My Favorite Month

I'd like to think that Christmas in my family extends to January, Lance's 10th, my 36th and our 11th wedding anniversary. Nothing fancy though just some much needed family time spent in Great Falls, Montana.

Lance's 10th birthday at Luigi's

My Loves!

with Mommy!

Happy 11th Anniversary B!

 

Inspired

Watching food network shows late at night is probably a bad thing. It either makes me hungry or it literally makes the wheels in my head turn. I badly want to make something gourmet or at least something close to it but of course it has to be easy plus I gotta have the ingredients in my fridge. So after watching, I browsed recipes after recipes and found a few that looked promising. I fell asleep inspired.

Morning came and I went on to prepare parmesan crusted pork loin for lunch (easy peasy!) This is a keeper and even the kids loved it. I knew I had to serve it with some vegetables and soup. I was torn between asparagus and zucchini but chose asparagus instead. I used canned mushroom soup (nothing gourmet about it I know) but added bacon bits on top (haha!)

panko, parmesan, oregano, rosemary, garlic salt, pepper

used mayo instead of greek yogurt

ready to throw in the oven

grilled asparagus

I was so excited to plate it even though I had no idea how. I couldn't wait to taste it and it felt like a post Valentine celebration.

tadaaa!

post Valentine's lunch date

I knew the kids would love it as well but theirs didn't include the asparagus and I used the soup as gravy.

kiddie version

He loved it!

Lunch was a success! While the pork loin was in the oven I marinated beef chunks which I was planning for dinner. I found this awesome cumin lime beef kabobs recipe and decided to give it a try. We love beef and I was definitely intrigued about the cumin, I just knew this would be a very flavorful dish. I didn`t have any wooden skewers though but still decided to go through with it and serve lemony grilled zucchini ribbons with it. I also made soup out of canned tomatoes, celery and mixed veggies.

I forgot to take a picture while the beef was grilling but I grilled it on the same pan.

This recipe is another keeper. It was so good I made another batch the next day because we had friends over. And the marinade for the veggies? I`ll surely use it all the time, the veggies were sooo good!

Dessert is probably my most favorite part of a meal but I rarely make them. I did try this fruit salad with pudding recipe but I only used a can of fruit cocktail and a pack of vanilla pudding mix. I served it over graham crackers and cool whip. Again, easy peasy! I never knew a can of fruit cocktail would taste like this when you add vanilla pudding mix. Would definitely do this again with more fruits next time.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S! ALWAYS BE INSPIRED :D

If I Could I Would

chicharon

Pretty sure I have posted this before but I haven't made this in a long time. Yup, it's that special it warrants  its own post. I don't even remember the last time I made chicharon (pretty sure it's close to a year or maybe more).

I found some pork skin with a little fat (trimmed from pork belly) inside the freezer. I usually save this for pork sisig but decided on chicharon instead. It is one of Lance's favorites and of course hubby's, okay and mine too.

Those store bought ones are nothing compared to these. If I wasn't afraid of the oil splatter I would make these in large batches and probably munch on them 24/7. Maybe not 24/7 but pretty close to it :D

Cooking the Obvious

Because hubby is on leave, it only means one thing (ok maybe two!) gotta have food and eat when it's time to eat.

grilled honey ham

grilled honey ham, egg, cheese, veggies, sweet mayo

grilled honey ham and egg sandwich

He wakes up late so it's either brunch or lunch already. I usually make it few minutes before he wakes up and because he wakes up at exactly the same time everyday (how creepy is that!), by the time I'm done and everything's set up, we're both ready to sit down and eat a warm meal.

waffle sandwich with bologna, egg and cheese plus lemon smoothie

I wish I have a weekly menu planned but I don't. I always go to bed thinking what's gonna go to the kids' lunch bags, what do I cook tomorrow? It works for me though because between that time when I start thinking and waking up, something just pops up. Either it's a craving, or something I saw on Pinterest but most often than not I mentally add up what's in the fridge/freezer. Like I knew the next day would be a poutine day (just because) I remembered there's a bag of fries downstairs.

