Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie

This was a special Valentines Day Snack for us.  We ration our chocolate chips, so this was a fun treat!

1 container of plain yogurt (I used Mama's Yogurt)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup of milk

2 Cups of frozen strawberries *

1/3 Cup of Honey (more or less depending on how sweet you like it)

1/3 Cup of Chocolate Syrup.  I use this recipe.

1 Cup of Chocolate Chips.  

*I buy fresh strawberries in bulk & then clean them, cut the stem off and put them in the freezer whole.  They work really well for smoothies!

Put everything, but the chocolate chips in a blender and blend until smooth.  Add 3/4 Cup of the chocolate chips and blend again until the chocolate chips are in small pieces.  Pour the smoothie into cups and then sprinkle the top with the leftover chocolate chips.  Garnish with a fresh strawberry.

Pancakes - Valentines Day Style

My kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE pancakes.  So, I figured I'd borrow an idea from my Pioneer Woman cookbook and make the kids Red Velvet Pancakes for breakfast.  They did not disappoint!!

Pancake Ingredients:

3 Cups + 2 Tablespoons flour

3 Tablespoons baking powder (only use 1 1/2 Tablespoons for High Altitude)

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa powder

1 1/2 Cups milk

1 Cup Buttermilk (1 Cup of milk and 1 Tablespoon Vinegar)

2 large eggs

3 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons white vinegar

4 Tablespoons melted butter

Red Food Coloring

Icing Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar (sifted)

Dash of salt

4 Tablespoons melted butter

1/4 Cup buttermilk (1/4 Cup milk and 1 teaspoon vinegar)

1/4 Cup milk

2 Tablespoons pancake syrup

Heat your skillet and grease it. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cocoa powder.  Whisk to combine.  In a separate bowl, mix the milk, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and vinegar.  Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture.  Whisk gently until the batter just comes together.  Add the melted butter until it's all combined.  Add the food coloring and whisk it into the batter.  The more food coloring you add, the deeper red your batter will be.  Drop the pancake onto the skillet with a 1/4 Cup measure.  Cook on both sides until they are done.  

For the icing, combine the powdered sugar, salt and melted butter in a bowl.  Add the buttermilk milk and pancake syrup.  Whisk the mixture until it is nice and smooth.  

Stack the pancakes on a plate and drizzle on the delicious icing!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

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I love Holiday's & I've found it takes some effort to make a Holiday feel like a Holiday when you live overseas.  I try hard to make Holiday's special occasions for our family.  I also like to keep it fairly simple because let's face it, I have 4 small kids and it takes a lot of energy just to get breakfast on the table.    I spent about 30 minutes last night getting prepared for today.  I started off by setting the kitchen table up with Valentines Day books that the kids found when they

first woke up this morning (I get these books out every year on V-day and then I put them away for the rest of the year.  That way they are "like new" to the kids on Valentines day.  I do the same with the Kids Easter basket books and toys). 

I made some heart shaped ice cubes that I added red food coloring to.  The kids LOVED their heart ice cubes in their juice this morning.  I got this ice cube mold from IKEA.

I also made heart shaped Valentines Day Cards for each of the kids.  I sat them at the top of their plate and they thought it was neat to have their own individual Valentine Day card from Mom and Dad.  After that, I went ahead and mixed all the dry ingredients for the pancakes and icing (just to save time in the morning) and I covered it and went to bed.  

The kids helped me get the table set up and helped me make the pancakes this morning.

It took a little preparation, but it was worth it to make a special Valentines morning for our kiddos.

Meatballs

We really enjoy meatballs around our house.  There are a lot of things you can do with meatballs . . . eat them plain, add all kinds of different sauces on top for different flavors, eat them with jam, etc.  The recipe I use came from my Betty Crocker Cookbook:

1/2 kilo ground beef

1/2 Cup plain bread crumbs

1/4 Cup of milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 onion chopped finely (1/4 Cup)

1 large egg

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  I use my hands to get it mixed thoroughly.  Shape into meatballs.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Toad in the Hole

Toad in the Hole

We are back from the States and our kitchen is back in service.  It feels nice to come back, unpack all the dishes, get them all washed, clean all the cabinets and get off to a new start!  When we arrived, it took a while for us to get the kitchen back in order, so we did some easy breakfasts.  Here's one of our go-to "easy" breakfasts . . . Toad in the Hole.

Ingredients:

Sliced Bread

1 egg

1 teaspoon butter

salt and pepper

I used the sliced bread that you can get at most of the grocery stores in Addis. I cut a circle hole in the middle of the bread.  In a frying pan, melt the butter.  Place your bread in the butter and then break an egg into the hole in your bread.  Let the egg cook until it is firm on the bottom side and then turn the bread over so the egg will be fully cooked on both sides.  Salt and Pepper to taste.

Beef with Veggies - Asian

Beef with Veggies - Asian

 

 

We're in the States this Fall, but will return to Ethiopia in January.  This will probably be my last post until we get back to Ethiopia. 

I've wanted to try this recipe for a while now & it did not disappoint!!  It was delicious!  This recipe is adapted from the Beef with Snow Peas recipe on pioneerwoman.com. 

 

Ingredients:

1 Kilo Beef (cut into small pieces like tibs)

1/2 Cup Soy Sauce

3 Tablespoons Water

1 chicken bouillon cube

2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Ginger

1 Cup broccoli (cut into small pieces)

1 large carrot (sliced thinly)

1 Cup mushrooms (I used the fresh ones from Fantu)

2 Onions (cut into large slices)

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

2 Cups of uncooked rice (cook this)

 

Instructions:

In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, water, bouillon cube, brown sugar, cornstarch and ginger.  Pour half the liquid over the sliced meat in a separate bowl and toss with your hands.  Reserve the other half of the liquid and set aside.

 

Heat oil in a heavy skillet (I used my cast iron skillet) over high heat.  Add the broccoli, carrots and mushrooms and let it cook until the broccoli is tender, but still a little crunchy.  When the veggies are cooked, move them to a plate and set aside. 

 

Allow the pan to get very hot again.  With tongs, add half the meat mixture, leaving most of the marinade still in the bowl.  Add half the onions.  Spread out the meat as you add it to the pan, but don't stir it for a good minute.  Turn the meat and cook until the meat is done.  Remove to a clean plate.

 

Repeat with the other half of the meat, allowing the pan to get very hot again first.  After turning it , add the first plateful of meat, the rest of the marinade and the veggies.  Stir over high heat until all the meat is done.  Turn off heat .  The mixture will thicken as it sits. 

 

Serve immediately over rice.

Cinnamon Toast

Cinnamon Toast

 

This is an easy breakfast that we like to make around our house.  I buy the local sliced toast from the grocery store.  Spread melted butter on the bread.  Sprinkle generously with sugar and cinnamon.  Place in a 350 degree oven until the bread is toasted.  Serve warm.

 

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup

 

 

Ingredients:

9 Cups chicken broth

3 Cups dry noodles

10 carrots, chopped

5 celery stalks, chopped

2 Cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Heat the broth to a boil.  I like to use homemade chicken broth, but I still had to add 5 chicken bouillon cubes to my broth to give it more flavor.  Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook until the pasta is done.

 

This recipe came from www.100daysofrealfood.com