Tag: 30-minute meals

RecipesBeefMain Dishes

A Sweet and Spicy Hamburger: The Mo Burger


Servings: 2-4 serving(s)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

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The Mo Burger, a sweet and spicy hamburger that stays moist. Seasoned with salsa, Worcestershire sauce and molasses.

A sweet and spicy hamburger that’s flavourful and stays moist.  

I know purists prefer to make their burgers with just salt and pepper, and may be an egg yolk to help bind it together but my kids and I prefer burgers that are tender and well-seasoned. Well, my kids will really eat any kind of burger, but since I’m the one making them I create them according to my preferences, which means in our house we eat sweet and spicy hamburgers.

The Mo Burger, a sweet and spicy hamburger that stays moist. Seasoned with salsa, Worcestershire sauce and molasses.

Burgers are a treat in our house and when I buy ground beef I buy extra lean. Since I’m no barbecue pro, extra lean beef can dry out on me, which is why I love this recipe. A good spicy salsa and a little molasses keep the burgers moist and the Worcestershire sauce adds extra flavour and a salty taste without much salt.

Brush these with our Sweet Chili Barbecue Sauce during the last few minutes of grilling.

This burger was inspired by the blog Jo and Sue. They entered a burger with molasses in a recipe contest we held last summer.

Sweet and Spicy Hamburger Recipe (The Mo Burger)

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp. oil
  • 1/2 medium onion, grated
  • 1 Tbsp. salsa (spicy) or ketchup
  • 3 Tbsp. Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 2   Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce or steak sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 pound lean (or extra lean) ground beef

Instructions:

  1. In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil until it shimmers then add the onion & salsa. Saute until the onion starts to brown then remove from heat and scrape into a bowl. Whisk in molasses, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Crumble over the beef and gently combine without overmixing. Form into 4 patties, about ¾” thick.
  2. Grill the burgers, turning once, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 165°F, 4 to 5 minutes per side.
  3. Serve with your favourite toppings.

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RecipesMain DishesVegetables

Homemade Vegetarian Pad Thai that’s easier than getting takeout


Servings: 4-6 serving(s)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

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homemade vegetarian Pad Thai

Takeout Pad Thai is pretty delicious. But you can make vegetarian Pad Thai at home too without a whole lot of effort. So save your money and treat your friends at home.

After a weekend of Halloween candy I’m ready to live on vegetables for a while.

My daughter has been hauling her candy around the house in a canvas bag and my son secured his chocolate bars in a lock box and has hidden the key in the garage of his Lego police station.

They gorged all weekend but this Halloween diet has got to stop.

So, new week, new month, we’ll kick things off with a healthy treat – homemade vegetarian Pad Thai. This takeout staple is easy enough to make at home, takes almost no time and tastes authentic. Plus you can adjust the quantity and variety of vegetables to your liking. In this version I have used Chinese cabbage but I have been adding grated carrots to the mix too. Make a double batch of the sauce so you have it on hand for even faster prep next time. Add shrimp if you’d like extra protein.

It’s a weekly staple for us, something my kids request.

Pad Thai 2 sm

Vegetarian Pad Thai

Adapted from Mark Bittman The New York Times

Ingredients:

  • 4-6 ounces rice noodles (fettuccine-width)
  • 2 Tbsp. oil (peanut or grape seed)
  • 2 Tbsp. tamarind paste
  • 1/4 cup fish sauce (substitute light soy sauce or vegetarian “fish” sauce for strict vegetarian pad Thai)
  • 2 Tbsp. Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
  • ¼ to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (or to taste)
  • 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup chopped scallions
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 4 eggs, beaten (vegan option below)
  • 1 small head Napa/Chinese cabbage, shredded (4-6 cups)
  • 1-2 cups mung bean sprouts
  • 1/2 cup roasted peanuts or cashews, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 limes, quartered.
  • Optional garnish: Grated carrots & shaved purple cabbage

Instructions:

  1. Put noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit until noodles are just tender, checking often. Drain and set aside.
  2. Combine tamarind paste, fish sauce (if using), molasses and vinegar in a small pot and bring to a simmer. Stir in red pepper flakes and sesame oil and set aside.
  3. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. When it shimmers add scallions and garlic. Toss a few times then add the beaten eggs (or tofu) and scramble them. Add cabbage and bean sprouts and cook until cabbage wilts and thicker pieces are crisp tender.
  4. Add drained noodles to pan along with sauce. Toss to coat.
  5. When sauce is bubbling and noodles are warmed through divide among plates and garnish with cilantro, peanuts and lime quarters.

Makes  4-6 servings.

Vegan option: Replace the eggs with 1/2 to one cup of firm tofu, crumbled.

 

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RecipesFish dishesMain Dishes

Molasses-glazed trout a speedy supper for busy families


molasses-glazed trout with orange and thyme

How to eat well on the run

Busy families don’t always take time (have time?) to sit down and enjoy a great meal before running off in all directions.

Such is life, but you don’t always have to sacrifice supper to the soccer gods. With a little planning (and may be help from the kids) you can put a great meal on the table in under 30 minutes and still get to practice on time.

This is one of those Tuesday night suppers that is dinner party worthy. The marinade is quick to mix up and few foods cook faster than fish.

It means that we can eat well and still get my daughter to soccer practice on time. No rushed supper and no eating in the car on the way to the field.

Life should be so easy…

Molasses-glazed trout with orange and thyme

  • ¼ cup molasses

  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

  • Zest from one orange

  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme or 1 ½ teaspoons of fresh thyme, chopped

  • A pinch of sea salt

Enough trout for 4 people.

  1. Combine all ingredients, except trout.
  2. Brush glaze on fillets, coating well, and bake in a 450 F oven for about 5 minutes.
  3. Remove from oven, brush with glaze and return to oven until done to your liking.

Looking for more speedy suppers? Try our Five-spice glazed salmon

 

 

molasses-glazed trout with orange and thyme

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RecipesFish dishesMain Dishes

Spicy Cajun Shrimp – a 30-minute meal that feeds a crowd


Servings: 4 serving(s)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

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This Spicy Cajun Shrimp recipe is quick to prepare and can feed a crowd. The marinade works well with white fish too.

Cajun-shrimp-1024x593

I come from a large family and we love to have big gatherings that usually involve food. Finding dishes that are delicious, can feed an army, and don’t involve chicken, turkey or ham can be hard to come by. Thirty-minute from-scratch meals that can feed us all are rarer yet, which is why I think this recipe has been so enduring.

My dad discovered it in a Bon Appetit magazine in 1992. The article it appeared in was titled “Too busy to cook” and featured quick and easy recipes that are dinner party worthy but speedy enough to prepare on a week night. This recipe doubles well, triples even as long as you have a dish that’s large enough to accommodate the shrimp in a single layer.

We love it best over basmati rice to sop up all of the tasty juice. I have also had delicious results using the marinade for haddock.

Below is my ever so slight adaptation of the original recipe.

This recipe doubles, and triples, well.

Spicy Cajun Shrimp

Watch the video: How to make Spicy Cajun Shrimp

  • ½ cup olive oil (I have reduced this to 1/3 cup with good results)
  • 2 Tbsp. Cajun Seasoning (*see below for homemade version)
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley or cilantro (more is good)
  • 1 Tbsp. Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • Dash of Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 lb. shrimp, peeled
  1. Combine marinade ingredients in a large baking dish and add the shrimp, tossing to coat well.
  2. Let the shrimp rest in the marinade for 20-30 minute (optional)
  3. Bake at 450 for about 10 minutes, or until shrimp are pink.

*Don’t like bought Cajun seasoning? Here’s the homemade blend that we use:

  • 1 tsp thyme
    1/2 tsp rosemary
    2 tsp paprika
    1/4 tsp smoked paprika
    1 clove garlic
    1/4 onion, minced
    1 bay leaf
    pinch cayenne pepper

One more thing…

If you’re in search of family-friendly food that’s easy to prepare, healthy and tastes good, then sign up to receive blog posts by email. We’d love to send you our monthly newsletter too. It includes cooking tips, menu ideas, featured recipes and more. Here’s the link to subscribe.

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RecipesFish dishesMain Dishes

Cajun Spice Baked Haddock is Simple and Flavourful


Servings: 4 serving(s)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

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This easy recipe for Cajun spice baked haddock is a 30-minute meal that everyone will love. The flavourful marinade turns simple white fish into a family favourite supper.

Cajun spice baked haddock is simple and flavourful

This Cajun spice baked haddock recipe is super easy and extra flavourful.

I can go weeks without seeing some if my good friends. And I don’t mean friends who live far away. I mean the friends who live five or 10 minutes away. It’s ridiculous. But if you have young kids may be you know what I mean. Weekends are busy and field-side chats during soccer practice end up being some of our most social times. That’s life during this little slice of time that our kids are young.

This easy recipe for Cajun spice baked haddock is a 30-minute meal that everyone will love. The flavourful marinade turns simple white fish into a family favourite supper.

I miss real chat time with my friends so we have a new strategy… a weeknight potluck every six weeks or so. There’s nothing like sharing a glass of wine with friends to make a Tuesday night feel like the weekend. We catch up and laugh, share great food and are home and in bed by 11:00. It’s perfect.

This recipe came out of one such gathering. It’s a recipe I usually make with shrimp but discovered that white fish is a tasty substitute. Use prepared Cajun spice if you don’t have all of the herbs and spices on hand. (Use 1 Tbsp. of prepared Cajun seasoning, or more if you like things to be spicy.) Serve with couscous and a salad or  this delicious carrot slaw.

Cajun Spice Baked Haddock Recipe

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
  • 1/4 onion, diced
  • 1 Tbsp. Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 1 Tbsp. Soy sauce or Tamari (GF)
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice (about half a lemon)
  • Zest from half a lemon
  • 2 1/2 tsp. paprika
  • ¼ tsp. smoked paprika
  • pinch of cayenne (or more if you like)
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • ½ tsp. dried rosemary
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 Tbsp fresh parsley or cilantro (chopped)
  • Dash of Worcestershire sauce (can omit if you can’t find GF sauce)
  • 1 to 1 1/2 pounds firm white fish (haddock or cod)
  1. Combine all ingredients except the fish in a baking dish and stir well.
  2. Place fish in the dish, spooning over the marinade.
  3. Let the fish marinate for 15-30 minutes (optional).
  4. Bake at 450 F for about 10 minutes or until done.

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