The Wonderful World of Panko (Crusted Tiger Prawns)

Panko crusted tiger prawns with Thai sweet chili sauce. Easy to make and even easier to eat! Buy a bag of frozen prawns, defrost, peel and devein (if not already done), cut slits down the middle and butterfly and prepare for dipping! Add flour to a small bowl. In another shallow dish, beat an egg (and add a bit of milk if you like) and in a third bowl, pour out your panko crumbs (coconut or Parmesan would be nice touches as well). Take the shrimp by the end, dredge in the flour, dip into the egg, and then coat with the crust and place them on a pan with the tails in the air. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees Celsius and serve with the Thai sweet chili sauce. Makes for a great appetizer! Two tips though: do NOT substitute panko for bread crumbs (it just ain't the same) and leave the tails on (easier to batter and eat)! Give it a whirl and let me know how it goes. :)

I also have to give a special shout out to my pal HS who tried this recipe and failed due to my mix-up of directions!!! My apologies to her and her beau. She is an awesome 'phan' of Phancouver and I love her for continuing to read my blog and giving me feedback! The above recipe is now fixed and I hope you can all enjoy some properly cooked prawns this time!

Mushroom (Not Apple) Sauce Baked Pork Chops

First, I'd like to say that I really love allrecipes.com. That's where I got this recipe for mushroom sauce baked pork chops. When I'm bored at home, browsing this site has taken over my time allotted to celebrity gossip sites. It's a great way to kill time and gain more knowledge in the cooking world!

Ingredients

6 pork chops
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
garlic powder to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 large red or white onions, finely chopped
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 and 1/4 cups milk
4 cups of thinly sliced potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams or a medley!

Start by rubbing the pork chops with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat, add chops and brown on both sides. Remove from skillet and place onions in skillet and cook until browned. Pour in mushroom soup and milk, stir until blended. Remove from heat and set aside.

Arrange sliced potatoes evenly in prepared baking dish. Arrange chops on top of potatoes. Pour soup mixture over chops. I love using a medley of sweet potatoes, yams and potatoes because it gives the dish that much more flavor and sweetness. Hearty, comfort food. My fave.

Bake, covered for 30 minutes in the preheated oven at 350 degrees F. Uncover, and bake 30 minutes more or until potatoes are tender and voila!

And of course I always like to pair my big meals with a fresh cut green salad with different veggies and fruit. This time with cucumber, yellow pepper and organic strawberries from my pal JS. Trust me, you really CAN taste the difference!

The Best Way to Do Up Comfort Food is With a Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

That's right folks, this delicious looking slice of homemade chicken pot pie was made by yours truly from scratch! (Minus the Tenderflake crust of course, haha.) This easy to follow and cook recipe was passed on by my fellow foodie KM who has many other wonderful recipes up her sleeve as well. Adapted just a tad, here it is, captured in its true gooey, lusciously rich essence by my BB camera.

First, make sure you have 2 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crusts. I use Tenderflake but I'm sure the other brands are just as good. I don't usually measure the ingredients for the filling (but an ingredient list can be found below) as I can always use the leftovers for another purpose but basically gather together cubed chopped veggies including mushroom, peas, celery, carrots, corn, and whatever else fancies your liking. Then add in cubed boneless chicken breasts and boil. Now wasn't that 'easy as pie'? Time for the filling!

As for the rich creamy filling, cook the onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk, and simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place the other crust on top, seal edges, make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape and bake in oven for 30-35 minutes at 425 F. Remember how I said the banana bread recipe was no-fail, same goes for this! Give it a whirl and let me know how it goes. YUM!

Ingredients

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
1 cup frozen veggies mix including carrots, peas and beans
1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup of sliced celery
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 and 3/4 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 (9inch) unbaked deep dish pie crusts

Easy to Make and Bake Chicken Roll-Ups

Passed down to me by the lovely LC, this stuffed chicken dish is easy to make with minimal ingredients and effort and loved by all! Start out by pounding the chicken breast into a thin layer for easy rolling and faster cooking time. Mix together a filling of cream cheese and diced green peppers. Pack the filling into a log shape and place on one end of the chicken breast and get to rolling!

For added moisture and flavor, top off each chicken breast with a generous scoop of marinara sauce (or really just any red/tomato sauce) and sprinkle shredded Cheddar Cheese on top. Bake in the oven at 350 Celsius for 25-30 minutes and voila!

You've got yourself an envious lunch to bring to work, paired with a side of Uncle Ben's Rice and stir fried veggies. Trust me, you will be the talk of the town (office). MmmMm, cheese in every bite, can life get any better?

My Quick and Easy to Cook Seafood Creations!

This appetizer I'm about to share with y'all is a Phan party favorite! It's super easy to pull together with a guaranteed 'party in your mouth' flavor! Warning, the ingredients are a slight bit on the fattier side so diet-conscious people, watch out! Combine 1 cup of mayo, 1 cup of sour cream, 1 1/2 cups of Parmesan cheese, 1 package of an 8 ounce cream cheese, 4 cloves of garlic, and two cans of crab meat (make sure you select a can with crab legs!), mix together and scoop in a pan or container for baking! At 350 Celsius, bake for 45 minutes until a crispy golden brown on top and serve with tortilla chips, bread or my favorite, Stacey's pita chips. Trust me, everyone will be drooling over this!

