MAPLE SYRUP SALAD SENSATIONS!

Hello lovelies!! It's been a little while and good to be back! At the end of February our baby girl broke her leg tobogganing. It was awful. Her femur. Brutal. But, she's amazing AND we just got back from an awesome family vacation in Mexico. Yesterday, I spent the entire day doing laundry and my kiddies woke up at 10:30am! They were zonked from arriving back in Ottawa so late. In any event, I totally indulged on vacation. TOTALLY! It's the sign of a good vacation, however when I got on the scale and saw that the numbers were up by 9 pounds. YUP, nine!! I wanted to die. I've been working on getting back to the gym and eating clean since Jan and lost a bunch of pounders but 9 pounds up in one week? Oh Lordy. So much food, so much beer. However...sign of a good vacay and back on track today, right? Right. I have a yummy salad recipe to share with you today in case you're looking for a spring kick start. Shorts and tank season is quickly approaching! Easter is also around the corner and this would be a great addition to your menu. Speaking of Easter, I'm crushing on this buffet. The colour is gorg! These beauty Wayfair dishes and I'm going to order this adorable banner for the mantel. 

March is maple syrup season. Who doesn't love Canadian made syrup? Heaven. A local farmer at the cottage taps some of the trees on our road for the sugary goodness. It's really cool for the kids to see where the syrup on their pancakes begins.

The thing about this salad is that using real maple syrup is a must! 

The dressing will knock your socks off. Here's what you need....

- 1/4 cup of real maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon of dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup of good olive oil
- salt and pepper

Mix the ingredients (except the oil) and then whisk in the oil. I shake everything up in a little mason jar. It's the perfect size.

For the salad, I added mixed greens, sliced pears, black berries and mini tomatoes. It's simple and delicious. You could add some toasted pecans on there too. Yum!

Pour on your dressing and VOILA! Maple syrup deliciousness!! 

Now that we're back from vacation and the snow is melting, it's time to start on our baby girl's big girl room. As per usual, I have my eye on all things pretty from Wayfair.ca. Shocker.  We're besties. I'm gathering up some furniture ideas for there that I'll share with you soon. Now, go find yourself some Canadian made maple syrup and whip up this salad. Yum!

Keep it Beautiful.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Wayfair.ca. As always, thank you for supporting the brands that support this blog. Love you!

Movie Night In!

What’s your favourite way to do movie night? Do you make a delicious meal? Order in? Lights on? Lights off?

Movie night is one of our favourite parts of the week. It’s a time to relax, chill and literally do nothing. We usually have our movie night on Friday. It’s the end of the week, we’re all tired of the busyness and just want to veg.  We pick the kids up after work, either go through the McDonald’s drive-thru with them (gasp! They love it. Go ahead, judge me. You can’t say you don’t love the taste of McD’s fries!) or we make homemade pizza. If we’re making pizza, I usually make the dough on Thursday night so it has lots of time to rise and get all happy. The kids love to roll, smash and mush that dough.  How cute are those adorable chubby fingers?

 I’ve been using this recipe for years now and it’s easy peasy if you’re looking for one. Yum!

We turn off the lights, get under the blankets and all watch whatever Netflix movie or shows the kids have picked.  Sometimes, okay usually, it takes the kids awhile to agree on what we’re going to watch. We’ve started to give them turns each week to pick the movies. However, this Friday it’s Mummys’ choice and I’ve decided that we’re all watching “Fuller House”. Yes, yes, yes! Kimmy Gibbler! Fuller House is making it's debut this Friday Feb 26th! As part of the Netflix Stream Team, I’ve had a chance to see a few sneak peak preview episodes and it doesn’t disappoint. 

Think your family might want something else? My kids are obsessed with Inside Out right now. It’s adorable. It came out this month and my kids are obsessed. When the kids go to bed, Mr. Fix-It and I either make something yummy with lots of calories  Isn’t that what you want on a Friday night? Either a yummy big pasta, or a cheesy topped pizza with the homemade dough. Or, we order in something equally delicious.  This upcoming movie night we’ve got Better Call Saul on our list

and continuing on our Mad Men binge.  It’s so good. Oh and Mr. Fix-It is binging on Weeds and I just finished one of my favs… Downton Abbey. Yes! Have fun watching Fuller House this weekend! You can also check out TV Time for the Fam that has other Fuller House-inspired title collections.

