Cajun Shepard’s Pie

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Cajun Shepard’s Pie

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: Easy
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I don’t know about you but I have to change things up every now and then. Shepard’s pie is one of them. I’ve made it standard with mashed potatoes and cream corn, as was always done in my family. I was so bored of having it that way that I used to douse it with ketchup just to change the taste. Well now I’m older and wiser, ok at least older, so I decided to change things up a little. Here is my version of Cajun Shepard’s Pie.

Ingredients

  • 1 lbs lean ground beef
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 2 large sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
  • 4 cups of spinach chopped
  • 1 tbsp of cajun spices
  • 1 tsp of flour
  • 1/4 cup of water
  • 2 tbsp of Cool Runnings Blackened cajun sauce
  • 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 tsp of oil

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pan and add chopped onion and cook until tender.
  3. Add ground beef and break up and cook through.
  4. Once cooked add your flour and water and Cajun Sauce and mix thoroughly. You should have a semi thick sauce, If not thick enough add a little flour at a time to consistency of thick gravy.
  5. At the same time cook your sweet potatoes through in boiling water
  6. Once your potatoes are cooked through, drain and mash without adding anything to the potatoes.
  7. Place meat in baking pan 8 x 8.
  8. Top meat with spinach.
  9. Top with mashed sweet potatoes.
  10. Sprinkle cajun spice over top and cover with cheese.
  11. Put in oven for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 529
  • Sugar 5 g
  • Carbohydrates 19 g
  • Protein 22 g
  • Fibre 3.5 g
  • Fat 40 g

So many things can be done to personalize this. You can sub the veggie. A friend did his with Kale. I’ve done it with Edamame beans. I try to make sure that the veggie is high in fibre. There are different types of cajun spices so you make this spicier if you wish. You can add a little cayenne pepper to this. You can make this with any ground meat, chicken, pork, even go vegetarian and go with Beyond meat (which is just as good). Have fun everyone and make it your own.

Baby Back Ribs

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Baby Back Ribs

  • Servings: 4 half racks (about 6 ribs each)
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Sometimes you just need a little time to do something nice. I always steer away from making this because of the time in the oven. We all lead pretty rushed lives but sometimes we need to just step back and take the time to make something easy but good.

Ingredients

  • 2-2.5 lbs of baby back ribs (1 Kg)
  • 4 tbsp of rub (see below for rub recipe)
  • 4 tbsp of bull’s eye bbq sauce (your favourite sauce is acceptable.

Rub ingredients

  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp cayenne (I might have added a little more)
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp cumin

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees
  2. If there is a thin membrane on the back of the ribs, remove. This will help the meat fall off the bones easier.
  3. Spread the rub over all the ribs on both sides.
  4. Place meat side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (for easy cleanup)
  5. Wrap in foil.
  6. Place in oven for 3.5 to 4 hours.
  7. Uncover and baste with BBQ sauce and put on top rack under broil for 5 minuets or so, until it caramelizes

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 463
  • Sugar 17.5 g
  • Carbohydrates 21 g
  • Protein 26.6 g
  • Fiber 0 g
  • Fat 30 g

These are very tender due to slow cooking and being covered in foil to prevent them from getting dry. Everything else is up to you. How you like your rub, spicy or not. Different spices. You could even use a simple cajun prepared spice or even a steak spice you like. Same goes for your BBQ sauce. Most sauces are relatively the same for calories and such. So besides the cooking, everything is else is up to you. Have fun and make it your own.

Easy Salsa

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Easy Salsa

  • Servings: 4 - 1 cup jars
  • Difficulty: Easy
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We grow lots of cherry tomatoes and because they are sweet, they make a great salsa. I use a canning process to jar them to preserve this so that I can have some throughout the year. I put them in 250 ml or 1 cup jars. It will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks easy without canning. The recipe is without the canning process.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of chopped cherry tomatoes
  • 1 large spanish onion chopped
  • 2 cherry bomb peppers minced
  • 1 large jalapeño minced
  • 1 tbsp of salt
  • 1 tbsp of pepper
  • 1 tbsp of white sugar
  • 1/2 cup of fresh chopped cilantro

Directions

  1. In a large bowl put all ingredients together and cover for 3 hours so all the flavours can marry. Adjust your salt to your taste.

Nutrition for complete recipe

  • Calories 244
  • Sugar 34.6 g
  • Carbohydrates 51.8 g
  • Protein 6.2 g
  • Fiber 10.8 g
  • Fat 0.2 g

Nutrition per 1/4 cup

  • Calories 60
  • Sugar 8.6 g
  • Carbohydrates 13 g
  • Protein 1.3 g
  • Fiber 2.8 g
  • Fat 0.02 g

As I mentioned you can use your favourite canning process to preserve these. If you are having a party, 4 cups spread out is not that much (trust me). There is no end on how you can change up this recipe. I usually make one batch really spicy and one batch not so much. When ready to serve I’ve added cooked corn kernels and black beans and it becomes one heck of a dip. You can add, at that time a little sour cream to it and it becomes another type of dip. I’ve used it in tacos, tortillas, and thrown a jar in for different tex/mex recipes I’ve done. There is no limit to the changes you can do and what you use this for. The only limit is your imagination. So enjoy it and make it your own. Let me know what you come up with.

Turkey Tortilla

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Turkey Tortilla

  • Servings: 1
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Well Christmas has come and gone and what do we have left? Turkey… So we make turkey soup, we make turkey pot pie, turkey sandwiches, turkey tettrazini. A friend asked me what to do that was an easy lunch besides white bread turkey sandwich. I gave him this idea and he suggested I post it for you to enjoy.

Ingredients

  • 1 large flour tortilla
  • 30 grams or 1-1/4” cube of cheddar grated
  • 3 ounces of shredded cooked turkey
  • 1/4 cup of black beans (I make my own but you can use canned, unsalted of course)
  • 1/4 onion chopped
  • 2 tbsp of salsa (I have a recipe on the blog for easy salsa but you can use your favourite salsa)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Put salsa, onion, cheese, beans and turkey in centre of tortilla.
  3. Fold over into a square covering everything.
  4. Wrap in foil.
  5. Place in oven for 30 minutes until it heats through.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 481
  • Sugar 9 g
  • Carbohydrates 35.2g
  • Protein 38.8 g
  • Fiber 7.7 g
  • Fat 20 g

Serve this with a salad and you have a complete meal. You can have so much fun with this recipe. You want it spicy add jalapeños or a spicy salsa. You don’t like black beans but you like refried beans, change it up. It will change the calorie count but that is up to you. You ran out of turkey but you have left over roast beef, make it a beef tortilla. Have fun and make it your own.

Buttermilk Apple Cake

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Buttermilk Apple Cake

  • Servings: 12
  • Difficulty: Easy
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This is a recipe that I didn’t even alter. Thank you to Anne Lindsay on this one. This is a coffeecake-type cake that stays moist and is great for brunches, packed lunches or just plain dessert. I didn’t peel the apples because the skin is added fiber.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup soft light margarine
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1-1/2 cup of buttermilk (light)
  • 1 cup of all-purpose flour (I use unbleached)
  • 1 cup of whole-wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • 2-3 medium apples, cored and finely chopped (about 2.5 cups)

Topping

  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Lightly grease and flour an 8″ or 9″ square cake pan
  3. In a large bowl, beat together margarine and sugar until combined; beat in buttermilk
  4. Add flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and apples; mix until combined
  5. Spread batter evenly in pan
  6. Topping: combine sugar, cinnamon and coconut; sprinkle over batter
  7. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
  8. Let cool in pan

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 192
  • Sugar 21 g
  • Carbohydrates 35 g
  • Protein 3.9 g
  • Fiber 2.9 g
  • Fat 5 g

This is a nice moist cake. Serves great with coffee, fresh fruit, or just plain as is. Enjoy this and remember to make it your own.

Szechuan Orange-Ginger Chicken

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Szechuan Orange-Ginger Chicken

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: Easy
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This is much easier and faster to make than it sounds. Chinese dishes from Szechuan region of China usually have a spicy flavour. If you prefer milder, use less chili paste, and if you are like me and like it hot, use a little more. Even as is, this is delicious either way. I served with plain white rice as to not take away from the flavour of this meal.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lbs of boneless chicken breast
  • 1 large sweet green pepper coarsely chopped
  • 1 large sweet red pepper coarsely chopped
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 1 orange
  • 1 tsp of bottled chili paste
  • 2 tbsp of sherry or bourbon
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp of cornstarch
  • 1 tsp of minced garlic (or more to taste)
  • 1 tbsp of minced fresh ginger root

Directions

  1. Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes, set aside
  2. Chop green pepper and red pepper in about 1 inch cubes
  3. Chop onion coarsely
  4. Peel orange, remove rind and cut into thin julienne strips about 1.5 inches long, set aside. Squeeze orange and reserve 1/4 cup of juice
  5. In a small bowl, combine juice, paste, sherry, sugar and cornstarch, stir until smooth
  6. In wok, heat oil, add chicken and stir fry for 5 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove chicken. Add orange rind, garlic and ginger root and stir-fry to 10 seconds. Add peppers and onion and stir fry for another 2-3 minutes
  7. Add chili paste mixture and bring to a boil
  8. Return chicken to wok and stir until heated through

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calorie 264
  • Fat 12.3g
  • Carb 6g
  • Sugar 0g
  • Fiber 0g
  • Protein 41.4g

I served this with plain rice but if you want to be carb conscious then I would suggest pasta as per 1/2 cup of white rice compared to 1/2 cup of vermicelli is 10 grams of carbs less. Good option for diabetics.

Now for spicy, well you can use chili paste or dried chili peppers or hot chili sauce. If you use dried peppers, make sure to watch the quantity of the seeds you put in. The more seeds, the hotter it gets. If you want a little more orange flavour to it, just add more zest. Remember most of all to have fun and make it your own.

Mexican Rice and Bean Casserole

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Mexican Rice and Bean Casserole

  • Difficulty: Easy
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I take recipes and modify them for personal tastes, dietary demands and such. Sometimes it’s just ‘cause I want to have fun with the recipe. That is why I encourage you to modify to your tastes, and remember to try something new.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 3 garlic clove minced
  • 2 cups of sliced mushrooms
  • 2 large sweet green peppers chopped
  • 1 large sweet red pepper chopped
  • 1.5 cups of white rice
  • 2 cups of cooked red kidney beans (I prepare my own ahead of time and freeze them, if you use canned make sure to rinse and it would be approximately 1.5 cans of 28 oz/796 ml)
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes 28 oz/796 ml
  • 2 tbsp of chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp of cumin
  • 1 tsp of cayenne pepper (oh, i really added 2 but shush)
  • 1 cup of low-fat shredded low fat mozzarella cheese

Directions

  1. In a large dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, mushrooms and peppers. Stir often until onion is tender about 10 minutes.
  2. Add rice, beans, tomatoes, spices and water, cover and simmer until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.
  3. During that time preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  4. Sprinkle cheese and bake for 15 minutes or so until the cheese melts.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calorie 380
  • Fat 6.5 g
  • Carb 64.2 g
  • Sugar 7.3 g
  • Fiber 9.0 g
  • Protein 17.1g

As you see I prefer to cook my own kidney beans, you can soak them overnight and cook them for approximately 90 minutes. I don’t add salt. I rinse them thus giving less gas.

If you are diabetic, this is not a recommended recipe as is, as your carb intake should be 45-60 so this is a little high. But if you interested, I can supply a lower glycemic version with less rice and more kidney beans. Kidney beans can be of help to reduce your sugar spike due to its low carb and high fibre. Just let me know.

Now you have to have a few more veggies with this, I would recommend a nice salad to go with this. I like spicy so I am very generous with cayenne. You can spice it up or down. That’s up to you. Remember to have fun and make it your own.

Soft Pumpkin Cookies

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Cookies are made to be fun. We all know they are an indulgence. No one can say, “I will die if I don’t have a cookie” but we all know we want one. Who says that cookies can’t be good and good for you. Below is a recipe that is fun and tastes good. In the notes below you will see modifications for lighter cookies and fat free reduced cookies. I will even give you the breakdown on the nutritional value differences. The first part is the full-on recipe.

Overview

  • Prep time 20 minutes and 3-4 hours refrigeration of dough
  • Cook time 12 minutes per batch totalling 48 min
  • Makes 48 cookies

Ingredients

  • 2.5 cups of all purpose flour (I use unbleached)
  • 1 cup of pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp of baking soda
  • 1 tsp of baking powder
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • 1.5 cups of sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 1 cup of powdered sugar (icing sugar)

Directions

  1. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl.
  2. Beat sugar and butter with mixer on medium high speed, then blend in pumpkin, egg and vanilla until incorporated.
  3. Gradually mix in flour and dry ingredients.
  4. Refrigerate dough for 3-4 hours.
  5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  6. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with non stick baking spray.
  7. Scoop dough into one inch balls. (I use a small 2 ounce scoop, works well, worth the money) Roll in icing sugar, place dough balls on baking sheet.
  8. Bake for roughly 12 minutes.
  9. Remove from baking sheet to a cooling rack. When completely cool, store cookies in an airtight container. On the counter they will keep 3-4 days, in fridge for about a week.

