Marinara Sauce

Marinara is now one of my pasta sauce, anything made of fresh tomatoes and basil, I like. Anyway, aside from that it is easy to make, Marinara Sauce is very healthy. Just think of the health benefits of red tomatoes, garlic, basil and olive oil combined. Put it all together, use less salt, you're good to enjoy a plate of pasta.

In making Marinara Sauce, think tomato soup. Only, Marinara is just a bit chunkier and has basil. My Marinara recipe is very basic and easy to make.

Important tool:

Blender/ hand blender

If you don't have a blender, replace whole peeled tomatoes with diced or simply triple the amount of red fresh tomatoes and mince it. Skip the blending process and just follow the Pasta Procedure by adding the diced or minced tomatoes and the chopped fresh basil with the tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole garlic (minced) and divided into 2 equal parts
• a handful or fresh basil (chopped)
• 5 fresh red tomatoes ( chopped)
• 1 cup mushrooms (any)
• 2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 400g Rigatoni or any pasta of your choice (cooked)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese and a bit for toppings
• salt and ground pepper

Procedure: Marinara Sauce

• Drain the 2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes and place its contents in the blender.
• Add chopped fresh tomatoes, fresh basil and half of the minced garlic.
• Blend until smooth.
• Set aside in a separate bowl.

Procedure: Pasta

• In a sauce pan, heat olive oil and saute remaining minced garlic until light brown.
• Add mushrooms and saute for a few seconds.
• Add the cup of tomato sauce and simmer in low fire for about 15 seconds.
• Add the Marinara sauce part by part.
• Add cooked pasta and Parmesan cheese then mix everything until well- combined.
• Add salt and pepper to taste. 
• Plate the pasta and top with fresh basil or Parmesan cheese.

As a personal preference, I find Marinara fitting for white meat than beef or pork because of its natural flavor. I like chicken or tuna. From this recipe, you can add any meat of your choice. Anything that taste healthy can perfectly match another healthy item too, like vegetables.

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!

Vegetable- Clam Marinara

In a way, Marinara is an all- around sauce. Since it's made with fresh tomatoes/ tomato sauce, herbs, garlic, red wine, olives and capers it's perfect as:

1. Pasta Sauce

2. Dip/ salsa for croquettes, chips,  burrito, etc...

3. With a little water, as soup paired with your preferred bread.

I personally thought with it's name "Marinara", the sauce should come with seafood. Apparently, it's just basic tomato sauce made of fresh ingredients.

Today, I made some Vegetable- Clam Marinara. The clams in this recipe is optional. I just so happen have a supply of my favorite red clam sauce so I decided to throw in a can.

Ingredients:

• 250g spaghetti noodles or any pasta of your choice (cooked al dente)
• 1 whole garlic (minced)
• 1 medium green bell pepper (sliced thinly or chopped)
• 1 eggplant (chopped)
• 2 medium red tomatoes ( chopped)
• 1 can of whole button mushrooms ( chopped, I prefer fresh mushrooms)
• 1 400 g can of chopped tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
• 1 can Red Clam Sauce
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp dried basil or 1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil  
• 1/8 cup of chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2tbsp Parmesan Cheese
•  a dash of salt and black pepper granules

 

Procedure:

• Cook pasta until firm/ al dente. Set aside.
• In a sauce pan, heat olive oil and saute minced garlic until light brown.
• Add chopped red tomatoes, green bell pepper, egg plant and mushrooms. Stir until vegetables are half- cooked.
• Add Red Clam sauce and simmer for a few seconds.
• Add, canned tomatoes and Parmesan cheese then mix everything evenly. 
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve sauce on top of the pasta or mix the pasta in.

Note: 

Set aside a little of the chopped parsley for garnishing.

Add red wine as desired. I did not include red wine in this recipe, because the Red Clam sauce is already a good base for seafood marinara.

Meat or any seafood is an option. You can add anything you want to make this your own. I just like mine to be filled with vegetables and I did not add any meat or sea food because the Red Clam sauce is just amazingly rich with flavor and real clams.

No Bake Lasagna Rolls

This is my favorite of all the things I came up with in my kitchen. I didn't have an oven then, so I thought that one way to come up with lasagna is to spread some sauce over the pasta as filling, roll it , top it with my special white sauce, cheese and pop it in the microwave. It was a success! It's delicious and easy to make. Perfect for parties and gatherings.

