Chicken & Spinach Soup

• 2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup carrot or diced red bell pepper
• 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 8 ounces), cut into quarters
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried marjoram
• 6 ounces baby spinach, coarsely chopped
• 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans or great northern beans, rinsed
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup plain or herbed multigrain croutons for garnish (optional)

1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add carrot (or bell pepper) and chicken; cook, turning the chicken and stirring frequently, until the chicken begins to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Stir in broth and marjoram; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
2. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken pieces to a plate to cool. Add spinach and beans to the pot and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 5 minutes to blend the flavors.
3. Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, Parmesan and basil in a food processor (a mini processor works well). Process until a coarse paste forms, adding a little water and scraping down the sides as necessary.
4. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Stir the chicken and pesto into the pot. Season with pepper. Heat until hot. Garnish with croutons, if desired.

Garlic fries

One of hubby's favoret American "things" The garlic looses it's pungent taste for a sweeter more sooth flavor once it's brown and crispy.

What ya need...

3-4 large potatoes Yukon gold or Idaho. ( gold is better )
1/2 stick real butter or a few teaspoons of ghee
2 whole heads of fresh garlic skinned and sliced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese ( optional )

What ya do...

slice the potatoes into fries. I keep the skin on. and fry until just brown. While the fries are cooking in a wok ( I love using a wok for everything but it really helps get the potatoes coated well with this) melt the butter and add the garlic, cook the garlic until it is lightly brown and crispy, be careful not to burn it.
Once both the garlic and the fries are cooked toss the fries with the garlic in the wok and add the cheese. Salt is not normally added as the butter or ghee is usually sufficiently salty. 

Black and Blue burgers.

Black and blue burgers are hands down my fav. burger! Hubby never had them until he came to the USA but loves Blue cheese and now these burgers.


1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup blue cheese crumbles for the meat mix
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles to top the burgers after cooking
blackening mix season, wither homemade or store bought,
3 or 4 buttered and toasted kyser rolls.
Condiments of your choice.

I don't put egg and bread crumbs in my burgers, I think it's odd.... If I wanted fillers and oddness I would go get a fast food burger.

Mix the meat and the blue cheese up and form into 3 or 4 patties. Either pan fry or grill the burgers. When they are done top with the rest of the blue cheese and allow to melt before putting on the buns.  Sometimes I throw on some mild cheddar and turkey bacon as well.

Blackening Spice Mix

It's great of fish, chicken or meat. It's a must with a Blue cheese burger.

Mix everything together and store in the cabinet with other spice.

• 2 teaspoons ground paprika
• 4 teaspoons dried leaf thyme
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, or to your taste
• 1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Tonight we have salmon!

Abdalla loves salmon but never had it blackened so tonight he will! I just can't imagine life without blackining season!  Tonight i'll post my own blend..... Now to the cooking!

cream of broccoli soup with cheddar cheese

I got this from the FB group "So I married an Egyptian". Great group and some really wonderful ladies... that know how to cook!

2 bunches of broccoli...cleaned...use stalks and flowers.
cut into big hunks.
put into big pot with water to cover it.
cut an onion into big hunks & throw in too.
throw in a few garlic pieces.
boil till mooshy.
take a stick blender, and moosh it up.
pour bout a cup of heavy cream into the same pot.
shred cheddar..use the large holes in the grater.
add half to soup in pan
salt & pepper.
pour into bowl
more grated cheddar on top.

Chocolate coconut pecan pie

If you can "over kill" a pie, this would be it! It's so good, but so sweet!

2 cups pecan halvs
1 cup flaked coconut
3/4 cup of chocolate chips.
3 eggs
1 cup dark Karo syrup
1 cup sugar
dash salt
1tsp vanilla
2 tbl. melted butter
Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix everything together and pour into an uncooked pie crust. Bake 60 min or until you can push on the top and it springs back. If the pie crust starts to brown to much then cover the sides with foil.  let cool 2 hrs before cutting.

