dinner Archives — Thrifty Mommas Tips

Plan the Perfect Thanksgiving Dinner in 4 Simple Steps

Paula — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 14:53:00 +0000

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which means it’s time to get ready for some festive fall vibes, great food, and quality time with your loved ones. Thanksgiving is also the ideal time for you to express gratitude over everything you have in your life, and what better time to say thanks than when you’re celebrating with your family and friends? Follow these simple tips to throw the perfect Thanksgiving dinner How to Organize the Perfect Thanksgiving Dinner Throwing your own Thanksgiving family dinner is a fabulous idea in theory, but can be a challenge to execute. You have to prepare the food, send out invites, decorate, and pay for all of this by yourself. This year, try out a new strategy for Thanksgiving and throw the ideal holiday dinner without having to empty your wallet or fill your mind with stress. If you’re unsure of how to go about it, here are some fun-packed tips to get you started. Set up a festive fall theme The first step to planning any party is to set the scene. And this includes coming up with a fun, exciting theme to plan it around. If you’re struggling to come up with the perfect theme, you can’t go wrong with a classic fall vibe. Thanksgiving is often associated with the fall weather, and that’s what makes this theme so perfect for your party. You can come up with some fabulous DIY decorations too without having to buy out the store. Attach some cardboard cutouts of fall leaves and pumpkins to a string of fairy lights and hang them around the venue for a soft, autumnal glow. Turn off the rest of the lights to let your decor shine through. Candles always give off a nice, autumnal vibe. Set some up around your table for a warm, elegant glow. Plan Out Your Menu Now that you have your theme planned out, it’s time for you to move on to the menu. After all, what’s a Thanksgiving dinner without the perfect menu? And this year, why not add some fun, new twists to the classic turkey dinner and surprise your guests with a bunch of creative, mouthwatering treats? Alongside your classic roast turkey entree, try out some of these fabulous appetizers, drinks, and desserts to fill up your dinner table. Turkey-themed vegetable and dip platter Turkey fruit platter Fall themed Thanksgiving grazing board Pumpkin spice pie Pumpkin rice krispie treats The great thing about all of these is, you probably have a lot of these ingredients in your pantry, ready to be assembled. Don’t forget to add a few special treats for the kids, like some gumdrop turkeys or fall-themed cupcakes. Throw in a little something for the adults as well with some spiced cranberry cocktails and a festive fall maple-infused punch. Keep the Party Alive with Fun Thanksgiving Activities Your menu may be ready and your decor may be set up, but that’s not enough to keep your guests entertained throughout the night. Plan out some exciting games and activities that everyone can take part in and enjoy. Try to make your Thanksgiving games inclusive enough to be played by guests of all ages. A fun holiday version of Family Feud or maybe a series of Minute to Win it activities are a great way to encourage your family to bond with each other. You can also add a fun twist to a classic gratitude game by passing out some colored tokens at random and setting up a code for each color that dictates what each person talks about being grateful for. For instance, a red token would ask a person to name one person they’re thankful for, and a green one would require them to talk about what memory they’re grateful for. This will be a great way to keep up with the thanksgiving theme while keeping things fun and interesting. 4. Create your own Thanksgiving party posters You’ve set up your party decorations, and you’ve planned your table set up. But who’s coming to your party? How do you plan to invite them? Create a bunch of custom Thanksgiving party posters and invites to send to your friends and family. This may seem like an expensive option, but the internet is here to help you turn this into a cost-effective DIY activity. Use PosterMyWall to get free access to a wide range of Thanksgiving posters and customize them according to your needs. Add your party details to your poster. Include important information like RSVP details. Add in a festive touch with some Fall themed animations and a warm, elegant color palette. Send it out to your loved ones and post it on your social media so you can get word out about your upcoming Thanksgiving party. Final Thoughts Thanksgiving is a great time to get together with your loved ones and truly reflect upon everything you appreciate in your life. It’s also one of the few holidays where you can plan out a fun, eventful dinner party for your family and friends. Follow these tips to liven up your Thanksgiving celebrations this year and have your loved ones be grateful for your hosting skills.

