First of all, I hope all you mothers had a great Mother’s Day with your loved ones.

This is the kind of dish that can be served as breakfast, lunch or dinner. I love the versatility of it…you can add whatever you want and in no time you have a nutritious and healthy meal.

In this simple recipe for frittata I used ham, onion, tomatoes, cilantro, red bell pepper and mozzarella cheese and of course eggs. You can add spinach, mushrooms, olives, parsley and the list of ingredients can go on and on, and you can even make a vegetarian version of it.

I need to confess that the ham that I used in this frittata is from Easter, which was left in the freezer since then…and I still have one more piece of ham 

Ingredients:

1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tomato seed removed and chopped
1 small red bell pepper chopped
Cilantro to taste
1/3 cup ham chopped
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese (I used the sticks)
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 eggs, slightly beaten
¼ cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In the egg mixture add salt, pepper and the milk and set aside.

In a fry pan with cover sauteé the onion in olive oil until slightly soft. Add to the pan the ham, tomatoes, red bell pepper and cilantro. Mix gently, until all the ingredients are blended together. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and layer the cheese. Cover the pan and lower the temperature to low and let it cook until the egg is settled. Remove the pan from the heat and flip to a dish.
Serve hot..

If you like this simple recipe for ham frittata, you might want to check on Spinach and Canadian Bacon Frittata.

Yes, more Brussels sprouts, and this time with chicken. This dish is a kind of an adaptation of Asian dish…instead of let’s say “Chinese vegetables”, I substituted for Brussels sprouts.
It is simple and really fast to fix, perfect for a weekday dinner and great for next day lunch. The great thing about this dish is that you can make this dish and at the end of it you will have only one pan to wash. I like to serve this dish with rice.

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast, cut into small chunks
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ tablespoon corn starch
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
½ lb Brussel sprouts cut in half

Method:

Marinate the chicken with garlic, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Set aside. In the meantime blanch the sprouts. Make sure that you just blanch, otherwise it will be mushy. Just before sautéing the chicken add the corn starch by coating slightly the chicken pieces with the corn starch.

In a wok, sauté the chicken in olive oil. Set aside once the chicken is fully cooked. In the same wok brown the onion, add the blanched Brussel sprouts. Mix gently and add the chicken back to the wok.
Stir gently and serve hot with rice.

I hope you enjoyed this Asian inspired simple recipe for Brussels sprouts with chicken. You might want to check a simpler version of Brussels sprouts, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon.

Did you know that Brussels sprouts contain high dietary fiber? Moreover, Brussels sprouts have more vitamin C than oranges, so four to six sprouts contain the adult daily requirement for vitamin C.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Now that the warm weather is here, I keep the ice cream bucket in the freezer all the time, so I am ready for a quick and fast frozen dessert.
This is a very simple and refreshing yogurt dessert. I love the color and the flavor of this frozen yogurt, nothing like the combination of fragrant mango stirred together with the tartness of yogurt…

Ingredients:

2 large mangoes
2 tablespoon vanilla vodka
2 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup agave syrup
1 cup Greek yogurt

Fresh strawberry and mint leaves for garnish

Method:

Cut the mango in small pieces and blend together with vodka, lemon juice and agave syrup. Add the yogurt to the mango mix and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Place the mango/yogurt mix into the ice cream maker and follow the instructions of your ice cream maker.

Garnish with strawberry and mint leaves.

If you enjoy this simple recipe for mango frozen yogurt you might want to check on strawberry frozen yogurt as well.

Did you know that there are more than 1000 different varieties of mangos? Mangoes are rich in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. Mangoes contain enzymes that are good tenderizing agent, therefore often used for marinade.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend…we had a wonderful family time at my mom’s home, where we did a lot of egg coloring and shared precious time together. Not to mention that there was a lot of food…

This week, I am so excited to share something that I learned from Norma at Garden to Wok…sprouting beans. So far I had sprouted chickpeas and lentils…and both of them turned out great. I made a stew with the chickpea sprouts using tomato and eggplant and with the lentil sprouts,  I made a soup.

I enjoyed watching the chickpeas and lentils sprout…it is so much fun seeing them first turning big and plump, then the little sprouts were coming out and getting longer and longer by the day, and finally,  from the pot to the table.

