Foodarrific

This week has been nothing short of crazy so I’ll excuse myself for forgetting that I still have pork chops stashed away in my freezer . Yes, I would’ve loved a break even if it meant hiding under motorcycle covers where no one can find me. At any rate, my frozen find was timely and made for a perfect dinner treat.

As y’all know, I’m known to grab and throw whatever ingredients I can get my hands on to concoct my own fancy recipe. So the ingredients for this, my very simple yet surprisingly delicious pork chops, are stuff you can probably find in any kitchen:

• 8 slices of pork chops, defrosted
• 4-5 tablespoons barbecue sauce
• black pepper
• tomatoes, whole
• potatoes, chunked
• 2 sticks celery, sliced 2″ lengths
• 1 carrot, sliced 2″ lengths
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

I marinate the pork chops with salt, pepper, black pepper and barbecue sauce for a couple of hours. I would normally roast or grill the pork chops and you can do that, but my oven seems to have given up the ghost so I have to panfry them instead.

With my non-stick pan on medium heat and a good drizzle of olive oil, I sear the first batch of pork chop for several minutes on each side. To ensure the meat cooks through (yes, I’m paranoid about undercooking!), I add a splash of water to the pan and let everything sit for about 5-10 minutes till the water has fully evaporated and the outside of the pork chop starts to blacken a little.

When I’m done cooking the pork chops, I heat some olive oil in the pan and sear the tomatoes for like 5 minutes just to take the raw edge off a little bit. Meantime, I boil the potatoes in another pot. Once soft, I remove from the water and similarly sear them in my non-stick pan to give them a bit of a crust.

I boil another pot of water for blanching the celery and carrots. I mix the hot, blanched veggies with a generous blob of butter. Yum. And it’s time to dig in. A meal so simple yet so healthy with a little bit from each food group. Give it a try!

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

For me, eggs are a handy last-resort food. My regular menu doesn’t feature eggs a whole lot but it’s good to know them good old eggs are just sitting there on the door of my fridge, waiting for the time when I’m fresh out of creative cooking ideas and can’t think what else to cook, and then they just jump out at me.

Steamed eggs with pork is one of those down home egg dishes that requires very little prep and just a regular wok if you don’t have a steamer (no power exam tables or any fancy equipment).

The ingredients I use are:

• 3 medium or large eggs
• a small chunk of ground pork
• 1-2 sprigs of spring (green) onions and cilantro, chopped
• fried shallots for garnishing, optional

First I set up my wok, covered and half-filled with water to boil. While waiting for the water to boil, I break the eggs into a bowl, add a splash of water and beat. Then in goes the ground pork, mix well with the eggs and season with salt and pepper to taste.

I pour the pork and eggs into a stainless steel plate which is what I usually use for steaming. I lay a pair of chopsticks, slightly apart, across the center of my wok and use it as a support for my plate.

If you’re using a steamer, then it’s easy, you simply place the plate on the rack. Cover and allow to steam for 30 minutes or more. When your steamed eggs with pork is ready, remove the plate and garnish with fresh chopped spring onions and cilantro, and fried shallots.

If you’ve never tried steamed eggs with pork, it’s a soothing comfort food that goes well with rice. You can also go ahead and vary it by adding salted egg, or leaving out the pork altogether if you’re vegetarian or plan to feed it to the very young or the elderly.

Filed under: AsianHealthy EatingKid-friendlyMeatQuick & Easy CookingRecipes by chili queen - No Comments →

The week before I started my vegetarian diet, I came across this prepacked frozen roti paratha, or Indian flatbread, at the grocery store. Roti paratha is also known as roti canai and is usually served with curry on a banana leaf at Indian restaurants. But instead of doing that, I decided to turn it into a wrap with spicy beef filling.

I used

• 250 grams of ground Australian beef
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 2 tomatoes, finely diced
• 2 green chillies, finely diced (feel free to vary based on your heat preference, I used birds’ eye chillies but you can use jalapeno or whatever you like)
• 3 tablespoons barbecue sauce
• 1 lettuce, shredded
• 1 pack of frozen roti paratha (about 5 or 6)

To prepare the filling, I simply drizzle some olive oil into my non-stick pan on medium heat. I chuck in the onions and tomatoes followed shortly by the chillies, beef and barbecue sauce and saute for 3-4 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste. When beef is cooked through, I scoop into a bowl and leave aside.

In another saucepan, I heat up a piece of roti paratha first on one side, then flip over to the other side. When heated through, lay the bread flat on a plate and layer on the fresh lettuce followed by the filling.

It’s really this simple and it makes a really fulfilling meal. This recipe is entirely my own concoction. I decided to give the old roti canai in curry a breath of fresh air and this is it. I like that this is so different yet tastes so good *gives self pat on back* , enjoy!

Filed under: AsianBreads & PastriesLunchbox IdeasMeatQuick & Easy CookingRecipesVegetables by chili queen - Comments Off

Earlier this week, the kids were talking about a German restaurant we used to go to a couple of times in the past. It was a nice little place that not many people knew about.

They had a smoking section out back which was actually the five-foot way fenced in and decorated with cast iron outdoor furniture. Well, the place has closed down now so where else can we get those yummy Bratwurst sausages.

Well, I found them at my regular deli at Tesco last weekend. So I made potato salad with bacon bits and we had our Bratwurst lightly fried. Very nice. So nice, in fact, that the kids are calling for an encore.

Filed under: Lunchbox IdeasMeatRecipesWestern by chili queen - No Comments →

It’s been a while since we had homemade pizza. To be honest, we kinda OD’d on it a while back and the kids didn’t want to have anything to do with it .

Recently on one of those quick trips to the baking supply store, I picked up a five-pack of pizza bases. Five regular-sized pizzas would be just right for one meal for us.

What I did was very simple. I opened up a jar of Prego pasta sauce and spread a fairly thick layer on each pizza base. I know many moms use tomato ketchup or puree as a red sauce for pizzas and pastas. The taste is not the same because first off, there are no herbs in ketchup and secondly, puree tastes pretty darned tart unless you spruce it up.

I believe if you want to make a really great pizza or pasta with a decent level of authenticity, you got to either cook your own red sauce or use a really good sauce from a jar. Maybe that’s why my kids are such picky eaters .

Okay, so back to my pizza. I preheat my oven to 350F (180C). I cut my fresh tomatoes and onions into semi-circular rings, and 3-4 cheese sausages into round slices. With the Prego pasta sauce as a base, I layer on the tomatoes, onions and cheese sausages.

Sprinkle a generous amount of grated cheddar cheese on top. Bake for about 20-30 minutes or till cheese is nicely golden. And you’re done! Simple enough!

I remember being pregnant and stuck in one of the business hotels overseas and craving for a pizza. It was way past 9pm and our meeting was still dragging on after hours and by the time we got to the lobby cafe, they had practically run out of food! Can you imagine if I’d had one of these homemade pizzas then!

Filed under: Kid-friendlyLunchbox IdeasMeatOne-dish MealsQuick & Easy CookingRecipesVegetablesWestern by chili queen - No Comments →