Instant Pedas (Milk Fudge Balls) and my Fifth Anniversay in the Blogging world!

Today marks the fifth anniversary of my wee little blog! I didn’t know I would last this long in the blogging world. What a fun filled and exciting journey it has been. I am amazed, overwhelmed and thankful. I am delighted to have been able to get in touch virtually with foodies around the world who have provided me with invaluable tips and support. thank you everyone for such lovely comments and words of encouragement. I look forward to many more years of sharing my love of food with you all. To celebrate today, let’s have some dessert!

Nothing gets better and instant than these pedas! Trust me, you only need 2, yes 2 ingredients to make it. And you can see the results yourself. It was mouth watering delicious.

Here’s how I made it:

Instant Pedas:

Ingredients

600 gms ricotta cheese

2 cans(600 ml) condensed milk

Cardamom powder for flavouring

Chopped pistachios and almonds for garnish

 

How to:

On medium high heat, cook both ricotta and condensed milk until mixture starts leaving the sides of the pan.

You will get solid lump in about 30 minutes.

Don’t forget to add cardamom powder now!

Once the mixture cools down enough to handle, grease your palms with melted butter and make pedas.

Enjoy!

Chicken Meatball Parmigiana

 

This is one of those recipes that saves you when you are in a what-to-make-for-dinner rut or running late and still want to place a home cooked meal on the dinner table. From start to finish, it only takes about 30 minutes. And this is really kid pleasing dish. So what more do you want?!  I know the dinner time rush as I come home from work at 5.30 PM every day and going crazy to bring the food on table in 40 minutes. I normally do prep work in the weekends like chopping vegetables, boiling pastas to al-dente and making sauces for pasta. This comes in handy because we all know that boiling water for pasta takes forever!

 

This dish is very hearty and is a full meal when served with spring green salad.

 

Here’s how I made it.

 

Chicken Meatball Parmigiana

 

Ingredients

2 cups cooked pasta, Penne or Rotini

3 cups marinara sauce

1 lb. frozen meatballs

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

 

How to:

Pre heat oven to 400° F.

Mix all the ingredients in an oven proof dish, except cheese.

Sprinkle cheese on top of pasta.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes.

Uncover, and bake for 10 more minutes or so until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Spinach Mushroom Omelette

 

There is this restaurant in the same building where I work. It serves eggs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s not a diner. It’s a full scale restaurant. And I just love their omelettes. They have different pastas with eggs in them or eggs in sauces. I am not brave enough yet to try all of them. But I love the breakfast. And this omelette is what I normally get every time I am there. it’s so hearty and yummy, it keeps me full for the rest of the day! No kidding!  And it has spinach and mushrooms in it. So I have my vegetables and protein in just one dish. I know I don’t need nothing more than it. I wanted to recreate it at home and finally over the weekend, I was able to make it for breakfast. And it was totally worth it. Try to sneak in as many vegetables you can for your picky eaters. If they love eggs, you are good to go! This omelette with toasted English muffins, fruits, juice and coffee. The breakfast of the champions!

 

Here’s how I made it.

 

Spinach Mushroom Omelette

 

Ingredients

4 large eggs

1 cup baby spinach

½ cup sliced mushrooms

Salt and pepper as needed

Oil as needed

A pinch of nutmeg

 

How to:

 

Heat the skillet on medium high.

Add a tbsp oil and sauté mushrooms until just golden.

Beat eggs with salt and pepper and nutmeg in a bowl.

Add spinach and mushrooms to beaten eggs.

Add another couple tbsp. oil to the same skillet.

Pour eggs in the skillet.

Once the edges are set, push them to the centre and let the uncooked eggs run towards the sides of the skillet.

Fold over, serve.

Enjoy!

 

Quick Tortilla Pizza

 

Looks like I’ve been posting all quick and easy recipes lately. This is one of many. Let me tell you again, this is what I would like to make for a quick after school or Friday night movie snack. It’s just so quick and we all have the ingredients in our pantry and fridge. I happened to have Mexican flavoured sauce with sweet peppers and corn and tomatoes in my fridge. But for the faster version, bottled salsa works great.

 

This is how I made it.

 

Quick Tortilla Pizza

 

Ingredients

1 large-10” tortilla

3 tbsp bottled or homemade salsa

2 tbsp sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Sour cream, avocadoes slices, cilantro for garnish-all optional

 

How to:

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Brush one side of the tortilla with little oil.

Place the oil side down on baking tray.

Spread with salsa and cheese.

Bake in the hot oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and tortilla is crisped up.

Top with your favourite toppings.

Enjoy!

Healthy Eggplant Parmesan

 

This is not your regular eggplant parmesan! First of all, it is an appetizer. Second, it’s just baked egg plant. No layer of bread crumbs, no complicated layering, no gimmicks.

 

Here’s how I made it.

 

Healthy Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

1 small Italian egg plant,sliced into two and then cubed into bite sized pieces

1 cup Marinara sauce, bottled or home made

1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

2-3 tbsp grated mozzarella cheese

 

How to:

Roast the egg plant cubes with salt, pepper and oil in a hot oven until they are just tender.

Spoon Marinara sauce over the cubes, sprinkle with cheeses and again stick them in the hot oven till cheeses are melted a bit.

Serve with your choice of crackers(I used parmesan chips that I made earlier) and sauce(again, I served with roasted red pepper coulis).

Enjoy!

Roasted Edamame with Mushrooms

 

Edamame are just fresh soybeans. They either come in the pods or beans only. mostly frozen if just the beans. They are chockfull of nutrients. I love to snack on them or use them to make chillies and soups. This is yet another quick and tasty side dish that can be used as a salad as well. You can have it as it is or place them with roasted potatoes or your choice of greens.

 

And there is no recipes. Frozen beans, sliced mushrooms, salt, pepper and some oil. Place them in a foil pack for the easy clean up. Either roast it in a hot oven at 425° F for about 20 minutes or if you have an outdoor grill, use it.

Enjoy!

Pierogi Casserole

We love pierogies.  They are such easy to prepare, so versatile and provide a very hearty, one dish meal. This casserole was exactly that. I prefer this kind of meal for Sunday dinners. Nothing elaborate as I would like to rest as much as I can on Sunday evenings to recharge myself for the busy week ahead of me.  This was more of a semi homemade casserole and very much loved by my family. They also requested to make it often so I believe I hit the bull’s eye!

 Here’s how I made it.

Pierogi Casserole

Ingredients

17-20 pierogies(any kind, I used bacon, cheddar and potato pierogies)

1 small can condensed mushroom soup

¾ cup milk

1 onion

3-4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp Italian seasoning

2 tbsp. oil

½ cup each shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheeses

How to:

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Heat oil in a sauce pot.

Sauté onion, garlic and seasoning until fragrant, for about 3 minutes on medium high.

Add soup and milk and simmer till sauce is smooth.

Arrange  pierogies  in a single layer in 9x13 buttered glass dish.

Pour sauce over it.

Top with cheeses.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for about 35 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake further for 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

Cool down for about 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!