Chicken Bake with Croutons

I was going to follow a recipe I found on the internet, but I couldn't find all the ingredients. So, I ended up using different ingredients, modified here and there. 

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 full tsp garlic mince (or 2 cloves garlic, crushed)
• 1 tsp paprika powder (or red pepper flakes)
• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• tomato and porcini mushroom pasta sauce or marinara sauce or any other sauce you like, doesn't matter
• chopped basil leaves (or basil powder)
• mozarella, cheddar, and parmesan cheese, shredded. *I actually used powder for the parmesan.
• garlic croutons or any other croutons you like. Here, I'm using sea salt and black pepper croutons.

Method:

1. Prepare a square baking tray (high sides, e.g. pirex).
2. Put olive oil, garlic mince, and paprika powder. Spread evenly.
3. Arrange all the chicken breasts in the tray.
4. Pour the sauce thoroughly.
5. Put the basil leaves on top.
6. Bake in 175°C for 35 minutes.
7. Take it out of the oven.
8. Put all the cheese on top, followed by croutons, then finish it up by spreading more cheese on top.
9. Bake again in 175°C for another 25 minutes.
10. Ready to serve. 

Enjoy! :)

Indonesian version: will do later

Creamy Rice Pudding

It's one of those desserts that is light to eat and very easy to make. The rice used can only be one of those mentioned below, specifically made for dessert. 

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup uncooked pudding rice / pearl rice / short grain rice
• 2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup white/brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg beaten
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• cinnamon powder (optional)

Method:

1. Cook the rice in a saucepan with 1 1/2 cups boiled water, low heat, covered, and simmer for 20 minutes (until the rice is well cooked).
2. Put 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar, and salt. Tip: Do not put sugar if the rice is still not well cooked! It's not gonna be soft if you put sugar too early.
3. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy (15 to 20 minutes).
4. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg, and raisins; cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly.
5. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.
6. Sprinkle cinnamon on top (optional). 
7. Serve warm or cold.

Enjoy! :)

Indonesian version: will do later

Vegetable Stew

It's one of those recipes where you can put all the ingredients you have prepared and leave it cooked. Well, not literally put all the ingredients in one time, but in order. :P It's very easy and everyone can make it. :)

Ingredients:

• Carrots, chopped
• Broccoli, cut and then boiled for a few minutes
• Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• Mushrooms, chopped and then boiled for about 5 minutes (basically to get rid of the water used for boiling the mushrooms which usually turns dark afterwards)
• Spring onions, sliced
• 1/4 onion, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, pressed then sliced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 chicken stock
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt and 1/6 tsp sugar, which means only a little bit of sugar :D

Note: The quantity of all the ingredients above depend on how big the portion you'd like to cook is.

Method:

1. Heat butter in a pan, fry onion and garlic until smells good.
2. Put approximately 1L of water (again, depend on how much you want to make), chicken stock, and fish sauce. Stir well.
3. Put carrots into the pan. Leave it for about 5 minutes.
4. Put pepper, nutmeg, salt, and sugar, stir well.
5. Put mushrooms, broccoli, tomatoes, spring onions. Stir well.
6. Leave it until all the vegetables are cooked.

Happy cooking!

The Indonesian version: http://dapurdara.blogspot.ie/2013/01/sayur-sup-bening.html.

Scrambled Eggs

The easiest way to scramble eggs is to cook it in a microwave, but the taste is not great. Neither is the texture. So, I was browsing the internet to find a perfect way to scramble eggs. I found one, which is a recipe video. The key is apparently in the method. If you follow it, not only the taste will turn out delicious, but it'll also look good (fluffy and bright yellow)! :)

Personally, I modified the method shown in the video a little bit because I wanted to add a few vegetables with the eggs. 

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp butter
• cherry tomatoes, sliced
• mushrooms, sliced. Boiled for 5 minutes (or until well cooked) beforehand.
• parsley, salt, and pepper

Method:

1. Follow the method shown in the video, until you pour the eggs onto the pan. Note: I beat the eggs with milk, parsley, salt, and pepper before cooking.
2. Now is when I do the little modification. Don't stir the eggs straight away like being demonstrated in the video! Wait for approximately a minute, and then pour the sliced tomatoes and mushrooms onto it.
3. Stir it with a wooden spoon or a spatula. If you like big curds, stir it slowly. Quickly if you like small curds.
4. Once done, put it immediately on a plate. Leaving the scrambled eggs on the pan will make them dry. 

Remember, the key is low and slow. Enjoy! :9

The Indonesian version: http://dapurdara.blogspot.ie/2013/01/scrambled-eggs-telur-orak-arik-ala-bule.html.