Let's make beef pasta sauce!

Hi all

Erin, here is another one for you. This is really, really easy to make and very tasty. You can also freeze some for quick dinners!

You will need:

-one package ground beef

-one onion, diced

-two or three cloves of garlic (minced - Erin, cut it as small as you can)

-fresh tomatoes, diced (I used grape tomatoes cut in half because I had some) Use a cup or so

-one sweet bell pepper, diced (I used yellow, but you could use any colour)

-one large can of plain tomato sauce

-herbs and spices - I used: salt, pepper, dried oregano, hot pepper flakes and an italian spice mix

-a pinch of sugar to balance out the tart tomato taste, trust me on this one

1. Brown ground beef in a large pot until it is cooked. Remove beef and drain fat out of pot. I will say it again, don't brown your meat and onion at the same time, you just loose flavour this way when you drain off the fat. Oh, and don't add the garlic in with the onion, it will burn.

2. In a tablespoon of oil, saute your diced onion in the same pot you cooked the beef in. Erin - a dice is about the size of your thumb nail or smaller. Once the onion is cooked, add your ground beef back to the pot.

3. Now add into your pot the diced pepper, minced garlic, cut up tomatoes, spices and the large can of tomato sauce.

4. Simmer for a few hours on low heat, stirring whenever you remember. Before serving, TASTE the sauce and add more seasonings as needed.

To serve, make pasta (whatever shape you like) and add on the sauce! I like to sprinkle some parmesan or mozzarella cheese on top; whatever is in my fridge is good.

Enjoy!

E

Erin - I forgot to do it today, but will post a video of my chopping up an onion for you soon, your mom thought a video would be the best way to show you :)

Helpful Black Lab

It is pouring rain out today, so naturally, I decided to work in the garden during nap time! Needless to say, only Tyler came out to help (Toby and Arthur do not enjoy this weather so they stayed inside on the couch). Tyler is usually within touching distance from me, which I like.

This am Loic and I went for a visit at the Aquarium to see Jody at work! We saw the belugas, fur seals and sea lions up close. I love the fur seal pups but find the sea lions a bit too big for me! They move so quickly too.

Wet black lab next to lilies

This was just moss/lawn when we moved in, now look at it! Notice the black lab tail in the shot...and you can see the nice compost bin Rob built me

I think this is his ear in this shot...

Family Swim Class **Cuteness Warning**

Is there anything cuter than a baby in a bathing suit? I think not! Today was bring a partner to swim class so Rob came with us. Such fun! And now baby is fast asleep, he naps so well after swimming.

Here are my boys getting ready to get into the pool!

Can we say Camera Ham?!?

Here we are with our friends Tracy and Ben, in the baby hot tub

Swimming away in the leisure pool

Simply adorable!!

I love my deep freezer

Rob bought me a deep freezer a few years ago (he is such a romantic) and I just love it. The other day for dinner we had home made mac and cheese and homemade double stuffed baked potatoes from the freezer. It is so easy to just defrost, bake and eat things that I make ahead of time!

I made a huge batch of double stuffed potatoes from the Pioneer Woman's cookbook and they freeze really, really well. I made up the mac and cheese recipe and will post that soon - it is an easy one Erin.

In Loic news, he is much less spotted today, yipee! And is he ever busy - he has been rolling across the living room floor chatting away to himself as he does it. Oh, and his new favorite toy? A small cookbook he snagged off of the coffee table. Smart boy! We are off to Dave and Linda's for dinner tonight so will have to remember my camera!

Will post baby photos tomorrow, I promise!

E

Happy Birthday Grandma!

It is Loic's grandmas birthday today - she is a young 39 years old ;)

We are headed to the Boat House for dinner (thanks for baby sitting tonight Jody!!) where my mom can finally eat the lobster she has wanted for months now.

We wish you a very happy birthday!!

In other news, spotty (aka Loic) and I are off to the doctor...where we were told he has Roseola and this is probably why he wasn't eating, he didn't feel good, poor little bug. Oh well, the rash should go away in a few days and hopefully we can go to swimming this week!

E, R and of course Lolo

Food dilemas

Ok, Loic ate solid foods (cereal, yams, apple sauce, bananas, blueberry sauce) for about 2 weeks. He loved it - opened his mouth like a pro and ate a few small meals a day. Now, he hasn't eaten a thing for one whole week...

I am hoping that this is just a phase and I do know that at his age (almost 7 months!) he doesn't need solid foods, just breast milk, but I want him to want to eat. Sigh.

Today I put a piece of banana in his mesh hand held thing (really tough to explain) and I think he ate some banana, who knows though, it was a bit of a mess!

Oh well, will keep trying. He is still happy and funny, but maybe he is teething? Wish he could tell me!

Edited to add - he has a rash all over, might be roseola (we are going to the Dr. tomorrow). That might explain the not eating because babies with this don't feel good for a few days before the rash appears. Poor little squid!

E

ps - might make a new pasta dish for dinner, will let you know Erin :)

Drumroll Please!

It was a big weekend for Tyler! He got his AADC! After years and years of effort, our training has paid off.

Tyler with his Q ribbons and his AADC ribbon

My goal for Tyler this year was to get our third and final Advanced Standard Q (Qualifying run). A Qualifying run is one without faults. There are three levels in agility; starters, advanced and masters. Once you get a certain number of Q's in each game, you move up a level. Tyler has needed on final advanced standard Q for about two years now; he is in Masters for all of the other games.

This weekend, I signed him up for all four of the Advanced Standard runs in the hopes that he got one of them and he did - in the first run! So Tyler is now in Masters and got his Advanced Agility Dog of Canada title! Complete with pretty blue ribbon. I never thought that he would get into Advanced when we started, let alone Masters. To top it all off, I moved him up to Masters Standard because I had already paid for the runs, and he got a Q in one of his Masters Standard runs!! Such a good, good dog. The best part: he no longer has to do the table, which has been his agility nemesis for YEARS now. For sale: one well used table, going cheap! Any takers? (Seriously, it can go to a new home now, Rob built it so it will last you forever).

Our new goal for this year: to get his Masters Agility Dog of Canada title; he now only needs two more qualifying runs to get it. Oh, our second goal is to be able to walk into the ring calmly and not have a total bark-fest before each and every run. Tyler, it is a little embarrassing to have to tell you to sit about 10 times before each run while you bark your head off. You also have an obedience title and clearly know how to sit!

In other dog news, Ryan qualified in each and every run he did (smart, smart dog!). Jody put a lot of work into training him and it has really paid off. Go Ryan go!

ETA - for those of you wanting dinner recipes and think that I cook a nice dinner every night, here is what we had for dinner tonight: Nibs and chips. And a glass of wine. Back to our regularly scheduled dinners next week. Oh, and did any of you cook any of my recipes? Is so, how did they turn out?! Erin - I would like a cooking update please!

E