Best Stuffing (or Gluten Free)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 loaf of white Bread (or Udi Gluten free bread)

1/2 cup Olive oil or 1 stick butter

2- 14.05oz Mirepox (Celery, onion, carrot) Pre cut from TJ’s or you can chop your own

2 stem Rosemary

1 stem Sage

3 Cups Organic Chicken Broth

6.5 oz peeled cooked and peeled Chestnut (trader Joe’s)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Lay bread on a cooking pan and lightly toast on each side for 10 minutes

Cut into cubes and set aside

Heat Oil  or butter in a large pot

Sautee vegetable Mirepox

Add Desired amount of Salt and Pepper, Rosemary and Sage

Add Chicken Broth and bring to a simmer

Then add chopped chestnut

Finally add the cubed toasted bread until well absorbed with veggie broth.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes

Serve warm and Enjoy!!

Vegan Chi Kofte

Ingredients:
1/2 onion (Minced)
2 cup finest bulgur (cracked wheat) (duru Chi Kofte Bulgur is what I use)
2 Large Potato (peeled and boiled)
1 Tbsp ground Cilantro Seed
2 Tbsp Pepper paste
1 bunch green onion (finely Chopped)
1 bunch parsley (finely Chopped)

Directions:
In a large tray combine the Pepper Paste,Ground Cilantro seed,Salt, with your minced onion along with bulgur and mix well.

Take you boiled potato and mead it into the bulgur (cracked wheat) mixture.

Mead until bulgur is moist and soft.

Add half bunch chopped parsley and green onion and mead well.

Use Ice if need be when mixing the ingredients together in order to soften.

Squeeze into patties leaving finger prints onto the chi kofte.

Garnish with the remaining parsley and green onions.

Lay kofte on a bed of Lettuce and enjoy!!

Potato Beef Stew (Kiymali Patates)

A quick and easy meal to make with on a few ingredients.  Prep time and cooking all together takes about 45 minutes.  A great hearty meal any time during the year.  If you have picky eaters you can mash the potato with your fork and your kids will love it.  

 

Ingredients:

1lb Ground beef 

1 large onion

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp tomato paste

8 potatoes (peeled and quartered)

1 tbsp cumin

1 tsp all spice

9 cups of warm water

1 tbsp Salt

Pepper

 

Directions:
In a large pan add olive oil and sauté chopped onions.

Add Ground beef along with salt and pepper, and cook meat all the way through.

Add 1 tbsp tomato paste along with 1tbsp of cumin and 1 tsp of All spice and sauté for a few more minutes.

Add two tbsp of tomato paste into your warm water and dissolve tomato paste.  Make sure the liquid mixture has covered your potatoes.  

Add your tbsp of salt cover and cook on medium heat until potato is cooked through.  About 40-45 minutes.

Serve warm and Enjoy!

 

Gluten Free Baked Ziti with Sausage

If you have a packet of sausage and don’t know what to make for dinner, this is a hearty meal that the whole family will love and ask for seconds.  It literally takes 15 minutes to prep and 30 minutes to bake.  I used gluten free pasta but feel free to use whatever pasta your family loves.  

Ingredients:

1 packet of 16oz Organic Brown Rice Pasta (trader Joes)

1 Jar of 26 oz Pasta Sauce (Frescorti)

1 packet of Sweet Chicken Italian Sausage (trader joes)

Shredded Cheese (Mozzarella) 

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut sausage into little pieces and cook all the way through.

Boil Pasta, strain and set aside.

In a large sauce pan combine Pasta, cooked Sausage and pasta sauce and cook for 5 minutes.

Add a 1/4 cup Mozzarella to the Ziti

Pour Ziti into a pyrex and cover with shredded Mozzarella and bake.

 

Bake for about 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and is lightly browned.

Enjoy!

 

Gluten Free Easter Bread ( Choreg)

Easter Choreg is a piece of heaven and smells like it too.  I made this a few years back with gluten free flour and I wasn’t too crazy about the taste, but let me tell you Gluten free flour has come a long way.  This batch was great.  I used the trader joe’s gluten free flour and my hubby said it tasted just like the regular Choreg I make.  Unfortunately because of the consistency though, you can’t braid this choreg, you have to bake it in a pan.  

