Bakeless granola bars

Granola bars, no baking how easy is that and also they are good for you. You can make it, take them along and the best part is its to your choice of ingredients ( I mean  why buy them at stores, when you can make them yourself, and to  your choice of whatever dried fruits and nuts you want to add)

Crunchy sweet and oh so good for you, so read this simple easy to make recipe and make your self ,and your family and friends happy.

Ingredients:

21/2 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup chopped almonds

1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips ( If your a chocolate fan or else you can substitute with coconut flakes)

1/4 cup mixed nuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, raisins etc.. make it your choice of seeds

1/4 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup light brown sugar

4 tbsp unsalted butter

                                                          

Cut out granola bars

Bakeless granola 

Method:

1. Using a baking tray lined with parchment or silver foil, toast  oats along with chopped almonds, for about 6 minutes at 350 F.

Take out of oven and stir them around, making sure they don't burn. Put Put them back in oven for another 10 minutes, remove  as they get light toasted. 

2.Pour these toasted oats almonds into a mixing bowl.

3.Heat a small pan add butter and melt it, over low heat. Add light brown sugar and vanilla essence ,close burner.

4.Add this melted butter to oats mixture.At this point you can go ahead and add some of the chocolate chips, don't worry it will melt and help to hold the bars.Mix in the nuts and coconut flakes.

I prefer to using a square baking pan, line it with silver foil, or parchment paper.

5.Pour  granola mixture into this  square pan, and press with a spatula to give it an even surface. Sprinkle the top with remaining chocolate chips. Cover with foil and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Remove the foil, and cut out even sized bars to enjoy!! 

Stuffed Pastry shells

When you make starters using pastry shells  appetizer's get the winning look and bright smiles of guest who wonder how much effort you took to prepare all this, but trust me by using pastry shells and dough your work time gets reduced in almost half.
Using a pastry puff dough or pastry puff shells is the smartest way to make home made starters that not only look classy but also keep the guest's surprised and wow your hard work!!
There are many options for filling's that can be  used to fill these shell's  like for vegetarians one can use a mixture of goat cheese ,herbs and topped with sliced tomatoes. Another one you do is  stuff  shells with a mushroom and cheese mix , or even spinach with potatoes mixture, try olives in the recipe ,possibilities are endless , you can do sweet fillings like pecans with berries for a sweet fill , just be creative , use your own combination. For now  I tried out bell peppers chopped finely with garlic and onions, cooked in a sauce and sprinkled with cheese,   follow this recipe and you are sure  to impress your guests.

Ingredients
1 pack frozen pastry shells contains about 24 pastry shells
1 medium sized onion diced
1 cup chopped bell pepper , colourful mini bell peppers are great to use :)
2 to 3 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 cup finely chopped mushroom (optional)
1 tspn chilli garlic sauce (store bought)
2 tblsp   tomato ketchup
salt  to taste
2 tblsp vegetable Oil

Mini delights

Ready to Bake 

Veggie delights 

Method;
1.Heat a  medium sized skillet with 2 tblsp  oil, add in garlic and onions, allowing  onions to brown a little , n add in bell peppers, continue cooking another 3 to 5 minutes, till bell peppers soften.
2.Now add in spices and sauces and mix together, close burner and filling mixture is ready. How easy is that :)
3. Preheat oven to 350 F , arrange pastry puff shells, on baking tray and carefully with a teaspoon fill ea h pastry shell , about  half way with the prepared mixture, sprinkle shredded cheese, I prefer mozzarella , but you can use a cheese of your choice.
4 . Bake these shells for approximately 10 minutes and  remove and Serve warm. 

Protein packed bars

We all like to eat things that  give us  energy we need , but many times we forget that its important to balance  the proportion  of carbohydrates, proteins and fibre which together can give us  the health benefits of what we are eating . It is exactly what this recipe does and this recipe I got from my uncle.
These bars have used whey powder as the main ingredient, whey is full protein. You can add what ever nuts, you like to this recipe. I like home made bars because you can make them fresh and also we know what we add in them, and make them to our liking.
It is very economical too as these bars are expensive to buy.


Ingredients:
1 cup Rolled oats its important to use the right kind of ingredient to get optimal results, so use steel cut or rolled oats.
1/4 cup Whey powder , this is available in health food or grocery store too. It is the protein content
1/4 cup mixed nuts
1/4 cup flax seeds for the fibre
1/4 cup  golden raisin
1/2 cup skim milk or Almond milk is good too.
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup peanut butter 

Ingredients

Soaked Oats

Mixture 

Ready mixture in foil

Ready protein bars

Protein bars 

Method:
1.Soak rolled oats in 1/2 cup water ,overnight or for at least 6 to 8 hours.
Next day, add skim milk to the soaked oats, and microwave for  2 to 3 minutes, till the appear soft. Next follow step 3.
This will make the bars  soft and chewy, if you want the uncooked type go to step 2 directly.
2. In a medium bowl add in almond/skim milk, add whey powder ,stir with a spoon and add in oats, honey,nuts and  flax seeds, and peanut butter. Stir this mixture together and pour into a flat container, lined with parchment or silver foil and refrigerate overnight or 4 to 6 hours. Remove from foil and cut into bars.
3. Add in whey powder,nuts, and honey. Mix in flax seeds and raisins and mix  it all together, store in a container. Have a tablespoon full of this mixture  and get protein and  energy before   your workouts. You can form them into bars or  round balls.
Whey is nothing else but liquid that is obtained from curdling milk, It  is complete protein, like meat ,eggs ,dairy , and vegetables.

Chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are a favorite of many of us and when they are home made they get even better.
This recipe is from the original basic recipe by Nestle for making chocolate chip cookies, with a slight variation, that we have omitted nuts and used semisweet chocolate morsels, that is the main ingredient of a chocolate chip cookie.
Another advantage of making these cookies at home is the whole house gets perfumed with the fragrance of chocolate and you know they are ready . My daughter makes the best Chocolate cakes and cookies, they are so good, that there aren't any left overs :)))
So dig in the recipe and make some of these for your self and for your loved ones and watch their smiles light up..

 Ingredients
2 cups All purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 sticks butter
1 tspn vanilla essence
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 tspn whole milk
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups semi sweet chocolate morsels(I like to use Toll house Nestle brand)

Chocolate chip cookies 

Home baked cookies

Method.
Pre heat oven to 375 degrees F and grease and line with parchment paper the cookie sheet.
1. In a mixing bowl , cream the butter and sugars together , using a wooden spoon or electric  hand mixer until smooth. Next add in the eggs, one by one and continue to mix to incorporate the eggs.
2. Combine sieved flour , salt and baking powder and ad this to the creamed mixture gradually. Add in 1 tblsp warmed  milk and vanilla essence.
Next stir in the chocolate morsels. Using a spoonful drop little rounds of dough onto un greased cookie sheet, making sure to keep an inch of distance between them. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, until they appear crisp on the edges and slight golden colour.
After they are done remove from oven and allow to cool on the wire rack or on the baking sheet for about 2 minutes. Chocolate chip cookies go great with milk or just by themselves.

Paani Poori Chaat

Paani  poori is a popular chaat (snack food) . Paani is a Hindi word for water and poori is the term used for little round discs of Indian dough deep fried. Also known as gol gappas, they are sure to win the interests of your friends and guests , and will have them wanting for some more:)))

Ingredients (This quantity is for good for 5 to 6 persons)

3 bunches of fresh mint leaves

2 bunches of fresh coriander leaves 

2 inch fresh ginger

2 tspn salt

2 tspn Black salt (also called Kala Namak)
1 tsp Chaat masala powder 

3 to 4 small green chillies 

2 tspn cumin seeds 
1 lemon 

4 to 5 cups  cold water

1/4 cup tamarind paste  
2 tbsp sugar 
2 pack of store bought ready pooris

                                                     

Grind in the mixer

Strain the ready paani 

Paani poori

Method (preparing paani poori water)

1.Clean the leaves of mint and coriander and wash thoroughly  to remove any  dirt from  leaves.

2.Using a blender, grind the leaves, together with cumin seeds, chopped ginger, green chillies, lemon juice, salt, tamarind paste and 3 to 4 cups of cold water. Next, add black salt and chaat powder and check for taste. Keep this mixture back in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. After that , strain the water and taste for salt, and if it is less add some black salt or chaat masala. This is the paani poor water,s tore it back in the refrigerator for about 2 to 3 hours and enjoy with store bought pooris and potato mixture.

For Potato filling

2 medium size potatoes boiled and peeled

1 cup Tamarind chutney ( ready available in Indian store) or you can look up my blog for a recipe of home made tamarind chutney.

Method 
1. Boil the potatoes fully, cool them and peel the skin of the potatoes, mix them with 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp chaat powder, 1/4 tsp red chilli powder and keep aside.

Assembling the dish 

1. Pooris are very delicate and crisp, using a spoon, crack the top of the poori to make a little opening. Now fill each  poori with like 1/4 tsp  potato filling. To this stir and add in paani poori water and then about 1/4 tsp tamarind chutney (for the sweetness) Continue the same way , with the other pooris and serve immediately.

Other fillings:
If you don't fancy potatoes you can alternately add sprouted moong, or boiled garbanzo beans, instead. 

Spicy Poha

Spicy Poha 

Poha is made from flattened rice , often eaten for breakfast or as a snack to go with tea. It's light and nutritious snack. It is easy to prepare, and tastes delicious...

Ingredients:
 2 Cups poha • 4 Green chillies chopped fine• small Onion chopped fine• 1 medium Tomato chopped finely• 1 tspn Mustard seeds • 1 tspn Cumin seeds 1/4 cup raw peanuts• 1/2 tspn Turmeric 
• Salt to taste • Few curry leaves, and 1/4 cup freshly grated coconut.• 5 tbsp oil, 3 to 4 finely chopped green chillies. 1/4 cup green peas and carrots frozen.

Poha 

Coriander chutney

Method:
1. Soak the poha in water for about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain out the water and keep the strained poha aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds,allow to splutter,adding in cumin seeds,chilli and curry leaves.
3. Add in onions, green chillies and stir to to turn onions slightly brown.Add tomatoes and turmeric. Add in the peas and carrots, continue to cook another 3 to 4 minutes.
4.Add in 2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice and now add in the drained poha. Carefully stir for a minute or two and serve hot poha ,garnished with shredded coconut and coriander leaves. You can  serve  with coriander chutney. enjoy with tea or as a snack.

Enjoy~

Pita Pockets~Snacks

Pita is a bread, made from wheat , it is a staple of Middle Eastern Food. It is enjoyed warm with dips or even as sandwiches and wraps. A perfect and easy to make snack.Also children can have it as an afternoon snack.

Pita Pockets 

Ingredients.
I pack of Pita bread (usually has 5 to 6 pita's)
3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp sun dried tomatoes
2 garlic minced
2 cup grilled chicken strips fully cooked
2 Tomatoes chopped in cubes
1/3 cup Asiago cheese
4 cup Baby greens (salad leaves)
1/2 onion chopped in cubes
1/2 cup chopped Basil
For veg's
1/2  cup corn bits
1 medium capsicum chopped in cubes
100 gm cottage cheese,chopped in cubes.(heat 2 tsp oil in a skillet,add in corn,stir and add capsicum and cottage cheese.Add 1 tsp salt) Stir together for 3 to 4 minutes and keep aside.


Method
1. In a large bowl, combine the Balsamic vinegar,sun dried tomatoes,olive oil and garlic.
2. To this mixture add Asiago cheese,onions,basil,tomatoes, and chicken. For vegetarians, stir fry some veggies like corn,capsicum and some cottage cheese.Instead of chicken add these stir fried veggies.
3. Slightly heat the pita bread, on the stove.Open the pita pockets and line up with the baby greens and add spoon full of  prepared mixture evenly into the pita halves .Serve immediately.