Salsa Chicken

This is a very quick and easy meal to make, but people will think you spent a lot of time to make this delicious dish. Some corn and Spanish rice make this a meal!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tsps taco seasoning mix (or your own mix of spices)
1 cup salsa
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat each chicken breast in taco seasoning and place in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Pour salsa over chicken. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is tender and juicy and juices run clear. Sprinkle chicken with cheese, and continue baking for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with sour cream if desired, and serve.

Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Zucchini Sauce

If you've never tried spaghetti squash, I highly recommend it. Its a great alternative to pasta. With a great sauce, you'll hardly notice the difference!

1 spaghetti squash
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups diced tomatoes
1/2 cup pasta sauce
2 small zucchini, sliced
1 tsp basil
salt & pepper to taste
parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut spaghetti squash in quarters and remove seeds. Place cut side down in pan. Add some water to the pan. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for awhile. Then, using a fork scrape the inside of the squash to remove the "spaghetti". See picture below.

While spaghetti squash is baking heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until onion is soft and translucent. Add tomatoes, pasta sauce, zucchini, basil and salt & pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes, then let simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

Serve sauce over the "spaghetti" and top with parmesan cheese. Feel free to adjust the amounts for the sauce. I didn't measure when I made it and am guessing at the amounts now. ;-) Enjoy!

Shanghai Noodles (Filipino Style)

Thanks so much to Angie for giving me her recipe! Love it!

2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped or sliced
1/2 cup sliced carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup snow peas
1 cup cabbage, shredded or sliced
1 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 pkg of fresh miki noodles (rinse)
Ground black pepper

Heat oil in wide skillet or wok. Saute the garlic until a little brown, then add the onion and chicken. Stir for about 2 minutes. Add the carrots and celery, saute until tender. Add the snow peas and cabbage, then set aside.

In a large pot, combine the broth, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Bring to a boil. Add the noodles to the broth mixture for a few minutes. Stir to coat noodles. Add the noodles and broth mixture to the veggie mixture in the skillet. Stir to combine and heat through over low heat for a few minutes until broth is absorbed by the noodles and veggies. Season with black pepper.

Feel free to add more veggies or seafood in addition to the chicken. Angie often makes this with shrimp, but I'm not a fan of the shrimp!

Cranberry Almond Biscotti

First time making biscotti. I didn't realize how easy it is! I will definitely be making it again and experimenting with different flavours.



2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla (or almond extract)

3/4 cup sliced almonds

1 cup sweetened dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add almonds and cranberries. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla (or almond extract).

Add egg mixture to dry ingredients, mixing until moist, using an electric mixer on medium speed (although I just mixed by hand). Make sure to knead dough until well combined.

On floured surface, divide batter in half and pat each half into a 5 or 6" circle. Place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and bake 30 minutes or until firm. While still warm, cut biscotti into 1/2" slices and place back on cookie sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Let cool and store in container.

Cheesy Baked Ravioli

This is a pretty easy dish to make. Similar to lasagna, but with ravioli instead. Delicious!

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 pkg cheese ravioli
1 jar (14 oz) pasta sauce
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 cup shredded mozza cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
handful of spinach

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cook ground beef, onion over medium high heat. Drain grease, add the Italian seasoning. Stir in the pasta sauce and the tomatoes.

Spread 1/3 of the meat sauce in the bottom of an 11x7 inch baking dish. Arange 1/2 of the ravioli over the sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 the mozza cheese and 1/2 the cheddar cheese. Arrange a layer of spinach leaves over the cheese. Repeat meat sauce, rest of ravioli, then last 1/3 of the meat sauce. Finish with the last of the cheese on top. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 15 minutes covered, then remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes to let the cheese brown.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Its that time of year, the leaves are changing colour and there are pumpkins everywhere. I was inspired to make some pumpkin spice muffins after tasting one from a local coffee shop. Very tasty!

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ginger
1 (14 oz) can of pumpkin puree (or 1 1/2 cups fresh pumpkin)
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 eggs
1/3 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper liners and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and spices. Stir until combined. Add pumpkin puree, apple sauce and eggs, stir into the dry ingredients until smooth. Gently fold in the raisins until evenly distributed. Spoon batter into muffin tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick instered in the middle comes out clean. Let cool 15 minutes before removing from the muffin tin. Makes 12 large muffins.

Orzo with Roasted Peppers & Turkey

1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 lb orzo pasta
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
feta cheese

First thing is to roast the peppers. You can either do this by holding over a gas flame with tongs, turning occasionally until the skins are charred on all sides. Or you can roast the peppers in the oven under the broiler, which is what I did. Place whole peppers on a baking sheet and broil until charred. Occasionally turn peppers so all sides start turning black. Place the charred peppers in a medium bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the peppers to steam for 20 minutes. Remove from bowl and place on cutting board. Using a paring knife, peel away most of the skin. Its okay to leave some skin as it adds flavour. Remove the stem and seeds. Pat peppers dry with paper towel and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock, water, and salt to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8-10 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking; in a large skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey and saute until cooked through. Add the garlic and Italian seasonings and cook for 1 minute. Add the bell peppers, tomatoes, and red pepper flakes, if using, and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the turkey and pepper mixture, 1 tbsp of parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss well to combine all ingredients, adding reserved cooking liquid, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Top with feta cheese and sprinkle with the remaining parsley.