Turkish Baklava

I made this recipe for the Bethlehem Dinner we had with Zak's family in Connecticut.  I was pretty nervous because I had never made baklava and while I've cooked for his family, it's always been recipes I've made before.  But I am super proud to say that this turned out very well!  Next time we will be sure to add pistachios and raisins and to work on letting it sit to soak up the syrup for a longer period.  It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but it did require some skill.  Zak was a great helper with assembling it and I plan on making this again for our friends.

Filling
2 c. (8 oz.) finely chopped almonds
1 c. (4 oz.) finely chopped walnuts
1/4 c. caster (superfine) sugar (used regular sugar)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cloves
Syrup
2 c. sugar
2 c. water
1 stick cinnamon
1 Tbl. lemon juice
Cover
12 oz. packet filo pastry, thawed
melted butter

1.  Place all filling ingredients in a bowl, combine until well blended.
2.  Place syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Simmer for 10 minutes and leave to cool.
3.  Brush a 9" x 13" baking dish with butter.  Add 10 sheets of filo, brushing each with butter before placing on top of the other.
4.  Spread the filling evenly in the dish.
5.  Add 10 - 12 sheets of filo, brushing each with butter as needed.  Be sure to press down on the layers to get it soaked in well.
6.  With a large knife, score the top into large diamond shapes.
7.  Bake in oven preheated to 325 degrees for 1 hour or until top turns slightly brown.
8.  Remove from oven and slowly pour the syrup over the top.
9.  The most difficult part: letting it sit for at least 5 - 6 hours before serving.

right after pouring syrup on, don't have any of it after

Turkish Red Lentil Soup

My mother-in-law made this fabulous soup while we were in Connecticut, for the annual 'Bethlehem dinner' on Christmas Eve.  I fell in love with the delicious flavors of the soup and asked for the recipe when we returned back home.  She sent me the recipe (from Whole Foods Market) and the only variation I made was to use some chicken broth along with the vegetable broth; it turned out phenomenally well and I will be sure to keep this in rotation. It's very easy to make and is a good, flavorful, vegetarian soup that is enjoyable with warmed pita bread or by itself.

1 1/3 c. (about 8 oz.) red lentils, picked through & rinsed
7 c. vegetable broth (I used 4 c. vegetable broth, 3 c. chicken broth)
1 large onion, diced
1-2 large carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbl. tomato paste
1 tsp. cumin
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
3/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)

1.  In a large pot, combine lentils, broth, onion, carrot(s), garlic, tomato paste, cumin and cayenne.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are very tender and lentils begin to fall apart (about 25 minutes).
2.  Remove pot from heat and use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it is creamy but not completely pureed.  Add salt and serve with warmed pitas.

Crockpot Chili

This recipe gave me one of the most positive reactions from everyone.  I was so pleased and surprised with how much everyone really enjoyed it!  We didn't really have any Halloween plans, but I saw this recipe and thought it would be a simple enough meal and maybe we could watch a scary movie with friends, if they didn't have plans.  That ended up being our Halloween and it was really fun.  Everyone raved about this recipe, and I will definitely be making this often.  It's really flavorful & not spicy and simply delightful with cornbread.  A big hit!

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans
1/4 c. ketchup (or chili sauce)
1/4 c. water
1 packet chili seasoning mix
3 stalks celery, diced
2 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce (didn't have any, used soy sauce, didn't even noticed)
1 Tbl. sugar

1.  Brown ground beef with onion.  Season with salt and pepper.  I also added in minced garlic and minced, dried onion. 
2.  Add remaining ingredients to crockpot while beef is cooking.  Once beef is browned and the onion is tender, add to crockpot and mix ingredients together.
3.  Cook all day on low (or on high for 3-4 hours).  By the time we ate, it had cooked for about 11 hours on low and it was delicious.

Serve with cheese, sour cream, cornbread, whatever you love!


Sorry for no pictures--it went so quickly that I completely forgot!

Bacon, Tomato & Caramelized Onion Quiche

I made this quiche for Zak's birthday and it was a hit.  Super yummy and just what he had envisioned.  I grew up having quiche for brunch on Christmas day, but never for dinner, like Zad had.  I had also never made quiche before, so I was a bit nervous but then I realized, I've made pie (even those cute mini chicken pot pies!) and other complicated dishes, I should be able to make this!  Anyways, huge success, going to make it again this week because: yum!!  

