Easy Meat balls Recipe

Meat balls can be serve alone or with a sauce, or for spaghetti sauce. For easy meatballs, use a food processor to chop and mix all the ingredients. It saves me time from chopping all the vegetables very finely.

Ingredients:

• 500 grms ground beef
• 1 medium size potato –cut into small sizes
• 1/2 small carrot –cut into small sizes
• 1 stalk green onion – cut
• 1/4 cup mushroom
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste .

Directions: 

1. Throw all the vegetables in the food processor ( potato, carrots, green onion, garlic, mushroom). 
2. In a big bowl, place the burger meat. Pour in the chopped veggies. Mix well. Add 1 tsp salt and pepper or according to taste. 
3. Form into balls and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Kale and Tofu Stir Fry

Ingredients

• 1 pack extra firm tofu
• cooking oil 
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• bunch of kale leaves, chopped into medium pieces 

Directions:

1. Drain the tofu and place on cutting board. Cut in small cubes.
2. Heat oil and fry the tofu. Set Aside.
3. Sauté garlic and red pepper flakes  until nice and fragrant. 
4. Add chopped kale and cook for 3-5 min until kale is wilted and cooked down a little.
5. Add the tofu back into the pan and toss with the tablespoon of soy sauce. 
6. Season with salt and pepper.

Ginisang Munggo (Sauteed Mung Bean)

I grew up in a family where ginisang munggo  serves on Fridays, My mother cooks it with bitter gourd/ ampalaya leaves and shrimps or pork. Ginisang paired with fried fish is a  favorite Friday dish among Filipinos.

Now that I have my own family, I love cooking it any day of the week. I don't have ampalaya leaves so I cooked  it with squash flower or any green vegetables available in my garden. Every time I eat sauteed mung beans, it brings back  memories from my childhood.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mung beans
• 3 cloves  garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup pork, cut into bite size
• 1 cup shrimp
• 1 cup any green vegetable of your choice
• 1 medium sized tomato, chopped
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 2 cups water (for boiling)
• 1 pc beef cube or 1 teaspoon beef powder (for flavoring)
• crushed pork rind (chicharon), optional
• ground black pepper
• salt

Instructions:

1. In a  sauce pan, put-in the water and mung beans. Bring to a boil. Cook in low fire until becomes soft.
2. Sauté garlic,onion, and tomato. Add the pork. Cook well.
3. Add the cooked mung beans. Add in the beef cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add more water  if needed.
4. Add the shrimp. Stir and then cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add the vegetable of your choice and and chicharon. Simmer for another minute. 
6. Serve with rice and fried fish.

Coconut Macaroons

When I was in cooking class back in the 80's coconut macaroon was one of the recipe that I first learned. I have been baking it almost weekly to share with my family and neighbors.They just like the rich coconut milky taste of it. I tried a lot of coco macaroons recipe but this one is my favorite.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups dessicated coconut
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 can (300 ml) condensed milk
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line mini muffin molders with baking cups. Set aside.
3. Sift together all the dry ingredients.
4. Combine with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well with a rubber spatula.
5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared molders. Fill 3/4 full. 
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the top surface of the macaroons turns golden brown.

Chicken Tocino

Tocino is one of the most popular breakfast in the Philippines. It is served with garlic fried rice, fried egg, sliced tomatoes and vinegar dip. The meat is marinated overnight or several days to achieve the sweet and salty taste. The original recipe was originally using saltpeter for food preservation and color retention. But overtime because of refrigeration and freezing techniques, the use of saltpeter or sodium nitrate has been reduced.

For this recipe I used chicken. If you choose pork. use pork with some fats and cut it as thin as possible. But any part of the pork will do.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp lemon or calamansi juice
• 1/2 cup pure pineapple juice
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp banana catsup
• 2 tbsp annatto (atsuete) powder
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1  tsp ground pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 kilo boneless chicken breast

Cooking Procedure:

1. Sliced chicken thinly. Pound to flatten. Set aside.
2. Combine  all the ingredients well except the chicken.
3. Add the chicken and marinate in the refrigerator overnight or for few days.
4. Fry in medium heat until golden brown. Do not overcook.
5. For a saucy tocino, thicken the marinade in a sauce pan. Pour  the cooked tocino over the thickened sauce. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Mix well until well incorporated.
6. Serve hot.