Blessed Homemaker

Do you see the 2 dark patches on the breast?  I lined 2 slices of lemon on it and it got charred :P

The leftover chicken breast was shredded and we had chicken porridge the next day ;-)

1 kg chicken
3 - 4 granola potatoes, washed clean and cut into wedges (I pre-cooked them in the microwave for 4 - 5 mins with olive oil and salt)
1 tbsp sea salt
1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
8 - 10 black pitted olives, finely chopped
1 lemon, thinly sliced
3 - 4 bulbs garlic

Method

1. Wash, clean and pat the chicken dry with paper towels all over, including the cavity.
2. Rub sea salt all over the chicken and inside the cavity.
3. In a separate bowl, combine dried mixed herbs and olives.
4. Spread the contents of the bowl onto the chicken including the cavity.  Gently separate the skin and rub the leftover mixture on your fingers onto the chicken breast.
5. Stuff as many cloves of garlic and lemon slices into the cavity of the chicken.  Let the chicken marinate for 10 minutes.
6. Line the roasting pan with aluminium foil (this is for easier clean up later).
7. Arrange the potatoes and balance garlic in a single layer on the prepared pan.
8. Place the chicken (breast side up) on the prepared pan.
9. Bake in preheated oven of 250C for around 40 mins.
10. Remove from oven and pour out drippings collected from the pan.  Turn the chicken over and roast for another 15 - 20 mins.  Remove drippings collected again. 
11. Reduce temperature to 220C.  Turn the chicken over again, breast side up, and roast for another 10 - 15 mins, or till chicken is cooked.
12. Allow to cool for at least 10 mins before serving.

Note

Roast Pork II
Ingredients

1 piece of pork belly (around 1kg)

Seasonings
1.5 - 2 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp five-spice powder
1 cube fermented beancurd
1 tsp rice wine

Method

1. Scald pork belly in boiling water for a few minutes. Drain and cool the pork belly completely.
2. Score the skin using a sharp knife (see 2nd picture).
3. Mix seasoning together and rub the meat with seasoning. 
4. Leave the pork belly in the fridge (uncovered) to season overnight. This will dry up the skin.
5. Pre-heat oven up to 210C.
6. Place pork belly (skin side up) on a rack with a tray lined with aluminium foil to collect the oil drippings.
7. Roast the pork belly for 1 hour and 45 minutes or until you see " bubbles" all over the skin.
8. Cool completely before chopping into bite-size pieces and serve.

Pardon my chopping skills as it was my first time using the chopper :P

Roast Pork (烧肉)
(Recipe adapted from here, here and here)

Ingredients
1 piece of pork belly (around 1kg)
1.5 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp five-spice powder

Method

1. Scald pork belly in boiling water for a few minutes. Drain and cool the pork belly completely.
2. Using a sharp pointed tool such as a chisel (I used a fork), pierce as many holes as possible onto the skin layer.  Then score the skin using a sharp knife (see 2nd picture).
3. Mix five-spice powder and salt together and rub the seasoning into the pork.
4. Leave the pork belly in the fridge (uncovered) to season overnight. This will dry up the skin.
5. Pre-heat oven up to 240C.
6. Place pork belly (skin side up) on a rack with a tray lined with aluminium foil to collect the oil drippings.
7. Roast the pork belly for 40 minutes.
8. Remove the pork belly from the oven and brush the skin with the diluted glazing.
9. Reduce heat to 210C and continue to roast till you see " bubble " all over the skin.
10. Cool completely before chopping into bite-size pieces and serve.

DD3 pooped just when I was about the change the bedsheets.  DS2 was bored and asked "What should I do?".  I made a causaul remark for him to change the bedsheets and when I came out of the bathroom after washing DD3, I saw a busy boy :)
He is such a sweetie pie :)

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Stuffed with loads of garlic, and more garlic and sweet potato wedges on the pan to elevate the chicken.  I've tried using the rotisserie once but never again.  Although it browned the chickren really nicely and the skin was really crispy, my oven was splattered with oil all over and cleaning up was a chore.  So now, I'll elevate the chicken on some hard/root vegetables and garlic so the chicken doesn't get soaked up in the drippings.

This should go well with lemon but I ran out of it.  Made a trip to the local supermarket to buy some but the shelves were empty!  Not a single lemon to be seen!  Doesn't matter, we just make do with the dried herbs, salt and pepper, it still tasted great.

Mixed Herbs Roast Chicken
1kg chicken
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into wedges
Sea salt
Dried mixed herbs
Ground black pepper
Garlic
Butter/olive oil

Method

1. Wash, clean and pat the chicken dry with paper towels all over, including the cavity.
2. Rub sea salt all over the chicken and inside the cavity.
3. Sprinkle dried mixed herbs and ground black pepper over the chicken.
4. Gently separate the skin and rub the leftover mixture on your fingers onto the chicken breast.
5. Marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
6. Thaw chicken to room temperature (around 30 mins), then brush some olive oil/butter all over chicken.
7. Stuff as many cloves of garlic into the cavity of the chicken.
8. Line the roasting pan with aluminium foil (this is for easier clean up later).
9. Toss the sweet potatoes with some salt, freshly grounded black pepper and olive oil/melted butter.  Arrange the sweet potatoes and balance garlic in a single layer on the prepared pan.
10. Place the chicken breast side up, on the prepared pan.
11. Bake in preheated oven of 250C for around 40 mins.  Turn the chicken over and roast for another 15 - 20 mins.
12. Turn the chicken over again, breast side up, and roast for another 10 - 15 mins, or till chicken is cooked.
13. Allow to cool for at least 10 mins before serving.

