Dinner

Chorizo Leek Frittata

Feb 23, 2019 · Leave a Comment

A classic Italian egg dish, this Chorizo, Leek Frittata can be made for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner any day of the week.

Frittatas are a quick, customizable, light meal you can enjoy anytime. Try it hot or cold, paired with a salad and finished with fresh herbs.

A versatile egg dish, Frittatas can be made using seasonable ingredients or a variety of ingredients including leftovers.

While you can fold and flip your frittata, we prefer the stir and bake method in a cast iron pan. The pan will retain the heat and keep the frittata warm while serving.

Bring the entire pan to the table and serve with a green salad or thick slices of fresh tomato.

PRO TIPS:

Thoroughly rinse your leeks, remove the dark green end, dry, slice thin
Use leftover baked potatoes
Frittata’s need fat to make them creamy – go for the cream
Remove from oven a few minutes early as the cast iron pan will retain the heat and continue to cook the frittata
Replace chorizo with mushrooms for a meatless Monday option

Eggs can be a tasty alternative for dinner and we try to make some variation once a week for dinner. Do you have a favourite egg dish?

Blueberry & Halloumi Quinoa Salad with Charred Corn

Aug 2, 2018 · Leave a Comment

When my parents bought property and built a house, they planted fruit trees, berry bushes, constructed a greenhouse and planted rows and rows of potatoes, beans, corn and any vegetable they could fit in and on their 1/4 acre piece of land. If they could grow it in Northern British Columbia they would, or they would sure try.

Since most of this happened in my teen years I was only able to experience a small amount of the bounty since I left home as soon as I graduated, around the age of 17. I moved home for the summer before I departed for Vancouver to try and save a little extra money for University.

Mom would can a lot of the berries and then she got into making home made wine with her large haul of fruit. She was gifted when it came to wine making, quite possibly learned from some of her Portuguese friends and every so often would some to me in Vancouver. Blueberries was one of those berries she used creatively therefore it’s not surprising I like to get creative with berries and fruit when they are in season.

Blueberry Halloumi Quinoa Salad ingredients minus the corn (it was being charred)

Quinoa is a grain we like to eat and creating a new quinoa salad to love is almost a part time hobby here. If you are looking to add more quinoa into your diet check out some of our other recipes like the Moroccan Quinoa Salad, Quinoa Burgers or Quinoa Stuffed Peppers.

This recipe came to be one summer following the arrival of BC blueberries and our love for quinoa. Charring the corn and the orange for the dressing adds a smokey touch. It’s a good salad to take camping or to potlucks, just double the batch if needed. People loved it during our camping potlucks.

Dublin Coddle

Apr 1, 2017 · Leave a Comment

A Dublin Coddle is a one pot dish originating in Dublin, Ireland. Typically leftover pork sausage, ham, bacon, potatoes and onion are tossed into a heavy pot, topped with stock, covered and baked for a couple hours to blend the flavours and cook the potatoes.

While channel surfing one night, You Gotta Eat Here, the Canadian version of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, caught my eye. The crew and host were filming in Dublin, Ireland and featuring a Chef making a Dublin Coddle. I was very Intrigued, it looked so good. The Chef used ham hock, a couple different pork sausages and bacon. He said pork was the main ingredient and his Dublin Coddle had four variations of pork products.

A Dublin Coddle dates back to the 1700s and is traditionally a dish eaten during the colder months using up leftovers in the fridge. The name ‘coddle’ is most likely derived from caudle, which comes from the French term meaning to boil gently, parboil or stew. Or so the research indicates.

This stew reminds me of another stew I use to make on the stove consisting of smoked sausage, potatoes and carrots. A very simple dish yet the potatoes cooking down in both provide a creaminess to the stew without adding any dairy products. I also use a dark ale, stout or porter in this coddle.

PRO TIPS:

Dark beer adds depth and flavour to slow cooked dishes. A light beer will not offer the same flavour.
Have crusty bread or Irish Soda Bread on hand to mop up the broth.
Great dish to make while camping. Prepare what you can in advance, keep cool until ready to cook in a heavy bottom pot with a lid.

Try this stew on St. Patrick’s Day – our kids loved it! Serve with Irish Soda Bread and beer!

Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry

Feb 16, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Chicken pot pie wasn’t something my mom made much of when we were growing up, however she did make a mean beef pie using leftover roast beef. The chicken variation was something I discovered in my Vancouver days during employee potlucks and lunches. I didn’t play with meat pies too much back then, but started to get more involved making them when I got married.

Chicken pot pie is one of those cook once eat twice meals when you have leftover baked or roasted chicken to use up. A few additional and simple pantry items like onions, potatoes, carrots and stock turn this into an easy to make and delicious meal. My frozen peas were getting ready to crawl away so I stirred the last of them into the pie when it came off the heat.

This recipe calls for some spices you may not have access to but don’t worry! Seriously. Grab some thyme, lemon pepper, Mrs Dash, oregano, or whatever seasonings you can find and improvise. Remember this is an easy and simple pie to make.

The puff pastry idea was inspired by a soup I love to have every time I visit a certain pub in Canmore. They serve this spicy cheese soup, which I am going to try to make at home, with a puff pastry topper. I’ve been ordering it for years and love how the puff pastry puffs and hugs the top of the soup while cooking in the oven and flakes into the soup while you eat it. I might just puff pastry everything at this point.

I baked these in individual dishes allowing more for the bigger appetites and less for the littles. Equally delicious if you substitute chicken with leftover turkey after the holidays.

Sausage and Lentil Soup

Jan 24, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Almost annually we host International students and currently we have a student from Spain (small town near Madrid) living with us for the school year. It’s his first time leaving Spain and traveling so far from home. He’s done remarkably well during the holidays and missing his family all things considered.

He likes to cook and loves to eat even more. So he and I get along amazingly well since we both love to cook and of course eat. One of the dishes he says he misses the most is his Momma’s sausage and lentil stew. Made with small brown lentils. Did you know lentils are considered pulses and extremely good for you. Just 1 cup of lentils = 6.59 mg of iron. So if you are feeling like you are lacking in iron, lentils are a great way to add more iron, fiber and vitamin A to your diet.

He and I have talked about this stew many times. Because I ask a lot of questions. This week it was added it to our weekly menu and last night I attempted to recreate it. I wasn’t nervous at all, after all his mom makes it all the time. No pressure right? I patiently waited as he took his first bite. And his face lit up. He took another bite. And then he told me he couldn’t believe how similar it tasted to his mom’s. I was so excited I almost peed a little.

He tells me his version of this dish is a stew and thicker. They add potatoes into the stew while cooking it which would help thicken it. I opted to finish our soup with diced, cooked potatoes mixed with fresh parsley, lemon and olive oil. This mixture complimented the soup perfectly.

We simply adore this young man and have gotten to know his parents a little. You know sometimes you just click with people, well it was like that with this family. I hope we get to go to Spain one day and meet them. I’m sure the wine, food and interesting conversation would free flow non stop.

This soup is hearty and super flavourful. We’ve added Spolumbo’s Sausage which is a locally made, preservative and gluten free sausage. The cured sausage in this soup is also locally made, called shremska and available at The Italian Store. A very healthy meal indeed.

Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese

Jan 12, 2017 · Leave a Comment

In our cook it once, eat it 2-3 times series, we have our 3rd meal using the Slow Cooker Beer Pulled Pork we cooked earlier this week. Our first meal using the pulled pork, was pulled pork on buns with fresh toppers. We didn’t add a heavy barbecue sauce to it so as to keep the flavours simple. We put barbecue sauce on the table for those who wanted it.

Second night we enjoyed Pork Carnitas with a variety of fresh add on’s including salsa and sour cream. We even had enough pork to send everyone to school with sandwiches and wraps that day. For our last meal using up the pulled pork from day one, we made pulled pork mac and cheese. Yum right? Cooking once and extending it into a couple of meals especially when you are busy, is a great way to get through a couple of days worth of dinners.

For this recipe I opted to crisp the pork. It went from refrigerator to fry pan to warm it up, to a foil lined baking pan. A drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt and pepper before broiling it for 5ish minutes watching it closely. You do not have to do this step but I like the change in texture and added bite. My kids were so excited about this dish it was wonderful!

What’s your favourite mac and cheese?!

Here’s how we did it.

