Vegetable Shell Pasta in Tomato Cream Sauce

I am on leave this whole week.  It is exam week.  A week I dread the most.
Thank god, there are only two papers to clear this semester as the third subject is project based.

I love the fact that I am able to plan what to cook for my girls for dinner when I am at home.

It is quick simple dinner today - Vegetable Shell Pasta in Tomato Cream Sauce.

I bought the vegetable shell pasta some time back at some fair that was held in school.

The rest of the ingredients are what I can find in the fridge - pasta sauce which is expiring soon, leftover frozen chicken franks and fresh mushroom which I bought a week ago to actually make mushroom soup but never did.

I prepared the ingredients about 45 minutes before the girls got home and by the time they got home and showered, the pasta is ready for my famished girls.

Ingredients

170 gm vegetable shell pasta

2 onions, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced (i used white and brown button mushroom)

4 pcs chicken franks, sliced diagonally
2 cups ready made pasta sauce

170 gm cream

some olive oil to fry

salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Cook shell pasta in a pot of salted boiling water till al dente.

Drain and wash under running water.

Saute the chopped onions and garlic in some olive oil.
Then put in the chicken franks and mushroom and fry for a little while.
Add in pasta sauce and cream.
Season with salt and coarsely ground pepper.
Put in the drained shell pasta and mix well.
Serve immediately.

Beef Pastrami and Brie Panini

It's Wednesday and it's a school day for me today.
There's only consultation and revision session and so school ended pretty early.
I left school and went to the nearest supermarket, NTUC at Tampines Mall. 

I was in the mood to make my own sandwich and headed to the halal meat and deli section.
As usual I asked for turkey ham and chicken poloni and somehow the kind lady over the counter recommended beef pastrami.  I've never bought pastrami before and thought why not?
So I ended buying turkey ham and some beef pastrami, my current favourite cheese, Brie, along with some other stuff.

Never tried a pastrami and brie combo?   
You've got to trust me.  It was heavenly. 
I swore I actually devoured the sandwich with my eyes closed. 
Let me exaggerate further.  It was really really good.

Ingredients

Country loaf - panini
Pastrami
Sliced red onion
Pickles
Mustard
Mayonnaise
Balsamic olive oil

Method

Slice the panini into half.
Brush some balsamic oil onto the panini.
Place the pastrami on the panini.
Then stack on some sliced brie.
Next, place the panini on a pan and grill until its heated through.
(Alternatively, you can grill them in the oven)
Then stack the slices of onions and pickles.
Slather some mustard and mayonnaise on the other half of the panini.
Flip this half of the panini to the other to form a complete sandwich.
Cut it into half and enjoy!

Corn Pudding

Today, when I woke up, I reminisced the times when mum would whip up easy desserts for us to enjoy.  Now that I am a mother, I always think of something to make for my two daughters to enjoy.

It is Sunday today.  Lazy Sunday to be precise.  I went to the nearest minimart to get some ingredients for Corn Pudding.  I remembered how my mum loved to make this dessert when I was a little kid and I remembered how easy it was to make them.

Remember the last time I made baked corn pudding?  Well, this is the non baked version.  Super easy to make and best served chilled.

Ingredients

1 cup custard powder 
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 can creamed corn
3 cups water
1 cup evaporated milk 
1/2 cup fresh milk
a pinch of salt

Method

Mix all the ingredients in a pot.
Cook it over a stove. 
Stir continuously as you do not want the custard to settle at the bottom of pot.
Stir till mixture thickens, bubbles and turns shiny.
Turn off heat and pour into little containers or one big one.
Allow to cool before putting it into the refrigerator to chill.
Once chilled, you may slice and serve.

Kuih Bakar Pandan

Kuih Bakar Pandan is one of my favourite traditional Malay kuih.
I love this sweet, soft and rich kuih which is laced with pandan flavour.

Traditionally, this cake is baked in a brass mould.
I didn't own any so I baked this kuih in a non stick pan instead.

It still tasted good to me with the slightly browned and crusty top.

Ingredients

2 cups self raising flour
1 cup caster sugar
2 small packs of coconut milk (200 ml a pack)
3 eggs
1 cup of pandan juice (i used about 3 tbsp of pandan paste + water to make a cup)
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp canola oil


Method

Preheat oven to 175C.
Grease a pan with 2 tbsp of canola oil and place the pan in the oven.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, coconut milk, egg and salt.
Take the pan out of the oven and pour mixture in the pan.
Bake in preheated oven for about 90 mins or until a toothpick inserted into centre of kuih comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Applesauce Squares

I was out grocery shopping with my little sister at Mustafa Centre the other day and saw applesauce at the sauces section.  I have seen recipes using applesauce before and I bought a jar just so I can experiment with it.

Feeling the itch to bake today, I googled for a recipe using applesauce and found this but tweaked some of the ingredients.  Here is my version of my Applesauce Squares.


Ingredients
2 cups self raising flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
a pinch of salt
1 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 tbsp milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup applesauce

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.
A - In a large bowl, mix flour and cinnamon powder.
B - Combine sugar, oil, milk, egg and applesauce.
Incorporate B into A and using a metal fork, fold in the flour and mix well.
Pour mixture into a greased cake tin and bake for about an hour or until a pick/skewer inserted comes out clean.
Cool on a wire tray. 
Cut into squares and serve.

Baked Corn Pudding

So what is a gathering without desserts.
I made this Baked Corn Pudding for the gathering at mum's.
Since I have creamed corn in my kitchen, I decided to make this.

Well, just a word of caution!
You have to ensure that the pudding is cooled completely before cutting.
I cut the pud while it was hot, so pudding was soft.
Of course, I panicked, wondering what went wrong with the baked pudding.
Only realised later that pudding sets as it cools.

Ingredients

1 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup evaporated milk

1 can creamed corn

Method

Preheat oven to 175C. 

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk until all ingredients are well combined.

Pour mixture into a prepared tin.
Bake in preheated oven for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted into centre of cake comes out clean.

Allow the baked corn pudding to cool completely before cutting.

7-Layer Dip

I love gatherings and preparing food for guests.
Besides the Cheese Platter which I pepared for appetiser for the mini family gathering, I also made a 7-Layer Dip.

As promised yesterday, I will share with you a step-by-step process of how to make a 7-Layer Dip.

Step 1 - Heat 2 cans of refried beans spread it over the bottom of a serving dish.

Step 2 - Immediately sprinkle cheese over the beans.

Step 3 - Then you spread about a cup of guacamole.

Step 4 - Next salsa .. And I don't mean dance.

Step 5 - Next spread over some fattening sour cream .. you can use light sour cream if u like.

Step 6 - Then you layer on chopped onions.
Step 7 - Next layer on chopped tomatoes. 

Garnish with lime and there you have it - 7-Layer Dip.
Enjoy it with nacho/tortilla.

Cheese Platter

I know I have not been updating my blog.
Well that does not mean I have not been productive in the kitchen.
It's just that with work and school and projects, I have not been able to update this blog.
Well to think of it, I have gotten my baking mojo back but have yet to find the mojo to update my blog.

Here's something I'd like to share - Cheese Platter - which I made at mum's for a mini gathering with my siblings.

You can choose any cheese of your choice but for this platter, my little sister had requested for Blue and I chose Brie just because I love soft cheese.

Ingredients

Blue Cheese
Brie
Mixed Nuts
Grapes
Crackers

Method

Plate all the ingredients nicely on a nice plate and enjoy!

And dear readers, do check back tomorrow for I shall share with you a recipe for 7-layer dip :)