Quick Post about Chili

Yes, that's right, chili. I made a HUGE batch of chili this weekend - sorry no pics or recipe as I didn't really follow one - that I planned on eating all week for lunch or dinner. But like most things, I got tired of eating it on Day 2. Something about cooking the dish and smelling it for hours kind of takes the wind of out its sails once you sit down to eat it. I still really enjoyed this warm, spicy and slightly sweet meal (I added brown sugar) on a cold Winter's night/day; but last night I needed to change it up a bit!

So I boiled up some Rigatoni pasta (you can use whatever you have on hand) then poured a bunch of the leftover chili in a pan to heat up. The chili turned out rather thick so I poured some red wine to thin it out a bit and make it more of a sauce; really, red wine makes anything better, right? I also added a bunch of baby spinach to the "sauce" for some extra nutrition, though the chili itself is super good for you with tons of beans and veggies. After the pasta had boiled to an al dente texture (slightly under cooked) I added that to the chili sauce, grated some cheese and combined everything together in the pan for about a minute.

This was the finished product and it was SO DELISH!

This chili take on pasta really turned up the flavor and changed it into a completely different meal without wasting any of the chili goodness!

Some other random snaps...

My beautiful Fur-Babies keeping me company, they follow me around the house wherever I go. They make really good sous-chefs too!

Here's a sneak peek at my dress for an upcoming work Holiday Party; cannot wait to wear this!

Next time you have some left over chili or even a thick soup that you are tired of eating; try adding pasta to it to change it into an entirely different meal. You could also change up chili by:

• Making Sloppy Joe's - just heat up in a pan, top on a nice bun with some cheese and you're in Lunch Lady Land!
• Making Chili Dogs - fire up some doggies on the BBQ, top with chili and cheese or any other toppings and you have yourself a ball park favorite at home.

bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Vancouver - July 2013 Recap 1

I have returned from one my best visits to Vancouver that I have ever had! My Dad, 3 older Sisters and my little Brother all reside in and around the Vancouver area so I try to visit them when I can. It's so hard to be so far away from Family! This post will be picture heavy so you can continue on after the jump.

This visit was AWESOME! 

I left last Saturday and landed in Vancouver around 8PM local time -  I had the luck to sit next to the stinkiest guy on the plane for the better part of 5 hours - UGH! Two of my Sisters and my Niece picked me up at the airport and we headed over to Angela's place for some apps and to relax. My body clock was 3 hours ahead so we kept it chill and I tried to get a good night's sleep because in the morning we were headed to Whistler!

 Six hour layover in the Toronto Airport

 Still waiting......*sigh*

The next morning we picked up some food and got ourselves organized to hop on the Sea to Sky Highway, one of the most picturesque and breathtaking drives in the world.

View from the car on the Sea to Sky Highway

*As a side note, all of my readers know I LOVES to eat! I have three very important meals that I HAVE to have every time I am on the left coast:

1) White Spot burger - Triple O Sauce is the draw

2) Fish & Chips - Halibut is my fav which you can rarely find in Ontario

3) Sushi! - Nuff said

So we crossed the first item off my list my stopping at a White Spot on the way to Whistler in beautiful Squamish, BC.

 The White Spot and the Chief in the background

Angela had organized this whole trip to Whistler including the hotel, the dinner and a terrifying but thrilling Zip Line Tour, provided by Zip Trek Eco Tours - more on that in a minute.

We arrived at the Delta Suites in the afternoon and checked into our suite which was SWEET! We were at the end off the hall so we had front and back balconies, a full kitchen, a living room a bedroom and bathroom and a whole separate other bedroom and bathroom as well. Much needed when you have 4 women in the same hotel room!

 View from the Front Balcony

View from the Back Balcony

Peak to Peak

 Our Suite!

We walked around the village, relaxed and made our own cheese and meat plate with wine and it was truly BLISS!

 The Olympic Rings

 Walking in Whistler Village

My Sisters, Laura Lee (Lolly) and Angela

The next day we were up early to get ready to Zip Trek over Whistler Mountain. I have to admit, I don't love heights so I was a little nervous but excited to be outside my comfort zone. I kept telling myself "This is a once in a lifetime experience, so enjoy it!"

We arrived on the mountain and got geared up.

