Archive for November, 2009
Fabulous Sumptuous Dinner!
It’s been a week since my last post. I have been very busy with house de-cluttering and wrapping gifts for the holidays. We also went to Batangas for the debut of Aldrin’s sister.
Yesterday, we went to the grocery to buy food and other home supplies. While I was there, I decided to cook something special for the night.(yeah, compulsive impulses) I envisioned a plate of cheesy mashed potato, beef steak with warm gravy and for side dish, penne with garlic and bacon bits. And so, that was the menu for last night.
Beef steak with mashed potato and Penne with Garlic and bacon
More of the details after this break…
Pacman’s knockout favorite: Tinolang Manok
As a way of ‘honoring’ or shall I say cheering on our Pambansang Kamao in his upcoming fight with Cotto, I am blogging about Manny Pacquiao‘s favorite dish of all time, Tinolang Manok. Tinolang Manok is one of the easiest soupy yet ‘malinamnam‘ chicken dishes that we Filipinos have. This dish has actually been a favorite of Pinoys even way way back. This was even mentioned in our National Hero, Jose Rizal’s novel Noli Me Tangere.
This is also a favorite of mine, I like the taste of Sili leaves, the ginger and of course the delicious soup and the fall-of-the-bone chicken! So here it is, (wag na natin patagalin) my recipe for Tinolang manok.
This bowl of Tinolang Manok is for my hubby Aldrin
Ingredients:
- 1 kilo of Chicken cut-ups (Tinola cut is also available, the pieces are usually the bony parts, but I like chicken wings, legs and thighs for my tinola)
- 1 medium sized onion, sliced
- 5 cloves of garlic, crushed (I’m a garlic person sometimes, I use 1 bulb)
- 1 medium sized ginger, sliced, crushed
- 1 medium sized green papaya, seeds removed and sliced lengthwise
- Sili leaves
- 1 Siling haba
- patis
- a dash of salt and pepper to taste
- 6 cups of water or reserved chicken stock. (you can also use Knorr chicken cubes, I like this product and been using this to enhance the flavor of my chicken tinola)
Ingredients for Tinolang Manok
Procedure:
- In a pot, saute the onion, garlic and ginger until the onions are transparent.
- Add in the chicken, and until the chicken has changed color.
- Add in the water or reserved chicken stock. Or add the water then the Knorr chicken cubes, I think 2 cubes will work.
- Add in the sliced papaya.
- Let the soup simmer for about 15 – 20 minutes until the chicken and papaya is thoroughly cooked.
- Season with patis, salt and pepper according to your taste. Throw in the Siling Haba.
- Lastly, just before you turn off the fire, add in the sili leaves, give it one more stir to soak the leaves in the soup. And voila, you have your Tinolang Manok!
Almost done!
So, easy! You can also try this with native chicken, at my in-laws, in Mabini, Batangas, they include the liver, gizzard and even the chicken blood in the tinola. The soup is more flavorful, yummier, it’s even greater when it’s native chicken.
You can also try Tinolang Tahong (Mussels). Almost same ingredients, you just replace the chicken with tahong. Just don’t overcook the tahong. Will cook this again and post pictures as well. So, what are you waiting for, go to your nearest grocery or market, buy the ingredients, and cook your own steaming Tinolang Manok. 
Hawaiian Pork chops for Dinner
Last night, was make or break for me, my hubby had a little tampuhan and I so wanted for him to forgive me already. So I thought of preparing a really special dinner for him using one of his favorite fruits as an ingredient. PINEAPPLE.
So here is my recipe for my Hawaiian Pork Chops.
Hawaiin Pork Chops
Ingredients:
- 1 medium can of pineapple slices, syrup reserved (I prefer Del Monte Pineapple Slices)
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp of brown sugar
- 2 tbsps of soy sauce
- 1/2 kilo porkchops
- 1 tbsp of cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup of water
- 1 tsp of butter
- salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
- Combine the syrup, chopped garlic, sugar and soy sauce in a bowl.
- Season this with salt and pepper.
- Marinate the pork chops and pineapple in this mixture for about 30 minutes to an hour. Reserve the marinate later for the gravy.
- Fry the porkchops and pineapple in little oil until the sugar has caramelized to get that BBQ effect.
- Set the porkchops and pineapple aside.
- In the same pan, lower the heat and simmer the reserved marinate mixture. This will serve as the gravy.
- Add a tsp of butter to make the gravy more delicious.
- Stir in the dissolved cornstarch to thicken the gravy and give a glossy effect.
Ways to brighten up your breakfast!
Breakfast for me is the most important meal of the day. For my family, its the meal where me, Aldrin and the get the kids get together. Aldrin goes to the office so he eats lunch there and most of the time, the kids are already asleep when he gets home. I take the breakfast meal seriously, I want the kids and of course my husband to really enjoy their breakfast. Aside from preparing meals that are delicious and sure to give boost their energy for the start of the day, I also like the food to be presentable.
Even if the dish is just simple, the presentation makes a lot of difference.
And so, here are some of the breakfast meals that I’ve prepared for my family. The one below was taken this morning. I used a small rounded container to mold the fried rice, topped the luncheon meat with a pineapple ring, the juice of the pineapple will be soaked by the luncheon meat which will also sweeten the usual salty luncheon meat. Then as an accent, I made dots using ketchup. Viola! A masterpiece!
Garlic Fried rice, Luncheon Meat, Sunny side-up egg and pineapple ring
A chance to enjoy Thanks Giving
Jaypee's Thanks Giving Give Away
It’s thanks giving season once again in the US, and not everyone in the world get a chance to enjoy it. It’s just lately that more and more people in any part of the world may take advantage of the day, because lots of items from apparels to electronics drop their prices, not only in local shops in the states, but also in so many online stores. Even though, I still can’t make the most out of it, because I can’t keep a good fund on my Paypal account. Hehe…
This time, I will try my best to get something from Thanks Giving. A famous WordPress blogger, Jaypee, is running a contest on his blog for the celebration. Lots of prices can be won by lucky winners summing the amount to $1500. So if you belong to my category, I encourage you to join the contest and see how you fair against other participants.
For prizes at stake, check out the list below. And as to appreciate the Philippine Bloggers, there will be exclusive Pinoy Blogger Tees courtesy of Batang Yagit.