Homemade Pita Chips.. Twice the fun!

Those are easy chips to make at home for any dip..
It goes great with my Homemade Guacamole Dip or my Homemade Beetroot Dip.




Chips #1: you will need:


2-3 Thin Pita Breads cut into small triangles.
Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil
Dried Oregano


- Place the triangles of pita bread on a baking tray & drizzle them with a a little bit of olive oil.
- Sprinkle the pita bread with the parmesan cheese & oregano.
- Bake them in a preheated oven for around 10 to 15 minutes or until they are crispy.

Chips #1

Chips #2: you will need:


2-3 Pita Breads cut into small triangles 
A Griddle Sandwich Maker

Chips #2

- Place the triangles on the griddle sandwich maker and close it on them to create the grill marks effect.

Banana Bread Recipe # 2

I have tried a previous recipe of Banana Bread yet with nuts. This recipe is for a plain banana bread. I enjoy it with milk, in the morning, as a snack or dessert. It's delicious any way you eat it!

Ingredients:

2 Ripe bananas
1&1/2 cups flour
5 Tbsp melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt

Method:

1- Preheat the over at 350°.
2- In a mixer, place the sugar, egg & Vanilla. Start mixing.
3- Sprinkle the baking soda & salt over the mixture and mix it in.
4- Finely add the flour. Mix everything well.
5- Pour mixture into a buttered pan and bake for 1 hour.
6- Once done, keep it on a cooling rack, once cool, slice & serve.

Normally this recipe requires baking in a Loaf Pan , but I don't go by traditional methods.. I'm such a rebel, I used a Bundt Cake Pan ..haha :P

Rosemary and Olive Bread

Yields: 2 loaves, Serves 12 per loaf


Ingredients:

2 packages active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup kalamata or green olives, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons salt
About 5 cups bread flour



Method:

1. In small bowl, combine yeast, sugar, 3 tablespoons olive oil, and 1/2 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F); let stand until yeast mixture foams, about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in large bowl, with wooden spoon, mix olives, rosemary, salt, and 4 cups flour. Add yeast mixture and 1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F); stir until combined.

3. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes, working in more flour (1/2 to 1 cup) while kneading.

4. Shape dough into a ball; place in greased large bowl, turning dough over to grease top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in warm place (80 to 85 degrees F), until doubled, about 1 hour.

5. Punch down dough. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and cut in half; cover and let rest 15 minutes for easier shaping. Grease large cookie sheet.

6. Shape each half into a 7 1/2" by 4" oval and place on cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush tops of loaves with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. With sharp knife, cut 3 diagonal slashes across top of each loaf.


Nothing tastes better than home made bread... and the aroma... hmmmm ...

Gather around .. Chips & Dips

Chips

Yields: 8 dozen chips


Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 package white or whole wheat pita bread


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425° F. In a liquid measuring cup, with fork, mix oil, Parmesan, chili powder, and cumin.

2. With knife or kitchen shears, carefully split each pita. Brush insides of pita halves lightly with oil mixture. Cut each half into 8 wedges.

3. Transfer wedges to 2 ungreased large cookie sheets (wedges can overlap slightly). Place cookie sheets on 2 oven racks and bake chips 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are golden. Watch carefully, as they can burn quickly.

4. Cool chips on cookie sheets on wire racks. Store chips in tightly covered container or large self-sealing plastic bag up to 1 week.



DIP


Ingredients:

1 package frozen chopped spinach
1 envelope dried vegetable recipe-and-soup mix
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 green onions, cut up
1 cup light mayonnaise
1 container reduced-fat sour cream
1 jar sliced pimientos, drained
1 tablespoon cider vinegar


Method:

1. Remove frozen spinach from package. In microwave-safe medium bowl; heat block of frozen spinach in microwave oven on High 1 minute. Break up spinach with fork, then heat 30 to 45 seconds longer or just until spinach is mostly thawed but cool enough to handle. With hands, squeeze spinach to remove excess water. Pour off any liquid in bowl; return spinach to bowl.

2. From envelope of vegetable soup mix, measure 3 tablespoons dried soup mix, making sure to incorporate all soup ‑- mix components if possible. Reserve remaining soup mix for use another day.

3. In food processor with knife blade attached, combine spinach, dried soup mix, Cheddar, green onions, mayonnaise, sour cream, pimientos, and vinegar; pulse just until mixture is almost smooth. If not serving dip right away, cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. Serve with vegetables.


Enjoy...

French Onion Soup

Serves 6


Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
3 large onions, peeled, sliced
1 can beef broth
3 cups cold water
1 bay leaf
6 slices French bread, toasted
1 cup Shredded Swiss Cheese
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese


Method:

- Melt butter in large skillet on medium heat.

- Add onions; cook about 15 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently.

- Add broth, water and bay leaf; stir. Cover; simmer 15 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf.

- Preheat broiler. Ladle hot soup evenly into 6 ovenproof bowls; top each bowl of soup with a toast slice. Sprinkle evenly with cheeses.

- Broil 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.



Enjoy...


Tip:

For a milder cheese flavor, substitute Shredded Mozzarella Cheese for the Swiss cheese.

Egg Salad Sandwich

Makes 6 Sandwishes...

Ingredients:

12 turkey bacon slices
8 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped pimento-stuffed green olives
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
12 slices white sandwich bread, toasted
12 red leaf lettuce leaves


Method:

- Sauté bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Cut bacon slices crosswise in half.

- Combine eggs, celery, and olives in bowl. Mix in 1/4 cup mayonnaise and mustard. Season with salt and pepper.

- Place toast slices on work surface and spread lightly with remaining mayonnaise. Divide egg salad amoung 6 toast slices. Place 4 bacon pieces, then 2 lettuce leaves atop egg salad on each. Cover with remaining toast slices, mayonnaise side down. Cut sandwiches diagonally in half.


Yummy...

Love Toasts with fried eggs

Happy valentine's Day...

“A simple yet significant gesture to convey your feelings on the morning after”

Ingredients:

2 slices thick-sliced egg bread (toast)
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon butter
Salt & ground black pepper

Heat a large non-stick skillet over low heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, make a heart-shaped hole in each slice of bread, large enough to fit one egg, leaving crust intact. Add butter to skillet; let it melt & foam. When foam subsides, about 1 minute later, place bread in & toast on one side.
Turn toasted bread over & crack egg into heart-shaped hole in bread. Season egg with salt & pepper; cover & cook for about 2 minutes for runny yolks. Remove from skillet with spatula. Slide onto plate carefully & serve.

Enjoy…

Banana Bread Recipe # 1 - Banana Nut Bread

Ingredients:

3-4 over-ripe bananas
2&1/4 cups Flour
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegatable oil
1/4 cup milk
1&1/3 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (or nuts of your choice)


Method:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

- Combine flour, sugar, salt then add eggs and oil. Dissolve baking soda in milk and add to mixture.

- In a separate bowl, mash bananas well, then add to mixture and blend well.

- Add nuts and vanilla.

- Pour mixture into 2 greased loaf pans.

- Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden brown and the tops of the loaves crack open a bit.

- Cool in pans until pan can be handled, remove from pan and continue to cool.


Bon apetit..

Pita Crisps with Eggplant Dip

More hors d'oeuvres coming your way....



Ingredients:


For the dip:

1 eggplant
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup parsley leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt


For the pita bread crisps:

3 pita breads
Olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper



Method:

Make the dip:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Place the whole eggplant in a baking dish and pierce the eggplant 2 or 3 times with the tip of a knife.

3. Place the garlic cloves on a small square of foil and splash them with a bit of oil; enclose the garlic in foil. Put the foil packet in the dish along side the eggplant and place them in the oven.

4. Bake until the garlic is soft when squeezed; about 35 minutes. Remove the garlic and let it cool in the foil. Continue to bake the eggplant until it is wrinkled, soft, and almost collapsed, about 25 minutes more. Let it cool in the pan and leave the oven on.

5. Cut the stem off the cooled eggplant and pull off and discard the skin. Chop the flesh and set it aside. Peel the garlic cloves and put them in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the parsley and pulse until it is finely chopped. Add the chopped eggplant, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the extra-virgin olive oil; pulse until just combined (do not puree). Taste the dip and add salt and more lemon juice and/or oil as needed. Pulse again until the mixture is almost smooth; it should have the texture of guacamole.


Make the pita bread crisps:

1. Cut the pitas in half and peel them apart to make quarters. Arrange the quarters on a work surface and brush them well with oil. Stir together the salt, paprika, and cayenne in a small ramekin or bowl and sprinkle them over the pita quarters.

2. Stack and cut the pita into wedges.

3. Spread the wedges on baking sheets and bake them until crisp and golden about 12 minutes.

4. Serve the dip in a bowl surrounded with the pita crisps.


Enjoy....



Note: This recipe was taken from the book:
Party Appetizers: Small Bites, Big Flavors

Great Yogurt Dip

a Greek dip...


Serves 6


Ingredients:

2 cups plain yogurt
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded
Salt, to taste
4 garlic cloves, mashed or minced
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice


Method:

Line a sieve with cheesecloth and place over a bowl. Spoon the yogurt into the sieve and refrigerate for 4 hours to drain.

Meanwhile, using the large holes on a hand-held grater-shredder, grate enough cucumber to measure 1 cup. Spread out the grated cucumber on paper towels, salt lightly and let drain for 15 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the yogurt, cucumber, garlic, mint, dill, olive oil and lemon juice, to taste. Stir to mix well, then season with salt.

Transfer to a bowl and serve as a dip with wedges of pita bread.

Enjoy...

Focaccia Bread with Grilled Ricotta ~ Diet

an excellent dish suitable for whoever wants to lose weight or maintain their's while enjoying delicious healthy food.

Serves 2


Ingredients:

2 squares focaccia bread split and toasted
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 green pepper, sliced
4 mushrooms, sliced
4 tablespoons ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
freshly ground black pepper


Method:

Spread each piece of focaccia bread with mustard, then top with tomatoes, green pepper and mushrooms.

Place ricotta cheese, rosemary and black pepper to taste in a bowl and mix to combine.

Top vegetables mixture with ricotta mixture and cook under a preheated hot grill for 3 minutes or until heated through and slightly brown.


Tip:

This is a high fibre dish with 355 calories per serving.

As an alternative you can use baguette bread instead of focaccia and cut it into halves horizontally.

You can add several chopped olives or sun-dried tomatoes to the vegetables mixture as a tasty addition to this recipe.

Enjoy...
and stay fit...

Olive & Tomato Bruschetta ~ JO

Jamie Oliver Style.. with mild changes.

Ingredients:

1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup black olives
4 to 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
A drizzle of herb vinegar
1 dried chili
A handful fresh basil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 ciabatta or other rustic bread, cut into thick slices
1/2 clove garlic
4 boccacini
Parmesan, for shaving

Method:

- Squash your tomatoes into a bowl. Then, gently smash the olives on a board with a rolling-pin. Remove the stones, throw the olives in with the tomatoes, and toss together.
- Add a few drops of oil, the oregano, a drizzle of vinegar, crumbled chili, and the basil. Season, to taste.
- Toast the slices of bread and rub with the garlic clove, pile on the tomatoes and olives, rip the mozzarella and lay over the top. Drizzle with a little bit more oil and finish with shaves of Parmesan.