Valentine’s Day is just around the corner so I have a couple of sweet treats coming up for you including these simple chocolate truffles. These make enough to share with many of your loved ones! You can decorate them any way you want and use different colored sprinkles for different holidays. I hope your loved ones enjoy them as much as mine!
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- optional coatings- chocolate sprinkles, colored sprinkles, cocoa powder or espresso powder
DIRECTIONS
In a microwave-safe bowl melt the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk for 30-second intervals until the chocolate is smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Remove from microwave and place the bowl in the refrigerator (covered) until firm enough to roll. About 2 hours.
When firm enough to roll into balls, shape them into about 1 inch balls and roll into your desired topping. Store in the refrigerator until ready to give to your favorite people!
Enjoy!
We LOVED this dish. I used carrots and broccoli but you can easily add any of your favorite vegetables just be sure to cut them about the same size so they cook evenly. My family likes sauce so I did not reduce the sauce very much as I wanted that extra sauce to coat some of the jasmine rice. Of course, if you want a thicker sauce just reduce it to your liking. This is sweet from the honey, a little salty from the soy just perfect to add flavor to the chicken.
INGREDIENTS
Teriyaki sauce
- 1/2 cup lite soy sauce
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup of honey
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Chicken Teriyaki
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in bite-size pieces
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- salt
- pepper
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 Tablespoon of diced scallions for garnish
- Jasmine rice, cooked according to package directions
DIRECTIONS
Chop and slice vegetables and set aside. Whisk all of the ingredients for the sauce together and set aside. Place your bite-size chicken pieces in a Zip loc bag, add a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the cornstarch to the bag and coat all of the chicken pieces with the cornstarch.
Preheat a large pan over medium heat, add oil. Sauté chicken until almost done. Add your vegetables to the pan and sauté until the chicken is cooked through and your veggies are crisp-tender. If you think your chicken is cooked through and your veggies are not, simply take the chicken out of the pan and add back in when you are reducing the sauce. When the veggies are almost done add the minced garlic.
Add the sauce mixture and reduce to desired thickness. Remove from stove, add diced scallions if desired and serve over cooked jasmine rice.
Enjoy!
I have to say we don’t eat a lot of Mediterranean food at our house or even when we go out, well unless you count our yearly trip to our local Greek festival! So when my friend Rosalie called and invited me to go to Habibi Mediterranean Cafe I was ready and willing! Habibi is located at 2968 Lafayette Rd, in Portsmouth New Hampshire.
Rosalie and I got there just as they opened and I’m so glad we did as this place gets busy extremely fast during lunch hour. The first thing I noticed as we walked through the door was the amazing aroma’s coming from the kitchen. We were greeted by one of the owners and given menus. We found a table in the back of this very small restaurant. Although Rosalie had already picked out our appetizer I wanted to get a good look at the menu. Everything they have is made from scratch daily from generations of family recipes.
To start, Rosalie ordered us the Habibi Mezza Plate that had hummus (ground chicken, peas, garlic. tahini and lemon), Baba Gannouj (eggplant, tahini, lemon, and spices), Tabouli, 2 falafel balls (deep-fried balls made of chickpeas and spices), and 2 warm stuffed grape leaves. Everything on the plate was just as good as the next bite. If I had to pick a favorite it would be both the hummus and grape leaves. The grape leaves were warm, light and filled with rice and tomato. The hummus, I have to say, was the best I have had anywhere or even made myself. It was light and creamy and went so perfectly with the house-made pita bread.
We ordered this delicious house-made pita bread to go along with the Mezza plate. They make this bread to order and when it comes out it all puffed up before you break into it. This was the lightest pita bread I have ever had.
Shortly after our appetizer came this beautiful salad came to each of us as it comes with the entrees that we ordered. There was no shortage of food, that’s for sure. The salad was so refreshing and great bites while still nibbling on the appetizers!
I ordered the Chicken Shawarma that comes with their house sauce and rice. There is so much flavor in this dish. The fresh herbs and spices make this a dish to remember. The chicken was so tender and juicy. I can see why this is a popular dish.
I have saved the best for last. Rosalie ordered the Gyro Lamb. If you don’t think you like lamb or have never tried lamb I highly recommend this dish. Rosalie and I always share our plates and today was no different. Although I have had lamb and enjoy it, this dish was beyond good! The lamb was cooked perfectly, it almost melted in your mouth. This was my favorite dish of the day. One that will keep me going to Habibi Mediterranean Cafe!
I enjoyed this restaurant so much I was not about to leave without a dessert to take home! So this crispy, sweet piece of baklava came home with me and I am so glad, as it was delicious later that evening.
If you are not sure if this is something you would like don’t worry they have an incredible menu for eat-in or take out that include sub sandwiches, panini’s, calzones and even pizza. They do an incredible take out business as the door was revolving from people eating in or taking out. Many of their dishes are naturally vegetarian as well as gluten-free.
Habibi Mediterranean Cafe is closed on Sundays in the winter but open Monday through Saturday at 11 am. You can find the full menu and more information on their website. http://www.habibiportsmouth.com/menu
Enjoy!
With just a few simple ingredients you have a delicious party bite! So simple to put together and can be made ahead. I have made these a few times when I have had guests over and never have enough of them as the plate is cleaned in no time. This will be a great snack to take with us in our motorhome.
INGREDIENTS
- Pepperoncini’s
- cream cheese- I used the whipped cream cheese
- dry hard salami circles
DIRECTIONS
Cut the tops off and slice through one side of the pepperoncini without slicing all the way through. Fill the pepperoncini’s with cream cheese, about 1 Teaspoon each. Fold the salami in half then wrap around the outside of the stuffed pepperoncini. Secure with a toothpick. Do this for as many bites as you would like.
Enjoy!
I had a different recipe I was going to share with you today but after I told you how much I love scallops last week I thought I would share my favorite way to make them at home. Because we love scallops this only serves 2 at our house but you could easily stretch it to feed 3 or four. I usually serve it with rice and a salad. If you find scallops on sale, go ahead and get them!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound large dry scallops, foot removed (the muscle that holds the scallops to the shell)
- 1 sleeve of Ritz Crackers
- 2 lemons
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- pinch of salt
- pinch of pepper
- 2 Tablespoons of good white wine
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a microwave-safe dish, add the garlic and the wine. Set aside. In a resealable bag add the crackers and crush them. Add salt, pepper and the zest of 1 lemon to the cracker crumbs and mix to combine.
Place the scallops in a shallow baking dish, top with cracker mixture covering all of the scallops. Top the cracker mixture with the butter mixture all over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and slice the second lemon into wedges. Just before serving squeeze 2 of the wedges over the top of the dish. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!
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