Croque monsieur

What's fast to cook and good to eat? Nope not maggi mee haha! Homemade Croque monsieur!! Ok not exactly the way the French do it but hey whatever taste good will do rite!

What you need (feed 1)
- 2 types of cheese (can be sliced or grated)
- 2 slices of bread (any kind you like but best with soft kind)
- some shaved ham, the more the merrier
- mustard
- butter (salted)
- pepper

Let's cook
1. Place 2 slices of bread on plate and spread mustard on 1 side for both.
2. Put first type of cheese on 1 slice of bread, then the ham and finally the other cheese.
3. Crack some pepper (optional). Then place other slice of bread on top to sandwich.
4. Heat up a pan or griller but don't add oil.
5. Spread generous amount of butter on the top bread. Then place butter side down on pan. Use spatular to press sandwich down on pan.
6. Spread butter on other side of bread. Then flip sandwich over carefully and press down again.
7. Fry till golden brown. Cut into halves and serve hot with chips!

spice up your weak-days — part 2

A trick to preparing fast weekday dinners is pre-preparation. You can either prepare all the ingredients or pre-cook some stuff, so that day itself, all you have to do is simply put it into the oven or over the stove and dinner will be ready in a matter of minutes! Planning ahead is equally important as you can save money by buying ingredients that stretches your dollar, meaning to use the same ingredients for various dishes throughout the week. That way no food is wasted. Here's what we had last week.



Monday - Grilled Beef Sandwich with Carmelised Onions and Cheddar



Tuesday - Crispy Salmon with Potato Gratin



Wednesday - Baked Fish Pie

P/S: Drop me a note if you are keen to try out any of these dishes yeah.

spice up your weak-days — part 1

Weekday dinners can be a chore if you have to eat out everyday. So why not prepare simple, easy to cook, yet yummy dinners to look forward to at the end of a hectic work day. As you all know I'm a sucker for food mags, especially Donna Hay. I can't believe I have so many mags and there are so many quick-fix dinner recipes in there waiting for me to try. So as of 2 weeks ago, I planned the week's menu in advance, went grocery shopping and whipped up exciting new dishes for our weekday dinners. Here's what we had 2 weeks ago.



Monday - Chicken Caesar Sandwich



Tuesday - Baked Pork Chops with Cheddar and Onions



Wednesday - Bacon and Crab Quiche

Forgot to mention no cooking on Thursdays cos' the hubs eats out with his soccer pals after his game, as well as Fridays as it's my day out with my pals :)

of birthdays and breakfasts

Two things that I love are birthdays and breakfasts. Birthdays simply cos we should celebrate the day we came into this world and are still alive and kicking! Breakfast cos it's the first meal of the day so we should make it the BEST meal.



So this long weekend was my mother-in-law's birthday. We hosted my in-laws together with my folks at our house. I whipped up a 3-course meal consisting of Creamy Asparagus Soup with Bacon and Cheese Scones, followed by Braised Lamb with Mash and wilted Baby Spinach. But the highlight of the night is dessert. I made a Forest Noir Swiss Roll served with brandy-soaked cherries! Was so happy that the roll was a success as this was the first time I did this by myself after my baking course. Shall let the photos speak for itself.



Now to breakfast. I've recently discovered a simple cheat's croque monsieur. It's really simple to make but oh so delicious! Here's the simple recipe so you can wake up to a satisfying brekkie too!



What you need

• 2 slices of thick soft bread
• 4 slices of ham
• handful of grated cheese (any kind you fancy)
• dijon mustard
• butter

Let's cook

1. Heat a skillet pan over high heat
2. Spread the dijon mustard on 1-side of both slices
3. Top on 1 slice cheese, ham then cheese again
4. Cover with the other slice
5. Spread butter on both sides of bread and put onto hot skillet
6. Fry till brown and serve hot

pastrami for my honey

Mini pastrami & chedder cheese bun with dijon mustard takeaway for the hubs' lunch tomorrow. It's so cute I can't help but to share it here :) Packed in a small container with a lil' note to make lunch bit more fun...hopefully!