Seafood Bisque Spaghetti

I have been storing my prawn shells and heads in the freezer each time I cook prawns when I deshell them. So I have accumulated about 2 ziplock bags full of them. So decided to take one bag out today to cook seafood bisque spaghetti for the first time as I also had cooking cream, canned tomato paste and fresh herbs lying in my fridge since christmas party. It turned out unexpectedly tasty! I was amazed at how easy it was!

Ingredients:
-canned tomato paste
-onions minced
-prawn heads/shells
-mussels
-fresh herbs- thyme/mint to give freshness
-garlic minced
-cream
-white wine (optional) - I used white wine vinegar to cut through the heaviness of the bisque
-spaghetti - cooked it in salted boiling water
-butter
-olive oil
-salt/black pepper to taste
- bay leaf
-prawns

Steps:
1) Fry prawn shells/heads and mussel shells with butter/olive oil in pan till you can drop dead smelling the lovely fragrance.
(Note: Remember, you have to be generous with your shells for a tasty broth)
2) Throw in the onions and garlic. Keep mixing until translucent and fragrant.
3) Add water, tomato paste, bay leaf and herbs. Let it boil then simmer.

4) Once its tasty enough and after simmering for quite long, put through the sieve into another pot.

My 7 year old stirring the bisque after sieving

5) Taste it. Add butter to bind all together.
6) Add cream
7) Add salt/ black pepper to taste
8) Finally throw in the prawns and mussels (deshelled) to cook
9) Serve over spaghetti (I added peas for veggies. Yes, I am that mum who has to have veggies in a meal no matter what)
10) Topped with parmesan cheese and Italian Parsley.

Enjoy!

Easy and tasty Chicken Macaroni Soup

Was inspired by cooking this from my church food volunteers who prepares breakfast for all the helpers for that week. When I tasted it, I just knew I had to cook it because its so comforting, especially during a cold and rainy day.

Hope you will enjoy this dish as much as I do..

Ingredients
- all 3 types of carrot (orange, white and green- 1 each.) Picture below just in case you are not sure what I am talking about. The normal orange carrot probably needs no introduction.

- 1 whole chicken
- 1 big onion - diced
- spring onions (optional, garnish)
- fried shallots (optional, garnish)
- 2 slices of ginger
- few pieces of garlic
- macaroni

Steps
1) Diced up all the carrots into small squares
2) Add water to the pot. Have a pot big enough to have the whole chicken in. Add enough water to cover the chicken.
3) Throw in everything- onions, all the carrots, ginger and garlic and boil
4) Once the water is boiling hot, put the whole chicken in
5) Let it cook and boil
6) After about 20-30 mins, check the chicken to see if cook. Once its ok, I would bring it out and when cool down, I would shred the chicken meat and debone it and throw the bones back into the soup to continue boiling.
7) Boil until the veggies are soft enough and you add salt, soya sauce to taste. Most of the time, I don't add as its tasty and sweet on its own already.
8) Cook the macaroni separately in another pot
9) To serve, just add the cooked macaroni, topped with chicken meat and pour the soup with veggies over.
10) Can garnish with spring onions, fried shallots and slices of chilli padi if you like

Simple, nutritious and good for the soul!

Easy-bake Lasagna

Making Lasagna is quite simple. The main ingredient is getting the tomato, beef mixture right. Its a bit like cooking pasta and adding the sauce over, but just one more step to it - adding the cheese.

Ingredients (for 4-5 people)
- minced beef ( I bought 2 packets frozen from supermarket). You can substitute with minced chicken/pork if you don't eat beef.
- 2 cans of whole/chopped tomatoes
- 2 cans (6 oz) of tomato paste
- finely diced big onion (1-2 depending on your preference)
- minced garlic
- mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese (About 2-3 packets of cheese in total)
- dried basil
- dried parsley
- dried oregano
- carrots (optional)
- bell pepper (optional)
- one box of instant oven-ready lasagna sheets

Tray for 2 people

Tray for more people

Steps
1) Put oil into pot and fry the onions , carrots and bell peppers. The carrots and bell peppers are optional as it depends on your preference. If you want your family to have some greens, but they may not like it, I suggest, finely dicing it..so fine that they wont even notice its there.

2) Once the onions is translucent, you can add the minced garlic and beef. I add the garlic late because I do not want the garlic to burn as it gets black easily.

3) After tossing and frying the beef for a short while, throw in the canned tomatoes and paste all in.

4) Add in the dried herbs...about one teaspoon each. Add salt, sugar and black pepper to taste.

5) Don't try to save on the paste until you add a can full of water.. For spaghetti, you can do that. But for Lasagna, you want to keep the paste as dry as you can. So just use your spoon to scrap as much from the cans and don't add extra water at all as the canned tomatoes have water in them already

6) Let it simmer until the whole thing is thick and does not have so much water/juice.

