The 100th Post! WooHOO! Also, a Cajun Jambalaya recipe. :)

I made the 100th post on our blog!!! WOOT! lol That's actually kinda sad that I know that...and am excited about it. Whatever.

Anyway, here's a recipe for jambalaya I made for dinner today. It was so much easier than I imagined and turned out great! An awesome one dish dinner. Another WOOT.

Oh, this made about enough for two or three people.

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast, cut into small cubes

about 1 cup of shrimp

1-2 hot turkey sausages, diced (or hot dogs. or not.)

1 onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1-2 stalks of celery, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tomato, chopped (I ran out of tomatoes (I know, what desi runs out of tomatoes?!) so I just used tomato paste)

2 bay leaves

cajun/creole seasoning

paprika, oregano or Italian seasoning, dried parsley (all optional. the cajun/creole seasoning probably has these but I added extra anyway.)

1 cup uncooked rice

1 3/4 cups chicken broth or chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 2 cups water

Sautee the onions, celery and bell pepper in a bit of oil over medium heat. After about 3 minutes (the veggies don't have to be tender or anything) throw in the garlic and stir. Add the chicken and shrimp, bay leaves, cajun/creole seasoning and the rest of the seasonings and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Add the tomatoes or tomato paste and the chicken broth. Taste test and adjust for saltiness or spiciness. Add the rice, reduce heat and cook until the rice is tender. Voila.

I also fried up some homemade potato chips to go with this per Hubz's request.

Mexican Chicken-Rice thing.

Hi. I made this up one day. :)

I wanted to call it Mexican fried rice but then I realized it wasn't fried at all. Sooo...here ya go.

Ingredients

1/2 lb chicken breast

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, finely chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1 can black beans (optional)

1 tsp cumin powder

pinch of red chili powder

1-2 tbsp mexican oregano (I didn't have any so I used regular Oregano, you can also use Italian seasoning. I know, this is not an Italian dish, but whatever.)

1/2 tsp paprika

a few dashes of tabasco or taco sauce

salt to taste

1 cup rice

handful chopped cilantro

lime or lemon juice

Boil the chicken breast with a bit of salt and when its cooked and cooled, shred it up.

Heat oil in a sauce pan and sautee the onions and bell peppers for 1 minute. Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the tomato and jalapeno/serrano peppers and let cook for about 1 minute. Add the cumin, salt, red chili powder, oregano, paprika and the hot sauce and then stir in the rice and 1 3/4 cups of water. You can either add the chicken now or at the end after the rice is cooked. Let the rice come to a boil. When the rice is almost cooked, reduce heat to low, cover and let steam. When cooked, add the chopped cilantro and lime/lemon juice. Voila.

Apple Crisp

Warm, comforting, delicious apple crisp. Goes perfectly with vanilla ice cream. This is soo yummy and so easy to make. My SIL made it one day and I've been obsessed with it ever since. This is a recipe I found online for it, with a couple adjustments I made. This recipe will make enough for a 9x9 inch pan.

Ingredients:

4 or 5 apples (I use half red delicious and half granny smith) peeled, cored, and sliced a little thin

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp or so of cinnamon powder

pinch or two of nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp all-purpose flour

1/4 cup water

You can also add blueberries, raspberries, etc into the filling if desired. 

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/8 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/2 stick of butter, melted

You can also throw in some chopped pecans into the topping. 

Mix the apples with the first set of ingredients until thoroughly covered with the mixture.

Mix the second set of ingredients together. It will be kind of clumpy and crumbly. If it seems too wet, like a dough, add a bit more oats and flour.

Put the apples in the pan and pour whatever liquid is left in the bowl over the apples. Crumble the oat mixture over the apples evenly. Pop it in the oven at 350 for about 45 minutes. It'll be nice and golden brown and the place will be smelling loooovely!

Corn and Bean Salsa/Salad

This is really fresh and tasty on its own as a salad, or with chips as a salsa! You can play around with the ingredients and seasonings too - it's very versatile.