Pork Carnitas

Jan 10, 2017 · Leave a Comment

My late Uncle lived in San Diego most of his life following his term in the War and it was one of my favourite places to visit. On occasion we would road trip into Tijuana for tacos and the experience. I say experience because back in the 70’s and 80’s that is exactly what it was. It wasn’t unusual to see a the box of a pick up truck piled high with raw meat while driving down the street. I kid you not. It was also in Tijuana I had my first real authentic taco. Sure I’d had them in San Diego but it wasn’t the same. In Tijuana they were dirt cheap, the real deal, and my Uncle had me believing the pork tacos we were eating was shredded donkey meat. Back then who really knew.

Spending time at the Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana was one of my Uncle’s favourite things to do (they never had kids) so his knowledge of good cheap eats in Tijuana was solid. My memories of time spent there on day trips makes me think of a trip to Cuba in 2003. Similar somehow. Even though it’s been a very long time, Tijuana still fascinates me. Since it’s a strong part of my early memories, it probably always will. Learn more about how Tijuana has evolved in this story by the LA Times here.

Cook Once, Eat 3 times

One of our goals here at Bakersbeans this year is to do more meals that are “cook once, make it last into 2 – 4 meals”. I’ve never been one to love leftovers, unless it’s cheese, so being able to turn a roast or something big into fresh new meals daily is something I’ve only dabbled in occasionally. I’ve been meal planning since the kids were babes so this part is not challenging, making something new and exciting each time with leftovers will be the challenge.

What are Carnitas?

They are pork tacos. A dish from Mexico consisting of braised or simmered pork until tender. Authentic tacos are made with braised or slow cooked meat. When making this Slow Cooker Beer Pulled Pork the other day it made sense for me to keep the flavours simple so I could enhance them if needed when I used the pork in other dishes.

My inspiration for these pork carnitas comes from those trips to Tijuana with my Uncle. He hasn’t been with us for a while now but some of my fondest memories are my trips to San Diego. In fact it’s time I bring my own family there to see what I love it so much.

Slow Cooker Beer Pulled Pork

Jan 7, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Making pulled pork is as simple as putting the pork roast in the slow cooker and letting it cook all day omitting wonderful fragrances into your home. With many options out there for flavouring your pork, it really comes down to preference, ingredients on hand and what flavours appeal to you. For example husband had some Village Brewery Blacksmith (beer) hanging around. I had a pork roast. We married the two with some spices and new a pulled pork recipe was born. I purposely kept the flavours simple as I wanted to have leftover pork for pork carnitas the next day. This is why the barbecue sauce in this recipe is served on the side.

Since I’m trying to be more organized with my meals, my motto for this year is cook once and stretch it into 2-3 meals. We typically make Braised Pork in the oven, however nothing beats getting your meat and/or ingredients ready, set into the slow cooker and the refrigerator the night before, to bring it out and on the next morning.

Looking forward to enjoying leftover pork tomorrow in these Pork Carnitas. We “pulled”, get it pulled?! a third meal out of this dish by making Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese. A little went a long way!

Beef Stew with Bacon

Nov 17, 2016 · Leave a Comment

A long time ago my mom used to cook the shit out of pork and beef roasts. Truth be known I was in a recent session with Vikram Vij and he also advised his mom would cook the shit out of things to, so I blame him for my potty mouth. The only way I could choke down her roasts was to smother them in HP Sauce – more truths. This continued mistreatment of roasts while I was a child led me to have trust relationships with roast beef. I do enjoy beef, like I really really enjoy steak, satay, stir-fry. We also enjoy roasts on a regular basis as a family, however I still am not a huge fan of roast beef. But I will eat it.

This leads us to stew, another cut I have a strange relationship with. Possibly for the same reasons – it was made regularly and slightly over cooked. My family enjoys stew so it’s made flavourful and moist in this house. Mostly.

In my quest to love stew, I added some sauteed mushrooms, chopped chives and broken chunks of double cream brie. And a few hot pepper flakes. Go big or go home right? Guess what? I LOVED it! We get a flavour punch from adding leftover frozen beef broth from our last Teriyaki Beef Fondue. What you’ve never had a beef broth fondue? You really should. Regular beef broth is also dandy in a handy. Finally some leftover parsnips resembling potatoes went into the stew and nobody was the wiser (winning).

I finished the stew with a few sprinkles of hot pepper flakes cause I like the heat!

Chicken Noodle Stir-Fry

Nov 5, 2016 · 1 Comment

Stir-fries can be many things. An easy clean out your fridge dinner, a healthy meal after an all you can eat holiday, a quick dinner on a busy evening or as simple or complicated as you choose to make it. This Chicken Noodle Stir-Fry is a quick dinner on a busy night in our house. You could make this meal every day of the week changing up your proteins, veggies, carbs and flavour add ins and never have the same meal. I definitely need to stir fry more.

I tend to learn towards chow mein noodles or rice when I stir fry, however this time while browsing the International aisle in the grocery store, egg noodles called my name. So I called back and they came home with me. Get the whole family involved in chopping and dinner is ready in no time at all.

Here’s how we did it.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Wings

Oct 29, 2016 · 3 Comments

If you are like me, chicken wings are one of those things you just can’t get enough of. Then there’s my husband who would eat them every night if he could. Even the kids enjoy the non spicy wings now so there’s rarely any left when we make them as it’s all in every time wing night happens.

When I fry the wings I tend to do it outside on the burner of our BBQ to avoid grease splatter. I do not have a deep fryer and really do not want one. When winter approaches here in Canada and temperatures drop to low to BBQ I have to find new ways to create recipes as the grease splatter drives me a little crazy. As a chicken wing lover I do prefer my wings to be crispy vs fatty and as such I’ve been challenged with baking them as they never crisp up the way I like them.

We use chicken wings to help make our gravy when ever we roast a turkey and I always end up with a few leftover in the freezer allowing me the opportunity to play. These wings were tossed with some of my favourite ingredients and added to our slow cooker or they can be done in the Instant Pot.

In a little over two hours the wings were perfectly cooked with a little added time for a good broil in the oven.

These wings are so moist they practically fall off the bone but still have a nice crisp on the outside.

Here’s how we do it.

Baked Beans

Sep 15, 2016 · Leave a Comment

We’ve combined pineapple, bacon and maple syrup to make these Baked Beans extraordinary and a hit at your next campfire cookout or back yard BBQ.

Baked beans absorb flavour when they cook so adding aromatics and flavour enhancers to your sauce will surely make your beans a hit.

We like to make a batch of these beans over the campfire when we meet up with friends for our annual campout. They almost taste better the next day served with eggs for breakfast, beside hot dogs for lunch or next to a burger or beef on a bun for dinner.

Easy to make over a campfire and on a camping stove.

Since my mom wasn’t a good cook, my first real experience with baked beans was from my boyfriend’s mom, while we were camping for the weekend at their summer cabin. His mom cooked up a big batch of home made beans for our farewell BBQ as the boys were heading off to college and University in the Fall.

I am pretty sure I still have her since she wrote it out for me all those years ago. Best first baked bean experience ever.

You can add many flavours to your beans, cook them from dried, slow cook them and even these days Instant Pot your beans. We’ve found this recipe is easy to assemble and very popular with our camping families.

Other Bean Recipes

If you like these baked beans, you might enjoy:

This recipe makes enough for a potluck or crowd. Half the recipe if you are making it for 6 or less people. Leftovers taste great the next day.

Armenian Roasted Vegetables

Sep 12, 2016 · Leave a Comment

A sucker for roasted vegetables, I couldn’t wait to make this recipe by Olia Hercules and her Mamushka cookbook. Fall and winter has us roasting vegetables regularly. I’ve roasted cabbage before and loved it so the combination of these Armenian Roasted Vegetables was quite intriguing to me.

Ensure you cut your vegetables thick as illustrated in the recipe. I’ve noticed while making recipes from this cookbook they use a lot of dill and yogurt in Eastern European Cooking. Our student from Spain has advised the same. Things I would have never known had I never joined the cookbook club. My mom used to cook with dill she grew in her garden. Dilled baby potatoes are one recipe that stands out from childhood. It’s an herb I adore. Serve these veggies along side a roasted chicken, pork loin or beef roast.

Olia also suggests to change things up, try adding some feta before serving.

Sweet Red Chili Glazed Chicken with Salad

Aug 12, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Summer days can be hot leaving us with no interest in cooking a big meal. Simple, light and easy meals like our Sweet Red Chili Glazed Chicken with Salad are how we get through summer!

Leftover sweet red chili sauce, grilled local corn and fresh in season asparagus become the canvas for this salad. We whipped up a cilantro dressing which complemented the salad nicely. If you do not like cilantro, use basil instead.

This meal may seem labour intensive but it’s really not. First thing get your lettuce cleaned and corn/asparagus ready for the grill and BBQ them. Grill chicken next. While it’s cooling a bit get your dressing ready. Finally finish off the chicken and assemble. The first time I made this dish I admittedly kept two of the chicken thighs out of the glaze as I thought the kids would like it. Boy was I wrong. They devoured all the glazed chicken and LOVED it!

Here’s how we did it.

Cast-Iron Mac n Cheese

Jul 28, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Take your Cast-Iron Mac n Cheese to a whole new level by cooking it on the grill over your campfire.

This campfire mac n cheese doesn’t get the broiler treatment to crisp up the top and give you crunchy bits some of us are used to when eating mac n cheese.

Instead we use a pan over the campfire to toast our bread crumbs before adding on top for extra texture. Once you make this version of mac n cheese, you will want it every time you go camping, it’s really that good.

To save time you can toast your breadcrumbs at home before you leave for camping. Store in a plastic zip up baggie. You should also grate your cheese and store the same way.

This Cast-Iron Mac n Cheese took trail and error a few times to perfect. It curdled, the milk was too cold, and other challenges. We kept at it and it now comes out beautifully.

Leftovers are optional but when there are we heat them up in a buttered pie iron ensuing crunchy bits on both sides.

PRO TIPS:

Toast breadcrumbs in advance
Use whole milk and let warm up first
Any combination of cheese works, grate in advance
Use butter, not margarine
Have patience

If you make it let us know! Share on social media with the hashtag #Bakersbeans.

Grilled Beef Satay

Jun 21, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Beef Satay is the perfect, light summer meal. Use your favourite marinade or try this one the next time you make these. They literally melt in your mouth. Make sure you cut your beef thin and let it marinade for at least an hour or more depending the cut of beef you use.

If you are using a cheaper cut of steak like I did (inside round), ensure you have acid in your marinade to tenderize the steak and let marinate for longer than an hour if you can. With this meal I par-boiled some baby potatoes, let them cool, skewered them and added olive oil, salt and pepper. A few minutes on the grill finished them off.

This is an easy and tasty meal to get your Summer Grilling on!

Grilled Bread & Tomato Salad

Apr 9, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Sunny days make me want to get outside and eat all the things and plant or harvest my garden and eat fresh grown tomatoes. Right? We’ve had an unusually warm start to 2016 which is great for us Calgarians but not so great for the farmers and producers who rely on the moisture to plant their seeds.

I am slightly addicted to bread so anything that involved bread makes me happy. Having to make up something for a BBQ I decided on a bread, tomato, parsley salad. Simple but delicious. I picked up some roasted garlic bread, gave it some lovely brown char marks and tossed it with the tomatoes. Don’t dress your salad or even add the bread until you are ready to serve it or the bread gets soggy. And serve it immediately for as it sits the bread soaks up the tomato and dressing goodness and it becomes soggy. A little added chunky salami or even cooked chicken would make this the perfect meal in one.

Since I’m using garlic bread I opted not to add garlic to my oil. This dish is beautiful served alongside grilled steak or chicken.

Grilled Garlic Chicken

Mar 17, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Since about mid January we’ve had mild weather here in Calgary. It’s very unusual for this time of the year as we typically have tons of snow on the ground. I kid you not. In my world we would have 2-3 months of cold winter and snow with the rest of the year sunny and green.

With warm weather comes serious spring fever. Last weekend we did yard work and cleaned up the yard in preparation for planting and Spring. My rhubarb is popping up and I’m ready to start seeding the lawn and eager to start planting. The kids have already advised they will each be having their own pepper and tomatoe(s) plants again this year. Sun and warmth feels so good. With this warmer weather we find we want to grill all the time. Fish and soy sauce are always on hand here and since we are die hard grillers (we will grill in any weather unless it hits -20), it’s not the first time we fired up the BBQ this year. We served up this chicken with our Green Rice.

I prep the food, my husband tends the grill. We make a good team. The longer this chicken can marinate, the more flavour you get.

The flavours in this chicken shine when allowed to marinate up to four hours or overnight. If you do not have the time, give the chicken at least 30 minutes to get cozy with the marinade.

Roasted Poblano Turkey Chili

Mar 12, 2016 · Leave a Comment

We put a spin on traditional chili by making Roasted Poblano Turkey Chili using ground turkey and roasting a few select peppers.

Chili is such a comforting food and one we can change up with the seasons. It’s perfect to take camping, to the cabin or prepare for a gathering.

If you love your chili as much as I do try creating a chili bar putting out all your favourite toppings and offering a variety of chili. When we host a chili bar everyone has the best time trying new flavours and most have never even considered chili toppers. When they try them, they love the options!

If you follow along you know I’m a cook once, eat a couple of times kind of gal. When I cook up a batch of chili I want to have leftovers so I can use them in other dishes.

The next time you make chili cook extra. Use as a topping on baked potatoes, create chili macs in leftover burger buns or make your hot dog chili dog. Dollop some chili into hard taco shells and add your favourite chili toppers or add a little chili to a wrap and roll it up burrito style – you could even add rice.

Ever try chili stuffed in peppers and baked?! I’ve even put some into grilled cheese sandwiches and quesadillas.

While I love the flavour chili offers, I also enjoy my toppers. They offer new flavour dimensions, textures and take your chili game up a notch. Similar to taco toppings simply prepare a few and put out for your guests to try. My family is getting more adventurous with toppers and in some case demanding. Except one. He still prefers his chili with cheese and that’s it.

PRO TIPS

You are going to get some mild heat from the jalapenos. If you want spicier keep membrane and seeds or add hot pepper flakes or additional jalapenos as toppers.
We use white kidney beans also known as cannellini beans
If you don’t have ancho chili powder, use regular chili powder
This recipe is Gluten-Free

Looking for new chili recipes to love?! Try our Bacon Turkey Chili, Vegetarian Black Bean Chili or Slow Cooker Beef Chili.

Homemade Sausage Patties

Mar 5, 2016 · Leave a Comment

I remember my sister in law serving up sausage patties while we were all out camping one summer. They were these perfectly formed sausage shaped coins (twoonie sized for my Canadian readers) purchased from the local Costco as an easy to cook main to accompany breakfast eggs or a dinner salad. I thought they were pretty cool and was left wondering why I didn’t think to bring something so convenient and easy.

These patties have the delicious addition of roasted garlic. If you can roast your garlic the night before or earlier in the day so it’s ready to go. They are an easy dinner served with green apple & jicama slaw, eggs, a light pasta or a salad. If you have time prep the ingredients the night before allowing the pork to infuse the flavours overnight.

A simple and healthy meal you can have on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Lentil, Roasted Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tacos

Mar 1, 2016 · Leave a Comment

If you are looking to add more plant based meals into your diet, these Lentil, Roasted Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tacos are the way to go. Just omit the bacon!

Lentils Butternut Squash and Black Beans Tacos

Who doesn’t love a good taco. In recent years tacos have become all the rage here in Calgary, maybe even Canada, as taquerias, pop ups and restaurants featuring tacos keep popping up everywhere.

Tacos come in all shapes and sizes to satisfy any appetite. But have you ever wondered where tacos come from? I certainly have and so I decided to find out.

The origin of tacos is more or less unknown and potentially dates back to the 18th century and the silver mines in Mexico. According to Katy June Friesen, a historian writer at the Smithsonian, in those Mexican sliver mines the word “taco” referred to the little charges they would use to excavate the ore. These were pieces of paper that they would wrap around gunpowder and insert into the holes they carved in the rock face. The first references to the taco in any sort of archive or dictionary didn’t come about until the end of the 19th century. And one of the first types of tacos described is called a miner’s tacos.

Childhood memories of tacos for me involved using an Old El Paso Taco Kit. While these taco kits are still available for those who prefer to keep it simple, more adventurous palates delve into beef tongue, lamb neck and octopus tacos available right here in Calgary.

Having had my fair share of meat tacos, we are changing it up and making an almost vegetarian variation.

