Easy pasta bake

A very easy post-swim tea for the kids (and us!) last night..

Cook half a 500gm bag of pasta to package directions.

Meanwhile drain two tins of tuna in water (or one large one). Grate about 1 1/2 cups of cheese and one carrot, set aside.

In a saucepan, make a basic white sauce:
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 tablespoon butter (or spread)
1 - 2 cups of your usual milk

Over a medium heat, make a roux with the flour and butter. Slowly add milk, a small amount at a time, stirring to incorporate into the flour and butter. Get rid of all lumps before adding next bit of milk. I usually use more milk than recipes suggest, only because I'm lazy! But it works if you add SLOWLY and keep stirring. When you have as much white sauce as you need, take it off the heat and add half the grated cheese. Add the flaked tuna to the cheese sauce. You can add some cooked mixed veges at this stage if you like.

Layer the cooked pasta at the bottom of an oven proof dish. Put the tuna and cheese sauce mixture on top of the pasta.

Next mix 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, grated carrot and remaining grated cheese. Sprinkle on top of the tuna in a thick layer. Bake at 180C for 10 minutes and then move to the top of the oven and grill for 5 - 10 mins until crumbs are golden and cheese is sizzling.

Chinese Lemon Chicken

I used to buy those Lee Kum Kee sachets to make lemon chicken (or fish!) but one afternoon I didn't have any but REALLY wanted lemon chicken... I found a recipe online (thanks google!) and then came up with this ;)

The original recipe includes a batter, since that is how lemon chicken seems to be served in restaurants.  I think it's better without it (and faster!) but I'll include both options anyway.

Ingredients:

Around 1kg chicken (!) although I usually just use two large breasts which is more than enough for our family of 4 if we have rice and veggies too.

Batter:
2 large eggs
1/4 cup corn flour
1/2 t baking powder
pinch white pepper
oil for frying

Sauce:
1/4 cup sugar (or less, to your taste)
1 1/2 t cornflour
1 cup chicken stock
2 T lemon juice
3/4 t salt
3 slices lemon, no peel
2 T oil (rice bran or similar)

Place cut chicken in a bowl, cover with 2 T soy sauce and marinate in fridge for 30 minutes.

Mix together eggs, cornflour, baking powder and pepper to make batter OR simply coat chicken lightly with sifted cornflour and white pepper.  Coat meat with batter, if using, and fry in batched until chicken is cooked and crispy.

Combine sugar, stock, cornflour, lemon juice and salt.  Mix well and add lemon slices.

Heat 2 T oil in a wok and stir mixture until well mixed and sauce becomes clear.  

Remove lemon slices and pour sauce over chicken.  Serve with stir fried veggies or steamed greens and steamed rice.

Dairy and Wheat Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

My sister has been dairy and wheat free for a few years now. At various times I have been dairy free myself to help with the boys' reflux issues so these cookies were a real treat! You could replace the peanut butter with more spread and chocolate chips if you need this recipe to be nut free too.

Makes 24

125gm dairy free spread
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 egg, beaten
1 cup rice flour (you can substitute 1/3 cup ground almonds/ 2/3 rice flour if you don't have enough flour)
1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup finely chopped dark chocolate - or more if you like
1/4 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 180, prepare two cookie sheets

Beat marg and sugar. Beat in peanut butter, then egg.

Sift in rice flour and baking powder. Mix till well combined. You can add choc chips at this point if you like OR

Bake for 8 minutes. Combine topping ingredients in a bowl and sprinkle evenly over biscuits. Bake for a further 2-3 mins.

Lactation Cookies

Someone needs to come up with a better name for these!

I've seen different variations of this recipe on more than one parenting website. Basically the idea is that they are packed full of ingredients to encourage milk supply and if you choose the right recipe they are also full of yummy things to keep you smiling while you're stuck on the couch breastfeeding a tiny, greedy milk-monster.

