Pasta and ground beef is nothing new, but when you add feta cheese, onion and fresh dill to it, it takes your pasta to a whole different level. Enjoy this Beef And Feta Pasta Dinner!
Beef And Feta Pasta Dinner
You might seriously consider making a double batch of this Beef and feta pasta dinner because your family will definitely ask you for more.
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 1 lb ground beef
- 500 g pasta uncooked
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 200 g feta cheese
Instructions
- Peel and chop the onion.
- Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil. Add onion and sauté until softened and brown, stirring once in a while.
- While the onion is cooking, cook pasta, according to the package directions. Drain pasta and set aside.
- Fully cook the ground beef. Drain grease. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Use your hands or the tines of a fork to crumble the feta cheese.
- Add onion, ground beef and crumbled feta to cooked pasta. Shower on a generous dusting of fresh dill and using two spoons, toss the pasta well.
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This post was posted in Main Dish
Cowboy caviar
Cowboy caviar (or Texas caviar) is a simple, healthy, colorful, and delicious appetizer, salad, side-dish, or dip. Using canned beans and corn is a quicker alternative to cooking dry beans. Spend less time in the kitchen but don’t forget to prepare in advance to allow the different flavors to blend together before serving.
Cowboy caviar
The jalapeño can be replaced by a few pinches of chili powder.
Ingredients
- 1 can (425 g) Black beans, Red beans, or Black Eye peas, or Tri-Bean blend drained and rinsed
- 1 can (425 g) whole kernel sweet corn drained and rinsed
- 1/2 red onion peeled and minced
- 1 bell pepper (red, yellow or orange) cored and cubes
- 1 jalapeño cored and minced
- 3 tomatoes cubed
- 1/4 bunch Fresh cilantro chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or lime juice
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a salad bowl, mix, cover, and let chill for about one hour in the fridge.
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This post was posted in Salads
Smoked Salmon Puffs
These are irresistible little Smoked Salmon puffs, filled with a delicate cream made of smoked salmon. Excellent as an appetizer with a glass of Champagne!
Check out my other recipes with puff pastry.
Smoked Salmon Puffs
Ingredients
Dough
- 200 ml water or milk
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 3 pinches of salt
- 120 g all purpose flour
- 3-4 eggs
- 1 egg yolk (optional)
Salmon filling
- 250 g smoked salmon cut into pieces
- small onion minced
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp sour cream
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 100 ml heavy cream( 35%) very cold
- Some fresh dill, or chive, minced
- Few pinches of paprika for decoration
Instructions
Dough
- Preheat oven to 390 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a pot, add water, butter and salt. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
- Add flour and mix well, until the dough comes away from the walls and forms into a ball.
- Add the eggs one by one. Stir well. The dough should become smooth and shiny.
- Place saucepan back on the heat and keep mixing for about 30-50 seconds, to dry out the moisture. Remove from the heat.
- Transfer the dough to a piping bag.
- Pipe puffs (no bigger than a walnut). Space the puffs on the baking sheet, because the dough will rise.
- Lightly brush the top of puffs with egg yolk.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the puffs are puffed and golden brown in color. Do not open the oven while baking. Remove from the oven, let them cool down completely and carefully transfer to a flat surface.
Smoked salmon filling
- In a food processor, combine the smoked salmon with the onion, garlic, sour cream and olive oil. Process until smooth.
- Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Mix once more.
- Whip heavy cream, until soft peaks form.
- Gently fold in salmon mix into the whipped cream. Add the minced fresh dill.
- Cut puffs in half. Transfer the filling to a pastry bag and fill the puffs. Replace the top.
- Dust puffs with paprika. Serve right away or keep in the refrigerator.
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This post was posted in Appetizers
Spinach Salad with Strawberries
This spinach salad with strawberries is seasoned with a delicious homemade sauce, made with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and a little jam. A perfect summer salad!
Spinach Salad with Strawberries
Ingredients
Salad
- 200 g baby spinach
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
- 100 g strawberries
Dressing
- 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp jam (strawberry, raspberry, apricot)
- 1-2 pinches paprika (optional)
- Some sliced almonds or walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- In the bowl, combine the spinach, red onion and strawberries.
- In the jar, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, jam and paprika, to make a smooth sauce.
- Drizzle the salad with dressing and serve immediately.
- If you want, you can add some almonds or other roasted nuts.
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This post was posted in Salads
Salmon in Puff Pastry
Who says you need to make a special dough for amazing appetizers? Thank goodness for puff pastry! It is so easy to use and you can buy it in the freezer section at any grocery store. I want to introduce you to this delicious puff pastry packets that are filled with salmon, sour cream and herbs. And can be served with any green salad of your choice. It’s great for brunch, lunch, or light dinner. This will definitely be on my holiday table this year.
Salmon in Puff Pastry
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 200 g fresh salmon skinless, boneless
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Some fresh dill finely chopped
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add finely chopped onion cook and stir until tender.
- Cut salmon into small cubes. Season with salt and pepper, add sour cream, cooked onion and fresh dill. Gently mix.
- Preheat oven to 380 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Gently roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/2 cm. Using 8 cm round cookie cutter carefully cut out circles.
- Place pastry rounds on a flat surface, divide salmon mixture between them and spread one tea spoon over pastry, leaving a 1/2 cm border all around.
- Brush pastry borders with water. Top with pastry rounds and press edges together firmly to seal.
- Place the pastry packets on baking sheet and brush with egg yolk.
