Torta di Mele - Apple Cake

Yesterday I made one of the most delicious apple cake ever! Thanks to my BFF Lilli and her mamy for this amazing recipe!


Ingredients:

2 large apples
120 gr. Flour (1 cup)
200 gr. white Sugar (1 cup)
100 gr. butter ( 7 Tbsp)
3 eggs
120 ml milk (1/2 cup)
1 pack yeast
1 lemon zest
1 dash of vanilla

In a large bowl whip the butter and the sugar, then add the rest of the ingredients, leaving the eggs for last and adding them one by one very slowly. Pour the batter in your cake pan and place the very thinly sliced apple on top and the push them inside the batter. Do this for like 3 layers. It's important that the apple are very thin, in this way they will melt with the batter and they will create like a cream inside! Bake in the oven @ 180 C (350 F) for about 40 minutes or until golden. Enjoy this yummy delicious recipe! Buon Appetito!

Halloween Cake Pops

Since we are in this spooky period of the year I decided to make a Halloween treats. Pumpkin cake pops.













All you need is: Some candy sticks, a cake mix ( I picked the yellow cake mix), a can of frosting, some candy melts.

Just bake your cake according to the directions in the back of the cake mix box (or if you have time you can make it from scratch). Once the cake has cooled down, crumble it and mix it with the frosting, until it becomes a ball. Form you little balls and place in the fridge for 1 hour. Melt you candy melt and dip the tip of each stick before inserting it in the cake ball. Let it harden. The next step is dipping the cake pops and place a jelly bean on top, so that it will look like a stem. Place the in a Styrofoam to dry. If you have some markers you can even draw some faces on them. I suggest to have a cup of this delicious Pumpkin tea along with these cake pops... this tea is so good, when I made it, it smelled like I just made a pumpkin pie! Yummy! Enjoy! Buon Appetito!

Peach Strawberry Cobbler

Here is a very quick and easy recipe for a cobbler that is out of this world! I made it with peaches and strawberries, but you can go crazy with your imagination and use blueberry, blackberry, apple, bananas... anything you like! (Thanks to my friend Vicky that gave me this wonderful recipe!)

1/2 stick of butter

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup, plus 1 tblsp sugar(to sprinkle on top of mixture before baking)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup milk

2 heaping cups fruit (peaches, cherries, blueberries, blackberries,

raspberries, strawberries or combination of berries)

Adjust oven to 350 degrees and melt butter in 9x9in glass baking dish.

While butter melts whisk all dry ingredients in mixing bowl, then

whisk in milk. Let stand approximately 3 minutes, or until butter is

melted.

Once butter is melted, pour batter into baking dish, then place fruit

evenly into dish. Sprinkle 1 tblsp sugar on top of mixture. Bake at

350 for 50 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with Ice Cream and a smile :) ... and share with good friends!

Risotto Bolognese - Rice with Meat Sauce

Here is a quick fix meal that will come handy when you are running out of time. For the risotto bolognese you will need: - Rice for risotto ( Arborio or other kinds) - Ground beef - onion - garlic - tomato sauce - a little bit of butter - a little bit of extra virgin olive oil In a pan, start to sautee the onions, oil, ground beef, garlic. When the beef is half way done, pour some red wine, so that the meat will get a nice flavor. When all the juices are evaporated, pour in your tomato sauce and let it cook for around 5-10 minutes. Adjust with salt and pepper. Boil the rice. When the rice is ready, throw it in the pan where your meat sauce is, along with a piece of butter and Parmesan cheese. The butter will help to get that creamy risotto texture. Enjoy! Buon Appetito!

My Best Cooking Team in Italy

Here is a picture of my last visit back home in Italy. I was with some very special ladies that cook like they have enchanted hands! My Mum is missing from this picture but next time I'll go back I'll make sure to take a good one with her too! She is the greatest cook too! :)


From the left: Tonina, Me, Pasqua (My lovely nanny, like a second mother to me), and Maria.
We were preparing a big lunch in occasion of the grape harvest... after everybody finishes working at the vineyard, they come over for a well deserved lunch, which that day consisted of : Homemade gnocchi pasta and ricotta ravioli, Beef, with side salad and of course delicious desserts of all kinds!! Everything paired with a good glass of homemade red wine!

Diet Version of Strawberry Shortcake

Ok so the other day I was watching some youtube videos about strawberry shortcakes, and this one HCG P2 friendly came out! I wanted to share it with you because I tried it and it is delicious!

Slice 8 strawberries and put them in a container with 1 and 1/2 packet of Truvia. Leave them in the fridge for about 15 minutes. In this way the strawberries in contact with the sugar create a yummy juice. After you add the 1 tbs allowed of milk, 2 tbsp of Torani vanilla sugar free syrup and 1 Wasa cracker ( I bought the multi grain one, which is only 45 calories per slice). Mix everything together and Enjoy!!! Buon Appetito!

