Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Chicken and Vegetable stir-fry

For a change I thought I will post something different today , something spicy  . This dish is very easy to prepare and requires very little time . Everything is done at a high heat , only get all the ingredients ready and the only work required is to throw it all in a pan . The aroma of the dish itself is very mouthwatering ,so here goes .............


INGREDIENTS

500 gms boneless chicken cut into strips
1 tsp soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbspns vegetable oil
250 gms french beans cut lengthwise
1 large carrot julienned
1 large capsicum julienned
250 gms button mushrooms quartered
3 spring onions chopped
3-4 garlic cloves minced
2 tbspn tomato ketchup
a dash of hot sauce
1 tbspn green chilli sauce
1 tspn soy sauce
1 maggie chicken stock cube
1 tbspn sesame oil (optional)
a bunch of coriander leaves chopped  (optional)

METHOD

Marinate the chicken in 1 tspn soy sauce and salt and pepper for 15 min.
In a large pan heat 1 tbspn oil and saute the marinated chicken till done , remove the chicken from the pan .
In the same pan add the rest of the oil and then add white part of the spring onion and minced garlic and saute it for a few seconds , then add the rest of the vegetables .Take care not to over cook it , the vegetable should be crisp .
Then add in the sauces and the chicken stock cube and fry them for a few minutes.
Add in the chicken and toss it with all the vegetables .
Drizzle the sesame oil on top and garnish it with the green part of the spring onions and the coriander and serve hot .

TIPS


To make this dish even more tastier you can batter fry the chicken .

Monday, September 27, 2010

mango and orange sorbet

This recipe is perfect for the summer , it is a wonderfully delicious and also very easy ( my favourite word ) to make , so here goes ........






INGREDIENTS


2 cups orange juice
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large mango cut in to cubes and chilled

METHOD

Mix everything in a blender and freeze in an icecream maker according to instructuctions or freeze it in a freezer and every hour just prick it with a fork.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

healthy dessert / breakfast

This is a wonderful , delicious and a guilt-free dessert , it can also be a wonderful breakfast , a great way to have the kids eat a good breakfast and the best thing about it is that it is super easy to make ,so here goes ..



INGREDIENTS

1 cup of any kind of fruits like berries , apple , banana , mango  chopped
1 cup of low-fat yoghurt ,whipped
1/2 cup rolled or instant oats
2 tbspn honey
1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
2 tbspn maple syrup

METHOD

Toast the oats and add honey to it and stir it till it becomes crisp
Blend the blueberries with the maple syrup ( if using frozen thaw them )
In a glass layer it first with the tosted oats , chopped fruits, whipped yoghurt, blueberry syrup and again the toasted oats , layer it in this order .
You can make as many layers you want , finally top it off with the toasted oats .

TIPS

If you dont have blueberries then just use blueberry jam or you can use any variety of berries .

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Blueberry muffins

I just love blueberries and I absolutely love anything which has to do with blueberries , this muffin recipe is a very good recipe , it is a very moist and not overly sweet blueberry muffin and the best thing is it is super easy to make , my family just loves them and it is over as soon as I make it , so here goes ............


INGREDIENTS


1 cup or 240 ml low-fat yoghurt
1 large egg
1/4 cup canola or veg oil
1/2 tsp vanilla essence or extract
2 cups or 260 g all purpose flour
1/2 cup or 100gm granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup blueberries fresh or frozen

METHOD


Preheat oven to 375 f or 180 c .
In a large pan whisk together yoghurt ,egg , oil and vanilla .
In another pan mix all the dry ingredients . Remove 1 tbspn of the flour mix and toss it with the blueberries .
Fold the wet ingredients in the flour mix until combined .
Gently stir in the blueberries .
Spoon into a greased or paper lined muffin pan and bake 15-20 min or till u insert a toothpick and it comes out clean .


TIPS

If the mix seems a tad dry then add a couple of tsp of milk . You can also make with any kind of berries or chocolate chips .



Friday, September 24, 2010

No Bake Cheesecake

I stumbled upon this recipe a while ago and have been making it ever since and everytime it turns out perfect . it is a wonderful cheesecake very light and airy in texture and above all very easy to make . It is a big hit with my family so here goes ..............



  • 450 gm cream cheese (room temperature)
  • 200 ml double cream
  • 110 gm caster sugar
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp vannilla essence
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 10 digestive biscuits
  • fresh blueberries
  • icing sugar for dusting

  1. Crush the digestives into fine crumbs (use a food processor )
  2. Heat the butter ina large pan on low flame . Add the digestives and stir continuously until the crubs have absorbed the butter and you can a smell a nice roasted aroma .
  3. Remove from the heat and press down into a 10" or 9" inch loose base cake tin (spring form pan).Smooth over by using the base of a glass . Put in the freezer to cool .
  4. In a clean dry bowl whip the double cream until it forms soft peaks . Dont over whip ( it is all in the whipping ).
  5. In another bowl gently soften the cream cheese using a wooden spoon and add the lemon juice , vanilla and sugar .
  6. Next fold in the double cream . mix well .
  7. Pour the filling into the prepared cake tin . Arrange th blueberries on top and sprinkle with the icing sugar .
  8. Allow to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours . Serve with ice ceam, creme fraiche or additional fresh berries .
If you don't have fresh blueberries you can also top it with a chunky blueberry jam ,that works very well too.