Easy Beef Broccoli

Here's a simple recipe/guide for easy yet delicious beef broccoli. 

1. Marinate beef

I sliced my pork (had no beef)and coated it in a little (like maybe 2 tablespoons?) of soy sauce, added chopped garlic, and grated a tiny bit of ginger, cornstarch (maybe a teaspoon?) and added the secret ingredient>>>>> *baking soda* (like a teaspoon).

Let it marinade for at least a half hour. You'll hear the baking soda work it's magic. 

2.Prep the Broccoli 
Cut up your broccoli how ever way you like and then blanch it for a few minutes in hot water and then drop in an ice bath (I just poured out the hot water and added cold water since we don't have any ice).

3. Stir Fry Beef
Stir fry on high heat until meat is cooked (few minutes) and then add in the broccoli. 

You can add a splash of chicken broth (or stock or water....whatever you have on hand). 

The beef (or pork) will be velvety with a nice glaze on it. If you prefer to have a saucy beef broccoli then add in some sauce(a simple shoyu, water, cornstarch mix or whatever you like. But I liked it either way)

4. EAT!!!
mmm....with some rice or noodles...yessss

AND THATS IT!

SIMPLE YET DELISHHHHHIOssooooo!


Other things that would make it even more yum  yum.....
.
oyster sauce, rice wine or dry sherry, mushroom seasoning (in the marinade)

and maybe some a little bit of sesame oil at the end...

Puff Pastry

So today I really wanted to make Bacon and Egg pie and luckily, between my house and my parents'...we had all the ingredients! lol...However, I wasn't going to buy the pastry, so I decided to try making it from scratch.  This is the only recipe that I've tried, so there may be better, but I was REALLY happy with how it turned out!

You can find the original recipe here.

• 5 cups of bread flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 cups of water (you may use less, but I didn't)
• 2 cups of unsalted butter at room temperature (about 480g)

1. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer that is fitted with a dough hook. Gradually stir in water until the dough holds together enough to clean the sides of the bowl. You may not need the full amount of water. Shape into a flat ball, and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. (I don't have a stand mixer so my normal mixing bowl and fork/wooden spoon had to do).
2. Place the butter between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound into a flat disc using a rolling pin or other heavy object. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes. (I didn't realize the butter had to be room temperature and because I didn't want to wait, I just sliced the butter about 1/2 an inch thick, lay the blocks side by side and rolled them together once they had the plastic wrap on top...it also wasn't a flat disc, more like a flat rectangle).
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Place the disc of chilled butter in the center and fold the two ends over it so that it is completely encased in dough. Roll out the dough again, taking care not to let the butter break through the dough, to about 1/2 inch thickness. Fold into thirds. This is the first ''turn''. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll out into a rectangle again. Fold into thirds. By this time the butter is starting to warm up. Place the dough on a baking sheet and mark it with two pokes from your finger (two turns). Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
4. Repeat this rolling, folding and turning two more times, then refrigerate until firm. Repeat two more times for a total of 6 ''turns''. Wrap and refrigerate. The dough is now ready to roll out and use in any recipe calling for puff pastry. Roll the dough out as thin as 1/4 inch to make pastries. Bake in a preheated oven of at least 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) to get the maximum puff from your pastry.

Sorry, no picture...I couldn't be bothered trying to work my fail-phone lol.  But it looked awesome and was really good! :)

Eggs Benedict

So I've never actually had Eggs Benedict before so I'm not exactly sure whats good and whats really good...but this sauce that my sister made was yummy and definitely a keeper!

Eggs Benedict is simple, its just an English muffin (or I just made the Southern Biscuits that I've posted on here), bacon, a poached egg and the Hollandaise sauce on top! Easy Peasey! We also added veges we had in the fridge, it was super yummy!

So here's the recipefor the Hollandaise sauce we used. You can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3 egg yolks
• Salt
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Juice of 1 lemon

Directions

1. Melt the butter over very low heat (or in the microwave). Skim the fat off the surface and set aside to cool slightly. (I'm pretty sure that skimming the fat isn't that important??)
2. Put the egg yolks in a heat-proof metal bowl and whisk until fully beaten.
3. Place the bowl so it fits over a small pot filled with about 1-inch of water.
4. Turn the burner to medium-low and whisk until the water is lightly simmering and the eggs are lightened in color, doubled in volume, and thick (do not allow the water to boil, and be careful not to scramble the yolks).
5. Lower the heat. While still whisking the yolks, add a few drops of the melted butter.
6. Once fully incorporated, continue adding the butter in a very, very slow stream while constantly whisking.
7. If you notice that the sauce begins to look grainy and slightly curdled, that is an indication that it is about to break. Immediately stop what you are doing and add a splash of cool water. Whisk vigorously until completely smooth. Resume adding butter.
8. Once the butter is fully incorporated, add a dash of salt and cayenne and whisk in 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.
9. Taste and add more salt, cayenne, and/or lemon juice (up to 8 teaspoons) as desired.
10. Remove from the heat and set aside while preparing the eggs. Whisk occasionally to prevent a skin from forming. Use within 1 hour.

