Family, Food, Travel & Fun!
*this date was sponsored by Lotus Vietnamese Restaurant. All opinions and wording are our own.
This past weekend my husband, Doug, and I managed to go out for a date. Other than work related night's out, I can not remember the last time the two of us actually went out without the children. In the past we have always relied on family to babysit, but our oldest is perfectly capable to babysit now, so we decided it was time to have an evening together, out of the house, and away from the kiddos!
Here's my take on an easy Chicken Pie! Crescent rolls were on sale a few weeks ago for $0.99 a package. I picked up 4 and here is what I did with 2 packs.
Over the holidays, my mom was visiting and when we have company, I like to serve more planned meals that are easy to throw together. This was one of the meals I made that is quick and super easy....and delicious.
INGREDIENTS
- Place crescent roles in a circle to form a "sun". Using floured fingers, press the dough flat around the center of the wreath, giving you about 2 inches of solid dough all the way around the ring.
- In bowl, combine remainder of ingredients and stir.
- Scoop spoonfuls around the dough wreath. Create a full circle around the wreath shape.
- Fold the points of the crescent rolls up over the chicken mound and connect to dough at inside of the ring.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes.
Makes 4-5 servings
Hosting A Cookie Exchange
I love baking, and Christmas tends to be my favourite time of year for baking, and being creative. That being said, it also gets very expensive to buy all the supplies to create all these little nuggets of goodness!
Wouldn't you rather be spending the money on having fun with your friends and family? I know I would. So let's chat about a fun way to spend time with those you love and share some goodies to use over the holidays.
Cookie Swaps or Cookie Exchanges have been popular for decades, but honestly, I have only participated in a couple. One through a workplace and one with friends. It is a fabulous way to try new cookies and treats and to grow you recipe list as well.
Here are some tips for hosting a successful cookie swap:
Perhaps you want to host an Ugly Sweater Party, Fancy Dresses, or Slippers & PJs! You can get very creative with a theme and it will take the cookie exchange to another level of fun for the evening.
Simply pick a type of cookies/treat to share, such as No Bake Treats, or Sugar Cookies. Trust me, there will be a variety no matter what type of cookie or treat you choose. If you select sugar cookies, gingerbread or shortbread, ask that they be decorated in some way with icing or candies.
Send an invitation to your friends and family outlining the evening. Be specific with what you are requesting for # of cookies and what they need to bring. You can create the invites and send via email or traditional mail. You could even create a facebook private group and invite the people you are having.
You don't need to have the specifics, but knowing the types of cookies or treats that are coming will help you ensure there will be a variety for people to take home.
In addition to the amount of cookies required for the exchange, ask your guests to bring a few samples, or smaller versions of the cookie they brought. Set this number according to # of guests attending. This will allow everyone to have a treat at the party and also try the cookies they will be taking home.
If anyone attending has a food allergy, be sure to request the treats are free of the food they are allergic to.
Ask guests to bring their recipe printed out for other guests to take home. If you are into being uniform, you could ask guests to send you the recipes and then print them out together. You can create a yearly Cookie Exchange Recipe Book! Wouldn't that be fun?
~~~~
We all have our favourite cookies and holiday treats, participating in a cookie exchange allows us to have a larger variety on hand over the holidays, without having to do all the baking!
I am headed to a cookie exchange with a friend tomorrow night and will be taking my Red & Green Crinkle Cookies. If you are looking for more inspiration, be sure to check the link below for a huge list of holiday cookie ideas!
Check out this amazing list shared with me by other Canadian bloggers.
The 8 week challenge was provided to me in exchange for honest review. All wording and opinions are my own.
This week it is time to take control of the FOOD I put in my body. I always thought I ate okay, except evening snacks. But I started the 8 week challenge with Deborah Hann and Journey to Wellness. Well, let me tell you, it has been eye opening to say the least.
It is no longer about eating when I am hungry...it is about deliberately refueling my body throughout the day.
I don't even get hungry anymore, because I am giving myself the right food at the right times.
I am only on my 4th day doing this, but I can see such positive changes already!
No headaches, more energy and this morning, I didn't even notice I missed my coffee!
If you are following me on Facebook or Instagram, you probably saw me post this picture.
August 2016 vs September 2016
The second shot is from Monday this week, its my "Before" pic for the 8 week program. I also did a fitness test and took measurements. I am most excited about how I am already feeling though.
If changing my food and increasing my water intake is making me feel this great so far...7 weeks from now I will be one happy lady, on a continued journey to get healthier each day by making the best choices for my body.
I am so very excited to see what changes will happen between now and the end of the challenge and beyond. Thanks for reading and I look forward to continuing to share this journey with you all.
Watch for recipes, meal planning and meal prep posts coming up as I continue to make positive changes for myself and my family.
When I go to my pantry and find half empty boxes, where I thought there were full boxes, it makes me so frustrated. When you have children who are independent, they will often leave a mess of empty or unsealed bags in their wake.
By creating a location in a pantry for single serving snacks, it helps to eliminate the frustration of the empty boxes. Create a cupboard or basket in your fridge that is the "Snack Station". Tell household members, including adults, that this is where you find your snacks. Only take from these location unless you ask for something else.
The Snack Station will also help with packing lunches, either making it easier for you to grab or for your children to pack up their lunches.
Depending on your children's ages, you may require them to ask before going into the cupboard, or simply allow them a certain number of snacks after school or after supper, on the weekends, etc...
You can go as far as having bins labeled with "Healthy" and "Junk" options.
Consider creating a rule similar to:" you can have 2 healthy snacks and before you pick a junk snack".
With cookies, chips and crackers, I purchase in bulk sizes and portion them out in plastic baggies or containers. Then when they grab a snack, I know they are eating a serving and not the whole package.
Prep healthy snack ahead as well. If they need to be peeled (orange or clementine) or cut up (Carrots, cauliflower, etc) then have them ready to grab an go. It may surprise you how often a child, or even an adult, will select a healthy snack option if it is ready to eat.
Remove outside packaging and break apart so individual servings are easy to select quickly.
I find that by taking the time to portion out our snacks, we are more aware of what we are eating and there are no partially empty boxes in my cupboards.
Once portioned in bags or containers, use a basket our larger container to hold each type of snack. Label the bins with healthy or junk.
With a younger child, labeling with numbers works best, (1,2&3). Then put the junkier snacks in bin 3.
Do you have a cupboard of half empty boxes? Please share your ideas and tips for organizing your snacks.
Menu Plan Feb 7th
As you may have noticed last time I shared, I do not assign a day to a meal when doing my menu plan. I find it easier to select and prep for meals, then decide on the day what we want for supper I simply cross off the meal as we have them. Some weeks I include more choices than others. If we have fresh items to use up I make as many meals with those first, then add what is in the freezer.
I will be posting some recipes on my blog at Everything Unscripted, and will link to them here. I have been trying harder to make everything from scratch lately. It is much easier than I thought, and as I add new weekly staples, I am finding we are enjoying our food more. By prepping food on Sunday's and have most meals ready or half prepped, I can spend less time feeling like I am running around and forgetting things each day!
It may not look pretty, but it works for me 🙂
If you want to see my Grocery Shopping for this week, CLICK HERE.
Weekly Menu Plan Jan 17th
This week's menu plan came from the items I picked up on sale and the ingredients and meals we already have on hand. Each week I will share my menu plan showing what I had to purchase, and what I had on hand.
Some items purchased will be used in freezer meal preparation, for use on other weeks.
The way I meal plan may be a little different.
I find it hard to stick to a meal plan when I assign days to the meals. Instead, I make a list of meals, and then each day pick what we want to have based on how much time we have and what works with our schedules.
Each week I spend time on Sunday prepping food for the week. Making salads, cooking rice, making up freezer meals, whatever needs to be done for that week's meals.
Here is what my meal plan can look like: This is the list I made when I cleaned out my freezer. There are meals included that are all prepped in my freezer. As we ate them, I crossed off what we ate.
This is not my menu this week. Please find below the details of my menu and shopping for this week.
Starting with what I have in the fridge, freezer and pantry, I then move on to the sales flyers. Each week I am planning for meals for that week and depending on sales, possibly meals for future weeks. Many of my freezer meals are for slow cookers and makes it very easy to just pop in and serve when done 4 to 8 hours later.
By planning ahead, I can usually prep freezer meals a couple times a month. I prep Breakfast, Lunch and Supper meals for the freezer. (I will link recipes when possible)
So here are this week’s Meal Options:
As the week goes, I simply pick a meal and cross it off as we have it. I need to fill in a couple blanks here, but usually meat options are available in the freezer.
In addition to these supper meals, I prepare a small Lunch list:
These are more "reminders" to me. I need to do this so I add a little variety and use up the food we have on hand.
Here is my reminder list for breakfasts:
Finally I make a list of the prep I need to do on Sunday. I like to do most of my prep the day I shop. If I buy veggies or meat and I just put it in the fridge, there is a better chance I will forget about it or not use it. So, I prep my food as soon as possible. Setting a certain time to do this each week is ideal.
I hope this helps give an idea of what I do to waste less food and be prepared for the week.
Having a very scattered brain most of the time, I find the weeks I can stick to doing this, I am much more productive and spend less time in the kitchen overall.
Happy shopping, planning and eating 🙂
