Take Away v. Home Made: Chicken Chow Mein

It's our favourite dish when we order Chinese. Chinese take away, is not in our budget too often. Thus rises the dilemma.

I set about Googling, Pinteresting and asking about how I can make the awesome chicken and sauce that mimics our Chinese shop.

Most of the recipes on the internet, called to stir-fry the chicken. This is not how the Chow Mein I prefer is cooked. It's softer, more tender, and it's white, not browned, like in a stir-fry.

I found a sauce recipe that boasted that it was thick, so I stored it away, and kept searching for the method to cook the chicken. Some recipes said to poach it, so I tried that, but it was a bit too rubbery. Some recipes said to steam it, but it was a bit too dry and tasteless.

Then I found a thing called velveting. This method is a big winner. So, using a few different recipes, I've finally made something that I'm proud to call Chicken Chow Mein.

What also makes my Chicken Chow Mein better than the one in the take away shops, is that I use these new to Australian supermarket noodles.

I read about them a couple of years ago. Magic, low calorie, low GI, extremely low carb, gluten free, no fat noodles, made from the soluble fibre of the konjac root. These are like the magic filler or a meal. Brought here, by Cheng's  a well known and trusted brand, I was keen to give them a go. What's better, is this week they are on special in Coles, for 2 packs for $3.

Now, I italicised the above text, so it draws your attention to it. These noodles are great. If you're on a weight loss journey, and are sick of feeling a bit empty, give the noodles a go. They can be used in soup, as pasta, in stir-fries and in spring rolls.

So, without further ado... Here is the perfect Chicken Chow Mein recipe.


Chicken Chow Mein- My style.

Feeds 4-6

Ingredients

Velvet Chicken

1kg boneless chicken thighs (or breasts)
2 egg whites
4 Tbls corn flour
1 tsp salt
1tsp pepper

The Vegetables
3 stalks of celery, cut into sticks
1 handful of snow peas, top and tailed
1/2 large red capsicum
1 onion, sliced
2 carrots, julienned
bean sprouts
shallots, sliced on the diagonal

The Sauce

11/2 cups chicken stock
4 Tbls soy sauce
1 Tbls fish sauce
1 Tbls oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
3 Tbls corn flour
2 Tbls water

2 packets of Cheng's Low-Cal Wok Ready Noodles- rinsed

Method:

1) Slice your chicken thighs or breasts, against the grain. So, if you look down on your meat, you'll see a long side, and a short side. You want to cut, so that you're cutting short strips, not long strips... Does that make sense? If not, let me know.
2) In a bowl, whisk the egg whites until they just start to get frothy
3) Add the corn flour, salt and pepper and stir.
4) Add the chicken strips and coat well.
5) Cover and put in the fridge for at least 30 mins.
6) Bring a large pot of water to the boil.
7) Add your chicken, a little at a time, and stir well, separating the strips. When all the chicken is in, stir and wait for it to boil again.
8) When it's foaming up, and the chicken is white, remove from the water, using a slotted spoon. Place on a platter and cover. If you're not using it straight away, put it in the fridge. This can be done a few hours in advance.
9) Get your sauce ready! Add stock, all sauces and sugar into a jug, and stir to dissolve sugar.
10) In a small bowl, dissolve corn flour in the water.
11) Stir-fry all vegetables, except the bean sprouts and shallots (they'll be used as garnish). I prefer my veggies crunchy, so it only takes a couple of minutes.
12) Add the chicken. When that's heated through, add the stock based sauce, and bring to the boil. It wont take long.
13) Add the corn flour, and stir like a crazy person. It might be handy to have a little more stock on hand, in case it's too thick, although, mine was perfect.
14) Add in noodles and gently stir through

15) Serve in a bowl, with sprouts and shallots to garnish.

 Yes, I realise the photo is a bit crap- but the food was delicious!

So.. Take Away v. Home Made?

Cost: TA: $11.90 for two serves
          HM: $14 for 4 serves

Time: I was pretty impressed how quick it was put together. Probably quicker than getting in the car, ordering and waiting for it to be cooked. So HM wins.
Dietary Needs:  Lots of vegetables, and with the noodles instead of rice, WAY less carbs! Win for HM
Convenience: I have the ingredients in my cupboard/fridge/freezer most of the time, so that's also pretty great.

So it's a WIN for Home Made!

 

Let me know if you try it, if you changed anything and what you thought!!!

