Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Have you ever found yourself strapped for time and need to prepare dinner in a hurry?
I made this Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry a few nights ago and I thought this is perfect for those nights when you need to feed yourself or even your family in a jiffy.
This recipe is great because you have both your meat and vegetable proteins in one dish.
You may of course add red capsicums for added colour and nutrients and thicken the sauce with cornstarch, but I didn't.

Serve it with plain steamed rice.

Ingredients

250gm store bought pre-cut stir fry beef

2 tbsp soy sauce, divided

2 tbsp fish sauce, divided

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce, divided

2 tbsp oyster sauce, divided

4 cups fresh broccoli florets

1 big onion, sliced

2 pips garlic, finely chopped

1 cm ginger, finely sliced

oil 

water

Method

Marinate beef with a tablespoon each of soy , fish, worcestershire and oyster sauce.

Heat some oil in a wok and over medium heat, stir fry beef till it is cooked and no longer pink.

Remove and keep warm.

Heat some oil again and saute the onion, garlic and ginger.

Add in the broccoli and stir fry briefly.

Then add some water and the remaining sauces to the broccoli and cook till broccoli is tender but crisp.

Lastly add the beef to the broccoli, remove from heat and serve with warm steamed rice.

Macaroni Soup

I love soup.  It soothes.  Don't you agree?
It's been raining quite a fair bit these past few days and flash floods were reported in many parts of Singapore.
It was raining heavily last Sunday and what better way to spend a cold Sunday with a bowl of soothing Macaroni Soup.
I bet everyone loves such comforting soup on a cold or even crappy day so why don't you give this simple recipe a go!

Ingredients

170 gm macaroni

2 onions

4 cloves garlic
2 red chilli
1 cube chicken stock
2 tbsp oyster sauce
fishballs
crabsticks, sliced
some olive oil to fry
2 litre water

salt and pepper to taste
chopped cilantro to garnish
fried shallots to garnish

Method

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

Drain and wash under running water.

Pound the onions, garlic and chilli and saute in some olive oil.
Once fragrant, add water.
Then add in the chicken stock as well as oyster sauce and stir well.
Bring it to a boil then add in the fishballs and crabsticks and let it cook for a few minutes.
Season with salt pepper.
Serve soup over macaroni and garnish with chopped cilantro and fried shallots.

Ham and Cheese French Toast

Tired of your typical french toast?
Why not stuff them with ham and cheese?
These two ingredients just belong to each other, you'll never go wrong with them.
It's definitely ideal for breakfast or even a quick weeknight dinner.

This Ham and Cheese French Toast tasted fabulous on its own!
I bet it'll taste great too, if I were to stuff some mustard and pickles for that sour tang.
Oh, how about sweet alternative to savoury stuffings?
Nutella and sliced bananas french toast with powdered sugar dusting for dessert!
Possibilities are endless. Yah, perhaps next time!

Ingredients

4 slices white or wholemeal bread, whichever you prefer
2 pcs honey baked ham
2 slices cheese
2 medium eggs
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper
some butter

Method

Lay out the bread slices.  Fill with cheese and ham and top with the other bread slices.
Whisk eggs and milk in a shallow dish. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add just a little butter.
Dip bread into egg mixture and turn to coat.
Cook in the pan for about 3 minutes each side or until golden brown.
Slice the ham and cheese french toast and serve.

Buttermilk Blueberry with White Chocolate Muffins

I have just received two new cookbooks on Friday and while browsing the books, Blueberry Muffins recipe caught my attention.  I love making muffins just because they are really easy and quick to make. You do not need a mixer to make them. All that's required are just two bowls - one for dry and another for wet ingredients. Mix them both together, and your batter will be ready.

I made some Buttermilk Blueberry with White Chocolate Muffins yesterday and am totally happy with the results.  The recipe that I saw used plain yogurt but I used buttermilk instead and that surely helped to make the muffins moist and tender. The crust was wonderfully crisp and the muffins were just bursting with blueberries. I had also added some white chocolate since I had a couple of bars in my pantry.

Ingredients

2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
a pinch of salt
125 gm blueberries
70 grams white chocolate, chopped (use more if you have)
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.
Lay 12 paper liners in muffin tin.
A - In a large bowl, mix together, flour, salt, sugar, blueberries and chocolates.
B - In another bowl, combine buttermilk, oil and egg.
Incorporate B into A and using a spatula, fold in the flour till just moistened.
Spoon mixture into the muffin tins and then bake for about 25 - 30 mins or until a pick/skewer inserted comes out clean.
Stand muffins for about 5 mins before turning out to cool on a wire tray.

Note: Muffin crust is crisp once it is out of the oven and will soften once stored BUT rest assured that they taste just as good!

Sausage and Cheese Muffins

I am sort of on a roll .. another blog post!!
On a roll or otherwise, Tihani, my 9 year old, needs breakfast.
I havent been a great mum, let alone a good mum.
At times or most times rather, Tihani goes to school WITHOUT breakfast.
This year, she specifically says that she wants breakfast before heading to school just so she can get her brain to work.
Alright, this girl needs breakfast to jumpstart her day!

Cereal, bread with cheese, oats, bread with nutella, cereal, bread with cheese ....
HELP!! I am in need of more tasty and easy breakfast ideas!!
I guess I need to break from feeding her the norms and have a change of menu and thought this would make a nice breakfast for my daughters - Sausage and Cheese Muffins - and so I baked some last night.

There you have it .. savoury breakfast for today!

Ingredients

2 cups self raising flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3 sausages, boiled and finely chopped (or more if you like)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (i used canola)
1 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.
Lay paper cases in muffin tins.
A - In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, cheese and chopped sausages.
B - Combine egg, oil and milk.
Incorporate B into A and using a metal fork, fold in the flour till just moistened.
Spoon mixture into the muffin tins and then bake for about 25 - 30 mins or until a pick/skewer inserted comes out clean.
Stand muffins for about 5 mins before turning out to cool on a wire tray.

Banana Nutella Croissant Pudding

Just 8 measly posts for year 2011 :(
I have been procrastinating alot and have not been productive in the kitchen.
Yep, I totally didnt find any mojo to update my blog for 2011 and that's really a shame.

I do hope to find more time to try new recipes and update my blog this year.  Lets see how it goes.
I have already some recipes in mind that I want to try, like David Rocco's Tiramisu and Joy of Baking's Cranberry Upside Down Muffins and had in fact stocked up my pantry and fridge with the required ingredients.

But for now let me share with you this sweet, rich and satisfying dessert to kick off 2012 - Nutella Banana Croissant Pudding.

By the way, World Nutella Day is happening on 5 Feb 2012 and I am also going to share this recipe at nutelladay.com

Croissant cut lengthwise and slather with nutella and topped with chopped bananas.

Croissant soaking up all the custard goodness.

Banana Nutella Croissant Pudding ready to be served.

Ingredients

6 - 8 croissants
nutella, just enough to spread on croissant
2 eggs
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 small bananas, chopped

powdered sugar for dusting

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Slice each croissant in half lengthwise then slather each side with Nutella.
Put the halves back together to make sandwiches and cut into 4 pieces.
Add croissant and bananas pieces to a baking dish.
To make the custard, add eggs, cream, vanilla extract, salt and sugar to a medium bowl and whisk until combined.
Pour the custard over the croissant pieces.
Leave the croissant to absorb the custard for a few minutes.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes then remove the foil and continue to bake uncovered for about 10 minutes until the bread pudding is golden brown.
Ensure that the liquid has been completely absorbed.
Let cool and then sprinkle on powdered sugar to finish.
Best served warm or with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.