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In Food

Sunday Dinner Series- Fennel and Sausage Rigatoni

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Hey Guys! For the second installation of my Sunday Dinner Series, I wanted to share this twist on an Ina Garten recipe that my mum has made some tweaks to that made it easier and more our tastes. For those that don’t know, one of the great spices in a mild Italian sausage is ground fennel seeds- so the addition of fresh fennel is a perfect pairing. Rather than a tomato-heavy sauce, some cream binds everything together. Fennel and Sausage Rigatoni 1 package of mild italian sausage (decased) 1 fennel bulb, diced 1 small onion 1 clove minced garlic 1.5 cups of heavy cream 1 cup white wine 1 tbsp tomato paste Herbs/Spices: ground fennel seeds, red pepper flakes Ground Parmesan for garnish Enough rigatoni for four Like I said, this is an adaptation of Ina Garten’s recipe that you can find here on James Beard Foundation’s website. The main…

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In Brunch

Brunch Series – Savory Baked Brie

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Hey guys! Today I wanted to share the perfect Christmas morning brunch idea- savory baked brie. Why is it perfect, you may be wondering. Who wants a giant block of cheese for breakfast on Christmas? Me. And once you’ve tried this, you, too. It’s ideal for Christmas because it’s a perfect “snacking” brunch, you can have as little or as much as you want and it goes amazingly well with fresh fruit like nectarines and pears as well as fresh salads. And a glass of wine, if you’re feeling it. Another reason it’s perfect for Christmas is that you use the same fresh herbs to top it as you’d want with turkey dinner, so it makes things super easy in terms of shopping.  Lastly… this is really, really easy to make. Let something about your holiday season be easy, why don’t you? Savory Herb Baked Brie 1 double or triple…

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In Food

Taco Night

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Hey guys! So you’ve seen me talk about my love of tacos a few times on this blog- my fish tacos are a favorite to host dinner with friends and my pork tacos are the perfect slow-cooker treat. But I’ve never talked about my favorite taco spices or my favorite side dish to have when I’m having a taco night! Believe it or not… it’s probably not the healthiest to eat just tacos. It’s not the worst, but it’s good to make a salad. My sister made us this corn salad last time we had taco night together and it was perfect. Unlike a lot of corn salads which have raw onion and/or garlic, this recipe has fresh and cooked elements which makes it a little special by my mind. Corn Salad 1 Shallot 1 Jalapeno 2 Cups of Cooked Corn (thawed and drained if you’re using frozen) 1/2 Red Bell…

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In Food

Sunday Dinner: Spaghetti and Meatballs

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Hi Guys! This is a brand new series on The Broke Girl Blog and it’s called “Sunday Dinners”- basically, all of those meals our mama’s and grandma’s and dad’s and grand-dad’s did so well that we somehow just don’t know how to make ourselves. Don’t worry, I’ve got you. Actually… my mom’s got you because she’s the one who taught me this. Also, I texted her like eighty times writing this. I had to get it authentic, guys. That’s not code for “Mom always does it but I help” at alllllllll. These won’t be the cheapest meals in the world- these are the ones all of the cheap cooking can help you afford, so you can do that favorite meal every now and again, or when it’s a special Sunday. Traditional Spaghetti and Meatballs Meatballs: 1 Pack ground pork (~3/4 pd) 1 Pack ground beef (~3/4 pd) 2 slices of bread…

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In cheap eats

How to Host a Holiday Dinner Affordably

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Hey Guys! I hope you are all doing well as we cruise into the holiday season! Since getting my own place, I’ve loved having friends over to visit and share a meal. Especially during the holidays! That said, when you’re having a bunch of people over, with dinner, snacks, drinks etc, it can get expensive to host friends! Lots of people recommend potlucks for this type of concern, but if you’re wanting to truly “host” your friends, I have some recommendations. I apologize that I don’t have many pictures with this post- just as dinner was about to hit the table, I found a leak in my garage. The evening got a bit more interesting after that, and adulting kind of took precedence over taking pictures. You’ll be able to see more of the process and about my leak in my upcoming holiday VLOGs. Still, had I not…

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In Food

Slow Cooker Pork Tacos!

