Mushroom Chicken Salad on Lettuce Heart

This is one of my favorite salad and it is a "quick fix" option. It is incredibly fast, simple and packed with nutrients. I find it much more appetizing  and appealing than the traditional chicken salad.

Inspired by the lettuce wrap that my sister orders every time at CPK, I placed the caesar chicken salad on the neatly cut lettuce heart that will make a perfect party "finger food" for any occasion. You will need:

• 1 cup cooked chicken (pulled)
• 1/2 cup mushroom  (diced)
• 1/4 cup crushed cauliflower
• 1/8 cup diced tomatoes (diced)
• 1/4 cup diced cucumber (diced)
• 1/4 cup olives (diced)
• 1 lime
• 4 tbsp caesar dressing
• 4 romaine lettuce hearts (Halved)
• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp olive oil

1. Saute the mushroom for 3-5 minutes in a small saucepan.
2. Combine tomatoes, cucumber, olives, crushed cauliflower and sauteed mushroom in a medium mixing bowl.
   
3. Add  the caesar salad dressing and mix well. 
   
4. Half the romaine lettuce hearts, so that you have eight altogether. 
5. Spoon the chicken salad into the halved romaine lettuce hearts and garnish with the parmesan cheese. 
   
   
   
    
   

Broccoli Cauliflower Smoothie

I never thought I would say this, but my husband has bought into the idea of healthy eating. This is from a guy whose idea of healthy meal is candy. he considers the greens nasty and tasteless. 

I told him that i really wanted to loose all the weight I gained while I was pregnant with our first child. He was excited, but when I told him that it would involve him working out with me as well as eating healthy meals. His facial expression was priceless. I knew that arguing with him will lead to nowhere, I decided it was time to compromise.

Here is what went down: I woke up yesterday morning while he was getting ready for work. I told him that I was serious about loosing weight and I wanted his support. he looked at me and said Babe you know I support you but I am not drinking or eating anything nasty. I smiled and I told him he was not been a team player. I walked out. 

To my greatest surprise, my hubby woke me up this morning and said he was willing to support me and be a team player. I was so happy and told him that for every meal I prepare that he eats, he is allowed to cheat. 

I got up and told him that I would make broccoli cauliflower smoothie for breakfast. He smiled as said please babe can you also make puff puff. 

I chose broccoli cauliflower smoothie because it leaves you full and satisfied even though the taste is not the best. Here is the recipe for puff puff , Here, which I posted earlier this month. 

Ingredients you will need the smoothie

• 2 kiwi fruits
• 6 strawberries
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup raspberries
• 1/2 blueberries
• 1/2 broccoli
• 1/2 cauliflower

1. Soak the vegetables with warm water and apple cider vinegar. Do same for the fruits. Bring out your blender and rinse with soapy warm water. I have the Nutribullet and I absolutely love it.
   
2. Add the fruits, vegetables and lemon into the blender. Blend until smooth 
   
3. Serve chill. In my hubby's case, serve with puff-puff.
   

Sangria Berry Fruit Cup with Whipped Cream and Dark Chocolate Toppings

This is third course for Sunday Family Meal does not have to be Rice. Here is a link to the Avocado Broccolette Sprout Salad HERE. The third course is a healthy dessert. I chose the fat free whipped cream and dark chocolate because I wanted to complete the meal without feeling very heavy.

The fat free reddi-wip cream i used is a nice accompaniment to fresh fruit. Vary the choices of your fresh fruits  according to the season. Below are the ingredients needed to prepare this tasty health dessert:

• 4 tbsp reddi-wip cream
• A pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1/4 cup bluberries
• 1/4 blackberries
• 1 cup strawberries
• 4 kiwifruits, peeled and sliced
• 4 Tbs. of Sangria liqueur
• 1/4 cup raspberries
• 3 Tbs. chopped semisweet dark chocolate

1. Soak fruits in warm water and apple cider vinegar for 30 seconds. Chop the dark chocolate and set aside. Chop the strawberries and kiwi.
2. In a small bowl, combine the strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, kiwifruits, and liqueur. Use a wooden spoon to toss well, being careful not to bruise the fruit. Use some of the strawberries to garnish the top.
3. Spoon the fruits into goblets martini glass. Top each serving with an equal amount of the  reddi-wip cream. Sprinkle the chocolate and cinnamon. Serve immediately. 
   

Suya - An Appetizer That Leaves You Wanting More...

Growing up, my cousin and I will always look for ways to run out of the house at night just to buy Suya. If we are unable to sneak out, we become very creative with our lies just so we can buy suya that night.

