Corn Bread

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Eat-O-Live
In the spirit of the Holidays, here is a simple and tasty recipe for home made corn bread. It will be a hit at any holiday party.
Ingredients:
One cup of corn meal (or corn flour)
One cup of all purpose flour
2 large eggs
2/3 cup of sugar
½ cup of melted unsalted butter
1 tsp of baking soda
½ tsp of salt
One cup of milk (butter milk)
How to Prepare:
In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and the melted butter.
Add the 2 eggs, baking soda, salt and the butter milk and whisk until all the ingredients are mixed.
Add the corn meal and mix it using a spatula until it is all mixed, then add the flour and stir (P.S. don’t over mix the flour).
Grease a 9 inch oven sheet and then pour the mixture in and spread it evenly.
Bake at 375 F for about 30 minutes.
Let it cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
Posted in Appetizers, Bread | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Cheesecake

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

In honor of the 237th Marine Corps Birthday, my brother-in-law, who is a former Marine, wanted a cheesecake for the event. Here is the simple, homemade recipe.

Semper Fi!

Ingredients:

5 Packages of 8 oz Cream Cheese at room temperature

1 1/5 Cups of Sugar

4 Eggs

1 ¼ Cups of Graham Cracker Crumbs (10 whole graham crackers crushed)

¼ Cups of Sugar

6 Tbsp of Melted Unsalted Butter

One Cup of Sour Cream

¼ Cup of All Purpose Flour

Lemon

Pure Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Salt

Raspberry Jam

Berries

How to Prepare:

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

Wrap a 3 by 10 cake sheet in foil at the bottom.

Crush the graham crackers.

In a bowl, add the graham crackers, the butter and ¼ cup of sugar and mix together then grease the cake sheet and add the mixture to the bottom and spread evenly.

Put in the oven for 8 minutes.

For the filling, mix in the previous bowl the cream cheese, the sugar, eggs, sour cream and flour and one teaspoon of vanilla extract and a little lemon zest and ½ tsp of salt.

Put the filling over the crushed graham crackers and put in the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes then cool it outside of the oven for an hour and a half and put in the fridge overnight.

After cooling the cheesecake in the fridge overnight, I decorated the top of the cake with a layer of jam (Warm it on the stove for a minute) and berries.

Posted in Sweets | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Chicken Sumac Sandwich

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

I used the Arabic bread that I baked to make chicken sandwiches for dinner. here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

Arabic Bread (Pita Bread)

Chicken Breast

Onion

Sumac

Butter

Salt

pepper

How to Prepare:

Slice the onion and the chicken breast into strips.

Heat one tablespoon of butter then add the onion slices and cook for few minutes until the onion gets soft.

Add the chicken strips and cook on a low heat.

Season with salt and pepper and cover the pan and let the onion and chicken cook until the chicken is fully cooked and tender.

Add one tablespoon of sumac and mix together.

Wrap in pita bread and serve hot.

Posted in Chicken, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Make Your Own Arabic Bread

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

Today, I will share with you how to bake Arabic/Pita bread at home. It is easy and so tasty. It takes a long time to prepare but it is totally worth the wait. I am sure that I will be repeating it over and over again.

Ingredients:

Three Cups of All Purpose Flour

One and a Half Cups of Warm Water

One Tablespoon of Self-Rising Yeast

One Teaspoon of Sugar

Dash of Salt

How to Prepare:

In a small bowl, place the yeast, sugar and half cup of warm water and mix well.

 Let it sit for 15 minutes so the yeast becomes active.

In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt and then make a hole in a middle to add the yeast and water.

After the yeast activates add it slowly to the flour then add the rest of the water also slowly until all mixes into a dough.

Using another bowl, grease it with olive oil to prevent the dough from sticking and place the dough in it.

Cover the bowl with cling wrap then wrap it with a kitchen towel,  keeping it warm for 3 hours.

Pre heat the oven to 500F/260C.

After 3 hours take the risen dough and knead for 10 minutes on a surface covered with flour.

Cut the dough into small pieces to make the bread and place on a surface with flour and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Flatten each piece and place in the oven for 6 minutes flipping them over after 3 minutes.

Posted in Bread, Dough | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Pork Chops and Vegetable Rice

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

My sister came to visit and taught me this amazing recipe that I would like to share with you.

Ingredients:

For the Pork Chops-

One Pound of Pork Chops

Half Squeezed Orange

One tablespoon of Squeezed Lemon

One Teaspoon of Cumin

Salt

For the Rice-

Rice

One Large Onion

3 Carrots

One Bushel of Broccoli

One Tablespoon of Butter

How to Prepare:

First marinate the pork chops with orange juice, lemon, salt and cumin for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, dice the onion, carrots, broccoli for the rice.

Boil 2 cups of water then add one cup of rice, lower the flame and cook for 10 minutes then let it rest for another 10 minutes.

Cook the butter and the diced vegetables on a low flame until all the vegetables get soft. This should take about 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the rice and mix for a few minutes until it dries.

