What's to Eat??? Harissa Paste!

This is an actual flavorful picture, no filter added! Watch out! :)

Move over Ketchup, Tabasco, and Sriratcha! and For those of y'all who don't know what harissa is made up of dried chillies, mint leaves, garlic,  extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice to make for this deliciously spicy chilli paste added to pastas, breads, soups, and whatever else you would like to add hot spreads to really.  I'll be honest, if you don't like spicy things, then skip this post.  BUT if you do like to spice things up, this is your go to. Warning, it becomes RIDICULOUSLY addicting and you will drop a lot of your other hot sauces you have.  With this fresh paste made by yourself, every meal will taste a bit better and your friends will be amazed!

What you will need:: (this will make about 3 cups worth)

• 2 bags of dried chilli peppers ( I use Guajillo and mix with it with regular dried chillies-- a 2/3 to 1/3 dried guajillo ratio, but any dried chillies you have can work!)
• Mint Leaves:: about two bunches
• Olive Oil:: 2-3 tablespoons 
• Salt:: 4 teaspoons or to taste
• Lemon Juice:: 3-4 tablespoon or to taste
• Cumin Powder::  3-4 teaspoons
• Garlic:: 7 cloves

First you will want to take the ends of the chillies out.

  Now you are going to soften the chillies.  

Place all of the dried chillies in a bowl and soak it in boiling water.  Let it stand for about 30 mins or until you can see the water boiling.

While waiting for the chillies to soften, you can take your mint bunches and de-stem them.  You only want the mint leaves.  This part is tedious but well worth it.  The mint helps make the paste not tooo spicy. Saying that, experiment each time you make it to find your level. The more mint, the less spicy.  JUST REMEMBER, adding alot of mint leaves doesn't mean it won't be spicy, because it still will! It will just help managing the flavor. 

  

By now the chillies are probably soft and you can drain the excess water and seeds out.  It will be pretty hot so watch out! You might even want to let it cool for 15-20 minutes. 

Now whip your food processor out and add the garlic to be minced and then slowly add the chillies.  Then add the salt, lemon juice, and cumin powder and let them mix together.  You may need to scrape the sides down after a while to make sure it all mixes evenly. After it looks like an even paste, you can add your olive oil. Taste it and add lemon juice and salt to taste. 

Now add the mint leaves and blend until it reaches your desired smooth, thick paste.  

***The flavor will deepen and become less spicy as the next two days come so don't freak out if its a tad spicier than you will like.** Here, you will notice the paste is a deep red color, add little bits of olive oil and blend and keep repeating this a few times until you can see the color change into a medium red. It is now ready!

Transfer the harissa into a jar or container and add a teaspoon thin layer of olive oil to it.   Refrigerate it and use whenever you will like! It can last up to 2 months, but usually we finish it up by then.  ENJOY!!

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What's to Eat?? Chickpea Burger with Mint Raita

Chickpea burger with Mint Raita

Most of my friends, being carnivores, always tease and complain to me how being a vegetarian is "boring" or "bland" and how they can't seem to find any meal tasty as a meal that provides meat. So I'm always on the lookout and trying new recipes to show them and prove them wrong.
Today's recipe of the day is the scrumptious, chewy, mushy goodness of a protein-filled chickpea burger.  It's not the usual mix of a vegetarian burger but a modern uptake on it  flavored with cumin, paprika, mint, and mashed up chickpeas, topped with a cool and refreshing mint yogurt dressing. Is your mouth watering yet?
 It is good enough to satisfy even the most carnivorous burger fan!

*****NOTE:: The patties will need to be prepped several hours before or best, overnight! Also, extra chickpea mix can be stored in the freezer for a future use! :) Hello quick and simple future meals!*********

What you will need:: (this will be enough for around 6 burger patties, depending on how small or big you make the patty)

• a food processor or something like it
• 1 can chickpea-drained and rinsed
• 4-6 mini whole wheat burger buns
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 onion
• 1 tomato paste can (I try not to cook with egg, so this is a good alternative.  If you want to use eggs, replace here 1 egg, whisked)
• 1 teaspoon of parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/3 to 1/2 teaspoon cup of mint (in my opinion, the more mint you add, the better the flavor)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs 
• 1/4 teaspoon of paprika

Start by rinsing your mint and parsley.  I got these beauties from my sister's garden!

I loosely chopped the mint and parsley here before adding it into the food processor.  Gather your ingredients and add it into the processor.

Pulse and blend a little past chunky into a semi-smooth finish like pictured below.

Add your breadcrumbs and tomato paste and mix it very well with the chickpea mix.  Cover and put in the fridge for a few hours.

Once you are ready to eat, get the mix out of the fridge and you can prepare the patties.  Grab a few pinchfuls of the mix and squeeze, smash, and mold into a patty-like figure.  You can create these as big or small as you'd like.

Now you can either grill these or bake them. It was raining outside so I decided to just bake it. I like to warm it up and get it started by putting it on a pan with a slight oil spray for about 5 minutes.  

Then I proceeded to put it on the oven, along with my side of choice, ever so delicious tater tots, at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Just check on them every now and then and flip it over to get the desired amount of hardness. 

And voila! top it off with a mint raita, onions, and even a tomato slice and get ready to have your mouth and stomach thank you!

Hope you enjoyed them! How did you like it? Would you choose this style over a regular burger? Also, my sister and I decided to make some Oreo truffles again! Click on the link to remember how to make it for yourself!

Homemade Oreo Truffles

ps, don't forget to =)

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What's to Eat?? Mini Apple Pies and Vegetable Pot Pies

MINI APPLE PIES AND VEGGIE POT PIES, SAY WHAT?!

((Sorry it took a few days extra to post this post! All my pictures were on my phone which happened to break this weekend, but all better now!))

What you will need::

4-5 apples

4 tablespoons of flour

3/4 cup of brown sugar

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

1-2 boxes of Pillsbury pie crust

1-2 muffin trays--1 tray will make 12 mini pies

Time::  Around 10-15 mins prep and 25 mins to cook

• First start off by preheating your oven to 400 degrees and taking our your pie crust to thaw out  a little.
• Now you can start peeling and dicing your apples.

• Combine the diced apples with the sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix it very well and then taste it.  I made the silly mistake of putting 2 TABLESPOONS of cinnamon instead of 2 TEASPOONS.. whoops! So when I tasted it and it had a strong cinnamon flavor to it.  If something like this happens to you, then just simply peel and dice up another apple and mix it in the bowl.  Once everything tastes up to how you like, you can then move on to the pie crust!

• Unroll your first pie crust.
• You want to get small even circles for your pie molds.  I just used a small bowl and it worked perfectly.  Continue to do this until there is no more mold left but the leftovers.  You can roll it back out like I have done below and make at least 3-4 more  pies.

• Take the circle pie molds and slowly pressed down on the middle of it and into the tray.  Pinch the edges together so it becomes a nice and neat muffin shape and not spilling over too much.

• Then take a spoon and start filling these bad boys up! I filled it to the top of the pie molds.

• I ended up running out of apple pie mix and had a few extra pie molds left.  I found that sautéing veggies a little and putting it in the pie molds turns out for a great dinner item alon with your apple pie for dessert!

• Top of the pies with a small layer of pie crust mold just barely enough to cover each pie.

                     

• Cook at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes and voila! Get some salad for your veggie pot pie and some ice cream for the apple pie and enjoy!!  They're amazing little bite size wonders!

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What's to Eat?? Spinach and Green Pepper Calzones

Spinach and green pepper calzones!

My two favorite calzones are spinach with cheese and also spinach, green peppers, and onions.  My mouth waters at the thought of it!  It is fairly easy to make and only takes about 30 minutes of your time.
What you will need::
a bag pizza dough works fine
marinara sauce
ricotta cheese
mozzarella cheese
flour
spinach
green peppers
onions
garlic
spices to taste

Prepping:::
Spinach::
First start by cooking 1/2 a bag of spinach and waiting for it to wilter some. Add  1/3 of a spoon of diced garlic and mix around until its ready.  You will then have your spinach done.

Sauce:: Take your favorite marinara sauce and add whatever spice you like to it.  This will be the marinara you would put inside and also as a side dipper sauce.

Other prep work:: cut up green peppers and onions and grate your mozzarella cheese.

Next, grab your dough and start playing with it to soften it up so it becomes easier to manage.  Add flour so it helps with keeping the shape and in the overall process.  

Shape a small piece of your dough in a circular shape to form the calzone.

 Add your stuffing, which in my case would be marinara sauce, green peppers, onions, spinach, and mozzarella cheese, a little ricotta cheese, and spices to taste. Be sure to put this on one half of the dough.

Fold the dough over, preferably the side that is empty, and take a fork and start gently pressing down on the sides, securing a closure.  I also like to poke a hole or two at the top to let some steam out while its baking.

Put your calzones on a lightly greased sheet and cook at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until nicely brown on the sides and top.

Now you are ready to enjoy some delicious yummy calzones!

Enjoy! Be sure to check back tomorrow for Friday Favorites and my OOTD traveling! 

ps, don't forget to =)

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What's to Eat??? Black Bean Burgers

Fresh Black Bean Burger

Since I am a vegetarian, burgers used to never even be on my list of food that I would eat.  Usually I'm not a huge fan of fast food veggie patties or restaurants'.  This past summer I spent my time at my sister's up north.  She is a huge foodie and cooks the best food  (besides my mom ofcourse)and she tries to make everything healthy too! 

So her and her husband introduced me to black bean  burgers.  Sounds normal right? Yes, I've had them before but they usually for some reason aren't THAT great.  But she made hers from scratch and wowzers! I fell in love!  Check this out and try it for yourself!

You will need::
1 can of black beans (will give 8 patties) ***UPDATE*** (look below for an update of the black beans!!)
-You will want to mash up and beat the black beans up until it is nice and mushy.

Then whip out the food processor.  You will now need::

-half of an onion

-4 cloves of garlic

-1/2 of a bell pepper

-Put all these ingredients in the processor and start it up till it's mixed well.
-Then using your hands or a cheese cloth,  squeeze all the water you can out.  Doing this helps with the texture and tastes better too.

Now mix the processed, watered-out mix with the mashed black beans. Mix this mix really well.

Seasonings::

- 1 tomato can paste(a substitute for 1 egg)
1-2 teaspoons of garlic powder (add more depending on how much you like garlic)
2 teaspoons of oregano
1-2 teaspoons of chili flakes (again, add more depending on your tastebuds)
 1/2 taco seasoning mix packet

Mix all of these ingredients well.

Now mix the seasonings with the black beans mashhup.
This mix is going to be wet so add about 1/2cup to 1 cup of breadcrumbs until the mix doesn't stick to your hands anymore.  You can now form your patties and put onto a Pam-ed cookie sheet.

If you want to bake::

Bake  your patties @ 375 degrees for 30 mins.  

15 mins in, turn over the patties to the other side.  

If you want a little crispy, after 10/15 minutes into the baking,  turn it up to 400 degrees.

If you want to grill::
You have to freeze the black bean burgers for at least 30 minutes so it's solid enough.
Place the burgers on an aluminum sheet and then onto the grill for 10-12 minutes on each side at about 400 degrees.

Get whatever you want to put in your burger, some tots, fries, corn, salad  and eat away now! :)

The best thing about this is that it is fresh and you can also put them in the freezer and whenever you want to eat it, you can just pop it in the oven!  You can also grill these.

Enjoy eating fresh black bean burgers!!

ps, don't forget to =)

**UPDATE!!** Click on the link below for an awesome Black Bean recipe instead of using a can! Fresher and healthier and even tastier!
Fail Proof Black Beans

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