Dutch Queen's Day Feast

Queen's Day is just around the corner here in Holland and this day is one of the few days of the year when you really see ALL dutch people wearing their Queen's Family name color proudly (Oranje -orange-) and showing their love for their country, so what better way to get in the Oranje mood than some typical Dutch snacks? 


Bitterballen 
Bitterballen are a savoury Dutch meat-based snack, typically containing a mixture of beef, beef broth, flour and butter for thickening, parsley, salt and pepper (this is also called ragout) rolled into balls and battered in a breadcrumb, milk and egg mixture and deep-fried. They are very popular on Dutch pub menu's, but also at birthday parties or pretty much any kind of reunion. For this day you can serve them with an orange dip sauce to match the outfits instead of the typical mustard. 

Ingredients:

• 300gr trimmed beef brisket, cooked and shredded (you can also use steak- finely chopped-) 
• 2 dl. meat stock
• 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 150gr breadcrumbs
• salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Melt butter in large cooking pan, add the flour and mix together, allow to cook for a couple of minutes.
2. Add the COLD stock slowly to this mixture to get a smooth paste.
3. Stir in the meat and the parsley and cook for a couple of minutes, add salt, pepper and nutmeg.
4. Allow it to cool and settle in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
5. Whisk the egg in a bowl, add the milk and oil and mix together.
6. Shape the meat mixture into little balls, dip them in the egg mixture and then cover them with breadcrumbs and let them rest in the fridge until you are ready to fry them and serve them (at this stage you can also freeze them)
7. Fry the bitterballen in a deep fryer or in a deep pan for 5  minutes, until they are golden brown.
8. Serve with mustard or orange dipping sauce.

Orange Dipping sauce
Great dipping sauce for bitterballen but also for chips or raw vegetables but it works great with tortilla chips too!

Ingredients:

• 50gr mayonnaise
• 1 small carrot finely chopped or rasped
• 50gr yogurt
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook the carrot in a little bit of water until tender, drain and allow it to cool. Once cooled mix it with a food processor until smooth.
2. Add the mayonnaise and yogurt and mix well.
3. Add the salt and pepper and serve.

Chilled Bell Pepper Soup
This soup is not really Dutch, it has more to do with the color (I say it is Orange but technically it is yellow) than with the ingredients. However, Dutch people do eat a lot of bell peppers (they call them paprikas) so, in the end it does fit really good with their celebration of everything Orange!

Ingredients:

• 4 yellow bell peppers
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 750g yellow bell peppers chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons paprika powder
• 5ooml chicken or vegetable stock
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• Basil leaves for garnish
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cut the tops of the 4 bell peppers and remove the seeds, clean and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the garlic and paprika powder, cook for a couple of minutes and lower the heath.
3. Add the stock and chopped bell peppers and allow it to cook on medium-low heath for 20 minutes.
4. Remove the bell peppers and place them on a food processor with a little stock and mix until smooth. 
5. Stir in the paprika paste back into the pan and  add the sour cream, add salt and pepper to taste. (You can sift the paste if you want to make it smoother).
6. Allow the soup to chill and serve on the hollowed bell peppers. 
7. Garnish with 1/2 teaspoon sour cream and basil leaves.

Oranje Tompoes


This are typical dutch pudding cakes, they are served pretty much on every occasion, from birthdays to every day desserts, but on Queen's Day they are Orange (of course!) and they are sold EVERYWHERE!

Ingredients:

• 2 egg yolks
• 25g all purpose flour
• 250ml milk
• 40g light brown sugar
• 100g powder sugar
• 1/2 vanilla pod
• 1 egg white 
• Pinch of salt
• Orange food color
• A couple of lemon juice drops
• 1 package frozen Puff Pastry (defrosted)

Directions:

1. Let the puff pastry defrost on flat surface, but don't let it dry out.
2. Warm the milk with the vanilla pod for 10 minutes making sure it does not boil. Once warm, take the vanilla pod out, take the beans out and place the pod back in the pan, stir well.
3. Mix the egg yolks with the brown sugar, add the flour and mix until smooth. 
4. Add 1/2 of the milk slowly while mixing and then add the rest of the milk and cook on medium-low heath until it thickens. Take the vanilla pod out and allow it to cool in the fridge, covered.
5. Mix the powder sugar with the lemon juice and egg whites for 3 minutes. Add the food color and mix well.
6. Preheat the oven to 220°C
7. Spread a little egg on the puff pastry and bake them for 10 minutes, take them out of the oven and peel the top layers of the pastry carefully.
8. Spread a thick amount of the pudding mixture on the bottom layers and cover them with the top layers. 
9. Spread the color mixture on the top to create a frosting effect. 
10. You can garnish with a little whipped cream and a dutch flag.

Tip: You can use the vanilla beans you scraped off and use them in any other recipe that requires vanilla:One vanilla bean equals roughly 2-3 teaspoons of vanilla extract, although if a recipe called for 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, I personally would go ahead and use the whole bean! With the empty pod you can make vanilla sugar: allow the empty pod to dry, chop it and place it on a cup of sugar, you can enjoy some vanilla-flavored sugar anytime!

Beef Milanesa

This is the mexican version of a Wiener Schnitzel, it is a very typical dish in Mexico and Latin America; unlike the veal Austrian Schnitzel, the milanesa is made out of a thin slice of beef or sometimes chicken.

It is a really great dish for kids, I remember eating this pretty much every week and I loved it. You can serve it with some rice and beans in typical mexican style or with some french fries and salad for the kids. In Mexico is is really common to use the milanesa as a sandwich or torta filling for lunch.

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg 
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (to taste) 
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper (to taste) 
• 1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs
• 4 thin steaks or cube steaks, pounded thin 
• vegetable oil (for frying) 

Directions:

1. Pound boneless steaks thin.
2. In a bowl or deep pan, beat the egg very well. In a second bowl mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Put the bread crumbs in a third shallow pan.
3. Dust the meat lightly with flour, dip into the beaten egg, and coat with bread crumbs. 
4. Put the breaded meat on a plate lined with wax paper and refrigerate about 1 hour. 
5. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil to a depth of about 2 cms.
6. Fry the meat until brown and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Lime-Cilantro Rice

Another great side dish that is full of flavor, the lime-cilantro combination makes it really fresh and it goes really good with chicken, vegetables or fish.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoons  butter
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro    

Directions:

1. Bring water to boil, stir in butter and rice. 
2. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes. 
3. Combine zest, cilantro and lime juice and stir into rice just before serving.
4. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and a lime wedge.

Spinach and Artichoke with Goat Cheese

This recipe is basically a side dish but I think it works great as meatless-day main course or maybe a really healthy brunch salad! I love goat cheese (well I love ALL kinds of cheese!) and the combination with the spinach and artichokes is just amazing! I added a bit more cheese than the original recipe asked for but that is just me and my cheese loving palate.

You can also use any white bread here, but country style bread gives it that little extra

flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 can artichoke hearts drained
• 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp dried herbes de Provence (*see below)
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 slice country white bread, cut into cubes (4 cups)
• 250g crumbled goat cheese

*Herbes de Provence*
Recipe for one pot of herb mix:

• 5 tablespoons dried thyme 
• 3 tablespoons dried savory 
• 2 tablespoon dried marjoram 
• 5 tablespoons dried rosemary 
• 1 ½ tablespoons dried lavender flowers

Directions:

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. 
2. Bake onion for 2 minutes in olive oil, stirring frequently. Add in artichoke hearts, garlic, and spinach; cook until artichoke hearts begin to brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in herbes de Provence. Allow it to cool down.
3. Combine milk, black pepper, salt, crushed red pepper, and eggs in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. 
4. Add Parmesan cheese and bread to the milk mixture and stir in artichoke mixture, and let stand for 20 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 180°C. 
6. Spoon half mixture into baking dish coated with cooking spray or olive oil. Sprinkle with half of goat cheese, and top with remaining mixture. Sprinkle remaining half of goat cheese over top. 
7. Bake 50 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Original recipe by: eat-drink-smile.com

Pumpkin-Nut Bread

First Halloween for my kid: I HAD to make him a Jack-o-Lantern, there was no way around it!! So after hollowing the pumpkin I was left with this huge amount of fresh pumpkin and no idea what to do with it...........luckily I remembered once eating a really nice pumpkin bread at a party and loved it so I had to go after the recipe immediately! 

This bread is really moist and tasty, the cinnamon and nutmeg give it a nice autumn  flavor and the nuts (I use walnuts and pecans) provide that extra crunch.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all propuse flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 tablespon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon grounded cinammon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup pumpking puree (or flesh)
• 1 cup mixed nuts 

Directions:

1. Preheat the over at 200°C
2. Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
3. Add the sugar, milk and eggs and mix together.
4. Stir in the pumpking, oil and half of the nuts. Mix together.
5. Spoon into a greased baking pan (preferably a loaf bread pan) and sprinkle the remaining nuts on top.
6. Bake for 50 minutes or untill a wodden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Monkey Cookie Bites

I came across this recipe not to long ago, and I remember asking my little one if I should make him some Monkey cookies (he loves bananas and monkeys eat Bananas so: Banana=Monkey). These are the most delicious oat cookies I’ve ever eaten and I'm not a big fan of Bananas, sorry I mean Monkeys myself!). I know cookies are never really considered healthy, but they are for sure lot healthier than normal cookies: they don’t have any added sugar, eggs or butter, and have very little flour.

