Recipe: Fruity Iced Tea

Here's a recipe I got from our handy dandy Del Monte Kitchenomics cookbook. It's an upgrade from an otherwise plain boring iced tea, served during my sister's simple birthday celebration.

Ingredients:

1 can (850g) Del Monte Fiesta Fruit Cocktail
3/4 cup iced tea powder (lemon flavor)
1 pc small red apple
1 cup warm water
3 and 1/2 cups of cold water

Preparation:
1. Pour Del Monte Fiesta Fruit Cocktail (including syrup) in an ice tray. Cover and freeze overnight.
2. In a pitcher, dissolve iced tea powder. Combine with cold water and set aside.
3. Dice the apple with its peel, then add to the iced tea. Pour into glasses with frozen fruit cocktail iced cubes.

Try this Fruity Iced Tea to serve for house guests or as an afternoon refreshment.

Recipe: Asian Fried Chicken

The recipe I'm sharing today was inspired from Chic Mom's Club Asian Fried Chicken recipe. I made some little changes though since I don't have some of the ingredients from the original recipe and the result was still as delicious. What I learned is that brown sugar, soy sauce and ginger makes a really flavourful sauce. So here goes my version:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp minced ginger
8 chicken breast
salt and pepper
cornstarch or flour (enough to coat the chicken)
cooking oil
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
dash of thyme

Procedure:
1. Wash and pat dry the chicken and season with salt and pepper.
2. Coat the chicken with cornstarch.
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the chicken breasts. Set aside
4. In a sauce pot, boil the soy sauce, brown sugar and minced ginger for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid burning the sugar. Let it simmer.
5. Dip the chicken into the simmering sauce one at a time and put it back again on the frying pan and cook for another minute.
6. Place the chicken on a serving dish and pour over a little sauce and sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds and thyme.

Recipe: Chicken Ala Kiev

Chicken Ala Kiev

Hey guys, another foodie party idea here. This Chicken Ala Kiev sells like pancakes after I took it out of the oven - gone in less than 2 minutes! So I know it's worth to share online ^_^

Recipe: Dates Cake with Walnuts

I've written about dates before, the kind of fruit abundant in Middle Eastern countries. Dad, being an OFW in Qatar would usually bring home boxes of dates for personal consumption. However, we never really get to appreciate its taste. Dates looks quite similar to prunes and even smell like one - but they're too dry, unlike prunes (which I really like) and not really that tasty.

Recipe: Chicken Breasts with Dill and Calamansi Pan Sauce

I read this recipe from a friend's recipe book. I just substituted some ingredients like using chicken breast instead of drumstick, potato instead of carrots and calamansi instead of lemon. It's my first try cooking with dill so this is a special experiment. We have dill in the garden and it took me quite some time to actually incorporate the herb because I wasn't really familiar with its taste and Filipino households nor cooking shows doesn't regularly use dill. Thyme and basil are two of my favorites but now having tried this recipe and actually liked dill, expect to see more recipes with fresh dill. It gives its own distinct flavor, I could hardly compare it with other herb. It worked well with this chicken recipe but I guess it also works well with fish and seafood sauces. Here goes the recipe:

Recipe: Homemade Easy Corn Soup

corn soup

Yesterday, mom purchased a pack of yellow corns. I'm such a sucker for mais and the white small ones are my favorites, especially those corns I usually buy in South Cotabato. We rarely buy from the grocery stores simply because corns being sold their are not only expensive, they're also not as fresh and tasty. So when I found some left over corns, I thought of making a corn soup.

Recipe:

Ingredients

Corn kernels

chicken stock (you can simply boil 1 chicken cube into about 4 cups of water)

salt and pepper

mixed vegetables

1 small onion, diced

1 tbsp flour, dissolved into 1/4cup water

Cooking Instructions:

1. Saute onions and add mixed vegetables and corn kernels

2. Add chicken stock then salt and pepper to desired taste. Wait to boil, reduce heat and let it simmer.

3. Add dissolved flour to thicken the soup. Stir, making sure it has no lumps.

4. Add 1 egg 

That's pretty it. My simple version of a homemade corn soup.

Recipe: Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken

To make our homemade dishes healthier, mom and I continuously scout for both tasty and hearty recipes. And here's one recipe we found online which we recently tried at home. I'm sucker for chicken and baking is one good way to make it more healthy. Let me share our Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken.    

Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken

Recipe: Halo - Halo

As an all-time Filipino dessert favorite, it's just fitting to share this Halo-Halo recipe this summer. Relax and chill everyone! Let's enjoy the summer sun :)

Ingredients:

1 ripe large banana
2 ripe mangoes or 1 cup canned ripe mango
1 cup firm gelatin set into gel and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup canned ripe jackfruit
1/2 cup sweet corn or chick peas (garbanzos)
1 cup young shredded coconut, fresh or canned
1 cup cooked sweet yams or (ube halaya) glutinous purple yam, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cup shaved ice
 2 cup milk
4 scoops of favorite ice cream
1/2 cup chopped peanuts or rice krispies Halo Halo

How to Assemble Halo-Halo
1. Peel mangoes and slice the meat into 1/2-inch cubes. Discard the seeds.
2. Prepare 4 tall glasses. Divide each ingredient into 4 equal parts.
3. In each glass place 1/4 of each ingredient, adding layer by layer starting with corn or chick peas, cooked sweet yams, jackfruit, bananas, coconut, and gelatin.
4. Top with 1/2 cup shaved ice. Pour 1/4 cup milk over shaved ice and top with a scoop of ice cream.
5. Sprinkle nuts or rice krispies over it.

related post: Enjoy an afternoon of Buko Halo Halo

Recipe: Braised Pork Belly

Ingredients:

1lb pork (either pork belly or pork hocks), cut into serving pieces
1 cup water
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. pepper or 1 tsp. peppercorns
1tsp oil
salt to taste
3 potatoes, peeled and quartered (optional)
hard boiled eggs (optional)

Procedure:

1. Combine all ingredients in a big pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for about an hour or until pork belly or hocks is tender. You may wish to adjust the taste according to your style and liking.

2. If you want to add some potatoes and hard-boiled eggs in this dish, potatoes usually cook about 15 minutes. It's up to you whether you like it very soft or just tender to bite. You may add it halfway of the cooking time or later.

3. As for the eggs let it sits for a few minutes before its done to let the sauces covered into it.

4. Remove bay leaf and peppercorns (if used) just before serving. Serve hot.

Recipe: Crab in Coconut Milk

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Serving: 6

Ingredients:
4lbs crabs
8cups coconut milk
1/8 cup cooking oil
4 large cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbs. ginger, julienned
3 tbs white onions, minced
3 pcs jalapeno pepper
2 tbs rock salt - spinach leaves (optional)

Procedure:
1. Wash and clean crabs, discard carapace and claws then set aside
2. Saute garlic in oil until light brown
3. Add onions then crabs. Stir well until crabs change color.
4. Add coconut milk and jalapeno pepper.
5. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes.
6. Simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Season with salt.
8. Add malunggay/spinach and continue simmering for 1 minute.

To serve: Place crab on a platter then glaze over with gata and garnish with spinach. Serve with hot steamed rice.

related post: Easy to Cook Ginataang Tilapia with Malunggay powder

Recipe: Hot Calamansi - Honey Drink

I was feeling sick the other day and my voice got a bit scratchy. This month was like boiling our skin with intense heat that I missed some important activities in the church during the holy week. I decided to stay indoors and felt the need to do something about my cough and cracked voice. One night I decided to experiment with two cheap healing properties very much available on our kitchen cabinet - honey and calamansi.  Surprisingly, it worked wonders with my voice restored and cured my cough in just a day. Usually, when I do get a cold and cough, it last for more than a week, so I find honey and calamansi a match made in heaven! Mom got a flu after a few days and tried my recipe and she too felt the surprisingly fast healing comfort from this hot drink.

For the recipe for one small cup of water, simply add 4 calamansi (strained) and a tsp of honey into a cup of boiling water. Try this Hot Calamansi - Honey Drink when you feel sick and gloomy, it warms your body plus it tastes pretty good too! 

Snack of the Week: Toasted Bread with Honey and Cinnamon Spread

Toasted Bread with Honey-Cinnamon Spread

On tight budget but craving for cinnamon rolls from your fave coffeeshop? Fret no more as I give you this one awesome tip mom discovered when she visited lola in the province. She saw my lola having breakfast with these and totally loved the idea that she began doing the same thing and shared it with everyone when she got back home. Simply mix honey with cinnamon and there's your homemade spread! Aside from its great flavor, there are tons of health benefits one can get from this wonderful duo. Research shows  the said mixture showed positive results for many diseases like heart disease, arthritis, colds, bladder infections and even bad breath. So next time you're out shopping, you may want to think twice when buying for groceries. I believe it's high time to include honey and cinnamon on your weekend grocery list.

Recipe: Homemade Nut Pesto with Cream Dory Fingers

Nut Pesto with Cream Dory Fingers

Here's a photo I took after cooking a fast and easy Homemade Nut Pesto and pan frying Cream Dory Fingers, simple perfect combination that has outgrown my personal craving for the usual meat spaghetti. To make this pesto, all you need is a typical spaghetti pasta, McCormick Pesto Pasta Sauce Mix (those in pouches), olive oil (Doña Elena is affordable), nuts (pine nuts is recommended, but simple peanuts works just fine), and parmesan cheese to sprinkle after the sauce mixture has been readied.