7) Once the main stuff is taken care of, you go prepare the rest

8) Get ready your tray and spray with oil first at the base.

9) Put the lasagna sheets in the tray. Lay all on the base.

10) Scoop the tomato beef mixture onto the sheets, covering all of it
11) Then put the cheese on top of the tomato beef mixture.

12) Then repeat the process by putting the lasagna sheets on top of the cheese.

13) So the order is basically lasagna sheets---tomato beef mixture---- cheese

14) You create about 4 layers if possible, ending off with the cheese on top

15) Put into the preheated over at about 180C for about 20-30 mins.

16) Check at about 15-20 mins to see if the cheese is brown. If it is, I suggest putting a piece of aluminium foil over the tray just to cover it, preventing the top from becoming burnt.

Enjoy!

Freshly Made Pasta Sauce

I was first inspired to make my own pasta sauce when I had dinner over my friend's place. I have never felt so good after eating before (even after eating so much). Because it was healthy and clean food with no processed meats or preservatives (even though we had homemade pizza and fried and chips for dinner with homemade pasta sauce for the pizza base, fresh fish just caught, homemade chips from potatoes, and the best batter I have ever tasted which was light and crisp!). My friend even used chicken breasts for the pizza instead of the usual sausages,pepperoni or ham.

Since that dinner, I am utterly convinced that eating healthy can be tasty and it makes you feel good! So, I have drastically cut down on any canned food or processed meats since then and also after watching this video!


Making your own pasta sauce is so "easy peasy lemon squeezy" (I learnt this phrase from my children) that you just have to make it. There are no excuses not to. Its not only healthy, fragrant, tastier, much cheaper and its simple to make! (By the way, cost price for this sauce is about $2! )

Here's the ingredients (all roughly chopped)
- 3 large tomatoes
- one large yellow onion
- about 5 garlic cloves
- olive oil
- salt and sugar to taste
- dried herbs (I used basil)
- flour to thicken if you like

Basically, the fun thing about making your own sauce is that you can mix and match. So basically add whatever you like in your pasta sauce and throw all in a blender! I will probably throw in mushrooms next time!

Steps:
1) Throw the chopped up tomatoes, onions, garlic and a bit of olive oil all in a blender and start blending!

2) After blending, put salt and sugar to taste and dried herbs.

Don't worry if it tastes spicy from the onions. Initially, I was also worried as I am sure my children wouldn't like it but I realised that after cooking the sauce, the 'spiciness' from onions just goes away and becomes sweet thus making the sauce so much yummier! So don't be afraid to add the whole onion in!

3) Heat a pot and throw in the sauce to cook it. If you want to use this sauce for spaghetti/baked pasta, I added minced beef first. Fry it up a little before throwing in the sauce. Cook until boiling or when you feel the taste and fragrance is out!

4) You can add flour to thicken the sauce if you like. But I feel its not necessary as if you are doing baked pasta, the oven will make the sauce disappear into the pasta.

Then, you are DONE! Easy yah? I am sure you can do this! To be honest, the sauce reminds me of the escargot herb garlic butter which I SOOO missed! That's probably why I am in love with this sauce.

As you can see the colour is not those dark red ones you find in the cans or bottles sold in supermarkets. That means how much preservatives they must have added to the pasta sauce as if its freshly made, it should be orange in colour. So that really scared me and convinced me that all the more, I should start preparing it fresh!

I used the sauce for baked pasta as me and my children loves melted cheese with the crispy bits at the sides!

 

 

Healthy Mac n Cheese

I have always loved Mac & Cheese since I was a kid when my mum made for me. I especially love the crispy parts of cheese in the corners as I would always scraped them to eat.

Here's my healthy and easy version of Mac and Cheese! I added sausages and mixed veggies in just to ensure they have a 'balanced' diet.

Ingredients
1) 1 packet of Shredded Cheddar or mozzarella Cheese
2) Frozen Mixed Vegetables
3) a can of cream
4) Breadcrumbs
5) Macaroni
6) Full Cream Milk

Steps
1) I boiled the macaroni, sausages and mixed veggies in boiling water. Drain them, Mix together in a baking plate. I opt for boiling as it is the healthier version without any oil.

 

2) Then you open the cream and pour into it to mix it up!

3) Then add a bit of milk into it just to have a little bit of 'sauce' when you eat it. Pour till its half covered in milk

4) Then top with shredded cheese and finally, breadcrumbs. I love adding breadcrumbs to it as it gives a nice crunch when you eat!

5) Then put into the oven for baking in 180 degrees celcius for about 20 mins or until the cheese and breadcrumbs turns golden brown.

Enjoy!

Italian Sausage Pasta with Cream Sauce

This dish was shared to me by my friend, Shawn who worked for a while in an Italian Restaurant owned by an Italian chef. It's easy and delicious! I have tried this with my children and they all loved it!

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

200g Italian Pork Sausage (you can get this from NTUC Finest from the counter)
1/4 yellow onion, diced
50g spinach, chopped
100g grated parmesan cheese
150g fusili/pappardelle/tagliatelle
cream
black pepper

Steps:
1) Boil a pot of salted water
2) Remove skin from the sausage and cut into bite sized portions
3) Heat a medium sized pan and add the sausages first
4) When the sausages are brown, add the onions and give it a stir

5) Then throw in the chopped spinach and toss

6) When the sausages and onions are soft, add a ladle of stock/water and cream. Then lower the fire to simmer.

7) When the pot of salted water is boiling,  add the pasta. 

8) After 5-8 mins, check if the pasta is al dente

9) When the pasta is cooked, drain it from the water and toss into the pan with the sauce.

10) Season with black pepper and cheese and bring the sauce to a boil. 

11) Finally, serve immediately while hot!

Enjoy!!

Freshly Made Pasta

I have always dreamed of making my own pasta as those who have tried it swears by it and never did turn back into buying them off the shelves. I never knew how easy it was to make until trying it myself.

All you need is just two ingredients to make pasta- flour and eggs. How easy is that? The only troublesome part is the kneading and rolling but hey, its worth it when the noodles has so much texture after cooking. In local terms, it is very QQ! (meaning great texture with bounce)

Ingredients (for 3 adults)
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour/ plain flour
- 3 eggs

Basically, my rule of thumb is that the number of eggs will state the number of people you are to cook for. And its about 3/4 to 1 cup of flour per person. Some recipes state 1/2 cup for one person but I found it the dough still too wet and so I increase the amount.

Steps
1) Place the flour on a big working surface or big deep bowl

2) Make a well and place the eggs inside. You can add a few drops of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt if you want too. Its optional.

3) Take a fork and beat the eggs. Then slowly, mix with the flour bit by bit..

4) Then, after mixing it, put on a working surface to knead it until its smooth and soft. If you are not sure if its good, you take a paring knife and slice through, if you still see air bubbles, you continue kneading. It should look like the below picture after cutting through- smooth and no air bubbles.

5) Then you use a cling wrap and wrap it up for about 30 mins

6) After that, divide the dough and roll it out in individual portions. So if you have 4 people eating, you divide the dough into 4 pieces. As you cut out the first piece, you leave the rest of the dough wrapped if not the dough will harden up.

7) Keep your working table and dough well-floured. You flatten the dough with your hands and put it through the pasta maker. If you don't have one, don't fret. You are just one of all traditional Italian housewives who believe in everything by hand. You just need a rolling pin to roll it till its very thin and smooth. It should be very translucent. The picture below is still not good enough.

8) After that, you either use your machine or roll it up and cut by hand to the kind of noodles you want. As you can see, your children will enjoy making this as to them, its like playing with play dough.

9) Keep flouring your noodles so that it wont stick. I made different kinds of noodles to try it out. Finally, put your noodles in a pot of salted boiling water for only about 2-3 mins. Homemade pasta cooks much faster. So test it first before taking it out of the boiling water.

After making my own pasta twice, I concluded that the noodles I like best is still the thinnest one (picture below). From both attempts after making, and trying to make the dough as thin as possible, the top Fettuccini ones turned out still too thick for my liking.

Made beef bolognaise sauce topped with grated parmesan cheese and bacon

Have fun!!

Grilled Shrimps with Pasta Salad

I have been a sucker for salads since about 3 months ago. I discovered the joy of eating them with my own homemade vinaigrette, rather than those bottled ones which can taste strange.

Below is the recipe for my grilled shrimps with pasta salad which I made to go with my steak. Simple and healthy!

Ingredients for 2:
- cherry tomatoes (sliced in halves or wholes. Your preference)
- cucumber (diced)
- fusilli pasta
- canned corn or you can use frozen/fresh corn
- shrimps (or we usually call it prawns here. I used tiger prawns. Bought it frozen and cheap from Foodie Market Place in Tiong Bahru)
- olive oil (3 TB)
- dijon mustard (1/2 TB)
- salt (1 tsp)
- 1/2 lemon/apple cider (1TB)

Steps
1) Cook the fusilli in boiling water with salt and put it aside to cool down. After sieving the water out, quickly wash it with running cold water so as to stop it from overcooking the pasta.

2) Mix the cucumber, cherry tomatoes and corn in a mixing bowl

3) In a small bowl, put olive oil, dijon mustard, salt and either lemon or apple cider to make it acidic and sour. Mix it well and dissolve the mustard

4) Set aside the dressing

5) I grilled my shrimps with my homemade garlic butter with herbs. I will teach you how to do it another time. If you dont have, you can just fry with minced garlic, put in some herbs or just season with salt.

6) Finally, assemble everything. Pour the dressing on top of the salad and mix it evenly. Then top it with the grilled shrimps.

This dish is great on its own for lunch or even as a side!

Enjoy!