Warm Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Warm Asian inspired turkey filling is tucked into crisp lettuce leaves and eaten.  This meal is quick, easy and healthy - but its versatile too!  Increase the amount of noodles and omit the lettuce for a quick stir fry - pile the turkey filling on a finely shredded cabbage slaw or baby spinach for a warm noodle salad! You could even prepare as is and use as a spring roll or summer roll filling!

I've used oyster sauce to flavour the turkey but you can substitute additional hoisin if desired.

Quinoa Risotto

Clearly not a true risotto, this quick and healthy side dish substitutes the traditional Arborio rice for the fast-cooking grain, Quinoa.  

This small, high protein, high fiber grain cooks quickly in chicken broth flavoured with lemon, thyme and garlic.  To recreate risotto's familiar creamy texture, cheese is stirred in during the final moments of cooking!

I purchase quinoa at my local supermarket - the brand I buy is the President's Choice Organics brand from Super Store.  I find this brand cooks well - with all the liquid absorbed, and the quinoa maintaining an aldente texture - but you can substitute any brand you wish - even the black or red varieties for interest - just adjust the cooking time if needed.

The entire box of quinoa contains roughly 1 1/3 cups dried quinoa but I had used about 1/3 cup in another recipe so I used the remaining 1 cup here.  I used all the liquid required by the instructions however to further replicate risotto's 'looser' texture.  If you have a full package use that and add about 1/2 cup additional cooking liquid.

I've also used coconut oil to start the recipe here.  Coconut oil has many health benefits but you can use olive oil or butter instead if you wish!

Shredded Beef Pot Roast with Orange and Thyme

Hints of thyme and orange zest flavour this long-simmered beef roast.  The meat is then shredded and served with pan juices over warm, creamy, garlic mashed potatoes.

As said above, I served shredded and beef over garlic mashed potatoes but this subtly flavoured beef could be served a multitude of ways - on a crusty bun with cheese and onion, over rice or even stuffed into tacos!  Don't let the long cooking time dissuade you, once the ingredients are in the pot there is nothing to do for hours until the meat is cooked.

I used inside round roast for this recipe but any beef roast (barring a very lean cut like tenderloin) would work for this recipe - if the cut you use has bones, remove while shredding meat.  Also, to save on cooking time you can cut your roast in large chunks before searing.

This recipe is easily adapted to the slow cooker as well, simply follow recipe instructions until all ingredients are placed back into the dutch oven at step 3, and cook on high for six hours, low for ten then resume recipe steps at step 5!

Thai Green Curry Soup

 

This Thai inspired soup is flavoured with green curry, coconut milk, and fish sauce.  Simmered gently, chicken then vegetables are added in the last few minutes of cooking to retain freshness and colour. You can easily make a vegetarian version with a few substitutions!  Soft tofu for the chicken and vegetable broth for the chicken.  If you don't want to use the fish sauce, leave it out - it will turn out just fine!

I used the green Thai curry paste in this recipe.  Here is the brand I used.  You can find it at most grocery stores nowadays in the Asian section or at your local grocery stores.  If you like, you can substitute the red curry for the green - there seems to be much debate online over which is the hotter, I'll leave it up to you to decide!

Shaun loves this soup served over warm jasmine or basmati rice - but rice noodles will work just as well.  This soup comes together quickly and easily while the rice cooks, a good option for a weeknight meal! 

What's for Dinner? Chicken, Chick Pea and Lentil Curries!

This recipe for chicken curry is makes a great curry base that can be used for a variety of different dishes! Substitute the chicken and chickpeas for beef and peas, paneer (fresh Indian cheese), eggplant, potatoes, vegetables..or even goat or lamb! This recipe will make enough of the curry base for the two dishes, chicken and chickpeas and the spicy lentil dish to follow! However, the recipe is easy to halve if you are only making one of the two dishes! (Please excuse my lack of authenticity).

What's For Dinner? Feta and Tomato Orzo, Green Beans and Red Snapper

This whole meal comes together in less than 30 minutes and the orzo is great as leftovers.  If you've never used orzo before, it's a small rice shaped pasta but if you can't find orzo, any small pasta will do!  Salty Feta and Sweet tomato compliment each other well in the pasta - seared snapper and a side of green beans make a complete meal!

Spiced Vegetable Quinoa with Vegetables

Did you know Quinoa, a seudo grain native to South America, is a relative of spinach, beets and the tumbleweed? Its protein content is very high (12%–18%). Unlike wheat or rice, and like oats, quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids, making it an unusually complete protein source among plant foods. It is a good source of dietary fiber (7g per serving) and phosphorus and is high inmagnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. (from Wikipedia).

Quinoa is very easy to cook, it takes only 15 minutes which is basically the same amount of time as white rice, with many more health benefits! It's also very versatile, like rice, and can be served hot or cold!

I served this quick and easy spiced quinoa with broiled salmon, but it would do just as well with pretty much anything or even on its own!

