Pizza is the main food group of my two pesky little brothers. They can eat it any time of the day! They say that pizza is a well-balanced diet with carbs (pizza base), veggies (tomato sauce and vegetable toppings), protein (chicken meat, bacon or ham), calcium (cheese) and lots of vitamins. Ok, I can’t disagree with that!

At home, I often come up with easy meals to feed the whole family. Jason is a big fan of pizza, especially no-frills ones like Pizza Margherita or Three Cheese Pizzas. He loves the simplicity of fresh tomato base with tasty cheese, and I agree with him that good quality cheese topping is really essential in bringing out the fresh flavours of a simple pizza.

For this recipe, I chose Perfect Italiano’s Pizza Plus, a superior blend of three delicious types of cheeses: Mozzarella, Parmesan and Cheddar. Mozzarella gives us the super-stretchy texture we’re all familiar with while Parmesan and Cheddar add delightful flavour to our homemade pizza.

I used pumpkin and zucchini as the main toppings as their subtle sweetness and slight crunch doesn’t overwhelm and is a perfect accompaniment to the flavourful cheese. I added a bit of bacon for that extra flavour, but this recipe is great already without it, super if you wish to sneak some vegetables into your kids’ diet!

And if you know me, I am someone who invariably opts for quick and nutritious meals at home, which is why I decided to go with ready-made wheat pita bread as the pizza base. I like the pocket in the middle as compared to a full-on dough base as it puffs up slightly in the oven for a more delightful texture. If you can’t get freshly baked pita from a nearby bakery, you can get them at the supermarket, along where you’d find bread and wraps. Do what works for you and your family and please don’t feel obliged to make everything from scratch. Cooking should be a stress-reliever, not a stressful affair!

I’ve adapted this recipe from the Perfect Italiano‘s website. Their amazing recipe library is full of easy-to-follow recipes to inspire you all-year round.

Perfect Italiano cooking cheese is available in leading supermarkets. Whether you try this recipe or come up with your own creation, remember to share it with me by hashtagging #perfectitalianosg. Pizza as effortless as this? Yes please!

The post Three-Cheese Pita Pizza with Perfect Italiano’s Pizza Plus appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

One of my favourite comfort food is lasagna, but since I need to watch my weight, I can’t have it too often! I pack on the pounds faster than you can say, “Fat!” whenever I start eating more carbs than usual. But that’s ok, I think I have found a great substitute with my no-pasta vegetarian lasagna recipe!

I’m a little obsessed with eggplants – I could eat it every day. I love them stir fried in spicy sauce or dark sauce, in curry fish head, grilled till melty and topped with tuna, and like in this dish, as a substitute for pasta sheets. They work wonderfully with zucchinis, marinara sauce and stretchy mozzarella cheese.

The key thing is to get them melty and tender before popping the baking dish into the oven or airfryer. I’ve seen recipes calling for the eggplant to be steamed, but eggplant always tastes better when in contact with direct heat, where the flesh breaks down into melty heaven. What I do is grilled them under low heat on a frying pan. The flavour burst and texture is phenomenal. You can never achieve this by steaming.

This recipe is vegetarian, but if you prefer, you can add some minced meat, like chicken or beef between the layers to add more flavour and protein. After grilling the eggplants, use the same pan to fry the minced meat, salt and pepper to taste, then add the marinara sauce or tomato paste. There is no need to preheat the sauce if you don’t use meat – just spoon it directly on top of the eggplants in your baking dish.

One secret ingredient that I added is… chopped apples. I find that adding apples lifts the taste of the lasagna and reduces the richness of the dish, making it less tomato-ey and more appetising. I really like it! I served this together with a fresh salad and airfried chicken fillets which I seasoned lightly with Old Bay seasoning. The result? Something I would make again and again!

The post Low-carb lunch idea: Eggplant Lasagna with Apple Marinara appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

Before we know it, we’re into the last two months of 2015. And that means TWO things: HOLIDAY MOOD and FESTIVE FOOD!

The months of November and December are special to my family. With six birthdays and one holiday (my 76-year-old aunt is a Christmas Eve baby!), we are constantly celebrating and eating. And as with all our birthdays and Christmas gatherings, having good food ranks right up there on our agenda – along with the mountain of presents, of course!

This year, I’ve decided to make something new using Perfect Italiano cheese. Perfect Italiano cheese are my family’s favourite. Simple and effortless to use, they transform your everyday meals into gourmet creations perfect for the festive table!

Today, I have a recipe for Tuna, Spinach & Potato Frittata, which uses both Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Cheese has a mild flavour, melts to perfection and has a traditional stretch, perfect for topping my frittata with. Perfect Italiano Parmesan Cheese is matured up to 18 months – which explains its bold, sharp and savoury taste. I like to use it in egg dishes to complement the light flavour. It works wonderfully every time.

This recipe is adapted from Perfect Italiano‘s website, which is full of easy-to-follow recipes to inspire you this festive season. My version is a little easy on the palate, without cream and gravy, but if you prefer a heavier taste, you can add half a bottle of creamy alfredo sauce just before topping it with cheese.

Perfect Italiano cooking cheese is available in leading supermarkets. Whether you try this recipe or come up with your own creation, remember to share it with me by hashtagging #perfectitalianosg. Ready for the step-by-step recipe? Let’s go!

