Sunday, December 22, 2013
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Recipe Time: Slowcooker Italian Herb Chicken
Anyone who knows me, knows that I love my slowcooker. It started out with necessity. When Andre and I were first married we were both working crazy hours, and evenings at work. If we wanted to eat before 9 or 10:00 at night we needed to figure out how to cook dinner (or at least part of it) before we got home. The slowcooker was the perfect solution for us.
Even now, Andre isn't home most nights until after 7, and half the time I'm not home long before he is. If we want to eat a real meal, and have something for Emilie to eat earlier, we need to cook it while we're at work.
This recipe started as a fluke. We were out grocery shopping and I needed a seasoning packet for my beef stew (yes, I cheat). I saw one for an Italian Herb Chicken. Add some chicken, a few simple ingredients, the packet and Ta Da! What more could you ask for? It soon became a favourite, but the seasoning packets are hard to find now, so I had to improvise with some seasonings at home one night. The result was delicious, and this recipe is still a favourite!
Slow Cooker Italian Herb Chicken
(adapted from Club House Packet Recipe)
Ingredients:
-thawed Chicken (I prefer boneless skinless, but you could also use chicken thighs or whatever you have in the house)
-one can of diced tomatoes (do not drain)
-one small can of tomato paste
-2 tbsp of Club House Italiano seasoning
-1 tsp of Club House Garlic Plus seasoning
You can adjust seasoning to taste, and could also substitute for whatever Italian seasonings you prefer.
-one half a red and green pepper chopped into chunks
-2 cups of thickly sliced mushrooms
(You can also use whatever vegetables you like instead of the mushrooms and peppers)
Chop the peppers, and mushrooms:
Even now, Andre isn't home most nights until after 7, and half the time I'm not home long before he is. If we want to eat a real meal, and have something for Emilie to eat earlier, we need to cook it while we're at work.
This recipe started as a fluke. We were out grocery shopping and I needed a seasoning packet for my beef stew (yes, I cheat). I saw one for an Italian Herb Chicken. Add some chicken, a few simple ingredients, the packet and Ta Da! What more could you ask for? It soon became a favourite, but the seasoning packets are hard to find now, so I had to improvise with some seasonings at home one night. The result was delicious, and this recipe is still a favourite!
Slow Cooker Italian Herb Chicken
(adapted from Club House Packet Recipe)
Ingredients:
-thawed Chicken (I prefer boneless skinless, but you could also use chicken thighs or whatever you have in the house)
-one can of diced tomatoes (do not drain)
-one small can of tomato paste
-2 tbsp of Club House Italiano seasoning
-1 tsp of Club House Garlic Plus seasoning
You can adjust seasoning to taste, and could also substitute for whatever Italian seasonings you prefer.
-one half a red and green pepper chopped into chunks
-2 cups of thickly sliced mushrooms
(You can also use whatever vegetables you like instead of the mushrooms and peppers)
Put your chicken in the bottom of your slow cooker:
In a mixing bowl, mix seasonings, tomatoes, and tomato paste:
Chop the peppers, and mushrooms:
Add the vegetables on top of the chicken:
Pour the sauce mixture over the vegetables:
Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4-6 hours. This it looks like after 8 hours on Low:
You can serve this with roasted potatoes, or over pasta, or spaghetti squash. I prefer spaghetti squash:
Directions:
-Place chicken in the bottom of slow cooker.
-Mix tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasonings in mixing bowl.
-chop vegetables
-place vegetables over chicken in slow cooker and pour sauce mixture over vegetables.
-cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4-6 hours
-serve with roasted potatoes, or over pasta or spaghetti squash.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Changes are coming
Hello everyone!
Long time notalk type? I have decided that one of my New Years resolution was to blog more often. For real this time. So I thought that a change was in order.
First change: A new blog name. You will see that Our Little One is gone. Let's be honest a big part of this blog will still be Emilie. She is the centre of our life, and if you give me a minute I will talk your ear off about her latest adventure. I wanted this blog to be more than just Emilie. I wanted it to be about my LIFE. With the change to the title comes the.....
