Layered Potato Casserole Dish

Ingredients:

4-5 pounds of potato
One dozen of eggs
1 Pair of Hungarian Smoked Sausage
3 Sour Creams
Some milk
Sea salt and ground black pepper to season

Preparation:

1. Under running water scrub the potatoes well. Do not peel. In a large pot cook the potatoes. When it’s cooked drain and let it cool. After it cooled off, peel the potatoes.

2. In a smaller pot boil the eggs for about 15 minutes. Drain the water and let cold water running over for few minutes (it helps to remove the eggshell easier).

3. Use a medium size glass casserole. This dish serves 8-10 people. On the bottom of the dish layer thinly sour cream. (I always mix the sour cream with milk to be softer. It’s easier to work with it). Slice half the potatoes into quarter-inch thick slices and layer them in the dish. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Cover with one layer of sour cream.

4. Slice the eggs into quarter-inch slices and layer them over the potatoes. Season with sea salt. 5. Slice thinly the sausage and layer them over the eggs. Cover with a light layer of sour cream.

6. Slice the remaining half potatoes into quarter-inch thick slices and layer them over the sausages. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Cover the potatoes with the last layer of sour cream.

7. Put the dish in the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Do not preheat the oven to prevent the glass dish to explode. Bake for about 30 minutes or until you can see that the sour cream is boiling. When remove the hot glass casserole dish from oven, place the dish on a wood server, again to prevent any glass explosion. (Even the best quality glass dishes after a while will wear off and when cooking in glass dishes make sure that you don’t change the temperature drastically. I had one unpleasant experience and since then I am more careful). Serve hot. You can have bread with or just enjoy the dish as it is. I love to serve with some kind of salad. Like tomato salad or roasted pepper.

For Step-by-steo picture guide check out the album:

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Chocolate Chip Butter Cake

This is an easy and fast recipe. I really believe you just can’t blow this one. My kids ask me over and over to do this cake for them. When they have their friends over instead of baking cupcakes I bake them this. My twin boys (they are 9 years old) can already bake this cake with my supervision.

Ingredients:

250 grams of Butter of Margarine
350 grams of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 whole eggs
250 ml milk
1 ½ -2 cups of flour
1-2 cups of chocolate chip

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Mix the butter with the sugar until smooth. Add the baking powder and the lemon juice and stir. Add the eggs and stir well. Add the milk and slowly stir together until smooth. Then add flour and mix well.

3. Line the bottom of a 14x10-inch square pan with aluminum paper foil. I never grease the pan. I just line the aluminum foil and at the end I peel of the foil. But if you like to grease the pan, then go ahead grease the bottom of the pan and/or dust lightly with flour.

4. Pour the mixture in the pan and sprinkle the chocolate chip over the mixture. With your hand slightly push the chocolate chip into the cake mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from pan and allow it to cool.

My best advice: to use a toothpick to check the cake if ready or not. After 20 minutes when you think the cake is ready remove the pan from the oven and push a toothpick in the cake. When you remove the toothpick and is clean the cake is down. If you over bake the cake will be dry.

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Eggplant Spread

This is one of my favorite recipes from my childhood. I can still remember when my mom used to grill the eggplant in a pan (in those year we had no BBQ) and I helped her peeling the eggplants. Being a child it was fun to play with the vegetable and squeeze out the juice from it. I loved eggplant spread since I was a kid. It was one of the first foods what I prepared by myself at an early age, because I loved it. Today my whole family likes this recipe. My kids will even pick eggplant spread over Nutella (and trust me they love Nutella on bread).

Ingredients:

3-4 Medium Size Purple Eggplants
½ Onion
2-3 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
3 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3-4 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
1 Teaspoon of sea salt

Preparation:

Wash the eggplants and with a paper towel wipe it dry. Preheat the BBQ and when warm enough place the eggplants on the rack. On medium-low heat, roast the eggplants until ready. Remove from the BBQ rack and let it cool. Peel of the eggplant’s skin and let it drain for about 2 hours. We don’t need the eggplant juice, because we don’t want the spread to be watery.

When there is no more juice dripping, with a mixer mix the eggplant and the half onion, until smooth (some like it to be totally smooth, even the seeds. I like to keep the seeds in the spread). When the onion and eggplant is smooth add the olive oil and stir. Season with sea salt and add the lemon juice. Stir together, then add the mayonnaise and stir together.

For a healthier spread use only olive oil. Then you’ll have to add more olive oil to the spread. I like it with mayonnaise too, but don’t over do it. When you add the ingredients taste to see how you like it.

Refrigerate for few hours and serve.

For step-by-step picture guide check out the album:

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Egg and Onion – Red Pepper Scramble

Ingredients:

3 whole eggs
half medium size red onion sliced
half red bell pepper sliced
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
Sea salt and ground pepper
Hot Peppers


Preparation:

In a frying pan sauté the onion and pepper for 2-3 minutes. Scramble the eggs and add to the sautéed onion and pepper. Stir together until eggs are down. Season with sea salt and ground pepper and serve immediately.

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Yellow-Green String Bean Soup

Ingredients:

1 medium size onion finely chopped
1 lb fresh yellow string bean, trimmed
1 lb fresh green string bean, trimmed
1 cup mini carrots
3 tablespoon olive oil
1tablespoon ground Hungarian red paprika
1 tablespoon of sea salt
1 cube Knorr Chicken Cube
3-4 tablespoon of flour
300 ml of milk,
4-5 tablespoon of vinegar
Ground pepper for seasoning
2 tablespoon of finely chopped Italian parsley

Preparation:

1. In a large pot heat the olive oil and sauté the onion for few minutes. Add the paprika and stir. Add the yellow and green string beans, mini carrots and sauté for 2 more minutes. Cover with water and add the sea salt, chicken cube and ground pepper and bring soup to boil. Cover and on medium heat cook for about 30 minutes or until beans are soft.

2. In a small bowl mix the 4 tablespoon flour with a little milk to evenly smooth the texture. Then add the rest of the milk and stir.

3. When beans are soft, bring the soup to high heat position and under continued stirring add the flour-milk mixture to the soup. Stir continually until the soup is back to boiling. After few minutes reduce the heat and add the vinegar. Remove from heat and add the finely chopped parsley.

Serve with whole wheat bread or French bread.

For step-by-step picture guide check out the album

Yellow-Green String Bean Soup

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Chicken Salad in Whole Wheat Wrap with Mixed Organic Salad and Hot Peppers

This chicken salad is one of my favorites and my family loves it as well.

Ingredients:
6 oz. chopped cooked chicken
1 tablespoon organic mayonnaise (or you can add organic reduced fat sour cream)
1 tablespoon flaxseed oil or garlic-chili flax
Half chopped sweet onion
Half tablespoon chopped red bell pepper
3 tablespoon chopped celery

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients and serve over lettuce or spinach. Today I served it in a whole wheat wrap with mixed organic salad and 3 hot peppers.

This recipe serves 2 people. I always do at least double portion so I will have it the next days.

Enjoy!

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BBQ T-Bone Steak with Sesame Roasted String Beans and Tomato Salad

Its summer time and we like to get together and enjoy a great BBQ. Often we go for hamburgers or hot dogs because they are faster to prepare. I live in a house with 4 men, and they love real meat. We love all kinds of meat, but the boy’s favorite is the T-Bone Steak.

T- Bone steak consists of a T-shaped bone with meat on each side. The larger side contains meat from the strip loin (or New York strip), whereas the smaller side contains the beef "tenderloin". Due to their large size and the fact that they contain meat from two of the most prized cuts of steak, T-Bones are generally considered one of the best valued quality steaks available.

There is a secret on how to do a steak to keep its juice and tenderness, but to cook it throughout, so you’ll not have a raw meat on your plate.

1. The first step is to buy a thick, about 2 cm thick steak and marinate the meat over night. Choose your kind of marinate sauce or make your own marinade sauce and marinate the meat overnight. I always marinate the meat at least 15-24 hours before I’ll BBQ.

