Category: Recipes

Homemade Beef Donair

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date August 17, 2020

A donair is a type of sandwich made with slices of spiced meat (typically beef) cooked on a spit and served within a pita bread with tomatoes, onions, and a sweet sauce. However, even if you don’t have a rotating spit, you can still make a pretty tasty donair from home, using a steak, some marinade, and your oven. It is a Canadian version of a Greek gyro. According to WiseGeek.com, “The first donair sandwiches were created in the Halifax area of Canada, and they can now be found throughout the eastern part of the country and in larger western Canadian cities.”

Homemade Beef Donair

This recipe requires time for marinating (a few hours to overnight) and about 45 minutes to cook the meat. It makes enough meat for about 4-6 sandwiches.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword beef, lunch, sandwich

Servings 4 sandwiches

Ingredients

½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
2 pounds steak (inexpensive cuts are fine)
2 cucumbers, diced
2 tomatos, diced
1 head ice berg lettuce shredded
Tzatziki
hummus
pita bread (get the thick bread, not the thin hollow pita shells)
feta, shredded

Instructions

Place vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, garlic, salt and pepper into a bowl or container with a lid and mix well.
Slice the steak into very thin slices.
Add the steak to the marinade and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Place the marinade and steak into an oven-safe dish with a lid and bake for about 45 minutes.
Remove the steak from the marinade and prepare to serve.
Heat the pita bread in the oven for about 8 minutes.
Remove from the oven and spread tzatziki and hummus on the bread.
One one side, top with the desired amount of meat, cucumber, tomato, olives, lettuce, and feta.
Fold in half and enjoy.

You can easily get creative with this donair and make this sandwich your own.

Don’t like cucumbers, leave them out!
Like chicken better than beef, use that.
Use ground meat instead of sliced meat.
Use lamb instead of beef or chicken.
Experiment with flavored hummus.
Play around with the spices. Reduce some, increase others. Add in cumin or garlic powder.
Add in some plain yogurt.
Experiment with other types of lettuce — or chose not to shred the lettuce.

If you’re feeling really creative, use another cuisine’s flavor pallet to make this sandwich.

A Mexican donair might use a tortilla instead of a pita. Use taco or fajita seasoning to spice the meat. And use cheddar instead of feta.
An Italian might use basil, oregano and margaram to marinate the meat. Add tomato sauce to the marinade. Use mozzarella instead of feta.
Use Tandori chicken for an Indian donair.
An Asian-inspired version would use Asian spices in the marinade. And perhaps instead of lettuce, use sprouts.

Since this dish is a Canadian riff on a Greek dish, why not expand the riff to better suit your tastes? Kitchen creativity is all about making inspired substitutions of ingredients, garnishes, and sometimes even cooking techniques. This recipe gives you a lot of leeway for Kitchen Creativity!

Tags Beef, sandwich

Recipes

Mixed Baked Beans

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date July 20, 2020

Many baked beans recipes call for only one kind of bean. This recipe, however, uses more than one kind — as well as pre-made pork and beans has a primer. Throw in some hot dogs and serve with a salad and you’ve got a meal. Or you can use it as a side to a summer BBQ meat dish. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Ingredients for Mixed Baked Beans:

1 tablespoon olive oil
 1 medium onion, finely chopped 
1 pound center-cut thick bacon, cut into 1″ pieces 
1/2 cup ketchup 
1/2 cup sugar 
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
 1 teaspoon brown mustard 
15 oz can dark kidney beans, drained 
15 oz can butter beans, drained
 30 oz can pork and beans, undrained

Ingredient Substitutions:

To lower the sugar content, use tomato paste instead of ketchup and reduce the sugar and brown sugar to either 1/3 cup or 1/4 cup each.
Don’t have white vinegar? Apple cider or red-wine vinegar will work!
Don’t have brown mustard? Try regular or dijon.
Play around with different kinds of beans. Substitute light kidney beans for dark. Use pinto beans for butter beans. Get creative!

Directions for Mixed Baked Beans:

Preheat oven to 350° F.
Sauté onion in olive oil over medium-high heat until it starts to soften. Add bacon and cook until crispy.
With a vented spoon, remove bacon and onions from pan and place on folded paper towels. Blot with extra paper towels to remove as excess fat.
In a large, oven-proof dish, combine ketchup, sugar, brown sugar, vinegar, and mustard. Add all three beans. Stir together.
Add bacon and onions to bean mixture. Stir well to combine.
Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

I’ve already suggested some ways to make this recipe your own in the suggested ingredient substitutions above. However, you can do even more. Here is some inspiration.

Ad a few cloves of garlic, minced, to spice things up.
Toss in bite-sized pieces of hot dog or sausage.
Add some diced ham.
Use maple syrup instead of sugar.
Use black beans or garbanzo beans instead of either the kidney or butter beans.

Tags beans

Creative Cookery Flavor Blending Recipes

Summer Barbecue: Baked Beans and Hot Dogs Are a Great Match

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date July 6, 2020

July is both National Baked Beans Month and National Hot Dog Month. Now there is a match made in summer barbecue heaven!

Summer Barbecue: Baked Beans

It’s summertime and that means barbecue time. This summer’s grilling season will be especially sweet after months of lockdown. One of the more popular side dishes of the season in America is baked beans.

Beans are high in protein, practically fat-free and contain more fiber than many whole grade foods. If you’re watching your carbs, however, they do count even with all that protein.

You can thank Native Americans for baked beans, who originally sweetened them with maple syrup. In the 17th Century, English colonists modified the recipe and began using brown sugar. In the 18th Century, Americans started using molasses to avoid British taxes on sugar.

Summer Barbecue: Hot Dogs

Another summer barbecue favorite is the hot dog. I remember finding a stick, sharpening one end, skewering a dog, and cooking it over an open flame when I was a kid. Yum! Hot dogs are celebrated this month at a variety of festivals across the U.S., including:

Alfred Village Hot Dog Day, Alfred, NY
Annual Hot Dog Lunch, Washington, DC
Boston Hot Dog Safari, Boston, MA
West Virginia Hot Dog Festival, Huntington, WV

You can learn about them and discover more on Wikipedia.

Maple Baked Beans with Hot Dogs

To help you celebrate these two fine foods during your summer barbecue, here’s a recipe that brings them together.

Ingredients:

1 pound dried white beans
6 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup real maple syrup
3/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
4 large all-beef hot dogs, chopped

Directions:

For best flavor, make at lead one day ahead of time.

Sort and since the beans. Place in a bowl and cover with water. Let soak for 30 minutes.
Drain and repeat one more time. This process will reduce the gas of the beans.
Place beans in a 4-quart Dutch oven and cover with two quarts of cold water. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
Cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans.
Return beans to Dutch oven; cover with another two quarts of cold water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until almost tender.
Drain and reserve liquid.
In a 2-1/2-quart casserole pot, combine beans with all remaining ingredients except the hot dogs.
Cover and bake at 325° for 2 hours. Stir occasionally; add reserved bean liquid, if necessary.
Add hot dogs and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until tender.

Feel free to play around with the recipe. If you want it sweeter, increase the maple syrup and/or the brown sugar. Reduce them if you want it less sweet.

Like a spicier sauce? Increase the paprika or add in some cayenne pepper.

You can also try adding in ham or substituting salt pork for the bacon.

Another idea would be to use sausages such as kielbasa or polish sausage instead of hot dogs.

Another way to add flavor is to grill the hot dogs or sausage before adding them to the beans.

You can even cook this in your slow cooker rather than the oven. Cook it on low all day to really meld the flavors together.

Customize the recipe to suit your and your family’s taste!

Tags beans, hot dogs, monthly food observances, sausage

Recipes

Rice and Fruit Salad

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date June 15, 2020

If you’re making rice for dinner, why not a bit extra to make this salad the next day? This is a great recipe for when it’s just too hot to cook. And it uses fresh fruits that are in season this time of year.