poutine and strawberry smoothie

poutine for kids' lunch

It may not be the ideal thing to do but I go with what my gut's telling me to cook. Okay, I'm not sure if it's gut or what (haha!) Actually, I cook whatever makes sense. We have this so I cook it. From time to time we do entertain our cravings and make a special trip to the store to get the ingredient but most often than not it's cooking what we already have.

steamed and fried dumplings

Hubby was craving for dumplings few days ago and I knew eating out wasn't the best option. I would rather spend the money towards buying groceries which I did and the dumplings were only $3.88/bag. They all taste the same to me anyway (haha!)

hot dogs in ketchup, worcestershire, soy sauce and brown sugar

I'm not fond of hot dog in a bun, I would rather eat it with rice actually especially when cooked like that in the picture. Found this hot dog recipe but sauteed mine in garlic and onion, omitted the mustard and added soy sauce.

breaded beef and vegetable tempura

I knew I had beef in the freezer, the kids won't enjoy it if it's cooked like steak. I don't have much veggies either to turn it into (sinigang or nilaga), I don't feel like using it in a stir fry. So I decided to just slice them thinly, season with salt and pepper, roll into cornstarch then fry. I still have zucchini and carrots and decided to do vegetable tempura. Okay the tempura thing was just an excuse to use the deep fryer (again!)

love this thing!

Leila came home from school the next day requesting for the breaded beef again. Who am I to refuse her request? Now I have a valid reason to cook the same thing for the second time. I knew hubby would notice but he didn't complain, partnered it with the pickled veggies I made few weeks ago. The veggies are awesome! I am going to make some more and hopefully pick up some mason jars soon. :D

Easy Kids' Lunch

Sometimes I plan ahead of time the kids' lunches, most often I don't. As long as I have what I need (cheese, bread, pizza sauce, fruit, crackers, perogies, hot dog, yogurt, pasta, etc) then I'm good.

One of their favorites is pizza quesadilla which I love making because it's so easy. If I run out of tortillas then I use any bread available then it becomes (pizza bread). I buy pizza sauce and tortillas on a regular basis (weekly) and usually mozzarella and marble cheese. The more types of cheese the merrier (and the pricier it gets). I don't buy the grated ones as they are so expensive. I have a great set of arms (huge actually) and can do the grating myself. We used to buy the cheese slices but I only used them for sandwiches so we switched to the cheese bars plus they give you more bang for your buck (frugal momma right here!)

See how easy it is to prepare this? It tastes really good especially when it's warm. My kids don't care though if it's warm or not, it's always a hit and they come home with empty lunch boxes :D

And may I just say, I love my grill pan. It's probably the most used cooking ware I have. It's very useful and hasn't let me down (just yet).

My Little Rascal

Much as I miss the kids the whole time they're in school, the moment they get home is also the most 'critical.' Tired is an understatement.  I can't think of a word to downplay the chaos :D

After some time out, hugs and kisses, Leila finally sat down and made vanilla butter mug cake. If there's one thing that would bring her out of her mood it's cooking. I made this for myself in the morning so I know the recipe works well.

After making the mug cake, she also made popsicles out of strawberry Greek yogurt, cool whip and milk. Wait, I think I got it wrong she made the popsicles first because it's ice cream that can turn her mood 360 degrees (just look at the pictures!)

showing off the flower shaped ice cream she made

See the puffy eyes? Well, that happens when someone's been bawling her eyes out but then again, the popsicle making and mug cake did the trick (whew!)

So there's (ice cream, mug cake, cooking) on the how to make Leila happy again list. Making to that list as well--- STRAWBERRIES!

strawberries dipped in sour cream and brown sugar

There goes my strawberries for my frozen strawberry daiquiri (haha!) but look at that face, she can eat them all as long as she stays jolly :D

What a Week!

As promised, I started taking pictures of food again. Some, if not most have already been posted before. When they get posted again it only means one thing, they're a favorite!

Let me start with some adobo perfection! In our palate this is the perfect adobo. This is how we want it cooked. Some people prefer it with sauce while we like it fried. The good thing with adobo is that it has a lot of variations. It can be pork or chicken or both, vegetables, etc. Sometimes I add egg but most of the time it's chicken and pork.

I have been cooking adobo for more than twenty years but it's only recently that I have learned how to cook it properly. This was after I watched my mother in law how she cooked hers. She boils the eggs along with the meat and takes the eggs out when they're done. If and when I add eggs, I boil them separately because my pot isn't too big to accommodate everything. She also fries them by batches (this I didn't know) which makes a huge difference.

When cooking adobo, the most important thing to remember is to slow down on the soy sauce. I used to put a lot and always end up with very dark and salty adobo. I would remedy it by adding water, more vinegar or sugar and it doesn't always work.  So now I measure (which I rarely do) and put a cup of vinegar and a cup of soy sauce, lots of chopped garlic, generous amount of pepper and let it cook for an hour. I don't open the lid every five minutes or so, maybe mix it 2 or 3 times and that's it. I add sugar, salt or garlic salt in the last 10 minutes. Pretty simple really though I should measure the amount of sugar and salt I add in the end. Just remember don't add more soy sauce, if it needs saltiness add salt. If you like it fried then fry it in batches because they will get crispier that way. Some would put these bad boys back in the sauce (I don't) but I save the sauce just in case. I can eat this everyday!

We went to a party one weekend and brought home turkey, turned it into soup after a few days. That's what I love about Filipino parties, lotsa food to eat and don't forget the take home part (haha!)

garlic, corn, carrots, beans, celery, turkey

Turkey soup

Good thing I remembered to pick up tofu last time we shopped. I have been planning to cook pork and tofu but I always forget the tofu. I was cooking this for dinner when hubby unexpectedly went home from work, turned out he's sick.

boiled pork belly

fried tofu

rice porridge with chicken, egg and tofu

Since hubby (and I later) got sick, I just had to make rice porridge topped with fried tofu as well. Also fried the pork belly and paired it with the pickled vegetables I made.

cauliflower, carrots, bell pepper, jalapeno, celery, zucchini

I couldn't wait to buy some mason jars so I emptied a few bottles from the fridge, added whole peppercorns and garlic along with the pickled veggies.

pickled vegetables

Also cooked milk fish and shrimp in tamarind soup to battle the virus going around the house. Leila loves sinigang and would eat this every single day.

sinigang na hipon ang bangus topped with spinach

I just can't get enough of leafy greens and had to cook spinach adobo. This time around, I added pork stock instead of plain vinegar and soy sauce. For some reason it works better this way when using vegetables.

spinach adobo

Mid week I was the one feeling a lot worse and delegated hubby to cook dinner. He cooked bok choy with oyster sauce using this recipe. We tweaked the recipe by adding ground pork.

bok choy with oyster sauce

Everyday I find myself awake before 6am. Finally have a reason to cook a proper breakfast turned brunch since the kids and hubby wake up a little close to lunch time most of the time. I promised myself we will eat more oatmeal at breakfast.

honey raisin bread, cheesy omelet, tater puffs and oatmeal

All throughout the week, while recovering from colds hubby and I were mostly on bed rest while the kids are in school. Over the weekend and a dozen or so daytime naps made us awake at night. We used to eat rice for midnight snack, usually leftovers from dinner but always rice (hello calories!) We have improved though since December, it rarely happens anymore. Fine, we ate the sausage with rice but last night we had sandwich (haha!)

grilled sausages

So we ate these with rice but hey, we had celery sticks on the side :D

celery sticks with ranch dip

For me to enjoy a sandwich, it has to be loaded with veggies then fried in butter or margarine or else I'd rather eat rice and some leftovers :D

Started off by grilling bologna with grated mozzarella cheese on top. Spread sweet mayo (mayo, mustard and pinch of sugar) on the bread. Piled up with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, then fry or grill on butter/margarine. Trust me, it's really good!

And while the rest of us were enjoying these yummy food, Lance settled on his all time favorite---cheesy hotdog! Basically hotdog on a bun with a generous amount of grated cheese on top baked until the cheese melts. He can eat three in one sitting :D

cheesy hotdog

What a week it has been! Thank God the kids were spared from the virus. One cranky hubby is enough (haha!) Just kidding!

Happy 10th Wedding Anniversary B :-*