dinner - cashew shrimp curry

last night i went back to some delicious thai-inspired food! i added something a little special into the mix tonight, in the form of dried mango and cashews! double deliciousness. 

and for your entertainment and cooking pleasure, i'm adding a photo of the ingredients used along with a written recipe :)

thai curry with shrimp and cashews:

shrimp

onion

garlic

bell pepper (i used frozen, but fresh is also good)

thai yellow curry sauce (mine is from trader joe's, but anything you have is good, or you can make your own curry sauce with extra coconut milk + spices)

coconut milk

cashews

dried mango

cook up some rice while preparing the sauce.

slice onions and add to wok with some oil to fry. after a few minutes add chopped garlic, bell peppers, and shrimp. let sauté for a few more minutes. add your curry sauce and coconut milk - add more of each, depending on required consistency. put a lid on and let simmer so as to make sure the shrimp will cook. at the end, add cashew nuts and finely julienned mango, let simmer for a few minutes. serve over rice. garnish with a few more cashews, and apple or cilantro, if you have some. enjoy!

dinner - breaded chicken

tonight, again, was a little bit of a "what's in the fridge and needs to be used" kind of night for dinner. we ended up with breaded chicken breast, roasted regular & sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, and just some sliced tomato sprinkled with salt & pepper.

the chicken was delicious as were the potatoes, but unfortunately the corn was previously frozen and i think i overcooked it. oh well. :)

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breaded chicken breast:

chicken breast

flour

egg

bread crumbs (i used both regular and panko)

+ additional spices, if you like

cut chicken into thinner pieces or flatten with meat mallet. cover in flour (you can mix the additional spices with the flour), then egg, and lastly with bread crumbs. fry with vegetable oil on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. place on paper towels to drain excess oil. serve warm and enjoy!

and if you click here, you will find my recipe for roasting potatoes!

dessert - chocolate / chips

oh la la! two of my favorite things in one: chocolate covered potato chips!!

ingredients needed:
milk chocolate chips
wavy, salted potato chips

melt the chocolate, dip the chips, place on wax paper and in the fridge, EAT!

simple and absolutely amazing!

dinner - tilapia & mash

( it was a busy weekend and we were visiting husband's parents house. no photos, but believe me: the food was gooooooood all weekend long! :)

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i had a wonderful day today hanging out with one of my dearest friends, and she stayed for dinner. i made a little hodge podge of "what's in the fridge and what needs to be used", and came up with fried tilapia filets, mashed potatoes, blanched & sautéed kale, and our favorite strawberry salad! i think everyone was happy :)

dessert - CAKE BALLS

here are the photos i promised... :)

top to bottom: chocolate, red velvet, strawberry.

oh. my. goodness.

have you ever had cake balls? (also known as "cake pops" when on a lollipop stick.) though, prepared or served any way is equally d e l i c i o u s.

the first time i ever tried these amazing things was at my good friend's wedding back in 2010 and i've been dreaming of (making) them ever since. this past weekend i finally did!

i might have gotten a little carried away, and ended up making three completely different and amazing flavors (...one cake mix will make anywhere from 30 to 50 balls, so we had a lot to enjoy):

- chocolate fudge cake with milk chocolate frosting dipped in milk chocolate,

- red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting dipped in white chocolate, and

- strawberry cake with pink vanilla frosting dipped in white chocolate.

i was browsing through this (click) book by bakerella at target last week and it sealed the deal. her explanations, pictures, and recipes were super simple and convinced me to give it a try.

see? so simple!

let me break it down for you...

ingredients needed:
box of cake mix of your choosing
can of complementing flavor of frosting
complementing flavor of chocolate chips


1. make and bake the cake according to instructions on the box.
2. let cake cool down completely, then crumble it into a big bowl (the cake should crumble easily by rubbing it between your hands)
3. add 3/4 can of frosting to crumbled cake (adding all will make the mixture too moist) and mix.
4. shape mixture into balls with your hands and place on wax paper.
5. put in the fridge for a few hours to set.
6. once cake balls are set, melt chocolate chips.
7. place balls into melted chocolate, make sure to cover all sides, and place back on wax paper.
8. put back in fridge for awhile to set.
9. eat, enjoy, and be in cake ball heaven!


like i said, super simple! just time consuming, but totally worth it..!

dinner - HOUSEWARMING PARTY

(picture and text heavy post!)

i made hummus from scratch, from dried chickpeas! YUM YUM YUM

three different quiches: broccoli // mushroom & green pepper // bacon

salad with green apple, cranberries, and goat cheese. YUM

salad with strawberries, feta cheese, and almonds. YUM YUM

the dinner spread!!!!! OH YUM

where do i begin?! last night we finally had a big gathering at our new home, for the first time since we've moved here. we invited quite a few people and were blessed with the company of about 15 lovely souls. it was a wonderful evening and we ate so much delicious food!

