Turkey Pot Pie, an annual post Thanksgiving brunch or lunch meal for our family. It was a great Thanksgiving weekend for us. We had successfully roasted a whole turkey by ourselves and it turned out pretty good. With the leftovers, it is a tradition for us to make Turkey Pot Pies over the weekend for lunch. The kids love it and even requested to have them again the next day! It is a really simple recipe, using the leftovers you had from your Thanksgiving dinner or with meat that you have in your refrigerator - chicken, ham etc. Another great way to eat down your refrigerator and pantry.

Turkey Pot Pie
by Miss Crumbs-A-Lot

Recipe
Ingredients
5 cups Turkey Meat (shredded or cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
3 cups Mushrooms (quartered)
1 1/2 cups Frozen Mixed Vegetables
1 cup Celery (cut into 1/4 inch pieces)
4 cups Turkey Gravy or Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup
1 tsp Black Pepper Powder
1 tsp Dried Parsley Flakes
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp Garlic (minced)
Pillsbury Pie Crust

Cooking Method
1. Heat oil in pot and gently fry garlic till fragrant.
2. Add turkey meat, mushrooms and celery, continue cooking till mushrooms & celery are slightly softened.
3. Add mixed vegetables and gravy or condensed soup and mix well. Bring to a boil.
4. Season with black pepper powder and parsley flakes. (Bear in mind if you used leftover turkey, the meat has been seasoned already so salt may not be necessary. And because our turkey was herb roasted, I did not add any more herbs. If using unseasoned meat, feel free to add fresh or dried herbs.)
5. Spoon pie mixture into ramekin dish and top with pie crust (cut to size of your ramekin dish). Cut a couple of slits for venting.
6. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 min.

Broiled Honey Soy salmon, an excellent simple, quick and easy meal, that can be prepared with minimal effort. The sweet, tangy and salty marinate also doubles as a sauce. Serve it with a side of rice or potatoes with your choice of vegetables and it is a complete meal.

Broiled Honey Soy Salmon
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, adapted from Eating Well

Recipe
Ingredients
1 to 1 1/2 lbs Salmon Fillet
3 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp Honey
1 oz Ginger (minced)
5 cloves Garlic (minced)
Spring Onions (chopped)
Sesame Seeds

Cooking Method
1. Mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, ginger, garlic and spring onions in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Cut salmon into 2 inch thick slices. Transfer into a ziplock bag.
3. Marinate salmon in bag with 4 tbsp of sauce and set aside remaining sauce.
4. Grease baking tray.
5. Line salon on baking tray and broil on high for 6 to 9 min.
6. Pour remaining sauce into a small sauce pot and warm up.
7. Drizzle sauce over the cooked salmon and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes and choice of vegetables.

Sweet Potato Cupcakes, a scrumptious and easy recipe that is so apt for Thanksgiving! This week, Jamie's preschool had their annual Thanksgiving dinner for the students & teachers and  their families. There was the traditional Thanksgiving feast and each family signed up to bring a dish.
We made these Sweet Potato Cupcakes is so quick and simple. I am so amazed at how versatile this root vegetable is, from side dishes to delicious desserts. And not mention how much vitamin this sensational sweet spud packs!

Sweet Potato Cupcakes
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, adapted from "Better Homes and Gardens"

Recipe
Ingredients - Cupcakes
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1 cup Butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups Sugar
3 Eggs
1 17.2 oz can Sweet Potatoes (mashed)
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence

Ingredients - Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8 oz Package Cream Cheese (softened)
2/3 cup butter (softened)
2 tbsp Milk
8 cups Powdered Sugar
Orange Sprinkles or Sugar

Cooking Method
1. Beat cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl for about 30 sec.
2. Add milk and mix well.
3. Beat in powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until it is smooth and of good piping consistency. Set aside.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper bake ups and set aside.
5. Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt together and set aside.
6. Beat butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until it is light and fluffy. 
7. Add eggs, one and a time and continue beating until combined.
8. Add sweet potatoes and vanilla essence, continue beating until combined.
9. Add flour mixture and continue beating until combined. At this point, the batter will be thick.
10. Divide the batter evenly among the lined muffin cups.
11. Bake for 20 min or until cooked. Test by inserting a skewer into the cake, if it comes out clean and without any batter, it is ready.
12. Cool cupcakes before frosting and decorating with sprinkles.

