Baked Potato Soup

Typically, I prefer a big steamy bowl of soup during winter when it's nice and cold outside.  But if I waited for cold weather here in Luanda, I would never make soup.  So, I have adapted.  Now, I make soup and turn the air down and pretend like it's winter.

Potato soup is delicious and comforting and so easy to make.

Ingredients
7 slices bacon, diced
1 med onion, diced
4 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 - 8 med potatoes, peeled and diced small
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup milk
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon cajun seasoning
1/2-1 cup cheddar, shredded
chopped parsley


Fry bacon until crisp.  Removed and drain on paper towels.  Pour most of the bacon grease out (save it in a jar for other recipes).  Add onions, carrots, and garlic and cook until about until onions are translucent.  Add potatoes and cook 5-10 minutes. Add seasonings (salt, pepper, cajun seasoning). Add stock and bring to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are done (approx 15-20 minutes).  Use immersion blender and blend soup until smooth.  Add cheese and stir. Garnish soup with bacon pieces, parsley, and more cheese (if desired). Confession - I didn't have any parsley so I used chopped arugula.  It was a great substitution.

Chicken Egg Cups

This is a super easy, quick, yummy breakfast!  There is lots of room to improvise, so it can be tailored to your tastes.  Here is how I made mine today -

Deli meat (I used chicken)
eggs (one per chicken slice)
cheese (I used mozzarella)
salt
pepper
other seasonings (I used Greek seasoning)
other cooked veggies

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin tin. Line each with a slice of deli meat.  If you are using thin slices, you may need two slices each.  If you want to saute some onions, peppers, garlic, or other veggies, sauté them then place on top of the meat.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Next add the eggs.  You can do this by either cracking eggs directly into each cup or you can whisk them in a bowl and pour on top (depending if you want the eggs scrambled).  I use one egg per muffin. Add salt, pepper and other seasonings to each cup. Bake for about 15 mins.  If you want the eggs slightly runny, check them at 12 minutes.

That's it!  You can change the cheese, the meat, the seasonings.  These taste really good!  Enjoy!

Kookoo Kadoo (Persian Zucchini Frittata)

I'm a big fan of frittatas.  When I saw an email about a persian frittata, that got me googling recipes for a while.  After reading several that sounded really good and then figuring out what ingredients I had on hand, this is what I came up with.  It is really good.  The only thing I will change for next time is to use a smaller baking dish.  I used a 9x13 and it was a little too thin for me.  I would love to use more cayenne too but a certain little five year old I know would complain about it being too spicy.  Ah, such is life.

3 large zucchini, washed, peeled and grated
4 large eggs
1 medium onion, peeled and grated, discard juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cumin
cayenne pepper to taste
Salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 375F.  Sprinkle the grated zucchini with salt and let sit in a colander for 15 minutes to get the moisture out and drain.
In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients.  Mix thoroughly.

Pour the mixture in a greased oven-proof dish and bake for about 30-40 minutes till it starts to set and the edges turn brown.

Easy and delicious!

Baba Ghanoush

I had been craving it for a few days.  Delicious charred eggplant, lemon, tahini slathered on nice, warm pita bread.  So last night I finally gave in and made it.  So. Worth. It.

First, the scary part.  You have to char the eggplant to get that delicious smokey flavor.  Poke some holes in the eggplant, wrap it with a bunch of foil and place it over the open flame on a gas stove or a grill. Turn every five minutes or so.  It will take 15-30 mins, depending on the size of your eggplant.  I had medium ones and they took about 20 mins. Remove them when they feel squishy.  Yes, that's a technical term.

Let them cool a little then open the foil (watch out for the hot, escaping steam), split them open and place the eggplant pulp (not the skin) into a bowl.  Let it cool slightly then mash them with a fork (or you can put them in the food processor if you prefer a more pureed dip).  Add the rest of the ingredients (adjust for your personal taste) and enjoy.

Serve with pita bread, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, or just eat it straight out of the bowl.


2 eggplants roasted
1/4c tahini
1/8tsp chipotle powder
1 tsp cumin
1 lemon
1/2tsp salt

Drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika 

I can't wait until lunch time so I can eat this (along with the pita bread and hummus).

Homemade yogurt

I've been making my own yogurt for the last couple of months and decided it was time to share.  This is such an easy thing to make and it's a lot cheaper than buying those tiny containers of yogurt at the grocery store.  The nice part is that you know exactly what you're eating.  It is plain yogurt so you still have to add whatever kind of flavor you want but that's the fun part.

1. Pour a 1 liter container of milk (whole, low fat or fat free) into a pot and bring it to a boil.
2.  Allow it to cool until you can just touch it but not completely cool (about 125 degrees)
3. Pour into a container  (with a tight fitting lid) and add 4 teaspoons of plain, live culture yogurt
4. Put lid on container and leave in a dark cabinet for 5-6 hours (longer if it's a cold day)
5. Refrigerate and enjoy

I enjoy a bowl with some fresh fruit, a drizzle of honey and some granola.

Oh, and a little tip - I have forgotten about the yogurt a couple times and left it out overnight.  Now I set a reminder on my phone to ping me and remind me to take it out of the cabinet and stick in the fridge when it's done.

Chocolate Cinnamon Bread Pudding

This is such a good and easy dessert to make.  I recently made it for a potluck (which is perfect because you can eat it warm or room temp or even cold) and I enjoyed it so much, I made a batch for home just a few days later.  This is really good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

1 tablespoon butter
8 slices cinnamon raisin bread
2 cups milk
4 oz chocolate
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
confections sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Spray or butter a 9 inch square baking dish. Toast the
bread and tear each slice into four pieces. Place them in baking dish. Heat chocolate, milk and butter over med until chocolate is melted (stirring frequently). Whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Slowly add the milk/chocolate mixture and stir until combined.  Pour over bread and bake 25 minutes.  Cool for about 15 minutes and top with confectioners sugar (if using).  Otherwise, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Red Velvet Cake Truffles

Ok, this is my Mom's recipe.  She is the queen of desserts.  When we visit, she makes at least one new dessert a day until I finally beg her to stop.  These truffles are super easy and super addicting, so proceed with caution!

First, you make a red velvet cake (straight from the box).  Just follow the directions to bake.  Let cool. Cut it into chunks and place it in a very large bowl.  Add one can of cream cheese frosting.  You are going to get messy so get use to the idea.  You have to mix it with your hands.  Mix thoroughly.  Using your hands, roll out into small balls (about an inch). Place on a foil or wax paper lined baking sheet and chill in refrigerator for 3-4 hours.

Next, melt the chocolate (white, milk, dark, or all three).  I do it on the stove with a double broiler but you can also do it in the microwave.  Whichever method you use, just make sure the chocolate doesn't burn.  Take the balls and coat in the chocolate and place back on the lined baking sheet.  Once they've all been dipped, place back in the fridge to chill.

Isn't that easy?!

Ingredients
Red Velvet Cake mix and ingredients to make the cake
1 can cream cheese frosting
white/dark/milk chocolate for melting

Enjoy!

My Favorite Brazilian Dessert (so far)

Fried bananas with cinnamon and ice cream and drizzled with chocolate

1. this is so easy to make (which is always a plus)
2. it's delicious!
3.  it has fruit in it, so it's healthy (right??)

Slice the bananas, saute them in butter (let them stay on one side long enough to caramelize a little before flipping).  Melt some chocolate (microwave or double broiler). Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (I used 2tsp sugar mixed with 1tsp cinnamon but use whatever ratio you prefer). Drizzle with the chocolate and top with a scoop of vanilla or pistachio ice cream. Heavenly!

Terrible picture but taking pictures is the last thing on my mind when this is ready to eat!

Spinach Quiche

For dinner Friday, I decided to make a nice vegetable quiche (Catholic = no meat on Fridays in our house).  I found a nice recipe for a spinach quiche on Smitten Kichen's page and played around with it a little and came up with my version - Spinach, caramelized onion and mushroom quiche.