PRO TIPS

Omit the bacon and sour cream crema if you are looking for a vegan variation
If you use the bacon, cook the beans in the bacon fat for extra flavour
Canned lentils are a quick and easy alternative to cooking your lentils

Israeli Couscous with Butternut Squash and Cranberries

Dec 14, 2015 · 2 Comments

This dish was an easy sell to the kids. They love pasta and Israeli couscous are small, round, pasta-like granules made from semolina and wheat flour. Once they heard the word pasta they were happy to try it and pick out what foreign objects (in their minds it’s squash and red onion) didn’t belong. You even cook this couscous like you would pasta by boiling it in a pot of salted water.

We grew up with the Canada Food Guide with dinners having a serving of carbs (rice, pasta or potato), fruits & veggies, dairy and protein. You kind of carry this mentality with you when you have your own kids. Fortunately those carbs translate into so many other things. Like this couscous salad for example. It counts as a serving of both carbs and you’ve got some veggies in there. We grilled up (yes it was -6 outside but those are minor details) sausage, pita bread and I made some home made tomato soup to serve with dinner. It was a delicious and filling meal. My husband who doesn’t love pasta but tolerates it for the kids sake, said he loved it – even the fresh red onions (which he also does not care for).

This recipe was made using several local ingredients. In fact the only ingredient not local would be the Israeli Couscous and the orange. The couscous was cooked in advance and cooled down in the refrigerator. It served four and there were leftovers so I know what my lunch will be today!

Israeli Couscous with Butternut Squash and Cranberries

Green Apple & Cranberry Quinoa Salad

Nov 26, 2015 · 2 Comments

Meals during the week have to be quick since the kids have activities. These are the days they come home from school, play with the dog, check their emails, do their homework, eat and go to activities, so dinner has to be easy and fast. By the time they get home it’s bed time. Last night was one of those nights, and unfortunately I had not done any meal prep in advance. Off to the store I went to pick up some quick grill sausages and a few ingredients to make a Quinoa Salad.

I tend to make my quinoa a day or two in advance. I like it cool or right out of the fridge vs hot off the stove. I find it fluffs up when it has time to sit and cool off plus it’s available for a quick meal solution. This salad is Gluten Free and can be made dairy free by not adding the cheese.

I’m happy my whole family enjoys quinoa and I no longer feel like I have to put a carb on the table (rice, pasta, potato). Grains are a beautiful & filling thing.

Vegetable Lasagna [Catelli® Gluten Free Lasagne Challenge]

Oct 20, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Vegetable lasagna’s have been a favourite of mine since the 90’s when I was single, living in Vancouver, and involved in weekly office potlucks. Then I moved to Calgary, got hitched, had kids, and well settled down with a prominently meat eating family. These days lasagna’s in our house have some form of meat in them, and husband advises he “misses” the meat when it’s not there. Extraordinary one can actually miss the meat, but who am I to judge.

Recently I was offered a challenge by Catelli to create a Gluten Free Lasagna using their new Gluten Free Lasagne noodles, a first-of-its-kind pasta made from a delicious blend of four grains; white rice, brown rice, corn and quinoa. I knew I wanted to bring vegetarian lasagne back into the routine, so I went for it.

Lasagna noodles have sure evolved over the years. I remember making lasagna, and having to boil the noodles first. What a treat that was. When oven ready noodles came out I did the happy dance. The Catelli^®Gluten Free Lasagne noodles are also an oven-ready noodle that does not need to be boiled or cooked beforehand. It’s the little things like this that appeal so much to a busy life style.

Additionally Catelli has a delicious line of Gluten Free Pastas including Penne, Fusilli, Macaroni, Spaghetti, and recently launched Linguine. Their Gluten Free Lasagne noodle has been voted by consumers as a 2015 Best New Product Award winner.

After sampling this lasagna, I can tell you first hand you wouldn’t know it was gluten free pasta – it’s delicious. In fact I tested it on our vegetarian baby sitter, and she loved it. She had no clue it was gluten free. These noodles are available at all major retailers across Canada, in the pasta aisle.

I did something I’ve never done before when making lasagna, I topped it with a little smoked cheese. The distinct hint of smokiness elevates this lasagna to a whole new level. While this recipe may have a few extra steps, it’s well worth it.

Dinner

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Cook Once, Eat 3 times

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