Mom, the Lunch Lady

 Happy Easter everyone!! We were lucky enough to go visit my parents for Easter. But before we left, I hosted an Easter lunch at work. Customers could purchase a plate of ham, mashed potatoes, asparagus and dessert for $9.99. While everyone enjoyed the meal, I was left with quite a bit of ham, which I froze to use up in the coming months. That fact alone, is what prompted me to looks for delicious recipes, using leftover ham.  So if you have ham leftover from your Easter celebration this past weekend, then this post is definitely for you! From breakfast quiche and soup, to sandwiches, pasta and casseroles; I've got you covered. Best Ever Leftover Ham Recipes Ham Casserole with Broccoli & Rice This Ham Casserole is loaded with cheesy, creamy rice and perfectly cooked broccoli. It’s an easy make-ahead dinner that can be prepared 2 days ahead of time and even works as a one pot meal! Cheesy Ham & Broccoli Quiche Easter leftovers? Plan ahead to use that extra ham to make t...

 These Baked Chicken and Bacon Taquitos are filled with a creamy bacon and chicken mixture and baked in the oven, not fried. Make a restaurant favourite here at home! Taquitos are a Mexican dish that usually consists of a small rolled up tortilla, that has been filled with either beef or chicken and cheese. Typically deep fried, they are served with sour cream and guacamole.  My family has always been fans of Mexican food. So much so, that we served it during an International Food Day at the cottage. Each cottage involved chose a country from which to serve the native cuisine and we chose Mexico. Our menu consisted of Chicken Taquitos, chips with homemade mango salsa, homemade guacamole, Tequila punch and brownie bites topped with cinnamon whipped cream. It was a super fun day, that I am hoping we can take part in again, if the pandemic ever ends. While it is super simple to find chicken taquitos in the frozen section of any grocery store, I decided I wanted to make them from ...

 This mouthwatering crock pot chicken recipe features sweet, salty and earthy flavours of Tuscany. Slow cooked all day the chicken is fall off the bone tender and the sauce is simple yet full of flavour.  Before the pandemic, when I used to work, the crock pot was my best friend. It was so easy to prepare everything the night before, throw it all in, turn it on and forget it; only to return home to the house smelling like heaven. Now that I can not work, I don't bring the crock pot out that often. I do use it for ribs and pulled pork, but since I have tons of time on my hands I usually just whip dinner up in the evening.  I recently purchased chicken thighs with the intention of making Crock Pot Lemon Chicken. Then I remembered that my SO is not crazy about lemon, so I decided to make something he would be more inclined to like. I love that he is Italian, because Italian food has always been something I've loved cooking and eating. I didn't want this recipe to be too time...

 Happy New Year!!! With 2021 upon us, I wanted to look back on how much my blog has grown over the last six months. Here are the top 10 most popular blog posts and recipes from 2020. How was your New Years Eve? Ours was very quiet and relaxing. We ordered in some pizza, played board games while watching New Year's Rockin' Eve on TV, waiting for the ball to drop. It was nice to have the kids spend the evening with us. I've never been one to go all out for New Year's, but it felt very strange this year. Especially seeing the artists perform in front of tiny groups, wearing masks. I truly hope 2021 brings us more normalcy and safety in regards to health around the world. I have only been blogging for 6 months so far, but every day I am delighted to see my little blog grow. I am gaining more readers, and making wonderful blogging and Instagram friends. The support from these groups has helped me slowly start reaching a bigger audience. I am grateful for all the support I...

Perfectly seasoned, tender beef meatballs are simmered all day in a simple Italian style red sauce. With the help of your crock pot and a 20 minutes of prep, you can have a delicious homemade Italian meal! The kids have anxiously been awaiting the cooler weather, so we could have some of their favourite dinners again. Like spaghetti and meatballs! I've always made my own meatballs, but usually I throw them into some of our favourite store bought sauce. This time around though, I didn't have any jarred sauce, so I made my own. Making your own marinara/pasta sauce isn't difficult, I just use already made for convenience. Since I'm home all day, I knew I had the time I needed to make homemade sauce. I really love how tender the meatballs become, after simmering in the crock pot all day. While I am typically not a huge fan of ground beef, I do enjoy my slow cooked homemade meatballs.  Not to mention that the results are a fabulous meal, without feeling like I've spent a...

  Tender ground beef patties, are slow cooked to perfection, in a luxurious mushroom gravy. My crock pot and I always become reacquainted during the colder months of the year. Mostly because of busy days at school. Working in a school cafeteria is exhausting. From placing orders, to serving food (baking, stocking, cleaning), there is never a quiet moment at work. So when I think I'll have a super busy day, I want my old friend Crock Pot to be working on my dinner, here at home. I like to use my crock pot to try out new recipes. I love browsing recipes on Pinterest and I have often seen recipes for crock pot salisbury steak. I knew the family would love it, since I don't serve beef often enough. So I decided to try it. Now before you start wondering why anyone would cook meat before putting it into the crock pot, just remember that you aren't fully cooking the patties, but just browning the outside, so they don't fall apart while cooking. As they finish cooking low and s...