Chicken Cauliflower Gratin

This is my take on the classical cauliflower gratin. I add broccoli, broccoli stems and chicken along with a garlicy white sauce.  So yummy, so healthy and full of flavor! 

Ingredients:
Serves for 2 - 3

1/4 bunch of cauliflower
1/4 bunch of broccoli (along with the stems)
2 pieces of chicken breast
2 heap tablespoons of flour 
2 tablespoons of butter
2 cups of milk
2 cloves of garlic
Salt, pepper
Cheddar cheese or any type of melting cheese

How to:

1. Wash and clean the vegetables; cut them into chunks and use loads of broccoli stems. Cut the chicken into not-so-small pieces. Put everything in a pot, top with hot water to boil for 10 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile make the white sauce. Take a small saucepan, put in the flour and butter and start mixing on high heat. When they come together and the flour starts to cook, add cold milk and stir with a wooden spoon to make a smooth white sauce.

3. Add two cloves of chopped garlic, season with salt and pepper and stir for a few minutes more.

4. Drain the vegetables and chicken (do not throw away the water, you can use it in other soups and dishes) into a deep oven dish, pour the white sauce all over.

5. Cook in 200 degree oven for 15 minutes, take it out, top with grated cheese (I used little bit of cheese on this dish to make it less fatty) and leave in the hot oven for another 5 - 10 minutes. Serve when warm. Eat and enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Bars

As soon as the pumpkins are in season, I start cooking with them. Last week after the traditional Turkish pumpkin dessert, I decided to make the chocolate pumpkin bar recipe I came across somewhere. It worked perfectly, the taste is good and the cake is so soft and light! I never thought chocolate could go so well with pumpkin in a cake.

Ingredients: 
1 cup pf flour
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
A pinch of ground cloves
A pinch of ground nutmeg
A pinch of ground all spice
1teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar 
1 big slice of pumpkin (grated and boiled) or a cup of preserved pumpkin
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of chocolate chips

How to:

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a deep bowl.

2. Beat the eggs, sugar, oil, milk and vanilla in another bowl and then add the pumpkins and stir them in with a spatula. Lastly, add the chocolate chips inside.

3. Pour the wet batter into the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula. Grease a square oven tray and pour the mixture inside.

4. Bake in the 175 degree oven for 13 - 15 minutes. Slice into thin squares and leave to cool. Make a glaze by using cream cheese and icing sugar, add more chocolate chips on top and enjoy! 

 

Carbonara 'My Style'

This is a classical Italian dish. I tried it in my first visit to Italy but it has been such a long time that the way I remembered it turned out to be pretty different. Still, it is so delicious. My Style Carbonara has peas in it, some cream, garlic and onions. It is worth trying simply because it is made with pasta. :)

Ingredients:
Serves 2 or 3

1/2 packet of spaghetti or penne (or in fact, any type of pasta) 

6 pieces of bacon or ham 

1 bowl of peas
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic

100 ml of double cream 
1/4 cup of milk  

Black pepper 

Cheddar cheese or parmesan cheese (or any type of similar cheese you have)

How to:
1. Cook the pasta in a deep pan full of boiling salty water for 10 - 12 minutes. 

2. Chop the bacon into small pieces and put them into a sauce pan with the cream and milk. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook them all together. Season with a bit of pepper.

3. Boil or steam the peas in another pan for 5 minutes. Add them onto your plate; this makes them look more shiny and fresh.

4. Once the sauce has cooked and onions are soft, grate some cheese inside to thicken it. Drain your pasta and add into the sauce. Mix very well. Serve with the peas on top and eat and enjoy!

Bulgur With Green Peas

My new favourite in the kitchen is bulgur wheat. Recently, I have read about the nutritious health benefits of bulgur and so I will try more recipes using this ingredient. Actually, it is a popular traditional Turkish kitchen recipe. Everyone likes bulgur 'pilaf'. There are three or more types and you can use any type you wish or any type of bulgur wheat you have at hand. If I cook bulgur with vegetables or tomatoes to make pilaf, then I used the bigger ones. If I am preparing a salad type of cold dish with bulgur (like tabbouleh), then I use the very fine ones. Either way does not matter because they are all very healthy, quick to make and very filling.

Ingredients:
Serves 4

1 bowl of fine bulgur wheat
1 bowl of boiling water
1 lemon
1 big green pepper of any type 
1 bowl of green peas
3 sprigs of spring onion
1 teaspoon of home made tomato and pepper paste
1 tablespoon of dry mint or 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint 
Extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper

How to:
1. We start with pouring boiling water over the bulgur wheat and leave it to soak. Meanwhile, we prepare the other ingredients.

2. Boil or steam the green peas for about 5 minutes. Chop the pepper, spring onions and fresh mint.

3. Fluff up the bulgur wheat by stirring with a spoon and grate the rind of one lemon. Then, squeeze the juice of the lemon in, add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, mint and plenty of olive oil. Mix to combine them very well. You may need to mix for a few minutes.

4. Add the peas, pepper and spring onions, stir and it is ready to serve. Feta cheese goes very well with it or you can mix some grated garlic with Greek yoghurt and serve the bulgur with that. This can be a very good side dish with meat. Eat and enjoy!  

Traditional British: Flapjacks

Every Sunday is our baking day at home. Now my husband is so used to it; if I don't feel like it or have other things going on, he asks around. And helps me! This Sunday there was nothing on my mind and he suggested flapjacks. I have never had one in my life, but we found a recipe and tried it with chocolate chips and the result was out-of-this-world! So easy to make, I was surprised. It took only 15 minutes and there is no kneading. This is perfect recipe for busy mummies I think!

Ingredients:
250 gr oatmeal
125 gr butter (room temperature)
125 gr brown sugar
2 - 3 tablespoons Golden Syrup or honey

How to:
1. Put the oatmeal, butter, brown sugar and Golden Syrup in a blender and mix well. Be careful not to make it too fine and leave the oatmeals a bit crunchy. So mix gently and slowly for a short time.

2. Add the chocolate chips and mix with a spatula.

3. Grease a square baking tray and pour the mixture inside, press with the back of a spoon or use your hands to have a flat, solid mixture.

3. Bake in the 180 degree oven for about 17 - 20 minutes, or until it gets really golden and the house smells amazing. Leave to cool and cut with a knife. Eat and enjoy!

Lamb Chops in the Oven

Dinner in ten minutes! Without the frying, without messing around in the kitchen, without using this dish and that dish and having loads of dishes to wash. Plus very very yummy and healthy as well. How can I put it? This is my dream dinner at home.

Ingredients:
Serves for 2

6 - 7 lamb chops
1 big potato
1 medium size onion
4 table spoons of home made tomato paste or ready made tomato paste mixed with little water (or just a couple of tomatoes in the food processor)  
1 medium size green bell pepper (or two long peppers) 
Olive oil
Worcestershire sauce (not a must-do but if you have it, you know how it goes perfectly with meat)
Salt and pepper
Fresh rosemary or thyme

How to:

1. Put the lamb chops into a deep oven tray, sprinkle with salt and pepper and rub with olive oil. 

2. Cut the potato and onion and peppers into chunks.

3. Add some tomato sauce (or paste or fresh tomatoes from the food processor, whichever you are going to use) with the Worcestershire sauce onto the lambs and make sure each and every one gets the juices and soaks a bit. Then, add the vegetables on top. 

4. Now add some more salt and pepper for the vegetables, put in some fresh rosemary stalks. It is ready to go into the oven of 200 degrees Celsius for almost an hour.

You can put some aluminum foil on top or if you are going to leave the top open, just toss everything halfway through, otherwise the top part and the vegetables might burn or get very dry.

Eat and enjoy!

Ready to be cooked.

Pesto Pasta Casserole With Grilled Vegetables

This dish has a long name I know but I didn't know how to express it. This is inspired from a recipe my husband found on the internet, so we adapted it according to our taste. Making pasta with grilled vegetables is such a great idea. It is like making veggies pizza, but without the hassle of a dough and with juiciness of all the ingredients. If you are not into a vegetarian dinner night, just add some chicken in with the pasta and there you have it! With the melted cheese on top, summer vegetables and juicy tomatoes inside, I can eat the whole bake by myself! :) 

Ingredients:
Serves for 4

1/2 packet of pasta (it is up to you to decide how much pasta you would like in your dish and try cooking according to the size of your baking dish)
3 table spoons of home made pesto sauce (you can use ready made ones of course, or make one on the spot)

2 big eggplants
2 big courgettes 
2 big tomatoes
1 medium size red onion
2 cloves of garlic
Cheddar cheese or any type of melting cheese
Olive oil
Salt, pepper

How to:

1. We start with washing the courgettes and eggplants. Then cut the eggplants into short thin slices and put them in salty water to let the bitterness go away. Slice the courgettes into thin rounds and put them on a tray, sprinkle with a little bit of olive oil and salt. 

2. Put the courgettes into the oven to start grilling, then turn back to your eggplants. Dry them, put them onto a tray, sprinkle lightly with some olive oil and salt, then put into the oven to grill with the courgettes. 

3. Slice the red onion and sprinkle on top of the eggplants. Leave them to grill and bake in the oven. This should take nearly 20 minutes or maybe more.

4. While the vegetables are in the oven, boil some water in the kettle and start cooking your pasta. For this recipe I used farfalle pasta, but you can use any type of pasta really.  Drain your pasta after 10 - 12 minutes of cooking in salty water, then set aside. 

5. Put three table spoons of pesto sauce (again, the amount is up to you and your taste) into your pan with crushed garlic and heat for a few minutes. Mix the farfalle with the sauce and now we are ready for the final step! :) 

 

 

6. Lightly grease a baking dish with some olive oil and put the pasta in. Level with a spoon and start layering the eggplants onto the pasta evenly. Sprinkle the onions and cover with the courgettes, then slice the tomatoes and put them on top (tomatoes are raw), then sprinkle the grated cheese as much as you like.

7. Bake in the oven for another 10 - 15 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and juicy, all the flavors come together and form the perfect harmony. Eat slowly and enjoy!

Low Sugar Carrot Cake

More often than not, people ask me how I bake all the time, eat and still stay thin. And my answer is moderation. However, sometimes I put on weight as well. So, I made small changes in the classical carrot cake recipe to make it lighter and it worked perfectly. Here is my recipe!
P.S.: If you don't mind the calories, use plain white flour instead of whole wheat, put in one cup of sugar instead of half. =)
 
Ingredients:

3 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
2 cups of whole wheat flour or rye flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of milk
2 table spoons of cream cheese
2 heap teaspoons of cinnamon 
2 carrots (grated)
Almost a cup of walnuts

How to:

1. As always the case with the cakes, start with whisking the eggs with sugar. Add the cream cheese, olive oil, milk and cinnamon and mix well. Then sift in the baking powder and flour together and combine well. 

2. Once you have a nice cake batter, put in the grated carrots and walnuts and mix with a spatula. If you are not making a light version of this cake, you can also add chocolate chips. Try it! It works!

3. Grease a cake tin lightly, pour in the batter and bake in the 175 degrees for 45 minutes. Sprinkle some icing sugar once the cake has cooled down properly, or serve with some cream cheese. Eat and enjoy!