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Easy Appetizers for your New Year’s Eve Party!!

30 | 12 | 2012
By Soni Sinha

As we welcome the New Year, I want to Thank each and every one of you for being here, trying out my recipes,coming back again and again to leave messages, for being so supportive of this passion of mine and I’m also thankful for all the other blogs out there that inspire me,motivate me, and educate me each day, every day.This journey brings immense joy to me and I hope to continue doing what I love most into the next year too 🙂

I truly wish that for each and every one of you the New Year brings immense joy, great health, lovely moments and lots and lots of Happiness!!

So, its party time and its only apt that I’ve compiled a list of my favorite appetizers from my blog that you can serve your guests at your New Year’s Eve Party!Without further ado here are some top appetizer ideas from me to you 🙂

Click on these links for recipes:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Easy Home-made Hummus

27 | 12 | 2012
By Soni Sinha

The party season is on full swing and everyone wants easy recipes that can feed a crowd.My recipe today is probably one of the easiest and my most favorite of all time.Hummus!Its great for entertaining,its packed with nutrition, it’s easy to make and it tastes delicious.Hummus is a dip or a spread,made using cooked mashed Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas) served alongside some toasted Pita or chips.It finds its origin in the Middle East and has now become an extremely popular appetizer in parties all across the globe.I love serving my Hummus with some Corn Tortilla Chips!

Apart from its delicious taste, Hummus is also very nutritious.Its high in Iron and Vitamin C,and a great source of protein for Vegans and Vegetarians.You can cook the Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas) at home (the process begins by soaking the raw garbanzo beans overnight followed by pressure cooking them the next morning).In case you’ve forgotten to soak your Garbanzo Beans (like I invariably do :)), place about 2 cups of raw Garbanzo Beans in your slow cooker.Add 4-5 cups of water.Let it cook for 5-6 hours and you have your Cooked Garbanzos ready to be used!I’ve cooked mine from scratch in this instance and you cannot beat the fresh flavors!Or you can skip the above process and use a Can of Cooked Garbanzo Beans instead.

Easy Home-made Hummus

An easy dip or spread using Cooked Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)!

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Ingredients

Cooked Garbanzo Beans Chickpeas -2 cups
Reserved cooking liquid-1/4 cup
Tahini Sesame Paste-1 1/2 tablespoon
Garlic-2-3 cloves
Lemon Juice-3 tablespoon
Olive Oil-2 tablespoon
Salt-to taste

Instructions

Place all the ingredients in your food processor or blender and blend until smooth and mixed thoroughly.
Add a little cooking liquid if its too thick.
Check the seasonings.
Serve chilled or at room temperature with some toasted pita or any other chips or veggies of your choice.

As with any home made stuff, its way healthier than store-bought ones, since You control the amount of sodium. I have to warn you though that its highly addictive and you just cannot stop eating once you’ve started 🙂

Chewy Cocoa Fudge Cookies

20 | 12 | 2012
By Soni Sinha

Its the Holiday season and the one thing we cannot get enough of are cookies! The food world is teeming with thousand of cookie recipes every day .I also jumped into the bandwagon and decided to try something different 🙂

Of late I’ve been using Coconut Oil a lot in my desserts and ever since I laid my eye on a recipe at My Recipes, I’ve been thinking of giving it a try.I finally did that yesterday and put my own spin by substituting Coconut Oil for Butter and boy was it good!

We’ve all been eating away the cookies and I’m worried we’ll be running out of these too soon 🙂 The coconut oil and the yoghurt gives these cookies a very chewy almost cake-like texture that makes them very indulgent.Who knew healthy could be so so good!The recipe suggested that these were crisp on the edges, but mine were chewy all over and I think the coconut oil made that happen.It makes baked stuff really moist and chewy, just the way I like them :)These also have a longer shelf life since there are no eggs.I couldn’t have asked for a better, healthier , holiday cookie~

Chewy Cocoa Fudge Cookies

Delicious and healthy, these Cocoa Fudge Cookies use Coconut Oil and Yoghurt!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons Coconut Oil
7 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
⅔ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
⅓ cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine flour, soda, and salt,set aside.
Melt coconut oil for about 20 seconds in a microwave.Remove .
Stir in cocoa powder and sugars
Add yogurt and vanilla, stirring to combine.
Add flour mixture, stirring until moist.
Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until almost set.
Cool on pans 2 to 3 minutes or until firm.

Organic Coconut Oil Giveaway Winner Announced!

18 | 12 | 2012
By Soni Sinha

Thanks to everyone who participated in my Organic Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil Giveaway from Tropical Traditions!If I could I would make you all the winners, but unfortunately there can only be one and this case that WINNER is….

Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez!!!

Congratulations Heather and I’m sure you’ll enjoy this product immensely 🙂