Cheesy macaroni with minced beef casserole

This wonderful delicious recipe is from Ashley Wagner and her recipe link is here

http://www.centercutcook.com/cheesy-macaroni-and-beef-casserole/

It was full flavoured with cheese and the minced beef.

The top was also amazing with cheese and panko crumbs!

I did mine as a reduced portion and I skipped chili powder

Ingredients (reduced portion)

1/4 piece Onion chopped, 1 large pc garlic chopped, 300 gm minced beef, 1/2 can of diced tomatoes (about 200 gm), macaroni about 200 gm, paprika n black pepper and salt, lite sour cream 1/2 cup, milk 2 tablespoon, oil for frying

Panko crumbs 1/2 cup 

Shredded cheddar cheese slightly more than 2 cups

Method

1. Cook macaroni and drain water and set aside 

2. Prepare beef

Please fry the onions with about 1 tablespoon oil till a bit translucent

Add in the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds

Turn fire to low heat now

Add in the minced beef, salt 1/2 teaspoon, sprinkle black pepper and paprika and fry till beef is browned

You may need to adjust by adding a little oil so that the beef won't stick to base of pan

Now add in the diced tomato with juice and fry for a while more.

Now add in the macaroni, the sour cream n milk n the cheddar cheese 1 cup. Stir for awhile . Off the fire and stir evenly.

3. Baking 

Place into a casserole ( I used a round glass one)

Cover the macaroni top with 1/2 cup or more cheddar cheese 

Top with 1/2 cup of Panko crumbs

Do not expose macaroni or they turn hard

Bake in oven at 190 degree Celsius for about 30 minutes and the top browns nicely . I did turn the dish at about 15 mins for more even browning.

Frying beef with tomato

Added macaroni 

Added the other ingredients sour cream, milk, cheddar cheese

See the cheese melted?

Cover with more cheese  ( I didn't cover enough so a bit of macaroni hardened)

Cover with Panko crumbs 

Browned nicely and smells so great!

The next day I warmed again to eat as lunch

Enjoy the casserole!

Cheese n mixed vegetables muffins

Cheese is one of the best foods - it is tasty n gives us calcium.

I wanted to prepare some food for our church tea break and there are some elderly folks who prefer less sweet foods.

Since I have a block of Kraft cheddar cheese at home I decided to search for cheese muffins to make.

I came across this recipe from Juie Goodwin - wow! She is Australia's first Master Chef!

Looking at her recipe it was simple to do and I decided to adapt it.

I am not really a vegetable lover so I decided to reduce the vegetables and I used frozen mixed vegetables since I have that in my freezer. I will probably add in bacon too next time if I have them.

Please check her link for the full recipe and method http://www.juliegoodwin.com.au/recipe-cheesy-muffins.html

Her recipe ingredients are 

2 cups self raising flour

3 cups veg which can be grated carrot, corn, zucchini, corn kernels, chopped spinach, chopped shallot and fresh herbs. 

1 and 1/3 cup grated tasty cheese

1/2 cup milk

3 eggs and 60 gm melted butter

My recipe ingredients are

2 cups self raising flour

1 cup mixed frozen vegetables which I used Fairprice brand - carrots, corn, peas

1/2 a small onion diced 

1 teaspoon of mixed spice from The Gourmet Collection

130 gm of grated Kraft cheddar cheese

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

60 gm unsalted butter melted n cooled

Method 

I prepared small baking cases (hard type) n put on a baking tray

I boiled the frozen vegetables in a microwave bowl for about 2 mins and drained the water

Put the self raising flour in a large mixing bowl

Add in the cooked vegetables and diced onion and grated cheese and the spice mix and mix well with a spoon 

The ingredients become coated in flour

Mix the eggs and milk together 

Pour it into the flour with melted butter and stir together 

After stirring it becomes paste like and thick

Preheat the oven to 180 deg Celsius 

Use n ice cream scoop to scoop into the muffin cases evenly

Bake on middle tray for 25 minutes

The top will be lightly golden but the bottom will be browned nicely

Remove the muffins n cool on a wire rack 

To keep them for next day 

I kept inside airtight container and kept inside the fridge 

Let them come to room temp about 30 mins and warm them in oven at 110 deg Celsius for about 10 minutes 

Happy baking!!

I used 130 gm of the cheddar cheese

Before mixing

After coating with flour

My spiced mix

Before baking

After baking

Cross section of the muffin

Enjoy them with your coffee!

Cheesy Panfried Potatoes

This is what I did as I wanted to finish up my packet of shredded pizza plus cheese.

