English Cottage / Shepherds Pie

Mmmm... cottage pie, more commonly known as shepherds pie here in the US, is hearty and comforting in the winter-time. If you have any mashed potatoes left over from the holidays, this is a wonderful dish for your family to warm up their hungry tummies. It is simple to make and tastes great even if you reheat it the next day.

Here's how I made it recently:

Ingredients:
(about 6-8 servings)
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 medium red onion
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- 5-6 potatoes (peeled, diced)
- About 10 white mushrooms (washed and dried)
- About 10 baby carrots (washed and dried)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 pinches of sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
Mashed potatoes:
- 4-6 potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 pound shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 pound shredded Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Step 2: Prepare mashed potatoes. Boil up water in a big pot covering the potatoes.  Place over high heat until potatoes are tender. Drain and mash potatoes until smooth, then add butter, salt and pepper to taste. Whip until fluffy. Mix in Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Set aside in a big bowl.

Step 3: Prepare the vegetables: Chop up garlic, baby carrots, red onion and white mushrooms.

Step 4: Place a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble in ground beef and saute 1 minute. Add onion and carrot, then continue to saute until meat is no longer pink and onion begins to brown.

Step 5: Stir in white mushrooms. Mix in flour, parsley, soy sauce, sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

Step 6: Lower heat and simmer mixture for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed. Spoon mixture into a 9 inch pie plate. Top with mashed potatoes.

Step 7: Using the back of a fork, create some texture on the top of the pie.

Step 8: Bake for 30 minutes, until top is browned and cheese is bubbly. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes before serving. STAY WARM AND ENJOY!!!

Annual Cookie Competition 2010!

WINNER: Jason Bryan - Rich Chocolate Espresso Snow Cap Cookies!!!

Christy Zykan - Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chips Cookies with Chocolate Filling!!

Faye Smith - Crunchy Spicy Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

Frances Wun - Double Chocolate Chips (White and Milk Chocolate) Soft Cookie Bars!!

  

 Renee Biss - Festive Cookie Pops! 2 flavors - Peppermint Chocolate and Regular Chocolate!

Juliette Carvalho - Crazy Delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies!

Mary Ortt - Classic Butter Spritz Cookies!

Chicken Spinach Noodle with Asparagus and Egg

This is a typical dish that I cook regularly at home. It's very easy to make and simply delicious! Perfect for a laid-back weeknight for your family.

Ingredients: (about 2 servings)
2 pieces of boneless chicken thighs (cut to smaller pieces)
4-6 sticks of fresh asparagus (washed, drained and chopped to about 1" long)
1 large egg (optional)
2 cakes of dried Chinese spinach noodle
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Chicken marinade (for at least 30 minutes)
1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of minced ginger
2 teaspoons of sugar

Directions:
Step1: Cook spinach noodle in a pot of hot water. Drain and divide noodles to 2 serving plates.

Step 2: Over medium heat, saute chicken with asparagus until cooked through (about 10-15 minutes).

Step 3: Add chicken stock to the pan and close the lid for about 3-5 minutes.

Step 4:  Remove lid and add oyster sauce. Mix well for about 3-5 minutes.Turn heat off. Transfer chicken and asparagus to the 2 serving plates evenly.

Step 5: (optional) Pan fry an egg over medium heat in a clean pan. Break cooked egg into smaller pieces and add to the noodle plates. Serve immediately! Enjoy!

Salmon Rice with Brussels Sprouts

Salmon and Brussels sprouts, both have high nutritional value and make a great combination in this rice dish. I made this the other night when I was trying to come up with a different idea using a fresh slice of salmon steak. Instead of cooking it as a whole, I decided to chop it up and do a stir-fry. The tenderness of the Brussels sprouts were delicious with the crispy, tasty salmon chunks. The rice absorbed all the juices and made it a very appetizing dish.

Ingredients: (about 2 servings)
1/2 lb of fresh Brussels sprouts (washed and drained)
1 fresh salmon fillet
2 cups of chilled, cooked white rice
1 stalk of spring onion
1/2 cup of chicken stock
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
A few pinches of salt and pepper

Directions:
Step 1: Using a small knife, cut off bottoms of all Brussels sprouts. Then, chop them up to 4 pieces as shown in picture below.

 

Step 2: Marinate salmon with soy sauce, salt and pepper for about 10 minutes. Over medium heat, add some olive oil and pan fry the salmon fillet on both sides until cooked through. Place salmon on a small plate on the side. Cut up the salmon fillet into big chunks.

Step 3: Saute Brussels sprouts with some olive oil over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes Let it brown a little.

Step 4: Add cold rice and chicken stock into the hot pan. Keep stirring.

Step 5: Turn heat down to low. Put lid on for about 5-8 minutes.

Step 6: Remove lid. Add salmon chunks to the rice in the pan. Turn heat up to medium. Mix well and cook for another 10 minutes. Turn heat off and place contents into 2 medium plates.

Step 7: Chop up the spring onion into about 1 inch pieces.

Step 8: Sprinkle the spring onion over rice dish, add a few drops of sesame oil and soy sauce. Serve immediately! Enjoy!

Whoopie Cookie Pies with Chocolate Marshmallow Cream

Who doesn't like cookies during the holidays? I found the recipe online a few days ago and decided to give it a try. They were cute and turned out pretty good, kinda looked like little sweet hamburgers! Give it a try to make these at home, it will be fun for the kids to help you assemble them in the kitchen!
Recipe referenced from: http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/144121/Mini-Toll-House-Whoopie-Pies/detail.aspx

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels
  Filling:
• 1 cup (6 oz.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels
• 1 cup marshmallow crème
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened

Step 1: PREHEAT oven to 350º F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease.

Step 2: FOR COOKIES:  COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. 

Step 3: Beat butter and sugar in medium mixer bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Step 4: Beat in milk, egg and vanilla extract (mixture will be thin.) Beat in flour mixture on low speed until smooth. Stir in morsels. Drop by heaping measuring teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets. A total of 36 cookies are needed for the recipe.

Step 5: BAKE for 12 to 14 minutes until springy to the touch. Cool completely on baking sheets.

Step 6: FOR CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW FILLING:
MICROWAVE morsels in uncovered, medium microwave-safe mixer bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 30 seconds; STIR. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted.

Step 7: ADD marshmallow crème and butter to melted chocolate. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Transfer filling to resealable plastic bag. Cut hole from corner of bag. Squeeze heaping tablespoon of filling onto flat side of one cookie, top with flat side of second cookie to make a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling. Store in covered container in refrigerator. 

Happy Holidays and Have a Great New Year!! Enjoy!

Ultimate Stuffed Omelette with Creamy Vegetable Filling

This omelette (well, similar versions) is served as breakfast in many casual diners in Hong Kong. The filling of this omelette obviously can be varied, depending on your likings or what leftovers you have in your fridge at the time. It's very easy and fast to make. The basic, yet MOST IMPORTANT ingredients for the filling is onion and a few spoonfuls of cream of mushroom (canned soup for convenience, or the homemade kind if you have the time, the thicker the better). It might look super easy to you, but the result is amazing. Very, very tasty! The rest of the ingredients would be completely your choice. Chopped chicken or ham and cheese would also be great additions to this delicious dish!

So, here we go, this is how I made the omelette pictured above:
Ingredients:
2-3 large eggs
a few baby spinach leaves (about 10 or so)
2 tablespoons of sweet corn (drained)
3 white mushrooms (washed, dried and chopped)
1/2 small yellow onion (chopped)
1 big tablespoonful of cream of mushroom soup (canned) 
1 tablespoon of chunky, chopped tomato (canned)
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Step 1: Saute onion with a little oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn heat off, put cooked onion in a small bowl.

Step 2: Whisk eggs in a medium bowl. Over medium heat in a large non-stick pan, pour over the egg mixture, Move the pan around to get egg over the whole surface. Cook for a few minutes.

Step 3: Add cooked onion, cream soup, vegetable (except tomato) one by one onto 1/2 of the egg. Cook for about 3 minutes.

Step 4: Just using a flat spatula, flip the side of the egg that does not have filling to close the omelette. Overflowing a little is ok, it all depends on how you like it. Cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Step 5: Put the chopped tomato over the omelette after transferring to a big plate. Serve immediately!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake with Walnuts

Happy Thanksgiving! It's one of the biggest holidays to have a wonderful feast! A buddy at work was having her birthday around the same time, so I decided to make 2 of these wonderful, festive cheesecakes this week. One of the office and the other to take to the family gathering. They were fairly easy to make and turned out to be a party winner!
Ref from:  http://www.readycrust.com/recipe_detail_template.aspx?recipeid=1174

To make 1 cheesecake (about 8-10 servings), here's the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 Large Graham Pie Crust (I used the Keebler® Ready Crust® 2 extra servings, worked great!)
2 packages of 8 ounces Philadelphia Cream Cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 (15oz) can of 100% pure pumpkin


1 cup of good semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup of whipping cream
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
1-2 tablespoons of powdered sugar

Step 1: In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese on medium speed of electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar and spice. Beat until combined.

Step 2: Add eggs one at a time, mixing until just combined after each addition.

Step3: Stir in pumpkin and add chocolate chips.

 

Step 4: Pour into crust.

Step 5: Bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool for 1 hour on wire rack. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

 

Step 6: Prepare toppings. Melt chocolate chips in microwave for 1 minute. Mash melted chocolate with  a fork or spoon. Add chopped walnuts and mix with whipping cream.

Step 7: Spread generously over the cooled cheesecake. Sift powdered sugar over the chocolate spread. That's it! Enjoy your sweet, fluffy pumpkin cheesecake!!