Salmon, Spinach and Root Veggies for Lunch, Topped off with a Smoothie for Dessert!

Today I thought I might actually take the time to make something (hopefully) delicious for lunch, instead of a sandwhich or hotdog.

Salmon:

2 Salmon filets

Lemon/butter glaze:

3 Tbsp Butter melted

2 garlic cloves, pressed

Juice of 2 fresh lemons

a little water
salt
pepper

Heat a frying pan to Medium and melt the butter and add the garlic. After giving the garlic a minute to get fragant, add your lemon juice. Stir. Add the filets and lightly salt and pepper.

Cover. About every few minutes, spoon the lemon sauce over the filets. Flip once. Once the filets are finished - about 15 minutes - take them off the stove and serve onto plates.

- CAUTION - The sauce is VERY lemony. Taste it first, if you like it, drizzle some over your cooked salmon. You can add some water, while it's still on the stove to help. It's a personal taste thing. I didn't put any extra sauce on Stefan's fish and even though it was cooked in the lemon sauce, he still gobbled it up!

Parmesan Potatoes, Carrots and Spinach...oh my!

3 small potatoes - bite size
2 small carrots - bite size
1 small red onion - chopped
5 spinach leaves (came from our garden!)

Melt just enough butter to make it so your veggies won't stick. Add the onions, stir, then add the potatoes and carrots. Salt and pepper - I also put on a little cayenne and paprika - and then cover.

Cook on a medium to low heat for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from pan. Add spinach and lightly saute.

Then add your potatoes and carrots again and sprinkle with a little parmesan - stir and let cook for a minute - then transfer to your dinner plate.

This turned out better then I hoped. I would normally not mix the spinach and potatoes, but wasn't sure if Stefan would eat a sea of green...

The best part about this lunch...it's nutritious and KIDS EAT IT TOO!

Strawberry Coconut Smoothie

2 medium spoonfulls of vanilla ice cream
a bunch of frozen strawberries
1/2 Cup coconut milk  + milk to bring it to a smoothie texture.

Mix all the ingredients together - add milk as necessary -

Pour into a glass, stick a straw in it and enjoy!

Chicken Tikka, Chapatis and a Memory to Keep!

Today we had Chicken Tikka and Chapatis, requested by Stefan. I'm dedicating this recipe to a beautiful woman, named Zainabu. I have wonderful memories watching her make Chapatis and eventually teaching me how to make them myself. We always had the best conversations while working together. She would tell me Kenyan "tall tales" or fables, it was wonderful. Thank you Zainabu, for such fun memories and for sharing your love and recipe with our family!

Warning- This is one of those recipes where I don't like to measure. I took pictures of my hands with amounts to try and help, but even after that I had to add more spices because the taste was just too bland. You have to just play with it and figure out what works for you.

I'll start with the Chapati Recipe:

2 cups flour
1 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Oil
Water (enough to form a dough)
-Mix all together and form a nice dough - Cover and let sit for an hour.
Melted Butter - you'll need it later

- These are the "ratios"- For Markus, Stefan and I - I double up.

After the dough has had time to rest- divide it up into the number of Chapatis you want to have.

Roll out a chapati

Smear with melted butter

then roll it up

and then roll it up into a snail form

Let sit for an hour or longer- covered by a towel

Heat a pan and roll out the chapatis

Put some melted butter on the pan and then put your chapati on

Then smear some butter on the top side of the chapati

Flip once the chapati starts getting air bubbles.

Have a plate with two towels ready. Once the chapati is done, put it on the plate and fold the towels over and cover with another plate - This will keep your chapatis very warm until time to eat.

Chicken Tikka:

2 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 container plain yogurt
1-2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1/3 cup oil
Curry powder

Cumin

Corriander

Paprika

Cayenne

Garlic

Onion

Lemon Juice freshly squeezed.

Cut your chicken into bite sized chunks.

Mix all the other ingredients together and then add the chicken.

Cook on the stove, covered, stirring every couple of minutes, until done.

On a side note- Chicken Tikka is FANTASTIC when grilled. Just Marinate your chicken breast in the sauce and grill - then cook the marinade through and pour over the grilled chicken.

Spicy Potatoes

-Okay...these are a wierd version of Bajias - I don't have access to the stuff you need to make the REAL deal, so I improvised. I use all the same spices as with the chicken tikka, minus the lemon juice, cumin, yogurt and tomato paste. Put some oil in a pan - throw in the spices - then add your potatoes (cut bite size) and some onions. Cook until the potatoes are soft...stirring often.

I made a typical Styrian salad to go with.

Hope you enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

This is a pizza we enjoy when we don't feel like having the traditional tomato sauce with salami.
Preheat over to 400°

Ingredients: Pizza Dough, BBQ Chicken, BBQ Sauce, Onions (Red onions are best), Bacon (optional, we had leftovers), Mozerella Cheese.

Pizza Dough

1 Cup warm water
1 Tbsp Yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp Oil
2.5 Cups Flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, then add every thing except the flour.

Mix well and then add your flour and mix into a dough. knead dough on a floured surface until no longer sticky and a little "springy". Cover with a towel or a mixing bowl. Let rest for atleast 10 minutes.

Chicken:
Cut chicken into bite size pieces and mix with BBQ sauce.

Cook on the stove until done, but not too long, again, you don't want it to dry out. You could also grill the BBQ chicken and then cut into bite sized pieces and coat with BBQ sauce.

Sauce:

Your favorite BBQ sauce.
- on a side note, the BBQ sauce I can find in Austria isn't as sweet as in the U.S and is "lacking". I add some ketcup, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder and if I have any on hand, Liquid Smoke.

Once your oven is preheated and your dough has had time to sit, knead the dough again and then roll out.

Put it on your pan and place it in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Take out your dough and then spread your sauce all over, then put on your onions, chicken and bacon.
 * You can also put on Green Peppers

Follow with cheese

then finish off by putting on top of the cheese a few more pieces of your toppings and a light layer of cheese again.

Pop it in the oven! Let it cook for about 15-20 minutes. Everything is already cooked, so the time is a personal preference kind of thing. You want the crust to brown a little and the cheese to melt.

Dig in!

Grilled Chicken, Bacon and Cheese Burgers with Ranch

A new favorite of ours!

Marinate your chicken in whatever you want. I made a marinade with oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, Worchestersauce and paprika. I skip on the sugar for now, it just clogs up the marinating process.

Heat the grill

Right before putting the chicken on the grill - add some BBQ sauce to it, and coat it well. Then get them on the grill!

I decided to add mushrooms this time, since I had some in the fridge and they needed to go. I put those on the grill too, but we have a plate side to use...if you want mushrooms and have a grill without a plate, just grill them whole and then slice...or just saute them on the stove.

Bacon also went on the grill

And so did the buns

Before you flip the chicken, spread some bbq sauce on them. Flip and then coat the side that was on the grill with sauce too. You want the sauce to start sticking to the chicken. Try not to flip your chicken more then once or twice.

Once everything is about done, put your cheese on the chicken and let it melt.

Once all the meat is done, cheese is melted and the buns are nice and warm and a little crispy on the inside, assemble.

We did Chicken, bacon, onions, lettuce and ranch dressing (use your favorite brand!)

Enjoy!!!