EGG AND TOMATO PEPPERS

Lets go back to the "Nothing for dinner on Wednesday" blog post because I'm sure you have missed those because I for sure have! I have so much peppers, tomatoes, and tons of eggs because I never run out of that! But with extras in the refrigerator, what better thing to do than marry them together. I took feta cheese and eggs, stuffed the peppers with the mixture, added a tomato, and baked them in the oven. The result? Beautiful eggs and feta cheese in a pepper bed. Delicious and delightful, not to mention fun. Get creative and most importantly; ENJOY!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 70 minutes
Total time: 80 minutes
Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:
Green peppers
12 Eggs
5 Tomatoes (Cut into circular pieces)
5 Cherry tomatoes
Feta cheese
Oil

Directions:
1. Prepare the peppers and place in a large pan; Taking out the inside seeds, rinsing the peppers. etc.
2. In a large bowl whisk 12 eggs.
3. Crumble feta cheese in the eggs and mix.
4. Grab a spoon and add the egg mixture in the peppers; about 2/3 of the pepper should be filled with eggs then add a tomato or two on top of the eggs. Place on the pan and continue process for the rest of the peppers.
5 .Drizzle oil evenly around the pan.
6. If you have extra eggs and feta cheese, add the halved cherry tomatoes and pour the mix on top of the peppers.
7. Bake at 400*

 
         Enjoy!

HOMEMADE LEMON LOAF CAKE

Have you ever bought lemon cake from your grocery store; it's moist, dense, and full of lemon flavor! There's something about this soft lemon loaf cake that keeps us from going back for more. This scrumptious lemon loaf cake is great for any party to go to, any cozy night, and also great to bake when you are bored. That's what I did; I was really board, so me and sister decided to make this lemon loaf cake that we will be bringing to a little girls birthday party (In case you were wondering why I didn't cut it open to show you guys, well we can't bring it cut into pieces! lol!!) I have been trying other lemon loaf cake recipes but it just didn't work out so we tried this recipe and we hope it tastes as amazing as it looks! If you are bored like I was last night, keep scowling down and try this lemon loaf recipe; trust me it's better than the Starbucks one!!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Total time: 90 minutes (For cooling and cooking)
Serves: 8 people

Ingredients:
Loaf:
 3 large eggs
 1 cup granulated sugar
 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream or Greek yogurt
 1/2 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
 2 tablespoons lemon Zest
 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon extract
 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
 2 teaspoons backing powder
 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Lemon Glaze:
1. 1 cup confectioners sugar
2. 3 tablespoons lemon juice, or as necessary for consistency

 Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
2. Loaf- To a bowl, add the eggs, sugar, sour cream or yogurt, and whisk vigorously until smooth and combined
3. Drizzle the oil while whisking to combine.
4. Add the lemon zest, lemon extract, and whisk until well combined. I added 2 tablespoons of lemon extract because no actual lemon juice is used in the loaf. Don't use lemon oil and lemon extract interchangeably because they're not; oil is much more potent and and intense. Also don't use lemon juice in place of lemon extract because it's not strong enough and the acidity can alter the overall results.
5. Add the flour, backing powder, salt, and stir until just combined; don't over mix because you will make the loaf tough. Some lumps will be present and that's okay; don't try to stir them smooth.
6. Pour the batter in a pan that is 9x5 and smooth the top with a spatula.
7. Bake for about 50-55 minutes until the top is nice and golden brown and a tooth pick has come out clean. In the last 10 minutes of backing tent the pan with foil (loosely drape a piece of foil over pan to prevent excessive browning on top and side of loaf before center cooks through.
8. Allow the loaf to cool for at least 30 minutes. Then take out the loaf and let it cool for about an hour on a wire rack. Let it cool completely before glazing.
9. Lemon Glaze- To a small bowl, add the confectioners sugar and slowly drizzle in the lemon juice while whisking until well combined and smooth. You might need to play around with the sugar and lemon juice amount a bit as necessary for desired consistency and flavor.
10. Evenly drizzle lemon glaze over bread like you'd spread butter on toast and it soaks right in making the loaf even moister and more lemony. Bread will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days or in freezer for up to six months; I don't recommend storing it in the fridge because it'll dry out. 

