Okay, okay… so the title of this recipe may not sound too appetizing, but I assure you that this is a quick, tasty and affordable meal. My mom used to cook this for my siblings and I every once in a while and I just loved how the simple flavours worked together and satisfied my appetite!

Ingredients:

1 small head of cabbage (shredded or thinly sliced)
1 red onion (thinly sliced)
4 beef/chicken/veggie weiners (sliced)
4 strips of bacon (sliced into small strips)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 cup vegetable stock or water
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat a wok or large frying pan on medium-low heat. Add sliced bacon and fry for 2 minutes until lightly browned.
2. Add onion and continue to cook until onions soften (about 4-5 minutes).
3. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, pepper and caraway seeds and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
4. Add in cabbage and sliced wieners, then slowly pour in vegetable stock.
5. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 15-20 minutes (or until cabbage is wilted and no longer crunchy), stirring occasionally.
6. Serve cabbage with basmati rice.

This is a recipe that I submitted to Pillsbury’s Baking Challenge. I heard about the contest one night, and realizing that I only had a couple of days to create a recipe, I found a tube of Pillsbury Crescents in my fridge and started brainstorming. Apple-Cheese Struesel Squares (or rectangles, depending on how you cut ‘em), is what came out of it all. After serving the delicious dessert to several friends of mine (and of course, trying it myself), I knew I had a winner in my books. Moist and flaky Pillsbury Crescent base for this quick and easy dessert, along with the blend of tender apples, cream cheese and streusel topping. If you enjoy the recipe, remember to head over to the Pillsbury Baking Challenge website and vote for my dessert (you can vote once a day)!

Ingredients:

1 can (235 g) Pillsbury* Crescent Rolls

For cream cheese filling:
1 – 250g package of cream cheese (room temp.)
3 tbsp granulated sugar (45 mL)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (2.5 mL)

For apple filling:
2 cooking apples, peeled and sliced (e.g. golden delicious)
3 tbsp unsalted butter (45 mL)
2 tbsp brown sugar (30 mL)
1 tsp ground cinnamon (5 mL)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (2.5 mL)

For Streusel Topping:
1/3 cup flour (75 mL)
1/4 cup brown sugar (50 mL)
1/4 cup unsalted butter (50 mL)
1 tsp ground cinnamon (5 mL)

Directions:

1. Grease an 8-inch casserole dish and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the 3 tbsp of unsalted butter for the apple filling. Add in the 2 tbsp of brown sugar and cinnamon and stir until dissolved. Gradually add in the sliced apples and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
3. In a medium bowl, using a spatula mix together the ingredients for the cream cheese filling: cream cheese and granulated sugar until blended, then add in the egg and vanilla extract. Set aside.
4. For the streusel topping, mix together the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in the butter and combine until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Open the can of Pillsbury* Crescent Rolls and arrange four sections in the bottom of the casserole dish to cover the bottom of it (use your fingers to stretch the dough slightly if necessary). Slowly pour the cream cheese mixture over the bottom layer of the Crescent dough. Top the cream cheese mixture evenly with the semi-cooked apple. Add the remaining four pieces of Crescent dough on top of the layers to seal.
6. Top the layers evenly with the streusel topping and bake in the pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown. Cool for 5 minutes before cutting into squares.

Tips and suggestions: Top with chopped walnuts prior to cooking and serve with vanilla ice cream.

This recipe makes a great appetizer, or all around savoury snack if you’re a fan of fish and potatoes. You can experiment with any type of fish you’d like (or even mix them like I did), but I think cod, salmon or sole work really well. A helpful hint: if you want to reduce the cooking time, cut your potatoes into chunks (instead of boiling them whole), so that they cook quicker.

Yield: 12-14 fish cakes

Ingredients:

4 small white potatoes or 2 large russett potatoes (cut into large chunks)
2 salmon, cod or sole fillets (about 250-300g total)
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 tbsp milk
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup fresh dill (chopped)
3 green onions (finely chopped)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt, or to taste
3 tbsp canola oil (for frying)

Directions:

1. Boil potatoes for about 15 minutes, or until tender.
2. While the potatoes are boiling, sear the fish fillets in a frying pan with a bit of oil for 5-10 minutes over medium heat. When they are almost fully cooked, remove from heat and flake into bits with a fork.
3. Drain potatoes and place into a large bowl. Quickly mash with a potato masher, adding milk and egg to themixture.

