Spring has Sprung!

There's a smell that hangs in the air once Spring has finally sprung. It's the smell that confirms that winter's grasp has finally slipped into the frigid past. It's the smell of freshly cut lawn, campfire smoke, an immense, sweet, freshness after the rain has fallen. It's all of these individually and mixed together. It reminds me of campouts, laughing with friends, sitting around the fire making smores, and bug spray…lots and lots of bug spray. For those that don't live in Alberta, let me tell you, if you don't put on that bug spray, you're getting eaten ALIVE! We have mosquitoes big enough to carry you off! Ok, that's a slight exaggeration, but I'm not far off the truth. The bugs in Alberta are all on steroids and not wearing bug spray here and like not wearing sunscreen in the Sahara Desert. You're tempting fate. Already I've captured an oversized wasp in my house. It was at least an inch long if not more. I was not impressed to find such a insect inhabiting my home. The next day a giant bumblebee found it's way into our house. It was the size of a cotton ball! And not the little ones either!

But of course, along with the bugs come all the pleasantries of Summer. The warmth, lazy days at the lake, running outside, picnics, ice cream and roadtrips. Here's hoping to a warm and lovely Summer this year, unlike last year. As I look ahead, I realize that I don't have much time left at the school where I work. I'm quite saddened at the prospect of saying good-bye to my kids. I love them all. Working at the school has been a most amazing experience, and one I am truly grateful for. We've hit the middle of May and are fast approaching the release of worries to care-free ways. Summer is the key to unlock the bonds of Winter…and here it comes! Adventure and change await and I look forward to seeing how that all turns out.

So, along with the beauty of the outside world, I've jumped on the Spring bandwagon in the food department as well. I always feel more inspired in the Spring, in my art and in life. So what better time then now to play around with some meals! A couple of lovely Spring meals I've created are as follows….

ALMOND CRUSTED CHICKEN STIR FRY 


Chicken breasts - thawed and cubed
mayan squash
eggplant
bell peppers
broccoli
almonds
agave nectar
sea salt

First, I cooked the chicken chunks and as it was cooking I drizzled the chicken with agave nectar and some sea salt.
I copped up the almonds really fine and when the chicken was cooked through I coated the chicken with the almond bits.

Then I chopped up the squash and eggplant

I put the broccoli in first to steam a bit, then added the peppers to let them cook 

I added the squash and eggplant last as they take less time to cook. 

I then mixed it all together and served it over rice.

Yummy!!!

The next dish is one of my favourites. I grew up absolutely LOVING sloppy joes. yum yum yum! I also changed the recipe to make it my own and I'm not going to say it's healthier, as it's probably not, but boy it sure tastes amazing! My only healthy switch was what I put the sloppy joe mix onto. Normally one uses buns or bread of sorts. Well, I wanted to keep the carbs down a bit for myself, so instead, I used eggplant as it has a bread sort of texture. 

SLOPPY JOES

extra lean ground beef

1 can of beans in molasses sauce (depends on how much ground beef you use. May need more)

1 can of Alphagetti (depends on how much ground beef you use. May need more)

Sloppy Joe seasoning

I sliced the eggplant a put it in the oven at 350 degrees for a few minutes to brown it up

My eggplant bread replacement 

With the Sloppy Joe mix on top. It was very yummy.

This is an extremely easy meal for those families on the go and it goes great with the Spring feeling :)

Well, I hope you're enjoying this Spring as much as I am. It's always a time of joy and love and everything and everyone are twitterpated! It's lovely. :) Get outside, savour the sun, breathe the warm, fresh air, and stay healthy!

till next time!