Acorn squash with maple syrup.

Saturday evening, our dinner was:

Baked Potatoes

Sauteed Chicken

Baked Acorn Squash. Made by Jeeej.

The first time I had this kind of squash was when my mother in law cooked for us. Last time I went to the farmer's market I bought this squash and it took me sometime to decide to make it.

I haven't been cooking much lately. Laziness, eating out, cooking with my friend Amal -we made cheese muffins and mushroom soup, we made mo3ajjanat, and we made 7orra2 osba3o too- several times and again laziness...

Anyways, Jeeej baked the squash this time, they came out really good.

First, he cut the squash into 2 halves and deseeded them. He put them in a glass baking dish with almost half an inch of water at the bottom of the dish.

He rubbed the flesh with some butter and added a little bit of maple syrup inside the bowl shaped squash and then baked them for about an hour.

right next to my potatoes in the oven :)

Dinner was so good...I want to have some more before winter is gone!

Want some Thai Food?!

I found a really good red curry sauce at Trader Joe's!

Last week, I looked for simple recipes online and oh how easy and tasty this recipe is.

Today Mr. Jeeej got hungry after a long day at the park, so he wanted to make a sandwich.
I felt bad, I thought I should cook something nice for him, he was a good Baba today :D
I had some lasagna in my fridge from last night, but I wanted to impress him...

Cut red bell pepper, onions, green chilies, zucchini and carrots.
Cut skinless boneless chicken breast.

Saute the onions and then add the chicken...cook them together for sometime and then add the veggies and keep stirring over medium heat.

Add the red curry sauce, some fresh ginger, salt and pepper, some coconut milk and a little bit of corn starch. Stir everything together for a minute or two.

Serve with white rice.

My man was impressed!

Cake Balls

I made these chocolate cake balls last week. I wish I am a better photographer, or maybe a perfectionist when it comes to final touches ;)
If I were any of the above, life would have been...Different!

I am embarrassed to link to the baking site I took the recipe from, because the woman is a great photographer AND a perfectionist when it comes to baking!

Anyways,

I'm still proud of my dessert...It taste soo good and it melts in the mouth!

I gave half of the amount to my friend Amal. Jeeej & I tried to finish ours but failed so he took the rest to his friends at work :)

We couldn't finish them because they were so RICH!

The recipe says that the yield is going to be over 45 balls,

My balls were only 35!

I had to finish rolling before Mariyah woke up from her nap.

The recipe is a piece of cake...

Bake a red cake mix, when it cools down, mix it using your own fingers with a can of cream cheese frosting, make balls, and let them cool down, I put them in the freezer for an hour, and then coat them with melted chocolate. I used was semi sweet ghirardelli chocolate.
Okay OKAY here is the link!
Happy now?!

On another note, I just found my chef on facebook, and I am back in touch with him! He's a perfectionist when it comes to cooking and some other stuff, he's so popular too!

I'm not sure If I want to give him the link to my cooking blog :$ I worked so hard at his kitchen and I wanted to become like him, but I failed...

I am proud of myself, proud of my family and proud of my decision to take care of their meals...but still, this is NOT what we have worked together on...

We'll see how it goes!

Any comments?!

Guacamole y Tortilla!

A couple of days ago, we went out for lunch, and got full, we couldn't even think of dinner that day.
But with hours passing by I started feeling hungry :) And I had some ripe avocados in my kitchen.
I suggested Guacamole :) He said: Why not!

When we went to Mexico last Summer I made sure I eat guacamole on Breakfast, lunch and dinner. I wasn't sure I'd ever crave guacamole, ever again...
But it happened!
A few days before I made some, I was chatting with my sister and she asked me for a simple recipe using Avocados, so I suggested guacamole of course...she said she was too lazy to get tortilla chips!

As for us, we always have tortilla chips!

Jeeej filled the plate with tortilla chips and grated some smoked organic cheese on top, and put the plate in the microwave, until the cheese melted...

He did that right after I made guacamole...

I mashed avocados.

sprinkled some lemon juice.

Added some salt and fresh cilantro.

and of course diced up some tomatoes and onions.

It was sooooo good :)

Buen provecho!!

Looks Familiar?

He's so sick these days, still he wanted to cook for me :)

He made this plate for me for dinner yesterday!

I love him so much!

It was delicious!

Asparagus Soup for the Soul.

Just like I did the Mushroom Soup. But to the asparagus soup I added some onions to the saute, and then sprinkled some dry thyme.

