Saturday, February 16, 2013

My Perfect Valentine's Meal

memorable Valentine's Day meal :)
Another busy week has passed. I cannot be more thankful it is the weekend though I still have tons of chores to do but to be honest, I am loving our hectic schedule these days, Friday as the busiest.

The weather was awesome this week. Leila and I had fun walking to school, we also frequented the bakery, did some last minute valentine gifts and of course, Mommy had fun in the kitchen. Attribute my eagerness in the kitchen to Pinterest. I thought I'd never say it, but yes, it is quite addicting.

I will start off with the kids' food. Lance went home from school one day with a bag of snack mix. I told him he can pretty much make his own when we get home. Conversations like this make our walk from school pretty fast. So when we got home, he made his snack mix out of Cinnamon Pops and Frosted Flakes cereal, Bugles, Crispers and chocolate chips. Such a perfect sweet and salty snack mix plus he can't believe the fact that he did his own snack.

snack mix made by Lance
Since we had boxes and boxes of Rice Krispies cereals, I made them into rice krispie treats, heart shaped of course!

heart shaped rice krispie treats
Leila is a pain to wake up in the morning so I surprised her with Ice cream waffle cone waffles for breakfast.

my baby girl's breakfast
I got some free Kellogg's crackers this week and was surprised on how good they taste, even the kids ate them. I will definitely buy this product again!

BBQ crackers with tuna salad
perfect snack!
I may love cooking but some days I just wanna lie down. Pork belly is what we always have in our freezer these days. Season with salt and pepper and they're ready to go the grill pan. No boiling needed and just straight into the pan. Delicious grilled pork belly!

grilled pork belly
one of my favorites!
Another Pinterest inspired recipe is Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Bell Peppers. We had some left over roast beef in the fridge which was perfect for this one. Instead of provolone cheese, I used some cheese slices we already have. One of these days, I'll throw a left over themed party and this is gonna be the star!

roast beef and mushrooms sauteed in butter, garlic and onions
bell peppers stuffed with mushrooms and roast beef, cheese on top
garnished with bacon bits
Today, I experimented on some mackerel. I seasoned the fish with salt, lemon juice and olive oil. Broiled them for 20 minutes, transferred into a pyrex dish where I added, carrots, whole peppercorns, bay leaves, bell peppers, pickles, pickle juice, soy sauce, more olive oil then baked for 30 minutes. Such a pretty sight and so yummy too!

broiled then baked mackerel
Lastly but not the least, hubby cooked this dish for Valentine's dinner. OMG! Best home cooked meal ever. We literally couldn't stop eating it and we felt sad when we finished it. Definitely doing this again soon. It is a combination of two dishes, grilled pork belly marinated in banana ketchup, soy sauce and brown sugar and raw fish (yes, raw!) soaked in vinegar.

fresh tilapia, chopped ginger and onion, serrano peppers, cucumber, coconut milk, lemon juice
pork belly bbq

combination of the two dishes = Sinuglaw
Hands down! Loved this dish. So much flavor from both dishes that complimented each other and made it perfect. It is like two people from different worlds that clicked :D

Sunday, February 10, 2013

No More Naps!


I like that the week that passed had been productive. The kids made their Valentine gifts in advance, we have collected quite a bit of money for their school fundraiser, kids went ice skating until they could no longer walk, bought them roller blades and tennis rackets for a very good price, and my free shopping.

FREE!
cracker chips and turkey bacon all for FREE!
.47 each
Hubby's days off from work, we literally spent in the car driving from point A to B, C, D, E. Our house is a mess right now BUT it's nice to be out and bring the kids to their activities rather than stay cooped up inside. I can't wait for hubby's next day off again! :D

Mommy's Restaurant

My goal is to at least try a new recipe every week. But first, some leftovers. I can't get enough of the yummy pancit canton. I reserved the vegetable toppings and ate as is, without the noodles. After that, I turned it into another dish as filling for Fresh Spring Roll. We also had a repeat of hubby's Beef Teriyaki plus our favorite fried pork belly with a little sugar instead of plain salt and pepper.

Pancit Canton
wrapper made out of flour, water and egg
Fresh Lumpia with peanut sauce and fresh garlic
Beef Teriyaki
sweet pork belly
Here comes the new recipe for the week. Hubby has been planning to make roast beef but I couldn't wait for him any longer so I experimented and proceeded to do it. I used this Roast Beef recipe as a guide.



Picky eater Lance loved it so I'm guessing it's successful. Hubby made the gravy which was really good, I wish he made more!

For Sunday brunch, I made french toast for the kids with different toppings as expected.

cheese for Lance
whipped cream and maple syrup for Leila
I heard the kids remark, "Mommy should have a restaurant, she makes yummy food!" How sweet! FYI: Having a restaurant is a childhood dream of mine. My kitchen is my little restaurant as of the moment :D

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Celebrating Birthdays, Friendship and More!

Volcano cake for Lance's 8th Birthday

Again, busy as a bee mode! After recovering from my illness, I had this drive to try new recipes. I had to make up for my cranky mood the past few weeks. I was pumped up and tried Beef Bulgogi and Crispy Pork Belly with Asian Five Spice. Hubby made yummy Beef Teriyaki as well. Finally tried making egg tarts too as taught by my friend Jocelyn.

the marinade
marinating the beef
Beef Bulgogi
spicing up the pork belly
fried to perfection

best Beef Teriyaki ever!
egg tarts
Aside from the new recipes, our week was completed with our old favorites. Kare-Kare, Monggo with Pechay, Imbaliktad and Sweet Pork Adobo.

Kare-Kare: Pork Hocks & Beef  Stew in peanut based sauce
Green Mung beans with Bokchoy
Beef Stir fry in Vinegar
Sweet Pork Adobo
It was also a week of belated birthday celebrations. We held Lance's 8th birthday at home. I made my favorite recipes for Pancit Canton, Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken and I decided last minute (again!) to make a birthday cake. I settled for a Volcano cake since I am no great baker and volcanoes don't have to be pretty at all. The whole family helped in doing the cake and it turned out volcano like I think. We had hotdogs, pizza, chips and popcorn for the kids.

Happy 8th Birthday Lance!
toppings for the pancit
looks plain but yummy with my not so secret ingredients :)
my new favorite--baked sweet and sour chicken
Lastly but not the least, me and my good friend Meanne's belated birthday party!!! It was a night of delicious food, laughs, friendship and great company. For a second, I thought it was our other friend Ate fe's birthday too! Her loud voice and jolly mood can sure brighten up anyone's day hehe! Thank you Meanne for hosting a great party, loved the Bibingka, Roast Chicken, Squid, Shrimps etc. Everything was sooo good!

a table full of nothing but delicious food!
BURP! :D