Ingredients

1lb carrots, sliced

3 tbsp butter, melted

3 tbsp maple syrup

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1) In a medium or large pot, boil carrots for 10-12 minutes until soft. Drain.

2) Combine all ingredients except the maple syrup in a frying pan at medium heat.

3) Add maple syrup and serve with mashed potatoes and chicken, turkey, roast, ham etc.

Ingredients:

1lb bag russet potatoes

1-2 cups milk or butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Green onions (for garnish)

Directions:

1) Wash and peel potatoes and cut into cubes.

2) In a large pot of boiling water, place potatoes in for 10-12 min or until fork goes all the way through each piece.

3) Drain potatoes and in a large bowl, combine milk or butter and mash.

4) Season with salt and pepper and mix well.

5) Finally add cut green onion and serve with chicken, turkey, roast etc.

Ingredients:

One Pound or pound and a half ground beef

1-2 green peppers, cubed

1-2 onions, cubed

 two or three cans tomato paste

One big can of diced tomatoes

Garlic powder, Italian seasoning, oregano, basil – to taste

Two to three cloves garlic, chopped

meat tenderizer (optional)

10-12 lasagna noodles

Mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions:

1) Combine all ingredients except the noodles and cheese in a slow cooker and cook on low heat overnight.

2) Next day cook the noodles and in a large pan layer the lasagna: noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles, sauce, cheese and end with a good layer of cheese.

3) Bake in preheated oven (350’F) for 30-40 minutes.

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts, cubed

4 sweet peppers, cubed

4 tablespoons sweet and sour sauce

2- 2 and 1/2 tablespoons hot sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) In a medium bowl, mix first four ingredients and marinate overnight.

2) Next day, fry the marinated chicken and add salt and pepper to taste.

3) Add more sauce(s) as desired.

4) Stir and serve with rice, potatoes, noodles etc.

I started cooking when I was around the age of 10 or 11 and I really got involved with it more when I took a cooking class in grade 7. Among the things I learned from that first class I learned that I had a passion for cooking. I took it a step further when I began to cook more at home for my family and I began to enjoy reading recipes and watching shows on the food network. It wasn’t until I was about 13 when I learned more about Chef Gordon Ramsay and his backstory. Through reading his autobiography, I learned that there’s more to him then just a foul mouth and a fiery temper. In fact when I read about his childhood and different experiences that he had growing up it really began to show me that we had a lot in common. I began to idolize him, I started watching Hell’s Kitchen, Masterchef and Kitchen Nightmares and really learning a lot from him when it came to cooking and dealing with people who can’t cook. Time went on and I moved on to high school, by this point I was still very passionate about cooking and more specifically I was considering pursuing it as a career. So with that goal in mind I took Culinary classes through high school. It showed me more about cooking then just what you might make for yourself or your family at home. It taught me about time management, multi-tasking, how to learn from my mistakes and even how to deal with disappointment. Above all I took a lot away from two and a half years of culinary classes than I ever thought I would. I also attended a five day “culinary bootcamp” when I was 16. That was an incredible opportunity to continue to gain more confidence and experience with making industry level meals. On the last day we prepared a lunch for our families and that really felt like I was an apprentice. But after I graduated high school and got out into the industry to continue to gain more experience is when things began to change for me. I’m not saying that I’m perfect and never make mistakes but I will say that looking back on it now I probably would’ve gone about things much differently and with a better approach. The first real kitchen job I had was in the spring of 2017 when I was still in grade 12. I was working as a dishwasher at a Montana’s, the problem was that my wording was off when I applied for the job and I didn’t specify that I couldn’t work closing shifts. Anyway I lost the job because I picked the worst time to tell my boss that I couldn’t close that night. Right in the middle of the dinner rush. Of course that was a dumb mistake on my part and I definitely deserved losing my job. Time went on and I got another job that summer, this time working at a Milestones restaurant as an expoditor. Things seemed to be going well, I showed up for every shift early/on time and I seemed to be getting the hang of things. Eventually they moved me to working a day shift doing prep, that was just before I lost the job. Along with the on-the-job training there was also some online training, which I ended up failing over five times which was enough for my bosses to get concerned that I’d never pass it so they fired me. A few weeks later I got another job at a Moxie’s restaurant working line. The problem was that the training wasn’t great and I wasn’t shown much and yet I was expected to have things memorized. Eventually after about three weeks of doing the same thing and occasionally getting assistance or being moved to help grill steaks and burgers, I quit due to the lack of training I was getting and the fact that I wasn’t moved into a less demanding position. About a week and a half later I got a job at a Boston Pizza making pizzas and helping out wherever needed. That job lasted three days, due to me not catching on or paying attention during my training. My original plan after I graduated was to work for a year and then apply for post-secondary. Well unfortunately things didn’t work out that way and some things happened in my life that changed things for close to six months. Then last October I tried to apply for post-secondary and unfortunately I didn’t get accepted. On one hand it’s sad but on the other hand I’m a firm believer in everything in life happens for a reason. Maybe not getting accepted into professional cooking wasn’t such a bad thing, I might be passionate/interested in another career path. It’s hard to say at this point, however I’ve come to the decision that I’ll continue to show my love for cooking by making blogs and sharing recipes and different tips.