Baked Pasta

The girls suka sangat baked pasta. Kalau makan baked pasta everyday pun takpe. Tapi of course, the calorie is very high. Walaupun makan baked pasta everyday will make my life easier, tapi tak sampai hati nak sumbat that much calorie in the girls' diet.

 Before masuk oven

Lepas Keluar dari oven. Eh! keluar oven bekas dah lain? Aku baked 2 bekas.. hehe.. 

Anyway, the girls will move school lepas cuti sekolah. Ada some issues at the girls' current school. Untuk tidak memeningkan kepala, the girls akan sekolah nearer to house, which is only 3 minutes drive compared to now yg will take more than 10 minutes. Semoga Allah permudahkan this transition. Iffah is really upset with this, but I have no choice. 

Baked Pasta
Bahan2

4-5 ulas bwg putih - crushed
2 large onion (diced)
1/2 kg minced meat (beli yg minced fresh meat bukan brand ramly etc)
2 can of tomato puree
1/2 can water
2-3 tomatoes (diced)
1-2 tbs mixed herbs
5 tbs sugar
1 1/2 tbs salt

cara2
1. panaskan few tbs of olive oil. saute onion and garlic dalam pan
2. masukkan mince meat, biarkan sampai kering air, masukkan diced tomatoes.
3. then add  tomato puree and water.
4. add mixed herbs, sugar and salt. kalau suka, boleh add crushed black peppers.

white sauce (bechamel) 
6 tbs butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups of fresh milk
1 cup water
salt, pepper.

Cara2

1. butter, panaskan, bila dah cair, masukkan  flour, then saute sampai kekuningan, about 2 minutes, remove from heat, masukkan  fresh milk and water. then stir, pastu bring to boil, slow the heat, kacau til it's thick.Add salt (about 2 tsp) and pepper. pasta tu  boil dulu until 3/4 cooked. then layer the pasta. alternate the meat sauce and white sauce. last sekali, topped with bologne sauce, and sprinkle with some mozarella cheese and parsley. baked for approximately 45mins. voila! siap ur baked pasta:D

Easy Skillet Lasagna

Bila sebut lasagna, the image dalam kepala would be the classic lasagna yg dibakar dalam oven right? ok, this is different. The taste is awesome. The girls couldnt get enough of it sampai mama dia orang kena catu sebab takmau bagi overeat. This recipe is inpired by The Country Cook.It is so easy to make, tutup mata pun boleh buat. I have made changes to the recipe, so originality dah takde. But the method of cooking it still the same.

Easy Skillet Lasagna
Ingredients

2 bawang besar - cincang halus
3 ulas bawang putih - cincang halus
1 kg minced meat
5 biji buah tomato yang besar - dadu
4 kiub stock lembu knorr
4-6 cawan air panas (lebih jika perlu)
1 cawan mozarella (boleh tambah 1/2 cawan lagi kalau suka)
500gm uncooked pasta (any kind that is available in your pantry)

bechamel sauce
3 sudu besar butter
3 sudu besar tepung
1 1/2 cawan susu
1/2 sudu teh garam
1/2 sudu teh lada hitam tumbuk
1/2 sudu teh stock ayam granules

cara2

1. mula2, prepare the bechamel sauce.

To prepare the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stirring constantly, blend in the flour until smooth. Mix in the milk, season with pepper, chicken granules, salt and continue to cook and stir until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

2. In a pan, panaskan minyak zaitun, masukkan minced meat, bawang putih dan bawang besar, tumis sehingga daging menjadi perang. Buang lebihan air dari pan.

3. Masukkan tomato, air dan stock lembu. Apabila mendidih, masukkan pasta. Biarkan pasta mendidih dan lembut, between 14-18 minutes. Kalau air dah kering and pasta belum lembut, tambahkan air.

4. Apabila pasta dah lembut, masukkan garam, sos bechamel dan cheese. Kacau 1-2 minit, hidangkan.

Fettuccini with pomegranate

A simple dish taught by my korean sister in law.

