Mom's Spicy Beef Noodles

This is my mom's beef mee goreng (literally "fried noodles") recipe with my own twist. She used to make this for Xmas dinner along with chicken curry to go with the roast turkey and stuffing. Yes, interesting combination but noodles and chicken curry are absolute holiday requirements in our household. Mashed potatoes with gravy are so boring and over done.

In this dish, thick yellow noodles are fried with red chilies, tomatoes, eggs and bean sprouts; tossed with fork tender chunks of braised beef and chopped fresh coriander leaves and then finished off with a squeeze of lime juice. It's spicy, tangy and satisfyingly beefy, which makes it a great dish for a festive dinner party.

Easy Peasy Rice and Jerk Chicken Dinner

Jerk chicken is one of my favorite things to make at home and I usually make it during the week for dinner and on the weekend I throw it on the barbecue. For an easy no-fuss dinner, I rub the jerk seasoning on some chicken legs, bake them in the oven and serve over some "rice and peas". When I feel like bbq I marinade the chicken overnight and cook them in the oven first for about half an hour before grilling them.

I used to use store-bought jerk seasoning until I found the recipe online (and adjusted it). Now I always make my own jerk seasoning because it's miles better than the bottled stuff and it's just as good as (if not better than) the jerk chicken I've had in the Jamaican restaurants here in Toronto. The rub also goes really well with pork.

Crispy Wings with Spicy Coconut Dressing

I've been M.I.A. for a while due to my partaking in the P90x program which requires a healthy diet of dull, uninspiring food but now I'm back with my first post for the new year - chicken wings that have been deep fried in a ton of grease till they're crispy and golden brown and then smothered with a creamy blend of coconut milk, mayonnaise, sour cream, cayenne pepper and honey. Obviously, I'm not strong enough to stay off carbs and fried foods...