It’s grilling season and nothing tastes better on the grill than a juicy and delicious burger. If your burger game is getting a little played out, we have some suggestions for how to step it up. Here are 5 seriously tasty burgers you’ve got to try this weekend!

The Perfect Burger

When something is called The Perfect Burger, you’ve simply got to try it and see for yourself. You only need eight basic ingredients to form the patties: egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper and medium ground beef. Then you can customize the recipe to make your perfect burger with suggested “stir-ins” like caesar dressing, curry powder or hoisin sauce.

Umami Burger with Port and Stilton

Umami is known as the “fifth taste”, it falls right after sweet, salty, sour and bitter. It is a deeply satisfying, savoury taste. Resist the urge to pile on any of the usual toppings on this Umami Burger. The only toppings you need are Port wine and Stilton cheese.

Quinoa-veggie Burger

Burgers don't need meat to taste delicious. If you’re avoiding meat you can still have a satisfying burger this summer. This super-nutritious Quinoa-veggie burger is sandwiched between two grilled portobello mushrooms for a protein-packed, low-carb twist on a classic.

Guacamole Turkey Burger

Not into red meat? These Guacamole Turkey Burgers are topped with a delicious dollop of guacamole. Dark-meat turkey makes the patties juicy and the chili powder, lime zest, and cilantro lends a Southwestern flavour.

Butter Chicken Burger

These amazing Butter Chicken Burgers are a rich and perfectly spiced twist on two classic dishes. Serve them with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and a little plain Greek yogurt for an international taste sensation!

You really can’t go wrong with any of these amazing burgers. We hope they help you take a big bite of summer!

To find your home with Timbercreek Communities across Canada, please visit our website.

Spring has sprung and it’s almost time for Easter! The big day falls on Monday April 17th this year. If you’re planning a feast with family and friends at your Timbercreek home, Timbercreek Communities wants to help out in the kitchen with some delicious recipes for the best Easter main courses.

Crown Roast of Lamb

This Crown Roast of Lamb is an impressive cut of meat for a special culinary occasion. It’s perfect for an Easter dinner. It’s prepared in about 45 minutes by arranging two racks of lamb in semi-circles and cooking for 8 to 12 minutes per pound with minced garlic, fresh thyme, coriander, and rosemary. The video will help guide you along.

Sugar Glazed Ham

An old fashioned Sugar Glazed Ham, with it’s sweet golden brown coating, is a fabulous main course for Easter. The sweetness of the brown sugar is complemented perfectly by the mustard and vinegar. Best of all, it only takes 5 minutes to prepare, so you’ll have more time to spend with your family while it bakes for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Wild Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna

This hearty Wild Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna is an excellent vegetarian Easter entree.

It’s loaded with five pounds of fresh (or frozen) spinach and 3 pounds of wild mushrooms, and topped with a Madeira wine and parsley sauce. Frozen spinach can be used in place of fresh in this recipe.

Salmon with Dijon Dill

This Salmon with Dijon Dill will make a refreshing change to your Easter Holiday meal. The rich sauce is made with butter, dill, Dijon mustard, shallots and white wine. The sauce is a rich addition to the delicate flaky fish. This dish only requires 20 minutes of hands on time and another 20 minutes of cooking time.

Lemon-Thyme Split-Roasted Turkey

The classic pairing of lemon and thyme gives this Split-Roasted Turkey a springtime feel that is perfect for your Easter feast. The split-roasting method also saves time when compared to a traditional roast turkey. You’ll need 30 minutes of prep time and only an hour and a half to 2 hours in the oven.

Happy Easter from Timbercreek Communities!

To learn more about Timbercreek Rental Communities across Canada, please visit our website.

Spring is just around the corner! If you’ve ever wanted to get into gardening but thought you didn’t have the space, we have some tips on gardening without a garden. 

Windowsill Garden

A Windowsill Garden is an easy way to add a lot of life to your apartment. All you need are a few containers, some living herbs or flowers, and a few minutes of your time to transfer them into the containers. Be sure to keep your curtains open for good light exposure.

Mason Jar Herb Garden

A Mason Jar Herb Garden is an incredibly easy space saving gardening option -- and it will make your apartment smell amazing! All you need is soil, some easy-to-care-for living herbs, and a few large mason jars.

Shoe Organizer Planter

This one is super easy. Simply repurpose (or purchase) a hanging shoe organizer to create a hanging garden. This garden project will also help keep your cats from messing with your plants. Find detailed instructions here.

Tiered Herb Garden

Create your very own Tiered Herb Garden using galvanized containers stacked in order of size. They work together -- drill a hole a few inches from the bottom of one container and the water will trickle to the next one below, and so on. Leave the bottom container intact.

