One of the greatest things about starting this cooking blog is having lots of people share their favorite recipes with me. I love when I open up my email to find that one of my friends or family members sent me a recipe to try. My very first college roommate and lifelong friend Beth emailed me this recipe for broccoli slaw. I am already a HUGE fan of slaw - when out to eat and given a choice of sides, I go with cole slaw about 95% of the time. It's something I make at home waaaay too much. I do try to mix it up by adding in sunflower seeds or apples (if you haven't tried sliced green apples in cole slaw, give it a try!) so when Bethie sent me this recipe for Broccoli Slaw with an Asian twist, I was very excited. This slaw features homemade dressing and lots of crunch. I made a few little tweaks here and there but Beth is getting all the credit on this one!
Broccoli Slaw
Love and thanks to my beautiful friend Beth
Printable Version
Ingredients
1 bag of broccoli slaw
4 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons of butter
1 package of Oriental Flavored Ramen Noodles (you can use whatever flavor you prefer)
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Directions
Melt the butter in a skillet over low heat. Break up the ramen noodles and brown them with the noodles and sesame seeds (about 5 minutes but watch them!). Add in the sesame seeds and stir for about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Pour over broccoli slaw and green onions and top with the crunchy stuff.
Note: this salad does not keep well overnight. It is best to mix it up about an hour before serving and let it stand in the fridge.
These chicken shish kebabs rounded out my middle eastern feast of tzatziki sauce and pita bread. I've made kebabs many, many times and love how easy and quick they are. They are perfect in the summer for the grill. I searched around the internet and found what looked to be an "authentic" kebab recipe here and went with it. I thought it was interesting that this marinade included cinnamon as well as typical marinade ingredients like garlic, oil, and lemon juice. Unfortunately the kebobs didn't turn out as flavorful as I hoped for, but that didn't really matter since we had tzatziki sauce.
Chicken Shish Kebabs
Printable Version
Ingredients
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 green pepper, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 onion, chopped into 1 inch pieces
Directions
Combine oil, lemon, cinnamon, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken and marinate for 2-3 hours. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling.
Thread skewers with onions, chicken, and green peppers. Grill until golden and serve with pitas and tzatziki sauce.
Once I decided to make tzatziki sauce it was a no brainer to also make homemade pita bread. I remembered seeing the most beautiful pitas on one of my favorite food blogs, Food and Whine, so of course I had to steal the recipe for my own pita project. Baking is soooo not my thing, which is why you will not find very many baked goods on my blog. BUT after this pita recipe, I now realize why baking is a stress reliever - you get to punch the heck out of the dough and then end up with something warm, comforting, and satisfying. Pretty fabulous if you ask me. Hubby and I loved these pitas! This recipe makes six pitas, but if you notice, the plate of pitas only shows five. This is because we totally scarfed the sixth one straight out of the oven - it had no chance making it in a photo! These are going to be a regular staple in my house - and next time I will definitely double the recipe!
Pita Bread
Thanks to Megan at Food and Whine
Printable Version
Ingredients
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (I used one packet of Active Yeast)
1/2 tablespoon honey (please notice the amazing pure honey that I used - a gift from my wonderful mother in law)
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions
In a bowl or measuring cup combine yeast, honey and water. Let stand for 5 minutes. In a large bowl combine 1 cup all purpose flour, all of the whole wheat flour and salt. Using a wooden spoon add the yeast mixture. Add as much of the remaining all purpose flour as necessary to form a soft dough that is sticky but not wet. Work olive oil into dough, then turn onto a lightly floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
With floured hands, knead dough, adding additional flour as needed, until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes), then form into a ball. Coat a large bowl with cooking spray and place dough inside, turning to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with a thin towel and place in the oven with just the light on until the dough has doubled in size (about 1 hour).
Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured surface.
Divide the dough into six pieces. Flatten each piece with the palm of your hand. **If you want really good pockets in your pita, roll them out fairly thin.** Roll into a 4-5 inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Place them onto a baking sheet about an inch apart.
Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven until lightly browned, about 5-7 minutes. (For a softer pita, bake at 375 degrees). Stack the hot pitas on a towel and wrap them up until they are cool. This makes a softer pita with pockets for filling.
The hubs and I got to spend some time with his family this summer and one of the best things I ate during that time was Aunt Lynn's Tzatziki Sauce. Although Aunt Lynn had to leave the night we arrived, she left a huge container of Tzatziki for us to gobble up during the week. After returning back home I emailed Aunt Lynn for her recipe and she graciously shared it with me. She recommended the sauce with middle eastern shish kebobs and whole wheat pitas, which is exactly what I made to go with this creamy, zippy cucumber sauce. The pita and kebob recipes will follow in the next couple of days. Since I had never made Tzatziki I was surprised at how long it took. You have to salt and drain the cucumbers twice so it takes about 1 1/2 hours to prepare. This timeframe actually worked out because the pitas needed time to rise and the kebobs needed time to marinate. What ensued after that was a fantastic, flavorful middle eastern feast.
Tzatziki Sauce
Special thanks and love to Aunt Lynn
Printable Version
Ingredients
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and quartered
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (Greek is best!)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Directions
Place quartered cucumbers in colander and sprinkle with salt. Allow to drain for 30 minutes. Meanwhile strain the yogurt through cheesecloth or a mesh wire strainer for the entire time you are working on the cucumbers. Pat the cukes dry with paper towels and chop coarsely in a food processor. Drain the cukes in a colander for an additional 30 minutes.
Put cucumber back in food processor with the garlic, lemon juice, yogurt and vinegar. Blend well. Adjust vinegar and salt to taste. Pour in olive oil and blend until ingredients are well combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve as a dip with fresh veggies, whole wheat pitas, and shish kebobs! (Recipes to follow)
Oh, Spanish Flan, where have you been all my life?? Oh my goodness, ya'll! This Spanish Flan very well may be the smartest thing I've ever made. I use the word smartest because the idea to make flan just popped in my head one evening when I was in the mood for something sweet. Since I am not much of a chocolate girl, I love desserts that are creamy, sweet, and satisfying so flan is right up my alley. I was so excited when I found this recipe for Spanish Flan on allrecipes.com because it only required a few ingredients and very few steps too. A delicious, easy, and beautiful dessert, topped with yummy fresh blueberries - yes please! I threw in blueberries whole blueberries but if I were to do it again I would probably puree the blueberries first and mix it in. That would probably turn the flan a gorgeous purple-blueish color and give it more of a blueberry flavor throughout. I am an official flan fan now, so look for more variations of flan on the blog to come in the future.
Spanish Flan
From allrecipes.com
Printable Version
Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can of evaporated milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt sugar until liquefied and golden in color. Carefully pour hot syrup into a 9 inch round glass baking dish, turning the dish to evenly coat the bottoms and sides. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Beat in condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla until smooth.
Pour egg mixture into baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Place baking dish in a water bath of at least 1 inch and bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely.
To serve when completely cool, carefully insert a knife all the way around the dish and turn over on a serving plate.
