Pork Sausage Patties With Apple and Sage

This recipe is totally inspired by Chef Michael Smith's Homemade Breakfast Sausage in Real Food, Real Good. When I first discovered I had allergies, I was really discouraged by the fact that almost every brand of sausage has corn syrup, corn flour, or soy flour as fillers. Making your own patties from scratch definitely is the way to go. Why bother shaping them into actual sausage? Patties are easier anyway.

I've tried these with pork and with turkey, and then with a combination of the two. My favourite tends to be pure pork. Make them ahead and tuck into the freezer so that on busy mornings all you have to do is thaw one in the microwave. Eat them cold, tuck them into biscuits, sandwich them between pancakes, you know what to do. Either way they are just plain awesome.




Yield: 8-10 patties

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground pork, turkey thigh, or a mixture of each

1 green onion, finely minced

1 small apple, skin on, grated

1 tsp of fresh sage, finely minced

2 Tbsp honey (or maple syrup)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp thyme

pinch of hot pepper flakes (optional)

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Gently grate your apple using a box grater, then grab handfuls of the apple and holding it over a sink, squeeze out the juice. Do this with all the apple so you get most of the moisture out. Add it to a large bowl, along with all the other ingredients. With your hands, gently mix everything together.

3. Divide the mixture into 8-10 balls and flatten them to about 1/2 inch thickness. It's easier to do this if your hands are slightly wet. Place the formed patties onto the lined baking sheet.

4. Bake the patties for approximately 15-20 minutes until cooked through. You will notice that they will release a lot of liquid and not necessarily crisp up a lot. If you want them to have a little bit of a crust and brown up, heat up a little oil in a non stick fry pan and quickly give the outsides a quick browning before setting them aside to cool.

5. Once the patties are fully cooled, you can serve them or pop them in a sealed freezer bag and put them in the freezer. Then on a busy morning just grab one out of the freezer, thaw on the defrost setting in your microwave, and you're good to go!

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Thai Steak and Noodle Salad

For years, summer was the same routine; I'd be off work and home with Kevin, where we'd spend lazy days doing everything from picking berries to picnicking at the beach, eating ice cream, and taking off for road trips.

Those days feel like a lifetime ago. Well-they are. We no longer live by the ocean. Kevin, once a small child, is now practically an adult and obviously has his own life, which doesn't include spending every second of his summer with his Mom. This summer, Kevin took off to a city 3 hours away to work and came home only every few weeks. To help us make it through the teacher's dispute here in BC, I found another job and spent my days working. John and I only had enough time to get away to Calgary for a short trip, and then day trips here and there on our motorcycle. We had a serious test of being empty nesters, and with that comes a huge change in the kitchen-mostly that we don't eat nearly as much as our almost adult son.

Cooking became a dance of what was in the fridge or could be made in ridiculously small amounts. The first few weeks, I had so much produce go bad that I stopped shopping weekly and only bought things if we really needed them. By the end of summer, I had cooking for only the two of us nailed, and then Kevin came home and it all changed up again.

Throughout those hot summer days, we ate a lot of salad. It was a perfect meal for two, and I could customize them to our individual tastes. This one became my hands down favourite; tender steak, noodles, a spicy peanut dressing, a tasty drizzle. At first glance there seems to be a lot of components and work, but the reality is it's very easy to put together. I still crave it now, even. I daresay that once you try it, you'll crave it too.



 Serves 4

Ingredients: 

Steak and marinade:
1 1/2 lb sirloin steak
1/3 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
1/3 cup tomato paste
4 tbsp ginger, peeled and minced
4 tbsp garlic, minced
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sambal oelek (chili paste)
1 bay leaf

Dressing:
 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp sambal oelek
3 tbsp hot water
2 tbsp fresh lime juice 

Salad:
6 cups mixed greens
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
2 cups soba noodles or other thin Asian noodle
2 carrots, shredded
1 cup sugar snap peas, sliced thinly
1 avocado
4 tbsp chopped cashews

Drizzle topping:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil

Directions

Start with the marinade by combining all the ingredients in a bowl and pouring over the steak in a glass dish. Cover and chill overnight. The marinade is very thick but don't worry.

When you are ready to start cooking, mix the dressing ingredients together in a blender or food processor until smooth. Pour into a mason jar, put a lid on it and place in the fridge.

Grill the steak until medium rare. I don't have a grill so I cooked it under the broiler in my oven. Since the marinade is so thick it spits and makes a bit of a mess, and it isn't really a good idea to cook it in a fry pan on the stove. I found that the thick marinade then just burns on the pan.

Once the steak is cooked, remove from the grill or broiler and allow to cool to room temperature. When it has rested for about 10 minutes, slice thinly.

Just before serving, assemble the salads. Toss the greens and mint with some of the dressing until lightly coated and mound on plates. Top with about 1/4 cup of noodles, and then some of the steak, grated carrots, avocado, and sliced sugar snap peas. Lastly, sprinkle with cashews.

Whisk up the drizzle ingredients in a small bowl and spoon over top of the salads. You may not need it all, but put it on the table in case people want to add their own.

Adapted from Whitewater Cooks with Friends

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Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

I love short ribs. The problem is when I've looked around for ideas about how to cook them, the recipes are massive. Some call for entire bottles of wine, or 5-6 lbs of meat. I don't know about you, but for me, 6 lbs of short ribs would end up costing something like $30 and make so much food I wouldn't know what to do with it. When you have a husband who doesn't eat red meat and the teenager is away, it would be crazy to come up with a pot of food that large. I'm already feeling a little overindulgent creating this recipe just for myself when I know that nobody else is going to help me eat it.