 

 

Adult Toy Review- Rating XXX

A competition, on Facebook!
Oh what do I have to do?
Vote on this, like a post,
Refer a friend or two?

You've gotta be in it to win it,
Was my motto, which stood by me.
But I think my obsession has gone too far,
Knowing what it is, was not the key.

I saw a post by Naughty Partys
A give away, she said.
Get your friends to come over and say hi,
And you can win this toy for bed.

I glanced at the picture,
My eyes got a little wider.
I've never seen anything so odd,
Looks like a rubber table cloth slider.

"Why not," my brain said to me.
Make it fun, if I win, I'll review it.
Surely another will want it more,
They'll have more friends, I knew it.

But my friends stood by me,
Went over and said hi.
I blushed at the postman,
Grimaced and waved good bye.

Here I hold the package,
Instructions in my hand.
In an empty house,
I look at my wedding band.

I feel the pressure to use it,
It's like it's taunting me.
Don't be scared, light some candles,
How awkward can this be?

..................................................................................................................


Well, let me just say,
I wasn't expecting that.
My imagination was far more horrible,
I thought I'd finish flat.

By myself I couldn't do it,
So I waited for the man.
We had some wine, got in the mood,
Finished watching Wedding Band.

And in the bedroom, together,
It wasn't even scary.
Ok- that's a lie,
Sorry Virgin Mary.

We played and we giggled,
It wasn't what I thought.
Back and front hole, no no.
It's for the button and the lady port.

So we played Christian and Ana,
Not that he knew the game.
But we tried something different,
And it was special all the same.

Now with out getting graphic,
Because Mum and Dad are reading this.
Using an adult toy in the bedroom,
Is certainly not a cuddle and a kiss.

So if you're feeling flat,
Talk to the ladies at Naughty Partys
Grab some batteries and some wine,
It'll make your heart race for starties.

And we're all adults here,
And we know you want to try it.
Don't be scared, have a look,
Message them and buy it!

Upcycle Old Formula Tins

 

 

 

I did this project a few weeks ago, and they've been really handy. You could keep craft supplies, flour, tea, or whatever you like. The tins are great because they are air tight... and FREE!




 

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting.

A good cupcake, starts with a good recipe. There are so many recipes on the internet, all giving a slightly different cupcake. Some are for a light and fluffy cupcakes, some are for cupcakes with domed tops, some are sweet, some are not, some are doughy, or crumbly or dense.

My cupcake has a flat top, which is perfect for decorating. My cupcake is sweet. My cupcake tastes like childhood. It is soft, but holds it's shape. It is moist and delicious... every time.

If you're an "I don't follow a recipe" baker, and you don't follow this recipe, to the gram, and then comment, that it doesn't work out, I will get stabby.

If you are a new baker, or an old baker with no skill, then read through the recipe twice, before you begin. Understand what you have to do, ask questions if you don't understand something. I check in often, so you won't be waiting long for an answer.

This recipe makes 24 extraordinary Vanilla Cupcakes

Note: I don't use brand name ingredients, but I do use fresh eggs. I have chooks, so most of the time, they are warm from a chooks bum.

About 2 hours before you start, get your eggs and butter out of the fridge to get to room temperature.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 cup butter (not margarine)
2 cups white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 milk


Method

1) PREHEAT your oven to 190degrees C. DONT FORGET! (I often forget this step)
2) Put patty pan cases into trays.
3) Sift flours and salt into a large bowl, set aside
4) With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together. Add the vanilla and eggs, and beat until the mixture has doubled in size and it very pale yellow.
5) Add the milk, but don't mix.
6) Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and begin to fold in a small amount of flour. Doing about 1/2 cup at a time, mix in the flour.
7) Using an ice cream scoop, or 1/3 of a cup measuring cup, put the batter into the patty pans.
8) Put into the oven, and then turn the oven down to 170 degrees C. Bake for 17-20 mins (depending on if you have a fan forced oven).



Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

1/4 cup of room temperature butter
170 g cream cheese at room temperature
4 cups icing mixture, sifted
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1) Beat butter and cream cheese together with the vanilla.
2) Add a little of the icing mixture at a time, beating well.
3) Beat on high for about 4-6 mins, until the frosting is very light and fluffy.

When the cupcakes are cool, pipe on frosting using a large nozzle. Decorate with hand made fondant decorations, and people will be very impressed.

