Asian peanut noodles and spicy basil chicken

A perfect first homemade dinner back. Super tasty, easy and healthy, as long as you don't mind carbs of course. The two dishes complimented each other well for a spicy spicy treat, but the good news is you can notch the heat up or down to your liking.

Recipe: Mexican salad with creamy avocado dressing

So last night I was about to make my go-to weeknight meal, a sort of Mexican taco salad when I realized I was out of salsa. Sigh, I thought, but alas is there anything else in my kitchen I could use as a dressing? Well, there was the avocado  I was going to use as a topping, but aha! I was inspired.

Recipe: red curry chicken (or tofu or beef)

What a way to warm up on such a blustery no good shivery day! It's like the red curry chicken you've had at Thai restaurants, but lighter -- and using ingredients you're mostly likely to have on hand. That means using light coconut milk that makes the sauce a little thinner, but still packed with flavour.

You can really get creative with your protein and veggie choices (try tofu, bamboo shoots, fresh basil leaves and snow peas for variety), but here I used broccoli and eggplant, which I love using in curry because they sop up the gravy. Instead of using the pre-made red curry mix, I like to buy a jar of the paste (which can be found in the Asian section at most grocery stores) and add a can of coconut milk, which is a little lighter on the wallet too.