Debdoozie's Blue Ribbon Chili

There's nothing better than a good bowl of chili on a cold fall day. A Home-made chili. I'm not taking about that hot red or green chili but this is a spicy stew. A dish that is enjoyed in many homes in America today and in many different ways.  

Chili used in other dishes :

• Chili dog  - a topping over a hot dog
• Chili Burger - burger topped with chili (usually without beans)
• Chili Cheese Fries - added to fries and cheese
• Chili Rice - chili served over white rice
• Chili Mac - addition of macaroni or some other pasta
• Frito pie - Frito corn chips with chili poured over the top.
• Chili stuffed baked potato - stuffed chili with cheddar cheese, butter and chopped onions or green onions

I found this delicious recipe in Allrecipes. As mentioned by Ms Deb, " This is the tastiest, easiest chili recipe you'll ever find.". She's right about that. :)

Ingredients: Serves 8

2 pounds ground beef

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic salt

2 1/2 cups tomato sauce

1 (8 oz.) jar salsa

4 tbsp chili seasoning mix

1 (15 ounce) can chili beans, drained (the recipe called for kidney beans, I don't like kidney beans so I used chili beans)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the ground beef and the onion ans saute for 10 minutes, or until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain grease, if desired.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 1 hour. 

Serve warm with a toast or crackers.

Original recipe can be found here.

Beef & Mushroom Stew

Recipe for the Beef & Mushroom Stew.

Ingredients:
500gm cubed beef stew meat
3 cloves garlic - minced
2 red onions - sliced
2 star anise
5 cloves stems
1 cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons tomato sauce
3 tablespoons chili sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce or sweet soy sauce
10 pieces button mushrooms - sliced ​​into half (I used the morel mushroom)
Salt to taste
A little cooking oil for frying

Garnish:
2 stalks green onions - chopped
2 sprigs parsley - chopped

Method:

Heat some cooking oil in a wok or large saucepan. Saute garlic, onion, star anise, cloves and cinnamon. Once fragrant and golden, add meat, chilli sauce, tomato sauce, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Cook over medium heat until meat is tender. After the meat is tender, add mushrooms until just wilted. Add a little more water if you want a little gravy. Allow to simmer for a moment before you turn off the fire. Dish out and sprinkle with parsley and green onions. Ready to be eaten with hot rice.

Stir-fry Black Pepper Chicken

It was my good friend introduced the store-bought black pepper sauce to me. I love black pepper sauce dishes and seriously I didn't even know there is a ready-to-use black pepper sauce exist. (where have I been.. hahaha..) A super easy and fast dish that you can enjoy. No fuss and no mess. Cook it with your choice of meat, fish, seafood or just vegetables.

~ if only there's crabs available here, i want some black pepper crabs..... ~

Stir-fry black pepper chicken. 

Ingredients:

100g sliced chicken tenders (You can use other meat or seafood)

1 small onion, sliced

2 clove garlic, sliced

favorite vegetables (I used carrots, radish and Chinese kale)

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp black pepper sauce

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Heat oil in a pan or wok over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until fragrant. Add meat and stir-fry until cook. Add your favorite vegetables. Add water and let it simmer. Add black pepper sauce and stir fry to combine well for another 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat and dish up. Serve immediately.

Delicious Stuffed Potato Pancakes

I was browsing for some recipes online and I found a recipe that sounds and looks delicious. Delicious stuffed potato pancakes. Potato; checked! Ground beef; checked! So I decided to make these for dinner. Well, I think this dish can be eaten any time.. be it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or maybe supper..

I do agree with the contributor, this is just a basic recipe. One can add spices, herbs and cheese or use sausage instead of beef and top with sour cream.. Yum-yum!!!  You will enjoy it more if you make it your way... :)


Ingredients:

8 potatoes, peeled and shredded

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

salt and black pepper to taste

Filling:

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 onion, grated

1 pinch garlic salt

1 egg

1/4 cup bread crumbs

2 tsp vegetable oil

Mix together the potatoes, flour baking powder, eggs, and salt and pepper in a bowl. In another bowl, for the filling, mix the ground beef, onion, garlic salt, egg and bread crumbs until well-combined.