 Keep it Beautiful.

*You all know I’m part of the Netflix StreamTeam. You love Netflix, I love Netflix and I love getting the opportunity to let you know what’s on every month. Thanks for supporting the brands here that help support this blog.

Date Night Menu with Ricardo Cuisine!

Happy Fabulous Friday y’all! Hope you all had a great Canada Day. The weather in Ottawa was changing at rapid speeds so we did a mixture of celebrating on Parliament Hill with the kids, relaxing at home and having a BBQ with friends. It was also our wedding anniversary so it’s always nice to have a holiday together on your special day. This weekend we’re heading up to the cottage with some friends for good food, good wine, good fun.

Speaking of food, tis the season for BBQ-ing! Some of you may brave the BBQ in the winter but generally, outside grilling is where it’s at in the summer. Ricardo Cuisine asked me to try some of their barbecue recipes and after browsing through the recipes, I was game. It was a great way for Mr. Fix-It and I to have a “date night” last week and I saw that one of the recipes called for halloumi cheese. Heard of it? I hadn’t, until Mr. Fix-It and I started buying these pre-made kabobs from the grocery store that had this amazing cheese on them. The best part, is that it doesn’t melt all over the BBQ. Win!

So…the night before “date night”, I made up the marinade for the Flank Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce. Sounds yum eh? Flank steak is not a piece of beef that you want to pick up and throw on the grill. It needs time to get happy and tender.

The marinade was really easy. It called for olive oil (I find that olive oil burns so easily on the grill so I swapped it out for canola oil), red wine vinegar, shallots, a bunch of fresh herbs (oregano, thyme & cilantro – I’ve been growing the cilantro and love it, so added a little more in there for extra yum) and a dash of red pepper flakes.

I added the steak, put it in the fridge overnight and let the magic happen. Then, all it needs is a hot BBQ and a few minutes on each side…depending on how rare you like it.

Next up, Halloumi Cheese and Roasted Bell Pepper Miniature Skewers. Sounds good eh? These were also easy peasy.

I soaked the cheese in a bowl for an hour and put it aside, chopped the red peppers into strips and made up the sauce - oil, red wine vinegar, fresh garlic, fresh cilantro (it called for rosemary but I swapped it out), salt & pepper. Then you just give the sliced peppers a toss in the sauce ;)

Cut the cheese into cubes so they will fit on your sliced peppers.

After cutting the peppers, I realized I hadn’t cut them long enough so it was hard to string them on the skewers wrapped around the cheese. So, I just folded up a little tinfoil package and placed them right on the grill. They just needed a few mins to get toasty.

I cooked up some wild rice and voila…Date Night menu complete.

We waited till the kids were asleep and everything was ready pretty fast. I love menus where you can do the prep work the night before. The food was delish, I definitely recommend these two recipes if you’re looking for a yummy meal for the weekend.

TGIF!

Keep it Beautiful.

Wednesday Yummies: Mac 'n Cheese

Happy hump day my friends! I wanted to share with you this DELICIOUS mac ‘n cheese recipe that my girlfriend Katey made for her daughter’s 1^st birthday a couple of weekends ago.

Do you love homemade mac ‘n cheese? It’s one of my favs and I could have done a face plant right into this pot. I’ll tell you now, it’s not low fat…in fact it’s the opposite. Its full of cheesy amazingness and you’ll love it. I've made a very healthy mac 'n cheese that is also really yum if you are looking for something lighter.  It also feeds a crowd. Katey doubled the recipe and it made two huge pots. I present to you...

Creamy Bake Macaroni and Cheese - The Food Network

Food Network

Get the recipe here.

This is perfect to make on a weekend and then eat the leftovers for quick meals through the week. That’s my plan!

I’m always looking for recipes that I can either make on the weekend and freeze for quick weeknight dinners or a quick weeknight recipe. Please send me your fav quick meal ideas and I would be happy to share them here on Keep It Beautiful.

Keep It Beautiful.

Keep It Beautiful Gets A Makeover + Soups On!

Hey everyone! Wow it's chilly in Ottawa today. Super cold! Bring on the down coats and furry hats.

