A quick, easy and healthy treat, this is easy to adjust to suit your tastes and style.

You will need:

• 350g Steak
• 2 plum tomatoes, cut into various sizes
• 550g of julienne-style romaine lettuce
• 3tbsp crumbled cheese
• 40g finely sliced onion – can be red or white
• 1 small clove garlic, crushed
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1. Heat a small amount of butter in a griddle pan until smoking

2. Place the Steak into the pan – cook for around 1minute per side, whilst seasoning the upwards side with the sale and pepper

3. Whilst the steak rests (for between three and five minutes) Mix the onion, tomatoes and garlic in a large bowl

4.  Slice the Steak into narrow strips – no wider than 1cm

5. Add the sliced Steak, lettuce and oil to the bowl, then toss so all is covered well. Crumble the cheese on top before service.

To make this dish a bit different, it’s worth experimenting with lots of the ingredients – the time spent cooking the meat, what type of meat you use (Beef, Pork, Lamb or Chicken), and the cut of meat, the type of cheese, and if you use an oil or vinaigrette.

Photo Credit: Benimoto on Flickr.

This is what I am cooking for dinner later today. I tried it once and everyone liked it so I thought I’d give it another go. The idea is to make something a bit different from what we’re used to and still use a healthy cut, such as chicken breast. Here’s the recipe, straight from my kitchen.

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts
Salt
Pepper
Japanese bread crumbs
1 egg
Mozzarella cheese (sliced thinly)
Olive oil

Cooking instructions:
1. Wash the meat thoroughly and pat dry.
2. Season well with salt and pepper. It depends on how much flavor you want. Set aside for about 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Heat some olive oil in a thick pan – go round the pan 2 or 3 times.
4. Beat the egg and then dip the chicken breasts in it.
5. Roll the chicken breasts in the Japanese bread crumbs so that they are completely covered.
6. When the oil is hot enough, place the chicken breasts in the pan.
7. Fry on medium heat and get your mozzarella slices ready
8. After about 6 minutes, turn the chicken breasts over.
9. Place a slice of mozzarella on top of each chicken breast – you can add more if you want a cheesier piece.
10. Leave frying for another 6 minutes or so.
11. Serve hot with rice or any other favorite side dish.

I love how the Japanese bread crumbs give you that crunchy texture, which combines well with the gooey stickiness of the melted mozzarella. Another option for seasoning is to use a bit of fish sauce instead of salt. Try it!

Here is another one of my concoctions. I actually got the idea from one of those recipe cards you get from the supermarket. They were promoting the use of McCormick spices and I thought I’d try them. I have never been one to follow a recipe to the letter, though, so I am sure that my version of this dish turned out differently. Anyhow, this dish is easy and quick to make, you will probably find yourself making it often.

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breasts, sliced
1 small onion
4 tomatoes
½ cup light cream
Paprika
Salt
Black pepper
Olive oil

Preparation:
Wash the chicken well and then drain. Season with salt, pepper, and some paprika. It really is up to you how much of the seasoning you want to use – I just threw everything in there. Set aside for 10-15 minutes.

Heat some olive oil in a thick pan and then fry the chicken strips for about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Cook the chopped onion in the same pan until translucent. Add the diced tomatoes. Cook this for about 5 minutes, stirring all the while. You can also add more paprika at this point.

Put the chicken back into the pan and let it simmer until the chicken is cooked through. This took about 10 minutes. Make sure you stir every once in a while. You can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water if you want.

Add the light cream slowly and simmer for about 2 minutes. Add salt and more pepper and paprika to taste. For garnish, you can throw in some parsley.

This dish can be served over cooked noodles or rice – I chose the former.

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup prepared mustard
lemon pepper to taste
4 slices bacon, cut in half
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

What’s next

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Place the chicken breast halves in a baking dish, and drizzle evenly with honey and mustard. Sprinkle with lemon pepper.
Bake chicken 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Top each breast half with 2 bacon slice halves, and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Continue baking 10 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear, bacon is crisp, and cheese is bubbly

Ingredients

1 all-beef hot dog
1 poppyseed hot dog bun
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon sweet green pickle relish
1 tablespoon chopped onion
4 tomato wedges
1 dill pickle spear
2 sport peppers
1 dash celery salt

What’s next

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Reduce heat to low, place hot dog in water, and cook 5 minutes or until done. Remove hot dog and set aside. Carefully place a steamer basket into the pot and steam the hot dog bun 2 minutes or until warm.
Place hot dog in the steamed bun. Pile on the toppings in this order: yellow mustard, sweet green pickle relish, onion, tomato wedges, pickle spear, sport peppers, and celery salt. The tomatoes should be nestled between the hot dog and the top of the bun. Place the pickle between the hot dog and the bottom of the bun. Don’t even think about ketchup!