Crunchy Dessert with Vanilla Yogurt and Cottage Cheese with Dried Fruits (Dried Bananas), Muesli and Chocolate Puffs

Hi everyone!!! Today's recipe "Crunchy Dessert with Vanilla Yogurt and Cottage Cheese with Dried Fruits (Dried Bananas), Muesli and Chocolate Puffs" is my absolute favorites breakfast, though it'll make an awesome dessert for any time of a day! This is one of those desserts that is not only extremely delicious but very healthy too. It is not time consuming at all and the taste is to die for! :) :) :) The crunchy chocolate puffs and the chewy dried bananas together with the creamy consistency of the cottage cheese and vanilla yogurt mixture definitely make an awesome accompany together. :) :) 

Now let's get to the point and list the ingredients you'll need to make this mouthwatering dessert!!! 

• vanilla yogurt (1 cup) - you can replace it with any kind of yogurt you personally prefer 
• cottage cheese (175 g or 2/3 of a cup)
• chocolate puffs (1/2 of a cup)
• muesli (1/2 of a cup)
• dried banana (1/3 of a cup of chopped dried bananas)

The ingredients listed below is enough to make 3 portions.

The instructions:

• Mix the vanilla yogurt with cottage cheese and whisk them together until you get a smooth and creamy consistency.
• Chop the dried bananas into bite-size pieces.
• Place 1 spoonful of muesli on the bottom of a glass ice-cream cup (or any cup available).
• Spoon 1-2 spoonful of the yogurt and cottage cheese mixture and place it on top of the muesli. 
• Place the chopped dried banana pieces on top of the yogurt layer and top it with a generous amount of chocolate puffs. And voilà our amazing dessert is ready !!!:) :) :)   

I really hope you enjoyed today's recipe and you'll make it one day!!! If you ever try this recipe feel free to  share your opinion with me in the comment section below. I hope you are all having an amazing day!!! Bye!!! :) :) :)

Mince Beef and Rice Stuffed Zucchinis (Kids' Menu)

Hi everyone!!! I hope you are having an amazing day! Today I decided to share another of my son's favorite dishes! My son is a very picky eater and he is not a big fan of vegetables (:) except for potatoes :) he is a big potato fan!!! ). If are currently having the same problem maybe you' ll find this recipe interesting.
Here are the ingredients for this recipe:

• mince beef (300 gr)
• rice (1/2 cup)
• zucchinis (3-4 medium size)
• onion (1 medium size)
• garlic (3 cloves)
• fresh herbs (am currently using dill and coriander, a few stems from each)
• salt (to your taste)
• paprika (1 teaspoon)
• vegetable oil (1 tablespoon)
• water (about 2 cups, just enough to cover the stuffed zucchinis in a pan)

The instructions:

• First thing you should do is to prepare the zucchinis.Cut the zucchinis into thick pieces and take out the pulp with a teaspoon like in the picture below.

• Cut the upper part of the zucchini pulps. You are going to use it as lids when the zucchinis are stuffed. You can also blend the left over zucchini pulps in a blender (together with onion and garlic) and add them into the mince beef filling.

• When you are done with the zucchinis it's time to prepare the filling. Blend the onion, the garlic cloves and the zucchini pulp together in a blender and add to the mince beef. Add the rice and the seasonings (salt, paprika and even black pepper if you like) and the vegetable oil. Stir all the ingredients together thoroughly. 

• When the filling is ready it's time to stuff the zucchinis. Take a tablespoon of the filling and stuff all the prepared zucchinis, put them in a pan, cover them with the lids made of zucchini pulp. Add just enough water to cover the stuffed zucchinis and cook them for about 15-20 minutes.

Here is how my mince beef and rice stuffed zucchinis turned out. My son enjoyed it! I hope you too liked today's recipe!!! If you ever try this recipe, feel free to share your opinion with me. Wish you all have a fantastic weekend!!! See you soon!!! Bye!!! :) :) :)

Cherry and Apple Compote Kids' Menu

Hi everyone! Today's recipe Cherry and Apple Compote is my son's all time favorite. My son doesn't like fresh cherries so this is an excellent way to incorporate cherries into his diet. Cherries and apples are in season right now, you can find them in every local market or supermarket and it'll literally take 5 minutes to make it. 

You'll need only a few ingredients to make this amazing sweet and sourish compote:

• cherries (1 full cup)
• apples (1 full cup)
• sugar (to your taste, I am using 2 tablespoon)
• water (4 cups)

Instructions:

• Add the water into a pan and bring it to boil.
• Cut the apple into pieces and remove the seeds.

