Rachael Ray Blogspot

I was curious today
on why I got a lot of hits
from the Rachael Ray blog.
Now, I know why.
Thanks to the person who
sent this in.
I didnt do it
but
I do appreciate it!

:D

Fried Rice

I made fried rice yesterday.
And I'm starting my Asian "repertoire"
with that.
All my Asian friends reading this
will probably say,
"Sri, you gotta be kidding?"
hehehehehe....
Baby steps, ladies.
Baby steps.

Almost all Asians will know how to make
fried rice.
It wont be the same from person to
person,
but it's still fried rice.
My mom used to make fried rice all
the time.
Every time we have leftover rice,
instead of throwing it away,
she always make the leftovers
into fried rice...
with whatever she has in her pantry.
It doesnt have to be fancy.
Usually, she'll put whatever veggies we have
on hand.
If no veggies,
it's just plain onions, garlic, soy sauce
and egg.
Eaten with fried fish
and sambal (Malay chilli "sauce").
Yum!

Anyway,
here's my version of fried rice,
made with whatever I had
in my pantry.



I really have no recipe for this.
I started with sauteeing
some onions and 2 cloves of garlic.
And then, I added some dried anchovies.
Yes.
Dried anchovies.
It's so delicious
and it added a salty taste to the dish.
That's why I didn't add any additional salt.
Dried anchovies look like this,
and you probably can get in the Asian supermarkets.
I got mine mailed from Singapore.

Anyway,
after the dried anchovies,
I added day old rice
and some soy sauce and a tablespoon of
sambal oelek...which
could be found at Walmart, in the international aisle.
It's super spicy.
So, a bit goes a long way.
Added the frozen veggies,
break an egg into the fried rice...
Added some pepper...
and Voila!
Fried rice is ready.

Where's the Asian food?

You probably wonder why
there's no Asian recipes on this blog.
I mean,
I'm Asian.
Where the hell is the food?

Here's the thing.
I'm still learning to cook Asian food.
Yes.
That's it.
From scratch, by the way.
Whenever I go back to Singapore,
I'll get those ready made packets
for curry etc etc
and I can truly fake it.
Asian food,
unlike Western food,
is harder to make.
In my opinion.
The layering of flavors,
the spices...
it's not as easy.
To get the authentic flavors.

Oh I've made satay here.
Chicken rice too.
But not often enough.
Furthermore,
I'll be the only one eating
at home.
My hubby,
is such a picky eater!
Heck!
He doesnt eat half of those American food
out there,
let alone Asian!
hehehehehe...

Because of this,
whenever I see a Thai, Indian, Indonesian
restaurant,
guess who'll be there?
Me!
Just to stuff myself with my
favorites.
And whenever I visit Singapore,
I'm always stuffing my face,
with the local dishes.

Anyway,
all these Asian food blogs
that I have visited
recently
had inspire me to
cook more Asian flavors.
And I've been collecting recipes.
So,
be on the look out.

Coconut Macaroons

I suck at baking.
It always didn't turn out
the way I envision.
When I bake,
it usually taste good
but ugly to look at.
Oh, I can fake it
but seriously,
I'm still learning.
I just dont have the patience
to make it look "pretty".
So dont expect
fancy frosting work from me.

Anyway,
I got my cookbooks.
Whoo-hoo!
All 4 of them!
One of them is
Martha Stewart's Cookies.
And I highly recommend it to you.
Over 100 recipes
and it's divided into crunchy, chewy, light etc etc.
There are photos for every recipe
and all of them look so delicious and tempting.
I am not a fan of Martha Stewart
and I always thought that
her recipes are as bland and stiff
as her personality.
Well, I was wrong.
I made her coconut macaroons and it
was delicious!

Now,
I had to make some changes.
The instruction said to use a tablespoon
to form loose haystacks.
Well, I dont know what tablespoon
they used,
and how they mount theirs,
but mine fall apart and didnt look nothing like hers!
I had to use an ice cream scooper,
use my hands to shape the cookies
and it worked so much better!
This is my third attempt, guys.
Yes...third attempt to make them look like this.




Yields 1 1/2 dozen.

Recipe:
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut *
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

* You can use sweetened shredded coconut too. Just reduce the sugar to 1 tablespoon.

Preheat oven to 325F. Linea baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine sugar, coconut, egg whites, vanilla and salt. Using your hands, mix well, completely combining ingredients.
Dampen hands with cold water. Use 1 1/2 tablespoons to form mounds; place on prepared
baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart.
Bake until golden brown, 16-17 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool on a wire rack. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.