My Sister Bonni, me and Lolly - We are ready!

This post will be picture heavy so you can see more after the jump!

Neon and....Scallops?

Hi All! Kind of a weird Blog Title today but I didn't really know how else to summarize today's post :-)

So last night I made dinner for my Roomie and I wanted to share the recipe with you as it is tasty, received raved reviews and best of all, it's good for you!

This was originally a Weight Watcher's recipe that I tweaked a little but it is still Low-Cal so not to worry. If you like scallops you will love how these Pan Fried Spiced Scallops turn out.

What you'll need:

1 Bag of Scallops - Spend the money and buy the big fresh ones. For frozen, I think you can't beat Costco.
1/2 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
1/2 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Cajun Seasoning
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
2 Tbsp Bread Crumbs (they can be Italian)
1/2 tsp Salt (sea salt is best but you don't need to use it)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp butter

What you'll do:

1) Take your defrosted scallops and pat them dry with a paper towel.
2) In a small bowl combine all of the spices and breadcrumbs, EXCEPT for the salt and place them on a small plate.
3) Take one of the scallops and gently roll it around in the spice/breadcrumb mixture until completely coated. Place coated scallop on a separate plate. Repeat this step with all of your remaining scallops.
4) On Med to Med-High heat, heat a non stick pan on your stove. Pour the Olive Oil and butter onto the pan and let the butter melt.
5) Place the scallops into the pan making sure not the crowd them. You may need to do two batches depending on how many scallops you have and the size of your pan.  If you place too many scallops in the pan they will not brown! Also do not touch the scallops once they are in the pan or that will cause them to steam rather than get crispy on the bottom.Check the heat and turn down if there's too much smoke.
6) After about 2 mins, peak at the bottom of your scallops, they should be golden brown. Flip all of the scallops in the pan to cook the other side for another minute or so.
7) Once the other sides are golden brown, remove scallops from the pan and place on a clean plate.
8) Sprinkle the salt over the scallops while they are steaming hot and enjoy!

We served the scallops with a favorite salad mixture called 7 Super Foods and a Wasabi Sour Cream sauce on the side. For the side sauce all you do is take about a 3/4 cup low fat or non-fat sour cream and mix in wasabi powder to taste -- add a little at a time and taste before you add more. If you dump a bunch of the powder in at once, WOOOOOOWWWEEEEE!

Here's the finished product! It's a light meal with BIG flavor; perfect for the Summer. You can also serve these golden little medallions of scallop heaven in a tortilla with the Wasabi Sour Cream sauce drizzled on top. With a nice glass of Pinot Grigio ....so YUM!

Here's a look at today's outfit and a Top that I picked up at...you guessed it, Wal-Mart!

 Top: American Apparel, shown here

Skirt: (New) Wal-Mart for $8 and they still have some in stock!

Flip-Flops: Fairweather, shown here

Look down from above

This is a top I picked up at Wal-Mart. I think it will look cute with some skinny jeans or a pencil skirt.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Love,

Melmac oxoxoxox

A Wine Tour in Prince Edward County - Part 3

And now for the third and final post capturing all the fun my girlfriends and I had this past weekend in Prince Edward County. I have a few more pictures to share, a map of our tour and last but not least, the tasty varieties I took home with me. Hint: none of them were a Red or White. Huh? What?

Here is a map of the wineries we went to in chronological order. The only map I could find online was from 2012 and Hinterland was no where to be found, but they get a special call out to make sure not to leave anyone out.

1) Huff Estates

2) Sugarbush

3) Karlo Estates

4) Keint-He

5) Sandbanks

6) Norman Hardie

7) Hinderland 

More random pictures from the tour. I know this is probably overkill but I just can't get enough of the landscape and how perfect a day it was! :-)

 This was the view when you looked across from the Karlo Estates barn area

 My friends, Laurie and Denise looking lovely. Me in the background admiring the view from the previous picture. The lady in the black top behind Denise's shoulder is Muriel, our sweet and knowledgeable tour guide. Sadly this is the only picture I have of her :-(

 Dee and I on our way into Karlo. You can see the size of the barn better in this shot.

Beth and I inside Karlo

I am ready to rock this wine tour! This was taken right before we loaded into the van.

So, what did I buy while visiting seven wineries in one afternoon and tasting over a dozen varieties of reds, whites and roses?

From left to right:
Huff Estates 2011 Rose - not too sweet and refreshing
Huff Estates 2010 Vidalescco - tastes like Prosecco, YUM!
Karlo Estates 2009 Van Alstine Red Port - amazing!
Sandbanks Love Cassis Aperitivo 2011 - can't wait to have this before a nice meal.

 Even the labels are pretty!

Score! 

Dress: Suzy Shier (belt came with the dress)

Necklace: Dynamite

Our tour was provided by Prince Edward County Wine Tours. We were given this handy bag to carry our purchases. This will be great when transporting multiple bottles of wine to a dinner party.

Not a red or white in the bunch but all super delicious and unique. I figure you can get decent reds and whites at the LCBO any day but these are special varieties and I look forward to enjoying them with friends and family.

Well, that's it! I am so happy with the comments on these posts and I hope that some of you will put a wine tour in PEC on your to-do list in the near future. Even if you don't like wine, there are still a ton of fun things to do in the County.

Friendship's the wine of life.
Let's drink of it and to it!

A Wine Tour in Prince Edward County - Part 2

On Monday I took you through Part 1 of my Girls Weekend Getaway to Prince Edward County. This follow up post will be picture heavy, are you ready? Okay, let's hit it!

We left off at Karlo Estates Winery, which was my favorite visit. Not that the other stops of the wine tour weren't fabulous but Karlo's had me at "do you want food pairings with your tasting?"

Our next stop was Keint-He Winery and Vineyard and it was in a really beautiful spot. They have north and south facing slopes for their vineyard and that allows for some really different tasting blends coming from one winery. As you can see from the pictures it was so tranquil; you can see lake Ontario just past the vines.

Next we visited one of the more popular wineries in Ontario, Sandbanks, named after the Provincial Park. I have loved their Baco Noir for many years so I tried tasting some different varieties and they were all delish!

 There was some musical entertainment at Sandbanks. At this point on the tour I will pretty pickled so  I sat back, enjoyed the breeze and the relaxing tunes at a near by Adirondack Chair

 Inside the tasting area

Some of the wares at Sandbanks. When you shop while under the influence you buy more! Smart people these Sandbankers.

On to the next! We went to Norman Hardie, another very popular winery. They import their vines from France so if you enjoy French wine, you should check this brand out. I tried their 2010 Chardonnay which I LOVED. It tasted the way you would expect it to be; light, citrus and lingering flavor on the tongue.

Vats at Norman Hardie

Sadly our tour was ending, but our tour guide was smart when she chose Hinterland Wine Company for our last stop. They only create sparkling wine, which I love. Ending a great day with a celebratory "CHEERS" with Champagne flutes filled with bubbly goodness. I tried their Whitecap 2012 Method Charmat.... 

AHHH-MAZING!

 As the vines do not grow very tall in this region of Ontario, the grapes need to be picked by hand. Here are some of the workers returning from a long day out in the field. I stumbled through some Spanish with them and they were super friendly even after a long day working outside.

 #FarmLife

We arrived back at Angeline's just after 6PM and we sat in this little trellis area and chatted, relaxed and let our wine buzz wash over us with satisfaction. Seven wineries on one tour, not too shabby!

 Me, Denise, Kelly and you can spot Beth in the distance Face Timing.

The night we ate dinner at the Waring House, which I have frequented many times and it's consistently a good time with great food. 

 This is a poorly taken iPhone picture with a messy room in the back ground. Oh well, you make do!

Dress: NEW! Vero Moda

Shoes: Adlo

Clutch: Le Chateau

County Cider and Cheddar Soup, YES! 

Another bad iPhone snap of the band Pearl who kept us tapping our toes while enjoying our meal. 

And FINALLY we reach the end of another lengthy post. I really hope you enjoy me taking you through this wine tour and PEC visit. Part 3 will be short (I promise!) and you will get to see which wines I ended up purchasing! Save the best for last I say :-)

A Wine Tour in Prince Edward County - Part 1

Since I have lived in Ontario (moved here when I was 12), in the Summer a must go to trip would be to Prince Edward County, more specifically Picton, to lie on the beach or camp in Sandbanks Provincial Park. When I was young this was a favorite spot of mine, the beach has nearly white sand, there are gorgeous sand dunes to explore and it really is the only nice beach of this size in the immediate area. It is located in beautiful Prince Edward County where B&B's, 30+ wineries and amazing restaurants are a way of life. Things just seem more laid back when you are in "the county" and the landscape is totally serene with idyllic homes and cottages peppering the vast farmer's fields.

This weekend I was lucky enough to travel to the county with four girlfriends that I have known since Elementary School. We all met up in Bloomfield and stayed at this super cute and affordable Inn called Angeline's. It is a combination of a motel with affordable yet really contemporary rooms, a cottage with more upscale suites and an Inn with more rooms furnished with antiques acquired from the area. We stayed in the motel and it was really fun! We had side-by-side rooms so we could just sit outside of the rooms at a patio table and chill out with a drink, watching the comings and goings of the visitors to PEC.

 Angeline's Motel. I didn't get a picture of the inside of our Room but there are pictures available on the website.

Right across the way, the entrance to the Hubb

We arrived on Friday evening and went for a meal at Angeline's restaurant called the Hubb. I can tell you have eaten in countless restaurants this was one of the BEST dinning experiences I have had.

 This is the Hubb Burger. It had fois grais and bacon jam along with locally made cheese. There is some grainy mustard and homemade ketchup on the side with some potatoes. TO. DIE. FOR!

Double Trouble? Count me in! Note: this was my friend's beer. I wouldn't dare order a beer in Wine Country!

In the morning we went into the town of Picton and did some shopping. I didn't buy anything but scouted out some possible online purchases. Hopefully more on that to come! Our wine tour didn't start until 1PM so we grabbed some lunch at Buddha Dog. This is an eat here before you die experience for sure. Locally raised beef to create hot dogs that look more like pepperettes (that's what happens without all the fillers and nitrates), combined with sauces made from ingredients all grown in the County. The map behind the counter you see here is drawn in chalk and shows where they get their ingredients from. I love that!

 Getting our dogs ready!

Sample flight that was put together by the Ladies of Buddha Dog. All had sauces that ranged from Sweet to Savory to Spicy. They were so unique and delicious.

On to the Wine Tour! We loaded up in a van and began the tour lead by our super sweet and knowledgeable driver, Murial. I'm sorry that I didn't get a picture of her now #fail. Our first stop was Huff Estates which I have visited before and stayed at their Inn a few years ago.

 My friends, Kelly and Denise outside of Huff. What do you think of Denise's sunglasses? Retro much?

 The vineyard at Huff's. They bury all of the vines in the ground for the Winter otherwise they would all be destroyed. That would be a big job considering the size of the vineyard.

Next we visited Sugarbush Vineyards, one of the smaller wineries but they produced some very unique blends. Robert Peck, one of the owners/operators was a very generous pourer. A quality that instantly endeared me to him. He also works 40 hours as an Engineer and said that he puts in MORE than 40 hours/week with the winery! But he's living the dream and is good at at what he does.

 Robert Peck. 

These are soon to be Sugarbush vines that were imported from Europe. They have wax covering them to protect from diseases that they can carry that aren't present in North America. They are soaking in water for 10 days to prepare them for planting.

On to what was my favorite winery of the tour, probably because they provided a pairing of food with every tasting, of which we had nine. This is Karlo Estates, located in an old barn that has been converted into a tasting area and restaurant . This was such a beautiful space to relax and enjoy all of the pairing of whites and reds. We weren't rushed through and took our time enjoying a wide variety of Whites, Roses, Reds and Ports. Every morsel of meats, cheese, olives and even potato chips paired beautifully with the wine and really brought out the best flavors. They are known for their excellent Ports and I picked one of the red ports up which I never thought I would buy but it was insanely good. I can't wait to enjoy it on a warm Summer evening.

Our tasting guide cutting up one the pairings for a Red, spicy sausage.

Inside the tasting area.

Here is a cute collage that Denise texted me last night of our trip. There weren't many picture of me that I liked so I didn't post any. But is collage is such a cute recap of our Weekend Getaway.

My apologies for the lengthy post, and this is only post 1 of 2 or maybe 3! I hope you enjoy peeking at our wine tour and if you need a relaxing weekend of wine, food and overall indulgence, I HIGHLY recommend Prince Edward County! Stay tuned for more!