Beef in Oyster Sauce with Celery

Do you have limited time to cook? Well, if yes, beef in oyster sauce is the solution for your problem. It is quick and easy to prepare. If you don't have a tender cut beef, you can use any cut of beef  just slice thinly as possible. You can serve it for lunch or dinner with any side dish. Being a Filipino, we  serve it with rice but my American husband loves it with mashed potato and white bread.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

My husband is home for the Christmas season so I made him a carrot cake. His birthday is coming up but he  actually don't want to celebrate it so I just baked one of his favorite cake today. I used to make my special carrot cake recipe but he did not like it so I just make the basic recipe. Carrot cake is one of my family's favorite cake and is really very easy to make. You can omit the nuts, or just put all of it in the cake mixture or sprinkle on the frosting. Try it at home and your kid's will gonna like it.

Chicken Cordon Bleu in Tomato Sauce

Chicken Cordon Bleu, another favorite in any  Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) gatherings. It is easy to prepare with the ingredients readily available in the kitchen, not to mention that the chicken is very affordable. I like to have it in creamy white sauce and even like it more with tomato sauce.

For this recipe I tried both the tomato and white sauce.

Ingredients:

• 2 whole boneless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 slices eden cheese
• 4 slices cooked ham, 1/8 inch thick
• 6 tbsp. flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tbsp. water
• 6 tbsp. fine dry bread crumbs
• 4 tbsp. butter

Directions:

1. Remove skin from chicken breasts. 
2. Hold sharp knife parallel to cutting board and along one long side of breast; cut almost in half, leaving breast attached at one side. Open breast so it lies flat. Place the opened chicken breasts in between sheets of plastic wrap, using a meat mallet, lightly pound to 1/4-inch thickness.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Lay a slice of cheese and ham on each piece of breast and roll. 
5. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Beat together the eggs, season with salt and pepper. Mix the bread crumbs with butter to help the crust brown.
6. Dip chicken in beaten eggs, then dredge in flour, then in egg again and finally in crumbs. Lightly coat a baking pan with butter and bake chicken at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes until browned and cooked through.
7. Slice and serve with sauce if desired.

For the Tomato Sauce:

• cooking oil 
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup chicken broth or water
• 1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup liver spread (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• excess chicken fillings, cut into small peaces

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a sauce pan. Sautee garlic and onion. 
2. Add tomato sauce and chicken broth broth. 
3. Add bay leaf and excess chicken fillings. Bring to a boil.
4. Add liver spread into sauce and stir until dissolved. 
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
6. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes or until sauce is thickened.
7.  Pour sauce over chicken. Slice and serve hot.

Pecan Pie Recipe

Pecan pie is one of the favorite Thanksgiving pie. The first time I made pecan pie was in 2004 while we were in the Middle East, and that was my first thanksgiving with my husband. For the first timer, I think I did pretty good. It was a hit  to my Filipino friends. Too bad, I  did not take a picture of it and forgot where I got the recipe. Now that we are in the US, I make pecan pie anytime I want. My family just loves it and I tried it with different ingredients and measurements.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

My husband loves lumpiang shanghai or he call it egg roll. I make vegetable and meat egg roll but he likes the meat better than the other. A sauce makes a difference in any simple dish. In my kitchen, lumpiang shanghai is not complete without the sweet and sour sauce. You  can use catsup, salsa or vinegar dip. Sweet and sour sauce is easy to prepare, you can find all the ingredients in the kitchen. Making our own sauce saves money plus you are sure that it is fresh and no added preservatives. Sweet and sour sauce can be use as a dip or pour our over meatballs, smoked sausage, vegetables, etc. If you want to add heat, just add in crushed red pepper flakes depending on how hot you want it.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• dash of ground black pepper
• pepper flakes (optional)

Procedure:

1. Combine all the ingredients in the sauce pan. Mix very well.
2. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly with whisk until thickened. *For a hot and spicy sauce, you can add in 1/8 tsp  pepper flakes or depending on how hot you want it.
3. Remove from heat. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 weeks. 

Lumpiang shanghai recipe
How to Wrap Egg Rolls

Lumpiang Shanghai

Lumpiang shanghai or egg roll is basically meatball recipe formed into a log and wrapped. If you know how to make meatballs then you can make the Filipino egg roll too. Lumpiang shanghai or egg-roll filled with meat is one of the famous Filipino dish found in every gatherings. My husband is a big fan of my lumpiang shanghai, he prefers meat over vegetable lumpia.  The recipe is simply a mixture of all the ingredients wrapped in an eggroll (lumpia) wrapper and deep fried. You can use ground pork, chicken, beef or a combination. This is my mother's recipe. She uses jicama /singkamas but it is optional, you can use your favorite vegetables like cabbage, water chestnut or even potato. Lumpiang shanghai is best served with sweet and sour sauce, catsup or vinegar dip.

Easy Pie Crust Recipe

Nothing beats pie crust made from scratch. The recipe is easy to do, with all the ingredients usually found in most kitchens. A pastry blender is a simple gadget for thoroughly mixing all the pie crust ingredients. This recipe makes a single or two crust pie, depending on how thick you want it. It is worth the time to make a homemade dough.

Egg Omelette

An omelette is a quick and easy recipe for breakfast or any meal of the day. Eggs are beaten and cooked with your favorite meats and vegetables. Omelette can be cooked plain, filled, steamed or baked. For a fluffy texture, whole eggs are beaten with a small amount of milk, water, or cream.

Ingredients:

• unsalted butter or cooking oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• Omelette fillings (optional)
• shredded cheese
• diced ham, sausage, bacon or turkey
• chopped onions, bell pepper, mushroom, olives, parsley

Direction:

1. Whisk the egg and milk vigorously with a fork until the whites and yolks are completely blended. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add cooking oil or butter to coat the the pan. 
   Sautee all the fillings of your choice. Add just a dash of salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Turn heat over medium low fire, and pour the egg mixture in the pan. As the egg starts to set, shake the pan gently so that the runny, unset portion of the omelette can to the edge of the pan.
4. When the omelette is just about to set completely, sprinkle the cheese and and put in the sauteed vegetables over half of the omelette. 
5. With your spatula, lift one edge of the egg and fold it  over the filling, so that the edges line up. Cook for another minute, but don't overcook.
6. Slide onto a plate. Garnish with chopped fresh herbs if desired. Serve immediately.

How To Make Homemade Wine From Welch's Grape Juice

Orange and grape juice are my kids favorite juice. In my house, we Florida orange juice, Tropicana, Tree Top apple juice while Welch's is the only grape juice we trusted. I buy two bottles of Welch's every week. But months ago, I stopped buying Welch's. We tried other brands and finally we found another brand.

Easy Biscuit Apple Dumplings

Biscuit and apple, what a great combination for a delicious dessert or snack! So today, I made one of my favorite dessert, Apple Dumplings. You don't have to be a good cook to make this recipe. I love how easy it is to do and how a boring biscuit turned into a mouthwatering dessert.

Beef Pares Recipe

Beef  Pares is one of the favorite dish at the  side-street eateries in the Philippines.It is a  juicy tender stewed beef in sweet brown sauce. I used to cook it the Filipino way but the spices gives my husband a heart burn so I made it a little bit according to his taste and sensitive stomach. There are many ways to cook this dish just like the famous Adobo. Beef pares is serve paired with garlic fried rice and hot soup. Here is my version of Beef Pares recipe.

Best Meatloaf Recipe

Meat Loaf is one of our family's comfort food. It is so easy to prepare and can be eaten with any side dish or as a meatloaf sandwich with the leftovers. My husband loves it with lots of onion but my kids are not so fun of big chunky onion or any herbs, so I make sure to finely chopped all the ingredients and not to put too much. Meatloaf can be make in different ways so don't settle  for only what is written in the recipe. You can add ingredients of your choice too.  Here is one of my quick and easy meatloaf recipe. I made this one, not so complicated by using few ingredients only.

Sweet Potato Leaves Salad (Ensaladang Talbos ng Kamote)

In the Philippines, we have a lot of sweet potato plants. The tuberous roots can be cook in so many ways while  the leaves and shoots are not put to waste, they can be used as a salad or as one of the main ingredients in several dishes. Sweet potato leaves salad also called ensaladang talbos ng kamote  is one of the most popular side dish with fried fish in the Philippines. The sourness of the salad compliments well with the salty flavor of the fried fish.

Do It Yourself Dried Mangoes

I bought a food dehydrator so I can dry my herbs and some fruits in season. Yesterday was my first time to try  drying  some mangoes.  Mangoes are in season and very cheap in the  store for only 49 cents a piece. So I sliced 9 mangoes thinly and dehydrate them for about 10 hours. I thought I did good on my first dried mango,  it turnd out too dry and crisp. I had a mango chips instead  of a candied dried mango that my husband loves to munch.

Herbs and Vegetables Garden

The joys of gardening is growing your own fruit, vegetables and herbs. Cooking is not complete without spices and herbs. Herbs added vibrant and delicious taste to any food. Parsley is the world's most popular herb and available all year round in the supermarket. My garden is not complete without these amazing herbs that makes wonder to every meal. Most of the herb and vegetables are perennial, they survive the winter so you don't have to start your garden from scratch every year.

Budget Saving Yogurt Parfait

Yogurt, made by using active, good bacteria.is needed by the body's digestive tract. These good bacteria called probiotics helps maintain the natural balance of organisms (microflora) in the intestines. My kids loves to eat yogurt anytime of the day and one way to serve them is a healthy yogurt parfait. Fresh berries are too costly, so I got some alternative ingredients that is way cheaper but taste delicious.

Food trip: Pancit and Cassava Cake

I ordered some Filipino food stuff online after Christmas and the package arrived after a week. My orders are, rice stick, banana catsup, dried taro leaves, palabok mix, kare kare mix, glutinous rice and more.

Mexican Meatball Soup

I saw the rice-filled meatballs Mexican soup in one of the television show one day and tried it the following weekends while hubby was home. The soup is so yummy and hubby said it is pretty good. Albondigas or Mexican meatball soup is one of the most popular Mexican soup.

Hard Boiled Eggs for Family Meals or Easter

Wondering how to boil eggs for family meals or Easter? Boiling egg is not easy, we usually tend to over boil the eggs most of the time. Over cooked egg has a green ring around the egg yolk. Always remember to cook eggs right to avoid Salmonella poisoning from under cooked or improperly stored eggs.

Candy Sales After Christmas

A lot of people like to hit the After-Christmas sales to take advantage of sale items and a great opportunity to stock up and get ready for the next Christmas. It saves a lot of money to buy candies and sweets for 50% off the regular prices. Sales starts on December 26 for most stores, do not wait for several days or a week for the 75% mark down sale or all the candies you want may be gone.