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Loaded cauliflower casserole

This past week was one of the most special weeks ever. I got to spend a whole week with my grandpa Maylon. I’ve made him so many different things for breakfast lunch and dinner. He enjoyed it as much as I did. This was one of the many side dishes I made.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into pieces, about 5 cups
  • Sour cream- 1 cup
  • Shredded cheddar cheese, divided- 2 cups
  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced, divided
  • 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, divided ( you can substitute it with turkey bacon)
  • Salt- 1/2 tsp
  • Fresh cracked pepper- 1/4 tsp

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. Steam cauliflower until just tender.
  3. Place cauliflower, sour cream, half of the bacon, half of the scallions, half of the cheese in a bowl and salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Transfer to a casserole dish, sprinkle with other half of cheese.
  4. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until heated through. Top with remaining cheese and scallions and serve hot.

https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Loaded-Cauliflower-Casserole-2442125#directions

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This was my first girls trip ever. I had to live up to my cooking expectations from my girls. The pressure was on, we have been going in circles trying to come up with a simple dish that didn’t involve too many ingredients. All of a sudden I spotted this beautiful big juicy mango and something in my head just seemed to feel right. We picked up the mango and everything else that was needed. Both of my friends enjoyed it so much that I had to put this up on the blog. Here is the recipe for both, Lisa and Shannon 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

  • Vegetable oil cooking spray
  • Baby spinach – 8 cups
  • Couscous – 1 cup
  • 1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
  • Chopped fresh cilantro, divided – 1/2 cup
  • Extra-virgin olive oil 1 Tbs
  • Salt, divided – 3/4 tsp
  • 1 large mango, peeled and diced
  • 1 medium avocado, diced
  • 1 medium tomato, diced
  • Mushrooms – 1 cup
  • Chopped red onion –  1/4 cup
  • 1/2 jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped
  • Fresh lime juice – 1Tbs

DIRECTIONS:

I did not have a grill out there, so I cooked everything on the stove top. If you want to use your grill. Please follow the recipe below.

  1. Place 2 cups spinach and the mushrooms in a pan and cook well.
  2. On a saucepan combine couscous with 1/4 cup water. Cook it following the directions on the packet.
  3. Combine shrimp, 1/4 cup cilantro, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in another pan, after that is cooked mix the shrimp with the cooked spinach and simmer them for 3-4 minutes.
  4. Combine remaining 1/4 cup cilantro with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, mango, avocado, tomato, onion, jalapeño and lime juice in a bowl.
  5. Place the couscous on a serving dish, top it off with the mango salsa and the cooked spinach and shrimp on top.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/shrimp-with-avocado-mango-salsa-365851

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Lobongo Lotika Preparation

Lobongo Lotika Preparation

 

I never thought that I will be able to cook let alone make things that I’ve never been introduced to before. Growing up, my mother being a full-time worker always made the time and put in the effort to make traditional food that we couldn’t buy around us because we never lived in Bangladesh.I would help my mom out in the kitchen all the time and always felt that I will never be able to do what she was doing. But somewhere in my head, all the things that I have seen her do have stuck with me, I guess. After all these years when I work in the kitchen, I feel like I”ve achieved such a great feat making things from scratch. And it becomes decently impressive to people around me. It is quite surreal, I feel a bit grown up. Here is a grown-up recipe. Follow the link below to view the steps clearly.

 

INGREDIENTS:

To make the filling

  • Desiccated Coconuts-2 cups
  • Sugar- 2 cups
  • Cardamom Powder- 1/4 tsp
  • Semolina- 1/4 cup
  • Cloves- As needed

To make the Dough

  •  Flour- 2 cups
  • Sugar- 2 Tbs
  • Salt- 1 pinch
  • Oil- 1/4 cup
  • Water- As needed

DIRECTIONS:

  1. To make the filling, in a saucepan put coconut, sugar and about 1 Tbs of water to melt the sugar quickly. Turn the saucepan on after combining all the ingredients. The mixture will become thick and will turn liquidy. Add semolina and cardamom powder, cook a bit more so it develops the flavor. Keep aside on a plate to cool.
  2. To make the dough combine flour, sugar, salt, and oil in a mixing bowl. Add about a little bit more than half a cup of water to form the dough.
  3. Make 10-12 balls of dough. Roll them out one at a time and put about two tablespoons full of filling in the middle of the dough.
  4. Brush some water all around the edge of the dough. Fold the top half of the dough towards the middle. Brush the water only on one side of the dough. Folding from the top right corner to the middle. Brush water to the remainder of the dough folding again from right to the center. keep repeating the folds until all the dough gathers in the center. Pierce the middle with a piece of clove.
  5. Heat about 2 cups of oil in a frying pan. Deep fry the parcels three at a time making sure to cook all the sides evenly.
  6. Serve while it’s hot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CdfMFOg0D0

