Saturday, June 23, 2012

Cauliflower and Cheddar Cheese Perogies

½ large head of Cauliflower, chopped into florets
½ cup of grated cheddar cheese
2 oz of cream cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Perogy Dough


1.     Steam cauliflower until very soft, about 15 minutes

2.    In a large bowl add cream cheese, cheddar, salt, pepper and cooked cauliflower. 

3.    Mash with a potato masher until cauliflower is in small pieces and the cheeses are mixed through.

4.    Let cool before using in perogies.
5.  Follow instruction for Perogy Dough on how to cook them.

(We were eating this right out of the bowl and could easily be served as a side dish)


Perogy Dough

2½ cups of unbleached white flour
½ tsp of salt
¼ cup of oil
1 egg
2/3 cup very hot water



1. Mix flour with salt.

2. Whisk the oil and egg together and stir in to the flour

3. Add the water and stir. Knead dough with hands.

4. Let it sit for 30 minutes.

5. Roll out dough into thin sheets and used a floured large cup to make circles.

6. Add a spoon full of cooled filling to middle of circle.

7. Fold circle over and pinch edges closed

8. Once all perogies are made, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

9. Put perogies into boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes or until they float to the top.

10. Drain.  If you wish you could fry these with your favorite perogy ingredients like onions, sausages or bacon. 

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Awesome Steak Marinade

1/3 cup of soy sauce
¼ cup of olive oil
¼ cup of Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 ½ tbsp of dried parsley flakes
1 tsp of pepper
¼ tsp of hot pepper sauce (optional)



1.     Mix together all the ingredients

2.    Pour over steaks in resealable bag and marinade for 2-8 hours.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Cream Cheese "Butter" Chicken

3 chicken breasts, chopped into chunks
1 tbsp of grated ginger
½ onion, chopped
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tsp of brown sugar
1 tsp of cumin, ground
1 tsp of turmeric
¼ tsp of chili pepper flakes

¼ tsp of ground cardamom,
¼ tsp of ground cinnamon,
½ tsp of black pepper
4 oz of cream cheese
2/3 cup of broth
1 tbsp of oil



1.     Preheat oil on medium-high in a large pan. 

2.    Add onions and ginger.  Cook until onions are soft

3.    Mix together cumin, turmeric, chili pepper flakes, cardamom, cinnamon and pepper.  Stir into onions and ginger.

4.    Add tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes.

5.    Add chicken and coat with mixture.  Cook for 5 minutes.

6.    Add brown sugar, cream cheese and broth and stir until cream cheese is melted in.

7.    Cook for another 10-15 minutes until sauce has thickened up and chicken is cooked through.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving 
Calories369
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 22g28%
Saturated Fat 9g45%
Cholesterol 129mg43%
Sodium 317mg14%
Total Carbohydrate 6.4g2%
Dietary Fiber 1.2g4%
Total Sugars 2.6g 
Protein 35.5g 
Vitamin D 0mcg0%
Calcium 58mg4%
Iron 3mg16%
Potassium 486mg10%

Friday, June 15, 2012

African Jollof Vegetables and Rice (Rice Cooker)

1 rice cooker cup of rice (the cup that comes with cooker)
1 cup of broth
½ tsp of thyme
¼ tsp of curry powder
1 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of grated ginger
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp of jalapeño, chopped fine (optional)
1 carrot, chopped
½ sweet pepper chopped
¼ cup of onion chopped
1 stalk of celery chopped
½ cup of frozen peas
¼ cup of mushrooms, chopped
1 tbsp of tomato paste
¼ cup of fresh cilantro


1. Add first 16 ingredients to rice cooker, mix and press cook, taking about 20-30 minutes if using white rice, 40-50 minutes for brown rice.

