Cheesy Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained, finely chopped (I prefer using frozen artichoke from Trader Joe's, thawed)
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
3/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

-Preheat oven to 350. Mis all ingredients until well blended.
-Spoon into 9-inch pie plate or quiche dish
-Bake 20 minutes or until heated through. (sometimes it takes longer than 20 minutes)

Enjoy with some yummy Tortilla chips or with some veggies! :)

Not so traditional Eggplant Parmigiana

Super easy! :)


1 box of readily breaded eggplant cutlets from Trader Joe's®
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
minced garlic
small onion, chopped
olive oil
salt & pepper
basil
Whole Wheat Penna pasta (boiled)
Parmesan cheese (Trader Joe's® sells it without animal rennet)

-Prepare the eggplant cutlets according to the instructions on the box right before you're ready to eat
- To make the sauce: Heat a tablespoon of oil oil in a sauce pan, add onion, when onion starts to soften add the garlic. Add some fresh basil leaves if available. Now you can add the crushed tomatoes, and you can add a little bit of water so the sauce is not too thick. Bring the sauce to a boil, then add some salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and simmer for about 20 minutes.

And there you go! you have a delicious, healthy and nutritious meal in minutes! Enjoy! :)

Foul a.k.a. Fava beans :)

Delicious for breakfast or lunch! :)

ingredients:
1 can Americana® fava beans (you can get it at any Arab store.. I like the Americana brand)
1 chopped tomato
Olive oil
Roasted peppers for garnish
Lemon juice
A dash of ground cumin

-Place contents of can in an 8-inch pan, add the cumin and simmer (covered) on medium-low heat until it comes to a boil. Let it cook for about 10 minutes until the fava beans are easily squished with a fork.. that means that they are fully cooked.

-After the fava beans are cooked add some lemon juice to taste then squish half of the beans with the fork.

-Transfer to a plate and garnish with tomatoes, peppers (if you like), and olive oil.

Enjoy this tasty and filling meal with some whole wheat pita bread and a hot cup of tea! :)

Pumpkin Pie

This recipe is soooooo delicious... I don't usually like pumpkin pie, but this is so yummy... I got the recipe from Hajira! :)

1 (15 oz) can of pure pumpkin puree (NOT the pumpkin for pumpkin pie)
1(14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix the pumpkin, milk, egg YOLKS (hold onto the whites), and spices
and salt together. Whip the egg whites until they start to form soft
peaks, or at the very least begin to become very foamy - the more you
beat them, the fluffier it'll be. Fold the egg whites into the
pumpkin mixture.

Pour it into a pie shell (I usually make it w/ graham crackers and
butter or use a store bought graham cracker crust)- get the bigger size shell not the small one.

Bake for about 15 minutes at 425. During this time, make the topping:

2 tblspn all purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tblspns unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
1 cup chopped walnuts

Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon together and then add the small pieces
of butter and crumble it into the mixture w/ a fork or pastry
blender, or whatever you want. Then add the walnuts.

After those 15 minutes are up, take the pie out of the oven, and
reduce the temperature to 350 degrees (otherwise, the topping will
get a gross burned taste - trust me!) Sprinkle the topping all over
the pie evenly, and put it back in the oven and bake it for about 45
mins or so, or until you feel it's set... NOTE: the pie will be puffed up when you take out of the oven, don't worry it's normal just sprinkle the topping confidently hehe

Side note: In the pumpkin mixture, I said to add cinnamon, ginger,
nutmeg, etc... you can always get one of those little pumpkin pie
spice containers, they have cloves and some other things in it as
well. I usually add a little pinch of it just for a little extra
something. If you decide to use the pumpkin pie spice instead of the
ones I said to use, add some extra cinnamon separately, because they
add it to the spice, but it's not enough compared to the rest of the
spices.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

•	1/2 cup Shortening
•	1/2 cup Peanut Butter
•	1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
•	1/2 cup sugar
•	1 large egg
•	2 tablespoons milk
•	1 teaspoon non-alcoholic vanilla extract (or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder)
•	1 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
•	1 teaspoon baking soda
•	1/2 teaspoon salt
•	Sugar
•	48 kisses chocolates

Directions:

1.	HEAT oven to 375° F.
2.	CREAM together shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar and 1/2 cup sugar. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Beat well.
3.	STIR together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Beat on low speed until stiff dough forms.
4.	SHAPE into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
5.	BAKE for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
6.	TOP each cookie immediately with an unwrapped chocolate piece, pressing down firmly so that cookie cracks around edge. Remove from cookie sheets to cool.

Yield: 4 Dozen Cookies

Jam filled cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, melted (that's two sticks)
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder (or 1 teaspoon non-alcoholic vanilla extract)
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
Strawberry jam (or any kind of jam you like)

-Preheat oven to 350
-Melt butter and while it cools off mix dry ingredients.
-Mix all ingredients together with a spoon until well blended.
-spread dough with rolling pin and cut into circles using a small cup.
-Place dough circles onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 13 minutes or until light golden.
-Let cookies cool and then spread some jam on one cookie and place another one on top.
-Sprinkle with some confectioners sugar for decoration

If you'd like to make the cookies with a hole in the middle, cut out a smaller circle from the dough before you bake the cookies. From each pair of cookies cut out a smaller circle from one of them.

Chicken Alfredo

(dinner for two, and you may have an extra plate to pack for your husband's lunch the next day)

1/2 box of pasta (any kind you like, I prefer tri-colored pasta)
4 chicken breast cutlets
1/2 cup of zesty Italian dressing
fresh ground pepper
mushrooms, washed and sliced (small box)
1/2 stick of butter
2 tablespoons flour
milk
salt
Parmesan cheese

-Marinade chicken in dressing and some pepper, keep it in the fridge for half an hour before cooking time.
-grill chicken on non-stick grill pan. After chicken is cooked through slice it into strips.
-saute chopped mushrooms in non-stick pan with a tiny bit of oil or butter and some salt. Toss cooked mushrooms with chicken when done.
-Boil pasta until cooked, drain, don't wash it. Then toss with chicken and mushrooms.
-When you're ready to eat -or about a half hour before your husband comes home :) ... start to make the alfredo sauce.
-Melt butter in sauce pan, add flour, mix with wire whisk. Add milk gradually and continue to whisk over medium heat. Keep adding milk until sauce is nice and creamy yet not too thick.
-Add some Parmesan cheese if you like and add salt to taste... sometimes I add 1 or 2 tablespoons of sour cream for more flavor...
-Mix sauce with the pasta mixture and serve.
-Add some chopped parsley for garnish or some chopped sundried tomatoes.

Enjoy! :)