How to screw up your husband's dinner

...which is LAYERED POTATOES!!

I have wanted to make these for the longest time ever since I read them on Kimberlycun. But I had to wait till I have an oven. Now we do. Yay!! Next thing I'm going to make is Pizza. Don't care that I can't finish it. I will make Cs eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! :D

So. Let's start at the beginning. I thought it would be so easy to make. And it was really. All that went wrong was one lousy can of soup.

I didn't follow the exact recipe from Kimberly. I went and googled for similar recipes because I am like that. I need more sources, and yet somehow or other, I manage to screw this up. Slightly lah.

The recipe called for 1 can of Campell's mushroom soup. I very gungho went to Giant and bought a can of Cream of Chicken. Mistake ok! Not on purpose. I thought it was a can of cream of chicken soup. Damn damn damn.

When I poured it out, the whole thing was a big gooey glop. Jelly like texture. Omg. My precious potatoes! Did I fuck up??! I even went to check the expiry date. No leh 2012. What the hell went wrong??

Read the instructions at the back, which said: mix can of cream with a bowl of water. Heat it up, and stir to mix. =.= I'm so damn smart lo. Fail!

So yea. In short, that is how to screw up layered potatoes.

But its ok. Because I am genius, I fixed it. I scooped the cream out of my precious potatoes and put them into a pot with water. Stir to mix. And poured it all onto my potatoes.

Notice what's wrong yet? I poured ALL of it onto my potatoes! Why Amy why?! I was too kancheong ok and didn't pay attention.

I was supposed to fill the potatoes up to about the topmost layer only. Now my potatoes and cheese are swimming in chicken soup. =.=

I was ready to call Cs and tell him to just tapau some fast food for dinner already by then. Fook it. Fook the Campbells soup. Most of all, fook me.

But ahh..my oven was preheated already what. How much more harm can come out of it, right? Right? So I stuck it into the oven at 180 degrees as instructed by a lot of people on Google. Set it for 60 mins.

Ehh lucky I keep going back to check ok. What 60 mins? Cheat me. My potatoes were done/cooked in 20 mins. I don't know why. When I stuck my fork in, it went though easily. I think my hot chicken soup helped cook the potatoes! HAHAH. Damn smart.

The end result was not bad lo! Tasted very very very yummy! But it was too salty. The cream of chicken was salty in itself, and I might have put in too much salt and cheese. Either one but next time I definitely know what to do already. Phew. So yea.

I saved dinner. =D

First step: wash and slice up 4 small potatoes, really thin. As thin as you can make them. Then layer them like this, overlapping one another. Add salt and pepper to every layer.

Cs didn't like onions so I put in a bit of garlic per layer.

And because I am only making this for dinner for the two of us, as a main meal, with nothing else, I added 2 hot dogs (also sliced thin). I also added a slice of cheese to this layer because I love cheese. :)

Don't know why its not mentioned in even one single recipe that I've read to add in cheese somewhere in the middle. Its nice. Its awesome, its to die for. Creamy, melted cheese. Cannot skip this step.

This was after I added the chicken soup. Hahaa my potatoes, hot dog and cheese are swimming below the soup. So as an afterthought, I added another slice of cheese because I want a brown bubbling top.

Wrong! Brown top turned out to be BLACK top.

Bubbling away..yumm. Smells heavenly.

And tadah this is my layered potatoes! I used my fancy app to try to save the photo hehee. In real life, it was kinda err dark coloured on top.

This is what you get once you scoop it out. Lousy photo. No need to edit lah. No way to make this look good. But OMG it tastes good!!

Serious! Even with my mistakes above, I did it! Layered potatoes! Finally!! I know it doesn't look very appetizing but fuck it lah.

And yah, I really need to stop swearing I know.

Testing 1 2 3

Chicken chop and baked potatoes!

Cs and I just recently bought an oven. Oh dear I forgot the brand name again. Tefal (wait isn't that for pots?), Midea? Yea, think it might be Midea..

And to celebrate our first inaugural meal from the oven, I made chicken chop and baked potatoes!!

When I said I made chicken chop, what I mean is Cs pestered me day and night begging me to make him chicken chop!! =.=

I was happily flipping through recipe books, searching recipes online for something that rocks my boat, and whenever I asked Cs for an opinion, all he could come up with was: chicken chop! (with a lot of crispy chicken skin on top) Men.

