Quick and Delicious Lunch Idea with Veggie Salad, Pan-Fried Potatoes and Fried Eggs

Hi everyone!!! One of the most beloved and quickest meals that my family have always been enjoying eating is this very simple but very delicious lunch, which I tend to prepare, I guess, quite often!!! :) :) :) I cook this type of lunches so frequently that I decided to share it with you!!! Hope you don't mind it! :) :) :) This recipe will take you about 30 minutes to prepare or even less, from preparations to the serving but, I assure you, you'll enjoy every bite of it. The crispy and crunchy salad with a bunch of pan-fried potatoes and a fried egg make a flavorful and palatable combination together. This is how the lunch turned out!!! It looks very appetizing, don't you agree with me!!! :) :) :) If you got interested, just bear with me and keep on reading the recipe!!! :) :) :) 

To make this simple but super delicious lunch you'll need the following ingredients.
For the salad:

• cabbage ( 1 cup of shredded cabbage, I am using freshly grown seasonal cabbage; it has much tender leaves)
• cucumber (1 small size, 1/2 of a cup chopped cucumber)
• onion (1 small size, or 1/2 of a medium size) 
• carrot (1 small size, or 1/2 of a medium size) 
• beetroot (1 small size,or 1/2 of a medium size)
• lettuce (just a few (4-5) leaves)
• vegetable oil (1 tablespoon, use olive oil, if you like)
• apple vinegar (1 tablespoon)
• salt (to your taste)
• black pepper, paprika (to your taste)

For the pan-fried potatoes:

• potatoes (4 medium size)
• garlic (2 cloves)
• vegetable oil (3-4 tablespoon; you can use less if you feel like it :) :) :) 
• salt (to your taste)
• paprika (1 teaspoon)
• black pepper (to your liking, I am using 1/3 teaspoon)

For the fried eggs:

• eggs (4 medium range)
• vegetable oil (1 tablespoon)
• salt (just a pinch)
• paprika (just a pinch)
• black pepper (just a pinch)

Now let's talk about how to prepare the lunch:

• First of all you should pan fry the potatoes. Wash, peel and chop the potatoes first. Then heat a pan on a medium heat, drizzle it with vegetable oil and add the chopped potatoes. Close the lid and cook them for about 10 minutes under the medium heat.

• Meanwhile make the vegetable salad. Shred the cabbage, chop the lettuce leaves, the onion and the cucumber. Slice the beetroot and the carrot. Season the chopped vegetables with salt and peppers and drizzle with vegetable oil and the apple vinegar. Put the salad aside till the fried potatoes are ready.

• Meanwhile the potatoes will be halfway cooked. Season them with salt and peppers. Add the chopped garlic. If you like sautéed onions, you can add chopped onions, too. Give them a good stir and roast the potatoes with the lid open for another 10 minutes.
• While the potatoes are roasting make the fried eggs. Take another pan, put it on a medium heat and drizzle with vegetable oil. When the oil heats up, crack the eggs. Season them with salt and peppers. Cover the pan with the lid and fry them for about 5-7 minutes on a low heat.

• As you fry the eggs, don't forget about the potatoes and give them another good stir. After roasting for about 10 minutes, they must be roasted perfectly. Turn off the heat and assemble the lunch together. Voilà the lunch is ready!!! :) :) :)  
• This is how my plate turned out! Mmmm..., that was a delicious lunch!

I hope you'll like this lunch idea as much as I do!!! Have a fabulous day! See you next time! Bye! :) :) :)

Chicken and Carrot Rolls (Lavash Rolls with Chicken and Carrot filling )

Hi, my lovely friends!!! If you have a little more time to spend on making your breakfast or lunch at the weekends prepare this amazing chicken and carrot lavash rolls. In general you can make this kind of rolls with different fillings.There are a large variety of lavash rolls with different fillings, but yesterday I made them with chicken breasts, carrots and cream cheese. They tasted amazing and looked gorgeous, too. You can make this rolls for different events and, I assure you, everybody from adults to kids will love them. If you can't find lavash (Armenian national bread) I think you can replace it with tortillas. I know that they are much smaller but you can use several and cut them in halves. The result will be the same. This is how my lavash rolls turned out. Aren't they super appetizing?!!! I made them for Sunday brunch with a cup of tea to accompany it.  They were very delicious, flavorful, crispy outside and soft inside and very filling too! :) :) :) I hope you will enjoy it as much as my family did!!!!