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Stuffed Peppers with Ground Beef and Rice: Inspired by Travel to Cartagena Colombia

Paula — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 11:06:00 +0000

Stuffed Peppers with ground beef and rice are a family favourite now and a recipe that we frequently enjoy together. Hard to believe that 20 years ago before a trip to Cartagena, Colombia, I’d never even heard of this dish. Now we have this one in the rotation routinely for dinner. My youngest daughter asks for these stuffed peppers with ground beef and rice and many nights she enjoys helping to make them too. There are a few variations you could take on these. Add cheese on the finished product if you want. Add corn into the mixture. Get creative if you want. You could even remove the meat for a vegetarian version of this and just go all in on veggies. I don’t eat corn because of the Crohn’s disease, but I know many people love corn in all of their tex mex stuffed vegetable kinds of meals and appetizers. My favourite time to buy green peppers is in the fall well before the snow. I love to get them fresh at the market and turn them into stuffed green or sometimes red peppers. I built this recipe here at home in London after a trip to Cartagena, Colombia many years ago. For our first wedding anniversary my husband Jim and I took a trip to Cartagena, Colombia. I recall the exotic beaches and stunning architecture in the old section of the city. The food was rich and fresh and unexpected. We enjoyed a week of touring the city during the day and then relaxing on the beach and indulging in the Colombian meals at night. To be clear though it was an all inclusive resort so it was big batch cooking and buffet style meals. Generally that means the food sits a bit longer and also it is occasionally less flavourful. One night we tried stuffed Bell Peppers and I fell hard for this delicious meal. It is a regular recipe in the rotation here because my entire family loves these. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do. First Steps: Brown the lean ground beef in a frying pan. Add diced onion and garlic. Add a dash of soya sauce and dash of Worcestershire Sauce and remaining spices. Follow the recipe above. Don’t forget to drain those peppers well though because otherwise they will be watery. Some people might not cook the peppers first but I do because I like them to be a bit softer for everyone in my family (mostly me.) This actually lasts us two meals sometimes so the four peppers provides plenty of leftovers unless you have huge appetites. An Affordable Family Dinner That Brings Back Memories For me, stuffed peppers is routine now and it is also a fairly affordable recipe. The only variations really are the peppers. I mean occasionally I swap out for red peppers which my kids seem to like more than green and sometimes I go with the entire rainbow – green, red, yellow and orange. The level of heat can be tweaked with a bit of chili pepper flakes. This one often reminds me of that first trip to Colombia. I have been back a couple of times since. Cook for one hour covered at 350 or 375 degrees. Scoop and serve one stuffed pepper per person. (Sometimes my kids only eat half of a pepper so we have lots of leftovers. These are overflowing typically here. So don’t be shy with the stuffing. Enjoy!

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Best Ever Italian Wedding Soup

Paula — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 12:51:13 +0000

This is my daughter’s favourite meal. It ranks right up there with pizza and this just in, pizza is every teenager’s favourite food. That’s why I love this Italian Wedding Soup recipe. It’s a crowd pleaser. This recipe may contain affiliate links as a service to my readers. I receive a small commission from purchases made. What’s to Love About This Recipe? The way we make it Italian Wedding Soup is low sodium and high on healthy fibre. I load mine up with kale. Love kale for a lot of reasons, but basically it’s good for my family, so I add it to all the things I can. Then, we take the rest of the batch of kale and often make healthy kale chips for a snack. Easy Soup for Dinner Italian Wedding Soup is super easy to make. Starts with the homemade meatballs. That’s actually one of my daughter’s favourite parts, getting her hands right in there with the eggs and the breadcrumbs and the messy meat. She’s a sensory seeker, so the meatball recipe part is fun for her and sort of oddly soothing. Genuine Italian Wedding Soup is often made with tiny meatballs that are pork and/ or beef. I opt for lean ground chicken always because it is cheaper at the grocery store. We have, in fact, tried, beef and pork and chicken and the kids prefer the chicken meatballs, so I recommend that as an option. Variations on a Favourite Soup Some people load their Italian Wedding Soup up with vegetables, including carrots and many use spinach instead of kale. We use a variety of noodles depending on what’s available at the grocery store. Orzo sometimes works for us only, because it is readily available. Recently, we finally found the tinier noodles though, so the last batch we made this week was perfect in my opinion. Noodle Recommendations That last time we used Acini Di Pepe, and they were just right. You can buy those small noodles here on Amazon via my affiliate link. Only mentioning it right now because to be honest these are very challenging to find in grocery stores, especially right now. Orzo pasta is less traditional, but also gives a little more weight to the meal. So, be cautious how much you add as it can easily soak up all the broth if you add these too soon, or get too excited and pour too many in. We actually make this meal all year round and I have my crock pot permanently on my counter because I get that thing loaded up for dinner at least once every two weeks, if not more. There’s nothing easier or more appealing as a cook than loading it up and letting the aroma of garlic or random spices fill the house all day long. Plus I love being able to leave the crock pot sitting all day long as opposed to the 4 or 5 pm panicked dinner frenzy. Recommended Materials I like this crockpot for all my crockpot meals here. These Fiesta Bowls are my favourite bowls for everything here. They are pretty and durable too. Check out all of the gorgeous colours. This Italian Wedding Soup is healthy and delicious. Here’s another tip: we make a double batch of meatballs and we make them pretty small, so that we can freeze half of the batch and use them the next time we have a craving for this yummy soup. What’s Your Favourite Soup? Hope you enjoy it. Please note that while this states it takes 7 hours that is because you front load the preparation in the morning and put it in a crockpot for the rest of the day. My favourite meals are often crockpot dinners.

