My love for kitchen gadgets- crepe maker

If you know me, you would know I love to cook and make food for people.  So imagine the amount of appliances I have in my kitchen.  Think of one and I probably have it (or maybe 2)

During Christmas, my sisters and I usually draw names for Christmas gifts (since there is 4 of us, plus our significant others that's a lot of gifts).  My oldest sister got me, she managed to find something I don't have and would totally love.  I didn't even know what I wanted for Christmas.  She got me a crepe maker.

1 word to describe it  AMAZING!  Everyone who has come over to my house since Christmas had the luxury of trying one of these crepes.  This crepe maker makes the crepes so thin.  When I first got it, my daughters would have a few everyday.  Their favorite is banana with Nutella and whipped cream.  If you're on the fence about it, I would say its totally worth it.  (I've also made pancakes, and tortilla on it)

oh yeah, I also got a 5kg tub of Nutella for Christmas too.  Its kinda scary, but we're almost half done the jar. 

 

Basic Crepe recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour 2 eggs 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter, melted

 

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. 2. Slowly add in the milk and water, and mix. 3. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth 4. ladle out one scoop of batter on to the crepe machine and smooth out (must be done quickly to make it super thin.  usually within 1 sec. 5.  Flip the crepe to the other side to brown a bit and it's all done.

Mao's Mango Pudding

Many have been asking how my mom makes her Mango Pudding.  So I asked her and I'm sharing her secret recipe with all of you.  Just a warning this recipe does make a lot.

Mao's Mango Pudding

• 2 packages of Jello (use orange,or peach)
• 3 packages of Gelatin
• 1 can of mango pulp
• 2 cups of whipping cream
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 4 cups of hot water
• 1 cup cold water

1. First mix 2 packages of Jello with 4 cups of hot water
2. In another bowl add 3 packages of gelatin to the 1 cup of cold water and dissolve.  Now add to the batch with the hot water
3. Add sugar and mix well

4. Add the can of mango pulp, mix again
5. Add 2 cups (500ml) of whipping cream

6.  now pour into small individual cups or a container and place in fridge to harden over night.  (if you want it ready faster, put them in smaller containers.  I made individual cup sizes and they were ready in about 4 hours)

Breakfast fun

The girls LOVE eating pancakes.  In the past I have always made them from scratch (see below I have added my pancake recipe), because they taste better then the boxed pancake mix....until I discovered the buttermilk pancake mix from Costco.  It so quick that I can whip it up in less then 5 minutes.  All you need to add is water.  so great for a busy morning before school.  There has been a few time when E wakes up and tells me "I want pancakes for breakfast"  I make it in a 2 cup measuring cup, so I don't have to wash extra dishes.  (1 cup pancake mix, and 2/3 cup water)

 The girls always ask me to make a mickey mouse head, or the letter of their name out of the pancake, but this time I decided to let them decorate their own pancakes.   I made different size pancakes and got some random stuff I had in my pantry.  They had so much fun.  What kid doesn't have fun when they get to play with their food. 

Here are their creations. 

  Pancake recipe 

 

2 cups milk

3/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

 

1. Mix all wet ingredients in a bowl, then add the flour and baking powder and mix well

2. Heat Griddle and lightly oil.  Set to medium heat and start cooking.

 

  I usually make smaller sized pancakes for the girls, and they really like it when I make tiny baby loonie sized pancakes (perfect sized, so they don't have to cut them) 
 

 

Frozen party: part 1 - Oreo pops

For one of the snack I thought anything on a stick is fun. So I decided to make chocolate dipped Oreos.

1.  Separate the Oreo

2. Melt some chocolate wafers

3.  Dip the sticks in the chocolate and place in Center.

4. Put the other side onto the Oreo.

5. Melt more chocolate wafers and dip the Oreo into the chocolate.

6. Place on a sheet of wax paper

7. Add sprinkles, sugar...or anything you want to decorate the Oreo with.

Taro wrapped Duck

I bought some organic duck breast from a organic farmer, because J loves to eat BBQ duck.  I decided to try to make this dish I tried years ago in a Chinese restaurant.  It was fried taro stuffed with duck inside.  My in-laws were over watching the girls, so I thought it would be the perfect time to try it.  It turned out delicious.  We ate it all up, even the girls enjoyed it.   

