Kale Salad with Strawberries, Fennel, Dried Cranberries and Walnuts

Kale Salad with Strawberries, Fennel, Dried Cranberries and Walnuts

If you’re looking for a delicious kale salad with a splash of colour, then try this kale version with fennel, strawberries, dried cranberries and walnuts. It’s served with a simple vinaigrette made with maple syrup.

Kale Salad with Strawberries, Fennel and Walnuts

Quick and Easy Falafels with Tzatziki

 

Quick and Easy Falafels

It's  already March. Yeah! It means we’re sneaking up on spring. It’s time to freshen up our cooking routines and slip into easy meals, with fresh soon-to-be-found local spring foods.

So, lets revitalize our recipe selections and talk cookbooks!  

Do you buy or collect cookbooks? How many do you own? When you buy a new one, do you actually try the recipes? If not, why? 

To me, accumulating cookbooks is like buying kitchen gadgets that you rarely use: eventually you re-discover them in your kitchen drawer (or on your cookbook shelf) and wonder why you bought them in the first place.

New cookbooks mean new recipes, and that means changing things up. It isn’t easy. I love the idea of cooking new foods but putting it into action takes effort. 

I think you’ll agree it’s easy-peasy to cook the same old recipes over and over again. It’s like driving home from work: it’s uncomplicated to drive the same route every day. Why muddle things up by taking a longer, more scenic route, just for sake of change?

Beef Tacos with Paprika – Inspired by a Community Kitchen

Easy Beef Tacos

While I wait for spring to arrive, I’ve been busy in my community. And this week, I want to share a beef taco recipe I was reminded of while volunteering at the community lunch program. 

Usually, when I arrive for my shifts in the school gym, I feel like I’ve been dropped into the middle of an action movie and have to quickly figure out the plot and the characters to catch up with the audience. 

Every day is different. New recipes and new volunteers, which include parents, students, and community neighbours. The rotating scenario creates overall mayhem. Typical of any elementary school program that is student-run, and feeds lunch to 200 kids twice a week.

When I arrived last Thursday, the kitchen was eerily calm and organized, and all the dishes were done. The meal was cooked and ready to go.

Chef Maria stood smiling in the middle of it with her black hair pulled off her round face, smiling broadly beneath her gold-rimmed glasses. A white apron pulled tight across her full frame.

Maria has a playful, warm personality and she cooks with a sanguine confidence. “What are you cooking today, Maria?” I asked. She beamed back the answer, “chicken, with my new favourite spice, paprika.”

Paprika, a spice I rarely use. When she mentioned it I was reminded of a simple beef taco recipe I occasionally cooked for my family.

Crescent Shaped Nut Sugar Cookies

Crescent Shaped Nut Sugar Cookies

These little cookies are full of flavour ! With few ingredients, they truly are easy to make. I suggest making them small, because they are rich. I used walnuts, but pecans, hazelnuts or almonds would do as well.  

Cranberry Maple Banana Bread

Cranberry Banana Loaf

This banana bread is different from your typical banana bread because it has coconut and cranberries. It has a nice mixture of sweet from the bananas and tart from the cranberries. It’s a great way to use up old bananas and cranberries that may be lingering in your freezer!

Simple & Fast Tomato, Olive, and Fresh Basil Penne

Tomato Olive Basil Penne

If my husband was to make a meal for dinner, his go-to dish would be pasta. His sauce typically includes whatever he feels like throwing into the pot that day…and he never uses a recipe. 

This dish is similar to his pasta dishes, except there is a recipe for it! I use fresh cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and basil to give it a lively taste. I do like to use extra-virgin olive oil because of the flavour, but regular olive oil will do just as well. 

And if you feel inspired, don't be afraid to throw in other ingredients you like.

Whatever you decide, this is a super fast and delicious meal to prepare at the last minute.

Easy Sheet-Pan Chicken with Potatoes, Lemons & Feta Cheese

Simple Sheet Pan Chicken with Chicken Thighs

Sheet-Pan Chicken with Potatoes and Lemons

Here’s a fast delicious chicken recipe perfect for an easy weekday meal. There’s little prep involved and even less mess to clean up. Serve with an easy-to-make salad and you’ll have a perfect meal.

Cabbage Cucumber Slaw

Cabbage Cucumber Slaw

Cabbage Cucumber Slaw

If you like cucumber and cabbage then this delightful slaw is perfect to serve with any meal. It's super easy...all you have to do is throw the ingredients together, and sprinkle on olive oil and seasoned rice vinegar....it's that easy!

Nasi Goreng - Indonesian Fried Rice With Green Beans and Red Cabbage

Nasi Goreng with Fried Egg

Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian fried rice dish topped with fried eggs. The secret to great fried rice is to use cold cooked rice!

Nasi Goreng uses a sweet soy sauce called Kecap. It’s not always widely available, but it is easy to make, which I’ve done in this recipe. Since the cooked rice and Kecap can be made ahead of time, this is an easy dish to throw together at the last minute.

If you want to add more protein you could add cooked pork, cooked chicken, or even tofu.

Black Bean Smash Burgers With Adobo Mayo

Black Bean Burgers

While stuck in my kitchen this summer nursing two different muscle injuries I started to cook more meals at home. I concentrated on cooking vegetarian meals, filled with fresh whole foods. 

I found this recipe in the Bon Appetit August 2024 edition on their list of top 56 recipes to try this year. They chose 56 because their first issue was published in 1956. 

It's one of my favourites and one I'd recommend you all try it.

This burger recipe is fast, easy, tasty and I especially like the adobo mayo sauce. 

I’ve included the original recipe here, but I did modify mine a bit by substituting  cilantro instead of coriander. I also used plain Monterey Jack cheese because I couldn’t find Pepper Jack cheese. 

Apple Cobbler with Mixed Fruit

Apple and Mixed Fruit Cobbler

When anyone comes to my house for dinner, they will almost always be served a fruit crumble or cobbler. I find them easy to make, and somewhat healthy because they’re loaded with fruit. Not to mention, they are really tasty! 

This cobbler uses apples, which is always nice in a dessert. The type of apple you use makes a difference because some are crunchier than others. The super crunchy apples don’t soften as well and the super soft apples, like macintosh and red delicious, will turn your cobbler to mush. My first choice for cobbler is a Spartan apple, but any other medium hard apple will do.

Moroccan Chicken Pot Pie

Moroccan Chicken Pot Pie

 

This chicken pot pie is very simple to make and worth trying if you want to add something new to your repertoire. It’s a little different then a typical pot pie because it uses spices such as paprika, cumin and cinnamon. It also has green olives and raisins instead of peas and carrots. 

Never Fail Angel Food Cake

Angel Food Cake

This angel food cake is light, airy, and as dainty as one would imagine a story-book angel to be. You can dress it up with whipping cream and serve it with fresh fruit and a drizzle of melted chocolate on top.

Spinach Frittata

Spinach Frittata with Potato and Swiss Cheese

Spinach Potato Frittata with Swiss cheese and fresh dill

An egg dish can be a quick dinner idea to serve after a busy day. Try this easy, tasty spinach frittata recipe and you'll see what I mean. 

Easy Sheet Pan Chicken with Roasted Veggie

Roasted Veggies and Chicken

This is a super quick dish to make for a weekday night. Prepare the chicken and veggies and then broil on a baking sheet for 8 minutes. It can’t get any easier. Plus, you can use whatever veggies you like.

Black Bean, Corn and Salsa Wrap

Black Bean, Corn and Salsa Wrap

This wrap recipe is easy to prepare during the week for your family!

It has black beans and corn plus salsa and cheese. Top the bean wrap with sour cream and cilantro, and it's a yummy meal.

In the recipe the black bean wraps are cooked in the oven but can also be grilled in a panini grill.

Squash Lentil Stew

Squash Lentil Stew with Rice and Vegetables

There are many different types of squash available this fall.  Take advantage of them by cooking up delicious soups and stews such as this tasty dish. 

This is a delicious meal to make on a cool night. Feel free to add more veggies or swap some out for others that you have in your fridge.

I usually hate cutting squash because they are so tough, but I heard that if you put them in the microwave for a few seconds, (I did, 15 seconds) they are easier to cut. Well, I finally tried this little hack, and it worked!

Pasta with Fresh Basil and Asparagus

Pasta with asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes, fresh basil and Parmesan cheese

 

Stir fry the veggies and add to a pot of cooked pasta for an easy weekday meal

If you love mushrooms and asparagus, you will love this easy to-make dish. This recipe is fast to prepare and yummy to eat.

Tuscan Beef and Lentil Soup

This soup has veggies, beef and lentils which makes it a perfect soup at any time of the year.  It's seasoned with dried basil and oregano and served with grated Parmesan cheese on top. 

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta