Maple Lodge Farms puts Families First!

As a busy mom, I'm always looking for healthy and quick protein options for my family and myself. I try to stay away from processed foods, but I'm no SuperMom and sometimes convenience trumps all. Wraps, sandwiches on croissants and "kebabs" with deli meat and cheese are staples in my son's lunch box.  I've always been leery of "lunch meats" (just ask my poor Mom... I don't know how she packed my lunch all those years...) so when Maple Lodge Farms invited Oliver and I to their Family First Creations event in Toronto to try the new Naturally from the Farm deli slices, we were on board right away! 

Maple Lodge Farms was started by the May family in what is now Brampton, Ontario way back in the 1830's. The company is family owned and operated and they really seem to value family and putting families first. This is apparent in their ads as well as from what I've learned about their business culture after spending time with some of the employees at the event. They sure knew how to make my family feel welcome, that's for sure! 

Speaking of the event, we had a great time! Families were invited to a friendly competition to see who could build the most creative, yet tasty, sandwich using the new Naturally from the Farm deli slices. Hosted by Erica Ehm of the Yummy Mummy Club, there was a definite spark of healthy competition in the air once we were given the go-ahead. 

The ever fabulous, Erica Ehm

I passed the reigns over to Oliver and let him decide what would go into our creation. He carefully built his sandwich and being the day before Mother's Day, gave it the name, "The Mother's Day Special". Made with me in mind, it included Gummi Bears, pickles, olives, one ketchup chip, hot peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, oven roasted chicken slices and some blue food colouring for good measure.  I'm a lucky lady... ;).   The new Naturally from the Farm products that we used are different than typical deli meats in that they have all natural ingredients (i.e., nothing I can't pronounce), are gluten free (big win for me!), and are 100% chicken breast.  

We plated our sandwich and submitted it for judging. Oliver wanted to be sure we could bring it home, though, so that I could eat it on Mother's Day. Again... lucky me... ;)

While he worked away, I sampled the deli slices that we had to choose from - Oven Roasted Chicken, as mentioned above, Jalapeno and Black Garlic and Peppercorn. I liked them all but I think the Jalapeno is my favourite. It's not super hot but it has a nice kick and flavour to it.  I have since been using them in my daily lunch salads and they are a nice protein addition! My only recommendation is to make thinner slices. They are quite thick and the texture is a bit off. The tastes is right on, though! 

We didn't win the competition, but we sure did have a good time. With kid- and adult-sized aprons, chicken hats, the company mascot hanging out, a BBQ for everyone after and a goodie bag to take home, it was a great way to spend a Saturday. 

Mmm...Mother's Day breakfast! And YES, I ate it :)

Full disclosure: I was compensated to attend this event, however, opinions are my own. 

What in the World Has Penne Been Up To?

Wow, it’s been a few months since I last wrote a blog post – shame on me!  I am going to plead extreme busyness (wow, that IS a word…) over the summer both professionally and personally.  Obviously, summer is the craziest time of year for us at DQ Canada and with our annual Miracle Treat Day fundraiser and a Guinness World Records event in Calgary for world’s largestfruit sculpture, I barely had time to catch my breath and do the regular stuff.   

In my home life, we kept super busy this summer with day trips to places like Port Dover on Lake Erie and African Lion Safari for O's 2nd birthday. We mostly stayed local and enjoyed lounging in our back yard on warm summer days.   Jason and I also went on a one-night getaway to Fergus and Elora where we hiked, ate, drank and rode our bikes.  If you've never been to this little gem in Ontario, you must check it out! 

World's Largest Fruit Sculpture.  3.06 meters tall!

Brew House on the Grand, Fergus, ON

In the kitchen, I’ve been up to my usual antics.  I continue to meal plan religiously and try a couple of new recipes every week.  Boy, I love to cook.  Like, really, really love it.  Had I known this 20 (OMG) years ago, perhaps I would have went to culinary school.  Although, given that I am the furthest thing from a night owl there is, I probably would have had to specialize in breakfast.   And, given that I am not a fan of breakfast (eggs – no thanks, waffles – yuck, pancakes – oh no) I just don’t see it working out for me as a chef.  But I digress….

Here’s something super cool that I’ve been doing in the kitchen though!  It’s no secret that I love Chatelaine magazine and its recipes, so when I saw that I could apply to be a home recipe tester I filled out those forms at lightning speed.  And, guess who was chosen to be a tester?  Yes, that’s right – ME!  I have now tested recipes for both the November and December issues of the magazine.   I’m sworn to secrecy on those recipes until they are in print, but I will tell you this – the ones I tested were delicious, fast and easy, true to Chatelaine form.  I could potentially be quoted in the mags when the recipes are printed, so I’ll let you know if I’m now a famous home-recipe-tester when they show up in my mailbox. 