For the crust, this recipe from Martha Stewart is super easy and it makes enough for two crusts which is great because you just freeze the other and have it on hand for the next quiche or pie or whatever.  If you hate the idea of making your own crust, you can always buy a pre-made crust (unless you live in Rio because I have definitely not seen them in the grocery stores here). I made the crust the day before and left in the freezer overnight.  I took it out in the morning and let it defrost in the fridge all day.

For the quiche, preheat the oven to 425.  Then, caramelize the onions and mushrooms.  This takes maybe 30-45 minutes because you want to do it at a low heat and give the onions time to get nice and brown and delicious.  You can always do this earlier in the day (or the day before) to save time.  Once the onions and mushrooms are almost done, throw in a minced garlic clove to add a little more deliciousness. Remove from heat and let cool a little.

Caramelizing the onions/mushrooms.  They aren't quite done here but getting close.

Next,  take the cream cheese and and beat until nice and fluffy.  Then add the eggs, one at a time and beat before adding the next egg.  After that add the half and half.  I couldn't find half and half here so I made it (half milk, half cream, duh).  Next add the onion/mushroom mix, drained spinach, cheese, green onions and salt and pepper.  Mix well and pour into the pie crust.  Bake until the top is nicely browned and the the filling is set (not jiggly). Let cool and rest for a few minutes.


1/2- 1 medium onion, chopped (I used 1/2 an onion but next time will use a whole one)
5 oz shiitake mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 3-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup half and half
3 eggs
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup grated Gruyere
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

I served this with a nice salad, fresh fruit (mango and papaya) and some extra Gruyere cheese chunks.

Baked Chicken with Eggplant, Zucchini, & Tomato Ragout

I  had to come up with something relatively quick for dinner last night because my daughter had ballet/tap class in the afternoon and I didn't have a lot of time for dinner.  This is what I came up with - baked chicken with eggplant, zucchini, & tomato ragout, quinoa, and mixed greens salad with tomatoes, avocado and goat cheese.

For the chicken dish, I first diced the (1) eggplant, (1/2)onion, (2 cloves) garlic, (2 small) zucchini, and (4) roma tomatoes.

Next, I seasoned 4 chicken breasts (cut in half) with salt and pepper.  I heated an oven safe pan over high heat and added enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan.  Once the oil was hot, I added the chicken breasts and browned (5-6 minutes) each side.

I then removed the chicken, added the eggplant, a couple springs of rosemary and thyme, onion and a little more oil.  I lowered the heat a little and let that cook until the onions were translucent.  I then added the zucchini and half a cup of white wine.

Once the wine reduced by half, I added the tomatoes and some salt and pepper.  I then placed the chicken on top of the veggies and put the whole thing in the oven until the chicken was cooked through (about 15 minutes, but check the temp to make sure it's 160). I also poured myself a glass to drink while I finished preparing dinner.  (can't let it go to waste!)

Once the chicken was cooked, I removed it from the oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes.

I also prepared quinoa and salad to go with dinner while the chicken and ragout was cooking.  Here is the finished plate - not bad for a quick weeknight meal.

Mediterranean Chicken

I made a good, quick, healthy dinner a few nights ago that I 'd like to share.  It only took 30-45 minutes to prepare from start to finish.  First, I started the roasted squash - while the oven was preheating to 450, I chopped, tossed with oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper and then roasted for about 20 minutes (flipped half way through).










Next, I started the chicken -  I sliced an onion and crushed 3 cloves of garlic then cooked in a heated  sauté pan for a few minutes.  Then I added the chicken (I used 3 large breast and sliced them in half) and four slices of bacon (diced), turning after the chicken browned a little.  Next I added 8oz (pre) sliced mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning, salt and pepper, a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and about 1/2 cup of sun dried tomatoes (the dried ones not the ones in oil). I covered it and let it cook for about 20 minutes.  While it was cooking I made a box of whole wheat couscous.  Quick, easy and yummy!