Second change: Different content! Now I will start this by saying there will be plenty about Emilie, but there will also be recipes, updates on changes to the house, products that I love (or not) and anything else that pops into my mind. I wanted this blog to be a little well rounded. It may just end up being an online journal of sorts that no one reads, and that is okay.
Third change: A new photo banner! I am currently in love with some professional photos that we had done this fall, and I really wanted to put them out there for everyone to see.
So there you have it, some of the changes in store!
Long time no
First change: A new blog name. You will see that Our Little One is gone. Let's be honest a big part of this blog will still be Emilie. She is the centre of our life, and if you give me a minute I will talk your ear off about her latest adventure. I wanted this blog to be more than just Emilie. I wanted it to be about my LIFE. With the change to the title comes the.....
Second change: Different content! Now I will start this by saying there will be plenty about Emilie, but there will also be recipes, updates on changes to the house, products that I love (or not) and anything else that pops into my mind. I wanted this blog to be a little well rounded. It may just end up being an online journal of sorts that no one reads, and that is okay.
Third change: A new photo banner! I am currently in love with some professional photos that we had done this fall, and I really wanted to put them out there for everyone to see.
So there you have it, some of the changes in store!
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Weekly photo dump
As I mentioned in my previous entry, I tend to take the majority of our pictures on my phone. It's just so convenient. So here are a small collection of the pictures I have taken over the last few weeks.
Our Summer so far
It's hard to believe that it's already August. The summer is half over already. Andre gets the summer off with his job so he has been home with Emilie all summer. Don't bother asking if I'm jealous. Hell yes I am jealous!
Emilie loves the warmer weather. She is outside with Joshua, her favourite sidekick whenever she can get the chance. The two of them are always up to something. I wish I had a bunch of pictures to share, but truth be told most of my pictures of Emilie and her adventures are on my iPhone, and Instagram. We did manage to bring out the DSLR a couple times, and our point and shoot to the Zoo though, so I do have some pictures. After realizing the depressingly few pictures we have of this summer I have decided to try and drag it out more often and snap some better quality pictures.
In June Joshua celebrated his second birthday. Carrie and Darren decided to mark the day with a playdate in the park, one of his favourite places. I brought the DSLR with us to record the day so here are some pictures of all the fun Emilie had that morning:
The best part of the day was the epic nap that afternoon after being outside playing all morning. It was awesome!
She loves her big girl bed but refuses to sleep in it. She much prefers the comfort of her crib, which we are a-okay with. As much as we are enjoying her independence this year, we are okay with her holding on to one of the last links to her being a baby. Our more immediate concern is getting rid of the pacifier this summer, and one big transition is enough for all of us.
We haven't done a ton to her playroom other than put everything in it, but she is still loving it. I want to get to Value Village or somewhere similar and buy some cheap frames to put some of her paintings and other artwork in to be displayed. Cheap art for the walls and a great way to show off all of her hard work.
Emilie loves the warmer weather. She is outside with Joshua, her favourite sidekick whenever she can get the chance. The two of them are always up to something. I wish I had a bunch of pictures to share, but truth be told most of my pictures of Emilie and her adventures are on my iPhone, and Instagram. We did manage to bring out the DSLR a couple times, and our point and shoot to the Zoo though, so I do have some pictures. After realizing the depressingly few pictures we have of this summer I have decided to try and drag it out more often and snap some better quality pictures.
In June Joshua celebrated his second birthday. Carrie and Darren decided to mark the day with a playdate in the park, one of his favourite places. I brought the DSLR with us to record the day so here are some pictures of all the fun Emilie had that morning:
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| Someone got splashed at the splash pad and was NOT happy. |
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| Two little bums waiting for their snack. |
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| Our little girl on a mission! |
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| "Helping" Joshua open his gifts. |
One of my goals this summer was to move Emilie from her small room, and into the bigger of the small rooms. We bought her a "big girl" bed and turned her former nursery into a playroom, which seemed like a better use of the space right now.
She loves her big girl bed but refuses to sleep in it. She much prefers the comfort of her crib, which we are a-okay with. As much as we are enjoying her independence this year, we are okay with her holding on to one of the last links to her being a baby. Our more immediate concern is getting rid of the pacifier this summer, and one big transition is enough for all of us.
