What We're Loving Lately

We just wanted to give you a little update on the things we're enjoying right now from skincare to books and more!

Skincare

Meg: I've recently started trying some of the Kiehls products including their Ultra Facial Cleanser, Ultra  Facial Toner, and their Ultra Facial Cream. I'm really liking them so far- they make my skin feel so soft! After I've used them for a little longer, you'll see a review.

Cate: I picked up the L'oreal Age Perfect Cell Renewal Facial Oil while it was on sale at Shopper's Drug Mart and I have been loving the results. It is very light and dries quickly so you don't look like a greasy faced human and it definitely leaves your skin glowing all the time. 

 Food

Meg: This recipe for No Bake Energy Balls is so easy and so yummy. They make a great breakfast if you are on the run or little snack. It's hard to stop after one or two though- I'm warning you!

Cate: I have been making big pots of pasta every Sunday and having it throughout the week. I love pasta and lately I have been being creative and using my own recipe (which I do plan to share on the blog). 

Makeup

Meg: I haven't been wearing too much makeup lately because it's been so bloody hot! But I'm loving the Balm's Nude Tude eyeshadow palette when I do wear make up. It makes my life so easy with it's lovely neutral shades.

Cate: I discovered the Eye Booster Pen by Physician's Formula through Carah Amelie on YouTube and I love it like the Stila one and the bonus is that it is readily available at the drugstore.

Books

Meg: I've been on vacation this week and have just flown through the Harry Potter series, one of my all-time favourites. 

Cate: So this isn't a conventional book but a colouring book for adults. I recently picked this up and I can't wait to start colouring. The pictures are so detailed and it will definitely be a lot of work but so worth it and most importantly, fun!

Make sure to tell us what you've been loving lately in the comments!

Pasta with Smashed Peas, Sausage, and Ricotta Cheese (Original Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

I found this recipe on the Food Network website.

As many of you know I love pasta so I am always on the hunt for new pasta recipes and I am a big fan of Giada's recipes and this was a simple one to try out.

You can find the original recipe here.

The First this you need to do is boil your pasta. Now the recipe calls for Tagliatelle but I did not find that at my local grocery store so I used Linguine but you could also use Fettuccine. 

Next I have all my other ingredients laid out and measured. Italian Sausage, Peas, Ricotta Cheese, Pecorino Romano Cheese, Olive Oil, Basil, and Garlic. 

In The Kitchen With Cate: Spaghetti Carbonara (Original Recipe by Martha Stewart)

Today I have another cooking post for you. 

As I mentioned in my Chorizo Carbonara Post I love cooking pasta and I found that Martha Stewart had some amazing pasta recipes on her website and I decided to try this very simple Spaghetti Carbonara. 

As usual, you want to cook your pasta for 11 minutes in boiling water with a bit of salt. 

Next, you want to cook your Bacon in a pan. 

For the simple sauce you want to add your Half And Half, Eggs, and Cheese. 

Use a Whisk to mix everything together and set it aside. 

In The Kitchen With Cate: Chorizo Carbonara (Original Recipe by Jamie Oliver)

So, I haven't done a cooking post in a little bit and I thought it was time for a new one.

I have been really into pasta lately (there will be another pasta recipe post coming up soon) and Jamie Oliver has some really great and simple recipes on his site for those who are newer to cooking pastas.

I decided to try the Chorizo Carbonara, mainly because it contains two of my favourite foods, penne and sausage.

*Disclaimer: This is not my recipe, this recipe belongs to Jamie Oliver and I found it on his lovely website and am just recreating it. You can find the original recipe here.

Firstly, you want to bring your Water and a bit of Salt to a boil and add Pour pasta to the boiling water and cook for 11 minutes. 

You then want to add your thin slices of Sausage to your pan as well as the Rosemary, Pepper, and Olive Oil. 

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies: Original Recipe by Butter With a Side of Bread

I normally do cooking posts on this site and I love to cook don't get me wrong but I also enjoy baking. The only problem with baking for me is that I don't have too much of a sweet tooth so I always have so much left over but, I decided to share the love with these cookies and give them to neighbours and co-workers.

Today I decided to make some delicious oatmeal cookies with toffee bits instead of the traditional chocolate chip cookies. 

I found this recipe on the lovely blog Butter With a Side of Bread. They feature lots of great recipes and not just baking but tonnes of mains as well so definitely hop on over and give their site a peak. 

I am going to show you how I made these. For the Original Recipe and list of full ingredients, please check out the original post right here.

*Disclaimer: This recipe is not my own. I found this recipe on the site www.butterwithasideofbread.com and just recreated it. You can find the Original Recipe and Post by clicking here.

*Keep in mind, I doubled this recipe so that I could have lots to give away. 

Firstly, you want to add your dry ingredients (flour, oatmeal, salt, and baking soda) to a medium sized bowl and set aside. 

You then want to add your brown sugar as well as your butter to a separate, larger sized mixing bowl.

Add your eggs in as well. 

Introducing BEDA

Hello again everyone,

So if you have been following this blog for a little bit, you will know that last year I did a little thing called BEDA which is a Blog post Every Day for the month of August.

It was quite an ambitious task for me last year because first and foremost, I was brand new to blogging and didn't really know what I was doing. I also decided on a whim to do it so I had a lot of prep work to do in such a short amount of time, and finally I was writing on my own at the time and it was quite a task to produce so much content on my own.

This year I think that BEDA will be a lot more exciting.

This year we have a slightly bigger blog following which will make more posts = more fun. We also have a fun month in August. Meg and I as well as one of our dear friends are headed out to Seattle for a short trip towards the end of August so we will be doing lots of travelling posts as well as American drugstore shopping and hauls. We have also recently delved into the fashion realm with our series titled "What Meg Wore" so we plan on bringing more fashion posts up to the forefront.

We are so excited for what August has in store and even more excited to share it all with you.

We hope that you will like all of the new content we are going to share with you all and that you feel free to interact with us in the comments and on all of our social media sites!

Here's to a Fabulous August!

In The Kitchen With Cate: Pineapple Onion Pork Chops & Oven Roasted Garlic Brussels Sprouts

Hello again,

Today I am back with another cooking post. This weekend I went out of my comfort zone and made something other than chicken (gasp!) and it was delicious. This proves that going out of your comfort zone, even if it's just food wise, can result in something really good and in this case it resulted in something quite tasty.

I am also doing two recipes in one post today. I decided to make a side dish as well that I found on the oh so lovely Pinterest (which if you don't follow us already, you can here).

The first recipe is for Pineapple Onion Pork Chops. I found this recipe on the site www.tasteofhome.com and you can find the original right here.

Pineapple Pork Chops 

You want to take your Flour, Salt, and Ground Pepper and coat your Pork Chop pieces in them. The recipe suggests using a Ziploc bag for this but I did not have any large ones so I used this bowl which I found worked well as long as you make sure to coat the pork evenly. 

Once you coat the chicken you want to lightly cook them in your frying pan until they are slightly brown. Don't cook them all the way through since you will be baking them soon. 

You then add your Pork Chops to a greased pan. Add your Water as well as your Chopped Onion on top. 

In The Kitchen With Cate: Asian Lemon Chicken Tenders (Original Recipe by Damn Delicious)

So I know a cooking post has been a long time coming but there is good reason as to why I have not posted one.

Recently my home has been going through some renovations and the kitchen has been a major one. We got some new countertops and fresh new paint on the cabinets.

I have been yearning to start cooking again and this past week I finally had the chance. I was on one of my favourite cooking blogs Damn Delicious and found this great recipe for Asian Lemon Chicken Tenders and decided to give it a try.

*This is not my recipe and is owned by Chung-Ah of www.damndelicious.net and I am just recreating it. To find the original recipe and ingredients list you may click here.

The first thing you want to do is take all your ingredients for your glaze: honey, soy sauce, pineapple juice, brown sugar, lemon, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, ground black pepper, and garlic powder and bring it to a boil. 

Once the glaze is boiling, you can reduce the heat and let it cook for around 10 minutes until it gets a bit thicker. 

For your chicken stripes, you want to first dip them into flour and then buttermilk and one more time in the flour so that they are all evenly coated. 

In the Kitchen with Cate: Turkey Burgers

Turkey burgers are a great, healthier alternative to beef or pork. There are so many ways to season and dress your burgers.

Today I am going to show you my favourite way to eat my turkey burgers.

I use Lean Ground Turkey Breasts for my Burgers

I use one egg white...

and add it to the ground turkey and mush it in together. It may feel gross but always wash your hands after!

