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Okay, these are amazing. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I was very very happy with the way these turned out. I was a wee bit worried about the flavour and that's the biggest problem with making meatloaf - you can't taste it until it's completely done. Thankfully, they worked and were delicious. I was worried that they would be too spicy, but they weren't at all and had a really nice smoky taste - just what I was hoping for. Not too much work either . We ate them with Mac and Cheese and a side salad.

Smoky Pork Mini-Meatloaves

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground pork
1 poblano pepper, diced
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 TBSP olive oil
1/4 tsp each dried oregano and paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper, divided
1 TBSP Johnny's Garlic Seasoning
2 pinches chipotle chili powder
1 tsp hot sauce (i.e. Frank's Red Hot Sauce)
4 TBSP BBQ sauce (I used Bullseye)
1/4 cup quick oats

Method:
1. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add poblano and onion. Cook until very soft, about 12 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with half the salt and pepper. Puree in a food proceesor until smooth. Cool in the freezer for 5 minutes
2. Add all remaining ingredients into a large bowl. Add pepper mixture. Gently mix with your hands until just mixed (be careful not to mix the meat too much as that can make your meatloaf tough).
3. Form into mini loaves (about the size of a hamburger patty and about 1.5 inches thick). Cook at 400 degrees Fahrenheit on a drip tray  for 20 minutes (the drip tray helps them get crispy all the way around as the fat can drain off); flip and cook for 20-25 minutes more (until the temp reads 170 on a meat thermometer).

  

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For some reason, I have a lot of eggs in my fridge. And they will all hit their expiry date before the end of the month and I didn't want them to go bad. Solution: crustless quiche! The nice thing about a crustless quiche is that it is way lighter and does not have the heavy greasiness of a pastry crust, so it is nice even on a summer day.  Plus, it takes way less time to prepare. A meat thermometer is handy for this dish as the eggs need to be at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit to be fully cooked but not over 180 or they will turn kind of rubbery. 


Crustless Quiche

Ingredients:
6 large eggs
2 TBSP 1% milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 green (or red) pepper, finely diced
1 cm wide section red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup bacon bits
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
cooking spray or vegetable oil

Method;
1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F
2.  Crack eggs into a medium size bowl. Whisk with a fork together with salt, pepper and milk. Set aside
3. Spray a 9x9 pan with cooking spray (or brush lightly with vegetable oil). Put peppers, onion and bacon in the bottom of the pan and pour the egg over top
4. Top with grated cheese and bake for 20 minutes (eggs need to be at least 160 degrees F but not more that 180 degrees F) 
5. Let cool for 5 minutes, then cut into squares


Here are a few other flavour variations to try:

• mushroom, spinach and gruyere
• ham, broccoli and swiss
• sundried tomato, basil, mozzarella
• turkey sausage and monterey jack cheese
• mild Italian sausage (pre-cooked), red pepper, parmesan and mozzarella 

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I ADORE apple crisp. A lot. The soft apples, the cinnamon, the crunchy granola topping....yum! And my mom makes the very best apple crisp in the world. Sadly, my husband cannot eat cooked apples so I do not make it very often. Plus, it's a lot of work to have just 1 person eat it. So.....I have come up with a 1 serving version that is super quick, low carb, low fat and totally delicious!

Guiltless 5 Minute Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
1 medium McIntosh apple (soft apples like McIntosh work best)
2 shakes of cinnamon
1 tsp brown or white sugar
2 TBSP Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal or other granola (Go Lean Crunch is the best for this but Harvest Crunch would be good too)

Method:
1. Peel apple and cut into bite-sized pieces. Place in a microwave safe bowl and sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar
2. Cook in mircowave on high heat for 1 minute. Stir and cook for another 30 seconds or so.
3. Top with cereal and let sit for 1 minute to cool.

For an added treat, top with vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt

Featured Recipe

Broiled Pork Chops

I made these for dinner tonight and my husband said "these are sooo good, you should post the recipe on your blog." So, here it is. I made 2 pork chops, but the marinade would probably do 3. The measurements could easily be adapted for more meat. I used bone-in loin chops that were about 1 inch thick. You don't want to use the thinner fast fry ones as they would get too dry when you broil them.

Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce (I happened to have gluten free but regular or low sodium is fine too)
1/4 cup orange juice
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried minced onion

Method:
1. Mix all the marined ingredients together in a small bowl. Place pork in a shallow dish big enough so that all of the pork chops can lay flat. Pour marinade over meat. Refrigerate for 1 hour, turning meat over every 15 minutes
2. Set the broiler on your oven to low. Place marinated meat on a rack in a broiler pan. Broil for about 16-18 minutes, flipping over halfway through the cooking time. The meat is done when it is no longer pink in the middle (if you have a meat thermometer, it needs to read at least 160 degrees) and it should be golden around the edges.