          Enjoy!

RUSSIAN SALAD

It's Christmas Eve!! I am so happy that the holidays have finally come; Sometimes it's stressful to cook up a good meal for you and your family in just one day for that night. So I decided to share this recipe with you guys that can be made ahead of time; you can make it the day before Christmas and it will taste just as well (even better)! Also it's done in a matter of time! This recipe is not really Russian, In Bulgaria we just call it that. This salad can be made any time throughout the year but when you make it on Christmas, it's extra special!

Prep time: 20 minutes 

Cook time: 30 minutes (for potatoes & eggs) 

Total time: 50 minutes 

Serves: 6 people 

Ingredients:

 7 Boiled Potatoes

 8 Boiled eggs 

 10 Carrots 

 10 Hotdogs 

 One can Sweet peas 

 15 Mini pickles 

 3 Olives 

 1 Tomatoe 

 Lettuce 

 Mayo to taste 

Directions:

1. Broil the potatoes for 20 min and the eggs for 10 min

2. Peel the eggs and potatoes and let them cool 

3.Cut all the vegetables in small pieces (except the Tomatoe, olives, and lettuce)

4. Add the mayo to the vegetables until moist enough.  

I was getting my salad and putting it in a bowl when I realized it was the holidays, and chose to make a snow man out of the scrumptious salad!

All I did was take a little bit of salad and formed it into a snowman, then I took some more and added it as the hands. (Just before I continue, if you were wondering why I had put olives, tomatoes, and lettuce in the ingredients when I didn't even use it in the salad, well here's why.) Cut the olives in half and add them to make eyes and buttons. Peel a little of the carrot and add it as a mouth, then put the rest as a nose. Peel a Tomatoe and put it as the scarf and the extra can be put on as the hat. Add lettuce on the bottom. Last but not least, cut an egg in stripes and put around the plate to act as the snowflakes, then put it on top of the tomato hat. You can decorate the salad however you want to! You can make a Christmas tree, a Christmas wonderland, anything!

          Enjoy!

MISH MASH

Lets get Mish-Mashing while we cook some Bulgarian style mish-mash! As you may not know I am Bulgarian so I am proud to share this recipe with you guys! We know dishes similar to mish-mash exist in almost all Middle East & Mediterranean countries. Still, we include it in our traditional Bulgarian collection, just because every Bulgarian knows what mish-mash is and because of its popularity in Bulgaria. The word mish-mash refers to a collections containing a variety of miscellaneous things, and this is exactly what is it; a simple and quick dish, containing many seasonal ingredients (such as tomatoes, peppers, parsley, etc), mixed and cooked in a matter of minutes. There is many different versions of ways to make this dish, but i'm going to show you the winter version of the dish, using roasted and peeled peppers, which probably every Bulgarian has in their freezer. The original recipe calls for fresh ones, so you can make this recipe with fresh peppers if you don't have roasted ones and it will work just as well. (I may share that recipe with you guys sometime on my blog!)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Serves: 5 people

Ingredients: 
 2 canned tomatoes

 3 Red bell peppers

 Olive oil (or oil of choice)

 1 Cup milk
 3 eggs 

 Feta cheese 

Directions:

1. In a large sauce pan add oil to cover the bottom, then add the chopped peppers. Let it simmer for a little 

2. Add the canned tomatoes with the sauce in the cans and let it simmer.

3. In a separate bowl whisk 3 eggs and add the milk in the eggs. 

4. Put the egg mixture in the peppers and tomatoes 

5. Crumble some feta cheese in the mish-mash, stir and let it slimmer on medium heat.

       Enjoy!

