Homemade Meals

  Walnut cookies (Bulgarian- Style Recipe) It may seem strange, but growing up in Bulgaria, we didn't have chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal cookies, which are so famous here in America. We had different type of cookies, and the walnut ones were probably my favorite. So that's why I decided to share :)  P.S. The Bulgarian name is Orehovki (Oreh means walnut) Ingredients:  3 egg whites (or 1/4 cup if you are using a carton of egg whites) 1 1/4 cup walnuts  1 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract a few dark chocolate baking ships (less than 1/4 cup). The baking chips are optional, and if using, use a little less than 1 cup of sugar. Preparation: 1. Finely chop/grind the walnuts- I use a mortar to grind them because I like some walnut pieces, but you can use a spice/coffee grinder if you prefer the walnuts finely grinded 2. I place a cooking pan with water on the stove, medium- low heat. I place a smaller size pan with the egg whites. Using a hand mixer, when the egg whites become foamy

Yummy! I try to eat healthy, so I always prefer baked meals to fried food. This chicken recipe is so delicious, you won't try another :) You can also use smaller chicken wings, and prepare them when you have friends over. Ingredients (for 2 people) 2 pounds of chicken drumsticks  1 2/3 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp turmeric (if you prefer you can use fresh turmeric) 1/2 tsp sugar 1- 2" fresh ginger, finely grated 2 cloves garlic, finely grated Preparation: 1. Combine in a bowl the salt, pepper, turmeric and sugar and rub the chicken with the spice mix. 3. Sprinkle ginger and garlic evenly over the chicken. Cover and chill the chicken for minimum of 1 hour (I chill it overnight) 4. Place the chicken on a greased foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle oil on top of the chicken. 5. Bake at 425F for about 25 min (until golden brown)  6. Using tongs, turn the chicken over and continue to cook for additional 20-25 min. (until skin is crisp) 7. Enjoy!

If you would like to try a Bulgarian meal, I highly recommend Banitza. My mom used to bake it for breakfast (we eat bread and dough-based meals for breakfast). Banitza is also part of the New Year’s Eve tradition- we insert a coin and handwritten whishes to see our luck and fortune for the next year. Since banitza is part of out tradition, everybody loves it, and every household has its own recipe based on people’s taste. I love my banitza crispy with a lot of cheese. Some people like it more greasy, and with less cheese. I am going to share my aunt’s recipe- it is very easy to make- I hope you love it!  Ingredients: ½ package frozen Fillo Dough (I buy the Fillo Factory brand from Whole Foods) 2 eggs 1 cup yogurt ½ tsp baking soda Crumbled Bulgarian feta cheese (approx. 1 cup) Melted butter  Steps:  1) Thaw the fillo dough, so it is easy to work with and it doesn’t break  2) Preheat oven to 350F 3) Combine the yogurt with the baking soda and add the 2 eggs to the mixture.