One-pot creamy paprika chicken pasta

by with No Comment Featuredfood

I rarely cook and when I do, it’s usually just throwing things together and hoping for the best. This was one of those recipes that turned out better than I expected!

[Skip to recipe]

If I was to re-make this dish, I’d probably do things a little bit differently, but I had very limited ingredients so this was basically me rummaging through my fridge for whatever I could use. Things I would change:

  • Remove chicken skin
  • Grill chicken to be “healthier”
  • Use parmesan instead of or along with cheddar
  • cooking cream instead of milk
  • fresh parsley instead of dried
  • More heat, if the kids weren’t eating. Some cayenne or chilli flakes would be goooood

I think it turned out delicious nonetheless, although Shafiq modified his to suit his tastebuds better (mayo of course). When he first tasted it he had such a hard time pinning down the hint of lemon. If it was up to me I’d put lemon in almost all my cooking because i love the zing it gives, but Shafiq is NOT a fan haha.

Didn’t have time to document the whole process (also I didn’t think it was going to turn out any good) so this is the only picture I have, and even here you can’t really see anything. Oh well.

One-pot creamy paprika chicken pasta

Serving size: 4pax

Ingredients:
  • Pasta of choice (I used angel hair spaghetti)
  • 2 pcs chicken chop, cut into 1 inch pcs
  • 2 Tbsp paprika powder
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 large white onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  •  2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1 tsp flour
  • 1.5 cup milk (I used fresh milk)
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or parmesan
  • Chopped parsley (I used dried)
  • squeeze of lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Cook the pasta as per packet instructions making sure it’s al dente or still slightly firm to the bite.
  2. Drain but keep 2 cups of the pasta water
  3. Marinate the chicken with the paprika powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper
  4. Heat up the oil in a large non-stick pot/skillet
  5. Sauté the chicken til cooked through
  6. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside
  7. Sautee the onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and carrots in the same skillet until softened
  8. Add in milk and chicken stock
  9. Once the liquid start bubbling, add in the flour slowly, stirring till it is all dissolved/mixed in
  10. Add the cheese and mix thoroughly
  11. If the sauce seems too thick, add in some of the pasta water and season to taste
  12. Add in the cooked chicken pieces and drained pasta, and simmer
  13. Add a squeeze of lemon and mix
  14. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve
IMG_20170112_193932-940x429

Culinary adventures

by with One Comment babyfamilyfood

Eesa turned 1 last month, and for some reason he hasn’t been eating as much.  He used to be able to eat a whole bowl of oats for breakfast, and a full lunch and dinner meals, with snacks in between. but he caught a bad bout of coughing and ever since that he has been quite fussy with his food. There were even a few days when he refused to eat his all time favourite banana. It’s heartbreaking!

He does seem to have a preference for rice over any other food though. Lidah melayu like his dad I guess 🙂

I’m no whiz in the kitchen – Shafiq will attest tothe fact that he cooks more than I do. It’s just not something I really enjoy doing,

  1.  Because it takes so much time and energy
  2.  THE CLEANUP
  3.  What to cook what to cook what to cook
  4.  The commentary on the food after I finally finish making my masterpiece.

But with Eesa I had to strap on the apron and cook. At first it was pretty basic, single ingredient purees. Then as he grew and tastes developed I had to get creative, which meant basically throwing whatever was in the fridge into the pot. Alhamdulillah Eesa ate most of it with no fuss, even though to us adults my combinations would raise eyebrows, not to mention how horrible some of it looked. I guess it helped that Eesa couldn’t actually say anything hahaha!

Butterfly week

by with No Comment blogdrivingeventsfamilyfoodfriendsholidayschoolTravel

The Holidays have started and I intend to make the most of them. This week has been filled with activities, going out and socializing and meeting people and going places and doing things. not my average week, but definitely enjoyable 😀

4-7 June – Pulau Perhentian Kecil

more pics below 🙂 most perhentian pics from rahsia studio and phy

A lot of uncertainty building up to the trip but boy was everything worth it. From ramai jadi sikit until I was the only girl then nego2 til there were 5 girls on board. I didn’t know what to expect from Perhentian, of course there are those glossy tourism pictures but I’ve been let down by advertorial images too many times to believe what I saw on the internet.

But Perhentian was really really breathtakingly beautiful Masha’Allah. Air macam lumion. And it was nice to not have to be the one organizing things, as I’m very prone to doing. can’t really help it…I just like making the most out of my travels. like when we went to Hong Kong and Melbourne, no one else seemed to know where they wanted to go but I researched the hell out of everything, and Alhamdulillah, both trips were quite enjoyable. But I digress.

Perhentian was delayed a few times, because the days leading up to it were jam-packed full of finishing up thesis reports and external portfolios and whatnot. Once we got going at 3am though, minus a small but scary hiccup early in the journey, we got there safe and sound. We stayed at Maya Chalet, and for our 3day 2 night package which included island transfers, snorkeling trip (equipment and boat) and accommodation, we only paid rm140, which was a total bargain.

Our chalet was on coral bay, the chill, quiet side of the island, good for food and chilling out, but for swimming and playing on the beach, a short trek across the island to Long Beach is recommended. Long Beach is kind of the party beach though, so by dusk it was starting to get rowdy with bars and loud music and dancing, so we made our way back to our little haven where it was jack Johnson and calm waves all night long. Mafia wars that night after dinner and for the first round I was the mafia, and in the second round I was the angel. Fun times.

The next day after a morning stroll on the beach with Puteri and breakfast of twiggies and roti potato on an upside-down kayak, we hung out on Mye’s balcony and had second breakfast, before getting our flippers on and heading out for our snorkeling trip. This was by far the best snorkeling trip I’ve ever ever been on. Felt like I was swimming in an aquarium, so so many different types of colorful fishes, coral, and even sea turtles! we went to the shark point but unfortunately I didn’t see any sharks since I was too scared of swimming near the rocks (takut terhempas dgn ombak). swimming was so tiring but so completely absorbing once you got into the rhythm of breathing and paddling and following fishes around.

After snorkeling for a few hours we headed back to our island and had lunch, and then had some rest before hanging out on the balcony again. towards the late afternoon we all decided to go explore one of the other beaches, a more remote one called Romantic Beach lol. It wasn’t that good for swimming since there were lots of sea cucumbers which kind of grossed me out. Didn’t want to step on those slimy things. so I just sat on the beach, borak2, chilllllllll~

That night we had a bbq dinner, and it was deeeeelicious! I had shark (of the non-endangered boleh jumpa kt giant variety) which was soft and succulent. Cheap too! RM15 for the bbq set which included a meat of your choice (barracuda, barramundi, squid, blue marlin, stingray, prawn, lobster, chicken, etc2), choice of dipping sauce, rice, big slice of juicy watermelon and pineapple, a slice of banana cake, and drinks. Nyummmms :-9

That night we played ‘kotak beracun’ which is kind of like a pre-prepared truth or dare + hot potato. It was hilarious and I definitely learned a lot heheh. The next day we packed up and after a last bit of pictures-taking, headed back to the mainland.

We stopped by Kuala Terengganu to buy keropok lekor at Kg. Losong and then Pasar Payang for a bit, then started on our journey back to KL, which turned out to be quite the adventure. Kak. Fiza’s car started acting up, or rather, wouldn’t start, so we jump started it but it kept on dying, even after driving. That happened a lot of times and nighttime was closing in, and they couldn’t turn on the headlights because the car would die and we took the kampung road so there weren’t any rest stops along the way. Managed to slowly drive in convoy to meet up with An’s uncle who bought a replacement battery in Kuantan, and after that the car was ok, Alhamdulillah. Eventually reached KL at 3am, just around the time we left 🙂


8 June – textbook meeting which I came late to because I was so tired. eh wait. that’s true but also because I had to go meet our course coordinator and receive the bad news (will talk about this later)

9 June – Helped Salmoon clean up their new house. Tiring. Then Haneef has been wanting to get his glasses made, and for some reason insisted on waiting until I was available to go with him, so we went. That night we went to Mariam Sano’s Henna party. Dance dance. Well not so much. haha

bebola ikan said salman…

 10 June – Went to clean up the studio while waiting for the studio mates yg nak pergi visit Jannah and her baby in Shah Alam. Convoy around 7 cars because everyone was going home straight afterwards. Stopped by Faiz/Yeop/Paih/Boss’s house first where it was like raya, makanan penuh satu meja, kuih raya bagai. Nyums. Ate til our stomachs were bursting then headed over to Jannah’s to coo and gush over baby Qurratul Hayah.

kuih raya~
posing with the sleeping baby shhhhhh
little angel~

11 June – Finished cleaning up my stuff at the studio and loaded them up into the old Volvo, then makan2 and jalan2 at Wangsa Maju with the baby brother, then visited Yang at her house, chatted for quite a while, then drove brother home, then headed over to Ayesha’s for a surprise bday party bbq sleepover. Successfully manned the BBQ and it was the best bbq chicken I’ve ever had, hehehehe. Potato salad was scrumptious, and lots of laughs all around. Singing and eating and laughing, Good times.

 
muka selekeh semua orang yg baru habis berbbq

12 June – Went to UIA to settle some more stuff (more on that debacle later) then went back to Ayesha’s and just hung out. went to Dr. Cafe in the afternoon, then back to Ayesha’s for dinner (we call her house our holiday retreat. bliss!) then picked up my mom from work, and finally headed home where I finally got to talk to Muhsin who’s in Japan for three months, yay!

my girl, talkin bout myy girllll

13 June – ran around doing errands and driving people around and then finally got to the initial plan of the day which was the long awaited DOCTOR WHO MARATHON finallyyy!!! Picked up some (fake) jammy dodgers, lychee soda, and fish fingers, drove over to Aziza’s and made custard and fried the fish fingers, and made the TARDIS blue drink. Fish fingers and custard was actually not that bad. an acquired taste perhaps. then it was time to catch up on the last 4 episodes of the season. OMG.

jammy dodgers, homemade bounty bars, fish fingers and custard, tardis lychee drink, and episodes 😀

14 June – More driving people around and errands, had to save my mum from ISTAC because her car battery konked out. Felt extra manly this week because of the barbecues and driving and battery changing. Went to watch Man of Steel afterwards with Ilham, Nadiah and the Khatibs, can’t say I enjoyed the movie really. Actually felt quite bored.

15 June – Don’t know what got into me but I found myself in SS2 Mall early in the morning to attend an Improv Workshop held by AI:IA. Maybe because someone said it probably wasn’t my kind of thing I felt challenged:p maybe because I really was in the mood to try new things, maybe because the place was near food foundry and I’ve been wanting to get my hands on some mille crepe. I didn’t know what to expect at all, and came in to find people stretching like they were going to go for a run. erk. Turns out the stretching was a good idea because it turned out to be very..physical? I’m really glad I went though, it turned out to be really really fun and it was nice to meet new people and just be crazy with random strangers for a bit 😀 I enjoyed the last exercise the most, and apparently I was quite funny heehee ^_____^ Food Foundry afterwards where we split a smoked salmon sandwich and a pulled beef sandwich and ALMOND SALTED CARAMEL MILLE CREPE :9

pic from @iedilputra http://instagram.com/p/akQLS7xNXH/
heavenlyyyyyy..pic from http://lwinlee.blogspot.com/2013/01/mille-crepe-indulgence-food-foundry.html

16 June – lazy dayyyy~ Spent most of it either online, asleep, eating, or reading. Picked up ‘The Prisoner of Heaven’ around 2.30 and finished it (including an hour long nap in between) at 6.30. Good books really are too short oftentimes. played the flash version of portal after maghrib but got stuck on level 14. researched Japan and got :/ over how expensive it is, then chatted, then played Zelda: A Link to the Past but kept dying although I did make progress and got to fight the boss before dying again, battery of the gameboy micro was dying and it was late but I felt like writing, and here we are.

 
Ethan keeps on dyinggggg

A fun, fulfilling, but very tiring week. it was awesome 🙂

Food – A love/hate relationship

by with No Comment foodplanthoughts

If you know me personally you know I’m what some would call ‘skinny’. I’m around 5’2″ with a slight frame and I currently weigh 43 kg. I am definitely underweight and I know it. Not that I like being so light and wispy. A few months ago I’d been going on a steady 45kg, I was at that weight for more than 5 years with very little ups and downs. The heaviest I’ve ever ever been was 47kg in my third year, when we went for heritage studies.

It’s not like I don’t try to gain weight, I really have tried. but the pounds don’t seem to stick. A few months ago there was a health screening thing in UIA and I went just for fun. My metabolism rate was off the charts, and according to the guy at the booth, it’s because of my irregular sleeping pattern and irregular mealtimes. Ideally, I should be around 50kg (although the reading below said 54..I can’t imagine being over 50. Masa 47 pun dah tercungap2 naik tangga kaed..)

BMR- thats my body’s metabolic rate

My dilemma is this:
When people eat, they usually feel energized, yea? Not me. When I get hungry and remember to eat, I get extremely drowsy and sluggish afterwards. it’s not even funny. if you ask any of my teachers/lecturers/classmates since high school they’ll know I slept in just about every single class.

