Although, it can't actually be qualified as a Paige-fail because I was in the hospital.
Basically from Saturday, October 20 until Wednesday October 24, I was in the hospital getting my gall bladder removed. Wasn't planned, but apparently it was required. So I didn't cook at all that week, or the next week, but we cleared out all of the freezer leftovers!
This week will be better. I've got a plan that I'm going to stick to, and will make sure to take all the photos and give comments like I have in weeks before.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
Week Two
Sunday: I didn't make anything because it was Thanksgiving (yay!)
Monday: Again, I didn't make anything because we had another Thanksgiving supper at the in-laws.
Tuesday: Green Eggs & Ham Quiche, Hashbrowns
The quiche was SO good. If I've learned anything about AllRecipes, you check the comments before making whatever recipe you've printed off. Why? Because 9 times out of 10, someone made an AWESOME suggestion to change things up and make the recipe outstanding. The recipe originally called to use the food processor on the spinach and basically blend everything into one green mess. Someone commented and said they left everything as a rough chop, so I did that. I also added bell peppers (about a cup) and green onions (about a quarter cup). I used 6 eggs instead of the 4, and then added an additional 1/4 cup of bisquick to compensate. Seasoned with salt and pepper, a bit of garlic salt & seasoning salt, and the teensiest bit of thyme. The result was flavourful and oh so tasty, not to mention quiche apparently freezes well so what we have leftover after a day or two (um, hello breakfast tomorrow!!) I'll toss in the freezer to reheat later.
Wednesday: Crispy Garlic-Ginger Chicken on Rice Vermicelli with bean sprouts and carrots
This chicken wasn't crispy at all. And mine turned out a totally different colour than the picture. I marinated it from about 2 until 6, unlike the 30 minutes it said to. Combining 3 tbsp of cornstarch with one single egg white is not fun. I minced my garlic and ginger rather than leave it as sticks, and I think that was key. Having a bite full of those would have suuuucked. Overall, I don't think I'd make it again despite Tyler saying that he liked it.
Thursday: Coconut Chicken with Sweet Chili Sauce, Rice
We decided to have potatoes instead of rice, and I added peas (how could I have forgotten a vegetable?!). This chicken was FANTASTIC. So so good. Nice and crunchy with a subtle coconut flavour, and when it was dipped into the sweet chili sauce... droooool. Tyler liked it even without the sauce, so that was full of win. I don't know why I put off buying Panko crumbs for this long. They just make things so deliciously crunchy! This recipe is a keeper :D
Friday: Chicken Fingers, Zucchini Sticks, Sweet Potato Fries
Okay. Friday was a fail. We had leftovers from Thursday that Tyler wanted to eat and the zucchini my mom had given me had gone spongey by Friday. So, we had leftovers and sweet potato fries.
I didn't actually use the recipe. I mean, I used the timing and temperature of oven, but other than that I just made them how I would normally make fries... Toss in oil & a bit of seasoning salt and garlic salt, then onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Did 20 minutes, then turned them over and baked for another 15. They were okay. The flavour while eating was good, but I did not like the after taste of sweet potatoes.
Hopefully week 3 will be better, a lot less recipes, a lot more of what I kind of throw together.
Monday: Again, I didn't make anything because we had another Thanksgiving supper at the in-laws.
The quiche was SO good. If I've learned anything about AllRecipes, you check the comments before making whatever recipe you've printed off. Why? Because 9 times out of 10, someone made an AWESOME suggestion to change things up and make the recipe outstanding. The recipe originally called to use the food processor on the spinach and basically blend everything into one green mess. Someone commented and said they left everything as a rough chop, so I did that. I also added bell peppers (about a cup) and green onions (about a quarter cup). I used 6 eggs instead of the 4, and then added an additional 1/4 cup of bisquick to compensate. Seasoned with salt and pepper, a bit of garlic salt & seasoning salt, and the teensiest bit of thyme. The result was flavourful and oh so tasty, not to mention quiche apparently freezes well so what we have leftover after a day or two (um, hello breakfast tomorrow!!) I'll toss in the freezer to reheat later.
This chicken wasn't crispy at all. And mine turned out a totally different colour than the picture. I marinated it from about 2 until 6, unlike the 30 minutes it said to. Combining 3 tbsp of cornstarch with one single egg white is not fun. I minced my garlic and ginger rather than leave it as sticks, and I think that was key. Having a bite full of those would have suuuucked. Overall, I don't think I'd make it again despite Tyler saying that he liked it.
We decided to have potatoes instead of rice, and I added peas (how could I have forgotten a vegetable?!). This chicken was FANTASTIC. So so good. Nice and crunchy with a subtle coconut flavour, and when it was dipped into the sweet chili sauce... droooool. Tyler liked it even without the sauce, so that was full of win. I don't know why I put off buying Panko crumbs for this long. They just make things so deliciously crunchy! This recipe is a keeper :D
Friday: Chicken Fingers, Zucchini Sticks, Sweet Potato Fries
Okay. Friday was a fail. We had leftovers from Thursday that Tyler wanted to eat and the zucchini my mom had given me had gone spongey by Friday. So, we had leftovers and sweet potato fries.
I didn't actually use the recipe. I mean, I used the timing and temperature of oven, but other than that I just made them how I would normally make fries... Toss in oil & a bit of seasoning salt and garlic salt, then onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Did 20 minutes, then turned them over and baked for another 15. They were okay. The flavour while eating was good, but I did not like the after taste of sweet potatoes.
Hopefully week 3 will be better, a lot less recipes, a lot more of what I kind of throw together.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Week One
Week One of the "official" meal planning went well. I had been doing meal planning for the couple weeks leading up to the first week we put everything on the website, but at least here I was taking pictures!
Sunday: General Tso's Chicken, peas, and rice.
Comments: So I ended up making peas to go with it, and hot damn. That chicken was delicious. Even my picky husband liked it. I have issues with this guy's sauces, in that they never turn out in the consistency that I think they should. Not to mention the 'make a caramel' step backfired and I burned my hand haha. So I ended up adding more water, and then put the chicken in a 8" glass dish, poured the sauce over it, and baked it in a 350 oven for about 10 minutes. OH and I only put in 1 1/2 tbsp of the chili paste. I felt it better to have not enough spice than to have too much. And for us, it was perfect, but if you like it spicier then adding the full 2 tbsp would have been good.
Monday: Strawberry, Spinach, Pecan (and Chicken!) Salad
Comments: I just made a giant chicken, spinach, strawberry, and pecan salad with the balsamic vinaigrette in the recipe for the salad, rather than double up the balsamic. I did, however, season the chicken (I sliced it into strips and cooked it with a bit of olive oil in a frying pan) with poultry seasoning and salt and pepper, which kept it from being too plain. Tyler enjoyed it, so I'd say it's a win!
Tuesday: Baked Spaghetti
Comments: I added a couple pinches of cinnamon to the sauce (as I do with all of our tomato sauces) and then used more cheese throughout the casserole. All in all, it was delicious. I agree that it made a lot of food, but I was able to share it with friends/family that live close to us. So win/win!
Wednesday: Turkey Chili and Biscuits
Comments: Okay. I failed on making biscuits because of sheer laziness. It was a grey day, weather wise, so I was just sluggish and tired as a result. As for the chili, I only loosely followed the recipe. I added coloured peppers (about a cup worth, and I used red, yellow, orange, and green), did two cans of kidney beans, two cans of Heinz beans in tomato sauce, two cups of chicken broth (although next time I'd reduce to 1 1/2 cups) and a bunch more spices than this called for. With all the additions, it definitely will serve 8 people. I just don't really like the chunks of tomato (I thought I had crushed tomatoes in my pantry but I've only got the diced) so I wanted to make them few and far between :DFor my first time, ever, making chili, this was an epic success.
Thursday: Broccoli & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Quinoa, Steamed Broccoli
Comments: For our first time eating quinoa, it wasn't too bad. This recipe was actually pretty tasty, although I did alter the cooking method a bit (in that I put the garlic, thyme, and salt into the pot with chicken stock so that the flavours were absorbed better). The only issue was that it made a LOT. I don't know how they determined that it was 4 servings, but with Tyler and I each having a moderate amount, plus leftovers set aside for the next day, there was still probably another two servings in there. So next time, I'd definitely cut it in half.
Sunday: General Tso's Chicken, peas, and rice. 
Monday: Strawberry, Spinach, Pecan (and Chicken!) Salad
Comments: I just made a giant chicken, spinach, strawberry, and pecan salad with the balsamic vinaigrette in the recipe for the salad, rather than double up the balsamic. I did, however, season the chicken (I sliced it into strips and cooked it with a bit of olive oil in a frying pan) with poultry seasoning and salt and pepper, which kept it from being too plain. Tyler enjoyed it, so I'd say it's a win!
Comments: I added a couple pinches of cinnamon to the sauce (as I do with all of our tomato sauces) and then used more cheese throughout the casserole. All in all, it was delicious. I agree that it made a lot of food, but I was able to share it with friends/family that live close to us. So win/win!
Comments: Okay. I failed on making biscuits because of sheer laziness. It was a grey day, weather wise, so I was just sluggish and tired as a result. As for the chili, I only loosely followed the recipe. I added coloured peppers (about a cup worth, and I used red, yellow, orange, and green), did two cans of kidney beans, two cans of Heinz beans in tomato sauce, two cups of chicken broth (although next time I'd reduce to 1 1/2 cups) and a bunch more spices than this called for. With all the additions, it definitely will serve 8 people. I just don't really like the chunks of tomato (I thought I had crushed tomatoes in my pantry but I've only got the diced) so I wanted to make them few and far between :DFor my first time, ever, making chili, this was an epic success.
