If you love movies, you will appreciate.....

That Liam Neeson is coming back in "Taken" part 2!!!!! This is so exciting, I can't wait. Here is the Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFZ2eQ0PpW4&feature=player_embedded

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my Birthday, the big 27! I chose to bake my own cake because that is what I love to do and went for taste over decoration this time. Originally, I planned to make a rose covered cake, but quickly decided I wanted cream cheese frosting for my Red Velvet cake and that is not stiff enough for decorating. So, it was plain, but amazingly delicious, if I do say so myself. Here is a slice for you to see and here are to many more Birthdays in the future!

Red Velvet cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese filling and Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

10 things about Birthdays I look forward to

Today being my 27th Birthday, I thought I would take a second to think about what I enjoy about my special day, so here goes, in no particular order.

10.) Reading all my Facebook greetings from people near and far, thanks for those!

9.) Phone calls, so much more personal to hear someones voice saying Happy Birthday!

8.) Friends/family taking time out to do something to celebrate with me

7.) Taking time for myself- this year, getting my hair/nails done and a massage with a friend

6.) Surprises---both homemade and bought

5.) Checking the mail for cards from Cape Breton

4.) CAKE, this year I am making my own Red-Velvet cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

3.) Having some one-on-one time with Construction Man (usually out somewhere for dinner)

2.) Spending time with the people most important to me

1.) Having a day all about ME :)

Happy Father's Day

On Sunday we celebrated Construction Man's 3rd year as a Daddy. I am very lucky to not only have an amazing husband and father for Superkid, but also, one who is very low maintenance. When asked what he would like to do for Father's Day, he said something along the lines of "its just a regular day, nothing special". But I like special, so Superkid and I had a few little surprises up our sleeve for Daddy.

We made a little map for Daddy which he followed throughout the day to find out what we would be doing next, which was fun. We started with a nice breakfast of Pumpkin pancakes, bacon, ham and eggs, and Superkid gave Daddy her little craft she made for him (a construction paper tool box filled with little tools she colored). Later that day we went to Harvey's for lunch, Construction Man's favorite and we don't get there very often so it was a nice treat. Next, it was present time and Superkid and I surprised Daddy with 2 Sunday Field Passes to go Paintballing with a friend for the outdoor course. We finished the day with some treats and a family movie all snuggled up in the living room.

I feel lucky every day to be home with Superkid, but my favorite moments are the ones when Construction Man comes home from work at the end of the day and Superkid runs for him. She loves and misses Daddy so much when he is not here, but Constrcution Man is really hands on, always dancing around and playing when he is home. So here's to you my love, for always finding a way to make Superkid smile, scream with joy, and giggle. I love our time together and cherish the special moments we create together as a family, everyday.

xoxo MegaMommy

Birthday Weekend Success

With my big 27th Birthday coming up this week, I decided it would be fun to do some early celebrating on the weekend. I started out with an appointment to get my hair done on Friday, something I only do about twice a year, so it was nice to relax and let someone else pamper me.

Saturday afternoon I continued the fun with a great friend of mine who took me out to lunch at a nice pub we had never been too. Added bonus, just as the bill came from lunch, I thanked my friend, who then replied with a "Happy Birthday," and our waitress brought us out a nice warm, Chocolate Brownie with vanilla ice-cream and whip on top, on the house, sweet!!!!! Following lunch, some shopping and a one hour massage at a near-by spa completed a lovely day, or so I thought.

At this point, I thought my day was over, my friend was bringing me back home and said she would come in for a little bit, which was not out of the ordinary. What I did not know was that lovely friend J and Construction Man were pulling off a master plan. I was instructed to head to the kitchen for a surprise, or mathematical equation as it turned out.

Can you do the Math?

Chocolate + Eclair =

Tickets to the "Choclair" show!!

Very clever of Construction Man, who managed to completely pull the wool over my eyes on this one. Big, big, thanks to friend J, who babysat that night for us, and helped to pull off the master plan. I could not have asked for more on a lovely Saturday afternoon/evening. Looking forward to Wednesday when I can blow out my candles with my family and cut into my Red Velvet Cake.

Friday Fruit Dip

I love dip! Veggie dip, chip dip, fruit dip, nacho dip, spinach dip, dip for my garlic fingers, you get the point, right? Put it this way, if there was a dip for every meal, I would be a happy camper!

The thing with dip is that most of the time its not entirely healthy, so not something I get to enjoy as much as I would like. When I was browsing through Pinterest the other day, however, I came accross this Peanut Butter Yogurt dip, which is not too bad for you but tastes like it is. Score!



With only 3 or 4 ingredients you will be dipping in no time. All you need is:

• 1/2 cup fruit-flavored yogurt*
• 1/2 cup natural runny peanut butter
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• Fruit/veggies for dipping

*To customize the flavor, use 6 tablespoons of yogurt and 2 tablespoons of any fruit jam.

Mix it all together and refrigerate, yum! We used strawberries and bananas for dipping, but I think it would be great with Apples too. Happy Dipping!

Dark Chocolate + Shortbread = Love

My love for chocolate has just reached an all time high after baking these cookies! They are defiantly in the category of "you can't eat just one" and they have that stick to the roof of your mouth goodness about them. I am not a milk drinker myself, but I think these are the type of cookies you would have with a tall glass.

The ingredients list on these shortbread's is short, just the way I like it. All you need is:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips


The best part of this recipe, besides the fact that you could eat half the bowl of dough before it hits the oven, is that everything is done in the food processor, so very little mess afterwards. One batch made us about 20 cookies or so and I packed over half of them into my freezer for later after they were baked. You can actually double the recipe and freeze half of your dough for future use too if you want to have something ready to pop in the oven last minute. You can find the details on how to bake these on my "Indulgence" Pinterest page or by visiting this blog:

http://theviewfromthegreatisland.blogspot.ca/2011/12/double-dark-chocolate-shortbread.html

What was left of our dough after Superkid and I dug in.

Rolled up after it rested in the fridge for a few hours.

Superkid, who laid all the cookies out on the sheet.

All done!

Pumpkin, Pumpkin and more Pumpkin

Recently, I posted about the Pumpkin Mac&Chesse I made for Superkid, and since then I have been using pumpkin a lot for cooking and baking (mainly because of  leftover pumpkin in that giant can you have to buy to make one thing). Nevertheless, I have loved experimenting with it in lots of different dishes.

Two of my new favorite breakfast dishes are Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Pancakes and the Maple Pumpkin Pie Yogurt Parfait. The pancakes are thick but fluffy and real maple syrup makes all the difference, so don't skip on that. The yogurt parfaits are basically pumpkin pie in a glass, without the guilt. They make a great breakfast, dessert or snack.

Maple Pumpkin Pie Yogurt Breakfast Parfait

Superkid making the delicious Sunday Morning Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin Pancakes

I also tried out some Pumpkin muffins but substituted the cup of sugar in the recipe for a cup of artificial sweetener. The muffins turned out good, but I could not get past that aspartame aftertaste, so I would recommend sticking with the regular sugar if you are going to try this one out.

Pumpkin Muffins Pre-Oven

Pumpkin muffins ready to eat!

Recipes can be found with the following links:

 http://www.marthastewart.com/271839/pumpkin-pancakes

http://www.theyummylife.com/maple_pumpkin_parfait

The Very Hungry Caterpillar--Easy Craft

 If you have never read the popular children's book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," you should put it on your list of things to do this summer. It is a super cute story that your kids will have you reading over and over again, a favorite in our house for sure.

Since this book has been a favorite of Superkids, we decided to plan a little craft to go along with the book to stick on our fridge. You don't need very much for supplies, here is what we used:

• A piece of background paper- I used plain white
• PomPoms- you can get these at the Dollarstore or WalMart
• Pipe Cleaners- to make antenna for your caterpillar
• A hot glue gun to stick the PomPoms to the paper
• Some crayons/pencil crayons or markers to title your picture

To assemble, simply glue your PomPoms in a caterpillar like direction, add the antenna to the top of his head, and decorate as you please. I let my hot-glue dry slightly so Superkid could place the PomPoms herself. Voila! A quick and easy craft to do after you read this wonderful story.

Here is what ours looked like. You could spiffy it up by adding some little eyes on your Caterpillar too. Have fun with it and make it your own.

Summer Project for Superkid

I figure if I make a post about this project, I will be more apt to stick to my guns about it and get it done. So, my plan, with the help of Construction Man of course, is to make a Ladybug Tire-Swing for the backyard that looks something like this:

 

I already have the old tire laying around, so if I pick up some spray paint, chain and a few other little odds and ends, I am thinking this is doable. Isn't it adorable? I know Superkid will love it!

 

Inside Out Carrot Cake Muffins

My first attempt at Carrot cake was a success!

The recipe I used was moist and flavorful and filled with a cream cheese filling, so you can't go wrong. They were pretty easy to bake but a word of advice is to spray your muffin wrappers with cooking spray so they don't stick. You can find the recipe for these on my Pinterest "Indulgence" board. These will be sure to make your weekend that much better, I promise!

Oh, and these are by NO means healthy, in fact, I would say they are terrible for you, so be sure to share lol

Just about ready to get mixing.

Cream Cheese Filling

Ready to taste

YUM

Oh Mr. Sun

Dear Mr. Sun,

Please shine down on ME! I'm longing to sit outside with a cool drink and a great book.

Pinterest Crazed!

Anyone that knows me, know that a have a slight obsession with being organized and following through on something once I start it. I make lists upon lists and am obsessed with checking the completed tasks off one by one until I have accomplished everything. So, can you see how Pinterest could be kind of a problem for someone like me yet?

You see, once I pin it, I have to make it....which would be easy if I casually pinned here and there. But no, there is nothing casual about the way I pin, so I have been on a cooking/baking mission for quite a while now, which kind of inspired this blog to begin with. The other day, I actually sat down and counted how many of my "Pins" I actually cooked or baked so far and even I was a little shocked! I was thinking maybe 25-30ish. I don't know, who actually counts these things? ME?! Drumroll please........................................................................I am at FIFTY-SIX completed food based pins. I don't know if I am proud or embarrassed, but either way, I am checking things off my list and probably making my friends and family gain weight in the process.

Super Macoroni for Superkid

Superkid has always been a fussy eater, but as she got bigger it became more and more frustrating trying to find healthy alternatives to kid friendly foods. Lately, her taste-buds seem to be changing a bit so I have been offering her lots of different recipes and she seems to be enjoying them, one of which was last nights "Super Macaroni".

Any meal that you can hide veggies in is a bonus, and when dealing with fussy eaters, sometimes hiding veggies is your only option. The hidden veggie in this dish is pure pumpkin and it turned out quite tasty with a really creamy cheese sauce that Superkid loved. Plus, you can use whole wheat macaroni too which is great.

Since it was my first time making the recipe, I cut it in half and it still made a really big dish full. You can also freeze this in individual portions to heat up when you are in a hurry. You can find this recipe, along with some other great toddler meals at:  http://www.simplebites.net/one-pot-wonders-for-babies-toddlers/.

Here are the pics of the cheese sauce just about finished and the final product:

It Pays to Shop Around $$$

May was renewal month for our Car Insurance Policy we have not been happy with the price we have been paying for a while now. Though we did get the best price out of a few after shopping around last year, we were still spending over $200 a month to cover one vehicle----which is way to much when you are a saver!

So, this year I was pleasantly surprised when an Alumni e-mail popped into my inbox from my old University. The school I went to partnered up with an Insurance Company to offer a discount on insurance for all Alumni of the school, great right? I did a quick online quote and could not believe what the computer was telling me! Nothing had changed in our policy but I was going to go from paying over $200 a month to a nice $100 a month :)

Since I am a skeptical person, I grabbed the phone to call and see if this was actually possible because I was sure I made some kind of mistake, but lo and behold, the lady on the other end of the phone told me what I was quoted was correct. The name of this lovely company is TD Meloche Monnex and you can find there website here: http://www.melochemonnex.com/en/home .

Even if you are not an Alumni of the University I went to, it is still worth the call if your renewal is coming up soon. For a few minutes of your time, you could save yourself over $1500 for the year like we did.

Quick and Easy Friday Night Dinner

Friday's can easily turn into a take-out dinner kind of evening; everyone is tired and wants someone else to do the cooking. Last Friday, that is exactly how I was feeling, but I sucked it up and worked with what I had in the kitchen that would be healthy & fast.

I through some little red potatoes into a baking dish with olive oil and montreal steak spice, lined my cookie sheet with foil and tossed some fresh green beans with olive oil and salt/pepper, and got to work on making a wrap. If you keep chicken/turkey meatballs in the freezer like we do, (I buy PC Blue Menu from Superstore) you always have something quick to heat up and pop into a wrap. Add some fresh greens and Swiss cheese and voila, a nutritious and quick meal with little prep work.

I like to add a little fresh Parmesan to my baked green beans as soon as they come out of the oven, but you can leave that out if your not a fan. Another way to do the potatoes is to omit the montreal steak spice and opt for some fresh garlic and Parmesan. Try different things and mix it up! Enjoy the weekend everyone.