Nutritional facts per Cookie

  • Calorie 69
  • Fat 2.45 g
  • Carb 11.8 g
  • Sugar 6.4 g
  • Fiber 0.4 g
  • Protein 1.4g

That is the full version, full fat, full sugar. Still not bad 2 cookies is only 140 cals. And they are good source of vit A. 

Now if you omit rolling them in icing sugar, you reduce, per cookie, the calories by 8.1, the carbs by 2.1 and the sugar by 2.1. Now for the reduced calorie and fat but leaving in the icing sugar. Omit the butter and replace with same quantity of unsweetened apple sauce. Cook for 1 minute less. 

Nutritional facts per Cookie

  • Calorie 53
  • Fat 0.5 g
  • Carb 11.8 g
  • Sugar 6.4 g
  • Fiber 0.4 g
  • Protein 1.4g

You can still omit the icing sugar for a plain version again deducting the calories and carbs and sugar. It really depends on your taste. All I will say is have fun and make it your own.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

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Pumpkin Cheesecake

  • Servings: 8 good size servings. Can be stretched to 12.
  • Difficulty: Easy
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I like pumpkin, I like cheesecake. Why wouldn’t they be good together? My better half doesn’t mind pumpkin as long as it’s not overwhelming. Well this recipe fits the bill. I’ve modified the original recipe to reduce calories and fat.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp of unsweetened apple sauce
  • 2 packages of light cream cheese (500g total, or 2 cups)
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 1 tsp of vanilla
  • 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 eggs

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a bowl mix the graham crackers and applesauce until well moistened. Then put in a 9’’ pie plate. Press out evenly. If you press too hard the crust will be very tough.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, blend cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix until well creamed.
  4. In a smaller bowl, take 1 cup of the cream cheese mixture and add pumpkin puree and cinnamon and mix well.
  5. Pour cream cheese batter into pie crust.
  6. Gently pour pumpkin batter over cream cheese batter.
  7. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes
  8. Refrigerate 3 hour or more before serving.

Nutrition Per Serving (1 out of 8 slices)

  • Calories 245
  • Sugar 21 g
  • Carbohydrates 27 g
  • Protein 5.9 g
  • Fiber 1.0 g
  • Fat 12 g

You really have to make sure that you serve this cold. This was well received. You can add a little cinnamon if you like or sub it for pumpkin spice. You can not use fat free cream cheese. It doesn’t cook as well. You can sprinkle some cinnamon on top if you like. Or if you want a little crunch, you can sprinkle brown sugar on over the top. Be careful for the calories and sugar content. If you don’t have concerns for either have fun and make it your own.

Easy Peasy Tomato Sauce

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Easy Peasy Tomato Sauce

  • Servings: 10 Cups
  • Difficulty: Easy
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It’s that time of year where the garden is coming to an end and everything is ripe at the same time. I had a lot of sweetheart tomatoes and cherry tomatoes and a few roma tomatoes that were all ripe and needed to be used up or I would lose them. If you don’t mind a few skins in the sauce, then this recipe is for you.

Ingredients

  • 1 very large onion chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3-4 garlic cloves
  • 3 tbsp of white sugar
  • 1 small can of tomato paste
  • 10 cups of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • 1 tsp of pepper
  • 2 cherry bomb peppers chopped fine
  • 1/4 cup of fresh chopped basil
  • 1/4 cup of fresh chopped oregano
  • 1 ounce of parmesan rind (optional)

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a large heavy stock pot and sweat the onion on medium heat
  2. Once the onion is tender, add garlic and cook for 2 minutes
  3. Add cherry bomb peppers and cook for another 2 minutes
  4. Add chopped tomatoes and bring to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to medium-low to simmer. Put the Parmesan rinds in a cheesecloth and put in the sauce. This is optional, I just find it adds a little something but if you don’t have any, the sauce is still good.
  5. Add tomato paste, sugar, salt and pepper, basil and oregano, stir and let simmer for 45 minutes.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 41
  • Fat 1.3 g
  • Sugar 4.5 g
  • Carbohydrates 6.6 g
  • Protein 1.4 g
  • Fiber 1.6 g

Now, if you don’t like a sauce with texture, you can peel the roma tomatoes beforehand or put the whole thing through a blender. My husband likes a textured sauce so this was great. He also likes it hot, you can reduce the quantity of cherry bomb peppers or add if you really like it hot. You can change these to jalapeños, or if you are really adventurous to habanero peppers. Or you can omit all together.

If you want to make this into a vegetable sauce, because you have green peppers growing and need to find another use for them, you can add them, including celery, or any veggie you wish. Have fun and make it your own. If you have suggestions, let me know. I like trying new things too.