Thursday: Broccoli & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Quinoa, Steamed Broccoli
Comments: For our first time eating quinoa, it wasn't too bad. This recipe was actually pretty tasty, although I did alter the cooking method a bit (in that I put the garlic, thyme, and salt into the pot with chicken stock so that the flavours were absorbed better). The only issue was that it made a LOT. I don't know how they determined that it was 4 servings, but with Tyler and I each having a moderate amount, plus leftovers set aside for the next day, there was still probably another two servings in there. So next time, I'd definitely cut it in half.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Meal Planning
Um. So Paige fail at updating. I'm blaming baby and the fact that it took me a LONG while to get back into the swing of things, cooking and baking wise. Only within the last month have I had an inkling to bake, and I went full into it. I've got a freezer full of cookies to prove it. Okay, I lied. It's not FULL of cookies.
One thing I failed to take into account when I was pregnant, and then a new mom, was cooking. I guess I just assumed that making meals would be as easy as before, in that I could just kind of zone out and get it done. Boy, was I wrong. And I know, you're all laughing at me because this should have been a common sense moment. But trying to cook intricate things with a baby who is awake and/or demanding attention is just SO tough. Thankfully, Olivia is 6 months now and a lot easier to leave on her own. It sounds odd, but newborns are just SUCH a time suck. Now that she's older, I just plop her on her mat (or in her Jolly Jumper or Exersaucer or MamaRoo) and check in every 5 minutes as I do shit in the kitchen. Or put her in the high chair so she can watch.
But I digress.
This last month has been about getting back into my groove. With cooking and baking, sure, but also just with life. Getting into habits and routines with Olivia, and with myself. After Olivia was born, my number 1 concern (after recovery and taking care of an infant) was to not get PPD. I know that it's not something that can be willed away, but I like to think I was able to. By keeping a positive attitude even at 3 in the morning with a crying baby.
I belong to this group of mom's on Facebook, some of which I know in real life and others that I feel I should know in real life (trips across Canada will happen!), and we recently decided that maybe meal planning is something we should get into. We talked about it for awhile, but nothing really came of it. So I, with my uber-Type A personality, took it upon myself to create a website where we post what we're making each week along with comments on what worked and what didn't. We've also got a chat room where we discuss recipes for the following week. This week was the first one that we actually did that in (past 2 weeks I've just been doing it myself) and I think this is going to be awesome.
Today's dish (that I made) was Low Fat General Tso's Chicken, served with plain rice and peas, recipe courtesy of Rock Recipes. This guy has AMAZING recipes. Last week we tried the Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken Breasts and mmmm.
I've found that I have issues when making his sauces, in that I think they should be thicker than they're turning out for me, but I've solved that issue by just putting the chicken in an 8x8 glass dish and baking for about 15 minutes in the oven. Allowed the chicken to soak in some of the sauce and allowed the sauce to thicken.
I think my plan for this blog is that I'm going to condense from having two blogs that I never update (my personal one and then my food one) and just kind of... mesh the two together. No one really cares about the stuff in my personal life anyway, or I just update Facebook and Twitter with it and call it a day. Either way, I'm hoping to take a photo of all the meals I make while doing the meal planning, and at least keeping in touch that way.
One thing I failed to take into account when I was pregnant, and then a new mom, was cooking. I guess I just assumed that making meals would be as easy as before, in that I could just kind of zone out and get it done. Boy, was I wrong. And I know, you're all laughing at me because this should have been a common sense moment. But trying to cook intricate things with a baby who is awake and/or demanding attention is just SO tough. Thankfully, Olivia is 6 months now and a lot easier to leave on her own. It sounds odd, but newborns are just SUCH a time suck. Now that she's older, I just plop her on her mat (or in her Jolly Jumper or Exersaucer or MamaRoo) and check in every 5 minutes as I do shit in the kitchen. Or put her in the high chair so she can watch.
But I digress.
This last month has been about getting back into my groove. With cooking and baking, sure, but also just with life. Getting into habits and routines with Olivia, and with myself. After Olivia was born, my number 1 concern (after recovery and taking care of an infant) was to not get PPD. I know that it's not something that can be willed away, but I like to think I was able to. By keeping a positive attitude even at 3 in the morning with a crying baby.
 |
| Low Fat General Tso's Chicken |
Today's dish (that I made) was Low Fat General Tso's Chicken, served with plain rice and peas, recipe courtesy of Rock Recipes. This guy has AMAZING recipes. Last week we tried the Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken Breasts and mmmm.
 |
| Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken |
I think my plan for this blog is that I'm going to condense from having two blogs that I never update (my personal one and then my food one) and just kind of... mesh the two together. No one really cares about the stuff in my personal life anyway, or I just update Facebook and Twitter with it and call it a day. Either way, I'm hoping to take a photo of all the meals I make while doing the meal planning, and at least keeping in touch that way.
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