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Kolhapuri Veggies Curry

Kolhapuri Veggies Curry

This is actually one of my most festive dishes. Every time I make it, it is always devoured by everyone. I do omit three things when I follow this recipe. Watermelon seeds, hing, and kasuri methi. You can also omit whatever you like to better suit your taste and or availability of ingredients. This recipe involves an extensive amount of ingredients but it isn’t hard to prepare. And in the end, you will have something quite awesome.

 

INGREDIENTS

  • Cumin Seeds-1 sp
  • Cloves- 6 to 8
  • Black Cardamom- 4
  • Bay Leaf
  • Curry Leaves
  • Onion Paste- 1 Cup
  • Salt
  • Garlic- 1Tbs
  • Ginger- 1 Tbs
  • Green Chillies
  • Spices
  • Hing (asafoetida)- 1/4 tsp
  • Turmeric- 1/2 tsp
  • Red Chili Powder- 2 Tbs
  • Garam masala powder- 1 tsp
  • Cumin Powder- 1 tsp
  • Coriander Powder- 1 tsp
  • Tomato Paste- 2 large tomatoes
  • Green Peas- 1/4 cup
  • Paste of Watermelon Seeds- 2 Tbs
  • Paste of Cashew nuts- 2 Tbs
  • Cauliflower- 8 florets
  • Capsicum- 1 whole
  • Paneer- 1/4 cup
  • French Beans- 8 strings
  • Carrots
  • Kasuri Methi- 1/2 tsp
  • Tadka of Red Chillies- 5 whole
  • Corriander Leaves
  • Oil for cooking
  • Ghee- 2 Tbs

 

DIRECTIONS

  1. Pour oil into a hot pan. Add all the whole spices, cumin, black cardamom and bay leaves. Sautee everything for a little bit.
  2. Add onions and wait for the onions to turn to a nice golden brown. Add garlic, ginger and green chilies.
  3. Add all the spices. Hing, turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, tomato paste, with some water to make a gravy.
  4. Add green peas with the paste of cashew nut and watermelon seeds. Slow cook it on low heat for 15 minutes.
  5. Make sure you boil the vegetables separately so they are cooked. Also Fry the Paneer separately on all sides.
  6. Add all the vegetable and Paneer to the gravy. Bring it to a boil and simmer it for 20  minutes.
  7. Fry the red chilies in a separate pan with Ghee. Add it to the mixture, and sprinkle Kasuri Methi over the top.
  8. Garnish it with coriander leaves and you are done!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLTSD5jVNU4

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Grits and Shrimp

I have yet to discover what makes me happy. The discovery of new things in life that can bring arrays of emotions are endless. It is almost impossible to list every single thing that can or cannot make me happy. But most importantly in accordance to the social media outlet. The way people treat me depends on how happy I will be for that particular moment of interaction. One thing I know that makes me happy which is independent of any kind of human interaction would be cooking. Cooking in my own solace and privacy.

 

INGREDIENTS:

  • Water – 2 1/4 Cups
  • Grit quick (dry quick cooking grits, not instant) – 2/3 cup 
  • kosher salt – 1 1/4 Tsp 
  • Milk – 1/2 cup 
  • Butter (divided) – 3 tbs
  • Olive oil – 1 tbs
  • Dried oregano – 1/4 Tsp
  • Crushed red pepper flakes – 1 pinch
  • Lemon (juiced) – 1
  • Hot sauce – 3 tbs
  • Kosher salt – 1/4 Tsp
  • Medium shrimp (peeled and deveined) – 12 ounces

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine water, grits, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in milk and 1 tablespoon butter. Continue cooking an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until thickened.
  2. Combine remaining butter and next 6 ingredients (through salt) in a large non-stick skillet; bring to a boil. Add shrimp, and cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until shrimp are done.

https://www.yummly.com/#recipe/Shrimp-and-Grits-1227216