Timbercreek hopes these ideas help you give a green-thumbs-up to gardening this season.

To find your home with Timbercreek Communities, please visit our website.

Winter is all about comfort food. The cold weather makes most people want to curl up with something rich and delicious and ride out the storm. Its very important to eat your vegetables in winter because you are more prone to illness during the colder months. The Timbercreek team has a list of 10 ways to get your vegetables this winter.

Start With Soups

A hot bowl of soup can be incredibly comforting on a cold winter night. This basic vegetable soup recipe is easy to make. All you need is vegetable (or chicken) stock, lots of veggies and a little salt and pepper. You can use any vegetables you have on hand. Prefer broccoli instead of cauliflower? No problem. This recipe is so easy to follow, it’s hard to make a mistake.

Sneak Veggies Into Hearty Meals

A great way to get some extra veggies into your everyday life is to sneak them into a hearty meal. This Veggie Bolognese Pasta is satisfying and substantial. The meaty sauce is secretly full of veggies like carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms and tomatoes (technically a fruit, but let’s count it here). We promise you won’t miss the meat.

Roast Them For A Sweet Treat

Roasting veggies brings out their delicious sweet flavour as their natural sugars caramelize. When you come in from out of the cold, hot roasted root veggies can be deeply satisfying on their own or as a side dish. Leftover roasted veggies taste delicious cold the next day.

Sip On Them In Smoothies

Green smoothies are a great way to get some extra veggies in. This Veggie Cocktail, is a healthy take on a Bloody Mary, complete with a classic celery stalk garnish. This version of the cocktail is packed with 2 cups of kale! That’s a lot of greens in a delicious package.

Hide Them In Pancakes

Having trouble getting your kids to eat their veggies? Hide some spinach in your next batch of pancakes! Hulk Pancakes are delicious, healthy and vibrantly green. Kids will love their fun name and bright colour, and won’t be able to detect their healthy secret. 

Embrace Stew

Hearty beef stew with veggies is perhaps the perfect winter meal. The stew’s flavour is so rich and meaty you’d never guess this recipe packs in so many vegetables. Make a big pot of it, keep it in your fridge, and heat up a bowl to warm you up whenever the craving strikes.

Turn them into pasta

Spiralized vegetables offer an amazing new way to eat your veggies. Zucchini Noodles are the most common and a great option if you are looking for grain-free pasta or a way to pack more vegetables into your diet. They are easy to make, all you need is a vegetable spiralizer or mandoline. Add your favourite sauce with even more veggies and you’re on your way to getting your five a day.

Turn Them Into Wings

If you love the taste of buffalo wings, but are trying to eat more vegetables, consider whipping up a batch of cauliflower wings. This video will walk you through the process of preparing your cauliflower and buffalo sauce. Serve them with some blue cheese dressing, carrots and celery sticks.

Bake With Them

Is there anything cozier than baking? Vegetables aren’t just for savoury recipes. This winter, bake a warm loaf of Zucchini Bread to share with friends and family. Grated zucchini keeps the sweet loaf moist and delicious. It’s basically a spice cake with the added benefits of vegetables!

We hope these ideas will help you sneak extra veggies into your meals this winter. To learn more about Timbercreek’s rental communities across Canada, please visit our website.

Winter is the perfect time of year to enjoy hearty, rich foods. They fill you up and warm your soul on cold, blustery days. But rich foods can become overwhelming after months of indulging. Your body may be ready for something light and refreshing. Try a tasty detox this week with one of our top 10 winter salads.

Apple Pecan Arugula Salad

Peppery arugula pairs brilliantly with crisp apples and crunchy pecans in this Apple Pecan Arugula Salad. Make your own (vegan!) dressing and throw this salad together in just 15 minutes. Best of all, you only need 8 ingredients!

Warm Mushroom Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

We love this Warm Mushroom Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette. Mushrooms are amazing for your health and will help you ward off the flu this season. The warm temperature of the salad will also leave you much more satisfied than a typical cold salad when it's cold outside. Pro tip: simmering some oil with garlic will create the perfect flavourful base for your mushrooms-of-choice.

Warm Quinoa, Sweet Potato and Kale Salad

Quinoa, sweet potato and kale is an amazing superfood trio. Try it for yourself in this Warm Quinoa, Sweet Potato and Kale Salad which packs a powerful punch of protein, vitamins and minerals. Give yourself 40 minutes to cook everything and combine all the ingredients of this healthy and tasty weeknight winter meal.

