Chicken Quesadilla (2nd version, with Pico de Gallo)

I am so glad I found this recipe. This is by far the best Chicken Quesadilla that I have ever made. Very close to the one served in the restaurants. I got this recipe from www.allrecipes.com, by Tony Cortez.

Ingredients

2 tbsp. Olive oil, divided

2 skinless boneless chicken breast fillets, cut into thin strips

1/2 onion, sliced

1 green pepper, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 flour tortillas

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Pico de Gallo:

2 tomatoes, seeded

1 onion

2 limes, juiced

2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded 

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

• Make the Pico de Gallo. Put tomatoes, onion, and jalapeno pepper in a food processor and chop them. Transfer to a bowl, add in chopped jalapeno pepper, lime juice, salt and pepper, combine and stir well, then set aside.
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil. Add chicken and saute until cooked through and juices run clear. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
• Put the remaining 1 tbsp. of olive oil in the hot skillet and saute the sliced onion and green pepper until tender. Stir in the minced garlic and saute until the aroma is strong. Mix in half of the pico de gallo and chicken breast meat. Set aside; keep warm.
• Spread 1/4 cup shredded cheese on the tortilla and top with 1/2 the chicken mixture. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup cheese over the chicken and top with another tortilla. Cook the loaded tortillas on pan or grill until tortilla is lightly brown and cheese has started to melt. Remove quesadilla from skillet and cut into quarters. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve quesadillas with sour cream and remaining pico de gallo.

Angel Hair Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

3 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 1/2 lb. ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped

1 tbsp. Basil Leaves

1 tsp. minced garlic (I use California style wet garlic)

1/2 tsp. Oregano Leaves

1/2 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

1/4 tsp. salt

1 lb. angel hair pasta

Directions

• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat. Add tomatoes, garlic, Basil, Oregano. Season with salt and black pepper, then set aside while cooking pasta.
• Cook angel hair according to the package directions for al dente. Remove from heat and drain well. Place in a serving bowl. Add sauce, tossing to coat pasta. Serve with garlic bread.
• Note: For flavor variation, you can add 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar in the tomato sauce if you like vinegar.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

It's so simple, great for working women. Just put all ingredients into the CrockPot before you leave for work and dinner will be ready when you get home ;)

Ingredients

4 lb. chuck roast

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Steak seasonings

1 package dry onion soup mix

1 can beef broth

1 can cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup

1-2 can whole white potatoes (or you can use fresh potatoes, peeled and quartered)

Baby Carrots

Celery stalks, chopped

Directions

• Take the chuck roast, rub all over it with olive oil then season with steak seasoning. 
• Brown on all sides in a large skillet over high heat (you can skip this step if you like).
• Place it in the CrockPot (slow cooker), add in onion soup mix, broth, cream of soup, carrots, celery and potatoes.
• Cover and cook it on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours.

Shrimp Scampi

This is my husband's favorite. Use less chili flakes if you don't like spicy food.

Ingredients

1.5 lb. large shrimp, cleaned and deveined

2 tbsp. minced garlic

4 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 tsp. or more dried chili pepper flakes

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1/8 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (you can substitute it with 1/8 cup dried parsley flakes)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. Lemon Pepper

Directions

• Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in garlic, shrimp and chili flakes. Cook until shrimp are pink and cooked.
• Blend mustard, lemon juice, Lemon Pepper, parsley and salt. Add to shrimp mixture, stir well, then add in broccoli florets, heat throughly.
• Serve over pasta (Linguine, Angel Hair or Spaghetti).

Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp. Ground Ginger

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup chicken (or vegetable) broth

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1/4 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper (chili flakes), optional

1 tbsp. canola (or any vegetable) oil

3-4 cups vegetables (such as broccoli florets, snow peas, red bell pepper strips, sliced mushrooms, etc.)

2 tbsp. roasted sesame seed

Directions

• Mix cornstarch with Garlic Powder and Ground Ginger in a large bowl. Add chicken, toss to coat well. Set aside. Mix soy sauce, broth, scallions and Crushed Red Pepper. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a wok or large deep skillet in a high heat. Add vegetables, stir-fry 5 - 7 minutes or until vegetables are tender crisp. Remove from pan and set aside.
• Add chicken and cook 8 - 10 minutes or until chicken is golden brown. Add reserved soy sauce mixture. Bring to boil and cook until sauce has thickened. Return vegetables to skillet and toss. Sprinkle with roasted sesame seed. Serve over white rice, if desired.