Recipe

1 potato skinned and cut to even thin slices

Half a tomato slices n halved

Some garlic powder seasoning from McCormick

A handful of shredded cheese 

A bit of oil

Heat the oil and place the potato to cover the pan 

Do not overlap 

Sprinkle the garlic powder

Fry till underside slightly browned n flip over

Push potatoes to one side 

Add in tomatoes to the other side

When potatoes are browning, top the potatoes only with cheese

When cheese slightly melted

Remove potatoes to plate

Top with the tomatoes

serve warm

Nice and cheesy!!

Baked macaroni cheese

This is quite an awesome baked macaroni .

I followed this recipe 

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/macaroni-cheese-69

It is easy to do n I changed it slightly only.

Recipe

Ingredients 

Macaroni 250gm

1 block of cheddar cheese grated

1 packet of full cream milk - 250ml

Originally she used evaporated milk

1 egg instead of 2 eggs

Sprinkle of ground nutmeg 

Salt n pepper to taste

In addition - a few slices of luncheon meat diced

A few pcs of Swiss mushroom - remove stalk n cut into slices 

Cook the pasta with some salt 

Drain n keep warm inside the pot

While pasta is cooking, stirfry the luncheon meat n mushroom with some olive oil. Set aside.

Grate the cheese.

Keep a small bowl of cheese aside for topping.

Use the remainder cheese n mix with milk, egg,nutmeg, salt n pepper. 

Pour the cheese mix over the pasta.

Stir in the luncheon meat n mushrooms too.

Prepare a large baking dish.

Pour the mixture into the dish.

Top with the bowl of shredded cheese.

Preheat oven to 220 degree celcius.

Bake for 15-20 minutes till the topping is brown n mixture bubbling.

Fry the luncheon meat n mushroom

The cheese mixture n the bowl of grated cheese.

Before baking

After baking

Smells so wonderfully cheesy!

Happy baking!

Dried Blueberry and Grated Cheese Muffins

I wanted to do something  and looked for a cheese muffin recipe on the web.These are pretty easy to do but it was messy. Be prepared to get your fingers dirty!

The original recipe comes from nigella.com.

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/cheese-muffins-4551

I have did some slight changes. 

Ingredients

2 cups of plain flour n 1 tablespoon flour

1/8 teaspoon salt ( original 1 teaspoon)

2 teaspoons of double acting baking powder ( original 3 teaspoon baking powder)

200 gm Planta margarine (8oz margarine)

1 cup cheese - I interpret as grated cheese

Wet ingredients at room temperature

1 cup milk 

2 eggs

Topping

Some grated cheese

Handful of blueberries - my addition

Original used some paprika

Method

Mix the flour n baking powder n 1/8 teaspoon salt together 

Rub in the margarine into the flour - will be messy!

Add in the cheese n stir with spatula

Beat 2 eggs in another bowl.

Add in milk n stir. 

Pour the milk mix into the flour n mix in with spatula.

At this point I sprinkled about one more tablespoon flour as the mixture was very wet.

Preheat oven to 190 deg celcius - original is 200.

Spoon into prepared muffin trays.

I lined with paper cups.

Add more grated cheese n put some blueberries.

Bake for about 15 mins

I turned my trays n lowered temp to 170 for another 10 mins.

You can test doneness by sticking a toothpick in. It should be dry when pull out.

Let them rest in tray 2 mins.

Remove n cool in racks. 

Sprinkle a little caster sugar on them before serving.

Before baking 

Ready to eat! Happy baking!

Brown sugar cake cookies

These cookies are rounded not flat and although the exterior feels hard the inside is soft.

I obtained the recipe from the link below 

http://www.cooksrecipes.com/international/japanese-peanut-cookies-recipe.html

Instead of crushing the peanuts and stirring into batter, I merely placed them on each cookie dough.

I made a variety of cookies by replacing peanuts with chocolate rice and even sliced cheese.

Ingredients used

2 eggs room temperature 

1/2 cup Lurpak unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 & 3/4 cup cake flour

1 cup fine brown sugar

Peanuts for decoration or

Chocolate rice or 

Sliced cheese

Method

Cream the softened butter with brown sugar till fluffy

Add the eggs n vanilla essence n beat well.

Add in half flour n mix in slow speed.

Add the rest of the flour. The dough will get thicker.

Cookie dough

Line the trays with baking paper 

Scoop a teaspoon of dough n place on baking sheet. Space apart.

Decorate as wish.

Put tray into fridge for 20 minutes to chill.

Bake at 160 degree celcius for 16 minutes.

Remove and cool on rack. Cookies will harden after cooling. 

Chocolate rice cookies

Cheese cookies

You can make about 40 pcs of cookies.

Happy baking!

Ham n Cheese Bun

These are very soft sweet buns with a savory taste to it.

The original recipe by Khoo See Yew's recipe book DIY Home Bread mayonaise cheese bread.

I have made some changes to it by adding some chicken ham for filling.