• When the water stars boiling add the sugar, the cherries and the chopped apples. Bring it to boil, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lead. Let it seat there until it cools down. 

• You can serve it warm or put it into the fridge and serve it cooled down. you can serve this delicious compote with or without the fruits. I personally enjoy eating the boiled fruits but my son doesn't like them!!! You can preserve this compote in a fridge use it for a few days!!!

I really hope you enjoyed today's recipe. Wish you have a wonderful day!!! Bye!

Cold Yogurt and Cucumber Drink with Crispy Croûtons

Hi everyone!!! I hope you are having an amazing week! Today I decided to post a cool drink recipe for you because it's already quite hot outside and all want is to chill outside with a glass of cold drink to refresh you! This delicious cold yogurt and cucumber drink is one of my favorite drinks for hot summer days and I like to accompany it with crispy croûtons. It can make a wonderful snack (or even lunch) in the middle of the day to refresh and make you function for the rest of the day.

 To make this delicious cold yogurt and cucumber drink (2-3 portions) with crusty croûtons you will need the following ingredients:

• cold yogurt (2 cups)
• cucumber (2 of an average size, you can add more or less of your liking depending how thick you prefer your drink)
• cold water (1 cup)
• lettuce (a small bunch or 5-6 leaves)
• fresh herbs (dill, coriander, parsley, mint, tarragon, a few springs from each; use whichever herb you like or have)
• salt (to your taste)
• ice cubes(as many as you like to keep your drink cool as long as you drink it)

The instructions of making the drink:

• Take a jar or any suitable container of your liking, pour the cold yogurt into it, sprinkle it with salt and whisk it.
• Cut the cucumber into small cubes and add to the yogurt.
• Chop the lettuce and the fresh herbs into small pieces and add to the jar with yogurt and cucumber. Mix thoroughly all the ingredients with a wooden spoon.
• Add the cold water to make it a little bit thinner and taste it to make sure you have salted it enough, if not add a little bit more. Before serving this amazing yogurt and cucumber drink add the ice cubes. You can add the ice cubes immediately into the glass before you pour the drink into it.

To make the crispy croûtons you'll need:

• Bread
• salt and pepper
• any vegetable oil of your liking
• salt and pepper (paprika and black pepper, chili pepper if you like to make spicy)

The instructions:

• Cut the bread into thin slices, season them with salt, black pepper, paprika and chili.
• Sprinkled them with vegetable oil and roast them in a frying pan.

I hope you enjoyed today's recipe. If you make it one day share the picture with me down in the comment section. I'm looking forward to your feedback! I hope you had a nice day! Bye!

Chocolate and Vanilla Muffin Cake

Hi everyone!!! I am back again with another delicious recipe for you! This time it's a chocolate-vanilla muffin cake with rainbow chocolate chips on top! Definitely my son's favorite. If you have kids they are definitely going to love it!!! It is a very easy and simple recipe that everyone can make, and takes very little time to prepare it. The taste of the cake is absolutely fantastic and it looks very appetizing too! Especially I like the melted white chocolate in the cake. Hmm... Yummy... !!!
:) :) :) Are you of the same opinion with me! :) :) :)

Now let's get to the point and talk about the recipe and write down the list of ingredients you'll need to bake this amazing muffin cake.
To bake this cake you'll need:

• 3 free range eggs
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt
• 175 ml (2/3 of a cup) sunflower oil (you can replace it with butter or margarine if you like)
• 3 cups of plain flour (you can replace it with self-rising flour, in this case do not use baking soda )
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 
• 3 tablespoon of cocoa powder
• 50 gr white chocolate chips 
• 30 gr rainbow chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon of shredded coconut (this is optional, you can totally skip it if you don't have or don't like shredded coconut, or maybe you are allergic to it)
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Now let's talk about the steps you take in order to prepare the muffin cake.

