The CookingCousins are just in the process of finishing our recipe indexes for our cook book. It is a hard cover cook book with simple, easy recipes. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of our cookbook please email us cookingcousinsshow@gmail.com or comment below.

Thanks for all the support.
Happy Cooking.

It is so easy to create waste and waste money by throwing out unwanted foods. Why not add the leftover fruits to recipes, to delicious bread, muffin or even pies. No matter what fruit you have left over, such as strawberries, peaches, oranges, blueberries, banana’s, melons you can always find an alternative to throwing out these foods.

So why not try out a mixed fruit crumble.

Combine your leftover fruit with 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 tablespoon of flour, 1 cup cooking oats, 3 tablespoons of butter and a touch of cinnamon. This is a great healthy alternative make use of your unwanted fruits. You can also add the fruit to any pie crust and prepare a great desert.

Left over fruit is also great topped on yogurt, with nuts and honey. Our favourite way to use left over fruit is by adding it to a large serving dish and topping it with lemonchello or any liquor. Let sit for about two hours and this is delicious to serve on its own, topped with whip cream or even added to club soda for a delicious drink. Fruits are great in muffins such as bran, add them to bread recipes like banana bread, peach bread.

Try adding berries, or peaches to pancakes. There are so many alternatives to using unwanted foods in your home. It just takes some time to try out new recipes and to get out of the habit of pitching the leftovers. So search your home and see what is around to recreate. Happy cooking!

Here is a quick and easy recipe that is guaranteed to please.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

This is a simple recipe that looks festival and is delicious with any dinner or as a side dish.
To prepare wash and cut asparagus’. Wrap 1 piece of prosciutto around 2 to 3 asparagus. Please on baking dish and season with olive oil, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutues.

Plate and top with light curls of parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

Rustic Green Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 cups mixed greens
• half english cucumber
• 2 green onions
• 1/2 red pepper
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 fresh lemon

To assemble add washed lettuce to salad bowl. Cut cucumber, red pepper and green onions and add to salad. For dressing use about 1/4 cup olive oil and 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Squeeze 1/2 lemon onto salad with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy.

Starting with seafood, the trick to preparing fish on the BBQ I find is by wrapping it in foil with herbs and spices and than grilling it for about 10 minutes. Now this will change depending on the thickness of fish, so a good rule to go by is about 7 to 10 minutes for each inch. Make sure your BBQ is at medium to medium low and to test if is finished, the fish should flake easily when pricked with a fork. Shrimp is also delicious to prepare on the grill and shrimp cooks very fast. The best way to prepare shrimp is by leaving the skins on. This leaves them moist and delicious. Cook shrimp on medium heat for about 5 to 6 minutes.

Chicken is another great meat to prepare on the bbq. Boneless chicken breasts take about 5 to 7 minutes per side. You know when the breast is done when it is firm and has nice grill marks on it. Burgers are a summer favourite and take no time on the grill. BBQ burgers for about 5 minutes per side on direct heat. Sausages are another favourite and take about 5 to 10 minutes per side and remember to keep flipping them. Sausages take a little longer to cook, so that is great to remember when preparing a dinner.

Meats are so simple to prepare on the grill, so are great appetizers and salads. Lettuce is actually delicious lightly grilled than served with sliced almonds, mandarins, blue cheese and a balsamic vingarette. All veggies are great on the grill and are amazing served grilled on a platter, added to salads or potatoes. It is great to prepare potato salad on the grill. Grill potatoes until soft along with garlic, onion and veggies. Add to a dish, chop all of the ingredients to bowl. Add pitted olives, capers, dill and light mayo.

Desert is becoming a favourite as well on the grill. Grilling fresh peaches or pineapple is great served over vanilla ice cream or added to liquor. Bananas are another favourite on the grill and only take 2 minutes per side. They are also great topped with ice cream to create the perfect desert.

Try out some of these great grilling tips along with recipes to host the perfect outdoor party!