In the Kitchen with Cate: Crispy Cheddar Chicken (Original Recipe By: Cents Less Deals)

Hello everyone,

It is Monday so time for another recipe post. Although next Monday will not be a recipe post because I am planning on doing another post that day.

I was over at the blog Cents Less Deals and I found this wonderful and delicious recipe from JB and it contained 2 of my favourite things: Chicken and Cheese. So I decided to share it with you all!

*Disclaimer: This recipe is not owned by me or was not created by me. This recipe is owned and created by JB at the fabulous blog www.centslessdeals.com and I am just recreating it. As always the original recipe ingredients and instructions can be found by clicking here.

In the Kitchen with Cate: Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce (Original Recipe by Seeded at the Table)

I am on a roll, for cooking at least. This week I am back with another cooking post. I am definitely feeling a lot better than last week and my stuffy nose is slowly but surely dissipating.

Today I am making, as the title above shows Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce which I found on the lovely Nikki's blog Seeded at the Table.

*Disclaimer: This recipe is not my own. I found this recipe on the blog www.seededatthetable.com and just recreated it. You can find the Original Recipe and Post by clicking here.

Add your Apricot Preserves (I could not find preserves so I used Jam instead) and Dijon Mustard to a bowl

Mix the Two Ingredients together and cover the bowl up with a piece of Saran Wrap and set in the Fridge to cool 

In The Kitchen With Cate: Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps (Original Recipe by Damn Delicious)

So I am feeling a bit better, still have a bit of a stuffy nose. I am going on 7 weeks sick which has not been fun but I am glad that I am starting to feel better because I can get back to cooking posts.

Today I am making Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps which I found on the blog Damn Delicious. These are super easy to make and very tasty.

*Disclaimer: This recipe is not my own. I found this recipe on the website www.damndelicious.net and just recreated it. You can find the original recipe by clicking here.

Some of the main ingredients. For all ingredient and measurements, see original recipe here.

In The Kitchen With Meg: An (Almost) Homemade Heart Apple Pie

There's nothing I love more than yummy apple pie, fresh from the oven. Last weekend my boyfriend's family was having a big get together so I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to bake the very thing I was craving.

This pie is tender, cinnamon-y, and sweet. One thing to remember is that the apples you choose make your pie. All apples are not made equal when baking... some fall apart and get mushy, some are better suited to applesauces or just munching on. My favourites to use for pies are Granny Smith (for that tart taste) and Pink Lady (for the sweet and crisp). I'm a believer in using a medley of apples in the pie for more complex and balanced flavours and textures.

It's only a few days away, but this would be a wonderful pie to make for Valentine's Day... maybe with a strawberry rhubarb filling instead? YUM! Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I can't think of an occasion which would not benefit from a heart pie...

so let's get baking!

This recipe was adapted from this user post on Lauren Conrad

In The Kitchen With Cate: Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce (Original Recipe by: A Family Feast)

Hello everyone,

I am back today with a new cooking post.

I love experimenting with new recipes so I have decided that I am going to try doing a brand new cooking post at least twice a month. My goal is to try and do one every week (going up on Monday) but I don't want to make a promise I don't know if I can keep so at least twice a month is doable to me.

I also want to try branching out and maybe doing some baking posts as well. Let me know in the comments if there is anything in particular you would like to see.

For Today's post I decided to spice it up (literally) and cook a bit more of an ethnic dish.

I was browsing through Pinterest (which if you haven't already, you can follow us right here) as per usual and came across this delicious Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce recipe by the website A Family Feast and it looked delicious so I thought I would give it a try.

*Disclaimer: This recipe was created and is owned by the writers of www.afamilyfeast.com and I just recreated it. You can find the original recipe here or by clicking on any of the images below. 

4 or 5 pieces of Cut Up Chicken Breasts 

Half a Teaspoon of Salt

In The Kitchen With Cate: Butter Dip Biscuits (Original Recipe by The Country Cook)

Hello again everyone,

Today I am back with a Cooking post! Yaaay!!

I found this awesome, simple recipe for Butter Dip Biscuits from Brandie who runs The Country Cook and decided to share it with you.

These biscuits are so versatile, you can add some melted butter and eat them plain, have them as a side with dinner, or even add jam and eat them for breakfast.

Let's get on to the recipe and PICTURES!!!