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2-1 cup natural chunky peanut butter
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup (you could also use honey or apple sauce but Maple Syrup gives them a really oaky taste)
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup chocolate chips (dark or semi-sweet work the best)

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 170°C 
2. In a large bowl, mix bananas, vanilla, peanut butter and maple syrup into a creamy consistency.
3. In another bowl, combine oats, flour, baking powder and salt
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until they are well combined, Fold in the chocolate chips. Don't worry if the batter looks a bit runny.
5. Place heaping teaspoon-sized balls of the batter onto a greased baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes

Original recipe:luxhippie.com

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken enchiladas are served all over Mexico, it is one of those "must have" dishes and as it can be expected there are many variations to them. In truth, it was a tough choice to include this baked version of the recipe because it’s more common in Mexico to make enchiladas by frying the tortillas–you don’t actually see the oven used a whole lot in authentic Mexican cuisine. But this is a much faster way to prepare them and the end result is just as tasty as the "typical" ones. 

You can prepare the enchiladas in advanced and pop them in the oven just at the last moment, which makes this dish really great for a dinner party or for a special ocasion. Kids love them too, and as always you can leave out the pepper for them.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped finely
• 1 jalapeno chopped (you can remove the seeds if you want it to be less spicy)
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 2 cans tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 12 soft corn or flour tortillas
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, combine the onion, jalapeno, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and oil. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions and peppers have softened. 
2. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar, and cook until fragrant. Stir in the tomato sauce and water. Bring to a simmer.
3. Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 12-20 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the chicken breasts you are using.
4. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and set aside to cool. Continue to simmer the sauce over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
5. Strain the sauce through a strainer into a medium bowl, pressing the onion mixture to extract as much liquid as possible. Season sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste.
6. Transfer the leftover onion mixture from the strainer to a large bowl and set aside.
7. -Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add to the onion mixture in the large bowl. Also stir in 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese and the cilantro. Toss to combine.
8. Warm the tortilla on a skillet or microwave.
9. Spread the tortillas on a clean work surface, and spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each. Tightly roll each tortilla and lay seam-side down in a greased baking dish.
10. Heat oven to 220 C. 
11. Pour the enchilada sauce evenly over the top of the enchiladas. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover dish with foil and bake 20 minutes, or until heated through.
12. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, until cheese browns. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.
13. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, additional cilantro, if desired.

Fishless Paella

Yeah I know, most of you might think: if it has no seafood it is not really Paella...........well sorry to tell you that it still is and it still tastes great! If you are a non seafood person (like most people in my family) this dish is still a pretty good option for you! The chicken/chorizo combination works great and you can level the spices to taste.

I do add some shrimps sometimes and it is amazing!

You can use chicken tights/legs instead of the breasts and you can add other veggies to it if you like, the important here is the rice, saffron and the chorizo of course!

Ingredients:

• 3-4 chicken breasts 
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 chorizo sausage, thickly sliced
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• Bunch parsley leaves, chopped. Plus some for garnish
• 1 can whole tomatoes, drained (could use fresh tomatoes too)
• 4 cups short grain Spanish rice
• 6 cups chicken broth
• Generous pinch saffron threads
• 1 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions:

1. Heat a large flat sauté pan. Add a splash of oil and begin to brown the chicken and chorizo. Once they have browned set them aside on a plate.
2. Add the onions to the hot pan and a small splash of oil, sauté until golden.
3. Add the garlic and stir for a few moments.
4. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Stir in the rice, stock, saffron, veggies, parsley and chicken. Let it cook for a few minutes and then add the chorizo.
6. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat until the liquid has absorbed and the rice is tender, about thirty minutes.