This recipe for braised short ribs is small enough for two or three people. Most packages of short ribs that I've seen at the grocery store come in 1 1/2 to 2 lb portions anyway, which works well. This is also a great way to use up those last bits of wine you may have from a bottle in your fridge, or maybe you froze a teeny bit and are waiting for something to use it in. This is where you need it. Make sure it's one with a good deep, rich flavour such as a Cabernet Sauvignon. I like Yellow Tail Cabernet-Merlot, but you can use whatever you have.

What makes this recipe so great besides the fact that I practically licked the dish, is that you can just throw everything together and then set it in the oven to bubble away on it's own while you find something else to do. Nap, take the kids to the park, go to church, write, go shopping. The oven will do the work for you and when you finally open the oven, salivating from the amazing smell that is emanating throughout the house, dinner will be there like a gift; velvety sauce, meat falling off the bone, and tender veggies. You can spoon it over mashed potatoes, dip crusty bread in the sauce, or get a spoon and eat it right out of the dish there at the stove, which I am not ashamed to admit that I actually did.


Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

2 lbs bone in short ribs
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, peeled and chopped finely
1/2 cup red wine
1 1/2 cups beef stock
2 slices of bacon, chopped into small pieces
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp worchestershire sauce
1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves picked off and chopped finely
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 325 F.

Get a large fry pan with about 2 tbsp of oil in it hot over medium high heat. Add the short ribs, season well with salt and pepper, and sear them on all sides until browned. Take your time with this, because getting this crust on the beef will add a lot of flavour to your dish. When they are browned all over, remove the ribs to a 2 litre casserole dish. Add the chopped bacon to the pan and saute until crisp. Remove and add to the dish with the ribs. Drain off all but about 1 tbsp of the fat.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the onion to the pan, stirring well to keep them from burning, and saute until they have softened; about 5 minutes. Stir in the carrots, mushrooms, rosemary, and garlic. Keep them moving so that the garlic doesn't burn. When they have softened, stir in the flour and tomato paste.

Continue to cook over medium to medium low heat, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Slowly pour in the wine and beef stock, stirring as it thickens. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat down and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the thyme, worchestershire, then salt and pepper to taste. Pour everything over the short ribs in the casserole dish, put a lid on it, and place the dish in the oven for 2 1/2 hours and let it bubble away.

Remove the dish from the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes to cool.  Spoon over mashed potatoes or serve with roasted potatoes, yorkshire puddings, and salad.

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Spicy Beef Empanadas and Chimichurri

On Sunday we spent the day hunkered down by the fire, staying warm and deciding not to go anywhere. The Olympic closing ceremonies were on, heavy snow was blowing in drifts outside, the roads were bad, so why not just stay home?  Even though I had spent most of Saturday cooking, there were a few things left that I could fiddle around with, right? Turns out hot, flaky, spicy meat filled empanadas slathered with a spicy chimichurri sauce is JUST the thing to make when it’s cold and snowy outside.

These “little pockets of happiness," as Kevin called them, are a little fiddly. There’s rolling out pastry and shaping involved, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. Plus it’s completely worth it when you pull a pan of these out of the oven and your teenager is in the kitchen, pulling them off the hot pan and drenching them with sauce before stuffing them in his mouth. I may have joined him, even.

 Enjoy!



Servings: about 24 empanadas

Time to prepare: 45 minutes

Time to cook: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

two boxes of puff pastry (I used Tenderflake)
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
pinch cumin
pinch cinnamon
1/2 tsp paprika
10 oz ground beef
1/4 cup chopped green olives
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp dried chile flakes
pinch sugar
2 hard boiled eggs peeled and chopped finely
1 large egg, beaten

Directions:

In a large frypan, sauté the onions and garlic on medium low in a little olive oil until they are softened, but not browned. Sprinkle in the cumin, cinnamon, and paprika, stirring until fragrant. Add the ground beef, breaking it up and stirring around. Season with some salt and pepper.

Once the beef is browned, mix in the olives, oregano, chili flakes, and sugar. Take the pan off the heat and mix in the hard boiled eggs, then leave the whole thing to cool.

Roll out the puff pastry on a well floured piece of parchment paper on your counter, to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut the pastry carefully into 4 inch circles. If you don’t have a 4 inch cutter; that’s okay-Paper Chef parchment’s logo (right on the parchment) is exactly 4 inches in diameter! I cut it out and then just used that to measure. I transfer the dough to a cutting board to protect my counter, which is why I roll it out on parchment or even waxed paper. Much easier to move!

Place the dough circles on a plate, cover it with plastic wrap, and then put in the fridge to chill.



Arrange your workspace so that you can assemble the empanadas. You’ll need a small bowl with a beaten egg and a pastry brush, a rimmed baking sheet to bake the empanadas on. Arrange 2-3 dough circles on the counter in front of you and measure out 1 tbsp filling into the center of each, leaving 1/4 inch border of dough.



Brush 1/2 the rim of the dough circle with egg and then fold over, half moon style, pinching the edges together to make them stick.



Arrange the empanadas on the baking sheet as you assemble them. Using a skewer, poke a hold in the tops of each to allow steam to escape. Put the whole pan in the fridge for 20 minutes to chill.

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.

Brush the empanadas with beaten egg, and then bake for about 10-15 minutes. They will puff and brown, but you don't want them to burn so keep a close eye on them. While the empanadas are cooking, make chimichurri sauce to slather on them while you eat.


Chimichurri Sauce

Ingredients:

Bunch of fresh Italian parsley (leaves only)
3 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tsp dried chili flakes
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
5 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

Roughly chop up the parsley and garlic in your food processor using the pulse setting a few times. Add the remaining ingredients and process to combine. Serve on the side when you set out the empanadas so people can spoon the sauce over.

Adapted from Gordon Ramsay

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White Bean, Bacon and Spinach Pot Pies

Did you survive back to school craziness? In my house back to school also means back to work for me (this year I'm working with grade sixes), and Kevin is starting grade 12.

I cannot even begin to express my excitement over the very idea of him being finished school. If you really want to know why, you can read about a gazillion posts over on Notes From the Cookie Jar. In the end, we know you're not here to discuss school, you came for a recipe, right?

Of course. Fall is coming. You can feel it in the air, can't you? That cool tinge, the dry leaves already on the ground, and the crazy thunderstorms working their way across the Lower Mainland are all clues. We're not used to thunderstorms and have spent a few nights the last couple weeks on our back porch, watching the sky light up and listening to the crack of thunder. I've started making more fall-type food as well.

Pot pies, usually made with chicken in my house, are a favourite but this time I wanted to try them with beans, veggies, and bacon. The original recipe had a home made pastry top as well but in the craziness of errands and back to school, one night I found myself staring at it and resolving that I was not going to be a slave to my kitchen, so I substituted phyllo instead. Light and crispy, it seemed to be the ideal topping. I must confess that I've never been a huge fan of pastry, so phyllo seemed to be the perfect alternative-and on a busy night, you bet that it is. You could still add chicken to this if you wanted-just throw in some leftover cooked bits if you have them floating around in your fridge somewhere. You can also use swiss chard instead of spinach, and make the whole thing dairy free if you want. It's that easy!

Ingredients:

4 oz (115 grams) of bacon
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, diced
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups (8-10 oz) thinly sliced baby spinach or  Swiss chard leaves
salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 cups white beans, drained and rinsed

3 1/2  tbsp butter (to be dairy free, you can use margarine or bacon fat)
3 1/2 tbsp flour
3 1/4 cups chicken broth

3 sheets of phyllo pastry
olive oil

Bake your bacon in the oven. While the bacon is cooking away, it's a good time to chop all your veggies. Drain a little of the fat off the bacon into a deep fry pan and set over medium heat. Saute the onion, carrot, celery, red pepper flakes, and garlic until softened. Stir it frequently so that the garlic doesn't burn and turn the heat down if it appears to be a bit hotter than it should be.Stir in the spinach or swiss chard leaves and continue to cook another 2-3 minutes until they are wilted.

When the veggies are cooked, transfer them to a bowl and set aside. By now your bacon should be cooked as well. Drain on paper towels, chop and add to the bowl of veggies along with the beans.

In the pan that you cooked the veggies in, add the butter and set it over medium low heat until it is completely melted. You could, if you wish to make this dairy free, use the leftover bacon drippings instead. Stir in the flour. Continue to cook and stir a bit until it becomes a little browned. Begin adding the broth, little by little, stirring well as you go, to keep it smooth. When you have added all the broth bring the sauce to a boil. Turn the heat down and allow the mixture to continue to bubble away, stirring it frequently, for about 10 minutes until it's thickened.

Stir in the bacon, bean and veggie mixture, stirring until blended and heated through. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if you feel it's needed. Stir in the fresh thyme. Take the pan off the heat and set aside. Ladle the stew into 4 or 5 oven proof bowls.

Pre-heat your oven to 350F.

Unroll a sheet of phyllo as pictured below. Brush half of it lightly with olive oil.



Fold it in half, enclosing the part brushed with olive oil inside.


Brush half of it with oil again, and fold again.


You will end up with a rectangle or square of phyllo. Lay it on top of the bowl of stew, letting the sides hang over the edge. Brush the pieces hanging off lightly with olive oil and fold in the edges to make it look neat.


Place the bowls on a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until they are browned and crispy.

    When I eat mine, I like to remove the top and holding the phyllo, spoon the stew on top, biting into the crispy phyllo with the creamy beans and salty bacon. It makes for a little bit messy, but really delicious dinner.

This recipe makes four servings, and you can make the stew a day ahead if you need to.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

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Baked Egg Rolls

This recipe is a great alternative to deep fried egg rolls. They are tasty, and if you don't happen to eat them in one fell swoop, they do freeze well too. I just pop 'em in a 350 F oven for a few minutes right from the freezer. Make sure you've got plum sauce for dipping. Kevin commented that he found these really fun to make and plans to take some to school in his lunch tomorrow.

Adapted from Canadian Living

1 lb (500 g) lean ground pork
3 green onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup water chestnuts, chopped
1/3 cup bamboo shoots, chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp pepper
12 large egg roll wrappers (fresh)
1 tsp vegetable oil

Saute pork in a skillet until no longer pink. Add the onions, garlic, carrot, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots. Cook until pork is cooked through and veggies are soft. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the soy sauce, 1 tbsp water, cornstarch, sesame oil, and pepper. Whisk with a fork. Once the pork mixture has cooled a little, pour the soy sauce mixture over top and mix gently to coat the meat.

Open your package of egg roll wrappers and peel one off. Cover exposed wrappers with a damp paper towel. Lay the wrapper on the counter in front of you and brush the edges with water. Spoon about 3 tbsp filling in the middle of the wrapper. I know there is none in this picture, but let's pretend, okay?

Fold the right and left sides in towards the middle like a book. Again, pretend there is filling! It would be right in the middle there, hiding under the sides that are folded over top.Then, take the wrapper side that is closest to you and tuck over the filling, continuing to roll away from yourself. It's like rolling up a burrito!

Place finished egg rolls seam side down on a cookie sheet and cover with a damp paper towel. When you have finished using all the filling, brush the rolls with vegetable oil and bake in a 375 F oven for about 18 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Makes about 12-15 rolls

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Leek, Bean,Bacon, and Chorizo Soup

I'm a big fan of soups for lunch and often can be found making a huge pot on the weekend to freeze in individual sized containers, all ready to be thawed and taken for lunch when I work on weekdays.  When I first made this soup it was good, but Kevin and I agreed that it was missing something.  The next time I made it I replaced the water with home made vegetable stock, which elevated the flavor from just 'good' to 'give me more!'.  Making your own veggie stock is not only easy but economical, and in this case it also helps you use up those dark green parts of the leeks that you may otherwise throw away.

