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

There's Something About Rice

Hubby has been bugging me (non stop) about a certain rice recipe he tasted (maybe once?) many many years ago in Cagayan de Oro. He can't even remember the name of the dish thought it was kiam pung and one look at the recipe and I wasn't interested. It seems like adobo rice  to me anyway, he researched and researched until I remembered a friend's post on facebook. Turned out it's pork steamed rice (Cebu style).
We tried it last night and it was a success, hubby's craving satisfied (Thank God!) We used this recipe as a guideline.

Instead of pork tenderloin, I boiled pork belly and used the broth to cook the rice the rest of the broth saved for the sauce. Along with the pork belly I also threw in chicken breast and shrimps. Sauce was basically the broth flavored with worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and Chinese wine. Seasoned it as per our taste (as usual).

I made two batches (as requested). The cooked rice turned into fried rice seasoned with oyster sauce (first batch). The second was seasoned with soy sauce. Not much difference when you look at it but I think I prefer the soy sauce flavored one.

first batch

There's really something about rice that makes it impossible for us not to eat it on a regular basis. Next time I cook fried rice I will cook it in broth beforehand instead of plain water. It's more flavorful and has enough oil already (that's because I made my own using pork belly hence the oil).

second batch

Few days ago I made shrimp fried rice. Loaded it with whatever cold cuts I can find in the fridge, scrambled eggs, mixed veggies and shrimp. Love eating in a bowl! So easy to bring it in the living room and just eat and watch TV :D

Dear rice, I wish I can give you up :D

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

Hello 2013!

We had a simple New Year celebration, I only cooked three different viands and yet, they lasted for several days. I cooked three of our favorites (boiled beef/pork/chicken soup, fall off the bone ribs and shrimps) while doing the laundry. We were out of town during Christmas and my chores have piled up before the New Year's. Good thing hubby was working that day and so I had 8 hours to prepare the food while doing a little of this and that. We also did some last minute grocery shopping hours before hubby went to work. No matter how much I prepare for an occasion, my organizational skills tend to back fire or maybe I'm not organized at all (ouch!)

shrimps in pineapple juice

boiled beef/pork/chicken soup

fall off the bone ribs

Come to think of it, we didn't have any plans except go to Calgary and spend Christmas with family. It saved me from stressing too much about menus, etc. We also attended  a party the day before New Year's eve and it escaped my mind that I have to at least put something on the table as per tradition. All year long, I obsess about food and not knowing what to serve on a special day? UGH! Unforgivable!

Kids are back in school and I'm slowly getting back to the swing of things. I think I had too much late nights during the holidays, too much laziness to be honest. Here are some food we had while the kids were on vacation.

meatballs cooked in bbq sauce

leftover lechon transformed into sisig

chicharon bituka

Caldereta with olives and mushrooms

The following posts are mostly the kids' food and when hubby and I are in the mood to eat bread instead of rice.

bologna and cheesy egg

hubby made this :-*

hubby's bfast: Kellogg's morning sandwich and Kashi cereal

Lance's bfast: cheesy egg sandwich

Lance's supper: soup, grillems and graham crackers

Leila's school snack: cheese, ham, graham crackers

kids' all time fave snack: CHEESE

bread cup with scrambled egg and ham

It would probably take me several weeks before I can post again. FYI JANUARY is my favorite month. Two birthdays plus our 9th wedding anniversary. So excited to stress yet again. I can't wait to celebrate :D