INGREDIENTS :

1 Taro 2 duck breast 4 cup of chicken stock 2 cups of corn starch oil for deep frying  SEASONINGS: (1) 1/2 cup of cornstarch, 2 tablespoon of oil, 1 teaspoon salt (2) 1Tablespoon rice wine, 1/2 Tablespoon soy sauce

PREPARATION :

1. Peel, rinse, and slice taro; Pour 1 cup of stock and add sliced taro to a pot; Bring to the boil; Simmer over a low heat until soft; Remove, add seasoning (1) and mash (almost like a play doe consistency) 2. Apply seasoning (2) on the duck evenly; Marinate for 30 minutes. 3. Bake duck breast in oven for about 40 minutes 4. Sprinkle some corn starch over the sliced duck; Cover with smashed taro; Roll in corn starch evenly.  5. (a) place into deep fryer and deep fry until brown.        (b) if you don't have a deep fryer you can use a wok; 6.  Take out and let it cool.  Slice and serve

Made little taro balls with no duck inside because I had so much mashed taro left. 

Soft pretzels

YUMMMMM, every time we go to the states I have to a Aunt Annie's pretzel.  They are soooo good.  Soft pretzels here are not common, and if you do stumble upon some, it's usually hard and dry.  I found this recipe from allrecipes.com, and the girls had so much fun making them too.

Buttery Soft Pretzels

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons active dry yeast 1 teaspoon white sugar 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F /45 degrees C) 5 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon vegetable oil   1/2 cup baking soda 4 cups hot water 1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping

Directions:

1.	In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2.	In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3.	Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
4.	When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
5.	Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

Kale Chips

I kept hearing people around me raving about these super yummy and healthy Kale chips they have been making.  So I decided to give it a try.  I went out and bought a bunch of Kale, and made the chips.  They were amazingly quick and easy to make. 

Here's what you need
1 bunch of Kale
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

1. Wash Kale and tear the leaves off the stem with your hands and into bit sized pieces.  Place into a salad spinner. You have to make sure it is dry, because it won't crisp as well.

2.  Place bit sized pieces into another bowl.  Add oil and salt and mix well
3. Place onto a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 15 minutes.

What's for Dinner? Beef and Broccoli

Here is a very easy and simple dish to make for dinner.

Here is what I used.

• Sirloin Beef steak
• broccoli
• oyster sauce
• corn starch
• garlic
• oil

1. Slice up beef and set aside.  Cut and wash broccoli.

2.  Heat up oil in a pan, and add minced garlic.
3.  Add beef sliced, fry until their brown
4.  Add broccoli, and a little bit of water (about 2 tablespoons) and cover for about 2 minutes to cook broccoli.  Make sure you don't over cook, or the broccoli can become a little mushy. 

5.  While the broccoli and meat is cooking, get a bowl and add 1 heaping teaspoon of cornstarch, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, and about 1/4 cup of water and mix well. (if you like a lot of sauce you can always double it)
6.  Add sauce to pan, and let the sauce thicken. 
7.  Plate and serve with steamed rice. 

What's for Dinner? Turkey pot pie

I still have a lot of turkey leftover so I decided to make a pie.  Ive actually never made a turkey pot pie before.  I started by searching how to make a pie crust.   I found a very simple pie crust recipe from allrecipes.com   It was called "mom's pie crust".  I did use a lot more water then mentioned in th recipe.
Here is what I did.

Pie crust

1. Mix 3 cups of flour with 3 tablespoons of white sugar
2. Cut in 1 cup of butter cubed
3. Mixed it to a crumble, and slowly add 1/2 cup of cold water until it can form a ball.
4. Roll half of the dough out and place into pie pan, and roll the other one out for the top.

