21T21:20:00.005-03:00

Just wanted to share the pretty SURPRISE Flowers that hubby got me for our 5th Wedding Anniversary. We don't usually do flowers, as we both think it's a bit of a waste of money, you know, just a tad!

They even came in a purple vase and delivered to my door - so thoughtful. :) I'll share the Cheesecake Cookie Dough Bars that I baked for Andrew, but that were only ready the next morning, because they had to cool in the fridge overnight, at a later date.

Happy 5th Anniversary, Honey...

2011-07-20T12:19:00.007-03:00

Thanks to my sis Barbara for the picture!

So, I just dropped Olivia off with the babysitter and her daughter that will be taking care of Lexie and Olivia when I go back to work in September. I must say, it was just a tad harder than I anticipated, even though our little girl was 100% fine, already shooting hoops with the babysitter's daughter when Mami and Lexie were leaving. I know she'll have a good time today, but it still made me sad to think about us putting the upbringing of our little girls into someone else's hands - because really, that's what will be doing for the next 10 months, starting September 2011.

At least there will be a light at the end of the tunnel - once the end of June 2012 rolls around (oh so far away!), Mami will be re-united with her little angels full-time until at least the end of August 2012!

In other news: HAPPY 5th ANNIVERSARY, HONEY and thanks for coming to see METALLICA with me at Rock the Hill 2011! I hope you know that you're not only the best husband that anyone could wish for, but also the bestest Daddy to our girlies! Every day, we're lucky to have you!

Healthy Baby Cereal Cookies

2011-07-19T11:36:00.006-03:00

Thanks to Chez Lisa: Quest for Favourites for the great picture!

So, I've made these cookies several times already and the kids and adults (adults that don't mind eating healthy snacks, that is) love them alike. I made them several times for my friend, when he was in the hospital with cancer, because he wasn't allowed any sugar, so this recipe was perfekt. I found the recipe on my friend Crystal's blog here. The cookies are not only healthy but also really simple & quick to make, which is always a plus for a mommy, right? Please find the recipe below:

Baby Cereal Cookies

1/2 cup butter, margarine or oil

1/2 cup sugar or fruit puree

2 tsp vanilla

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup flour (white or whole wheat)

2/3 cup infant cereal

1 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

2 tbsp coco powder (optional)

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Grease baking sheets, use parchment paper or silicone sheets. Beat butter and sugar/puree. Slowly beat in vanilla and egg. In separate bowl, mix all other ingredients. Slowly incorporate into butter mixture. Spoon cookie mix onto baking sheets. Cook 10 minutes.

Thanks to Chez Lisa: Quest for Favourites for the great picture!

I usually have to bake my cookies for about 15minutes instead of the 10 minutes it says in the recipe and love it when they get a crunchy bottom to it. I like using the Beechnut Multigrain Baby Cereal (my parents stocked me up from their visit to the States, as we no longer have Beechnut in Canada - DARN!) and Apple Puree. I've also made the cookies with butternut squash, sweet potato and carrot puree. I omit the coco powder and salt.

Hope you enjoy as much as we do!

Linking up with Skip to My Lou, Chez Lisa: Quest for Favourites

A Review - Munchkin Star Fountain Bath Toy

2011-07-15T19:59:00.001-03:00

We opened one of Lexie's 1st birthday presents as a pre-birthday gift for bath time this morning. It's the Star Founain by Munchkin. It's a bath toy. It comes in pink and blue, but when we bought it, only the pink version was available at our Wal-Mart. I think we paid around $8 for it. It takes batteries and has an on switch. Once it's on, it somhow sucks water from the bath tub in and sprays it out like a fountain. Lexie was not scared of it, but also wasn't too sure about it, as she isn't quite able to escape the water, yet, so she gets sprayed in the face. Olivia, who is over 3 years old, loved the toy. I think it's pretty cool so far, but I'll keep you updated!

Spaghetti Pie (with Broccoli & Carrot) by Jessica Seinfeld

2011-07-13T15:19:00.006-03:00

For our next Jessica Seinfeld recipe from her cook book Deceptively Delicious, I picked Spaghetti Pie. We really liked it and I think I'll make it again soon. I made sure I had enough ingredients for two pies. That way we had lunches ready for another days as well. Otherwise it's just like Jessica Seinfeld says at the beginning of her Spaghetti Pie recipe: "This is a perfect recipe for that leftover pasta you've got in the fridge from last night's dinner."

This was the very first meal that our almost one year old ate with us - no baby food for her, she was so excited! Instead she gobbled up Jessica Seinfeld's delicious Spaghetti Pie! Let me know if you have any alternatives to this recipe and what you thought about it.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 8-10

*Nonstick cooking spray

*3 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti or angel hair pasta (or 1 cup leftover cooked pasta)**

*1/2 pound lean ground turkey or sirloin

*1/2 cup broccoli puree

*1 large egg white

*2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

*2 cloves garlic, chopped

*2 cups botteled tomato sauce

*1 cup lowfat (1%) cottage cheese

*1/4 cup carrot puree

*1/2 teaspoon salt

*1/4 teaspoon pepper

*1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook until al dente. Drain in a colander. (Skip this step if you have leftover pasta).

3. In a small bowl, mix the ground turkey or sirloin with the broccoli puree, egg white, Parmesan, and garlic. Form the mixture into 1/2-inch balls.

4. In a large bowl, stir the cooked pasta, tomato sauce, cottage cheese, carrot puree, and salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the pie plate and smooth the top. Scatter meatballs on top and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, until the center is firm and the cheese is bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes (I ended up cooking it a bit longer).

**I made it with whole-wheat Spaghettini.

Linkin up with Skip to My Lou

One Sick Girl & Her First Antibiotics

2011-07-11T21:58:00.007-03:00

Well, I'm happy to say that we made it 3 years and 3 months without having to use antibiotics for our big, little girl! Not bad I think. Olivia told us yesterday that her right ear hurt. On top of that, her eyes were discharging yellow and green goobers/mucus. We cleaned them often but after 30min or so, the goobers/mucus always came back. Olivia was unconsolable for a couple of hours and kept crying on and off, saying to me at one point: "I chann eifach nit ufhoere/I just can't stop!" When I asked her what it was she couldn't stop, she told me: "Bruele/to cry." Poor thing.

We figured it would be best to see our beloved Dr. Dawood today. Normally, the waiting time to get in to see her is a few days, but we lucked out getting an appointment today. My sister from this blog helped us out by coming with us, which made life a heck of a lot easier! Oh, and we gave the Sarah-Mobil another spin, taking it to the Doctor's so thanks to Sarah!

To make a long story short, Dr. Dawood got me to look Olivia's right ear after she checked it out and it was really red. So, Olivia is on antibiotics (APO-AMOXI) three times a day for the next 7 days. In fact, she is begging me for them right now, as her antibiotics are banana flavoured - figures!

Not sure if it's really a good idea, having banana flavoured medicine - Olivia is having way too much fun with it already! Any thoughts on that one?

Tomatoes, Butternut Squash, Potato & Green Beans with Cheese

2011-07-10T20:42:00.009-03:00

About a month ago I wasn't sure what batch of food to make for my baby to freeze, so I looked in the fridge and the pantry and collected whatever I could find. I came up with the following recipe and surprisingly, my little girl absolutely LOVED it! Here's the recipe:

*1 can Diced Tomatoes - 796ml (28 fl oz)

*2 1/2 cups Butternut Squash

*3/4 cups green beans (canned or frozen)

*1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese

*3/4 cups mashed potatoes

Alternatives:

*Butternut Squash could be replaced with Sweet Potatoes

*Add some finely chopped, cooked (so they are soft) onion

*Add 1 3/2 cups of cooked rice

1. Steam butternut squash and green beans (if frozen).

2. While veggies are being steamed: peel & boil potatoes (or use leftover potatoes and mash them!), grate mozzarella cheese and start simmering diced tomatoes.

