CARROT APPLE MUFFINS

Kick start the day with a hearty muffin and fill the kitchen with the enticing aroma of freshly baked muffins. The options are endless, use it to create your own by adding different fruits, nuts, vegetables, flavorings or various grains.

The key to making great muffin is mixing the batter just enough to combine all the wet and dry ingredients but without over mixing it.

These baked muffins are low in fat. super moist packed with fresh fruit, fiber and good for us fats. I added grated apple, mashed  banana and carrot also using coconut palm sugar but this is entirely up to you. You can use white or brown sugar, either one you  still get perfect result. For extra nutritional boost, replace half cup of the flour with whole wheat flour.

PRATA PUFFS

Curry puffs or Asian pies are a favorite for many of us. It was made with flaky pastry,  stuffed with curried potato and deep fried until golden brown. But now they came with variety of fillings like sardine, minced meat and hard boiled egg.

Nowadays, most people resort to buying  from the malls instead of preparing them from scratch. It was tricky and time consuming affair.

I have seen a few of my friend making curry puffs using instant roti prata so this is a nice chance to try my hand making them.  First of all,  you need to prepare the filling and let it cool.  My filling are made using mashed potato and cooked green peas. You can even substitute the filling according to your preference .

Most importantly, do not leave the prata too long at room temperature, it becomes sticky and hard to handle.  You can start cutting and  shaping  immediately after you've removed them from a freezer.

If instant prata is not available. you can still  make these piping hot snack using puff pastries. Baking the puff is also a healthier option as it removes excess oil and fat.  Let see how these Prata Puffs were made.

BREAD PARATHA

I tried to experiment and coming up with a recipe to use up my nearly expired  bread slices. Since we prefer to have a savory over sweet dish to start our day, this Bread Paratha is created.

The bread slices were slightly toasted before processing them into bread crumbs. The bread crumbs along with flour, onion, mashed potato, green chili, chopped cilantro, minced ginger, milk and salt are then combined to form a pliable dough. Make sure you add the milk/water  little by little until you get a right  consistency. Adding to much milk will result a sticky and hard to roll paratha.

For the recipe below, you will get 4 small paratha but it can easily doubled to suit your requirement. They are best served hot immediately after you've fried them.

BREAD UPMA

Upma is a simple yet comforting dish originated from South India.  Now I want to make use of my leftover bread slice. The perfect way to clear those is making  this  Bread Upma.

For this recipe, the cubed bread is  fried along with various seasonings and vegetables are often added during the cooking process, according to your preference.

Since Bread Upma is fully spiced, you don't any gravy at all.  The flavor has a depth character and distinction. This quick meal is best served during breakfast or brunch.

BREAD UPMA
Serves :  3-4

6-8 slices bread cut into small
1 big onion chopped
2 green/red chili sliced thinly
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 large tomato diced
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrot
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 tablespoon oil
salt to taste

METHOD

Heat the oil, when heated add in  mustard seed. When they pop, add the cumin seed, onion and green chili.

When onion turns  translucent add the tomato, carrot and salt. Cook until tomato turns soft.

Now add the chili powder, turmeric and cilantro, stir well.

Mix in bread pieces and stir until bread is fully coated with spices.

Remove and serve. Garnish with cilanto.

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HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN CALZONE

If you ask me what would be my favorite and easy to go meal, it  always be  calzone.  For those of you unfamiliar with calzone, they  are  actually stuffed pizza.

While you can certainly make your own dough, most people I know want something a little easier. The easiest solution was to use frozen pizza dough or  refrigerated biscuit dough that comes in a tube.

Using   my best pizza dough   recipe and stuffed with chicken, bell pepper, onion, tomato and spices, these turned out soft and chewy at the same time. These freeze well  so it is a great idea to make a large batch for another night.

Although this recipe calls for chicken,  you can  stuff with a variety of fillings.  For vegetarian, you can substitute chicken with more veggies with cheese.

HODDEOK (KOREAN PANCAKE)

Hoddeok is a Korean hawker's delight. Made with yeast dough and stuffed with sweet filling,  almost the same as other bread with yeast that requires rising.

After stuffing is done, it is flatten and lightly fried in oil on heated cast iron pan. When it turned brown, flip over and flatten the dough using your spatula. Care should be taken when pressing the dough, otherwise it will burst out.

Normally it was stuffed with brown sugar and nuts but this time I had used peanut butter and jelly as its stuffing.

The contrasting flavor from the plain dough and the sweet filling makes this Hoddeok  a great snack!

