Lamb Lasagna

This is a HIGHLY recommended recipe...

It is very easy to make.

all you need is:

10 lasagna noodles cooked and set aside
1/2 kilo mince beef or lamb
1 tbs curry powder
2 tsp mince garlic
3 cups white sauce
1 jar(big) of Ragu Traditional pasta sauce(reserve a bit for spreading on the bottom of baking tray)
2 packs cream cheese
6 cups shredded mozzarella cheese(reserve 3 cups;1 for topping, and 2 for cheese mix)
2 maggi chicken stock cubes

Preparation

Brown mince meat in a skillet and add garlic, curry powder and maggi cubes towards the end, mix well till thoroughly cooked and mixed evenly. Stir pasta sauce into it and set aside.

Mix 2 cups mozzarella cheese with all the cream cheese in a big bowl,set aside.

Pour a small amount of pasta sauce into bottom of small baking dish so lasagna wont stick and layer the bottom with lasagna noodles then meat mix, then cheese mix, then layer another layer lasagna noodles same as the last, making sure that you use all the meat and cheese mix evenly in these 2 layers. Sprinkle the top layer with the last cup of mozzarella cheese. Bake at 160C for 40 minutes or until top layer is browned.

Enjoy!

Random Stuff...

The best smelling "fake" roses :)

Popsicle Maker I discovered while shopping and had to have it! I'm thinking Applemints(her link is in my links list) Yogurt Pops for these!

Love the name of this stuff..."Apple Spritzer Table Water"

The word "Spritzer" makes me think I should spray it on my face,lol...we will see what it tastes like later!

Sultanas from Samarkand...

A friend of mine gave me some Sultanas from Samarkand,Uzbekistan...And WOW, they are delicious...They are very gummy and sweet...As i understand the people of Uzbeskistan LOVE dried fruits and it makes up alot of thier diet...These will be baked into a sweet bread with the help of my friend because i CANNOT bake!

Ash-e-Joe and Eid ul Fitr Kids Treats!

Cutting the Herbs
After boiling the beans you add rice and barley...
Then later add the herbs...
Cook for 1 1/2 hours! and...Voila! Its done!
Mixing the Eid Candies(dont forget the coins!)

The recipe for this soup can be found at: http://www.iranonline.com/iranhall/recipe/barley.html

Henna,Dates, and Cookies!

The Rocky Road Cookies
Segai Dates
Look at the size and texture
And the Henna :)

So I'm in the middle of cooking Ash(irani soup) right now...It takes around 31/2 hours to make and I'm getting restless...So i took some photos to share with you...

I went to a Ramadan Bizarre at the exhibition center here in my city and found the most AMAZING dates(the edible kind,ha ha) there...We bought ALOT of them and also the usual girlish things such as perfume,bukoor,dresses and purses...It was really fun and to be honest we didn't really spend that much on all of the nice things we bought..al hamdulelah(thanks to God) we had a great time and were able to afford the lovely things we bought...I also received some rocky road cookies from my mother who pigged out on some and couldn't finish them, so Ive posted a pic of them and a recipe!

As you see in the photos, I also went to get the usual Eid Henna decor that the girls in my family get to celebrate Eid...Mine only took 25 minutes to do but the rest of the girls I was with took 3 hours from start to finish for hair,henna,mani,pedi,etc...

Needless to say, I got really BORED waiting and couldn't sit still! I am not a patient person when it comes to beauty treatments and sitting for long hours....So I started walking around,ordering coffee for everyone(the entertainer and hostess in me,lols),peeling my henna before it was ready, annoying my sister(who had both hands and feet done, so she couldn't move, ha ha)...I also played superwoman for a couple seconds when the heater drying my sisters feet started to spark fire, so i dashed under the table to pull its plug out the wall..this salon has MAJOR safety issues I find out!

Overall we had a great time with "all that DRAMA"...

we girls love drama :)

Rocky Road Cookies

recipe from(http://www.godiva.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?id=474)

Yield: About 1 dozen sandwich cookies

Difficulty:Easy

Preparation: 30 minutes plus baking and cooling times

Rocky Road Cookies:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1 bar (1.5 ounces each) Godiva Dark Chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 bar (1.5 ounces each) Godiva Solid Ivory,

coarsely choppedMarshmallow

Filling:

12 large marshmallows

Make the rocky road cookies:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly butter two baking sheets. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Beat butter in large mixing bowl until creamy, using electric mixer at medium speed. Add both sugars and continue beating for 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture is light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well.
Beat in flour mixture in two additions, using low speed. Stir in walnuts and chopped chocolates. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart.
Bake 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Make marshmallow filling:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with foil and butter lightly. Cut each marshmallow into horizontal halves and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 3 minutes or until marshmallows are slightly softened.
Using lightly buttered spatula, remove two marshmallow halves from baking sheet and place on bottom-side of 12 cookies. Top with remaining cookies, top-side-up, and press together to make sandwiches. Serve immediately.

Tip: If you wish, you can fill cookies with marshmallow fluff instead of marshmallows.

Chicken and Cream Cheese Lasagna

Chicken Lasagna

INGREDIENTS
· 5 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
· 8 uncooked lasagna noodles
· 1 cube chicken bouillon
· 1/4 cup hot water
· 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
· 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
· 1 jar Ragu 6 cheese spaghetti sauce

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, place the chicken in a saucepan with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes, or until no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from saucepan, and shred.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Dissolve the bouillon cube in hot water. In a large bowl, mix the chicken with the bouillon, cream cheese, and 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
4. Spread 1/3 of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with the chicken mixture, and top with some lasagna noodles; repeat. Top with remaining sauce, and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
5. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven.

Mince Meat Biryani

The Heart in my water :)

Ive found some spare time to write the recipe, so here it is for those of you who emailed me with this request.Thank you all for your interest in this dish!

you will need:

3 cups basmati rice, soaked for 1/2 hour in water, then rinsed and set aside

3 tbs spoons yellow oil

6 cups water with maggi chicken stock,

4 maggi cubes approximately

2 onions, sliced thin

1 tbs garlic minced

1 tsp minced ginger

4 leaves of fresh basil torn, or 2 tsp dried basil

1/2 kilo meat mince(lamb)

1 small bag frozen veggies(boiled and drained)

3 tbs tomato paste

salt

1 tsp turmeric

dash of red chili powder

4 tomatoes, chopped small

1 cup fresh dill chopped small

some rose water and saffron threads

Preparation

Boil and drain veggies,set aside.

Boil rice in the maggi stock water with a little oil drizzled in till done, set aside.

Heat the yellow oil in a wide pan and cook onions till brownish,add garlic,ginger, and basil. Turn a bit, add mince meat,veggies, and tomato paste.Turn mix a bit then add turmeric, salt, chili powder.Cover and leave on heat for 15 minutes till cooked through, stir occasionally.Take a big pot and layer rice in the bottom then meat mix, then dill sprinkled over, then again rice,meat mince,dill,till complete. Sprinkle the tomatoes over the last layer of meat mix. Spray with rose water and small amount of saffron threads( if you like). Cover with aluminum foil and then pot lid. Leave on low heat for 10-15 minutes. Then serve.

Enjoy!

hints: If you are afraid your rice might stick in the last layered bit, melt a small amount of lurpack butter in the bottom before putting on heat. It will make a nice crispy bottom layer that will taste delicious.

You can add more heat to this dish by adding a small green pepper in the onion cooking stage or even just add it when cooking the meat...