Russian Vareniki - Strawberry Dumplings

If you have a wonderful Russian in your life like I have one in mine, then you may have experienced the heaven that is Vareniki yourself. If not - tune in and give it a whirl yourself!

Ingredients

• 2 C flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp veggie oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 lb strawberries

Instructions

1. Mix flour, salt and egg into a dough.
2. Add water and knead away.
3. Egg oil and continue kneading.
4. Cover bowl of dough with a towel and move on to strawberries.
5. Chop strawberries into small pieces and place into bowl
6. Add sugar to berries
7. Mix and set aside.
8. Go back to dough and break into manageable sections
9. Roll out the dough, and use a cookie cutter to pull out circles
10. Place a small amount of strawberries (you will figure amount more as you work) on one side
11. Fold half of the circle over into a moon dumpling shape.
12. Use water to seal the edge.
13. Use a fork to seal the edge.
14. Complete this process until the dough is gone.
15. Place dumplings into boiling water.
16. Once dumplings float, remove.
17. Serve warm. You can drizzle remaining strawberries and juice over the dumplings. We added vanilla bean greek yogurt as well and it was to die for!

Ugandan Rolex

One of the things you can find on every street vendor in Kampala is a Rolex. But not the kind you are thinking of. A Ugandan Rolex is an egg burrito inside a chapati. In fact, if you just drive down most any street in Kampala you will likely have rolexes brought to your car. The first time I had one of these was this hilarious story of trying one of the "not previously American approved restaurants" which turned out so fun and no one got sick. Ironically we all got sick from one of the Amer Approved restaurants lol. The owner was so excited to have Americans visit and did this whole welcoming thing - it was one of our favorite stories where we met the sweetest people. Anyhow - since most of his menu (not that there was a menu) was fish and meat, he offered to go buy us girls some rolex. Anyhow... I like to make it on occasion for my boy. Here you go!

• 1 eggs
• 1 thin chapati (or tortilla if you dont have any)
• salt and pepper
• handful of shredded cabbage
• sliced tomato
• cooking oil

1. Mix egg and salt and pepper
2. Pour egg mix into pan and fry it up on both sides
3. Place egg round into chapati and throw back in pan
4. Remove from pan and place a row of tomato and cabbage down the center
5. Sprinkle more salt and pepper and other desired spices down the row
6. Fold over one side and roll up the rest
7. Enjoy!

Toast with Strawberry Jam and Hummus

This morning I happened upon a delightful creation by accident. I was putting strawberry jam on my flat-bread after heating it. When my son said "you putting peanut butter and jelly on it?". And I thought - hmm peanut butter would be good. But when I reached into the fridge for peanut butter my hand hit the bowl of hummus. And a lightbulb went off.... Hummus is similar in consistency and taste to peanut butter. So I spread it on lightly on one side of the toast (in case it was horrid) and left the other side with just strawberry jelly. Brought it up to my office... and tasted heaven. So here ya go.

• strawberry jam
• hummus
• toast

1. Spread jam and hummus on toast
2. Enjoy :)

Make your Own Strawberry Jam

This past weekend we took Josiah strawberry picking and when we came home with buckets of strawberries, I knew jam would need to be produced. After some google searching I found the recipe to use, modified it for my own purpose and got cooking. I share it here with you, so that you can make your own jam for your family.

• 6 cups of chopped strawberries
• 1.5 boxes of low sugar needed pectin (this is what thickens and jels the jam)
• Sweetener (we used 2 cups of agave nectar but you can also 4 cups sugar or your sweetener of prefernce)
• 6 bell jars including tops
• funnel

1. Sanitize your jars and lids in your dishwasher or in boiling water. Keep them in the heated dry until they are ready to use (or boiling water) so they are the right temperature and dont go to hot too fast and possibly crack.
2. Pick or buy your strawberries. Wash them. Chop off the tops. Chop or food process them to your preferred consistency. The more they are crushed, the more natural pectin comes out in its own consistency. You want 6 cups of it after it is crushed so you will need 8-10 whole.
3. Measure a quarter cup of sweetener with your pectin until it is blended well.
4. Mix this sweetener/pectin blend in with your strawberries.
5. Put the strawberry blend in a pot and bring slowly to a boil under medium/high heat.
   (If you do not use pectin you will need to take a much longer time over heat to get it to the right consistency, and double the sweetener. Pectin is a natural chemical extracted from apples - so nothing to worry about there)
6. Once they have come to a complete boil, remove them from heat and add the remaining sugar.
7. Bring to a boil again and let it boil for 1 minute. The slower you bring it to boiling the less foaming you will experience.
8. Remove from heat.
9. Skim the excessive foam and place in a bowl. You can microwave it for 60 seconds and throw it in the fridge for fresh jam.
10. Here is where you get to test the JEL factor. Keep a cup of ice water with a spoon in it. Pull the cold spoon out and spoon out some jam. Let it cool to room temperature. Then see if it is the right JEL factor for you - if its not jelly enough add more pectin and reboil for one minute. Otherwise you are good to go.
11. Let it stand for 5 minutes
12. Stir completely
13. Remove your jars from the dishwasher/hotwater and start funneling in the jam. Immediately place the tightly closed jar with jam in a pot of boiling water where the water covers the lid a couple inches.
14. When the jars are all in the boiling water they should boil for about 10 minutes depending on your elevation.
15. Remove carefully from the boiling water with tongs and place to set.
16. After 24 hours they should be processed and set. You should be able to tell that the tops will no longer pop in or out. If they pop then store it in the fridge since it won't last as long before spoiling.
17. Processing the jars like this ought to keep them in a cabinet for 6-12 months.
18. Serve, share, and enjoy :)

Breakfast Biscuits

• biscuit dough
• vegetarian sausage
• fried egg
• spinach
• shredded cheese

1. Flatten biscuit dough to allow insides
2. Cook sausage, fry egg
3. Add all items on top of biscuit
4. Roll up biscuit until all is inside
5. Cook biscuit as biscuit container directs
6. Enjoy!

Best Pumpkin Smoothie

OK. My husband tells me tonight "I want a smoothie, but I want to make it because youll put green crap in it."  HA Then I said ok - I won' put spinach in it. And he said "but you won't make it sweet enough, I need peanut butter and sugar and good stuff." So I convinced him to let me make him one and promised him it would be good and not green. Well I not only impressed him but myself as well. This is the best pumpkin smoothie I have made thus far.

• 1 banana
• 1/2 C ice
• 1 C coconut milk
• 3 t pureed pumpkin
• 1 C frozen peaches
• 1 t pumpkin spice
• 1 t raw agave nectar

1. Blend
2. Enjoy

BLT Burrito - A twist on a bacon lettuce tomato sandwich

So this morning my handsome son ate 1 bowl of oatmeal, 1 banana, 3 pieces of bacon, half an apple and was still hungry. So, I decided to get creative. I wanted to make sure this last meal filled him up but wanted also to do something different for him. He was in his seat asking for a sandwich or more bacon. So instantly I thought BLT - but this boy is not crazy about sandwiches with lettuce or tomatoes. However, he does love cheese roll ups, so I decided to get a little fun and make him a BLT burrito. He is in his seat slurping away and licking his fingers so I think I was successful. And I think if I ate bacon I would probably be loving it as well.

• whole wheat tortilla
• shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 slices bacon
• a handful of baby spinach
• hot sauce - or tomato sauce if you will if your kid can't handle the spice :)

1. First I microwaves the bacon for two minutes, though I probably could have gone a little lower since I was cooking it again anyhow
2. I filled a row of cheese on the bottom of the tortilla
3. covered it with spinach
4. place the two pieces of bacon on top
5. added a little more cheese to hold it all in
6. rolled up the tortilla (i usually put a tiny smidge of cheese in the last bit of the roll to "glue" it together
7. Microwave for 45 seconds
8. watch your son inhale it

Good stuff - I hope you bacon lovers enjoy :)

Cholesterol Killer Peach & Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

So I decided to try and perfect a cholesterol killer breakfast smoothie so I can get my key cholesterol fighting ingredients in it. It actually turned out pretty well but I am bound to redux it at some point. :)

• 1 C ice
• 1/2 C water
• 1/2 C lite coconut milk
• 1/2 banana
• 1 C frozen peaches
• 1 C rolled oatmeal flakes
• 1 t cinnamon
• 2 t low fat greek yogurt

1. blend
2. enjoy and share with your favorite 2 year old

 

Blueberry Kale Purple Smoothie

 Oh man - am I having fun with these colors. If I knew I could be drinking purple smoothies this week I would have been perfecting the color purple long before. Not only did this look beautiful, but tasted yummy - so yummy my 2 year old treasure decided to steal some and then needed his own glass which he slurped down and asked for more saying "mhmmm mhmmm mhmm"

• 1 C lite soymilk
• 1 C kale
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 C carrots
• 1/2 C pineapple
• 1/2 C frozen blueberries

1. Blend
2. Enjoy

The Kiwi Carrot Orange Smoothie

I am not going to lie - this has definitely been the best one thus far. I am dying for another one right about now...

• 1/2 C ice
• 1/2 C carrots
• 1 frozen kiwi sliced
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 C lite coconut milk

1. Blend
2. Enjoy

Peach Pineapple Kale Green Smoothie

Today I put a peach twist on the pk smoothie and man was it a good choice. Enjoy my friends, enjoy!

• 1/2 C cut pineapple
• 1/2 C frozen peaches
• 1C kale
• 1/4 t raw agave nectar
• 1/2 C ice
• 1 C lite coconut milk

1. Blend
2. Enjoy

Pineapple Kale Green Smoothie

 So, day two of smoothies and here we go. My sister had told me her favorite smoothies / juices were the pineapple kale ones, so I figured that I would give it a try today.

• 1C cut pineapple
• 2C kale (as much as you can fit in the top)
• 1 cut and peeled kiwi
• 1 frozen banana
• 2C ice
• 1C coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon peanut butter
• 1t raw agave nectar

1. Blend all
2. Enjoy all

Green Monster Spinach Smoothie

OK. I found this recipe on Pinterest and was most excited to try it based on what everyone was saying about it. For the second smoothie meal on my smoothie diet I figured I would give it a try for lunch today. It was not as good as the blueberry oatmeal smoothie but it was pretty good and full of nutrients. I will surely be eating it again. I will say that I am so full I can't imagine eating for anytime soon.

• frozen sliced bananas
• 1T peanut butter
• 1/2C greek lowfat yogurt
• 1Cup sugarfree coconut milk
• 4C baby spinach

1. blend it
2. eat it

Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

So, I am in a competitive weight loss competition with my bestie, and yes I need it can't you tell from my recipes? hehe. So if you are on a diet and that is why you are reading this - make sure when you are off the diet you come take a look at my yummy yummy nondiet recipes hehe.

This smoothie is an adaption on some recipes that I found online. Having cholesterol problems I am always looking for ways to get more oatmeal in to my diet. I was skeptical on what a smoothie with oatmeal would taste like, but let me tell you - this was awesome. I can't wait to try it again!

• 1 C ice
• 1/2 C frozen blueberries
• 3T lowfat greek yogurt
• 1 banana
• 1/2 C old fashion rolled oats
• 1t raw agave nectar
• 1C water

1. Insert into fancy blender
2. Blend
3. Pour and enjoy

Makes 1 big serving

Soy Based Artichoke Crockpot Quiche

OK. Perhaps I overreached on this one. The first few bites were awesome, but then as I finished my piece of quiche I spent the remaining bites wondering if I really liked it. As someone who lovvvvves food and most of the time drools of her own creations... I don't need to make again a meal that I have to wonder if I like. However, it is a low calorie / low fat version of quiche so if that sounds up your alley - here is the recipe :)

• 1 can artichoke hearts
• 1 vidalia onion
• 1 cup light soy milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup soy cheese
• garlic
• lemon juice
• spices (salt pepper thyme rosemary)

1. Saute artichokes, onion and garlic in pan with evoo or spray butter
2. Whisk remaining ingredients in a bowl
3. Pour egg mixture into crockpot with sides sprayed with butter
4. Once soft, spread the artichoke mixture through the egg mixture
5. Top with a bit more soycheese
6. Cook on high for 4-5 hours

Now I am not giving you a photo of the final product - cause it was ugggggly ;)

Iced Coffee

I make this at work to start my day, and my hubby makes a yummy one at home


Ingredients:

• coffee
• ice
• splenda
• flavored creamer

Steps

1. prepare hot coffee with sugar
2. add creamer
3. add lots of ice and serve

Russian veggie omelet

Ok, this omelet takes a little of time, but its so worth it. My mother and me can eat this pretty much for all of the meals.You will need:

Tomato
Bell peppers
Onion
Garlic
Herbs (usually parsley and cilantro)
Salt/pepper
cheese (cheddar)
Few eggs

Saute diced veggies:

1. Peppers first
2. Onions (separately from everything)
3. Tomatoes (diced, DEFINITELY de-seeded)
4. Mix sauteed veggies in one skillet, let them get to know one another
5. Chop up the herbs and throw on top
6. Salt/pepper
7. Breaks a few eggs and pour on top of your colorful mix. Don't scramble it, just break the yolks and kind of spread them over the veggies.
8. Lower the heat a bit (so you don't burn the veggies on bottom) and let it work its magic. It will take a while to cook through, just watch the top and make sure you don't have raw egg. Sometimes I cover the skillet, and that makes it cook a bit faster, but looses some of it's prettiness.

then take it out, cut it up and eat, eat, eat!!

Oh yeah, forgot about the cheese. Throw that before pouring the egg if you want, but usually cheese is too much for me, and the taste is great without it.