Chorizo sausage adds some wonderful smoky spice to this soup as well.  When we lived on the Sunshine Coast it was easy to find fresh chorizo that I could slip out of the casings and cook to add to chili, soups, and more but now that we live in the Fraser Valley I'm having a hard time sourcing some out.  After a lot of looking around I found a sliced, dried chorizo at Save On Foods and added that to the soup.  If you can't find chorizo don't worry too much-you can substitute another kind of sausage or even just use more bacon.  If you use a fresh, spicy sausage I think it would be good to get them out of the casings and fry up, then transfer to paper towel after you do the bacon and then use the same pan for the veggies.  If you find a dried sausage, just add it when chorizo is listed in the recipe. 

5 bacon strips, sliced into small pieces
2 leeks, white and green parts only, washed well and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped small
3/4 cup butternut squash, chopped to 1/2 inch dice (or substitute another carrot)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tsp dried marjoram
2 tbsp tomato paste
5 cups vegetable stock
125 grams (or more if you wish) dried chorizo sausage, diced (optional-if you can't find it, substitute a spicy sausage or even more bacon)
2 cups cooked white beans
1 bay leaf
fresh cracked pepper
Italian parsley, chopped 

In a large soup pot, saute up your bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.  Drain off the fat, leaving about a tablespoon or two in the pot. Add the leeks, carrots, squash, and garlic, sauteing over medium heat and stirring to keep them from burning.  Turn down the heat if you need to, but you want to cook the veggies until they are softened.  Add the tomato paste and continue to stir and saute for another two minutes or so.  Slowly pour in the stock, stirring to bring up all the little bits from the bottom of the pot, and then add the marjoram, pepper, beans, chorizo, and bay leaf.  Bring the soup to a boil before turning the heat down and allowing it all to simmer for about 30 minutes.  Taste and add salt, if you need to-I often use much less that what is called for in recipes, and the bacon and sausage add some as well.  Stir in a handful of Italian parsley and serve.

Makes four servings

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Bacon Cheddar Sage Biscuits

I've never really been that good at waiting for big news, and this weekend has seen us sitting here wondering if we indeed have been able to buy the house we want, or if we'll have to look at other options.  When I'm wandering around the house trying to figure out what to do, my first impulse is to go to the kitchen and make something.

Cheese biscuits are a go to recipe in our house, but I wanted something different. What about bacon?  These babies were an experiment that turned out to be the best biscuits I've ever eaten.  I think they would go really well with eggs for breakfast, or just eat them on their own.  I'm sure they are incredibly sinful, but who cares?  Sometimes you just have to enjoy things, right?






2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp fresh sage leaves, chopped finely (you could substitute green onions)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 cup grated aged/sharp cheddar cheese
7 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped finely (try cooking the bacon in the oven!)
1 cup whole milk ( I love buttermilk!)
1 egg, beaten

Pre-heat oven to 425 F.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, sage leaves, and salt until combined.  Using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the pieces resemble coarse crumbs.  Stir in the cheese and bacon.

In a small bowl, stir together the egg and milk.  Pour into the flour mixture and stir gently until just combined.  The dough will be sticky.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and pat with your hands until it's about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut with a 2 inch cutter and space about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden and crisp.


Makes about 12

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Maple Baked Beans

Some time ago, I talked with @mama_b on twitter about maple syrup.  I used to see many recipes with recommendations to use dark maple syrup, or graded 'b', but I couldn't ever find it.  Well-@mama_b lives near a (you guessed it) sugar shack and she so kindly offered to send me a jug of syrup.  It's so dark and full of flavour I can't help but use it well, almost anything, especially these beans. 

If you like the sweetness of baked beans with a hit of maple and some salty bacon, these beans are amazing.  They are something you can put in the slow cooker and then just forget about for awhile. We loved them served with barbecued chicken and salad, and they make fantastic leftovers!

Adapted from Spilling the Beans

1/2 small onion, finely chopped 

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp molasses

2 Tbsp dijon mustard

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 garlic clove, minced

pinch or two of cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp salt

two 19 oz cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained

one 19 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 slices of bacon, diced 

1 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook for about 6 hours, keeping an eye on them and topping up with a little more water if they get too dry. The moisture won't evaporate quite as much as if they were baked in the oven, but the beans do soak some of it up.  If they are a little soupy for your liking, just cook them longer.  The bacon will cook in the beans and incorporate nicely.  

Serves 6-8

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Soy Sesame Steak

This steak is one of the easiest ways to please my teenager. Sliced thinly, marinated for a few hours and then seared in a hot pan, it's a great way to stretch a cut of meat to serve a few people. Kevin has made this before on his own, which shows you just how easy it can be to make. The secret to getting perfectly cooked and yet tender bits of meat is to get your pan really hot, and add the beef strips in batches so that they sear quickly, yet leave the inside a bit pink. It only takes a brief 45 seconds to 1 minute to do this, so stay at your stove and watch it carefully.

 Adapted from Gourmet

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce (this is important-make sure you use low sodium or the end result will be too salty)
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp sake
1 bunch scallions (white and light green parts separate from the dark green, minced)
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 lb flank steak, sliced very thin ( 1/8th of an inch?) across the grain

 Mix together the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, sake, white and green parts of scallion, garlic, ginger, and sesame seeds in a bowl. Toss with steak strips, cover dish with plastic wrap, and chill for about 2 hours.

Get your frypan hot over medium heat. Add a little oil. Add about half of the beef strips, stirring and moving it around quickly as it sears. The trick with having tender steak strips is to cook it just briefly. When sliced so thin, beef doesn't need long to cook at all-maybe just 1-2 minutes per side. Don't crowd the pan, but rather cook in batches, stirring it around as you go.

Heap the cooked steak strips on a plate, sprinkle the remaining green onion over top, and serve with rice. 

Serves 2-3

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Asian Style Hoisin Glazed Meatloaf

This ain't your Momma's meatloaf!  With lots of ginger, spice, and a delicious glaze, you can serve it with coconut fried rice and some steamed bok choy.  The leftovers are incredible made into sandwiches with a pickled veggie topping.  I loved them in my lunch box!  Don't let what seems to be a long list of ingredients put you off, this is a meatloaf that is definitely worth the work. 

Adapted from Bon Appetit

2 cups cubed day old crustless while bread (about 2 slices)

½ cup low salt chicken broth

4 slices of bacon, minced

1 1/3 cups sliced green onions (separate the white and dark green parts)

3 celery stalks, minced (about a cup)

1 four inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

7 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound of ground beef

1 pound of ground pork

2 large eggs, whisked

3 whole star anise, freshly ground in a spice mill (about 2 tsp ground) or 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder

1/2 tsp salt (the bacon and hoisin add salt, but you can add more if you wish)

1 tsp pepper

Glaze:

¾ cup hoisin glaze

½ cup unseasoned rice vinegar

1 one inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced

1 clove garlic, minced

In a small saucepan, stir together the glaze ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 8-10 minutes until it thickens.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 F and brush a loaf pan with vegetable oil, or coat with non stick spray.

Saute the bacon over medium heat until it begins to crisp.  Drain off the fat and add the white parts of the green onions, celery, ginger, and garlic.   Turn the heat down and stir it often so that the ginger and garlic don’t burn.   When everything has softened, take it off the heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the bread cubes and the chicken broth.  The bread should soak up the broth and begin to fall apart.   Add the bacon and vegetable mixture, beef, pork, anise, salt, pepper,  eggs, and 2 tbsp of the hoisin glaze.

Using your hands,  mix everything together until well incorporated.   Scoop the meat mixture into the greased pan, pushing the mixture down to get rid of any air bubbles.  Mound the meat in the middle, cover it with foil,  and place on a baking sheet covered with foil to catch any  liquid overflow.  Bake for 30 minutes.

After the 30 minutes, take off the foil and brush with Hoisin glaze.  Return to the oven and continue to bake for about an hour, until a meat thermometer inserted in the middle reads 165 F.  Brush with more glaze occasionally.

When the meatloaf is finished, remove from the oven, drain off the fat, and allow to sit for about 20 minutes before transferring to a board and slicing. 

Asian Style Hoisin Glazed Meatloaf Sandwiches

One recipe of  Hoisin Glazed Meatloaf, cut into 12 slices

1 cup each matchstick sized pieces of carrot, cucumber, and radish

¾ cup unseasoned rice vinegar

pinch of salt

pinch of sugar

vegetable oil

12 thick slices of ciabatta bread

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a bowl, toss the carrots, cucumber and radish together with the rice vinegar, salt, and sugar.  Set aside and allow to sit for about an hour. 

Using a heavy fry pan, sauté the pieces of meatloaf in a bit of oil until the sides are browned and crispy.  You will have to do this in batches.  Set the pieces aside on a plate.

Toast the bread under your broiler, then brush with hoisin glaze and top with a slice of meatloaf.  Mound the salad over top and sprinkle with coriander.  Serve immediately.

Makes 12

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Spring Egg and Asparagus Sandwiches with Bacon and Pickled Onion

Easter is over, and if you spent a lot of time dyeing eggs this weekend, you now have a fridge full of the stinky things just waiting to be eaten.  Don't worry, I have a great sandwich recipe that will help you use them up!

We love good sandwiches for dinner.  Put together with a salad or even on their own, these are really filling and yet easy to put together.  We love asparagus so it's an easy way to work more veggies into your diet, along with fresh baguette and a little bacon.

Adapted from The Kitchn

4 eggs, hard boiled
1 lb of asparagus
4 small baguettes, or 1 large one divided into four sections, each big enough for one sandwich
fresh dill
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
grainy or dijon mustard
2 tbsp red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

In a small bowl, combine the red onion and vinegar, set aside while you prepare the rest of the sandwich.

Heat up a large, heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add a little olive oil and then sear the asparagus, in batches.  You don't need to move it around too much because you want the asparagus to brown a little, but keep searing them until the asparagus is tender crisp (about 3 minutes).  Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Split the baguettes in half and toast under the broiler.  Slather each with your choice of mustard.

On each baguette, lay a handful of asparagus, a sliced hard boiled egg, then bits of the onion, bacon, and fresh dill.  Top with some fresh cracked pepper, a little salt, and enjoy!

Serves 4

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Kevin Cooks: Spicy Lamb Meatball Pizza

With a bunch of classes behind him and onto the second half of Kevin's school year, he's moved on to take a Foods 11 course through online school!  The first assignment was to find a pizza or hamburger recipe, change one thing about it, and cook it.

Of course Kevin's response was, "Only change one thing? Can't I make my OWN recipe?" Um, sure, but that's not the assignment.  I threw him my latest issue of Bon Appetit for inspiration and he was enthralled with this recipe.  Spicy lamb meatballs, nestled in cheese and vegetables, on top of a tender crust was just the thing he wanted to make.  We happened to have a fridge just bursting with all sorts of pizza topping options, which made things really easy!









Adapted from Bon Appetit

First, the meatballs:

½ tsp caraway seeds

½ tsp coriander seeds

½ tsp cumin seeds

1 whole 2 inch dried chipolte chile or 2 tsp ground chipolte chiles  (see *notes below)

1 small (3 inch diameter) potato, peeled

1 lb ground lamb

1 heaping tbsp minced scallion (white parts only)

1 ½ tsp grated pecorino cheese (we used Parmesan)

1 tsp salt

½ tsp finely grated peeled ginger

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

(*note:  If you can't find these, try getting a can of chipolte chiles in abodo sauce.  Dump them in a food processor and make a puree.  Skip the step of roasting/grinding the chipolte pepper and add a tbsp of the puree to the meat mixture before you combine everything together)

In a dry skillet, toast the caraway, coriander, and cumin seeds until aromatic and a little darker in color (about 2 min). Let cool. 

Broil the chile on a baking sheet, watching it carefully, until it puffs up.  Don’t let it burn!  Cut the chile in half and discard the seeds and stem.  Cool and transfer, along with the caraway, coriander, and cumin seeds into a spice mill.   Grind them together until they are fine.   If you use the ground chipolte chiles instead, just add to the seeds mixture and then grind. 

Meanwhile, submerge the potato in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil before reducing the heat and simmering for about 10 minutes, or until just cooked through.  Drain and allow the potato to cool, then grate. 

In a large bowl combine the chile mixture, the potato, ground lamb, scallions, cheese, salt,  and ginger.  Mix well with your hands and form into tablespoon sized meatballs.

Brown the meatballs in a skillet with a little oil, but leave them a little pink in the center as they will finish cooking on the pizza.

Now, the pizza!






Make a batch of this pizza dough.  If you don't want make the dough from scratch, you can use a pre-made shell or get ready made dough at the store.  Roll it out and fit it into a 12 inch pizza pan.

Pre-heat oven to 450 F.

Kevin chose to skip the traditional pizza sauce and instead drained a 14 oz can of plum tomatoes. Then take the whole tomatoes and seed them, discarding the juices from the insides.  Chop them up and spread them over the crust.  Follow with mozzarella cheese, red onion, feta, sweet peppers, slivers of garlic, and sliced black olives.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes until the bottom is golden.  I like to then remove the pizza from the oven, turn the oven to broil, move the rack to a higher position and broil the top of the pizza until it's nicely browned.  At this point you have to watch it carefully so that it doesn't burn.

Cool the pizza in the pan for about 5 minutes and then slice into pieces to be fought over at the table, snacked on cold at night, or taken for lunch the next day.

**NOTE: We didn't use all the meatballs on one pizza.  They would easily divide between two pizzas, so cook through any that you don't use and freeze them for another day.  Also, the meatballs cook faster if they are on the smaller rather than larger side.

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Karen's Lamb Pasta Sauce

When Kevin was about seven, we lived on Vancouver Island.  One summer day we went to the Filberg Park in Comox, BC where inside the park they run a small petting zoo that we often visited.  There were all sorts of animals, including a tiny pot bellied pig that followed us everywhere but refused to be touched, and cute little lambs running around.  As Kevin absentmindedly stroked their wool, he asked,

"What are we having for dinner tonight?"

I didn't know what to say.  Do I let him know that lamb would be on his plate? Or should I kill that fantasy (pun intended) that meat just magically appears in little styrofoam containers in the supermarket? I hesitated but eventually met his gaze.

"Um, it's lamb.  Pasta with lamb sauce."

Kevin's hand stopped mid stroke, and his blue eyes widened.  He looked down at the wooly little lamb standing beside him, then back at me.  I'd like to say I was a sympathetic mother but on that day, I didn't offer words of consolation.

I bleated.  Loudly. 

Needless to say, it's a good thing that my son loves his meat and isn't deterred by the fact that we eat the flesh of cute animals, because he went home that night and ate a huge bowl of lamb pasta sauce, afterwards declaring that lambs were cute AND tasty.  The other night, about nine years later he wolfed down another bowl of pasta and lamb sauce, again smacking his lips and reminiscing about the time that I horrified him about what he was eating. Where did I get the recipe for this one, he wanted to know.  The truth is there was no recipe, just a vague idea of what I wanted to eat as I wandered through the grocery store.  I had a craving for some type of rich, meaty sauce topped with feta cheese, and then went home and created it.

I think what made this one different than another sauce I make is that the lamb I used was not the typical frozen kind in a tube,straight from New Zealand that I usually find at the store, but instead fresh lamb patties, with their edges rolled in chopped fresh mint.  I may not have even bought them but they were a full $3/lb cheaper than the frozen meat, so they went into the cart.  After tasting the difference, I'm not sure I can buy the frozen meat again.

1 lb lamb (fresh is best, but frozen and thawed will do)
1-2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped fine
1-2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, seeded, cored, and chopped
6 mushrooms, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 can of italian plum tomatoes (I like cortina brand, the juice is nice and thick)
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup red wine

In a large pan with a little olive oil, saute the onions and garlic over medium low heat until softened and translucent.  Stir in the rosemary and continue to saute a few minutes longer.  Push the onions and garlic to the side of the pan, then crumble in the lamb, breaking apart with a spoon and turning the heat up to medium.

Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the chunks of meat until cooked through and no longer pink.  Add the mushrooms, red pepper, mint, fresh cracked pepper and salt to taste. Continue to stir and cook until the vegetables soften and the pan becomes somewhat dry (juices from the meat will be absorbed by the vegetables).  Stir in the wine and tomatoes, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon.  Using the can from the tomatoes, fill it about 1/3 full with water, and pour it into the pan. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, and brown sugar.  This will look very watery, but the liquid will evaporate and you will be left with a delicious, meaty sauce.  Be patient!

Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and let simmer for about an hour and a half, until it's thickened, stirring now and then. 

Serve with pasta and feta cheese.

Makes about 6 servings.

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Bacon Maple Pecan Roasted Chickpeas

Beans for breakfast? You bet.  This recipe caught my eye when I flipped through Spilling the Beans, and I quickly resolved to make it Christmas morning.  Served with buttery croissants, oranges, and hot cups of coffee, it was delicious.  I also made some a light dinner with a salad a few days later when I discovered the leftovers in the fridge.  Sweet, salty, and so delicious, this recipe makes a decadent snack.

I chose to double the original recipe because I'm a little greedy.

Adapted from Spilling the Beans

One 19 oz can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
6 slices of bacon
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 handfuls of broken pecans

Pre-heat oven to 325 F

On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, roast the chick peas and bacon for 30 minutes, or until bacon starts to brown a bit.  Increase the oven temperature to 400 F.  Add the pecans and stir, then put the pan back into the oven for about 5 minutes more.  Drizzle the maple syrup over all, stirring.  Don't worry if it looks like a lot, it will be tasty. Trust me!

Put the pan back in the oven and let the maple syrup bubble and glaze the bacon, pecans, and chick peas, which should take about 5-8 minutes.  Remove from the oven, stir, and let cool a little before you serve.

Makes about 3 cups

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Pasta Shells and Cheese with Leeks and Bacon

Photo by Cookbookman

Growing up, I loved macaroni and cheese from a box.  It was the only kind of macaroni and cheese I knew, although a friend of mine had a mom who would make it from scratch.  Recently, I had some leftover leeks in the crisper and Kevin asked if I'd make this dish so on a cold, rainy evening, I complied.  It's far from low in fat and calories, so you'd want to make this on a rare occasion-but it is probably the very best macaroni and cheese I've ever made.  You can up the servings somewhat if you add a little more milk to the sauce or cook up a little more pasta.  Generally, I like lots of sauce on the pasta, as it tends to soak it up when you bake it.  The bacon and leek add amazing flavor to this, and while you don't need a large serving, it will definitely satisfy any salty/cheesy pasta craving you've been having.

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2  cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
6 slices of bacon, chopped
1 leek, washed and sliced finely
3 cups dry small pasta shells
pepper, to taste

In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions.  Drain well and set aside.

Fry up the bacon until crispy.  Remove from the pan to a paper towel lined plate and then drain off all but about 1 tbsp of the fat.  Add the chopped leeks and saute them until they are lightly browned and tender.  Set aside.

In a medium sized pot over medium low heat, melt butter.  Stir in the flour and continue to stir for a few minutes while it blends in, bubbling.  Watch carefully-you don't want it to burn!  Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly as you go, making sure to blend it well so you don't have any lumps.  Heat the sauce over medium heat, stirring, until it thickens up.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese.

In a large bowl, mix together the bacon, leeks, cooked pasta, and sauce.  Don't worry if it seems like a lot of sauce-the pasta will soak some up.  If you want to make it extra cheesy, add another handful of just grated cheese.   Scrape into a buttered 3 L casserole dish, top with a little extra cheese (I know, I'm awful aren't I? and bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes, until warmed through and bubbly.


Serves 4, approximately.

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Crockpot Pinto Beans and Rice

I've been on a bean kick lately. Chick peas, pinto beans, black beans, kidney beans...I'm buying them canned, dried, in prepared hummus, you name it. I think I love beans so much because they are something that everyone in my family will will eat, plus they are so cheap that they help keep my grocery bill down. I kind of blame Katie, since I sort of mentioned trying dried beans and then she bugged me, and bugged me, and then I felt all sorts of bean guilt like maybe I was missing out on something. Are they really fantastic? Is there some crazy dried bean secret that I don't know?

(Edit: The word bugging doesn't really fit. I meant Katie was so enthusiastic that I was trying them out that she'd ask, and I hadn't gotten to it, so eventually I began to feel guilty that the beans were in my cupboard and I was ignoring them! How could I ignore the awesomeness that is dried beans?!? But no, not bugging. Gentle prodding that made me giggle.)

Well, sort of. They are really tasty. Crazy cheap. And there's no salt added, which is a huge bonus. If you don't buy dried beans, why not? They aren't any more work, and you can just soak, boil them up, and throw them in the freezer. Easy! Not sure? Check out Katie's great post on How to Cook Dried Beans.

This recipe from Merry intrigued me because she's from Alabama, and a recipe from her childhood would be completely different from my own, having grown up in central BC. Beans and rice? What would they be like?

Delicious. Oh, SO delicious. Kevin doesn't even really love baked beans, but he snarfed these down right away, took some for lunch, and declared that they were very, very tasty.

Now, hint about the dried beans. I did this recipe differently than Merry, mostly because I was a little short on time. I put the dried beans in a container and covered them with water, then soaked them overnight. The next day I drained and rinsed them, put them in a pot, then covered them with water again and brought to a boil. Once at a boil, I turned them down and let them simmer for a good long time until they were soft.

I didn't time how long it took. Generally, it was more than an hour, and I just kept puttering in the kitchen and tasting the beans every now and then to see if they were soft. Make sure to taste more than 1 because often, 1 or 2 would be good and then I'd have a 3rd or 4th and they'd be a bit hard. Once they were cooked, I actually didn't have time to make the dish right away so I then put the beans in the freezer. When it was time to make this, I thawed the cooked beans and then tossed them into the crockpot with all the other ingredients, but I only put in 4 cups of water. Even at that, they were a bit soupy and I had to put the beans in a pan and under the broiler to get rid of some of that excess sauce, so when I make it again I'd go the same route and reduce the water to 3 cups. The original recipe had 8 cups of water, which included the cooking time (which would obviously reduce the amount of liquid), but when I made it I didn't read the recipe right through so I had to improvise a little. See Merry's instructions if you aren't sure what to do.

Adapted from Merry With Children






2 cups dried pinto beans
3 cups water
4 slices of bacon
1 onion, diced
1/2 lb kielbasa cut into bite sized pieces (for a spicy version, use Chorizo sausage, chopped)
1 can ranch style or bbq beans
1 (6oz) can of tomato paste
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt (you can always add more)
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp ground paprika

Put the beans in a container and cover with about 3 inches or so of water, giving the beans lots of room to swell. Set aside overnight. The next day, drain off the water and rinse the beans. Get a large pot on the stove and bring the water to a boil, then add the beans. Simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour until the beans are tender. Take off the heat and drain.