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

• lavash (2 pieces - if you can't find it, replace it with a couple of tortillas, I think 4-5 tortillas will be enough)
• chicken breasts (400 gram)
• cream-cheese (250 gram)
• carrot (1 big, or 2 medium size)
• onion (1 medium size)
• garlic (3 cloves)
• dill (2 tablespoon of chopped dill)
• vegetable oil (3-4 tablespoon, use olive oil if you like)
• salt (to your liking)
• black pepper (1/3 teaspoon, use more if you like)
• chili powder (1/3 teaspoon, you can use more, if you like a little bit spicier)
• paprika (1 teaspoon)
• cumin (1 teaspoon)

Now let's talk about the instructions:

• Cut the chicken breasts into small  and thin pieces. Marinade them with garlic, salt, black pepper, chili powder, paprika and cumin and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. You can marinade the chicken breasts the night before, that will save you a lot of time and will help you to make the roll very quickly the following day.
• If you haven't marinaded the chicken breasts the night before, then just let it sit there about 20 minutes until you wash, peel and grate the carrots and cut the onion and the garlic cloves.
• Heat a pan on a medium heat, add 2-3 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Sauté the chopped onion and the garlic cloves. After a few minutes add the marinaded chicken breasts, roast them a little bit and cook thoroughly under the lid for about 20 minutes. Then add the grated carrots and half of the chopped dill. Stir the mixture and taste it to see if you need to add a little bit more salt or not. Cook it for a few minutes, then take the pan off the heat and let it cool down a little bit. 

• Meanwhile preheat your oven to 200 degree Celsius and prepare the lavash. Layer one lavash on top of the other and spread it with cream cheese. We are using two pieces because they are quite thin and can easily tear while we roll them. If you use tortillas just use 1 layer because they are thicker and won't tear. 

•  When the chicken and carrot filling is cooled down a little bit, spread it on top of the cream-cheese. Then sprinkle it with the remaining chopped dill. 

•  As you have layered everything, it's time to roll the lavash diagonally from one end to the other very firmly.

•  Take a chopping board and cut the roll into individual portions like this.You can eat this rolls even without baking them in the oven, as all the ingredients   are already cooked. But I personally like to grill them in the oven and serve them hot and crispy.

•  Take a baking tin and place them accurately on it.

•  Grill the rolls in the oven for about 15 minutes or until they turn yellowish-golden color. Place them on a platter and serve them. The platter full of this deliciousness will be emptied in no time. :) :) :)  

•  This is how my plate of chicken and carrot rolls looked like. That was a perfect brunch for me!!! I hope you will enjoy it too, if you choose to make it one day! 

And this is my two-year old son enjoying his roll!!! Have a fabulous day! Bye!!! :) :) :)

Making fiends in the park!!! :) :) :)

My son, Karen, loves to spend time outdoors finding new friends and playing with them. Today we went to a new park but unfortunately there weren't any kids of his age to play with. After playing by himself he finally met an adorable teenage boy who was reading a book under the shade of the trees!!! My son came up to the boy and was happy to make friends and play with him!!!

Cottage Cheese Cookies

Hello, my friends!!! Today I decided to share this simple cookie recipe with cottage sprinkled with caster sugar. Today we woke up earlier than usual and I decided to prepare some easy and simple cottage cheese cookies for breakfast. I had some cottage cheese in my fridge which would expire if I didn't use it. So I decided to incorporate it in this cookie recipe. They were warm and tasty and they went very well with a cup of tea. My son liked it too and even munched two cookies one after another, that was a great success!!! :) :) :) This is a very simple recipe, but anyway I decided to share it with. Maybe your kids will also love it!!!

For this simple cookie recipe you will need the following ingredients

• cottage cheese (200 gr)
• plain flour (4 cups)
• eggs (4 medium range)
• butter (250 gr) 
• plain Greek yogurt (1 cup)
• granulated sugar (1 cups or brown sugar, or even honey)
• baking soda (1 teaspoon)
• vinegar (1 teaspoon)
• salt (a pinch)
• vanilla (1/3 teaspoon, the vanilla I am using is in a granulated form, you can freely use vanilla extract 1 teaspoon will be enough)
• caster sugar (just enough to sprinkle on top) 

Now let's talk about the instructions.

• First of all preheat your oven to 180 degree Celsius. 
• Take a deep bowl and mix together butter, cottage cheese and the the granulated sugar with an electric mixer, or even with a regular whisk (you can also use a regular fork). 
• Then add the baking soda into the Green yogurt and mix it. It will immediately start to bubble. Add it into the butter and sugar mixture and whisk it again. 
• Then add a pinch of salt, the vanilla, mix it again and gradually mix in the flour to get a batter with a thick consistency.
• Layer some baking paper on your cooking sheet and spoon the batter to make individual cookies. Make sure to leave enough space for the cookies to expand. Repeat these actions with all the batches. It will make several batches depending on how small or big you make your cookies.
• Bake the cookies in the oven for about 25 minutes or until they get yellowish-golden color. let them cool down on a cooling sheet. Then sift some caster sugar on top and serve. :) :) :) 

I hope you like this simple but very tasty cookie recipe! Have a fabulous day! Bye! :) :) :)

Cottage Cheese and Sesame Cheese-Balls

Hello everyone! Today I decided to share this simple but very delicious cottage cheese and sesame cheese-ball recipe! These palatable and scrumptious cottage cheese and sesame cheese-balls are on the top list of my favorite appetizers! They can be prepared for different occasions, for parties, baby showers, birthday parties!!! You can easily make them the night before and serve them the next day. It'll save you lots of time and energy. They can also be used for breakfast and lunch with pieces of toasted bread (naan bread). I personally enjoy eating them with traditional Armenian bread lavash. You can also make a burger with them, adding a few slices of tomato, cucumber, pepper, onion and other vegetables. In other words they are very versatile. These is how my platter of super delicious and healthy cottage cheese and sesame cheese-balls look like!!! I think they look very appetizing!!!:) :) :) 

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

• cottage cheese (300 gr)
• cheese (200 gr)
• sour-cream or plain Greek yogurt (200 gr) or you can use strained plain yogurt
• garlic (2-3 cloves)
• sesame seeds (1 cup)
• dill (1 tablespoon of chopped dill)
• salt (just a little bit)
• White pepper (1/3 teaspoon)

Now let's talk about the instructions:

• First of all you should is to grate the cheese and chop the garlic and the dill. I am using cheese from a local producer, thus I am not going to name the brand, I don't think you can find them in your country, unless you live in Armenia. Just choose the cheese the taste of which you like the most. 
• In a deep bowl mix together the cottage cheese, grated cheese, sour-cream and garlic. You should get a substance of a thick consistency to make small ball of it.
• Pour the sesame seeds in a flat plate. Make small balls from that mixture and roll them in the sesame seeds. Repeat the same action until you have done with the mixture. 
• Place the ready cottage cheese and sesame cheese-ball in a flat container arranging them only in one layer, cover the container with the lid put it in the fridge. 
• The next day you just take them out of the container, place them nicely in a plate and serve them. I usually serve them wrapped individually in a lettuce leaf.

I truly hope you like these cottage cheese and sesame cheese-ball recipe as much as I do. Have a fabulous day. Bye!!! :) :) :)

Roasted Young Potatoes with Celery, Garlic and Celery omelet with Croûtons

Happy Sunday to everyone!!! I hope you all have a fabulous day today!!! Today's recipe was a mere experiment in the kitchen and, honestly, to my great surprise it turned out fantastic. I don't know why I haven't used celery previously in different recipes. I haven't even expected it to go so well with potatoes or as an ingredient for an omelet! Here in Armenia, celery is mostly used as an inseparable ingredient in picked vegetables, but never in meals. I've always known that the celery was a very healthy vegetable but didn't know how to incorporate it into my diet. Earlier today I asked my husband to do some grocery shopping and together with all the food he brought a bunch of celery instead of spinach (hahaha .... yes, you are right, he confused it somehow, I can't imagine how a person could possibly confuse spinach and celery, but anyway, he is hilarious :) :) :). To cut the story short, I decided to prepare something with that bunch of celeries and prove it to him that I can make something delicious even with celeries. To tell the truth I wasn't completely sure if it would turn good enough to write a recipe post about it, but to my great surprise it turned out awesome. I am glad I took pictures of it. The dinner was approved by all the members of my family!!! If you have never tried anything like that before I recommend you to try it. I assure you, you'll be pleasantly surprised!!! The celery gave the potatoes and the omelet a very delicious and piquant flavor. From now on I am going to buy celery more often to experiment with it and find more ways of incorporating it into my diet. This is the final look of the ready meal.  If you are interested how I cooked it, just keep on reading the recipe below! :) :) :)

Now let's talk about the recipe. You'll need the following ingredients for the meal.

• young potatoes (1 kg)
• celery ( 2 cups of chopped celery stems, don't throw the leafy parts, we are going to make a delicious omelet with it :) :) :) 
• eggs (4 medium range)
• garlic (5 cloves + 2 cloves for the omelet)
• coriander (2 tablespoon of chopped coriander)
• green (spring) onions (2 tablespoon of chopped green onion), you can also use a regular onion
• vegetable oil (4 tablespoon + 2 tablespoon for the omelet, if you think this is not enough you can use more, just use as much as you are used to)
• salt (to your taste)
• black pepper (1/2 teaspoon, use more if you feel like it)
• paprika (2 teaspoon)
• chili (1/2 teaspoon, you can use more)
• cumin (1 teaspoon)
• wholewheat bread for croûtons (8 slices) 

This meal will serve about 4 portions.

Now let's talk about the instructions:

• First of all wash the young potatoes under warm water and scrub it thoroughly as we are not going to peel them. If the potatoes are not even in size, cut the big ones in half so that they get cooked during the same amount if time! 
• Drizzle the pan with vegetable oil, put in on the heat and add the potatoes. season them with salt, black pepper, paprika, chili, cumin, give them a good stir and cook them under the lid for about 15 minutes. Stir them from time to time. 

•  Meanwhile chop the celery stems into 3-4 centimeter chunks. Keep the leafy parts, don't throw them as we are going to make an omelet with it.

•  When the potatoes are half cooked add the chopped celery and the garlic cloves cut in halves. If you are using regular onion too, add the chopped onion, as well. I am not using onions because some of my family members, can't tolerate it. If I were cooking only for me, I would have definitely added onions to it. Then I added a little bit of more paprika, as I love the taste of it so much. :) :) :) 

• Cover the lid and cook it for another 15 minutes on a low heat. After 15 minutes or so, open the lid and roast the vegetables with he lid open until they get perfectly roasted. Be careful not to burn the garlic. It has a tendency to get burned very easily. And hen it is burnt it can spoil the dish by its bitter taste.  

•  Meanwhile chop the leafy parts of the celery the coriander and the green onions to make the omelet. Start preparing the omelet while the potatoes are being roasted, so that the potatoes and the omelet get cooked on time to be served together. 

•  Drizzle another pan with vegetable oil, heat it a little bit and add the chopped garlic cloves (you can also add chopped onions if you like sautéed onions) and roast them a little bit. Then add the celery leaves, a little bit of coriander and green onions and cook under the lid for a few (2-3) minutes. Turn the heat off and let it cool down a little bit. Meanwhile whisk the eggs with a little bit of salt, black pepper, chili, and paprika. Add the cooked celery leaves into the egg mixture, stir it thoroughly and pour it back into the heated pan.  

