Honey Soy Chicken Wings

Another easy dish when I do not feel like making anything fancy. It is quick and simple.

Marinade chicken wings with Honey and Soy Sauce and a dash of pepper. I left this to marinade in the fridge for more than 5 hours. I think it will be much better if left overnight.

Came back from work, pre heat the Air Fryer, pop half of the chicken in and fry for 15-20 minutes. I did the first batch for 20 minutes and it turned rather black. Second batch was placed in the fryer for only 17 minutes and it was cooked perfectly . Also sprinkle some olive oil before frying. That's all the oil used in this chicken wings.

I used to bake this in the over at 180C for around 35-30 mins. It works as well but i think the Air Fryer makes it taste more delicious.

Served with white rice.

Stri Fry Beans with Black Bean Garlic Sauce

Simple weekday stir fries.

A packet of long beans

A tablespoon of black bean and garlic paste

Chopped up 3 cloves of garlic.

I cooked the beans in hot water first so it will cook faster when i stir fry the other stuff.

Once beans turned green,take them out.

Throw some garlic into a pan, stir fry till it is fragrant then add the paste then the beans. Quick and yummy.

Quiche with Caramelized Onions, Sun Dried Tomato and Ham

I have been baking the whole day today. Inspired by a recent snack I had and just wanted to have a go at making this quiche. I am never a fan of quiche but this one with caramelized onions, together with sun dried tomato just make it taste so yummy.

Recipe:

- Eggs

- Milk

- Shortcrust pastry (stored bought)

- Sun dried tomato

- pieces of ham

- Red onions and white onions

- Spring onions

- Tasty cheese

- chia seeds (optional)

- Salt and pepper

I didn't measure or keep track with the amount. Just mix and go. I made quite alot but i think you can start with just 3 eggs.

I caramelized a mix of red an white onions. Added salt, sugar, Lea and Perrins and balsamic vinegar at the end. This took around 45 minutes for the onions to be nicely caramelized.

I had alot of technical issues with the pastry. First i was running out of time and pastry was hard. It keeps breaking. Second, i couldn't get the right shape to fill in the 12 piece muffin tray. In the end i found the right cup to help me with the cutting.

Third, i wanted to blind bake my pastry so they will be crispy, i tried to do this and they all puff up. I then use rice to hold them down and they got way too time consuming to individually prepare. So i just fill up the crust with the filling without blind baking in the end.



These are all the ingredients used for this quiche. you can use almost anything in quiches.

I placed the caramelized onions at the bottom, springle with some ham and sun dried tomatoes, then the spring onions then the egg+milk mixture. I then added the tasty cheese on top and sprinkle some chia seeds over them. 

 This is how the first few batch without chia seeds

And these are the final few with chia seeds. You can't taste them but they are good stuff.



Tomato Chicken with Basil and Zuchinni

Adapted from :
http://menumusings.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/tomato-basil-chicken.html

Ingredients: (4 servings)

• 2 chicken breasts
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
• 2 tsp minced fresh garlic
• 4 Tbsp cold butter
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• freshly grated Parmigiano reggiano cheese, for garnish

Written Directions :

Season chicken breasts with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Add a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to your skillet. This may seem like quite a bit, but it will form the base for the sauce. While waiting for the oil to heat up, go ahead and get your water going for the pasta. When the oil is HOT, add the chicken breasts. After about 4-5 minutes, the chicken breasts should be ready to turn. 

After the second side has been cooking for about 4 minutes, go ahead and add in the fresh tomatoes that you have chopped up. Next, add the fresh basil that you have chopped into ribbons, the cold butter, the minced garlic, and you will probably want to add some more kosher salt and black pepper to season the sauce. Now give it all a good stir so all those flavors will marry together.
When your chicken is "done," turn the sauce down on the lowest setting to keep it all warm until the pasta is cooked, which should be any minute now. At this point, if still waiting for the pasta, you can remove the cooked chicken to a cutting board, and after resting just a couple of minutes, cut the chicken into slices on the bias. Divide the pasta among individual bowls, and top each with half of a chicken breast, sliced into pieces, and equal portions of the tomato basil sauce. Top with more fresh basil and freshly grated Parmigiana reggiano cheese.
 

I tried this recipe yesterday. The flavour is really great and tasty.

I tweaked it alot. I used 3 chicken breast with skin on. It took longer to cook as the chicken breast were massive.

I also used white wine to enhance the flavour and create more sauce. I also added zucchini in this dish and added 3 teaspoon of garlic instead of 2 from the recipe.

 Verdict: super yummy. I love the garlicky taste and the basil from our garden. Truly a keeper.

I also use macaroni instead of spagetti. As requested from the kids. Mix of wholemeal and normal elbows.

Beef Balls and soup

Easy soup on Fridays.

 Minced some spring onions and kale together with garlic and seasoning. Mixed together with 500gms of minced beef.

Soup is just made from pork bones, carrot, dried oysters and slow boil for an hour. Throw in the meatballs to cook in the soup and separately cook the noodles.

serve while it is hot.

Pickled Cucumber

Adapted from:http://www.recipegirl.com/2012/01/23/cucumber-salad/

Ingredients:

1 cucumber (about 8 ounces- or 250 grams)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons Chinese rice vinegar

Directions:

1. Rinse the cucumber thoroughly with cold running water.
2. Cut off the ends of the cucumber and discard. Quarter the cucumber lengthwise. Slice off the seeds and discard. Slice the cucumber diagonally into pieces, each about 1/2-inch wide.
3. Transfer the sliced cucumber to a bowl and sprinkle salt over. Stir and then let the salted cucumber sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Drain the liquid from the bowl, rinse the cucumber and drain again. Transfer the cucumber to a plastic bowl (with a matching lid).
4. Add sugar and vinegar to the cucumber in the bowl. Place the lid on top and shake it to combine. Refrigerate the cucumber salad for at least one hour before serving.

Pickled Green Chillies

Adapted from : http://rasamalaysia.com/pickled-chilies/



Ingredients:
4 oz. green chilies (discard the seeds and sliced into pieces)
1 cup Chinese rice vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup water (boiled)
Method:
Prepare the green chilies and transfer into a small bowl. Bring the water to boil and transfer it to the small bowl. Let the chilies sit in the boiled water for about 10 seconds. Drain and discard the hot water.
In the same bowl, add in the rice vinegar, salt and sugar. Stir to blend well. Transfer everything into a small glass container or canister jar and leave it overnight in the fridge. The pickled green chilies will be ready overnight.

Bechamel Sauce

 Adapted from:

http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/recipes/french-bechamel-sauce/82101

Ingredients

1 litre(s)

Béchamel Sauce, French

90 grams plain flour
60 grams Butter
750 grams milk
1 level teaspoon salt
white pepper, ground, To taste
pinch grated nutmeg,, optional

Preparation

French Bechamel Sauce

Put all the ingredients in the TM bowl & cook 7 mins/90C/speed 4.

Doritos Chicken Nuggets

adapted from:
http://www.theblackpeppercorn.com/2013/04/doritos-crusted-chicken-fingers/

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large bag of Doritos, nacho flavor (or flavour of choice)
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 cups flour
• 1-2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 4 eggs
• cooking spray, optional

Instructions

1. Cut the chicken into thin ½ inch strips.
2. Place the chicken in a bowl and pour in the buttermilk. Stir so the chicken is coated in the buttermilk. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for about 2 hours.
3. Using a food processor, crush the Doritos so that they are a texture similar to panko or coarse bread crumbs. Set aside in a large bowl.
4. Place flour and optional cayenne pepper in one bowl and eggs in another. Whisk the eggs so that they are well scrambled.
5. Preheat oven to 400F and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
6. Set up the four bowls in order: 1. bowl with the chicken, 2. bowl with the flour, 3. bowl with the beaten eggs, 4. bowl with the crushed Doritos.
7. Using a fork, lift out a few chicken strips and let excess buttermilk drain off. Place them in the flour and dredge them in so they are all coated in flour. Lift the chicken strips out of the flour and shake off any excess. Place them in the egg wash and turn them so they are evenly coated in egg. Lift them out of the egg and then dredge in the crushed Doritos. Place the coated chicken fingers on the baking sheet. Do this with the remaining chicken strips.
8. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, turning halfway through.
9. Serve with buttermilk ranch dip, bbq sauce or your favorite dip.

Philadelphia Lemon Cheesecake

http://www.thermomix-recipes.com/2010/11/philadelphia-lemon-cheesecake-with.html

Ingredients

For the base
- 250 g of Biscuits
- 125 g of Butter

For the topping
- 3 Eggs
- 200 g of Sugar
- 350 g of Philadelphia Cheese (or other fresh cheese)
- 2 spoons of Lemon Juice

How to prepare Philadelphia Lemon Cheesecake

Put the biscuits in the mixing bowl and grind. 6 Sec. Speed 5.

Add some seconds speed Turbo if needed, it depends on your biscuits ;-)

Add melt butter. 15 Sec. Speed 6.

Put his mixture in a baking pan diameter 24 cm, make compact. Let sit in the fridge.

Meanwhile, prepare the topping.

Without washing the Thermomix bowl, insert the butterfly and add eggs and sugar. 3 Min. Speed 4.

Remove the butterfly, add Philadelphia cheese and lemon juice. 35 Sec. Speed 5.

Pour this mixture on the biscuits base.

Bake at 180°C for 40 Min.

Once it is cooked and cooled, you can dress it with fruits or gelatine like a tart, or with jam! According your taste.

No Baked Lemon Cheesecake

http://goodfoodshared.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/luxury-lemon-cheesecake.html


Ingredients
200g Digestives biscuits, crushed
100g Butter, melted
400g Full fat cream Cheese
150ml Whipping cream
1 lemon, juice and rind
100g Caster sugar

Topping
150ml boiling water
6 Squares of lemon jelly

Method
Melt the jelly and set aside to cool.

 I sometimes use my stand mixer to crumb the biscuits or place in a bag and bash with a rolling pin, add the melted butter.

Mix thoroughly, tip the biscuit mix into a deep 20cm round loose bottomed tin, smooth out the base firmly with the back of a spoon and chill or freeze for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile mix the remaining ingredients together with in a stand mixer or a hand mixer on high until it forms a stiff peaks.

Spread the lemon cream over the base.

Smooth the top and pour or spoon the cooled jelly gently over the cheesecake up to the rim of the tin and until the whole surface of the cake is covered and chill for 6 hours or overnight. To remove the cheesecake, easy does it is the key here. Heat a sharp knife in a mug of boiling water.

If you rush this stage you will get a jagged edge to the jelly and it wont have the professional finish. Slowly ease the knife around the edge.

No Bake CheeseCake

adapted from:
http://cooking.storyofbing.com/2011/07/strawberry-jelly-hearts-cheesecake/

Ingredients
For the crust -
300g digestive biscuits
150g melted butter
For the cheesecake layer -
500g cream cheese (placed in room temperature for 2 to 3 hours to soften)
1 & 1/2 tablespoons gelatin powder
1 & 1/4 cups boiling water
2/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 10 to 12 strawberries
For the jelly layer -
160g strawberry flavoured jelly
1 & 1/2 cups boiling water
1 & 1/2 cups cold water
Method
Place 150g of butter in a oven proof bowl.
Cover the bowl loosely with cling film wrap or use a microwave oven food cover. Microwave for 30 to 40 seconds at high till butter is melted.
Dip a brush into the melted butter and butter a large rectangular pan generously. I used a 13 X 10 X 2 inch glass pan.
Note: You can line the pan with a large piece baking paper. This will make removal of the jelly hearts from the pan alot easier. And you wouldn’t have to worry about the crust sticking to the base of the pan. If you line the pan with baking paper, butter the baking paper all over as well. For photography purpose, I’ve eliminated the baking paper.
Use digestive biscuits for the base.
 Place 300g of digestive biscuits in a food processor.
 Process till they become fine crumbs.

Place the crumbs in a large bowl and add the melted butter.

Stir well to combine.

Place the biscuits-butter mixture in the pan.

Using a potato masher or a large glass with a flat surface, pack the mixture tightly into the pan.

Once the crust is made, place the pan in the fridge and chill until ready to use.

Add 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of gelatin powder in a bowl. Use the right amount of gelatin, else the cheese layer won’t set.

Add 1 & 1/4 cups of boiling water to the gelatin powder.

Stir well till all the gelatin has dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Place 500g of cream cheese in a large mixing bowl.

Add 2/3 cups of sugar.

Using an electric whisk, combine the cheese and sugar. The cream cheese must be soft otherwise it will be very hard to mix here.

Whisk till the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture.

Add the cooled gelatin mixture a little at a time. Whisk well to combine.

The finished mixture should be a runny smooth liquid. Like a milkshake. If there are lumps, run the mixture through a sieve.

Remove the pan from the fridge. Using a fork, prick holes all over the biscuit base.

Pour the cream cheese mixture on to the biscuit base.

Let the mixture rest in room temperature for about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, cut the strawberries. Cut them first in half. Look for the thicker side and cut lengthwise across it so that each strawberry heart is thick. Then at the top of the strawberries, slice off the white tops with the leaves and cut a deep V in the centre.

Press each strawberry half into the cream cheese mixture. Let the strawberry sink in gently. If the strawberries don’t sink in, they will float up in the jelly layer later.

Space the strawberries 1 inch to 1.5 inches apart.

Cover the pan with cling film wrap.

Place the pan in the fridge. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. If the cheese layer is not well chilled, the cheese will disintegrate when the jelly layer is added.

Use strawberry jelly powder to make the top layer.

Place 160g strawberry jelly powder in a bowl.

Add 1 & 1/2 cups of boiling water.

Whisk well till jelly powder has dissolved.

Add 1 & 1/2 cups of COLD water. Mix well.

Ensure that the jelly-water mixture has cooled. If the mixture is still hot, it will melt the cheese layer and cause bits of cheese to float in the jelly layer. Gently pour the cooled mixture over the cream cheese layer.

Pour just enough jelly to cover the strawberries.

Cover with cling film wrap again.

Chill for at least 4 hours.

Use a sharp knife with a thin blade to cut the jelly hearts. Prepare a large jar of boiling water. Dip the knife into the water. Wipe it off and cut. Repeat that with every cut to get a nice clean cut with no crumbs sticking at the sides.
If you lined the pan with baking paper, the crust should not stick to the pan. If you didn’t line with baking paper, set the pan on a hot/warm surface for a few minutes before removing the jelly hearts. The heat will warm the butter at the base and make it easier to remove the jelly hearts.
Cut into nice small pieces of jelly hearts cheese cake.

My alternative for the base - adapted from http://honeybeesweets88.blogspot.com.au/2009/05/no-bake-mango-cheese-cake.html

Ingredients for Mango Cheese Cake:
Cookie Base:
150g digestive biscuits, crushed
50g toasted cashew nuts, chopped fine100g melted butter

Thermomix Banana Nut Loaf- Another version

Adapted from:
http://www.whyisthereair.com/2011/09/25/gone-bananas/

Ingredients230 g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground nutmeg (I have used ground mixed spice)
100 g soft butter
150 g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas, peeled and cut in chunks
50 g chopped walnuts (I either leave them out altogether or you can substitute hazelnuts)
Method

1. Butter a 900 g loaf tin and line the bottom with baking paper. Add all the ingredients except the walnuts to the TM bowl. Mix 30 seconds/Speed 5.
2. Scrape down the sides of the TM bowl with the spatula. Add the walnuts and mix 1 minute/Speed 2/Reverse Blade Direction.
3. Pour into the tin and bake for 1 hour at 180° C/350° F/gas 4. See Fast and Easy Cooking for Aga baking instructions.
4. Leave for 10 minutes to cool in the tin, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Pizza Muffin

adapted from http://planningwithkids.com/2012/05/25/english-muffin-pizza/

English Muffin Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 packet English Muffins
• 140 grams tomato paste
• 100 grams grated mozzarella cheese
• 100 grams grated tasty cheese
• 200 grams roast chicken cut up (approx)

Methods:
1. Heat grill on high.
2. Split English muffins using a fork and place face down on a lined tray.
3. Place tray under the grill and cook for a couple of minutes. (I cook ours just until I can start to see some colour appearing.
4. Take out from grill and turn over. Cook again for a couple of minutes, until they are lightly golden. I find by cooking this side of the muffin the tomato paste doesn’t just soak in quite so much and they hold better for lunch boxes.
5. Remove from grill and spread with tomato paste.
6. Add a small amount of mozzarella cheese to each muffin, then add the chicken and top with the tasty cheese.
7. Grill for a minute or two until the cheese has melted and started to turn golden.
8. Cool on wire racks.

I made this but with the following ingredients
- Olives
- Pineapples
- Roasted Chicken
-Tomato pieces
-4 blended cheese.
A method is the same and it is fast, easy and a hit with the kids

Thermomix Pizza Buns

Thermomix Banana Bread

adapted from http://www.food.com/recipe/thermomix-banana-banana-bread-322940

• 120 g butter
• 140 g brown sugar
• 2 eggs, large
• 4 bananas, very ripe
• 280 g flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 60 g nuts, chopped (optional)
• 120 g chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. 1
   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two small (mine are 8x3 in.) loaf pans with cooking spray.
2. 2
   Beat the sugar and butter together for 15 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs and bananas. Beat the mixture for 15 seconds on speed 5.
3. 3
   Add in the remaining dry ingredients and beat on speed 4 for 10 – 20 seconds, just until combined.
4. 4
   Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

Thermomix Quiona Bread

 Adapted from:
http://simonesthermomixessentials.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/thermomix-quiona-bread/


Quiona Bread
60 g organic quiona plus extra for sprinkling
60 g buckwheat
40 g linseeds
350 g warm water
350 g bakers flour
7 g yeast (one sachet)
10 g salt
20 g olive oil
Small handful sunflower seeds.
Place buckwheat, quiona and linseeds into mixing bowl and grind for 6 seconds on Speed 7.
Add warm water, bakers flour, yeast, salt and oil and mix for 6 seconds on Speed 7.  Knead for 2 minutes, Closed Lid Position on Interval Speed.  Add a few sunflower seeds in the last few seconds.
Wrap dough in ThermoMat and put in a warm spot for 40 minutes.  Knock down and mould into required shape before leaving to prove for another 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 180˚C.
Brush top of loaf with oil or water, sprinkle with quiona seeds and bake for 40 minutes.  Allow to cool before slicing.

Oatmeal Millet Cookies

Adapted from: http://gratefultable.com/oatmeal-millet-cookies-aka-bird-seed-cookies/

My all time favourite recipe.

I usually tweak it by omitted walnuts but using almonds and i always use chocolate chips.

I also cut the sugar down to a cup only.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 2/3 c. plus 3 c. oatmeal
• 1 c. millet
• 1/2 c. sunflower seeds
• 2 c. chopped walnuts
• 1 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• Optional: 1 c. chocolate chips

PREPARATION

1. Toast 7-10 minutes at 350 degrees, until golden: > 1 2/3 c. Oatmeal > 1 c. Millet > 1/2 c. sunflower seeds > 2 c. chopped walnuts
2. Beat in a mixer until light: > 1 1/2 c. brown sugar > 1 c. butter > 1 tsp. vanilla > 2 eggs
3/ Add the following dry ingredients to a big bowl and mix: > 3 c. oatmeal, processed into flour in processor or blender > 1/2 c. raisins > 1/2 tsp. baking soda > 1 tsp. salt
4. Add remaining ingredients to the big bowl also, mixing again: > Toasted ingredients, cooled off > Creamed ingredients > Optional: 1 c. chocolate chips
5. Scoop 1oz.-size scoops onto parchment sheets (or lightly-oiled cookie sheets), 12 per sheet, flattening before baking at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Loosen from sheet while still warm, as they tend to stick otherwise.

Celeriac Chips

I tried this celeriac chips from a recipe online. It is basically the same steps as making potato chips. even look the same but it is much healthier. I need to blanch the celeriac for a few minutes then coat with oil and stuck it in the air fryer for a good 20 minutes. It is rather soft and not as crunchy as potatoes. Kids still ate it and say it was fine but potatoes are better. I think it is super yummy. I just love the texture and the taste of celeriac.

Stir Fry Fish With Ginger Scallion

Adapted from: http://rasamalaysia.com/ginger-and-scallion-fish-recipe/

Ingredients:
10 oz. Basa fish fillet (cut into pieces)
2-inch ginger (skin peeled and cut into thin slices)
2 stalks scallion (cut into 2-inch lengths)
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
Sauce:
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
3-4 tablespoons water
Salt to taste
3 dashes white pepper powder
Marinade:
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
Method:
Marinate the fish for about 10 minutes. Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat up the wok with cooking oil. Add ginger slices into the wok when the oil is very hot. Stir-fry the ginger until aromatic and add in the fish fillet. Stir-fry the fish until they are half cooked. Add in the sauce and continue to stir-fry until the fish is cooked through. If the sauce dries out, add in a little water. Add in the chopped scallions and do a few quick stirs, dish out and serve hot.

Lasagna

Lasagna - Eggplants and spinach with minced pork

 I made the bechemel sauce from Thermomix. Took only 7 minutes. how crazy is that and it was smooth nice. I left it to stand too long so you can see the top starting to curd. the sauce was not enough, i need to make 2 batch of this next time. see recipe here

 

 The vegetables were massive. 1 large eggplant, 1 zucchini, 1 carrot and handful of spinach. Plus one onion and few cloves of garlic. All minced and mashed up like baby food in the Thermomix.

 I started browning the minced pork. Added some veggie stock and when they are almost pink i pour in the veggies. There were way too much veggies i think. I definitely overdose on this sauce. Then came in the mushrooms and the pasta sauce, tomato paste, bay leaves dried oregano and seasoning all over.
The sauce tasted so veggie. Might have trouble with Jovan eating it.

 After it is cooked for around 10 minutes, time to get ready to layer the lasagna. I bought store made lasagna sheets.

I covered the bottom with the sheets, then top up with bechemel sauce, meat sauce then bechemel sauce then grated cheese then lasagna sheets. it when on and on for 3 layers.

 in the oven it goes.

 after baking for 45 minutes. the top part was not cook as there is not enough sauce to cover it. So next time definitely need to cover with meat sauce on top. Alot of cheese went into this dish.<

Another version with fresh sheets. See how different the sheets turned out. The packed ones got burnt easily as there were not enough sauce covering the top. The fresh ones cooked nicely and have a yummy crunch. I cooked this version with fresh Latino Sheets and also their Fresh Pasta Sauce. Sauce can easily be made in the Thermomix but i just wanted to try out the Latino brand.
The fresh sheets really mark a difference and is highly recommended.
The sauce, i will make it on my own next time but it definitely taste healthier than the bottled ones.
I made this lasagna with 8 fresh sheets, 6 sheets for the big tray and 2 for the smaller ones.
Vegetables used this time, minced Kale + Carrot + Zucchini. Added more fresh tomatoes, seasoning and just taste as it goes. Mushrooms when into this lasagna as well.
Verdict: much yummier than the previous one I made. Will continue to fine tune for a not so fatty version.:)

Macaroni Pasta and Vegetable sauce

Macaroni Pasta with veggie sauce


no recipe for this. Adapted from the Thermomix one. But i added my own veggies and whatever i have leftover in the pantry.
Veggies used - blitz up Kale, Celery, Onion, Garlic, Carrot, Basil Leaves
Sauce - Mushrooms, Tomato paste, Tomato Puree, lots of red wine for the sauce and myself, water, salt, oregano, nutmeg, sugar, fresh tomatoes
Meat - angus minced beef- 500gms.
I used Thermomix to cook this. Added a bit of everything, tasting as i go along.
Cooked the Macaroni last and kids manage to finish up one bowl. They are not a fan of pasta anymore but this is one of the best way to hide the veggies in and i absolutely love it. 

I finished up the whole bunch of kale this week. Next week i will be trying out some other veggies like beets and celeriac.

Kale Soup

Pureed vegetables of Kale and celery and fry some chips for the kiddos.

 

Roasted Zucchini and Mushroom

The roasted zuchinni and mushrooms are the winners. This recipe is so good. The vinegar gives it a nice zang and the vegies still stay crunchy and moist. a good meal for the family. Packed with proteins and fibre.
http://carriesexperimentalkitchen.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/balsamic-roasted-zucchini-mushrooms.html

Balsamic Roasted Zucchini & Mushrooms
2 Zucchini, washed and sliced into 1/4" thick slices
8-10 Large Mushrooms, rinsed and quartered
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
Kosher Salt, to taste
Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Add the zucchini, mushrooms and garlic to a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and pour over the vegetables. Mix well then place on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes, turning halfway. Serves 4. 

French Fries

Phillips AirFryer night.



Method:

- soak in cold water for 45 mins
- pat dry the fries. all of them
- coat in oil in a bowl
- preheat air fryer to 150C. fry in batches. each batch for 5-6 mins
- take them out to cool. while cooling first batch, fry second batch
- then cook first batch at 180-190C for 17 mins.
- drain on colander with paper towel and sprinkle salt.
-Done

Spinach Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Spinach and Carrot Pork balls with tomato sauce

This is just a simply whack it in dinner. No recipe to follow. I just tried to mince as much vegies into the smallest possible size in the Thermomix. Mixed it with the minced pork. Added seasoning and my vegie stock. Yes my kids are deprived of vegetables. It is just so hard to get any form of vegetables in their diet. if they see it, they won't consume it.



i patiently rolled all the balls and place them on a baking tray before getting it ready to fry in batches. Another wonder invention is the Phillips Air Fryer. With only a drop of oil, i manage to fry this whole tray of meat balls

The first batch was obviously in for too long. i cut it down to 15 mins after that instead of 20 and they were all fine after that.






 While the meatballs were frying, i worked on the sauce. This is just tomato can soup and adding bits of tomato paste, bits of sweet mustard pickles (oh my!! this thing is soooo good), bits of sugar, vinegar. Just simmer and keep tasting to get the desired taste. My sauce was abit too tart due to the amount of tomato paste used but still OK once the meatballs goes in.

Also juggling cooking the macaronis in between frying the meatballs. It would have been nicer if spaghetti were used instead of the elbows.

Chicken and Carrot Stew

Chicken Potato and Carrot Stew. My mom used to make this all the time and i hated it but it does pack all the necessary balance diet needs in a single dish. Now i understand why this is such a frequent menu in the house last time. It is easy to make and i added in chinese mushroom too. Recipe below



http://www.thehungryexcavator.com/2012/11/soya-chicken-and-potato-stew-recipe.html

Ingredients:

3 tbsp cooking oil

5 cloves of garlic (sliced)

800g chicken drumsticks (chopped to bite-sized pieces) *
3 medium or 2 large potatoes (chopped to approx 2cm cubes)

2 medium carrots (chopped roughly)

3 tbsp light soy

400ml water

1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce

3/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp sesame oil

Chicken with Tomatoes and Garlic

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/04/chicken-with-tomatoes-and-garlic/

 Take 2
Ingredients (adapted for my own taste)

    8 pieces Chicken Legs Or Thighs
    Salt And Pepper, to taste
    3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
    1 Tablespoon Butter
    1 can (28 Ounce) Diced Tomatoes
    4 large fresh tomatoes
    2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
    Fresh Herbs: Basil,  Rosemary - one big bunch of them
    10 cloves Garlic
    16 ounces, weight Macaroni or Steamed white rice
    3/4 cup White Wine (or Red Wine)
    1/4 cup of water just to get more sauce out of it. I find the previous recipe lack of sauce when mixed with the macaroni


Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Salt and pepper chicken legs.

Heat ovenproof skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and butter. When oil/butter is hot, add chicken legs to the pan. Using tongs, brown on all sides, about 2 minutes. Remove chicken from pan.

Pour in wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any bits. Cook for 1 minute. Pour in tomatoes with their juice and add tomato paste. Add salt and pepper to taste, stirring to combine. Bring sauce to a boil, then turn off heat. Add plenty of fresh herbs, 8 cloves of peeled (but whole) garlic, and the chicken legs. Put lid on pot and cook in the oven for 1 hour.

Remove pot from oven and allow it to sit on the counter with the lid on while you boil the pasta.

Cook the pasta to al dente, Drain and add to a large serving bowl.

Remove lid and check sauce. If it's overly thin, remove the chicken from the pot and boil the sauce on the stovetop for 5 to 10 minutes. Check seasonings and adjust as needed.

To serve, pour sauce over cooked pasta, then arrange chicken pieces over the top. Sprinkle generously with fresh Parmesan and serve with crusty French bread.

Stir Fry Pineapple Chicken

Monday's dinner was simple stir fry and omelet.

Lots of peppers and the sauce is very easy and tasty to make. Cut the sugar down to make it more sour. Kids like it overall, had extra for lunch today.

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 2 inch strips
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (16 ounce) package frozen stir fry vegetables
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained, reserve 1/4 cup juice
hot cooked rice

http://chinese.food.com/recipe/chicken-pineapple-stir-fry-24306

Directions:

1
Mix first 7 ingredients with reserved 1/4 cup pineapple juice in small bowl.
2
In large skillet, stir-fry chicken in hot oil 5 minutes.
3
Add vegetables, stir-fry 4 more minutes.
4
Stir in pineapple and sauce, heat through.
5
Serve over rice.

Read more: href

="http://chinese.food.com/recipe/chicken-pineapple-stir-fry-24306?oc=linkback">http://chinese.food.com/recipe/chicken-pineapple-stir-fry-24306?oc=linkback

Stir fry chicken and long beans

I am trying to keep track of my recipes as they are slowly disappearing from the Internet. Let's hope my blog don't disappear as well.

I found this simple stir fry from this link:
http://www.chinesegrandma.com/2010/08/easy-chicken-green-bean-stir-fry/

Chicken and green bean stir fry
A light, simple and delicious stir fry. Not authentic, but easy, healthy and extremely versatile.
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 1/4 pounds green beans
• Cooking oil

Marinade

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sherry
• 1 clove garlic

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (white vinegar or rice vinegar also fine)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce (Kikkoman is best)
• 1 tablespoon sherry
• 1 clove garlic

Optional

• Dash sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions

1. If starting with frozen chicken breasts, set in bowl of cold water to defrost.
2. Take end off green beans and wash.
3. Rinse rice in several changes of water until water is mostly clear. Add fresh water for cooking and set aside.
4. Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces (approx 1/2-inch cubes). Place diced chicken in bowl.
5. Add marinade ingredients to chicken – soy sauce, sherry, garlic (chopped or pressed through garlic press). Stir well to distribute marinade.
6. Refrigerate chicken.
7. Start rice to cook before starting stir fry.
8. Prepare stir fry sauce (note: you can double the stir fry sauce if you prefer a saucier stir fry). Add brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, sherry and garlic (again chopped or pressed through garlic press) in small bowl. You can also add fresh ginger if you have it.
9. Add cornstarch and stir well, pressing out any lumps until sauce has a consistent milky brown color.
10. Heat two tablespoons of oil in an large skillet over medium-high heat.
11. Add green beans. If green beans don’t fit in one batch, cook half at a time. Use long tongs to turn beans over while cooking so that they do not burn.
12. If beans are particularly thick, add two tablespoons of water to pan and cover skillet for a couple of minutes to steam-cook beans to desired tenderness. Do not overcook, as beans will go back in the pan briefly later.
13. Remove beans from pan.
14. Add two more tablespoons of oil to pan. Add chicken and stir to separate pieces.
15. When chicken is cooked (turns from pink to white), add prepared stir fry sauce and stir. Sauce will quickly turn from milky light brown to glossy dark brown as it cooks.
16. Add string beans and stir to combine. Add dash of sesame oil if desired.
17. Remove chicken and string beans to serving dish.
18. Serve over rice

My variations and tweaks:

I minus the sugar by 1 tablespoon. Too sweet for my liking.

I added more water as the sauce is quite thick.

Fried the beans separately.

Marinated my chicken overnight.

Simple recipe and ready in matter of minutes and good thing is the boys love it too

Chicken Nuggets

 Adapted from:
http://www.cookcleancraft.com/2012/02/oven-baked-chicken-nuggets.html

Ingredients	Equipment
400-500g Chicken Breast 1 small onion 1/2 cup + 1/3  cup breadcrumbs 2 eggs 1/2 cup plain (all purpose) flour 2/3 cup cornflakes Cooking oil spray (e.g. olive oil, vegetable etc) salt and pepper to taste	Oven Oven tray 3 small bowls 1 plate/platter Food processor Knife Snap-Lock Bag Rolling Pin

Servings: Approximately 24 nuggets

Time to go	Procedure
55 mins _ _:_ _	Preparation 1.  Roughly chop onion 2.  Dice chicken into approximately 1” cubes 3.  Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F)
50 mins _ _:_ _	4.  Place chicken, onion, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, salt and pepper into a food processor. Process until onion and chicken forms a fine mince and starts to clump into a ball.
45 mins _ _:_ _	5. Form into approximately 24 nugget sized pieces by hand.
37 mins _ _:_ _	6.  Place flour in one bowl and egg in a second bowl (lightly whisked with a fork). 7. Place cornflakes in a Snap-Lock Bag, squeeze the air out and seal the bag. Crush by rolling a rolling pin over the bag. 8. Mix the crushed cornflakes with 1/3 breadcrumbs in a third bowl.
32 mins _ _:_ _	9.  Roll each nugget in flour until it is lightly coated , shaking off any excess. Then dip in the egg, ensuring it is completely coated. Finally, roll in the breadcrumb/cornflake mixture, pressing the mixture on to coat the nuggets and place on an oven tray.
19 mins _ _:_ _	10.  Spray nuggets with cooking oil. Turn nuggets over and spray again.
15 mins _ _:_ _	11. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes, until golden and cooked through

Lemon Curd Filling

Another Thermomix Recipe. Adapted from Tenina's citrus curd recipe.

This recipe makes 2 jars of lemon curd. It is so easy and so tasty. No standing over the stove stirring and Thermomix cooks it so perfectly well.


Will be using this for Macaron filling.

NEED:
220g sugar
zest of 2 lemons, 1 lime and 1 orange
240g butter, cubed
200g mixed citrus juice of choice
4 eggs + 2yolks
DO:
Place sugar with zests into Thermo bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.
Add butter and chop 5 sec/speed 7.
Add remaining ingredients. Cook 10 min/80°C/speed 5.
Cook 2 min/90°C/speed 6.
Pour into sterilised jars and seal.

Thermomix Macaron- My first ever attempt

adapted from
http://www.superkitchenmachine.com/2012/15853/macarons-recipe-thermomix.html

Ingredients

• 75 gr. blanched almonds or almond meal
• 140 gr. icing sugar (to make your own see tip below recipe)
• 10 gr. granulated sugar (about 1 tbsp)
• 60 gr. egg whites (about 2)
• pinch of fine sea salt

Instructions based off the recipe from the link above.