I also did an egg glaze instead of spraying with water.

Recipe - makes 10 buns you will need approximately 3.5 hours

Ingredients 

A-

230 gm bread flour/high protein flour 

5 gm instant yeast

170gm water

1/8 tsp bread improver(omitted)

B- 

20gm egg

60 gm castor sugar 

1/4 tsp salt

25 gm cold water

2.5 gm instant yeast

C

30 gm butter(softened)

100 gm bread flour ( I used an additional 10-20gm)

Filling

3 slices of cheese diced

2 tbsp mayonnaise

25 gm castor sugar

Additional 3 slices of cheese for topping

Method

1. Mix A till even n rest for 1 hour- 1.5 hours. I used my k beater. I rested only 1 hour. Covered with cling film in my cupboard.

2. Add B to A, mix till smooth dough, add in C  n knead ( I used hands on) to firm a smooth dough. Occasionally I added a sprinkle of flour as I found the dough too wet. Rest for 15 mins. Covered with cling film.

3. Divide into 60 gm each n shape into balls, let them rest 5-10 minutes.

4. Flatten dough, wrap in filling, knead to round balls, placed on greased tray let it prove to double the size. Maybe around 30 minutes. I didn't use greased tray but paper trays for buns.

5. Apply balance egg as egg wash to buns n place the 2 strips of cheese in a X position.

Pipe out some mayonnaise in circles  ( I omitted)

6. Bake at 190 celcius for 10-12 minutes.

Using the cornell oven I used convection mode middle rack about 13 minutes till the x shape of the cheese becomes pronounced.

Remove from oven n cool before storing in airtight container.

Happy Baking!!

Banana Cheese Cake

This is the last bake for 2013.  Still using bananas.
I had 4 bananas left and I didn't want to repeat the banana chocolate muffins which I did yesterday. I also had sour cream in my fridge.

I looked for banana recipes and bingo! About.com has this recipe Banana Cake with Cinnamon Glaze Recipe. It actually is a bit similar to yesterday's banana muffins and other banana bread I have done before but this cake is using a rectangular pan. 13 x 9 inch. Original recipe is from Peggy Trowbridge Filippone. I made a little adjustment by adding cheese.

Recipe
Dry ingredients
1.5 cups of plain flour (195gm)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (omitted because my children doesn't like them)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix the above using a whisk in a small bowl and set aside.

Wet ingredients
1 cup of caster sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil ( I used corn oil)
1 cup mashed bananas ( 2 large size bananas)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract ( I used essence)

Preheat the oven to 180 deg celcius (350 F)
Line the 9 x 13 inch pan.

Use a large bowl, beat sugar and oil.
Add bananas, sour cream, eggs and vanilla essence.
Beat for 2 minutes until thoroughly combined.
Using a large fork, stir in dry ingredients by hand stirring only until combined.
At this point, add in a handful of shredded cheese, I used Perfect Italiano Pizza Plus.
Combine in the batter.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes until lightly browned and top springs back when lightly touched.  Let cool to room temperature.

If you want to follow the recipe wholly, here is the glaze recipe.
Cinnamon Glaze recipe

1 cup confectioners' sugar or icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk or cream

Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and milk or cream.  Add only enough cream to make a spreadable glaze. Top cooled cake with the cinnamon glaze before cutting.

Serves 24 to 36 servings, depending on cut size.

After 30 minutes 

This is about half the cake cut into pieces 

I think I will add some nuts next time as the cake is a bit thin but the taste is good.

Cheddar Cheese Cookies

Chanced upon this recipe in Baking Wonderland from Facebook.  These cookies really have a strong taste of cheddar in it and is also slightly salty.

 

I made mine with and also without almond slices.

 

Ingredients A)

Shortening 60gm

Butter 220 gm (softened)

Icing 60 gm

3 egg yolks

 

 

 

Ingredients B)



Milk Powder 2 tablspoons

Plain Flour 380gm

Corn Flour 50 gm

Cheddar Cheese shredded 125gm

 

 

1 egg beaten as eggwash

 

Method

 

1. Prepare grated 125 gmCheddar Cheese if you are using a block cheese instead of ready packed shredded cheese.

 

2. Beat A ingredients till smooth using an electric beater.

 

 

2.  Add B ingredients and knead till it becomes a soft dough. I used a spatula, then by hand to make a smooth dough

 

 

 

3.  Flatten the dough between two plastic sheets by using a rolling pin. Do not flatten too thin or else the cut out cookie will break.

 

 

Arrange cookies onto lined tray.  Then apply egg wash.  You can also decorate with almond slices before baking.

 

 

Bake at 150 degree Celcius for about 20 mins or till golden brown.

 

This can make 2 or more containers full of cookies.  Yummy and easy to make! Enjoy baking them!