20110524 Pesto Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken

This simple pasta salad is perfect for this busy and warm week. If I had had more time, I would have used home-made pesto instead so I could season it accordingly to my taste.

INGREDIENTS
250g pasta, cooked and drained
350g grilled chicken breasts, cut into small pieces*
1/3 cup ready-made basil pesto

1/3 cup canned sweet corns, drained

80g rocket leaves, roughtly chopped

handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered

12 mini mozzarella balls

extra virgin olive oil

salt

freshly ground 4-season pepper

parmesan cheese

METHOD
1. In a small bowl, make the ready-made pesto thinner with some extra virgin olive oil. Set aside.
2. In a large salad bowl, mix the cooked pasta, sweet corns, rocket leaves, tomatoes, mozzarella balls, and chicken together. Spoon the pesto sauce over and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with some parmesan cheese and serve.

How to make grilled chicken?
Marinate the chicken breasts with 1 crushed garlic clove, and salt and freshly ground black pepper. Grill for 3 to 5 minutes per side.

20110523 Pizza Chicken Melts

(SOURCE: GoodFood 101 One-pot dishes - Pizza Chicken Melts)

I had a very relaxing day cleaning the house, taking a walk, and working the crosstrainer! I had to make dinner for today and the next two days ahead, so I have decided to make something simple tonight to maintain my zen-like calm! So I made this yummy chicken and served it with a simple green salad and mashed potatoes.

INGREDIENTS
2 chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
50-100g grated cheese
4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 tsp pesto sauce
salt and pepper

METHOD
1. Preheat the grill to high. Place the chicken between 2 pastic wrap sheets and beat firmly with a rolling pin to flatten. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the chicken and cooking for 2 minutes on each side until golden.
2. While the chicken cooks, mix the cheese and tomatoes together. Transfer the chicken from the pan to an oven dish, spread each breast with a teaspoon of peston, then pile the cheese and tomatoes on top.
3. Put under the hot grill, until the cheese has melted.

20110522 Grilled Chicken Quesadillas

Another dish that does not really need any recipes to follow. Quesadillas are so yummy, and can be made with anything that tickles your fancy - cooked meat, scrambled eggs, roasted vegetables, etc.. Serve the quesadillas with sour cream, salsa, guacamole, and a beer!

INGREDIENTS
400g grilled chicken breasts, sliced *
2 avocados, sliced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 cup salsa sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
4 flour tortillas
fresh lemon juice
grated cheese
olive oil

METHOD
1. Grease one side of the flour tortilla. Lay the tortilla on the grill machine, greased side down.
2. Over one half only, spread with some salsa sauce, scatter with some chicken/avocado/red bell pepper, dot with some sour cream, and finally sprinkle some lemon juice and grated cheese all over it. Carefully fold the tortilla in half and grill it in the grill machine for 3 to 5 minutes.

How to make grilled chicken?
Marinate the chicken breasts with 1 tsp of paprika powder, 1 tsp of garlic powder, and salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat up the grill and grill some chicken!

20110519 Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joe is so easy to make and no recipe is needed - just throw in whatever you can find in your fridge/freezer! I used green bell pepper this time, but 1/2 cup of frozen mix vegetables would do the work too. Sloppy Joes are best served with potato chips and a cold beer!

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp olive oil
500g minced beef
1 small onion, finely diced
1 small green bell pepper, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1 rounded table spoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp tomato paste
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 slices of cheese
Worcestershire sauce
Tobasco sauce
4 Freshly toasted buns

METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat, and brown the beef. Add the onion, green pepper, and garlic. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften. Add ketchup, brown sugar, chilli powder, tomato paste, and water. Combine well and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with Worcestershiree sauce, Tobasco sauce, salt and pepper.
2. Spoon meat mixture over the buns, and top with a slice of cheese.

20110518 Beef Soup Udon Noodles

I got some frozen, thinly sliced beef from the Chinese supermarket and wanted to make something like the Vietnamese pho. But as I forgot to get rice noodles, I used Udon noodles instead and threw in a few fishballs. If I had some spring onions and deep fried onions, I would have garnished the dish with them too.


INGREDIENTS
400g instant Japanese Udon noodles
200g Chinese broccoli
400g frozen, thinly sliced beef
4 fish balls
800ml + 500ml beef stock

METHOD
1. Bring 500ml beef stock to a boil in a saucepan. Cook the Japanese Udon noodles as per instructions on the package. Remove the noodles into two big bowls.

2. In the meantime, in another saucepan, bring 800ml beef stock to a boil. Add the Chinese broccoli and fish balls, and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove the broccoli and fish balls from the pan into the big bowls. 

3. Bring the beef stock to the boil again, then add the frozen beef and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the beef to the big bowls, and spoon the hot beef stock over them.

20110506 Blondies

(SOURCE: SimplyRecipes.com - Blondies)

For my husband's birthday, I have made him some blondies! I don't really like making brownies or blondies, because their edges always rose too much so I could only get two normal-looking blondies out of one batch. Argh! And I always make the same mistake with brownie/blondie - I don't wait long enough. Everyone is saying that you should let the brownies/blondies sit for at least a few hours or even overnight. But they are soooooo tempting when they first come out of the oven. This time I waited for an hour only, so you can see in the picture that it was still a bit runny. But well, the birthday boy loved them and cleaned the pan anyways.

INGREDIENTS
110g butter, melted
1 cupe tightly packed brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup flour
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 175 degree C. Lightly butter and flour a 20cm X 20cm pan.
2. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl. Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix it all together. Add the chopped walnuts.
3. Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve.

20110504 Fried Vermicelli with Chicken

It has been busy in April/May, so I haven't tried out many new recipes lately and hence my silence here. Also it has been warm and sunny for a few weeks, so we have moved most of the cooking from the kitchen to the barbecue in the garden. But today I wanted a "regular" dinner, so I just cooked up this dish using all the ingredients I can find in the fridge and cupboard.

INGREDIENTS
250g vermicelli
2 tbsp vegetable oil
150g mixed Chinese vegetables
200g cooked, shredded chicken
6 baby corns, cut into 2cm pieces
2 tbsp soy sauce
curry powder
sesame oil
Tobasco sauce
2 eggs

METHOD
1. Put the vermicelli in a large bowl and pour over boiling water. Let it soak for about 4 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok, then fry the eggs for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the eggs to a plate.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the wok, then add the Chinese vegetables and fry for about 5 minutes. Throw the chicken, baby corns, and soy sauce in, then fry for another 5 minutes. Add the vermicelli and heat through.
4. Season with soy sauce, sesame oil, curry powder, and Tobasco sauce. Add the fried eggs, heat through and serve.

20110420 Curry Rice with Smoked Chicken

(SOURCE: Albert Heijn Recepten - Kruidige rijst met zalm en ei)

I wanted to follow the original receipe and make curry rice with smoked salmon, but I was very sure my husband would not even touch the dish. So I replaced the smoked salmon with smoked chicken instead. I expected the flavor to be richer because of the yummy yellow color. But for a 20-minute quick dinner, this is good!

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium leeks, cut into rings
1 tbsp curry powder
750ml chicken stock
180g smoked chicken, cut into small cubes
handful of parsley, roughly chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, quartered

METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the leeks over medum heat for about 5 minutes. Add curry powder and fry until fragrant. Add the rice and fry for another 5 minutes. Add the stock and bring to the boil, then lower the heat to simmer with a lid on for about 15 minutes. If the rice is still a bit hard after the liquid has been absorbed, add a bit more stock.

2. Add the smoked chicken and parsley, and heat through. Serve with eggs and some chopped parsley.

20110418 Tamatar Chaaman (Paneer in Thick Tomato Sauce)

(SOURCE: Indian Cookbook by Pushpesh Pant - Tamatar Chaaman)

This dish is from Jammu and Kashmir. Last time when I fried the paneer for my palak paneer dish, it was quite a disaster as the paneer cubes were broken and they stuck a bit to the pan. So this time I used more oil and waited till the oil was piping hot before putting the paneer in. The paneer fried beautifully, but I think I fried them too long as they were a little too hard. Next time will be better!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup vegetable oil
250g paneer, cut into small cubes
2 cloves
1 tsp cardamom
1 cinnamon sticks
350g pureed tomatoes
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
salt
some coriander leaves,  for garnish

METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat, add the paneer and fry golden brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Add the whole spices to the pan and stir fry for about 1 minute.
2. Add the pureed tomatoes to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, or until all the liquid has evaporated. Pour in 1/2 cup hot water togehter with all the ground spices, except the garam masala, and season with salt. Bring to the boil and add the paneer. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Sprinkle over the garam masala and stir gently, then simmer for a further 2 to 3 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

20110418 Chicken Tikka Masala

(SOURCE: BigOven.com - Chicken Tikka Masala recipe)

I am in love with the tandoori masala spices, so have replaced the spices in the original recipe with 3 rounded tablespoons of tandoori masala spices. I found the sauce a little too sour, so I seasoned it with some more sugar. Remember the sauce would taste so much richer after adding the chicken, so don't go too crazy on the seasoning. This is my favorite Indian dish so far, and second comes the Butter Chicken v2!

INGREDIENTS
For the chicken tikka -
800g chicken breast, cut into cubes
1 tsp salt
1 cup plain yoghurt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
3 tbsp tandoori masala spices
dash of lemon juice
For the masala sauce -
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp garam masala
750g crushed tomatoes
3 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
1 cup heavy cream
roughly chopped coriander leaves

METHOD
1. In a Ziploc bag, combine all the ingredients for the chicken tikka and mix them well so chicken cubes are well coated. Refrigerate overnight.
2. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until light golen. Add garlic, ginger, chilli, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook until fragrant. Add crushed tomates, sugar, turmeric, and salt. Bring to the boil, and reduce heat to medium low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with spices and salt and pepper.
3. In the meantime, cook the chicken cubes (they should be coated with thick layer of yoghurt) in a preheated oven of 230 degree C for 5 to 9 minutes. Flip them, and bake for another 5 to 9 minutes until the exterior is lightly charred in spots. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes.
4. While the chicken is resting, stir cream into the sauce and simmer over low heat. Stir the chicken into the sauce, and remove from heat. Stir in coriander leaves, and serve over rice.