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.

Treasure Boxes

I love cooking for my family, and I believe most of my readers are too. I devoted my whole attention and passion to provide good and healthy food for my kids especially, since my husband is working away in KL while all of us are in the north, so he could only get to try some of my food during the weekend. Cooking is like a stress-reliever for me. Each time I cook, even the same food, will never taste the same as I will always innovate the recipe. Apart from the fresh cooking during the weekend and the reheating of home-made make-ahead food in the weekdays, my other passion is to make great lunchboxes for my dearest daughter to school, which I called my 'Treasure Boxes'.

 



If you noticed, I'm not into the fancy cartoons or shapes or designs. It's all about the food. They should be good, healthy and of course tasty. What good will I get if I do all the fancy food stuff which my girl won't eat? Some of these food are make-aheads like the pasta, marinated chickens, quiches, muffins, soups and rice. It will take me max 10 minutes every morning to prepare this, most of the time is less and those times are usually to cut the fruits because I could reheat the food while doing that...we mommies are such a multi-tasker, aren't we?

Nisa's lunchbox will always have either fruits or veggies, or can be both, but I still let her have her occasional sweet treats like cakes and jellies. Nisa is a natural-born fruits and veggies eater, so I don't actually have any problems to force her eating those. In fact, I think she eats much healthier than me and she cannot live a day without having her bowls of fruits, so fruits are the staple in our fridge. She used to love fish but as she grows bigger, she started to push them aside. The worst food to feed her are eggs or anything made with lots of eggs like quiches or egg sandwiches, but she's the BIGGEST fan of pasta, any kind of pasta!

I can share some of the recipes when I have time to write again. Follow my FB page at https://www.facebook.com/bzmamaskitchen and you can request for the recipe you are interested to try out.