Asian Beef Lettuce Wraps

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 7 minutes

I realized I haven't posted anything Asian... possibly because I've eaten Chinese food all my life and now that I'm living away from home I'm so happy don't have to have stir-fry all day, every day... but I do miss mummy and daddy's home cooking very much. So here is my little recipe that can serve as a full meal or perfect snack, depending on how much you've used your brain that day. Very substantial yet very fresh - the only thing is you'll need some Asian ingredients.

You'll need:

• 1/2 lb ground beef


• 1 red pepper, diced


• 5 small shitake mushrooms, diced


• 3 chinese sausages, diced


• 2 green onions, chopped


• 1/2 head lettuce


• 1 tbsp vegetable oil


• 1 tbsp oyster sauce


• 1 tsp sesame sauce


• 1 tsp chopped garlic or shallots

First heat up the oil in a wok or non-stick pan. On high heat add the garlic or shallots and then add the ground beef, stir-frying rapidly until browned (about three minutes). Remove the beef from the pan and drain excess oil. Then add the vegetables and chinese sausage to the pan and stir-fry for about three minutes. Then add the ground beef back to the pan and douse with oyster sauce and sesame sauce, stir-frying for another minute. Now it's ready to serve! You just have to tear the half head of lettuce up into little cups so you can spoon the beef mixture into them and chow down. Soooo yummy.

Mike approved.
Perfect for an appetizer dish at a dinner party.

Chicken & Steak Wraps

Prep time: 3 minutes
Cooking time: 7 minutes

Today is going to be wrap day... this is totally Mike's dad's recipe, so it's definitely delicious! I adapted it a bit so it's not as good as the real thing, but what I love about wraps is that they're easy to eat fast... no fuss, no muss (unless you can't wrap wraps properly, like me sometimes). This recipe makes two wraps easy - you can choose to have chicken, steak or both!

What you'll need:

• 2 tortilla wraps - sun-dried tomato and basil ones (the red ones) are the best!


• 10 grilled chicken strips or beef strips - you can be lazy and buy pre-cooked Jane's grilled chicken or use yesterday's leftover steak.


• 1 tbsp plum sauce or Diana's bbq sauce or salsa (you can basically use any sauce you like)


• 1/2 red, yellow or orange peppers sliced thinly


• 1/4 onion, sliced thinly


• 3 lettuce leaves, shredded


• 1 tsp chopped garlic

Heat the wraps up for a quick 20-second zap in the microwave. Heat a pan up to stir-fry the vegetables with the garlic and sauce for about three minutes. When they're softened a bit, place them in the wraps. Then heat up the chicken or steak with some more sauce and put them in the wraps as well. Then add some lettuce shreds, wrap your wrap up and voilà, a quick and easy meal.

Mike approved, but I'm sure he prefers his dad's.
Leftover steak is the best damn thing in the world.

Fresh Summer Salsa

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 0 minutes (but let it sit to let the juices percolate)

This recipe is for salsa lovers everywhere and is perfect for a picnic! The following makes about four servings.

You'll need:

• 4 medium-sized tomatoes or equivalent


• 1 small onion


• 1 jalapeño pepper


• 1 yellow or red pepper


• 2 green onions


• juice of 1 lime


• salt and pepper to taste

Dice all the vegetables and place them into one bowl. Add the juice of one lime and add salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything together. Let the whole thing sit in the fridge for half an hour or so to let the juices flow... and then serve with your favourite chips! I recommend Tostitos scoops®. Mmmmm... this recipe may sound too easy to be good but seriously the mix of the tomato juices with the lime juices and the spice of the jalapeño pepper accented by the yellow pepper makes for a delicious salsa... this is good stuff!

Mike approved.
Even better when left outside in the sun (like on a picnic).

Mini Pita-Pizzas

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

When you're in a crunch for time or just craving some pizza, this is definitely the meal to have. It takes less than ten minutes to bake and you can make as many as you want.

What you need:

• Pitas (I prefer the Greek variety because the regular ones with pockets tend to crisp up and leave air bubbles)


• Pizza sauce (surprisingly, Master's Choice makes a damn good pizza sauce. For a no-name store brand, this is the sh*t)


• Any toppings you want, such as mushrooms, green peppers, onion, grilled chicken broccoli, pineapples, bacon bits (yah I love Hawaiian pizza, damn straight) or whatever happens to be in your fridge


• Shredded cheese (like mozzarella... yummy!)


• If you like, you can add more zip with a dash of Italian herbs, oregano, pepper, or red chili flakes


• Having a pizza cutter rolly-thing makes this whole thing a great deal funner

First things first you have to preheat your oven to 375°C. My oven is busted because my landlord won't fix it so I always use my toaster oven. This recipe is perfect for the toaster oven! Then you can pile your pita with sauce, any toppings you like and most importantly cheese. I like to sprinkle some Italian herbs on top for more authenticity. By this time the oven is nice and preheated and you can pop the pita in... and you will have the most delicious express lunch or dinner in ten minutes! This is much better then pretending people are pizza and everything.

Mike approved.
Since pitas come in packages of 6 you can have this 6 days in a row!

Chicken Souvlaki!!

Prep time: 5 minutes + marinade overnight
Cooking time: 15 minutes

This is totally Mel's recipe - she's the best. For a non-Greek girl I love my souvlaki... almost as much as a Greek, I'm sure. I crave this stuff all the time and would be at my most optimal happiest if I could have it at least once a week. The only thing about this recipe is that you have to think ahead - marinating the night before is best.

You'll need:

• 2 chicken breasts, cubed


• 1/2 cup or 125 mL olive oil


• 1 tsp black pepper


• 2 tbsp lemon juice


• 2 tbsp oregano


• 3 garlic cloves chopped thinly (you could add more depending on how much you love garlic)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. You can leave them in the bowl or place everything in a plastic bag to refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. You can check on your beautiful souvlaki from time to time, because the smell of the marinade and garlic is damn good! The next day put your oven on broil (I use my trusty toaster oven) and broil the chicken for about 15 minutes, flipping once.

I usually like to serve my souvlaki in a Greek pita with tons of tzatziki sauce. It's up to you!

Mike and Des approved.
Almost as good as the souvlaki found at Mr. Greek or Greco's!