Double Cheese Lasagna

"Everyone loves my Lasagna. Whenever I suggested a get together dinner, my friends ask me to make them. So here it is! They are rich, decadent and creamy, so trust me when I say, you will want to go for seconds."

Prep Time:    20min

Cook Time:    2h 10min

Total Time:   2h 30min

Servings:     8

Difficulty:   Hard

Ingredient: 

Bechamel Sauce

600 gm of ground beef

300 gm of grated cheese 

2 large tomatoes 

400 gm of can diced tomatoes

140 gm of tomato paste

4 Tbsp of ketchup 

3 garlic cloves

4 Tbsp of olive oil

1 medium size onion

1 Tbsp of black pepper

1 Tsp of salt

1 Tbsp of paprika powder 

a palm full of dry oregano leaves  

a palm full of dry basil leaves

a pack of flat lasagna pasta

butter for greasing 

1. Heat up a large pan and drizzle in a little bit of olive oil.
2. Add all of the meat to the pan and brake it down to crumble size pieces. 
3. As it cook's you might notice that the meat is producing a lot of juice. Regularly drain the juice out of the pan, you don't want your meat to boil in water. 
4. Cook the meat until it has reached a nice dark brown color. 
5. Dice the onions to small bits. 
6. Heat up a large sauce pan and ad the oil.
7. Add the onions to the sauce pan and let them turn a nice golden color.
8. Cut the tomatoes in small pieces. 
9. Add the tomatoes to the sauce pan and let it simmer for 5 minutes while occasionally stirring.
10. Add in the canned tomatoes, tomato paste and ketchup. Give it a good stir. 
11. Grate in the garlic cloves using a grater. 
12. If you are using fresh oregano and basil, chop it first. 
13. Add the paprika powder, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Give it a good stir and let the sauce simmer for about 8 minutes.
14. Add the meat to the sauce and stir.
15. Let it simmer for a few minutes in order for the flavors to combine. 
16. Prepare the béchamel sauce following this recipe.
17. Preheat the oven to 185°C. 
18. Grease the baking form with the butter evenly to prevent the lasagna to stick to the form. 
19. Layer the lasagna in to the form following this order: (from bottom to top) pasta, meat, béchamel, pasta, meat, béchamel, pasta, meat, béchamel, half of the cheese.
20. Place the lasagna in to the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
21. Take out the lasagna and moved the oven grid higher. 
22. Add a second layer of the remaining cheese.
23. Place the lasagna back in the oven on the higher grid and continue baking for an other 10 minutes.
24. Test if the lasagna is ready by using a knife. The knife should cut right in with ease and come out almost clean. The second layer of cheese should be crispy and golden.
25. Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes before serving. 
26. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. 

Apple Pie Pockets

"Do you love McDonalds Apple Pies? Have they stopped making them in your country? Well then, your about to be really exited about this recipe. I tried them last night and I will be making more tonight."

Prep Time:    10min

Cook Time:    20min

Total Time:   1h 20min

Servings:     4

Difficulty:   Very Easy

Ingredients: 

2 apples

1 Tsp of cinnamon

1/2 Tsp of ground cloves

1/4 tsp of nutmeg 

1 bag of vanilla sugar (8gm)

8 Tbsp of apple vinegar 

10 Tsp of sugar (more or less according to taste) 

4 small square sheets of puff pastry 

oil to fry

1. Peal the apples, remove the center and cut them in small cubes.
2. Place the apples in a pot over medium heat.
3. Add the ground cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and half of the sugar.
4. Give it all a good stir until all the apples are evenly coated with the mix.
5. Add the apple vinegar and give it an other good stir.
6. After 2 minutes add the rest of the sugar and the vanilla sugar.
7. Mix everything well together and let it cook for an other 8minutes until the apples are nice and soft.
8. Remove the pot from the heat and let it completely cool off.
9. While the apples cool off, remove the puff pastry from the freezer and cut each square in half. 
10. You should now have 8 rectangular sheets of puff pastry not bigger then your hand. 
11. Leave them out to defrost wile your apples cool down. 
12. Once your apples are ready place about 2 tbsp of the apple mix on 4 of the pastry sheets.
13. Use the remaining 4 sheets to cover up and close the pies. I recommend stretching them out a little to the sides first to make it easier to close them. 
14. Make sure your sheets stick well together. You wouldn't want any oil leaking in to your pies laters. 
15. Place the pockets back in the freezer for 1h.
16. You can start heating up your oil about 5 minutes before removing the pockets from the freezer.
17. Throw a small piece of bred in the frier to check if the oil is hot enough. If it sizzles away, it's ready.
18. Place 1 or 2 pockets in the frier at a time, depending on how big is your frier, you don't want them to be touching. 
19. Frie the pies for 10 minutes, occasionally turning them around. 
20. The pies should be golden and crispy.
21. Remove the pies from the oil and dry them of exec oil with some tissue or a towel. 
22. Let them cool of for 10minutes before you attack them. You don't want to burn your self. 
23. Enjoy... 