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31 Easy Sheet Pan Dinners to Make This Month

Paula — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 11:40:34 +0000

Sheet Pan Dinners are super popular. Who knew they’d be a thing. I’ve been making these for as long as I can remember actually. What if you had an entire month of simple sheet plan meals ready to go? That could be super helpful, right? Food preparation and planning is definitely something I really appreciate around here. It’s rare that I map out an entire week of meals, much less a month in advance. But, I am simply too busy to get super creative in the kitchen all the time. Easy meals that use one pan are my favourites. Where are my meal planners out there? You will love this collection of delicious sheet pan dinners from my favourite food blogs. One Entire Month of Sheet Pan Dinners Truth. I am that Mom, the one who looks up from working at 4 p.m. many nights and wonders what’s for dinner? With teens I can occasionally ask one of them to pitch in and make something for dinner for the entire family. That is a huge benefit of parenting teenagers. Believe me, some days that might be the only benefit I can think of especially when they are argumentative and hormonal. That Old Standby Chicken Greek Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner – Kitchen Nostalgia Curry Chicken Vegetables – Lexi’s Clean Kitchen Teriyaki Barbecue Pineapple Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner – Yellow Bliss Road Dinner Cashew Chicken – Powered by Mom Pesto Chicken with Zucchini and Tomatoes – Recipe Runner When possible I have tried to break these into categories so you can pick and choose your specific diets or needs. There are some healthy options too. Easy and Fast Sheet Pan Meals 15 Minute Sheet Pan Beef and Broccoli – Averie Cooks Italian Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner – Our Best Bites Italian Pork Chop Sheet Pan Dinner – Love Bakes Good Cakes Chorizo Egg Bake – Lexi’s Clean Kitchen Healthy Sheet Pan Dinners and Tofu Options Spicy Tofu and Green Beans – Delish Knowledge Chicken, Kale, and Sweet Potatoes – Real Food While Life Sesame Tofu and Green Beans – The Kitchn Seafood Made Simple I love seafood, but rarely make it because it requires a large commitment of time. Not so with these easy scampi sheet pan dinners or shrimp recipes. In fact, Garlic Lemon Shrimp and Asparagus is one of my favourite meals any time of the year. Shrimp Scampi (No-Wine recipe) – Carlsbad Cravings Garlic Lemon Shrimp, Asparagus, and Fingerling Potatoes – No Spoon Necessary Shrimp Boil – Spend With Pennies Family Favourites Now Done on a Sheet Pan? Of course. Why not? Some of these amazing recipes have me scratching my head wondering why didn’t I think of that? This Maple Mustard Roasted Chicken done on a sheet pan in the oven sounds heavenly. Maple syrup on anything though is delicious. Speaking of maple syrup if you are a fan you may want to try my Maple Bacon Cupcakes. Everybody loves chicken fajitas and these are no exception to that rule: Chicken Fajitas – Love Bakes Good Cakes Pork Tenderloin Sheet Pan Dinner – Number 2 Pencil Balsamic Glazed Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner – Savorry Nothings Nachos on a Sheet Pan – Nachos – Damn Delicious Meatloaf with Potatoes and Green Beans – Strawberry Blondie Kitchen Maple Mustard Roasted Chicken – The Chunky Chef Honey Mustard Salmon with Rainbow Veggies – Cooking Classy Travel the World Tonight Hawaiian Chicken – Cooking Classy (Personally I kind of love Hawaiian anything when it comes to food, including Hawaiian pizza. The combination of savoury and sweet just works for me.) Bruschetta Chicken – Damn Delicious SO easy and good. Bruschetta and chicken? Why not? I mean my teens are all about making random bruschetta, so might as well add it to chicken too. YUM. Crispy Sheet Pan Gnocchi and Veggies – The Kitchn Vegan Portobello Sheet Pan Fajitas – Inspector Gorgeous This Vegan Portobello Sheet Pan Fajita recipe is ideal for vegans. Lemon Parmesan Garlic Chicken and Veggies – Cafe Delites Winter Sheet Pan Buddha Bowls with Tahini Sauce – Yummy Mummy Kitchen Teriyaki Salmon Sheet Pan Dinner – Jo Cooks Steak and More Steak with Potatoes and Broccoli – Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen Tex Mex – Steak Fajitas – Number 2 Pencil Do You Have a Favourite? What’s your favourite easy meal to prepare on a weeknight? Are there sheet pan dinners that you love and use often? I’d love to hear all about them. Spill the T…

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Wildly Good Instant Pot Chicken Chimichangas

Paula — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 13:17:10 +0000

Instant Pot Chicken Chimichangas are so cheesy good, with a kick that you can’t help but want to make them again and again. If you enjoy Mexican food with a bit of heat then this is for you. While I have to pace myself with foods like this, I truly love them every so often. Easy Instant Pot Recipes Are Golden The Instant Pot has revolutionized cooking for so many people recently. Between it and the air fryer I am not sure how we ever cooked meals before. Anyways this is one you are going to need to pin for later and come back to. When Travel Changes Your Taste My Instant Pot Chicken Chimichangas will knock your socks off. I haven’t always loved Mexican food. In fact, I was traditionally a bit concerned it was too spicy for me. But the last few years we have really done an about turn on that one. Travel to Mexico and Puerto Vallarta has made me into a huge Mexican food fan. Family Favourites Now we enjoy Mexican foods and Spanish flavours often here. Enchiladas, tacos, fajitas and burritos are the best. We also make an amazing bean quesadilla recipe from time to time that is insanely good. The kids go crazy for it and ask for it all the time. It’s pretty simple too. I will have to share that one soon. But this Instant Pot Chicken Chimichangas recipe is a relatively new one for us and it is fantastic. I get a bit giddy when I find a new recipe that’s a crowd pleaser for everyone here. This is the one. Cheesy and Spicy Equals A Winner If you adore Mexican and love cheese you will love this recipe. Plus, you can add this Instant Pot Chicken chimichangas recipe to your growing Instant Pot recipe list. Instant Pot Chicken Chimichanga is a super twist on this typical Mexican dish. Enjoy These Wildly Delicious Instant Pot Chicken Chimichangas My family seems to think the more cheese the better. I can’t blame them. The melted cheese on top of any dish makes me happy. Pure comfort food that is. Just like these beautiful Instant Pot chicken chimichangas. If you make them, please come back to let me know if you enjoyed this dish. Do you have an Instant Pot? This post contains affiliate links as a service to my readers. If you make a purchase from this site I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

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Union Burger To The Rescue #Giveaway #ad

