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.

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!

It is simple to choose the nutritious and healthy choice and a great way to do that is by eating lots of fish and shellfish which are rich in protein, omega 3, vitamins, iron, magnesium, potassium and zinc. Seafood is a great way to live healthy and get your needed health benefits in the process. It is recommended by the food guide to have 2 servings of seafood a week. This can consist of clams, lobster, crab,salmon and there are so many ways to serve seafood and to also make it different. Why not try a delicious lobster salad with fresh greens, dill, cucumber and tomatoes. This is great by itself presented as a salad or add to a fresh bun and it is a great healthy meal. Shrimp are also healthy and delicious and why not grill some shrimp up on a barbeque with fresh lemon, garlic, hot peppers and olive oil. Leave shell on, peel and enjoy. Shrimp are also great in pasta with red sauce, pesto sauce or served as a soup with mussels, jalapeno peppers and garlic. Salmon is also a very healthy choice as it is fairly inexpensive to buy and easy to prepare. Salmon is great wrapped in tinfoil filled with garlic, lemon, dill and a dab of butter. Or our favourite way of presenting salmon is adding fresh tomato sauce to it, with added olives and oregano cook in the oven for the most unbelievable dish. This one is great for children as the tomato sauce gets rid of the fishy taste.

Now is the time to start eating healthy and choosing healthy alternatives. Watching your intake of food is important to your growth and health and overall life style. Trying new recipes is a great way to learn new favourites while eating healthy at the same time.

In Season: Peaches

Now is the time to enjoy the freshness of locally grown peaches. They are my favourite and I like to use them for everything. They are inexpensive to buy, and delicious in both savoury and sweet recipes. In the morning add peaches to yogurt, add some nuts and honey and that is a great start to your day. They are also delicious in pancakes topped with a dollop of fresh whipped cream and mint. Try peaches grilled lightly on the BBQ and toss in salad, with mixed greens, feta or goat cheese and chopped walnuts. Top with a simple oil and apple cider dressing. That salad is made to impress!
Peaches are also great in meat dishes such as pork or ham, or glazed over any meat for great presentation. Try cinnamon dusted peaches with ice cream, or our favourite peach crumble. So simple to make we use about 3 cups of fresh peeled peaches, 1/3 cup flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of cold butter, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. We than add it to a baking dish, cook at 400 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes. To spice up this recipe try adding locally grown blueberries or raspberries to this recipe for a nice change and a different hint of flavour.
How about adding peaches to a drink, blend peeled peaches, with pineapple juice, vodka and peach snoops, and ice than add to martini glass and finish with a splash of sprite or club soda. Garnish with a peach slice.
So peaches are great in so many dishes, go out today and try some of these great recipes and let us know how they turned out!

Now as we are in the middle of summer it is a great time to use the fruits and vegetables available to your advantage. Markets are such a great way to go if you are able to do so, and also the grocery stores are filled with fresh local produce. As fruit  is in season it is less expensive now than say in the fall or winter months and therefore a perfect time to take advantage of jarring. When I say jarring I am talking about making home made jam. Using fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and even adding a hint of apple is a great way to take advantage of great local fruit and jar it for the  rest of the year. Using the ripest quality of fruit will really enhance any jam you decide to make. Jam is easy to make, using minimal ingredients and it is so much healthier making it by scratch than buying  in a grocery store. There are recipes everywhere online on how to prepare jam it is simple and easy to make.

Another hint that we have is if you have extra fruit that your not using in your jam recipe grab some freezer bags and freeze the  fruit. This will also last you through the months where fruit is much more expensive and why not freeze it when it is ripe and in season. We do this all the time with so many fruits and it will also save you money along the way.

Try out this simple recipe:

3 pints of strawberries

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup raspberries

1 tablespoon of orange liquor

3 1/2 cups of sugar

Rinse fruit well before using and than cut strawberries in half’s or quarters. Please all fruit in a large pot and toss with sugar and liqueur. Bring to a bowl while stirring occasionally. A great tip to make sure your jam reaches the desired temperature is use a thermometer to make sure it is at 220 degrees. This takes around 35 to 40 minutes. After mixture is at the desired temperature turn off jam and let cool at room temperature over night.

The summer has flown by for us and all summer we have begun to start an online cooking course which will run in a 16 week program. We have been taping our dvds, and have outlined our step by step cooking course.
We think this course will be amazing and perfect for people just starting out in the kitchen with simple meals.
With the economy the way it is, we feel that the best way to save money is by eating in. It is not only healthier but will save you money each month. Our course will outline the 5 main ingredients you should have in your home at all times. With these key ingredients you can whip up any meat dish, seafood, pasta and vegetables.
We are really exciting to take our love for cooking to the next level and hope you will support us on our cooking course. As we are still in the works of finishing it up we will post more info when it is up and ready.
We would love to hear your comments or thoughts on what you would think and also if you or anyone you know would be interested in taking this 16 week course. We guarantee that you will be confident in the kitchen by the end of this course, be able to whip up simple delicious meals, and have the confidence you need to cook for a crowd!

Thanks,

Kristie Peever & Sydney Walsh