Yogurt Strawberries

"It's not a strawberry yogurt! It's a Yogurt Strawberry dessert! Simple and quick, this desert makes for a great finish to any meal. My mother would make this frequently, making this one of my favorite desserts."

Prep Time:    10min

Total Time:   10min

Servings:     4

Difficulty:   Very Easy

Ingredients: 

a basket of strawberries

1 plain white yogurt

4-6 Tbsp of brown sugar (according to taste)
1 Tbsp of red wine (optional) 

1. Wash the strawberries under cold water.
2. Remove the stem and cut them in four. 
3. In a medium bowl mixt the strawberries, yogurt, wine and sugar. 
4. You may add more or less sugar according to your own taste and if you are dining with kids, you can skip the red wine. 
5. Serve the dessert in four small glasses.
6. Enjoy your meal. 

Desserts

Yogurt Strawberries  Drunk Oranges      Apple Pie Pockets

 

Drunk Oranges

"Tequila? Mint? Cinnamon? Oranges? Hell Yeah....!
This light and refreshing desert is perfect for a dinner party or pre-drinks before a big night out with your friends"

Prep Time:    10min

Rest Time:    60min

Total Time:   1h 10min

Servings:     4-6

Difficulty:   Easy

Ingredients: 

4 large oranges

20ml of Tequila (4 shots)

4 Tsp of cinnamon

2 Tbsp of brown sugar 

a hand full of mint leaves

1. Cut of the top and bottom of the oranges and carefully peal them. 
2. Now slices the oranges in to 0.5 cm thick slices.
3. Lay down the orange slices on to a baking sheet or a metal tray.
4. In a bowl mix together the tequila, sugar and cinnamon. You can add more or less of the ingredients according to your own taste. 
5. Wash the mint leaves and chop them in to long thin slices.
6. Pour the mix over the oranges evenly and sprinkle with the mint.
7. Place the tray in the fridge for an hour and let the oranges absorb all the flavors. 
8. After one hour, remove from the fridge and serve on individual plates with some of the juice. 
9. Enjoy your drunk desert. 

Coca-Cola Stir-Fry

"Someone has recently told me about cooking with Coke and I just had to try it. This is an easy simple stir fry perfect for a quick weekday TV Dinner meal."

Prep Time:    10min

Cook Time:    15min

Total Time:   25min

Servings:     3

Difficulty:   Easy

Ingredients:

2 packs of instant glass noodles

2 large chicken breast

6 baby corns

1/2 an onion

1/2 a carrot

1/2 a green bell pepper

2 red chilies

a palm full of broccoli

3/4 a can of Coca-cola

4 Tbsp of sweet soy sauce 

1/2 Tsp of black pepper

1 Tbsp of frying oil

a palm full of cashew nuts 

a pinch of salt

1. Peal the carrot and grate it.
2. Cut the onion and bell pepper in to long thin slices
3. Cut the baby corn in to quarters along it's length. 
4. Chop the chillies in to smal bits.
5. Cut the chicken breast in to half and then in to thinner slices.
6. Preheat a large pan and ad the oil.
7. Add the chicken to the pan and fry it for about 5 min till it has changed color from every side.
8. Add all the vegetables to the chicken and fry for an other 3 minutes.
9. Brake the noodles in four.
10. Pour the soy sauce and coke over the chicken and mix well.
11. Push the chicken and vegetables to one side of the pan and place the noodles in to the other half. 
12. Let the noodles marinate in the sauce for about 2 minutes, then turn them over and cook for an other 2 minutes to make sure they are nice and soft from both sides.
13. Add the salt, black pepper and cashew nuts and mix all ingredients together. 
14. Serve and enjoy you sweet and spicy stir-fry. 

Mint Chutney

"This traditional Indian sauce is served with almost everything. It is quite spicy but has a great flavor. You can use it as a sauce, dip or to bring up the heat of your dish. It also works great as a bread/sandwich spread."

Prep Time:    20min

Total Time:   20min

Servings:     8

Difficulty:   Easy

Ingredients: 

4 bunches of fresh mint

2 bunches of fresh coriander

3-4 Tbsp lime juice

3-4 green chilies (if you can't eat spicy food only use 1 chili)

1/2 Tsp of salt

1. Wash the mint and coriander as well as the chilies.
2. Separate the leaves and throw away the stem. 
3. Chop all the leaves and chili in a blender.
4. Add the lime juice and salt and mix it thoroughly using a fork. 
5. Serve and enjoy.

Note: 

If you would like bring down the heat a little, simply add 2-3 Tbsp of plain white yogurt. 

Pasta and Noodles

Spinach Lasagna         Coca-Cola Stir-Fry  

Double Cheese Lasagna

Spinach Lasagna

"Lasagna, lasagna, lasagna... I love Lasagna! I have prepared this spinach variety of lasagna adding some chicken to it for all the meat lovers. But if you are a vegetarian, simply skip the layer of chicken."

Prep Time:    20min

Cook Time:    2h 10min

Total Time:   2h 30min

Servings:     8

Difficulty:   Hard

Ingredient: 

Pomodoro Sauce

Béchamel Sauce

250 gm of ground chicken

500 gm of spinach

140 gm of grated mozzarella cheese 

3 garlic cloves

4 Tbsp of olive oil

1 medium size onion

1 Tbsp of black pepper

1 Tbsp of lemon juice

1 Tsp of dry thyme

a palm full of oregano leaves  

a pack of flat lasagna pasta

butter for greasing 

1. Make the Pomodoro sauce following this recipe: Pomodoro Sauce Recipe. Once you are done with it, let it rest.
2. Make the Béchamel sauce following this recipe: Béchamel Sauce Recipe. Once you are done with it, let it rest.
3. Peal the garlic cloves and cut them in to small bits. 
4. In a large pan or pot, heat up 2 Tbsp of olive oil, bring to a simmer and add the garlic. Let it cook for about 2 minutes till lightly golden.
5. While you are heating up the oil and cooking the garlic. Wash the leaves of spinach and remove the stems. 
6. Add the clean spinach to the pan and slowly flatten it using a wooden spoon. Stir the leaves in order to get them all evenly coated with oil. 
7. Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for an other 2 minutes. After the time has elapsed, stir and turn the leaves. Add the oregano leaves and cover up the pan once again for an other 2 minutes.
8. Remove the spinach from the pan and drain it of any unwanted oil. 
9. Heat up a large pan with the remaining olive oil.
10. Add the ground chicken to the pan and stir it in order to brake all clumps of meat.
11. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes and add the black pepper, dry thyme and lemon juice.
12. Keep cooking the chicken while stirring it for an other 5 minutes until it is golden.
13. Remove any unwanted juice from the chicken and remove it from the heat.
14. Preheat your oven to 185°C. 
15. Grease the baking form with the butter evenly to prevent the lasagna to stick to the form. 
16. Layer the lasagna in to the form following this order: (from bottom to top) pasta, spinach, béchamel, pasta, chicken, pomodoro, pasta, spinach, béchamel , pasta, pomodoro, béchamel, mozzarella cheese.
17. Place the lasagna in to the oven and bake for 30-40 minute.
18. Test if the lasagna is ready by using a knife. The knife should cut right in with ease and come out almost clean. The cheese should be melted and golden.
19. Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes before serving. 
20. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. 

Béchamel Sauce

"The mother of french sauces also well know as the White Sauce. This sauce serves as a base for Lasagna or Mornay Sauce."

Cook Time:    20min

Total Time:   20min

Servings:     6

Difficulty:   Easy

Ingredients:

400 ml milk

50 g buter

3 Tbsp of flour

3 Tbsp of grated parmesan

1/2 Tsp of salt

1 garlic clove

a pinch of nutmeg 

1. Preheat your sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Place the butter in to the pan and let it melt completely.
3. Slowly mix in the flour while making sure they are no lumps in the mixture. Do so for about 2 minutes until it starts bubbling.  
4. Remove the sauce pan from the heat and mix in all the milk, do so very slowly using a whisk  and mix until the it is completely smooth. 
5. Bring the sauce pan back to heat and slowly cook for an other 10 minutes. Make sure you regularly stir it with a wooden spoon until it becomes nice and thick.
6. Grate the garlic in to the mix using the small holes of a grater. 
7. Mix in the grated parmesan, salt and nutmeg and continue stirring for an other 3 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and use the sauce as needed. 

Pomodoro

"Easy and tasty italian tomato sauce. You can serve it over pasta and chicken or use it as a base to more complicated dishes such as lasagna or spaghetti meatballs."

Prep Time:    10min

Cook Time:    50min

Total Time:   60min

Servings:     6

Difficulty:   Easy

Ingredients: 

1,3 kg of caned pealed tomatoes (3 big cans)
3 garlic cloves
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp dry oregano or a palm full of fresh oregano leaves
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp black pepper 

1. Crush the garlic with the side of the knife  and cut it as small as you can. 
2. Pour the tomatoes with their sauce in to a medium sized bowl and cut then in to roughly smaller pieces or simply crash them with your hands. 
3. Add the olive oil to a preheated pan.
4. Place the garlic in the pan and sauté for about 3 minutes until golden.
5. Add the crushed tomatoes with juice to the pan and stir well.
6. Also add the oregano, salt and pepper.
7. While occasionally stirring, let the sauce simmer over low heat for 45minutes.
8. If you feel as tho the sauce is too thick, add a little water. 
9. Taste, if needed add more salt or pepper. 
10. Pour the sauce in to a clean bowl.
11. Serve over pasta and enjoy.

Sour Cream Dip

"This easy to make dip goes perfectly with chips, potato wedges, buffalo wings or simply on a slice of bread."




Prep Time:    5min
Total Time:   25min
Servings:     4-6
Difficulty:   Very Easy

Ingredients:

1 cup of sour cream

1cup of cottage cheese

1 bunch of spring onions

1 garlic clove

1/3 Tsp of salt

1/2 Tsp black pepper 

1. Wash the spring onions, dry them and slice them in to very small pieces.
2. In a medium sized bowl mix together the sour cream, cottage cheese, spring onions, salt and pepper.
3. Grate the garlic in to the mix using the small holes on a grater. 
4. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients together.
5. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 20min to cool off.
6. Serve the dip and enjoy.

Pork

BBQ Ribs

BBQ Ribs

"This recipe has been tested to work both in the oven and on the grill. You can choose to keep the  pork rack whole or cut it in to individual bone slices. I personally prefer the second option. By doing so I guarantee more sauce with every bite and meat falling right of the bone."

Prep Time:    20min

Cook Time:    40min

Total Time:   60min
Servings:     4-6
Difficulty:   Easy-Medium 

Ingredients:

2kg pork spare ribs                          "The BBQ Ribs are best served 

250g tomatoes                           with a baked potato and sour cream dip."

2 garlic cloves                  

2 Tbsp ketchup             

2 Tbsp honey                 

3 Tbsp sunflower oil

1 Tbsp vinegar

1 Tbsp paprika powder

salt

pepper

1. Cut the ribs in to individual bones and rub in some salt and pepper. Let them rest while you prepare the sauce.
2. Pour water in to a medium pot and bring to boil. 
3. Place the tomatoes in the boiling water. 
4. Once the skin of the tomatoes has cracked removed them from the water and wait for them to cool of.
5. Peel of the skin of the tomatoes and dice them in to small cubes. 
6. In an other pot, cook the tomatoes and grate in the garlic. Cover the pot and continuously stir till the tomatoes thicken.
7. Stir in the ketchup, honey, oil, vinegar and paprika.
8. Turn on your oven and place in the ribs. Turn them once around after 10minutes.
9. After another 10 minutes have passed, turn them back around and cover them in sauce using a spoon or a kitchen brush.
10. Keep cooking the ribs another 15-20minutes while turning them every 5 minutes and applying more sauce.
11. The ribs should have a nice brown color and be coated in sauce by the time they’re done.
12. Remove the ribs from the oven and serve. 
13. Dig in using your hands and enjoy.