Tag Archives: recipes

Outdoor art pieces + Meal plan {08.04.2013}

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IMG_0690This week was kind of quiet, so not much to recap. I do have some photos to share though, of the first amazing Spring weekend we have had.  We went to our favorite cafe – Guglhupf  ( a german bakery), where they have added a couple of cool outdoor art pieces to their collection.

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This is our plan for week 13:

DAY BREAKFAST DINNER EXERCISE
Sunday Strawberry+ Banana crepes Leftovers
Monday Bircher Muesli Creamy Vegetable Shepherds Pie (Hopefully 4th time the charm)  20 mins. HIT
Tuesday Berry + Banana + Spirulina Smoothie Vegetable Biryani (adding broccoli and left over vegetables from Sunday) 3-4 Mile Walk
Wednesday Bircher Muesli Zpizza (Pizza with whole wheat crust and organic ingredients) 20 mins. HIT
Thursday Granola + Fruit + Soy Yoghurt Vegetable Pasta Bake
Friday Granola + Fruit + Soy Yoghurt Vegetarian Burgers + Salad 20 mins. HIT

We are spending $70 a week only, for our meals, by providing a shopping list. So, here was this weeks grocery list:

GROCERY LIST (NEW STOCK) IN THE CUPBOARD/FRID
  • Grapes (TJ)
  • Bananas (TJ)
  • Broccoli (TJ)
  • Bell Peppers(TJ)
  • Lettuce (TJ)
  • Tomatoes (TJ)
  • Cucumber (TJ)
  • Butter (TJ)
  • Soy Milk (TJ)
  • Eggs (TJ)
  • Ground Beef 96/4 (TJ)
  • Juice (TJ, TT)
  • Split Peas (TT)
  • Dates (TT)
  • Sultanas (TT)
  • Brown Rice (TJ)
  • Gluten Free Pasta (TT)
  • Vegetable Stock (TT)
  • Onions (TJ)
  • Potatoes (TJ)
  • Butter (TJ)
  • Flour/ WW and GF (TT)
  • Granola (TT or BJ)
  • Oats (BJ)
  • Marinara Sauce (BJ or TT)
  • Frozen Peas + Corn (TJ)
  • Vegetable Patties (TJ)

NOTE: We shop majority at Trader Joe’s (TJ), Target (TT) with an occasional visit to Whole foods (WF), BJ’s , Harris Teeters (HT), Lowes Food (LF) and Fresh Market (FM).
NOTE: We do not typically use coupons mainly due to time.
NOTE: Items indicated by * are specials for the week we took advantage of.

Hope everyone has a good week. I would love to see what you are doing for meal planning or trying to balance your life – leave a link to your post in the comments below 🙂

Slow-cooked split pea and ham soup

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My husband’s favorite soup I make is split pea and ham soup. A funny thing happened  last week – my hairdresser and a close friend all started to rave about how they love split pea and ham soup. Next thing I know, I am making a batch of split pea and ham soup, and decided to try it in a slow-cooker. I got rave reviews and the other great thing it cost me $4 and it serves at least 8 people!!

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Ingredients

  • 1 bag of split peas (dried green peas ~450 g)
  • 2 Ham hocks (bacon hocks)
  • 1 onion (diced)
  • ~1-2 litres of water

Place all ingredients in the slow-cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours. The meat should be falling of the bone, take out the meat and bones. Pull the meat off the bones, shred and put back in the soup and stir. Throw the bones away. Place into containers and either store in the fridge and or the freezer.

When you reheat the soup, you may need to add water, also season with salt and pepper to your taste preference.

Baking with Citrus: Orange Lightening Muffins + Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

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This weekend,  I took two recipes I previously posted and made a couple of modifications. These modifications were so well received the boys have almost eaten it all in 24 hours.

Modification one was using the Orange lightening cake recipe and making Orange Lightening Muffins. I made the recipe exactly the same but instead of putting it in the cake tin, I placed it in a muffin tin. I baked them at the same temperature – 325 degrees F, for 30 minutes.

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The second modification was to the Vanilla buttermilk pound cake, making it a Lemon buttermilk pound cake. I switched out the vanilla essence using one lemon.

  • grated zest of 1 lemon
  • heat lemon for 10 seconds in the microwave and add to the mixture the juice from the squeezed lemon.

Everything else was the same including the Lemon icing.

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