• Preheat your oven 180 degree Celsius.
• Mix the eggs with sugar using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon that won't  make any difference until the sugar is .dissolved.
• Add the sunflower oil (or the softened butter) and the vanilla extract and wisk the mixture again.
• Take a separate bowl pour the Greek yogurt, add the baking soda and mix them together until it starts bubbling.Add this mixture to the egg- sugar- sunflower mixture and wisk it again. 
• Add the flour (1 cup at a time) to the mixture and mix it until you get a smooth and thick consistency.
• Now it's time to separate the dough into 2 parts, Pour half of the dough into another bowl and add cocoa powder into it and mix it thoroughly. Add white chocolate chips to the other half of the dough and stir it with a spoon until the white chocolate chips are evenly distributed in the dough.
• Take a round baking tin and cover it with non-stick baking paper(the one that is like a giant muffin will be excellent , but any round baking tin will do the job. The baking tin I am currently using is a very old one, I have got it from my grandmother :) :) :) I love it because it brings back sweet memories from my grandmother.) I usually oil the baking paper a little bit so that it came off easer when the cake is baked.
• Add 1 full tablespoon of the white chocolate dough into the baking tin then add 1 full tablespoon from the dark chocolate dough, Layer them on top of each other to get zebra stripes, repeat the steps until you are finished with the dough. Sprinkle the rainbow chocolate chips and on top and add shredded coconut if you like.
• Place the baking tin into the preheated oven and bake it in the medium heat (in the medium shelf of the oven) for 30 minutes or until you put a toothpick into the center of the cake and it comes out dry. 

I honestly hope you liked today's recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask me in the comment section below. I wish you  have a fantastic week. See you later. Bye!!!

STRAWBERRY, YOGURT AND OAT-FLAKE SMOOTHIE

Hi, everyone! I am glad to be back with a another recipe for you! This is  a very easy but very delicious, creamy and, of course, very healthy smoothie recipe that you can prepare in just a few minutes for breakfast or for any time of the day of your liking!!!  If you add a couple of ice cubes it'll be a perfect refreshing snack for hot summer days. If you don't have much time to prepare a breakfast these kind of smoothies are very handy. You can take it out with you in a closed cup and enjoy it on your way to work!!! This is how my smoothie turned out today!!! I had it as a midday snack with a chocolate biscuit, a couple of strawberries and chocolate mushrooms!!! Oh, that was a fabulous snack! :) :) :)

Now let's talk about the recipe. You'll need the following ingredients for 2 portions:

• Yogurt (1 full cup; I am using plain Greek yogurt, you can use flavored ones (for example vanilla flavored), that will be delicious too)
• Strawberries (1 cup; save a couple of strawberries for garnishing)
• Honey (to your taste, as I used plain Greek yogurt I added 1 tablespoon, if you use sweet, flavored yogurt you can totally escape it)
• Oat-flakes (2 full tablespoon)
• Ice cubed (optional, if you like your smoothie to be refreshing, just a few 5-6 cubes)
• Chocolate biscuits and chocolate mushrooms (this is totally optional) for garnishing

Step by step instructions:

• Add all the ingredients (Greek yogurt, strawberries, oat-flakes, honey and ice cubes (if you decide to use some) into the blender. Blend it a for a couple of seconds until you get a smooth consistency. With the ingredients I mentioned above you'll get 2 portions of smoothie. If you make it only for yourself you can have one portion and save the other in a closed container in the fridge to have it later during the day.

• Pour the smoothie into a glass and garnish it with whatever you like. I chose to garnish it with a few strawberries, a chocolate cookie and 2 mushroom chocolates!

•  I prepared this smoothie for me and my toddler who was more excited about the chocolate biscuit hahaha....He preferred to eat the chocolate biscuit first and then had a few sips from the smoothie. I saved his portion in the fridge and had it later in the evening! 

I truly hope you like this smoothie recipe! I wish you all have a fabulous weekend!!! Bye!!! See you soon! :) :) :)

Pan Fried Chicken Thighs with Roasted Young Potatoes

Hi my lovely friends! Here is another chicken and potato recipe for you! As you have already noticed my family members are all obsessed with both chicken and potatoes, so I make such easy but quite delicious chicken and potato recipes fairly often. Here is how they turned out this time!!! They were very flavorful and delicious and, I think, they looked super appetizing, too!!!

Here are the ingredients for today's recipe. 
For the pan fried chicken thighs: 

• chicken thighs (1 kg)
• fresh garlic with green leaves (1-2 pieces, about 2 tablespoon in chopped form)
• onion (1 medium size)
• apple vinegar (3 tablespoon)
• vegetable oil (3 tablespoon)
• salt (to your taste)
• black pepper (to your taste, I am using 1/2 teaspoon)
• paprika (1 teaspoon)
• chili powder (to your taste, I am using 1/3 teaspoon)
• ginger powder (1/2 teaspoon)
• cumin (1 teaspoon)
• green onions (1 tablespoon chopped for garnishing)

For the roasted young potatoes:

• young potatoes (1,5 kg)
• vegetable oil (4 tablespoon)
• salt (to your taste)
• black pepper (to your taste, I am using 1/2 teaspoon)
• paprika (to your taste, I am using 1 teaspoon)
• chili powder (to your taste, I am using 1/3 teaspoon)
• green onions (1 tablespoon chopped for garnishing)

Now let's talk about the instructions:

• First of all you should marinade the chicken thighs. I recommend you to marinade the chicken thighs the night before. That will save you a big amount of time and the chicken thighs will have a better chance to get marinaded thoroughly. In order to marinade the chicken thighs, first of all you should wash and dry the chicken thighs. Put them in a bowl and season them with salt, black pepper, paprika, chili, ginger, cumin, vegetable oil and the vinegar. Stir them thoroughly. Chop the  fresh garlic (the green leaves too) and the onion into very small pieces. Add them to the chicken thighs and give them another good stir. Cover the bowl with a lid or a plastic film and let them marinade in the fridge for a couple of hours or even better the whole night. 
• As the chicken thighs are getting marinaded you can wash the young potatoes, giving them a good scrub under warm tap water. Drain them properly and put them aside. 
• When the chicken thighs are marinaded, take them out of the fridge, heat a pan on a medium heat and flop over the chicken thighs, together with the marinade. Cover the pan with a lid and cook them for about half an hour.  

•  As the chicken thighs are being cooked, heat another big pan on a medium heat, add the vegetable oil and the young potatoes, stir them, cover with a lid and cook for about 15 minutes. When the potatoes are half cooked season them with salt, black pepper, chili powder, paprika and stir them again. Continue roasting the young potatoes with the lid open until they get thoroughly cooked and perfectly roasted. That will take you another 15-20 minutes. 

•  Meanwhile don't forget about the chicken thighs. Stir them from time to time and fry them with the lid open, until they are cooked through and perfectly roasted. That will take you about 20 minutes. When both the chicken thighs and young potatoes are beautifully roasted, put them in a platter and sprinkle them with chopped green onions!!! That's all, the dinner is ready!!! : ): ): )

 I truly hope you like today's recipe! Have fantastic day! Bye!!! :) :) :)

Zucchini Fritters and A Very Simple Beetroot Salad

Hi everyone!!! I prepared these beautiful zucchini fritters and a very simple beetroot salad for my family for Sunday brunch and decided to share the recipe with you. The zucchini fritters turned out very crispy and delicious (the big platter full of zucchini pancakes was emptied within a few minutes (:) ), the beetroot salad was very flavorful and looked very inviting too!!! If you want to know the details of the recipe and the step by step instructions just keep on reading the recipe below!!!

For the zucchini fritters you will need the following ingredients:

• zucchini (800 gram)
• onion (1 medium size)
• garlic (2 cloves)
• coriander (1 full tablespoon of chopped coriander, you can also use dill and parsley)
• egg (2 medium range)
• salt (to your taste)
• black pepper, chili powder, paprika (to your taste)
• plain flour (5 tablespoon)
• vegetable oil (enough to fry all the zucchini fritters  )

For the beetroot salad:

• beetroot (4-5 small size)
• sour-cream (200 gram)
• garlic (1 clove)
• apple vinegar (1 tablespoon)
• vegetable oil (1 tablespoon)
• salt (to your taste)
• black pepper, chili powder, paprika (to your taste)
• coriander (1 tablespoon of chopped coriander)

Now let's talk about the instructions:

• Wash and grate the zucchinis, sprinkle them with salt, press the substance thoroughly to get rid of the excess juice. There is going to be a lot of excess juice. 
• Chop the coriander, the onion and the garlic into very small pieces. You can use a garlic press to squeeze the garlic cloves if you want. Add them all to the grated zucchini bowl.

• Crack the eggs into the mixture, season with salt, the black pepper, the paprika and with chili power.  Add the flour and mix it thoroughly. You will get a batter like this

• Heat a pan on a medium heat, add enough vegetable oil to cover the surface of the pan and fry the zucchini fritters. When one side is done, flip over and roast the other side!

• Place a paper towel on the plate to absorb all the excess oil. Put the fried zucchini fritters on the paper towel. If you don't have a paper towel use a couple of plain napkins. Fry all the zucchini fritters like this. It will make several batches. I don't know exactly how many fritters I fried but it was enough to feed 4-5 people. :) :) :)

This is how you make the beetroot salad:

• The beet roots I am using in the recipe I have cooked the night before. If you don't have already cooked beetroot I advise you to cook it while you make the zucchini fritters because it takes a while to be cooked (about 30-40 minutes). 
• After you have cooked the beet roots, the rest is very simple and will take only a few minutes. Slice the beet roots into medium slices and marinade them with apple vinegar, vegetable oil, salt and peppers and squeezed garlic for about 15 minutes. You can marinade the beet roots the night before. It will save you a bunch of time!  
• Place the beetroot slices on a plate, put a teaspoon of sour-cream on top of each and sprinkle with chopped coriander. 

I hope you like today's recipe post! Wish you all have a fabulous week ahead! Bye!!! :) :) :) 

Spaghetti with Chicken and Mushroom Sauce, Veggie Salad

Hi friends! Todays I am going to share a scrumptious and flavorful pasta and sauce recipe with you. In general, I love pasta, and this particular recipe is on the top of my favorite pasta recipe list. The sauce itself is very delicious, flavorful and creamy and it can be used not only with different kinds of pasta but also with rice, buckwheat, couscous, etc. The veggie salad is very simple and easy to prepare but it complements the spaghetti very well and adds crispiness and freshness to the main dish! This is how the main dish and the veggie salad turned out!!! Don't they look super and appetizing?! And they tasted delicious too :) :) :) If the whole idea of the meal interested you just keep on reading the recipe below!!!

Now let's talk about the recipe. You will need the following ingredients:

• spaghetti (400 gram)
• salt (1 full tablespoon, dissolved in water for cooking the spaghetti )
• vegetable oil (2 tablespoon, use olive oil if you like)

For the sauce:

• chicken breast (400 gram)
• mushroom (I am using champignons) (400 gram)
• sour-cream (100 gram)
• onion (1 small size)
• garlic (2 cloves)
• ketchup (1 full tablespoon)
• vegetable oil (1-2 tablespoon)
• salt (to your taste)
• black pepper and chili (to your taste)
• paprika (1 teaspoon)
• cumin (1 teaspoon)

For the veggie salad:

• young seasonal cabbage (1 cup shredded)
• cucumber (1 medium size)
• carrot (1 medium size)
• reddish (5 medium size)
• onion (1 small size)
• herbs (I am using dill, coriander, tarragon, you can also use parsley, basil or any kind of herbs you like)
•  vegetable oil (1 tablespoon)
• apple vinegar (1 tablespoon)
• salt (to your taste)
• black and red peppers (to your taste)

Now the instructions:

• First of all you should make the sauce because it takes a little while to be cooked. While you make the sauce put a big pot full of water and put it on a heat and bring to boil. 
• Wash and slice the chicken breasts into thin pieces. 
• Though I know that I shouldn't wash the mushrooms but I wash them anyways and peel the skin from the champignon hats - but this is optional, you can totally skip this part. Cut the champignions into slices too. 
• Chop the onion and the garlic cloves and the herbs into small pieces. 
• Then take a pan, add the vegetable oil, heat it. Then add the chopped onion and the garlic cloves and salute (roast) them for a few minutes. Then add the cut chicken breasts, stir them and cook for about 15 minutes under the lid. 

• When the chicken breasts are halfway cooked add the sliced champignons, stir them together, add the ketchup, season with salt, black and red peppers, paprika, cumin, a little bit of herbs and let them cook for another 15-20 minutes or until everything is perfectly cooked. Before you take the sauce away from the heat, add the sour-cream and the rest of the herbs, bring it to boil and turn off the heat.  

• Meanwhile the water for spaghetti will definitely be boiling. Add 1 full tablespoon of salt to the water, mix it throughly and add the spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti "al dente" taking into consideration the instruction of the package. It will take about 10-12 minutes to get it done.

• As spaghetti is being cooked, make the veggie salad. Shred the vegetables into thin and long pieces. Then drizzle them with the following dressing. Add the vegetable oil, the apple vinegar, salt and peppers into a small jar, cover it with the lid and shake it thoroughly. Voilà the dressing is ready. Drizzle it on top of the vegetables and give it a good stir. The salad is ready.

• As you have cooked all the comprising parts of the meal, now you can assemble them together. This is how my plate turned out!  I decided to serve the salad in a separate dish because I didn't want to ruin the way my spaghetti looked! :) :) :)

I truly hope you like the recipe! Wish you all have a fabulous day! Bye! :) :) :)