2.  Just before serving sprinkle with cilantro.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Spicy Crockpot African Beef Stew

1-2 tsp of Berbere Spice (click for recipe)
2 lbs of stew beef
1 cup of broth (beef or veggie)
½ small onion chopped
1 tbsp of flour
1 tbsp of oil


1.     Preheat oil in large pan on medium-high.

2.    Toss beef in flour and brown in hot pan on all sizes.

3.    Place onions on the bottom of the Crockpot

4.    Put browned beef and berbere spice in Crockpot with broth.

5.    Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Berbere Spice Mix (Spicy)

2 tbsp of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp of paprika
1/8 tsp of allspice
½ tsp of ground cardamom
1/8 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp of ground cloves
¼ tsp of ground cumin
½ tsp of ground fenugreek or ground mustard
¼ tsp of pepper
¼ tsp of turmeric
½ tsp of salt
½ tsp of ground ginger
½ tsp of garlic powder

1. Mix together and store in air tight container.


 

Monday, June 11, 2012

Brown Sugar and Ginger Glaze

3 Tbsp of brown sugar
1 tsp of sweet chili sauce
2 Tbsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of freshly grated ginger
1 clove of garlic minced.


1. Mix together

*GREAT on BBQ'd salmon

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving 
Calories35
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g0%
Saturated Fat 0g0%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 463mg20%
Total Carbohydrate 8.3g3%
Dietary Fiber 0.1g1%
Total Sugars 7.2g 
Protein 0.6g 
Vitamin D 0mcg0%
Calcium 9mg1%
Iron 0mg1%
Potassium 35mg1%


Sunday, June 10, 2012

Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Mayo

2-3 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup of roasted red peppers (I used jarred)
1/3 cup of mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste


1.     In a chopper or food processer chop garlic finely

2.    Add red peppers and chop.

3.    Add mayonaise and blend

4.    Refrigerate for a few hours

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Herbed Focaccia Bread

2/3 cup of water
½ tsp of honey
½ tsp of salt
3 tbsp of olive oil
½ tsp of oregano, dried
½ tsp of basil, dried
½ tsp of rosemary, crushed
2 cups of unbleached white flour
1 tsp of bread maker yeast

 Topping

 1 tbsp of olive oil
½ tsp of rosemary, crushed
½ tsp of sea salt


1.     Place first 9 ingredients in this order in your bread maker OR the order recommended by the makers of your maker.

2.    Put maker on dough setting and press start.  It takes about 2 hours to make.

3.    Punch down dough on a floured surface and shape into a rectangle 1/2 -1 inch thick.

4.    Let rise covered under a damp towel for 40 minutes in a warm place.

5.    Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.

6.    Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and rosemary.

7.    Bake for 15 minutes uncovered.


Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Dirty Rice with Prawns

½ tsp of paprika
½ tsp of thyme
½ tsp of salt
1tbsp of oil
½ sweet onion, diced
2celery stalks, diced
1 sweet pepper, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, chopped fine
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 lb of ground beef
1 lb of prawns, peeled and deveined
½ cup of green onions, chopped

Rice Cooker
1 rice cooker cup of rice cooked with 1/8 tsp of Paprika and thyme and chicken broth according to cooker instructions



1.     Cook rice according rice cooker instructions in broth, 1/8 each of paprika and thyme

2.    When the rice is almost done cooking, Preheat a large pan to medium heat with oil

3.    Add onions, green pepper, jalapeno, celery, and garlic. Cook on medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes.

4.    Add beef, salt, black pepper, remaining paprika, and thyme. Cook until browned, about 10-15 minutes.

5.    Add shrimp, cover and cook 5 more minutes

6.    Toss rice with beef and shrimp and combine well. Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving 
Calories498
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g12%
Saturated Fat 2.6g13%
Cholesterol 227mg76%
Sodium 565mg25%
Total Carbohydrate 54.2g20%
Dietary Fiber 1.8g6%
Total Sugars 2g 
Protein 46g 
Vitamin D 0mcg0%
Calcium 103mg8%
Iron 18mg98%
Potassium 638mg14%