Samantha's African Peanut Butter Chicken Recipe

I got this recipe from my sister Samantha, and now I think I make it more than she does. It's so good and so simple.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 diced onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp of chili flakes (approx.)
2 cups of water
1 can of diced tomatoes
about 1 cup of peanut butter
salt & pepper to taste

Cut the chicken into cubes, season with salt and pepper. Put the chicken into a large pot heated to medium. Once the chicken is cooked on all sides, throw in the onions. Once the onions are translucent, add the garlic, cumin, cayenne, and chilies. After about a minute put in the 2 cups of water. Put the heat down to low and simmer for 5 minutes.  You can use chicken stalk instead of water for a more concentrated flavor, I know my sister does, but the water will also turn into chicken stalk after simmering in the chicken.
Add the can of diced tomatoes, simmer again for another 10 minutes or so.
Add the peanut butter, stir well, the sauce should be thick and creamy...if it's not thick enough add more peanut butter. Simmer again for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt & pepper, maybe add more chilies or cayenne if it needs it (the peanut butter takes away a lot of the spice).
Serve over rice.

Here it is! My All Time Favorite Pasta Sauce!!

I really have to force myself to make some other pasta at times because this really is my favorite, and also a huge hit every time I share it. I really don't even know what to call it. It's a Rose sauce with lots of fresh herbs and every time I make it, it's different. I guess the crazy thing about it is that is has cilantro in it, which I've personally never seen in a pasta sauce but works really well in this one.  You definitely have to try it!

Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast seasoned (it's great with Cajun spice or just salt and fresh ground pepper) 
2 Sausages, any kind really like spicy Italian, or Mediterranean, or Andouille, etc.

few tbsp olive oil
1 diced onion
5 cloves of minced or chopped garlic
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 jar (approx. 2 cups) of Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce , bought or home made.
1 small handful of  fresh chopped Basil
1 small handful of fresh chopped Cilantro
1 tsp of Sriracha HOT Chili Sauce

*Try adding red wine to the sauce
*Try Gluten free rice noodles or I prefer some kind of Fusilli pasta because it keeps in all the thick sauce!

In one pan cook the seasoned chicken breast until fully cooked then slice the chicken thinly on an angle and put it back in the pan with a dash more seasoning then put aside.
If the sausage is precooked then slice it thin and on an angle and put into a large heated pot then once a little browned add the onions. If your sausages aren't yet cooked then before slicing them, put them in the heated pan until cooked all the way through then slice them and add them to the pot ...then add the onions.

Once the onions have softened, add the garlic, cook for a couple more minutes. Then once the sausage is cooked and the garlic is soft then add the can of chopped tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
Simmer on low for 10 minutes.

Now I put the water on for my pasta. Once the water's boiling and the pasta is in the pot, and the tomatoes has simmered, I mix the Alfredo sauce in with the tomatoes. Simmer on low until the pasta noodles are ready. Drain the pasta. Stir the basil and cilantro into the sauce. Add the Sriracha..salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Serve!

If The Weather's Right.. Plant Your Own Fresh Herbs!

Here's my beautiful Basil and Cilantro...two herbs I use everyday.

Grilled Pear, Walnut & Goat's Cheese Salad with a Citrus Vinaigrette

I could eat a huge bowl of this Salad! It's sweet from the pears and crunchy from the walnuts..a great side!

For the Salad toss together:
2 Bosc Pears, peeled sliced and grilled in a pan on medium heat until golden and soft.
Baby Spinach, washed and dried
Goats cheese (or try feta, or blue cheese)
Walnuts

For the Dressing whisk together:
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
Juice of 1 large Orange
Salt & Pepper to taste

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Baking Mixes! (And My own Icing Recipe)

My boyfriend has Celiac Disease, and each time his mother travels to the States she picks up a bunch of Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cakes and Brownies.

Unfortunately not sold here in Canada yet so if you know anyone going to the States..this is really a great find!

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Baking Mixes

Easy Thick Buttery Icing! 
I'm really not a trained professional when it comes to cooking. I just do what works and what my instincts and greedy taste buds desire. And when it comes to baking, I rely on good directions.
But I really think i have this icing thing down! It's easy here is:

4 cups of icing sugar (whenever I try to half it, it turns runny)
2/3 cup of melted butter
1 tbsp vanilla
and just a couple tbsp of milk until you get a nice thick yet spreadable consistency

For Chocolate Icing:
add 1/3 cup of cocoa for light chocolate, 1/2 cup of cocoa for medium chocolate, and 3/4 cup for dark chocolate.

(you want it a little shiny from the butter -that's how much butter you need, and you want to taste the vanilla)

Pad Thai

Pad Thai is sooo delicious and good for you! Lots of protein too!
I cheat, I buy the sauce, whatever sauce looks the best. I use the VH Thai Market Pad Thai sauce because it's Gluten Free.

Ingredients:
1 large Chicken Breast
1 bottle of Pad Thai Sauce
LEE KUM KEE Chili Garlic Sauce
1 whole package of Firm Tofu
2 scrambled Eggs
small handful of chopped Peanuts
small handful of chopped Basil and Cilantro
lime slices

First I thinly sliced 1 large chicken breast and put it in a non-stick pan on medium-high heat.
Once the chicken is cooked on the outside I added 1-2 tsp of LEE KUM KEE Chili Garlic Sauce. And a thinly sliced green chili pepper. Cook on medium-low until the chicken is done.
Then heat another non-stick pan to medium-high heat while the chicken is cooking. Add to the pan one whole package of Firm Tofu (diced into even cubes).
While all that is cooking away, start to boil some water for you noodles (One pack of Thai rice noodles..they only take a minute or so, once they're in the hot water)
And then...once the tofu has browned a bit put it into the pan with the chicken and use the empty heated pan to scramble two eggs. Then put the scrambled egg into the chicken and tofu, pour the whole bottle of Pad Thai Sauce into the mix. Add some chopped peanuts and chopped fresh Cilantro and Basil. Top it off with a squeeze of lime!

Just signed up for Jamie's Food Revolution!

I'm a huge fan of Jamie Oliver's! And his food revolution is a project I feel strongly about. I think society has gotten carried away in the fast paced lane and when it comes to food I think we should start to slow down, and take our time! We should just be more conscientious of what we eat, or are putting into our bodies. Even if it isn't the right choice we should always be aware of what we are eating. Because if we don't care about it "they" won't care either. And they'll continue to limit our options to cheaper, processed versions of food, in fact unless you cook from scratch, most of what we find in the stores I wouldn't even call food.. just a chemical replacement of the original thing.

Jamie's Food Revolution really gives you a feel for just how out of touch society has become with food. And also how simple it is to change this direction we're going in. People love to eat good tasting food. It's just that not everyone knows just how simple and rewarding it is to cook from scratch, no matter who you are, how busy you are, what your budget is or how skilled you may or may not be in the kitchen...anyone can cook great tasting meals from real ingredients.

How we behave, feel, respond to situations, all has a lot to do with what we eat or don't eat, and I think also, whether we take the time with preparing the food we eat. We need to become more conscious of ourselves and how we treat our bodies. It starts by being aware. Ultimately tuning in to what really matters within ourselves, could only make us better people and contributors to the rest of the world around us.

I want to encourage everyone else out there to get involved in Jamie's Food Revolution too, and Sign the Petition! When it comes to food -Let's get back to basics!


Sign the Petition! Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

HOT BBQ Chicken Wings

This time I just combined three types of hot sauces together..tossed it with the chicken wings and put them on the BBQ on low heat flipping them over consistently and brushing on more of the hot sauce blend each time (whenever they get dry). Doing this for about 30-40 minutes until the wings are tender and no longer pink inside. Then, take them off the grill, put them in a bowl and toss them in the sauce blend again.

*I used President's Choice Mild Buffalo Wing Sauce,
A great Hot Sauce I picked up in Key West, Florida, at this great place where you can sample over 100 different hot sauces! It's called "Peppers of Key West" And the hot sauce is called "Hot Sauce #1" it really is one of the best hot sauces I've ever tried! It's an aged red pepper sauce with lots of GARLIC! it's one of those "put it on everything" type of sauce. Like Tobasco, but better!..also gluten free.
The last thing I used was LEE KUM KEE Chili Garlic Sauce (only a couple tbsp, to taste)


Serve with Homemade Blue Cheese Dip:
Just combine 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 1/2 cup of sour cream, 1/2 tbsp of white wine vinegar, 2-3 tbsp of squeezed lemon juice, and a few big pieces of whatever blue cheese you want, whisk it all together for a few minutes until the cheese has fully softened into the rest of the ingredients. Add a tbsp of fresh or dry parsley.

Potato and Sweet Potato Cajun Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees c. Slice 3 Potato's and 3 Sweet Potato's thin like your usual potato chips and bake them on a non-stick tray for 15-20 minutes on each side until crispy and golden brown. As soon as you take them out of the oven toss evenly in Cajun spice and serve with Sour Cream and Chipotle Dip (sour cream mixed with 1 mashed Chipotle pepper and 2 tsp of Adobo sauce!)

Ham, Swiss and Avacado Sandwich with Chipotle Mayo

I won't tell you how to put a sandwich together but here's what's in it:

Focaccia Bread or Sub Bread
Shaved Black Forest Ham
Swiss Cheese
Sliced Avocado
Canned Jalapeno peppers (sliced)
3 slices of Tomato
Homemade Chipotle Mayo (Mix together 4 tbsp of mayonnaise and about 1 tbsp of Chipotle Adobo sauce for one sandwich)