meals – Life Love Laughter Linds

Meal Plan Monday: June 4th Edition

Published on 4th Jun 20194th Jun 2019 by Lindsey B.Leave a comment

I realise this doesn’t qualify as Meal Plan Monday considering I’m posting it on a Tuesday, but the menu was prepared well in advance of yesterday.

It’s hard to believe we’re trying up the first half of 2019! Besides reading a tidy amount of books, I’m not too sure we’ve accomplished anything if significance.

Back to the posting on a Tuesday… Yesterday I packed 7 hours of work into 4.5 hours, then spent my afternoon in the chilly sunshine cheering on our 8th grader. As a runner, he qualified for the area meet (track and field) of the northern schools in our district. He managed to place third in his 200m finals. He ran his heart out in his other events and this mama couldn’t be prouder!

Unfortunately, by the time this mama got home she was on the verge of a migraine and hid in her bed for quite some time. This means we took a shortcut to meal prep… as in Kev picked up dinner on his way home.

Here is our illustrious menu:

Deli chicken meal (yesterday)
Oven-baked wings, fries, and fresh veggies
Taco salad
Beef dip sandwiches and salad
Beef “poutine” and salad
Veggie pasta skillet
Leftovers

Here’s to a few more short weeks of lunch-packing and sunny afternoons with a picnic in the park!

Meal Plan Monday: March 25th Edition

Published on 25th Mar 201925th Mar 2019 by Lindsey B.Leave a comment

My kids are home and they snack a lot. So much. I do groceries (carefully planned out), put them away, and poof, the food is gone. I suspect some growth spurts are to blame. Youngest son is currently eating melba toast, after he packed away an apple, a greek yogurt, and a Tim Horton’s cookie treat. He’ll demolish a full plate of food at dinner too. My metabolism doesn’t understand this. At. All.

This week’s menu was pre-planned and I kept in budget. That’s hard to do for me…especially with extra people shopping alongside. My secret was using the PC Express shopping option. I paid for convenience, but my cart didn’t contain impulse buys. Score 1 for Lindsey. Left on the list:

cashew veggie stir fry
breakfast for dinner (Kaleb’s pick)
tortellini with pesto, spinach and broccoli
corned beef, potatoes, carrots
corned beef on rye with tomato jalapeno soup
chicken, steamed broccoli, waffle cut carrots, and scalloped potatoes (Justin’s pick)

I also have a package of peameal bacon in the freezer and soup ingredients on hand for backup. Kev suggested I pick up a skillet freezer meal because he knows there will be at least one day that doesn’t go to plan where I’m home later than expected and have to rush out again shortly after dinner – anyone can pull it out and prepare it. It’s a cheaper option than pizza… plus easy to include extra veggies! I appreciate that he doesn’t *need* me to cook all the time and that he recognizes that my time is important too. #teamgoals

What are your quickest healthy meal options for the days you forget to take something from the freezer or don’t find time to prep?

Life… and a Book Review: The Liar in the Library by Simon Brett

Published on 20th Mar 20194th Apr 2019 by Lindsey B.Leave a comment

I meal planned this week… and not a single meal went to plan so far. We’re going with it. Monday, Kev brought home samosas that we paired with spring rolls. Last night, he decided to pick up pizza. Tonight, I prepared dinner for 20 teens that I had conveniently thought I didn’t have to do for another few weeks. (Meatball subs using frozen meatballs for the win… I mean, I did heat up the meatballs first.) I have a few meatballs in sauce left… so tomorrow night won’t go according to plan either. Whatever. We have food in our bellies and extra supplies for next week. Not a big deal.

My boys are finally home again and I’m so happy! Do parents feel like this when their kids are my age (30-something…) and decide to pop in for a visit? Do you ever lose the excitement of your kids coming “home” if you haven’t seen them in awhile? Asking for a friend… Just so you know how much they missed me, while I was in the middle row of the van my mom was driving to go visit my niece yesterday, both boys took off their shoes and put their disgusting smelly socked feet in my face. So yeah… I feel loved and cherished.

While the munchkins were gone, I read ALL. THE. BOOKS. (Not really… but I put a good dent in my NetGalley to-be-read pile and have to catch up with all the reviews.) One such title was Simon Brett’s “The Liar in the Library.”

Unwittingly, when I requested the title, I was not aware that it was the 18th book in the Feathering Mystery series. It didn’t make a huge impact – I could figure out who characters were and what was going on without having to dig up 17 previous titles. But really, who starts reading a new series at Book 18? Something about that bothers me… I have my issues.

It was a classic Whodunnit, throwing one of the key protagonists into the spotlight of suspicion. I wasn’t blown away by the mystery or the writing, but it was a cozy piece of crime fiction set in a quaint British seaside community with not entirely loveable characters.

Again… this novel was of those titles that’s just a midpoint rating from me. It was easy to read and a good little escape, but didn’t leave any particular strong feelings or impressions one way or another.

A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Publisher: Black Thorn Books

Publication Date: June 16, 2019

Meal Plan Monday: March 11 Edition

Published on 11th Mar 201911th Mar 2019 by Lindsey B.Leave a comment

I am here at home ~~enjoying~~ surviving the gloomy, overcast pre-spring weather phenomenon of snow one day, rain the other, mud and puddles everywhere. My boys are off enjoying sunshine and swimming pools complaining that they have sunburns.

As it’s just the two adults at home this week, our meals are fairly low effort (because as stated last Monday, I’m lazy… especially when I know Kev *could* fend for himself if need be.)

I didn’t put a thorough meal plan together, but will rely on the contents of my fridge and pantry. In no particular order, some of the meals we’ll be enjoying are:

ham & veggie omelettes with toast
burrito bowls (PC From Our Chef’s Ready… Set… Stirfry Meal Kit)
General Tso stir-fry bowl (PC From Our Chef’s Ready… Set… Stirfry Meal Kit)
peanut chicken with rice and veggies
ribs, sweet potato, and salad
grilled cheese and soup

Is anyone else ready to dig in the dirt and get their lettuce and tomatoes in? I’m craving bruschetta with fresh herbs and tomatoes from the backyard! Pasta with pesto. Zucchini fritters. Salad with handpicked boston lettuce. One of my favourite reasons to garden is the grab and go flavours right there to choose from (but maybe not the weeding.) C’mon spring, you know you want to be here!

Meal Plan Monday – March 4th Edition

Published on 4th Mar 20194th Mar 2019 by Lindsey B.Leave a comment

It’s that time of week again… the time when all of last week’s drooling over recipes I want to try culminates into a very practical list of not those foods to feed my family.

This one is a little up in the air because my boys are heading out of town Wednesday night for an early March break Florida adventure with their grandparents. I really want to take advantage of their absence by exploring some new eateries, but that requires clothing and I’m a fan of lounging around in my comfies after a day of work.

Here’s what we’re dishing up, in no particular order:

taco dip with tortilla chips and fresh veggies
DIY pizzas
burgers
maple glazed kielbasa with handcut, oven baked wedges and a salad
jerk-chicken, handcut sweet potato fries and salad
tomato soup and french bread

Next week could be interesting… I find cooking for two to be a challenge. .. because I’m lazy. Shoot me some ideas before I work on next week’s plan! Give a girl some pointers… please?

Meal Plan Monday: February 3rd Edition

Published on 4th Feb 20194th Feb 2019 by Lindsey B.Leave a comment

How is it February already? Last week it was so cold and I didn’t want to leave the house. Today it’s plus 8°C and it feels absolutely spring like! It makes me want to garden… mmm, rhubarb, lettuce, and zucchini, oh my! (Pretty much the only things I grow with any success… plus the crazy walking onions that do their own thing!)

Yesterday after church we had some brocolli cheddar soup that I had picked up from a local restaurant that I love. (They freeze and sell their soups!) We paired with a fresh cheese loaf from a local bakery. So good! Comfort food…

One of my goals lately has been doing the whole meatless Monday thing… but only at breakfast and dinner. Lunch still tends to involve meat for both kids. Baby steps. My decision has more to do with hiding things like beans in food and getting more veg in without complaints than any real altruistic motives. Whatever works.

Our meal plan this week will look something like this.

veggie samosas and mango salad (tonight!)
double stuffed turkey taco sweet potaoes and salad
frozen pizza and veggie sticks (K’s meal)
roulades with garlic mashed potatoes and whatever vegetables are hiding in the crisper
chicken wings, bacon poutine, veggie sticks (J’s meal)
jerk pork, rice, salad
jerk pork quesadillas and veggie soup

Because we’ve been doing so well sticking to the grocery list and the plan lately, I am giving myself leeway to do convenience food if I need to. I have some evening meetings to get to right at the dinner hour and other extra commitments here and there in general. No guilt. A fed family is as high as I’m aiming some days!

Mealplan Monday: January 28th Edition

Published on 28th Jan 201928th Jan 2019 by Lindsey B.Leave a comment

Last week, I did really well sticking to our mealplan with just one big variation. Success! Our mystery meal last night was a thai chili glazed salmon plated with a colorful baby spinach and red pepper stirfry, and a savoury rice & quinoa mix. The youngest cleared his plate in a quick blink of the eye. The eldest chose to eat leftovers from the night before. {Boring!}

This week I’m experimenting a little and have also requested buy-in from the men. They each chose a meal and will be helping to prepare them. Not all the choices are healthful, so I’ll be trying to bring some veg and colour and balance to our plates or making healthier subs where possible.

Our flavour loaded plan this week includes: