Dienn's Kitchen

2011-07-17T00:25:00.000+08:00

You can also visit my other blog.... http://isinneedofapen.blogspot.com

Yummy Potato Chips (French Fries)

2011-07-13T22:34:00.007+08:00

My baby is a (potato) chipsaholic. She's always asking me to buy her a kiddie-size pack of chips whenever we're inside the mall. But I worry about her hooked by this snack because chips/french fries is an oily food. I don't even know what kind of oil do the fast food stores use in cooking it. So I decided to just bring my homemade chips whenever we are going out. Less gastos, less worry for my toddler's health.

Here's my simple recipe:

Ingredients

2 potatoes, peeled and sliced into even strips
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of flour

2 cups of vegetable oil, or preferrably olive oil

1. Mixed all the first three ingredients.
2. Deep fry the potato strips in vegetable or olive oil until golden brown.

That's it! :-)

Skinless Longganisa (ala-Lucban)

2011-07-12T09:27:00.007+08:00

I thank my pinay friend for teaching me how to make longganisa. Although she prefers to use instant Longganisa Mix, I still thank her for giving me an idea on how to use cling wrap instead of pork intestines and other artificial sausage casing.

I opt not to use instant mix, I want to make longganisa that will suit my taste. With the help of my hubby who is familiar with Longganisang Lucban, we came out with this recipe.

- 500 grams of ground pork (fats and lean meat)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
- 1 teaspoon of ground pepper
- 1/2 cup of minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground or powdered chili
- 1/4 cup of oregano extract
- 1/3 cup of soy sauce
- 1/3 cup of worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup of raw/brown sugar
- cling wrap

1. Mixed all the ingredients and set aside for 30 minutes, giving enough time for the meat to absorb the flavor.

2. Then spoon a portion of the mixture (3 spoonful) into the cling wrap. Spread the mixture, approximately 9 inches long by 1 inch wide. Fold the end of cling wrap to cover the mixture and roll until it is completely covered.

4. Divide the long roll into three (3 inches long each) by twisting each end. You will be surprised that it will look like a real longganisa. :-) Repeat until all mixture's been used up.

5. Cook the desired number of longganisa. I want to cook it slightly in boiling water for a minute then frying it afterwards. I just want to make sure the longganisa is well-cooked inside and out.

Although the garlic acts as preservatives, it would be much better to keep the uncooked longganisa in the freezer. You can add and remove some of the ingredients depending on your preference.

My Beef Casserole

2011-04-15T20:29:00.013+08:00

My two-year old bub loves to eat beef. She's a fussy eater but whenever I cook Nilagang Baka or Caldereta, she will never resist. Though sometimes, it seems she's already getting bored with the taste. Finding it hard to make a new recipe, I just played with the ingredients of Caldereta: add some, omit some. The result is a new viand - Dienn's Beef Casserole.

Ingredients:

300 grams beef, cut in cubes (qpproximately 1.5 inches)

1 cup of carrots, cut diagonally or in cubes

1 cup of potatoes, cut diagonally or in cubes

1 cup of hotdog, sliced diagonally

1 medium-sized onion, chopped 2 gloves of garlic, minced

salt, 2 teaspoons or depends on your taste

1/4 cup of Olive oil

1 pinch of pepper

1 cup of tomato sauce

2 cups of water

1 cup beef broth

optional: basil or herbs, green chili, a pinch of sugar (in caldereta, green/red capsicum and green peas are required so I made my recipe a bit different)

Instruction:

1. Boil 2 cups of water in a saucepan. Put the beef and let it simmer for 30 minutes or until the meat is tender. In my case, I always use pressure cooker because I want the meat to be very soft so my toddler can easily digest it.

2. When cooked and tender, separate the meat by the draining the broth in a large bowl. set aside the meat and also the broth.

3. Place a casserole on the stove with a medium fire. Then add the olive oil. Saute onion and garlic. Add the tomato sauce, a cup of broth, salt, and pepper. Then put the beef and potato. Cover the saucepan and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add the carrots and hotdog. Simmer for another 5 minutes. You can add basil, italian herbs, and green chili.

5. Serve with rice. :-)

Chick-n-Veggies Siomai

2010-10-21T14:39:00.004+08:00

I sooo love dumplings. I can eat siomai for lunch, dinner, and even for the next day... And because of this, I invented different siomai recipes so I won't get bored of the taste just in case I will have it for the whole week. :-D

I am now posting my first siomai recipe, I called it Chick-n-Veggies Siomai. Here's how to do it...

Ingredients:

250 grams of chicken, minced or diced (small size)

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 pc of medium onion, chopped

4 leaves of spinach (stem included), chopped

100 grams of chopped cabbage

2 pcs of prawns or shrimps, chopped

12 pcs of wonton skin/wrapper (extra thin)

1 pc of medium egg

2 teaspoons of salt (depends on your taste)

1/2 teaspoon of cracked pepper

3/4 cup of plain flour

First, you have to prepare and grease your bamboo steamer.

Combine all ingredients except the wrapper/wonton skin, of course. :-) Mix until all blended with a spoon. Place a sheet of wonton skin in your palm then put a spoonful of the mixture on the center, fold the sides of the wrapper to cover the mixture. Repeat to make more siomai.

Put your siomai to the bamboo steamer, have some space as the siomai usually expands when cooked.

Ready your saucepan or caserola, then pour four cups of water and allow it to boil for a minute. Put the steamer on top of the saucepan and wait for 20-30 minutes.

That's it! You can now enjoy your Chick-n-Veggies Siomai.

******************************************

Too many siomai and you can't eat for a day? You can still enjoy it the next day as a Siomai & Prawns Soup! :-)

You just need:

1 clove of garlic, chopped

half of medium onion, chopped

2 leaves of cabbage, sliced into stripes

4 pcs of prawns

3 cups of water

6 pcs of siomai

In a sauce pan, saute the garlic, onion, and prawns. Pour the water and let it boil for 30 seconds. Add the siomai and cabbage. Simmer for 5 minutes, stir occasionally. It's so simple yet so delicious.

Pandesal Addiction

2010-04-03T22:35:00.004+08:00

It's been almost two years since I took a leave from blogging. I hope my blogmates will pardon me for the long absence, besides I have a good reason - I've given all my attention to my hubby and baby.

And for my comeback, I wanna share with you my new addiction - baking PANDESAL. I am now in the process of perfecting my own version. Yeah, right. After many trials and failures of making my pandesal, I can say that mine has leveled with or even surpassed the ordinary bread of salt. And as a proof, here's a bunch of it... :-)

Choco Cake

2008-10-02T16:02:00.003+08:00

Addicted to chocolate cake, I found myself always asking my hubby to buy a brownies from Gloria Jeans. But because he's at work right now, my cravings pushed me to make my own chocolate cake.

On Vacation Leave

2008-08-12T14:13:00.001+08:00

I'll be on leave for a month... just having a vacation. See you again soon!

Ginisang Bagoong

2008-08-04T09:49:00.005+08:00

I was thinking of how can I make our today's lunch special. Yesterday, my hubby and I were too busy that we didn't find time to cook and we just relied on having our brekky, lunch and dinner at McDo and Hungry Jack's. Now, I decided to cook simple Filipino viand - Nilagang Baka. And to make it more exciting to eat, I prepared Ginisang Bagoong. Here's how...

Ingredients:

100 grams bagoong
50 grams of beef or pork, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 teaspoon red chili, chopped (I used instand chili - Galliko)
1 small tomato, minced
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Fry the beef/pork in vegetable oil.

Then, at the same oil, saute the onion, garlic and tomato.

Add bagoong and chili. Simmer for 3 minutes. Don't forget to stir.

Serve it with Nilagang Baka and rice... Sarap!

Nutty Golden Cake/Loaf with Raisins

2008-08-01T11:39:00.008+08:00

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of raisins

1/3 cup of chopped unsalted nuts

2 cups of plain flour

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of soft butter

1 teaspoon of baking powder

2 slices of quickmelt cheese (for topping)

1 egg, beaten

1 cup of milk

Preheat oven at 160C. Grease the baking pan (or loaf pan)

Sift the baking powder, plain flour and sugar. Stir until combined. Add milk, beaten egg and butter. Mix using spoon. Add the raisins and mix again. Pour the mixture in the baking pan and put some nuts on top.

Bake it for about 40 minutes. Then top it with quickmelt cheese. :-) That's it!

Piniyahang Manok (Pineapple Chicken)

2008-08-01T10:42:00.005+08:00

I do want to eat Piniyahang Manok today but I already used some of the chicken in my fridge in cooking Chicken Fingers yesterday. Now, I only have 200 grams of chicken left. Looking for substitute ingredient inside my fridge, I saw potatoes... and *bam*!!! I will use the potatoes as my extender... :-)

Here's how I prepare it...

Ingredients:

200 grams of chicken, cut into serving pieces
1 cup of pineapple chunks, syrup removed and set aside
1 cup of potatoes, diced
1 medium-size onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup of coconut milk
fish sauce or patis, to taste
1 pinch of pepper
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Marinade the chicken in pineapple syrup for about 10 minutes. Then, in a pan, saute the garlic and onion in vegetable oil. Add the chicken and stir until the pineapple syrup evaporates.

Add the diced potatoes.

Followed by adding the coconut milk. Simmer for 10 minutes. (Keep on stirring every 2 minutes)

Check if the chicken and potatoes are already cooked and soft. Then add the pineapple chunks, fish sauce, and pepper. Stir.

Let it simmer for 3 minutes until the sauce became thicker and creamier. It's done! Now you can enjoy the steamy Piniyahang Manok. Serve it with rice. :-)

Chocolate Cupcakes with Coco Pops

2008-07-29T14:47:00.008+08:00

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of cocoa powder
3/4 cup of self-raising flour
1 cup of plain flour
1/3 cup of soft butter
1/4 tsp of baking soda
1/2 cup of sugar
2 medium-size eggs
1 cup of Kellogs Coco Pops
1 cup of milk

Grease the muffin pan and line baking paper in each holes. Preheat oven at 160 degree celsius.

Sift plain flour, self-raising flour, baking soda, and cocoa then mix with wooden spoon. Add the milk, egg, sugar, and butter then continue to mix until all ingredients combined.

Pour the mixture in each hole of the pan with a spoon. Then top it with a teaspoon of Kellogs Coco Pops.

Bake it in the oven at 160C for 20-25 minutes.

Now, you can taste the delicious Chocolate Cupcakes with crunchy Coco Pops.

(Can make 12 cupcakes)

Grilled Chicken in Lemon and Chili

2008-07-29T12:01:00.004+08:00

Ingredients:

500 grams chicken, cut into parts

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 small red chili, chopped
1/4 cup soysauce

Mix the soy sauce and lemon juice in a large-size mangkok. Add the chicken. Then, add the pepper, salt, garlic, onion and red chili. Cover the mangkok and put the marinade in the fridge for at least eight hours so that the chicken will absorb well the flavor. It is best to marinate the chicken over night and then grill it in the morning.

This is it...

I just garnish it with steamed brocolli and carrots with cheesy mayonnaise.

Chili Rice (Chili Con Carne)

2008-07-26T09:18:00.009+08:00

Chili Con Carne

I was a "fastfood fanatic", an avid fan of Jollibee, Mcdonalds, KFC, and Wendy's. I religiously eat lunch and dinner outside when I was in the Philippines. I honestly miss the said fastfood chains, especially their heavy meals because most of them are not available here. And most of all, Aussie KFC and Mcdo do not serve rice.

There is no Wendy's here. Haaay... What I miss is it's Chili Rice which only cost P29 last year. I don't know how much it costs now. But it's really my favorite. So to lessen my disappointment of not finding even a single Wendy's branch around, I have just cooked my own version of Chili Rice for our lunch today.

Ingredients:

250 grams ground beef

1 can red kidney (100 grams)
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of red chili (or 1 teaspoon of Galiko Chilli mix)
1 pinch of pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1/4 cup of water
1 cup of tomato sauce

In a heated sauce pan, saute the garlic, onion, and ground beef in vegetable oil. Add water. Stir occasionally for about 5 minutes.

Then, add the tomato sauce. Stir.

Put the red kidney beans. Let the sauce boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt (depending on your taste), pepper and chili. Stir. Wait until cooked.

Put a cup of rice in an oven-safe serving dish, top it with the cooked Chili Con Carne and cheese. Place it in the microwave for a minute until the cheese melted. Serve while it's hot and steamy, and partner it with freshly squeezed orange juice.

My Chili Rice

Ginataang Mais

2008-07-24T06:16:00.004+08:00

At last, I woke up early this morning to reciprocate the kindness of my husband who always prepares delicious breakfasts for me. I set my cellphone alarm clock at 4am, so I'll get up from bed earlier than him. He's an early riser and it's really hard to beat his time. Luckily, I won today. I just fried eggs and sausages with rice for his packed lunch. He doesn't want to bring saucy foods at work as these are messy to eat. I also made ham sandwiches for our breakfast together.

When he left, I began to make Ginataang Mais for my blog. Hehehe! :-) Hmmmn... this blog really inspires me and I consider this as my hobby. So... here's how to cook Ginataang Mais.

Ingredients:

100 grams Glutinous rice (malagkit)

1 can of coconut milk (200 ml)

1 cup corn kernels

5 tablespoons of sugar

3 cups of water

In a caserole, put the malagkit na bigas in a boiling water. Stir occasionally, and wait until cooked.

Then, add corn kernels and leave for 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk and sugar. Stir occasionally. Let it boil for 5 minutes.

Serve while it is hot.

Steamed Brocolli and Chicken Nuggets

2008-07-22T11:21:00.006+08:00

It's 11:24 am. I just got up from bed. Australia Big Brother 2008 had its final episode last night and watching it was the reason why I woke up this late. The sad thing is, I didn't even finish it for I already fell at slept before the Big winner was revealed. It's only thru internet that I've come to know Terri Munro, a 52-year old grandma won over Rory Ammon, a 22-year old hunk.

I felt a bit sad that Big Brother '08 has ended. But after knowing that more shows such as America's Next Top Model, So You Think You Can Dance, and Australia's Idol will fill in the timeslots left by BB, my sadness subsided.

On the other hand, my stomach started to ache, signaling that I'm already hungry. So I hurriedly went to the kitchen to prepare my brunch. My hubby knew that I religiously watch BB and he expected that I'd stayed late at night just to witness its final ep, so he cooked chicken nuggets for me before he left for work. I just reheated the nuggets in the microwave and partnered them with steamed brocolli with mayonnaise. Of course, rice will never be absent in my brunch. Hmmmn... delicious!

Tapsilog

2008-07-19T09:09:00.005+08:00

I do miss the Tapsilog in a pares eatery in Manila named "Quickee" near the St. Jude Church inside Malacanang compound. I was a constant customer of Quickee, same as with my officemates at the OP. And because I don't have any chance to dine in at the said canteen, I just cooked Tapsilog for me and my hubby. It's also his packed lunch at work today.

I just marinated the beef (400 grams, sliced thinly) in a mixture of soy sauce (1/4 cup), garlic (3 cloves, minced), onion (1 small, minced), pepper (a pinch), red chili (1 small, chopped), and lemon juice (2 teaspoons). I did it last night so the beef will absorb the flavor. And this morning, I fried the beef, egg, and diced tomato... and served these with fried rice. sarap!

Sausage and Egg Sandwich

2008-07-15T11:52:00.003+08:00

I am starting to get bored... My hubby is always at work five days a week and my only companion is my laptop which never fails to keep me in touch with my friends in Manila and my sis in Mexico. I am just so thankful that I was born in this generation where advanced communication technology exists. I can't imagine myself being confined in this house without any communication gadgets such as cellphone, PDA and computer.

The weather today is not so fine. It's raining outside and the temperature is about 8 degree celcius. I seldom use the heater and just wear scarf, long-sleeved shirt, plus jacket to conserve electricity. Besides, I love the improvement of my skin during winter... it's getting fairer and pinkish. :-)

Oh, wait... It's already lunch time. And because I don't have much time to cook my lunch, I just made Sausage and Egg sandwich for myself. I just added cheese and onion to make it special. And to maintain my diet, I prepared avocado and milk for my dessert. :-)

What I Prepared for Lunch?

2008-07-14T12:15:00.003+08:00

As usual, I am alone in our apartment, so I had to prepare a meal just for myself. I cooked Omelet and Chicken Steak (sliced). I topped them on rice with cheese, then I baked it. What an enjoyable lunch!

Fetuccini in White Sauce

2008-07-14T11:29:00.003+08:00

Saucy pasta is one of my favorite dishes. I am always craving for it, so I always make sure that I have different kinds of pasta in my kitchen cabinet.

Now, I will prepare Fetuccini in White Sauce.

Ingredients:

250 grams Fetuccini

1 cup of milk
1/4 cup of butter
3 slices of cheese singles
1/2 cup of minced chicken
1/2 cup of minced beef
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
3 tablespoons of olive oil (for sauteing)
1 tablespoon of olive oil (to be used in cooking the pasta)
1 teaspoon of garlic
1/4 cup water (for the sauce)
3 cups of water (to be used in cooking the pasta)
1 tablespoon of salt (depends on your taste, remember that cheese is already salty)

First, boil the 3 cups of water in a caserole. Add olive oil in the water. Then, put the pasta. After 15-20 minutes, check if the pasta is already cooked. Remove from water and set aside.

In a separate semi-deep pan, saute the garlic and onion in olive oil. Add the beef, chicken and water. Cover the pan and leave for five minutes until both the chicken and beef meat are cooked. Put the milk and stir occasionally for 5 minutes.

Add salt, pepper and cheese. Stir for a moment and add the pasta. Mix and put it in a serving plate.

Muffins

2008-06-24T10:00:00.004+08:00

I was thinking of what to prepare for our morning tea break when I remembered Kenny Roger's muffins in the Philippines. There is no KR here in our place, so I decided to just make my own muffins. Here it goes...

Ingredients:
2 cups of self-raising flour
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
100 grams butter, melted
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 190 degree celcius. Grease a 12-hole muffin pan.

Sift flour into a large bowl and stir in white sugar.

In a medium sized bowl, place eggs, butter, milk and honey. Then mix. Add to flour the mixture and stir until just combined.

Divide mixture among holes of pan.

(If you want to add flavor such as choco, just add 2 tablespoons of Milo or cocoa powder to the mixture. Or you can put cheese as topping for the muffins)

Bake muffins for about 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve hot.

Ginisang Monggo

2008-06-24T09:51:00.003+08:00

I was sick for almost a week that's why I haven't had the chance to open my computer. My husband took care of me as he filed few days of leave from his office. I am now a bit okay and ready to update my blog here. :-)

It's winter... so I prepared Ginisang Monggo to warm the cold day. Here it is...

Ingredients:

1 cup monggo
1 cup beef, chopped
1 pc. daing, cut into 6 parts
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch pepper
200 grams spinach
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
4 cups of water
2 tablespoons of salt

In a heated casserole, sauté garlic and onion in vegetable oil. Add the beef and stir for a minute. Then, add the water and monggo. Cover the casserole and let it boil for 30 minutes, until the monggo and beef are cooked.

Add the daing, salt and pepper. Stir for a minute. Then put the spinach. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve it with rice.

Sinigang na Ulo ng Isda

2008-06-05T10:35:00.002+08:00

It’s my hubby’s day-off and it’s also our schedule to go to the market. He told me that he wants to eat Sinigang na Ulo ng Isda today, so upon entering the Woolworths, we went straight to the fish/seafood section. A kilo of fish heads cost $2.49, we bought two kilos. We are regular customers of Woolworths because they have this reward card that when we purchase products/goods from them, we can have a 4-cent discount per liter of unleaded diesel to their fuel stations. Aside from the rewards and discounts, I am sure that Wooolworths do live with their company motto, “Fresh Foods People”.

It’s already 11am when we got home, so I decided to start preparing my sinigang.

Sinigang na Ulo ng Isda

Ingredients:

2 fish heads, large
6 leaves of pechay (buk choy)
2 pcs large tomatoes, cut into four
1 large onion, cut into four
5 cloves of garlic, cracked
1 pinch of pepper
3 tablespoon of salt (depends on your taste)
5 cups of water

In a casserole, boil 5 cups of water. Add the garlic, onion and fish heads. Keep it boiling for 15 minutes. (Sautéing is not needed)

Add salt, pepper and tomatoes. Stir for a moment, then leave it for 5 minutes. (No need to add “sinigang mix” as the tomatoes will provide the apt sour taste)

Next, add the pechay and wait until it is cooked. Put it in a bowl and serve with rice.

Sotanghon with Prawns

2008-06-03T15:04:00.003+08:00

I am really enjoying blog-hopping. It is now my favorite pastime as I always stay at home. It is already part of my routine.

Inspired by the delicious sotanghon recipe of a co-blogger named Inday, I checked the content of my fridge and see if I can be able to follow how she prepared it. But unfortunately, red meat is not available in my freezer. I am also feeling a bit lazy now to go to the market since our grocery schedule is every Wednesday (tomorrow). So I decided to just make my own version using the available ingredients.

Sotanghon with Prawns

Ingredients:

1 cup sotanghon
2 cups of water (to boil sotanghon)

For sauce and garnish:

4 pcs prawns, (skin and veins removed) cut into four, use also the heads
1 small-size carrot, cut into strips
1 tablespoon of green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 medium-size onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 pinch of pepper
1 tablespoon of salt (depends on your taste)
¼ cup of soy sauce
¼ cup water for sauce

In a casserole, boil 2 cups of water. Add the sotanghon and wait until it is cooked. Remove the water and set the sotanghon aside.

For the sauce:

In a heated pan, sauté the garlic and onion in vegetable oil. Then, add the prawns. Keep stirring for a minute. Add salt, pepper, soy sauce and water. Stir for 30 seconds, cover the pan and leave for 3 minutes. Add carrots and green bell pepper. Stir and let it simmer for 2 minutes.

Add the sotanghon to the sauce in a pan, lower the heat. Mix until the sotanghon absorb the sauce.

Put it in a plate and serve. You may also squeeze calamansi on top of it. :-)

Cheesy Corned Beef Spaghetti

2008-06-03T09:02:00.008+08:00

Thinking about what to prepare for afternoon merienda, I opened our stocks cabinet and find something to cook. I saw in there the tomato sauce in tetra pack, canned corned beef, and pasta. So, I decided to make spaghetti. Here's how...

Cheesy Corned Beef Spaghetti

Ingredients:

250 grams spaghetti
4 cups of water
2 cups 0f tomato sauce
1 cup of corned beef
1 small-size carrot, finely minced
1 medium-size onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of butter
3 slices of Kraft Cheese Singles
1 pinch of garlic
1 tablespoon of salt (depends on your taste)

First, boil the pasta (noodles) in water in a heated caserole, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to avoid the noodles from sticking to each other. Wait until the pasta is cooked, then set aside.

In another pan, sauté the garlic, onion and carrots in vegetable oil, then add the corned beef, salt, pepper, butter and tomato sauce. Stir for 2 minutes. Cover the pan and let it simmer for five minutes. Add the three slices of cheese (Kraft singles) and stir for 30 seconds, then add the pasta. Mix them in until the noodles absorb the creamy sauce.

Put it in a plate and serve while it is hot. I assure you that it is creamy and delicious. In fact, my hubby and I really enjoyed eating it.

Tinolang Manok

2008-05-31T10:54:00.006+08:00

The weather today is so cold. This is the last day of May and we are about to wave goodbye from autumn season and say hello to winter. Feeling a bit chilled, my husband called (from work) and requested me to cook something hot... something to sip. The first thing that came into my mind is Tinolang Manok. We have chicken in our fridge but we lack of vegetables in there. So, I decided to go to the nearest supermarket, the Woolworth. I hailed a cab since I have no driving license yet. When I got there, I luckily found sayote and ginger but to my dismay, they don’t have chili leaves… Okay this is not Pinas. I forgot. They don’t even know why I’m looking for it and asked me if I’m going to plant it or what. Gosh!!! So I just bought the other ingredients and also purchased saffron for my future use. (if in case, I would be cooking paella again, at least I already have saffron in my stock, hehe). I decided to just take a walk on my way back home. Seven dollars and fifty cents taxi fare is already a huge amount in the Philippines. Hmmmm… my husband warned me not to convert every single money I shelled out. He’s right, it’s just causing me a headache.

So, now, I am ready to cook my Tinola… (forgive me if it doesn’t include the dahon ng sili)

Ingredients:

500 grams chicken, cut into parts (I preferred chicken wings)
2 cups of young sayote, cut diagonally (or green papaya)
2 tablespoons of ginger, roughly chopped
½ cup of chili leaves
1 medium-size onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of salt
a pinch of pepper
4 cups of water

In a heated casserole, sauté onion, garlic and ginger. Add the chicken, water, pepper and salt. Then bring to boil and set the stove in lower heat. Wait until the chicken is cooked.

Add papaya or sayote, wait until it is cooked. Then put the chili leaves when it is ready to be served.

Serve hot and enjoy the cold season with Tinolang Manok.

Dienn's Own-Style Mixed Paella

2008-05-29T15:19:00.002+08:00

Seafoods and Mixed Paella are some of my favorite dishes. I want to dine in a Spanish-themed restaurant located in our city, but to my dismay, I can’t find one. Most of the specialty restos here are Italian, Korean, Thai, Chinese and French. Craving so much for Paella, I decided to prepare it for our dinner tonight. I will just re-heat it in the microwave oven when my husband arrives.

Some of the ingredients of Mixed Paella are not available in our place. So, I just used alternatives. Well, it’s my own-style of Paella and I have the right to do what I wanted to do. :-)

Ingredients:

4 pcs of prawns (veins and skin removed)
100 grams cooked chicken meat, cut into strips
3 pcs hotdogs, sliced diagonally (in replacement of chorizo)
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
½ cup of chicken broth
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
¼ cup of vegetable oil for frying
2 teaspoons of salt (depends on your taste)
¼ teaspoon of black pepper
a quarter of red bell pepper, cut into strips
a quarter of green bell pepper, cut into strips
½ cup tomato sauce
4 cups of steamed rice

First, fry the hotdog in a heated skillet until it is cooked. Then, set aside.

In another skillet, fry the prawns until cooked, also set aside.

In a medium heat, sauté the garlic and onion in a pan, then add the tomato sauce, salt, pepper and chicken broth. Add the red and green bell pepper, as well as the cooked chicken and stir for 30 seconds. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the steamed rice and mix until the rice absorbs the sauce. Cover the pan for 2 minutes. Put it in oven-safe plate or paella pan and garnish it with prawns. Place it in a microwave open for 90 seconds. Now, your simple Mixed Paella is ready to be served.

Sarsyadong Isda

2008-05-29T10:11:00.005+08:00

Most of the recipes that I post here have something in common – I include tomato in the ingredients. I always want it to be part of my dish since it can help to improve my skin texture and color. Also, tomato contains lycopene that can fight cancer.

Today, I prepared something that is good for our health, the Sarsyadong Isda.

Ingredients:

1 slice of fish meat (it’s better to use white-meat fish), cut into four
1 small onion, cut into strips
1 clove of garlic, cut into strips
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
¼ cup of vegetable oil for frying
1 teaspoon of salt (depends on your taste)
¼ teaspoon of black pepper
2 medium-size tomatoes, cut into strips
4 leaves of pechay

First, fry the fish in a frying pan until its color turned a bit golden brown. Then, set aside.

Sauté the garlic, onion and tomatoes in a heated pan. Add the pechay, salt, pepper and water.

Cover the pan and let it boil for 5 minutes.

Then, add the fish, cover the pan again and wait for 3 minutes. When cooked, put in a bowl and serve it with rice.

Dienn's Mixed Veggies

2008-05-28T12:25:00.006+08:00

I love eating vegetables. I’m not a vegetarian, but I always see to it that veggies are part of my daily diet.

Now, I will share to you my Mixed Veggies Recipe which is kinda similar to chopsuey. Please bear with me if my recipes here are just simple because I am not a professional cook and I did not undergo any formal training. I am doing it for fun and for documentation. I want my soon-to-be children to see my eagerness to be a better wife and mom. And through cooking, I can express my love to my dearest husband.

Mixed Veggies’ Ingredients:

1 small onion, sliced diagonally
1 clove of garlic, sliced diagonally
¼ cup of water
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of salt (depends on your taste)
a quarter of whole broccoli
a quarter of whole cauliflower
1 medium-size carrot, sliced diagonally
¼ red bell pepper, sliced diagonally
¼ green pepper, sliced diagonally
4 leaves of pechay Baguio
1 slice of Spam, sliced (again) diagonally

In a heated pan, semi-fry the spam for 90 seconds. Remove the spam from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, sauté the garlic and onion.

Add the cauliflower, carrot, red and green bell pepper, and pechay Baguio. Stir for 2 minutes. Then add the broccoli, water and salt. Stir again for 30 seconds. Lay the spam on the top of mixed veggies. Cover the pan and leave for 5 minutes.

When cooked, put it in a bowl and serve while it’s hot.

Breakfast Meal

2008-05-28T09:55:00.005+08:00

I woke up at around 6am. It’s my husband’s day-off, so I am always excited to prepare breakfast for us every Wednesday. He’s very workaholic and it’s my chance to make him feel relaxed. While he was asleep, I headed to my office (este, our kitchen, heheh!) and do the cooking.

I will now prepare Tortang Sardinas, Daing na Bisugo, and Pechay Guisado.

Ingredients:

Tortang Sardinas
1 can (155 grams) of sardines (separate the fish from the sauce, use only the fish)
2 medium-size eggs
¼ cup of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of salt (depends on your taste)

Beat the eggs for 30 seconds, add the sardines then smash it using a fork, add salt.

Put vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Pour about 3 tablespoonful of the mixture, then fry. When cooked, put the torta in a plate. You can make 3 tortang sardinas.

Daing ng Bisugo
1 pc daing (bisugo), cut into 3 (as illustrated)

Fry the daing in a well-heated frying pan. When its color turned golden brown, it means that it's already cooked. So, put it in a plate.

Pechay Guisado
½ cup of canned sardines’ sauce
4 leaves of pechay (buk choy)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1 small tomato, diced
½ cup of water
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of salt (depends on your taste)

Put the vegetable oil in a heated casserole, then, sauté the garlic and onion. Add the tomato and pechay. Stir for a minute.

Add the sardines’ sauce, salt and water. Let it boil for 5 minutes. When cooked, put it in a deep plate.

Serve the Tortang Sardinas, Daing ng Bisugo, and Pechay Guisado with plain or fried rice. Have a great breakfast!

Corned Beef and Baguio Beans Soup

2008-05-27T15:01:00.012+08:00

It has been half a year since I last parked myself on an office chair, fronting my computer and doing some writing stuff. I think I’ve done my part as a writer and it’s now time for me to discover my other forte… my passion for COOKING.

When I was in my teenage years, my parents always assigned me in the kitchen area. Preparing our lunch and dinner and sometimes, washing the dishes. My siblings are years older than me and during that time, one of them was busy on her college and organization’s activities while the two were already working. I remember that every time there were special occasions in our house, I was the one preparing some of the viands.

Cooking is my second love, next to writing. But when I started to work, it seemed that my interest in this field subsided. This is the reason of the birth of this blog… to awaken my talent in cooking.

And as a beginning, I want you to have a taste of my simple dish which I called as Corned Beef and Baguio Beans Soup.

Ingredients:

1 cup of sliced Baguio beans
1 cup of corned beef
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 medium-size tomato, diced
1 ½ cup of water
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of salt (depends on your taste)

First, put the vegetable oil in a heated pan. Then, sauté the garlic, onion, and tomato. Stir for a minute.

Add the corned beef, salt and water. Let the water boil for 10 minutes.

Next, add the Baguio beans and wait for about 5 minutes until it is cooked.

Now, you can enjoy your Corned Beef and Baguio Beans Soup. You may also serve it with rice.