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i had "slaved" in the kitchen all day to provide the party with:

appetizer - homemade hummus.

 i have never made hummus before, not even from canned chickpeas, but we had some dry ones and i wanted to give it a try! it was a fairly easy process, only a long one. this here (click) is the recipe i used as a guide for how long to soak & cook the beans, as well as a base for my ingredients, but in true "tanja-style" i didn't measure anything and just threw everything together hoping for the best. and, indeed, the best it turned out to be -- our friends who lived in egypt for a year loved the hummus! go me!

salad - strawberry-feta, & green apple-goat cheese.

we love yummy salads, so we decided to make two for the party. the first one i featured in an earlier post on the blog (click here), though this time we had good feta to add to it. and, as always, the dressing was the star of the salad! right along with the berries... and almonds... mmmmmm...

the second salad is based on one that we used to get at our favorite cuban restaurant and decided to recreate at home. the basics are: lettuce, green apple (or, i like to use pear), dried cranberries, and goat cheese. for the dressing i just make my own with balsamic vinaigrette, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic (either fresh or powder).

main course - broccoli // bacon // mushroom and green pepper -quiche.

one of my favorite things to make for big gatherings is quiche! it's quite simple to make and it can be made ahead of time and then reheated. for tonight i made three different kinds, starting with the usual broccoli-onion one, then one with bacon (oh, so bad but SO GOOD), and a mushroom & green bell pepper one.

funny story: the party was a potluck and we asked people to bring food, if they could. well, one person brought two quiches (!!) and one person brought a vegetable pot pie (!) - so, basically, we had a six quiche party :D

dessert - CAKE BALLS
(photos to come! we were too busy enjoying them to take pictures)

oh. my. goodness. 

that is all i can say for now. ;)

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other people brought the aforementioned quiches and vegetable pot pie, as well as some beef stew, and some gallo pinto (remember? click) for the dinner. for dessert we also had a chocolate mousse cake, and a swiss roll cake, as well as chocolate and tea and coffee.

it was amazing and i look forward to hosting people again and having dance parties in our back room with glow-in-the-dark bracelets! oh yeah!

dessert - frozen yogurt

(( please excuse my absence! i have been busy eating at other people's homes and such, and have not had time to properly document it all. ))

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we were invited over for dinner to a wonderful family's home, and we enjoyed an amazing dinner of pasta, freshly made pesto, salad, home fries, beans, and fried chicken. oh yum!

for dessert we were graced with homemade sour frozen yogurt and a homemade berry topping. OH YUM! also enjoyed a cup of chamomile tea (which i pronounce cha-mo-meal, rather than cha-mo-mile... oops)

dinner - sweet potatoes

i made dinner tonight using some of the ingredients we've had and been meaning to use for a while now AKA roasted sweet potatoes, fried garlic-chicken sausage, and kale with garlic and white beans.

i had a request from someone on facebook to start adding recipes to my blog posts. i usually just make things up and don't have exact measurements, but i promised i would at least list the ingredients and general methods i use, so you can get the idea.. :)

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oven roasted sweet potatoes:
(also works with regular potatoes as well as brussel sprouts)

pealed and cubed sweet potatoes
olive oil
garlic powder
rosemary
salt
pepper


toss everything together and place in oven safe dish. cook at 350F for about 30 minutes, or until potatoes are soft when you poke them with a sharp knife.

blanched and sauteed kale:

wash and cut/rip kale into bite size pieces. place in boiling water for 3 minutes, and immediately after immerse in ice cold water. drain, set aside and prepare the rest of the ingredients:

olive oil
chopped garlic
white beans (great northern)
salt
pepper

heat olive oil and add garlic to pan, but be sure not to brown the garlic (we want it to stay soft and yummy). add beans and spices. lastly, add blanched kale and toss to heat up. serve immediately, so as to not over cook the kale.

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please, let me know if you try any of these "recipes"! :)

dinner - fried rice

i used some leftover rice we had, and mixed it with all kinds of goodies -- well, i started and then husband took over, and i made the salad. -- the fried rice ended up having chicken, broccoli, edamame, mushrooms, onion, green bell pepper, and fried egg, with a peanut-sesame-soy sauce. wow!

and for the salad i used kind of whatever we had in fridge, which turned out to be: baby greens mix, grated baby carrots, grated green apple, slivered almonds, and goat cheese, with lemon juice, olive oil and salt & pepper as a dressing.

eclectic, and delicious!

breakfast - waffles

i "cheated" and used waffle mix for these waffles this morning, and i have to say: i liked them much better than the ones i made using batter made from scratch! shh! from now on i think i'll go with the mix, because it is so much easier, faster, and tastier.

we made these with our friends, and ended up with two different kinds: regular waffles topped with bananas and whipped cream (for the girls), and cinnamon waffles topped with warm cinnamon-butter-sugar apples and whipped cream (for the boys).

i wish our friends were around more often, because it was so much fun to have them working in the kitchen right along side us :)

breakfast - of champions!

PSSSST.

(i apologize for being absent for a few days and leaving you starving -- ha ha! i was eating frozen pizza and leftovers, so nothing too fancy, as well as enjoying the company of friends, so no time to blog! but, i am back and ready to cook again. hope you didn't miss me too much!)

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would you just look at this dish! full of yum.

we had two of our friends visiting, and both of them are amazing in the kitchen, so we all dined very,very well this weekend. this was our big breakfast before a day in new york city, so we fueled up. we had homemade hash browns, an english muffin, some beef bacon, and two over-easy eggs that came from our friends own chicken!

dinner - pita & chicken gyros

can i just tell you something - I MADE PITA BREAD, from scratch, all by myself! yes, yes i did. and then, i made it into chicken gyros! go me!

i found the recipe for chicken gyros here (click) and thought it sounded absolutely delicious with the tzatziki sauce, plus we had all the ingredients needed. then as i read through the recipe and came across the link to the homemade pitas (click), i knew i had to make them.

after living in israel for a year and a half, i have a fond connection to pita bread -- especially fresh, homemade pita bread -- and i can say these turned out wonderful! we have quite a few of them leftover and i am thinking of making some hummus soon to go with them... mmmm, another israeli delicacy!

don't be intimidated by how long the pita recipe says it will take (10 min + 90 min + 20 min + 45 min), it's mostly waiting around for the dough to rise. start early in the day and you'll do fine! i sure did! :)

dinner - strawberry salad

tonight we ate summer. oh what? well, this strawberry salad is what i imagine summer tastes like! so fresh, delicious, and amazing.

the recipe (here) also calls for feta, but our feta had gone bad, so we left it out and it was just as delicious without it! (i would also imagine it would be yummy with goat cheese..) and can i just say? you really want to give your almonds a little fry on a frying pan, because it makes all the difference and it is so absolutely amazing. and, last but not least, the dressing is something heavenly (we leave out the raspberry vinaigrette). 

if you are like me, and a little weary about salads with fruit/berries, please give this a try - you will not regret it!

i also made some mashed potatoes to go with some fried garlic chicken sausage.

breakfast - greek yogurt

greek yogurt, granola, slivered almonds, and fresh strawberries.

::delish::

dessert - valentine's cake

valentine's day is nothing if not pink! so for dessert i made an angel food cake with pink food coloring! served up with strawberry ice cream, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream. YUM YUM YUM.

dinner - valentine's special

valentine's day is never too big of a deal for husband and i, unless it comes to eating..! and this year i ended up trying two new recipes - a little bit of a risk, but i certainly think it paid off.

both recipes were from a website calles "poor girl eats well" and they were both yummy!

the "first course" was a warm brussel sprout salad in a dijon-honey vinaigrette (recipe here) and the "main course" was a quinoa risotto with shrimp and asparagus (recipe here).

hope you had a lovely day! :)

breakfast - valentine's waffles

happy day of love!

i woke up at 5:15AM this morning to make husband and i some lovely breakfast -- belgian waffles served with fresh strawberries and bananas as well as whipped cream. oh yum.

♥

dinner - kale!

the other day i bought a HUGE bunch of kale from the grocery store, and i finally cooked with it tonight - we still have about 3/4 of the bunch left! i'm thinking about making some kale salad and kale chips........ but that's a story for another day.

i worked at a pretty fancy restaurant for awhile and the chef there made this delicious kale dish, which was my first introduction to one of my now favorite vegetables! the base of the dish is comprised of: blanched kale that has been cut into manageable pieces, great northern white beans, LOTS of fresh chopped garlic, and salt and pepper, all sauteed in a little olive oil. then there are the variables: you can add cooked bacon bits (YUM), cooked summer squash, grape tomatoes, or anything else you think might taste good. tonight i added the grape tomatoes. i can't praise this dish enough - i love it!!

i made some oven roasted sweet potatoes to go with it, as well as grilled chicken breast. all in all, it was a healthy and absolutely delicious meal!

