Grilled asparagus

Ingredients

8-12 asparagus spears, trimmed

dash sea salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Boiling Water to cover asparagus

Sweet mustard (with heat if desired)

Directions:

Soak asparagus in a bowl of boiling water for about 10min, or until tender.

Drain Water. Sprinkle salt to tast over asparagus and coat in olive oil.

Transfer to grill, and grill for approximately 10-15mins, flipping over on all side for even cooking. 

Remove from grill and serve with sweet mustard (PC brand sweet with heat mustard is my favourite for you canadian readers). Serve as a side or enjoy as a snack!

Arugula nut salad with balsamic glaze dressing

Ingredients:

1 package baby arugula

1/2 cup shredded cabbage

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup chopped nuts ( I like candied walnuts, or pecans)

1/4 cup dried cranberries

balsamic glaze

extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Toss arugula, cabbage, carrots, nuts and cranberries In a large bowl. Either drizzle with balsamic glaze and olive oil to taste toss and serve, or serve into individual salad plates and then drizzle with balsamic glaze and olive oil to taste and serve. 

Smoked Salmon dip with capers and dill

Ingredients:

1 smoked salmon fillet

1 cup fat free cream cheese

1/4 cup capers

1 1/2 teaspoon dill ( fresh or dried)

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:

flake smoked salmon fillet, mix in remaining ingredients until completely mixed. refrigerate or serve immediately on favorite crackers or crusty bread.

Grilled Tomatoes and Peppers

Ingredients:

4 ripe vine tomatoes

4 ripe red and yellow peppers( halved and seeded)

olive oil

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Place tomatoes and peppers in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

Heat up BBQ, place foil on rack and grill veggies on foil for about 3-5mins (sprinkle any left over oil and salt onto veggies when placed on the foil). Take veggies off the foil and place directly on the grill, using a fork to poke a few holes into each tomato. Rotate tomatoes frequently and place back on the foil after about 1-2mins. Keep peppers directly on the grill and rotate occasionally for about 5-10mins.

Serve immediately

Cucumber and Avocado salad

Ingredients:

2 english cucumbers pealed and shredded

2 ripe avocados halved and out of shell (slice avocado in half lengthwise remove seed and scoop put of shell with a spoon.)

1 handful fresh parsley chopped

2 ripe vein tomatoes diced

Directions:

Slice each avocado half length wise, and plate. 

Mix cucumbers and parsely in a medium bowl.

Top each avocado plate with about 1-2 tablespoons of cucumber mixture (add more or less as desired).  Next top each with about 1 tablespoon of diced tomatoes. 

Serve with your favourite dressing ( I love to use Briannas’ homestyle Dijon Honey Mustard Dressing)

Note these can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated. Serves 4

Inside out Apple Crumble

Ingredients:

2 apples pealed and cored (I prefer granny smith, or red and delicious)

2 tablespoons rolled oats

1 tablespoon wheat flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons cold butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F

mix together all dry ingredients, add vanilla, and crumble in butter using your hands. Mixture should be crumbly. Stuff each apple and place on a buttered baking pan/sheet.

Bake for about 15-20 or until crumble browns.

Serve immediately

Easy Salmon Fish Cakes

Ingredients

1 can Salmon

2 cups cold mashed potatoes

1 handful finely chopped parsley

1 garlic clove finely minced

1 teaspoon lemon

1 egg

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup flour

olive oil for frying

Directions

Remove salmon from can and remove all bones and skin if any, then finely flake. In a large bowl mix together potatoes, parsley, garlic and lemon.

Beat in egg and then mix in salmon.

Add salt and pepper to taste

Put flour onto clean cooking surface. Using a tablespoon spoon out fish cake mixture and roll into a ball on floured surface and flatten to about 1/2inch. Repeat for remaining mixture.

Heat oil in frying pan over medium high heat. Fry on each side until golden brown about  2-3 mins per side. Make sure to not overcrowd the pan!

Serve with your favourite cocktail sauce.

Open face breakfast sandwich with herb and garlic potatoes

Ingredients:

1 ripe vein tomato (sliced)

4 cheese cheddar cheese slices

4 medium eggs

6 strips applewood smoked bacon (cooked)

3 potatoes (cubed)

Light herb and garlic cream cheese

2 tablespoons butter

salt to taste

2 english muffins

Directions:

Herb and garlic potatoes:

Boil cubed potatoes in a medium nonstick pan with 1 1/2 teaspoon salt until tender. Drain water and return to stovetop. over low/medium heat add 1 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons cream cheese, roughly mash into potatoes. when cream cheese and butter are mixed into potatoes remove from heat.

open face sandwich:

In a large nonstick frying pan heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat, crack each egg into the pan and cook over medium heat to desired firmness (I like my eggs over hard which takes about 7mins).

Slice english muffins in half and toast, top each  with a slice of cheese, and 2-3 strips of bacon each, and top each with the cooked eggs, and finished up with a few slices of tomatoes to each sandwich. 

Serve immediately with herb and garlic potatoes.

Easy Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

4-6 cucumbers sliced

1/4 cup chopped Dill

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

Balsamic vinegar to taste

Directions:

Combine Cucumbers, dill, and olive oil. Add a few dashes of Balsamic vinegar to taste. Serve as a side salad or have as a snack. 

Shrimp and Bass Ratatouille

Ingredients

3 tablespoons Olive oil (split 2:1)

1 sweet spanish onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced (split in half)

2 zucchini, cubed (about 1/2 inch cubes)

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

2 large ripe vine tomatoes, diced

1/3 cup sliced green olives

pinch cayenne pepper

1 handful parsley (coarsely chopped)

1 lemon

salt to taste

1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 bass filet (chopped onto 1 inch chunks)

Directions:

In a large bowl combine shrimp and bass, squeeze lemon over mixture. Add parsley, half the minced garlic, and a pinch of salt into the shrimp and bass mixture. Heat 1 tablespoon of  olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp/bass mixture and cook on each side for 2-4mins, or until shrimp are pink and bass is slightly flaky.

Set shrimp/bass aside.

In a heavy nonstick skillet, heat remaining oil over medium heat. Add remaining garlic and onion and saute for about 2mins, add zucchini, and bell peppers and cook for about 4-5mins. Add the thyme, tomatoes, olives, cayenne pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15mins. Mix in prepared shrimp and bass mixture to the vegetables and simmer on low for about 3-5mins.

Serve immediately

note: For vegetarians no need to add shrimp and bass to this recipe, it’ll makes a great side dish.