My friends were having a Mexican Potluck, so I spent my afternoon creating a new burrito filling. It was delicious – I wouldn’t change a thing about it and will certainly make it again and again.

• 1.25 lb. flank steak, cut in thin, small slices
• 1 mango, cut in small cubes and roasted
• 2 sweet potatoes, cute in small cubes and roasted
• 2 clove garlic
• 2 serrano peppers, sliced
• 1 can black beans
• 1 yellow onion, cubed
• frozen corn
• fajita and taco spice blend (from World Spice Merchants)

While potato and mango are roasting (325 for 30 minutes, tossed lightly with olive oil and aleppo pepper), prepare other ingredients and get large skillet (I prefer a large sauce pan with high sides) warm on medium heat. Add minced garlic to pan for a minute, then add onion and serrano pepper. When onion just begins to lose opacity, add meat, rubbed with the spice mix. When meat is cooked thoroughly, add frozen corn. Add beans and when heated, add roasted sweet potato and mango.

Served in a toasted tortilla with a bunch of fresh tomato and a little sour cream.

I hadn’t before tried Falone bread, but it has a great spongy texture and a smell of toasted asiago cheese that’s quite addicting. The bread was shaped much like loaves from Subway, which made it perfect for stuffing and baking.

• 1 loaf Falone bread
• yellow cherry tomatoes
• marscapone
• walnut sage pesto

Cut bread along side and spread a layer of marscapone. Put tomatoes in and dollops of the pesto in between them. Bake at 250 degrees for twenty minutes.

This made for a great side dish, but was a little dry. It would likely be stunning with a red wine reduction or red wine cream sauce or something slightly sweeter like an orange teryaki.

• Red peppers
• cous cous, prepared
• 1 mango, roasted in pieces
• 1/4 habanero pepper
• broccolini
• feta cheese (probably better with goat cheese)

Mix all ingredients and stuff red peppers. Bake at 350 for forty minutes.

There’s little I love more than fancy salads. Growing up, a salad was a pile of iceberg lettuce drowning in ranch dressing… then I discovered the nut/fruit/vinaigrettes combination and learned to make my own salad dressings. I’ve never gone back (though I do use many premade dressings, if they’re fancy enough). In Toronto, I had a salad with sweet potato and goat cheese. It was stunning, so here’s a version using squash instead.

• Roast butternut squash
• butter lettuce
• spicy pecans
• dried cherries
• marscapone on sides (would have been much better with goat cheese)
• raspberry vinaigrette

I wasn’t sure about this as I was making it, quite worried the jalapenos would be overwhelming or have that awful taste I typically associate with the peppers (the pickling, it turns out). This, however, turned out to be the best omelet I’ve ever had.

• two eggs
• garlic
• jalapeño
• roast beef
• marscapone
• mini orange tomatoes

When eggs start cooking, put half a clove of garlic and about an inch of chopped, fresh, jalapeno into a sauté pan.

When eggs are nearly firm on the top, pour on the garlic/jalapeno mixture and throw on a small, chopped, orange tomato. Top with some chopped roast beef and flip until eggs are fully cooked.

Remove from pan and add a dollop of marscapone. The light flavor and smooth texture of the cheese is a perfect compliment to the spiciness of the peppers.

I served this with a banana and a slice of toast.

A stunningly quick little sandwich… I made it weeks ago and have been craving it daily.

take 1 piece tandoori naan from trader joe’s

• spread out some hummus
• lay down a few slices of roast beef
• sprinkle feta cheese
• lay down a few slices of turkey breast
• top with three tomato slices
• salt

bake at 350 for 15 minutes

dip in nonfat greek yogurt when eating

This is infinitely better than the curry chicken salads you can buy premade at the grocery store, all filled with mayonnaise and dried cranberries that don’t quite work. Make this instead.

• 3 chicken breasts
• 6 small potatoes
• one large shallot
• garlic clove
• golden raisins
• butter
• half & half
• yogurt (fage 0%)
• madras curry powder (world spice)

poach and fork-pull chicken breasts. mix in very light coating of curry power. let cool
cut and boil potatoes. let cool

saute the minced garlic and sliced shallot in some butter. add about 1/2 cup of half and half and a handful of golden raisins and curry powder to taste.
let cook until milk thickens and is almost dry
add at least a cup of yogurt, until sauce is creamy once again
add chicken and more yogurt
add potatoes and serve.

Here’s a rather fancy version of cheese-stuffed peppers you can buy at fast food joints or in the frozen section at the grocery store. It really isn’t much more effort to quickly stuff these instead and they’re far superior!

• jalapeños capped and cleaned, keep caps
• marscapone
• good salt
• sweet red dried pepper
• prosciutto

mix in dried pepper and salt into marscapone to taste
stuff jalapeños
skewer them so the caps stay on
wrap in prosciutto

bake at 350 for thirty minutes