Arabic Rice

1/2 cup vermicelli (cut into 1 inch pieces)

1/4 cup unsalted butter (or clarified butter)

1 1/2 cups rice

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups water

Brown vermicelli with butter in saucepan.  Add rice stirring over medium heat for 1 minute.  Stir in salt and water.  Turn to high heat and bring to a boil.  Turn heat to simmer; cover and cook for 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender.

   *when rice is tender, there may be some liquid at the bottom of the pan.  After it has cooked, let rice sit for 10-15 minutes to absorb and liquid and "set" the rice.  Cooking time varies.

   *Garnish with toasted pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, and parsley.

Lubi bi Ziet (Green Bean Stew)

2 cans green beans or 2 lbs. fresh or frozen

1 medium onion, diced

3 T. olive oil or vegetable oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

1.4 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

water

1 can tomato paste

In a saucepan, saute onions with oil until almost brown.  Add garlic and saute 1 minute.  Add tomato paste and cook about 2 min.  Using the can from the tomato paste, add 3 cans of water.

Bring to a boil and add salt, pepper, and cinnamon.  Cook 5 minutes.

Drain and rinse green beans and add to the tomato mixture.  Let cook at a simmer for 20 minutes. 

Serve over Arabic Rice 

Laham Bi Ajeen (also a meat pie)

1 lb lean ground beef

1 t. dried Mint

1 t. Lemon Pepper

1 T. Paprika

1/2 t. Chili Pepper (depending on how spicy you want it)

1 T. Flour

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1 1/2 t. Salt

1 Onion, minced

1 Red Bell Pepper, finely chopped

1/2 Green Bell Pepper, finely chopped

1/2 bunch Parsley, finely chopped

1 15oz can  Diced Tomatoes, well drained

2 T. Tomato Paste

Pine Nuts

Pizza dough

Mix beef with hands with first 7 ingredients.

Add all other ingredients except pine nuts and mix well.

Spread onto little stretched out rounds of pizza dough about 6" in diameter, pressing meat into dough so it stays.  

Sprinkle with a few pine nuts.

Bake in oven at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until meat is cooked and dough is done.

This mixture is enough for (2) 1lb packages of pizza dough. 

(I've baked a whole pizza with the mixture... it only took half of this mixture to make a 15" pizza)

You can also make little turbans (pictured) or triangles like the spinach pies.

Fataya (Mom's Meat Pies!)

Mary and I are still trying to get Mom to post something on One Family Four Kitchens.  But of course, trying to explain how to "post" something over the phone 1500 miles away is nearly impossible.  (we are still trying to teach her how to scan something and send it in an email... sorry mom!)

So here is Mom's Meat Pies!

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, finely chopped

1 t. salt

1 t. Lemon Pepper

1-2 Lemons, juiced

Dash or 2 of cinnamon (this is the most important thing, next to the lemon juice)

2 cans Pillsbury Biscuits Dough (the blue can)

Brown meat and onions, chopping meat into small pieces while in pan.

Drain if needed and start adding the rest of the ingredients while you are still cooking the mixture.

Cut biscuits in half so you have 2 circles.  Roll them out with rolling pin on floured board so they are about 4 inches in diameter

Add a tablespoon or two of meat mixture at one edge of dough

Roll meat in dough so like a cigar. (or you can do it in triangles like the spinach pies)

Bake at 375-400 degrees for 8 minutes or until dough is light brown in color.

Remove from oven and serve! 

As a child, being one of the only "brunettes" in our neighborhood, my parents would pack these in our lunches instead of a sandwich.  I didn't know the difference till I got older... I thought everyone knew what a meat pie was!

Fataya (spinach Pies)

1 lb. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, and squeezed dry

1 Small Onion, chopped fine

1 t. salt

1/2t. lemon pepper 

juice of 2 lemons

dash or two of cinnamon

2 T. Olive Oil 

Pizza Dough (or buy Bridgeford frozen rolls or loaves of bread)

Mix all ingredients together except dough.

Roll out 4" rounds from dough.

Add 1-2 Tablespoon of spinach mixture to middle of dough

make a triangle with dough, pinching the seams together.

Spray a baking sheet with oil and place spinach pies on sheet 1 inch apart from one another

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until dough is golden brown.

Take out of oven and brush with olive oil immediately 

 

Strawberry French Toast

This is going to be my new go-to breakfast item when cooking for a group.  A few great things about this recipe: 1. you can use the fruit of your choice, 2. you can use either fresh OR frozen fruit, and 3. you can (and should) make this ahead of time--the day before is best!

This recipe is meant for a 9 x 13 dish, but it can easily be cut in half or quarters when baking for a smaller group.  Because it's more of an assembly/layering of the ingredients, everything can be altered to your liking (the amount of fruit, cream cheese, bread, etc.)

Ingredients: 

12 slices DRY white bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 8 cups)*

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1 1/2 cups of frozen (or fresh) strawberries**

12 eggs

2 cups milk

1/2 cup your favorite syrup (i.e., maple or flavored)

*The easiest way to DRY bread for this recipe is to cut them into 1/2 inch cubes (as called for) and place them on a baking sheet.  Bake, uncovered, in a 300 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes (or until dry) stirring twice.  The reason for doing this is to make sure that the bread absorbs as much of the egg mixture as possible (so it truly tastes like french toast.)

**Originally, I used 1 cup, but I found that the more fruit, the better!  Also, instead of a bag of frozen strawberries, I grabbed strawberries in a syrup (the ones in those containers so it was literally a block of strawberries.  I defrosted just enough to break apart, but still frozen.)

Recipe: 

1. Place half of the bread cubes in the bottom of a well-buttered 3-quart baking dish. 

2. Sprinkle cream cheese cubes and strawberries on top.  

                        

3. Arrange remaining bread on top of strawberries.                               

4. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs together.  Beat in milk and syrup.    

5. Pour the mixture over the assembled casserole.  Cover the dish with plastic wrap and let chill for 2 to 24 hours.

6. When ready to serve, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Remove plastic wrap and cover dish with foil.

7. Bake for 25 minutes.  Uncover, bake for about 25 minutes more or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

8. Let stand for 10 minutes.  Serve warm with syrup.  Enjoy!!

Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

This recipe is extremely easy to prep and tastes amaaazing!:

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs red potatoes (about 5 medium sized red potatoes)

1/8 cup olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced*

3/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoons ground pepper

*If you have dried rosemary, use 2 teaspoons.  The potency of dried spices/herbs is heightened compared to fresh.

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Pre-cooked

2. Cut the potatoes in quarters or eighths (depending on the size of the potatoes, and the size you want them. Anywhere around 1-inch cubes/triangles is perfect.)  

3. Add potatoes and rest of ingredients to bowl; toss until the potatoes are well coated. 

4. Spread potatoes on baking sheet and spread out into 1 layer.  

5. Roast in oven for 1 hour, or until browned and crisp, flipping every 15 to 20 minutes.

Crab Cakes! (For Beginners!)

I have never ever EVER made crab cakes before.  Although some people are scared of the actual frying part, I was scared of having it taste decent.  This is an altered version of crab cakes that has already been tested and re-tested and will probably go through one more round of alterations.  My first problem was underestimating the saltiness of the crab; no salt and hardly any spices are added to this recipe.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
8 oz. lump crabmeat, drained
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup non-seasoned bread crumbs (panko works fine too!)
1 tsp. garlic powder (or your favorite seasoning)
1 egg
1 tsp. lemon juice
panko bread crumbs
vegetable oil, for frying

Step 3

Recipe:
1. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, bread crumbs, garlic powder, egg, and lemon juice. Mix well.
2. Add crab meat and fold (instead of stirring) into the mixture to combine.
3. Form crab cakes approximately 2-inches in diameter (about 5 crab cakes).
4. Pour panko bread crumbs onto a plate or shallow dish. Lightly dredge the crab cakes into panko (both sides!) and set aside.
5. In a large skillet over medium heat, add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. When oil is hot, fry crab cakes in batches for about 2-3 minutes on each side.*
6. Transfer to a sheet man or plate lined with paper towels.
7. Serve with tarter sauce or homemade spicy remoulade sauce and ENJOY!

Woohoo! First ever crab cakes!

Once I figure out exactly how I made this awesome spicy remoulade sauce, I'll post it.  Remoulade is a fancy name for an aioli- or mayo-based sauce (used on meats, fish, and everything fried.)  This was a mayonniase-based sauce and was thrown together based on what spices and sauces were available! (cajun seasoning, lemon juice, ground mustard, worcheshire sauce, garlic powder, etc.)

*If the oil is not hot enough, the crab cakes will easily fall apart while you're cooking them.  Test out the heat by putting either a piece of the crab cake, or some panko bread crumbs in the pan.  Another mistake is making the oil TOO hot, causing everything to crisp and burn in the matter of seconds.

The great thing about crab cakes is that you can make them ahead of time.  After step 3, you can wrap each crab cake individually in plastic wrap to preserve its shape.  When you're ready to serve, bread with panko and fry!

Eggplant and Beef Casserole

Lately, I have been obsessed with casserole dishes. ob-sessed.  I found this recipe but tweaked it to make it a bit less calorie-filled by not breading the eggplant (even though the original recipe only had 340 cals per serving!)  This dish is simply a layer of eggplant, then a layer of meaty tomato sauce and finished with a layer of cheese--and then repeated! mmmmm.

This dish is SUPER easy.  Unfortunately, I have an oven that is the WORST and sometimes cooks things at supersonic speeds, and other times it's right on track. Because of this, I cooked the eggplant pieces a little bit on each side before putting them into the dish.  This worked out perfectly because I only cooked my casserole for a bit (I hate New York City kitchens.)
For most normal ovens, this step (step #2) is unnecessary.

Ingredients:
1 1.5 lb eggplant (an eggplant usually is anywhere between 1 and 1.5 lbs.  If you find one that's not quite right, it will still work!) .  Cut these into 1/2 thick slices.
1 lb. lean ground beef.
1 large green sweet pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped (3/4 cup)
~25 oz can tomato sauce (there are big cans that contain 28 and smaller ones that are 15- and 8- oz which will work)
1 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, crushed*
2 cups shredded mozarella cheese**
(if necessary: oil)

Recipe:
1. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish (or a 3-qt baking dish) and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. If necessary, heat oil in skillet and cook eggplant just a few minutes on each side.
3. In a large skillet, cook ground beef, pepper, and onion until meat is cooked through, using a wooden spoon to break up meat as it cooks; drain off fat.  Stir the two cans of tomato sauce and Italian seasoning into meat mixture.
4. Layer half of the eggplant slices in the prepared baking dish, cutting slices to fit.  Spread with half of the meat mixture; sprinkle with half of the cheese. Repeat layers.
5. Cover dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more or until heated through.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
6. ENJOY!!!

Eggplant and Beef Casserole!

*If you don't have Italian seasoning, you can make your own by using equal parts: basil, oregano, thyme, sage, and rosemary.  Other variations can consist of savory, marjoram, and other spices that you can experiment with.

**I used mozarella cheese because that's all my little market had.  An Italian blend cheese will work too.