Delicious dinner in 20!

What a beautiful looking dinner!

Today is the first time in 4 nights that our family has sat down together for dinner.  Between hockey and ringette evaluations, work, school and all the other "normal" stuff that still has to happen (meal planning, laundry, cleaning), it has been a bit of a difficult week.  Miraculously we had nothing on the go tonight.   What to do with ground dark turkey, tomatoes, cucumbers and tzatziki in my fridge?  Lets go Greek tonight!   After a quick stop at the grocery for fresh pita and olives, its show time!

Once I got home, of course I had to cuddle the puppy first and take her for our ritual walk down the hill to meet hubby.  By the time I got started, it was close to 6:15.....and honest to goodness, we were sitting and eating dinner by 6:35 pm.

Yummmmm!

Here's what you do:

1 lb ground dark turkey + spices

1 tomato, diced

3 mini cucumbers (or equivalent), diced

1 orange pepper, diced

olives (optional, but why not??)

tzatziki

pita

Preheat a pan with 2 TBSP of  vegetable oil. 

When you think Greek...think of the spices you have in your pantry that will work.  I had fresh garlic, dried rosemary, adobo (from Epicure) and seasoning salt.   Quickly mix together the dark turkey with your spices.  Once mixed, place turkey in preheated pan and let it sizzle! Even if you just have garlic, oregano and sea salt and pepper...you are good to go!

Chop up your veggies (or in my case, kindly request your 12 year old daughter to do the chopping and at the same time, get your 14 year old son to set the table).  

Love this tzatziki from Costco

For the pita, if you want it to be soft and warm....run it under the tap for a few seconds and then quickly heat in a non stick pan.

Presto!  Dinner is ready!  Table is set!  Veggies are chopped!






The fact that my tablecloth looked Greek was completely coincidental!   Delicious!   

Sit Happens!

You sniff mine....

I sniff yours...

Puppy class.  It's "Junior Kindergarten", just done doggie-style.   After talking with friends who have dogs, it seemed like a good idea not only to train Miss Lulu, but to "train" us as well.  We have been to three classes so far, and I have learned so much....

1.  Wear clothes that you don't really care about (i.e., if coming from work, make the time to change into sweats!).  Puppies don't care what you look like, they only care that you care.

2.  Be okay that there will be other dogs...bigger dogs....at puppy school.  And the bigger the dog...the bigger the.....poop.   Lulu's poops are like kitty poops...not all dogs poop like kitties!

3.  Expect other puppies to jump on you.  It's not okay that they do this, but you have to expect it, and then just get up / walk away.

4.  Have really special and stinky treats ready for your puppy.

5.  Don't take your purse.  You need all hands to manage puppy treats, the clicker, the leash and poop bags.  Use a fanny pack (yes...straight out of the 1980's) to hold all the puppy things, and then you can put your keys, debit card and driver's license in there too.  An all-in-one solution.  It's not pretty..but remember..puppies don't care what you look like!


6.  Learn the other doggies names.   It's just a nice habit to get into.

Who can resist this face???

A special thank you to the staff at "Sit Happens"...they are organized, knowledgeable and have your puppies best interest at heart!  I am by no means an expert, but am amazed at how much I learned so far, and equally amazed that I want to learn and do right by my puppy.

http://www.sithappens.org/

Happy New Year!

So I have been on a bit of a hiatus.

November: was filled with Christmas season busy-ness:  shopping, decorating, eating.  December had more shopping, more eating and ended with a great trip to Florida to see the folks.  January, as usual is a let down:  financial losses, weight gain, returning items that didn't fit.  and of course we can't forget making those "healthful" resolutions that will last at least 31 days.

But...what a better way for me to forget about the gains and losses, and show you a picture of the newest member of our family!  

Meet Lulu!  How could you not love this face???

Lulu stretching out...all 1.5 kg of her!

Our children have been bugging us (and bugging us and BUGGING us) for a dog for years.   "All our friends have a dog"  or "we promise to do everything" or "don't you love us?".    I too wanted a dog, but hubby was not too excited, and is not really a dog person.  Well, in November, he surprised me with his idea on what to get the kids for Christmas.  "I know what we should get the kids....a dog!".  I could not believe it.  His idea.  And he was serious.  We had originally wanted to wait until the end of our hockey/ringette season but we found our dog a few months early.  We met Lulu quite by chance while dropping off our son at a friends house.  Turns out, they breed dogs, and they were in the genre that we wanted:  dogs with hair and not fur, and small.  As soon as Lulu was put into my arms....I knew.   

We surprised the children for Christmas, and I can't even explain how excited the kids were.  They were in a state of disbelief when I had Lulu tucked away in my jacket.  It was an incredible moment.  

We've had Lulu with us now for just over a week, and I have to say she is doing amazingly well.  Her potty training is going well, and she hardly has any accidents now.  She eats well and poops on time.  I should really try and find a puppy growth chart and plot her on it!   She is playful and cuddly and the kids love walking her and we all help with the dog-duties.  

She is by far the best Christmas present, and she was worth the wait.