So I did lah! :)

Home made chicken chop with baked potatoes!

I rock!

Hehe I know its easy to make bla bla bla, but if you knew me, you would know that I don't cook much. So this is not bad! Not bad at all.

The recipe:

I actually went to Google it and read through various sources and different types of oven baked chicken before I made it. To this end (and I mean when cooking only), I am meticulous like that.

Nifer once told me before that I am fierce in the kitchen, and would scold people if they don't do things my way, because I have to follow the recipe step by step. (Haha sorry Nifer!!) Its actually very true. I scold Cs if he tries to mess up in my kitchen! :)

For this version, I used boneless chicken thigh. Defrost the meat beforehand. I took them out of the freezer the night before and left them in the fridge. The next day, I wash them and pat them dry with kitchen towels.

According to sources on Google, you have to pat the chicken dry, so you get crispy skin when you oven bake them. So yea. Just listen to more knowledgeable people.

After that, rub olive oil, salt and pepper (quite liberal amounts), garlic (chopped) rosemary/thyme/whatever herbs you have on hand.

Then you stick it back in the fridge for a few hours, until you need to bake them before dinner time.

If I remember correctly, I used 180 degrees Celsius for about 15-20 minutes? Just keep an eye on those birds you can't go wrong. When you think they are cooked, turn the fire up to about 200 degrees to brown the skin slightly.

Ooh forgot to mention the potatoes. No brainer lah. Wash, peel, cut and arrange on plate. Stick into oven with the chicken! :)

And there you have it. Voila:

The smell of the herbs in the oven mmm...delicious..

Crispy chicken skin. Check.

And I also made coleslaw with cherry tomatoes to go with our meal.

I made too much coleslaw for the both of us. I always end up eating it for dinner and lunch the next day. And throw the rest down the drain because I can't eat it again for dinner. (Not as wasting as it sounds ok..it was just a few mouthfuls left).

Btw, I love these photography apps man. They make my photos look good even though I have no skill. Awesome stuff.

And if you think my face looks weird in the photo above, you're right. I used Face Cam to try to make myself look more..er..presentable. But me thinks I overdid it. Now I just look weird.

Cherrie still looks gorgeous though.

Don't judge a book by its cover please.

Despite its appearance (dammit should have used some fancy app to save the photo), it actually tastes pretty good.

That, ladies and gents, is a peanut butter salad. Never heard of it? My mum used to make this at home. Cs came over for dinner one night, tried it and loved it. Then, as usual, pestered me to cook it for him. So I did.

Lemme just take you straight to the ingredients:

- one chicken thigh, cooked and sliced really thin

- one cucumber, peeled, sliced really thin

- 2 tbsp soy sauce

- 4 tbsp peanut butter

- 1 tbsp sesame oil

- 2 tbsp sugar

-2 tbsp vinegar

-2 tbsp "tou ban jiang" (Ok I'm not being very helpful am I? In English, I think its called Salted Soy Beans. I bought the Yeos brand.)

- 2 to 3 eggs (hard boiled and sliced)

Did I miss anything out? (pauses)

*Shrugs*

And that's it. Toss everything into a bowl (except eggs) and mix together. Add the eggs in last so you don't mash them too much.

Oh wait. No. I forgot something. Don't add in all the sauce at one go. It will be TOO SALTY (like mine is). Add it in slowly. Taste as you go so you know how salty you want it to be.

I really don't think I'm being very helpful.

Because it was a tad too salty, we had it with bread (as our dinner), and now, it tastes perfect. Just about. Self praise is no praise.

And I know the photo above is a bit unsightly. So, here are some very mouth watering photos for your viewing pleasure:

Winnie had this. /drools all over phone keyboard!!

Looks friggin yummy! Looks too good to eat!! She had it in Singapore btw. So yea bo kang tao to us people in Kuching.

This was mum's slice. Still gorgeous but I prefer the strawberry!

Last one of Cherrie and me before I go. I edited the photo above too with Face Cam. Somehow I look worse. How is this possible? Haih! Fail!

K bye!

U-Garden Steamboat and BBQ Buffet

This was from last Saturday night! The restaurant is located at Song Plaza behind Secret Recipe and Flinders. Jalan Song. Very easy to find..Its located at the new block.

The place is full all the time. Apparently what makes it different from other steamboats and BBQ places in Kuching are that they use these "crystal" plates instead of normal hot plates. Actually, I don't know if they are crystal plates. Mum said they are, so if wrong blame her bahahaha.

And instead of butter or oil, you just use water and can grill the food. Ya serious. The server told us to add more water, it'll cook faster. And they use charcoal instead of gas.. I think.. If wrong, don't blame me.. :)

I don't think its a new concept..just in Kuching la. Because we are forever slower than others haha SPK forever..

Cooking in progress. They cut the lamb into smaller pieces and the chicken, more thick cut. This is what the waitress says, so cook the lamb and beef first, before the chicken..

They also have fish, crab, prawn, clams and some bamboo clams I think. Not too sure of the name.

You can see the pot at the far end of the photo. That is normal steamboat stuff. They have two types of soup: normal chicken soup and tom yam.

I thought the tom yam soup was kinda blah but cs liked it. So no idea.

Its a good idea to try the place out though. Just cos its new and different. If you're into steamboats, why not eh?

I think the price is RM 29. Includes drinks such as, Jasmine green tea, chrysanthemum tea, chinese herbal tea (sweet), and I don't remember. Oh yea, they have a coffee machine as well, and a selection of ice cream.

This is in addition to the ready made food available such as fried rice, fried mee hoon, and fried hot dogs/sausages.

They also have little servings of salads, which I like, such as coleslaw, and the green seaweed stuff you always get at Japanese restaurants, and little fruit salads with a prawn in it.

Aih paiseh no more photos because my hands were oily most of the time. Standard lah at steamboats/bbq dinners..

I suppose the good thing about this type of bbq would be that its less fattening compared to other bbq places. The water we add while grilling the meat washes away most of the oil. Unlike normal bbq, we add liberal amounts of oil and butter, so its even more greasy..

Says mum anwyay. IF wrong blame her. Haha k bye.

Pizza Hut - 7 CHEESE PIZZA

This is to tempt everyone else into trying this 7 cheese pizza, and hopefully make others gain the extra calories as well heh heh /evil..

But so worth it though! Hot and fresh from the oven! Delicious, greasy and flavorful..Pizza at its best!! Yummeh!

We ordered this pizza in Hawaiian Chicken.

Btw, does anyone remember the 6 cheese pizza promo sometime last year? Cs and I made the mistake of ordering the pizza plain, as in only with the six cheese only, without any other toppings.

That was my worst pizza hut pizza ever! The pizza tasted salty (from the cheese) and er that's it. Haha dumb and dumber.

So yea, I ordered Haiwaiian Chicken this time. With the toppings! Actually, I don't know if it comes in plain anymore this time around. Hmm..never mind. Ignore me.

At first glance, you would think that those "balls" on the pizza are fish/meat balls!

Nooo..look closer! They are little balls of cream cheese!! Woah this should give you an indication of how cheesy the pizza would be.

Paiseh ah I suck at describing things especially food...

*******

But I have to say this though. As much as I love my cheese and pizza, this was a bit of cheese overdose. I didn't finish any of those little cream cheese balls. Cs too, which is why we have this photo below:

Leftover cream cheese!

The pizza was nice.. Still tasty! Hints of lime/lemon if i'm not mistaken. But a bit too greasy (more so than usual) because of the many types of cheeses!!

Oh well. Once in a while, its ok. Mehh..the calories don't count.

This is me saying: mehh I don't care. But I still dragged cs swimming after that! Heh gloat fail! :)

Bye!

Cherrie time

Its been a while since the little cutie has been featured here.. I miss that cute, fat furry ass.

Winnie is keeping me updated with Her Higness' recent news and photos..

Because of her itchy skin, the vet has recommended a new diet for Cherrie. No more chicken. Strictly lamb only from now on. Wow seriously?! Lucky bitch!

I shall know more tonight after I talk to mum and Winnie in person..

And yes, all edited photos because I am kinda addicted to those apps!

Damn fun and easy to use..

My S90 has been left untouched ever since I got my new phone.. Hehehe.

Fear not! Holidays are coming up and I have to use it soon.. Can't wait for holidays! Can't wait to go somewhere! I want my honeymoon!

Decisions decisions

I love my new blog design! A total revamp! I was getting bored with the old one plus it looked too messy and cramped. So yea, this is much less stuff. I deleted lots of rubbish by the side bar..and now I no longer have a side bar.

