COMFORT FOODS: Paksiw na Bangus

Ingredients:

- 1 whole milkfish cut into 6 pcs. diagonally
- 4 siling haba
- 1 white onion, sliced 
- 7 cloves of garlic, chopped
- thumb size ginger, sliced
- 10 whole peppercorns
- 2 bay leaf (crunch it a bit to release more of the aroma)
- half a cup of vinegar
- water
- 1 tbsp. of cooking oil
-Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. In a medium pot, combine all ingredients except cooking oil. 
2. Bring to a boil about 3 minutes then add water and cooking oil. At this point, you can adjust as well the vinegar if you wanted it more.
3. Bring to a boil again and cook for about 10-15 minutes over medium heat. Season with salt.
4. Transfer into a serving dish and enjoy.
Makes 3 servings.
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This dish is very close to my heart because way back when I was a child, we can't afford to cook lavish food because I wasn't born with a silver spoon. I don't say that I don't like my childhood, I loved it so much because not every kid can experience total freedom. 😂😂 my parents are very supportive, sila ang magulang na masasabi ko na hahayaan kang maging bata but of course, there are times that they are strict. hehehe

When I was a kid, I used to watch my mom cook this all the time for lunch or dinner. Like almost everyday, my mom prepares this for lunch because it's easy to cook. I remember when me and my siblings come home from school during lunchtime, we usually eat paksiw na bangus or tilapia. I was a picky eater back then but I cannot complain since we are taught to eat what's on the table. I became used to the taste and eventually came to love it especially when there's a left-over and my mom would fry it, it still tasted good especially with fried rice. 

Paksiw na isda is very easy to make if done the Ilocano way of making stew because it doesn't involve a lot of steps and also the ingredients are very cheap and already available in your pantry. How about you, how do you make your paksiw? Any good memories with it? you can share it with me. 

Mom I dedicate this dish for you. ❤ I love you with all my heart we don't often say it to you but me and my siblings loved you and care about you! 😘 By the way, my husband loved this dish so much he's always waiting for the "tiyan ng bangus" hahaha

Merienda serye: Nachos with Taco Dip

Ingredients:

- 1 cup ground chicken breast
- 1 large red onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 1 small carrots, chopped
- 2 siling haba, chooped
- 3 tbsp. taco seasoning
- 1 tsp. Spanish paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- half a cup of water

Cheese Sauce: (optional)

- grated cheddar and/or mozzarella cheese (amount depends on how cheesy you wanted)
- half a cup of soy milk or fresh milk (I used soy milk for the extra sweet taste)
- 1 tbsp. of flour
- 2 tbsp. of butter
- salt and white pepper to taste

Taco Dip Procedure:

1. In a saucepan, saute the garlic and onion.
2. When the onion turns translucent, add the rest of the vegetables and saute for a minute.
3. Add the chicken in and saute until the chicken turns brown.
4. Season with Spanish paprika, salt and pepper, and the taco seasoning and continue to saute.
5. Add water and simmer until all the consistency is dry or if you want a little sauce, add more water and stir in a slurry for a thick consistency.

How to make a slurry: 1 tbsp. of cornstarch dissolved in 1 part water.

6. Pour into a serving dish and enjoy it with nacho/tortilla/ taco. 
   Top it with the cheese sauce and grated cheese. partner it as well with salsa  dip.

Cheese Sauce Procedure:

1. In a saucepan, melt the butter (not brown just melted)
2. Add in grated cheese and flour. Stir continuously until the cheese has melted.
3. Add in the soy milk while continuously stirring. Add more water if consistency is too thick. Turn off the heat if already reached the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

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Why order nachos in a restaurant if you can make them at home? This is my own nacho recipe the easy way using McCormick Taco Seasoning. You can actually use it as is without adding other veggies but I wanted to create that extra layer of texture and flavor. Instead of the traditional beef, I used chicken which is a little cheaper and a lot healthier option. 

Taco sauce or dip is best enjoyed on a basket of nacho chips, tacos, and/or fries and can be loaded with chili sauce, cheese sauce or guacamole and with fresh tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, cabbage or lettuce. Instead of jalapeno which is expensive to buy here in the Philippines, I used siling haba which gave that same heat except of course the flavor is different.

. Well, it depends on how you want it. I like mine on a bed of nachos with cheese sauce and grated cheddar cheese. What about you, how do you enjoy your taco dip?
😊👍

COMFORT FOOD: Cream Spicy Chiken Adobo

Ingredients:

-Half a kilo of chicken thigh fillet

-42 ml Chinese soy sauce

-42 ml vinegar

-1 tbsp. oyster sauce
-1 tbsp. sugar

-6 cloves garlic, minced

-3 pcs. siling haba chopped

-6 pcs. whole peppercorns

-2 bay leaf

-1 star anise

-1 to 2 cups water (depends on the consistency you want)

-1 tbsp. coconut powder

-Thumb size ginger sliced thinly

Procedure:

1. Parboil the chicken to remove scum and rinse.

2. In a pan, saute the chicken with all the ingredients except all liquids, chili, and coconut powder.

3. Once you already smell the aroma of the spices, add the vinegar and simmer for 1 minute.

4. Add in the rest of the liquid ingredients. Simmer over low heat until liquid is reduced. more or less around 15 minutes.

5. Once reduced, add in the coconut powder and siling haba and simmer for another 5 minutes if consistency is too thick add water. 

6. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy with garlic fried rice or steamed rice.

    Makes 3-4 servings.

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Filipino food is the next big thing. We can find Filipinos in any part of the world 😄 that is why Filipino dishes are slowly being introduced to the global market. One of these dishes Filipinos are well known aside from Jollibee is Adobo, derived from the Spanish word "ADOBAR" meaning to marinate.

Adobo is a very versatile dish because in every region or family they have their own recipe of adobo or same recipe but different methods of cooking. You can use pork, chicken or beef to make adobo. I put an extra ingredient which is coconut powder to create that extra smooth and creamy texture of the dish. I liked my adobo extra spicy so chili is a must for this dish.

For my recipe, I used chicken thigh because... well I love dark meat and thigh is my favorite part 😋. The most common cooking techniques I know about cooking adobo is boiling or simmering all ingredients together over low heat, some would fry the meat first before incorporating other ingredients. But for my recipe, I parboiled the meat because even if you washed the meat prior to cooking, there is still dirt left behind. You will see foams are floating when you boil the meat and those are actually dirt.

 And after reading tons of books about cooking and watching youtube videos hahaha, one of the most used Chinese techniques I know in cooking meat is parboiling which is an effective way to clean the meat and I assure you, any rancid smell will be removed and dirt will be removed as well. I used this technique every time I cook meat that requires boiling for a long time. The dish tasted much better and tasted clean as well. Trust me on this one. My mom used to teach me how to cook and I always watch here cooking but when she tasted my chicken arroz caldo, she said it was delicious so she asked me how did I cook it. I told her I parboiled the meat then I fry it. Parboiling is very important in cooking meat. 

You may know other techniques in cooking dishes, you may share it with me and let's all enjoy cooking. 😘👍

FIESTA IN A HURRY: Seafood Kare-kare

Ingredients:

-1/2 kilo deveined  shrimp
-1 slab of cream dory cut into 1 inch
-2 pieces medium to large size squid cut in half-
  inch thick

-1/2 cup of string beans cut into 3 inches 

-4 pieces eggplant cut in quarter

-6 cloves garlic, minced
-1 large onion, chopped
-1 1/2 Tbps. of peanut butter
-Kare-kare mix dissolved in 1 glass of water
-1 teaspoon of fish sauce
-2 glasses of water
-Salt and pepper to taste
-Half a cube of chicken bouillon cube (optional)
-Bagoong alamang (optional)

Procedure:

1. Fry the seafood in the same pan one at a time. Shrimp first, cream dory next and lastly squid then set aside.
2. On the same pan, sautee garlic and onion.
3. When onion turns translucent, you may add the dissolved kare-kare mix, water,
    peanut butter, and fish sauce. Bring to a gentle boil. For an added flavor, you may add half a cube of chicken bouillon but this is optional. but for this recipe, I added chicken bouillon.
4. Add the eggplant, bring to a simmer until eggplant is soft.
5. Add the seafood and string beans and boil for 2 minutes.
6. Season with salt and pepper. I added a pinch of salt since for this recipe I'm not using the traditional bagoong alamang to partner with it.
7. Transfer to a serving plate and enjoy. 😋
    Makes 4-5 servings.
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This is my take on the traditional kare-kare, an easy recipe that doesn't include mussels, crabs and dark meat fish like tuna. This is a simple and easy to make especially for those moms out there who are always in a hurry to cook and serve dinner or lunch and on a tight budget.  This recipe cost Php401.50 around Php80.30 per head for 5 people not bad.

