Twice Cooked Potatoes

This is a great side dish especially with the Roast Butterflied Chicken.  This is very easy and delicious.

Ingredients:

8 - 10 medium sized potatoes
Parsley - chopped
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Washed the potatoes and leave the skin on.  Put them in a pot and filled with water.  Boiled for 10 minutes and drain.  Let cool and cut them into wedges.  Put them in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Mixed them and make sure they are well coated with oil and seasoning.  Place them in a single layer in a baking sheet.  Bake them in the oven for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn the potatoes and put it back in the oven and bake for another 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with some chopped parsley.  Mixed it with a spatula and spoon into a serving dish.  You can sprinkle a little more of the chopped parsley to make it look prettier if you want.  Time to eat.. soft inside and crunchy on the outside.

Roast Butterflied Chicken

Want a quick and easy meal for dinner?  Making butterflied chicken is really easy.  Just butterflied the chicken and throw it in the oven and let it roast away while you do other housework.  Before we start roasting the chicken, we need to butterfly the chicken.  Here is how you can butterfly the chicken.  It is super easy. 

Butterflying the chicken:

Turn the chicken breast side down. Hold the chicken tail with one hand and using a sharp pair of kitchen shears on the other hand and cut along both sides of the backbone. 

 

Turn the chicken 180 degrees (top of chicken facing you).  Use a paring knife to make a cut through the piece of white cartilage, or gristle, covering the breastbone.  It's located in the cavity of the chicken on the end facing you.

 

Grasp each side of the chicken and bend the carcass backwards at the line of the cut.  Bend until you hear a crack.  This exposes the breastbone.

 

Run a finger along each side of the breastbone all the way to the end of it to separate the bone from the meat.  The breastbone runs down the center of the chicken.  Once separated, remove the entire breastbone.

 

Push flat to butterfly the chicken and remove any excess fat and clean the chicken.  Use a paper towel to pat dry the chicken.

 

Now, let's cook the butterflied chicken.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (3 - 4 lbs)
2 stalk of celery (cut into 1 inch)
2 carrots (cut into 1 inch)
1 small onion (cut into quarters)
2 Tsp dried Rosemary
Olive Oil
Salt and Cracked Pepper

Place the cut celery, carrots and onion in the roasting pan.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper, mixed it well to make sure they are well coated. 

Season both side of the chicken with salt, pepper and rosemary.  Be a little generous with the salt and pepper.  Drizzle both side of the chicken with olive oil.  Place the chicken in the roasting pan, skin side up on top of the vegetables.

Roast the chicken in the oven and let it roast for 45 minutes.  Every oven is different.  Please make sure you check and see to make sure the chicken is not burnt or you might need more time to roast the chicken.  Once it is done, use a meat thermometer to see if the meat register at 180 degrees.  You do not want a raw chicken.  Put the thermometer in the breast which takes the longest to cook.

Remove from oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before you cut the chicken.  Enjoy the yummy and crispy butterflied chicken. 

Roasted Red Peppers and Italian Sausage Frittata

One of the best thing to eat for breakfast is Frittata.  Frittata is an egg-based dish similar to an omelette or crustless quiche, enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses and vegetables.  You can put anything in the Frittata and it still taste fantastic.  Since I have Italian sausage, eggs, roasted red peppers and eggs in the fridge, why not make a Frittata out of it.  It is so delicious and hope you will enjoy this fantastic breakfast Frittata.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
8 oz Italian sausage, casings removed (You can also use Johnsonville ground Italian sausage)
1 onion, diced
6 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 large roasted red pepper, diced
1/4 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp pepper
1/2 to 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the oil in an over proof pan over medium heat.  Add the sausage and cook until it has just browned, breaking it apart as you go.  Add diced onions, and sauté until tender about 5 minutes.  Dish out the sausage and onions into a dish and set aside.

Mix the eggs, parmesan, roasted red peppers, sausage, onions, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Once it is well mixed, pour the egg mixture into the pan and cook until the eggs are almost set, about 10 - 15 minutes.

Transfer the pan into the oven and let the eggs finish cooking, about 10 minutes.  Take it out of the oven when the eggs is done, sprinkle mozzarella cheese on the eggs and broil until the cheese melted, about 2-4 minutes.

Time to enjoy!!!! 

Lasagna Rolls

Making traditional lasagna can be very time consuming but making these lasagna rolls are super easy.  A traditional lasagna is made by interleaving layers of pasta with layers of sauce, meat and cheese.  I prefer making lasagna rolls because it is easier to serve compare to the traditional layered lasagna.  You can serve the lasagna rolls without cutting and just serve one, two or three rolls with a breeze.  Hope you will start making lasagna rolls instead of the traditional lasagna.

Ingredients:

Béchamel Sauce:

2 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 Tsp all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups whole milk (you can also use low fat milk)
1/4 Tsp salt
1/8 Tsp ground black pepper
Pinch of nutmeg

Lasagna:
1 (15 oz) whole milk ricotta cheese
1 (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)
8 oz Italian sausage (you can use mild or spicy)
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan
1 large egg beaten
3/4 Tsp salt, plus more for salting water
1/2 Tsp ground black pepper
1 to 2 Tbsp olive oil
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 jar of Traditional pasta sauce (You can use any marinara sauce.  I used Ragu)
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Butter a 13 x 9 x 2 inch glass baking dish and set aside.

Brown the Italian sausage in a pan and breaking it apart as you go.  Once it is browned, let it cool.

To make the béchamel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it is foamy.  Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes.  Whisk in the milk and increase the heat to medium-high.  Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes.  Whisk in the salt, pepper and nutmeg into the béchamel sauce.

Pour the béchamel sauce over the bottom of the buttered baking dish. 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Mixed the ricotta cheese, spinach, Italian sausage, 1 cup Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.  Make sure it is well mixed.

Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water.  Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to the bite, or they call it al dente.  Drain and arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on  a work surface, then spread a large spoonful of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle.  Starting at one end, roll each noodle to the other end.  Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down on the béchamel sauce.  Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture.  Spoon the jar of sauce or marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls.  Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer.  Let stand for 10 minutes and serve. 

S'mores Cupcakes

All kids love s'mores and what better way to have it than in a cupcake.  My boys have been begging me to make s'mores all summer.  I found a few different recipes online and I tweaked the recipe to make my own version of s'mores cupcakes.  My boys told me that these are the BEST cupcakes ever.  :-)

 

Ingredients for the Graham Cracker and Milk Chocolate Cupcakes:

1/2 cup all purpose flout
1-1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers (about 20 graham crackers)
2 Tsp baking powder
1 Tsp salt
1/2 cup  (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
1 cup milk chocolate (rough chopped)

Ingredients for toppings:

Marshmallows (You can use either the big ones or the mini ones)
Hershey's chocolate bar (break into small pieces)
Graham crackers (cut into 4 triangles from each graham cracker)

Instructions:

Crushed the graham crackers using a food processor until very fine.  Set aside.  Instead of roughly chopped the milk chocolate, I used the food processor.  Just pulsed a few times and set aside.

Preheat the over to 350 degrees F.

Mix the flour, crushed graham crackers, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add vanilla.  Alternately add flour mixture and milk and beat until batter is almost smooth.  Fold in the milk chocolate.

Spoon batter into cupcake liners, filling cups about 2/3 full.  Bake for 18-20  minutes or until tester inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and cool.

Once the cupcakes are cool, turn your oven to broil. 

I used the big marshmallows and cut them into half.  Placed three halves of the marshmallows on top of each cupcake.  Put them in the oven for 30 seconds until the marshmallows turned brown.  (Watch it or else it will burn).  Remove from oven and let it cool.  Once it is cool, decorate each cupcake with a piece of graham cracker and Hershey's chocolate.  Enjoy!

Malaysian Wat Tan Hor (Flat Rice Noodles with Egg Gravy)

This is one of my favorite dishes that I really missed in Malaysia.  We used to go to the hawker stall in Kuala Lumpur for midnight supper.  Wat Tan Hor means flat rice noodles with smooth egg gravy.  This dish usually used pork, shrimp, squid and fish cake.  I am using chicken, shrimp and fish ball in this recipe.  You can omit the seafood if you don't like.  I know some folks do not like seafood.  It is absolutely fine to omit the seafood, and it still taste as good.  My family prefers chicken, and I switched the pork out with chicken.  I hope you like this delicious dish from my homeland, Malaysia.

Ingredients:

For the noodles:
600g flat rice noodles (you can find it in any Asian grocery stores)
4 cloves of garlic chopped
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
1Tbsp dark soy sauce
Dash of pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

For the meat and vegetables:
Sliced pork or chicken (marinate with soy sauce, corn flour and sesame oil)
Sliced fish cake/fish ball
Shrimp (marinate with salt and pepper)
Choy sum (mustard green)

For the sauce:
3 cups of chicken broth and 1/2 cup of water
1 Tsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing wine)
1-2 Tbsp soy sauce or to taste
1/2 Tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

For thickening the sauce:
3 Tbsp of corn flour combined with 3 Tbsp of water (1:1 ratio)
2 large eggs beaten

Instructions:

Soak the rice noodles in hot water and separate them into single layer.

Heat up some oil in a wok and fry the shrimp and fish cake/ball until cooked.  Remove and set aside.

Heat up 3 -4 Tbsp oil in the wok and fry half the chopped garlic, then add rice noodles, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and a dash of pepper.  Fry on high heat for about 1-2 minutes.  Transfer to a large serving dish.  Place the shrimp and fish cake/ball on top of the noodles.

Heat up some oil in the wok and fry the other half of the chopped garlic, then add the sliced pork or chicken and fry until cooked.  Add the sauce ingredients and bring to boil.  Add vegetables and simmer until cooked.  Remove vegetables and slice pork or chicken and place them over the noodles. 

Add corn flour mixture to the simmering broth in the wok, stir until it comes to a boil.  Add beaten eggs and stir quickly until eggs start to cook and the gravy turns opaque and creamy.  Please make sure you don't overcook the eggs.  Quickly ladle the gray over the noodles.  Serve immediately.