The post Tuna, Spinach and Potato Frittata with Perfect Italiano appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I recreated this recipe from pinchofyum.com because the colours absolutely intrigued me. Look at the colour party right here! Golden crumbed chicken stuffed with spinach, mushrooms and shredded mozzarella, topped with a beautiful red marinara sauce and fresh mozzarella cheese.

I used spinach, just for the colour, in place of sweet basil as I didn’t have any. But I could see (and taste!) how even more delicious this dish would be with the basil. Preparing, cooking, and plating this dish made me imagine I was in a lovely cottage house in the summer, in England, wearing my checkered, rustic apron fixing a home-cooked meal for my family. Ahh..

And I snap back to reality in my 4-room HDB flat in lion-city Singapore. LOLOLOL.

I rolled up a piece of chicken breast stuffed with sauteed mushrooms in a little bit of garlic, spinach wilted with just a bit of olive oil, and some shredded white cheddar cheese. Coat it with a parsley and breadcrumb mixture, brush on a little oil and off into the oven it goes for 25 minutes til golden and crispy.

I then topped it with a marinara sauce (bottled, I cheated!) and fresh sliced mozzarella before putting it back in the oven to bake for another few minutes til the cheese has slightly melted.

I would do something differently the next time: 1) Cook the marinara sauce til they are less liquidy before spooning on top of the chicken. This dish should be drier than what my picture shows so that the crumb can stay crusty. These were a bit too soggy for me but my aunts loved them. 2) Top them with real sweet basil instead of spinach. Haha! and 3) Melt some butter and combined with the breadcrumb mixture before coating the chicken.

I served these with airfried potatoes. I hope you enjoy these baked stuffed chicken as much as my family did!

Tip: you could do a smaller portion, about 2 pieces, in your airfryer!

The post Baked Stuffed Mozzarella Chicken appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I spotted some fresh, beautiful eggplants for sale at my local market and couldn’t resist picking some up. Large, firm, and vibrant with a deep, seductive hue, they were going for a song at 3 for a dollar.

I love eggplant but they’re quite tricky to deal with. I tried airfrying them on their own but because of no oil or moisture, the were not cooked enough and dried out. The thing about eggplants is that they have to be thoroughly cooked.. you just cannot undercook them. I also added them to fish curries, and although they’re quite awesome like that, I don’t think they’ve reached their full potential, flavour wise, when boiled, even if in curry. The best way to cook them, I feel, is by drizzling them with some olive oil, then pan-grilling over low heat on the stove top, til the flesh caramelises into a creamy, luxurious mash while still retaining some bite.

That day, I decided to make eggplant “pizza”. I pan-grilled the eggplant (steps below), topped them with tuna sponsored by the very generous Ayam Brand, sprinkled mozzarella + cheddar cheese, then airfried them for 3 minutes in my Phillips Airfryer, til the cheese had melted and became bubbling hot. For the tuna, I used Ayam Brand’s Spicy Tuna Flakes in Olive Oil:

I added some chilli sauce, chilli paste and chopped shallots and garlic to make it “spreadable” and for extra flavour. I hear they also have “Chilli Tuna Light” so the next time I make this dish, I can just reach straight for the can.

Makes 4 servings (2 pieces each)

What I used:

2 eggplants (= 8 pieces. see preparation notes below)
1 can Ayam Brand Spicy Tuna Flakes in Olive Oil
1 teaspoon chilli sauce
Half teaspoon chilli paste (you can use any sambal-type paste)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 clove shallot, chopped
Shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese, or you can use a combination of both
Olive oil for brushing

1. To prepare eggplant, wash them, slice off the top and bottom, peel in intervals and slice into half length wise, then half again to make 4 pieces per eggplant. Make some deep cuts diagonally across and sprinkle some salt all over. Let them sit for 15 minutes. The salt will draw out the excessive water and the eggplant will absorb less oil when cooking.
2. In the meantime, combine the tuna, chilli sauce, chilli paste, garlic and shallots and set aside.
3. When the 15 minutes are up, pat the eggplants dry with paper towels and brush with olive oil all over.
4. Heat up a flat frying pan using medium heat, then place eggplant face-down to grill. Drizzle a few drops of olive oil if the pan gets too hot. Remove from pan after about 10 minutes but watch the fire. When you notice the purple skin turning light purple and a bit see-through, it’s almost done.
5. Remove eggplant and spoon prepared tuna over. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and airfry for 3 minutes at 180 degrees. Alternatively, bake in oven til cheese melts.
6. Enjoy your piece of heaven!

How much I spent:

$0.65 for eggplant
$0 for tuna as they’re sponsored (retails $2.45 regular price)
$1.50 for cheese
Everything else from my pantry!

Total cost per serving: $1.12
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Some photos to help you:

I prefer to peel in intervals instead of removing all the skin. This way, the eggplant maintains its shape and holds together better.

Make deep cuts before sprinkling salt. Be careful not to cut all the way through.

Some photos to tempt you:

These are really good.

See the beautiful layers and how the eggplant is sooo soft and creamy. (I combined sliced cheese with shredded cheese for this piece. I ran out!)

I really, really hope you try this recipe. They taste sooo good and are a much better option than pizza!

The post Pan-grilled Eggplant with Chilli Tuna and Cheese appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.