Monday Munchies: Veggies & beef!

Hello everyone! Monday is here again, starting a new week, and I'm finally returning to blogging again. Last week was a busy week for me, and work was leaving me completely drained and tired.

I had plans to have shared a recipe of my own creation I was planning on working on Sunday for Mimosa cupcakes, but come Sunday I realized I had not enough butter... and not enough motivation to get in the car and drive to look for a place open to buy it. But, I'll make them sometime this week for sure, so I'll probably share it next Monday! So, for this week's Monday Munchies I have another non-cupcakes recipe!

Veggies & Beef

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 800 gr thin beef steaks

- 1 medium size zucchini

- 2 carrots

- 2 chives

- 1 green pepper

- 2 garlic cloves

- 1 spring of parsley

- Olive oil

- Salt & pepper

Method:

- Wash and cut the ends of the zucchini. Scrape the carrots and wash them. Wash the pepper, cutting off the  seeds. Cut everything in stripes.

- Wash and clean the chives, cutting the roots and the less tender green parts, slice them but not too thin. Cut the beef into thin stripes. Reserve all the ingredients separatedly.

- In a deep frying pan or a wok, heat up enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and sautee first the pepper for a pair of minutes on high heat, add salt and pepper to taste and remove from the pan, draining well. Saute the rest of the veggies separatedly the same way.

- Add the beef stripes to the same pan and saute till they start turning brown. Add salt & pepper to taste and the reserved cooked veggies. Stir everything together for about 1 minute and serve immediately, sprinkled with some chopped parsley.

- Enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Lemon Muffins!

Hello everyone! Somewhat regular blogging from India! From my tablet, using my sister-in-law's wifi... while we're planning G's nephew b-day party! So in that festive mood, I leave you with a yummy recipe for Monday Munchies!

Lemon Muffins

Makes 16-18

Ingredients:

- 2 or 3 lemons

- 60 ml lemon yogurt

- 300 gr plain flour

- 2 eggs

- 180 gr sugar

- 15 gr baking powder

- 125 ml sunflower oil

Method:

- Wash and dry one lemon, you'll need the grated zest. Squeeze all lemons, to get 125 ml of lemon juice (use more lemons if need be, mine were small, so I used 5). Make sure you filter it so there won't be any seeds. Beat eggs and sugar in a bowl till they whiten and double their size. If you do it with electric mixer it'll be easier and done in a shorter time.

- Add oil, juice, grated zest and yogurt and mix well so there are no lumps. Sieve in the flour with the baking powder, and mix again till al ingredients are well mixed. Let the batter sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature. Preheat oven at 180ºC.

- Prepare the muffin pan with liners (since it yields about 16 to 18, you might need two pans or make two turns in the oven) and fill them up till 3/4. Bake for 20 minutes. Once they're done (test with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, they're done) get them in a rack to cool.

Monday Munchies: Goat's Cheese and Zucchini mini pizzas!!

Hello everyone! Monday is here, and even though I work night shift tonight and tomorrow, I'm leaving for India on Thursday! So this is gonna be a short week for me!

To start the week right I wanna share a yummy recipe with you all for this week's Monday Munchies!

Goat's Cheese & Zucchini mini pizzas

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 400 gr flour

- 20 gr fresh yeast

- 2 small zucchini

- 2 teaspoons of dried oregano

- 3 thyme springs

- 200 gr goat's cheese (the roll variery)

- olive oil

- tomatoes & lettuce to make some side salad.

- salt

Method:

- Wash & dry thyme. Separate the leaves and put them in a bowl, add three tablespoons olive oil and let macerate.

- Put the flour in a bowl with the yeast diluted in 10 dl warm water. Add 50 ml olive oil and a pinch of salt and mix with a spatula. Knead the dough with your hands till it's elastic. Leave it to reast for 30 minutes, covered, in a warm place. Then, split it into 4 pieces, and with the help of a rolling pin make 4 discs.

- Add some tomato sauce for extra juiciness, then bake the dough in the preaheated oven at 180ºC for 5 minutes. Wash the zucchini, dry & slice them. Distribute the zucchini slices and the goat's cheese sliced over the 4 pieces. Add some salt and pour the thyme oil. Bake for 10 more minutes. Grill for a pair more minutes and serve with the tomatoes & lettuce as side salad.

- Enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Hummus, yummy hummus!

A new week is here, and while I recover from last night's shift at work, I wanna share with you a very easy & yummy recipe to feed the tummy on this Monday Munchies edition!