I'm typing on my phone again. What to do..cs still haven't fixed my laptop. The one that winnie broke. Heheheh actually it was me (i think or her dunno) but winnie was using it when it happened so i got excuse to blame her. Hi yao! :)

I have a slight flu today..i can't be sure how this happened..but i'm guessing the night swim last night (in the rain) didn't help. Heh heh

Boon, john, doris n ying came over yesterday around noon because the agenda was: discuss/decide and book hotels for our trip this coming Dec!

But they also brought along a few DVDs and a monopoly set and swimming outfits. So agenda quickly changed to: watch DVDs first, then play monopoly, then go swimming!

By about 6pm, it was still drizzling. Undeterred, boon persuaded us all to go to the pool anyway! (everyone forgot about booking hotel rooms =.=)

In my swimsuit, I already had goosebumps standing beside the pool holding an umbrella..

Walking there, i was hoping none of the neighbors see us..hahaa crazy bunch of youngsters (actually not that young anymore =.=") going swimming in the rain. Siao one.

I wasn't planning on going in anymore. It was cold. I was shivering. But the guys said the water was pleasantly warm and convinced me. Besides, taking photos alone is boring..

Technically I wasn't alone. Ying was also holding an umbrella (above photo), and soaking her feet in the water.

After swimming at about 8 pm then we remembered: Shit! We haven't booked the hotel rooms!!

But we were starving by then! How?? Bo pien lah go out eat first..

We went to old batu kawa for seafood dinner and rushed back to search Agoda!

Finished booking by 10pm. Everyone left to go home and shower and sleep.

By this time, about a month ago, Cs and I would be moaning/bitching/complaining to each other: lazy to go home. Sigh. How nice if we already stay together then we can just change and sleep. Haih this and that..

Fast forward one month later: As everyone left, we turned off the lights, shut down the laptop and tv, and went up to bed together by 10pm. ♥ Not so bad after all..

What I loved most was the freedom to these things. To go for a night swim and not have to rush home for dinner. To have no time limits.

To do what I want to do, on a Sunday, without being forced asked to go somewhere else..

The freedom to book air tickets and hotels. There are perks to being an adult.

The consequences however. I.e. the flu the next day and the credit card bills.

I say its still worth it though! :)

Ten day challenge: One Picture

Finally we're at the end of this 10 day challenge. Damn long lah. I learnt that I am not cut out for this. Haha but its good on days when I have nothing to talk about, that I still have this 10 day challenge to update!

So in the end, I have been updating my blog more often.



How can this be a challenge in itself? A photo of self. Meh! Opened my photo folder and selected one straight away..I have plenty of edited self shots such as these, especially after I got my phone. Plenty of photography apps for me to play with. ♥

K bye.

Tonight..

....was such a waste of a Saturday night!!

Two songs

Actually my preference in songs vary largely and are very much influenced by the people around me.

If you flip through my iPod, you would be surprised. I have old chinese songs such as Faye Wong and Jacky Cheung, and even Aaron Kwok, and I have old English songs such as Bee Gees, Eagles, and Lionel Ritchie, and I also have newer music like Britney, Justin Timberlake, Black Eyed Peas, LMFAO, Rihanna and so on and so forth.

Oh yea, I also have a few French Songs given to me by a friend, and a few Japanese songs also given by another friend, and some Spanish songs given by another friend.

That is basically how I accumulate music. Either some friends or Winnie gave them to me. :)

I can't be bothered to download or buy music myself. If no one gives me anything, I copy them from the computer network at work from the shared folder.

So yea.

I think songs can evoke really strong memories. Some songs will always remind me of some things.

For instance, earlier at work today, Fergie's song Glamorous came on. This song will always remind me of London Bridge. Why? During that walk/bus/tube from home to school, I always have to pass by London Bridge. That short walk from uni to the tube station, or uni to the bus stop, or uni to some kebab shop.

And I always have my earphones on. Somehow that song is the one that I think of. That relates. I think its because then, Fergie's big ass poster was posted on the billboard at London Bridge! :D

But I digressed.

That is why it is so hard to pick two songs! Hmm..let's see. Right now, in this instant, as I am typing this, I am all dressed up waiting for cs to get dressed so we can go out..

In my head, right now is Rihanna's Who's that chick, because I danced to this song myself. Earlier on. Alone. At home. For exercise. Ha. You don't do that?



And for the sake of some romance..



George Michael's Careless Whisper.

This was the song I said (years ago), that I would dance to at my wedding. On my wedding night, the MC, William Tong dedicated this song to me..

But I was wayy too shy to get up to dance then..

I suppose, in a way, this will always be my song. It has no special memories. Its just me.

When sleepy, do this..

Its a slow day..and i feel like doing nothing. All i want is to go home and lie down in this same exact spot.

Thursdays are evil!!

I got all photos n videos from my wedding already. Now for the uploading photos, blogging, printing photos part..

Blah blah blah..

I just wana laze around like a sea slug today..

I blame the weather.

Three Films

Three Films

Now this is difficult for me. I don't watch much movies, compared to the normal person. I'm comparing myself to Kevin and Winnie. They know so much more about movies than me.

So, I'm just going to do this based on how I like it.

1) Sex and the City. The series and both movies. Thanks to Nancy, I'm hooked on Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte and their love sex lives.



2) Grey's Anatomy. Why do not many people like to watch this?! Its nice! I realize I suck at describing things. Everything is "nice" and "interesting". Fail.



Grey's Anatomy revolves around the lives of a bunch of surgeons, particularly Meredity Grey (hence the name), and her friends' lives in the hospital. Every episode starts with a new case in the hospital, and it is interesting (see what I mean).

3) Parent Trap. The movie. Starring Lindsay Lohan. This is an old, old movie, made in 1998, and one of my favorites.



From Wikipedia: It stars Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson as a couple who divorce soon after marrying, and Lindsay Lohan in a dual role as their twin daughters, who are accidentally reunited after being separated at birth.

I don't know why its listed as one of my favorite movies of all times, but it just is. Along the same cheesy genres as Pretty Woman. Yeah, I watched that many times too.

4 books..

This 10 day challenge is more like 20 day challenge to me. Took me so long to get through this haih fail.

Anyhoo. Today is 4 books. Only four? How to squeeze in four?

JK Rowling's series has 7 books leh. So, I guess I'm done then.

1) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

2) Harry Potter and the Half blood prince

3) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

4) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire


Easiest challenge by far! Heh.

I'm not kidding. JK Rowling is a genius and if you haven't read her books yet, please do!

Aside from her, I also read almost all of Sidney Sheldon's collection. Particularly like Memories of midnight, the other side of midnight, master of the game, bloodline, if tomorrow comes, and I can't think of others now. These are off the top of my head.

I'm too lazy to give a commentary about each book, but if you want, Google it! Can easily find the free ebook even.

I know that for a period of time, everyone was raving about Dan Brown's da Vinci code. Wow-ee. Its nice. Interesting. Made me want to go to the Louvre again. No lah seriously his books are good too: Angels and Demons, Digital Fortress, Deception Point. That new book of his: The Lost Symbol - I went to read the ebook. Somehow it seems confusing and not that interesting. Not a page turner and I never finished it.

But I don't re-read his books the way I do with other authors. Such as, JK Rowling (of course), and Jodi Picoult.

I know Winnie would scoff because she thinks its dead depressing, but I think its interesting, the way it makes you think/wonder even after you finish the book a few days after reading it. Some of my favorites include: Picture Perfect, Nineteen minutes, and of course My Sister's Keeper.

My Sister's Keeper was the first book I bought. I remember that I was wandering around some market in Westminster or Covent Garden when I came across some stalls selling second hand books. I picked up this book and started reading the synopsis at the back. Read the first page and that's it. Bought it for 50p only. 50p = RM3.50 at then exchange rates. Score!



My version of the book was probably one of the first editions (tried to google it but can't find it) before it got so commercialized by the movie. Watched the movie btw - didn't really like it.

Recently, I'm reading John Grisham's books. Because I got a whole lot of them for very cheap at the recent book fair. His books are mostly about legal thrillers. Kah Ling, if you ever want to take up reading, you can try his books since you're a future lawyer. :)

I went to Wikipedia John Grisham. Apparently he went to law school and quit being a lawyer so he could continue writing. Oohh. I finished reading: the Firm, the Client, a Time to Kill, Skipping Christmas, and the Testament. Definitely page turners.

I'm such a geek. I like knowing I have a pile of books waiting for me to be read..:)

Unfortunately, my husband doesn't like it when I read. Apparently I get too preoccupied and ignore him. 0_o

Bye!