Recipe of the month: Avocado Deviled Eggs

I kept meaning to make deviled eggs for a while now, but somehow never got around to it. My friend Milli Thornton had shared with me a picture of some deviled eggs made to look like hatching baby chicks – so naturally, then I really wanted to make deviled eggs. I also kept meaning to try a recipe using Avocados.

That said, can you imagine my excitement when around Easter last month I found a recipe for Avocado Deviled Eggs?

With having Easter eggs for the holiday last month, I decided to make this for dinner. And oh boy, were they delicious. Delicious doesn’t even begin to cover it really!

I’m not waiting around for next Easter to make some more!

Avocado Deviled Eggs

(Prepare this not too long before serving, as the avocados may turn dark.)

6 hard boiled eggs
1 medium avocado, diced small
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
Salt to taste

Cut a little bit at the bottom of the boiled eggs so they will stand on their own. Then cut the top and carefully scoop out yolks. Mash yolks with a fork. Stir in diced avocados, mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste.

Fill egg whites with yolk mixture, add the “egg shell” top, decorate with olives or black pepper for eyes and carrots or red bell peppers for beaks. Place on a serving plate. Sprinkle with cayenne or fresh, chopped parsley.

 

*Recipe originally posted by Eating Well…Living Thin(er!)

Bon appétit!

Recipe of the month – Making Strawberry Soup with Ann McElfresh

Happy Easter!!!

 

I have a little Easter treat for you guys in the form of a guest post by none other than my favorite food blogger, Ann McElfresh from Cooking Healthy For Me.

I’ve been following her blog and trying out her recipes for quite a while now, and imagine how thrilled I was when she accepted to join me today for a little chat and some healthy (not to mention delicious!) cooking

~~~

EA: Hello Ann!

AMc: Hiya Estrella!  How are you?

EA: I’m doing great, thanks. It’s such a pleasure having you here, thank you for accepting my invitation to guest post!

AMc: Thank YOU for inviting me!  I’m thrilled to be here! 

EA: You know I’m a picky eater and that, aside from Peach Soup, I generally dislike soup. How did you settle for a recipe for your guest post for Life’s a Stage?

AMc: I know you like strawberries and this is such a delightful soup.  Cool, sweet and refreshing!  I went with my instincts – I just love it!

EA: I just had to give the recipe a try as soon as I could find strawberries (they’re definitely not ripe here just yet). Do you prefer them frozen or fresh for soup?

AMc: I would say frozen.  When they’re defrosted, they have a juiciness to them and since they’re being "pulverized" anyway, the softer texture works well.

EA: I adapted the recipe a bit, since I couldn’t find any (low-enough-for-my-budget priced) frozen strawberries. I bought fresh strawberries (which, to my surprise were much cheaper) and decided to use strawberry yogurt instead of plain yogurt – the end result was a nice aroma.
You know how tasteless fruits and vegetables can be when not in season… What are your suggestions for similar situations?

AMc: First off, I LOVE the idea of using Strawberry yogurt.  I used Greek yogurt in mine. If you can’t find fresh fruits and veggies at the peak of season – most of the time – Frozen works well. They are generally picked at the peak of season and frozen quickly. While they aren’t as tasty, they certainly work well.

EA: Now, I know you’ve made some recipe adapting of your own. So let’s get cooking, shall we?

AMc: Sounds good!

Strawberry Soup (Serves 6)

Adapted from Delicious Disney

 

Ingredients:

2.5 pounds frozen strawberries, thawed in juice
2 cups fat-free half-and-half (2 cups heavy whipping cream)
¼ cup low-fat sour cream (1/4 cup sour cream)
1/3 cup fat-free plain Greek Yogurt (1/3 cup plain yogurt)
3 Tablespoons Splenda (1 Tablespoon sugar)
Strawberries for garnish (optional)

 

Directions:

Mix strawberries, half-and-half, sour cream and yogurt in an electric mixer, immersion blender or blender.

Beat a low speed to a smooth consistency.

Add Splenda, if desired.

Chill; stir well before serving.

Garnish with fresh strawberries, if desired.

 

AMc: Easy, delicious and perfect for spring and summer!

EA: It is all that and beyond; I LOVE this soup, Ann! Can’t wait for strawberry season now – both to make this soup (every single day!) and to freeze some strawberries for when I’m in the mood to have this during winter.

Oh and, like all your photos usually are on your blog along with the recipes, the photo of the soup is gorgeous. Here’s what mine looked like

AMc: It looks TERRIFIC!  Your soup looks so cool and creamy!

Many thanks Estrella, for the guest post opportunity – I had a blast!

EA: Thank YOU again for sharing this wonderful recipe with me, and now with my readers. It certainly was a blast to have you over!

Bon appétit, everyone!

Recipe of the month: Müesli, Hazelnut & Turkish Delight Cookies

Last December, I gifted an adapted version of my old Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe.

It was a gift in a jar. And it was a spur of the moment change to the original recipe as I tried to properly fill the whole jar (without simply doubling the recipe – where’s the fun in that?).

The gift looked just lovely. And the cookies? They turned out to be the best!

 

Müesli, Hazelnut & Turkish Delight Cookies

Ingredients:

550 g butter, softened
300 g white sugar
3 eggs
15 ml vanilla extract
250 g all-purpose flour
55 g cocoa powder
5 g baking soda
2 g salt
335 g semisweet chocolate chips
60 g chopped hazelnuts
80 g Muesli
30 g Rahat Locoum (Turkish Delight)

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C.

In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips, chopped hazelnuts, Muesli and the Turkish Delight. (Add another egg and/or butter if needed.)

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Bon appétit!

Recipe of the month: Sauerkraut Spread

One of my favorite winter dinners (or appetizer) consist of Sauerkraut Spread on fresh bread. Not to mention how much it’s simple-yet-deliciousness helps decide what to prepare!

Sauerkraut Spread

300-400 grams sauerkraut
3-4 tablespoons sour cream
homemade mayonnaise (1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon mustard, sunflower or olive oil)
salt, pepper, garlic (or garlic powder)

Chop the sauerkraut into thin strips if it was fermented as a whole cabbage. Press out the excess pickling fluid.

Prepare the mayonnaise by adding small amounts of oil to the egg yolk and mustard while mixing vigorously to disperse the oil.
You can also make this in a food processor, just be sure to set it on low speed so the end result won’t separate.
The mayonnaise is done when the emulsion is more resistant to mixing and has a considerably light color compared to how it started out.

Mix together the sauerkraut with the mayonnaise, add the 3-4 tablespoons of sour cream (or even less depending on how creamy you want it), season with salt, pepper and pressed garlic or garlic powder and you’re all ready to spread it on your slices of bread.

Bon appétit!

Recipe of the month: Mulled Wine

For January’s recipe of the month, I thought I’d go with a seasonal drink we make during Winter, in this little corner of the world.

Aside from being a tradition of the season, mulled wine is a variable drink with many recipe versions. And at the same time there are many ways for savoring: sip it alone in a hot bath, while under a warm blanket curled up on the sofa reading a good book, on an outing with friends or on a romantic evening with your sweetheart.

Mulled Wine

1 –1,5 l great quality (either white or red) wine
8 dkg sugar
1 cinnamon rod
5 cloves
half an orange’s peels
optionally: a few pieces of cut orange, some allspice, cardamom, dried fruit (apples, plums, sour cherries), raisins, lemon peels

Wash the orange, grate the peels and then cut thin slices of orange if you want any in your drink.
Pour the wine in a large pan, add the spices, fruit and peels, sugar, and heat until boiling point.
After you’re done, strain your drink and serve while hot.

Happy wine-sipping

Recipe of the month: two Beet Salads

Did you know beets are good for digestion and blood flow? I don’t generally eat beets, so I wasn’t aware of this before a friend mentioned it, but I’ll be making this salad more often from now on that’s for sure.

 

Beets Salad

1 small onion
30 dkg beets
2 average sized pickles
10 dkg homemade mayonnaise
1 dl sour cream
2 spoons horseradish
salt, white pepper

Boil the beets for 20-30 minutes until they’re tender.

Chop all the ingredients finely, combine with the homemade mayo and sour cream, then season to taste.

Serve as a salad with fish or different kinds of meat.

This is how I usually prepare my beets salad, but I actually turned it into a simple salad from the below recipe I once saw.

Pickled Herring and Beets Salad

1 small onion
30 dkg beets
2 average sized pickles
10 dkg homemade mayonnaise
1 dl sour cream
2 spoons horseradish
salt, white pepper
2 eggs
30 dkg pickled herring

Boil the beets for 20-30 minutes until they’re tender. Hard boil the eggs.

Chop all the ingredients finely, combine with the homemade mayo and sour cream, then season to taste.

Serve as a main dish.

Bon appétit!

Recipe of the month: Easy Mushroom Casserole

This is one of my favorite recipes as far as casseroles go. I often prepare this when wanting to empty out my fridge.

Mushroom Casserole

2 cans mushrooms
5-6 eggs
1 small onion
garlic
bacon, ham, sausage, salami, etc.
spices
bread
milk
(mostly eyeball the amounts according to your need)

Chop the onion, garlic, mushrooms and  bacon, ham, sausage, salami, etc. (what ever you have left over in your fridge) and then braise them in a bit of oil for a few minutes (preferably in a larger pot, that way you won’t need to wash two when you’re done).

After braising is done, beat the eggs, combine with milk, add it to the mix and then add crumbled bread. Mix well.

Transfer the mixture into a buttered pan, sprinkle cheese on top and bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes on 150-180C.

Tip: serve with Baby Spinach salad with Mandarin Oranges and Red Onion

Bon appétit!