A Brussels sprout dish I'll eat
I'm not a huge fan of the tiny cabbages, but this side dish does a pretty good job of making Brussels sprouts seem not so bad. I followed this recipe to a T for our 2011 Thanksgiving dinner, and it was very quickly gobbled up by our guests. It has since become a regular dish for our Thanksgiving dinners. Enjoy!
Brussels sprouts gratin
Brussels sprouts gratin
Fish tacos are the best tacos
Seriously, they are! I became a convert after trying some pretty fantastic ones in San Diego, and this recipe is a pretty good replica of what I had. I forgoed the jalapeno in the salsa, but made sure to get a nice tomatillo. It really added dimension to the salsa itself. The recipe also calls for catfish, but you can use whatever fresh fish you can find. I very quickly learned the need to cut the fish into large chunks; it makes for easier frying and not as much splatter (at least, less splatter). Enjoy!
Fish tacos with fresh salsa
Fish tacos with fresh salsa
Yummy spiced pork tenderloin
I love pork tenderloin. It doesn't take long to cook and the possibilities are endless. This recipe is RIDICULOUSLY easy to prepare, it took me 30 mins tops to get everything ready. The rub for the tenderloin is well balanced, just make sure to get the spices well combined before getting it on the tenderloin. Rather than rolling it into the spices, I massaged the spices all over the meat. It was very well distributed and tasted great. The quinoa with the corn and green onion was a nice sweet counterpart to the spiciness of the pork. Fantastic recipe, enjoy!
Spice-rubbed pork tenderloin with quinoa
Spice-rubbed pork tenderloin with quinoa
An easy egg dish
I found this recipe in the March 2011 Italian issue. I love eggs, and it's difficult to find good egg dishes that can be made for dinner. This particular recipe can also work for brunch, and tastes great the next day for breakfast as well. I opted to chop all the vegetables rather than slice them and made sure to add the cheese once the eggs were nearly finished (it was difficult to tell whether the eggs were ready when I sprinkled the cheese in right away). Enjoy!
Eggs in purgatory with salami
Eggs in purgatory with salami
Easy Thai soup
This soup has very quickly become a favorite of ours. For me, it's incredibly easy to prepare. For hubby, it has a good balance of spices to satisfy his needs. I've reduced the green curry paste to only 1 tbsp instead of two (it was too spicy for me!), and rather than leaving the red pepper in long strips, I cut the strips in half. I also only use 1 large red pepper instead of two (we found that there was just too much with two). I've tried the recipe with reduced fat coconut milk as well as full fat, and the reduced fat doesn't seem to add as much flavor as the full fat. Try both ways and see what you like. Enjoy!
Thai chicken soup
Thai chicken soup
Easy split pea soup
I've never made pea soup before, and this recipe is a very easy one to do because it involves a slow cooker. :D I chopped all the vegetables and herbs the night before, so it was just a matter of getting everything together in the morning. I ended up using a small ham, as we were not able to find a smoked turkey leg (as predicted), and I also didn't add the yogurt or peas for the garnish. The soup works fine without the ingredients (but I'm sure it would be quite good with them as well!). Enjoy!
Slow cooker split pea soup
Slow cooker split pea soup
A more flavorful potato-leek soup
I've been looking for a really good potato-leek soup for a while, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe. The addition of the peas gives the soup a nice sweetness and the bacon gives that meat flavor that hubby is always looking for with soup. ;) It's a win-win, methinks! You can, of course, omit the bacon to make it vegan or vegetarian friendly. I love the homemade croutons that comes with this recipe; the smoked paprika goes a long way to add flavor and it gives a smokey element to the soup as well. The recipe calls for only pureeing half of the soup, but I just puree the whole soup, then add the peas. Much easier for me. Enjoy!
Potato-leek soup with bacon
Potato-leek soup with bacon
Lighter sweet and sour pork
Sweet and sour pork is easily my favorite Chinese dish. For one of my birthdays, hubby decided that he was going to try and cook some for me. Well...that resulted in a grease fire and that particular recipe has never been attempted since. ;) I was quite skeptical of this particular version of the dish (no pineapple, ketchup and balsamic vinegar in the marinade), but it works! Also? No worries about the pork, because it doesn't have a batter-coat (like most versions of sweet and sour pork). As it is a stir-fry, the recipe works best with all ingredients prepped and ready to go; otherwise there is a risk of over-cooking ingredients. Enjoy!
Sweet and sour pork
Sweet and sour pork
Dressing up pickles
Fried pickles is a side that is slowly making its way into restaurants and bars. We had our first try of them at Cache Bistro for one of our Valentine's dinners and they were surprisingly light and crisp. This simple version does the trick quite well. I used sandwich stackers instead of pickle slices (as that's what we have in our fridge) and the recipe works just fine. Enjoy!
Fried pickles
Fried pickles
Italian wedding soup
When I was living on my own, I used to heavily invest in canned soup (so bad sodium-wise, I know). One of the soups that I used to buy was an Italian wedding soup from Campbell's. It had pork meatballs, pasta, broth and spinach. This Food Network version is much healthier and heartier! Rather than making the meatballs as the soup is cooking, I prefer to make the meatballs first. When it's time to add them, it's simply a matter of dropping them into the soup. I also was not able to find fresh sage leaves, and substitued dried sage in it's place (1/4 tsp for the meatballs and another 1/4 tsp for the soup itself). Enjoy!
Italian wedding soup
Italian wedding soup
Lighter fettucine alfredo
I've always loved cream-based pasta sauces, but in the efforts to eat better, it is something that we only have every once and a while. I really enjoy this recipe because it is so easy to make, and the lemon gives a lovely refreshing finish on the palate. It has the cheesy taste of alfredo without being too heavy and rich. Hubby doesn't like having the pasta by itself, so I usually cube and fry a couple of chicken breasts to have with the pasta. Enjoy!
Lemon-pepper fettucine
Lemon-pepper fettucine
Super easy zucchini soup
I discovered this recipe in Fall 2011, while I was actively watching Laura Calder's French Food at Home while doing my exercise in the morning. It was quite convenient at the time, because I had some leftover zucchini from another recipe in the fridge and wasn't sure what to do with it. This recipe is ridiculously easy (I say that for a few of my recipes, but this one really is!), and you can add spices to suit your own tastes. The cheese is very subtle and works quite well with the zucchini. Enjoy!
Vache qui rit soup
Vache qui rit soup
A variation on fettucine
I really enjoy the simplicity of this dish and it's quite flavorful as well. Ragu is normally a dish that cooks for a good chunk of time (I've seen anything from an hour to three), so it was nice to find a recipe that replicates ragu quite well in much less time. The ground turkey makes it much lighter in comparison to ground beef, and the milk gives a slight creaminess to the sauce. I opted to not put all the vegetables into a food processor (though I suspect that will change once children come into the picture), and it works just fine. Makes the ragu a little more chunky is all. ;) Enjoy!
Fettucine with quick ragu
Fettucine with quick ragu
Vodka in sauce? Yes please!
This is one of the easiest pasta sauces that I've acquired from Food Network Magazine, and is a perfect weekday meal. It works quite well as a side dish too. The vodka gives a nice spicy kick to the sauce overall, and the cream and cheese are very subtle, but add dimension to the sauce nonetheless. The version that I have of this recipe substitutes crushed tomatoes for the whole tomatoes (same sized can), so if you prefer a smoother sauce, it can be switched. The first time I tried the recipe was with the whole tomatoes, and I found the vodka MUCH stronger there. So, another factor to consider when choosing between whole tomatoes (let's get drunk on the sauce!) or crushed tomatoes (just want a slight buzz). Enjoy!
Penne with vodka sauce
Penne with vodka sauce
Chicken + beer = YUM
I have taken to cooking a few dishes with beer; I love how much flavor it can really add to a dish. This particular dish has been made a few times now, though I've yet to make it with a dark beer, as the recipe calls for. I also use deli mustard instead of whole-grain mustard (works just fine), and fresh pearl onions instead of frozen. Pickled sweet pearl onions work in a pinch, but don't do a full cup! Half a cup or even a quarter is enough. Enjoy!
Beer-braised chicken
Beer-braised chicken
Easy calzones
This recipe is a slightly more finicky in comparison to other recipes on this page, but are very tasty! As I usually have frozen pizza dough for pizza, it is a fairly convenient meal for us. The one thing that I still struggle with when making this recipe is how much filling to put into each calzone. I've yet to make this recipe and not have leftover meat. The smoked paprika is a must; it gives great dimension to the meat. Enjoy!
Smoky pork calzones
Smoky pork calzones
A good Pho imitation
This is the first recipe that I tried from my very first issue of Food Network Magazine. It very closely ressembles pho, a well-known Vietnamese dish. The star anise is one ingredient that I don't have on hand, and I substitute it with fennel seeds. I also don't use both red and green jalapeno peppers, as it's hubby who eats them and having both is too much. The great thing about this soup is that it is customizable, so it is perfect for entertaining. Enjoy!
Vietnamese noodle soup
Vietnamese noodle soup