2. Preheat the BBQ in advance and keep the heat on medium. The worst you can do is to overheat the BBQ, as it will burn the outside and let the inside uncooked.

3. Place the meat on the rack and cook it for about 15 minutes each side. Flip the meat only once. Cover the grill to cook the steak to your desired "doneness'. Covering the BBQ grill briefly will allow you to cook the steak to medium or well done without burning. Test for doneness with your finger, or thermometer. If you want your steak to be juicy do not flip it over again and again. Serve hot!

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Strawberry – Raspberry Sensation Cake

It's strawberry and raspberry season. One morning I wondered if I would mix this with with this what would that taste? So I baked my creation and the reaction on the faces of those who tried the cake was a pleasant one. Many of you asked for the recipe, so I decided to do it all over again, write down and share the recipe.

Strawberrie - Raspberry Sensation Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake:
8 Whole eggs
8 Spoons of white sugar
8 Spoons of baking flour
½ Tea Spoon of Baking Soda

For Filling:
5 Spoons of white Sugar
800 ml of milk
2 Strawberry or Raspberry Cooking Pudding Powder (I use Dr. Oetker pudding)
1 Cool Whip
1 Cup (400 grams) of finely chopped strawberries
1 Cup (400 grams) of raspberries

Preparation:
1. Divide the 800 ml of milk into two:
a) In a small pan pour 500 ml of milk and 5 Spoons of sugar and bring to broil.
b) In a glass-bowl pour the remaining 300 ml milk and pour in the pudding powders and mix until smooth.
When the milk starts to boil (a), add the mixture (b), reduce heat and stir until the pudding becomes evenly smooth. When you see the firs bubble the pudding is ready. Cover and let it cool.

2. Preheat oven to 350F.
Separate the egg yolks from egg whites.
Use an electric mixer on high setting to beat the 8 egg whites with 6 spoons of sugar. In a bowl stir the 8 egg yolks with 2 spoons of sugar and ½ teaspoon of baking soda. Stir until smooth. When the egg whites are well beaten, add the egg yolk mixture and stir on low setting, just smoothly stir together. Then gradually add 8 spoons of flour and smooth together on low setting. Pour mixture into a 15” X 11” square pan or a round 8.5” diameter pan. (I always place a sheet of aluminum foil into pan to eliminate sticking).
Bake for 20 minutes on top.

3. When pudding is totally cooled, use the electric mixer on a lower setting to smooth pudding for 2 minutes. Add cool whip gradually and stir until smooth. Add the strawberries and stir. Add raspberries and on high setting stir for about 3-5 minutes until raspberries are dissolved into the mixture.

4. Cut the cake in half (if you’ll make the round form then cut the cake into 3) and fill with the filling. Cover the top layer with filling too. Decorate with fresh fruit. Let it stand over night in fridge. Enjoy.

Preparation time: about 2 hours. The round cake serves 16. The square pan serves more as you can cut into smaller pieces. If you have a gathering with more people then it’s better the square option. For a nice cake and less guests choose the round form. It looks better.

Enjoy.

For step-by-step picture guide check out the album

Strawberry-Rasberry Sensation

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Sesame Roasted Colorful String Beans

When string beans are plentiful there is nothing like eating them right off the vine. My grandparents grew loads of beans and I used to love the juiciness of fresh beans. In summer months when it's hot, I just loved them for snacks. I still eat them fresh. I have few recipes with string beans. Now I would love to share this light and tasty colorful one.

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh (or frozen) green or yellow or mix of both, trimmed
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoon sesame seed
1 cup of mini carrots
Sea salt, fresh ground pepper

Preparation:

1. In a large saucepan, bring 2 L salted water to a rolling boil. Add fresh (or frozen) beans and cook until they just turn color – about 5 minutes. (I used frozen beans with mini carrots). Don’t over cook the beans; you want it to be still crispy. Drain the beans and place them in the cold water bath. Drain again and place on a layer of paper towel.

2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over a medium heat. Add sesame seeds and roast for few minutes until the seeds start to change color. Add drained beans and sauté for few 1-2 minutes. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.

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