Paula — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 11:42:09 +0000

Union Burger to the Rescue. Well, that might be a bit dramatic but frankly every single person I know understands that occasionally meal planning goes out the window. There are nights when the meat isn’t thawed and work is hectic and you are racing the kids to martial arts, or quite simply you are too tired to cook. On those nights your family needs a quick dinner solution. There’s nothing at all wrong with that. This past weekend was a busy one. Like every single weekend ever during the school year. We did the usual roundup of kid’s scheduled activities on Saturday and worked out at the YMCA and then did the grocery shopping of course. I squeezed in some consulting work too. My youngest had gone to a sleepover birthday party after her drama rehearsal and we picked her up Sunday morning. I had promised my daughters I would take the afternoon off and go to Comic-Con in London with them, so right after Ainsley came home from her sleepover we hopped in the van and headed to Western Fair. Comic-Con is a big deal to my kids at this age. One is completely into Cosplay and the other just loves anything Marvel related. So they both were super excited about going and one was into dressing up too. It was a lot of fun to see her interacting with other Cosplayers. Payton was a character from the video game UnderTale and Ainsley just dressed in as much Captain America merchandise as she could find here at our house. I was surprised in that I found the event much more interesting than I thought and we ended up spending the entire afternoon there. So there was literally nothing planned for dinner. Naturally everyone was starving and one girl still had a bit of homework to do so we needed a quick fix. Union Burger to the Rescue. These days I spend more time in Hyde Park area of London than I ever used to. It’s not that far for us to drive and it is frankly one of the biggest areas of growth in this city. In the winter we drive out through Hyde Park often on our way to a local ski hill. So it’s not uncommon for us to be dead exhausted after an afternoon skiing either. Occasionally, maybe once every 3 weeks that means we simply stop and grab takeout for dinner. Hyde Park has several restaurants now and one of the newer ones is the Union Burger on Fanshawe just past the Walmart plaza. I could see this being a new stop on our way back from the ski hill occasionally this winter. Earlier in the week I had spied an ad noting the skinny menu options and goat cheese was involved in a few menu selections. The wraps looked delicious and they are a few healthy options too. The night we rolled up outside Union Burger in Hyde Park I was craving their Buffalo chicken sandwich. So I gave that a try. Jim opted for a mushroom and swiss burger and Payton had a simple burger combo with fries and a drink. I kept my choice a bit healthier by opting for chicken and a water instead of a soda for the beverage. My chicken sandwich was good and I would definitely buy one again. The chicken was fresh and moist. Ainsley’s bacon cheeseburger literally vanished in less than two minutes. Hungry teen girl is not to be messed with at dinner time. A Few Tips to Chew On: Union Burger’s fries are handcut. That makes them fresh and yummy. On Sundays children under 12 eat free with any adult combo purchased. ( Some locations say 10 and under on the web site) Hello!! That’s what I am all about. Sadly my kids are over 12 now and they cost me a lot of money when we dine out. But Kids Eat Free every Sunday is an excellent idea. All of the burgers are Canadian made and fresh. A word of warning this is not the super speedy fast food takeout place you might expect because the food is charbroiled the moment you order it. That’s how they make it super fresh and good quality. Union Burger is all over the Greater Toronto Area and in many other cities like London, Ontario too. Union Burger also serves milkshakes, ice cream and sundaes. I am heading back soon to sample some of those. Follow Union Burger on Instagram for more tasty burger photos. They are also on Facebook. Union Burger Giveaway Details: The generous people at Union Burger have provided three gift cards of $30 value for me to give away to my readers. Follow the instructions below for a chance to win. This post has been sponsored by Union Burger which means I have been compensated. My opinion is all my own and it is also truthful. Entry-Form

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Freezer Friendly Organic Fall Flavours #ad

Paula — Mon, 25 Sep 2017 11:29:04 +0000

This is a sponsored post. Fall routines are in full swing again and mealtime can be a challenge. It’s hard to make creative and healthy food quickly enough to feed a busy family. I know it is a struggle. But, there are a few things I have found that can help with the process. Preparing meats, sauces and even vegetables can help save time during the week. An hour or so on a Saturday or Sunday morning sometimes takes a bit of the sting out of busy weeknight dinnertimes. Fall Dinner Timesavers Wash your vegetables on the weekend and place them in small portions in containers in the fridge. Brown up some meat and prepare sauce ahead of time on the weekend and place it in the freezer for later. Plan out a few nights or maybe even a week’s worth of meals. I am not suggesting that you cook them on a Sunday or anything. Let’s be realistic here. But, you can sit down and decide if pasta night is Monday and Taco night is Tuesday and Wednesday is a casserole for instance. Then shop accordingly. Get the Crock Pot out and throw a meal together in the morning. Use your Instant Pot. Classic Meat Sauce As families everywhere adjust to busy schedules, a classic meat sauce is also a food prep staple – and for good reason, it’s protein-packed, crowd-pleasing and, most importantly, freezes well and can be reheated within minutes. Just boil your noodles fast when kids get in and warm up the sauce (see recipe below) and you have a speedy, healthy dinner. Organic Pork Saves Money and is Healthy Too Pork is an economical solution to feeding any family and is the perfect flavour complement to the bounty of Canadian produce available in autumn. Instead of a turkey this Thanksgiving, you might contemplate something different like Cranberry-Rosemary Braised Pork Shoulder, Honey Mustard and Apple Stewed Pork Shoulder or Almond, Honey and Dijon-Encrusted Pork Tenderloin. Maybe a Maple Bacon Cheesecake for dessert. All of these recipes are available at www.dubreton.com. Did you know Organic Pork is: humanely raised antibiotic and GMO-free In fact, organic pork is good for your family, the environment and your budget too. DuBreton® pork has organic and Certified Humane® certifications. For a twist on a classic recipe try duBreton’s Extra-Meaty Spaghetti Sauce. Find more great Organic pork recipes at www.dubreton.com. Delicious meaty sauce that is made with organic pork DuBreton®, the largest producer of organic and Certified Humane® pork in Canada and North America knows organic meat can be confusing to some. That’s why they took part in a survey of 1000 Canadians recently by MARU/Matchbox. Some key findings: Almost one-third of Canadians (30 percent) say they purchase organic meat. 20 percent of Canadians say they understand organic meat and how it’s produced and 31 percent of Canadians either know nothing, or are confused about organic meat. While many Canadians choose organic meat, unfortunately, 41 % of these consumers are frustrated with the lack of organic meat options at grocery stores. This post was sponsored which means I have been compensated. My opinion is all my own and it is also truthful.

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Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts #BornOnTheFarm

Paula — Mon, 08 May 2017 12:02:38 +0000

Healthy living is a constant process. We exercise and are a very active family. We strive to improve as often as possible. But, like everyone, we falter. It’s super simple to reach for takeout on a night when we are frazzled and running. Meal planning goes out the door when we are racing from activity to activity and working at night too. So, what is a busy family to do to help build healthy meal options weekly? Well, here are a few thoughts. I hope they help. Four Ways To Build Healthier Family Meals: USE YOUR WEEKEND – Do a Few Simple Things to Prepare for the week ahead. Brown some beef on the weekend and refrigerate for a day or two until you need it for the casserole. Wash the vegetables, maybe chop some too. Wash the fruit and place individual potions in small containers in the fridge. Take a moment to think about the week ahead and map out which nights are chaotic. Then make a plan for those nights. Get or use a CROCK POT, Slow COOKER or FAST SLOW PRO – I rely on these all winter long and during the weeks when we have Show Week, or when we’ve added an extra activity like Basketball after school. HAVE A FEW STANDBY RECIPES – These spinach and cheese stuffed chicken breasts are going right into the regular rotation. Chili is another one we make often and I make it a lean and healthy variation that’s also gluten free and low sodium. I can make big batches of that once a week or every two weeks all winter. DON’T FORGET TO GET CHEESE and DAIRY – We Like Gay Lea. I like their dairy options because they are low sodium and there are many that are also low fat. If you have low fat sour cream, cottage cheese and Ivanhoe Cheese stocked in your fridge often, then you have some high quality dairy staples that will help you build great meals and snacks all week. Plus these are time savers for me. If I need to make tacos quickly what item is it that I would run out of most? Sour cream. And having to race out mid week for more groceries – or even worse that one ingredient – is a time suck. Buy Gay Lea products like cottage cheese and sour cream and Ivanhoe cheese every week or two and you will save time and money. We’ve come up with a few good habits to build healthy meals together. Keep lots of white meat options handy to help with health eating all week long. Pork and chicken are affordable and healthy meats. Have them ready to thaw. Use fewer prepared meals because there are too many additives, preservatives and sodium in pre-made store bought meals. Bake or slow cook big batches if possible. Use the leftovers another night, or freeze some for later. These simple scrumptious spinach and cheese stuffed chicken breasts are a new recipe. I have been trying to add some more vegetables to some of our dinners and I know the kids love stuffed chicken breasts. The ones we sometimes get in the store are high in sodium and always breaded. But I thought I would try to make a healthier version at home. My version is gluten free, low sodium and made with lean white meat. These spinach and cheese stuffed chicken breasts are pretty healthy options for a family meal. The spinach adds some iron and a serving of vegetables and of course the cheese makes them tasty. This particular Ivanhoe cheddar adds a grownup feel to the protein with a hint of smoky woodsy flavour. It is a really rich cheese taste-wise. Here’s how to duplicate these simple and healthy spinach and cheese stuffed chicken breasts at home yourself. PIN FOR LATER Scrumptious and healthier spinach and cheese stuffed chicken breasts for dinner. These are gluten free and low sodium. IVANHOE CHEESE: Gay Lea is a cooperative steeped in tradition. Gay Lea’s selection of cheeses are made of fresh, local dairy. Ivanhoe cheese, began over a century ago and has a reputation for its high quality, aged artisan cheddar cheese and specialty cheeses. As the oldest cheese company of its kind in Canada, it still remains a local attraction in the hamlet of Ivanhoe. In 2008, Ivanhoe joined with Gay Lea. WHAT IS YOUR QUICK TIP FOR HEALTHY EATING DURING THE WEEK? I created this post as a paid ambassador with Gay Lea Foods and PTPA for 2017. My opinion is all my own and it is truthful. I only work with brands I love and use.

