Creamy chicken skillet

This is a super simple recipe that you can prepare for dinner!

Ingredients:

• Chicken cutlets
• Olive oil
• Zucchini
• Onion and garlic
• Apple cider vinegar (I used a peach-flavored one but you can use anything)
• Tomatoes
• Cream cheese
• Provence herbs
• Dried basil
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil.
2. Add chicken and cook until brown. 
3. Add the sliced zucchini, garlic, and onion. Cook until the zucchini softens.
4. Add apple cider vinegar and stir.
5. Add tomatoes, cream cheese, Provence herbs, dried basil, and stir.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Bring to a simmer and cook until the cream cheese is completely melted.

When I prepared this one, I realized that I needed some bread - garlic bread or any baguette! It definitely resembles a pasta dish so don't forget to serve some of your favorite bread on the side! Bon appetit.

Bacon and broccoli with cream

Christmas of 2020 was all about - guess what - cook-off! Aurelien and I decided that we prepare food separately each for an appetizer and main course. So for appetizers, I prepared bacon and broccoli with cream. I honestly was not very sure how it would be as I have never prepared anything like it before although this was based on a beans appetizer from the internet... I wanted to use broccoli because it is not his favorite vegetable 😂 (and he was going to prepare snails for the next appetizer... which I was not so sure about at first!) 

Bacon and broccoli with cream (next to it is the sausage pastry that Aurelien prepared which was yum!)

He was very keen on making me eat snails so I challenged him to eat broccoli since it is his least favorite vegetable! Turns out, he liked it. As per him, he would only eat broccoli if I cook it with cream - probably the same way as to how this was prepared. So, maybe if you don't not like broccoli as well but would like to try, you can give this one a go:

Ingredients:

Broccoli florets

Bacon

Garlic, minced

Any kind of meat cube (chicken/pork/beef)

Cooking cream

Butter

Emmental cheese

Instructions:

1. Cook the bacon until they are crisp or as desired. Put them aside.
2. Put the butter into the pan
3. Once the butter has melted, add the minced garlic
4. Put the cooking cream and meat cube and let it simmer
5. Add the broccoli florets
6. When the broccoli florets are cooked as desired, add the bacon.
7. Remove the pan from the heat.
8. Sprinkle some Emmental cheese as desired

We did not finish everything that night as we had more food to prepare (and eat!). So we still had some leftover cream (most of the broccolis were gone) which was perfect for a baguette for breakfast!

Grilled Chicken Berry Salad

Grilled chicken berry salad :)

I have been preparing my meals for the week and here's what I had prepared for my lunch from Sunday to Thursday last week. It's called Chicken Berry Salad. It's very simple, easy to make, and yet nutritious. I am not a fan of dressings recently so I have not included a dressing in the recipe below, but you may add honey mustard. apple cider vinegar, and/or any vegetable oil. Or you may also sprinkle of orange juice if you would like to!

Ingredients:

• Chicken breast
• Mixed salad
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Edamame
• Almonds

Instructions:

1. Grill the chicken breast. 
2. In a plate (or bowl), assemble your greens, berries, edamame, and almonds. 

Et voila! Your lunch is prepared! 😊

Pesto Chicken & Veggies

So I had the chance to cook pesto chicken and veggies in the weekend and I wanted to share this recipe to the internet because (1) it's yummy, (2) perfect for preparing lunch at work for the whole week, (3) and for future purposes! So here it goes!

Ingredients:

• Asparagus
• Basil pesto
• Celery
• Cherry tomatoes
• Chicken breast
• Mushrooms
• Olive oil

Procedure:

1. Heat a large skillet on medium heat
2. Add olive oil, chicken breast, and cherry tomatoes. Cook on for 5 to 10 minutes. Once chicken breast and cherry tomatoes are cooked, set them aside.
3. In the same skillet, cook the mushrooms for 5 to 10 minutes. 
4. Add in asparagus and celery until cooked through.
5. Add the chicken breast and cherry tomatoes back into the skillet.
6. Add 1 tablespoon of basil pesto. This varies if you are cooking a large amount of ingredients. So you can season upon your liking. You can add pepper and basil leaves if you want as well.