1. Mix the flaked fish into the mashed potatoes. Add in the breadcrumbs, green onions, dill, garlic powder, salt and pepper until well combined.
2. Using your hands, roll a portion of the mixture into a ball and form small patties (a little bigger than a squash ball, or larger if you like). Place fish cakes in a frying pan with oil over medium heat.
3. Fry each potato fish cake for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel-lined tray or plate. Serve with your favourite seafood dipping sauce, ketchup or enjoy as is.

I’m a fan of South Asian cuisine. Whenever I visit an Indian restaurant I get so intrigued at the thought of what goes in to making the delicious food. Chicken Korma is something that I just had to try making on my own. Classically, korma is a term given to mild, creamy, curry dish where meat or vegetables are braised in yogurt or cream. To give this korma dish a South Indian flavour, coconut milk can be used, but you can substitute it for regular milk if you like. Another option is to stir in some ground almonds into the sauce just before serving.

Personally I prefer to marinate all the spices with the chicken (instead of adding them to the oil on the stove), and leaving the addition of the yogurt until later on in the cooking process (instead of traditionally using it as part of the marinade). I find this allows the flavours to better set with the chicken. I didn’t have any plain yogurt on hand the first time I made this recipe, so I substituted it with sour cream and it came out tasting just as delicious so I’ve stuck with it.

Yield: Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite-sized cubes)
1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger root (finely grated)
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp canola oil (for frying)
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro/coriander leaves (chopped)

Marinade:
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp red chili flakes
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp canola oil

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and place in a large bowl.
2. Sprinkle spices over the chicken pieces, mixing well with a spoon so that all pieces are coated evenly. Pour in the 1 tablepoon of oil and mix with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
3. Fry the onion in a large skillet on medium heat, until it begins to soften and lightly caramelize (5-6 minutes).
4. Add the minced garlic and grated ginger. Stir-fry for an additional 1 minute.
5. Add the marinated chicken into the skillet, increasing the heat to medium-high, and sauté for about 4-5 minutes, until chicken is opaque.
6. Gradually add the sour cream and coconut milk to the skillet, making sure liquids are blended evenly.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20-25  minutes, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked and sauce has thickened (add a bit of water if needed).
8. Remove the skillet from heat, and mix in the chopped cilantro, lemon juice and salt to the chicken korma, letting it sit for an additional 5 minutes so that all the flavours are able to intermingle.
9. Serve over basmati rice or with naan bread.

Plantains are such a versatile “vegetable-fruit”, and are used in a wide array of Caribbean dishes. Whether they are green (starchy, not-yet-ripened), yellow or black (fully ripe and sweet), plantains can be used in sweet or savoury dishes.

I usually see these “giant bananas” priced at about 99¢/lb. They can be hard to peel, especially when they’re not fully ripe (and you don’t really want to eat them raw). When you’re frying plantains this way it’s best to use them is when they’re yellow and firm (about a medium ripeness). Plantains become more soft and sweet as they ripen.

Plantain chips, also known as platanos, chifles, tajadas or tostones, are best served warm and will leave you craving for more.

Yield: 2 servings or about 40 chips

Ingredients:
2 plantains (greenish-yellow colour)
1 1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
canola oil (enough to cover the surface of a frying pan)

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat (about 375°F).
2. Using a mortar and pestle grind together the sea salt and the garlic (or you can use the back of a spoon). Set aside.
3. Cut off the ends of the plantains. Using a paring knife, slice the skin of the plantain from top to bottom, being careful not to cut the plantain itself (going along the seam will help). Make a total of four even slices, and carefully pry the skin off one of the sections using the tip of the knife. You can use your hands to peel off the remaining sections. Cut each plantain into slices about 1/8″ thick. Feel free to cut them in diagonals if you like. (I used a mandolin slicer which made this a bit easier).
4. Place half of the sliced plantains into the frying pan (they should gradually come to the surface if the oil is at the right temperature). Be sure not to dump them in all at once or put too many inside the pan (this will lower the temperature of the oil and affect the cooking). Fry the plantains for about 4-6 minutes, flipping occasionally, until golden-brown.
5. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate or tray. Sprinkle with the prepared garlic-salt while they’re still a bit oily and hot, coating evenly. Repeat the process for the remaining slices.