HODDEOK (KOREAN PANCAKE)
Yield :   8 pancake

2 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoon sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoon oil

FILLING
8 tablespoon peanut butter
8 tablespoon jelly of your choice

DIRECTION

Place flour in a mixing bowl.

Combine warm water,  sugar and yeast.

Pour the yeast mixture onto the flour, sprinkle the salt. Combine until it forms into soft dough.

Place the dough into greased and covered bowl. Let rise for  1 hour or until double in size.

Divide dough into  8 balls, add flour if it is too sticky.  Place  the filling ingredients in a small bowl.

Flatten each ball, place a tablespoonful of filling, seal the edges and shape into a ball again.

Heat little oil in a cast iron pan, place 2 balls on the hot pan, seams side down and fry then flip after the bottom is slightly browned,  flatten the ball using the spatula.  Cook until  golden brown. Complete the rest of the dough.

Serve hot.

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ROTI JOHN (ASIAN FRENCH TOAST)

My son is craving for something simple yet fulfilling meal called Roti John.  This is an Asian style savory french toast. It is made with bread topped with a mixture of onion, red chili, garlic, minced meat or chicken and eggs are added as a binding agent. Season well with black pepper and salt. This goes straight to your kitchen for pan frying until golden brown. I used canned sardine this time.

Making Roti John is simple. I do not have to make the dough, just need to use bread as the base preferably baguette or hot dog bun. Now if you do not have baguette at home, you can use your normal bread, it will do just fine. Highly recommended to use wholemeal bread for a healthier choice.

Normally they are eaten with chili sauce but my son loves to eat them on its own. It is so fast and satisfying!

TUNA PIZZA CUPS

These Tuna Pizza Cups are made with my favorite pizza dough. It is stuffed with spicy tuna. They'll spin your idea of just how easy these little snacks are to make at home. They turned out beautifully.

This recipe is a keeper, you can vary the filling according to your choice either sweet or savory and make these amazing cups for your family.  You can easily adopt each individual cup to your preference. Some with veggies, some without or some with cheese and some without. 

For vegetarian, replace the tuna with sauteed vegetables such as spinach, mushrooms, tofu etc.

These clever little bites  are easy when you begin with  this pizza cups recipe baked in a 
muffin tin.

DAISY COOKIES/BISKUT DAHLIA

These cookies made their appearance during festive seasons but they are now available all year round during Chinese New Year, Idul Fitri, Diwali and Christmas.

They are basically butter cookies that are light, crumbly and literally melt in your mouth. Daisy Cookies are just so pretty laid on a plate. There are few variations of Daisy Cookies, what make it different is the combination of ingredients used, some use condensed milk, dry milk or custard powder  but my recipe below does not use those.

This lovely shape was obtained using a special mold but if unavailable, a  cookie press will be the best option.

Special care is required for lifting the cookies from the baking sheet since it was extremely delicate.

*SABUDANA VADA/SAGO CUTLET*

This crispy savory snack recipe is made with soaked sago pearls and mashed potato. Sabudana Vada is one of  popular Indian food served during fasting. There are various combination to prepare it. In this case, mine was  prepared without peanut but using semolina instead.

After combining all the ingredients, it was shaped into small  round cutlet. It can be shallow or deep fried but I prefer shallow frying since it uses least oil.

FRYING TIPS
Choose a healthy oil with higher smoke point such as canola, safflower or peanut oil.

Make sure the oil was fully heated before adding any food. To check whether it is ready, drop a small piece of  bread, it should be golden brown in 60 seconds.

Do not crowd the pan. Work in small batches. The temperature of the oil decreases as soon as you add food to it.

Heavy bottomed  cookware is best for frying. It allows to keep the temperature of the oil steady. A thicker bottom guarantees the heat will slowly warm up the oil.

Discard  your used oil if it smells rancid, strong  discoloration or excessive foaming around the frying food. Be sure to cool your used oil completely before disposing

*EGG FREE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES*

The easiest brownies ever. Makes up in a 7 x 11 in tin. Egg Free Chocolate  Brownies are soft like a cake with crunchy almond. These are wonderful and exactly what I was trying to create, in my opinion they have  the perfect texture and  used much lesser sugar than regular brownies.

There are many ways you can enjoy this favorite by replacing almond with cashew, pecan or walnut, Omit the nuts to include dried cranberries, apricot or cherries. You can even add white chocolate or dark chocolate pieces in the batter.

*DRY FRUIT SCONES*

Dry Fruit Scones are far from plain, they are lightly sweetened,  thick but soft and delicious.  Made with plain flour, butter, milk  with baking powder as a leavening agent, it is pretty quick to prepare.

Had dry fruit mix in my pantry so I  incorporated them in this recipe. These tender, buttery scones are nicely moist. It is almost the same method as preparing the pie crust. You can add pretty much anything to this basic recipe. Savory, sweet, fruity or rich, you name it, it would probably work in scones.

The key to a perfect scone is to make sure you don't overwork the dough, otherwise the result will be a hard doughy scone. They're good enough to eat on their own!

BANANA OAT CHOCOLATE SMOOTHIE

Banana Oat Chocolate Smoothies is fabulous when you want something sweet and chocolaty but very healthy too. A homemade smoothies is a great breakfast or as afternoon snack. It is full of vitamins and nutrients.

They are fast and easy to prepare. Smoothies are endlessly versatile and much cheaper than store bought, letting you use whatever fruit is in season or on offer.

I had used banana, oat and chocolate milk this time but if you're ellergic to milk, substitute it with fruit juice or non dairy milk.

Try this filling and guilt free treat to start the day!

HEALTHY FOOTBALL PARTY RECIPES

Having a super bowl party or get together this weekend? I have lined up for you a  healthier and non complicated collection for you to serve your guest and free you from  tying up in the kitchen all day and away from your guest..

These recipes are great to make ahead of time and don't take a lot of effort or expense. So try a few of these tasty snacks and party on! Click each title for full recipe.

1. SOUR CREAM PIZZA

This is just a basic recipe but add your own twist to it and let your guest enjoy your creation.

2. BAKED BANANA DOUGHNUTS

3.SESAME OAT BARS

4. EGGLESS CUSTARD BUNS

5. BRAIDED TUNA BREAD

6. EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE DIARY FREE

7.BAKED YOGURT & TURMERIC CHICKEN

 8.  DIARY FREE OATMEAL BANANA SQUARES

9. SAVORY HAND PIES

10,CHOCOLATE SPRINKLE COOKIES

11. MINI SAMOSA

12. OAT CRUNCH COOKIES EGGLESS

If you're not into football, these are great food to serve for any occasion and I'm sure there will be an idea or two you'll be bookmarking.



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CABBAGE FRITTERS GLUTEN FREE

If you're looking for  simple and delicious gluten free  fritters, you should try this recipe makes with only a few ingredients. The star ingredient for this fritter is cabbage. Along with chickpeas (garbanzo)  flour, onion, green chili and other ingredients, they are well combined to form into a thick batter before dropping them into hot oil.

Cabbage Fritters is a great example of how to enjoy delicate flavor of cabbage in your favorite appetizer/snack. Cabbage also contains Vitamin K, Vitamin C, fiber, folate and magnesium.

Keeping cabbage cold will keep it fresh and help it retain its vitamin C content. Put the whole head in a plastic bag in the crisper of your refrigerator.

EGGLESS APPLE CAKE

Take a bite of this Eggless Apple Cake that was loaded with cubed apple. It is also low in fat when compared with other recipes found on the net.

This is just too easy to make. Great for when you want something without  too much effort. You can dress it up by adding walnut, raisin or whatever you like but it tastes better without those additions. Feel free to use royal gala, red delicious, granny smith or a mixture of different varieties of apple but this cake is always good.

SESAME OAT BARS

This quick and easy bar slice is a snack favorite in our household.  These are egg free and freeze well also. They are great for those who want to embrace good health without costly expense.

It can be gobbled up immediately or stored in an airtight container up to 3 days. Their texture are great because they hold together perfectly to slice, yet are tender and tasty.

CARAMELIZED ONION FLATBREAD

My son is not a fan of dinner rolls of flatbread but crazy about stuffed or filled bread with sweet filling. So I decided to whip up this  Caramelized Onion Flatbread with caramelized onion for myself.

Don't look down on this flatbread. They are amazing! The caramelized onion does wonder to this simple  bread, The caramelized  onion produces a sweetness and unique flavor you'll definitely enjoy eating.

For great looking bread, when sauteing the onion, remove from heat when they are about to turn brown. The onion will continue to brown while baking.

DATE & GINGER COOKIES

Cookies are a great accompaniment to your coffee or tea. They come in various flavors and shapes. I whipped up these this afternoon using chopped dates.

These Date & Ginger Cookies proved popular with my guest and family. Loved this recipe, so quick and easy also very low in fat too. It was a definite winner with spicy flavor from ground ginger.

They are wonderful just as it is but you can dress them up with colored sugar or sprinkles if you want.