CHICKEN BREAST SALAD

Nothing for dinner on a Wednesday evening again? This time the canned chicken breast have come to save the day! I'm going to show you how to make chicken salad with canned chicken breast and hot sauce (the two main ingredients). You can add more/less ingredients; whatever you fancy. This is just a good, basic chicken salad recipe. Sometimes I add chopped celery to a cold chicken salad, carrots, or relish. This is a side dish, so don't make a whole bunch for dinner, check out some of my other, "nothing for dinner on Wednesday" recipes and cook a delicious meal for you and your family with this side dish of chicken salad.

Prep time: 5 minutes 

Cook time: 10 minutes 

Total time: 15 minutes 

Serves: 3 people 

Ingredients:

 2 cans of chicken Breast 

 8 ounces of cream cheese 

 1/3 cup ranch

 1/3 cup hot sauce (any level of hotness)

 Black pepper 

Directions:

1. Open the canned chicken breast and take out the juice, and smash the chicken with a fork,

2. In a medium sized sauce pan, and on medium heat, add the chicken breast.

3.Add the cream cheese, hot sauce, and ranch in the chicken.

4. Stir constantly until well combined and until creme cheese is smooth, then add the black pepper. 

          Enjoy!

CAULIFLOWER CREME SOUP

Soup is always good when it's cold outside and you just want something to warm you up inside. The holidays are just weeks ahead and it's getting pretty cold outside. This cauliflower creme soup is so simple, healthy, and creamy. There's nothing better than sitting by the fire place with a blanket around you and eating a warm soup. Your probably thinking about your loaded week about to begin; take a little break from that and cook up a cauliflower creme soup for your family. Trust me, they will love it!

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes 

Total time: 45 minutes 

Serves: 4-6 people 

Ingredients:

 2 tablespoons butter 

 2 tablespoons oil 

 2 large potatoes 

 1 large dry onion 

 1 cup sour cream 

 1550 millimeter of water 

 1 large cauliflower 

 Vegetta or kaosher salt 

 1 chicken bouillon cube 

Directions:

1. Chop the potatoes and the dry onion; leave aside.

2. Remove the green stem from the cauliflower and cut it into small pieces; leave aside.

3. In a large saucepan, add the butter and the oil and then add the chopped dry onion after butter has melted and let the onions lightly turn brown.

4. Add the water, then add the potatoes, them add the cauliflower. 

5. Cush the chicken bouillon; add it in  and make sure all the cauliflower is all coded in water and let it simmer until the cauliflower Is nice and soft and can be worked with. 

6. Add some vegetta (or kaosher salt if you do not have vegetta) and with a stick hand blender, blend the soup for a while, add the sour cream and continue blending until creamy and there is no cauliflower chunks in the soup.

          Enjoy!

HERB SALMON IN FOIL

It's a Wednesday evening and you have nothing in mind for dinner; why not go to the grocery store to buy some salmon. This salmon dish is great for any night or any occasion, and can be pared with almost any side dish. The moist, buttery flavor of the fish is divine; it's a simply delicious way to end the day. It's density and texture fills you up on the second piece, not allowing you to feel hunger an hour later. After 15 minutes, you'll have a wonderfully seasoned salmon that easily flakes with a fork. Serve with rice and/or vegetables, and dinner is set. Salmon in foil is not the prettiest fish, but despite its look, it's by far the best way I've baked salmon.

Prep time: 5-7 Minutes 

Cook time: 20 Minutes 

Total time: 30 Minutes 

Serves: 4-6 People 

Ingredients
 2.60lb salmon 

 Butter

 Freshly ground black pepper

 Salt, to taste 

Directions 

1. Place the salmon on a large piece of tin foil, drizzle some black pepper and salt (to taste) on one side.

2. Turn the salmon around and add the same amount of black pepper and salt.

3. Take about a teaspoon of butter and lay about 4 to 5 pieces of butter the one side of the salmon
4. Bake at 350* for 35 minutes.

           Enjoy!