Written by admin on June 17th, 2009
Cost: $8.00 (CD)
Markers: No Frills
Notes: This made a lot. Good for 4-6 . It was fantastic. Most pasta dishes I make are completely improvised.
Ingredients Purchased in Bold:
- Two chicken breasts, medium dice.
- 4 Cups of brown rice pasta, cooked
- 1 Cup of walnut Pesto. Click here for the recipe
- 4 Slices of proscuitto, medium dice
- 1 Medium onion, diced
- 1 Red bell pepper, diced
- 2-4 Cups of grated hard ricotta (salata) cheese
- 4 Slices of Provolone cheese
- 1 Cup of Parmesan cheese
- 2 Bags of cleaned spinach
- 1/2 Cup of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 Lemon, juice and zest
- Some butter
- Some EVOO
- Flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 Cup Vermouth
- 1/4 cup of White wine
Quickie Recipe:
Combine pasta and pesto in a bowl and set aside. Cook spinash with lemon zest, salt and pepper and set aside. Cook onions and peppers in EVOO and then add vermouth and boil off. Add to the cooked spinach. Dredge chicken in seasoned flour and cook in butter (like scampi) add lemon juice and reduce then add white wine and reduce. Cook the the proscuitto and then mix with the chicken. In a baking dish layer pasta, then all of the spinach, then ricotta cheese. Layer pasta then chicken then more cheese. Bake (covered) at 350 for 45 minutes. Take off the cover and add breadcumbs and more cheese and put under the boiler for 3-5 minutes.
Posted in Pastas/Noodles, Poultry | 1 Response »
Tags: Baked Brown Rice Pesto Pasta with 3 Cheeses, Spinach and Chicken
Written by admin on June 15th, 2009
Cost: $9 (CD)
Market: Longos
Notes: Any white fish will do. This is Haddock and it’s a delicious mild fish.
Ingredients Purchased in Bold:
- 1 Pound of white fish fillet
- 1 Small red onion, thin sliced
- 2 Lemons, juice
- 1/2 Cup of non-fat yogurt
- 4 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 TBSP of Cumin
- 2 TBSP of Graham Marsala spice (get this at an ethnic market)
- 1 TBSP of Turmeric
- 1/2 TBSP of Paprika
- 1 TBSP of Extra Virgin Olive oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Quickie Recipe:
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl or bag and marinate for at least 4 hours. Place in an oven proof dish or cookie sheet and broil on high for 8 minutes per side.
Posted in Fish, Seafood | No Responses »
Tags: Tandori Fish
Written by admin on June 14th, 2009
Cost: $0
Notes: I had these ingredients from other meals.
Ingredients:
- 3 fried eggs
- 3 tortillas (homemade)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Pico de gallo and salsa verde of choice
Quickie Recipe
Cook eggs sunny side up. Warm tortillas. Season eggs and place on tortillas. Drizzle eggs with salsa and other things like onions if you want.
Posted in Eggs | No Responses »
Tags: Huevos Tacos with Salsa
Written by admin on June 11th, 2009
Cost: $3.50 (CD)
Markets: Longos
Notes: Great side dish that goes well with a lot of proteins.
Ingredients Purchased in Bold:
- 1 Bunch of Asparagus
- 1 Lemon
- 1 TBSP of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 TBSP of Dried Basil
- 1 TBSP of Balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Quickie Recipe:
Chop an inch of the ends of the aspargs and steam in a covered bot of water for a few minutes. Toss with oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and basil. Garnish with lemon slice.
Posted in Veggies | No Responses »
Tags: Asparagus Drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar and Basil
Written by admin on June 9th, 2009
Cost: $8.50 (CD)
Markets: Bulk Barn and No Frills
Notes: This recipe could feed 4-5 people no problem. You can eat this hot or cold and you can use any type of broth you want. I just always happen to have an endless supply of chicken broth.
Ingredients Purchased in Bold:
- 2 Cups of organic red quinoa
- 3 Medium sized roasted red beets (medium diced)
- 1 TBSP of honey
- 1 tsp of thick hot sauce
- 1 Small onion, diced
- 1 Head of broccoli cut into pieces
- 1 Bag of raw, pre-washed spinach without the stems
- 4 Cups of chicken broth of veggie broth
- 1 Orange, zest and juice
- 1 Lemon, zest and juice
- 4 Cloves of minced garlic
- 1 TBSP of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Quickie Recipe
Roast beets in 400 degree oven covered in tinfoil. Peel beets and dice and set aside. Cook quinoa in broth. Bring it to a boil, cover and reduce to low heat covered for 30 minutes until liquid is obsorbed. In a skillet cook spinach and garlic until spinich is wilted. Add salt, pepper, lemon juice and lemon zest. Set aside. Cook onion in oil and set aside. Steam broccoli in orange juice, for a minute or two. Toss in honey, orange zest and hot sauace and set aside. Add all ingredients to the quinoa and season with salt and pepper.
Posted in Grains, Veggies | 2 Responses »
Tags: Broccoli and Spinach Quinoa, Roasted Beets
Written by admin on June 4th, 2009
Cost: $10.00 (CD)
Markets: Seacore, No Frills
Notes: I couldn’t find fresh Mahi Mahi. However, the frozen product I did find was awesome! I also made my own corn tortillas. You can buy your own and that’s fine, but I couldn’t find corn tortillas up in my part of the woods. However, they did have the corn flour to make them. It’s called MASA. Odd, isn’t it?
Ingredients Purchased in Bold:
- 2 Mahi Mahi fillets (1 pound in total)
- 4 Corn tortillas – corn flour (make tortillas as directed. It’s so easy!)
- 1 Cup packaged shredded cabbage (dry coleslaw)
- 1 tsp of rice wine vinegar (combine that with cabbage and salt and pepper)
- 1 Cup of salsa verde (tomatillo salsa)
- 1/2 Roasted red bell pepper (hola sauce)
- 1 Shallot (hola)
- 2 Cloves garlic (hola)
- 3-4 Lime, juice (hole)
- 1/2 tsp Chili powder (hola)
- Salt and pepper to taste (hola)
- Fresh Guacamole. Here is the recipe.
- Cilantro for garnish
Quickie Recipe
In a blender combine sour cream, lime juice, roasted pepper, garlic, shallot and chili powder to make the hola sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. In a non-stick pan cook fish on medium high heat with the salsa verde. Add some oil if you need to. Cut fish into chunks and set aside. Heat or make tortillas. Spread guacamole all over one side of the tortilla, layer a few TBSP of fish, add hola sauce, add cabbage mix, add more hola sauce and garnish with cilantro if you like. Serve with a fresh margarita.
Posted in Beef, Fish, Pastas/Noodles, Seafood | No Responses »
Tags: Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos with Guacamole & Hola Sauce
Written by admin on June 1st, 2009
Cost: $4.75 (CD)
Market: No Frills
Notes: Purchased frozen halibut skewers. I recommend you buy fresh and make then yourself. Halibut is good and so is Mahi Mahi.
Ingredients Purchased in Bold:
- 1 Pack of frozen halibut skewers (the came with the red and green bell peppers)
- 4 Limes, juice
- 1/4 cup of EVOO
- 1 TBSP of dried thyme
- 3 Cloves garlic, minced
- 1 TBSP of Paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
Quickie Recipe
In a bowl combine lime juice, EVOO, paprika, thyme, garlic and salt and pepper and mix. Cover thawed halibut skewers in marinade for 30-60 minutes. Broil skewers for 3-4 minutes turn 3 times.
Posted in Fish, Seafood | No Responses »
Tags: Lebanese Marinated Halibut Skewers
Written by admin on May 29th, 2009
Cost: $5.00
Market: Longos
Notes: This was a family recipe that I adapted. It’s pretty decadent and can almost be a sandwich if you add more meat and maybe some tomato.
