Chicken alfredo pasta is a staple that one sees at almost all pasta joints. If you walk along the pasta aisle in a supermarket, I can almost guarantee that you will find a bottle of ready-to-go alfredo sauce. In fact, many bottles of it, and different brands of it. It is THAT popular. I distinctively remember the day my mom bought a bottle of alfredo sauce and prepared pasta with it. I was young; my mom was working and didn’t have much time for meal preparations. Ready-made sauces were the best bet right? Wrong…. The sauce was floury, gloopy and tasted really bad. Now, I’m sure there are better tasting alfredo sauces out there now, but that experience was enough to stop me from ever, ever, ever buying a bottle of alfredo sauce. Why would I want to do it anyway when preparing alfredo sauce is so simple and quick?

Enter BACON. I’ve prepared chicken alfredo pasta before, but I’ve never added bacon to it. Apparently I’ve been missing out for a long time. Thankfully, I so happen to have some bacon left in the fridge and hence decided to add it in. I’m pretty sure I’ll never prepare chicken alfredo pasta without bacon again. After all, bacon pretty much makes all things taste better. Doesn’t it?

So there you go. Reasons why you should make your own alfredo pasta AND add bacon to it. This pasta made my little one and husband very happy. Why, the little one, who’s becoming a little picky with her food lately, wolfed down her pasta!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Bacon and Chicken Alfredo Pasta

 

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Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 6 ounces dried macaroni
• 2 slices of back bacon, cut into short strips
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 whole chicken breast, halved with bone removed
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
• ½ cup milk
• ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 stalks of scallions, chopped
• salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Cook macaroni in plenty of salted water according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
2. In a skillet over medium high heat, brown the strips of bacon. Set aside.
3. Season chicken breast with salt and black pepper.
4. Add butter and 1 tbsp olive oil to the skillet.
5. Add chicken to skillet and cook till brown on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.
6. Set aside to cool slightly before slicing into strips.
7. Add remaining olive oil to the skillet. Cook garlic for about a minute, and pour in chicken broth. Allow broth to reduce for a minute or two.
8. Pour in milk, stir well and allow it to simmer on low heat for three to four minutes.
9. Toss in bacon, chicken strips and macaroni and stir to combine.
10. Allow mixture to heat through and season with salt and pepper.
11. Remove skillet from the heat and toss in chopped scallions.
12. Serve hot.

3.2.1255

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I recently discovered that zucchini can be used in sweet baked goods.  Even though many have been doing that for ages, I never knew that zucchini could be used in breads, muffins, cakes or cookies! When I saw a couple of blog posts on such recipes, I did a little research and found that zucchini, when used in sweet baked goods, increases the moistness of the product while its taste remains pretty concealed. Sounds great isn’t it?

So I bought a couple of zucchini and decided to try baking something. My husband was less than thrilled at the thought of a zucchini muffin. “Zucchini muffin?! That’s so weird!!” was his reaction. Maybe yours too…. but hang on there. He changed his mind after tasting the muffin and I believe you would too.

I decided to make this a healthy muffin by using honey instead of sugar and olive oil instead of butter. I used plain flour though, instead of whole wheat flour as I was not too confident of the taste of a whole wheat zucchini muffin. Maybe I will try one day.

The verdict? These muffins were GOOD! They were moist, had a lovely soft and slightly crumbly texture with a mild sweetness from the honey. I loved it and so did my toddler and husband. Yes, even my husband.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Honey Muffins

 

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Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup honey
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cups grated zucchini (about 1 zucchini)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use 55% callebaut)
• zest of 1 orange

Instructions

1. Preheat oven at 175°C.
2. Grease a 12 hole muffin tray.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
4. Mix in zucchini. Set aside.
5. In a large bowl, whisk eggs till light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue whisking till mixture is well combined and thick. Stir in oil, vanilla, and orange zest.
6. Using a large whisk, stir in flour and zucchini mixture. Do not overmix.
7. Stir in chocolate chips.
8. Divide mixture into prepared muffin pan.
9. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

3.2.1255

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Are there days where you just crave a bowl of hot soup for dinner? I do so occasionally, especially on cold, rainy days. Or sometimes, it’s just me being lazy and trying to figure out a quick fix for dinner. Whatever your reason for wanting soup for dinner, this salmon and corn chowder is sure to satisfy.  It is hearty, healthy (I use low fat milk instead of cream), and tasty, and goes perfectly with biscuits or soft dinner rolls. Serve this with my bacon, parmesan and scallion scones and you will definitely have very happy people at the dinner table.

My little one came into the room while I was typing this post, saw the photo and exclaimed, “Oh I remember this soup! It’s full of corn, mushrooms and fish. It’s yummy! I like it.” There you go. Even two and a half year olds like it. I am sure you would too.

Salmon and Corn Chowder

 

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Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 stalks celery, cut into ½-inch slices
• 1 medium potato, cut into 1-inch cubes
• ¼ cup of chopped scallions
• 1½ cups corn kernels
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup low fat milk
• Zest of 1 lemon
• ½ tsp dried dill
• 500g boneless salmon fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• cornstarch and water for thickening (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot or dutch oven over a medium flame.
2. Sauteed celery and potato for about five minutes.
3. Stir in corn, scallions and stock.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce flame to low and simmer covered for 12 - 15 minutes.
5. Stir in milk and lemon zest.
6. Add salmon and simmer for 3 - 5 minutes.
7. Stir in lemon juice.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
9. Thicken with cornstarch water if preferred.
10. Serve hot.