Bahan2
500gm fettuccine - boiled until al Dante
1 cup mayo
2 biji delima
10 biji telur - boiled and sliced
Optional - a cup of mixed veges - boiled and drained

Cara2
1. Mix everything in a bowl. Voila!!

Upside Down Pizza

Mula2, malas sangat nak baking yesterday. Aku puasa ganti, so hajat hati, nak la jugak puasakan oven sekali. Pastu, tiba-tiba, Ju menggoda aku dengan suggestion to bake the upside down pizza. Kebetulan, dalam peti ada leftover bolognese sauce from Iffah's birthday party. Aku pun, terus la masuk dapur. Fifteen minutes later, Upside Down Pizza aku dah masuk dalam oven. *sigh*...

I had a good rest yesterday. With hubby in the east coast, the girls kat rumah K.Mei, I managed to catch some sleep. Aku keluar pun kejap je tengahari semalam, because nak bawak adik aku, Ayu, pegi klinik. Dia demam panas over the weekend, baru semalam nak pegi klinik. Tu pun sebab nak kena ambik MC.

Iman and Iffah went out the whole afternoon dengan K.Mei, pegi shopping with their Nena. Pukul 3pm baru K.Mei called for me to pick up the girls. Tapi aku keluar lepas asar sebab letih sangat. Bila exercise on hari yang berpuasa, badan rasa extra penat. And yesterday I did lower body exercises. Dahaga nya, Allah je la yang tahu.

I made a mistake of going out lepas asar. Dah tak pasal2 stuck dalam jam, caught in the rush hour traffic. Dah la area Bangsar tu, kalau jam, sangat la teruk. Luckily tak lama jam. Sampai rumah, dah nak dekat berbuka. Lepas berbuka, aku keluar dengan cousin aku, Wan, pegi makan kat Pak Kopitiam. I took protein during berbuka, so masa makan kat Pak Kopitiam, I couldnt finish my food. huhuhuhu.. sedih betul..

Balik rumah last nite, dah pukul 11pm. Iman and Iffah both tak tido lagi. They went out earlier with mak Shariff to buy me and hubby our anniversary present. Anniversary kita orang yg ke 12 will be this coming 30th July. Thank you Kakak and Adik for the gift! Sanggup simpan duit sekolah everyday just to belikan mama and abah hadiah.

Upside Down Pizza

Recipe

Adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

Bottom Layer

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 250gm of sausage - sliced
• 250gm of minced meat
• 1 cup onion, sliced
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 1 can of tomato puree
• 1/2 cup black olives, sliced
• 1 Red Capsicum - sliced
• salt, pepper & sugar

Middle Layer

• 100 gm mozzarella cheese, grated
• 250 gm cheddar cheese, grated

Top Layer

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup Mozarella, grated
• a bunch of cilantro - minced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.
3. Add sausage, minced meat and cook for 3 minutes, or until browned and cooked through, breaking up the meat as it cooks with a wooden spoon.
4. Add onion, red capsicum and mushrooms and cook 2 minutes, until soft. Add tomato puree and olives and bring to a simmer, about 2 minutes. Add salt, pepper & sugar.
5. Remove from heat and transfer sauce to the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
6. Top with mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese.
7. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and oil until blended. Whisk in flour and salt until well blended. Pour mixture over sauce in pan.
8. Sprinkle with mozarella and cilantro. Bake 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Back with Vengeance!

Hahahahaha... macam real je tajuk post hari ni. Aku missed my oven and mixer a lot!! Semalam Leene, a friend who is staying in Cairo, tempt me her marble orange cake. I've made that my mission for today, to bake the cake. Nampak cam senang giler. Cuma I need to buy oranges kat Jusco kejap lagi. Takpe la, memang aku nak kena pegi buat grocery pun today.

The girls didnt go to school. They were too tired, their mama pun letih teramat sangat nak bangun untuk send them to school. So, ponteng sekolah la hari ni. Tapi tengahari nanti, they will have to go to KAFA. Kejap lagi, both of them will be coming to the gym with us. Hubby is taking today off as a replacement for the weekend yang the keje.

I think memang patut pun dia ambik today off sebab last nite we were stuck on the Karak highway for almost 2 hours. The traffic was moving at a snail pace. Urgh! Tension giler! Macam balik raya pulak. Pelik betul aku, mana la semua orang tu pegi. It's just a 3- days break. Bukannya cuti seminggu macam cuti raya.

Aku memang letih sangat2 last nite coz I had to wait for hubby kat Kemaman for more than 4 hours. He had meetings. Nak taknak, terpaksa la tunggu dengan penuh kesabaran. Aku siap tertido dalam kete while the girls watched movies inside the car. I did ask hubby to sleep in Kuantan, tapi sebab ada sekotak ikan kat belakang kereta, memang takleh tido mana2. Kena balik jugak. Kindda menyesal jugak aku beli ikan semalam kat Pasar Kedai Payang. Kalau tak beli ikan, tak payah ler susah2 nak balik semalam. Boleh tido mana2 on the way. Memang sepanjang jalan semalam, penuh dengan kereta.

Spinach Fettucini with Shrimps & Tuna (which I cooked few days ago)

Somehow, I'm not progressing much in my exercising. I exercise macam nak mati, but my weight didnt decrease much. I'm kindda frustrated. Bila tengok hubby's progress, rasa macam nak quit je sebab badan aku sakit, but my weight is not reducing as fast as I expect it to be. So far, aku tak penah lagi missed any exercising except 2-3 hari yg aku sakit dulu. I guess I'll just have to continue.

My mission is not to look slim but to reduce my PCOS (I have to keep reminding myself that). Hopefully if I can manage my PCOS better, then the chances of me getting pregnant will be better too. *sigh*... seksa sungguh ada PCOS ni. I need to triple my effort to achieve what others achieve in exercising. Merapu la pulak aku..

Italian Baked Cannelloni & Gold Coast

Yesterday, my sister in laws balik from their holiday to Gold Coast. *sigh*... aku frust takleh ikut. Tiket kita orang kira burn la.. Frust sangat2, tapi errm.. aku rasa Iman's health is more important. My sister in laws bought easter bunny eggs chocolate for the girls plus gifts that they bought kat Movie World. Masa kat Tassie dulu, aku suka sangat beli easter bunny eggs during Easter. Murah!! Tapi dia orang cakap, sekarang barang2 kat Australia dah mahal. Ye la, mana tak mahal. The exchange rate dah more than RM3.1 for every $1. So, kalau convert, memang sakit jantung la.. Takpe la.. I think I'll try to get another cheap tickets for next year :)

What did I cooked for dinner? Mula-mula baca about Cannelloni ni, kat blog K.Min few months ago. Pastu nampak pulak  Dina's status dalam FB that dia buat spinach cannelloni for dinner. Mana la aku nak cari cannelloni kat Msia ni. Dah puas aku ronda semua Cold Storage, takde jugak. Last2, aku jumpa cannelloni! It was sold at Cold Storage The Mall. Remember the incident masa aku beli kasut sukan tu? Haa.. masa tu la aku beli the cannelloni.

Oleh kerana aku tak penah masak cannelloni before, aku terpaksa la google the recipe untuk masak cannelloni. Initially, aku nak guna tuna. Pastu pikir2 balik, maybe kalau guna tuna, sure banyak leftovers. Maka, aku terpaksa la ganti dengan minced meat. But then, hubby pulak takleh makan daging lembu or ayam. Nak taknak, aku kena pegi Jusco untuk beli minced mutton. I wanted to buy mushrooms too tapi aku bawak duit cukup2 je untuk beli mutton and mozarella cheese. I went to Jusco immediately lepas hantar the girls to KAFA. Wallet pun tak bawak. Ambik duit yang aku selalu tinggal dalam kete je. Aku make it a habit tinggal few RM10 notes dalam kete. Senang kalau nak beli apa2. Kadang2, time keluar without wallet la baru teringat nak beli roti la, susu la, mcm2 lagi. Kalau dah ada duit dalam kete, takyah pusing balik rumah ambik wallet.. hehe..

Recipe cannelloni tu aku dah tokok tambah the recipe from allrecipes.com tu. Suprisingly, the girls love cannelloni the way I cooked it. They said, it tasted better than lasagna. Phew! at least  I dont have to worry about left over. Aku masak cukup2 je untuk makan for yesterday and today. They didnt even know that I used mutton instead of minced meat. Shhhh! jangan bagitau dia orang ye.

Italian Baked Cannelloni

 

Photoshoot dijalankan masa tengah hujan.. tension je.. takde matahari.. huhuhu

 

Iman & Iffah love this a lot! Mama takat makan 1 serving, pastu telan air liur je la.. sebab kena diet.. huhu

Italian Baked Cannelloni

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients

         Cannelloni Filling

• 3 tbs olive oil
• 500gm minced mutton
• 2 onion, thinly sliced
• salt to taste
• 125gm of shredded Mozarella
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 2 small eggplant – diced
• 2 tomatoes - diced

Bachamel Sauce 

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cups milk
• 1 cup water

Tomato mixture

• 1 can of tomato paste
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt and pepper to taste
•  
• 12 cannelloni pasta shells

Directions

1. To make the Cannelloni Filling: In a large skillet over medium heat, warm oil and saute ground mutton with the onion; cook until meat is evenly browned and crumbly. Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes & eggplant. Let it simmer for few minutes. Add salt.
2. To make the Bechamel sauce: Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir until well incorporated. Stir in milk and bring to a slow boil until mixture thickens. Stir into the meat mixture and mix well. Stir in the mozzarella; set aside.
3. To make the tomato mixture, in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter and saute onion until soft and translucent. Add tomato paste and salt. Mix well; simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, a few at a time, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; using a slotted spoon, remove immediately to a pot filled with cold water. Lift pasta out with slotted spoon and arrange on a flat surface.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
6. Spoon a line of filling into each shell, starting from one end and using your finger to push the filling inside of each shell. In a 9x13 inch baking dish, place cannelloni and cover with tomato mixture (step 3) & mozarella
7. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until heated through; when finished baking, allow to stand for 5 minutes and serve.

Keletihan..

Semalam was a tiring day for me. We had to exercise pagi2 buta, at 6.30am sebab  Iman ada appointment dengan doctor at 9am and I have an appointment at 9am too, kat Pertama Kompleks. Hubby had to take 1/2 day leave to bring Iman to Selayang Hospital. Pagi semalam, lepas dah habis exercise at about 7.20am, terus mandi and siap2 untuk keluar.

I took LRT to go to Pertama Kompleks. The initial plan was, to take LRT to Masjid Jamek, then ambik Star LRT to stesyen Bandaraya, tapi by pukul 8.45am, aku baru sampai stesyen Dang Wangi, which is one stop before Masjid Jamek. Aku pun, turun je la kat Dang Wangi coz I thought Dang Wangi tu dekat je dengan Pertama Kompleks.

Alih2, bila aku turun, it's so far away from Pertama Kompleks. Kalau naik teksi, guarantee takde teksi yang nak hantar aku. So, terpaksa la aku power walk about 3-4km to Pertama Kompleks. I walked so fast that, by the time sampai Pertama Kompleks, I was panting like crazy. Kaki sakit giler, maybe sebab muscle pull kot. Argh! memang tension.

Aku pelik betul la dengan LRT station kat Malaysia ni, dah tau peak hour, pesal la takleh nak bukak kaunter tiket banyak sikit. Dah la their automated machines that dispense tickets cuma ada few je working. Queue untuk beli tiket, punya la panjang. If I did have to waste my time queueing beli tiket for more than 10 minutes, then maybe I wouldnt have to power walked to Pertama Kompleks.

Balik dari Pertama Kompleks, aku ambik LRT again and hubby picked me up at LRT Wangsa Maju. Sampai je rumah, aku terus tido, dari pukul 1pm, sampai ler pukul 3.30pm. Punya la letih, aku yang jarang tido tengahari pun boleh tertido. Next time, aku kena set appointments lepas pukul 10am, not during early rush hour.

 Chicken Mushroom Carbonara

My basic bechamel sauce recipe(I added Campbell canned mushroom soup)

Bechamel Sauce

3 tbs butter

3 tbs flour

2 cups milk

1 cup water

125gm grated cheddar cheese (I used sliced cheddar cheese)

salt, pepper

1 can of  Campbell Mushroom Soup(small can)

cara2

1. Melt the butter, add flour, goreng sampai kuning, tutup api, add milk and water, kacau sampai tak berketul. 

2. If the sauce berketul, just masuk dalam blender, blend kejap, then tuang balik ke dalam periuk.

3. Panaskan the sauce, sampai sauce pekat, add salt, black pepper and cheese.

To the sauce, add browned minced chicken (just brown minced chicken using few tbs of olive oil). Served with bow ties. :)

Bechamel Chicken Pasta

This week adalah minggu malas masak sedunia. Bila malas masak, aku akan ambik jalan shortcut, which is, masak pasta. Kan semalam aku ada mentioned dalam entry, nak masak this dish, but sebab takde cheese, makan terbantut hasrat aku yang setinggi gunung fiji tu. So tadi, dengan semangat yang berkobar2, aku pegi Jusco untuk beli barang. Kopak duit makcik beli 500gm shredded Mozarella.. huwaaa... Tapi takpe, demi menyahut cabaran yang telah aku laungkan dalam facebook pada Jeni and Elisa, aku rela.

This recipe is taken from allrecipes.com. I didnt make any alteration to the original recipe, except part dill and cilantro tu, which aku terus omit. In a way, i regretted using peas sebab rasa weird (hubby loves it!) bagi aku. Maybe jugak sebab aku bukan peminat setia peas. Sorry ye encik peas, u're not in my list of favourite food.

Fresh from the oven

Tak sabar tunggu sejuk, terus aku potong and hidang pada hubby :)

source : http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bechamel-Chicken-Pasta/Detail.aspx

Ingredients 

• 1 (16 ounce) package dried penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 1/2 cup frozen peas (replace with mushroom, will taste better)
• 1 bunch cilantro ( I omitted this)
• 3 sprigs fresh dill weed, chopped (I didnt add any)
• 1 (6 ounce) can  tomato paste/puree
• 1/2 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste

Bechamel Sauce

•  10 tablespoons butter
•   2 tbs chicken cube
•  10 tablespoons all-purpose flour
•   6 cups milk
• pepper to taste
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, cook the penne pasta 10 to 12 minutes, until al dente, and drain.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, green bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the chicken, and cook until almost done. Mix in the peas, cilantro, dill, tomato paste, and enough water to make a thick sauce. Continue to cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear, and all the ingredients are heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. To prepare the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Dissolve the chicken bouillon cube in the melted butter. Stirring constantly, blend in the flour until smooth. Mix in the milk, season with pepper, and continue to cook and stir until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
5. In a bowl, mix the cooked pasta with 1/2 the bechamel sauce. Place 1/2 the pasta in a baking dish, layer with 1/2 the chicken mixture, and 1/2 the mozzarella cheese. Layer with the remaining pasta, remaining chicken mixture, and remaining bechamel sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until bubbly.

Next cabaran is buat Pineapple Upside Down Cake this weekend. Aduh! kena bertungkus lumus study ni.. hehe