Easy & filling chef's salad

In order to make this easy, yet extremely delicious salad, you will need the following:

- Lettuce 

- Half cucumber

- Few cherry tomatoes

- 100 grams of smoked turkey

- 100 grams any yellow cheese (edam, gouda...)

- 2 hard boiled eggs

For the dressing:

- Mayonaise

- Ketchup

Wash thoroughly the lettuce and chop finely. Cut the cherry tomatoes in two and the cucumber in bite size pieces, add to the lettuce. Cut the turkey and the cheese in small cubes and also cut the boiled eggs in eights. Add to the salad. Add salt according to your taste.

For the dressing: Mix mayonnaise and ketchup until you get a dressing with a pink color. Experiment with it, some like more ketchup and some less, some more mayonnaise and some just a little. You can substitute with low fat mayo for a healthier version. Pour on the salad and give it a good toss. This is a very filling and quite heavy salad. You can serve it as an accompaniment to a dish or as meal of its own, with some crusty bread. 

This is how your salad should eventually look like:

Simple lemon cake

For this very simple and easy lemon cake, you will need the following:

-          250 grams of self raising flour

-          200 grams of white sugar

-          125 grams of margarine

-          2 eggs

-          A mug full of milk

-          One lemon

First of all, bring all the ingredients to room temperature. Switch the oven on at around 180 Celsius (moderate). Mix the margarine with the sugar until fluffy and then add the eggs. Whisk some more. Add gradually the flour and the milk (it is possible that you will not be using the entire mug). Add the lemon rind, grated, and the juice of the lemon.

Prepare (line) a smaller size cake form (I use an oblong one) and bake for around 45-50 minutes. Do not open the oven for the first half hour and as usual, insert a toothpick in the cake towards the end of the baking time. If it comes out dry and clean, your cake’s ready.

Enjoy!

Lenna’s chicken a la crème

This is a relatively easy dish that I made yesterday for lunch-it is my interpretation of chicken a la crème, a favorite dish for many.

In order to make it (for two people), you will need:

-          2 large chicken breasts

-          3-4 large peppers

-          A bottle of cheap white wine

-          250 ml of single cream

-          2 garlic cloves

-          Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the chicken breast in bite-sized cubes and sauté in a pan. Add the peppers, cut also in bite-size pieces and the crushed garlic cloves and sauté for a while, until the peppers become tender. Cover with white wine and allow to cook thoroughly, until there is almost no wine left. Then, add the cream and some salt and pepper and boil until the cream thickens. Serve with rice and a very easy and crisp Greek lettuce salad.

In order to make the salad, slice some lettuce and a fresh spring onion. Add also some cherry tomatoes, cut in two. Sprinkle with salt and toss. Add some olive oil and a drizzle of wine vinegar and you’re ready!

Homemade banoffee pie

A while ago I was invited by a friend to dinner at her place and as I always like making something to offer the hostess, I made this easy banoffee pie.

To make this, you will need the following:

- One and a half packages of petit beurre biscuits
- Half cup of lukewarm milk
- A shot of rum
- A can of dulce de leche 
- 4 bananas
- 400 grams of whipping cream
- some confectioner's sugar
- grated dark chocolate


For making the dulce de leche:

Buy a few cans of sweetened condensed milk. Fill a large cooking pot with water and place inside the cans. I usually make 4 at a time and keep the rest in my cupboard, they keep for 3-4 months. Simmer the cans-closed-for approximately two and a half hours and make sure that they are covered by the water at all times. Add some extra water as needed. Remove from the pot and allow to cool.

Mix the lukewarm milk with the rum and dip the biscuits. Arrange them in two layers in a tray. Open the can with dulce de leche and spread on top of the biscuits. Cut the bananas into slices and arrange on top of the dulce de leche.

Whip the cream and add confectioner's sugar to taste. Spread on the dessert and finish with grated dark chocolate.

Guaranteed success!