Kebab with Tomatoes ( كباب هندي)

Hello everybody.

Had to go to Irbid this morning so I needed to cook something quick, after giving the boys two options kofta or spinach they agreed on the first, I even cooked the onions and tomatoes last night to save time.

Early this morning I added ketchup, mustard and to kofta, made them finger shaped,sautéed them in some oil then added them the the sauce, I even cooked the rice in case I was caught up in time which is exactly what happened.

Ingredients and method:

Ingredients and method:
* kofta meat ( ready from butcher)
* onions.
* garlic.
* tomatoes.
* green peppers.
* 1 can chopped tomatoes
* 1 spoon ketchup and mustard.

* mix kofta with ketchup and mustard.
* form it to small kebabs finger shaped.
* coat them with flour then keep in fridge for a while.
* heat some olive add the kebabs till brownish from all sides.
* add chopped onions, garlic, peppers sautee with meat till tender.
* add 2 peeled chopped tomatoes and the can.
* leave to simmer for 30-40 minutes. Or you can put it the oven if you like.
* serve with rice.

I added some potato slices today as a change.

a real comfort food in this weather.

Rock Cookies Gift

Hello everybody.

Went to a lovely gathering at a newly wed friend’s house, we really had a great time, different generations all together around a delicious elegant variant table. Thank you sweet cheerful Nisreen we really had great time.

Because Friday is usually a long day and afternoon went so slowly I was really bored that I suddenly decided to bake some Rock Cookies last night to take some with me.

I even created a box to fill them in,I wrapped an old Lindt chocolate box with gift’s paper then added a small decorative flower, never throw away these small things on chocolates or giveaways you never know when you’ll use them .

Lunch today is simple basic pasta with minced meat and tomato sauce with some leftovers from yesterday.

rock cookies.

pasta with tomato sauce.

Shakshuka.

Hello everybody.

Invited to breakfast this morning so I wanted to cook something as quick as possible, this simple rich dish was the rescue recipe, my husband saw and wrote it down long time ago in Fatafeat cooking channel. Though the original recipe on the net usually doesn’t contain sausages like this one so you can do it with or without. Very tasty and good for a Friday brunch by the way.

Anyway breakfast was at a nice place in Taj Mall called Majnoon Qahwa, though service is slow as always in MOST Amman restaurants but food was really good and all in all atmosphere is cozy and nice,most important thing is that smoking area is completely separated so no Argileh smoke to suffocate you !

And they do have excellent Yemeni coffee,really strong and aromatic.

Ingredients and method of Sahkshuka:

* 1 large thinly sliced onion.

* 4 cloves of garlic ( used my new mortar to crush them)

* 1 can or 5 big diced tomatoes.

* some fresh sausages (optional).

* chili powder,salt and pepper.

* some chopped parsley (optional)

* 4-5 eggs.

* olive oil.

* saute onions and garlic in hot olive oil till tender.

* chop sausages and add them.

* add the tomatoes,salt,pepper and chili then leave to simmer till done.

* crack the eggs on top and cover .

* leave over low heat till eggs are done the way you like them.

my new kitchen tool,stone mortar from IKEA.

yummy Shakshuka.

Italian Style Courgettes and Meatballs.

Hello everybody.

Today’s lunch idea is from my dear cousin living in Rome,she’s a great source of many dishes I did, love her recipes because I feel they’re original or taken from Italian housewives not books and restaurants. Thank you dear you always give me new ideas which are always yummy.

Though courgettes in Rome look different than ours but guess taste is similar, I even did some pumpkins with them. Idea is to stuff them with meat only and I made rice on the side.Taste is really yummy and everybody loved it.

I also made a small side dish from the remaining meat,stuffed them with mozzarella cheese and made them balls,coated with bread crumbs then sauteed them in some oil.Amazing with some thick tomato sauce as dip on the side.

Ingredients and method:

* hollowed courgettes ( cut them from both sides)

* mined meat mixed with 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs( or 1 egg and little breadcrumbs as you prefer),salt,pepper,some chopped parsley and Parmesan cheese.