So the ingredients are:

Asparagus, minced garlic, some onions for taste, maggi cube, heavy cream, pepper and thyme.

Saute the first three in some olive oil and butter, then add the rest and cook together...then blend :)

I like to keep the soup in the blender until it's time to serve it. it's better this way so I could blend it once more just before pouring some in the soup bowl.

For dinner, I wanted to make some msakhan, so I boiled chicken. Then when I was about to start I found a nice red bell pepper looking at me, so I decided to cut onions and cut the pepper, and saute them with the cooked chicken.

The sauce: Honey, soy sauce, corn starch and chicken broth.

I served the chicken with plain rice -leftover- from yesterday's dinner :)

Summer's Chicken with Ranch dressing ;)

I saw the recipe once Summer posted it on her blog, and I decided to make it, because I know Jeeej loves this dressing so much.

I made it yesterday...

It turned out really good! and so easy to make :)

Thank you Summer!!

On the side, I made some mashed sweet potatoes, with butter, fennel and cinnamon...mmmonnnnnnn...YUMMMYYY!!!

And of course some salad, with Balsamic Vinegar as a dressing...

Tonight...

I made Lasagna!

~~~For Dinner, and for Jeeej to have on lunch tomorrow, because I'm invited to a lunch party and won't be home to cook :D

French Toast.

I mix an egg with a table spoon of milk, I sprinkle some salt and some cinnamon, dip a whole wheat toast in it until it sucks it all , and then fry it in the iron skillet using a little bit of butter :)

This is how I make it for myself...

As for Mariyah's...I don't need the salt and cinnamon...because she likes it with maple syrup, just like her baba Jeeej :)

If she gets bored before she finishes her plate...I give her berries...HER LOVE!

Keeping Baguettes Fresh!

Once upon a time, I found a recipe suggested by Garfan.
It had baguettes, red roasted peppers and goat cheese.

I love all these ingredients, but I didn't know the bread's name is baguette. I always called it French Bread.

The recipe was so good, it made me addicted.

But it was too hard to keep the baguettes fresh and soft.

UNTIL... I found a solution!!

Ever since I found it, they became so much fun to prepare and eat!

Jeeej doesn't like goat cheese much, so I replace it with marinated mozzarella cheese.

Today I made some and thought of sharing the solution with you :)

The Solution: Once you buy a fresh baguette, slice it into thin slices, put the slices in a ziplock bag -plastic bag- and keep them in your freezer.

Whenever you feel like eating some, grab as much as you want, brush both sides of each slice with water, smother it with olive oil or balsamic vinegar, top it with the kind of cheese you want, and bake it in the oven for a few minutes, until the cheese melts.

I sometimes add some minced garlic before topping it with cheese -garlic bread-.

Sometimes I sprinkle some dry thyme on top of the cheese.

and sometimes I top the cheese with roasted red peppers like Mr. Garfan suggested :)

Today;

I cut the red pepper into thin slices, tossed them in balsamic vinegar, baked them in the oven for about 30 min. until they became tender.

I brushed the Baguette slices with water, smothered them with olive oil. Topped them with marinated mozzarella cheese. Baked them for about 5 min. and then added the roasted pepper on top!

DELICIOUS!

Pancake Day!

The fact that I hit my car today won't stop me from posting this.

A pancake day is a beautiful day for Mariyah:)

If she eats it,

I am happy, because it has eggs.

If she eats it, She is happy because it has berries! Or maybe it's the Maple Syrup?! I really don't care :)

Back in Amman, I used to make it from scratch.

When I came here, Jeeej had a ready mix. It was good.

He always adds fruits -berries, bananas...- to it and he makes it really yummy!

For Mariyah, I buy the Multigrain Pancake mix. HEALTHIER.

I add milk and an egg to it.

And lots of berries too!

Sometimes fresh, like I did today, and sometimes frozen. Because it's OK!

Sometimes I replace the Maple Syrup with honey,

But she's just like her baba...

She loves Maple Syrup MORE!

Broccoli Slaw.

I haven't posted anything on this blog recently because I haven't cooked anything for almost two weeks.

When my brother in law was here 2 weeks ago, I made Mansaf for him. That was the last thing I cooked as far as I remember :)

Then I went to Seattle and the Qwaiders cooked for me...then it was Thanksgiving and my In Laws cooked for me :)

Oh wait...I made Magloubeh for my in laws while visiting them, it didn't turn out as good as always, but they loved it! ;) They called it MaGlouGeh :D

