One Day At A Time

Anyone who cooks regularly has his / her own quick fixes for those lazy days. Some like one pot meals like pasta, pulav or biryani. I prefer sandwiches, wraps and quesadillas. Today, I tried something new for our sandwiches - Cajun seasoned grilled shrimp with creamy avocados. Cajun seasoning is one of my favorite spice blends. Pick one of your favorites and add a whole new twist to this easy sandwich.

Rice and Rotis are a staple for our lunches and dinners. Some days, I like to cook an exotic menu. Mexican, Italian, Thai are our favorites. Since I had some avocados, today's lunch turned out to be Mexican. Let me tell you about a simple vegetarian wholesome meal, well known to many as Veggie Burrito Bowl. Black Beans: Dry Black Beans - 1 cup Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp Garlic - 3 big cloves Salt Cilantro Lime Rice: Basmati Rice - 1 cup Lime Juice - 2 tbsp Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Salt Fajita Vegetables: Mini Bell Peppers/Capsicum - 4 Onion - 1 medium Chipotle Seasoning - 1 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Oil - 1 tbsp Salt Guacamole: Avocados - 2 Onions (finely chopped) - about 3 tbsp Lime Juice - 3 tbsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Salt Additional Toppings: Sour Cream Pepper Jack Cheese Shredded Lettuce Tortilla Chips Salsa How to make Mexican Veggie Burr...

There was a time when I used to like just one kind of salad - Koshimbir , with a yogurt dressing. Lately, I have started enjoying other kinds too... the oil and vinegar based vinaigrettes. Today, lets eat a simple mixed fruit salad with an Orange Vinaigrette. Drizzle this colorful salad with honey, vanilla yogurt or a scoop of ice cream and your kids will love it too. Ingredients: Golden Apple - 1 Peaches - 2 Green Grapes - 1/2 cup Orange Juice - about 1/4 cup Olive Oil - 1 tbsp Light Brown Sugar - about 2 tsp Salt - 1/8 tsp Roasted Nuts - about 1 tbsp How to make Mixed Fruit Salad with an Orange Vinaigrette: In a big mixing bowl, prepare the dressing/vinaigrette. Add freshly squeezed orange juice, olive oil, sugar and salt. Whisk until all the ingredients are mixed well.  I have used light brown sugar. You can use healthier alternatives like honey, maple syrup, agave syrup. Add salt and more or less sugar based on the sweetness of the fruits. Now time...

Back home, cookies are called biscuits. At my place, these crunchy delights always used to be store bought. These days, we love the home baked goodies more than the store bought ones. You get to choose healthier ingredients, use your favorite flavors and more importantly, the satisfaction of baking for your loved ones. Call them cookies or biscuits, if your family loves it, its well worth the effort. Ingredients: Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup Light Brown Sugar - 3/4 cup Unsalted Butter - 1/2 cup (1/4 pound) Desiccated (Dry) Coconut - 1/2 cup Dry Cranberries - 1/4 cup Whole Milk - 1/4 cup Vanilla Extract - 1 1/2 tsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp How to bake Whole Wheat Coconut and Dry Fruit Cookies: Finely chop cranberries. Crush the cardamom seeds in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Instead of cranberries, you can use any other dry fruits of your choice - cherries, raisins, apricots, figs. In a...

After a fun, relaxed weekend, getting back to the weekly routine is slightly boring. Our week started with these easy to put together vegetarian Black Bean and Mango Quesadillas. Spicy jalapenos and fruity mangos make this lazy meal quite flavorful. Black Beans: Dry Black Beans - 1/2 cup Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1 tsp Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp Salt Mango Salsa: Mangoes (medium chopped) - 1 1/2 cups Red Onions (finely chopped) - about 1/3 cup Mini Red Bell Pepper (finely chopped) - about 1/2 cup Jalapeno Pepper - 1 Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Lime Juice - 2 tbsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp Salt Whole Wheat Tortillas Grated Pepper Jack Cheese Butter or Oil Sour Cream Avocado  Guacamole How to make Black Bean and Mango Quesadillas: Black Beans: Soak dry black beans in plenty of water for 6 - 8 hours. Wash the soaked beans well. Heat 5 - 6 cups of water in a pot. Add washed beans and cook until beans turn soft. Add salt, chili...

I like to cook simple and easy, nutritious, wholesome meals. Leafy salads are one of my favorites, but they lack protein. Today's Three Bean Salad has both veggies and protein rich beans. I have used white and red beans. You can make it more colorful by adding black beans, pinto beans and so on. Hope you like this easy, flavorful salad. Ingredients: Green Beans/French Beans - about 2 cups Dry White Beans - 1/4 cup Dry Red Kidney Beans/Rajma - 1/4 cup Red Onions (finely chopped) - about 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar - 2 tbsp Olive Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp Spicy Brown Mustard - 1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Salt How to make Three Bean Salad: Soak dry white beans and red beans in plenty of water overnight. Cook them in about 5 cups water in a pot until soft. Add salt and bring it to a boil.  Drain all the water. Save the cooked beans for later. Use any dry beans of your choice. Canned beans work fine too. Set aside a bowl of ice cold water to add the cooked...

When it comes to baked goodies, we like cookies / biscuits more than muffins or cakes. Cookies are my favorite mid afternoon snack. Today, I baked some Eggless Chocolate Chip cookies for us. We like the White Chocolate Chip ones.  And to make it healthy, I used whole wheat flour and crunchy almonds. Hope you all love it too. Ingredients: Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup White Chocolate Chips - 1 cup Light Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter (softened) - 1/2 cup (1/4 pound) Whole Milk - 1/4 cup Almonds/Badam - 1/4 cup Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods Vanilla Extract - 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp How to bake Eggless White Chocolate Chip Cookies: Crush the cardamom seeds to a fine powder in a mortar pestle. Instead of cardamom, you can use any other spice like cinnamon or nutmeg as well. Roughly chop the almonds. You can use any other nuts or dry fruits of your choice. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F. Line an ungreased b...