I’ve cooked several super delicious meals lately and I don’t have time to elaborate on all, but I will tell you about one from last weekend.  This. Chicken. Is. Unbelievable.

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Caprese Chicken with Balsamic Reduction

 

The original recipe is from this blog and I followed it pretty much to the letter.  I did buy one of those mozzarella balls which I think is much better than the brick mozzarella, although more expensive.  Fresh basil leaves are essential and I used Roma tomatoes as they tend to be less juicy and more firm.  One thing I did that the recipe did not call for was to marinate the chicken.  I threw it in a bowl with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, S and P and garlic powder for a few hours before BBQ-ing it.  I think it was a nice touch and added more flavour. 

On the side we had grilled asparagus and a very rich and delicious (read: full of butter, cheese and calories) Parmesan and garlic farfalle pasta.   It was a great meal shared with wonderful friends that I will most definitely make again.  

September always feels like the time for new beginnings for me, so I am going to make a concerted effort to blog at least once a week.  Mark my words!  

 

Our Menu: Week of January 28 to February 3

I only have five meals this week since a couple of days sort of fell apart when we started sleep training with O.  Here they are!

Chicken Parmesan
There’s nothing fancy about this one!  I use jarred or canned pasta sauce (I really like Hunt’s Thick and Rich 4 cheese, although there’s nothing low calorie about it) and sometimes we have a bagged Caesar salad with it or a steamed vegetable.  I coat the boneless, skinless chicken breasts in breadcrumbs that I season with S&P, garlic powder and oregano and bake it on a parchment-lined baking pan.  When the chicken is cooked, I spoon some sauce over each piece and grate some fresh parmesan cheese on top then broil for a few minutes to melt the cheese.  Served with brown rice pasta (spaghetti, penne, whichever you like). 

Tacos
Easy-peasy!  I always use ground chicken (I don’t eat beef) and sometimes buy a taco kit.  Occasionally I make my own taco seasoning using this recipe and now that I’m gluten-free I buy corn tortillas.  Shredded cheese, lettuce, sour cream, salsa and diced tomatoes for toppings.  Served with a salad and/or a steamed vegetable.

Jen’s “Jambalaya”
Traditional jambalaya has shrimp and smoked sausage, but I don’t like either, so I use mild Italian sausage (a package of 5 or 6) and 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Here’s how I make it:

Cook the sausages (whole) in a big skillet (I use a wok-like deep frying pan).  When they are almost cooked, I cut up the chicken breasts into large bite size pieces and add them to the skillet.  Once the sausages are cooked, take them out and slice them into 1 inch pieces and put them back in the skillet.  Add in two chopped peppers, three stalks of chopped celery, and one chopped onion.  Occasionally I add mushrooms if I have extras on hand.  Saute this all together till the chicken is cooked.  Sprinkle in 1-2 tbsp of dried thyme (depending on how much you like thyme) and a PINCH of cayenne pepper.  Add a can of diced tomatoes, plus half a can of water.  Add 1.5 cups of uncooked rice.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.  This really is a complete one-dish meal but we also have a salad with it.

Coq au Vin
Jack Tripper’s specialty!  I loved Three’s Company.  RIP John Ritter. 
I have made this one twice, once in the crock pot using boneless, skinless chicken thighs and once on the stove top in a large pot using skinless bone-in chicken thighs. I actually preferred it on the stove top with the bone-in thighs.  I let it cook for about 2.5 hours on the stove top which was plenty of time. The chicken all fell apart in the crock when I did it that way.  I skipped the fresh tarragon too.  This is not a throw-it-in-the-crockpot-before-work kind of recipe.  It does take some preparation and pre-cooking, so I save this one for the weekend.  It is good over rice and I have tried it over rice stick noodles which was nice too.  Click HERE for the recipe. 

BBQ Pulled Pork in the Crock Pot
This is the second time I’ve attempted BBQ pulled pork using different recipes and I just can’t get it right.  There just seems to be way too much BBQ sauce and it comes out super sweet.  We did eat it though, with rice and steamed broccoli and a salad.  Here’s the recipe I used, but I wouldn’t make this particular one again.

Salad
I mention that we have salad often, and thought I should comment on that.  I hate, hate, hate making salad, especially when it means washing lettuce!  The only way we are sure to have salad regularly is to buy pre-washed mixed salad greens.  Throw in a few cherry tomatoes, a sprinkle of sunflower seeds, maybe some cucumber and a crumble of blue cheese and you have an amazing salad!  I also make all my own dressings, which are much better than store-bought.  Salad dressing is simple to make.  A basic vinaigrette is olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and sugar.  Just mix it up to your taste!

Bon Appetit!