Happy Thanksgiving!

IMG_80582This is me hoping everyone had a great day and has at least one reason to be thankful. I’m thankful for the roof over my head and food on the table. Also, friends and family that I love and get to share life with.
I had a not-so-tradition lunch/dinner with a few friends and family. Gizzard coconut rice, spicy grilled chicken, baked spicy garlic potatoes, spicy gizzards & beef, coleslaw and cornbread mini-muffins. It was worth the hours spent in the kitchen.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

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Breakfast: French toast

French toast

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 8 slices of bread
  • Maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
  • Freshly cut berries (optional)
Directions:
  • In a shallow bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla extract and ground cinnamon.
  • Dip bread in egg mixture. Coat both sides.
  • Melt some butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.
  • Fry the slices of bread, flip until golden brown on both sides.
  • Serve with maple syrup and fresh berries.
Enjoy your breakfast.
**Don’t be boxed in by a recipe, spice your food to taste. Make your meal yours**

Easy Chinese Chicken Fried Rice.

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Ingredients:
• 3 cups rice
• 3 boneless chicken breasts (sliced)
• 3-4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 small white onion (chopped)
• 2 tablespoon scallions (chopped)
• 1 cup frozen carrots and peas (thawed)
• 2 eggs (beaten)

Directions:
• Cook rice. See here (cook a day before and freeze for better results)
• In a wok or pan, heat up sesame oil over medium heat, sauté onion, chicken, carrots and peas until soft.
• In the same pan, scramble eggs then mix with the vegetables and chicken.
• Add rice, soy sauce, stir and fry until evenly combined and heated.
• Garnish with scallions.

Your meal is ready to be served with BAKED SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN.

**Don’t be boxed in by a recipe, spice your food to taste. Make your meal yours**

 

Spicy Steak Wrap.

Steak wrap

Ingredients:
• 4 small tortillas
• Mini sweet peppers-yellow, orange, red-(thinly sliced)
• 2 Jalapeño peppers (thinly sliced)
• 1 medium red onion (thinly sliced)
• 3 thin round eye steak
• 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
• Cooking spray

Directions:
• Spray pan with cooking spray. Season steak with salt and pepper, cook till tender. Remove from pan and slice.
• In the same pan, add sweet peppers, jalapeño peppers and onion, season with what’s left of the salt and pepper. Cook till soft.
• Heat up tortilla in a preheated pan for 30seconds on each side or in the microwave for 30seconds. Steak wrap veggies
• Place cooked vegetables, steak slices and cheddar cheese in the center of each tortilla and wrap. See video below for wrapping instructions.
Serve wrap warm.

**Don’t be boxed in by a recipe, spice your food to taste. Make your meal yours**

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken.

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Ingredients:

  • 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite-size)
  • 2-3 eggs (beaten)
  • 3/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • Salt and pepper (to taste)
  • 4 tablespoons ketchup
  • white vinegar/ apple cider vinegar (1/4 cup each)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions:
  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Season chicken with salt and pepper.
  • In a small bowl, make sweet and sour mixture buy combining white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, sugar, garlic powder and soy sauce.
  • Using separate bowls for the corn starch and eggs, coat chicken by dipping in each. Image
  • In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat and brown the coated chicken breasts.
  • Place browned chicken breasts in a baking dish, pour sweet and sour mixture over them.
  • Place in the oven to bake for 1 hour. Be sure to stir every 15-20mins.
Your baked sweet and sour chicken is ready to be served immediately.
**Don’t be boxed in by a recipe, spice your food to taste. Make your meal yours**

Shrimp Pasta.

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Ingredients:

  • One box of macaroni
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Bell peppers-red, green, orange, yellow-(equally diced)
  • 1 medium white onion (finely chopped)
  • 15-20 medium-sized shrimp (properly cleaned)
  • Salt and pepper (to taste)
  • 2 stock cubes
  • 1 tablespoon curry
  • 1 tsp finely chopped garlic/1 tablespoon garlic powder
Directions:
  • In a saucepan, heat up oil over medium heat and sauté the onion until soft.
  • Add shrimp and garlic. Sauté until garlic softens and the shrimp are well done on both sides.Image
  • Add curry, stock cubes, salt and pepper. After 1 minute, add bell peppers. Stir, cover and let simmer over low heat.
  • Cook macaroni. See BASICS: HOW TO COOK PLAIN PASTA
  • Add stir-fry to the macaroni, stir properly and let sit for 2-3 minutes before serving.
Your shrimp pasta is ready to be served.
**Don’t be boxed in by a recipe, spice your food to taste. Make your meal yours** 
 
 

Coconut Thai Rice.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup thai jasmine rice
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1 small onion (finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp ginger (finely minced or powder)
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp salt
Directions:
  • Rinse rice under running cold water until it runs clear. Drain.
  • Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté onion, garlic and ginger until softened. Add coconut milk and water then bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to low, stir in rice, cover and let simmer for 20-25mins until tender and liquid free.
  • Remove pan from heat and let sit for about 5mins then stir in salt with a fork.
Your coconut rice is ready to be served with any side of your choice. See HONEY-GLAZED GRILLED CHICKEN.
**Don’t be boxed in by a recipe, spice your food to taste. Make your meal yours** 

 

Honey-Glazed Grilled Chicken.

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Ingredients:

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 1lb.)
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon and ground black pepper respectively
Directions:
  • Preheat oven to 250 C or medium-high.
  • In a small bowl, mix garlic, honey, lemon juice, soy sauce properly to form a smooth paste.
  • Before placing chicken thighs in the oven, brush them with oil then sprinkle salt and pepper.
  • Grill them in the oven for about 12-15mins. Flip them once.
  • Brush on the paste during the last 3mins.
Your honey-glazed chicken is ready to be served on its own or as a side.
**Don’t be boxed in by a recipe, spice your food to taste. Make your meal yours** 

 

BBQ Steak Sauce.

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Ingredients

(A.) Cooking steak:

  • 4 1/2lb. rib-eye steak
  • 1 1/2  cups water
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • 1/4 tsp seasoned salt
  • 1/2 tsp curry powder
(B.) Sauce:
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups bbq sauce
  • 1 medium onion (sliced)
  • 1 garlic glove (minced)
  • 1 tsp ground parsley
  • 1/2 steak seasoning, seasoned salt,
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
Directions:
  • Cook steak in a medium pot using ingredients (A.)to get stock.
  • In a large pan, heat up olive oil over medium heat.
  • Brown steak on both sides.
  • Add the stock gotten from cooking, ingredients (B.), cover and let simmer over medium heat for 15 mins. Stir and let simmer for another 5mins
  • Serve with your choice of pasta. See BASICS: HOW TO COOK PLAIN PASTA
**Don’t be boxed in by a recipe, spice your food to taste. Make your meal yours** 

 

Chicken Gizzard Skewers.

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Ingredients

  • 2 packs of gizzards (20-25 pieces)
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 2 green bell peppers
  • seasoned salt, thyme, curry, chicken season, black pepper
  • 2-3 KNORR chicken cubes
  • Chilli powder
Directions
  • Wash, clean and dice bell peppers to preferred size.
  • Wash gizzards and cut each one in half to make bite size.

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  • Put gizzards and bell peppers through skewer sticks in desired order.
  • Season generously, place on baking sheets, cover and place in the fridge for 20-25mins.
  • Pre-heat over to 250°C.
  • Place skewers in oven, grill until the edges are brown on each side.
  • Your skewers are ready to be served.
**Don’t be boxed in by a recipe, spice your food to taste. Make your meal yours**