Samosa Wraps

So I was in the mood for samosas, but I really didn't want to eat anything deep fried (and I wasn't in the mood to making dough) and I needed to figure out what to do for lunch. Searching online I came across a pretty cool looking recipe for samosa wraps. Being on this health kick (you know how it is, bikinis telling you that KFC is a nono) I decided to make a few changes to the recipe. For instance, I used sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes and I used Ezekial Wheat Free tortillas. And since I had no tomatoes, I just used eggplants. In the end, I've to admit it was a pretty tasty sandwich which I really hope you guys try.

Magical Nutella Goodness

I haven't baked in a while and thought it would be nice to bake something for KStead that included 3 of his favorite foods; Nutter Butter cookies, Nutella, and cheesecake. Behold...Nutella Cheesecake Bites!

Yields 24
Ingredients

8 Nutter Butter cookies, crushed
2/3 cup Nutella
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
16 oz cream cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line miniature muffin tins (tassie pans) with miniature paper liners.
In a zip lock bag, crush the Nutter Butter cookies and place 1/2 teaspoon of the crushed cookies into each paper cup.
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. I used my Kitchen Aid for this but a hand mixer will do the same job.
Melt the Nutella in the microwave for a few seconds for better handling. Place 1/2 teaspoon into each paper cup.
Fill each miniature muffin liner with cream cheese mixture, to the top.
Bake for 15 minutes. Cool and enjoy!

Ay ya ya Mexico!

My older sister, BLT, and I went on our first vacation together to Cancun, MX. No we don't have the swine! We stayed at Ambiance Villas which was the 2nd to last hotel on hotel zone. Very quiet and relaxing. The staff were wonderful and we would definitely stay there again. We decided not to get the all-inclusive and to venture the local cuisine.

Our first night, we strolled into Mextreme! Apparently, Tom Cruise's movie Cocktail was not filmed here. haha we had to take a picture.

Our next night we went to a restaurant which I don't even know the name of. We walked by the restaurant and it smelled so good we had to eat there. I ordered bbq pork buritto. It actually tasted like Vietnamese bbq pork (thit xa xeo). It was really good and I like the fact that before we ordered they gave us a bowl of homemade chips with 2 different sauces, fresh tomato and a cilantro sauce.


On our last morning, we walked to a local cafe/sandwich shop. It was actually a French/Mexican cafe. They served sandwiches in french baguettes. They had pretty good traffic so we knew it was good. I ordered una croissant con jamon y jugo de naranja. I ordered in Spanish because the waitress didn't know English. The food was delicious! I wish I knew the cafe's name though. If I go to Cancun again I'll definitely take note :)

Two Smart Girls find Two Smart Cookies ... Plus Some!

The diamond in the rough... Kimi and Lulu's adventures in Savannah, GA, lead them to Savannah's guilty pleasure: Two Smart Cookies. Honestly people, these are some of the best cookies I have EVER had (well, M/ Felix and Mr. Norton back in Canada def takes the cake). On White Bluff Rd right before the intersection with Stephenson, is this lil' white house with a green sign on the roof hidden behind some trees. The smell... OMG! The smell when entering the bakery is more than heavenly. What makes a grown-up regress back to childhood faster than the smell and warmth of freshly baked cookies? Missing those hugs from mommy yet? The first things you see in the glass case are the adorable sugar cookies shaped as seahorses, fish, and even a lil' bikini frosted in pinks, greens, and yellow (well, it is beach season). Can we say adorable. What marvelous treasure do we see on top of the glass case but a tray of samples! Now Kimi is gonna tell you that the oatmeal cookies with craisins and toffee are da bomb diggity, but umm, Lulu here says YAY SMART COOKIE! How can you go wrong with a warm, soft chocolate cookie with pecans? You just can't. I mean, my tummy was singing "Just Dance" as that cookie made its home in my stomach :o) Ok, so here's their website: http://www.twosmartcookies.com, but unfortunately this treasure chest is only open Mon-Fri from 10 am to 5 pm so I guess if you work you better make most of your lunch hour. Oh! btw- you can even ask for milk for your cookie! Now really, how cute is that?!

Turkey Kibbi w/ Sweet Potato Fries

So what happens when Kimi and Lulu are in the same house? One very busy kitchen! Second night of Kimi's visit to Savannah, the two of us were inspired to make healthy variations to our favourite items after vegetating on the floor while staring at the tv when "Cook Yourself Thin" was on. Hey! We can make our food healthy too ... and if we actually needed it, we could lose a dress size - but we'll take just being healthy and not clogging our arteries.
SO: I love kibbi and she loves fries. I don't eat beef and potatoes are very starchy which, if not burned, gets converted into sugars in your body and stored as FAT! There's no need for that. So we bought one package of ground turkey and a sweet potato. Ground turkey is almost fat free (better to use 95% fat free than 99% because the meat is a lil' more moist) and sweet potatoes are a complex carb that's high in fibre.
AIIGHT! So this is what we did.

KIBBI:
1 package o ground turkey meat
1 cup of bulgar wheat
whatever seasonings you like (we did salt, pepper, dried herbs, and a lil' cumin)

Preheat oven at 350.
Pour the bulgar wheat in a bowl and add water just to barely cover the bulgar and let it soak until the water is absorbed. IT usually doesn't take more than 30 minutes, but its just easier to do it in the morning, through it in the fridge, and take it out when you feel like cooking kibbi.
Divide the ground meat and put half in a hot pan w/ oil. Cook the meat adding whatever seasons you want. Make sure the meat is thoroughly cooked. Add the other half to the bulgar and mix well. Then form into balls- I make mine somewhat large-say round enough to fit in the palm of your hand.
Deeply indent a ball and spoon in a teaspoon of cooked meat filling into it. Close up the ball and roll in your hands to make sure there are no cracks and its smooth. line on a baking sheet. Keep on doing it with all the balls you made. Once they're lined up on a baking sheet, coat with olive oil and throw them into the oven. Ours took about 45 minutes, but every oven is different o periodically check and remember it is ground turkey so it can dry up if kept too long in the oven.
As for the sweet potato fries- just cut a sweet potato into slim sticks and season anyway you like, coat in olive oil, spread evenly on a baking sheet and throw in the oven. keep an eye on them again, but I'd say about 30 minutes.

What to eat with kibbi? Hummus of course!

Chicken Tangine and so healthy too!

So I'm on a total health kick a well more than normal a since beach season is coming up so I've been looking for recipes that are filling, but light on the fat/kcals. I was going through www.FitnessMagazine.com and I found a recipe for Chicken Tangine. With only 405 kcals, 10 g fat, 49 g carbohydrates, and 32 g protein, the meal was definitely tummy delight. Now I did make some alterations to the dish. I didn't have any chopped cooked chicken on hand, and I was not about to start cooking chicken so I boiled up chicken tenders and then chopped it up. I didn't have olives, so I took a healthier route and substituted it with edamame. And instead of diced canned tomatoes, I used fresh grape tomatoes. I totally loved this dish and I hope to all the ladies out there getting bikini ready (and the guys who want to show some skin) y'all definitely need to try it out.

So here's the ACTUAL recipe. Go ahead and make your own modifications to suit your taste buds.
Chicken Tangine from www.FitnessMagazine.com
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives
1/3 cup raisins
10 ounces cooked chicken breast, diced (2 cups)
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, ginger, cumin and cinnamon; cook, stirring frequently, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth, peas, olives and raisins; simmer 7 to 8 minutes. Add the chicken and chickpeas; cook 3 to 4 minutes, until chicken is heated through.

Casbah Moroccan Restaurant

So you're wandering around downtown Savannah and all of a sudden you decide, "Hey, I want some lamb. And you know what, I want practice my belly dancing moves in case one day I get asked to perform for the Sultan." then I suggest you try Casbah. Now, if you've have Moroccan in DC (which I have) or perhaps in Morocco, well then I can't say this place is outstanding, but its definitely pretty good. The dishes are in the 20$-range, but they do have set menus where you can pick appetizers, entrees, and a dessert and that's around 30$ which I saw go for. I had the lamb w/ caramelized apricots. Its a mild curry, so if you're looking for spicy you may want to try the spicy roasted lamb. But if you're looking for an interesting, yet complientary flavours, go for this dish. The unique flavour of lamb mized with stewed fruit is actually nice as the sweetness of the apricots cut the sharpness of lamb.
So besides the food, I definitely think you'll enjoy the experience of the place. The tables are low set and you sit on cushion like couches giving you that feel of eating in Morocco. The waiters come to your table with warm water for you to wash your hands as it is customary to eat with your right hand (but if you're not into that, they've utensils). Then come the belly dancers. The girls are fun to watch as they dance around the diners and totally welcome everyone to come dance with them. Its customary-although not required-to tip the dancers if they come up to you. Eh, why not. If you're a guy I'm sure you'll be thrilled to slip a dollar bill into the dancer's belt. Overall its a fun and tasty dinner experience, but I suggest you make reservations prior because the place is PACKED all the time-especially weekends.
Oh! And if you like the music, or the costumes, there's a lil' boutique near the entrance of the restaurant for you to purchase these items as well as their sauces, tobacco for your hookah, and other lil' goodies.

Casbah Moroccan Restaurant
118 E. Broughton St, Savannah GA
912-234-6168