Double chocolate Cookies

Tags

Baked Foods, cookies

I have already posted several chocolate cookies but this one is chocolaty with chocolate chips mixed in it with the goodness of brown sugar. These flavours just burst in every bite of these cookies.

These cookies are one of my kids and their friends favourite. Never even got a chance to store them so far, the plate gets empty while they are still warm.

Sending this recipe over to our Blogging Marathon #110, week 2 day 1 under category Anything to snack on.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Bake time : 12-15 minutes

Makes :  12 cookies

Ingredients:

Salted Butter : 1/2 cup at room temperature (1 stick)

Brown sugar : 1 cup lightly packed

Egg : 1 at room temperature

Vanilla extract : 1 teaspoon

All purpose flour : 1 cup

Cocoa powder : 1/4 cup

Baking powder : 1/2 teaspoon

Chocolate chips: 1/2 cup

Method:

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until it’s light and fluffy.

Add the egg, vanilla and beat to combine.

Add the all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips and fold them into the dough.

Make equal sized balls out of the dough and place them on a lined sheet. Press them lightly and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the the cookie tray in the oven and bake them for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are little brown.

Once the cookies are out of the oven, let them rest for 10 minutes before serving.

 

 

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#110

Vegetable Lasagna Soup

Tags

One pot dishes, soups

This Vegetable Lasagna Soup is a filling soup with lots of fresh vegetables. Then mixed lasagna cheeses are added into the soup.  The cheese will melt perfectly into the hot soup.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time : 30 minutes

Serves : 4

Ingredients:

Onion : 1 medium chopped

Carrots : 1 large diced

Garlic : 2 cloves minced

Vegetable broth : 1 litre/32 oz

Tomatoes : 8 medium diced

Tomato sauce : 1 cup

Zucchini : 1 medium diced

Mushrooms : 1 cup sliced

Dried basil : 1 teaspoon

Dried Oregano : 1/2 teaspoon

Dried Thyme: 1/4 teaspoon

Dried rosemary : 1/2 teaspoon

Sugar : 1/2 teaspoon

Salt and pepper to taste

Lasagna sheets : 6 broken into pieces

Baby Spinach : 1 cup roughly chopped

Fresh parsley : 1 tablespoon chopped

Cheeses:

Shredded Mozzarella cheese : 1/2 cup

Shredded parmesan cheese : 1/4 cup

Ricotta cheese : 1/2 cup

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, add onions, carrot and saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute.

Add the broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, zucchini, mushrooms, herbs, stir well and bring it to a boil.

Add pasta, close lid and simmer stirring occasionally. Cook for 12 minutes.

Add the cheeses, stir well and add spinach.

Turn off the stove, add parsley and serve hot.

 

 

 

Black Grape smoothie

Tags

drinks, smoothies

This Black Grape smoothie is a super simple drink with simple ingredients. My cousin sent me these farm fresh grapes and loved the taste and colour of them. My friends also tasted this smoothie and loved it.

Preparation Time : 5 minutes

Serves : 2

Ingredients:

Seedless Black Grapes : 1 1/2 cups

Cold milk : 3/4 cup

Yogurt : 1/2 cup

Honey : 2 tablespoons

Ice cubes: 1/2 cup

Flax seeds : 1/2 teaspoon (optional)

Method :

Take all ingredients in a blender jar and blend till smooth. Serve immediately.

 Note : Make sure the yogurt is sweet. Sour yogurt will change the taste.

Milk : Any milk, regular, soy or almond works well.

 

 

Tahini

Tahini is made with toasted sesame seeds and olive oil. It complements both Middle Eastern recipe components and flavours. Tahini goes well with Falafel, fresh or roasted vegetables, hummus and flat breads.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Makes : 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

Toasted sesame seeds: 1/2 cup

Olive oil: 1/4 cup

Method:

Add sesame seeds to a blender jar and blend till a smooth powder. Add olive oil and blend into a smooth paste.

 

 

Chicken with Cilantro sauce

Tags

Chicken Recipes

Chicken is grilled or roasted with salt and pepper. Cilantro sauce adds a lot of flavour to the dish. It goes well with steamed greens. My family loved the combination of flavours in this dish. It’s a super simple dish to make on weeknights.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time : 15 minutes

Serves : 4

Ingredients:

Boneless Chicken breast or thighs : 4

Vegetable oil : 1 tablespoon

Salt : 1/2 teaspoon

Ground black pepper: 1/2 teaspoon

Green beans : 200 grams

For Sauce:

Olive oil : 2 tablespoons

Fresh cilantro : 1 cup chopped

Cider Vinegar : 1 tablespoon

Garlic : 3 halved

Red chilli flakes : 3/4 teaspoon

Lemon : 1 juiced

Method:

Heat oil in a pan or a grill pan, add chicken and season it with salt and ground pepper. Cook for 7 minutes each side or until the meat is no longer pink.

Steam or blanch the beans, drain water and keep aside.

In a small food processor, add all the ingredients listed under sauce and make a sauce by pulsing. The sauce should be almost smooth but not completely smooth.

Finely shred zest from the lemon, Serve chicken and green beans with cilantro sauce. Squeeze lemon juice over and serve immediately.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simple Greek Salad

Tags

Blogging Marathon, Greek dishes, Salads

Traditional Greek salads are simple with few ingredients, super fresh and delicious. This salad is the one that’s made with ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, onions and creamy feta cheese. No special dressing is needed for this salad, some extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar does the magic.

Sending this recipe over to our BM#109, week 3 day 3 under Countries by Alphabet where I’m doing Greek Dishes. Check my other Greek Dishes here

Greek Zucchini Salad

Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)

Preparation Time:10 minutes

Serves : 2-3

Ingredients:

Ripe juicy Tomatoes : 4 medium diced

Cucumber : 1 large or 4 small diced

Bell peppers: 1sliced

Red onion : 1 medium diced

Black olives : 1/4 cup

Green olives : 1/4 cup

Extra virgin olive oil : 3 tablespoons

Red wine vinegar : 1 tablespoon

Dry oregano : 1/2 tablespoon

Feta cheese : 100 grams do not crumble

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Add all ingredients except Feta cheese into a large bowl and toss well to combine.

Once the salad is transferred to a salad bowl, add the Feta cheese blocks on the top and season with fresh ground pepper.

Serve immediately.

 

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#109

Chocolate cup cakes

Tags

Baked Foods, cup cakes, desserts

These chocolate cup cakes are simple to make yet delicious. I’ve made these cup cakes so many times, don’t know why I didn’t get a chance to post it on the blog. It’s one of my kids and their friends favourite cup cake.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Bake time : 25 minutes

Makes : 12 cup cakes

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter : 4 tablespoons

Vegetable oil : 1/4 cup

Water : 1/2 cup

Instant coffee : 1 teaspoon

All purpose flour : 1 cup

Sugar : 1 cup

Unsweetened cocoa powder : 1/3 cup

Baking soda : 3/4 teaspoon

Salt : A pinch

Egg : 1 large

Buttermilk : 1/4 cup

Vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper lines in a 12 cup muffin tray.

In a medium sauce pan, melt together butter, vegetable oil and water.

In a large bowl, add all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt. Add the butter mixture, coffee powder and beat with a hand mixer until it’s well combined.

Add eggs, buttermilk and beat well to combine.

Pour the batter into the muffin tray and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

Let the cup cakes cool for 10 minutes before serving. Cool completely to store in an air tight container.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green Tea with Rose Petals

Tags

drinks, tea

This Green Tea is a simple chilled drink where you can taste a wonderful flavour of green tea and the rose. It can be served as a welcome drink or a drink just to refresh when chilling out with friends/family.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Chilling Time : 1-2 hours

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Dried Green tea leaves : 2 tablespoons

Dried Rose Petals : 1 tablespoon

Water : 1 litre

Honey : 2 teaspoons

Method:

Boil 1 litre of water, add the green tea leaves, rose petals and let them seep in for 5 minutes. Strain, let the tea cool and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Before serving add honey, mix well and serve with some ice cubes.

 

 

 

 

 

Kiwi Mango Smoothie

Tags

drinks, smoothies

Kiwifruit is native to north-central and Eastern China. Can you believe China produces about 50% of the world’s total kiwifruit. They are full of nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin E, folate and potassium. It’s full of antioxidants and are also a good source of fibre.

I process the mangoes during the season and store mango pulp to last me till the next season. I absolutely love organic mangoes from my farm. We’ll talk about the nutrients and health benefits of mangoes in another post.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Serves : 1

Ingredients:

Kiwi : 2 skin peeled and diced

Frozen Mango pulp : 4 tablespoons

Banana : 1/2 chopped

Almond or soy milk : 3/4 cup

Method:

Add all ingredients in a blender jar and blend till smooth. Serve immediately.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pomegranate Banana Smoothie

Tags

drinks, smoothies

I’ve been researching fruits that best to reduce acne in teenagers and Pomegranate is topping the list. Fresh pomegranate is the best to consume but kids want variety so I’m making fresh juice and smoothies to keep as much nutrients as I can.

Pomegranate is among the healthiest fruits. They are loaded with important nutrients like Vitamin c, Vitamin K, Folate, Potassium. It has a lot of fibre and protein as well. It has anti-inflammatory effects.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Serves : 1

Ingredients:

Pomegranate : 1 cup seeds and flesh

Banana : 1 sliced (frozen)

Yogurt : 1/2 cup

Almond milk : 1 cup

Healthy Mix : 1 tablespoon

Honey : 1 tablespoon

Method:

Add all ingredients to a blender jar and blend till smooth.

Serve immediately.