Winter Spa Salad with Lemon Chicken

Brightly coloured cara cara oranges, avocado, pomegranate and fresh herbs come together in this stunning Winter Spa Salad with Lemon Chicken. Marinate the chicken as you prepare the rest of the salad for approximately 30 minutes. This recipe tutorial includes a recipe and instructions for the marinade, as well as step by step instructions for an easy homemade salad dressing that you’ll want to drizzle on everything.

Crunchy Thai Kale Salad

If you haven’t embraced kale, we don’t blame you. On its own its bitter, hard to chew and very green. Despite being hard to love for its taste, your body loves kale and you should try to add it to your day whenever you can. We LOVE this healthy alternative to Thai takeout. Make this sweet and savoury Crunchy Thai Kale Salad, it may just make you love kale.

Kale & Butternut Salad with Ginger-Miso Dressing

Turn an ordinary combination, like kale and butternut squash, into an extraordinary pairing by topping it with a bold Japanese dressing. For this Kale & Butternut Salad with Ginger-Miso Dressing you will need rice vinegar, miso, sesame oil, honey and finely grated ginger to finish.

Fig, Prosciutto and Goat’s Cheese Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

If you’re looking for a delicious salad that borders on indulgent, this Fig, Prosciutto and Goat’s Cheese Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette is for you. A perfect balance of creamy (goat’s cheese), sweet (fig), salty (prosciutto) and sour(citrus), take just one bite and you’ll be hooked!

Brussels Sprout Salad with Chicken and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

For a weeknight meal that calls for the seasonal brussels sprouts you snagged at your local market, try this Brussels Sprout Salad with Chicken and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette. If you’ve never paired brussels sprouts with bacon before, you’re in for a treat! The combination takes the cruciferous vegetable to a whole new level of deliciousness. This recipe is easy to make and ready in less than 30 minutes. Best of all, this salad is hearty enough to be enjoyed as a meal.

A “Christmas” Salad

The holidays may have come and gone, but you can keep the festive spirit alive with this Christmas Salad of Winter Greens and Fruit. We love the combination of crunchy cabbage, radicchio and kale with sweet and tart organic cranberries and pomegranate. Top this festive salad with a homemade clementine-coriander vinaigrette.

Chickpea Shawarma Salad

Chickpeas are hearty and tasty, loaded with protein, easy to throw into any salad, and make delicious leftovers. If you love them as much as we do, you have to try this vegan Chickpea Shawarma Salad. This salad is healthy, light, and bursting with shawarma flavours thanks to a delicious blend of middle eastern spices. It also has a great balance of crunchy and creamy textures.

Give your body a little love this winter with a tasty salad, like one of these 10 amazing winter salads from our foodies at Timbercreek Communities.

For more information about Timbercreek Communities apartments, located nationwide, please visit our website today. 

It may be hard to believe, but the holiday season is almost here. The holidays are all about getting together with friends and family, and enjoying good food. Hosting a holiday get together this season? You’ve got to try Timbercreek’s 10 favourite holiday dinners.

Turkey with all the trimmings

Turkey with all the trimmings is the iconic holiday meal in North America. If you’ve never tried to tackle it, it’s important to have a plan. Figure out what can be made ahead of time so you can prioritize and even ask for help from your guests. People like to be helpful, especially at this time of year. Encourage your guests to bring a vegetable side dish or a dessert to reheat. Taking a few minor obligations off your plate can make hosting the holiday dinner more enjoyable.

Glazed ham and Couscous

Not everyone likes turkey. For guests who aren’t fans of fowl, we suggest serving this equally impressive Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed Ham with Couscous. This meal is a breeze to prepare compared to turkey and all the trimmings. It can be ready to serve in two to three hours.

Brisket and Latkes

Our favourite holiday dinner for Hanukkah is Braised Brisket and Latkes. It’s a deeply satisfying meal of meat and potatoes, done holiday style. Crispy, oniony, latkes pair perfectly with rich and savoury brisket. Brisket can be a tough cut of meat to master. If you’ve never prepared a brisket before, check out these tips on how to do it perfectly.

Christmas Roast Beef with Yorkshire Puddings

We love the classic British Christmas Dinner of Roast Beef with Yorkshire Puddings. You don’t have to hail from the UK to love enjoy tender and delicious roast beef with savoury pastries. Best of all, you get to drench everything in a rich brown gravy!

Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes

Pescatarians will love this Christmas tradition. On Christmas Eve (December 24th) Italian families serve fish instead of meat. There are no rules for preparing The Feast of the Seven Fishes, but the classic meal typically consists of a snack-sized seafood appetizer course, a seafood salad course, a meaty grilled seafood course, followed by a seafood pasta, a stew and vegetable course, and finally a fish-free dessert.

Beef Bourguignon with Parsley Potatoes

We love the rich textures and intense savoury flavours of Beef Bourguignon with Parsley Potatoes. Beef Bourguignon is a hearty classic French dish that involves a lot of umami loaded ingredients (wine, mushrooms and cognac, bacon etc.). This meal is elegant but substantial and can be ready to serve in less than two hours with about 45 minutes of hands on prep time.

Rack of Lamb with Roast Potatoes

Rack of Lamb with Roast Potatoes is a classic holiday meal that looks dramatic and tastes delicious. Don’t be intimidated by this one -- it only takes a few minutes to prepare (not including marinating time). The trick is to be restrained with the herbs. The flavour of the lamb is strong on it’s own so the seasonings should complement this flavour without overpowering it.

Roast Chicken with Wild Rice Stuffing

Roast Chicken with Wild Rice Stuffing has been a popular Christmas dinner since the 1990s. It offers a light and elegant alternative to turkey with bread stuffing. This recipe takes about three and a half hours total to prepare, but only about 45 minutes of that is hands-on prep time, so it's a perfect meal option if you have a lot on your plate.

Aloo Gobi (Potato and Cauliflower)

Spice things up this season with Aloo Gobi! This hearty spiced potato and cauliflower dish is popular across India and Pakistan and will impress your vegetarian guests.

Beef Wellington with Roasted Veggies

If you really want to wow the crowd this holiday season, serve Beef Wellington with Roasted Veggies. This classic show stopping meal is perfect for a special occasion like Christmas. If you’ve never tasted Beef Wellington, it is an incredible mix of textures. Prime cut filet mignon is wrapped in buttery puff pastry and baked -- the decadent result is unforgettable.

Happy Holidays from Timbercreek Communities. We hope you enjoyedi our 10 favourite holiday dinners! For information on Timbercreek Rental Communities across Canada, please visit our website.

The days are getting shorter, the leaves are changing colour and there is a cool bite to the morning air. Weather like this that makes you want to dig into a warm piece of homemade pie. You don’t need an excuse like Thanksgiving to bake a pie, all you need are some fresh ingredients and a little quality time in your kitchen in your Timbercreek Community.

Let’s dig in, shall we?!

Deep Dish Apple Pie

Apples are in season right now. Grab a few at your local market and try your hand at baking a classic Deep Dish Apple Pie. Use a combination of tart apples like Granny Smith and sweet apples like Braeburn, or Golden Delicious for best results. Using pre-cooked apples allows you to get twice as many apples stuffed into the deep dish crust.

Pumpkin pie may just be the perfect fall pie. When prepared well, a pumpkin pie is rich and lightly spiced with a creamy, custard texture. This video will show you how to bake a perfect pumpkin pie, every time. You’ll even learn how to prevent your pie from cracking while cooking.Pumpkin Pie

Quebec Sugar Pie

If you haven’t tasted a piece of Quebec Sugar Pie, you need to get on it. In Quebec, it’s called Tarte au Sucre, which means sugar pie. This super sweet treat will satisfy your sweet craving, but enjoy responsibly -- it has a lot of sugar in it!

Caramel Pecan Pie

Pecan pie is pretty close to perfection on a plate, but it gets better! Improve on the classic with the addition of gooey salted caramel. This Caramel Pecan Pie is rich, sweet, indulgent and bold. Enjoy a warm slice of this nutty pie with some whipped cream or ice cream and a cup of bold black coffee.

Butternut Squash Pie

Many people think pumpkin pie is the best fall pie around. We disagree! We love Butternut Squash Pie because it’s even smoother and creamier than pumpkin pie. It’s simple to make and tastes great on a cool fall day. It only takes about 10 minutes of prep time and about an hour in the oven and a then a few more hours in the fridge to cool.

Southern Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet Potato Pie is another close relative to pumpkin pie. Whipped sweet potatoes and sweetened condensed milk combine to create a decadent tasting filling. This pie is a smooth and creamy treat without any of the sharpness or bitterness of pumpkin pie. Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top.

Apple Crisp

The cool, crisp days of fall are perfect for Apple Crisp. If you love pie but are a little indifferent to crust, or you don’t have the time to bake a full pie, then crisp may be for you. All you have to do is mix sweetened apples and cinnamon in a bowl and then prepare a simple streusel topping of oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter and bake it all for about an hour.

There’s almost nothing more satisfying than a warm piece of pie in the fall. Pre-heat the oven and put the kettle on. Timbercreek hopes these recipes inspire you to bake some spectacular fall pies.

For more information on Timbercreek Rental Communities across Canada, please visit our website, today.