Pork Stir Fry

This is a quick and easy recipe with some shortcuts to make an easy weeknight meal.




First, I want to share my favourite appliance. This thing is almost 10 years old now and I don't know what I'll do if it ever breaks. It is a two-tiered steamer/rice cooker.  

To steam rice, just fill the reservoir below, add a cup of rice and 1 1/4 cup of liquid to the insert, cover and plug in.  Steam for 30 minutes for delicious, fluffy rice.  If you like you can steam veggies above in the second tier at the same time.  


For the stirfry I used two shortcuts - pre-chopped veggies and bottled stir fry sauce.  

I chopped pork and browned in a pan.

Added the vegetables and sauce.

And served over rice, sprinkled with sesame seeds.   

Potatoes New Orleans

When I was in college my friends had a potluck dinner. I have no recollection of what I brought but I'll never forget that night because I was introduced to Potatoes New Orleans.  Thankfully, the friend who brought them didn't assemble them in advance but let us watch her put them together in all their glory.  It was fascinating to me how these trashy-seeming ingredients could come together and make something so delicious!


This is not a recipe I make often because it doesn't fit into my general healthy eating plan, but once in a while it's a delicious treat and your guests will be blown away by the flavour. Do make sure you make it for guests because this is way too much for two people.


Here's the crazy stuff you need. Don't be afraid, it'll all work out.

I bag hashbrowns
500 ml sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or any cream soup)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
green onions
2 tablespoons butter
1 can/carton fried onions (this should be availble near the croutons in your grocery store and is a totally crazy ingredient. If you can't find these, you can substitute crushed potato chips, believe it or not)

Grease a 9 x 13 pan and add all the ingredients except the fried onions.  

Mix together well and smooth into the pan.  Top with black pepper.  I didn't use any salt because all these processed ingredients will make it plenty salty, but you can add a sprinkle if you like.  


Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Then top with the french fried onions and bake another 10 minutes until crispy on top, warm in the centre and bubbling at the sides.

We were in such a hurry to chow down I almost forgot to take a picture of the finished product but here it is after a few servings were removed. So delicious and terrible! 

Chicken Fajitas

The first time I had chicken fajitas was at the Lone Star Texas Grill in Mississauga, Ontario in the late 1980s.  It was so unbelievably exotic to me!  I'd had tacos before, from Old El Paso and Taco Bell, but I'd never had someone bring me a sizzling plate of meat and vegetables to assemble myself in warm flour tortillas!  I was in heaven.  This particular chain restaurant served rice with their fajitas, so that's how I prefer them to this day.

I like to use grilled boneless chicken thighs with so much more flavour than chicken breasts.  I use a spice rub on them. This also makes a great taco seasoning.

To make a large portion of this taco seasoning you need:

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp pepper

2 tbsp chili powder

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne

Mix it all together and sprinkle over the boneless chicken thighs.

Grill the chicken.  Meanwhile we'll make some rice.  Cook rice with tomato puree instead of water if you like (or just with water).  Do this in advance if possible so it'll be cooked and hot when the chicken goes on the grill.  Add some corn (frozen is ok) to a pan to toast.

Add the white parts of some green onions and a chopped jalapeno pepper.  

Add the rice and saute until warmed through.

Meanwhile, chop a red onion and pepper (bell pepper or hungarian pepper) into thick slices.  Add them to the grill along with the chicken.

One more meanwhile... chop some lettuce and shred some cheese while the chicken finishes grilling.

Bring the chicken in from the grill and chop with the onions and peppers.

Finally, warm the tortillas and assemble with cheese, rice, chicken, veggies and sour cream.

Short & Sweet Sunday - Spice Rubbed Pork Chops

Happy Sunday! Spring has sprung around here and the weather is very warm and sunny! In honour of that, lets have a quicky grilling recipe.

I like to get these large Frenched rib pork chops. They're great with a nice spice rub. I make the rub in a good quantity and keep it on hand. Here's what you need:

2 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Mix it all together and sprinkle about a tablespoon over pork or chicken before grilling. 

I served the chops with leftover rice pilaf and grilled asparagus.  Yum!

Miso Glazed Cod

I am not a big fan of fish. I love deep fried fish and chips, and I love to eat halibut in restaurants, but I am just a little wary of the fish we get around here, in the centre of the country, and I don't always love the texture and flavour of frozen fish. 


But it is so healthy, I try to work it into our diet as regularly as possible. Now that I've tried it with a miso glaze, I think we'll have it more often. A delicious, easy preparation with very flavourful results.  

Miso paste is made from fermented soybeans. It gives a rich, earthy, umami flavour to this dish.

One of my biggest challenges in cooking is to always be conscious of the balance in a dish. Often I'll taste something I've made and know something's missing but I just can't put my finger on it. This dish is a perfect example of balanced ingredients. The miso adds that earthy, rich umami flavour as does soy sauce, sugar adds sweetness and rice vinegar ads acid.  Plus a dash of cayenne pepper for spice.  

Combine all the marinade ingredients, plus oil in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Place the fish on foil because the sugar in the marinade will get toasty and a little burnt to be honest.

Brush the marinade onto the fish and place in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, then broil just until the top begins to brown.

I served this with a basmati and wild rice mixture and squash with kale. 

Short & Sweet Sunday - Turkey Soup

This is a very short, sweet post and the last of the turkey leftovers.  I love that dark, rich turkey stock so much and it makes delicious soup.

I saute a diced onion, carrot and two celery stocks for just a couple of minutes in a medium sized pot.  Add a few cups of turkey stock.  When it is warm, add diced leftover cooked turkey and frozen corn.  


Meanwhile, boil egg noodles in a separate pot.  Once cooked, fill your bowl with noodles and top with the hot soup.  Serve with crusty rolls or baguette.  

Turkey Pot Pie

As I've grown up my tastes have matured somewhat. Many things I hated as a child, I now tolerate or even like. I don't think I'll ever eat raw tomatoes or red bell peppers, but I've started to give mushrooms a chance.

One of the grossest foods of my childhood were hot lunch meat pies. I believe you can still buy these atrocities frozen. Greasy pastry filled with fatty beef and brown gravy, generally served mushy and smelling like vomit. I refused to eat them and it turned me off any type of savory pie for a good long time.

I never much cared for gravy or pie crust but I think I was eating the wrong ones. Now that I can make gravy myself, I make sure it is flavourful, not floury.  So I thought I'd give pot pies a try with all my leftover turkey.

I chopped onions, carrots and celery and sauteed them in some oil for a few minutes.

I added mushrooms...

... and cooked them down for a few minutes.

Then I sprinkled the vegetables with flour and cooked for a few more minutes before adding turkey stock.

Let the stock bubble until it thickens.

Chop the leftover cooked turkey.

And add to the gravy mixture along with some frozen peas and corn and just warm through.

Instead of making my own pie crust (which I've never done! Future project alert!), I purchased this great all butter puff pastry to top my pies.

I defrosted a sheet in the refrigerator overnight and rolled it out a little thinner.

I put the turkey filling into single serving casserole dishes.  You could use ramekins, french onion soup bowls or whatever you have that's oven safe.

Top the casseroles with the puff pastry, dabbing egg wash around the edges. 

Cut slits in the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape and brush the top with egg wash as well.  I actually found it easier to cut the slits before placing the pastry on the pie.  

Bake at 350 for about 15 or 20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is hot and bubbling.

Delicious use for leftovers!