Yummy Ham Glaze for a Small Ham

The good quality ham was on sale this week at our local grocery store, so I picked up a small one for one of our meals this week. I wanted to give it some flavor with a ham glaze. Most recipes, unfortunately result in enough glaze for a large ham, one that can feed the entire family for three nights. Instead, I wanted to still be able to enjoy the flavor of a glaze, without having a gallon of glaze left over, using partial ingredients, such as a quarter of a can of pineapple juice, or being forced to purchase … Continue reading →

An Introduction & Some Salsa Chicken!

Hi there! I’m new to the food blog, so I thought I would take a moment to say hello! I am not a chef. I am only just now learning how to cook, actually. But I have recently embarked on a quest… a quest to find a healthier way to live, and to eat. Being a wife and a mother, I am naturally concerned with the way my family eats. After years of eating low cost, processed foods, I have recently started to learn more about the importance of eating more natural foods. Of course I always knew that eating … Continue reading →

Dale’s Middle Eastern Spiced Chicken

I adore Lebanese and food from the Middle East. Consequently I am always on the lookout for recipes that can be made at home. This is one that I created last night after making some major adaptations to a recipe in a book I had. Mick complained the recipe was too dry so here is the version I came up with. He declared this recipe much better than the original which did not have a sauce. It is the combination of spices that makes this dish so tasty, yet it is not a complicated recipe and does not take much … Continue reading →

Freezer Cooking: Chicken Marinade

Freezer cooking is a great way to save time during the upcoming holidays. Having a bunch of meals that are mostly or even fully prepared can mean the difference between having great meals during the busy season and relying on bad take out or cold sandwiches. Imagine spending the weekend shopping, cleaning, decorating and then just opening your freezer and popping a dish in the oven? Get yourself a package of six chicken breasts, divide them up into two meals, add your marinade and freeze away. Then when it comes to a busy day, just take the chicken out of … Continue reading →

Tomato Abundance

Our local CSA delivered an abundance of tomatoes this past week. There are all sorts of varieties of great organic heirloom tomatoes. Of course, I had just happened to buy three or four tomatoes earlier in the week without thinking that I might get some, so my stash of tomatoes overfloweth. I have been using this opportunity to make some great new dishes using the tomatoes. The other day, I made a ratatouille (you don’t know how long it took me to learn to spell that one), which the kids loved because of the movie. My favorite tomato dish, though … Continue reading →

Black Bean Enchiladas

Here is another recipe that comes straight from my stockpile. Cleaning out the fridge revealed a few things that needed to get used up, and I checked my dry good pantry as well. This meal is pretty easy to make. I prepared it in steps in between activities with the kids. I purposefully left this pretty bland for the kids to introduce them to a new meal. You can turn things up a notch by sautéing some onions and peppers and including them in the dish. Ingredients: One pound bag of dried black beans One can of corn One small … Continue reading →

Meat Pancakes

One of the things I loved as a kid was when Mom made meat pancakes. It is a great way of using up leftover roast meat. It was one of those casual meals we often had for Sunday evening dinner. I just assumed all families knew about meat pancakes. When I married Mick he’d was skeptical at first, as he’d never heard of such a thing, but he soon became a big fan of them. Often we have cold roast beef or lamb with salad for lunches but the other day when we’d had roast beef he said, ‘Make sure … Continue reading →

Coconut Curry Chicken

As you probably know by now, I love recipes that are quick to make. This chicken dish certainly is. I’m a bit like Mary Ann in that I’m a huge fan of garlic and onion in cooking and tend to use both liberally. So if you’re not as keen on garlic you might want to reduce the quantity in this recipe and leave it at one clove of garlic and use a smaller onion. I found out early on in my married life not to tell my husband what was in his meals or he’d begin telling me, like Mary … Continue reading →

Beef and Mushroom Pie

I’ve been having fun since I discovered the gluten free pastry in our supermarket recently. So here’s another one for a delicious homemade meat pie. HINT This recipe contains one of my favored ingredients –lentils. Lentils are almost undetectable when added to soups, stews and casseroles as they will absorb the flavor of other ingredients, while still being are a great source of fiber and protein that contain little fat. There is no need to cook the lentils in this dish beforehand. Simply rinse them and pick out any lentils that are discolored. ONE NOTE OF CAUTION Do not get … Continue reading →

Two Easy Chicken Marinades

With a handful of simple ingredients, you can create quick and easy chicken marinades for spring baking or summer grilling. You can even prepare these weeks ahead. Just throw the chicken and the marinade into a bag or freezer dish together and then freeze. Pull them out of the freezer the night before to thaw in the refrigerator, or defrost in the microwave before cooking. Soy Good Chicken This one I am afraid that I eyeball, so I don’t know exact measurements for you, but I think that makes it even easier. You just want to make sure that you … Continue reading →