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!

Rice Bowl/Rice Toppings: Beef Version

Corn in Coconut Milk

By the time we got home this afternoon, I was not only hungry but famished! Our last meal was the deviled eggs during breakfast. Anyway, I snacked on Corn in Coconut Milk while I sliced the beef thinly and separated them into two containers. One batch was for the beef steak and another one was for my awesome, marvelous and wonderful rice bowls/rice toppings.

Amidst the hunger pangs, I meticulously seasoned the thinly sliced beef with salt and pepper before rolling them in cornstarch (with cayenne, onion and garlic powder). While frying them in hot oil, I sliced the carrots, bell peppers and half of an onion. When the beef was done frying, I sliced them into bite-size pieces before throwing them back into the pan with the veggies and a half cup of General Tao sauce.

I served it over hot rice and hubby made his special concoction of Maggi Savor and Worcestershire sauce which brought the already awesome, marvelous and wonderful rice bowl another level up :D

Green Rice Cake

I spent the whole night looking for biko (rice cake) recipes. I found a lot actually, all of them different. Some would cook the sticky rice with the coconut milk while the others cook theirs the same way they cook rice using water. Some would add butter and egg and there were several recipes for the toppings too. I settled for the latik (fried coconut milk solids), they are easy to make, contrasts the sweetness of the rice cake and provides texture too. For the biko itself, I decided to cook it with the coconut milk, added the sugar before it dried up. I also splashed some pandan essence to add flavor and color.

This is what I would normally eat on a Sunday back home but usually bought and not homemade like this. This is better except for the absence of freshly grated coconut, but the brighter side? I got lots of latik, my most favorite part!

Arroz Caldo

After making the rice cake, I went on to make arroz caldo which is also congee or porridge with chicken and boiled egg topped with fried garlic and spring onions. This is a favorite during rainy season back home, also served when someone is sick. It is my first time to cook arroz caldo and was surprised how easy it was. I never thought that something as delicious as this could be very easy to cook. I used this chicken arroz caldo recipe as my guide.

Suman (Rice Cake)

Suman is a type of rice cake. Bibingka, kakanin, puto bumbong and puto are all forms of rice cake too. Suman is made out of sticky rice cooked in coconut milk, a pinch of salt, wrapped in banana leaves then steamed. This delicacy is often served during special occasions in the Philippines. It is best eaten with ripe mangoes, grated coconut or just plain sugar.

I cooked mine in the rice cooker, I let it cool before wrapping them in banana leaves. As I steam the suman, the smell reminded me of the province and fiestas back home :D