Makes 6 dozen slightly-larger-than-bite-sized cookies

250g butter (or dairy free spread if you're avoiding dairy)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons LSA (ground sunflower, linseed and almond mix)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour (rice flour works well if you are wheat free, otherwise plain flour is fine)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats, thick cut if you can get them
1 cup or more chocolate chips
2 tablespoons of brewers yeast (be generous. In Singapore you buy this at Brown Rice Paradise and I've also found it in the organic section in NTUC Fairprice).

Preheat oven to 190C, grease and line as many cookie sheets as will fit in your oven (I usually have two going at a time with this recipe).

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and continue to mix well. Add vanilla and LSA mix. Keep beating! Add remaining dry ingredients EXCEPT oats and chocolate chips. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the oats and chocolate chips.

Drop tablespoonsful of the mixture onto baking sheets and flatten with a fork. Bake for around 10 minutes.

You can add chopped dried fruit, almonds, extra chocolate .. anything really! to make these a tasty treat. I served these to Mr B plenty of times and he enjoyed them too (and no, they never caused him to lactate!!!)

Lemonade Scones

C and I made lemonade scones on the weekend.  Fortunately they turned out pretty nice, since we had friends round for afternoon tea on Sunday afternoon and they were our guinea pigs!

This is the simplest recipe EVER and lots of fun for kids too.

3 cups self raising flour
1 can (335ml) lemonade
1 small bottle cream (I think they're around 185ml here)

Preheat oven to 220 C.

Mix all three ingredients together in a large bowl till dough comes together.  Turn out onto floured surface and knead a few times without overworking it - easier said than done if you have a wee helper!  Roll dough out so its around 2cm thick and cut round scones.  Place on a floured oven tray and bake for 12 - 15 mins or until scones sound hollow when you tap the bottoms.

Mummy's little helper

Serve with jam and cream of course!  Meidi-Ya in Liang Court often stocks proper clotted cream.

Edit: DO NOT use canned dairy whip like I discovered one cafe in ion Orchard doing for their "High Tea."  So disappointing!

Cheesy carrots and Lentils (for babies!)

This is an Annabel Karmel recipe except it's not because I never have all the things she lists in the cupboard at the same time. Not to worry, it's yummy my way too.

1/4 onion (optional)
1/2 cup red lentils
2 carrots, sliced thinly
water or stock (salt free if you're using stock)

grated cheese

Saute the onion in a saucepan with some oil or butter till clear. Add the lentils and carrots and then cover with water or stock. You need about a centimetre of liquid a the top of the veges but you can just add more as it evaporates if needed. Let everything simmer for about 20 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Use a stick blender to blend carrots & lentils with some of the cooking liquid. If you're doing this when it's still warm add grated cheese now and stir through.

Suitable for 6 months + and will freeze well!

In the original recipe, AK uses leek and tomatoes (deseeded tomatoes) so it makes more than this recipe. The amounts aren't that important, I usually use as many carrots as I have in the fridge and add more lentils if I have lots of carrots

Peanut Butter Icecream

I thought I got this idea from Nigella (and I still might have) except when I tried to find the recipe, it turns out hers involves adding peanut butter to the chocolate sauce rather than the icecream. Never mind my version was delish ;)

Tub of good quality Vanilla icecream (we had Green & Blacks but it doesn't need to be QUITE that good)
2-3 T crunchy peanut butter

Take icecream out of freezer and allow to soften.
Spoon into a mixing bowl, add peanut butter and stir. Not too vigourously, it's nice to leave a bit of a swirl ;)
Once you've mixed in the PB, return icecream mix to the tub, replace the lid and put it back in the freezer for 30 mins or so. I left it as long as it took me to make chocolate sauce, which wasn't QUITE long enough but it was still yummy.

chocolate sauce

1/2 block of 70% bittersweet chocolate
big glug of cream

Melt chocolate in the microwave, stir cream through. Pour over icecream and feel your ar$e getting bigger as soon as it touches your lips!