FESTIVE RED AND GREEN SALAD

Here is a very festive and simple salad recipe for your dinner/party guests for this holiday season! This is the second recipe brought to you by the California Strawberry Commission. I just love the addition of fruit in salads. It just brightens up the flavours in a salad, adding juice and sweetness. Strawberries add that splash of red colour to the usual green salad, making this very festive!

Recipe and photo from the California Strawberry Commission. Permission was granted prior to posting.

*Disclaimer: the recommendation to use California strawberries is strictly from the California Strawberry Commission and from the creator of this recipe. Food Tastes Yummy does not fully endorse products.*

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 Tomato, chopped
• 6 California Strawberries, sliced
• 8 oz pre-washed Arugula
• 8 large basil leaves, chopped
• 1 pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
• Parmesan cheese, freshly shaved

Combine the tomato, strawberries, arugula and basil in a large mixing bowl. Add the olive oil and toss well to coat. Then add the vinegar and toss once more. Serve the salad with freshly shaved Parmesan cheese over the top and serve immediately.

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SUCCULENT HOLIDAY TURKEY WITH MAPLE-STRAWBERRY GLAZE

I have lately been on a holiday kick on FTY! I just love the holiday season, and all of the food associated with it! Here is a holiday turkey recipe brought to you by the California Strawberry Commission. This sweet strawberry glaze will be a delicious change from your ordinary cranberry sauce that you're so used to having year after year. Although I must say I do love cranberry sauce but sometimes changing it up makes dinnertime more interesting! I think your guests will be surprised as well. Give this a try at your next gathering!

Recipe and photo from the California Strawberry Commission. Permission was granted prior to posting.

*Disclaimer: the recommendation to use California strawberries is strictly from the California Strawberry Commission and from the creator of this recipe. Food Tastes Yummy does not fully endorse products.*

Serves 8

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F

Baking time: 1-1/2 hours

Glaze Ingredients:

• 2 cups California Strawberries, crushed
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp lemon rind, grated
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 garlic cloves, minced

Turkey Ingredients:

• 1 single turkey breast (about 3 lb), boneless
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp lemon rind, grated
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

Bring first nine ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, 25 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and cool. Reserve 1 ½ cups sauce; cover and chill.

With fingers, loosen skin at the thickest part of the turkey breast. Slide fingers under skin to loosen and make pocket, leaving skin intact on 3 sides. Press thyme, lemon rind, salt and pepper into pocket, pressing skin to spread evenly.

Place turkey, skin side up, in a small shallow roasting pan. Spread with ¾ cup of the maple-strawberry sauce; cover loosely with aluminum foil and roast at 325°F for 45 minutes; uncover and bake 45 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer registers 185°F, basting with remaining ¾ cup maple-strawberry sauce every 15 minutes.

Transfer turkey to cutting board; tent with foil and let stand for 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with reserved

Tip: The maple-strawberry sauce can also be used on a whole turkey – perfect for a holiday dinner.    

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NANCY'S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

You're in for a real treat FTY readers! I guess I mean "treat" literally haha! This is my tried and true chocolate chip cookie recipe that I am posting here on the blog. For the past few years, I have been tempted to post my "secret" recipe but I always thought "no, I shouldn't because some things are better left well secret!". But it was my little sister who twisted my arm to do it. She likes to check out the blog regularly (thanks sis!) and asks advice on certain recipes, and she asked "where is your chocolate chip cookie recipe that I love?". I gave no answer. You may laugh but for me I used to make hundreds of these cookies when I used to cater several years ago. I also made these in the hundreds when I used to sell these at my Daddy's store. People loved them so much that like a proud owner of a new sports car, I guarded this recipe and what was mine! I laugh as I say this folks! Anyways, there is no use keeping it a secret any longer...

I found several cookie recipes back then, and tinkered with them until I came up with the perfect combo of ingredients (at least in my opinion). These are chewy and soft at the same time, and they never fail to impress! My sister tried the recipe out and her co-workers loved it! So dear Sis, this is dedicated to you during this holiday season. Thanks for testing so many cookies in the past and loving them! Love you sis!

Makes about 40 cookies

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

Baking time: 8-10 minutes per batch

Ingredients:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (can use milk chocolate)
• 1 cup extra chocolate chips, to top when baking the cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a couple large baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent burning of cookies.

2. In a medium sized bowl, sift the all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt. Set it aside for now. Using a stand electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, add in the unsalted butter and start to cream it on low. Stop and scrape down the sides. Then add in both sugars and cream again. Stop than scrape down the sides. I suggest doing this step every time you finish mixing another ingredient or two. This way the cookie batter will all mix thoroughly.

3. Add one egg at a time, then the vanilla extract. Then start to slowly add in the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Add in 1/3 of the flour mixture at a time, until all has been combined. Now I know that a lot of chocolate chip recipes always say don't overmix but for this recipe I want you to do that! Turn the stand mixer on a higher speed and let it mix for a minute or two. You want the cookie dough batter to be a bit tougher. This will help create a thicker cookie.

4. Add in the 1-1/2 cups of dark chocolate chips and slowly combine. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides for the last time. Let the batter rest for about 5 minutes. This surprisingly does make a difference. The dough should feel a bit sticky but not too sticky. If the dough is a bit too sticky for whatever reason, then mix in another 2 tbsp of flour. But I think you shouldn't need it.

5. Scoop out one good tablespoon of the cookie dough, and roll them into balls. Place them onto the prepared baking sheets. Slightly flatten them using your hand. Take the extra chocolate chips and dab several of them into each cookie dough ball. This makes a huge difference after it's baked--you can actually see the chocolate chips.

6. Place them into the oven to bake for about 8-10 minutes. Make sure to rotate the pans halfway through cooking time; this will ensure even cooking. The cookies should be golden and look slightly undercooked in the middle. Let cool for several minutes, then transfer them to a large plate for serving.

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ASIAN CHICKEN BURGERS ON NAAN BREAD

One of my husband's favourite things to eat is naan bread. Week after week, we do our weekly grocery shopping and he never fails to add naan bread. I mean who can blame him? It's slightly chewy on the outside, but so soft on the inside. Whether you're making a sandwich, pizza or burgers (in my case here) naan is a beautiful choice to the bread part of the meal. It was burger night at my house the other day, and I decided to whip up an Asian style burger. I always like to change it up once in a while. I added grated ginger, garlic, teriyaki sauce, basil (think Vietnamese style), and other ingredients to make this burger juicy and full of Asian flavour! No worries though, it won't be an overwhelming flavour to scare those that are a bit timid when it comes to Asian flavours, but just enough to say yeahh I know what I'm eating (make sense?). Anyways, without further adieu, here is my version of Asian chicken burgers.

Makes 4-6 burger patties

Ingredients:

• 1 lb extra lean ground chicken or turkey
• coarse salt and ground black pepper
• 2/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tbsp ketchup (if you feel meat is dry add another tbsp of this)
• 1-1/2 tsp ginger, grated
• 3 garlic cloves, grated
• large handful of fresh coriander or parsley, chopped
• 3 tbsp onion, minced finely
• 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
• 3 tbsp fresh basil, sliced thin
• 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (if cooking on stove-top)
• 1 pkg of Naan bread (cut into half pieces)
• Serve with: tomato slices, thinly sliced red or sweet onion, arugula leaves, and flavoured mayo

1. In a large bowl, combine the following ingredients: ground chicken or turkey, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, egg, ketchup, ginger, garlic, coriander, onion, teriyaki sauce, and fresh basil. Using your clean hands, mix the ingredients until just combined. Make sure not to overmix the meat, you don't want to make it tough while cooking.

2. Form the mixture into 4-6 patties, depending on how thick you want your burgers to be. I like them to be about 1-inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and place it into the fridge for about 20 minutes to firm up a bit. Make sure to take these burger patties out about 10 minutes before you cook, to take off the chill.

3. Heat a large non-stick frying pan, on medium high heat, add in the olive oil and cook the burgers on both sides. It should take about 7-10 minutes per side. After you flip the burgers, and it sears a bit, place the lid on top of the pan and bring down the heat a touch for the remainder of the cooking time. This will prevent burning. You can cook these on the grill if you like too.

4. Serve on toasted naan bread, then add the tomato slice, onion slice, and the fresh arugula leaves, and spread mayo on the top part of the naan bread. Sandwich it together and eat with a nice light salad. Enjoy!

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AVOCADO-HUMMUS TUNA PASTA SALAD

When you take a look at the picture above you might think it looks like your average tuna pasta salad, but you're wrong my dear readers! This simple pasta salad is not heavily coated with your typical mayo dressing, but rather it has good-for-you hummus and vitamin filled avocado (amongst other ingredients). This is a recipe that I came up with while I was chatting with my mom about what to make for lunch. She kept talking about wanting to eat avocado, and then I opened the fridge and saw hummus. For some reason the two clicked! Goes to show you, you just never know when you will come up with a recipe! The end product was great! Really a refreshing twist on the old stand-by favourite. Also, really good if you're watching your waist-line, since there is no mayo in it. I suggest eating this within two days since there is avocado, it tends to brown quickly. Enjoy!

Serves 4

Pasta Salad Ingredients:

• 3 cups fusilli pasta, cooked
• 1 stalk of celery with the herby part on top
• 1/4 cup red onion, minced
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1/2 cup cucumber, diced
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• large handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 or 2 (170g) can(s) of tuna, packed in water

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup store-bought low-fat hummus
• Half a ripe avocado
• salt and ground black pepper
• juice of one lemon
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 2 tbsp light sour cream (or can use light mayo)
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, assemble all of the pasta salad ingredients. Toss gently to combine, and set aside for now.

In a medium bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients, and whisk it until it comes together nicely. Pour some of the dressing over the pasta salad, and toss gently; then keep adding more dressing until you're satisfied with the taste. So I suggest here, taste as you go! You may not need to use all of the dressing. Cover with plastic wrap and keep it cold in the fridge until you're ready to serve. Yum!

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