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Given the right situation, a person can find out his/her strength. They can learn what they are capable of and what they can do without. I always thought that I couldn’t cook anywhere except my own kitchen, with my own things, and most importantly my own privacy. It has been a while now that I don’t have my own place where things are my own to call and organize. But now I know that cooking is something that I can do anywhere as long as I have ingredients to work with. I made these sweet potatoes while I was helping someone house-sit. I looked around and found these sweet potatoes and got inspired and put together a meal within an hour for 6 people. Sometimes, it really takes one little spark to ignite an idea and you just have to run with it. I’ve made these a few times since then, they will not be crispy but they are delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Butter (melted)- 3 Tbs
  • Olive Oil- 3 Tbs
  • Rosemary crushed- Dried 1/4 tsp, fresh 1/2 tsp
  • Sweet Potatoes- 3 lbs, (3-4 medium, peeled and sliced thinly)
  • Shallots- 1 (peeled and sliced thinly)
  • Kosher salt- 1 dash
  • Black pepper- 1 dash

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2.  Combine melted butter, oil and crushed rosemary in a small bowl. Pour 2 tablespoons of butter-oil mixture in the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Arrange potato slices vertically in the dish. Add a sliver of shallot between every few slices of potato. Brush top with remaining butter-oil mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper.
  3.  Cover dish with foil and roast for 1 hour, covered, until potatoes are tender (If your potato slices are thicker than shown, you may need to increase cooking time). Increase oven heat to 450 degrees F. Remove foil and roast another 10-15 minutes until tops of potatoes are browned and crisp.

Crispy Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

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These were the perfect little things to serve on the 4th of July celebration. It is super easy to make and is very filling. You cannot go wrong with this one. If you follow the link at the bottom, you will see the possibilities of sliders are endless.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Dinner Rolls
  • Ground Beef- 2 pounds
  • Salt- tsp
  • Pepper- 2 tsp
  • Garlic Powder- 2 tsp
  • Onion- 1/2 cup
  • Cheddar cheese- 6 slices
  • Melted butter
  • Sesame seeds

DIRECTION:

  1. Mix the ground beef, salt, pepper, and garlic powder together.
  2. Bake on 350 degree Celsius for 20 minutes.
  3. Remove the beef and drain the juice. Place the bottom half of your dinner rolls in the baking dish. Put your beef patty on top of the bottom half of the dinner rolls.
  4. Spread the chopped onions. And set the cheese slices on top.
  5. Close off the burger by placing the top half of the dinner roll above the cheese.
  6. Brush the melted butter on top of the buns and sprinkle the sesame seeds as well.
  7. Bake on 350 degree Celsius for another 20 minutes
  8. Cut the pieces and enjoy!.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-Ub38YwpAA

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A love of mine smelled like
Summertime Strawberries
In the middle of fall.

Augustine April 2, 2014

A delectable beautiful piece of love packaged in individual little cheesecakes.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Biscuits – 6
  • Strawberries washed, hulled, halved – 500g
  • Caster sugar – 1 Cup
  • Cream cheese – 400g
  • Plain flour – 1 Tb
  • Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
  • Eggs – 3

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 6 large muffin pans with paper cases. Place biscuits, flat-side up, in the cases.
  2. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the strawberries and 155g (3/4 cup) sugar and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. Drain, reserving syrup. Set aside to cool.
  3. Meanwhile, use an electric beater to beat the cream cheese and remaining sugar in a bowl until smooth. Beat in the flour and vanilla essence. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until combined.
  4. Spoon half the strawberries over the biscuits. Top with the cream cheese mixture.
  5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until just set. Set aside to cool completely. Place in the fridge to chill.
  6. Transfer to a serving platter. Serve with the remaining strawberries and reserved syrup.

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/caramelised-strawberry-shortcakes/7bcdf823-eb6f-44c5-b61e-dd1168dba4f8?ref=collections,strawberry-recipes

 

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It’s been a while since I’ve last updated this blog. But fear not ! I am back and cooking again. Just trying to get my life together. Picking up the pieces of the old life to serve my new life. So here is to something new. A piece of banana bread with some indulging vanilla ice-cream.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Ripe bananas – 5-7
  • Eggs – 3
  • Oil – ½ cup
  • Sugar – ½ cup
  • Cinnamon – 1 Tbs
  • Flour – 2 cups
  • Butter – ½ cup
  • Brown sugar – 1 cup

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Smash 4 bananas in a bowl. Add the eggs, oil, sugar and cinnamon and mix it together.
  2. Pour the flour and combine everything together.
  3. To make the caramel, in a pan heat up the butter until melted. Add the sugar and bring to boil.
  4. On a baking dish, pour the caramel in first. Slice two bananas in pieces and assemble them up on top of the caramel filling in the baking dish.
  5. Add the flour mixture and bake it for 350 degree Fahrenheit / 175 degree Celsius for about 40-50 minutes.
  6. It is optional to serve with some Vanilla Ice – cream.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNcHNtadhK4

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Sometimes you don’t realize how little you can live with and be happy with till you lose everything. I’ve come to that realization now. Sure, we all have things that we want, desire and lust over. But are those really the things that we need all the time? Happiness seems temporarily at hand for all of us with the achievement of little to big things. But to create happiness for our own self is quiet the challenge. I am struggling to fulfil that part of my life and YES I do accept the challenge. 😀 I always wanted to bake chicken and here I am creating my happiness for today by giving it a go. It is as simple as it can get. I substituted the sherry with normal red wine and a little bit of brown sugar. I used coriander leaves instead of parsley and omitted olives since I did not have any at the time.

INGREDIENTS :

  • Chicken breast fillets, trimmed – 4
  • Plain flour – 1/3 cup
  • Butter chopped – 50 grams
  • Medium brown onion, finely chopped – 1
  • Dry sherry – ½ cup
  • Canned diced tomatoes – 400 grams
  • Kalamata Olives – ¼ cup
  • Chopped fresh flat – leaf parsley leaves – 2 tbs

INSTRUCTIONS :

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Place flour in a snap-lock bag. Season with salt and pepper. Add chicken breasts, 2 at a time, shaking to coat. Shake off excess. Place on a plate.
  1. Melt butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes each side or until golden. Transfer to a 5cm-deep, 20cm x 30cm (base) baking dish.
  1. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add onion to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until softened. Increase heat to medium-high. Add sherry. Bring to the boil. Boil for 1 minute. Add tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 6 minutes or until boiling. Spoon tomato mixture over chicken. Cover.
  1. Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, adding olives for the last 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve with potatoes and broccolini.

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/23414/chicken+provencale