Briefly, wash the chickpeas or lentils and soak in water overnight. Remove them from the water and drain. Place them in a colander and cover with a wet paper towel. Place the colander in an airy area of the kitchen counter and rinse 3 times a day. Make sure to keep the paper towel moist. You will start to see the sprouts after 18 to 24 hours, depending on the room temperature. Since the weather hasn’t been too warm and I did not want other things to grow with the sprouts, I decided to cook them after 3 days.

For more detail in how to sprout lentils and chickpeas, please visit Norma’s site at Garden to Wok.  You will be amazed at what Norma shares.

This is a very simple recipe for a delicious and nutritious lentil sprouts soup. Now that I know how to sprout, I will definitely try and share more recipes in the future.

This is what I did with my first lentil sprouts…You can substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth if you want to have a vegetarian dish.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of dry lentils, sprouted
1 carrot cut in small pieces
1 small onion chopped
2-3 cups of chicken broth (water for vegetarian version)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon marjoram
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Sauteé onion in the olive oil until slightly brown, then add the lentil sprouts, stir gently and add the carrots. Cook for a minute or two and add the chicken broth and the spices as well as salt and pepper. Lower the heat and cook until the lentil sprouts are soft. Serve hot.

I hope you enjoy this lentil sprouts soup. If you like soup, you might like the navy bean soup as well.

Did you know that unsprouted lentils lack 2 essential amino acids? Once the lentils are sprouted it contain all the 22 essential amino acids like the ones found in meat.
Now, what are essential amino acids? They are the ones that our body does not synthesize, therefore must be supplied in the diet.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Some of you must be thinking kum…what? Yes, kumquat. They are little olive shape oranges with rind that is sweet and  juice in the center that is sour, therefore many people just eat the rind.

I have a dwarf kumquat tree that only gave me 5 little ones, but a friend of mine has a big kumquat tree. So I have been getting lots of them while I wait for mine to give more fruits. I like them raw, but I just can eat so much, therefore decided to make a preserve.

Since I grew up with it, I love it and like the whole fruit, I mean almost, except the seeds. My husband did not acquire the taste for it, either raw or  preserved…so I was like, if you do not like it,  do not force yourself so I have more for myself…am I being selfish?

Anyway, I made a couple of versions by using turbinado sugar and coconut sugar. Today I am sharing the one made with turbinado sugar.

I can eat the preserved kumquat like candy…and the syrup is great when diluted in water, either hot or cold. It is so tasty with a touch of tartness.

If you have a chance, please give this a try. If you find out that you do not like them raw, try this simple recipe for kumquat preserve.

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb fresh kumquats
1 ½ cup turbinado sugar
8 whole cloves

Method:

Wash  the kumquats well by soaking in lots of water. Drain the kumquats and place them in a pot with hot water and let them boil in high heat for a minute.

Drain well and place the kumquat back into the pan. Add sugar and cloves, turn the heat to low and let if cook for approximately 1 ½ hour or until the water has been reduced and kumquats are in a thick syrup.

Remove from the heat and let it cool. Store in glass jar and refrigerate. Serve cold over ice cream, bread, cake or anyway you like.

And some vacation pictures from the resorts and Tulum…

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe for kumquat preserve and the pictures 

Did you know that kumquat has its origins in Asia? Kumquat was introduced into Florida from Japan in 1885.

Thank you for visiting Simple Recipes…have a colorful week!

We are back and had a great time in Cancun…again? Yes, we love the beaches and the people there…I love to be pampered, lots of massages, fresh food and sun 
I will post some pictures later once I have the chance to organize them. Now I am back to reality…

In regards to this dish…you must be thinking  ”what”? Zucchini spaghetti? Well, this dish is  kind of an impostor…since spaghetti squash is commonly  used to mimic spaghetti, this dish uses zucchini to do the trick. In this simple recipe, you will need to shred the zucchini into thin and long threads. Top with your favorite sauce, with or without meat and you have a tasty and healthy meal in front of you in a blink.

This is a very colorful dish, and great to welcome Spring…

Ingredients:

2-3 zucchini
1-2 teaspoon salt
Your favorite pasta sauce

Method:

Shred the zucchini and set aside. Boil water and add salt. Add the shredded zucchini to the boiling water and boil for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the zucchini well and top it with your favorite sauce.