Suya is a popular appetizer/snack in Nigeria. It is usually made from Beef, however, you can substitute the red meat (Beef) for white meat like Chicken. If buying from the Mallams alog the road, they serve Suya with lots of onions and then sprinkle the Suya spice. It is also wrapped in a newspaper or any paper they have. Suya restaurants serve differently from the way the Mallams serve it along the road side. At the restaurant, the Suya is garnished with tomatoes and onions and the spice is sprinkled on the suya meat. It is paired with Palm wine, Red wine or Beer. Trust me, you can never go wrong if served in this manner.

Now that we know a little history about Suya, Get your aprons ready because we are about the have fun.


Suya Recipe

• 21/2 lbs of Beef 
• 1/2 lbs of Chicken 
• 1/4 Cup of Lemon Juice
• 15 Wooden Skewer 
• 1 Large Foil Pan
• 2 Onion Bulb
• 1 Large Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Large Yellow Bell Pepper
• 1 Large Orange Bell Pepper
• 1 Large Green Bell Pepper
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup of Suya Spice

1. Soak the wooden skewer in water for about 30 minutes. Cut the Beef into thin fillets. Wash the Beef and pat dry with a paper towel. Put the meat in a bowl, sprinkle salt  and add the lemon juice. Use your wooden spoon and mix evenly so that the lemon juice and salt is evenly distributed to all the meat. 
2. Now use the skewer to thread each beef and chicken fillet as seen on the picture below. Put the threaded beef and chicken in a foil pan and cover with foil sheet. You can put in the foil pan in the freezer or you can leave it out on the kitchen counter to marinate. Either way, the fillet still gets marinated. Leave for 3 hours. 
    
   
3. Heat up the grill. Take 3 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of lemon juice and add knorr for taste and using a glazing brush to mix thoroughly. Glaze each fillet that you are about to grill with the lemon sauce. After glazing, put the glazed fillet on the grill. 
   
4. After 15 minutes, flip the fillet to roast the underside as well. The length of time you'll roast each side depends on how thick the fillets are. So total roasting time for both sides of the beef is 45 minutes for the Chicken and 50 minutes for the beef fillet. Turn the fillet every ten minutes, so it so not burn.
5. Chop the bell peppers and onions and set aside. Take the properly grilled fillet and chop it up on a chopping board. Garnish with bell peppers and onions and dont forget to sprinkle the sprinkle the spice on the suya. Serve with a Glass of wine or a bottle of beer. 
   
6. A picture of my sister. Chioma Nwogu, enjoyng the suya. She was really impressed and wanted more. LOL. Her facial expression though.
   

Nigerian Sardine Bread

When I woke up this morning and started craving bread, I remembered "Underground Bakery" close to Unilag and the wonderful and refreshing aroma just rushed into my nose and I just had to go grocery shopping to satisfy my taste bud and fill my nose with the aroma of freshly baked sardine bread.

I learnt about "underground bakery" when I started my A levels at Artic Conference close to Unilag. The first day I went there, I went with one of my BFFs, Chinelo. As soon as we stepped in, I started salivating. The aroma of the freshly baked pastries was so satisfying and sublime. We bought pastries and I decided to buy 6 of their sardine bread. As soon as I got home, I took a bite of the sardine bread and I felt a rush of blood run through my veins and all my senses heightened. You don't need to eat the sardine bread with butter or anything. However, this bread is perfect with beans (Ewa Agoyin), naija style scrambled eggs or whatever you are craving.
Now you know the story behind my cravings for Sardine bread, lets see how to make sardine bread:

• 4 Cups of All Purpose Flour (or Bread Flour)
• 3 tsp of Fleischmann's Bread Yeast
• 3 tbsp of Sugar
• 1/2 tsp of Salt
• 7tbsp of Butter
• 250 ml of Warm Milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tin of Sardine
• A large bowl
• Brush for Glazing
• Egg and Milk for Glazing
• 10 tbsp of Lukewarm Water

1. Mix the warm milk and yeast  in a small bowl and keep it aside. Let it stand for about 15 minutes or till it is frothy.  
   
                                        
2. Mix the Flour, Sugar and salt together and thoroughly.  Then whisk in the eggs and mix properly using a wooden spatula or your hand. Then you add the melted butter and mix thoroughly.            
   
                                             
3. Stir in the yeast and mix thoroughly. Then add the warm milk and mix with your hands (if you have a mixer, use your mixer). The dough will become sticky and soft. Don't be scared, you will definitely get the consistency you are looking for. Sprinkle flour on a clean smooth surface, place your sticky dough on the floured surface.
   
