Category: Lifestyle

Leftover Pepper-steak and beans

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Last week I made Peppersteak pie, I made too much meat and although I made 4 pies I still had ample leftover meat. So the very next day I mixed my leftover steak with some green string beans and this was the result. Its easy to make it from scratch and relatively healthy. The meat was extremely tender even after leaving it in the fridge over-night. You can also add a side dish like mashed potatoes.

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Ingredients (Serves 4)

  • 500g Green string beans (frozen)
  • 5oog steak
  • 1/2 cup flour seasoned with salt & pepper ( you can add more if you have more meat)
  • olive oil for frying
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 5 mushrooms
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1x 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup Worcester sauce
  • 1-2 tablespoons cracked black pepper (to taste)
  • 1/2 cup merlot
  • salt to taste

img_6414Directions. 

  1. Marinade the meat in the Worcester sauce for about 30-60 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
  3. In a large pan, put a generous amount of olive oil
  4. Coat the meat with the seasoned flour mixture and shake off any excess flour. Put it in the frying pan and fry until golden brown.
  5. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. In the same pan fry the onions, garlic and mushrooms.
  6. Add the chopped tomatoes, merlot, rosemary, thyme, pepper and excess Worcester sauce.
  7. Add the meat back into the pan and simmer for 10-15 minutes. The meat should already be soft enough so no need to cook it for longer than that.
  8. Boil the beans until tender
  9. Mix everything together and serve.

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Fashion blogger Style.

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A few weeks ago I ranted about fashion bloggers not always linking the ‘actual’ outfits that they wear but rather other products from companies they are affiliated with. This outfit was not one of them.

A few weeks ago I saw this cute little outfit, especially with the boots. and found out that it was from Lulu’s

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDAD414hvQn/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCeeLEThvYg/

I bought the dress in black and bought the boots in grey and black (because they were really cheap) It was my first time buying from them and I have to say that I was really impressed with the quality of the clothes and the delivery speed. My items arrived whithin 2 weeks. I bought a dress from Asos before that and the dress only arrived after my package from Lulu’s so… very happy 🙂

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The boots are nice and warm, and the dress is a all year kind of dress. On colder days I roll down the sleeves and wear a warm shirt underneath.

If you like this outfit, here are the links Shirt Dress, Grey Boots, Black Boots

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5 Fantastic Ideas to spice up a boring bowl of rice

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Personally I’ve never been a fan of rice. It always tasted bland and flavourless. It wasn’t until I met my mother-in-law that I started eating rice. What was the difference. My mother-in-law always made spiced rice. My favourite of course is the Spanish rice, but since then I’ve been trying other variations of spiced rice recipe’s. All these recipe’s can be adjusted to suit vegetarians by removing the fish or meat.

Spanish Rice

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Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 c. uncooked white rice ( I like to use Basmati Rice)
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • ½  onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¼ tsp. paprika
  • ¼ tsp. black pepper
  • 1 green pepper diced
  • 2 Tomatoes diced
  • 1 (14.5oz) can low sodium chicken broth or 1 cube chicken stock

Saute the garlic, onion and green pepper. When the onion is golden brown, add the tomato, paprika, black pepper and chicken stock. Stir every now and again until the chicken stock has dissolved. Ad the cup of rice and fry together for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and cook the rice as you normally would, until all the water cooked away. Sprinkle with some fresh parsley and serve.

Alternatively you can try this recipe here.

Thai Pineapple Fried rice

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INGREDIENTS
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil or quality vegetable oil, divided
  • 2 eggs, beaten with a dash of salt
  • 1½ cups chopped fresh pineapple
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • ¾ cup chopped green onions (about ½ bunch)
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
  • ½ cup chopped raw, unsalted cashews
  • 2 cups cooked and chilled brown rice*, preferably long-grain brown jasmine rice
  • 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce or sriracha
  • 1 small lime, halved
  • Salt, to taste
  • Handful of fresh cilantro leaves, torn into little pieces, for garnishing

Full Recipe Here 

Sweet Chilli Salmon Rice 

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INGREDIENTS

  • 1 pound salmon filet, cut into chunks
  • a pinch of salt and pepper
  • 1 bunch of green onions, sliced into ½ to 1 inche pieces
  • ¼ sweet chili sauce, plus extra for topping if desired
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro (we love lots of cilantro)
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1-2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • 2 limes, sliced

Full Recipe Here

Tropical Coconut Pineapple Rice

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INGREDIENTS

  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked long grained rice rinsed until water runs clear
  • 1 – 20 oz .can crushed pineapple in pineapple juice
  • 1 – 13.5 oz .can unsweetened coconut milk
  • 3 Tbsp sweetened coconut flakes
  • 1 Tbsp Thai red curry paste
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper
  • FOR THE GARNISH:
  • 3 Tbsp lime juice or to taste
  • 1/2 cup salted roasted cashews
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped

Full Recipe Here

Spicy Thai Basil Fried Rice

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INGREDIENTS

  • Basmati rice- 2 cups Onions-
  • 2 (sliced) Bell peppers (capsicum)
  • 2 (sliced) Carrots- 2 (chopped) Tomato
  • 1 (chopped) Ginger- 1tsp (grated) Garlic
  • 1tsp (crushed) Red chilli paste
  • 2tsp Soy sauce- 1tsp Sugar
  • 1tsp Basil leaves
  • 1 cup (chopped) Salt
  • as per taste Oil
  • 1tbsp Water- 4 cups

Full Recipe Here

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1920’s Wedding/Party Ideas

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“In the 1920’s the Parties were bigger, the pace was faster, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the morals were looser and the liqueur was cheaper.” F.Scott, Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby

A few years ago we had a 1920’s theme murder mystery party. Everyone dressed and acted according to their character descriptions. It was great fun. No-one was who you thought they were. They were new and different people, the ones you trusted you couldn’t trust anymore…

In addition to our little party “the Gatsby Theme’ is something that has taken over parties and even weddings. Here are a few great ideas to incorporate into your event if you want the ROARING 20’s to make its appearance.

The Hair

Short bobbed hair and the finger wave and headbands was the thing to have, but if you have long hair you can still pull off a 1920’s look

 

Headband

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Some more stunning hair ideas here

The dress

The flapper dress was a rectangular dress that showed none of the female curves but more modern versions of the dress is created to exemplify femininity.

The suit (Male outfit ideas)

In the 1920’s clothes weren’t tailored to fit you the way it is today therefore the men were loose fitting suits. Outfits often included wearing a polo shirt with a leather jacket for a more casual look but mostly gangsters dressed in suits to show that they were ‘business’ men.

The invitations

The Great Gatsby movie showed off the decadence of that era, and so should your invitations. Adorn them with cold, pearls,lace, diamonds and feathers.

The flowers

Be ostentatious, instead of only using flowers, you can use feathers, and gold painted tree branches adorned with pearls, and other jewels. If you have the’ dough’ to spend you can also add some white orchids or lilies to your arrangements.

The decor

DIY ideas

There are some awesome DIY ideas on the net that ranges from glittered feathers and bowls to gold painted tree branches and balloons. Decorating any of these with pearls, diamonds or glitter will also do the trick

1920’s Slang

When hosting a 1920’s dinner party or event adding some 1920’s slang on your stationary will also give your party a more mafia/gangster feel.

  • all wet – totally wrong
  • attaboy or attagirl – great job! (From “That’s a boy!”)
  • baloney – nonsense
  • beef – a problem
  • bimbo – a tough guy
  • darb – great
  • doll – an attractive woman
  • dough – money
  • gams – legs
  • gay – happy – never used as slang for homosexual
  • get-up – an outfit, clothing
  • high hat – a snob
  • hip to the jive – trendy
  • jack – money
  • joint – an establishment
  • line – a false story or lie
  • lollapalooza – a humdinger or wonderful time
  • live wire – lively person
  • razz – to make fun of
  • rats! – how disappointing!
  • rummy – a drunk
  • sap – a fool or idiot
  • shiv – a knife
  • skirt – a woman
  • spill – to talk
  • swanky – elegant
  • tight – attractive
  • vamp – to flirt with or seduce
  • wet blanket – a kill-joy
  • whoopee – wild fun
  • beat your gums – talk idly
  • beat it! – get out of here
  • don’t know from nothing – doesn’t have any information
  • don’t take any wooden dimes – don’t get cheated
  • get a wiggle on – start moving
  • I have to see a man about a dog! – I need to leave now (usually to buy illegal alcohol)
  • left holding the bag – to be blamed for something
  • mind your potatoes – mind your own business
  • now you’re on the trolley! – now you’ve got it!
  • puttin’ on the Ritz – doing something in style
  • take someone for a ride – to drive someone to an isolated spot and kill them
  • tell it to Sweeney! – tell it to someone who cares!

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Pepper Steak Pie- A hot meal for cold weekends

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This weekend was the first of many expected cold weekends. Its when its not quite winter yet but its already becoming more comfortable to just stay indoors. In the spirit of upcoming winter I decided to make us Pepper-steak pies. The last time I even had a proper pie was before we left home 2 years ago. Its pretty hard to get hold of puff pastry here in Korea so frankly I didn’t even bother with any kind of pie, but since I’ve been craving Pepper steak Pie for over a month now, I’ve decided its time to make it.

I had to start with the puff pastry. I’ve never made my own but I have to say, I don’t think I will ever buy puff pastry again. It just isn’t the same.Home made pastry just melts in your mouth. Admittedly, it takes much longer to make than store bought pastry but if you make a big batch, you can use it more than once.

I used a Rough-puff Pastry recipe from the BBCgoodfoodblog by Gordan Ramsey

TO make this you will need (makes 4 pies)

  • 250g strong plain flour
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 250g butter , at room temperature, but not soft
  • about 150ml cold water

 

Pepper steak Pie (makes 4 pies)

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For the Pie filling

Ingredients

  • 5oog steak
  • 1/2 cup flour seasoned with salt & pepper ( you can add more if you have more meat)
  • olive oil for frying
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 5 mushrooms
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1x 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup Worcester sauce
  • 1-2 tablespoons cracked black pepper (to taste)
  • 1/2 cup merlot
  • salt to taste
  • 1 egg, beaten ( to brush on top of the pastry)

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Directions. 

  1. Marinade the meat in the Worcester sauce for about 30-60 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
  3. In a large pan, put a generous amount of olive oil
  4. Coat the meat with the seasoned flour mixture and shake off any excess flour. Put it in the frying pan and fry until golden brown.
  5. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. In the same pan fry the onions, garlic and mushrooms.
  6. Add the chopped tomatoes, merlot, rosemary, thyme, pepper and excess Worcester sauce.
  7. Add the meat back into the pan and simmer for 10-15 minutes. The meat should already be soft enough so no need to cook it for longer than that.
  8. Roll out the puff pastry and cut 2 circles for each pie. I used a breakfast bowl and pressed down hard on the pastry as I don’t have any fancy equipment.
  9. Lay the circles on a baking pan, scoop in about 1-2 teaspoons of the meat mixture.
  10. Brush the edges of the dish with beaten egg and roll over the puff pastry. Trim the edges then brush with the remaining egg.
  11. Make an incision at the top of the pastry in order for the steam to escape.
  12. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
  13. Remove from the oven and serve.

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