Main Course

Roasted Chickpea Tacos With Lime Yogurt Dressing

June 20, 2019 By Kelly 14 Comments

These roasted chickpea tacos with lime yogurt dressing are so good! They’re also a quick, easy, and affordable way to provide your family with the protein they need. As a family we do eat meat, however, we’ve been cooking plant-based recipes with beans and legumes on a weekly basis. We recently discovered crispy roasted chickpeas and now we can’t get enough! I change the spice blend depending on what’s in the pantry, and though roasted chickpeas are great for eating by the handful as a snack, we love these easy chickpea tacos.

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Homemade Molasses Baked Beans With Bacon

October 4, 2017 By Kelly 3 Comments

Homemade molasses baked beans with bacon is a favourite comfort food winter recipe! Keep in mind, they are equally amazing in the summer alongside barbequed ribs and grilled corn if you can bear to turn your oven on. Simply soak dried beans in the morning, give them a quick boil in the evening, and then slow-bake them in a cast iron Dutch oven with basic pantry staples overnight. My parents love these baked beans so much they ask me to make them once a month!

This post was first published on October 4, 2017, and was last updated December 30, 2019.

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Arborio Carbonara

February 22, 2014 By Kelly 2 Comments

I’m a big fan of using Arborio Rice in place of pasta. You literally cook it the same way you would cook any dry pasta, in a pot a well-salted boiling water, for about 11 minutes until al dente, and then drain.

Feel free to double the recipe (when I double the recipe I use three eggs), which will make enough for two people, plus leave you with leftovers for lunch the next day.

Arborio Carbonara

1 C Arborio Rice

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

pinch chili flakes

4 strips of bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 egg

salt and pepper, to taste

Parmigiano, grated, to taste

– bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil – add Arborio Rice and cook 11 minutes, or until al dente

– while rice is cooking, heat olive oil in a pan – add garlic, chili flakes and bacon – cook until bacon is almost crispy

– while bacon is cooking, whisk egg, salt and pepper in a bowl

– drain rice and add it to the pan with the bacon – *DO NOT DRAIN FAT* – mix well – you want to coat all of the rice with bacon fat – add the bacon/rice mix to the bowl with the whisked egg – stir well to coat evenly with egg – add a couple of handfuls of grated Parm and mix well – serve hot with more grated cheese on top

*It may sound kind of gross to leave the bacon fat in this dish but, I’m sorry to say, it’s a key ingredient (I’m not really sorry to say that). The hot bacon fat emulsifies with the raw egg, turning it into a glorious, silky, delicious sauce. Just go to the gym one extra time and you’ll be fine.

How To Have A Taco Party

July 9, 2013 By Kelly 1 Comment

Homemade tacos. I had no idea. Why on earth would anyone buy a taco kit when homemade are SO EASY and SO FANTASTIC?

Follow these steps to have your own awesome Taco Party.

STEP ONE- Invite your friends to a Taco Party at your house. Thanks for hosting @AJCrowley!

STEP TWO- Buy a bag of Maseca Corn Masa Mix. I got mine at the Superstore in the international aisle for $4.79.

STEP THREE- Mix Maseca with water to a smooth dough. Too wet? Add more Maseca. Too dry? Add more water.

STEP FOUR- Get out your tortilla press. I saw them at Paderno in Bayer’s Lake for $20. Kathy and Brent got theirs at Café Aroma Latino (intersection of North and Agricola) for about the same.

STEP FIVE- Roll small balls of dough with your hands, flatten slightly, then press between parchment paper in the tortilla press.

STEP SIX – Cook the tortillas in a hot dry cast iron skillet until slightly toasty on each side – about a minute or so. Keep them warm in the oven, at the lowest temperature, covered with damp paper towel, until all tortillas are cooked.

STEP SEVEN – Prepare/round up all of the condiments and toppings that you and your awesome friends have made/brought.

Like this homemade Habanero Hot Sauce that Brent’s friend Chris sent over.

Grate lots and lots of cheeeeeeeeeese.

Cut up some cilantro, slice up some radishes, drink some Olands.

Crisp up your brisket in a cast iron pan.

Start setting everything out on a table, buffet style.

Clockwise from top left – grated Monerey Jack cheese, fresh cilantro, sliced radishes, Kathy’s homemade salsa, Sean‘s creamy garlicky guacamole, Salsa Doña (which Kris made and was agreed by all to be the star of the evening), crazy off-the-hook-spicy chopped up ghost peppers

Unveil the pulled pork. Rubbed with a blend of spices, Kathy and Brent braised a pork shoulder with fresh squeezed OJ, lime juice, dried chiles, a touch of cumin, oregano and brown sugar in their homemade smoker.

STEP EIGHT- Bring out the warm tortillas from the oven, give everyone a plate, start walking around the table, and assemble your taco in any damn fashion you like.

I ate five. And I can’t wait to do it again.

AJ Crowley’s SxSW Inspired Brisket

Buy a brisket from your local butcher. Trim it of fat and cut into 2-inch strips across the grain.

Prepare a dry rub of chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, chili flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper – play with measurements to create your own flavour mix.

Add brisket plus one chopped onion and 2 big handfuls of chopped cilantro to slow cooker. Cook on low for about 14 hours until meat starts to fall apart.

Remove meat from slow cooker and shred with a couple of forks – discard the onion and cilantro. Mix some chipotle sauce (Kris used Tabasco brand) and your favourite bbq sauce with the meat to taste.

To serve

– fry in a cast iron skillet with a little canola oil until you start to see crispy bits.

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Butter Chicken Skillet Meatloaf

February 27, 2013 By Kelly Leave a Comment

This Butter Chicken Skillet Meatloaf is a spin on a tried and true family classic. With ground chicken, cooked basmati rice, and homemade butter chicken sauce, this meatloaf is quick and easy to make any night of the week.

This post was first published on February 27, 2013 and was last updated September 12, 2019.

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