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!

A+ for Effort

I wasn't going to post this originally because we didn't like the end result but looking at the pictures, Leila did have a lot of fun making this 5 minute chocolate chip cookie so here it goes...

 

Ours looked different from the recipe no wonder it didn't taste good enough for my little critics. I'm sure it is a great recipe which I managed to mess up even though it is a simple, no bake recipe (haha). Anyway, my little helper had fun and that's the most important thing I guess :D

One Colorful Afternoon

Minutes before the kids arrived from school, an idea popped on my head---rainbow spaghetti! Saw this on Pinterest awhile back but too scared (of the mess perhaps?) to try it. To be honest, I prefer working alone in the kitchen but spending time with the kids doing something exciting is also priceless. Besides, there's more to life than watching tv and using the ipad right?

green and purple for Leila

blue and red for Lance

Kids and mess are most definitely interrelated but hey, if it makes your kid creative, so be it. Playing in the rain, getting all muddy, going home with ripped or stained clothes are just some of the perks of being a kid. I think, when you don't let them get down and dirty, it somehow diminishes their sense of adventure.

taste test!

I want them to grow up bold and brave (not daredevils) but really exciting people. Someone who isn't afraid to get out there, confident and full of life, as colorful as these rainbow spaghetti :D

tada!

Look at that, so pretty! I wish we had more food color (next time there will be yellow and orange). The kids were so happy with how the rainbow spaghetti turned out. They want this for their lunch tomorrow.

how cool is that?

I can't wait to get more food color and try it on other pasta shapes. This is great for a rainbow themed partyyy!

eating time!

the finished product!

The kids' verdict? It tastes like regular spaghetti (of course!) but it's more awesome. Yay! Good job mom :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

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