Divine chicken muffins... ( kluck kluck)

What can I say- I looovvvve new recipes and especially if I can combine good healthy complex carbs with yummy protein for a 100% wholesome and healthy snack.. I give all credit to Jamie Eason from LiveFit for the original recipe- which I tweaked here and there to make it 'n Super Sanja special!lol..

 This recipe makes 16 mouth watering muffins of Chicken goodness!

Ingredients 

1 kg chicken/turkey breasts ( diced up )
1 onion
1 carrot
1 cup oats
1 tsp Rosemary
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp garlic powder / 1 clove garlic
1 tsp mixed Spices / Salt
1 chicken stock cube
1 tsp baking powder
3 egg whites
2 tsp mustard
a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds (OPTIONAL)

Method to the madness...

1. Preheat oven at 180'C

2. Grate the carrot, chop up the onion, dice the Turkey / Chicken into small pieces, and add ALL the ingredients together in a BIIIG bowl. Mix gently until all the goodness is all mixed up.
3. Dissolve the chicken stock cube in 2 tbs of boiling water. Add to the mixture.

4. Grease cupcake tins / place cupcake wrappers in each muffin tin separately.

5. Spoon the mixture into muffin tin and sprinkle with roasted pumpkin seeds.

 ( Roast pumpkin seeds by 'clean roasting' them in a pan on medium heat.) No oil needed . Just wait for them to start popping and they are ready!

6. Bake muffins for 25- 30 minutes . Allow to cool.

There you go- This a a great snack / meal and each serving of 2 muffins roughly delivers a whooping 20 grams of protein and almost zero carbs! I enjoyed mine with some long grain brown rice and a fresh salad. 

See you ladle!

ENJOY cooking

Flip the switch!

Have you ever had one of those "AHA" moments? Where the light bulb suddenly just turns on? ( excuse the pun ).. I had one of those the other day. We were doing a Science week at school with the  kids I teach, and one of the Scientists we studied was Thomas Edison- who's epic invention surely set the course of modern commercial electronics.. Just by the way.. The first light bulb was actually invented in the 1800's by Humphrey Davy who made the 'arc lamp' BUT Edison was the first man to construct a practical commercial Light Bulb as we know it today..(: 

  Later that day I was just spending time in God's word, and John 5 v 14-16  really ministered to me... 

" You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick: and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

What a powerful scripture! I had a good laugh imagining all of us walking around like little light bulbs with arms and legs...(:  but what I really came to  realize was that similar to a light bulb that doesn't merely generate it's own electrical current- We cannot either..we can only be the light of the world, IF we are plugged into the power source.. You see, when we were born again- our Spirits became eternally changed, transformed, and on a spiritual level we can now relate to God, and are plugged into God- into the main hub, the power plant! 

A light bulb merely relays an electrical current and does what it was CREATED to do- TO SHINE! It fulfills it's function to create light and in so doing glorifies the power source and the wonder of electricity.. 

As God's children it's life changing to realize that we are always plugged into Christ. There is never a short circuit, never a black out... never HAPANA ZESA ( No power in Shona   lol... )   May we just remember to flip the switch and let the powerful current of the Holy Spirit flow through us. 

Perspective

It always amazes me how small things look when we take a step back.... This photo was taken on a trip to Europe.. One cold, crisp morning my mom and I trekked up on of the highest buildings in Paris and took this awesome shot of the Eiffel tower. Funny how this colossal monument suddenly  fit between my fingers. 

This really let me think of Psalm 8 v 4-7. Isn't it amazing how He cares for us, loves us and knows us by name, even though we really are so small?  In our world man has placed so much emphasis on self importance, self preservation and " I" .... I-Phone, I-pod, I........ ...may we take a step back, let go of self.. and realize we are significantly insignificant, and not so big after all. 

Psalm 8 v 4-7

"When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, 

  The moon and stars that you set in place- 

  What is man that you are mindful of him, 

   and the son of man that you care for him?

   Yet you made him a little less than a god, 

  crowned him with glory and honor.

  You have given him rule over the works of your hands, 

   put all things under his feet."

Kimbap for 'Waygooks' 

Ok, so for those of you who don't know a 'Waygook' refers to a foreigner in Korean...    For us living in Korea, just using the term 'waygook' is an easy way out of an akward situation.. (:   like when you mistakenly don't take off your shoes when going indoors, or have to decline eating the very popular Korean Sausage Sundae.. ( it's a concoction of cooked pigs intestines, also known as blood sausage!! )

Kimbap is like Korean padkos! Of all the Korean food I have tasted it's one of my favorites. Needless to say - I'll never look at Sushi the same way again. (:  When I recently went home to Zim for a holiday, I decided my family MUST try some Korean food.. So I packed in all the necessary ingredients and made then a full on Korean meal !Kimbab was the starter. 

Ingredients

Kim / 1 seaweed sheet
1 cup of  cooked long grain rice 
2 tablespoons vinegar
Yellow pickled radish / mango
1 egg
Some spam / crab sticks 
1 Cucumber / some cooked spinach
Some tuna / meat
Sliced carrots (cooked )
Kimbab rolling mat

Method

1. Start off by making sure all your ingredients are ready and prepped. It can be quite a process to make these rolls if everything isn't ready from the start. Begin by cooking the rice  - it should be cooked to a sticky consistency. Once cooked, drain and allow to cool.

2. Whisk the egg with some milk and make a very thin omelet in a frying pan. Once cooked, flip into a plate and cut into long thin strips. Allow to cool.

3. Cut the mango / pickled radish into thin strips. 

4. Place the tuna / crab meat aside ready to use. 

5. Cook the spinach, once cooled set aside. Alternatively, wash the cucumber and cut into thin strips. Set aside ready to use. 

6. Cook the carrots, and allow to cool. Cut into strips. 

7. Place the seaweed sheet on a rolling mat. It helps to have this, but it is doable without..Just use some cling wrap / foil under the seaweed. 
        
8. Take 1 cup of rice and place it over 2/3 rds of the sheet- spread it evenly. Leaving about a 1cm border around the rice. 

9. Place the ingredients ( radish, spinach, carrot trips, egg strips, etc) on the rice.... 

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/07/how-to-make-kimbap-korean-sushi-recipe.html



You can even brush a little sesame seed oil over the edges of the seaweed to make it stick.

10. Now roll the mat into a nice compact Kimbap roll. !! YUMM!



AND YOUR DONE!!

Enjoy !! If you are vegetarian, you can even substitute the meat for other veggies.
It's great dipped in some soya-sauce...

See you ladle!
Sanja