Quick Quiche

Quiche, which is pronounced as "kee-chey" is a pie-like dish of an unsweetened pastry shell filled with custard made from eggs and milk, containing cheese and other ingredients such as vegetables, seafood and chicken/beef/ham bits. In other words, the main ingredients for a quiche is eggs, milk and cheese, you could still go away with the crust pastry. As the photo above, I baked it directly onto my pie-pan.

My motto in cooking is simple but flexible. I like one dish but can be varied into many other taste and look, and took the shortest time possible to be made. I first tried the quiche in mini bite-size using my mini muffin trays, it was a hit with my boys, including my husband, as all 2 young boys and the old one :) love to eat eggs! Then I also tried the standard muffin size. Quiches are good for breakfast and tea-time, but my boys can eat these any time of the day!

The recipe I'm going to share is the basic quiche recipe which then you can play and explore further.
I did try using beef strips too.

This smells MARVELOUS and taste SOOOOO HEAVENLY! You should really try it! So here goes the basic quiche recipe. The recipe given is for 6 standard muffin size.

Ingredient:

6 medium eggs (1 egg for each quiche)
3/4 cup milk (equal to 2 tbs for each egg)
1/2 tsp salt
A pinch of ground pepper and dried parsley
6 tbs grated cheese (equal to 1 tbs for each quiche)
Your choice of fillings

Method:
1. Beat the eggs, milk, salt, ground pepper and dried parsley together to get the basic custard
2. Oil the tray cups or pan you are using, please ensure you oil it well. You can use vegetable oil or butter
3. Fill 3/4 of each cups with the custard, then put in 1 tablespoon of your choice of fillings and 1 tablespoon of cheese. If you are not using any other fillings, you can double the cheese amount to just have cheesy quiches
4. Bake for 10-20 minutes depending on your oven, or until the top turn golden brown and the custard harden (cooked through)

The best things about quiches is, as you notice in the recipe, it's high in protein. 1 quiche equal to 1 egg! I've tried minced meat/chicken fillings which I stir-fried with a bit of olive oil (if you want to be healthy) or butter and dash of dried ground herbs. I've experimented with just steamed veggies such as the frozen mixed veggies (peas, carrots and corns), broccoli, asparagus, diced potatoes and cherry tomatoes. I've also explored with crabsticks and stir-fried tuna. Once I had left-over grilled chickens, I just shred and minced them then used as quiche fillings too!

For the herbs, you can play around with others apart from parsley - like oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary and marjoram. Marjoram taste almost like oregano actually. Or you can just maintain only the ground pepper, because I know some don't really like herbs while picky-eater kids' eyes will bulged out when they see those tiny green parsley *LOL*

I've also tried many cheese. Feta does wonders to quiche BUT you have to finish them the same day, and the best is all in one meal :) The reason is feta taste great but it makes the quiche becomes watery, hence easier to make you sick. Mozzarella and cheddar is the best choice, but I do like creamy camembert too. Brie is too light perhaps for quiches so I usually mix it with other cheeses.

The best quiches I had is either those mini muffin size because they are bite-size...ooooohhhhhh....so easy to just plop the whole thing in your mouth! Our next favorite is using the beef strips though it can be tricky. The strips are supposed to cover the cups but as it bakes, it will shrink and curl inside hence giving the look as you can see up there. Below are also some of my collections - simple cheesy ones (no other fillings) and just veggies which you can see the broccolis :)

You can freeze the quiches (except for those using feta cheese) as make-aheads.

Freezing and reheating method:
1. After the quiches are thoroughly cool, wrap them individually in plastic wraps before putting in a sealed freeze bag and freeze them.
2. To reheat, you need to take them out of the freezer and transfer them into the fridge at least 12 hours before the intended cooking time if you don't plan to eat them now. Else, you can straight-away reheat in the oven or microwave for 2 minutes. Reheated quiches cannot be kept long so you need to straight-away finish what you have reheated

Left-over BBQ?

Sometimes after a BBQ nite or BBQ party, we may still have a few left-over grilled beef, lamb and chicken, also veggies if you used them. Do not fret that this will have to go to the dumpster unless of course, they had turned bad the same day, or got contaminated. Other than that, they will make a great meal or lunchbox for the next day or even the next few days if you kept them sealed and frozen well. All you need is a little bit of creativity and innovation ;)

If your left-overs are cooked, meaning you have grilled them before freezing, you could thaw them first then lightly reheat them using small amount of oil. You could shred them first before 'stir-frying' or reheat as they are and shred afterwards. I like to add extra seasoning to disguise the 'yesterday's food' thoughts, so feel free to experiment using sauces, herbs, spices, or just the usual salt and pepper. You could also add in some veggies in the stir-fry, if you like. These are then serve with hot tortilla wraps, with fresh vegetables and sauces.

I also add them in fried rice and noodles which was a hit with my kids, and as mini pizza toppings!

Hope your family will enjoy these too, happy experimenting!

Simple Grilled Chicken

I've posted the recipe for the pasta dish in Simple Olio Spagetti so now is the time for the chicken's recipe. I got the idea when trying out Dominoes Pizza's chicken wings. The best chicken parts for grilling is usually either the wings or the drumsticks. You can choose to grill this in the oven, or if you have a bbq pit, or if you have none, than just fry them with just a liiiiiiitle bit of oil or fat (butter) enough not to make it to dry but also not too oily. They are best eaten on their own, which I know the kids would prefer, or with rice, or pasta or bread. If you have left-overs, refrigerate them and reheat the next morning for sandwiches.

Ingredients:

1kg chicken parts (usually you could get about 6 drumsticks or 8 wings), cleaned and pat dry with paper towels
1tsp ground/crushed black paper
1tsp dried oregano
1tsp salt
2tsb ground fresh garlic
2tsb olive oil
1tsb worcestershire sauce

Methods:

1. Mix all the marinates ingredients in a big bowl to get into a paste-like liquid before adding in the chickens
2. Give the chickens a good rub with the paste, making sure all mixed well
3. Transfer into a freezer bag, try to get as much air out before sealing then leave it to marinate in the fridge for 1 hour
4. Separate the chickens and keep the liquid in a separate bowl
5. While grilling or frying, keep on brushing the chicken with the liquid now and then. You can also bake them in the oven by arranging them in a tray-pan, pour the liquid about half a centimeter deep and turn the chicken once when the top side already brown to ensure the other side also get a bit brown

Freezing and reheating method:

1. Follow step 1-3 but instead of putting in the fridge, you can straight-away freeze them
2. To cook this, you need to take them out of the freezer and transfer them into the fridge at least 12 hours before the intended cooking time. Read more in Secrets of Frozen Food on freezing and reheating the chickens.

Dried Mixed Fruits Scones

I love scones and always can't get enough of them! The best scones are always freshly baked or you could bake in big batches then reheat them anytime you want to have them :) Scones don't get molded fast, unlike muffins or cakes hence you may not even have to freeze them unless you are planning to keep them for more than a week. They are very simple to make and yet let you have great breakfast of tea-time snacks every day! You can use raisins as the recipe usually requires, but as my daughter and husband always said desperately, "Mama, you always buying cookbooks, look at them while cooking but came out with something else!". The reason is, they always expected what they saw I was referring at in the cookbooks, but I always can't stick to the recipe and like to set out for an adventure by twisting it a bit :)
So for this recipes, I had some dried apricots, mixed raisins, dried blueberries and cranberries, also dates in the stock, hence I chopped them all to make half a cup and add them in. You can use less or more, depending on your preference. Enjoy!

4 cups of self-raising flour
2 large whole eggs (beaten)
Milk or Buttermilk mixed with the beaten egg, enough to make 1 1/2 cups of liquid
1/2 cup soften butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cups mixed dried fruits (chopped)
1 extra egg for glazing (beaten)
Extra flour for rolling the dough

Mixed butter, salt and flour well to make them crumb-like, which is almost the same method use for making pastry sheets. Obviously I didn't take any photos while doing this (as my hands are busy! *LOL*) hence the photo below is courtesy of another web. The texture should be as the last photo:

Next, pour in the the egg and milk/buttermilk mixture together with the dried fruits, and get ready to roll! First roll the dough in the mixing bowl till it forms a round dough, before moving it to a lightly floured surface. Roll to about 2cm or 1 inch thick and cut with your cookie cutter. Place them on the lightly oiled or buttered baking tray, glaze with the extra egg on top then bake for 10-15 minutes or till golden brown.

Serve hot with cream cheese or if you prefer butter or cream, and of course, jam!

To freeze:
Make sure they had cooled thoroughly. Wrap each individual scones in either aluminium foil or plastic wrap before storing all in freezer sealed bags and put in the freezer. Remember, this is only if you need to keep them longer than a week. To reheat, thaw them for 30 minutes then bake them for 8-10 minutes or you can put them in the microwave about 8-10 seconds per scones. If reheated via microwave, you need to eat them while they are hot or they may turn rock-hard when they are cold.

Wakame Udon/Soba

It's been a long time since I had the time for blogging, let alone blogwalking :P
But I've been asked a few time to share my recipe for Japanese style udon or soba in soup, so tonight, I tried to steal some time to blog this. The most important ingredient for this recipe is the 'dashi', which is actually the fish stock. There are varieties of fish stock used, but after trying a few, I think 'katsuodashi' is the most suitable for this dish. Next is also the 'shoyu' or soy sauce, and here I advise you to use Japanese brand Kikkoman instead of local Chinese or Malaysia soy sauce as it taste different, hence will give a strange taste to your soup.

