From Canned Fish to Glammed

As a homemaker, one of the things that is so important to me is to serve good, healthy food all the time.  But it doesn't often go our way right? There will be times when we want to rest so we buy food to go or we open a can or two.

Let me focus on how to make processed food more inviting to eat, particularly canned products. Personally, I love packing on sardines, Spanish- style sardines to be exact. My kids love it and I serve it for breakfast paired with hot rice.

I always assume that anything processed outside my kitchen is a risk. Though canned products follow a certain standard when it comes to preparing down to canning, still, just the idea that I don't see how they prepare these products makes me more meticulous. In order to meet the thought of making sure that what I serve my family is okay, I cook these canned products like any dish made from scratch. Believe me, it will taste better and somewhat being able to create your own out of some random sardine can is fun.

I brought life to this canned Spanish- style sardines by:

• Sauteing minced ginger, freshly- pressed garlic, red tomatoes and onions in olive oil. 
• Let it cook for a few seconds until the juice from the tomatoes comes out.
• Drain half of the oil from the canned sardines. Best to replace that oil with olive oil.
• Pour the sardines with the sauteed ingredients and mix everything well.
• Add black pepper and simmer for a few seconds.
• Serve!

I also use this very same dish for pasta drizzled with Parmesan cheese.

LeftOver Magic: Fettuccine with Clam Sauce

During the Holy Week, one of the dishes I prepared was clam soup. I bought 1 kilo of clams which I thought was just right for us, but apparently, 1 kilo was a lot. The following day, I didn't cook any other food but I did magic with what was left of the clams. Aside from the clams, I had leftover fettuccine noodles in the fridge waiting. A pantry stocked with cream and Parmesan cheese completed the recipe.

Ingredients:

• Leftover clams (or any seafood)
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 medium white onion (chopped )
• 200g cooked fettuccine or any pasta available
• 1 cup all- purpose cream
• 1 tsp dried basil or any herb or your choice fresh or dried
• 1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp granulated pepper

Note: Vegetables from the clam soup was included

Procedure:

• In a pan, heat olive oil then saute garlic and onions.
• Add clams then stir and simmer for a few seconds.
• Add all- purpose cream and stir until well- blended.
• In low heat, add pasta and mix everything together.
• Add pepper and Parmesan cheese to taste.

Enjoy!

Left- Over Magic: Pastadobo

Featured Dish from Enchie's Kitchen

Left- Over Magic: Pastadobo

Featured Dish from Enchie's Kitchen

Jackpot For Microwavable Containers

Only for Php88 

Microwavable containers has always been a must-have in my kitchen. And these containers I just recently bought, were on sale when I accidentally went pass the SM Department store last Monday. I was out  to buy  medicine for my husband. Might as well take advantage while I'm already there right? I went home with shopping bags filled with kitchen towels, table clothes and even a rustic decor for my living room.

But the main highlight of my shopping were the containers. And what a huge sale, the original price of these containers are Php 200+ for the big ones and Php100+ for the small to medium sizes. That night, everything was down to Php88 all sizes. A huge Jackpot for me, because it was timely, I've run out of durable containers. It can be useful as left- over containers, a lunch box for office and school and your food is tightly sealed so don't worry about spills or leaks.

Left- Over Magic---Ampalaya Con Carne

Left over magic. Well we all get into the situation when we end up having so much left-overs. With my experience, even when I was a kid, my mom would make a new dish out of some left-overs (still edible and in perfect condition) that she can find in the fridge.

At home, we often find ourselves preparing a recipe more than what it can originally yield. We Filipinos have the habit of eating more than 3x a day, aside from the snacks we take in- between. Left-overs plays a very big part in our kitchen.

Remember my Food Trip Friday entry for this week? Braised Beef I actually cooked a recipe that will serve 6 people.

Using some of our beef left-overs, I was able to cook a very healthy dish. I added slices of Ampalaya or Bitter Gourd, ended up with Ampalaya Con Carne.

Ingredients:

5 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion (chopped)
2 medium red tomatoes (cut into quarters)
Left-over braised beef ( a full bowl)
2 medium Ampalaya (sliced into pieces)

Saute garlic in olive oil until medium brown
Add onion and tomatoes, stir for a few seconds
Add left- over beef with sauce (pour everything!)
Stir for a few seconds
Add slices of Ampalaya.
Stir until Ampalaya is cooked (not overly done)
A dash of salt and pepper.

Serving: 3-4

Note: The # of servings will depend on the amount of beef (left-overs used)