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Gluten Free Fireside Pie and Kids In the Kitchen – #BornOnTheFarm

Paula — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 11:42:03 +0000

Gluten Free Fireside Pie is the perfect comfort food for March weather. March Break is fast approaching and I don’t know about you but we are likely to be close to home. My older girl is traveling with a youth group, so my younger daughter and I will be hanging out together. Lucky for me, my youngest LOVES to cook and bake with me. I try to encourage that as often as possible. Cooking is a skill for life. This week we made a Gluten Free Fireside Pie together and it was the perfect comfort food for a Friday evening family dinner. March, might be the start of spring, but the weather is rarely warm. On a typical March Break we might do a day trip, cook or bake a couple of recipes together at home, and then squeeze in some skiing and maybe a movie too. If she’s lucky her friends might be around for a sleepover too. If there is snow this March break my daughter and I will go skiing. But I don’t think we will travel too far. I adore travel and have done a lot of press trips and personal trips already this year. I don’t adore getting gauged during March Break with flights that are twice the price just because kids and teachers are on spring break. So baking and cooking and skiing sound just right. And Gluten Free Fireside Pie is perfect food for after skiing. My girls are 15 and 12, almost 13, and they have been great helpers in the kitchen ever since they were small. We started having them wash potatoes, or add things to soups or crockpot meals. Then we slowly evolved over time. Cracking eggs, as long as they wash their hands afterwards, can be fun for any age. Mixing dough is also a treat for children. Flipping pancakes and baking cookies are always fun for toddlers and young children. If you give kids the responsibility of helping with meals early on they tend to take ownership and enjoy what they make. There can be less fighting over what’s for dinner and, as they grow, it’s nice to see them bake or cook for the family too. My oldest can make meals on her own and sometimes she will if I ask her to do dinner. She has a small but growing list of dishes she enjoys cooking and feels comfortable with making in the kitchen. We are working on my younger daughter too. My youngest has a few favourite meals she loves to make. One is salmon patties, because they are hands on sensory fun. She has sensory processing disorder, which I have written about here before. Another of her favourites is a tuna casserole. But I am slowly winning her over to a wider range of dishes and recipes. Last year we made salmon a few times together and sautéed asparagus and meals that she LOVED. It doesn’t hurt that she adores shows like MasterChef Canada. For those of you who don’t know, Fireside Pie is essentially like Shepherd’s Pie, but with cheese and a couple more spices. With this meal, I was able to ask my daughter to help chop the carrots and also make the mashed potatoes that go on top. That is another of her all time favourite side dishes – mashed potatoes. For a bit of a creamier texture we thought we’d add Gay Lea Low Fat Sour Cream to the mashed potatoes. I think it worked. My teen really enjoyed the Gluten Free Fireside Pie. Last week on a rare weekend at home @sharkainsleyschuck helped me make Fireside Pie. #bornonthefarm recipe to follow this month. #love #food #family #cooking #cookingwithkids #happy #instafood Gay Lea sour cream was part of the dish. #yum #fresh Do your kids help cook or bake? Will they do some of that during Spring break? A post shared by Paula Schuck (@inkscrblr) on Mar 4, 2017 at 12:57pm PST We are not exclusively gluten free but I have been for lengthy periods in the past. Now I try to only have gluten in moderation and I am still working hard on making low sodium foods here for all of us. This fits both those categories. This Gluten Free Fireside Pie recipe is one your kids will be able to help with if you are planning to cook together this spring break. Great Comfort Food, this Gluten Free Fireside Pie is one the kids can help you make for dinner. This year I am a Gay Lea ambassador and so you will be seeing recipes monthly created with Gay Lea ingredients. I am a fan of Gay Lea products because they are Canadian. Gay Lea is a dairy products cooperative that started in 1958 and is owned by dairy farmers. Their products are born on the farm and that’s what sets them apart. We use Gay Lea sour cream for a lot of meals and we like this product specifically because it is smooth and fresh. It is also nut free, kosher and only available in Ontario. There are numerous varieties of this Gay Lea sour cream product. I opted for the low fat version here. You can also buy or use Original, Lactose Free, Fat Free, and Gold Premium. Gay Lea sour cream is a staple for baking, for dips and tacos and potatoes too. Do your kids help in the kitchen? What are you doing for March Break? I created this post as a paid ambassador with Gay Lea Foods and PTPA for 2017. My opinion is all my own and it is truthful. I only work with brands I love and use.

