Fettuccini with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 pack fettuccini pasta
1 8oz tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 small onion bulb (chopped)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Boil the pasta till it's al dente and drain. Be sure to run some cold water over the hot pasta to stop the cooking process. You don't want it soggy.

Add the oil to a saucepan, then the chopped onions and garlic.

Add the tomato sauce and let it simmer for about 3-5 minutes. It will dry out a little…that's fine.

Now add the cream and let the sauce thicken. Should take about 1-2 minutes. Then add the salt and pepper.

After the sauce has thickened, add the parmesan (save a little for garnishing). Yummm, you're almost there ;)

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and mix well.

Serve your delicious pasta with some cheese sprinkled on top :)

Or without cheese :(

Chocolate Tartlets

Ingredients:

12 tartlets shells

2 cups semi-sweetened dark chocolate chips

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Teaspoon unsalted butter

A pinch of salt

Found these tart shells in the cookie aisle of a grocery store

Directions:
Add the heavy cream to a pot and heat till it starts to simmer (don't let it boil).

Then pour simmering cream into a bowl containing the chocolate chips, butter and salt.

Let it sit for about 2 minutes and then whisk till the chocolate is melted and smooth.

Pour the chocolate ganache into the tart shells and top with any berries of your choice. You can also decorate with white chocolate ganache.

PS: To get the colored chocolate ganache, I added food color to white chocolate ganache. For the colored sugar, just add a drop of food color to granulated sugar ;)

Fried Quinoa with Pan-Seared Salmon

Ingredients:
Salmon steaks
1 cup of quinoa
2 cups of chicken broth
Finely diced green and red peppers
2 sprigs of green onions (finely chopped)
Curry, Salt n Pepper (to taste)

Directions:
Season the fish with some salt, pepper and curry then set aside.

Bring the chicken broth to boil and add the quinoa.

Cook for about 15-20 minutes on medium heat. Turn the heat off after the broth has dried.

Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to a saucepan and sauté the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the cooked quinoa and mix well.

Add about two tablespoons of vegetable oil to a pan, sear the fish for about 5 minutes on low heat then flip and sear the other side for another 5 minutes.

Serve with your choice of veggies. I had some green beans so I just threw them into the pan I seared the fish with and seasoned with some salt and pepper. The fish oil gave it a really nice flavor.

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients:
1 pack of Oreos
1 pack of cream cheese
White and Dark/Milk chocolate
Toppings of your choice (I used ground cashews, coconut flakes and sprinkles)

Directions:
Put the oreos in a ziploc back and crush. You can also use a blender or food processor for this.

Crush them till you get little coarse to fine crumbs (…got kids around? I'm sure they'll be glad to pound the life out of these oreos)

Add the oreo crumbs to a bowl and then add the cream cheese.

Mix till there are no more white streaks. You can use a hand mixer if you have one, otherwise a spatula will do just fine.

Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a tray lined with parchment paper and then refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Melt some chocolate using these directions. (PS: If your chocolate is too thick, add a little shortening (crisco) to lighten it up). Dip the cold balls into the chocolate and set aside on another lined tray. Add your favorite toppings and then refrigerate till the chocolate sets.

You can give these out as gifts (like i did). I found this cute valentine themed mini cupcake liners in a dollar store and a pack of 5 mini foil pans.

Put the truffles in the cupcake liners and arrange them in the foil pan (I got about 40 truffles). You can decorate however you like. I just made bows with ribbons which was really simple and quick.

Rice Kripsy Pops

Ingredients:
5 cups of Rice Krispies cereal
1 bag marshmallows (225 grams)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (about 40 grams)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla flavor (optional)
White Chocolate
Milk/Dark Chocolate
Lollipop sticks
Pink ribbons and Sprinkles for decorations

Directions:
Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over low heat.

Add the marshmallows and keep stirring until fully melted.

Add the rice krispies to the melted marshmallow and stir very well. Pour out into a greased pan (I lined my pan with foil and then sprayed with pam so it would lift out of the pan easily).

Using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many squares as you can.

Set the cut out hearts aside. Remold the kripsy treats and cut out more hearts.

Insert the lollipop sticks to the base of the heart and set in the refrigerator to harden.

After they have hardened, melt the chocolate and decorate the pops however you like. For tutorials on how to melt chocolate, follow this link.

N/B:
1.) Work while the marshmallows are still warm so that you can get as many treats as possible.
2.) You should spray your hands with pam too to avoid the treats sticking to them.
3.) I used pink marshmallows to make the pink treats but if you don't find pink marshmallow, add a few drops of red food coloring to plain marhsmallows to get the pink color.

Ok, so i got lazy cutting the hearts out alone so I decided to cut the rest into squares. lol.

Shrimp Sandwich

Ingredients:
1 lb cooked shrimps
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ketchup
1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely diced celery
Finely chopped dill
Black pepper, Cayenne pepper and salt to taste
1 lemon, juiced

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl (except the shrimps).

Whisk thoroughly until well combined.

Add the shrimps to the mix.

Mix well and then refrigerate for about 30 minutes to an hour.

Serve with bread, chopped cabbage (or lettuce) and tomatoes.

Enjoy your meal ;)