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can whole kernel corn

1 small green or red bell pepper, chopped

1 onion chopped and rinsed

1-2 green chilies (I used serranos, they're about 20 times hotter than a jalapeno)

handful of chopped cilantro

1 tomato, chopped (optional, I didn't put any in)

1 firm avocado, chopped (also optional)

3-4 tbsp lime/lemon juice

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder (or fresh minced garlic)

salt and black pepper to taste

Mix everything together. Done. :)

Lychee Mocktail

This is also totally my SIL's recreation of a drink she had at an Indo-Chinese restaurant (I believe) and it was SOOO GOOOD. I think you have to be a fan of lychee to really love it though. It's fresh and tropical and a super easy yet creative drink to have at your next gathering that'll impress the crowd.

Ingredients:

a can of lychees

grenadine (you can find this in the drinks section of most grocery stores or target.)

2-liter bottle of ginger ale

Pour the juice from the canned lychees into a large jug. Add about 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup of grenadine. Pour in the ginger ale. Stir, taste and adjust. You can either throw the lychees in the jug or add them individually to the glasses. Yummyyyy.

Mexican Hot Chocolate

So this is totally my sister-in-law's recipe that she made up on the spot after drinking some mexican hot chocolate at some place. It was confusing, silly, fun, exciting, spicy, and lucious. And other adjectives.

Ingredients:

Milk (preferably whole...because it's yummy)

hot chocolate mix of some kind or chocolate syrup

red chili powder (to your taste)

cinnamon powder (I'll say about 1/4 tsp per cup? does that seem like a lot? I dunno, eyeball it.)

a tiny dash of salt

Boil milk, add chocolate syrup/mix. Throw in chili powder, cinnamon and salt. Taste, adjust, enjoy.

NOTE: My SIL put in a good amount of cinnamon and chili powder. The cinnamon was yummy, not too strong, but the chili powder gave you a good kick in the back of your throat when you swallowed. =)

Mmm..Chicken Salad

LOL! I make this salad for my husband to take to work everyday! (he's on a 'DIET') and I cant believe I haven't mentioned this yet. I got this recipe off of some website years ago, but I tweaked it a bit to make it my own.

It turns out really really good! And when you pair it with a great italian dressing and croutons and maybe a hint of cheese over a great salad it turns out quite impressive although you haven't done much work.

Also, what I like to do, is ill marinate a bunch of chicken (maybe 4-5 lbs) at once and then separate into baggies and freeze it. so that way, i only have to slightly defrost in the morning and then bake it and hubby is ready to go! Which is also a good idea if you might have guests over suddenly.

so heres the recipe:
Ingredients:
2 lb chicken breasts cut into filets
10 tbsp. Minced garlic
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red flakes
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp oregano
salt to taste
olive oil to fry

Warm olive oil in a pan. Add in all ingredients except chicken. Let simmer on med lo for 5 mins or until brown. Remove and let cool. Mix with thin chicken filets and let marinate for 3-4 hrs. Bake at 350 degrees until cooked (around 25-30 mins). Cut into strips and serve with salad of choice (lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, etc).

ok remember, what i mean by filets is that chicken breasts are waay too thick, so you want to make them thinner. so basically you just cut them into thin slices like pasandas and then put slits in them as well, so you chicken isnt white and the flavor seeps all the way through. also after you're done baking do not discard the juices! make sure you keep that on the chicken as it gives it a more juicy flavor.

Do not use garlic paste, because the minced garlic really does give it a great flavor!
You don't have to cook the ingredients if you don't want to. The original recipe didn't. I just like the brown garlic and the flavor that comes after cooking. Again it's a very versatile recipe. Make it your own if you like!

Pineapple Chicken

i had more boneless chicken i wanted to experiment with so i did what i did last night. grilled in olive oil in an cast iron skillet and waited until the sides were browning. then i dumped in an entire can of crushed pineapples and let it simmer, almost completely covered. i threw in a huge sliced green bell pepper and some mushrooms (thickly sliced). afterwards, when the juices were drying up, i sprinkled some crushed red pepper on top and viola! it was amazing alhamdulillah

Ingredients

Boneless Chicken (1lb) thickly cubed
Olive Oil
Large Can of Crushed Pineapple
Sliced Bell Pepper
Sliced Mushrooms
Crushed Red Pepper

Sunshine Chicken

Ingredients

1lb boneless chicken cut into large bite sized pieces
1/2 green bell pepper cut into strips
5 large mushrooms sliced (thick)
1 cup of orange juice
2-3 lemon slices
salt/pepper to taste
olive oil

Directions

Grill boneless chicken pieces in the olive oil. I used a cast iron skillet. Once chicken is cooked on both sides and is browning, add the vegetables in the skillet. Saute the vegetables around the chicken and add the orange juice. Let simmer (half covered) until liquid evaporates. Add more OJ if your chicken seems dry. Season with salt/pepper and toss the lemon slices on top. Cover to retain moisture and to wilt he lemon slices (so flavor goes into the chicken/vegetables). Serve with rice or over pasta.

This literally took 30 minutes. Tasted awesome. Mushrooms are GREAT for soaking up flavor. Next time I may use canned pineapples.

Mac 'n Kheema Casserole

I literally made this up (to fit peoples dietary needs). Please feel free to experiment and update on how yours turns out, inshaAllah

1/2-1lb kheema
1/2 bell pepper chopped
1/2 Onion chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
2+ cups of thickly sliced mushrooms
2 cups of macaroni elbow noodles
1/4 cup spaghetti sauce of choice
olive oil
cajun spice seasoning
other spices (salt/pepper) as desired

Sautee mushrooms until half tender. Remove and place in medium sized casserole dish (covering the bottom of pan). Cook kheema until done (I added in some desi masalas here, laal mirch/haldi/ground black pepper). Add the spaghetti sauce and other vegetables. Mix well under high heat. Cover mushrooms in casserole dish with everything in the pot.

I had to cook the macaroni noodles on the side (bc some ppl can't have too many carbs) BUT I think if you cooked them WITH the kheema/veggies the taste would be better integrated. Also, I couldn't top it with cheese but a cheese & spinach topping would be divine (along with a 1/2 cup of cheese inside the kheema mixture to hold it together). I cooked the macaroni noodles with some cajun spice seasoning and it was YUM.

Cinnabon Clones!

I searched through many Cinnabon clone recipes and decided this one seemed like the best. There were literally about 350 reviews on it and they were all raving about how moist and yummy and exactly-like-the-real-thing they were. I made them the other day and thought they were pretty good but I need to figure out a way to make them more.....gooey? Anyway, this is the recipe with a couple modifications that I made after taking tips from all the reviews.

Ingredients:

1 package dry active yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

1 cup warm milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

4 cups all purpose flour

Filling:

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 1/2 tbsp cinnamon powder

1/3 cup butter, softened

Icing:

8 tbsp butter, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

Mix the yeast into the warm milk. In a big bowl, combine the sugar, salt, eggs, butter, flour and yeast and mix well to form the dough. If you think it's way too sticky, add a little bit of flour at a time while mixing. Knead the dough for a few minutes, put in a big bowl and cover with a towel and set aside to rise. I put mine in the oven after turning it on for a bit and sticking a bowl of water in there and then turning it off. I left mine in there for a couple hrs to rise. It should be double its original size.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface until its about 20 inches by 16 inches. It should be about 1/4 inch thick. Spread the softened butter over the entire surface of the dough and then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the butter. If you want you can add crushed pecans here too. Carefully roll up the dough from the long end. Cut the dough into about 1 inch to 1 1/2 inch thick rounds. Some people said they used string or floss. I just used a serrated knife and didn't press down very hard in order to maintain the round shape. Place in a lightly greased baking dish. At this point, some people had let the rolls rise again before baking them, but I was growing impatient so I just baked them at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

To make the icing, combine all the ingredients and mix with electric mixer until fluffy. Ice and enjoy. You can also add more pecans on top when finished.

Whateveryouwannacallit/Easy Chicken&Rice Pulao-ish thing.