In this recipe,  I topped it with meatball, tomato sauce and added some shredded cheese, sun dried tomatoes and fresh basil.

I hope you enjoy this simple and easy recipe using zucchini. If you like this recipe, you might want to check on the spaghetti squash spaghetti as well. Both this recipes are simple, nutritious and low carb.

Did you know that zucchini is a fruit? Zucchini is very low in calorie, therefore suitable for weight loss diet and contains vitamin C, beta-carotene , magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, potassium and fibers.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

I love all kinds of stuffed bell peppers.  I usually use quinoa, bulgur…but today I decided to use some left-over rice that I had in the fridge. But feel free to substitute the rice for any grain of your preference. Instead of serving or cooking the bell peppers in tomato sauce or beef broth, I decided to top them with crimini mushroom sauce. It came out delicious…and since we could not finish it all, I got to take it for lunch the next day.

This is the kind of meal that you have all your need in one simple plate…the carbs, the protein and the veggies. These stuffed bell peppers are very simple to make and yet delicious.

Ingredients:

Stuffed Bell Peppers

1lb ground beef
2 roma tomatoes, seed removed and diced
1 small onion finely chopped
Fresh parsley
1 cup cold cooked long grain rice
½ teaspoon all-spice
Salt and pepper to taste
3 bell peppers
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ cup water

Mushroom Sauce

8oz sliced crimini mushroom
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 red wine
1 ¼ cup beef broth
1 ½ tablespoon all-purpose flour
Fresh parsley to taste/garnish

Method:

Stuffed Bell Peppers

In a big bowl mix the ground beef, tomato, onion, parsley, salt, pepper and all-spice. Add to the beef mix the cooked rice and mix gently until the ingredients are all even distributed.

Cut the bell peppers in half and remove the stem and the seed. Stuff  each bell pepper with the beef mix.

In a wide frying pan, add the olive oil and place the stuffed peppers with the meat side towards the pan, let the meat brown for approximately 2-3 minute. Once the beef are brown and settled, flip the peppers and add the water. Cover and let the water boil in high heat. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat to medium/low and continue to cook for approximately 25 minutes, until the meat is cooked thoroughly. In the meantime prepare the mushroom sauce.

Mushroom Sauce

In a pan, sauteé the mushroom with the butter and olive oil until the mushrooms are slightly soft. Add the wine and let it simmer for approximately 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of the beef broth. Combine the ¼ cup of beef broth with the flour until smooth. Add the flour mix to the mushrooms until well blended by stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper and simmer for about 1-2 minutes. Add the parsley and serve over the stuffed bell peppers.

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe for stuffed bell peppers with mushroom sauce.

If you like this recipe, you might want to check others simple recipes of stuffed bell peppers such as the one with turkey and bulgur or beef with quinoa out.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

OK, I know that this recipe is not very original since you all must have bumped into some recipe that uses spaghetti squash as a noddle…and here is my version of it.
This is a great way for people that are controlling their carb intake. I am sorry to tell you, but if you are craving for pasta, this dish will not resolve your problem, so be aware. On the other hand it is very tasty depending on the sauce that you add to the squash. So, in order to compensate I used sausage meatballs in a tomato base sauce to increase the flavor of this dish.http://jzq.0e7.mywebsitetransfer.com/sauce/spaghetti-squash-spaghetti

Ingredients:

1 medium size spaghetti squash
Your favorite tomato sauce, preferably with some protein
A bunch of baby spinach
Parmesan cheese to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F. Poke the squash with a fork. Bake spaghetti squash for approximately 60 minutes, or until a little resistance when pressing the skin. In the meantime prepare the tomato sauce as you normally make for your spaghetti. Let squash cool and cut in half, lengthwise. Remove and discard the seeds with a spoon and using a fork scrape the squash to get long and spaghetti like strands.
In deep plates place the spaghetti squash, sprinkle some pepper, top with baby spinach leaves and add your favorite pasta sauce. I used sausage balls in marinara sauce in this particular recipe. Finish by topping it with some fresh grated parmesan cheese. Serve hot.

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe using spaghetti squash. Have a wonderful day and…

Did you know that spaghetti squash is very low in calories but rich with vitamin A, beta carotene, folic acid and potassium?

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes!