Mushroom and Spinach Breakfast Bites

I know I haven’t been updating regularly but I have been experimenting and cooking. Good news is I haven’t burnt down my kitchen and while there is no real bad news some of my experiments have been disastrous. I think I should blog about them too; we can’t all have perfect days in the kitchen now, can we.

While looking for cooking ideas on the net (where else) I came across this link to Summer Zucchini Bites and I was inspired.

Sausages, eggs and bread can be had only for so many weekends as breakfast.  And of course you’re then wondering where your neck has disappeared and why those jeans don’t fit anymore.  And an extra chin is not exactly a fashion statement.

But leaving the cholesterol worries behind, I wanted to make something for breakfast for a change. So looking into my fridge I saw Mushrooms and Spinach and decided to use these to make a yummy and easy breakfast.

The first time I tried these they were a bit crisp and a tad dry.  The second attempt was much better and they held their form and shape as I would’ve liked them to.  Get your muffin tin out for this easy breakfast recipe.

Mustard Pasta Salad

So given that I just cooked a fish dish using Dijon Mustard, I wanted to use it to make a salad as well. This salad was impromptu, easy and went well with the fish. While the Buttered Mustard Salmon is cooking in the pan you get started on this dish and you will have this meal with the fish and salad ready in under 30 mins at the most.

I used small macaroni for the pasta salad, this cooks in about 5 minutes. But check your box for cooking time.

Buttered Mustard Salmon

I first heard the words ‘Dijon Mustard’ on Masterchef Australia. Before that I thought mustard was just mustard, which is the common Yellow Mustard that we use in our sandwiches and hot dogs. 

Personally I love mustard, and if you really like mustard then you should try some Dijon Mustard. It has got a much powerful flavour, and by powerful I mean a quarter of a teaspoon might clear your sinuses.  A concise description of Dijon Mustard is on wisegeeks. 

There had been a bottle of Dijon mustard on my shelf for a few weeks now and I was wondering how to use it. So I tried a simple marinade for some Salmon that I had just bought. If you want to cook dinner in under 20 mins, then you should try this.

Spinach Stuffed Cod Filets

You know when there are things in your fridge that need using up and you come up with bizarre food combinations? This dish was a result of that. And it turned out pretty good I must say. Also, this is a quick fix dinner.
Cod is excellent for a dish like this because it has a mild flavour. And since it is quite dense is good for being stuffed.

For you guys in Norway:  Cod in Norwegian is called Torske. So if you’re buying filets it will say Torskefilet on the label. I bought the filets from Bunnpris. They came as a pack of 4 filets, weighing 500gms.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting

Since this was my first time ever making cupcakes I was looking for an easy , no fuss recipe.  I stumbled upon Martha Stewart’s ‘One Bowl Chocolate Cupcake’ recipe and was I glad. The recipe called for buttermilk but I substituted that with a combination of yoghurt and milk.

Baked Pork Chops with Cinnamon Apples

There’s always a first time, isn’t there? So I bought some pork chops on a whim and thought I’d come up with something before they reach their use by date.  I looked at several recipes and took bits from many and put this dish together. It was not bad for a first try and very easy to prep as well as make.  

Also I was not sure how the cinnamon apples would turn out, but they complemented the pork pretty well. I used Gala red apples, because that’s what I had.

The cinnamon apples need finely powdered cinnamon else the cinnamon bits get in your way while eating the apples and they are not pleasant. You can find Cinnamon Powder in stores. If you have Cinnamon sticks and prefer to use that, you can break about ½ an inch of the cinnamon stick and pound with your pestle and mortar, once that’s done just sieve it so that the big bits are caught.

The pork was actually seared on the pan before being baked. Just wanted to get some colour on the meat and bring out some flavour.

South Indian Egg Curry

Being Mangalorean I love my coconut based curries. However since I have no blender yet and cannot grind my own masalas I have to rely on a my creativity a little bit.
This egg curry masala is based on one that Mama makes, but I have put my spin on it. Traditionally these would have have whole spices roasted and ground with freshly grated coconut but I have used ready made powders and coconut milk.

Prawns and Mushroom Pasta

I am always looking for easy ways to make dinner, easy but tasty of course.  So I looked into my fridge and saw that I had prawns and mushrooms.  I had also bought some whole wheat penne pasta and decided to make a quick pasta meal.

This is another white sauce, but I’ve done away with the sour cream and cheese for this one.

Asian Style Fish and Noodles

About two weeks ago I was craving Chinese food. In India, that’s not a problem because we have all the numbers on speed dial (just kidding). Let’s just say that when I crave Chinese food in India I don’t have to make it myself. We’re yet to explore Chinese food takeaway / dining options in Oslo. My daughter loves Chinese food too and more so when it comes in a takeaway box.  This one knows the difference between home cooked Chinese food and takeaway and she’s only two.

Anyway, I tried making this fish dish after scouring the web for ideas. I went in for a baked dish, because now that I have an oven I have every intention of over working it.

This is not a Chinese dish; you may call it an Asian inspired dish if you like. This is also very easy to make, because I don’t believe in slaving in the kitchen. You can prep this in about 10 mins, keep in the fridge and shove it in the oven when you’re ready for dinner.  You can bake immediately too, but letting the fish soak in the marinade makes it more sumptuous.

I used Salmon because that’s what was there in my fridge.  If you choose to try this with another fish let me know how it went. In Bangalore, while talking to this pub owner he said that they use a fish called Bhetki in most dishes like fish fingers because they are easy to filet and are quite meaty.  So you can probably ask your fish guy at the supermarket to filet this fish for you.

Mushrooms in Creamy White Sauce

 I used to be terrified of making a white pasta sauce; don’t know why because it’s really quick and easy.  And definitely a lot less work, so if anyone wants to whip up a yummy dinner in under  30 minutes, you can try this.

Cake and Custard Pudding

This is not a delicate dessert but definitely a very comforting one.  When I started making this pudding it was supposed to be a Trifle Pudding, but since I didn’t have all the layers, I put in whatever I could and called it a Cake and Custard Pudding. Still very tasty mind you.

I made this for dessert when I had friends over for dinner and they loved it.

You can choose to do this with a readymade plain vanilla sponge cake and custard powder. But the recipes I have for the cake and custard are so simple, you should try it to make it from scratch. Also I substituted ¼ cup of All purpose flour with Barley flour for that slight nutty flavour. But if you don’t have barley flour you can use All purpose flour for that quantity.

Mini Pot Pies

If you love pies and are looking for a very easy way to make them then keep reading. These mini pot pies are unbelievably easy to make, even from scratch.

While looking online for recipes these pies used "Bisquick mix", so if you have this mix then you can opt for that as your flour mix. But since I didn't have any Bisquick I made these from scratch and it was hardly any effort. 

I tried these the first time with a mixed vegetable filling. The second time with a chicken mince filling and then a third with a mushroom filling, Basically you can put whatever you want in these pies. These make a good evening snack, also a good on the go breakfast.

Easy Breakfast Pancakes

I love lazy Sundays. And the perfect breakfast for a lazy Sunday is Pancakes of course. I used to make pancakes out of a box before. But now that I have this recipe, no more pancakes out of a box for me. I tweaked the pancake recipe a bit and added some Barley flour to it. This kind of made the pancakes a wee bit dense but still very fluffy and also added a subtle nutty flavour to them.

Once I had my pancake mix ready I realised that I had no maple syrup or honey to go with my pancakes. I went and made them anyway and had them with strawberry jam. Hubby had them with cream cheese and ham. I wouldn't try that combination with these slightly sweet pancakes, but he seemed to love it so much, he had two of those.