Tears Before 7am

After getting back from a morning walk, trying to change who I am, because I'm fat. Because people have told me so since I was 8. Because I quit Ballet because I didn't look like the other girls. Because I never let on how the taunts hurt me. Because I was the girl who smiled and shrugged it off. Because I wasn't the girl who cared what people thought. Because I sought love from strangers to validate my beauty. Because I found a man who loves me even though I'm flawed. Because when I was pregnant with all my babies, the Doctors insisted on monitoring my healthy babies closely because I was fat. Because I left every antenatal appointment in tears, and my confidence of being a good mother was shattered. Because I watch the Biggest Loser and they say that they can't keep up with their children, because they're fat.

I came home, to this, posted by a friend. Posted by someone who knows what this is like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ltun92DfnPY

Please, watch it. Watch it when you have time to cry. Don't keep reading, unless you've watch it, thought about it, shared it.

Sara wrote, that this deserves to go viral. It does.



This is my important part.

And they'll never understand that she's raising two kids, whose definition of beauty begins with the word Mom. Because they see her heart, before they see her skin. Because she has only ever, always been amazing.

What a morning. Sometimes things just confront you when you don't expect it.

What was your part. What are your thoughts?

Chicken Noodle Soup with Croutons and Chicken Kiev with Roast Vegetables.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Croutons and Chicken Kiev with Roast Vegetables.

The weather is cooling down in Australia, and the food is warming up. I love Winter, where it's publicly acceptable to eat soup. I eat soup throughout the year, because I just can't help myself.

This feeds all six of us, but the Kiev isn't a favourite with the kids. When we're having them, they get a sausage, or a plain thigh, baked in the oven, smeared with a bit of tomato sauce.

Ingredients

3 cloves of garlic (2 for the kievs, 1 for the soup)
1 Tbls chopped herbs (I use Italian Parsley and Chives)
4 Tbls butter (not margarine) softened
2-3L chicken stock (home made or pre-bought- but don't use stock cubes only)
about 1kg fresh chicken thighs (or breasts- but thighs are flavour filled and inexpensive. Breasts will leave you with  "prettier" chicken.) You need 1 for each person for the kiev, and at least 4 for the soup.  No pre-frozen pieces (I cheated for the soup, and used a roast chicken from Coles)
2 chicken or bacon stock cubes
4 large potatoes, peeled
4 carrots, peeled
1 onion, diced (for soup)
1 onion quartered (for roast)
2 stalks of celery, diced
Pumpkin (for roast)
1 cup of frozen peas and corn combination
1/2 loaf of day old bread (unsliced preferably- I love sour dough cob loaf- but if you don't have these, just normal sliced bread will do)
Olive Oil
1-2 eggs, seasoned and beaten together
300g spaghetti broken into 3cm(ish) pieces
2 Tbls corn flour, mixed with 2Tbls warm water to make a paste


Method:

Day One

1) Start by making your garlic butter. To do this simply combine butter, herbs and 2 cloves of garlic. I use my stick blender, and wazz it until smooth. Put butter onto a piece of cling wrap and roll it into a thin log, and put it in the fridge. You want it to be able the thickness of your thumb.

2) Put the chicken stock onto boil in a large pot. Add whole chicken thighs, celery, 2 carrots, finely diced, onion, garlic, stock cubes and 1/2 a diced potato. Simmer until the chicken is cooked all the way through, about 20mins.

3) Meanwhile, place the rest of the vegetables, cut into roasting sized pieces into water, and put into the fridge.

4) Take half of your bread, and mix it in a food processor, and add some salt and pepper. You can also add herbs, if you want to be fancy. Add a little olive oil to bring it together. Cut the rest of the bread into cubes, place on a tray, and drizzle on a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Bake in the oven on a low heat, until croutoney.

5) When your butter is firm enough to cut, take the cling wrap off, and cut to size. Wrap it inside your chicken thigh. If you're using breast, you need to make a cut and stuff it inside.

4) Dunk the chicken in the egg mixture. Coat the chicken into the bread crumb, back into the egg, and back into the crumb. Double crumbing will ensure the crumbs stick, and go nice and crunchy. Pro tip- use one hand for egg, one hand for crumb, and you wont end up with it on your hands, and none on the chicken. Wrap in cling wrap, and put in the freezer until tomorrow night.

5) Take your chicken out of the soup, and skim the weird stuff off the top of the liquid. Using a fork, shred chicken and put back into the soup. Add your corn flour paste, and stir well. When your soup thickens, add the noodles, and cook for the required amount of time for the noodles to cook.