Ingredients Purchased in Bold:
- 1 Medium width sized Italian bread
- 5 slices of Proscuitto
- 4 slices of Provolone cheese
- 4-5 Cloves of minced garlic
- 1-2 TBSP of minced Italian Parsley
- 2 TBSP of unsalted butter
- 2 TBSP of EVO
- Fresh black pepper
- Salt
Quickie Recipe
Pre-heat oven to 425 º. Melt butter with EVO, minced garlic, salt (to taste) and parsley. Slice bread in half and spread garlic butter evenly on both sides. Crack black pepper on both sides. Layer proscuitto on one side of the bread and provolone on the other. Combine like a sandwich, wrap in tinfoil and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until cheese has melted. Slice and enjoy!
Posted in Bread | 1 Response »
Tags: Stuffed Garlic Bread with Proscuitto and Provolone
Written by admin on May 29th, 2009
Cost: $29.00
Markets: No Frills, Longos, LCBO
Notes: This recipe feeds 6-8. When I make risottos I don’t measure so this is an estimate of ingredients and method etc. It was delicious!
Ingredients Purchased in Bold:
- 3 Cups of short grain rice. I used Carnaroli rice. It’s the best for this type of risotto
- 2 Chicken breast, cubed (marinate in olive oil, lemon juice, pepper and steak seasoning)
- 1 8 oz Container of button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 King mushroom, sliced
- 1 Medium handful of Shitaki mushrooms, sliced
- 1 Large fist size of Oyster mushrooms, sliced
- 1 Medium size Vidalia onion, small dice
- 1 40 g Packet of fresh sage leaves plucked from their stems
- 4-5 Cloves of sliced garlic
- 32-64 oz. Chicken stock, Warm
- 1 Cup of White wine
- 1/2 Cup of Dry vermouth
- 1 Lemon, juice (for the chicken marinade)
- 3-4 TBSP of EVO (one for the chicken marinade)
- 1 TBSP of Dried Thyme (fro the chicken marinade)
- Grated Romano Cheese to taste
- Grated Parmesan Cheese to taste
- 3-4 TBSP of Unsalted butter
- Small handful of fresh Italian parsley
Quickie Recipe
Marinade chicken for at least an hour. Cook it until almost cooked. Cook mushrooms in butter and olive oil and finish with dry vermouth. Make sure it’s all cooked into the mushroom and set aside. Cook sage and garlic in butter until the sage is a bit crispy and set aside. Add butter and evo to a pan and cook onions until lucid. Add the 3 cups of rice and stir and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the white wine and cook until absorbed. Ladle in chicken stock (one at a time) and cook risotto. When it’s almost done add chicken, mushrooms, sage and Romano cheeses. Add minced parsley and top with Parmesan cheese.
Posted in Grains, Poultry | No Responses »
Tags: mushroom, Sage and Chicken Risotto
Written by admin on May 28th, 2009
Cost: $4.59
Markets: No Frills
Ingredients Purchased in Bold:
- 1 Head of broccoli cut into florets
- 1/2 Cup of mung beans, uncooked
- 1 28oz Can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 Red bell pepper, diced
- 1 Small onion, diced
- 4 Cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 TBSP of fresh grated ginger
- 4 Cups of chicken broth (or veggie broth)
- 3-4 TBSP of Vindaloo Curry Paste
- 2 TBSP of EVO
Quickie Recipe:
Cook onions, garlic and peppers in a pot using the EVO as lube. Add the mung beans and broth and cook for 45 minutes (simmering). Note: you may need to add more liquid. Add the tomatoes, broccoli, ginger and curry paste and cook for another 30 minutes. Serve with rice or and my tandori chicken.
Posted in Legumes (beans and lentils), Veggies | No Responses »
Tags: Broccoli and Mung Bean Vindaloo