* For the sauce:

* finely chopped tomatoes ( 4-5) or a can.

* 1 stick celery.

* 1 small onion.

* 1 small carrot.

* basil leaves,salt and pepper.

* mix meat well and stuff courgettes then line them in a Pyrex or oven pan.

* chop onion,celery very fine and saute in olive oil.

* add grated carrot and tomatoes.

* add a bit of water and leave to simmer till thick.

* pour over courgettes,cover and leave in the oven for one hour till done.

Note : I used remaining meat mix to make mozzarella stuffed balls.

mozzarella stuffed meat balls

Minestrone Soup.(شوربه ايطاليه)

Hello everybody.

Rainy day and I have a bad flu, a rich hot soup is a blessing in this case.I did this soup once in Ramadan but didn’t post the recipe so it’s a chance to do it again, definitely a rich aromatic tasty one.

Ingredients varied when I searched for the recipe so I consulted my dear cousin living in Rome for the original one that Italians usually do and she gave me the secret ingredient that you won’t find in any recipe but I added it after taking the photo.

Ingredients and method:

* 1 small finely chopped onion.

* 1 clove garlic.

* bunch of chopped basil.

* 1/2 cup chopped celery.

* 1 small chopped zucchini.

* 2 small chopped carrots.

* some sun dried tomatoes.

* 1/2 cup black beans.

* 1/2 cup green beans (optional )

* 2 leaves finely chopped lettuce. (secret ingredient)

* 1 can chopped tomatoes.

* 1 tsp tomato paste.

* 4 cups broth or water and cube of broth.

* 2 bay leaves.

* salt,pepper and oregano.

* 3/4 cup small shaped pasta.

* Parmesan cheese.

* saute onions,garlic,carrots,celery till tender.

* add rest of ingredients then broth and pasta and 1 tablespoon of cheese, boil then leave to simmer till done and all ingredients are tender.

* sprinkle with Parmesan cheese when served.

Cherry cookies and Eggplant Tajeen (منزلة باذنجان).

Hello everybody.

December is a festive month,many people celebrating Christmas like to try new recipes for dinner or lunch or as Christmas treats or cookies. I’ll try to make something new each day this month to give you some ideas, food websites have thousands of recipes but not all are feasible or easy to make so I’ll be picky and try them before publishing don’t worry.

Today I tried these cute cherry cookies since my husband bought a big jar of preserved cherries, very easy and quick to do,you can even use any kind of preserved fruit you like but cherries have this beautiful red happy color that’ll look great on your table .

Lunch today was eggplant tajeen or a more precise description Arabic style Moussaka, it’s very similar but without white sauce , it contains baked or fried eggplants with cooked minced meat with onions ,with layers of green peppers and potatoes ( optional ) some people make it with only eggplants and meat . After layering them you add a pack of tomato paste with 2 cups of water then leave to cook in the oven or on very low heat ( I added a cube of chicken stock to enhance the flavor)

Ingredients and method of cookies ( makes 2 dozens)

* 1 cup butter.

* 1 cup sugar.

* 2 1/2 cups flour.

* 2 tablespoons milk.

* 1/2 cup crushed walnuts.

* 1 cup cherries.

* Beat butter and sugar very well till creamy then add salt and flour.

* add milk till you get a firm dough.

* roll dough to a long rectangle on wax paper.

* arrange cherries in a line in the middle then close dough on them.

* roll the cylinder formed over crushed walnuts then wrap all in the wax paper and refrigerate for 1 hour till firm.

* cut the log to 1 cm pieces and arrange in an oven pan and bake in a medium heated oven for 15-20 minutes.

* cool then store in a well closed jar.

* NOTE: these cookies can be done a week ahead and will stay fresh if stored well.

Nachos in an Eastern Look (فته مكسيكيه).

Hello everybody.

We all ate too much during this week ,lunches and dinners, so today we’re eating light to at least lessen the guilty feelings.

I made potato salad with dill and spring onions,grilled veggies tossed with pomegranate syrup and olive oil and this Mexican dish in an Arabic twist.