1. I got ready my hardware. Drew little circles to pipe my macaron and also my disposable piping bag ready.
2. First, make your almond meal by grinding almonds for about 10 seconds/speed 10. Then add the icing sugar to the bowl and press the turbo button 4-5 times to “sift” the mixture. That’s what we’ll call a “tant pour tant”, set it aside. Get your bowl clean and dry and put the butterfly on. Add your tbsp. granulated sugar, salt, egg whites and whisk for 4 minutes/3½/MC off. Your meringue has to be really, really firm, slightly glossy and looking maybe a bit too dry. Actually, it should all be stuck to the sides of the bowl. - Follow this to the dot but i went and fire up the temperature to 50C cause i remembered a meringue recipe doing just that. sigh.. i think that made the batter abit weird. After looking into the other recipes, it did not require this temperature settings after all.

this is how my meringue look like

1. Pour the meringue into a big bowl and add the tant pour tant to it. Now, usually you’ll be told to do it in spoonful additions and to be gentle about the folding… but in one macaron class I attended we were told to put it all in at once and to be not-that-gentle, really. So, just be steady, going at it with the classical folding motion but don’t pamper the batter, it actually has to deflate and get a thinner consistency. It should make ribbons that disappear into the batter after some 20 seconds. For this amount of batter, I usually get to this stage after 20 folds, more or less. - i did not get that batter explained in the recipe. my batter was not as runny and i only manage to bake one tray of the wafer instead of 2 trays like the recipe said.
2. Pour the batter into the piping bag, cut the tip and pipe the cookies onto your sheets, spacing them about 5 cms apart. My recipe makes 50 wafers, or 25 filled macarons. - Only manage to get half. serious issue with the batter

 

1. Now, a crucial step: lift the trays straight up, holding level from both sides (parallel to your work surface) and then just let go of them so that they tap hard on the table as they land. Rotate 90 degrees and repeat until you do all 4 sides. You’re letting out all those air bubbles which would cause the surface to crack if they stayed inside the macaron, not pretty. - i did this and i also aged the egg white.
2. Preheat your oven at 120C/250F/, no fan. The macarons will develop a “skin” while the oven is getting hot, maybe they’ll take a bit longer than your oven, about 25-30 minutes, you really don’t need more than that. Bake one tray at a time in the middle rack for about 18 minutes, rotating mid-time to get even baking (well, my oven requires this). - macarons took forever to cook. i have to cook an additional 20 minutes, I suspect my batter was so thick that it took that extra time to finish off.
3. To check if they’re done, just lift the corner of the baking paper and try to peel it from the bottom of the cookie. If it sticks, it isn’t done. If it comes off, just take the tray out and put the 2nd one in. Cool on the rack and make the filling them with your favourite ganache, jam, lemon curd… - i fill it up with the Thermomix Lemon Curd. The Lemon curd is the life saver of this dish.

 super squeezed feet and uneven surface. I will work on this again.

Oat and Raisin Bread

Preparation

Bread

Preheat the oven to 200.
2.  Place all ingredients into TM bowl in the above order and mix for 5 seconds on Speed 7.
3.  Set dial to closed lid position. Knead for 2 minutes on  Interval speed.
4.  Shape dough into an oblong and put into a greased loaf pan.
5.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes until doubled in size.
6.  Bake the bread in the oven for 35 minutes until golden brown. The bread is cooked when the base is tapped and it sounds hollow. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients

1000 g

Dough

300 g bakers flour, white
200 g wholemeal flour, strong
150 g oatmeal
2 tsp salt
50 g butter, soft
1 sachet dried yeast
3 tbsp runny honey
300 g warm water
50 g raisins

Lemon Cake Recipe

http://www.thermomix-recipes.com/2011/08/lemon-juice-cake-with-thermomix.html


- 300 g Plain Flour
- 300 g Sugar
- 4 Eggs
- 170 g Butter
- Juice of 3 Lemons (about 150 g)
- 50 g Milk
- 15 g Baking Powder
- Icing Sugar, to decorate

How to prepare the Lemon Juice Cake

Separate egg whites from egg yolks.

Put the butterfly in the bowl and whip egg whites into stiff peaks with a pinch of salt. 2 Min. 37°C Speed 4. Put aside.

Put flour, sugar, butter at room temperature, yolks, lemon juice and milk. 30 Sec. Speed 4.

Add baking powder. 30 Sec. Speed 4.

Put the mixture in a 24 cm diameter baking pan and gently fold whipped egg whites into stiff peaks.

Bake for 1 h. at 160°C.

When cold, dust with icing sugar.

Aussie Minced Pies

http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/recipes/aussie-meat-pies/69279

Ingredients

6 portion(s)

Iced Puff Pastry

90 g ice cubes
180 g unsalted butter, , frozen, roughly chopped
200 g plain flour
1.5 tsp sea salt

Pie filling

2 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, , leaves only
2 garlic cloves
1 brown onion
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp cornflour
500 g beef fillet steak, , cut into 2cm cubes
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Vegemite
100 g button mushrooms, , thinly sliced
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
tomato ketchup, to serve, (see general tips)