The Perfect Pie Crust

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

Ingredients:

– 2 ½ Cups of all Purpose Flour 
– 1 tbsp of sugar
– 1 tsp of salt
– 2 sticks of unsalted frozen butter (8oz)
– 5 to 6 tbs of cold water (ice water)

How to make:

Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and freeze it for about one hour.

Using a food processor, add the flour, the sugar, salt and frozen butter and pulse short pulses for about 6 to 8 pulses

While the machine is running, add a table spoon of ice water one at a time until the mixture just begins to clump together

Keep the processor running until it forms into a ball.

Cut the dough in half and wrap it with cling wrap.

Place the dough in the fridge for about 1 hour before flattening.

P.S. This will make a 10 inches on the bottom and 10 inches on the top crust.

Posted in Sweets | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Queso Dip

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

This is my favorite dip. I think enough said 🙂

Ingredients:

-1/2 block of pasteurized cheese – Mild Mexican Velveeta(8 oz)
-1/2 block of the original pasteurized cheese (I used Kraft Chedder Cheese)8 Oz
-8 oz of chunky no bean chili (Mild)

How to Prepare:

-Using a crock pot, start warming on low.
-Cut the cheese blocks into pieces to make it melt faster.
-Add the chili and turn the crock pot onto medium.
-Let it cook for about 2 hours stirring every now and then (Remember each crock pot is different. You might need to turn it down to low so it doesn’t burn on the edges).
-Take it out and blend it in a blender.

Now you can serve it with some chips.

Posted in Appetizers, Dip | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Green Pepper Taco

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

My husband and I decided to go on a low-carb diet so here’s a twist on tacos that is also delicious. 

Ingredients:

Green Pepper

Ground Beef

Taco Seasoning

Velveeta Cheese

Mexican Cheese

Sour Cream

Butter

Salt and Pepper

How to Prepare:

Heat one tbsp of butter, add the beef, salt and pepper and cook on a medium/low flame until it is all brown.

Add the taco seasoning and 1/4 cup of water and cook until the water dries out.

Add a tbsp of Velveeta cheese and stir until it is all melted.

Cut the Green pepper in half vertically and remove the guts.

Grease an oven sheet with some olive oil, place the green peppers in it and fill them with beef.

Bake at 400F/200C until the green pepper is done (about 20 minutes).

Add some sour cream and Mexican cheese on top and serve with guacamole dip and salsa if desired.

Posted in Meat, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

This Is Where I Call Home

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

Safita is where I lived for 20 years. Many of you may have never heard of it. It is a small town in the hills by the Syrian coast. It is the home to a crusader castle that is over 1000 years old. Another similar castle is about 15 minutes away. 20 minutes away from the Mediterranean Sea. I have many great memories growing up in Safita and would like to share some photos of it and the area around with you.

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Feeding Baby – Stage Five (9 to 10 Months)

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

Your baby is almost eating everything at this time. You can remove the cereal since he/she should be getting his nutrition from the other solid meals now. You will also notice that he/she may start to pick out favorite meals, which makes the not so like meals difficult to get through.

Keep the vegetable soup as long as your baby is still eating it. It is very nutritious.

Remember the little one is starting to develop a personality of his/her own.

In my baby’s case, he doesn’t like eggs so I mix it with half a banana and blend them with some orange juice.
One new food to introduce this month is pasta
I also started to now give him fruits meal. (I.E. I blend apple with half a banana and orange juice)
you can pick you’re your baby’s favorite fruits and mix.
At the end of this month, the feeding schedule is:
Wake up               Breast/Bottle
AM                         Egg
Noon                     Vegetable soup
Afternoon            Fruit Meal
Evening                Family dinner
Bed Time              Breast/Bottle
Posted in Baby | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Kafta in a Tray (Syrian Meat Loaf)

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

It is a simple, healthy, and easy meal which is very convenient for a busy, long work day.

Ingredients:

Ground Beef (or Ground Lamb)

Diced Onion

Diced Garlic

Tomatoes

Salt and Pepper

How to Prepare:

Mix the meat with the onion, garlic, salt and pepper.

Grease an oven sheet and spread the meat mixture evenly in the tray, leaving no spaces.

Slice the tomatoes and place them on top of the meat.

Bake at 400F/250C for 40 minutes.

