Lemonade Chicken with Lemon Rice

Lemon is the flavour of the weekend. I like lemon a lot not only for its taste but also the way it looks which is much better than the rest of its citrus family. Lemon goes well with tea, dry gin, oyster, pasta, rice, chicken, etc. I must admit I made this dish by accident. I took a can of lemonade from my dad's fridge to quench my thirst & it tasted so good that I decided to pour the rest of the drink into my cooking. Well done!

Lemonade
(ANGLIA Shandy - alcohol content 1%)
Chicken Parts
Potatoes
Mixed Herbs
Butter 20g
Fresh Lemon Juice
Olive Oil

Sweat onions with garlic in olive oil. Add in chicken & stir till brown. Add ¾ can of lemonade, potatoes & simmer for ½ hour under medium heat.The sweet taste of lemonade will seep into the chicken meat & tenderise it in the process. Add salt & pepper to taste, then add fresh lemon & butter to thicken the sauce.

Lemon Rice
Steam rice with lemon juice plus water.
Add a few slices of lemon & a little salt.
There you have it!
Genuine taste of a new lemon dish!

Btw I'm not a fan of the Lemon Tree Song :p

Fettucini with Bolognese Sauce

It was a busy weekend with so many outings but I managed to conjure up a classic pasta dish from Bologna. This reminds me of one Italian Football player playing for Bologna in Series A years back - Nicola Ventola. No connection with pasta here - just something I can relate to when it comes to the name Bologna - Bolognese. I've to say the family is used to having my better half cooking pasta for them. She isn't inclined to cooking but I must say her pasta is always consistent & pretty good. So, there's a little competition at hand :)

½ kg Minced Beef RM11.00
Fresh Chopped Tomatoes RM3.00
Fresh Chopped Mushrooms
(not button mushrooms from the can) RM4.00
Tomato Puree/Sauces RM6.00
Garlic
Onions
Glass of Red Wine
1 Pack Fettucini RM5.00
Dried Basil/Oregano

For the base , sweat the onions/garlic with olive oil in a pan & add the minced beef. Sprinkle salt & pepper to taste. Add the mushrooms/fresh tomatoes/puree & a glass of full bodied wine. Simmer for 15 minutes. Don't forget to add some herbs - basil & oregano. Also add a little bit of butter & parmesan cheese (cheddar as alternative). Cook it for another 30 minutes on low heat. At the same time, boil pasta for 20 minutes with lots of salt & a little olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking when you drain it out.

Finally toss pasta with sauce & grate fresh parmesan cheese before serving.

Verdict:
My missus ended up seating on the toilet bowl .
She ate too fast - too yummy I suppose :)

Serves 5

Total cost, RM30.00 tops.