Cheesy Saucy Enchiladas!

Ahhhhhhhhh! Mexican food! Who doesn't love it?! These days, the popularity of Mexican food is at its peak. And it is so easy to prepare, results are always absolutely awesome!

I thought, hmmmmmm, what to make? And right away, thought of enchiladas popped up. They are so versatile and so monkey proof! Anyone can make it, seriously! So enchiladas it is. So here it is, my version of cheesy enchiladas served with lots of sour cream, slices of avocado and hot, fiery salsa. A little taste of heaven!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey
1 onion
Garlic cloves to taste
2 cups mixed chopped peppers
3 cups Texmex cheese
1 bottle hot salsa
8 oz. enchilada sauce
1 jalapeno, chopped finely
1 pack taco seasoning
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
8 medium tortillas

How to do:

Cook onions and garlic until soft. Add turkey, cook till no longer pink. Add peppers, jalapeno, taco seasoning, oregano and cilantro and cook till well done. Pre heat the oven to 400° F. Spread the enchilada sauce in a thick bottomed 13X9 baking pan. Warm tortillas per package directions. Fill each tortilla with turkey mixture, 2 tbsp of cheese and roll up. Place in a baking pan, seam side down. Prepare all tortillas and spread half a bottle of salsa on top of them. Sprinkle with more cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Relishing tuh-mah-toes!

I love tomatoes. I remember when I was a child, mom used to slice the tomatoes, sprinkle salt and freshly ground pepper and give to me and my sister for a snack! That was totally lip smacking! In winter months, mom would make us red hot soup from tomatoes with Monaco crackers. That still makes my mouth water! Upon my move to Canada, I was introduced to the Insalata Caprese! Mmmmm! So good and so satisfying! I still remember the look and the taste of the salad I had in Venice. Nice and juicy tomatoes, thick slices of fresh buffalo mozzarella and fresh sweet smelling basil. It was heavenly.

I picked up grape tomatoes from the grocery store last weekend. I plopped some fresh ones in my mouth and boy! they were so sweet. I added a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, a little salt and pepper, tossed the tomatoes and voila! I had delish tomato salad ready to go with my pita chips. Again, pita chips is NOT rocket science! Just slice the pitas, bake them in hot oven till nice and golden brown and there you go! I sometimes sprinkle pitas with olive oil, garlic powder, ground pepper etc. But with these tomatoes, I decided to go plain. I absolutely cherished the walk down memory lane!

Luck O' the Irish!

Wednesday, March 17th was St. Patrick's day. Perfect time to make the Shepherd's Pie and Irish Soda bread. Pure soul food!

Both dishes were very quick and simple and were put together in no time! I had the luck of the Irish on my side when I took a few short cuts and let my oven do the rest of the work for me!

Warmer temperatures, longer days, bright sunlight, no white stuff in sight and more green stuff springing out - shows the triumphant return of Spring! Why shouldn't one celebrate with comfort foods?!

Irish Soda Bread:

Whether or not you're Irish, this classic quick bread brings great aroma to your kitchen and equally great taste to your dining table! Have it with a good spread of light butter. It was similar to biscuits, with way too less fat!

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons margarine(I used Becel), softened
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup raisins
3/4 cup or more buttermilk

How to:
Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease cookie sheet.
Cut margarine into flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl, using pastry blender( or crisscrossing 2 knives), until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in raisins and just enough buttermilk so dough leaves side of bowl.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Shape into round loaf, about 6 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on cookie sheet. Cut an X shape(Why the "X" shape? Legend is that this cross is meant to scare away evil spirits. Spooky!) about 1/2 inch deep through loaf with floured knife.
Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with margarine, softened.
Serve with blobs of butter on it!

Shepherd's Pie
An equally easy, one pot dish that can satisfy any palate.

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground meat
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 medium each red and green pepper, chopped
1 chopped Jalapeno pepper
1 Pack of instant mashed potatoes
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup milk
2 tbsp.butter
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

How to:
Cook ground meat and 1/4 cup of the onions in an oven proof sauce pot over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until meat is brown; drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce, 3/4 cup of the corn and the peppers. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low to keep warm.
Meanwhile, cook potatoes as directed on package for 4 servings, using 1 pouch Potatoes and Seasoning, hot water, milk and butter. Stir in remaining onions and corn; let stand 5 minutes.
Spoon potatoes onto center of meat mixture, leaving 2 1/2- to 3-inch rim around edge of skillet; sprinkle cheese over potatoes and meat mixture. Broil until a beautiful golden crust is formed.

Enjoy with the Soda bread!

Better Than Take Out!

We all love pizza, don't we?! Especially kids. They can have pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner! My son is no exception. He loves his pizza.


The other day I had some leftover bhatura dough which turned into this! An ooey gooey cheese N pepperoni pizza for my son! With some of the left over marinara sauce(I freeze the home made marinara) to put together a quick snack in no time.

Paneer Jalfrezi

Another fast and delish Indian dish! Paneer Jalfrezi that is. I like homemade paneer as opposed to the store bought. Every now and then the grocery stores have paneer on sale which is really inexpensive compared to the process of making paneer at home but somehow, store bought paneer lacks that zing! I make slabs of paneer, slice or cube them, fry them mostly and freeze them in separate zip lock bags.


Recently, I have started to broil the paneer cubes instead of deep frying them. I guess it does save a lot of calories and time. All I have to do for this dish is to prep my other veggies like peppers, onions, ginger and toss them together for a quick stir-fry.


Here is how I did this.


Sauté onions till translucent. Stir fry julienned peppers, green chilies and ginger, with some tomato paste. Add garlic paste, salt, pepper, turmeric, coriander powders to taste and presto! A delicious and nutritious meal ready to savor. I made square masala parathas to go with this dish. Can't rave enough about it!

Quick and easy Keema Karahi

I have been using a lot of minced meat lately. It has been on sale for a while at my grocery store. It is very versatile as well. Normally I would make keema with peas and fried potatoes with lots of hard boiled eggs. But this time I wanted to keep it plain and simple, and of course equally delectable! So I made Keema Karahi, using lots of green onions.

Pair flavorful and spicy keema with plain parathas for a superfast and delicious meal in minutes.

Keema Karahi

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground meat
5 green onions, chopped
1 cup canned, diced tomaotes
5 chopped green chillies
2 tbsp. ginger,chopped
4-6 big cloves garlic, grated
Salt to taste
1 tbsp cayenne powder
A pinch of turmeric
1/2 cup of canola oil

How to:

1) Heat the oil and add garlic, ginger, salt, cayenne powder and turmeric and ground meat. Fry for a few minutes over medium heat till dry.
2) Add green onions, coriander leaves(optional), green chillies, and tomatoes.
4) Cook for another five minutes in covered pot and serve, sprinkled with chopped green pepper for color.

Bible and us!

Got some nice thoughts through an email from my cousin in India. So true!

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several time a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.

And no drop calls!

Trust in the Lord and *ASAP (Always Say A Prayer)

Have a blessed and wonderful day!

Amazing Facts About Jesus!

IN CHEMISTRY, HE TURNED WATER TO WINE.

IN BIOLOGY, HE WAS BORN WITHOUT THE NORMAL CONCEPTION.

IN PHYSICS, HE DISPROVED THE LAW OF GRAVITY WHEN HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN.

IN ECONOMICS, HE DISPROVED THE LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURN BY FEEDING 5,000 MEN WITH TWO FISHES & 5 LOAVES OF BREAD.

IN MEDICINE, HE CURED THE SICK AND THE BLIND, WITHOUT ADMINISTERING A SINGLE DOSE OF DRUGS.

IN HISTORY, HE IS THE BEGINNING AND THE END.

IN GOVERNMENT, HE SAID THAT HE SHALL BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, PRINCE OF PEACE.

IN RELIGION, HE SAID NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH HIM.

JESUS HAD NO SERVANTS, YET THEY CALLED HIM MASTER; HAD NO DEGREE, YET THEY CALLED HIM TEACHER; HAD NO MEDICINES, YET THEY CALLED HIM HEALER.

HE HAD NO ARMIES, YET RULERS FEARED HIM.

HE WON NO MILITARY BATTLES, YET HE CONQUERED THE WORLD.

HE COMMITTED NO CRIME, YET THEY CRUCIFIED HIM.

HE WAS BURIED IN A TOMB, YET HE LIVES TODAY.

I FEEL HONORED TO SERVE SUCH A LEADER WHO LOVES US! !

JOIN US AND LET'S CELEBRATE HIM; HE IS WORTHY.

Hail Caesar!

Everybody loves Caesar salad. In my family, we love it all dressed! With loads of croutons, shavings of parmesan cheese, grilled chicken and a mount of bacon! Sounds very unhealthy, isn't it?! It sure is unhealthy but sometimes we need to indulge ourselves a bit and when this salad is consumed as a main dish, no more complaints!

The only "healthy" choice was the low fat dressing that I made. I have used bottled low fat dressings in the past and believe me, they are not worth spending money on.

The dressing I made had a cup of mayonnaise, juice of 1/2 lemon, salt, pepper, a tsp garlic powder and a pinch of Italian seasoning. When I make this dressing, I omit anchovies! I don't mind it in the store bought dressings. But I don't want to use it in my homemade dressing! Why? Because it is MY dressing and I can do whatever I want to!

A few cupfuls of chopped romaine, garlicky croutons, strips of crispy bacon and shavings of Parmigianino cheese! All makes this salad worthy of the Romaine empire!

Love That Panzo!!

I wanted to make the foldover baked sandwiches using the roasted chicken that was lying around in my fridge for Wednesday supper. So I had the dough ready, set it aside to rise and by the time I started cooking, the menu was changed! I started sautéing onions and garlic. When I pulled out the container with chicken, I thought let's make panzarottis since I am already using the green pepper and mozzarella cheese. Calzones it is! I quickly sautéed all the veggies, threw in some chicken, and lo and behold! I was making panzos!

I had to use up prosciutto and asparagus also. So I chose roasted asparagus as a bright, fresh partner for calzones, topped them up with toasted prosciutto. With some warm marinara for dipping and slurping, it was one delish meal we had! Here how I made it:

Chicken Calzones(Panzarotti)

(Makes 4 good sized Calzones)

Ingredients:

For the dough: 1.5 cups AP flour, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 package yeast, 1-1/4 cups warm water, 1 tbsp sugar

For the filling: 3 cups of rotisserie chicken,cubed, 1 medium green pepper,cubed, 2 medium onions, sliced, 3 cloves garlic,grated, salt and pepper to taste, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

What to do:

For the dough: take water and sugar in a small bowl, sprinkle yeast on top, cover it and let it rest for 5 minutes. In a big bowl, take the flour, salt and olive oil. Mix in the proofed water and knead till soft dough forms. Place it in an oiled bowl, cover it and let it rise till it doubles in size.

For the filling: sauté onions and garlic till the onions are translucent. Add green peppers, chicken, salt and pepper and cook till thoroughly heated.

Heat the oven to 400 ° F. Divide dough into 4 equal portions. Roll out on well floured surface and divide fillings equally on each of them. Put a handful of cheese on each filling, fold over and pinch the sides carefully so that nothing can ooze out while baking. Bake for 30-40 minutes till top is nice golden in color and enjoy!

Oh so good!

I always have a fondness for breads, be it lavash, pita, baguette, naan, phulkas, kulchas, whatever! I thought, time to make Focaccia bread. As it turned out, I had all the necessary ingredients ready in my fridge and pantry, everything came together pretty quickly. The only part of the bread making I don't like is to wait for the dough to rise. With cooler temperatures, it is difficult sometimes to get the results I want with this kind of dough. But I gave it some more extra time to it was perfectly risen.

I so love the cake-y texture of the focaccia bread with that little salty crunch on the top. Absolutely the food of life! Yes, I can live on bread and milk!

Here's how to make it:

Rosemary Olive Focaccia

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
1.5 tbsp yeast
2 cups warm water
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup pitted, chopped green olives
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp coarse salt

In warm water, put sugar and yeast. Stir and cover the bowl for 5 minutes or so, till it froths on the top. I put all the ingredients in the food processor bowl (except the coarse salt and save some rosemary to put on the top of the bread) and let the food processor knead the dough for me. Place the dough ball in the oiled bowl, cover it up with the plastic wrap and keep it in warm place to rise till it doubles the size, for about 3-4 hours.

After 4 hours or so, punch the dough down, place it in a deep 13X9 baking dish and let it rise again for an hour. Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees F. In the mean time, take the twice risen dough, make indentations with your fingers all over the dough. Spread the rosemary and coarse salt on the top, bake for about 30 minutes till the top becomes nice and golden brown.

This bread tastes good on its own, even better when dipped in that nice green colored extra virgin olive oil! mmm, yummy! This bread complements poulty very well. It is so good for panini sandwiches. But that's another post!

Welcome Spring!

I know, I know Spring is still 2 weeks away but it certainly feels like Spring time. With lots of sunshine, days getting longer and filled with more energy, time to come out of hibernation!

Just to get the feel of Spring, I wanted to make something green(and quick,of course!) for supper last night. I was rummaging through my fridge and found some chopped green onions(I forgot to use them as garnish on my Fiesta Lasagna!), asparagus and a green pepper. I thought, hmm, let's use up these veggies and make something edible out of them!

So, I chopped asparagus, green pepper and some hot green chillies in bite size pieces, heated up the oil, sauted green onions for a minute or two, added the rest of the veggies, salt, turmeric powder, cumin and coriander powder and let it cook on medium high heat for like 7 minutes. And a yummy dish is ready! My hubby and baby (a 15-year old son!) liked it so it passed the test! I was thinking about my 3-year old nephew who loves "marcha nu shak" very much! To him, anything green is chillies! So, here is the dish with a picture for you, Dhir!

Season of Lent

LENT = Leave Every Negative Thing

As you begin this Holy Season, may you discover the true meaning of LENT, by Leaving behind all Negative things of the past and strive for a Future filled with Hope! (Phi 3: 7 14).

A Different Approach to Fasting...

Fasts have a tendency to be oriented toward things like giving up food or television. But there are many other creative ways we can welcome Jesus' healing touch.

Here are suggestions you may want to consider.

1. Fast from anger and hatred. Give your family an extra dose of love each day.

2. Fast from judging others. Before making any judgment, recall how Jesus overlooks your faults.

3. Fast from discouragement. Hold on to Jesus' promise that He has a perfect plan for your life.

4. Fast from complaining. When you find yourself about to complain, close your eyes and recall some of the little moments of joy Jesus has given you.

5. Fast from resentment or bitterness! Work on forgiving those who may have hurt you.

6. Fast from spending too much money. Try to reduce your spending by ten percent and give those savings to the poor.

Wishing you all Prayerful and Heart transforming Lent.

Thank you so much Rinku, for sending this beautiful message to me!