Rhonda's SANIYET BATATES BIL KHODAR Baked Potatoes with Vegetables صينية بطاطس نالخضار

SANIYET BATATES BIL KHODAR
Baked Potatoes with Vegetables
صينية بطاطس نالخضار

1/2 - 1 pound beef, cubed
1 cup onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon allspice
6 cups water
1/2 pound zucchini
1/2 pound carrots
1 medium bell pepper
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup onions, thinly sliced
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds potatoes
2 roma tomatoes

Place water in a pot, add meat, onion, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 teaspoon allspice.  Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and cook for 45 minutes until meat is will done.  Remove meat and set aside.

Cut zucchini and carrots into slices and cut bell pepper into bite-size pieces.  Add to broth and stir in chopped parsley, onions, garlic, salt, pepper and allspice.  Wash and peel potatoes, slice into 1/4 inch thickness.  Add to broth and mix well.

Place meat at the bottom of a baking pan, add vegetables and broth and top with tomato slices.  Preheat oven to 375 F, cover pan and bake for 1 hour or until vegetables are done.

Serve hot with pocket bread, rice or rice with noodles.  This dish can be cooked early and heated at mealtime.

Koshary

The sauce, start this first.

1 large can of tomato sauce, I like to use the thick and zesty hunts spaghetti sauce. Its cheap and its... tomato sauce!
3 whole heads of garlic, peeled and diced.
2 large yellow onions diced, but not fine.
crushed red pepper to taste. I use a LOT but we have a taste for hot food.
cheyenne pepper to taste
a tad tumric
1/4 water
plane white vinegar
1/2 cup of veggi oil
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Short/ medium grain rice
vermicelli
1 cup green or brown lentils
1 can chick peas

in a med. sauce pan heat the oil and brown the onions scoop out the onions and set aside,pour out half the oil and set it aside too, youll need it later.

Add the garlic to the oil left in the pan and cook until golden brown. add the tomato sauce, the peppers and a bit of tumric. thin the sauce out with the water and let it cook on low.

Now you need to cook the rest....

The rice should really be the short or medium grain. for some reason its just better than long grain.
When you cook the rice add the oil you cooked the onion in for flavor.. it may sound odd but trust me it is good.

The vermicelli i cook with real butter and a bit of chicken bullion.

Once every thing is done, add the vinegar to the tomato sauce and taste it may need some salt.

on a dinner plate layer everything...
rice, vermicelli, tomato sauce, lentils, chick peas and onions.

Ta da!.... real Egyptian Koshary, garlicy, spicy, amazing and evil! Its the national dish of Egy.

sometimes i cook extra garlic and sprinkle over the top as well.. soo damn good!

Picante Sauce

I eat picante on EVERYTHING, such yummy stuff!!!  It's really easy to make. I have a glass milk bottle I fill with it about once a week so I keep it on hand.


What ya need

1 10.75 ounce can tomato puree
1 1/3 cup water
1/3 cup  yellow onion chopped up
1/4 cup  jalapenos chopped up
2 tabls white vinegar
1/4 tsp salt.
1/2 tsp dried onion
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 cloves fresh chopped garlic 
a few pinches of cheyenne pepper 

Cook everything in a pan together until it thickens up a bit then chill in the frig or use it right away.
There is no right or wrong thing to add or remove from the recipe. You can take out the vinegar and add lemon or lime juice. Add some cilantro or play with the seasonings. I like to use a blackening season I get from a local butcher shop

Homemade Egg Nog

Okay so maybe it's not "Egyptian" but it's still pretty good stuff. This recipe is my mom's, as we do not drink alcohol I omit the rum and bourbon.

What ya need.

5 egg yolks**
1 cup heavy cream**
2 cups whole milk**
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup spiced rum
1 1/2 cups Jack Daniels
3/4 cup sugar 

What ya do.
Mix the liquor and sugar together first. It's much easier so you don't have to worry about making whipped cream or scrambled eggs before the sugar is fully dissolved.
Once the sugar has dissolved add in the egg yolks, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Fallowed by the milk and cream.
Let it chill for 3-4 hrs and then top with cinnamon or nutmeg and serve.

** The last batch of eggnog I made I used non homogenized milk and cream. It's made a huge difference in the taste. Its good with normal milk and cream but the non homogenized was OUTSTANDING! It's also a lot better made with farm fresh eggs, there is a noticeable diffrence in eggs laid yesterday vs. eggs laid a week and a half ago.

Spinach and cheese pies ( samboosa )

In my experience "Samboosa" can be a pastry dough stuffed with just about anything.
You can use an egg roll wrapper, Pillsbury refrigerated pizza crust or an all purpose pastry dough.

What ya need
the dough you with to use, here I am going to use the APPD.
1 1/2 cups of drained frozen spinach.
1 cup of a soft Arab style fetta cheese like Green Land or Panda. If you cant find it than use the fetta you can find.
1/8 a cup of real shredded Parm. and Romano cheese.
salt to taste
a dash of ground red pepper.
1 egg white well beaten and set to the side.

What ya do.

In a medium sized bowl mix your cheeses and spinach up add seasoning and set to the side.
get your dough rolled out and cut into rounds if you're fancy and have a pastry cutter or be like me and cut it into 2 inch by 2 inch squares. take a bit of your mix and fill each piece of pastry and then pinch the sides up until you have a little triangle package of spinach and cheese yummyness.
Place each one on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. brush them with the beaten egg white and bake at 350 for 25 min or until puffed up and golden brown, When they come out the oven sprinkle the top with shreaded cheese of a bit of feta.

** You can also use a cupcake pan, push the dough up the sides and bottom of each cup then fill with the mix and bake. Then top with fresh diced tomato.

All-Purpose Pastry Dough

This can be used to make samboosa, sweet cheese filled pies, turnovers or as a classic pie crust


What ya need,

4 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4tesp salt
1 1/2 cups of REAL unsalted sweet cream butter. cut up and chilled
1/2 cup of veggi shortning.
up to 8 tablespoons cold water.


What ya do.

Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl, and then cut in the butter and shortening with a fork or a pastry blender until you have what looks like coarse corn meal.  Gather it all into a firm ball divide into 2, wrap bother dough balls in plastic wrap and allow to rest in the frig. over night or if you will use that day at least 4 hrs. Roll out and use as you wish.

Egyptian fattah

This is an Eid and Ramadan fav! Don't be put off by the vinegar. I promise, It's amazing!

What ya need, 

2 and a half pounds of good beef. I use a nice sized lean roast, cooked and shredded or cubed. SAVE THE MEAT JUICE FROM COOKING!
4-6 cloves of fresh garlic cooked in butter till golden
1 or 2 bay leaves
2 or 3 pita bread, I like the whole wheat for this but you can use the white.
2 cups cooked medium grain rice
3 tabls vinegar( I like to use a bit more)

What ya do,
Pour the meat drippings, vinegar, garlic and seasonings into a large sauce pan, cook on low for 1 hr. you may need to add a cup or so water if it cooks down too much
Cut up the pita bread into pieces, place it on a cookie sheet and bake it at 350 until it is toasted and crispy.  If you don't mind the extra calories brush it with a bit of butter, real butter not the fake stuff. toss it every once in a while to ensure even cooking
In a glass cake pan ( you can use any kind of pan)  cover the bottom in the toasted pita. spread the rice over, then the meat. and spoon over the the sauce pan of juice.  ENJOY!

Besides holidays I will make this if I cook a bunch of meat for dinner and end up with left overs. If you put the meat and drippings in the frig over night the fat is much more easy to remove from the drippings. If you forget to save the meat drippings you can improvise with a bit of beef brother or bullion but it's not as good.