4. Then sprinkle flour on the sticky dough.
   
    
5. Knead the dough like you are washing your clothes on a wooden platform at the stream (You can use your hands or a rolling pin). Knead for about 5 - 7 minutes continuously. This is what your dough should look like after kneading. 
   
6. Return dough to the bowl and cover with a neat white piece of cloth. Keep the bowl containing the dough in the oven so that it can rise. Let it stay there for about an hour.  After an hour, knead the dough again for about 5-7 minutes and put back in the oven for another 45 minutes so that it will rise.
7. Coat your bread pan with olive oil or butter, mash the sardine, bring out the dough and knead again. Then add the mashed sardine, sardine oil and knead. Now place dough in bread pan and evenly spread/stretch to each corners of the pan.
   
8. Put a white piece of cloth over the pan containing the dough and leave it to rise in a warm place for about 15 minutes. Preheat your oven at 280 degrees.
9. Remove white cloth from bread pan and put it in the oven once oven is ready. the risen dough in the bread pan should look like this or better:  
   
      
10. Bake for 80 minutes in already preheated oven. Your final product should look like this or better the mine 
      
    

Spongy Puff Puff Recipe

Welcome  my blog and the very first post of my blog. 
I am really proud of myself for taking this step to share my start a blog and share my personal cooking stories and ideas with everyone. I started cooking at a very young age and for me, I loved it because it was a way of relaxing, channeling my energy into something and producing a very tasty and creative result.
For me, the Kitchen has always been a place of personal comfort and a place where i turn my sadness into joy by creatively reproducing and designing tasty meals.

My first blog and post will be making Naija style Puff Puff. You know the puff puff you buy on the road side in Naija, that goes for like 10 Naira, that is the puff puff. It is very sweet, spongy, tasty and mouth filling.  In making puff puff, you need patience, love and you SMILEY face.

• 500 grams/4 cups of flour (if you do not have a scale, please use measuring cup)
• 4 teaspoons of fleischmann's yeast. 
• 1 cup of lukewarm water
• 3/4 cup of lukewarm water (to dissolve the yeast)
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• Oil for Frying
• 1 large bowl
• One pot or Deep Saucepan (Please never use regular frying pan)
• A smiley face and much love

1. In preparing puff puff, different people have different yeast choices. Some prefer Instant Yeast, for me, I prefer the yeast used in bread making (even though it take 45 minutes to rise, within that 45 minutes, I am able to prepare ingredients for making another dish as well as attend to my 9 month old son). For those who want to give their puff puff to have extra taste, you can use palm-wine (ensure that the palm-wine has not been opened and has been kept in a dark place for a while). I personally love Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast. 
   
2. Add the flour, sugar, salt and nutmeg and mix together. Mix the 3/4 cup of lukewarm water and yeast together until completely dissolved ( You will need to use your hand to mix the water and yeast so that the yeast dissolves properly.Pour the yeast into the the bowl and mix. Then pour the lukewarm water as needed into the batter the batter until it becomes soft, gummy and smooth. Do not make batter watery.
3. My mom is a super mom because she uses the bread yeast (which usually takes a long time), however, her puff puff batter rises in less than 45 minutes. When using the bread yeast, it takes longer to rise, usually between 60 Minutes to 90 Minutes to rise. However, my mom has a magical power, I say magical because I tried her method and had an epic fail. What my mom does is that after mixture of ingredients, she puts the dough in a wide bowl, covers the bowl, and takes the bowl t outside, where the sun can directly heat it up and the uses another bigger bowl or a bucket to cover the bowl containing the puff puff batter and keeps it directly under the Sun. After 30 minutes, the batter would have risen so much that you begin to wonder how much flour she used. My mom's style never works for me, so what I do is put mine in my over and I give it  45 - 60 minutes to rise properly.
   
4. Once the batter has risen, it is time to heat up your oil. Once the oil is hot and ready, Scoop the dough using you hands and release through your thumb and index finger (this is how it takes the round form) into the hot oil. Put as much batter as the pot space can take (Putting enough batter will make the batter not to float as well as evenly distribute the heat so some are not so burnt up), but don't overcrowd.  
   
5. Now look at your hardwork and enjoy. I made this on Sunday morning after my siblings decided to cancel our breakfast date. After making it , I smiled and served my 9 month the puff puff. OMG!! That is all he ate that day. I called my sister, Chioma, and she was more excited than me who did all the work.              
                    First Batch

Please don't forget to comment  as well as share your thoughts and opinion. Stay tuned for more food and pastry recipes coming your way.

Appreciation to www.dooneyskitchen.com, she is one of my mentor's and inspiration, even though she does not know it