3. Once butternut squash and beans are ready, add them to the diced tomatoes. Once well mixed, add potatoes, then mozzarella chesse.

Linking up with Skip to My Lou

Canada Day - Teddy Bear Picnic

2011-07-01T20:48:00.004-03:00

Yum - balloon animals are tasty!

Olivia had lots of fun at the Teddy Bear Picnic at DeWolfe Park in Bedford, NS today. Shinerama put on free (or donations) face painting & a husband and wife couple made balloon animals for the little ones. There were cotton candy, snow cone and waffle stands. At lunch time, free hot dogs were available. Olivia wanted a blue snow cone, but instead we treated her to a chocolate dipped Kiddie Cone at Dairy Queen tonight for the very first time. Needless to say, DQ was much cheaper & so much better! Once finished, Olivia told us that she loved her cone and that she will have another one tomorrow! Um...not so much, but it was a nice try anyway! :)

There were two more firsts for Olivia, along with DQ today: face painting (she got turned into a kitty) & a balloon animal (Olivia got a bunny and Lexie got a lion) - oh wait, it was the second time for Olivia to get a balloon animal, but the first time for Lexie!

Thanks Auntie Lisa for the sweet Onesie!

One could also purchase a wrist band for $10, so the kids could go on three different Bouncy Castles, but we figured Olivia is still a bit too small for that, considering there were big kids jumping on them. There was also a Paramedic vehicle, where kids could take their Teddy Bears to get bandages, stickers and tattoos. However, I think the highlight for our daughter was the playground at DeWolfe Park. Luckily, that will always be there, so we're hoping for many happy returns. It's a great, wooden playground with many different slides and climbing opportunities.

Lucky Blog Shot ;)

The bird was quite content for the whole time in her stroller, which was really nice. Our family had a great Canada Day and hopefully, so did yours!

Olivia walking across the top of the play structure.

Broccoli & Cauliflower Cheese Sauce

2011-06-30T22:41:00.009-03:00

My friend Lila from Sweet and Lovely Crafts introduced me to this recipe and my little girl along with myself have loved it ever since we've tried it the first time! The recipe is from the cook book The Baby's Table by Brenda Bradshaw, which is available on Amazon.ca or your local Chapter's (currently at 78% off at $4.99 at the latter)! I usually make a double batch of this recipe and freeze it! I normally add some Butternut Squash to it as well, to add a bit of sweetness.

Broccoli & Cauliflower Cheese Sauce

*2 cups of cauliflower
*2 cups of broccili
*1 tbsp flour
*1 tbsp butter
*1 cup of milk (I use regular milk, but you can

use breast milk or formula if you want)
*1 1/2 cups chedder cheese

1. In steamer cook broccoli and cauliflower.

2. To make the sauce: whisk butter and flour over medium heat until paste forms. Slowly add 1/2 cup of milk, whisking until lumps disappear. When it's lump free, add in the rest of the milk. Stir (use a spoon!) in the cheese until the sauce thickens to a smooth and creamy texture.

3. Since my little one is a bit older, I usually just mash the broccoli and cauliflower with a potato masher now and then pour it into the sauce. For even finer texture puree it to the desired consistency, using a blender.

Linking up with Skip to My Lou

First Time in the Pool this Summer

2011-06-28T15:25:00.004-03:00

Olivia sure enjoyed the pool today - first time we were able to put it up this year! The bird wasn't so sure about the cold water or I guess she was sure about it, as she squeaked, letting me know it was too cold on her little feet! She loves the bath normally, so hopefully the water will warm up in the next few days, so she'll get to enjoy it, too.

While taking quite some time getting all of the dirty rain water & sand out of the pool, wiping it clean with a pair of "Mami, isch das am Daddy sieni Unterhose/Mami, is that Daddy's underwear?" (Yes, it's Daddy's old, CLEAN undies turned into rag) and filling it with fresh water, Olivia says to me:

Olivia: "Du bisch a liebi Mami."

Olivia: "You're a nice Mami"

Mami: "Wieso bini as liebs Mami?"

Mami: "Why am I a nice Mami?"

Olivia: "Will Du s'Schwimmbad putzisch fuer mi!"

Olivia: "Because you are cleaning the pool for me!"

Awww, best appreciation a Mami can ever get from her 3 year old, right?

Linking up with Welcome Wednesday Blog Hop & Wordless and Wordful Wednesday

Family Mobilization V 2.0

2011-06-27T21:48:00.001-03:00

Some might recall the post that Sylvia put up a couple of weeks ago about our most loved Jetta. Two weeks ago, something went wrong with the car (again) and I called from work to get it towed to the local shop around the corner from our house. After a little while of checking it out, they thought it might be an issue with the turbo on the car, and said they were not equipped to fix it, and that we need to take it to a dealer shop.

Now, for those of you who care, a turbo for a Jetta is valued around $2000 for the part alone.

Since we knew that we needed a new car because the Jetta was getting far too small for the four of us and the dog, I took some time to scope out what was available that suited our needs. A new car just seemed so damn diddly expensive, and there was nothing used local that tickled our fancy. I went onto autotrader.ca and searched for a Mitsubishi Outlander in all of the maritimes. I chose this car first because we test drove a new one months ago, but didn't commit to the 2011 model because of the cost. Anyway, I happened across a 2008 Outlander XLS in St John, New Brunswick, which is about 4 1/2 hours away. This vehicle almost seemed too good to be true. Dark colour, low kilometres, leather interior, in dash entertainment system: In fact, there isn't an option that the previous owner didn't take! There were still another 2 years, 50,000km left on the full bumper to bumper warranty.

I got really excited, and Sylvia liked it too, so the next day, I called the dealership at noon, asked a few questions, and put a down payment over the phone. After some schmoozing by Sylvia, the dealership knocked an extra grand off the car, and overall, we were able to save ~$16,000 compared to a new vehicle. So here is our new car...

To no surprise, it was raining.

It may not be an EVO, but at least the steering wheel is the same one.

It may only be Rockford Fosgate, but at least it comes pre-equipped with a 10" - I wonder how many more I can fit in?

But wait, there is more, and this is just ridiculous! I call a couple of days later to Costco Roadside Assistance, and ask for a tow for our Jetta from the current shop to another shop. They proceed to tell me that they can't tow from the shop, because I chose the shop, and that it was my fault that they couldn't fix it. I say that is absolutely absurd. The dude says that they would have diagnosed the problem over the phone and towed it accordingly. Really? You are going to diagnose the turbo going over the phone? I wish I was an all seeing God that can figure out that the turbo is going on the car over the phone! This guy took douche-baggery up to a whole new level. So needless to say we didn't get a tow from them. The following weekend, we got a tow from my father-in-law's CAA to our usual VW shop.

The tow truck driver who came was a piece of work. I don't think that I have seen an angrier person before. The guy was throwing chains, flashlights, hell, even his glasses! I was fearing that he might come after me with a tire iron or something. In the end though, he took the car without dismembering me, which I am happy about on all kinds of levels.

Being prepared for the worst, I was pleasantly surprised that the car was not only dianosed, but also fixed today already and cost a mere $185 to fix. Turned out it was a burst hose.

As the Care Bears say: every cloud has a silver lining:

The car breaks down and we are told that it is the turbo :-(

We take the initiative at this time to look for and find a new car :-)

We get the Jetta fixed for next to nothing :-)

We are now a two car family. All I need is for Sylvia to allow me to drive the old car to work.

-d

Enjoying a Beautiful Summer Day

2011-06-23T16:35:00.007-03:00

Oh how I love beautiful, warm summer days! There have been few and far inbetween, but when the come along, they are muchly appreciated and enjoyed - not just by our two little girls, but also by their Mami (yes, that is the german way of spelling mommy). :)

You got it! Daddy bought Olivia this shirt - surely my friend Crystal at Crafty Ave would have probably freezer paper stenciled it!

Our Littlest Girl, playing with her favourite Teether/Book.

The Children's Place - Monster Sale (up to 70% off)!

2011-06-23T14:33:00.006-03:00

The Children's Place has its Monster Sale on for 4 Days Only (June 23 - 26, 2011), where you can save up to 70% off, when you use the online code 2N9D2011 or print their e-mail for instore purchases (store associate is to use code 001). Stock up for next summer! If you did not receive their e-mail, leave me a comment with your e-mail address and I will forward it to you asap. :)

Applesauce Muffins by Jessica Seinfeld

2011-06-23T13:45:00.046-03:00

My dear friend Lisa and I decided it would be a great idea to try and make one recipe a week from Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook Deceptively Delicious, so that's what we are going to do! I'm very excited about this, so here's the second recipe from Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook - it's such a pretty one! I love all of the pictures in it! Here goes the Applesauce Muffin Recipe:

Prep Time: 20 min

Total: 40 min

Makes 12 muffins

*Nonstick cooking spray (I used pretty silicone muffin cups instead!)

Topping (Streusel)

*2/3 cup old-fashioned oats

*1/4 cup firmly packet light or dark brown sugar

*1 tsp cinnamon

*2 tbsp trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread, melted

Batter

*1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

*1 cup old-fashioned oats

*1 tsp baking powder

*1/2 tsp baking soda

*1/2 tsp cinnamon

*1 cup unsweetened applesauce

*1/2 cup nonfat (skim) milk

*1/2 cup butternut squash or carrot puree

*1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

*1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

*1 large egg

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper backing cups.

This is what the topping (Streusel - my favourite!) looks like - only takes 2 minutes to mix together!

2. To make the topping, stir together the oats, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in the margarine.

This is what the dry and the wet ingredients look like.

This is what the batter looks like - ready to be put in the muffin tin!

3. To make the batter, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking sodar, and cinnamon in a large micing bowl or zipper-lock bag and stir or shake to mix. In a second bowl, mix the applesauce with the milk, vegetable puree, sugar, oil, and egg with a wooden spoon. Add the flour mixture slowly, stirring until just moistened. Do not overmix - the batter is supposed to be lumpy.

First, the batter is evenly distributed, then the streusel topping is equally divided up.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle with the streusel topping. Bake until the topping is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the muffins, 18 to 20 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto a rack and serve warm or cool.

Linking up with Skip to My Lou

Footprint Bumblebees for Daddy on Father's Day

2011-06-19T22:03:00.027-03:00

This year for Father's Day I baked Jessica Seinfeld's Applesauce Muffins (which I will post soon) and wanted for the girl's to make a sweet Father's Day "card" for their Daddy. This was our very first attempt at the Footprint Bumblebee. I had found the idea on Pinterest (feel free to click on the red "Follow me on Pinterest" button below the blog header) which is from Crafty-Crafted.com. I pinned it a couple of weeks ago and couldn't wait to try it. Here's what we did.

With a big enough ink pad (purchased at the Dollarama of all places!), I got my 3 year old's and my almost 11 months old's foot prints on a white piece of paper. Using this ink pad was really easy, as I was able to just wipe their feet clean with a baby wipe, once done!

As you can see, Olivia didn't get one of her toes properly printed :)

Next, we painted 3 black lines onto each of the bees. I actually dug out my 16 year old Caran D'Ache water colours for this project. I used to paint with it at my school in Switzerland, where I grew up and probably haven't used it in 16 years! They worked perfectly, except for the white paint, because it comes in a tube.

Then I needed white paint, but the 16 year old tube that came with my water colour set, was dried out, so unfortunatly we had to make do with grey for the eyes of the bees. My 3 year old finger-printed on the eyes for each bee. She used the index finger for her bee (the bigger one) and the little finger for her baby sister's bee (the little one).

Older kids can surely do this by themselves but I painted on the wings, eye brows, mouth and antennas of each bee.

To finish up, I wrote a little message to Daddy from his Little Bumble Bees. I think this would even make a really nice art work on the wall, if framed. This wasn't hard or time-consuming at all and Olivia had so much fun - try it!

Linking up with Skip to My Lou

Conversations with a Three Year Old

2011-06-19T21:07:00.004-03:00

What every father wants to hear on Father's Day:

"Happy Mother's Day Daddy!"

What every nerdy father wants to hear:

Olivia: "No daddy, don't wear your Superman shirt, wear your Batman shirt like Olivia!"

Me: "Sorry Sweetie, but I'm going to wear this shirt."

Olivia "Ok, Olivia is going to get her Superman Shirt!"

What every headbanger father wants to hear on Father's Day morning:

Olivia (picking up my ipod touch): "Daddy, can Olivia listen to Metagallica (Metallica)?"

I am on a good start to make the first born into an image of me. I hope that this will run off onto the second.

-d

Three Cheese Lasagna

2011-06-19T21:01:00.004-03:00

Prep Time: 1hr + 3hrs Cook Time: 40min

I am going to start off with saying that I hate making lasagna. I love to eat lasagna, but making it seems like such a chore to me. Ironically, as it turns out, lasagna is my wonderful wife's favourite meal. Once a year (maybe, twice a year) I cave in and make her a lasagna. I can't say that this is the healthiest lasagna that you will ever have, because it is loaded with cheese (which of course, makes it so great). So on with the show, here is what you will need:

Homemade Bolognese Sauce - I posted this last year some time. This is where a lot of the time comes from.
1 package of fresh pasta sheets. We like the whole wheat kind
1 250ml tub of cottage cheese
500gm of pizza mozzarella cheese - shredded
2 cups of milk
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Make the Bolognese sauce as per instructions on linked post. Keep over low heat until needed.

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. In a saucepan, over medium heat, heat up the butter until it just starts to melt, then whisk in the flour. When that becomes a smooth texture, keeps whisking and pour in the milk. Whisking constantly, keep the sauce at medium heat until it just starts to boil, then reduce heat to a little hotter that low. Add the Parmesan cheese and whisk until it is thoroughly melted into the sauce. Keep at this temperature, stirring occasionally, until needed.

Now for the fun part - assembling the beast. In a 13x9 casserole dish, start by putting a thin layer of sauce on the bottom, just for some moisture for the pasta sheets. Add a layer of pasta sheet. Top this layer with the whole tub of cottage cheese, and a little sauce to boot. Add another layer of pasta sheets. Top this later with a thin layer of sauce and some white sauce. Add another layer of pasta sheets. Top this layer with another this helping of pasta sauce and a generous layer of cheese. Add the final layer of pasta sheets. Top this layer with more pasta sauce and another generous serving of cheese. Cover the lasagna with tin foil and put it in the oven for 30 minutes, the take the tin foil off and leave in for the remaining time, or until the cheese is nice and bubbly and gooey on top.

Alternatives:

-In the layer with the white sauce, add some thinly sliced zucchini or spinach for some green

-I like to make the sauce a head of time. The last time I made this, I prepared the sauce the night before, and let it simmer while I was watching a movie, then put it away just before bed. Sauce is always better the next day - it gives the herbs and spices more time to infuse their flavours.

-Even if you aren't rather fond of cottage cheese (which we in this house aren't), it is still great when it is melted in with everything else. It adds a bit of creaminess to the lasagna.

-If you make the sauce specifically for this dish, there will be some left over. I like to make a smaller lasagna with all the left overs and freeze it for another time.

-The great thing about lasagna is that you can add just about anything to it to jazz it up and it still will be delicious.

Enjoy,
-d

Linking up with Skip to My Lou

Our Beloved VW Jetta 2003 GLS TDI...

2011-06-16T15:39:00.009-03:00

Anyone else get a kick out of the "three hands" of the tow truck guy?

...or not so much beloved anymore? Oh, how we loved our VW Jetta 2003 GLS TDI when we first bought it at 2 years old (I'm generously including my husband but it was bought from my savings, which I was quite proud of!). Well, it's now 6 years later and we've had lots of repairs for the last year or so, the last one costing us over $800 only being 3 weeks ago.

Hubby went to get some groceries last night,calling me on his way home, saying that he hit a bump and now the car was making this God awful noise. He was actually afraid of it maybe blowing up, meaning the noise must have been pretty bad.

Today the Jetta was towed away to a nearby garage, who decided to call us soon after receiving it, saying that we'd have to take it to a Dealership, as their not qualified to deal with our Jetta's issue: the turbo might be going! Isn't that the diagnostic everyone wants to hear?

Here we are, on our journey of getting a new car and this time, it's for real! The only reason we have not gotten another vehicle already, is that it's so darn hard, maybe because we are too darn picky! We'd love to get another Diesel, but unfortunatley there aren't very many in North America and we're certainly not looking at getting a Jeep. The VW Touareg is definitely out of our league right now, so what options are we left with? I guess we'll have to settle (setteling is NOT our forte!) for a non-Diesel vehicle, which is unfortunate. We are hoping for a cross-over SUV type car, which hopefully will have the option of third row seating. Any suggestions?

Our Little Girl is ready for Summer!

2011-06-16T12:37:00.004-03:00

This past weekend we were at my niece's 3rd Birthday Party - how time flies! My niece got one gift that we've been contemplating about getting Olivia this year, but it hasn't gone on sale low enough for me to justify buying it, nor can I find a previous loved one on Kijiji.

Well, Olivia was thrilled to play with her cousin's BBQ this weekend on a beautiful day. I'm sure she'd love to barbeque along Daddy's side with her own little BBQ. However, the questions remains: will there ever be any more sunny days in Nova Scotia this "summer"?

GYMBOREE - The Big Red Balloon Semi-Annual Sale!

2011-06-16T12:23:00.004-03:00

Since I love the quality of Gymboree clothing, I'm quite excited that they are having their semi-annual Big Red Balloon Sale, where items are up to 70% off! Hurry to stock up on clothing, accessories, Birthday & Christmas gifts for the little ones in your life!

Please note that all prices in this post are in US dollars.

*Accessories - $0.99

*Knit Shorts, Tops & more - $3.99

*Sweaters, Pants, Dresses & more - $6.99

Plus earn $25 Gymbucks for every $50 purchase at Gymboree (now through July 10 2011).

Also, if you'd like me to forward an e-mail from Gymboree to you, you can receive a $30 enrollment bonus coupon, when you sign up for the Gymboree Visa Card through the e-mail. (Leave me a comment with your e-mail address and I will forward it asap).

The Children's Place - Summer Weekend Blowout Sale!

2011-06-16T12:08:00.007-03:00

The Children's Place is having a Summer Weekend Blowout Sale, where there are items up to 60% off! Sounds like a good time to stock up on some clothes and accessories.

*All Tees & Tanks - $5.99 and up

*All Graphic Tees - $7.99 and up

*All Matchables - $5.99

Another perk of shopping at The Children's Place right now, is to earn 10x Bonus Air Miles Reward Miles when you spend $20 or more.

On to of that, The Children's Place has a Summer Savings Pass in order to save an additional 15% off - if you didn't get this e-mail (which you need to print to get the 15% off), please leave me a comment with your e-mail address and I'll be happy to forward it to you asap - it's valid until July 4th. :)

Tomato, Sweet Potato & Cheese Sauce

2011-06-09T20:23:00.017-03:00

I made this Tomato, Sweet Potato, and Cheese Sauce for my almost 10 month old daughter. It was the first time I didn't puree a meal and she just gobbled it up. Let's hope she'll still like it in a couple of days! Hope your little one enjoys this recipe as much as mine! This is another recipe from Annabel Karmel but this recipe is from her cook book More First Meals CANADIAN EDITION and is actually called "Tomato, Sweet Potato, and Cheese Sauce with Pasta Shells". This book features over 80 recipes with handy food diary and meal planner. It can be especially handy for first time parents, as it has complete meal plans for a week etc., but really any parent. It looks really great on top of that!

As always, I didn't keep completely true to the recipe below, as I probably made a batch and a half and didn't have any cheddar cheese (I used Mozzarella) or enough carrots and eye-balled the crushed tomatoes (I used diced) and sweet potatoes, but my husband and myself both tried it and it actually turned out really nicely. Another change I made to this recipe, was that I steamed the sweet potatoes and carrots first, then added them to the onions and garlic. At the end, instead of pureeing the sauce, I just used a potato masher to make it a little smoother and therefore did not have to puree it at all.

Another big plus for this sauce, is that it's suitable for freezing! The recipe saysto serve this sauce with mini pasta shells but I had some rice left over from the day before, so that's what I mixed in the sauce. Orzo would also be perfect to mix into this sauce, as it's small enough and in the shape of rice but tastes more like pasta.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

*Makes 8 portions of sauce Picture from Amazon.ca

*Provides protein, calcium,

beta-carotene, vits B6, C, D, & E,

Prebiotics

*Sauce suitable for freezing

Ingredients:

*1 tbsp olive oil

*1 onion, chopped

*1 clove garlic, crushed

*2 cups peeled and chopped sweet potatoes

*2 medium carrots, peeled & sliced

*400-g (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes

*Scant 1 cup boiling vegetable

stock or water (I used water)

*1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

(I used Mozzarella cheese)

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a sauceman and saute the onion until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute longer. Stir in the sweet potatoes and carrots, then pour in the tomatoes and boiling vegetable stock or water. Bring to a boil, stirring. Cover the pan and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Let cool slightly, then blend the sauce to a puree and stir in the cheese until melted.

Cook pasta (or rice) according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta and mix with the sauce.

***Serve over mini pasta shells (about 2 heaped tbsp for each portion of sauce - I used Basmati rice)***

Linking up with Skip to My Lou

Pin It

Macaroni & Cheese by Jessica Seinfeld

2011-06-03T13:22:00.013-03:00

Today, I'm going to share a recipe from my Deceptively Delicious cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld. It's simply Macaroni & Cheese, just a bit healthier than usual, so here it goes:

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Serves 4

Packable

*1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni

*Nonstick cooking spray

*1 tablespoon olive oil

*1 tablespoon all-purpose flower

*1/2 cup nonfat (skim) milk

*1/2 cup butternut squash or cauliflower puree

*1 1/2 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)

*4 ounces (almost 1/4 cup) reduced-fat or nonfat cream cheese

*1/2 teaspoon salt

*1/8 teaspoon paprika

*1/8 teaspoon pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the macaroni, and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain in a colander.

2. While the macaroni is cooking, coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the oil, then the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture resembles a thick paste but has not browned, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Add the milk and cook, stirring every now and then, until the mixture begins to thicken, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vegetable puree, Chedder, cream cheese, and seasonings, and sir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Stir in the macaroni and serve warm.

On the day I tried this recipe, I didn't have any butternut squash or cauliflower puree, so I just used sweet potato puree, which tastes just fine. You can buy Jessica Seinfeld's book Deceptively Delicious on Amazon.ca or Amazon.com for $13 or less - might be worth the investment! :-)

Thanks for the pictureChez Lisa: Quest for Favourites! :)

Green Apple & Raspberry Shake

2011-05-29T23:11:00.003-03:00

And now for something simple.

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

In desperate need for a nice cool treat the other weekend (which, if you live in Nova Scotia, you would think I was quite mad, since we haven't had that thing that is known as "Spring" yet, but I digress) I decided that I would whip us up a milk shake. But what flavour to have?

Vanilla? Nope. Too boring

Chocolate? Naw. Too sweet

Strawberry? No. Too 1950's

So I decided to see what kind of fruit we had around the house. I found some fresh raspberries and granny smith apples. And why not. The tartness of the raspberries and the sourness of the granny smith partly counter the sweetness of the ice cream. Here is what I used:

- 4 generous scoops of the good quality (read: lots of calories and fat) french vanilla ice cream

- 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

- 1 shredded granny smith apple

-1/2 quart fresh raspberries

- milk

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend away. You will notice that I only said "milk", as you can add as much or as little as you like, depending on how thick you want the shake. I put enough in so all the stuff is blending smoothly.

Alternatives:

-I have used frozen raspberries as well, because really, who will notice when it is all blended together.

That's all I have for now.

-d

o_O

Linking up with Skip to My Lou

The Children's Place Victoria Day Sale - 40% off + 4X Air Miles

2011-05-24T15:44:00.003-03:00

The Children's Place is having a Victoria Day Sale, which is up to 40% off all swim and swim accessories, polos, shorts, shoes & flip flops. They also have a $8 flat rate shipping, which is valid now through June 19th 2011 in CANADA stores only. Until today (May 23rd 2011) you also get 4x the Air Miles Reward Miles on your entire transaction of $20 or more! The Air Miles offer is not valid online.

Furthermore, I was sent an e-mail, where you can save another 15% off until June 19th 2011, if you show the e-mail at check-out. If you'd like me to share the e-mail with you, just leave a comment and your e-mail address and I will gladly forward it to you, so you can benefit from this offer also! Happy Shopping!

Gymboree Sale - Everything $12.99 and under + Gymbucks

2011-05-24T13:33:00.007-03:00

Gymboree currently has its Memorial Day Sale on where everything in the Store is $12.99 and under! This goes for online and in store. All prices on the Gymboree website are in U.S. dollars. On top of this you can also earn 25 Gymbucks today through July 10th, for every $50 you spend. I checked out the website and there are some really sweet items! I always like to take such opportunities to buy presents for upcoming birthdays or births.

Yummy Dough Cookies & Review

2011-05-22T22:57:00.045-03:00

Package Contents (missing the little modeling tool) & what the dough should look like.

The adding of water & mixing of dough mixure.

Some time before Christmas, I bought this 3-pack of Yummy Dough at Costco because it looked really fun. I think it only ended up being about $3 a box or so. Yummy Dough caught my eye because of what it says on the box: "Shape it, Bake it, Eat it - Edible Modelling Dough!". I mean really, what sounds more fun than that to a little one? The dough is edible not only when it's baked but also when it's raw. It's also nice to know that Yummy Dough is constantly quality tested and that its colouring agents are all vegetable, per Wikipedia. Anyway, I finally got around to trying it today and it was pretty awesome!

Some pictures of how our lion came to be.

You can find step-by-step instructions on the

Yummy Dough Website for many creations.

I wasn't sure if Yummy Dough is available anywhere else other than seasonally at Costco, but I googled around a bit and found it online here at Chapters.ca. I'm not sure if they also carry it in store.

The tasty Yummy Dough Lion

I was totally excited to find out that this dough (originally called Essknete, which is German and literally translates to Eatable Dough) was actually invented in Germany in 2005 by a man, who credits his two daughters to have given him the idea, as they wanted to not only be able to play with dough, but be able to eat it at the same time. I think it's neat that Yummy Dough's website is in German, English and Polish.

The cupcake was a favourite of my daugther's - she's got a sweet tooth - what can I say?!

All the items you need in order to make your fun pieces with the modelling dough, are included in the Yummy Dough Box. There are four packages of dough mixture: green, blue, yellow & green, a syringe (which is used to ad 20ml of water to each mixture) and a modeling tool. It took me about 30 minutes to knead all the doughs to the right consistency and then the fun began. I logged onto the Yummy Doug website and followed some of the step-by-step instructions in order to make little masterpieces. This is especially great for people like me, who are not very artsy. The Yummy Dough website also has instructions that you can print off, put under the parchment paper and by tracing, create your shapes that way.

Strawberry - Flower - Mushrooms (ran out of red, so these are Super Mario ones) - Butterfly

I made these cookies with my 3 year old daughter and she helped by pouring the dough mixtures into the bowl, syringing the water and then stirring it. She had fun. Other than that, she mostly played with one of the balls of dough that I was not using, creating her own creations with lots of imagination. However, she very much enjoyed herself.

What I really love about Yummy Dough is that it's:

entertaining

educational

easy to use

affordable

yummie

unique

fun

All our cookies before they went into the oven.

The final product - my daughters favourites were the ice cream cone, cupcake & lion.

Linking up with: Skip to my Lou

Melissa & Doug Food Groups - Review

2011-05-19T12:50:00.008-03:00

This picture is from Melissa & Doug

I think out of all the play food that my daughter (age 3) has, this is her favourite. She plays with it every single day. Her favourite thing, is to put all of the items in seperate bags or cans or whatever she can find to put the items in and carry them around. Then she re-bags the items and can play like this for 30-40 minutes or so. She also uses the Melissa & Doug Food Groups with her KidKraft Kitchen. She doesn't really sort the food group items yet or anything like that, but here are the reasons why I really like Food Groups by Melissa & Doug.

*It's wooden

*It's affordable (~$20)

*Includes 22 food items

*Includes all food groups

*Nice colours

*Comes in 4 baskets, so food items can be sorted into different food groups & stored easily

*Encourages healthy food choices

*Encourages imaginative play

We got it for our little girl around 34 months and she's loved it ever since. The Manufacturer's recommended Age is 3+. Do you have this toy also? What do you think of it?

Gymboree - 30% off Everything & You Could Win Great Gymboree Outfits

2011-05-11T09:58:00.003-03:00

Starting Today Wed 5/11 ONLINE 12:01 ET & IN STORES Store Opening Wed 5/11, you can get 30% off everything in Gymboree stores or online with this discount barcode. You should be able to just print it off above, in order to use it in stores. :-)

Please Mum - New Ways to Double Green Backs

2011-05-10T12:17:00.006-03:00

Picture from Please Mum

Please Mum has a promotion going on for a limited time right now, where you can double your GREEN BACKS on all big kid jeans & big boy fall/winter clothing. Use your GREEN BACKS towards any in-store purchase, including sales and promotions.

Cottonelle Fresh Flushable Moist Wipes

2011-05-09T14:57:00.004-03:00

If you click here, you can fill out a tiny survey (mostly about yourself) and receive a coupon to get a FREE tub of Cottonelle Fresh Flushable Moist Wipes. It's called the "Give a tub. Get a tub" promotion, which lets you put in one friend's name and e-mail address at the end, in order for that friend to do the same. Limit one tub per household, while supplies last. Valid in Canada and the US.

Butternut Squash, Carrot & Broccoli Puree

2011-05-08T23:34:00.014-03:00

This recipe (with the little change of sweet potato being replaced with butternut squash) is from Annabel Karmel's First Meals Canadian Edition cookbook. It's all about "fast, healthy, and fun foods for infants and toddlers".

Picture from Amazon

Prep Time: 5min

Cook Time: 18min

Makes 6 portions

Suitable for freezing

Ingredients:

*2 1/3 cups sweet potato, peeled and chopped

*1 large carrot, peeled and sliced

*1 1/3 cups broccoli, cut into florets

Preparation:

*Put butternut squash and carrots in a steamer and
cook for 10 minutes

*Add broccoli and continue to cook for about 7 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender

*Blend the vegetables with 6-7 tbsp of the water from the bottom of the steamer to make a puree

Picture from Well.ca

I freeze the baby food in either empty baby food jars or Baby Cubes that I purchased from Well.ca, as they offered them cheaper than the specialty stores in our area. I really like Baby Cubes, as they come with an attached lid, are microwavable, come in different sizes and the trays can be stacked in the freezer. Well.ca is a great site to order Baby Cubes (and lots of other items) from, as it's Canadian and has free shipping in Canada, which is always appreciated.

Linking up with: Skip to My Lou

Free Comic Book Day 2011

2011-05-07T22:24:00.006-03:00

The first Saturday in May marks the annual Free Comic Book Day. This is something that the comic industry started about 10 years ago to promote new and independent titles, as well as to try to attract new readers. I first stumbled across this glorious day in 03, when I first moved to Halifax. Me being me, I get excited when I see a comic store, and I want to go in and check it out. When I walk in to Strange Adventures (a local comic shop) staff tells me to my delight, that it is free comic book day and I could choose 10 comics for free. It was fairly busy, but not entirely overwhelming.

The next year we went, the line up was quite a bit longer, and they had a door man to let people in at about 20 at a time. (Strange Adventures, though a fantastic shop with friendly people and the best deal around, is a small, little cave under a sex-toy shop). After that year, they decided to rent out a church hall, the next block over, and allow us faithful nerds to pick up 20 comics. By the time it came to this year, there were well over 1000 people of all ages who attended to pick up some free books.

What makes the Strange Adventures Free Comic Book Day so great is that they don't just offer the comics that are given from the comics companies as free books, but they also offer some older comics, which have been sitting on the shelf for a few years. Furthermore, they have games for the kids and a photo booth which had Thor's hammer and Captain America's Shield. Prizes were given out to people that dressed up in awesome costumes as well.

A nice haul

Again, big thanks to the folks at Strange Adventures.

-d

Springtime - how exciting!

2011-05-05T13:37:00.014-03:00

It's already been two weeks since hubby, myself, the girls and the doggies were able to sit outside in the beautiful sun (it's been rainy and dreary ever since!).

So here's to hoping that we'll have another beautiful day soon, so Olivia can cook her sand food and feed it to Daddy. Lexie enjoyed playing on the blankie on the grass for the first time. It would be great to have another beautiful weekend day, so Daddy is home to get in on the fun. :-)

Um...I admit, there is a lot of purple in these pictures!

Delicious Potato Salad

2011-05-05T13:24:00.013-03:00

Prep Time: 35min Cook Time: 25min

My family loves potato salad, so I am going to share it. This salad is really a mix of my family's and my husband's family's potato salad. There are items that my mom puts in hers, items that his mom puts in hers and then there are the yummie items that my husband and I threw in, to top off the deliciousness of our potato salad.

The great thing about this potato salad, is that you can put in as many of the inredients below as you want. Furthermore you can put as much or little of them as you want. When I'm pregnant, we usually leave out the onions alltogether or when we're out of one or the other vegetable, we just leave that out.

Ingredients:

*10 large potatoes

*10 strips of bacon, finely chopped

*1/2 onion, finely chopped

*1 large tomato, diced

*3 pickles, finely

*2 eggs (boiled), coarsly chopped

*10-15 broccoli florets, chopped

*some grated skimmed Mozzarella cheese (or any other cheese you may like)

*1 can of white, flaked tuna

Preparation:

Start out by laying the bacon out on a cookie sheet, covered with parchment paper. Bake for 15min at 350 or until you can tell the bacon is crispy on one side, then turn it to the other side and bake for another 5min or so. While the bacon is in the oven, peel and chop the potatoes and boil them for 20min. Also boil the eggs for 10 min.

Pour this salad dressing in the salad bowl. Add quite a bit (4-5tablespoons) of low fat Hellman's mayonnaise (or miracle whip if you prefer) and whisk well. Chop the onion, tomotoes, pickles, broccoli florets, slice the eggs and grate some cheese.

To make things a bit easier, when stirring, pour some potatoes in the bowl first, then add some of each vegetable etc. and stir. Repeat this process until everything is in the bowl, by this point, hopefully nicely mixed. Sprinkle a bit of cheese on top and top with some parsley for nice presentation. Enjoy!

Linking up with: Skip to my Lou

Spring Blog Carnival Giveaway (International) - BOOKS

2011-05-04T14:14:00.006-03:00

Picture from Pure Imagination

There is a Spring Blog Carnival Giveway (books - how exciting!) and it's International as well, so anyone can enter. You just have to fill out the form, where it gives you options to gather even more entries by doing certain things. Feel free to check it out. This Giveaway ends on May 8th, so hurry!

Barbequed Chicken Quesedilla

2011-05-01T20:55:00.014-03:00

Prep Time: About 15 minutes Cook time: About 15 minutes.

I was at work the other day, and one of my co-workers brought in a frozen, store bought, quesedilla. He opened it up and it looked half decent, with all it melted cheese goodness. So I thought to myself, if a $1.50 quesedilla looks fairly good, a home made one must be better.

Never making them before, I just sort of came up with the stuff that I would assume goes into one. They turned out pretty good. Very colourful and all the mouths in the house were happy. Here is what is requred to make them:

4 10" tortillas

2 chicken breasts

1/2 cup of corn

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 finely chopped green pepper

1 plum tomato, finely chopped

1 can of refried beans

lots of shredded pepper-jack cheese

Sour cream

Salsa

1/2 tsp Chili powder

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

salt and pepper to taste.

First start with heating up the barbeque. While that is heating up, trim off any excess fat from the chicken and season with the salt and pepper. Put the chicken onto the

grill when it is nice and hot. While the chicken is cooking, chop up all of the veggies. When the chicken is done, chop it up into small chunks. Mix the chicken up with the chili powder and paprika.

Cut up Veggies

Just before Cheese was Added

Heat up a non-stick skillet to medium heat (or two to speed things up). Spread two of the tortillas with the refried beans. Top with the remainder of the veggies on both of the torillas and top with a generous amount of cheese. Place the other tortillas on top and put them into the skillet. Cook for about 4-5 minute a side or until the tortillas a browned and toasted and the cheese is melty and gooey. When they are done, cut into wedges. Top with sour cream and salsa.

Alternatives:

- For some extra fire, add some jalapeno peppers and/or chipotle pepper and/or red pepper sauce (I like Frank's Red Hot)

-We tried it with whole wheat wraps as well, and they turned out really well.

-This of course, is also good with ground beef.

That's it for now:

-d

Linking up with Skip to My Lou & Mommies Point of View & Paisley Passions & Feeding Four - What's Cooking Thursday

FREE Box of Chocolate Cheerios

2011-04-29T16:49:00.007-03:00

I just came across this neat website. It's called Websaver.ca. Not only do they offer a coupon for a FREE Box of Chocolate Cheerios (YUM!) right now and lots of other coupons, but they also donate 0.5 cents to Breakfast for Learning from each coupon ordered from their site, that is actually redeemed. Watch out though, you can get the FREE Box of Chocolate Cheerios on one day only, June 21 2011 - so keep that coupon safe and don't forget about it!

You do have to register, but it's quick. Next time they have a great offer or you want to re-order coupons, you can just sign in. Enjoy!

FREE Cereal from Kellogg's (Canadian Freebie)

2011-04-29T10:20:00.005-03:00

Does everyone know about Save.ca? If not, it's a great website where you can register (it's quick!) and order coupons. The coupons are sent to your house at no charge. It usually takes around 10 business days or so to receive them. You can also re-order any coupons of choice after a certain amount of days.

Right now, Kellogg's has partnered up with Save.ca and is offering a FREE Box of cereal. There are three different cereals and you have to choose ONE. Kellogg's has additional coupons available (select the ones you want) and they will be mailed straight to your address.

Get your COUPON for the FREE Box of Kellogg's on the left hand side, by clicking on the link.

LIKE Please Mum on Facebook and receive an additional 10% off (Web Exclusive)

2011-04-26T16:27:00.008-03:00

Please Mum has a Web Exclusive right now where you can get an additional 10% off for liking them on Facebook. Promotion ends April 30 2011 and is not applicable on the purchase of gift cards.

Please Mum currently also has a Buy One, Get One 50% off promotion on their entire Fashion Collection. Furthermore there are additional markdowns on their spring & summer apparel. Happy Shopping!

Linking up with Give it to me Tara & Just Married with Coupons

Joe Fresh Canada - Buy One, Get One Free Girl Socks (Printable Coupon)

2011-04-26T13:24:00.005-03:00

Buy one pack of Kid Girl Socks (roll top anklet or rib turn cuff) valued at $6 at Joe Fresh Canada and get the second pack for FREE. This offer is good until May 20th 2011. Printable Coupon available.

Conversations with a Now 3 Year Old

2011-04-26T13:03:00.010-03:00

Unbelievable, but our little girl is 3 already!

Olivia was on the phone with Daddy the other day (it's a treat for her when she gets to talk to Daddy on his drive home) and I caught her saying, full of excitement:-

"Daddy, I'm putzing the windows!"

Now for our Swiss and maybe even German readers, this is funny or at least cute, but for our English-speaking folk: "putzen" means "to clean". Our smart, little girl used the german word "putzen" in her english sentence and put the proper Present Continuous English ending at the end of the word. :-) I truly wish I caught this one on tape.

Kijiji Fail

2011-04-24T21:08:00.000-03:00

You know, I am all about kijiji (not like Sylvia is all about it, but I still like it). It is a place where you can get some great deals, get rid of excess junk in the house and so on. We score a bunch of great things on there. What is great about this giant online classified ad system is that most time, prices are negotiable, and people typically expect the barter system.

I was surfing Kijiji for books when I came across this ad for Harry Potter Books:

I am selling the complete Harry Potter Book Series for $100.00.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

All books are hardcover and are in excellent condition. Buy the set and get three Harry Potter book marks!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Guidelines

(1) Unless stated otherwise, all item prices are non-negotiable!

(2) If an item price is negotiable, please give a reasonable price. Lowballs will be ignored!

(3) All items are pick-up only! No deliveries will be made!

Steps for Inquiry & Pick-Up

(1) Please contact via e-mail

- Please leave your name (you do not need to include your phone number since I do not like to make calls)

- Please make sure that the e-mail you include is correct (otherwise I will not be able to reply)

- Please use proper English spelling, grammar, and punctuation (sorry, I do not speak French). If you type in chat speak or have too many errors in your e-mail, I will not respond (on account that I will not be able to understand you!)

- Please be polite!

(2) I'll respond within a few minutes/hours if e-mail is sent before 10:30pm (may take a bit longer to reply if I'm away from my computer)
(3) Please respond back within a few hours of my reply
(4) Please pick-up within 48 hours of set date/time (if you need to reschedule, let me know!)
(5) If item/s are not picked up within 48 hours (unless otherwise arranged), you may lose them, and they will be reposted back on Kijiji
*Please check out my other ads for more fun items and deals!*

Now, doesn't this take all the fun out of it? Sure, I typically laugh at people with bad spelling, but really, this is a little much, don't you think? And really, guidelines? Really? I can't believe it. The complete douchery of this guy's ad makes me ponder the following:

(1) I don't want to respond to it, due to complete jerkiness.

(2) What's with the underline+exclamation point of "non-negotiable"? Could it not have quite politely stated that prices are firm?

(3) I can't check my mail in the day at work, so do I automatically get thrown out because I can't reply right away?

(4) Does this guy really have the audacity to ask me to check out his/her other ads? Why? So I can get told what a horrible person I am for not using spell check?

(5) This makes me want to respond with half ass grammar, ask the seller if he/she can meet me somewhere as I don't have a car (even though I do), throw a few German words in my response and see if he/she can speak that, since he can't speak French, take too long to reply back to him/her, offer the seller a low ball figure and then, just to top it off, not go and pick up the items.

I think it will be a freaking miracle if these books actually sell.

-d

...I wonder what the other ads are...

Care Bear Birthday Cake - Share Bear

2011-04-22T16:46:00.056-03:00

I really wanted to make a Care Bear birthday cake for my daughters 3rd birthday, as I had bought a brand new Care Bears cake pan of Kijiji a year ago, right after my daugther's 2nd birthday! Of course I wanted to make Share Bear, as it is the purple Care Bear.

I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to pipe this Care Bear cake, as I never piped anything before, other than the Hello Kitty Cupcakes, in order to practice. I'm not very artistically inclined, so I figured doing anything with icing would be even harder than drawing with a pencil etc. However, thanks to my sister-in-laws amazing Frosting Recipe and my sister, who did not only assist me with making the icing the right colours and decorating the cake properly but also acted as the photographer, my first Care Bear cake turned out alright.

I baked the Care Bear French Vanilla Cake two nights before and wrapped it tight, storing it in the fridge. It was still really fresh two days later. It was really important to intensly butter and flour the Care Bear cake pan, before filling it with the batter, as it's important that the cake does not stick to the pan, when removing it, so the outline is nice and visible.

Since I don't have a pretty cake platter, I created my own by using a piece of card board and wrapping it in aluminium foil.

My sister and I started by mixing the proper colours for the icing. We used Wilton's Rainbow Food Colouring Gels, which my friend from S weet and Lovely Crafts lent to me. It's great to use colouring gels, as the icing becomes a deeper colour. It took us a good hour to get the 10 different colours of icing the proper colours. Later on, we realized that there is actually a mistake in the amounts the instructions tells you to make - it reversed the amount of the icing that is used for the outline of the care bear with the amount of the filling of the care bear, so we had to think on our feet.

Once the white icing was on the Care Bear and the outlines were piped onto it, it was time for lots of stars. Some of the parts of the Care Bear, such as the Lollies, eyes, dots and hearts had to be smoothed over with the finger, for a "flat" look, which was easier than I thought it would be.

I think the shell bottom suprised me the most, as I really had no idea how to pipe it. I just tried my best and was so tired at 2:30 in the morning, after 5 hours of working on this birthday cake, that I was just happy to be done...well, almost done. I also piped "Happy 3rd Birthday, Olivia" beside Share Bear with a few stars beside it, as by that point, I had become quite the piper!

If anyone has this cake pan and needs the instructions, I can probably scan them for you. I have the instructions for Share Bear (purple), Good Luck Bear (green), Love-A-Lot Bear (pink) & Wish Bear (turquoise), just leave me a comment.

Linking up with: Skip to My Lou & What's Cooking Thursday & Paisley Passions & Heck Fridays & Sun Scholars & Local Fun for Kids & Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons

DOUBLE GREEN BACKS - Please Mum Earth Day

2011-04-22T10:43:00.009-03:00

Please Mum is offering DOUBLE GREEN BACKS in celebration of Earth Day. For more information on Green Backs, please refer to a previous post on Green Backs. GREEN BACKS can be used towards any in-store purchase, including promotions and sales. The Earth Day promotion is from April 21st-April 23rd.

For this promotion, this is what your items are worth:

*Tops=2 Green Backs

*Hoodies, Jackets, Bottoms, Jumpers & Sun Dresses=4 Green Backs

*Spring Outerwear & Fancy Party Dresses=10 Green Backs

P.S.: You can also redeem your KidKa$h now and save $25 on every $50 you spend from April 17th - May 8th 2011.

Linking up with Luxury Living Frugal Style & The Adventures of Curly Tot

P&G Brandsampler + P&G Brandsampler for Men

2011-04-12T13:19:00.009-03:00

Just want to let everyone know about this awesome samples! They are by far my favourites. I use them as travel toiletries and once they are done, they make awesome, real looking products in my daughter's even more real looking Melissa & Doug shopping cart (I'll go on about that another day).

You just have to sign up (which won't take longer than 2 minutes, I promise). Make sure you also subscribe to the P&G Brandsampler Newsletter when asked because they don't send it out a lot and when they do, you will be the first to know about their new samples and therefore won't miss out! Go to P&G Brandsampler to order your samples now. You will receive your little box of samples in 4-6 weeks time.

For the first time, I realized that you can also order P&G Brandsampler for Men, which you can use the same login information for as you use to order the P&G Brandsampler. Enjoy!

Linking up with Just Married with Coupons & Feeding Four

Awesome Frosting Recipe

2011-04-05T21:56:00.018-03:00

This different coloured icing is from my Care Bear Cake, which turned out great.

