4.22.2013

Sauce it Up - Crockpot Style

As I often express, the crockpot is an amazing creation and I would use it every single night if I had the patience to look up new and interesting recipes. I don’t have patience, as my mom would attest to, but one thing I have learned from a few experiments here and there is that you really can try throwing anything in and you will more than likely end up with a genius and delicious creation. That being said I wouldn’t suggest throwing in rotten vegetables or moldy bread but hey, maybe that’s a recipe I missed somewhere.

The easiest way to experiment with the Crockpot is with different sauces. Throw in a bottle of BBQ sauce or your favourite seasoning with your favourite meat (mine being chicken) and your pretty much guaranteed some melt in your mouth deliciousness. We’ve done the typical BBQ sauces, coca cola, or beer but tonight I tried something outside of the normal recipe comfort zone; Swiss Chalet Sauce! I am a Swiss Chalet sauce lover to the max so the idea of chicken soaked in this sauce was only the best idea I have ever thought of. The result? Just proof that experimentation is key and that any sauce will work.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 2 pieces of chicken breast (skinless & boneless)
  • 1 package of Swiss Chalet sauce
  • 2 cups of water

Directions

1. Put chicken in crockpot

2. Mix sauce in separate bowl until blended well (there will still be a few bits)

3. Pour sauce over chicken and cook on low for 8 hours

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I definitely suggest making sure there is enough water for the chicken. I used less than 2 cups and it was completely soaked up by the time I got home for work. Although the chicken was delicious it was a little drier than the chicken normal is when cooked in the Crockpot.

If you’re a Swiss Chalet sauce lover like me I definitely suggest this. If not, try one of your favourite sauces to give yourself a new and easy go-to recipe.

4.17.2013

I love me some hamburgers!

It’s not a secret that I love a good hamburger. My friends know, my family know, my co-workers know, and even my doctor knows, which is never a good thing. This girl loves a good beef patty! It’s actually kind of weird because I used to groan when my parents made us burgers as a kid, but it all changed within the last couple years. McDonalds, Wendy’s and Harvey’s all hit the spot on my favourite lunch breaks, but nothing has ever tasted as good as my boyfriend’s new creation.

Last week we hit up the Good Food & Drink Festival and came out with a few goodies for our own cooking. My boyfriend was most excited about a burger seasoning where as I was all about the curry sauce I picked up. The curry sauce is still to be tested, but the burger seasoning definitely lived up to its hype.

Burger meat

Burger Seasoning by Fire in the Kitchen (fireinthekitchen.ca)

Ingedients

  • Burger Batter Seasoning (1/4 cup)
  • 1 Egg
  • 2-3 lbs Ground beef (or a more healthier alternative – which we plan on trying)

Mix all the ingredients together and make into patties. When complete, cook on the stovetop until browned on the outside then stick in the oven for 30 minutes. Note: I doubted this cooking method by boyfriend chose but it turned out delicious and was cooked to perfection.

I never thought of making our own burgers but I don’t think we’ll go back to the packaged ones (except maybe for big parties). There’s probably a million different seasonings out there but I suggest trying this one out. The flavour was simply amazing!

4.16.2013

Where were you when…

This is a question that will always be asked when any big event occurs. Where were you when 911 happened? Where were you when (insert famous person) died? and of course, just yesterday, where were you when the Boston Marathon bombings happened? None of these events affect me directly, but the whole world feels the effects.

I wasn’t planning on discussing the tragic events that happened yesterday but after a day of vegging on my couch watching the news, how could I not?

Where was I when I heard about the Boston Marathon? I was at work checking twitter about the news that Jay’s shortstop Jose Reyes may have a shorter recovery time. I was excited about this and couldn’t wait to share the news with my co-workers, actually so excited that the tweets regarding explosions and tragedy somehow seemed to pass me by. It wasn’t until I got home and saw the TV that I realized just how serious this was. All night, through twitter, my boyfriend kept me posted as the news trickled in.

I will keep my opinions short, as I’m sure that everyone share the same anger and disappointment as I do.  I’m sure everyone could vent about what happened but there is no reason to focus on the negativity of this tragedy as that is what the sick sick people who did this would want. Instead lets help those in need during this time. Please visit Peanut Butter Fingers’  blog where she outlines possible ways to help during Boston’s time of need.

praying

4.15.2013

Official Zumba Instructor

I love Zumba. I love the dancing, the music, and the fun I have at each and every class. I love Zumba so much that a few years back I went to get my Zumba instructor’s certificate. When you love something so much it only makes sense to try and get paid for doing it right? Well that’s what I thought. I imagined teaching Zumba classes at night and becoming a star instructor just like my favourite instructors had inspired me to be. Two years later and I still hadn’t taught one single class. I was scared but mostly unwilling to spend the money on my CanFit Pro in order to teach in the major gyms. It didn’t make sense to put down more money without the guarantee of teaching so I went on with being an attendee and not a leader.

A month or so ago during a social committee meeting for my condo building it was decided we would host a Zumba class. Me, with the big mouth that I have, mentioned my love and qualifications with Zumba and was automatically signed up to teach the class. I can’t explain the nerves I had or the anxiety this caused me. I’ve been doing Zumba for years but the thought of actually teaching was terrifying. When it came to Thursday night, the big day, I was dancing around my condo trying to shake all the excitement and nerves that faced me. 7pm hit and I taught my first ever Zumba class.

Zumba

I was quickly reminded exactly why I took the instructor’s course in the first place. I love Zumba and I want to share that love with everyone and anyone who will listen and participate. We all had a blast and sweat like crazy and all those pre-teaching jitters I had seemed completely silly. I’m a Zumba instructor at heart and have finally taken the first steps to making it happen.

More classes to come? I definitely think so! Zumba is one of my passions & I can’t imagine giving up on it now.

4.12.2013

High Five for Friday

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Happy best day of the work week! It’s been a great couple weeks filled with new experiences and reunited loves (aka baseball). Here are just a few my favourite highlights from the last 2 weeks:

(1) Blue Jays Home Opener

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(2) Group baseball game – Baseball, booze & Besties…enough said

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Mmmm Jello Shots

(3) Food and Drink show – lots of curry, strawberry daiquiris and trying new foods. I loved it! Definitely will keep my eye out for more of these.

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Blurry much? And I wasn’t even drunk!

(4) American Country Music Awards  - YAYYYY Luke! Any extended period of time watching this handsome man is fine with me. Oh and he won Entertainer of the Year! No Luke, you shake it for me!

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I just wanna give him a big hug!

(5) I taught my first Zumba class! This is a hugeee accomplishment for me and totally deserves its own post (keep your eye out for this sometime soon). I was nervous like crazy but I really love it and can’t wait to do it again. There’s a reason I took my course & I’ve finally realized I can do it!

Have a safe & happy weekend everyone! I have some family time in the plans and can’t wait!

4.10.2013

The Fault in Our Stars: Book Review

As a huge fan of Peanut Butter Finger’s blog I was really excited to finally jump in on one of the book reviews. Damn baseball for making me miss the cue but better late than never. Anyways, besides grade school I have never written a book review, and usually I keep my book reading to me, myself, and I. When I found out March’s book was “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green, I was a little hesitant, as it didn’t look like the typical chick lit  I’m used to. For those who don’t know me, I’m absolutely in love with Nicholas Sparks’ books & recently jumped on board the Nora Roberts train. Yep, you don’t get more chick lit than that but a change would be nice.

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The Fault in Our Stars was a complete surprise to my reading taste buds and I’m so glad I gave it a chance. It pulled my heart strings in so many ways and had my emotions pouring out over every single page. I cried, I laughed, and followed along with the joys and sorrows of each character in the book. Cancer has touched my life much too closely, like so many in this world. This book shows you the different perspectives of those living through it and makes lightly of such a serious topic.

I don’t want to spoil anything  so I’ll keep this short but I highly suggest this book! It’s an easy read even with all of the seriousness of its topic. You can’t help but fall in love with each and every character and you feel every heartbreak and happy moment even more because of it.  Jump on in, it’s worth the read.

Okay.

Some of my fav quotes from the book:

“I fell in love the way you fall asleep. Slowly, and then all at once.”

“What a slut time is. She screws everybody.”

“I’m on a rollercoaster that only goes up”

4.09.2013

Tweet Tweet. It’s Twitter Tuesday.

I decided to devote a post to Twitter and call it Twitter Tuesday. Unique much? Not quite. But to be honest I don’t fully understand or take advantage of the Twitter craze. If I were to rank my social networks it would look a little like this:

1. Facebook

2. Instagram

3. Twitter

I know a lot of people have fallen off of the Facebook trend but I still find it the best place to creep those I know and love, as well as those I barely talk to anymore (nothing like blunt honesty right?). Instagram comes in close second but usually has quite a few duplicates from Facebook. And last place goes to Twitter, the unknown world for me.

Here are my favourite tweets I posted this week:

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Analyzing my tweets I think I may be the most boring person to follow. Baseball obsessed much? Seems like it. Note to self, make your posts more interesting or you will never be followed. It’s kind of strange how this world has changed. Pretty sure when I was younger the idea of someone following you was pure creepy & disturbing, but now it’s perfectly normal and ideal.

The worst part of my lack of twitter knowledge is that my boyfriend is a complete twitter addict! We are waiting for the elevator, he is on twitter. We are watching the ball game, he is on twitter. We are laying in bed, he is on twitter… You get the point. How can someone I love so much be so completely opposite to me in social networking patterns? Oh right, because he’s a boy and Twitter is the sports social networking hub. Holy updates on any team at any time.

So my question is Twitter, what is in it for me? Right now you don’t offer me much. I get the odd Blue Jays update, a few tweets from my favourite bloggers, and a picture here and there from my Celebrity favs but I could live without those.

Oh twitter, please help me understand you. I’m not even new anymore! #twitterconfused #Help!

4.08.2013

Baseball Themed Affair

When I think of a baseball game there are so many fun and exciting things to be enjoyed. There’s your typical stadium foods, loud sounds, and  busy surroundings. There’s also the sexy men in tight pants, how could we forget that now ladies? For the non-baseball fans out there it also means 9 long innings of a sport that isn’t always the most thrilling, but believe me when I say with practice you can definitely come to love it.

Annually I plan a group outing to a baseball game in the city I know and love. This year, paired with a pre-drink at our place, it turned out to be a huge success. I can only speak for myself but I think everyone had a great time. Here are some of the baseball themed ideas I used for this special event.

1. Ticket Tags – Being a sucker for organization a seating plan is key in my eyes. I made these tags using computer paper and a red marker in literally 10 minutes max. Easy and efficient.

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2. Baseball themed decorations – Our team is blue so I used as many blue and baseball themed decorations as possible.

3. Hot dogs in the Crockpot – AMAZING! Cannot tell you how happy I was with how these turned out. Easiest meal  (and the only meal) for a large group I have ever made. Throw them in on low for 4 hours and perfection. Only downfall was we ended up wasting  a lot and now we’re stuck with a whole lot of hot dog buns. Any recipe ideas folks?

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4. Jello shots – A vital part of any pre-drink. I was planning on making all blue, but due to a lack of blue jello at all surrounding stores, I made half blue and half red (we were playing the Red Sox). They turned out great! When searching for blue recipes I found a million different jello shot recipes out there and I can’t wait to experiment with more.

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5. Baseball cupcakes – White icing and red icing for the stitching of the “baseball”. Plain and simple (although I failed so my bestie did it for me).

6. Lots of amazing people =) – Made the night what it was

I have a new obsession with planning now and I’m already thinking of another event… stay tuned.

4.04.2013

Buckets of “Pre-season Summer” Fun

Spring has sprung, well barely, but regardless I am completely ready to embrace it. The closer we get to summer the better in my eyes, and spring is as close as it’s going to get for now. To embrace what I would like to call summer pre-season, I’ve made a mini bucket list.

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( ) Spring clean

( ) Go for a run along Lakeshore

( ) Take lots of pictures of the pretty spring colours

( ) Go strawberry picking

( ) Go to the drive in

( ) Decorate (well overdue)

( ) Enjoy a whole lot of baseball!

Nothing too optimistic but just enough to give me something to look forward to. With baseball season under way life is going to get hectic up in here, which only means I can’t wait to share it with y’all.

What’s your spring bucket list look like?

4.03.2013

Take me out to the opening day ball game….

Take me out with the crowd.

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Buy me some soda and that’s enough…

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I don’t care if we ever get back

(although I really wish we did)

Opener Score

And we Root Root Root for the Blue Jays

Root Root Root

If they don’t win it’s a shame (damn right it was!). For it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out at the old ball game!

I <3 Baseball season.

P.S. I was on TV (kind of) – check out 1:30 I was in the bottom right

Video Clip

4.01.2013

I Pity the Fool who falls for this…

april Fools

Happy April Fool’s day you wonderful fools out there. (Insert line I say I came out unharmed. Damn co-workers). Is it hard to trick me? Probably not, but when I know  that it is April 1st, I know to be a little more wary. After all, I have been a victim to a plan before, well I almost was a victim….

In university my roommate and best friend thought she would get creative and try to fool me.  Being a creature of nature I had a routine I followed every morning before class including the exact same breakfast every single day. As a girl on the run I would grab a Nutrigrain bar as I got ready but only the green apple flavour. Knowing my habits my roommate went out of her way to switch my green apple Nutrigrain bar for a strawberry one, including a whole lot of prep to make the wrapper look as untouched as possible. It was perfect, since I only had one more bar left in the box so  I was sure to grab that one. Well I didn’t… I threw away the box thinking it was done and the prank never happened. The best part was that she was waiting all day for me to message her and I never did. Plan failed.

So who’s been fooled before? I know there’s some great pranks out there, I just don’t have the patience to craft one.