Yes mga mommies!! you can make seafood kare-kare with 2-3 main ingredients lang without sacrificing the taste since may shrimp naman na kasama at mabilisan. Other kinds of seafood are so expensive like crabs, tuna, and of course shrimp so always opt for cheap alternatives if you're on a tight budget like dory, tilapia you can even use canned squid but make sure to rinse the squid properly or else it will taste differently. I still added shrimp of course because it is pack of flavor and besides you can always bargain with ateng tindera for the price. 😂

Being a busy mom, I always make sure to find easy ways to do things at home so instead of grinding rice and peanut and anato seed which can take some time to do it and must be done using mortar and pestle because the taste is much better than using electric grinder, I bought Mama Sita's Kare-Kare Mix and  Lady's Choice Peanut butter (again this is not sponsored po). These 2 ingredients when combined makes the best tasting kare-kare sauce which is smooth, rich and thick.

My dad used to cook beef kare-kare and he always used these 2 ingredients for his sauce and it was so delicious. I tried making his recipe for my college friends and they liked it so much. Now that I have my own family, my husband usually asked me to cook kare-kare for special occasions or if he wants to eat some.

How about you? Do you have a story behind your recipe? Come share with me. 😄 Enjoy cooking everyone!💖

COMFORT FOOD: ALPHABET SOUP???

Alphabet soup with lentils

Ingredients:

- 6 grams soup mix (Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup         Mix)
- 2 slices of bacon chopped
- half of a white onion, chopped
- diced small carrot
- chopped small celery stalk
- 4 and a half cups of water
- 1 chicken bouillon cube
- 1 teaspoon of flour
- Salt and pepper to taste


Procedures:

1. Rinse the soup mix very well.
2. Place the soup mix in a medium-sized pot season with a pinch of salt,chicken      bouillon and cover with water. Simmer for 55 minutes. Once the soup mix is      tender, turn off the heat and set aside.
3. In a saucepan, render the fat of the bacon. Remove bacon from the pan if          already crispy.
4. Saute the onion until translucent, then add carrots and celery. 
5. Add flour and sautee for 2-3minutes or until veggies are tender.
6. Add sauteed veggies to the soup mix and simmer for 5 minutes.  
7. Transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with bacon (optional). 

Enjoy while it's hot. Makes 2 servings.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

The origin of alphabet soup was unknown but some canning companies started the production of this soup like Knorr, Campbells, and Heinz dated 1910. This soup was made of condensed tomato soup with alphabet pasta which was marketed for its educational value. 

This soup is made with lentils, split peas, pearl barley, and veggies. A hearty soup that is easy to make. A soup good for the body especially during cold months and rainy weather wherein you want to just snuggle in between the sheets and eat warm hearty soup with your loved ones💓.

Kids don't want to eat veggies?? no problem with this soup they will never notice those veggies in it because of the alphabet and number shaped pasta present. Kids will totally enjoy looking for those numbers and alphabet to form names or solve equations. Maybe you can get them to work on their assignment with this one. 😄

If you can't find an alphabet shaped pasta in groceries, you can just use regular pasta or any available pasta you have. You can search for shops online that sell alphabet shaped pasta if you really or buy Bob's Red Mill product line which is available in Healthy Options stores located in malls (guys this is not sponsored, okay! 😁) What is good about this product is that it's easy to cook and it has lentils which is a good substitute for meat. 

I bought this from Healthy Options located at Robinson's Magnolia for Php319.00 not that cheap for a mom like me but it's worth your money and besides you only need maybe a half cup to cook for 2 persons.

Enjoy cooking and you can share with me your thoughts on this recipe or how was the outcome of your recipe. 😋

CHEAP EATS: Water spinach in oyster sauce

WATER SPINACH IN OYSTER SAUCE



Ingredients:


-2 bundles of water spinach (leaves and soft part of the stalk only)
-2 tbs. of  oyster sauce
-1 tsp. of soy sauce
- 1 head of garlic (roughly chopped)
-1/2 cup water( depends if you want it more sauce)
-Salt and pepper to taste

Procedures:

1. Saute garlic in oil until toasted. Set aside 3/4 of the garlic for garnishing.
2. Add the water spinach, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and water and bring to a boil on medium heat.
3. Stir once it boils and cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper. But for this recipe, you may not use salt anymore since the soy sauce and oyster sauce will give that saltiness to the dish.
5. Serve it on a plate and garnish with toasted garlic. 
    Serves 3-4 persons.


This dish is so good and healthy for the family. A healthy dish that's so cheap which costs only less than 100 pesos yet packed with nutrients essential to the body like Vitamin A, Vitamin B complex and other minerals. If you're looking for an alternative for the expensive ones like spinach and kale, water spinach is the best one.