Low carb lunch ideas Archives ⋆ Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby

Creamy Garlic Pesto Chicken

Chris-budgetpantry — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 13:21:27 +0000

Still thankful for being able to work from home because this means I can cook more “fancy” dinners like this. Made this with the cooking cream that a kind neighbour blessed us (contactless blessing ok!) cos she doesn’t have the time to cook and doesn’t want to waste food.

I served this with chunky potatoes tonight. The best part? The roasted garlic and peppers! Soooooo good!! Crazy burst of flavours with every mouthful. Hope you’ve had a nice dinner too!

Creamy Garlic Pesto Chicken (budgetpantry.com)
Makes 2-3 servings

What you need:

2 pieces chicken breast, butterflied
15 cloves garlic, smashed
1 small red onion, minced
1 small red pepper, sliced lengthwise
1 small green pepper, sliced lengthwise
2-3 shitake mushrooms, sliced
200ml cooking cream (I use Bulla)
2 tablespoon green pesto
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
Pinch of salt
Flour for dredging

Steps:

Clean and pat dry chicken breast. Dredge in flour and shake off excess.

Heat up 1 tablespoon butter and oil in a skillet. Brown chicken breast for 4 minutes, then turn over and cook for another 4 minutes till done. Remove and set aside.

In the same pan, add remaining butter and scrape the brown bits towards the center. On low heat, fry minced onion, smashed garlic, sliced peppers and mushrooms till wilted and soft.

Mix in the cooking cream and pesto. Stir everything together. Season with salt to taste.

Return the chicken breast to pan and simmer for a minute. Spoon cream over chicken repeatedly as you’re simmering. Serve with chunky potatoes.

ENJOY!!

Note: if you have an airfryer, you can save some time while prepping and extract more flavour out of the peppers and garlic this way: in the baking tray, toss garlic and peppers together with some olive oil. AF at 190C for 15 minutes. Add this mixture along with the oil to step 3.

The post Creamy Garlic Pesto Chicken appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

Leek and cauliflower soup for the family

Chris-budgetpantry — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 08:38:54 +0000

Have you tried Leek and Potato Soup before? Here’s my low carb version!

Cauliflower is an amazing vegetable for people trying to lose weight or need to be on a low carb diet due to medical reasons. They’re such an awesome replacement for potatoes and flour, and can be used in so many ways!

Today, I’m sharing a leek and cauliflower soup recipe that’s great for kids too. Cbb loves this soup and it’s another way I make sure she eats all her vegetables, not that I’m having a hard time getting her to – she eats everything! I often use this as pasta sauce.. just ladle on top of cooked pasta and serve with meat balls for a complete meal.

I use my $49 panasonic handheld blender for this. It’s really one of the most-used tools in my kitchen apart from my airfryer. How often do you make soups like this? Do you have a favourite blender to recommend?

Leek and cauliflower soup for the family (budgetpantry.com)
Serves 6

What you need:

1 tablespoon butter
2 stalks leek
5 stalks celery
1 small head cauliflower
1 large yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
2 bayleaves
2 tablespoons concentrated chicken stock or ikan bilis powder for flavour
Sprinkle of black pepper
Spring onion for garnish
Light dash of salt to taste if needed
Water

Steps:

Chop the leeks, celery, cauliflower and onion into chunks. Set aside.

In a large pot, melt the butter on medium flame and fry the onions, leeks and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the cauliflower, celery and bayleaves. Fill the pot with water until it just covers the vegetables.

Bring to boil and lower flame. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Turn off the flame and allow to cool slightly. Stick the handheld blender directly into the pot and blend to your preferred level of consistency. Add the chicken stock or ikan bilis powder, salt and black pepper to taste.

Garnish with spring onions before serving. It’s great over pasta or eaten with pita bread.

The post Leek and cauliflower soup for the family appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

Guilt-free cauliflower grilled cheese

Chris-budgetpantry — Sat, 10 Mar 2018 16:42:31 +0000

Who else tries to eat as low carb as possible but can’t do without bread?! Hi, we can be friends!

One day, I was craving grilled cheese sandwich (‘grilled cheese’ in short) so much that I literally had to have it immediately.

There was no bread at home as usual but I had a whole head of cauliflower in the fridge. It was a sign that I had to create a low carb version.

The key thing is to squeeze as much water as you can out of the cauliflower. Too much moisture and it’ll fall apart. For the cheeses, I used a mix of shredded sharp cheddar and mozzarella and they turned out perfect. So there you are! An indulgent grilled cheese with minimal guilt.

You’re welcome.

Guilt-free cauliflower grilled cheese (budgetpantry.com)
Makes 2 grilled cheese sandwiches

What you need:
500-600g cauliflower
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
Chopped spring onions
Dash of pepper
Mixed herb flakes
Garlic powder
Shredded cheese of your choice
1 small knob butter
1 tablespoon olive oil

Steps:

Blitz the washed and dried cauliflower in a food processor. Place in a bowl and mix in a teaspoon of salt. Let it sit for 15 minutes to draw out the moisture.

Using cheese cloth or kitchen paper, pat/squeeze the cauliflower to remove as much water as possible.

Return cauliflower to a large bowl. Add egg, spring onions, 1-2 tablespoons of cheese, garlic powder, mixed herbs and pepper. Mix well.

In a frying pan, heat up the half the butter and oil (reserve the other half for the second sandwich) and 2 drop large tablespoons of the mixture in the pan. Spread it out with your spatula and shape into rectangular toast shape. Fry for 2 minutes till brown.

Flip over to cook the other side. Place more shredded cheese on one “toast” and cover with the second piece of “toast”. Press down lightly with your spatula and it’s ready to serve.

The post Guilt-free cauliflower grilled cheese appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

20-minute hearty bean and vegetable soup in an instant pot

Chris-budgetpantry — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 15:25:53 +0000

Yup, this amazing soup is cooked in 20 minutes in my Philips All-in-One cooker, my current obsession. I can cook everything in it!! I love the saute function, and I always saute or brown my ingredients before using the ‘pressure cook’ mode. I save more than half the time using this as compared to using a traditional stove-top pot. Just yesterday, I cooked oyster sauce chicken with carrot and potatoes in 15 minutes. The meat was fall-off-the-bone! What a life-saver this is. I did a short introduction to the all-in-one cooker recently. Click here to read.

Back to the recipe. This is a super versatile soup/stew which I like to make in a large batch and freeze.

The thing I love about this recipe is that it can completely be customised. Although I meal-prep, I don’t have to eat the same meal every day. I can jazz up this dish every day with different ingredients – an egg today, some fish slices tomorrow, or a handful of cabbage the next. These pictures show the creamy soup version. I use my hand-held blender to blend the vegetables into this consistency at the end of cooking. If you prefer a chunkier soup, you don’t have to blend the entire pot. Maybe half the pot or a bit more?

It’s hard to believe, but ALL of these ingredients are blended into the soup:

I didn’t use flour to thicken the soup because there’s no need to. The potatoes and beans are starchy enough to make this really creamy and satisfying.

I’m gonna let you in on my secret ingredient: I add a tablespoon of garlic/ginger paste into this. Yes the Hainanese Chicken Rice paste. I choose one without preservatives, but to be honest, one tablespoon in a giant pot of goodness won’t kill you. You can use any brand from any supermarket. I think it really adds oomph to this dish! Alternatively, you can use grated ginger.

Ready to give this one-pot wonder a try? Let’s go!

Tip: Click here to see my other baby food recipes. Will be adding more soon :) Like my Facebook page or follow @budgetpantry or @chuabeebee on Instagram to be updated on new recipes!

20-minute hearty bean and vegetable soup in an instant pot (budgetpantry.com)
Serves 6

What you need:
6-8 stalks celery
1 large carrot
1 large yellow onion
1 yellow pepper
1 russet potato
2 stalks leek
1 round eggplant
1 can peeled or diced tomatoes
1 can beans (you can use kidney beans/black beans/white beans,etc)
2 handfuls red lentils
1 tablespoon garlic ginger paste or grated ginger
1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
200ml water
2 tablespoons oil
Shredded cheese, optional (for garnish)

Steps:

Peel and dice the celery, carrot, onion, pepper, potato, leek and eggplant.

If using an instant pot or all-in-one cooker:
1. Select the ‘Saute’ option.
2. Wait for the pot to heat up and add the oil. Toss in the white part of the leek, garlic ginger paste or ginger, onion and pepper for 5 minutes.
3. Add the celery and saute everything together for 10 minutes. Follow with the potato, eggplant, carrots, green part of the leek, tomatoes, beans, lentils, cajun seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, salt and water.
4. Seal the pot and select ‘Pressure Cook’ for 20 minutes.
5. Once the pressure is released, wait for the stew to cool down before blending with a hand blender to the consistency you like.

If using a regular pot over the stove:
Follow steps 2 and 3 above. Add water until it just about covers all ingredients. Simmer, half covered for 1 hour. Watch the pot and top up water if needed. Once cooled, use a hand blender to blend into the consistency you like.

Garnish with shredded cheese and serve with a crusty bread roll.

TIP: You can use this as pasta sauce too!

The post 20-minute hearty bean and vegetable soup in an instant pot appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

Homemade Pumpkin Soup

Chris-budgetpantry — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 09:20:40 +0000

I’ve been wanting to own a handheld blender since forever, so I can make soups like this effortlessly! The last time I made a smooth, creamy soup was in 2014, when I cooked my Tomato and Bacon Cream Soup. I didn’t have a handheld blender then, so it was a tedious process of cooking the soup over the stove top, then transferring it in 2-3 batches to my blender/food processor, then returning it to the stove to heat.

I’m SO GLAD this is a thing of the past. Ever since my brother bought me a $39.90 handheld blender (he bought it so I could make him his low carb Cauliflower Shepherd’s Pie), I’ve been thinking of ways to put it to good use. What better dish to cook than an ‘ang moh’ soup?

It’s really easy to make this. Some recipes call for the pumpkin to be roasted till soft (about 50 minutes), then added to a pre-cooked base of onions and stock, before being pureed till smooth. This recipe skips the roasting step but still manages to extract so much flavour from the sweet pumpkins. All I did was sauteed some yellow onions, garlic, celery and carrots in olive oil, then add the chopped pumpkin straight to the pot, followed by a bit of cumin and a litre of chicken stock, before pureeing till smooth. To balance the sweetness of the soup, a pinch of salt is added at the end. Note: I’ve never liked carton chicken stock like Swanson’s because I find it wayyy too salty, so I always either use Woh Hup’s concentrated chicken stock or a bullion cube dissolved in hot water.

To improve the aesthetics of the soup, you could add a drizzle of cooking cream or crème fraîche on top, but it really isn’t necessary. I topped it with roasted pumpkin seeds (waste nothing!) and a dash of coarse black pepper. The entire dish took me about 40 minutes start to finish, including prep time and cleaning up. And with less than 80 calories per serving, you won’t regret making this! Bon Appétit!

Homemade Pumpkin Soup (budgetpantry.com)
Serves: 4
Cost per serving: $2.05

What you need:
1 kg pumpkin, peeled, deseeded (reserve seeds) and chopped into cubes
1 medium carrot, chopped into cubes
1 stalk celery, chopped into cubes
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 flat teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoon concentrated chicken stock dissolved in 1.2 litres water (or you could use one chicken/vegetable bullion cube)
Pinch of salt
Pumpkin seeds, as topping
Dash of coarse black pepper

Steps:

In a large saucepan, heat up the olive oil and sauteed onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the chopped celery and carrots. Fry for a few minutes then add the cumin.

Follow with chopped pumpkin and stock. Simmer for 20 minutes till vegetables are soft. In the meantime, roast the pumpkin seeds on a flat baking dish in a 170C oven for 10 minutes. Set aside when done.

When the vegetables are tender, add salt to taste (a pinch will do) and allow to cool slightly, then blend till smooth with a hand blender. You can also use a blender or food processor. Add some hot water if it’s too thick. Top with roasted pumpkin seeds and a dash of black pepper before serving.

How much I spent:

$7.60 for pumpkin
$0.30 for carrot
$0.30 for onion
Everything else from my pantry

The post Homemade Pumpkin Soup appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.