Category Archives: My recipes

DIY PIZZA AT HOME

4 June 2013 6 comments

So if you know Hunter in real life, you’ll know that he’s both a reluctant and picky eater. (though I try not to vocalise this within earshot of him, because I don’t want it to be a self-fulfilling prophecy)

Up until he turned 2 years old (!), he only ate food that was pureed. He just really disliked texture and having to chew, I guess. And til now, at just over 2 years old… he eats very little and is pretty much a vegetarian (!).

His eating is somewhat like this:

Breakfast – plain unsweetened Greek yogurt, with fresh fruit. Or, quaker oat cereal in fresh milk.

Lunch – pretty much anything (thanks to him being allowed to use the iPad during mealtime). But easiest is Japanese food which is always a sure-win.

Dinner – sliced avocado, steamed plain tofu, one hard-boiled egg, one piece of cheese or a bun (the fancy kind from a fancy bakery, supermarket-brand breads are a no go for him). All served separately.

It’s totally BIZZARE how his dinner is always the same. Every night. And he never gets sick of it!! If I try to mix it up and cook a dish, he’ll flatly refuse it. He eats no sauce, no salt, no sugar… all very pure and ‘healthy’ stuff.

So in an attempt to try and get him INTERESTED in a varied dinner…. Chris had the bright idea of DIY pizza night. Getting Hunter involved in the food-making might make him realise food is FUN and yummy, right?!

Hunter did have fun spreading the tomato sauce onto the base.. and popping on some of the ingredients (though he wouldn’t touch any with his bare hands). I think he was happiest watching Chris do it all though!

Fascinated watching the pizza being put together.. and he did help a bit!

CHECK IT OUT GUYS

The pizza had grilled mushrooms, grilled onions, green and red capsicum, corn, ground beef and cheese. We’d figured it was all pretty palatable for a toddler and pretty health. y

All prepared and ready to be popped into the oven

The result impressed us, if I do say so myself ;) It was really tasty! We had way more veggies than meat, which is a good thing, and a whole ton of ingredients. Certainly not the usual store-bought kind that has a mere scattering of topping. We loved it :)

Piping hot straight out of the oven.

The question is, did Hunter eat the pizza??

Well, he ate two 2cmx2cm pieces that I cut for him.. then refused to eat anymore. And then proceeded to ask for his usual avocado/egg/tofu dinner. *facepalm*

Oh well. It was worth a shot!!

Snack time? Yeah, always a winner!

Super-fail at throwing a ball. LMAO!

Success!

FROZEN YOGURT DROPS

30 September 2012 12 comments

If your kids like ice cream or yogurt, you have to make this. Simply take 1 cup of Greek yogurt and mix in 1 tablespoon of jam (for sweetness and colour). Put the mixture into a zip-lock bag, and snip off a teeny corner. Squeeze onto a tray and freeze.

Voila! Frozen yogurt drops :D

Frozen yogurt drops

An easy “recipe” to make for young kids.. or a fun thing to do together in the kitchen if you have toddlers/older children.

Especially delectable on a hot afternoon :)

HOMECOOKED HONEY GARLIC PORK CHOPS

22 August 2012 11 comments

My friend P posted a link to this Honey Garlic Pork Chops recipe and it looked so ridiculously easy I just had to try it out! All I needed was to buy the pork chops, which Mum found on sale at the grocery store, so I was very pleased I could try out the recipe – also my first time cooking for the family post-birth :)

It is SO STONKING EASY to make. The differences I made were:

Marinated the pork for an hour
Pan fry on my Le Creuset skillet, instead of grilling

I was very impressed with the recipe because it was so straightforward, but made a very tasty dish. Mum suggested that I could use a small mallet to pound the pork chops beforehand, to make it even softer, which is a good point. That said, I didn’t do that and they were still tender. I enjoyed the marinade which became a sort of glaze after cooking – it was a lovely blend of subtle sweet-and-salty flavours.

A healthy dish that’s super-easy to make… or at least easy enough for a Mum-of-two that gave birth 2 weeks ago to cook!

Cooking up the marinated pork chops

Beautifully charred

Honey garlic pork chops!

HOMECOOKED RITZ & CHEESE CRUSTED CHICKEN

22 July 2012 13 comments

I’d heard that Ritz crackers made a particularly yummy crumbed topping when cooking, and could be baked to be a healthier alternative to deep-fried dishes. So, I decided to make my own version of chicken nuggets!

I ended up using small chicken fillets instead because they’re way smaller than chicken breast (don’t want too large a piece of chicken or you’ll have too much chicken and too little yummy crust), yet they’re big enough to work with easily and quickly. I could’ve cut them each in half to make more realistic-sized ‘nuggets’, but it’s just a bit more effort so I didn’t bother.

It’s a very very easy dish to make, and I think it’ll be great fun to make with young children.. because they get to dip and roll their chicken into the mixes. Then afterwards, they can enjoy the dish and you won’t feel guilty because it’s baked not fried!

So here’s what I did….

Whirred 2 packets of Ritz crackers in my Magic Bullet blender

A bowl of fresh milk, a bowl of cheddar + parmesan cheeses, a bowl of blended Ritz crackers with parsley, salt and pepper mixed in.

First I dip the chicken into the milk to coat it, then press it into the cheese, then press it into the Ritz crackers. Yes, it gets messy!

I pop it into a greased baking pan, and press on more cheese and Ritz crackers for good measure :P The more the better!

Cover it all with foil and bake at 220 celcius for 20 mins. Remove foil and bake for another 10 mins til brown.

Piping hot out of the oven

Your place is gonna smell pretty DIVINE by now.. and these babies are heaps yummier than McDonalds chicken nuggets, that’s for sure! Plus, the chicken turns out super-moist and tender. It’s ultra yummy and fab served with a fresh salad and/or some creamy mash potato.

I also did a simple Mushroom sauce to go with it.. but stirring a can of mushroom soup, 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of sour cream in a sauce pan. You can do this in about 2 mins flat, when the chicken has almost finished baking.

Ritz & cheese crusted chicken, served with a creamy mushroom sauce

And there you have it! A fuss-free, super tasty meal that feels like you’re eating naughty food.. but is so much healthier than fast food. I am definitely breaking out this dish when our kids are older and can join in the fun of cooking with me, and they can indulge their ‘junk food’ craving whilst I smirk at how sneaky I’ve been ;)

HOMEBAKED CHEESECAKES

18 July 2012 14 comments

For some inexplicable reason, I had four blocks of Philadelphia cream cheese in the fridge. I have no idea why I purchased them, and why I felt the desire to purchase four?! Anyway, they were just sitting there, so I decided I’d better get my bum into gear and whip something up.

And what do you do when you have cream cheese? Make cheesecake. Naturally!

I don’t often order cheesecake when I’m out, because I’m always swayed by other types of desserts, and also because I’m very particular about my cheesecakes – I specifically like them fluffy, moist, with a thick base. Often, restaurant/cafe cheesecakes are too gelatinous for me, and not creamy or fluffy enough. Plus, it MADDENS me when they come out with loads of cheese and soooo little base (my fave part!).

Cheesecake isn’t that hard to make, and you can do it for waaay cheaper than buying it outside. So, might as well, right? :)

Well, first up is my Oreo-base cheesecake with chocolate swirl.

First I crushed 2 packets of Oreos (minus the cream) in my Magic Bullet blender

I added some melted butter until I could stick it down in a round pan to form the base, then refrigerated it whilst I worked on the cheesecake filling.

HELLO 4 packets of cream cheese

Beat cream cheese, 2/3 cup sugar until well blended. Add 3 eggs, mixing on low speed.

Add 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1 tbsp vanilla. Blend in.

Scoop filling (it will be a thick pudding-like consistency) into the pie base

Melt some good-quality chocolate in 1/3 cup heavy cream

Dollop the chocolate mixture on top of the cheesecake filling using a teaspoon. Drag through it all with a knife to make a pattern (obviously I am not the type to bother making it all ‘pretty’, hence why it looks a bit crappy, heh)

Bake at 180 celcius for around 1 hour, or until the center jiggles slightly when pan is shaken. Leave oven door open a crack to cool for at least 1 hr, then put in fridge to chill overnight.

Oreo-base cheesecake with chocolate swirl. Served with fresh strawberries!

I must note that when I used 4 packs of cream cheese, I decided that there would be too much cheese. And I like lots of biscuit base, remember? So I used only half the mixture.

With the other half of the mixture, I made a Classic cheesecake.