Amazing chicken shawarma atop a Greek salad from the Babylon Cafe in the West End. Omm nom nom, meat salad.
Tag Archives: Dinner
Burger Heaven at Max’s Burger
Fantastic burger (The Max) from Max’s Burger on 8th and Cambie, this place is a hidden gem. There’s really no comparison to grass-fed beef, and these guys know how to make a proper burger. Best of all, the variety of bun options, whole wheat, gluten free, vegan, and regular ol’ hamburger bun! We all agreed the gluten-free bun was one of the best gluten-free bread products we’ve tasted in a restaurant. Yam fries were tasty too! Overall nothing was too heavily salted or over seasoned, just fresh ingredients done right. Move over Vera’s, I’m all about Max.
Oh, and then we had the cheesecake. Scrumtrulescent. The crust was nothing special, but the cheesecake part was creamy and tasted homemade. We’re going back for sure.
Florentine Turkey Meatballs
Filled with antioxidant-rich spinach and smothered in a homemade pasta sauce, there’s no denying it, you’re gonna want these balls in your mouth. Conveniently, you can find the recipe for that sauce here. The rotini was a gluten-free rice pasta but these were good enough to eat as is, and we did.
Spinach Turkey Meatballs
I eyeball everything these days cause I love to live dangerously. Adjust to your tastes.
1 lb lean ground turkey
a couple handfuls of fresh chopped spinach
1 rounded tsp Italian seasoning
two cloves garlic
fresh parsley
1/4 parmesan cheese, extra for garnishing
an egg, beaten
salt and pepper
Gluten-free rotini
Combine ingredients, mix, form the meatballs, brown them in a frying pan, finish in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes. Pour sauce around the meatballs so they soak up that deliciousness and don’t dry out. Or bake them… or cook through in the frying pan… whatever floats your boat.
Oven Roasted Fish Tacos with Sweet Mango Salsa
Fresh basa fillet, veggies, and seasonings teamed up in my oven for one fabulous fish taco feast.
Oven roasted that basa with the usual suspects – salt, pepper, and lemon juice – along with some cumin, cayenne, garlic, parsley, tomatoes, and onions.
In the sweet mango salsa there are roma tomatoes, sweet red onion, cilantro, salt and pepper, and lemon juice.
AND THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE!
But not all she ate. She definitely had a second taco.
Red Beet Pesto with Gluten-Free Linguini
The classic red sauce is a staple in our rotation, but coming up with a fresh new sauce was a welcomed addition to our tired routine. At least for me; Phil is still on the fence about beets… and pesto. One thing we do agree on is our love for brown rice pasta. We use the gluten-free pasta brand Tinkyada, and honestly once you throw some sauce on it’s hard to tell the difference, I DARE YOU!
I can’t take full credit for this recipe. My food-savvy friend Sarah — the same one who made her own wedding cake — put the idea in my head. Though our recipes differ slightly the end result is a deliciously light sauce. It all comes down to a few simple ingredients: beets, spinach, garlic, and basil. You can elaborate or adapt the recipe to your tastes; for instance, Sarah makes hers by sautéing spinach and kale with onion and garlic before blending it with the beets. Sometimes when I’m feeling decadent, I stir in some cream.
Red Beet Pesto
2 roasted red beets
spinach
garlic
fresh basil
lemon zest
shaved parmesan
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
I roasted two beats with EVOO, salt and pepper for about 45 minutes. When all’s cooked and cooled enough to handle, I peel and chop the beats and put them in a food processor with a couple generous handfuls of spinach, some crushed garlic, basil leaves, and more EVOO. I blend to desired consistency, adding more oil if needed. I also mix in a little shaved parmesan if i have it, then garnish with lemon zest come presentation time. The lemon zest is SO important to this dish! It makes all the difference in creating a fresh and exciting meal.
Best enjoyed right right away but can last a couple of days in the fridge if you have extras.
As you can see, I snuck in a little piece of honey garlic sausage for an extra protein kick. It was delicious.
Easy Crockpot Brisket
As if a crockpot recipe could ever be anything but easy! I also thought about calling this post “Omnomnom Meat”, but decided a more descriptive title would be more effective.
We rung in the New Year with this slow cooker brisket recipe and it’s been steadily feeding us ever since. Actually, we bbq’d steaks on New Years Eve and dined on leftovers the next day, but this juicy beast was the first official recipe of 2013. Apologies for the delayed post, but amidst the healthy new-year-new-me blog posts I didn’t think you’d have time to savour this beauty for all of its meaty goodness.
I rubbed her down with salt, pepper, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, and a lot of garlic. Then I cracked a can of America’s finest beers ( a Pabst Blue Ribbon) and let it cook on high for one hour, followed by 6 hours on low. Then, we ate.
Update: Someone didn’t know that you could cook brisket in a crockpot, so I told him what I knew: THAT IT WAS DELICIOUS.
