Pumpkin Soup

This is a very easy recipe to make and it is soo good! I adapted the recipe from here.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup any additional vegetables (butternut squash or so on)
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp. dried cilantro
• 2 tsps. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/8 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. cumin

Directions:

1. Heat up olive oil in pot. Add onions and cook until translucent. 
2. Add remaining vegetables and cook until soft. Around 5 minutes.
3. Stir in pumpkin puree.
4. Add remaining ingredients. 
5. Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat to low. Cook for about 40 minutes. 
6. Allow to cool and puree on a blender.
7. Add sour cream as a garnish if you would like!

I love this soup. It tastes like your normal vegetable soup, and very easy to make!

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

I was walking home from work and I passed by the Whole Foods. I was lured in my the amazing fresh smell haha. As I walked around the store I picked up some tilapia because I swear this store can make anything look appetizing.
I am not a big tilapia person so I was trying to figure out what to do with it. I found a recipe on All Recipes and adjusted it a little bit using the comments and what ingredients I had.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (I just used canned grated kind)
• 1 tsp. mustard
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 
• 1/4 tsp. dried basil
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. celery salt
• 1/8 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp. chili powder
• 2 fillets (recipe makes enough for 3)

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to the broil function or 450F if you don't have it.
2. Line pan with foil and place fillets in pan in a single layer. Place the pan within a few inches of the top. Broil for 3 minutes on each side.
3. Combine butter, cheese, and spices.
4. Remove pan from oven and cover fillets with butter/cheese mixture.
5. Broil for 5 minutes or until top is browned.
6. ENJOY.

Because I did. This is definitely going on my weekly dinner list.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I think my favorite season is fall for two reasons.
1. The beautiful weather.
2. Pumpkin flavored food and drinks.

I have tried layered pumpkin cheesecake and just regular mixed pumpkin cheesecake, but I wanted to try a new recipe this time. I decided to try Paula Deen's recipe.

Ingredients:

• Crust
• 1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tbsps. light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 stick melted butter
• Filling
• 3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, at  room temperature
• 1 (15 ounce) can pureed pumpkin
• 3 eggs plus  egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 fresh nutmeg (I subs. with an equal amount of cloves)
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 2 tbsps. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

A few things about the ingredients:

• They now sell graham cracker crumbs (not crusts!) crumbs at the grocery store. I highly recommend them. They are good for 3 nine inch pies. You can also add stuff to the crust to add some flavoring. 
• The more at room temperature the cream cheese is, the easier it is to work with.

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
2. Mix all dry crust ingredients. Then add melted butter. Press down flat in pan. I used a 9-inch springform pan. 
3. Beat cream cheese until it is smooth.
4. Add remaining ingredients, in order of list above.
5. Beat until smooth.
6. Pour into pan.
7. Bake for 1 hour.

So, I am still getting used to my new oven at home. The cheesecake did not crack the whole baking time! I made the mistake of opening the oven too early and it cracked.  :-(

The trick to cheesecakes is to allow them to cool very slowly. I didn't do this, this time, but next time I would suggest

1. After baking for 1 hour, turn off oven and leave cheesecake in until the oven temperature completely cools back to normal.
2. Remove cheesecake and allow it to cool.
3. Place in fridge :-)

Enjoy!

Uno Leche Cake

Hello!
Long time no blog! I apologize for the hiatus in posting. I have made plenty of food, but have not taken pictures!

So on Saturday I had a dinner party and my mom asked me to make something. I was at my parents house so I had to make do with what they had. And to my avail they only had boxed cakes! I was going to settle for just making that, when a good friend said I "was no longer the person she used to know." So I had to improvise. Upon the amazing search tool on all-recipes I found a recipe and improvised a bit. Or a lot.

The name comes slightly from the ingredients and a play on tres leches cake.

Ingredients

• 1 package Devil's food cake (I used gluten-free cake) + required ingredients on package
• 1 can (14 ounce) of sweetened condensed milk
• 6 ounces caramel topping
• 1 (8oz) container whipped topping
• 1/2 bag of peanut butter chips (or more)

Directions:

1. Bake cake according to directions on package, except use only half the amount of butter.
2. When cake is cooked put wholes in the cake using the end of your spatula. Try to not go all the way down. I just made rows of holes.
3. Pour condensed milk over cake such that it goes through the holes.
4. Heat up the caramel and do the same.
5. Allow to slightly cool then add whipped cream.
6. Sprinkle peanut butter chips on top. ENJOY.

Garlic Spinach

Ingredients:

• 1 10 oz bag of fresh spinach
• 4 cloves garlic
• Feta cheese to taste
• Lemon juice to taste

Directions:

1. Thinly slice the garlic.
2. Heat up some oil in a skillet.
3. Add garlic and saute for a minute or so, or until slightly colored.
4. Add spinach in chunks. Don't add more spinach until the spinach already in the skilled has wilted.
5. Remove from stove skillet, add lemon juice and feta cheese. Add a sprinkle of salt.
6. Enjoy!!

Nutella Self Frosting Cupcakes

I love Nutella so what is not better than nutella cupcakes? Better yet, self frosting cupcakes.
I found this recipe online.

Ingredients:

• 10 tbsps. butter, softened (I used vegetable oil, next time I would stick to butter)
• 3/4 cup white sugar 
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder.
• Nutella (around 1/3 cup)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line the cupcake pan with liners.
2. Cream butter and sugar.
3. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla.
4. Stir in flour, salt, and baking powder.
5. Fill each liner 3/4th the way. 
6. Top each cupcake with around 1 tsp. Nutella (more if you would like). Swirl Nutella with toothpick.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean (from batter). I needed a little bit more time.

