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

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

Long Lost Food Pix

So I have unearthed some food pictures from my camera, let's see if I still remember what they are and I'll try my best to describe them.

spaghetti with butter and grated parmesan

My kids love spaghetti however they like the sauce plain meaning no meat or veggies. They tend to sift through the sauce leaving bits and pieces on their plate. During our vacation in New Jersey few summers ago they saw their cousin Tristen eat her pasta this way. It also reminded me of my dad who used to eat spaghetti with only parmesan on it so I tried it with the kids and surprisingly, they loved it! I love it too as it is so easy to prepare, I do eat it too except I put some garlic powder on mine.

honey garlic wings

pizza

We were addicted for awhile on honey garlic wings and pizza which we normally have during movie night. We would rent a movie and literally pig out. We haven't done this in awhile, the movie yes but not the wings and pizza (ugh!)

mixed seafood

Frozen mixed seafood in a bag cooked in canned tomatoes. A little like paella but my lazy and short cut version. Don't forget to enjoy it with fish sauce!

steamed bok choy

Hubby cooked this one. I have requested this again and again and he still hasn't cooked it. I don't know how he did it but it was delicious, so flavorful and had a nice crunch from the bok choy.

Pinakbet

Hubby's favorite pinakbet! I cook this probably once a month so I'm guessing I've already posted this one already. I'm gonna try this bulanglang recipe next time.

grilled beef and veggies

If there's one thing I don't mind cooking everyday it's gotta be steak. I am no expert on steak cooking nor do we buy the expensive steak cuts but I love experimenting on marinades. The one on the picture looks like store bought dry rub. I also found this grilled korean marinated flap steaks recipe from Pinterest which is definitely a keeper!

pork asado

I remember liking this dish when I was little. We always eat it at Goldilocks every time we go to Manila. This and their lechon kawali. I have never learned how to cook it though. While I have attempted cooking it before it was never successful until I tried this pork asado recipe. I tweaked the recipe to my taste, more five spice powder I think.

chopsuey

This vegetable dish has become our recent favorite. I have cooked it more than five times since December. I like to change the veggies every time I cook this just so we won't get sick of eating it. The quail eggs are a must! Thank goodness for canned quail eggs :D

Shrimps in pineapple juice

I rarely cook shrimps but when I do there's always a chance nothing's left for me. My friend taught me this recipe. I eyeballed it though (pineapple juice, brown sugar and soy sauce). I have posted this previously.

grilled shrimp

I forgot the exact marinade I used for these shrimps. Pretty sure there's lemon and soy sauce in there :D

crispy smelts

Leila goes crazy over these crispy smelts. She can eat a ton with lots of rice too. Lance is another story, as much as he loves fish he only wants tilapia. He doesn't like eating the bones and tails of these smelts (tsk tsk!)

pork in mango curry sauce

I scored a few free indian and thai sauces a few months ago. I used the mango curry sauce on pork instead of chicken. I bet this sauce will work on shrimps too.

fish and chips

When we went to BC back in June, we stood in line for hours just to get a taste of fish and chips. They're amazing! I still have to get the right batter though :P

vigan longganisa

We don't go to the Asian stores anymore because I tend to buy stuff we don't normally need. But when we do go there I like buying longganisa, frozen grated yam, and other whatnots.

adobong kangkong

This particular dish I don't get to cook as much as I want to because this type of water spinach isn't always available which reminds me that I really need a trip to the Asian store ASAP.

ube halaya

And lastly, one of our favorite desserts. I can't believe how easy it is to make this and that's mainly because one can buy it already boiled and grated. I use one can of condensed milk per one pack of yam and close to a cup of butter and lotsa lotsa grated cheese on to!

I'll take more pictures soon. Glad to be back :D

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