Meatloaf with crunchy cheesy topping

Meatloaf is one of those easy dinner recipes where you just need to scrunch everything into the loaf tin and leave it to bake. This one has a special topping made from crispy pancetta mixed with breadcrumbs and grated cheese. The topping needless to say was yummy but the loaf itself was quite plain. I have another meatloaf recipe that tasted better so next time I'll use the topping from this one on it.

 

Cheat beef rendang

A fb friend recommended M&S Malaysian rendang paste, I didn't even realised that they stock such a thing and of course I have to test it out. It turned out to be not bad with a few adjustments that is, it definitely needed a bit more punch so extra chilli powder was added. And next time , I think I will add some kerisik for texture as the paste is ground very fine, other than that it is a good paste. Served with tomato rice and cucumber without the fuss of peeling shallots, chillies, garlic and pounding spices, nothing to complain about!

 

Sup Ekor

Oh what joy when I saw ox tail for sale at Makro!! It was to be my very first purchase with my new membership at Makro, so excited I was that I didnt even realised that I dropped my new membership card at the car park! Back to the ox tail, I have been wanting to make this aromatic soup for a long long time, it comes to mind particularly during Winter. And now I know where I can get ox tail and have a tried & tested recipe, I will definitely be making this again.



 



Italian meatballs

After a bout of un-mentionable illness in the house, one which required a strict diet of cream crackers and water (yes, you know what I'm referring to), I found myself with a load of cream crackers to spare. I then came across Jamie Oliver's Meatball recipe which used crushed cream crackers instead of breadcrumbs. The meatballs turned out great and guess what, no cream crackers leftover, hooray!!

Murtabak

This is another dish that I've been craving for, for a while now. It will sound strange but it is actually the pickled red onion that I crave for rather than the roti itself. When bought from the stalls, you usually get a tiny amount of the pickled onions. So since it has been a successful attempt, the murtabak man can keep his pickled onions as now I know how to make them myself.

Ginger Beef and Asparagus stir fry

If you like ginger then this is the dish for you. Slivers of ginger are fried till golden and fragrant then seasoned beef and asparagus is added. Stir-fry for a few minutes till the asparagus cooks to the desired 'crunch', dish up and serve with steamed rice...delicious! I like to eat this dish with chopsticks and rice served in a bowl, a strange quirk but somehow it tastes better this way!

Irish Stew

Handy one pot dish is what this is. Chop and cut everything, dump into a casserole and stick it into the oven. Although the cooking time may be long, the lack of dishes to wash up really makes it worthwhile! Made with Guiness Stout (hence the name Irish) as one of the ingredients, this is a great warming dish for the colder weather.

Beef Rendang

In celebration of Merdeka (Independance Day for Malaysia), I wanted to make something local for dinner and since it is also Ramadan, it brought to mind Beef Rendang and Lemang. So Beef Rendang it was, but since there was no way for me to make Lemang, I decided to serve the rendang with tomato rice and cucumber acar on the side. For once, I also got the timing right, that is, I made my rendang a day ahead, rendang normally tastes best eaten at least a day later. There is one missing ingredient, the turmeric leaves, which I can't find but the dish still turned out great!

The rendang paste made from scratch and dry frying the desicated coconut (no fresh ones)