Lemon Caper Fish Filets

This simple, healthy week night meal can be made with chicken, or turkey instead of fish if desired!  I used Basa, but Tilapia or any flaky white fish would work.  Filets are browned then tossed back in the frying pan in a light sauce of capers and chicken broth - subtly tart with lemon - this dish is flavourful and healthy!  Serve fish alongside rice or potatoes and a side salad or vegetable!

Chicken Fingers

Ok, not exactly a very healthy recipe...so put aside your New Years Resolutions for a bit and make some chicken fingers! (If you need some more convincing, Shaun calls these the BEST chicken fingers he's ever had...but maybe he's just buttering me up...make them and decide!)

**Note -- If you really don't want to pan fry these you could likely spritz them with non stick spray and bake them, they won't taste quite the same but I bet they'd still be good!

Jen's Ball Game Meat Balls

This is my friend Jen's recipe for Ball Game meatballs! A sweet and sour meatball with a twist! Don't let the sauerkraut scare you, it adds a subtle sourness to the recipe that's balanced by the cranberry and chili!
I've used frozen meatballs here but you can make your own of course - Jen's hint for fast and easy meatballs - Ground Beef and Stovetop Stuffing!

Chicken with Wine and Mushrooms

A quick and easy week night dinner. Chicken breasts are sauteed in a tangy wine and butter sauce and tossed with sauteed mushrooms. Serve over mashed potatoes with the side veg of your choice!

This recipe will serve two but you can scale it to serve as many as you like!

Easy Mushroom Risotto

I searched the web for an easy risotto recipe and was confronted with similar yet slightly differring instructions. The recipes called for anywhere from 6-10 cups of stock....1-2 cups of rice....cheese and vegetables in the rice, vegetables in the stock....all with different cooking times...what to do but experiment! With delicious results!

Note - Due to differing liquid amounts I found when searching for recipes online, I prepped 10 cups of liquid for 1 cup of Arborio rice.  I used nearly all 10 cups, freezing the rest for another use.

Thai Coconut Curry Sole

This is a really simple, one pan recipe for a mild, thai curry sole. I obviously used filets of Sole in this recipe but you could just as easily use Tilapia, Basa or any white fish...or even shrimp!

Chicken with Orecchiette Pasta

Shaun and I saw a similar recipe on the Food Network show 'The Best Thing I Ever Ate" but made with rabbit. In ours we substituted rabbit meat for boneless, skinless chicken thighs. This recipe would work well in a slow cooker after the chicken is browned. Otherwise, let it simmer on the stove for an hour to tenderize the meat.

Date Night Cioppino

Perfect for a special occasion or any night you feel like indulging in a delicious bowl of seafood.  Simmered in a rich broth mussels, shrimp, lobster and flaking white fish are served with crisp French baguette toast for dipping.

Weight Watchers Pad Thai

Using the old Weight Watchers points system this recipe has 5 points per serving. I haven't calculated the new Points Plus - but either way, this makes a light, healthy version of an old favourite.

I was originally put off by the ketchup in this recipe, if you read this and thought the same, don't be afraid to try it. It's a decent rendition and quick to come together!

Recipe originally found HERE.

Spaghetti with Lemon and Anchovy

Don't worry, this isn't fishy! The anchovy paste adds a salty richness to the pasta sauce. Anchovy paste is also a great addition to a basic fresh tomato sauce for the same reason.

Chicken Bacon Pizza

A different spin on pizza - quick and easy to make at home.  Start with fresh pizza dough, we buy ours pre-made locally, and a ball the size of a grapefruit covers a large cookie sheet.  heating your oven as high as it will go, in our case 500 degrees celsius, produces a crust with a crisp bottom and delicious chewy texture.  Chicken and basil are an interesting spin on a classic.

Shaun Cooks! Penne with Shrimp, Fresh Tomato and Chorizo

A new seller at the St. Norbert Farmers Market is making pasta this year and I found penne flavoured with keylime and chili.  I left it up to Shaun to create a sauce to marry with this unusually flavoured pasta!  He cooked fresh tomato, sweet white onion and chorizo down with a spash of white wine to create a base for shrimp.  The light sauce lets the subtly flavoured pasta shine through!

Slow Cooked Grilled Pork Tacos

It seems like were wrapping everything in tortillas lately, must be the summer weather!

We came across these pork side ribs at the store and could believe they were only a couple dollars a pack -- but I had idea what to do with them and a search of the internet was no help. I could see they were fattier than regular ribs but from what I could find on the internet said the meat was tender. I wanted to grill the ribs but knew the flair ups would be disastrous...what to do...what to do...

I decided to simmer the ribs, tenderizing the meat and rendering off some of the fat. I added some flavour to the water then when they were cooked tossed them in a simple sauce before lightly grilling the ribs to caramelize the sauce and add a smokey flavour to the meat. When they were off the grill I pulled the meat off the bone and wrapped it in soft home made flour tortillas!

As a bonus, I think the whole meal (not including pantry staples) cost about $3 per serving or less!