Salsa Shrimp Rollups

An interesting combination of flavours.

“Salsa Shrimp Rollups” are another creation of mine. Shrimp, tomato sauce, salsa, and cottage cheese are mixed into the filling, then wrapped in lasagna noodles, and sprinkled with deliciously salty feta cheese.

To serve as a main dish, give 2 to 4 rollups to each person, and as a side, one or two rollups. These will compliment garlic bread, soups, and a variety of chicken or fish dishes.

I used a ‘hot’ variety of salsa to ensure that the salsa flavour was in the forefront. With mild salsas, it will be merely an accent.

Time to Make: 45-50 minutes

Serves: 2, as written

Ingredients:

• 6 lasagna noodles
• 200 g (7 oz) shrimp
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup hot salsa
• 50 g (2 oz) feta cheese
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• sprinkle of garlic powder

What to Do:

1. Boil shrimp in a pot on the stove.
2. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions, drain.
3. When the shrimp are cooked, cut them into smaller pieces.
4. Combine shrimp, cottage cheese, tomato sauce, and salsa in a small bowl. Add around 1/2 tsp of dried parsley.
5. Lay out the noodles. Spread the filling down the entire length of the noodle, and roll it. Be careful not too roll it too tightly, or the filling will come out.
6. Arrange the rolls in a small baking dish on a thin layer of tomato sauce. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on top as well. Sprinkle with feta and garlic powder.
7. Bake in a 400 F (200 C) oven for about 25 minutes. Serve hot.

Modifications:

No shrimp? Use scallops, or if you dislike seafood, try ground meat. Ricotta cheese easily stands in for cottage cheese, as does parmesan for the feta. Feel free to use your canned or homemade pasta sauce of choice, rather than tomato sauce.

Spicy Chili Fries

Spicy fries make a nice treat.

These fries are quite simple to make, and certainly a healthier choice than the alternative, using only a few ingredients and giving you full control of the salt shaker.

The quantities that I’ve listed for the spices are approximate. Use however much you like. Remember, though, that the time in the oven will dull the spices, so don’t be too alarmed if you think you’re using a bit too much spice.

Time to Make: 40 minutes: 5-10 minutes prep, about 30 minutes in the oven

Serves: 1, as written, adjust as needed

Ingredients:

• 1 large potato – 200 g (7.5 oz)
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp chili powder
• pinch each of cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder
• 1/4 tsp dried parsley

What to Do:

1. Slice the potato into long, thin strips. If you like, cut wedges, but remember that those will take longer to cook.
2. Toss the slices in oil. Make sure they’re evenly coated, so that the spices stick and they brown evenly.
3. Season the fries. The exact quantities of each are up to you. I like the chili powder being the prominent spice, though they would be good with a strong garlic flavour, as well.
4. Arrange the fries in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 F (200 C) for about half an hour. Halfway through the cooking time, turn all of the fries over.
5. Salt, and enjoy!

Chicken Pineapple Curry

The exciting flavours of pineapple and curry make for a delicious, quick meal.

It doesn’t have to be hard to prepare a quick and healthy homemade meal. While there are countless recipe books on the subject, with a little bit of practise, you won’t need any of them.

For today’s recipe, I took a quick look through my fridge and freezer to see what ingredients I already had. I had some frozen pineapple in the freezer, and decided to pair it with curry for some great contrast.

As always, there is a lot of room for adjusting – and fun in the kitchen- with this recipe.

Time to Make: 45-50 minutes, a lot less if you use minute rice instead

Serves: 1, as written, adjust as needed

Ingredients:

• 130 g (4.5 oz) raw chicken
• 1/2 cup pineapple chunks (frozen, fresh, or canned)
• 1/4 cup long grain brown rice, dry
• 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, etc)
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• pinch of garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

What to Do:

1. Start cooking the rice in a small pot.
2. While the rice is cooking, cube and cook the chicken in a pan. Make sure to cook it throughly.
3. Combine the rice, chicken, and pineapples in the pan with the oil.
4. Add the soy sauce and spices.
5. Add the frozen mixed vegetables. Its ready when the vegetables are nice and hot.

Modifications:

Feel free to use another kind of meat if you don’t have any chicken on hand. Rice can be easily substituted with couscous or macaroni. The pineapple is a little tricker, though I think you could try any fruit that would remain reasonably firm after cooking – apples come to mind immediately. Ginger also compliments curry quite well, if you’d like more spice.