No Mayo Potato Salad

This is one of my favourite potato salads. There is no mayonnaise, so you can actually taste the potatoes and other vegetables in this salad. The dressing calls for Seasoned Rice Vinegar, which can be found at the grocery store, next to the regular Rice Vinegar (the seasoned rice vinegar is sweeter). I brought this salad to a potluck and there were no left overs.

Ingredients

SALAD:
5 cups cubed red potatoes, skin on (I use the small variety of potatoes)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped cucumber
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
3/4 cup orange bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup yellow or red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 can sliced olives, drained

DRESSING:
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper

Directions

1. Place potatoes and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a medium saucepan. Cover with water, bring to a boil, and cook until tender. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, prepare dressing. Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
3. In a large salad bowl, toss together cooked potatoes and dressing. Let stand for 15 minutes.
4. To the potatoes, add the rest of the ingredients, from the cucumbers to olives. Toss well.
5. Taste and rectify seasoning if necessary. Place salad in fridge and wait 2 hours before eating.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from MyRecipes

Sweet n' Sour Pork

This was my first time making sweet n' sour pork and it turned out to be really good. Most recipes use ketchup in their sauce but this one calls for tomato sauce. I really suggest you make your own sauce since it is so easy to make and tastes way better.

Ingredients

3 cups of water
1 1/2 cups uncooked basmati rice
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons hot sauce
Juice from 1 lime
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound pork tenderloin, cut in 3 cm cubes
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 inch ginger, grated
1 large onion, cut in 3 cm cubes
2 bell peppers. cut in 3cm cubes
1 14-ounce (398ml) can of pineapple chunks, drained
Pepper

Directions

1. In a medium size pot, combine water and rice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, put lid on pot, and simmer until cooked. Once rice is cooked, add butter and chopped green onion. Fluff with a fork and reserve.
2. While rice is cooking, prepare sauce. In a small bowl whisk together all ingredients from hot sauce to cornstarch.
3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add pork and cook for about 5 minutes, or until golden and caramelized. Add ginger, garlic, onions and bell peppers and saute for about 5 more minutes, or until vegetables are tender but crisp. Season with pepper.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add pineapples and sauce. Mix well and bring to a bubble. Cook until sauce has thickened.
5. Serve pork over green onion rice.

Recipe taken from Rachel Ray

Avocado and Black Bean Salad

This salad should be eaten as a side dish and not a meal, or else you will have major flatulence! This being said, this salad is easy, healthy, yummy, and cheap to make.

Ingredients

1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, defrosted
1/2 cup chopped green onions
4 fresh plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
Juice from 1 lime
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, add black beans, corn, green onion, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, basil, lime juice, olive oil and cumin. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Mix well and refrigerate before serving.

Recipe taken rom SimplyRecipes

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli salad is usually made with bacon. Since I never buy bacon, I decided to try this recipe with hard boiled eggs instead. The rich texture from the eggs give this salad a great taste. You can easily bring this salad to a potluck or picnic.

Ingredients

4 hard boiled eggs, cut into bite size pieces
1 head fresh broccoli, cut into bit size pieces
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons maple syrup or sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper


Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine broccoli, onions, raisins and pumpkin seeds.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, garlic, balsamic vinegar, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning to taste.
3. Pour dressing over broccoli mixture and toss until well mixed. Refrigerate for about 3 hours before serving (this allows broccoli to become tender).
4. Sprinkle a small handful of pumpkin seeds before serving, to give it an extra crunch.

Recipe inspired from Allrecipes

Double chocolate, Apple and Banana Cookies

These cookies are so moist and delicious that you would think they are made with tons of butter. The bananas and apple sauce allow for less fat without compromising the texture. Go ahead and try them, you won't regret it!

Ingredients

1 banana, mashed
185 ml unsweetened apple sauce
180 ml sugar (3/4 cup)
62.5 ml (1/4 cup) margarine, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
500 ml  (2 cups) all purpose flour
130 ml cocoa powder
5 ml baking soda
1 ml salt
125 ml semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together banana, apple sauce, sugar and margarine. Add egg and vanilla.
2. In another bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.
3. Add chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon of water if dough is too stiff.
4. Add a heaping tablespoon of batter on a greased cookie sheet and bake on top rack for 12-14 minutes. Gives about 24 cookies.

Caramelized Onion, Zucchini and Ham Quiche

Store bought quiches should be avoided! Now that I have said this, quiche is really easy to make and tastes far better than the ones you buy at the grocery store. Making quiche is like making a big omelette, except that you pour it in a crust and bake it. You can add whatever you like, let your imagination guide you!

Ingredients

1 frozen pie shell, such as Tenderflake
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
Salt
1 small zucchini, diced
1/2 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
6 slices of shredded capicola or regular sandwich ham
1 1/2 cup grated cheese, such as Gruyere or Swiss cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup 15% cream
3 eggs
Salt and pepper


Directions

1. In a skillet on medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add onions and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low, add some salt, and caramelize onions for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally and making sure onions don't burn. You want your onions to be tender and not crispy.
2. Remove pie shell from freezer and let sit for 15 minutes. With a fork, puncture pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Let cool down.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute zucchini with Herbes de Provence until tender. Add some salt and pepper.
4. Add half of the grated cheese to the bottom of the pie shell. Spread caramelized onions over cheese. Then spread zucchini over onion, and top of with pieces of ham. Add remaining cheese over ham.
5. In a bowl, whisk eggs with milk and cream. Add some salt and pepper (do not add to much salt as the cheese is salty!) Pour egg mixture over quiche until covers everything*.
6. Place quiche on a cookie sheet (to avoid some of the egg mixture to spill in your oven) and bake for 37 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden.

*I only use about 3/4 of the egg mixture, as it usually spills if I add it all.

Recipe inspired from SimpyRecipes

Summer Farfalle

This pasta is light and fresh. It can be eaten hot or cold, both are good. If you do not have all vegetables listed below, you can substitute with what you have in the fridge. Sometimes I don't have any green beans so I add more zucchini and carrots. I hope you enjoy this!

Ingredients

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
454g farfalle
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large red onion or 3 leeks, chopped
One pinch of hot pepper flakes
1 cup green  beans, diced
1 cup yellow beans, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
50 ml chopped parley
8 basil leaves

Directions

1. Drain sun-dried tomatoes and coarsely chop them. Set aside.
2. In a large pot of salted water, cook pasta.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Saute garlic, onions (or leek) and hot pepper flaked for about 2 minutes. Add vegetables and saute for about 5-7 minutes, until they are tender but still crunchy.
4. Add chicken broth to vegetables and simmer for 2 minutes.
5. In a large bowl, mix pasta, vegetables. parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley and basil. Serve immediately with more cheese if desired.

Caramelized Onion Tomato Sauce

This is an easy sauce to make when you have nothing left in the fridge. I prefer to use red onions since I find they caramelize better. Note that real caramelized onions take about 1 hour to cook on low heat. In this recipe, the onions cook for only 35 minutes, which is fine since they are incorporated in the sauce. As for the spices, I used rosemary, oregano and Herbes de Provence, but you can use whatever you like in the amounts you like.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 or 2 large red onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 796 ml (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
Salt and pepper
Grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a skillet, heat olive oil and butter on medium heat. Add onions and some salt and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium low and cook onions until golden in colour and tender, about 25 minutes.
2. Add garlic, tomatoes, and spices to onions. Add salt and pepper and simmer with lid off for about 20 minutes. Adjust seasoning to your own liking.
3. Serve sauce over penne and add grated parmesan cheese.

7-Layer Taco Dip

The other night we were invited to a potluck birthday party. I did not have much time to cook and wanted to prepare something really easy but delicious. So I thought that a taco dip could be my best option. I found many recipes for 7-layer taco dips on the net and decided to adapt them with the ingredients I like. For instance, one recipe called for cream cheese mixed with sour cream. I think that this is too rich and left out the cream cheese. I added a homemade guacamole instead. I served this dip with round tortilla chips and everyone raved about it. 

Ingredients

1 (20 ounce) can Refried Beans 

1 (500ml) container low-fat sour cream (reserve 1 tablespoon)

Cumin

Oregano

Chilli powder

4 small Italian tomatoes, chopped

2 large avocados, mashed

About 2 tablespoons red onion, chopped

1 (16 ounce) jar mild or medium salsa

2 green onions, chopped

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix refried beans with cumin and chilli powder. Add as much spices as you like. Spread the mixture in a 13x9 inch dish (not smaller!)

2. In a bowl, mix sour cream, cumin, chilli powder, oregano and black pepper. Season as much as you like. Spread sour cream over refried beans.

3. In a bowl, mix mashed avocados with chopped tomatoes and 1 tablespoon sour cream. Add onions, salt and pepper. Spread over sour cream.

4. Spread about half of the jar of salsa if using medium salsa (not everyone likes spicy food). If using mild salsa, spread the entire jar over avocado.

5. Sprinkle chopped green onions over salsa.

6. Top with grated cheddar cheese

7. Garnish with black olives.

Broil in oven for about 2 minutes or until cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

To recap, here are the layers:

1) beans

2) sour cream

3) guacamole

4) salsa

5) green onion

6) cheese

7) olives

Eggplant Parmigiana

As a child I used to dislike this dish, mainly due to the eggplants. Like many of you, I never really liked eggplants. When I went to Italy last summer, I discovered the joys of eating "melanzane" as they call them. They are mostly served oven-baked. So last week I went to the market and was drawn to their beautiful "aubergine" colour. I decided that I would try to make this dish and see what happens. Warning: do not do the same mistake as I did and make this dish on a boring Monday night when it is 35 degrees outside. Reserve this meal for a Saturday evening with family. It took me 2 hours to make this and 2 minutes to eat it. But hey, this was amazing! Even my boyfriend, who hates eggplants, thought that it was delicious! So I hope that you too will change your opinion on eggplants...

Ingredients

2 lbs (about 5 tiny or 2 large) eggplants

Salt

1 Simple Tomato Sauce Recipe

1/2 cup flour

1/2 breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

4 large eggs, beaten

About 2 1/2 cups grated cheese ( I used the Italian cheese mix)

1 packed cup fresh basil leaves

Directions

1. Cut eggplants so slices are about 0.5cm thick. Place one layer of eggplants in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Continue this way until all eggplants are in colander, making sure to salt every layer. Place a stack of plates over eggplants and let drain for about 2 hours. Do not skip this step or else you will end up with a soggy dish.

2. Meanwhile, make your tomato sauce. Click here for recipe and directions.

3. Once the eggplant has drained, place eggplant on paper towels and remove excess water and salt.

4. In a large shallow bowl, mix flour, breadcrumbs and rosemary. In another large bowl, beat eggs. 

5. Heat a large skillet with lots of olive oil on medium heat. Dip eggplant slices in breadcrumbs first and then in eggs. Fry in skillet until golden brown on each side. Place eggplants on paper towel to absorb excess fat.

6. Repeat step 5 until all eggplants are fried. I usually work with 10 slices at a time, taking about 30 minutes total to fry.

7. In a 13x9 inch glass dish, spread one cup of tomato sauce and top with one layer of eggplants. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese and half of the basil.

8. Make a second layer of eggplants and top with 1 cup of sauce, 1/3 of cheese and the remaining basil.

9. Add remaining eggplants and top with remaining sauce and cheese.

10. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes, or until cheese has browned and eggplants are tender.

Recipe inspired from Simply Recipes