creamy pesto pasta

served with prawns/shrimps sauted with garlic and chili powder, garnished with spring onions.


ingredients
1 pkt Knorr Pesto Sauce Mix
1 cup milk
2 tbsp oil
8 oz pasta, cooked
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 sausages/hotdogs, cut diagonally

directions
premix the pesto sauce with milk. heat oil in a pan and stir fry garlic until fragrant, add the sausages and fry for another minute. add the pesto milk mixture and bring it to a boil. turn off the heat, stir in the pasta and serve. makes abt 3 dishes.

microwave potato

yes, i am that lazy.

instead of boiling a pot of water to cook my potato, i've decided to stuff it in the microwave. here's how u can do it too...

scrub clean a potato and remove any sprouts. puncture some holes all over the potato (to let out the steam when cooking so ur spud won't explode) and then place it in a bowl with about 2-3 tbsp water. place it in the microwave and cook on high for 1 1/2 minutes, then turn the potato over and add another 1 1/2 minutes of cooking time. poke the potato with a fork and if it goes through easy it should be ready.

this cooking time is for a fist sized potato. larger potatoes takes up to 5-6 minutes each. if you're unsure of the cooking time, just repeat the process of turning the potato over after every minute of cooking time, and keep testing it with a fork until it's cooked.

serve the potato with a chunk of butter, some salt and pepper. simply delicious. an egg salad works too.

EZ cheese baked rice

Line a baking tray with aluminum foil. Reheat some overnight rice and layer it at the bottom of the tray. Add some sausage (aka hotdog in america) chunks and layer some provolone or swiss cheese over it. Open a can of campbell cream of mushroom or chicken soup. Spoon it over the rice and sausage. Cover with generous amounts of shredded mozarella. Bake in preheated oven at 400 F until the mozarella crust is slightly golden brown. Mix well, spoon onto a plate, sprinkle with spring onion, parsley or basil and serve. Add chili for some reddish decoration.

One-Pot Chicken & Potato Bake

Ingredients:
2 large potatoes, cut into wedges
3 pieces chicken thigh, cut into 1 inch strips
2 oranges, cut into wedges
3 tbsp melted butter or olive oil
2 tbsp dried oregano
6 clove garlic, crushed with the back of a knife
1/2 large onion, cut into large quarter-moon shaped pieces
6 strips bacon, cut into 1 inch strips (optional)
salt & pepper

Directions:
Toss and mix the ingredients well (except the bacon). place them on a baking tray in a single layer and bake in preheated oven at 400F for 20 minutes, toss again at half time. add the bacon strips 5 minutes before it is done. serve with buttered corn or salad.

* the orange can be ommited, i just really love the flavor of oranges.

* add carots if you'd like more variety of vegetables in the mix.

Orange Glazed Lamb Chop

this is one of the most enjoyable and satisfying meals i've had since i came here. i'm gonna go get more lamb chops. it's much cheaper than beef and sooo easy to cook. this time, i can savely say that the lamb chops are cooked to perfection. definitely beats any lamb chops i've tried in restaurants...

Ingredients:
2 lamb chops
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
or 2 tsp mashed garlic
Salt & pepper
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp honey or maple syrup
1/2 cup orange juice

Directions:
Season the lamb chops with garlic, salt and pepper. On a large frying pan, heat the oil and lay the lamb chops without overlapping. Fry for 6 minutes on medium-high heat. Turn the lamb chops over and fry for another 5 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a warm plate and keep it warm while we make the glaze. In a small bowl, mix together the honey and orange juice. Pour it into the pan and turn up the heat to high. Boil uncovered (about 5 minutes) until the sauce is reduced to half and the sauce thickens (it becomes very bubbly, and the bubbles have a brownish coating and doesen't break that easily). Pour the orange glaze over the lamb and serve with potatoes.

Tips & Hints:
* For lamb chops, chose loin, ribs, sirloin or blade chops. Make sure the cut is at least 1 inch thick.
* The garlic gets rid of the strong lamb flavor that many throws many people off of lamb.
* When frying the lamb, once you've laid the lamb on the pan, DO NOT MOVE IT. The heat and oil will caramelize the lamb creating a layer of crust preventing the juices of the lamb from leaking out.
* The 5 minutes sitting time (while you're making the glaze) allows the internal temperature to cook the center of the lamb chop without overcooking the sides.
* To health conscious people, please do not trim off the fat of the lamb chops before cooking. We need the fat there as it gives a smoky flavor. Animal lard, including butter, have a low smoke point, which is the temperature when the heat starts breaking down the fat, releasing smoke in the process. You may discard the fat when u're eating the chops.
* Works great on steak as well.
* Alternatively, one can use Chicken instead of lamb for this recipe. Depending on the thickness of your cut of chicken, reduce the cooking time by about 2-3 minutes.