Recipe: Asian Style Pan Fried Dory Fingers

What makes this dish Asian is the presence of soy sauce and sesame oil. Pretty much similar with my steamed dory dish but this one has much stronger taste, and even looks like a fish tocino at first glance because of its color. 

Ingredients:
1 pack of Pangasius fillet (Cream Dory); a pack in Waltermart contains 3 fillets
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp minced garlic
dashes of onion powder or chopped spring onions

Procedure:
1. Slice the fish into finger sizes. Marinade the fish into the mixture of olive oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, and onion. Set aside about 30min to an hour.

2. To cook the fish, pan fry each side to about 2 to 3 minutes or until it crystallize before flipping while also basting each side of the fish with the marinade.

If you want to try a different cream dory recipe, avoiding the usual method of pan frying with bread crumbs or steaming, then this Asian Style Pan Fried Dory Fingers offers something new to the palate. Try it!

Recipe: Tomato Soup with Toasted Cheese Croutons

Homemade Tomato Soup

This particular recipe came from Oprah's website and part of her comfort food menu. Me and my siblings do not fancy tomatoes that much, except probably when it comes to Spaghetti, lol. And since we've just tried mom's Pumpkin soup and ended up loving it, I  thought then maybe a Tomato Soup could be a hit too! Without further ado, let me share Oprah's version:

Recipe: Cream Dory Fingers

Cream Dory is now becoming my favorite among the variety of fish recipes I've cooked. It's healthy and I just love to experiment with it once in a while. Eating the pan fried version of this gives you the crunchy-on-the-outside-light-on-the-inside texture, and I mean very light texture. I also find the Cream Dory Fingers perfect not only for a set meal but also for an afternoon snack or even as a pulutan. A good healthier option during drinking sessions. A pack with 3 dory fillets (also called Pangasius) is priced at about Php168 in Waltermart. Even for a big family like ours, those 3 dory when sliced into fingers can be served twice - dinner and the morning that follows. It's really cheap, I should say. Anyway here's the recipe, a upgraded version of my Pan Fried Cream Dory dish.

Recipe: Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin Soup

Sharing with you another healthy feel good recipe that's both fresh and friendly to the budget. Adding to that, preparing this homemade Pumpkin Soup dish is another way to trick your kids as well as adult meat lovers into eating vegetables that will surely win their tastebuds. A smash hit to our family, we'll definitely be cooking this soup more often.

Here's the recipe. I promise, this is oh-so delicious!

Recipe: Fishballs with Cheese



Homemade Fried Fish Balls with cheese

Give your homemade fishballs or even meatballs a twist by simply adding quickmelt cheese inside the fishball. Surprise your kids with this dish!

Ingredients:
Onion
Garlic
1/2 kilo Shredded fish (dalagang bukid), boiled
2 large potatoes, boiled and mashed
chopped parsely
salt and pepper to taste
4 egg
a sachet of maggi magic sarap
quickmelt cheese (cut into small cubes)

Procedure:

1. Combine all the ingredients (except for cheese)
2. Once mixed, flatten the mixture, add the cheese cube on top and wrap it with the mixture and form into balls.
3. Fry until golden brown

Recipe: Crispy Tilapia Fingers

Crispy Tilapia Fingers

This particular recipe is influenced by the flavors of South Central Mindanao by a local delicacy in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato called crispy tilapia, of which my uncle always serve whenever I get the chance to visit the province. Just like any other fried fish fillets, you will be needing flour, egg, salt and pepper or just have a ready breading mix such as Crispy Fry Breading Mix. Fillet the tilapia thinly and fry to crispy perfection. That's it basically. I will try to blog more about this dish soon after my next holiday visit in the province.

fillet tilapia

Recipe: Homemade Shrimp and Corn Soup

Homemade Shrimp and Corn Soup

Inspired to try Knorr's Crab and Corn Soup, I attempted to make my own soup version using corn and shrimp. My uncle who can also stir a delicious lomi advised me to stay away from those preservatives and easy to cook packs. One time, he made me taste their homemade version of corn soup and it I was easily turned into a convert, inspiring me more to try the much healthier twist at home.

To make, simply saute minced onions and garlic. Next add chopped shrimp until it turns into red color then add cooked corn kernels. Add corn broth, a cup of water and add salt and pepper to taste. Finally add one egg and mix. For measurements, feel free to make your own, whatever suits your taste. In fact I don't really measure most of my ingredients especially during my first try, it's just me. Anyway, it's fairly easy but probably not as tasty as that of the dried mix from Knorr. But hey, this one's got no preservatives!