If you are taking this dish to a potluck dinner, wait until you arrive to add the fresh fruit. It will not have to be heated or refrigerated.

Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked long-grain rice, cooled
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1 Tablespoon vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped shallots
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chopped fresh peach
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh strawberries
3 Tablespoons chopped almonds

Directions:

Heat a small, dry skillet. Add almonds and stir until toasted.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, juice, vinegar, shallots, salt, and pepper.
In a large salad serving bowl, toss together gently the almonds, cooked rice, peach and berries.
Add dressing to salad and toss gently again.

Tags blueberries, Fruit, peaches, rice, strawberries, summer

Recipes

Raspberry Chicken Mixed Green Salad

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date May 18, 2020

Summer is just around the corner and I’ve always thought of summer as Salad Season! Here’s a simple raspberry chicken salad you can use as a main dish for lunch or dinner. And because raspberries are in season during mid- to late summer — you can probably pick them up fresh at a local farmer’s market. You can use your favorite dressing, or use the one I’ve included below.

Ingredients for Raspberry Chicken Mixed Green Salad

4 cups mixed salad greens
1 lb. rotisserie or other cooked chicken breast
1 cup fresh raspberries
4 oz. goat cheese
Salad dressing

Directions for Raspberry Chicken Mixed Green Salad

Rinse and pat dry the greens. Divide among four chilled individual serving plates.
Slice chicken and arrange on greens.
Arange raspberries around the edges.
Crumble goat cheese and sprinkle on top of salad.
Drizzle salad dressing on top and serve.

Ingredients for Suggested Salad Dressing

½ cup lemon-flavored olive oil
¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions for Suggested Salad Dressing

Place all ingredients in a mason jar. Cover and shake until well combined. Set aside until ready to use.

The Benefits of Raspberries

Did you know that just one cup of raspberries provides more than half of the minimum daily target for vitamin C? This means that they can help support immunity and skin health, as well as help your body produce collagen. This bright red summer fruit also contains manganese, vitamin K, vitamin E, B vitamins, magnesium, copper, iron, and potassium.

Despite their sweet taste, raspberries are low in sugar, containing only 5 grams of sugar per one cup of fresh raspberries. A single apple has about four times that amount! Raspberries also contain antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. They are high in fiber and linked to a reduced risk of diabetes.

Tags chicken, raspberries

Cooking Techniques Creative Cookery Healthy Living Recipes

Making Homemade Salad Dressing is Easier Than You Think

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date May 4, 2020

May is National Salad Month … and what does every good salad need? Salad dressing! And, have you thought about making your own homemade salad dressing? Read on, it is easier than you think!

Go into any grocery store (at least once the COVID-19 pandemic is over) and you’ll usually find an aisle that almost dedicated to salad dressings. You’ll even find some in the refrigerated area of the produce section of the story. However, look at the ingredients of these convenient, pre-made dressings, and you’ll more than likely find within the top five ingredients some form of sugar.

Fresh salads and healthy lifestyles go hand in hand, right? After all, what could be better for you than a big plate full of leafy greens, fresh vegetables, fiber-rich legumes, and lean proteins? Unfortunately, you could end up negating these delicious and healthy choices if you aren’t careful about the type of salad dressing you use — as my little walk down the ingredient list just proved.

Taking a quick look at the list of ingredients on your favorite bottle of store-bought dressing can be a real eye-opener. In fact, in addition to sugar, you may be surprised to find a host of other ingredients you weren’t expecting, including high-fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners (alternative forms of sugar), trans fats, MSG, and an assortment of artificial colors and preservatives to make it all seem more fresh and natural.

Fortunately, making your own homemade salad dressing is faster and easier than you might think. Plus, you get to control how much you make at one time, so you don’t have to worry about throwing out your hard-earned money if you don’t use it all in time.

When it comes to homemade salad dressing, vinaigrettes are a fast, easy and delicious option. One general rule of thumb to keep in mind when creating your own vinaigrettes is to use 1 part vinegar (or another acidic ingredient, such as lemon juice) to 3 parts oil. In other words, if you use 1/4 cup vinegar, you’ll want to use 3/4 cup of oil. If you like a little more kick to your dressing, experiment with a 2:1 ratio instead.

When choosing these key ingredients, don’t be afraid to get creative. Think beyond plain white, red or cider vinegar and give rice vinegar, aged or white balsamic, red or white wine, or fruit-infused varieties a try, as well. Citrus juices, such as lemon, lime, oranges, and grapefruit, also work particularly well.

When it comes to choosing your oil, it’s hard to beat a high-quality extra virgin olive oil. However, you may also want to consider other healthy alternatives, such as a more delicate grape seed oil. Olive oils infused with garlic, rosemary or other herbs are also great choices. You can even experiment with sesame seed or avocado oil.

A third ingredient you may want to add to your vinaigrette is Dijon mustard. Dijon is a popular choice because it tastes great and helps bind all the other ingredients together.

Beyond these three ingredients, there are countless ways you can customize your vinaigrette recipes to complement your salad ingredients. For example, you can add minced garlic, onion, shallots, fresh or dried herbs, honey, or a variety of fruit juices or zests.

Here is a basic recipe to get you started:

Homemade Salad Dressing Ingredients

3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
1-2 cloves finely minced garlic
salt and pepper, to taste

Homemade Salad Dressing Directions

Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl or container with a tight-fitting lid.
Mix or shake vigorously to combine thoroughly.

Starting with this basic recipe, I bet you can come up with dozens of yummy options to suit whatever salads are on your menu. Enjoy!

More Salad Resources

Lookup any recipe for a salad, and you’ll often find a recipe for a salad dressing to go with it. Guess what? You don’t have to use that dressing recipe only for that salad recipe! For example, the dressing recipe include with the Broccoli Slaw Salad on this blog can easily be used on other salads. So start experimenting and discover your favorite dressings that you can make at home.

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Take Charge of Your Health!

Changing your eating habits can be tough. But it doesn’t have to be if you take a little time to think it out and create a plan.

This Healthy Eating Worksheet will walk you through the process of creating a healthy eating plan. All you need to do is print it out, set aside some time to complete it, and then fill it out. Then you can create your plan, knowing that you have addressed potential obstacles and came up with some creative ways to handle them.

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Tags salad

Recipes

Easy Banana Bundt Cake

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date April 27, 2020

Want a quick, easy and deliciously moist Banana Bundt Cake? This recipe should fit the bill. The preparation time is less than 30 minutes and you can be doing other things while it bakes to perfection.

Ingredients for Easy Banana Bundt Cake

1 box banana bread mix
1 4-serving box of instant banana pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup banana flavored yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions for Easy Banana Bundt Cake

Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
Grease and lightly dust the Bundt pan with flour.
In a large bowl, combine ingredients in the following order: bread mix, pudding mix, eggs, yogurt, oil, water, and vanilla.
Using an electric mixer, beat ingredients together for two minutes at medium speed.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 70 minutes or until it springs back after being touched lightly in the center.

This cake tastes great served warm, especially will a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream!

If you can’t find banana yogurt, you can substitute plain yogurt or sour cream. But so you don’t lose the banana flavor boost from the banana yogurt, substitute banana flavoring for the vanilla extract.
For a sweeter, more dessert-like cake, substitute banana cake mix for the banana bread mix.
If you want to make this even more banana-y, you can add one mashed ripe banana. However, you’ll need to bake it a little longer due to the increased moisture.

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Looking for a few more Bundt cake recipes to try?

If you don’t have a lot of time, but want a tasty Bundt cake, Bonkers for Bundt Cakes May just be the cookbook for you.

Filled with “made from cake mix” recipes, as well as a couple of from-scratch recipes, this simple cookbook is sure to please. Learn more and grab your copy at:

CarmasCookery.com/bundtcakes

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Tags bananas, Bundt cake