Burger Wraps

I really am not a burger person.
Well,
at least not a beef burger person.
I just find it too "meaty".
However,
my husband happens to love
all things burgers.
*insert roll eyes* here.
So, once in awhile,
I caved in
and made burgers for him.

This burger recipe from Rachel Ray
is so delicious.
Not only is it moist
(I hate dry burgers),
it's very well seasoned
and has a smoky BBQ taste to it.
I love it.
This is the only burger
that I can have seconds. Or thirds.
I made it so many times.
They are really good.
And since I'm on a healthy kick,
I made it into a
wrap.

Look at 'em patties!!



Recipe by Rachel Ray.

1 1/2lbs ground sirloin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small red onion, half finely chopped, half thinly sliced
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp hot sauce
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp grill seasoning, like McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning
Extra Virgin Olive Oil for drizzling
1/2lb Cheddar Cheese, sliced
Tortilla wraps
*optional toppings : Lettuce, mayo, ketchup

Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill over high heat.
Place the beef in a bowl with the garlic and the finely chopped onions.
In a small bowl, mix the liquid smoke, Worcestershire, hot sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar and grill seasoning.
Pour the mixture over the meat and add a drizzle of the olive oil.
COmbine the ingredients and form 4 1 inch thick patties. *I prefer to make my patties smaller.
Cook for 5 minutes on each side.
Warm up the tortilla wraps and place your toppings and the patties before rolling.

Coleslaw

I have a thing for coleslaw.
I'm super picky.
I dont like it too vinegarish.
Jeff's grandma made it with so much vinegar,
that I couldnt make myself eat it.
Just a preferance.
I also dont like it too mayonaissey.
I like mine a bit on the sweet side.
My fave coleslaw has to be one
from KFC.
Sometimes it can be a bit watery
but most times,
I love it.
I usually made mine with a bit of milk,
mayo, celery seeds, sugar and salt.
However,
when I saw Paula Deen made this coleslaw
on the Food Network a few months back,
I just had to try it.

And I'm so glad I did.
This is one of the best coleslaw
I've ever tasted.
The dried cranberries made it so wonderful.
Not to mention the almonds, green pepper...
dang...
I'm impressed.
From now on,
this will be the only coleslaw I'll made!
Unless of course,
I find a better one!


Recipe by Paula Deen.

5 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cups almonds, toasted
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup chopped green onions, white and green parts
1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper
Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon honey mustard
1 tablespoon honey
Salt and pepper

Combine cabbage, almonds, cranberries, celery, green onions, and green pepper in a large plastic bowl with a snap-on lid. Combine all dressing ingredients, adding salt and pepper to taste, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Pour dressing over slaw just before serving. Stir well.

Honey Mustard Turkey Roll Ups

In the effort to eat healthy,
I made this yesterday.
The key is to have fresh veggies.
Because, if you have a
rotten pepper,
it aint gonna taste good.
Also,
I wanted to use Boston lettuce
but right now,
it's selling for $6 per head
at my grocery store.
That's a bit expensive.



2 tsp Dijon Mustard
2 tsp honey
8 slices turkey breast (about 8oz)
2 large lettuce, spines removed and each leaf torn into 4 pieces.
1/4 large English cucumber, seeded and cut into 3 inch long sticks.
1/4 large red bell pepper, cut into thin strips.
8 large fresh basil leaves

In a small bowl, mix together the mustard and honey until well combined.
Lay a slice of turkey on a plate or cutting board.
Spread 1/2 tsp of the honey mustard on the turkey.
Place a piece of lettuce on top of that, then a couple of sticks of red peppers and cucumber.
Top with a basil leave and roll it up in the turkey.
Repeat.

Banana Bread with Pecans

Who doesnt love banana bread?
I know I do.
I especially love it.
Banana and Pecans.
Fruit and nuts.
Healthy, no?


Recipe by Tyler Florence.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together for a good 3 minutes; you want a light and fluffy banana cream. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla; beat well and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated; no need to overly blend. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Give the pan a good rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Don't get nervous if the banana bread develops a crack down the center of the loaf; that's no mistake, it's typical. Rotate the pan periodically to ensure even browning.

Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes or so, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Piselli alla Toscana

Also known as
Peas in the Style of Tuscany.
Fancy name.
But dont be put off.
This is so simple to make.

I found this recipe by
the famous chef,
Mario Batalli.
And I'm glad I did.
This is absolutely delicious.
I was looking for some sort
of recipe for peas,
as I had some frozen ones in the fridge.
And this one,
just looks so simple.
And not to mention,
I have most of the ingredients in my
pantry.
I didn't garnish it with
mint leaves though,
for I have none.
Try it.
It's a bit spicy.
But me like spicy!


Recipe by Mario Batalli.

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 Spanish onion, cut into a fine dice
1 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon chili flakes
1 tablespoon tomato paste (can use paste in a tube)
2 cups fresh green peas (can substitute frozen)
Salt
Fresh mint leaves


In a large saute pan heat the oil until smoking. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the sugar, chili flakes and tomato paste and cook until rusty looking 4 to 5 minutes. Add the peas and cook until very tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Season with salt. Serve hot or at room temperature garnished with mint leaves.

Pasta with Peas and Carrots

I usually love to eat my pasta
without any meat.
I love to eat it plain
with a sauce
or toss it with veggies.
I'll made an exception for
shrimps.
Pasta and shrimps are my fave combo.

In this dish,
it's just pasta toss with peas and carrots.
And tomato paste.
Jeff hates it when I made this dish,
as he likes his pasta with meat.
Ground beef to be exact.
Anyway,
I like this.
It's simple.
But delicious.


Recipe by Giada Delaurentiis.

1 pound linguine
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, diced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup grated Romano


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 2 cups of the pasta water.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, carrots, salt, and pepper. Cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water. Stir to melt the tomato paste and create a sauce, adding more pasta water if necessary. Stir in the oregano, thyme, and parsley. Gently fold in the cooked pasta, peas, and the cheeses, adding more reserved pasta water if necessary. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately.

Pizza Crostini

I had some leftover baguette
and thought I'll made some crostini,
with whatever I have in my pantry.

I had some leftover pizza sauce and mozarella
in the fridge.
So, I made these.


Ingredients
Olive Oil
French Bread/baguette or any kind of bread
Pizza Sauce
Mozarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven at 375 F.

Cut the bread diagonally.
Brush the olive oil on the bread and pop it in the oven for
10 minutes.
Once that turn brown, take them out.
Spread some pizza sauce on the bread,
and top it with mozarella and parmesan cheese.
Bake it till the mozarella has melted and turned brown slightly.

Voila!

Chicken and Dumplings

Another slow cooker recipe.
I'm experimenting.
:D
I really love my slow cooker.
It's so convenient.

Anyway,
been dying to make chicken and dumplings.
Jeff's grandma made one of the
best chicken and dumplings.
This recipe is pretty good.
I did change it up a bit.



Recipe from allrecipes.com with some tweaking.

INGREDIENTS
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 onion, finely diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
Enough water to cover the chicken
2 (10 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces


DIRECTIONS
Place the chicken, butter, soup, broth and onion in a slow cooker, and fill with enough water to cover.
Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High. About 30 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

I garnish mine with parsley and chilli flakes.

Slow Cooker Chipotle Lime Chicken Thighs

I bought a new slow cooker
the other day
and
had been dying to try it out.
I also made this
for a cooking challenge over
at Moms 4 Moms,
which is to cook a meal under $15.

I couldnt believe the prices of food these days!
Crab meat, which used to be
about $5,
now went up to $7!!!
And my Nutella...
from $2.80 at Walmart
went up to $3.60!
Now,
if only wages go up
as fast too!!



Recipe by Robin Miller.

1 cup sliced onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
4 pounds skinless chicken thighs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce with 1 teaspoon sauce from can
2 cloves garlic, minced

Arrange onion, celery and carrots in bottom of slow cooker. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and arrange over vegetables.
In a medium bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, lime juice, chipotle chiles with sauce, and garlic. Pour mixture over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.

Green Beans with Pineapple Vinaigrette

I love the Food Network.
I watch it diligently.
I have my favorites.
I love the Barefoot Contessa.
Her food just looks so scrumptious
from my TV screen.
Giada makes Italian cooking looks so easy.
And who doesnt love Tyler Florence.
Those are my faves.
I love Emeril too...
but his Bam! Bam! Bam!
distracts me.
Rachael Ray is cute
and I love her 30 minute meals.
But she's too perky for me.
Sometimes.

Once in awhile,
I'll catch Robin Miller.
As a busy mom,
I like her idea of prepping, kit meals
and quick cooking.
So, I was curious about her food
and thus, bought her cookbooks.
Well,
what a disappointment.
I tried some of her recipes
and 4 out of 5 are bland.
And needs some tweaking.
Maybe it's just me as I like my dishes
seasoned well.
But once in awhile,
I came upon good recipes in her books,
and one of them is this
Green Beans with Pineapple Vinaigrette.
This is absolutely delicious,
if you like dijon mustard.
I change it up a bit and added almonds to
the original recipe.
Yummy!


Recipe from Robin Miller: Robin to the Rescue.

Ingredients:
4 cups green beans, ends trimmed
2 medium shallots, minced
one 8oz can pineapple tidbits or pineapple chunks in juice, drained
and juice reserved
1 tbsp oilve oil
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
*1/2 cup almonds

1. Place the green beans in a colander set over simmering water, cover and steam until crisp tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Transfer the beans to a large bowl, add the shallots and pineapple and toss to combine.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the reserved pineapple juice, oil, mustard, almonds, onion powder, salt and pepper.
Pour over the beans, toss to combine and serve.

Sometimes All It Takes...

...
is just a brownie,
whipped cream
and some fudge
to make
a girl
happy.

Cook Books Galore!

I LOVE my cookbooks.
I know I could've gotten the recipes online.
But it just doesnt feel the same.
I can read cookbooks like a novel.
Reading each recipe,
imagining the ingredients and process
and
looking at the pictures.

So, I was so excited to find this
website...
The Good Cook Club.
Seriously,
4 cookbooks for $1 each.
And all I have to do is order 2 books in a year?
That's a cinch, eh?
I quickly ordered the books I wanted.
I picked
Martha Stewart Cookies,
Barefoot Contessa At Home,
Giada's Family Dinner and
The Deen Brothers Y'all Come Eat.

So excited!
Can't wait for my babies to arrive.

Individual Orange and Chocolate Cheesecakes

I made these for a cooking challenge,
(the Masak-masak challenge)
over at Moms4Moms.
The challenge was to use 3 ingredients,
Cream Cheese, Chocolate and a fruit.
Here's my interpretation.
I made individual orange and chocolate cheesecakes.
Very easy to make.
I followed the recipe accordingly.
The only thing I changed was
I made it in a paper liner,
as some of the reviewers mentioned that
the cheesecakes were hard to pop out.
The next time I made these,
I'll use oreo crumbs.
Enjoy!
They are delicious!



Recipe by Giada Delaurentiis.
Recipe only yields 12 mini cheesecakes.


1/3 cup finely crushed chocolate wafers
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
1 orange, zested
1 egg
Butter, for greasing
Special equipment: mini muffin tin

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the crushed chocolate wafers and the melted butter. Place a tightly packed teaspoon of the wafer mixture into each mini-muffin cup and press down firmly.

In a food processor combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, 1/4 cup of the sugar, half of the orange zest, and the egg. Blend until smooth. Lightly grease the sides of the mini muffin tin with butter. Fill the cups with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cheesecake mixture. Place the mini muffin tin in a baking dish and pour enough hot water in the baking dish to come halfway up the sides of the mini muffin tin. Bake for 25 minutes. Transfer the mini muffin tin to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Use a small knife to gently pop the cheesecakes out of the cups.

Just before serving, combine the remaining orange zest with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Top each individual cheesecake with about 1/4 teaspoon of the orange zest mixture and serve.

Island Quesadillas with Lime Sour Cream

I love Mexican food.
Tacos, fajitas, quesadillas...
you name it all.

Quesadillas are so simple to make.
The kids eat it with plain cheese,
and Jeff likes it with chicken.
This time around,
I made it with shrimps, roasted peppers
and pineapple!
Delicious!
To top it off,
I made some lime sour cream
to go with it.
Enjoy!


Recipe by Robin Miller.

Cooking spray
1 1/4 pounds large or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 pineapple rounds, fresh or canned in juice, about 1-inch thick
8 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/3 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
1/4 cup scallions, chopped
1/2 cup light sour cream
2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat a stove-top grill pan or griddle to medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Season shrimp all over with salt, black pepper and cumin. Place shrimp on the hot pan and cook 2 minutes per side, until bright pink and cooked through. Place pineapple on grill next to shrimp and cook 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove shrimp and pineapple from grill and cut both into 1-inch chunks.
Arrange 4 tortillas on a flat surface. Top with, shrimp, pineapple, cheese, red peppers, and scallions. Place second tortilla on top. Transfer with hands or with a spatula, to a baking sheet. Place a second baking sheet on top to weigh down the tortillas. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and tortillas are golden brown.

While the quesadillas are baking, in a small bowl, using a spoon, combine sour cream, lime zest and garlic. Mix well to combine.

Remove quesadillas from oven and cut them into wedges.