Foodarrific

Are you thinking about a Christmas lunch or dinner with a difference sans turkey since you just had turkey during Thanksgiving?

That would be a nice change, wouldn’t it? How’s about an Ole English Christmas Dinner for two delivered right to your doorstep?

If I can send my kids away for the evening, it would be nice . Gourmet Station is offering 50% off their 2-day shipping on English Christmas dinners for two.

Be sure you use the coupon code – HS08 – during check out. Offer expires December 25, 2008.

Filed under: $ave moneyReal Meal DealsSpecial OccasionsWestern by chili queen - No Comments →

I’m still recovering from last weekend’s episode of my kitchen faucet turning into a fountain. To cut a long story short, I swear the plumber and the traffic cop were both out to get me! You can read about it here if you’re interested.

Thankfully working on this week’s questions has helped take my mind off what happened.

#1.  Does your family usually eat meals in the kitchen or somewhere else?
We eat in the kitchen. It’s easier.

#2.  Who usually does the dishes in your house?
Someone else, anyone else but me. I’m allergic to dishes.

#3.  What’s your favorite small appliance or tool in the kitchen?
If you’re talking about an electric appliance, it would have to be my oven toaster. I can dunk anything inside and get it heated up quick and turns it crispy and crunchy too.

If it’s a multipurpose kitchen tool, it would be my chopsticks. It does the job of a fork and spoon, a pair of thongs, a whisk, a kitchen prop and more. Can’t live without it.

#4. This one’s for my son. Share a recipe for chili.
I’ve never made chili before but I do love these chili fries from Carl’s Jr.

Here’s a recipe for Spicy Beef Chili that I saved long ago but never got around to trying. If anyone tries this, please let me know if it’s good .

• 1/4 pound bacon, coarsely chopped
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 28-ounce can Italian-style tomatoes, tomatoes chopped, juices reserved
• 2 15+ounce cans hot chili beans
• 1 1.48-ounce pack chili seasoning mix
• Cheddar cheese, grated
• Onions, chopped
• Sour cream

Sauté bacon in heavy pot over medium-high heat until brown. Drain fat and discard. Add beef and sauté until brown. Add tomatoes with juices, beans and chili seasoning mix. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and stir until thickened. Season salt and pepper. Serve with cheese, onions and sour cream.

Been dying to play Four Foods on Friday? Head on over to valmg’s blog at Fun, Crafts and Recipes for details.

Filed under: MemesTags & Awards by chili queen - 10 Comments →

I used to have lunch at a chicken rice restaurant in Sunway Pyramid years ago. I can’t remember the name of the restaurant, only that they had some seriously delicious char siew (barbecued pork) and siew yoke (roast pork) dishes.

Strangely I haven’t been able to find that restaurant until a couple of weeks back. Well, this time I was determined to find it because I’ve been craving their roast pork noodles for such a long time . So I dragged my kids from floor to floor looking for familiar stores that would lead me to this place.

At this point, it should be noted that I’m not the sort of person who’d go out of my way to track down good food, no matter how highly recommended. But this restaurant has left such yummy memories with me that I just had to find it!!!

And I did. It’s on the ground floor near the skating rink. It’s called Yip’s Kitchen now with an upgraded look and even a guitar-playing waiter singing out front to entertain and tempt shoppers to step inside.

If there was any doubt in my mind about whether this was the right restaurant, the siew yoke noodles confirmed it for me! Its crispy, crackling skin is all too familiar and brought back a rush of lunchtime memories. Yes, it’s still as yummy as I remember it.

My younger daughter had the char siew rice. Still good.

My older daughter had the curry chicken rice, which I presume is a new menu item as I don’t remember them having this back then.

Filed under: AsianMeatReviewsRice & Noodles by chili queen - 2 Comments →

I made a very simple Thanksgiving dinner, with a difference, since I couldn’t find any frozen turkeys selling at my regular grocery stores.

I bought 9 slices of frozen Australian lamb chops and decided to grill them. I marinated them with salt, pepper, half a cup of ginger juice and 1+ cup of barbecue sauce for about an hour. That’s it.

My oven has 3 built-in functions – microwave, grill and bake. I chucked the whole pan in and grilled the chops, sliced parboiled potatoes and sliced onion rings for an hour.

Meantime, I prepared the tropical salsa. I diced one onion, one tomato and a few sprigs of parsley. I opened a can of cubed pineapples and added that to my bowl with a few tablespoons of the syrup. A quick squeeze of lemon and I’m done .

This simple grilled lamb chop is a nice change from the black pepper lamb chops which I sometimes buy pre-marinated from the store. This is non-spicy that even younger kids can eat.

Filed under: MeatRecipesVegetables by chili queen - No Comments →

Happy Thanksgiving, hope you guys are having tons of food-filled fun. Nope, I didn’t find that turkey but I made something else (I’ll post about it later) and I’m thankful it turned out good and the kids and I had a great dinner and some great laughs.

Well, here’s my take on another set of brilliant questions from valmg this week.

#1. What’s your favorite carbonated beverage?
Coke, the full-blown version, not diet, not sugar-free or whatever-free. I don’t drink it every day but I have to have a fix once in a while.

#2. What’s your favorite spicy food?
I love anything spicy. It’s kinda hard to pinpoint just one or two things because I like them all . Curry, tom yam, spicy salsa…

#3. How do you handle hot dishes? Oven mitt, pot holder, towel?
I use an oven mitt when using my oven, and a towel when I’m cooking over the stove.

#4. Ice cream. How do you like yours?
I usually have my ice cream plain without the toppings and stuff. I don’t eat it out of the tub, I always spoon it into a bowl. My latest craze is Friday’s cookies and cream. If I have to jostle my kids out of the way, I will… for this !

Want to play Four Foods on Friday? Head over to valmg’s blog at Fun, Crafts and Recipes for details.

Filed under: MemesTags & Awards by chili queen - 11 Comments →