This is the simplest recipe of rolls in the world. The dough is very easy to cook and it’s very tender, almost melting in the mouth. This is also a very good dough for cookies.

For the dough:

1 stick of butter

1 cup of sugar

1.5 cups of flour (sifted, self-rising)

1 teaspoon of baking powder 

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 egg

1 tablespoon of sour cream

2 tablespoons of water

For the filling:

3-4 apples

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1 tablespoon of sugar

½ cup of chopped walnuts

The dough:

Cut 1 stick of butter (or shred), mix it with 1 cup of sugar and  mash the butter with a fork or knife until it will turn into butter crumbs.

Add 1.5 cup of flour, mix very well with butter and sugar.

In a cup mix: 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of water +1 tablespoon of sour cream. Pour into the butter-sugar-flour mixture and knead the dough. The dough will be very tender and fragile. Form out of the dough two balls and put the dough into the freezer for 10 minutes.

Filling:

Wash, peel and chop the apples into the midsized chunks, add sugar, cinnamon and walnuts.

Set aside.

Forming the rolls:

Take out the dough. Take one ball and gently (!) roll it out with the dough roller. Don’t press too hard this dough is fragile. Cut the dough layer into two halves. (This will be your two big rolls that you will cut into the small bite size rolls) on one half of the dough put the apple filling. Put not too much of the filling and put it in a row. Then roll the layer with filling in and cut into the small bite size rolls crosswise.

Put the small rolls roses on a baking dish 4-5 inches away from each other as they will become bigger while baking.

Repeat the same procedure with the second half of your rolled out dough and with the second ball of dough.

 ***Tip from Helen*** I used for the second dough ball cream cheese filling. The filling is very simple to make ¾ of a cream cheese pack and 2-3 tablespoons of sugar mixed. When you mux the cream cheese and sugar spread it on each dough layer and roll it in as I wrote before. The rest of the procedure is the same.***

Baking:

Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Which version to choose?

I honestly can’t decide which rolls are more delicious: with apples and cinnamon and walnuts or with cream cheese. So bake the two versions usually.

It’s very delicious, simple and warm fall dessert.

Enjoy!

Burritos should be spicy and meaty, but as my family loves burritos and doesn’t loce them too spicy I decided to invent mine.

(Honetly there’s nothing to invent) Just throw in together the delicious vinnagraitte of saucage, tomato, cheese nd onion with herbs.

Yes, I know it’s not traditional burritos , but who told we should be traditional?

WE eat what we love and what is delicious and healthy.

So for my healthy Burritos you will need:

4 flour tortillas (homemade is even better!)

1 sausage

1 big tomato

1/2 lb. of  cheese (shredded or shred yourself)

1/4 onion

1/3 lemon basil chopped

1 pinch of salt

1 pinch of black pepper

1 pinch of red pepper

Wash and chop into mid-sized chnks the tomato. finely chop the onion, season and mix in a bowl. Slice the sausage. And now let’s gather the burrito: 

 Put the slices of sausage in the middle, add tomato and onion, put on top a lot of cheese and lemon basil.

Roll it in!

Press it all together. Repeat with the other 3 torillas and set to bake at 375F for 7-10 minutes.

Ready!

Enjoy your burritos:-)

This pizza is a “sister” of my “delicious 30 minute pizza.” It’s cooked from scratch in 30-35 minutes and I just Love this combination of veggies. You can use your combination, but this one is good for me!

The dough is the same:

2.5 cups of sifted flour

1 cup of hot water

0.25 oz. dry yeast

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of sugar

Filling:

1 zucchini;

1/2 small can of mushrooms;

½ carrot (medium);

½ red bell pepper (medium);

¼ of onion (medium);

½ lb. cheese (shredded);

1 teaspoon of tomato sauce

1 teaspoon of mayo

 Pinch of salt, pepper and oregano.

Sift the flour; add sugar, salt and yeast. Pour in hot water and olive oil, Mix well.

