Favorite Oven Grilled Drumsticks

Every time I cooked drumsticks on an actually grill, they were always under-cooked inside but burnt on the outside. I hated the slimy taste after biting into it. (gagging) Therefore to evenly cook chicken drumsticks, I have to pop them in the oven. I also like the skin crispy, so broiling it for a few minutes usually does the trick. That's how I like my drumsticks.


Ingredients:
(serving 3 drums)

• 1/3 cup soy sauce 
• 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp. seasoning salt
• 3 tsp. honey
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 squeeze of lime

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix all the above seasonings. 
2. Marinade the drumsticks in the fridge for 40 mins. (save the marinade)
3. Remove drumsticks from the bowl into a glass baking pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees in oven for 50 mins.
5. At 44 mins, set the oven to broil and let each side of the legs crisp for 3 mins.
6. For the extra marinade, boil in a sauce pan. 
7. Slice some bell peppers and brush the sauce on top and broil for 7 mins.
8. Slice some bread and toast in oven along with the peppers. Remove the bread at 4 mins.

Shrimp Spring Rolls

Like every other roll, prepping the ingredients is most of the cooking. The rolling part is easy, but some might not say so with spring rolls. The rice wrap is very temperamental, too wet or too dry will make your roll look crappy, or worse, break apart.  However, I still enjoy making and eating them, especially on a nice sunny day. =) 


Ingredients:

• Rice wrapper
• Vermicelli
• Shrimp
• Raw peanuts
• Hoisin sauce
• Lime, salt, pepper, garlic
• Chili sauce (optional)
• Mints
• Cilantro
• Iceberg lettuce

Directions: 

1. Place a half full of water pot on the stove top. Set to high until the water boils.
2. Add the dry vermicelli in the pot. Cook until soften. Then set aside.
3. In another pot add about 1/2 cup of water and cook the shrimp until they're pink/orange.
4. In a small sauce pan, toast the peanuts.
5. In another small sauce pan, add olive oil and garlic, once there's a burnt garlic smell, add the hoisin sauce, squeeze of lime juice, salt, pepper, and chili sauce if you like it spicy.
6. Crush the peanuts with something heavy, then sprinkle it on the sauce.
7. For the veggies, wash and slice them how you want it, I just peel them and place it in the roll.
8. Now you're ready for wrapping, wet a sheet of rice paper, completely, let it sit on a plate for about 30 seconds before rolling.
9. In the center of the rice paper, place the vermicelli then the veggies on top, above it lay down the shrimps. Fold the right and left flap of rice paper in towards the center, then roll from the bottom up. Voila, there's your spring roll.  Dip in sauce then omm nom nomm =)

Comfort Baked Ziti

Have you ever been asked if good food makes you orgasmic? Well, I have and it reminds me of a line from Nigella Bites..."food is the new pornography, it's stared at and lusted for". The presence of food brings us together and makes us happy, which more convincingly pronounces it as a kind of pleasure. And I guess that is a yes. =)

So, today's rainy weather calls for some comfort food. The kind of food that fulfills you without effort. Yup I want to be a couch potato, thus I'm making bake Ziti with three kinds of gooey cheese. Normally people just bake it with one cheese and a meaty tomato sauce, but I want to try something different. Well, my fridge still has some spinach from last week that I don't want to waste.

Ingredients:

• Mozzarella, cheddar, and pepper jack cheese
• A handful of spinach leaves
• Half box of Penne pasta
• Tomato sauce (half jar of prego sauce)
• Italian seasoning
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• Salt and pepper

Directions: 

1. Cook the penne pasta in a pot of boiling water for about 10 mins.
2. Remove and set aside.
3. In another pan, pour some olive oil and slighty cook the beef (approx. 5 mins, then add the tomato sauce .
4. Sprinkle some Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper on the meat sauce.
5. Set out a baking pan, pour half of the meat sauce on the bottom of the pan, then top with the penne pasta, then break the spinach leaves with your hands and layer it.
6. Add slices of the cheese onto of the spinach, then layer it again wit meat sauce, pasta and cheese.
7. Bake in oven for 25 mins at 375, then set to broil for 5 mins to brown the top.

Easy Corn

When I was still young, my family and I used to pick corn late August at a corn crop near Lancaster.  It was hard work going through the maze and getting leaf cuts on our arms, but we loved it though. Every time we'd get a whole trunk full of corn for like 5 dollars. My mom would sit on the grass and peel every ear and dispose the husks, while we ran back and forth with more. Then my dad would drive us all home, squeezed in a little car (there were six of us) and a trunk full of corn for the rest of the year. We would freeze them in the freezer until my mom wanted to make something. Throughout the year we would have sweet corn soup, corn sticky rice, boiled corn on the cob, grilled corn with salted scallions and oil (above picture). This is one of my favorite easy recipe that gets everyone licking their fingers to taste the salt.