I basically looked at a few recipes and combined them, made it taste good and wrote down my notes.  So here is my recipe for bacon, tomato & caramelized onion quiche:

8 oz. (about 7 pieces) bacon, cut into small pieces

1 large white/yellow onion, sliced 

1 large tomato, diced

1 single recipe of pie crust (used frozen deep dish pie crust)

3 Tbl. light sour cream

4 eggs

3/4 c. half & half

dash tabasco sauce

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

1 c. cheese (I used a cheddar blend, we aren't big on Swiss)

salt & pepper

butter

1.  In a large pan on medium heat, heat up a few tablespoons of butter.  Add onions, season with salt & pepper and cook for about 10 minutes.  Turn heat down to low and continue to cook until translucent and soft.

2.  Bake crust for 10 minutes at 375 degrees, cool.

3.  Fry bacon pieces while baking crust and caramelizing onions.

4.  In a small bowl, mix sour cream with a pinch of salt & pepper.  Spread on the bottom of cooled crust.

5.  In a large bowl, lightly beat the egg.  Add half & half, tabasco, dry mustard and salt & pepper to taste.

6.  Add caramelized onions to pie crust, followed by bacon pieces, diced tomatoes and cheese.  Pour in egg mixture.

7.  Baking on cooking sheet for 40 - 45 minutes at 375 degrees

beautiful!

taken the next day, we scarfed down our pieces

Reuben Sandwich

We had delicious Reuben sandwiches for lunch today.  I had never had one before, but oh man, it was SO good!  We are going to have them again for dinner this week and I can't wait!  Zak wanted coleslaw in his, but I went tradition and used sauerkraut, yum!  It wasn't too difficult to make, once we got the swing of things.

2 slices dark rye bread
1 or 1 1/2 pieces Swiss cheese
4 oz. (?) corned beef (use your judgement)
1-2 Tbl. sauerkraut/coleslaw
1-2 Tbl. thousand island dressing

1.  Heat slices of corned beef on medium-high heat, until slightly browned.
2.  Butter bread (like making a grilled cheese) and set both buttered-sides down on griddle with cheese slices on one half (on medium heat).
3.  Once cheese has started to melt, pile corned beef on.  If you want sauerkraut, warm up and place on top.  Or just put coleslaw on top of the meat.
4.  Add dressing and place bread on top of it.  Carefully brown and flip.

Zak's deli-style lunch

:)

so delicious

Spinach Salad

I have been on a big spinach salad kick lately.  I have never been a big salad eater, but I adore this salad.  It might just be because there are other tasty things in it rather than raw vegetables, which aren't my favorite.  But I'm trying to eat better and this is one of the salads I take to work with me (sometimes I'll take a chicken Caesar salad).  And this salad, with dressing, is about 350 calories, which is great!  I have a food scale that I love, so I will list the gram/oz measurement as well as a normal measurement of each ingredient.

2 c. (38g) spinach
5-6 (1.45 oz.) cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 (30 g) dried cranberries/craisins
2 1/2 Tbl. (21 g) walnut pieces
2 Tbl. (21 g) crumbled feta cheese
1 tsp. sunflower seed kernels
2 Tbl. (28g) Annie's Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette

everything you need

all ready for work tomorrow!

Taco Salad

We have taco salad often because it's easy, really yummy and lasts us for a few days, which is always great. My family has a great thousand island dressing that I posted on the blog and it goes great with this taco salad!  This last time I made it, I used a homemade taco seasoning mix, which turned out really well, definitely a keeper.  Here is what we have for taco salad:

1 lb. lean ground beef, browned with salt & pepper (also with 1 chopped onion, if desired)
3 tsp. taco seasoning mix or 1 package mix
1 can kidney beans
1 can sliced olives
1-2 heads iceberg lettuce, washed & torn
4-5 tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1 can corn
1-2 bags tortilla chips
grated cheese
sour cream
salsa
thousand island dressing

ingredients lined up & ready to go!

building

completed and before mixing up