Grilled Cajun Chicken Breast Salad

Healthy, simple and tasty not to mention cheap is what I always look for in a lunch during the week. This simple recipe should satisfy those requirements. Not to mention, it's quite easy to knock up and doesn't take much time.

Ingredients:

• 2x Chicken butterflied chicken breasts or as much as you need
• 2x Tablespoons of Masterfoods Cajun spice (yeah yeah I'm being lazy)
• 2x Teaspoons of garlic powder OR 2~3 gloves of minced garlic
• 1/2 cup of olive olive
• 1/3 Teaspoon of sea salt

Method:
Combine that shit up in a bowl, rub it in well and let it sit in the fridge for about an hour to marinate. Then slap it on the BBQ either cut up or whole and cook till nice and golden brown. This should take about 30 minutes or so depending on your BBQ. Best to serve with some cous cous, mixed leaf salad and some dressing (I used a simple balsamic dressing). Great for packing for lunch like I did!

Time: ~ 1.5 hours
Cost: $20
Serves: About 10 servings

Quick Veal Roast with Garlic & Five Spice Rub

Realised I needed to cook something for lunch for the week and I only realised this late at night too. It's fortunate and also unfortunate where I work as there are no cheap places to go eat at, but at the same time no healthy places to go eat at. This forces me to cook my own lunches to cater to my dietary requirements.

Ingredients:

• A veal log, or whatever cut you desire, scotch fillet might be tastier!
• 3x teaspoons of garlic powder
• 2x teaspoons of Chinese five spice powder
• sprinkle of mixed herbs
• pinch of salt & pepper (more if you like)
• several tablespoons of olive oil

Method:
Preheat your oven to about 180 degrees Celsius (or a little less if fan forced, I have an ancient shitty oven). Combine all the ingredients together on a mixing tray and make love to the veal log, by that I mean just coat the meat. Drop it into the oven and roast it for about 50 minutes or less depending on how you like it done. Remove, rest, slice and eat. I recommend serving this with steam veg or even a simple mash.

Time: ~ 1 hour
Cost: $18
Serves: Not sure, I estimate about 4 lunches with left over (I consume loads of protein)

You can always try right? No harm LOL

FULLY SICK 10000+ Visitors!

It's a milestone for this crappy blog, but nevertheless it has ticked over that 10000+ mark...

FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUARRRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Custard & Chocolate Tart Thing

So I tried to make dessert, I've always sucked in this department. Afterall I am male and it's already a gift I can cook better than most females in my age group (didn't say anything about presentation alright!) so I'm not overly sad this looks like shit.

As expected, I got no sexy time for this.

Failed, will not try ever again.

Simple Sliced 5 Spice & Garlic Rump

Simple meal, great for when you're getting back into the training (like myself) and needing something healthy to eat. I chose use rump because it's easy to cook and tasty with minimal seasoning. With the portion used, it should easily feed 1x person four times. Please note, this meal is not really that tasty LOL...

Ingredients:

• 1x clump of rump (approximately 1.1 kgs)
• 1x teaspoon of garlic powder
• 2x teaspoons of five spice powder
• salt and pepper

Method:
Slice rump however you like it, I prefer little logs because it is heaps faster to cook. Cover the sliced rump with the seasoning and let it sit for about 15~20 minutes. Heat up a pan with some olive oil and cook it for about 10 minutes, constantly tossing it about. Serve on a bed of brown rice (as I did) or some sweet potato.

Time: ~25 minutes
Cost: ~$10 (buy your meat from a butcher, support them)
Serves: 4

Caramelised Bananas with Rum

Had some left over bananas lying around at home and needed to use them up quick smart! This recipe was inspired by Gabriel Gate's version of flaming bananas or some shit. I saw it on Channel 9's morning show when I home kind of sick many years ago :)

Ingredients:

• 2~3 Sliced Bananas (length ways would be more preferable)
• 1x shot of rum (I used cognac because I ran out of rum lol)
• 1x clump of butter
• 2~3 tablespoons of brown sugar (any is fine)

Method:
Chop up the bananas and sprinkle it with sugar, covering all sides, let it sit in the fridge for around 30 minutes. Once ready, heat up a pan, and melt the butter. Add in bananas and let them caramelise, noting colour, flip when ready desired colour has been reached. Add in rum/cognac and set alight (CAUTION THIS COULD BURN THE HAIRS OFF YOUR FINGERS) and remove from heat. Let the alcohol burn off completely (this takes around 40~50 seconds).

Serve up with extra fruits, icecream and chocolate sauce.

** Gym for 2 hours the following day.

Super Fast (Lazy Spec) Bolognese Sauce

Simple, quick to make... I wasn't even going to even blog it, but why not? This can be easily knocked up by anyone short on time. Doesn't involve much as you can see, it's all in pot and walk off. Oh, my new Ikea mat is so cool aye?

Ingredients:

• 400~500 grams of minced beef (the leaner then better)
• Herbs of all sorts (I pretty much just threw in anything I found)
• Jar of bolognese sauce
• 1x tin of chopped tomatoes (not pictured)
• 2x bay leaves
• 1x cup of stock
• 1x cup of red wine (optional)
• 2x teaspoons of sugar
• 1x teaspoon of salt (optional and if low salt stock is used)
• Pepper to taste

Method:
Heat up a pan/pot and jam all the herbs, spices, with a tablespoon of sugar, immediate add in the meat and briefly. Add in wine to deglaze the pot, then jam everything else in, reduce heat to around 25% and walk off. Occasionally check if kitchen is on fire.

Serve with your favourite pasta, I usually prefer wholemeal penne :)

Cost: $10? (depends what you have at home)
Serves: 8
Time: 30 minutes

Enjoy :)

Lazy Garlic & Paprika Chicken Breast

  

Something I knocked up for after the gym, it's quick, simple and healthy. I usually don't bother blogging about simple meals, but this is one I usually make so I might as well share it with others. Eaten with 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice (110 calories) and 200 grams of the breast (220 calories, 45 grams of protein, 2.4 grams of fat) makes a very good post workout meal. This could also be lunch as well!

Ingredients:

• Free range chicken breast or standard chicken breast is fine too (has more saturated fat though)
• 1x tablespoon of garlic powder
• 1x tablespoon of paprika
• 2x teaspoons of garlic flakes
• 1x teaspoon of crushed rock salt
• ground pepper
• 1x juice of a lemon
• lemon rind (optional)
• 2x tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Method:
Combine all the ingredients together and just mix up the shit. Let it sit for around in the fridge for more flavour, but if you're in a hurry just cook it up straight away. Heat up a pan with some olive oil, and sear both sides on maximum heat. Once golden, reduce heat to around medium low, cover with water and cover with a lid (I used the mixing bowl because I was lazy and didn't want to wash up). Check every 10~15 minutes. Once all water has evapourate, it's ready. This usually takes approximately 25 minutes, depending on how you crank up the heat.

Serves: 4, depends on serving size
Cost: $6
Time: 35 minutes

Basil, Chilli, Garlic & Lemon Salmon with Wholemeal Pasta

 

 

 

 

 

Super nom nom nom... lol

Tasty, healthy, and quick to make... although it took me a bit longer than expected, but whatevahhhs :)
I got inspiration from watching Ready, Steady Cook (the most boring cooking show ever made) watching a chef make chilli basil pasta without anything else in it. Being slightly athletic, I needed something with protein, so in went in the salmon.

Ingredients:

• 400grams of de-boned salmon fillets
• 5x chillis
• 1x teaspoon of chilli flakes
• 4x cloves of garlic (less if you wish)
• 1x lemon (rind & juice)
• 1x bunch of fresh basil
• 1x bunch of bok choy
• 2x stalks of shallots (scallions for those yankies)
• 1x cup of chicken stock
• Wholemeal pasta
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Olive Oil or other is fine

Method:
Chop, cube the ingredients, grate rind, and juice the lemon, marinate the fish with salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Heat up a hot pan, drizzle some oil on and add in some garlic, salt and the bok choy. Cook until leaves wilt, place on one side. (Begin to cook pasta, as wholemeal takes longer) Add in chilli, garlic, pinch of salt, fish and fry up, try not to break the fish so flick the pan rather than toss and turn the fish. Add in lemon rind, lemon juice, shredded basil, stock and salt & pepper to taste. Simmer till minimal liquid, turn off heat and throw in chopped shallots. To serve, add in wholemeal pasta to base, bring heat to maximum and toss.

Lobster Tail with Creamy White Wine Sauce

 

Yay... got sponsored a couple of lobster tails from the other half. Let's cook up some food brah!

Ingredients:

• 2x Lobster Tails
• 100 grams of butter
• 1x Cup of Thicken Cream
• 4x Cloves of Garlic (less if you want to get it on afterwards)
• 2x White/Brown Onions
• 1x Cup of White Wine
• 2x Cups of Chicken Stock (fish or vege works too!)
• 1x Sprig of Fresh Thyme
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:
Chop up the garlic, onions and brown them in a pan till translucent, reduce heat and add in 50 grams butter. Deglazed with the wine then follow with the stock. Bring to boil with the thyme, then add in cream and simmer till thick. Salt and Pepper to taste, keep it more on neutral side.
Heat olive oil in a pan, add in lobster tail (notice mine have a split in them so I can bast them) and fry till shell changes colour. Reduce the heat a tad and add in the rest of the butter and continue basting for around 5 minutes. Remove and place into previously made sauce and bring to a quick boil and remove straight away. Serve split in half with crusty bread if needed.

Serves: 2
Time: 30 minutes
Cost: ~$30

Home Made Garlic Sauce

 

 

 

 

 
Been pretty bored at home lately because my previous work place went belly up and have been having a strange craving for garlic sauce, don't ask me why, just go with it!

I think anything home made wins over store bought, so here goes!


Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 cloves of garlic
• 1.5 cups of olive oil (canola oil will have a nicer colour)
• 1 juice of a lemon
• 1 egg white (yes that means no yolk!)
• Salt to taste

Method:
Peel and crush the garlic so it is easy to blitz up and add into a food processor (I'm jobless so I used a blender). Set to medium speed and begin to add in the oil DO NOT GO APE SHIT AND POUR IT ALL IN! Using a tablespoon, alternate slowly between the lemon juice and the oil, this takes time rushing it will lead to nothing but a horrible looking sauce. Once a white mixture starts to appear, add in the egg white and keep alternating between the oil and lemon juice, as it thickens up add in salt and stop the process to have a quick taste. Add more salt if required, then continue blitzing it up till the sauce is nice and thick. The entire blitzing process should take around 10 minutes.


Serves: Alot?
Time: 15 minutes
Cost: < $5