Dates & Cheese Crostini

I stumbled upon this delicious appetizer during my visit to Amsterdam (Netherlands), and fall in love with it ever since! The combination of the sweetness of the dates along with the saltiness of the cheese is just phenomenal!

Cut a Baguette French bread into slices. Drizzle the bread slices with some extra vergin olive oil. Top the bread with dates, cut in 1/2, and finally place a piece of Brie cheese inside each date. You could also use any other kind of cheese if you prefer. Bake in the oven at 450 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Enjoy! Buon Appetito!

Organic Chai Tea

This is one of my favorite tea of the moment! It's from Tazo and the flavor is so rich, it will make your whole house smell good! It is even better with 1 Tbsp of milk in it! Yummy! Enjoy!

Ruioli - Sweet Ricotta Balls

This is a traditional recipe from my Gorgeous island of Sardinia. It's a great dessert made by little fried ricotta balls drizzled with honey. Everybody loves them and they're super fast to make! (Thanks to my nanny Tata for the recipe!)

To make the Ruioli you will need:

500 gr. ricotta cheese (16 Oz.)

1 grated orange skin

3 Tbsp white sugar

3 eggs

2-3 Tbsp flour

Vegetable oil to fry

Drain your ricotta cheese very well. Then mix everything together. The mix will result very soft. Just form little balls and fry them. Place the fried balls on paper towel sheets to drain. Drizzle with honey and serve warm! Enjoy! Buon appetito!

Italiano (Tabelle Unita' di Misura) - English (Measuring Charts)

Since I have recipes from all over the world, it is hard to keep up with measurements that sometimes are in cups or in Grams.... even for the oven temperature that in some recipes could be in Celsius and in other could be in Fahreneit. This is why I decided to post these tables that could be very useful to you!

Dato che le mie ricette provengono da un po tutto il mondo, e' difficile stare al passo con le unita' di misura che vanno da cups (Tazze) o grammi... anche per quanto riguarda la temperatura del forno che in alcune ricette e' in gradi Centigradi e in altre in Fahrenheit. Ecco perche' ho deciso di pubblicare queste tabelle che credo vi saranno molto utili!
Ecco una Legenda: Cups (Tazze), Teaspoon (Cucchiaino), Tablespoon (Cucchiaio), Lbs (Libbre).

Oven temperatures / Temperature del Forno
celsius (Centigradi)		fahrenheit	gas
120º		250º	1
150º		300º	2
160º		325º	3
180º		350º	4
190º		375º	5
200º		400º	6
230º		450º	7
250º		500º	9

Metric cup & spoon / Tazze e misure di Cucchiaio
cup (tazza)	metric
1/4 cup	60ml
1/3 cup	80ml
1/2 cup	125ml
1 cup	250ml
spoon (Cucchiaio)	metric
1/4 teaspoon	1.25ml
1/2 teaspoon	2.5ml
1 teaspoon	5ml
2 teaspoons	10ml
1 tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons)	20ml

Liquids/ Liquidi
metric	cup (Tazza)	imperial
30ml		1 fl oz
60ml	1/4 cup	2 fl oz
80ml	1/3 cup	3 1/2 fl oz
100ml		2 3/4 fl oz
125ml	1/2 cup	4 fl oz
150ml		5 fl oz
180ml	3/4 cup	6 fl oz
200ml		7 fl oz
250ml	1 cup	8 3/4 fl oz
310ml	1 1/4 cups	10 1/2 fl oz
375ml	1 1/2 cups	13 fl oz
430ml	1 3/4 cups	15 fl oz
475ml		16 fl oz
500ml	2 cups	17 fl oz
625ml	2 1/2 cups	21 1/2 fl oz
750ml	3 cups	26 fl oz
1L	4 cups	35 fl oz
1.25L	5 cups	44 fl oz
1.5L	6 cups	52 fl oz
2L	8 cups	70 fl oz
2.5L	10 cups	88 fl oz

Weight/ Peso
10g	1/4oz
15g	1/2oz
30g	1oz
60g	2oz
90g	3oz
125g	4oz (1/4 lb)
155g	5oz
185g	6oz
220g	7oz
250g	8oz (1/2 lb)
280g	9oz
315g	10oz
345g	11oz
375g	12oz (3/4 lb)
410g	13oz
440g	14oz
470g	15oz
500g (1/2 kg)	16oz (1 lb)
750g	24oz (1 1/2 lb)
1kg	32oz (2 lb)
1.5kg	48oz (3 lb)
2kg	64oz (4 lb)

Extra Lean Beef & Tomatoes

This is one of my favorite dinner during my HCG diet P2 :)

Be sure to have the extra lean ground beef and mix it with chili powder, pepper, salt, and oregano. Then make it into a burger and grill it. Cut 1 tomato and season it with salt, pepper, and basil. There you have a delicious dinner that will not make you feel you are on a diet! Enjoy! Buon Appetito! :)

Little Salty Croissants & Tortilla Pinwheels

I love finger food! There is no easier and faster appetizer like finger food. This time I want to show you 2 great appetizers: Little salty croissants and tortilla pinwheels.

