White Chocolate n’ Almond Blondies

Christmas is just around the corner and I was planning to make some Christmas goodies from the Christmas recipe books that I bought last week. There are a few Christmas recipes that I wanted to do and I already listed into my “to do” list.

My first Christmas goodies this week was **White Chocolate n’ Almond Blondies**from Taste.com.au – The Very Useful Christmas Book. You can also get the recipe online here.

The aroma of the blondies was strong which make me mouth watering while baking. Hehe… I helped myself with 2 of the biggest slices after it was done! A sinful craves… ashamed after I had it. =( Nevertheless, more fitness class to attend!


Ingredients

75g unsalted butter, chopped
300g white chocolate, roughly chopped
3 eggs
90g castor sugar
2tsp vanilla extract
200g self-raising flour
100g slivered almonds, roughly chopped
100g white chocolate chipsIcing sugar, to dust

What to do

(1) Preheat oven to 175 degree. Lightly grease a 20cmX30cm (base) lamington pan. Line the base and 2 long sides with baking paper.

(2) Melt the butter and chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch water).

(3) Whisk the eggs, castor sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture. Fold in flour. Add the almonds, chocolate chips and stir to combine.

(4) Pour into prepared pan. Using a spatula, spread mixture to the edges. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top has a firm crust.

(5) Cool in the pan, then cut into 15 squares. Serve dusted with icing sugar.

Sausage Puff

After baking Chicken Pie , I still had some left over frozen puff pastry in the freezer which I wanted to finish them quickly to save some place for some other stuff (as my fridge is kinda small here). Hence, I made this mini sausage puff for today’s tea.

This is very simple to do which you just need to leave the frozen pastry to thaw for a couple of minutes until it is soft enough for you to roll up the sausage in it. I covered the top with some egg wash and sprinkled some white/ black sesame to make it look good. :P After that, I baked in the oven for 30 minutes and served while it is still hot!

It is so easy to do yet taste so delicious too! Give it a try, you will like it! Enjoy~

Sweet & Sour Chicken

This is my first attempt on Sweet n’ Sour Chicken and I am very happy with the outcome! I love the sauce as it really boosts my appetite. This is very easy to prepare and taste yummylicious. It is really worth to give it a try! = )

Ingredients

500g chicken thigh, sliced

1 can pineapple

2 red chillies, sliced

1 onion, cut into thin wedges

2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 garlic gloves, chopped

Marinade the chicken

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp oyster sauce

1 tsp light soy sauce

1 egg

3 tbsp tapioca flour

Sauce

1 tbsp chilli sauce

3 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tbsp sugar

50ml water (or canned pineapple juice)

What to do

(1) Clean chicken and remove the excessive fats on the chicken thighs. Cut it into smaller pieces.

(2) Season with marinade ingredients for at least 30 minutes. Deep-fry it in the hot oil until golden in colour. Remove from oil, drain well and set a side.

(3) Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the saucepan, add in the chopped garlic, onion wedges and stir-fry till it's fragrant.

(4) Add in sauce mixture and bring to boil. Add in fried chicken pieces, pineapple, red chillies and tomatoes. Stir-fry briskly until well combined.

(5) Thicken with the sauce with some cornstarch (*optional - just omit this step if the sauce already thick).

(6) Dish up and serve warm with steamed rice.

Garlic and Parsley Bread

Garlic bread is my all time favorite and I just love the aroma of the garlic and the crunchiness of the bread. Hmm… yummy! I used baguette bread for my garlic bread but you can make it with other breads. So, choose your favorite!

Oh yeah, I’ve added some parsley as I thought it will look more colorful and I’ve also added some paprika so that it’ll taste a bit spicy. Well, they were great! Crispy and fragrant!!! = )

Ingredients

1 long baguette breads
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
A bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped
½ tsp paprika
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

What to do

(1) Slice each baguette diagonally at 1.5cm intervals.
(2) Sprinkle the garlic, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper evenly over each baguette.
(3) Drizzle generously with olive oil and place on a baking tray.