Black Pepper Chicken

Recipe from Fanny Birner.

Ingredients

Marinade sauce:

1 tbsp. lime juice

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. sweet soy sauce (you can find this in asian grocery store, the one I use is called Kecap Manis, product from Indonesia)

2 tbsp. all purpose flour

Other ingredients:

Boneless chicken breast fillet

2-3 big red chilies, seeded and chopped (you can substitute it with 1 medium red bell pepper)

1 onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1/2 tbsp. or more black pepper

2 tbsp. sweet soy sauce

1 tbsp. soy sauce

Directions

• Marinate the chicken with lime juice and salt for 5 minutes and then rinse, cut into small cubes.
• Add sweet soy sauce, soy sauce, and flour, let it stand for about 15 minutes.
• Deep fry the chicken until golden brown, set aside.
• In the other pan heat 2 tbsp. oil, stir fry the garlic until fragrant add the onion and chillies or bell pepper.
• Then add in soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, black pepper and chicken.
• Stir until chicken is well covered with sauce. Serve over white rice if desired.

Welcome To My Blog

I have been asked by some friends to make a cooking blog, to share the recipes that I have, to others. After months working on it, I finally finished it. Yes I know, it took a very long time for me to make this blog, as I can only do it little by little in my very rare spare time. As you can see from my food pictures, I am not a professional cook. In fact, I am far from professional. I have learned how to cook from scratch. I'm from Indonesia, a third world country. Where everything is quite cheap and affordable, and most people can afford to have maids, cook, drivers and such. I have maids in my house in Indonesia. I never had to cook, clean the house nor do the laundry. Everything was always ready and served for me. I even rarely went to my kitchen. Then I got married and moved to the States. I was having a culture shock for quite a while. As a woman who always had everything ready and served, now I have to do them myself. I have to clean the house, do the laundry, and when I'm hungry I have to cook. In my first year, I was still dealing with a lot of prepared food. But then I got pregnant. My appetite doubled and I craved for specific food that is can not be easily found here (Indonesian food). So I had to make the specific food to satisfy my appetite. And then I started to think about the baby. I had to find a way to eat real healthy food in regular daily basis. That's when I first started to cook.

I really really learned from scratch. I didn't even know what oregano or basil would affect the taste in food. I didn't even know how much salt I should put in a dish. All I knew was how to boil water. Yes, I was that bad. But practice makes perfect. I got better and better each time. I know more about spices, herbs and how to play with them. When I look back to who and how I was, I am so proud of myself. I still can't believe myself sometimes that I can actually cook a real good yummy and healthy meal for my family almost everyday. That is such a big accomplishment for me. So, here I am sharing my stories, experiences and recipes. These recipes are mostly from friends, family, books and the internet. I still have a lot of recipes that I haven't tried. And I know I will continue trying new recipes as I am still learning everyday. So, keep checking up on my blog once in a while as I will keep it updated with new recipes. The "FOOD LIST" tab is the pictures of food that I have cooked. And The "RECIPES" tab is where the recipes are. You can click on the categories in each tab. Leave a comment if you have any questions. Enjoy! ;)

Russian Style Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff is believed to be a hybrid of Russian-French cuisines and included ingredients such as sliced fried meat, topped up with creamy gravy. Unlike its french counterparts of foods served along with gravy, the russian style beef stroganoff gravy is to be served in a dish, along with the meat. Recipe from Lola Mansurov.

Ingredients

1 lb. fillet mignon, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Onion, sliced

1 tsp. Corn Starch, dilute in 1/4 cup of cold water

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 tbsp. salt

Tomato Sauce:

1 cup of pure tomato juice (you can use V8 tomato juice)

1/4 cup crushed walnuts

1/4  cup chopped dills and cilantro

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

Directions

1. Pound the sliced meat and sprinkle with a little bit of black pepper. Set aside.

2. Prepare the tomato sauce; add in all the tomato sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Stir to mix well and set aside.

3. Heat oil in a pan, add in the meat and fry until golden brown. Add in onions and saute until onions turn slightly golden. Add in the tomato sauce, lower the heat to medium-low and let it cook for about 10 minutes. 

4. Meanwhile, heat heavy whipping cream in saucepan on medium heat, add in corn starch mixture, keep stirring until the cream and the starch are mixed well. Add in sour cream and cook for 2 minutes.