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25 Gluten Free Crockpot Dinner Ideas

Paula — Sat, 14 Jan 2017 12:54:18 +0000

Post may contain affiliate links as a service to readers. I don’t know about you but I love my slow cooker. It’s a year round powerhouse. With a busy schedule like ours I need to set it and forget it. And let’s be honest is there anything nicer than the aroma of a stew cooking all day? Anything cooked in the crockpot fills the house with the sweet smell of something delicious for dinner. I know my crew loves coming home to that. I know a lot of my readers are gluten free, some by choice and some out of necessity. In years gone by I have been gluten free and last year I was again for several months. In fact I feel better when I am on a gluten free diet, but sometimes it’s challenging maintaining that diet. Maybe 2017 is the year I get back on the gluten free train. Anything is possible. In the mean time, I have these gluten free crockpot dinner ideas to try. And if you are gluten free here are some other posts that you might enjoy: Gluten Free Roundup and Gluten Free Muffins Gluten Free After School Snacks Gluten Free Crockpot Dinner Ideas: Meaty Meals Slow Cooker Short Ribs from Living Sweet Moments Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers from Living Well Spending Less Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Recipe from Thrifty Jinxy Creamy Crockpot Chicken with Kale from Meghan Brit Crockpot or Oven Roaster Chicken from Raising Generation Nourished Slow Cooker Sriracha Chicken from Leelalicious Easiest and Most Delicious Crock Pot Taco Meat Ever (GF, DF) from Delicious Obsessions Low-Carb Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Pot Roast from Kalyn’s Kitchen Crockpot Red Beans and Rice from Thrifty Jinxy Slow Cooker Asian Chicken Broccoli Bowls from Kalyn’s Kitchen Slow Cooker Vegan Red Lentils with Pumpkin from Mama Likes to Cook Slow Cooked Chicken Curry from Milk and Cuddles Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff from One Creative Mommy 3 Ingredient Gluten Free Crockpot Chili from Simply Southern Mom Gluten Free Crockpot Dinners – SOUP and Stews Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Soup from Mashup Mom Slow Cooker Creamy Coconut Green Chili Chicken Soup (GF, DF) from Delicious Obsessions Slow Cooker Fiesta Soup from Raising Generation Nourished Crockpot Taco Soup from Momma Young at Home Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Chicken Quinoa Stew from Leelalicious Oddball Gluten Free Crockpot Dinners Chicken Porcupine Meatballs from Reuse Grow Enjoy Crockpot Granola with Coconut Oil from Trial and Eater Spicy Slow Cooker Rice Casserole with Green Chiles, Green Onions, and Cheese from Kalyn’s Kitchen Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Cabbage Bowl from Kalyn’s Kitchen Slow Cooker Chicken And Black Beans from Living Sweet Moments Beverages: Easy Crockpot Dulce de Leche Recipe from Thrifty Jinx Pumpkin Spice Latte from Trial and Eater [tweetthis]GREAT gluten free dinners here. [/tweetthis] These recipes prove you don’t have to sacrifice taste when you are gluten free. The crockpot can still be useful for gluten free dinners. ENJOY!!

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