Pasta

Ingredients:

Pasta shells: 1 packet.

Pasta sauce: 1 bottle.

Mixed vegetabels: 1 cup

Salt: to taste

Green chillies: 2

Onion: 1 small

Oil: 3 tbsps

Method:

Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the box.

Sauce preparation:

Take a pan, heat oil and add onions and green chillies.

Fry the onions untill golden brown and add the mixed vegetables, salt and fry untill the mixed vegetables are cooked.

Once every thing is cooked add the required amount of pasta sauce (refrigerate the remaining sauce, stays in the refrigerator for aobut a week) to the mixed vegetables and let it cook for about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat.

In a bowl take some pasta and add sauce. Serve hot.

I had used both spaghetti and pasta shells at the same time as kids love eating them both.

Enjoy.

strawberry halwa

Ingredients :

Strawberries: 3 cups freshly chopped

Milk: 3 cups

Sugar: 3 cups

Ghee: 1/2 cup

Strawberry milk: 11/2 cup ( take 1 cup chopped strawberries and add 1/2 cup milk, blend both the ingredients to make strawberry milk.)

Elachi : 6 pods

Elachi pwd: 1/4 tbsp

Raisins: 2 tablespoons

Sugar: 6 tablespoons

Honey: 6 tablespoons

Method:

Blend the freshly chopped strawberries with strawberry milk,6 spoons of sugar, honey, and elachi pwd into a smooth mixture.

In a heavy bottom vessel heat milk and slowly add sugar. Keep stiring the mixture untill it boils. Should take around 20 - 30 minutes. (I heated the milk in microwave added sugar and trasfered it to the stove.)

Keep in on medium heat and add the blended strawberry mixture to the milk. Keep stiring and add the elachi pods to the mixture. Remove the elachi pods after 30 minutes. (This is just to add flavor to the halwa.)

Keep stirring until the mixture gets thickened. Takes about 2 to 3 hours.

Once the mixture gets thick add the 1/2 cup ghee to the mixture and stir well for the ghee to get dissolved.

Add raisins to the halwa, mix well and remove from heat.

Pour the mixture into moulds for easy consuming. I felt difficult to cut the halwa into pieces from the pie pan, but easy to take from the moulds and eat it.

Let the halwa cool.

This strawberry halwa is really good as the halwa we get in sweet shops.

Enjoy.

Rava Kesari

Ingredients:

Semolina: 1/2 cup

Water: 1 1/2 cup

Sugar: 1/2 cup

Elachi pwd: 1/4 tsp

Method:

Take a pan and fry the semolina untill golden brown and nice aroma.

Add sugar and mix well, then add water and keep mixing untill the mixture gets thickened.

Finally add elachi pwd and remove from heat.

Spray oil on a plate and spread the kesari on the plate.

Let cool and cut into pieces.

Sprinkle with elachi pwd.

Alterations:

1. You can add Milk instead of water (or) Milk and water in equal parts.

2. You can add condensed milk instead of sugar, but must add a little more amount of condensed milk than sugar.

Enjoy.

Salad

Ingredients:

Lettuce: 4 leaves (cut into small pieces)

Tomato: 1 small chopped

Carrot: 1 small shredded

White sharp shredded cheese: 1/4 cup (use rice cup)

Croutons: 1/2 cup

Chicken pieces: 1/2 cup (Use ready to eat breaded breast pieces)

Ranch dressing: Light (optional)

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients except ranch.

Eat fresh or refrigerate.

Tastes great.

Enjoy.

Vegetable fried rice

Ingredients:

Basmati rice: 2 1/2 cups

Mixed vegetables: 2 cups (I used frozen ones) (cook them in microwave for about 10 minutes)

Spring onion: 1 cup

Garlic: 8 cloves chopped

Black pepper pwd: 1 tbsp

Salt: to taste

Soy sauce: 2 to 3 tbsps

Croutons: 1/2 cup

Oil: 1/4th cup + 2 tbsps

Method:

Wash the basmati rice and cook them with 1:11/2 ratio water, by adding 2 tbsps of oil and let cool.

In a pan take 1/4 cup oil and heat. Add the chopped garlic pieces and fry until golden brown.

Now add the mixed vegetables, spring onions, salt and pepper pwd and fry until soft.

Now add the soy sauce to the fried vegetable stir for about 2 minutes and remove from heat.

Add the cooked rice to the vegetables and mix well. Adjust salt to taste.

Lastly add croutons and serve hot. (Add the croutons before serving for crunchiness).

Tastes very good with curd raita.

Enjoy

Mango Ice cream

Ingredients:

Kesar Mango pulp: 1 tin

Pineapple chuncks: 1 tin

Condensed milk: 1 tin

Whipped cream: 3 pack

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients and whisk them or blend them untill everything gets mixed up well.

I used smoothie maker to mix them all.

Pour the ingredients in a freezer bowl and freeze overnight.

Yummy mango icecream is ready.

Enjoy

Sending this to Srivalli who is hosting a wonderful event of Mango Mela.

Fishing in Augusta, Maine