I’m also..lazy and forgetful when it comes to eating. If I’m at home in my room doing work or whatever, I’d usually forget to eat, and when I do remember at the end of the day or in the afternoon, I tend to be all ‘I’m too lazy to go all the way downstairs and cook something..and I’m not that hungry anyways.’

When I don’t eat, I will eventually get very tired and can’t do work due to lack of energy (obviously) but when I do eat, I get super sleepy and can’t really function as well. So, to eat or not to eat?

Being the paranoid person I am, I’m half certain that I have either narcolepsy or some weird gluten allergy/celiac disease or that there’s something wrong with my blood. I mean, I know I have low blood pressure but maybe my oxygen count is low or I don’t have enough blood or what. hmhmhm

I suppose one problem might be what I’m eating and when I’m eating it. I rarely have breakfast which I know, is the most important meal of the day (at least that’s what everyone says) and usually only have either lunch or dinner, and at irregular times. So in an effort to make myself more food-disciplined, a friend suggested I keep a food journal. it’s been 3 days since I started and immediately it’s obvious that I skip breakfast and I tend to snack a lot. In our household, we usually cook with less oil and less salt because its healthier, but on my part I’m very picky about what I eat. I only eat certain veggies and only if they’re fresh, etc2.

Need to start taking care of myself because who else is gonna do that. Also probably need to learn how to cook. 😐 And exercise/be more active.

Healthy me Insha’Allah (right after I finish my thesis >.< )

The Homecoming

by with No Comment eventsfoodfriendsschoolTravel

Firstly, I’m sorry the pictures aren’t up yet – Facebook refuses to upload my pictures for some odd reason.

Many of my classmates are back from their overseas studying, so today we had a mini-reunion in the middle of the hustle and bustle that was Mamma Mia. For the uninitiated, Mamma Mia is an eatery in IIUM where many students choose to hang out for lunch in. This is because not only is it air-conditioned (not that you can feel it when its packed) it also caters to international tastes, i.e. people who can’t eat spicy food. Prices are on the steep side for students, but most are willing to pay albeit grumbling a bit. The lady at the cashier always seems apologetic when quoting prices, but oh well. Bagging a table is a matter of great importance if you plan on eating in the air-conditioning as by 12.30 it starts to fill up extremely fast, and by 2 it empties out. You can usually see the same faces there every day but once in a while you get fresh blood, always recognizable by their raised eyebrows, widened eyes and generally incredulous looks when reaching the cashier.

Anyways, I arrived at our mini reunion quite late since I had no idea it was going on. So in the end I only spent 15 minutes with my friends before huffing off to studio, but not before indulging in an Oreo J.Co. These things are dangerous. Before, if you wanted J.Co donuts, you’d have to drag yourself all the way to Pavillion to satisfy your cravings. Now, every time there is any sort of fest/carnival/stall setup in IIUM, a J.Co stall sprouts up. This time its even worse, because there are two. One in my Kulliyyah, KAED, and one in the Center near the bridge. Also there is a Big Apple stall. All these factors do not positively contribute to any weight loss diet anyone might have, but as for myself, yes, I might gain weight, but at what artery clogging cost? Today I was guilty of binging on two donuts, Oreo and banana-choc. Yesterday I had Tiramisu, as I did the day before. Come to think of it, my sugar intake has been abnormally high this week. I’ve had chocolate for breakfast on three straight days, plus a handful of sour nerds every time I get back to my room. then of course the donuts. and the other day I bought mango juice which was half sugar water. Oh and in my desperate attempt to stay awake in class, I finished 3/4 of a sour mentos tube.

Falling asleep in class. I seem to be doing that regularly these days, and I don’t know why. Its extremely annoying because the moment the lecturer opens his/her mouth, I get drowsy, and the moment class is over I’m fresh as a daisy. Add to this the fact that I always sit in front (supposedly so I can pay attention) which means any nodding of the head or drooping of the eyelids is blatantly obvious to the lecturers if they cared to look up. I have tried almost everything – eating candy in class, texting. doodling. writing, squirming in my seat, even trying to strike up a sleepy conversation with my neighbor. None of them work more than a few seconds. I’d like to blame on my lack of sleep last week due to so many assignments but I have to see if next week is any different to make any conclusion.

This post was supposed to be about my classmates returning. But I haven’t really talked to them yet. Oh but I did go out to the airport to fetch Nadiah, along with Ilham and Ayesha. I love going to the airport., but thats another topic altogether. Anyways Nadiah told us her adventure with MAS which left us feeling “how in the world did that happen!?”

Finding a lunch buddy is getting harder as the semester progresses. Not everyone has time or wants to have lunch anymore, but I need to have lunch or else I’ll starve. And I hate eating alone. Especially in UIA.

*Update
I looked up ‘drowsiness’ and being a hypochondriac, I believe I’m suffering from Narcolepsy

The should be’s of life…

by with No Comment examsfamilyfoodhomelist

I should be cleaning up my room, and the house.

Cats should be allowed in our household. Then I won’t have to spend hours staring out the window at my neighbor’s cute cats.

People who play computer games loudly while other people are trying to study should be more considerate.

My sister should be cooking more than just fried fish. And she should cook more. She’s not doing her fair share of chores.

The Land Surveying Notes should be online, but not all of them are. My exam is on Wednesday.

I should be studying and not editing my blog layout.

The Hamzah house menu

by with No Comment familyfoodhomelist

my parents are away for umrah so its just us kids at home. so we’ve had to cook :O So far this is what we’ve had…(its mostly dinners since we have lunch on campus)

Day 1 – omelette courtesy of Maryam
ok i was so lazy-tired and i had a midterm the next day. no one else would step up, so…

Day 2 – Ayam masak Kunyit (Turmeric Chicken) courtesy of Muhsin and Haneef

Day 3 – Fried fish courtesy of Munira

Day 4 – Ayam Masak Merah ( i think it would literally be Red chicken but i dunno…) courtesy of Maryam and Muhsin

Day 5 – Baked Fish courtesy of Maryam and Muhsin

Day 6 – hmm…i cant remember what we had on saturday. i think we just had our own separate dinners

Day 7 – Some beef dish courtesy of Grandma…:)

Day 8 – Chicken teppanyaki courtesy of Khair

Day 9 – no dinner

Day 10 – today – Spaghetti Aglio E Olio courtesy of Maryam. haha ok its just spaghetti with garlic n olive oil…:P

as you can see, its a very odd looking menu, but thats kinda all we have. now we’re out of chicken so its fish all the way…

La-di-da

by with No Comment eventsfoodschool

I’ve been eating alone a lot lately…its so sad…last night my lonely dinner consisted of 2 pau’s.one kari ayam and the other chocolate.
Today in halaqah I got the “sis, are you a foreigner?” again. No, I’m malay, I reply. In my head though, yeah, I’m a foreigner, in my own country, and everywhere I go.
on the way back from halaqah, which ended at 10 p.m., a bird flew across the road (like, in the sky, but it was flying at tree level) the way it was flying was… different. so i actually crossed the street and stood under the tree it had perched in and stared at it, trying to figure out what bird it was. it definitely wasn’t a crow, it was too big. not a stork either, too small. i think it could’ve been an owl or an eagle. because it was so silent. and brownish. and it looked the right size. anyways, i must’ve looked possessed, standing under a huge tree and staring at it, unmoving, at 10.30 p.m..
I’m goin back on Saturday this week. i have a presentation on friday night. Unless someone is kind enough to pick me up Friday night. Next week is going to be horrible.

Think positive
Think positive

Week El-Wacky

by with No Comment eventsfamilyfoodmusicschool

Wekala, just coz it goes with the title…and its also my history assignment

our site analysis and client interview was due on friday. that meant a whole week of sleepless nights. but in the end we have to redo it. just when i thought i would be able to enjoy the weekends!!! so i had to scrap my plans of going home on friday. had to instead, be in kaed up to 4 am. thank god some people have cars and i didn’t have to walk all the way back. i was also out of clean clothes then, and my dinner consisted of roti sweetie. on the way home today the car exploded. yup. thank god we were at the gas station at the time. actually i was sitting in the front passenger seat and moi papitos was filling the tires (why does it say tyres is spelled wrong?)when i hear this boom! i thought one of the tires exploded but it was actually the radiator.

“hari ni minyak dah sampai ke belum eh?” a snippet of conversation you don’t hear everyday unless you work at a gas station

The Perishers – Pills

I hope my smile
can distract you
I hope my fists
can fight for two
So it never has to show
And you’ll never know

I hope my love
can blind you
I hope my arms
can bind you
So you’ll never have to see
What we’ve grown to be

One may think
we’re alright
But we need pills
to sleep at night
We need lies
to make it through the day
We’re not ok

One may think
we’re doing fine
But if I had to lay it on the line
We’re losing ground
with every passing day
We’re not ok

But that’s one thing
I would never
One thing I would never
That’s one thing
I would never say to you