My khala saw this on some desi cooking show (I think) and then my mom tried it out and I thought it was great and sooo easy! It's great for leftover rice, too!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb or 1 lb chicken breast, cut into small cubes

1 large onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 tbsp garlic-ginger paste

tandoori masala

BUTTER :)

lemon/lime juice

sliced green onions

chopped cilantro

If you have a cup or two of leftover rice you can use that, otherwise, boil up a couple cups of rice, until cooked but firm, not very soft or mushy.

Sautee the chicken over high heat, with garlic-ginger paste and a tsp or two of tandoori masala, in a couple tbsps of butter until cooked. Remove and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium, add more butter to the pan and some oil if you want and throw in the onions and sautee for a minute or two. Add the bell peppers and sautee another few minutes until they just start to get a little tender. Throw in the chicken chunks and the rice and add a few more tsps of tandoori masala and stir well. Let it all cook together for a minute or two until the rice is warmed through, then add a couple tsps of lemon juice to taste. Taste for salt. Turn off the stove, and add a couple more slices of butter, the chopped green onions and cilantro. TADA! This literally took me like 15 minutes to make, fresh boiled rice included!

V8 Beef Stew

Ive made this many times and always messed around with the ingredients. I feel the barbecue sauce gives it a smoky flavor, but skip it if you like. I saw some recipes online that brown the cubes first. You can do that too if you like, but I've never done it before.

All in all, I feel this is an extremely easy recipe thats good too. Just toss it in the cooker, and forget.

1 pound cubed beef
2 1/4 cups chopped potatoes
1 cup chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 large can V8 juice
Black Pepper
3-5 dashes of hot sauce (As spicy as you'd like it)
Oregano
Barbecue Sauce

Just put all the ingredients in a slow cooker and let cook on low for 10 hours. Or you could use a regular pot, and add in all the ingredients but the vegetables. Add the vegetables after an hour or so of cooking.

Just make sure the stew has become thick before serving. It should be a stew, not a soup.

Peach Cobbler

I had this at an interfaith even that I went to and it was amazing! normally i dont like deserts of any sorts but this was just soooo good.

Ingredients:

4 cups peeled, sliced peaches

2 cups sugar, divided

1/2 cup water

8 tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 1/2 cups milk

ground cinnamon, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F

Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan, and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer until sugar is dissolved (around 5 mins). Remove from the heat.

Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.

Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter, do not stir. Spoon fruit on top. Gently pouring in syrup, sprinkle top with ground cinnamon if desired. Batter will rise to the top while baking.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the top is golden brown.

To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Potato and Leek Soup

I've been craving soup lately so I googled a bunch of random recipes. I tried this one today. It's pretty easy and so creamy and buttery and yummy. I think it'd be really good with little chunks of beef in it too.

Ingredients:

3 or 4 potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks

2 leeks, only the top, white part, washed thoroughly and chopped finely

1 stalk of celery, finely chopped

2 shallots, finely chopped

1/2 stick of butter

1-2 cups of chicken broth or water

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

Sautee the shallots and leeks in half of the butter until tender or about 5-7 minutes. Add the water or chicken broth, celery and potatoes, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are very mushy. Mash the potatoes in the pot with a potato masher or puree in a blender if you want a very smooth soup. Add the cream, milk, and the rest of butter and heat for another few minutes. Taste (the butter and broth will already make it salty) and then add salt and pepper to taste. The original recipe called for parley to garnish but I added a little bit of fresh dill and it was great.

Steak Quesadillas with the fixin's

They have these at Chili's and I decided to recreate them at home with my own variations. This is just a fun and easy dinner idea.

Ingredients:

I used NY strip steak, cut into thin, 1-inch-long strips (you can also use chicken)

1 medium onion, sliced thick

tortillas

shredded cheese of any kind. you can usually find a "mexican" cheese mix at the grocery store

sliced jalapeños (I used the pickled kind you get in a jar)

red chili powder, cumin powder, garlic powder, paprika, lime juice and salt

Sautee the onions in butter and a bit of oil until caramelized and tender. Set aside. In the same pan, add more oil if you need and throw in the steak strips. Add in the seasonings and cook for about 10 minutes or until no longer pink. Set aside.

