Easy Chicken Nuggets

It all started with a simple craving. I just wanted chicken nuggets while watching television. Unfortunately, we've run out. All I have in my freezer was a pack of chicken breast fillet. So I went online and checked for possible recipes. In most recipes I found, they use ground chicken and then, they bind it with egg, seasoning and coat it with flour/ bread crumbs. 

To make things easier, I decided to cut the chicken breast into bite-size instead. For me, the advantage of  using ground chicken is that you're able to turn your nuggets into different shapes and sizes and it cooks fast.

If you don't have the time to go through the process like grind the chicken or maybe go shop for ground chicken, this easy recipe can help you out.

Ingredients:

• 4 pcs. chicken breast fillet (cut into bite- size)
• 1 cup canola oil for deep- frying
• 1  large egg (beaten and seasoned with salt and ground pepper)
• 1/4- 1/2 cup All- purpose flour
• 1/4-  1/2 cup bread crumbs/ Parmesan cheese ( I used Parmesan cheese)

Procedure:

• Heat canola oil.
• Dip bite- size chicken in egg.
• Coat it with all- purpose flour.
• Dip it again in egg.
• Then coat it with bread crumbs or grated Parmesan cheese.
• Deep fry until golden brown.
• Repeat step by step procedure for each bite-size chicken.

Parmesan cheese is just optional., but it makes the nuggets extra delish!

Aside from barbecue sauce, it also perfect with salsa, any mayo dressing, sweet and sour sauce and the list just goes on!

Enjoy!

Easy Chili Con Carne

The key to a healthy and delicious Chili con Carne is to boil the ground meat ahead to get rid of all the fats and oil and grease. Or better,  choose the lean part of the beef and ask your local butcher to grind it for you, now that's fresh. My recipe is made up of ingredients that can be found at any grocery store or market. Instead of using fresh beans, I went for the ones that's already precooked and packed.

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo lean ground meat (boiled and drained)
• 1 large or 2 medium red bell peppers chopped into small pieces
• 2 medium tomatoes chopped into small pieces (or canned tomatoes)
• 2 medium onions (red or white) chopped into small pieces
• 1 150g tomato paste
• 3 100g pack of Hunt's chili Beef & Beans (or 1 can of Hormel Chili with Beans)
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp dried cilantro (or chopped fresh cilantro/ wansoy)
• dash of salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper granules
• 1/2 tsp cooking oil

Procedure:

• In a sauce pan, saute onions in oil for a few seconds.
• Add tomatoes and red bell peppers and stir until cooked.
• Add ground beef, mix evenly.
• Add Hunt's Chili Beef & Beans, stir and mix until well- blended.
• Add tomato paste and mix until even.
• Add chili powder and cilantro stir for a few seconds.
• Add salt and pepper.
• Mix for 30 seconds or when everything is mixed well and cooked.

Aside from using this easy Chili con Carne as usual topping for nacho chips, I also like to pair it with hot rice. Use it as dip to my thin pretzel crisps, crackers and biscuits.

I also love it as breakfast filling for my hot pandesal. It's also perfect for bagels, ciabatta, baguette etc... It can also make an ordinary Bruschetta more enticing by topping it with sour cream or cheese.

Easy Banoffee

This was not my first attempt on a Banoffee Pie but this was the only one that gave me a more presentable result. The previous ones were delicious but the filling turned out runny. I don't really expect to get perfect results on the first try, but every time I want to make something new or I'm not really familiar with, I take note of the things I need to work on and I do it again.

First I needed to learn how to make caramel (Dulce de leche/ caremelized milk). Lucky if you're living abroad because they sell this in can ready- to- use. For us here in the Philippines, all you have to do is to get a pot of water sink your can of condensed milk side ways and boil it for 1 1/2 hours- 2 hours. Make sure that the can of milk is always submerged in water or it's going to explode if it dries up. Once done, let it set in the very same pot of water for 15- 30 minutes and slowly add tap water until it's cooled down.

A lot of work huh? It's gonna be all worth it later on once you're used to it. The fact that you can already make your own caramel is already a +++.