We haven't done a ton to her playroom other than put everything in it, but she is still loving it. I want to get to Value Village or somewhere similar and buy some cheap frames to put some of her paintings and other artwork in to be displayed. Cheap art for the walls and a great way to show off all of her hard work.
It's been a great addition, and with the really erratic weather lately it's nice for her to have a place filled with "new" toys to keep her occupied. It's also nice she has a place to go to when I'm trying to get ready for work during the week. Especially when she's is obsessed lately with using make up just like Mama!
We had been toying with the idea of taking Emilie to the Zoo this year. She loves animals, and we wanted to do something while I was off for a few days in July. We ended up getting a Wag Jag deal for Safari Niagara which is closer to us than the Toronto Zoo and I'm so glad that we went there instead. It is a smaller "Zoo" so it was a much more manageable size for a toddler. She loved seeing the animals, they have an awesome splash pad, and a Tram that travels through the whole park as well. The "choo choo" was her favourite part of the day by far.
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| Feeding the giraffes. |
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| Andre on the "choo choo" |
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| Elk |
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| Taking a little time to warm up to the animals. |
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| In front of the Condor. |
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| The Condor. |
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| Emilie and Papa checking out the goats. |
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| Baboon. |
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| Emilie the hippo! |
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| Hello Papa! |
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| Someone was a little tired by the end of the day! |
We don't have too much more planned for the rest of the summer. I don't have anymore time off until September when Andre is back to work so it would be shorter little trips. Emilie doesn't mind though. She is quite happy playing at the park and outside the house!
Friday, June 7, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
Dear Emilie: 2 years old
Dear Emilie,
You will probably notice that is has taken me a little while to write this letter to you. It's now almost 2 whole months since you turned two years old. This birthday seemed like such a special birthday. You are such a big girl now. You are this little girl with thoughts, and dreams, and opinions, and you let us know about them every day. You're not our baby anymore, even though I still call you my baby. It makes me a little sad thinking that you're not a baby anymore.
The time is passing so quickly. Every day you are saying something new, or doing something new. Your Papa and I talk all the time about how we wish there was a pause button. Never a stop button though. We're always struggling with not being able to wait to see what new and exciting adventure you have next, but at the same time just wanting to savour this time with you right now for just a little bit longer.
You are such an amazing little girl. You are so affectionate, and love to give kisses and hugs and tell us "I love you". You always say it in a little whisper, like it's our little secret. You cannot wait until your cousin Joshua and your Auntie Carrie come over for a short visit in the morning. As soon as you hear the door open you run over so you can see who it is and yell "Hiya Josh!". I hope the two of you are always as close as you are now.
You love swimming, storytime at the library, and playing with your friends at daycare. You are always talking about your friends at daycare, even though you only see them once a week. You love the park and playing outside. You could play for hours outside, but also like snuggling with me in the chair in the livingroom under your blanket watching Elmo. You and Elmo, I don't know how many times we have watched your Elmo movies. You cannot get enough.
You will probably notice that is has taken me a little while to write this letter to you. It's now almost 2 whole months since you turned two years old. This birthday seemed like such a special birthday. You are such a big girl now. You are this little girl with thoughts, and dreams, and opinions, and you let us know about them every day. You're not our baby anymore, even though I still call you my baby. It makes me a little sad thinking that you're not a baby anymore.
The time is passing so quickly. Every day you are saying something new, or doing something new. Your Papa and I talk all the time about how we wish there was a pause button. Never a stop button though. We're always struggling with not being able to wait to see what new and exciting adventure you have next, but at the same time just wanting to savour this time with you right now for just a little bit longer.
You are such an amazing little girl. You are so affectionate, and love to give kisses and hugs and tell us "I love you". You always say it in a little whisper, like it's our little secret. You cannot wait until your cousin Joshua and your Auntie Carrie come over for a short visit in the morning. As soon as you hear the door open you run over so you can see who it is and yell "Hiya Josh!". I hope the two of you are always as close as you are now.
You love swimming, storytime at the library, and playing with your friends at daycare. You are always talking about your friends at daycare, even though you only see them once a week. You love the park and playing outside. You could play for hours outside, but also like snuggling with me in the chair in the livingroom under your blanket watching Elmo. You and Elmo, I don't know how many times we have watched your Elmo movies. You cannot get enough.
It's amazing the new things that you do everyday. We can't wait to see what the next year brings our way.
Love, Mama
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Easter
There was a lot of excitement around here leading up to Easter. Most of that excitement revolved around Andre and I counting the days until our 4 day weekend arrived rather than Emilie being excited for the Easter Bunny. Thankfully she was still too young this year to fully understand the whole bunny thing.
We had a lot planned for Easter weekend, and then Friday arrived and I woke up with a migraine and a sour stomach (which I thought was due to the migraine). I popped some pain relievers, prayed for some relief and we got the day rolling because we had an Easter Egg hunt planned with some friends that morning.
We left the house bright and early and headed to the hunt. Amanda and I stayed on the sidelines (it was a pretty busy event) and the dad's took the girls out to hunt for some eggs. Emilie found 5 little foil wrapped eggs, and by the time we found each other afterwards she had already started to enjoy her treats!
After a little visit we headed home and put a certain little girl down for asugar coma nap. I also enjoyed a nap because I soon realized that the sour stomach was an unexpected stomach bug, and not due to the migraine.
Saturday was a blur spent napping, and trying to enjoy some of the beautiful weather. Emilie did get some much needed play time outside with her cousin Joshua though.
I wish I had gotten more pictures on Easter Sunday. Emilie looked so cute in her Easter dress, but I woke up with a cold and felt miserable again. I did manage to get some pictures first thing that morning as Emilie dug into her chocolate. Boy was that girl on a sugar high that day!
Emilie were so excited to go to church that week. Joshua was going to join you and all we could hear all morning as we were getting ready was "Church, Joshua hummin (coming) too! Fun, toys, church!". Needless to say there is a lot of enthusiasm around church these days. I hope it continues for a few years at least!
We had dinner with my family this year. Emilie had very little interest in dinner since there were little eggs hidden all around the house. She was a very unhappy little girl when she had to go to bed. She was more than a little overtired, so I had to rock her to sleep that night. It made me think back to her first Easter, she was just a little over a month old.
Fast forward two years. We still have that doll. Emilie sleeps with "baby" every night. I kind of wish I had gotten two! Instead of that tiny little girl in my arms that night in the glider, I have my "big girl". She's so long now that her legs now dangle off my lap, but her head still snuggles the same place on my chest, at just the perfect height that I can still kiss the top of her head. I guess some things change, while others remain the same.
We left the house bright and early and headed to the hunt. Amanda and I stayed on the sidelines (it was a pretty busy event) and the dad's took the girls out to hunt for some eggs. Emilie found 5 little foil wrapped eggs, and by the time we found each other afterwards she had already started to enjoy her treats!
After a little visit we headed home and put a certain little girl down for a
Saturday was a blur spent napping, and trying to enjoy some of the beautiful weather. Emilie did get some much needed play time outside with her cousin Joshua though.
I wish I had gotten more pictures on Easter Sunday. Emilie looked so cute in her Easter dress, but I woke up with a cold and felt miserable again. I did manage to get some pictures first thing that morning as Emilie dug into her chocolate. Boy was that girl on a sugar high that day!
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| Enjoying her pre-breakfast treat. |
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| Ohhh, the bunny brought me treats? |
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| Yummy bunny ears! |
We had dinner with my family this year. Emilie had very little interest in dinner since there were little eggs hidden all around the house. She was a very unhappy little girl when she had to go to bed. She was more than a little overtired, so I had to rock her to sleep that night. It made me think back to her first Easter, she was just a little over a month old.
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| Do you remember this? |
Fast forward two years. We still have that doll. Emilie sleeps with "baby" every night. I kind of wish I had gotten two! Instead of that tiny little girl in my arms that night in the glider, I have my "big girl". She's so long now that her legs now dangle off my lap, but her head still snuggles the same place on my chest, at just the perfect height that I can still kiss the top of her head. I guess some things change, while others remain the same.
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