Simple Lamb Chops with Lemon { South Beach Diet Friendly }

2 servings

Ingredients
2 lamb chops
salt & pepper
olive oil for frying
lemon juice or wedges

Directions
Simply sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper and grill or fry (in a little olive oil) to desired doneness. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving and serve with fresh lemon juice or lemon wedges.

Tomato and Onion Salad with Fresh Herbs

4-6 servings

Ingredients
3 diced tomatoes
1 small onion, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
15 mint leaves, chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp sumac
salt & pepper

Directions
Mix it up and chill until ready to serve.

- tomato and onion salad with fresh herbs -

Persian Style Spaghetti

This is not your typical saucy spaghetti. It is very flavourful though! This is the style we eat most often in our home.

8 servings

Ingredients
8 cups cooked spaghetti noodles
1.5 lb lean ground beef
1 chopped onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp tumeric
salt & pepper
1 tsp dry oregano
1/2 cup tomato paste

Directions
Cook your pasta in a large nonstick pot according to package directions.

Brown your meat in a pan and add the onions and garlic. Cook through. Sprinkle on the spices and stir in the tomato paste. You may add a few tablespoons to loosen it up a bit but it should be thick. Simmer for a few minutes. Stir in the pasta and put everything into the pot. Cover with a towel and a lid and cook on medium low for about 1/2 hour. Serve.

It's good with pickled veggies on the side. I also like parmesan cheese because cheese is my friend.

Tip: I don't add any extra oil because there's enough coming from the meat anyway. I use 1 box of Catelli Smart but I think the regular white pasta gets bigger when it cooks.

- persian style spaghetti -

Rouladen

We always have these at Christmas but you can make them any time of year.

24 rolls

Ingredients
24 beef or veal cutlets (or scallopine), pounded thin
6 dill or polski ogorki pickles cut into quarters
1 large onion sliced (at least 24 pieces)
6 slices of rye bread, cut into 4 strips each
12 slices of bacon cut in half
prepared yellow mustard
seasoned salt

Directions
For each piece of meat, spread 1/2 teaspoon mustard all over one side of the meat. Sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt. Add a piece of each of the other ingredients and roll the meat up around them. Use a toothpick to hold it all together. Place the rolls into a large baking dish and add about 1" of water. Sprinkle the rolls with additional seasoned salt. Cover with foil and bake at 350F for about 2 hours or until meat is tender. Drizzle some of the pan juices over the rolls and don't forget to remove the tootpicks.

Tip: Serve with a side of mashed potatoes to suck up all those pan drippings. That juice is just too good to waste.

- rouladen -

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

12 servings

Ingredients
1 (7 ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and diced
3/4 pound shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a small baking dish, mix the roasted red peppers, Monterey Jack cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, onion, garlic and Dijon-style mustard.

Bake in the preheated oven 20 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve warm.
Serve with fresh bread cut into chunks or nachos.

Tips: Here's the original recipe but I use the Monterey Jack with bits of Jalapeno in it for extra zip, and cut back the dijon to 1tsp because the flavour is just too over-powering for my liking. I also use only 1/2 the amount of mayo because I want to taste the cheese and peppers, not mayo and mustard.

Original Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Marys-Roasted-Red-Pepper-Dip/Detail.aspx

- roasted red pepper dip -

Devilled Easter Eggs { south beach diet friendly }

8 servings

Ingredients
8 hard boiled eggs
A few cups of warm water with some drops of food colouring in them
1/4 cup mayo
1 tbs chopped green onion (including the green part)
1/2 tsp dry dill
pinch of pepper
pinch of paprika and sliced green onions for garnish

Directions
Boil your eggs and let them cool. Mix water with your choice of colours. Remove the egg shells and dip your eggs in the water just to pick up some colour. Dry with paper towel.

Cut the eggs in half and remove the yolks. Mash the yolks with the rest of the ingredients until they're fluffy and then fill the whites with the yolk mixture. Chill until you're ready to serve.

Tips: You could add salt to the mix but the mayo has enough of salt already in it for my liking.

- devilled easter eggs -

Banana Stuffed French Toast with Strawberry Syrup

2 servings

Ingredients
4 slices bread
1 medium banana sliced
2 eggs beaten
butter for frying
1 cup strawberries
1/4 cup syrup

Directions
Place the sliced banana between 2 pieces of bread. Dip into the egg and fry until both sides are golden brown.

In the meantime put the strawberries and syrup in a pot and cook until the berries start to fall apart. Pour over the cooked French toast.

Tip: For a crispy coating roll the egg coated bread in crushed up cornflakes before frying.

- banana stuffed french toast with strawberry syrup -