Chicken Broccoli Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. broccoli
  
• 1 lb. chicken breasts
  
• 1 onion
  
• 1 garlic
  
• olive oil for frying
  
• 2 cups thick tomato sauce
  
• fresh basil, minced
  
• fresh oregano, minced
  
• 9 lasagna noodles
  
• 300 grams chevre
  
• 300 grams mozzarella, grated or thinly sliced
  
• freshly grated parmesan

Directions:

Precook lasagna noodles.
Cut broccoli into small florets and steam until nearly tender.
Peel and mince onion and garlic.
Stir fry onion and garlic in olive oil until soft.
Dice chicken and add to onion and garlic.
Fry until chicken is lightly browned.
Stir minced herbs into tomato sauce.
Spread 1/3 of tomato mixture over bottom of large lasagna pan.
Cover with a layer of noodles.
Spread 1/3 of tomato mixture over the noodles.
Add half the chicken mixture, half the broccoli and half the chevre.
Follow with another layer of noodles topped with the remaining sauce, chicken, broccoli and chevre.
Cover with the third layer of noodles.
Arrange mozzarella over top of the lasagna.
Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes until mozzarella is golden brown.
Slice and serve, sprinkling freshly grated parmesan over individual portions.

Sesame Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

Sesame and ginger compliment one another perfectly in this simple chicken stir fry.



Ingredients:

• 2 lbs fresh or 1 lb dry rice noodles*
  
• 1 garlic, minced
  
• 2 inches ginger root, minced
  
• 1 lb chicken breasts, cut into strips
  
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
  
• 1 bok choy, shredded
  
• 2 tablespoons soya sauce
  
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  
• 1/4 cup sweet chili pepper sauce**
  
• cilantro
  
• 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
  
• olive oil for frying
  
• sliced spring onions for garnish

Notes:

* I use fresh udon noodles when I can get them. If not available, a dry rice stick noodle is an acceptable substitute.

** Amount of chili pepper sauce can be adjusted depending on the heat level of your sauce and your personal taste. I use President's Choice "Memories of Thailand" Fiery Chili Pepper Sauce in my dish.

Directions:

If using dry noodles, place them in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. (Fresh noodles do not require pre-soaking.)
Allow noodles to soak 5-7 minutes (or as directed on package for preparing noodles for stir fry).
Drain noodles and set aside.
Heat olive oil in large skillet or wok.
Add garlic and ginger and stir fry 1-2 minutes.
Coat chicken strips in corn starch.
Add chicken to pan and fry until heated through (5-6 minutes).
Add shredded bok choy and continue stir frying, 1-2 minutes until cabbage has wilted.
Add soya, sesame oil, chili pepper sauce, cilantro and 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and mix well.
Stir in noodles and heat through.
Serve immediately, garnished with spring onions and reserved sesame seeds.

Jambalaya

A little bit of everything adds up to a whole lot of wonderful!



Ingredients:

• 1 garlic
  
• 1 large yellow onion
  
• 1 green bell pepper
  
• 1 red bell pepper
  
• freshly ground black pepper
  
• ground cayenne pepper
  
• ground oregano
  
• 375 g Cajun smoked sausage
  
• 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts
  
• 400 ml clam juice
  
• 1/2 pound shrimp
  
• olive oil for frying

Directions:

Mince garlic.
Cut onion into eighths and separate layers.
Remove stems and seeds from bell peppers and cut into bit-sized chunks.
Toss onion, garlic and bell peppers together in a large bowl.
Season vegetables generously with black pepper, cayenne and oregano.


Fry chicken in olive oil until cooked through. At this point, the chicken should be soft enough to cut easily into small pieces with a plastic spatula.

Remove chicken from heat and set aside.

Slice sausage 1/4 inch thick and fry until browned.

Remove cooked sausage from pan, placing between sheets of paper towel to absorb excess fat.

Stir fry seasoned vegetables in olive oil until onion becomes soft and translucent.


Add cooked chicken & sausage to the pan with the vegetables.
Add clam juice and bring stew to a boil.


Continue cooking Jambalya until most of the liquid has evaporated/been absorbed.
Add shrimp during final 6 minutes of cooking.


Serve over hearty whole-grain rice with a side of Garlic & Hot Pepper Corn Bread.

Firey Fajitas

A splash of hot sauce adds a spicy twist to my take on this favourite dish. These fajitas are simple to prepare and ready to eat in under ten minutes. Fast food can be flavourful!

Ingredients:

• 10 inch diameter whole grain tortillas
  
• yellow onion
  
• cooked chicken breasts, cut into strips
  
• red bell pepper
  
• avocado
  
• feta cheese
  
• Dan T's WhiteHot Inferno sauce
  
• olive oil for frying

Directions:

Heat oil in a skillet.
Slice onion lengthwise and stir-fry until soft and translucent.
Add strips of cooked chicken and continue cooking until chicken is heated through and onion begins to carmelize.
While the chicken and onions are cooking, slice pepper and avocado into thin strips and crumble feta.

Place onion, chicken, pepper, avocado, feta and hot sauce across the centre of a tortilla, leaving one edge bare.


Fold the bare side of the tortilla up over the fillings.


Fold the near edge of the tortilla up over the fillings and folded bottom edge.


Beginning with the side you have folded over, roll the fajita away from you until it is fully wrapped.


Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas

Last week my father was craving Mexican food and asked me to take him to Taco Bell.
I told him no. I'd make him Mexican cuisine with real food instead.
This was the result.

Ingredients:

• olive oil for frying and greasing pan
  
• 1 garlic, peeled and diced
  
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
  
• 1 lb chicken breast, cut into strips
  
• 2 cups hot (spicy) tomato-based salsa
  
• 1/2 lb aged cheddar cheese, grated
  
• 10 seven-inch whole wheat tortillas
  
• sour cream (to garnish)
  
• guacamole (to garnish)

Directions:

Lightly grease a lasagna pan or other large casserole dish with olive oil.

Heat a small amount of oil in a large frying pan or wok.

Stir fry garlic and onion until onion turns translucent and soft.

Add chicken and stir fry until cooked through.

Continuing to stir fry, use the edge of a spatula to dice chicken strips into small pieces.

Add one cup of salsa, mixing well.

Remove chicken/salsa mixture from the heat.

Lay one tortilla flat on a large plate or other flat surface.

Spoon a row of chicken/salsa mixture across the tortilla, about 1/3 of the way in from the near edge.

Sprinkle a small amount of grated cheese on top of the chicken/salsa.

Starting at the near edge, roll up the tortilla around the filling.

Place rolled enchilada into greased casserole dish, seam side down.

Continue filling and rolling enchiladas as above until all are lined up side by side in the casserole dish.

Spread remaining salsa over top of enchiladas.

Sprinkle remaining cheese over top of salsa.

Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and starts to brown.

Serve warm with sour cream and a side of guacamole.

Double Garlic Chicken Crêpes

These crêpes are wonderfully tasty with sweet, well-blended flavours that even the finicky eaters on my guest list enjoy. The double dose of garlic comes from sweet oven roasted garlic and thick, rich Skotidakis Tzatziki.



Ingredients:

• 1 batch crêpe batter
  
• 150 g chèvre
  
• 2/3 cup tzatziki
  
• 1 oven roasted garlic
  
• 7 sun-dried tomato halves
  
• 1 large yellow onion
  
• 1 red pepper
  
• 1 lb cooked chicken breast
  
• olive oil for frying vegetables
  
• butter for frying crêpes

Directions:

Roast garlic.
Prepare crêpe batter.
While batter is chilling, prepare the filling:

Dice the sun-dried tomatoes.
Remove oven roasted garlic flesh from the skin.
Beat together chèvre and tzatziki until smooth.
Add garlic and tomato and mix until well blended.


Finely slice onion and red peppers.
Stir fry onion in olive oil until onion turns soft and translucent.
Add red pepper and continue stir frying until peppers are cooked through and onion begins to carmelize.


Dice chicken.
Add chicken and sauce to the pan with the vegetables.
Mix well and cook gently -- just enough to warm the filling through.


Cook crêpes as per recipe.
Spoon chicken mixture onto crêpes, roll and serve.

Chicken Curry

This recipe is a favourite at my dinner parties as a crêpe filling. It is also excellent served over rice. I take it wilderness camping, preparing the curry ahead of time and freezing it in airtight plastic freezer bags. The curry then serves as an ice pack for the rest of my food during the first couple of days of my trip. Once it has thawed out, it is time to enjoy it. Cook the rice over an open fire, then stir curry mixture into cooked rice and heat through.



Ingredients:

• 1 coconut
  
• approximately 1 cup hot water
  
• olive oil for frying
  
• 1 garlic, peeled and diced
  
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
  
• 1 inch ginger root, peeled and diced
  
• 1 lb chicken breasts *
  
• 2 tablespoons hot curry paste **
  
• 1 red pepper, seeded and diced
  
• 1 yellow pepper, seeded and diced
  
• 1 mango, peeled, pitted and diced
  
• fresh cilantro leaves
  
• freshly squeezed juice of one lime
  

Notes:

* I often work with chicken breasts pre-cut into strips for stir frying. This makes for quick, even cooking throughout without drying the outside of the chicken, and speeds up the work of dicing the cooked chicken.

** I favour Patak's Madras curry paste, but there is a wide variety of excellent prepared curry pastes available for those of us without the time to prepare our own.

Directions:

Drain and reserve water from coconut.
Bake coconut at 400°F for 15 minutes.
Break coconut open and pry flesh away from shell.
Peel brown skin off coconut flesh.
Purée coconut flesh in blender or food processor with reserved coconut water and enough additional water to make liquid up to 1.5 cups.
Allow pureéed coconut mixture to stand for 15 minutes.
Press coconut mixture through a fine sieve to extract milk.
Stir fry onion, garlic and ginger in olive oil.
Add chicken and continue stir frying until chicken is cooked through.
Dice chicken with spatula while continuing to cook. (Once cooked, it should slice easily with a plastic or rubber spatula.)
Add curry paste and mix well.
Add peppers, continuing to stir fry.
Add coconut milk and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer.
Add mango, chopped cilantro leaves and freshly squeezed lime juice.
Continue to simmer curry until flavours are well blended.

To fill crêpes:

Prepare crêpes.
Spoon curry mixture in a line across crêpe, 1/3 of the way in from one edge.
Fold near edge up over curry mixture and roll up crêpe to surround curry.
For best results, serve crêpe immediately.
When large quantities are required, place filled crêpes in a singler layer in a large baking pan (such as a lasagna pan) and warm in oven to heat through just before serving.

Tzatziki Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• cooked chicken breasts, diced
  
• apples, cored and diced
  
• dried cranberries
  
• pine nuts
  
• tzatziki *
  
• baby spinach leaves
  
• extra virgin olive oil
  
• balsamic vinegar
  
• apple butter **
  
• mandarin orange segments

Notes on the Ingredients:

* One day I will figure out my own tzatziki recipe. Until then, the thickest, garlickiest tzatziki I have found is Skotidakis Tzatziki.

** Commercially prepared apple butters are often flavoured with spices such as cinnamon - which are fine for this recipe - but please choose an unsweetened variety. Apples are sweet enough on their own!

Directions:

Mix oil, vinegar & apple butter together.
Toss spinach leaves with vinaigrette.
Mix chicken, apples, cranberries & pine nuts with tzatziki.
Line serving plates with spinach.
Heap chicken salad on top of spinach.
Garnish with mandarin orange segments.

This chicken salad also works well as a spread for sandwiches.

Sunshine Salad

Ingredients:

• mixed salad greens
  
• cooked chicken, diced *
  
• avocado, sliced
  
• mango, cubed
  
• red bell pepper, sliced
  
• feta cheese, crumbled
  
• roasted cashew nuts (unsalted)
  
• pumpkin seeds, shelled
  
• sunflower seeds, shelled
  
• dried cranberries
  
• golden raisins
  
• citrus vinaigrette **

Options:

* If you prefer a vegetarian salad, simply leave the chicken out. My diet isn't overly high on protein, so I tend to throw some chicken breasts into any dish they will suit for some nutritional balance, but this salad is loaded with plenty of other goodness!

** Kraft's "Mandarin Orange wtih Sesame" works wonderfully with this salad!

Directions:

Line plate with mixed greens.
Sprinkle chicken, avocado, mango, peppers, feta, nuts, seeds & dried fruit over greens.
Drizzle with vinaigrette.

Curry Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• cooked chicken, diced
  
• "Sweet Mild Jakarta Curry Dip" *
  
• red bell pepper, diced
  
• yellow bell pepper, diced
  
• red onion or bunch of spring onions, diced
  
• mango, diced
  
• fresh mint leaves, chopped
  
• fresh cilantro, chopped
  

Substitutions:

* This is a "Compliments" brand dip, available from Sobey's. If you cannot acquire it, try your favourite curry paste mixed with a little mayonnaise and/or sour cream.

Directions:

Toss all ingredients together.
Enjoy on a sandwich or on salad greens.