Learned this dish from my cousin, you simply cook some onions,tomatoes and black beans to form a sauce then spread it over the Nachos then add tahini sauce,chopped tomatoes,beans and some parsley on top. Really easy and light cause you don’t add cheese or butter,you can use light nachos for a healthier version.

Hope you all enjoying Friday so far.

Pasta in White Sauce (معكرونه بالبشاميل).

Hello everybody.

Bright clear sunny morning after heavy thunder and rain all night,really refreshing though dusty day all over again 🙁

Went shopping as usual , very crowded streets and shops!!! came back to make quick lunch as I have cooked minced meat in freezer so pasta with white sauce was the option, did fresh roca pomegranate salad with walnuts and grated cheese on top and fresh fruit salad for dessert,all extremely fresh and nutritious.

Ingredients and method for pasta:

* cooked tube shape pasta.

* white sauce (bechamel) ,try to make it not too thick so as it can fill pasta easily.

ingredients and method of white sauce:

4 tablespoons butter.
4 tablespoons flour.
4-5 cups milk.
salt,pepper .
heat pan then add butter and flour, stir well till flour is golden.
add milk gradually and whisk well while doing that till all quantity is well incorporated.
add salt and pepper.
keep whisking till it boils and becomes thick.
add cheese now or later on between pasta layers as you wish.
Note: if clots appears you can simply use hand mixer a bit or blender.

* cooked minced meat with tomato sauce ( I added small chopped onion,garlic,basil,oregano and tomato paste.)

* some butter for greasing the pan.

* mozzarella cheese for the top.

* grease oven pan with butter then add half of the pasta.

* add half the amount of white sauce then add tomato meat sauce over it.

* add other half of pasta and white sauce,sprinkle with dry oregano and cover.

* bake in a medium heated oven for 30-40 minutes then add cheese on top and roast till golden.

* let it stand to cool a bit for easier serving.

beautiful fresh morning 🙂

roca pomegranate salad.

fresh fruit salad.

Tomato Thyme Pastries.

Hello everybody.

End of a long holiday,rearranging Eid sweets and Arabic coffee stuff,back to cooking and kitchen work.

lunch was fava beans with rice,didn’t make much cause only me and my youngest son like it,so I made some pastries the old fashion way, dough is simple flour (whole grain and white),yeast,oil, salt then added some sesame seeds and black seeds (قزحه).

Filling was green thyme leaves,finely chopped onion rubbed with salt and pepper,finely chopped fresh tomatoes and sun dried tomatoes, salt,pepper and chili powder and a good amount of olive oil.

Make the dough into balls then spread them,fill and close as triangles,I filled the extra dough with cheese and turkey.

Appetizer Platter.

Hello everybody.

After yesterday’s big breakfast I went shopping to prepare for dinner,our dear friends Salam and Flora came to dinner last night with sweet adorable baby Mariam,lovely evening and food.

I made a big appetizers platter similar to the one we ate last week at Bonita Restaurant,well it was close enough but not as perfect. It contained avocados with tomatoes,smoked salmon with cream cheese dill filling on a bed of rocca, frilled chicken with pesto sauce on top and grilled eggplants ant tomatoes with cheese in between or as they name it eggplant tower.

Salad was Rocca with pomegranate seeds,walnuts and cheese, main dish was grilled steaks with lemon thyme butter on top and baked potatoes and veggies on the side.

Dessert was an extremely rich delicious Velvet Cake done by my lovely guest ( homemade from scratch), you’re right Flora tasted even better today, thank you my dear <3

table setting.

What to cook today?

day by day cooking ideas

tomatoes

Kebab with Tomatoes ( كباب هندي)

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Rock Cookies Gift

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Shakshuka.

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Italian Style Courgettes and Meatballs.

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Minestrone Soup.(شوربه ايطاليه)

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Cherry cookies and Eggplant Tajeen (منزلة باذنجان).

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Nachos in an Eastern Look (فته مكسيكيه).

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Pasta in White Sauce (معكرونه بالبشاميل).

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Tomato Thyme Pastries.

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Appetizer Platter.

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