Stuffed peppers

This is an easy one! What you need are (for 3 to 4 stuffed peppers):


4 peppers of different colours
200g minced beef
1 celery stick, finely chopped
Half a can tomato paste
Onions, sliced/ finely chopped
Garlic, finely chopped
Some fresh oregano/ dried oregano to taste
Olive oil
Salt & freshly miled black pepper to taste

----------------------
1] Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2] Slice the top of the peppers off and remove the seeds and membrane.

3] Line a baking tray with aluminium and place peppers on top. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes.

4] While the peppers are roasting in the oven, work on the minced beef. Heat a large non-stick frying pan with some olive oil. Add chopped onion and garlic. Then add the chopped celery. Now put in the minced beef and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, diligently break up the lumps with the back of your frying spatula.

5] Add the tomato paste and stir to combine. Add salt, pepper and oregano to taste.

6] If the peppers are done, remove them from the oven. Add the filling, cover and roast in the oven for a little while more. Add some cheese, if you like.

Gotta remove the
seeds and membrane..

There you go! Drizzle some olive
oil over it and pop it into the oven

Voila!

XOXO
Ariella

 

Chicken & bacon cacciatore

Oh dear! I didn't realise that it has been more than one month since my last post! =(

I prefer this version to the previous that I blogged on. This version has some rosemary & red wine vinegar added and so gives it an exciting twist. =)


Serving portion for 2:

Half a chicken
250ml chicken stock
3 rashers bacon
Some onions, sliced
Olive oil
Some fresh rosemary
1 x 400g canned plum tomatoes
Some red or white wine vinegar
Some sugar


---------
1] Season the chicken pieces with a little salt and some pepper. Put aside.

2] Heat some oil in large frying pan and brown the chicken, a few pieces at a time, if necessary until its skin is golden on all sides.

3] As each batch is done, lift out from pan and put aside while you fry the rest of the chicken.

4] After all the chicken is done, remove some of the fats from the pan, if necessary.

5] Lower heat and add the bacon. Keep going with the bacon till it crisps.

6] Then remove the bacon and leave it with the chicken pieces.

7] Again, remove some of the fats from the pan, if ncessary. Then using the fats behind behind in the wok by the bacon, fry the onions and rosemary until the onions softened. Then return the chicken and bacon back to the pan.

8] Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, vinegar and sugar. Season with some salt and pepper.

9] Bring to a simmer, cover and then leave it alone for 20 to 30 minutes. Turn off fire when you are happy with its consistency. Serve with rice or pasta. I had mine with rice =)



Chicken pieces after they
have been fried



I like this consistency

I also roasted some vegetables
to the delight of my friends
who finished up to the last bit
=)

XOXO
Ariella

Chicken with parsley & lemon

I got this recipe from http://www.coles.com.au/. The 2 cities in Australia that hold memories for me are Sydney & Melbourne, in that order.

Though I've been to Sydney only once for about 2 weeks and was there alone, I met someone there who displayed extraordinary grace.

She owns an Asian bakery shop along Quay Street and is my church friend's elder sister. She offered me a buffet of breads & cakes everyday (no time limit) and I had the privilege to have her cook lamb chops for me right from the kitchen in her bakery. She asked her student part-timers in her bakery to bring me around the city & secretly passed them money to host me. When I said that I have never tried ... erm.. what's that donut brand again.. Crispy Kreme! Yes, Crispy Kreme. When I said that I have yet to try that, she bought a dozen for me the next day to choose from. Then she brought me some persimmons to eat in the backpackers' for she said they were very sweet & in season. She also offered to send me on local tours & I declined because I know she would insist on paying for it. She was very kind and giving, everything I wouldn't expect from someone I am meeting for the first time and hopefully, not the only time.

-----------
Serving for 2:

4 chicken drumstick
Garlic, crushed
Parsley, finely chopped
1 lemon
2 tomatoes-on-the-vine, diced
1 avocado, diced
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & freshly grounded black pepper to taste
Spaghetti

1] Combine garlic, parsley, lemon rind, some lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Pour half of these over the chicken and leave for 10 minutes or more.

2] Meanwhile, put the spaghetti to cook.

3] Combine the tomatoes, avocado, some lemon juice and olive oil. Season with some salt & freshly grounded black pepper.

4] Now, grill the chicken for about 20 to 30 minutes until its juice runs clear when cut into.

5] Then place the chicken on one side of the plate and drizzle the other half of parlsey sauce over chicken.

6] Twill spaghetti with a fork and place it on the other side of the plate. Top it off the avocado salad.

VOILA!

The avocado salad to go with the
spaghetti

The chicken before it goes into
the oven

Undo the twill from
your fork onto the plate

Top it up with the avocado salad

Chicken with lemon & parlsey

XOXO
Ariella

Meatloaf sandwich

It's been a long time.. I know!

1 meatloaf for baking
1 packet garden greens
Some mustard &/or bbq sauce
1 loaf wholemeal bread/ your favourite sandwich bread
1 tomato, sliced

-----
1] Bake the meatloaf following the instructions that came with it. When cooked, slice it.

2] On your favourite sandwich bread, lay some greens, tomato slices and meatloaf slices. Top it off with some mustard &/or bbq sauce and you are done! Now, isn't that a simple one?

I did it with some tomato slices
then greens then meatloaf

Some BBQ sauce

Top up with some Thomy mustard

Meatloaf for baking - uncooked

Thomy Mustard
imported from Switzerland

XOXO
Ariella

Caramelised pork chop with salsa & mashed sweet potato

For the salsa
1/4 of a mango, chopped
Some fresh mint, torn/ chopped
Some fresh basil, torn/ chopped
1/4 lemon,  zest & juice
1/4 lime, zest & juice

For the sweet potato
1/2 a sweet potato, peeled and choppin into chunks
some extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

For the pork chop
1 pork chop
Juice of about half to 1 orange
Some butter/ olive oil


-------
1] Mix all the ingredients to the salsa together. And chill while you work on the rest.

2] Put the chunks of sweet potato in a pot of boiling water. Cook till they are soft.

3] While the sweet potatoes are in the pot, heat butter/ olive oil in pan and pan fry pork till it is about half-cooked. A golden brown crust should form.

4] Then pour the orange juice into the pan. Leave to cook till the juice is reduced and the pork is thoroughly cooked. If the juice dries up before the pork is cooked thoroughly, add some more juice to the pan. Plate with gravy drizzled on the pork chop.

5] By now, the sweet potatoes should be soft. Remove from pot, drain and heat on a pan on low heat for about 30 seconds (no oil needed). This is to remove the moisture. Then leave to cool. After which, mash them up with either a potato masher or fork. Drizzle with extra virgin olive (it has to be extra virgin). Then add some balsamic vinegar. The amount depends on your liking. Keep mixing them so you get a texture you like.

6] Now, bring the salsa out from the fridge. The salsa goes on top of the pork chop and the sweet potato on the other side of the plate. Serve!




Pan fry the pork

  

The sweet potatoes heated on a pan

 

Mashing them up

 

Serve!



XOXO
Ariella

Pasta Aglio Olio

By now, you should be convinced that I love pastas =)


Pasta shells/ Spaghetti/ whatever pasta shapes you have in the kitchen
Some prawns, deshelled & deveined. Keep its shells for use later
Carrots, sliced
Salt & freshly grounded pepper
Olive oil
Garlic, chopped (Mine had alot of garlic)
Chilli padi ( I had the seeds removed)

1] Cook the pasta in boiling water with salt until al dente. Keep aside.

2] In a pot, add some water to the shells of the prawns. Then bring to boil on low fire to make some prawn stock.

3] Heat some olive oil in a pan. Fry the prawns till cooked. You know it's cooked when it changes colour and is opaque.

4] Remove from pan and leave the prawns aside.

5] Now, heat up some more olive oil in the same pan. Add garlic and chilli to fry. When the garlic shows signs of changing colour, I added the carrot slices. After frying for a while, I actually added some prawn stock (that are actually still over the fire).

6] Season with some salt, if you like.

7] While these are going on, keep an eye on the prawn stock - make sure that it doesn't dry up.

8] Add the cooked prawns to the pan, then the pasta. Stir through quickly. Add a little prawn stock turn off the heat/ fire immediately (we want the pasta to remain al dente).

9] Crack some black pepper just before serving.

Prawns, garlic, chilli & carrot

Preparing prawn stock

Frying carrot slices, garlic & chilli

Pasta Aglio Olio

Mustard & rosemary crusted lamb rack

Serving for 2:

For the lamb
1 lamb rack from Huber's Butchery
4 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
4 tablespoons dried parsley
Some olive oil

For the side (Peperonata)

2 bell peppers of different colours
2 Tomatoes, seeded and roughly diced

Onion, thick slices

Garlic, sliced as thinly as you can
Some sugar

Some dried oregano

Salt & pepper

Olive oil

 

 

--------
For the lamb

1] Mix 2 tablespoons olive oil, the Dijon mustard, the rosemary & parsley together in a small bowl. Add some freshly grinded pepper if you like ( I didn't).

2] Rub the seasoning onto the lamb. Leave overnight in the chiller.

3] Pre-heat oven to 200C. Roast for about 30 minutes or so. Rest for 5 to 10 minutes before carving into cutlets.

For the peperonata
1] Heat some olive oil in a pan. Then add onions. Fry until onions began to colour.

2] Add the peppers now and stir for about 3 minutes or so to combine.

3] Add the sliced garlic now then stir for a couple of minutes. Add a little sugar & oregano.

4] Now put in the chopped tomatoes & mix quickly.

5] Quickly turn off the heat. Grind some black pepper over.

The lamb rack just before it goes into the oven

Preparing peperonata

The finished product - knife wasn't sharp enough

Traditional Dijon Mustard made in France
available for sale
at Huber's Butchery or on
http://www.hubers.com.sg/

Basil pesto with smoked chicken breast

Hello people.. =)


I've been away for so long...! I went on a trip to Taiwan and I met many lovely people there, some locals and some travelers like us. When I told people that I went to Taiwan, they would usually ask " Did you try this this & that?"," Did you eat a lot?"," Did you put on a lot of weight?" And my answer to each of the above is " No". This isn't our first time there. Neither is it our second. It's the third time for me and for her, the fourth time. Therefore, there wasn't a need to gobble down their local food.

Neither did we eat alot (and I'm glad). Since we didn't eat alot, naturally, we didn't put on much weight. I, in fact, lost weight from the heavy backpack, the late nights, irregular meals, the forest/ mountain trails & walking the night markets.

The most memorable wasn't the mountains we went, the sunrise we missed, the food we had or the itinerary. It was the lovely people we met. The angels who gave us directions, the Japanese and the Swiss who were with us at Alishan, and the Malaysian who were with us at Sun Moon Lake & in Taipei. And the group of warm locals we met up in Taipei. I'll definitely return for lovely angels are found there. =)

------

Do you remember I mentioned about Basil Pesto in my previous entry? I did the Chicken Basil Pesto pasta back then and here is another recipe with the Basil Pesto.

This would be very similar to the one we did previously, just change the chicken to smoked chicken breast.


1 pc smoked chicken breast, sliced
A bottle of basil pesto (you can get one from our shop)
Carrot, sliced
Olive oil
Pasta of your choice or whatever's in the kitchen!
Veal cipolata

1] Prepare the pasta by boiling some water and adding the pasta/ spaghetti in. Add some salt to it. The salt would prevent the pasta from sticking together. Keep watching over this pot especially when the water boils again. The pasta ought to be al dente. Test if it's ready by breaking the pasta: you should still see some white in the middle but it shouldn't feel "crunchy" in your mouth. When pasta is ready, retain some of the hot water and discard the rest. Then rinse the pasta with some tap water.

2] Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a pan. Then fry the carrot slices for a couple of minutes.

3] Now, the chicken breast

4] Mix them together for a while.

5] Now add the pasta to the pan. And quickly add some basil pesto. I added 2 heaped teaspoon for a 2-servings portion. You can add more/ less depending on your preference. Mix the pasta quickly.

6] On a separate pan, brown the cipolata.

7] Serve the cipolata with the pasta. Viola!

I wish I added more pesto: The smoky flavour of the chicken covered that of the pesto. If you are not particular/ are looking for another variation to the chicken basil pesto, this then is it.

Enjoy!

