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!

My Very Own Barista

enjoying her strawberry frappe made by daddy

I mentioned on a previous post that hubby and I started making our own drinks at home. I'm happy to announce that while we aren't turning into alcoholics, we have found a new love or let's just say a new found appreciation for coffee. I am not a huge coffee drinker nor is hubby and usually I prefer my coffee cold. Hubby however, brings a travel mug to work but rarely drinks coffee at home partly because I don't like making something I don't really like to drink.

So what changed? Hubby (finally) convinced me to purchase a stove top espresso maker and frother then he started making cappuccino, frappuccino, macchiato, frappe and whatever else we desire.

To be honest I don't know the difference between a cappuccino and a frappuccino. I love the sound of it yeah but whether I'm drinking a latte or plain coffee, espresso or some other fancy coffee, making it at home and not spending a few dollars on something I can't even tell the difference actually makes much more sense.

strawberry frappe, espresso, cappuccino

caramel macchiato

iced caramel macchiato (mine!)

iced frappucino

More than the taste or the coffee itself, I think hubby loves being able to do these various drinks at home. If you ask me, he won't stop until he's able to do latte art :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

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

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 :-*