Month: October 2012

New Love

New Love

New Love As I mentioned a couple times before, I try to prepare some vegetarian meals from time to time, always looking for new ideas, cos lets be honest – I’m a carnivore and I like “my piece of meat.” Thought as scientists and Cookies 

Saturday Blitz

Saturday Blitz

Saturday blitz It was hectic as always today. Cookies got up very early for his activities, and I decided to be good wifey and get up with him 0_o. Helped with some stuff and took dog for a walk. Then came back and had really 

Getting Harder…

Getting Harder…

Getting harder…

As I mentioned lately it’s really hard to get new recipes for chix breasts that can be done without oven. But I’m tough and I did it… again 0_o. I found this idea on some kind of site that offered base asian recipes. It really needed improvement, cos without it the batter wouldn’t have any taste at all, same with chicken. But maybe the whole idea was for the taste in the sauce, which was absolutely fantastic. I also found my old school chinese recipe book, and I found there some awesome idea for chinese fries. I’m going to make it very soon and share it of course with all of you the readers of Magda Cooks…

Ingredients:
500g (1 lb) chix breast
oil for deep frying
PAPER TOWELS! (remember everything “degreased” on paper towels is automatically “light”) 😛

For batter:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 egg
½ cup water (or as much as needed to make batter smooth)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
salt (to taste)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Sweet-N-Sour Sauce
3 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
½ cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tsp sesame oil
the juice of ½ orange ( I added apple juice and 1 additional tbsp of vinegar)
sprinkle of garlic powder

Preparations:
Chix in batter, NOTE: Start from heating good amount of oil into wok or fryer or any other skillet you think is sufficient for this job.

Cut chix breasts into bite size chunks. In the bowl mix all the ingredients for batter, make sure the consistency is smooth and not too thick. Put chix into hot oil and deep fry for at least 10 minutes or until nicely browned. You will have to do it in batches – to fry all pieces evenly.
!!! DON’T FORGET TO DRAIN ON PAPER TOWELS !!!

Sweet-N-Sour Sauce
In a s-m-all pot whisk ketchup, honey, water, vinegar, cornstarch, sesame oil, orange juice and garlic powder. On medium heat start boiling the mixture until the sauce thickens and is bubbly.
Pour sauce into s-m-all bowls.

Serve the meal with basmati rice and sauce as a dip (also can be mixed together and served on top of the rice) I thought that way will be nicer this time.

Until next time, take care of yourself and each other 0_o

P.S. Cookies thoughts: This was not a S-M-ALL recipe at all, and again, Magda Cooks… It just right!

Tortellini salad

Tortellini salad

Tortellini salad Since I like polish pierogies so damn much, it’s no wonder that I like any other kind of stuffed dough meal. One of my favourites are tortellinis.  Origins of tortellini you can look in Castelfranco Emilia italian province of Modena. There is at 

Nooooo Chicken Again…

Nooooo Chicken Again…

NOOOOOO Chicken again…. And I said yeah, it’s chicken again but… you will be happy, it’s new and completely different. Look, I got your favourite fresh tagliatelle from your favourite store… 0_o And it will contain CAJUN spice again!! Weeeee, goodie! Damn, Cookies is hard 

Immigration Mess

Immigration Mess

Immigration Mess

Well, I was thinking what to write about this meal, but couldn’t get any idea. Then I was thinking of the origins of this meal and it happened that I found out about it in the Polish cooking magazine called Salt & Pepper. That thought brought me back to 2005 to the mad dash we had to do to travel 500 km to cross the border with Czech Republic so my at the time Cookies the Fiance could have a stamp in the passport. We went to my late Godfather living in the Kotlina Klodzka, who took us to the Czech… we stayed with him and his wife for few days between Christmas and New Years. And his wife was always collecting recipes, magazines being the DIY person she had plenty of different stuff and I found this Salt & Pepper cooking magazine on her table. I liked it so much, that I started collecting it and doing it until today. In one of the first ones I purchased I found this great recipe for penne rigate with broccoli, pepper, tomatoes and ground beef. I changed it a little bit and today I present my own version of it. Usually I make it with penne rigate but this time I had whole grain rotini.

Ingredients for 4-6 servings

500g whole grain penne rigate or rotini or other pasta of your choice
500g (1 lb) lean ground beef
1 medium onion
one whole head of broccoli
1 big red or yellow pepper
2 medium tomatoes
2 tbsp oil
5 tbsp light soy sauce
black pepper
pinch of oregano and basil
parsley
ketchup (optional)

Preparations:
Boil pasta along the users manual. 0_o Then prepare all the veggies. Chop onion into tiny cubes, divide broccoli into bite size florets, cut pepper into strips (if you know how to julienne it… good for you 0_o). Cut the skin on tomatoes cross way on top and put for 20s into water boiling for pasta, then peel the skin off (you can leave it but while cooking in the meal it will separate and make the dish yuckie). Cube tomatoes in just chunks.

Heat big pot on high fire, pour oil, and toss onion, fry fast for like 30s then toss meat in. Fry together until no longer pink. Add soy sauce and other spices, toss broccoli and pepper, cook for 5 minutes stirring often. If broccoli didn’t soften at this time, cook another 2-3 minutes. Then add tomatoes. Cook another 2-3 minutes until yummy juice shows. Toss pasta in and stirr good.

Serve good portions with chopped parsley on top. Optionally you can use ketchup already on the plate or add while cooking ;-). The dish tastes good also with mushrooms and different veggies.

Until next time, take care of yourself and each other 0_o

P.S. Cookies thoughts: I actually have to beg her to do it, cause, well, she despises anything that resembles “Stir Fry” and while this meal is NOT a traditional stir fry, PER SE, it does have some roots in it, regardless I absolutely love this, and really Magda Cooks… It Just Right!

 

Gorgonzola Salad

Gorgonzola Salad

Gorgonzola Salad As I mentioned some time ago, I like to buy products just because I feel like it, then I look for the recipe to utilize my purchase 0_o. This time it was gorgonzola – a nice green, stinky cheese. While trying to find