Chicken Pasta

I've decided that I had enough of outside food, and so it's back to simple home-cooked pasta again. With the use of chicken broth in this recipe, I was worried that it might turned out to be kind of soupy.. which is weird for a pasta dish. However, my worry was pointless. The moment the pasta and the sauce were mixed together, the broth was soaked up nicely and the dish turned out to be quite flavourful.

Chicken Pasta (recipe from here)

Ingredients :

- 1 pound of linguine

- 1 pound of chicken breast (I used chicken fillets)

- olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- red pepper flakes (as much or as little as you like)
- salt
- juice of 2 lemons
- 1/2 cup (or more or less, depends on how much sauce you want) low sodium chicken broth
- handful chopped parsley (I used dried parsley flakes)
- handful grated parmesan cheese
 
Directions :
 
1) Start out by boiling the water for your pasta, as that always takes the longest for me. Cook your pasta according to the instructions on the box.

2) Cut up your chicken, and set aside. In a large skillet heat up enough olive oil to cover bottom of pan. Add in garlic and sautee until tender, this should take a few minutes. Add in salt (about a tsp. or so) and red pepper flakes and cook for a minute.

3) Add in chicken and cook through. Once chicken is pretty much cooked through, add in lemon juice, and quickly bring to a simmer. Next add in chicken broth, and bring to a simmer again, yet let it simmer for 5-10 minutes.

4) Once pasta is cooked, either add the chicken mixture to the pasta, or vice versa, depending on how large your pot is. Sprinkle in parsley and cheese, and mix together.

The Sound of Music

I was so so glad that my mother introduced us to this show, The Sound of Music, many years ago. Has it been 20 years already? Thinking back now, it was kind of strange how my younger sister and I, as kids, had the patience in the first place to sit through this very long (3 - 4 hours?) show. Maybe it was the songs that got to us then. But as I grew older, I realised that it was not only the songs that attracted me so much to this show, it was also the simple yet heartwarming storyline, the message of the importance of family, the relationships among the people.

Tiger Prawns Noodle Soup

Are you a rice or noodle person? I mean, do you have a special preference for one over the other? For me, I'm more of a noodle person. I eat almost any kind of noodles, no matter their shapes and sizes, from Chinese vermicelli to kway teow (flat rice noodles) to spaghetti. I can eat them most of the times without ever missing my rice. Maybe it is because there are so many different noodles, and so, even more ways to cook them that make them so appealing. And when it comes to cooking for one, noodles are so much easier to deal with than rice.

I didn't follow any specific recipe for this noodle soup, but did adapt some steps from here.

Tiger Prawns Noodle Soup
1 serving

Ingredients :

- 1 serving of noodles (I used the one from instant noodles, which is just the right serving for one)
- 5 tiger prawns, shelled and de-veined
- 2 fresh shittake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 small bunch of bok choy
- 1 can (14 oz. , which is about 396g) chicken stock
- 2 small shallots, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 small piece of ginger, sliced and cut into thin strips
- salt, to taste
- cooking oil
- a handful of chopped spring onions, for garnish (optional)
- a handful of fried shallots, for garnish (optional)

Directions :

1) Put a pot of water to boil and add in the instant noodles (without any seasonings). Cook the noodles for less than the normal time required and drain away the water. Put the noodles aside.

2) Heat up the chicken stock in a pot.

3) Meanwhile, heat up the cooking oil in the wok, and add the garlic, ginger and shallot and stir-fry for less than a minute, just to release their aromas.

4) Add the prawns, and stir-fry for less than a minute, then add the button mushrooms and stir-fry with the prawns for less than a minute. Lastly, add in the bok choy and stir-fry all together for less than a minute.

5) Slowly pour in the chicken stock into the wok. Stir to combine the ingredients and stock, and give it a taste at this point to see if salt needs to be added. Once done with the seasoning, pour everything over the noodles, add garnishes and serve immediately.

Auntie Tips (20)

Tip 1 :
If you have chopped more garlic than what your recipe requires, you can still keep the bunch and maintain their freshness. You can even add a little flavour too. Simply soak the pieces in olive oil inside a bottle and then keep in the fridge.

Tip 2 :
Cut out the bottom of a clean milk jug; turn it upside down and fill it with the plastic bags from grocery shopping. Punch holes on the sides of the jug, insert hooks and hang it in your pantry. To dispense the plastic bags, just pull through the mouth of the jug.

Tip 3 :
To prevent the mess kids might leave behind due to ice-cream dripping from the cone, simply stuff a piece of marshmallow at the botton of the cone to prevent this.

Tip 4 :
When you've purchased new bedsheets, use the plastic cover that comes with it to store your shoes or sandals. It will keep them clean and dust-free, plus you can easily organise them at a glance.

Tip 5 :
Lint and dust are more visible on dark wood furniture. Others may mop it up with a wet cloth, but here's another way to remove those specks : Get a long bottle or a rolled-up magazine, put cellophane tape around it sticky side up and roll it along the surface.

From : Women's Weekly - Jan 2008

Spicy Garlic Shrimp and Tomato Spaghetti

It's sometimes quite frustrating when it comes to buying ingredients for two, or even one. The quantities for most ingredients are pre-packed and limited in the supermarket. For example, I'm forced to buy a whole big bunch of packed parsley which most likely will last the 2 of us for the next 2 weeks, instead of just a handful which I only need to keep for a few days.

So, it's not much surprise that I had been cooking for the past 3 days. And even less surprising is that, all 3 were pasta dishes. I guess it can't be helped since the ingredients (cherry tomatoes, fresh parsley, sour cream) I bought were more suited for cooking pasta than anything else, or most likely, simpler for a lazy person like myself. ;p

However, I think I have reached my 'limit'. It's time to take a step back from pasta for a while. Let me look through my bookmarked recipes to see what else I can try next. :)

Spicy Garlic Shrimp and Tomato Spaghetti (recipe from : here)
4 servings

Ingredients :

• 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 pound spaghetti
• 1/2 pound shelled and deveined medium shrimp, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 pint small yellow pear or red grape tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced rosemary
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Directions :

1) In a small skillet, cook the bread crumbs in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the bread crumbs onto a plate.

2) In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until just barely al dente. Drain the spaghetti, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

3) Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, combine the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil with the shrimp, tomatoes, garlic, rosemary and crushed red pepper. Add the spaghetti and the reserved cooking water to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderately high heat, tossing the pasta and lightly crushing the tomatoes, until the sauce is slightly thickened and the shrimp are cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer the spaghetti to bowls, sprinkle the bread crumbs on top and serve.

Creamy Mushroom and Ham Pasta

Apologies first to those who might stumble accidentally upon this post, thinking there is some wonderfully delicious creamy pasta. Well, I may not have the perfect photo, but I have the recipe.

I know. You are probably wondering where is the "creamy" part of this dish. It looks so 'pale' and not that appetizing. You might even wonder whether those are tiny bits of scrambled eggs. I guess they are. Sort of.

After the success of the creamy shrimp pasta the night before, I decided to be more 'adventurous' and try my hand at cream + egg combi. (since I still had about half cup of sour cream leftover from the day before) I often read about how difficult it is to make a cream sauce with eggs in it, coz the amount of heat needs to be right so that the eggs won't scrambled, but remain smooth and creamy, like that of a carbonara sauce. But as you can see, mine didn't turned out like that at all.

I was thinking whether or not it was a good idea to put up this 'failed' attempt. But then, it might be a good reference for me, if, and when, I decide to try it again in the future. Also, it didn't taste as bad as it looks. Lucky for me.

Creamy Mushroom and Ham Pasta (recipe adapted from : The Australian Women's Weekly Pasta Cookbook)

4 servings

Ingredients :

- 250g fusilli pasta

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 1 medium brown onion, chopped finely

- 4 bacon rashers, sliced thinly (I used 2 slices of ham instead)

- 2 tablespoons of pine nuts (Couldn't find this, so I omitted it)

- 250g mushrooms, sliced thinly

- 1/2 cup sour cream

- 1 egg, beaten lightly

- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions :

1) Cook pasta in a large pan of boiling water, uncovered, until just tender; drain.

2) Heat oil in pan; cook onion, bacon and pine nuts, stirring until onion is soft. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring, until mushrooms are soft. Stir in combined sour cream, egg, cheese and parsley; stir over low heat until heated through. Serve over pasta.

Spicy Shrimp and Fettuccine

I had been wanting to try out a cream-based pasta for a long time. As the husband is not really a fan of creamed pasta, I decided to start off with one that has a combination of cream and tomato sauce. And it got a thumbs-up from the husband. :)

Spicy Shrimp and Fettuccine (recipe from : here)
4 servings

Ingredients :

- 8 ounces (1/2 lb) uncooked fettuccine
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 cups chopped plum tomato (about 5) (I used cherry tomatoes)
- 2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried basil (I used fresh curly parsley)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions :

1) Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain.

2) Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add red pepper and garlic to pan; sauté 1 minute. Add shrimp; sauté 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, sour cream, tomato paste, basil and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in pasta; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.

3) Place 1 1/2 cups pasta mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese. Serve immediately.

Auntie Tips (19)

Tip 1 :
Turn used perfume bottles into decorative pieces by putting artificial flowers, or have fun lining them up on a mantle or shelf in your study or living room.

Tip 2 :
What can you do with a pair of chopsticks, beads and votive candle holder? Use them to make an arty photo stand. Apply hot glue on the centre of the votive candle holder. Stick the chopsticks in. After the glue has dried and the chopsticks are upright, fill the votive holder with beads and insert your favourite photo in between the chopsticks, or put the photo in front.

Tip 3 :
Cut out used envelope's corners, which will leave you with little triangles. These can be used as organisers for your documents. Group similar bills or papers and insert the top left side of the pages inside a triangle cut-out. Staple and them label based on date or subject.

Tip 4 :
Remove all the burnt smells in the kitchen with the skin of an orange. Simply place the skin in a shallow saucepan filled with water and simmer. Your kitchen will be filled with a refreshing aroma.

From : Women's Weekly - Nov 2007