Korean Beef Bowl recipe

Korean Beef Bowl recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 kilogram ground beef
1 onion, thinly sliced
ground black pepper
spring onions, minced
cooking oil

Procedure

1. Combine brown sugar, soy sauce, ground black pepper, and ginger
2. Heat the cooking oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic until it turns brownish.
3. Add the ground beef and cook until they are light brown. Once cooked, drain the excess fat.
4. Pour in the soy sauce mixture and onions to the skillet. Allow it to simmer.
5. Take a taste test -- add more pepper as you want or add pepper flakes.
6. Take a bowl of rice and serve it with the beef recipe on top. Add spring onions as garnish.

Enjoy! :)

A quote and a Vegetable Egg Roll recipe

"A strong woman accepts both compliments and criticism graciously, knowing that it takes both sun and rain for a flower to grow."

***

Today's recipe is Vegetable Egg Roll!

• Mung bean sprouts
• Fried tofu
• Cabbage
• Yellow onion
• Garlic
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Egg roll or spring roll
• Cooking oil

1. Saute garlic and onion
2. Stir-fry tofu
3. Put some salt and black pepper. Then, stir.
4. Add the cabbage
5. Stir in the bean sprouts
6. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a place. Let it drain.
7. Once the veggies cool off, start making rolls.
8. Fry the rolls.

Rolled Omelet recipe

Rolled Omelet recipe

5 eggs (depends on how much you want; just adjust the rest of the ingredients.)
Fresh milk
Red Onions, diced
Carrots, diced
Spring Onions, chopped
Vegetable oil
Salt & Pepper
Optional: left overs (e.g. grilled fish, meat)

1. Mix everything in a bowl.
2. Heat oil in a non-stick pan.
3. Put just enough of mixture into the pan. Make sure the mixture is not too thick when you spread it around the surface for easy rolling. You will have batches for this depending on the amount of your mixture and the size of your pan.
4. Cook it like how you cook your scrambled egg. Once cooked, gently roll the omelet by using a rubber spatula.
5. Take a chopping board and place your rolled omelet on it. Slice the omelet to make rolls.
5. Serve.

The best way to pump up your favorite scrambled egg for breakfast or brunch! I found this recipe from Eugenie Kitchen on YouTube.

Apple Cake by Grandmother Madeleine

 

Another recipe from Aurelien who lives in Lille, France. :)

Ingredients:

500 grams flour

2 eggs

125 grams white sugar

4 apples

1 pinch of salt

500 ml fresh milk

Mix everything in a bowl.

Add apples cut in small pieces

Put in plate

Bake at 175 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

My first time to bake an apple cake that kind of turned out as a pie! Hahahahahaha it was great! I loved it. Thanks, mon amour, for sharing your grandmother Madeleine's recipe!

A: "Don't forget the most important ingredient!!"

D: "What is it?"

A: "Love."

:)

French Toast recipe

French Toast recipe (This recipe is originally from A Beautiful Mess.)

Ingredients:
Thick slices of french bread
5 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Corn flakes
unsalted butter

 Procedure:
1. Crush the corn flakes. Set aside in a plate.
2. In a bowl, combine and whisk eggs, milk, vanilla extract & cinnamon.
3.  Heat a pan over medium heat with butter.
4. Take a slice of french bread, dip into your mixture of egg and then dip in your plateful of cereals. Shake off excess.
5. Place in the hot pan. Using a spatula, press the bread so it will be fully cooked inside. Cook the other side. Repeat with the remaining pieces of bread.

I served it with some chocolate on top. You can use your favorite syrup for sure ;)

Thank you, Emma of A Beautiful Mess, for sharing this fun breakfast recipe!

Chicken Caldereta recipe

Chicken Caldereta recipe

Another meal I cooked for the family of three (me, my sister, and her husband). My sister helped me how to make this! I just made myself the best Caldereta evuuuur because it's less oily than how it is usually prepared. That's probably because I fried the chicken first and not cooked the raw together with the vegetables. I know this blog somehow turned like a recipe blog of some sort but I couldn't really sit down and spend time writing the things I used to write about --which probably is the reason why I am not sane at times. I'll get back to writing once all these things are sorted out.

