Appetizers

Sheet Pan Shrimp Tacos With Cilantro Cream Sauce

Taco Tuesday meets Surf-n-Turf with this recipe, and oh, are you going to love this one. Imagine a warm, softshell tortilla filled with juicy shrimp that’s been baked in a hot cumin-chili-garlicky marinade. Accompanying the shrimps are sweet pineapple chunks, crunchy shallots, and creamy cilantro coleslaw. Flavor, texture, and nutrition – this recipe truly has it all. Also, depending on the type of tortilla wrap you use, these shrimp tacos can be gluten-free. It’s also a keto-friendly recipe and can be made low-carb by skipping the tortilla wrap and serving the shrimps over a bowl...

Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots

Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots Roasted carrots with brown sugar glaze will be a new dinner party favorite. This simple recipe is the perfect combination of sweet and savory that makes the perfect side with any meal. 2 pounds carrots (peeled)2/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)3/4 teaspoon cinnamon6 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut into pats)1 teaspoon sea saltCandied Pecans3 tablespoons butter2 tablespoons maple syrup2 tablespoons brown sugar1 cup pecan halves (roughly chopped)1/4 teaspoon flaked sea saltGarnish3/4 cup goat cheese (crumbled)1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves Preheat the oven to...

Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Bacon and Pomegranates

Pomegranates with bacon roasted brussels sprouts | cookingwithcassandra.com

I remember growing up, I was a big desserts and candied yams girl at my holiday dinners. I always remember the one Christmas where my jaw dropped when I had oven-roasted Brussels sprouts for the first time. It was crazy good. I couldn’t believe that vegetables could be this delicious. In my take on this holiday classic, I have added crispy roasted bacon and its fats that make everything better, too. Now this recipe is one way to enjoy vegetables, and I mean REALLY enjoy them… not just tolerate them to meet our daily fiber intake. Even the pickiest eaters and vegetable haters will be...

Easy Sheet Pan Nachos Recipe

Sheet pan nachos | cookingwithcassandra.com

You NEED to make these easy sheet pan nachos for your next game day. They are sure to be a hit. With the crispiest tortilla chips and the most amazing beef-olive-tomato toppings, these loaded nachos are seriously addictive. Whether you’re entertaining friends or family, I recommend you wait for everyone to get to the party before arriving. Two reasons: 1) everyone will get to enjoy it when it’s piping hot and the cheese is still gooey; 2) the nachos will be gone so quickly that latecomers may not even get a taste. Talk about party favorites! To make these nachos, all you have...

Baked Brie with Cranberry Sauce (Perfect Holiday Appetizer)

Cranberry Brie Dip With Flaky Roll Bites | cookingwithcassandra.com

What comes to mind when you imagine a cheese dip? I’ll tell you what I thought about it way before I stumbled upon this recipe. That creamy, orange-colored starchy cheese dip for nachos and crackers that you get at stadiums and boozy parties. The bottled kind with lots of artificial flavors that would get your tongue desperate for water later on. That was before I knew that there was a fancier, Christmassy version of this which was luscious, pretty, and actually sophisticated. This cheese dip is made with nutty and tangy brie cheese (plus a bit of cheddar) that’s baked to gooey...

Crispy Roasted Cauliflower Recipe with Parmesan

Golden Brown Roasted Cauliflower | cookingwithcassandra.com

Roasted vegetables are one of my favorite side dishes to make as they come together so easily, are healthy, and taste good. (My recent obsession is this bacon-roasted Brussels sprout recipe.) Today’s recipe features roasted cauliflower. Each bite of parmesan roasted cauliflower is laced with garlic, coated in breadcrumbs, and covered in parmesan cheese. If you are looking for a fun way to introduce vegetables into your diet or into your kids’ diet, this roasted cauliflower recipe is just what you need. Aside from being beautifully flavored, it has a fun texture – the baked...

Easy Bruschetta Recipe

Toasted Bread with Bruschetta Toppings | cookingwithcassandra.com

One of the reasons why I enjoy summer (besides barbecues and sunshine) is because of all the produce that is in-season. Melon and berries often get the spotlight as summer fruits, but think about all the fresh tomatoes! This fruit (we aren’t going to debate on whether tomatoes are fruits or vegetables!) is perfect for one of my favorite appetizers: bruschetta. Bruschetta — a traditional Italian antipasto — is essentially a tomato mixture on grilled bread slices and is great as an appetizer, snack, side dish or even on its own. They look fancy, but are so easy to make! With...

Healthy Cauliflower White Pizza (with step-by-step instructions)

Cauliflower Pizza | cookingwithcassandra.com

Through the years dabbling with culinary arts, here’s my thesis: Cauliflower works the hardest. You can bake it, make soup from it, air-fry it, mash it, and even make rice from it. This vegetable is definitely versatile, and when you want to make a low-carb pizza, cauliflower will happily rise to the occasion. Keep reading for my tried-and-tested cauliflower pizza crust recipe plus how to make a white, cheesy topping. This vegetarian pizza is a timeless companion - you can have it for lunch, dinner, I will admit I have even had leftovers for breakfast. The blend of...

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce | cookingwithcassandra.com

I was beyond words when I found out PF Chang’s was launching here in Canada. My husband and I are huge fans of Asian food, so we rushed to book a table there for dinner. Needless to say, we were impressed! Of all the amazing dishes we had, I knew I had to try and replicate PF Chang’s chicken lettuce wraps. Tender, juicy and just so full of flavor. These chicken lettuce wraps are so versatile - they work really well as starters or as part of a main course, depending on how many people are at the table. What I absolutely love about these delicious wraps is that they’re...

Mexican Flatbread Pizzas

Can we both agree that Mexican street corn (also known as elotes Mexicanos) is the single most exciting way to eat Canada’s third most grown crop? Yep, I’m talking about corn! We’ve become so used to cooking recipes that name corn as just another topping, but it rarely gets the spotlight, you know? This humble vegetable always contributes itself to dishes like salads, salsa, pizza toppings, and more, going unnoticed and staying in the background. But not this time. Oh, no! In today’s Mexican street corn recipe, we let corn take center stage. The sour cream and...

Garlic Butter Baked Shrimp

Garlic Butter Shrimp | cookingwithcassandra.com

Does anyone else find themself frequenting the frozen dinners aisle at Costco a lot more than they should? That was 100% me before I began my cooking journey… There are just so many different things to try! Who can say no to an easy, no-frills, microwaveable meal every now and then? My days of frozen dinners are behind me, but I recently thought about this garlic butter shrimp scampi I once had which actually tasted amazing. I decided to recreate it with my own spin on it. I present you: the best garlic butter shrimp you’ll ever have. Instead of going the pasta route, this...

Easy Homemade Pico De Gallo

Homemade Pico De Gallo Recipe | cookingwithcassandra.com

What’s a tangy, fresh dip that goes super well with chips? You guessed it – salsa! No more buying bottled salsa, my friends. Today, I’m showing you exactly how to make authentic pico de gallo. It isn’t exactly salsa, though it is just one step shy. The only difference is that salsa is a puréed form of the same ingredients, whereas pico de gallo (or salsa fresca) keeps its vegetables in solid form. In Mexican restaurants and fast food joints, pico de gallo is found in fish tacos and meat burritos, acting as a sweet and spicy relish. Plus, it’s the perfect dip for tortilla...

Cassandra Morris