Category Archives: Dinner

Make your own Cranberry Sauce!

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CranberrySauce

Once again, we’ve come around to making something homemade rather than buying it. The things I prefer to make than buy: Mayo, Eggnog, Taco Spice mix, Dry Rub, Curry blend, Sausage spice, Bacon Jam, Beer Bread, Pita and every baked good ever.

Homemade cranberry sauce can be tweaked to your desire, but really, those freshly burst berries are awesome anyway you go about it. Dollop on a plate piled with Turkey or Tofurkey and your night is set.

Cranberry Sauce

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups cranberries (use wild berries if you can, but those gargantuan ones in the store will do too)
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a saucepan over medium heat, stir the sugar into the orange juice. Heat until the sugar disolves.
  2. Stir in the cranberries, and cook uncovered until they begin to burst, about 10 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat, and allow to cool.
  4. The sauce will thicken as it cools, if it seems too thin put it back on the heat for 5 minutes and allow to cool again.
  5. Serve!
Giant berries.

Giant berries.

Bursting with deliciousness.

Bursting with deliciousness.

Easy Tomato Pasta

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EasyTomatoPasta

This is an incredibly simple family favourite. In fact, it is something I never even considered making for the blog because it is so simple. I remember having this all the time growing up and it was always well loved, whether it was made with sausage or shrimp, heck it would be delicious with both. This recipe is great for busy parents, or for anyone wanting a quick and delicious weeknight meal. It is wonderful served over any kind of pasta, my family prefers penne. I was not a picky kid, but my sister was a little picky (I don’t remember her being particularly picky, but she remembers being a bit) and she still loves this dish. We typically made this with spicy italian sausages but when we whipped up this batch in Fort McMurray over Christmas we only had shrimp on hand and it turned out beautifully.

Easy Tomato Pasta

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1/2 each of red, green, and yellow peppers, chopped
  • 1 cup mushrooms, chopped (*optional)
  • 1 large can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes (*optional but recommended if you aren’t using spicy italian sausage)
  • 1 tsp of garlic (*optional but recommended if you aren’t using spicy italian sausage)
  • 1 bag of peeled and cooked shrimp
    • OR 4-6 spicy italian sausages, sliced into 6-8 pieces each (**if using, add to pan with onions and peppers immediately)
    • OR another awesome protein of your choice
  • 1 cup of parmesan (or other cheese of choice, mozzarella is great here) to sprinkle on top

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large saucepan with high sides, sauté onions, peppers, and mushrooms in olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté until the peppers just begin to brown and the onions start to become translucent, 5-8 minutes. (Include spicy italian sausages at this stage if using)
  2. Add the remaining ingredients, taste for spices and add more as needed. Stir well and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the veggies are just tender.
  3. Meanwhile, boil some water and cook pasta of choice according to package instructions.
  4. Add the shrimp to the tomato mixture and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.
  5. Serve sauce over pasta and top with a sprinkle of cheese.
Sautéing some tasty veg.

Sautéing some tasty veg.

Everything cooking down, pre-shrimping.

Everything cooking down, pre-shrimping.

Grilled Squid and Baby Octopus on Purple Cabbage Salad with Lemon

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GrilledSquidandBabyOctopus

Gen likes to buy new and exciting ingredients and then leave me to figure out what to do with them. Unlike the mussel situation of a month ago (delicious mussel situation, don’t get me wrong), Gen did not buy an incredible amount of squid and octopus, so I wasn’t pressured to cook an insane amount all in one shot. We invited our wonderful friends over for food and some gaming and I went to work marinating, chopping (including my finger again, sigh), and grilling. The wild thing is, seafood is super easy to prepare, no need to be intimidated by these ‘exotic’ creatures, a little marinade and some heat go a long way. I used two different marinades and I loved the combination, the squid was slightly spicy (sorry Tobias!) and the octopus was just touched with a little citrus. I whipped up a lemon-olive oil dressing that I used to top the salads to tie the flavours together and give the cabbage a little brightness. You can easily serve the seafood on top of rice or pasta, but I’ve included my salad recipe below, once again it is all about cabbage and full of colour!

Citrus Baby Octopus

From Mark’s Daily Apple

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 pounds baby octopus (Go to Mark’s Daily Apple for instructions on how to prepare your octopus, if you have more than legs)
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • juice of 1 large lemon
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 10 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Pour into a large ziploc bag and set aside.
  2. In a medium pot over high heat, bring 5 cups of water to a boil. Turn the heat off and dump the octopuses into the pot.
  3. Let the octopus sit in the pot for 1 minute and then drain immediately. Rinse well with cold water.
  4. Add the octopus to the marinade bag, tossing to coat. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
  5. Turn your grill to high (we have a countertop grill, only one setting, HIGH).
  6. Grill for about 6 minutes, turning halfway. Remove from heat and serve warm over salad, or allow to cool to serve.