Put in the oven for 10-15 minutes (the oven shouldn’t be turned on)

Put on the shelf below the dough a bowl with hot water.

Chop the veggies:  zucchini should be midsized, slice the mushrooms or use canned, finely chop the onion, red bell pepper and garlic. (Garlic should be very well chopped, almost in crumbs)

Take out your dough. Divide into two parts. From this amount of dough you can get 2 pizzas and 5-6 hot pockets with apples or anything you like. (Read about the hot pockets- in my next post!)

Roll out one part of the dough cut it to the size of your pizza form.

Put it in your pizza form and cover the dough with mayo and tomato sauce. Spread it evenly over the dough, season with salt, pepper and sprinkle oregano on top. Put the half of your shredded cheese on top of the tomato-mayo layer, and then add your veggies one by one.

Set to bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. (The oven should be preheated to 375F)

Before taking the pizza out cover the pie with another cheese layer.

Take out in 3-5 minutes.

Enjoy!

This recipe is very popular in European countries: in Austria it’s called schnitzel,  in the US it’s called a cutlet. We cook cutlets with beef and pork, even with fish and chicken. The main thing the fillet/ or loin has to be thin.

It’s a great dish for a weekday dinner, 5-10 minutes to cook if the meat is ready to work with (not frozen)

For the family of 4 you will need:

1 lb of thin sliced beef

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons of flour 

1 egg

 Wash  and tenderize the meat with meat tenderizer.

***Tip from Helen*** Cover the meat with the clear wrap and then use the smooth shaped side of the ”hammer” to tenderize the meat.***

Season the meat with salt and pepper, cut into medium sized slices 6-7 inch long and 2-4 inch wide. (Or if your meat was cut before then leave as it is)

Pour the flour in a disposable plate.

In a separate deep dish beat the egg. (you may add 1 tablespoon of water for it to be beaten better and evenly). Season the egg mix with salt and pepper.

Run the cutlet through the flour, then egg and then put on a hot frying pan (add the cooking oil just before putting your cutlets to fry).

Fry the cutlets on each side until golden brown.

Serve warm with mashed potato, rice or grilled vegetables.

Enjoy!

The last day of September is a double Birthday Day in my family. So I was looking for a cake that would be simple, fast and that wouldn’t require a lot of time in the kitchen.

My Facebook friend Dor from La Difference Catering offered me to cook a Classic Victoria Sandwich, so I improvised and changed couple ingredients, as well as added couple of new.

This is how the ready cake looks like. It’s a shame I didn’t get a chance to picture it when cut.It looks amazing inside too, but it vanished too fast.

Preparation time: 30 minutes (Total with cream and decoration)

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Total time needed: 55 minutes to 1 hour. (It’s better that the cake stand in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours, but it’s not critical)

For the batter:

1 cup of sifted flour

1 cup of sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons of lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

To decorate:

Coconut shred (optional)

1/2 cup raspberries

1/2 cup strawberries

(Or you may use kiwis and bananas)

Batter preparation:

Mix sugar with eggs gradually, then add lemon zest, vanilla sugar and baking powder; after that start gradually add sifted flour.

Preheat the oven to 350 F; preheat a tin, where you will pour the batter.

Grease the tin with butter or margarine, pour the batter in it and bake for 20-25 minutes until the toothpick comes out of the cake clean.

While the cake is baking let’s cook the cream.

Clotted Cream recipe:

1 cup of milk

3 tablespoons of sugar

3 tablespoons of flour

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla sugar

1/3 cup of condensed milk

Step 1. Divide the milk into 2 halves. Mix 1/2 cup of milk with eggs, flour and vanilla sugar. Set aside.

Step2. Mix 1/2 cup of milk with sugar. Put on medium heat, stir constantly until starts to boil. Por the 2nd part of cream (with eggs and flour in) and stir constantly, until it starts to boil again.

Step 3, Take the cream off the gas and add the condensed milk after it cools off a little.

Your cream is ready.

Decorating:

When the sponge cake is baked and cooled off a little take it out of the tin and cut the sponge into two parts lengthwise. Now when you have two sponges choose one which will be the best for the “foundation” and cover it with your clotted cream.

Take the raspberries and put it on the first layer of your cake. I put one or two circles (one inside another) on the first layer. Put the second sponge on top of first, press a little, cover the first layer with cream and decorate with coconut shred. Put the berries on top of the cake: raspberries and strawberries will be good or bananas and kiwis will be nice as well.

Put the cake in the refrigerator for 1-3 hours (optional).

The cake tastes better when cooled off.

Enjoy!

This recipe was overlooked at Restaurant impossible TV program, I added my personal touches to it and it came out great. To define great I will explain: my fiancé, who doesn’t like chicken, was consuming it, as if it was his favorite sausage, not a chicken…

I used cornmeal here, because I love adding it to my pies and muffins, but have never added to my main dishes.

So here it goes:

3 boneless chicken breasts

½ cup of all-purpose flour

½ cup if corn meal

1 teaspoon of salt (better sea salt)

1 teaspoon of black pepper (fresh ground)

3-4 teaspoons of vegetable oil.

Wash the chicken , cut in halves lengthwise (mine were huge), then cut in halves (or three parts) crosswise.

Season very well: salt, pepper. Pepper should be fresh and I used a lot of it. You can add paprika (smoked), I didn’t , as I didn’t have the smoked paprika at home.

Let the chicken stay for 4-5 minutes.

Mix flour and corn meal. Before frying your chicken, put it in flour-cornmeal mix and then fry it.

Preheat frying pan, add the vegetable oil and fry it until golden brown, you can turn it two –three times until you will reach the necessary color. Serve warm (although they are good when cold as well). Taste BEST with mashed potato!

Enjoy!

This chocolate chip cookies recipe was borrowed from Allrecipes.com website.

I have changed the ingredients list a little bit, but the best part of this recipe is that it’s very fast, very simple and may be cooked with your eyes closed. You kids will <3 these cookies, they are” crispy on the edges and chewy inside”, as the author Dora said in her description.

***Tip from Helen*** You can make these cookies with oatmeal and they will be fabulous! Just substitute chocolate chips with oatmeal. ***Tip from Helen***

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Servings: 24 cookies (or more depending on the size you like)

Ingredients:

1 2/3 sticks of butter

1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of white sugar (optional, but not a must they will be very sweet)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of baking soda

2 tablespoons of hot water

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 (2) cups of chocolate chips

1 cup of coconut shred (optional)

2 eggs

2 ½ cups of flour (you can put 3 and your cookies will be more crispy.)

Take the butter out of the fridge, let it become soft. Cut the butter in small pieces and mix it with sugar.  Add vanilla extract and beat in eggs, one after another. Mix baking soda and hot water in a cup and pour into the egg-sugar-butter mixture. Mix very well, add baking powder and flour, stir well, then add coconut shred and chocolate chips (or oatmeal).

Preheat the stove at 350F. Form the cookies with a tablespoon and fingers. (Remember that they will grow 2-3 sizes larger, so leave enough space between your cookies). Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

 ***Tip from Helen*** If you don’t want your cookies to be very-very sweet add 1 cup of sugar. If you want your cookies to be more soft add less flour and bake them for 20 minutes until light golden brown.*** Tip from Helen***

Enjoy!

In loving memory of My Grandmother Maria.

This pie was a signature recipe of my Grandmother Maria, today would be her birthday , so I decided to bake this pie for the first time in my life. I ate it hundreds of times, but never thought that this deliciousness is so simple to cook.

You can use pretty much any filling : jam, fresh fruit, berries and nuts. (wallnuts add special twist to this pie)

I was baking this pie with cherries, so in my execution it’s sweet and sour shredded pie.

For this recipe you’ll need:

2 cups of flour

1 cup of sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon of sour cream or mayo

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 tablespoons of water

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 stick of butter.

Sift flour, add 1 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of baking powder, mix everything very well.

Shred the butter and mix it with the flour-sugar-baking powder. In a separate bowl mix: egg yolk,  2 tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon of sour cream (or mayo), add vanilla extract. Form a batter, split the batter in proportion 2/3 and 1/3. Put it in a fridge for 15-20 mins.

Preheat the stove to 350F,grease the baking dish, take the batter  and spred 2/3 of batter over the baking dish. (as it’s  very tender I was spreading it with my hands)

Filling: take the filling you are planning to use, I’m using cherries, spread over the batter and shred the1/3 of batter over the filling. (So your pie would look like a curly pie).

Bake the pie for 20-25 mins untli the crust is golden brown.

Enjoy! (I enjoyed it a lot)

This pie was invented some time ago it’s fast and simple to cook, and filling can be pretty much anything: mushrooms, braised cabbage, spinach, eggs and herbs, meat… you name it.

For the batter:

1 cup of cultured buttermilk;

1 teaspoon baking soda;

1, 5 cups of self-rising flour;

1 egg;

Pinch of salt.

Filling: anything you want /have in your kitchen, refrigerator

(BTW it’s not as good with sweet filling: fruit or berries. I don’t know why)

Mix buttermilk, baking soda, egg and salt. Add flour. Mix very well. There should be no flour balls (when the flour isn’t mixed properly). You should be able to pour the batter into the baking dish (it should be liquid, same consistency as my apricot and apple pie batter).

Preheat you oven at 350F. Put a baking dish inside for 5 min. Take it out, grease the dish with butter, so that your pie wouldn’t stick. Pour the batter into your baking dish; add your filling on top. I used: braised cabbage and 2 boiled eggs. When it was almost ready (2-5 min before taking it out) I added tomato and lemon basil.

Set to bake for 15-20 min. (or when ready, depends on the oven)

When the pie is ready it should have golden brown crust.

Enjoy!

The pie is good warm and cold!

 This dish was originally cooked only certain regions of Ukraine and Asia. In Ukraine it was cooked by Crimean Tatars. Originally it was cooked for purposes of preserving the meat of a lamb and this was a good food for travelling at a great distances (The meat could be stored longer). This dish was cooked in Turkey (and is still cooked) and in Azerbaijani. Originally the filling was minced lamb meat and onion plus salt and pepper. The dough is very simple flour and water and an egg (if they had one). And it was cooked in an enormous frying pan full of oil.

 At the times of Soviet Union (after 1920-s) this dish spread around the republics as a fast to cook and relatively cheap dish.  Now Crimean Tatars cook this dish (Chiburekki (Crimean Tatar: çüberek, Turkish: çi? börek, Tajik: chiburekki, Azerbaijani: ?t qutab? sing.: cheburek) with variety of fillings. Last time, when I visited Crimea, I was served with Chebureki with different fillings: cottage cheese, beef, lamb and even with veggies. (Tourism is flourishing, so you have to satisfy the needs of different tourists with various tastes).

Living in the US, you need to cook everything faster, that’s why I use ready tortillas for this dish, and for this dish not to be too greasy I use a little of 

Percentage of Crimean Tatars by region in Crimea (according to 2001 Ukrainian census)

vegetable oil and sometime even bake them ( less cholesterol).

You can also cook this dish with fruit, berries, I sometimes use bacon and cheese, whatever you want.

It’s good to take with you if you decide to go camping or travel by car at the long distances.

For this dish you will need

Meat ( in my case beef) for 4 tortillas I used  ½ pound

1 small onion

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 clove of garlic

4 tortillas

Mix meat with finely chopped onion and finely chopped garlic and add 1 egg. Stir very well, ad salt and pepper; you may add the herbs as well.

Put a thin layer on one part of tortilla and cover with the second and press it a little.

Preheat the frying pan at medium heat, add cooking oil and fry on one side until golden brown, and then turn Cheburek on the other side.

Check that if your meat is cooked (with fork, toothpick), if not cover the frying pan with a lid and turn down the heat to minimum. (Cook for additional 5 min.)

Enjoy!

Helen