In this quick and easy recipe, I will share a recipe with you to make Cheese Garlic Breads, just the way you have in your favorite restaurants!

Ingredients

1 large Italian or French bread split into 10 slices

Softened Butter Spread (1/3 cup)

1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

3 crushed garlic cloves

3/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp Chilli flakes and basil

Recipe

Mix butter, oregano, cheese and chili flakes together in a medium bowl. Add crushed garlic cloves to the mixture.

Spread the mixture on the bread slices

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Bake the bread for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Once baked, add some basil/pepper on the bread and serve with a dip of your choice. Enjoy!

Kids and even adults love fruits served with a gooey, sweetened cream. It’s called a Fruit Dip and it can be made very easily.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups sour cream

1 cup whipped topping

3 1/2 (3.5) tablespoon sugar (I prefer brown sugar)

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. You can even use 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract instead of nutmeg

Recipe:

Take a bowl and mix sour cream, sugar cinnamon and nutmeg/vanilla extract. Refrigerate it for 45 minutes. Now add whipped topping to it and refrigerate it for another 15 minutes.

Cut fruit of your choice such as apples, blackberries, strawberries, grapes, oranges, peaches, watermelon into pieces.

Tip: If you are using bananas or apples, dip them into lemon juice. This prevents discoloration.

Place the fruit dip in the center of the plate, with fruits around the dip and serve!

Image courtesy [cracker and cheese]

This is one of the most simple recipes of curry I have made. My mom-in-law taught me this recipe. She told me, she used to make it often when in a hurry to go to University (where she taught). As a working woman, I too find it tough to prepare elaborate curries in the morning. So I too started making this one.

‘Ridge gourd’ is known by different names in different regions of India. In Hindi it is called ‘Toree’ or ‘Turai’, in Marathi ‘Dodka’ or ‘Shirale’, in Kannada ‘Heeraikai’ and ‘Peerkangai’ in Tamil.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo ridge gourd; washed, peeled (do not throw away the peel, use to make ridge gourd peels chutney) and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices,

2 onions; halved and sliced,

2 tomatoes; halved and sliced,

1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds),

1/2 tsp turmeric powder,

1 tsp red chilli powder,

Salt to taste,

Oil for tempering.

Method:

Heat 4-5 tbsp oil in a kadhai. Add jeera and let it splutter. Then add sliced onions and sauté until they become translucent. Then add turmeric and red chilli powder. Fry for a minute and then add tomatoes. Cook covered until tomatoes soften. Then add sliced ridge gourd, stir, cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetable has cooked. Not need to add water while cooking as ridge gourd tends to leave a lot of water while cooking. Lastly season with salt and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

I had got these frozen chicken meat balls some time back. Usually I fry them and we have it as a snack. This time I thought of preparing a sauce for meatballs and serve it over rice. The sauce is sweet and sour tomato sauce with a distinct flavor of rosemary and parsley. A very simple recipe ready in 10-12 minutes.

Ingredients:

250grams (9 ounces) frozen meatballs (could be chicken or meat), (Or make your own by following this recipe of Meat Balls)

1 small red onion, finely chopped,

300ml tomato puree or 10 ounces of tomato paste,

1/2 tsp dry rosemary,

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley,

1/2 tsp paprika or chilli flakes (adjust as per taste),

Salt and pepper to taste,

1/2 tsp sugar,

Chicken stock or water as required,

Olive oil.

For the rice -

1 cup uncooked long grain rice,

2 cups water,

Salt to taste.

Method:

Thaw the meat balls. In a wok heat some olive oil. Add onion and sauté until soft.

Then add tomato puree/paste and cook stirring occasionally for few minutes.

Then add rosemary and parsley and give it a nice stir.

Cook until the sauce starts leaving oil from the sides of the wok. Then add enough chicken stock/water for a gravy like consistency and bring to boil. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, sugar and mix well. Now add thawed meatballs, cover and cook for a few minutes.

For the rice -

Wash rice and set it aside. In a deep pot, boil 2 cups of water with salt. Then add rice to it. Stir nicely and let it cook for about 7-8 minutes. Time of cooking may vary according to the rice.

Serve meatballs over rice.

I have eaten different versions of Spanish Omelet and what I had in Seattle was not exactly what I had in London. Since I haven’t had the chance to visit Spain, I am sure the recipe served there would be the authentic one. Well when I wanted to prepare one at home, I surfed the internet and found plenty of recipes. I think the original one uses only eggs and potatoes. But I decided to come up with my version using the common ingredients.

Ingredients: (Serves 3-4)

6 eggs,

2 large potatoes; washed, peeled and thinly sliced,

2 onions; cut into halves and thinly sliced,

1-2 tomatoes; cut into halves and thinly sliced,

Salt to taste,

Butter or Olive oil.

Method:

Heat a pan and heat generous amount of oil. Add sliced potatoes and cook them from both the sides until they begin to brown. Season with some salt. Drain and transfer to a dish.

In the same pan add onions and sauté on medium flame until they begin to soften. Remove from flame.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and whisk until frothy. Season with salt. Add sautéed onions, fried potatoes and sliced tomatoes to the whisked egg. Give it a nice stir till the mixture is well combined.

You can prepare the omelet on a heavy-bottomed pan or in a Microwave oven. I prepared this recipe in the Microwave oven, but I will explain both the methods.

Pan fried omelet – Heat a heavy-bottomed pan and smear it with butter to coat the entire pan properly. Pour the egg mixture slowly into the pan. Tilt the pan to spread the mixture all over evenly. Remember the Spanish omelet is thicker than our regular omelet. So the pan should be medium sized. Let the omelet cook on a low-medium flame. You can also cover the pan with a lid for some time. We are not flipping the omelet, so make sure it cooks from the top as well.

Microwave method – Smear Olive oil/melted butter to a microwave safe dish. Pour the egg mixture slowly into the dish. Place it in the oven and bake it for 8-10 minutes on MEDIUM setting of your microwave. Let it stand in the microwave for a while before you take it out.

Later cut into slices and serve hot.

TIPS:

You can add mushrooms and peppers to your omelet and season it with some herbs too.