Sweet & Sour Fish Fillets

It's been a while since I had time to actually share a new recipe on this blog. Since I have a little time on my hands today, I will share with all of you a quick recipe that's really easy to make and super yummy to eat. Sweet & Sour Fish, who doesn't like Sweet & Sour Fish, right? Both Kevin and I love this dish to bits. We would usually eat that with a huge plate of steaming white rice. Mmmm mmm mmmmmmmm :D Try this recipe, I hope you will like it as much as we do!

The first thing we must do is prepare the fish fillets. You can pretty much use any type of fish fillet for this dish but I would usually use catfish. It's really affordable and it taste awesome! Start off by cleaning the fillets. Then, add some pepper, garlic powder and salt to some flour and set it aside. Now, heat some oil in a large pan. Once its nice and hot, coat your fillets in flour and drop it into the oil. Remember not to overcrowd the pan.
You know that your fillets are ready once they turn golden brown. Take them out of the oil and set them aside on some kitchen towels.
Now, its time to make the sauce. It's really easy. All you need to do is mix some ketchup, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, white vinegar, sesame oil, sugar and pepper with some chicken stock. You can also add in some chili paste too if you like. Apart from that, I would also add in some syrup from the canned fruits that I would be using later on. There is really no fix ratio in all those ingredients. Some people like it really sour and some people like sweet. The best thing would be just to taste the mixture and continue to adjust the amount until you get the taste that you like. For me, I like it on the sweeter side. Once you are done with the sauce mixture, set it aside.
Alrighty, now we can put it all together. Start off by sauteing one large onion and one green pepper that has been cut into bite size pieces.
Then, add in a can of mixed tropical fruits. Remember to drain away the syrup before adding the fruits in. If you do not like mixed tropical fruits, you could also just use canned or fresh pineapples.
After sauteing the vegetables and fruits for a bit, add in the sauce mixture. Allow it to simmer until it comes to a boil. Then, add in some cornstarch that has been mixed with a little bit of water. This will help thicken up the sauce. Once the sauce has thicken, it's ready to be served. I would usually just add in my fish fillets into the sauce and give it a good mix. You could also place your fillets on a serving platter and pour the sauce over it. Either ways, it will be yummy! You can serve it with some steamed rice or if you like, you could even eat it with noodles. Try it out and let me know if you like it! :D

Home Made Indian Food for less than $3 in 20 mins!!

Both Kevin and I really enjoy Indian food. Not the real spicy Southern Indian style but more the creamy and mild Northern Indian. Therefore, we have always been big fans of Indian buffets as well as take out/delivery Indian food. You might be asking, why don't you try making some at home? Well, truthfully, I never really tried due to the fact that I've always thought that Indian food requires a lot of prep time and also uses tons of ingredients (it does!). That is of course, if you make it from scratch. I was walking through the "Ethnic Food" aisle at our local grocery store a while ago and saw some stuff on sale that changed my preconceived ideas about making Indian food at home. I realized that by just getting this three items, I am able to 'cheat' my way into making a really quick and affordable Indian meal at home.
Alritey, here are the three items that I picked up from the grocery store. The first is Patak's Original Tikka Masala Curry Cooking Sauce. There is a whole range of different sauces, from Butter Chicken to Rogan Josh to Korma. We like the Tikka Masala cos it's creamy and has a little hint of spiciness (just a little :P). That bottle set us back $2.99. Next is a packet of microwaveable Palak Paneer. It's already pre cooked and all you need to do is heat it up. That pack cost us only $1.99. Lastly, we picked up a pack of Tandoori Naan from the bakery section for $2.99 (two pieces in the pack). All that came up to just below $8. Oh, we also picked up a lb of chicken breast meat to make the Tikka Masala ($1.99 per lbs)...so the grand total comes up to a little less than $10. This is enough to feed about 3-4 people, so actually, the whole meals comes up to be less than $3 per person!
Now, let me show you how simple and fast it will be to whip up the entire meal. Just start off by heating some oil and browning 1 lbs of cubed chicken breast in a large pan. It doesn't really have to be chicken, you can pretty much use any type of meat that you like. Since Patak's Cooking Sauce is free from artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and is gluten free, you could also replace the chicken with vegetables and make this a vegetarian dish too.
After your chicken has been cooked through (it takes about 10 mins or so), pour in the cooking sauce and stir it in with the chicken.
Allow it to heat up and simmer for another 10 mins and you are done!
While the chicken is simmering on the stove, take out your naan bread and place them on a baking sheet. Brush on some melted butter and pop it into a preheated 400F oven for about 10 mins. It should be nicely warmed up and ready to eat by the time your chicken tikka is done.
After you have popped the naan bread into the oven, pour out the Palak Paneer into a microwaveable bowl. Microwave it on high for about 2-3 mins and that's all ready to go too! How easy is that?
There you go! A piping hot Indian meal, straight from your kitchen! Chicken Tikka Masala, Palak Paneer and some Naan bread. I made all that in about 20 mins and it cost me just a little less than $3 per serving! It's it awesome? Where else can you get a yummy Indian meal for about $3 per person? And all that in 20 mins? It would even take longer for your local Indian take out place to deliver that too you. Granted, its not made from scratch, but for $3 per person and getting to eat all that in just about 20 mins, I'll take it anyday! :P

How to carve a Pineapple Boat

I saw some fresh pineapples on sale at our local grocery store a few days ago, so I decided to buy one to make some Pineapple Fried Rice (will post up the recipe later). Instead of just cutting the pineapple the usual way, I decided to make a Pineapple Boat, so that I can serve my Pineapple Fried Rice in it later on. Yeah, that's right. Just like how they would serve it in Thai restaurants :P Anyways, for those of you wondering, this is how you carve a pineapple boat.

Start off by laying the pineapple on it's side. Then, with a very sharp big knife, cut off about 1/3 of the pineapple.

This is how the pineapple likes after cutting. Put aside the smaller half (we will work on that later on) and we can start cutting up the bigger half.

Using a small but very sharp pairing knife, cut all around the edges of the pineapple.

Now, run the knife down both sides of the middle of the pineapple.

Then, cut the pineapple into cubes. It might be a little bit harder to cut through the middle of the pineapple, so you might need to apply a little bit more pressure.

Now, you can remove the pineapple cubes. Once you get the first piece out, it just gets easier with the rest.

Since this pineapple boat is pretty deep, you might not be able to remove all of the bottom with a knife. So, just use an ice cream scoop to remove all of the leftover pineapple.Try to make the base of the boat as smooth and clean as possible. Then, repeat all the steps for the smaller half of pineapple.

There you go! Two pineapple boats, ready to be used. I have also saved some of the juices from the pineapple, so that I can use it in my Pineapple Fried Rice recipe later on. You can fit enough fried rice in the bigger boat to feed about 2-3 people. The smaller boat is just perfect for one serving of rice. If you like, you can even serve up some salad, fruit cocktail or dessert on the smaller boat. It's totally up to you. So, the next time you are having some company over, why use boring plates? I bet they will be impressed if you serve up their meal in a pineapple boat! :P

Stuffed Green Peppers

I have never been a big fan of bell peppers, be it green, red or yellow! The only time I would eat bell peppers is when it's grilled up together with onions on a Philly Cheese Steak or when it's cooked in pasta sauce. I remember visiting Kevin's parents house many years ago (I believe it was one of the first few times he brought me home) and horror upon horrors, they made stuffed green peppers for dinner! Now, I have never tried stuffed peppers before but since I knew I didn't like bell peppers, I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it. Anyways, I didn't want to be rude so I gave it a try and guess what? I loved it! It's been a while since Kevin and I had stuffed green peppers, so we decided to make some for dinner last weekend. Here's how we make our version of stuffed green peppers.

First, you would need to prep the green peppers. Cut off the tops of the green pepper and save the tops. We will use the edible part of it later on.

Using a spoon, scrape off the insides of the pepper. Wash the peppers under cool running water, dry them off and set them aside.

Now, it's time to make the filling. Start off by browning some minced beef in a large pan. Once it's done, drain away all the excess grease and set aside.

Using the same pan, melt about 1/4 stick of butter and saute some chopped onions.

Then, add in the green pepper that we saved from the tops earlier. Just cut off the edible part of the top and chop into tiny pieces.

Next goes in the minced beef. Mix everything together.

Season the filling with a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, some paprika powder and garlic powder.

Give it a quick stir and add in some cooked rice. We used one packet of Lipton's Instant Spanish Rice. Just cook it according to the directions of the packet and you are set to go. You can pretty much use any type of long grain rice, it doesn't even have to be flavored. Of course it taste so much better if it is. Uncle Ben's is pretty good too.

After you have mixed the rice in with the filling, add in some tomato sauce. We used Ragu's 7 Herb Pasta Sauce in a bottle, since that's what we had in our pantry. Any type of tomato/pasta sauce will do. Mix it all up and set aside.

Using the same sauce, pour some of it into a baking dish and spread it evenly to cover the whole bottom of the dish.

Now, it's time to fill the peppers! Using a small teaspoon, just scoop the filling and start to fill the peppers til the top. Remember not to over stuff them.

Place them onto the baking dish. Use a spoon to press the filling into the peppers. Make sure that its packed in tight.

Then, top each of the peppers with some tomato/pasta sauce.

Pop it into a 350F oven and allow it to bake for about 50mins to an hour.

Remove the baking dish from the oven just about 5 minutes before it's done and sprinkle on some shredded cheese. Pop it back into the oven and allow the cheese to melt. Once the cheese is fully melted, the stuffed green peppers are done! I must say that it's really yummy to eat. Try it (even if you don't like peppers). How knows, you might learn to love them too!!

Simple Raisin Bread Pudding

It's been a while since I have last posted a dessert recipe, so I figured I should go search the Internet for one. I found a really yummy looking and easy to make Raisin Bread Pudding recipe from allrecipes.com last weekend and I decided to try it out. It turned out to be another home run recipe, really simple and quick to whip up. Check it out!

The recipe called for 6 slices of moist white bread or rich egg bread. I decided to kick it up a notch and use some raisin cinnamon bread instead. Remember to let your bread sit out for a little if its too soft, we want the bread to be at least a day old. Even though the recipe said 6 pieces of bread, I used 8 pieces and found out that it was just right.

Cut up the bread into small pieces (remember to remove the crust) and place it all into an 8" square baking pan.

Next, drizzle about 2 tablespoons of melted butter or margarine over the bread. I used butter but I think margarine works too.

Then, sprinkle about 1/2 a cup of raisin over the bread. This is entirely optional. If you are not a fan of raisins, leave it out. It doesn't really matter.

Now, in a separate large bowl, combine 4 eggs with 2 cups of milk and 3/4 cups of sugar. Beat it until it is mixed well.

Add in about 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. If you like, you can also add in about 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Since I used cinnamon raisin bread instead of regular bread, I decided not to add any more additional cinnamon. If you are using regular bread, I would suggest that you add some to spice things up.

Once you have mixed everything up, pour the mixture over the bread.

Lightly push the bread down with a fork until the bread is fully soaked and covered with the egg mixture.

Place the baking pan in a 350F oven and allow it to bake for about 45 minutes. You will know that it's done when the top springs back lightly when you tap it.

Mmmm mmmm mmmm, the whole kitchen just smells so wonderful with the freshly baked bread pudding. Doesn't it look yummy? I really cannot believe that it's so easy to make and that it turned out to be so delicious. Allow it to cool down for a bit and you can either serve it with vanilla sauce or ice cream (we served it with french vanilla ice cream!).

American Shepards Pie

Kevin loves Shepards Pie. He has hinted quite a number of times that I should try and make some for dinner but I never really got around to it. I finally managed to do so sometime last week and I guess it turned out pretty good. Oh just to clarify some things, when I say Shepards Pie, I am refering to the American style Shepards Pie. Unlike the traditional English style Shepards Pie (which is made out of lamb or mutton), the American style Shepards Pie is made out of beef and has a little tomato paste in the filling. I think the English would call what I am making today Cottage Pie. Shepards Pie, Cottage Pie...it doesn't really matter what it's called. The bottom line is, it's really simple to make and it's super yummy. That's all that matters :P So, let me share with you this really easy to make 'Shepards Pie' recipe.

Start off by browning about 1 lbs of minced beef. Once it's brown, drain and set aside.

Then, melt 1/2 a stick of butter in a large pan.

Once the butter is melted, throw in some chopped onions. I used one really large onion, so if the onions that you have is small, use two.

Next, throw in some frozen peas and carrots.

Mix the peas and carrots with the onions and then add in some sliced mushrooms.

Allow everything to cook for a bit. Once it's almost cooked, add in the minced beef that you browned earlier.

Mix the minced beef with the rest of the ingredients and add in some Worcestershire sauce. I can't really tell you how much to put in cos I just eyeballed it. Just enough to season it nicely will do.

Next goes in the tomato paste. I just used about half a small can of tomato paste. Mix everything together, allow it to cook for a little bit more and the filling's done!

Once it has cooled down for a bit, transfer the filling to a deep baking dish.

Now it's time to make some mashed potatoes. You can either make it from scratch or you can just make it out from the box. I was feeling lazy, so I made things simple for myself by using instant mashed potatoes out from a box. Just follow the instructions on the back of the box, it's really simple.

Then, add in some shredded cheese into the mashed potatoes. You do not have to add any cheese if you do not want to. The cheese just makes it extra cheesy and yummy!

Now, scoop the mashed potatoes and place it on top of the filling. Remember to rough up the potatoes with a fork. By doing so, it helps the peaks brown nicely in the oven.

Once you are done with the potatoes, it's ready to go into the oven. Just place it in a 400F oven for about 30-45 minutes. Once it start bubbling and the peaks are brown, you know that it's done! There you have it. A simple and really yummy American Shepards Pie recipe.