Category: Simple recipes

Fettuccine Alfredo

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1 pound fettuccini noodles (about ½ of a 900g package)
¼ pound real butter
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup (or less) Parmesan cheese

  1. Boil the noodles until done but still firm. Drain but do not rinse. Leave them in the strainer.
  2. Melt the butter on low heat in the pot you cooked the noodles in. Add the garlic and cook until sautéed. Add the noodles and coat them with the butter.
  3. Mix together the eggs and, cream in a cup. Pour over top of the noodles and toss quickly but thoroughly.
  4. Serve with parmesan, salt and freshly ground pepper.

Suggestion: This recipe tastes much better with fresh pasta and is excellent with chicken, bacon, broccoli, mushrooms, shrimp or other toppings you like.

Brownies

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½ cup butter or margarine
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup flour
6 Tbsp cocoa
½ tsp salt

  1. Beat together in a bowl the margarine, sugar, eggs, and vanilla, using a fork.
  2. Add the flour, cocoa, and salt and stir together.
  3. Pour into a greased 8” X 8” cake pan.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Suggestion:

While these are still hot from the oven, serve them with vanilla ice cream, peanuts, and chocolate sauce.  This looks fancy enough to serve to dinner guests.

Korean Beef Bowls

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P1120795

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup soy sauce (see note for gluten-free)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground beef
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Cooked rice
Romaine lettuce, washed and torn (optional)
Kimchi (optional)

  1. Whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and ginger in a small bowl.
  2. Brown the beef in a large frying pan over medium heat. Drain the fat.
  3. Add garlic and cook a little longer until you can smell the garlic frying.
  4. Stir in the sauce and simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavours.
  5. Serve over steamed rice and top with green onions. (Makes four servings)

Suggestion:
To add more veggies, layer the following ingredients in your bowl: romaine, rice, beef and onions. Top with kimchi. (Kimchi can be purchased in Asian stores and some grocery stores.)

Budget-friendly option:
Make a double batch, but use one pound ground beef and one can drained lentils.

Gluten-free option:
To make this gluten-free, use tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.

Spaghetti Sauce

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1 lb ground beef
1 small zucchini, minced (about 1 cup)
2 carrots, minced (about 1 cup)
2 stems of celery, minced (about 1 cup)
1.5 cups mushrooms, minced
1 onion, minced (about ½ cup)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans spaghetti sauce
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp hot sauce (or to taste)

  1. Fry the ground beef. While the meat is cooking, you can mince the vegetables in the food processor. Transfer the meat to a large pot.
  2. Using the same pan, sauté the vegetables until a little soft, and then add to the meat in the pot.
  3. Add the sauce, tomatoes and hot sauce. Simmer until ready to eat (or you can transfer to a crock pot). This freezes very well.
  4. Serve over cooked spaghetti noodles.

Simple recipe tip: If you don’t have all the ingredients needed, just use what you have. Start with some cooked pasta and a can of pasta sauce or tomatoes. Add whatever else you can find to add some flavour.

Apple Crisp

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1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups flour
2 cups oats
2 tsp cinnamon
10 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced

  1. Cream together the margarine, sugar, flour, oats and cinnamon until crumbly.
  2. Place the apples in an un-greased 9” X 13” pan. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples. Pat it in with your hands.
  3. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Suggestion: Serve this hot out of the oven with vanilla ice cream or milk.

Bran Muffins

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1 ½ cups bran
1 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

½ cup blueberries (optional)

  1. Mix bran and buttermilk together in a large bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, beat brown sugar, oil, egg and vanilla together in a separate bowl. Stir into buttermilk mixture.
  3. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Stir into buttermilk mixture until just blended.
  4. Stir in blueberries (if using).
  5. Pour into a lined muffin tin (12 muffins) and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

For a healthier option, add a couple Tbsp ground flax seed or hemp seeds. You can also add a mashed banana.

Pizza

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2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup cornmeal
½ tsp dried rosemary (optional)
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup oil

  1. Mix together the dry ingredients.
  2. Mix the yogurt and oil together, then mix into the dry ingredients using a fork.
  3. Kneed 10 times.
  4. Let stand for a few minutes (while you prepare some toppings). If you don’t have time, you can skip this step.
  5. Roll out and add desired toppings.
  6. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Suggested Pizza Toppings:

  • Pizza sauce
  • Tomatoes
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Green Pepper
  • Red Pepper
  • Pineapple
  • Mushroom
  • Green olive
  • Black olive
  • Bacon
  • Ground beef
  • Ham
  • Pepperoni
  • Chicken
  • Ground pork
  • Anchovies
  • Feta
  • Mozzarella

Simple recipe tip: Use a pita or naan bread as the crust. Top with pizza sauce and desired toppings. Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes. (It won’t take as long to bake as the crust is already cooked.)