This is what it looked like for us:

So I've never poached eggs before (and my sister made these ones)...but both she and Chu gave me some useful notes to help when I do:

1) Add some vinegar to the water, and

2) Swirl the water around then drop the egg in the middle of the pot/pan.  This will help to keep the edges look neat.

Broccoli Salad

Okay so this is one of those recipes where I don't do exact measurements and it really doesn't matter anyways :)  You can put as much, or as little of all the extras as you please!  (But the Broccoli to dressing ratio is pretty accurate, however, if you leave it to sit in the fridge for a while, the dressing will get soaked up and you'll want to make extra dressing).

Salad:
1 head of Broccoli
1/2 - 1 diced red onion
Chopped up cooked bacon bits
Grated or cubed cheese
Craisins
Sunflower seeds or pine nuts
Slivered almonds -optional

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar

Mix it all up and enjoy!! We love eating this salad!
(Really, you can add whatever you like.  We added stuff we had in our fridge and substituted heaps of the ingredients the last time we made it like adding apples and cucumbers, although it wasn't the same without the bacon and red onion lol. [See picture below]  My cousin grates in carrot too :D )

Fluffy Pancakes

So this is the best pancake recipe we've come across thus far.  I'm pretty sure that its the buttermilk that makes it! They are always fluffy and delish.  You can find the original recipe here.

3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted (make sure this isn't hot when you add to the mixture)

Combine the milk and vinegar in a large bowl and leave for 5 mins as it gets sour.
In another bowl, combine all dry ingredients.  Then whisk egg and butter into the soured milk.
Then slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and whisk until all lumps are gone.

Fry them up on medium heat. (I find the best way to get that even McDonalds pancake colour, is to use a non stick frying pan.  However, because the first batch is always the worst, I only use butter for frying for that first batch.  The rest should be fine :)  Once you see bubbles forming on the pancakes, like all over then you'll know its time to flip them).

Add your favourite toppings...and enjoy!

Southern Biscuits

This recipe is yummy, super easy and quick to make.  From start to finish it takes about 30 mins tops! I also treat them as scones too and add butter/jam  :)  The original recipe can be found here.

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons of shortening (i didn't have any so just added more butter)
1 cup of buttermilk (add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice to almost a cup of milk)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius/450 Fahrenheit.
Combine all dry ingredients into a bowl.  Cut up butter (and shortening) and rub it into the flour, (try do this as quick as you can so you don't melt the butter with your hands).
Make a well in the mixture and pour in milk, mix until its just combined. (the dough will be very sticky and wet)
Transfer mixture to a well floured board, add a handful of flour to the top and fold the dough 4 or 5 times, then pat it out to about an inch thick.
Cut it up using a knife or use a cutter to cut out your biscuits.
Put on a greased tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown :)

and ta da!!

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Chicken Salad Sandwich
2-3 cups chopped rotisserie or roasted chicken
1/2 - 1 cup mayo
chopped green onion, 2-3 stalks are good
1/2 cup grapes, halved
celery, half a stalk diced
pan juices from the chicken
salt/pepper

And that's all folks.

Mix everything in a bowl and have a taste.

Add a little or a lot more of what you like (like more Mayo if your like my husband, or more grapes and celery if your like me). 

This recipe is easy to adjust to your liking.

Spread the mix on your favorite bread or rolls and enjoy.

Other variations: some people like to add apples and cashews and whatnot. hmm...I wonder how mandarin slices would taste instead of grapes? But yeah I like this version best (yes im biased) and I think the grape texture holds up better and gives a nice sweet bite. 

You can use canned chicken chunks or cooked chicken...but if you do I suggest heating the chicken in a pan and adding a splash of soy sauce, garlic, minced onion, and whatever seasoning you would use on a roasted chicken. Then adding it to a bowl and mixing in the other ingredients.

I like to use my left over chicken from a store bought rotisserie or home roasted chicken.