Orange Shrimp and Sesame Noodles

This combination is a product of my imagination. I love the crunch of sesame seeds and I figured it would be wonderful in conjunction with shrimp. My hunch paid off, it worked!

I'm going to try this with lemon cos I love the zing of lemons. I'm sure it will rock! LOL!
This dish is soooooo gonna be featured more often in my home.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

Orange Shrimp

500g of peeled, deveined shrimp
4 red chilies
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons of maple syrup
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of orange blossom water
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
3/4 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice

Sesame Noodles

300g dried egg noodles
2 tablespoons of hulled sesame seeds
1 Knorr double stock cube
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
5 green chilies

Method for Orange Shrimp

In a wok on medium-low heat, add olive oil. Leave it for 1 minute, then add the red chili and shrimp. Stir fry for 2 minutes, then take the wok off heat.
In a bowl, combine the orange juice, orange blossom water, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and maple syrup.
Place the wok with the shrimp back on medium-low heat and add the orange juice mix. Increase the heat to medium-high and leave to cook for 3 minutes. Take off heat.

For The Noodles

Boil the Noodles according to package instructions and drain well. In a wok or pot on medium-high heat, add sesame oil. When it starts to heat up, add the sesame seeds and chili. Stir continuously. After 2 minutes, add the drained noodles and the stock cube. Toss properly to combine. Take off heat and serve with Orange Shrimp.
Enjoy.

If I can, you can,

Deema

Pineapple Fried Rice

It was only recently that I started liking pineapples, and, since I fell in love with them, I've come across new and exciting ways to enjoy them. I love them in desserts and sweets, but I'm especially partial to them in savory and spicy dishes. This recipe is one of the latter.

I came across a picture of this dish on Google and I knew I had to make it. I also knew I didn't want a sweet and sour taste; I wanted more of a spicy dish with bites of pineapple. Lemme tell you, I rocked it! This dish has a lot of heat (I am Nigerian, after all), then you get the cooling effect of the pineapple in between. This was delicious!

I also love the presentation of it. Also, nothing is wasted. I used a little pineapple in the rice, the pineapple that didn't make it into the rice was juices and served cold with the rice. Good housekeeping peeps!

Ingredients

1 medium pineapple

Marinade
300g of cube lamb
1 bunch of spring onions (green part only)
2 atarodo (habanero)
1 teaspoon of salt

Rice
2 cups of cooked rice, cold
1 cup of pineapple chunks
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 1/2 cups of chopped carrots
1 cup of chopped green beans
5 atarodo (habanero), chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, chopped
4 clove of garlic, chopped
1 Knorr double stock cube
Salt, to taste

Method

Scrub the pineapple. Cut in half, making sure to cut the too leaves in half too.
Cut out the middle of the pineapple, leaving about 1/2 Inch round. Scoop out the pineapple with a spoon.

Rinse the cavity and dry with paper towels.

Marinate the lamb by blending atarodo and spring onions. Pour blended mixture into a bowl and add salt. Add the lamb cubes and stir to coat. Refrigerate for an hour.

In a large pot on medium-high heat, pour olive oil. After 30 seconds, add onions, garlic, ginger, and vegetables. Stir constantly for 2 minutes.
Remove lamb from marinade and add to the veggies. Stir fry till lamb is no longer pink.
Add the cooked rice and pineapple chunks. Stir and add 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and cook for 3 minutes.
Serve the rice in the pineapple bowls. Enjoy

If I can, you can,

Deema

Breaded Fish Fillets

I love fish! I love seafood!! Check, there's no point deceiving myself, I love food, plain and simple!!! Faced with a choice though, I'll choose some form of seafood every time.

This fish is crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, delicious all through. It's quick and easy to make, and it's very versatile to serve; it will go with almost anything you can think of.
The spices don't overpower the fish, it's very mildly spiced.

Ingredients

2 fish fillets
3/4 cup of plain breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon of ginger powder
Pinch of oregano
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
4 tablespoons of peanut oil
1 Knorr double stock cube
1 teaspoon of salt.

Method

Sprinkle the salt over the fillets and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350.
In a large shallow dish, combine breadcrumbs, ginger, onion powder, oregano, red pepper flakes and stock cube.
Brush the oil over the 2 sides of each fillet, and coat the fish with the breadcrumbs.
Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and place the fish on it.
Bake for 20 minutes, flipping the fish after 10 minutes.
I served mine with noodles, and I loved it!

If I can, you can,

Deema

Lamb and Couscous One Pot

Some recipes don't need a lot of intro. This is one of them. This dish is so easy, it almost feels like cheating to call it a recipe. It's hot, spicy, and perfect for a cold night.
I love couscous. Apart from bulgur, I think couscous is my favourite grain? cereal? What category does it fall under, by the way?
That's not what's important now, however. The important thing is that you make this dish, and tell me how you liked it.

Ingredients

1/4 cup of couscous
30g of chopped, boiled lamb (boil it with a stock cube), 1 cup of stock reserved
1/2 of a small red onion, chopped
1/2 of a yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon of blended atarodo (habanero)
1 teaspoon of Paprika
Salt to taste

Method

Put the lamb in a pot on medium-high heat. Add the reserved stock, bay leaf, and atarodo.
As soon as it starts to boil, add the couscous. Cover and let it cook for 3 minutes.
Add the yellow bell pepper and the paprika. Stir and cover till all the liquid is absorbed.
Serve and enjoy.

If I can, you can,

Deema

Donut Maker Giveaway Winner

Well, today is the day. I'm sure you don't want me to ramble. Without much ado:

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:4Powered by RANDOM.ORG

The winner is Muma! I don't know why the randomiser keeps pasting 100 instead of 12 as the limit number. Congratulations! Hook up and give me delivery information. Delivery is by ground, you have to pick it up at the bus station of your choice.

Cowtail Infused Black Eyed Peas

I call this dish infused because I used a pressure cooker to make it. See, when you cook in a pressure cooker, no flavour is lost. In this case, the fat from the cow tail permeated the beans and made them taste like heaven. Everything was almost butter-soft. The meat was moist and tender, the beans were full of flavour.

I came about this dish in a lazy phase. I just threw everything into the cooker and I'm glad I did. Did I hear someone say staple?

Ingredients
2 cups of dried black-eyed peas (white beans)
500g washed cowtail, cut into chunks
1/4 cup of palm oil
3 tablespoons of freshly blended habanero (atarodo)
1 Knorr double stock cube
1 medium red onion

Method
1. Pick and wash the beans.
2. Throw them in a pressure cooker with everything but the palm oil.
3. Add enough water to just cover everything.
4. Close the pressure cooker and place on medium-high heat. Once the pot comes to pressure, continue cooking for 40 minutes.
5. Take pot off heat and leave to cool for about 20 minutes before opening (you can also place the pot under cold running water till the pressure valve drops)
6. When it's safe to open the pot, do so and add the palm oil. Put pot back on medium-high heat, but don't cover.
7. Simmer for 7 minutes. Take off heat and serve.

If I can, you can,

Deema

Chicken Ballotine

In a “celebration” of past Daring Baker and Daring Cook challenges, Lisa challenged all of us to search through the Daring Kitchen archives and pick any one we’d like! The REAL challenge was picking which delicious recipe(s) to try!

This is my first challenge with the Daring Bakers. I actually joined 2 months ago, but I this is the first challenge I had all the ingredients for. I chose a recipe from the Daring Cooks-Chicken Ballotine.

Now, I do intend to make all the past recipes (both Bakers and Cooks) that I have all the ingredients for, but I was sooo intrigued by this. I watched the video and braced myself. I have to say that it was fantastic, and this method of cooking chicken is going to be a common feature in my kitchen from now on.

The chicken turns out tender and moist. I used a date filling and I think it was the perfect combination. We didn't even get out plates for this. Hubby and I just ate right from the carving sheet.

The next day, I baked potatoes in the chicken grease and served it with the left over chicken (only leftover because I forcibly took it away from Hubby; I knew I wanted to try it with the potatoes)

I didn't have kitchen string so I used wooden skewers.
Fantastic recipe! I apologise in advance for the crappy pictures

Ingredients
1.6 kg chicken, washed
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons of salt
7 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 green chilies, chopped (I didn't deseed)
12 pitted dates, chopped
1 stick of butter, softened
1 tablespoons of ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon of Cajun spice mix (don't ask why, just do it!)

Method
Preheat oven to 350
1. Debone the chicken, using this video as guide. I left the drumstick and wing bone in.
2. In a bowl, mix butter, dates, onions, garlic, ginger, 1/2 tablespoon of salt and Cajun spice.
3. Spread the mix on the inside of the chicken.
4. Close the chicken and skewer through.
5. Rub the remaining salt on the skin of the chicken.
6. Bake for 40 minutes, or till done.

If I can, you can,

Deema