Safta's Stuffed Cabbage

Ingredients:

1 medium sized cabbage
1 pound ground meat
1 cup rice (rinsed)
1 onion
4 cloves garlic chopped
2 tomatoes
2 tbs chopped parsley
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:

1 cup tomato sauce
2 cups boiling water
2 tbs chicken soup mix
2 tbsp onion soup mix
1 tbsp cumin

Directions:

1. In a large pot, boil the cabbage in water with 1 tsp salt for a few moments until the leaves can separate. Let it cool in a colander and then separate the leaves.

2. In another pot, boil the rice until cooked.

2. For the filling: saute the chopped onion until brown, add the garlic, tomatoes, parsley and then the ground meat. Mix well until the meat is browned. Mix in the rice and the spices.

3. Put about 1 (or 2, depending on the size of the leaf) scoops of the mixture in the middle of a cabbage leaf. Fold the two sides and then roll. Place in a large pot.

4. Roll all the cabbage leaves and arrange in the pot. Pour the sauce on top and cook for about an hour. (Check during cooking, you might need to add more water) and Enjoy!

Black Bean and Turkey Chili

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can whole kernel corn, drained

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, onion, chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper and garlic powder. Cook until turkey is well browned, stirring frequently to break up meat.

2. Stir the broth, salsa, sugar, beans and corn into the saucepan. Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.

3. Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Stir the chili occasionally while cooking.

Perfect Guacamole

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados
1/2 red onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon of fresh lime or lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
A dash of freshly grated black pepper
1/2 ripe tomato, seeds and pulp removed, chopped

Directions:

1 Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avacado from the peel, put in a mixing bowl.

2 Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the chopped onion, lime or lemon, salt and pepper and mash some more. Keep the tomatoes separate until ready to serve.Remember that much of this is done to taste because of the variability in the fresh ingredients. Start with this recipe and adjust to your taste.

3 Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation from the air reaching it. Refrigerate until ready.

4 Just before serving, add the chopped tomato to the guacamole and mix.

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 tbsp sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.

2. Put butter and sugar into an electric mixer and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in the flour mixture.

3. Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 tbsp sugar into a small bowl. Shape dough into small balls. Roll in cinnamon sugar mixture and place on a baking sheet.

4. Bake cookies until edges are golden, about 12 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool and enjoy!

Asian Beef with Sugar Snap Peas

Ingredients:

1 portion of sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
1 cup sugar snap peas
1 onion, cup into strips
1 clove of garlic
1 cup mushrooms, cut into pieces
1 cup red peppers
soy sauce, to taste
teriyaki sauce, to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Chop onions and mushrooms and saute in a frying pan with garlic.

2. Add the beef, sugar snap peas, and red peppers to the onions and mushrooms.

3. Add the soy and teriyaki sauces and cook thoroughly.

4. Enjoy over white rice.

Glazed Barbecue Chicken

Ingredients:

2 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

1. Mix the all of ingredients in a small bowl until blended well to create the marinade for the chicken.

2. Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees.

3. Put chicken breasts into the marinade and make sure each one is covered completely.

4. Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until cooked through. If there is extra marinade, top each chicken breast with the leftover sauce.

5. Enjoy with a side of rice or potatoes.

Cinnamon Baked Apples

Ingredients:

6 granny smith apples
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup cranberries
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 plain biscuit cookies, crumbled
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
lemon juice
cinnamon

Directions:

1. Remove the core of the apples.

2. Mix the ingredients for the filling: raisins, brown sugar, walnuts, cranberries, cookies, and cinnamon.

3. Bring to a boil the water, wine and small amount of brown sugar. Let cook for a few minutes and taste periodically.

4. Fill the apples with the filling and place them in a casserole dish. Top apples with the wine sauce and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes on 350 degrees, uncovered.

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 onions, peeled and cubed
3 carrots, peeled and cubed
3 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 sprig of thyme

Directions:

1. In a large pot on medium heat, add the chicken broth with some water. Add all of the ingredients to the pot.

2. Cook on medium heat until all of the ingredients are soft.

3. Using a hand blender or regular blender, blend the soup until it is creamy. Season to taste.

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

1 package frozen chopped spinach
1 can artichoke hearts
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup cream cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a casserole dish with nonstick spray.

2. Heat the spinach in a microwave oven on high for 5 minutes and squeeze dry. Drain the artichoke hearts and coarsely chop in a food processor.

3. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Stir well. Pour into the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle more cheese on top.

4. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with bagel chips or tortilla chips.

Steak in Red Wine and Wild Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients:

olive oil
1 onion, minced
1 pound assorted mushrooms, such as cremini, shiitake, or button, trimmed and sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp spices, like Tony Chachere's
1 cup red wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 sirloin steak

Directions:

1. Place a saucepan over medium heat. Add drizzle of olive oil.

2. Add the onions and saute for 2 minutes to soften.

3. Add the mushrooms and spices; season with salt and pepper.

4. Stir everything together for a few minutes. Add the red wine and chicken broth, then cook and stir to evaporate the alcohol.

5. In a separate skillet cook the steak until browned, about 2 minutes per side.

6. Pour the sauce on top of a piece of grilled steak and enjoy!