Chicken In Basil Cream

ingredients:
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 (4 ounce) jar sliced pimento peppers, drained
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:
Place milk and bread crumbs in separate, shallow bowls. In skillet, heat butter or margarine to medium heat. Dip chicken in milk, then coat with crumbs. Cook in butter or margarine, on both sides, until juices run clear (about 10 minutes). Remove and keep warm.
Add broth to skillet. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and stir to loosen browned bits from pan. Stir in cream and pimentos; boil and stir for 1 minute. Reduce heat.
Add Parmesan cheese, basil and pepper. Stir sauce and cook until heated through. Pour mixture over chicken and serve!

Egyptian Macaroni Bachamel

Egyptian Macaroni Bachamel
 

ingredients
1 (16 ounce) box penne pasta 
2 lbs(3/4 kilo) ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 beaten egg
1 dash parmesan cheese (optional)
8 cups cold milk
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
2 beaten eggs
salt
white pepper
black pepper

Directions:
Prepare pasta according to directions on the box.

Saute the onion in a little oil over med high heat until soft. Add garlic and saute another 2 minutes.

Add the ground beef and brown.

Drain off the fat, return to the stove and add the parsley, thyme, and cinnamon until combined.

Stir in the can of tomato sauce and simmer over low heat about 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let it cool. Once it has cooled stir in the beaten egg. Set aside.

TO MAKE THE BACHAMEL SAUCE: In a large saucepan over med-high heat melt the butter. Once melted whisk in the flour until smooth. Keep whisking for 2 minute.
Now whisk in the milk slowly until all the milk has been added. Keep whisking making sure there are no lumps in it. Add the salt and white and black peppers to your taste.
Whisk pretty continuously until the milk is almost boiling, but not quite. Now whisk in the thyme and nutmeg (if you want it). The sauce should now be fairly thick.

Quickly whisk in the beaten eggs. Remove from heat.

TO ASSEMBLE THE DISH: Mix half the bachamel mixture into the pasta.

Put half the pasta covered with the sauce into a 9x13 baking dish.

Now layer the entire meat mixture over the pasta. You can top with a sprinkling on Parmesan cheese if you like.

Now add the rest of the Pasta to form the top layer.

Finally, pour and spread the remaining bachamel sauce over the top of the last layer.

Bake it in the oven at 400 degrees for 45-60 min or until the top is golden brown.

Enjoy

Turkey Meatballs with Spaghetti

 Turkey Meatballs with Spaghetti

 Ingredients


1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic
2 onions
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 jar marinara sauce
1 cup water

Directions 
Coat 6-quart Crock Pot with cooking spray. Mix bread crumbs, eggs, half of the garlic, half of the onions, and basil in a large bowl. Add the turkey. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix well. Cover and place in freezer for about 20 minutes to make handling easier.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute remaining garlic and onion until translucent and soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Shape meat into 20 2-inch meatballs. Add to Crock Pot in layers. Pour sauce mixture over top.
Cook for 5-7 hours on low. Our meatballs were cooked through and falling apart after 5 hours.
served with spaghetti 
enjoy :) 

Steak with Mushrooms and Onions

Steak with Mushrooms and Onions

Ingredients
2 – 2 1/2 pounds of boneless beef bottom round steaks (or braising steaks), fat trimmed, cut into 6 equal steaks
1/2 cup steak sauce (is there any steak sauce aside from A1?)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups sliced mushrooms
2 onions, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Combine steaks and steak sauce in a large ziploc bag. Massage contents to coat evenly. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, up to 8 hours.
Remove steaks from marinade. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add steaks and brown, turning once, about 2 minutes per side. Remove skillet from heat.
Layer mushrooms, onions, and browned steaks in a 4-quart (or larger) slow cooker. Deglaze skillet with a small amount of water and add pan juices to cooker. Sprinkle in salt and pepper.
The original recipe didn’t call for it, but we dumped in another 1/2 cup of A1 sauce.
Cover. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours, until meat is cooked through and tender.

Makes 6 servings
can be served with rice and green vegetables enjoy :)  

Fruit Tea

Fruit Tea
Who doesn't start his day with a cup of tea??!! We all love to drink tea ,, so what about starting your day with a cup of fruit tea believe me it'll  the best thing in your morning here's an easy way to make it at your home

Ingredients:
Tea bags for 2 gallons tea
1 1/2 quarts boiling water
2 cups sugar
1 (48-ounce) can pineapple juice
1 (12-ounce) can frozen orange juice
1 (12-ounce) can frozen lemonade

Preparation:
Place tea bags in bowl or pitcher. Pour boiling water over tea bags. Add sugar, stirring to dissolve. Let tea bags steep in sugar water several hours or overnight. discard tea bags. Pour tea into a large bowl. Add juices, stirring well. Pour equal amounts into two one-gallon jugs. Add water to each to fill jug. Refrigerate. Shake well 

enjoy :) 

Escalope de veau " Beef Escalope"

Beef Escalope "Escalope de veau"
Is that the French kitchen ???? umm don't know yet but BEEF ESCALOPE is  :D umm tres bien :) :)
hope to enjoy :) i love beef escalope

 Ingredients
1 kg beef round (thin cuts; the thinner the better).
lemon juice (enough to cover the steaks)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced shopping list
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper
2 eggs
2 cups bread crumbs
olive oil

Directions 

1)Tenderize the beef slices by pounding them with a meat mallet.
2)Marinate beef with plenty of lemon juice, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper and refrigerate overnight (this step is what makes this recipe different from other escalope/milanesa recipes I've seen, giving it the nice lemony taste).

3)Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl.

4)Place bread crumbs in another shallow bowl.

5)Dip a slice of beef in the egg mixture. Coat evenly and completely.

6)Now dip the slice of beef in the bread crumbs. Gently tap the beef into the bread crumbs. Flip the slice over and repeat until the whole surface is covered with bread crumbs.

7)Heat the oil in a frying pan.

8)Fry the slice of beef about 2 minutes per side. Since the meat is so thin it will cook quickly. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined platter.

Serve hot with fried French fries but I try to compensate for the fat with some green vegetables :) enjoy !!

Chicken Biryani

Chicken Biryani 

Ingredients required for a chicken biryani are
7-8 Onions (very thinly sliced and deep fried until light brown)
10-15 Cashews (fried in a little desi ghee/clarified butter)
1 Kg Chicken on the bone cut into 12 pieces
1 cup yogurt
2 Tsp Garlic paste
salt to taste
500 gm Basmati Rice (washed and soaked in salted water for at least half an hour)
3-4 Tbsp oil
Oil for frying the onions
6-7 cloves
2 (1 inch) Cinnamon
4 green Cardamoms
3 Bay leaves
1/4 Tsp Caraway seeds (shahi jeera/black cumin seeds)
4 large Tomatoes (chopped finely)
1/4 Tsp of mace powder
1/4 Tsp of grated Nutmeg
1 Tsp Coriander powder
1 Tsp red Chili powder (to taste)
1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
2-3 green Chilies (to taste, chopped)
1 Tbsp Ginger (chopped)
1 Tbsp Garlic (chopped)
6-7 dried, pitted prunes
1/2 cup of milk
a few strands of Saffron (kesar)
3-4 Tbsp Desi ghee (clarified butter)
2 cups of fresh green Coriander (chopped)

STEP 1
Marination

Marinate the chicken pieces in 1 cup yogurt, 2 Tsp garlic paste and little salt, for a good 8 hours.

STEP 2
Making Barista (fried onions) for chicken biryani

Slice the onions very thinly (almost paper thin) using a sharp knife. Heat oil in a pan or kadai.
Separate the sliced onions using your finger tips. Put the onions in the oil and reduce the heat to medium-low.

Keep stirring the onions, so that they get evenly browned. The trick is to evenly and slowly brown the onions. If the flame is very high the onions will burn on the outside and remain watery on the inside.

Once a uniform color is obtained, drain on thick layer of kitchen paper, so that maximum oil is soaked. Keep these aside.
As they cool down, the onions will become crispy.

STEP 3

Boiling the rice
Boil the rice. For this take a BIG vessel (deep and wide), put lots of water in it, tip in the soaked rice along with 1 stick cinnamon, 3-4 cloves, 2 green cardamom, 1/4 tsp of Shahi jeera (caraway seeds) and more salt.

Remember that you should boil the rice in lots of water and salt (pretty much like a pasta). The rice should absorb the salt otherwise the biryani will be tasteless. Boil on a high flame and let the it boil vigorously on high flame for about 5-7 minutes.

You have to par cook the rice (meaning 3/4 cooked and rest will get cooked later). Do not over boil the rice. To check if the rice is done you can take a grain of rice out and press in between your thumb and forefinger. If the grain breaks into 3 parts, it means your rice is cooked just right. Now strain the rice and spread it out on a flat tray or surface, so that it cools faster.


STEP 4
Preparing the chicken

Heat oil in a deep pan, add the remaining bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon and green cardamoms. When they crackle, add the ginger, garlic and chilies. Saute for a minute and add the marinated chicken, along with the marinade. Cook on a medium heat till all the water dries up (water from the chicken and yogurt).

Add the tomatoes, 1/3 of the fried onions, all the powdered spices, salt and cook till all the water from the tomatoes dries up. If the chicken is cooking too quickly then either cook on a high flame to fasten the evaporation or remove the chicken pieces aside.

The chicken should be just cooked and dry (because it will get
cooked further in the final step and if any water is left in it the rice will become soggy).

Once done, sneak a taste, adjust the seasoning. Mix in the dried prunes.
STEP 5
Make saffron milk

In 1/2 cup of warm milk crush a pinch of saffron strands and put some whole strands. Wait till it turns yellow. Keep on one side.

Final STEP Assembling the chicken biryani

Use a deep heavy bottom pan with a lid.

First spread some desi ghee at the bottom of the pan.
Second a layer of rice, followed by a layer of chicken. Now sprinkle a generous handful of chopped coriander and fried onions.

Repeat the layers with rice being the top most layer. Sprinkle the leftover onions and all the cashews.

Pour the milk and saffron on the top using a spoon, evenly covering the whole area.

Once all layers are set, take melted desi ghee and with a spoon pour it around the rim of the vessel and a little on the rice.
Close the lid and seal.

There are 2 ways to seal the lid in order to prevent the steam from escaping.

1) Take a large foil, cover the pot/vessel with it and place the lid on top.

2) Take some dough made from whole wheat flour. Roll it into a thin strip and stick it going around the rim of the pan half on the lid and half on the pan in order to seal the whole pan.

Keep this pot on a very low heat for 45 minutes. Place this pan on top of a cast iron tawa (on which chapatis are made) or another heavy bottom pan in order to prevent the bottom layer of rice from getting burnt.

After 45 minutes turn off the heat. Let it stand for 5 minutes and open.

Enjoy the delicious chicken biryani!!!

Note:- Please don't eat the bay leaves and the other whole spices. They are used to add flavor. You can remove them to one side.