Hummus

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 400 gr boiled chickpeas (a can of ready made chickpeas will work)

- 1 garlic clove

- 1 lemon

- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds

- Ground cumin

- Paprika

- Salt

- Black pepper

- Olive oil

Method:

- Drain the chickpeas & wash them to get rid of the preserving liquid in the can, drain them well again; put them in the blender. Crush the sesame seeds in a mortar till you get a paste, dilute it with a bit of water and add it to the blender too.

- Peel the garlic clove and squeeze the lemon, filter the juice. Add both to the blender with a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of ground cumin, salt & pepper to taste. Blend everything till you get a thick paste but no lumps, you can add a bit of water if it's too thick.

- Sprinkle a bit of paprika & olive oil on top, and serve with stick of raw carrot & cucumber and some pita bread for a delicious lunch or dinner!

Monday Munchies: Honey Chicken with Veggies!

Well, well, well. Finally we're back to normal, back to work, and back to a normal blogging schedule.

And to kick start the week right, nothing better than a yummy recipe to get us to start the week right with today's Monday Munchies!

As usual, it's a recipe from the Easy Cooking magazine!

Even Gaurav liked it, and he's not big on veggies!

Honey Chicken With Veggies

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 800 gr chicken breast

- 1 fairly big chive

- 1 leek

- 1 zucchini

- 2 carrots

- 200 gr green beans

- 1 garlic clove

- Juice of 1 lemon and its zest

- 1 tablespoon honey

- olive oil

- salt

- a few black peppercorns

Method:

- Clean and cut the chicken into thin stripes, marinate them for at least 30 min in the fridge with a marinade made with the lemon juice & zest, a bit of olive oil and the peppercorns. A word of advice, if you don't appreciate crunching on peppercorns while eating, I'd recommend you count them at this stage and also when getting the chicken out of the marinade.

- Scrape the carrots, cut the ends of the zucchini and clean the beans; wash and cut everything into thin stripes/sticks. Then boil the beans in salted water for 5 min and drain them. Clean the chive & leek and slice them.

- Saute the chive & leek in a pan with a little oil for about 5 min. Add the carrots and beans, and saute them on high heat and stirring them often for another 2 to 3 minutes, then add the zucchini. Add salt to taste, and after 2 more minutes, remove the veggies from the pan and reserve.

- Add a little more oil to the pan and brown the garlic clove, previously cleaned & minced. Add the chicken drained from the marinade (and if you're like me, without the peppercorns!) and saute it. Add what's left of the marinade and the honey. Finally add back the veggies, saute everything together for a minute and serve.

- Enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Sauteed Veggies With Turkey!

Monday has arrived, and this week it's the tummy's turn to be fed.


For this Monday Munchies I'm sharing yet another recipe from the Easy Cooking (Cocina Fácil) magazine.




Sauteed Veggies With Turkey
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 800 gr thin breast turkey steaks
- 150 gr carrots
- 200 gr zucchini
- 1 red pepper
- 2 green peppers
- 50 gr soy sprouts
- shredded ginger
- 2 tbps soy sauce
- olive oil
- Half a lemon
- salt & pepper

Method:

- Wash & dry the lemon, grate the lemon peel and squeeze the juice. Wash & dry the turkey. Cut it into bite sized pieces and marinate them for at least half an hour with the shredded ginger, the grated peel & juice of the lemon, a pinch of pepper, the soy sauce and a drizzle of olive oil.

- Scrape the carrots and wash them. Cut the ends of the zucchini and wash them. Wash and clean the peppers, cutting out the seeds. Cut everything into thin stripes.

- Put a wok with a bit of oil at high heat, once the oil is very hot add the carrots and saute for 2 min, add the peppers and continue to saute, after 2 more min add the zucchini. Saute everything for 2 more min and reserve the veggies.

- Add some more oil to the wok if necessary and saute the turkey (with its marinade) for 3 to 4 min. Add the reserved veggies and the soy sprouts, previously washed and drained. Saute everything for another pair of minutes and serve.

- Enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Cauliflower with Ham!

Monday again, and this week is once again time to feed the tummy!


I'm always willing to try new recipes, and even more when they're new ways to eat some veggies that I'm not too keen on, since I'm always trying to eat as many different veggies as often as possible.




Cauliflower With Ham
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 1 cauliflower
- 100 gr ham in one piece/slice
- 1 onion
- 2 yogurts
- 1 teaspoon flour
- 1 cup veggie broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 parsley sprig
- Paprika
- Salt & pepper

Method:

- Cut the ham in cubes. Clean the cauliflower and separate into florets, then wash them. Peel the onion and chop it finely.

- Boil the cauliflower in salted water for about 10 to 15 minutes. In the mean time, heat the oil in a nonstick skillet and fry the onion for about 7 to 8 minutes until translucent.

- Add the ham and sprinkle with the flour. Let it brown a bit so it loses the raw taste and slowly pour the broth while whisking it to dissolve the flour. Salt & pepper to taste and boil during 3 to 4 minutes stirring often. Add the yogurts and simmer it for another 2 minutes.

- Drain the cauliflower and divide into the 4 plates. Cover with the yogurt & ham sauce and sprinkle it with some paprika to taste. Wash & dry the parsley, separating the leaves and decorating the dishes with it.

- Serve hot & enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Macaroni with Sausages!

Hello everyone!


On a very stormy Monday, there's nothing like a yummy recipe to raise the spirits and if it's a pasta dish, it'll give you an energy kick!




Macaroni with Sausages
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 300 gr macaroni
- 200 gr mushrooms
- 200 gr sausages (I use precooked ones but you can use fresh).
- 40 gr shredded cheese
- a whole garlic clove
- 2 sprigs of garlic

Method:

- Clean & wash the mushrooms, and cut them in fours. Wash the parsley, drain and separate the leaves.

- Cut the sausages in bit sized pieces. In a nonstick skillet, saute them for about two minutes with enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet. Add the mushrooms, and the garlic, peeled and cut, and continue to saute, stirring often, for about three more minutes.

- Boil the macaroni with about 1 litre salted water till it's al dente (tender) and drain it. Add them to the skillet with the sausages & mushrooms, add salt & pepper to taste and saute all together to combine.

- Serve with the parsley leaves and the shredded cheese. Enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Macaroni with broccoli and tomatoes!

Monday Munchies are back! Mondays will be days to feed the tummy or the mind, so I'll keep alternating between books and recipes from now on!


Today's recipe is perfect for the warmer days ahead, it's very easy to make, very healthy and very quick! As usual, has been taken from the Spanish magazine "Easy Cooking" and translated by yours truly.




Macaroni with broccoli and tomatoes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 1 small broccoli head
- 1 onion
- 1/4 kg cherry tomatoes
- 300 gr macaroni
- 80 gr grated cheese
- olive oil
- salt & pepper

Method:

- Wash the broccoli and cut the head into flowerets. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni, cook for 8 to 10 minutes until it's al dente (tender but not too much). Drain and reserve them.

- Peel and cut the onion into julienne. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan and saute the onion for about 8 minutes, till it starts to brown. Add salt and pepper, then the broccoli and saute 2 more minutes.

- Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half. Add them to the onion and broccoli and saute for about 3-4 more minutes. Add half a glass of water and a pinch of salt. Cover and let boil for 5 or 6 minutes, till all the juices are gone.

- Mix the veggies with the pasta. Mix well, add a drizzle of olive oil. Serve sprinkled with the grated cheese.

- Enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Sauteed Chicken

Sunny Monday and time for yet another yummy recipe on the Monday Munchies.




Sauteed Chicken
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 800 gr chicken breast
- 1/2 kg natural pineapple
- 1 red onion
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- some parsley or coriander
- olive oil
- salt

Method:

- Cut the chicken in thin stripes. Peel the onion and cut in thin stripes too. Peel & core the pineapple, chucking out the central fibrous part, then cut it in small bite pieces. Wash & dry the parsley/coriander and chop it finely.

- Sauté the onion in a pan with two tablespoons of olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken stripes and sauté them for about 5 minutes. Then add the pineapple and cook for 2 more minutes.

- Add now the sesame seeds, soy sauce and the chopped parsley/coriander. Add salt to taste and stir to mix all ingredients. Sauté for one more minute and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Spinach burgers (non vegan).

Monday is here again, and I start the week trying to sleep to recover enough for yet another night shift tonight!


For this gloomy Monday I wanna share I recipe I really like. I like eating healthy and loads of veggies, but spinach isn't my fave one to eat, even if it's a very recommendable one for its high iron content. This recipe is a good option to eat more veggies in a yummy way!




Spinach Burgers (Non-vegan)
Serve 4

Ingredients:

- 1/2 kg spinach
- 300 gr cottage cheese
- grated cheese
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 egg
- breadcrumbs
- olive oil
- salt
- cherry tomatoes (to serve with)

Method:

- Wash the spinach, drain and cut them in tiny thin pieces. Peel & cut the onion and garlic cloves and saute in a pan with two tablespoons of olive oil for about 7 or 8 minutes.

- Clean the carrot and cut the ends, then grate it and reserve. Mash the cottage cheese in bowl. Add to it the spinach, 2 tablespoon of grated cheese, the sauteed onion & garlic and the egg, beaten. Add salt to taste, and add breadcrumbs until you get the mix compact enough.

- Form balls with the mixture and make them into burgers with your hands. Fry them in a non-stick pan with only a little oil for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

- Serve them with the cherry tomatoes.

Monday Munchies: Rice with chicken and raisins!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!


Today I'm going back to Monday Munchies recipes, and though this one isn't the most exotic of recipes, it is a yummy one and it has cinnamon (supposedly aphrodisiac) so it could be a good idea for a homey Valentine's dinner!




Rice With Chicken & Raisins
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 400 gr rice
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 big onion
- 50 gr raisins
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- olive oil
- salt & pepper

Method:

- Put a pan with salted water on the stove. When the water starts boiling, add the rice and cook for 18 minutes. Then cool it under the tap with cold water and let it drain well.

- Clean the chicken breast, wash, dry it well and cut it bite sized pieces, add salt to taste. In a non-stick pan, shallow fry the chicken with enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Once done, put the chicken bits on a plate covered with paper towels, so they absorb the excess oil.

- Peel the onion, cut it thinly and cook it on low heat in the same pan you used for the chicken, once the onion starts getting translucent, add the raisins and the chicken. Saute them together for a few minutes and add the ground cinnamon. Add some more salt if needed, sprinkle some ground black pepper and add the rice. Mix well on high heat for a pair of minutes so the rice mixes well with the rest.

- Serve hot and enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Cottage Cheese Tiramisu

Good Monday everyone!


Days get a bit muddled when you're on vacation, but since the bf isn't I still know what day of the week I live in, even if he had to go to work yesterday, when it was a Sunday to show and discuss a presentation with his boss.


Today, I am sharing a super easy and delicious recipe, to make Monday a much bearable day. This one is an absolute favourite in my house, and the absolute winner when a dessert is requested. Just be warned, this tiramisu is NOT your regular tiramisu, it's even easier to make, but equally delicious! And even those that aren't big fans of cheese will love it!


Cottage Cheese Tiramisu

Ingredients:

- ½ kg cottage cheese

- 100 gr confectioners sugar

- 1 vanilla pod

- 200 gr sponge biscuits or ladyfingers

- 4 egg whites

- Pinch of salt

- A few drops of lemon juice

- 3 dl of black coffee

- 10 gr cocoa

Method:

- Mix the cottage cheese in a bowl with half the confectioners sugar till creamy and without lumps. Cut the vanilla pod open and add the seeds to the cheese and mix well.

- In another bowl beat the egg whites with the lemon & salt until fluffy, when the peaks start to form, add the rest of the confectioners sugar. You can use a whisk or electric mixer, though I recommend the electric mixer, for your hands sake!

- Fold the egg whites with the cheese mix carefully till well blended and reserve in the fridge.

- Pour the black coffee in a low & wide bowl and dip each sponge biscuit/ladyfinger quickly (make sure you don’t over do it, they could break). Place them lined in the bottom of a deep baking pan till you’ve covered all the bottom.

- Spread on top of them a layer of the cheese mix, on top of it another layer of dipped in coffee sponge biscuits, and to top it off a final layer of the cheese mix.

- Cover it with cling film and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.

- Sift the cocoa on top of it when you’re going to serve it. Enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Cold Curry Rice!

Hello everyone! Happy Monday! And even more, Happy Cyber Monday!


I know, I know, this is my 200th blog entry, and I should have something better for it than just a recipe entry, but since I've already missed a full week of blogging, being on vacation can do that kind of stuff to you... I have decided to push back my intended "Etiquette for Etsy and/or online buyers" post till some other time, maybe the 250th entry?


And it's not like I have enough time off, since poor G still has to go in the morning to work while I either go back to sleep or grab a cup of tea and snuggle to read or check the web... except for last week when we went to Darjeeling to have more tea than water and see the views of the Himalayas!


In my experience, vacation makes me lazy! So, without further ado, I leave you with the recipe for this Monday!



Cold Curry Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- - 300 gr rice

- -- 1 teaspoon curry

- - 100 gr raisins

- - 2 apples

- - 1/2 lemon squeezed

- - Pinch of salt

Method:

- - Re-hydrate the raisins in warm water for about 15-20 minutes.

- - In the meantime, put a pan of water with salt on high heat, and add the rice as it starts to boil. Stir the rice and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

- - Mix the curry with water and add it to the rice. Stir it in and put the lid on the pan. Let it simmer for 10 more minutes. Then drain well and put it a wide bowl, stir well till the rice is fluffy and not all stickied up. Let it cool.

- - Wash the apples, cut them up in halves and core them. Chop them and pour the lemon juice over them, so they will not brown. Drain the raisins and mix with the rice. Add the apple chunks too. Mix and serve cold.

If you substitute the water for boiling the rice for vegetable broth, it’ll be even tastier.