Mshabbak (مشبك بمناسبه عيد المولد النبوي الشريف).

Hello everybody.

Today marks the Birth of Prophet Mohammad ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) on this occasion almost all sweet shops sell this kind of dessert called “Mshabbak” ,I looked through different recipes last night and decided to do it at home ,cause the ones you buy though maybe crunchy and better looking but they’re too sweet , heartburn often starts after the first bite.

Recipe is simple but process is a bit difficult, first one is usually a mess .

Mshabbak recipe:

* 1 1/2 cups flour.

* 1 cup starch.

* 1 big tablespoon instant yeast.

* 1 tablespoon sugar.

* pinch of salt.

* 2 cups warm water.

* some red food coloring.

* sugar syrup.

* oil for frying.

* Mix flour,starch,yeast,sugar,salt and warm water very well till no clogs are formed.

* leave covered in a warm place to rise for 45-50 minutes.

* heat the oil then drop the dough in circle or strips form using the cream decorating device.

*Remove when golden from both sides then dip half of it in red food coloring dissolved in some water.

* dip them right away in sugar syrup.

It might be a difficult messy process but outcome is super delicious,of course I sent dishes to neighbors,mom and mother in-law to lesson the crime as usual.

mshabbak dough.

dipping in food coloring.

dipping in syrup.

Happy New Year :)

Hello everybody.

Waited till now to write my post so as not to ruin the surprise, I baked a beautiful birthday cake for my lovely cousin requested by her sweet sister-in-law,I also made an Apple Pecan Pie as a gift from me. Happy Birthday dear doc and Happy New Year to you and all your family, love you all.

As for our new year’s eve, we had a small special candle lit dinner at home , very early so as not to eat heavy late at night then ended it with our usual coffee with chocolates, typical family celebration, we’ll watch T.V for the rest of the night.

Dinner was steaks with sauteed veggies, cheese pastries, mixed green salad with lentils pomegranate and feta cheese and a new dish which was extremely delicious “Italian Mushroom Risotto” got these dried mushrooms from my cousin living in Rome, soaked them in water then sauteed them with onions and butter then cooked the rice with mushroom soaking water, really yummy yummy.

Ingredients and method of Apple Pecan Pie:

* pie crust.( same as apple pie)

* filling:

* 3 big peeled chopped apples.

* 3/4 cup chopped pecans.

* 1/2 cup sugar ( brown or regular)

* 1 tablespoon starch.

* 1 tablespoon cinnamon.

* 1 tablespoon butter.

For the crumble:

* 1/2 cup finely chopped pecan.

* 2 tablespoons butter.

* 3/4 cup flour.

* 1/2 cup sugar.

* spread pie crust in special pie pan.

* mix filling ingredients together and add on crust.

* mix crumble ingredients in food processor till crumbly .

* add on top of pie filling.

* bake in a medium heated oven till golden from sides. (30-40 minutes)

Enjoy your night everybody and wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR <3 <3 <3

always a delight !!

Apple Pecan Pie.

lovely family candle lit dinner .

cheese pastries and lentil pomegranate salad.

By the way Italians believe that eating pomegranate and lentils at new year’s eve is a good omen,the more you can eat the more money you get, so we’ll see what will happen next year !

Mushroom Risotto.

Great end to a nice dinner <3

Mud Pie ( Lunch and Birthday ).

Hello everybody.

Big day! lunch in the honor of my cousin and birthday of my big bro, all people around the table today are precious to me that’s why we had great time and enjoyed every minute . WELCOME my dear family,love you <3.

Lunch was many dishes, main was Rice with veggies and chicken (رز بنان) ,steaks with mushroom,hot spicy potatoes,mloukhieh,kibbeh,cheese rolls, marinated salmon,green salad and rocca pomegranate salad.

main dish.

steak and potatoes.

mloukhieh,kibbeh and cheese rolls.

marinated salmon.

Dessert was knafeh,strawberries with dips and this new awesome recipe I got from my sis, Mud Pie, it really looks like a plant you can’t tell it’s something edible specially that I inserted a real flower in it 🙂

Oh most important thing I got some beautiful presents ,one of them is a bunch of lovely stuff from my dear cousin living in Rome ,thank you lovely Rita.

Ingredients and method:

* 75 Oreo biscuits.

Mix 1 :

* 1 pack vanilla pudding.

* 2 cups milk.

Mix 2:

* 2 packs cream.

* 3/4 cups milk.

Mix 3 :

* 2 packets cream cheese.

* 1 tablespoon butter.

* 1/2 cup sugar.

*Mix each one alone then add mix 1 and 2 to 3.

* Mash Oreos in food processor.

