Cooking with Shelly

24/09/2026

24/09/2026

A quick, colourful and flavour-packed dinner with tender chicken, crunchy vegetables and spaghetti tossed in a delicious savoury sauce. 😋🥢❤️

Chicken & Vegetable Stir-Fry
Cooking with Shelly ❤️
Ingredients
500 g chicken fillets, thinly sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
1 cup mushrooms
1–2 carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 red & 1/2 green pepper, sliced
1 cup green beans, sliced
1 cup broccoli florets
2 cups spinach
5 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Chinese five-spice
Salt and Black pepper, to taste
300–350 g cooked spaghetti
Sesame seeds

Method
Marinate chicken with 2 tbsp soy sauce, ginger and garlic for 20–30 minutes.
Fry chicken in a little oil until cooked. Remove and set aside.
In the same pan, stir-fry onion, garlic and ginger. Add mushrooms, carrots, peppers and green beans. Cook until tender-crisp, then add spinach and broccoli
Return chicken to the pan. Add soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sweet chilli sauce, sesame oil, Chinese five-spice and black pepper. Check for salt and Toss well.
Add cooked spaghetti and toss until heated through. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Enjoy😋

24/09/2026

Good morning my beautiful Facebook Foodies! 🌞❤️
🇿🇦 Happy Heritage Day, South Africa! 🇿🇦
Today we celebrate the cultures, stories, traditions, languages and flavours that make our beautiful country so unique. ❤️🌍
May we embrace what makes each of us different, while celebrating the beautiful things that bring us together — family, food, love and community. 🫶🏽🍲
Wishing you all a wonderful and blessed Heritage Day filled with good food, happy memories and the people you love. 🇿🇦❤️
Happy Heritage Day from Cooking with Shelly🌸

23/09/2026

🫐 Little bites of blueberry bliss! My mini baked cheesecakes topped with homemade blueberry compote, fresh cream and juicy blueberries. 🫐
Cooking with Shelly

Ingredients
Biscuit Base
1 pkt ginger biscuits ( or tennis buscuits)
90 g butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling
1 x 230g cream cheese, softened
190 g condensed milk
120 ml sour cream
10ml cornflour (cornstarch)
15 ml fresh lemon juice
10 ml vanilla extract

Method
Preheat your oven to 155°C.

Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter until the mixture resembles wet sand.

Add cupcake liners to a muffin pan add 1 tbs of crushed biscuits to the pan and press down firmly into the base.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then allow it to cool completely.

For the Filling
Beat the softened cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
Add the condensed milk, vanilla essence, lemon juice. Mix until well combined.

Add the sour cream and cornflour, then beat just until smooth. Do not overmix.

Pour the filling into the cooled biscuits cases.

Bake for 25 -30 minutes. The edges should be set while the centre still has a slight wobble.

Allow to cool completely at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight until fully set.

Blueberry Compote
Ingredients
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cornflour
1 tbsp cold water
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Method
Add the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice to a small saucepan.
Cook over medium heat for 5–7 minutes, stirring gently, until the berries soften and release their juices.
Mix the cornflour with the cold water to make a smooth slurry.
Stir it into the blueberries and cook for another 1–2 minutes, until slightly thickened.
Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Allow to cool completely before spooning over your mini cheesecakes.

Enjoy😋

23/09/2026

Good morning, my beautiful Fb family 🌞💛
Happy Wednesday! 🌸 We’re halfway through the week, so here’s a little reminder to slow down, enjoy the moment and find something to smile about today. 😊
May your Wednesday be sprinkled with good vibes, delicious food, unexpected little blessings and plenty of reasons to be grateful. 🍲
Thank you for being here, for sharing your love, and for making this little food family of mine so special. ❤️
Have a beautiful Wednesday, everyone! 🌷
Keep smiling, keep cooking and make today count! 💛
Love you
Cooking with Shelly

22/09/2026

Food

Cooking with Shelly

22/09/2026

These little baked cheesecakes are still a work in progress — they haven’t had their pretty finishing touches yet. 😉
For now, I’m sharing the before… because just look at that gorgeous top and those creamy little beauties! 🥰
Now for the fun part… DECORATING! 🎀🍓

Cooking with Shelly

21/09/2026

🍬 Who remembers these? 😍
Mackintosh’s Tooty Frooties! 🌈❤️

What other old-school sweets do you wish they would bring back?

21/09/2026

A fragrant, comforting chicken curry made with warming whole spices, Kashmiri masala, fresh curry leaves and green chilli. The potatoes soak up all that delicious gravy, making this a lovely family-style meal served with rice or roti. 😋

Cooking with Shelly
Chicken Curry
Ingredients
For the chicken curry:
1 kg chicken pieces
1/2 large onion, finely diced
1 sprig curry leaves
2 green chillies, sliced
1 tsp crushed ginger and garlic
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 large tomato, grated
1 tsp salt, or to taste
3-4 small potatoes, peeled and quartered
60 ml vegetable oil
250 –300 ml water
Fresh coriander, to garnish

Whole spices:
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 cardamom pods
1 star anise
1 bay leaf
Ground spices:
3 tbsp Kashmiri mixed masala
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander and cumin
1/2 tsp garam masala
Method
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, curry leaves and green chillies. Sauté until the onion becomes soft and starts to turn lightly golden.
Add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, star anise and bay leaf. Allow the spices to gently fry for a few minutes until fragrant.
Stir in the crushed ginger and garlic, followed by the ground spices and turmeric. Cook for 3–5 minutes, stirring regularly so the spices can release their flavour.
Add the grated tomato and salt. Mix well, cover and allow the tomato mixture to cook until it thickens and the oil begins to separate from the masala.
Add the chicken pieces and stir well, making sure every piece is coated in the spiced tomato gravy.
Cover and cook for about 10–15 minutes, allowing the chicken to release some of its own juices.
Add the quartered potatoes and the water. Stir, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, the potatoes are tender and the gravy has thickened to your liking.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with rice, roti or naan. ❤️

Enjoy😋

21/09/2026

A fresh, colourful and flavour-packed salad with tender orzo, crunchy cucumber, juicy tomatoes, olives, herbs and creamy feta — perfect for a braai, lunch or a light dinner. ❤️

Mediterranean Orzo Salad 🥗

Ingredients
2 cups uncooked orzo
1 cup cucumber, sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup green olives
1/2 cup Kalamata olives
3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
fresh parsley chopped
2 cups baby spinach
fresh basil
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp red w**e vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dried oregano
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp honey or sugar
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Method
Cook the orzo in salted water according to the packet instructions until tender. Drain and rinse under cold water. Allow to cool.
Place the orzo in a large bowl and add the cucumber, tomatoes, olives, baby spinach, parsley, basil and feta.
Whisk all the dressing ingredients together until well combined.
Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss everything together.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Chill for about 30 minutes before serving.
Tip: Add the dressing just before serving if you want the spinach to stay extra fresh and crisp.

Enjoy😋