All good things must come to an end

Another beautiful (cold) day on the Island to cap off my last day of winter holidays. There is even a snowfall warning in effect…..hmm…..

Tomorrow I go back to my classroom of 21 bouncing 8 and 9 year olds.  And believe me you, I made the most of my last day of vacation.  I debated last night before going to bed whether or not to set my alarm so that I could get a bunch of things done today, but instead opted to wake up “au natural”.  It was 10:25am when my eyes peeked at the clock…and it felt soooo good   So, what did I get up to today? 

After a hearty bowl of oatmeal, it was time to make acquaintances with my newest addition. 

It’s a Horizon CT5.2 and I snatched it up at a wicked deal December 31st.  (retail value of $2000…my cost $599). I’ve been toying with the idea of buying one for many many months now, but never found one that was affordable.  I was stoked when I found this one and couldn’t wait to use it.  And now I don’t have to run in the rain anymore.  (will blog my treadmill workout schedules another time).  I ran for about 40 minutes today at interval speeds.  Maybe I’ll do the Great Walk again in June.   

After my run, it was pretty much lunch time.  For lunch I ate leftovers of my Chilli Stew à la Moose.  Leftovers are always awesome, quick and easy meals. 

I then spent the rest of the afternoon planning out my next social studies unit on Geography and European Explorers.  I made myself a big pot of tea because I couldn’t seem to warm up today.  This tea is awesome…leftover from the Christmas season, but definitely drinkable all year round.  It has a slight orangey taste. 

My workstation

I debated going to the beach with the dog this afternoon, but by the time I finished with my prep, it was time to make dinner.

---

BUTTER CHICKEN

I had such a craving for butter chicken in the past few days that I decided to cook up a batch tonight.  I recently discovered this spice paste and fell madly in love with it.  Walmart seems to be the only store to carry it.  I’ll be so sad if they ever discontinue carrying it. 

I try to read most food labels and was quite impressed when I read this one.  From what I can read….no preservatives.  Unfortunately it is not Dairy-free or Gluten-free, but oh well.  Not everything is perfect, right?  

My ingredients… I like to add vegetables whenever possible.  (spinach, onion, garlic and frozen veggies not listed in Cooking Instructions on back of box). 

Cooking Instructions (as per my modifications)

Cut up chicken thighs into smaller pieces and sauté in 1 Tbsp of olive oil.  Cook until brown and transfer to another plate so that you can reuse the same pan for vegetables. 

Add a splash of olive oil to hot pan and sauté onions and garlic until translucent.  Add spice paste and 300mL of water.  Scrape bottom of pan to get all the flavor from the browned chicken. 

Return the chicken to the pot.  Chop a handful of spinach and add to pot.  Also add about 2 cups of the mixed frozen vegetables.  Mix well.  Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes or until the sauce thickens a bit.    It’s also a little bit on the spicy side… I found the longer I cook it, the spicier it gets. 

I also had a tall glass of Carrot Juice with my meal. 

Serve over a bed of rice.  I used my favourite rice by Nuworld called Wholesome Wild Rice Blend.  (Medium Grain Brown Rice, Black Sweet Rice, Red Rice and Wild Rice).  You can find it at Save-on-Foods. 

I ended my meal with this.

---

After being able to sleep in for the last 2 weeks, tomorrow morning will not be pretty.  It’s a 6am wakeup call from now on.  Aack… oh well….c’est la vie!

What do you guys do to readjust to your schedules after holidays?

 

Enjoy your day.

Bea

xoxo