Dotty pasta salad

1 lb of pasta
1 lb of frozen veggie mix (carrots ,beans, corn, peas) are boiled together with olive oil and salt.
(Don't discard the water after draining. use for soups, so nutritional!)

Add
2 cups of sour cream
4 spoons of olive oil
4 spoons of grated parmesan cheese (optional . i use whole foods 365 brand aged parmesan cheese )
4 spoons or more , poppy seeds!

Enjoy

Cream cheese, sucuk muffins

Savory muffins..

I really like cream cheese in different flavors but Philladelphia garden vegetable cream cheese was not a hit for the household. So to save the cheese, i baked these yummy savory muffins. Great for breakfast, brunches and little one's lunch boxes,too! Feel free to try different cheese types...

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins)

1 box Philladelphia garden vegetable cream cheese- or any type - softened

3 eggs (save 1 yolk for top)

1 cup yogurt

1/2 cup oil

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup all purpose flour

100 gram sucuk (soujuk, Turkish sausage)

1 teaspoon turmeric - to give color and nutritous ,too!

3 table spoons sesame (save 1 table spoon for topping)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

How to prepare

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Mix the eggs with yogurt, then add oil.
• Divide cream cheese into small pieces, add to egg mixture.
• Sift the flour, add baking powder,soda, sesame, salt and turmeric.  Add to the mixture.
• Finally add sucuk, save some for topping if you want.
• Fill the 12-muffin pan.
• Spread the egg yolk and sprinkler sesame.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes

Because of the cheese they will be super soft..

The butterfly muffin are from Tjmax. it was on sale, $1 for 24 ! Love savings $$$:)

My little one is 5 year old!

Menu:

Kisir: Turkish bulgur salad

Pasta salad: Pasta, peas, carrots, corn, yogurt, mayo, olive oil

Smiley potatoes: always hit for kids. Find in frozen veggie sections

 American style :

Purple corn chips, humus, vegetable cream cheese spread, cracker, fresh fruits

Desserts:

Kadayif (kataifi) -should add the recipe soon

Chocolate- strawberry pudding

Muffins on bear stand ( from dollar tree so I wasnt sure if it could really stand but worked, yay!)

Cake: It is homemade by a friend, all from scratch. Coffee cake with white chocolate frosting and fondant decoration.

Çoban Salatası / Shepherd's salad

Çoban Salatası / Shepherd's salad

Without a doubt, Çoban Salatası / Shepherd's salad is the most common salad in Turkey during summer. Prepared with fresh local, red tomatoes from farms, cucumbers (thin and small ones, without seeds!) and onion... You would see this salad served every Turkish restaurant you go, especially kebap places. I believe this is to increase your appetite so you can eat more and more!

Ingredients 

Note: I am not a picky cook about the amount of ingredients, especially about salads. This is just a suggestion to serve 4-6 people

2 tomatoes finely chopped
1 onion finely sliced
2 cucumbers  finely chopped
1green pepper, seeded finely chopped
½ bunch flat-leaf (italian) parsley, chopped (I skipped this as I don't like parsley)
Dressing: 

5 tablespoons of olive oil
1 lemon juice
Salt and Pepper

Optional: Topping with Turkish black olives

Preparation:

Put all the salad ingredients.

Always better to mix dressing ingredients separately and add the dressing to the salad right before serving and mix.

Notes:

• Tastes great when chilled  but make sure to cover it otherwise you will have an onion smelly fridge!
• The salad juice is the most delicious part. Just dip your bread and enjoy!
• The version with feta cheese addition is called gypsy salad (cingene salatasi)
• This salad has the typical Turkish salad dressing thatconsists of lemon juice , olive oil and salt. Some people replace lemon juice with vinegar or pomegranate sauce,  a sweet source sauce that is great for kisir(bulgur salad).