Easy Chicken Porrige, the Comfort Food for All Ages 简易鸡丝粥，老少咸宜

The weather had been really bad lately, hazy, dusty and crazily hot that none of us feel like stepping out of the house. We opt to stay indoor unless we really have to go out. To make life easy, I decided to cook this simple chicken porridge with the leftover salted chicken prepared by my mom in law the night before. Since the chicken is already salted, I only used small amount of seasoning.

Preparation: 5 Minutes
Cooking: 30 Minutes (using uncooked rice) / 15 Minutes (using cooked rice)
Serving for: 3-4 person

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup rice (soak in water for at least 30 minutes before cooking)
Water (rice to water ratio of 1:6)
1 salted chicken breast / 2 chicken thighs (precooked)
A pinch of salt & pepper to taste
Few drops of sesame oil
Some spring onions, roughly chopped

The Making:
1. Using a fork or cleaned hands, pull out the meat from the chicken breast, the finer the better. Set them aside.

2. Soak the rice in a pot of water, bring to boil and let it continue to cook on high heat for about 5 minutes. (You may add the chicken carcass into the water and you have a chicken broth base)

3. Turn the heat to medium, let it simmer for about 30 minutes or until the rice all soften, keep the lid open. Stir the porridge occasionally to avoid them from sticking to the bottom of the pot, if it becomes to thick just add a bit more warm water.

4. Add in the pulled meat, let it cook for another 3 minutes, finally add some salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, add few drops of the sesame oil, sprinkle with some chopped spring onions or anchovies powder. Since I'm out of both, I sprinkled with some roasted anchovies for my duo while for myself, I topped mine with some crispy chicken floss, my favorite!


It's a simple yet nutritious meal for the lazy afternoon and I got to enjoy some leisure time with my duo while the porridge was cooking.. The little ones happily gobbled down 2 bowls each without needing any assistant, if only every meal is like this. *wishful thinking of a rather tired mom*


Just a note on the choice of rice..
I used brown long grain rice which is unbleached, more flavourful and has higher nutritional value, you may just use normal white rice depending your preference. When baby C was younger, I prepared her rice cereal / porridge using Pearl rice which is a type of short grain rice with soft texture.

You may read more about the benefit of brown rice here, it is really more than just the different in color.


Useful Tips!

• To shorten the cooking time and to achieve softer texture, you may pre-soak the rice with water for at least 30 minutes or longer. Otherwise, you may have to increase the cooking time accordingly. If you are using left over rice, you can also reduce the cooking time to about 15 minutes.
• The porridge will continue to absorb water if you left it in the pot, so it's best to consume while it's warm or it may dry up.
• This is an ideal way to used up left over meat, you may substitute the salted chicken with roasted chicken too.

{Quick Meal} Stir Fried Wanton Noodle 快炒三丝云吞面

The weather was crazily hot these days, with the continuous dry season, we are on the alert to conserve our water usage so I have been cooking really simple meal that requires minimal washing. For the weekend, I decided to cook this stir fried wanton noodle that both my kiddos love. Loaded with lots of vegetables (in fact there was more veggies than noodles), I can be assured they are getting the proper nutrition intake instead of ordering take away.

今天用了火腿丝，胡萝卜丝和大包菜丝, 快手的炒了这碟三丝云吞面。配合有咬劲的云吞面，容易好吃又健康。不需洗一大堆锅锅碟碟，就那么一锅煮，一家人也可以吃得开开心心。如果再撒上一些红辣椒丝那就更赏心悦目。

For the big ones..

For the little ones, I sprinkled some roasted anchovies, their favorite..

Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 10 min
Serving for: 4 person

Ingredients  (材料):
2 clove garlic, smashed or finely chopped 蒜头两瓣，剁碎
1 medium size carrot, cut into thin strips 胡萝卜一根，切丝
2 sausages, cut into long strips 香肠两条，切长丝

1 1/2 cup cabbages, cut into long strips 大包菜，切丝 （大约一杯分量）

6 (organic) wanton noodles 有机干云吞面六粒

3 eggs, beaten and seasoned with salt & pepper 鸡蛋三粒，打散，加适量盐胡椒粉调味

Seasoning (调味料)：
1 table spoon Worcester sauce 一汤匙Worcester酱
2 table spoons soy sauce 两汤匙酱油
1 teaspoon sesame oil 一茶匙麻油
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (optional) 一茶匙黑酱油
a dash of salt  盐适量
a dash of pepper 胡椒粉适量


The Making (制作过程）:

1. Soak the noodles in a pot of hot water for 1 minutes. Drain and soak briefly in cool water to maintain the crunchiness of the noodle.