Note
To check if the chicken is cook thoroughly, pierce a satay stick/skewer between the drumstick and the thigh. It is cooked if the juice runs clear.  If there are still streaks of blood (pink liquid), cook the chicken longer.

Ma-Li from M4M shared this and I've been making this for our breakfast.

1. Cut a slice of cheese into 4 strips. Place one at each side on a piece of bread, covering the edges (this is to prevent the egg from leaking).
2. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the centre of another piece of bread (or you may use a knife to cut a square) and place it to top of the one with cheese.
3. Crack an egg into the hole.
4. You may either toast it in an oven until bread is brown and egg is semi cooked or in a preheated oven of 180C and bake for about 10 - 12 mins (depending on your oven temperature).
   

DD1 is constantly reminding me not to deep fry but to oven bake instead. So, I made these today, oven baked fish coated with cornflakes crumbs. I know many people use bread crumbs but I personally prefer cornflakes crumbs as it's more fragrant.

I don't have an exact recipe as I just pour out a small amount of flour for coating. If insufficient flour for the whole lot of fillets, I just add more flour.

Baked Fish with Cornflakes Crumbs
Ingredients
Boneless white fish fillet, cut into chucks
Plain flour
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
Cornflake crumbs

Method

1. Wash and pat dry fish fillets. Rub fillets with some salt and set aside.
2. Pour flour and curry powder on a small plate and mix well.
3. Pour egg into another small bowl and lightly whisk it with a fork.
4. Put cornflakes crumbs on a small plate.
5. Dip fish fillet into flour making sure they are lightly coated all over. Dip fillet into egg mixture, then in the cornflake crumbs.
6. Lay fish fillets in a lined baking pan and bake in preheated oven of 190C for 15 - 20 mins or until golden brown.

I love garlic and when I saw this recipe, I knew I just have to try it. However, DH is not a fan of garlic and so are the kids. It took me 3 months to convince myself to give it a try. The wedges didn't turn out crisp enough as I suspect the following:

• Instead of cutting into 12 wedges, I cut mine into 8 pieces only so they are relatively "fat".
• I roasted the potato wedges together with the chicken, thus I used a smaller baking pan and the wedges were placed very close to one another.

I baked them at 250C for 30 mins but they are still quite raw looking. It took another 20 mins to get the sides brown.

DS2 took a bite and didn't want a second bite as he doesn't like mushy food. Surprisingly, DH ate a few pieces, probably because I didn't tell him this is made with loads of garlic :P

Verdict: Delicious but too oily for me, will have to reduce the oil slightly.

We had these wedges with roasted chicken (one of DH's favourite), yummy!


Garlicky Potato Wedges
(adapted from here)
Ingredients
6 garlic cloves, minced
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 Russet potatoes, each cut into 12 wedges
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
pinch of black pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 250 degree celsius. Combine the garlic and oil in a large bowl and microwave until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer 5 tablespoons of the oil (leaving the garlic in the bowl) to a rimmed baking sheet, tilting the sheet to coat.
2. Add the potatoes to the bowl with the remaining oil mixture and toss to coat. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and microwave on high power until the potatoes are translucent around the edges, 3 to 6 minutes, shaking the bowl to redistribute the potatoes halfway through cooking.
3. Combine the cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the hot potatoes and toss well to coat. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake, turning once, until deep golden brown and crisp, 40 to 50 minutes.
   

Yesterday, I was at the supermarket and saw this frozen bird in the freezer, it weighs only 1kg. I got really excited and grabbed a pack without hesitation as I've always wanted to roast a whole chicken but never get a chance to do. The chickens here weighs easily 2kg and above, this is definitely too much for my family.

It's another no-brainer dinner as I've ran out of ideas again :P


I cheated, cooked the rice with campbell soup and transfer it to a casserole when rice are cooked. Added a layer of frozen peas and sweet corns, followed by sliced fish (I use mackerel) and drizzle some terriyaki sauce on top.


Topped it with grated cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Feeling super lazy today... the weather's so hot and humid!!

The weather plays an important part in my cooking. I'm in no mood to cook today. Checked that I still have a loaf of bread sitting in my freezer, I decided to have pizza for lunch ;-)


Rolled out the bread, spread some tomato sauce, layer with sliced tomatoes, shredded ham and cheese. DS2 helped me to assemble them :)

This is what I get after sending them into the oven for 25 mins.

This is so yummy!! Absolutely the best crispy chicken wings MINUS the oil :) You can now say goodbye to deep fried wings!


We had these with cold soba and both DD1 and DS2 were given 2 wings each. While the 2 older kids were washing their hands, I found 1 chicken wing missing from DS2's plate. I was worried the dog may have chomped it down but he was sound asleep in his crate. Has the wing "flown" away? The very next moment, I saw my coming 15 months dd munching on it, smiling away. Hahaha!! I gave her that piece for dinner and she finished it all up ;-)

Recipe adapted from here but I've modified it to suit our taste buds.

Ingredients
(A)
10 - 15 mid joint chicken wings
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
some pepper

(B)
1/2 - 3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 - 3/4 cup rice flour
1 tbsp curry powder

Method

1. Wash and drip dry chicken wings for at least 30 mins.
2. Add soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper, season for 1 hour.
3. Overlay the roasting rack with aluminium foil for easy cleaning (you may rub some vinegar on the aluminium foil to prevent the skin from sticking to the foil).
4. Preheat oven at 200C.
5. Mix the flour and curry powder together.
6. Dredge the chicken wings till well coated. Shake off excess flour.
7. Lined the floured wings on the roasting rack.
8. Bake the wings for about 20-30 minutes and turn the wings over and bake another 20-30 minutes or until the wings are cooked.
9. Serve immediately.

I was first introduced to this dish by my mother. Actually, I've not tried her version but she told me my siblings, nieces and nephews all love this dish. She told me the steps to cook this but being forgetful all the time, I can only remember 50% of what she said. And afterwhich, I forgot all about this until I saw a similar recipe in Kitchen Capers. This gave me an idea of what goes into the "wok".

I like my AMC pots alot as I don't have to add much oil for cooking. For my general cooking, I use about 1 teaspoon of oil. Not sure if you can tell from the look of this pic, the MTM is not oily at all :)


For sides, we had steamed broccoli and bacon golden mushroom rolls.

I'm unable to give any specific recipe but here is the list of what goes into the my pot.

Fried Mee Tak Mai
Ingredients
Onion oil (may replace with vegetable oil if you do not have onion oil)
Garlic, chopped
Dried shrimps, chopped
Mee Tai Mak
Bean sprouts
Cooked chicken breast, shredded
Chicken stock
Spring onions, diced (optional)

Seasoning
Dark Soy sauce
Light Soy sauce/Fish Sauce (I use either one)
Sesame oil
some pepper

Method
This is my mom's method but I didn't follow as I cook it using my AMC pot.

1. In a wok, add onion oil to heat.
2. Add garlic and dried shrimps, stir fry till fragrant.
3. Add balance ingredients and seasonings and give it a quick stir to mix.
4. Cook till chicken stock has dried up slightly.
5. Serve.

Bacon Golden Mushroom Rolls
Ingredients
6 streaky bacons
1 packet Golden Mushrooms

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Wrap streaky bacon over golden mushrooms and use a toothpick to secure.
3. Bake for 20 mins or till bacon is cooked.

1. Lay half the sliced tomatoes in 2 rows on aluminium foil.
2. Put salmon fillet on tomatoes.
3. Mixed mayo wth soya sauce and sugar and spread onto salmon.
4. Lay the remaining sliced tomatoes onto salmon.
5. Grill for abt 15mins or till tomatoes are wrinkled. (I baked mine at 190C for 20 - 25 mins)

Whenever I run out of ideas on what to cook for dinner, baked pasta/rice will automatically come into the picture.

Remember last week when I was on a baking marathon and MIL called? Since DD1 & DS2 went over to BIL's place for lunch, I froze the chicken that I've steamed. Ransacked my supplies and yes, I've got all the necessary ingredients for baked pasta.

Similar to lasagna, I don't usually follow a recipe. I just cook whatever ingredients I have in my fridge. For tonight's dinner, I added onion, celery, shredded chicken and of course, loads of cheese. DH's not a fan of onion but in this dish, he can't tell that I've added onion to it. He's not a fussy eater but as far as onions are concern, he will make lots of noise.


I mixed some mozzarella cheese together with the pasta before covering it up with shredded cheddar cheese. The kids love it :)

This recipe is good for my family of 2A + 2C.

Ingredients
(A)
6 -7 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large onion, finely diced
4 leafstalks of celery, sliced
1/2 cup stock
Salt and pepper for seasoning

(B)
160g boiled penne pasta, boiled in salted water till al dente
2 cooked chicken thigh, shredded (approx 400g - 500g)

(C)
125g cheddar cheese
50g mozzarella cheese (optional)
Some parmesan cheese, to sprinkle (optional)

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan.
2. Add garlic and onion, cooked till soft.
3. Stir in celery and chicken stock.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 mins. Set aside for later use.
6. In a casserole, mix in pasta, shredded chicken, cooked vegetables and mozzarella cheese.
7. Spread cheddar cheese to cover the top and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
8. Bake in preheat oven of 170C for 30 - 35 mins or till top is golden brown.