Blogs / Recipes

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 can baked beans drained 
• 1 large (12 oz) head romaine lettuce, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 
• 2 large hardboiled eggs, peeled and cut into 6 wedges 
• 2 (5 oz) cans albacore tuna, drained and flaked 
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved 
• 4 Tbsp salad dressing of choice

DIRECTIONS 

1. Divide lettuce evenly among four dinner plates 
2. Arrange eggs, tuna, beans and tomatoes on lettuce 
3. Top each salad with 1 tablespoon dressing and serve 

INGREDIENTS 

• 4 jumbo taco shells 
• ½ cup baked beans (slightly mashed with fork) 
•  ¼ grated cheddar cheese 

Apple Cabbage Slaw 

• ½ cup matchstick cut apples 
• ½ cup thin sliced purple cabbage 
• 1 Tbsp. mayo 
• 2 tsp. fresh lime juice 
• A pinch of salt 
• Pepper to taste
  

DIRECTIONS 

1. Warm taco shells. 
2. Divide the following ingredients evenly and layer into shells. Baked beans and grated cheddar cheese.  
3. Top each taco with apple slaw. Apple slaw recipe – Mix well, apple, purple cabbage, mayo, fresh lime juice, a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. 
4. Serve.

INGREDIENTS 

• 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks 
• salt to taste
• 1/4 cup heavy cream 
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 
• 3 egg yolks
  

DIRECTIONS 

1.  Boil the potatoes: Place potatoes in a medium to large pot (3 qt) and cover with a couple inches of cold water. Add a couple teaspoons of salt to the water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender (the tines of a fork easily pierce), about 20-25 minutes. 
2. Melt butter, preheat oven: While the potatoes are boiling, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and set aside. You will use this butter to coat the potatoes right before they go in the oven. Preheat the oven to 425°. 
3. Drain potatoes and let them release steam: When the potatoes are cooked, drain in a colander and put the potatoes back in the pot set over low heat. Allow them to release steam for a minute or so.  
4. Mash with butter, then with spices and cream, then with salt and egg yolks: Add 2 tablespoons of butter and mash the potatoes until the butter has been incorporated. Add the nutmeg, black pepper, heavy cream and continue mashing the potatoes. Once everything is incorporated, add salt to taste and the egg yolks. Continue to mash until the mixture is smooth. Do not over-mash or your potatoes will end up with a gluey consistency.  
5. Pipe onto a baking sheet, brush with melted butter: Using a piping bag with a large star point, pipe the potatoes onto a cookie sheet. Alternatively, you can just fill a casserole dish with the mashed potatoes, and use a fork to create lots of peaks on the surface. The swirled edges from the star-point piping bag forms or the peaks of mashed potatoes in a casserole dish will brown nicely in the oven. The browned parts taste great, so you want to maximize them. Whether you make piped portions or a casserole, paint the potatoes with the melted butter. 
6. Bake in the 425°F oven until nicely browned, about 20 minutes.

Perfect for dinner parties or Sunday dinner. 

INGREDIENTS 

• 6-7 medium sized potatoes 
• 4 tbsp butter 
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• salt and pepper to season 
• 3 cloves sliced garlic 
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme 
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock boiling hot (approximately) 
• 2 additional tbsp butter 

DIRECTIONS 

1. First of all you are going to want to choose a pan that's the right size for the potatoes. I usually use a 9x9 glass pan for the potatoes and peel and chop the perfect amount of potatoes that will fit into it. Once you've determined that, remove the potatoes and heat the baking dish in a 400 degree oven while you brown the potatoes. 
2. Peel the potatoes and cut them into about 2 inch thick cylinders. Cut off the rounded ends and try to keep all the potato pieces the same size 
3. Heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat in a cast iron skillet or non stick saute pan. Add the sliced garlic and sprigs of thyme. Cook for just a minute or so to soften the garlic, then remove it from the pan along with the thyme. Set the garlic and thyme aside for later. 
4. Season the potatoes on both sides with salt and pepper and brown both ends of the potatoes until golden, about 3-4 minutes or so per side over medium to medium high heat. While you are doing this heat the chicken stock to boiling. 
5. Remove the browned potatoes from the cast iron pan and fit them into the heated baking dish from the oven. Tuck the garlic slices and thyme sprigs used to flavour the oil and butter between the potatoes. Pour on the hot chicken stock just until the potatoes are half submerged. Dot the top of each potato with a little bit of butter, then return the pan to the oven for about a half hour or until the potatoes are fork tender. Serve immediately. 

