Cream Cheese Filled Strawberries

This is a light, yet elegant and romantic dessert. After a heavy V-Day meal I thought of serving a simple dessert and this worked well. This recipe is from Paula Deen Show, but I tweaked a little. The original recipe called for full pack of cream cheese and Pecans. To make it light I used half pack of Fat Free Cream Cheese and added little Marsala wine to make it more flavorful. It tasted like Tiramisu in a Strawberry topped with chocolate.
I am sending this Priya's Heart For St. Valentines Day & PJ's No Cook Event

Ingredients:

Strawberry- 14-16
Cream Cheese- ½ packet
Confectioner Sugar- ¼- ½ cup
Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp
Marsala wine- 1-2 Tbsp
Magic Shell- as needed (optional)

Method:

Clean and dry the strawberries. Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each strawberry so the berries stand upright. Carefully make “X” incision on the berries , half the way. Fan wedges just slightly, taking care not to break them. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, wine and vanilla until combined. Using a Ziploc bag or pastry bag, fill the strawberries with the cream cheese mixture. Drizzle the stuffed strawberries with magic shell. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chicken Tikka & an Award

This is a semi home made version, there are days when you feel like having something spicy but not in a mood to get into the kitchen. This is my fix for those days, yep i used Shan Tikka masala to make this spicy chicken tikka . It pairs well with roti , rice or a simple salad for a low carb meal. I am sending my chicken Tikka to Rahin’s Semi Home made - Indian Recipes Event

Ingredients:

Chicken- 800 gms
Shan Tikka Masala- 1 packet
Ginger- Garlic Paste- 2 tsp
Lime/Lemon Juice- 1
Oil- 1-2 tsp

Method:

Clean and cut chicken into desirable size. With knife make slits on chicken. In a shallow bowl mix all the ingredients, to this add the chicken and mix well. Marinate for atleast an hr.

Pre-heat oven to 400 F

In a baking tray spray oil and arrange the chicken. Bake it for an hr, turning once. Serve immediately

Aparna from Ladies Special Adukala has passed this award , thank you Aparna for considering me. As a rule I am passing this to my Blog buddies. Please accept this award an post it in your blog.

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Malar

Guacamole

A healthy & tangy dip,perfect for parties. If you want chunky style , you can mash 3 avocados and cut one into cubes and add at the final stage. Sending this Guacamole to Siri's Healing Foods-Avocado, PJ's No Cook Event

Ingredients:

Ripe Avocado- 4
Chopped Tomatoes- 2
Chopped Onion- ½
Lime/ Lemon Juice- 1
Minced Garlic- 2 cloves
Salt- 1 tsp or as needed
Chopped Jalapeno- 1
Chopped Cilantro- ½ cup

Method:

In a bowl add all the ingredients and mash it to desired consistency. Serve immediately with chips.

Avocado Juice

Yes!! You read it rt. I had 2 avocados left and was thinking of what to do. Google has once again saved the day. I came across this Indonesian jus alpukat or Avocado Juice recipe. At first I was little hesitant, but thought what’s life without a little risk.

But the result was good, so buttery, nutty flavoured juice. It has a taste similar to the flesh of tender coconut. So here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Simple Syrup:

Sugar: 5 Tbsp
Water: 5 Tbsp

Juice:

Avocado: 2 ripe
Cold Milk: ½ cup
Chocolate Milk- 1 Cup ( I made it adding 2 tbsps Hershey’s cocoa powder to 1 cup milk)
Crushed Ice- as needed

Method:

In a sauce pan add the sugar and water and heat it till the sugar dissolves. Removes from the heat and cool it.
In a blender add the flesh of avocados, ½ cup cold milk and grind it well. Add 1-2 tbsp of simple syrup and mix well.
In a tall glass pour the avocado juice, then add a layer of ice and then pour the chocolate milk. Enjoy!!!

Sending this delicious avocado juice to Siri's Healing Foods-Avocado

Simple Fruit Salad

Fruits are good for health and if eaten before a meal, it really helps to control the portion. I think this fruit salad is perfect for summer. Very refreshing and filling, I really mean it, when we had this we skipped our lunch. Lightly sweetened with honey, it satisfies your sweet tooth. 

Sending this to PJ's No Cook Event and Divya's Show Me Your Salad

Ingredients:

Cantaloupe cubes - 1 cup
Honey dew melon cubes- 1 cup
Pear cubes- 1 cup
Apple cubes- 1cup
Grapes- 1cup
Watermelon cubes- 1 cup
Honey- 2 tbsp
Lemon/Lime juice- 1 tsp
Chopped mint – 1 tsp (optional)

Method:

Mix together honey, lemon juice, and mint well, reserve. In a big bowl add all the fruits, pour the dressing on top and toss well to coat all the fruits. Serve immediately.

Chicken Wings

This is a perfect appetizer for parties, if there is a potluck my dish would be wings. There are 2 ways to prepare wings, either fry it or bake it. If you are planning to make a large batch, baking would be a better idea. For my son’s 1st b’day I did the mistake of frying the wings and I never thought I will be able to finish it on time. Luckily I did.

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken wing pieces- 2 1/2 lbs.

FRANK'S HOT Sauce- 1/2 cup

Butter, melted- 2 Tbsp

Paprika- enough to sprinkle on wings

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degree F

Clean and dry the wings. Cut the wings into 3 parts and discard the tip. In a bowl put all the wings and sprinkle some paprika and mix it well. Spray a baking sheet with pam or oil. Arrange the wings on the sheet and bake the wings for 30 min. Turn it once and bake again until crispy, another 30 mns.

Take the Baked wings out and remove it from the baking sheet, In a bowl mix the hot sauce and butter. Pour it over the wings and toss it well to coat the wings

Serve with chunky Blu Cheese sauce and celery sticks.

Eggless Sponge Cake

Sorry i forgot to take pics after cooling.

I wanted to make an eggless cake for my Tiramisu and I was in a crunch for time. I came across many recipes with baking soda, baking powder, soda etc. I was surprised when I saw one of the ingredients, little bit hesitant in the beginning. Finally I gave it a try and proved my self wrong. My family also agreed the same and my husband kept asking for more cake and THAT is a green signal for me.
Ingredients:

All purpose flour- 1.5 cups

Baking Soda – 1tsp
Sugar- 1Cup
Salt- ½ tsp
Oil- 5 tbsp
White Vinegar- 1 tbsp
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Cold water – 1 cup

In a mixing bowl sift flour, salt, sugar and baking soda. Mix well. Add in Oil, Vinegar, Vanilla Extract and Water. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together with a hand blender until there are no lumps. Pour batter into a greased baking pan . Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 mns. Poke a toothpick or fork into the center. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Remove pan from the oven and cool for about 5 minutes before flipping it over onto a platter.

Now I know Vinegar is good for cakes too. After mixing the batter, I tried it and I couldn’t taste the vinegar, that gave me some hope. But waited to confirm on that till the end. The result is good.

Biscotti

This is the second posting i am planning to send to Respost event started by Desi soccer Mom. My posting looked like this. Atleast now my blogger friends would see my work.

Actually this batch was my second attempt. The first batch was totally burned, i write down all the recipes before i make, just outline. Hmm so the baking time got mixed with another recipes and instead of 350, i baked it at 450. So you can imagine how it would have turned up. I was getting excited since i planned on starting a blog and posting this. So the first batch went staright to trash, had to start over and the 2nd attempt turned out good.

My husband and mom love biscotti and the second attempt was worth. The result: they loved it and i am happy.

Since it’s holiday season I made cranberry and almond biscotti, you avoid these and you will get the plain ones. It’s very similar to shortbread cookies in versatility. You can add almost anything to it and alter to your taste buds. To make it more rich, melt some semi sweet chocolate or white chocolate and dip them. It pairs well with tea or coffee.

Ingredients

• all-purpose flour- 2 cups
• baking powder -1 1/2 teaspoons
• sugar- 3/4 cup
• unsalted butter, room temperature -1/2 cup (1 stick)
• grated lemon zest ( i used pure vanilla essence)- 1 teaspoon
• salt- 1/4 teaspoon
• large eggs- 2
• almonds, coarsely chopped ( toasted) -3/4 cup
• dried cranberries- 2/3 cup

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest (or essence), and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the almonds and cranberries.

Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 30 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.

Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.

Eggless Tiramisu

When Desi Soccer Mom announced the reposting event, this is one of the postings that came to my mind. Initial postings are those that never get any comments or the spot light. I remember how I used to get up in the morning and run to laptop, just to see the comments. So let me try introducing my Tiramisu once again. My earlier post looked like this. In my first posting i forgot to add the Eggless Cake Recipe, which i have added here. Also i thought of using cake fingers cause i couldn't find eggless lady finger in store, so just thought of experimenting with cake fingers instead.

I wanted to make it eggless cause my mom was fasting on Friday and X'Mas happened to be on that day.
So keeping mommy dearest in mind i made this, unfortunately my mom had it only the next day cause it has Kahlua and Marsala wine.
If you don’t want to add alcohol, pls don’t .This won’t drastically change the taste, In the original recipe, there was no liquor as the cake was originally aimed at children and the elderly

Ingredients:

Eggless Sponge cake – 40 Slices

Soaking Syrup

Coffee Powder ( instant)- 5Tbsp
Hot Water- 1Cup
Kahlua or any coffee liqueur - ¼ cup

Cheese Mixture

Mascarpone cheese- 3 cups (24 OZ)
Cream Cheese - 8 OZ
Vanilla Essence - ½ tsp
Marsala Wine- ½ Cup
Confectioner Sugar - ½ Cup

For Dusting

Cocoa Powder

Cream Topping:

In a bowl, with a wooden spoon or hand mixer, beat the mascarpone cheese and cream cheese until it is soft and smooth. Add marsala wine , sugar and vanilla essence and beat until smooth.

Coffee Soaking Syrup:

In a large shallow bowl combine the coffee powder (instant), hot water, and Kahlua. Set aside.

To Assemble:

Dip sponge cake slices in the coffee mixture and place them side by side in a single layer over the bottom of the pan. Spoon 1/2 of the cream filling over the cake layer, making sure they are completely covered. Repeat with another layer of cake slice by dipping them in the coffee mixture and placing them on top of the cream. Again, cover the cake layer with rest of the cream. Sift the cocoa powder over the cream cheese. Cover the Tiramisu and refrigerate at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

I am sending this Repost event hosted by Desi Soccer Mom

Stuffed Chicken Lollipop in Manchurian Sauce

This is another appetizer for parties. When you cut the wings, there will be 3 pieces. One is the drum stick; second one that looks like wings and the third is the tip. The wing piece (with two bones) is good for stuffing; I have used the wing piece for this recipe.

This can be served with or without sauce. I made a Manchurian sauce and tossed the fried lollipops.

Ingredients:

Chicken wings- 2 lb

Marinade:

Garlic Paste or minced- 3 Tbs
Soy sauce- 2 Tbs
Chilli Powder- According to taste

Filling:

Paneer chopped- 100gms
Onion chopped: ½
Coriander Leaves chopped- 6-7 springs
Green Chillis: 1 chopped
Ginger- garlic chopped – to taste (optional)
Salt- to taste

For Dipping & Coating:

Egg- 2
Bread crumbs: 1 cup
Oil: for frying

Sauce:

Garlic chopped – 5 tbsp
Green chilies chopped – according to taste
Onion Chopped- ½
Capsicum cut into cubes- ½ (optional)
Soya Sauce – 1 tbsp
Green Chilli Sauce – 1 tbsp
Tomato Ketchup – 3 tbsp
Salt – add only if needed
Oil – as needed
Coriander leaves – for garnishing
Spring onion chopped- a small bunch
Cornflour- ½ tsp
Water- ½ cup

Method:

Clean and dry the wings. Cut the wings into 3 parts and discard the tip. The second piece has two bones, cut the flesh around the bone. Hold it down on the cutting board and slowly push the meat down. Then slightly twist one of the bones and take it out.

In a bowl mix garlic, soy sauce and chilli powder. Add the clean wings and marinate it for 30 mns.

In another bowl mix chopped paneer, coriander leaves, g.chillis, onion, garlic ginger chopped and salt.

Fill the meat pockets with stuffing.

Whisk egg in a bowl. Dip the stuffed lollipop in egg and coat with bread crumbs and gently put it into the oil. Fry it in 4- 5 batches .Fry it until golden brown in color. Drain into a tissue paper and keep them aside and allow it to cool.

Sauce:

Heat little oil in a pan, add chopped onion,green chillies,garlic and saute them for a while. Add capsicum and saute. Now add soya sauce,chilly sauce and tomato ketchup. Mix them well, check for salt. Mix ½ tsp cornflour to ½ cup water and simmer it. Once it’s cooked well add the lollipops . Slowly mix them together until all the lollipops are well coated with the sauce. Add spring onion and coriander leaves and toss it well for few minutes. Serve immediately.