Sunday, 30 August 2015

Nutella & Strawberry Crepes


Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
A pinch of salt
1 Tablespoon melted butter
A dash of vanilla extract (optional)
Sliced strawberries
Nutella
Whipped cream (for garnish - optional)


Directions:
Add the first 7 ingredients to a blender and blend until the batter is smooth. You can whisk by hand but if you want a really smooth batter, then you wanna blend this.


Grease a non-stick pan with either butter, veg. oil, or oil spray and add a ladle full of batter. Spread throughout the pan the entire pan.


Flip after about 1 minute or till it browns underneath.


Transfer to a plate after frying. This batter gave me about 6 crepes.


Add some nutella to a heat proof bowl and microwave for 10-15seconds to soften it. Spread the nutella on the crepes, add some slices of strawberries and then roll.


Drizzle some nutella round d crepes. Add a dollop of whipped cream and then top off with a whole strawberry.


ENJOY!!!

Thursday, 2 July 2015

Million Dollar Pie




Ingredients:
2 large pie crusts or 12 graham cracker mini pie crusts
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 tub (12oz) cool whip
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 can (10z) crushed pineapple (drained)
Maraschino cherries to garnish

Directions:
Combine the milk, pecans, coconut , juice, vanilla and pineapple in a bowl and whisk.


Fold the whipped cream into mixture. Keep folding till well combined.


Fill the pie crusts and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving (overnight preferably).


Can also be served in mini pie crusts 'cos big things come in lil' packages ;)



Saturday, 2 May 2015

Strawberry Lemonade


Ingredients
1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 part granulated sugar
3 parts water
Frozen strawberries


Directions:
Mix the first 3 ingredients in a pitcher, blend the strawberries coarsely (maybe one or two pulses) and add to the pitcher. Serve cold/with ice cubes .

Feel free to adjust the sweetness to your taste…ENJOY!!!

Tuesday, 10 March 2015

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 :(

Saturday, 7 March 2015

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 ;)

Saturday, 24 January 2015

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.

Thursday, 22 January 2015

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.