Mac & Cheese – Southern Style

Just putting down a recipe I’d like to try from the NY Times

• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 4 cups shredded extra-sharp Cheddar (about 16 ounces)
• ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
• 2 cups shredded Colby Jack (about 8 ounces)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• (My notes: Can add dry mustard, cayenne, cottage cheese etc. for variation)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook according to package directions until a little under al dente, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a colander and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk milk and eggs. Add cooked macaroni, 2 cups extra-sharp Cheddar, melted butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and stir until well combined.
3. Add half the macaroni mixture to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish in an even layer. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups Colby Jack evenly on top. Spread the remaining macaroni mixture on top in an even layer. Cover with aluminum foil, transfer to the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
4. Remove from oven. Carefully remove and discard the aluminum foil. Top the macaroni mixture with the remaining 2 cups Cheddar and 1/2 cup Colby Jack. Broil on top rack until cheese is browned in spots, 3 to 5 minutes. (The broiled cheese can go from golden to burnt fairly quickly, so keep a close eye on it.)
5. Remove from oven and let cool until the macaroni and cheese is fully set, 10 to 15 minutes. (The mixture may first appear jiggly, but it will firm up as it cools.) Serve warm.

Lala’s creamy lemon butter chicken

This is a great recipe, and the way I do it is like this:

Ingredients

• Large pack of chicken thigh fillets (no bone, from Coles, prob around 1.1kg)
• 2 chicken stock cubes, 1 tablespoon of vege stock
• 400 g water (minimum)
• 6 cloves of garlic (minimum)
• 60 g – 120 g max butter (I use around 60 g)
• 2 – 3 heaped tablespoons of paprika (a mix of smoked & sweet is fine)
• salt, pepper, to taste
• 240ml double thickened cream
• 60 g grated parmesan cheese
• 50 g lemon juice
• 2 tsp thyme
• 120g spinach

Season chicken fillets with salt, pepper, and paprika.

Set oven to 200 deg C.

Chop garlic in the TM bowl 3 sec / speed 7. Scrape sides of the bowl.

Add 20g butter into TM bowl and melt 40 sec / 50oC / speed 4. Scrape sides of the bowl again and set aside.

Melt remaining 40g of butter in fry pan, and brown the chicken fillets. Set aside in oven dish. (I may need up to 3 different sized dishes)

Add hot remaining butter into TM bowl and should hear a sizzling sound as the hot butter makes contact with the chopped garlic and butter melted earlier.

Add water, stock cubes & stock paste, thickened cream, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice and thyme to the TM bowl. Cook 3 mins / 100oC / speed 2.

Add spinach to the TM bowl and gently mix through the sauce with your spatula. Cook sauce 15 mins / 80oC /  / speed 2 / MC off. (I sometimes only cook for 5 minutes if I’m using pasta in the dish as I need to water for the pasta)

Pour the sauce over the chicken and into the oven proof tray, filling up to three quarters of the way.

Place in oven till chicken is cooked through (can be any time from 30min onwards. If adding pasta, need to increase time and water)

 

Chicken stew – cajun spiced

Made this chicken stew last night, it was yum! Smelt like KFC as it was cooking!

Recipe

• 1.2 kg chicken drumsticks
• Butter
• 2 small onions
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 1 large stalk of celery
• 2 small carrots
• Stock – 2 cubes of chicken stock, and a small teaspoon of vege stock (adjust vege stock to taste)
• 2 bay leaves
• Herbs (Adjust to taste but start with these)
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 – 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Pinch of thyme
• Squirt of mustard & white vinegar if needed to brighten taste

Method

1. Brown chicken drumsticks in butter, adding some salt in the process. Remove from pot.
2. Brown onion, garlic and then the vegetables
3. Return chicken drumsticks to the same pot as vegetables, sprinkle 2 heaped tablespoons (Chinese soup spoon) of plain flour, and fry it all up
4. Add boiling water until just covering the ingredients, and add the 2 cubes of chicken stock, bay leaves, and herbs
5. Stew on stovetop until tender. Add potatoes in the last 20 min if using.
6. Taste, and add vegetable stock, mustard, white vinegar, pepper if needed.

Fried chicken – Chinese style

Putting together some recipes for fried chicken, chinese style

Woks of life

Spice ‘n’ Pans

Bear Naked Food (Ikea style chicken wings)

 

 

Strawberry cake roll

Omg this is soooo cute!

Strawberry cake roll

Fish Tacos

I’ve fallen in love with fish tacos. They are refreshing, light and yet substantial. Looking for a recipe to recreate this yummy dish, and putting some down here as research.

The basic recipe would include:

• Fried fish
• Pico de gallo
• A cream sauce (avocado crema, chipotle crema)
  • Chipotle crema recipe – https://www.mexicanplease.com/baja-fish-tacos/
  • Tartar sauce and pickled cabbage – https://www.onthegobites.com/baja-fish-taco-recipe-with-tilapia/
  • Fish taco sauce – https://mywifecancook.com/fish-taco-sauce-recipe/
  • Another simple fish taco sauce using sriracha – https://natashaskitchen.com/fish-tacos-recipe/comment-page-1/
• Cabbage (Pickled cabbage ‘curtido’)

 

 

Baked salmon & Asparagus

Recipe

• Preheat oven to 200 deg C
• On a baking tray, place 2 pieces of salmon (Skin side down) on foil
• Season with salt, pepper, a mixture of thyme/dill/basil
• Add a light spread of dijon mustard
• With a brush, sprinkle/spread garlic butter mixture on
• Place 2 slices of lemon atop each salmon fillet
• Add a small sprinkle of lemon juice over the top
• Place asparagus around the fish, and dab garlic butter mixture over
• Cover with foil (fold the sides to create a parcel) and bake for 20 min

Lactation cookies

I’ve just made some lactation cookies using this recipe

Ingredients

• 125g butter (softened)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste/extract
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup linseed/flaxseed meal (or LSA is fine too)
• 1-2 Tablespoons Brewers Yeast (optional)
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius
2. Beat/cream softened butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla together
3. Add all remaining dry ingredients excluding the chocolate chips and mix well
4. Stir in chocolate chips, the mixture will be a little sticky
5. Wet your hands, and roll tablespoonfuls into balls, place on a lined tray
6. Use a wet fork to gently flatten each ball
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes (this gives a soft chewy cookie) you can also bake for a little longer 12-15 mins if you prefer a crunchy cookie
8. Cool for a few minutes on the tray then transfer to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container. Eat them often, keep them next to where you breastfeed so you always have a snack on hand

Variation

• In my version, I used flaxseed meal,
• and in place of 1 cup of chocolate chips, I used a mix of dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and 1 box of sultanas.
• I also added a small amount of milk as I was worried it would be too dry, but next time I may try sticking to the recipe and leaving out the milk. If using the milk, there’s no need to flatten the balls prior to baking as the cookies spread out in the oven.

Blueberry muffins

Made blueberry muffins today – super easy and is something that S and I can do together as it can all be mixed by hand.

I’ve used this recipe and it’s turned out so good! Had heaps of fresh blueberries to use up, and they’ve held up so well – didnt bruise and bleed through the batter.

RECIPE

• 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for muffin tops
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) neutral-flavored oil; canola, vegetable and grape seed are great
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup (80 ml – 120 ml) milk; dairy and non-dairy both work
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 to 8 ounces fresh or frozen blueberries; see note below about frozen berries (about 1 cup)

PREPARE OVEN AND MUFFIN CUPS

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. For big-topped muffins, line 8 standard-size muffin cups with paper liners. For standard-size muffins line 10 muffin cups. Fill the remaining cups with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to help the muffins bake evenly.

MAKE BATTER

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Add oil to a measuring jug that holds at least 1 cup. Add the egg then fill the jug to the 1-cup line with milk (1/3 to 1/2 cup milk). Add vanilla and whisk to combine.

Add milk mixture to the bowl with dry ingredients then use a fork to combine. Do not over mix. (The muffin batter will be quite thick — see note below for more details). Fold in the blueberries.

BAKE MUFFINS

Divide the batter between muffin cups. (If making big-topped muffins, the batter will come to the tops of the paper liners). Sprinkle a little sugar on top of each muffin.

Bake muffins 15 to 20 minutes or until tops are no longer wet and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out with crumbs, not wet batter. Transfer to a cooling rack.

To store, place them in a plastic bag, seal, and store at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. To freeze, wrap them tightly in aluminum foil or place them in freezer bags. Freeze for up to 3 months.

 

Banana bread

This is the recipe I use for my banana bread. It’s funny how I got it off a random recipe that was posted on a forum.

Ingredients

• 4oz butter (110g)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 eggs
• 3 medium bananas, well mashed
• dash of maple syrup
• 1 1/2 cups SR flour
• dash of ground cinnamon and nutmeg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp bicarb soda

Method

1. Cream butter and sugar
2. Add vanilla and one egg at a time, beating well.
3. Add bananas and maple syrup
4. Add sifted flour, cinnamon and nutmeg
5. Dissolve soda in milk
6. Add milk and bicarb soda
7. Bake in lined tin at 180 degrees until sides of cake come away from pan (about 45 to 60 minutes)