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

20141231_114632   20141231_114233   always a delight !!

20141231_170223  Apple Pecan Pie.

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DSC_0140  lovely family candle lit dinner .

DSC_0147  20141231_193917  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 !

DSC_0137 20141231_194015  Mushroom Risotto.

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20141231_201739~2  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.

20141227_145806 main dish.

20141227_145747  20141227_145822  steak and potatoes.

20141227_145923  20141227_145942 mloukhieh,kibbeh and cheese rolls.

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20141227_124916  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.

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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.

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Bad Flu Day :(

Hello everybody.

No strength to cook anything today, have a bad cold and sleepless night.

Anyway I was going to lunch at Mom’s who invited my aunt and cousin,though I told her I’ll make the dessert but I really couldn’t.

Lunch was also fava beans with rice and a bid bowl of fresh lemony salad.

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Artichoke with Dip and Mloukhieh.

Hello everybody.

What a long Saturday !

Went grocery shopping as usual,found these lovely fresh artichokes and bought a couple to try them, first time I buy them like this I usually get them frozen or canned. Even the man working at the grocery shop asked me:” what are going to do with these? ” told him I really have no idea.

Well after a quick search I combined many recipes together and came out with this easy conclusion, boiled the artichokes with lemon slices,clove of garlic and some bay leaves then made a dip which is a mix of yogurt,lemon juice,balsamic vinegar,mayonnaise and some salt. Really yummy and great as appetizer before dinner or if you have a gathering,it’s also a healthy substitute to chips or crackers.

Lunch was coarse mloukhieh (ملوخيه ورق) ,as a friend told me this morning make mloukhieh it’s the lazy lady’s choice , well I’m not lazy but needed the quickest choice I assure you.

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Chicago Style Burgers with Beef Bacon.

Hello everybody.

Nice sunny day after a gloomy rainy week,feels great to have your coffee outdoor with some delicious biscottis.

Lunch was fresh Chicago style burgers from Miles stores with crispy beef bacon and sauteed mushrooms onions mix.These burgers are really tasty and well spiced specially with the crispy beef bacon.

Of course French fries and mixed veggies are a must with burgers  🙂

Enjoy your weekend.

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DSC_0884  morning coffee in the sun.

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Soup for Sure.

Hello everybody.

Another cold and rainy day, I’m definitely positive most houses in Jordan have a soup on the table today , it’s the most effective heart and body warming tool these days 🙂

I made noodles with carrots and peas soup,added a bit of green onions and garlic, yummy with a twist of lemon juice.

Though I have some courgettes from yesterday but won’t be enough as always so I made some macaroni and cheese, pasta mixed with sauteed onions,mushrooms and two packs cooked mushroom soup with cheese on top.

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DSC_0771  and yes did another batch of marmalade 🙂

 

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Spinach Pastries.

Hello everybody.

Cold and rainy this morning and expected to continue till tomorrow, a warm comfort meal is in demand !

I cooked spinach with minced meat and rice on the side,kids love this dish though my husband hate it,so I made this new way of spinach pastries which are usually done as a big loaf ,very thin and full of olive oil, but made them as small squares and not soaked in oil a lot.

You make a simple no yeast dough,flour,salt and water only. leave to rest then form it into small balls, roll each one into a thin layer then add spinach mixed with cooked onions,salt,pepper,chili and lemon juice to make 2 layers of spinach and three of the dough then fold it as square and pat them as thin as you can.

Bake in a greased pan in a well heated oven till golden, really good with some fresh yogurt from Irbid.

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Meat Balls with Vegetables.

Hello everybody.

Had no clue at all what to cook today, problem is I have many errands and invited to a morning gathering as well.

After opening and closing both fridge and freezer hundred times I took out all veggies I found plus some cooked meat balls, sautéed them all together with some onions then added some tomato paste and water, left them to simmer and that’s it. Easy and quick.

I also made a nice carrot cake to take with me tonight to Auntie Sahar’s dinner. Full day right?  Wait till you see tomorrow’s program

Cold Days= Dry Beans.

Hello everybody.

Definitely cold these days,crisp wind specially when the sun goes down,best place to be these days is in the car !

  Dry white beans are a good option in this case,though I’m not a big fan of it, so I did some avocado dip or kind of guacamole and remember the olives I pickled the other day with veggies and walnuts? well they’re perfectly done now,really yummy with hot bread !

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20141109_161544  pickled olives.

20141109_161637  avocado dip.

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Hello everybody.

Lovely sunny day,hope all weekend stays like this,started with a lovely breakfast outside in the sun, new olives are done they’re absolutely delicious.

I was invited to a gathering noon time and just before I left I decided to bake some cookies to take with me,after searching  in my books for something quick I didn’t do before I found this super easy one,  I used Quality Street chocolates, simply crushed a bunch in the food processor instead of normal chocolate chips,this box has been on the coffee table since Adha Eid so I’d better use it rather than eat it alone,don’t you all love these chocolates? never bored of them!

Ingredients and method:

* 1/2 cup butter ( reduce it a bit if using heavy chocolates)

* 1/2 cup peanut butter.

* 3/4 cup brown sugar.

* 1 egg.

* 2 tablespoons milk.

* 1 tsp vanilla.

* 1/2 small spoon baking soda.

* 1/2 tsp baking powder.

* 1 3/4 cups flour.

* 3/4 cup chocolate chips or crushed ones of any kind.

 

* Mix butters and sugar well till creamy then add egg,vanilla,milk.

* add flour,baking soda and powder then last thing add the chocolates.

*Shape into balls then flatten them a bit,usually I use a coffee cup bottom.

* bake in a medium heated oven for 10-13 minutes or till bottoms are golden.

* cool then keep in cookie jar or tightly closed tin.

These will sure put a big smile on a child’s face specially with a hot chocolate in a cold day 🙂

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DSC_0378  don’t you just love these?

20141106_093116 morning breakfast,yummy!

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