Makes 24 to 32 cupcakes (depending on size)

Chicken Donburi, a flavorful Japanese rice bowl topped with meat that is hearty one dish meal. If there is any other cuisine that we enjoy the most besides Singaporean cuisine, it would be Japanese. There are many authentic Japanese dining spots in Singapore - from traditional and regional foods of Japan to foreign influenced dishes such as curries and hamburgers. Japanese cuisine is also generating quite a buzz in Houston, from the many modern Japanese restaurants that the city has, to the famed sushi restaurant Nobu that is scheduled for a late 2017 debut.
Japanese dining does not always have to involve raw seafood and can be done quite simply at home. Donburi is a Japanese rice bowl dish consisting of fish, meat, vegetables or other ingredients that is served over rice. It can be made with almost any ingredient, even leftovers - a great recipe to have if eating down the pantry or refrigerator is a family practice for you.
This recipe is quick and simple, another perfect weeknight dish. I am always able to prepare this dish really quickly and with a side of miso soup, you have a complete meal.

Chicken Donburi
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, adapted from cookbook "The Slow Cooking Bible"

Recipe
Ingredients
2 cups Short-Grain Rice
2 tbsp oil
2 pieces Skinless Chicken Breast (cut into thin strips)
1 Large Onion (thinly sliced)
1/3 cup Shoyu (Japanese Soy Sauce)
2 tbsp Mirin (Sweet Rice Wine)
1 tsp Dashi Granules
5 Eggs (lightly beaten)
1 packet Salted Seaweed (snack sized) (cut into thin strips)
2 Spring Onions (Scallions) (sliced)

Cooking Method
1. Rinse and drain rice and cook in a rice cooker, according to instructions.
​2. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan over high heat. Once hot, add chicken and stir fry until tender and cooked. Remove from wok or pan and set aside.
3. Reheat wok or pan, add onions and stir fry for 3 min or until it is lightly caramelized and soft.
4. Add 1/3 cup of water, shoyu, mirin, and daishi granules. Mix well and bring to boil. Cook for another 3 min.
5. Return chicken into the wok or pan and add in beaten eggs, stirring gently to break up the eggs.
6. Cover and simmer on low heat for 2 to 3 min, or until egg is cooked and set. Remove from heat.
7. Place cooked rice in a bowl, spoon over the chicken and egg mixture and top with seaweed strips. Garnish with spring onions.

As much as I enjoying cooking up a storm in the kitchen for my family, every now and then, it is nice to take a break and eat out instead. Living in between Katy and West Houston has given us great opportunities to venture into the city where the food scene is ever so vibrant. Katy's dining scene has come a long way too, from the standard chain restaurants and fast food joints. The suburban city has evolved so much in the past 5 years.
We are starting to see many local farm-to-table type restaurants out here in the West. Last weekend, we decided to try out a newly opened Dallas based, farm-to-kitchen restaurant, Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar, for lunch. I was pleasantly surprised at how family friendly this spot is, perfect for many Katy residents.
The restaurant had a nice and airy warehouse feel with a prohibition era decor. As you enter, you are greeted with an impressive central bar, an exhibition kitchen and a very extensive Bloody Mary counter. It has a large porch with 2 hanging rattan chairs where my kids hung out while waiting for their food to be ready.
Service staff were friendly and knew their menu well. They pride themselves in being a restaurant that makes everything from scratch daily and never utilizes a microwave machine (our server made sure we knew that). 

I went with the French Toast Monte Cristo as recommended by our server. The portion was very generous and it was delicious. The raspberry balsamic preserves brought a nice tangy balance to the sweetness of the maple syrup and the saltiness of the ham and cheese. 
Kian and my mom each had the Chicken Waffle. The waffles had a great texture, light and fluffy, and the house sausage gravy was very tasty, but we'd wish they had the gravy on the side. The chicken tenders were doused in the gravy and, unfortunately, no longer crispy. I'll definitely ask to have the gravy on the size when I have this dish again.
The kids had Mac and Cheese which came with French Fries. It looks freshly made, not the microwavable ones. Fries were a little soggy but that didn't bother the kids.
We also had the Turducken Meatballs to share. That, honestly, was nothing special. Flavors were bland and the dish did not look appetizing to me at all.
We finished off our meal with a Whiskey Cake, And that was amazing. Kian, who does not have a sweet tooth, took a bite and went "OMG! That's so good!". The kids particularly liked the freshly whipped cream that came with it. 
Overall, it was a great experience at Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar. Kian and I are already planning on coming back again for a date night to try the dinner menu. 

Chinese Char Siu Pork (Pot Roast Style), an extremely simple and easy to make recipe. Char Siu, which literally means "fork roast", is a popular way to flavor and prepare barbecue pork in Chinese cuisine. Traditionally, long strips of marinated pork is skewered and cooked in an oven or over a fire.
In Singapore, slices of Char Siu is often served with rice, drizzled with a sweet gravy. It is also served as one of the toppings for Wonton Noodles. Or it is chopped up and made into meat filling for dim sum buns.
In this recipe, the pork is cooked pot roast style, slowly over low heat to ensure the meat is tender and flavorful. The recipe is simple and may be used with pork ribs or even pork belly.

Chinese Char Siu Pork (Pot Roast Style)
by Miss Crumbs-A-Lot

Recipe
Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs Pork Tenderloin
6 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
2 tsp Oyster Sauce
4 tbsp Sugar
4 tsp Light Soy Sauce
4 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Shao Xing Cooking Wine
2 tbsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Sesame Oil
15 drops Red Food Coloring

Cooking Method
1. Marinate pork tenderloins with all ingredients overnight.
2. Heat non-stick wok or pot (with a thick base) on high heat.
3. Once hot, lower heat to medium or medium/low. Place marinated pork tenderloins in wok/pot and let it cook, covered. Set remaining marinate aside.
4. Turn meat occasionally, once every 7 to 10 min, basting it with marinate.
5. Cook for about 30 min or until internal meat temperature of 165 to 170 degrees.
6. Transfer the remaining marinate into a small sauce pot and cook till gravy bubbles and thickens.
7. Slice pork and serve with gravy and rice, if desired.

Caramelized Chicken, one of our all time favorite dish that my mom makes, which is also extremely easy to prepare. My mom is in town for the holidays and it has been a real treat for all of us at home. Bella & Jamie are having a ball spending quality time with their Granny. Like me, my mom loves to cook too. She is a great cook and I always enjoy learning her recipes as well as exploring new ones with her.
Caramelized Chicken is a simple 6-ingredient recipe that can be whipped up in no time. The sauce is extremely appetizing, very fragrant and flavorful - so tasty that all you need is white rice and a huge appetite.

Caramelized Chicken
by Miss Crumbs-A-Lot

Recipe
Ingredients
1 Whole Chicken (approx. 5 lb)
10 cloves Garlic
3 oz Ginger
120 ml Honey
2 tbsp Fish Sauce
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Oil

Cooking Method
1. Remove excess fat from chicken and cut into medium sized chunks.
2. Skin ginger, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, lightly smash each piece and set aside.
3. Peel garlic, lightly smash each clove and set aside.
4. Mix honey, fish sauce and soy sauce in a bowl and set aside.
5. Heat oil and stir fry ginger and garlic until golden brown and fragrant.
6. Add chicken pieces and continue stir frying for 2 to 3 min or until chicken pieces are slightly brown.
7. Add sauce and simmer covered on high heat for 15 min, stirring occasionally.
8. At this point, the sauce should be slightly thickened, lower heat to medium and continue simmering uncovered for 10 min, stirring occasionally.
9. Once sauce is thick and sticky, glazing the chicken, it is ready. If sauce is too dry, you may add 1 to 2 tbsp water.
​10. Serve warm with rice, if desired.