Heat the 2 teaspoon vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-low heat, and drop a rounded tablespoon of potato mixture into the hot skillet. Spread and flatten the pancake out a little, and place about 2 teaspoons of beef mixture on the pancake, spreading the filling out almost to the edges of the pancake. Drop another rounded tablespoon of potato mixture on top of the beef, and spread it out to completely cover the beef. Fry until the bottom of the pancake is golden brown, about 5 minutes, then flip and fry the other side until golden, 1 to 2 more minutes.

"Sorry, forgot to take a pic to see the fillings. was too hungry.. LoL"

Mee Hailam PHALINN OOI

Singapore Flag

August 9 is Singapore's National Day. I'll like to take this opportunity to wish Singapore a Happy 45th Burfday!!!! Being so far away, made me miss the place I called HOME and is always in my ♥ ♥heart♥ ♥. In the morning, I got a chance to watch the last part of the "LIVE" webcast and when the announcer said to the audiences to stand up for the National Anthem and Pledge, I actually stood up, sing the National Anthem and Pledge. Though I'm so far away but hey, I'm a Singaporean and I am proud of my country... ;)

Often, I would check out MamaFami's Fotopages for recipes. When I saw Mee Hailam Phalinn Ooi, it really looks good. Both MamaFami and Phalinn Ooi said it is easy and delicious. I just had to give it a try. Yes, indeed, it is delicious and easy. Thanks Phalinn Ooi and MamaFami for sharing the recipe. :))

 

Ingredients:

yellow noodles or spaghetti (used dry chinese style noodles)
beef fillet-sliced thinly, boil for 5 mins & keep the stock (not used) 

chicken fillet-sliced (cubed, boiled and used the stock)
onion-thinly sliced
garlic-chopped 

chicken cube
chilli powder (not used) 

oyster sauce 

sweet soya sauce

light soya sauce

tomato sauce (used tomato paste) 

vegetables (used cabbage and pre-cooked carrots)

fish ball (added) 

cornflour mixed with water-to thicken the gravy

vegetables oil for cooking 

Boil the noodles till soften. Drain and leave aside. Heat the oil in a wok and saute onion and garlic. Add the meat and fry for about 3 minutes. Add in the crushed chicken cube and chilli powder. Stir well. Pour the beef (chicken) stock. Add in oyster sauce, sweet soya sauce, light soya sauce and tomato sauce (paste). Stir well and let it boil. Add in eggs and vegetables. Pour in the cornflour mixture to thicken the gravy.
 

To serve : Put the noodles in a bowl, pour the gravy on top. Garnish with chopped spring onions and fried onions. 

Potato Balls Soup (Sup Berbola Kentang)

Hubby said to me "what took you so long to cook?? I'm hungry!!!" LoL!!!! It's not that I'm taking my own sweet time to cook dinner last night but there were so many steps to make this dish.... the fillings, potatoes, soup then frying the potatoes balls..

Although it took a little while more, its worth waiting. Simply delicious!!! I'm glad he waited for it as he had three servings of my potato balls in soup... hehehe.. 

The recipe is from Ms Adidah Anang that I copied from Suria website. However, I made some changes to it. 

Ingredients:

A) 900g potatoes, peeled, cubed, boiled and mashed

    300g breadcrumbs

    2 eggs, beaten

    salt to taste

B) 300g ground beef

    2 cloves garlic, minced

    1 onion, cubed

    half of green pepper, cubed

    30g meat curry powder (BABA's)

    300g carrots, cubed

    300g corns

    300g peas

    salt and black pepper to taste

C) 1 tbsp sweet soy sauce, (Habhal's Sweet Soya Bean Sauce)

    1 tbsp tomato sauce

    1 onions, sliced thinly

    2 cloves garlic, minced

    2cm ginger, minced

    spices (1 cinnamon stick, 2 green cardamon, 2 star anise, 3 whole cloves) (optional)

    5-6 cups water

    4 cubes beef or chicken stock (small)

    salt and black pepper to taste

Garnish

cucumbers (sliced thinly or shredded)

chopped spring onions

chopped coriander

fried spring onion

spicy soy sauce

Heat large frying pan with some oil. Saute garlic, onion and green pepper until fragrant. Add ground beef and carrots. Add the meat curry powder and stir well. Last add the peas and corns. Season with salt and black pepper and mix well. Leave it aside to cool.