XOXO
Ariella

Penne Bolognese

Serving for 2

250g penne pasta (or slightly more than 1 handful/ pax)
1 can chopped tomato/ 1 can whole tomato, chopped
125ml red wine/ chicken stock
250g minced beef
Worcestershire sauce
1 small red chilli (de-seeded if preferred)
Garlic, chopped
Onions, sliced/ chopped
Carrots, sliced
Capsicums, sliced
Portobello mushrooms, sliced
Olive oil
Dried oregano


--------
1] Heat oil in a pan, then add onion, garlic, carrots, capsicums, mushrooms & chilli.Cook gently until soft.

2] Then keeping it at low heat, I put in the minced beef & quickly break them apart before they turn into meatballs. I had to do it at low heat for I am still not fast enough to break them apart before they turn into meatballs. If you are confident, by all means, up the heat & add the minced beef.

3] Keep breaking minced beef apart till they are well separated. Then add a splash of Worchestershire sauce, all the red wine/ chicken stock and tomatoes. Put on low heat & leave it to simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Add some salt to flavour, if necessary.

4] While that is simmering, boil some water and add some salt to it. Cook the pasta till al dente. When ready, discard the water.

5] When the sauce is ready, mix the pasta into the sauce.

6] I served it with some dried oregano sprinkled generously. It adds some "sting" to the sauce. If you don't have a bottle of it at home, it's all right to skip it.

Hope you find it easy enough to try at home!



Chicken stock sold at
Huber's Butchery.
Made using only the finest ingredients,
frozen fresh to achieve optimum flavour.
Preservative free, low in fat and carbohydrates,
contains no added salt & no added sugar.
Made in Australia
Available at also at http://www.hubers.com.sg/



Asparagus & chicken salad

Asparagus & chicken salad

A bunch of asparagus
1 fresh chicken leg, bone-less, season with some salt & pepper
2 portobello mushrooms, cut into quarters/ thick slices.
Carrot
Balsamic vinegar
Some olive oil

-------
1] Boil the asparagus in simmering water for 2 to 3 minutes.

2] When boiled, discard the water and refresh with iced water/ tap water.

3] While the asparagus are being prepared, I sliced the chicken into bite-sized.

4] Heat some oil and fry the chicken till they are almost cooked.

5] Remove chicken from the pan & put them aside.

6] Now, tip the mushrooms in and fry for a while.

7] Now, add the chicken back into the pan. Make sure the chicken is cooked before tipping the asparagus in. I test if the chicken is cooked by trying to break a couple of pieces apart with the spatula/ frying stick. If the chicken breaks easily, it's cooked.

8] Splash some balsamic vinegar.

9] Stir through quickly and you are done! =)

10] Shred the carrot on the salad just before serving =)

Mushroom, asparagus,
chicken

I had this for lunch =)
with a banana to complete
the meal!

XOO
Ariella =)

Spicy chicken cacciatore

Isn't life sometimes (or all the time) interesting? You left someone/ something/ somewhere by choice but you still miss them? Though you have the opportunity to return, you do not want to? But you still miss them?? Does that happen to you?

1 chilled chicken leg bone-in, skin-on
200g tomato sauce
Red chilli ( seeds removed)
1 Bell pepper, sliced
175ml red wine
Garlic, chopped
Onions, sliced/ diced
Several olives
Olive oil


1] First, season the chicken with some salt & pepper. Put it aside.

2] Heat the roasting oven to 180C.

3] Heat a little oil on the pan, just enough to grease the pan lightly.

4] Cook chicken on the pan for about 7 minutes on each side till lightly browned. Fret not if you have bits stuck to the pan.

5] Then remove the chicken from the pan and put it on a greased roasting pan.

6] Now, if there are alot of fat remaining on the pan, discard them. I retained only a wee bit - just enough to grease the pan.

7] Fry the peppers till lightly burnt. Then add the chilli, onions & garlic.

8] Then add the red wine in. Let it stand till it bubbles.

9] Now, the tomato sauce goes in. Let it bubble again.

10] Turn off fire. Now add this sauce to the chicken on the roasting pan.

11] I crushed several olives and top the chicken with the olives. Cover with aluminium foil.

12] Off it goes into the oven for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and let it continue to roast for another 10 minutes or so.

13] Test if it's cooked by piercing a fork into the thickest part of the chicken. Be sure that you go right through. If clear juices run out, it's good to go.

Just before it goes into the
roasting oven



Spicy chicken cacciatore
I had it with rice =)

 I like how the olives go so well with the sauce.. =)
Hope you like it too!


XOXO
Ariella