Radish Cake is one of the popular Dim Sum dishes and our favorite as well. Dim Sum - a style of Chinese cuisine, most commonly Cantonese, prepared as small bite size portions served on little bamboo steamer baskets or on small plates. I consider Dim Sum to be a great brunch alternative. Traditional Dim Sum often include a variety of buns, dumplings, little tarts & cakes (sweet & savory) and petite portions of meat and vegetable dishes. I've always enjoyed a Dim Sum brunch because of the variety of dishes that I'd get to eat. 
Radish Cake is made with radish or daikon and often pan-fried till crispy and crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside before serving. You may consume it without frying and it will just be soft overall. We like it fried and often have it for breakfast.

Radish Cake
by Miss Crumbs-A-Lot

Recipe
Ingredients
250 g Rice Flour
300 g Radish or Daikon (shredded)
650 - 750 ml Water (depending on how dense you'd like your cake to be)
4 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (soaked and thinly sliced)
1/8 cup Dried Shrimps (rinsed and finely chopped)
2 Chinese Sausages (finely diced)
1 tbsp Oil
2 tsp Salt

Cooking Method
1. Heat oil and stir fry dried shrimps till fragrant. Add Chinese sausages and fry for 1 to 2 min.
2. Add mushrooms and radish and mix well. Season with salt. Remove from heat
3. Mix flour and water in a large bowl.
4. Add radish mix into flour water mix. Stir well.
5. Transfer the mixture into an 8 inch square pan.
6. Steam cook for 1 hour or until firm.
7. Remove from heat and let it cool and set. Refrigerate it for 3 to 4 hours or overnight.
8. Cut radish cake into slices and pan fry before serving. 

Wonton Noodles are usually served dry with a saucy seasoning, almost aglio olio-like (which is our favorite way of having it) or they can be served in a hot broth. Smooth & thin egg noodles is used and must be cooked just right - al dente style.
It is a simple dish but does require a bit of preparation. You almost need to have a little production line and once you have that going, you'd be able to churn out bowls of Wonton Noodles really quickly and easily.

Wonton Noodles
by Miss Crumbs-A-Lot

Recipe
Ingredients (Per Serving)
Wonton Noodles (thin)
1 tsp Nonya Sambal Chilli Sauce
1/2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp Light Soy Sauce
1/8 tsp Sesame Oil
1 1/2 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
Choy Sum (Chinese Flowering Cabbage) or Kai Lan (Chinese Kale)
Fried Fish Cake
3 to 5 pieces of Homemade Wontons
Wonton Broth Mix
Water

Cooking Method
1. Prepare wonton broth according to instructions in a pot and set aside.
2. Prepare 2 pots of water & bring it to boil and 1 pot of cold water on the side.
3. Cut fried fish cake into thin slices and set aside.
4. Rinse & cut choy sum or kai lan into 3 inch long strips, blanch them in the 1st pot of hot water and set aside.
5. Cook homemade wontons in the 2nd pot of boiling water.
6. Prepare noodle seasoning by mixing the nonya sambal chill sauce, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil and tomato ketchup in a bowl and set aside.
7. Cook wonton noodles in a deep sieve in the 1st pot of hot boiling water for 1 to 2 min, using a pair of chopsticks or a fork to loosen the noodles.
8. Strain the noodles quickly and dunk it in to the pot of cook water for 3 to 5 sec.
9. Strain the noodles quickly again and dunk it back in to the pot of hot boiling water for about 30 sec.
10. Strain the noodles one last time and place it into the bowl of seasoning.
11. Top with cooked homemade wontons, choy sum or kai lan and fried fish cakes.
12. Served immediately with a side of wonton broth.
13. Toss the noodles in the seasoning and enjoy!