On warmed tortillas, sprinkle a little cheese on one half, then add the steak strips, and then some jalapeño slices then cover with more cheese. Fold the tortilla over and toast in a clean frying pan, covered, until brown and crispy and the cheese is melty. Cut into triangles. Serve wiiiiiiiith.....

Home-made Guacamole:

Mash together a few ripe avocados, chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, salt, red chili powder/minced green chilies, cumin powder, garlic powder.

Also serve with salsa and sour cream.

Koshary

I was recently introduced to this delicious dish that is a staple in Egyptian cuisine. It's simple but has so much flavor and is easy to make. It goes perfectly with some yummy kabobs.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice

1 cup WHOLE masoor dal/lentils

1 cup macaroni pasta

a handful of vermicelli or angel hair pasta

1 can chick peas

olive oil

garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

1 small onion, chopped

handful of celery leaves, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 jalapeño, chopped 

about 2 cups tomato sauce or 2 tbsp tomato paste mixed with water

1/4 tsp cumin powder

1/4 tsp paprika 

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper 

salt and pepper to taste

Sliced, fried onions 

Cook the rice with chicken broth or chicken cube dissolved in water. Boil the lentils and pastas separately until cooked. Mix everything together including the chick peas and drizzle with olive oil, garlic powder, adobo seasoning, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat oil and add onions and jalapeño, sautee for 2 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and celery leaves and stir. Add tomato paste/sauce and stir well. Add spices and let simmer for 10 minutes. Blend with immersion blender until smooth. 

Garnish with fried onions.

You can either serve them separately or mix it all together before serving. I like to serve it separately so you can add as much sauce as you like.

Super Easy Sugar Cookies and Home-made Frosting

I was in the baking mood today and decided to try THESE! Really easy and really yummy sugar cookies!

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening (1 stick)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda (I actually didn't have any so I used baking powder and it turned out fine)

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 pound (about 2 to 2 1/2 cups) confectioner's/powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the shortening and sugar. Beat in the egg, then add the flour, salt and baking soda and stir to form dough. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet. The dough doesn't spread too much so I had to flatten the balls of dough and it worked better. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. They shouldn't be golden brown or anything.

In a seperate bowl mix together the powdered sugar, egg, melted butter and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth. This will thicken a bit while it sits. Frost the cookies when they are completely cool.

Easy Shrimp Scampi with Angel Hair Pasta

Hubbs is on call today. Which means I've exhausted all things that could possibly keep me busy/entertained and I'm officially bored. I was also hungry and had no idea what to eat soooo I whipped this up in like 5 minutes and it was gooooood!

Ingredients:

Shrimp, peeled and thawed

about 3-4 tbsp butter

couple tbsp vegetable or olive oil

1 minced garlic clove

about 1 tsp parsley flakes

parmesan cheese. lots of it.

crushed red pepper

salt and black pepper to taste

Boil the angel hair pasta for about 5 minutes or until al dente. It probably doesn't even take 5 minutes.

Heat the oil and butter until melty and add the shrimp and fry until cooked. Add the garlic and stir for a minute. Add the parsley, crushed red pepper, parm, salt and pepper and stir. Add the pasta and stir to coat. There won't be a lot of sauce but the pasta will be coated and buttery and yummy. I added more parsley and parm on top. YUM.

Tropical Fried Rice

This is a different and refreshing take on regular fried rice and goes well with the coconut shrimp recipe I posted.

Ingredients:

2 cups cold cooked rice

1 cup pineapple tidbits

1 onion, chopped

1 small bell pepper, chopped

2-3 green onions, sliced

1-2 green chilies, sliced

1 tomato, chopped

1-2 eggs

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tbsp fish sauce

2-3 tbsp soy sauce

1 lime

black pepper to taste

red chili sauce/sambal to taste

chopped cilantro to garnish

I made this with small cubes of chicken. So first, I cooked the chicken over medium high heat until cooked and set aside. Scramble the eggs and set aside.

Add the ginger-garlic paste, fish sauce, soy sauce, and veggies to the wok and stir fry for a minute or two. Add the rice and stir thoroughly. Add the pineapple, chicken, egg, squeeze the lime over the rice, throw in the cilantro and mix thoroughly. Taste test and add more soy sauce or red chili sauce to taste.

I feel like you can totally play around with this recipe and add other things like mandarin oranges or coconut. Yum!

Coconut Shrimp

This is sooo easy and turns out exactly like restaurant quality coconut shrimp! I'm so excited.

Ingredients:

Large, uncooked shrimp; peeled, deveined and thawed

2-3 egg whites

1/2 cup all purpose flour

about 1 cup of unsweetened, shredded coconut

about 1/2 cup of Panko bread crumbs

red chili powder (optional)

lime zest (optional)

salt to taste

Heat enough oil to deep fry shrimp over medium heat. Don't let it get too hot or the breading will burn and the shrimp will remain uncooked.

Whisk the egg whites with a couple pinches of salt and red chili powder if you like some heat. Mix together the coconut, bread crumbs and lime zest (optional). Dredge the shrimp in the all purpose flour, then coat with the egg mixture, then coat with the coconut mixture. Kind of pressing the coconut mixture onto the shrimp ensures a good coat of breading. Fry the shrimp in the oil until they turn golden brown, or about 3-5 minutes.

The website I got the original recipe from had reviews from people who said the shrimp went well with some kind of chipotle or habanero dipping sauce. I didn't make any sauce because...I forgot. BUT...I did serve it with some really yummy tropical fried rice....recipe to follow.

Grilled Veggie Salad

My mother-in-law made this salad this past weekend and it was so good!

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

1 large tomato

1 large onion

2 jalapeño peppers

2-3 cloves of garlic

Do not peel or cut any of the veggies. Place them all into a small baking dish and broil until brown and wrinkly. My MIL said some people drizzle olive oil over them before broiling. Let the veggies cool after they are done. Peel and smush the garlic cloves. Peel everything else and chop into small cubes. Mix together with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a pinch of cumin powder. I can't remember but I think she may have added something green and leafy...cilantro? mint? parsley? Anyway, serve cold.

Easy Truffles!

I got this recipe off the amazing blog Bakerella! That woman has the cutest baking ideas and almost all of her ideas seem so easy to make!

Ingredients:

1 package of Oreos or Nutter Butter cookies

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, brought to room temperature

baking/candy coating chocolate (We used white chocolate for the Oreo truffles and milk chocolate for the Nutter Butter truffles.)

Crush up all the cookies but 5 in a food processor to a powder. Combine with the cream cheese to form a dough. Roll the dough into little 1 inch balls and place on foil or wax paper. Melt the chocolate as per directions and dip each ball into the chocolate to coat, wipe to bottom to get the excess chocolate off and place onto a wax paper-lined or greased cookie sheet. Place the truffles in the fridge for about a half hour to harden and enjoy! These are soo yummy! I want to try making these with thin mints! :)

Magic Cookie Bars

My cousin, Farah, used to make these all the time in Atlanta and they were soooo good! I recently saw Paula Deen making them on her show on the food network and was surprised at how easy they are to make and only take like 5 minutes to prep.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of Graham Crackers crumbs (I mashed them up in a food processor)

1 stick of butter, melted

a couple handfuls of the following:

• semi-sweet chocolate chips
• butterscotch chips
• peanut butter chips
• chopped pecans (or whatever nut you would like to use)
• shredded coconut

one can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

You can really add or take away any toppings you like with this, cranberries, raisins, all sorts of nuts, bite-sized candies, mini halal marshmallows, caramel, etc. The above are just the most typical toppings, and the ones I used.

Mix together the graham cracker crumbs and the melted butter to form a sort of dough. Press the crumb-butter mixture down into a greased/non-stick sprayed baking dish (I used 13x9 inch dish). Sprinkle on the toppings, one by one, and then drizzle on the entire can of condensed milk until the surface is covered with it. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Let cool completely and enjoy!

