Chicken & Brocolli Pasta

Inspired by B'ley of Blogalag, I tried her recipe to impress Tapioca. The recipe calls for a few ingredients and easy prep. Now this is my kind of cooking. Less prep and cooking time. Perfect for lazy cooks like me.

. . . the ingredients

For the recipe and procedures, check out her blog post here.

the finish product . . .

The pasta was a little overcooked but it was okay. They say taste is subjective and I did get mix reviews about this dish. Tapioca is biased with red sauces so this didn't really work for him. Basta ako, I liked it. It was very light and healthy. I liked that it was a little spicy because of the chili flakes but the basil somehow balances out the flavor. It's good especially if you wanted something new aside from the usual white or red sauce pasta.

Funny how this was supposed to be a surprise for Tapioca but he ended up not liking it. I guess, I have to keep on trying.

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Beef, Mung Bean Sprouts and Tofu

I got home one evening to a home-cooked meal made by Tapioca. He did all the grocery shopping, cooking, took all the photos and I got to blog about it. I found it nice that he (took the initiative and) understands the need to take pictures on all our food adventures. I'm such a lucky girl.

The main ingredients:

. . . beef, sukiyaki cut

onions and tofu . . .

. . . mung bean sprouts

the finished product . . .

Tapioca cooked each ingredient separately and then plated it as what you see on the photo above. The taste was a combination of salty and sour like adobo with an Asian twist from the sesame oil (it's one of his fave condiments). This was one of those random cooking experiments Tapioca likes to do in the kitchen. Personally, I thought the recipe needs a little tweaking. Tapioca grabbed some spices and condiments from the pantry, add them to the dish and viola . . . problem solved.

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Home Made French Fries and Hash Browns

I've been going crazy over French food and French cooking shows lately. I'm not sure why. I think I share with them the love for simple food and BUTTER. It's orgasmic. It's fattening. But it was sooo good. With butter you can turn a simple dish into something that seems out of this world. I'm exaggerating, I know.

While watching an episode of Julia Child's cooking show (Tapioca downloaded it for me :-P) about potatoes, I suddenly had cravings for French fries. Tapioca on the other hand wanted hash browns. I'm not a fan of hash browns. McDonald's or even the frozen ones from the supermarket I don't like. But since it's going to be homemade, I thought it might prolly change my mind. We went to the nearest market and bought a bag of potatoes.

My French fries are made from 100% real potatoes with no preservatives. It was then deep fried with lots of oil until crispy. I wish I could use butter but it has a low smoke point and burns easily on high temperature.

Tapioca's hash browns. Made from real potatoes, too. He shredded the potatoes using a grater and flattened them out like a pancake. They key in making the fries and hash browns crispy is by removing all the excess moisture from the potato. You don't want an explosion when you fry these babies, do you?


The Verdict  


Nothing beats homemade French fries. It was awesome. Real pure potato goodness. If only potatoes are cheap I would make a whole bunch of them. The hash browns on the other hand were blah. Still did not like it homemade or not.

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McCormick's Beef & Vegetable Stir-fry

The Domestic Goddess Jellybean is here to whip up some easy to make dishes with the help of McCormick's Stir Fry Ginisa Spice Blend. Oh, I have to mention that this is not a sponsored post. I just happened to see this recipe from Yummy Magazine. The reason I chose this dish is because:

1. Less prep and cooking time.
2. Few Ingredients.
3. Meat + veggies = complete meal.

. . . the recipe I got from Yummy Magazine

Here's what you will need:

Beef sukiyaki, baby corn, snow peas, bell pepper, mushroom, cornstarch, water, oil for frying and of course the McCormick's Stir Fry Ginisa Spice Blend. O di ba, less than 10 ingredients lang yan.

Here's what you need to do:

1. In a pan, heat a small amount of oil then stir fry the meat. Combine water and cornstarch then add the mixture to the meat. Once the meat is cooked, set aside. By the way, sukiyaki beef cut cooks fast. Do not overcook or it will become tough.

2. Using the same pan, stir fry the veggies then add the ginisa mix.

3.  Combine the meat and the veggies. Adjust seasoning. Serve.

How easy is that, huh? And as for the taste, it was yummy! Tapioca said he likes it but he would prefer I use the real thing next time. Well, I agree. But sometimes it wouldn't hurt to use something that would make our lives easier, right? Especially if you're like me who hates chopping onions and garlic.

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Homemade Chili & The Amazing Things You Can Do With It

Tapioca is a self-confessed chili lover. I've lost count of the number of times I posted here on my blog about his never ending love affair with chili. Mind you, I'm not jealous. I totally understand. Just like how Tapioca understands my love affair with soups and ice creams. 

I think all the foodies out there would share the same sentiments. When I found out we were having chili for dinner, I was kinda surprised my guy actually knows how to make one. It just gave me an idea. I think I should learn how to make my own comfort food too so I can enjoy them at home. 

Hmmm, gotta start making my own soup stock and save up for an ice cream maker! LOL! O cya, let's get back to the subject - how to make chili.

1. Saute the onions and garlic on a huge heavy-bottom pot.

2. Add the ground beef and spices.

We store all sorts of spices in our pantry and Tapioca basically just dumped everything in it. Pardon me if I can't mention all of them. But I'm sure it has chili powder, oregano and cayenne pepper.

3. Once the meat turns brown, add the baked beans and stewed tomatoes. For the liquid, add a can of your favorite beer. Simmer for a few minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce. Adjust seasoning then serve.

The next question is, how do you eat chili? Well, chili is a versatile dish. You can eat it on its own or pair it with something else. Now let me show you how we enjoyed our home-made chili.

 steam the german franks and hotdog buns (not in the photo)  

Assemble the dogs and put chili on top with some mustard and Tabasco. Another option is to top your french fries with chili and melted cheese. Or you can also pair them with nachos, tacos, and eat it with rice or pasta. 

chili dogs and chili fries - yum yum!

The possibilities are endless. It's all up to you. Kumbaga eh kanya-kanyang trip. Enjoy and get full.

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Tonight's Dinner: Sausage & Mashed Potato

Hello, there! Notice how I'm trying so hard to update this blog? I still have a loooonnnnggg way to go but I'm getting there. Anyway, here's another dinner made with love from Tapioca . . .

 . . . pan fried sausage topped with caramelized onions and mashed potato with gravy

I'm also trying my darndest not just to eat but also enjoy onions. Well, it's just some silly idea of mine to introduce my palate to essential stuff like . . . onion. So far the best way to eat and enjoy onions is by caramelizing them like what Tapioca did as it lessen it's pungent smell. 

And to go with the sausage, Tapioca made his signature mashed potato. He makes the yummiest, smoothest and creamiest mashed potato ever. It's my favorite in the entire world!!! I know I'm so biased. It's like saying he's the most good looking guy in the entire world hahaha. 

Oops, I think I heard some nega reactions there.

Peace, love and a bullet-proof mashed potato to y'all!

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Tapioca's Picadillo

Tapioca got this recipe from his late grandma.

1. In a big pot, saute the tomatoes until soft.

2. Add onions and garlic.

3. Add ground beef. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Once the meat has turned brown, add diced carrots, potatoes, corn kernels and green peas. Add water and bring to a boil. Stir-in sinigang mix and simmer for a few more minutes then serve.

A pot full of picadillo. It kinda reminded me of sinigang because of the tamarind mix. This picadillo is too much for two people so we brought some at the office to share with our colleagues.

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