Meal Plan Sept 3rd to Sept 9th

Hey Everyone,

Since our food truck frenzy I have been inspired to get a little more experimental with our weekly meal plan.

Every weekend I am going to ‘try’ and post the next week’s meal plan. Hopefully it will leave the guessing out and make the task a little easier for you. I will try wherever possible to put a link to the recipe but some are more just stuff we have tried in the past and it works.

Here is a copy of this week’s meal plan. Sorry there are a few days missing since Mike and I have our good friends Paul and Nora’s wedding this weekend.

Peanut chicken stir fry - http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/speedy-chicken-stir-fry-107031.aspx

Asparagus pesto pizza - it is kind of a take on this recipe, just with our added touches - http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/summer-phyllo-pizza-507

Basil pesto - http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fresh_basil_pesto/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We added an over easy egg on top. Trust me, Mike was skeptical but it was delicious!

Food Truck Frenzy!

Mike and I had pleasure of enjoying some fantastic food truck dishes this weekend and I got the idea, why can’t we enjoy this type of food on a regular weeknight at home?

Here is an idea of what we had while we were there:

(I will use a 5 star system for ratings)

 Our first stop was the unique sausages from Stuft. Your first step is to choose a type of sausage, then your sauce and finish with any sides.

Mike chose the Pineapple Fennel sausage with a chipotle BBQ sauce while I had the Spinach and Feta sausage with a wasabi dijon mustard dressing.

For this food truck’s debut at the Food Truck Frenzy at the CNE, I give it 4 stars. The flavor of the sausages was amazing, however the buns were not the freshest. When we got the sausage, it was out at the top of the bun which we realized by the end of your sausage, the bun was only cut half way down.

So how can you make this at home? I would reduce the difficulty by making sausage patties instead of stuffing it into casing which can be the most difficult task without the correct tools. Now you just need ground meat, spices, and your specific other ingredients to get the desired flavours. It is important to make sure everything is combined well in either a meat grinder (preferred) or in my case we will be using a food processor to make sure it is well mixed.

 Our second stop was some delicious meat creations from Hogtown Smoke. Just pick your meat and pick your sides. 

Mike and I shared the Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese with a trio of sides complete with homemade coleslaw, root beer baked beans and some delicious corn bread.

Because Hogtown Smoke was taping its debut on the Food Network’s Eat Street, some of its normal options of being able to deep fry anything on their menu were not available and the service was a little slow. That being said, the food definitely won me over! Now I like pulled pork and if you know Mike he is what you might call a pulled pork connoisseur. Cover that in melted cheese and dip it in BBQ sauce...truly amazing. The coleslaw and corn bread were a great addition to the meal however the baked beans did not have much flavor that would differentiate them from the other guy. Overall I would give it another 4 stars.

This one is easy to make it at home. Next time you make your batch of pulled pork save some of the extras for a delicious lunch the next day. I would suggest a mild cheddar cheese, a provolone cheese and you could even add a spicy monterey jack cheese for a little kick.

Our third dish was from the gluten free menu at the Gourmet Bitches food truck where we sampled flavor-packed tacos.

Mike chose the Bitchin' BBQ Mandarin chicken taco and I chose the Veggie Taco. Both tacos had a homemade tomato salsa and cilantro. Mike’s taco came with shredded pork, red onion, red cabbage, and a hint of lime. The veggie taco was complete with a fresh guacamole, roasted corn, red cabbage, and red onions on a bed of arugula.

 

You can tell they have a lot of heart in their menu and a lot of work has gone into the combinations of flavours, however they definitely live up to the ‘gourmet’ serving sizes. Despite the fantastic flavours the portion sizes were a little small, so I give this food truck 3 stars.

 To make this dish at home you will need to step outside the box of the normal beef tacos with cheese and salsa. This will be hard for me, because tacos are one of our simple, safe meals. My first step on changing things up will be to change the protein and the rest will fall into place.


Finally we ended the day with an interesting choice from Fidel Gastro's. We chose the Curious George which was peanut butter pulled pork and bacon jam on a bun.

I give them 4 stars for the creative names and ideas. The flavours were interesting but not something I would order again so I give them 2 stars for flavor and presentation.

We had a few other dessert stops but those are more of the added pleasures we won’t be adding into our weekly routine. Complete with fresh donuts, sugar waffles and popcorn.

All in all we had a great time at the Ex, even though we didn’t see much other than all those food trucks! Now we challenge you to channel your inner food truck creativity and spice up those week night meals with something different. Please respond to this blog with your unique ideas and help inspire some of our loyal readers.

Big City. Big Ideas. (Continued)

Mike and I were in Toronto this weekend at the Canadian National Exhibition (The Ex) and we were pleasantly surprised by the recycling system available.

With a little research, I discovered that the Ex is officially the greenest fair in North America and is the first large-scale event on the continent to receive the ‘EcoLogo Certification’ (http://www.theex.com/about-the-cne/cne-green-initiatives/).

At each garbage can, there was paper recycling, plastic recycling and compost. If every event can go to the lengths of giving people the resources to be able to recycle, then we can make it our choice to a better environment.

Big City. Big Ideas.

I was in Toronto this weekend for a good friend’s bachelorette party and I must say, if Toronto can be a city of change, why can’t Niagara?

You can’t go a block without seeing a recycling bin. Great right? I would say.. Good but it could be better. The one major problem with having all of those recycling bins is getting people to use them and use them properly.

How many times have you walked by a public recycling bin and seen garbage. Tell the truth, I bet you have been one of those culprits. I see it all the time, the garbage bin next to those recycling centres is full, so why not throw it in the recycling right? Wrong!

Do you know what happens when you are the one person that throws garbage into the recycling centre? The answer depends where you live. In Toronto, they have large machines and city workers to rifle through it. BUT, it costs the city a lot of money to ensure all of that sorting is done. However, if you live in a smaller city or even a large city that has not put that investment in, then it all goes right into the garbage.

All those times you say, “One person cannot make a difference,” in this case they absolutely can. So think twice before you throw that extra food or other garbage into to the recyclables. Because on behalf of myself and all of those other people that actually put an effort into ensuring they are reducing their environmental footprint, don’t ruin it for the rest of us.

New Dog. New Budget.

“Hey babe, let’s adopt a dog.”

“Great idea, we should save some money. When we get $500 together we can go for it.”

Okay maybe that wasn’t quite how the conversation went, but you know what I mean.

Well I thought $500 would be enough, turns out… it is so much more.

Adoption fee	250.00
Dog license	20.00
Collar	16.94
Leash	9.03
Clicker for training	6.77
Training treats and dog treats	21.77
Food and water bowls	35.02
Dog food	40.67
Container for dog food	24.86
Dog pillow	24.85
First vet visit	157.99
Treatment for worms	25.99
Antibiotics and flea treatment	74.20
Baby gate to restrict areas of the house	63.25
Dog toys	50.00
Dog toys (when he destroys the first set within a couple days)	50.00
Total initial costs	871.33

And then you realize later, that the dog food you just bought will last about a month, he will need at least one more dog bed for the house, you need a dog tie off for the back yard (you will see why), among more and more and more!

We are happy to report, despite the huge cost, he has been welcomed into our family with open arms. Rocco is adjusting perfectly. The first day we brought him home we were confident we had made the yard completely secure for him with the addition of the new gates. So we took him straight from the car and let him loose in the backyard to get familiar with the area. Within five minutes he managed to find a way to push his way through the gate and took a leisurely stroll down the street peeing on every tree possible. The yard has since been properly ‘horse-proofed’ and we haven't had any additional situations...yet. He has been behaving extremely well in the house and has perfect manners when it is feeding time. He is learning very quickly how to avoid distractions and walk without pulling, but we still have a long way to go there.

We have also learned how much he enjoys car rides when we took him for a drive along the parkway with the windows open. Now he won't walk down the driveway without stopping at the car door and looking up at us.

This blog isn’t about scaring you out of doing things, however I want you guys to take our financial projects and realize the real life costs, not just what you have in your head. We will get into the hard realization of real-life budgeting, but until then I hope that you can take a little from each of our projects and apply them to your life going forward.

Trust me, you will want to take baby steps towards a full budget, so jump in head over heels and start by making informed decisions before you spend your hard earned money. Gone are the days of credit, credit, credit. Cash is king!

Long Weekend. What to do?

Have you ever had one of those days where you want to get out and do something but don’t know what to do or don’t have any money in the bank? Date nights don’t always have to be go out for dinner and drinks and just overall spending a lot of money.  As we are into one of our last long weekends of the summer, I wanted to share some great and CHEAP date night ideas.  

1.      Rent Kayaks, Canoes, Paddle Boats

I just rented a two man Kayak with my Dad this weekend and it was a great time and was very budget friendly. It was only $24 for a couple hours on the water and a great upper body workout. This is great for a couple because you are out on the water all alone and it truly takes team work to paddle together to get the boat to not only move forward but in the correct direction.

2.      Take the dog for a walk

It’s only a short time together but I think a lot of people take it for granted. When you are out walking the dog, it is just the two of you, so take the time to have a conversation.

I found this once on another blog - http://cherishinghopesanddreams.blogspot.ca/2012/01/30-things.html . It lists 30 things to ask one another. Print out the questions and put them in a fish bowl. Before you go for a walk, pull one out and that will decide what your conversation will be about.

Even after 9 years of dating, Mike and I still don’t know everything about each other. So trust me, there is always a question you can ask one another and find out something new. At a party at our house a couple weeks ago, Mike and I played the newlywed game and of the questions asked to the two of us, we got only 2 correct!

The most memorable: What is the most Dawn has spent on a single pair of shoes?

Mike – “$60”

Dawn – “$200”

He was shocked.. I just don’t think he understands the price I would pay for a great pair of shoes.

3.      Make it a movie night

I don’t mean go sit in a dark, crowded theatre with 100+ people and eat overpriced popcorn and other goodies, but instead make it a couch night. Get a movie you can both agree on and cuddle up on the couch together with a big bowl of freshly popped popcorn.

If you are anything like Mike and I, it is like pulling teeth to get us to agree on a movie. For Mike its action movies and for me it is those hopeless romantic love stories. So instead of having that battle on whose movie it gets to be, just take turns each movie night on who gets to choose the movie. You never know… maybe he will grow to love those hopeless romantic movies (and shed a couple tears).

4.      Fireworks

From May 18^th to September 2^nd in Niagara Falls, they have free fireworks displays at 10pm every Friday, Sunday and Holiday. Usually if you go on Sunday nights (not on a long weekend) it isn’t busy at all, almost like it’s a personal fireworks show just for the two of you. Stop at Tim Horton’s or Starbucks on the walk down to the Falls, bring a blanket, sit, relax and enjoy the show.

5.      Add some adventure – Rent scooters or go-karts

Adrenaline is a hormone that boosts your heart rate and well.. I will let you figure out the rest! When you have a free afternoon together find your local yellow pages and check out some rental places in the area. Pick something one or both of you are slightly uncomfortable with to try something new.

And with that.. I leave you with this:

    (Photo taken by Paul Charette, Charette Imagery - http://www.cimagery.ca/)

Get creative and fill us in on some of your great date ideas.