5. Remove cream mixture from heat and pour into the meat mixture. Stir well and cook for 10 minutes.

6. Serve with pasta or french fries.

Lamb in Indonesian Curry Sauce

Recipe from the book: For The Love of Food, by Chef Yono Purnomo. He's a 5-star Indonesian Chef in NY. He has achieved so many awards across the US. And he's like my 2nd father here.

Ingredients

Lamb chops
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/2 tbsp. chopped shallots
1/2 tbsp. chopped garlic
1/2 tsp. coriander powder
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh basil

Indonesian Curry Sauce:

1/2 tbsp. coriander powder
1/2 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. turmeric
2 tbsp. curry powder
2 or 3 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. chopped shallots
1 tbsp. garlic
2 tsp. Sambal Oelek (it's freshly ground chili paste available in asian grocery store)
1 tbsp. tamarind paste
1 stalk of lemon grass, pounded
2 tbsp. thinly sliced galangal or thai ginger (you can find this at any asian grocery store)
1/2 cup coconut milk
vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
10 kaffir lime leaves (this is very rare, I can't even find it in any asian grocery store here. You can buy online or substitute it with lemon zest)
1 cup Mango Chutney
4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick

Directions

1. Combine the olive oil, shallots, garlic, coriander, cumin and basil in a large bowl. Add the lamb chops and mix to coat well. Marinate for at least 1 hour.
2. Grill or broil the marinated lamb to your preferred temperature (I broiled mine on 375 F for 1,5 hour).
3. Place a pool of indonesian curry sauce on a plate and put the lamb atop the sauce. Serve with grilled or steamed vegetables and french fries.


How to make Indonesian Curry Sauce:
1. Combine coriander, cumin, turmeric and curry powder with water in a bowl and pound to form a paste. Set aside.
2. Process the shallots, garlic, sambal oelek, tamarind paste, lemon grass, galangal and 1/2 cup coconut milk in a food processor. And when it's done, mix it with the spice paste that made earlier.
3. Saute the spice paste mixture in hot oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add in 1 1/2 cups coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, mango chutney, cloves, and cinnamon stick. Continue cooking to a simmer.
4. Allow to cool slightly then strain. Return to the heat and continue to simmer until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. 

Indonesian Fried Beef-Stuffed Wrap (Martabak Telor)

This is a quite famous Indonesian appetizer. Recipe from my maid back in Indonesia.

Ingredients

Frozen lumpia or spring roll wrapper (you can find this at any asian grocery store)

0,5 lb Ground Beef

3 Eggs

3-4 Scallions, thinly sliced

1 medium Onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp. Curry powder

1/4 tsp. Corriander powder

1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

1/2 tsp. Corn Starch, dilute in 2 tbsp. of water

Sugar

Salt

Oil

Dipping Sauce:

Cucumber, julienned 

1 tbsp. Soy sauce

2 tbsp. Ketchup (tomato ketchup)

1 tbsp. Chili sauce

1/4 tsp. tamarind paste, mix with 3/4 tsp. water

Sugar

Salt

Water

Directions

1. Saute onion and garlic until fragrant, add in ground beef, curry powder, corriander powder, and black pepper. Stir in salt and sugar to taste. Cook until meat is done and the juice from the meat has dried out a little bit. Remove from heat.

2. Whisk eggs, add in beef mixture and scallion, stir to mix well. 

3. Heat oil in a pan, then take 1 or 2 of the wrapper, put in on a plate, put about 3 tbsp. of the beef stuffing on the wrapper and fold it like envelope. Use the corn starch mixture to glue the wrapper. Fry it immediately with the folds on the bottom. Turn once and when it's golden browned, remove from heat. Serve with the dipping sauce.

How to make dipping sauce:

1. Mix soy sauce, tomato ketchup, chili sauce, tamarind mixture, and water. Stir to mix well. Keep adding water f it's too thick. This dipping sauce is not supposed to be thick at all. Add in sugar and salt. Adjust seasonings to your liking. Then stir in the cucumber. Ready to serve.

Note: It's easier to use 2 wrapper, because if you only use one, the stuffing makes it soggy so easily and it may falls apart before you fry it. I suggest you fry it immediately after you fold the wrap. For best result, pan fry it, do not use a deep frier as pan frying helps to secure the folds of the wrap.