Hot Pot.

When it’s cold outside, I would like to eat something that can make you warm inside. For dinner today, we had hot pot. Hot pot is something we enjoy during the cold season. I think mostly Asians are familiar with this.

There’s a variety of things you can eat for hot pot. We usually prepare different raw foods. Some of my favorites are beef balls, fish slices, fish paste, tofu, and various kinds of vegetables. You can also have other different foods like thin slices of chicken, pork, beef, and even pork livers. (My parents likes to have it for hot pot, I find the texture to be interesting. If you like to try new things, give it a shot. =P) I like to call these foods to be “appetizers” because you can have a little of whatever you like to eat since there are so many to try all at once. When we are done eating different “appetizers” that almost fill you up, we have noodles at the end where you can use the water that was used to boil the food and you can add more “appetizers” if you would like to. I really like the soup base when everyone cooks the food inside, it has a sweet taste to it. The food leaves a sweet, savory to the big pot of plain water.

The sauce may seem bizarre for most of you when you guys are going to read it. A raw egg mixed with soy sauce. Your facial expression might be like o_O or “what in the world?!” That’s what I thought when I was little too. My parents told me that the egg is suppose to calm you down and don’t have so much “fire.” In what means that is, I have no idea, but I like it. I have used this kind of sauce ever since I was little and I have enjoyed it. I don’t know what more I can say about this sauce because I don’t even understand the meaning behind it either.

This way of eating dinner might seem unusual for some families, but I know that it’s common for Chinese families. It’s also another way to have a get together with the family and enjoy the food. From what I have seen, people like to eat lots of seafood when they eat hot pot. There’s so many different ways of eating it too, a prepare soup base like a spicy one. Supposedly, if it’s really spicy, you warm up faster in the cold. I haven’t tried it yet because my family doesn’t want to try a hot, spicy soup base yet. But I’m willing to try it sometime in the future. Hehe. =P

Garlic Bread

One of our most favorite foods when we cook dinner together is garlic bread! It’s always a must have. My friend inspired us to make it on our own and don’t have to buy the store bought ones. It’s easy too!

All you need are: a loaf of bread, a bunch of parsley, one stick of butter, and one bulb of garlic.

First, cut the bread into slices so you will be able to spread the filling. Mince the garlic and chop the parsley. Afterwards, you can melt the butter or if it’s really soft, mix the minced garlic and chopped parsley well. Once it’s mixed, spread it onto the bread. Then set the oven 350 degrees. Bake it until you see bread’s edges golden or if you want it really crispy; leave it there until how you like it. We didn’t really have an estimated time; we check every once in awhile.

This time it was extra crispy and it yummy in our tummies! I think this is probably the easiest recipe to make for garlic bread and not having to go fancy with the ingredients. The cost for this isn’t big, so give it a shot if you would love garlic bread! *Slurps*

With these 3 recipes, our dinner was a success and we were really full too! These are easy recipes that you guys can try with a group of friend too. =D

Potatoes.

For our dinner, there was another dish that we cooked. Mini Baked Potatoes. It’s another easy recipe too! Hehe.

We grab about 25 small red potatoes for the hungry group of people. First you have to wash the potatoes, let it sit in water and rub each potato thoroughly to clean out the dirt residues. After, cut them in halves and haunt around for several toothpicks. Use the toothpicks and poke holes onto the potatoes, so it’s in the oven, it would be easier to bake and air can release from the potatoes easier too. (I think you can try it with the big potatoes too! What a genius friend I have that thought of that! Hehe. =P) Then season the potatoes with rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme, Italian seasoning, and some other ones that I forgot. We basically seasoned it with whatever we found in the cabinet to give its flavor. Oh, and of course, salt and pepper! Mix it well, and then place it in an oven pan. Set the oven 350 degrees and put the potatoes in for about 20-30 minutes.

The potatoes turned out pretty nice, with a crunchy outside texture. When you first put it in the mouth, be careful! The inside part is really hot! Don’t burn your tongue, hehe! The different seasonings brought out a blast of flavors. It’s something that we like to enjoy and easy to prepare. :)

Chicken Alfredo.

I was with a group of friends and we were making dinner together. We decided to make chicken Alfredo and tried out the recipe we found on the Ragu sauce jar. The recipe called for…

4 boneless skinless chicken (about 1 ¼ lbs.)
I egg beaten
¾ cup of Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
½ tsp. paprika (optional)
2 jars (1 lb) Ragu Cheesy Classic Alfredo Sauce
½ cup of shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 ounce)
1 medium tomato (chopped)
2 boxes of fettuccine

In this case, we didn’t use the egg, bread crumbs, paprika, and tomato. The outcome tasted fine but it wasn’t enough sauce. Next time we know if we want it to be saucier, add another half of jar of the Alfredo sauce. Hehe.

We first cooked the 2 boxes of fettuccine; make sure you use a big enough pan so the pasta can move freely! Then for about 10-15 minutes after the pasta is done cooking, drain it. The chicken, cut it in dice sized and season it with salt and pepper. Sautéed it in a stir-fry pan until cooked. After, start heating the 2 jars of sauce, do not heat it high! While the sauce is heating and starts to bubble, turn off the stove and add the pasta to the sauce. Then mix it well so every pasta strand would get a taste of the sauce. We also chopped some parsley to top and mix it to finish the product. (Use tongs, it would be easier to mix everywhere well.) The most important part, ENJOY! =P

When I usually make chicken Alfredo, I get the powder from Kroger so this is the first time that I used the sauce. I think it would be easier than the powder because all you have to do is heat up the sauce. But when you do heat up the sauce in a pan, turn the stove medium to low, keeping it from splatter everywhere and yourself too. I learn a lesson from that after some jumped onto my hand. =P It’s an easy recipe to make; the ingredients weren’t hard to gather. There were some ingredients that were called for, but we didn’t add them and everyone still cleared their plates. Yum.

Give it a shot on this easy chicken Alfredo, so run to the store and grab a jar of Ragu Cheesy Classic Alfredo Sauce. ;)