Appetizers

Appetizers

Appetizers

Appetizers

Appetizers can take as long to make as some main dishes and often they are overlooked even when greatly enjoyed. Personally I don’t care much for making appetizers, though I do enjoy eating them! But you have to be mindful because it’s easy to fill up and these miniature treats and find you are too full for the main meal. On occasion, we will make a whole meal out of appetizers, and when eating out, I find the portions of appetizers to be just right instead of a full meal. I’ve included a few soups and salads that can work well as appetizers, but I encourage you to check out the blog posts on Soups, Salads, Rices, Meats, Main Meals, Desserts and Drinks for even more culinary ideas.

Pizza Puffs

If you’ve never made homemade pizza before, don’t let this super easy and delicious recipe pass you by. It’s seriously so easy, my kids can make this…and they have! I got the original recipe from a cooking book (circa 1942) my grandmother gave me when I got married. The recipe is for bread, but I use it for everything from a loaf of bread to cinnamon rolls. It’s a sticky dough you don’t need to knead. Just use a wooden spoon to mix the following ingredients and let it rise:
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon yeast
up to 3 tablespoons of sugar (I use brown sugar)
3 cups of lukewarm water (warm water speeds the rising process)
6 cups of flour

After the dough has risen (about 2-3 hours), grab, pinch and plop small rounds of dough onto a tray lined with parchment paper. Top with pizza or marinara sauce and cheese and toppings of your choice. Bake for 12 minutes in a 430 degree F preheated oven. Rotate the trays for even baking if not baking in a convection oven. Remove and let cool (if possible) before enjoying these amazingly simple treats!

If you try these out, please share a pic with me via Instagram and don’t forget to tag me!

4 Ingredient Tomato Soup

I’ve been raving about this super simple yet incredibly delicious soup on Instagram recently and now I’m sharing the recipe with you. It’s not an original recipe, I got this from my friend Megan, who got it from her friend Lubna who got it from someone else. Today I’ll share my version of this delicious, wholesome, filling, warming, soup. It’s awesome. It’s my new favorite, and I crave it every day. And the best part, you can make it with pantry items! Woohoo! Who doesn’t like a meal or soup you can whip together quickly from pantry ingredients.

I’ve added a few garnishes that are optional, but definitely take this soup over the top. You can also omit the garlic and cayenne pepper. While I like a touch of spiciness, many of my friends prefer it without the cayenne pepper.

The basic ingredients for this recipe are simple:

1 carton of Trader Joe’s brand Organic Creamy Tomato Soup

1 carton of Trader’s Joe’s brand Organic Vegetable stock

1 can of Trader Joe’s brand of Diced and Fire Roasted Tomato chunks

1 medium sized onion-diced

Spices: Salt (to taste, about1/2 to 1 teaspoon), garlic (1 teaspoon fresh mashed) and cayenne (optional 1/2 teaspoon)

Olive oil, or oil of your choice for sautéing onions and to drizzle on top if you don’t want the garnishes and soup toppings.

Garnishes are optional, but really take this simple recipe over the top:

Add 1 teaspoon of cream, a sprinkling of aged cheese and a bit of thyme to transform this simple soup to a gourmet soup.

Directions:

Dice onion and toss in a hot soup pan with oil. Sauté for a few minutes until just golden brown. Add Fire Roasted tomatoes and let that warm through, about 30 seconds. Turn up the heat and add the vegetable stock and creamy tomato soup. Add seasonings. Watch soup so it doesn’t boil. As soon as it’s heated thoroughly, reduce heat to the lowest setting and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. You can let it simmer longer or reheat this soup. It’s very forgiving. Just don’t boil it or leave it simmering without the lid, you’ll end up concentrating the soup as the water boils off.

Ladle the soup into soup bowls. Shallow bowls will allow the soup to cool quickly, while deep bowls will keep the soup hotter longer. Garnish while hot so the cream can warm (or heat the cream prior) and the cheese can melt. Serve with soup crackers, or my favorite, potato pancakes.

Serves 12 as a first course or 6 as a meal.

Share your alternative to this tomato recipe in the comments. I can’t believe how much I enjoyed this tomato soup and would love to try others.

Check out more food recipes, including my favorite, pizza puffs, by clicking on the playlist here.

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Indian Red Lentil Daal | Dahl Recipe

Are you looking for a tasty, filling vegan meal? Try Indian Daal! It's fast (if you use my fast recipe), nutritious and delicious.

Here's the fast recipe you can make in a mini rice cooker.

Are you looking for a tasty, filling vegan meal? Try Indian Daal! It's fast (if you use my fast recipe), nutritious and delicious. For this recipe, I included many toppings and garnishes we love to include when making Daal, but only if Daal is going to be the main dish rather than a side dish because all these extras that I show take a long time to make.

Let's start by getting the things that take the longest to cook on their way:

-Boil or cook in the Instant pot 2 peeling russet potatoes.

-Sauté a large yellow onion in oil of choice (on the side of the pan, I sautéd about 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds and 3 chili peppers)

-Soak 1.5 cups of red lentils.

-Cut half (or whole) cauliflower into medium pieces and fry or sauté until very brown. A lot of oil is needed for this, so you may choose to oven bake them if you prefer not to sauté or fry them, but honestly they taste amazing fried.

-smash 3-5 garlic cloves and equal amount of ginger and add to a hot pan with oil and 3 chili peppers. Add spice mix: 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, paprika and turmeric, season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste.

-Add rinsed lentils and 2 cups of water. Watch while cooking so it doesn't get too dry or overcooked.

-cut in half 1-2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes. Sauté 1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon of sliced ginger. Add tomatoes, salt and generous amount of paprika (about 1/2-1 teaspoon).

-Prepare garnishes: diced jalapeno, quartered lemon or lime, roughly cut cilantro.

Serve with basmati rice or pita bread, or naan or all!

How To Make Samosas | Indian Food

So the thing is that I only make these during Ramadan, but really, you can make them any time of year. This year, I didn’t make them once for Ramadan. And now that Ramadan is over, I’m making up for lost time and turning out samosas like it’s nobody’s business. This recipe utilizes leftover ground beef or freshly made with a sprinkling of Indian spices and good old fashioned Mission Tortillas. I’ve tried three different varieties of tortillas and the Mission brand is hands down the best. They are light, airy and soft and fry up really nice and crispy. These have been a family favorite and crowd pleaser for many years now.

I have my mother in law to thank for this recipe (and many besides). The ingredients and directions are simple, and if you are only making enough for your family, not too time consuming. I’ve made these in the past for big dinner parties, and that’s quite the commitment.

Here’s what you need (for this recipe, but you can cut it down easily): 2 pounds ground beef (I used 15% fat, but I’ve used ground sirloin with only 5% fat) 1-2 teaspoons of the following spices (I recommend starting with 1 teaspoon of each and tasting as you go until you reach the desired flavor). Cayenne, cumin, turmeric, ginger, garlic, salt and paprika You can use a serrano pepper or a jalapeno pepper for added kick and for a rich authentic flavor, you can use fresh ginger and garlic or ginger garlic paste. 1 large onion diced, or two small onions Add hidden veggies in the form of 1 green bell pepper or a zucchini. Dice them small and sauté with the onion. 10 tortillas flour and water oil

Directions: Sauté onion in a large flat pan with oil of your choice. Meanwhile, rinse ground beef and break it up so it’s smooth. Use a metal strainer to keep from losing the meat. Drain well. I usually work the meat with a wooden spoon and let is rest in the sink draining while the onions fry. Fry other veggies at this time too. Prepare the spice mix by adding 1 teaspoon of each spice into a small dish. You can add more to taste once the meat starts cooking. Turn the heat up to high and add the meat to the browned onions. Work the meat and add the spices. It takes about 5-10 minutes to cook down. Remove from heat and allow the meat to cool so you can work with it. If there’s too much liquid, continue to cook it until the liquid evaporates. Avoid draining the liquid because the flavor will drain with it.

While the meat cools, prepare the tortilla and ‘glue’. Cut the tortillas in half and set aside. In a small bowl add 1 cup of flour and slowly add 1 tablespoon at a time of water until you create a thick paste. If the paste is too runny, it won’t seal the tortillas.

Add a thin line of paste along the edge of half the tortilla. Add about 1-2 heaping tablespoons of meat (keema) to the tortilla and fold the tortilla over and seal it shut. Let it rest for a bit to make sure the seal keeps.

To a pan add as much oil as needed to fry samosas. Heat to medium heat, but watch it constantly. If it’s too hot, it will burn or brown quickly, but the inside will be cool or not warm enough. If the oil is too cool, it’ won’t fry properly and absorb too much oil. Make sure the samosas are sealed completely before frying. Fry for a minute or so on each side. Remove and let drain on metal rack or paper towel. Serve hot with your choice of garnish. I like them plain, but some of my kids enjoy ketchup.

For more recipes, check out this playlist.

Yogurt Tortilla| Hyderabadi Appetizer | Dahi Pulki | Indian Food

Dahinki Pulke or Yogurt Tortilla is a family favorite, especially during Ramadan. We like to break fast with fruit chaat and this layered tortilla dish that’s thick with yogurt and fried onions. While this appetizer is a Ramadan family favorite of ours, you could really have it any time of year. It’s simple to make and other than frying the onions, it’s really fast too. Wow your friends and family at your next dinner party with this crowd pleaser. It’s lightly toasted tortillas layered with yogurt, cilantro, jalapeño or serrano peppers, and fried onions. Layer three times and then let it chill or rest for 20 minutes until the tortillas are moistened by the yogurt. You can also prepare this up to one day in advance by storing it in the refrigerator, but I prefer to eat mine fresh. Just know that you don’t have to eat it directly after making it. The only thing difficult about this dish is cutting it! Oh and eating it! It’s a bit messy, but oh so worth it!

How to Make Vegan Dukkah Dip | Ancient Egyptian Meal

For our Ancient Egypt unit study we decided to make some ancient Egypt inspired dishes using the book “Food and Cooking in Ancient Egypt” by Clive Gifford and illustrated by Paul Cherrill. You can find the book at Rainbow Resource. Dukkah Dip is a vegan dip made of nuts and seeds. It was surprisingly tasty except I did over salt it. It would be great with pita bread, pita chips or crackers. As I didn’t have any of these, I paired it with cucumber sticks. It was a nice balance of dense salty nuttiness and cool bland cucumber.

Recipe from the book (I changed it slightly in the video by adding chili peppers and cutting the recipe in half):
2/3 cup of sesame seeds
1/3 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup blanched almonds
3/8 cup coriander seeds
2 Tablespoons cumin seeds
3/4 teaspoons dried thyme
Black pepper
Optional: bread and olive oil

Roast sesame seeds at 350 degrees for 3 minutes. Roast nuts for 4 minutes. In a pan, toast seeds (I added oil and chili pepper) until browned for about 3 minutes. Add everything to a blender and blend for about a minute. Serve with bread and olive oil. Our nut dip was still warm when we ate it, and it was better than when it was room temperature or chilled. Serve as an appetizer or with this chicken recipe, or catch up on the whole Ancient Egypt Cooking Playlist.

How to Make Ful Medames | Ancient Egyptian Meal

For our Ancient Egypt unit study we decided to make some ancient Egypt inspired dishes using the book “Food and Cooking in Ancient Egypt” by Clive Gifford and illustrated by Paul Cherrill. You can find the book at Rainbow Resource. Today’s dish is called Ful Medames,and it is still a popular breakfast item in Egypt today. You can find cans of fava beans at most ethnic markets.

Recipe:
1 can of fava beans
1 lemon (juiced)
3 cloves of garlic (mashed)
1 teaspoon (or less) of cumin
Salt to taste
Olive to drizzle on top

Heat beans over low-medium heat for a couple minutes. It doesn’t take long at all! Season while on the stove. Transfer beans to serving dish and mix in lemon juice and top with fresh mashed garlic and olive oil. Serve with pita bread and eggs for a filling breakfast, or serve with homemade pita chips for a healthy vegan snack. Check out the other videos in this series.

How to Make Mini Pita Bread

With one basic dough recipe, you can make dozens of breads with subtle changes like adding olive oil, replacing water with milk and/or yogurt, adding eggs (makes dough softer), and changing the ratio of flour to water. For this recipe, I used my bread maker to make the dough. Using setting 8 (which takes 1.5 hours), I made dough to make mini pitas.

I made this dough drier to make these pitas because I planned to roll out the dough and use a metal circle cutter to form the pitas. When making a dry dough, versus a 1:1 or 1:1.5 dough which I use to make pizza puffs or focaccia, I like to use my Kitchenaid or bread maker because it does the kneading for you. The bread maker is also great to use on cooler days because it gentle warms the inner compartment to aid in rising.

Recipe: 3-4 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of yeast, 1.5 cups of water, 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar (or sugar), and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Using lukewarm water, add water, sugar, yeast and oil to a bowl or bread maker. Gently mix. You may let it sit to let the yeast bubble, but I rarely do that. I usually add everything together, only recently mixing salt with the flour, but my dough has always risen unless my water is hot. Add flour and salt and mix and knead until incorporated. Let it rise for 1-4 hours.

You may let it rise in the refrigerator overnight. Roll out dough to 1/8-1/4 inch thick (thickness doesn’t matter too much as long as you are consistent so it bakes evenly, the thinner the dough, the quicker it bakes). I used a circle cutter to make the pitas. I brushed olive oil on each one. I used parchment paper over an aluminum tray. I preheated the oven to 420 degrees and bakes for 5-8 minutes. Keep on eye so as not to over bake. Remove from oven and serve with hummus or the Indian food seen at the end of the video.

How to Make Spicy Moroccan Carrot Dip

We often head to the kitchen when doing our homeschool unit studies as this adds flavor to our lessons. Sometimes we simply cook a single recipe, other times, like today, we cook up a whole feast! But this was mini feast and included dishes you might not immediate think of as Moroccan. When I think of Moroccan food, I think of tagine, couscous and harira. Those our recipes we have been making for years, so I decided to add some new things that are not so different to some of the recipes we already use. However, this carrot dip was a first for us. While I usually only make half the recipe to start out with, this time, I needed to add more carrots because the spices were a bit strong for us. In the end, only my 14-year-old son really liked it. The rest of us weren’t so keen on it. If I made it again, I would reduce my spices, especially garlic and ginger as they are extra potent when they are raw.