Avocado Juice

This smooth, refreshing drink which comes to us from Morocco. Another great food recipe that I learned from my boyfriend and would have never thought of myself. Many of the international recipes that I have eaten, I would have never thought that the foods would taste good together. But I have been pleasantly surprised and incorporated them into my daily cooking. I hope you enjoy this great avocado drink. Its not only tasty but it is also nutritious!

Ingredients:
1 medium avocado
1 tsp sugar
1 cup milk

Remove skin and pit from avocado. Place in blender with sugar and milk. Mix until thoroughly blended. Pour in a glass and drink. Enjoy!

Make your own French Bread!

I've been trying to come up with all sorts of different ways to save money. With my love of cooking one small way to do this is to make your own bread at home. The cost of a loaf of bread is upwards of $2. By making your own bread you can save because the cost of the ingredients for bread are inexpensive plus you can buy them in bulk and save lots of money. In my household this helps out a lot because we eat bread with most of our meals. Eating fresh baked bread everyday is definitely a lot healthier than the processed breads you buy from the grocery store plus for us cooks it gives up purpose throughout our days!

I was very nervous the first time I made bread because I was unsure of how it would turn out. Although the first loaf turned out good, each loaf got successively better and better. Make sure you follow the recipe as it directs. Do not substitute anything. At first I tried using Pam spray instead of grease. It worked but the grease worked much better and allowed the bread loaves to double in size when they needed to. Each loaf I make has been better than the last and I will continue to make my own bread daily!

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups water
1 packet of instant yeast
2 3/4-3 cups of bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
baking grease
corn meal

Combine water with instant yeast and stir together. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add salt and 1 1/4 cups flour and combine. Add the rest of the flour and knead the dough thoroughly for about 10 minutes. If you need to flour a counter top surface or cutting board and roll dough out combine. Once light and fluffy grease a bowl and flip the dough in the grease a few times. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover it for 1-2 hours until the dough has doubled in size. Flour a cutting board or counter top surface again and roll out dough about 8 inches by 12 inches long. Roll the dough along the longer edge creasing the edges together. Grease baking sheet and sprinkle with corn meal. Place bread roll on baking sheet and cover for 45 minutes to allow bread to increase in size once again. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut three slits evenly into the top of the loaf. Bake for 20-30 minutes unto bread is brown and hardened on the outside.
Bread is best when warm but can be stored in a bread box up to a week.
Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Another favorite one of my recipes is chocolate peanut butter balls. These delicious little treats are great for holidays, birthdays, homemade gifts or dishes to bring to a party. Easy to make, with few ingredients, you will get praise for these wonderful sweet treats!

Makes 50 pieces
Ingredients:
16 oz creamy peanut butter (crunchy if preferred)
1 (16 oz) pk powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 (12 oz) pk semisweet chocolate

In a large bowl combine peanut butter, powdered sugar and butter. Beat until smooth. Scoop out spoonfuls and roll into 1 inch balls on a baking sheet. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Line another baking sheet with wax paper. Melt chocolate chips in double boiler. As an alternative to a double boiler melt the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Using wooden picks dip balls into chocolate to coat completely. Set balls on prepared baking sheet. Store refrigerator.

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Chex muddy mix with a twist

For my holiday baking I included Chex muddy mix however I wanted to add a twist to it so I added pretzels, and peanuts to the recipe. Either way this holiday favorite can be given away as a homemade gift or eaten as a snack at home.

Servings 18 (1/2 cup each)

Ingredients:
4 cups Rice Chex cereal (Corn or Rice, mix the two)
3 cups pretzels
3 cups peanuts
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl mix cereal, pretzels, and peanuts; set aside.
In 1 quart microwaveable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter on high 1 minute and stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until coated evenly. Pour into 2 gallon resealable food storage plastic bag. Add the powdered sugar. Seal bag, shake until well coated. Spread on wax paper to cool.

