Roasted chicken with lemon and herbs

Roasted chicken & asparagus goreng

Cooked the above buat jadi lauk for today's lunch.

Resepi asal roasted chicken tu dapat dari foodnetwork. Very easy to make, rasa pun sedap. Siap bertambah makan lunch hari ni.

Resepi roasted chicken:
Potongan ayam
Baby potatoes, halves
Rosemary, thyme and parsley
1 head garlic, halves
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1/2 lemon

Campur semua bahan then bakar pada suhu 175 degree celcius for about 45 minutes atau sehingga masak (this will depends on the size of the chicken. Mine was perfectly cooked at the end of the cooking time, but if you are using whole chicken instead, then increase the cooking time accordingly).

* love the taste, sedap. However, next time Shas akan tambah garlic banyak sikit, 1 head x cukup sebab me and my husband suka makan roasted garlic.

Resepi kari kambing

Ni antara menu favourite ramadhan tahun ni. Sebelum ni sebenarnya tak pernah pun buat kari kambing, tapi sejak makan kari kambing sewaktu ke Kelantan pada cuti sekolah yang lepas, balik KL terus rasa nak buat kari kambing.

Shas dah buat yang pakai santan dan dah juga buat yang pakai susu cair, and I prefer the one yang pakai santan. Tapi kalau takde santan and nak pakai susu cair pun boleh je sebab rasa dia tak lari jauh mana pun. Dua-dua pun sedap jugak.

Bahan-bahannya:

Bawang merah (2 biji), bawang putih (4 ulas) dan halia (dalam 5 cm) yang dikisar

1 kg lamb shoulders - dibuang lemak dan dipotong kecil

Minyak masak

3 - 4 sudu serbuk kari daging adabi

Daun kari (lebih kurang 3 atau 4 tangkai)

Kentang - 2 hingga 4 biji - dipotong

Santan (lebih kurang separuh kotak) atau susu cair (lebih kurang separuh tin)

Limau kasturi (dalam 3 atau 4 biji)

Air untuk lebihkan kuah

Garam

Perapkan daging kambing yang telah dibersihkan dengan separuh bahan yang telah dikisar tadi.

Panaskan minyak. Masukkan baki bahan yang telah dikisar tadi. Apabila agak layu, masukkan daun kari diikuti dengan serbuk kari.

Kemudian, masukkan daging kambing yang telah diperap, diikuti dengan kentang. Biar atas api agak lama sedikit sebelum dimasukkan air.

Kecilkan api dan tutup periuk/kuali dan biarkan daging empuk dan kentang masak. Masukkan santan atau susu cair (agak-agak la banyak dia based on warna kari tadi) dan masukkan perahan limau kasturi. Perasakan dengan garam. 

Kari ikan merah

Hari tu beli seekor ikan merah kat pasar. Bahagian isi ikan dah buat masak sup. Ni standard la, asal ikan merah je mesti nak masak sup.

So, yang tinggal bahagian kepala dan ekor ikan. Nak buat masak sup jugak macam tak sesuai. So, decided untuk masak kari ikan.

Resepi macam kat bawah ni:

Minyak untuk menumis

2 sudu besar cili boh/kisar

2 sudu besar bawang, bawang putih dan halia yang telah dikisar

1 sudu besar halba campur

Sedikit daun kari

2 - 3 sudu besar serbuk kari ikan, bancuh dengan air suam

1 - 2 sudu besar asam jawa diramas dengan air suam

100 ml santan

Cili hijau atau merah, dipatah 2

Baby tomato, dipotong dua

Bendi dibuang tangkai

Ikan

Garam secukup rasa

Panaskan minyak. Tumis cili boh, diikuti dengan campuran bawang, bawang putih dan halia yang telah dikisar. Tambahkan halba campur dan daun kari. Tumis sehingga warna tumisan agak keperangan.

Masukkan bancuhan serbuk kari dan terus menumis sehingga rempah agak garing / pecah minyak. Kemudian masukkan air asam jawa diikuti dengan santan. Boleh tambah air untuk lebihkan kuah.

Apabila sudah mendidih, masukkan cili, tomato dan bendi, diikuti dengan ikan merah. Sesuaikan rasa dengan menambah garam.

Kari ikan ni masak tengah hari tadi for lunch, pair kan dengan terung dan ikan bilis goreng. Sedap, makan bertambah-tambah. Anak-anak pon suka.

Kek pisang lagi + resepi baked chicken yang best

Buat kek pisang lagi, tapi kali ni guna resepi lain. Saje cuba-cuba resepi banana muffin dari buku little cakes from the whimsical bakehouse. Banyak sangat stok pisang dalam fridge sebab my little girl pantang nampak pisang kat kedai, mesti suruh beli eventhough stok kat rumah masih berbaki.

Separuh adunan ditabur crushed walnuts, yang separuh lagi sprinkled with chocolate chips.

Ok, ni nak share resepi baked chicken yang sangat sedap. Resepi diadaptasi dari resepi everyday crispy chicken with sweet tomatoes from Jamie's Dinners cookbook. Memang kalau pokok sweet basil yang ditanam dalam pasu di balkoni rumah dah tinggi sikit je mesti teringin nak masak ayam ni.

Kat atas ni gambar sebelum dibakar dalam oven.

Resepi ni simple sangat. Ayam yang telah dibersihkan digaul bersama olive oil, garam dan serbuk lada hitam. Pastu campur daun-daun sweet basil dan baby tomatoes (kalau ada banyak variety tomato lagi best). Then masukkan 1 - 2 bulb of garlic, broken up into cloves tapi x perlu buang kulit. Gaul rata then bakar dalam oven pada suhu 175 degree celcius selama 50 minit atau sehingga ayam masak.

* Sambil taip resepi ayam ni sambil terliur teringat rasa ayam and garlic tu..this weekend kena repeat this recipe la nampaknya.

Egg pizza

I made pizzas for dinner a few months back and had an extra, so I flash freeze the pizza (unbaked) and then wrap it with plastic wrap and label.

For breakfast, I took the pizza out of the freezer and unwrapped the plastic wrap. 

I placed it in a preheated oven @ 200 degree Celsius for 10 minutes to bake.  I then took it out of the oven, cracked a few eggs on top, sprinkled some salt and pepper and drizzled some olive oil on the eggs.

I then continue baking it for another 10 minutes.

*note: For large pizza, you will need to par-bake the dough first for a few minutes before spreading the pizza sauce and topping. However, if you are making regular sized pizza (8 - 9 inches in diameter), it is not necessary to par-bake the dough.

Freezer meal - beef lasagne

In my opinion, the easiest way to build up on freezer meals' inventory is to double or triple the amount of meals you make and freeze the extra(s). That is what I did when I made lasagne the other day. I doubled the ingredients and made two lasagnes instead of one, one for dinner and another one to freeze.

Here's how I made my beef lasagne:

Onions, minced

Ground beef

Carrots and button mushrooms, sliced

Pasta sauce (I used the one that I made earlier)

Salt and black pepper to taste

Olive oil

Lasagne sheets

Cream or milk

Tomatoes, sliced

Shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)

For the beef sauce, heat the olive oil and saute the onions. Add in ground beef and cook. Next, add in the sliced carrots and button mushrooms (feel free to add any other vegetables in, e.g. capsicum, celery, baby tomatoes etc). Stir for a bit, and add in the pasta sauce. Let simmer until all the vegetables are tender and season well with salt and pepper.

To assemble:

I lined my baking tin with aluminium foil as I want to freeze the lasagne. If you want to cook it straight, then you can skip this step. Next, spread some beef sauce onto the lined baking tin:

Add in a layer of lasagne sheets, I normally will just wet the lasagne sheets with plain water before layering:

Then, layer with more beef sauce and add in the sliced tomatoes. Then, I pour some milk (or cream, depending on what I have in the kitchen):

And sprinkle with shredded cheese:

Then repeat i.e. lasagne sheets, beef sauce, tomatoes and cheese. I normally do about 3 to 4 layers of lasagne sheets for each lasagne.

To freeze, wrap the aluminium foil to cover the top of the uncooked lasagne:

Add more aluminium foil to cover the uncooked lasagne, if needed:

Freeze the lasagne with the baking tin until solid. Once solid, remove the lasagne in aluminium foil and place it inside a freezer/zip lock bag and label. This way, you can use the baking tin for other things:

To bake, let thaw and place in a preheated oven @ 180 degree Celsius for 30 minutes (covered) and another 15 minutes (uncovered). You can also cook from frozen, just bake it for longer. To test whether the lasagne is cook, just insert a fork in the center of the lasagne to test if the lasagne sheets are soft. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Frozen seafood pizza

I'm currently in the mood to fill the freezer with more freezer meals. Been doing so since mid February this year and been loving the result (i.e. almost ready meals available even on days when I don't feel like cooking). So far, I've successfully frozen mac and cheese, seafood pizza, spring rolls with chicken and mix vegetables, chocolate chips cookie dough, chocolate banana muffin dough and curry puffs.

Will share some of the recipes later, but for now, let me share how I made the pizza and how I freeze them for later.

Pizza dough recipe adapted from here.

250 ml plain water

2 tablespoons honey

300 grams flour

150 grams bread flour

30 grams butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

15 grams sugar

8 grams yeast

Put all the ingredients in the bread maker based on the bread maker instructions. (Mine is in the above order, making sure that the salt is in one corner and the yeast is at the other corner).

Set the bread maker setting to 'dough' and press start.

When the dough cycle has finished, remove the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough accordingly, depending on how many and how big or small you want your pizza to be. 

I divided the dough into 5 since the biggest zip lock bag that I have with me can only accommodate pizza of about 8 inches in diameter.

Roll out the dough into the appropriate size and place it on a lightly floured pizza/baking pan. I used baking pans for the pizza that I want to immediately bake, and cake boards for pizza that I intend to freeze. Let the dough rest for about 10 to 20 minutes to rise.

For the filling, I used:

Pasta sauce

Canned tuna flakes in oil

Crab sticks

Red and green capsicums

Thousand island sauce

Shredded cheese (mozzarella, cheddar or combination of both)

After the dough has rested, spread pasta sauce over the pizza base. Scatter the tuna flakes, crab-sticks, sliced capsicums and shredded cheese. Then, squirt some thousand island sauce on top.

To freeze the pizza, flash freeze the pizza in your freezer for about an hour or two (there's no need to par-bake the dough or pizza first). Once solid, remove the cake board (or baking pan) and wrap the pizza with plastic wrap. Then, insert it into a zip lock bag and freeze (freezer bag works better, but since I don't have any, I just use the zip lock bag that I bought from Ikea. Don't forget to label your freezer pizza with date prepared and the baking instructions.

To bake, preheat the oven to 200 degree Celcius. Bake the pizza (from frozen) for about 10 to 12 minutes (or longer depending on the size of your pizza).

Enjoy freshly bake pizza whenever you feels like it, yumm!!