banff national park

We enjoyed Brandon's parents visit for Thanksgiving this year.  We decided to make it extra fun and visit Banff National Park.  Its a 5 hour drive from Edmonton but the roads were fairly clear of snow and slush.  It was a cold weekend in Banff but we were still able to get out and hike some.  Its too early for skiing since they only use natural snow in Banff instead of the artificial kind.  Brandon and I hope to make it back sometime soon.

for more great pictures visit our Shutterfly site.

thanksgiving dinner

This weekend we had a great time hosting Brandon's parents for Thanksgiving.  Our first Thanksgiving with family!  I tried a few new recipes.  They all turned out really good except the cranberry sauce.  I didn't add enough sugar.  Make sure you read the directions for that one!

Herb Roasted Turkey

Ingredients:
1 whole bone-in turkey breast, 6 1/2 to 7 pounds
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup dry white wine
    ***I didn't have any of this on hand.  It was still good without.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice to make a paste. Loosen the skin from the meat gently with your fingers and smear half of the paste directly on the meat. Spread the remaining paste evenly on the skin. Pour the wine into the bottom of the roasting pan.
Roast the turkey for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest and meatiest areas of the breast. (I test in several places.) If the skin is over-browning, cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil. When the turkey is done, cover with foil and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Slice and serve with the pan juices spooned over the turkey.

Courtesy the Food Network Star Ina Garten

Wayne's Cranberry Sauce
Total Time: 30 min.

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 (16-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
1 cup chopped apple
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
1/2 orange, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated

Directions:
 Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the cranberries and return to a boil, then lower the heat so that the liquid simmers. Add the apples, walnuts, raisins, Grand Marnier, orange and lemon juices, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the sauce cool.

Courtsey of Food Network Star Paula Deen

Cranberry Harvest Muffins
Total Time 55 min

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 extra-large eggs
1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh cranberries
1/2 cup medium-diced Calimyrna figs
    ***I added raisins instead
3/4 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
    ***I added walnuts instead
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the milk, eggs, and melted butter. Stir quickly just to combine. Add the cranberries, figs, hazelnuts, and both sugars and stir just to distribute the fruits, nuts, and sugar evenly throughout the batter.

Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each one to the top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until browned on the top and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean.

Courtesy of Barefoot Contessa

versace for h&m

Here ladies and gentlmen is a reason to stand in line for the retail stores to open!  Versace has partnered up with H&M for fabulous Versace clothing at an affordable price.  They will also be featuring a line of home goods.  Starting November 18th you can bet there will be a mad line out the doors of H&M. 

Drooling yet?  Well take a look at this...

blown away

I meant to post this last week but with the holiday weekend I didn't get that done!  Maximus and I enjoyed yet another day on the trails this past week.  As you can see all the beautiful yellow leaves have fallen.  Its still a very pretty site with the morning sun hitting the white birch.  Happy Fall!

homemade potato soup

Since its getting colder I'm sure I'll have a lot more soup recipes to try!  Can you believe this is my first time making potato soup? Super easy... super delicious...

Ingredients
8 medium potatoes 
    ***I only had 4 potatoes and it worked out fine
2 1/2 cups skim milk 
    ***I added 2 additional cups of milk and 1 cup of water to make it a little thinner 
1/4 chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter 
1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon pepper 
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
    ***I also threw in a little southwestern blended spice  
2 tablespoons flour 
    ***I also added carrots and celery 
bacon 
green onions (for garnish, optional)
1 8oz. bag of shredded cheese (whichever cheese blend you like)

Directions
Peel and cut in half, half that half, half that half, and half that half of the potatoes. Or just cut into small chunks and ignore my half rambling. Boil until fork tender.

While those are boiling, slice 1/4 cup onion and measure your spices (1 teaspoon of salt and seasoned salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper).  Also add any additional spices you may like.

In a dutch oven, or large pot, fry a few strips of bacon.

Once that is done frying, remove bacon (set aside) and remove grease in order to only have about 1 tablespoon left in the pot.

 Add milk, flour, seasonings and butter to the dutch oven/pot. Stir well.

 Stir in potatoes, bacon, onion, and 2 handfuls of cheese. You can use a hand mixer to really smooth out the potatoes, or use a pastry cutter to roughy soften potatoes but still leaving them somewhat chunky.

Here you can add any extra veggies, extra milk or water, flour.  Just make it to your own taste! :)

Top with cheese, bacon, and green onions.  YUM!

the blu poppie

Can you believe Christmas is right around the corner?  I've been blaring my Michael Buble Christmas album all week.  I've also been busy this week working on Christmas Open House invitations for my boss at The Blu Poppie.  Here are a few ideas we came up with.  She wanted to do a simple postcard with "vintage elegance".

freezing over

We took Maximus to the dog park today at Hermitage Park.  The park's trails run along the Saskatchewan River.  I believe it was 36 deg. today but it felt like 31 deg.  Its been getting down to the teens every night for the past two weeks.  We've been noticing our first signs of winter... the lakes freezing over.  Today was the first day we noticed the river freezing too.  Big thick sheets of ice were floating down it.  Maximus loves to swim in the river but he took one look at it today and realized there was no way he was going in.

read of the week: bossy pants

Tina Fey's biography was recommended by my good friend, Emily.  I checked it out from the library (yest, the library) and since its a new release I only had a week to read it.  So i may not appreciate the book as much as some people since i rushed through it.  I did get a few laughs but I doubt I'll ever own it.  For the full (and better) review:  New York Times

the stairs (continued)

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about that trouble spot under the stairs.  Its quirky space that usually doesn't get utilized.  But what about the stairs themselves?  I've found a few very creative ideas for your "weekend" home project. 

1.  freshome  2.  galiana street  3.  spoon-tamago  4.  sew many ways  5.  apartment therapy