Posted in Meat | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Las Vegas

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

One of my dream destinations to visit was Las Vegas. I alway thought that I would go there wearing a fur coat and a feather on my head. I know, How much movies put in our heads. I had the opportunity to go to Vegas in January of 2009. It was a four-day trip.  I had fun there, seeing all of the sites, the shows and clubs. I also won $300 so it was a great trip. Las Vegas is such a fun place to go to and I am happy that I have visited but maybe it is a one time experience Unless…..

Posted in Travel | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Chicken Lentil Soup

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

This is a twist on my previous lentil soup recipe. The chicken gave it a great taste. A big thanks to my best friend for giving me the idea of adding it when she did so to make it a whole meal for her children.

Ingredients

One and a half cups of Red Lentils

Carrot

Potato

Diced Onion

Cooking Oil

Salt

Chicken

Water

How to Prepare:

Boil the chicken pieces, skimming the froth as it appears for about 30 minutes.

Cut the carrot and the potato into half inch cubes.

Heat a tablespoon of cooking oil in a large pot.

Add the diced onion and stir until soft.

Add the Red Lentils and 3/4 cup of diced carrot and potato and mix.

Add water to the pot until it covers the carrot/potato and lentils.

Cover the pot and keep it on a medium flame until the water begins to dry up.

Add 6 cups of hot water to the pot and the chicken pieces.

Add salt to the pot and stir.

Cook for 25 minutes.

Posted in Chicken, Soup | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Home-made Doughnuts

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

Everyone who knows me well knows that my weak point is dougnuts. I knew I should go ahead and bake my own doughnuts at home so I can have those drops from heaven anytime I crave them. I try not to eat too much or keep away as much as I can.

Ingredients:

¼ Cup of Warm Water

¼ oz (1.5 teaspoon) of Yeast

¾ of Warm Milk

¼ Stick of Butter (28.5 grams)

2 tbsp of Sugar

One Egg

2 Cups of Flour

1/4 tsp of Ground Nutmeg

For the Glaze

Powdered Sugar

¼ Stick of Butter

Vanilla Extract

How to Prepare:

Mix the water with the yeast then add the milk.

Add the butter, sugar, ground nutmeg, one egg and mix well, then add the flour  and mix until you get a sticky dough.

Cover the pot with a towel and let it rise for an hour.

After an hour,  spread lots of flour on a clean surface and  roll the dough about 1/2 inch thick.

Cut the doughnuts using a cookie cutter or simply use a coffee cup for the big circle and water bottle cap for the small circle.

This recipe will make you about 16 doughnuts.

After shaping all the doughnuts, let them sit and rise for another 30 minutes until they double in size.

Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by mixing one cup of powdered sugar, 3 tbsp of water, ¼ stick of butter and ¼ tsp of vanilla extract.

Deep fry the doughnuts at 350 degrees oil (make sure to keep it at this temperature by lowering the flame and raising it as needed) It should take about 35 seconds on each side. Only put 3 to 4 dougnuts in the pan at one time so they do not stick.

Glaze the doughnuts and decorate as desired.

Posted in Sweets | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Spinach Stew

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

One of those days when you want to have a meal that won’t make you stand in the kitchen for a long time and at the sametime is tasty and healthy. This recipe is the one you can count on.

Ingredients:

Two Bushels of Spinach

Diced Onion

Three Pieces of Diced Garlic

2 Chicken Breasts

Salt & Pepper

Ground Coriander Pepper

One Squeezed Lemon

One tbsp of Butter

How to Prepare:

Cut the spinach into pieces and clean.

Cut the chicken into one-inch cubes.

Using a large pot, melt the butter, add the onion and cook until a little soft.

Add the chicken to the pot with salt and pepper, stir for a few minutes then cover the pot and let it cook for 3 minutes on a low flame to get the chicken tender.

Add the garlic and coriander to the chicken and stir for 30 seconds.

Add the spinach to the pot and move around on a low flame until cooked (if you are using fresh spinach, it should get cooked in 10 minutes. If using a frozen bag add water to cover the spinach and cook for about 20 minutes on a low flame).

Turn off the flame and add the squeezed lemon (or how I like to say it using the Arabic expression extinguish it with lemon ;)).

You can serve with <a href="Arabic Rice“>Rice.

Posted in Chicken, Stew, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments