Cappuccino Milkstir

I discovered this great summer treat when I was pregnant. I had this HUGE craving for coffee but was not allowed too much caffeine -- it being bad for the baby and all. So, short of scarfing down packs of Kopiko, I had to find something that tastes like coffee but isn't too... caffeiny.

Ingredients:
1 scoop of FIC (Fruits in Ice Cream) Cappuccino
6 ice cubes
1 cup of non-fat milk

Preparation:
In a large glass, scoop in the ice cream. Fill the glass with ice. I find that 6 cubes is enough as the drink becomes too bland if you use more.

Pour in the milk then stir stir stir. The drink becomes frothy as the ice cream melts.

The verdict: Delish! A great drink to reward your self after a loooong day of mommying... or working (or whatever else you do). Plus, it's a good source of calcium.


You can also use FIC lite to knock off a few more calories. However, it's bound to be NOT as satisfying as the original version. It's the extra fat points that makes the drink rewarding :)

Meatspa -- The 10-minute Meat-Lover Spaghetti

Alex's yaya went off on a week-long vacay -- which means our entire house is in chaos leaving me with zero time to prepare dinner. Had to resort to my ever-reliable recipe for insta-spaghetti. If Domino's has Meatzza, I have Meatspa, every carnivore's dream pasta dish (well, at least 2 carnivore). We ate the leftovers for brunch over at my mamu's house. Dining al fresco... What more can you ask for?? Besides for the yaya to come home.

Ingredients:
1 large can corned beef
1 small pack of bacon, cooked to crispy perfection :)
1 can of vienna sausage, cut into small pieces
1 pack of Clara Ole bacon and cheese spaghetti sauce
1 pack of CO spaghetti sauce Sweet style
1 small can of mushrooms, cut into small pieces
2 tbsps of butter
1 kilo of pasta, cooked according to the direction on the packaging, drained

Preparation:
Fry the bacon in a large sauce pan. Add the mushroom and butter. Toss in the sausages.

Add the corned beef and let it cook until the beef is slightly crispy.

Pour in the sauces and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Finally, add the pasta.

The Verdict:
It was good last night, still good when we ate it this morning. Mark is even asking if we can leave him some for dinner tonight --despite it being a canned goods extravaganza. Maybe next time I can use homemade sauce. We'll see.

Hickory-Smoked Chicken Breasts and Potato Salad

Mark came home a bit late last night so dinner need not be Mamoy-friendly (he was asleep long before I even fired up the grill. He had to settle for Gerber - just for the night).

Normally, I go old-fashion with bbq marinades but we wanted to try out the new McCormick line of "insta-food mates" - I forgot what they were called, they're bound to be available in supermarkets -plus, you'd be hard-pressed to find hickory wood chips here, so I just used the pre-packed marinade instead.

Ingredients:

Chicken BBQ
1 package McCormick Smoked Hickory BBQ Marinade
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 kilo chicken breasts (I used the pre-cut Magnolia pack, no more hacking)
2 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp water

Potato Salad
1/2 kilo potatoes washed and peeled
Miracle whip mayo (I don't use any other brand, doesn't taste like proper salad to me when I do)
1/2 block of cheese, cut into small cubes
2 tbsp pickle relish
1 small red onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper, as needed

Preparation:

Combine the marinade mix with oil in a glass bowl or large plastic bag. Set aside a few teaspoonfuls for basting.

Add the chicken meat, turning to coat all sides. Marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes, or longer for extra flavor. --> I started working on my chicken Monday night so I sorta over-marinated it.

Combine the remaining marinade mix with the melted butter, this will be your basting liquid.

Before grilling the chicken, I placed my spuds in a pan of water and left it on the stove over medium flame.

Taking a cue from many roadside bbq places, I used one of our fans to keep the grill in high heat. You need to work fast when using big fans though, otherwise you'll run out of charcoal before you finish cooking your meat and it will definitely be covered in ash.


I forgot to put oil on the grill before placing my chicken breasts on it resulting to ugly striations where the meat got stuck on the metal. Tsk.

Grill the chicken on high heat for 8 minutes, let it spend about 2 minutes on each side (basting on every turn). After 8 minutes, move the meat to a part of the grill with medium heat and allow it to finish cooking at a lower temperature.


The potatoes were good to go after I finished grilling so I set it aside first - wrong move! I should've drained the potatoes and placed them in the fridge to stop the cooking. My spuds became too mashed-potatoey and it made tossing very difficult.

Combine the mayo, onions, and pickle relish in a large bowl. Add the potatoes and cheese. Toss gently. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Leave in the fridge for 2 hours or more. --> Had to stick mine in the freezer for 30 mins because Mark was already on his way home. Don't leave the salad in there for more than that, otherwise, you'll have popsicles.

The Verdict:

According to Bobby Seale (self-professed bbq guru), the secret to moist and juicy barbecued meat is constant and liberal basting. Since I don't have a basting brush, and I didn't feel like making one using banana leaves, I opted to dip the meat into the basting sauce instead. Made me realize that I need a good brush... and a nice pair of tongs too so I don't mangle the meat.


The food may not look appetizing on screen but it sure tasted great. It would've tasted better had we eaten it while it was hot but it WAS GOOD EATIN' NONETHELESS. Naks, I'm a bbq master! Next time, I'll try glazing the meat after grilling. Need to remember to buy Worcestershire sauce.

Chop Suey - modified to be Mamoy-friendly

According to Wikipedia, Chop suey (Chinese for 'mixed pieces') is an American-Chinese dish consisting of meats (often chicken, beef, shrimp or pork), cooked quickly with vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, and celery and bound in a starch-thickened sauce. It is typically served with rice but can become the Chinese-American form of chow mein with the addition of deep-fried noodles.

Chop suey is part of American Chinese cuisine, Canadian Chinese cuisine, and, more recently, Indian Chinese cuisine. Filipinos also have their own version of chop suey. The typical Filipino-Chinese variation includes ear fungus (also known as tenga ng daga in Tagalog; lit. ear of the rat), carrots and chayote along with the cabbage. Some may even include bell peppers and/or cauliflower. --> ear fungus?!! Well, it may sound ick but tenga ng daga is indeed a staple in the Pinoy version of this dish. My version is way, way simpler so no ear fungus for me.

Here is the recipe that I used for last night's dinner:

Ingredients:
1 pc chicken breast
1/2 head of cabbage
2 medium carrots
10 pcs of baguio beans
1 can of pre-cut baby corn, drained
1 dozen quail eggs
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tbsp soy sauce ( I used Kikkoman ss)
3 tbsp oyster sauce (Kikkoman too, I love this brand)
2 tsp vegetable oil (I used Golden Fiesta)
3/4 cup of water
salt and pepper, as needed


Preparation:
Cut the chicken into thin strips about 1/4" wide (I opted for chicken because that's what we have in the refrigerator then). Sprinkle the chicken with salt.

Trim the ends and sides of the baguio beans then cut into inch long pieces. Set aside.

Core and shred the cabbage into 1/2" wide strips.

Peel the carrots and cut into rings about 1/8" thick.

Hard-boil and shell the quail eggs.

Combine water, soy sauce, and oyster sauce.

Heat the cooking oil in a skillet (or a wok) until it starts to smoke. Saute the garlic and onions. Add the chicken pieces and stir-fry over high heat for about 3-4 minutes.

Add the carrots, baguio beans, and corn to the meat and continue stir-frying for about 2 minutes.
Add the cabbage and continue cooking over high heat, tossing until the cabbage begins to wilt.

Finally, add the quail eggs and water-sauce mix. Season with salt and pepper.


The verdict:

The Chop suey turned out pretty well. Of course, it wasn't restaurant caliber but for a 20-minute dish with limited ingredients and very little preparation required, it tasted good. I didn't use too much salt and pepper, and no cornstarch either (to make the sauce thick) because I needed the dish to be kinda soupy. We need a lot of broth for my baby's food. He liked it! Yey! My carnivore hubby liked it too. Miracles do happen. :)

What's this blog about?

I have decided to create this blog to keep track of recipes that I've tried or attempted to make but had to throw away (read: botched up and rendered quite inedible). I will also be including food tips that I've discovered along the way.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no foodie. My family typically lives off canned goods and take-outs, but this has to end because we now have an 8-month old baby to feed. And I'm not about to start feeding my Mamoy chicharon and fried eggplant for dinner :) (Yep, there are times when we look to Mr. R.L. Lapid for sustenance, we still do - No judgments, please. I'm sure you would've eaten chicharon for dinner if you had the chance).

Please note that the recipes which will appear on this blog are bound to be slightly (to heavily) modified to suit my family's taste. And you probably won't see any seafood dishes here (unless it involves fishballs, squidballs, or danggit).

Comments and suggestions are welcome and would be very much appreciated. I would ask that if you would like to leave a comment, that you think of this blog as my family's home and that you wouldn't say anything on this site that you wouldn't, as an invited guest, say in someone's home. Constructive criticism is welcome, as we all benefit from such advice. Rude, mean, or obnoxious comments are not welcome and will not be approved to post (that's me, gently escorting the misbehaving guest out of the house).