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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 Personal Updates

Life Lately #6 – Summertime, the flu and downtime

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Hey guys! It’s been a while (3 weeks!) since I’ve posted and I’m excited to be back. I’ve been busy enjoying a gorgeous summertime here, gardening, playing in the grass with puppies and enjoying a beer in the gazebo with my family most weekends. There have been a couple heat streaks here as well, which has had me sneaking off to my sister’s or my parent’s place to keep cool. And then of course, catching the flu forced some downtime for me, too. I had to take the bad with the good, though! I can’t believe I caught the flu for the second time this year which is basically unheard of for me! I’ll catch coldsdecently often in the winter since I work in a post-secondary setting and often take the bus when it’s cold out. But the flu is not something I’m used to and it knocked me right…

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In Holidays

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

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Hey guys! I wanted to talk about some ways to show love to your mum this Mother’s Day that go beyond the consumerism often pushed around these sorts of holidays. I’m not against presents, but most mums do so much for us and love their families so hard that I get sad seeing “stock gifts” being pushed by so many in the blogging industry. I wanted to share some ways to thoughtfully show personalized love to our moms on the one day a year the whole world is reminded the huge contributions our moms make not only to our lives, but our society as a whole. The Gift of Time Now that I’m older and don’t live with my parents, the biggest thing I miss is quality time together. I think a lot of families can relate, so when I’m thinking about what I want to do for my mum for…

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In Lifestyle

Life Lately #5- New Site Design, Sylvie’s Spaying and Incessant Snow

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Helllloooo internet friends! First off, welcome to the newly redesigned TheBrokeGirlBlog.com! The change that you’ve been seeing since last week was a months-long labor of love finding the right user interface and doing the back end work necessary to whip this little corner of the internet into a space that can grow with me now that more people are checking out what’s going on here. Life lesson from this one: asking for help is ok, even when you could do it yourself. So what else has been going on since I last did an update post in mid-January? Well, chronologically: Dad and I volunteered at our yearly event supporting a youth robotics group. I love the opportunity to pitch in at an event that encourages our youth to consider careers in science, computing, engineering and applied trades. It’s ultra-cool that it’s held at my work! If you didn’t see me…

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In DIY

Landscaping on a Budget

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Hey Guys! If you’re like me and you’re living in one of the colder regions of the world, you’re going to see this post and laugh to yourself because there’s still like eight feet of snow, five snowstorms to come, a period of freezing and thawing combined with mud and some rain to make our ways through before spring even thinks about arriving. But, not everyone lives in places like this, and loads of people who do are still starting to think about and budget their landscaping. Recently my sister sold her last property and upgraded to a single family home that she had built- which meant a beautiful, dirt filled lot. Just kidding, it meant she either had to sell her soul to pay for landscaping orrrrr roll up her sleeves and get a bunch of the work done herself to save some money. She’s not the devil incarnate, so she…

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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 Lifestyle

Life Lately No. 3 – Puppy, Landscaping and The Flu

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Hi Guys! It’s been months since I posted a personal update and honestly, that’s been for really good reason! I have been ridiculously busy since the last time I posted and shared with you about sweet Whiskey’s surgery, my new cappuccino maker (still obsessed) and my barbeque (also still obsessed!). August feels like it was forever ago, and late August was somewhat taken up by worry for a close friend of mine who had surgery that did not go well and required revision procedures. Alyx talks about that journey a little bit more and shares a healthy recipe for cookies here, but suffice it to say I was doing things while being that annoying friend that texts you every 20 minutes asking “How are you, how are you feeling, do you need anything, are you sure you’re feeling ok, are you ok?” for a while. In that last Life…

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In Lifestyle

About my Dad

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Hey guys! And Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads and extra dads out there. Often unsung, overshadowed at times by the amazing contributions of our mums, I know my dad has always been there for me to ask for help with a challenge or advice. He’s taught me a lot about life and just like I shared a bit about my mum, I wanted to share a bit about my dad this Father’s Day. He’ll read this in six months and probably make fun of me! It’s not very often that people have the opportunity to share something that they’re immensely proud of about one of their loved ones on a larger scale. When I was completing my degree, a friend of mine that I worked with as an editor for the Canadian University press asked if I’d be willing to work on a project with him. The project…

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In Lifestyle

Life Update: Burns, Breaks and First Aid

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Hey Guys! If you follow me on social media (Twitter, Instagram or Facebook), you may have noticed that I have been rocking a new accessory: I mean… you may not have noticed my break from TBGB at all… but if you did, and you don’t follow me on social media… that is why. On May 9th I did a number on myself and grabbed a 345 degree Celcius skillet handle, straight out of the oven. If you’re wondering where my pot mitten was… it was on my left hand. Who knows why. Fast forward about an hour later, after I determined that my bubbling skin would in fact NOT go back to normal if I “just kept it under the cool water a bit longer”, a ridiculously attractive urgent care doctor informed me that I had sustained second degree burns. There’s a reason why my personal directive (yes, I have…

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In Lifestyle

About my mom…

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Hi guys! And a very Happy Mother’s Day to anyone reading this that is a mom! So many moms are amazing individuals, and there are so many women who step into mothering roles that are amazing individuals, too! I really believe that it takes a village to raise up awesome kids into happy, healthy adults and moms (and what I like to call “extra moms”) are so important to that. I hope you’re all being appropriately showered with love today! I started contemplating what I’d like to say in what I jokingly referred to as “my ode to my mom” about a month ago. My mom is a bonafide badass. She’s done everything from being a political lobbyist, to working with the elderly, to being a solo parent, to holding down the fort while my dad was away (a lot, for work), running a successful business with my dad, and…

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