My sister-in-law gave me this frosting recipe, when I asked her if she thinks I'd be able to pipe a Care Bear cake for my daughter's 3rd Birthday Party. I told her that I have no prior piping knowledge and that this kind of thing really isn't my forte. Having piped many cakes, she told me that it really all comes down to the frosting recipe and that this one has never failed her, yet.

Makes 3 cups of Frosting

*1/2 cup of solid vegetable shortening (it's easy to use Crisco - 1 stick)
*1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
*1 teaspoon of vanilla
*4 cups sifted icing sugar
*2 tbsp milk

Beat butter and shortening together with a mixer. Ad the vanilla and mix it in. Gradually add the sugar, one cup at a time. Beat well on medium speed after each addition. When all of the sugar has been mixed in, it will look kind of dry - that's a good thing. Mix in the milk and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.

This Frosting can be made ahead of time and put in the fridge - just put a damp piece of paper towel/tea towel over the bowl to prevent the frosting from getting crusty.

Linking up with Making Friends Monday & Skip to My Lou

French Vanilla Hello Kitty Cupcakes

2011-04-05T15:06:00.020-03:00

Please be aware that this was pretty much my very first attempt in piping anything onto any sort of baked goods. :-)

Wanting to make a birthday cake for my daughter's 3rd Birthday Party, I came across this French Vanilla Cake Recipe on Misshomemade.com. I wanted to try it out before making the birthday cake, so I used it to make some French Vanilla Hello Kitty cupcakes for her actual birthday. The batter was enough for 18 cupcakes and if there was anything I would change, I might use a little less Vanilla. Other than that, I really liked the taste of the cupcakes, especially the "crusty" tops.

My sister-in-law gave me an awesome Frosting Recipe she swears by and considering this was the first and only frosting recipe I've ever tried to pipe anything, it turned out pretty well.

Decorating the lovely cupcakes with Hello Kitty was a different story - and quite frankly, quite the adventure. I'd like to mention at this point, that I am not very artistically inclined, so considering, a couple of the cupcakes actually did resemble Hello Kitty, while most of them resembled "Hello Piggy". However, the main thing is that my little girl recognized Hello Kitty right away - or so said Daddy. My other excuse for the un-professional looking Hello Kitty cupcakes, other than me not being very artsy, is that I truly did not have any of the proper tools (decorating tips), nor did I have enough piping bags or the correct food colouring. At one point I actually resorted to tooth picks to draw the whiskers and such.

It was harder than I anticipated to find a simple Hello Kitty Design that I could pipe onto the cupcakes, but after some googling I found i heart baking, which is a great blog with professional looking pictures and neat & yummie looking recipes.

Linking up with Funky Polkadot Giraffe & Local Fun for Kids & Skip to My Lou & Sun Scholars

2 FREE Diapers from Fred's (Canada & USA)

2011-03-28T21:54:00.008-03:00

I just signed up to get 2 FREE diapers from Fred's. Only the first 50 000 people that sign up will receive this sample until March 31 2011. Once the form was submitted, it said that I should receive the diapers in 6-8 weeks. In the fine print it actually states that this offer is only open to US residents but there is a drop-down menu where you can select Canada, so hopefully that will work. It took me a minute or so to get Canada from the drop-down list to work, so be patient. It only lets you put in one submission for free diapers.

Get my FREE Fred's Diapers Now

Linking up with Madame Deals, Measuring Flower.com

Chicken & Vegetable Curry Recipe

2011-03-27T20:36:00.009-03:00

Prep Time: About 45 minutes Cook Time: About 30 minutes.

I don't know how I missed this one. I was sure that I posted this recipe already, as my family was curious about the recipe. I checked all of the recipe posts and couldn't find it. Well, at least it gives me something to write about.

I made this curry first for my parents when they came to visit about a year ago. My parents, who are still skeptical to think that I can actually cook (you ask someone how long to boil an egg for when you are 14 and you'll never live it down), were actually quite surprised with how tastey and easy to make this recipe actually is. There is nothing authentic about this curry, other than the spices that go into it, but it is nice an colourful and has lots of (also healthy) stuff in it. Here is what you will need:

*3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized cubes (I like to use 1/2 breast per person, because are so many other ingredients)
*2 potatoes, cut into small cubes
*8 hard boiled eggs
*2 carrots, thinly sliced
*1 red pepper, thinly sliced
*1 zuccini, cubed
*1 red onion, finely chopped
*3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
*handful of snowpeas
*1 can of evaporated milk
*2-3 tsps of chicken stock powder
*salt and pepper
*2 tsp garam masala
*2-3 tsp curry powder (or to taste)
*Basmati rice
*Mango Chutney

Heat a heavy bottom pot over medium heat with a couple of generous splashes of extra virgin olive oil. once hot, toss in the carrots and potatoes and cook them for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, you can boil the eggs and prepare the other veggies and chicken. After about 5 minutes, add the onions and peppers and cook for another couple of minutes, then add the chicken and the garlic and season with some salt and pepper. (If the pan is getting a little dry, you can add a little more olive oil).

In a bowl, pour in the evaporated milk and whisk together with the chicken stock powder. When the chicken is mostly cooked, pour in the evaporated milk and mix together. At this point, you can add the zuccini and the spices. Continue cooking at current heat until the mixture starts to boil, then put a lid on it and reduce the heat to medium low (just so there is a little boil going on - this heat will continue to cook the chicken and the other veggies, as well as take the starch in the potaotes and thicken up the sauce). Stir occasionally.

While this is simmering, you can prepare the basmati rice. I always like to pre-soak my rice for at least half an hour before I cook it, but prepare it however you like. You can also shell the eggs. When the rice is done, put the snow peas and eggs into the curry, so that they don't over cook, but just warm up. Serve the curry over the rice with a nice dollop of mango chutney on top.

Alternatives:

- for a more savoury dish, reduce the amount of evaporated milk and replace with heavy cream or coconut milk

- I always like to make extra so I can take it for lunch the next day.

All for now,
-d

Linking up with The DIY Home Project & Funky Polkadot Giraffe & Organic Homemaking

Conversations with a 2 year old

2011-03-25T16:46:00.006-03:00

This is my first bilingual post, because the original conversation with my almost 3 year old daughter was actually in swiss-german but I'd also like for english-speaking people to understand the conversation. In this post, "Mami" is me (it's Mommy in swiss) and Olivia...well, she's my little big girl.

Olivia tut ihr Spielessen in UNSERE Microwelle...

Mami: Olivia, tuen doch Dies Spiel-esse in DIEN Microwelle, bitte.

Olivia: Nei, channi nit, mies Telefon isch drin!

Olivia is placing her play food in OUR microwave...

Mami: Olivia, just put your play food in YOUR microwave, please!

Olivia: No, I can't, my phone is in it!

And yes, after careful evaluation, Olivia's toy phone certainly was occupying her microwave and therefore prohibiting her from using it for her play food. Figures...

Gymboree Canada 30% off Everything in Store & Online - Fill-A-Bag

2011-03-15T21:44:00.010-03:00

Gymboree Canada has a 30% off promotion on anything that's regular price and on sale in store and online, inlcuding New Arrivals! Excluded from this are gift certificates/cards, taxes, shipping, gift packages, donations and in-store phone orders.

At the same time, Gymboree Canada is offering 25% off their new, full priced lines in store. In addition to this offer, there is a 20% off your ENTIRE ORDER coupon in Parenting - Early Years or School Years magazine (March edition). I ended up with a coupon thanks to my sister. I researched around a bit and am pretty certain that you can combine the 25% off and the 30% off promotions for one transaction. I'm not so certain, that stores will allow the use of the 20% off coupon along with the 25% off and the 30% off promotions for one transaction though.

When I was at the Gymboree store in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Sunday, March 13th 2011, the lady said that she'd called the person from Head Quarters but has not gotten a call-back and that she's been accepting the coupon on top of the other promotions. She said she'd accept mine, but that even if I was to return the next day, it could be changed. I did manage to buy a couple of pairs of pants for $2.50 and some tops for $7, which is a pretty good deal, I think.