Lasagna Rolls

I love Lasagna, what is there not to love about it?? But in a family of 3 I always find myself either eating way to much in order to finish it or having a lot of leftovers that no one want to eats the next day (because spoiled people don't eat the same thing 2 days in a roll of course, no matter how good it is!). But this recipe is perfect for small families: individual small lasagna rolls filled with cheese, chicken and spinach. A great way to get kids to eat veggies (you can add any other vegetable to it) and a complete meal for the whole family to enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 9 cooked lasagna noodles
• 250g frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained 
• 300g ricotta cheese 
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 1 egg 
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasonings: basil, oregano, marjoram and sage
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 chicken breast, cooked and diced 
• 2 1/2 cups tomato sauce (marinara, spaghetti or self made)
• 1 ball mozzarella cheese, shredded 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Combine spinach, ricotta, parmesan cheese, egg, garlic, Italian seasonings, chicken, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. 
3. Pour about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.
4. Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. 
5. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over a noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
6. Pour the sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 Tablespoon of mozzarella cheese. 
7. Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. 

Tip: You could replace the chicken for ground meat and have more traditional lasagna rolls.

"Spread" the word

Weekends are usually lazy cooking days for me, I don't always feel like making a big dish or even spend more than 10 minutes in the kitchen: weekends were invented to relax and have some family time! But that does not mean we cannot have some yummy dish to enjoy. 

We are big fans of spreads and sauces, they are so versatile and great on pretty much all kinds on bread, crackers and pitas, but you can also eat them with some raw veggie sticks. They are great for luck or snacks but if you make a quick salad you have dinner!!

Here are some of our favorites, enjoy!!

Feta-Walnut Spread


This is a typical feta cheese spread combination of flavors but it remains one of the favorites at home.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups walnuts
• 2 cups feta crumbled 
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon basil chopped (can also use cilantro)
• cayenne pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a food processor, grind the walnuts. Add the crumbled feta, basil and the olive oil  and mix until a smooth paste forms. If it is too thick, add the water now, slowly until a smooth paste forms. 
2. The spread shouldn’t be too thick, nor too thin, so add the water slowly. You may need more than 1/4 cup. 
3. Add the cayenne pepper. Mix well.

Spicy Feta Spread


As a good mexican I wanted to try something with a little bit of punch in it and this turned out to be really tasty and spicy, just like I like my food!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups feta crumbled
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2 peperoncini chopped

Directions:

1. Mix feta, yogurt, vinegar, pepper and peperoncini in a food processor until smooth.
2. Slowly add the olive oil until all is mix and smooth (you might not have to use all the oil).
3. Spoon into serving bowl and sprinkle with pepper flakes.

Garlic-Sun dried tomatoes Feta Spread

Ingredients:

• 2 cups feta cheese, crumbled
• 3 garlic cloves crushed
• 2 tablespoon chopped oregano
• 2 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes chopped
• cayenne pepper and oregano leaves for garnish

Directions:

1. Mix together in a food processor the feta, garlic, tomatoes and chopped oregano, until it becomes smooth. 
2. Sprinkle with oregano leaves and pepper. 

Crack Dip (cheddar-bacon dip)


I came across this recipe on pinterest and I knew I had to give it a try, anything with bacon in it has me and this lived to my expectations. I found it a bit runny so I added more cheddar and it was great!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cup Ranch dressing
• 1/2 cup  bacon bits or baked bacon chopped
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
2. Serve with chips and/or veggies

Hummus

This is one of my all time favorites, I just love hummus, I can eat it just with a simple spoon, no need for veggies, pretzel sticks or pita bread!!

Original hummus:

• 2 garlic cloves, mashed
• 2 cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas) drained and rinsed
• 2/3 cup tahini (sesame seed pasta)preferably roasted one
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Chopped parsley, paprika powder and pine nuts for garnish

Directions:

1. Combine the garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, water and olive oil in a food processor and mix until smooth.
2. Add salt little by little to taste.
3. Spoon into serving bowl and sprinkle with the pine nuts, parsley and a bit of paprika powder.

Creamy  hummus

This is a slightly variation of the original hummus, the greek yogurt makes it a bit creamier and soft.

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can garbanzo beans drained and washed (save a couple of tablespoons of the liquid)
• 1 tablespoon greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika powder
• Fresh parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. On a hot pan roast the sesame seed until they become golden brown, set aside
2. Mix in a food processor the garbanzo beans (with the separated liquid), garlic, sesame seeds, yogurt and half of the olive oil and mix until smooth.
3. Add the lemon and mix once more.
4. Bring to taste with the sugar, salt, paprika and cayenne pepper.
5. Spoon into serving bowl and add the remaining oil and sprinkle with the parsley.

Peanut Butter Dip

This is great for kids but PB addicts like myself love it too! You can serve it with slices of apple, bananas, strawberries, pear or some pretzels.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients and serve.