* In a deep transparent bowl make layers of Oreo then cream but take care not let cream appear on the side so that overall look be all brownish.

* leave in fridge to settle ( I made it yesterday) and decorate with real or artificial plant or flower.

Smores Monkey Bread.

Hello everybody.

A member in my group posted a video of how to make monkey bread last night and many were asking for recipe.By chance I was planning to do this monkey bread with a twist recipe since last week,even have all ingredients ready but didn’t have the time to do it.

To be honest original recipe contains too much sugar so I didn’t add the exact amount written and added some ingredients to add up the flavor.Monkey bread is a very nice dessert to do in wintry cold days, resembles a lot the taste of cinnamon rolls bit easier to do, you can find many different recipes,basic one is very simple then you can add any flavors or nuts or marshmallows and chocolate depending on how you prefer it.

Lunch today was Spaghetti with chicken cream and pesto.

Ingredients and method:

For the dough:

* 2 1/2 cups flour.

* 1 cup crushed digestive biscuits.

* 1/3 cup warm water.

* 1/3 cup brown sugar.

* 1 tsp instant yeast.

* 2 eggs.

* 1/2 cup butter.

* 1/3 cup warm milk.

* 1 tsp baking powder,pinch of salt.

For the sauce:

* 1/2 cup butter.

* 1/3 cup sugar.

* 1 pack cream.

* 1 tsp cinnamon.

* 1 cup mini marshmallows.

For the assembly:

* 1 cup crushed digestives.

* 2 tablespoons butter.

* chocolate chips and marshmallows.

* Make the dough by first whisking the water with yeast and sugar and leave it till it foams.

* beat eggs with butter and milk.

* add all to flour and biscuits mixed with baking powder and salt.

* knead well till you form a firm dough,leave covered in a warm place till it rises ( 1 hour)

* make the sauce by mixing all ingredients except marshmallows till syrup boils then add them and mix well.

* make equal sized balls from the dough and leave to rise again.

* cover balls with crushed biscuits and butter.

* in a round oven pan spread some biscuits in the bottom,pour some of the sauce then line the balls all over.

* sprinkle some chocolate and marshmallows.

* add another round of balls and repeat filling.

* add the rest of the sauce all over.

* cover and leave to rise and doubles in size.

* bake in a medium heated oven for 30-40 minutes.

* leave to cool a bit then flip over.

* Note 1: I made a butter,cinnamon,brown sugar sauce and drizzled it on top cause it looked a bit dry.

* Note 2: basic monkey bread is done the same way but without digestive and marshmallows only cinnamon and butter.

*Note 3: key word for a successful monkey bread is letting dough rise well and leave it to rest after each handling.

ENJOY really yummy.

today’s lunch.

Arabic Fried Crepe (زلابيه) and Chicken in a bag :)

Hello everybody.

As I said today is a compensation to last week’s lousy food ! since I’m free this morning plus no car available, which is a blessing sometimes, I made stuffed chicken with veggies,freekeh soup, beetroot salad and this traditional kind of sweet called Zalabia which is as described best fried Crepe.

Continue reading →

Barbara Sweet ( حلوى البرباره).

Hello everybody.

Today I made this kind of sweet usually done by Christians in the Levant region on the 5th of December celebrating Saint Barbara feast which is a traditional holy event.

Learned how to do this sweet from our lovely Lebanese neighbor long time ago,she used to make a big dish to each house in the neighborhood may God rest her loving soul. Mom continued to make it throughout the years and I’ve been doing it also,I guess in the memory of the good old days in Jabal Al-Hussein.

Ingredients and method:

* 1 kg of pealed wheat ( قمح مقشور).

* 1 cup sugar.

* 1 tablespoon cinnamon.

* 1 cup raisins.

* 1 tablespoon ground anise.

* 1 tsp ground fennel (optional)

* coconut,sweetened anise seed,candy and nuts (for decorating the top)

* boil the wheat either in a pressure cooker or regular pan till done and water is little and thick.

* add cinnamon,anise,sugar and raisins and leave to boil for another 20-30 minutes on very low heat till all mixture is syrupy and thick.

* pour in small or big dishes as you prefer and garnish with coconuts,candied anise ( قمبز) or any kind of candy or nuts.

Serve hot in this cold weather, yummy yummy.

Apple Strudel.

Hello everybody.

Went with my cousin yesterday to explore this new Austrian bakery that opened recently and was both disappointed and frustrated, place wasn’t as warm and appealing as photos showed,breads and cookies though some freshly baked but not encouraging at all, I specifically went to buy the famous apple strudel but the one they displayed was from 1 or 2 days ago so I declined,then got one plain loaf so as not to go out empty handed and to my surprise it was way too expensive 🙁

Anyway benefit of this visit is that I searched for apple strudel recipes all over,then got this original easy healthy one from my Austrian friend and made one today from scratch,even did’t use phyllo or puff pastries better than any bought one,really delicious.Thank you dear Mary for your help <3

Ingredients and method:

For the dough:

* 2 cups flour.

* 1 egg.

* 2 big spoons butter.

*pinch of salt.

*100 ml (almost 3/4 cup) lukewarm water.

Filling:

* 1 kilo peeled and thinly sliced apples.

* 3/4 cup sugar.

* zest of a lemon.

* 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

* 3 tablespoons crushed walnuts or almonds.

* 3/4 cup raisins soaked in some water.

* 2 tsp cinnamon.

* 2 tablespoons bread crumbs.

* extra butter to brush top of strudel.

* icing sugar for decorating.

* make the dough by mixing flour,salt and egg in the middle mix well then add butter and rub all together.

* start adding water till you get a round hard dough that you can handle.

* leave to rest for 30 minutes.

* spread some flour on a kitchen cloth and spread the dough to a big rectangle.

* make the filling by mixing all everything together.

* spread the breadcrumbs over dough then add the filling in the center.

* with the help of the cloth fold the sides together and ends also very well.

* transfer slowly to a big oven pan .

* brush with butter then make some lengthwise cuts with a sharp knife.

* bake in a medium heated oven for 50-60 minutes.

* dust with icing sugar upon serving.

Great dish to do for Christmas by the way.

Thanks again Mary <3

made a poppy seed loaf and mushroom soup for lunch.

Crispy Tortilla Pizzas.

Hello everybody.

Bought these tortillas Saturday to do these pizzas and didn’t have time to do them till today, excellent when you don’t have time to make a dough. Even an extremely fast choice if you have ready pizza sauce and already grated cheese 🙂

You simply add pizza sauce on one tortilla,add any kind of topping you like, I made one salami,one roast beef,one only olives and one with only pesto and salami then add cheese. Top it with another tortilla on top and add some sauce and cheese on the surface. Bake them till crispy and golden on sides, really yummy yummy 🙂

One last tortilla left so made it as dessert, Nutella and crunch, FANTASTIC after lunch !

morning coffee with my best cousin <3

Nutella crime !

French Vanilla Coconut Cake.

Hello everybody and good morning.

Today we’re all invited to lunch at my husband’s dear aunt in Irbid so up North in an hour (شمات زي ما بنقول),I’m positive it’ll be a fancy meal and lovely enjoyable time as always, will post photos later for sure.

Usual me, I baked this delicious cake which I ate the other day at a gathering, easy and juicy, I wrote it down as Tara’s Cake,thank you lovely bride for the recipe.

Ingredients and method:

* 1 pack French Vanilla cake mix.

*1 can coconut milk.

* 1 can sweetened condensed milk.

* 1 pack whipping cream.

* roasted or regular coconuts.

* mix cake as instructed but bake in a deep rectangular or oblong Pyrex or serving pan ( cause cake will stay in it and served)

* with a knife make several cuts in the cake when cooled.

* mix coconut milk with sweetened one together and pour over cake and leave till all absorbed ( you can do it a day ahead and keep in fridge)

* decorate top with cream and coconuts.

Amazing recipe,guess it’ll be nice to do in Christmas Eve right?

Lovely Lunch at My Sis.

Hello everybody.

Busy Saturday morning as usual,grocery and many errands, good news is no cooking cause we’re invited at my sister’s house,very good feeling sometimes 🙂

Lunch was superb,well done and tasty as always, tomato soup, baked fish with saucy tomato garlic and herbs sauce,spiced rice with nuts and raisins and fatoush. Dessert was a new recipe,cream with Oreo yummy yummy.

I baked her favorite cake and took it with me Orange Poppy Seed Cake.

We really had great time,thank you my lovely sis.

tomato soup.

Oreo dessert.

What to cook today?

day by day cooking ideas

dessert

Mshabbak (مشبك بمناسبه عيد المولد النبوي الشريف).

Like this:

Happy New Year :)

Like this:

Mud Pie ( Lunch and Birthday ).

Like this:

Smores Monkey Bread.

Like this:

Arabic Fried Crepe (زلابيه) and Chicken in a bag :)

Like this:

Barbara Sweet ( حلوى البرباره).

Like this:

Apple Strudel.

Like this:

Crispy Tortilla Pizzas.

Like this:

French Vanilla Coconut Cake.

Like this:

Lovely Lunch at My Sis.

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