Taking Turns in the Kitchen

Guess who's doing most of the cooking these days? Hubby! I hate to admit it but he exerts more effort looking for recipes, meticulously trying them out and washing the dishes after. I feel (kinda) spoiled :D

LOL :P

These crab and cream cheese wontons were a hit. They're scrumptious! Hubby pre made a big batch the night before which I deep fried the next day. No crumbs were left.

crab and cream cheese wontons

Few months back, we did nothing but eat out, mostly Chinese food. This was back when we didn't take turns in the kitchen. One look at the dirty dishes in the sink and I just cringe. By the time I clean up, I don't want to cook anymore. So we just load the kids in the car and go eat somewhere else. Eating out can be very expensive and unfortunately, we don't have a favourite place to eat in our city. Good thing hubby and I are now sharing responsibilities at home especially cooking. Instead of ordering a $12-$15 stir fry dish in a restaurant, we can enjoy the same dish at home for a fraction of that price.

chicken stir fry

When hubby cooks, he really is into it. He was sending me pictures of these while I was at work. The kids also brought these for lunch in school the next day.

spam musubi

OMG! Love sushi.

sushi galore

I still do my share of cooking, I do love trying out new recipes but unlike hubby I have no patience following the whole entire recipe. How do I decide on what to cook? I usually rely on what I crave for or what I think hubby wants or the rare days when I get this urge to be adventurous and wants to try something new like this Beef Stroganoff recipe. I didn't serve it over pasta of course, I figured it would still be good with rice :D

beef stroganoff

This eggplant omelette is a favourite of both hubby and I but I don't make it quite as often because it's too much work so when I get to cook these babies..we devour them :D

eggplant omelette

Before the kids and I left for the School Council meeting, I already boiled the beef for the Beef Pares and left it all to hubby to finish the dish. He was texting me how good it turned out and all throughout the meeting I'm pretty sure I was zoning out and imagining what's waiting for me at home--comfort food at its best indeed!

beef pares

My very first cheesecake! Lance asked me to buy chocolate cream cheese but I guess he didn't like it because it's been sitting in the fridge for awhile so I dared make it into a cheesecake. It turned out delicious especially for a first timer. I can't wait to make a blueberry one!

chocolate cheesecake

I stocked up on coconut milk for my pina coladas but I've been craving for sticky rice cake. My version includes screwpine (pandan) essence, hence the green color.

biko pandan

I babysat two little boys on my day off so I prepared two snacks. One that is healthy and one that's not haha! Vegetable tray and leftover candies from Halloween served on a cupcake tray :D

veggie tray + treats!

Believe it or not, I love eating raw veggies. If only I could eat them everyday eh?

lunch at work

I made a huge pot of crab and corn soup the other day, added some goldfish crackers so the kids will eat it. Surprisingly, they did.

crab and corn soup

I was going to make this Italian Sausage Bake recipe but I had some brussels sprouts to use so I added that to the potatoes and decided to wrap the sausage with bacon because who doesn't love bacon, right?

bacon wrapped sausage over potatoes and brussels sprouts

 I was searching for recipes that include sausage and chicken the other night before I went to bed. I decided to try this chicken and sausage gumbo recipe. I was too scared that I would burn my roux that's why mine turned out lighter but it tasted really good even though I didn't follow the instructions (yet again!)

chicken and sausage gumbo

For supper tonight, hubby's cooking Jambalaya. Hopefully it tastes as good as it smells.

Jambalaya

Before I end this post..here's me with my attitude apron haha! :D

ooh la la!

We've Been Vegging

I have been laying low since my last post but I managed to take a few pictures here and there. I haven't been trying new recipes one after the other but mostly cooking depending on my mood. Here are some simple but turned out really great in the end kinda food :D

beef salpicao with spinach

beef salpicao with chinese broccoli

This dish called beef salpicao keeps popping on my Facebook news feed that it prompted me to google what it really is. It sounded simple enough to try though I found different variations mostly on what sauces to use. I ended up using oyster sauce and liquid seasoning instead of worcestershire. The buttery taste in the end makes the dish delicious and I've been using this simple concoction on my my beef stir fry lately. I just add whatever vegetables I have on hand.

Bicol Express

As much as I love trying out new recipes, I sometimes find myself craving for old favorites like my mother in law's bicol express. I love food cooked in coconut milk but I've only watched my mom cook veggies (mostly) in coconut milk. I never showed interest in learning the secrets and using canned coconut milk hasn't been a favorite. It's hit and miss for me the first few times I cooked with it but it's been successful lately. I've also learned not to dump too much shrimp paste right away. Anyway, so I cooked bicol express and prayed that it will end up close to my mother in law's or at least decent enough to eat and it ended up delicious (YES!)

honey garlic stir fry

Whenever we end up buying pork loin from Costco, I must come up with a menu so I wouldn't cook the whole thing in just a few days. Usually it's pork steak, breaded pork or tocino but if I want it to last, I'd have to cut it into small pieces, stir fry and add a boatload of veggies. I use this honey garlic sauce which isn't even a stir fry sauce but a marinade whenever I do this dish whether it's beef or pork.

rosemary and garlic steak

steak with crab and corn soup

Gone are the days my kids eat so little. These days it's like four adults in the house. They get their own piece of steak as opposed to only a few bites. I'm not complaining though, it's great to see them eat like that. Steak is one of their favorites. Soon I would need to raise my own cow :P

honey soy chicken wings

Aside from steak, the kids also like to eat fried chicken wings. Put a platter in front of these two and it get sniffed in a few minutes. I did manage to get a few pieces and turn them into honey soy chicken wings for hubby and I. Another simple yet yummy in my tummy dish.

instant noodles

Hubby has to have those instant noodles every time he eats. I find it annoying sometimes because for some reason I'm too lazy to cook them (haha!) Though lately, I've been cooking them even before he asks for his noodles. I've also been adding sesame oil, hoisin, chili flakes, lemon juice and poached egg because let's be honest, those instant noodles taste bland.

cheese curds for poutine

The kids have been off from school for four days. I needed to keep them fed and busy. Another family favorite is poutine. It is supposed to be topped with cheese curds but I usually use mozzarella so I decided to try and make my own cheese curds. Leila was too eager to help and fascinated with the process. We did end up with a small amount of cheese curd out of 4 cups of milk. Not so sure why I ended up with so little but they tasted like kesong puti (Filipino white cheese) according to hubby. I made cheese woohoo!

cake mix brownies

Leila has been bugging me to make brownies so we did. I used a boxed cake mix though using this recipe. It turned out really good. The kids have been eating it directly from the baking dish. We also added chopped Cadbury bars in the brownie batter maybe that's why it ended up sooooo delicious.

This long weekend had been one lazy day after another. All we did was sleep and EAT of course! Last day before they go back to school, I served them brunch. Kids had Nutella french toast, homemade mac n' cheese and a mango. Hubby got cheesy bacon omelette, peanut butter and jelly french toast, mangoes and lemonade.

Tomorrow is going to be a normal day, meaning---LAUNDRY! Tons and tons of them :D

New Kitchen Triumphs

I'm still on a roll trying out new recipes (or tweaking) new found recipes to be exact. I saw this chicken marinade from yahoo (can't seem to find it anymore though) and did it with drumsticks. The marinade was basically ketchup, brown sugar, chopped onions (I honestly forgot the rest) anyway, it wasn't that good (or I would've saved the recipe somewhere) but it wasn't bad either and the kids ate it.

baked chicken

fried chicken wings and pickled veggies

Obviously, we couldn't get enough of chicken so hubby and I cooked fried chicken wings. The kids LOVE chicken wings and it just amazes me to see them eat a whole lot without being forced to do so :P

 

This blog may contain 80% about food but there are days I don't feel like cooking at all. It's not hard to give me the boost I need though, all I gotta do is tune in to Food Network and it's more than enough of a jump start. I would have loved to try this street beef salad recipe but I didn't have the complete ingredients so I looked for another recipe to try and ended up with orange ginger beef and oven roasted broccoli. I loved the broccoli so much I almost ate everything. The orange ginger beef was good but it's not something I would cook on a regular basis. I love beef but sauce isn't something I enjoy unless it's dipping sauce.

Yup, I don't like sauce and sometimes gravy too but hubby insisted on trying out pot roast. I may not be a fan but knowing it doesn't need much cooking skills and that I only need to dump the veggies, beef and sauce in the slow cooker then who am I to disagree? But since it won't be cooked until after several hours in the meantime, hubby grilled a steak with garlic and herb potatoes on the side. Both dishes were big hits with the family. I need another beef sale (ASAP!

garlic and herb potatoes

steak and potatoes

Cheap this week and dominating my grocery list were ribs, potatoes and spinach. I made my usual fall off the bone ribs and made cream corn soup to go with it. It was my first time to make a successful creamy soup from scratch!

cream of corn soup

And before I forget, my little girl and I made apple cinnamon bread as well. I found the recipe on Facebook. It is one of those recipes being shared on friends' timelines anyway, I gave it a try and it turned out delicious (Yay!)

apple cinnamon bread

Last but not the least, hubby's successful attempt at latte art.

What's with the design? I have no idea but you have to admit it's cute :D

New Endeavors

 buttered arctic garden veggies

I have a ton to post, hopefully I get to find the links for the recipes. We moved a few weeks ago and have been at my busiest. Why am I sitting here and doing this instead of cleaning up? I need a break. Every bone in my body hurts. I just told a friend I feel like I am 50 years old!

Anyway, I'm gonna lighten up the mood and avoid talking about aging and muscle aches as much as I can. LET"S TALK ABOUT FOOD! Yay!

Prior to moving, we originally planned to have tea every single night. We probably had it for two nights and that's it haha. When things calm down I'll start doing this again. Maybe tonight? ;-)

tea time!

My kids bug me non stop for homemade cookies. They have this crazy notion that their mom is a great baker which of course isn't true but thank goodness for Pinterest I found a couple of easy recipes. I love cake mixes!

my cookie monsters!

I also found a frozen cookie dough in the freezer. I baked it as a whole and it worked a lot better, way better! Kids said it was good :)

choco chip cookie

I tried this two ingredient cake recipe because I was curious and was dying to eat something sweet that day. Who would've thought that a box of cake mix and soda will result in a delicious fluffy cake? Whoever did was a genius. I used yellow cake mix and Sprite.

2 ingredient cake

My kids,specially Lance can be picky so their meals have to be a combination of their favorites and something new all the time.

store bought fish balls

turkey bacon

bologna cups

turkey bacon sandwich

This soup recipe has given me another reason why I need to stock up on coconut milk. It is definitely delicious and easy to make. I followed this recipe.

Thai Coconut Soup

Just when I thought spring's here, I was wrong of course. It's been cold for weeks now and when I mean cold, cold as in winter just came. More reason to cook sou. Below are two different beef soups, they might look the same but they aren`t, both taste awesome though :)

Ooops! I think I put way too much beef fats :)

Bulalo (beef shank soup)

Here comes some of my Pinterest inspired recipes. I will tell you which ones have been elevated to family favorites!

I tried this korean bbq beef short ribs recipe but used pork belly instead. I love this site, the recipes are easy to follow and I bet all her recipes are good!

korean bbq pork belly

I found this stir fry pork belly recipe on Pinterest as well but tweaked it a little in terms of some ingredients, used bok choy instead of spinach, hoisin instead of oyster sauce. I prefer not to stir fry pork belly and would rather go with my usual route of boiling and then frying.

pork belly stir fry

It dawned on me that this will go well with chili oil. I made my first ever chili oil and my life has never been the same again. I added brown sugar to the usual sesame oil, olive oil and chili flakes mix for added flavor and crunch. We now put this on almost everything.

chili oil

Next is this mongolian beef recipe, such a keeper and I`ve put it along with the family favorites. Again, the chili oil made this dish more awesome!

mongolian beef

And here are some more food, the good, the bad, highlights of what we had the past few weeks before and after the move.

chinese sweet and sour

baked lemon chicken

steak

fried basa with cucumber/tomato salad

the perfect chicken

And here goes the perfect chicken. It was actually a spice rub for a whole chicken to be cooked in a slow cooker but decided to try it on chicken breasts then baked instead. Still working on it to make it more kid friendly. But believe me when I say it is the perfect chicken, so perfect I don't even want to share the secret recipe :D