Red pepper Beef mince noodles

Pantry Dinner

I don’t always make quick and easy recipes; I think there is beauty in taking the time to slowly develop flavors. But other times, you need dinner in 30 minutes or less, and that’s fine too. You should keep this recipe saved for the days when the ingredients are low. I went through my freezer, pantry and refrigerator grabbed a couple ingredients, and here we all are.

Thai Meatball quinoa bowl

 

One big bowl of Protein!

Ladies and gentlemen welcome to flavor town. From the meatballs to the sauce, to the charred veggies to the quinoa, it's just one big bowl of healthy deliciousness. keep reading for more.

One Pot Hamburger Helper

 

Belly Full on a Budget

Beef and macaroni are the epitome of a belly full. If you were a fan of hamburger helpers as a kid, this just might be up your alley. It tastes more grown-up but is still giving me an ‘I’m a kid eating a sloppy joe at summer camp vibe’. It is the dinner that will please both adults and kids and the whole pot only cost $1586.78 JMD. It can serve maybe 6-8, but let’s say it serves 6, that’s only $264.46 per serving, not bad at all.

Jerk Chicken and Mushroom Tart

 

On your Tarts!!

Apparentlyly, fairy Godmother granted the chicken pot pie a wish and she got to dress up; transformed into this tart, and went to the ball. That is what I think of when I look at this elegant looking tart. Phyllo/Filo dough can be so unforgiving at times and other times every wrinkle looks like a work of art.  I wanted to make a pie where imperfections become perfections. A traditional pie crust is sometimes not so forgiving, but phyllo/filo dough will do the trick.

Coffee Maple Country Style Ribs

Fall off the bone tender!

There is nothing I love like I love maple syrup….well, maybe pepper jelly. I just adore them both. Maple syrup makes everything better; and maple syrup with coffee is the makings of bbq sauce heaven. Ever since I made the bacon-wrapped coffeebourbon ham one Christmas I have been planning to revamp the combo on some ribs. And it only took me 5 years to actually do it.

Garlic Lemon pepper almost fried Spare ribs

"Quarantine Cooking"

Six months ago, back in October, a time when we didn’t have to wear masks to step outside, we could brave restaurants, malls, and farmers markets without fear of catching a deadly virus…..sigh…. the good old days. Anyway, I digress, back then, I was in Canada with my sister. We took the drive from Mississauga to Waterloo to check out St Jacobs farmers market (which is amazing) close by is a restaurant our friend took us to called Crazy Canuck. That is when I first had a taste of a salty, sour, crispy rib.

Honey Mustard Chicken

POTLUCK...again

I can't believe it took me this long to post this recipe. This was a delicious weeknight dinner that I made and snapped a few pics of then posted to Instagram, saying the recipe would follow. And here we are, almost a month later, but this honey mustard recipe is finally here.

Grilled Salmon scallion pancake tacos with a fresh apple relish

"Something smells fishy"

I am still trying to get the hang of this motherhood blogger thing. It’s been quite a task to do these recipes and these blog posts with my little Elizabeth. According to The Bump, at 10 weeks old, she should be taking longer naps, sleeping even up to 6 hours. Today I got the longest sleep from her ever. She gave me roughly four and a half hours. This is the one and the only reason why I had time to make, eat, photograph and blog this recipe all in the same day. YAY ME!

Jamaican Curry fish and bammy

"Something Smells Fishy"

I really enjoy cooking and eating fish. It’s no secret that escovitch fish is my all-time favorite. Brown stew and steam fish are not too far behind. But what about curry? We tend to curry lobster and shrimp more often than we do fish. And curry fish is just as delicious, if not more than. Because the fish meat can actually absorb all the juices better than the meat of the shrimp or lobster. So today its a delicious Jamaican pot of curry fish and bammy.

Battle of the chicken foot.

 OFFAL

Offal was supposed to be September’s theme. However, due to the birth of my first niece, little Victoria, blog posts had to take a back seat. I  was very busy with, feedings, baths, diaper changes and cooking dinner for my first-time mom sister. Not only that, I was in Canada for almost three weeks. I didn’t know the first place to turn to find goat tongue, cow lover or chicken foot. So here we are in October, still doing offal. This time chicken foot.

Jamaican Curry Cow foot and Beans

OFFAL

There is just something about this Jamaican dish that is so comforting. Some people love it brown stewed, but today we are making a curry. I know some of you may be reading this and thinking how does one eat a cow’s foot? It's easy once you have a pressure cooker and don’t mind thick, sticky gelatinous gravy, yum!

Smoked stew peas

OFFAL

I’m not sure how many other ways I can make stew peas for this blog. I have a meatless version and a traditional version with meat. However, after the last stew peas recipe I added some smoked meats and the flavor was so amazing I decided to share that recipe as well. The first attempt I smoked the oxtail only. Today I smoked both the oxtails and pig tails.

Garlic Grilled Salmon with parsley butter

"We be Grillin"

Gone are the days when I detest Salmon. I remember the beginning of this blogging journey I did not eat salmon at all. In-fact my first salmon recipe post was called “I hate salmon”. Since then, my cooking life has been filled with making salmon all kinds of ways, from burgers, to pizza. This recipe is simply grilled and coated in a herb sauce.

Choco-whiskey ribs

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

I don’t think there are any limitations when it comes to pork ribs. Over the years I have been playing with chocolate and pork with much success. However, this is by far the most delicious chocolate ribs recipe to date. The chocolate raspberry ribs and the coco chipotle baby back ribs are the other two rib recipes that contain chocolate. While those were good, they were a bit more work. This recipe is literally a set it and forget it kind of ribs; you don’t need a grill for this like the other two recipes. Aluminum foil and an oven does all the work here.

Lasagna, Greedy Girl style...Jatalian?

"Christmas is coming"

The thing that makes Italian food so good is the fresh quality ingredients and time. Time for that ragu to develop flavors, time for the tomatoes to develop natural sweetness, all this time that most of us don’t have. So, when you want a nice lasagna and you don’t have 12 hours to simmer a scratch made ragu, what’s a girl to do? Follow this recipe.

Crispy chicken stuffed with toasted pumpkin seed bacon jam

Pumpkin Everythang!\

Back at it again with another pumpkin month. I can’t even lie to you it gets harder and harder every year to come up with 9 new pumpkin recipes. Its year four, and I have decided that I have to get into using all the parts of the pumpkin, skin, flesh and seeds in order to make it through. So, without further gibberish on the struggles I deal with in recipe creation let’s get to what your here for this bombtastic recipe.

Slow cooker beef bowl

"Beefy"

It’s the last recipe of the month. Next month will be all about pumpkins. For this last recipe I wanted to do a simple enough recipe, very hands off, something you can set in the night or before you head off to work and then have ready when you get home or wake up. If you don’t have a slow cooker it’s something I would recommend.

Smoked and Curried Oxtails

"Beefy"

Oxtails are a tried and true recipe beloved by all Jamaicans. It my brother’s favorite dinner meal. Over the years my methods of cooking oxtails have greatly evolved. I’ve eliminated soy sauce or browning and started naturally braised and browning the oxtail to get the best color and develop richer flavors. I choose not to mask the flavors by using water to stew it rather than wine or a broth. It always turns out delicious. But at the end of the day sometimes a great recipe can always stand to be a greater recipe. With that goal in mind over the last year I have experimenting with new ways to make oxtail even more flavorful than it already is.  I’ve made fried oxtail in a sweet sticky glaze, I’ve smoked it and I’ve curried it.

Boozy Java grilled shrimp skewers

My Dinner

Its time for a shrimp dinner. I think my husband was getting tired of chicken and fish. He loves shrimp, but loves it fried. I decided to go a healthier route to get the best of both worlds. Grilled shrimp is another great easy dinner idea. And putting them on skewers makes your life even easier.

Sesame garlic fish nuggets

My Dinner

How about we have some fish. Light crispy deep-fried fish tossed in a sweet garlic sauce. I call these fish nuggets. Delicious dinner option when you are tired of chicken. This fish is full of Asian flavors, a melting pot of garlic, sesame seeds, green onions and honey. Serve this with some fried rice and that’s dinner.