6) Get the kids serves out well in advance, and let cool. Serve and allow everyone to add their own croutons... it's the best bit!


Day Two

1) Put chicken, potato and pumpkin into a roasting dish. Dress vegetables with olive oil and salt and pepper. Cook chicken kiev from frozen. Cook for 40-60 mins in a moderate oven (180degree C). When there is 20mins to go, add carrots, and if you're cooking sausages for the kids, pop them into the roasting dish too. They will need turning at 10mins to go.

Just before serving, microwave peas and corn in water, until hot.

With time and money a scarcity at the moment, I've decided to do a series of meals, that I'm going to call,

Two For The Price Of One.

 

 

I'm not talking about dollar value, but time value. I can cook or prepare both of these meals, and they will both use similar ingredients in a different way. One I will make for dinner on the night, and the other will be tomorrows dinner.

I'd love to have your meals featured (yes you!) so if you'd like to contribute, comment below, email me at alishaluxford@hotmail.com or contact me at our Facebook Page.  

 

 This page, will be an index to all the Two For The Price Of One meals. Just click on the link you want, and it will lead you there.

1) Sausage Curry with Rice and Echidna Rissoles with Vegetables
2) Chicken Noodle Soup with Croutons, and Chicken Kiev with Roast Vegetables

Sausage Curry with Rice and Echidna Rissoles with Vegetables

Sausage Curry with Rice and Echidna Rissoles with Vegetables

This is the first post in the Two For The Price of One meals that I'm doing. You can view the others by clicking here.

These meals will generously feed 4, with a serve left over for lunch.


Ingredients

3 cups of basmati rice
10-12 thick beef sausages
2 large onions, diced
1 tin diced, organic tomatoes (the organic makes all the difference to the flavour)
2 tsp Keens Curry Powder (or whichever brand you prefer)
3 Tbl plain flour
2 cups water or stock
1/2 tub of cream cheese
1/4 cup of canola oil
500-700g (1 pound) minced (ground) beef
4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in half (place this in a bowl of water in the fridge to stop it going brown)
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 cup frozen peas (but use half a cup per meal)
1 cup frozen corn (but use half a cup for each meal)
Any other vegetables you want, cauliflower, broccoli, beans, pumpkin, etc (prepare them, but store these for Day Two).
Salt and Pepper to season
1 egg
3 Tbls tomato sauce


Method

Day One

1) In a large pot, boil the rice as per the instructions on the packet.
2) Heat 3 Tbls oil in the fry pan, and fry sausages until cooked all the way through. While these are cooking, peel and cut vegetables, and onion.
3) When they're cooked, take out of the pan, and sauté 1 onion with a little oil for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add curry powder and plain flour and cook until aromatic.
4) Slowly add a bit of your water or stock, and stir until thickened. Add the rest, and stir through. Add half the carrots- put the remaining into the fridge with the potatoes and other vegetables.
5) Slice the sausages into bite size rounds, and add to the sauce. Add the tin of tomatoes, and cover and simmer for 10 mins.  (do step 6-7-8 in this time) Then, add your peas, and corn to the curry sausages, and stir in the cream cheese. Leave simmer for 5 minutes
6) Meanwhile, drain the rice, and rinse.
7) In a large bowl add mince, 1 onion, tomato sauce, egg, salt and pepper and 1 1/2 cups of cooked rice. Mix well with your hands.
8) Form large rounds, and place on a plate into the fridge, covered in cling wrap.
9) Serve Curry Sausages over the rice, and garnish with some fresh parsley if you want to be fancy.


Day Two

1) Steam your veggies as per usual.
2) Fry your Echidna rissoles, in a little oil that covers the bottom of the pan (or you can BBQ them)
3) If you want, serve the Echidna rissoles with gravy or some tomato sauce to dunk in.


Our kids love both of these meals, and I usually prepare them on the same day, when I know the following day will be busy. I love making two meals at once, as it's me who reaps the rewards. The more organised we are, the happier we all are.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Thank you to these websites for providing the pictures- All Recipes and food.com

No Bake Chocolate Ripple Cake

Australia Day is approaching, and it's at this time of year, we love to proudly display anything that's remotely Australian. Now... I'm down with the snags on a barbie(1), with a bit of dead horse(2), I'm loving the lamington(3) and the vegemite sandwich (4). But, I've never tried the one dish, that I think only Aussies know about. I've trolled the web looking for similar ideas from other countries, and the closest I've come across, isn't really the same thing. So, I'm putting a big stamp of Aussie Aussie Aussie (Oi Oi Oi) on this one, and calling it ours.
"Tell me what it is!" I hear you say in anticipation.

It's the No Bake Chocolate Ripple Cake. You can actually just get the recipe off the back of the packet in Australia, but I thought I would share it with the world.

Ingredients

1 packet of Arnott's Chocolate Ripple Biscuits. The "cookies" you could use to replace them would need to be quite dry and crunchy. They have a crumbly texture. Oreo's wouldn't work well for example, because they need to act like a sponge to absorb the cream.
250mL of thickened cream
2 Tbls icing (confectioners) sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla bean extract (or vanilla essence)









This what the biscuit looks like.





Method

1) Beat the cream until it forms stiff peaks.











2) Spread a bit of cream onto a platter that you want to serve the cake on. Spread some cream onto the back side of a biscuit. Sandwich the top side of another biscuit onto the cream and keep going to form a log of cream filled biscuits.












3) Cover the entire thing with more cream. Loosely cover the log with al foil (aluminium foil), and place log in fridge for at least 6 hours.

4) Slice on an angle when you're ready to serve so you get a pretty(ish) stripe.

5) You can fancy it up and dust over coco powder, sprinkle on raspberries or just eat the hell out of it.

Let me know if you can think of a brand and type of biscuit from the country that you're from that would work, and I'll add it to the blog.

If you try it, let me know what you think!








(1) Sausages on a BBQ
(2) Victorian for tomato sauce (ketchup) 
(3) Recipe

I think my duck has rickets... please help.

Over the past few days, I thought my duck had duck depression. She wasn't all flappy and lovely, she wasn't keeping herself clean and beautiful like she normally does... she wasn't even coming to greet me at the gate...

Then yesterday, she couldn't even walk at all. She laid an egg where she sat, not in her normal home.

It's tick season here, so I searched and searched for a tick, and that's no easy feat on a duck, and I couldn't find anything.

I then searched for mites in her bedding, nothing, but I sprayed anyway. I made sure she had no cuts or broken bones in her legs (as best I could) and I made sure she was eating and drinking, which she was when I put her over to her food.

Next I put her in a warmish bath and let her swim around a bit, and she has fine use of her legs in the water.

I've attached the following to help with diagnosis, although I'm fairly sure it's rickets. Other opinions would be great.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check list was taken from here.

BASIC CHECK LIST FOR THE SICK BIRD
Please answer these brief questions below, so we can help you as soon as possible.

Age:9 months
Breed: Muscovy Duck
Sex: Female

Your Location- country, state (different areas/climates have different problems)
ANSWER: Queensland, Australia

What is wrong? What symptoms have you noted? - As much detail as possible please.
ANSWER: Cant use her feet, shuffling along on "elbows"?

Full droppings description.- colour, consistency, frequency, offensive smell.
ANSWER: Slighly runny, greenish colour, stinky, but normal. No worms.

Respiratory Changes?- eg. breathing sounds, discharge, laboured breathing, facial swelling
ANSWER: None seen

Digestive Changes?- eg. eating, drinking, crop filling & emptying
ANSWER: No

Condition Changes?- eg. Weight, comb/wattle colour, skin, feathering
ANSWER: Drinking and eating, although I think she's lighter than normal. Breast bone feelable.

Behavioural Changes?- inc. socialising, laying, crowing, broodiness
ANSWER: None

Agility Changes? - eg. any lameness, favouring, energy levels
ANSWER: Lethargic. Not walking at all, but you can see she's trying to.

Describe your usual worming routine and products. Do you have a cycle that you use eg. every 3 months, or every six months?
ANSWER: Have never wormed the ducks

Any other recent medications?- antibiotics, coccidiosis meds, herbal remedies, etc
ANSWER: None

Other changes? – additions to the flock, diet, housing, extreme weather
ANSWER: It's been very hot here lately (temps 35C) but I've been putting ice in their fresh water every day, and they have plenty of shade, and dusty areas. She lives with two chickens, and they get along well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm new to duck ownership, and this one was thrown on me. I feel horrible that I think she's missing something in her diet that's making her so sick.

I have some questions:

1) What do you think it is?
2) What are some natural/home remedies that I can do to add vitamin D and calcium in her diet.
3) Am I supposed to feed ducks differently to chickens?
4) Any links that might be of use?
5) Actually, any information at all that's useful to duck ownership.

 

 

These two pictures show her trying to walk... see how she's on her elbows and not her feet?