We are nearing the end of the month of January already. This means we have 5 more short weeks until SPRING- how exciting ! This month I really focused on home cooked meals rather than purchasing takeout. That's right, I deleted the Uber eats app from my phone..Not only was it good for my pocket, it was also refreshing to eat whole foods and know what exactly is in my food.
During this time of year, I enjoy a cozy comforting meal, so salads are really not my go to. I also just purchased an Instant Pot, so a couple of the recipes are perfect for you to use in your instant pot! I do have a couple dietary restrictions; sensitivity to dairy, and I haven't had red meat in almost 10 years now so this has made my body develop a sensitivity to it. I'm not a proffessional cook/ baker thats for sure- these recipes are inherently fool proof! To find more recipes I've tried, checkout my pinterest! @mellinamallah
Below I will list the recipes from what I found the easiest and least complex to the hardest and most ccomplex and at the bottom I've also included a very easy vegan protein pancake recipe I came up with in my Kitchen! If you make any of these recipes or have any questions feel free to message me either via blog or on my instagram @mellinamallah!
Recipe 1: VIRAL TikTok Tortilla Sandwich
The first "Recipe" isn't really a recipe, its just a fun assortment of ingredients that taste delicious combined. This is a very popular TikTok food hack that went viral! I wanted to give it a try and see if it actually worked well and it really surprised me. I understand the hype now. What you will need:
- 1 tortilla
-4 different ingredients (can be sweet or savoury- I used: Avocado, turkey bacon, scrambled egg and cheddar cheese.)
How to prepare this meal:
Cut your tortilla half way through the centre.
Face the slit towards you.
Place each of your individual ingredients on each quarter of the tortilla evenly.
Fold the left bottom quarter onto the top left quarter then over to the right side quarter and down to the bottom right quarter (you should have a triangle shape)
Heat a pan with oil on medium low heat.
"Grill" the tortilla on each side for about 3-4 minutes.
And ENJOY!
Recipe 2: High Protein Chickpea burger
My tips/ thoughts: Overall this was a very simple recipe and not a lot of prep involved. the flavours were tasty, consistency would have been better with an ingredient such as oat flour to help the burger better hold its form! I used a blender because I don't own a food processor which the recipe calls for. With that being said, I combined all the ingredients in a bowl before hand and then put it in the blender which I found very useful to make sure all the ingredients were evenly dispersed! I dressed my burger with: mushrooms, onions, spinach, tomatoes and crispy bacon (for texture and rich flavour)!.
Recipe 3: Instant Pot Butter Chicken
Recipe link:
My tips/ thoughts: This recipe was very straightforward, and did not require modifications in the way it was prepared. However, it lacked in spice and flavour. Next time I try this recipe I will be letting it sit longer in the instant pot, this way all the flavours get a chance to infuse better together, especially in the chicken. I will also be doubling the amount of each spice! I decided to substitute the heavy cream for coconut milk. I suggest you garnish with either cilantro or any fresh herbs you have in your kitchen!.
Recipe 4: Instant Pot Lemon Chicken
Recipe link:
My tips/ thoughts: Overall the recipe was very simple and honestly the best recipe this month in terms of flavour! Next time I cook this recipe I will definitely be either adjusting the chickens cook time (safely) as it was pretty dry or even use boneless chicken thighs as opposed to the chicken breast suggested in the recipe !
Recipe 5: Lemon Scone
Recipe Link:
https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/lemon-cream-cheese-scones/
My tips/ thoughts: The process of making scones is definitely easier than I expected it would be. The recipe itself is easy to follow and you only need a few ingredients to make these. However, when I'm making a LEMON dessert, I expect to bit hit with that punch of lemon flavour. I found the scones lacked in that aspect as well as sweetness. Next time I make these I will be adding much more lemon zest and juice as well as a tad more sugar.
Recipe 6: Sourdough Bread (whole wheat)
Recipe link:
My tips/ thoughts: A friend actually shared this recipe with me and I have now attempted it twice! both attempts did not entirely succeed. It really could have been a number of these reasons: over proofing/ not proofing it enough, over kneading the dough, the health of my starter as well as the temperature. I am quite new at baking bread and have not mastered sourdough bread yet. However, both times, the bread turned out tasty and the flavour was always there. It is more so the texture of the bread loaf itself that I still need to figure out how to perfect! I would deem this recipe the most challenging one out of all of them, as it requires quite a bit of time and attention to detail.
Pictured above you have my first attempt and then my second!
BONUS Recipe: Mellina's Vegan PROTEIN pancakes !
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Oats
-1/4 oat milk (any milk substitute)
-1 tsp Baking Soda
-1 tsp Baking Powder
-1 tsp Vanilla Extract
-Pinch of salt
-1 VERY Ripe Banana
-1 Scoop Vegan Protein powder (you can use whey)
-1 1/2 tbsp Melted Coconut oil (1 TBSP used for cooking)
Instructions:
-Mash the banana in a bowl.
-Mix in all your dry ingredients with the mashed banana.
-Blend everything thats in the bowl until everything is well blended.
-Melt your 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil in microwave in 15 second intervals until melted (stir every 15 seconds as needed.
-Transfer your pancake batter into the bowl.
-Pour the melted coconut oil into the bowl and stir quickly making sure the coconut oil doesn't solidify.
-Heat a pan on medium- low heat with he 1tbsp coconut oil.
-Pour batter (I do 1/4 cup batter at a time) onto hot pan, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.
-Serve warm with maple syrup or even topped with some peanut butter and jam!
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