It's hard when you cook at somebody elses house and use their pots and and all. I had my spices with me but still :p

My Chef told me once : A bad chef always blames his tools.

I think I'm a bad one.

Anyways...

I'm back!

Today I cooked.

I baked potatoes...

I sautéed chicken

and I made Broccoli Slaw Salad!

I usually make Coleslaw Salad. Both my grandmothers back in Amman love it the way I make it and now my mother in law loves it too!

My friend Basma taught me how to prepare it when we were in high school. Hi Basma!

She never gave me measurements, she prepared it in front of me.

Mix mayonnaise and sugar together, then slowly add some lemon juice until the taste becomes as you wish!

Pour the dressing over the finely cut cabbage and the grated carrots. Mix together. She adds finely cut pickles to it for a sour taste. I do the same sometimes.

Today, I had the broccoli and carrots mix in my fridge, so I made Broccoli Slaw.

I added some grated apples to the salad too. It gave it a good taste. I love Apples :)

You can add some walnuts and raisins to it too!

Yea I'm back!

Early Turkey :))

Since Laz is here, his mom -My mother In Law- made an early Thanksgiving Dinner this year :)
See how lucky I am!!!
It was sooo good, i ate a lot and didn't care ;)

The Turkey, the Mashed potatoes, the Baked Squash, the Stuffed Artichokes and the Cranberry sauce were all Delicious!!

The Pumpkin Pie topped with whipped cream was sooo goood tooooo!!

*If you'd like the recipe for any of the above, My mother in law would be happy to share it with you!

* I was lucky too because Laz was here to take these beautiful pictures of our Dinner last night :)

Mushroom Soup for the Soul ;)

One of my favourite soups ever! I taught it to so many friends and they all love it:) It's so easy and tastes really good.
The ingredients are:
Fresh mushroom cut into quarters.
Minced garlic.
Maggi.
Heavy Cream.
White Pepper and some nutmeg.
Some olive oil and butter.

Saute the garlic in olive oil and butter, then add the mushroom to it. when the mushroom welts pour the heavy cream and stir. If you find it heavy, dilute a cube of Maggi in hot water and add some. If not, just drop the cube in the pot. Sprinkle some pepper and nutmeg :)
When you are done, blend it all...be careful in blending if the soup is too hot.

I made this soup for last night's dinner!

And then, I sauteed some chicken, steamed some broccoli, and the baguette bread.
Let me talk more about this bread.
I cut the bread into small pieces, covered both sides with olive oil.
The topping was a mixture of shredded mozzarella cheese, minced parsley and basil, salt.
and then I cut some beautiful yellow tomatoes into halves and put on top of the cheese. I baked them for 15 min. and then broiled the top for 5 min extra...

Delicious!!

Fresh Pasta and whole artichoke :)

That was our Dinner tonight.

It was the first time we both try the "Cracked Pepper Penne" fresh pasta. It's smell and taste are unique.

I cooked it for about 5 min. and then spread them on a baking dish, topped them with the bolognese sauce -traditional ground beef and tomato sauce-, and then added a plenty of shredded mozzarella cheese on top. Sounds like Lasagna right?!

I baked it for 5 min and then used the broiler for another 5 min. and Voilà!!!

As for the Artichoke, I trim the stem, and then rinse them under running water. I bring them to boil in a covered large pot for about 45 min.

We enjoy eating the hearts dipped in mayonnaise!

Killing Mansaf!

Ok,

- If you are having Mansaf at my place, The meat I use should be boneless and cut into small pieces.

- If you are having Mansaf at my place, The Jameed I use, is the liquid type sold in Arabic stores.

- If you are having Mansaf at my place, You can use a spoon, a fork and a knife...whatever suits you!

- If you are having Mansaf at my place, Lavash Bread is used instead of Shrak Bread. Because this is what's available!

Never the less, I assure you, if you try it you'll KILL IT!

Today, we had visitors for dinner, Non-Arabs, They loved it :) They finished their plates and told me it's better than the Mansaf they had at DishDash, the restaurant in Sunnyvale :)

After I had some of my Mansaf, I remembered I should take a picture of my plate :p

And like my brother Ward says with every Mansaf he has: Layan, Layan...sharrrrrib!! :)))

Msakhan "Mexican Way" ;)

You see, my friend Amal calls it Msakhan Rolls.
I had some once in Amman, long time ago. But here, I noticed that a lot of women make msakhan this way too. Before I made it the first time at home, I used to think that it needs a lot of work, because wherever I ate it, it always tasted good!

