Zimbabwe: Chicken & Rice Casserole, Sugar Bean Balls, & Carrot Cake

I loved what I cooked from Zimbabwe. I can't wait until I cook from this country again because there were a lot of good options. Enjoy the recipes!

Chicken & Rice Casserole

Serves: 10+

4 Cups Rice, cooked
2 Chicken Breasts, cooked & shredded
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
4 Tsp Cumin
2 Tbsp Oil
4 Tbsp Sugar
4 Tomatoes, chopped
1 Can (15 oz) of Tomato Sauce
2 Cups Frozen Corn
1 Can Baked Beans
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- TRY: Annies Homegrown Organic & Vegan Worcestershire Sauce, 6.25 Ounce

Cook the chicken by boiling it for about 20+ minutes. Shred the chicken with two forks. Meanwhile, cook the rice as well (remember the ratio for water or broth with rice is 1:2). Prepare all ingredients. Preheat the oven at 350°F.

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the chicken, garlic, cumin (2 Tsp) and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add in the corn and cook for a few more minutes.

In the casserole dish, pour in the tomato sauce and tomatoes. Add in the rest of the cumin (2 Tsp), Worcestershire sauce, and sugar. Mix well.

Layer on the rice, beans, and then the chicken (w/ corn & garlic). Bake for 40-45 minutes. Enjoy!

Sugar Bean Balls

Serves: 6-8

1 Cup Sugar Beans, cooked (& rinsed)
1 Small Onion, finely chopped
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Tsp Ginger, minced
1/2 Medium Red Pepper, chopped
1/2 Medium Green Pepper, chopped
1 Carrot, coarsely grated
2 Tsp Soy Sauce
- TRY: Bragg Liquid Amino Bragg 32 oz Liquid
1 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Curry
2 Slices of Bread, made into crumbs
Oil for frying


In a bowl, combine the beans, salt, curry, soy and paprika. Mash the beans well. Add in the peppers, garlic, ginger, onions, carrots, and breadcrumbs and mix well.

Make into balls and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour or more.

Add oil in a pan and fry the balls on all sides. Enjoy!

 Carrot Cake

Serves: 8-10

1/2 Cup Raisins, chopped
1/2 Cup Sultanas, chopped
- TRY: Crazy Jacks Organic Dried Sultanas 375g
1/2 Cup Pecans, chopped
1 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
2 1/2 Cup Flour
3 Cups Grated Carrots
3 Eggs
1 Cup Oil
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Combine the sugar, oil, and eggs.

Add in the carrots, raisins, sultanas, and pecans. Mix well.

Sift the flour. Mix the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Combine both mixtures well.

Grease the baking dish and pour in the batter. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Allow to cool and serve!

Croatia: Cevapcici (Beef & Lamb), Rizi-Bizi Rice & Peas, Bacon Corn Bread, & Croatian Donuts

This past week I made a meal from Croatia. It was delicious. My favorites were the doughnuts and Cevapcici. I made most of the traditional donuts with apricot filling and then the rest I filled them with Nutella... I couldn't help myself! It was yummy! Enjoy!

Cevapcici (Beef & Lamb Sausage)

Serves: 4-5

1 lb Beef, ground
1 lb Lamb, ground
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Onion, chopped (I had to leave this out)
1 Tsp Salt
-My FAV: Eden Foods Sea Salt -- 14 oz
1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Egg White
Oil for frying

Mix all of the ingredients well - use your hands! Then take the mixture and make them into about 5-8 sausages. Wrap each in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for at least an hour to help it stick together.

Once an hour has passed, fry each sausage in a pan with some oil until it is done cooking.

Rizi-Bizi (Rice & Peas)

Serves: 6

2 1/2 Cups Arborio Rice
- TRY: Dal Raccolto Organic Arborio Rice 64oz
1 1/2 Cups Peas, cooked
1/2 Cup Butter
1/4 Cup Onion, chopped
1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley (or dried - about 3 Tbsp)
1/2 Tsp Pepper
Salt to taste
- My FAV: Eden Foods Sea Salt -- 14 oz

Saute the onions in half of the butter. Add the peas and parsley. Once the peas are cooked, set aside.

Cook the rice in 5 cups of water and rest of the butter for about 20 minutes or until done. Once done combine with the onion and pea mixture. Add salt and pepper. Serve with the Cevapcici.

Bacon Cornbread

Yields: 12-15

1 Tsp Sugar
1 Cup Warm Water
1 1/2 Packets of Dry Yeast
1 Cup Cornmeal
- TRY: Bob's Red Mill, Cornmeal, Medium Grind, 48 oz (1.35 kg)
2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
4 Eggs
3 Tbsp Cooking Oil
1 Cup Sour Milk (make your own by adding 1 tsp vinegar to milk)
1 Tbsp Salt
- My FAV: Eden Foods Sea Salt -- 14 oz
1 Cup Cooked Bacon, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a bowl mix the sugar with the warm water. Once mixed, add in the yeast and let it rise for about 20-30 minutes. In a larger bowl mix the cornmeal, flour, eggs, oil, milk and salt. Mix well and then add the yeast mixture. Cover and let it rise for a hour or more. Once it has risen add in the bacon.

Grease and flour a baking dish (9" x 11"). Put the dough mixture into the baking dish and bake for approximately 1 hour.  Allow to cool before serving.

Complete Meal:

Croatian Doughnuts 

yields about 15 donuts

Yeast Mixture:
1 1/4 Cup Milk
1 Tsp Flour
1 Tsp Sugar
1 1/2 Packages Dry Yeast

Dough Mixture:
4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 Lemon, zest
Salt to taste
- My FAV:Eden Foods Sea Salt -- 14 oz
1 Egg
1 Egg Yolk
1 Tbsp Butter, melted
2 Tbsp Oil

Topping/Filling/Cooking Ingredients:
Apricot Jam
- TRY: Crofters Organic Just Fruit Spread Apricot -- 10 oz
Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 Liter of Oil, for frying - enough oil so that donuts are floating while cooking in pot

Warm the milk - make sure it is not hot. Add 1 tsp flour and 1 tsp sugar, and then the yeast. Stir it lightly and then set aside.

Mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest, and salt together. Then mix in the egg, egg yolk, and yeast mixture. Mix well. Then add in the oil and melted butter. Knead into a dough. Once done, leave the dough in the bowl until it doubles in size (1 hour or more).

Once the dough is done rising. Sprinkle some flour onto a clean surface and spread out the dough, rolling it down until it is about 3/4 of an inch thick. Use a cup or a round cookie cutter to cut the dough into circular shapes. Leave out the cut dough to rise for another 15-20 minutes on each side.

Pour the oil (for frying) into a large pot - about 3-4 inches of oil. Bring to a soft boil. CAREFULLY place the doughnuts into the pot to cook. I placed about 3 in at a time - make sure they do not touch. They will take a few minutes to cook on each side. Make sure to watch them so they do not over cook. They will be a light brown/golden when they are done cooking. Once done, use a tong to take them out and set aside on a plate.

To fill them, get a piping bag and fill them with the jam. In the center of the doughnut, pierce it with the piping bag and fill it with the jam. Then sprinkle the top of the doughnut with the powdered sugar. It is ready to serve!

Germany: East German Paprika Chicken, Kale and Sausage, and Black Forest Cherry Cake

Last night I made German food! It turned out delicious! I started some cooking and preparation the night before. You have to marinate the chicken for 24 hours and I started making a layer of the cake. For the chicken, I had to leave out the onions since my husband is allergic and I substituted coconut milk for dairy milk (since I don't drink cows milk). 

East German Paprika Chicken:

Serves 2-4

Chicken Marinade:

2 chicken breasts (or 4 - depending on how many people you are serving)

1/2 tsp. Salt

- TRY: Eden Foods Sea Salt -- 14 oz

1/4 Tsp. Pepper

1 Tbsp. Paprika (Hungarian)

- My FAV: Simply Organic Paprika Ground Certified Organic, 2.96 Ounce Container

2-3 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

1/2 Cup Chopped Parsley

1 Onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. Oil

Sauce:

• Oil
• 1 Onion, Sliced
• 1 Tbsp. Paprika
• 1 Cup Apple Juice
• 1 Cup Roasted Red Peppers from a jar
• 1 Tbsp. White Vinegar
• 1 Cup Milk (I used coconut milk since I don't drink dairy milk)
• 1-2 Tbsp. Flour
• 1 Apple, Grated

Combine the marinade ingredients and marinate up to 24 hours.

Heat oil in a large pan. Add in chicken with the marinade (you can slice chicken or leave it whole). Brown chicken in the pan. Remove chicken and add in onion slices and cook for a few minutes. Add in apple juice, roasted peppers and chicken. Cook until the chicken is done. 

While that is cooking, mix the milk with the vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes. 

Once chicken is done, remove it. Mix the flour with some of the milk to make a paste. Add in the paste, milk, and grated apple to the sauce. Boil for a few minutes and then serve with the chicken. 

Kale and Sausage: Gruenkohl und Pinkel (North German):

Serve 4-6

• 12 Oz. Kale, cleaned and Chopped
• 2 Pieces of Bacon, Chopped
• 1/2 Onion, Chopped
• 2 Tsp. Beef Bouillon
• 1 Tbsp. Mustard
• Pepper
• Sausages (6-7, or however many you want!)

Blanch the kale for 1 minute in boiling water, then drain. Brown the bacon in the pan, and saute the onion. Add in the kale and cook for a few minutes. Add in water and beef bouillon. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Add in the mustard and stir. Put the sausages on top of the kale and simmer for 30 more minutes. Add Salt and Pepper to taste once it is done cooking. 

This dish turned out wayyy better than I thought kale could be. Enjoy!

Black Forest Cherry Cake:

So, I'm not very good at making cakes. I've only made a few cakes in my life and they turned out pretty yummy, but not too pretty. Once again, my Black Forest Cherry Cake did not turn out anything like what it is suppose to look like. I really don't get why I suck so bad at making cakes because I follow instructions, but I've learned to accept it haha. I'm too embarrassed to post the picture of my cake because it looks really weird. The cake was kind of complicated (at least to me) so I will be posting the links to the recipe I followed. Hopefully you make a prettier cake!

Black Forest Cherry Cake

Here are additional links for separate recipes for the cake layers and the cream filling:

Torte Cream

Biskuit Torte