Servings: 4-5

Materials:

• Sauce pan for boiling pasta
• Sauce pan for spaghetti sauce
• baking sheet or anything with flat surface for rolling the pasta
• microwavable containers

Ingredients: Pasta and Sauce

• 1 454g box Lasagna
• 1 kilo ground sirloin (boiled)
• 1 medium red bell pepper (chopped)
• 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 1 kg spaghetti sauce 
• 2 tsp cooking oil
• a dash of salt
• a pinch of black pepper granules
• *(optional) Bechamel sauce (can be found anywhere online)

Procedures:

• In a sauce pan boil Lasagna al dente then set aside.
• In a separate sauce pan,  heat cooking oil.
• Saute garlic until light brown.
• Add onions and red bell pepper.
• Stir for a few seconds.
• Add boiled ground sirloin.
• Simmer for 30 seconds.
• Add spaghetti sauce and simmer in low fire for a few seconds. 
• Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

• Using a tray, line cooked pasta.
• Spread some spaghetti meat sauce over each.
• Roll it up slowly so it won't break.
• Arrange each lasagna roll in a microwavable container.
• Pour some white sauce and quick melt cheese.
• Pop it inside the microwave for 30 seconds.

* if you do not have white sauce, just add extra cheese.

Enjoy!

Sancho Churreria Manila

Girl bonding was spent at Sancho Churreria Manila. My sisters and I wanted burger from The Burger Project but our mom was craving for pasta. Good thing that Sancho was just right beside The Burger project, we didn't have to look any further. 

They say, Sancho Churreria Manila, taken from the name and by word of mouth, serves one of the best churros in the city. So weird because we totally forgot to order some during our visit. 

And for first timers, I gotta say we enjoyed the over-all feel of the restaurant. It was so homey. The dining area has limited no. of tables and chairs but it's not cramped. The staff was very friendly and courteous.

For our food, we all ordered pasta and Brazo de Mercedes for dessert.

 Pasta Puttanesca

Pesto

Classic Carbonara

 Baked Macaroni

The pasta dishes we ordered came with 2 slices of buttered bread. The portions for the pasta is big. For a single serving, it's a lot for a person to enjoy. As a pasta lover, I can say that Sancho Churreria Manila serves delicious pasta. I love it. It's tasty but not salty. I can actually distinguish the mix of flavors thru the freshness of the ingredients from my Puttanesca. My mom enjoyed her baked macaroni, the sauce was very rich. Same with my sister's Carbonara. The Pesto was not oily and the mix of Parmesan cheese with the basil added texture and more flavor. By the way, extra Parmesan cheese is available by request.

The prices of our pasta dishes went around 175-190php

A slice of Brazo de Mercedes 35php

Sancho Churreria Manila has a wide range of food choices. From pasta, sandwiches, appetizers, main that goes around Filipino viands and desserts. One of their house specialty is their line of desserts: Chocolate eclairs, Cream puffs, Traditional Chocolate cake, Brazo de Mercedes and Churros.

My husband noticed this post while I was making it. He was not around when I took my mom and sisters at this restaurant. With that, this coming weekend, we will pay Sancho Churreria Manila a visit and taste more of its scrumptious dishes.

Location: 122 Maginhawa St., Teachers Village, Quezon City
Tel no: 436-5539

Shrimp Scampi

Sometimes, I look back through my old recipes in this blog and if I find something not as appealing in terms of presentation, I give the recipe another whip. For this week, I decided to redo my easy Shrimp Scampi recipe.

Servings: 2-4

Ingredients:

• 450g Linguine
• 10 pcs shrimps (peeled and deveined)
• 10 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/2  olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 medium fresh red tomatoes (chopped, with seeds)
• 1 can 400g diced tomatoes
• 1 medium green bell pepper (chopped)
• 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• A handful of freshly chopped basil leaves or 1 tsp dried basil 
• Salt and pepper for tasting

How To: 

• In a sauce pan, boil pasta until firm then set aside.
• In a separate frying pan, melt butter and stir fry shrimps until orange. Set aside.
• On a pan, heat a little olive oil, saute garlic until light brown.
• Add cooked shrimps, chopped tomatoes and stir for a few seconds.\
• Add canned diced tomatoes, basil and green bell pepper. Stir for as few seconds.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add pasta and Parmesan cheese then toss it evenly with the sauce.

You may top your pasta with more cheese and pair it with some hot wheat bread. Enjoy!

Baked Penne Carbonara

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 K lean ground pork
• 250g sweet ham (minced)
• 250g bacon (minced)
• 1 can button mushrooms (chopped)
• 2 whole garlic (minced)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 500g  Penne
• 1 cup all purpose cream
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
•  salt and ground pepper
  

Instead of the traditional egg sauce, I combined some cream and Bechamel sauce.
Bechamel Sauce:

• 2 cups fresh milk
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour

 How To:

• Boil Penne al dente, set aside.
• In a sauce pan, saute half of minced garlic, ground pork, half of minced ham, half of minced bacon and half of chopped mushrooms until light brown.
• Add all- purpose cream, Parmesan cheese and dried basil.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add cooked Penne and mix everything until pasta is covered with sauce.
• Set in a baking dish.

Bechamel Sauce:

In a sauce pan, mix 2 cups fresh milk, 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp flour. Mix until flour is dissolved then bring to boil.

• Pour on prepared pasta.
• Top with remaining minced garlic, ham, bacon and mushrooms.
• Bake for 15- 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Quite a Friday. I was enjoying this pasta early this afternoon when I found out that a great earthquake struck Japan. Of course, it was a devastating scene, especially knowing that here in the Philippines, it's been said that we're also expecting something similar. Had to stop with what I'm doing and it took me the whole afternoon to absorb the things that's been happening. Videos online, on television and even via Facebook. I pray for a quick recovery and even more prayers to those who are still badly affected and traumatized with the turn of events.

Food Trip Friday

Tomato and Cheese Pasta

With Del Monte's Tomato and Cheese Gourmet Sauce.

I think I over did it, I used too much sauce. I wasn't expecting it to be this red, looks like I  used ketchup. I could have been wiser, option trading strategies would come in handy. Just to make things clear, over-all, the taste was perfect, but I didn't like how the color of the sauce turned out.

I sauteed some minced garlic, fresh tomatoes, ham, basil and Parmesan cheese in olive oil, then added the gourmet sauce. On the other burner, I have 200g of freshly cooked pasta waiting. I decided to mix everything together considering the small amount being prepared. Then, here it is, a bright red colored pasta. My son liked it,  he was happy I cooked spaghetti for dinner. And when my little boy is happy, I'm happy. I just need to watch out next time.

Pasta Spanish- Style

This was the very first dish I cooked first day of the year 2011. My palette was looking for something new. I kinda had enough of the food during the holiday season, which was filled with different kinds of sauces.  This easy pasta dish refreshed my senses for something light but crazily delicious.

Ingredients:

• 450g Spaghetti Noodles
• 2 cans of Spanish Style Sardines
• 3 tbsp chopped olives
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 5 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• A handful of freshly chopped basil
• 3 pcs. dried bay leaf
• 5 tbsp Parmesan Cheese
• A dash of salt and ground pepper

How To:

• In a bowl, pour Spanish Style Sardines and crush content with fork (include oil).
• Cook Spaghetti until al dente then set aside.
• In a separate pan, saute minced garlic until light brown.
• Add crushed Spanish Style Sardines, olives and bay leaf.
• Add cooked pasta and mix everything together.
• Add Parmesan Cheese and chopped basil.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.

Make it your own: Add chili, add more herbs and spices, add your favorite seafood. Enjoy!
Servings: 3-4

Left- Over Magic: Pastadobo

Featured Dish from Enchie's Kitchen

Spaghetti Bolognese

Bolognese sauce is often associated with tomato sauce. A traditional Bolognese Sauce is composed of  beef, pancetta, onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, meat broth, white wine. With Italian Bolognese, pasta is mixed with the sauce, than served on top. For my Bolognese,  instead of pancetta or regular ground sirloin, I used Beef Meatballs coated with Parmesan cheese. I basically came up with the usual red sauce pasta then I added red wine, chopped parsley and mixed dried herbs.

Ingredients:

• 450g spaghetti
• 1/2 K ground sirloin
• 1 egg ( beaten)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 5 clove garlic (minced)
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp chopped parsley
• 1/2 tsp of mixed dried herbs ( basil and rosemary)
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 cup Italian Style Spaghetti Sauce
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1 medium red tomato (diced)
• salt and ground pepper

How To: MEATBALLS

• In a bowl, mix ground sirloin with beaten egg, a dash of salt and pepper.
• Start making meatballs and coat each with grated Parmesan cheese.
• Deep fry until golden brown, then set aside.

How To: RED SAUCE

• In a sauce pan, saute minced garlic in olive oil until light brown.
• Add diced fresh red tomatoes. Stir for a few seconds.
• Add Red Wine and crushed tomatoes. Simmer for a few seconds.
• Add chopped parsley and mixed herbs. Stir for a few seconds.
• Add Italian Style Spaghetti Sauce, a dash of salt and pepper, then simmer for a few seconds.

How To: PASTA/ Plating

• In a sauce pan boil pasta until Al Dente.
• Using a pasta ladle, slowly set pasta on a plate. Drain water through the ladle.
• Atop pasta with 2 meatballs per plate then pour red sauce.
• Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.

* Using a serving platter, you can also mix the cooked pasta with the sauce, top with meatballs and Parmesan cheese.

Servings: 2-3

Baked Macaroni: My First

I actually made to kinds of Baked Mac over the weekend. First is the regular baked mac. Then, I experimented on the next one.
There are 2 steps to follow. Making the basic Macaroni Dish and Adding The Béchamel Sauce or simply White Sauce before baking. Honestly, it was my first attempt on making my own Baked Macaroni. I really promised myself that this is going to be one of the first dishes to prepare once the oven starts working again.

I. Ingredients: Regular Baked Macaroni
400g Elbow Macaroni
1/2 to 1 kilo Italian Spaghetti Sauce
1/2 Ground Lean meat
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 cloves garlic minced
1 medium onion chopped
1 big green bell pepper chopped into small pieces
Ground black pepper and salt
Your favorite cheese
How To:

• In a sauce pan, cook elbow macaroni, then set aside.
• In another sauce pan, saute garlic in EVOO until light brown.
• Add chopped onions and lean meat. Stir and simmer until meat is cooked.
• Add chopped bell pepper and stir for a few seconds.
• Add Italian Spaghetti Sauce
• Then salt and pepper to taste.
• Mix enough sauce with the prepared elbow macaroni then set in a baking dish.

II. Ingredients: Béchamel Sauce or simply White Sauce
1 cup Cream of Mushroom
1 tsp flour
1/2 cup fresh milk
1 tsp butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
 How To: 

• In a sauce pan, melt butter on low fire.
• Add cream of mushroom, then blend well.
• Add heavy cream, then blend well.
• * mix 1 tsp flour in 1/2 cup fresh milk. Blend it together then pour in the sauce pan.
• Once done, pour everything on top or in-between the layers of your prepared macaroni in baking dish.
• Top with your favorite cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-30 minutes.

Servings: 4-5

Perfect dish for the weekend bonding with the family. Served mine with some freshly toasted Pesto-Garlic Bread from French Baker. Yum! After baking, I noticed that the sauce holds everything together once it's cooled down (room temperature). But I'd rather serve it smokin' hot while the Béchamel Sauce and melting cheese are settling in.

This last photo is the one I experimented on. It may look the same as the usual Baked Macaroni, but the taste is to die for (at least for my husband and son haha!) The recipe? Let's see... so far...hmm...let me think about it...

Chicken Parmigiano

I just couldn't bear it, I need to have some more. Sbarro's Chicken Parmigiano inspired me to make my own. Another good news, my oven is now working!!! Chicken Parmigiano was taken after "Parmigiana" meaning: slices of eggplants layered with cheese and tomato sauce then baked.-source- One attribute that brought out the name Parmigiano is the use of Parmesan cheese in the recipe. In some countries, chicken parmigiano is serve to top a plate of pasta.

Ingredients:

• 6 pieces chicken breasts fillet
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Cup Quick Melt Cheese or Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 Can (26oz.)Del Monte  Italian Herb Chunky Sauce
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 Cup bread crumbs
• 1 whole garlic minced
• 450g Linguini
• 1/2 tsp Ground Pepper

*Baking Dish
*Frying Pan

How To:

• Season Chicken Breasts with  pepper
• Dip each in egg, coat with flour, dip again in egg then coat with bread crumbs.
• After coating all 6 chicken breasts, heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan.
• Fry each side of chicken until golden brown. Set in a baking dish.

Sauce:

• In a sauce pan, saute minced garlic until light brown
• Add Italian Herb Sauce stir while simmering for a few seconds
• Add chopped basil and parsley
• Add 1/2 tsp pepper and simmer for a few seconds.

• Drizzle olive oil on browned chicken.
• Top with Parmesan cheese
• Pour prepared sauce on chicken
• Top it again with another round of  Parmesan cheese
• After the Parmesan cheese, cover it with grated quick melt cheese or mozzarella cheese
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes

Servings: 6
Garnish with parsley and more cheese. Best with any pasta.

Note: An easier way instead of baking, is covering the dish with foil while hot and melt the cheese away. 

ENJOY!

Pasta: Basil With Hungarian Sausage Bits

I'm proud to share that I was able to come up with another pasta recipe of my own without giving myself a hard time with the preparation. That's right folks, here's another easy pasta recipe.

Ingredients:

• 300g Linguini
• 1 whole garlic minced
• 1 cup chopped  fresh sweet basil 
• 2-3 tbps grated Parmesan cheese
• 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Hungarian Sausages chopped
• 3 medium red tomatoes chopped into quarters
• Ground Pepper

How To:

• In a sauce pan, boil water and simmer pasta until half- cooked, do not drain.
• In a separate pan, saute garlic until light brown.
• Add chopped Hungarian Sausages. Stir for a few seconds.
• Add chopped tomatoes and stir again for a few seconds.

*From the other pan, using a pasta ladle or a slotted spoon, slowly transfer cooked Linguini to the pan of sauteed mix of garlic, sausage and tomatoes. Mix everything together in low fire.

• Add grated Parmesan Cheese and Chopped Fresh Sweet Basil. Add Olive oil if needed.
• Add ground pepper to add flavor.

* NO SALT!

 Now that's an instant Pesto Mix by the way. Top every serving with more Parmesan cheese. To add, this is also perfect with a slice or 2 of wheat bread.
Servings: 3-4

FTF: Carbonara

In the mood for something different on a Friday? It's been a long time since I cooked something with white sauce. Most of the time, I go for Tuna as my main ingredient. But today, I prepared the usual Carbonara recipe. Which is: White sauce with bacon and garlic bits.

As researched, the original recipe for Carbonara is a mixture of eggs, cheese, and butter or olive oil mixed with the pasta, the pork is added to the pasta later. I'm still figuring out how to make the perfect egg sauce though.  When I was in college, it's one of the sauces that I wasn't able to try during our food functions.

With my recipe I got rid of the butter then I lessened the cream and added milk instead.

Ingredients:

• 450g spaghetti (pasta al dente)
• 1/4 kilo ground lean 
• 1/4 kilo sweet ham ( minced)
• 1/4 kilo bacon (minced)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups all purpose cream
• 1/2 cup fresh milk
• 1 can button mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 can cream of mushroom
• 2 whole garlic (minced)
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• salt and pepper

How To:
Toppings:

• In a separate frying pan, pour little oil and saute 1/2 of the minced garlic until light brown
• Add 1/2 minced bacon and ham
• Fry everything together until golden brown
• Drain excess oil and serve in a separate bowl

Main Sauce:

• In a sauce pan saute the remaining  minced garlic until light brown
• Add onions and stir for a few seconds
• Add the ground lean, the remaining minced bacon and ham
• Stir until cooked
• Add the cream of mushroom and mix it well with the meat
• Add 1/2 cup fresh milk and 2 cups of purpose cream
• Stir until well blended. Continuous stirring is required for about a minute and in low fire.
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Set aside

Enjoy!!!

Food Trip Friday

Filipino Spaghetti

I was having second thoughts a few months back if I should post a simple Filipino Spaghetti Recipe or not.  Since almost everyone knows how to cook Spaghetti, I really didn't pondered on posting it that much, until I found out that people are searching my food blog for a Pinoy Spaghetti recipe. I should really consider changing my site's domain and research on blog web hosting. Anyway, here I am, and as promised I am going to make this recipe easy. For our friends from other countries and would love to try our Filipino Spaghetti, you can use your regular Spaghetti Sauce just add sugar, banana ketchup and the rest of the ingredients  like some sausage bits.

There's no doubt that spaghetti is one of the few that Filipinos love the most. We Filipinos were able to concoct our own. Famous as the "Filipino Spaghetti" or "Pinoy Spaghetti", our spaghetti sauce is composed of different ingredients. From the usual Spaghetti sauce, most of us also include ketchup to add flavor and to improve the consistency of the sauce. We also add sugar, hotdog or sausage bits, aside from the ground meat that's also a highlight. And to top it, we use our local cheese. 

Recipe?

My Pinoy Spaghetti was kinda different, because I didn't add catsup. I used Del Monte's Filipino Style Spaghetti Sauce instead.

* for every 1 Kilo of Ground Lean or any Ground Meat, I boil 1 Kilo of  Spaghetti, I use 2 Big Pouches of Del Monte Filipino Style Spaghetti Sauce (which is equivalent for 2 Kilos of pasta) For me, I'd rather keep more of the sauce in my fridge, than left-over pasta without any sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo spagahetti (pasta al dente, set aside)
• 5 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1/2 kilo regular hotdog (chopped) or 4 small cans of Vienna Sausage (chopped)
• 1 kilo ground lean meat (pre-boiled)
• 1 can button mushrooms (chopped into small pieces)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Grated cheese

How To:

• In a sauce pan, pour olive oil and saute garlic until light brown, then add chopped onions.
• Add pre-cooked ground meat stir for a few seconds.
• Add chopped hotdog or sausages and mushrooms, stir for about a minute.
• Add 1/2 cup water and simmer for about a minute
• When everything is cooked, add the Filipino Style Spaghetti Sauce and stir for 30 seconds
• Add salt and pepper to taste, simmer again for a few seconds (add water if needed)

note: Since the Spaghetti Sauce is already sweetened, just add sugar to obtain your preferred sweetness.

• Pour sauce on your pasta and top it with your  favorite grated local cheese. I like Eden Cheese.

Extraordinary Carbonara

So what makes this common Carbonara extraordinary?

While waiting at the Peguin Bar, I ordered this pasta for dinner. I was just thinking that it's going to be the typical "creamy" Carbonara. I do love this pasta dish, but the sauce really matters to me. 

Most of the time, if it's not homemade, I often encounter Carbonara sauces that are too thick or  too heavy to a point that I get fed up easily that I don't want to finish it. The usual Filipino terms are: "nakakasawa, minsan nakakahilo".
But this featured pasta dish is different. The sauce was not as heavy, still creamy and rich and at the same time, it gave me that "Carbonara satisfaction". The toppings were composed of mixed roasted bacon bits and garlic. You'll never know which is the bacon and the garlic until you taste it, and it's delicious.

It just so happen that the chef is already a friend of my husband. So when he passed by our table, I had the privilege to ask him about his secret regarding the Carbonara sauce. The chef knows my concerns on how creamy a Carbonara dish should be, and I'm glad that even for a professional like him, he's very much aware of  things like the sauce for  instance. I'm still not sure if I should share his secret, maybe you should visit The Peguin Bar and try every pasta dish they have on the menu. He is a very nice Chef.

The Penguin Bar new location at 9815 Kamagong St. Makati City

Food Trip Friday--- Creamy Spicy Pasta and More Clubhouse Sandwiches

My husband went on leave last week. That made his Friday free. When the family is complete on a weekend, especially starting it on a Friday, I'm pretty inspired to prepare something extra special than our daily grub.

Creamy Spicy Pasta I used Del Monte's Gourmet Sauce

Del Monte's line of Gourmet sauces is a must in every kitchen pantry. Every spice and flavorful ingredient is to be tasted. I added tuna in hot and spicy, mushrooms and dried basil.

It was a perfect way to start our weekend. We talked  on a lot of things. We even had a good conversation about our 'ol civic then we talked on buying a motor bike. Dirt Bike Race is one cool hobby to get into. I remembered Mommy Seiko's daughter of Seikos Diary, she's one hell of a biker.

And lastly, I also prepared more of my clubhouse sandwich. My boys kept on asking for it. This is a really good snack for the family. Just gather the freshest ingredients you can use, pile them up together. This time, I used quarter slices of cucumber to top each sandwich. It's refreshing and healthy.

What's Your Food Trip this Friday?

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

Food Trip Friday: From Main to Dessert

Spicy Tuna Pasta with Black Olives

Just my usual Tuna Pasta. This time, I added black olives. Love olives by the way.

Mango Float

Franky was asking for cake. I told him that it's better and it's more fun if we make our own. Not the real cake though, but it sure is something cooler to enjoy on a very hot day.

Food Trip Friday