(4) Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until hot and crisp. Serve.

Easy Chicken Pie

I baked these chicken pies last Sunday noon for our afternoon tea. Originally I planned to make the pastry on my own but hubby said doesn’t want to be troublesome so he suggested buying the ready made puff pastry.

Well, I was thinking that it was a good idea too as I can use the remaining puff pastry for other recipes. As for the pie’s filling, I used chicken thighs and marinated for 30 minutes.

The filling...

Ready to go…

Done!

The meat was tender and delicious, the pastry was crispy too! You will need to serve the pies while it was hot if not, the pastry will be soft after a while.

Ingredients

400g chicken thigh, diced
100g vege mix1 medium onion, chopped
100g whole champignons, sliced
1 tbsp corn flour mix with 3 tbsp of water (to thicken the gravy)
1 egg, beaten (for glazing)
2 sheets puff pastry, thawed

Marinade the chicken

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

some salt and pepper to taste

What to do

(1) Heat a non-stick pan with olive oil. Sauté diced onion till it's fragrant and soft. Add the vege mix, whole champignons and continue to cook for a minutes. Stir in the chicken and cook till its juices are sealed in medium heat.

(2) Pour in the corn flour mixture and stir till the gravy is thickened.

(3) Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Invert pie moulds on puff pastry and cut around the moulds to form the lids of the pies. Set lids aside.

(4) Invert pie moulds on puff pastry and cut circles from the edges of the moulds.
Ease pastry circles into pie moulds, making sure there are no air bubbles under the pastry. Trim overhanging pastry with a sharp knife.

(5) Divide chicken mixture evenly among pastry bases.

(6) Brush edges of puff pastry with water and cover pies with puff pastry lids. Firmly press edges of pastry together with a fork. Make some holes on top of the pie by using the fork.

(7) Glaze the pies with egg wash and bake pies at 180 degree for 25-30 minutes. Serve hot!

Stir Fry Instant Noodle

I cooked this noodle as supper for hubby on Saturday night. He doesn’t usually have supper but we had an early dinner that evening. He was yearning for supper and I thought it was a good idea to cook him a “healthy” version of instant noodle instead of those MSG products.

So, here’s my simple supper *Stir Fry Instant Noodle*. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 blocks of instant noodles
1tsp garlic minced
1 small onion, sliced
5 pieces of prawns
80g of chicken thigh, diced
a handful of choy sum
a handful of bean sprouts
1 egg


Seasoning

1 tbsp of kikoman soya sauce
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste


What to do

(1) Bring a pot of water to boil. Toss the noodle till soft, yet not totally cooked.

(2) Heat oil in a wok, sauté garlic and follow by onion till fragrant. Add in prawns, chicken and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add in choy sum and bean sprouts follow by egg. Toss briefly.

(3) Add seasoning and water and bring to simmering. Add noodles and stir-fry until noodles are dry.

(4) Dish out and garnish with chili and crispy shallots.

Pineapple Coconut Muffins

… came across Angie’s recipe and THIS recipe caught my attention immediately! Those muffins look so tempting and beautifully baked and I can’t wait any longer so I decided to bake it immediately. The ingredients are simple and I always stock up all these simple ingredients in my pantry. Hence, everything was ready to go, so was I. = )

This is a brilliant idea! The combination of coconut desiccated + brown sugar + pineapple, they were fabulous! I love it so much! Thanks Angie for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I will absolutely bake these muffins again! (*_*)

Ingredients

220g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
100g sugar
125g unsweetened desiccated coconut flakes
1 egg
50g olive oil
120ml milk
1 can (440g) pineapple, diced

Topping of the muffins
½ tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp unsweetened desiccated coconut flakes

What to do

(1) Preheat oven to 180 degree. Sift flour then add baking powder, salt, sugar, and coconut and mix through.

(2) Beat eggs and then add in oil, milk and pineapple and stir well. Add dry mixture to wet ingredients and combine quickly. Do not over-mix.

(3) Divide the batter into muffin cups, about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the top of the muffins with coconut flakes and brown sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes.