Simple Cooking Ideas

Eating chocolate biscuitS or bars make from oats are tasty and nutritrious for the kids. Some kids dislike oats which is so difficult to ask them to eat such as a porridge of oats. Here is a recipe using oats cut into bars coated with chocolate.

Ingredients:

4 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degree C.Grease a 9×13 inch baking tin. Combine the oats, butter, brown sugar and white sugar and press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake at 180 degrees C. for 10 to 12 minutes. Melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter together over low heat. Spread over the top of the baked oatmeal mixture. Cool and cut into squares.

If you have a sweet tooth, this mouth- watering chocolate desert would be a taste treat for your palate. It is easy to prepare and would certainly a yummy for kids and your family.

Ingredients:

400 gm castor sugar
50 gm golden syrup
50 butter
1 small can sweetened condensed milk
25 gm Vanhouten Cocoa
4 tablespoon water
75 gm chopped nuts

Method:

Well greased a tin. Put sugar, cocoa, water, golden syrup, butter and milk into heavy sauce pan. Heat slowly, stirring all the time until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Bring to the boil and cover with a lid for 2 minutes then uncover. Continue to boil steadily for further 25 minutes
stirring frequently until a little of the mixture forms a soft ball when drops into a cup of cold water. Stir in nuts and vanilla essence and cool to a luke warm. Beat well until thick and creamy, then transfer to a prepared tin. Spread smoothly with a knife. Mark into squares and leave in the refrigerator until set. Cut up and remove from tin when cold.

Nowadays kids love to eat pizzas. Simple pizzas can be prepared at home even to busy mother. Here is the recipe to try. It just take you less than an hour to prepare.

Ingredients:

1 frozen pizza base
1 tin tuna flakes, drained and mashed
6 button mushroom( the canned type)
100 gm mozzarella cheese, grated
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped

Method:

Place frozen pizza base on a baking tray. Coat the base with tomato paste and sprinkle with chopped onion. Line with the mashed tuna and sliced tomatoes. Cover the top with grated mozzarella cheese. Bake in the oven at 170 degrees C till the top is brown (about 15 mins). Cut into wedges and serve hot.

Children today like to eat fast food more such as fried chicken, pizzas, burgers and hot-dogs. These foods are unhealthy and many parents end up treating their children to these foods in the restaurants or fast food chains. They can enjoy these foods occasionally but not too often. It may take a lot more effort to cook a good meal to bring up healthy kids. Do try this simple fish fingers.

Ingredients:

300 gm sole fillets
2 beaten eggs
100 gm flour
100 gm breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
enough oil for frying

Method:

Cut the fish fillets into 2 cm wide. Add salt and pepper into beaten eggs in a bowl. Place flour and breadcrumbs seperately. Dip fish slices in flour, then coat with eggs. Lift them up and roll in breadcrumbs. In a hot frying pan, add enough oil and fry the fish fingers, turning over to evenly brown. Drain excess oil on kitchen paper and then place on a serving dish. Serve fish fingers with mayonnaise or tomato sauce.

Here is a simple dish of omelette for the busy mothers who just arrive home from work and wondering what to cook for dinner. Prawns which have been shelled and deveined and store in the freezer can defrost in the cool area in the fridge before you go to bed on the previous night. You can use medium or small prawns. They can stir-fry with green vegetables to add an extra dish on the table. This is the favourite dish for the kids.

Ingredients:

100 gm prawns, shelled and deveined
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoon butter

Method:

Break eggs into a mixing bowl and add salt and pepper to taste. Beat eggs with fork until frothy. Heat 1 teaspoon butter in a non-stick pan, fry the prawns until cooked. Dish out and put aside. Add the remainder of the butter and when hot add in the beaten eggs and swirl to cover pan. Fry until just set. Spread the prawns over the half of the omelette. Reduce to low heat. Fold omelette over to cover the filling. Then cook for a minute or until lightly brown on both sides. Serve immediately.

For a serving of 6 to 8 persons, you buy at least eight crabs(green crabs with meat). Scrub and wash the crabs and discard the unwanted parts and intestines. clean and cut off their claws. The rest of the parts, you can keep them for other use. When you have collected all the claws, break the shells of the crab-claws, and leave the two ends or tails without breaking them. Put aside and prepare to be fried. This dish is just yummy for the kids to eat.

Ingredients:

8 crabs-claws
Salt and pepper to taste
enough oil for frying
5 tablespoon spoon of rice flour with 1 tablespoon cornflour to mix.
1 teaspoon spoon sesame oil
1 cup cold water
1 egg.

Method:

Make a thick batter with rice flour and cornflour, salt, pepper and egg, sesame oil and water. Mix evenly and dip each claws into the batter. Heat the wok with enough oil. When it is hot, put the crab-claws one by one and fry for 5 minutes. Serve on the plate, garnish with slices of lemon.

“Won Ton Pastry” can buy in Chinese Mee Stall. They are thin pastry sheet cut into squares of 6 cm for each sheets selling in the Chinese noodle stall. This size is best for making fried “won ton” with fillings. Fried wanton is crispy and tasty if you eat with chilly sauce or dip in
tomato sauce which is yummy for the kids.

Ingredients:

100 gm lean pork
100 gm water-chestnut
50 gm crab meat
50 pieces “won ton” pastry sheets
1 beaten egg
1 tablespoon tapioca flour or cornflour
1 teaspoon sesame oilsalt and pepper to taste
enough oil for frying

Method:

Chop the pork and water-chestnuts finely. Add salt, pepper, tapioca flour or cornflour, sesame
oil and egg. Mix and stir well together with the minced pork, water chest-nuts and crab meat. Put 1 teaspoon of the mixture on to each of the “won ton” sheets. Fold into triangular shape. Deep fry ravioli for about 15 minutes. Serve with sweet and sour sauce .or chilly sauce.