Pie filling

• 2 cups of cubed turkey
• 1 onion
• 3 celery stalks
• 2 carrots 
• 3 potatoes (cubes)
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Left over gravy

1. First I cooked the onion in a large skillet. Then I added the celery and carrots and cooked it up a bit

2. Now I added the turkey,potatoes, oregano and parsley

3. After everything is well mixed add the gravy
4. Cook until potatoes are medium
5. Place into pie crust and cover.

6. Bake at 425F for 15 mins, then decrease to 350 for 30 mins.

Turkey in a apple garlic brine.

Turkey in August?  Why not?  I had a extra turkey sitting in my freezer since Easter.  I was wanting to cook it in July, so I can say Christmas in July.  But I was so busy, I didn't have a chance to cook it.  Turkey is so healthy, so why not make it part of a everyday meal.  (and I love the left overs, no cooking for a few days) Why does it only have to be served during holidays.  I'm breaking tradition and making it midweek on a Wednesday.  Today I'm going to try a new brine recipe I found.

Apple Garlic Brine

• 1 cup coarse salt
• 2 liter of apply juice
• 1 clove of garlic
• enough cold water to cover turkey

1. In my Largest pot,  dissolved 1 cup of salt in 2 cups of water and 2 liters of apple juice.  I put it on the stove and brought it up to a boil. then set aside
2. Prepare the turkey. (take out innards, and rinse)
3. Place turkey into the pot, and add cold water over to make sure the turkey is covered. 
4. place in  fridge over night
5. take out and bake in oven at 350F.  A secrest is to place turkey breast down, so all the juices will flow down, so your white meat won't be too dry and will be super juicy)

 (in my convection oven a 20lb turkey takes about 3 hours to cook.  cover with tinfoil for the first 2 hours, and take off and leave uncovered for the last hour.)

My family came over to eat it.  The turkey came out nice and juicy.   I will definitely use this recipe again.
Tomorrow's meal = Turkey sandwiches and turkey Congee. YUM.

What's for Dinner? Pork ribs, stuffed potatoes and corn on the cob

When I'm at home with the girls, they keep me pretty busy.  I always find the best time to prep dinner is in the morning right after we have breakfast.  This is the time where they are the most independent of me.  The 2 older girls will play with eachother (since they just got up, they're not grumpy and play well together, so they don't need a referee), and baby c will go in the exersaucer and entertain herself.

 I really like using the oven to make dinner, because I prep the food in the morning, put it back into the fridge, and when it's time, take it out and throw it into the oven.  My afternoons are usually crazy.  Madi is usually grumpy after lunch because she needs a nap, but since she's 3 she is kinda on the fence about needing a nap.  I would have to say she naps about 4 times a week.  The days she naps she doesn't sleep until after 11, and the days she has no nap, she's asleep by 8:30 (but she's grumpy all afternoon).  I guess we will have to wait and see what happens when September comes around when she starts preschool. 

Pork Ribs

• Ribs
• BBQ sauce
• Brown Sugar

1. Cut ribs into 3-4 ribs per portion
2. Boil a pot of water, and place ribs in boiling water.  Boil for about 15 minutes.  This will cut the baking time in half
3. Take out and place in a large bowl and pour BBQ sauce over.  Cover and place and fridge until ready to bake.

4. Preheat oven to 400 F, Place ribs in a glass baking pan (I like the glass pans because they are so easy to wash- I just throw them into the dishwasher)

5. Cover with aluminum foil.  Bake for 30 mins. Take out and remove foil and place back into over and bake for another 15 mins.
6. Take out and sprinkle brown sugar over the ribs and bake for another 15 mins. (this will give it a nice glaze, and give it a nice brown color)

Stuffed potatoes

• potatoes
• cheese
• milk
• butter
• salt
• mushrooms (or broccoli)

1. Wash potatoes well
2. place in baking sheet and cover with tin foil (or you can wrap each potato separately)

3. bake in oven with the ribs for 1 hour
4. Take our and check if the potatoes are soft.  Cut in half and scoop out the potatoes and put into another bowl
5. place the potato skins back into the oven

6. mash the potatoes and add butter, milk and salt (just as you were making mashed potatoes.  Now add shredded cheese

7. take out potato skins and fill them with the filling.  Sprinkle more cheese on the top

8. put back into oven and broil for about 5 mins. 

 The girls plate:

Josh's Plate: