Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday! This girl is 10 today!

Look What the Dog Dug Up

Can you spot the toad?????

Cottage Bliss

Avocado Love on Tacos

Taco toppings

Avocados just give our beef tacos a little extra flavour

We love to add avocados to taco night. Tacos are a regular dinner at our house. We probably have tacos at least one night a week. And since avocados are such a favourite in our house it is a natural to add to the list of taco toppings. It is such a great addition. Avocados add a nice creaminess to tacos.


What family favourite do you like to add avocados too?

(photos courtesy of my husband! thanks!)


I received a small payment to purchase product for this blog post. The opinions are my own.

More Avocado Love - recipe

                                 Avocado Salad


1 Spanish Onion sliced very thin
2 Oranges peeled & sliced thin

Combine the onions and oranges in a glass bowl, refrigerate for 2 hours (the onion will absorb the orange)

When the onions & oranges have sat, slice 2 avocado into the Onions & oranges

Chop up some Romaine lettuce and put on plates, put the Avocado mixture on top of the lettuce.

Dressing for Avocado Salad
2 pinches of White Pepper
2 pinches of Sea Salt
4 tbls of white Vinegar
4 tbls of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Mix together & Drizzle on Salad !! Enjoy !!!!


**this recipe came from a long time friend. I can't wait to try it but I didn't want to wait to share it with all of you.

Let me know if you try it. I would love to hear what you think.

Avocado Love

 We love avocados. I say we because everyone in our house loves the delicious fruit. I think my kids would eat them every single day. They love them best raw on a toasted bagel with a little bit of mayo.
 They eat them breakfast, lunch, dinner and for snacks.

This is how I recently enjoyed avocados (and can I say the avocados in the stores right now are so tasty)

 This sandwich was on toasted whole grain bread, sharp cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes and AVOCADOS with a garlic aioli. I paired it with homemade roasted red pepper tomato soup ( made by a neighbour).

Here are just a few of the great things about eating avocados

Protein
Avocados provide all 18 essential amino acids necessary for the body to form a complete protein. Unlike the protein in steak, which is difficult for most people to digest, avocado protein is readily absorbed by the body because avocados also contain fiber

Beneficial Fats

Avocados provide the healthy kind of fat that your body needs. Like olive oil, avocados boost levels of HDL (the "good" cholesterol). HDL cholesterol can help protect against the damage caused by free radicals. It also helps regulate triglyceride levels, preventing diabetes.

We also love another sandwich featuring avocados. This one is a lemon marinaded boneless chicken grilled, sliced and topped with avocados, bacon and mayo on a nice fresh crusty bun. I will be posting the recipe and post pictures soon. So stay tuned!

I would love to hear about some of your favourite avocado recipes. Please share!!!!



I received a small payment to purchase product for this blog post. The opinions are my own.

Do You LOVE Your Lentils?

Lentils. Do you love them?


 OK, so I am sure that there is a few people out there who are asking,  "Lentils? What are lentils?" Good question my friends.


 Here are a few things you need to know about Canadian Lentils  from Lentils.ca

What is a lentil?

Lentils come in a variety of sizes ranging from extra small to large. The most commonly found lentils on grocery store shelves are large green lentils and split red lentils. When we use the word split to describe a lentil it means that the seed coat around the lentil has been removed and the inner part of the lentil (known as the cotlyedon) has been split in half. Split lentils cook faster than whole lentils and are excellent for use in puree, whereas whole lentils tend to work better in salads.

Why should I be eating Canadian lentils?

We are growing some of the world’s best lentils right here in Canada! Full of the nutrients we need in every bite, lentils are a food that you can feel good about feeding to your family, to your friends, and to yourself! And even better, lentils are a nitrogen fixing crop, meaning they give back to the environment by replacing nitrogen in the soil they are grown in.

 Here is a great FAQ on Lentils 


So now you KNOW! So let's get to the good stuff.

I want to tell you about the LOVE Your Lentils contest. 

Watch the video people from great Canadian chef, author and television host/personality Michael Smith









There are three simple steps in this contest.

1. Register
 Signing up for an account lets you upload recipes, photos and even videos with your entry, including your own photo and blog name if you are one our bloggers. This will help voters recognize you when they are flipping through the entries.

2. Cook and submit your best lentil recipes
From our bloggers we are looking for your most unique (and delicious!) lentil recipe, and from our home chefs we want to see what creative twists you can put on the lentil recipes Michael Smith has made for us. This your chance to show voters your kitchen prowess!

3. Vote
Whether you are submitting a recipe or visiting to vote for someone else’s recipe, there is a chance for everyone to win! A blogger, a home chef, and a voter will all win the chance to join Chef Michael Smith in Saskatchewan on June 23, 2013 for a culinary adventure.

And what is the prize? Well, you could win a trip for two and a day with Chef Michael himself!



The opinions in this post are my own.