October, 2016
Anita’s best Chicken Tortilla Soup
Best ever soup…cook it once, you eat it twice and freeze it for months.
Ingredients
2 Tablespoon olive oil
2 (8 ounce)cans diced tomatoes
1 (15 ounce)can corn
1 (46 ounce) can chicken broth or make your own
1 (8 ounce)can tomato sauce
1 large onion, small diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalk of celery, small diced
3 carrots, round cut
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
3 tablespoon cilantro, minced
1 fresh juice of a lemon
4 cups cooked shredded chicken
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Garnish
Avocado slices, strips of tortilla, cilantro leaves and sour cream.
Preparation
- In a large pot, on a medium heat sate in olive oil onions, celery, carrots and garlic for about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, jalapenos, corn and shredded chicken. Stir all ingredients well.
- Place chicken broth on top of vegetables. Add tomato sauce. Season with salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin.
- Bring soup to a boil uncovered. Lower heat and simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Pour lemon juice over soup. Add cilantro.
- When ready to serve, garnish with sour cream, extra cilantro leaves, and tortilla stripes. Enjoy!
Anita’s Lebanese Baked Kibbeh in a Pan
A delicious and warm to the heart dish. Specially made by my Mom’s lovely hands. Minced meat with bulgur(cracked wheat), and delicious aromatic spices. Kibbeh which means ball and is traditionally presented raw, baked in a pan or fried in balls.
Kibbeh Dough:
2 pound beef, finely ground
3 cups fine bulgar
1 small onion, minced
1 Tablespoon allspice, ground
1 teaspoon mint, dried
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Kibbeh Filling:
1 pound ground beef
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 cup pine nuts, raw
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon allspice, ground
1 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon sumac spice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Preparation
- Wash fine bulgur(cracked wheat) in warm water and soak in water for about 15 to 20 minutes, till bulgur is almost tender. Drain and set aside.
- To prepare the stuffing: Satee onions in 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil until tender. Add meat, season with salt, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and sumac. Cook meat until is brown for about 15 to 20 minutes. Add pine nuts, mix all ingredients together. Set meat filling aside.
- To prepare Kibbeh dough by hands: In a large bowl, combine finely ground meat, fine bulgur and minced onions together. Add little water at a time and kneed meat with your hands until reaching a dough consistency.
Divide your Kibbeh dough. Set aside. - Spread two tablespoon of oil in the bottom of your pan. Extend with your hands first layer of kibbeh dough evenly.
- Distribute filling evenly on top of first layer.
- Place another half of kibbeh dough on top using your hands.
- Using a knife, cut kibbeh top slightly with the decoration of your choice, (diamond shapes, squares, triangles). Clean tip of knife with water between uses.
Brush generously top of kibbeh with rest of vegetable oil. Bake at 350 grades Fahrenheit for 35 to 45 minutes until top is completely brown. - Serve Kibbeh next to a salad. Enjoy!
Anita’s best Pumpkin Chocolate “no” Flour Muffins/Cake
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs, large size
1/2 cup organic cocoa powder
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey
2 Tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400 grades Fahrenheit. Apply cooking spray to a 12 cup muffin pan. Place lining paper on them and set aside.
- Incorporate all dry ingredients: cocoa powder, chia seeds, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin spice and cinnamon.
- In another bowl whisk eggs, add vanilla, pumpkin pure, agave nectar, brown sugar and peanut butter. Mix well by hand or in a food processor.
- Add pumpkin mix to dry ingredients until batter is creamy and all ingredients are well incorporated.
- Fold in with a spatula half of a cup of mini chips chocolates.
- Pour batter into your muffin pan filling 3/4 way up on each cup or in a baking cake pan. Sprinkle top of muffins with rest of chocolate chips.
- Bake for about 2o to 25 minutes. Make sure that muffins are set, by inserting a toothpick on center of muffins coming out clean.
- Let them cool for 15 to 20 minutes over a wire rack. Store at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 5 days. Enjoy!
Anita’s Healthier Blueberry Oat Yogurt Muffins
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon, ground
1 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
1 cup plain yogurt
2 Tablespoon agave nectar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cup organic frozen blueberries
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350 grades Fahrenheit.
- Place your paper liners into your muffin pan or grease them with vegetable oil.
- Combine coconut flour, oat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt into a large bowl and set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine milk, agave nectar, vanilla and yogurt. Mix all ingredients until well combined.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients slowly until well combined. Do not over mix. Fold blueberries into your batter.(blueberries can be sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon of flour to avoid them to sink to the bottom of muffin cups).
- Fill your 12 muffin cups very close to the top.
- Bake muffins for about 25 to 30 minutes until tops are golden or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Allow muffins to cool over a wire rack for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Leave muffins at room temperature and enjoy.