Ingredients: (serves 1)

• 2 peeled corn
• scallions
• olive oil
• salt

Directions:

1. Boil the corn in water for 20 mins.
2. Remove and place on metal flat pan. Broil for 3 mins, remember to turn them so they're evenly broiled.
3. Place in the oven, set at broil.
4. Thinly slice the scallions. Set a small pan on stove at medium heat. 
5. Place 1 tsp of olive oil and salt into the pan with the sliced scallions.
6. Heat it for 1 mins.
7. Pour onto of the corn and enjoy!

Crepee Sunday

Every time I make crepes, I have a nostalgic moment dating back to my 10th grade French class, where I first learned how to make them. It was very easy and included ingredients every household possessed. I remember making them in substitution for actually pancakes for everyone's breakfast that morning. I topped them with  strawberries, peaches, and maple syrup. Later that summer, I went to France with my French club and had the most delicious crepe at a cafe near Vesaille Palace. The crepe was smothered in chocolate and vanilla extract hmmm. Well, today I don't have strawberries, chocolate, or maple syrup. Since it's a rainy crappy day in Philadelphia, I'm going to make it shine with my peachy crepe. =)

 Ingredients: (serves 1)

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 1/3 cup of milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 peaches
• Honey
• Powdered sugar
• Butter

Directions:

1. Mix egg, flour, milk, and vanilla extract in a bowl.
2. Heat a thin slice of butter, when melted, pour half of the batter in the pan. Spread it out thinly like making an omelet.
3. Flip when you feel like the other side is cooked.
4. Remove from pan onto a plate.
5. Peel the peaches and wedge them. Place them on half of the crepe, then fold it over.
6. Dust some powdered sugar on top and drizzle the honey to suit your sweetness desire.

Mozzarella crazy

For some reason I've been craving mozzarella cheese for the pass couple of days. A few weeks ago I went to California Pizza in King of Prussia and had the most amazing chicken, artichoke, and spinach thin crust pizza. So, today I'm trying to recreate my own vegetarian version of this pizza. Instead of using tradition pizza dough with marinara sauce, I'm slapping on a thick slice of mozzarella cheese on top of french baguettes. I'm also picking up some fresh spinach and cherry tomatoes at the reading terminal (my favorite farmers market). To start, I'm blanching the spinach and slicing the cherry tomatoes into 3rds and layering them on the mozzarella cheese, then broiling it in the oven for about 3 mins until the cheese is gooey and melted. Finally sprinkling some salt and pepper with olive oil.  Happy way to start my Friday and also payday! =)

Chicken Curry

I woke up this morning wondering what I should cook for dinner tonight, since I work late I have to prepare my meals early. So I took a look into my fridge and found all the ingredients to make chicken curry. It's more of a winter soup, but I haven't had it in awhile, eh so why not. Here it goes...

Ingredients:

• 2 Clove of garlic
• 1/4 of an onion or a couple of shallots
• Bay leaves
• 1 Big yam
• 1 Big sweet potato
• 1 Big potato
• 1 Can of coconut milk
• Curry powder
• Salt, black pepper, olive oil
• 2 Chicken thighs
• 10 Small shrimps

1. Dice the garlic and onion. Peel all the potatoes and cut into cubes. Open can of coconut milk. Cut the chicken thighs into big cubes/chunks. Peel and devein the shrimps. Set all aside.
2. Set pot over medium heat, pour olive oil and drop the garlic and onion in.
3. Once the onions are translucent, drop the chunks of chicken in the pot.
4. Add salt, black pepper, and curry powder.
5. Mix until all the chicken is covered in curry powder, cook for about 5-7 mins, then add the coconut milk.
6. Place the bay leaves in and let the pot cook for 45mins-1 hour or until the chicken is tender.
7. Add the cubes of yam, potato, and sweet potatoes. Add a cup of water to assist the cooking process. Let it sit for 30 mins.
8. Lastly, add the shrimp because they cook very fast.
9. Have a taste, if bland add some more salt.

New hobby: blogging about foods

Recently I've been looking up a lot of recipes on Google, Food Network, and Allrecipes.com. After coming across many blogs and interesting recipes, I figured it would be nice to start my own blog.  I've always complained about being bored and in need of a hobby to pass time, well I guess here's my chance. I've always enjoyed cooking food and dining out. Some like to smoke and some like to drink, but I prefer a healthier indulgence, well not exactly in terms of calories. But anyways, I've acquired an obsession over food, at least great foods. So, welcome to Almost  Chubby, a blog on my food experiences.

midday fruit snack =)

Puff pastry with strawberry jam and mixed berries topped with powdered sugar.