把云吞面团浸在烧水一分钟烫熟，捞起后过冷水让面条保持咬劲。

2. Beat the eggs, seasoned with some salt and pepper, heat up a table spoon of cooking oil and spread the egg liquid into a big circle. Cook for about a minute then roughly chop it up using the spatula. Set aside.

把鸡蛋打散，撒上适量的盐和胡椒粉，烧热一汤匙的油把蛋液煎成蛋饼，用煎匙把蛋饼切散。置放一旁待用。

3. Heat up 2 tablespoon of cooking oil, saute the garlic till fragrance and toss in the sausage strips, carrot strips, long beans and lastly the cabbages. Add about 2 table spoons of boiled water (at room temperature), close the lid and let the veggies simmer for about 2 minutes. Season with some salt, pepper and Worcester sauce.

在热锅里烧热两大汤匙的食油，把蒜头爆香后加入香肠片，胡萝卜丝，长豆，大包菜丝和大约半杯的水，上盖让杂菜煮大约两分钟左右，加入盐、胡椒粉和Worcester酱调味。

4. Toss the blanched noodle, add the soy sauce, dark soy sauce and sesame oil. Use a chopstick to ensure the sauces evenly spread over the noodles, cook for about 2 minutes and turn off the heat.

把烫熟的面条倒入锅内，加入酱油、黑酱油（可免）和芝麻酱调味，用长筷子把面条和配料搅拌均匀。大火煮大约两分钟后熄火。

Sprinkle the egg omelet over the noodles, mix roughly and your stir fried wanton noodles is ready to serve! Add some chili sauce, some roasted anchovies (ikan bilis), or just eat as-is. Simple home cook meal full of rich goodness of fresh vegetable.

把蛋散洒在煮好的面条上，加些烘江鱼仔或香葱即可上桌。趁热配上一点小辣椒大口大口的吃下肚，我最爱的吃法！

温馨叮咛：

给小朋友吃的时候，记得把面条剪短方便小朋友自己喂食，比较大的小孩则可以教他们用叉把面条卷成一团来吃，干脆把它当意大利面来吃。小孩吃的开心，妈咪放心。

Tips:
• I used the water for washing vegetables and noodles to water the plant, one good way of avoiding water wastage, especially when water supply is limited. 

• When serving for young toddlers, do remember to cut the noodles into smaller strips using a clean scissors. For older kids, teach them to eat properly either using a pair of chopsticks or swirl it up with a fork just like eating spaghetti.

Easy Healthy Mac 'N Cheese #15MinuteSuppers

While we were doing our weekend grocery shopping, we walked past the pasta section and Little Captain saw the elbow pasta. He immediately remind me that it has been a while since I last cooked Mac 'n Cheese, so Mac 'n Cheese it is for lunch today!

Since I planned to bring them to playground for some ball games, I decided to make a quick and easy version by having all ingredient cooked in a pot (except for the sausages), but I would never cut short on nutrition so mixed veggies are must.

I love the color combination...

Little Captain and Princess C had a small bowl each.

While I love mind with chili flakes... Simply Satisfying!

The ingredients... Except the elbow pasta and green peas that are not in pic.

Preparation Time: 5 min
Cooking Time: 10 min
Serving for: 2-3 little ones

Ingredients:
1 cup elbow macaroni

1/4 cup carrot cubes

1 cup broccoli cut into small chunks

1/4 cup frozen peas, defrost to room temperature 

2 sausages, cut into round slices

Some fresh or dried rosemary 

Salt & pepper to taste

For Cheese Sauce

1 cup cheddar cheese, cut into cubes

2 table spoons of butter

1 table spoon of flour

1 cup of fresh milk

The Making:

1. Cook the macaroni, cut vegetables and peas in a pot of boiling water with a pinch of salt for about 8-10 minutes. Drain the excess water and run the pasta under running tap water for a few seconds.

2. While pasta is boiling, heat up a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and cook the sausage for about 5 minutes or till golden.

3. In another pot, melt the butter and add the flour on medium heat, stir constantly until the flour dissolved then add the cheese, milk and rosemary leaves. Bring it to a boil until the cheese sauce thicken.

4. Add the macaroni and vegetables into the cheese sauce, seasoned with a dash of salt and pepper. Mix well and turn off the heat.

5. When serving, drops the sausages on top. Sprinkle with more shredded cheese if you like it real cheesy.

The making in 5 simple steps.

I let little captain helped to setup the table as I cooked (his usual chore), I must said he is getting really good at it. Apart from having the cutlery placed correctly, he even prepared the sachet of chili flakes and orange juice for me and daddy, he knew i looooove spicy food, how very thoughful of him! *feeling pretty proud*

A Gentle Note...

As usual, I would remind you that if this is the first time introducing cheese to your little one, always watch out for allergy reaction such as swollen, rashes or itchiness. Besides if you are serving to toddler do use the salt sparingly as their daily sodium requirements are way lower than adults.

Need some guidance on how to select the right cheese for your little ones? Read my previous post on cheese for little ones and also the post on salt / sodium intake.

If you like more cheese recipe, check out here.

Happy cooking!

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and look for the #15MinuteSuppers hashtag too

Today we are all sharing recipes that are 15 minutes or less, whether it's a smoothie, holiday dessert, or a quick snack.  Having a bunch of recipes that only takes a few minutes in your recipe tool box is good thing! Need more quick 15 minute recipe ideas? Check out these other great #15MinuteSuppers!

• Layered Strawberry Banana Smoothies from Around My Family Table
• Easy Healthy Mac 'n Cheese from Food 4 Little Ones
• Leprechaun Bark from Better in Bulk
• Gyro Pizza from Just 2 Sisters
• Easy Breakfast Roll-Ups from Home Cooking Memories
• Homemade Hummus and Pita Chips from Jen's Journey

Head over to our #15MinuteSuppers Pinterest Board to see all the past recipes and more delicious goodness!

BLOGGERS: Would you like to join us at #15MinuteSuppers? We’d love to have you! Please check out the 15 Minute Suppers website or ask to join the Facebook group (for bloggers) to participate on Fridays…we’d love to have you join us.

Swiss Rolls with Fresh Jam (or Pink Chocolate!)

Valentine's Day was just over, we had a little gift exchange (unplanned but somehow we bough each other a surprise) but other than that no special celebration, just a family reunion dinner since it coincide with last day of the Chinese New Year, Chap Goh Meh, 元宵节.

The next morning, since it's a relaxing Saturday, I thought of baking something to make up for the day. Hence, this strawberry chocolate Swiss rolls and some mini heart shape cupcakes.

Since I've got some extra cake mix, just baked these mini cupcakes with tiny pink hearts (shaped the melted chocolate using a toothpick)

Pretty strawberry chocolate, ready to spread.

Preparing Time: 10 minutes

Baking Time: 15 minutes

Serving Size: 1 loaf

Ingredient A:

5 medium eggs

80gm confectionary sugar (this has been reduced from original 100gm)

60gm corn flour

A dash of salt

Ingredient B:

Unsweetened Strawberry jam with chocolate chips

Or 

80gm melted strawberry chocolate 

Note: melted chocolate is not the most ideal replacement but when you are out of ingredients you just have to make do with the best possible choice.. Somehow these fresh pink color really stands out.

1. Line a baking tray with baking sheet, brush a thin layer of melted butter or cooking oil over the baking sheet. Preheat oven to 160°c.

2. Sift all ingredient A into a mixer bowl, add the eggs one by one and mix on high speed for about 10 minutes, or until it became fluffy and risen.

3. Using a spatula, spread out the cake mixture evenly onto the baking tray. Lightly tap on the table top lightly to ensure no bubbles in the mixture. 

4. Bake the cake mixture in middle section of the oven for 15 minutes.

5. Place the cake upside down and tear off the baking sheet from the cake while its still warm, spread a layer of strawberry jam follow with some chocolate chips. Starting from one edge, slowly roll the cake into a roll. (I replaced with strawberry chocolate melt since I ran out of the jam)

5. You may slice it up and eat it immediately (like us!) or wrap it in a cling foam and chill for 1 hour before serving (ideal if using jam or whipped cream). 

Just a Note..

Most recipes call for whipped cream, but I prefer using unsweetened jam which is more natural and less sweet. This chocolate version is unplanned for and just once in a blue moon sweet treat. 

Happy belated Valentine's day to you and your loved one.

Happy Meals for Happy Tods 开心早餐

I love making simple breakies for my little ones on weekends, where I don't have to rush to work and they have off day from the preschool too. I tried to use healthy simple ingredients where possible and so far, these happy meals never fails to bring a joyous morning to us. :)

After my baby girl passed 18 months old, she get enjoy the pretty meal with her brother too.

This is a spin off from the previous post on Real Happy Meals which had expanded more than a dozen collections. Hope they bring some inspirations to you too :)

The Yellow Vroom Vroom Car

A multi color fruit platters to give the extra vitamin booster to my little boy. Banana, purple & green grapes and orange, all natural & under 5 minutes!

Hello Butterflies

A simple fruit platters to cheer up my little girl. Raisins, purple & green grapes and orange, all natural & under 5 minutes!

Hello Kittens!

The little happy kittens, made of fresh apple and dried apricot. Perfect to start a happy weekend!

Happy Chic Chic Family

Just pears, raisins and organic square cereal. Enough to cheer up my crying little girl.

Little Butterflies, again

Butterflies of guava and organic prunes. Took only 2 minutes to prepare.. Little ones love all sort of fruits but today I choose guava instead as my little captain suffered diarrhea recently and guava is said to be effective in reducing symptom of diarrhea.

Little Butterflies

Pear-ly butterflies and apricot flower for a beautiful Sunday.. excellent source of fiber and vitamin to kick start the day. Coupled with a big cup of fresh milk, just perfect!

Sail Away

Come sail with me on my potato chips under the mashmallow stars. The food art by my little Captain :)

Happy Snowmen

One apple, few dried blueberries and some puff puff stars, and Ta-da, the happy snowmen are born!

  

Five Little Ducks

Using banana, dried apricot & blueberries, small marshmallows and some star shape cereal, little one and I  created this happy meal together. The siblings were happily singing away before they ate their breakfast. :)

Under The Sea

Let's have an apple crab and Oreo sea monsters for breakfast, shall we? :)

Little House on the Sunny Hill

One bread wonder.. Wholemeal sandwich bread, apricot sun, marshmallow clouds, pear hills & some nuts and raisins. 

Spot the Odd One!
Triangular fish swimming about the deep sea corals, can you spot which of them is the odd one out?

Fish are made up of cheese sandwich with prune tails; whole meal Cherios as eyes and bubbles; fresh celery as corals.

In the Dinosaur Land I received some really cute Dino cookie cutters as Xmas gift last year, it was sold by the National History Museum of London. I have not made cookies for a while but I can certainly make some Dino french toast of my little ones. :)

Simpler version for my baby girl. Prunes, banana, cheddar cheese and French toast (hidden beneath the cheese)

The real dinosaur land for my little captain, with a giant coconut tree and a cheesy sun :)

Both of them happily chewed away their breakfast, only few slices of prunes left, I guess they must be really full!

Under The Sea
Little sea creatures.. We have happy crabs (homemade cheese nuggets), giant fish (apple) and a school of rectangular sea creatures (French toast), served with a dish of pumpkin purée as the dipping sauce.

My little boy said: "mommy this is not a fish, there is no fins!". Well he is technically correct :P

Here's the recipe for making the little nuggets.

Crazy Hair Bubu day

Little round face Bubu (cheesy French toast) has crazy curly hair made of scrambled eggs. He wears a green tie (green apples) and loves to hug.

Happy Meal time is a good story telling time :)

Watch Out for the Ambulance!

little ambulance made of French toast and banana is roaming around town, watch out for that coconut tree!!

Simple light breakfast for my little handsome, baby girl got a little "coconut tree" for breakfast too :)

Fruity Rainbow

Start the day with a colorful rainbow made of fresh prunes, apples, banana and raisins. This colorful serving is going to spice up your little ones' morning. :)

A Walk In The Park

Beautiful autumn tree and tulip flowers makes of grapes and green apples; tiny butterflies and sun makes of cherios. Simple breakfast filled with love and balanced nutrient. There's a glass of fresh milk not in sight. :)

Music for the Soul

What about some tiny music notes and keyboards for breakfast? My duo absolutely love this happy meal made of wholemeal sandwich, cherios and raisins.

This is my personal favorite to-date!

Little Strawberries Trees

A garden of strawberries trees and tiny butterflies. Served with Greek yoghurt as dip. Simple, healthy breakfast to kick start the day!

Sweet & Cheesy Ladybirds 
Pretty ladybird made of strawberries and dried blueberries, served on cheddar cheese slice over butter cookies.

That's all for now peeps, more to come!

Crispy Pumpkin Seeds & Almond Flakes Cookies {CNY Special!} 南瓜花籽杏仁脆脆饼

It's CNY! Time to have some healthy snack that is not so high in sugar so can munch on without much guilt. 

I had been really busy spring cleaning, sewing after work and on weekend that I can hardly find time to bake any CNY cookies apart from the almond biscottis which almost finished up by now, I decided to do last minute baking on the CNY eve, just stole 30 minutes from the spring cleaning and finished up this last minute baking.

This is a super simple yet addictive snack you won't want to miss, besides, I can guarantee any kiddos would love this snack. :)

I made 2 flavored - Crispy Pumpkin Seed Cookies and Crispy Almond Flakes Cookies, either one they tasted great!

On the next weekend, I spared 20+ minutes and made these yummies again, this time using Lotus seeds, left over from my snow skin mooncakes.

This glass jar I bought from IKEA is perfect to keep them air tight. Anyway the cookies were all grabbed up by that very evening they were baked. :)

Preparation time: 10 min 

Baking Time: 10-12min

Serving for: 1 baking tray (about 30 6cm x 3cm size cookies)

预备时间：10分钟

烘烤时间： 10-12分钟

Ingredients:
2 Large Egg White / 3 Mediun Egg White 两粒蛋白（大型） / 三粒（中型）
50gm all-purpose flour 50克普通面粉
60g castor sugar 60克白糖
30g butter, melted 30克融化牛油
80g Pumpkin seed / Sunflower Seed / Almond Flakes  80克南瓜种籽/太阳花籽/杏仁片

This is exactly enough for 1 baking tray, if you want to yield more just double the ingredient accordingly.

The Making:

1. Preheat oven to 170°c / 350°F, place a non stick baking sheet over the baking tray. Brush a thin layer of melted butter onto the baking sheet.

2. Whisk egg white in a mixer on high speed until stiff (or really fast if on hand mixer). Add sugar and continue whisking it till well mix .

3. Sieve the flour and butter into the egg mixture, fold in the flour slowly using a spatula (do not over mix)

4. Drop in the pumpkin seeds / almond flakes, mix roughly.

5. Scope the mixture onto the baking tray and spread it as thin as possible using a spatula, drop more seeds if you wish to ensure generous coverage. Bake for 10-12 minutes until it turns golden brown. The longer you bake the crispier it becomes.

6. Remove from oven and let cool on a wiring rack. Tear the baking sheet, break up the cookies carefully and you're done!

Now, keep them in airtight jar before your kids can get their hands onto the cookies, quick!


The ready cookie sheet, i felt like sinking my teeth right into it..

Look how thin it is. The thinner the better (I mean, for this cookie ;)

Useful Tips!

To ensure you can remove the baking sheet easily, spread a thin layer of melted butter or cooking oil over the sheet before pouring the mixture, you can tear off the baking sheet easily.


Alright, it's time to wash up and get ready for the reunion dinner now.. 

I would like to take this chance to wish you and your family a very Happy Chinese New Year & may you be showered wig abundance of good luck and joy!

稍后我会上载中文版食谱，赶着回去团圆饭了。祝各位读者们新年快乐，事事顺意，马年进步！