In a soup pot, saute the onion, garlic, ginger and spices in the oil until the onion is translucent, 5-10 minutes. Add water, sweet soy sauce, tomato sauce, black pepper and cubes beef stock. Add salt to taste if necessary. Cook in medium-low heat until boiling.

For the potato balls... Mix all the ingredients together. First, I took some mashed potatoes and flatten on my palm. Scooped some of the filling and put in the middle, then covered with another mashed potato. Shape into balls. Dipped in the beaten egg and fry in hot oil. Drained. 

Place fried potato balls in soup bowls and cover with boiling soup. Garnish with cucumber, spring onions, coriander and fried onions and spicy soy sauce. YUM-YUM!!!

My simple Keema (Indian-style ground meat)

Originally the word Keema is ground meat. It is typically made using ground mutton but can be made with any meat you prefer. I always used ground beef with potatoes and peas. This meat dish taste delicious over plain rice, bread, naan, prata or even chapatti. It could also be used as samosa fillings.

Ingredients:

500g ground beef (you can use any ground meat you prefer for this recipe)
2 tbsp vegetable cooking oil
1 medium-sized onions chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp each of ground coriander and cumin, and chilli powder
1 tbsp garam masala or curry powder
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
150g frozen peas
100ml beef stock or water
Salt to taste
chopped fresh coriander (I used spring onions since I'm out of coriander)

Fry onion with garlic in vegetable cooking oil over a medium heat for 3 minutes or until softened. 

Stir in ground beef and diced potatoes. 

Add ground coriander, cumin, chilli powder and garam masala/ curry powder and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. 

Add beef stock or water. 

Season, cover and simmer for 13 minutes or until the potato is tender.  

Add frozen peas and simmer for 3 minutes. 

Serve sprinkled with chopped fresh coriander, accompanied by warmed naan or over plain rice.
 

Bulgogi (Grilled Marinated Beef)

Annyeonghaseyo ~~ that is "Hello" in Korean. Our dinner tonight was Bulgogi with Japanese rice. Bulgogi is a Korean dish that usually consists of marinated thin slices of sirloin or other prime cuts of beef, although chicken may also be used. It is traditionally grilled, but pan-cooking is common these days.

Bul is the Korean word for fire and gogi is meat, therefore it translates into fire meat. This refers to the cooking technique over an open flame rather than the dish's spiciness. The term is also applied to variations such as dak bulgogi (made with chicken) or dweji bulgogi (made with pork), although the seasonings are different.

This dish is sometimes served with a side of lettuce or other leafy vegetable, which is used to wrap a slice of cooked meat, along with a dab of ssamjang, kimchi, or other side dishes, and then eaten as a whole.  It would be nicer if only I have kimchi and ssamjang, but without those, my Beef Bulgogi was still super delicious. It's just like the Beef Bulgogi at the food court in Singapore. This recipe is definitely a keeper.. Yum-yum.. :))

Beef Bulgogi recipe adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/4 apple, coarsely grated (about 1/4 cup) (optional)
• 1/2 medium onion, coarsely grated (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted, plus additional for garnish
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound beef rib-eye or sirloin steak, trimmed of excess fat and thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 green onions, finely sliced - garnishing
• parboiled cabbage leaves
• 1 cup cooked Japanese rice

In large bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, apple, onion, garlic, ginger, sesame seeds, and pepper. Let marinade stand 30 minutes at room temperature, then add beef and toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, 2 to 4 hours.

In large skillet over moderately high heat, heat oil. Remove beef from marinade, draining it very briefly over bowl to remove excess liquid, and then cook until meat is just short of desired completion. Add carrots and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Remove beef from heat. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately with rice.

simple Korean style for dinner... :))

 Notes:

• Marinated for two to four hours to enhance the flavor and its tenderization. 
• You could purchased the thinly sliced rib-eye steak from a Korean market.
• Slicing your own rib-eye or sirloin steak across the grain in paper thin slices. Partially freezing the beef helps with cutting clean slices.(I still need to work on slicing the meat.. not good at it..)
• You could use the normal white rice but I think Japanese rice is better for its its unique stickiness and texture.

Enjoy!

Karipap Pusing with Curried potatoes, sweet potatoes and ground beef.

My friend host a Project Karipap/Epok-epok (Curry Puffs) from March 13th, 2010 to April 13th, 2010 in Facebook. I've made the regular epok-epok before but this is my first attempt to make Karipap Pusing. Curry puff is a popular snack in Singapore and Malaysia. There are variety of fillings but usually the main filling is potato. Karipap Pusing is like epok-epok but karipap pusing is more crisp after frying because of the patten on the skin. 

I was in the mid of writing this post this evening, but hubs wanted to watch the movie Julie and Julia that we got in the mail today. So I had to save the blog and watch the movie with him. I expected the movie to be good, but it was even better than expected. Its a lovely movie. I really love the movie. After the movie was over, here I am back writing my blog..

Ingredients: 

Filling:

1 onion, chopped

a few curry leaves - for fragrance

1 cup ground beef

300 g potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

200g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

1 cup water

2 tbs beef curry powder - mix with some water to form a paste 

salt to taste

2 stalks spring onion

cooking oil

In a large saucepan, heat oil and saute the onion and curry leaves till soft and fragrant. Add in the curry paste and stir well. Add the ground beef, diced potatoes, diced sweet potatoes, salt and water. Cover. Cook until the potatoes are soften and there is no water left. Remove from heat. Add green onions and mix well. Let it to cool.

Dough A:

300g all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

1/4 cup canola oil/vegetable oil

1/2 cup lukewarm water

In a large mixing bowl , add salt to flour. Make a well in the center and add the oil and mix well with your fingertips. Add the water bit by bit until the dough does not stick to you hand. Set aside.

Dough B:

150g all purpose flour

100g butter/marjerin

Mix all ingredients in B till a soft dough is formed.

These puffs are meant to be fried. My attempt to fry these puffs were impossible.. They  crack,  break, burst or whatever you call it, when fried... I was filled with despair when looking at the puffs in the hot oil.. Could it be, the heat temperature was a little too high or my measurements could be inaccurate... I do not know.. I had to throw them away because they can't be saved.. (there were 6 pieces) :( So I had another option.... That is when I tried baking. I took a few pieces and placed in the baking tray and brushed egg yolk on the top. Baked in a preheated oven at 350F for about 40mins or until it turned golden brown. Once they were baked, they turned out great.. These puffs reminds me of the curry puffs that I usually get at Polar Singapore. *yum-yum*

Notes:

I found that after baking, my puffs did not really show the patten on the skin as much as when you fried them.

Classic corned beef and cabbage, carrots and potatoes....

When hubs came home, I saw plastic bags at the front door. He went to the supermarket (..without me...) after work. He said we are having corned beef tonight. I wasn't planning on having corned beef tonight but since he said it, I just agreed. Hubs is part Irish and he said this traditional Irish dish that is normally served on St. Patrick's Day and it is delicious.  (we had a belated St. Patrick's Day food... Lol...) As you know, what he likes may not be what I like so I was like okay, I give it a try... I suggested that he'll do the cooking tonight while I clean up the other room. Then the smell of corned beef and cabbage coming from the kitchen was fantastic but it's like taking forever to cook. By the time, it was done, I was so hungry. Well,  it was not bad as I thought it would be. It's lovely to have one dish associated with a day.. Kudos to hubs. Thumbs up!!! Love ya!

Ingredients:

3 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packet

10 small potatoes

5 carrots, peeled

1 large head cabbage, cut into wedges

Place corned beef in large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water. Add the spice packet that came with the corned beef. Cover pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer approximately 50 minutes per pound or until tender.

Add whole potatoes and carrots, and cook until the vegetables are almost tender. Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove meat and let rest 15 minutes. 

Place vegetables in a bowl and cover. Add as much broth (cooking liquid reserved in the Dutch oven or large pot) as you want. Slice meat across the grain.  

 Enjoy and have a great weekend all. ♥♥

Beef Briyani

When comes to briyani, using Basmati Rice is definitely better than the regular white rice.  Today I cooked some Beef Briyani and I was very happy how they  turned out. My hubs said my briyani was great but I need to work on my beef, it was a little too tough.. Lol.. roger that love...

The recipe may seem long, but actually briyani is one of the easiest to cook. Well, this dish is a meal in itself and needs no accompaniment, except for acchar or raita and poppadums. It is great for entertaining or a special occasion dinner too.

Although I do not have to cook anything else to go with my briyani, I wanted to try the Patchri (vegetable dish) recipe that my friend had given to me. While my briyani was in the oven, I looked at the recipe... dang!!! I do not have some of the ingredients. So in the end, I still have my patchri but my own version.. Next time, I'll try her version...

Ingredients:

2 large onions

2 garlic clove, chopped

1 inch piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

small bunch of fresh coriander (cilantro)

6 candlenuts

1 tbsp curry powder

2-3 tbsp water

1 tbsp ghee or butter, plus 2 tbsp for the rice

2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus 1 tbsp

1-1/4lb (500g) braising or stewing steak, cubed

6 cloves

6 green cardamon

1 medium cinnamon stick

3/4 cup coconut milk or plain yogurt

1 cup long grain basmati rice (soaked for an hour)

2 cups water

1-2 teaspoon evaporated milk mixed with orange food coloring (I used yellow since I have no orange)

salt and ground black pepper

2 tbsp sultanas

some cashew nuts (optional)

Roughly chop one onion and place it in a food processor or blender. Add the curry powder, garlic, ginger, fresh coriander and candlenuts. Pour in the water and process to a smooth paste. Transfer the paste to a small bowl and set aside.

Finely slice the remaining onion into rings or half rings. Heat the oil in a heavy flameproof casserole and fry the onion rings for 10-15 minutes until they are a deep golden brown. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.

Heat the ghee or butter in the casserole. Fry the cubed meat in batched, until evenly browned on all sides. Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside. Wipe the casserole clean with kitchen paper, heat the remaining oil and pour the paste made earlier. Cook over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring all the time, until the micture begins to brown lightly. Stir in all the additional spices with salt and ground black pepper and cook for 1 minutes more. Lower the heat, then stir in the coconut milk or yogurt, a little at a time. When all of it has been incorporated into the spice mixture, return the meat to the casserole. Stir to coat, cover tightly and simmer over a gentle heat for 40-45 minutes until the meat is tender. 

In another pot, throw in 2 cloves and ghee. Slowly pour in the soaked rice in the pot. Boil, uncovered. When the pot come to full boil, drain the rice out and let it rest. Use a oven proof dish and spread on layer of rice at the bottom. Sprinkle some of the colored evaporated milk, some of the fried onions and sultanas. Spread the beef in the middle. Cover with rice and sprinkle the colored evaporated milk again. Repeat the process if cooking more. 

Cover the dish with a foil and transfer to a preheated oven. Cook for 30 minutes at 200 degrees. Remove from the oven, carefully remove the foil. Sprinkle the remaining fried onions, raisins and cashew nuts before serving.

The dish may be served with Acchar, Malay Pickle or Raita and Poppadums.

I have my Beef Briyani with my version of Patchri, Poppadums and the beef thick sauce.. yum-yum!

Notes:

* Substitute for candlenuts = macadamia nuts
* You can use all the beef thick sauce in the rice or set some aside to serve as a side dish (like I did).
* Be careful not to overcook sliced onions (ops! I did it again!!), as it would give a little bitter taste.

Goodnight everyone and have a wonderful week ahead. :)

Enchiladas made easy

I talked to papa via skype today. I told him about my food blog and he checked it out. He suggested that I should  use pastel colors for my blog (before was chocolate color; I like because I like chocolate.. Lol!!). Now, I changed it to pinky but I still think there's too much pink right now.. Lol... if only I knew how to edit using the html thingy... to me its just so confusing.. so I had to depend on the experts and use their free templates... hehe... I've made some curry puffs (epok-epok kentang) for my friend in Seattle today. She was not able to get any of it there, so I volunteered to make some for her. I hope by the time she gets them, they are in a good condition and still good to eat... and most importantly is yummy! I hope I get a good verdict from her soon.. :) Today's lunch menu was enchiladas. It was easy and quick. My style of enchiladas is a little bit different. Instead of using the oven, I just used the microwave.. hehe...

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef

2 cups salsa (when I'm out of salsa, I use taco sauce)

1 tsp chilli powder

1 can (11 oz) Mexican-style corn, drained

1 can (10oz) diced tomato with green chilies, drained

sour cream

shredded cheddar cheese

10 flour tortilla (8 inch)

In 12-inch skillet, cook beef over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain. Stir in salsa,  chilli powder, corn and tomato. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low.

Put the flour tortilla in a microwave-safe container, covered and microwave for a few seconds, just to soften (not too long or the tortilla will become hard). Take out and spread some shredded cheese, 1/4 cup of the meat mixture and sour cream down center of each tortilla; roll up. Place them in the container (seam-sides down, on salsa), topped with some shredded cheese and microwave for another 1-2 minutes.

If you using the oven, here are the steps:

Preheat oven at 350°F. Spread 1 cup of the remaining salsa onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Spoon 1/4 cup of the meat mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up. Place, seam-sides down, on salsa. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup salsa and additional 1 cup shredded cheese. Bake 20 minute or until heated through. Serve with sour cream.

Serve this main dish with any green salad for a quick and tasty weekday meal.. :)

Notes:

Cook ground beef thoroughly and evenly. The color of the raw ground meat can vary from bright red to light pink. Do not rely on the color of the meat to check for doneness but use an instant read thermometer instead. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F.

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Steak with Sauteed Mushrooms and onion

Tonight's dinner was simple steak with sauteed mushrooms and onion. I also whipped up mashed potatoes with turkey bacon and mixed broccoli and carrots as a side dish. I did not make any gravy or sauce because there will be some juice from the steak.. *wink*.. Dinner was sooo yummylicious! We both enjoyed it very much. :)

It has been raining a lot these days here. Last Thursday, was the worst of all. Lotsa rain with loud thunderstorms... and I was all by myself while hubby at work.. :( I was a little scared, afraid if we would be get any tornado or something. That is very scary... Also for the first time, in my life, I saw hail. It was interesting to see small pellets of ice falling from the sky (pic at my front door)..

Hope everyone have a nice weekend. :)

Ingredients:
2 tbsp + 1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 large sweet onion, sliced
1 box fresh mushrooms, clean and sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 beef tenderloin steaks (1 1/2-inch thick)
meat tenderizer

Season steaks on both sides with meat tenderizer. Chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
In large skillet, heat butter until bubbly. Saute onion, mushrooms, salt, and pepper for 2 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar and continue to saute until mushrooms are tender. Set aside; cover. (There would be plenty, serve it as a side-dish, that's what I did)
Wipe out skillet. Heat butter and olive oil on the skillet over medium high heat. Add steaks to skillet. Sear the steaks, moving them with tongs a little so they don't stick to the bottom, for 5-6 minutes per side. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness. When the steaks are done to your liking, remove from the pan, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

On a serving plate, place the steak and topped with sauteed mushrooms and onions. Enjoy!
Notes:

Always let your steaks come to room temperature (70°F) before cooking or grilling. If your room's temperature differs from 70°F, adjust your time accordingly. A cold steak will contract when it hits the heat and this wall cause it to toughen.

A guide for the done-ness of your steak :-

• Very Rare : 130°F, red almost translucent center and cool
• Rare: 140°F (60°C), center of the steak is very red and cool
• Medium Rare: 150°F (65°C), center of the steak is red and warm
• Medium: 160°F (71°C), center of the steak is pink and hot
• Medium Well: 165°F (74°C), center of the steak is pinkish and hot
• Well done: 170+°F (77+°C), steak is thoroughly cooked

Layered Mac & Cheese Taco

A lot of people like to eat Macaroni & Cheese.  At the store, they  sell mac & cheese in a box, easy, does not require too many ingredients and its fast. Cook it over the stove or just microwave; even faster. I have one box of mac & cheese left in the pantry and I thought what should I do with this mac & cheese. My hubby prefers his way of making mac & cheese, and I prefers mine... I have to think of something so that both will really enjoy... :)

So, I prepared the mac & cheese as indicated in the box. Then I prepared the taco meat as indicated in the taco seasoning mix package. (Click here). I added 1/2 cup sour cream in the prepared mac & cheese dinner. and spoon about 1/2 of the dinner mixture into 8-inch square baking dish. Spread the meat mixture and shredded cheddar cheese. Repeat for another layer; cover with foil. Bake for 15 minute. Then top with chopped tomatoes and shredded cabbage (or you can use salsa) and spread more shredded cheese and bake again for another 5 mins uncovered.

Serve with toasted tortillas or tortillas chips. Yummy!!! :)

Serunding (Coconut & Beef)

I always like to put a lot of serunding when I eat longtong, ketupat, rice or even on the bread.  I love the serunding  made by my mom's friend. She made it so yummy!! Serunding also reminds me of Hari Raya, because when ever there is longtong and ketupat, there's always serunding.

At first, I thought of combining the beef and coconut but than I decided to separate the two.  One is the original serunding that is is basically a dish of grated coconut fried with spices. The other one, serunding daging. It is the bone-dry, floss version of rendang that has a long shelf-life and needs no refrigeration. You may think cooking the serunding is hard but it is actually easy. The part where you have to shred the coconut and the beef, just takes a long time and your fingers ouch!! hehe...

My gurl friend gave me the recipe for serunding daging after I saw the photo. Looks yummy and I just had to give it a try... Thanks gurl.. :)

Serunding daging (Beef Floss)

Ingredients:
1 kg lean beef
500ml coconut milk
1 tbsp coriander seeds
vegetable oil
sugar and salt 

Spice paste:
15 dried chillies, seeded and soaked
2 inch ginger
5 lemon grass, finely sliced (I didn't use this since I can't get it here)
1 inch galangal, sliced ( I didn't use this since I can't get it here)
500 gm onions
10 cloves garlic

Cut the beef into large chunks. Place in a casserole pot and pour in enough water to cover the beef. Bring to a boil, or until beef is tender. Remove beef, drain and cool. When cooled, lightly pound the meat to break up the grain. Shred the beef finely.

Dry roast the spices separately until aromatic. Coarsely crushed the coriander seeds.

Blend all the spice paste ingredients finely – add a little coconut milk to make sure the paste is fine. Combine the shredded beef and spice paste. Toss to mix well. Heat a little oil in a wok. Fry the marinated beef, stirring constantly. Pour in the coconut milk. Bring to a boil. Then season to taste with salt and sugar. When the mixture is almost dry, add the coarsely coriander seeds. Cook over low heat, stirring continuously until the mixture is very dry, crumbly, and has turned to floss. Remove from heat and cool completely before storing in a dry, air-tight container.  

Serunding (Coconut)

No exact measurement for this serunding, as this is my recipe. After searching so many serunding recipes, I just decided to do my way..  It is not the best, but its good for me..

Freshly shredded coconut (from 1 coconut)
blended onion, garlic, ginger and dried chillies
turmeric powder
coriander seeds and fennel seeds

Dry roast the coriander and fennel seeds until aromatic. Coarsely crushed the spices. Heat oil and fry blended ingredients till fragrance arise.Add shredded coconut. Mix well. Season with salt and sugar and add the coarsely crushed spices. Constantly mixed all the ingredients, fry over low heat and till dry. Remove from heat and cool completely before storing in a dry, air-tight container.

Beef Stroganoff

This is one of the most famous fast meat dishes, consisting of tender strips of steak in a tangy sour cream sauce. I've made some changes and added my own substitutions.

Served with homemade french fries and noodles.

Beef Stroganoff

the best ever 20 Minute Cookbook, Jenni Fleetwood

Ingredients:
450g/1 lb fillet steak or rump steak, trimmed and tenderized with a rolling pin or meat mallet
15ml/1 tbsp sunflower or vegetables oil
25g / 2 tbsp butter
1 onion, sliced
15ml/1 tbsp plain flour
5ml/1 tbsp tomato paste ketchup
5ml/1 tbsp Dijon mustard Wasabi
5ml/1 tbsp lemon juice
150ml/ 1/4 pint/ 2/3 cup sour cream
salt and black pepper
fresh herbs, to garnish

Using a sharp cook's knife, cut the tenderized steak into thin strips, about, 5cm/2in long. Heat the oil and half of the butter in a frying pan and fry the beef over high heat for 2 minutes, or until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon, leaving any juice behind.

Melt the remaining butter in the same pan and gently fry the onion for 8 minutes, until soft. Stir in the flour, tomato paste, mustard, lemon juice and sour cream. Return the beef to the pan and stir until the sauce is bubbling. Season well and garnish with fresh herbs.

Taco meat fillings in Crepes

Tonight's dinner was fast and simple. We wanted to have Mexican food but do not have any Taco shells or Tortillas. In order to replace Taco shells, I made Crepes. French and Mexican combined. Simple and delicious. :)

It is very easy to make the taco meat fillings. I just used the Taco seasoning mix that can easily get at the store. Follow the instructions at the back of the packet. For my crepes, I followed the recipe from my recipe book. I love to eat crepes.. especially as desserts. All that chocolate sauce, ice-cream or even with Nutella.. oh my.. i wish i have some Nutella right now.. lol!! Anyway, it was a good dinner for the two of us. :)

Taco meat filling
1 package of Taco Seasoning Mix
2/3 cup water
1 pound ground beef

In a small saucepan, brown and crumble ground beef. Drain fat. Wipe out the excess fat in the saucepan with paper towels. Stir in Taco seasoning mix and water. Cook and stir for 2-4 minutes.

Crepes
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
3/4 cup water
2-1/4 cups butter melted
pinch of salt

Combined eggs, milk and water. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the combined mixture. With a whisk gradually drawn in the flour and whisk to a smooth batter. Stir in the melted butter. Pour into a jug and set aside for 30 minutes.
Heat a 8-inch non-stick frying pan and grease lightly. When the pan is hot, pour in about 1/4 cup of the mixture and tilt the pan to cover. Tip out any excess batter. When the edges begin to curl, gently turn the pancake over with a spatula. Cook until lightly browned on both sides and slide onto a plate. Serve immediately.

Top with diced tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, sour cream.. hmm.. yummy!

Stir-fried Beef

As mentioned in my previous blog, here is the recipe for the stir-fried beef. I adapt the recipe "Stir-Fried Beef with Leeks" from my cookbook; Light Chinese Dishes by Kathryn Hawkins. I made some changes to certain ingredients to suit my likings. Instead of using leeks, I used green peppers and I do not use the dry sherry as indicated in the recipe.
Here is my recipe:

Ingredients:

450g (1lb) lean rump or sirloin steak
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp cornflour
4 oz spring onions
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup beef stock

Trim any fat from the beef and cut into 3/4 inches pieces. Place in a bowl and mix in soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, and cornflour. Cover and chill for 30 minutes. Slice the green peppers thinly and wash well. Trim and shred the spring onions.

Heat oil in wok (since I do not have a wok yet, I used my large frying pan) and stir-fry beef mixture for 1-2 minutes until beef is browned. Add green peppers, spring onions and sugar and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until browned. Pour in the stock and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

Served on top of plain rice. Yummy!

Last Saturday, while we were groceries shopping, I saw Pillsbury Flag cookies on sale. These cookies were on bargain! 2 boxes for $1 and there are 2 dozens cookies. So without hesitation I quickly put 2 boxes in the shopping cart.. hehe.. So last night, I baked these cookies. Before I took my first bite on the cookie, I kept looking at the cookies, wondering how they stamped the flag in the center without messing the cookie?????????