Tag Archives: recipe

Spinach and cream cheese lasagna

Posted on May 19, 2015 | 1 comment

Spinach is one of the most versatile vegetables to include in your meals. For a dish perfect in spring, try this delectable spinach and cream cheese lasagna done in no time!

We all know that Popeye made himself super strong by eating spinach. Give your kids the habit to eat healthy and delicious. Among the World’s Healthiest vegetables, spinach comes out at the top of the ranking list for nutrient richness.

To make this lasagna you need:

500g chopped spinach (thawed if frozen)
200g cream cheese
2 cups heavy cream
2 medium onion diced
2 tbsp olive oil
lasagna sheets
1 cup shredded emmental
1 cup shredded parmesan
salt to taste

Bring olive oil to heat and cook the onions until tender and fragrant. Add the spinach and cook until done. Take off the heat add the cream cheese and combine. Stir in the heavy cream.

To assemble, use a rectangular or square casserole dish, keeping in mind that a larger one will produce less layers and a smaller one will produce more.

Start with a layer of spinach cream cheese, lay down pasta sheets, add another layer of spinach cream cheese to cover followed by parmesan. Keep in mind, you will have to divide the cup of parmesan equally in your layers. Repeat (pasta – spinach cream cheese – parmesan) until you finish by a layer of spinach cream cheese and the thick layer of emmental cheese.

Preheat oven on 200°C and bake for 25-30 minutes. Slice and enjoy!

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Tagged blog, chopped spinach, cream cheese, emmental, Emmental cheese, food blogger, heavy cream, how to cook, jaymmy, lasagna, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, parmesan, qatar, recipe, spinach

Mandarin pound cake

Posted on May 12, 2015 | Leave a comment

I’ve been craving this tangy cake for long! A real pleasure to the palate, made with fresh mandarin (you can replace it with fresh oranges) and comes with a warning label: ADDICTIVE!

This pound cake is not just looking amazing but it’s also uber delicious; As its name suggests, it’s citrusy, rich and buttery, and will surely please a lot of people. A lot of you would like NOW to pick a piece or two out of the screen.

This recipe calls for:

Cake batter:

1cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (227g about 2 sticks)
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup grated mandarin zest
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed mandarin juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tbsp rum

Mandarin syrup:

1/2 cup mandarin juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Mandarin glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed mandarin juice

Many times it happens a recipe calls for buttermilk and you realize you don’t have or find at the nearest supermarket. Luckily you can do it at home in just 5 minutes. All you need is a cup of milk and 1 tbsp of vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon. Pour the milk on the vinegar and let it rest for 5-10 mns. I am sure lot of you will never buy again buttermilk once you know this easy substitution. If the recipe calls for more than a cup of buttermilk you can easily double the quantity.

Heat the oven to 180°C. Grease and flour your bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, and the mandarin zest.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine the mandarin juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Pour the batter in the pan and smooth the tops.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Meantime while the cake is getting baked, prepare the syrup: Cook 1/2 cup of granulated sugar with 1/2 cup mandarin juice in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cake is done, let it cool for 10 minutes. Take it out of the pan and place it on a baking rack set over a tray. Spoon the mandarin syrup over and allow it to cool completely.

To glaze, combine the confectioners sugar and mandarin juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Add a few more drops of juice, if necessary, to make it pour easily. Pour over the top and allow to dry.

Wrap well, and store in the refrigerator.

Now I am sure it won’t last long stored in your fridge but it will be a staple in it especially it’s spring time!

Happy Baking!

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“Mini chef in the kitchen” 4 – delicious brownies with M&M

Posted on May 5, 2015 | Leave a comment

This simple and quick recipe is packed with chocolate flavor just as your kid loves it! It’s a basic recipe every mom should share with her mini chefs!

You will need:

1 1/3 cup flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
M&M for sprinkling on top

Mix all dry ingredients; flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Let your mini chef sift the cocoa powder.

In a separate bowl mix eggs, vanilla and oil then add them to the dry ingredients.

My son loves mixing! It is the best part for him, but don’t over mix, just the time to let all ingredients combined.

You can’t imagine how beneficial this exercise is, especially on the cognitive and motor skills. Click benefits of cooking with your kids to learn more about it.

Back to our delicious brownies, pour the batter in a greased baking dish (8×12”) and sprinkle the top with M&Ms.

Preheat oven (200°C) and bake for 20-25 mins or until skewer comes out clean.

You can add more M&Ms after baking, some might drown in! My mini chef suggestion!. Wait until is set to room temperature and cut. Get ready, by this time you will be asked thousand of times if it’s ready to be cut!

As i always say, the best part is when your kids taste the reward of their efforts. Now it’s time to pack some for the teacher in the nursery, friends and uncle to taste Nady’s chef d’oeuvre. He loves to share being proud of what he did!

I can assume it’s one of the best brownies i tasted. Crispy edges with chewy inside. Can’t get enough of it. It’s going to be the brownies recipe from now on!

Try it also with ice cream or chocolate sauce! Enjoy your time with your kids and have loads of educational fun !

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“Mini chef in the kitchen” 3- Easy and quick as 10 mns cheese bechamel spaghetti

Posted on May 1, 2015 | Leave a comment

Beside preparing a delicious dish, it’s also important to be an easy and quick one to keep your mini chef focused and entertained.

I believe the majority of kids are fan of spaghetti. It’s one of my son’s few favorite dishes because peppa pig loves it! Today’s recipe will not take more than 10 minutes the time of boiling the pasta.

To make this yummy dish you need: (for 2)

150g spaghetti
1 1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup emmental cheese
dash of salt (optional)

Cook the spaghetti as per the pack instructions. Meanwhile, in a casserole mixmilk and flour until it’s well combined then bring to heat.

Keep on whisking until you see the first bubbles (2-3 minutes) add the butter and cheese(optional) and mix all well (less than a minute). Turn off the heat as the cheese is totally melt in and the sauce became thick. Toss in the drained pasta and let your kid enjoy the rewards of his efforts.

If you put emmental, disregard the salt, but if your kid is not fan of cheese, add a dash of salt to flavor it.

As i mention in every “mini chef in the kitchen” post, this activity provides your kids with plenty of opportunities to learn.Click on benefits of cooking with your kids to know more about it.

I hope you have a good time with your kids. Enjoy 🙂

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Best Artichoke Spinach dip

Posted on April 28, 2015 | 3 comments

This best ever homemade artichoke spinach dip. It is a huge hit appetizer, merits a standing ovation from your guests.

It’s a pinnacle appetizer for my husband and I, we order it almost at every diner restaurant until the day i made it home. Since then my husband craves this symphony of well blended flavors.

To make this creamy dip you need:

250g spinach chopped (thawed if frozen)
400g artichoke hearts drained and chopped
250ml heavy cream
100g cream cheese
2 cups Emmental cheese (divided)
1 big onion finely diced
2 garlic cloves minced
salt to taste

In a pot cook the onion and garlic with the spinach for 3-4 minutes. Put the heat off and mix in the artichoke, cream, cream cheese, salt and one cup of the Emmental cheese. You can use mozzarella if you wish a milder taste.

Pour the mix in a baking dish, sprinkle over the remaining cup of cheese and bake on 200°C in the oven for 30 mins or until it’s bubbly and the cheese is golden brown.

Serve it with tortilla chips, toasted bread or crackers and dive right in! I am warning you it’s addictive 🙂

The flavors are outstanding! Try it and give me your opinion.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.