Chicken and Mushrooms Lasagna With Bechamel Sauce

Just made it for last night dinner and it was so delicious, it took about an hour and a half to be done.

Serves 2-4 people

Ingredients:
1- A half a pack of lasagna pasta.
2- Two chicken breasts. Sliced
3- One onion. Sliced.
4- Some mushroom. As desired.
5- Mozzarella.
6- Oil.

Bechamel:
1- Five tablespoons of flour.
2- Four tablespoons of butter.
3- A bottle of whole milk, 1 liter.


Preparations:
1- Boil the lasagna. Don’t make it too soft.
2- Use a frying pan and light fry the chicken, onion and mushrooms.

For the bechamel:
1- Use a deep pot and melt the butter. Medium heat.
2- Add the flour. Use a whisk and stir for 3 minutes, until the flour mixed well with the butter.
3- Add milk and keep string until it’s thick enough, It shouldn’t be so thick.
If there are some lumps you can use a screen and use the liquid only.

The Lasagna:
1- Use an oven tray.
2- Add some of the bechamel in the bottom.
3- Put down a layer of lasagna.
4- A layer of the mix, chicken, mushrooms and onion.
5-Then some mozzarella.
6- Do this twice.
7- On the top a layer of lasagna, bechamel and mozzarella.
8- Preheat the oven 250 degree. I’m using an electric oven.
9- And cook it until it’s all golden.

Be Al-hana We Al-shafa

Tomato Rice

In Egypt, we eat rice almost everyday. Maybe that's why we have many different rice dishes.

Ingredients:
1- One cups of Egyptian rice or basmati rice.
2- One small onion, diced.
3- One garlic clove, mashed.
4- Two tablespoon of oil.
5- Two tomatoes, diced.
6- One cube of chicken/vegetable broth.
7- One tablespoon of tomato paste.
8- One teaspoon of salt.
9- One teaspoon of cumin.
10- A bunch of fresh parsley and cilantro, chopped.
11- 1 ½ cups of water.

Preparations:
1- In a deep pot, heat the oil, fry the onion and garlic for 2 minutes, then add the diced tomato and stir well.
2- Add the broth and rice, stir well.
3- Add the salt and cumin.
4- Add the chopped parsley and cilantro. Stir well.
5- Add the water, the water should cover the rice.
6- bring to boil.
7- reduce the heat. and cover the pot.
8- Cook until done. Taste the rice to see if it's soft.

Be Al-hana We Al-shafa!

Lemon pickles with safflower

My mom used to go to the street market and buy the freshest lemon, then come home and bring out the big jars to make pickles. We didn't have a pickling room but we did have a pickling space.

Ingredients:
1- One kilo of lemon.
2- 250g of hot red pepper, chopped.
3- 50g of safflower.
4- 50g of black seed.
5- 250 of salt.
6- 100ml of olive oil.
7- 500 ml lemon juice.

Preparations:
1-  Wash the lemons and dry them with a towel.
2- Mix the chopped pepper with salt. Then, add the safflower and black seed. Mix all of them well.
3- Make small cuts in the lemons and stuff the cuts with the spices.
4- Put the lemons in the jar.
5- Add the lemon juice. Then add the olive oil on top.
6- The jar must be air tight.
7- Leave the pickles for one to two months to be done.
Keep in dry place away from air and water.

Be Al-hana We Al-shafa!

Spicy Farmer's Cheese

Early in the morning farmers go to the street market to sell their fresh homemade cheese. In Egypt, sometimes farmers come to your door to sell the cheese. It's always yummy.

Ingredients:
1- Three liters of whole milk.
2- 16-20 tablespoon of white vinegar.
3- One teaspoon of salt.
4- Chili powder, as desired. I like spicy so I add a lot!.
5- One tablespoon of olive oil.
6- Cucumber, diced.
7- Tomato, diced.
8- Green rocket.

Preparations:
1- In a deep pot, heat the milk on low heat. Once it starts boiling remove from heat.
2- Add the vinegar and the salt.
3-  Let it sit until it clumps, it takes few hours. I usually add 16 spoons of apple vinegar, If it doesn't clumps enough I add 4 more spoons.
4- Put a cheesecloth on the top of a sieve. Put the clumps in the cheesecloth and squeeze it to get rid of the liquid.
5- Put the cheese in the fridge.

To Serve:
1- Add the chili powder and olive oil to the cheese.
2- Add the fresh veggies to the cheese and mix.
3- Serve cold with pita bread.

Be Al-hana We Al-shafa!