Ingredients:

6 cups Gluten free flour (Trader Joe’s)

1 1/4 stick Butter

3 eggs ( Room Temp)

1 Cup Milk

1 1/4 cup Sugar

1 packet of yeast ( Dr Oetker) ( Or any rising yeast)

1/2 tsp Mahlep

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Mastic (Sakiz)

Topping:

Egg Yolk

Caraway Seed

Sesame Seed

Shaved Almonds

Directions:

Sift Flour in a large bowl and add your Yeast, Mahlep, Mastic, And Baking Powder and set aside

In a small sauce pan heat your butter

In another sauce pan heat your milk and sugar 

Whisk your eggs in a bowl or a kitchen Aid mixer

Slowly add your hot butter into your eggs

Then take your warm milk and sugar and add into your butter egg and keep whisking

Take your dry/flour ingredients and slowly add spoon full at a time

Cover with a plastic wrap and wrap the bowl with a towel or blanket and let it rise for 2 hours..

Heat oven to 350 degrees..

Place your dough in a baking pan..

Brush egg yolk and sprinkle caraway seed and sesame seed with shaved almonds and bake for 30-45 minutes.. Just keep you eye on it.  Every oven is different.  If you bake it too long it will get too dry.  Set a towel over it and let it cool.

Enjoy!

Easter Bread (Choreg)

The smell of Choreg is infused in my home a couple days before Easter and there would be no Easter in my house without Choreg.  This sweet bread is fluffy and the dough unravels one string and a time..it is amazing by itself or even with butter and jam with coffee or tea.  Growing up I would hold the bowl for my mom when she would knead the dough, it would take so much energy for her to make this, I would think to myself “I will never make this, it looks like too much work”.  Well a couple years ago my sister’s mother and Law Sona Tantik and Takuhi Yaya shared their wonderful choreg recipe.. It was more fool proof than my mothers recipe, but I didn’t want to knead the dough forever and get my hands as dirty and since I like to simplify things because we can all get to busy,  I decided to try and make it with my Kitchen Aid Mixer..  And It came out even better than when I did it with my hands.  If you don’t have a mixer, use your hands it’s no biggie, but there are always easier options.  As long as you put your heart into it, it will turn out great.

Ingredients:

6 eggs (room temp)

10 cups All Purpose Flour

2 1/2 Sticks butter

2 1/2 Cups Sugar

2 1/4 Cups Milk

2 Packets of Yeast (Rising Yeast) (I used Dr. Oetker)

1 tsp Mastic (Sakiz) (finely crushed)

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Mahlep

Topping:

2 Egg Yolk

Caraway Seed

Sesame Seed

Shaved Almonds

 

Combine all of the dry Ingredients. Sift your flour in a large bowl, then add your Mastic, Mahlep, Baking Powder, Yeast.

In a small sauce pan, heat butter..

Beat Eggs in your mixer with the whisk attachment.

In a separate sauce pan combine Milk and Sugar and heat while stirring occasionally

Add your hot butter in your eggs and keep whisking in your mixer, then slowly add your milk and butter mixture and keep whisking..

 

Remove the whisk and add the claw attachement..

With a wooden spoon add the dry ingredients a spoon full at a time..

Keep it mixing until all the dry ingredients are mixed well together.

Take the bowl off  and put dough in a large bowl and mix with your hand and get some elbow grease in there. (the dough should be as soft but super sticky) Use the back of a butter knife to remove the dough.

Cut a piece of plastic wrap enough to cover the big bowl and spray the wrap part that will cover the dough with cooking spray so the dough doesn’t stick to the plastic and cover.

Take a towel or blanket and cover and set down in a warm dry area of the house and let it rise for at least 3-4 hours or even better if you prepare your dough at night you can let it rise overnight.

After your dough has risen to where it’s touching the plastic wrap, remove the wrap.

Remove three pieces of dough on a floured surface..

With the palm of your hands roll out the dough into three long pieces

Combine the top of all three and start braiding like above.  ( Don’t get discouraged, I ruined so many before I got it down)

Tuck the ends underneath so it doesn’t come apart when it bakes. Remember the looser the braid the better, you will allow it to rise even more when it’s resting.

Spray cooking Spray on your foil and place the braided Choreg on it and let it rise again for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours..

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

After your braided Choreg has “risen” brush the egg yolk and garnish with the caraway seed and sesame seed along with the shaved almond and bake for about 35-40 minutes.  Every oven cooks differently make sure it cooks well and has the brownish coloring to it.

Lay a towel over it and let it cool before you wrap it up or serve it.

Enjoy your Easter Break, and for those celebrating have a blessed Easter!

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken Chow Mein

Here’s a dinner recipe that the whole family will love and I guarantee you will have no left overs.  If you ever have too much bell peppers and don’t know what to do with it, always slice them and freeze it and when you’re making a sauté dish you will have it ready and just throw it in the pan and stir fry.

Ingredients:

1 packet of Chow Mein

Seasme oil

Low Sodium Soy sauce

1 onion

1 cup frozen mixed bell peppers

Carrots

Broccoli (optional)

Green onions

 

In a large sauce pan heat sesame oil and add chopped chicken along with the soy sauce.

Sautee until cooked all the way..

In a separate pan heat sesame oil and stir fry onions for about 5 minutes, then add your bell peppers and other veggies.

 

(sorry it’s blurry)

Combine cooked chicken to the vegetables.

Boil Water for the chow mien and follow the directions on the chow Mien package. (I only boiled for 10 minutes, you don’t want to over boil your chow mien because it will get very mushy)

Strain your Chow Mien and add to your chicken and vegetable, add more soy sauce and stir fry for 10 minutes and serve!

Enjoy!!

Nevzine

A very rich and delicious dessert to serve for your special guests that will sure get their attention.  My dad was born and raised in a city called Kayseri, Turkey where this dessert originates.  The other day he was telling me a story and out of the conversation he hinted that his mom, my grandmother made for him when he was a little boy.  At first I was apprehensive to try it because it’s hard to make something someone loves that you have never tried before.  But I thought I would surprise him and surprised he was and so happy I made it for him.  

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Grape seed oil

1/4 cup milk

1 1/4 stick butter (125grams)

3 tbsp Tahin

1 tsp baking powder

4 cups Flour (like play dough consistency)

1 cup chopped walnuts

 

Syrup:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

 

1/4 cup Pekmez (apple or Plum Molasses)

Directions:

In a small sauce pan add sugar and water to make the syrup along with lemon juice bring to a simmer..

Let it cool and add the Pekmez to the syrup and set aside

 

Heat your oven to 350 degrees

In a mixer, or you can mix by hand mix grapeseed oil, room temp butter, milk, tahin, baking powder, flour and walnuts.

Make sure your dough is moldable and you can press down and see your finger print.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.. remove and cut into squares or diamonds and place back in the oven and cook until it’s nice and pinkish brown on top.

Let it cool for about 15 minutes and pour the syrup and let it soak in.

 

After it has well absorbed into the Nevzine add ground pistachio on top and serve.

Enjoy.. If you want to know what my dad thought.. he loved it and said it tasted just like his moms.  (I doubt it but it made me happy)

 

Gluten Free Chocolate Helva

Rich and fudge like dessert that takes no time to make and prepare.  I usually make the flour helva and but for my husband, I decided to try to make it gluten free so that he can enjoy having the dessert with us and he loved it.  I used to trader joe’s gluten free flour but I’m sure any gluten free flour will work just as good.  When pouring in your water and sugar mix do it a cup at a time until you are happy with the consistency.  

Ingredients:

2 cups Gluten free flour (I used trader Joe’s)

2 tbsp (cocoa)

1 stick butter

1/2 grape seed or Olive oil (Try coconut oil too if you like)

4 cups hot water

2 cups sugar

Directions:

Melt butter and oil in a non stick pan

Combine gluten free flour with the cocoa

Add the cocoa and GF flour combo to your melted butter and oil mixture

Cook for about 15 minutes mixing and turning your mixture over with the back of a wooden spoon

Slowly add water a cup at a time until you find a consistency you are happy with.  Every Gluten free flour is different.  

On medium heat keep stirring until you get a thick dough like helva.

Cut and serve at room temp.

 

 

Flour Helva (Un Helva)

A quick and easy last minute dessert you can make that takes 20 minutes to prepare and make.  All the ingredients are also quick and simple.  If you would like to make it with Cocoa.. Add two tablespoons of Cocoa in your flour.   This Helva tastes like a buttered fudge.  Remember you can always cut this recipe in half when you’re just serving for a small group.  

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 stick butter

1/2 cup olive oil or grape seed oil (You can also use another stick of butter instead of the oil but didn’t want it to be as heavy)

2 cups sugar

4 cups hot water

Dry toasted sliced almonds (garnishing)

Directions:

Melt butter and Oil in a large non stick pan.

Add flour to your pan with melted butter and with a spatula mix your flour into the butter.  

Cook and stir for about 20 minutes until lightly browned.  

Mix your sugar into your hot water.

Add your Sugar and water mixture and keep mixing and stirring until you get a thick dough like consistency.  

Make sure you use the back of your spoon to flattening out the flour, mixing and turning it over well into the dough.  

You can either lay it flat and cut it on a plate or press into a designed or plain teaspoon and place it on a plate like below.

 

Enjoy!!