Ingredients you need:
Chicken cutlets
Canola oil
Red onions, sliced
Cloves of garlic, sliced
Potatoes, diced
Carrots, sliced
Green beans
Tomato sauce
Salt and white pepper
Some REAL pineapple juice
A little diced cheddar cheese

This is how I cooked it (it may differ from the way it is usually cooked, because yolo haha):
1. Boil your chicken in a pot with water for 15 minutes. Fry the chicken in a pan. Set aside.
2. In a new pan, heat up some Canola oil. In medium heat, saute onion and garlic. Once the onion becomes translucent, put the potatoes, carrots, and green beans. Cook until slightly tender.
3. Put the tomato sauce and fried chicken into the pan. Add salt and white pepper to taste. Let it simmer in low heat for 5 minutes.
4. Pour some pineapple juice and sliced cheddar cheese for fun!
5. Let it simmer again for 5 minutes. Serve.


There you go. That's a totally different kind of Chicken Caldereta meal but we enjoyed it! Best served with rice, of course!

Palitaw Recipe

Palitaw is a sweet rice cake Filipino treat. It's super easy to make and probably one of the best simple things in life. Hah. It was my first time to make these with the aid of my sister. 

Here are the ingredients we used:
1 cup of Malagkit rice  / Glutinous Rice (rice flour)
1/2 kilo white/brown sugar
1/2 cup water
Grated coconut mean (fresh!)

1. To make a dough, combine the rice flour and water.
2. Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, take a part from the dough, roll it into a ball and flatten it.
3. Take a pot and fill it with water, bring it into a boil and poach your flattened dough into it. Poach 5 doughs at a time or depends on how big your pot is.
4. It takes about a minutes or so for each dough to cook. Once the dough floats, it usually is a sign that it is cooked.
5. Once cooked, put it into a plate to dry. You can use banana leaf cuts as a plate if you have any.
6. Serve your palitaws with a sprinkle of sugar and grated coconut meat.

You can also toast some sesame seeds if you have any and sprinkle them into your palitaws.

Simple Penne Bolognese Recipe

Penne Bolognese recipe! It's one of those days when I feel like cooking pasta for everyone. It was not actually a plan but after sorting out some stuff in my sister's kitchen, I realized that I could cook some pasta. We also made some fresh carrot juice to go with it. It was yummers! Hahaha

So here are the ingredients I used:

Balducci Penne Rigati 500 grams
2 red onions, minced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
Cheddar cheese, or anything you like
Canola oil
Corned beef
Spaghetti sauce 500 milligrams

No need for procedure on how to cook it because, well, you can just ask your mom. Hahaha I am so useless~ *facepalm* Seriously, though, here's how I cooked it:

1. Cook the pasta as to how it is supposed to be cooked. Drain for a couple of minutes. Then, transfer to a plate to be served with the sauce. Make sure it is al dente but, hey, no pressure! ;)
2. In a different pan, put some canola oil.
3. Once the pan is heated, saute onions and garlic.
4. When the onions are translucent, pour the corned beef into the pan.
5. Pour in the spaghetti sauce. Let it simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Pour the bolognese into the plateful of pasta.
7. Serve and eat!

Bolognese is probably my comfort food though it's better when it is home-cooked!

White and Dark Chocolate Cookies

This recipe is written by a french guy (who drinks beer on weekends, lol) and sent over to me! Also he said in verbatim,  "if you want to discover the unknown france, the france not shown in tourist tours, you should go with the only guy in france who doesn't like wine." I don't know what he's trying to say but I think he wants me to tell the internet that he's ready to date anyone who wants to travel in France. Haha! Anyway, here is what's written on it:

Cookies

125 g butter (I used unsalted)
90 g white sugar
90 g brown sugar
1 bag vanilla sugar (I used 1 tsp vanilla syrup)
200 g flour
1 egg
90 g white chocolate in chunks
90 g dark chocolate in chunks

Mix butter, white & brown sugar, egg, and flour
Add the white and dark chocolates
Make balls a teaspoon size

(Makes 18 balls. )

I am happy with the result. It was crunchy outside and soft, well, no... chewy inside. I actually made a mistake. I just noticed now that I used two eggs instead of one. *facepalm* But it was very good nonetheless! Hahaha! He gave me three recipes to make and I will try to make the other two. It's my first time to bake so there would probably be a lot of mistakes including this one but the point is to learn baking. Excited to bake more!

Fish Escabeche Recipe

I enjoy cooking (who doesn't?!) and sometimes I like taking photos of them. That is if they turned out good or great which rarely happens! Although I admit I am so bad at taking photos of food, not to mention my bad style at food presentation, I still show it off because it's *my* masterpiece hahaha! Like painting a rose but ends up looking like a pink (abstract lol) cotton candy! But I don't mind and so do you. That's me trying to be your perfect chef! Hahaha! 

Anyway, this recipe is called Fish Escabeche. The internet says that the word escabeche is Persian and was brought by the Arabs to Spain. The Spaniards probably influenced the early Filipinos to this dish which is simply a sweet and sour (honey and vinegar) taste with a couple of spices. Escabeche is probably the second easy fish recipe I can do. First being the fried fish, of course! Hahaha!

Fish Escabeche Recipe

Ingredients:
Fish, any kind
Ketchup, depends on the amount of fish
Water, half a cup; depends on the amount of fish
Red bell pepper, sliced thinly or however you want
Ginger, sliced thinly
Garlic, sliced
Onion, sliced
Salt, a pinch or so haha
Vinegar, depends on your preference
White pepper, depends on your preference
Sugar, depends on your preference
Spring onion, just not too much hahaha

Procedure:
1. Fry the fish first. Set aside.
2. In the same pan, saute onion, garlic, ginger, bell pepper. Do not over cook!
3. Pour small amount of water (depends on how many fish you have. Just keep in mind that you are not making a soup! So you know how much to put.), vinegar, sugar, ketchup, salt, white pepper. Simmer for five minutes. Add more spices according to your preference. It doesn't need to be too salty though it should be sweet and sour. Add more pepper if desired!
4. Pour the mixture into the fried fish. Add spring onions above for garnish though it also adds a pop of flavor for the recipe! Serve.

Some recipes use corn starch to thicken the sauce but in this recipe I used tomato ketchup only. That's because we didn't have a cornstarch. I think ketchup is a good alternative for it though! :)

Kamote Cue Recipe

Kamote Cue (Sweet Potato Cue) is a popular snack in the Philippines. It is sold in the streets along with Banana Cue, Turon, Hotcake, Pinaypay, and others. Without any doubt, I know all Filipinos love this as a snack! If you are planning to visit here, you should try it.

Kamote Cue Recipe:

Ingredients:

Sweet Potatoes

Cooking Oil

Brown Sugar

Procedure:

1. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes

2. Slice the sweet potatoes across 

3. Heat the cooking oil in a pan and put the sweet potatoes into the pan, deep fried, until they are slightly brown.

4. Take them out and place them in a plate. Set aside.

5. Using the same pan, pour the brown sugar into the pan. Do not stir yet. Once the sugar floats, pour the sweet potatoes back into the pan. Stir until they are caramelized. Serve.

S'mores

Hi! A couple of months ago, I made my very first S'mores. You just need some Graham crackers, marshmallows (fat-free), and chocolate bars.

Place crackers on a microwavable plate. Top with a chocolate bar and marshmallows. I used Toblerone (!) and fat-free marshmallows. Put as much as you want but if you want a not-so-messy (!) S'mores, you can put just enough. As you can see, I did otherwise. Top with another layer of crackers. You can do two layers if you want. Cook in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.

I added some more locally-made fat-free mango-flavored marshmallows and caramel puffs! Now you are ready to party!

Look at that! It looks very messy, don't you think? But who cares if it's messy, it's S'mores! The marshmallows did  not melt so I suggest using smaller ones or adjust the time it is in the microwave. As you can see, I still have some excess melted Toblerone! Messy but yummy! I'll try to make a less messy and designed for small bites next time! Let's say this is just a trial. :P

Pineapple Smoothie

 

One of my favorite things to make during Summer season is smoothie/shake! This time I made some pineapple smoothie! I'm lucky to have bought a sweet kind of pineapple in the market. Anyway, my point of making this one is to have something to drive me to exercise. It's the best prize right after a heavy workout! 

Pineapple Smoothie

Serving: 2 tall glasses

Ingredients:

2 cups of pineapple chunks

1/4 cup of sugar syrup

1 cup cold water

2 tbsp. powdered milk

Procedure:

Put everything in the blender.

Blend until smooth.

Chill for 30 minutes or so.

You can add crushed ice in the mix if you wish to drink it right away. For me, I decided to do work out while having it chilled. So when I'm done, I could just take it out from the freezer and reward myself for a job well done!

If we're going to talk about workouts then count me out. Hahaha! It happened for several times though but it didn't last. I have done some exercising in the past months. It's just that I can't do it religiously. I think I am one of those people who just wants to do some exercise when they feel lousy and in the need to. Although I would love to have someone tell me right in the face to do exercise just because. Please don't judge. I'm just trying to defend myself from calling myself lazy. I know, I know. I shall list some exercises to do again for this month! ;p

I can't wait to do some workout plan for this month. :p

Braised Pork Recipe

One of my favorite Filipino dishes is Braised Pork or, in Filipino, Humba. It's almost always present during fiesta, birthdays, graduation, or any other celebration. It's a go-to recipe for most Filipino families. There are different ways to cook Humba. I like it when it is kind of sweet, less oily and with boiled eggs on the side. Boiled eggs aren't necessary for the recipe but I like having it because it is my favorite. :p

Here's how I made my version.
1. Boil eggs. Boil for 2 minutes. Let it rest in a covered casserole for 7 minutes. Set aside. This is a technique I learned to have a perfect hard-boiled eggs. So far, it never failed me.

2. Heat oil in casserole. Add pork belly over medium heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Add 4 tbsp. brown sugar. Add 1 cup of water.

3. Add 4 cloves of garlic, minced. Sprinkle some black ground pepper. Bring to boil. Lower heat until meat is fork tender.

4. When meat is fork tender, let it simmer. Add some spring onions. Add the hard-boiled eggs. You may slice the eggs in half. You may also add your favorite herb like basil or rosemary.

It is much better to marinate the pork prior to cooking so the pork would have more taste.

That's all. :)

Avocado Salad

This one is probably the easiest salad to make. It's pretty common in our household, too. We add mango cubes, banana slices and other sweet fruits sometimes.

In case you want to know this simple recipe, here it is.

For 1 serving: 1 ripe Avocado; condensed milk; lemon juice; other fruits

Cut the avocado in half and make cubes out of it. Same goes with other fruits such as bananas and mangoes. Put a little lemon juice. Pour some condensed milk. Chill in the freezer for an hour or so.

Summer has been so intense since it started. I am not complaining (although sometimes I am) because rainy season is coming very soon anyway. I've been trying to grow basil and cherry tomatoes... in the balcony! (Which I am definitely sharing once I won't fail. I didn't know gardening would be this crazy but fun.) They need the intense light for them to grow healthy...or so I believe.

Everything is fine for me. I hope everything is fine for you, too. Have a great week ahead! :)

Carrot Salad

I made a carrot salad on a sunny morning. There's nothing much in it. I wanted to add some fruits but I can't find some in the kitchen. Next time, I'm going to plan ahead so I can gather more ingredients. It's one of my comfort foods. You might want to try it :)

1 serving:

Carrot

Mayonnaise (or any dressing you want)

Slice the carrot in half.

Slice the first half into thin bits

Grate the other half

Toss everything in a bowl
Add your favorite dressing.

You can add raisins and apples, too.

And you're good! It was a perfect sunny morning! :)

*everytime I make this, I remember my papa. He always eats fresh carrots. :)*