Next up is this delicious Atlantic Salmon Salad recipe that my sister LC passed along to me. Again, really quick to prepare and a potluck fave! Lay the filet of salmon out on foil and season with salt, pepper, fresh dill, and slices of lemon (don't forget to squeeze all over as well). In the oven it goes at 350 Celsius just for a mere 30 minutes and you have yourself an amazingly moist and tasteful fish! We love to top this dish off with Olivieri's Sundried Tomato Pesto sauce and served over a fresh garden salad as you can see below! This was my contribution to our DC reunion potluck and the rest of the yummy dishes and photos are yet to come in another post! Happy cooking!

Best paired with Urban Fare's Shiitake Sesame Vinaigrette Dressing, one of my favorite salad dressings that I've mentioned before.

Don't Hate Because I Got Love for Hamburger Helper

My sister's friend IF introduced us to Hamburger Helper a little while ago, specifically the Beef Stroganoff flavor and I've been hooked since. We cooked it up to bring to lunch and it was super tasty! I know, I know, super processed and not the healthiest thing, but for an instant packaged meal, not bad! All you have to add is the meat, milk and anything else and voila! In this case, I cooked the 'Cheddar Cheese Melt' with ground turkey and added some mushrooms, carrots and more pasta! Makes for a delicious lunch, I tell ya! Check out all of the other flavors here!

Cooking with Korma

mmMMmm, I love homemade lunches. While I am still trying to hone my cooking skills, sauce in a jar works for me! I tried out a korma (cream and coconut) sauce from one of my daily strolls to Urban Fare, and added chicken and sweet potato to it (as you can see simmering nicely in the pan above). And of course, smothered over my staple, Uncle Ben's Rice mixed with some yellow peppers and zucchini. A perfect lunch to split and dine with salad.

World's Best Banana Bread Recipe - For Realz

Let me tell you a story about the sweetest woman on Earth. My brother-in-law's mom is the kindest and most thoughtful person known to man. Part of this is because she loves baking and sharing her delicious baked goods with us! This banana bread has a no-fail recipe attached. My favorite adaptation is adding a few Hershey's Chipits. There is so much to love about banana bread! The aroma that sneaks around your house, having it for breakfast/snack, sharing a few slices with co-workers, tasting the gooey melted chocolate straight from the oven - just magnificent!

Give this recipe a whirl and you won't regret it!

Preheat oven to 350 C.

Ingredients:

· 2 ripe, black spotted bananas (or 3 if you want extra banana goodness!)
· 2 eggs
· ½ cup of sugar
· ½ cup of vegetable oil
· 1 ¼ cup of flour
· 1 tsp. baking soda
· Optional: 1 cup of nuts, blueberries, cranberries or chocolate chips (MMMM!!!)

Instructions:

1) Beat eggs
2) Add sugar and mix well
3) Add oil and beat well
4) Add mashed banana and mix well (I just break it with my hands and throw in chunks)
5) Combine flour and baking soda. Add to sugar mixture and mix well
6) Pour into greased loaf pan
7) Bake at 350 for approximately 35-45 minutes

I usually just combine all the ingredients, use a beater and beat it all together – that works too! Make sure to watch the loaf so that it doesn’t burn on the top …. Let it cool on a cooling rack afterwards.

MMMMMM THIS IS SO DANG GOOD!

Cheese Will Keep Us Together, Mozzarella and Cheddar (Love that Commercial!)

Cheese makes the world go 'round. I love cheese with a passion. I can almost add it to every meal I have. Everything just tastes so much better! Pasta, rice, burgers, bread. Sprinkled cheese, melted, grated, toasted. MMmmMmM. Above is the four cheese burger at Milestone's - DELISH! So dang good with Cheddar, Mozza, Feta and Goat. You also MUST pair your meal with their Miami Ice drink, iced tea with mango puree and mint - super refreshing! Also, keep your receipt, fill out a quick survey and get a free appe with your next meal! (You can also do this at Swiss Chalet)

Had to sneak in a picture of my 'chicken nacho bake'. Simply baked with crushed tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream and marble cheese. Of course served with Uncle Ben's wild rice, chicken flavored. (No comment on someone's KD mac n' cheese, haha)

My first time having fondue at Au Petit Chavignol and I was a little disappointed. I am a bit biased however, because I am not a fan of Gruyere, especially cave aged gruyere, ugh. The cheese was extremely strong and potent and I can't rave too much about the accompaniments either. We had it with onions, cornichons, potatoes and tons of bread. BUT, when we turned off the heat and the cheese hardened, it suddenly became 100 times tastier! And, I did enjoy the mac n cheese a lot (despite the small portion). We also had the duo of dips (indian spiced eggplant and white bean with olive oil) - definitely forgettable. In conclusion, I much prefer my cheese fondue experiences at AfterGlow.