Heat the skillet on the stove for 4 minutes then cook the pork chops for 4 minutes on each side.

Serve by adding some butter on top of the pork with the rice on the side.

Tip:

To clean the skillet just soak it with some dish soap while it is hot for 10 minutes then clean.

Posted in Meat, Rice, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Rice and Peas

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

This meal is called up side down in Arabic (Don’t ask me why). My 14 month old baby is going through a teething/independent phase and he is refusing to eat most of the meals that he ate before. My sister reminded me about this dish that we always loved growing up and she swore all kids love it (She has 3). I made it today and sure enough Aiden ate all his dinner.

Ingredients:

One Cup of Rice

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1/2 Cup of Peas

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1/3 Pounds of Ground Beef

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Butter

Salt and Pepper

Chicken Stock

How to Prepare:

Heat one tbsp of butter then cook the ground beef on medium heat with salt and pepper until all brown.

Add the peas to the meat and stir for few seconds.

Add the rice and 2 cups of water to the meat and peas, then add 2 tbsp of chicken stock (or one cube of chicken bullion).

Once the water starts to boil, lower the flame and cover the pot.

Let it cook until the water dries for about 20 minutes.

IMG_1348 IMG_1345

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

Stuffing

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

With Thanksgiving only a month away, I would like to share with you this unique and tasty recipe for stuffing. Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

One Large Pork Sausage

One Large Onion

Celery

One Red Bell Pepper

2 Cloves of Garlic

Stale Bread

Poultry Seasoning 

Chicken Stock

Butter

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

How to Prepare:

Cut the bread into small cubes (I used a french baguette- about 7 cups).

Chop the onion, celery, red pepper and garlic.

Pre-heat the oven to 400F/200C.

Heat a tbsp of butter and one and a half tbsp of olive oil in a skillet.

Add the sausage meat and cook on medium heat until it gets mostly brown.

Add the vegetables to the meat, season with salt and pepper and stir for 5 to 7 minutes (until the vegetables get soft).

Add one tbsp of the poultry seasoning and stir for a few seconds.

Add the sausage/vegetable to the bread cubes then add 2 and a half cups of chicken stock and stir it all together.

Add the stuffing to a baking sheet and spread evenly then cut 2 tbsp of butter into small cubes and spread on top of the stuffing.

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Posted in Meat, Side Dish, Thanksgiving, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Visit to the Pacific Northwest

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

Today, I am remembering my first trip to the West Coast in 2008. I visited my sister and brother-in-law who lived in Bellingham, Washington. I went there twice in 2008 and 2009, both were during the summer (still was a bit cold and rainy). We enjoyed our time there and we got to see so many beautiful places.

Here are some photos from both trips.

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Happy Fall!

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

I love Fall!. It is this time of the year when the holiday season begins and all the good food as well :).

We are coming to Halloween and then Thanksgiving. What is a more delicious treat than Pumpkin Pie? Pumpkin Pie is also my husband’s favorite.

Here’s the recipe for a home-made outrageously good pie.

Ingredients:

Half Pie Crust (Link)

16 oz of Pumpkin Pie Puree (not the mix)

12 oz of Evaporated Milk

3/4 Cup of Granulated Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tbsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/2 tsp of Salt

How to Prepare:

Prepare the crust. Here’s a link to the home-made crust (Pie Crust)

Whisk in a bowl the pumpkin puree, sugar, milk, eggs, pumpkin pie spice and salt together.

Roll out your crust and place in a 9″ pie sheet.

Fold the sides of the crust into this shape.

Pour the filling in the sheet.

Pre-heat the oven to 425F/250C.

Place the pie in the oven for 15 minutes then lower the temperature to 350F/175C and bake for 45 minutes.

Take out of the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes then place in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours.

Serve Cold :).

Posted in Sweets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Stuffed Mushrooms

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

The most delicious Italian recipe for stuffed mushrooms. The whole house smelled awesome for a long time. 

Ingredients:

Fresh Mushrooms

Fresh Bread (I used Italian)

Grated Cheese (Your Choice, I used Parmesan)

Italian Parsley

2 Garlic Cloves

Salt and Pepper

Olive Oil

How to Prepare:

First, heat your oven to 400F/200C.

Take the stems out of the mushrooms and set aside.

Using a small spoon, scrape the inside of the mushrooms to make room for the stuffing.

Take the skins of the bread and chop finely using a food processor or a knife.

Dice the mushroom stems then add on top of the bread.

Add the graded cheese and chopped parsley to the bread.

Grade the garlic on top of the mixture.

Season the mixture with salt and pepper then add 2 to 3 tbsp of olive oil to the mixture to make it moist not wet.

Grease an oven sheet with olive oil then add the mushrooms making sure to get them coated with the olive oil on the bottom and sides.

Stuff the mushrooms with the stuffing and bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is browned.

Enjoy 🙂

Posted in Appetizers, Stuffed Vegetables | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments