Soup Season

It seems winter is swiftly approaching, although the temperatures outdoors are fairly warm and calm. Indoors, it gets a bit chilly. You'll probably see a few soup recipes in the days ahead inshaa'Allah. This weekend I made lentil and zucchini soup. It was delicious Mashaa'Allah. Anyway, stay tuned for soup recipes.

Applesauce

First and foremost, applesauce is one word :). I finally decided what to do with those apples. We haven't had applesauce in a long time and we've never  had homemade applesauce. While being creative, I thought I'd test out my own recipe. So here it is, it was deeeeeeeelicious Mashaa'Allah.







By the way, the applesauce will be tangy and sweet. If you don't like the tang, skip the lemon juice.




Ingredients:
3 small apples
2 medium apples
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tbsp molasses
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup water

Directions:

Peel, cut and chop apples. Squeeze lemon juice over apples or measure using 1 tsp of lemon juice. 

Boil all ingredients in a saucepan  for 15 min on medium heat until water absorbs. Mash with a spoon, masher or fork  until you get the desired consistency. I like my applesauce a bit chunky.

What to do with these apples...

Yesterday I made a batch of cinnamon rolls to surprise the kids. I have some apples but don't know what to do with them. Not in the mood for apple pie. I want to try something different soooo let me see I think I'll search online for awhile and let you know what I come up with inshaa'Allah. 

By the way, check out the cinnamon rolls...

Recipe courtesy of: http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/all/episode.php?episodenumber=300

Lentil Soup

My dear friend and ex-colleague once made lentil soup for me. It was the first time I  had it and it was delicious Mashaa'Allah. We ate it with fresh onions and crisp bread. Although, I don't think I will ever master her recipe, I decided to make one up of my  own and it was deeeeeeeeeelicious Mashaa'Allah. 

Ingredients:

4 small tomatoes

2 large red onions

2 large carrots

4 cloves garlic

freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cups lentils

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 vegetable cubes

5 cups water

2 tsp curry powder

2 tsp cumin powder

3 small bay leaves or 1 large leaf

First, prepare the lentils, by washing them and allowing them to soak in water for at least 20 min.

Saute onions in olive oil. Add garlic. After 5 min add shredded carrots and stir.

Add all of the other ingredients. I added the tomatoes first, not sure if that matters. 

Bring to a boil and cover.

Cook  until the the water has completely dissolved. 

Blend in a blender on low speed for about 2 minutes. 

garnish with freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)

Somaya - One Pot Meal

This is  one of my favorite one pot meals. My neighbor Somaya gave me this recipe but she never told me the name of it, so I'm naming it after her :).

 Ingredients:

1 kilo chicken breast chopped
1/3 cup dill
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 large carrots chopped
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup olive oil
1 1 /2 - 2 cups rice
4 cups water

Heat oil in a large pot, add carrots and chicken breast. Cook until chicken breast turn white,
add rice allow to cook for 5 min, stir, do not allow rice to stick . Add water

 When water comes to a boil, add cumin and dill. Cover and cook until rice is tender.

Quick Fix - Hot Chocolate

Here's the recipe for a warm cozy drink and it's really easy to make. 

Ingredients:

Corona Drinking Chocolate Powder

Dreem Whipped Topping

Directions:

Prepare each according to package instructions. Put the whipping topping on top of the hot chocolate and ENJOY!!!