- Make a small hole in the middle of the top of each lid. Use a paring knife to score the top of the pastry as desired. Be careful not puncture through.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden.
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This post was posted in Appetizers, Puff Pastry
Lemon Rosemary Salmon
Tasty, simple and beautiful looking dish for everyday or special occasions.
Lemon Rosemary Salmon
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets remove bone and skin
- 1 large lemon thinly sliced
- 8 spring fresh rosemary washed
- 8 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Add 4 Tbsp of olive oil to baking dish. Place one slice of lemon and one rosemary spring under each salmon fillet.
- Add salt, pepper and paprika evenly over salmon and place one slice of lemon and one rosemary spring on top of salmon.
- Drizzle 4 Tbsp of olive oil over salmon.
- Bake 25 minutes until salmon is flaky.
- Place salmon on serving platter and enjoy.
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This post was posted in Main Dish
Kale Salad with Avocado and Mango
I am so excited that warmer weather is finally here. Now is the best time for healthy greens and fresh juicy mango. There is just not one single thing I don’t like about this salad. Trust me this is a salad you want to try.
Kale Salad with Avocado and Mango
Ingredients
- 2 cups kale finely chopped
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 large mango
- 1/2 red onion
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 5 tsp mandarin juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp honey
- 8 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Wash all the ingredients.
- In a large bowl, add the kale, 2 tsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Massage until the kale starts soften(it will darken in color). Set it aside.
- Meanwhile peel and dice mango into 1/2″ cubes.
- Cut onion into half-moon slices.
- Slice the avocado while it’s in its shell and gently scoop the slices with a spoon.
- Finely chop the cilantro.
- Squeeze juicy mandarin into a small bowl. Add honey, Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Whisk together.
- Mix everything together, top with grated parmesan cheese and drizzle with dressing.
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This post was posted in Salads
Potato Pancakes (Draniki)
One of my husband’s favorite food is draniki. Russian style potato pancakes. Perfect for breakfast or branch. I’ve seen draniki recipes that use mashed potato also, but I personally prefer my potato to be coarsely grated, because then you have more crispy ends. Traditionally draniki are served with sour cream, but you can also serve them with ketchup or cottage cheese.
Potato Pancakes (Draniki)
You will need some extra olive oil, draniki absorb oil very fast.
Ingredients
- 6 medium potatoes washed
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 50 ml buttermilk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 50 g all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup olive oil (plus extra)
- 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
- fresh herbs (optional)
Instructions
- Peel and grate potatoes. Squeeze grated potatoes with hands, extracting as much liquid as possible.
- In a large bowl beet eggs, baking soda and buttermilk, add grated potatoes, salt, pepper and flour, mix well.
- In a large iron skillet heat the olive oil until hot. Place the tablespoons of batter in the pan and flatten with spoon.
- Reduce heat to medium and cook until the bottom is golden brown.Turn over and cook on the other side.
- Garnish with fresh herbs and serve them hot with sour cream.
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This post was posted in Main Dish
Tomato Rounds With Garlic & Cheese
It’s a super simple and fantastic 10 minutes appetizers, that I could eat a plateful. And when it comes to cheese, you are the boss. You can choose any hard/firm cheese that you like, as long as you’ll be able to grate it.
Tomato Rounds With Garlic & Cheese
Please don’t use store-bought shredded cheese, it will not taste the same trust me, it is not so hard to shred the cheese after all.
Ingredients
- 4-6 tomatoes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to aste
- 1 clove garlic
- 100 g hard cheese
- some olive oil (optional)
- some fresh herbs parsley, green onion, dill,
Instructions
- Wash and cut the tomatoes into circles and layer them on the plater. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper to taste.
- Grate garlic, using microplane, sprinkle it on top of the tomatoes. Using the same microplane shred the cheese. Evenly layer on top of the tomatoes.
- Drizzle with some olive oil and garnish with fresh herbs.
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This post was posted in Appetizers
Beef Rice Pilaf With Dry Barberry Berries
This is very delicious and flavorful rice. Perfect for special dinner with friends or just for your family. It may seem a little time consuming, but it’s worth it.
Beef Rice Pilaf With Dry Barberry Berries
It is very important to put the raw garlic on top of the rice before covering everything with water.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice Uncle Ben’s Long Grain White Rice
- 2 lb beef boneless stew beef
- 4 large carrots
- 2 onion
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 head garlic
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 5 Tbsp barberry dry berries
- 1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 Tbsp salt
- 4 cups water hot
Instructions
- Soak and rinse the rice, at least 2-3 times, then drain.
- Cut beef into 1 inch pieces.
- Peel and cut the carrots into thick matchsticks.
- Peel and dice onion.
- Heat the olive oil in an enameled cast iron dutch oven over a medium heat, add beef.
- Cook beef for one hour on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
- When the beef is fully cooked add onion and soften, stirring regularly for about 3 minutes.
- Add carrots, spices, salt, pepper, bay leaf and dry berries. Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Layer the soaked rice over the top of the beef and vegetables. Peel some of the skin off the garlic head and slice the top off, exposing the garlic cloves. Put raw garlic head on top of the rice.
- Carefully pour hot water over wooden spoon to ensure even distribution over rice. Do not stir.
- Cover with lid. When it starts boiling, remove the lid to let the water almost evaporate.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the rice is tender and the rest of the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- Mix the ingredients as you serve the pilaf on a platter. Garnish with garlic head.
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This post was posted in Main Dish