*Disclaimer: This recipe is owned by Brandie and her website www.thecountrycook.net and I just recreated it. You can find the original recipe by clicking on any of the pictures below. 

First Step is to melt your Butter in your baking pan 

A Little Holiday Baking

Hello everyone,

If you remember from my last post I told you all that I was doing a baking session with my friend for the holiday season and I thought I would share with you some pictures of what we made in case any of you were interested.

As always, if you click on the pictures it will take you to the recipe pages.

*Disclaimer: None of the recipes featured were created by me, all credit goes to the owners which you can find by clicking on the photos below.

Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies 

DIY: Easy Body Scrub

Hello everyone,


So another week has gone by and we are closer to Christmas and Kwanza so I thought I would do an easy, inexpensive DIY gift for you all today that you can make for your loved ones this Holiday Season.

I usually do half home-made gifts for my friends each year so I always looks for affordable gift ideas that aren't too complicated because I am not so crafty.

I was browsing blogs and came across this wonderful DIY Lemon Sugar Scrub from the blog The Idea Room and I thought I would share my experiences of making this with you.

*Disclaimer: This recipe was taken from Amy at www.theidearoom.com and belongs to her. I am just trying out this DIY myself. You can always visit Amy's site and find the original recipe by clicking on the images below.

First things first

You need 1 cup of Granulated Sugar. 

In the Kitchen With Cate: Greek Marinated Chicken (Original Recipe by Budget Bytes)

Hello Hello Friends,


I hope you are all ready for the Holiday Season that is among us. Hanukkah ends tonight so I wish those who celebrate a very happy evening spent with family and friends!!!

If you celebrate Christmas do you have your tree up yet? and How far along on your shopping list are you?

Today I was going to do a November Favourites post like I do each month but I only had a couple products to show so it wasn't worth it so I decided to do a cooking post instead. I also won't be doing a December Favourites, instead I will be doing a best of 2013 post at the end of December or early January.

I haven't done a real legit cooking post in quite a while. I did a Taco Recipe back in October but that was not too formal. My last formal cooking post was when I made Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Thighs back in August so this is long overdue.

*I decided to title my cooking posts "In the Kitchen with Cate" just for fun. If you have any clever name suggestions, throw them my way!!!

I love the blog Budget Bytes. Beth offers really amazing recipes that are easy to make and on a great budget. She even lets you know how much everything will run you.

You all know how much I love chicken and making easy chicken recipes well I found Beth's Greek Marinated Chicken  and I decided to try it for myself and share it with you in case you haven't seen it.

*Disclaimer: This recipe is owned by Beth from budgetbytes.com and can be found here. I did not come up with this recipe. Sole credit goes to Beth and her amazing website.


For full recipe ingredients list and instructions make sure to head over to Beth's site by clicking here or by clicking on any of the images.

These are all the ingredients!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN: Pumpkin Seeds and GIVEAWAY Winner

FIRST OFF,

HAPPY HALLLOOOOOWEEEEN!!!

I hope you all are enjoying your day and if you're going trick or treating or taking your children trick or treating make sure you have loads of fun and stay safe.

I have decided to postpone my October Favourites and do that post next week and today I am going to share with you my pumpkin seed love and my favourite simple recipe for baking them but before I do that I have to get to the GIVEAWAY winner.

If you remember from 2 weeks ago I was hosting a GIVEAWAY of Bioderma Cleansing Water and Nars Purifying Foam Cleanser and yesterday at 11:59pm the GIVEAWAY ended and I have announced the winner on Twitter but I will officially announce it here as well. The winner is..... Let's have a DRUMROLL.......................  CHRISTINA DRAGAN!

I have contacted Christina by email. If winners of my GIVEAWAYS do not contact me within 3 days I will have to choose another winner.

Thank you all for entering my October GIVEAWAYS this month. I am done with GIVEAWAYS for now but I can guarantee that I will have at least 1 GIVEAWAY in December so stay tuned for that.

In the Kitchen with Cate: Adventures In Taco Land

Hello everyone,


I hope you all are having a great week. If you don't already know I am hosting a GIVEAWAY and you should enter because it ends on October 30th at 11:59pm so ENTER HERE.

So now on to the post...

My family and I have been doing Taco Wednesday's and I am just loving it. Tacos are so easy to make, they don't take much time at all and you can make them in a variety of different ways. I thought I would show you how I make them this week. Now I make tacos a very non traditional way and I love it!