 Source – Rock Recipes 

INGREDIENTS 

• 9 ounces canned tuna  drained 
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise  
• 1/2 celery stalk, finely sliced 
• 1/4 small ( 2 tablespoons) red onion, finely chopped 
• 1/4 medium (about 2 inches long) cucumber, peeled, if desired, and finely diced 
• Juice of 1/2 lemon 
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 
• 1/2 baguette, cut crosswise into 2 portions, or 4 slices bread, such as sourdough or multigrain 
• 4 slices tomato (optional)
• 2 slices cheese of your choice

DIRECTIONS 

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C).
2. Using a fork, flake the tuna into a bowl. Stir in the mayonnaise, celery, onion, cucumber, and lemon juice and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and mix again. 
3.  Cut the baguettes in half lengthwise and divide the tuna mixture between the bottom pieces. Place 2 slices tomato on each sandwich, if desired. Top with a cheese slice and the baguette lids, pressing down gently to settle the filling. 
4.  Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet and bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until the sandwich is warmed through and the cheese begins to melt and turn ooey gooey. Alternatively, you can warm the sandwich in a griddle or sandwich maker. 
5. Serve the sandwiches immediately, preferably with napkins galore.
   

Source – Leite’s Culinaria

INGREDIENTS

3-4 Large ripe plantains
1 medium onion chopped
1 red/ green bell pepper chopped
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon cumin spice
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano thyme
½ -1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tomatoes chopped or 1 cup tomato sauce
1 pound ground beef/chicken or minced meat
1 16 ounces black beans drained and rinsed
1/4 cup sliced olives
2 -3 green onion chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons water
2 cup shredded cheese
1 packet sazon or 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon
2-3 Tablespoon parsley chopped
2-3 large eggs

DIRECTIONS

Using a sharp knife cut both ends off the plantain. This will make it easy to grab the skin of the plantains. Slit a shallow line down the long seam of the plantain; peel only as deep as the peel. Remove plantain peel by pulling it back. Slice the plantains horizontally into 4-5 pieces depending on plantains. You may either fry or bake the plantains. Frying was used in this recipe.

Heat up a large skillet or cast iron with oil up to ½ inch- medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.

Fry the plantain in batches, turning once, until lightly brown, about 5 minutes. Do not overcrowd the pan (it will make the plantains to be soggy and absorb excess oil)

Use a slotted spoon, transfer the fried plantains and drain on paper towels.

Spray a baking sheet and place plantains on them in a single layer; spray lightly over the plantains using the canola oil spray and bake at 400 degrees F, turning over slices, after 8 minutes for about 12- 20 minutes or till plantains turn slightly brown.

Next add about 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet followed by onions, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne, oregano, sweat for about a minute.

Then add bell pepper, tomato sauce, bring to a simmer, add ground meat/mined meat, beans and cook for about 7-10 minutes, while stirring frequently to prevent burning burn add about broth or water as needed.

Season with salt, chicken bouillon or sazon.

Finally add olives, green onions and parsley, adjust for seasoning. Remove and set aside

• Spray a deep 8x8 pan with cooking spray or rub with butter/oil.
• Line the bottom of the baking pan with the fried/baked plantain. Make sure there is no space between the plantains.
• Add enough of the beef/minced meat mixture to make a layer, just like you would prepare lasagna. Alternate rows of plantains and meat until both are used up. Add cheese in between if desired
• In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and pour over the Pastelon. Making sure to cover the entire thing.
• Add cheese if desired, or only use cheese
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, or until all the egg has cooked through and the cheese are bubbly.
• Let it cool then serve warm

• Recipe Notes

• I usually go with moderately ripe plantains. They don’t fall apart or soak up tons of oil. You can deep-fry, pan fry or bake them.
• You can use – ground beef, chicken or beans or combine protein and beans.
• Add cayenne pepper if you want some heat in it.
• With or without cheese, this plantain lasagna still taste good.

Source –Immaculate Bites

INGREDIENTS 

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
• 1 tsp sunflower oil 
• 1 romaine lettuce hear 
• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved 
• 2 slices of ciabatta bread, each about 1.5cm thick (15g a slice) 
• flaked sea salt 
• freshly ground black pepper 

Dressing 

• 2 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and roughly chopped 
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped 
• 2 tbsp light mayonnaise 
• 1 tsp lemon juice 
• 15g Parmesan cheese, finely grated 
• 2½ tbsp cold water
  

DIRECTIONS 

1. To make the dressing, put the anchovy fillets in a pestle and mortar, add the chopped garlic clove and pound into a paste. Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Parmesan and water and stir well to make a pourable dressing 
2. Place a chicken breast between 2 sheets of cling film and bash it with a rolling pin until the chicken is about 1cm thick. Bash the other chicken breast in the same way, then season the breasts on both sides with a little salt and plenty of black pepper. 
3. Dip a pastry brush in the oil and brush over the base of a large nonstick frying pan. Place the pan over a medium heat, add the chicken and cook for 2 minutes. Turn the breasts over and cook for 2–3 minutes on the other side until nicely browned and cooked through. Remove from the heat and leave the chicken in the warm pan to rest. 
4. While the chicken is cooking, make the salad. Separate the lettuce leaves and wash and drain them well. Tear any large leaves into smaller pieces. Arrange the lettuce in a large serving dish and scatter over the tomatoes. Toast the slices of ciabatta and tear them into bite-sized pieces. 
5. Put the cooked chicken breasts on a board and cut them into thick strips. Scatter these over the lettuce and tomatoes and toss everything together lightly. Spoon over half the dressing and serve while the chicken is warm. Fantastic!
   

Source – Hairy Bikers

INGREDIENTS 

For Fishcakes: 

• 1 cup (250 g) leftover mashed potatoes 
• 1 tsp. flat leaf parsley (finely chopped) 
• 1 spring onion (finely sliced) 
• Pinch of paprika
• 1 lemon 
• 2 eggs 
• Salt and pepper, to taste 
• 3.5 oz (100 g) smoked herring (flaked) 

For Breading & Frying: 

• 1/2 cup All-purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup Bread crumbs 
• 1 tbsp. Butter 
• 3 tbsp. Olive oil 

DIRECTIONS 

1. In a large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, parsley, spring onion and paprika. 
2. Using a fine grater (Microplane grater), zest about 1/4 of the lemon (yellow skin only) and add the zest to the potato mixture. 
3. Break the eggs into a shallow soup bowl, whisk, and add 1 tbsp of the eggs to the mash. Mix well. 
4. Set the rest of the eggs aside until later. 
5. Using your hands, carefully flake the herring, removing any skin or bones. 
6. Fold the flaked fish through the potato mixture. 
7. Cover a tray or large plate with plastic wrap. Form 8 evenly sized balls with the fish mixture and place on the tray, pressing gently down with the palm of your hand to form 8 fishcake patties. 
8. Cover patties with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes (or overnight, if making ahead of time). 
9. Assemble three soup bowls: one with the leftover beaten egg from earlier in the recipe, one with flour, and one with fresh breadcrumbs. 
10. Dredge the herring fishcakes in the flour, making sure that they are evenly coated. Shake off any excess flour. 
11. Dunk the fishcakes briefly, one by one, in the soup bowl with the beaten egg mix, allowing any excess egg to drip off. 
12. Now transfer the fishcakes, one by one, to the dish with the bread crumbs. Toss each one in the bread crumbs until it is thoroughly coated. 
13. Add butter and olive oil (you'll need about 1 tbsp. butter and 3 tbsp. olive oil) to a large frying pan and heat until the butter turns foamy. 
14. Add half of the fishcakes and cook until the bread crumbs turn golden and crispy - they'll need about 3 minutes a side. 
15. Remove the fishcakes from the frying pan and allow to drain on kitchen paper. 
16. Repeat the process with the other 4 fishcakes. 

Serve with baked thick-cut oven fries, salad, lemon wedges and our fresh tarragon & garlic mayonnaise. 

Tip: Don't overcrowd the pan. If you don't have a large frying pan, make several batches in a smaller skillet, and keep the earlier batches warm in a preheated oven.

Source – The Spruce Eats 

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 ½ pounds Minced Lamb 
• 1-½ tsps. Salt 
• 1-½ tsps. Black pepper 
• 2 tsps. Sugar 
• ¼ cup Red Onions 
• ¼ cup Cilantro 
• ¼ cup Basil 
• 2 tsps. Garlic 
• 1 tsp. Oil 

Spice Mixture:  

• 2 tsp. masala 
• 1 tsp. ground ginger 
• 1 tsp. ground bay leaf 
• 1 tsp. turmeric
  

DIRECTIONS 

1. Place all the ingredients in a bowl with 1 ½ pound of minced lamb, add the Spice Mixture. 
2. Mix thoroughly. 
3. Using a skewer roll the kebabs 
4. Place on a grill pan when the pan reaches at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
5. Cook for 7-10 minutes, checking occasionally and turning when one side is brown. 

Enjoy with your favorite barbeque sauce. 

Source – Man Kitchen 246

INGREDIENTS 

• 8 oz salted fish 
• 2 scallion, finely chopped 
• 1 small onion, finely diced 
• ¼ tsp finely diced hot pepper, I used wiri wiri or scotch bonnet 
• 1 tsp black pepper 
• 2 cups flour 
• 1 ½ cup water 
• Salt(optional) 
• Oil to fry 

DIRECTIONS 

1. Soak saltfish in water overnight to remove salt or boil by changing the water twice. 
2. If using salt fish with bones and skin, remove the bones and skin. 
3. Finely flake the saltfish. 
4. In a bowl add flaked saltfish, finely chopped scallion, onion, hot pepper, black pepper, flour and water and mix to form a batter. Add salt if needed. 
5. Heat oil(about ½ inch deep) over medium fire in a skillet. Drop spoonfuls of batter in the oil and fry until golden brown. Turn halfway through cooking so that it browns on both sides. 
6. Remove from oil using a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with paper towel to collect the excess oil. Serve warm. 

 Source – Jehan Can Cook 

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 can butter beans 
• 4 pounds oxtails trimmed 
• 2 large onions chopped 
• 3 scallions chopped 
• 4 garlic cloves smashed 
• 3 carrots chopped 
• 1 bunch fresh thyme 
• 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes or 1 scotch bonnet pepper seeds included 
• 4 teaspoons hot paprika 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 2 bay leaves 
• 2 tablespoons ketchup 
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce 
• 4 cups low-sodium beef broth just enough to slightly cover the oxtail 
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes 
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste 
• 1 tablespoons salt 
• 1 teaspoon pimento seeds (optional) 

DIRECTIONS 

1. In a large pot, add oxtails, onions, scallions, garlic, thyme, red pepper, paprika, bay leaf, soy sauce, pimento seeds, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce and marinate at least 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally. 
2. Remove the oxtail from marinade. In a large pot heat up enough oil to brown the oxtail. When the oil is hot not burning, place the oxtail in the pot and brown on all sides. Remove the brown oxtail and place in slow cooker. Add enough broth to cover the oxtail. Also toss in the marinade, tomatoes, and carrots. Set on high and cook for 7-8 hours. Until the meat becomes tender. 
3. Every hour check on the oxtail and keep oxtails slightly covered with liquid. 
4. At 6 hours, add the beans, tomato paste, and more of beef broth and/or water, if needed. Then simmer uncovered 1 hour, skimming fat off top and stirring occasionally. In the last 1/2 hour of cook time, season with 1- 2 tablespoons salt and fresh ground black pepper. Serve with rice and peas. 
5. *Don't forget to remove bay leaves. 

Source – Cooking Maniac 

INGREDIENTS 

• 3 12-inch spinach tortilla wraps 
• 1 10 ounce container of cheese spread 
• 1 red pepper, cored and thinly sliced 
• 1 yellow pepper, cored and thinly sliced 
• 12 baby carrots, thinly sliced 
• ¼ red cabbage, thinly sliced 
• 1 cup fresh spinach
  

DIRECTIONS 

1. Prep ingredients by slicing thinly.
2. Spread veggie dip over tortilla. 
3. Arrange sliced veggies as shown.     
   
4. Roll up tortilla tightly, tucking it in as you go.
   
5.  Slice tortilla crosswise into 1-inch pieces.
   

Source – A Side of Sweet