Chicken, Leek and Tomato Soup

This was made a few weeks back and I had forgotten about it until I went through the photos in my phone. No, I didn't use a camera for my photos. Nearly all the photos of the dishes that I cooked were taken by my phone's camera, and thus, the non-professional look and poor lighting. But I do try to make them presentable.

Anyway, I was looking for something light for dinner that day and the husband was feeling abit under the weather, so I thought of soup, and some toasted small buns to go along.

Chicken, Leek and Tomato Soup (recipe from : Quick Short Chicken Recipes)
4 servings

Ingredients :

- 60g butter
- 3 leeks, thinly sliced
- 3 chicken breast fillets
- 3 cups (750ml) chicken stock
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 425g can crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 teaspoon soft brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chopped basil leaves
- chopped basil, extra, to garnish

Directions :

1) Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the leek and cook for 2 minutes without browning.

2) Halve the chicken breast fillets lengthways and thinly slice them. Increase the heat, add the chicken to the saucepan and cook for 3 minutes, or until the chicken is browned.

3) Add the stock, garlic, tomato, sugar and basil. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Season and garnish with extra fresh basil. Serve with crusty bread.

Sausage and Pasta

As I've mentioned before, it will be expected to see repeated ingredients from a previous dish as I can't vary the amount to be bought to suit to just the two of us. So, here it is again, the last Polish sausage from dinner previously. I adapted this from a real simple recipe, and the difference is that, the original calls for beer, but mine has chicken stock instead. Coz the husband and I are not beer persons. However, I might still give the beer version a try some time.

Sausage and Pasta (adapted from here)

1 serving

Ingredients :

- sphagetti for one

- 1 Polish sausage, sliced

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

- about 1/3 cup of chicken stock

- pepper to taste

- red pepper flakes (optional)

- dried parsley for garnish

Directions :

1) Heat up some olive oil in a pan. Saute the onion for a few seconds. Then add in the garlic and sausage to saute for about 3-4 minutes.

2) Add pepper and red pepper flakes (if using) to taste.

3) Add the chicken stock, cover, and let the liquid reduce to a little less than half on high heat. You can cook the pasta while the sauce is reducing.

(Note : I didn't add any salt because the chicken stock and the sausage provided enough saltiness for me, however, you can always adjust it according to your taste after you add in the chicken stock)

4) Serve the sausage and onion over the pasta. Make sure you get the sauce over everything. Enjoy!

Sausage and Mushroom Sphagetti

When it comes to cooking, I like to have a bit of time to plan ahead. Time to think of what to cook, time to look through my recipes collection slowly and see which is the one that will catch my attention that day. But once in a while, dinner plans will pop up at the last minute and I just had to come up with something fast. And so, here is my quick and easy sausage and mushroom sphagetti :

Sausage and Mushroom Sphagetti

2 servings

Ingredients :

- sphagetti for two

- 2 Polish sausages, sliced (I bought 3 Polish sausages for $5.50 from Cold Storage)

- 1 pack (~125g) white mushrooms, sliced

- 4 cloves of garlic, minced (coz the husband likes a lot of garlic in his food)

- half a bottle of pasta sauce (from the 397g kind, can adjust according to your preference for the sauciness)

- handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped

- black pepper

- grated Parmesan cheese

Directions :

1) Cook sphagetti according to the package instructions. 

2) Meanwhile, heat up some olive oil in pan and stir-fry the sausages till the oil is released. Dish out the sausages and set aside, leaving the oil in the pan.

3) Add in the mushroom and garlic, and fry till the mushroom is almost cooked. Add in the cooked sausages and fry for a few seconds.

4) Add in the pasta sauce and basil, and stir to combine all the ingredients together, until the sauce has been heated up.

5) Turn off the heat and add in the cooked spaghetti to the sauce, or vice versa. Season with black pepper and your desired amount of Parmesan cheese. Serve.

Auntie Tips (21)

Tip 1 :
Don't throw away clothes with sweat stains just yet. You can get rid of the stains by dissolving three aspirin tablets in a large bowl filled with water, and then soaking the shirt or top in the mixture for one hour. Launder as usual.

Tip 2 :
To clean a thermos, just pour a tablespoon of salt and some ice cubes into the flask. Close and swirl so that the salt and ice cubes lightly scour the bottom and inside of the flask. Rinse thoroughly before use.

Tip 3 :
To remove dirt from your favourite leather bag and make it almost as good as new, just rub the surface with medicated oil.

Tip 4 :
So your fridge becomes sparkling white and smells minty fresh, apply toothpaste on the inside and scrub with a sponge, brush or rag. Wipe with a cloth to dry.

Tip 5 :
It can be irritating to walk and move when your dress is clingingg to you due to static. To solve this, just pin a small safety pin onto the seam of your skirt or dress. The same thing goes for slacks that cling when you wear panty hose.

From : Women's Weekly - Nov 2008

One Pot

This kind of one pot dish is not only simple to cook, but also allows you the flexibility to add whatever you like into it. There is also less washing up to do, and is one complete meal when served with rice. Do refer to the original recipe for more ideas for ingredients if you are cooking for more than 2 persons.

One Pot (recipe adapted from here)
2 servings

Ingredients :

- 1 tube silken tofu
- 1 pack of Shimeji mushroom
- 1 broccoli
- 1 carrot, sliced
- 4 mini fishcakes, cut into 3 pieces each
- 8 grey prawns, shelled and deviened
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can chicken broth (~240ml)
- fried shallots, as garnish

Directions :

1) Marinate prawns with salt and pepper. Set aside for 10 mins.

2) Cut away the bottom part of the mushrooms and separate them. Blanch in hot water for a few minutes til they turned slightly soft. Drain and set aside.

3) Blanch broccoli and carrot in some oil with hot boiling water. Drain and set aside separately.

4) Heat up some oil in a claypot. Saute garlic til fragrant.

5) Add in carrots and stir-fry for a few minutes. Then add in the fishcakes and stir-fry for a few seconds.

6) Add in the chicken broth, and braise at medium heat for about 5 minutes. After that, give the soup a taste to see if salt needs to be added. (I didn't add any seasonings coz the canned chicken broth is already salty enough.)

7) Add in prawns, and simmer till they just turned pink. Add in the mushrooms, broccoli and tofu. Let it simmer for another 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, garnish with fried shallots and serve hot.