Soooo, whatcha think? Keep It Beautiful has had a makeover! Like it? I wanted something fresh and clean. A new start for the blog for a new year. It still has kinks that I'm working on but wanted to show you what it's looking like so that I can still do blog posts as I'm working on the site in the background. You'll see that I added a new menu bar at the top with drop down buttons. However, you'll also see that when you click on them...there's nothing there yet. This is what I'm working on. My total lack of techy knowledge is what's holding me back on how to get these links to work. I'll get it figured out but bear with me! BTW, if you have a website that needs an update, I would be happy to recommend the company I used.

In the meantime, it's Wednesday Yummies! Here is a yummy soup that is delish, super healthy, filling and you can double the recipe to make alot! Win! Win!

Lentil Tomato & Kale Soup

 

I've been making this soup for years but just recently decided to add chopped kale in there. I chopped it up oh-so-tiny.

Soups On!

Keep it Beautiful.

Wednesday Yummies: Chilli Coconut Chicken Salad

Hey guys,

I've got something oh-so-yum to share with you. Do you love salads in the summer? That fresh, crisp lettuce just tastes so much better when it's hot outside.

Having a big yummy salad for dinner is one of our fav summer meals, however I often find that if the salad isn't "hearty" enough then Mr. Fix-It and I are often wandering down to the kitchen for a bed time snack. I've got a salad for you today that will keep your tummy full until bedtime and keeps your kitchen cool because we're using the BBQ!

I've told you before about some of my fav products from Blue Dragon. I've used them for planning and making a Chinese New Year feast as well as whipping up a date-night menu for Mr. Fix-It and I. Yum. Today I've got a salad that I think you will want to make tonight.

Here's What You Need:

- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (I used 2)
- Blue Dragon Chilli Coconut Stirfry Sauce
- Skewers
- Lettuce
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Mango
- Crutons
- Fresh cilantro (finely chopped)
- Lime
- Oil & Vinegar

Here's What You Do:

1. In a small dish, pour the Blue Dragon Chilli Coconut Stirfry Sauce over the chicken. Let that marinade and chicken be happy as long as you can. Mine hung out in the fridge for most of the day. I know this photo doesn't look super appetizing but since when does raw chicken look delicious?!

2. Cut your chicken into chunky cubes and thread them on your skewers. I used wooden skewers so I gave them a soak in a glass for about 20 minutes before hand. This prevents them from burning on the BBQ. Place the chicken skewers on your grill. It should be on medium heat.

3. While your skewers are getting toasty, make up your salad. Cut your lettuce, dice up your mango, add a good handful of cherry tomatoes and your crutons. Make up your dressing....literally oil & vinegar. How easy is that?

4. Once your chicken is done, lay one across your salad, sprinkle your chopped cilantro and squeeze out a little lime juice from your lime. You now have a fresh.fabulous.sophisticated summer salad that has heat from the chilli coconut sauce, Asian flavor, it's healthy, filling and no need to turn on that stove. Sounds like a great dinner for a Wednesday!

Blue Dragon Canada is still running their awesome contest on their Facebook page. They're giving away a package full of Blue Dragon products to 5 winners. Yum! You should check it out!

 

Keep it Beautiful.

 



“Disclosure:I am part of the Blue Dragon Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada

and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”

Wednesday Yummies: An Asian Feast!

Hey everyone!

Are you a meal planner? I find that when I have suppers planned for the week that we feel more organized and healthy. I actually look forward to the flyers being delivered to our door and whatever happens to be on the front page of our grocery store's flyer is what inspires me to make for the week.

Last week, chicken, asparagus and peppers graced the flyer's front page so I knew it would be a perfect opportunity to cook up a delicious feast pairing these ingredients with the goodies sent to me by Blue Dragon. Do you remember the recipe I shared with you for Chinese New Year? Well I have another one to share with you. Last Friday night, Mr. Fix-It and I put the kids to bed, cracked opened a bottle of red and cooked up an Asian feast. Here is what we came up with...

General Tao Chicken Stir Fry in a Chinese Curry & General Tao Chicken Stir Fry in Chilli Coconut Sauce

Hoisin Infused Spring Rolls

Here is what you need:
- sliced cabbage (I used the shredded cabbage from a coleslaw bag)
- half an avocado
- crushed peanuts
- chopped fresh cilantro
- Blue Dragon Hoisin Sauce
- Blue Dragon Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce
- Blue Dragon Spring Roll Wrappers

Here is what you do:
1. In a small bowl, add a couple of tablespoons of Hoisin Sauce and Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce to 1 cup of shredded cabbage. Let it sit and get happy together.
2. Following the directions on the Blue Dragon Spring Roll Wrappers package, combine the cabbage, avocado, peanuts and cilantro in the centre of the wrapper. Roll it up and enjoy. We dipped the rolls in the Blue Dragon Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce. Yum!

General Tao Chicken Stir Fry in a Chinese Curry

 Here is what you need:
- chicken (diced) We used two boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- red and yellow peppers (chopped)
- asparagus (chopped)
- green onions (chopped)
- fresh chopped cilantro
- Blue Dragon General Tao Stir Fry Sauce
- Blue Dragon Chinese Curry Stir Fry Sauce

Here is what you do:
1. In a large pan, cook the diced chicken in a tablespoon of olive oil.  Once the chicken is fully cook add the Blue Dragon General Tao Stir Fry Sauce. Set aside.
2. In a large pan, cook peppers, asparagus and onions. Add your chicken back to the pan pour the Blue Dragon Chinese Curry Stir Fry Sauce over the dish. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

General Tao Chicken Stir Fry in Chilli Coconut Sauce

Repeat step 1 and 2, except pour over the Chilli Coconut Sauce at the end instead of the Curry Stir Fry Sauce. Delish!

A little grilled bok choy and white rice = perfect matches for our chicken dishes.

There you go. Super easy and delicious meals that are perfect to add to next week's meal plan. A great go-to supper for a week night meal or for a weekend date night :)

Blue Dragon is also having a great contest on right now. "Like" the Blue Dragon Facebook Page and you will be entered to win an awesome prize pack of ingredients to create your own feast!

Keep it Beautiful.

 

 

“Disclosure:I am part of the Blue Dragon Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”

Wednesday Yummies: Yogurt-Spiced Chicken with Grilled Tomato Kabobs

Hey everyone!
 

Thank you for being so understanding the past few weeks. I know I’ve been MIA. With returning back to the office full-time, training for a marathon and losing my girlfriend Robyn, I’ve been totally consumed emotionally and physically.  However, I'm ready to get back into it and looking forward to chatting with you all again. This weekend is a busy one. We have the Great Glebe Garage Sale on Saturday (always super fun!) and I’m running the Ottawa Marathon on Sunday. Yikes! As you know, I love to run, but training for a marathon is a job in itself. So, I’m looking forward on scaling it back a bit after this weekend. Phew!

I do have a yummy recipe to share with you today. It's from Canadian Living. I haven’t made it yet, but HELLO…doesn’t it look good? My girlfriend Lisa made it and she said it was oh-so-yummy  and really great for a weeknight meal. I’m thinking it also looks great to serve up to friends for a casual barbecue.  Thanks for sharing Lisa!

 

Yogurt-Spiced Chicken with Grilled Tomato Kabobs

Source: Canadian Living
 
 

What You Need:

1/4 cup 2% plain yogurt

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger

1 tbsp. tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, grated

2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp salt

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cups cherry tomatoes

1/2 red onion cut in 3/4-inch chunks

 What You Need to Do:

In shallow dish, combine yogurt, 1 tbsp of the lemon juice, ginger, tomato paste, garlic, 1-1/2 tsp of the garam masala and 1/4 tsp of the salt. Add chicken and toss to coat; let stand for 15 minutes. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)

Meanwhile, combine oil and remaining lemon juice, garam masala and salt; set aside.

Alternately thread tomatoes and onion onto metal skewers.

Place chicken on greased grill over medium-high heat; close lid and grill, turning halfway through, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced, about 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, add skewers; grill, turning 4 times and brushing with oil mixture, until onion is slightly softened and tomatoes are slightly charred, about 4 minutes. Serve with chicken.

Definitely let me know if you like it!

Keep it Beautiful.

Wednesday Yummies: Spring Into Food!

Hey guys!

How’s the week going? It’s day 3 of being back to the office and so far so good. We’re all still transitioning into the new routine but it’s going to take some time. One of the hardest things has been getting dinner on the table before the kids melt! Meal planning and having food ready to go is definitely key to keeping everyone smiling. Need to put my thinking cap on. Have any suggestions?

In the meantime, I’ve been on the lookout for Spring recipes. The snow is melting (thank God!) and soon the tulips will be peaking out, so I’m feeling the need to find some new recipes and feel refreshed. Seeing how it’s Wednesday Yummies today I thought I would share some that I definitely want to try:

 Is your mouth watering? Here is where you can find them all…

Asparagus Mushroom Stir-fry

Eggplant Tomato & Pesto Stack

Grilled Chicken & Corn Salad

Honey Balsamic Ham

Rack of Lamb with Mustard Sauce

Roasted Beets & Pearl Onions with Pistachio Vinaigrette

 

Let me know if you make any of these! That roasted beets recipe is sounding like a fresh.fabulous.sophisticated side dish at Easter! Delish.

Also want to say a Happy Birthday to my gorgeous girlfriend Robyn! XO you!

Keep it Beautiful.

Wednesday Yummies: Chinese New Year Delish

Hi guys,

Remember last week when I posted the Chinese New Year Menu that I was going to make?
Well, last Friday, we had some friends over, cracked open the wine, turned up the heat on the stove and cooked up a Blue Dragon feast. And as promised, here it is...

Click on titles of the dish for most of the recipes, otherwise see instructions below the photos.
Vietnamese Summer Rolls

frying up those veggies for General Tao's...

General Tao's Chicken
This was a yummy dish but not spicy like I expected it to be. Although a little hot sauce added to the mix kicked it up!

Cooking instructions: 1. Dip 350g chicken strips in 1 beaten egg and then toss in the corn starch. 2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok and pan fry the chicken pieces. 3. Stir fry your veggies and once cooked add the chicken back in. 4. Add sauce and simmer for 1 min.

Thai Red Curry Pork
Ummm...this was our favourite. All the deliciousness of the coconut milk was oh-so-fabulous.

Chinese Chicken Curry
So this tasted more like an Indian dish to us around the table. I still liked the Thai Red Curry the best but this was Mr. Fix-It's fav.

Our Chinese New Year feast was really delicious. It was fun to try new recipes and enjoy the flavours of Blue Dragon. I noticed that there was a big selection of Blue Dragon products at my local Superstore/Loblaws. The sauces are great to have in the cupboard for a quick and delish weeknight meal or grab a bunch of them, spring roll wrappers, some coconut milk and have a Chinese New Year feast this Friday with your friends.

Here are a few cool facts that I didn't know about Chinese New Year:

• 2014 is the year of the horse.
• Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in horse years are cheerful, skillful with money, perceptive, witty, talented and good with their hands.
• At Chinese New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck.

Happy Year of the Horse my friends!

Keep it Beautiful.





“Disclosure: I am part of the Blue Dragon Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”

Wednesday Yummies: The Best Fajitas Ever!!

Hi everyone! It's our first Wednesday Yummies of 2014 and I have one of my fav recipes to share with you.

Do you love fajitas? Mmmm, they are one of my favourite things to eat. I have a really yummy recipe to share with you. I've been making these for years and my mum has made them for even longer. They were a staple in our house growing up and I probably make them once every two weeks. It's easy and oh so delicious! The secret is in the spice mix. Here we go...

What You Need:
- Olive Oil
- Boneless, skinless chicken - I usually use one chicken breast per person, cut up in cubes (or you can use beef, pork, or just go veggie styles)
- Red, Yellow, Green Pepper (sliced thinly)
- Onion (sliced thinly)
- The secret spice mix - add 1tsp of each to a dish ***cumin, thyme, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne (I don't put that much cayenne in it or you might feel like your mouth is on fire)**
- 1 cup chicken stock (you can use beef or veggie stock also)
- Tortillas (I use the whole wheat soft ones)
- Toppings: salsa, sour cream, cheese, hot peppers, rice, guacamole...whatever your heart desires

What You Do:
1. In a large saucepan, sauté the peppers and onion in olive oil.

2. Once the peppers and onions are relatively soft, add your spice mix to the pan and sauté for one minute.

3. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to boil.

4. OKAY...this is the part that goes AGAINST everything you've been taught about chicken. You actually put the raw chicken into the pot and cook it all up while it's boiling. Seems totally weird right? Normally you cook the chicken first and add it at the end. I promise you...after eating this recipe for over 25 years...all has been good. Just do it!

5. Let that simmer away until the chicken is cooked. Your liquid will also reduce a little bit.

6. Get out your fav toppings...

7. Dress them, wrap them, eat them! Ole!!

This recipe is a fresh.fabulous.sophisticated weeknight meal or double and triple it up to feed a crowd. Let me know what you think!

Keep it Beautiful.

Linked with: www.aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com