Queen Pam Cooks

Beef Strips with Sweet Potatoes

November 27, 2019November 27, 2019

“My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can!”
‭‭James ‭1:2‬ ‭‬‬

Greetings Beloveds

Being a believer is something else hey, believing in God especially because wow 😯 sometimes I do not get how He is able to give so much credit to our capabilities as human beings. I mean did you read today’s scripture? At least twice please. Can you in your right mind go through the most and not think that people hate you, sob and cry “life is not fair”, “this is not working out I’m giving up” and, and? A normal person would but not us – us believers see our difficulties as opportunities to experience joy, oh I love this translation so much – we are in fact supposed to be happy and rejoicing when trials come in our walk of living our purposeful lives because that’s when we are able to experience the greatest joy there ever is. Don’t look for joy when all things are going well for you because you will only find it when trials come your way. Now I get why “happiness” isn’t part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit but joy is|we will one day tackle the differences, for now let’s head to the kitchen 👩‍🍳

Tonight we are making a stir fry, I don’t know why I don’t take enough pictures honestly. See how we face trials even on things we deem petty, but we will be okay..

I bought already cut beef strips because #convenience, added bell peppers – I cut them myself in strips and mushrooms.

Waited for the vegetables to cook a bit then added beef stock powder from Inapaarmans Kitchen.

Seasoning time is my favorite because I like experimenting with these flavors – tonight I added garlic and herb, white pepper, corn flour and sea salt. Y’all can tell it does look yummy.

I made sweet potatoes on the side

Dished Up, Served and We Enjoyed

Saucy Beef with Veges

November 26, 2019November 26, 2019

“God, you give true peace to people who depend on you, to those who trust in you.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26:3‬ ‭

Greetings Beloveds

A part of me wants to make excuses upon excuses about why I have been away but another part of me knows very well that I actually have no valid excuse at all so let’s just talk about today’s verse for a minute, shall we? Is that okay with you? I knew it would be😊. So much happens in our lives, so much comes in our way of living our purposeful lives, we come across so much that tries by all means to disturb our peace but here, today, right now we are being assured that God, God gives TRUE PEACE, you know that peace that Paul speaks about in Philippians when he says it surpasses all human understanding, when people can see and from their observation you are justified to break down but they see you are glowing because you are dependent on the God you trust and in return He grants you TRUE PEACE that even enables you to sleep peacefully at night with no care whatsoever about what happens next. Okay, this was my word🙌🏽, let’s just see what we are having tonight.

The last time I blogged we were wrapping up our Seafood Theme right, so can I please have a drum roll for the introduction of this week’s theme 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 we are BEEFING😅 it is all about beef this week and I am super excited because I haven’t beefed in a long time.

This won’t be long because it was such a quick, yummy meal. I got my rump steak at Woolies and seasoned it with this Cajun spice from Inapaarman’s kitchen, pan seared it for a few minutes.

I then added, caramelized onion chutney , jalapeño chutney and oyster flavored sauce all from Woolies. The combination adds a very lovely flavor, you should definitely try it.

In the meantime I steamed my vegetables which consisted of butternut, baby marrow and cauliflower.

Just like that my meal was done.

Dished Up, Served and We Enjoyed😋😋😋

Fried Hake and Savoury Rice

October 3, 2019October 3, 2019

Greetings Beloveds ❤️

You know how sometimes things don’t make sense, I mean one moment you are certain you are on a right path, things are working out for you then the next you just don’t understand what is happening. I’ve been there a couple of times and listen to what His Word says: we KNOW, my oh my, just that one word is enough for me, the fact that we do not assume or hope or imagine; WE KNOW. We are convicted within our minds, hearts and entire beings that indeed God is out there using everything that happens to us whether it is confusion, good, bad or detours to bring something good. Let’s never doubt that us being chosen by Him to serve Him guarantees us peace in the midst of all that happens because WE KNOW it happens for our good. I hope this encourages you as much as it did me.

Tonight we are wrapping up our #SeafoodTheme, is it me or did it go on and on and on. It did because I have two meals that were not fortunate enough to be featured as blog posts but I will share their pictures here😊

First was hake medallions in sweet chili and oyster sauce served with rice, lentils and a salad.

The other one was the infamous Fish and Chips. Made by yours truly👩‍🍳

Now back to the meal of the night. I started by preparing my vegetables with our favorite vegetables stock from Woolworths.

Added my cooked basmati rice and mixed it well with the vegetables. Tell me if this doesn’t scream “eat me now”🤤

One day soon I will have a good fryer, one day very soon I repeat. Anyways I used Southern Coating for my hake, the instructions are on the pack😉. I thought I’ll grill but ended up frying it.

Made a coleslaw on the side.

Dished Up, Served and We Enjoyed😋😋

Calamari Rings and Potato Wedges

October 2, 2019

Greeting Beloveds ❤️

Indeed we can never know how God works hey, I’m in awe. So remember yesterday we spoke about being afraid and I declared that should I be made/asked/required/obligated to do something out of my comfort zone I will rest in the assurance that God is holding me by my right hand throughout, that I will rest in knowing that He is here for me. Well that was tested in an instant when I got a message regarding a massive opportunity for my growth. I was shaking like a leaf, speaking like Moses saying “Lord, please send someone else, anybody but me. This is too big for me🙆🏽‍♀️” I could here the Holy Spirit loudly at that moment say to me that “Queen, don’t be afraid, I am here to help you.”. For His glory we shall be used🙌🏽

Tonight we are making calamari rings🤤, also a first for me, must I also put it out there that I need a proper fryer; they didn’t turn out the way that I thought they would and I am going to blame it on the fact that I do not have a good fryer😊.

I bought these rings at Checkers, they are written “squid rings” but we will call them calamari rings 💁🏽‍♀️

I mixed flour together with this potato bake from Knorr. Beat an egg and mixed it with lemon juice. One day I will note the measurements😁

In the meantime I let the calamari rings to dry on a paper towel.

I firstly dipped the calamari rings into the eggs then I coated them with the flour mixture.

I fried them until they turned slightly brown; allowed the access oil to drain on a paper towel. Then I made potato wedges seasoned with this aromatic roast, into the oven they went.

Made a sauce on the side because #Presentation💁🏽‍♀️. It had: sweet chili and prego sauce.

Dished Up, Served and We Enjoyed😋😋

Prawns Stir Fry

October 1, 2019

Greetings Beloveds ❤️

It is so sad how we are so afraid of almost everything, we are afraid of expressing our thoughts, afraid of doing things that bring us the most joy, we are even afraid of pursuing our dreams, afraid to live our truths, some are afraid of genuinely loving, I mean this is not how God created us to be like, He tells us on this scripture that WE👏🏽MUST 👏🏽NOT 👏🏽BE 👏🏽AFRAID. He goes on to say that He is here to help us, the next time I am afraid of doing something I am going to remember this assurance “I am here for you”. Don’t you just love His Word? It’s so comforting. I encourage you and myself to hold on tight to the hand that holds us by our right hands☺️

We are still having seafood right? Tonight on our kitchen we are serving prawns, I thought I’d make them creamy; you know “creamy prawns” but we had creamy mussels last night, that’s enough cream in a week😂 so why not have them as a stir fry💁🏽‍♀️

I bought my prawns at Pick n Pay, I made sure they were thawed and placed them on a paper towel so that they can be dry.

I then heat butter in a pan and sautéed the prawns😊.

As soon as they turned pink, I put them aside and cut peppers into long strips, fried them together with mushrooms then added this oyster flavored sauce.

Did not take a picture of the spices I used and I’m not going to pretend that I remember💆🏽‍♀️ because I honestly don’t. All I know is that it looks so good🤤

I steamed sweet corn on the side to have our meal balanced.

Dished Up, Served and We Enjoyed😋😋

Mussels in Garlic and Mustard Sauce

September 30, 2019September 30, 2019Leave a comment

Greetings Beloveds❤️

I am finally back from a very well deserved break😅 I was not just lazing around😊, I was away for a few days. Well actually my friend (Millicent) was celebrating her birthday and being the selfless soul that she is; she suggested that we go to the #DstvDeliciousFestival to be fed like there was no tomorrow🙈, I wouldn’t say no to an event that requires me to have food, never. To say we enjoyed ourselves would be an understatement, we are definitely going back next year💃🏽

We met so many chefs there, professionals and self taught alike, which brings me to our scripture. Well it is kind of harsh but honestly it got me thinking that as much as we talk about our gifts and purpose, we should not make the mistake of thinking that our passions are more important than those of other people. Our God of abundance has gifted some of us with the same gifts and there’s absolutely no reason to compare ourselves with ourselves – the Bible tells us that we are foolish if we do that. The pie is so big – all the food stalls that were on that festival were occupied😊. If you are a chef, excel in your lane and don’t think you are better than the other chef – that’s what I am saying basically.

Look at how long my introduction is, let’s get straight to our meal of the day or night💁🏽‍♀️. I have never made mussels before so tonight I thought why not try them out – what could be so hard🤔. I bought mine at Pick n Pay.

I don’t know because obviously I have never made mussels before but I think their make or break would be their sauce. I started mine by sautéing garlic in butter then added cream.

Cooked in medium heat until the sauce started to thicken then I added oregano.

In the meantime, I made sure the mussels were dry and placed them in a pan. Added white pepper and seasoned sea salt on my almost ready sauce.

Poured the sauce over the mussels.

Into the oven they went. In literally 10 minutes they were ready.

I don’t know what happened to my lemon juice and mustard sauce picture💆🏽‍♀️ but I added those two together and poured all over the cooked mussels hence the color💛

Dished Up, Served and We Enjoyed😋😋

Stuffed Snoek with Avo

September 18, 2019Leave a comment

I have noticed that I don’t greet you guys, such a bad habit🙄.

Hello Beloveds❤️, I hope you like that pet name I have for you because I think it is the most appropriate based on how I feel about y’all☺️

Let’s get right into it – today’s verse teaches us that our God given gifts are not to benefit us but are for the benefits of other people. Imagine how it won’t make sense to cook delicious food that only you get to eat🤦🏽‍♀️. I learned recently that we are not responsible for the gifts that God didn’t give us meaning that if I can’t sing God is not expecting me to sing like Adele [insert your fav musician]. I am responsible for the gifts I know He has given me and may I just ask that we don’t “copy” other people’s gifts – make it a point to flourish in what you are gifted in and you will know if your motives are wrong, your conscience will let you know. We will obviously stumble and fall because this is a journey, good to know that the Holy Spirit is here to help us.

Tonight we are having my husband’s favorite meal to make – I thought why not also try it, hopefully I do justice to it like he does. I started off by defrosting the Snoek.

I decided to stuff it with sweet peppers, mushrooms, garlic, ginger and chili.

Spice of the day was this yummy flavorful Cajun Spice from https://www.paarman.co.za/

Then I gently opened the snoek, rubbed it with olive oil and added my stuffings.

Covered it with foil and into the oven it went.

Beloveds, how amazing does it look, I will start timing #NoteToSelf☺️ but I kept opening it up to see if it’s coming along okay until I was satisfied with how it looked and tasted🤤.

I cut it nicely then, added avocado then… I Dished Up, Served and We Enjoyed 😋😋😋

Seafood Paella

September 17, 2019September 17, 2019

I believe the Holy Spirit led me to this verse to remind me that we need each other as we embark on our servitude journeys, I mean we are serving His people right and in that way we have to be able to carry each other’s burdens one way or the other. I was reminded particularly of this when I introduced the weeks’ theme. Some people really look forward to what is next in our kitchen💁🏽‍♀️ so when I introduce a theme they are quick to think of things I should definitely try and that to me is a definition of bearing one another’s burdens and by doing so the law is fulfilled because Jesus wants us to be of help to each other at the end of the day.

I’m thankful to Zinzi for suggesting I try PAELLA; to tell you the honest truth I had no idea what it was but I was adamant to search for it and find it so I can try it out because there was no way I could be making the same old hake for the whole week😂

Off I went to the shops in pursuit of Paella, I was hoping for a “Paella Mix”😁 lo and behold I found it at Pick n Pay.

***NB: Drain all the water on a paper towel.***

First things first – yes you guessed it. Peppers😀 in a Masala spice.

I then mixed them with my Paella, fried the mixture together for a while then added a chicken stock, let it simmer.

I made basmati rice on the side then added it to the Paella.

I Dished Up, Served and We Enjoyed😋😋

Barley Salmon

September 16, 2019September 16, 2019

I am certain we are all familiar with the story of the prodigal son, if you are not I suggest you quickly run to Luke 15 and read all about him. So many lessons in that parable but what hit me the most is how when he came back to his senses, he went to his father to acknowledge his poor choices, not once do we hear him play the blame game. He does not say “but dad, had you not given me my inheritance, surely none of this would have happened.” He owned up and is teaching me today that in this walk of serving and living in purpose – looking in a mirror now and again when I am off track is imperative to avoid the “I did it because of this and that”, surely I also contribute even if it’s 5%🤷🏽‍♀️. Let’s also thank God for grace I mean the response the FATHER gave🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

It’s a new week and that to us means a new theme. 🥁🥁🥁. This week’s theme is “SEAFOOD”. Why not start it off with my favorite of all time, I know I have lots of favorites but salmon is right on top of the list🤞🏽.

First things we sauté mushrooms in salted butter, who else has noticed that mushrooms always find their way in my meals😅.

This is the salmon I am using, I rubbed both sides with salt and pepper.

On the pan it went, I used olive oil – fried both side for roughly less than 5min each side🤔

I then added this oyster flavored sauce from Woolworths.

I added barley on my mushrooms, these are also a godsend gift to us foodies hey, literally ready in 90 seconds – microwave does the things

See? Easy, yummy meal right here💁🏽‍♀️

Garnished with spring onion – I must use it daily before it gets spoiled😉. I Dished Up, Served and We Enjoyed😋😋

Butter Chicken

September 12, 2019

Read that again! We have already gathered that the Giver of our Gifts is faithful, He is the one who graciously blessed us with the hearts of serving and hard as it is sometimes He comes back to reassure us that He will not forget what we have done, what we are currently doing and what we will still continue to do in terms of serving His people because we do it sorely so that He gets the glory, just like we learned yesterday; we are seeking His approval🙌🏽. When He gets the glory, our work is done – that’s purpose, that is what serving is all about💁🏽‍♀️

We are wrapping up our “Chicken Delicacies” theme tonight, I have ran out of anything that we can try so I decided to close is off with Butter Chicken. I mean what else can we add, we had livers, hearts, gizzards, necks and feet🤷🏽‍♀️ breasts are also delicacies😁

I started gathering all my spices in preparation and I came across this butter chicken curry that I bought God knows when, I quickly returned the spices and used this one because it has everything a butter chicken requires.

Butter Chicken needs a lot of butter, well not a lot but I didn’t use oil because that would defeat the whole purpose 😅, look at me being ahead of myself. I started by cutting my chicken fillets into chunks then I added the curry.

Chicken fillets don’t take a lot of time to cook so stir to avoid them getting burnt. I added a tomato paste, tomato sauce and chicken stock, let that simmer for a minute or two.

I made jasmine rice on the side (garnished with spring onion) and prepared a salad: lettuce, tomatoes, feta cheese and a salad dressing.

Back to my chicken. I added cream, butter chicken has to be creamy – make no mistake😊

It looked so yummy, I couldn’t wait to indulge so… I Dished Up, Served and We Enjoyed😋😋