Golden Honey & mustard Chicken Casserole with Flaky Puff Pastry

Banana, Cinnamon & Choc chip Muffins

Adapted from Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook’s Banana & Cinnamon muffin recipe

Roast Chicken Drummettes with Sausage, Potatoes & Cherry Tomatoes

Mixed Berries & Choc chip Muffins

Adapted from Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook’s Blueberry Muffin recipe

Spaghetti with spinach & semi dried tomatoes Tetrazzini

Peanut butter & Snickers Muffin!!

Recipe from Nigella Lawson’s “How to be a Domestic Goddess”

Nasi Tim Ayam (Steamed Chicken Rice)

For the chicken stock

• 500g chicken thigh fillet
• water
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• 3-4 spring onions (for serving the soup with the steamed chicken rice)

1. Heat a little bit of oil in your saucepan, then add garlic. Stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add Salt and Pepper.
2. Pour water to the sauce pan, and let it boil
3. Add the chicken fillets to the sauce pan, and boil for 15 minutes, or until cooked.
4. Set aside the stock for later use (see instructions for final steps)

For the Rice

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 500g (2 1/2 cups) Jasmine Rice
• 2tbsp sesame oil
• 2tbsp soy sauce

1. On a small frying pan, or a bigger saute pan (it may seem bigger for this task but the pan can be reused to stir fry the chicken as specified below), heat vegetable oil
2. Add minced garlic, and stir fry for a couple of minutes.
3. Pour the sauteed minced garlic to the rice cooker, add rice, then add the sesame oil and soy sauce. Mix until the sauce coats the rice.
4. Pour the chicken stock on top of the rice. The amount of stock should be the same measurement you usually use to cook white rice in rice cooker. I usually measure the amount of stock/water by inserting my pointer finger to ensure that from the top of the rice bed and the surface of the water/stock is the same height as almost a third of my pointer finger.
5. Set the rice cooker to cook. Meanwhile, continue preparing the chicken.

For the Chicken

• 2tbsp vegetable oil, depending on how much your wok need to stir fry the chicken so it doesnt stick
• Approx 500g of Cooked chicken (see ingredients for Chicken Stock), cut into small dice
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 - 2tbsp ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
• 4 tbsp of soy sauce
• 4 tbsp of sesame oil
• sugar, salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat vegetable oil in a wok/saute pan.
2. Stir fry mince garlic for a couple of minutes.
3. Add ginger, stir fry for another couple of minutes
4. Add the diced chicken, then pour in the soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, salt and pepper.

Now finally, once the rice and the chicken is ready, here are some final steps:

1. Boil water in a steamer and prepare 6 ramekins or small bowl
2. Spread the stir fried chicken at the bottom of the ramekins until almost half of the ramekin cup.
3. Add the rice on top of the chicken, and add more until it reaches the top of the ramekin. Press down with spoon to ensure the rice is packed and solid.
4. Put the ramekins on the steamer and steam for 15 minutes. 
5. Meanwhile, boil the chicken stock, and add in 3 - 4 spring onions.
6. To serve, turn the ramekin upside down, leave for a minute or two, then try to carefully remove the ramekin. Serve with the clear chicken soup (chicken stock).

Serves 4 - 6 depending on age and appetite

Orak-arik Buncis - it’s a very easy Indonesian vegetables stir fry recipe. I love to enjoy this mixed with warm jasmine steamed rice. Yum!

My mom and I ground salt, pepper and 6-7 cloves of garlic for two handfuls of thinly sliced (diagonally) green beans, and julienned two carrots.

Fry the ground garlic, then add the carrots until almost cooked through. Then add the green beans. Stir fry until all is cooked through.

Add in a teaspoon of chicken stock powder (if you want).

Then crack two eggs on top of the vegetables stir fry. Mix well until egg is cooked through.

Serves 4 :)

Mom made macaroni schotel today, yayy!

Here’s the recipe:

• 1 1/2 - 2 cup pasta (macaroni elbows, or any other small pasta like spirals, or orecchiette)
• 1 chicken thigh fillet
• 1 carrot, washed, peeled and cut into small dice
• a handful of frozen peas, rinsed
• 1 pickle brown onion (or a small brown onion), sliced thinly
• 1 garlic clove, chopped finely
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 cup milk
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 200g -250g grated cheddar cheese
• 1tsp chicken stock powder (optional)
• 1tsp ground nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• vegetable oil (1 - 2tbsp)

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degree Celcius
2. Boil water to cook the chicken thigh fillet
3. While the chicken is cooking, boil water in another pan to cook the pasta. Then after 5 minutes boiling the pasta add the carrot, then after another 2 - 3 minutes put in the frozen peas. Drain the pasta and vegies, and set aside.
4. Once the chicken thigh fillet is cooked (after 10 - 15 minutes in boiling water), chopped into small dice. Set aside.
5. Heat vegetable oil in a saute pan, fry the brown onion and garlic
6. Add the plain flour, mix well with the brown onion and garlic.
7. Pour milk gradually while stirring so the milk mixed well with the flour mix
8. Add the chopped chicken fillet, 2/3 of the grated cheese, the pasta and vegetables and mix.
9. Add salt, pepper and ground nutmeg to taste
10. Take saute pan off the heat, and then add the lightly beaten eggs to the pan and mix everything together.
11. Pour the mix in saute pan into a baking dish, and top with the remaining grated cheese until the top is covered with cheese.
12. Bake for 30 minutes, then grill for 15 minutes on medium so the cheese layer on top becomes golden brown.

Serves 4

Yummy Turkey Meatballs in a tomato sauce for a cold cold day like today.. and since I’ve been craving for Subway meatball sandwich for quite some time now (and the fact that doctor said I should avoid Subway sandwiches during my pregnancy due to the Listeria etc etc) I enjoyed these Turkey meatballs with a toasted white long roll and cheese slices. nom nom nom.

Recipe below is adapted from Nigella Kitchen cookbook

Sauce

1 onion, peeled, chopped roughly 
1 celery stalk
2 tablespoons garlic oil
1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes 
water (use the tomato cans to measure the water, you need fill 2 full cans)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Meatballs
500g minced turkey
1 egg
3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt, to taste

1. Puree onion and celery to mush in food processor. 
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Reduce to medium-low, add the onion puree and dried thyme, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. (Remove 2 tbsp of puree + thyme and set aside in a small bowl for the meatballs.)
3. Add tomatoes, water, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook while prepping the meatballs.
4. Add all meatball ingredients to the preserved onion, ce;ery and thyme mix. Mix gently to combine; avoid over-mixing to prevent the meatballs from being too heavy.
5. Form mixture into approximately 50 meatballs (each should be about one heaping teaspoon). Once all the meatballs are formed, add them to the simmering sauce. Continue to simmer 30 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through.

Serves 6 - 7 (depending on age and appetite)