Slow Cooker Asian Chicken

 This recipe is from my sister.  It was AWESOME! It seems like it's not enough sauce, but trust me, it's plenty of sauce!  Serve with white rice and steamed broccoli. 

Ingredients:

• 1 3-4lb whole chicken
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup firmly packed lite brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sherry or apple juice
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 green onions, halved + trimmed
• 1 clove garlic, pressed

What you do:

Wash/dry chicken, remove giblets, neck, + excess fat. Put chicken in slow cooker breast side up.

In bowl combine: everything I said above. Pour over chicken, cover and cook on high for 3.5-4.5 hrs.

Remove chicken.

Remove and discard onions. Add 2 tbsp cornstarch abd 1 tbsp water to sauce. Stir over heat. Toast 2 tbsp of sesame seeds and serve on top of chicken and white rice with a side of broccoli.

Recipe Source: My sister

Burger Patty Melts & Special Sauce

Ok, these burgers are awesome.  They are basically a combo of a grilled cheese sandwich and a hamburger.  The sauce is simply divine! Served this with my Cajun French Fries and baked corn on the cob.  Now, if you are doubling the amount of beef, then I wouldn't necessarily double all the other ingredients.  I got 700 g of beef last time and doubled the ingredients and it was a bit oniony, so I may just stick to the original amounts next time. 

Burger Ingredients:

• 1 pound (~450 g) 85% lean ground beef
• 1 medium yellow onion grated
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• butter
• wholemeal bread (or gluten-free bread)
• slices of cheese

 What you do:

In a medium bowl, combine the meat, grated onion, egg, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Form into 6 thin patties.

Heat a bit of olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the patties for about 3 minutes per side, or until browned. Remove from the pan and place on paper towels to drain. Set aside. Drain the grease from the skillet.

Spread the butter on one side of each slice of bread. Place butter side down in the skillet. Top each with a slice of cheese and a burger patty. Top with the remaining cheese, if desired, and a final slice of bread, butter side up.

Cook for about 2 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Remove from the heat and serve with special sauce (recipe below).

Recipe Source: Serious Eats

Burger Sauce

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• small squirt of mustard 
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet pickle relish
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

*Mix all sauce ingredients together. set aside. 

Recipe Source: Unknown

Nutella Cuppy Cakes (only 3 ingredients!)

Ummm, what?!? Only THREE ingredients for these yummy bites of goodness! So easy and quick! Top with whipped cream and you have yourself the perfect little dessert!  I also made some for my hubby with gluten-free flour and he said they were good too. They are best straight out of the oven, but you can also pop them in the microwave the next day for like 10 seconds and they are still quite good. 

Nutella Cuppy Cakes
Yields 12 mini muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Nutella spread
• 1 large egg
• 5 tablespoons all purpose flour

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees (180 C). Line a 12-cup mini muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
2. Put the Nutella and egg in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth and well blended. Add the flour and whisk until blended.
3. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins (about 3/4 full).
4. Bake until a pick comes out with wet, gooey crumbs, 11 to 12 minutes. Let them cool for at least 5 minutes. Serve immediately or cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Recipe Source:  Yadira's Crafty Adventures

Pumpkin Apple Spice Muffins

 These are some great muffins!  I made them for the mothers in my toddler's play group and they were well-liked by all.  The only place you can get canned pumpkin in Australia is to order it from USA Foods, a store in Melbourne that stocks American food. 

Pumpkin Apple Spice Muffins
Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice**
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice**
• 3 tablespoons sugar

What you do:
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.

Combine pumpkin, butter, and eggs in another bowl and add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.

Fold in chopped apple and spoon into greased muffin pans, filling two-thirds full.

Combine 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; sprinkle evenly over muffins. Bake at 350 degrees (180 C) for 20 minutes. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks.

**Mel's tip: if you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, use the following combination: 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon cloves. Mix together and woila! – you have the equivalent of 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (and it is much cheaper than buying it premade).

Recipe Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe 

Baked Cajun Fries

These baked fries are pretty awesome.  Crispy, tasty, yum!!  They make an excellent side dish for things like sloppy joes and sticky chicken legs.  This particular night I served them with ribs, which I didn't really care for so I won't be including that recipe on this blog.

Baked Cajun Fries
Makes enough for 2-3 people to have as a side dish for dinner 

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons Paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• a few shakes of cayenne 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil
• 4 regular potatoes

What you do: 

1. Preheat oven to 230 C (450 F)
2. Slice potatoes into thirds and then slice each portion into 3 or 4 wedges.  
3. Mix the spices and olive oil together in a bowl, add the potatoes and coat thoroughly.
4. Spread out into a single layer onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  They will get crispier if you have more space between them. 
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until done. You could even put them under the broiler for the last few minutes if you like.  ENJOY!

The Best Lasagna

I have made a few different lasagna recipes (including that of my Italian grandmother) and sorry nan, but this one takes the cake!  Everything holds together so perfectly and the flavour is just right, and most importantly it gets Mark's approval! Check out Food Wishes for a video.  Since Mark is gluten-free and I don't feel like eating his gluten-free pasta, I have to make this recipe in 2 smaller dishes, but I'm sure the amount of ingredients would be the same in one big dish.

Oh and you know what else?  You can use all these same ingredients for baked ziti (or baked penne) if you like.  Just cook the pasta, drain it, mix it with pasta sauce and the cheese mixture from below, spread it out in a large glass baking dish, top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese, cover with foil and bake for an hour (take cover off for the last 15 minutes) and VOILA! You have some excellent baked ziti!

Lasagna 
Yields two 20 x 20 cm baking dishes

Ingredients:

• Lasagna sheets (it's best if you soak them in warm water first, but you can skip this if you are in a hurry)
• A large jar of your favourite pasta sauce (or if you have the time, make your own!)

Cheese mixture:

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 kg (2 lbs) ricotta cheese
• 225 g (8 oz) mozzarella cheese, cubed or shredded
• 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese 
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley

What you do:

Soak the lasagna sheets in warm water for ~30 minutes and mix together the ingredients for the cheese mixture in a bowl.  Then:

1. Spoon some sauce on the bottom of the baking dish
2. Lay out the lasagna sheets in a single layer
3. Spread out some of the cheese mixture over the noodles
4. Drizzle some sauce over top the cheese mixture (don't use too much or it will be too saucy!).  You could even just do a few big globs
5. And then do as many layers as you want in this order: noodles, cheese, sauce, repeat
6. For the final layer you sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan cheeses over top the sauce

Bake covered for 30 min and uncovered for 30 min in 190 C (375 F) oven.

Let it cool for about 10 minutes and then enjoy! 

Recipe Source: Food Wishes

Corn Potato Chowder

This corn chowder is actually really really tasty.  I developed it myself and after a few attempts, I have tweaked it so it's just perfect.  P.S. the pinch of cayenne pepper is absolutely essential, it won't make it spicy!


Corn Potato Chowder
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 stalk celery, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 4 cups water (or chicken stock)
• 3 small red potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch dice
• 3 cups frozen sweet corn kernels
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• freshly ground black pepper

What you do: 
  
In a stockpot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, garlic, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until the onion and celery begin to soften.


Add potatoes then water to pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Partially cover and simmer gently for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are completely soft.  Add corn and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in milk and cream and heat very gently for 1 minute more. Add the pinch of cayenne pepper.


Puree with stick blender to your desired thickness. You can add a tablespoon of corn starch if you like.


Season with pepper and cayenne, ladle into bowls, serve with crusty bread.