Creamy Chicken And Broccoli Soup

A really creamy chicken and broccoli soup. The best thing about winter for me is lots of snow and delicious food like soups and stews. This easy to make soup is really simple, and the best part of course is that you can use other vegetables or meat. My favorite is chicken, mushrooms, potatoes, onions and garlic.

Recipe:

1. Chicken -1 lb

2. Onion – 1, medium

3. Broccoli – 1 head, medium

4. Cream cheese – 8oz, soft

5. Cheddar cheese – 8oz, shredded

6. Salt – to taste

7. Black pepper – to taste

8. Seasoning – 1 tsp, your favorite seasoning for soup

9. Oil – 2 tbsp

Start by sprinkling one side of the chicken with salt, pepper and seasoning. In a pot put the oil and heat on medium heat. Put the chicken in the pot with the seasoned side down and season the other side with salt, pepper and seasoning, cook for about 3-5 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook the other side for 3-5 minutes more. Remove chicken and add onions, cook for about a minute, add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add a little water to deglaze the pot, stir trying to remove stuck chicken from the pan if there is any. Add 4 cups of water, add salt, pepper and the soup seasoning. Bring everything to boil and then lower the heat to low. Put the chicken back in the pot and cook on low for 30 min. In 30 minutes take the chicken out on a plate, cut it and add it back in the pot, or you can try and break it in pieces like I did in the video. Add the broccoli and cook for 30 more minutes. In 30 minutes add cream cheese and stir well until well combined, add the cheddar cheese stir again and cook for 10 minutes more. You can serve this soup with toast, topped with scallions and shredded cheddar cheese.

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

I’m so excited about this whole wheat sandwich bread. It is really soft, perfect for toasts and sandwiches. This is the recipe I like to use for whole wheat bread and I love that my kids will eat it with no problem. Yesterday I got a loaf out of the oven and at snack time half was gone. This bread is delicious especially with butter on it. Don’t let whole wheat scare you and try this recipe.

Recipe:

1. All-purpose flour – 250gr

2. Whole Wheat Flour – 150gr

3. Yeast – 2tsp

4. Water – 240ml

5. Salt – 2tsp

6. Oil – 30ml

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and knead to make a dough, you can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the dough hook. Knead for about 5 minutes, add a little oil to coat the dough and bowl, let it rise for an hour or hour and a half. After rising, shape the dough into a loaf and put it in an oiled loaf pan, let it rise again for about 45 minutes to an hour. Bake at 375°F for about 35-40 minutes.

* Whole wheat bread takes a little longer to rise than white bread.

* Rising time depends on how warm is in your kitchen.

Cinnamon Rolls/Cinnamon Twist

Cinnamon rolls or cinnamon twists? Both are really good. Make the dough and the filling the evening before and in the morning get them ready and bake. 👨‍🍳🥧👩‍🍳

Ingredients:

1. All purpose flour- 4 cups

2. Sugar – 100gr.

3. Yeast – 2 tsp

4. Egg – 1 large

5. Butter – 5 tbsp, unsulated and melted

6. Milk -1 cup,warm

Cinnamon rolls filling:

1. Butter – 3 tbsp, soft and unsulted

2. Light Brown Sugar – 1 cup

3. Cinnamon – 2 tsp

Cinnamon twists filling:

1.Butter – 3 tbsp,soft and unsulted

2. Light Brown Sugar – 1/2 cup

3. Cinnamon – 1 tsp

Mix all ingredients and make a soft dough. Oil a bowl(I used the same bowl I made the dough in) and let it rise. If you want you can make it the night before and let it rise overnight. When the dough is ready on a flat surface roll it into a rectangle. Spread butter all over the dough. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon and spread all over the dough except an inch on one side. Roll the dough into a log and cut it into 1 1/2 – 2 inch pieces. Put them in a pan and cover to rise again, for about 45 min to an hour. When they are ready preheat oven to 350°F and bake for about 30-35 min.

• For the cinnamon twists simply devide the dough and roll like you would make pizza, then cover both pieces with butter, spread the cinnamon and brown sugar mix on one piece and put the other on top buttered side down. Cut lines and twist them. Put them in a pan right next to each other and cover to rise for an hour again.

• Just before you put them in the oven you can spread on top of the cinnamon rolls/twists one egg and milk whisked well. This is optional, but I do like them better that way.

Cheesy Twists

These Cheesy twists are great for snack, breakfast or dinner, and especially good to dip in soup. These I made with pesto and sesame, but you can make them without it or with other filling. If you wish to add seeds on top you can do that also. Any seeds will work, sesame, poppy or mixed bagel seeds.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour- 4 cups
Salt – 2 tsp
Yeast – 2 tsp
Egg – 1 large + egg white, save the yolk for spreading on top with 1 tbsp oil
Butter – 2 tbsp, melted
Milk -1 cup,warm
Cheddar cheese – enough to cover the dough
Sesame seeds – for sprinkling on top, optional
Pesto:
Olive oil- 2 tbsp, add more if you need
Parsley – a bunch

To make the dough, mix all ingredients except the cheese, and knead for 5 minutes. Let the dough rise for about an hour. In the meantime whisk the egg yolk with olive oil and set aside. Cut the parsley and whisk it with the olive oil, set aside. When the dough is ready, divide it in two equal parts and roll each part into a pizza crust. Spread pesto on both parts, sprinkle a good amount of cheese on one part and cover with the other part. Cut into strips, twist each strip into a spiral. Put each twist on a pan next to each other, cover and let them rise for about an hour. In about an hour preheat oven to 350°F, when oven is ready spread the egg yolk and olive oil mixture on top of the twists, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for about 27 min.
Next time make these with feta, or both feta and cheese.

Chocolate Ice Cream With Reese’s White Chocolate Cups

Easy to make at home chocolate ice cream with white chocolate peanut butter cups. We love making ice cream at home and it always tastes better than store-bought of course, because you made it yourself. It takes maybe 10-15 minutes to make and then you simply put it in the freezer for a couple of hours.

Ingredients:

Heavy cream – 2 cups
Sweetened condensed milk – 14oz ( 1can)
Cocoa powder-1/2 cup(60gr)
White chocolate peanut butter cups- 6 pieces, cut up
The heavy cream and condensed milk should be cold before you make the ice cream. Pour heavy cream and mix on medium high until stiff peaks. Then add the condensed milk and cocoa, mix well. Pour the ice cream in a container and top with the peanut butter cups, fold them in carefully. Transfer in the freezer for 2 to 4 hours.

Orang-Blueberry Streusel Muffins

These Orange-Blueberry Streusel Muffins turned out really good. The orange and blueberries really bring a good flavor to these muffins and the crunchy streusel topping make them even better. For breakfast or snack they will go fast with a cup of milk, hot cocoa or coffee.

Ingredients:

FOR THE MUFFINS:

210gr (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour

135gr (¾ cup) brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp orange juice

2 tsp orange zest,

80 mL (⅓ cup) whole plain yogurt

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

200g (1 cup) blueberries

FOR THE STREUSEL CRUMB TOPPING:

70gr (½ cup) flour

70gr (⅓ cup) brown sugar

50gr (¼ cup) unsalted butter, soft

1 tsp cinnamon

Mix the ingredients for the crumb topping and set aside. For the muffins, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Whisk the egg, add vanilla, oil and whisk, add yogurt, orange juice and whisk again. Add the wet ingredients to dry ingredients slowly and mix well. Add blueberries and fold in with a spatula or a spoon. Preheat oven to 375°F. Fill cupcake pan to the top and sprinkle streusel mix on top. Bake for about 25min.

Upside-down Orange Cake

I have to say that I love the orange flavor in holiday treats and desserts. That’s why this year for Thanksgiving I made an Upside-down Orange Cake.
Recipe:
1. Zest from 2 navel oranges
2. Orange juice 1/2 cup, 1 orange
3. All-purpose flour – 2 cups
4. Sugar – 160gr.
5. Unsalted butter – 1/3 cup, room temperature
7. Plain yogurt – 1/3 cup (or sour cream)
8. 3 eggs

For the oranges:
1. Navel oranges – 2
2. Water – 1 cup
3. Sugar – 3/4

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1. Cream cheese – 8oz, soft
2. Heavy cream – 1 cup
3. Powdered sugar – 1 cup
4. Lemon Extract – 1,5 tsp

Cut the oranges in thin slices and set aside. In a medium sauce pan, over medium heat add 1 cup water and 3/4 cup sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Put the orange slices in and bring to a simmer, cook for about 20 min. Save the liquid for spreading on top of the cake.

Butter a 9 inch cake pan, or two 8 inch( you’ll have to divide the oranges and the batter after ). Sift the flour and the baking powder in a bowl, set aside. Cream together the butter, the yogurt and the orange zest. Slowly add the sugar and scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients and the orange juice and beat well on low speed.
Arrange the orange slices at the bottom of the pan. Pour the batter over the oranges. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 35 minutes for an 8 inch cake and 40 min for a 9 inch cake, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the cake cool 10-15 minutes before inverting onto a dish. After cooling invert the cake onto a dish and spread some of the water/sugar mix.
In a stand mixer whip the cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium speed until we’ll combined. Add lemon extract and then heavy cream slowly. Make sure it’s well combined. Turn the mixer on high and whip for about a minute.
You can decorate the cake or just drop a spoonful of frosting on top. If decorating make sure the cake is cold and you work fast because it doesn’t hold for long very well in warm temperature. You can also place the frosting in the fridge for an hour or more before decorating.

Sweet Sourdough Drop Biscuits

Another cozy and easy recipe for a holiday breakfast. This is the easiest sourdough recipe I’ve ever done. I did make a mistake though, but they still turned out good. I didn’t mean to add eggs, so I don’t know if I should call these biscuits, but I don’t know what else to call them. They turned out pretty similar except they spread a little more. So here’s the recipe with eggs in it. You can try it without the eggs and see what happens. Next time I’m definitely not adding eggs.

Recipe:
1. All-purpose flour -2 cups
2.Brown Sugar – 200gr.
3. Baking powder – 2 tsp
4. Baking soda – 1 tsp
5. Cinnamon – 1 tbsp
6. Sourdough starter – 120gr, fed
7. Butter – 1 stick(113gr), unsalted and melted
8. Whole milk – 3 tbsp
9. Eggs – 2
10. Vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Work with hands to break the brown sugar if there are any clumps, set aside. To another bowl add eggs, milk, vanilla extract and whisk. Add the butter to a small bowl and melt it, it should be warm but not hot. Add the starter, the egg mixture and the butter to the dry ingredients and mix well to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and leave overnight. The next morning preheat oven to 420°F. On a baking sheet with parchment paper using a scoop or a bigger spoon scoop the batter on the baking sheet. Bake for about 13-15 min.

Flour Wraps

These flour wraps are really easy to make and don’t require the long rising of the dough. They don’t even have yeast. Simply make the dough, let it rest for 20-30 min, shape balls and let them rest for 20 min, and then make the wraps. You can use these wraps to make small pizzas too, use them to make your favorite sandwich instead of bread or buns, and even breakfast sandwiches.

Recipe:
1. All-purpose flour – 2 cups
2. Salt – 1tsp
3. Baking soda – 1tsp
4. Butter – 3tbsp, melted
5. Hot water – 1/2 cup

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Melt butter and add it to the dry ingredients with the hot water. Knead to make a soft dough, let it rest for 20 min. Make 8-9 balls and let them rest for 20 min. With a rolling pin roll the balls flat on a floured surface to about 6 to 7 inches. Cook for about 1 min each side on medium heat.

These little hands really wanted to help make the wraps.

Banitsa/Feta Cheese Pie With Phyllo Dough

Today I’m sharing a recipe from my childhood. This is something I used to eat a lot. It is also a tradition to make it for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. I thought it was hard to make the dough layers, but actually it is not. It is made without yeast and you just have to be careful and gentle when you stretch the dough. This was my first time making it and there is room for improvement, but it turned out good.

Recipe:

Water -200 ml, room temperature
All-purpose flour -350 gr
Oil – 1 tbsp
Vinegar – 1 tsp
Salt- 1/2 tsp

Filling:
Eggs – 4
Plain Yogurt – 200 gr
Feta Cheese – 200 gr

You can start by making the filling or you can make it while the dough is resting. For the dough, combine all ingredients and knead for about 5-10 min. Let it rest for 20-30 min. After 20 or 30 min separate the dough in 4 equal parts, you can use a scale if you want. Stretch each part a little and cover well with oil, let them rest for 20 -30 min. After resting time, on a surface start stretching the dough gently and slowly. You can help yourself with a rolling pin at first and then start stretching. You will see the dough is very stretchy and it will start getting thin. If you happen to make a hole don’t worry, just be careful not to make it bigger. When the dough layer is stretched enough spread the filling and roll it into a log, then roll the log. Transfer to a 12 inch round pan and proceed with the rest of the layers the same way, except don’t roll the logs. You will have to attach the log to the end of the first log. The process for the rest of the logs is the same, attach them to the end of the previous log. Pour the last of the filling on top of the logs and spread as good as you can. Preheat the oven to 355°F and bake for about 35-45 min.

*Don’t spread too much filling, because it will be hard to handle and it’s not a good combination. There will be too much filling and not enough dough. This was one of my mistakes.

* You can spread melted butter or oil on each layer after stretching. I didn’t do that here, but people like to do it.