Materials: 

• Spring form pan or any container you want to use and that is easy to cool.
• Mixing Bowl
• Spatula
• Mixer 
• Grater for dark chocolate

Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter (melted)
• 1 pack of crushed graham crackers
• 3 ripe bananas (sliced into thin pieces)
• 1 cup heavy cream (from the refrigerator)
• 4 oz. cream cheese (at room temperature)
• 300ml can of caramelized condensed milk

Procedures:

Crust:

• In a mixing bowl, mix crushed graham crackers and melted butter. Mix until well- blended.
• Pour crushed graham into pan or molder.
• Spread the crumbs evenly from the bottom to the sides. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Filling:

• In a bowl, mix banana slices with half of the caramelized milk.
• Pour and spread banana filling on the prepared crust evenly.
• Pour the remaining caramelized milk and spread again evenly.

Cream Topping:

• In a separate mixing bowl and on medium speed whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
• Add cream cheese and mix until well- blended.
• Top cream over the banana and caramelized milk mixture, spread evenly. 
• Garnish with dark chocolate shavings.
• Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before slicing.

Since this is a no- bake Banoffee, it is important to keep this dessert in a cool place all the time. Please bear with how my Banoffee looks, I made boo-boo on the less banana filling and more cream topping part. Well, I just gotta keep trying right? I'll try the bake version some time and post it here too. But for now....

Enjoy!

FTF: Easy Beef Gyudon

It all started with Yoshinoya's bowl of Beef Gyudon... It's really our favorite, especially when served with red ginger. One evening, my husband asked me if I know how to cook Gyudon. It's sort of a request too. I don't really know how, but for me, as long as I have the ingredients everything will follow. So I went online to search for the common Beef Gyudon recipe. It was a fast find with the right ppc management. The traditional Gyudon recipe is compose of real Japanese ingredients such us: sake or Japanese rice wine and mirin.

Gyudon or simply beef bowl is a dish of beef and onion served over a bowl of rice, often topped with raw egg. Gyū means beef, and don  for donburi, which is the Japanese word for bowl.
I found a video (which was great), my husband was dictating the procedure to me, while I prepare the ingredients.
Please take note:

• we substituted a mix of 1/4 cup white wine, 1/4 cup soy sauce and a teaspoon of sugar in replacement for sake and mirin.
• 1 tsp. of fresh minced ginger instead of powdered ginger
  

Even with the substituting made with some of the ingredients, our bowl of Beef Gyudon tasted exactly like the traditional Gyudon bowl. Thanks to this Easy one-pot Gyudon (beef bowl) video. It would have been perfect though if we have some pickled red ginger in stock. Which reminded me to visit a Japanese store as soon as possible.

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Onion Rings

For snack time Friday I prepared onion rings with mayo-garlic dip. White onion rings dipped into beaten eggs, coated with seasoned flour, dipped again in egg then bread crumbs. This is my first on making onion rings, it was a successful one. Crunchy o the outside, soft, tender and juicy in every bite. I enjoyed munching on it while watching my favorite TV show.

Food Trip Friday

Thyme Chicken Cream Pasta

 It's an instant recipe from my kitchen. Once again, I just grabbed whatever I have in my pantry and fridge and made the most out of it.

To describe: It's just chicken cream over your pasta.* Best served with spaghetti, angel hair pasta, Penne or Fettuccine

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo Chicken Breast fillet (skin removed) (about 10 pcs of 2 " slices)
• 1 tsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 medium carrot chopped
• 10 pieces baby potatoes, peeled
• 1 whole bell pepper sliced thinly
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose cream
• 1/2 cup fresh milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp thyme (dried or fresh)
• grated cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 450g macaroni or any pasta of your choice

How To:

* In a separate pan cook pasta.

• In a sauce pan, saute garlic in olive oil until golden brown
• Add chopped onions and stir for a few seconds
• Add chicken breast, set from medium to high fire stir continuously until half-cooked
• Add thyme and butter
• Add baby potatoes and carrots, stir continuously for another 5 minutes
• Then add fresh milk and water
• Simmer until everything is cooked
• Add all purpose cream and set on low fire
• When sauce is thick, add sliced bell pepper then add salt and pepper then set aside

* Plate some of the cooked pasta, top it with grated cheese then add 2 pcs of chicken breast from the sauce then pour some sauce over it, add more thyme.

Food Trip Friday

Easy Mushroom Gravy

Hey moms here is the recipe for my easy mushroom gravy.

• 1 1/2 tbsp butter
• sliced button mushrooms (the more, the merrier)
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 3- 4 tbsps Knorr Original Seasoning
• dash of salt and ground pepper
• 1 cup water
• 3 tsps all purpose- flour

Note:
if you don't have Knorr Seasoning, you can use soy sauce.
mix 1 c water with all purpose flour

• Melt butter and saute minced garlic for about a minute
• Add sliced mushrooms
• Add Knorr Seasoning
• Stir for a few seconds 
• Add thickening agent ( water and flour mixture). Mix on low fire.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.

Note:
Double the recipe for big portions
Add more Knorr Seasoning

Ginataang Mais

Ginataan/ Guinataan is any food or dish cooked with coconut milk. My featured dish is a famous Filipino dessert.

Ginataang Mais is composed of fresh sweet corn kernels, sugar, coconut milk.

• 2 sweet corns (scrape kernels off the corn cob)
• 2 cups malagkit rice (Glutinous rice)
• 3-4 Cups of Water
• 1/2 Cup to 1 cup sugar
• 4 coconuts (grated and coconut milk extracted)

How To:

• Boil malagkit rice (Glutinous rice)and corn kernels in water until thick. Set aside.
• In the very same pan, boil coconut milk then add the thickened rice and corn.
• Mix well. Low fire.
• Add sugar
• Mix until well blended.

Japanese Fried Pork

Pork Tonkatsu

Ingredients:

• 5 pcs. Butterfly Cut Pork Chops
• Panko Crumbs or any bread crumbs
• Salt and Ground pepper
• 1/2 Cup All Purpose flour
• Canola oil for deep-frying
• 3 eggs (beaten)

How To:

• Coat pork chops with salt and pepper
• Dip in beaten eggs
• Coat with flour
• Dip again in beaten eggs
• Coat with bread crumbs
• Deep fry until golden brown

Sauce:

In a bowl, mix  3 tbsp Tomato Catsup, 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tsp Soy Sauce

Best if served with shredded cabbage and/or miso soup

Crispy Fried Chicken

MISUA

As researched, is a very thin variety of salted Chinese noodles made from wheat flour. I prefer using it in my vegetable soups. I add meatballs to make the dish more exciting to eat. Cooking misua usually takes less than 2 minutes in boiling water.

Ingredients:

MEATBALLS

1/2 k ground meat (any choice)
2 medium onions minced
2 eggs
1 medium carrot minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper

SOUP

5 cloves garlic minced
1 medium onion chopped
1 tsp minced ginger
10 pcs meatballs
Misua (2 handfuls is good)
4 cups water
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium Patola (luffa) sliced into thin circles

How To:

Meatballs
Mix all ingredients and form ping pong size meat balls.

Soup
In a sauce pan, saute garlic, onion and ginger.
Add 4 cups of water. Simmer.
Drop meatballs one by one (do not mix). Simmer until meatballs are cooked.
Add sliced Patola and Misua.
Salt and Peppr to taste. Simmer for another minute.
Servings: 5-6

Easy Steak Recipe with Hot Tomato Sauce

There's no occasion but you want some steak. Here's an easy steak recipe that can be served on your dinner table anytime you want it. Best served with some greens.

Servings: 2-3

Ingredients:

Pork Steak
Spanish Paprika
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Hot Skillet
1 tbsp fat free butter

SAUCE:
Pouch of Gourmet Style Tomato sauce or Mix chopped basil with tomato sauce
Fresh red tomatoes (chopped)
3 tbsps. Hot Sauce or 1 tsp chili powder
dash of pepper

How To:

Season your steak with olive oil (both sides)
Pinch of Spanish Paprika (both sides)
Pinch of salt and pepper
1/4 tsp of butter for both sides of the steak
Fry Steak until golden brown

SAUCE:
In a sauce pan, mix all sauce ingredients, simmer and top over your steak.