Indo-Chinese Chicken Pakoray

This is a knock-off of Hot Wok's famous chicken pakoray recipe. It's super easy, turns out really good, almost exactly like the real thing, and has been a hit every time I've made them.

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken kheema/ground chicken

2-3 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

about 1 cup chopped green onions

about 1 cup chopped green garlic 

minced green chilies, according to your spice preference

1-2 tbsp black pepper

3-4 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp vinegar or rice vinegar if you have

1/3 cup corn starch

1/4 cup all purpose flour

Mix all ingredients except the flours. When time to fry, add the corn starch and flour and mix thoroughly. Rub a bit of oil between your hands and form the mixture into small, 1-inch balls and deep fry until golden-brown. Serve with Sambal/hot sauce, Sriracha, or green chillies mixed with sugar and vinegar.

Beef Stew

This is a great hearty one-dish meal and it's another one of my favorite comfort foods. It's a pretty versatile dish so you can add any veggies you like and even some kind of pasta. I serve this with Sal's cheddar biscuits!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb to 1 lb boneless beef bite-sized cubes

1 large onion, diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 carrot sliced thick

1-2 stalks celery, sliced thick

1 large potato, diced

1-2 handfuls green beans. cut into 1/2 inch pieces

tomato, diced (optional)

beef broth or 1 cube beef bouillon

1 packet Knorr/Lipton onion soup mix

pinch of paprika

1-2 tbsp Italian seasonings

salt and black pepper to taste

1-2 tbsp tomato paste

shopped cilantro to garnish

I pressure cook the beef first. If you don't pressure cook your meat, proceed to the next steps.

Sautee the onion in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic and sautee for another minute. (For non-pressure-cooker-users, add meat here, brown, add water, cover and cook until tender.) Add veggies, bouillon cube dissolved in one or two cups of water, onion soup mix, paprika, Italian seasonings, salt, pepper, cover and cook. After about 7-10 minutes, add the beef and tomato paste and stir. You can adjust the consistency to your liking by adding more water or more tomato paste. Cook covered over low heat for about 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Aldi Brand Cake & Homemade Frosting

I was at Aldi one day and picked up a Bakers Corner brand Deluxe Moist Devil's Food Cake Mix. I cooked it per box instructions (adding 3 eggs, some oil, and water) at 325 degrees for close to an hour. I baked the cake the night before a party. Also the night before, I removed an 8oz container of cream cheese and a stick of butter from the fridge to become room temperature by morning.

Materials

Aldi's Bakers Corner Brand Cake Mix (chocolate...mmm)
3 eggs
Water
Oil

Frosting Ingredients

8oz can cream cheese (use around 6oz)
6tbps butter (almost the entire stick)
1-2 cups powdered sugar
2tsp milk

Bake cake. Let cool completely. Mix cream cheese and butter with a whisk until smooth. Add milk and powdered sugar. Mix until frosting becomes slightly firm but still smooth. Pour onto cake and smooth out. I frosted the cake a few minutes after guests arrived and by the time we got to dessert, it had settled nicely onto the cake. The homemade factor played a huge role because the cake was from a box and the frosting was a lot more enjoyable than something out of a can. Props to Sal for Google-ing a last minute recipe for me. She said that the powdered sugar amount you use shouldn't depend on the recipe but how sugary you want the frosting to be.

Baked Potatoes with Homemade Salsa

Ingredients

3 medium size potatoes
Kosher Salt
Olive Oil or Canola Oil

Salsa:

2 tomatoes cut into cubes
1 can of kidney beans (or beans of preference)
1 medium sized onion chopped
Chilies if desired
Seasoning to taste (I used Indian Masalas & Salt)

Cilantro as garnish. Additional toppings listed below.

Scrub potatoes clean and keep the skin on. Poke 4 times with a fork on each side so potatoes don't explode while baking and release steam. Place on baking sheet and drizzle oil and kosher salt on both sides. Bake potatoes in a baking tray at 350 degrees for an hour. The skin should feel crispy and the inside slightly tender.

While potatoes are baking, make salsa by putting the onions, chilies, tomatoes, and kidney beans in a small pot and cooking it with seasoning. Depending on the texture, you may want to add some water or wait for the tomatoes to become soft and release their own juice. Season as desired and cook until all ingredients are hot/tender/tasty.

Remove potatoes from oven and carefully slice open. Watch out for steam. Spoon salsa mixture into the potatoes and garnish with cilantro.

Additional toppings include sour cream, shredded cheese, and butter. Without these, the meal is very wholesome, fiber-rich, and filled with limited healthy calories.

To make it into a bigger, more filling meal, I had chicken corn soup and a salad on the side.

Baked Salmon

Ingredients

1lb fillet of Salmon (skinned)
1 can mandarin oranges
1 medium potato cut into cubes (with skin)
1 small onion sliced thinly
1tsp coriander seeds
1tsp fennel seeds
2tsp olive oil/canola oil
Handful of asparagus stalks


Directions

Remove salmon from packaging (completely thawed) and place into a small baking tray (lined with aluminum foil). The salmon should be in the middle. Sprinkle salmon with a bit of oil. Spread the potato cubes around the salmon. Lay asparagus stalks flat alongside salmon (depending on the size of your baking tray, on top of each other is fine). Sprinkle generous amounts of Seasoned Salt over potatoes, asparagus, and salmon. Sprinkle small onion slices onto salmon, along with the coriander seeds and fennel seeds. Drain the can of mandarin oranges and layer over salmon, generously. Cover with foil and set aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Set oven to 450 degrees. Let it warm completely to that temperature before playing tray inside. Cook salmon until it's an opaque pink and solidified inside, but not too dry. This will depend on your oven but it should take around 30 minutes, sometimes longer.

I tried this dish out with brown rice on the side and it was DELICIOUS. I initially set the oven to 350 but it wasn't working out - so I googled and found that 450 is an ideal temperature for cooking salmon. The vegetables can be substituted but the potatoes are delicious after seasoning and soaking in the salmon flavor. The asparagus were too cooked to my liking so you can potentially put those in when the salmon is close to being cooked so they will become cooked, but still retain a crunch. The mandarin oranges were PERFECT with the salmon and cooked well, flavoring the fish and adding a zest to each bite (re: be generous, one can of mandarins seems like a lot but it will be worth it). I'm going to try this recipe out again a few more times. I didn't find it in any particular place but took bits and pieces of other salmon recipes. Feel free to experiment and post adjustments!

1lb of salmon was only enough for a tasting quantity for the family. Ideally you'd have to have a lot more rice, a nice salad, and at least 2lbs of salmon for a larger household. Increase ingredient measurements to fit the fillet. This would have been more than enough for a full meal of 2 people.

Chicken Manchurian

For those of you who aren't familiar with this dish, Chicken Manchurian is a super yummy Indian-style Chinese dish from Bombay and I love it! I've tried a few different recipes and never really liked any of them but I found this one today and gave it a whirl, with a few of my own adjustments, and actually really like how it turned out!

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breast, cut into small strips or cubes OR cauliflower florets

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup corn starch

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

1-2 green chilies (According to your taste) minced

a handful of cilantro, chopped

1 cup of chicken stock

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp ketchup (optional) 

salt to taste

1 tsp corn starch in cold water

Mix the first set of ingredients into a nice thick batter, coat chicken in batter and deep fry until golden brown. Set aside.

Over medium-low heat, fry ginger-garlic paste for about a minute then add the green chilies and cilantro and fry for about another minute. You should be able to smell the stuff frying up by now. Add chicken stock, soy sauce, sugar, salt and ketchup and cook for about 2-5 minutes. NOTE: I didn't really use exact measurements when I was making this, so do a lil taste-test right about now. Add the corn starch dissolved in water and stir until the sauce thickens. Throw in the fried chicken chunks and enjoy with rice!