Onions

One Pan Middle Eastern Roasted Chicken and Vegetable Bake

categories: Arabic Food Made Easy, Chicken, Posts, Recipes, Vegetables & Sides

Middle Eastern Roasted Chicken and Vegetable Bake

Middle Eastern Roasted Chicken and Vegetables is one of my favorite comfort foods. Comfort food by definition is, ” food prepared in a traditional style having a usually nostalgic or sentimental appeal.” For most, that means lots of carbs and lots of sugar. For me, comfort food really does fit the Merriam Webster definition, that is, a traditional dish that brings back childhood memories. So what is it about One Pan Middle Eastern Roasted Chicken and Vegetable Bake that makes me nostalgic? I have so many childhood memories of being at my Tayta’s around dinner time. She’d whip up her chicken and vegetable bake. She always had a way of making even the hardest dish seem easy to pull together. It must be all her years of cooking for 8 children. Yes, eight. The apartment always smelled amazing. It was wafting with aromas from a mix of garlic, onion and Arabic spices that made me practically drool as I waited not-so-patiently in the family room watching TV. (more…)

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French Onion Soup

categories: Posts, Recipes, Soups

French Onion Soup

It’s cold. Actually, it’s beyond cold. We were hit with snow early this week and it was terrible. Fairfax County schools, DC schools and the Federal Government all failed to call – at a minimum – a two-hour delay causing mass chaos during the morning commute.

Since Tuesday’s snowfall, the snow hasn’t melted. We’ve been seeing temperatures no warmer than 30 F with mornings at 8 F and afternoons hovering around 25 F. I’ve probably said this at least 10 times on the blog, but I am not a fan of cold weather. If it were up to me, I would hibernate all winter and come back to life when it’s no colder than 60 F, sometime around late March. The layers: sweaters, coats, socks, leggings, gloves, hats, ear muffs; it’s all too much for me. And to top it all off, the days are cut short when the sun sets at 5pm. (more…)

Roasted Cauliflower and Lentil Salad

categories: Posts, Recipes, Salads

Roasted Cauliflower and Lentil Salad

It’s the first day of spring! Finally. It certainly feels like spring today with the sun shining and temperatures inching up to 60 F.  With warmer weather we’re reminded that we’ll be peeling off our layers and trying to fit into our short shorts in a couple months. I, for one, realize how pale this extra long winter has made me and how badly I need to get back to the gym to work off the nice layer of fat I’ve accumulated to keep me warm (or so I rationalize). (more…)

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Pasta with Yogurt Sauce

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Pasta, Posts, Recipes

Pasta with Yogurt Sauce

It isn’t until very recently that the concept of eating plain yogurt has become more popular. It’s with the rise of Greek Yogurt’s popularity that more Americans are open to the idea of eating yogurt that isn’t Vanilla or Strawberry flavored.

It took me a long time to realize that most people (Arabs not included) don’t use plain yogurt or keep it in their house. It’s practically unheard of to spinach, malfouf or kubbeh bel sineyeh without it! And Mansaf is basically yogurt and lamb. (more…)

Party Loaf and a Taste of Switzerland

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Breads, Posts, Recipes

 

Party Loaf_3

 

Party Loaf

In December 2010, my mom and I took a mother-daughter vacation in Europe. We took advantage of Christmas break to tour four European countries in the span of two weeks.

We started our adventure in Italy, starting in historic Rome and made our way to Venice and Florence, where we splurged on Italian leather, gelato and espresso. Then we spent some time in Switzerland, mainly Lugano, and Lucerne where we spent Christmas Eve and reveled in Swiss breads, cheese and chocolates. We made our way through the snowy Swiss Alps to Paris, where we spent magical nights at the Eiffel Tower and the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. From Paris, we took the Eurostar to London. We extended our stay to spend New Year’s Eve in Westminster to watch the fireworks on the Thames with the backdrop of the London Eye. It was one of the best vacations I’ve taken. Aside from the historic wonders of each location, we were given the opportunity to try specialty foods in each of the four countries. (more…)

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Skinny Onion Rings

categories: Posts, Recipes, Vegetables & Sides

 

Your read right. I used the words “skinny” and “onion rings” in the same sentence. You didn’t think it was possible did you? Well, I didn’t either – until I developed my obsession with Panko breadcrumbs. It’s so easy, even I could pull this off.

Yes, sometimes it’s nice to indulge in the deep-fried, battered goodness of fast food onion rings. But it’s also nice to be able to enjoy crispy onion rings without the added artery-clogging fat.

Skinny Onion Rings Recipe

 Ingredients

Olive oil Spray
Panko Breadcrumbs
1 Large Onion, cut into rings 
 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a large baking sheet with wax paper
On the baking sheet, spray onions liberally with olive oil spray, on both sides
Dip each onion ring into Panko breadcrumbs, making sure to coat each ring well
Place on the baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes.
Then broil for 5 minutes (or less).

1 Large Onion makes 1 serving.

Nutrition Information – Servings: 1. Calories per serving: 358. Carbs 27g. Fat 28g. Protein 3g. sodium 25g. Sugar 7g.