Chicken with broccoli

This simple chicken with broccoli stir-fry is a famous dish in Chinese American restaurants, so I thought I'd recreate this dish, sans MSG. I served it with fried rice, and it was wonderful.

Zucchini Gratin

This is an incredibly simple recipe that I saw over the Food Network channel and I just had to try it. The results? Perfectly baked zucchini with a delicious topping.

PS: I forgot to take a picture of what it looks like inside, but I can assure you it tasted great!

Spaghetti and meatballs

This is a simple recipe that is also mess-free because the meatballs are baked, not fried.

Ingredients for meatballs:


1/2 lb ground beef
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp parsley flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Wet palms, then shape the meatballs. Arrange on a baking tray lined with aluminium foil.

3. Bake for 20 minutes. Set aside.

Ingredients for spaghetti:

1 box spaghetti
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 jar marinara sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese, grated

Method:

1. Bring half a pot of water to boil. Add 1/2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and some salt. Let spaghetti cook until al dente.

2. In a skillet, add in remainder extra virgin olive oil. Saute onions and garlic until soft. Add in marinara sauce. Reduce heat to low. Add in meatballs and let simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Serve over spaghetti. Garnish with lots of Parmesan cheese.

Good old Chinese food

Once in a while I will crave for some good old Chinese food, and since I am Cantonese, the meal won't be complete without a bowl of piping hot soup. Last night I made these for dinner.

Stir fried kailan with abalone sauce

Spring rolls wrapped in beancurd skin, which I painstakingly made from scratch

And the star of the night...

A medley of winter melon, corn on the cob and carrot soup

Dinner was heavenly!

Chillis

Everything's made so much easier with sauce mix these days. I made a huge pot of chillis with a packet of Amazing Taste that Gertrude gave me a while ago. And because I like my chillis to be spicier, I tweaked the taste a little by adding some chilli powder and cayenne pepper powder. It turned out amazing!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
2 tbsp chilli powder
2 tbsp cayenne powder
2 tbsp Canola oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. On a large pot, heat up oil. Add in onions and saute until softened. Add in a pinch of salt.

2. Add in ground beef and cook until the meat has turned pink. Add in the canned tomatoes. Drain water out of the kidney beans before adding them into the pot.

3. Add in seasoning.

4. Turn heat to low and let simmer for about 4 hours, or until the sauce thickens.

I served my bowl of chillis with home made garlic bread. This time, I also sprinkled some Italian seasoning and dried parsley flakes on it. The other best accompaniments to a hot bowl of chillis? Freshly grated cheese and sour cream!

Baked penne with zucchini and eggplant

Ingredients:

1 packet of penne pasta
Water to boil pasta
Some salt and olive oil

1/2 lb ground beef
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 medium-sized zucchini
1 large eggplant
1/2 jar marinara sauce
1 medium-sized yellow onion
1 tsp sage
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp dried parsley
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Boil penne pasta until almost al dente. You don't want them to get too cooked because you will bake them later.

2. In a skillet, heat olive oil. Saute onions. Sprinkle some salt to soften the onions. When the onions are almost browned, add in ground beef. Season with sage, Italian seasoning, dried parsley, salt and pepper.

3. When the meat turns pink, add in marinara sauce. Turn the heat down and let simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Turn heat off and set aside. Pre-heat oven to 375 F.

5. Line baking dish with a little bit of olive oil.

6. Line the bottom of the baking dish with sliced zucchini and eggplant. Then put penne on top of the vegetables. Line the next layer with vegetables.

7. Finally, on the top most layer, smother sauce on top. Make sure that the surface is well covered with the sauce.

8. Sprinkle cheeses on top. Cover baking dish with aluminium foil.

9. Put baking dish onto a baking pan. Add an inch of water into the baking pan. This is to ensure that the bottom layer of the pasta is moist.

10. Bake, covered, at 375 F for 45 minutes, and uncovered, at 400 F, for 30 minutes, or until the cheeses brown.

Dumpling soup

Ingredients for the filling:

1/2 lb ground chicken
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
A dash of white pepper powder
1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped
1/2 cup water chestnut, finely chopped
1 egg

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients together and let it marinate for at least 2 hours.

Other ingredients:

Bok choy
Chicken broth
Wanton wrappers
A small bowl of water

Method:

1. Wrap the meat filling with wanton wrappers.

2. Bring chicken broth to a boil.

3. Gently bring dumplings to a boil. Add in vegetables.

4. Dish up and serve hot.