Chicken and Olive Tajine

Makes: 4 servings
Marinate: 1 hour
Cook: 40 minutes Bake: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (As an alternative to using the whole chicken you can use drumsticks and thighs. Follow the same instructions.)
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
A pinch of saffron
1 teaspoon of cumin
2 medium sized onions
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
1 cup whole green olives
water


Peel the onions and grate them.


Marinating Steps:
To make the marinating sauce, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, spices and cilantro all together. Add 1 tablespoon of water. Coat the chicken with the sauce. Cover the chicken and let it marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Cooking Steps:
Saute onions in a tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes until onions change color .
Add the chicken and rotate it couple of times in the onions. Add water until it covers half of the chicken. Cover the pan and the let the chicken cook for 20 minutes. Turn the chicken over and let the other side cook for another 20 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the stove and bake the chicken at 400 F degrees for 45 minutes. Turn it once half way through so both sides of the chicken are roasted.
Add the olives to the sauce. Do not cover the pan and let the sauce cook on low heat until it thickens.
Serving:
Serve the chicken with the sauce and olives.


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Harira

My boyfriend is from Morocco in northern Africa. During the Muslim holiday of Ramadan Harira a Moroccan soup is eaten regularly. Since he has moved to the United States he has not had Harira for a couple of years. After looking up the recipe online, I was able to easily make this delicious soup for him to enjoy.

Makes: 6-8 bowls
Cook: 50 minutes

Ingredients:
2 onions
3 tomatoes
1 cup of chopped parsley
1 cup of chopped cilantro
½ cup of lentils
½ cup of chickpeas
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 ½ teaspoon of ginger powder
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon saffron
2 vegetable bouillons
2 tbsp of corn starch
4 tablespoons of olive oil
6 cups of water
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg (optional)
1 cup of meat cubes lamb or beef (optional)

Steps:
Put the lentils and chickpeas in a bowl of water for 1 hour to soften them up. If you are using dried chickpeas instead of canned ones, you should put them in the water the night before.
Finely chop the onions. Peel the tomatoes and cut them into dices. In a food processor or blender, blend the tomatoes with half of the cilantro and half of the parsley. In your cooking pan, drizzle the olive oil. Add the onions and after few minutes add the rest of the cilantro and parsley. Once the onions acquire a lighter color after few minutes of cooking, add the tomato blend. If you are cooking your soup with meat, add the meat cubes to the onion, tomato mixture and let them cook for 15 minutes. Add all the spices (ginger powder, pepper, salt and saffron) and thoroughly mix the ingredients. Add the water and the vegetable bouillon cubes. Add the lentils and chickpeas. Cover the pan and let the soup cook for 30 minutes. Stir from time to time. After 30 minutes, dissolve the corn starch in a little bit of water and add it to the soup. Add tomato paste and butter.Let the soup boil for another 10 minutes. At the end, add the egg and stir. Serve with bread.

Enjoy this wonderful Moroccan dish!

No recipe needed for Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Although, I am often cooking most of the time I would prefer to have a recipe to follow to know that what I am going to make is going to come out ok. However, when you are throwing things together from your fridge and cabinets you are not always going to be able to follow a recipe. I had purchased a choice piece of meat from the supermarket to be able to make a potroast but hadn't gotten around to it.
With no recipe to go on I decided to slow roast the meat for an early Sunday dinner. In a small slow cooker I added 1/2 of a large white onion cut in small pieces, a 1/2 cup small baby carrots, 2 celery stalks cut in small pieces, and 3 large potatoes peeled and cut in cubes along with 3 cups of water, salt & pepper, and beef stew seasoning. Before adding the sirloin to the slow cooker brown the outside edges of the meat in a skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil. Lastly add the sirloin to the slow cooker. I cooked the pot roast on high for 4 hours, checking every hour or so.

Servings 4-6

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large white onion
2 celery stalks
3 potatoes
1/2 cup small baby carrotts
2 1/2 lbs. sirloin beef
3 cups water
beef stew seasoning
salt
pepper
green olives (optional)