This week, I tried out a few baking dishes.
Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes, Carrots and Broccoli and Mixed Hebs
Baked potato, eggplant, with bolognese sauce.
Pizza Pita
Pizza Bread
Baked Chicken Schnitzel
While baking is relatively easy, because everything is cooked in the oven, i find that the baking time can be quite long, and this means the electrical bill may be significant.
For the Baked potato, eggplant, with bolognese sauce, as it involves precooking, so while it's a nice treat once in a while, but usually, it would be easier and more efficient to skip the baking process. Also the cheese can be fattening if eaten too often.
The baked chicken schnitzel didn't taste that great. Maybe I need to add more salt and pepper to season, and I should add paprika powder. It took quite long to bake, and I was afraid it was not thoroughly cooked.
The pizza pita was nice, but the ingredients were not enough, as I was afraid that a thick layer might prevent it from cooking properly. Next time, I need to have more ingredients (2 layers?) and top with more cheese (denser, and should I add a thin layer before I add ingredients?). The Parmesan, Mozeralla and Cheddar mix cheese, seems to have a nicer browning effect than the Mozeralla cheese. The pack of 5 pita was only just nice for 2A2C, and not enough for us to include the helper.
I think the roasted chicken dish is the one most worthwhile baking dish, as it was a complete and wholesome meal, and the chicken can only be roasted to taste the best. With the potatoes and vegetables complementing, I think it's a great baking dish, that can be repeated often.
In future, I want to try the baked honey chicken wings, and since they'll be baked on the wire rack, I intend to use the high wire rack, and put a dish of vegetables (steamed ed 2-3min) and potatos (steamed 10min?) below, to bake at the same time. Can bake the pumpkin?
I'll also want to explore baking fish, since pan frying fish is quite difficult. Since fish cooks faster, if baking together with vegetables, the vegetables will need to be pre steamed longer prior to baking.
Moving on, I would like to try more steamed, braised and stewed dishes.
-Steamed Chicken with herbs
-Steamed fish
-Steamed tofu and prawn minced meat balls
-Braised udon noodles
-Stewed Chicken, Mushroom, Potato and Carrots
-Stewed cabbage, carrot, minced meat and beancurd sheets
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Cucumber, Tomato, Minced Meat Soup
I usually don't really know what to do with my cucumber, after using part of it for certain dishes or fruit juice. I have been thinking of trying to use it to cook quick soup. Today, I used the remainder of the cucumber, which I used for the sweet and sour chicken to make a quick soup, to go with the rice and sweet and sour chicken dish. My children always like to have their meals with a bowl of soup. The soup tasted refreshingly light and sweet.
Ingredients
80-100g minced meat
1/2 medium sized cucumber, diced (divided longitudinally into 8 sections, and then cut into small cubes)
Ingredients
80-100g minced meat
1/2 medium sized cucumber, diced (divided longitudinally into 8 sections, and then cut into small cubes)
1 medium sized tomato, wedged (divided cross section wise)
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 big bowls (800ml) water
Marinate for minced meat
-1 tsp light soya sauce
-1/2 tsp corn starch
-dash of pepper
Instructions
-Marinate minced meat for 15-20min.
-Bring water to boil
-Add minced meat and cucumber.
-Boil for 15 min till cucumber is soft.
-Add tomato and boil for another 10 min.
-Add salt to taste.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
In the past, I made sweet and sour pork, and it has always been a crowd pleaser. My family loves it. Really, it tastes much better than those sold outside, which is hard and always coated with so much flour, and with very little meat, and the meat is often fatty, and soaked in overly salty and starchy gravy. Sounds familiar? Recently, I ate sweet and sour chicken at the Lao Huo Tang at Great World City Food Court. It was not bad, but too salty and the ingredients were pretty little. So I told myself I need to go back and recreate this dish.