Notes

Adapted from Epicurious

3.2.1255

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I opened one of my kitchen cabinets about a week ago and found a hidden stash of honey tucked away in a corner. I didn’t even remember that I had put honey there! Or maybe someone rearranged the things inside the cabinet and… oh well, have you ever found things in the kitchen that you never knew were there? Finding honey was a good problem though. It meant that I could add honey instead of sugar to some of my baked goods, starting from these muffins.

These are healthy muffins, make no mistake about it. They are made with 100% whole wheat flour and contain no sugar and butter. They are wholesome and full of fruity goodness. Perfect for breakfast, and perhaps, an afternoon snack. Who says whole wheat baked stuff can’t taste delicious? I made these with a mix of blueberries and strawberries, and I really liked the result. They taste more complex and flavourful compared to my usual blueberry muffins; the strawberries add texture and moistness to the muffins. If you don’t like/have strawberries, you can replace the strawberries with more blueberries.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Healthy Whole Wheat Honey Berry Muffins

 

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Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1½ cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 egg
• ½ cup fresh blueberries
• ½ cup chopped strawberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C and center an oven rack.
2. Line a 12 cup muffin tray with cupcake liners or spray with non-stick baking spray.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
4. In a large measuring cup or a medium mixing bowl, whisk together milk, honey, olive oil and egg.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Using a spatula, stir until mixture is just combined. Do not overmix!
6. Gently fold in blueberries and strawberries.
7. Divide batter into 12 muffin cups.
8. Bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until muffins are golden brown.
9. Serve warm.

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Are you a fan of avocado? I sure am. I love them plain, on toast with a dash of salt and pepper, in sandwiches and the list goes on. This time, I decided to use them to dress up a simple pasta salad. Originally, I just wanted to slice the avocado up and toss the pieces into the pasta salad. Then I thought, why not make it into a dressing? And maybe dress it up a little with some lemon and cilantro? Yes you read right. Cilantro. Cilantro goes really well with lemon and/or lime, and I was sure it would add some kick to the dressing. It did – it made the dressing taste really REALLY good.

The best part? This pasta salad is so easy to whip up and you can throw in practically any ingredient you fancy. I threw in some ham, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms because I had those things in my fridge but you can mix and match to your creativity. My husband and toddler loved this  chilled pasta salad and I am sure you would too. If you end up with too much dressing, use it as a dip. In fact, I am considering whipping up another batch of dressing just to eat it with chips

3.0 from 1 reviews

Pasta salad with creamy avocado dressing

 

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Author: Theresa Chu

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 200g fusilli pasta
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
• 6 pieces button mushroom, sliced
• ¼ tsp dried parsley
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 slices ham, cubed
• zest of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper

Avocado dressing

• 1 large avocado
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp mayonaise
• 1 bunch of cilantro, stems removed
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Boil pasta in a large pot of salted water. Drain and set aside.
2. Add olive oil to a heated medium skillet.
3. Saute chopped garlic till fragrant (not browned) and add in mushrooms and parsley.
4. Saute for about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
5. Using an immersion blender or a food processor, combine ingredients for avocado dressing. Pulse till smooth and season with salt and pepper. Keep refrigerated till required.
6. In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked pasta, mushrooms, tomatoes, ham, lemon zest and avocado dressing. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.
7. Chill salad till required.

3.2.1255

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What’s so special about garlic fried rice you ask? This version of garlic fried rice is especially aromatic thanks to the addition of fresh basil and mint. Together with garlic, they form an amazing combination. Add some garnishes of dried bonito flakes and seaweed and the dish is complete. I suppose you can jazz this up with some meat but I like it this way. Simplicity at times, is the best.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Garlic Fried Rice

 

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Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 5 basil leaves, chopped finely
• 5-6 mint leaves, chopped finely
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 cups of cooked rice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• bonito flakes
• seaweed
• pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a medium skillet or frying pan and fry garlic till golden brown and aromatic.
2. Add rice and salt.
3. Add soy sauce by trickling it down the side of the pan. Mix in it into the garlic rice.
4. Add basil and mint leaves and fry for a minute.
5. Season with pepper.
6. Serve hot, with bonito flakes and seaweed.

Notes

Adapted from Harumi's Japanese Cooking

3.2.1230

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I have not been blogging very judiciously since starting a new job and my toddler starting a new school. The poor girl has been sick for more than a week and now my poor husband has gotten the flu bug too. Oh flu bug shoo! Don’t you hate it when the flu bug passes from one family member to another? Time to dose up on Vitamin C.

I didn’t get to bake/cook very much until last thursday when I discovered that my daughter didn’t have anything for breakfast the next day. Since I had blueberries in the fridge, I thought, why not some blueberry muffins? They are high in anti-oxidant and vitamin C. Perfect for fighting flu. And to up the “healthy quotient” on this muffin, I decided to use 100% whole wheat flour.

Some muffins, when made with 100% whole wheat flour turn out dry and unpalatable. Not this one. With a good balance of milk, sour cream and oil, the muffin turns out moist and delicious, unlike typical whole wheat products. Tasty and healthy – what else can you ask for?

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

 

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Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 2¼ cups Whole Wheat Flour
• ⅔ cup light muscovado sugar
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup light sour cream
• ½ cup milk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 205°C.
2. Sift and whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, vegetable oil, sour cream and milk.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring just to combine.
5. Fold in the blueberries. Do not overmix.
6. Spoon the batter into muffin cups, filling them nearly full.
7. Bake the muffins for 18 to 20 minutes, until a tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.
8. Remove the muffins from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

Notes

Adapted from Kingarthurflour.com

3.2.1230

This post is shared at Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm and Simple living and eating, weekend Re-treat and Saturday Dishes.