This is just one of those dishes that is easy to make and tastes great! I use frozen organic broccoli for this as the fresh broccoli is too expensive, $5 for one bunch! Sometimes its $3.99 but even that costs too much for one small bunch of broccoli, the frozen is convenient as well, I can use how much I want and when ever I need it. You can use fresh if you have it. Another good thing about using frozen broccoli is you can grate it, and it will be hidden, the kids will never know!…
Dinner
Salisbury Steak
I posted the picture for this a few weeks ago on my Facebook fan page, I asked if you would like the recipe and many of you said yes, so here it is! This is my mama’s recipe, its funny cause in Albanian this is called Qofte me tiganisur meat with gravy, either way you call it, it is a family favourite! Enjoy!
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Shepherd’s Pie
You asked for it, so I am posting my recipe for Shepherd’s Pie! Shepherd’s pie is the first dish I made for my family, I remember my grandpa saying how good it was, its funny cause in Albanian shepherd is cobani pronounced chobani, so I would call it choban food haha…we always have a good laugh with that!
My husband, son and I are the only ones that like shepherd’s pie, so I make it in a 8 x 8 inch pan, if you are making it in a 13 x 9 inch pan you will need to use more ingredients. If you want you can make a gravy that goes well over the mash when serving, or you can serve as is, we love gravy so I make a small amount on the side. …
Meat Pies – Lahmacun
Meat pies or lahmacun as they are called in Turkish are my absolutely my favourite kind of pie! There are two versions. You can either bake them in the oven or cook top with a frying pan and lid; both ways are delicious. The one on the stove top uses a flat bread recipe, the one I am sharing is with dough that is baked in the oven.
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Cheesy Shells and Beef
After being sick and not able to eat real food, along with this cold weather…put me in the mood for some comfort food! I found that if I just made mac ‘n’ cheese it would not be satisfying as a meal, needed something more! I thought some ground beef would go great with it! I can’t believe I am admitting this, but once upon a time I loved Hamburger Helper! Yes me!
Growing up with a working mom, you learn how to cook at a young age, but you need some help….that is when that came in handy among other convenient food items! Beefy Noodles was my favourite! Truth is, if someone offered me a bowl right now, I probably wouldn’t say no to the offer, I mean its not a bad thing! Just wish the ingredient list wasn’t all so bad. …
Spinach and Orzo
Gjellë pronounced gel, means dish or food and gjellë me spinaq dhe klitharaq literally translates into dish with spinach and orzo. In Albanian cuisine we make a variety of different pot foods, everyone makes their own kind of food using a variety of ingredients.
You may have seen my spinach-and-rice post, this is similar but this is with orzo. My mom and grandma always make spinach and rice with veal or beef pieces with bones, but I am not a big fan of that. I prefer it without meat or with a little ground beef for lezet, which means flavour, or taste; it can have a variety of meanings depending on how you use it….
Turlu – Mixed Vegetable Stew
Turlu is a mixed vegetable stew in Albanian and Turkish Cuisine. Meat is added as well, either stew or ground meat and its optional you may make it vegetarian if you like.
Rice is served on the side along with yogurt for those who like it, my children do! Its a healthy stew filled with a variety of veggies, tasty too!
There is no real measurements for this recipe, when I go to the grocery store I just grab the fresh green beans and okra, so I checked my receipt to give you an idea of how much you need, and the green beans came to 0.365 kg and the okra came to 0.425 kg so both don’t even come to a full lb!
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Turkey Pot Pie
Tis the season of turkey dinners…with that comes left over turkey! We had a lovely dinner, 8 dinner guests including our family of 5, and even with second servings we still ended up with leftovers! One whole side of the turkey breast untouched and a bit of dark meat mixed in with some gravy….yum:)…
Layered Imam Bayildi with Kiyma
Imam bayildi literally means ‘the Imam fainted’ there are few folklore stories that are about this. The story I grew up with was when this man the Imam, first tried this dish he fainted as it was so good! This is my grandmas recipe, growing up it was the only thing I would eat with eggplant. I added some of the seasonings, but she taught me how to make it.
This is my daughters favourite dish, my husband loves it too. This time it was extra special as all the veggies used in this dish came from my garden! Including my homemade-tomato-sauce. You can fry the eggplant, or bake them which ever you prefer. …
Sunshine Award
Wow! I have the honour and pleasure to have received not one but two Sunshine Awards! The first time around I was just so humbled by it and just over the roof excited….the second time around I was just as excited….you know they say good things come in twos!
How wonderful has this week been for me, they really brightened up my week! Thank you Bobbi bobbiskozykitchen & Dee deelicioussweets for passing it along to me! It really means so much! These girls are the best! Go check them out as soon as you can! …