I've not cooked sweet and sour pork for quite a long time, so I was quite worried if I would succeed. Also, I used to cook with the help of my previous helper, but this time, I was going to do it alone, so I didn't know if I could handle it well. Previously, I bought the pork from NTUC, and it's labelled as Sweet and Sour Pork, so I knew that's the right type of pork meat to be bought. This time, they didn't have it at NTUC. I didn't know if lean pork or shoulder butt would be tender enough. Anyway, I wanted to try out chicken. So I was deciding between chicken breast and chicken fillet, and finally decided to use chicken fillet, as I believed it would be tender and soft. When I opened the packet of chicken fillet, it was really nice and soft, and i wondered if i still had to marinate it with egg or not. Anyhow, I decided to do so, since the original recipe with pork required egg. I'm not sure if there'll be much difference without the egg. But since egg is so readily available, I decided not to take the risk.
I put quite a lot of vegetable (green and yellow capsicum, tomato, cumcumber, diced pineapple, garlic, onion) into this dish to make it a complete and wholesome meal. You can adjust the amount of vegetable on your own, and also decide what to include and what not.
The sauce initially looked quite a lot (a bit liquid), but turned out quite alright, as it served as gravy for the rice. After a while, it also seemed absorbed into the ingredients. If increasing amount of meat, can keep sauce amt same, or increase just a little. Initially, the sauce also tasted pretty sweet, but after a while, after it was absorbed into the food, it seemed ok, though next time, I may try reducing the sugar a little. (or maybe a didnt' level the measurement.)
Ingredients
300g chicken fillet, cubed (to increase to 350g next time) (used pork shoulder butt, ok but a lot of fats which I had to remove, so more difficult to cut into cubes, used 425g but because remove fats might be left with are 360-380g meat)
Yellow and green capsicum, diced (to increase amt, and to weigh next time) (1/2 each of medium size, 100-120g)
1 medium sized tomato (or 2 small tomatoes) (1 big or 2 small - medium)
1/2 average sized cucumber, diced (to weigh next time) (~200g, but can increase to 300g coz they like cucumber)
4-5tbps canned diced pineapple (did 5tbsp of s&w diced pineapple, abt 4cubes each spoon, can increase to 6 tbsp) cut into smaller pieces
1 or 1 1/2 cup canola/sunflower cooking oil (1 1/2 small bowl)
Marinade for chicken fillet
2 tbsp light soya sauce
1 egg, beaten
Dash of pepper
Coating for chicken fillet
7-8tbps Kentucky powder (8tbsp)
7-8tbps corn flour (9 tbsp)
Can try next time 10 tbsp corn flour n 7 tbsp Kentucky powder
Sauce
6 tbps tomato ketchup (8 tbsp coz increase meat)
3 tbps sugar (3.5 tbsp sugar, can reduce to 3, coz still pretty sweet)
4 tbsp hot water (5 tbps)
1/2 tbps light soya sauce
Tiny pinch of salt
Instructions
-Cut chicken fillet into cubes. Try to make sure that they are of similar size, to ensure even cooking.
-Marinate it for at least 30min, in fridge. Can be longer if desired. (In mywoklife, she marinated from morning till evening.)
-Mix the Kentucky powder and corn flour in a big bowl.
-Add oil to wok, and heat up over medium heat till very hot. Ensure that the oil is sufficient to cover fully 1/2 batch the chicken pieces. The frying of the chicken will be done in 2 batches.)
-While waiting for oil to heat up, coat each chicken piece evenly. Ensure that it is well coated. But shake off excess. Do for 1/2 the batch.
-Once oil is heated, quickly add the coated chicken pieces. (If wait too long, the chicken marinate will soak through the coating, and you'll need to coat with more corn flour.)
-Keep heat on medium, and fry till golden brown. This will take abt 5-6min.
-Drain off the oil, and place fried chicken pieces in a bowl lined with kitchen paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
-Repeat for 2nd batch.
-Store the used oil for future re-use.
-Wash and dry wok.
- Add 1 tbsp canola oil. When hot, add garlic and stir fry till fragrant (but not brown). Add onion and saute till fragrant, and very lightly brown.
-Add the vegetable and stir fry for 2 min on medium heat.
-Add the sauce.
-Add the chicken pieces.
-Mix well and medium high heat for 1 min, or until sauce thickens a little.
-Serve with warm rice.
I've not cooked sweet and sour pork for quite a long time, so I was quite worried if I would succeed. Also, I used to cook with the help of my previous helper, but this time, I was going to do it alone, so I didn't know if I could handle it well. Previously, I bought the pork from NTUC, and it's labelled as Sweet and Sour Pork, so I knew that's the right type of pork meat to be bought. This time, they didn't have it at NTUC. I didn't know if lean pork or shoulder butt would be tender enough. Anyway, I wanted to try out chicken. So I was deciding between chicken breast and chicken fillet, and finally decided to use chicken fillet, as I believed it would be tender and soft. When I opened the packet of chicken fillet, it was really nice and soft, and i wondered if i still had to marinate it with egg or not. Anyhow, I decided to do so, since the original recipe with pork required egg. I'm not sure if there'll be much difference without the egg. But since egg is so readily available, I decided not to take the risk.
I put quite a lot of vegetable (green and yellow capsicum, tomato, cumcumber, diced pineapple, garlic, onion) into this dish to make it a complete and wholesome meal. You can adjust the amount of vegetable on your own, and also decide what to include and what not.
The sauce initially looked quite a lot (a bit liquid), but turned out quite alright, as it served as gravy for the rice. After a while, it also seemed absorbed into the ingredients. If increasing amount of meat, can keep sauce amt same, or increase just a little. Initially, the sauce also tasted pretty sweet, but after a while, after it was absorbed into the food, it seemed ok, though next time, I may try reducing the sugar a little. (or maybe a didnt' level the measurement.)
Ingredients
300g chicken fillet, cubed (to increase to 350g next time) (used pork shoulder butt, ok but a lot of fats which I had to remove, so more difficult to cut into cubes, used 425g but because remove fats might be left with are 360-380g meat)
Yellow and green capsicum, diced (to increase amt, and to weigh next time) (1/2 each of medium size, 100-120g)
1 medium sized tomato (or 2 small tomatoes) (1 big or 2 small - medium)
1/2 average sized cucumber, diced (to weigh next time) (~200g, but can increase to 300g coz they like cucumber)
4-5tbps canned diced pineapple (did 5tbsp of s&w diced pineapple, abt 4cubes each spoon, can increase to 6 tbsp) cut into smaller pieces
1 or 1 1/2 cup canola/sunflower cooking oil (1 1/2 small bowl)
Marinade for chicken fillet
2 tbsp light soya sauce
1 egg, beaten
Dash of pepper
Coating for chicken fillet
7-8tbps Kentucky powder (8tbsp)
7-8tbps corn flour (9 tbsp)
Can try next time 10 tbsp corn flour n 7 tbsp Kentucky powder
Sauce
6 tbps tomato ketchup (8 tbsp coz increase meat)
3 tbps sugar (3.5 tbsp sugar, can reduce to 3, coz still pretty sweet)
4 tbsp hot water (5 tbps)
1/2 tbps light soya sauce
Tiny pinch of salt
Instructions
-Cut chicken fillet into cubes. Try to make sure that they are of similar size, to ensure even cooking.
-Marinate it for at least 30min, in fridge. Can be longer if desired. (In mywoklife, she marinated from morning till evening.)
-Mix the Kentucky powder and corn flour in a big bowl.
-Add oil to wok, and heat up over medium heat till very hot. Ensure that the oil is sufficient to cover fully 1/2 batch the chicken pieces. The frying of the chicken will be done in 2 batches.)
-While waiting for oil to heat up, coat each chicken piece evenly. Ensure that it is well coated. But shake off excess. Do for 1/2 the batch.
-Once oil is heated, quickly add the coated chicken pieces. (If wait too long, the chicken marinate will soak through the coating, and you'll need to coat with more corn flour.)
-Keep heat on medium, and fry till golden brown. This will take abt 5-6min.
-Drain off the oil, and place fried chicken pieces in a bowl lined with kitchen paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
-Repeat for 2nd batch.
-Store the used oil for future re-use.
-Wash and dry wok.
- Add 1 tbsp canola oil. When hot, add garlic and stir fry till fragrant (but not brown). Add onion and saute till fragrant, and very lightly brown.
-Add the vegetable and stir fry for 2 min on medium heat.
-Add the sauce.
-Add the chicken pieces.
-Mix well and medium high heat for 1 min, or until sauce thickens a little.
-Serve with warm rice.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Baked Penne With Bacon
From http://planningwithkids.com/2008/10/26/menu-plan-monday-best-banana-cake-recipe/
Ingredients:
8 Rash Bacon Shortcut Rindless
500 Ml Pasta Sauce
2 Teaspoon Garlic Minced
1 Large Onion Brown
300 Ml Cream
1 Cup Cheese Parmesan Grated
2 Tablespoon Oil Olive
500 Gram Pasta Penne
Instructions:
This is a very quick to cook dish, that will feeds a lot of people and it reheats quite well.
1. Boil water for pasta
2. Finely chop onion.
3. Cut bacon into thin strips approx 2cm x .1 cm.
4. Heat oil in a large frying pan (I use an electric frying pan.)
5. When heated to a moderate heat cook bacon to desired taste. I like it a bit crispy.
6. Add onion and garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.
7. Place pasta into boiling water.
8. Add pasta sauce to frying pan and turn down heat slightly. Allow to simmer for 3 – 4 minutes.
9. Add cream to frying pan and mix well. Turn up heat slightly allow to bubble then reduce heat and allow to thicken.
10. Heat grill on high.
11. Drain pasta.
12. Add pasta to the frying pasta and combine well.
13. Pour pasta into a lasagna style dish and even out as required.
14. Top with grated parmesan and place under the grill until cheese has melted as is a golden brown colour.
15. Serve with some warm garlic bread!
Ingredients:
8 Rash Bacon Shortcut Rindless
500 Ml Pasta Sauce
2 Teaspoon Garlic Minced
1 Large Onion Brown
300 Ml Cream
1 Cup Cheese Parmesan Grated
2 Tablespoon Oil Olive
500 Gram Pasta Penne
Instructions:
This is a very quick to cook dish, that will feeds a lot of people and it reheats quite well.
1. Boil water for pasta
2. Finely chop onion.
3. Cut bacon into thin strips approx 2cm x .1 cm.
4. Heat oil in a large frying pan (I use an electric frying pan.)
5. When heated to a moderate heat cook bacon to desired taste. I like it a bit crispy.
6. Add onion and garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.
7. Place pasta into boiling water.
8. Add pasta sauce to frying pan and turn down heat slightly. Allow to simmer for 3 – 4 minutes.
9. Add cream to frying pan and mix well. Turn up heat slightly allow to bubble then reduce heat and allow to thicken.
10. Heat grill on high.
11. Drain pasta.
12. Add pasta to the frying pasta and combine well.
13. Pour pasta into a lasagna style dish and even out as required.
14. Top with grated parmesan and place under the grill until cheese has melted as is a golden brown colour.
15. Serve with some warm garlic bread!
Meal Planner
Dinner
Roast Chicken Thighs with Potatoes, Carrots and Broccoli/Cauliflower (Capsicum, and Cherry Tomatoes)
Baked Eggplant Mashed Potato Lagsane - can modify slightly to become sheperd's pie (put mixed vegetable with the minced meat)
Baked Fish with Pasta Aglio Olio, and Vegetable (Boiled Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots) (Can have diced capsicum and tomato as the fish condiment)
Baked Seafood Marcaroni/Rice
Chicken Schnitzel with Baked Beans, Mixed Veggie and Mashed Potatoes/Wedges http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/food/cookbooks/782668/oven-baked-chicken-schnitzel-with-spicy-wedges
Pizza
Pita Pizza
Stir Fried Seafood Vegetable Udon (food4tots)
Meatball, Ham and Mushroom Pasta with tomato sauce
Meat and Veggie Patty w/ Pasta with tomato sauce (Penne or Fusilili)
Pasta Salad
Sweet and Sour chicken/pork with potato, broccoli, capsicum, pineapple, cucumber and rice (sausage, luncheon meat)
Stewed Chicken, Potato, Carrot with rice
Stir Fried Cabbage with Beancurd, Carrots
Corn and Carrot Chicken Soup (2 chicken thighs) (Yuzhu?)
Old Cucumber Soup (Spare pork ribs, and 1 chicken thigh, dried octopus)
Winter Melon and Carrot Soup (Red dates, wolfberries)
Cream of corn
Lotus Root Peanut Soup (Red Dates)
Bittergourd Soup
Bittergourd Seafood Soup
Breakfast/Brunch/Snack
Oats
Yogurt Cereal
Pizza Bread
Bruschetta
Baked Tomato with Breadcrumbs, Mozeralla Cheese and Herbs
Scrambled Eggs with Tomato
Egg Omelette with filling (diced capsicum, tomato, button mushrooms)
Muffins
Prawn Toast
Salad
Pancakes
Lunch
Mee Sua
Congee
Pork Chop Fried Rice
Chicken Marcoroni
Pasta Salad
Pizza Bread
Tortilla Pizza
Meat & Veggie Patties with Baked Beans, and Mashed Potato
Roast Chicken Thighs with Potatoes, Carrots and Broccoli/Cauliflower (Capsicum, and Cherry Tomatoes)
Baked Eggplant Mashed Potato Lagsane - can modify slightly to become sheperd's pie (put mixed vegetable with the minced meat)
Baked Fish with Pasta Aglio Olio, and Vegetable (Boiled Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots) (Can have diced capsicum and tomato as the fish condiment)
Baked Seafood Marcaroni/Rice
Chicken Schnitzel with Baked Beans, Mixed Veggie and Mashed Potatoes/Wedges http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/food/cookbooks/782668/oven-baked-chicken-schnitzel-with-spicy-wedges
Pizza
Pita Pizza
Stir Fried Seafood Vegetable Udon (food4tots)
Meatball, Ham and Mushroom Pasta with tomato sauce
Meat and Veggie Patty w/ Pasta with tomato sauce (Penne or Fusilili)
Pasta Salad
Sweet and Sour chicken/pork with potato, broccoli, capsicum, pineapple, cucumber and rice (sausage, luncheon meat)
Stewed Chicken, Potato, Carrot with rice
Stir Fried Cabbage with Beancurd, Carrots
Corn and Carrot Chicken Soup (2 chicken thighs) (Yuzhu?)
Old Cucumber Soup (Spare pork ribs, and 1 chicken thigh, dried octopus)
Winter Melon and Carrot Soup (Red dates, wolfberries)
Cream of corn
Lotus Root Peanut Soup (Red Dates)
Bittergourd Soup
Bittergourd Seafood Soup
Breakfast/Brunch/Snack
Oats
Yogurt Cereal
Pizza Bread
Bruschetta
Baked Tomato with Breadcrumbs, Mozeralla Cheese and Herbs
Scrambled Eggs with Tomato
Egg Omelette with filling (diced capsicum, tomato, button mushrooms)
Muffins
Prawn Toast
Salad
Pancakes
Lunch
Mee Sua
Congee
Pork Chop Fried Rice
Chicken Marcoroni
Pasta Salad
Pizza Bread
Tortilla Pizza
Meat & Veggie Patties with Baked Beans, and Mashed Potato
Pizza Bread - Hawaiian
- Ham
- Canned pineapple cubes
- Capsicum, diced
- Button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- Bread
- Italian Pasta Sauce
- Mozarella Cheese
-Preheat oven to 200 degC.
-Toast bread for 3 min.
-Flip to other side, and spread a thin layer of italian pasta sauce.
-Add toppings - ham, mushroom, capsicum, pineapple cubes, and sprinkle with a dense layer of mozeralla cheese.
-Toast for 15min.
-Then increase temperature to 220 degC and toast for a further 10min.
- Canned pineapple cubes
- Capsicum, diced
- Button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- Bread
- Italian Pasta Sauce
- Mozarella Cheese
-Preheat oven to 200 degC.
-Toast bread for 3 min.
-Flip to other side, and spread a thin layer of italian pasta sauce.
-Add toppings - ham, mushroom, capsicum, pineapple cubes, and sprinkle with a dense layer of mozeralla cheese.
-Toast for 15min.
-Then increase temperature to 220 degC and toast for a further 10min.
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