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Hey Guys! I was strolling through Sobeys the other day with my mom when she called me over to tell me about how good of a price the pork shoulders were. She was right, and the butcher assisted us with picking one out for me, which cost a whopping seven dollars. It was supposed to be super hot the next few days so I knew I needed to figure out some way to cook it in the slow cooker that was still fun but didn’t require an oven for side dishes (because I loooove oldschool hashbrown casserole!). So, I took inspiration from the awesome roasted meat dishes in Pati Jinich’s Mexican Today cookbook (you guys should check it out!) and decided that this pork shoulder should be slow cooked with a chipotle adobo sauce. This was 100% an experiment. It could have been a 10$ total fail. But, I lucked…

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In Lifestyle

Party Palomas

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Hey guys! It has officially decided to be spring in Edmonton, which means we have transitioned into summer basically. It’s like that here. But that’s not what this is about. Apparently, tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo! Well, it’s definitely the fifth of May but I mean… tomorrow is the celebration of Mexico’s independence! I feel like our once-removed southern neighbors don’t get enough shout outs for anything other than tacos (so wrong, just like how we’re more than maple syrup in Canada!), so in recognition of their day, I wanted to celebrate a little! I love when people love on Canada, I’m extremely patriotic, so being that I appreciate that so much, I love to share some love on other amazing countries! Anyhow. Palomas. I was researching some fun drinks to make for taco night at my house, and I found palomas online but was really discouraged when I saw things…

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In featured

A Night with Knives- Knife Skills Course Review

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I’m a sucker for Italian food. I love eating it, I love making it… so when my mom invited me to go to a risotto making course put on by the Sorrentino’s Restaurant Group last year, I was totally game. It was honestly an easy sell. But when she started to insist that I take a Basic Knife Skills course put on by the Sorrentino’s Group, I was a little bit less psyched. A. My chopping was truly not that horrific. I’ve never sliced and diced myself and I cook a lot. B. I was unconvinced that it would be that fun… it seemed like a very academic course to be taking. I was wrong. I’m fully ok with admitting when I’m wrong, and this was one of those cases. Chef Jeff was our instructor, and what I thought was going to be a night of learning to chop better…

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In Food

Fish Tacos 2 Ways!

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Hey! Fish tacos are 100% one of my favorite indulgences in life. The crisp lettuce, spicy fish, cool and creamy avocado-lime crema and bright pico de gallo… it’s all so, so good. Plus, it’s actually pretty healthy (if you can force yourself to eat in moderation). Unfortunately a lot of the fish you get in fish tacos out a restaurants is breaded and then fried… so this is totally a make-at-home thing if you’re looking to keep it healthy! I love to make enough spicy fish and fixings to have tacos 2 ways- once for dinner as traditional tacos, and once as a bowl for a nutritious, low carb meal. I figure if I’m going to put in the effort, it may as well last me a few meals!. Fish Tacos 2 Ways! Makes 4 meals for $12.71 or $3.18 per serving For the crema: 2 avocados 1/4 cup greek yogurt…

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In Food

Bacon and Cheddar Potato Soup

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Hey guys! This recipe is actually a slight switchup of one by the late, great King of Soups Ken Kostick.  It’s on page 154 of his book Ken’s Soup Crazy which you can apparently still get new through Abe Books, the only version of it that I found was $170 (WHAT), but you can buy used copies on Amazon for under $10. So full disclosure, this recipe is not original. I know people tell me all the time that nothing is “original” anymore with the internet but a little known fact about me is that I started writing as a Canadian University Press journalist (and later editor). I have a massive amount of respect for any creator and I am so, so against sharing intellectual and visual property without giving credit where it’s due and admitting when something isn’t of my creation (even when that means saying “I found this…

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