In a skillet over medium heat, fry up the bacon. When it's cooked through remove to paper towel to drain, and drain off all but about 1 Tbsp of the bacon fat. Add in the onions and continue to saute them, stirring, until they are translucent and soft.

Put all the ingredients in your crockpot-everything from the beans to bacon, sauteed onions, spices, you name it. Give it all a stir so that it's mixed, then simmer it all on low in your crockpot for 8-10 hours, adding more water if it seems to be a bit dry. I don't like my beans too soupy, so I preferred less water. You may add more if you think you need it.

We served this with a bottle of hot sauce and some steamed rice at the table, and everyone just ate it right up!

Serves 6

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Butternut Squash and Chorizo Soup

Truth be told, I haven't been a fan of any of Jamie's soups from his Food Revolution Cookbook. Oh sure, they were okay but there seemed to be something missing. This soup, chock full of smokey sausage, sweet squash and a hint of curry is hands down one of my favorite recipes in the entire book. I made a few small changes, namely not pureeing the whole thing but reserving some delicious chunky veggies to add a little more texture, and using butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes.

Amazing. But be warned, the soup does get hotter from the curry and chorizo as it sits, so be prepared!

Adapted from Jamie Oliver

2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 3/4 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 heaped tsp curry powder
6 cups chicken stock
300 grams of chorizo sausage, chopped into bite sized pieces

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat and add the carrots, celery, onions, garlic, squash,and chorizo. Give it a good stir, and then add in the curry, and mix it well to coat. Turn the heat to about medium, and put the lid on the pot slightly askew. Let it cook for about 10 minutes, checking and stirring every now and then to make sure that it's all cooking and nothing is burning. The veggies will go all soft and delicious smelling, at which point you will be tempted to just stick your head into the pot and slurp up all these soft, spicy, deliciously fragrant vegetables.

Meanwhile, heat up the chicken stock in another pot so that it's good and hot.

Once your veggies are softened to the point where the carrots are soft but still hold their shape, pour in the broth. I have reduced the amount in this recipe, but you can always feel free to add more. I like my soup fairly thick, so you can eyeball it at this point. Give it a good stir to loosen any tasty bits that may have found their way to the bottom of the soup pot. Simmer gently for a few minutes to make sure all the veggies are cooked through.

Now, at this point you can go about your soup two ways. You can, theoretically, use a blender or an immersion blender to blitz the whole thing into submission and silky smoothness. Or, if you are like me and adore a more chunky soup, get a slotted spoon and fish out about 1/3 - 1/2 of the bits of veggie and sausage. Set them aside in a bowl, then process the remaining soup until smooth. Add the reserved veggies and sausage back to the soup, give it a stir, and there you go. Done!

Makes 4-5 servings

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Bacon Cheddar Pasta

Every now and then I get a craving for something so sinfully delicious, so luscious, that I can't help myself. A couple of weeks ago I was at a cafe with a friend having coffee and happened to browse through a Fine Cooking magazine. This recipe caught my eye and before I knew it, I was scribbling the directions down on the back of a stray receipt in my purse.

Cream, cheddar, and bacon are things that I rarely, if ever, eat in one sitting but this was so delicious it was worthy of every bite. I highly recommend it-possibly with a nice green salad and some fruit to finish off, because it's very rich.

Ohhhh but so worth it.

Adapted from Fine Cooking
1 lb pasta (fusilli is good, I used small shells)
3/4 lb bacon
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups heavy cream (I used whipping cream)
2 cups firmly packed shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup sour cream, for garnish (I skipped this step)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add about 1 tsp water to it. Pour in your pasta and cook until el dente. Drain, but don't rinse. Return the pasta to the pot.

Fry up your bacon in a good sized fry pan, then set pieces aside on paper towel as the finish cooking. Pour off the fat into an empty can, and add your garlic to the hot pan. Stirring, cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat until fragrant. You don't want to let the garlic brown, it will become bitter. Pour in the cream.

Bring the cream to a boil over medium heat, stirring around to bring up the garlic and any bits from the bacon on the pan. Continue to cook and stir for about 3 minutes. Chop the bacon into small pieces, and add, along with the cheese, to the cream. Stir and continue to cook about another 3 minutes until it thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss the cooked pasta right into the pan, coating evenly with the sauce. Allow to cook over medium heat for about 2 or 3 minutes, until bubbling and heated through.

Serve immediately with a sprinkle of green onions and a dollop of sour cream, if desired.

Serves 4-6

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Loaded Party Nachos

One thing I'll never understand is how anyone eats nachos with that nasty fake cheese sauce. I mean, seriously? How on Earth can anyone stomach that stuff? For Halloween, I created these deliciously cheesy dinner nachos as a treat for Jake and I to nibble on. Paired up with Spanish Rice and Andrea's guacamole, they were little bits of crunchy, salty, spicy heaven. Loads of veggies, spicy meat and cheese make them go from junk food to almost healthy!

1 large bag of nacho chips
1 onion, chopped
1 lb lean ground beef
1 (19 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 large sweet red pepper, chopped
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
about 2-3 cups of aged cheddar cheese (more or less, if you need)
chopped fresh cilantro

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

Spread the tortilla chips out on a rimmed cookie sheet, sprinkle with cheese, and set aside.

In a fry pan, saute the ground beef with onion until cooked through and no longer pink. Add the chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper, stirring and tasting to correct for seasonings. Stir in the drained black beans and set aside to cool.

Set the cookie sheet with the tortilla chips in the oven for a few minutes, watching carefully, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from the oven. Sprinkle with the cooled beef/bean mixture, diced tomato, diced peppers, and cilantro. You may not need all the beef/bean mixture, so you can put it in the freezer for another day. Or, just load it all up-whatever works for you!

Serve with fresh guacamole, salsa, and Greek yogurt or sour cream to greedily dip into, licking the salty goodness off your fingers.

Serves 4-5.

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