Foodarrific

As a mom of three picky eaters, I often end up cooking two different types of pastas for one meal. One of my kids doesn’t like fish and shrimp but thankfully, he’s coming around a little this year; the other two are okay with it.

So today, I made garlic butter panfried salmon slices and broccoli to go with two types of pasta – a spicy spiral pasta and a mushroom macaroni, and everyone was happy. Salmon panfried this way is very tasty and the kids love it.

See, many times, I have to take into account each child’s taste and their overall well-being, like when I think one of my teens needs some sort of homemade acne treatment, I try to make the food less spicy and oily.

Filed under: Healthy EatingKid-friendlyPastaSeafoodVegetables by chili queen - No Comments →

Friday’s has this Southwest Adobo Chicken on their new menu. What’s got us excited are the sweet potato fries it comes with! How cool is that!

But here it is – a healthier, naturally sweeter contender to the French fry we know and love so well. As you can see, this portion of sweet potato fries is way small for something that tastes so good.

So I went home and made a huge batch of it myself the next day. This is a recipe that came straight off the top of my head. I used to have a pretty good tempura batter recipe sitting around somewhere but I wasn’t about to go digging for it. So I improvised and came up with this.

• sweet potatoes, cut lengthwise French-fry style
• 3-4 tablespoons cornflour
• 1 tablespoon flour
• iced water
• pinch of salt and pepper, if desired

Combine flours and iced water into a batter. Feel free to add more water to achieve the desired batter consistency. Dredge the sweet potatoes through the batter and drop carefully into a pot of boiling oil on high heat.

Keep the heat on high throughout the process. Fish out the fries when they turn light golden brown. The cooking process will cause the fries to darken a little more after they’re removed from the oil.

It’s so simple, you should try this. Makes a great appetizer or finger food for guests. If you’re too lazy to make this yourself, go try it at Friday’s where baby strollers are welcome and kids get to eat for free if you order a main meal. No, I’m not getting paid to advertise for them.

Filed under: FusionHealthy EatingKid-friendlyRecipesReviewsSnacks & DessertsVegetablesVegetarian by chili queen - No Comments →

Vegetarian day is frequently a headache for me. The kids are not huge fans of veggie stir-fries which is standard fare for me on vegetarian days. These days, it’s been raining elephants and llamas, so going out to grab a veggie pizza or burger is out of the question.

If we stay home, I have to get creative and this recipe is one I concocted recently. Ta-da! Loaded potato slices.

These are very easy to make. Of course, it’s not as easy as swiping a bag of frozen french fries through a Honeywell Barcode Scanner, but these taste so good that my picky eaters called for an encore and I ended up making a second batch.

Here’s what you need:

• 4 large potatoes, skinned and sliced 1″ thick lengthwise
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 stalk cilantro, finely chopped
• 2-3 teaspoons lime juice
• pinch of salt
• grated mozzarella cheese

Yes, there’s quite a bit of cutting involved. Combine the tomato, onion, cilantro, lime juice and salt in a bowl. Leave aside for a while, then drain off excess juices. You don’t want that.

First I microwave the potato slices on high for about 2 minutes. Transfer them to a tray and space them out nicely. Spoon the tomato mixture onto each slice and top with grated mozzarella cheese.

Then I just pop the tray into my toaster oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese and potato edges brown slightly, and they’re ready to serve.

These loaded potato slices make a very yummy, very healthy meal as there’s no oil added and all the ingredients are fresh. With its vibrant colors, it’s also very presentable and you can serve it as an hor d’oeuvre. Try it, I’m sure you’re going to love it as much as we do .

Filed under: Appetizers & Hor d'oeuvresHealthy EatingKid-friendlyQuick & Easy CookingRecipesSnacks & DessertsVegetarianWestern by chili queen - 1 Comment →

There are days when our school lunches almost resemble a small emergency evacuation and I’m not kidding. We have to be in and out of the house in a half hour or something crazy like that.

This then is my latest quickie lunch of sliced baguette dipped in herbed olive oil served with a bowl of mushroom and potato soup. Mm, simply delish. The idea came from a pizza dinner we had at Italiannies (our second visit in like ten years!) where they served us focaccia with herbed olive oil dip as a starter.

My kids loved it so much I had to replicate it at home. I used baguette instead of focaccia but I reckon any kind of bread would do. I infused some Italian herbs into a plate of olive oil. And I cheated with an instant soup mix .

Filed under: Breads & PastriesHealthy EatingKid-friendlySoupsWestern by chili queen - No Comments →

You know why I love the baguette? There are countless ways you can eat them and they taste good no matter how you make them. If you’re rushed for time, like I often am, even the simplest baguette toast toppings – with garlic butter spread, kaya (coconut jam) spread, or any kind of canned tuna or salmon spread – will make a great meal.

Or if I happen to have bacon sitting around in the fridge, then bacon and cheese baguette it is! I like to make these when the kids have their friends over because let’s face it, nobody can say no to crispy, sizzling bacon!

If I have time for something a little fancier, I will make pizza baguette, another hot favorite with the kids and their friends.

Or if I have leftover chicken curry or Thai green curry, I will simply heat it up and turn it into a quick curry dip for my baguette. Warms the stomach instantly !

Whenever I’m just plain tired or lazy to figure out what to cook, the baguette is my savior. It’s not like I have to cram my day into some stuffy classroom furniture to learn these recipes, I just make them up as I go along and surprise myself and my kids with the wierdest, tastiest baguette ideas.

Filed under: Breads & PastriesHealthy EatingKid-friendlyLunchbox IdeasQuick & Easy CookingTips & Ideas by chili queen - 1 Comment →