Notes about Recipes in this book

• Sweet & spicy apricot, Sriracha & ginger-glazed meatballs

  • averythingcooks on November 03, 2022

    I cut the meatball recipe in 1/2 using a mix of ground beef & mild Italian sausage (we are not fans of ground chicken) and made 3/4's of the sauce (as I was adding stir fried sweet peppers, broccoli & red onions and I wanted something saucy to serve over cauliflower rice). The meatballs are full of flavour and the sauce is delicious and easy to heat up to your liking. The 2 of us devoured it and I can see repeating this often, either as an appetizer (kept warm in a small slow cooker) or as a main like last night.

• Greek lentil salad

  • hbakke on March 12, 2024

    Tasty salad. This tasted better after chilling for several hours to let the flavors meld. I didn't use canned lentils and instead used dried lentils that I really overcooked. The disintegrating lentils didn't make for an appealing looking salad, but it tasted great. I would make this again and try subbing dill for mint.

• Crunchy Asian slaw

  • averythingcooks on February 04, 2025

    This time, this was really about the dressing as I used the veg that I had on hand for the slaw. We liked the big hit of acid (lime juice + vinegar) but for us, it was the addition a quick shot of honey that made it great. I'll come back to this one.

• Lemon chicken & orzo soup

  • averythingcooks on November 10, 2021

    I started by cooking some boneless, skinless breast meat in the soup pot & then removed it before moving onto the veg. I used fresh thyme in place of dried & as I'm not a fan of dried tarragon, I left that out. In went the lemon juice, broth, orzo, cooked chicken and parsley as per the instructions - the only other thing I left out was the lemon zest. I wanted to see how big the lemon hit was with just the juice and ultimately, that was enough for me. A last addition was some chopped roasted red pepper for a pop of colour - and this is a really nice bowl of soup.

  • megrmajer on March 02, 2024

    This is my go to chicken soup! Anybody I have served it to asks for the recipe. A rotisserie chicken makes it easier. The only modification I use is to up the garlic a bit. Otherwise...perfection!

  • megrmajer on April 17, 2024

    Best soup ever! And easy with rotisserie chicken.

• Silky roasted butternut squash with apples & sage

  • averythingcooks on November 10, 2021

    This is a lovely squash soup! The addition of the beans ups the nutrition and I've made it with both fresh & dried sage. The cinnamon & ginger add some subtle flavour and a nice hit of background heat. My father-in-law LOVES this soup.

• Stuffed bell pepper soup

  • hbakke on November 10, 2021

    Healthy tasting soup. The extra lean ground beef wasn't super flavorful, so I might use a higher fat ground beef next time. Overall this was a nice dinner.

  • averythingcooks on November 12, 2022

    We really enjoyed this hearty soup. Mindful of hbakke's comment, I used a mix of ground beef & sausage. I also used a big mix of peppers from my fridge & freezer (some sweet varieties and also some fresnos for heat). Since I was serving it with some lovely cheddar buttermilk biscuits, we decided that it didn't really need the rice and we certainly didn't feel that we missed it. I will make this soup again (and try it with the rice) for sure.

• Italian turkey sausage, tomato & white bean soup with kale

  • averythingcooks on November 10, 2021

    What a great cold weather soup! I did use pork sausages (hot Italian) and added a handful of frozen corn with the beans. For the greens, I used a mix of fresh & frozen spinach and for the fresh herbs - a mix of basil & parsley. It is really delicious.

  • Maasta on April 13, 2022

    I used ground chicken and fresh tomatoes instead of canned. Very tasty.

  • hbakke on December 28, 2023

    Delicious on a chilly winter day. I substituted or modified the amounts of ingredients, but mostly stuck to the recipe. I increased the amount of vegetables/greens, used spicy Italian sausage, and butter beans that were pressured cooked in an Italian herb broth. I made my own Italian seasoning with 3/4 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp each dried marjoram and thyme, and 1/4 tsp each basil, rosemary, and sage. Will repeat.

  • megrmajer on March 02, 2024

    Have made this once sticking to the recipe and once with some looseness with measurements and really enjoyed both versions. It comes together quickly and works for supper with some bread on the side. Have added this to our winter rotation.

• Roasted carrot soup with curry & coconut milk

  • averythingcooks on October 17, 2024

    I should have chopped my carrots & sweet potato smaller...by the time the onion was done they were "roasty" on the outsides but not super soft which just meant a much longer simmer was needed. I started with 1/2 the curry powder which turned out to be enough for me in this lovely soup. However, I do have a quibble: why does a Canadian book call for an amt of coconut milk that does NOT match the size of cans we can buy? I just used the full can which was fine so why not just call for an available can size? Not a big deal as I will make this again.

• Turkey, pumpkin & white bean chili

  • hbakke on November 20, 2022

    I followed the recipe ingredients, but mostly eyeballed the amounts since I didn't want to use only partial parts of the vegetables/cans. The resulting chili was hearty and filling. I would make this again.

• Beets & sweets Buddha bowls with creamy balsamic dressing

  • hbakke on January 17, 2023

    I subbed hazelnuts for walnuts and used a white sweet potato, but otherwise followed the recipe. This was a healthy tasty bowl nicely complemented by the creamy balsamic dressing. The recipe lists 2 servings, but we had more like 4 with all the roasted vegetables and the amount of dressing.

• Classic basil pesto

  • hbakke on September 17, 2023

    Great basic pesto. I used a neutral oil in place of olive oil and it turned out well.

• Peanutty sesame noodle bowl with crispy tofu & veggies

  • hbakke on March 03, 2022

    I used peanut butter powder in place of peanut butter but I don't think it made much difference in the final dish since everything in the sauce gets blended. Overall this was a delicious noodle bowl that I would make again. I did add a bit more soy sauce and Sriracha at the end for personal tastes.

• Pizza sauce

  • averythingcooks on August 19, 2022

    I made this sauce using passata, a little less tomato paste than called for and fresh basil in place of dried. It is full of flavour (red onions, garlic, brown sugar & balsamic do lots of work here) and the only other change was some Italian seasoning along with the dried oregano to replace some of the other dried herbs called for as I seldom have dried basil or rosemary on hand. I would make this sauce again.

• Roasted Asian salmon fillets with sesame-ginger marinade

  • hbakke on July 13, 2022

    We both liked the marinade on the salmon. The marinade burned to the pan a bit, so I'll be sure to use parchment paper next time for easier cleanup. Overall, this was a nice preparation of salmon.

• 15-minute Mediterranean fish dish with feta bruschetta topping

  • hbakke on December 19, 2021

    I used frozen swordfish steaks, but another white fish probably would have been better. The bruschetta topping was delicious, although I did add a bit more balsamic vinegar for personal tastes. I would make this again, but with maybe haddock or a similar fish fillet.

• Roasted whole salmon fillet with dill-icious maple-mustard marinade

  • hbakke on February 17, 2022

    This was a delicious and easy dinner that I would make again. The marinade adds a lot of flavor to the salmon.

• Grilled chicken souvlaki with tzatziki dipping sauce

  • megrmajer on April 17, 2024

    Hubby loved this recipe. Perfect souvlaki meal.

• Chicken penne Florentine with roasted tomato pesto

  • averythingcooks on November 10, 2021

    This made a really nice pan of pasta! I oven roasted my chicken breast & threw in a small pan of grape tomatoes to blister at the same time. Instead of the suggested bacon, I added the meat from a "leek & fennel" pork sausage to the aromatics. There were not enough tomatoes on hand to make her homemade pesto (next time for sure) so I used good quality jarred... and I did save some pasta water to loosen the sauce. With the mix of aromatics, chunks of roasted chicken, blistered tomatoes, wilted baby spinach and flavourful pesto - this is an absolute repeat.

• Cheesy Caprese chicken with roasted tomatoes

  • averythingcooks on November 10, 2021

    The photo of these chicken breasts in the book is gorgeous and mine actually came out looking like that. I roasted Campari tomatoes (given as a suggested upgrade from plum tomatoes) and used 4 halves per breast....next time I would use more as they are delicious over the boneless, skinless chicken with the melted cheese (provolone this time), fresh basil and a balsamic reduction. A great little dinner for 2 with salad.

• Maple, balsamic & rosemary [marinated chicken]

  • averythingcooks on February 09, 2024

    I used this marinade on some "generously sized" chicken fingers and cooked them in the air fryer. They were good (T was more enthusiastic than me) but I thought they just needed more of...something (a bit surprising based on the ingredients). I do know that I prefer this book's maple-curry chicken marinade.

• Lip-smacking maple-curry chicken

  • averythingcooks on November 10, 2021

    This marinade (which includes grainy mustard, maple syrup, curry powder and a few other great flavours) was lovely on boneless skinless thighs. I marinated the chicken for around 6 hours and then oven roasted the pan, adding a cornstarch slurry in the last 5 minutes to thicken the sauce. Served over rice with a salad on the side, this was a great dinner choice.

  • Luckyme on December 31, 2024

    Delicious chicken. Made exactly per recipe.

• Chicken enchilada casserole with black beans & butternut squash

  • averythingcooks on July 01, 2022

    I came here just for the enchilada sauce needed for a different recipe. I made it mostly as written except no cilantro (soap!) and I have a jar of jalapeno powder I'm working to get through and so a spoonful went in which added some good heat. Using everyday ingredients, it did its job perfectly and it's good one to have in your back pocket if you need a red enchilada sauce quickly.

• Thai red curry chicken with vegetables

  • megrmajer on August 25, 2023

    This has everything that I want from a Thai curry. Hubby said put it on the repeat list. Toddler ate the chicken and rice. Only change I made was to sub zuchinni for eggplant and it was fab that way too. Like that it takes 30 minutes start to finish.

  • averythingcooks on December 29, 2024

    I came here to clean out my fridge, scaling to 1/2 with 6 oz of chicken & the result was 2 really good dinner bowls. I used the sweet peppers called for (red & yellow) but replaced the eggplant & snow peas with broccoli, sweet potato, chickpeas & diced hot peppers. The initial plan was to serve this over cauliflower rice but we ultimately opted to just add those florets to the pot. The sauce has lots of flavour with Thai basil replacing the cilantro & is easy to heat up as you prefer. This is a repeat idea for sure.

• Honey, lime & Sriracha grilled chicken with grilled pineapple salsa

  • averythingcooks on October 02, 2025

    I used boneless, skinless thighs (marinating for around 6 hours) & we really enjoyed this flavourful chicken even without the pineapple salsa. We air fried them at 400 for about 5 minutes per side, basting with the reserved marinade at the turn. The clear verdict was "make again for sure" and to try the salsa next time

• Sweet & savory Asian grilled pork kabobs

  • hbakke on November 18, 2022

    We grilled these outside on the BBQ and subbed (pretty gristly) pork loin for pork tenderloin. The marinade was very flavorful, but I might reduce the honey next time as I prefer a less sweet marinade.

  • averythingcooks on June 18, 2024

    I cut a 13 oz pork tenderloin into 3 chunks (rather than skewering cubes for just the 2 of us) and made 1/3 of the marinade. I agree that the marinade is a bit sweet but I offset that with a good shot of sriracha. This grilled pork was quick to put together & is very tasty.

• Simple Sunday pot roast with potatoes, carrots & zesty gravy

  • averythingcooks on November 10, 2021

    This was good version of a pretty simple (see title!) pot roast :) I did use homemade BBQ sauce in the gravy and also used fresh thyme & rosemary in place of the dried called for. I have made better versions ( Ina and Dorie) but for such a simple prep, the results here were good.

• Crisp & colorful grilled corn salsa

  • hbakke on June 30, 2022

    This was great served as a topping/side for tacos. I did add more spices and salt since there was quite a bit of corn that needed to be seasoned. I would make this again.

• California quinoa salad (my Whole Foods copycat recipe)

  • megrmajer on April 17, 2024

    Great salad to have in the fridge and eat throughout the week, just add more lime juice as it gets soaked up.