Enjoy! If anyone has any other ideas of what to bake using Nutella please post them here!

Double Peanut Butter Paisley Brownies

Had peanut butter chips. Wanted something sweet. This was the product.
I found the recipe on the bag.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsps. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 10 oz. pkg. peanut butter chips
• 1/2 cup chocolate syrup

1. Heat oven to 350F.
2. Grease 13X9in baking pan. (I used a smaller pan, so the brownies were thicker and took longer to cook).
3. Beat butter and peanut butter. Add sugar and brown sugar, beat well. 
4. Add eggs. Beat well.
5. Blend in vanilla.
6. Add in flour, baking powder, and salt.
7. Stir in peanut butter chips.
8. Add half the batter to the pan. Squeeze out like to the right -->
9. Add remaining batter. Swirl around with knife.
10. Cook for 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned. I cooked for an additional 10 or so minutes because I used a smaller pan.
11. Enjoy :-)

Foul (Middle Eastern Fava Bean's Breakfast)

Good morning! (Good noon?)
I made this last week and have been meaning to post it, but got swamped with work.

So this a mix of the Syrian and Jordanian way to do this dish. Enjoy :-)

Ingredients:

• 1 can fava beans
• 1 medium tomato
• 3 tbsps. olive oil (or as needed)
• 1 lemon
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• 2 stalks green onion
• Parsley (granish)

1. Open the fava bean can and place contents in a small pot. Cook on medium heat until soft.
2. While the fava beans cook cut up the green onions, the tomato, and the garlic clove.  Place in medium bowl. -->
3. Once the fava beans are ready you are going to need to mash them. Make sure the liquid level is not too high. You want them to have a smooth consistency, not too runny. I usually just mash it in the pot. 
4. Add fava beans to the bowl. Add olive oil and lemon juice. Mix everything. It is kind of hard to describe, but you can look at the picture below to see the consistency. Add salt to taste.
5. Add chopped parsley to garnish.
6. Add additional olive oil or lemon juice to taste.

I know this recipe was slightly confusing, so if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!

Breakfast potatoes

I am a very picky person when it comes to breakfast. Cereal? Not the biggest fan. Warm and salty potatoes? Love them.

I found a recipe online, but then changed a bunch of stuff.

Enjoy :-)

Ingredients:

• 3 medium Russet potatoes
• 1.5 tsp all-purpose seasoning
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• Any additional seasonings you want. 
• Onions (optional)

The above spice measurements are estimates. It is all dependent on your own taste.

Directions:

1. Wash potatoes.
2. Cut up potatoes into small cubes. (as seen above)
3. Boil potatoes for 20-25 minutes, or until softened. They need to be soft, but not soft enough that they are mashed potatoes.
4. Remove from heat and place in a colander.
5. Add spices and toss gently. 
6. Heat up some butter or oil in a skillet. 
7. At this point, if you want to have onions, saute the onions.
8. Add potatoes and saute for around 5 minutes or until golden. Be very gently when flipping over the potatoes.
9. When golden take off heat and enjoyyyy.

The picture below is a breakfast we had at home a few weeks back. We had the potatoes, vegetables, foul (fava beans), labne (strained yogurt). and hummus.

Would anyone want to see the recipe for foul?

Leave me a comment if you do!

Peanut Butter Cookies

As you may have noticed I have been on a cookie baking binge. I adapted the recipe found here.


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky, depending on your taste)
• 1/2 cup butter,softened (take it out ahead of time, DON'T melt it in the microwave)
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375F
2. Mix sugars, peanut butter, butter, and egg in large bowl.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients.
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
5. Shape dough into 1 inch balls.
6. Place on greased cookie sheet and flatten with fork.
7. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until light golden brown. 

Just a note! There is a great way to control spreading of your cookies. The firmer the cookie, the less they will spread.  A good way to keep a dough firm is by refrigerating the dough. 

There is actually a lot more factors that go into this: type and amount of fat, type and amount of flour, and type and amount of liquid.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

When you are in the mood for something sweet, but want something slightly on the healthy side oatmeal raisin cookies are the best way to go. I got this recipe from the oats box. I did halved the recipe because I didn't want to make too many cookies. 

Ingredients:

• 4 oz butter (1 stick)
• 5/8 cup brown sugar
• 3/8 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract (or lemon juice if you dont have vanilla extract)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 cups raisins
• 1.5 cups quick oats 

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
2. Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla until creamy. (Side note: the cookies will be softer if you take out the butter ahead of time).
3. Add in remaining ingredients until well blended.
4. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes. Again, this allows for the cookies to be soft and chewy. 
5. Form dough into 2-inch balls. Place on greased pan or cookie sheet.
6. Bake 16-18 minutes or until edges are golden.

 Also, if you don't want to make raisin cookies you can substitute with other ingredients. Just don't add the cinnamon and the raisins. Just make sure you add roughly around two cups.

-Chocolate chips
-White chocolate chips and dried cranberries
-Coconut flakes
-Nothing :-) Just an oatmeal cookie

 <- cookies will also hold their form better if you allow them to cool.

Once cookies are slightly cooled, eat and enjoy :-)

Chocolate Chip Cookies- Update

I posted a recipe a few months back of chocolate chip cookies, but didn't have any pictures. I made some more recently and took pictures!

I know, I know. They are probably the simplest thing to make, but they are so good to eat!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 1 tbsp. vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or more! ;-))

See if I had different types of chocolate chips I would add them. 

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375F.
2. Combine sugar, vegetable oil, butter, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat until well belnded.
3. Beat in egg.
4. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in separate bowl. Mix into sugar mixture.
5. Stir in chocolate chip cookies. 
6. Drop by the tablespoonfuls onto pan.
7. Bake for 8 minutes.