Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Fish & Chips

It's been a while since I cooked a western meal for my family. Thought it might be a good idea to change the menu and surprise the family with a western meal.

Fish & chips should be simple. So this is what I made for them.

I cheated as I used a store bought Tempura Black Pepper Fish Fillet.

There were altogether 5 pieces in a box. Just nice for my family as we only need a piece each. So I deep fried them and also some shoe strings / French fries. For the greens, I stir fried some baby French beans with garlic. To add color, I throw in some cherry tomatoes. And Viola... this is a meal.

My children love mashed potatoes. To brighten up their day even more, I made them some creamy mashed potatoes to compliment this dish. Made it earlier in the day as my schedule in the evening was rather packed on that day.

This is a great recipe and the mashed potatoes is so delectable. and creamy.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

1 kg potatoes

1/3 cup butter

100gm cream cheese (softened)

1/3 cup whipping cream

Seasoning

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Method :

• Peel potatoes and cut the into small pieces (similar size)
• Boil the potatoes in a big pot of water for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through or soft.
• Drain the potatoes and put them back into a dry pot.
• Mash the potatoes over a low heat to allow all the steam to escape.
• Remove the pot from the stove and add in all the rest of the ingredients.
• Continue mashing till creamy before adding the seasoning.

Note : If you prepare this dish way ahead of time, you can let it cool down and store in the fridge (for up to 2 days). To serve, make sure you take it out from the fridge for at least 2-3 hours. Throw a few pats of butter on top and bake it in the oven at 180C/350F for about 20 mins or till the potatoes warmed through.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Last week my gym buddies decided to have a breakfast potluck after our routine morning gym workout. I did not have much time to prepare something extravagant. So I optioned to make cookies. Since we are working towards a healthy living, I searched the blogsphere for a healthy chocolate cookie.

I stumbled upon an easy and yummilious recipe from one of my favourite food blog "Happy Home Baking". It's called Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie. The ingredients used are much healthier than the normal chocolate cookie. So I decide to get my hands dirty on it. Baked 2 batches (1 for the family and the other for my gym buddies).

Some of my cookies are slightly overbaked (so they are crispier)

I (and the rest of those who consumed my bakes) love the crunch and the taste of the cookies. It is crunchy on the outside and slightly chewy in the center, The walnut, oatmeal & chocolate were a perfect match. Moreover, this cookie uses less butter and sugar. So... it can be eaten without guilt ;-D.

A definite keeper. Here is the recipe.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (adapted from Happy Home Baking)

(makes 25 cookies)

Ingredients :

90 gm butter (soften at room temperature)

25gm castor sugar

25gm brown sugar

1 egg (weight is about 60gm with shell), lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

100gm plain flour

100gm roll oat or oatmeal (I used organic baby oat)

20gm dark semi sweet chocolate (finely chopped)

50gm walnut (roasted and coarsely chopped)

60gm mini chocolate chips

Method :

• Preheat oven to 190 C.
• Line baking tray with parchment paper.
• With manual whisk, cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl till pale and fluffy.
• Gradually beat in the egg.
• Add in salt and vanilla extract, mix to incorporate into the batter.
• Sift flour over the batter and fold in with a spatula.
• Add in oatmeal, chopped chocolate, walnuts and mini chocolate chips.
• Mix well with the spatula.
• Drop tablespoons of the cookie dough onto the prepared baking tray. Space them out evenly to allow spreading.
• Flatten each cookie dough slightly with the back of a fork (keeping the shape as even as possible.
• Bake for 8-10 mins or until golden.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Store in an air-tight container.