But it's actually so easy, and probably it's the reason why my Friend Amal makes it a lot ;) Her kids love the rolls too! She makes them smaller & thinner though.

The traditional Palestinian Msakhan is made with Taboon bread, but here I make it using the Mexican Tortilla bread.

First you have to bring the boneless skinless chicken to boil, and then when they are done shred them up. I use my hands, it makes me feel good and productive!

Have a good amount of onions diced up, and then throw them in a good amount of olive oil on a hot skillet and toss them around until they become clear and tender, but not brown.

Throw in the chicken and toss them together with the onions and then spice the mixture up with lots of Sumac. At this point I add some of the chicken broth to the mixture...and some olive oil! Olive Oil is essential in this dish!

Bring the Tortilla bread and brush it with olive oil on both sides and then stuff it with the chicken and onions and then rap it and then bake it ...AND THEN EAT IT HOT!


Some people might compare this fake msakhan to Mansaf made with chicken!!! But HEY!! I don't care...it smells like a real msakhan, but tastes a little bit different...TRUST ME :D

When Jeeej Cooks...

This is what happens:

- I keep waiting til he's done, so I could enjoy the steak and all!

- My stomach gets shocked!

- My kitchen gets MESSY :)

- My heart is filled with love!

This is what happened last night :)

Fettuccini Bianco et Verde...My Way ;)

When I go to the farmer's market, I don't carry a list of items to buy or anything. I just look around and see what's available, and then I start building up recipes in my mind for the week ahead.

Yesterday I went there and got really good and colorful veggies and fruits.

I got this Fresh Pasta too!

Cooking it in boiling water took less than 5 min.

The sauce...

I used the ready Alfredo Sauce I have. I wanted to add meat and green veggies to it, just like we used to prepare this dish at the Italian Restaurant in Amman. We used to add chicken cubes, Basil and Broccoli.

What I did yesterday was using the Chicken Apple Sausage -gluten and pork free- from Trader Joe's, and I sauteed it along with the fresh broccoli and mushrooms, then I added the Alfredo Sauce.

When I mixed the pasta with the sauce at the end, it looked amazing! BUT the pictures came out really bad :p

So I will leave your imagination to decide how it really looked like ;)

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

** Coming soon!! My Ultimate Mansaf :)

Apple Dumplings :)

When I have so many things to do during the day, like shopping, baby sitting, teaching and cooking, I don't mind using a bag of frozen veggies to prepare dinner. I always have to have such bags in my freezer, different mixtures and different brands. I get them from Trader Joe's.

Each time I make a different sauce.

Sometimes I cook the veggies with ground beef and sometimes with baked or sauteed chicken on the side. Sometimes I serve it with Noodles and sometimes with rice. All depends on what's available at home :)

Today was one of these days...

But a different one too, because I was in the mood for some Apple dumplings...

My favourite Dessert EVER!

* I was away for a while because I stayed at my friend's house while our husbands were traveling together. I cooked for her one night, she did enjoy part of what I made for her but not all! People have different tastes ;)

** Easiest and FUNNEST Apple Dumpling Recipe can be found here.

Edible Flowers and Buddha's Hand!!!!!!

When we went to the farmer's market last Saturday, Jennie bought this very weird looking fruit or vegetable! It's called Buddha's Hand.
We couldn't believe our eyes when we first saw it. She decided I should take half of it and when the seller cut it into 2 halves, it's smell was one of the strongest I've ever smelled! It smelled soooo much like lemon and ginger together. It's hard to describe. We were told that it should be grated and the zest is to be used with chicken or fish.
Tonight, I decided to grate some of it, and mix it with some fresh basil. I added some olive oil, pepper and salt to the mix and used the mixture to marinate the small pieces of chicken I have already cut.
Then I sautéed them together.

I baked some baby potatoes like I did last week.

And then, there was the lettuce mix, that had some Edible Flowers in it!
The salad dressing was: Olive oil, Balsamic Vinegar and salt.

Here is a picture of our dinner tonight :)

** I decided to take pix in the kitchen, right before taking the plate to the dining area :) More light in the kitchen of course!

**Jeeej confessed tonight...He said: I love this cooking blog:)