Thursday, January 21, 2016

Homemade Two-Ingredient Mini Pizza Dough

Now that Babycakes is in kindergarten, I have to prepare a snack/lunch box for her to eat in school. I love looking at recipes and get inspirations from other people's postings be it in facebook, pinterest or blogs. I also joined several food related groups on facebook and I got a recipe for mini pizzas using only two ingredients for the dough. It sounds too good to be true and I was curious and eager to try it. Normally a pizza dough requires yeast but you won't believe it when I say this pizza dough uses only flour and yogurt.
The recipe I saw on the facebook group Lunchbox Ideas For Kids (sorry the group is private but you may request to join, subject to the admin's approval) calls for the use of greek yoghurt. However I simply used this normal plain fresh yoghurt. I am not sure if the texture with greek yoghurt differs though. All you have to do is mix 1.5 cups self raising flour with 1 cup yoghurt or greek yoghurt in a large bowl. The dough will be sticky so you may add flour to your hands. Transfer the mixture onto a kneading board or mat and flour the mat and your hands evenly. Knead the dough until mixed and with this measurement, I made into 8 mini balls which I then flatten to form a pizza base.
In the meantime, prepare your toppings accordingly. I used Prego pasta sauce, chicken balls sliced thinly, shitake mushrooms and cheddar cheese. I wish I have mozarella cheese but they are just so expensive and since this is my first time trying this recipe, sliced cheddar cheese will do for now.
Once the dough and the toppings are ready, it is time to assemble your mini pizzas. You may get your little kids to help with this process. Babycakes helped me with the chicken slices, mushrooms and the cheese.
Clearly my pizza dough were out of shape but heck who cares! Bake in a preheated oven at 160 degrees celcius (oven temperature may vary so test your oven accordingly) until golden brown for about 15 minutes, depending on your pizza size and the thickness of your dough. What I notice is that if the dough is thick and doesn't bake long enough, the dough turns out a bit dough-ey so you may adjust the thickness if you prefer a crispy thin base. We tried one piece last night and Babycakes approved the pizzas so obviously these were packed in her lunchbox today. That's the reason why I made them in the first place anyway. I asked her if she wants me to cut the pizza into four pieces. She said she wants only two pieces because four pieces is too much and she may not finish. This reminds me of a joke I once read. Oh my Babycakes! Please do not inherit mummy's lack of mathematical skills. *cry*  
I also packed two little pieces for Babypie, a few for myself and 1 piece for hubby's breakfast while three more pieces were kept in a ziplock bag and thrown into the freezer for other days. Yay!

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

My Kind of Dinner

I am always on the lookout for one meal dishes or one pot meals for dinner because as much as I love cooking for my little family, I just hate the cleaning up part. Even though I am tempted to buy food from outside, I try to refrain from doing so too often because I have two small kids and I need them to eat healthily and by cooking for them, I know exactly what is inside the dishes. Bonus is when I cook extra for the next day's breakfast/lunch/snack. One of the easiest meals which I always cook is chicken soup with vegetables. This soup is versatile that I can either eat with rice, noodles like meehoon, yellow mee, mee suah or macaroni. My kids love soups and to be honest I don't mind cooking this a few times a week. It is also healthier than having fried stuffs. Oh, it also saves up on the cleaning up!

This is a bowl of mee suah with chicken balls, shitake mushrooms, chinese cabbage and carrots. Clearly I have too much in my fridge that day. This is one way to get the kids to eat their veges. This time I used a chicken stock cube to flavour the soup. Technically this is not a one pot meal because I fried some shallots and garlic in butter and a bit of olive oil in a separate frying pan. When the onions are fragrant, I poured the mixture into the pot of boiling soup. This brings out the flavour even more. So there you go, comfort food in a bowl.

Monday, January 18, 2016

We met Po from Kungfu Panda in Sunway Pyramid!

Do you remember Po, the ubiquitous panda bear from Kung Fu Panda? Believe it or not, there will be a third installation of the much loved animation which will be out in the cinemas on 10 March 2016! I sure can't wait to see Po and his friends back in action and I wonder what mischief and adventures that Po will get himself into this time!
 
However, if you feel like waiting to see Po in March is still a long way to go, fret not as you can catch Po live in action in Sunway Pyramid!
Yup, that's the big guy himself! Sunway Pyramid decided to usher into the lunar new year by transforming its orange concourse area into Po's village!  


   
  
 There is a huge lantern hanging above the village which really adds to the festive vibes.

 
Babypie was in awe with the huge lantern and the amazing 'village' that he couldn't wait to get out of his stroller! Seen here he was holding a monkey plush toy, which is redeemable upon purchase at Sunway Pyramid. As 2016 is the year of the Fire Monkey, the mall will be rewarding shoppers with adorable monkey plush toys.  From the 8 till 21 of January, shoppers who spend more than RM1000 in 3 receipts (RM800 for HSBC cardholders) will be able to redeem the monkey plush toys, while those who shop from 22 January till 9 February will receive a mini Panda blankie. Throughout both duration, shoppers who spend RM250 and above (RM150 for HSBC cardholders) will be rewarded with JoyFU angpau packets.
There are a few activities where kids can take part in. For example, they can colour pictures from the Kung Fu Panda movies and the characters from the movies.
 
 Babycakes and Babypie had a nice time colouring some pictures with Faber Castell colour pencils.
Babycakes showing off her colouring page. 
  
As for Babypie, he didn't actually colour anything. He was just busy playing with the colour pencils.
There was also a free face painting session but obviously the queue was long so while waiting, Babycakes decided to strike a few poses, in her panda dress.

Finally it was her turn!
There are a lot of designs to choose from. Most kids chose a character from Kungfu Panda but Babycakes decided to choose a flower design on her arm. 
Done!
While Mummy and Babycakes were queuing for the face painting session, Daddy and Babypie went over to another booth to create their own panda balloon. All they had to do was cut the ears, eyes, mouth and nose of a panda and stick them onto the white balloons which were readily available. DIY your own panda balloon! This is an awesome idea for a panda-themed party.
 
Those who love the traditional Beard Candy and Ting-Ting candy or are in need of new oriental outfits will be able to find them easily in the mall. With over 900 shops to wander, the mall is a perfect choice for festive shopping and dining.Be sure to wear comfy shoes!
 
 
 
You can also take pictures with Po when he makes an appearance in his village. We didn't manage to get a picture with Po but I was lucky that Po was very close to me that I managed to take several of his pics. You can also take an instant picture at the village and have the picture printed on the spot. It was a very fun event and I bet your kids will love seeing Po. Do head on over to Sunway Pyramid to catch Po and don't forget to watch Kungfu Panda 3 in the cinemas in March! For more info, log on to Sunway Pyramid's official website. Have a BountiFu Spring and Happy Chinese New Year!