 

Grilled Spicy Squid

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb squid tubes, fresh or frozen (mine were clean and frozen from Superstore, if you can only find full squid there are many sites out there with cleaning tips)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp coarse salt
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 red chili pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS

  1. Rinse your squid tubes, slice down one side to open, and lay out on a clean dish towel or layered paper towels, pat until quite dry.
  2. Cut the squid into 1/2 inch strips and toss in a large bowl.
  3. In a small bowl, stir together the spices.
  4. Drizzle the olive oil over the squid and toss to coat.
  5. Sprinkle the spices over the oiled squid and toss until every piece is spiced. Cover and allow to sit in the fridge until you are ready to grill.
  6. Turn the grill on high, lay pieces of squid on the grill and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes per side. Some of your pieces may curl up while cooking, that’s alright!
  7. Serve over salad!

 

Lemon Dressing to serve over seafood

INGREDIENTS

  • juice of one lemon
  • 1/2 cup of olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp fresh rosemary, minced (*optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl, drizzle over seafood, salad, anything!

 

Cabbage Salad

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 head of purple cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 3 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
  • 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1/2lb green beans, quartered

DIRECTIONS

  1. Toss together all ingredients in a large bowl, drizzle with preferred dressing and enjoy a crunchy, awesome salad!
Beautiful little octopus legs.

Beautiful little octopus legs.

Bright, fresh ingredients.

Bright, fresh ingredients.

Sliced squid tubes.

Sliced squid tubes.

Par boiled and ready to be grilled.

Par boiled and ready to be grilled.

Squid strips.

Squid strips.

Grilling away, my tester batch.

Grilling away, my tester batch.

Cabbage Roll Casserole (I know, I know, another cabbage post!)

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Cabbagerollcasserole

Sorry guys, I am in a cabbagey place lately and this is just another cabbage-loving creation. I can promise you something super sweet and amazing for Wednesday (it is the Food Blogger Cookie post), so if you are hating on the cabbage, wait until then for a switch up. BUT, if you are down with awesome cabbage-loving dishes, scroll on down and get all up in this recipe. Kel and I are something like 25% Ukrainian and have always taken pride in cooking up great Ukrainian dishes (like Kel’s Chicken Paprikash), in particular we try to get together once a year to make up a huge batch of perogies and cabbage rolls to split (look forward to this post after Christmas). But, when this supplies runs out, immediately after Christmas, they are too good to keep, I have to come up with quick alternatives that offer the same flavours. This one-pot wonder is easy and delicious and makes a batch big enough for a family, or great for many lunches.

Cabbage Roll Casserole

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 lbs ground beef
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil (or olive)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes *optional
  • 1 tsp garlic, minced
  • 1/2 head of cabbage, roughly chopped (about 4 cups raw)
  • 1/2 cup strained tomatoes (I used Pomi, it is essentially nothing-added tomato sauce, feel free to substitute your own brand, or 2 minced tomatoes)
  • 3 tbsp cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup cheddar, shredded

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt the coconut oil and brown your ground beef. Break up the meat as it cooks to get an even crumble.
  2. Add the spices to the meat and stir well to evenly distribute.
  3. Create a well in the centre of your pot (move the meat to the sides) and add your garlic. Allow to cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, until fragrant.
  4. Add the cabbage and tomato to the pot and stir well to combine. Dollop the cream cheese on top of the mixture, cover with a lid and cook everything for 15 minutes, until the cabbage is tender.
  5. Stir the, now softened, cream cheese into the meat and cabbage mixture, taste and adjust spices if needed.
  6. Sprinkle the mixture with the cheddar cheese and allow to melt before serving.
  7. Serve alone or over rice. Top with a dollop of sour cream of creme fraiche.
Ah cabbage, my current love.

Ah cabbage, my current love.

Cheese to round it out!

Cheese to round it out!

Creamy Cauliflower & Cabbage Soup

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CreamyCauliflowerSoup

This soup is creamy, buttery, thick, and delicious. I have been on a weird cabbage kick lately and here we go. This soup is awesome and hearty and can be easily veganized by omitting the dairy (or switching for vegan versions), it will still be amazing. The recipe makes a lot so you will have meals for days, or for a group. I served this up with a sprinkle of cayenne and some sausage on the side. You will see I’ve suggested that the cabbage and cauliflower can be any size, the measurements can be adjusted for different amounts of veggies (it’s hard to hunt down a particular size of veggies).

Creamy Cauliflower & Cabbage Soup

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 head of cabbage (any size), roughly chopped
  • 1 head of cauliflower (any size), roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 5 cups of chicken broth (or more, to almost cover the veg)
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta
  • paprika or cayenne to sprinkle

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a very large pot melt the butter. Sauté the cabbage over medium-high heat until softened and somewhat translucent. 
  2. Add the cauliflower to the pot, sprinkle with pepper, salt, and cumin.
  3. Pour the both into the pot until you’ve just about covered the veggies.
  4. Bring to a boil. Then lower heat and allow the soup to simmer for an hour until everything is very tender.
  5. Using an immersion blender, blend up the soup until smooth.
  6. Add crumbled feta and cream to the smooth soup, and cook for another 10 minutes.
  7. Serve in a large bowl and sprinkle with either paprika or cayenne.
Ready to cook down.

Ready to cook down.

Pre-blending.

Pre-blending.

This cabbage looked lovely inside.

This cabbage looked lovely inside.