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have you tried kale? what's your favorite way to enjoy it? :)

dinner - quiche

tonight i made one of the dishes that i make best: quiche!

the recipe i use for the crust always makes enough dough for two, and that way we have more than enough leftovers. the basic quiche i make every time is broccoli and onion, and with the second one i like to switch it up and try different things -- this time i used mushrooms and asparagus. we also had a salad of arugula, red lettuce, grape tomatoes, baby carrots, european cucumber, and ranch dressing.

this (click) is the recipe i used the very first time i made the broccoli quiche, but now i just "wing it". as for the crust, i do not use pre-made ones, but make my own super easy and suuuper delicious ones!

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quiche crust:

(makes enough for two)

2 cups flour

1 cup butter (melted)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

mix all ingredients together, press into pie pans, and cook in 350 F for about 15 minutes until edges are golden. then take them out, fill with goodness, and stick back into the oven for about 30 minutes. ENJOY! :)

dinner - thai noodle soup

you might remember this dish (click) that i made after our visit to a thai restaurant - well, this is a very similar dish, but with noodles and lots more broth. 

i cooked two packages of ramen noodles, without the spice packets, and once they were done, rinsed them with cold water and set them aside. then i made the soup: white button mushrooms sliced thin, some red onion, a few garlic gloves, and some shrimp, all thrown together in a wok pan to cook for a little while. then i added about half a bottle of trader joe's "red curry sauce" and a can of coconut milk, with some red pepper flakes and a tiny bit of cayenne for spice, and let it all simmer and cook. at the very end, right before serving, i added thinly julienned granny smith apple. i put the noodles into bowl and scooped the soup on top of it, adding a final squeeze of lemon juice, some sliced apple, and a fancy piece of lemon as decoration.

can i just say, it was AMAZING. i think i'm in love... :)

breakfast - bagel & eggs

this morning i made husband and i some scrambled eggs with broccoli, an onion bagel with cream cheese, some sliced orange, and a glass of orange juice each. very filling, very tasty!

dessert - donuts

chamomile tea, chocolate mini donuts.

::and relax::

dinner - beef stew

oh boy.

this meal was inspired by my father, his delicious classic beef stew that i grew up eating -- but, unfortunately, i have to admit defeat and hang my head in shame. (sorry dad!)

i called my dad from the grocery store to get the list of ingredients and a simple recipe, but as i got home and started cooking i felt a little lost and kinda just threw it together hoping it would turn out. it was very much edible, but it was nowhere near the deliciousness of my dad's cooking, and i can only hope to try it again and succeed better!

the basic ingredients are beef chunks, potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and sour cream. we ate it with a side salad made from arugula, grape tomatoes, mozzarella, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and sprinkled with salt and pepper.

dinner - shrimp pasta

if you've been following along from the beginning, this meal will look familiar (click here for reference)..

this is my "go to" dish, for when i'm 1) hungry, 2) craving pasta, 3) feeling lazy, -- shrimp and asparagus pasta in a butter-olive oil sauce. it's a simple dish, with only a few ingredients (don't forget the onion and garlic!), and it is so very delicious.

dinner - brussel sprouts

i. love. brussel sprouts.

they're pretty much my favorite veggie, along with fresh green beans, corn on the cob, asparagus, and fresh peas. my favorite way to prepare brussel sprouts is to either roast them in the oven, or like tonight, blanche them and then fry them until they are nice and crispy on the outside. i also added lots of fresh chopped garlic, and some salt & pepper. i enjoyed them with some steak and mashed potatoes.

lunch - blueberry bagel

yum yum yum.

i love blueberry bagels with a cup of blueberry tea! and the color of the bagel was an absolutely gorgeous purple... it was almost a shame to eat it.

dinner - peanut chicken

also known as "heaven on a plate" and by other wonderful names...

tonight the thanks for this amazing meal of chicken and broccoli in a peanut sauce served with rice go to our friends who cooked for us with this sauce a few weeks ago and shared their secret with us! and it's your lucky night, because i am going to let you in on it too! ;)

what you need and what you do is: mix peanut butter (natural and smooth works best!) with virgin coconut oil, heat it up in the microwave for a bit to make it all mix together easier. add crushed garlic, lots of it! and some soy sauce. mix mix mix, and pour it over whatever you've got cooking. voila! heaven!

i didn't use any exact measurement, neither did our friends, but i'd say i used about one heaping tablespoon of peanut butter, probably the same amount of oil, a slightly heaping tablespoon of garlic, and maybe a tablespoon of soy sauce. i would suggest you just play with it and see what works best for you, and trust me when i tell you it is to die for!!!

lunch - panera bread

after an awful afternoon (oh yah, alliteration!), husband and i treated ourselves (with the help of a gift card) to some panera bread deliciousness. i ordered their superb broccoli-cheddar soup and a tomato-mozzarella panini. husband got a steak panini and a thai chicken salad. both our sandwiches turned out to be only so-so, but the soup and salad were yummy! oh, we also got chips on the side!

dinner - super bowl party

(no photos for tonight, sorry! i was too busy EATING)

i've never been a fan of american football, nor do i even understand how it works, so i've also never been to a "superbowl party", but let me tell you it was mighty fun! lots of delicious food, and lots of nice people to spend time with when not watching the game (which for me was pretty much the whole time). and boy oh boy do i have stories to share! and by stories i mean a list of food that will make you almost faint from the amount of dairy..! i think i ate more dairy in this one night than is healthy for one person in one lifetime!

here'a a list of the food items i put in my belly, and i can remember in my current food coma state:

* cream cheese crab dip (click for recipe), that husband suggested and i made.

* salsa-cream cheese-cheddar dip

* buffalo chicken wings

* bagel-pizza bites

* mozzarella sticks

* bean-cream cheese-cheddar dip

* greek feta-filo pastry

* artichoke dip

* chicken-pineapple-teriyaki meatballs

and dessert, that we almost had no room for!

* oreo brownies

* cupcakes

* cookies

breakfast - pancakes

i admit that this photo might not look that appetizing, or make you drool, but these blueberry pancakes i made this morning were very edible and pretty good no matter what they looked like!

whenever i make "american pancakes" (not to be confused with "finnish pancakes" that are more like crepes), i somehow end up making them huge. i only ate one of these bad boys for breakfast, since it was half the size of my face. mmm.

dinner - salmon nicoise

tonight husband and i were feeling a little bit creative, and we decided to recreate a sauce i had with a meal in paris last summer - nicoise! after some googleing (yah, it's a word!) we found this recipe (click) , scroll down to "for the dressing).

if i were to make it again, i would make the following changes:

- cut back on the salt!! i would only add a dash of salt, maybe like 1/8 tsp. ours came out super salty.

- cut back on the mustard as well. maybe use about 1 tbsp.

- finely chop the garlic and mix it in, because our blender didn't do anything to the crushed clove.

- we didn't have tabasco, so i added red pepper flakes instead. next time i would like to use tabasco, because i think it would give a nice heat to the sauce.

- we didn't add any anchovies, and i didn't miss them.

so the first time attempting the sauce turned out a little bit salty, but i balanced it out by eating it with a lot of plain rice. we also enjoyed some broiled salmon filet, and garlic fried asparagus. i felt like i was eating a fancy restaurant meal - the magic of adding a fancy sauce!

breakfast - ham & eggs

i made myself some yummy sandwiches with whole grain toast, some smoked ham, and two fried eggs with a sprinkle of salt and pepper on them. add a glass of orange juice, and i am set!

dinner - indian

tonight we went out for dinner to an indian restaurant in town, and it was excellent! husband ordered their chicken tikka masala, and i went for something the waiter recommended: chicken badami korma, which was super delicious. we also got some naan bread, and husband got a mango lassi drink. best thing about it? we brought home leftovers! yummy!

snack - cheese & crackers

i was feeling peckish and decided to finish off the little bit of brie cheese i still had left in the fridge, as well as half of a granny smith apple. add some ritz crackers to the mix, and voila! delish!

dinner - meatballs

oh the meal of the unimaginative cook: frozen swedish meatballs from ikea served with garlic mashed potatoes and some mixed veggies (broccoli and haricot verts). it was all quite good, but i am hoping to get some more inspiration into my cooking soon.. :)

dinner - pizza

the quality of this photo leaves room for improvement...

i wasn't feeling too good today, and we had a HUGE pre-made pizza sitting in our fridge, so that was my easy go-to dinner for tonight. (and when i say huge pizza, i really mean humongous - that piece in the photo? it's 1/8 of the pizza and it filled me up, along with the salad, as it did for husband. so yah, so we still have 6/8 of the pizza left..)

the pizza was just a straight up cheese pizza that i added red onion and green bell pepper to, and grated some extra mozzarella on top. we also had a salad with lettuce, grape tomatoes, red onion, croutons, and ranch dressing. nice balance of flavors and textures. 

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ps. how do we feel about the bigger size picture?? yes? no? maybe so? (obviously, i will have to start paying more attention to making sure the photos are better quality, if i'm going to blow them up so big..)