Here are examples of katsuodashi sold in Jusco around Malaysia. These fish stock usually packed in small packets. All these things you could easily get from any Jusco stores.

These are wakame. The dried wakame packet is the exact one I bought at Jusco, but there are others as well. Since wakame is a type of seaweed, this is how it looks like when cooked (right):

Next is the shoyu:

It is also sold in small bottle in certain stores so if you rarely cook Japanese food, it is advisable to buy the small bottle, about 250-300ml if I'm not mistaken.

So here's the recipe for 3 persons:

3 cups of water
2 small packets of katsuodashi
3 packets of fresh udon
1-2 tablespoon of dried wakame
Shoyu
1 stalk of leek


First, rinse the udon under cold water before cooking it for 1-2 minutes in hot-boiled water, set aside. For the soup, boil 3 cups of water, then add in the 2 small packets of katsuodashi. Keep on stirring till all mixed, before adding in shoyu. I don't actually measure how much, as this is according to your own taste, whether you'd like it mild or salty. Last, add in the wakame and boil for 1-2 minutes, adding in half a cup of water if necessary. To serve, put in the udon in the bowl first before pouring in the soup. Chop the leek as garnishing, and you could also add in tempura or aburaage (sweetened deep fried tofu), or even fish cakes.

You could also use soba for this recipe, but my kids prefer udon. Itadakimasu!

Double Strawberry Muffins

Another muffins that I've tried and my family simply lurrrrrrrrrrve these! The original recipe 1 cup of chopped strawberries but the first time I made it I used 2 and it was a hit! The 2nd time I made it I used 1 1/2 of quartered strawberries as I was too lazy to chop and also due to the size of the fruit since it's quartered. You can use strawberry or raspberry or orange yogurt drink to make it even tastier, or just use plain milk or yogurt if you prefer.

1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup milk or yogurt drink or yogurt
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar (can be replaced with white sugar)
1 3/4 cup of flour or self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder (if you are not using self raising flour)
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups chopped strawberries (can be reduced)

Mixed butter, egg, milk/yogurt and sugar. Then add in flour with baking powder and salt or the self raising flour. Using sifter, add in the strawberries and mix slowly and carefully. Bake for 18-22 minutes depending on your oven.

Herb Cheese Muffins

My lil sis complained that I've abandoned my cook blog *grin* so since I have some time today, I'm updating as much as I could first :) I'm passionate about muffins nowadays, due to it's very easy and my kids love them, been taking those as snacks to school.

I first tried this muffin when I was in Japan, it's my foster mom's original recipe which she said she created herself. Personally, I love her Maccha Muffins (Green Tea) more but my hubby loves these, and I really regretted not getting the recipe before returning to Malaysia. I tried creating this myself, but I used grated cheese instead of dried powdered ones like my mommy used. It turned out saltier, tasted also a bit different than hers, but I guess it's ok since my hubby still like it :) You can still replace the cheese with the powdered ones, it'll be drier and less salty if you like it that way like me, but if you love cheese buns, you'll love using grated cheese. Enjoy!

3 cups self raising flour
1/3 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup cheese (powdered or grated)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
* 1 tsp chives (optional)

Mixed butter, egg and milk together. Add in flour and spices. If you are using an electric mixer, turn it off before adding the cheese. Sift cheese in till all are mixed evenly. Bake between 17-25minutes depending on your oven, or when the toothpick comes out clean if you poke in the middle.

Moist Blueberry Muffins

Hey there!

Sorry, I've been kinda busy lately...well, being a Busy Mama :) I think I've neglected my blog for quite some time, but doesn't mean I haven't been cooking *wink wink*

Anyway, I'm in a 10 days vacation leave but instead of travelling, I just spend my time at home cuddling with the kids :) Nisa requested for blueberry muffin, and I must admit I haven't been baking for years! I do have some fresh blueberries, since Nisa loves eating them, but I've frozen them to store them longer...blueberries are hard to get here in Malaysia. As usual, I surf the web for the recipe, also reading some tips and comments by people who tried baking them, and here's my own recipe...I created it myself based on what people had tried.

Before you try this, please ensure all the ingredients are out from the fridge at least 1 hour prior to the starting point. I like moist-type of muffin, so this one is not the fluffy or crumbly type. I used orange flavor yogurt drink to replace milk in normal recipe, but you can also use strawberry flavor as these two flavor will compliment the blueberries. If you don't like moist type, you can stick to the normal mlik, and if you just like plain blueberry flavor but moist type muffin, you can use plain yogurt or yogurt drink. I don't like cinnamon or nutmeg tastes, so you can see here I don't put the powder in, but you can put them in if you like, half a teaspoon. Also, I used brown sugar instead of white, but you can use white sugar if you like, it'll be sweeter, and I don't really fancy sweets :) I only use the toaster oven with no temperature control, so I'm sorry I can't give you the exact oven temperature. Enjoy!

2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup of brown sugar (can be replaced by white sugar)
2 large eggs beaten
1/2 cup orange flavor yogurt drink (can also use strawberry flavor or plain)
2 cups of fresh/frozen blueberries (please make sure they are dry out)

In the mixing bowl, use the mixer to beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy, then add in eggs followed by yogurt drink. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt, then slowly added in the batter mixture. If you are adding in the spices, you can add it in now. Pre-heat the oven. Once the batter are well-mixed, slowly and carefully fold in the blueberries. Fill medium-sized cups 2/3 full and bake for 30 minutes in an oven toaster, or till the muffins spring back. You should also check if the middle are well-cooked by poking in, as this is a moist type and I used double blueberry volume, so it tend to be uncooked in the middle.

The recipe will make 12 medium sized muffins. You should eat them freshly baked, but if you can't finish them, you can store them in air-tight containers for 2-3 days. If you can't finish them still, you can individually wrap them with plastic wrap and put in air-tight containers or zipped plastic bags, and freeze them in the freezer. They will last for 3 weeks. To reheat them, take them out 8 hours before you are going to eat them so they'll defrost themselves naturally first. Then, unwrap them, and reheat either in the oven or microwave for 5-8 minutes, according to the type. It may take shorter time for certain types of oven/microwave.

Stir-fried Beansprout

This is another healthy and easy meal which my family love. You can eat this with plain rice or just on it's own (a good dieting food *wink wink).

1 pack of beansprouts - cleaned and toss to dry
A little chives - cut
1/2 onion - sliced thinly
2 tablespoon of sesame oil
2 tablespoon of light soy sauce
Sesame seed and pepper to taste

Optional:
1/2 stick of carrot - sliced thinly
1/2 green pepper - sliced thinly

Heat up sesame oil and fry onions. Toss in the beansprouts and other vegetables, adding in soy sauce. You could add a little water if you like, but not so much. Lightly stir-fry the ingredients and finally add in sesame seed and pepper to taste.

Egg Soup

This usually will be my last resort meal, if I really don't have any idea to cook, or don't have much time, or if my Nisa wanted to eat instant noodle which she call 'curly noodle' but I won't let her eat it due to MSG. So I invented this recipe and combine with the original egg soup recipe. You can actually eat this on it's own, it's very good specially when you or the kids are sick. Or else, you can combine it with noodles. If you thicken it more with cornstarch, you can turn it into some kind of hotplate me - some call it Hokkien Mee or Hong Kong Mee, I don't really know the exact, but they'll use the crispy egg noodle and top with this sticky gravy.

4 cups of chicken broth
1 tablespoon of cornstarch mix in a little water enough to dissolve it
1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
1-2 slice of chicken fillet cut into cubes or sliced thinly
Half a stick of carrot sliced thinly
1-2 leaves of chives sliced thinly
2 grade A eggs lightly beaten
5 Chinese Spices Mix and salt

Optional:
1-2 dried mushrooms sliced thinly
2 tablespoon of frozen peas
1 tomato cut into 8 slices
1-2 baby asparagus cut
2-3 baby corn sliced
A few prawns removed the shells
1-2 squids sliced into rings
Noodles

Heat the broth and once bubbly, add in everything except for the eggs. When everything is cooked, slowly add in the beaten eggs and keep on stirring the soup. You can thicken it more with cornstarch mixture up to your preference. Serve hot to warm your heart :)

Cheese Scrambled Egg

My husband loves eggs, though I have this silly notion that I will never serve my family just 'eggs'. I don't know why, I feel like it's humiliating to be serving my family with just a simple fried or boiled egg, even though my husband loves nothing more than rice with just fried egg!*Grrrrrrrrr* Even a simple plain scramble egg, which seems to be his daily food when he was a kid, I can't register this, so usually if I'm serving eggs, no matter how busy I am, I will have either another dish/food or else a 'hybrid' recipe :) I don't think this is an original idea, maybe someone had thought of this first, but I created this for my family breakfast, so maybe you could try this for your table too.

4 grade A eggs
8 tablespoon of milk (can also use evaporated milk)
4 tablespoon of any kind of cheese - cheddar, mozarella, parmesan (you can add in more if you like)
2 tablespoon of butter
Salt, pepper and dried parsley to taste
* Optional - chopped button mushrooms, chopped sausages, chopped green/yellow/red peppers

In a bowl, mixed eggs with milk and salt, pepper and parsley, whip well. Heat butter in the pan and pour in the mixture, turn the heat to medium to low then stir. Keep on stirring and add in the cheese, stir up to the texture you prefer. Some would like it to be dry and some a bit sticky-watery type. If you are using the optional ingredients, please fry them first before adding in the egg mixture.