Chicken Macaroni Sopas

It's been 2 days that typhoon 'Maring' has been pouring all over Manila and other parts of Luzon. I hope everyone has found a safe shelter and some hot soup to keep you warm. Just wish to share this simple recipe that could warm you and your family in this cold weather.

This recipe is actually an inspiration from our cousin-in-law's family. It kept me warm this morning. :)

Ingredients:

1	tablespoon	Olive Oil
1	clove	Garlic, crushed and chopped
1/2	piece	Onion, peeled and chopped
1/2	piece	Carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2	tablespoon	Fish Sauce (Patis)
1/2	cup	Chicken, cooked and diced
1/2	cup	Ham, diced
1	cups	Macaroni, cooked
2	cups	Chicken Broth, defatted
1	tablespoon	Cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tbsp cold water
2	cups	Milk (Cowhead or Milk Magic would be great)
1/2	tsp	Salt
1/2	tsp	Ground Pepper
Procedure
1	Heat olive oil in a big saucepan. Saute garlic and onions until translucent. Add the carrots and season with patis. Cook for 5 minutes
2	Add the chicken, ham, macaroni and chicken broth and simmer for another 5 minutes
3	Add cornstarch mixture to thicken the broth and stir for about 5 mintues until thick.
4	Add milk, salt and pepper, stir until well heated and adjust seasoning according to taste.
5	Serve HOT

Serves 4

Ossobuco alla Milanese

It looked pretty much complicated as I was reading through several recipes, but once you get on it! It's just easy. It was my patience that I had to work with since it takes hours to get a good bite into this meat. 

Ingredients

1	cup	White Onions, finely chopped
1	cup	Carrots, finely chopped
1	cup	Celery, finely chopped
1/4	cup	Olive Oil
2	teaspoon	Garlic, finely chopped
1	piece	lemon peel strips (from 1 lemon)
1/2	cup	Olive Oil
4	piece	Veal Shanks, cut into 3/4 inch thickness
3/4	cups	All Purpose Flour
4	cups	Beef Broth
750	ml	Tomato Basil Sauce
1/4	teaspoon	Dried Thyme
2	pieces	Fresh Basil
2	pieces	Bay Leaf or Laurel Leaves
3	sprigs	Parsley
		Salt and Pepper
4	pieces	Potatoes, boiled and peeled
4	tablespoon	Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1	cup	Milk
2	tablespoon	Basil Leaves, chopped
		Salt and Pepper

Procedure

1 Preheat the Oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit (175 Celcius)
2 Pat dry all the veal/beef shanks with a clean towel.
3 Choose a heavy casserole that can hold the veal pieces later in a single layer. Put in the first portion of olive oil, onion, carrot, celery. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes to soften the vegetables. Add the garlic and lemon peel slices to end and remove from heat.
4 Heat Olive Oil in a skillet over medium high heat. When the oil is quite hot, Dredge and brown the veal on all sides one by one or how many pieces can fit comfortably into your skillet without cramping the meat. Stand the veal pieces side by side on top of the vegetables in the casserole.
5 Simmer the broth in a pan and pour into the casserole. Add the tomato basil sauce, thyme, basil, bay leaves, parsley, pepper and salt. The broth should cover the veal pieces. If it does not, add more broth.
6 Bring the contents of the casserole to a simmer on top of the stove. Cover tightly and put into the preheated oven. Cook for about 3 hours, carefully turning and basting the beal every hour. When done, they should be very tender when pricked with fork, and their sauce should be dense and creamy.
7 While waiting for the shank to cook, make the mashed potato to accompany the meat.
8 Put in the cooked potato, cream cheese, milk and basil chiffonade into a food processor.
9 Season to taste. Set aside.
10 Top mashed potato with pieces of veal and pour sauce over and serve piping hot.

Cooking tips and alternatives!
You have to put the shank into the skillet to brown as soon as You have dipped it in flour, otherwise the flour may dampen and the meat wont brown properly.                                                                         If the casseroles runs out of liquid while still cooking, you may add more broth or water.                    If the sauce is too thin and the veal is done, remove the meat to a platter, placed the uncovered casserole on top of the stove and over high heat boil the sauce until it thickens.

It's a comfort food i must say!!! Thanks to patience, it came out to its desired tenderness :) 

Baked Prawns with Mozarella Cheese Overload

Save the Mozarella! The mozarella almost went to the freezer if i did not promise to cook it by today! So i saved some of my jumbo prawns and made use of all my mozarella... a simple dish to make a perfect dinner :) I was so happy that my sister Eunice could join us for dinner when i cooked this up!

Ingredients:

8 pcs.  Jumbo prawns (butterflied - use scissors to cut shell from head to tail and use knife to cut the prawns until fully open. do not cut through the other side.) * If you're wondering which side to cut, cut the top part (where the eyes are and where you actually devein your prawns)



1 pc.   Red Bell Pepper (diced)
1/2 cup Basil Leaves (chiffonade - leaves piled up and rolled ... then sliced into thin strips)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp   garlic (minced)
1 1/2 cup mozarella (or more if u like)
Salt and Pepper

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius
2. In a bowl, mix together red bell pepper, basil leaves, garlic, olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Oil a baking sheet / pan and line up your prawns wide open
4. Top each prawn with your mixture from head to tail. Making sure you get to distribute evenly the colors to make your prawns pretty after baking :)
5. Top each prawns with mozarella - cover with almost nothing else seen but your cheese
6. Drizzle each prawn with olive oil
7. Put in the oven for 10 - 12 minutes. Serve pretty and hot!

** You can use your toasters! Just 10 minutes and you got a yummy colorful dish right there! The secret is just good prawns and lots of mozarella ;) Enjoy

Prawns, Tomato and Fresh Basil Pasta

Weeee!!! Prawns. Get the biggest size that can fit your budget! It's like eating a big gem when not overcooked. The crunch just makes you smile! It's my favorite meat on pasta. So i cooked a 7 hour brisket and of course a prawn dish to make me even happier! Beef for Steve, Prawns for me! But since it was so good, Steve ate a good number of prawn pieces too! hahah! <3

Ingredients:
12 pcs.   Large Prawns
4 tbsp    Olive oil
1 tbsp    Garlic (minced)
1 can (14 oz)    Diced tomatoes in Juice
36 pcs    Cherry Tomatoes (cut into halves)
1 cup     Grated Mozarella
200 grams Linguine
1 1/2 cup  fresh basil (cut into small pieces)
Rock Salt and Ground Pepper

Procedure:
1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente.  Drain and retain the pasta in the pot. Set aside. (Do remember to put in some salt and oil into the water before putting in the pasta)
2. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper.
3. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over high heat. Saute the garlic until just brown. Add the shrimp until opaque on all sides, about 3 minutes (make sure not to overcook). Remove the shrimp into a plate or bowl. Set aside. (retain the oil and the garlic in the pan.)
4. To make the sauce: To the same skillet, add the diced tomatoes with its juice. Add the mozarella and 2 cups water and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat and simmer until the tomatoes have softened. This will take about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
6. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the cherry tomatoes, basil and prawns.
7. Pour the sauce into the pasta and toss. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Garnish with basil on top and Serve!

Yummy!!! <3

7 hour Tomato Brisket

Oh! Lovely Sunday. Cooking my second meal since i got married (which has been a month now --- time flies by so fast). Waking up on a sunday to roast my 7 hour tomato brisket was amazingly easy. I guess it's just plain excitement that woke me up at 5 am to get ready for lunch! :)

Ingredients:

2 kilos  Beef Brisket (all fats removed) or Kenchi (I'd recommend this if it's available)
24 oz   Hunts Tomato Ketchup
2 pcs   White Onion (minced)
1/2 cup Fresh parsley leaves
2 tsps   Onion Powder
2 tsps   Turmeric Powder
2 tsp     Rock Salt
6 tsp    White Sugar
1/2 tsp  Ground Pepper
1 cup    Water

Procedure
1. Preheat over to 275 degrees fahrenheit
2. Place the brisket or kenchi in an oven safe pan (make sure it has good allowance for possible overflow of sauce)
3. Combine the white onion, parsley, onion powder, turmeric powder rock salt, white sugar, ground pepper in a bowl. Mix well together with the ketchup and 1 cup water until well combined.
4. Pour the sauce all over the brisket and turn upside down to coat the other side.
5. Cover with foil and roast in the oven for 7 hours.
6. Remove the pan from the oven and test the meat to make sure it is fork tender.
7. Slice the brisket into thin strips and put it in a pan. Make sure to slice it against the grain.
8. Get some of the sauce from the dish just enough to cover the meat on the pan.
9. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
10. Line the meat in serving plate, pour in some sauce and garnish with Parsley and Serve Hot & Tender!

Weee... so happy Steve loved the dish. I just think the dish would be perfect with kenchi. No fat and would be so nice to roast and i can just imagine the tenderness of the meat i could have achieved. Perfect with the tangy tomato sauce ... which i think can be a pasta sauce already! :)

Serves 12

Stewed Chicken and Shiitake Mushrooms with Fresh Tomatoes

Simple joys of home cooking ♥ After months of pondering when will be next time i'll be able to cook again. Here it is. The first recipe i cooked from my bunch of cookbooks which  i decided to bring with me when i got married. They were the best stuffs i brought with me ;)

Ingredients:

1.3 kg     Whole chicken, chopped into small pieces (i.e. one leg can be cut into 2 pieces)
1    pc     red onion, sliced
10 pcs    shiitake mushrooms, cut into halves
4 pcs       fresh tomatoes, cut into quarters
3/4 cups green peas
1/2 cup   flour

1/2 tsp   salt
Pinch of pepper

2 tbsp     del monte tomato paste
1 tbsp     rice wine
3 tsp       light soy sauce
3 cups    water
1 tsp       salt
1/2 tsp   sugar

Procedure
1. Mix chicken pieces with 1/2 tsp salt and pinch of pepper. Set aside for 5 minutes. Coat with 1/2 cup of flour.
2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil or any cooking oil and fry chicken until browned. Remove. Add onion and mushrooms into the pan and stir fry until fragrant. Add tomatoes and tomato paste and stir evenly.
3. Add wine, soy sauce, and water, bring to a boil. Add chicken and season with salt and sugar.
4. Simmer for 45 minutes. Add green peas and cook for awhile.
5. Adjust seasoning and serve hot with rice.

Enjoy your dinner as we enjoy ours ;)