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Meatballs

I should have called these thunderstorm meatballs, since I always seem to make them during a storm. These are made by request from my four year old son, who wanted big meatballs on his spaghetti. This is a pretty basic meatball recipe. I usually use it for spaghetti and meatballs, but once in a while I do some sweet and sour meatballs with a teriyaki sauce. These freeze really well, too, so if you are more motivated than me, you can make a double batch and put one in the freezer.

Le Dessert de Nos Ancêtres

I have been searching for a good French-Canadian summer recipe. Searching being a relative term and it roughly translates to asking my mother repeatedly for some recipes. When I asked what 'they' ate during the summer I was told it was all just cooking and to forget seasonal food. Of course, no one ate Cipaille, no one ate Tourtiere, no one ate ANY of the french recipes that I was familiar with. The best I could get was that people didn't barbeque just because people didn't barbeque then. I did get a few general ideas for recipes, no instructions or amounts, per usual, so I will have to experiment with those first. Le dessert de nos ancestres - translated directly to be "The Dessert of Our Ancestors" is one of those simple, good, bad recipes all at the same time. Simple because there are three ingredients, good because it tastes so, so good, and bad because two servings will immediately clog your arteries and stop your heart. I don't have a picture of it yet - the humidity is so high here today that the cream will curdle as it pours out of the carton.

Community Picnics - Snicker-Apple Salad

Every year in June our School Sectional has a picnic. The S.S. 19 (Sectional School 19) was the one room school house just down the road that the farm families in the immediate area went to when they were children. Now, as a city girl, I have to say: "Huh?". First because of the one room school house, second because all of these people STILL LIVE AROUND THE SCHOOLHOUSE. It's been 50 years and no one has moved away. That's practically unheard of in the city - people are always upgrading, downsizing, relocating, or even just moving for a change in scenery. I guess there have to be a few families that have moved away from here (and not just to town), but I don't think there are very many.

Grilled Quesadillas with Pork

So there I was, at the grocery store, checking out the pork chops, when I found a package that were on sale AND $2.00 off. In my head I was figuring on grilled pork chops with some disgustingly sweet, molasses based barbeque sauce. In reality, when I opened the package, the pork chops were so thin they were practically shaved slices, so I had to come up with another idea. Grilled Quesadillas are a new thing for me. I make quesadillas inside all the time, but I wasn't sure how the grilled version would work out. I added the pork because I had these pork chops to use up and figured they would shred pretty easily once (over) cooked. I even impressed myself with them (not a hard feat, by the way - I'm pretty impressed with myself most of the time), but the real thumbs up came when both of my boys ate all of their supper. Everything in this recipe is grilled - the onions and peppers as well as the quesadillas themselves. If you prefer you can use raw vegetables in the filling but the grilled veggies are pretty easy and taste really good.

Old Fashioned Mac and Cheese

I'm pretty sure that this is really bad for you, but it is such comfort food it's got to be worth it. I've never been able to re-create my husband's grandmother's version of macaroni and cheese, but this is pretty close. Now - a note about breadcrumbs. I think the breadcrumbs on top are the best part. Mr. Chef (aka my husband - who really is a chef) thinks they are .. I hate to say common, but I'm sure that's what he's thinking. This IS macaroni and cheese, though, so common is as common does. I'm sure Mr.WhatsCooking could make it into something gourmet - you can't imagine what he does with a box of Kraft Dinner - but I'm a little more ... well, common than that, I guess. So plain old Mac 'n Cheese WITH breadcrumbs on the top.

A Beef Dish - Ground Beef

I don't really have a name for this dish. It was somewhat inspired by a recipe called Supreme Beef, or something like that, but I have changed it to my own tastes. This is a simple, one dish meal that has turned out pretty well for me. Now, by simple I mean 'not complex' or 'not gourmet'. If you follow the regular instructions it can be a little time consuming. I've included the easy instructions too, just in case you are short on time.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins.

 say that I don't eat pre-packaged food and stay away from chemical additions, but I have a confession to make - I have a thing for Quaker Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins. The frugal side of me cringes at the thought of buying a package of Muffin mix, but there is just something about it that I like. In the effort to save face, and money, I searched and found an Oatmeal Muffin recipe that is similar to the packaged kind. I added the chocolate chips - what's an Oatmeal Muffin without chocolate chips? - and I'm pretty happy with the results. I think I'll still have the occasional lapse but I'm pretty sure this muffin methadone will help me cut back.

Glazed Chicken with Tarragon.

I must have cursed myself with the comment about grilling this time of year, because I'm back to baking in the oven. The 60km per hour north wind makes it hard enough to keep the barbeque on the deck let alone lit! So, the oven it is... One of my favourite 'super easy supper' recipes, Glazed Chicken with Tarragon has 4 ingredients and still tastes amazing. Another thing I like about this recipe is that I can use cheap chicken pieces. This time I used chicken drumsticks, a favourite with the kids, but I often use very cheap chicken leg quarters. No pre-browning required, could probably be done in the crockpot (I just haven't tried it yet), goes together in 5 minutes and cooks without supervision. If only the rest of my life were this simple.

Grilled Pork Souvlaki

You may have noticed a theme going on here -- everything is being grilled. Well, it's summertime, and every summer we abandon the house to whatever critters are in here and move out onto the deck. I just can't stand heating up the house by turning on the oven so everything I make is done on the barbeque. Souvlaki is something I tried once, many years ago, and decided I didn't like. Then last Canada Day I was practically starving to death in the samosa line when a friend dragged me into the souvlaki line-up with her. Not one to pass up almost instantaneous food, I ate the souvlaki. Maybe it was the hunger but at that minute I really thought it was the best thing I had ever eaten. Tangy and very, very flavourful, it was totally satisfying.  

This is a very simple recipe for Souvlaki. I'm not sure how authentic it is but it tastes pretty similar to the Canada Day version I had. Ideally the chunks of marinated pork would be threaded onto skewers, but if you are lazy like me you can grill them in a grill basket. I have in the past also cheated slightly by using a Souvlaki herb blend by Victorian Epicure Selections out of British Columbia, so if you can find a blend like that it can be substitued for the oregano and lemon pepper.

Caribbean Grilled Pork with Mango-Cilantro Salsa

Not a quick weeknight meal, this Caribbean Grilled Pork is awesome nonetheless. The salsa is what takes time, especially if you are like me and are completely clueless on Mangoes (like - how do you pit a mango?), but it can be made in the morning or even the day before if necessary. The pork itself grills in about 30 minutes, so no time issues there. The 'Caribbean Pork Tenderloin' recipe comes from the cookbook "Eating for Life", part of the Body for Life series by Bill Phillips. All of the recipes in the cookbook that I have tried have tasted fabulous and are good for you too. Caribbean Pork especially is just a beautiful meal to look at, especially if you actually have the baby spinach to serve it with (I forgot). I just modified the recipe for the grill but it can be roasted if you can't find your barbeque.