Gingerbread cookies

Christmas is right around the corner and I'm more than excited. I'm the kind of person who loves Christmas and all the fun and festive things that come with it. I love snow, Christmas trees, festive decorations, when the people you love come together, the food, cinnamon and last but not least the gingerbread which I make every single year. I believe I have the tastiest recipe for this special cookie. I love making them, because it is so delicious and christmassy and also it is so fun to make them with family and friends.

I came back home from Portugal to Hungary for the holidays so I can spend this wonderful time with the people I love most. Yesterday my sister and I decided to make the traditional gingerbread cookies. We had such a good time making them and I decided to upload this recipe with some photos so you can see how ours turned out.

INGREDIENTS: 

250g honey

100g sugar
50g butter
325g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg

2 teaspoons gingerbread spice (ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg)

Heat up the honey in a saucepan, add sugar and the butter and let it cool. Mix together the flour, baking powder and the gingerbread spice in a separate bowl. Add the honey mixture and the egg and mix until you get a dough. Chill that in the fridge for minimum 2 hours. Put your dough on a floured work surface and get your rolling pin and roll it until it is a 0,5-1 cm thick. Then get your cookie cutter and press them on the rolled out dough to get the shape you want. Bake them in 180°C oven for about 5-7 minutes. When they are done feel free to decorate them with frosting.

If this recipe inspired you to make gingerbread cookies this Christmas then make sure to tweet me or tag me on instagram so I can see your recreations.

Merry Christmas!

Easy and tasty appetizers

Before your guests arrive you make the soup, the main course and you definitely put time and effort into making the dessert. But there is always that question: what treat should I greet them with? You don't want to give them something that fills them too much, but everyone likes to eat a little something with their welcome drinks. For this week I decided to show you two easy and tasty appetizers. If you are in a rush this is perfect because these are ready in no time and they look like you've put a lot of effort into making them. 

1st sandwich 

2 slices of brown bread (with sunflower seeds)

olive oil

7 cherry tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

basil

salt and pepper

(it makes two bread slices)

Toast the bread slices and drizzle some olive oil on top of them. Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the chopped garlic cloves until they are a bit brown and then add the sliced cherry tomatoes and the basil. Let them fry until the tomatoes become soft and then season it with salt and pepper. Put it on top of your bread and put a basil leaf on top of the bread for decoration.

2nd sandwich

2 brown bread (with sunflower seeds)

olive oil

2 slices of salmon 

arugula (rukkola)

almond (peeled and sliced)

(it makes two bread slices)

Toast the bread slices and drizzle some olive oil on top of them. Put one slice of salmon on each bread and then squeeze some lemon juice on top of it. Add the arugula and also some peeled and sliced almond on top.

If you make these appetizers then I guarantee that your guests won't be disappointed. So if  you do try this amazing and easy recipe then make sure to write a comment or take a picture of it and upload it to instagram or twitter and also don't forget to tag me in the photo .(instagram: @breakfast_at_katas , twitter: @breatkatas)

Arroz doce

For my first real Portuguese recipe, I decided to make arroz doce which is a delicious dessert. Whenever I go to a portuguese restaurant I always order this to finish a great meal. It is sweet and cinnamony. This recipe has a little bit of a twist, because I used 

sweetened condensed milk instead of sugar and I have no regrets, it tastes amazing. If you want to make a portuguese dessert, but you don't want something too complicated, then this is the recipe for you. Also if you come to Portugal you must try arroz doce. 

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups of water
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 tablespoon  of salt
210g of rice
480 ml of milk
100g of sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
cinnamon

Get a saucepan and bring your water, butter, salt to a boil. Then add the rice and on a medium to low heat let it cook for 25-30 minutes (until the rice cooks and absorbs the water), then add the warm milk (boil it a few minutes before). Let this cook for 5 more minutes and then add the sweetened condensed milk gradually while steering the mixture. In a separate bowl take your egg yolks and a few tablespoons of the rice mixture and quickly whisk them together so the eggs don't cook. Pour the mixtures back to the saucepan and let that simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste it and if you feel that it could be sweeter then add more of the sweetened condensed milk. Let it cool completely and put it in the fridge to chill and serve it with cinnamon on top. 

I hope you feel inspired to make this portuguese recipe and if you do then be sure to write a comment or take a picture of it and upload it to instagram and don't forget to tag me in the photo .(@breakfast_at_katas).

Cream soup with Hungarian galuska

The last few weeks had been rainy and cold here in Portugal. You can really feel that autumn is here and winter is coming. These days I just want to stay at home, lay on the couch with a comfy blanket, watch a movie and eat a hot soup. I adore cream soups whether it is tomato, mushroom or zucchini. Most often I like to make zucchini cream soupe with Hungarian galuska. It is perfect for this weather and the galuska makes it even better. My grandmother started making this soup for me and my family when I was small, and so this was one of the recipes she taught me when I started cooking. 

On cold winter days I recommend you to try this recipe and I promise it'll definitely warm you up. 

INGREDIENTS:

Soupe:

2 zucchinis

2 medium sized potatoes
1 onion

salt and pepper

3-4 tablespoons of cream fresh or cream (tejföl)

4 cups of water

Galuska:

1 egg

50g of butter

5 tablespoons of flour

pinch of salt  

We are going to start by making the galuska. Take a bowl and put in the egg, butter, flour and a pinch of salt. Mix that well and set it aside.

Chop up the zucchinies, potatoes and the onion. Grab a big pot and heat up (medium to high heat) some oil and fry your onions for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and fry them for another 2-3 minutes and then add the zucchini and let it soften for about 2 minutes while steering constantly (don't forget to season your vegetables with salt and pepper). Pour in 4 glasses of water (if later on, you feel like your soup is too thick then add more water) and let it cook for about 30 minutes (until the potatoes are cooked and softened). Get a blender and blend the vegetables and the water together. You should get a creamy consistency. Then taste it and if you need to, then put more salt and pepper.  Put 3-4 tablespoons of cream fresh in the soup, stir it well, and put it up on a high heat. When it starts to boil then start adding the galuska batter into the soup with a teaspoon. Let the soup cook for another 2 minutes and you are ready to serve.

If you decide to give this tasty cream soup a try then make sure to write a comment or take a picture of it and upload it to instagram or twitter and also don't forget to tag me in the photo .(instagram: @breakfast_at_katas , twitter: @breatkatas)

Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate pudding is a delicious and chocolaty dessert that you can never get enough of. Personally, I love all desserts that involve chocolate, so a chocolate pudding is a perfect dessert for me. I know I'm not the only chocolate lover, so I want to show you an easy recipe which you can make whenever you feel like treating yourself to something sweet and tasty. My family loves it when I make this pudding, because they don't have to wait too long until it's ready and it is yummy either warm or cold. It is also great if you 

have  guests coming, because you can make it the day before and leave it in the fridge overnight and the next day you can enjoy a cold and heavenly dessert. 

INGREDIENTS:
80g of sugar
40 g of coco powder
3 tablespoons of flour
520 ml milk
90g dark chocolate 
4 egg yolks
vanilla extract


TO DECORATE:
peeled and sliced almonds
white chocolate

In a saucepan mix together the sugar, coco powder and flour. Then add the  milk and the chocolate, and start cooking it on a medium heat until everything is dissolved (don't worry if you have lumps in your pudding because we'll strane it). After that, remove from the heat. 

Next we are going to temper our eggs by taking a little bit of the chocolate mixture and adding it to the egg yolks while you are whisking them constantly (so that the eggs don't cook). Mix that well and pour it in the saucepan to the rest of the chocolate mixture. Then put the saucepan on a low heat and let it cook for 1,5-2 more minutes. Strane your mixture so there are no lumps. Pour your pudding into little cups and let them cool completely and put them in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. 

To decorate you can sprinkle some peeled and sliced almonds and some grated white chocolate on top of the pudding.

I hope you feel inspired to make this recipe and if you do then be sure to write a comment or take a picture of it and upload it to instagram and don't forget to tag me in the photo .(@breakfast_at_katas).

Healthy and delicious salad

Like every girl I like to watch my figure at times, this is when I don't want to eat a heavy meal. On those occasions I like to eat a salad, but I don't like to feel that I give up on a tasty dinner, so instead I try to make my salad delicious with some tricks. I'm going to give you one of my favourite salad recipes with two different dressings. I usually make this salad when I don't want to spend too much time preparing it, otherwise I'd make a caesar salad but of course that takes more time. I believe that if you are on a diet or just eat healthy, you don't have to compromise, because you can spice up a boring diet dish with some delicious ingredients. 

INGREDIENTS:

For the salad: 

200g lettuce

30g arugula (rukkola)

30g spinach leaves

12 cherry tomatoes

250g mozzarella or other cheese

5g (a few slices) ham 

1 cucumber

30g almond (peeled, sliced)

grated parmesan

1.Dressing:

50 ml olive oil 

10 ml freshly squeezed lemon (can be replaced by 20 ml fine vinegar)

1 teaspoon mustard

salt 

pepper 

2. Dressing:

30 ml olive oil

1 teaspoon of mustard

2 tablespoons cream fresh (tejföl) 

1/2 teaspoon worcester sauce ( can be replaced by fine vinegar)

salt

pepper

Get a big bowl and put the lettuce, arugula, spinach leaves, cucumber and cherry tomatoes in it. Then slice your mozzarella and ham and put those in the bowl as well. 

1.dressing: Pour your olive oil and lemon juice in a small bowl or glass. Then add the mustard and finally season it with salt and pepper.

2. dressing: Pour your olive oil and add your mustard, cream fresh and the worcester sauce in a small bowl or glass. Season it with salt and pepper.

Put the dressing on your salad and mix well.
Serve it on a plate and put the grated parmesan and some almonds on top of your salad and don't forget your choice of dressing.
(this salad makes 4 servings)

I hope you find this easy healthy salad recipe helpful and let me know if you would like to see more healthy recipes on my blog. If you decide to give this salads a try then please leave a comment or upload a picture on instagram with the #katasbreakfastsalad. (@breakfast_at_katas).

Waffle for breakfast

Waffles are the kind of treats that are good for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even a late night snack. I personally love making them because when I do the whole kitchen is filled with that sweet delicious smell. Don't even get me started on the toppings. There are so many choices to choose from. You can put jam, nutella, pudding, whipped cream or anything you want. I have a waffle recipe wich I use when ever I feel like making something quick and sweet.

I am going to share with you this recipe and some of the toppings wich I eat with waffles.

INGREDIENTS: 

2 eggs

2 tablespoon of sugar

a pinch of salt 

100 ml of sunflower oil 

150 ml of milk 

100 ml of water

250g of plain flour

1 and 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

TOPPING:

confectioners sugar

honey and banana

blueberry jam

melted chocolate

First, beat the egg whites ( until they are fluffy) and add the sugar and salt gradually. Then mix this with the egg yolks, the oil, the milk and the water. In a separate bowl mix together the flour and baking powder. Fold together your wet and dry mixture. Preheat your waffle iron and brush it with a bit of butter. Then start adding your batter and bake each waffle until they are golden brown. Place your waffles on a plate and serve it with whatever topping you prefer.

These heart shapped waffles are tasty and easy treats. If you try this recipe be sure to write a comment or take a picture of it and upload it to instagram using the #katasbreakfastwaffles ( @breakfast_at_katas ).