Serve with pan roasted potatoes and a green salad.

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Spring is in the air and the weather is finally cooperating. I made these kebabs the other day (I think the second time ever I've made kebabs) and Oh My Goodness were they delicious. You could use whatever meat you like (I used beef and shrimp (the shrimp were for my hubby; I can't eat them) and vegetables of your choice. Also good the next day in a wrap.

Surf 'N Turf Kebabs

Marinade:
1/2 cup soy sauce or tamari sauce
3 TBSP lime juice
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 TBSP white sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Kebabs:
1/2 lb lean beef cubes
20 cooked, de-veined shrimp (optional)
1 each green and orange pepper
1/3 red onion
1 medium zucchini

Method:
1. Cut beef cubes in half. Cut peppers into about 4cm pieces. Cut the zucchini and onion into half moons about 1 cm wide
2. Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a large freezer zip top bag. Add the beef and all the veggies. Seal the bag and shake gently to coat. Marinade in the fridge for 3-4 hours., turning over every hour
3. Soak wooden skewers in cold water for 30 minutes to prevent them burning (you could use metal skewers if you have them). 
4. Assemble kebabs: Alternate veggies, meat and shrimp (if using)
5. Cook on an indoor clam-shell grill (e.g. George Foreman grill). Cook for 3 minutes. Flip and cook 3 minutes more (if using an outdoor grill or barbeque, cook a little longer on each side as you don't have the same heat from the top as you do using a clam-shell style grill)

Serve with brown rice (I just used that express 2 minutes rice that's already cooked that you just heat up in the microwave) with a splash of grapeseed oil or butter and 2 tsp Johnny's Garlic seasoning

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My husband always comes up with the best names for my recipes; I generally call them by the ingredients they're made up with. Today's recipe, for example, was originally called Garlic Chili Ginger Steak with Asian Vegetables; now it's called Spring Stirfry. Much better. It is called Spring Stirfry not only because spring is on the way, but because of all the colourful veggies and bright flavours. The beef could also be substititued for chicken if you like.

Spring Stiryfry

Stirfry
1 each green and yellow pepper, diced
I cup carrots, diced
2 green onions, minced
4 gloves garlic, minced
1 cup broccoli slaw
2 cups bean sprouts
1/2 pound fast fry steaks (about 4 largeish) or 2 packages stirfry strips cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 beef bouillon cube, crumbled

Sauce
1/2 cup sweet Thai chili sauce (I like VH brand best)
1 TBSP thick teryaki sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
pinch chili flakes (optional, depending on how spicy you want it)
1 TBSP ginger powder
pinch cumin
pinch cinnamon
1/2 beef bouillon cube
2 TBSP corn starch

Method

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large, deep pan or wok. When the oil is hot, add the carrot and cook for about 7 minutes (you want to add the carrot first because it is the hardest vegetable and takes the longest to soften). Next, add the green and yellow peppers. Cook about 5 minutes. Then add the beef. Season with salt and pepper, add the spices and crumble in half the bouillon cube. Cook, stirring frequently until the beef is mostly cooked (only a little pink left) and the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the green onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the broccoli slaw and the bean sprouts and cook for 2 minutes
2. Make the sauce while you are cooking the stirfry. Put all ingredients (except the cornstarch) in a small bowl and whick together with a fork. Add the corn starch just before adding the sauce to the stirfy and mix until completely dissolved.
3. Add the sauce to the stifry. Stir to coat. Cook, stirring frequently until the sauce loses that "milky" look from the cornstarch and takes on a glossy look, about 5 minutes.
4. Serve and enjoy!

If you want, you can serve over rice or noodles but it is good just on its own!

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I used to hate broccoli. I would pick it out of things or would choke it down with lots and lots of milk. As I've gotten older, I have realized there are worse things than broccoli and that it is actually really good for me. So I've had to come up with ways to make it more appealing to me. I have discovered that if I pair it with flavours I enjoy (lemon and garlic, in particular), it's not so bad. Here's one of those new ways:

Broccoli Slaw
Serves 2

1/2 package broccoli slaw mix (approx 150 grams)
2 TBSP mayo
1 TBSP milk
pinch of black pepper
1/4 tsp dried dill
1 tsp garlic powder (use Johnny's Garlic seasoning, if you have it)
1 tsp lemon juice

Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients except the slaw and the lemon juice in a small bowl. Use a fork or a small whisk to stir the dressing until smooth and creamy
2. Add the lemon juice and stir to mix (adding it after everything is mixed together prevents the milk from curdling)
3. Pour over the broccoli and stir to mix. Serve immediately.

This is also nice as a sauce for steamed broccoli

Featured Recipe

I cooked my very first ever spaghetti squash tonight! I will be the first to admit that it is not one of my favourite foods but I'm becoming more open to trying new things.
I asked a couple of people the best way to cook a spaghetti squash and the unanimous answer was in the microwave, cut in half with the cut side down in about 1/2 cup of water, covered in plastic wrap. I am not a fan of using plastic wrap in the microwave as I'm pretty sure it leeches chemicals into the food. So I took to the internet to try and find a way to cook it in the microwave without covering it in plastic warp and, lo and behold, I found one! Here's the link: http://fishcooking.about.com/od/howtochoosefreshfish/ht/How-To-Cook-Spaghetti-Squash-The-Easy-Way-An-Easier-Safer-Method.htm (not quite sure why it's under the "fish and seafood" category of the website, but whatever). It actually works really well. I have simple instructions also included in the recipe below.

I've heard of people using spaghetti squash as a substitute for regular spaghetti so I though why not? It's worth a shot. The sauce is just a slight variation on a regular sauce I use. I often use kielbasa style turkey sausage but I wanted to use steak strips this time around. Unfortunately, the steak was a funny colour and I didn't want to risk using it; luckily my mother in law gave me some leftover cooked ham from Christmas dinner, so I used that. It gave the sauce a nice smoky flavour.

Spaghetti Squash "Pasta"

Ingredients:
1 large-ish spaghetti squash (you could use 2 as the sauce makes more than you will need)
1/2 cup chicken broth (or water)
black pepper
dried minced onion
1 cup cubed cooked ham (or steak strips, or diced chicken, or turkey sausage, or meatballs, etc)
1 large shallot, diced
1 each green and red pepper, diced
1 can diced, stewed tomatoes
3 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp oregano
black pepper and salt to taste
1 TBSP corn starch (optional)

Method:
1. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and the stringy bits (for each half) and discard. Do not cut the ends off. Rinse out the cavity. Sprinkle each half with black pepper. Place one half in a microwave safe casserole dish, cut side up. Sprinkle that half with some dried minced onion. Fill the cavity with the 1/2 cup chicken broth. Poke holes in the skin side of the other half of the squash (make sure they poke all the way through). Carefully place that half of the squash on top of the first half, cut side down (this is going to enclose the liquid in the middle). Cook on high heat for 10-12 minutes. The squash will be done when the top feels flexible or a little squishy. (Be sure to wear an oven mitt as it will be hot). Using a fork, string the squash into strands and put in  bowl. Set aside.
2. While the squash is cooking, heat 1 TBSP olive oil in a large pan. Cook the shallot and peppers for about 5 minutes. Add the ham and cook until heated through.
3. Drain the tomatoes, reserving the juice in a small bowl. Add the tomatoes to the pepper mixture. Add the remaining olive oil, the oregano and the salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix
4. Here, you have 2 options. if you have time and you want very low carb, add the liquid from the tomatoes and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half (about 30 minutes). If you have less time or you don't mind a few added carbs, mix the cornstarch with the liquid (use a fork to get all the lumps out) and add to the mixture and cook for about 8 minutes (this is what I did tonight).
5. Serve the sauce over the squash and enjoy!

 

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Gluten-Free, Low-Carb Chicken Strips

 

I love carbs. A lot. Particularly the really bad kind – baked goods made with white flour. But carbs do not love me back. So I am trying to spoil all their fun but creating things that taste like they are full of carbs, but are really not. I promise you, these are so delicious (and so easy) that you will not even miss the breadcrumb coating (even for a carb-aholic like me). And the melted butter keeps them super moist and helps them to brown. Plus, they’re gluten free (for those who can’t eat gluten)! The proportions are easily adjustable as the recipe only makes 9 strips. Please do not add salt to this recipe; the parmesan, Johnny’s Garlic seasoning and butter all contain salt and adding any more would make them way too salty.  If you don’t have Johnny’s Garlic (you can get it at Costco), you can substitute regular garlic powder with a pinch or two of dried oregano or parsley

 

Parmesan Chicken Strips

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

½ cup grated parmesan cheese (the kind in a container, like Kraft, not freshly shredded)

2 TBSP Johnny’s Garlic seasoning

3 TBSP butter, melted

 

1. Line a baking sheet with foil, shiny side out. Spray with no stick spray (or brush lightly with melted butter)
2. Cut each chicken breast into 3 strips of similar width (if using chicken with the fillet attached, separate the fillet from the rest of the breast, which will give you an extra strip)
3. Mix the parmesan and the garlic seasoning in a wide, shallow bowl. Roll chicken strips in mixture to fully coat on all sides. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet. Repeat for all strips. Drizzle melted butter on each strip
4. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, flipping over after about 15 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the broiler on to low and broil the strips for about 5 minutes to brown them up
5. Serve with an extra large Caesar salad

Featured Recipe

Zucchini Lasagne Rolls ( or"Zalagne")

So a friend of mine made lasagne rolls for dinner a while ago, which is basically lasagne filling rolled up in cooked lasagne noodles and covered in sauce and cheese and baked. I am trying to eat less carbs, hence less pasta, so I wanted to come up with a version that was noodle free, and here's what I came up with (plus, it's gluten free)

Zucchini Lasagne Rolls
Ingredients:
3-4 large-ish zucchini
1 lb mild Italian sausage meat (or 5 mild Italian sausages, casings removed)
4 cups trimmed spinach
3 cloves garlic, minced
100 grams light mozzarella cheese, grated
1 cup plain tomato sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp white sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Cook the sausage in a large pan, stirring frequently to break up the meat. Cook until the meat is no longer pink. Add the garlic and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted and soft. Set aside to cool
2. Peel the zucchini with a vegetable peeler. Slice the zucchini into thin, wide strips, until you reach the seeds. Discard seeds. Place strips in a pot of water and cook until they are tender, but still holding their shape (or put in a large microwave bowl with a little bit of water and cook on high heat until tender but still holding their shape). They need to be tender enough to roll up
3. Place a little bit of the filling along each strip and roll up. Place the rolls in a 9x9 casserole sprayed with cooking spray. If there is any filling left over, sprinkle over rolls.
4. Cover with grated cheese. Cover with sauce
5. Bake at 375 degrees F for 22 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving

Step 3 - Rolled up

Step 4

Step 4

Finished Product! Yum

Featured Recipe

The Day-Before-Payday Soup

I wrote this on Thursday last week, but had an incredibly lazy weekend and didn't get around to posting it (I couldn't find it in me to tear myself away from watching Sliders on Netflix. Yes, that show from the early nineties with Jerry O'Connel about 4 people who slide to parallel earths. So Awesome).

Sometimes payday comes at a really inconvenient time: your mortgage payment is due and bills must be paid all on the day before you get your paycheque and of course, your fridge, cupboards and freezer are looking more than a little bare. And you have to figure out what you could possibly take to work for lunch the day before payday. Well, last night, I came up with an idea and it turned out tasting pretty darn good. Now, I am a big fan of soup. I love to make it and I love to eat it and it warms me up on a cool, gray, rainy day like today. And this one used what little produce I had in my fridge and freezer,  took about 5 minutes to make and doesn’t require a pot. I prepped the night before and assembled at work. Let me share it with you:

The Day Before Payday Soup - Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 bouillon cube (I used chicken, but beef or vegetable would work just as well)
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds about half a cm thick
• 2 green onions, sliced thinly
• 1 handful frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 2 slices deli meat (we had a wee bit of old fashioned ham in the fridge, but chicken, turkey or roast beef would be yummy too. Whatever you have in your fridge)
• water

How To:

• Put the carrot slices in a microwave safe bowl and cover with a little water. Cook on high power for about 1 minute until soft but still firm (mushy carrots in soup don’t do it for me). Drain and set aside to cool slightly
• Mix all vegetables together in a small, tightly sealed, reusable container. Pack the meat in a separate container or plastic baggie. Keep the bouillon separate.
• When ready to assemble, boil about 2 cups water in a kettle (2 measuring cups worth (500ml), not the 2 cup line on your kettle (that line is for tea or coffee cup amounts)). Crumble the bouillon cube into your bowl (start with half the bouillon first, then add more until you reach your desired broth strength. I used 1 cube for about 1.5 cups water but I like my broth fairly strong. A typical bouillon cube yields 2 cups of broth). Fill the bowl about ¾ full with the boiling water and stir to dissolve the bouillon.
• Add the vegetables and meat and let stand for a few minutes so the veggies get warm all the way through. If you’re like me and you like your soup piping hot, you may need to microwave it for about 45 seconds to a minute on high as the cold veggies will have cooled the soup down some as they warm up.

That’s it. Easy peasy.  You can use whatever veggies and meat you have lying around, though veggies that don’t require much (if any) cooking work best. A tomato or some zucchini or spinach would work nicely and you could cook them with the carrots. A nice piece of whole wheat toast or some grainy crackers would be good for dipping and would round out the meal quite nicely. I admit, I did need a few crackers and some cheese about 2 hours later.