For the croissants I bought the Pillsbury dough for croissants and just put a piece of Brie cheese wrapped in prosciutto in each triangle. Then I rolled up the little croissant and brushed the top with an egg, salt and pepper.

For the tortilla pinwheels I purchased the tortillas. I spread some cream cheese on top of the tortilla then put some sliced ham and cheese. I rolled up each tortilla and wrapped it tightly in some plastic first and then in some aluminum foil. I put them in the freezer for like 30 minutes and then moved them to the fridge until I am ready to cut them in thick slices and served them! Yummy! Enjoy! Buon appetito!

Grilled Chicken & Asparagus

Here is a recipe for HCG P2, and also for anybody else who wants to have a light and healthy dinner.

Marinade your chicken breast with some lemon juice, curry, salt, and pepper. Grilled chicken and asparagus. I poured some lemon juice, salt, and pepper on the asparagus too.

Serve with 1 Melba Toast. Enjoy! Buon Appetito!

Zuppa Gallurese - Bread Casserole

Zuppa Gallurese is a very traditional main course from the North of Sardinia. The flavor and the consistency of this casserole dish is so delicious you will be asking for second and third! I need to thank Anna for this delicious lunch she prepared for us on our last trip to Sardinia! Yummy!

Ingredients:

some slices of stale bread

Cheese slices (like mozzarella, provolone, or any other you like)

Parmesan cheese

Parsley

Meat or Vegetable broth

In a pan start putting some broth at the bottom, then start layering the bread slices on top. The next step is wetting each slice by pouring a little bit of broth on top (not too much, otherwise it will result soggy). Then cover the bread layer with cheese slices first and finish up by sprinkling the Parmesan cheese and the chopped parsley on top (you could also use some mint leaves). Repeat the same process until you reach the top of the pan. Bake at 350 degrees until the top is golden brown. Enjoy! Buon Appetito!

Baked Cinnamon Apples with Vanilla Coffe

During My HCG diet it is hard to resist to cravings of something sweet, and yesterday I just had a creative idea for an after dinner dessert!

Cut an apple into slices, sprinkle them with cinnamon, truvia (1 packet) and vanilla flavor Torani syrup (sugar free, 0 Calories). Then place them in the oven at 300 degrees for about 50 minutes. Make yourself a cup of coffee, with 1 packet of Truvia, 1 Tbsp of milk, and 2 Tbsp of the Torani Vanilla syrup... and there you have a delicious dessert that will satisfy your cravings during your diet! Enjoy! Buon Appetito!

Chicken & Broccoli

Another healthy and yummy way to mix our proteins with your veggies is this following recipe I am going to tell you.

Sauteed in a pan some onions with olive oil and chicken chunks. Once the chicken is half way cooked throw in some broccoli... Let it cook covered for around 20 minutes. Let the broccoli and the chicken roast very well and get darker. The taste of the broccoli is incredibly enhanced once they are almost burned! I always serve this dish with a dollop of sour cream on the side and dip it! Enjoy! Buon appetito!

Chicken sauteed with oil, onions, peppers and zucchini

A very delicious way to mix your veggies and proteins in a delicious combo!

In a pan sauteed olive oil, onions and chunks of chicken. When chicken starts to be half way done throw in the sliced peppers and zucchini. Cook everything covered for around 10-15 minutes.... Enjoy! Buon Appetito!

Cheddar cheese Tacos

For those of you that want to try a yummy taco without tortilla, here is a wonderful recipe!

Just cut some parchment paper squares, and place some shredded cheddar cheese on top of them that will form small rounds. Place in microwave until all cheese is melted. then let it cool down. Prepare your beef and veggies on the side and the stuff the cheddar tacos... hmmmm yummy! Enjoy! Buon appetito!

Delicious Breakfast

This is a very healthy breakfast I learned about when I was doing my HCG diet P3.

Scramble some egg whites with green onions, salt , and pepper. Cut 2 leaves of lettuce, spread them with cream cheese and top them with turkey. Cut some strawberries on the side... and there you have a delicious light and healthy breakfast! Enjoy! Buon Appetito!