•  Cook the omelet for a few minutes as you usually cook an omelet. Make sure you have cooked it through.

• As you cook the celery omelet, keep an eye on the potatoes and make sure you don't burn them. As you finish the omelet, the potatoes and celery stems must be perfectly roasted. Turn off the heat and sprinkle them with chopped coriander and green onions.

•  Everybody in my family loves croûtons, so I decided to prepare some to go with the meal. To prepare croûtons, all you have to do is to roast the bread slices on a pan drizzled with a little bit vegetable oil.  And voilà, the dinner is ready! This is how my plate looked. A piece of omelet, a bunch of roasted young potatoes and celery stems, croûtons and a little bit of ketchup. 

I hope you will like this meal as much as liked. :) :) :) I hope you had a lovely weekend! :) :) :) Bye!

Borscht. Delicious Ukrainian Vegetable Soup

Hi, my lovely readers!!! The weather in my country was quite nasty the past 2 days and I decided to make some comforting, filling and soothing soup for my family. So I decided to prepare borscht. If you are not familiar to this soup, I'll tell you that Borscht is a vegetable soup of Ukrainian origin, very popular in Eastern and European cuisines, including Armenia!!! I ate lots of Borscht in my childhood and I loved it, to tell the truth. :) :) :) This is a great way to incorporate lots of veggies into your diet. I love this soup for its amazing taste and, of course, for its excellent health benefits. Borscht is traditionally served with sour-cream or plain strained yogurt. You can serve it hot, warm or even cooled down, it is tasty anyway!!! You can make borscht with meat (mainly beef is used in my country, Armenia) or without it, so my vegetarian friends can also try to make this soup. I'm sure they'll like it! I like to serve it with a spoon-full of sour- cream or plain strained local yogurt and crispy croûtons!!! I hope you'll try this recipe one day and share your opinions with me. 

Now let's talk about the recipe.You'll need the following ingredient:

• cabbage (300 gr or about 3 cups shredded)
• carrots (2 medium size)
• beetroot (2 medium size)
• potatoes (4 medium size)
• tomatoes (3 medium size) or tomato paste (1-2 tablespoon)
• onion (1 small size, if you don't mind it in your soup, there are some people who can't tolerate it, including my husband :) :) :)
• garlic (3 cloves, I'm also using some young garlic, too)
• beef (500 gr, it's optional, if you are vegetarian don't use it)
• fresh herbs: coriander, dill, parsley
• Spring (green) onions (optional)
• Salt (to your taste)
• Black pepper (1/3 teaspoon), paprika (1 teaspoon), chili (1/3 teaspoon) - you can use more if you want your soup a little bit spicier, I can't because I have a toddler :) 
• cumin (1 teaspoon)
• bay leaf (2 leaves)
• vegetable oil (2 tablespoon)
• sour-cream or plain strained yogurt (1 tablespoon for each portion)

Now let's talk about the instructions step by step:

• If you are not a vegetarian and want to make the borscht with beef, first of all you should cut the beef into pieces and cook them for about 30 minutes.
• Chop finely the cabbage, the carrots, beetroot into thin and long stripes. Peel and cube the potatoes. Chop the herbs (the coriander, the dill and the parsley), the garlic and the onion, the spring onion into small pieces. 

• When the vegetables are are already cut heat a big pot on a medium heat, add the vegetable oil, the chopped onions, garlic and roast them for a few minutes. Then add the beef pieces (if you are using some) and chopped vegetables, half of the chopped herbs and spring onion (I am also using the green leaves of the young garlic). Season the veggie mixture with salt, black pepper, paprika, chili, cumin and roast them for another few minutes. 

•  Add the tomato paste (or the chopped tomatoes) and steam for a few more minutes.

•  Then finally add the broth (or water) up to the rim of the a (medium size) pot, the bay leaves and cook it on a low heat for about 40 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.

•  When the borscht is ready serve it in a bowl with sour-cream or plain strained yogurt and some crispy croûtons. 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe. Have a fabulous weekend. Bye! :) :) :)

Buckwheat Porridge with Beef and Veggie Salad as a Side Dish

Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog. Yesterday I made buckwheat porridge with beef and a colorful veggie salad as a side dish, and thought why not to share it with you. I love buckwheat, it is a highly nourishing, energizing and delicious food that can be used instead of rice or any other grain cereal. I know that buckwheat is not a grain, thus it contains no gluten and can be freely used by gluten sensitive people. Here is the picture of the final product! It was very easy and simple to make, it wasn't much time consuming either. Everyone who loves the flavor of taste of buckwheat and beef will certainly love the recipe, too. :) :) :)

Now let's talk about the recipe and the step by step instructions! You'll need the following ingredients:

• buckwheat (2 cups)
• beef (500 grams)
• salt (to your taste)
• black pepper (1/3 teaspoon, use more if feel like it :))
• paprika (1 teaspoon)
• cumin (1 teaspoon)
• vegetable oil (2 tablespoon)

For the veggie salad you'll need:

• tomatoes (2 medium size)
• cucumber (2 medium size)
• bell pepper (1 medium size)
• onion (1 small size)
• fresh herbs (whichever you like best, I am currently using:coriander, dill, parsley and (purple) basil)
• vegetable oil (1 tablespoon, use olive oil if you like it)
• salt (to your taste)
• black pepper (1/4 teaspoon, you can use more)
• paprika (1 teaspoon)

Instructions, what you need to do:

Roasted Potatoes and Carrots with Fresh Young Garlic and Beetroot Salad

Hi my lovely readers! Here is a recipe for my vegetarian friends, Roasted Potatoes and Carrots with Fresh Young Garlic and Beetroot Salad as a side dish! It was very yummy and it was approved by my 2-year-old son! He ate it with a great pleasure, with a happy smile on his face!!! :) This is the picture of how it turned out. If you like roasted carrots as much as I do, you'll definitely love this recipe!

 Now let's talk about the ingredients and the step by step instructions. You'll need the following ingredients for the roasted potatoes and carrots:

• potatoes (6-7 medium size)
• carrots (2 medium size)
• green young garlic with leaves (leaves will be used in the beetroot salad) (1 piece)
• vegetable oil (use olive oil if you like, 2 tablespoon)
• salt (to your taste)
• paprika (1 teaspoon)
• cumin (1 teaspoon)

For the beetroot and lettuce salad you'll need:

• lettuce (1 small bunch)
• beetroot (1 medium size)
• coriander and dill (a small bunch)
• green onions (2-3 pieces)
• vegetable oil (1 tablespoon)
• vinegar (1 tablespoon)
• salt (to your taste)
• black pepper (1/3 teaspoon, use more if you like spicier, I can't I have a toddler )
• paprika (1/2 teaspoon)
• chili (I'm using a pinch, because of my toddler, use more if you feel like it)

Step by step instructions:

Chicken Soup with Potatoes, Rice and Carrots

Hi, my lovely readers! The other day I made this soup and it turned out quite delicious! It was very tasty and flavorful. The chicken was very tender and was dissolving in my mouth, the rice, the potatoes and the carrots made a good combination together.  It was approved by my 2-year-old son. He ate a whole portion and I was amazed, sometimes he can be very picky about food! :) :) :)  It is quite an easy and simple recipe and it won't take much time either. This is the picture of how it turned out :) Below I'll tell you step by step instructions how to make it. I hope you'll enjoy it! :)

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

• chicken ( a whole chicken about 1 kg)
• potatoes (4 medium size)
• carrots (1-2 medium size)
• garlic (2 cloves) and onion (1 medium size) (if you don't like garlic or onion, or both, don't use them :) :) :) )
• rice (3/4 cup)
• salt (to your taste)
• black pepper (1/3 teaspoon, you can use more if you like)
• paprika (1 full teaspoon)
• vegetable oil (1 tablespoon)
• fresh coriander and dill (a small bunch)

Now step by step instructions: