Lazy man meals

It was about dinner time when we just got home from a wake service of a dear friend's father. I was feeling bit tired as I have been working for 14 hours straight on the day before...and have been getting very little sleep lately. Nevertheless, this shouldn't be an excuse to eat out! So when JW asked me what we will be having for dinner...this is what I answered...lazy man meals.

So our lazy dinner consists of garlic toast (with the leftover french loaf that we have been eating for days), garlic rice with prawns (with some leftover rice I cooked for lunch), bed of greens and watermelon cuts. Easy, fast, clean. I am thankful that JW enjoyed the meal...though he wished that there would be some meat. 

Here's some easy recipes for lazy people like me.

(i) Garlic toast (makes 2 servings):

Ingredients:

- 4 slices of French loaf (cut into 1 inch slices)

- 1 tbsp unsalted butter (leave in room temperature for 10-15 min to soften)

- 1/4 tsp chopped Parsley (fresh/dried)

- 2 cloves of garlic (finely minced)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to about 150°C for 5 minutes.

2. Mix butter with garlic and parsley. Then, spread over onto the bread. 

3. Heat in the oven for 5-7 minutes. Keep an eye on the bread as they easily go from untoasted to burnt. 

4. Remove from oven and let it cool for 3-5 minutes before serving. 

Note: The recipe above makes the toasty version of garlic bread. To make the soft kind, follow step 1 & 2. As for the bread, cut it into 1-inch thick slices, just to the bottom crust (do not cut all the way through). Then, put a teaspoon of the garlic butter mixture between each slit. Wrap the loaf in aluminium foil and bake for 15 minutes in the oven. 

(ii) Shrimp Garlic rice (makes 2 servings)

Ingredients:
- 100g large shrimp (shelled and deveined)
- 1 small cup cooked rice
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter 
- 1/4 tsp chopped Parsley (fresh/dried) - optional
- 4 cloves of garlic (pureed)

- salt & pepper to taste

   

Method:
1. Melt butter in non-stick pan. Add in garlic puree and saute till it turns a little golden.
2. Add in shrimps, followed by rice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Saute for 5-10 minutes and sprinkle some parsely before serving. 

(iii) Easy Romaine salad (makes 2 servings)

Ingredients:

- 4 hearts of Romaine lettuce (chopped)

- 1/5 onion (thinly sliced)

- 2 medium sized tomatoes (cut into thin wedges)

- 2 tbsp raisins

- 1 tbsp pecans/almonds (coarsely chopped) - optional

- juice of 2 limes (alternative: 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar)

- 1 tbsp honey

- 1/2 tbsp mayonnaise (chilled)

Method:

1. Whisk the last 3 ingredients for dressing. 

2. Arrange the lettuce on a large platter, followed by tomatoes wedges and the rest of the ingredients, except the nuts. 
3. Drizzle the dressing and sprinkle the nuts.